Acanthocheilonema viteae in Mastomys coucha : Combination Effect of An Immunostimulator (CDRI compound 86/448) and Antifilarial agents on Establishment of Infection

Effect of two antifilarials ivermectin (microfilaricidal) and CDRI Comp. 82/437 (macrofilaricidal) in combination with immunostimulator (CDRI Comp. 86/448) was evaluated on establishment of Acanthocheilonema viteae infection in Mastomys coucha. The immunostimulator along with the antifilarials was administered on single occasion (Day 0 of larval exposure). Immunostimulator when given in combination with macrofilaricidal agent (82/437), revealed significantly less percentage of worm recovery over untreated control as well as over treated (with either immunostimulator or antifilarial alone) infected controls. It is, thus surmised that establishment of filarial infection is affected by immunostimulant along with antifilarial agent

Functional Antigenic Molecules of Different Life-Stages of Rodent Filariid, Acanthocheilonema viteae and Their Cross Reactivity with Human Filarial (Wuchereria bancrofti) Sera.

Proteins obtained by SDS-solubilisation of various developmental stages (adults, uterus contents, microfilariae and infective larvae) of the filariid Acanthocheilonema viteae were separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and electrophoretically transferred onto nitrocellulose filter sheets. The results showed minor differences in the protein pattern of adult worms, microfilariae, uterine contents and infective larvae. Immunoperoxidase staining of these antigens with infected mastomys sera showed that maximum number of antigens in infective larval stage were identified by the sera collected at prepatent stage of infection whereas in adult antigen maximum bands were recognized by sera from patent infection. A large number of microfilarial antigens were found to be immunoreactive during patent stage but only a few remained functional during latency. Uterine antigens possess a number of immunoreactive components which reacted with antibodies in sera of all stages of infection with maximum recognition by patent (microfilaraemic) serum. Cross reaction between A. viteae antigen and W. bancrofti human sera led to identification of a few common molecules which demonstrated the usefulness of antigens of rodent filariid A. viteae in immunodiagnosis or in evolving strategies for vaccination against human filariasis

From Network Structure to Dynamics and Back Again: Relating dynamical stability and connection topology in biological complex systems

The recent discovery of universal principles underlying many complex networks occurring across a wide range of length scales in the biological world has spurred physicists in trying to understand such features using techniques from statistical physics and non-linear dynamics. In this paper, we look at a few examples of biological networks to see how similar questions can come up in very different contexts. We review some of our recent work that looks at how network structure (e.g., its connection topology) can dictate the nature of its dynamics, and conversely, how dynamical considerations constrain the network structure. We also see how networks occurring in nature can evolve to modular configurations as a result of simultaneously trying to satisfy multiple structural and dynamical constraints. The resulting optimal networks possess hubs and have heterogeneous degree distribution similar to those seen in biological systems.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Proceedings of "Dynamics On and Of Complex Networks", ECSS'07 Satellite Workshop, Dresden, Oct 1-5, 200

Chemically ubiquitylated histone H2B stimulates hDot1L-mediated intranucleosomal methylation

Numerous post-translational modifications of histones have been described in organisms ranging from yeast to humans. Growing evidence for dynamic regulation of these modifications, position- and modification-specific protein interactions, and biochemical crosstalk between modifications has strengthened the 'histone code' hypothesis, in which histone modifications are integral to choreographing the expression of the genome. One such modification, ubiquitylation of histone H2B (uH2B) on lysine 120 (K120) in humans, and lysine 123 in yeast, has been correlated with enhanced methylation of lysine 79 (K79) of histone H3 (refs 5-8), by K79-specific methyltransferase Dot1 (KMT4). However, the specific function of uH2B in this crosstalk pathway is not understood. Here we demonstrate, using chemically ubiquitylated H2B, a direct stimulation of hDot1L-mediated intranucleosomal methylation of H3 K79. Two traceless orthogonal expressed protein ligation (EPL) reactions were used to ubiquitylate H2B site-specifically. This strategy, using a photolytic ligation auxiliary and a desulphurization reaction, should be generally applicable to the chemical ubiquitylation of other proteins. Reconstitution of our uH2B into chemically defined nucleosomes, followed by biochemical analysis, revealed that uH2B directly activates methylation of H3 K79 by hDot1L. This effect is mediated through the catalytic domain of hDot1L, most likely through allosteric mechanisms. Furthermore, asymmetric incorporation of uH2B into dinucleosomes showed that the enhancement of methylation was limited to nucleosomes bearing uH2B. This work demonstrates a direct biochemical crosstalk between two modifications on separate histone proteins within a nucleosome

Evaluation of Different Organic ‘Packages of Practice’ in Young Tea Plantation: A case study under FAO-CFC-TBI Project at Maud Tea Estate, Assam, India

Maintenance of young tea under organic package of practice is a challenging task and needs a proper intervention. The present study under FAO-CFC-TBI project was done at Maud Tea Estate, Assam, India to find out an effective pathway for growing healthy and productive young tea plants. Seven different organic packages of practice were chosen to evaluate their potential in terms of crop efficiency as well as soil quality rejuvenation. Crop yield was recorded of highest value under Inhana Rational Farming (IRF-2: made tea 807 kgha-1) package of practice. Yield under the treatment was 55.2 percent higher than control and about 25.6 percent higher than the next best performing package of practice i.e. VMI (653 kgha-1). The third highest yield was obtained under IRF-1 and VCO, which recorded almost similar crop (made tea: 619 & 618 kgha-1 resp.) followed by BD (593 kgha-1), Co (567 kgha-1) and MI (556 kgha-1) packages. Value cost ratio (VCR), which is excess revenue generated per unit rupee invested; followed similar trend as observed in case of New Plantation experiment indicating highest economic sustainability under IRF-2 (4.37) followed by IRF-1 (2.33) package. Value cost ratio in case of other organic packages varied between 0.25 and 1.02, indicating economic vulnerability considering that VCR < 2.00 has been indicated by Agricultural economists as the critical mark below which there is no necessary risk coverage against investment towards input cost

Exclusive light particle measurements for the system 19^{19}F + 12^{12}C at 96 MeV

Decay sequence of hot {31}^P nucleus has been investigated through exclusive light charged particle measurements in coincidence with individual evaporation residues using the reaction {19}^F (96 MeV) + {12}^C. Information on the sequential decay chain have been extracted by confronting the data with the predictions of the statistical model. It is observed from the present analysis that such exclusive light charged particle data may be used as a powerful tool to probe the decay sequence of the hot light compound systems.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Physical Review C (in press

Friedmann-like equations for High Energy Area of Universe

In this paper, evolution of the high energy area of universe, through the scenario of 5 dimensional (5D) universe, has been studied. For this purpose, we solve Einstein equations for 5D metric and 5D perfect fuid to derive Friedmann-like equations. Then we obtain the evolution of scale factor and energy density with respect to both space-like and time-like extra dimensions. We obtain the novel equations for the space-like extra dimension and show that the matter with zero pressure cannot exist in the bulk. Also, for dark energy fuid and vacuum fluid, we have both accelerated expansion and contraction in the bulk.Comment: 9 pages, Accepted to publication in IJTP 26 June 2012. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1202.497

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters