Proportional Representation and Its Impacts on Multi Ethnic Society of Sri Lanka

This paper will examine the impact of PR electoral systems in a divided society. This research will explore the strength and weakness of the current electoral system and institutional design of Sri Lanka and will recommend changes to decrease the risk of minority exclusion in decision making and ethnic violence. The objectives of this research are to examine the character of the merits and demerits of the PR and to investigate and assess the impacts of the PR in the multi-ethnic societies of Sri Lanka. The study is a qualitative case study, and primary and secondary data sources have been employed to gather relevant data. My Fieldwork was conducted in Sri Lanka, with the intention of gaining a better and more thorough understanding of the current situation. The interviews conducted were as such, not structured or semi-structured, due to the interviewees\u27 varying professional background and institutional affiliation. Accordingly, unstructured interviews, as well as informal conversations and meetings, were conducted throughout Sri Lanka

Assessment of the Secondary Metabolite Patulin and Lycium Barbarum Fruit on INS-1 Rat Pancreatic Β-Cells

Patulin has been shown to have diabetogenic effects in mice. The effects on pancreatic β-cell viability and function of secondary metabolite patulin were investigated. Using forty adult albino male rats which divided into 4 groups. Control group was injected subcutaneously daily with distilled water for one week; group I was injected subcutaneously daily with Patulin (0.2 mg/kg/day) for two weeks. Group II was injected with the same toxin and dose for two weeks after that they were treated by Goji extract (2 ml/kg /day.) for two weeks. Group III was treated by Goji for two weeks after that they were injected with patulin for two weeks. Some biochemical parameters of blood samples for experimental rodents were evaluated. Patulin group shows significant increase in amylase and glucose levels. But level of C-peptide and Insulin decreased significantly in this group. However, there is no significant alteration in Lipase level between patulin group and control. Groups treated with goji extract in groups two and three (therapeutic and prophylactic) illustrated non significant alteration in biochemical parameters compared to control

Current status of biodiversity and health of the coral reef ecosystem of Palk Bay

The coral reefs in Palk Bay run parallel to the shore between longitudes 79°17’ E and 79°8’ E, at the latitude 9°17’ N. It lies in an east-west direction and is about 200 to 600 m away from the shore at different places at a depth of 1 to 5 m

Repressive Effects of Resveratrol on Androgen Receptor Transcriptional Activity

The chemopreventive effects of resveratrol (RSV) on prostate cancer have been well established; the androgen receptor (AR) plays pivotal roles in prostatic tumorigenesis. However, the exact underlying molecular mechanisms about the effects of RSV on AR have not been fully elucidated. A model system is needed to determine whether and how RSV represses AR transcriptional activity.The AR cDNA was first cloned into the retroviral vector pOZ-N and then integrated into the genome of AR-negative HeLa cells to generate the AR(+) cells. The constitutively expressed AR was characterized by monitoring hormone-stimulated nuclear translocation, DNA binding, and transcriptional activation, with the AR(-) cells serving as controls. AR(+) cells were treated with RSV, and both AR protein levels and AR transcriptional activity were measured simultaneously. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were used to detect the effects of RSV on the recruitment of AR to its cognate element (ARE).AR in the AR (+) stable cell line functions in a manner similar to that of endogenously expressed AR. Using this model system we clearly demonstrated that RSV represses AR transcriptional activity independently of any effects on AR protein levels. However, neither the hormone-mediated nucleus translocation nor the AR/ARE interaction was affected by RSV treatment.We demonstrated unambiguously that RSV regulates AR target gene expression, at least in part, by repressing AR transcriptional activity. Repressive effects of RSV on AR activity result from mechanisms other than the affects of AR nuclear translocation or DNA binding

What Is New for an Old Molecule? Systematic Review and Recommendations on the Use of Resveratrol

Stilbenes are naturally occurring phytoalexins that generally exist as their more stable E isomers. The most well known natural stilbene is resveratrol (Res), firstly isolated in 1939 from roots of Veratrum grandiflorum (white hellebore) (1) and since then found in various edible plants, notably in Vitis vinifera L. (Vitaceae) (2). The therapeutic potential of Res covers a wide range of diseases, and multiple beneficial effects on human health such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities have been suggested based on several in vitro and animal studies (3). In particular, Res has been reported to be an inhibitor of carcinogenesis at multiple stages via its ability to inhibit cyclooxygenase, and is an anticancer agent with a role in antiangiogenesis (4). Moreover, both in vitro and in vivo studies showed that Res induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in tumor cells (4). However, clinical studies in humans evidenced that Res is rapidly absorbed after oral intake, and that the low level observed in the blood stream is caused by a fast conversion into metabolites that are readily excreted from the body (5). Thus, considerable efforts have gone in the design and synthesis of Res analogues with enhanced metabolic stability. Considering that reduced Res (dihydro- resveratrol, D-Res) conjugates may account for as much as 50% of an oral Res dose (5), and that D-Res has a strong proliferative effect on hormone-sensitive cancer cell lines such as breast cancer cell line MCF7 (6), we recently devoted our synthetic efforts to the preparation of trans-restricted analogues of Res in which the E carbon-carbon double bond is embedded into an imidazole nucleus. To keep the trans geometry, the two aryl rings were linked to the heteroaromatic core in a 1,3 fashion. Based on this design, we successfully prepared a variety of 1,4-, 2,4- and 2,5-diaryl substituted imidazoles including Res analogues 1, 2 and 3, respectively, by procedures that involve transition metal-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions and highly selective N-H or C-H direct arylation reactions as key synthetic steps. The anticancer activity of compounds 1–3 was evaluated against the 60 human cancer cell lines panel of the National Cancer Institute (NCI, USA). The obtained results, that will be showed and discussed along with the protocols developed for the preparation of imidazoles 1–3, confirmed that a structural optimization of Res may provide analogues with improved potency in inhibiting the growth of human cancer cell lines in vitro when compared to their natural lead. (1) Takaoka,M.J.Chem.Soc.Jpn.1939,60,1090-1100. (2) Langcake, P.; Pryce, R. J. Physiological. Plant Patology 1976, 9, 77-86. (3) Vang, O.; et al. PLoS ONE 2011, 6, e19881. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019881 (4) Kraft, T. E.; et al. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 2009, 49, 782-799. (5) Walle, T. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2011, 1215, 9-15. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05842.x (6) Gakh,A.A.;etal.Bioorg.Med.Chem.Lett.2010,20,6149-6151

<i>In vitro </i>cloning and homestead cultivation of primitive <i>Musa </i>cultivars

90-95Two primitive diploid Musa cultivars, Matti and Chemmatti from the extreme southern part of the Western Ghats were multiplied by in vitro culture of sucker-derived shoot apices. Decontaminated corm ex plants (1cm×1cm) having shoot apex (~ 0.3 cm) cultured for l month in Murashige and Skoog basal agar medium was cut vertically into eight segments and each segment having a part of shoot meristem was cultured in presence of 6- benzylaminopurine (BAP) and combinations of BAP and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) or indole-3-butyricacid (IBA) to produce multiple shoots. After 12 weeks of culture, maximum number of shoots (32) in both the cultivars were produced in approximate 60% of the explants in presence of BAP and IAA each at 1.5 mg/l-1 (Matti) and 40% of the explants in 2.5 mg/l-1 of BAP and 1.5 mg/l-1 of IAA (Chemmatti). Buds were formed from the base of the subcultured shoots and somewhat more number (34) of shoots were obtained in Matti than in Chemmatti (31) after 8 weeks. Difference in the concentration of cytokinin required for shoot initiation and multiplication, persistence of exudation through the subculture and red colouration of the early formed sheathing leaf bases in the shoots in Chemmatti indicated possible genotypic differences between the two cultivars. Multiple shoot proliferation achieved through five subcultures of the isolated shoots without any decline. Transfer of shoots (4-5 cm) into MS basal medium favoured rooting in 4 weeks and rooted plants (9 cm) were hardened and established (80-95%). Mericlones of Matti cultivated in homesteads produced bunches of uniform characters in 13 months

Production of Plumbagin (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1, 4-naphthoquinone) in Callus and Cell Suspension Cultures of <i>Plumbago indica</i> Linn.

305-308The relationship between growth and plumbagin (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-l, 4-naphthoquinone) formation in callus and cell suspension cultures of Plumbago indica was investigated. Semi-friable callus was induced on young stem and leaf segments in MS solid medium containing 1.5-2.5 mgl-1 2, 4-D plus 0.5-1.5 mgl-1 KN. Cell suspension cultures were established from stem-derived semi-friable calli and cells released from aseptic leaf segments. Quantitative analysis of plumbagin in callus and cell cultures at different periods of growth revealed an increase in concentration of plumbagin with the increase in growth of cultures. Plumbagin level in both culture systems on unit dry wt basis was same throughout the growth of callus (0.05 mg/g, dry wt) and cell cultures (0.028 mg/g, dry wt)

<i>In vitro </i>multiplication of <i>Nothapodites foetida </i>(Wight.) Sleumer through seedling explant cultures

273-277In vitro multiplication of Nothapodites foetida (Wight.) Sleumer was achieved using axenic seedling explant cultures. Isolated nodes (1.0-1.2 cm) and shoot tips (1.0-1.5 cm) cultured in Murashige and Skoog's agar medium containing varying concentrations of TDZ, BA and combinations of 2iP and GA3. Single shoot (0.8-1.2 cm) was regenerated in each culture after 6 weeks. Axillary shoots were then excised and recultured for 8 weeks in medium containing TDZ (0.05 mgL-1) which formed shoots (about 4 in no.; 2 cm) from the basal node. Axillary branches (2) which formed on 60% of these shoots after 10-12 weeks of culture were separated and recultured in the same medium for 8 weeks. Three shoots (0.8-1.0 cm) per culture were regenerated. Shoots of 0.8-1.8 cm length were subcultured on a low cytokinin (0.01 mgL-1 TDZ) regime to induce shoot elongation (2.0-3.5 cm) in 4 weeks. Shoot cuttings were rooted (60%) in the medium containing IBA (1.5 mgL-1). Rooted plantlets established in pots (90%) after hardening resumed normal growth in 3 months