Absract Archive . November 2009 Report Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen In Pregnant Women Attending A Private Hospital In Krishnagiri (dt) Abstract The prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier and infectivity status among 762 pregnant women in Krishnagiri district, TamilNadu, were determined through random testing of volunteer's antenatal clinics through different hospitals with-in the krishnagiri district. HBV carriage status was determined by the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Samples were confirmed by Enzyme linked immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA) kit (Span Diagnostic Ltd, India). Maternal HBV infectivity status was determined by testing all HBsAg positive samples for the presence of hepatitis Be Ag. Overall 33(11%) pregnant women were identified as carriers for HBV and 10 of the 33 (30.3%) pregnant women identified as HBV carrier tested for HBeAg. Hence 33% of the entire study population was found to have high viral replication as well as high risk of transmitting HBV to their neonates. The frequency of HBV carriers vary with age, educational factors, and marital status. The study demonstrates the endemicity of HBV infection by both vertical and horizontal means of transmission. Free screening and immunization of all pregnant women and infants should be incorporated in the antenatal and postnatal programmes in hospital for the eradication of HBV infection among pregnant women. Key words: hepatitis B virus- Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) - Hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg) Enzyme linked immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA) Chronic carrier- Antenatal screening Authors : S.Paranjothi ¹ & Dr.H.Vijayarani. ² For correspondence: Email: micropps2005@yahoo.co.in /                                          micropps2005@gmail.com Research Article Purification And Characterization Of Minor Xylanase From Sclerotium rolfsii MTCC 2156 Abstract Xylanolytic enzymes consisting of endo-1, 4-b-xylanase, b-xylosidase, a-glucuronidases, a-L-arabinofuranosidas, acetylxylan esterases are drawing increased attention due to their applications in paper pulp and food industry. The present work undertakes purification of minor extracellular xylanase from culture of Sclerotium rolfsii MTCC 2156 and its biochemical characterization. The ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by purification using different chromatographic techniques monitored by SDS-PAGE. Various biochemical properties viz. pH and temperature optima, inactivation time and temperature, hydrolysis pattern of xylan was studied. Ammonium sulphate precipitation gave 78.64 % yield with 2.54 fold purity. Further purification by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration gave 9.56 and 18.73 fold purification respectively. SDS-PAGE showed a distinct band on subsequent purification. The enzyme was stable between pH 4.0 to 5.0, was thermally stable at 50 ºC for 96 h. The optimal temperature for hydrolysis of substrate was found to be 50 ºC. Key Words: xylanase, Sclerotium rolfsii, purification, characterization, stability. Running title: Purification and characterization of xylanase. Authors : Mahesh V. Bule1 and Uday S. Annapure2 For correspondence: E-mail: usa@udct.org Research Article Molecular Docking Of Withanolides Against The Transcription Factor Nuclear Factor- kappa B (NF-kB) Using Glide Abstract Medicinal plants have an advantage in drug discovery based on their use by humans for more than thousands of years. The bioactive compounds obtained from these plants are normally non-toxic or less toxic to humans. Identification of novel natural anticancer compounds is a highly demanding avenue of cancer therapies. Withania somnifera, L., commonly known as Ashwagandha or Indian winter cherry, a commonly used herb in Ayurvedic medicine. Studies indicate Ashwagandha possesses antioxidant, anxiolytic, adaptogen, memory enhancing, antiparkinsonian, antivenom, anti-inflammatory, antitumor properties. Withanolides mediate their effects through suppression of the transcription factor NF-kB. Molecular modeling studies have predicted possible binding mode of the inhibitors to the DNA binding region of subunit p50, starting from the crystallographic structure of the NF-kB homodimer. The present work aims at studying the interaction of withanolides with the DNA binding site of NF-kB through docking analysis. Keywords: NF-kB, Ashwagandha , tumor properties, withanolides, Molecular docking Authors : Nithya.K 1 ,Santhi.N2 and Kalaiselvi.K 3 For correspondence: nithya.karunanithi@gmail.com Research Article Recovery And Recycling Of Agar Abstract Agar is an algal polysaccharide widely used in biological research and as food additive. Overexploitation of agar will lead to the loss of agar yielding algal population. Reuse of agar in biological research may conserve the biosphere and the biodiversity. In this investigation, we try to recover the used agar by freeze-thawing method (Training manual on Gracilaria, 2000) The recovered agar samples are reused successfully for media preparation, which gives a hope for further research. Keywords: used agar, purification, freeze-thawing, recycling, Authors : V.Thangapandian1,M. Muthamilarasan2,C. Manimuthu3,M.Asma4 and * K. Lingakumar5. For correspondence: mybacterium@sify.com   Short Communication Effect of Probiotic Lactobacillus sp On Ornamental Fish Against Pathogenic Vibrio sp. Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus sp. on performance and disease resistance of ornamental fish Black moly (Poecilia sphenops) against pathogenic Vibrio alginolyticus. Two different concentration of probiotic feed were prepared (Spray dried on commercial ornamental fish feed). Lactobacillus at the inoculum concentration of 8 x 107 cfu/ml was used for probiotic feed preparation (Ex-1 2%, Ex-2 4% v/w). Ex-1 used as probiotic control feed. A pathogenic bacterium V. alginolyticus inoculum was given to the experimental tank at the final concentration of 6 x 103 cfu/ml. The results showed that total bacterial load in the fish tank and intestinal tract of fish were increased and it was decreased in the lactobacillus control. Similarly total vibrio load was increased in the vibrio control and decreased in the feed supplemented with lactobacillus sp. Keywords : Probiotic, Lactobacillus, Vibrio, Ornamental fish, fish feed. Authors : M. Veerapagu1, K.R Jeya1 and Dr.N. Sivakumar2 For correspondence: veera.pagu@yahoo.co.in. Short Communication Homology Modeling and Docking Studies Of Hemagglutinin Protein Of Influenza A (H1N1) Virus With Selected Ligands - A Computer Aided Structure Based Drug Design Approach To Find A Suitable Inhibitor Abstract Swine flu is an emerging infectious disease cause by the influenza A (H1N1) virus. The virus has a special protein found on the surface known as Hemagglutinin, which is an antigenic glycoprotein responsible for binding virus to the monosaccharide sialic acid of its target cell that is being infected. An In silico attempt was made to characterize a newly sequenced Hemagglutinin protein of influenza A virus (H1N1) to deduce its structural information and to identify the potential drug to inhibit the protein. For that an effort was taken to deduce the 3-D structure of this protein and to identify and bind the active site of Hemagglutinin protein with docking technique. Using drug data bank and NIST Standard Reference Database the 3-D structure of ligand were retrieved. QSAR studies were done for the available synthetic drugs like Oseltamivir and zanamivir and also the natural product like shikimic acid to know about the physiochemical properties using software Molinspiration. It was noted that Amantadine an antiviral drug which is not in used for the treatment of swine flu and a natural compound Shikimic acid also shows a better docking energy in conjunction to available synthetic drug oseltamivir and zanamivir with this protein. Keywords: influenza A (H1N1) virus, Homology modelling, docking, QSAR, ligand Authors : A.Bhattacharjee 1*, P.Yadav2, B.J. Mylliemngap3, E.Annipindi 4 For correspondence: Email: atanubioinfo@gmail.com   Short Communication Production Of Bioethanol Using Various Agricultural Raw Materials By Two Step Enzymatic Process Abstract Bioethanol is a domestically produced liquid fuel made from renewable plant resources known as biomass. Ethanol is also an effective tool for reducing air toxics that comes from the transportation sectors and is presently the alternative to the depleting resources. In this present work, bioethanol was produced by using 15 ready and cheaply available agricultural raw materials. The biomass used are cassava, fruit pulp, rice extract, sweet potato, potato, sugar cane beet, saw dust, coconut pith, groundnut waste, rice straw, rice husk, leaf litter, wood bark, maize husk and waste paper. To produce ethanol from biomass two key processes were followed, first the starch or hemicellulose and cellulose portions of the biomass were broken down in to simple sugars through a process called saccharification. Second, the sugars are fermented to produce ethanol. Two enzymes were used for the hydrolysis of the biomass namely amylase from Aspergillus niger and cellulase from Trichoderma viride. Cellulase was used for the hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose and amylase is used for the hydrolysis of starch present in the raw materials. Fermentation of the hydrolyzed samples was done using Sacharomyces .sp. The fermented product was purified by primary distillation process at 80°C and the fraction is collected. The ethanol is then determined by specific gravity method. Further studies can be done to yield more amount of ethanol by optimizing the activity of enzymes over biomass, incubation temperature, and incubation time and also secondary distillation after primary distillation. Key Words: Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride, bioethanol, Sacharomyces .sp, Fermentation Authors : Prasad, M.P1., Rekha Sethi2, Tamilarasan, M3 and Subha, K.S4 For correspondence: E-mail: email:prasad_m_p@hotmail.com   Short Communication Metabolic Profiling Of Seed Sources Of Jatropha curcus Linn Collections Of Tamilnadu For Biofuel Characteristics Abstract Jatropha curcas is a multipurpose tree of significant importance because of its several industrial and medicinal uses. A number of tree based oil seed crops are identified as an alternative source for diesel. Jatropha oil is an environmentally safe, cost effective renewable source of non conventional energy and promising substitute for diesel, kerosene and other fuel oils. An investigation was carried out in five Jatropha curcas selections from various locations in Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu for the fatty acid profile and chemical constants of the oil. The fatty acid profile of the selected Jatropha curcas TNMC 5 revealed the presence of more number and quantity of unsaturated fatty acids. Chemical constants viz., saponification value, iodine value and free fatty acid ranged from 119.5 to 172.5, 67.5- 94.2 and 0.27 to 0.34% respectively. The study indicated that the cultures of Jatropha curcas TNMC 5 and TNMC 7 as an efficient seed source for biofuel production. Keywords: Jatropha curcas, GCMS, Fatty acids, saponification value, iodine value Authors :D. Vijayalakshmi1, M. Paramathma2 For correspondence: E mail : viji_tnau2003@yahoo.co.in