Early Diagnosis of Sex in Jojoba,Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider by Sequence Characterized Amplified Region Marker

Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider is a dioecious shrub in which female plants are economically more important than the male plants, as seeds produced by the female plants store liquid wax ester that is extensively used in cosmetic industry. Sex of jojoba individuals can be determined only at flowering stage which comes after 3–4 years of seeding. Since, population of jojoba is male biased, so, to identify female plants at seedling stage, more reliable and robust male-specific sequence characterized amplified region marker was developed from male-specific inter-simple sequence repeat marker. During homology searching, no DNA sequence with significant similarity to male-specific inter-simple sequence repeat marker was found in non-redundant database of National Center for Biotechnology Information. Sequence characterized amplified region primer pair designed, based on the sequence of inter-simple sequence repeat marker, (GenBank accession no. HQ166029.1) amplified a fragment approx. 1000 bp in male plants only. This fragment was completely absent in female plants. Authentication of marker was done by using samples taken from two provinces of India.     

Mass production of metal-doped graphene from the agriculture waste of Quercus ilex leaves for supercapacitors: inclusive DFT study

This work reports a facile, eco-friendly, and cost-effective mass-scale synthesis of metal-doped graphene sheets (MDGs) using agriculture waste of Quercus ilex leaves for supercapacitor applications. A single step-degradation catalyst-based pyrolysis route was used for the manufacture of MDGs. Obtained MDGs were further evaluated via advanced spectroscopy and microscopic techniques including Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR, XRD, SEM/EDX, and TEM imaging. The Raman spectrum showed D and G bands at 1300 cm⁻¹ and 1590 cm⁻¹, respectively, followed by a 2D band at 2770 cm⁻¹, which confirmed the synthesis of few-layered MDGs. The SEM/EDX data confirmed the presence of 6.15%, 3.17%, and 2.36% of potassium, calcium and magnesium in the obtained MDGs, respectively. Additionally, the FT-IR, XRD, TEM, and SEM data including the plot profile diagrams confirmed the synthesis of MDGs. Further, a computational study was performed for the structural validation of MDGs using Gaussian 09. The density functional theory (DFT) results showed a chemisorption/decoration pattern of doping for metal ions on the few-layered graphene nanosheets, rather than a substitutional pattern. Further, resulting MDGs were used as an active material for the fabrication of a supercapacitor electrode using the polymer gel of PVA–H₃PO₄ as the electrolyte. The fabricated device showed a decent specific capacitance of 18.2 F g⁻¹ at a scan rate of 5 mV s⁻¹ with a power density of 1000 W kg⁻¹ at 5 A g⁻¹.

This work reports a facile, eco-friendly, and cost-effective mass-scale synthesis of metal-doped graphene sheets (MDGs) using agriculture waste of Quercus ilex leaves for supercapacitor applications.     

Multiple facets of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 in neurological diseases

<正>The highly conserved abundant nuclear protein poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1(PARP-1)is activated by DNA damage.PARP-1 activation is associated in DNA repair,cell death and inflammation.Since oxidative stress induced robust DNA damage and wide spread inflammatory responses are common pathologies of various CNS diseases,the attention towards PARP-1 as a therapeutic     

Ameliorative effect of naringin against doxorubicin-induced acute cardiac toxicity in rats

Context: Doxorubicin (Dox) is one of the most active chemotherapeutic agents used to treat various types of cancers. Its clinical utility is compromised due to fatal cardiac toxicity characterized by an irreversible cardiomyopathy.

Objective: This study evaluates the cardioprotective potential of naringin (NR) against Dox-induced acute cardiac toxicity in rats.

Materials and methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups. NR (50 and 100?mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) daily from 0 to 14?d. Doxorubicin (15?mg/kg, i.p.) was given as a single dose on the 10th day. On the 14th day, all animals were sacrificed and oxidative stress parameters that include malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) level, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activities, and all mitochondrial complexes (I-IV) activities were evaluated along with histopathological studies of the heart.

Results: Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity was confirmed by increased (p?<?0.05) MDA, decreased (p?<?0.05) GSH levels, SOD, and CAT activities, mitochondrial complexes (I–IV) activities in the heart tissue. NR (100?mg/kg) showed cardioprotection as evident from significant decreased MDA (p?<?0.001) level, raised (p?<?0.001) GSH level, SOD and CAT activities and increased mitochondrial complexes I (p?<?0.01), II (p?<?0.001), III (p?<?0.001), and IV (p?<?0.05) activities. Further, Dox-induced cardiotoxicity was confirmed by histopathological studies. These obtained results indicated the protective role of NR against Dox-induced cardiac toxicity in rats.

Conclusion: NR can be used in combination with Dox due to its high cardioprotective effect against Dox-induced cardiomyopathy.