Posture shifting after spinal cord injury using functional neuromuscular stimulation--a computer simulation study

The ability for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) to affect changes in standing posture with functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) was explored using an anatomically inspired musculoskeletal model of the trunk, pelvis and lower extremities (LE). The model tracked trajectories for anteriorly and laterally shifting movements away from erect stance. Forces were applied to both shoulders to represent upper extremity (UE) interaction with an assistive device (e.g., a walker). The muscle excitations required to execute shifting maneuvers with UE forces <10% body-weight (BW) were determined via dynamic optimization. Nine muscle sets were examined to maximize control of shifting posture. Inclusion of the Psoas and External Obliques bilaterally resulted in the least relative UE effort (0.119, mean UE effort = 45.3N ≡ 5.4% BW) for anterior shifting. For lateral shifting, the set including the Psoas and Latissimus Dorsi bilaterally yielded the best performance (0.025, mean UE effort = 27.8 N ≡ 3.3% BW). However, adding the Psoas alone bilaterally competed favorably in overall best performance across both maneuvers. This study suggests suitable activation to specific muscles of the trunk and LE can enable individuals with SCI to alter their standing postures with minimal upper-body effort and subsequently increase reach and standing work volume.     

Application of particle swarm optimization and proximal support vector machines for fault detection

This paper presents a novel application of particle swarm optimization (PSO) in combination with another computational intelligence (CI) technique, namely, proximal support vector machine (PSVM) for machinery fault detection. Both real-valued and binary PSO algorithms have been considered along with linear and nonlinear versions of PSVM. The time domain vibration signals of a rotating machine with normal and defective bearings are processed for feature extraction. The features extracted from original and preprocessed signals are used as inputs to the classifiers (PSVM) for detection of machine condition. Input features are selected using a PSO algorithm. The classifiers are trained with a subset of experimental data for known machine conditions and are tested using the remaining data. The procedure is illustrated using the experimental vibration data of a rotating machine. The influences of the number of features, PSO algorithms and type of classifiers (linear or nonlinear PSVM) on the detection success are investigated. Results are compared with a genetic algorithm (GA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The PSO based approach gave test classification success above 90% which were comparable with the GA and much better than PCA. The results show the effectiveness of the selected features and classifiers in detection of machine condition.     

Sandalwood: basic biology,tissue culture,and genetic transformation

Planta - Sustainable resource preservation of Santalum species that yield commercially important forest products is needed. This review provides an understanding of their basic biology,...     

Synthesis, characterization, crystal structures and DNA binding studies of nickel(II) hydrazone complexes

A series of octahedral and square-planar Ni(II) complexes have been synthesized from two different types of hydrazone ligands. The isolated complexes have been characterized by means of analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The structures of two of the complexes have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. The binding modes of the complexes with DNA and their ability to bind DNA have been investigated by UV-Vis absorption titration, ethidium bromide fluorescence displacement experiments, and viscometry measurements and cyclic voltammetry studies. The experimental results show that the mode of binding of the complexes to DNA is combination of different mode of interaction.     

Proinflammatory actions of thromboxane receptors to enhance cellular immune responses

Metabolism of arachidonic acid by the cyclo-oxygenase (COX) pathway generates a family of prostanoid mediators. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) act by inhibiting COX, thereby reducing prostanoid synthesis. The efficacy of these agents in reducing inflammation suggests a dominant proinflammatory role for the COX pathway. However, the actions of COX metabolites are complex, and certain prostanoids, such as PGE(2), in some circumstances actually inhibit immune and inflammatory responses. In these studies, we examine the hypothesis that anti-inflammatory actions of NSAIDs may be due, in part, to inhibition of thromboxane A(2) synthesis. To study the immunoregulatory actions of thromboxane A(2), we used mice with a targeted disruption of the gene encoding the thromboxane-prostanoid (TP) receptor. Both mitogen-induced responses and cellular responses to alloantigen were substantially reduced in TP(-/-) spleen cells. Similar attenuation was observed with pharmacological inhibition of TP signaling in wild-type splenocytes, suggesting that reduced responsiveness was not due to subtle developmental abnormalities in the TP-deficient mice. The absence of TP receptors reduced immune-mediated tissue injury following cardiac transplant rejection, an in vivo model of intense inflammation. Taken together, these findings show that thromboxane augments cellular immune responses and inflammatory tissue injury. Specific inhibition of the TP receptor may provide a more precise approach to limit inflammation without some of the untoward effects associated with NSAIDs.     

A Crucial Role for Gibberellins in Stress Protection of Plants

The hypothesis that there is an intimate relationship betweengibberellin levels and plant stress protection has been testedusing near-isogenic lines of a normal and dwarf barley (Hordeumvulgare L.). Application of paclobutrazol (a triazole), inducedstress protection in the normal line and application of GA₃to the dwarf reversed the inherent stress tolerance. Reversalof the dwarf phenotype by specific gibberellins (GAs) suggeststhat the conversion of GA₂₀ to GA₁ and GA₉ to GA₄ has been compromised.These observations indicate that modulation of specific GAsplays a key role in stress protection. The preferential useof non-chemical technologies including enzyme regulation, phytochromeA overexpression, and breeding for induction of stress tolerancein plants are discussed. (Received November 26, 1998; Accepted March 11, 1999)     

Molecular docking of thiamine reveals similarity in binding properties between the prion protein and other thiamine-binding proteins

Prion-induced diseases are a global health concern. The lack of effective therapy and 100 % mortality rates for such diseases have made the prion protein an important target for drug discovery. Previous NMR experimental work revealed that thiamine and its derivatives bind the prion protein in a pocket near the N-terminal loop of helix 1, and conserved intermolecular interactions were noted between thiamine and other thiamine-binding proteins. Furthermore, water-mediated interactions were observed in all of the X-ray crystallographic structures of thiamine-binding proteins, but were not observed in the thiamine–prion NMR study. To better understand the potential role of water in thiamine–prion binding, a docking study was employed using structural X-ray solvent. Before energy minimization, docked thiamine assumed a “V” shape similar to some of the known thiamine-dependent proteins. Following minimization with NMR-derived restraints, the “F” conformation was observed. Our findings confirmed that water is involved in ligand stabilization and phosphate group interaction. The resulting refined structure of thiamine bound to the prion protein allowed the 4-aminopyrimidine ring of thiamine to π-stack with Tyr150, and facilitated hydrogen bonding between Asp147 and the amino group of 4-aminopyrimidine. Investigation of the π-stacking interaction through mutation of the tyrosine residue further revealed its importance in ligand placement. The resulting refined structure is in good agreement with previous experimental restraints, and is consistent with the pharmacophore model of thiamine-binding proteins.     

Management of Bittergourd yellow mosaic virus (BGYMV) by using virus inhibiting chemical,biocontrol agents,antiviral principles (AVP) and insecticide

Abstract

Bitter gourd Yellow Mosaic Virus (BGYMV) is a Whitefly transmitted geminivirus. BGYMV causes yellow mosaic disease in bitter gourd. This disease attains significance because the virus causing this disease is capable of attacking the crop at all stages. There was a severe yield loss in bitter gourd plants due to the infection of BGYMV. Bitter gourd plants treated with Bougainvillea spectabilis challenge inoculated with BGYMV reduced the disease incidence and increased the plant growth. In the above treatment the disease incidence was 33.33% at 75 Days After Sowing (DAS). But in the inoculated untreated control the disease incidence was 100% at 75 DAS. The mean maximum plant height was 92.24 cm in plants inoculated at 65 DAS. Bougainvillea spectabilis treated plants challenge inoculated with BGYMV showed an increased activity of peroxidase, polyphenoloxidase and phenol content from 4 Days After Inoculation (DAI) to 12 DAI. The activity of all the enzymes was reduced from 16 DAI in all the treatments.     

Cloning and sequencing of partial DNA-A of Cassava mosaic virus

Abstract

Polymerase chain reaction of Cassava mosaic virus revealed that out of the 50 samples analysed only two samples, one from Musiri (Trichy district) and other from Mallur (Salem district), were detected with ICMV infection as 904 bp fragment of DNA-A amplified. All the other samples from various districts of Tamil Nadu were detected invariably with SLCMV as they amplified 599 bp of DNA-A. A 599 bp fragment of DAN-A was cloned and sequenced from the sample collected from Mallur. The nucleotide sequence has been submitted to GenBank under the accession number DQ303479. The nucleotide sequence was compared with other cassava infecting geminiviruses and other geminiviruses in GenBank. Cluster dendrogram revealed that the cloned sequence was most closely related to ICMV, Maharastra strain rather than SLCMV, forming one cluster. Comparative sequence analyses showed that the cloned fragment shared a maximum sequence identity with ICMV at nucleotide levels (93%) than with SLCMV (88%).