Studies on Manganese(II), lron(II), Cobalt(II) & (III), Nickel(II), Copper(II) & Zinc(II) Complexes of Ethoxythiocarboxyl Hydrazide

704-70

Field dependent nilpotent symmetry for gauge theories

We construct the field dependent mixed BRST (combination of BRST and anti-BRST) transformations for pure gauge theories. These are shown to be an exact nilpotent symmetry of both the effective action as well as the generating functional for certain choices of the field dependent parameters. We show that the Jacobian contributions for path integral measure in the definition of generating functional arising from BRST and anti-BRST part compensate each other. The field dependent mixed BRST transformations are also considered in field/antifield formulation to show that the solutions of quantum master equation remain invariant under these. Our results are supported by several explicit examples.Comment: 25 pages, No figures, Revte

Thyroid profile in newly diagnosed male HIV patients: a study from North Western part of India

Background: The aim of this study was to determine proportion of newly diagnosed male HIV cases with thyroid dysfunction at different levels of CD4 counts.Methods: 195 newly diagnosed male HIV patients attending medical OPD, ART centre and medical wards of SMS Medical College and Hospital, during a period of May 2012 to April 2013 were enrolled in the study. These patients were divided in three groups on the basis of CD4 cell counts. Group A: CD4 counts 500/mm3.Results: We concluded a negative correlation between the CD4 counts and serum TSH level (r = -0.382) which was significant (p-value <0.05). Overall 32 (16.41%) patients had increased TSH, 4 (2.05%) patients had decreased and 159 (81.53%) patients had normal TSH level. Plasma TSH values in group A were higher than group B and C and they were highly significant (p<.001). Mean plasma TSH values in patients of group A, B and C was 4.56±3.60 µIU/mL (range: 1.10-17.74), 2.20±1.02 µIU/mL (range:0.24-4.22) and 2.23±1.06 µIU/mL (range:0.28-4.25) respectively. (Reference normal value = 0.4-4.0 µIU/mL). There was significantly positive correlation (p-value < 0.01) found between the CD4 counts and serum free T4 levels (r = +0.378).Conclusions: This study has demonstrated a high prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in HIV infected patients of this part of country. High prevalence of thyroid dysfunction may contribute to the morbidity of the patients and have a bearing on quality of life of the HIV infected patients. Severity of hypothyroidism was correlated with decreasing CD4 cell count

Entrepreneurship Development in Agriculture through Agro Processing Centre: a Case Study of Almora District in NW Himalaya

This study was conducted by Vivekananda Institute of Hill Agriculture, Almora (India) to enhance entrepreneurship in the unemployed educated youths in North-Western Himalayas, who otherwise are migrating from hills in search of employment and livelihood. An agro-processing centre (APC) was established with the institutional support and was operational through an entrepreneur. The establishment cost of INR 2,19,000 was borne by the institute. The entrepreneur invested INR 1,66,255 for purchasing raw food grains. Total annual cost (Operational cost + Rental value of APC and storage building) was INR 27956. Annual income of INR 95,145/- was generated from sale of the processed products in brand name of “HIMRAJ” apart from generating income of INR 27,867 by providing processing service to the nearby farmers. This way he earned the INR 1,23,012 as gross income, where as net income was INR 81,356 per annum. This case study shows that if an entrepreneur maintains the APC in effectively, he can generate sufficient income from processing and value-addition of food grains. As a result of this, youths in hills can be self-employed and will not migrate from hills in search of employment and livelihood security

The model for self-dual chiral bosons as a Hodge theory

We consider (1+1) dimensional theory for a single self-dual chiral boson as classical model for gauge theory. Using Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky (BFV) technique the nilpotent BRST and anti BRST symmetry transformations for this theory have been studied. In this model other forms of nilpotent symmetry transformations like co-BRST and anti co-BRST which leave the gauge-fixing part of the action invariant, are also explored. We show that the nilpotent charges for these symmetry transformations satisfy the algebra of de Rham cohomological operators in differential geometry. The Hodge decomposition theorem on compact manifold is also studied in the context of conserved charges.Comment: 19 pages, No figures, Revtex, Final version to appear in EPJ

Microbial cycling of isoprene, the most abundantly produced biological volatile organic compound on Earth

Isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene), the most abundantly produced biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) on Earth, is highly reactive and can have diverse and often detrimental atmospheric effects, which impact on climate and health. Most isoprene is produced by terrestrial plants, but (micro)algal production is important in aquatic environments, and the relative bacterial contribution remains unknown. Soils are a sink for isoprene, and bacteria that can use isoprene as a carbon and energy source have been cultivated and also identified using cultivation-independent methods from soils, leaves and coastal/marine environments. Bacteria belonging to the Actinobacteria are most frequently isolated and identified, and Proteobacteria have also been shown to degrade isoprene. In the freshwater-sediment isolate, Rhodococcus strain AD45, initial oxidation of isoprene to 1,2-epoxy-isoprene is catalyzed by a multicomponent isoprene monooxygenase encoded by the genes isoABCDEF. The resultant epoxide is converted to a glutathione conjugate by a glutathione S-transferase encoded by isoI, and further degraded by enzymes encoded by isoGHJ. Genome sequence analysis of actinobacterial isolates belonging to the genera Rhodococcus, Mycobacterium and Gordonia has revealed that isoABCDEF and isoGHIJ are linked in an operon, either on a plasmid or the chromosome. In Rhodococcus strain AD45 both isoprene and epoxy-isoprene induce a high level of transcription of 22 contiguous genes, including isoABCDEF and isoGHIJ. Sequence analysis of the isoA gene, encoding the large subunit of the oxygenase component of isoprene monooxygenase, from isolates has facilitated the development of PCR primers that are proving valuable in investigating the ecology of uncultivated isoprene-degrading bacteria

WISDOM-II: Screening against multiple targets implicated in malaria using computational grid infrastructures

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite continuous efforts of the international community to reduce the impact of malaria on developing countries, no significant progress has been made in the recent years and the discovery of new drugs is more than ever needed. Out of the many proteins involved in the metabolic activities of the <it>Plasmodium </it>parasite, some are promising targets to carry out rational drug discovery.</p> <p>Motivation</p> <p>Recent years have witnessed the emergence of grids, which are highly distributed computing infrastructures particularly well fitted for embarrassingly parallel computations like docking. In 2005, a first attempt at using grids for large-scale virtual screening focused on plasmepsins and ended up in the identification of previously unknown scaffolds, which were confirmed in vitro to be active plasmepsin inhibitors. Following this success, a second deployment took place in the fall of 2006 focussing on one well known target, dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), and on a new promising one, glutathione-S-transferase.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In silico drug design, especially vHTS is a widely and well-accepted technology in lead identification and lead optimization. This approach, therefore builds, upon the progress made in computational chemistry to achieve more accurate <it>in silico </it>docking and in information technology to design and operate large scale grid infrastructures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>On the computational side, a sustained infrastructure has been developed: docking at large scale, using different strategies in result analysis, storing of the results on the fly into MySQL databases and application of molecular dynamics refinement are MM-PBSA and MM-GBSA rescoring. The modeling results obtained are very promising. Based on the modeling results, <it>In vitro </it>results are underway for all the targets against which screening is performed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The current paper describes the rational drug discovery activity at large scale, especially molecular docking using FlexX software on computational grids in finding hits against three different targets (PfGST, PfDHFR, PvDHFR (wild type and mutant forms) implicated in malaria. Grid-enabled virtual screening approach is proposed to produce focus compound libraries for other biological targets relevant to fight the infectious diseases of the developing world.</p

Gene probing reveals the widespread distribution, diversity and abundance of isoprene-degrading bacteria in the environment

Background: Approximately 500 Tg of isoprene are emitted to the atmosphere annually, an amount similar to that of methane, and despite its significant effects on the climate, very little is known about the biological degradation of isoprene in the environment. Isolation and characterisation of isoprene degraders at the molecular level has allowed the development of probes targeting isoA encoding the α-subunit of the isoprene monooxygenase. This enzyme belongs to the soluble diiron centre monooxygenase family and catalyses the first step in the isoprene degradation pathway. The use of probes targeting key metabolic genes is a successful approach in molecular ecology to study specific groups of bacteria in complex environments. Here, we developed and tested a novel isoA PCR primer set to study the distribution, abundance, and diversity of isoprene degraders in a wide range of environments. Results: The new isoA probes specifically amplified isoA genes from taxonomically diverse isoprene-degrading bacteria including members of the genera Rhodococcus, Variovorax, and Sphingopyxis. There was no cross-reactivity with genes encoding related oxygenases from non-isoprene degraders. Sequencing of isoA amplicons from DNA extracted from environmental samples enriched with isoprene revealed that most environments tested harboured a considerable variety of isoA sequences, with poplar leaf enrichments containing more phylogenetically diverse isoA genes. Quantification by qPCR using these isoA probes revealed that isoprene degraders are widespread in the phyllosphere, terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Specifically, soils in the vicinity of high isoprene-emitting trees contained the highest number of isoprene-degrading bacteria. Conclusion: This study provides the molecular ecology tools to broaden our knowledge of the distribution, abundance and diversity of isoprene degraders in the environment, which is a fundamental step necessary to assess the impact that microbes have in mitigating the effects of this important climate-active gas

Potassium balance as influenced by farmyard manure application under continuous soybean–wheat cropping system in a Typic Haplaquept

Metadata onlyThe effect of 30 years of continuous cropping, fertilization and manuring on the potassium (K) balances, the soil K pools and the nonexchangeable K release in a Typic Haplaquept soil from Almora, India under a rainfed soybean–wheat cropping system were investigated. The apparent K balance was measured as the difference between the total K added and that removed by the crops. The results showed that the total removal of K by the crops exceeded the amount of total K applied to the soil in all the treatments showing a net negative K balance. This ranged from 3.7 in the plots under NK to 81.7 kg ha−1 year−1 in the N+FYM treated plots. Continuous annual application of recommended doses of NPK+10 t FYM (NPK+FYM) to soybean resulted in an accumulation (+56 kg K ha−1) of exchangeable K (1 N NH4OAc extractable K) in the 0–45 cm soil depth over the study period, despite the highest average annual uptake of K by the system (150.8 kg ha−1 year−1). However, there was a net depletion of exchangeable K (−80 kg K ha−1) in that soil depth under the NPK treated plots. The results also revealed that the content of non-exchangeable K decreased substantially from 3482 kg ha−1 to 2677 and 2896 kg ha−1 in the 0–45 cm soil layer after 30 years of cropping in the plots under NPK+FYM and NPK treatments, respectively. There was a significant decline in total soil K with the removal of non-exchangeable soil K in the surface (0–15 cm) soil layer (R2=0.526,Pb0.001, n=36). Thus, long-term application of non-revised recommended fertilizer rates may threaten sustainability of the rainfed continuous soybean–wheat system