Evaluation of commercial dipping oil for production of quality raisins from Thompson Seedless grapes

Grape growing in India is mainly confined to tropical peninsular regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is estimated that approximately 95% of total grapes are produced in Maharashtra and Karnataka alone. About 71 per cent of total grape production of the country is consumed as fresh and 27 per cent is processed into raisins. Grape drying is mainly concentrated in Sangli, Solapur and Nashik districts of Maharashtra and Vijayapura and Bagalkot districts of Karnataka. Generally, after dipping of grape bunches in solution of ethyl oleate and potassium carbonate (also known as Australian dip) the grape bunches are spread on nylon mesh inside grape drying shed and within 10-15 days drying process completed. There are several commercial products/substitutes for dip treatment available in the market. However, it has been reported that effectiveness of these products is variable. Therefore, present investigation was carried out to study effectiveness of a new commercial product for raisin production from Thompson Seedless grape variety in comparison to ethyl oleate. Grape bunches of Thompson Seedless were dipped in these solutions prior to drying inside raisin drying shed. Besides, the drying bunches were also sprayed with different concentrations of these products on 3rd and 5th days of drying. Observations were recorded on drying dynamics, browning index, colour intensity, content of phenols and tannins, sensory properties and quality parameters after storage for 4 months. It was observed that the dip treatment of Thompson Seedless grapes with a solution of 18 ml commercial product and 24 g potassium carbonate per litre of water for 2 minutes and sprays of 12 ml commercial product +16 g potassium carbonate per liter water on 3rd day and 6 ml commercial product + 8 g potassium carbonate per liter water on 5th day was found better than ethyl oleate for production of good quality raisins

Genome-wide non-CpG methylation of the host genome during M. tuberculosis infection

A mammalian cell utilizes DNA methylation to modulate gene expression in response to environmental changes during development and differentiation. Aberrant DNA methylation changes as a correlate to diseased states like cancer, neurodegenerative conditions and cardiovascular diseases have been documented. Here we show genome-wide DNA methylation changes in macrophages infected with the pathogen M. tuberculosis. Majority of the affected genomic loci were hypermethylated in M. tuberculosis infected THP1 macrophages. Hotspots of differential DNA methylation were enriched in genes involved in immune response and chromatin reorganization. Importantly, DNA methylation changes were observed predominantly for cytosines present in non-CpG dinucleotide context. This observation was consistent with our previous finding that the mycobacterial DNA methyltransferase, Rv2966c, targets non-CpG dinucleotides in the host DNA during M. tuberculosis infection and reiterates the hypothesis that pathogenic bacteria use non-canonical epigenetic strategies during infection

Modulation of inhibitory activity of xylanase - α-amylase inhibitor protein (XAIP): binding studies and crystal structure determination of XAIP- II from Scadoxus multiflorus at 1.2 Å resolution

Background: Plants produce a wide range of proteinaceous inhibitors to protect themselves against hydrolytic enzymes. Recently a novel protein XAIP belonging to a new sub-family (GH18C) was reported to inhibit two structurally unrelated enzymes xylanase GH11 and α -amylase GH13. It was shown to inhibit xylanase GH11 with greater potency than that of α-amylase GH13. A new form of XAIP (XAIP-II) that inhibits α-amylase GH13 with a greater potency than that of XAIP and xylanase GH11 with a lower potency than that of XAIP, has been identified in the extracts of underground bulbs of Scadoxus multiflorus. This kind of occurrence of isoforms of inhibitor proteins is a rare observation and offers new opportunities for understanding the principles of protein engineering by nature. Results: In order to determine the structural basis of the enhanced potency of XAIP-II against α-amylase GH13 and its reduced potency against xylanase GH11 as compared to that of XAIP, we have purified XAIP-II to homogeneity and obtained its complete amino acid sequence using cloning procedure. It has been crystallized with 0.1 M ammonium sulphate as the precipitating agent and the three-dimensional structure has been determined at 1.2 Å resolution. The binding studies of XAIP-II with xylanase GH11 and α-amylase GH13 have been carried out with surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Conclusion: The structure determination revealed that XAIP-II adopts the well known TIM barrel fold. The xylanase GH11 binding site in XAIP-II is formed mainly with loop α3-β3 (residues, 102 - 118) which has acquired a stereochemically less favorable conformation for binding to xylanase GH11 because of the addition of an extra residue, Ala105 and due to replacements of two important residues, His106 and Asn109 by Thr107 and Ser110. On the other hand, the α-amylase binding site, which consists of α-helices α6 (residues, 193 - 206), α7 (residues, 230 - 243) and loop β6-α6 (residues, 180 - 192) adopts a stereochemically more favorable conformation due to replacements of residues, Ser190, Gly191 and Glu194 by Ala191, Ser192 and Ser195 respectively in α-helix α6, Glu231 and His236 by Thr232 and Ser237 respectively in α-helix α7. As a result, XAIP-II binds to xylanase GH11 less favorably while it interacts more strongly with α-amylase GH13 as compared to XAIP. These observations correlate well with the values of 4.2 × 10-6 M and 3.4 × 10-8 M for the dissociation constants of XAIP-II with xylanase GH11 and α-amylase GH13 respectively and those of 4.5 × 10-7 M and 3.6 × 10-6 M of XAIP with xylanase GH11 and α-amylase GH13 respectively

Atypical clinical presentation of Ebola virus disease in pregnancy: Implications for clinical and public health management

Background Between December 2013 and June 2016, West Africa experienced the largest Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in history. Understanding EVD in pregnancy is important for EVD clinical screening and infection prevention and control. Methods We conducted a review of medical records and EVD investigation reports from three districts in Sierra Leone. We report the clinical presentations and maternal and fetal outcomes of six pregnant women with atypical EVD, and subsequent transmission events from perinatal care. Results The six women (ages 18–38) were all in the third trimester. Each presented with signs and symptoms initially attributed to pregnancy. None met EVD case definition; only one was known at presentation to be a contact of an EVD case. Five women died, and all six fetuses/neonates died. These cases resulted in at least 35 additional EVD cases. Conclusions These cases add to the sparse literature focusing on pregnant women with EVD, highlighting challenges and implications for outbreak control. Infected newborns may also present atypically and may shed virus while apparently asymptomatic. Pregnant women identified a priori as contacts of EVD cases require special attention and planning for obstetrical care

Enhancer Reprogramming Confers Dependence on Glycolysis and IGF Signaling in KMT2D Mutant Melanoma.

Histone methyltransferase KMT2D harbors frequent loss-of-function somatic point mutations in several tumor types, including melanoma. Here, we identify KMT2D as a potent tumor suppressor in melanoma through an in vivo epigenome-focused pooled RNAi screen and confirm the finding by using a genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) based on conditional and melanocyte-specific deletion of KMT2D. KMT2D-deficient tumors show substantial reprogramming of key metabolic pathways, including glycolysis. KMT2D deficiency aberrantly upregulates glycolysis enzymes, intermediate metabolites, and glucose consumption rates. Mechanistically, KMT2D loss causes genome-wide reduction of H3K4me1-marked active enhancer chromatin states. Enhancer loss and subsequent repression of IGFBP5 activates IGF1R-AKT to increase glycolysis in KMT2D-deficient cells. Pharmacological inhibition of glycolysis and insulin growth factor (IGF) signaling reduce proliferation and tumorigenesis preferentially in KMT2D-deficient cells. We conclude that KMT2D loss promotes tumorigenesis by facilitating an increased use of the glycolysis pathway for enhanced biomass needs via enhancer reprogramming, thus presenting an opportunity for therapeutic intervention through glycolysis or IGF pathway inhibitors

Galactic Core-Collapse Supernovae at IceCube: “Fire Drill” Data Challenges and follow-up

The next Galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make astrophysical measurements using neutrinos, gravitational waves, and electromagnetic radiation. CCSNe local to the Milky Way are extremely rare, so it is paramount that detectors are prepared to observe the signal when it arrives. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a gigaton water Cherenkov detector below the South Pole, is sensitive to the burst of neutrinos released by a Galactic CCSN at a level >10σ. This burst of neutrinos precedes optical emission by hours to days, enabling neutrinos to serve as an early warning for follow-up observation. IceCube\u27s detection capabilities make it a cornerstone of the global network of neutrino detectors monitoring for Galactic CCSNe, the SuperNova Early Warning System (SNEWS 2.0). In this contribution, we describe IceCube\u27s sensitivity to Galactic CCSNe and strategies for operational readiness, including "fire drill" data challenges. We also discuss coordination with SNEWS 2.0

All-Energy Search for Solar Atmospheric Neutrinos with IceCube

The interaction of cosmic rays with the solar atmosphere generates a secondary flux of mesons that decay into photons and neutrinos – the so-called solar atmospheric flux. Although the gamma-ray component of this flux has been observed in Fermi-LAT and HAWC Observatory data, the neutrino component remains undetected. The energy distribution of those neutrinos follows a soft spectrum that extends from the GeV to the multi-TeV range, making large Cherenkov neutrino telescopes a suitable for probing this flux. In this contribution, we will discuss current progress of a search for the solar neutrino flux by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory using all available data since 2011. Compared to the previous analysis which considered only high-energy muon neutrino tracks, we will additionally consider events produced by all flavors of neutrinos down to GeV-scale energies. These new events should improve our analysis sensitivity since the flux falls quickly with energy. Determining the magnitude of the neutrino flux is essential, since it is an irreducible background to indirect solar dark matter searches

TXS 0506+056 with Updated IceCube Data

Past results from the IceCube Collaboration have suggested that the blazar TXS 0506+056 is a potential source of astrophysical neutrinos. However, in the years since there have been numerous updates to event processing and reconstruction, as well as improvements to the statistical methods used to search for astrophysical neutrino sources. These improvements in combination with additional years of data have resulted in the identification of NGC 1068 as a second neutrino source candidate. This talk will re-examine time-dependent neutrino emission from TXS 0506+056 using the most recent northern-sky data sample that was used in the analysis of NGC 1068. The results of using this updated data sample to obtain a significance and flux fit for the 2014 TXS 0506+056 "untriggered" neutrino flare are reported