Effect of propranolol on ECG of Myna, Acridotheres tristis, and Goh, Varanus bengalensis

Effect of propranolol (1 and 3 mg/kg body wt), a sympathetic blocking agent, on ECG patterns was studied in Varanus and Acridotheres. ECG was recorded before and after 5 min (immediate), 15 min and in some cases 25 min of drug infusion. All animals responded to propranolol with bradycardia. The effectiveness is dose dependent and it is also associated with the high heart rate both in Acridotheres and in Varanus. The P-R or P-S interval increased in all cases of Varanus after infusion. In Acridotheres height and duration of P-wave were increased slightly with the lower dose and decreased with the higher dose. The Q-S shortened with the lower dose and widened late with the higher dose in Varanus whereas in Acridotheres it is widened with lower and higher doses of propranolol. The Q-T interval has been increased in both groups of animals. An increased amplitude of T-wave height was observed in Varanus after 5 and 15 min of drug infusion. But it was noted with decrease in amplitude under high dose after 15 min of drug infusion. In Acridotheres it was on increase with lower dose and decrease with higher dose. The delta-wave disappeared after the administration of propranolol in Acridotheres.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Adiponectin is not altered with exercise training despite enhanced insulin action

Adiponectin is an adipocytokine that is hypothesized to be involved in the regulation of insulin action. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether plasma adiponectin is altered in conjunction with enhanced insulin action with exercise training. An insulin sensitivity index (S(I)) and fasting levels of glucose, insulin, and adiponectin were assessed before and after 6 mo of exercise training (4 days/wk for approximately 45 min at 65-80% peak O(2) consumption) with no loss of body mass (PRE, 91.9 +/- 3.8 kg vs. POST, 91.6 +/- 3.9 kg) or fat mass (PRE, 26.5 +/- 1.8 kg vs. POST, 26.7 +/- 2.2 kg). Insulin action significantly (P < 0.05) improved with exercise training (S(I) +98%); however, plasma adiponectin concentration did not change (PRE, 6.3 +/- 1.5 microg/ml vs. POST, 6.6 +/- 1.8 microg/ml). In contrast, in a separate group of subjects examined before and after weight loss, there was a substantial increase in adiponectin (+281%), which was accompanied by enhanced insulin action (S(I), +432%). These data suggest that adiponectin is not a contributory factor to the exercise-related improvements in insulin sensitivity.     

DNA damage, cytotoxicity and free radical formation by mitomycin C in human cells

Mitomycin C (MMC), a quinone-containing antitumor drug, has been shown to alkylate DNA and to form DNA cross-links. The ability of MMC to alkylate O6-guanine and to form interstrand cross-links (ISC) has been studied using Mer+ and Mer- human embryonic cells. Mer+ (IMR-90) cells have been reported to contain an O6-alkylguanine transferase enzyme and are, in general, more resistant to alkylating agents than the Mer- (VA-13) cell line, which is deficient in the repair of O6-lesions in DNA. Studies reported here show that MMC is more cytotoxic to VA-13 cells compared to IMR-90 cells. The alkaline elution technique was used to quantify MMC-induced ISC, and double strand breaks (DSB) in these cells. The drug-dependent formation of DSB was significantly lower in IMR-90 cells than in VA-13 cells. In contrast, no significant difference in cross-linking could be detected at the end of 2-h drug treatment. Although a small increase in cross-link frequency was observed in the VA-13 cell line relative to the IMR-90 cell line 6 h post drug treatment, it is not clear whether monoalkylated adducts at the O6-position are formed, and contribute to cross-link formation for differential cytotoxicity in VA-13 cells. Electron spin resonance and spin-trapping technique were used to detect the formation of hydroxyl radical from MMC-treated cells. Our studies show that MMC significantly stimulated the formation of hydroxyl radical in VA-13 cells, but not in the IMR-90 cells. The formation of the hydroxyl radical was inhibited by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. In addition, the presence of these enzymes partially protected VA-13 cells from MMC toxicity but not IMR-90 cells. Further studies indicated that the decreased free radical formation and resistance to MMC may be due to the increased activities of catalase and glutathione transferase in the IMR-90 cell line. These results suggest that MMC-dependent DNA damage (alkylation and DNA DSB) and the stimulation of oxy-radical formation may play critical roles in the determination of MMC-induced cell killing.     

The role of macrophages in B cell tolerance. I. Antigen-specific failure of Thy-1, Ly-2 negative adherent cells from tolerant mice to reconstitute immunocompetence in adherent cell deficient spleen cells

T-Cell-independent B-cell tolerance to the hapten derivatives of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) or methyl cellulose (MC) appears to be controlled by Thy-1-, Ly-2- adherent (A) cells contained in the spleen or peritoneal fluid. Immunocompetence in nonadherent (NA) normal spleen cells could be restored in vitro by irradiated A cells from normal mice. However, NA cells reconstituted with irradiated A cells derived from hapten specifically tolerant mice failed to respond to the same hapten, but responded normally to an immunogenic challenge with another unrelated antigen. A cells that had been preincubated at 4 degrees C with hapten derivatized MC also failed to restore immunocompetence. While preincubation of unfractionated spleen cells with the tolerogen under the same conditions resulted in B-cell unresponsiveness, such treatment of NA cells failed to render B cells tolerant. Treatment of A cells from tolerant mice with the reducing agent potassium iodide (KI) in vitro restored their capacity to render cultures of NA cells immunocompetent to the relevant hapten. Moreover, treatment with KI of spleen cells from mice injected with the tolerogen was shown to render them responsive. We suggest that B-cell tolerance induced by hapten derivatives of CMC and MC is mediated by suppressive macrophages contained among A cells. Certain subpopulations of macrophages are known to exert cytotoxic effects upon target cells by the release at close range of oxidating agents. We postulate that hapten derivatized CMC and MC, through unique properties of the carrier, bind to and possibly activate macrophages rendering them specifically suppressive for hapten binding B cells.     

Carbon demand,utilization, and metabolic diversity of bacterioplankton in the frontal regimes of the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

Bacterial production, respiration and metabolic diversity were measured up to 120 m depth in the Sub-Antarctic Front (SAF) and Polar Fronts I and II (PFI and PFII) of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean during 2010 Austral Summer. Prokaryotic cell count was maximum at PFI and PFII (~109 cells L−1) and minimum at SAF (~107 cells L−1). Furthermore, integrated bacterial production was higher at PFI (1.07 mg C m−2 h−1) and PFII (0.72 mg C m−2 h−1) compared to SAF (0.61 mg C m−2 h−1). At PFII, integrated bacterial growth efficiency was higher (8.96) compared to PFI (7.42) and SAF (7.17), signifying that the net contribution of PFII to the microbial loop could be relatively pronounced. Enhanced cell numbers and production at polar fronts indicate that the dissolved organic matter could be converted to secondary biomass through the microbial loop. However, integrated bacterial respiration rate at PFII (0.83 mg C m−2 h−1) was lower than that at PFI (1.84 mg C m−2 h−1) resulting in higher growth efficiency at PFII. Metabolic flexibility at SAF was clearly brought about by utilization of carboxylic acids like D-malic acid and itaconic acid, and carbohydrates like N-acetyl D-glucosamine, D-cellobiose and D-lactose. Utilization of amino acids like glycyl L-glutamic acid and L-threonine, and an amine, phenylethylamine, was critical in determining the metabolic variability at PFI. PFII hosted microbes that utilized phenolic compounds (2-hydroxy benzoic acid and 4-hydroxy benzoic acid) and polymers (like Tween 80). Utilization of polyols over carbohydrates in polar waters indicates a niche with lesser influence of the Antarctic melt waters on the bacterioplankton metabolism.     

Nutritional and antinutritional attributes of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) germplasms growing in Bihar,India

Eleven germplasms of faba bean seeds from four agroclimatic regions of Bihar, India, have been investigated to estimate their nutritional (soluble protein, free amino acids, starch, reducing and non reducing sugar, total soluble sugar) and antinutritional (total extractable phenol and condensed tannin/proanthocyanidin) parameters. These parameters were found in varying concentration in all genotypes studied. The highest concentration of total extractable phenol and proanthocyanidin (condensed tannin) (2.56 and 1.59 % leucocyanidin equivalents respectively on dry matter basis) were found in Samastipur while the lowest from Patna (0.95 and 0.426 % leucocyanidin equivalent on dry matter basis). The different nutritional parameters were also found to be in variable concentration among different germplasms viz. total soluble protein ≈ 20–32 %, free amino acids ≈ 188–348 mg/100 g, starch ≈ 27–33 %, reducing sugars ≈ 85–188 mg/100 g, non reducing sugars ≈ 0.7–1.7 % and total soluble sugars ≈ 0.8–1.9 %.     

Comparative studies on citric acid production by Aspergillus niger and Candida lipolytica using molasses and glucose

Citric acid production by Aspergillus niger NCIM 548 and Candida lipolytica NCIM 3472 has been studied in shake culture using glucose and molasses as carbon sources. Methanol addition (3% v/v) at 40 h of fermentation enhanced the production of citric acid by Aspergillus niger whereas a reduction in citric acid production by Candida lipolytica was observed with addition of methanol. Maximum citric acid concentration of 12 kg/m³ was obtained with Aspergillus niger using molasses in the presence of methanol, while maximum citric acid concentration of 8.4 kg/m³ was obtained with Candida lipolytica using glucose without methanol. It appears that product formation by Aspergillus niger is either non-growth associated or partially growth associated depending on the substrate. Methanol addition changes the nature of product formation in case of Candida lipolytica.     

Development of selective and reversible pyrazoline based MAO-A inhibitors: Synthesis,biological evaluation and docking studies

3,5-Diaryl pyrazolines analogs were synthesized and evaluated for their monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitory activity. The compounds were found reversible and selective towards MAO-A with selectivity index in the magnitude of 10³–10⁵. The docking studies were carried out to gain further structural insights of the binding mode and possible interactions with the active site of MAO-A. Interestingly, the theoretical (K_i) values obtained by molecular docking studies were in congruence with their experimental (K_i) values.