ELICITATION OF FORSKOLIN IN CULTURES OF RHIZACTONIA BATATICOLA-A PHYTOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIZING ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI

Objective: Coleus forskohlii is the only known source of forskolin-a labdanediterpene and a highly valuable phytochemical. Coleus forskohlii has been listed as endangered plant; therefore, efforts have been made to find novel sources of forskolin production.Methods: Endophytic fungi were isolated from Coleus forskohlii tissue and screened for forskolin production by using thin layer chromatography (TLC) method. Further, 16 different elicitation media combinations were used to enhance the forskolin content.Results: In this study, out of 38 strains of endophytic fungi from Coleus forskohlii only 2 strains EF1 and EF2 were found to synthesize forskolin in mycelium, whereas EF2 was found to release the forskolin into the broth. Further, EF2 was identified as Rhizactonia bataticola accession no. NFCCI 2028. Further, T2S1 media showed dramatic effects on enhanced forskolin production in mycelium. However, there was a significant increase about four folds in broth which corresponded to 0.5 mg compared to T1S1 media where it was 0.09 mg.Conclusion: The present study suggests that the forskolin producing Rhizactonia bataticola and T2S1 media can serve as potential materials for large scale enhancement of forskolin production. Â

Adsorption Behaviour of Diisopropyl Flourophosphate on Whetlerite Carbon

Breakthrough behaviour of diisopropyl florophosphate (DFP) vapour on whetlerite carbon has been studied by using modified wheeler equation. The kinetic saturation capacity and pseudo first order rate constant with respect to the effect of various parameters such as bed weight, flow rate, concentration and temperature were correlated. The results of this study indicate that breakthrough time is increased with increase of the bed weight of carbon. Rate constant value increases as flow rate increases, while kinetic saturation capacity value is invariable.Defence Science Journal, 2013, 63(5), pp.473-477, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.63.251

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MIGRATING A CODE FROM A FIRST FORMAT TO A SECOND FORMAT

The present disclosure relates to a migration tool to convert a code in a first format to a code in a second format. The source code received can be from a user (108) or from a database (106). The input code is said to be in the first format. An Abstract Syntax tree (AST) of the code in the first format is generated by a system (104) by parsing the code. A modified AST is generated based on the AST of the code in the first format. A code in the second format is generated from the modified AST

Pyrolysis: A Sustainable Way to Generate Energy from Waste

Lignocellulosic biomass is a potentially more valuable renewable resource that can be utilized effusively as a chief source of heat for cooking and can correspondingly subsidize the production of electricity, heat, biofuels and chemicals including solid fuel like char or carbon. Lignocellulosic residues are mixed and burnt with coal to generate electricity. Presently, crude oil is replaced by bioethanol and biodiesel produced from biomass substrate. Some special class of chemicals can be derived from biomass that can subsequently replace the usage of non‐renewable resources of oil and coal. Pyrolysis of woody biomass to obtain pyroliginous acid was started hundreds of years ago, which has versatile applications. The range of products that can be derived from biomass is huge, prompting extent of research using different types of thermal conversion technologies, including pyrolysis, gasification, torrefaction, anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal processing. This chapter provides insights about the stages of reaction during pyrolysis and the outcome of reaction conditions on the products. Technical development and adjustment of process condition can offer a suitable environmentally benign scheme to increase the energy density of the lignocellulosic residues

Multi-Objective Differential Evolution for Automatic Clustering with Application to Micro-Array Data Analysis

This paper applies the Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm to the task of automatic fuzzy clustering in a Multi-objective Optimization (MO) framework. It compares the performances of two multi-objective variants of DE over the fuzzy clustering problem, where two conflicting fuzzy validity indices are simultaneously optimized. The resultant Pareto optimal set of solutions from each algorithm consists of a number of non-dominated solutions, from which the user can choose the most promising ones according to the problem specifications. A real-coded representation of the search variables, accommodating variable number of cluster centers, is used for DE. The performances of the multi-objective DE-variants have also been contrasted to that of two most well-known schemes of MO clustering, namely the Non Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA II) and Multi-Objective Clustering with an unknown number of Clusters K (MOCK). Experimental results using six artificial and four real life datasets of varying range of complexities indicate that DE holds immense promise as a candidate algorithm for devising MO clustering schemes

Bronchiectasis in India:results from the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) and Respiratory Research Network of India Registry

BACKGROUND: Bronchiectasis is a common but neglected chronic lung disease. Most epidemiological data are limited to cohorts from Europe and the USA, with few data from low-income and middle-income countries. We therefore aimed to describe the characteristics, severity of disease, microbiology, and treatment of patients with bronchiectasis in India. METHODS: The Indian bronchiectasis registry is a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study. Adult patients ( 6518 years) with CT-confirmed bronchiectasis were enrolled from 31 centres across India. Patients with bronchiectasis due to cystic fibrosis or traction bronchiectasis associated with another respiratory disorder were excluded. Data were collected at baseline (recruitment) with follow-up visits taking place once per year. Comprehensive clinical data were collected through the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration registry platform. Underlying aetiology of bronchiectasis, as well as treatment and risk factors for bronchiectasis were analysed in the Indian bronchiectasis registry. Comparisons of demographics were made with published European and US registries, and quality of care was benchmarked against the 2017 European Respiratory Society guidelines. FINDINGS: From June 1, 2015, to Sept 1, 2017, 2195 patients were enrolled. Marked differences were observed between India, Europe, and the USA. Patients in India were younger (median age 56 years [IQR 41-66] vs the European and US registries; p<0\ub70001]) and more likely to be men (1249 [56\ub79%] of 2195). Previous tuberculosis (780 [35\ub75%] of 2195) was the most frequent underlying cause of bronchiectasis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common organism in sputum culture (301 [13\ub77%]) in India. Risk factors for exacerbations included being of the male sex (adjusted incidence rate ratio 1\ub717, 95% CI 1\ub703-1\ub732; p=0\ub7015), P aeruginosa infection (1\ub729, 1\ub710-1\ub750; p=0\ub7001), a history of pulmonary tuberculosis (1\ub720, 1\ub707-1\ub734; p=0\ub7002), modified Medical Research Council Dyspnoea score (1\ub732, 1\ub725-1\ub739; p<0\ub70001), daily sputum production (1\ub716, 1\ub703-1\ub730; p=0\ub7013), and radiological severity of disease (1\ub703, 1\ub701-1\ub704; p<0\ub70001). Low adherence to guideline-recommended care was observed; only 388 patients were tested for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and 82 patients had been tested for immunoglobulins. INTERPRETATION: Patients with bronchiectasis in India have more severe disease and have distinct characteristics from those reported in other countries. This study provides a benchmark to improve quality of care for patients with bronchiectasis in India. FUNDING: EU/European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations Innovative Medicines Initiative inhaled Antibiotics in Bronchiectasis and Cystic Fibrosis Consortium, European Respiratory Society, and the British Lung Foundation

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe

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

Genetic modification of human embryonic stem cells for lineage selection, derivation and analyses of human 3rd pharyngeal pouch epithelium like cells and its derivatives

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) such as, human embryonic stem cells (hES) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS) are a valuable resource to generate bespoke cell types for a number of therapeutic applications involving cell therapy, drug screening and disease modelling. The overarching goal of this project was to generate a set of transgenic tools by gene targeting and genetic modification of hESCs for applications in stem cell biology such as the in vitro isolation, analyses and derivation of lineage specific cell types. The transgenic tools generated in this study were designed and tested in particular for the human 3rd pharyngeal pouch epithelium (3PPE) like cells and its derivatives, namely the thymus and parathyroid, which are key organs involved in T-cell development and calcium homeostasis respectively. The forkhead transcription factor FOXN1 is considered a master regulator of the development of the thymic epithelium (TEC), the major functional component of the thymic stroma, which is intimately involved in T-cell differentiation. So, to facilitate the prospective isolation of FOXN1 expressing TECs, gene targeting was employed to place a fluorescent reporter and a lineage selection antibiotic resistance gene under the direct control of the endogenous FOXN1 promoter. To date, I have not been able to detect either the fluorescent reporter, or FOXN1 expression using published directed differentiation protocols, but only what can be deemed as precursors expressing the cytokeratin K5 and other markers associated with the development of the thymus and parthyroid from 3PPE. The lack of endogenous FOXN1 activation was observed in both the unmodified parent and the targeted FOXN1 knock-in human ES lines. Further, over-expression of FOXN1 cDNA during the differentiation protocol did not result in the activation of endogenous FOXN1. So, the results evinced in this study could be due to a number of reasons such as, technical issues associated with transference of the published protocols to the cell lines used in this study, differences in hESC lines, and effects of different hESC culture methods and practices. The homeobox gene HOXA3 is expressed in the 3PPE during development. So, a HOXA3 transgenic reporter hESC line could be an invaluable tool for prospective isolation of in vitro derived 3PPE like cells. The reporter was generated by Piggy Bac transposase mediated transposition of a HOXA3 containing Bacterial Artificial Chromsome (BAC) in the FOXN1 knock-in human ES line. To date, this is biggest reported cargo that has been successfully transposed in human ESCs. Moreover, this is the first lineage specific double reporter transgenic hESC line that has been reported for this lineage. This HOXA3 reporter line was then used to isolate and enrich for HOXA3 expressing 3PPE like cells with very high efficiencies during the directed differentiation of hESCs, thus demonstrating the key objective of this transgenic hESC line for this study. In a novel parallel approach, I have conceived, designed and generated transgenic hESCs lines capable of inducible and constitutive over-expression of key transcription factors involved in the development of 3PPE and its derivatives, the thymus and parathyroid. The objective of the said over-expression hESC lines was to interrogate if such a system could elicit morphological and gene expression changes in hESCs following over-expression. By testing the chosen panel of transcription factors in hESCs, I was able to detect cells expressing FOXN1 and GCMB, which are key markers of TECs and PTECs. Further, I have isolated an expandable population of cells expressing markers analogous to their in vivo counterpart found in the 3PPE of a developing mouse embryo around E9.0. The in vivo potency of these in vitro derived 3PPE like cells is yet to be ascertained. Nevertheless, transgenic constructs generated in this experiment could also be tested during future attempts at the differentiation of hESCs to TECs and PTECs, and also used as a basis for future studies involving the direct conversion of patient specific fibroblasts to 3PPE like cells and its derivatives. In summary, several transgenic tools developed in this project, namely the FOXN1 knock-in transgenic hESC line, FOXN1-HOXA3 double transgenic hESC line, over-expression 3PPE transgenes and hESC transgenic lines, and results from the deployment of these tools provide a foundation, from which protocols to generate functional TECs and PTECs can be refined and optimised. These transgenic hESC lines also provide a tractable model, which could be used to interrogate the development of human TECs and PTECs from human 3PPE, and identify hitherto unknown early events in their development in an in vitro reductionist setting

Some Background Considerations to the Establishment of a Consortium of Four Intermountain States, in the Area of Independent Study

The growth of Independent Study divisions of the state-supported educational institutions of the area covered by the states of Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming, and the increasing demands for the establishment of new curricular offerings, coupled with these states\u27 limited financial resources, make the exploration of possible cooperative offerings a rather crucial necessity. The purpose of this study was to develop and appraise the climate for developing a consortium of the Independent Study divisions of Utah State University, University of Utah, University of Nevada, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming. A systematic sequence of approach for accomplishing the stated objectives was developed and prospective problems faced in the implementation of the proposed model were identified. The possibilities of developing the above mentioned consortium were explored through the following sequential approach: Step 1. Conduct a review of related literature, with special emphasis on the processes involved in the development of consortia. Step 2. Informally disseminate the objectives of the study among potential participants and, then, appraise their reactions. Step 3. Conduct a thorough feasibility study through individual exploratory interviews with the potential participants. Step 4. Extract and channel the expressed desires of the potential participants into a systematic approach to consortium development. Step 5. Obtain feedback on the proposed systematic approach and recommendations