Foliar application of selenium increases fertility and grain yield in bread wheat under contrasting water availability regimes

The study was conducted to assess whether selenium (Se) application modulates fertility to alter grain yield in bread wheat grown under different moisture regimes. Seeds of wheat cultivar Millat-2011 were sown in the plots using a randomized complete block design with three replicates per treatment. After germination, the plants were exposed to six moisture regimes, viz. no irrigation after germination, irrigation at boot stage, irrigations at boot and grain-filling stages, irrigations at crown root, boot and grain-filling stages, irrigations at crown root, boot, heading and grain-filling stages and irrigations at crown root, stem elongation, boot, heading and grain-filling stages. At the heading stage, foliar spray of sodium selenate (0, 2 and 4 mg Se L^?1) was done. Withholding water at early growth stages significantly increased oxidative stress and decreased growth and grain yield. Irrespective of moisture regimes, foliar application of Se (2 mg L^?1) decreased oxidative stress, modulated photosynthetic pigments and fertility and increased grain yield in wheat. The Se-mediated increase in grain yield was attributed to the increase in chlorophyll and ascorbic acid contents and fertility coupled with decrease of oxidative stress under different moisture regimes. The results could be helpful to manage wheat production in the semi-arid environments.     

Evaluation of method performance for oxidative stress biomarkers in urine and biological variations in urine of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic nephropathy

Background

Oxidative stress biomarkers such as superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) play an important role in the pathogenesis or progression of numerous diseases. Data regarding the biological variation and analytical quality specifications (imprecision, bias and total error) for judging the acceptability of method performance for oxidative stress biomarkers in urine are conspicuously lacking in the literature. Such data are important in setting analytical quality specifications, assessing the utility of population reference intervals (index of individuality) and assessing the significance of changes in serial results from an individual (reference change value; RCV).

Materials and methods

20 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), 20 patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) and 14 healthy individuals as control were involved in this study. Timed first morning urine samples were taken from patients and healthy groups on the zero, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 15th and 30th days. Index of individuality and reference change value were calculated from within-subject and between-subject variations. Methods of oxidative stress biomarkers in human blood were adopted in human urine and markers were measured as spectrophotometrically. Also, analytical quality specifications for evaluation of the method performance were established for oxidative stress biomarkers in urine.

Results

Within-subject variations of oxidative stress biomarkers were significantly higher in patients with DN and T2DM compared to healthy subjects. MDA showed low individuality, and within-subject variances of MDA were larger than between-subject variances in all groups. However, CAT and CuZnSOD showed strong individuality, but within-subject variances of them were smaller than between-subject variances in all groups. RCVs of all analytes in diabetic patients were relatively higher, because of high within-subject variation, resulting in a higher RCV. Also, the described methodology achieves these goals, with analytical CVs of < 3.5% for all analytes. Goals for bias and total error were 6.0-7.9% and 12.5-23.3%, respectively.

Conclusions

RCVs concept for predicting the clinical status in diabetic patients represents an optimization of laboratory reporting and could be a valuable tool for clinical decision. Furthermore, for oxidative stress biomarkers’ measurements in urine, the desirable imprecision goals based on biological variation are obtainable by current methodologies.     

Synthesis,antioxidant and carbonic anhydrase I and II inhibitory activities of novel sulphonamide-substituted coumarylthiazole derivatives

New secondary benzenesulphonamide-substituted coumarylthiazole derivatives were synthesized and their inhibitory effects on purified carbonic anhydrase I and II were evaluated using CO₂ as a substrate. The result showed that all the synthesized compounds exhibited inhibitory activity on both hCA I and hCA II with N-(4-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)thiazol-2-yl)naphthalene-2-sulphonamide (5f, IC₅₀ value of 5.63 and 8.48?µM, against hCA I and hCA II, respectively) as the strongest inhibitor revealed from this study. Structure–activity relationship revealed that the inhibitory activity of the synthesized compounds is related to the type of the halogen and bulky substituent on the phenyl ring. In addition, the cupric reducing antioxidant capacities (CUPRAC) and ABTS cation radical scavenging abilities of the synthesized compounds were assayed. 4-methoxy-N-(4-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)thiazol-2-yl)benzenesulphonamide (5e) exhibited the strongest ABTS and CUPRAC activity with IC₅₀ value of 48.83?µM and A_0.50 value of 23.29?µM, respectively.     

Levels of cytokines (IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha) and trace elements (Zn, Cu) in breast milk from mothers of preterm and term infants

It has been well documented that human milk contains several immunomodulator components which are important during infant period when the newborn's immune system is still under development. In this study, we aim at examining levels of cytokines, zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) in milk from mothers of premature and mature infants, and comparing changes during lactation periods consequently. Milk was collected from total of 40 mothers (group M: mothers of mature infants, n = 20; group PM: mothers of premature infants, n = 20) from four lactation stages: colostrum (0-7 days), transitional (7-14 days), mature milk (21 days), and mature milk (2nd month). Levels of cytokines (interleukin [IL]-lbeta, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha]) were determined by chemiluminesence method, whereas atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used for the determination of Zn and Cu levels. Cytokine levels were determined to be high in colostrum and transient milk from mothers of full-term infants, whereas their levels were reduced drastically in the 21st day and the 2nd month milk (P < .01, P < .001). Similar trends were observed in milk from mothers of premature infants, but cytokine levels were significantly lower in colostrum compared to colostrum from mothers of mature infants (P < .01). The differences in cytokine levels were continuous in transient milk (P < .05) and mature milk (21 days) (P < .05), whereas there was no statistically significant differences between milk from both groups of mothers in the 2nd month (P > .05). Zn levels in milk from mothers of premature infants were significantly lower compared to the ones from mothers of mature infants (P < .01) and these differences continued through the 2nd month. Although Cu levels were lower in milk from mothers of premature infants, there was no statistically significant difference except colostrum (P > .05). Our results clearly demonstrate that the level of immunomodulating agents such as cytokines and trace elements in milk from mothers of premature infants is less than the level of the same agents in milk from mothers of full-term infants. Although there are commercially available products for infant feeding, human milk is still the best natural nutrient for newborns. Therefore, when premature infants are breastfed, necessary precautions such as supplemantary diets must be considered for possible infections and risks related with immune system deficiency.     

Immunoglobulin-G and creatinine levels in rabbits in altitude adaptation.

The changes of immunoglobulin-G and creatinine levels in mid-altitude were investigated in rabbits. The animals living at sea level were exposed to 2240 m altitude for 22 days period. When compared with sea level values; immunoglobulin-G levels were significantly low. Serum creatinine level decreased significantly in the 2nd day, then reached the sea level amount on the 12th day. On the 22nd day a significant increase was observed. It was concluded that the decrease in immunoglobulin-G values may be due to the depression of protein synthesis. The increase in plasma creatinine level would be explained by the decrease in urine.     

Control of Postharvest Diseases of Organically Grown Strawberry with Preharvest Applications of some Food Additives and Postharvest Hot Water Dips

Ethanol at 50% (v/v) and sodium bicarbonate at 1% (wt/v), either alone or in combination, were applied to organically grown strawberries 1 h before harvest to control the natural incidence of postharvest diseases. Botrytis cinerea was the major cause of decay in all of the experiments. In three experiments, ethanol significantly reduced the decay incidence after storage for 3 days at 1°C followed by 2 days at 24°C, while the efficacy of sodium bicarbonate was inconsistent. The combination of ethanol and sodium bicarbonate did not increase their efficacy. Postharvest hot water dips at 55 and 60°C for 30 s significantly reduced the decay incidence to 3.4 and 2.7%, respectively, while decay incidence in the control was 28.5% (the first experiment). The efficacy of the hot water treatments at 55 and 60°C for 30 s was consistent in three experiments. In the third experiment, the efficacy of hot water treatment at 60°C was significantly higher than that of hot water treatment at 55°C. All pre‐ and postharvest treatments significantly reduced natural fungal populations on the surfaces of fruits. None of the pre‐ and postharvest treatments caused surface injuries to the fruit or adversely affected weight loss and taste parameters.     

In vitro inhibition of cytosolic carbonic anhydrases I and II by some new dihydroxycoumarin compounds

A new series of 6, 7-dihydroxy-3-(methylphenyl) chromenones, including three new derivatives, i.e. 6,7-dihydroxy-3-(2-methylphenyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (OPC); 6,7-dihydroxy-3-(3-methylphenyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (MPC); 6,7-dihydroxy-3-(4-methylphenyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (PPC) and one previously described, namely 6,7-dihydroxy-3-phenyl-2H-chromen-2-one (DPC), were synthesized. These compounds were investigated as inhibitors of human carbonic anhydrase I (hCA-I) and human carbonic anhydrase II (hCA-II) which had been purified from human erythrocytes on an affinity gel comprised of L-tyrosine-sulfonamide-Sepharose 4B.     

Gamma-ray attenuation properties of some NLO materials: potential use in dosimetry

Mass attenuation coefficients ($$\mu _{\text {m}}$$) for some nonlinear optical materials such as potassium dihydrogen phosphate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, zinc tris-thiourea sulphate, and zinc thiourea chloride were measured using a $$2\times 2$$ NaI(Tl) scintillation detector at gamma energies of 122 keV, 356 keV, 511 keV, 662 keV, 840 keV, 1170 keV, 1270 keV, and 1330 keV. In addition, GEANT4 simulations were carried out to mimic the experiment at these energies. As a result, good agreement between the experimental and GEANT4 results was observed. The measured $$\mu _{\text {m}}$$ values were used to compute effective atomic numbers ($$Z_{\text {eff}}$$) for the selected materials. It was found that the $$Z_{\text {eff}}$$ values were in the range typical for dosimetric materials.     

Phragmites australis — a helophytic grass — can establish successful partnership with phenol-degrading bacteria in a floating treatment wetland

Helophytic plants contribute significantly in phytoremediation of a variety of pollutants due to their physiological or biochemical mechanisms. Phenol, which is reported to have negative/deleterious effects on plant metabolism at concentrations higher than 500 mg/L, remains hard to be removed from the environmental compartments using conventional phytoremediation procedures. The present study aims to investigate the feasibility of using P. australis (a helophytic grass) in combination with three bacterial strains namely Acinetobacter lwofii ACRH76, Bacillus cereus LORH97, and Pseudomonas sp. LCRH90, in a floating treatment wetland (FTW) for the removal of phenol from contaminated water. The strains were screened based on their phenol degrading and plant growth promoting activities. We found that inoculated bacteria were able to colonize in the roots and shoots of P. australis, suggesting their potential role in the successful removal of phenol from the contaminated water. Pseudomonas sp. LCRH90 dominated the bacterial community structure followed by A. lowfii ACRH76 and B. cereus LORH97. The removal rate was significantly high when compared with the individual partners, i.e., plants and bacteria separately. The plant biomass, which was drastically reduced in the presence of phenol, recovered significantly with the inoculation of bacterial consortia. Likewise, highest reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and total organic carbon (TOC) is achieved when both plants and bacteria were employed. The study, therefore, suggests that P. australis in combination with efficient bacteria can be a suitable choice to FTWs for phenol-degradation in water.     

Studies on the macroscopic protonation constants of some alpha-amino acids in ethanol-water mixtures

Both to demonstrate whether the predominant species are dipolar ion or the neutral form and to predict the change of dipolar form to neutral form ratio in ethanol-water mixtures, the macroscopic protonation constants of eight alpha-amino acid (glycine, L-alanine, L-valine, L-leucine, L-phenylalanine, L-serine, L-methionine, and L-isoleucine) were determined potentiometrically in 20-80% (v/v) ethanol-water mixtures at 25 degrees C with an ionic strength of 0.10 M. The calculation of the constants was carried out using a PKAS computer program. The effect of solvent composition on the protonation constants and the dipolar ionic to neutral form ratio of these acids in the mixed solvents are discussed. One can conclude that the dipolar form of amino acids, HA(+/-), dominates in ethanol-water mixtures.