Histological and histochemical observations on the forestomach of goat during pre-natal life.

Non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium lined the mucosa of the fore-stomach. The mucosal appendages in the form of ruminal papillae did not develop in the rumen during this study, however, omasal laminae and reticular ribs were evident in groups I and II, respectively. Cytoplasmic accumulations were evident in the middle layer of the epithelium, which is characteristic of this region. The thickness of the epithelium increased constantly in the rumen and reticulum, but in the omasum it remained constant with the increase in the size of the fetus. The corial papillae in the rumen, reticulum and omasum appeared at the 12.7-, 11.5-and 14.6-cm CVR stage, respectively. The muscularis mucosae appeared in the omasum at the 14.6-cm CVR stage in the first-order laminae. The tunica muscularis consisted of spirally arranged muscle fibre bundles. Cross-cut muscle fibre bundles below the tip of the omasal laminae descended downward with the increase in the size of the fetus and continued with the inner circular layer. Acid and alkaline phosphatases and fat could not be observed. The concentration of glycogen in the epithelium was maximum in group III and minimum in group II.     

Role of an indigenous drug geriforte on blood levels of biogenic amines and its significance in the treatment of anxiety neurosis

In the recent past, several herbal drugs have proved their efficacy in decreasing anxiety and tension. Until recently, limited scientific study has been done to prove the clinical importance of these herbal drugs. Geriforte is an indigenous compound commonly advocated for arresting the aging process. This remedy has also been found beneficial in reducing anxiety and stress.-34 diagnosed cases of anxiety neurosis and 24 apparently normal individuals were selected for the present study. After 12 weeks of drug therapy a significant reduction in 5-HT levels was observed. Circulating MAO and GABA showed an increasing trend along with decreased glutamic acid levels after treatment, in the neurotic anxiety cases. Psychological complaints considerably decreased after 12 weeks of therapy. Since Geriforte regulates the altered circulating biogenic amines, this remedy can be advocated as an adjunctive therapy in the management of stress disorders.     

Use of alkaline proteases for ultrafiltration membrane cleaning

Ability of alkaline proteases to clean ultrafiltration membranes fouled during milk processing was determined in two alkaline UF membrane cleaner, Alconox and Ultrasil. Optimum hydrolysis of milk proteins was observed with 5 g enzyme/l and showed a linear increase in water flux from 37.6 l m–2 h to 212.4 l m–2 h after 0.67 h. Enzyme performance was synergistically enhanced in combination with Alconox cleaner and exhibited 100% flux restoration.     

Metabolic engineering in food crops to enhance ascorbic acid production: crop biofortification perspectives for human health

Ascorbic acid (AsA) also known as vitamin C is considered as an essential micronutrient in the diet of humans. The human body is unable to synthesize AsA, thus solely dependent on exogenous sources to accomplish the nutritional requirement. AsA plays a crucial role in different physiological aspects of human health like bone formation, iron absorption, maintenance and development of connective tissues, conversion of cholesterol to bile acid and production of serotonin. It carries antioxidant properties and is involved in curing various clinical disorders such as scurvy, viral infection, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, anemia, and diabetes. It also plays a significant role in COVID-19 prevention and recovery by improving the oxygen index and enhancing the production of natural killer cells and T-lymphocytes. In plants, AsA plays important role in floral induction, seed germination, senescence, ROS regulation and photosynthesis. AsA is an essential counterpart of the antioxidant system and helps to defend the plants against abiotic and biotic stresses. Surprisingly, the deficiencies of AsA are spreading in both developed and developing countries. The amount of AsA in the major food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, and other raw natural plant foods is inadequate to fulfill its dietary requirements. Hence, the biofortification of AsA in staple crops would be feasible and cost-effective means of delivering AsA to populations that may have limited access to diverse diets and other interventions. In this review, we endeavor to provide information on the role of AsA in plants and human health, and also perused various biotechnological and agronomical approaches for elevating AsA content in food crops.     

In vitro study of some medicinally important Mannich bases derived from antitubercular agent

Biologically active Mannich bases with heteroaromatic ring system have been synthesised employing Mannich reaction of isonicotinyl hydrazide with various sulphonamides/secondary amines. They were analysed by elemental analysis and characterized by uv, ir, 1H nmr spectroscopic studies. The Mannich bases were screened for their antibacterial activity against various gram positive and gram negative bacteria and were analyzed statistically. The results have shown that the compounds are quiet active against pathogens under study and were nontoxic.     

Apoptotic cell death of macrophages by iron-stressed <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella enterica </Emphasis>serovar Typhimurium

Salmonella spp. have been shown to cause apoptosis of various host cell types as a part of their infection process. However, the induction of apoptosis remains to be looked into under the different host environments experienced by the pathogens. One of these is iron limitation, due to binding of iron in the host with proteins like lactoferrin, transferrin, haptoglobulin and hemoglobin etc. making non-availability of free iron to the pathogen for its growth and metabolism. In order to simulate the iron-limited in vivo situation, we studied the potential of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and its proteins under in vitro-created iron-stressed conditions, to cause apoptosis of macrophages (the first line of defence system). The apoptotic potential was evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively by various methods like assessment of nucleosomal DNA ladder (hallmark of apoptosis) and morphological evaluation by DNA intercalating dyes like acridine orange staining and Hoechst 33342-propidium iodide co-staining. It was observed that iron limitation could cause apoptotic cell death in a higher number of cells with the overexpression of proteins with subunit molecular weights of approximately 89, 54, 32 and 20 kDa. Salmonella may initiate apoptosis as a virulence strategy, but the death of host cells by the process of apoptosis rather than necrosis after getting a suicidal signal might be helpful for the host in order to save the surrounding cells, as well as to the parasite to enable it to spread systemically without inducing an inflammatory response.     

One-pot synthesis of per-O-acetylated thioglycosides from unprotected reducing sugars

A sequential per-O-acetylation and thioglycosidation of unprotected reducing sugars using a stoichiometric quantity of acetic anhydride and alkyl- or arylthiols is reported. These reactions, which are catalyzed by BF3.OEt2, together constitute an efficient one-pot method for the synthesis of acetylated thioglycosides.     

HClO4-SiO2 catalyzed per-O-acetylation of carbohydrates

An efficient per-O-acetylation of carbohydrates catalyzed by HClO4-SiO2 is reported using a stoichiometric quantity of acetic anhydride avoiding the use of pyridine and excess acetic anhydride under solvent-free conditions.