Experimental evaluation of Pentas lanceolata flowers for wound healing activity in rats

The ethanolic extract of the flowers of Pentas lanceolata given by oral route to rats at dose of 150 mg kg(-1) day(-1) for 10 days, was studied for its effect on wound healing, using excision wound mode. Significant increase in granulation tissue weight, tensile strength, hydroxyproline and glycosaminoglycan content was observed. Moderate increase in protein content was seen. There was significant reduction in the wound area measurement of the test group as compared to that of controls. The efficacious prohealing action may be due to increased collagen deposition as well as better alignment and maturation.     

Cloning and characterisation of the ahpA gene of Pasteurella multocida serogroup b:2 (strain P52): short communication

Pasteurella multocida B:2 is responsible for haemorrhagic septicaemia in cattle and buffaloes, causing severe economic losses in the developing countries. In the present study, the ahpA gene of P. multocida B:2 (P52) was cloned, sequenced and compared with the previously reported ahpA gene sequence in P. multocida A:1, which is responsible for its haemolytic phenotype. E. coli DH5a cells were further transformed with recombinant plasmid carrying the ahpA gene from P. multocida B:2 (P52) but SDS-PAGE analysis failed to show the expression of haemolysin protein. Slight haemolysis was albeit observed in horse blood agar plates streaked with recombinant E. coli carrying the ahpA gene. Our study indicates that there is 99.6% similarity and 0.4% divergence between ahpA gene of P. multocida B:2 (P52) and P. multocida A: 1, while membrane topology analysis has predicted that ahpA is an inner membrane protein with two strong hydrophobic regions at the N and C terminals. The presence of significant homology in ahpA sequence in A: 1 and B:2 perhaps suggests a common mechanism of pathogenesis in different species of animals.     

Structural and functional analysis of KIT gene encoding receptor tyrosine kinase and its interaction with sunitinib and HDAC inhibitors: an in silico approach

KIT is a growth factor receptor, important for normal germ cell migration and development. The malfunction of KIT gene results in constitutive activation of the tyrosine kinase activity of c-KIT which is believed to be the major oncogenic event in stomach, small intestine mastocytosis, acute leukemias, melanomas and colon tumors. The genetics of these diseases could be better understood by knowing the functional relevance of their SNP variation. In this study, a computational analysis to detect the most deleterious nonsynonymous SNPs of KIT gene was performed and investigated its binding affinity to native and predicted mutant protein structure (D816V) with sunitinib and HDAC (Trichostatin A and Panobinostat) inhibitors was investigated. Out of 1,288 SNPs retrieved from dbSNP database against KIT gene, 11 non-synonymous SNPs were detected to be damaging and deleterious by SIFT, PolyPhen and I-Mutant2.0 servers. Further, we modeled the mutant protein based on the deleterious nsSNP (rs121913507) and showed that the mutation from Aspartic acid to Valine at 816 position exhibit greatest impact on stability. The RMSD values of mutant and native structures are found to be 0.40 and 1.9 A, respectively. Furthermore, the binding affinity of sunitinib and HDAC inhibitors were compared with native and mutant protein. In this regard, it was found that trichostatin A has a high binding efficacy towards the mutant protein with a binding energy of -35.274 kcal mol(-1), as compared to the native structure which has a binding energy of -25.996 kcal mol(-1). Also, the FastSNP tool suggested that 3 SNPs found to affect protein splicing site and splicing regulation. From present results, it was clear that the non-synonymous SNP rs121913507 (D816V) could be the most deleterious SNP for KIT gene and HDAC inhibitors can serve as a best drug for the mutant protein.     

Recombinant mid gut antigen (Bm95) as a vaccine against Indian Rhiphicephalus haemaphysaloides in Bos indicus cattle

In the present study, we report for the first time the efficacy of recombinant Bm95 mid gut antigen isolated from an Argentinean strain of Rhipicephalus microplus strain A in controlling the tick infestations in India. The synthetic gene for Bm95 optimized for expression in yeast was obtained and used to generate yeast transformants expressing Bm95 which was purified to apparent homogeneity. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the purified protein confirmed its identity as Bm95. Vaccine was prepared by blending various concentrations of purified Bm95 with aluminium hydroxide as an adjuvant. Immunogenicity studies of the vaccine in rabbits and cattle indicated that the vaccine was highly immunogenic. The efficacy studies of the vaccine was done in cattle. Naïve Bos indicus cattle were vaccinated with the recombinant vaccine and were challenged with the larval, nymphal and adult forms of Rhiphicephalus haemaphysaloides. The vaccine protected the animals from larval, nymph and adult tick challenges with an efficacy of 98.7%, 84.6% and 78.9% respectively. The results obtained from the above studies clearly demonstrated the advantage and possibilities of the use of Bm95 in controlling R. haemaphysaloides infestations in the field.     

Energy efficient data transmission in automatic irrigation system using wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) find wide applications in environmental monitoring. MAC protocols play a vital role in controlling the energy consumption in a WSN. It tells the network when and how to access the medium. Time Division Multiple Accesses (TDMAs) are well suited for these real time applications. Because it prevents radio interference, and reduces energy consumptions. In this paper a TDMA based MAC protocol was used to collect environmental data such as soil moisture and temperature of an irrigation system. The base station was collecting the data in a particular area using the sensor nodes. All nodes in the network were homogenous and energy constrained. TDMA scheduler assigned the time slots for each node and those sensor nodes turn ON/OFF their radio according to the schedule to save energy. If the collected data was less than the threshold value, the base station would inform the controller by setting the corresponding bit to perform a motor control action. In this paper two methods based on TDMA scheduling were used. The first one was a direct communication method, in which each node transmitted the data directly to the sink. The second method used data fusion (aggregation) method in which nodes were grouped into clusters to save energy. The simulation results showed that the aggregation method was providing a 10% increase in the residual energy and 13% increase in the throughput.     

Production and optimization of indole acetic acid by indigenous micro flora using agro waste as substrate

Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) producing bacterium was isolated from the Rhizosphere soil and identified as Rhizobium sp. and Bacillus sp., Optimization of Indole acetic acid production was carried out at different cultural conditions, such as pH, temperature and substrate with Rhizobium sp., Bacillus sp. and Rhizobium sp., produced higher amount of Indole acetic acid (6.1 mg mL(-1)) than the Bacillus sp., (4.4 mg mL(-1)) at pH 7 and 37 degrees C in the Bengal gram substrate. Partial purification of Indole acetic acid was done by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). In conclusion Rhizobium sp., appear to be a suitable soil microorganism for high level of IAA production.     

Preliminary study on crystal dissolution activity of Rotula aquatica, Commiphora wightii and Boerhaavia diffusa extracts

Several Ayurvedic plants are known to have activity against diverse urinary crystals. The traditional knowledge of Ayurveda, collective clinical experience in arthritis and the earlier experimental studies on urinary crystals led to the selection of three plants, viz. Rotula aquatica, Commiphora wightii Bhandari syn. C.mukul. and Boerhaavia diffusa for screening anticrystal activity against basic calcium phosphate (BCP), calcium pyrophosphate (CPPD) and monosodium urate monohydrate (MSUM). The effects of each plant were assayed on microcrystals in 24-well microplates in vitro. Our results show that the aqueous extracts of only R. aquatica and C. wightii have shown crystal dissolving activity against MSUM.     

Reservoir operation management through optimization and deficit irrigation

One of the methods for increasing productivity of water consumed in agriculture is by improved water supply management. This paper presents results from an optimization study of the Malampuzha irrigation project of the Bharathapuzha river basin of Kerala in India. The objective of this study is to determine whether significant improvements might be realized from optimization of operation of the reservoir system. To do this a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed and five different management strategies are tested. The result indicates that a management strategy with deficit irrigation by supplying less water in non-critical growth period and maximum water during stress sensitive periods is a best viable solution for better performance. A MILP model, rather than a linear programming (LP) model, is used to ensure that the reservoir does not spill before reaching its capacity.