Ethnomedicinal plant use by Lepcha tribe of Dzongu valley, bordering Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, in North Sikkim, India

Lepcha is the oldest and the first tribe reported from Sikkim, India; majority of its population inhabiting in Dzongu valley, an officially demarcated reserve for Lepcha community, bordering Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, in north district. Lepchas of Dzongu are known for their retention of rich cultural heritage. In view of the on-going cultural and economic changes brought in by the process of globalization, the immediate need was felt to document in details the under-explored ethnomedicinal practices of Lepchas of Dzongu valley. This paper reports 118 species, belonging to 71 families and 108 genera, under ethnomedicinal utility by the Lepchas for curing approximately 66 ailments, which could be grouped under 14 broad categories. Zingiberaceae appeared as the most used family (8 species and 5 genera). As per use pattern, maximum of 30.50% species are to cure stomach related disorders/ailments, followed by 19.49% for curing cut, wounds, inflammation, sprains and joint pains. Administration of medicine orally is recorded in 75% cases. Root and rhizome harvesting targeted 30 species. The changing scenario over time both at socio-cultural front and passing traditional knowledge interests from older to younger generation and rich ethnomicinal wealth of the oldest tribe of Sikkim are discussed in the light of conservation strategies and techniques to adopt.     

Study on growth and biomass of underground organs ofTypha angustata Bory & Chaub

Underground and aboveground biomass and their ratios at flowering time in different natural stands of Typha angustata near Jaipur, India were studied in the field and experimentally over a period of eleven months (June to April). The underground biomass was 40–50% of the aboveground biomass in both natural and experimental conditions.     

Structural hierarchy controls deformation behavior of collagen

The structure of collagen, the most abundant protein in mammals, consists of a triple helix composed of three helical polypeptide chains. The deformation behavior of collagen is governed by molecular mechanisms that involve the interaction between different helical hierarchies found in collagen. Here, we report results of Steered Molecular Dynamics study of the full-length collagen molecule (～290 nm). The collagen molecule is extended at various pulling rates ranging from 0.00003/ps to 0.012/ps. These simulations reveal a new level of hierarchy exhibited by collagen: helicity of the triple chain. This level of hierarchy is apparent at the 290 nm length and cannot be observed in the 7-9 nm models often described to evaluate collagen mechanics. The deformation mechanisms in collagen are governed by all three levels of hierarchy, helicity of single chain (level-1), helical triple helix (level-2), and hereby described helicity of the triple chain (level-3). The mechanics resulting from the three levels is described by an interlocking gear analogy. In addition, remarkably, the full-length collagen does not show much unwinding of triple helix unlike that exhibited by short collagen models. Further, the full-length collagen does not show significant unwinding of the triple helix, unlike that exhibited by short collagen. Also reported is that the interchain hydrogen bond energy in the full-length collagen is significantly smaller than the overall interchain nonbonded interaction energies, suggesting that the nonbonded interactions have far more important role than hydrogen bonds in the mechanics of collagen. However, hydrogen bonding is essential for the triple helical conformation of the collagen. Hence, although mechanics of collagen is controlled by nonbonded interchain interaction energies, the confirmation of collagen is attributed to the interchain hydrogen bonding.     

Methylphenidate decreased the amount of glucose needed by the brain to perform a cognitive task

The use of stimulants (methylphenidate and amphetamine) as cognitive enhancers by the general public is increasing and is controversial. It is still unclear how they work or why they improve performance in some individuals but impair it in others. To test the hypothesis that stimulants enhance signal to noise ratio of neuronal activity and thereby reduce cerebral activity by increasing efficiency, we measured the effects of methylphenidate on brain glucose utilization in healthy adults. We measured brain glucose metabolism (using Positron Emission Tomography and 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose) in 23 healthy adults who were tested at baseline and while performing an accuracy-controlled cognitive task (numerical calculations) given with and without methylphenidate (20 mg, oral). Sixteen subjects underwent a fourth scan with methylphenidate but without cognitive stimulation. Compared to placebo methylphenidate significantly reduced the amount of glucose utilized by the brain when performing the cognitive task but methylphenidate did not affect brain metabolism when given without cognitive stimulation. Whole brain metabolism when the cognitive task was given with placebo increased 21% whereas with methylphenidate it increased 11% (50% less). This reflected both a decrease in magnitude of activation and in the regions activated by the task. Methylphenidate's reduction of the metabolic increases in regions from the default network (implicated in mind-wandering) was associated with improvement in performance only in subjects who activated these regions when the cognitive task was given with placebo. These results corroborate prior findings that stimulant medications reduced the magnitude of regional activation to a task and in addition document a "focusing" of the activation. This effect may be beneficial when neuronal resources are diverted (i.e., mind-wandering) or impaired (i.e., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), but it could be detrimental when brain activity is already optimally focused. This would explain why methylphenidate has beneficial effects in some individuals and contexts and detrimental effects in others.     

Nod1-mediated lipolysis promotes diacylglycerol accumulation and successive inflammation via PKCδ-IRAK axis in adipocytes

Chronic inflammation contributes to obesity mediated metabolic disturbances, including insulin resistance. Obesity is associated with altered microbial load in metabolic tissues that can contribute to metabolic inflammation. Different bacterial components such as, LPS, peptidoglycans have been shown to underpin metabolic disturbances through interaction with host innate immune receptors. Activation of Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1 (Nod1) with specific peptidoglycan moieties promotes insulin resistance, inflammation and lipolysis in adipocytes. However, it was not clear how Nod1-mediated lipolysis and inflammation is linked. Here, we tested if Nod1-mediated lipolysis caused accumulation of lipid intermediates and promoted cell autonomous inflammation in adipocytes. We showed that Nod1-mediated lipolysis caused accumulation of diacylglycerol (DAG) and activation of PKCδ in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which was prevented with a Nod1 inhibitor. Nod1-activated PKCδ caused downstream stimulation of IRAK1/4 and was associated with increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as, IL-1β, IL-18, IL-6, TNFα and MCP-1. Pharmacological inhibition or siRNA mediated knockdown of IRAK1/4 attenuated Nod1-mediated activation of NF-κB, JNK, and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. These results reveal that Nod1-mediated lipolysis promoted accumulation of DAG, which engaged PKCδ and IRAK1/4 to augment inflammation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.     

Copper removal by immobilized Microcystis aeruginosa in continuous flow columns at different bed heights: study of the adsorption/desorption cycle

Microcystis aeruginosa immobilized in a natural polymer was tested for its potential to remove Cu²⁺ ions from aqueous solution in a continuous, downflow packed columnar reactor. Various parameters like flow rate, bed height and contact time required for maximum removal of test metals by the immobilized Microcystis aeruginosa were optimized. An increase in bed height from 2 to 10 cm resulted in an apparent decrease in biosorption capacity from 8.94 to 5.34 mg g^–1, but more Cu²⁺ solution was purified at the higher bed height. Efficiency of metal recovery from Cu²⁺-loaded biomass and its subsequent regeneration was also determined. Immobilized M. aeruginosa was found to be effective in Cu²⁺ removal from solution for up to 10 cycles of adsorption–desorption and 1 M HCl is very efficient desorbent for regeneration of Microcystis biomass for reuse.     

Acute effects of heat on neuropsychological changes and physiological responses under noise condition

To examine the effects of heat and noise individually and jointly on certain physiological responses and cognitive and neuromotor based functions, 12 male participants were tested under 6 experimental conditions which resulted by combining 3 levels of heat (25 degrees, 30 degrees and 35 degrees C) and 2 levels of white noise (70 and 100 dB). The experiment was carried out in a controlled climatic chamber following two 6 x 6 latin square designs. The results indicated elevations in heart rate, oxygen uptake and body temperature due to the independent effect of heat or the combined effects of heat and noise. The independent action of noise was found to be depressive on the first two responses. On the neuropsychological effects, the heat adversely affected the speed in card sorting (by design configuration) and digit symbol tests, and also the accuracy and error rate in the reasoning ability test. The noise caused performance improvements in critical flicker frequency (simultaneous) and in error rates in card sorting (by design configuration). The combined effects of heat and noise indicated higher error rates in card sorting (by face value), decreased accuracy in reasoning ability and improvements in performance in accuracy scores and error rates in digit symbol test.     

Establishment and characterization of an epithelial cell line from thymus of Catla catla (Hamilton, 1822)

A cell line, CTE, derived from catla (Catla catla) thymus has been established by explant method and subcultured for more than 70 passages over a period of 400 days. The cell line has been maintained in L-15 (Leibovitz) medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. CTE cell line consists of homogeneous population of epithelial-like cells and grows optimally at 28 °C. Karyotype analysis revealed that the modal chromosome number of CTE cells was 50. Partial amplification, sequencing and alignment of fragments of two mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA and COI confirmed that CTE cell line originated from catla. Significant green fluorescent signals were observed when the cell line was transfected with phrGFP II-N mammalian expression vector, indicating its potential utility for transgenic and genetic manipulation studies. The CTE cells showed strong positivity for cytokeratin, indicating that cell line was epithelial in nature. The flow cytometric analysis of cell line revealed a higher number of cells in S-phase at 48 h, suggesting a high growth rate. The extracellular products of Vibrio cholerae MTCC 3904 were toxic to the CTE cells. This cell line was not susceptible to fish betanodavirus, the causative agent of viral nervous necrosis in a large variety of marine fish.     

PMTER-ABE: a practical multi-authority CP-ABE with traceability,revocation and outsourcing decryption for secure access control in cloud systems

Cluster Computing - Attribute-based encryption (ABE) has evolved as an efficient and secure method for storage of data with fine-grained access control in cloud platforms. In recent years,...     

Study of properties of cholinephosphotransferase from fetal guinea pig lung mitochondria and microsomes

Summary We have reported earlier that cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) is present in both mitochondria and microsomes of fetal guinea pig lung. This study was designed to compare the properties of mitochondrial and microsomal cholinephosphotransferase in fetal guinea pig lung. Various parameters, such as substrate specificity, K_m values, sensitivity to N-ethylmaleimide, dithiothreitol and trypsin were measured. Both showed significant preference for unsaturated diacylglycerols over saturated diacylglycerols. Data on K_m and V_max indicate that the affinity of this enzyme for different diacylglycerols varies between the two forms. The ID₅₀ values for N-ethylmaleimide were 20 mM and 12.5 mM for the mitochondrial and microsomal form of the enzyme, respectively. Dithiothreitol showed an inhibitory effect on both; however, the mitochondrial form was inhibited less than the microsomal form. The effects of N-ethylmaleimide and dithiothreitol on both forms of enzyme indicated that the microsomal cholinephosphotransferase requires a higher concentration of -SH for its activity than the mitochondrial enzyme does. The enzyme was inhibited by trypsin in both mitochondria and microsome under isotonic condition suggesting that this enzyme is on the outside of the membrane in both endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria.