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Background: Prolactin inducible protein (PIP) is a ~17 kDa protein, which is known to play vital roles in immunoregulation, fertility, antimicrobial activity, apoptosis and tumour progression.Objectives: This study reports quantification of PIP concentration in human seminal plasma (SP) samples.Methodology: PIP was purified by immunoprecipitation and its concentration in human SP samples was quantified by ELISA method.Results: Average concentration of PIP in normozoospermia, oligozoospermia and azoospermia was 290.3 ± 71.5 µg/mL, 306.4 ± 71.2 µg/mL and 60.5 ± 23.6 µg/mL respectively.Conclusion: There was no significant variation in PIP levels in normozoospermia and oligozoospermia while its expression was down-regulated in azoospermia, indicating that PIP may be a plausible marker of azoospermia.

The clinical fertility tests, available in the market, fail to define the exact cause of male infertility in almost half of the cases and point toward a crucial need of developing better ways of infertility investigations. The protein biomarkers may help us toward better understanding of unknown cases of male infertility that, in turn, can guide us to find better therapeutic solutions. Many clinical attempts have been made to identify biomarkers of male infertility in sperm proteome but only few studies have targeted seminal plasma. Human seminal plasma is a rich source of proteins that are essentially required for development of sperm and successful fertilization. This viewpoint article highlights the importance of human seminal plasma proteome in reproductive physiology and suggests that differential proteomics integrated with functional analysis may help us in searching potential biomarkers of male infertility.

Glycoproteins have immense clinical importance and comparative glycoproteomics has become a powerful tool for biomarker discovery and disease diagnosis. Seminal plasma glycoproteins participate in fertility related processes including sperm-egg recognition, modulation of capacitation and acrosome reaction inhibition. Affinity chromatography using broad specificity lectin such as Con A is widely applied for glycoproteins enrichment. More notably, Con A-interacting fraction of human seminal plasma has decapacitating activity which makes this fraction critically important. In our previous study, we isolated Con A-interacting glycoproteins from human seminal plasma and subsequently identified them by mass spectrometry. Here, we report the computational analysis of these proteins using bioinformatics tools. The analysis includes: prediction of glycosylation sites using sequence information (NetNGlyc 1.0), functional annotations to cluster these proteins into various functional groups (InterProScan and Blast2GO) and identification of protein interaction networks (STRING database). The results indicate that these proteins are involved in various biological processes including transport, morphogenesis, metabolic processes, cell differentiation and homeostasis. The clusters illustrate two major molecular functions - hydrolase activity (6) and protein (4)/carbohydrate (1)/lipid binding (1). The large interactomes of proteins point towards their versatile roles in wide range of biological processes.

Human seminal plasma contains a large array of proteins of clinical importance which are essentially needed to maintain the reproductive physiology of spermatozoa and for successful fertilization. Thus, isolation and identification of seminal plasma proteins is of paramount significance for their biophysical characterization and functional analysis in reproductive physiological processes. In this study, we have isolated Concanavalin-A binding glycoproteins from human seminal plasma and subsequently identified them by MALDI-TOF/MS analysis. The major proteins, as identified in this study, are Aminopeptidase N, lactoferrin, prostatic acid phosphatase, zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein, prostate specific antigen, progestagen-associated endometrial protein, Izumo sperm-egg fusion protein and prolactin inducible protein. This paper also reports preliminary studies to identify altered expression of these proteins in oligospermia and azoospermia in comparison to normospermia. In oligospermia, five proteins were found to be downregulated while in azoospermia, four proteins were downregulated and two proteins were upregulated. Thus, this study is of immense biomedical interest towards identification of potential male infertility marker proteins in seminal plasma.

A newly isolated microbial strain of thermophilic genus Geobacillus has been described with emphasis on polyphasic characterization and its application for degradation of hydrogen peroxide. The validation of this thermophilic strain of genus Geobacillus designated as BSS-7 has been demonstrated by polyphasic taxonomy approaches through its morphological, biochemical, fatty acid methyl ester profile and 16S rDNA sequencing. This thermophilic species of Geobacillus exhibited growth at broad pH and temperature ranges coupled with production of extraordinarily high quantities of intracellular catalase, the latter of which as yet not been reported in any member of this genus. The isolated thermophilic bacterial culture BSS-7 exhibited resistance against a variety of organic solvents. The immobilized whole cells of the bacterium successfully demonstrated the degradation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in a packed bed reactor. This strain has potential application in various analytical and diagnostic methods in the form of biosensors and biomarkers in addition to applications in the textile, paper, food and pharmaceutical industries.

Background Catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) is one of the important industrial enzyme employed in diagnostic and analytical methods in the form of biomarkers and biosensors in addition to their enormous applications in textile, paper, food and pharmaceutical sectors. The present study demonstrates the utility of a newly isolated and adapted strain of genus Geobacillus possessing unique combination of several industrially important extremophilic properties for the hyper production of catalase. The bacterium can grow over a wide range of pH (3–12) and temperature (10–90 °C) with extraordinary capability to produce catalase. Results A novel extremophilic strain belonging to genus Geobacillus was exploited for the production of catalase by tailoring its nutritional requirements and process variables. One variable at a time traditional approach followed by computational designing was applied to customize the fermentation process. A simple fermentation media containing only three components namely sucrose (0.55 %, w/v), yeast extract (1.0 %, w/v) and BaCl2 (0.08 %, w/v) was designed for the hyperproduction of catalase. A controlled and optimum air supply caused a tremendous increase in the enzyme production on moving the bioprocess from the flask to bioreactor level. The present paper reports high quantum of catalase production (105,000 IU/mg of cells) in a short fermentation time of 12 h. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report in the literature that matches the performance of the developed protocol for the catalase production. This is the first serious study covering intracellular catalase production from thermophilic genus Geobacillus. Conclusions An increase in intracellular catalase production by 214.72 % was achieved in the optimized medium when transferred from the shake flask to the fermenter level. The extraordinary high production of catalase from Geobacillus sp. BSS-7 makes the isolated strain a prospective candidate for bulk catalase production on an industrial scale.

Background: It is well established that inflammation plays a key role the progression of atherosclerosis and that serum high sensitivity c-reactive protein (hsCRP), may be a good marker of the degree of underlying vascular inflammation. Thus hsCRP has been recognized as a predictor of cardiovascular risk and lipid lowering drugs, such as statins, which also result in a reduction of hsCRP may be more likely to reduce cardiovascular events. Gemcabene is an inhibitor of hepatic cholesterol, triglyceride, and apoC-III synthesis resulting in decreased assembly of VLDL and enhances the systemic clearance of VLDL and its subsequently production of remodeled lipoproteins including LDL. Study Design and Results: In an 8-week double blind randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, efficacy and safety Phase 2 study, gemcabene 300, 600 and 900 mg/day administered as monotherapy or in combination with atorvastatin 10, 20 and 80 mg/day resulted in a significant and dose dependent reduction of LDL-C (Study 4141001). A secondary objective of this study was to evaluate the modulation of hsCRP by gemcabene. Of 277 patients randomized, 250 (90%) completed the study. Baseline mean LDL-C was 174.7mg/dL, and median hsCRP = 2.5 mg/L. The median % reduction in hsCRP with Gemcabene 300, 600 and 900 mg monotherapy was 25.8%, 41.5% and 35.3% respectively compared with 9.4% for placebo. The rank-transformed data showed significant difference favoring gemcabene over placebo in the 600 and 900 mg groups (p=0.0070 and p =0.0018, respectively). Co-administration of 300, 600, and 900 mg gemcabene with atorvastatin aggregated over the dose range showed decreases in hsCRP beyond atorvastatin monotherapy (which ranged from 27-41%) by an additional 16% (p=0.0237), 23% (p=0.0017) and 28% (p=0.0001), respectively. Conclusions: Gemcabene significantly lowered hsCRP alone and on top of statins in hypercholesterolemic patients.

Angular Correlation and Lifetime Measurements in 154-Gd

Cellulose, a major constituent of plant cell wall, is the most abundant biological polymer on earth. The use of various cellulolytic microorganisms for the bioconversion of cellulose into value added products has attracted a worldwide attention. Hence the present work was aimed to isolate new cellulase producing microorganisms and further to investigate the effect of nutritional and process parameters on cellulase production from selected isolated culture. Out of 20 cellulase producing bacterial strains isolated during the study, Y3 isolate was found to be best for the production of cellulase enzyme. This isolate was then characterized for its morphological and biochemical characters and identified as Bacillus sp. Y3. The effect of different parameters like carbon sources, nitrogen sources, temperature, pH, inoculum concentration and incubation time was monitored with selected strain for cellulase production. The maximum FPase and CMCase activity of Bacillus sp. Y3 was 6.84 IU/mL and 7.82 IU/ mL, respectively, when the basal media of pH 7 containing CMC (1%, w/v) and peptone (1%, w/v) was inoculated with 2% (v/v) inoculum and incubated at 37°C for 96 hours at 120 rpm. The FPase (6.84 IU/mL) and CMCase activity (7.82 IU/mL) obtained after optimization was much higher than FPase (1.97 IU/mL) and CMCase activity (2.48 IU/ mL) before optimization.

Catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) is a metalloenzyme belonging to the class of oxidoreductases which catalyze the degradation of hydrogen peroxide into dioxygen and water. Catalase, an important enzyme in the world market has wide range of industrial applications. In one of the important application, it is used to degrade unused hydrogen peroxide from wastewater released after bleaching operations in the textile industry. The use of catalase enzyme in soluble form is not feasible because of many economical and technical limitations. Therefore, the use of immobilized whole cells of bacterium having intracellular catalase activity is advantageous due to their repeated use, but it suffers from a drawback of instability and leakage of cells after some time. In the present study, sodium alginate beads used to immobilize Bacillus sp. TE-5 cells was modified to increase their stability and tested for the degradation of H2O2 in batch and continuous mode. The effect of other critical factors like sodium alginate concentration, bacterial cell load, glutaraldehyde concentration and treatment time for hardening beads was investigated to test their suitability for long term repeated operations. Maximum catalase activity (15900 IU/g of cells) was achieved by using modified sodium alginate beads cross linked with glutaraldehyde (0.10%, w/v) with CaCl2 treatment time of 18 hr. The reusability of beads in a batch mode was studied to test their potential for continuous operations and then these immobilized cells were further used in a packed bed reactor for the degradation of H2O2 in continuous mode. These results provide an indication that this method of gel entrapment followed by cross-linking could be an effective, stable and better alternative for degradation of H2O2 in continuous system.

Forces opening the relaxed human jaw are resisted by intrinsic restraints, including passive tensions in the jaw-closing muscles. These muscle tensions have been modelled as viscoelastic elements, and static measurements suggest their elastic portions contribute approximately a total of 5 N resistance at wide gape. As the viscous damping properties of muscles which affect the jaw's dynamic behaviour are unknown, we measured the jaw opening force required to reach maximum gape during fast and slow opening in six relaxed subjects. These data were then incorporated in a dynamic mathematical jaw model to determine the damping properties of the masticatory system. During the 3 and 8 s opening trials, forces increased with gape (6.7 +/- 3.3 and 3.9 +/- 2.3 N, respectively, at 50% gape) and reached their maxima at wide gape (19.9 +/- 4.5 and 13.2 +/- 4.4 N, respectively). The muscle damping constant needed by the model to emulate these results was 150 Nsm(-1), approximately 25% lower than the calculated critical damping constant. This study suggests low forces are required to open the jaw in relaxed humans, and that jaw viscosity, not elasticity, provides the major resistance to motion.

Past attempts at developing a system able to quantify the sound reflectivity of a surface have been hindered by the shear difficulty of repeatability and reproducibility. Where and why these challenges arise, and how they can be overcome is discussed. Sound fields resulting from direct sound energy projected at various incident angles toward materials and assemblies are compared as well as how laboratory setups and specimen changeovers can affect outcomes. Can precision be increased and bias avoided? A proposed system based on software driven microprocessors and robotic precision is very fast with a high degree of precision performing at less than 0.1 mm error over 50 repeated runs. The performance in terms of repeatability and reproducibility are approximately equivalent to today's ink jet printers. As a recognized acoustic metric, the Sound Reflectivity Index could provide vital data that would accompany all products. For acousticians, a higher order of accuracy would be possible in designs involving en...

A review of the literature today concerning noise in hospitals, both public and peer review, points to a continual increase in noise complaints from medical staff and patients in hospitals. One would expect that things would be getting better by now, but this is not the case. Noise surveys that we have recently conducted suggest that though unsatisfactory conditions are widespread, a list of simple, cost effective solutions has proven to be effective. This paper presents an array of actual projects detailing the development of remedies for noise annoyance in hospitals in an effort to increase the comfort and performance of medical staff and patients.

Catalase, an oxidoreductase enzyme, works as a detoxification system inside living cells against reactive oxygen species formed as a by-product of different metabolic reactions. The enzyme is found in a wide range of aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Catalase has also been employed in various analytical and diagnostic methods in the form of biosensors and biomarkers in addition to its other applications in textile, paper, food and pharmaceutical industries. New applications for catalases are constantly emerging thanks to their high turnover rate, distinct evolutionary origin, relatively simple and well-defined reaction mechanisms. The following review provides comprehensive information on isolation, production and purification of catalases with different techniques from various microbial sources along with their types, structure, mechanism of action and applications.

Various pyridylseleniums and their hydrochloride salts have been synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial activities. SEM, TEM and enzyme profiling techniques have been used to investigate the mode of action of these compounds as antibiotics. Single crystal X-ray study of bis(3-bromo-2-pyridyl) diselenide (6b) has also been reported. The molecule 6b displays pi center dot center dot center dot pi stacking and pi center dot center dot center dot Br secondary interactions leading to a supramolecular self-assembly. A search on Cambridge Structural Database was undertaken to identify the pi center dot center dot center dot pi stacking interactions in various other bis(2-pyridyl) diselenides. (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

A fully integrated digital read/write channel for magnetic recording applications is described. The device employs partial response maximum likelihood (PRML) sequence detection when reading data to enhance bit error rate vs. signal-to-noise ratio performance. The sequence detector is designed to accept input pulses exhibiting four non-zero samples, sampling occurring once per channel bit time. Channel optimization is facilitated through the inclusion of sixty-two 8-bit registers. The device is fabricated in a 0.8 micron double-metal CMOS process and supports data rates as high as 64 Mbits/sec. >

Male factors account for 40% of infertility cases and most are caused by low sperm count, poor sperm quality or both. Defects in sperm are directly linked to reproductive malfunctions, and these defects may be caused by genetic mutations, environmental factors and exposure to free radicals, for example. Almost half of the male infertility cases have no known cause, indicating the lack of sensitive tests for the diagnosis of infertility. Proteomics has evolved as a major research field in biology and medicine, to identify and validate potent targets, at the molecular level, for development of more sensitive diagnostic tools. The recent advances in this field focus on the identification of differentially expressed proteins and analyzing their functional aspects for better understanding of the biological pathways. It not only provides a platform to discover biomarkers of infertility, but may also help in the design of effective male contraceptives. This article discusses various insights of proteomics for exploring biomarkers of male infertility in sperm. It also discusses the enhanced understanding of reproductive physiology offered by data produced by proteomic studies of spermatozoa.

Heparin binds a wide range of proteins of different structure as well as functions and play crucial roles in a number of biological processes. Human seminal plasma consists of many heparin binding proteins (HBPs). HBPs play crucial role in modulation of capacitation through heparin and have been correlated with fertility in many species. Very little scientific information is available about the binding modes of heparin and HBPs. There is not any well defined binding space, characterized by some consensus sequence over protein except that binding region always do consist of basic residues. Thus, we have to study each heparin-HBPs complex individually to gather information about their interactions. Here, we are reporting the results of docking studies to predict the heparin binding sites of three human seminal fluid HBPs (human serum albumin, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and DNA topoisomerase 1) using program Dock6. Our docking results show that Arg117, Arg186, Lys519 of human serum albumin, Lys531, Tyr540, Glu549, Tyr552, Tyr591, Lys596 of matrix metalloproteinase and Lys439, Lys443, Arg488, Thr585, Lys587, Thr591 of DNA topoisomerase1 make hydrogen bond contacts with heparin. The positively charged residues Arginine and Lysine play important role in their interactions. Our study may add up to better understanding of protein-heparin binding modes. Keywords: Heparin binding proteins, Molecular docking, Dock6, Protein structure http://www.ijbst.org/Home/papers-published/ijbst-2010-volume-3-issue-1

Classrooms have been shown to be prone to elevated occupied noise levels that reduce speech comprehension and inhibit learning. This presentation discusses a current study that includes three parts: 1) the characterization of masking invoked by noise commonly found in todays classrooms, 2) the formulation of a metric that intends to associate masking risk to noise features and 3) the attempt to quantify any increase in speech comprehension resulting from interior acoustic designs that aspire to reduce noise in occupied classrooms. Calibrated recordings made during classroom activities in 9 schools are post processed to allow noise characteristics to be rated based on attributes related to the noise source or type, duration, rate of recurrence, spectra, level, envelope, peak energy. Binaural and monaural recordings are compared. Speech to noise ratios (S/N) are statistically weighted over various time frames and activities in an attempt to refine reproducibility among different activities. All recordings were made in occupied rooms both before and after the various treatments were integrated. The results suggest that there are misconceptions in the literature in terms of todays classroom design trends and a few novel principles emerged as being highly effective.

The paper will cover an interface circuit capable of driving 25 ohm lines, that contains a pulse-shaping driver and a PLL for clock and data recovery. The circuit has been fabricated in 3μm CMOS.

A monolithic 12-bit, 667-ns, two-step flash analog-to-digital converter has been implemented in standard 3- mu m CMOS technology. A 12-bit accurate reference bank incorporating a switched-capacitor integrator and a bank of 66 sample-and-hold amplifiers is discussed. Self-calibration techniques are used to correct for the converter's gain and offset errors. >

The natural resources of energy are being depleted exhaustively and uneconomically in a developing country like ours. In order to combat with such a problem, one needs conservation of energy as well as harnessing of natural resources of energy. India being a developing country, it needs to reorient its different methods of use of energy so that it can be used effectively as well as economically. Non conventional energy source like biogas is becoming very much useful clean, efficient, economical and pollution free source of energy. Setting up a biogas plant is the best way to handle the waste. This stabilizes the waste properly and makes it free from odours. Also, plenty of biogas is available for cooking and power generation for running tubewells and other appliances. Digested organic manure is also available for the crops. Biogas is not only an excellent alternative source of energy, but also a step towards stopping global warming.

This device increases the inter-symbol interference (ISI) manageable in a magnetic-media read channel. It re-configures analog and digital circuits by registers to optimize read and write channels. The 51 mm/sup 2/ device is fabricated in a standard 0.8 /spl mu/m single-poly double-metal CMOS process, and contains 128 k transistors. No external components are required for operation other than standard decoupling capacitors. Most of the circuits are active while reading data from the media (data mode), and techniques such as the use of differential analog structures, dedicated supply routes and substrate connections, and shields are employed to control digital interference. >

A Direct Access Arrangement (DAA) provides a customer interface to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). In addition to DC and AC termination and ring detect functions, the DAA must also provide high voltage isolation (>1500 V) between the phone network and system side devices while passing control information and a high integrity audio signal. This solution uses a capacitive isolation technique with a pair of 5 V 0.5 mm triple-metal CMOS devices in 16-pin SOIC packages that provides a digital communication link between the telephone line circuitry (isolated side) and the system side of the barrier. A few low-cost, high-voltage discrete components are added to interface the isolated-side device to the high-voltage telephone network.

While a community's prevailing infant mortality rate is a fairly reliable indicator of overall health status, such data are difficult to obtain on a regular basis. Maternal and neonatal mortality rates may therefore instead be used. It has been observed that deaths which occur during the prenatal or neonatal period are due to factors during pregnancy, child birth, and soon after that, while deaths which occur during the postneonatal period or later are largely due to environmental factors. The levels of infant and early child mortality have likely declined due to a variety of factors, including improvements in health care services, standards of living, and literacy levels, as well as the more broad dissemination of relevant information through the mass media. The major factors which have led to positive changes in the health sector are described. However, while parents today can reasonably believe that their young children will have a better chance of survival than they would have had they been born years before, considerable morbidity remains a concern for both mothers and children. Efforts must be made to ensure child survival as well as the best possible physical and mental development of children. Ensuring maternal health is a priority objective, for a weak mother will give birth to a weak child. To that end, the provision of comprehensive antenatal and postnatal care and other measures are suggested. The rehabilitation of physically and/or mentally handicapped children is also discussed.

Background Aberrant BCL2 control mechanisms are a defining characteristic of a variety of cancers including follicular lymphoma (FL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). PNT2258 is a 24-base, single-stranded, chemically unmodified phosphodiester DNA oligonucleotide encapsulated in a specialized liposome (SMARTICLES ® ) that has demonstrated antitumor activity against human cell lines and xenograft models that include NHL, prostate cancer and melanoma. The oligonucleotide sequence is designed to hybridize with genomic sequences that reside within 5'-untranscribed regulatory regions of the BCL2 gene to block transcription of BCL2 through a mechanism called DNA interference (DNAi). In a previously conducted phase I study, PNT2258 was safe and well tolerated at doses from 1 through 150 mg/m2 and PNT2258 showed evidence of BCL2-targeted effects on a variety of biomarkers. Methods This study is a multi-center, single-agent, pilot Phase II investigation of PNT2258 administered at a dose of 120 mg/m2 as a 3-hour IV infusion on days 1-5 of a 21-day cycle. Objectives included characterization of anti-tumor activity and safety data in patients (pts) with relapsed or refractory lymphoma undergoing treatment with PNT2258 for six cycles or until progressive disease or unacceptable toxicity. Adult pts with measureable disease that was FDG-PET positive at baseline were eligible. Additional criteria included ECOG PS ≤2, adequate bone marrow, renal and hepatic function, and prior treatment that included rituximab and cytotoxic chemotherapy. Standard CTCAE and Cheson criteria were used for evaluation. Patients were scanned with CT/PET at baseline, after 2 cycles and at study end. Details are at [ClinicalTrials.gov][1] under study number [NCT01733238][2]. Results To date, 10 pts (median age, 61 [range 40 - 74]) have been treated with PNT2258. Median number of prior therapies was 4 (2 - 8) and 100% of pts had baseline adenopathy >5 cm with the majority >10 cm. Antitumor activity was observed in 4 of 4 patients with FL, including 1 complete response, 1 partial response (with 80% reduction in tumor size from 20 cm to 4 cm), and 2 patients with stable disease (SD); both with tumor shrinkage at interim (i.e., end-of-cycle 2) scan. One patient each with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and bulky chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has exhibited SD at interim scan. Two pts exhibited progressive disease (1 each MCL and CLL). Seven of ten pts continue treatment and updated results will be presented. Toxicity occurring in ≥2 pts included grade 1 chills (n=2), diarrhea (n=2), grade 2 nausea (n=3), tumor pain (n=2) and hypotension (n=2). The single grade 3 toxicity occurring in ≥2 pts was nausea (n=2) and no grade 4 toxicity was noted. Additionally, tumor lysis syndrome has not been observed. Conclusions PNT2258 is a first-in-class DNAi consisting of a native, single-stranded, chemically unmodified DNA oligonucleotide delivered to a nuclear genomic target via a protective lipid nanoparticle, and the first to target the regulatory upstream region of the BCL2 gene. PNT2258 is well tolerated with an acceptable safety profile and shows significant single agent anti-tumor activity in pts with heavily treated relapsed NHL, particularly in pts with FL. Additional studies are planned. Disclosures: Gaylor: ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc.: Employment. Woolliscroft: ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc.: Employment. Rodrigueza: ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Sooch: ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Messmann: ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc.: Employment. Al-Katib: ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding. [1]: http://ClinicalTrials.gov [2]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT01733238&atom=%2Fbloodjournal%2F122%2F21%2F88.atom

2586 Background: PNT2258 contains PNT100, a DNA interference (DNAi) oligonucleotide encapsulated in a lipid nanoparticle. PNT2258 targets the BCL2 gene and is undergoing evaluation in patients with...