Synthesis and anti-microbial activity of pyrazolylbisindoles--promising anti-fungal compounds

A series of pyrazolylbisindole derivatives have been synthesized by reacting substituted pyrazole aldehydes with substituted indoles using phosphotungstic acid, a Keggin type heteropoly acid as catalyst. The synthesized pyrazolylbisindoles were evaluated for anti-microbial activities. The effect of pyrazolylbisindoles on the mycelial growth of plant pathogenic fungi is revealed. Entries 3c and 3d emerged as the most interesting compounds in this series exhibiting excellent anti-fungal activity.     

Synthetic analogues of mycobacterial arabinogalactan linkage-disaccharide part II: synthesis and preliminary screening of lipophilic O-alkyl glycosides

Lipophilic analogues of the linkage-disaccharide found in the mycobacterial cell wall were synthesized and the synthetic analogues when biologically evaluated showed promising antimycobacterial property with MIC value in the range 3.13–12.50 μg/mL against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H₃₇Rv.     

Chemometric Studies of Multielemental Composition of Few Seagrasses from Gulf of Mannar,India

This paper discusses the determination of minerals content (cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, manganese, magnesium, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium and calcium) of six seagrass samples, Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii, Halodule pinifolia, Syringodium isoetifolium, Cymodocea serrulata and Cymodocea rotundata using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometry and flame photometer. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed different mineral compositions of the seagrass samples. Among the 13 elements investigated, Ni 1.513, Na 690.167 and Ca 220.333; Cr 3.957; Mn 23.427, Zn 17.593 and Fe 156.567; Cd 0.357, Co 0.431, Pb 2.040, Mg 912.733 and K 300.9; Cu 7.8 mg/kg dry weight, respectively, were found at high concentrations in E. acoroides; T. hemprichii; H. pinifolia; S. isoetifolium and C. rotundata. PCA analysis confirmed the presence of three components with 91.28% of the total variance. The toxic elements Pb, Cr and Cd were also found in all six seagrasses, although the concentrations were below the permissible limits proposed by the World Health Organization.     

A combination of two Brugia malayi filarial vaccine candidate antigens (BmALT-2 and BmVAH) enhances immune responses and protection in jirds

In this study filarial recombinant protein or DNA vaccine constructs encoding BmALT-2 and BmVAH as single or as cocktail antigens were evaluated. Male jirds were immunized intramuscularly with DNA vaccine constructs or were immunized intraperitoneally with protein vaccine. The single and bicistronic DNA constructs induced substantial interferon-γ responses in spleen cells; antigen-specific responses were higher following immunization with the bicistronic cocktail construct and evoked a significant protective response of 57% in jirds challenged with Brugia malayi that was similar in the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) assay and micropore chamber experiment. The cocktail protein vaccines induced a mixture of IgG2a (Th1) and IgG1 (Th2) responses with 80% protective response when challenged with B. malayi infective larvae. However, the single protein vaccine rALT-2 induced Th2 (IgG1/IgG3) with a 70% protective response and rVAH induced Th1 (IgG2a) with a lower proliferative response with 60% protection following challenge with B. malayi infective larvae. These results suggest that filarial cocktail protein vaccines are able to elicit substantial immune and protective responses when compared with single antigen vaccination in suitably vaccinated jirds.     

Analysis of Wuchereria bancrofti infections in a village community in northern Nigeria: increased prevalence in individuals infected with Onchocerca volvulus

Infections with Wuchereria bancrofti causing lymphatic filariasis still represent one of the major health problems in the tropics, with 120 million people infected and over 750 million exposed to this filarial parasite. We have studied lymphatic filariasis infections as part of a multi-parasite survey in a village community in the savannah of northern Nigeria. We analysed serum samples from 341 individuals aged 5-70 years, detecting a W. bancrofti circulating antigen using the commercially available ICT Filariasis card test. The prevalence of infections was 10% and clearly age-dependent, increasing from below 2% in children to over 20% in subjects older than 40 years. Measuring IgG4 antibodies against the recombinant W. bancrofti antigen SXP1 showed that 36% of all tested individuals had been at least exposed to the parasite. Antibody levels also increased very significantly with age. A further analysis measuring Onchocerca volvulus-specific IgG4 antibodies showed a very significant association between infections with O. volvulus and those with W. bancrofti. Our data show that infections with W. bancrofti in Nigeria are still a frequently occurring health problem, since they are more prevalent than previously reported, and that individuals with an O. volvulus infection are more often infected with W. bancrofti than expected statistically.     

Integrating Pathways of Parkinson's Disease in a Molecular Interaction Map

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a major neurodegenerative chronic disease, most likely caused by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Information on various aspects of PD pathogenesis is rapidly increasing and needs to be efficiently organized, so that the resulting data is available for exploration and analysis. Here we introduce a computationally tractable, comprehensive molecular interaction map of PD. This map integrates pathways implicated in PD pathogenesis such as synaptic and mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired protein degradation, alpha-synuclein pathobiology and neuroinflammation. We also present bioinformatics tools for the analysis, enrichment and annotation of the map, allowing the research community to open new avenues in PD research. The PD map is accessible at http://minerva.uni.lu/pd_map.     

Systematic CpT (ApG) Depletion and CpG Excess Are Unique Genomic Signatures of Large DNA Viruses Infecting Invertebrates

Differences in the relative abundance of dinucleotides, if any may provide important clues on host-driven evolution of viruses. We studied dinucleotide frequencies of large DNA viruses infecting vertebrates (n = 105; viruses infecting mammals = 99; viruses infecting aves = 6; viruses infecting reptiles = 1) and invertebrates (n = 88; viruses infecting insects = 84; viruses infecting crustaceans = 4). We have identified systematic depletion of CpT(ApG) dinucleotides and over-representation of CpG dinucleotides as the unique genomic signature of large DNA viruses infecting invertebrates. Detailed investigation of this unique genomic signature suggests the existence of invertebrate host-induced pressures specifically targeting CpT(ApG) and CpG dinucleotides. The depletion of CpT dinucleotides among large DNA viruses infecting invertebrates is at least in part, explained by non-canonical DNA methylation by the infected host. Our findings highlight the role of invertebrate host-related factors in shaping virus evolution and they also provide the necessary framework for future studies on evolution, epigenetics and molecular biology of viruses infecting this group of hosts.     

Improvement of small seed for big nutritional feed

Exploding global population, rapid urbanization, salinization of soils, decreasing arable land availability, groundwater resources, and dynamic climatic conditions pose impending damage to our food security by reducing the grain quality and quantity. This issue is further compounded in arid and semi-arid regions due to the shortage of irrigation water and erratic rainfalls. Millets are gluten (a family of proteins)-free and cultivated all over the globe for human consumption, fuel, feed, and fodder. They provide nutritional security for the under- and malnourished. With the deployment of strategies like foliar spray, traditional/marker-assisted breeding, identification of candidate genes for the translocation of important minerals, and genome-editing technologies, it is now tenable to biofortify important millets. Since the bioavailability of iron and zinc has been proven in human trials, the challenge is to make such grains accessible. This review encompasses nutritional benefits, progress made, challenges being encountered, and prospects of enriching millet crops with essential minerals.