Engineered yeast-based eATP precisely controlled system for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Purinergic Signalling -     

In vitro examination of anti-parasitic,anti-Alzheimer,insecticidal and cytotoxic potential of Ajuga bracteosa Wallich leaves extracts

This research study is mainly focused to evaluate the anti-parasitic, insecticidal, cytotoxic and anti-alzheimer potential of various leaf extracts of Ajuga bracteosa Wallich ex Bentham. 04 different extracts were prepared using solvent of different polarity to determine the best candidate for potent bioactivity i.e. n-hexane (NH), Ethyl acetate (EA), Ethanol (EL) and Chloroform (CH). Concentrations of each extracts were made specified for all activities. All extracts were exploited for broad range of biomedical applications including leishmaniasis, in vitro anti-Alzheimer, insecticidal and cytotoxic studies. Our results showed that A. bracteosa n-hexane extract was highly active against Leishmania Tropica with significant inhibition of 58 ± 1.61 for promastigote and 63 ± 2.29 for amastigote at 1000 μg/mL. Furthermore, promising anti-alzheimer activity acetylcholinesterase (AChE) 46 ± 0.83 and butrylcholineterase (BChE) 49 ± 1.17 was noted for n-hexane. The insecticidal potential of these extracts were test against five different insects (Rhyzopertha dominica, Trogoderma granarium, Tribolium castaneum, Sitophilus oryze, and Callosobruchus analis). The higest mortality rate of insecticidal activity was recorded by n-hexane followed by Ethyl acetate whereas ethanol extract was found to be less effective against all the test species. Significant cytotoxic potential of each plant sample against Artemia salina thus aware us for further detailed research to find out novel drugs. Based on our results we believe that Ajuga bracteosa could be used to develop as a potential botanical insecticide against different insect and pests, such as aphids as well as an excellent source for the compound isolation as anti-tumor agent.     

The transmission dynamic of different hepatitis B-infected individuals with the effect of hospitalization

We propose an epidemic model for the transmission of hepatitis B virus along with the classification of different infection phases and hospitalized class. We formulate the model and discuss its basic mathematical properties, e.g. existence, positivity, and biological feasibility. Exploiting the next generation matrix approach, we find the basic reproductive number of the model. We perform sensitivity analysis to illustrate the effect of various parameters on the transmission of the disease. We investigate stability of the equilibria of the model in terms of the basic reproduction number. Conditions for the stability of the proposed model are obtained using various approaches. Finally, we perform the numerical simulations to discuss sensitivity analysis and to support our analytical work.     

Membrane biofouling behaviors at cold temperatures in pilot-scale hollow fiber membrane bioreactors with quorum quenching

Abstract

In this study, the seasonality of the biofouling behavior of pilot-scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs) run in parallel with vacant sheets and quorum quenching (QQ) sheets using real municipal wastewater was investigated. QQ media delayed fouling, but low temperatures caused severe biofouling. The greater amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) produced in cold weather was responsible for the faster biofouling of a membrane, even with QQ media. There were significant negative relationships between EPS levels and water temperature. Cold weather was detrimental to the degradation of quorum sensing signal molecules by QQ sheets, whose activity was restored with a higher dose of QQ bacteria. The QQ bacteria in the sheets experienced a slight loss in activity during the early stage of the field test, but survived in the pilot-scale MBR fed with real wastewater. There were no significant discrepancies in treatment efficiency among conventional, vacant, and QQ MBRs.     

Contribution of TGFβ1 Codon 10 Polymorphism to High Myopia in an Ethnic Kashmiri Population from India

This study looks at novel variants of the TGFβ1 gene and their potential association with high myopia in an ethnic population from Kashmir, India. Allele frequencies of 247 Kashmiri subjects (from India) with high myopia and 176 ethnically matched healthy controls were tested for Hardy–Weinberg disequilibrium. The genotype and allele frequencies were evaluated using chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests. One of the three SNPs in codon 10 showed a significant difference between patients and control subjects (rs1982073: p genotype = 0.003, p allele = 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between patients and control subjects for the other two SNPs, rs1800471 at codon 25 and a novel variant at codon 52. SNP rs1982073, substituting proline with leucine, appeared to be significantly associated with high myopia (p < 0.05). In silico predictions show that substitutions are likely to have an impact on the structure and functional properties of the protein, making it imperative to understand their functional consequences in relation to high myopia.     

Effect of darkness treatment on the morphology,hormone status and gene expression of developing adventitious root in apple rootstock

Adventitious root (AR) formation plays a critical role for the clonal propagation of horticultural crops. In this study, Malus prunifolia var. ringo micro-cuttings were treated with IBA and darkness treatments to investigate the mechanism of darkness effects AR formation. Morphological and anatomical observation revealed that darkness promotes more ARs formation. Root morphology, and hormones level were evaluated during AR formation. Results indicated that darkness promotes AR formation by increasing auxin level at stages of 1 d and 3 d, moreover, ZR, ABA, GA₃, BR and JA also changed. The number of ARs in darkness-treated group was significantly higher than that of control treatment; Additionally, genes related to light signal pathway-, hormones-, carbohydrate metabolism-, cell cycle-, and root development were determined by RT-qPCR. Auxin- and cytokinin-related genes, such as MdARF1, MdGH3;1, MdPAT1-1; MdPIN1, MdCRF2, MdCRF4, and MdRR10 were significantly induced by darkness treatment, which corresponded with higher hormones levels. Furthermore, light-signal-related genes (MdASP3, MdATPC1, MdBGLU13, MdCBA1, MdLHCB6, MdLHCA1, MdNPQ4, MdPTE1 and MdPSAL) were also induced by darkness-treatment, resulting changes in the expression profiles of cell cycle-related genes (MdCYCB2;1, MdCYCB2;3–1 and MdCYCB2;3–2) and also in the expression of root development-related genes (MdLRP1, MdRHS19, MdSGR1 and MdSHI). Collectively, darkness treatment mediated auxin-, cytokines-, light signal-, cell cycle-, carbohydrate metabolism-, and root development-related pathways to regulating AR formation. This work laid the foundation for applied research and could be useful in future crop improvement programs.

     

Role of cell polarity and planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins in spermatogenesis

Abstract

Studies on cell polarity proteins and planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins date back to almost 40?years ago in Drosophila and C. elegans when these proteins were shown to be crucial to support apico-basal polarity and also directional alignment of polarity cells across the plane of an epithelium during morphogenesis. In adult mammals, cell polarity and PCP are most notable in cochlear hair cells. However, the role of these two groups of proteins to support spermatogenesis was not explored until a decade earlier when several proteins that confer cell polarity and PCP proteins were identified in the rat testis. Since then, there are several reports appearing in the literature to examine the role of both cell polarity and PCP in supporting spermatogenesis. Herein, we provide an overview regarding the role of cell polarity and PCP proteins in the testis, evaluating these findings in light of studies in other mammalian epithelial cells/tissues. Our goal is to provide a timely evaluation of these findings, and provide some thought provoking remarks to guide future studies based on an evolving concept in the field.     

HPLC and GC Characterization of Dicliptera bupleuroides Aerial Parts and Evaluation of Its Anti-Inflammatory Potential in Vitro,in silico and in Vivo Using Carrageenan and Formalin Induced Inflammation in Rat Models

The current study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of Dicliptera bupleuroides Nees aerial parts methanol extract and its different fractions namely hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol in vitro using cyclooxygenase inhibitory assay (COX-2). In vivo anti-inflammatory evaluation was performed using carrageenan and formalin induced inflammation in rat models followed by molecular docking. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography coupled with mass chromatography (GC/MS) analyses were used for chemical analyses of the tested samples. The tested samples showed significant inhibition in COX-2 inhibitory assay where methanol extract (DBM) showed the highest inhibitory potential at 100 μg/mL estimated by 67.86 %. At a dose of 400 mg/kg, all of the examined samples showed pronounced results in carrageenan induced acute inflammation in rat model at 4^th h interval with DBM showed the highest efficiency displaying 65.32 % inhibition as compared to the untreated rats. Formalin model was employed for seven days and DBM exhibited 65.33 % and 69.39 % inhibition at 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively approaching that of the standard on the 7^th day. HPLC revealed the presence of caffeic acid, gallic acid and sinapic acid, quercetin and myricetin in DBM. GC/MS analysis of its hexane fraction revealed the presence of 16 compounds belonging mainly to fatty acids and sterols that account for 85.26 % of the total detected compounds. Molecular docking showed that hexadecanoic acid followed by decanedioic acid and isopropyl myristate showed the best fitting within cyclooxygenase-II (COX-II) while nonacosane followed by hexatriacontane and isopropyl myristate revealed the most pronounced fitting within the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) active sites. Absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion and toxicity prediction (ADMET/ TOPKAT) concluded that most of the detected compounds showed reasonable pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and toxicity properties that could be further modified to be more suitable for incorporation in pharmaceutical dosage forms combating inflammation and its undesirable consequences.     

Aflatoxin M<Subscript>1</Subscript> contamination of raw cow’s milk in five regions of Kosovo during 2016

During February and August 2016 (winter and summer season), 192 samples of raw bulk tank milk have been collected from small dairy farms in five different regions of Kosova (Prishtina, Prizren, Peja, Mitrovica, and Gjilan). These samples were analyzed for aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) contamination level by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–ESI–MS/MS). The limit of quantification for AFM1 was 0.02 μg/L and recovery at 0.1–0.5 μg/L was 90–95% (coefficient of variation 15–25%). A total of 74 milk samples (38%) were found to be contaminated with AFM₁ and 11 samples (5.7%) slightly exceeded the European Union maximum level of 0.05 μg/L. The maximum AFM₁ level was at 0.082 μg/L. There was no relevant difference between summer and winter with regard to AFM₁ frequency and levels. Although the frequency of AFM₁-positive samples varied between regions, from 7% (Prishtina) to 53% (Prizren), only minor regional differences were observed with regard to average and maximum toxin levels. The high percentage of milk samples which were non-compliant with AFM₁ maximum levels indicates that efforts to reduce the contamination levels of aflatoxin B₁ in cows feed in Kosovo are necessary.