Advances in BioScience
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An Efficient Protocol for Long-Term Preservation of Cyanobacteria
Get PDFA simple modification in preparation of nutrient agar meant for agar slants resulted in a convenient and efficient matrix for long-term cyanobacterial preservation. In the modified protocol, agar concentration was increased and cyanobacterial cells were mixed rapidly in the molten agar before solidification. Solidified mixture was cut into cubes and air dried. The resulting agar flakes were stored in the dark. Periodically some flakes were inoculated in fresh medium to study regeneration of viable filaments in order to access the efficiency of the method in preserving cyanobacteria in dehydrated form. Possible outer contamination could be removed by washing the agar flakes in 1% sodium hypochlorite for one minute prior to their inoculation in fresh medium. The percentage of agar used and amount of cyanobacterial cells entrapped were the factors that influenced the period of preservation. A comparison of some biochemical and physiological characters in six regenerated cyanobacterial strains to their free-living counterparts showed that the dried agar flakes were completely reliable as preserving material for at least a period of three years. During this period the entrapped cyanobacterial cells did not need further maintenance. This process of maintaining cyanobacteria is extremely convenient as it reduces (1) input of chemicals and manpower required for maintaining cyanobacteria in batches (2) possible cross-contamination among various cyanobacteria maintained in liquid batch cultures (3) use of glassware and (4) storage space. In addition, the cells could be maintained in a near dormant state, and that minimized the chances of alterations in their native characters
Heavy Metal Analysis of Cauvery River Water around KRS Dam, Karnataka, India
Get PDFWater quality is an index of health and is one of the areas of major concern to environmentalists since industrialization, urbanization and modern agriculture practices have a direct impact on the water resources. Hence, the study of the reservoirs and river water quality monitoring is most essential aspect of sustainable development and river conservation. The upstream and KRS reservoir both are the important sources of potable water supply for the Mysore city. The study area were selected the upstream and KRS reservoir of Mysore District of Karnataka, India. In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate water quality parameter and heavy metal of upstream and KRS Dam during 2008. Ecological parameters like dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical parameters like total hardness, total alkalinity, chloride, nitrate, phosphate and physical parameters like temperature, pH, turbidity and heavy metals were analyzed and the results were compared with standard permissible limits, WHO and they were studied to ascertain the drinking water quality. Results revealed that in three rivers of upstream (Hemavathi, Cauvery, and Lakshmana Theertha) carried high loads of arsenic, iron, nickel on upstream. In other words, arsenic is a dominant risk to more than the maximum permissible standard of water quality and is a risk factor in this river
Therapeutic Efficacy of Allyl isothiocyanate Evaluated on N-nitrosodiethylamine/Phenobarbital induced Hepatocarcinogenesis in Wistar Rats
Get PDFN-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) is a potential carcinogenic agent that induces liver cancer. To evaluate the chemotherapeutic effect of allyl isothiocyanate in the experimental model, Wistar male rats were administered a single dose of intraperitoneal (IP) injection of NDEA. Two weeks after administration of NDEA, Phenobarbital at the concentration of 0.05% was incorporated in rat chow for up to 14 successive weeks to promote liver cancer. Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) (2mg/kg body weight) in addition to 0.5ml of corn oil was given orally daily. At the end of this experimental period, the rats were sacrificed and the blood samples were taken for biochemical studies. The levels of the marker enzymes for liver function were measured in serum. The results of the biochemical studies showed that NDEA administration followed by phenobarbital induces macro and microscopic liver tumors that increase the levels of marker enzymes and decreases the level of antioxidant in the serum in addition to the loss of body weight. Conclusively, the administration of AITC as a therapeutic treatment for hepatocarcinoma has significantly reduced tumor development and counteracted all the biochemical effects induced by NDEA
A Study on Backfill Properties and Use of Fly Ash for Highway Embankments
Get PDFFly ash a fine powder is thrown out in large quantities from thermal power plants as a waste material in a by-product of combustion of pulverized coal. The disposal of fly ash poses a serious problem considering the air, water and soil problems. The solution to this problem lies in its bulk utilization of fly ash at dumping sites. This paper is summarized with brief details of the properties and design aspects of fly ash used in highway embankments
In vitro Propagation and Conservation of Inula racemosa Hook. F. an Endangered Medicinal Plant of Temperate Origin
Get PDFoai:ojs2.journals.sospublication.co.in:article/1Inula racemosa is an endangered medicinal plant. It is commonly known as Pushkarmool, Pushkar and Manu. The great sage Charaka has characterized it as Hikka magrahana (stops hiccups) and Savasahara (helpful in asthma). Also, he has cited it as the best medicament for pleurisy along with cough and asthma. Due to the fragile nature of its habitat and exploitation due to its commercial medicinal properties, the species are facing the onslaught of indiscriminate over-exploitation. So far, this plant has not got the required attention from researchers, hence, except for a few efforts, not much work has been done for its cultivation and conservation. Plant tissue culture offers an attractive and quick method for its multiplication and further conservation. In the present investigation, effective procedures for micropropagation and in vitro conservation by vitrification were developed. In vitro propagation using aseptically grown seedlings and in vitro conservation via vitrification were standardized. The in vitro conserved material could be retrieved and multiplied normally on Murashige and Skoog medium fortified with 1.00 mg l-1BA (benzyl adenine) which has been recorded as the best performing medium for in vitro shoot multiplication. The conserved shoots showed normal in vitro propagation and after retrieval from vitrification, platelets were hardened and successfully established in the experimental fields under Nauni (Solan, HP) conditions at an elevation of around 1275 meters above mean sea level
Dynamics of Phylogenetic Diversity and its influence on the production of Extracellular Protease by moderately Halotolerant Alkaliphilic Bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii GTCR407 Nov.
Get PDFNew characters emerge in the population of microorganisms living in the extreme environments due to its adaptation to ecological association. The microorganisms living in saline habitat utilize complex nutrients by adopting different strategies in Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA), which are related to their metabolic and ecological diversities. Isolation and characterization of the organisms producing extracellular protease from such environment were the prime focus of this investigation, which can indicate the importance of metabolic diversity in phylogeny. Norberg medium was used to isolate halotolerant microorganisms from salt-cured skin. The isolates were screened for high activity of protease and the strain showing maximum activity of protease was taken for further studies. The biochemical characterization and 16s ribosomal RNA sequencing studies confirm that the isolate is Acinetobacter baumannii. Moreover, hydrolysis positive for starch and casein, negative for gelatin shows that the organism is a variant form of A. baumannii. Cell growth parameters such as pH and temperature were optimized and their values are 8 and 37oC respectively. The extracellular production of protease was optimized in the suitable medium and its enzyme activity was 165μg/ml/min. The results imply that the isolate had acquired operational genes through lateral gene transfer (LGT) probably from unrelated species in the environment. This indicates that the isolate identified possesses metabolic and ecological diversities with values of phylogenetic delineation
Comparative In silico Analysis of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Heart in Human and Normal Chicken Heart
Get PDFHypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an incurable disease, which causes excessive thickening of the myocardium. HCM is caused by abnormalities in genes which code for the proteins responsible for contraction of the heart. The anatomical resemblances between the Chicken heart and HCM heart are thickening of the muscle of the left ventricle, localized ring- like thickening of muscle under the aortic valve, and poorly formed anterior ventricular groove, and left ventricle projecting beyond the right ventricle. The mutations for the genes are retrieved from the databases: Human Genome Mutation Database, Familial Hypertrophic Mutation Database and Cardiogenomics databases. Since the Beta-myosin Heavy Chain (MYH7) is more predominant in causing HCM, that gene alone is taken and compared with normal chicken heart myh7 gene. The amino acids were aligned by CLUSTAL W and they were found to have sequence homology of 85%. The phylogenetic tree was constructed by using PHYLIP to study evolutionary linkage. According to the results, it can be presumed that the chicken normal gene, during the evolutionary process have undergone many modifications and evolved as a complicated and advanced human heart
Studies on Industrially Significant Haloalkaline Protease from Bacillus sp. JSGT Isolated from Decaying Skin of Tannery
Get PDFEight bacterial strains were isolated from collagen layer of decaying skin sample. Three isolates exhibited the prominent zones of clearance on skim milk agar medium at pH 9.5. These isolates were then characterized and identified. One of the haloalkalophilic isolates belonged to the genus Bacillus. Maximum enzyme activity (228.29 ± 1.89 PU/ ml) was found at pH 9 and temperature 37°C in the strain which is designated as Bacillus sp. JSGT. Basic properties such as effects of different temperature, pH, metal ions and inhibitors on protease activity were also studied. Maximum activity was obtained at pH 9 at 55°C. Ca+2 and Mg+2 ions were found to enhance the relative enzyme activity up to 158 and 136% respectively. However, the activity of protease was completely inhibited by phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) that showed its serine nature. The results indicated that enzyme produced by Bacillus sp. JSGT is active within broad ranges of temperature and pH. These characteristics render its potential use in leather and detergent industries
Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Action of Stem Cells in Cardiac Disease
Get PDFCardiac diseases are the consequence of blockage of blood vessels, scar formation and ultimate loss of terminally differentiated cardiomyocytes. Immune cells and oxidative stress easily slow down the cardiac functions by manipulating the cardiac tissue matrix. Stem cell-based therapies, especially mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), multipotential nonhematopoietic progenitor cells compensate the cardiac diseases by differentiating into multiple lineages of mesenchyme including cardiomyocytes and vascular endothelial cells. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action of MSCs has been explored recently by various research groups. Secretion of biomolecules by MSCs perturbs and prevents the initiation, development and the function of the inflammatory cascade. These molecules mainly act through Paracrine mode. Anti-inflammatory action of MSCs mediates the cardiac diseases and the current progress in elucidating the mechanism and clinical use will be focused in detail in this article
Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Sediments of a River Draining into a Ramsar Site in the Indian Subcontinent
Get PDFConcentrations of six heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn, Pb and Cu) in surface sediments of Achankovil river basin which is draining into a Ramsar site in India viz. The Vembanad wetland system was determined. To assess metal concentrations in sediment, numeric Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs) were employed. The concentrations of Zn, Cr and Pb in all sediment samples are lower than the proposed threshold effect concentrations which indicate that there are no harmful effects from these metals. On the other hand, the concentrations of Cd in one station, Cu in three stations and Ni in all stations exceeded the threshold effect concentrations indicated that these stations were in potential risk. The metal contamination in sediments was evaluated by applying Index geoaccumulation, metal pollution index, Enrichment factor and Multivariate statistical techniques. The low values of EF show that the enrichment of sediment by heavy metal was by natural processes