Author: admin

IF YOU THINK

If you think you will lose, you are lost;

For out in the world we find

Success begins with a fellow’s will;

It’s all in the state of mind.

 

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You have got to think high in order to rise,

You have got to be sure of yourself

Before you can ever win a prize.

 

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger and faster man,

But sooner or later the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

 

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don’t!

If you like to win, but think you can’t,

It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

Student: Madhuricha Srivastava

Mutation of the Catalytic Cysteine in Anopheles gambiae Transglutaminase 3 (AgTG3) Abolishes Plugin Crosslinking Activity without Disrupting Protein Folding Properties

Summary
Malaria is a devastating parasitic infectious disease with an enormous impact on public health and economic growth, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Besides advances in anti-malarial drugs and vaccine development, a successful malaria eradication program relies on controlling the mosquito vector. In this study, we pursue a novel approach for malaria vector control by inhibiting an enzyme important for ensuring reproductive success of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. The enzyme, A. gambiae transglutaminase 3 (AgTG3), catalyzes the cross-linking of its native substrate Plugin, which is then transferred to a female mosquito in a coagulated mass known as the mating plug. Interfering with AgTG3-catalyzed mating plug formation prevents efficient sperm storage, with a direct consequence on fertility. This study demonstrates that the mutation of a highly conserved cysteine residue in AgTG3 (Cys323) abolishes its cross-linking activity without disrupting other properties of the enzyme such as protein folding and oligomeric assembly. These results suggest that Cys323 is an active site residue and support the design of specific inhibitors targeting this site as a promising strategy to reduce the malaria disease burden worldwide.

 

Minh-Quan D. Pham (1) and Richard H. G. Baxter (2)

Click here for PDF file: May2014(1)

Blurred Visions

Waiting to see the sunset ,

As the day comes to an end ,

Hearing the murmur of the ocean,

Near-sightedness arresting my distant vision,

 

Uninformed it dawned on me

Has the lustre of my brilliance vanished?

People around me faceless,

Seeing only myself,

 

Others all spurious sights,

Never seeing motherless baby’s grief,

Damsels entangled in vulture’s talons

Feminity being traded in the street,

 

My dry eyes evade poor luckless chaps.

Treading upon sprouting grass,

Failing to hear its heart throb,

Never turning back, here I go

 

Placing remote mentors

That moulded me in my ride.

Steps treaded forgotten

Never tolerant to look back

Moving fast in bold assertion

Ignoring the wayside sights, never pausing,

Turning my back on the long lost

Traveller going weary,

 

Many a star swivels round me

Ere I move my orbit from them,

Hearing though many a song

Never waiting to see their source,

 

Inner eye too gets blurred

To see the amethysts of wisdom,

Let my sight rest in and around me

Somewhere in my fantasy.

 

Student: Alfred Shaji Mekkadan

静静的，却震撼了我的心

静静的，却震撼了我的心

记忆犹如漂泊的红帆船，载着我驶向往昔的岁月，小船停靠在岁月某一刻的码头边，只因那一刻，静静的，却震撼了我的心。

那是一个北风呼啸的寒冬下午，我独自一人快步走在市中心的马路边，风在耳旁咆哮着，让我不禁把头又往厚实的棉衣里缩了缩，我低着头，快步向前走去。

突然，地面上一列隽秀的白色书法映入了我的眼帘，我顺着字排列的方向抬头望去，发现一个单薄的身影正静静的俯身弓在地上书写这毛笔字。

在自己好奇心的驱使下，我绕过地上排列整齐的字，像那个身影走去。随着距离的缩短，眼前的一幕越来越清晰，这是一位年过花甲的老人，身上只是一件汗衫和打满补丁的薄军袄，他双腿弯曲，坐在冰凉的地上，整个上身伏在地面上，用嘴衔一支写满历史沧桑的破旧毛笔蘸着白色涂料写书法，地上的字工整却又不失风韵，而那薄军袄的两支袖管，竟是空空如也。

在他抬起头，目光与我交汇的那一刻，我怔住了。那是一张怎样饱经岁月风霜的面孔啊！黝黑的额头上刻满岁月的皱纹，两颊上的颧骨高高凸起，冻得有些乌青的嘴唇上沾着几点白色涂料，两只眼睛深陷进眼窝，但拿眼神中流露出的却是一中平静与淡然，不带一点抱怨，地上的海报告诉我，他——一个年过花甲的老人正在为同村白血病的孩子募捐。

我突然觉得周围的寒风似乎停止了咆哮，市中心路上的喧嚣都不复存在，世界上的一切声响也都已不再，只剩一片宁静，一股暖流从我的心底冲遍我的全身，那是眼前这位老人的大爱让我感受到的宁静、祥和和震撼！

内心的震撼让我在静默中站了许久，却未绝老人断臂书写的身影已随地上隽秀的字迹的拉长而远去去。我追上去，把一张盛满我敬意的纸弊放进老人身后的包中。

冬日里，断臂老人的大爱如山般屹立，静静的，却震撼了我的心••••••

 

张颖慧