ISOLATION AND SCREENING OF ANTAGONISTIC ACTINOMYCETES FROM MANGROVE SOIL

ABSTRACT:Objective: The objective of the present study was to isolate and screen the antagonistic actinomycetes from mangrove soil in Visakhapatnam.Methods: A total of 30 actinomycetes isolates were isolated by serial dilution plate technique, of these 20 isolates showed activity in primary screening against test pathogens used in this study. The active isolates were morphologically discrete on the basis of spore mass, colour, formation of aerial and substrate mycelia, production of diffusible pigment and biochemical characterization. The active isolates were subjected to shake flask fermentation and the secondary metabolites were extracted with ethyl acetate and screened for their antimicrobial activities against selected bacterial and fungal pathogens by agar well diffusion method.Results: Out of 20 isolates, 13 isolates exhibited both antibacterial and antifungal activity and 7 isolates showed only antibacterial activity and did not inhibit fungi used in this study. These isolates were identified as Streptomyces species basing on their morphological, physiological and biochemical characters.Conclusion: The results of the present study evidenced that mangrove source may be beneficial for the discovery of novel antibiotics from actinomycete

Ethnomedicinal plants used by the tribals of Sudi Konda Forest, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh to cure women problems

The paper deals with 27 plant species belonging to 25 genera of 20 families to cure women problems prevalent among the tribals of Sudi konda forest area of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh are reported along with local name, methods of administration and prescribed doses

Criminal Identification Based on Androgenic Hair Pattern Using KNN-Clustering Method

This paper is implemented in order to identify the criminals in forensics based on the androgenic hair pattern of the criminal particularly in Low-resolution images. The Proposed paper is more dependable than the existing forensic techniques to identify criminals. The paper is implemented in five stages; in the first stage the input images and the database images are obtained after which the database images are trained through the algorithm to get the trained images. In the second stage pre-processing of the images is done in order to convert the image to grey scale and remove noise using thresholding method. The Third stage the image is passed through a Gabor filter to detect the edges in the image, this is followed by the Fourth phase where KNN clustering method is used to obtain the region of interest followed by the application of the bilateral filter in order to enhance the image. In the final stage the indifferent value calculated from the input image is matched with all the indifferent values of the trained images to identify the criminal

Alterations in Serum SOD and CAT Levels in Patients with Breast Cancer

Breast cancers are potentially life-threatening malignancies in women. Development of cancer produces oxidative stress, which increases with disease progression. Hence, studies on antioxidants may be the most promising area of research for this clinical menace. We analysed serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) in women with breast cancer. The changes in the levels of serum superoxide dismutase and catalase are measured in breast cancer patients to assess the oxidative stress. A significant increase in the level of superoxide dismutase and a lower catalase activity was observed in all the three categories of breast cancer patients compared to normal individuals. The results suggested that high ROS production supports the oxidative stress in breast cancer. So, the treatment with antioxidants in the initial stages of the disease may be useful as secondary therapy

Internet Enabled Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge

The tipping bucket rain gauge is one of the most widely used apparatus for measuring rainfall. Data loggers connected to these rain gauges keep count of the amount of rainfall being received and store it in their internal memory until it's collected. Internet-enabled loggers present currently in the market are very limited and extremely expensive. This paper presents a cheap and efficient tipping bucket rain gauge with an internet enabled data logger. The data logger posts the rainfall data to a SQL database located on our server through a microcontroller which has been interfaced with a GSM/GPRS module. This data is posted automatically to the server after every rainfall or once after every 24 hours even if there is no rainfall, along with temperature and humidity data obtained from the respective sensors interfaced to the microcontroller

Perceptions of Integrated Experiential Learning of Graduate Marketing Students

Experiential learning projects have become a mainstay of a multitude of undergraduate business courses as they allow students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world issues. At the graduate level, the use of case studies is a primary teaching method, but one cannot fail to notice an increase in the interest and use of experiential learning projects and assignments. However, as more emphasis is placed on the practical application of theory across the marketing curricula, buttressed by accrediting agencies, the need for incorporating these experiential learning projects has become an integral part of many university curricula at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.   While the inclusion of these projects has been in practice for some time, the ideal addition to these experiential elements is restricted to a single course. This study examines the impact of including an experiential learning project that was framed across two graduate courses for an individual client. This study adds to the existing knowledge by using a unique integrative approach, across two separate graduate marketing courses, providing students with a progressive real world experience over an extended period of consulting interaction and time. Student perceptions associated with the efficacy of this extended experiential learning exercise are also furnished

Clinical Evaluation of Oxidative Stress in Women with Breast Cancer

Breast cancers are potentially life-threatening malignancies in women. Development of cancer produces oxidative stress, which increases with disease progression. Hence, studies on antioxidants may be the most promising area of research for this clinical menace. We analysed serum Uric acid (UA) and Bilirubin (BR) in women with breast cancer. The changes in the levels of serum uric acid and bilirubin are measured in breast cancer patients to assess the oxidative stress. A significant increase in the levels of uric acid and an insignificant increase in the levels of bilirubin was observed in all the three categories of breast cancer patients compared to normal individuals. The results suggested that high ROS production supports the oxidative stress in breast cancer. So, the treatment with antioxidants in the initial stages of the disease may be useful as secondary therapy

Who Watches the Watchmen? An Appraisal of Benchmarks for Multiple Sequence Alignment

Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) is a fundamental and ubiquitous technique in bioinformatics used to infer related residues among biological sequences. Thus alignment accuracy is crucial to a vast range of analyses, often in ways difficult to assess in those analyses. To compare the performance of different aligners and help detect systematic errors in alignments, a number of benchmarking strategies have been pursued. Here we present an overview of the main strategies--based on simulation, consistency, protein structure, and phylogeny--and discuss their different advantages and associated risks. We outline a set of desirable characteristics for effective benchmarking, and evaluate each strategy in light of them. We conclude that there is currently no universally applicable means of benchmarking MSA, and that developers and users of alignment tools should base their choice of benchmark depending on the context of application--with a keen awareness of the assumptions underlying each benchmarking strategy.Comment: Revie