Cardioprotective role of extracellular vesicles: A highlight on exosome beneficial effects in cardiovascular diseases

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized vesicles, released from many cell types including cardiac cells, have recently emerged as intercellular communication tools in cell dynamics. EVs are an important mediator of signaling within cells that influencing the functional behavior of the target cells. In heart complex, cardiac cells can easily use EVs to transport bioactive molecules such as proteins, lipids, and RNAs to the regulation of neighboring cell function. Cross-talk between intracardiac cells plays pivotal roles in the heart homeostasis and in adaptive responses of the heart to stress. EVs were released by cardiomyocytes under baseline conditions, but stress condition such as hypoxia intensifies secretome capacity. EVs secreted by cardiac progenitor cells and cardiosphere-derived cells could be pinpointed as important mediators of cardioprotection and cardiogenesis. Furthermore, EVs from many different types of stem cells could potentially exert a therapeutic effect on the damaged heart. Recent evidence shows that cardiac-derived EVs are rich in microRNAs, suggesting a key role in the controlling of cellular processes. EVs harboring exosomes may be clinically useful in cell-free therapy approaches and potentially act as prognosis and diagnosis biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases.     

Use of textile waste water along with liquid NPK fertilizer for production of wheat on saline sodic soils

A field experiment in collaboration with a private textile industry (Noor Fatima Fabrics Private (Ltd.), Faisalabad) was conducted to evaluate the effect of disposed water from bleaching unit, printing unit and end drain for improving growth and yield of wheat under saline sodic soil. Textile waste water along with canal water (control) was applied with and without liquid NPK fertilizer. The application of liquid NPK fertilizer with end drain waste water increased plant height, spike length, flag leaf length, root length, number of tillers (m^?2), number of fertile tillers (m^?2), 1000 grain weight, grain yield, straw yield and biological yield up to 21, 20, 20, 44, 17, 20, 14, 44, 40 and 41%, respectively compared to canal water (control). Similarly, the NPK uptake in grain was increased up to 15, 30 and 28%, respectively by liquid fertilizer treated end drain water as compare to canal water with liquid fertilizer. Moreover, concentration of different heavy metals particularly Cu, Cr, Pb and Cd was decreased in grains by application of waste water along with liquid NPK. The result may imply that waste water application along with liquid-NPK could be a novel approach for improving growth and yield of wheat in saline sodic soils.     

The Physiological,Biochemical, and Molecular Modifications of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Seedlings Under Freezing Stress

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Fall cultivation of field crops such as chickpea is prone to the risk of freezing stress. It is required to identify the mechanisms through which plants can...     

A new spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of some tetracyclines based on their interfering effect on resonance fluorescence energy transfer

A rapid, simple, inexpensive and highly sensitive spectrofluorimetric method was developed for the determination of trace amounts of some tetracyclines (TCs), namely tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH), oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTCH) and minocycline hydrochloride (MCH). Binding rhodamine B (RhB) to gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) resulted in quenching of the fluorescence of RhB by a resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism, with Au NPs as the energy acceptors. The presence of TCs caused the release of RhB molecules and recovered their fluorescence, and this was used as a basis for the quantitative determination of TCs. The reaction was monitored spectrofluorimetrically by measuring the increase in fluorescence of RhB at 572 nm starting 5 min after mixing the reagents in Tris buffer solution (pH 6.5). The effect of various experimental factors such as buffer type, pH, concentrations of the involved reagents and reaction time were studied to optimize the reaction conditions. Under optimum conditions, the calibration graphs were linear within the ranges 2.08 × 10^?9–1.04 × 10^?6 mol/L, 2.01 × 10^?9–1.00 × 10^?6 mol/L and 2.02 × 10^?9–1.01 × 10^?6 mol/L and detection limits (LODs) of 0.61 × 10^?9, 0.32 × 10^?9 and 0.66 × 10^?9 mol/L were calculated for TCH, OTCH and MCH, respectively, with corresponding percent relative standard deviations (%RSDs) of 1.18, 1.21 and 1.54 (n = 5). The method was successfully applied to the determination of TCs in drinking water, human urine, bovine milk and breast milk samples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of ethanol using permanganate–CdS quantum dot chemiluminescence system

A novel and highly sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of ethanol was developed based on the CdS quantum dots (QDs)–permanganate system. It was found that KMnO₄ could directly oxidize CdS QDs in acidic media resulting in relatively high CL emission. A possible mechanism was proposed for this reaction based on UV/Vis absorption, fluorescence and the generated CL emission spectra. However, it was observed that ethanol had a remarkable inhibition effect on this system. This effect was exploited in the determination of ethanol within the concentration range 12–300 µg/L, with detection at 4.3 µg/L. In order to evaluate the capability of presented method, it was satisfactorily utilized in the determination of alcohol in real samples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Porosity and Mixed Convection on MHD Two Phase Fluid Flow in an Inclined Channel

The present study deals with the flow and heat transfer analysis of two immiscible fluids in an inclined channel embedded in a porous medium. The channel is divided in two phases such that a third grade fluid occupies the phase I and a viscous fluid occupies the phase II. Both viscous and third grade fluids are electrically conducting. A constant magnetic field is imposed perpendicular to the channel walls. The mathematical model is developed by using Darcy''s and modified Darcy''s laws for viscous and third grade fluids respectively. The transformed ordinary differential equations are solved numerically using a shooting method. The obtained results are presented graphically and influence of emerging parameters is discussed in detail.