Dispersal and field progeny production of Trichogramma species released in an olive orchard in Egypt

Dispersal ability and field progeny production of augmentative released biological control agents depend on ecological adaptations of the particular species or strains used. Four species of the egg parasitoid genus Trichogramma were compared aiming to select suitable candidates for control of lepidopteran olive pests. Three of them (T. bourarachae Pintureau and Babault, T. cordubensis Vargas and Cabello, T. euproctidis Girault) had been previously collected from olive groves, whereas the commercially available strain used (T. evanescens Westwood) was originally isolated from sugarcane fields. During five consecutive field releases in an olive orchard near Cairo, dispersal and/or progeny production of these species was monitored using sentinel eggs placed at different heights in the release tree canopies as well as in neighboring trees (“distance effect”). The cardinal direction of dispersal was random for T. euproctidis and T. evanescens. Significant higher parasitism occurred on sentinel eggs placed on the middle part of tree canopy and highest parasitism was observed in trees where wasps had been released. Field progeny production was highest for T. bourarachae, followed by T. euproctidis and T. cordubensis. T. evanescens propagated less under field conditions. Inter-tree dispersal of all species except T. bourarachae was limited and, for biological control, releasing material should therefore be distributed on each olive tree, preferably also at different levels of the canopy.     

A randomized controlled trial to assess the safety and efficacy of silymarin on symptoms,signs and biomarkers of acute hepatitis

PurposeMilk thistle or its purified extract, silymarin (Silybum marianum), is widely used in treating acute or chronic hepatitis. Although silymarin is hepatoprotective in animal experiments and some human hepatotoxic exposures, its efficacy in ameliorating the symptoms of acute clinical hepatitis remains inconclusive. In this study, our purpose was to determine whether silymarin improves symptoms, signs and laboratory test results in patients with acute clinical hepatitis, regardless of etiology.MethodsThis is a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in which participants, treating physicians and data management staff were blinded to treatment group. The study was conducted at two fever hospitals in Tanta and Banha, Egypt where patients with symptoms compatible with acute clinical hepatitis and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels >2.5 times the upper limit of normal were enrolled. The intervention consisted of three times daily ingestion of either a standard recommended dose of 140 mg of silymarin (Legalon^®, MADAUS GmbH, Cologne, Germany), or a vitamin placebo for four weeks with an additional four-week follow-up. The primary outcomes were symptoms and signs of acute hepatitis and results of liver function tests on days 2, 4 and 7 and weeks 2, 4, and 8. Side-effects and adverse events were ascertained by self-report.ResultsFrom July 2003 through October 2005, 105 eligible patients were enrolled after providing informed consent. No adverse events were noted and both silymarin and placebo were well tolerated. Patients randomized to the silymarin group had quicker resolution of symptoms related to biliary retention: dark urine (p=0.013), jaundice (p=0.02) and scleral icterus (p=0.043). There was a reduction in indirect bilirubin among those assigned to silymarin (p=0.012), but other variables including direct bilirubin, ALT and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were not significantly reduced.ConclusionsPatients receiving silymarin had earlier improvement in subjective and clinical markers of biliary excretion. Despite a modest sample size and multiple etiologies for acute clinical hepatitis, our results suggest that standard recommended doses of silymarin are safe and may be potentially effective in improving symptoms of acute clinical hepatitis despite lack of a detectable effect on biomarkers of the underlying hepatocellular inflammatory process.     

Improving integrated management of weed control by determination of weed seed bank in sandy and clay soil

Knowledge of soil weed seed bank is important for population dynamics studied, establishment of appropriate weed management programs, a little effort in understanding weed seed bank can give valuable information about what weeds to expect in growing season, weed density, and when most weed germination will take place. In this study, a two - year''s, two sites were carried out with the aim of assessing weed seed bank status of the soil throughout 2018 and 2019. A site was worked out in Sakha Agriculture Research farm act as a clay soil, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Agriculture Research Center (ARC). Another site was worked out in El-Ismailia Agr; Res; farm act as sandy soil, El-Ismailia Governorate, ARC. At each site, soil samples were selected from nine different places as like three Zigzag shapes divided into three, six and nine sites, “W” to act the whole soil area (30 faddan in Sakha farm, and 15 faddan in El-Ismailia farm). The soil samples were taken from topsoil 0–10 cm depth with an auger (core) 10 cm diameter the soils without tillage and before sowing the summer crop. The result of present the study in two different stations and soils, revealed that the number of soil samples to estimate weed seed banks should be either six or nine sites; each sample weighted 0.50 Kg soil with zigzag shape act a direct seed extraction technique to able recognize the abundance of weed species into the soil and their seed density. The aim is to improve integrated weed control.     

Identification of potential inhibitors for HCV NS5b of genotype 4a by combining dynamic simulation,protein–ligand interaction fingerprint, 3D pharmacophore,docking and 3D QSAR

Abstract

HCV NS5B polymerase has been one of the most attractive targets for developing new drugs for HCV infection and many drugs were successfully developed, but all of them were designed for targeting Hepatitis C Virus genotype 1 (HCV GT1). Hepatitis C virus genotype 4a (HCV GT4a) dominant in Egypt has paid less attention. Here, we describe our protocol of virtual screening in identification of novel potential potent inhibitors for HCV NS5B polymerase of GT4a using homology modeling, protein–ligand interaction fingerprint (PLIF), docking, pharmacophore, and 3D CoMFA quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR). Firstly, a high-quality 3D model of HCV NS5B polymerase of GT4a was constructed using crystal structure of HCV NS5B polymerase of GT1 (PDB ID: 3hkw) as a template. Then, both the model and the template were simulated to compare conformational stability. PLIF was generated using five crystal structures of HCV NS5B (PDB ID: 4mia, 4mib, 4mk9, 4mka, and 4mkb), which revealed the most important residues and their interactions with the co-crystalized ligands. After that, a 3D pharmacophore model was developed from the generated PLIF data and then used as a screening filter for 17000328 drug-like zinc database compounds. 900 compounds passed the pharmacophore filter and entered the docking-based virtual screening stage. Finally, a 3D CoMFA QSAR was developed using 42 compounds as a training and 19 compounds as a test set. The 3D CoMFA QSAR was used to design and screen some potential inhibitors, these compounds were further evaluated by the docking stage. The highest ranked five hits from docking result (compounds (p1–p4) and compound q1) were selected for further analysis.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

Contribution of plastocyanin isoforms to photosynthesis and copper homeostasis in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis thaliana</Emphasis> grown at different copper regimes

In land plants plastocyanin is indispensable and therefore copper (Cu) availability is a prerequisite for growth. When Cu supply is limited, higher plants prioritize the Cu delivery to plastocyanin by down-regulation of other Cu proteins. Arabidopsis has two plastocyanin genes (PETE1 and PETE2). PETE2 is the predominant isoform in soil-grown plants and in hydroponic cultures it is accumulated in response to Cu addition. It functions as a Cu sink when more Cu is available, in addition to its role as an electron carrier. PETE1 is not affected by Cu feeding and it is the isoform that drives electron transport under Cu-deficiency. Cu feeding rescued the defect in photosystem II electron flux (Φ_PSII) in the pete1 mutant whereas Φ_PSII was not changed in the pete2 mutant as Cu was added. Plants with mutations in the plastocyanin genes had altered Cu homeostasis. The pete2 mutant accumulated more Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (CSD2 and CSD1) and Cu chaperone (CCS) whereas the pete1 mutant accumulated less. On the other hand, less iron superoxide dismutase (FeSOD) and microRNA398b were observed in the pete2 mutant, whereas more were accumulated in the pete1 mutant. Our data suggest that plastocyanin isoforms are different in their response to Cu and the absence of either one changes the Cu homeostasis. Also a small amount of plastocyanin is enough to support efficient electron transport and more PETE2 is accumulated as more Cu is added, presumably, to buffer the excess Cu. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Evaluation of Oxidative Stress,Apoptosis, and Expression of MicroRNA-208a and MicroRNA-1 in Cardiovascular Patients

Background:MicroRNA expression signature and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production have been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This study aimed to evaluate oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and the expression of miRNA-208a and miRNA-1 in cardiovascular patients.Methods:The study population included four types of patients (acute coronary syndromes (ACS), myocardial infarction (MI), arrhythmia, and heart failure (HF)), with 10 people in each group, as well as a control group. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to measure mir-208 and miR-1 expression, the mRNAs of inflammatory mediators (TNFα, iNOS/eNOS), and apoptotic factors (Bax and Bcl2). XOX, MDA, and antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD, and GPx) were measured by ZellBio GmbH kits by an ELISA Reader.Results:The results showed significant decreases in the activity of antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD, and Gpx) and a significant increase in the activity of the MDA and XOX in cardiovascular patients. Significant increases in IL-10, iNos, iNOS / eNOS, and TNF-α in cardiovascular patients were also observed. Also, a significant increase in the expression of miR-208 (HF> arrhythmia> ACS> MI) and a significant decrease in the expression of miR-1 (ACS> arrhythmia> HF> MI) were found in all four groups in cardiovascular patients.Conclusion:The results showed increases in oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptotic factors, and in the expression of miR-208a in a variety of cardiovascular patients (ACS, MI, arrhythmia, and HF). It is suggested that future studies determine the relationships that miR-1, miR-208, and oxidative stress indices have with inflammation and apoptosis.Key Words: Apoptosis, Cardiovascular diseases, Inflammation, microRNA-208a, microRNA-1, Oxidative stress     

Diel timing of nest predation changes across breeding season in a subtropical shorebird

Predation is the most common cause of nest failure in birds. While nest predation is relatively well studied in general, our knowledge is unevenly distributed across the globe and taxa, with, for example, limited information on shorebirds breeding in subtropics. Importantly, we know fairly little about the timing of predation within a day. Here, we followed 444 nests of the red‐wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus), a ground‐nesting shorebird, for a sum of 7,828 days to estimate a nest predation rate, and continuously monitored 230 of these nests for a sum of 2,779 days to reveal how the timing of predation changes over the day and season in a subtropical desert. We found that 312 nests (70%) hatched, 76 nests (17%) were predated, 23 (5%) failed for other reasons, and 33 (7%) had an unknown fate. Daily predation rate was 0.95% (95%CrI: 0.76% – 1.19%), which for a 30‐day long incubation period translates into ~25% (20% – 30%) chance of nest being predated. Such a predation rate is low compared to most other avian species. Predation events (N = 25) were evenly distributed across day and night, with a tendency for increased predation around sunrise, and evenly distributed also across the season, although night predation was more common later in the season, perhaps because predators reduce their activity during daylight to avoid extreme heat. Indeed, nests were never predated when midday ground temperatures exceeded 45℃. Whether the diel activity pattern of resident predators undeniably changes across the breeding season and whether the described predation patterns hold for other populations, species, and geographical regions await future investigations.     

Cytokines as potential combination agents with PD-1/PD-L1 blockade for cancer treatment

Immunotherapy has caused a paradigm shift in the treatment of several malignancies, particularly the blockade of programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its specific receptor/ligand PD-L1 that have revolutionized the treatment of a variety of malignancies, but significant durable responses only occur in a small percentage of patients, and other patients failed to respond to the treatment. Even those who initially respond can ultimately relapse despite maintenance treatment, there is considerable potential for synergistic combinations of immunotherapy and chemotherapy agents with immune checkpoint inhibitors into conventional cancer treatments. The clinical experience in the use of cytokines in the clinical setting indicated the efficiency of cytokine therapy in cancer immunotherapy. Combinational approaches to enhancing PD-L1/PD-1 pathways blockade efficacy with several cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-2, IL-15, IL-21, IL-12, IL-10, and interferon-α (IFN-α) may result in additional benefits. In this review, the current state of knowledge about PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, the date in the literature to ascertain the combination of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies with cytokines is discussed. Finally, it is noteworthy that novel therapeutic approaches based on the efficient combination of recombinant cytokines with the PD-L1/PD-1 blockade therapy can enhance antitumor immune responses against various malignancies.