Neurological disorder and excessive accumulation of calcium in brain of clinically vitamin A-deficient rats

Three groups of rats were fed two types of synthetic diets for 52 d. The—A group was allowed free access to a vitamin A-deficient diet and showed classical signs of vitamin A deficiency. The brain was the only organ in our experiment where no significant weight difference was present among the three groups. In the brain, calcium concentration was significantly higher in the—A group when compared with the PF (Pair-fed; allowed restricted amount of control diet) and +A groups (allowed free access to control diet). In the tibia, calcium and magnesium concentrations were significantly lower in the—A group when compared with other two groups. Excessive accumulation of calcium in brain and apparently similar unbalance in bone, mineral concentration were observed in central nervous system (CNS) degenerative diseases. Our results suggest that abnormal metabolism of calcium and magnesium in some tissues and excessive accumulation of calcium in brain may be responsible for the development of neurological disorders in vitamin A-deficient rats.     

Survey ofFusarium species in an arid environment of Bahrain

The prevalence and distribution of soil-inhabitingFusarium species in the soil of vegetable crops grown under custom-made plastic tunnels were studied at three geographical locations on the island of Bahrain. Six species ofFusarium representing a total of 1154 isolates were isolated on modified Komada medium. All species reported in this survey are recorded for the first time from the hot, arid desert of Bahrain.Fusarium solani andF. oxysporum were among the most frequently isolated fungi in all locations and crops.     

Salinity and hormone interactions in affecting growth,transpiration and ionic relations ofPhaseolus vulgaris

Addition of either abscisic acid (ABA) or kinetin at 10⁻⁶ M to salinized media (20–120mM NaCl) induced remarkable effects on growth ofPhaseolus vulgaris plants. Whereas ABA inhibited the plant growth and the rate of transpiration, kinetin induced stimulation of both parameters. Moreover, ABA increased proline and phosphorus concentrations in the salinized plants whilst kinetin decreased them. ABA induced stimulation of the transport of K, Ca and Cl from root to shoot, accumulation of K, Na and Cl in root cells and inhibits the transport of Na and accumulation of Ca. Kinetin appeared to inhibit the transport and accumulation of Na and Cl, transport of K, and stimulates the accumulation of K and Ca as well as the transport of Ca. The highest influence of both ABA and kinetin was mostly observed when these hormones were used in combination with the highest concentration of NaCl (120 mM) in the medium.     

Direct and indirect effects of recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor on in vitro colony formation of human bladder cancer cells

Although the present experimental use of recombinant human granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (rG-CSF) has been proven to alleviate the myelosuppression induced by antitumor chemotherapy, it is also believed to stimulate growth of some nonhematopoietic tumor cells. We investigated both the direct and indirect effects of rG-CSF on in vitro colony formation of human bladder cancer cell lines using a modified human tumor clonogenic assay. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were used as feeder cells (a mixture of 5×10⁴ monocytes/dish and 5×10⁵ lymphocytes/dish obtained from healthy donors). Human bladder cancer cell lines KK-47, TCCSUP and T24, all derived from human transitional-cell carcinomas, were incubated continuously with various concentrations of rG-CSF ranging from 0.01 ng/ml to 10 ng/ml both with and without PBMC for 7–21 days. The concentrations of rG-CSF used were chosen as being in the range of achievable serum concentrations in patients treated with rG-CSF. At the end of incubation, colonies were counted under an inverted phase-contrast microscope, and an increase in the number of colonies in comparison with the control was used to evaluate the effects of rG-CSF. Results were expressed as a percentage of controls. rG-CSF in the upper layer at concentrations ranging from 0.1 ng/ml to 10 ng/ml stimulated the colony formation of all the cancer cell lines tested in the absence of PBMC in the feeder layer, whereas cells with PBMC in the feeder layer were significantly stimulated more than those without PBMC in the feeder layer (P<0.05) up to a certain concentration, which varied from cell line to cell line. At higher concentrations of rG-CSF, no further stimulation but, on the contrary, a decrease in colony formation was observed in cells with PBMC in the feeder layer in all the cell lines tested. Colony formation in KK-47 and T24 cell lines was significantly inhibited at 5 ng/ml and/or 10 ng/ml rG-CSF compared with cells without PBMC in the feeder layer. Our results suggest that rG-CSF may have both direct and indirect stimulatory effects on the growth of human bladder cancer cell lines in vitro. The results obtained also raise the possibility of adverse effects of rG-CSF in bladder cancer patients whose malignant cells may be directly and indirectly stimulated by this factor while it is being used clinically to alleviate the myelosuppression induced by antitumor chemotherapy.     

Projections of the guinea-pig paracervical ganglion to pelvic viscera

Summary The uterine cervix, urinary bladder and rectum of guinea pigs were injected with Fast Blue dye for retrograde transport studies. Dye-laden neuronal perikarya were detected for each viscus in the paracervical ganglion. These same perikarya also exhibited immunoreactivities for tyrosine hydroxylase, aromatic amino acid decarboxylase, dopamine -hydroxylase, neuropeptide Y, or vasoactive intestinal peptide, though the perikarya projecting to the urinary bladder did not exhibit immunoreactivity for aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. The results of this study indicate that the guinea-pig paracervical ganglion projects to viscera in addition to the uterus, and that the ganglion contains a range of immunoreactivities related to adrenergic and non-adrenergic neurotransmitters.     

Improvement of Early Maturing and Climate Resilient Chickpea (<i>Cicer arietinum</i> L.) Cultivars Suitable for Multiple Environments in Bangladesh

Ensuring food security for the rapidly increasing population and changing climatic scenarios are requisites for exploiting the genetic divergence of food crops. A study was undertaken to sort out an early maturing chickpea variety for fitting easily between rice-rice cropping systems in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain of Bangladesh. The trial was comprised of eight elite lines of chickpea and executed at various localities in Bangladesh from 2014– 15 to 2017–18. The result explored the chickpea genotype, BARI Chola-11 remained superior to the rest of the elite genotypes for having a short maturity period (100–106 days), and lesser days to 50% flowering (47– 55 days). The same genotype was recorded to have robust vegetative and reproductive yield attributes including plant height (49–57 cm), podsplant⁻¹ (37–50), and optimum 100 seed weight (19.5–20.6 g). Owing to better yield attributes, BARI Chola-11 resulted in the maximum seed yield (1200–1500 kg ha⁻¹ ) of chickpea and might be recommended for general adoption in the region for boosting nutritional security status through improved productivity under changing climate.     

Analysis of phase stability,elastic, electronic,thermal, and optical properties of Sc1-xYxN via ab initio methods

Journal of Molecular Modeling - The recent advances in the application of machine learning to drug discovery have made it a ‘hot topic’ for research, with hundreds of academic groups...     

Induction of programmed cell death in a dorsal root ganglia × neuroblastoma cell line

Growth factor-dependent neurons die when they are deproved of their specific growth factor. This “programmed” cell death (PCD) requires macromolecular synthesis and is distinct from necrotic cell death. To investigate the mechanisms involved in neuronal PCD, we have studied the sequence of events that occur when a neuronal cell line (F-11: Mouse neuroblastoma X rat dorsal root ganglia) is deprived of serum in a manner analogous to growth factor deprivation from neurons. Protein synthesis was inhibited within the first 8 h of serum deprivation, while DNA cleavage into nucleosome ladders was prominent by 24 h. The DNA cleavage could be inhibited by cycloheximide, consistent with a requirement for protein synthesis. In contrast, mitochondrial function was not compromised by serum deprivation. Rather, the cells appeared to be metabolically activated after serum removal as shown by an increased reduction of MTT by mitochondrial dehydrogenases and an increase in cellular autofluorescence, which is thought to be due to elevated levels of NADH and flavoproteins. Assessment of cell viability by propidium iodide staining showed no indication of cell death within 24 h. After 48 h of serum deprivation, cells decreased in size and increased propidium iodide uptake. Thus, serum deprivation activates PCD in F-11 cells and may be a useful model to study the intracellular events responsible for PCD. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.