Association of <Emphasis Type="Italic">XPA</Emphasis> Polymorphisms Towards Lung Cancer Susceptibility and its Predictive Role in Overall Survival of North Indians

The present study investigated the role of Xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA) polymorphism (A23G and G709A) with lung cancer risk and its association with overall survival in North Indians. 370 cases and 370 controls were investigated to evaluate association between XPA polymorphism (A23G and G709A) with lung cancer risk using logistic regression analysis. A follow-up study was also conducted for 291 lung cancer cases illustrating correlation between overall survival in lung cancer patients and XPA variants. GG genotype showed an increased lung cancer risk (p = 0.0007) for A23G polymorphism whereas G709A polymorphism was associated with significant protective effect in heterozygous (AG) subjects (p = 0.001). When stratified according to smoking status an increased risk for lung cancer was observed for GG genotype in A23G polymorphism (p = 0.0002). A poor survival in females carrying variant genotype (GG) was observed (p = 0.001; MST = 4.16 months) for A23G polymorphism. Adenocarcinoma patients with heterozygous genotype showed an increased hazard ratio (p = 0.02) for A23G polymorphism. G709A was associated with a reduced hazard ratio marking a better survival among mutant females (HR 0.17; p = 0.05; MST = 18.63 months). It can be concluded that A23G polymorphism might contribute to increased lung cancer risk in North Indian population emphasizing on poor survival among females. G709A polymorphism might result in protective effect in lung cancer subjects. The present study had a low sample size but it could act as reference for the large sample studies in future.     

Enhancement in xylose utilization using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kluyveromyces marxianus</Emphasis> NIRE-K1 through evolutionary adaptation approach

The evolutionary adaptation was carried out on the thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus NIRE-K1 at 45 °C up to 60 batches to enhance its xylose utilization capability. The adapted strain showed higher specific growth rate and 3-fold xylose uptake rate and short lag phase as compared to the native strain. During aerobic growth adapted yeast showed 2.81-fold higher xylose utilization than that of native. In anaerobic batch fermentation, adapted yeast utilized about 91 % of xylose in 72 h and produced 2.88 and 18.75 g l^?1 of ethanol and xylitol, respectively, which were 5.11 and 5.71-fold higher than that of native. Ethanol yield, xylitol yield and specific sugar consumption rate obtained by the adapted cells were found to be 1.57, 1.65 and 4.84-fold higher than that of native yeast, respectively. Aforesaid results suggested that the evolutionary adaptation will be a very effective strategy in the near future for economic lignocellulosic ethanol production.     

Cellulase from Bacillus licheniformis and Brucella sp. isolated from mangrove soils of Mahanadi river delta,Odisha, India

In the present study, two cellulose-degrading bacteria (CDB-5 and CDB-12) were isolated from mangrove soils of Mahanadi river delta, based on halo zone formation in Congo red agar medium and evaluation for cellulase production in CMC broth medium. Based on morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the two strains, CDB-5 and CDB-12, were identified as Brucella sp. and Bacillus licheniformis, respectively. The gene bank accession number of the strains CDB-5 and CDB-12 are KR632646 and KR632645, respectively. The strain Brucella sp. and B. licheniformis showed an enzyme activity of 96.37?U/ml and 98.25?U/ml, respectively, after 72?h of incubation period. Enzyme production was optimized under different growth conditions such as pH, temperature, agitation rate, carbon source, sodium chloride (NaCl), and nitrogen sources. Maximum cellulase production by both the strains was obtained in the same parameter condition such as pH (7.0), rpm (150), and NaCl (2%, w/v) which varies for other parameters. The strain, CDB-5, produced maximum cellulase at 35?°C temperature, maltose as a carbon source, and yeast extract as a nitrogen source where as the strain CDB-12 produces maximum cellulase at 45?°C temperature, carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) as carbon source and trypton as a nitrogen source. The bacterial crude enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by overnight dialysis. SDS-PAGE analysis of the partially purified cellulase enzyme exhibited band sizes of approximately 55 and 72?kDa.     

Antidepressant drugs act by directly binding to TRKB neurotrophin receptors

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Detection of disease specific sialoglycoconjugate specific antibodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of non-small cell lung cancer patients

In this study, we report the presence of significantly higher level of GM3 specific IgG antibodies (IgG_TL) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained from tumor bearing lung of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients as compared to other non-neoplastic controls. The antibodies were isolated using DEAE-cellulose anion exchange chromatography and molecular weight of the subunits of IgG_TL was confirmed in SDS-PAGE. IgG_TL revealed high specificity to GM3 and the IgG distribution was confined to IgG1. Furthermore, IgG_TL showed strong reactivity with NSCLC cell lines as well as the tissue biopsies and cells obtained from fine needle aspirations of NSCLC patients. A 66 kDa membrane glycoprotein of NSCLC cell lines was found to interact specifically with IgG_TL, the intensity of which was drastically reduced in presence of GM3. Further, binding of Maackia amurensis agglutinin [specific for NeuAcα(2→3)Gal unit , the same disaccharide unit also known to be present in GM3] to the 66 kDa band confirmed it to be a sialoglycoprotein in nature. IgG_TL could not show any reactivity to alkaline borohydrate treated or periodate oxidised membrane fractions, suggesting the probable involvement of the carbohydrate moiety of the 66 kDa glycoprotein in the interaction with IgG_TL. Thus, the 66 kDa sialoglycoprotein seems to be the NSCLC specific sialoglycoconjugate. Taken together, IgG_TL antibodies may have the potential to serve as a unique probe for detail investigation of NSCLC specific cell surface sialoglycoconjugate. Further, due to high specificity of IgG_TL to GM3, it may be possible to develop a simple alternative diagnostic approach (GM3-ELISA) for NSCLC.     

Indirect estimation of the underground standing crop of individual plant species of natural grassland communities

The estimation of underground standing crop of individual plant species in a natural grassland ecosystem without direct measurement of screened plant material is described. A mathematical formulation techinque has been designed by correlating the variables fresh weight, dry weight, ash weight and also nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, calcium, sulphur and magnesium content of the plant species.     

Antimicrobial activity of metal based nanoparticles against microbes associated with diseases in aquaculture

The emergence of diseases and mortalities in aquaculture and development of antibiotics resistance in aquatic microbes, has renewed a great interest towards alternative methods of prevention and control of diseases. Nanoparticles have enormous potential in controlling human and animal pathogens and have scope of application in aquaculture. The present investigation was carried out to find out suitable nanoparticles having antimicrobial effect against aquatic microbes. Different commercial as well as laboratory synthesized metal and metal oxide nanoparticles were screened for their antimicrobial activities against a wide range of bacterial and fungal agents including certain freshwater cyanobacteria. Among different nanoparticles, synthesized copper oxide (CuO), zinc oxide (ZnO), silver (Ag) and silver doped titanium dioxide (Ag–TiO₂) showed broad spectrum antibacterial activity. On the contrary, nanoparticles like Zn and ZnO showed antifungal activity against fungi like Penicillium and Mucor species. Since CuO, ZnO and Ag nanoparticles showed higher antimicrobial activity, they may be explored for aquaculture use.     

Evidence of a humoral immune response against the prokaryotic expressed N-terminal autoprotease (N<Superscript>pro</Superscript>) protein of bovine viral diarrhoea virus

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) is an economically important pathogen of cattle and sheep belonging to the genus Pestivirus of the family Flaviviridae. Although the BVDV non-structural N-terminal protease (N^pro) acts as an interferon antagonist and subverts the host innate immunity, little is known about its immunogenicity. Hence, we expressed a recombinant BVDV N^pro-His fusion protein (28 kDa) in E. coli and determined the humoral immune response generated by it in rabbits. The antigenicity of the N^pro protein was confirmed by western blot using anti-BVDV hyperimmune cattle, sheep and goat serum, and anti-N^pro rabbit serum. When rabbits were immunized with the N^pro protein, a humoral immune response was evident by 4 weeks and persisted till 10 weeks post immunization as detected by ELISA and western blot. Despite N^pro-specific antibodies remaining undetectable in 80 serum samples from BVDV-infected sheep and goats, BVDV hyperimmune sera along with some of the field cattle, sheep and goat sera with high BVDV neutralizing antibody titres were found positive for N^pro antibodies. Our results provide evidence that despite the low immunogenicity of the BVDV N^pro protein, a humoral immune response is induced in cattle, sheep and goats only with repeated BVDV exposure.     

Modification of the heme active site to increase the peroxidase activity of thermophilic cytochrome P450: A rational approach

The site specific mutants of the thermophilic P450 (P450 175A1 or CYP175A1) were designed to introduce residues that could act as acid-base catalysts near the active site to enhance the peroxidases activity. The Leu80 in the distal heme pocket of CYP175A1 was located at a position almost equivalent to the Glu183 that is involved in stabilization of the ferryl heme intermediate in chloroperoxidase (CPO). The Leu80 residue of CYP175A1 was mutated with histidine (L80H) and glutamine (L80Q) that could potentially form hydrogen bond with hydrogen peroxide and facilitate formation and stabilization of the putative redox intermediate of the peroxidase cycle. The mutants L80H and L80Q of CYP175A1 showed higher peroxidase activity compared to that of the wild type (WT) CYP175A1 enzyme at 25 °C. The activity constants (k_cat) for the L80H and L80Q mutants of CYP175A1 were higher than those of myoglobin and wild type cytochrome b562 at 25 °C. The optimum temperature for the peroxidase activity of the WT and mutants of CYP175A1 was ~ 70 °C. The rate of catalysis at temperatures above ~ 70 °C was higher for L80Q mutant of CYP175A1 compared to that of the well known natural peroxidase, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) that denatures at such high temperature. The peroxidase activities of the mutants of CYP175A1 were maximum at pH 9, unlike that of HRP which is at pH ~ 5. The results have been discussed in the light of understanding the structure-function relationship of the peroxidase properties of these thermostable heme proteins.     

Floristic and Structure of the Herbaceous Vegetation of Four Recovering Forest Stands in the Eastern Ghats of India

Floral composition and structural parameters of the herbaceous vegetation of four recovering tropical dry deciduous forest stands protected for 2, 4, 6 and 10-year periods, on the Eastern Ghats of India, situated at Kandhamal district of Orissa, India were investigated. More than 1 ha of recovering forest stands of each of the four stages was selected and fifteen sample quadrats of 1 m × 1 m were randomly placed at each stand for vegetation analysis. Floristic analysis revealed highest number of species (69) in 2-year recovering stand, which declined with increase in age. A total of 87 species, 71 genera and 32 families were recorded in the forest stands. Total number of herbaceous species encountered in the stands was 44, 28, 30 and 24 in 2, 4, 6 and 10-year stands, respectively. Total individuals of all herb species were 114, 70, 88 and 68 plant m⁻² in 2, 4, 6 and 10-year stands, respectively. Herbaceous stand basal areas were 7.84, 3.66, 4.77 and 5.23 cm² m⁻² in 2, 4, 6, and 10-year stands, respectively. Importance value index (IVI) revealed that Heteropogon contortus was predominant in 2 and 4-year stands, Andrographis paniculatus in 6-year stand and Elephantopus scaber in 10-year stand. Diversity-dominance curve revealed lognormal distribution in all the four stands. Simpson’s dominance index (C) was highest in 2-year stand which decreased in other stands, while Shannon’s diversity index (H¹) was almost the same in all the stands. Biomass of herbaceous vegetation was 83.2 g m⁻² in 2 year, 62.2 g m⁻² in 4 year, 58.0 g m⁻² in 6 year and 64.0 g m⁻² in 10-year stand.