Aqueous Fraction of Beta vulgaris Ameliorates Hyperglycemia in Diabetic Mice due to Enhanced Glucose Stimulated Insulin Secretion,Mediated by Acetylcholine and GLP-1, and Elevated Glucose Uptake via Increased Membrane Bound GLUT4 Transporters

BackgroundThe study was designed to investigate the probable mechanisms of anti-hyperglycemic activity of B. Vulgaris.ConclusionFindings of the present study clearly prove the role of Acetylcholine and GLP-1 in the Insulin secreting activity of B. Vulgaris. Increased glucose uptake in the skeletal muscles and subsequent glycogen synthesis may also play a part in the anti-hyperglycemic activity of B. Vulgaris.     

Use of Composite Protein Database including Search Result Sequences for Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Cell Secretome

Mass spectrometric (MS) data of human cell secretomes are usually run through the conventional human database for identification. However, the search may result in false identifications due to contamination of the secretome with fetal bovine serum (FBS) proteins. To overcome this challenge, here we provide a composite protein database including human as well as 199 FBS protein sequences for MS data search of human cell secretomes. Searching against the human-FBS database returned more reliable results with fewer false-positive and false-negative identifications compared to using either a human only database or a human-bovine database. Furthermore, the improved results validated our strategy without complex experiments like SILAC. We expect our strategy to improve the accuracy of human secreted protein identification and to also add value for general use.     

Child Centred Approach to Climate Change and Health Adaptation through Schools in Bangladesh: A Cluster Randomised Intervention Trial

Background

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. People are getting educated at different levels on how to deal with potential impacts. One such educational mode was the preparation of a school manual, for high school students on climate change and health protection endorsed by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, which is based on a 2008 World Health Organization manual. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of the manual in increasing the knowledge level of the school children about climate change and health adaptation.

Methods

This cluster randomized intervention trial involved 60 schools throughout Bangladesh, with 3293 secondary school students participating. School upazilas (sub-districts) were randomised into intervention and control groups, and two schools from each upazila were randomly selected. All year seven students from both groups of schools sat for a pre-test of 30 short questions of binary response. A total of 1515 students from 30 intervention schools received the intervention through classroom training based on the school manual and 1778 students of the 30 control schools did not get the manual but a leaflet on climate change and health issues. Six months later, a post-intervention test of the same questionnaire used in the pre-test was performed at both intervention and control schools. The pre and post test scores were analysed along with the demographic data by using random effects model.

Results

None of the various school level and student level variables were significantly different between the control and intervention group. However, the intervention group had a 17.42% (95% CI: 14.45 to 20.38, P = <0.001) higher score in the post-test after adjusting for pre-test score and other covariates in a multi-level linear regression model.

Conclusions

These results suggest that school-based intervention for climate change and health adaptation is effective for increasing the knowledge level of school children on this topic.     

Synthesis, crystal structure, magnetic and redox properties of copper(II) complexes of N-alkyl(aryl) tBu-salicylaldimines

A series of novel copper(II) complexes, L₂Cu with newly synthesized 3,5--salicylaldimine (or 5--salicylaldimine) ligands derived from 2,4-di-tert-butyl phenol (or 4-tert-butyl phenol) and alkyl (aryl) amines have been prepared and their spectroscopic (IR, UV-Vis, ESI-MS), X-ray, magnetic and redox properties have been investigated. The X-ray crystallography analysis shows that all complexes are monomeric and their copper(II) centers are surrounded by phenolate oxygens and imine nitrogen atoms. Therefore, the coordination sphere around the copper atoms is N₂O₂ as seen in galactose oxidase active site. In addition, the geometric configurations of all complexes are square planar or slightly distorted square planar. The crystal system for all complexes is monoclinic, except for which is orthorhombic. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility of complexes confirms the mononuclear structure of complexes. Oxidation of the Cu(II) complexes yielded the corresponding Cu(II)-phenoxyl radical species during the cyclic voltammetry experiments.     

Different soil moisture conditions change the outcome of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis between Rhizopogon species and Pinus muricata

The outcome of species interactions often depends on the environmental conditions under which they occur. In this study, we tested how different soil moisture conditions affected the outcome of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis between three Rhizopogon species and Pinus muricata in a factorial growth chamber experiment. We found that when grown in 7% soil moisture conditions, ectomycorrhizal plants had similar biomass, photosynthesis, conductance, and total leaf nitrogen as non-mycorrhizal plants. However, when grown at 13% soil moisture, ectomycorrhizal plants had significantly greater shoot biomass, higher photosynthetic and conductance rates, and higher total leaf nitrogen than non-mycorrhizal plants. The differences in plant response by mycorrhizal status in the two soil moisture treatments corresponded with evidence of water limitation experienced by the fungi, which had much lower colonization at 7% compared to 13% soil moisture. Our results suggest that the outcome of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis can be context-dependent and that fluctuating environmental conditions may strongly affect the way plants and fungi interact. Peter G. Kennedy and Kabir G. Peay contributed equally to this work and order was determined by a coin toss.     

The Yersinia effector protein YpkA induces apoptosis independently of actin depolymerization

The pathogenicity of the plague agent Yersinia pestis is largely due to the injection of effector proteins that potently block immune responses into host cells through a type III secretion apparatus. One Yersinia effector protein, YpkA, a putative serine/threonine kinase, has been reported to act by depolymerizing actin and disrupting actin microfilament organization. Using YpkA-GFP fusion proteins to directly visualize cells expressing YpkA, we found instead that YpkA triggered rapid cell death that can be blocked by caspase inhibitors and Bcl-xL, but was not dependent on caspase-8. The actin depolymerization promoted by YpkA was only seen in cells with other features of apoptosis, and was blocked by inhibiting apoptosis, indicating that actin filament disruption is likely to be a result, rather than a cause of YpkA-induced apoptosis. A region including aa 133-262 in YpkA was sufficient for inducing apoptosis independent of localization to the plasma membrane. These data suggest that YpkA can act as a direct inducer of cell death.     

Molecular docking analysis of known flavonoids as duel COX-2 inhibitors in the context of cancer

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) catalyzed synthesis of prostaglandin E2 and it associates with tumor growth, infiltration, and metastasis in preclinical experiments. Known inhibitors against COX-2 exhibit toxicity. Therefore, it is of interest to screen natural compounds like flavanoids against COX-2. Molecular docking using 12 known flavanoids against COX-2 by FlexX and of ArgusLab were performed. All compounds showed a favourable binding energy of >-10 KJ/mol in FlexX and > -8 kcal/mol in ArgusLab. However, this data requires in vitro and in vivo verification for further consideration.