Length‐weight and length‐length relationships of three small indigenous fishes from the Payra River,southern Bangladesh

Length‐weight relationships (LWRs) and length‐length relationships (LLRs) for three small indigenous fishes (Esomus danrica, Pachypterus atherinoides and Salmostoma bacaila) were reported from the Payra River, southern Bangladesh. Samples were collected using traditional fishing gear including cast net (mesh size ranges from 1.0 to 2.0 cm), seine net (mesh size ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 cm) and square lift net (mesh size ~ 1.0 cm) in August to September 2017. Allometric coefficient (b) values were 2.66 for E. danrica, 3.08 for P. atherinoides and 3.06 for S. bacaila. The LLRs were also highly significant with r² ≥ .956.     

Investigating factors associated with success of breastfeeding in first-time mothers undergoing epidural analgesia: a prospective cohort study

Background

We investigated the possible risk factors that could influence the likelihood of breastfeeding at 5 to 9 weeks postpartum with our primary aim being to analyse the associations between psychological vulnerabilities, such as peripartum depression and anxiety, and continued breastfeeding. Our secondary aim was to investigate other non-psychological factors’ influence on continued breastfeeding.

Methods

A prospective cohort study was conducted in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore. Healthy nulliparous parturients at ≥36 weeks gestation with a singleton fetus who received epidural analgesia were recruited. Demographic and anaesthetic data were obtained. Self-reported psychological and pain determinants such as anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), pain susceptibility (Pain Catastrophizing Scale) and pain perception (McGill Pain Questionnaire) were also recorded at baseline. A phone interview was then performed at 5 to 9 weeks postpartum to obtain information on breastfeeding status.

Results

329 participants were included into this study, of which 263 (79.9%) of them were still breastfeeding at 5 weeks postpartum. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a higher State-Trait Anxiety Inventory score (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 0.97; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.94, 1.00) at baseline, higher intrapartum blood loss (AOR 0.76; 95% CI 0.61, 0.93), and occurrence of fetal anomalies (AOR 0.15; 95% CI 0.03, 0.72) were associated with reduced likelihood of breastfeeding at 5 to 9 weeks postpartum. Indians (AOR 0.56; 95% CI 0.20, 1.53), Malays (AOR 0.30; 95% CI 0.14, 0.62) and other ethnicities (AOR 0.36; 95% CI 0.16, 0.83) were less likely to continue breastfeeding compared to Chinese participants. On the other hand, receiving any support services on breastfeeding during the participants’ hospital stay was 3.3 times more likely (AOR 3.30; 95% CI 1.21, 9.02) to increase the likelihood of breastfeeding at 5 to 9 weeks postpartum.

Conclusion

We identified 5 independent association factors that could have significant influences on breastfeeding at 5 to 9 weeks postpartum. Healthcare providers could utilize this risk stratification to identify parturients likely to have poorer breastfeeding outcomes and undertake interventions that may help safeguard optimization of breastfeeding outcomes and parturient care.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02278601. Registered 26 October 2014.

     

Bacillus thuringiensis C25 suppresses popcorn disease caused by Ciboria shiraiana in mulberry (Morus australis L.)

The mulberry tree is an important crop for silkworm farming and for the health care industry. In Asia, the annual productivity of mulberry fruits is greatly reduced due to popcorn disease mainly caused by Ciboria shiraiana, a sclerotia-forming fungal pathogen. To date, the development of efficient biocontrol agents (BCAs) against this disease has been hampered by the recalcitrance of C. shiraiana to in vitro culturing methods. Here, we established alternative in vitro antifungal assays that directly monitored the effects of BCAs on the growth of C. shiraiana apothecia and further reported that Bacillus thuringiensis C25 suppressed popcorn disease in field conditions. Initially, from mulberry drupelets showing the popcorn disease symptoms, we confirmed the infection of C. shiraiana and observed its morphology in asexual stage. Then, apothecia of C. shiraiana were induced from the sclerotia collected from the disease-infested orchard. Two bacterial isolates, Enterobacter sp. C5 and B. thuringiensis C25, strongly suppressed the elongation and fresh weight accumulation of apothecia stalks, the width of hymenium, and ascus and ascospore formation of C. shiraiana. In addition, both bacterial isolates degraded the ultrastructure of hymenium cells in C. shiraiana apothecia. Ultimately, treatment of mulberry trees with B. thuringiensis C25 mitigated the incidence of popcorn mulberry disease under field conditions. In conclusion, B. thuringiensis C25 is the first reported BCA shown to efficiently control mulberry popcorn disease. Our results also support that B. thuringiensis exerts diverse biocontrol roles in addition to insecticidal behaviour.     

Insight into the interaction of antitubercular and anticancer compound clofazimine with human serum albumin: spectroscopy and molecular modelling

The binding of clofazimine to human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by applying optical spectroscopy and molecular docking methods. Fluorescence quenching data revealed that clofazimine binds to protein with binding constant in the order of 10⁴ M^?1, and with the increase in temperature, Stern–Volmer quenching constants gradually decreased indicating quenching mode to be static. The UV–visible spectra showed increase in absorbance upon interaction of HSA with clofazimine which further reveals formation of the drug–albumin complex. Thermodynamic parameters obtained from fluorescence data indicate that the process is exothermic and spontaneous. Forster distance (R_o) obtained from fluorescence resonance energy transfer is found to be 2.05 nm. Clofazimine impelled rise in α-helical structure in HSA as observed from far-UV CD spectra while there are minor alterations in tertiary structure of the protein. Clofazimine interacts strongly with HSA inducing secondary structure in the protein and slight alterations in protein topology as suggested by dynamic light scattering results. Moreover, docking results indicate that clofazimine binds to hydrophobic pocket near to the drug site II in HSA.     

Role of ethylene signalling in growth and systemic resistance induction by the plant growth‐promoting fungus Penicillium viridicatum in Arabidopsis

The plant growth‐promoting fungi (PGPF) have long been known to improve plant growth and suppress plant diseases. The PGPF Penicillium viridicatum GP15‐1 elicited plant growth and induced systemic resistance (ISR) in Arabidopsis thaliana against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst), leading to a restriction of pathogen growth and disease development. Examination of local and systemic genes indicated that GP15‐1 did not modulate the expression of any of the tested defence‐related marker genes involved in salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene signalling pathways. Subsequent challenge of GP15‐1‐colonized plants with Pst bacterium primed Arabidopsis plants for enhanced activation of the JA‐inducible Atvsp (vegetative storage protein) gene at a later stage of infection. To assess the contribution of different signalling pathways in GP15‐1‐elicited plant growth and ISR, Arabidopsis genotypes implicated in SA signalling expressing the nahG transgene (NahG) or carrying disruption in NPR1 (npr1), JA signalling (jar1) and ethylene signalling (ein2) were tested. The GP15‐1‐induced plant growth and ISR were fully compromised in an ein2 mutation. Root colonization assay revealed that the inability of the ein2 mutant to express GP15‐1‐induced plant growth and ISR was not associated with reduced root colonization by GP15‐1. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the ethylene signalling pathway is involved in plant growth promotion and ISR elicitation by the PGPF P. viridicatum GP15‐1 in Arabidopsis. These results provide evidence that ethylene signalling has a substantial role in plant growth and disease resistance.     

Australian Hajj pilgrims’ knowledge about MERS-CoV and other respiratory infections

<正>Dear Editor,With the intense crowding in mass gatherings such as Hajj,there is a high risk of acquisition of airborne in-fections with the potential for its transmission in the pilgrims’country of origin(Memish Z A,et al.,2014).The risk of importing serious infections from Hajj has escalated since the emergence of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus(MERS-CoV)in Saudi Arabia and other neighbouring countries from September2012.Active surveillance of Hajj pilgrims in 2012 and 2013     

Effects of oxidative and nitrosative stress in brain on p53 proapoptotic protein in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease

Many studies reported that oxidative and nitrosative stress might be important for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) beginning with arguably the earliest stage of AD, i.e., as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). p53 is a proapoptotic protein that plays an important role in neuronal death, a process involved in many neurodegenerative disorders. Moreover, p53 plays a key role in the oxidative stress-dependent apoptosis. We demonstrated previously that p53 levels in brain were significantly higher in MCI and AD IPL (inferior parietal lobule) compared to control brains. In addition, we showed that in AD IPL, but not in MCI, HNE, a lipid peroxidation product, was significantly bound to p53 protein. In this report, we studied by means of immunoprecipitation analysis, the levels of markers of protein oxidation, 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) and protein carbonyls, in p53 in a specific region of the cerebral cortex, namely the inferior parietal lobule, in MCI and AD compared to control brains. The focus of these studies was to measure the oxidation and nitration status of this important proapoptotic protein, consistent with the hypothesis that oxidative modification of p53 could be involved in the neuronal loss observed in neurodegenerative conditions.