Campus Anthropology: A Case Study from West Bengal,India1

In this ethnographic account, I attempt to write an anthropological narrative of my own university located in a district town of the West Bengal state in India about 130 kilometres from Kolkata, the capital of the state. My account does not come under the sub-discipline of ‘Educational Anthropology’ in which formal education is studied by the anthropologists as yet another process of the transmission of culture. My point of departure entails viewing the physical and the cultural space named ‘university campus’ by situating the case study of Vidyasagar University in a theoretical and global context. The anthropological subjects in the cultural space labelled as ‘campus’ range from the Vice-Chancellors to the indigenous tribal people who were viewed as ‘encroachers’ by the university community, while the latter looked at the campus as part of their traditional village common land. Ironically, the aims and objectives of my university was to build up research and teaching towards the development of the tribal and the underprivileged people of the region in which the university is located. The case of my university and comparative cases of Columbia, Pennsylvania and Marquette Universities definitely differ in scale, but they also share one common point: expansion of a campus and its effect on the local community in the context of the ideals and objectives of university as a social institution. The empirical scenario demands the emergence of the new sub-discipline named ‘campus anthropology’.     

Survivorship and fecundity of Argulus bengalensis (Crustacea; Branchiura) under laboratory conditions

The Life table features and the fecundity schedule of the fish louse Argulus bengalensis (Branchiura: Argulidae) were estimated under laboratory conditions using Cirrhinus mrigala as the model host. The cohort-based Life table revealed that survival of A. bengalensis declines as a function of age. Life expectancy was observed to be 34?days for a newly emerged adult. The mean number of eggs produced per egg strip was 86 (±8.89 S.E.). The sex ratio 2:1 was biased towards males. The net reproductive rate (R₀) varied between 50 and 487 while the cohort generation time (T_c) ranged between 24 and 26?days. The intrinsic rate of increase (r) was 0.14–0.23, while the finite rate of increase (λ) remained between 1.16 and 1.28. The Life table features and the fecundity schedule of A. bengalensis are comparable with congenerics of temperate regions. Early reproduction (between 21 and 23?days) and an extended postreproductive phase (47?days) of females are characteristic of A. bengalensis and a reflection for survival under uncertain conditions and a parasitic mode of life.     

Leaf Functional Traits and Stem Wood Characteristics Influencing Biomass Productivity of Mulberry (Morus spp. L) Genotypes Grown in Short-Rotation Coppice System

The present study was undertaken to obtain insights into the productivity determinant traits of mulberry (Morus spp. L.), a potential bioenergy tree crop. Our objectives were to identify leaf functional traits and stem wood characteristics that are correlated to biomass yield of mulberry. Based on the growth performance, six mulberry genotypes from different performance groups including high (Selection1 and Thaibeelad), average (Mysore Local) and poor (Triploid10, Jhoropakari and Selection1635) were selected for the study, along with a reference high-yielding genotype (Victory1). The study was conducted in Southern India for two consecutive years, covering two experimental seasons including exp season I (July 2009 to October 2009) and exp season II (July 2010 to October 2010). Mulberry trees were cultivated in a short-rotation coppice system under well-irrigated optimum farming conditions. Data were collected on biomass yield along with several leaf-level physiobiochemical characteristics and wood quality parameters. Significant genetic variation was recorded amongst the genotypes in most of the studied parameters. Fifteen out of a total of 22 traits, used in computing correlation coefficient matrix, were found to correlate with aboveground biomass yield. Light-saturated rate of photosynthesis, performance index, leaf nitrogen content, minimum leaf water potential and leaf-specific hydraulic conductance showed strong positive correlation with biomass productivity. Wood density, wood cross-sectional area and fibre cell density exhibited tight correlation with woody biomass yield. In conclusion, the identified 15 characteristics could be useful in the selection of suitable mulberry genotypes for higher biomass yield.     

Pirfenidone Nanoparticles Improve Corneal Wound Healing and Prevent Scarring Following Alkali Burn

Purpose

To evaluate the effects of pirfenidone nanoparticles on corneal re-epithelialization and scarring, major clinical challenges after alkali burn.

Methods

Effect of pirfenidone on collagen I and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) synthesis by TGFβ induced primary corneal fibroblast cells was evaluated by immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry. Pirfenidone loaded poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles were prepared, characterized and their cellular entry was examined in primary corneal fibroblast cells by fluorescence microscopy. Alkali burn was induced in one eye of Sprague Dawley rats followed by daily topical treatment with free pirfenidone, pirfenidone nanoparticles or vehicle. Corneal re-epithelialization was assessed daily by flourescein dye test; absence of stained area indicated complete re-epithelialization and the time for complete re-epithelialization was determined. Corneal haze was assessed daily for 7 days under slit lamp microscope and graded using a standard method. After 7 days, collagen I deposition in the superficial layer of cornea was examined by immunohistochemistry.

Results

Pirfenidone prevented (P<0.05) increase in TGF β induced collagen I and α-SMA synthesis by corneal fibroblasts in a dose dependent manner. Pirfenidone could be loaded successfully within PLGA nanoparticles, which entered the corneal fibroblasts within 5 minutes. Pirfenidone nanoparticles but not free pirfenidone significantly (P<0.05) reduced collagen I level, corneal haze and the time for corneal re-epithelialization following alkali burn.

Conclusion

Pirfenidone decreases collagen synthesis and prevents myofibroblast formation. Pirfenidone nanoparticles improve corneal wound healing and prevent fibrosis. Pirfenidone nanoparticles are of potential value in treating corneal chemical burns and other corneal fibrotic diseases.     

Mechanistic studies on the binding of Acid Yellow 99 on coir pith

The interaction of Acid Yellow 99 (AY 99) with coir pith has been investigated in aqueous medium to understand the mechanism of adsorption and explore the potentiality of this biomass towards controlling pollution resulting from textile dyes. The obtained results establish that one gram of coir pith can adsorb 442.13 mg of AY 99. The adsorption process is found to be a function of pH of the solution, the optimum pH value being 2.0. The process follows Langmuir-Freundlich dual isotherm model. Scanning electron microscopic analysis demonstrates that on dye adsorption the biomass develops uneven and irregular surface. X-ray diffraction study indicates incorporation of the dye into the micropores and macropores of the adsorbent and thereby enhancing its degree of crystallinity. The results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and chemical modification of the functional groups establish that binding of AY 99 on coir pith occurs through electrostatic and complexation reaction.     

Growth and metastases of human lung cancer are inhibited in mouse xenografts by a transition state analogue of 5'-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase

The S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) salvage enzyme 5'-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) has been implicated as both a cancer target and a tumor suppressor. We tested these hypotheses in mouse xenografts of human lung cancers. AdoMet recycling from 5'-methylthioadenosine (MTA) was blocked by inhibition of MTAP with methylthio-DADMe-Immucillin-A (MTDIA), an orally available, nontoxic, picomolar transition state analogue. Blood, urine, and tumor levels of MTA increased in response to MTDIA treatment. MTDIA treatment inhibited A549 (human non-small cell lung carcinoma) and H358 (human bronchioloalveolar non-small cell lung carcinoma cells) xenograft tumor growth in immunodeficient Rag2(-/-)γC(-/-) and NCr-nu mice. Systemic MTA accumulation is implicated as the tumor-suppressive metabolite because MTDIA is effective for in vivo treatment of A549 MTAP(-/-) and H358 MTAP(+/+) tumors. Tumors from treated mice showed increased MTA and decreased polyamines but little alteration in AdoMet, methionine, or adenine levels. Gene expression profiles of A549 tumors from treated and untreated mice revealed only modest alterations with 62 up-regulated and 63 down-regulated mRNAs (≥ 3-fold). MTDIA antitumor activity in xenografts supports MTAP as a target for lung cancer therapy.     

Surfactant-Enhanced Biodegradation of a PAH in Soil Slurry Reactors

This study focuses on finding operational regimes for surfactant-enhanced biodegradation. Biodegradation of phenanthrene as a model poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) was studied in soil slurry reactors in the presence and absence of a Triton N-101 surfactant solution. Results showed that the presence of surfactant slowed the initial biodegradation rate of phenanthrene, but increased the total mass of phenanthrene degraded over a four day period by 30%. A mathematical model was developed which simulates the biodegradation of low solubility hydrocarbons in the presence of soils and surfactants by accounting for the hydrocarbon bioavailability in different phases of the system. The model was able to simulate the experimental results using parameters and rate coefficients that were obtained through independent experiments.

The model was used to investigate the effect of different operating conditions on the overall biodegradation of phenanthrene. Simulation results showed that there is a system-specific optimum surfactant concentration range, beyond which bioremediation is hindered. The results also indicate that for a given system, the optimal surfactant concentration can be determined from simple sorption and solubility equilibrium experiments. Finally, a metric is presented for determining the potential effectiveness of surfactant-enhanced bioremediation based on the Monod and bioavailability parameters for a given system.     

In plants a putative isovaleryl-CoA-dehydrogenase is located in mitochondria

In plants the degradation pathways of branched-chain amino acids have remained somewhat unclear with respect to both their biochemistry and their intracellular location. While biochemical evidence has localized some of the catabolic enzymes in peroxisomes/glyoxysomes, others cofractionate with mitochondria. We have now identified a candidate protein and corresponding cDNA for an enzyme of the leucine catabolic pathway, the isovaleryl-CoA-dehydrogenase (IVD). This polypeptide is a member of the acyl-CoA-dehydrogenase (ACDH) family and is encoded in the nuclear genome of Arabidopsis thaliana. Expression of the putative IVD gene in pea seedlings is documented by western blot analyses with an antibody against the mammalian IVD. Subcellular fractionation identifies the putative IVD enzyme in the mitochondrion. This localization suggests that in plants mitochondria contain at least part of the branched-chain amino acid degradation pathway(s).