Heat Transfer Analysis for Stationary Boundary Layer Slip Flow of a Power-Law Fluid in a Darcy Porous Medium with Plate Suction/Injection

In this paper, we investigate the slip effects on the boundary layer flow and heat transfer characteristics of a power-law fluid past a porous flat plate embedded in the Darcy type porous medium. The nonlinear coupled system of partial differential equations governing the flow and heat transfer of a power-law fluid is transformed into a system of nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations by applying a suitable similarity transformation. The resulting system of ordinary differential equations is solved numerically using Matlab bvp4c solver. Numerical results are presented in the form of graphs and the effects of the power-law index, velocity and thermal slip parameters, permeability parameter, suction/injection parameter on the velocity and temperature profiles are examined.     

Prioritizing Biosecurity Risks Using a Participatory Decision-Making Tool

A decision framework called Deliberative Multi-Criteria Evaluation (DMCE) was developed and deployed to prioritize biosecurity risks using a variety of subjective and objective information. To aid stakeholders in the prioritization of Emergency Plant Pest (EPP) species risk, we presented them with outputs from a Stella-based bio-economic pest risk model, and probable ecological and socioeconomic impacts. The stakeholder participants weighted the consequence criteria they deemed to have the highest expected impact. The methodology featured an uncertain set of parameters, multiple iterations of criteria weighting along with real-time sensitivity analysis. Of the five criteria, economic cost was weighted the highest at 26% while landscape amenity was weighted the lowest at the 10–12% range. The increased understanding and support gained by stakeholders through the DMCE process provided a greater likelihood of the sanctioning of the policies concerned and progress toward desired outcomes.     

Spider diagram with greenness evaluation metrics for assessing the new synchronous spectrofluorimetric determination of bicalutamide and resveratrol in human plasma

A simple, selective, and eco-friendly synchronous fluorescence approach was introduced for the first time for the concurrent estimation of the anticancer combination therapy of bicalutamide and resveratrol. The method relies on measuring the synchronous fluorescence spectra of bicalutamide and resveratrol at 269 and 320 nm, respectively, using Δλ of 60 nm with ethanol as a green diluting solvent. The procedure was optimized, and the method was then fully validated. Excellent linearity (R² > 0.999) with very low detection limits (0.044 and 2.001 ng/ml) were obtained for both drugs, allowing for their analysis in human plasma. The green profile of the suggested approach was evaluated using the green solvents selecting tool (GSST), spider diagram for greenness index assessment, green analytical process index (GAPI), and Analytical GREEnness (AGREE) metric tools. These assessment metrics confirmed that the developed approach met the maximum number of green requirements, recommending its application as a green substitute for the regular analysis of the concerned drugs in human plasma. The simplicity of sample measurement enables and substantially accelerates the analysis, resulting in lower costs, enhanced procedure accuracy, and lower environmental effect.     

Protein intake and stress levels in nurses and housewives of Pakistan

Stress has many biological effects on human daily life. In the present study, dietary protein intake was correlated with the investigated stress levels of nurses and housewives of the targeted urban population. Age group ranged from 30 to 45 years and both the groups belonged to middle socioeconomic status. After calculations of environmental, psychological and physiological stresses, it was observed that the levels of stress in housewives were significantly higher than those of nurses. Recommended dietary allowances, RDA and actual protein intakes, API were also compared in both the groups. The found protein intake was less in housewives as compared to that of nurses.     

Membrane receptors for estrogen,progesterone, and testosterone in the rat brain: Fantasy or reality

Summary 1. There are numerous circumstantial evidence supporting the concept that steroid hormones control cellular function by means other than the nuclear receptor steroid binding mechanism. It is the intent of this report to present evidence indicating that steroids bind to specific sites in neuronal membranes.2. Some of the criteria to define steroid membrane receptors using steroid-BSA conjugates that can be radioiodinated to desired specific activity have been fulfilled for each of the three sex steroids using crude synaptosomal membrane preparations (P2 fractions) from the CNS of female and male rats. Ligand binding for each of the three steroids indicate high-affinity and high-capacity sites with distinct brain selectivity and stereospecificity. For example, 17-E-6-[¹²⁵I]BSA binds hypothalamic P2 fractions (HYP-P2) with an estimatedK _d of about 3±0.7 nM (X ± SE;n=3), whereas the cerebellum P2 (CB-P2) fractions bind the ligand with aK _d of 34±7 nM and, aB _max of 3 and 42 pmol/mg protein, respectively. Estrogen and testosterone binding fit best a one-single site, while progesterone binding sites can be best represented by a two-binding site, one high-affinity (K _d=1–2 nM) and one low affinity (K _d=62 nM), in CB-P2 fractions from intact adult female rat brain. Kinetics studies for T-3-[¹²⁵I]BSA indicate that the estimatedK _d of 30±2 nM for the olfactory bulb P2 fractions (OB-P2) from male rats is in good agreement withK _d values computed from Scatchard-derived data using the LIGAND algorithm.3. 17-E-6-[¹²⁵I]BSA binding sites are stereospecific and appears to be present as early as 5 days of age in both the OB- and the CB-P2 fractions without changes during development. In contrast, P-6-[¹²⁵I]BSA binding sites are practically absent during days 5 and 12 and appear by day 22.4. Finally, membrane receptor molecules for estrogen and progesterone have been isolated and purified by affinity chromatography and characterized by PAGE and Western blot. Microsequencing of one of the membrane estrogen binding proteins indicates that the high-affinity site corresponds to the OSCP subunit of the proton ATP synthase.5. It remains to be determined if P and T also bind to this complex enzyme or if they bind to other subunits of the family of proton ATPases. Overall the data indicate that steroid hormones conjugated to BSA are important tools to study the reality of membrane steroid receptors.     

Effect of Spermine-NONOate on acrosome reaction and associated protein tyrosine phosphorylation in Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) spermatozoa

The present study was conducted to know the role of Nitric Oxide (NO) on the acrosome reaction (AR) in Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) spermatozoa. Ejaculated buffalo spermatozoa were washed, suspended in sp-TALP media containing 6 mg BSA/mL and cell concentration was adjusted to 50×10(6) cells/mL. The cells were incubated for 6h in the absence or presence of heparin (10 μg/mL) to induce capacitation. Fully capacitated spermatozoa were incubated in presence of 100 μg/mL Lysophosphatidyl choline (LPC, T1) or 100 μM Spermine-NONOate (T2) or 100 mM L-NAME (T3) or 100 μM Spermine-NONOate+100 mM L-NAME (T4) or 1 mM db-cAMP + 0.1 mM IBMX (T5) or 100μM H-89 (T6) or 100 μM Spermine-NONOate+100 μM H-89 (T7) in combination to induce acrosome reaction. The extent of AR was assessed by dual-staining of spermatozoa with trypan blue/Giemsa stain. AR-associated tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins were detected by SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting using monoclonal anti-phosphotyrosine antibody. Significant (P<0.05) number of spermatozoa were acrosome reacted in Spermine-NONOate (T2) treated cells but it was significantly (P<0.05) lower than LPC (T1) induced AR. Addition of Spermine-NONOate + L-NAME (T4) resulted in non significant (P>0.05) decrease in acrosome reaction. On addition of H-89 + Spermine-NONOate (T7) to sperm culture medium, resulted in significant (P<0.05) decrease in the percent acrosome reaction. Conversely, addition of db-cAMP+IBMX (T5, cAMP analogue) resulted in the significantly (P<0.05) higher number of acrosome reacted spermatozoa. Pattern of sperm protein tyrosine phosphorylation was also different in NO induced acrosome reaction compared to that of LPC. The present study concluded that nitric oxide is involved in acrosome reaction of buffalo spermatozoa by causing the tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins mainly p17 and p20 and through activation of cAMP/PKA pathway.     

In vitro antifungal activity of lactic acid bacteria low molecular peptides against spoilage fungi of bakery products

Bio-preservation, a promising preservation method that involves the use of “friendly” microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria, has recently become a topic of considerable interest. In the present study, 16 lactic acid bacteria isolates were evaluated for antifungal activity against six fungi commonly associated with bread spoilage. The antifungal compounds were heat stable at 121 °C, and only four isolates, DU15, IT10, TE10, and IS10, showed partial loss of activity when supernatants were treated with proteolytic enzymes. The four isolates showed high inhibition activity at pH 3 and were identified using 16S rDNA sequencing as belonging to Leuconostoc mesenteroides DU15, Lactobacillus plantarum TE10, Lactobacillus plantarum IT10, and Lactobacillus plantarum IS10. The minimum germination inhibitions were 30 mg, 50 mg, 40 mg, and 50 mg for TE10, IT10, DU15, and IS10 respectively. The optimum conditions for the strains to produce antifungal compounds were 37 °C for 48 h for IT10, IS10, and TE10, and 30 °C for 24 h for DU15. Antifungal activity was increased threefold when supernatants were filtered using 10 KDa membranes. These findings demonstrate the potential of using lactic acid bacteria antifungal peptides as natural preservatives in bakery products to control the growth of spoilage fungi.     

Osmotic adjustment of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is not associated with changes in carbohydrate composition or leaf gas exchange under drought

Genetic differences in osmotic adjustment (OA) have been reported among chickpea (Cicer arietinum) cultivars. In this study eight advanced breeding lines (ABLs) derived from a cross between CTS 60543 (high OA) and Kaniva (low OA) and Tyson (medium OA) and Kaniva, along with the parents, were evaluated for OA, leaf carbohydrate composition and leaf gas exchange under dryland field conditions in India. The water potential (WP) decreased to lower values (less than −2.5 MPa) in Tyson, M 110 and M 86 than in the other genotypes. With decrease in WP, OA increased by 0.5 MPa in Kaniva and CTS 60543 to 1.3 MPa in M 55. As the decrease in WP varied with genotype, when OA was regressed against WP M 39 and M 55 had greater increases in OA with decrease in WP than the remaining nine genotypes, including the parents. As WP decreased, leaf starch content decreased while total soluble sugars, hexoses and sucrose increased: the decrease in starch was much smaller in M 93 and M 129 than in Tyson and M 51, but genotypic differences could not be detected in the increase in total sugars, hexoses or sucrose. The rates of photosynthesis and transpiration decreased as the WP became more negative, but M 129 reached low rates of photosynthesis (2 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and transpiration at a WP of −1.7 MPa, whereas Tyson reached the same low rate at −2.4 MPa. While OA varied among the chickpea genotypes, the differences were not associated with the changes in carbohydrate composition or the rates of gas exchange at low values of WP. Further, the degree of OA of the 11 genotypes was not the same as when they were selected for differences in OA under rainout shelter conditions in the field in Australia, suggesting that OA may show poor stability depending upon the stress level, location or physiological stage of the plant. This suggests that OA is not a valuable drought-resistance trait to select for in chickpea breeding programmes.     

Surface modification of lipid nanoparticles for gene therapy

Gene therapies have the potential to target and effectively treat a variety of diseases including cancer as well as genetic, neurological, and autoimmune disorders. Although we have made significant advances in identifying non-viral strategies to deliver genetic cargo, certain limitations remain. In general, gene delivery is challenging for several reasons including the instabilities of nucleic acids to enzymatic and chemical degradation and the presence of restrictive biological barriers such as cell, endosomal and nuclear membranes. The emergence of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) helped overcome many of these challenges. Despite its success, further optimization is required for LNPs to yield efficient gene delivery to extrahepatic tissues, as LNPs favor accumulation in the liver after systemic administration. In this mini-review, we provide an overview of current preclinical approaches in that LNP surface modification was leveraged for cell and tissue targeting by conjugating aptamers, antibodies, and peptides among others. In addition to their cell uptake and efficiency-enhancing effects, we outline the (dis-)advantages of the different targeting moieties and commonly used conjugation strategies.