Isolation of genomic DNA from acetone-dried Aspergillus mycelia

A simple acetone-drying protocol was adopted to replace the lyophilization step while isolating genomic DNA from Aspergillus mycelia. This DNA is suitable for PCR, restriction enzyme digestion and Southern blot analysis with digoxigenin-labeled DNA probes. Acetone drying/ preservation can be a useful method in the molecular analysis of fungal DNA samples

A STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE AND SEVERITY OF POSSIBLE DRUG-DRUG INTERACTIONS IN PEDIATRICS DEPARTMENT AT AN INDIAN TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Objective: To study the prevalence and severity of possible drug-drug interactions in the department of pediatrics.Methods: Case records of the in-patients of the pediatrics department from the medical records department were included and the records of the ambulatory patients were excluded from the study. All the collected cases were subjected to check for the drug-drug interactions by using the software micromedex 2.0 and the interactions were categorized based on the severity into minor, moderate and major.Results: A total of 142 cases were screened for possible drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and among them 76 cases were observed to be with possible DDIs.  The prevalence was found to be 53.5% in this study. Majority of the cases with possible DDIs were observed to be in females. Results of the age wise categorization revealed that majority of the possible DDIS were observed in children (2-12 y) followed by the infants (1 mo–2 y). The drug combinations amikacin+ampicillin, paracetamol+phenytoin and ofloxacin+ondansetron were found to be the frequently observed possible DDIs of minor, moderate and major severities respectively.Conclusion: Majority of the possible DDIs were of moderate severity followed by major. Clinical pharmacists should take the responsibility in assisting the pediatricians for screening the possible DDIs in the prescriptions there by preventing them and providing a better pharmaceutical care for the pediatric population. Â

Discovery of an aborted reversal (geomagnetic excursion) in the Late Pleistocene sediments of Pinjor Dun, NW Himalaya

We report here the occurrence of an aborted reversal (geomagnetic excursion) in the Late Pleistocene sediments of Pinjor Dun near Chandigarh, NW Himalaya. The event discovered at ~697.5 cm level from the base of Kiratpur section corresponds to the OSL date of 40±5 Ka coinciding with the Laschamp excursion and palaeointensity minima elsewhere. The Pinjor Dun sediments are deposited at a high rate of sedimentation that enables quite enlarged records of remanent geomagnetic field, hence suitable for further high resolution study of the excursion (under progress) to extend its utility as a stratigraphic marker in the Quaternary sediments at the foothills of the Himalaya

Characterization of PARIS LaBr3_3(Ce)-NaI(Tl) phoswich detectors upto EγE_\gamma ∼\sim 22 MeV

In order to understand the performance of the PARIS (Photon Array for the studies with Radioactive Ion and Stable beams) detector, detailed characterization of two individual phoswich (LaBr$_3$(Ce)-NaI(Tl)) elements has been carried out. The detector response is investigated over a wide range of $E_{\gamma}$ = 0.6 to 22.6 MeV using radioactive sources and employing $^{11}B(p,\gamma)$ reaction at $E_p$ = 163 keV and $E_p$ = 7.2 MeV. The linearity of energy response of the LaBr$_3$(Ce) detector is tested upto 22.6 MeV using three different voltage dividers. The data acquisition system using CAEN digitizers is set up and optimized to get the best energy and time resolution. The energy resolution of $\sim$ 2.1% at $E_\gamma$ = 22.6~MeV is measured for the configuration giving best linearity upto high energy. Time resolution of the phoswich detector is measured with a $^{60}$Co source after implementing CFD algorithm for the digitized pulses and is found to be excellent (FWHM $\sim$ 315~ps). In order to study the effect of count rate on detectors, the centroid position and width of the $E_{\gamma}$ = 835~keV peak were measured upto 220 kHz count rate. The measured efficiency data with radioactive sources are in good agreement with GEANT4 based simulations. The total energy spectrum after the add-back of energy signals in phoswich components is also presented.Comment: Accepted in JINS

What controls seasonal evolution of sea surface temperature in the Bay of Bengal? Mixed layer heat budget analysis using moored buoy observations along 90°E

Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 29, no. 2 (2016): 202–213, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2016.52.Continuous time-series measurements of near surface meteorological and ocean variables obtained from Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) moorings at 15°N, 90°E; 12°N, 90°E; and 8°N, 90°E and an Ocean Moored buoy Network for Northern Indian Ocean (OMNI) mooring at 18°N, 90°E are used to improve understanding of air-sea interaction processes and mixed layer (ML) temperature variability in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) at seasonal time scales. Consistent with earlier studies, this analysis reveals that net surface heat flux primarily controls the ML heat balance. The penetrative component of shortwave radiation plays a crucial role in the ML heat budget in the BoB, especially during the spring warming phase when the ML is thin. During winter and summer, vertical processes contribute significantly to the ML heat budget. During winter, the presence of a strong barrier layer and a temperature inversion (warmer water below the ML) leads to warming of the ML by entrainment of warm subsurface water into the ML. During summer, the barrier layer is relatively weak, and the ML is warmer than the underlying water (i.e., no temperature inversion); hence, the entrainment cools the mixed layer. The contribution of horizontal advection to the ML heat budget is greatest during winter when it serves to warm the upper ocean. In general, the residual term in the ML heat budget equation is quite large during the ML cooling phase compared to the warming phase when the contribution from vertical heat flux is small.WHOI buoy deployment was supported by the US Office of Naval Research (grant no. N00014- 13-10453)

ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF MARINE ALGAE: A REVIEW

ABSTRACT Oxidative stress is the result of an imbalance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant homeostasis that leads to the generation of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). The necessity of compounds with antioxidant activity is increasing as it is realized that the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) have been linked in the pathogenesis of several human diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, chronic inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders and certain types of cancer. The antioxidant activity of these compounds are mainly attributed to scavenging activity against superoxide and hydroxyl radicals, chelating ability, quenching singlet and triplet oxygen, and reducing power. It is important to develop, identify and utilize new source of safe and effective antioxidants of natural origin. Recently, much research attention has been focused on the free-radicalscavenging activity of metabolites from marine macro algae. Several studies have investigated the antioxidant activity of natural products in marine and freshwater algae. The marine environment is known as a rich source of chemical structures with numerous beneficial health effects. Among marine organisms, marine algae have been identified as an under-exploited plant resource, although they have long been recognized as valuable sources of structurally diverse bioactive compounds. Here summarized what are the compounds, methods and recent research on antioxidant activities of marine algae

Late transient acceleration of the universe in string theory on S1/Z2S^{1}/Z_{2}

Recently, in Gong {\em et al} \cite{GWW07} and Wang and Santos \cite{WS07} it was shown that the effective cosmological constant on each of the two orbifold branes can be easily lowered to its current observational value, by using the large extra dimensions in the framework of both M-Theory and string theory on $S^{1}/Z_{2}$. In this paper, we study the current acceleration of the universe, using the formulas developed in \cite{WS07}. We first construct explicitly time-dependent solution to the 10-dimensional bulk of the Neveu-Schwarz/Neveu-Schwarz sector, compactified on a 5-dimensional torus. Then, we write down the generalized Friedmann equations on each of the two dynamical branes, and fit the models to the 182 gold supernova Ia data and the BAO parameter from SDSS, using both of our MINUIT and Monte-Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) codes. With the best fitting values of the parameters involved as initial conditions, we integrate the generalized Friedmann equations numerically and find the future evolution of the universe. We find that it depends on the choice of the radion potentials $V_{4}^{(I)} (I = 1, 2)$ of the branes. In particular, when choosing them to be the Goldberger-Wise potentials, $V_{4}^{(I)} = \lambda_{4}^{(I)} (\psi^{2} - {v_{I}}^{2})^{2}$, we find that the current acceleration of the universe driven by the effective cosmological constant is only temporary. Due to the effects of the potentials, the universe will be finally in its decelerating expansion phase again. We also study the proper distance between the two branes, and find that it remains almost constant during the whole future evolution of the universe in all the models considered.Comment: revtex4, 18 figures. Typos corrected and new References added. Version to be published in JCA

Current Status of Knowledge on Hilsa

Species of the family Clupeidae are highly preferred food fishes in the world. The Indian shad, hilsa, belonging to the family Clupeidae, contribute to commercial catches in a number of countries bordering the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. The species normally inhabit rivers, estuaries and coastal waters. The highest catch comes from the deltaic region of the Gangetic system in the coastal Bay o f Bengal. The fish is anadromous; grows and matures in the sea and migrates to freshwater fo r spawning. Hilsa fisheries provides direct and indirect livelihood to millions o f fishers along the coastal and riverine stretches in its range of distribution. They are highly delicious, priced and has important sociocultural importance, especially in West Bengal and the north eastern States of India. On account of its commercial importance and migratory habit, hilsa received research attraction since 1907 and there is a wealth of disseminated literature on various aspects o f hilsa by researchers o f different countries, including India

Structural characterization and electrical properties of sintered magnesium-titanate ceramics

In this article the influence of ball miling process on structure of MgO-TiO2 system, as well as the electrical properties of samples after sintering, was investigated. The mixtures of MgO-TiO2 powders were mechanically activated in a planetary ball mill for the time period from 0 to 120 min. The influence of mechanical activation and sintering on the lattice vibrational spectra was studied by Raman spectroscopy at room temperature. Structural investigations have been performed on produced powders. Nitrogen adsorption method was used to determine the BET specific surface area and pore size distribution. Unusual results have been obtained: specific surface area continuosly decreased up to 40 min of activation and increased after that, reaching its minimun value of 5.5 m(2)/g. The Raman spectra of activated powders have shown that anatase modes have been decreasing in intensity and broadening as the time of activation extended. Also, the additional modes attributed to TiO2 II, srilankite and rutile phases started to appear as a consequence of activation. The small differences noticed in the Raman spectra of sintered samples have been explained by structural modification of MgTiO3 phase due to the presence of defects. The effects of activation and sintering process on microstructure were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrical measurements showed difference in dielectric constant (epsilon(r)), loss tangent (tg delta) and specific resistance (rho) as a function of time of mechanical treatment