Designing of siRNAs for various target genes of Cucumber mosaic virus subgroup IB

119-125Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a major production constraint in black pepper causing stunted disease. Resistant varieties are unavailable and control measures are not effective till now. Recently, RNA interference (RNAi) is the most promising strategy for combating virus infection in plants but the effectiveness depends on sequence specificity between the transgene and the targeting virus. This study was undertaken to design the most suitable region for double stranded RNA synthesis with maximum specificity and minimized off–targets for all the five genes of CMV from black pepper. A 400 bp off–target minimized region identified from each of the five genes was subjected to sequence polymorphism study with selected CMV subgroup IB strains and common ‘siRNAs’ were designed in silico. As 3b gene had the least variations (of 17%) with four common and potential siRNAs designed from this region in silico, a hairpin construct was assembled using this region in Agrobacterium that can be used for developing black pepper resistant to selected CMV subgroup IB strains

In vitro propagation of Solidago virgaurea L. through nodal culture

A reliable in vitro propagation protocol has been established from nodal segmentsof a highly valuable medicinal plant Solidago virgaurea L. The explants were cultured onMurashige and Skoog’s medium augmented with different concentrations andcombinations of plant growth regulators for shoot bud initiation and multiplications.Highest frequency of shoot proliferation (91.8 ± 0.64) and maximum number (12.1 ± 0.20) pernode was observed in Murashige and Skoog’s medium augmented with4.5 mg/l of Kinetinin combination with 0.5 mg/l of Indole -3- Acetic acid. Highest frequency (91.7 ± 1.43) ofrooting and maximum number (3.8 ± 0.28) of rootlet per shoot let was achieved onMurashige and Skoog’s medium fortified with 4.5 mg/l of Indole -3- Acetic acid incombination with 0.5 mg/l of Benzyl -6- amino purine. Regenerated plants weresuccessfully transferred to field (78%)

Biopotency of Biophytum sensitivum DC

The present study was intended to examine the antioxidant, cytotoxicity, larvicidal potentials of B. sensitivum DC. The total phenolic content was determined by the standard method described by Siddhuraju and Becker (2003). The antioxidant activity of different extracts were determined using the stable radical DPPH, phosphomolybdenum and scavenging of hydrogen peroxide assays according to the standard method. In addition, the larvicidal and cytotoxic properties of the various extract of B. sensitivum were examined. Maximum amount of extractable total phenolics was observed in methanolic extracts of B. sensitivum (1399.84 ± 215.79mg GAE/g). The best free radical (DPPH) scavenging activity of B. sensitivum was observed in acetone extracts with IC50 value 30.12µg/ml. The methanolic extracts of B. sensitivum displayed the strongest phosphomolybdenum reduction (202.24 ± 11.44 g AA/100 g) compared to other tested extracts. The methanolic extracts of B. sensitivum showed highest larval mortality in terms of lethal concentrations for 50% mortality against Culex quinquefasciatus with LC50= 215.34 mg/ml. The methanolic extract of B. sensitivum displayed most effective at 90% mortality (LC90) of brine shrimp nauplii occurred at 66.34 mg/ml Conclusion: The present investigations suggest that methanolic and acetone extracts showed a good result of antioxidant, larvicidal and cytotoxic activity. It was found that the high rates of phenolic substances widely distributed in B. sensitivum

IDENTIFICATION OF ANTIULCER ACTIVITY BY INSILICO METHOD IN SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS

Ulcer occurs when stomach acid damages the lining of the digestive tract caused by the bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Many pharmacological activities such as antiulcer activity can act against ulcer. Medicinal plants like Mimosa pudica and Vachellia nilotica has the antiulcer activity in a wide range. To study the antiulcer activity in medicinal plants using insilco studies by comparing the phytocompounds of plants with histamine 2 receptor as a binding protein, which is present in the stomach lining of homosapiens. Histamine 2 receptor was modelled using Swiss model and the ligand structures are obtained from PUB-CHEM, viewed easily via PYMOL. All the phytocompounds showed good binding energy with modelled protein on the docking methodology. Specifically ascorbic acid exhibited the lower binding energy of value -3.24 kcal/mol, indole and catechin shows highest binding energy of value -4.99 kcal/mol and -4.98 kacl/mol respectively. The results can be useful for the design and development of phytocompounds having better inhibitory activity against several types of ulcer

Prediction of Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE)/Extreme Ultraviolet Spectro-Photometer (ESP) Irradiance from Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) Images Using Fuzzy Image Processing and Machine Learning

YesThe cadence and resolution of solar images have been increasing dramatically with the launch of new spacecraft such as STEREO and SDO. This increase in data volume provides new opportunities for solar researchers, but the efficient processing and analysis of these data create new challenges. We introduce a fuzzy-based solar feature-detection system in this article. The proposed system processes SDO/AIA images using fuzzy rules to detect coronal holes and active regions. This system is fast and it can handle different size images. It is tested on six months of solar data (1 October 2010 to 31 March 2011) to generate filling factors (ratio of area of solar feature to area of rest of the solar disc) for active regions and coronal holes. These filling factors are then compared to SDO/EVE/ESP irradiance measurements. The correlation between active-region filling factors and irradiance measurements is found to be very high, which has encouraged us to design a time-series prediction system using Radial Basis Function Networks to predict ESP irradiance measurements from our generated filling factors

Accuracy of CT Colonography for Detection of Large Adenomas and Cancers

Background Computed tomographic (CT) colonography is a noninvasive option in screening for colorectal cancer. However, its accuracy as a screening tool in asymptomatic adults has not been well defined. Methods We recruited 2600 asymptomatic study participants, 50 years of age or older, at 15 study centers. CT colonographic images were acquired with the use of standard bowel preparation, stool and fluid tagging, mechanical insufflation, and multidetector-row CT scanners (with 16 or more rows). Radiologists trained in CT colonography reported all lesions measuring 5 mm or more in diameter. Optical colonoscopy and histologic review were performed according to established clinical protocols at each center and served as the reference standard. The primary end point was detection by CT colonography of histologically confirmed large adenomas and adenocarcinomas (10 mm in diameter or larger) that had been detected by colonoscopy; detection of smaller colorectal lesions (6 to 9 mm in diameter) was also evaluated. Results Complete data were available for 2531 participants (97%). For large adenomas and cancers, the mean (±SE) per-patient estimates of the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve for CT colonography were 0.90±0.03, 0.86±0.02, 0.23±0.02, 0.99± Conclusions In this study of asymptomatic adults, CT colonographic screening identified 90% of subjects with adenomas or cancers measuring 10 mm or more in diameter. These findings augment published data on the role of CT colonography in screening patients with an average risk of colorectal cancer. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00084929; American College of Radiology Imaging Network [ACRIN] number, 6664.

Self-assembly of Silver Nanoparticles and Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes on Decomposed GaAs Surfaces

Atomic Force Microscopy complemented by Photoluminescence and Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction has been used to study self-assembly of silver nanoparticles and multiwall carbon nanotubes on thermally decomposed GaAs (100) surfaces. It has been shown that the decomposition leads to the formation of arsenic plate-like structures. Multiwall carbon nanotubes spin coated on the decomposed surfaces were mostly found to occupy the depressions between the plates and formed boundaries. While direct casting of silver nanoparticles is found to induce microdroplets. Annealing at 300°C was observed to contract the microdroplets into combined structures consisting of silver spots surrounded by silver rings. Moreover, casting of colloidal suspension consists of multiwall carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticles is observed to cause the formation of 2D compact islands. Depending on the multiwall carbon nanotubes diameter, GaAs/multiwall carbon nanotubes/silver system exhibited photoluminescence with varying strength. Such assembly provides a possible bottom up facile way of roughness controlled fabrication of plasmonic systems on GaAs surfaces

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk

Not Available

Not AvailableCucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a major production constraint in black pepper causing stunted disease. Resistant varieties are unavailable and control measures are not effective till now. Recently, RNA interference is the most promising strategy for combating virus infection in plants but the effectiveness depends on sequence specificity between the transgene and the targeting virus. This study was undertaken to design the most suitable region for double stranded RNA synthesis with maximum specificity and minimized off–targets for all the five genes of CMV from black pepper. A 400 bp off–target minimized region identified from each of the five genes was subjected to sequence polymorphism study with selected CMV subgroup IB strains and common siRNAs were designed in silico. As 3b gene had the least variations (of 17%) with four common and potential siRNAs designed from this region in silico, a hairpin construct was assembled using this region in Agrobacterium that can be used for developing black pepper resistant to selected CMV subgroup IB strainsNot Availabl