Abstract Introduction Radiotherapy provides excellent outcome in early stage glottic cancer; however, the optimal radiotherapy dose fractionation remains unknown. Objective To investigate the outcome of patients with T2N0M0 treated with either hypofractionated (HypoFxn) or conventionally fractionated radical (ConFxn) radiotherapy. Methods According to our institutional protocol, patients with T2N0M0 glottic cancer can be treated either with ConfFxn or HypoFxn radiotherapy, as per clinician’s and patient’s choice, following shared decision making discussing the advantages and disadvantages of both modalities. A total of 77 patients with T2N0M0 squamous cell carcinoma of glottis treated with either HypoFxn 55Gy in 20 fractions (n = 19) or ConFxn 63 to 65Gy in 30 fractions (n = 58) were included. Results With median follow-up of 3.4 years, there was no significant difference in disease-free survival (median: HypoFxn = 65.2 months, and ConFxn = 75.3 months; p = 0.874), local recurrence free survival rates (median: HypoFxn = 78.8 months vs. ConFxn = 81.2 months; p = 0.274), and overall survival (median: HypoFxn = 65.9 months vs. ConFxn = 67.7 months; p = 0.532). Elective neck irradiation was given to 43 patients, all in the ConFxn group, and this was associated with poorer local control (p = 0.027). The use of radiotherapy modality, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DRT) versus intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), was not a prognostic factor (p = 0.36). In the HypoFxn group, grade III acute dysphagia requiring nasogastric tube was 16%, compared with 25% in the ConFxn group (p = 0.446). Conclusion HypoFxn radiotherapy provides a comparable treatment outcome with acceptable toxicity. The addition of prophylactic irradiation of the neck lymph nodes has no impact on regional control.

Abstract Owing to large scale use of chemical insecticides there is always need to find new alternatives to chemical insecticides. This study evaluated the aqueous extracts of three weeds namely Datura alba (Nees), Withania somnifera (Linnaeus) and Chenopodium album (Linnaeus) for insecticidal potential against Oxycarenus hyalinipennis (Costa) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) under laboratory conditions. Extracts were prepared from three plant parts e.g., leaves, stems and roots and applied at five concentrations ranging from 1 to 20 %. To check the mortality not because of weed extracts control treatment (water only) was also included as sixth treatment. Mortality of pest insects was assessed after three exposure periods e.g., 24h, 48 hand 72 h. Among the three weeds tested, mortality was more due to extract of D. alba weed which thus proved more toxic compared to other two weeds. Among plant parts, root extracts were more potent than leaves and stem extracts and the more concentration of 20 per cent usually resulted in maximum mortality. Maximum mortality of insects was after 72 h period followed by 48 h and minimum was after 24 h period. However maximum mortality of 60 % in case of D. alba warrants attention towards the options of either increasing concentration (> 20 %) of this extract or to evaluate other extraction type e.g., ethanolic extract to gain maximum mortality against this notorious pest.

Resumen El uso a gran escala de insecticidas químicos obliga a encontrar constantemente nuevas alternativas para los mismos. En este estudio se evaluaron los extractos acuosos de tres malas hierbas, a saber: Datura alba (Nees), Withania somnifera (Linnaeus) y Chenopodium album (Linnaeus) para determinar su potencial insecticida contra Oxycarenus hyalinipennis (Costa) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) en condiciones de laboratorio. Los extractos se prepararon a partir de tres partes de cada planta, por ejemplo, hojas, tallos y raíces, y se aplicaron en cinco concentraciones que oscilaron entre 1 y 20 %. Para comprobar la mortalidad no relacionada con los extractos de malas hierbas, también se incluyó un tratamiento de control (solo agua) como sexto tratamiento. La mortalidad de los insectos plaga se evaluó después de tres periodos de exposición, por ejemplo, 24 h, 48 h y 72 h. Entre las tres malas hierbas probadas, el extracto de D. alba resultó ser el más tóxico en comparación con las otras dos. En cuanto a las partes de cada planta, los extractos de las raíces fueron más potentes que los de las hojas y los tallos, y la concentración mayor del 20 % generalmente ocasionó la máxima mortalidad. La máxima mortalidad de insectos fue después de un periodo de 72 h, seguido de uno de 48 h, y la mínima fue después de un periodo de 24 h. Sin embargo, la mortalidad máxima del 60 % en el caso de D. alba justifica la atención hacia las opciones de aumentar la concentración (> 20 %) de este extracto o evaluar otro tipo de extracción, por ejemplo, el extracto etanólico para obtener la máxima mortalidad contra esta plaga.

Abstract There is a great interest to use carbon-based material like graphene and graphene oxide in biomedical applications due to its flexibility to be functionalized with bio-active molecules. Herein, graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites were biosynthesized by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite using aqueous extract of Parthenium hysterophorous (P-H) as a surfactant. A set of five thin film samples of graphene was prepared from graphene suspension by vacuum filtration method. Samples were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, and XRD, which revealed successful synthesis of graphene. Graphene/P-H(G/P-H) nanocomposites comprising varied ratios of graphene and P-H were prepared and their antibacterial activity was investigated by agar well diffusion method. The experimental results indicated that G/P-H nanocomposite have higher antibacterial activity than graphene alone, and bioactivity of G/P-H nanocomposite was found to be controlled by the fraction of graphene in the composite.

Abstract: A chemical compound can be represented as a chemical graph. A topological index of a (chemical) graph is a numeric value of a graph which characterize its topology and is usually graph invariant. The Zagreb indices, Randić index and sum-connectivity indices are useful in the study of anti-inflammatory activities, boiling point, molecular complexity heterosystems of certain chemical instances, and in elsewhere. In this paper, we calculate the mentioned topological indices of some infinite classes of prophyrin dendrimers.

ABSTRACT: Phenomic characterization through digital imaging (DI) can capture the three dimensional variation in wheat grain size and shape using different image orientations. Digital imaging may help identifying genomic regions controlling grain morphology using association mapping with simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers. Accordingly, seed shape phenotypic data of a core collection of 55 wheat genotypes, previously characterized for osmotic and drought tolerance, were produced using computer based Smart grain software. Measured dimensions included seed volume, area, perimeters, length, width, length to width ratio, circularity, horizontal deviation from ellipse (HDEV), vertical deviation from ellipse (VDEV), factor form density (FFD) etc. The thousand grain weight (TGW) was positively correlated with grain size direct measurements; however, VDEV, FFD and other derived grain attributes showed no or negative correlation with TGW. Digital imaging divided the genotypes correctly into well-defined clusters. The wheat genotypes studied were further grouped into two sub-clusters by the Bayesian structure analysis using unlinked SSR markers. A number of loci over various chromosomal regions were found associated to grain morphology by the genome wide analysis using mixed linear model (MLM) approach. A considerable number of marker-trait associations (MTAs) on chromosomes 1D and 2D may carry new alleles with potential to enhance grain weight due to the use of untapped wild accessions of Aegilops tauschii. Conclusively, we demonstrated the application of multiple approaches including high throughput phenotyping using DI complemented with genome wide association studies to identify candidate genomic regions underlying these traits, which allows a better understanding on molecular genetics of wheat grain weight.

Abstract In this paper, we introduce the notion of the rainbow neighbourhood and a related graph parameter namely the rainbow neighbourhood number and report on preliminary results thereof. The closed neighbourhood N [v] of a vertex v ∈ V (G) which contains at least one coloured vertex of each colour in the chromatic colouring of a graph is called a rainbow neighbourhood. The number of rainbow neighbourhoods in a graph G is called the rainbow neighbourhood number of G, denoted by rχ(G). We also introduce the concepts of an expanded line graph of a graph G and a v-clique of v ∈ V (G). With the help of these new concepts, we also establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a rainbow neighbourhood in the line graph of a graph G.

The topological index of a molecular structure correlate certain physicochemical properties such as boiling point and stability of that molecular structure. Recently several topological indices have been introduced and studies have shown their association with certain physical and chemical properties of other molecules. Specifically, Zagreb, Atom-bound connectivity (ABC) and Sanskruti indices have been correlated with extent of branching, enthalpy and entropy of some organic molecules. In this study we have calculated Zagreb, Atom-bound connectivity (ABC) and Sanskruti indices (S) for Copper (I) oxide and Copper (II) oxide CuO. Additionally, from the experimentally available data, we calculated entropy and enthalpy per unit cell for both the oxides and compared with Atom-bound connectivity and Sanskruti indices. It appears that these indices have very poor relation with these physical properties in both oxides of copper and they may need some modifications to show considerable compliance as reported in other organic molecules."

The films of chitosan (CS)-silane crosslinked-poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with different weight % were prepared. The effect on conductivity of CS/PVA blended films due to change in the concentration of PVA and temperature was investigated by impedance spectroscopy and showed good conductance properties. The complex impedance plots revealed single semicircular arcs indicating the bulk contribution to overall electrical behavior of all synthesized samples. The ac conductivity obeyed the Jonscher's power law for all samples in the frequency range of 2 kHz to 2 MHz. The ionic conductivity of the films was increased with the increase in temperature for all synthesized samples which showed an increase in the number of effective charge carriers while it was decreased at a specific higher temperature for each film. The observed activation energy for CP4, CP8 and CP10 were 0.431, 0.610 and 0.425 eV, respectively. These properties showed that the films were promising materials to be employed for conducting properties.

The interaction of the cyanidin, pelargonidin, catechin, myrecetin and kaempferol with casein and gelatin, as proline rich proteins (PRPs), was studied. The binding constants calculated for both flavonoid-casein and flavonoid-gelatin were fairly large (105–107 M−1) indicating strong interaction. Due to higher proline content in gelatin, the binding constants of flavonoid-gelatin (2.5 × 105–6.2 × 107M−1) were found to be higher than flavonoid-casein (1.2 × 105–5.0 × 107 M−1). All the flavonoids showed significant antibacterial activity against the tested strains. Significant loss in activity was observed due to the complexation with PRPs confirming that binding effectively reduced the concentration of the free flavonoids to be available for antibacterial activity. The decline in activity was corresponding to the values of the binding constants. Though the activities of free catechin and myrecetin were higher compared to pelargonidin, cyanidin and kaempferol yet the decline in activity of catechin and myrecetin due to complexation with casein and gelatin was more pronounced.

Quando plantas crescem sob condições de salinidade, sua atividade fotossintética diminui levando a um crescimento reduzido, menor área foliar, conteúdo de clorofila e fluorescência de clorofila. Sementes e plântulas de rabanete (Raphanus sativus L.) foram germinadas e conduzidas em soluções de NaCl sob condições controladas de casa de vegetação. As concentrações de NaCl adicionado a solução nutritiva completa foram 0 (Controle), 4,7; 9,4 e 14,1 dS m-1. A salinidade diminui a percentagem de germinação e também atrasou a taxa de germinação com o aumento do nível de sal. Comprimento e peso fresco da parte aérea e da raiz decresceram com o aumento da concentração salina. Além disso, a eficiência fotoquímica de PS2 (Fv/Fm), o coeficiente fotoquímico de 'quenchin" (q p), o coeficiente não fotoquímico de "quenching" (q n), a área foliar e o teor de clorofila (valor SPAD) também foram reduzidos (P < 0,001) por estresse de sal. Ao contrário, a relação Fo/Fm aumentou com a concentração salina, ao passo que a salinidade não teve efeito sobre a eficiência de excitação capturada pelo PS2 aberto (Fv'/Fm'), taxa de transporte eletrônico (ETR) e conteúdo de água na folha. Através de regressão linear mostrou-se que a eficiência fotossintética de PS2 (Fv/Fm) teve uma relação positiva com o coeficiente fotoquímico de "quenching" (q p), área foliar e conteúdo de clorofila, mas nenhuma relação com (Fv/Fm), (Fo/Fm), e q n.

When plants are grown under saline conditions, photosynthetic activity decreases leading to reduced plant growth, leaf area, chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence. Seeds and seedlings of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) were grown in NaCl solutions under controlled greenhouse conditions. The NaCl concentrations in complete nutrient solutions were 0 (control), 4.7, 9.4 and 14.1 dS m-1. The salinity reduced germination percentage and also delayed the germination rate as the salt level increased. Lengths and fresh weights of root and shoot decreased with the increasing salt concentration. Furthermore, photochemical efficiency of PS2 (Fv/Fm), photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), non photochemical quenching coefficient (qN), leaf area and chlorophyll content (SPAD value) were also reduced (P < 0.001) by salt stress. In contrast, the Fo/Fm ratio increased with increasing salt concentration while salinity showed no effect on the efficiency of excitation captured by open PS2 (Fv'/Fm'), electron transport rate (ETR), and leaf water content. Linear regression shows that the photochemical efficiency of PS2 (Fv/Fm) had a positive relationship with the photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), leaf area and chlorophyll content but had no relation with Fv'/Fm', Fo/Fm, and qN.