Myosin II isoforms with separate but linked functions determine the fate of lamellipodia extension during cell spreading

Non-muscle myosin II role has been implicated in the extension of lamellipodia, a critical step in the initiation of directed cell migration, invasion and other cellular processes, but the mechanistic details are limited to driving retrograde actin filaments. The present study reveals distinct localization of myosin IIA and IIB with an unexpected opposite mechanical roles in mediating lamellipodia extension during spreading. Attachment of cells to matrix is impaired in the absence of either isoforms, but differential regulation of focal contacts formation occurs in myosin IIA^-^; and IIB^-^; cells. Spreading cells expressing both isoforms display an organized actin network consisting of retrograde filaments, arcs and central filaments. Loss of actin arcs and central filaments occurs upon depletion of either myosin IIA or IIB, but myosin IIB^-^; cells displayed long parallel actin filaments elongated from cell edge. From these studies, a model for myosin IIA and IIB with separate, but linked mechanical roles in mediating lamellipodia extension is developed

Construction of Quasi-Twisted Codes and Enumeration of Defining Polynomials

Let $d_{q}(n,k)$ be the maximum possible minimum Hamming distance of a linear [$n,k$] code over \F_{q}. Tables of best known linear codes exist for small fields and some results are known for larger fields. Quasi-twisted codes are constructed using $m \times m$ twistulant matrices and many of these are the best known codes. In this paper, the number of $m \times m$ twistulant matrices over \FF_q is enumerated and linear codes over \F_{17} and \F_{19} are constructed for $k$ up to $5$

Application of Factor Analysis to Identify Dietary Patterns and Use of Factor Scores to Study Their Relationship with Nutritional Status of Adult Rural Populations

The prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED) among one-third of the Indian population is attributed to inadequacy of consumption of nutrients. However, considering the complexity of diets among Indians, the relationship between a particular dietary pattern and the nutritional status of the population has not been established so far. A community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess estimates, at district level, of diet and nutritional status in Orissa State, India. Factor analysis was used for exploring the existence of consumption pattern of food and nutrients and their relationship with the nutritional status of rural adult population. Data on 2,864 adult men and 3,525 adult women in Orissa state revealed that there exists six patterns among food-groups explaining 59% of the total variation and three patterns among nutrients that explain 73% of the total variation among both adult men and women. The discriminant function analysis revealed that, overall, 53% of the men were correctly classified as either with chronic energy deficiency (CED) or without CED. Similarly, overall, 54% of the women were correctly classified as either with CED or without CED. The sensitivity of the model was 65% for both men and women, and the specificity was 46% and 41% respectively for men and women. In the case of classification of overweight/obesity, the prediction of the model was about 75% among both men and women, along with high sensitivity. Using factor analysis, the dietary patterns were identified from the food and nutrient intake data. There exists a strong relationship between the dietary patterns and the nutritional status of rural adults. These results will help identify the community people with CED and help planners formulate nutritional interventions accordingly

Some Abortifacient Plants Used by the Tribal People of Andhra Pradesh, India

Plants have been used by women since the beginning of time in an attempt to control their fertility. The information was passed from mother to daughter and generation to generation. The use of abortifacient plants is a common practice among the interior tribal people of Andhra Pradesh. In the present study a list of 33 plant species belonging to29 genera and 26 families are used as abortifacient. The study was conducted among the 33 tribal groups of Andhra Pradesh. The mode of preparation, administration and the dosage of the drugs use are collected from the tribal doctors and lady tribal doctors to terminate the early stage of pregnancy

A BAYESIAN CLASSIFICATION ON ASSET VULNERABILITY FOR REAL TIME REDUCTION OF FALSE POSITIVES IN IDS

IT assets connected on internetwill encounter alien protocols and few parameters of protocol process are exposed as vulnerabilities. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are installed to alerton suspicious traffic or activity. IDS issuesfalse positives alerts, if any behavior construe for partial attack pattern or the IDS lacks environment knowledge. Continuous monitoring of alerts to evolve whether, an alert is false positive or not is a major concern. In this paper we present design of an external module to IDS,to identify false positive alertsbased on anomaly based adaptive learning model. The novel feature of this design is that the system updates behavior profile of assets and environment with adaptive learning process.A mixture model is used for behavior modeling from reference data. The design of the detection and learning process are based on normal behavior and of environment. The anomaly alert identification algorithm isbuiltonSparse Markov Transducers (SMT) based probability.The total process is presented using real-time data. The Experimental results are validated and presentedwith reference to lab environment

Detection and mode of action of retinoids on ovarian development in the mud crab, Scylla serrata

In the current study, the retinoic acid isomers such as 9-cis retinoic acid and all-trans retinoic acid were detected in the mature ovaries of mud crabs, Scylla serrata using HPLC analysis. Given the detection of retinoids in the ovaries, an attempt has been made to elucidate the possible role of retinoic acid in the regulation of reproduction in mud crabs. Injection of 9-cis retinoic acid induced ovarian maturation in intact mud crabs as evidenced by a significance elevation in the ovarian index (226.76%; P<0.001), and oocyte diameter (150.61%; P<0.001) accompanied by accumulation of yolk globules in the oocytes as compared to the untreated crabs. Further, a significant increase (258.63%; P<0.0001) in the circulatory ecdysteroid levels were also observed in 9-cis retinoic acid injected mud crabs over vehicle injected crabs. From the results, it can be postulated that retinoic acid-induced stimulation of ovarian maturation at least in part mediates ecdysteroids in the mud crabs., 0.371 and 0.217 year-1, respectively and the exploitation rate was calculated as 0.369

Ethnomedicinal Plants of Kotia Hills of Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh, India

An ethnomedicinal study was carried out on the tribals of Kotia Hills of Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh, to document the plants used in various ailments. A total of 62 plant species belonging to 41 families were recorded. Majority of the plant species described in the present paper was used in the snakebite, diarrhoea, rheumatoid arthritis, bone fracture, asthma and malaria. Most of the herbal remedies were taken externally in the form of paste. All these plants and plant parts need to be evaluated through phyto and pharmacochemical investigations to discover their potentiality as drugs. There is an urgent need to explore and document the ethnomedicinal plants used by the tribals of Kotia Hills before such valuable knowledge vanishes.Key words: Ethnomedicine, Ethnomedicinal plants, Kotia Hills tribes, Vizianagaram district N. Chandra Babu et al. Ethnomedicinal Plants of Kotia Hills of Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh, India. J Phytol 2/6 (2010) 76-82