Direct correlation between the circadian sleep-wakefulness rhythm and time estimation in humans under social and temporal isolation

Several bodily functions in humans vary on a 24 h pattern and most of these variations persist with a circadian period ofca 25 h when subjects are studied under conditions of social and temporal isolation. We report in this paper that the estimates of short time intervals (TE) of 2 h are strongly coupled to the circadian rhythm in sleepwakefulness. There is a linear correlation between the number of hours humans stay awake (α) and their estimation of 2 h intervals. The coupling of TE to α appears to obtain only under conditions of physical well-being.     

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the detection of Plasmopara viticola infecting grapes

Grapes downy mildew caused by obligate oomycete plant pathogen Plasmopara viticola is a devastating disease worldwide, resulting in significant yield and quality losses. A field survey was conducted in two major grapes cultivated areas of Tamil Nadu for the incidence of grapevine downy mildew. The disease incidence was 43.42%–76.69%, and the highest disease incidence of 76.69% was observed in the Theni district. Totally eight P. viticola isolates were collected from different places in Coimbatore and Theni districts. These isolates were confirmed through microscopic observation and sequencing of COX 2 gene, and the phylogenetic tree was developed to study their phylogenetic relationship among the isolates which shows 97–100% sequence similarity with other P. viticola isolates and less sequence similarity with Plasmopara species. The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed based on the CesA4 gene sequence of P. viticola. The assay developed was more sensitive as it detected P. viticola genomic DNA up to 20 fmg. LAMP assay specificity was proved by carrying out the assay with genomic DNA extracted from other Oomycetes and fungal plant pathogens. Finally, LAMP assay was validated by testing seventy-eight grapevine leaf samples collected from seven different locations. LAMP assay showed a positive reaction in sixty-two samples tested out of seventy-eight samples tested. Therefore, the LAMP assay described should helpful for early and specific detection of downy mildew pathogen and help in mitigating disease incidence.     

Length-weight relationship of six demersal fish species from Gulf of Mannar,Bay of Bengal,Eastern Indian Ocean

Length-weight relationship (LWR) parameters were analysed for six demersal finfish species from the Gulf of Mannar coast, Bay of Bengal. Fishes were sampled monthly from the landings of trawlers operated along the coast of Tuticorin and Rameshwaram with a cod-end mesh size of 35 mm at the depth of 60–80 m. Fish specimens were sampled by measuring the total length (TL) and total weight (TW) with precision to 0.1 cm and 0.1 g respectively. The present study also recorded a new maximum total length for Engyprosopon macrolepis, Torquigener brevipinnis and Leiognathus brevirostris.     

Green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for antimicrobial and vegetative growth applications: A novel approach for advancing efficient high quality health care to human wellbeing

The present work aims to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles via green approaches using leaf extract of Parthenium hysterophorus. UV–vis and FT-IR tests confirmed the existence of biomolecules, active materials, and metal oxides. The X-ray diffraction structural study exposes the ZnO nanoparticles formation with hexagonal phase structures. SEM and TEM analysis reveal surface morphologies of ZnO nanoparticles and most of them are spherical with a size range of 10 nm. ZnO nanoparticles were revealed strong antimicrobial activity against both bacterial and fungal strains. The germination of seeds and vegetative growth of Sesamum indicum has been greatly improved.     

A prawn transglutaminase: Molecular characterization and biochemical properties

In this study, we report the bioinformatics characterization, gene expression, transglutaminase activity and coagulation assays of transglutaminase (TGase) of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii identified from the constructed cDNA library by GS FLX™ technology. Even though, TGase have sequence similarity, they differ extensively in their substrate specificity and are thought to play an important in variety of functions such as development, tissue differentiation and immune responses etc. Gene expression studies show that MrTGase is widely distributed in the tissues such as heart, muscle, intestine, brain, etc., but higher amounts are found in hemocyte. Results of TGase mRNA relative expression in hemocyte, before and after infected with white spot syndrome baculovirus (WSBV) and Vibrio harveyi show that the gene expression initially increases up to 24 h and then it falls down. Coagulation assay results showed that the endogenous TGase is involved in the rapid assembly of a specific, plasma clotting protein. Structural studies show that MrTGase contains a typical TGc domain between 323 and 424, and two putative integrin-binding motifs at Arg¹⁸⁰–Gly¹⁸¹–Asp¹⁸² and Arg²⁶⁹–Gly²⁷⁰–Asp²⁷¹. The predicted 3D model of MrTGase contains 47.04% coils (366 amino acid residues), 26.74% extended strand (208 residues), 21.72% α-helix (169 residues) and 4.5% beta turns (35 residues). BLASTp analysis of MrTGase exhibited high sequence similarities with other crustacean TGase, with the highest observed in white shrimp (77.1%). Moreover, the phylogenetic analysis also showed that MrTGase clustered with the other members of crustacean TGase. Overall, these results suggested that MrTGase is a major and functional TGase of M. rosenbergii for haemolymph coagulation and also in spread of infection.     

Differential recovery of membrane proteins after extraction by aqueous methanol and trifluoroethanol

Cell membrane proteome analysis is limited by inherent membrane hydrophobicity. Conventional membrane protein extraction techniques use detergents, chaotropes and organic acids that require sample clean-up or pH adjustment, and are associated with significant sample loss. We extracted membrane proteins from red blood cells (RBCs) using methanol (MeOH), trifluoroethanol (TFE) and urea, and identified membrane proteins using 2-D LC coupled with MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS. We show that organic solvents MeOH- and TFE-based methods have membrane protein analysis efficiencies comparable to urea, and are complementary for the recovery of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic peptides. The mean grand average of hydropathicity (GRAVY) value of identified peptides from the TFE-based method (-0.107) was significantly higher than that of the MeOH-based method (-0.465) (p<0.001). Sequential and adjunctive use of the organic solvents MeOH and TFE increases the number of proteins identified, and the confidence of their identification. We show that this strategy is effective for shotgun membrane proteome analysis.     

First synthesis of phosphonobile acids and preliminary studies on their aggregation properties

The synthesis of three novel phosphonobile acids from natural bile acids is reported. The CMC of phosphonodeoxycholic acid (PDCA) at pH 8.2 was found to be lower than that of the parent deoxycholic acid (DCA). PDCA micelles were also found to have higher microviscosity compared to DCA micelles, suggesting higher hydrophobicity and tighter packing in the interior of PDCA micelles. PDCA aggregated further to form an aqueous gel at pH 4.     

Species Composition of Bacterial Communities Influences Attraction of Mosquitoes to Experimental Plant Infusions

In the container habitats of immature mosquitoes, catabolism of plant matter and other organic detritus by microbial organisms produces metabolites that mediate the oviposition behavior of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Public health agencies commonly use oviposition traps containing plant infusions for monitoring populations of these mosquito species, which are global vectors of dengue viruses. In laboratory experiments, gravid females exhibited significantly diminished responses to experimental infusions made with sterilized white oak leaves, showing that attractive odorants were produced through microbial metabolic activity. We evaluated effects of infusion concentration and fermentation time on attraction of gravid females to infusions made from senescent bamboo or white oak leaves. We used plate counts of heterotrophic bacteria, total counts of 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole-stained bacterial cells, and 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to show that changes in the relative abundance of bacteria and the species composition of bacterial communities influenced attraction of gravid A. aegypti and A. albopictus mosquitoes to infusions. DGGE profiles showed that bacterial species composition in infusions changed over time. Principal components analysis indicated that oviposition responses to plant infusions were in general most affected by bacterial diversity and abundance. Analysis of bacterial 16S rDNA sequences derived from DGGE bands revealed that Proteobacteria (Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Gamma-) were the predominant bacteria detected in both types of plant infusions. Gravid A. aegypti were significantly attracted to a mix of 14 bacterial species cultured from bamboo leaf infusion. The oviposition response of gravid mosquitoes to plant infusions is strongly influenced by abundance and diversity of bacterial species, which in turn is affected by plant species, leaf biomass, and fermentation time.