Evaluation of economical and rapid method of plant DNA extraction for PCR analysis of different crops

In the recent genomic era, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has become a basic tool in molecular studies and the success of PCR depends upon the template DNA. PCR technique is quite robust and often unnecessary to extract high quality of DNA and hence crude DNA can be used as template for amplification. Therefore, we have evaluated NaOH-Tris DNA extraction method for PCR analysis because this is very simple, time saving and safe without the need to use expensive or rare materials and laboratory apparatus. This method only requires a small amount of leaf tissue, NaOH, Tris, micro tube and plastic pestle. The amplified PCR products showed clear, sharp and uniform bands gave similar results as compared with the modified CTAB method. The DNA obtained is crude contains impurities like protein, RNA but these impurities did not affect PCR amplification. This DNA extraction method is evaluated for brinjal (Solanummelongena L.), chilli (Capsicum annuum L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.) and tomato (Solanumlycopersicum L.) crop. Many other crop plants could also be amplified using the same DNA extraction method for molecular analysis of large samples. Thus, the use of NaOH-Tris method will allow researchers to obtain DNA from plant quickly for use in molecular studies

Review Work on Splints of Classical Root System and Related Studies on Untwisted Affine Kac-Moody Algebra

The thesis addresses and makes a review work on a new term splint introduced by David A. Richter and classifies the splints of the classical root systems. Further, a related studies on affine Kac-Moody algebras and discuss the roots of untwisted affine Kac-Moody algebras which will be helpful in determining the splints of Kac-Moody algebras and classified the splints of type B_{1}^{n} and C_{1}^{n}

Language teaching at the elementary school level: language bias among teachers and pedagogical tools to check it

At times, an elementary teacher is herself filled with certain prejudices regarding the use of the mother tongue in the classroom. This article discusses the need for teachers to overcome these for effective language teaching. Based on a pilot study of around two hundred children between the ages of four and seven years, the article also suggests some pedagogical tools which will help teachers use children’s mother tongues in the classroo

A 6-year Cross-Sectional study on Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is caused by a protozoan parasite which is transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sand-fly. Leishmaniasis is more common in poor socioeconomic conditions like poor housing, overcrowding and malnutrition. Asymptomatic Leishmania donovani infections outnumber clinical presentations, however, the predictors for development of active disease are not well known. Asymptomatic persons infected with the parasites causing visceral leishmaniasis (VL) usually outnumber clinically apparent cases by a ratio of 4-10 to 1. Accurate treatment and cure is mainly dependent on the factors like clinical manifestations and diagnosing the causative species among cutaneous Leishmaniasis or mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis and visceral Leishmaniasi

Anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and anti-breast cancer properties unraveled in yeast carotenoids produced via cost-effective fermentation technique utilizing waste hydrolysate

IntroductionNatural carotenoids are well known for their anti-oxidant property and also shown to have antimicrobial and anticancer efficacy. Production of carotenoids from microbial resources mainly from yeast has attracted commercial interest. Breast cancer has the highest incidence among women, and therapy resistance and lack of effective therapeutic strategies are major treatment bottlenecks, particularly for triple-negative subtypes. Yeast carotenoids are recently being evaluated for affordable, non-toxic, natural product-based therapies. In the present study, we have shown an environment-friendly and inexpensive method for carotenoid production from yeasts, utilizing “mandi” wastes, and investigated the biomedical properties of carotenoids, particularly antineoplastic properties.MethodsVegetable “mandi” waste was used to prepare waste hydrolysate, a culture medium, in which oleaginous red yeast Rhodosporidium sp. was grown. Carotenoid pigments were extracted using the solvent extraction method and analyzed by UV spectroscopy, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of the extract were evaluated, followed by in silico docking and absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion/toxicity (ADME/T) studies.ResultsCarotenoid extract was found to be composed of three main pigments-β-carotene, torulene, and torularhodin. Extract exhibited significant antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-breast cancer activities in vitro while being biocompatible. Interestingly, carotenoids have shown better efficacy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells than ER+PR+ cells. In silico evaluation predicted binding with breast cancer-specific molecular targets, specifically the three components showed good binding energy toward VEGF receptors and good drug likeliness properties, as well as less toxicity.DiscussionThis is the first report on anti-breast cancer activities, particularly targeting TNBC cells by red yeast carotenoids (β-carotene, torulene, and torularhodin) produced via a sustainable environment-friendly bioprocess utilizing waste hydrolysate

Isolation and identification of carotenoid-producing yeast and evaluation of antimalarial activity of the extracted carotenoid(s) against P. falciparum

Plasmodial resistance to a variety of plant-based antimalarial drugs has led toward the discovery of more effective antimalarial compounds having chemical or biological origin. Since natural compounds are considered as safer drugs, in this study, yeast strains were identified and compared for the production of carotenoids that are well-known antioxidants and this metabolite was tested for its antiparasitic activity. Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain was selected as the target parasite for evaluation of antimalarial activity of yeast carotenoids using in vitro studies. Data were analyzed by FACS (fluorescence-activated cell sorter) and counted via gold standard Giemsa-stained smears. The extracted yeast carotenoids showed a profound inhibitory effect at a concentration of 10–3 µg/µl and 10−4 µg/µl when compared to β- carotene as control. SYBR Green1 fluorescent dye was used to confirm the decrease in parasitaemia at given range of concentration. Egress assay results suggested that treated parasite remained stalled at schizont stage with constricted morphology and were darkly stained. Non-toxicity of carotenoids on erythrocytes and on human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2 cells) was shown at a given concentration. This report provides strong evidence for antimalarial effects of extracted yeast carotenoids, which can be produced via a sustainable and cost-effective strategy and may be scaled up for industrial application

Mehka logika in poučevanje/učenje tujih jezikov v večjezikovnih situacijah

The concept of Fuzzy Logic (FL) has gained momentum in areas of artificial intelligence and allied researches because of its absolute ability to present efficient solutions to real life problems. Contrary to the paradigmatic approach to the solutions of being either absolutely true or false [0 or 1] the fuzzy sets provide a range of possible outputs with error prone inputs which are vague and inaccurate using linguistic objects instead of mere mathematical numbers. A multilingual situation poses a similar challenge for a language teacher/learner where languages exist in continuum. Learners with heavy mother tongue influence tend to use their natural languages instinctively in a way that can create their own fuzzy rules to encounter the situation of being taught an entirely new language. A typical Indian language classroom is highly multilingual where scope of errors is numerous though they are ignored. This leads to stress both for the teachers as well as the learners making the classroom ambience more mechanistic than human. To combat such situations FL based Three-Phase Model of language teaching has been proposed which derives its basis on the presumption that the language instructor is aware of general rules of linguistics. An empirical longitudinal study on 150 undergraduate technical students designed on the proposed framework has been conducted to establish the efficiency and the success of the model. Observing language pedagogy through the lens of fuzzy logic and fuzzy thinking will not only make the classroom more real-like but it will also tap the pre-existing linguistic knowledge of the learners. Language interference will be more of a resource than a challenge.Koncept mehke logike je zaradi svoje popolne zmožnosti podati učinkovito rešitev k problemom vsakdanjega življenja najprej pritegnil pozornost s področij, kot je na primer umetna inteligenca. V nasprotju s paradigmatičnim pristopom navadne logike, kjer so rešitve lahko le absolutno pravilne in absolutno nepravilne [0 ali 1], mehka logika dovoljuje tudi vmesne vrednosti in torej opisno dovoljuje delno pravilnost. Večjezikovne situacije, kjer je meja med jeziki ni jasna temveč prehodna, predstavljajo za učitelja in učenca izziv, ki ga lahko predstavimo z mehko logiko. Učenci tujega jezika z močnim naglasom, ki je posledica vpliva maternega jezika, običajno jezik uporabljajo na način, da ob učenju tujega jezika ustvarijo svojevrstna mehka pravila. Tipična indijska jezikovna učilnica je običajno polna učencev iz različnih jezikovnih okolij, zato je tudi obseg napak zelo velik. Kljub temu, da so številne napake namenoma večkrat spregledane, to predstavlja velik stres tako za učitelje kot učence in hkrati naredi učno okolje bolj mehansko kot človeško. Da bi preprečili takšna stanja, je bil vpeljan tristopenjski model jezikovnega učenja pri učenju tujega jezika. Model izhaja iz osnovne ideje, da se jezikovni učitelj zaveda osnovnih pravil v jezikoslovju. Longitudinalna empirična raziskava na 150 dodiplomskih študentih tehničnih smeri je bila izpeljana z namenom prikazati učinkovitost in uspešnost omenjenega modela. Opazovanje in opis jezikovnega poučevanja skozi prizmo mehke logike prikaže učno situacijo v veliko bolj naravni luči, hkrati pa se loti jezikovnega predznanja učencev s popolnoma drugačnim pristopom; vpliv maternega jezika na usvajanje tujega jezika deluje kot sredstvo in ne motnja pri učenju tujega jezika

Language teaching at the elementary school level: language bias among teachers and pedagogical tools to check it

At times, an elementary teacher is herself filled with certain prejudices regarding the use of the mother tongue in the classroom. This article discusses the need for teachers to overcome these for effective language teaching. Based on a pilot study of around two hundred children between the ages of four and seven years, the article also suggests some pedagogical tools which will help teachers use children’s mother tongues in the classroo

Sweta Sinha Pragmatics -The Foundation of Communication: A Review 317 ================================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia

Abstract Pragmatics is a very important aspect of language that helps in establishing the purpose of any communication. It accounts for the usage, the properties and the processes of language. Communication is not an isolated process. It occurs in continuum. It is a two-way channel between the speaker and the hearer with reversible roles and the complete comprehension of the utterance can be obtained only when the entire context is taken into consideration. The paper reviews the development of pragmatics as a separate branch of study focusing on its various aspects and elements. Speech acts which are the essence of any communication are an integral part of pragmatics