Distribution and function of prophage phiRv1 and phiRv2 among Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is notorious for causing diseases, such as tuberculosis. Tuberculosis caused by M. tuberculosis remains a global public health concern. Two prophages, phiRv1 and phiRv2, can be found among most MTBC genomes. However, no precise functions have been assigned for the two prophages. In this paper, to find out the function of these two prophages, the distribution and function of phiRv1 and phiRv2 in MTBC genomes were analyzed from multiple omics data. We found that complex insertion, deletion, and reorganization appeared on the locus of two prophages in MTBC genomes; some genes of the two prophages can be translated and are functional from proteomic data; the expression of other prophage genes, such as Rv1577c, Rv2650c, Rv2652c, Rv2659c, and Rv2658c, can vary with environmental stresses and might enhance the fitness of MTBC. These data will facilitate our in-depth understanding of their function.     

Differential protein input in the maternal diet alters the skeletal muscle transcriptome in fetal sheep

Mammalian Genome - Maternal nutrition during pregnancy is one of the major intrauterine environmental factors that influence fetal development by significantly altering the expression of genes that...     

Technical Study of a Standalone Photovoltaic–Wind Energy Based Hybrid Power Supply Systems for Island Electrification in Malaysia

Energy is one of the most important factors in the socioeconomic development of a country. In a developing country like Malaysia, the development of islands is mostly related to the availability of electric power. Power generated by renewable energy sources has recently become one of the most promising solutions for the electrification of islands and remote rural areas. But high dependency on weather conditions and the unpredictable nature of these renewable energy sources are the main drawbacks. To overcome this weakness, different green energy sources and power electronic converters need to be integrated with each other. This study presents a battery storage hybrid standalone photovoltaic-wind energy power supply system. In the proposed standalone hybrid system, a DC-DC buck-boost bidirectional converter controller is used to accumulates the surplus hybrid power in the battery bank and supplies this power to the load during the hybrid power shortage by maintaining the constant dc-link voltage. A three-phase voltage source inverter complex vector control scheme is used to control the load side voltage in terms of the voltage amplitude and frequency. Based on the simulation results obtained from MATLAB/Simulink, it has been found that the overall hybrid framework is capable of working under variable weather and load conditions.     

Alkaloids from the leaves of Strychnos wallichiana

The leaves of Strychnos wallichiana Steud. ex. DC. from Bangladesh contain icajine and novacine as their major alkaloids. Smaller amounts of strychnine, brucine, pseudostrychnine, pseudobrucine, N-methyl-sec.-pseudo-β-colubrine, 14-hydroxyicajine, strychnine N-oxide, and brucine N-oxide are also present. The new bases 14 hydroxynovacine and icajine N-oxide have been isolated.     

Seasonal Abundance of Acanthamoeba rhysodes (Singh, 1952) (Protozoa: Gymnamoebia) in a Mangrove Litter-Soil Ecosystem of Gangetic-Estuary,India1,2

Acanthamoeba rhysodes has been found to be a predominant intertidal benthic gymnamoeba in the mangrove ecosystem of Sundarbans of lower deltaic Bengal, facing the Bay. The sampling zones under study were the highest high tide regions, with characteristic mangrove litter-soil, inundated twice per month during the highest ebb of spring tide. Population abundance of this species, both in its trophic and cystic forms in the three distinct seasonal periods of pre-monsoon (March to June), monsoon (July to October), and post-monsoon (November to February) has been surveyed for over two years. These seasonal periods affect the physico-chemical parameters of the habitat substrata, including temperature, pH, and salinity. It has been found that the overall number of organisms per gram of soil attains peak value during the monsoon period. This value comes down in post-monsoon samples and is the least in pre-monsoon ones.