Studies on carbohydrate metabolism in Bacillus sphaericus 1593

Bacillus sphaericus 1593 was found to grow poorly on glucose when provided as sole carbon source. However, growth was significantly much higher when acetate was provided as the carbon source, ascompared to glucose. The activities of aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and isocitrate lyase were detectable which suggests the operation of TCA cycle, hexosemonophosphate pathway and glyoxylate by pass. Only one form of isocitrate dehydrogenase and two forms of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were observed by activity staining. Further studies weresubstantiated by low respiration rate observed, when variety of intermediates of biochemical pathways were checked. Some metabolites, like 2-oxoglutarate, pyruvate, oxaloacetate and malate showed inhibitory effect on isocitrate lyase activity

Symptoms of Anxiety and Cardiac Hospitalizations at 12 Months in Patients with Heart Failure

OBJECTIVE: Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of hospitalization. Clinical and socio-demographic factors have been associated with cardiac admissions, but little is known about the role of anxiety. We examined whether symptoms of anxiety were associated with cardiac hospitalizations at 12 months in HF patients. METHODS: HF outpatients (N=237) completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at baseline (i.e., inclusion into the study). A cutoff ≥8 was used to indicate probable clinical levels of anxiety and depression. At 12 months, a medical chart abstraction was performed to obtain information on cardiac hospitalizations. RESULTS: The prevalence of symptoms of anxiety was 24.9 % (59/237), and 27.0 % (64/237) of patients were admitted for cardiac reasons at least once during the 12-month follow-up period. Symptoms of anxiety were neither significantly associated with cardiac hospitalizations in univariable logistic analysis [OR=1.13, 95% CI (0.59–2.17), p=0.72] nor in multivariable analysi

Defence Responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to Infection by Pseudomonas syringae Are Regulated by the Circadian Clock

The circadian clock allows plants to anticipate predictable daily changes in abiotic stimuli, such as light; however, whether the clock similarly allows plants to anticipate interactions with other organisms is unknown. Here we show that Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) has circadian clock-mediated variation in resistance to the virulent bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000), with plants being least susceptible to infection in the subjective morning. We suggest that the increased resistance to Pst DC3000 observed in the morning in Col-0 plants results from clock-mediated modulation of pathogen associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity. Analysis of publicly available microarray data revealed that a large number of Arabidopsis defence-related genes showed both diurnal- and circadian-regulation, including genes involved in the perception of the PAMP flagellin which exhibit a peak in expression in the morning. Accordingly, we observed that PAMP-triggered callose deposition was significantly higher in wild-type plants inoculated with Pst DC3000 hrpA in the subjective morning than in the evening, while no such temporal difference was evident in arrhythmic plants. Our results suggest that PAMP-triggered immune responses are modulated by the circadian clock and that temporal regulation allows plants to anticipate and respond more effectively to pathogen challenges in the daytime

Inducing Ni Sensitivity in the Ni Hyperaccumulator Plant Alyssum inflatum Nyárády (Brassicaceae) by Transforming with CAX1, a Vacuolar Membrane Calcium Transporter

The importance of calcium in nickel tolerance was studied in the nickel hyperaccumulator plant Alyssum inflatum by gene transformation of CAX1, a vacuolar membrane transporter that reduces cytosolic calcium. CAX1 from Arabidopsis thaliana with a CaMV35S promoter accompanying a kanamycin resistance gene was transferred into A. inflatum using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Transformed calli were subcultured three times on kanamycin-rich media and transformation was confirmed by PCR using a specific primer for CAX1. At least 10 callus lines were used as a pool of transformed material. Both transformed and untransformed calli were treated with varying concentrations of either calcium (1–15 mM) or nickel (0– 500 lM) to compare their responses to those ions. Increased external calcium generally led to increased callus biomass, however, the increase was greater for untransformed callus. Further, increased external calcium led to increased callus calcium concentrations. Transformed callus was less nickel tolerant than untransformed callus: under increasing nickel concentrations callus relative growth rate was significantly less for transformed callus. Transformed callus also contained significantly less nickel than untransformed callus when exposed to the highest external nickel concentration (200 lM). We suggest that transformation with CAX1 decreased cytosolic calcium and resulted in decreased nickel tolerance. This in turn suggests that, at low cytosolic calcium concentrations, other nickel tolerance mechanisms (e.g., complexation and vacuolar sequestration) are insufficient for nickel tolerance. We propose that high cytosolic calcium is an important mechanism that results in nickel tolerance by nickel hyperaccumulator plants

Vibration signature analysis of distributed defects in ball bearing using wavelet decomposition technique

The analysis of vibration signals acquired from a ball bearing with an extended type of distributed defects is carried out using wavelet decomposition technique. The influence of artificially generated defect and its location on outer and inner race of the ball bearing is observed using vibration data acquired from bearing housing. The comparison of diagnostic information from fast Fourier transform and time frequency decomposition method is made for inner and outer race of ball bearing with single as well as multiple extended defects. To decompose vibration signal acquired from bearing, db04 wavelet technique was implemented. It is observed that impulses appear with a time period corresponding to characteristic defect frequencies. The results observed from wavelet decomposition technique and fast Fourier transform reveal that the characteristic defect frequency is quite consistent even with change in location of defect. The extended type of distributed defects in the ball bearings can also be effectively diagnosed with the help of wavelet decomposition technique and fast Fourier transform. </jats:p

The theoretical modeling and experimental validation for distributed defect on inner race of ball bearing under radial load

This article presents the theoretical model to study the vibration characteristics of ball bearing. The vibration analysis is accounted for peripheral motions of rolling elements as well as inner and outer races using the Lagrangian approach. In this mathematical model, the contact between the balls and the bearing races is considered as nonlinear springs, whose stiffness is obtained using the Hertzian elastic contact deformation theory. The nonlinear equations of motions are solved by the Runge–Kutta method iteratively. The effects of extended defect on the inner race of the bearing at different speeds and defect sizes have been studied for predicting the vibration response of the bearing. The fast Fourier transformation shows that the vibration characteristic of the ball bearing changes when the ball interacts with the defect as a result of nonlinear load–deflection relation. The analysis implied that defect size and speed of ball bearing are the influencing parameters affecting the dynamic behavior of the ball bearing. </jats:p

Potential Role of Biological Systems in Formation of Nanoparticles: Mechanism of Synthesis and Biomedical Applications

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Nanotechnology is essentially related with the synthesis of nanoparticles of varying size and shapes. With the search of environment-friendly protocols for the synthesis of nanoparticles a diverse group of biological agents have been emerged. These biological agents are safe, eco-friendly and lead to green synthesis of nanoparticles. The present review focuses on the role of biological agent(s) towards the development of green nanotechnology, the applications of nanoparticles in different fields of science and technology, and also the toxicological effects of nanoparticles.95576587Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India [CSIR/09/996(001)/2009-EMR-I]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India [CSIR/09/996(001)/2009-EMR-I