1,102 research outputs found
A review of 18O labelling studies to probe the mechanism of aromatase (CYP191A)
No full textOur previous studies, using precursors for two classes of estrogens, estrone and estriol, have highlighted the following facets of aromatase. The overall reaction, converting androgens into estrogens, occurs in three steps, each requiring NADPH and O
2. In Step 1, a 19-hydroxy intermediate is produced, which in Step 2, is converted into a 19-oxo derivative via a gem -diol intermediate with the stereospecific loss of H
Re. In Step 3, a scission of the C-10-C-19 bond occurs releasing C-19 as formic acid (HCOOH) and incorporating an atom of oxygen from O
2, The other oxygen atom of formic acid is derived from the hydroxyl group introduced in Step 1. These experiments were performed using the classical placental microsomal system. Our findings were confirmed and extended by (the late) Caspi's group. However, incorporation of oxygen in Step 3, has been challenged in a subsequent study using a soluble reconstituted system. The latter authors have implied the superiority of their system over the microsomal preparation. However, several assumptions under pinning their own work were derived from the use of placental microsomes. Furthermore, the authors have not considered that when a previous work is challenged it needs to be repeated under the conditions described in the original publication.
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A critical analysis of Christian responses to Islamic claims about the work of the Prophet Muhammad, ‘the Messenger of God’.
No full textThe aims of this study are to analyse critically the different Christian responses to the Islamic understanding of the work of Muhammad. Chapter one consists a short introduction leading to an appraisal of Muhammad which incorporates historical, hagiographal and Quranic source material, and in the light of relevant Christian and Muslim scholarship. The second chapter presents a summary critical analysis of Muhammad in Christian theological perspective, from 661 A.D. to modern times. Chapter three presents a critique of Christian responses to the Muslim allegations that the text of the Bible has been infected with corruption; and that Muhammad's advent and status are foretold in the unadulterated' scriptures, and in the Gospel of Barnabas. Chapter four examines the theological significance of the work of Muhammad for Christians. Thus, Jesus and Muhammad are critically assessed and contrasted in order to ascertain the importance, for Christians, of the Muslim claims in respect of Muhammad as ’the messenger of God’. Chapter five provides a critical evaluation of the various Christian responses to Muhammad. It is argued that many of the said responses have been entangled in myths and misperceptions which have severely distorted the true account of Muhammad's work. Consequently, many Christians have failed to appreciate the divine legitimacy of Muhammad's call to prophethood. Further, it is argued that Christians should accept that Muhammad is a genuine prophet, and the messenger of God. However, Muhammad's use of the power-structure in order to maintain Islam is in sharp contrast to Jesus’ decision to face the consequences of his ministry passively through faith in God. Accordingly, orthodox Christian belief in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus provides another dimension to prophethood, where the messenger and the message become one, an identification which finds no parallel in Islam, and which, in the nature of the case, cannot find a parallel
INVESTIGATING OPTIMUM NUMBER OF IRRIGATIONS FOR WHEAT UNDER RAISED BED TECHNOLOGY IN A SEMI-ARID CLIMATE
No full textWater conservation technologies like furrow irrigated raised bed planting are the need of day to improve water
productivity and to get more crop production from the available limited water supplies. The present study was
conducted at the experimental area of Water Management Research Centre, University of Agriculture,
Faisalabad, to perform irrigation scheduling and investigate optimum number of irrigations for wheat under flat
sowing and raised bed planting in a semi-arid climate of Faisalabad. Soil type of the area was sandy loam with
bulk density of 1.55 g/cm
3
. The experiment was designed in Randomized Complete Block Design with five
replicates and three treatments viz. T1: Flat sowing with irrigation at 50% MAD, T2
: Bed planting with irrigation
at 50% MAD, and T
3: Bed planting with irrigation on the same day as in T1
. Regular check of soil moisture
status was performed and irrigations were applied in first two treatments at about 50% depletion of available
water. The irrigations in T3, however, were applied on the same day as in T1, even if the soil moisture content
went far below 50% of available water, to check the impact of water stress on crop, if any, under raised bed
technology. In this way, four irrigations were applied to T1and T
3
on same dates, whereas five irrigations were
applied in T
2
throughout the season. The impacts of increasing number of irrigations in wheat bed planting
were evaluated statistically to check the changes in yield and irrigation water productivity. Grain yields under
two bed planting treatments were found significantly higher as compared to T1, but at par with each other,
while the water saving in comparison to flat sowing decreased from 47.43% in T3to 35.74% in T2
due to an
extra irrigation in T
2. Highest irrigation water productivity (1.32 kg/m
3
) was achieved in T3
, followed by 1.12
kg/m
3
in T2and 0.54 kg/m
3
in T1
. It was concluded that application of an extra irrigation in bed planting resulted
in non-significant increase in yield in comparison to bed planting with normal four irrigations, but in a highly
significant decrease in irrigation water productivity, indicating that there is no need to apply extra number of
irrigations in bed planted wheat in comparison to conventional method
Nitrogen-enriched compost application combined with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) improves seed quality and nutrient use efficiency of sunflower
No full textEcological benefits associated with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inoculants offer a promising integrated nutrient management option to counteract plant nitrogen (N) deficiency. We performed field experiments to evaluate the effect of integrated N fertilizer regime involving chemical N fertilizer (CNF) and N-enriched compost (NEC), either alone or combined with selected PGPR (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) on sunflower seed quality, N use efficiency (NUE) and soil fertility during 2014-2015. We found that integrated N biofertilizer application resulted in significantly higher seed oil concentration, fatty acid composition, and harvest index in both cropping years. Greater effects on N yield efficiency (NYE), N use efficiency (NUE), N physiological efficiency (NPE), and photosynthetic N use efficiency (PNUE) were recorded in nitrogen-enriched compost+PGPR inoculant (NECPI) treatment followed by chemical N fertilizer+PGPR inoculant (CNFPI) treatment. Statistically significant differences were observed in linoleic and linolenic acid, NYE, and NUE for treatment x year interaction, thus, suggesting that the integrated N biofertilizer approach facilitates the efficient N use by sunflower for improving yield and seed quality. Moreover, we also found considerable enhancement of soil N fertility after two consecutive cropping years of sunflower. The enhancement of seed quality, N use efficiencies, and soil N fertility through integrated N biofertilizer application emphasizes the importance of balanced crop N nutrition, ensuring sufficient N supply to sunflower with adequate N balance in soil for the next crop. Overall, combination of PGPR with NEC amendment may optimize N uptake efficiency and reduce N fertilizer losses, which is necessarily required for the sustainable sunflower production.ECO
<Special Feature "Publication and Distribution of Islamic Books in South Asia 2">Annotation of Books on Contemporary Urdu Poetry in the Aqeel Collection: Faiz Ahmad Faiz, N. M. Rashid, Majid Amjad, Miraji, Akhtar Shirani
No full textThis annotation introduces some books on contemporary Urdu poetry, especially the books written on these five important poets in Pakistan such as Faiz Ahmad Faiz (Faiẕ Aḥmad Faiẕ 1911–89), Nun Mim Rashid (Nūn Mīm Rāshid 1910–75), Majid Amjad (Majīd Amjad 1914– 74), Miraji (Mīrājī 1912–49) and Akhtar Shirani (Akhtar Shīrānī 1905–48). After Muhammad Iqbal (1977–1938), these poets can be called the founders of contemporary Urdu poetry and their work reflects the social transformation of Pakistan. Akhtar Shirani was the most famous Urdu poet of Romanticism in the beginning of the twentieth century. Nun Mim Rashid is called a ‘rebellious poet’ as he wrote a poem about the funeral of God in his early works. Being a symbol of the communist movement in Pakistan, Faiz Ahmad Faiz is the best example of this social reflection in Pakistan as he was arrested in 1950s because of his antigovernment communist activities. Miraji tried to rethink Urdu poetry through the study of contemporary English and French poetry. Apart from those political, social or literary activities by poets, Majid Amjad was writing unique poetry in south Punjab. The Aqeel Collection of Kyoto University has a rich collection of books of Urdu literature as well as books on history or Sufism in South Asia and these books of Urdu literature consist of classic literature including Dakkani pre-modern, modern and contemporary works that were published in both Pakistan and India. Since poetry is the most famous and popular genre of Urdu literature, this annotation tries to show the books on contemporary Urdu poetry
Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, crystal structure, interaction with DNA, CTAB as well as evaluation of biological potency, docking and Molecular Dynamics studies of N-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzylidene)-2, 3-dimethylbenzenamine
No full textA novel N-substituted Schiff base ligand: N-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzylidene)-2,3-dimethylbenzenamine was designed and successfully characterized by several spectroscopic techniques. The formation of the desired compound was confirmed by the appearance of C[dbnd]N peak at 1691 cm−1 in FT-IR spectrum. Similarly, in 1H and 13C NMR spectra, the peaks at 8.22 ppm for azomethine proton (HC[dbnd]N) and 158.8 ppm for azomethine carbon (C[dbnd]N) confirm the formation of the synthesized compound. DNA interaction of the compound was screened by using UV–visible spectroscopy and viscometry measurements confirming an intercalation mode. The interaction of compound with CTAB (Cetyl trimethylammonium bromide) was also studied by conductometric method showing a strong interaction with CTAB. The IC50 value of the current compound was highly efficacious upon comparison with the standard Glucantime used. This activity represents a higher multitude interaction, which might be a cause of enhanced antileishmanial activity. Cytotoxicity results showed that this compound is highly active even at lower concentrations and is biocompatible, making it a promising drug candidate for further investigations in this field. The experimental data were auxiliary supported by molecular docking studies in order to explore their binding behavior and the stability of the molecule due to its interaction within the receptor active site
Phytopharmacological evaluation of different solvent extract/fractions From<i> Sphaeranthus indicus</i> L. flowers:From traditional therapies to bioactive compounds
No full textSphaeranthus indicus L. is a medicinal herb having widespread traditional uses for treating common ailments. The present research work aims to explore the in-depth phytochemical composition and in vitro reactivity of six different polarity solvents (methanol, n-hexane, benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol) extracts/fractions of S. indicus flowers. The phytochemical composition was accomplished by determining total bioactive contents, HPLC-PDA polyphenolic quantification, and UHPLC-MS secondary metabolomics. The reactivity of the phenolic compounds was tested through the following biochemical assays: antioxidant (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, CUPRAC, phosphomolybdenum, and metal chelation) and enzyme inhibition (AChE, BChE, α-glucosidase, α-amylase, urease, and tyrosinase) assays were performed. The methanol extract showed the highest values for phenolic (94.07 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoid (78.7 mg QE/g extract) contents and was also the most active for α-glucosidase inhibition as well as radical scavenging and reducing power potential. HPLC-PDA analysis quantified rutin, naringenin, chlorogenic acid, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, and epicatechin in a significant amount. UHPLC-MS analysis of methanol and ethyl acetate extracts revealed the presence of well-known phytocompounds; most of these were phenolic, flavonoid, and glycoside derivatives. The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest inhibition against tyrosinase and urease, while the n-hexane fraction was most active for α-amylase. Moreover, principal component analysis highlighted the positive correlation between bioactive compounds and the tested extracts. Overall, S. indicus flower extracts were found to contain important phytochemicals, hence could be further explored to discover novel bioactive compounds that could be a valid starting point for future pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals applications.</p
Hepatoprotective activity of viscosine is mediated by attenuation of hepatic macrophages and iNOS expression in CCl4-intoxicated rats
No full textThis study investigated the molecular mechanism(s) of the protective effects of a C-alkylated flavonoid, viscosine on an animal model of CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity. Viscosine at 20, 50 and 100 mg kg-1 was orally administered in a dose dependent manner per day for 3 days before the CCl4 (1:1 v/v in olive oil, 1 ml kg-1) treatment and 2 days after the treatment. Hepatoprotection was assessed in terms of reduction in serum enzyme activities (ALT, AST, and ALP) that occur after CCl4 injury, and by histopathology and immunohistochemistry. The rise in serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in CCl4-intoxicated rats was markedly suppressed by viscosine in a concentration dependent manner. The decrease in the activity of hepatic antioxidant enzyme, SOD, was significantly prevented by viscosine, likewise gradually the levels of MDA and GSH were also normalized compared to silymarin. Viscosine also reduced the CCl4-induced damaged area from 2% to 0% as assessed by histopathology and prevented the mixed inflammatory infiltrate. Viscosine attenuated the inflammation in the liver around the injured central vein region by downregulating the CCl4 induced activation of hepatic CD68+ macrophages, thereby reducing their number as well. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was more potentially suppressed by viscosine compared to the FDA approved positive control silymarin. The results of this study indicate that viscosine could be effective in protecting the liver from acute CCl4-induced injury. The hepatoprotective mechanisms of viscosine may be related to the free radical scavenging and attenuation of oxidative stress, as well as to the inhibition of inflammatory response in the liver. Here, we are proposing a novel mechanism of action of viscosine and suggesting that it may be a safe and better in vivo antioxidant
Poverty Dynamics of Female-headed Households in Pakistan: Evidence from PIHS 2000-01 and PSLM 2004-05
No full textThe paper attempts to empirically test a naïve version of what is rather stylistically termed as “feminisation of poverty”, using the sub-sample of female -headed households (FHHs) from two household surveys in Pakistan. Although, the database is constrained by quality factors and small sample size, the following findings add to the richness of current research in this area: (a) The numerical incidence of poverty among households headed by females is less than that for all households in the country, at the national, urban and rural level for both the years. This can be traced to the finding that more than 70 percent of households headed by females receive remittances, (b) The incidence of poverty among FHHs during the period 2000-01 to 2004-05 did not decline as fast as it did for mixed households, nationwide. In urban areas, it did not decline at all, (c) Among the determinants of poverty of FHHs, illiteracy, dependency and rural residence exacerbate poverty, while remittances domestic and/ or foreign reduce poverty, (d) The dynamics of incidence of poverty among FHHs during the period indicated that Illiteracy as the factor exacerbating poverty became less important in 2004-05. Moreover, residence in rural areas was also a weaker factor in determining the incidence of poverty. By far the most notable contribution in reducing the incidence of poverty was self-employment in agriculture in 2004-05.
Inventory of ‘slow exchanging’ hydrogen atoms in human proinsulin and its derivatives: observations on the mass spectrometric analysis of deuterio-proteins in D2O
No full textSecondary structure elements of human proinsulin and of its tryptic products were compared by H/D exchange, in a single-pot, using mass spectrometry. Human proinsulin containing an N-terminal methionine, M-proinsulin, was engineered and converted into a perdeuterio derivative, which using an optimized mass spectrometric protocol and manual calculations gave a mass of 9669.6 (± 1) Da showing the replacement, with deuterium of 146.4 from a total of 149 exchangeable hydrogen atoms (83 from amides and 66 from side-chains). Tryptic digestion of the perdeuterio-M-proinsulin, followed by the transfer of the digest from a deuterio- into a protio-medium showed, at the earliest time of analysis, that of the 27 (± 1) D atoms retained in M-proinsulin, 24 (± 1) were found in the insulin nucleus, M-insulin-RR, and 4.2 (± 1) in the C-peptide-KR. A temporal analysis of the fate of D atoms in these species showed that whereas the C-peptide-KR rapidly exchanged its deuterium, losing all by 6 h, the loss of D atoms from M-proinsulin and M-insulin-RR was gradual and in each case, 12 deuterium atoms survived exchange for 72 h. At all time intervals the loss of D atoms from M-proinsulin mirrored that from M-insulin-RR plus the C-peptide-KR, suggesting that the secondary-structure elements of M-proinsulin are largely conserved in its two component parts
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