ALBERT

Description: 〈div data-abstract-type="normal"〉〈p〉The partial coalescence dynamics of a compound drop in a liquid pool is numerically investigated. We study the effect of the ratio of the inner to outer radii 〈span〉〈span〉〈img data-mimesubtype="gif" data-type="simple" src="http://static.cambridge.org/resource/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:binary:20190304182056746-0191:S002211201900137X:S002211201900137X_inline1.gif"〉 〈span data-mathjax-type="texmath"〉 〈/span〉 〈/span〉〈/span〉 of the compound drop while maintaining a constant liquid volume in the outer shell of the compound droplet. It is observed that for small values of the radius ratio, the coalescence dynamics is similar to that of a ‘simple’ drop, but the partial coalescence is suppressed for large values of 〈span〉〈span〉〈img data-mimesubtype="gif" data-type="simple" src="http://static.cambridge.org/resource/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:binary:20190304182056746-0191:S002211201900137X:S002211201900137X_inline2.gif"〉 〈span data-mathjax-type="texmath"〉 〈/span〉 〈/span〉〈/span〉. Increasing the value of 〈span〉〈span〉〈img data-mimesubtype="gif" data-type="simple" src="http://static.cambridge.org/resource/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:binary:20190304182056746-0191:S002211201900137X:S002211201900137X_inline3.gif"〉 〈span data-mathjax-type="texmath"〉 〈/span〉 〈/span〉〈/span〉 decreases the distance migrated by the inner bubble in the downward direction inside the pool. The location of the bubble after coalescence is found to play an important role in the pinch-off process of the satellite drop. The influence of the governing dimensionless parameters on the coalescence dynamics has also been investigated.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: Background: In humans, many diseases are associated with the accumulation of free radicals. Antioxidants can scavenge free radicals and minimize their impact. Therefore, the search for naturally occurring antioxidants of plant origin is imperative. Here, we aimed to investigate the antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties of methanolic extracts from Tabebuia pallida (T. pallida) stem bark (TPSB), root bark (TPRB), leaves (TPL), and flowers (TPF). Methods: The antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity were determined by several standard methods using spectrophotomer. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were estimated using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminum chloride colorimetric assay methods, respectively. Results: Among the extracts, TPL showed the highest total antioxidant capacity followed by TPRB, TPF, and TPSB. Based on DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, TPL showed strong scavenging activity (91.05 ± 1.10 and 62.00 ± 0.57) with IC 50 of 9.20 ± 0.28 and 46.00 ± 2.84 μg/mL, respectively when compared with standard BHT (IC 50 of 7.00 ± 0.25 μg/mL) and CA (75.00 ± 0.14 μg/mL). These results suggest that TPL had the highest radical scavenging activity among the extractives that closely resembled the standard’s. In lipid peroxidation inhibition assay, TPL exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity (83.18 ± 2.12 %) with IC 50 of 12.00 ± 2.12 μg/mL, which closely resembled standard CA (IC 50 of 10.50 ± 0.28 μg/mL). Also, the reducing capacity on ferrous ion was in the following order: TPL 〉 TPRB 〉 TF 〉 TPSB. The phenolic and flavonoid contents of TPL were higher than other extractives. A positive correlation (p value

Description: Background: Elevated glucose concentrations lead to increased insulin secretion and suppression of glucagon secretion. In fact, insulin is a physiological inhibitor of glucagon secretion. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients have defects in insulin secretion. In addition to this, lack of suppression of glucagon secretion under elevated glucose concentrations is also observed in T2DM patients. We have earlier shown that GPR40 activation by CNX-011-67 stimulates glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Here we extended our studies to examine the impact of GPR40 activation by CNX-011-67 on glucagon secretion from intact islets under both normal and glucolipotoxic conditions.FindingsGlucagon secretion from intact rat islets was suppressed under elevated glucose concentration. Activation of GPR40 by CNX-011-67 further suppressed glucagon secretion. Culturing islets under chronic glucolipotoxic (GL) conditions, we have observed increased high glucose mediated glucagon secretion and content which were reduced with GPR40 activation by CNX-011-67. Interestingly, expression of pre-proglucagon gene (GCG) remained unchanged under glucolipotoxicity in the presence or absence of GPR40 activation. Conclusion: Activation of GPR40 by CNX-011-67 can reduce glucagon secretion from pancreatic islets.

Description: Background: Heat stress leads to accelerated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which causes a huge amount of oxidative damage to the cellular components of plants. A large number of heat stress related genes as HSPs, catalases, peroxidases are overexpressed at the time of stress. A potent stress responsive gene peroxisomal ascorbate peroxidase (TapAPX) obtained from heat stress (42[degree sign]C) responsive subtractive cDNA library from a thermo tolerant wheat cv. Raj3765 at anthesis stage was cloned, characterized and its role was validated under heat stress by proteomics and in-silico studies.. In the present study we report the characterization at molecular and in-silico level of peroxisomal TapAPX gene isolated from heat tolerant wheat cultivar of India. Results: qPCR studies of TapAPX gene displayed up to 203 fold level of expression at 42[degree sign]C heat stress exposure. A full length cDNA of 876 bp obtained by RACE deduced a protein of 292 amino acid residues which gives a complete 3D structure of pAPX by homology modeling. TapAPX cDNA was cloned in expression vector pET28 (a+) and the recombinant protein over-expressed in E. coli BL21 showed highest homology with APX protein as deduced by peptide mass fingerprinting. Conclusions: TapAPX gene from wheat cv Raj3765 has a distinct role in conferring thermo tolerance to the plants and thus can be used in crop improvement programmes for development of crops tolerant to high temperature.

Description: Background: Procalcitonin is useful for the diagnosis of sepsis but its prognostic value regarding mortality is unclear. This prospective observational study was designed to study the prognostic value of procalcitonin in prediction of 28 day mortality in patients of sepsis. Fifty-four consecutive patients of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock defined using the 2001 Consensus Conference SCCM/ESICM/ACCP/ATS/SIS criteria from medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a tertiary care center in New Delhi, India were enrolled from July 2011 to June 2013. Procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP) measurements were recorded on day 1, day 7 and day 28 of follow up. Results: Procalcitonin value was a better predictor of all-cause short-term mortality than C-reactive protein. Those patients with Procalcitonin levels

Description: Plasma coagulation Factor XIIa (Hageman factor; encoded by F12) and kallikrein (KAL or Fletcher factor; encoded by KLKB1) are proteases of the kallikerin-kinin system involved in converting the inactive circulati...

Description: Background: In the progression towards diabetes, glucolipotoxicity is one of the main causes of pancreatic beta cell pathology. The aim of this study was to examine the in vitro effects of chronic glucolipotoxic conditions on cellular responses in pancreatic islets, including glucose and fat metabolism, Calcium mobilization, insulin secretion and insulin content. Results: Exposure of islets to chronic glucolipotoxic conditions decreased glucose stimulated insulin secretion in vitro. Reduced protein levels of Glut2/slc2a2, and decreased glucokinase and pyruvate carboxylase mRNA levels indicated a significant lowering in glucose sensing. Concomitantly, both fatty acid uptake and triglyceride accumulation increased significantly while fatty acid oxidation decreased. This general suppression in glucose metabolism correlated well with a decrease in mitochondrial number and activity, reduction in cellular ATP content and dampening of the TCA cycle. Further, we also observed a decrease in IP3 levels and lower Calcium mobilization in response to glucose. Importantly, chronic glucolipotoxic conditions in vitro decreased insulin gene expression, insulin content, insulin granule docking (to the plasma membrane) and insulin secretion. Conclusions: Our results present an integrated view of the effects of chronic glucolipotoxic conditions on known and novel signaling events, in vitro, that results in reduced glucose responsiveness and insulin secretion.

Description: Background; With an ever-growing ageing population, dementia is fast becoming the chronic disease of the 21stcentury. Elderly people affected with dementia progressively lose their autonomy as they encounterproblems in their Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Hence, they need supervision and assistancefrom their family members or professional caregivers, which can often lead to underestimated psychologicaland financial stress for all parties. The use of Ambient Assistive Living (AAL) technologiesaims to empower people with dementia and relieve the burden of their caregivers.The aim of this paper is to present the approach we have adopted to develop and deploy a systemfor ambient assistive living in an operating nursing home, and evaluate its performance and usabilityin real conditions. Based on this approach, we emphasise on the importance of deployments in realworld settings as opposed to prototype testing in laboratories.Methods; We chose to conduct this work in close partnership with end-users (dementia patients) and specialistsin dementia care (professional caregivers). Our trial was conducted during a period of 14 monthswithin three rooms in a nursing home in Singapore, and with the participation of eight dementiapatients and two caregivers. A technical ambient assistive living solution, consisting of a set of sensorsand devices controlled by a software platform, was deployed in the collaborating nursing home. Thetrial was preceded by a pre-deployment period to organise several observation sessions with dementiapatients and focus group discussions with professional caregivers. A process of ground truth andsystem's log data gathering was also planned prior to the trial and a system performance evaluationwas realised during the deployment period with the help of caregivers. An ethical approval wasobtained prior to real life deployment of our solution.Results; Patients' observations and discussions allowed us to gather a set of requirements that a system forelders with mild-dementia should fulfil. In fact, our deployment has exposed more concrete requirementsand problems that need to be addressed, and which cannot be identified in laboratory testing.Issues that were neither forecasted during the design phase nor during the laboratory testing surfacedduring deployment, thus affecting the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Results of the systemperformance evaluation show the evolution of system precision and uptime over the deploymentphases, while data analysis demonstrates the ability to provide early detection of the degradation ofpatients' conditions. A qualitative feedback was collected from caregivers and doctors and a set oflessons learned emerged from this deployment experience.Conclusion; Lessons learned from this study were very useful for our research work and can serve as inspirationfor developers and providers of assistive living services. They confirmed the importance of realdeployment to evaluate assistive solutions especially with the involvement of professional caregivers.They also asserted the need for larger deployments. Larger deployments will allow to conduct surveyson assistive solutions social and health impact, even though they are time and manpower consumingduring their first phases.

Description: Background Mutation of amino acid sequences in a protein may have diverse effects on its structure and function. Point mutations ofeven a single amino acid residue in the helices of thenon-redundant database may lead to sequentially identical peptides whichadopt different secondary structures in different proteins. However, variousphysico-chemical factors which govern the formation of these ambivalent helices generated by point mutationsof a sequence are not clearly known.Results Sequences generated by point mutations of helices are mapped on to theirnon-helical counterparts in the SCOP database. The results show thatshort helices are prone to transform into non-helical conformations upon pointmutations. Mutation of amino acid residues by helix breakerspreferentially yield non-helical conformations, while mutation withresidues of intermediate helix propensity display least preferences fornon-helical conformations. Differences in the solvent accessibility of themutating/mutated residues are found to be a major criteria for these sequencesto conform to non-helical conformations. Even with minimal differencesin the amino acid distributions of the sequences flanking the helicaland non-helical conformations, helix-flanking sequences are found bemore solvent accessible.Conclusions All types of mutations from helicalto non-helical conformations are investigated. The primary factorsattributing such changes in conformation can be: i) type/propensity ofthe mutating and mutant residues ii) solvent accessibility of the residue at the mutation siteiii) context/environment dependence of the flanking sequences. Theresults from the present study may be used to design de novoproteins via point mutations.

Description: Background: Resveratrol, a naturally occurring stilbene, has been categorized as phytoestrogen due to its capability to compete with natural estrogens for binding to estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and thus modulating the biological responses exerted by the receptor. Biological effects of resveratrol (RES) on estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) remain highly controversial, since both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic properties were observed. Results: Here, we provide insight into the structural basis of the agonist/antagonist effects of RES on ERalpha ligand binding domain (LBD). Using atomistic simulation, we found that RES bound ERalpha monomer in antagonist conformation, where Helix 12 moves away from the ligand pocket and orients into the co-activator binding groove of LBD, is more stable than RES bound ERalpha in agonist conformation, where Helix 12 lays over the ligand binding pocket. Upon dimerization, the agonistic conformation of RES-ERalpha dimer becomes more stable compared to the corresponding monomer but still remains less stable compared to the corresponding dimer in antagonist conformation. Interestingly, while the binding pocket and the binding contacts of RES to ERalpha are similar to those of pure agonist diethylstilbestrol (DES), the binding energy is much less and the hydrogen bonding contacts also differ providing clues for the partial agonistic character of RES on ERalpha. Conclusions: Our Molecular Dynamics simulation of RES-ERalpha structures with agonist and antagonist orientations of Helix 12 suggests RES action is more similar to Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) opening up the importance of cellular environment and active roles of co-regulator proteins in a given system. Our study reveals that potential co-activators must compete with the Helix 12 and displace it away from the activator binding groove to enhance the agonistic activity.