Shelf-life extension of guava and eggplant fruits using chitosan-sodium alginate based antimicrobial composite coating functionalized with clove-soy lecithin nanoemulsion

In the present study, effects of chitosan-sodium alginate composite coatings functionalized with clove-soy lecithin nanoemulsion were investigated on the postharvest shelf life and quality characteristics of guava and eggplant fruits at room storage condition (23±3 °C, RH- 60-65 %). The postharvest characteristics such as weight loss, acidity, TSS, respiration rate, antioxidant activity and visual appearance of the fruits were determined up to 12 days of storage. The results revealed that the application of chitosan-sodium alginate composite effective to maintained higher postharvest characteristics of guava and eggplant fruits as compared to control and coating with alone chitosan and sodium alginate. The F3 (50:50, chitosan-sodium alginate) composite coating was found most significant with retarded the weight loss in guava and eggplant. On 12 days of storage, the significantly (p>0.05) lower weight loss (9.24 %, 10.9 %), respiration rate (22.48 mg CO2kg-1h-1, 18.78 mg CO2kg-1h-1), total soluble solids (9.87°Brix, 4.96 °Brix) with higher maintained of titratable acidity (0.49 %, 0.36 %), antioxidant activity (53.745 %, 33.09 %) and total phenolic content (129.74 mg/100g, 49.09 mg/100g), respectively was found in guava and eggplants fruits treated with F3 composite coating formulation followed by F4 and F2 coating formulations. The control (distilled water) samples showed higher weight loss (18.02 %, 21.84 %), TSS (10.78 °Brix, 5.78°Brix), with lower values of acidity (0.29 %, 0.22 %), antioxidant (39.12 %, 23.01 %) and total phenolic content (89.64 mg/100 g, 32.86 mg/100 g), respectively in both guava and eggplant fruits, respectively.

Can technology build trust? Community-Oriented policing and ICT in Afghanistan

publishedVersio

Congenital Epulis in a Newborn: A Case Report, Immunoprofiling and Review of Literature

Background: Congenital epulis is a rare lesion of the newborn, presenting as mass in the oral cavity which can interfere with respiration and feeding. It should be distinguished from other lesions which can occur in newborns, both clinically and histopathologically.Case details: Here, we report a case of congenital epulis in a newborn female on the right alveolar ridge, along with an extensive review of literature and discuss the immunoprofiling.Conclusion: Early diagnosis of CE in a newborn is of paramount importance in the successful management of these rare cases.Keywords: congenital epulis, congenital granular cell lesion, Neumann’s tumo

Detailed Bathymetric Surveys in the Central Indian Basin

Over 420,000 line kilometers of echo-sounding data was collected in the Central Indian Basin. This data was digitized, merged with navigation data and a detailed bathymetric map of the Basin was prepared. The Basin can be broadly classified into three regions as high relief area, medium relief area and plain area represented by western, eastern and central portions of the Basin, respectively. The bathymetric map prepared from this survey is the first of its kind for this region and will in the future be used as a base by navigators and researchers

Eye of horus – Erratum revealed a prescription survey

Background: The aim of this study was to survey the quality and the content of prescription of practitioners and also assess the legibility of alphabet, and short form of the drug.Methods: A survey of all prescription received by the patients that were written by general practitioners, consulting physicians and dentists in and around Virajpet and Madikeri (south Coorg) was included.The prescriptions were photocopied and returned back to the patients. The prescription was scored and analyzed by a qualified medical investigator.Results: A total of 171 prescription samples were collected. In most prescriptions, one or more aspects of patient’s personal details were missing. Concerned doctor’s details also lacked in most cases. 40.3% of the prescriptions were obtained wherein short form of the drug was used for prescribing drug. Legibility of alphabet was also evaluated and the most confusing letter noted in our study was letter “C”; followed by A, T, S, O, G, and D in this study the letter Rx was written in 7% of the prescription and in 19% prescription it was replaced by word “Adv” and 74% of prescription without symbol of Rx.Conclusions: The present data shows most prescriptions in the study was inadequate and important details were lacking, legibility of prescription was poor in rating

Effective Extraction of Heavy Metals from their Effluents Using Some Potential Ionic Liquids as Green Chemicals

Synthesis of nine Task Specific Ionic liquids (TSILs), their characterization using 1H NMR spectral studies and other physical properties and potential applications in the removal of certain heavy metals such as Nickel, Iron, Zinc, Copper and Lead has been studied. The removal of these heavy metals from the industrial effluents / contaminated water bodies using these ionic liquids has been proved to be more successful than conventional methods such as precipitation, cementation, reverse osmosis, ion exchange and adsorption

Coarse-Grained Descriptions

Coarse-grained approaches are widely considered for analyzing multiatomic systems. They are based on the used of simplified interatomic potentials, that allow deriving most of the macroscopic thermomechanical properties of materials. Molecular dynamics can coarsened at its turn leading to dissipative particle dynamics and multi-particle collision dynamics. Finally, for addressing larger systems, Langevin and diffusion equations are usually considered; the last in very close connection with Brownian mechanics and its fractional variant. This chapter revisits all these physical descriptions

Transformation induced by Ewing's sarcoma associated EWS/FLI-1 is suppressed by KRAB/FLI-1

Ewing's sarcoma is a childhood bone tumour with poor prognosis, most commonly associated with a t(11;22)(q24;q12) reciprocal translocation that fuses the EWS and FLI-1 genes, resulting in the production of an aberrant chimeric transcription factor EWS/FLI-1. To erucidate the mechanisms by which EWS/FLI-1 mediates transformation in mouse models, we have generated a murine Ews/Fli-1 fusion protein. We demonstrate that this protein transforms fibroblast celrs in vitro similar to human EWS/FLI-1 as demonstrated by serum and anchorage-independent growth, the formation of tumours in nude mice and elevation of the oncogenic marker c-myc. Furthermore, transformation of these cells was inhibited by a specific represser, KRAB/FLI-1. The KRAB/FLI-1 repressor also suppressed the tumorigenic phenotype of a human Ewing's sarcoma cell line. These findings suggest that the transformed phenotype of Ewing's sarcoma cells can be reversed by using the sequence-specific FLI-1-DNA-binding domain to target a gone repressor domain. The inhibition of EWS/FLI-1 is the first demonstration of the KRAB domain suppressing the action of an ETS factor. This approach provides potential avenues for the elucidation of the biological mechanisms of EWS/FLI-1 oncogenesis and the development of novel therapeutic strategies. © 2003 Cancer Research UK.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

USP7 small-molecule inhibitors interfere with ubiquitin binding

The ubiquitin system regulates essential cellular processes in eukaryotes. Ubiquitin is ligated to substrate proteins as monomers or chains and the topology of ubiquitin modifications regulates substrate interactions with specific proteins. Thus ubiquitination directs a variety of substrate fates including proteasomal degradation. Deubiquitinase enzymes cleave ubiquitin from substrates and are implicated in disease; for example, ubiquitin-specific protease-7 (USP7) regulates stability of the p53 tumour suppressor and other proteins critical for tumour cell survival. However, developing selective deubiquitinase inhibitors has been challenging and no co-crystal structures have been solved with small-molecule inhibitors. Here, using nuclear magnetic resonance-based screening and structure-based design, we describe the development of selective USP7 inhibitors GNE-6640 and GNE-6776. These compounds induce tumour cell death and enhance cytotoxicity with chemotherapeutic agents and targeted compounds, including PIM kinase inhibitors. Structural studies reveal that GNE-6640 and GNE-6776 non-covalently target USP7 12 Å distant from the catalytic cysteine. The compounds attenuate ubiquitin binding and thus inhibit USP7 deubiquitinase activity. GNE-6640 and GNE-6776 interact with acidic residues that mediate hydrogen-bond interactions with the ubiquitin Lys48 side chain, suggesting that USP7 preferentially interacts with and cleaves ubiquitin moieties that have free Lys48 side chains. We investigated this idea by engineering di-ubiquitin chains containing differential proximal and distal isotopic labels and measuring USP7 binding by nuclear magnetic resonance. This preferential binding protracted the depolymerization kinetics of Lys48-linked ubiquitin chains relative to Lys63-linked chains. In summary, engineering compounds that inhibit USP7 activity by attenuating ubiquitin binding suggests opportunities for developing other deubiquitinase inhibitors and may be a strategy more broadly applicable to inhibiting proteins that require ubiquitin binding for full functional activity.</p

Phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated sites: Eco-environmental concerns, field studies, sustainability issues and future prospects

Environmental contamination due to heavy metals (HMs) is of serious ecotoxicological concern worldwide because of their increasing use at industries. Due to non-biodegradable and persistent nature, HMs cause serious soil/water pollution and severe health hazards in living beings upon exposure. HMs can be genotoxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic in nature even at low concentration. They may also act as endocrine disruptors and induce developmental as well as neurological disorders and thus, their removal from our natural environment is crucial for the rehabilitation of contaminated sites. To cope with HM pollution, phytoremediation has emerged as a low-cost and eco-sustainable solution to conventional physico-chemical cleanup methods that require high capital investment and labor alter soil properties and disturb soil microflora. Phytoremediation is a green technology wherein plants and associated microbes are used to remediate HM-contaminated sites to safeguard the environment and protect public health. Hence, in view of the above, the present paper aims to examine the feasibility of phytoremediation as a sustainable remediation technology for the management of metals-contaminated sites. Therefore, this paper provides an in-depth review on both the conventional and novel phytoremediation approaches, evaluate their efficacy to remove toxic metals from our natural environment, explore current scientific progresses, field experiences and sustainability issues and revise world over trends in phytoremediation research for its wider recognition and public acceptance as a sustainable remediation technology for the management of contaminated sites in 21st century