Beneficial Role of Mushroom in Recovering Complications of Hypercholesterolemia

Mushrooms are considered as a valuable source of important nutrients having hepatoprotective and anti-hyperlipidemic actions. Present experimental research was done to explore the beneficial role of mushroom on health in hypercholesterolemia. Total thirty Swiss albino mice were taken and randomly divided into three groups: control A, group B and group C. Each group consisted of ten mice. The control A group was fed with normal mice pellet and fresh water. Group B was fed with hypercholesterolemic diet and group C was supplied hypercholesterolemic diet with mushroom powder (500g/kg/mice body weight) for 60 days. After the experimental tenure, mice of each group were sacrificed ethically and the samples (liver and blood) were collected for gross, histological study and lipid profile analysis.  Increased liver weight, pale and hemorrhagic liver in gross observation along with some histological changes including dilation and congestion of central and portal vein, fat accumulation in hepatocyte and marked lymphocytic infiltration were found in group B, while mushroom supplementation recovered this gross and histological changes and reduced liver weight in group C. Just mild congestion and dilation was in the portal vein of group C. In lipid profile analysis, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) level significantly reduced respectively by 10%, 38% and 17% in group C than group B. High density lipoprotein (HDL) level also significantly increased by 20% in group C compared to group B. Therefore, it can be concluded that mushrooms might have potentially beneficial actions in recovering of some complications in hypercholesterolemia

Potential Renal Effects of Cigarette Smoking in the Diabetic State-A review

Diabetes is an alarming global systemic metabolic disorder that can pose a major threat to patients. The serious consequences of cigarette smoking on the diabetic kidney are not well known among people in different countries. According to different studies, smoking enhances albuminuria in diabetic patients. On the other hand, urinary albumin is a sensitive indicator of glomerular injury. The abnormal trans-glomerular passage of albumin may be seen due to increased permeability of the glomerular capillary wall and their subsequent impaired reabsorption by the epithelial cells of the proximal tubule. Smoking with hyperglycemia increases lipid accumulation and oxidative stress, which mainly up-regulates TGF-β, accumulates AGEs, reduces nitric oxide production, and eventually causes glomerular basement membrane thickening and mesangial expansion that results in the development of glomerulosclerosis and nephropathy. The complex interaction between cigarette smoking and diabetic mellitus poses multiple challenges for researchers, physicians, and patients. Therefore, the present review article aims to find out the feasible consequences for the kidney of a diabetic patient due to the habit of cigarette smoking which may be useful for academicians and researchers in the future

Prevalence of some common bacterial diseases in commercial poultry farm

Bacterial disease of poultry is one of the major constraints to the expansion of poultry industry. The study was undertaken to investigate some common bacterial diseases in commercial poultry farm. A total of 100 sick and dead chickens (67 broilers, 26 layers and 7 sonali) were collected from different poultry farms which were subjected to postmortem examination for tentative diagnosis. After the post-mortem examination, out of 100 collected dead chickens, bacterial diseases were confirmed 58 %. Among them 52 % of the chickens were diagnosed tentatively to be the case of colibacillosis, 4 % salmonellosis, and 2 % of fowl cholera. In post-mortem examination, some pathological lesions like: omphalitis, fibrinopurulent fluid accumulation in peritoneal cavity, air sacculitis, pericarditis and perihepatitis, extreme congestion and septicemia in intestine for colibacillosis infection; unabsorbed yolk mass, bronze discoloration and friable liver, hemorrhages in spleen, misshaped ova for salmonellosis as well as swollen and hardening of comb, congestion of skin, multiple pin point pale color necrotic lesion on liver, pin point hemorrhage on fat muscle of heart were observed for fowl cholera infection. Hence, this study will definitely help to perceive the prevalence of common bacterial diseases like colibacillosis, salmonellosis and fowl cholera infection in commercial poultry farm

Global, regional, and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, and affects people regardless of country, age group, or sex. Using the most recent evidentiary and analytical framework from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD), we produced location-specific, age-specific, and sex-specific estimates of diabetes prevalence and burden from 1990 to 2021, the proportion of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in 2021, the proportion of the type 2 diabetes burden attributable to selected risk factors, and projections of diabetes prevalence through 2050. Methods Estimates of diabetes prevalence and burden were computed in 204 countries and territories, across 25 age groups, for males and females separately and combined; these estimates comprised lost years of healthy life, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs; defined as the sum of years of life lost [YLLs] and years lived with disability [YLDs]). We used the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) approach to estimate deaths due to diabetes, incorporating 25 666 location-years of data from vital registration and verbal autopsy reports in separate total (including both type 1 and type 2 diabetes) and type-specific models. Other forms of diabetes, including gestational and monogenic diabetes, were not explicitly modelled. Total and type 1 diabetes prevalence was estimated by use of a Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, to analyse 1527 location-years of data from the scientific literature, survey microdata, and insurance claims; type 2 diabetes estimates were computed by subtracting type 1 diabetes from total estimates. Mortality and prevalence estimates, along with standard life expectancy and disability weights, were used to calculate YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs. When appropriate, we extrapolated estimates to a hypothetical population with a standardised age structure to allow comparison in populations with different age structures. We used the comparative risk assessment framework to estimate the risk-attributable type 2 diabetes burden for 16 risk factors falling under risk categories including environmental and occupational factors, tobacco use, high alcohol use, high body-mass index (BMI), dietary factors, and low physical activity. Using a regression framework, we forecast type 1 and type 2 diabetes prevalence through 2050 with Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and high BMI as predictors, respectively. Findings In 2021, there were 529 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 500–564) people living with diabetes worldwide, and the global age-standardised total diabetes prevalence was 6·1% (5·8–6·5). At the super-region level, the highest age-standardised rates were observed in north Africa and the Middle East (9·3% [8·7–9·9]) and, at the regional level, in Oceania (12·3% [11·5–13·0]). Nationally, Qatar had the world’s highest age-specific prevalence of diabetes, at 76·1% (73·1–79·5) in individuals aged 75–79 years. Total diabetes prevalence—especially among older adults—primarily reflects type 2 diabetes, which in 2021 accounted for 96·0% (95·1–96·8) of diabetes cases and 95·4% (94·9–95·9) of diabetes DALYs worldwide. In 2021, 52·2% (25·5–71·8) of global type 2 diabetes DALYs were attributable to high BMI. The contribution of high BMI to type 2 diabetes DALYs rose by 24·3% (18·5–30·4) worldwide between 1990 and 2021. By 2050, more than 1·31 billion (1·22–1·39) people are projected to have diabetes, with expected age-standardised total diabetes prevalence rates greater than 10% in two super-regions: 16·8% (16·1–17·6) in north Africa and the Middle East and 11·3% (10·8–11·9) in Latin America and Caribbean. By 2050, 89 (43·6%) of 204 countries and territories will have an age-standardised rate greater than 10%.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Raman scattering, microstructural and dielectric studies on Ba1-xCaxBi4Ti4O15 ceramics

Polycrystalline powders of Ba1-xCaxBi4Ti4O15 (where x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1) were prepared via the conventional solid-state reaction route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman scattering techniques have been employed to probe into the structural changes on changing x. XRD analyses confirmed the formation of monophasic bismuth layered structure of all the above compositions with an increase in orthorhombic distortion with increase in x. Raman spectra revealed a redshift in A(1g) peak and an increase in the B-2g/B-3g splitting with increasing Ca content. The average grain size was found to increase with increasing x. The temperature of the maximum dielectric constant (T-m) increased linearly with increasing Ca-content whereas the diffuseness of the phase transition was found to decrease with the end member CaBi4Ti4O15 showing a frequency independent sharp phase transition around 1048 K. Ca doping resulted in a decrease in the remnant polarization and an increase in the coercive field. Ba0.75Ca0.25Bi4Ti4O15 ceramics showed an enhanced piezoelectric coefficient d(33) of 15 pC N-1 at room temperature. Low values of dielectric losses and tunability of temperature coefficient of dielectric constant (tau(epsilon)) in the present solid-solution suggest that these compounds can be of potential use in microwave dielectrics at high temperatures. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

DNA barcoding inferred maternal philopatric affinity of ocean maskray (Neotrygon indica) in the Bay of Bengal

The Indian Ocean maskray, Neotrygon indica, is a recently described species from the Bay of Bengal in the eastern coast of India. The conspicuous morphology and less genetic information of this group are often confusing for their identity and phylogeography. In this study, we have collected the specimens from Odisha coast in eastern India and generated the DNA barcode data for comparative analysis with publicly available barcodes of N. indica and other congeners. The morphological characters are similar to the previous record of N. indica. However, the generated barcode data of N. indica showed 2.2–8.0% inter-species genetic distances with the other six species. The studied population of N. indica showed 0.2–1.5% genetic distances with a different known population (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Bangladesh) in the Bay of Bengal. The BA phylogeny revealed monophyletic clustering of all the studied species. Henceforth, the shallow genetic divergences within the different population of N. indica depicted possible female precise natal philopatric affinity within their range distribution. To corroborate this unique phylogeographic structure, this study evoked more rigorous sampling and detailing with other molecular markers. This study also exhibits the expand range distribution of N. indica beyond its type locality and furnishes a new state record for Odisha. Our data would be a valuable resource for further studies on genetic diversity of N. indica and related species, which will provide new insights for better conservation plans

Raman scattering, microstructural and dielectric studies on Ba1-xCaxBi4Ti4O15 ceramics

Polycrystalline powders of Ba1−xCaxBi4Ti4O15 (where x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1) were prepared via the conventional solid-state reaction route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman scattering techniques have been employed to probe into the structural changes on changing x. XRD analyses confirmed the formation of monophasic bismuth layered structure of all the above compositions with an increase in orthorhombic distortion with increase in x. Raman spectra revealed a redshift in A1g peak and an increase in the B2g/B3g splitting with increasing Ca content. The average grain size was found to increase with increasing x. The temperature of the maximum dielectric constant (Tm) increased linearly with increasing Ca-content whereas the diffuseness of the phase transition was found to decrease with the end member CaBi4Ti4O15 showing a frequency independent sharp phase transition around 1048 K. Ca doping resulted in a decrease in the remnant polarization and an increase in the coercive field. Ba0.75Ca0.25Bi4Ti4O15 ceramics showed an enhanced piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 15 pC N−1 at room temperature. Low values of dielectric losses and tunability of temperature coefficient of dielectric constant (τɛ) in the present solid-solution suggest that these compounds can be of potential use in microwave dielectrics at high temperature

DNA barcoding adjudicate two different morphs of Bascanichthys deraniyagalai (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae): re-description and first record from Chilika lagoon, India

Morphological characters and distribution pattern of the snake eel, Bascanichthys deraniyagalai is debatable during the past half-century. Thus, the species is re-described herewith by morphometry, vertebrae, and molecular data. In recent Chilika expedition in India, we have collected 10 specimens and observed a vertebral count dimorphism. The present study distinctly detected two vertebral groups of B. deraniyagalai: first group with 5 predorsal vertebrae, 81–83 preanal vertebrae, 190–196 total vertebrae in females; however, the sex of the second group with 5 predorsal vertebrae, 72–74 preanal vertebrae, 176–178 total vertebrae was not able to confirm. Further, the molecular data of morphologically identified two distinct groups of B. deraniyagalai shows negligible Kimura 2 parameter genetic divergence and cohesive clustering in Neighbor-Joining phylogeny proved to be the two different morphs of the same species. Hence, the present study indicated there might be vertebral count or sexual dimorphism in B. deraniyagalai, which need further sampling and taxonomic revision to unwrap the fact