General anesthesia for newborn pigs.

A safe technique for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia in newborn pigs was accomplished. After premedication with atropine sulphate, anesthesia was induced by giving a mixture of oxygen, nitrous oxide and 2.5% halothane introduced by face mask. An endotracheal tube was inserted, and anesthesia was maintained using 0.5--1% halothane. Recovery was prompt, and there were no postoperative complications related to anesthesia.     

Mitochondrial haplogroup N1a phylogeography,with implication to the origin of European farmers

Background  

Tracing the genetic origin of central European farmer N1a lineages can provide a unique opportunity to assess the patterns of the farming technology spread into central Europe in the human prehistory. Here, we have chosen twelve N1a samples from modern populations which are most similar with the farmer N1a types and performed the complete mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing analysis. To assess the genetic and phylogeographic relationship, we performed a detailed survey of modern published N1a types from Eurasian and African populations.     

Inhibition of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation by 2-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene

The azodye 2-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene inhibited oxidation and phosphorylation in tightly coupled rat liver mitochondria. Phosphorylation was more sensitive to the inhibitory action of the azodye than was the oxidation of succinate or ascorbate. The oxidation of NAD+-linked substrate was severely inhibited by the compound. In submitochondrial particles, only NADH oxidation was sensitive. The site of inhibition has been identified to lie between the dehydrogenase flavoprotein and ubiquinone.     

Molecular characterization of Vibrio cholerae outbreak strains with altered El Tor biotype from southern India

Forty-four Vibrio cholerae isolates collected over a 7-month period in Chennai, India in 2004 were characterized for gene traits, antimicrobial susceptibility and genomic fingerprints. All 44 isolates were identified as O1 El Tor Ogawa, positive for various toxigenic and pathogenic genes viz. ace, ctxB, hlyA, ompU, ompW, rfbO1, rtx, tcpA, toxR and zot. Nucleotide sequencing revealed the presence of cholera toxin B of classical biotype in all the El Tor isolates, suggesting infection of isolates by classical CTXΦ. Antibiogram analysis showed a broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance that was also confirmed by the presence of resistant genes in the genomes. All isolates contained a class 1 integron and an SXT constin. However, isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol and tested negative for the chloramphenicol resistant gene suggesting a deletion in SXT constin. Fingerprinting analysis of isolates by ERIC- and Box PCR revealed similar DNA patterns indicating the clonal dissemination of a single predominant V. cholerae O1 strain throughout the 2004 outbreak in Chennai.     

Integrated Seed Proteome and Phosphoproteome Analyses Reveal Interplay of Nutrient Dynamics,Carbon–Nitrogen Partitioning,and Oxidative Signaling in Chickpea

Nutrient dynamics in storage organs is a complex developmental process that requires coordinated interactions of environmental, biochemical, and genetic factors. Although sink organ developmental events have been identified, understanding of translational and post‐translational regulation of reserve synthesis, accumulation, and utilization in legumes is limited. To understand nutrient dynamics during embryonic and cotyledonary photoheterotrophic transition to mature and germinating autotrophic seeds, an integrated proteomics and phosphoproteomics study in six sequential seed developmental stages in chickpea is performed. MS/MS analyses identify 109 unique nutrient‐associated proteins (NAPs) involved in metabolism, storage and biogenesis, and protein turnover. Differences and similarities in 60 nutrient‐associated phosphoproteins (NAPPs) containing 93 phosphosites are compared with NAPs. Data reveal accumulation of carbon–nitrogen metabolic and photosynthetic proteoforms during seed filling. Furthermore, enrichment of storage proteoforms and protease inhibitors is associated with cell expansion and seed maturation. Finally, combined proteoforms network analysis identifies three significant modules, centered around malate dehydrogenase, HSP70, triose phosphate isomerase, and vicilin. Novel clues suggest that ubiquitin–proteasome pathway regulates nutrient reallocation. Second, increased abundance of NAPs/NAPPs related to oxidative and serine/threonine signaling indicates direct interface between redox sensing and signaling during seed development. Taken together, nutrient signals act as metabolic and differentiation determinant governing storage organ reprogramming.     

1-D Metal-Dielectric-Metal Grating Structure as an Ultra-Narrowband Perfect Plasmonic Absorber in the Visible and Its Application in Glucose Detection

The need for an easy to fabricate perfect and narrowband light absorber in the visible range of electromagnetic (EM) spectrum has always been in demand for many scientific and device applications. Here, we propose a metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) 1-D grating plasmonic structure as a perfect narrow band light absorber in the visible and its application in glucose detection. The proposed structure consists of a 1- D grating of gold on the top of a dielectric layer on a gold film. Optimization for dielectric grating index (n), grating thickness (t), grating width (W), and grating period (P) has been done to improve the performance of plasmonic structure by calculating its quality factor and figure-of-merit (FOM). The optimized plasmonic structure behaves as a perfect narrowband light absorber. The flexibility to work at a specific wavelength is also offered by the proposed structure through an appropriate selection of the geometrical parameters and refractive index of the dielectric grating. The equivalent RC model is used to understand different components of the proposed structure on the optical response. The absorption response of the structure is invariant to the incident angle. Moreover, the calculated absorbance of the proposed plasmonic structure is ~ 100% with a narrow full-width half maxima (FWHM) of ~ 2.8 nm. We have numerically demonstrated a potential application of the proposed MDM absorber as a plasmonic glucose sensor in the visible range with detection sensitivity in the range of 140 to 195 nm/RIU.

     

Capsaicin but not Genistein Influences Modulation of Lipid Parameters by Obestatin in DIO-C57BL/6 Mice

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Capsaicin from chillies and genistein from soya bean have been shown to reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels effectively. This...     

Bandwidth Enhancement of Planar Terahertz Metasurfaces via Overlapping of Dipolar Modes

Plasmonics - We present enhancement of operational bandwidths of planar terahertz metasurfaces by incorporating a complex unit cell that consists of a pair of concentric ring resonators. The inner...