University of Calcutta

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is thatthere is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the completeprocess including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defined as increasedautophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in manycases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as forreviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multipleassays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation, it is imperative to target by gene knockout or RNA interference more than one autophagyrelated protein. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways implying that not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.

Impact of pesticides use in agriculture: their benefits and hazards

autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field.

IMPORTANCE: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 (GBD 2019) provided systematic estimates of incidence, morbidity, and mortality to inform local and international efforts toward reducing cancer burden. OBJECTIVE: To estimate cancer burden and trends globally for 204 countries and territories and by Sociodemographic Index (SDI) quintiles from 2010 to 2019. EVIDENCE REVIEW: The GBD 2019 estimation methods were used to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019 and over the past decade. Estimates are also provided by quintiles of the SDI, a composite measure of educational attainment, income per capita, and total fertility rate for those younger than 25 years. Estimates include 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). FINDINGS: In 2019, there were an estimated 23.6 million (95% UI, 22.2-24.9 million) new cancer cases (17.2 million when excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) and 10.0 million (95% UI, 9.36-10.6 million) cancer deaths globally, with an estimated 250 million (235-264 million) DALYs due to cancer. Since 2010, these represented a 26.3% (95% UI, 20.3%-32.3%) increase in new cases, a 20.9% (95% UI, 14.2%-27.6%) increase in deaths, and a 16.0% (95% UI, 9.3%-22.8%) increase in DALYs. Among 22 groups of diseases and injuries in the GBD 2019 study, cancer was second only to cardiovascular diseases for the number of deaths, years of life lost, and DALYs globally in 2019. Cancer burden differed across SDI quintiles. The proportion of years lived with disability that contributed to DALYs increased with SDI, ranging from 1.4% (1.1%-1.8%) in the low SDI quintile to 5.7% (4.2%-7.1%) in the high SDI quintile. While the high SDI quintile had the highest number of new cases in 2019, the middle SDI quintile had the highest number of cancer deaths and DALYs. From 2010 to 2019, the largest percentage increase in the numbers of cases and deaths occurred in the low and low-middle SDI quintiles. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The results of this systematic analysis suggest that the global burden of cancer is substantial and growing, with burden differing by SDI. These results provide comprehensive and comparable estimates that can potentially inform efforts toward equitable cancer control around the world.

Based on empirical survey data, this paper uses concepts from sociotechnical theory and role theory to explore the effects of stress created by information and computer technology (ICT)—that is, "technostress"—on role stress and on individual productivity. We first explain different ways in which ICTs can create stress in users and identify factors that create technostress. We next propose three hypotheses: (1) technostress is inversely related to individual productivity, (2) role stress is inversely related to individual productivity, and (3) technostress is directly related to role stress. We then use structural equation modeling on survey data from ICT users in 223 organizations to test the hypotheses. The results show support for them. Theoretically, the paper contributes in three ways. First, the different dimensions of technostress identified here add to existing concepts on stress experienced by individuals in organizations. Second, by showing that technostress inversely affects productivity, the paper reinforces that failure to manage the effects of ICT-induced stress can offset expected increases in productivity. Third, validation of the positive relationship between technostress and role stress adds a new conceptual thread to literature analyzing the relationship between technology and organizational roles and structure. In the practical domain, the paper proposes a diagnostic tool to evaluate the extent to which technostress is present in an organization and suggests that the adverse effects of technostress can be partly countered by strategies that reduce role conflict and role overload.

By late 18(th) or early 19(th) century, albino rats became the most commonly used experimental animals in numerous biomedical researches, as they have been recognized as the preeminent model mammalian system. But, the precise correlation between age of laboratory rats and human is still a subject of debate. A number of studies have tried to detect these correlations in various ways, But, have not successfully provided any proper association. Thus, the current review attempts to compare rat and human age at different phases of their life. The overall findings indicate that rats grow rapidly during their childhood and become sexually mature at about the sixth week, but attain social maturity 5-6 months later. In adulthood, every day of the animal is approximately equivalent to 34.8 human days (i.e., one rat month is comparable to three human years). Numerous researchers performed experimental investigations in albino rats and estimated, in general, while considering their entire life span, that a human month resembles every-day life of a laboratory rat. These differences signify the variations in their anatomy, physiology and developmental processes, which must be taken into consideration while analyzing the results or selecting the dose of any research in rats when age is a crucial factor.

Abstract Background In recent years, green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has gained much interest from chemists and researchers. In this concern, Indian flora has yet to divulge innumerable sources of cost-effective non-hazardous reducing and stabilizing compounds utilized in preparing AgNPs. This study investigates an efficient and sustainable route of AgNP preparation from 1 mM aqueous AgNO 3 using leaf extracts of three plants, Musa balbisiana (banana), Azadirachta indica (neem) and Ocimum tenuiflorum (black tulsi), well adorned for their wide availability and medicinal property. Methods AgNPs were prepared by the reaction of 1 mM silver nitrate and 5% leaf extract of each type of plant separately. the AgNPs were duely characterized and tested for their antibacterial activity and toxicity. Results The AgNPs were characterized by UV-visible (vis) spectrophotometer, particle size analyzer (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) analysis was carried out to determine the nature of the capping agents in each of these leaf extracts. AgNPs obtained showed significantly higher antimicrobial activities against Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) and Bacillus sp. in comparison to both AgNO 3 and raw plant extracts. Additionally, a toxicity evaluation of these AgNP containing solutions was carried out on seeds of Moong Bean ( Vigna radiata ) and Chickpea ( Cicer arietinum ). Results showed that seeds treated with AgNP solutions exhibited better rates of germination and oxidative stress enzyme activity nearing control levels, though detailed mechanism of uptake and translocation are yet to be analyzed. Conclusion In totality, the AgNPs prepared are safe to be discharged in the environment and possibly utilized in processes of pollution remediation. AgNPs may also be efficiently utilized in agricultural research to obtain better health of crop plants as shown by our study.

The work of Weyl on the gravitational field occasioned by an axially symmetric distribution of matter and charge is generalized to the case in which ${g}_{44}$ and $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ for an electrostatic field are functionally related, with or without spatial symmetry. It is shown that the most general electrostatic field in which ${g}_{44}$ and $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ are related by an equation of the form ${g}_{44}=\frac{1}{2}{(\ensuremath{\varphi}+c)}^{2}$ can be represented by a line element of the form ${(\mathrm{ds})}^{2}=\ensuremath{-}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}w}[{(d{x}^{1})}^{2}+{(d{x}^{2})}^{2}+{(d{x}^{3})}^{2}]+{e}^{w}{(\mathrm{dt})}^{2}$. Certain of the field equations are then identically satisfied while the remaining ones reduce to a single equation for $w$. The substitution $w=\ensuremath{-}2log(1+v)$ transforms this into Laplace's equation for $v$, so that the solution can be expressed in terms of harmonic function.

Structural properties of the Indian railway network is studied in the light of recent investigations of the scaling properties of different complex networks. Stations are considered as "nodes" and an arbitrary pair of stations is said to be connected by a "link" when at least one train stops at both stations. Rigorous analysis of the existing data shows that the Indian railway network displays small-world properties. We define and estimate several other quantities associated with this network.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced cervical cancer is a major health issue among women from the poorly/under-developed sectors of the world. It accounts for a high-mortality rate because of its late diagnosis and poor prognosis. Initial establishment and subsequent progression of this form of cancer are completely dependent on two major oncogenes E6 and E7, which are expressed constitutively leading to tumorigenesis. Thus, manipulation of these genes represents the most successful form of cervical cancer therapy. In the present article, information on structural, functional, and clinical dimensions of E6 and E7 activity has been reviewed. The genome organization and protein structure of E6 and E7 have been discussed followed by their mechanism to establish the six major cancer hallmarks in cervical tissues for tumor propagation. The later section of this review article deals with the different modes of therapeutics, which functions by deregulating E6 and E7 activity. Since E6 and E7 are the biomarkers of a cervical cancer cell and are the ones driving the cancer progression, therapeutic approaches targeting E6 and E7 have been proved to be highly efficient in terms of focused removal of abnormally propagating malignant cells. Therapeutics including different forms of vaccines to advanced genome editing techniques, which suppress E6 and E7 activity, have been found to successfully bring down the population of cervical cancer cells infected with HPV. T-cell mediated immunotherapy is another upcoming successful form of treatment to eradicate HPV-infected tumorigenic cells. Additionally, therapeutics using natural compounds from plants or other natural repositories, i.e., phytotherapeutic approaches have also been reviewed here, which prove their anticancer potential through E6 and E7 inhibitory effects. Thus, E6 and E7 repression through any of these methods is a significant approach toward cervical cancer therapy, described in details in this review along with an insight into the signaling pathways and molecular mechanistic of E6 and E7 action.

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, a potential medicinal plant used for the treatment of nervous disorders, intestinal infection, leprosy, and cancer, is a perennial herb belonging to Solanaceae and distributed throughout the drier parts of India. Leaf blight disease of this plant generally occurs during March in various districts of South Bengal, India. At the initial stage of infection, symptoms appear as small, light brown spots, gradually becoming irregular, dark brown, concentrically zonate with a diffuse margin, frequently surrounded by light yellow haloes, conspicuous brownish concentric rings in the advance stage of infection. A species of Alternaria was isolated from the lesions. The pathogen was isolated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) media. On PDA, the fungus grew slowly with colonies reaching approximately 35 to 40 mm in diameter in 7 days when incubated at 30°C. Conidiophores arose singly or in groups, straight or flexous, cylindrical, septate, pale to olivaceous brown, as much as 155 μm long, 4 to 5.5 μm thick; conidia were straight, obclavate, pale olivaceous brown, smooth, with up to 15 transverse and rarely 1 or 2 longitudinal or oblique septa and measured 50 to 115 × 5 to 10 μm. Pathogenicity tests were carried out three times on 6-month-old plants (n = 10). Plants were sprayed with a conidial suspension of 10 5 conidia/ml; control plants were sprayed with sterilized water. Plants were covered with polyethylene bags for 10 days. Disease symptoms appeared after 12 ± 1 day after inoculation. Symptoms on the leaves were similar to those of a naturally occurring diseased plant. The fungal pathogen was consistently reisolated from inoculated plants. The pathogen was identified as Alternaria dianthicola and further confirmed by the Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India. A literature survey reports the occurrence of some fungal diseases (1), but to our knowledge, this is the first report of A. dianthicola on W. somnifera. References: (1) P. Sinha et al. Page 14 in: Recent Progress in Medicinal Plants. Vol. 6 Diseases and their Management. Sci Tech Publishing LLC, Houston, TX, 2000.

The growing need of antimicrobial agent for novel therapies against multi-drug resistant bacteria has drawn researchers to green nanotechnology. Especially, eco-friendly biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) has shown its interesting impact against bacterial infection in laboratory research. In this study, a simple method was developed to form Ag NPs at room temperature, bio-reduction of silver ions from silver nitrate salt by leaf extract from Ocimum gratissimum. The Ag NPs appear to be capped with plant proteins, but are otherwise highly crystalline and pure. The Ag NPs have a zeta potential of −15 mV, a hydrodynamic diameter of 31 nm with polydispersity index of 0.65, and dry sizes of 18 ± 3 nm and 16 ± 2 nm, based on scanning and transmission electron microscopy respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the Ag NPs against a multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli was 4 μg/mL and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was 8 μg/mL, while the MIC and MBC against a resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus were slightly higher at 8 μg/mL and 16 μg/mL respectively. Further, the Ag NPs inhibited biofilm formation by both Escherichia coli and S. aureus at concentrations similar to the MIC for each strain. Treatment of E. coli and S. aureus with Ag NPs resulted in damage to the surface of the cells and the production of reactive oxygen species. Both mechanisms likely contribute to bacterial cell death. In summary, this new method appears promising for green biosynthesis of pure Ag NPs with potent antimicrobial activity.

Cereal grains are the dominant source of cadmium in the human diet, with rice being to the fore. Here we explore the effect of geographic, genetic, and processing (milling) factors on rice grain cadmium and rice consumption rates that lead to dietary variance in cadmium intake. From a survey of 12 countries on four continents, cadmium levels in rice grain were the highest in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with both these countries also having high per capita rice intakes. For Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, there was high weekly intake of cadmium from rice, leading to intakes deemed unsafe by international and national regulators. While genetic variance, and to a lesser extent milling, provide strategies for reducing cadmium in rice, caution has to be used, as there is environmental regulation as well as genetic regulation of cadmium accumulation within rice grains. For countries that import rice, grain cadmium can be controlled by where that rice is sourced, but for countries with subsistence rice economies that have high levels of cadmium in rice grain, agronomic and breeding strategies are required to lower grain cadmium.

Abstract We reconstruct the rise of a segment of the southern flank of the Himalaya-Tibet orogen, to the south of the Lhasa terrane, using a paleoaltimeter based on paleoenthalpy encoded in fossil leaves from two new assemblages in southern Tibet (Liuqu and Qiabulin) and four previously known floras from the Himalaya foreland basin. U-Pb dating of zircons constrains the Liuqu flora to the latest Paleocene (ca. 56 Ma) and the Qiabulin flora to the earliest Miocene (21–19 Ma). The proto-Himalaya grew slowly against a high (∼4 km) proto–Tibetan Plateau from ∼1 km in the late Paleocene to ∼2.3 km at the beginning of the Miocene, and achieved at least ∼5.5 km by ca. 15 Ma. Contrasting precipitation patterns between the Himalaya-Tibet edifice and the Himalaya foreland basin for the past ∼56 m.y. show progressive drying across southern Tibet, seemingly linked to the uplift of the Himalaya orogen.

Iron is one of the major limiting factors and essential nutrients of microbial life. Since in nature it is not readily available in the preferred form, microorganisms produce small high affinity chelating molecules called siderophores for its acquisition. Microorganisms produce a wide variety of siderophores controlled at the molecular level by different genes to accumulate, mobilize and transport iron for metabolism. Siderophores also play a critical role in the expression of virulence and development of biofilms by different microbes. Apart from maintaining microbial life, siderophores can be harnessed for the sustainability of human, animals and plants. With the advent of modern molecular tools, a major breakthrough is taking place in the understanding of the multifaceted role of siderophores in nature. This mini review is intended to provide a general overview on siderophore along with its role and applications.

The ability to synthesize ascorbic acid is absent in the insects, invertebrates, and fishes. The biosynthetic capacity started in the kidney of amphibians, resided in the kidney of reptiles, became transferred to the liver of mammals, and finally disappeared from the guinea pig, the flying mammals, monkey, and man. A similar transition in the biosynthetic ability was observed in the branched evolution of the birds.

Measuring the proportion of variance explained (R2) by a statistical model and the relative importance of specific predictors (semi-partial R2) can be essential considerations when building a parsimonious statistical model. The R2 statistic is a familiar summary of goodness-of-fit for normal linear models and has been extended in various ways to more general models. In particular, the generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) extends the normal linear model and is used to analyze correlated (hierarchical), non-normal data structures. Although various R2 statistics have been proposed, there is no consensus in statistical literature for the most sensible definition of R2 in this context. This research aims to build upon existing knowledge and definitions of R2 and to concisely define the statistic for the GLMM. Here, we derive a model and semi-partial R2 statistic for fixed (population) effects in the GLMM by utilizing the penalized quasi-likelihood estimation method based on linearization. We show that our proposed R2 statistic generalizes the widely used marginal R2 statistic introduced by Nakagawa and Schielzeth, demonstrate our statistics capability in model selection, show the utility of semi-partial R2 statistics in longitudinal data analysis, and provide software that computes the proposed R2 statistic along with semi-partial R2 for individual fixed effects. The software provided is adapted for both SAS and R programming languages.

1. 1. In the present paper it has been shown from a discussion of the high-level chromospheric spectrum that this region is chiefly composed of ionized atoms of Calcium, Barium, Strontium, Scandium...

The immunomodulatory role of the natural biopolymer, chitosan, has already been demonstrated in plants, whilst its nanoparticles have only been examined for biomedical applications. In our present study, we have investigated the possible ability and mechanism of chitosan nanoparticles (CNP) to induce and augment immune responses in plants. CNP-treatment of leaves produced significant improvement in the plant's innate immune response through induction of defense enzyme activity, upregulation of defense related genes including that of several antioxidant enzymes as well as elevation of the levels of total phenolics. It is also possible that the extracellular localization of CNP may also play a role in the observed upregulation of defense response in plants. Nitric oxide (NO), an important signaling molecule in plant defense, was also observed to increase following CNP treatment. However, such CNP-mediated immuno-stimulation was significantly mitigated when NO production was inhibited, indicating a possible role of NO in such immune induction. Taken together, our results suggest that CNP may be used as a more effective phytosanitary or disease control agent compared to natural chitosan for sustainable organic cultivation.

TiO2 and other titanium oxide-based nanomaterials have drawn immense attention from researchers in different scientific domains due to their fascinating multifunctional properties, relative abundance, environmental friendliness, and bio-compatibility. However, the physical and chemical properties of titanium oxide-based nanomaterials are found to be explicitly dependent on the presence of various crystal defects. Oxygen vacancies are the most common among them and have always been the subject of both theoretical and experimental research as they play a crucial role in tuning the inherent properties of titanium oxides. This review highlights different strategies for effectively introducing oxygen vacancies in titanium oxide-based nanomaterials, as well as a discussion on the positions of oxygen vacancies inside the TiO2 band gap based on theoretical calculations. Additionally, a detailed review of different experimental techniques that are extensively used for identifying oxygen vacancies in TiO2 nanostructures is also presented.