Thermal performance of Fe3O4, SWCNT, MWCNT and H2O based on magnetohydrodynamic nanofluid flow across a wedge with significant impacts of Soret and Dufour.

The Soret and Dufour effects have significant importance in several practical scenarios, especially in the domain of fluidic mass and temperature transfer. Nanofluidics, biological systems, and combustion processes are all areas where these consequences are crucial. Because of its distinct geometry, a wedge-shaped structure has aerodynamics, production, and engineering applications. Wedge shapes are used in aerodynamics for analyzing and improving airflow across various objects. Nanofluids increase thermal conductivity over traditional fluids making them ideal for cooling high-power electronics, boosting temperature transfer efficiencies, and boosting the solar energy system output. This work is of critical importance since it examines the consequences of a heat source/sink, the Soret impact and the Dufour impact, on the movement of a ternary nanofluid over a wedge. This work uses appropriate similarity constraints to reduce the complexity of the underlying governing equations, allowing for fast computational solutions with the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 4-5th order method (RKF-45). Analysis of these phenomena helps determine their possible real-world applications across various engineering fields, by presenting numerical results through plots. The results reveal that adjusting the moving wedge factor lessens the temperature profile, improving the magnetic constraint increases the velocity, and modifying the heat source/sink, Dufour, and Soret factors increases the temperature and concentration profiles. Dufour and heat source/sink constraints speed-up the heat transmission rate. In all cases, ternary nano liquids show significant performance over hybrid nano liquids.

Genetic Dissection and Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping of Agronomic and Fodder Quality Traits in Sorghum Under Different Water Regimes.

Livestock provides an additional source of income for marginal cropping farmers, but crop residues that are used as a main source of animal feed are characteristically low in digestibility and protein content. This reduces the potential livestock product yield and quality. The key trait, which influences the quality and the cost of animal feed, is digestibility. In this study, we demonstrate that sorghum breeding can be directed to achieve genetic gains for both fodder biomass and digestibility without any trade-offs. The genotypic variance has shown significant differences for biomass across years (13,035 in 2016 and 3,395 in 2017) while in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) showed significant genotypic variation in 2016 (0.253) under drought. A range of agronomic and fodder quality traits was found to vary significantly in the population within both the control and drought conditions and across both years of the study. There was significant genotypic variance (σg2) and genotypic × treatment variance (σgxt2) in dry matter production in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population in both study years, while there was only significant σg2 and σgxt2 in IVOMD under the control conditions. There was no significant correlation identified between biomass and digestibility traits under the control conditions, but there was a positive correlation under drought. However, a negative relation was observed between digestibility and grain yield under the control conditions, while there was no significant correlation under drought population, which was genotyped using the genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technique, and 1,141 informative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were identified. A linkage map was constructed, and a total of 294 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected, with 534 epistatic interactions, across all of the traits under study. QTL for the agronomic traits fresh and dry weight, together with plant height, mapped on to the linkage group (LG) 7, while QTL for IVOMD mapped on to LG1, 2, and 8. A number of genes previously reported to play a role in nitrogen metabolism and cell wall-related functions were found to be associated with these QTL.

Emerging roles of SWI/SNF remodelers in fungal pathogens.

Fungal pathogens constantly sense and respond to the environment they inhabit, and this interaction is vital for their survival inside hosts and exhibiting pathogenic traits. Since such responses often entail specific patterns of gene expression, regulators of chromatin structure contribute to the fitness and virulence of the pathogens by modulating DNA accessibility to the transcriptional machinery. Recent studies in several human and plant fungal pathogens have uncovered the SWI/SNF group of chromatin remodelers as an important determinant of pathogenic traits and provided insights into their mechanism of function. Here, we review these studies and highlight the differential functions of these remodeling complexes and their subunits in regulating fungal fitness and pathogenicity. As an extension of our previous study, we also show that loss of specific RSC subunits can predispose the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans cells to filamentous growth in a context-dependent manner. Finally, we consider the potential of targeting the fungal SWI/SNF remodeling complexes for antifungal interventions.

The RSC (Remodels the Structure of Chromatin) complex of Candida albicans shows compositional divergence with distinct roles in regulating pathogenic traits.

Regulation of gene expression programs is crucial for the survival of microbial pathogens in host environments and for their ability to cause disease. Here we investigated the epigenetic regulator RSC (Remodels the Structure of Chromatin) in the most prevalent human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Biochemical analysis showed that CaRSC comprises 13 subunits and contains two novel non-essential members, which we named Nri1 and Nri2 (Novel RSC Interactors) that are exclusive to the CTG clade of Saccharomycotina. Genetic analysis showed distinct essentiality of C. albicans RSC subunits compared to model fungal species suggesting functional and structural divergence of RSC functions in this fungal pathogen. Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of a conditional mutant of the essential catalytic subunit gene STH1 demonstrated global roles of RSC in C. albicans biology, with the majority of growth-related processes affected, as well as mis-regulation of genes involved in morphotype switching, host-pathogen interaction and adaptive fitness. We further assessed the functions of non-essential CaRSC subunits, showing that the novel subunit Nri1 and the bromodomain subunit Rsc4 play roles in filamentation and stress responses; and also interacted at the genetic level to regulate cell viability. Consistent with these roles, Rsc4 is required for full virulence of C. albicans in the murine model of systemic infection. Taken together, our data builds the first comprehensive study of the composition and roles of RSC in C. albicans, showing both conserved and distinct features compared to model fungal systems. The study illuminates how C. albicans uses RSC-dependent transcriptional regulation to respond to environmental signals and drive survival fitness and virulence in mammals.

Comparative Evaluation of Hair, Fingernails, and Toenails as Biomarkers of Fluoride Exposure: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: The increased prevalence of fluorosis has led to a search for biomarkers of fluoride exposure. Among the biomarkers of sub-chronic exposure to fluoride, hair, fingernails, and toenails have the advantage of being noninvasively collected, easily transported, and stored. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to comparatively evaluate coronal hair, fingernails, and toenails as biomarkers of fluoride exposure from drinking water; the study was designed as a population-based observational cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A population-based observational cross-sectional study was conducted in 60 children (20 subjects per group) of ages 12-17 years in three villages of Nilakottai block, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India (Thomaspuram, Bangalapatti, and Singampatti). The fluoride concentration in the household drinking water was analyzed and compared with the fluoride content in the coronal hair, fingernail, and toenail clippings, which was estimated by potentiometric method (fluoride-ion-selective electrode) and expressed in ppm (parts per million). A two-tailed probability value of P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The mean fluoride concentration in drinking water was 0.63ppm in Thomaspuram, 1.63ppm in Bangalapatti, and 2.92ppm in Singampatti. The mean fluoride content in hair samples was 2.84ppm, 4.67ppm, and 6.53ppm; fingernail clippings was 2.99ppm, 4.94ppm, and 6.84ppm; and toenail clippings was estimated as 3.13ppm, 5.10ppm, and 7.24ppm in Thomaspuram, Bangalapatti, and Singampatti residents, respectively. The mean fluoride content in the hair, fingernails, and toenails was significantly higher as compared to the mean fluoride content in the drinking water (viz., toenail fluoride > fingernail fluoride > hair fluoride). CONCLUSION: Coronal hair, fingernails, and toenails are useful biomarkers for both sub-chronic and chronic fluoride exposure from drinking water. Due to ample sample availability and the highest fluoride content, toenails are the most suitable biomarkers of fluoride exposure from drinking water.

Aqueous extract from Madhuca indica bark protects cells from oxidative stress caused by electron beam radiation: in vitro, in vivo and in silico approach.

In an endeavor to find the novel natural radioprotector to secure normal cells surrounding cancerous cell during radiation exposure, Madhuca indica (M. indica) aqueous stem bark extract was evaluated for radioprotective activity using in vitro, in vivo, and in silico models. M. indica extract exhibited concentration dependent protective effect on electron beam radiation (EBR) induced damage to pBR322 DNA; the highest protection was achieved at 150 µg concentrations. Similarly, M. indica extract (400 mg/kg) administrated to mice prior to irradiation protected DNA from the radiation damage, which was confirmed by inhibiting comet parameters. The study showed a significant increase in the levels of glutathione and superoxide dismutase levels. The study also revealed that administration of M. Indica at the different dose to mice significantly reduced EBR induced MDA, sialic acid and nitric acid levels. Further extract prevented histophatological changes of skin and liver. In contrast, protein-protein interaction studies were performed to find the hub protein, involved in radiation-induced DNA damage. Among 437 proteins that are found expressed during radiation, p53 was found to be a master protein regulating the whole pathway. Molecular interaction between p53 and M. indica extract was predicted by quantitative structure-activity relationship and ADMET properties. Biomolecules such as quercetin, myricetin, and 7-hydroxyflavone were found to be promising inhibitors of p53 protein and may help in the protection of EBR induced DNA damage during cancer treatment.

Development and application of genomic resources for comparative and translational genomics in legumes through leveraging genomic sequence of Medicago truncatula.

The expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of common bean were BLAST aligned with barred medic genome sequence and developed 1196 conserved intron spanning primers (CISPs) to facilitate genetic studies in legumes. Randomly selected 288 CISPs, representing loci on barrel medic genome, were tested on 10 selected members of legume family. On the source taxa, the highest single copy amplification success rates of 61.8% (barrel medic) and 56.2% (common bean) was obtained. The success rate of markers was 54.5% in cowpea followed by 53.5% in pigeonpea and chickpea, signifying cross taxon amplification and their potential use in comparative genomics. However, relatively low percentages of primer set amplified (40-43%) in soybean, urdbean and peanut. Further, these primers were tested on different varieties of chickpea, pigeonpea and cowpea. The PCR products were sequenced and aligned which resulted in detection of 26 SNPs and eight INDeLs in cowpea, seven SNPs and two INDeLs in chickpea and 27 SNPs and 14 INDeLs in pigeonpea. These SNPs were successfully converted in to size variation for gel-based genotyping. The CISP markers developed in this study are expected to aid in map saturation of legumes and in marker-assisted selection for accelerated crop improvement.

A randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of motivational counseling with observed therapy for antiretroviral therapy adherence.

This study determined whether motivational interviewing-based cognitive behavioral therapy (MI-CBT) adherence counseling combined with modified directly observed therapy (MI-CBT/mDOT) is more effective than MI-CBT counseling alone or standard care (SC) in increasing adherence over time. A three-armed randomized controlled 48-week trial with continuous electronic drug monitored adherence was conducted by randomly assigning 204 HIV-positive participants to either 10 sessions of MI-CBT counseling with mDOT for 24 weeks, 10 sessions of MI-CBT counseling alone, or SC. Poisson mixed effects regression models revealed significant interaction effects of intervention over time on non-adherence defined as percent of doses not-taken (IRR = 1.011, CI = 1.000-1.018) and percent of doses not-taken on time (IRR = 1.006, CI = 1.001-1.011) in the 30 days preceding each assessment. There were no significant differences between groups, but trends were observed for the MI-CBT/mDOT group to have greater 12 week on-time and worse 48 week adherence than the SC group. Findings of modest to null impact on adherence despite intensive interventions highlights the need for more effective interventions to maintain high adherence over time.