Zinc buffer power as an important criterion for a dependable assessment of plant uptake

Summary As Electro-Ultra-Filtration offers the possibility for a rapid measurement of the intensity parameter of plant nutrients, it was examined whether or not the integration of the buffer power would improve information generated, by this technique and so an experiment was conducted to answer this question of the importance of Zn buffer power on Zn nutrition of maize. The experimental soil was dressed with graded amounts of soluble Zn and equilibrated for 15 days after which separate portions of it were extracted with DTPA to determine Zn quantity and by the Electro-Ultra-Filtration technique (EUF) to determine Zn intensity. The same soil was cropped to maize to monitor Zn uptake. At first Zn concentration in the plant top, determined by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrophotometry, and total Zn uptake by plant top, were correlated with the Electro-Ultra-Filtrable zn at seeding and at harvest as simple linear regression functions. When the corresponding Zn buffer power was also integrated into the computations as a multiple regression function, there was a remarkable improvement in the correlation coefficients so obtained and as much as 66% of the variance in Zn concentration in the plant top could be attributed to the variance in Zn intensity and the corresponding Zn buffer power. The Zn buffer power measures the rate of Zn replenishment around plant roots during crop growth. Since the EUF technique offers the possibility for rapid measurement of Zn intensity, the predictability of routine soil testing by this method could be substantially enhanced by integrating the Zn buffer power also into the computations.     

The Brazilian Amaryllidaceae as a source of acetylcholinesterase inhibitory alkaloids

Nine Brazilian Amaryllidaceae species were studied for their alkaloid composition and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity via GC–MS and a modified Ellman assay, respectively. A total of thirty-six alkaloids were identified in these plants, of which Hippeastrum papilio and H. glaucescens exhibited the highest galanthamine content and the best IC₅₀ values against AChE. Furthermore, Hippeastrum vittatum and Rhodophiala bifida also showed notable AChE inhibitory effects. X-ray crystallographic data for four galanthamine-type compounds revealed significant differences in the orientation of the N-methyl group, which are shown to be related to AChE inhibition.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel Na15(SO4)5F4Cl:Ce3+ halosulfate phosphors

A series of Na₁₅(SO₄)₅F₄Cl phosphors doped with Ce³⁺ ions was prepared using the wet chemical method. X‐Ray diffraction studies were used to determine their phase formation and purity. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy effectively identified the chemical bonds present in the molecule. The photoluminescence properties of the as‐prepared phosphors were investigated and the Ce³⁺ ions in these hosts were found to give broadband emission in the UV range. For the thermoluminescence study, phosphors were irradiated with a 5 Gy dose of γ‐rays from a ⁶⁰Co source. Chen’s half‐width method was employed to calculate the trapping parameters from the thermoluminescence glow curve. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceptions of Private Medical Practitioners on Tuberculosis Notification: A Study from Chennai,South India

Background

The Government of India declared TB as a notifiable disease in 2012. There is a paucity of information on the government''s mandatory TB notification order from the perspective of private medical practitioners (PPs).

Objective

To understand the awareness, perception and barriers on TB notification among PPs in Chennai, India.

Methods

Total of 190 PPs were approached in their clinics by trained field staff who collected data using a semi-structured and pre-coded questionnaire after getting informed consent. The data collected included PPs'' specialization, TB management practices, awareness about the TB notification order, barriers in its implementation and their suggestions to improve notification.

Results

Of 190 PPs from varied specializations, 138 (73%) had diagnosed TB cases in the prior three months, of whom 78% referred these patients to government facilities. Of 138 PPs, 73% were aware of the order on mandatory TB notification, of whom 46 (33%) had ever notified a TB case. Of 120 PPs, 63% reported reasons for not notifying TB cases. The main reasons reported for not notifying were lack of time (50%), concerns regarding patients'' confidentiality (24%) and fear of offending patients (11%). Of 145 PPs, 76% provided feedback about information they felt uncomfortable reporting during notification. PPs felt most uncomfortable reporting patient''s government-issued Aadhar number (77%), followed by patient''s phone number (37%) and residential address (26%). The preferred means of notification was through mobile phone communication (24%), SMS (18%) and e-mail (17%).

Conclusion

This study highlights that one-fourth of PPs were not aware of the TB notification order and not all those who were aware were notifying. While it is important to sensitize PPs on the importance of TB notification it is also important to understand the barriers faced by PPs and to make the process user-friendly in order to increase TB notification.     

Vaccination with an Attenuated Mutant of Ehrlichia chaffeensis Induces Pathogen-Specific CD4+ T Cell Immunity and Protection from Tick-Transmitted Wild-Type Challenge in the Canine Host

Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a tick-borne rickettsial pathogen and the causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis. Transmitted by the Amblyomma americanum tick, E. chaffeensis also causes disease in several other vertebrate species including white-tailed deer and dogs. We have recently described the generation of an attenuated mutant strain of E. chaffeensis, with a mutation in the Ech_0660 gene, which is able to confer protection from secondary, intravenous-administered, wild-type E. chaffeensis infection in dogs. Here, we extend our previous results, demonstrating that vaccination with the Ech_0660 mutant protects dogs from physiologic, tick-transmitted, secondary challenge with wild-type E. chaffeensis; and describing, for the first time, the cellular and humoral immune responses induced by Ech_0660 mutant vaccination and wild-type E. chaffeensis infection in the canine host. Both vaccination and infection induced a rise in E. chaffeensis-specific antibody titers and a significant Th1 response in peripheral blood as measured by E. chaffeensis antigen-dependent CD4⁺ T cell proliferation and IFNγ production. Further, we describe for the first time significant IL-17 production by peripheral blood leukocytes from both Ech_0660 mutant vaccinated animals and control animals infected with wild-type E. chaffeensis, suggesting a previously unrecognized role for IL-17 and Th17 cells in the immune response to rickettsial pathogens. Our results are a critical first step towards defining the role of the immune system in vaccine-induced protection from E. chaffeensis infection in an incidental host; and confirm the potential of the attenuated mutant clone, Ech_0660, to be used as a vaccine candidate for protection against tick-transmitted E. chaffeensis infection.     

An integrated signal transduction network of macrophage migration inhibitory factor

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a glycosylated multi-functional protein that acts as an enzyme as well as a cytokine. MIF mediates its actions through a cell surface class II major histocompatibility chaperone, CD74 and co-receptors such as CD44, CXCR2, CXCR4 or CXCR7. MIF has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Although MIF is a molecule of biomedical importance, a public resource of MIF signaling pathway is currently lacking. In view of this, we carried out detailed data mining and documentation of the signaling events pertaining to MIF from published literature and developed an integrated reaction map of MIF signaling. This resulted in the cataloguing of 68 molecules belonging to MIF signaling pathway, which includes 24 protein-protein interactions, 44 post-translational modifications, 11 protein translocation events and 8 activation/inhibition events. In addition, 65 gene regulation events at the mRNA levels induced by MIF signaling have also been catalogued. This signaling pathway has been integrated into NetPath (http://www.netpath.org), a freely available human signaling pathway resource developed previously by our group. The MIF pathway data is freely available online in various community standard data exchange formats. We expect that data on signaling events and a detailed signaling map of MIF will provide the scientific community with an improved platform to facilitate further molecular as well as biomedical investigations on MIF.     

The JmjN Domain of Jhd2 Is Important for Its Protein Stability,and the Plant Homeodomain (PHD) Finger Mediates Its Chromatin Association Independent of H3K4 Methylation

Histone lysine methylation is a dynamic process that plays an important role in regulating chromatin structure and gene expression. Recent studies have identified Jhd2, a JmjC domain-containing protein, as an H3K4-specific demethylase in budding yeast. However, important questions regarding the regulation and functions of Jhd2 remain unanswered. In this study, we show that Jhd2 has intrinsic activity to remove all three states of H3K4 methylation in vivo and can dynamically associate with chromatin to modulate H3K4 methylation levels on both active and repressed genes and at the telomeric regions. We found that the plant homeodomain (PHD) finger of Jhd2 is important for its chromatin association in vivo. However, this association is not dependent on H3K4 methylation and the H3 N-terminal tail, suggesting the presence of an alternative mechanism by which Jhd2 binds nucleosomes. We also provide evidence that the JmjN domain and its interaction with the JmjC catalytic domain are important for Jhd2 function and that Not4 (an E3 ligase) monitors the structural integrity of this interdomain interaction to maintain the overall protein levels of Jhd2. We show that the S451R mutation in human SMCX (a homolog of Jhd2), which has been linked to mental retardation, and the homologous T359R mutation in Jhd2 affect the protein stability of both of these proteins. Therefore, our findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the observed defects in patients harboring this SMCX mutant and suggest the presence of a conserved pathway involving Not4 that modulates the protein stability of both yeast Jhd2 and human SMCX.