In the present investigation, the anti-inflammatory activity of isolated bergapten from hydroalcoholic extract of Heracleum nepalense root was evaluated in vitro using human peripheral blood ...mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Bergapten exhibited significant inhibition of the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, namely tumour necrotic factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by PBMCs stimulated with lipopolysaccharide in a concentration-dependent manner.
Rhus semialata Murr. (Anacardiaceae) is a deciduous tree of north
eastern India. The fruit of this plant is traditionally used to control
diarrhoea and dysentery. The Present study was undertaken to ...evaluate
anti-diarrhoeal potency of methanol extract of fruits of R.
semialatalts indicated that the methanol extract of the fruits of R.
semialata possesses significant anti-diarrhoeal effect and
substantiated the use of this herbal remedy as a non-specific treatment
for diarrhoea in folk medicine.
The present work reports a simple, inexpensive method for synthesis of calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 nanoparticles (CHNPs). The method involves chemical precipitation (CP) in aqueous medium at room ...temperature. Calcium nitrate dihydrate Ca(NO3)2.2H2O and sodium hydroxide were used as precursors. The CHNPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld analysis, field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), BET surface area evaluation as well as particle size distribution analysis techniques. The results confirmed the synthesis of CHNPs as the major phase. The CHNPs exhibited an average size of about 350 nm. In addition, some calcite phase formed due to the inevitable carbonation process. A very minor amount of aragonite phase was also present. A schematically developed new qualitative model is proposed to explain the genesis and subsequent evolution of the various phases at the nanoscale. The model helps to identify the rate‐controlling step. It also highlights the implication of reaction kinetics control in synthesis of predesigned nanophase assembly.
The investigation carried out in this research work concerns the effect of the addition of H2 on performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engine. The tests were ...performed using diesel as a pilot fuel, with hydrogen addition at varying load condition using a Timed Manifold Injection (TMI) system has been developed using ECU (electronic control unit) with varying injection strategy to deliver hydrogen on to the intake manifold. The results showed a significant increase in BTE with appreciable decrease in BSEC of the engine when compared to conventional diesel-fueled operation. The emission of CO2 and NOx was found to increase with enhancement of H2 addition. The emission of UHC was found to be very high at low load conditions, but it enhanced as the load increased for all hydrogen injection while Soot emissions decreased. Thus, this paper provided a potential to investigate the effect of the addition of H2 on the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine and how to get a best ratio of H2 addition. The tradeoff study also consolidated the verity that Diesel–H2 dual fuel operation was instrumental in resolving the high performance – low emission paradox.
•Pure diesel and diesel–H2 blends are tested.•Diesel–H2 blends produced higher brake thermal efficiency than pure diesel in all part loads.•Diesel–H2 blends reduced the energy consumption of the engine.•Diesel–H2 blends simultaneously reduced Soot to some extent but increases NOx and hydrocarbon emissions.•The performance-emission trade-off paradox has been studied using pure diesel and diesel–H2 blends.
Assessing the cost of vaccine preventable diseases (VPD) surveillance is becoming more important in the context of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) funding transition, since GPEI ...support to polio surveillance helped the incremental building of VPD surveillance systems in many countries, including low income countries such as Nepal. However, there is limited knowledge on the cost of conducting VPD surveillance, especially the national cost for surveillance of multiple vaccine-preventable diseases. The current study sought to calculate the economic and financial costs of Nepal’s comprehensive VPD surveillance systems from July 2016 to July 2017. At thecentral level, all surveillance units were included in the sample. At sub-national level, a purposive sampling strategy was used to select a representative sample from locations involved in conducting surveillance. The sub-national sample costs were extrapolated to the nationwide VPD surveillance system. Nepal’s total annual economic cost of VPD surveillance was USD 4.81 million or USD 0.18 per capita, while the total financial cost was USD 4.38 million or USD 0.16 per capita. Government expenditures accounted for 56% of the total economic cost, and World Health Organization accounting for 44%. The biggest cost driver was personnel accounting for 51% of the total economic cost. WHO supported trained surveillance personnel through donor funding, mainly from Global Polio Eradication Initiative. As a polio transition priority country, Nepal will need to make strategic choices to fully self-finance or seek full donor support or a mixed-financing model as polio program funding diminishes.
The leukocyte antigen related (LAR) family of receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatases has three members in humans – PTPRF, PTPRD and PTPRS – that have been implicated in diverse processes ...including embryonic development, inhibition of cell growth and axonal guidance. Mutations in the LAR family are associated with developmental defects such as cleft palate as well as various cancers including breast, neck, lung, colon and brain. Although this family of tyrosine phosphatases is important for many developmental processes, little is known of their substrates. This is partially due to functional redundancy within the LAR family, as deletion of a single gene in the LAR family does not have an appreciable phenotype, but a dual knockout is embryonically lethal in mouse models. To circumvent the inability to knockout multiple members of the LAR family in mouse models, we used a knockout of ptp-3, which is the only known ortholog of the LAR family in Caenorhabditis elegans and allows for the study of the LAR family at the organismal level. Using SILAC-based quantitative phosphoproteomics, we identified 255 putative substrates of ptp-3, which included four of the nine known annotated substrates of the LAR family. A motif analysis of the identified phosphopeptides allowed for the determination of sequences that appear to be preferentially dephosphorylated. Finally, we discovered that kinases were overrepresented in the list of identified putative substrates and tyrosine residues whose phosphorylation is known to increase kinase activity were dephosphorylated by ptp-3. These data are suggestive of ptp-3 as a potential negative regulator of several kinase families, such as the mitogen activated kinases (MAPKs), and multiple tyrosine kinases including FER, MET, and NTRK2.
•Phosphoproteomics reveals 255 putative substrates of the tyrosine phosphatase ptp-3.•Putative substrates of ptp-3 are enriched for kinases.•Motif analysis reveals two motifs for the ptp-3 phosphatase.
Abstract Neonatal sepsis is the invasion of microbial pathogens into blood stream and is associated with a systemic inflammatory response with production and release of a wide range of inflammatory ...mediators. The increased serum levels of cytokines were found to correlate with the severity and mortality in course of sepsis. There have been no reports on the role of microbial proteases in stimulation of proinflammatory response in neonatal sepsis. We have identified YghJ, a secreted metalloprotease from a neonatal septicemic Escherichia coli (NSEC) isolate. The protease was partially purified from culture supernatant by successive anion and gel filtration chromatography. MS/MS peptide sequencing of the protease showed homology with YghJ. YghJ was cloned, expressed and purified in pBAD TOPO expression vector. YghJ was found to be proteolytically active against Methoxysuccinyl Ala-Ala-Pro-Met- p -nitroanilide oligopeptide substrate, but not against casein and gelatin. YghJ showed optimal activity at pH 7–8 and at temperatures 37–40 °C. YghJ showed clear changes in cellular morphologies of Int407, HT-29 and HEK293 cells. YghJ stimulated the secretion of cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β and TNF-α in murine macrophages (RAW 264.7) and IL-8 from human intestinal epithelial cells (HT-29). YghJ also down-regulated the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10. YghJ is present in both septicemic (78%) and fecal E. coli isolates (54%). However, expression and secretion of YghJ is significantly higher among the septicemic (89%) than the fecal isolates (33%). This is the first study to show the role of a microbial protease, YghJ in triggering proinflammatory response in NSEC.
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