Aquatic oligochaeta from among the roots of eichhornia crassipes solms

The paper records the presence of sixteen species of aquatic oligochaetes, belonging to the Aeolosomatidae (1 species). Naididae (13 species) and Tubificidae (2 species), living in association with the floating roots of the water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes Solms., from a tank in Vizianagaram town in Andhra Pradesh, India. Of these, Aeolosoma hyalinum Bunke, 1967 and Dero obtusa D'Udekem, 1855 are new records for the Indian sub-continent.     

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of 18F-labelled S-fluoroalkyl diarylguanidines: Novel high-affinity NMDA receptor antagonists for imaging with PET

Two S-[¹⁸F]fluoroalkylated diarylguanidines were synthesized and evaluated in vitro as potential tracers for imaging of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) with positron emission tomography (PET). [¹⁸F]1 and [¹⁸F]10 were synthesized by [¹⁸F]fluoroethylation and [¹⁸F]fluoromethylation of the thiol precursor 6, respectively. [¹⁸F]1 is a promising candidate NMDAR PET tracer, with low nanomolar affinity for the NMDA PCP-site, high selectivity and moderate lipophilicity.     

In vitro anti- biofilm and anti-bacterial activity of Sesbania grandiflora extract against Staphylococcus aureus

The main objective of this research is to investigate the anti-biofilm and anti-bacterial activity of Sesbania grandiflora (S. grandiflora) against Staphylococcus aureus. S. grandiflora extract were prepared and analyzed with UV –Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Dynamic light scattering. Biofilm forming pathogens were identified by congo-red assay. Quantification of Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) particularly protein and carbohydrate were calculated. The efficacy of the herbal extract S. grandiflora and its inhibition against the pathogenic strain of S. aureus was also evaluated. The gradual decrease or disappearance of peaks reveals the reduction of protein and carbohydrate content in the EPS of S. aureus when treated with S. grandiflora. The antibacterial activity of S. grandiflora extract against the bacterial strain S. aureus showed that the extract were more active against the strain. To conclude, anti-biofilm and antibacterial efficacy of S. grandiflora plays a vital role over biofilm producing pathogens and act as a good source for controlling the microbial population.     

Relationship of Adipocyte Size with Adiposity and Metabolic Risk Factors in Asian Indians

Background

Enlargement of adipocyte is associated with their dysfunction and alterations in metabolic functions.

Objectives

We evaluated the association of adipocyte size of subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue with body composition and cardiovascular risk factors in Asian Indians.

Methodology

Eighty (40 males and 40 females) non-diabetic adult subjects undergoing elective abdominal surgery were included. Pre-surgery evaluation included anthropometric measurements, % body fat by bioimpedance, abdominal fat area at L_2–3 level (computed tomography) and biochemical investigations (fasting blood glucose and insulin, lipids and hsCRP). During surgery, about 5 grams each of omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue was obtained for adipocyte size determination.

Results

Females had higher BMI, % body fat, skinfold thickness, total and subcutaneous abdominal fat area as compared to males. Overweight was present in 42.5% and 67.5%, and abdominal obesity in 5% and 52.5% males and females, respectively. Subcutaneous adipocyte size was significantly higher than omental adipocyte size. Omental adipocyte size correlated more strongly than subcutaneous adipocyte size with measures of adiposity (BMI, waist circumference, %BF), total and subcutaneous abdominal fat area and biochemical measures (fasting glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides and HOMA-IR), the correlations being stronger in females. The correlation of adipocyte size with metabolic parameters was attenuated after adjusting for measures of adiposity.

Conclusion

Omental adipocyte size, though smaller than the subcutaneous adipocyte size, was more closely related to measures of adiposity and metabolic parameters. However, the relationship was not independent of measures of adiposity.     

Stability of sheath blight resistance in transgenic ASD16 rice lines expressing a rice <Emphasis Type="Italic">chi11</Emphasis> gene encoding chitinase

Development of transgenic plants by introducing defense genes is one of the strategies to engineer disease resistance. Transgenic ASD16 rice plants harbouring rice chitinase chi11 gene, belonging to a PR-3 group of defense gene conferring sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn) resistance, were used in this study. Three T₂ homozygous lines (ASD16-4-1-1, 5-1-1, and 6-1-1) were identified from seven putative (T₀) transgenic lines expressing chi11 using Western blotting analysis. The inheritance of sheath blight resistance in those lines was studied over generations. The stability of chi11 expression up to T₄ generation in all the three homozygous lines was proved by Western blot and the stability of sheath blight resistance in the homozygous lines was proved up to T₄ generation using detached leaf and intact leaf sheath assays. Among the three homozygous lines tested, ASD16-4-1-1 showed consistent results in all the generations and gave a better protection against the sheath blight pathogen than the other two lines.     

Neutralization potential of the plasma of HIV-1 infected Indian patients in the context of anti-V3 antibody content and antiretroviral theraphy

We assessed the anti-V3 antibody content and viral neutralization potential of the plasma of 63 HIV-1-infected patients (antiretroviral naïve=39, treated=24) against four primary isolates (PIs) of clade C and a tier 1 clade B isolate SF162. Depletion and inhibition of anti-V3 antibodies in the plasma of five patients with high titers of anti-V3 antibodies led to modest change in the neutralization percentage against two PIs (range 0–21%). The plasma of antiretroviral-treated patients exhibited higher neutralization potential than that of the drug-naïve plasmas against the four PIs tested which was further evidenced by a follow-up study.     

Listening to the Call of Dance: Re‐thinking Authenticity and ‘Essentialism’

A sustained and devastating critique has been aimed in recent years at a metaphysics of truth which understands truth and authenticity as essence, as fixed, self‐identical and persistent over time. So successful has this critique been that it is now possible to speak of authenticity only in terms of a certain ‘strategic’ or politically necessary engagement, on the part of subaltern groups, with an essentialist metaphysics. While the critique is a necessary one, taken on its own it has resulted in a reductionist presumption that we are only ever going to encounter versions of truth that we have already understood, for purposes of critique, as so many versions of ‘essentialism’. By contrast, in the ceremonial performances of dance described in this issue of TAJA, across a broad spectrum of cultures, we witness the striking persistence and centrality of references to virtuosity, appropriate ‘feeling’ and to the experience of a kind of integrity, coherence and ‘truth’ in a good performance. The commentary argues that these distinctions rest on traditions that move us quite far from an essentialism both of the spirit and of the body, requiring instead a fresh effort of understanding on our part. Utilising other traditions to develop a better, less reified understanding of truth criteria can help arrest a certain hyper‐expansion of ‘the political’ that threatens to leave no other terms alive with which to inform its own vision of the relation between past, present and future.     

Identification of a Peptide-like Compound with Antimicrobial and Trypsin Inhibitory Activity from Seeds of Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)

A low molecular mass peptide like compound with antimicrobial and trypsin inhibitory activity was isolated from the seeds of Lagenaria siceraria. It was purified by ion-exchange and reverse-phase chromatography. The molecular weight of the compound was 678.9 Dalton as determined by MALDI-MS. The infra-red absorbance at 1639 cm^?1, characteristic of an amide bond, by FTIR spectroscopic studies, and absorption at 214 nm on spectrophotometer indicates the peptidic nature of the compound. The compound exhibited antimicrobial activity when tested against Escherichia coli with minimum inhibitory concentration of 20 μM, and trypsin inhibitory activity inhibiting trypsin at a molar ratio of 1:2.     

Functionalization of pine needles by carboxymethylation and network formation for use as supports in the adsorption of Cr

Pine needles and their carboxymethyl forms were functionalized by network formation with 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulphonic acid (AAmPSA) in the presence of N,N-methylene bisacrylamide. N-Tetramethylethylene diamine and ammonium persulfate were used as accelerator-initiator systems to prepare these hydrogels. The hydrogels were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and nitrogen analysis and for water uptake capacities before and after metal ion sorption with a view to evaluating their use in the removal of toxic ionic species from waste water. A detailed study of Cr⁶⁺ adsorption was carried out as a function of time, temperature, pH, and ionic strength. The thermodynamic parameters of adsorption such as ΔH⁰, ΔS⁰, and ΔG⁰ have been evaluated to understand the underlying mechanism of adsorption. In order to understand their reusability in possible technological applications, biodegradability of these hydrogels and their precursors was studied.