Deep-sea benthic foraminiferal changes in the Eastern Indian Ocean (ODP Hole 757B): their links to deep Indonesian (Pacific) flow and high latitude glaciation during the Neogene

This study analyses 26.5 Ma record of deep-sea benthic foraminifera from 194 samples from Ocean Drilling Program Hole 757B (latitude 17°01.458' S, longitude 88°10.899' E, water depth of 1652.1 m) located on the Ninetyeast Ridge, southeastern Indian Ocean below equatorial divergence zone. The data document important changes in benthic foraminiferal population at Hole 757B since the late Oligocene. The welloxygenated, oligotrophic species including Cibicides cicatricosus, C. pseudoungerianus and Oridorsalis umbonatus were dominant during the late Oligocene to the early Miocene. These species began to decline as site 757 moved northward into the influence of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) beneath surface and subsurface water masses from the Pacific Ocean. Cibicides cicatricosus and C. pseudoungerianus disappeared in the late Miocene (10-8 Ma) at Hole 757B. The lower bathyal to abyssal species Nuttallides umbonifera shows a major increase at ~11.5 Ma coinciding with a significant increase in Neodymium (Nd) isotope values, indicating substantial transport of deep Pacific water to the Indian Ocean through the Indonesian seaway. Nuttallides umbonifera decreases drastically during 3-2.8 Ma, though the Nd isotope values do not show a decrease. We relate this change to a low sample resolution in the latter study. This event coincides with the final closure of the Indonesian seaway and a switch in shallow ITF source from warm, saline South Pacific to cool, fresh North Pacific thermocline water, which triggered global cooling and major expansion of Northern Hemisphere glaciation

Biodegradable nanoparticles are excellent vehicle for site directed in-vivo delivery of drugs and vaccines

Biodegradable nanoparticles (NPs) are gaining increased attention for their ability to serve as a viable carrier for site specific delivery of vaccines, genes, drugs and other biomolecules in the body. They offer enhanced biocompatibility, superior drug/vaccine encapsulation, and convenient release profiles for a number of drugs, vaccines and biomolecules to be used in a variety of applications in the field of medicine. In this manuscript, the methods of preparation of biodegradable NPs, different factors affecting optimal drug encapsulation, factors affecting drug release rates, various surface modifications of nanoparticles to enhance in-vivo circulation, distribution and multimodal functionalities along with the specific applications such as tumor targeting, oral delivery, and delivery of these particles to the central nervous system have been reviewed

Can prostaglandin E1 (Misoprostol) be an alternative to prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) for induction of labor in prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM) after 34 weeks period of gestation

Background: To compare efficacy and safety of prostaglandin E1 (misoprostol) to prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) for induction of labor in prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM) after 34 weeks period of gestation and its use as an alternative to PGE1.Methods: 80 women were recruited in this prospective interventional study who was admitted with PROM after 34 weeks of period of gestation for delivery. These women who were planned for induction of labor were alternately assign into two groups i.e. Misoprostol group (n = 40) who received Tab misoprostol 50 mcg orally 4 hourly (h) maximum of five doses and PGE2 group (n = 40) received PGE2 gel intracervically every 6 h for maximum of 3 doses. Analysis regarding safety and efficacy of the drugs was done with regards to maternal and perinatal outcome.Results: Out of 80 women, 40 received misoprostol and 40 received PGE2 gel. The intervention to induction interval was significantly less in PGE2 group (p-0.004) whereas the induction to delivery interval was similar in both groups (p- 0.628). Significant number of women delivered vaginally without need for oxytocin in misoprostol group, (p- 0.039) however there was no statistical difference in both groups as far as overall vaginal deliveries and caesarean section are concerned. Comparable neonatal and maternal morbidities were noted in both groups.Conclusions: Oral misoprostol can be used as an alternative to PGE2 gel for induction of labor after 34 weeks of period of gestation in women with PROM as it was found to be safe and effective in achieving vaginal deliveries with reduced need for oxytocin, without increasing maternal and neonatal morbidity.

ANION INDUCED BLUE TO PURPLE TRANSITION IN BACTERIORHODOPSIN

Purple membrane (PM, λ role= presentation \u3eλmax role= presentation \u3emax 570 nm) of H. halobium on treatment with sulphuric acid changes its colour to blue (λ role= presentation \u3eλmax role= presentation \u3emax 608 nm). The purple chromophore can be regenerated from the blue chromophore by exogeneous addition of anions such as CI− role= presentation \u3e− and HPO42− role= presentation \u3e2−4. Chloride ion is found to be more effective than the dibasic phosphate ion in regenerating the purple chromophore. Nevertheless, one thing common to the anion regeneration is that both CI− role= presentation \u3e− and HPO42− role= presentation \u3e2−4 show marked pH effect. At pH 1.0 the efficiency of regeneration of the purple chromophore is greater than at pH 2.0, for the same anion concentration. Fluorescence and circular dichroic studies indicate that the proteins do not undergo drastic changes at the secondary\u27 or tertiary structure level and the native structure is preserved during this transition. However, chromophoric-site interactions between retinal and the apoprotein are affected during this colour transition. A molecular mechanism is advanced for this transition

Designing an Energy Efficient Network Using Integration of KSOM, ANN and Data Fusion Techniques

Energy in a wireless sensor network (WSN) is rendered as the major constraint that affects the overall feasibility and performance of a network. With the dynamic and demanding requirements of diverse applications, the need for an energy efficient network persists. Therefore, this paper proposes a mechanism for optimizing the energy consumption in WSN through the integration of artificial neural networks (ANN) and Kohonen self-organizing map (KSOM) techniques. The clusters are formed and re-located after iteration for effective distribution of energy and reduction of energy depletion at individual nodes. Furthermore, back propagation algorithm is used as a supervised learning method for optimizing the approach and reducing the loss function. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed energy efficient network

Influence of Drought and Sowing Time on Protein Composition, Antinutrients, and Mineral Contents of Wheat

The present study in a two-year experiment investigated the influence of drought and sowing time on protein composition, antinutrients, and mineral contents of wheat whole meal of two genotypes differing in their water requirements. Different thermal conditions prevailing during the grain filling period under different sowing time generated a large effect on the amount of total soluble proteins. Late sown conditions offered higher protein content accompanied by increased albumin-globulin but decreased glutenin content. Fe content was increased to 20–23%; however, tannin decreased to 18–35% under early sown rain-fed conditions as compared to irrigated timely sown conditions in both the genotypes. Activity of trypsin inhibitor was decreased under rain-fed conditions in both genotypes. This study inferred that variable sowing times and irrigation practices can be used for inducing variation in different wheat whole meal quality characteristics. Lower temperature prevailing under early sown rain-fed conditions; resulted in higher protein content. Higher Fe and lower tannin contents were reported under early sown rain-fed conditions however, late sown conditions offered an increase in phytic acid accompanied by decreased micronutrients and glutenin contents