Immobilization of fungal spores on synthetic polymers

Adsorption of fungal spores on a synthetic polymer - High Density Polyethylene was successfully achieved using different pretreatments. Sonication of beads followed by ferric nitrate treatment or use of 0.1% tributyrin gave adsorption upto 46%. Use of dichloromethane as a solvent for sonication is recommended for its better performance in reuse studies (upto 5 times without much decrease in activity). 100 g of immobilized biocatabyst in a 7 L Fluidized Bed Bioreactor was found to perform better than shaker flask at a much lower power input.     

Comparative effects of trichothecene mycotoxins on bovine platelet function: Acetyl T-2 toxin,a more potent inhibitor than T-2 toxin

The effects of the trichothecene mycotoxins (acetyl T-2 toxin, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, palmityl T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), deoxynivalenol (DON), and T-2 tetraol) on bovine platelet function were examined in homologous plasma stimulated with platelet activating factor (PAF). The mycotoxins inhibited platelet function with the following order of potency: acetyl T-2 toxin > palmityl T-2 toxin = DAS > HT-2 toxin = T-2 toxin. While T-2 tetraol was completely ineffective as an inhibitor, DON exhibited minimal inhibitory activity at concentrations above 10×10^?4M. The stability of the platelet aggregates formed was significantly reduced in all mycotoxin treated platelets compared to that of the untreated PAF controls. It is suggested that the increased sensitivity of PAF stimulated bovine platelets to the more lipophilic mycotoxins may be related to their more efficient partitioning into the platelet membrane compared to the more hydrophilic compounds.     

An extensive review on antifungal approaches in the treatment of mucormycosis

During the period of COVID-19, the occurrences of mucormycosis in immunocompromised patients have increased significantly. Mucormycosis (black fungus) is a rare and rapidly progressing fungal infection associated with high mortality and morbidity in India as well as globally. The causative agents for this infection are collectively called mucoromycetes which are the members of the order Mucorales. The diagnosis of the infection needs to be performed as soon as the occurrence of clinical symptoms which differs with types of Mucorales infection. Imaging techniques magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scan, culture testing, and microscopy are the approaches for the diagnosis. After the diagnosis of the infection is confirmed, rapid action is needed for the treatment in the form of antifungal therapy or surgery depending upon the severity of the infection. Delaying in treatment declines the chances of survival. In antifungal therapy, there are two approaches first-line therapy (monotherapy) and combination therapy. Amphotericin B ( 1 ) and isavuconazole ( 2 ) are the drugs of choice for first-line therapy in the treatment of mucormycosis. Salvage therapy with posaconazole ( 3 ) and deferasirox ( 4 ) is another approach for patients who are not responsible for any other therapy. Adjunctive therapy is also used in the treatment of mucormycosis along with first-line therapy, which involves hyperbaric oxygen and cytokine therapy. There are some drugs like VT-1161 ( 5 ) and APX001A ( 6 ), Colistin, SCH 42427, and PC1244 that are under clinical trials. Despite all these approaches, none can be 100% successful in giving results. Therefore, new medications with favorable or little side effects are required for the treatment of mucormycosis.     

Some comments on coordinate-free and scale-invariant methods in morphometrics

The unusual strategy for comparing biological shapes is to use some kind of superimposition of the two forms under study and then look at the "residuals" as the shape change. In this paper, I take a careful look at this general strategy and point out some subtle but inherent and important pitfalls. Additionally an alternative approach based on Euclidean Distance Matrix representation is presented. It is applicable to two- as well as three-dimensional objects.     

Monoclonal antibodies to rabbit liver cytochrome P-448

Cytochrome P-448 (mol wt 55,000 Daltons) from rabbit liver was purified to a specific content of 16.6 nmol/mg. Mice were immunised with this preparation, their spleens removed and dissociated lymphocytes hybridised with myeloma cells. Four monoclonal antibodies against cytochrome P-448 were raised and partially characterised. All four antibodies interacted with cytochrome P-448 in intact microsomal fractions and selectively immunoadsorbed cytochrome P-448 from solubilised microsomal preparations. One of the antibodies inhibited benzo[a] pyrene hydroxylase activity in a reconstituted system, one had no effect on activity and two increased activity. The possible applications of such antibodies are discussed.     

Induction of deep,local hyperthermia by ultrasound and electromagnetic fields

Summary The feasibility, and the biophysical and engineering concepts underlying the use of electromagnetic energy and ultrasound for production of deep, local hyperthermia are discussed. Focused ultrasound currently is the only modality that can be used for producing controllable levels of hyperthermia localized to deep seated tumors, non-invasively and safely. The ultrasonic focus needs to moved within the tissues around the periphery of the tumor to achieve uniform temperature distributions.     

A novel prognostic signature of immune‐related genes for patients with colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers with an estimated 1.8 million new cases worldwide and associated with high mortality rates of 881 000 CRC‐related deaths in 2018. Screening programs and new therapies have only marginally improved the survival of CRC patients. Immune‐related genes (IRGs) have attracted attention in recent years as therapeutic targets. The aim of this study was to identify an immune‐related prognostic signature for CRC. To this end, we combined gene expression and clinical data from the CRC data sets of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) into an integrated immune landscape profile. We identified a total of 476 IRGs that were differentially expressed in CRC vs normal tissues, of which 18 were survival related according to univariate Cox analysis. Stepwise multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis established an immune‐related prognostic signature consisting of SLC10A2, FGF2, CCL28, NDRG1, ESM1, UCN, UTS2 and TRDC. The predictive ability of this signature for 3‐ and 5‐year overall survival was determined using receiver operating characteristics (ROC), and the respective areas under the curve (AUC) were 79.2% and 76.6%. The signature showed moderate predictive accuracy in the validation and GSE38832 data sets as well. Furthermore, the 8‐IRG signature correlated significantly with tumour stage, invasion, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis by univariate Cox analysis, and was established an independent prognostic factor by multivariate Cox regression analysis for CRC. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed a relationship between the IRG prognostic signature and various biological pathways. Focal adhesions and ECM‐receptor interactions were positively correlated with the risk scores, while cytosolic DNA sensing and metabolism‐related pathways were negatively correlated. Finally, the bioinformatics results were validated by real‐time RT?qPCR. In conclusion, we identified and validated a novel, immune‐related prognostic signature for patients with CRC, and this signature reflects the dysregulated tumour immune microenvironment and has a potential for better CRC patient management.     

Biosorption of sterols from tobacco waste extract using living and dead of newly isolated fungus Aspergillus fumigatus strain LSD-1

ABSTRACT

Sterols are verified to be able to produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during its pyrolysis. In this study, a kind of Aspergillus fumigatus (LSD-1) was isolated from cigar leaves, and the biosorption effects on the stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, campesterol, cholesterol, and ergosterol by using living and dead biomass of LSD-1 were investigated. The results showed that both living and dead biomass could efficiently remove these sterols in aqueous solution and tobacco waste extract (TWE). Interestingly, compared with the living biomass of LSD-1, the dead biomass of LSD-1 not only kept a high adsorption efficiency but also did not produce ergosterol. Overall, dead biomass of LSD-1 was a more suitable biosorbent to sterols in TWE. Furthermore, Brunner-Emmet-Teller (BET), Fourier transformed infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis were used to explore the biosorption process of living and dead biomass and their differences, suggesting that the biosorption of sterols was a physical process.     

基于野外调查和同质种植园实验的芦苇植物功能性状变异研究

研究表型可塑性和遗传变异在植物表型分化中的相对作用,有助于预测全球环境变化下的植物群落组成和生态系统功能的变化。芦苇（Phragmites australis）是全球性广布的草本植物,种内变异丰富,在我国西北和东部均存在多个分化稳定的生态型,但中国芦苇在更大尺度上的表型研究还非常匮乏。将位于黄河上游的宁夏平原和黄河下游的黄河三角洲作为研究区域,通过野外调查和同质种植园实验对芦苇自然种群的植物功能性状变异进行观测。结果表明,无论在野外还是同质种植园,黄河三角洲芦苇的基径、叶长和叶宽均显著大于宁夏平原芦苇,说明两个地区的芦苇种群之间存在着受遗传决定的表型分化,这可能与两个地区间的降水等气候差异有关。在野外,宁夏芦苇的株高和叶厚显著大于黄河三角洲芦苇,但在同质园中差异消失或相反,说明株高、叶厚受环境影响较大,表型可塑性也是芦苇适应环境变化的重要机制。在同质种植园中,宁夏平原芦苇的叶片氮磷含量较低,但株数却显著多于黄河三角洲芦苇,反映了不同地区芦苇之间存在不同的适应策略,宁夏平原芦苇更偏向于高扩散率的杂草策略,而黄河三角洲芦苇更偏向于竞争策略。此外,宁夏平原芦苇的株高、叶长两个性状以及基径-比叶面积相关性在野外和同质园两个环境中存在一致性,表明了性状变异和权衡策略的遗传稳定性。综上,位于黄河上下游的芦苇种群间存在着适应性分化,这是表型可塑性和遗传变异共同作用的结果,不同来源芦苇对全球变化下的多重环境因子的响应还需要进一步研究。