X-ray, dielectric and high pressure studies on a compound exhibiting ferro-, ferri- and antiferroelectric smectic phases

We report X-ray layer spacing, dielectric constant and high pressure measurements on a compound that exhibits the following sequence of phase transitions: smectic A-ferroelectric smectic C∗-ferrielectric smectic Cy∗-antiferroelectric smectic CA∗ -hexatic antiferroelectric smectic IA∗-crystal K. The pressure-temperature diagram shows two three-phase meeting points, which are topologically consistent with critical end points, and reentrant behavior of the C∗ and C∗ phases as the pressure is varied at constant temperature

Observation of the Smectic C -- Smectic I Critical Point

We report the first observation of the smectic C--smectic I (C--I) critical point by Xray diffraction studies on a binary system. This is in confirmity with the theoretical idea of Nelson and Halperin that coupling to the molecular tilt should induce hexatic order even in the C phase and as such both C and I (a tilted hexatic phase) should have the same symmetry. The results provide evidence in support of the recent theory of Defontaines and Prost proposing a new universality class for critical points in layered systems.Comment: 9 pages Latex and 5 postscript figures available from [email protected] on request, Phys.Rev.Lett. (in press

Neurobehavioural and Neurochemical Changes in Arsenic Induced Cerebellar Toxicity in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats: An Experimental Study

Introduction: Sodium arsenite, an inorganic arsenic, is naturally present at high level (>50 μg/L) in ground water. Drinking ground water is the biggest threat to public health. Though, there are numerous reports on arsenic neurotoxicity, the arsenic effect on cerebellar neurotoxicity remains vague especially its chronic effect on its neurobehavioural and neurochemical alterations. Aim: To evaluate the neurobehavioural and neurochemical alterations caused by sodium arsenite in cerebellum of rats. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted in the Central Animal House at Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education and Research (SDUAHER) from November 2019 to February 2020 for a period of 90 days. Total 16 male sprague-dawley rats were randomised into two equal groups. Group I: Control, received normal saline. Group II: Sodium arsenite, doses of 50 Parts per Millions (PPM) for 90 days through oral gavage. Rats were subjected to Open Field Test (OFT) for locomotor and exploratory behaviour and Beam Walking Test (BWT) for motor coordination and balance. Following behavioural tests, rats were anaesthetised. Blood was drawn from a retro-orbital puncture. Brains were dissected and cerebellum was separated. Concentration of Malondialdehyde (MDA), Nitric Oxide (NO) and activity of Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) were assessed spectrophotometrically in serum and cerebellum of rats. Mean±SD was used for normally distributed data and groups were compared using independent t-test, whereas for non-normally distributed data, Median (25th-75th Percentile) was used and Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare groups. Results: Arsenic-treated rats showed a significant increase in arsenic concentration in serum and cerebellum (5.5±1.6 ng/mL, 2.76±0.56 µg/g, respectively) compared to control (1.14±0.43 ng/mL, 0.65±0.29 µg/g, respectively). There was a significant decrease in locomotor and exploratory behaviour and impairment in motor coordination and balance in arsenic treated rats with a p-value <0.001 in comparison with control rats. The arsenic treated rats had significantly enhanced concentration of MDA and NO level and reduced activity of GPx in serum {16.84 (13.84-18.87), 33.79 (30.05-37.17) nmol/mL, and 6.89 (5.24-8.5) mmoles of Reduced glutathione (GSH) oxidised/min/mL, respectively} compared to control {8.81 (8.36-9.48), 17.66 (15.33-21.29) nmol/mL, and 15.16 (12.77-16.59) mmoles of GSH oxidised/min/mL, respectively} and also found increased concentration of MDA and NO level and reduced activity of GPx in tissue {7.98 (7.14-8.92), 24.67 (21.4-28-22) nmol/mg of protein and 2.66 (1.19-3.86) mmoles of GSH oxidised/min/mg protein, respectively} compared to control {3.02 (2.35-3.61), 13.93 (11.0-16.16) nmol/mg of protein and 7.63 (7.08-9.19) mmoles of GSH oxidised/min/mg protein, respectively}. Conclusion: The oral administration of sodium arsenite at the doses of 50 PPM for 90 days showed interesting alterations in neurobehavioural and neurochemical parameters related to cerebellum of rats

<title>Ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers with large pyroelectric coefficients for infrared detectors</title>

Restricted Access. SPIE conference on liquid crystal materials, devices and applications II, San Jose.We have synthesized many ferroelectric side-chain liquid crystalline polymers exhibiting the Smectic C* phase over a wide temperature range extending to sub-ambient temperatures. The tuning of the mesophase temperature has been achieved by incorporating two different mesogens as side groups attached to the siloxane backbone. These copolymers exhibit large values of spontaneous polarization which varies linearly through out the Smectic C* phase. The pyroelectric coefficient and dielectric constants of these materials have been measured. The potential of these ferroelectric liquid crystals as pyroelectric detector materials will be examined

Efficient Synthesis and in Silico Studies of the Benzimidazole Hybrid Scaffold with the Quinolinyloxadiazole Skeleton with Potential α‑Glucosidase Inhibitory, Anticoagulant, and Antiplatelet Activities for Type-II Diabetes Mellitus Management and Treating Thrombotic Disorders

The current study evaluates antidiabetic, anticoagulant, and antiplatelet activity of novel benzimidazole-containing quinolinyl oxadiazoles. These derivatives are synthesized and characterized using spectroscopy (FT-IR, 1H NMR, and mass spectroscopy) and single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. The inhibitory effects of these compounds were evaluated by the α-glucosidase inhibitory assay and shows the activity in the range of IC50 = 0.66 ± 0.05 to 3.79 ± 0.46 μg/mL. In addition, molecular docking studies revealed that benzimidazole-containing quinolinyl oxadiazoles can correctly dock into the target receptor protein of the human intestinal α-glucosidase, while their bioavailability/drug-likeness was predicted to be acceptable but requires further optimization. On the other hand, compound 8a and 8d showed anticoagulant activity as they enhanced the clotting time from control 180–410 and 180–390 s, respectively, in platelet rich plasma and 230–460 and 230–545 s in platelet poor plasma. Furthermore, only 8a showed antiplatelet activity by inhibiting epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation, and the observed aggregation inhibition was found to be 93.4%. Compounds 8a–f show nontoxic properties because of the non-hydrolyzing properties in the RBC cells. In addition, 8a and 8d show anti-edema and anti-hemorrhagic properties in the experimental mice. These findings reveal that benzimidazole-containing quinolinyl oxadiazoles act as α-glucosidase inhibitors to develop novel therapeutics for treating type-II diabetes mellitus and can act as lead molecules in drug discovery as potential antidiabetic and antithrombotic agents

Long-Term Engraftment of Human Natural T Regulatory Cells in NOD/SCID IL2rγc^null Mice by Expression of Human IL-2

<div><p>Regulatory T cells are essential to maintain immune homeostasis and prevent autoimmunity. Therapy with <em>in vitro</em> expanded human nT_Regs is being tested to prevent graft versus host disease, which is a major cause for morbidity and mortality associated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Their usefulness in therapy will depend on their capacity to survive, migrate appropriately and retain suppressive activity when introduced into a transplant recipient. The lack of a suitable animal model for studying the <em>in vivo</em> reconstitutive capability of human nT_Regs is a major impediment for investigating the behavior of adoptively transferred nT_Regs<em>in vivo</em>. We show that injection of a plasmid encoding human IL-2 is necessary and sufficient for long term engraftment of <em>in vitro</em> expanded nT_Regs in NOD-SCID IL2rγc^null mice. We also demonstrate that these <em>in vivo</em> reconstituted T_Regs traffic to different organs of the body and retain suppressive function. Finally, in an IL-2 accelerated GVHD model, we show that these <em>in vivo</em> reconstituted T_Regs are capable of preventing severe xenogenic response of human PBMCs. Thus, this novel ‘hu-T_Reg mouse’ model offers a pre-clinical platform to study the <em>in vivo</em> function and stability of human nT_Regs and their ability to modulate autoimmune diseases and GVHD.</p> </div

<i>In vivo</i> expanded T_Regs co-transplanted with hPBMCs are capable of preventing IL-2 accelerated GVHD in NOD-scid IL2rγc^null mice.

<p>(A, B) Kaplan-Meir curve showing the survival of IL-2 conditioned NOD-scid IL2rγc^null mice injected with hPBMCs alone or hPBMCs along with <i>in vivo</i> expanded T_Regs. T_Regs purified from animals 12 days after reconstitution were used for co-transfer along with hPBMCs at 1∶1 (A) or 1∶5 (B) ratio of T_Regs:PBMCs and the animals were observed for GVHD symptoms. (C, D) Kaplan-Meir curve comparing protection from GVHD conferred by <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> expanded T_Regs. IL-2 conditioned NOD-scid IL2rγc^null mice were injected with hPBMCs only or co-transferred with different ratios of <i>in vitro</i> (C) or <i>in vivo</i> (D) expanded T_Regs and hPBMCs. In all experiments, each group consisted of 3 mice.</p

Reconstituted T_Regs retain their phenotypic characteristics and traffic to different organs of NOD-scid IL2rγc^null mice.

<p>(A, B) 5×10⁶ expanded nT_Regs were iv injected into NOD-scid IL2rγc^null mice in the presence hIL-2. On Day 12, MNCs were isolated from the spleen and surface stained for CD4, CD25, CD27, CD45 and CD127 and then intracellularly stained for CTLA4 and Foxp3. Representative flow cytometric analysis of human CD45 gated population from one mouse (A) and composite data (B) from all the three animals tested are shown. (C, D, E, F) MNCs from indicated organs were tested for T_Reg reconstitution by examining for CD4 and CD25 (C, D) and Foxp3 (E, F) expression. Representative results from one mouse (C, E) and composite data (D, F) from all the three animals analyzed are shown. (G) Serum IL-2 levels at different time points after a single hydrodynamic injection of the plasmid were tested by ELISA. (H, I, J, K) 33 days after T_Reg reconstitution, MNCs purified from spleen, liver and lungs were analyzed for CD4, CD25 and Foxp3 expression on human CD45⁺ gated cells. Representative results from one mouse (H, J) and composite data (I, K) from all animals tested are shown. The numbers in the panel depict percentage of positive cells within human CD45 gated populations and error bars indicate standard deviation of three different animals tested.</p

Energy Budgeting, Data Envelopment Analysis and Greenhouse Gas Emission from Rice Production System: A Case Study from Puddled Transplanted Rice and Direct-Seeded Rice System of Karnataka, India

The energy consumption pattern and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of any rice production system is important to know the sustainability of varied cultivation and establishment technique. This study was conducted to determine the energy use pattern, GHG emission and efficiency of rice farms in puddled transplanted (PTR, rainfed) and direct-seeded rice (DSR, irrigated) production systems in Karnataka, India. The energy indices and GHG emission of different input and output in a rice production system were assessed by using energy and carbon equivalence. The efficiency of PTR and DSR farms were identified using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and energy optimization was ascertained. The key finding was excessive use of non-renewable energy inputs was observed for the PTR (92.4%) compare to DSR (60.3%) methods. The higher energy use efficiency (7.3), energy productivity (0.3 kg MJ&minus;1) and energy profitability (6.3) were mainly attributed to the large decrease in energy inputs under DSR. The DEA showed efficiency for 26 PTR farms in comparison for 87 DSR farms. The mean technical efficiency value highlighted the scope for saving energy by 6% and 2% in PTR and DSR, respectively and showed an economic reduction of $405.5/ha with PTR versus$163.3/ha with the DSR method if these inefficient farms perform efficiently. The GHG emissions revealed that the total emissions for PTR versus DSR production caused by on-farm emissions were 86% and 65%, respectively. The DSR method also had a higher carbon efficiency ratio and carbon sustainability index (10.1 and 9.1, respectively). Thus, adoption of DSR method is imperative for reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions to achieve the carbon sustainability