<p>Shiv Nadar University is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, research-focused, and student-centric University offering a full range of academic programs at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, the University comprises of academic wings, sophisticated labs, international standard sports facilities, amphitheaters, auditorium, conference rooms and smart classrooms. The University&rsquo;s goal is to become internationally recognized for the quality of its research and creative endeavors and their applicability to improving quality of life, generating new insights and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge creativity. Committed to excellence in teaching, research and service, the University aims to serve the higher education needs of India and the world beyond.</p>

Shiv Nadar University

(SoNS) School of Natural Sciences

Natural product-inspired libraries of molecules with diverse architectures have evolved as one of the most useful tools for discovering lead molecules for drug discovery. In comparison to conventional combinatorial libraries, these molecules have been inferred to perform better in phenotypic screening against complicated targets. Diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) is a forward directional strategy to access such multifaceted library of molecules. From a successful DOS campaign of a natural product-inspired library, recently a small molecule with spiroindoline motif was identified as a potent anti-breast cancer compound. Herein we report the subcellular studies performed for this molecule on breast cancer cells. Our investigation revealed that it repositions microtubule cytoskeleton and displaces AKAP9 located at the microtubule organization centre. DNA ladder assay and cell cycle experiments further established the molecule as an apoptotic agent. This work further substantiated the amalgamation of DOS-phenotypic screening-sub-cellular studies as a consolidated blueprint for the discovery of potential pharmaceutical drug candidates. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Chemistry

Life Sciences

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

A novel spiroindoline targets cell cycle and migration via modulation of microtubule cytoskeleton

Ionic liquids (ILs) are important for their antimicrobial activity and are found to be toxic to some microorganisms. To shed light on the mechanism of their activities, the interaction of an imidazolium-based IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrfluoroborate ([BMIM][BF4]) with E. coli bacteria and cell-membrane-mimicking lipid mono- and bilayers has been studied. The survival of the bacteria and corresponding growth inhibition are observed to be functions of the concentration of the IL. The IL alters the pressure-area isotherm of the monolayer formed at an air-water interface by the 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) lipid. The in-plane elasticity of the lipid layer is reduced as a consequence of the insertion of this IL. The X-ray reflectivity study from a polymer-supported lipid bilayer shows strong perturbation in the self-assembled structure of the bilayer due to the interaction. As a consequence, there is a considerable decrease in bilayer thickness and a corresponding increase in electron density. These results, however, depend on the chain configurations of the lipid molecules. © 2017 American Chemical Society.

World University root node

Physics

Langmuir

X-ray Reflectivity Study of the Interaction of an Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid with a Soft Supported Lipid Membrane

Substrate-cell interactions for a bioimplant are driven by substrate's surface characteristics. In addition, the performance of an implant and resistance to degradation are primarily governed by its surface properties. A bioimplant typically degrades by wear and corrosion in the physiological environment, resulting in metallosis. Surface engineering strategies for limiting degradation of implants and enhancing their performance may reduce or eliminate the need for implant removal surgeries and the associated cost. In the current study, we tailored the surface properties of stainless steel using submerged friction stir processing (FSP), a severe plastic deformation technique. FSP resulted in significant microstructural refinement from 22 μm grain size for the as-received alloy to 0.8 μm grain size for the processed sample with increase in hardness by nearly 1.5 times. The wear and corrosion behavior of the processed alloy was evaluated in simulated body fluid. The processed sample demonstrated remarkable improvement in both wear and corrosion resistance, which is explained by surface strengthening and formation of a highly stable passive layer. The methylthiazol tetrazolium assay demonstrated that the processed sample is better in supporting cell attachment, proliferation with minimal toxicity, and hemolysis. The athrombogenic characteristic of the as-received and processed samples was evaluated by fibrinogen adsorption and platelet adhesion via the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and lactate dehydrogenase assay, respectively. The processed sample showed less platelet and fibrinogen adhesion compared with the as-received alloy, signifying its high thromboresistance. The current study suggests friction stir processing to be a versatile toolbox for enhancing the performance and reliability of currently used bioimplant materials. © 2017 American Chemical Society.

History

(SoHSS) School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Mechanical Engineering

(SoE) School of Engineering

ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces

Friction Stir Processing of Stainless Steel for Ascertaining Its Superlative Performance in Bioimplant Applications

Adult neurogenesis is primarily directed by neural progenitor cells, which reside in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and subgranular zone (SGZ) of the brain. Unfolding transcriptional heterogeneity and complexity of various neurodevelopmental stages can probe new insights into neurogenesis and neurodevelopmental disorders. Recent findings have suggested that epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in neural differentiation involve long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as a new genre of regulators. Although many studies have addressed the overall consequences of the noncoding RNome (noncoding RNA content) on the genome, lesser is known about their specific roles and consequences in adult neurogenesis, neurodevelopmental stages, and onset of neuropathology. Recent advances in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based neurological disease modeling have shed light on new avenues to investigate neuronal development as well as molecular paradigms underlying onset of neurological impairments. However, due to limited availability of brain tissues and gap in the understanding of lncRNA biomarkers in neurodevelopment, the study of lncRNA in neurogenesis still exists at its infancy. To further understand the lncRNA-mediated regulation in stage-specific development of pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons and other brain cells, we identified potential lncRNA signatures implicative in brain development or dysregulation using data mining and analyses. They may be used in monitoring disease progression and may serve as potential targets for novel therapeutic approaches. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017. All rights reserved.

Regenerative Medicine: Laboratory to Clinic

Unraveling the role of long noncoding RNAs in pluripotent stem cell-based neuronal commitment and neurogenesis

Network theoretic approach has been used to model and study the flow of ecological information, growth and connectivity on landscape level of anemochory (wind dispersal) of Himalayan moist temperate forest species in the Western Himalaya region. A network is formally defined and derived for seed dispersion model of target floral species where vertices represent habitat patches which are connected by an edge if the distance between the patches is less than a threshold distance. We define centrality of a network and computationally identify the habitat patches that are central to the process of seed dispersion to occur across the network. These central patches are located on map and geographical regions critically important for the flow of ecological information across the network are identified as Gharwal region and eastern Himachal Pradesh of Indian Himalaya. We find that the network of habitat patches is a scale-free network and at the same time it also displays small-world property characterized by high clustering and low average shortest path length. As a result, ecological information propagates rapidly and evenly on a local scale. Hubs in the network are identified as important centres for dissemination of ecological information (seeds) and need to be conserved against a potential attack by malicious agents and also ecological shocks. The network showcase a well-formed community structure. As a consequence of these structural properties of the network, anemochory floral species studied in this work are likely to thrive across the ecological network of forest patches in the Western Himalaya region over time. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Mathematics

Fulltext

Ecological Modelling

A network theoretic study of ecological connectivity in Western Himalayas

Nanoscale evidence of self-recovery in resistive switching (RS) behavior was found in TiO2-x film by conductive atomic force microscopy when exposed to Ar+-ions above a threshold fluence of 1 × 1016 ions cm-2. This revealed an evolution and gradual disappearance of bipolar RS-loops, followed by reappearance with increasing number of voltage sweep. This was discussed in the realm of oxygen vacancy (OV) driven formation, dissolution and reformation of conducting filaments. The presence of OVs in ion-beam irradiated TiO2-x films was evidenced by decreasing trend of work function in scanning-Kelvin probe microscopy, and was further verified by x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy at Ti and O-K edges. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics

Nanoscale self-recovery of resistive switching in Ar+ irradiated TiO2-x films

The sum of Wishart matrices has an important role in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multiple access channel (MAC) and MIMO relay channel. In this paper, we present a new closed-form expression for the marginal density of one of the unordered eigenvalues of a sum of $K$ complex central Wishart matrices having covariance matrices proportional to the identity matrix. The expression is general and allows for any set of linear coefficients. The derived expression is used to obtain the ergodic sum-rate capacity for the MIMO-MAC and MIMO relay cases, both as closed-form expressions. We also present a very simple expression to approximate the sum of Wishart matrices by one equivalent Wishart matrix. The agreement between the exact eigenvalue distribution and numerical simulations is perfect, whereas for the approximate solution the difference is indistinguishable. © 1967-2012 IEEE.

IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology

On the Exact and Approximate Eigenvalue Distribution for Sum of Wishart Matrices

The reactivity of dichloro-(1,10-phenanthroline)gold(III) chloride towards sulfite has been studied spectrophotometrically in phen-phenH+ buffer medium in the temperature range of 288 K to 303 K. The reaction between [Au(phen)Cl2]+ and HSO3- in phen-phenH+ buffer medium shows 1:1 stoichiometry. The reaction exhibits first order dependence on [{Au(phen)Cl2}Cl] and less than unit order dependence on [HSO3-]. Phenanthroline has a retarding effect on the reaction rate. The variation in H+ concentration did not affect the rate of the reaction significantly. The reaction obeys the following rate expression.The pseudo-first order rate constant decreases with the increase in ionic strength, while the reaction rate increases with the decrease in dielectric constant of the medium. The reaction possibly involved a one step two electron transfer process to produce AuCl2- and SO42- as the reaction products of the respective reactants. A probable mechanism in conformity with the experimental observations has been suggested. The thermodynamic and the activation parameters were calculated with respect to the equilibrium step and the slow step of the reaction mechanism respectively. © 2017 Scientific Publishers.All rights reserved.

Journal of the Indian Chemical Society

Reactivity of dichloro-(1,10-phenanthroline) gold (III) chloride towards sulfite in phen-phenH+ buffer medium

SUMMARY Measles elimination goals have been adopted in a range of countries, sub-regions, and regions since the WHO declared an elimination goal by 2015 or 2020. All countries attempt to achieve and maintain high coverage through routine immunization programmes. This routine strategy, however, does not ensure the elimination goal of measles. Many developed countries, such as the United States, that have succeeded in interrupting measles transmission earlier, are now experiencing outbreaks with an increasing number of cases. Using a stochastic, age-structured model of measles vaccination dynamics, we explore and characterize the transient dynamics of measles susceptibility in the years following the implementation of routine vaccination at the herd immunity threshold. We demonstrate how a population could face risks of potentially large outbreaks even within few years of vaccination. We characterize different risk profiles depending on the incidence pattern in the years prior to vaccination. These results suggest that the classic critical vaccination threshold is necessary to achieve herd immunity, but not sufficient to prevent long periods of transient, super-critical dynamics. Our results suggest the need of future work for more careful monitoring of the impacts of current immunization programmes, and developing models that take into account more complicated vaccination strategies, demographic factors, and population movements. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 Â.

Epidemiology and Infection

Age-specific mixing generates transient outbreak risk following critical-level vaccination

This paper describes completely the invariant subspaces of the operator of multiplication by a finite Blaschke factor on the Banach space BMOA of analytic functions with bounded mean oscillation on the unit circle in the complex plane. As a simple application, we describe by very elementary means, the invariant subspaces of the co-analytic Toeplitz operator TB on H1. In the simplest case when B(z) = z, the invariant subspaces of TB on H1 were described by fairly deep arguments until the appearance of an elementary proof by two of the authors (Sahni &amp; Singh). In recent times, the common invariant subspaces of the operators of multiplication by B2 and B3, first in the case of z2 and z3, and then for an arbitrary finite Blaschke B, have proved to be critical in the context of Nevanlinna-Pick type interpolation on H2. Thus, keeping in mind the importance of invariant subspaces, we also offer a characterization of the common invariant subspaces of these operators on BMOA. Our proofs are that much more technical. Again, as an application, we obtain the common invariant subspaces of TB2 and TB3 on the Hardy space H1. © 2017, University at Albany. All rights reserved.