Isolation and Chracterization of Ficus bengalensis Linn.

Medicinal herbs have a prominent role in human health care. The imposing banyan tree of poetry and legend is a store-house of invaluable remedies for some of the deadliest diseases. Ficus benghalensis Linn. synonyms being Ficus indica Linn.and Ficus cotonaeifolia belongs to the family Moraceae. Present study include phytochemical screening of Ficus benghalensis evidenced that chloroform fraction of Ficus benghalensis Linn shows comparatively better than aqueous fraction and hydro-alcoholic extract. The isolated phytochemical from chloroform fraction of Ficus benghalensis Linn was found as a white amorphous solid compound with melting point of 169-1700C and responded positively to the Salkowski’s test and Lieberman-Burchard test for steroids and triterpenes. Keywords: Ficus benghalensis, triterpenes, heamoptysi

Protein/energy ratio and HUFA content in the diet of Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1878) fingerlings: Effect on growth and flesh quality

A 60 day feeding trial was conducted to study the effect of varying levels of protein/energy (P/E) ratio and highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) supplemented diet on growth and flesh quality parameters of Pangasianodon hypophthalmus fingerlings. One hundred and eighty fingerlings of uniform weight (4.32±0.08g) were randomly distributed into five treatment groups with three replications. The five different treatment groups were: Control - T0H0 (basal feed+117 mg/kcal, P/E ratio); T1H0 (basal feed +100 mg/kcal, P/E ratio); T2H0 (basal feed +133 mg/kcal, P/E ratio); T3H1 (basal feed +100 mg/kcal, P/E ratio+1% HUFA) and T4H1 (basal feed + 133 mg/kcal, P/E ratio+1% HUFA). Significantly higher (P<0.05) weight gain (WG) %, specific growth rate (SGR), and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) were observed in the T4H1 and T2H0 groups. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) were lowest in the T4H1 group. T3H1 and T4H1 groups manifested significantly higher (P<0.05) value for flesh quality indices such as springiness, adhesiveness, gumminess, and chewiness. Lowest hardness value was found in T4H1 group. Significantly higher (P<0.05) EPA and DHA deposition in fish muscle was observed in T4H1 group. Protease activity was higher in T4H1 group followed by T2H0 group and lowest in T1H0 group. Amylase activity was lower in T2H0 and T4H1 groups. Overall results revealed that P/E ratio of 133 mg/kcal with additional supplementation of 1% HUFA in the diet enhances growth and improves flesh quality of P. hypophthalmus fingerling

Alteration in haematological and biochemical parameters of Catla catla exposed to sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin

A 60-day experiment was carried out to study the effect of sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin (1/10th of LC50) exposure on haematological and biochemical parameters of the Indian major carp, Catla catla fingerlings. Under exposure, the total erythrocyte count, total leucocyte count, haemoglobin content and haematocrit were decreased. All the studied serum parameters viz. total serum protein, albumin, globulin contents and albumin–globulin ratio were significantly decreased in cypermethrin-exposed fishes. A marked increase was recorded in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities in liver, whereas lactate dehydrogenase activity of muscle and acetylcholine esterase activity in brain were inhibited in cypermethrin-exposed fish. The membrane transport enzymes (total adenosine triphosphatase, sodium–potassium adenosine triphosphatase and magnesium adenosine triphosphatase) activities were decreased significantly in the gills of C. catla exposed to sub-lethal concentration of cypermethrin. The present study indicates that sub-lethal exposure of C. catla fingerlings to cypermethrin alters the haematological and biochemical parameters

A preoperative predictive tool to assess the need for staging laparoscopy in oesophagogastric cancer patients

INTRODUCTION: Staging laparoscopy (SL) has become commonplace in the preoperative staging pathway for oesophagogastric (OG) cancer. SL is often performed before curative treatment to examine for macroscopic peritoneal metastases (PM) or positive peritoneal cytology (PPC). The aim of this study was to develop an objective risk scoring system to predict both PM and PPC at SL.METHODS: A prospectively collected and maintained database of all OG cancer patients treated between 2006 and 2020 was reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors for both PM and PPC at SL. A risk score was produced for both PM and PPC, and then validated internally.RESULTS: Among 968 patients who underwent SL, 96 (9.9%) had PM and 81 (8.4%) had PPC at SL. Tumour site ( p &lt; 0.001), computed tomography (CT) T stage ( p &lt; 0.001) and N stage ( p = 0.029) were significantly associated with PM at SL ( p &lt; 0.001). Tumour site ( p &lt; 0.001), biopsy histology ( p = 0.041), CT T stage ( p &lt; 0.001) and N stage ( p &lt; 0.001) were significantly associated with PPC. The risk scoring model for PM included cancer site and CT T stage. This was successfully tested on the validation set (area under the receiver operating characteristic [AUROC] = 0.730). The risk scoring model for PPC included cancer site, CT T and N stage. This was successfully tested on the validation set (AUROC = 0.773). CONCLUSIONS: The current risk scores are valid tools with which to predict the risk PM and PPC in patients undergoing SL for OG cancer and may help to avoid subjecting patients to unnecessary SL.</p

Synergistic Wear-Corrosion Analysis and Modelling of Nanocomposite Coatings.

This paper presents analysis and modelling of synergistic wear-corrosion performance of Nickel-Graphene (Ni/GPL) nanocomposite coating and compares it with un-coated steel 1020 under reciprocating-sliding contact. A novel synergistic wear-corrosion prediction model incorporating Archard description with nano-mechanics and electrochemistry was developed for Ni/GPL and steel 1020. The model is equally applicable to any kind of nanocomposite coating and bulk material like metals. For various nanocomposite coatings; their respective mechanical parameters should be used as inputs such as poisons ratio (v), Elastic Modulus (E), Hardness (H), Coefficient of Thermal Elastic mismatch (CTE) and intrinsic grain size (Do). The synergistic wear-corrosion effects were significantly-prominent in steel compared to Ni/GPL especially under contaminated lubricating oil conditions. This behaviour of Ni/GPL attributes to compact, refined grain structure leading to minimal grain pull-out during wear cycles which was also assured by less severe micro-ploughing in Ni/GPL compared to severe micro-cutting in steel. The predictions and experimental results were in good-agreement. Modelling of synergistic effects of wear-corrosion applied to nano-composite coatings have never been presented prior to this research. The significance of this work in terms of precision based wear-corrosion synergistic analysis, modelling and predictive techniques is evident from various industrial applications. This work will bring impacts for both in-situ and remote sensor based condition monitoring techniques to automotive, locomotive, aerospace, precision manufacturing and wind turbine industries

The Spectrum of Acute Cerebrovascular Disease in Patients with COVID-19

Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. (1) Background: COVID-19 infection is responsible for the ongoing pandemic and acute cerebrovascular disease (CVD) has been observed in COVID-19 patients. (2) Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational study of hospitalized adult patients admitted to our hospital with SARS-CoV-2 and acute cerebrovascular disease. All clinical data were reviewed including epidemiology, clinical features, laboratory data, neuroradiological findings, hospital management and course from 32 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 management with acute cerebrovascular disease. (3) Results: Acute CVD with COVID-19 was associated with higher NIH stroke scale on discharge compared to non-COVID-19 CVDs. Seizures complicated the hospital course in 16% of COVID-19 patients with CVD. The majority of the acute CVDs were ischemic (81%) in nature followed by hemorrhagic (22%). Acute CVD with COVID-19 resulted in average hospital stays greater than twice that of the control group (13 days in COVID-19, 5 days in control). Acute CVD with COVID-19 patients had worse clinical outcomes with 31% patient deaths and 6% discharged to hospice. In the control group, 6% of patients died. (4) Conclusions: Acute CVD associated with COVID-19 tends to be more complicated with unique and adverse clinical phenotype, longer hospital admissions, and worse clinical outcomes.Royal Society Wolfson Fellowshi

Chitosan nanoparticles having higher degree of acetylation induce resistance against pearl millet downy mildew through nitric oxide generation

Downy mildew of pearl millet caused by the biotrophic oomycete Sclerospora graminicola is the most devastating disease which impairs pearl millet production causing huge yield and monetary losses. Chitosan nanoparticles (CNP) were synthesized from low molecular weight chitosan having higher degree of acetylation was evaluated for their efficacy against downy mildew disease of pearl millet caused by Sclerospora graminicola. Laboratory studies showed that CNP seed treatment significantly enhanced pearl millet seed germination percentage and seedling vigor compared to the control. Seed treatment with CNP induced systemic and durable resistance and showed significant downy mildew protection under greenhouse conditions in comparison to the untreated control. Seed treatment with CNP showed changes in gene expression profiles wherein expression of genes of phenylalanine ammonia lyase, peroxidase, polyphenoloxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase were highly upregulated. CNP treatment resulted in earlier and higher expression of the pathogenesis related proteins PR1 and PR5. Downy mildew protective effect offered by CNP was found to be modulated by nitric oxide and treatment with CNP along with NO inhibitors cPTIO completely abolished the gene expression of defense enzymes and PR proteins. Further, comparative analysis of CNP with Chitosan revealed that the very small dosage of CNP performed at par with recommended dose of Chitosan for downy mildew management

Cotton in the new millennium: advances, economics, perceptions and problems

Cotton is the most significant natural fibre and has been a preferred choice of the textile industry and consumers since the industrial revolution began. The share of man-made fibres, both regenerated and synthetic fibres, has grown considerably in recent times but cotton production has also been on the rise and accounts for about half of the fibres used for apparel and textile goods. To cotton’s advantage, the premium attached to the presence of cotton fibre and the general positive consumer perception is well established, however, compared to commodity man-made fibres and high performance fibres, cotton has limitations in terms of its mechanical properties but can help to overcome moisture management issues that arise with performance apparel during active wear. This issue of Textile Progress aims to: i. Report on advances in cotton cultivation and processing as well as improvements to conventional cotton cultivation and ginning. The processing of cotton in the textile industry from fibre to finished fabric, cotton and its blends, and their applications in technical textiles are also covered. ii. Explore the economic impact of cotton in different parts of the world including an overview of global cotton trade. iii. Examine the environmental perception of cotton fibre and efforts in organic and genetically-modified (GM) cotton production. The topic of naturally-coloured cotton, post-consumer waste is covered and the environmental impacts of cotton cultivation and processing are discussed. Hazardous effects of cultivation, such as the extensive use of pesticides, insecticides and irrigation with fresh water, and consequences of the use of GM cotton and cotton fibres in general on the climate are summarised and the effects of cotton processing on workers are addressed. The potential hazards during cotton cultivation, processing and use are also included. iv. Examine how the properties of cotton textiles can be enhanced, for example, by improving wrinkle recovery and reducing the flammability of cotton fibre