Temporal and spatial expression patterns of Hedgehog receptors in the developing inner and middle ear.

The mammalian inner ear is a complex organ responsible for balance and hearing. Sonic hedgehog (Shh), a member of the Hedgehog (Hh) family of secreted proteins, has been shown to play important roles in several aspects of inner ear development, including dorsoventral axial specification, cochlear elongation, tonotopic patterning, and hair cell differentiation. Hh proteins initiate a downstream signaling cascade by binding to the Patched 1 (Ptch1) receptor.

Functioning adrenal myelolipoma: A rare cause of hypertension.

Co-occurrence of adrenal incidentaloma with hypertension calls for evaluation of endocrine causes including pheochromocytoma, Cushing's disease, and primary aldosteronism. We are reporting 40-years-old man who presented with hypertension and adrenal mass. He had elevated metanephrines, histology of resected adrenal mass revealed adrenal myelolipoma, and immuno-histochemistry was positive for chromogranin A.

Hybrids of privileged structures benzothiazoles and pyrrolo[2,1-c] [1,4]benzodiazepin-5-one, and diversity-oriented synthesis of benzothiazoles.

Privileged structures like Benzothiazole and Pyrrolobenzodiazepine offer wonderful opportunity to explore in anti-cancer drug discovery as a mean to counter drug-resistance problem. BT-PBD hybrids and diverse BT derivatives have been synthesized and their in vitro cytotoxic activities were screened against five cancer cell lines have been discussed. The novel compounds showed promising results as compared with the marketed drug etoposide and could well be used in future anti-cancer drug development studies.

New diterpenoids from Caesalpinia species and their cytotoxic activity.

Chemical investigation on Caesalpinia crista afforded two new diterpenoids, 6beta-cinnamoyloxy-7beta-acetoxyvouacapen-5alpha-ol and 6beta,7beta-dibenzoyloxyvouacapen-5alpha-ol and on Caesalpiniapulcherrima another new diterpenoid, 12-demethyl neocaesalpin F along with several known constituents. The structures of the new compounds were settled from their 1D and 2D NMR spectral data. The cytotoxicity of these compounds was measured on two different cancer cell lines.

Diversity-oriented synthesis of quinolines via Friedländer annulation reaction under mild catalytic conditions.

An efficient and practical method has been manifested for the diversity-oriented synthesis of quinolines via Friedländer annulation reaction for the generation of a wide range of structurally interesting and pharmacologically significant compounds by using ceric ammonium nitrate as a catalyst (10 mol %) at ambient temperature in 45 min. A variety of functional groups are introduced at various positions of the quinoline moiety, and further the diversity of the core skeleton was expanded at R(1) and R(2) positions by the synthesis of various hybrids. Initial screening of the compounds for cytotoxicity against a series of cancer cell lines showed promising results.

Locomotor behavioral response of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) to subacute mercury stress monitored by video tracking system.

Locomotor behavior is commonly affected by contaminants, and the pattern of fish swimming is a highly organized species-specific response. In the current study, we examined the locomotor behavioral response of the mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, which was exposed to a sublethal concentration (LC(5), 20 microg/L) of mercuric chloride (HgCl2) for 28 days and monitored using a computer vision system. The EthoVision video tracking system for automation of behavioral studies at regular intervals revealed abnormal locomotor behavior such as reduction in swimming speed (cm/s) and distance traveled per unit time.

Toxicity of organophosphates on morphology and locomotor behavior in brine shrimp, Artemia salina.

The acute toxicity and hatching success of four organophosphorus insecticides--acephate (ACEP), chlorpyrifos (CPP), monocrotophos (MCP), and profenofos (PF)--was studied in a short-term bioassay using brine shrimp, Artemia salina. Fifty percent hatchability inhibition concentration and median lethal concentration (LC(50)) values were calculated after probit transformation of the resulting data. Among the insecticides tested, CPP is found to be the most toxic and also to inhibit hatching success of A.

Sublethal effects of profenofos on locomotor behavior and gill architecture of the mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis.

Subacute studies of profenofos on mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis, were carried out for 20 days to assess the locomotor behavior and structural integrity of gill in relation to bioaccumulation and targeted enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.

Effect of chlorpyrifos and monocrotophos on locomotor behaviour and acetylcholinesterase activity of subterranean termites, Odontotermes obesus.

The acute toxicity of chlorpyrifos and monocrotophos to subterranean termites, Odontotermes obesus (Rambur), has been studied by a paper contact method. The LC50 values for chlorpyrifos and monocrotophos were 0.046 and 0.