Showing papers by "Kuvempu University published in 2011"

A comprehensive map of the human urinary proteome.

Abstract: The study of the human urinary proteome has the potential to offer significant insights into normal physiology as well as disease pathology. The information obtained from such studies could be applied to the diagnosis of various diseases. The high sensitivity, resolution, and mass accuracy of the latest generation of mass spectrometers provides an opportunity to accurately catalog the proteins present in human urine, including those present at low levels. To this end, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of human urinary proteome from healthy individuals using high-resolution Fourier transform mass spectrometry. Importantly, we used the Orbitrap for detecting ions in both MS (resolution 60 000) and MS/MS (resolution 15 000) modes. To increase the depth of our analysis, we characterized both unfractionated as well as lectin-enriched proteins in our experiments. In all, we identified 1823 proteins with less than 1% false discovery rate, of which 671 proteins have not previously been reported as constitue...

ZnO nanoparticle as catalyst for efficient green one-pot synthesis of coumarins through Knoevenagel condensation

Abstract: Green chemistry protocols with the reusability of the nano particle as catalyst in the synthesis of coumarins is described. The zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles functions as highly effective catalyst for the reactions of various o-hydroxy benzaldehydes with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds under microwave and thermal conditions to afford the corresponding coumarins in moderate to good yields. The catalyst is inexpensive, stable, can be easily recycled and reused for several cycles with consistent activity.

Electrode materials for aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries

Abstract: In this review, we describe briefly the historical development of aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries, the advantages and challenges associated with the use of aqueous electrolytes in lithium rechargeable battery with an emphasis on the electrochemical performance of various electrode materials. The following materials have been studied as cathode materials: LiMn2O4, MnO2, LiNiO2, LiCoO2, LiMnPO4, LiFePO4, and anatase TiO2. Addition of certain additives like TiS2, TiB2, CeO2, etc. is found to increase the performance of MnO2 cathode. The following materials have been studied as anode materials: VO2 (B), LiV3O8, LiV2O5, LiTi2(PO4)3, TiP2O3, and very recently conducting polymer, polypyrrole (PPy). The cell PPy/LiCoO2, constructed using polypyrrole as anode delivers an average voltage of 0.86 V with a discharge capacity of 47.7 mA h g−1. It retains the capacity for first 120 cycles. The cell, LiTi2(PO4)3/1 M Li2SO4/LiMn2O4, delivers a capacity of 40 mA h g−1 and specific energy of 60 mW h g−1 with an output voltage of 1.5 V over 200 charge–discharge cycles. An aqueous lithium cell constructed using MWCNTs/LiMn2O4 as cathode material is found to exhibit more than 1,000 cycles with good rate capability.

Open-system quantum dynamics with correlated initial states, not completely positive maps, and non-Markovianity

Abstract: Dynamical $A$ and $B$ maps have been employed extensively by Sudarshan and co-workers to investigate open-system evolution of quantum systems. A canonical structure of the $A$ map is introduced here. It is shown that this canonical $A$ map enables us to investigate whether the dynamics is completely positive (CP) or not completely positive (NCP) in an elegant way and, hence, it subsumes the basic results on open-system dynamics. Identifying memory effects in open-system evolution is gaining increasing importance recently and, here, a criterion of non-Markovianity, based on the relative entropy of the dynamical state is proposed. The relative entropy difference of the dynamical system serves as a complementary characterization---though not related directly---to the fidelity difference criterion proposed recently. Three typical examples of open-system evolution of a qubit, prepared initially in a correlated state with another qubit (environment), and evolving jointly under a specific unitary dynamics---which corresponds to a NCP dynamical map---are investigated by employing both the relative entropy difference and fidelity difference tests of non-Markovianity. The two-qubit initial states are chosen to be (i) a pure entangled state, (ii) the Werner state, which exemplifies both entangled and separable states of qubits, depending on a real parameter, and (iii) a separable mixed state. Both the relative entropy and fidelity criteria offer a nice display of how non-Markovianity manifests itself in all three examples.

Human protein reference database and human proteinpedia as discovery resources for molecular biotechnology.

Abstract: In the recent years, research in molecular biotechnology has transformed from being small scale studies targeted at a single or a small set of molecule(s) into a combination of high throughput discovery platforms and extensive validations. Such a discovery platform provided an unbiased approach which resulted in the identification of several novel genetic and protein biomarkers. High throughput nature of these investigations coupled with higher sensitivity and specificity of Next Generation technologies provided qualitatively and quantitatively richer biological data. These developments have also revolutionized biological research and speed of data generation. However, it is becoming difficult for individual investigators to directly benefit from this data because they are not easily accessible. Data resources became necessary to assimilate, store and disseminate information that could allow future discoveries. We have developed two resources—Human Protein Reference Database (HPRD) and Human Proteinpedia, which integrate knowledge relevant to human proteins. A number of protein features including protein–protein interactions, post-translational modifications, subcellular localization, and tissue expression, which have been studied using different strategies were incorporated in these databases. Human Proteinpedia also provides a portal for community participation to annotate and share proteomic data and uses HPRD as the scaffold for data processing. Proteomic investigators can even share unpublished data in Human Proteinpedia, which provides a meaningful platform for data sharing. As proteomic information reflects a direct view of cellular systems, proteomics is expected to complement other areas of biology such as genomics, transcriptomics, molecular biology, cloning, and classical genetics in understanding the relationships among multiple facets of biological systems.

Gene Expression Profiling of Gastric Cancer.

Abstract: Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide, both in men and women. A genomewide gene expression analysis was carried out to identify differentially expressed genes in gastric adenocarcinoma tissues as compared to adjacent normal tissues. We used Agilent's whole human genome oligonucleotide microarray platform representing ~41,000 genes to carry out gene expression analysis. Two-color microarray analysis was employed to directly compare the expression of genes between tumor and normal tissues. Through this approach, we identified several previously known candidate genes along with a number of novel candidate genes in gastric cancer. Testican-1 (SPOCK1) was one of the novel molecules that was 10-fold upregulated in tumors. Using tissue microarrays, we validated the expression of testican-1 by immunohistochemical staining. It was overexpressed in 56% (160/282) of the cases tested. Pathway analysis led to the identification of several networks in which SPOCK1 was among the topmost networks of interacting genes. By gene enrichment analysis, we identified several genes involved in cell adhesion and cell proliferation to be significantly upregulated while those corresponding to metabolic pathways were significantly downregulated. The differentially expressed genes identified in this study are candidate biomarkers for gastric adenoacarcinoma.

Synergistic effect of additives on bright nanocrystalline zinc electrodeposition

Abstract: The influence of additives like cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and Ethyl vanillin (EV) on zinc electrodeposition from acid sulfate bath was systematically investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and voltammetric techniques. The result shows the existence of interaction between CTAB and EV. They exhibited synergistic effect to produce bright nanocrystalline zinc coating on steel surface. The combined effects of these two compounds on deposition overpotential, hydrogen evolution, zinc ion diffusion, and surface coverage were discussed. The morphological and orientational changes occurred in electrodeposit were presented. Also the nucleation mechanism exhibited by zinc during electrodeposition in the presence of additive was examined.

A comprehensive manually curated reaction map of RANKL/RANK-signaling pathway

Abstract: Receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) is a member of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily that plays a key role in the regulation of differentiation, activation and survival of osteoclasts and also in tumor cell migration and bone metastasis. Osteoclast activation induced by RANKL regulates hematopoietic stem cell mobilization as part of homeostasis and host defense mechanisms thereby linking regulation of hematopoiesis with bone remodeling. Binding of RANKL to its receptor, Receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B (RANK) activates molecules such as NF-kappa B, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK), nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) and phosphatidyl 3-kinase (PI3K). Although the molecular and cellular roles of these molecules have been reported previously, a systematic cataloging of the molecular events induced by RANKL/RANK interaction has not been attempted. Here, we present a comprehensive reaction map of the RANKL/RANK-signaling pathway based on an extensive manual curation of the published literature. We hope that the curated RANKL/RANK-signaling pathway model would enable new biomedical discoveries, which can provide novel insights into disease processes and development of novel therapeutic interventions. Database URL: http://www.netpath.org/pathways?path_id=NetPath_21

Synthesis and characterization of organomodified Na-MMT using cation and anion surfactants

Abstract: The Sodium Montmorillonite (Na-MMT) is not susceptible to polymer due to its organophilic character and low basal spacing The primary objective of this study was to improve Na-MMT platelets separation by organically modifying it with cation and anion exchanges using Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) respectively Basal spacing, presence of functional groups, Zetapotential with particle size analysis and thermal stability of the Organomodified Na-MMT (OMMT) were characterized using XRD, FTIR, zeta-potential analyzer and TGA respectively The basal spacing of CTAB modified OMMTincreased to 195 A from 110 A which corresponds to the basal spacing of Na-MMT The SDS modified OMMT did not show any increase in the basal spacing FTIR spectra of CTAB modified Na-MMT illustrated the attachment of CTAB functional groups to Na-MMT, while the same was absent in the case of SDS modified Na-MMT The zeta-potential of Na-MMT shifted from −2488 mV to 1566 mV in the case of CTAB modified Na-MMT and 1249 mV for SDS modified Na-MMT, indicating a greater surface potential of the modified nanoclay The TGA showed greater weight loss for CTAB modified Na-MMT than that for Na-MMT, indicating the effective Na+ ion exchange with alkyl amines

Phytochemical screening and aphrodisiac activity of asparagus racemosus

Abstract: The plant Asparagus racemosus is widely distributed in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions of India. Based on preliminary reports, there is a lot of interest in using the roots of this plant for treating sexual disorders. In this study, the hydro-alcoholic and aqueous extracts of the roots of Asparagus racemosus were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening which showed the presence of saponins, carbohydrates, glycosides and mucilages. The total extracts were tested for their aphrodisiac activity in experimental rats. The hydro-alcoholic extract of Asparagus racemosus root at higher concentration (400 mg/kg body weight) showed significant aphrodisiac activity on male wistar albino rats as evidenced by an increase in number of mounts and mating performance. On the other hand, hydro-alcoholic extract at lower dose (200 mg/kg. body weight) and aqueous extract (400 mg/kg body weight) showed moderate aphrodisiac property. Thus, in experimental rats, the results of the present study suggest that the extracts of Asparagus racemosus exert significant aphrodisiac activity. Further, detailed studies are needed to know whether in-vivo administration of the extracts is beneficial for patients suffering from sexual disorders.