Modulatory effects of metanil yellow on immunity in rodents.

Pathomorphological and immunological studies were carried out on rodents following oral administration of 0, 0.1, 0.25 and 0.5% (w/w) metanil yellow, mixed in diet, for 30 days. No significant change in hematologic parameters and histologic architecture of liver, kidney, mesenteric lymph node, thymus and urinary bladder was observed except for mild desquamation of intestinal villi and moderate changes in Peyer's patches of small intestine with higher doses. Among immunological parameters, significant enhancement in the primary humoral immune response (anti-SRBC IgM plaque forming cells of spleen) was observed with the lowest dose of metanil yellow while higher doses produced opposing effects. An elevated cutaneous delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction to SRBC was seen in 0.1% metanil yellow treated animals but higher doses did not influence the reaction. The treatment also caused changes in functional capabilities of macrophages. Although these immune alterations could hardly influence the local immunity of gut, as measured by the capacity of animals to cause rejection of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis parasite, the potential to modulate the immunity in general by metanil yellow however assumes considerable biological significance.     

Anatomical basis for the clinical application of the arterial supply of musculus pectoralis major.

The pattern of arterial supply to the various parts (clavicular, sternocostal and aponeurotic) of the pectoralis major muscle was studied in 7 cadaver dissections and 10 angiograms by injecting a radio-opaque substance. Three main arteries supplied the muscle, i.e. the pectoral branch of the thoracoacromial trunk (TAT-PB), the lateral thoracic artery and the perorating branch of the internal thoracic artery, supported by other branches of the TAT and the superior thoracic artery. It is observed that the TAT-PB, a chief vascular pedicle, anastomoses freely with other arteries and supplies most parts of the muscle. The present study is mainly focussed on the exclusion of the chief vascular pedicle of muscle to eliminate the confusion of previous studies and prevent the unnecessary hindrance and complications of the muscle flap.     

Are polyphosphoinositides associated with glycophorin in human erythrocyte membranes?

Glycophorin prepared by a lithium di-iodosalicylate-extraction/phenol-partition method was rich in polyphosphoinositides (phosphatidyl-myo-inositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidyl-myo-inositol 4,5-bisphosphate), but glycophorin extracted by Triton X-100 showed no such enrichment. The enrichment observed in the former preparations appeared not to be caused by pre-existing association between glycophorin and polyphosphoinositides in the human erythrocyte membrane, but to be largely a consequence of the preparative procedures.     

A Simple Novel Agar Diffusion Method for Isolation of Indigenous Microalgae Chlamydomonas sp. CRP7 and Chlorella sp. CB4 from Operational Swampy Top Soil

A simple agar diffusion method is developed where pure colony of Chlamydomonas sp. CRP7 was isolated from Chlorella sp. CB4 mixtures by passing through agar migration with a light exposure of 6,000 lux for 7 h. The main concept behind it is that Chlamydomonas has flagella and the rhodopsin pigment is attracted towards light. Thus the above two microalgae species can be separated from the mixtures as eye spot serves as a navigator and flagella serves as a propeller for Chlamydomonas spp. Further the genomic DNA was isolated and purified from the above mentioned two species after the separation from the mixtures. PCR amplification was carried out for ITS1, 5.8S and ITS2 regions. The amplified products were sequenced and the sequence analysis confirmed that they belong to Chlamydomonas sp. and Chlorella sp. This is an important augmentation for isolation and separation of microalgae.     

Iron supplementation promotes in vitro shoot induction and multiplication of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Baptisia australis</Emphasis>

C₄ plants can efficiently accumulate CO₂ in leaves and thus reduce wasteful oxygen fixation by the RuBisCO enzyme. Three C₄ enzymes, namely carbonic anhydrase (CA), phosphoenol pyruvate (PEPC) and pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK), were over expressed in Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica var. Khitish under the control of green tissue specific promoters PD_54o, PEPC and PPDK, respectively. Integration of these genes was confirmed by Southern hybridization. The relative expression of PEPC, CA and PPDK were, respectively, 6.75, 6.57 and 3.6-fold higher in transgenic plants compared to wild type plants (control). Photosynthetic efficiency of the transgenic plants increased significantly along with a 12?% increase in grain yield compared to wild type plants. Compared to control plants, transgenic plants also showed phenotypic changes such as increased leaf blade size, root biomass, and plant height and anatomical changes such as greater leaf vein number, bundle sheath cells, and bulliform cells. Our findings indicate that the combined over expression of these three enzymes is an efficient strategy for incorporating beneficial physiological and anatomical features that will enable subsequent yield enhancement in C₃ rice plants.     

Effect of bioaccumulation of cadmium on biomass productivity,essential trace elements,chlorophyll biosynthesis,and macromolecules of wheat seedlings

Soil contamination with heavy metals has become a worldwide problem, leading to losses in agricultural yield and hazardous human health effects as they enter the food chain. The present investigation was undertaken to examine the influence of cadmium (Cd²⁺) on the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plant. Cd²⁺ accumulation and distribution in 3-wk-old seedlings grown in nutrient medium containing varying concentrations of Cd²⁺ (control, 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0 mg/L) was monitored. The effect of varying Cd²⁺ concentrations up to 21 d on biomass productivity, plant growth, photosynthetic pigments, protein, amino acids, starch, soluble sugars, and essential nutrients uptake was studied in detail to explore the level up to which the plant can withstand the stress of heavy metal. Plants treated with 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0 mg/L Cd²⁺ showed symptoms of heavy-metal toxicity as observed by various morphological parameters which were recorded with the growth of plants. The root, shoot-leaf length and the root, shoot-leaf biomass progressively decreased with increasing Cd²⁺ concentration in the nutrient medium. Cd²⁺ uptake and accumulation was found to be maximum during the initial growth period. Cd²⁺ also interfered with the nutrients uptake, especially calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺), potassium (K⁺), iron (Fe²⁺), zinc (Zn²⁺), and manganese (Mn²⁺) from the growth medium. Growth reduction and altered levels of major biochemical constituents such as chlorophyll, protein, free amino acids, starch, and soluble sugars that play a major role in plant metabolism were observed in response to varying concentrations of Cd²⁺ in the nutrient medium. In the present study, the effects of Cd²⁺ on growth, biomass productivity, mineral nutrients, chlorophyll biosynthesis, protein, free amino acid, starch, and soluble sugars in wheat plants was estimated to establish an overall picture of the Cd²⁺ toxicity at structural and functional levels.     

miR-497 and miR-302b regulate ethanol-induced neuronal cell death through BCL2 protein and cyclin D2

In chronic alcoholism, brain shrinkage and cognitive defects because of neuronal death are well established, although the sequence of molecular events has not been fully explored yet. We explored the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in ethanol-induced apoptosis of neuronal cells. Ethanol-sensitive miRNAs in SH-SY5Y, a human neuroblastoma cell line, were identified using real-time PCR-based TaqMan low-density arrays. Long-term exposure to ethanol (0.5% v/v for 72 h) produced a maximum increase in expression of miR-497 (474-fold) and miR-302b (322-fold). Similar to SH-SY5Y, long-term exposure to ethanol induced miR-497 and miR-302b in IMR-32, another human neuroblastoma cell line. Using in silico approaches, BCL2 and cyclin D2 (CCND2) were identified as probable target genes of these miRNAs. Cotransfection studies with 3'-UTR of these genes and miRNA mimics have demonstrated that BCL2 is a direct target of miR-497 and that CCND2 is regulated negatively by either miR-302b or miR-497. Overexpression of either miR-497 or miR-302b reduced expression of their identified target genes and increased caspase 3-mediated apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells. However, overexpression of only miR-497 increased reactive oxygen species formation, disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential, and induced cytochrome c release (mitochondria-related events of apoptosis). Moreover, ethanol induced changes in miRNAs, and their target genes were substantially prevented by pre-exposure to GSK-3B inhibitors. In conclusion, our studies have shown that ethanol-induced neuronal apoptosis follows both the mitochondria-mediated (miR-497- and BCL2-mediated) and non-mitochondria-mediated (miR-302b- and CCND2-mediated) pathway.     

Integrated Artificial Intelligence Approaches for Disease Diagnostics

Mechanocomputational techniques in conjunction with artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing the interpretations of the crucial information from the medical data and converting it into optimized and organized information for diagnostics. It is possible due to valuable perfection in artificial intelligence, computer aided diagnostics, virtual assistant, robotic surgery, augmented reality and genome editing (based on AI) technologies. Such techniques are serving as the products for diagnosing emerging microbial or non microbial diseases. This article represents a combinatory approach of using such approaches and providing therapeutic solutions towards utilizing these techniques in disease diagnostics.