Nanoparticulate Silica Internalization and Its Effect on the Growth and Yield of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.).

In recent years, foliar applications of nanoparticles are increasingly being employed in agricultural fields as fertilizers to enhance crop yields. However, limited studies are available on the foliar uptake of nanoscale nutrients and their interaction with plants. In this study, we reported the effects of foliar spray with varied concentrations of nanoscale silica (N-SiO2) and bulk tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS at 2000 ppm) on the growth and yield of groundnut. Nanosilica was prepared by a sol-gel method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and X-ray diffraction. The size and zeta potential of N-SiO2 were found to be 28.7 nm and 32 mV, respectively. The plant height, number of branches, total dry weight, SPAD chlorophyll meter reading, photosynthetic rate, water use efficiency, number of nodules, and ascorbic acid content were increased significantly with the N-SiO2 foliar application at 400 ppm over control. The number of filled pods increased significantly by 38.78 and 58.60% with N-SiO2 at 400 ppm application over TEOS and control, respectively. The pod yield per plant in N-SiO2 at 400 ppm increased by 25.52 and 31.7% higher over TEOS and control, respectively. Antioxidant enzyme activities enhanced significantly in N-SiO2 at 200 and 400 ppm over control, indicating a stimulatory effect on the plant growth. In addition, confocal microscopy revealed that fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-N-SiO2 entered through stomata and then transported to vascular bundles via apoplastic movement. Our study for the first time demonstrated that N-SiO2 can significantly modulate multiple complex traits in groundnut through an eco-friendly and sustainable approach.

Hematolymphoid neoplasms in effusion cytology.

BACKGROUND: Hematolymphoid neoplasms (HLNs) presenting as body cavity effusions are not a common finding. They may be the first manifestation of the disease. A diagnosis on effusion cytology may provide an early breakthrough for effective clinical management. AIMS: Study the cytomorphology of HLNs in effusion cytology, determine common types, sites involved and uncover useful cytomorphologic clues to subclassify them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four biopsy-proven HLN cases with malignant body cavity effusions and 8 cases suspicious for HLN on cytology but negative on biopsy are included in this study. Effusion cytology smears were reviewed for cytomorphological features: cellularity, cell size, nuclear features, accompanying cells, karyorrhexis, and mitoses. RESULTS: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (37%) was the most common lymphoma type presenting as effusion followed by peripheral T-cell lymphoma (25%). Pleural effusion (75%) was most frequent presentation followed by peritoneal effusion (20.8%). Pericardial effusion was rare (4.1%). The common cytologic features of HLNs in effusions: high cellularity, lymphoid looking cells with nuclear enlargement, dyscohesive nature, and accompanying small lymphocytes. Mitosis and karyorrhexis were higher in high-grade HLNs when compared to low-grade HLNs. Myelomatous effusion showed plasmacytoid cells. Very large, blastoid looking cells with folded nuclei, high N: C ratio, and prominent nucleoli were seen in leukemic effusion. CONCLUSION: HLNs have characteristic cytomorphology and an attempt to subclassify them should be made on effusion cytology. Reactive lymphocyte-rich effusions cannot be distinguished from low-grade lymphomas based on cytomorphology alone. Ancillary tests such as immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry, and/or molecular techniques may prove more useful in this regard.

Cystic Sertoli-Leydig Cell Tumour in a Postmenopausal Woman with Absent Virilising Symptoms: A Diagnostic Challenge.

A 60-year-old postmenopausal woman, presented with a left ovarian cystic mass with mildly elevated CA125 levels. An intraoperative frozen section showed oedematous ovarian stroma with interspersed large aggregates of spindle shaped stromal cells. Subsequently, the excised specimen was reported as Sertoli-Leydig Cell Tumour (SLCT) of intermediate differentiation. The leydig cells were identified in the imprint smears, but were misinterpreted as luteinized cells. The lack of tubular differentiated cells in frozen section had contributed to the misdiagnosis. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) played an important diagnostic role in the absence of clinical suspicion and lack of virilising features that are classically described in association with SLCTs. This case is unusual, as the tumour was seen in a postmenopausal woman in the absence of virilising symptoms. The cytomorphological features, IHC findings and the reasons for misdiagnosis are discussed in this case report.

Glycoside hydrolase production by Aspergillus terreus CM20 using mixture design approach for enhanced enzymatic saccharification of alkali pretreated paddy straw.

A successful lignocellulosic ethanol production process needs to address the technological impediments such as cost-competitiveness and sustainability of the process. Effective biomass utilization requires a repertoire of enzymes including various accessory enzymes. Developing an enzyme preparation with defined hydrolytic activities can circumvent the need for supplementing cellulases with accessory enzymes for enhanced hydrolysis. With this objective, mixture design approach was used in the present study to enhance glycoside hydrolase production of a fungal isolate, Aspergillus terreus CM20, by determining the proportion of different lignocellulosic components as enzyme inducers in the culture medium. A mixture of paddy straw and wheat straw (1.42:1.58) resulted in improved cellulolytic activities. The precipitated crude enzyme showed higher CMCase (365.03 18 IU g-1), FPase (161.48 IU g-1), avicelase (15.46 IU g-1), ß-glucosidase (920.92 IU g-1) and xylanase (9627.79 IU g-1) activities. The potential of the crude enzyme for saccharification of alkali pretreated paddy straw was also tested. Under optimum conditions, saccharification released 25.0 g L-1 of fermentable sugars. This indicates the superiority of the crude enzyme produced with respect to its hydrolytic enzyme components.

Ram's Horn Nail - Giant Onychomatricoma Treated by Complete Surgical Excision- A Rare Case Report.

Giant onychomatricoma is a rare fibroepithelial nail matrix tumor with only two previous reports in literature, from Mexico. An 80-year-old female patient presented with a progressively painless mass in the left great toe nail, following trauma, of 2 years duration. On examination there was a single, hard, immobile mass of size 4 × 3 × 2 cm with proximal hyperpigmentation of the left great toe nail. The mass was totally excised and a punch biopsy of nail matrix was taken. Histopathology revealed hyperkeratosis, acanthosis, multiple channels lined by flattened epithelium and fibrocollagenous tissue in horizontal orientation in deeper layers. The patient had no recurrence after 1 month. We report this case for its rare and distinct clinical presentation, characteristic histopathology and easy surgical treatment.

Late onset epidermal nevus with hypertrichosis and facial hemihypertrophy.

Epidermal nevus syndromes are rare conditions, characterized by different types of keratinocytic or organoid epidermal nevi in association with ocular, neurological, and skeletal manifestations. We present a case of late onset epidermal nevus with hypertrichosis and hemihypertrophy of face. Genetic analysis did not reveal presence of FGFR3 or PIK3CA mutations. The patient has features that cannot be categorized into the present well-known syndromes.

Streptomyces griseorubens mediated delignification of paddy straw for improved enzymatic saccharification yields.

Biological pretreatment of paddy straw was carried out using an actinomycete isolate, identified as Streptomyces griseorubens ssr38, for delignification under solid state fermentation and enhanced sugar recovery by enzymatic saccharification. After 10 days incubation, the inoculated paddy straw was extracted with mild alkali and high absorbance at 205 nm was shown by the extracts indicating the ability of S. griseorubens ssr38 to depolymerize/solubilize lignin to a high extent. Also, almost 25% of depolymerized lignin could be recovered as value-added acid-precipitable polymeric lignin (APPL) as compared to controls. Enrichment in carbohydrate content of inoculated paddy straw following delignification led to a high saccharification efficiency of 97.8% upon enzymatic hydrolysis with Accelerase®1500. The study, therefore, proves the potential of actinomycetes, besides the conventionally used white-rot fungi, for biological pretreatment, in the biomass to bioethanol process, with respect to the high extent of delignification, lignin recovery, cellulose enrichment and very high saccharification efficiency.

Synthesis, structural characterization, fluorescence, antimicrobial, antioxidant and DNA cleavage studies of Cu(II) complexes of formyl chromone Schiff bases.

Cu(II) complexes have been synthesized from different Schiff bases, such as 3-((2-hydroxy phenylimino)methyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (HL(1)), 2-((4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)methylneamino) benzoicacid (HL(2)), 3-((3-hydroxypyridin-2-ylimino)methyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (HL(3)) and 3-((2-mercaptophenylimino)methyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (HL(4)). The complexes were characterized by analytical, molar conductance, IR, electronic, magnetic, ESR, thermal, powder XRD and SEM studies. The analytical data reveal that metal to ligand molar ratio is 1:2 in all the complexes. Molar conductivity data indicates that all the Cu(II) complexes are neutral. On the basis of magnetic and electronic spectral data, distorted octahedral geometry is proposed for all the Cu(II) complexes. Thermal behaviour of the synthesized complexes illustrates the presence of lattice water molecules in the complexes. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that all the ligands and their Cu(II) complexes have triclinic system with different unit cell parameters. Antimicrobial, antioxidant and DNA cleavage activities indicate that metal complexes exhibited greater activity as compared with ligands.

Biological pretreatment of lignocellulosic substrates for enhanced delignification and enzymatic digestibility.

Sheer enormity of lignocellulosics makes them potential feedstock for biofuel production but, their conversion into fermentable sugars is a major hurdle. They have to be pretreated physically, chemically, or biologically to be used by fermenting organisms for production of ethanol. Each lignocellulosic substrate is a complex mix of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, bound in a matrix. While cellulose and hemicellulose yield fermentable sugars, lignin is the most recalcitrant polymer, consisting of phenyl-propanoid units. Many microorganisms in nature are able to attack and degrade lignin, thus making access to cellulose easy. Such organisms are abundantly found in forest leaf litter/composts and especially include the wood rotting fungi, actinomycetes and bacteria. These microorganisms possess enzyme systems to attack, depolymerize and degrade the polymers in lignocellulosic substrates. Current pretreatment research is targeted towards developing processes which are mild, economical and environment friendly facilitating subsequent saccharification of cellulose and its fermentation to ethanol. Besides being the critical step, pretreatment is also cost intensive. Biological treatments with white rot fungi and Streptomyces have been studied for delignification of pulp, increasing digestibility of lignocellulosics for animal feed and for bioremediation of paper mill effluents. Such lignocellulolytic organisms can prove extremely useful in production of bioethanol when used for removal of lignin from lignocellulosic substrate and also for cellulase production. Our studies on treatment of hardwood and softwood residues with Streptomyces griseus isolated from leaf litter showed that it enhanced the mild alkaline solubilisation of lignins and also produced high levels of the cellulase complex when growing on wood substrates. Lignin loss (Klason lignin) observed was 10.5 and 23.5% in case of soft wood and hard wood, respectively. Thus, biological pretreatment process for lignocellulosic substrate using lignolytic organisms such as actinomycetes and white rot fungi can be developed for facilitating efficient enzymatic digestibility of cellulose.

Pretreatment of paddy straw with Trametes hirsuta for improved enzymatic saccharification.

Delignification of paddy straw with the white-rot fungus, Trametes hirsuta under solid state fermentation, for enhanced sugar recovery by enzymatic saccharification was studied. T. hirsuta MTCC136 showed high ligninase and low cellulase activities. Solid state fermentation of paddy straw with T. hirsuta enhanced carbohydrate content by 11.1% within 10 days of incubation. Alkali extracts of Trametes pretreated paddy straw showed high absorbance at 205 nm indicating high lignin break down. The amount of value-added lignin recovered from the Trametes pretreated paddy straw was much higher than controls. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the Trametes pretreated paddy straw yielded much higher sugars than controls and yields increased till 120 h of incubation. Saccharification efficiency of the biologically pretreated paddy straw with Accelerase®1500 was 52.69% within 72 h and was higher than controls. Thus, the study brings out the delignification potential of T. hirsuta for pretreatment of lignocellulosic substrate and facilitating efficient enzymatic digestibility of cellulose.

Responses to Achilles tendon vibration during self-paced, visually and auditory-guided periodic sway.

Achilles tendon vibration (ATV) alters proprioceptive input of the triceps surae muscles resulting in a posterior postural shift during standing. When this is applied in combination with a more dynamic proprioceptive perturbation, postural responses to ATV are attenuated. In this study, we applied ATV during self-paced, visually and auditory guided voluntary periodic sway in order to examine how the vibration-induced afferent input is processed and reweighted at the presence of inter-sensory guidance stimuli. Seventeen healthy adults (aged 26.7 ± 4.23 years) performed 15 cycles of periodic sway under three sensory guidance conditions: (a) self-paced, (b) auditory paced (0.25 Hz), and (c) visually driven by matching the resultant force vector to a target sine-wave (0.25 Hz). Bilateral ATV (80 Hz, 3 mm) was applied between the 5th and 10th sway cycles. ATV evoked an earlier burst onset and increased activity of the plantarflexors consistent with a reduction in the amplitude and duration of forward sway. This in turn resulted in an increase in dorsiflexors' activity in order to compensate for the greater backward sway. Postural responses to ATV were augmented when sway was auditory and visually guided. Forward sway variability increased with ATV and remained high while backward sway variability decreased in the post-vibration phase. Our results suggest that sensory context-dependent constraints that determine the degree of active control of posture and associated postural challenge involved in a particular task determine how the vibration-induced Ia afferent input will be registered and further processed by the central nervous system.

Learning a novel myoelectric-controlled interface task.

Control of myoelectric prostheses and brain-machine interfaces requires learning abstract neuromotor transformations. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this ability, we trained subjects to move a two-dimensional cursor using a myoelectric-controlled interface. With the upper limb immobilized, an electromyogram from multiple hand and arm muscles moved the cursor in directions that were either intuitive or nonintuitive and with high or low variability. We found that subjects could learn even nonintuitive arrangements to a high level of performance. Muscle-tuning functions were cosine shaped and modulated so as to reduce cursor variability. Subjects exhibited an additional preference for using hand muscles over arm muscles, which resulted from a greater capacity of these to form novel, task-specific synergies. In a second experiment, nonvisual feedback from the hand was degraded with amplitude- and frequency-modulated vibration. Although vibration impaired task performance, it did not affect the rate at which learning occurred. We therefore conclude that the motor system can acquire internal models of novel, abstract neuromotor mappings even in the absence of overt movements or accurate proprioceptive signals, but that the distal motor system may be better suited to provide flexible control signals for neuromotor prostheses than structures related to the arm.