Cytotoxic activities of Hypericum perforatum L. extracts against 2D and 3D cancer cell models

Cytotechnology - Six extracts were obtained from plant species Hypericum perforatum L., collected at Samsun in Turkey. The aim of this study was to examine the mechanisms of the anticancer activity...     

The environmental fate and behaviour of antifouling paint booster biocides: A review

Antifouling paint booster biocides are a group of organic compounds added to antifouling paints to improve their efficacy. They have become prevalent since the requirement for alternative antifouling paints formulations for small boats (< 25 m). This need followed a ban on the use of triorganotin biocides in antifouling paints for small boats, in the late 1980's. Worldwide, around eighteen compounds are currently used as antifouling biocides, viz. benzmethylamide, chlorothalonil, copper pyrithione, dichlofluanid, diuron, fluorofolpet, Irgarol 1051, Sea‐Nine 211, Mancozeb, Polyphase, pyridine‐triphenyl‐borane, TCMS (2,3,5,6‐tetrachloro‐4‐methylsulfonyl) pyridine, TCMTB [2‐(thiocyanomethylthio)benzothia‐zole], Thiram, tolyfluanid, zinc pyrithione (ZPT), ziram and Zineb. Any booster biocide released into the environment is subjected to a complex set of processes. These processes include transport mechanisms, transformation, degradation, cross media partitioning, and bioaccumulation. This paper reviews the fate and behaviour data currently available in the public domain concerning antifouling paint booster biocides.     

Functional evolution of two subtly different (similar) folds

Background

The function of proteins is a direct consequence of their three-dimensional structure. The structural classification of proteins describes the ways of folding patterns all proteins could adopt. Although, the protein folds were described in many ways the functional properties of individual folds were not studied.

Results

We have analyzed two β-barrel folds generally adopted by small proteins to be looking similar but have different topology. On the basis of the topology they could be divided into two different folds named SH3-fold and OB-fold. There was no sequence homology between any of the proteins considered. The sequence diversity and loop variability was found to be important for various binding functions.

Conclusions

The function of Oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding (OB) fold proteins was restricted to either DNA/RNA binding or sugar binding whereas the Src homology 3 (SH3) domain like proteins bind to a variety of ligands through loop modulations. A question was raised whether the evolution of these two folds was through DNA shuffling.     

Update of ichthyofauna diversity and ecological status of a coastal River Nero (Côte d’Ivoire – West Africa)

The general aim of this study is to update the inventory of the fish species and to specify distribution patterns in the Nero River ichthyofauna in order to establish some basis for the conservation of these fish communities and their habitat. From February 2009 to January 2010, thirty-three sites were sampled monthly with gill nets and a backpack electrofisher, and environmental variables were recorded. Overall, 46 species included in 33 genuses, 24 families and 9 orders were collected. Eleven families and 30 species were the first records for the Nero River. Including all species previously listed in the literature, the number of species presently known in the Nero River and its tributaries is revised to 59. Four families, Alestidae (21%), Schilbeidae (19%), Cyprinidae (17%) and Cichlidae (16%) that made up 73% of the total number of the catches, were the most dominant. The most dominant numerical species were Schilbe mandibularis and Brycinus longipinnis. Fish species and sampling sites along with eight environmental variables were ordinated with canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) coupled to the Monte Carlo test. Ecological status based on fish assemblage according to environmental variables and anthropogenic pressures showed that miss dead wood leaves and roots, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, mud, nitrite, basin width, dissolved oxygen and pH, were the primary factors influencing fish distribution. The environmental tolerance index (ETI), ecological tolerance (t_k) and optima (u_k) values of 10 species to 8 different environmental variables were analyzed. Six species (Hemichromis fasciatus, Epiplatys chaperi, Barbus ablabes, B. longipinnis, Hemichromis bimaculatus and Chromidotilapia guntheri) have high ETI and a cosmopolitan distribution in the Nero River. In the tributaries of the middle course, high concentrations of nitrite in the water, added to the presence of a lot of tolerant species in the ichthyofauna are indications of disturbance of these areas. Subsequent recommendations were formulated for efficient restoration and conservation management of this River.     

Efficient shoot organogenesis in petioles of yam (Dioscorea spp)

Shoot organogenesis was successfully achieved in petiole explants excised from 6 to 8-week old in vitro plantlets of yam Dioscorea rotundata P. cv. Kponan fissa, Dioscorea cayenensis L. cv. Krengle IB14 and cv. Krengle IB35, and Dioscorea alata L. cv. Bete bete. Only the basipetal portion of the petiole acquired competence, and plants regenerated within 21?days on MS medium supplemented with 2?% sucrose, 100?mg/l myo-inositol, 10???M kinetin and 1.5?mM putrescine referred to as yam regeneration medium (YRM). Plant regeneration was significantly (p?<?0.01) higher (42?%) with 2?% sucrose compared to 1, 3 and 4?% sucrose which produced 4, 25 and 15?% regeneration respectively. The age of the donor yam plantlet was critical to regeneration, and the highest regeneration efficiency was obtained with explants from 8-week old plantlets. Addition of the antioxidants lipoic acid (19.4???M), and l-cysteine (28.5???M) to the culture medium stimulated axillary branching in regenerated shoots. Among the four yam cultivars tested, cv. Kponan fissa, cv. Krengle IB14 and cv. Bete bete had similar response at 10???M kinetin, while the cv. Krengle IB35 regenerated best at a lower concentration of kinetin (0.5???M).     

Virus isolation and molecular epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) from an outbreak in free-ranging wild birds,India 2016

We report the molecular epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus involved in an outbreak causing death in free-ranging wild birds at Mysore, Karnataka state of India. The virus was typed as HPAI A(H5N8) by conventional and TaqMan probe based real-time PCR assays. Six isolates of HPAI virus were recovered in 9-day-old embryonated chicken eggs. Haemagglutinin gene-based phylogeny of virus isolates showed >?99.9% nucleotide sequence identity with HPAI A(H5N8) isolates from migratory birds and domestic poultry from China and Korea indicating either these wild birds have routed their migration through Korea and/or eastern China or these dead birds must have directly or indirectly contacted with wild birds migrating from Eastern China and/or Korean regions. The study emphasises the role of migratory wild birds in spread of HPAI across the globe.