Isolation of Bacteria from Coal Mine Dust with Metal Nanoparticle Fabrication Ability

Nanoparticles being the smallest unit of nanotechnology are playing important roles in various fields. There are different kinds of nanoparticles ranging from metals to non-metals, and also from carbon sources. Though various methods have been optimized for synthesis of nanoparticles, still biological methods for synthesis of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles have drawn attention of different research groups due to their advantageous properties over physical and chemical methods. The objective of this study is to synthesize silver nanoparticles using bacteria isolated from coal mine. These bacteria are chosen assuming that they have beter quality for metal tolerance than normal bacteria. The silver nanoparticles are synthesized at the MIC value of AgNO3 against the isolated bacteria. The characterization of nanoparticles samples were done using different techniques like UV-Vis spectroscopy, DLS, FE-SEM, and ATR-FTIR proved that they are silver nanoparticles with coating of different bacterial moieties like proteins, carbohydrates, etc

Performance Analysis of HE Methods for Low Contrast Images

AbstractThe image enhancement is one of the important issues in image processing. The main purpose is to highlight certain characteristic of image such as: contrast, sharpening. Histogram equalization is the well-known method for image enhancement. Histogram equalization became a popular technique because it is simple and effective. However Histogram equalization cause excessive contrast enhancement which cause visual artifacts of processed image. In this paper new forms of histogram equalization are overviewed to overcome this drawback. The major difference among the methods is the way to divide the input histogram. Recursive exposure based sub-image histogram equalization (R_ESIHE) use average intensity value as the separating point. Median-mean based sub-image clipped histogram equalization (MMSICHE) and Quadrants dynamic histogram equalization for contrast enhancement (QDHE) use median intensity value as separating point. Here objective parameters are Peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and Absolute Mean Brightness Error (AMBE)used to compare the quality of enhancement

COVID-19 Lockdown and the Aerosphere in India: Lessons Learned on How to Reduce Air Pollution

The giant increase in COVID-19 infection across India forced the government to impose strict lockdown in order to curb the pandemic. Although the stringent restrictions crippled India’s economy and poor people’s livelihood, it significantly improved the air quality of most of the polluted cities of India and rejuvenated the atmosphere. Thus, the major objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of lockdown on pollutants prevailing in the atmosphere. A prominent decline in primary pollutants such as Particulate matter (PM), Black carbon (BC), Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), Carbon monoxide (CO) is observed across the country. However, lockdown had a trifling impact on Sulphur dioxide (SO2) concentration over some parts of India due to the constant operation of coal-fired thermal plants as a part of essential service. Furthermore, the sudden decline in NOx concentration disturbed the complex atmospheric chemistry and lead to an enhancement of surface ozone (O3) (secondary pollutant) in many cities of India. Thus, lockdown emerged as a unique opportunity for the atmospheric researchers, policymakers as well as stakeholders to collect baseline data of pollutants and their major sources. This will help to set new targets of air quality standards and to develop various mitigation processes to combat air pollution

Molecular insights into STAT1a protein in rohu (Labeo rohita): unveiling expression profiles, SRC homology domain recognition, and protein-protein interactions triggered by poly I: C

IntroductionSTAT1a is an essential signal transduction protein involved in the interferon pathway, playing a vital role in IFN-alpha/beta and gamma signaling. Limited information is available about the STAT protein in fish, particularly in Indian major carps (IMC). This study aimed to identify and characterize the STAT1a protein in Labeo rohita (LrSTAT1a).MethodsThe full-length CDS of LrSTAT1a transcript was identified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on the nucleotide sequences. The in-vivo immune stimulant poly I: C was used to treat various tissues, and the expression of LrSTAT1a was determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A 3D model of the STAT1a protein was generated using close structure homologs available in the database and checked using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.ResultsThe full-length CDS of Labeo rohita STAT1a (LrSTAT1a) transcript consisted of 3238 bp that encoded a polypeptide of 721 amino acids sequence was identified. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on the nucleotide sequences. Based on our findings, other vertebrates share a high degree of conservation with STAT1a. Additionally, we report that the in vivo immune stimulant poly I: C treatment of various tissues resulted in the expression of LrSTAT1a as determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). In the current investigation, treatment with poly I: C dramatically increased the expression of LrSTAT1a in nearly every organ and tissue, with the brain, muscle, kidney, and intestine showing the highest levels of expression compared to the control. We made a 3D model of the STAT1a protein by using close structure homologs that were already available in the database. The model was then checked using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Consistent with previous research, the MD study highlighted the significance of the STAT1a protein, which is responsible for Src homology 2 (SH2) recognition. An important H-bonding that successfully retains SH2 inside the STAT1a binding cavity was determined to be formed by the conserved residues SER107, GLN530, SER583, LYS584, MET103, and ALA106.DiscussionThis study provides molecular insights into the STAT1a protein in Rohu (Labeo rohita) and highlights the potential role of STAT1a in the innate immune response in fish. The high degree of conservation of STAT1a among other vertebrates suggests its crucial role in the immune response. The in-vivo immune stimulation results indicate that STAT1a is involved in the immune response in various tissues, with the brain, muscle, kidney, and intestine being the most responsive. The 3D model and MD study provide further evidence of the significance of STAT1a in the immune response, specifically in SH2 recognition. Further research is necessary to understand the specific mechanisms involved in the IFN pathway and the role of STAT1a in the immune response of IMC

Scalar Dark Matter and Radiative Dirac neutrino mass in an extended U(1)B−LU(1)_{B-L} model

We explore a gauged $U(1)_{B-L}$ extension of standard model with inclusion of three right-handed neutrinos of exotic $B-L$ charges to cancel the gauge anomaly. Non-trivial transformation of new particles under $B-L$ symmetry forbids the neutrino mass at tree level and hence a small Dirac mass can be generated radiatively at one loop with a doublet fermion and singlet scalar. We also discuss the phenomenology of a scalar dark matter, which can be obtained from the mixing of neutral CP even component of a doublet and real singlet scalar. An adhoc $Z_2$ symmetry is required in the current framework to stabilize the dark matter candidate. Presence of new particles with $Z_2$ odd charges and small mass splitting, makes the phenomenology more interesting by governing the relic density with co-annihilation processes. We explore the spin-independent direct detection constraints on dark matter via the scalar mediation. The new particle spectrum not only opens up new window for dark matter study but also satisfy the constraints from lepton flavor violating decay of $\mu \rightarrow e \gamma$.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figure

Activation of Host Cellular Signaling and Mechanism of Enterovirus 71 Viral Proteins Associated with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Enteroviruses are members of the Picornaviridae family consisting of human enterovirus groups A, B, C, and D as well as nonhuman enteroviruses. Human enterovirus type 71 (EV71) has emerged as a major cause of viral encephalitis, known as hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), in children worldwide, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. EV71 and coxsackievirus A16 are the two viruses responsible for HFMD which are members of group A enteroviruses. The identified EV71 receptors provide useful information for understanding viral replication and tissue tropism. Host factors interact with the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) of EV71 to regulate viral translation. However, the specific molecular features of the respective viral genome that determine virulence remain unclear. Although a vaccine is currently approved, there is no effective therapy for treating EV71-infected patients. Therefore, understanding the host-pathogen interaction could provide knowledge in viral pathogenesis and further benefits to anti-viral therapy development. The aim of this study was to investigate the latest findings about the interaction of viral ligands with the host receptors as well as the activation of immunerelated signaling pathways for innate immunity and the involvement of different cytokines and chemokines during host-pathogen interaction. The study also examined the roles of viral proteins, mainly 2A and 3C protease, interferons production and their inhibitory effects