Revealing Anisotropic Spinel Formation on Pristine Li‐ and Mn‐Rich Layered Oxide Surface and Its Impact on Cathode Performance

Surface properties of cathode particles play important roles in the transport of ions and electrons and they may ultimately dominate cathode's performance and stability in lithium‐ion batteries. Through the use of carefully prepared Li_1.2Ni_0.13Mn_0.54Co_0.13O₂ crystal samples with six distinct morphologies, surface transition‐metal redox activities and crystal structural transformation are investigated as a function of surface area and surface crystalline orientation. Complementary depth‐profiled core‐level spectroscopy, namely, X‐ray absorption spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and atomic‐resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, are applied in the study, presenting a fine example of combining advanced diagnostic techniques with a well‐defined model system of battery materials. The present study reports the following findings: (1) a thin layer of defective spinel with reduced transition metals, similar to what is reported on cycled conventional secondary particles in the literature, is found on pristine oxide surface even before cycling, and (2) surface crystal structure and chemical composition of both pristine and cycled particles are facet dependent. Oxide structural and cycling stabilities improve with maximum expression of surface facets stable against transition‐metal reduction. The intricate relationships among morphology, surface reactivity and structural transformation, electrochemical performance, and stability of the cathode materials are revealed.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hemidesmus indicus</Emphasis> Protects against ethanol-induced liver toxicity

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the most common diseases in modern society. A large number of studies are in progress aiming to identify natural substances that would be effective in reducing the severity of ALD. Although there are currently a number of drugs on the market, their long-term use can have numerous side effects. Hemidesmus indicus is an indigenous Ayurvedic medicinal plant used in soft drinks in India. In this study, we examined the effects of its ethanolic root extract on experimental liver damage in order to evaluate its hepatoprotective effects against hepatotoxicity induced in rats by ethanol at a dosage of 5 g/kg body weight for 60 days. The H. indicus root extract was given at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight for the last 30 days of the experiment. The animals were monitored for food intake and weight gain. The liver was analysed for the degree of lipid peroxidation using thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and antioxidant status using the activities of glutathione-depedendant enzymes. The degree of liver damage was analysed using serum marker enzyme activities, the total protein, albumin, globulin, ceruloplasmin and liver glycogen contents, and the A/G ratio. The Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) of the liver tissues were recorded in the region of 4000–400 cm⁻¹. The ethanol-fed rats showed significantly elevated liver marker enzyme activities, lipid peroxidation levels and reduced antioxidant levels as compared to the control rats. Oral administration of H. indicus for the latter 30 days resulted in an increased food intake and weight gain, decreased TBARS levels, near normal levels of glutathione-dependent enzymes, increased total protein, albumin, globulin and liver glycogen contents, an increased A/G ratio, and decreased liver marker enzyme activities and ceruloplasmin levels. The relative intensity of the liver FT-IR bands for the experimental groups were found to be altered significantly (p < 0.05) compared to the control samples. For the group that had H. indicus co-administered with ethanol, the intensity of the bands was near normal. Moreover, the results of the FT-IR study correlated with our biochemical results.     

Synthesis of Highly Immunogenic Multiple Antigenic Peptides for Epitopes of Viral Antigen to Use in ELISA

Synthesis of multiple antigenic peptides (MAPs) for predicted antigenic determinants of a viral antigen is described. The method includes prediction of linear epitopes using predictive computer algorithms, synthesis of peptides for the predicted regions, testing of peptides to find the most reactive sites, synthesis of MAPs and their testing. The procedure involves manual synthesis of MAPs by solid phase peptide synthesis with Wang resin as solid support. The MAPs were prepared in eight copies and used for immunization of rabbits to generate anti-peptide antibodies. Further, the reactivity of MAPs in detecting the native cognate antigen in the whole virus was confirmed by ELISA. The MAP and anti-peptide antibodies could serve as diagnostic tools for viral diseases. MAPs have efficiently been used to confirm the presence of linear antigenic and immunogenic epitopes on viral proteins, for possible use in diagnostic and vaccine. It was suggested that this method could help in epitope mapping of dreadful human or animal pathogens as it involves production of safe, chemically defined and non-infectious materials for use as antigen as well as immunogen.     

Dihedral angle and secondary structure database of short amino acid fragments

Dihedral angles of amino acids are of considerable importance in protein tertiary structure prediction as they define the backbone of a protein and hence almost define the protein's entire conformation. Most ab initio protein structure prediction methods predict the secondary structure of a protein before predicting the tertiary structure because three-dimensional fold consists of repeating units of secondary structures. Hence, both dihedral angles and secondary structures are important in tertiary structure prediction of proteins. Here we describe a database called DASSD (Dihedral Angle and Secondary Structure Database of Short Amino acid Fragments) that contains dihedral angle values and secondary structure details of short amino acid fragments of lengths 1, 3 and 5. Information stored in this database was extracted from a set of 5,227 non-redundant high resolution (less than 2-angstroms) protein structures. In total, DASSD stores details for about 733,000 fragments. This database finds application in the development of ab initio protein structure prediction methods using fragment libraries and fragment assembly techniques. It is also useful in protein secondary structure prediction.

Availability     

Protein engineering for covalent immobilization and enhanced stability through incorporation of multiple noncanonical amino acids

In this study, we demonstrate the application of multiple functional properties of proteins generated through coupling of residue-specific and site-specific incorporation method. With green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a model protein, we constructed multifunctional GFP through sitespecific incorporation of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and residue-specific incorporation of (2S, 4S)-4- fluoroproline (4S-FP) or L-homopropargylglycine (hpg). Fluorescence analysis revealed a conjugation efficiency of approximately 20% for conjugation of DOPA-containing variants GFPdopa, GFPdp[4S-FP], and GFPdphpg onto chitosan. While incorporation of 4S-FP improved protein folding and stability, hpg incorporation into GFP allowed conjugation with fluorescent dye/polyethylene glycol (PEG). In addition, the modification of GFPhpg and GFPdphpg with PEG through Cu(I)-catalyzed click reaction increased protein thermal stability by about two-fold of the wild-type GFP.     

Chitosan and its derivatives for gene delivery

Gene delivery can particularly be used for the treatment of diseases by the insertion of genetic materials (DNA and RNA) into mammalian cells either to express new proteins or to prevent the expression of existing proteins. Chitosan, a natural polymer is nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable and it is used as a support material for gene delivery. However, practical use of chitosan has been mainly limited to its unmodified forms, and thus modified chitosans can be used for the wide range of biomedical applications including the interaction and intracellular delivery of genetic materials. In this context, this review paper provides the recent development on chitosan derivatives available for gene delivery.     

Aphrodisiac activity of Butea frondosa Koen. ex Roxb. extract in male rats.

In the present study, the aphrodisiac activity of Butea frondonsa Koen. ex Roxb (Papillionaceae) bark extract was investigated. The extract (400 mg/kg body wt./day) was administered orally by gavage for 28 days. Mount latency (ML), intromission latency (IL), ejaculation latency (EL), mounting frequency (MF), intromission frequency (IF), ejaculation frequency (EF) and post-ejaculatory interval (PEI) were the parameters observed before and during the sexual behavior study at day 0, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28. The extract reduced significantly ML, IL, EL and PEI (p < 0.05). The extract also increased significantly MF, IF and EF (p < 0.05). These effects were observed in sexually active and inactive male rats.     

Occurrence of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus in tropical and subtropical plants of Western Ghats, India

Endophytic bacteria were isolated from the tissues of surface sterilized roots, stems, and leaves of fifty different crop plants. Phenotypic, biochemical tests and species-specific PCR assay permitted identification of four isolates of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus from root tissues of carrot (Daucus carota L.), raddish (Raphanus sativus L.), beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) and coffee (Coffea arabica L.). Further the plant growth promoting traits such as nitrogenase activity, production of phytohormone indole acetic acid (IAA), phosphorus and zinc solubilization were assessed. Significant nitrogenase activity was recorded among the isolates and all the isolates produced IAA in the presence of tryptophan. Though all the four isolates efficiently solubilized phosphorus, the zinc solubilizing ability differed among the isolates.     

Association mapping for wood quality and growth traits in Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus Labill identifies nine stable marker-trait associations for seven traits

The moderate to high levels of nucleotide diversity and low linkage disequilibrium found in many forest tree species make them ideal candidates for association mapping. Here, we report candidate gene-based association mapping results for complex wood quality and growth traits in Eucalyptus globulus Labill. ssp. globulus, the most widely grown eucalypt in temperate regions of the world. Ninety-eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 20 wood quality candidate genes were assayed in a discovery population consisting of 385 trees sourced from a provenance-progeny trial. Twenty-five selected SNPs with significant associations (P?.