Utilization of mouldy sorghum and Cassia tora through fermentation for feed purposes

Microbial fermentation of mouldy grains brought about by lactic acid bacteria is gaining much significance owing to their ability to inhibit mould growth and detoxify mycotoxins while improving the nutritive value and safety of the product. In the present study the potential of developing a probiotic feed ingredient from a combination of mouldy sorghum and Cassia tora seeds, using spontaneous fermentation was explored. The effect of fermentation at 0, 24 and 36 h on the microflora, ergosterol,mycotoxins and nutritive value, of mouldy sorghum was assessed individually and in combination with C. tora seeds. A reduction in mould counts upto 58 and 96% was observed at 24 and 36 h of fermentingmouldy sorghum. Total plate count increased by 2 fold and Lactobacillus count increased by 4 fold when mouldy sorghum was fermented singly or with C. tora seeds. Fermentation decreased ergosterol by 76%,aflatoxin to non-detectable levels at 36 h of fermentation and fumonisin B1 to non-detectable levels at 24 and 36 h of fermentation of mouldy sorghum. Fermentation resulted in marginal improvement in nutritivevalue of mouldy sorghum when estimated in terms of proximate principles and mineral elements. Addition of C. tora resulted in considerable increase in nutritive value particularly with respect to protein and mineral elements like iron and calcium in mouldy sorghum

Pharmacoinformatics-based identification of transmembrane protease serine-2 inhibitors from Morus Alba as SARS-CoV-2 cell entry inhibitors

Transmembrane protease serine-2 (TMPRSS2) is a cell-surface protein expressed by epithelial cells of specific tissues including those in the aerodigestive tract. It helps the entry of novel coronavirus (n-CoV) or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the host cell. Successful inhibition of the TMPRSS2 can be one of the crucial strategies to stop the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the present study, a set of bioactive molecules from Morus alba Linn. were screened against the TMPRSS2 through two widely used molecular docking engines such as Autodock vina and Glide. Molecules having a higher binding affinity toward the TMPRSS2 compared to Camostat and Ambroxol were considered for in-silico pharmacokinetic analyses. Based on acceptable pharmacokinetic parameters and drug-likeness, finally, five molecules were found to be important for the TMPRSS2 inhibition. A number of bonding interactions in terms of hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interactions were observed between the proposed molecules and ligand-interacting amino acids of the TMPRSS2. The dynamic behavior and stability of best-docked complex between TRMPRSS2 and proposed molecules were assessed through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Several parameters from MD simulation have suggested the stability between the protein and ligands. Binding free energy of each molecule calculated through MM-GBSA approach from the MD simulation trajectory suggested strong affection toward the TMPRSS2. Hence, proposed molecules might be crucial chemical components for the TMPRSS2 inhibition

Hypothermia-induced hyperphosphorylation: a new model to study tau kinase inhibitors

Tau hyperphosphorylation is one hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Pharmaceutical companies have thus developed kinase inhibitors aiming to reduce tau hyperphosphorylation. One obstacle in screening for tau kinase inhibitors is the low phosphorylation levels of AD-related phospho-epitopes in normal adult mice and cultured cells. We have shown that hypothermia induces tau hyperphosphorylation in vitro and in vivo. Here, we hypothesized that hypothermia could be used to assess tau kinase inhibitors efficacy. Hypothermia applied to models of biological gradual complexity such as neuronal-like cells, ex vivo brain slices and adult non-transgenic mice leads to tau hyperphosphorylation at multiple AD-related phospho-epitopes. We show that Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 inhibitors LiCl and AR-A014418, as well as roscovitine, a cyclin-dependent kinase 5 inhibitor, decrease hypothermia-induced tau hyperphosphorylation, leading to different tau phosphorylation profiles. Therefore, we propose hypothermia-induced hyperphosphorylation as a reliable, fast, convenient and inexpensive tool to screen for tau kinase inhibitors

Restoration of Altered MicroRNA Expression in the Ischemic Heart with Resveratrol

Resveratrol, a constituent of red wine, is important for cardioprotection. MicroRNAs are known regulators for genes involved in resveratrol-mediated cardiac remodeling and the regulatory pathway involving microRNA has not been studied so far.We explored the cardioprotection by resveratrol in ischemia/reperfusion model of rat and determined cardiac functions. miRNA profile was determined from isolated RNA using quantitative Real-time PCR based array. Systemic analyses of miRNA array and theirs targets were determined using a number of computational approaches.Cardioprotection by resveratrol and its derivative in ischemia/reperfusion [I/R] rat model was examined with miRNA expression profile. Unique expression pattern were found for each sample, particularly with resveratrol [pure compound] and longevinex [commercial resveratrol formulation] pretreated hearts. Longevinex and resveratrol pretreatment modulates the expression pattern of miRNAs close to the control level based on PCA analyses. Differential expression was observed in over 25 miRNAs, some of them, such as miR-21 were previously implicated in cardiac remodeling. The target genes for the differentially expressed miRNA include genes of various molecular function such as metal ion binding, sodium-potassium ion, transcription factors, which may play key role in reducing I/R injury.Rats pretreated with resveratrol for 3 weeks leads to significant cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion injury. A unique signature of miRNA profile is observed in control heart pretreated with resveratrol or longevinex. We have determined specific group of miRNA in heart that have altered during IR injuries. Most of those altered microRNA expressions modulated close to their basal level in resveratrol or longevinex treated I/R mice

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns