Impact of innovative nanoadditives on biodigesters microbiome

Nanoparticles (NPs) supplementation to biodigesters improves the digestibility of biowaste and the generation of biogas. This study investigates the impact of innovative nanoadditives on the microbiome of biodigesters. Fresh cow manure was anaerobically incubated in a water bath under mesophilic conditions for 30 days. Three different NPs (zinc ferrite, zinc ferrite with 10% carbon nanotubes and zinc ferrite with 10% C76 fullerene) were separately supplemented to the biodigesters at the beginning of the incubation period. Methane and hydrogen production were monitored daily. Manure samples were collected from the digesters at different time points and the microbial communities inside the biodigesters were investigated via real-time PCR and 16 S rRNA gene amplicon-sequencing. The results indicate that zinc ferrite NPs enhanced biogas production the most. The microbial community was significantly affected by NPs addition in terms of archaeal and bacterial 16 S rRNAgene copy numbers. The three ZF formulations NPs augmented the abundance of members within the hydrogenotrophic methanogenic phyla Methanobacteriaceae. While Methanomassiliicoccacaea were enriched in ZF/C76 supplemented biodigester due to a significant increase in hydrogen partial pressure, probably caused by the enrichment of Spirochaetaceae (genus Treponema). Overall, NPs supplementation significantly enriched acetate-producing members within Hungateiclostridiaceae in ZF/CNTs, Dysgonomonadaceae in ZF and Spirochaetaceae ZF/C76 biodigesters.     

Congenital alacrima in a patient with G (Opitz Frias) syndrome

Congenital alacrima is an autosomal dominant disorder showing markedly deficient lacrimation and punctate corneal epithelial erosions. The G (Opitz-Frias) syndrome is also an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by hypertelorism, hypospadias, stridor, and dysphagia. Here we report a 5-year-old boy with the G syndrome presenting congenital alacrima. Received: 23 August 1995 / Revised: 25 September 1995     

Toxic epidermal necrolysis associated with radiotherapy and phenytoin in a patient with non-Hodking's lymphoma: A case report

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a disease which is characterized by fever and desquamation of the skin and mucosal membranes. It is usually related with drugs, especially aromatic anticonvulsants which are recognized as the most common cause of this disorder. Cranial irradiation may act as a precipitating factor along with anticonvulsants for the development of TEN. We report a 28-year-old patient with central nervous system (CNS) relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who developed TEN after cranial radiotherapy and concurrent phenytoin treatment.     

Impact du thé vert “Camellia sinensis” sur les effets du vanadium sur la croissance et l’appareil génital du ratWistar mâle

Some heavy metals are known to exert harmful effects by generating an oxidative stress which, in turn, can affect the sexual and reproductive functions of male animals. The addition of antioxidants to the diet could decrease the cytotoxic effect related to oxidative stress (in the presence of heavy metals as food or water contaminants). As a contribution to this problem, the protective effect ofCamellia sinensis green tea, which is know to be rich in antioxidant compounds (polyphenols, etc.), was studied in vanadium-treated adult male rats, with particular attention to growth and genital tract function. White male Wistar rats were given ammonium metavanadate in drinking water (0.46 g/L) for 90 days One group of animals received green tea supplement in drinking water and the control group did not. Chronic vanadium intoxication (without green tea supplement) induced a low growth rate and relative atrophy of the testes, epididymis, prostate and seminal vesicles. Motility and number of spermatozoa were also decreased. Histological examination of the testes revealed atrophy of the seminiferous tubules and defects of spermatogenesis leading to the absence of spermatozoa in 50% of seminiferous tubules. Blood testosterone levels, evaluated by radioimmunoassay, were also decreased from day 2 to day 20. In control animals, these levels were 0.717±0.107 ng/ml; 4.366±0.666 ng/ml and 1.979±0.42 ng/ml on day 2, day 10 and day 20, respectively. After vanadium treatment, they were reduced to 0.043±0.012 ng/ml, 2.494±0.17 ng/ml and 1.086±0.53 ng/ml, respectively, at the same periods. These morphological, histological and functional disorders mostly occured during the first phase of the intoxication period (day 2 to day 10) and were subsequently attenuated, indicating adaptation to the poisoning. In rats receiving green tea, vanadium ingestion did not modify growth rate compared to control animals. Very minor changes were observed in the genital tract. Testicular atrophy and absence of spermatozoa were observed in only some seminiferous tubules. Our results underscore the protective effect of green tea on vanadium poisoning. Polyphenols, which are abundant in green tea, are known to chelate iron. It is proposed that polyphenols may also form insoluble complexes with vanadium, allowing it to be eliminated in the feces. This could explain the decreased effects of vanadium poisoning under our experimental conditions.     

Multiphoton imaging of freezing and heating effects in plant leaves

Thermally‐induced changes in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves were investigated with a novel cryo microscope by multiphoton, fluorescence lifetime and spectral imaging as well as micro spectroscopy. Samples were excited with fs pulses in the near‐infrared range and cooled/heated in a cryogenic chamber. The results show morphological changes in the chloroplast distribution as well as a shift from chlorophyll to cell‐wall fluorescence with decreasing temperature. At temperatures below –40 °C, also second harmonic generation was observed. The measurements illustrate the suitability of multiphoton imaging to investigate thermally‐induced changes at temperatures used for cryopreservation as well as for basic investigations of thermal effects on plant tissue in general (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Antioxidant effect of vitamin E and selenium on lipid peroxidation, enzyme activities and biochemical parameters in rats exposed to aluminium.

Aluminium has the potential to be neurotoxic in humans and animals, and is present in many manufactured foods and medicines and is also added to drinking water for purification purposes. Therefore, the present study was carried out to investigate (1) the alterations in biochemical parameters, free radicals and enzyme activities induced by aluminium chloride (AlCl3) in plasma and different tissues of male rats, and (2) the role of vitamin E (VE) and selenium in alleviating the negative effects of aluminium. VE plays an important role as an antioxidant and is consequently expected to protect tissues from damage caused by reactive oxygen metabolites. Selenium is also generally recognized to be a trace mineral of great importance for human health, protecting the cells from the harmful effects of free radicals. Seven rats per group were assigned to one of six treatment groups: 0 mg VE, 0 mg Se and 0 mg AlCl3/kg body weight (BW) (control); 100 mg VE/kg BW; 200 microg Se kg BW; 34 mg AlCl3/kg BW (1/25 LD50); 34 mg AlCl3 plus 100 mg VE/kg BW; 34 mg AlCl3 plus 200 microg Se/kg BW. Rats were orally administered their respective doses every other day for 30 days. Evaluations were made for lipid peroxidation, enzyme activities and biochemical parameters. Results obtained showed that AlCl3 significantly (p<0.05) induced free radicals (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances) and decreased the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) and the levels of sulphydryl groups (SH groups) in rat plasma, liver, brain, testes and kidney. Aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, and phosphorylase activities were significantly decreased in liver and testes due to AlCl3 administration, while the activities of these enzymes were significantly increased in plasma. In addition, plasma, liver, testes and brain lactate dehydrogenase activities were significantly increased. On the contrary, the activity of acetylcholinesterase was significantly decreased in brain and plasma. Al treatment caused a significant decrease in plasma total protein (TP), albumin and total lipids (TL), and increased the concentrations of glucose, urea, creatinine, bilirubin and cholesterol. VE or Se alone significantly decreased the levels of free radicals, TL, cholesterol, urea and bilirubin, and increased the activity of GST, and SH groups, TP and albumin, while the rest of the tested parameters were not affected. VE or Se in combination with Al partially or totally alleviated its toxic effects on the studied parameters. In conclusion, VE and Se have beneficial effects and could be able to antagonize Al toxicity.     

Spectral analysis of photoplethysmographic signals: The importance of preprocessing

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important and useful index to assess the responses of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). HRV analysis is performed using electrocardiography (ECG) or photoplethysmography (PPG) signals which are typically subject to noise and trends. Therefore, the elimination of these undesired conditions is very important to achieve reliable ANS activation results. The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the effects of preprocessing on the spectral analysis of HRV signals obtained from PPG waveform. Preprocessing consists of two stages: filtering and detrending. The performance of linear Butterworth filter is compared with nonlinear weighted Myriad filter. After filtering, two different approaches, one based on least squares fitting and another on smoothness priors, were used to remove trends from the HRV signal. The results of two filtering and detrending methods were compared for spectral analysis accomplished using periodogram, Welch's periodogram and Burg's method. The performance of these methods is presented graphically and the importance of preprocessing clarified by comparing the results. Although both filters have almost the same performance in the results, the smoothness prior detrending approach was found more successful in removing trends that usually appear in the low frequency bands of PPG signals. In conclusion, the results showed that trends in PPG signals are altered during spectral analysis and must be removed prior to HRV analysis.