Cosmological evolution in a two-brane warped geometry model

We study an effective 4-dimensional scalar-tensor field theory, originated from an underlying brane-bulk warped geometry, to explore the scenario of inflation. It is shown that the inflaton potential naturally emerges from the radion energy-momentum tensor which in turn results into an inflationary model of the Universe on the visible brane that is consistent with the recent results from the Planck's experiment. The dynamics of modulus stabilization from the inflaton rolling condition is demonstrated. The implications of our results in the context of recent BICEP2 results are also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, Latex style, 4 eps figures and 1 tabl

Nutritional status of under-five children in rural Bangladesh

A cross-sectional study was carried out in Dumki Upazila of Patuakhali district in Bangladesh to assess the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among the under-five children. Anthropometric measurements were taken from all children, aged 0-59 months in the studied area using wooden height board and digital weight machine. We used WHO Anthro software for analyzing the z scores of the children. A total of 4409 (2296 boys and 2113 girls) under five children were counted for anthropometric analysis.  Regarding the Height-for-age Z-score (HAZ), the study revealed that the prevalence of stunting was 27.10% (95% CI: 25.8-28.5) of the children while 7.80% (95% CI: 7-8.6) were severe stunting. By assessing the Weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ), the study showed that 11.20% (95% CI: 10.3-12.1) were wasting whereas 3% (95% CI 2.5-3.5) were severe wasting. According to Weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ), about 18.20% (95% CI: 17-19.3) were underweight and 4.1% (95% CI: 3.5-4.7) were underweight. The findings of the study show that prevalence of stunting is very high. Focusing on childhood stunting is a high priority, and there should be comprehensive efforts to increase the overall nutritional status of the under-five children in this area

Correction: Enhanced Gene Expression Rather than Natural Polymorphism in Coding Sequence of the OsbZIP23 Determines Drought Tolerance and Yield Improvement in Rice Genotypes.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150763.]

Comparative efficacy of chlorophyllin in reducing cytotoxicity of some heavy metals

The potential of chlorophyllin in reducing clastogenicity was studied against two concentrations of each of three potent metallic clastogens (cesium chloride, mercuric chloride and cobalt chloride) in bone marrow cells of mice in vivo. The respective salts and chlorophyllin were administered orally to mice by gavaging in different combinations. Simultaneous administration of chlorophyllin with both concentrations of each salt reduced the clastogenic effects in the order Cs>Hg >Co. Chlorophyllin could not decrease the clastogenic effects when administered 2 h before the salts

Enhanced Gene Expression Rather than Natural Polymorphism in Coding Sequence of the OsbZIP23 Determines Drought Tolerance and Yield Improvement in Rice Genotypes.

Drought is one of the major limiting factors for productivity of crops including rice (Oryza sativa L.). Understanding the role of allelic variations of key regulatory genes involved in stress-tolerance is essential for developing an effective strategy to combat drought. The bZIP transcription factors play a crucial role in abiotic-stress adaptation in plants via abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway. The present study aimed to search for allelic polymorphism in the OsbZIP23 gene across selected drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive rice genotypes, and to characterize the new allele through overexpression (OE) and gene-silencing (RNAi). Analyses of the coding DNA sequence (CDS) of the cloned OsbZIP23 gene revealed single nucleotide polymorphism at four places and a 15-nucleotide deletion at one place. The single-copy OsbZIP23 gene is expressed at relatively higher level in leaf tissues of drought-tolerant genotypes, and its abundance is more in reproductive stage. Cloning and sequence analyses of the OsbZIP23-promoter from drought-tolerant O. rufipogon and drought-sensitive IR20 cultivar showed variation in the number of stress-responsive cis-elements and a 35-nucleotide deletion at 5'-UTR in IR20. Analysis of the GFP reporter gene function revealed that the promoter activity of O. rufipogon is comparatively higher than that of IR20. The overexpression of any of the two polymorphic forms (1083 bp and 1068 bp CDS) of OsbZIP23 improved drought tolerance and yield-related traits significantly by retaining higher content of cellular water, soluble sugar and proline; and exhibited decrease in membrane lipid peroxidation in comparison to RNAi lines and non-transgenic plants. The OE lines showed higher expression of target genes-OsRab16B, OsRab21 and OsLEA3-1 and increased ABA sensitivity; indicating that OsbZIP23 is a positive transcriptional-regulator of the ABA-signaling pathway. Taken together, the present study concludes that the enhanced gene expression rather than natural polymorphism in coding sequence of OsbZIP23 is accountable for improved drought tolerance and yield performance in rice genotypes

Simple Detection Methods for Antinutritive Factor β-ODAP Present in Lathyrus sativus L. by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography and Thin Layer Chromatography.

Lathyrus sativus L. (Grass pea) is the source for cheap and nutritious food choice in drought and famine susceptible zones in greater part of North India and Africa. The non-protein amino acid β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) has been known for decades for its potent neurotoxic effect, causing irreversible neurodegenerative disease "neurolathyrism", present in both seed and leaf of Lathyrus sativus L. and other species in varying proportions. It is crucial to establish a rapid as well as reliable detection methodology for β-ODAP content in various Lathyrus plants. Currently available HPLC based methods involve multi-step derivatization of the sample. To overcome this, we have developed β-ODAP analysis method by HPLC without any prior derivatization. This method is statistically significant in the range of 2 to 100μg/ml and exhibited linear response with r2 > 0.99. Limit of detection and quantitation of the later method was determined to be 5.56 μg/ml and 16.86 μg/ml, respectively. In addition to this, a TLC based method has also been developed. The limit of detection of β-ODAP is 0.6μg and for its substrate, L-1,2-diaminopropionic acid is 5μg. Both HPLC and TLC methods were validated by conducting in-vitro bioconversion test to detect the presence of biocatalyst in plant extract. This method is economical, rapid and simple

Targeting the mitochondrial pathway to induce apoptosis/necrosis through ROS by a newly developed Schiff’s base to overcome MDR in cancer

Multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer, a major obstacle to successful application of cancer chemotherapy, is often characterized by over-expression of multidrug resistance-related proteins such as MRP1, P-gp or elevated glutathione (GSH) level. Efflux of drugs by functional P-gp, MRP1 and elevated GSH level can confer resistance to apoptosis induced by a range of different stimuli. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new cell death inducers with relatively lower toxicity toward non-malignant cells that can overcome MDR by induction of apoptotic or non-apoptotic cell death pathways. Herein we report the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of a GSH depleting, redox active Schiff’s base, viz., potassium-N-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde)-alaninate (PHMBA). Cytotoxic potential of PHMBA has been studied in doxorubicin-resistant and -sensitive T lymphoblastic leukemia cells and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells. PHMBA kills both the cell types irrespective of their drug-resistance phenotype following apoptotic/necrotic pathways. Moreover, PHMBA-induced cell death is associated with oxidative stress mediated mitochondrial pathway as the H₂O₂ inhibitor PEG-Catalase abrogated PHMBA-induced apoptosis/necrosis. PHMBA induces anti-tumor activity in both doxorubicin-sensitive and -resistant EAC-tumor-bearing Swiss albino mice. The non-toxicity of PHMBA was also confirmed through cytotoxicity studies on normal cell lines like PBMC, NIH3T3 and Chang Liver. To summarise, our data provide compelling rationale for future clinical use of this redox active Schiff’s base in treatment of cancer patients irrespective of their drug-resistance status

Comparison of leaf water retention capacity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity in <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE and RNAi lines.

<p><b>(A)</b> Water loss rates and <b>(B)</b> relative water contents of detached leaves, at the five-leaf stage amongst <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE lines, RNAi lines and NT plants. Measurement of <b>(C)</b> proline and <b>(D)</b> soluble sugar contents in <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE lines, RNAi lines and NT plants, after extraction from leaf tissues before and after water stress. All the results were based on three independent experiments. Data bars represent the mean ±SD of triplicate measurement. A statistical analysis by Student’s t-test indicated significant differences (*P<0.05, **P<0.01). <b>(E)</b> Measurement of MDA content in <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE, RNAi lines and NT plants, after extraction from leaf tissue of rice plants before and after water stress. Data bars represent the mean ±SD of triplicate measurement. A statistical analysis by Student’s t-test indicated significant differences (*P<0.05, **P<0.01). <b>(F)</b> Detection of ROS by monitoring H₂O₂ production in leaves of <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE, RNAi lines and NT plants were visualized by staining with 3, 3^׳–diaminobenzidine (DAB) under well-watered (normal) and drought stress condition. <b>(G)</b> Production of O₂⁻ ions in leaves of <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE, RNAi lines and NT plants were visualized by staining with nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) under normal and drought stress condition. The results were based on three independent experiments; one set of result is represented here.</p

Evaluating ABA sensitivity of <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE and RNAi lines at germination and post-germination stages.

<p>Germination performance of seeds from <b>(A)</b> <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE lines (OER#5, OEN#9), and <b>(B)</b> <i>OsbZIP23</i> RNAi lines (RNAi#1, RNAi#4) in comparison to NT plants on MS agar medium containing 0, 1, 3 and 6 μM ABA at 10^th day. <b>(C)</b> Calculation of the germination rates (%) of <i>OsbZIP23</i> OE, RNAi and NT seeds. <b>(D</b> and <b>E)</b> Performance of OE, RNAi and NT seedlings in ½ MS liquid medium containing 0, 1, 3 and 6 μM of ABA. Measurement of (<b>F</b>) shoot length and <b>(G)</b> root length of OE, RNAi and NT seedlings grown on different concentrations of ABA after 14 days. Data bars represent the mean ±SD of triplicate measurement. Statistical analysis by Student’s t-test indicated significant differences (*P<0.05, ** P<0.01). All the results were based on three independent experiments.</p