Optimization of microbial cell disruption using pressurized CO2 for improving lipid recovery from wet biomass

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - Microbial cell disruption using pressurized gases (e.g., CO2) is a promising approach to improve the lipid recovery from wet oleaginous microorganisms by...     

In Vitro Multiplication of Paedaria foetida L — A Rare Medicinal Plant

Paedaria foetida L, which has great medicinal value is facing danger of extinction. For its conservation, in vitro multiplication may prove one of the best techniques. Micropropagation of P. foetida has been achieved through the culture of nodal explants. The explants produced shoots on MS medium with 0.8% agar. This medium, however, caused high degree of browning of the explants and death of sprouted shoots. Agar free liquid MS medium with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) proved better. Maximum shoot proliferation, free from callus and vitrification but with poor rooting could be obtained in liquid MS medium with PVP (0.8%), NAA (0.5 mg l^?1) and BA (2.0 mg l^?1). The best rooting occurred on semisolid MS medium containing 0.8% agar and 0.5 mg l^?1 IBA.     

A computational tool to predict the evolutionarily conserved protein–protein interaction hot-spot residues from the structure of the unbound protein

Identifying hot-spot residues – residues that are critical to protein–protein binding – can help to elucidate a protein’s function and assist in designing therapeutic molecules to target those residues. We present a novel computational tool, termed spatial-interaction-map (SIM), to predict the hot-spot residues of an evolutionarily conserved protein–protein interaction from the structure of an unbound protein alone. SIM can predict the protein hot-spot residues with an accuracy of 36–57%. Thus, the SIM tool can be used to predict the yet unknown hot-spot residues for many proteins for which the structure of the protein–protein complexes are not available, thereby providing a clue to their functions and an opportunity to design therapeutic molecules to target these proteins.     

Mortality from an aspiration of dental crown during extraction

An aspiration of a dental crown during a dental extraction requires appropriate and timely diagnosis and management. While foreign body aspiration in dental procedures is relatively uncommon, it constitutes a true medical emergency and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We report a case of mortality from a foreign body aspiration and discuss the epidemiology, risk factors, signs and symptoms, management, and prevention of foreign body ingestion and aspiration events.     

Design of Monovalent and Chimeric Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine Using an Immunoinformatics Approach

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - An immunoinformatics technique was used to predict a monovalent amide immunogen candidate capable of producing therapeutic antibodies as...     

Analysis of mitochondrial DNA copy number variation in blood and tissue samples of metastatic breast cancer patients (A pilot study)

Changes in mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) copy number in blood/tissue have been linked to increased risk of several cancers; however, studies on their association in breast cancer is still lacking. In this pilot study, we investigated mt-DNA copy number variation in peripheral blood and tissue samples from metastatic breast cancer patients and compared their differences. For the study, peripheral blood samples from non-cancer individuals (control) and breast cancer patients, along with resected tissues from adjacent and tumor sites from same breast cancer patients were collected. Total genomic DNA was isolated and changes in mt-DNA copy number were measured by relative quantification using SYBR green based quantitative real time PCR method. Our results indicated a significant reduction in mt-DNA copy number in blood samples of breast cancer patients compared to control. However, a significantly higher mt-DNA copy number was observed in tumor tissue when compared with paired non tumor tissue. There was no significant difference in mt-DNA copy number between blood and adjacent tumor tissue samples of the breast cancer patients. Overall, our study reports for the first time a comparison of mt-DNA copy number in blood and paired tissue together and suggested that mt-DNA copy number is differentially regulated in blood and tumor tissues in breast cancer.     

Studies on cytochromes of lichenized fungi under optimized culture conditions

Cytochromes are membrane-bound hemoproteins responsible for the generation of ATP via the electron transport system to fuel the metabolic processes of the organism for their growth. This study reports the properties of cytochromes present in the isolated lichenized fungi of the cultured lichen Usnea ghattensis under optimized conditions. The fungal partner of the cultured lichen Usnea ghattensis contains a, b and c types of cytochromes. The concentrations of a, b and c type cytochromes were found to be significantly high (0.0967, 0.0900, and 0.1030 mM/mg protein, respectively) in the isolated fungal symbiont of cultured lichen grown in malt-yeast extract medium supplemented with 0.01 mol/l sucrose and 0.01 mol/l polyethylglycol. The results suggest that supplementation of additional carbon sources may play a role in optimizing the growth via activating the cytochrome respiratory system in lichenized fungi.     

Design of Epitope Based Vaccine for Dengue Virus Using Immunoinformatic Approach

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Dengue is an infectious disease caused by one of the four serotypes of the dengue virus. It is a mosquito borne disease and the female...