Optical, emission, and excitation dynamics of Eu3+ -doped bismuth-based phosphate glass for visible display laser applications.

Eu3+ -doped-bismuth-based phosphate glasses with chemical equation (60 - x)P2 O5 -20Bi2 O3 -10Na2 CO3 -10SrF2 -xEu2 O3 (PBNSEu), (where x = 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2 mol%) were fabricated using the melt-quenching method. Obtain X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were used to characterize the structure of the prepared PBNSEu glass. The J-O (Judd-Ofelt) intensity parameters (Ω2 , Ω4 ) were estimated using photoluminescence emission spectra. When excited with a xenon lamp at λexc  = 394 nm, the most intense red-emission transition occurred at ~612 nm (5 D0 →7 F2 ). J-O intensity parameters were used to calculate radiative properties, whereas the radiative branching ratio (ßR ), radiative transition probability (AR ), radiative lifetime (τR ), and total radiative transition rate (Aτ ) were calculated for the transitions 5 D0 →7 FJ (where J = 0-4) and were obtained in the emission spectra for europium ion-doped in the current glass. Using the CIE1931 chromaticity coordinates axes, the colours of various concentrations of Eu3+ ion-doped PBNS glass were evaluated using the emission spectra. Temperature-dependent luminescence spectra were recorded for the optimized PBNSEu20 glass to calculate the activation energy. These results strongly suggested red components in w-LEDs and visible display laser applications.

Antiproliferative, apoptosis-inducing activity and molecular docking studies of sydnones compounds.

Objective: To evaluate the antiproliferative and apoptosis inducing activity of different sydnones on cancer cell lines and their interaction with cancer proteins by molecular docking studies. Material and Methods: Antiproliferative activity was carried out by MTT assay and apoptosis inducing activity was performed by DAPI and Annexin V and propidium iodide staining. Molecular docking studies were performed using AutoDock Tools 1.5.6. Pharmacokinetics properties like ADME and toxicity were analysed by pkCSM web server. Result: In this study, four new sydnone compounds 3-(4-nonylbiphenyl-4'-yl) sydnone (MC-182), 3-(4-propylbiphenyl-4'-yl) sydnone (MC-454), 3-(4-hexylbiphenyl-4'-yl) sydnone (MC-433), and 3-(4-methylbiphenyl-4'-yl) sydnone (MC-431) were screened for antiproliferative and apoptotic effect against BT-474 (human breast cancer), HeLa (human cervical cancer) and Jurkat (human myeloid leukemia) Mostly, all the sydnone compounds exhibited decent antiproliferative effectiveness, but compound MC-431, MC-433, and MC-454 showed more antiproliferative activity (IC50 1.71, 10.09 and 2.87 µM against BT-474, Hela and Jurkat cell line, respectively). The changes of morphological characteristics of cancer cells determined by staining techniques indicate the apoptotic cell death. The molecular docking and interaction studies were carried out between sydnones with cancer proteins (epidermal growth factor domain receptor tyrosine kinase [EGF-TK], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α] and Caspase3. Among all four sydnone molecules, two compounds MC-454 and MC-431 showed good binding energy with targeted proteins. Drug-like property was predicted by ADME toxicity study. Conclusion: The results indicate sydnone compounds were found to exhibit anticancer activity by inducing apoptosis. The molecular docking study of sydnones with cancer proteins showed a decent interaction affinity. The results of absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity studies by the Insilco approach also proved that MC-454 sydnone showed better In-Vivo administration. Thus, the current research work indicates that these sydnone compounds would be prospective in developing anticancer medicines.

Characterization of rhizobia isolated from leguminous plants and their impact on the growth of ICCV 2 variety of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Six rhizobia-like-bacterial strains in total, secluded from the root and stem nodules of various leguminous plants were characterized for growth promoting ability on ICCV 2 variety of chickpea. Bacterial strains showed production of IAA, NH3, siderophore, HCN, ACC deaminase, hydrolytic enzyme production such as chitinase, amylase, protease, lipase, ß-1, 3-glucanase and solubilization of nutrients such as phosphate, zinc and potassium. However the performance of PGP traits characterized in-vitro varied among the six bacterial strains. The sequences of 16S rRNA gene of bacterial strains IHSR, IHRG, IHAA, IHGN-3, IHCP-1 and IHCP-2 showed maximum identity with Rhizobium sp., Rhizobium tropici, Rhizobium multihospitium, Mesorhizobium sp., Burkholderia cepacia and Rhizobium pusense. In plate culture conditions the bacterial strains changed the colour of media (NFB) from green to blue and showed amplification of nifH gene by PCR, and also enhanced nodule formation in chickpea under greenhouse conditions, which explains their nitrogen fixing ability. Scanning electron microscopy studies of chickpea roots showed colonization by all the six bacterial strains in solo and by consortium (IHRG + IHGN-3). Under greenhouse conditions, chickpea plants inoculated with different strains showed improvement in plant height, number of branches, total chlorophyll, nodule number, nodule weight, shoot weight, root weight, root volume and root surface area at 30 and 45 days after sowing (DAS) over the uninoculated control plants. It was also observed at the crop maturity stage all the bacterial strains inoculated separately enhanced pod number, seed number and total NPK compared to uninoculated control plants. This study suggests that bacteria associated with root and stem nodules can be a promising resource to enhance nodulation, PGP and crop yields in chickpea.

Twenty-Four-Hour Esophageal pH Measurement in Mechanically Ventilated Children: A Prospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux in mechanically ventilated children using 24-hour esophageal pH-metry and its role as a risk factor for ventilator-associated pneumonia. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: PICU of a tertiary care hospital from North India. PATIENTS: Mechanically ventilated children 1-15 years old in PICU from July 2015 to June 2017, excluding those receiving acid suppressants, known cases of gastroesophageal reflux disease, having upper gastrointestinal bleed. INTERVENTION: Demographic details, baseline investigations, diagnosis, treatment details, and Pediatric Risk of Mortality III score were recorded at enrollment. Gastroesophageal reflux was evaluated using 24-hour esophageal pH-metry. Children were followed up for 7 days or 48 hours after extubation for development of ventilator-associated pneumonia using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Pathologic acidic gastroesophageal reflux was defined as fall in esophageal pH less than 4 for more than 4% of total time, whereas pathologic alkaline gastroesophageal reflux as rise in esophageal pH greater than 7 for more than 17% of total time. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sixty-one children (median [interquartile range], age 73 mo [30-132 mo]; 44 boys [72%]) were enrolled. Median Pediatric Risk of Mortality III score was 10.0 (3-16). Median duration of ventilation was 6 days (3-9 d). Pathologic gastroesophageal reflux (acidic or alkaline) was present in 47 children (77%). Twelve children (19.7%) met criteria for pathologic acidic gastroesophageal reflux, whereas 44 children (72.1%) had pathologic alkaline gastroesophageal reflux; nine children (14.7%) had both pathologic acidic and alkaline gastroesophageal reflux. Of the enrolled children, 17 (27.9 %) developed ventilator-associated pneumonia. No patient had both pathologic acidic gastroesophageal reflux and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Of 17 children who developed ventilator-associated pneumonia, 12 (70.5%) had pathologic alkaline gastroesophageal reflux as compared to 32 children (72.7%) among the 44 children who did not develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (p = 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: The current study shows high incidence of gastroesophageal reflux on 24-hour esophageal pH-metry in mechanically ventilated children with medical diagnoses. The significance of this finding and its impact on ventilator-associated pneumonia and other ventilator-associated events need to be examined in larger studies.

Multifarious Indigenous Diazotrophic Rhizobacteria of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Rhizosphere and Their Effect on Plant Growth Promotion.

A diverse group of rhizobacteria persists in the rhizospheric soil, on the surface of roots, or in association with rice plants. These bacteria colonize plant root systems, enhance plant growth and crop yield. Indigenous rhizobacteria are known to promote soil health, grain production quality and serve as sustainable bioinoculant. The present study was aimed to isolate, identify and characterize indigenous plant growth promoting (PGP) diazotrophic bacteria associated with the rhizosphere of rice fields from different areas of Jammu and Kashmir, India. A total of 15 bacteria were isolated and evaluated for various PGP traits, antagonistic activity against phytopathogens, production of hydrolytic enzymes and biofilm formation under in-vitro conditions. The majority of the isolated bacteria were Gram-negative. Out of 15 bacterial isolates, nine isolates produced IAA (12.24 ± 2.86 to 250.3 ± 1.15 µg/ml), 6 isolates exhibited phosphate solubilization activity (36.69 ± 1.63 to 312.4 ± 1.15 µg/ml), 7 isolates exhibited rock phosphate solubilization while 5 isolates solubilized zinc (10-18 mm), 7 isolates showed siderophore production, 8 isolates exhibited HCN production, 6 isolates exhibited aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase activity, 13 isolates exhibited cellulase activity, nine isolates exhibited amylase and lipase activity and six isolates exhibited chitinase activity. In addition, 5 isolates showed amplification with the nifH gene and showed a significant amount of nitrogenase activity in a range of 0.127-4.39 µmol C2H4/mg protein/h. Five isolates viz., IHK-1, IHK-3, IHK-13, IHK-15 and IHK-25 exhibited most PGP attributes and successfully limited the mycelial growth of Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum in-vitro. All the five bacterial isolates were identified based on morphological, biochemical and 16S rDNA gene sequencing study, as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Enterobacter sp., Bacillus sp., Ochrobactrum haematophilum and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Rice plants developed from seeds inoculated with these PGP strains individually had considerably higher germination percentage, seed vigor index and total dry biomass when compared to control. These findings strongly imply that the PGP diazotrophic bacteria identified in this work could be employed as plant growth stimulators in rice.

Data for the evaluation of groundwater quality using water quality index and regression analysis in parts of Nalgonda district, Telangana, Southern India.

The main focus of this study is to evaluate the groundwater quality through drinking water quality index and regression analysis in semi-arid region and the results are examined with reference to the drinking water quality standards laid down by WHO. Water quality index (WQI) was determined from fourteen physicochemical parameters like pH, EC, TDS, total hardness, total alkalinity, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, bromide, nitrate, sulphate and fluoride. The drinking water quality index values range from 32.8 - 442.4, indicating three categories i.e. poor, very poor and unfit, which are inappropriate for drinking. Regarding correlation analysis results, EC, TDS, TH, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Cl- shows high correlation. Most of the parameters are more or less correlated with each other, regression relations have the same correlation coefficients and pH, Na+, EC, TDS, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, SO4 2-, CO3 2-, TH were significantly positively correlated (R>0.9), indicate the increase in the pollution load.

Ameloblastoma arising from a dentigerous cyst-a case report.

We are reporting a case of an ameloblastoma which arose in the wall of a dentigerous cyst. The clinical, radiographic and histological characteristics were similar to those of dentigerous cysts, as were seen on doing an incisional biopsy. Enucleation was done intraorally under local anaesthesia. Post-operative excisional biopsy revealed strands and cords arising from the cystic lining, which are suggestive of ameloblastic changes.