Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra ESAS-7—An excretory-secretory antigen fraction of immunodiagnostic potential in pulmonary tuberculosis

A mycobacterial excretory-secretory protein fraction ESAS-7 purified by 50% ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by SDS-PAGE fractionation was evaluated by penicillinase enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) for its sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. At a “cut off” serum dilution of 600, 38 (90%) of 42 sera from bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis cases, 15 (100%) of 15 sera from bacteriogically negative but anti tubercular therapy (ATT) responded cases, 3 (7%) of 43 sera from normal healthy subjects and 4 (8%) of 48 sera from non tuberculous disease control cases gave positive reaction for tubercular antibody to ESAS-7 antigen fraction containing predominantly 33-kDa protein with a sensitivity of 90% in bacteriologically confirmed cases and specificity of 92%. Further, this diagnostic assay using the ESAS-7 antigen is more sensitive requiring as little as one nanogram antigen per test compared to use of 100 nanogram EST-6 antigen reported earlier. Thus use of ESAS-7 antigen for antibody detection has good diagnostic potential with improved specificity in pulmonary tuberculosis.     

Protective Effect of Emblica officinalis Against Alcohol-Induced Hepatic Injury by Ameliorating Oxidative Stress in Rats

The effect of Emblica officinalis fruit extract (EFE) against alcohol-induced hepatic damage in rats was investigated in the present study. In vitro studies showed that EFE possesses antioxidant as well nitric oxide (NO) scavenging activity. In vivo administration of alcohol (5 g/kg b.wt/day) for 60 days resulted increased liver lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls, nitrite plus nitrate levels. Alcohol administration also significantly lowers the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase and reduced glutathione as compared with control rats. Administration of EFE (250 mg/kg body weight) to alcoholic rats significantly brought the plasma enzymes towards near normal level and also significantly reduced the levels of lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls and restored the enzymic and non-enzymatic antioxidants level. This observation was supplemented by histopathological examination in liver. Our data indicate that the tannoid, flavonoid and NO scavenging compounds present in EFE may offer protection against free radical mediated oxidative stress in rat hepatocytes of animals with alcohol-induced liver injury.     

Self-concept,school self-image,satisfaction, and involvement in an alternative high school

Alternative education emphasizes students' psychological development and academic achievement. The present paper reports a case study of the psychological correlates of students' adjustment to a small urban free school. It was expected that: (a) students would have high general self-concept, school selfimage, satisfaction, and involvement; (b) self-concept would discriminate between those high and low in school adjustment: and (c) there would be a positive relationship between school self-image, satisfaction, and involvement. Forty male and thirty female students voluntarily answered the New Morning Student Questionnaire (1972) and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (Fitts, 1965). Results showed that students were psychologically well adjusted; they had a somewhat higher self-concept than the norm for high school students; self-concept was a good predictor of school self-image and satisfaction; and there was a positive relationship between school self-image, satisfaction, and involvement.     

Sensitivity Training as an Integral Phase of Counselor Education

A four-day T-Group was conducted conjointly with counselor education staff members and practicum students. At the end of the T-Group significant gains were made on the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory, a measure of Rogers' conditions of a helping relationship. Three months later clients of the group members rated them on the same measure. A number of significant correlations were found. A follow-up questionnaire anecdotally supported the findings.     

Embedded systems

Embedded systems differ from general purpose computers in many aspects. This article introduces the reader to embedded systems     

High pressure research on materials

In this part of the article, various experimental techniques for investigating materials under high pressure are discussed. The effect of pressure on the behaviour of materials is discussed with suitable examples. P Ch Sahu (left) is at the Materials Science Division of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam. He is a specialist in the field of high pressure science and is presently heading this activity at his institute. N V Chandra Shekar (right) is a Senior Scientist at the Materials Science Division of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam. His primary research areas are in high pressure phase transitions and in synthesis and study of novel materials under extreme pressure and temperature conditions.     

Mutants of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin and cholera toxin as mucosal adjuvants

Heat-labile enterotoxin(LT) and cholera toxin(CT) are highly homologous (82 % at the amino acid level), they are the causative factors of travelers diarrhea and cholera respectively[1]. When co-stimulating the surface of the mucosal with antigens, these toxins induce significantly immunological reaction [2]. Because of this character, LT and CT are widely used as mucosal adjuvants in non-human animal models. But the high toxicity and allergenicity caused by IgE antibody (Ab) responded to b…