Probing the massive star forming environment - a multiwavelength investigation of the filamentary IRDC G333.73+0.37

We present a multiwavelength study of the filamentary infrared dark cloud (IRDC) G333.73+0.37. The region contains two distinct mid-infrared sources S1 and S2 connected by dark lanes of gas and dust. Cold dust emission from the IRDC is detected at seven wavelength bands and we have identified 10 high density clumps in the region. The physical properties of the clumps such as temperature: 14.3-22.3 K and mass: 87-1530 M_sun are determined by fitting a modified blackbody to the spectral energy distribution of each clump between 160 micron and 1.2 mm. The total mass of the IRDC is estimated to be $~4700 M_sun. The molecular line emission towards S1 reveals signatures of protostellar activity. Low frequency radio emission at 1300 and 610 MHz is detected towards S1 (shell-like) and S2 (compact morphology), confirming the presence of newly formed massive stars in the IRDC. Photometric analysis of near and mid-infrared point sources unveil the young stellar object population associated with the cloud. Fragmentation analysis indicates that the filament is supercritical. We observe a velocity gradient along the filament, that is likely to be associated with accretion flows within the filament rather than rotation. Based on various age estimates obtained for objects in different evolutionary stages, we attempt to set a limit to the current age of this cloud.Comment: 26 pages, 20 figures, accepted by Ap

The Study of the Influence of Formulation and Process Variables on the properties of Simvastatin-Phospholipid Complex

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of the formulation and process variables on the entrapment efficiency of simvastatin-phospholipid complex (SPC), prepared with a goal of improving the solubility and permeability of simvastatin. Method: The SPC was prepared using a solvent evaporation method. The influence of formulation and process variables on simvastatin entrapment was assessed using a central composite design. An additional SPC was prepared using the optimized variables from the developed quadratic model. This formulation was characterized for its physical-chemical properties. The functional attributes of the optimized SPC formulation were analyzed by apparent aqueous solubility analysis, in-vitro dissolution studies, dissolution efficiency analysis, and ex-vivo permeability studies. Results: The factors studied were found to significantly influence on the entrapment efficiency. The developed model was validated using the optimized levels of formulation and process variables. The physical-chemical characterization confirmed a formation of the complex. The optimized SPC demonstrated over 25-fold higher aqueous solubility of simvastatin, compared to that of pure simvastatin. The optimized SPC exhibited a significantly higher rate and extent of simvastatin dissolution (\u3e98%), compared to that of pure simvastatin (∼16%). The calculated dissolution efficiency was also found to be significantly higher for the SPC (∼54 %), compared to that of pure simvastatin (∼8%). Finally, the optimized SPC exhibited a significantly higher simvastatin permeability (\u3e78%), compared to that of pure simvastatin (∼11%). Implications: The present study shows that simvastatin-phospholipid complex can be a promising strategy for improving the delivery of simvastatin, and similar drugs with low aqueous solubility

A SHORT REVIEW ON POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is said to be the commonest endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age with a heterogeneous presentation, which includes hyperandrogenism and ovulatory dysfunction. Polycystic ovary syndrome usually has a peri-pubertal onset;the present review discuss about the causes,complications,risck factors,dianosis and treatment.Key words:Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS),Hyperandrogenism,Treatmen

Enhanced fluorescent properties of an OmpT site deleted mutant of Green Fluorescent Protein

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The green fluorescent protein has revolutionized many areas of cell biology and biotechnology since it is widely used in determining gene expression and for localization of protein expression. Expression of recombinant GFP in <it>E. coli </it>K12 host from pBAD24M-GFP construct upon arabinose induction was significantly lower than that seen in <it>E. coli </it>B cells with higher expression at 30°C as compared to 37°C in <it>E. coli </it>K12 hosts. Since OmpT levels are higher at 37°C than at 30°C, it prompted us to modify the OmpT proteolytic sites of GFP and examine such an effect on GFP expression and fluorescence. Upon modification of one of the two putative OmpT cleavage sites of GFP, we observed several folds enhanced fluorescence of GFP as compared to unmodified GFPuv (Wild Type-WT). The western blot studies of the WT and the SDM II GFP mutant using anti-GFP antibody showed prominent degradation of GFP with negligible degradation in case of SDM II GFP mutant while no such degradation of GFP was seen for both the clones when expressed in BL21 cells. The SDM II GFP mutant also showed enhanced GFP fluorescence in other <it>E. coli </it>K12 OmpT hosts like <it>E. coli </it>JM109 and LE 392 in comparison to WT GFPuv. Inclusion of an OmpT inhibitor, like zinc with WT GFP lysate expressed from an <it>E. coli </it>K12 host was found to reduce degradation of GFP fluorescence by two fold.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We describe the construction of two GFP variants with modified putative OmpT proteolytic sites by site directed mutagenesis (SDM). Such modified genes upon arabinose induction exhibited varied degrees of GFP fluorescence. While the mutation of K79G/R80A (SDM I) resulted in dramatic loss of fluorescence activity, the modification of K214A/R215A (SDM II) resulted in four fold enhanced fluorescence of GFP.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first report on effect of OmpT protease site modification on GFP fluorescence. The wild type and the GFP variants showed similar growth profile in bioreactor studies with similar amounts of recombinant GFP expressed in the soluble fraction of the cell. Our observations on higher levels of fluorescence of SDM II GFP mutant over native GFPuv in an OmpT⁺host like DH5α, JM109 and LE392 at 37°C reiterates the role played by host OmpT in determining differences in fluorescent property of the expressed GFP. Both the WT GFP and the SDM II GFP plasmids in <it>E. coli </it>BL21 cells showed similar expression levels and similar GFP fluorescent activity at 37°C. This result substantiates our hypothesis that OmpT protease could be a possible factor responsible for reducing the expression of GFP at 37°C for WT GFP clone in K12 hosts like DH5α, JM109, LE 392 since the levels of GFP expression of SDM II clone in such cells at 37°C is higher than that seen with WT GFP clone at the same temperature.</p

Effect of post harvest ripening on bioactive secondary metabolites and antioxidant activity in mango cv. Amrapali

Mango possesses many bioactive phytonutrients at ripe stage which boost our immune systemagainst many diseases. Post harvest ripening plays a major role in changes in those bioactivephytochemicals and their antioxidant activity. Hence, the present study was undertaken toassess the changes in bioactive phytonutrients and total antioxidant activity during ripeningof mango cv. Amrapali. The fruits were analyzed for total antioxidants, total phenols, totalflavonoids and total carotenoids from the day of harvest to its deterioration. Fruit peel andpulp color was measured with SPH850 spectrophotometer on the basis of the CIE LAB colorsystem (L*, a* and b*). The results revealed that total phenols (36.11 to 66.53mg GAE 100g-1),total flavonoids (14.33 to 34.67mg QE 100g-1), total carotenoids (2.23 to 11.47mg 100g-1) andtotal antioxidant (0.37 to 0.76 mmol Trolox 100g-1) activity increased gradually from day one toninth day after harvest and decreased slightly thereafter up to eleventh day of harvest excepttotal carotenoids, which remained constant. Strong correlations between total phenols (0.94),total flavonoids (0.86) and total carotenoids (0.97) with total antioxidant activity were noticed.Positive relationship between total carotenoids and L*, a*, b* values in mango peel and pulpduring ripening was also observed. It can be concluded that ripening affected the compositionof bioactive phytonutrients and their antioxidant activity in mango andmaximum nutraceuticalscontents were noticed from seven to nine days after harvest

FAMC: Face Authentication for Mobile Concurrence

It has been observed in the last decades that face recognition has acquired a large amount of attention and curiosity. Benefits of this have been seen in quite a few applications. An architecture which has been implemented earlier addresses the face analysis domain. As compared to other biometrics, face recognition is more advantageous but it is particularly subject to spoofing. The whole cost of the system increases since the accuracy of this technique involves the estimation of the three dimensionality of faces. An effective and efficient solution for face spoofing has been proposed in the paper. The growing use of mobile devices has been a growing concern due to their ability to store and exchange sensitive data. Thus this has given encouragement to the interest of people, to exploit their abilities, from one side, and to protect users from malicious data, on the other side. It is important to develop and deliver secure access in this scenario and identification protocols on mobile platforms are another upcoming aspect that also requires attention to deal on the commercial and social use of identity management system. After all these conclusions, the earlier architecture proposes biometrics as the choice for technology which has been also implemented and described in the earlier architecture. The earlier architecture is designed for mobile devices. This architecture thus acts as an embedded application that provides both verification and identification functionality. It includes identity management to support social activities. Examples of identity management system are finding doubles in a social network. Privacy has been provided by these functionalities which help to overcome the security concern. The architecture of FAMC: Face Authentication for Mobile Concurrence is modular. Functionalities like image acquisition, anti-spoofing, face detection, face segmentation; feature extraction and face matching have been provided by its implementation. The behavior of FAMC allows for recognition and best biometrics sample selection. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150310

Targeting fibroblast activation protein in tumor stroma with chimeric antigen receptor T cells can inhibit tumor growth and augment host immunity without severe toxicity.

The majority of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell research has focused on attacking cancer cells. Here, we show that targeting the tumor-promoting, nontransformed stromal cells using CAR T cells may offer several advantages. We developed a retroviral CAR construct specific for the mouse fibroblast activation protein (FAP), comprising a single-chain Fv FAP [monoclonal antibody (mAb) 73.3] with the CD8α hinge and transmembrane regions, and the human CD3ζ and 4-1BB activation domains. The transduced muFAP-CAR mouse T cells secreted IFN-γ and killed FAP-expressing 3T3 target cells specifically. Adoptively transferred 73.3-FAP-CAR mouse T cells selectively reduced FAP(hi) stromal cells and inhibited the growth of multiple types of subcutaneously transplanted tumors in wild-type, but not FAP-null immune-competent syngeneic mice. The antitumor effects could be augmented by multiple injections of the CAR T cells, by using CAR T cells with a deficiency in diacylglycerol kinase, or by combination with a vaccine. A major mechanism of action of the muFAP-CAR T cells was the augmentation of the endogenous CD8(+) T-cell antitumor responses. Off-tumor toxicity in our models was minimal following muFAP-CAR T-cell therapy. In summary, inhibiting tumor growth by targeting tumor stroma with adoptively transferred CAR T cells directed to FAP can be safe and effective, suggesting that further clinical development of anti-human FAP-CAR is warranted