The maintenance of ionic homeostasis in the cytoplasm is an essential and crucial physiological process for all living beings. At cellular level, Na
+
concentrations are maintained by specialized Na
...+
transporting molecular machines, which operate in the cell or plasma membrane. In eukaryotes Na
+
transporting P-type ATPase play an important role in Na
+
homeostasis that is known as Na
+
/K
+
-ATPase in animal cells in which K
+
acts as a counter ion for the exchange of sodium. Na
+
/K
+
-ATPase is not found in plants. In plants and fungi, proton gradients are maintained by plasma membrane H
+
-ATPase while in animal cells Na
+
and K
+
gradient is maintained by Na
+
/K
+
-ATPase. However, in case of algae, a few reports of Na
+
/K
+
-ATPase are available, that maintains optimum concentration gradients in the cytoplasm and is used by Na
+
/H
+
antiporter to exchange of Na
+
and H
+
ions. The membrane potential derived as a result of ion gradients across the membrane is base for a variety of cellular processes. An active Na
+
dependent cycle (P-type ATPase) is scarcely reported in algae as compared to marine bacteria/cyanobacteria and animals. The characterization of these transporter gene-encoding membrane transports in seaweed would contribute to the understanding of abiotic stress tolerance in these organisms. This review highlights the detailed account of algal along with animal type Na
+
-ATPase i.e. occurrence, properties, significance and their recent progress.
We studied the potential of polymeric cryogel matrices such as 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-agarose (HA) and gelatin matrix as a transporting and storage material for mammalian cells. Both the ...HA and gelatin matrices were found to possess a homogenous distribution of pores as shown by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images and flow rate of 8 and 5 mL/min, respectively. In the case of HA cryogel, after 5 days of simulated transportation, C2C12 cells kept in cryogel matrix showed higher percentage viability (89%) as compared to 64.5% viability of cells kept in suspension culture. The cells recovered from the HA cryogel were able to proliferate as revealed by the microscopic analysis. In the case of gelatin cryogel, it was shown that C2C12 cells seeded on the cryogel under simulated transportation condition were found to proliferate over the period of 5 days. It was also observed that the cells after simulation can be cryopreserved and the duration of cryopreservation does not affect their viability. Furthermore, gelatin cryogel was used for cryopreservation of HepG2 and HUVEC cells to extend the system for other cell types. These results show the potential of cryogels as efficient, low-cost transporting matrix at room temperature and in cryo-conditions.
In this era of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an accurate method of diagnosis with less diagnosis time and cost can effectively help in controlling the disease spread with the new variants ...taking birth from time to time. In order to achieve this, a two-dimensional (2D) tunable Q-wavelet transform (TQWT) based on a memristive crossbar array (MCA) is introduced in this work for the decomposition of chest X-ray images of two different datasets. TQWT has resulted in promising values of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index measure (SSIM) at the optimum values of its parameters namely quality factor (Q) of 4, and oversampling rate (r) of 3 and at a decomposition level (J) of 2. The MCA-based model is used to process decomposed images for further classification with efficient storage. These images have been further used for the classification of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 images using ResNet50 and AlexNet convolutional neural network (CNN) models. The average accuracy values achieved for the processed chest X-ray images classification in the small and large datasets are 98.82% and 94.64%, respectively which are higher than the reported conventional methods based on different models of deep learning techniques. The average accuracy of detection of COVID-19 via the proposed method of image classification has also been achieved with less complexity, energy, power, and area consumption along with lower cost estimation as compared to CMOS-based technology.
•Qualitative and quantitative investigations on selection of optimum TQWT parameters for image decomposition.•Extended mathematical investigation for memristive crossbar array (MCA) model based two dimensional (2D) TQWT to decompose the CXIs for further image classification.•Computational diagnosis of COVID-19 by using CXIs through pretrained CNN models.
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•Endophytic fungal supernatant mediated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs).•Formations of AgNPs were confirmed by UV-vis, FTIR, XRD, DLS, EDS, TEM and AFM.•The synthesised AgNPs show good ...antimicrobial activity.
In this study, biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from supernatant of endophytic fungus Alternaria sp. isolated from the healthy leaves of Raphanus sativus is studied. The synthesized AgNPs are characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The structural analysis is done by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The stability of AgNPs is studied by dynamic light scattering (DLS) method. The size and shape of AgNPs are observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and found to be spherical with an average particles size of 4–30nm. Further, these AgNPs have been found to be highly toxic against human pathogenic bacteria, suggesting the possibility of using AgNPs as efficient antibacterial agents.
A novel small molecule based on benzothiazole-piperazine has been identified as an effective multi-target-directed ligand (MTDL) against Alzheimer's disease (AD). Employing a medicinal chemistry ...approach, combined with molecular docking, MD simulation, and binding free energy estimation, compound 1 emerged as a potent MTDL against AD. Notably, compound 1 demonstrated efficient binding to both AChE and Aβ1–42, involving crucial molecular interactions within their active sites. It displayed a binding free energy (ΔGbind) −18.64± 0.16 and −16.10 ± 0.18 kcal/mol against AChE and Aβ1–42, respectively. In-silico findings were substantiated through rigorous in vitro and in vivo studies. In vitro analysis confirmed compound 1 (IC50=0.42 μM) as an effective, mixed-type, and selective AChE inhibitor, binding at both the enzyme's catalytic and peripheral anionic sites. Furthermore, compound 1 demonstrated a remarkable ability to reduce the aggregation propensity of Aβ, as evidenced by Confocal laser scanning microscopy and TEM studies. Remarkably, in vivo studies exhibited the promising therapeutic potential of compound 1. In a scopolamine-induced memory deficit mouse model of AD, compound 1 showed significantly improved spatial memory and cognition. These findings collectively underscore the potential of compound 1 as a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of AD.
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•A benzothiazole-piperazine-based small molecule has been developed as an effective MTDL against AD.•Compound 1 (IC50=0.421 μM) was a potent, mixed-type, and selective AChE inhibitor.•Compounds 1 at 50 μM effectively reduced the aggregation propensity of Aβ by 80.708%.•Compound 1 demonstrated potent neuroprotection in cells induced with H2O2 and OKA neurotoxicity.•Compound 1 showed improved spatial memory and cognition in the scopolamine-induced memory deficit mouse model of AD.
Thirteen known Yr gene-associated markers pertaining to genes (Yr5, Yr10, Yr15, Yr24/Yr26) were used to identify the genes in selected wheat germplasm which were found resistant under field ...conditions at two locations in Punjab, India against stripe rust. In field evaluation, 38 genotypes exhibited highly resistant response, with a final rust severity (FRS) ranging from 0 to TR. Seven genotypes expressed a resistant to moderately resistant response with FRS ranging from 5MR-10S. In race-specific phenotying against most prevalent pathotypes of Puccinia striiformis tritici (46S119,110S119 &238S119) by seedling reaction test (SRT) 14 genotypes (29.2%) were found to be immune (IT = 0), 28 genotypes (58.3%) were resistant (IT = 1), and 3 genotypes (6.3%) were moderately resistant (IT = 2). Yr5 was detected in sixteen lines with the help of two markers Xwmc175 and Xgwm120 linked with Yr5. Yr10 was detected in ten lines with the marker Xpsp3000 and Yr15 was detected in fourteen lines with two linked markers; Xgwm413 and Xgwm273. Likewise, Yr24/26 was detected in 15 lines with two linked markers, namely Xbarc181 and Xbarc187. Based on the race specific phenotyping data and marker data, fourteen lines were found to carry a single gene, 16 showed the presence of two gene combinations, and seven genotypes were found to have a combination of three genes. Frequencies of Yr5, Yr15 and Yr26/Yr24 was high among test wheat germplasm in comparison to Yr10.
The experiment conducted at Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, India, during the rabi season of 2020-21 aimed to assess genetic diversity among 35 chickpea genotypes and identify those with ...traits associated with terminal heat tolerance using phenotypical parameters. Based on D2 analysis, the genotypes were classified into six clusters using the Tocher method. Clusters I and II comprised the majority of the genotypes while Clusters IV, V, and VI: were the least populated. The highest inter-cluster distance was observed between Cluster III and V, followed by Cluster III and IV and Cluster III and VI. This indicated that there was significant diversity between the genotypes belonging to these clusters. In terms of agronomic traits, all clusters showed the highest mean value for grain yield under late sown conditions, indicating their potential for better yield performance. Among the 12 traits studied, 100-seed weight exhibited the highest contribution in the manifestation of genetic divergence. The diverse clusters identified in the study can be valuable for breeding programs. They can be used to develop improved chickpea varieties that are better adapted to late-sown conditions and have enhanced productivity. This could contribute to more resilient chickpea crops, especially in regions where terminal heat stress is a concern.
Recent studies have described the burden of disease in South Africa. However these studies do not tell us which of these conditions commonly present to primary care providers, how these conditions ...may present and how providers make sense of them in terms of their diagnoses. Clinical nurse practitioners are the main primary care providers and need to be better prepared for this role. This study aimed to determine the range and prevalence of reasons for encounter and diagnoses found among ambulatory patients attending public sector primary care facilities in South Africa.
The study was a multi-centre prospective cross-sectional survey of consultations in primary care in four provinces of South Africa: Western Cape, Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West. Consultations were coded prior to analysis by using the International Classification of Primary Care-Version 2 in terms of reasons for encounter (REF) and diagnoses. Altogether 18856 consultations were included in the survey and generated 31451 reasons for encounter (RFE) and 24561 diagnoses. Women accounted for 12526 (66.6%) and men 6288 (33.4%). Nurses saw 16238 (86.1%) and doctors 2612 (13.9%) of patients. The top 80 RFE and top 25 diagnoses are reported and ongoing care for hypertension was the commonest RFE and diagnosis. The 20 commonest RFE and diagnoses by age group are also reported.
Ambulatory primary care is dominated by non-communicable chronic diseases. HIV/AIDS and TB are common, but not to the extent predicted by the burden of disease. Pneumonia and gastroenteritis are commonly seen especially in children. Women's health issues such as family planning and pregnancy related visits are also common. Injuries are not as common as expected from the burden of disease. Primary care providers did not recognise mental health problems. The results should guide the future training and assessment of primary care providers.
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