Comparison of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation eligibility using sporosarcina pasteurii and bacillus licheniformis on two different sands

The use of biological means for ground improvement have become popular, which generally works through the process called microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP). Many studies indicate successful application of MICP based improvement with multiple bacteria and on several soils. Given the proven performance of MICP, this study aims to examine the MICP process by comparing the calcium carbonate precipitation ability of widely studied bacteria, i.e., Sporosarcina pasteurii and relatively under-recognized bacteria, i.e., Bacillus licheniformis to outline the formation success. For this purpose, two different sands were tested for observing precipitation behavior using a series of syringe tests. Furthermore, the effect of concentration and inclusion of calcium chloride for nutrition of bacteria, saturation with water, and hybrid use of two bacteria were investigated in some tests for diversification. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used for the interpretation of results. Results indicated that Sporosarcina pasteurii had performed superior over Bacillus licheniformis when achieving calcium carbonate precipitation in tests for both sands. In addition, many intriguing SEM images contributed to the literature of MICP monitoring, highlighting the effects of the variables investigated.     

Assessment of DNA strand breakage by comet assay in diabetic patients and the role of antioxidant supplementation

Diabetes patients often show increased production of reactive oxidative species (ROS) together with vascular complications. The presence of these ROS may lead to increased DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes that may be revealed by the comet assay. To test whether DNA is damaged in diabetes, peripheral blood samples were taken from 30 control individuals and 63 diabetic patients (15 insulin dependent (IDDM) and 48 non-insulin dependent (NIDDM)) and the alkaline comet assay was used to evaluate background levels of DNA damage. Significant differences were detected between control and diabetic patients in terms of frequencies of damaged cells. The extend of DNA migration was greater in NIDDM patients by comparison with IDDM patients which might indicate that IDDM patients are handling more oxidative damage on a regular basis. Smoker individuals had higher frequencies of cells with migration by comparison with the non-smokers in both groups. Also, clear differences between patients on placebo and on Vitamin E supplementation for 12 weeks were observed on the basis of the extend of DNA migration during single cell gel electrophoresis.     

Paraoxonase 55 and 192 polymorphism and its relationship to serum paraoxonase activity and serum lipids in Turkish patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus

We investigated the effect of PON 55 and PON 192 polymorphisms on serum PON1 activity and lipid profiles in 213 non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) individuals and 116 non-diabetic controls among Turkish subjects. The distribution of PON 55/192 gene polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism. Serum lipid levels were measured enzymically. PON activity was measured by spectrophotometric assay of p-nitrophenol production following addition of paraoxon. We found that PON 55 and 192 genotype distribution was similar in patients and controls and paraoxonase activity was generally lower in diabetics than in control subjects. We showed that PON 55 and 192 genotypes have a major effect on serum PON activity. PON 192 BB homozygotes had significantly higher PON activity than AA and AB genotypes among the control and NIDDM populations (p<0.001). PON 55 MM homozygotes had significantly lower PON activity than did LL and LM genotypes in control and NIDDM populations (p<0.05). The PON1 55 and 192 polymorphisms did not consistently influence the serum lipid profiles in either population. In conclusion, our results suggest that the paraoxonase activities are affected by PON1 genetic variability in Turkish NIDDM patients and controls.     

The effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids by gavage on some metabolic enzymes of rat liver

In this experimental study, the effect of fish n-3 fatty acids was studied on the some important enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism, hexokinase (HK), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) in rat liver. Wistar albino rats of experimental group (n= 9) were supplemented fish omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) as 0.4 g/kg bw. by gavage for 30 days in addition to their normal diet. Isotonic solution was given to the control group (n= 8) by the same way. At 30th day, the rats were killed by decapitation under ether anesthesia, autopsied and liver was removed. Spectrophotometric methods were used to determine the activities of above-mentioned enzymes in the liver. The n-3 PUFA caused increases in the activities of HK, G6PD, LDH, and MDH in comparison with control. These increases were statistically significant (P < 0.01) except 6PGD activity. As a result, n-3 PUFA may regulate the metabolic function of liver effectively by increasing HK, G6PD, 6PGD, LDH, and MDH enzyme activities of rat liver when added in enough amounts to the regular diet.     

Mechanistic approach to the problem of hybridization efficiency in fluorescent in situ hybridization

In fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), the efficiency of hybridization between the DNA probe and the rRNA has been related to the accessibility of the rRNA when ribosome content and cell permeability are not limiting. Published rRNA accessibility maps show that probe brightness is sensitive to the organism being hybridized and the exact location of the target site and, hence, it is highly unpredictable based on accessibility only. In this study, a model of FISH based on the thermodynamics of nucleic acid hybridization was developed. The model provides a mechanistic approach to calculate the affinity of the probe to the target site, which is defined as the overall Gibbs free energy change (DeltaG degrees overall) for a reaction scheme involving the DNA-rRNA and intramolecular DNA and rRNA interactions that take place during FISH. Probe data sets for the published accessibility maps and experiments targeting localized regions in the 16S rRNA of Escherichia coli were used to demonstrate that DeltaG degrees overall is a strong predictor of hybridization efficiency and superior to conventional estimates based on the dissociation temperature of the DNA/rRNA duplex. The use of the proposed model also allowed the development of mechanistic approaches to increase probe brightness, even in seemingly inaccessible regions of the 16S rRNA. Finally, a threshold DeltaG degrees overall of -13.0 kcal/mol was proposed as a goal in the design of FISH probes to maximize hybridization efficiency without compromising specificity.     

Permeation of volatile compounds through starch films

The aim of this study was to gain insight into the factors that affect the permeation of volatiles through starch films. These films were obtained by casting gelatinized starch/water/glycerol mixtures. The films were dried and conditioned under different conditions (temperature and relative humidity) resulting in films that vary in the degree of starch crystallinity and glycerol and water content. The permeation of two model volatiles (carvone and diacetyl) at 20 degrees C and at 30, 60, or 90% relative humidity (RH) was analyzed gravimetrically. Further, the solubility of the two model compounds (under conditions where the permeation experiments were carried out) was determined. From the obtained permeation and solubility data, the diffusion coefficients of these compounds in the different starch films were calculated. The crystallinity in the starch films increased with increasing water content of the films during preparation. The water content of the resulting films in turn increased with increasing glycerol and when the films were exposed to a higher RH during drying or conditioning. For films with the same composition, the flux for diacetyl was greater than for carvone. The solubilities of diacetyl and carvone were slightly dependent on the properties of the films. It was found that with increasing starch crystallinity the diffusion coefficient for both compounds decreases, which is probably due to the impermeability of starch crystallites. Interestingly, in films with about the same extent of crystallinity, the diffusion can be described with the free volume model, with water and glycerol determining the amount of free volume.     

Morphological characteristics and performance variables of women soccer players

The purpose of this study was to describe certain morphological characteristics of women soccer players and to examine aspects of training and performance. Twenty-two anthropometric sites were used in measurements of somatotype and body composition; flexibility, agility, anaerobic power, leg muscle power, and dynamic pulmonary functions were used as performance variables. Measurements were made on 17 professional athletes and 17 age-matched sedentary women who acted as controls. The women soccer players showed less fat content and less lean body mass than did the sedentary women. The mean somatotype for the soccer players was 3.07-3.55-2.43 and for the nonathletes was 3.57-3.35-2.90. Anaerobic power, leg muscle power, and agility in the athletes were higher than in the nonathletes, whereas no differences were found in flexibility and pulmonary functions (p > 0.05). The women soccer players showed more significantly mesomorphic, less endomorphic, least ectomorphic components and higher performance level than did the sedentary women.     

Influence of vitamin E on the levels of fatty acids and MDA in some tissues of diabetic rats

This study was performed to determine whether vitamin E supplementation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats treated with insulin could affect the levels of fatty acid composition and malondialdehyde (MDA) of brain, liver and muscle tissues. Thirty Wistar albino rats were used during the experiments. They were randomly divided into three groups, each consisting of six individuals. The first group was diabetic, the second was control, and the third was diabetic but fed vitamin E. The level of stearic acid in brain tissues decreased (p<0.05) in the second and the third groups as compared to the first group. The percentage of arachidonic and polyunsaturated fatty acids slightly decreased (p<0.05) in the diabetic group in comparison to the second and third groups. The proportion of docosahexaenoic acid significantly increased (p<0.01) in the second and third groups in contrast to the first group. The level of docosatrienoic was slightly higher (p<0.05) in the third group than in other groups. In the liver tissues, the proportion of stearic, oleic and total monounsaturated fatty acids was slightly higher (p<0.05) in the first group than in the other groups. The level of arachidonic, docosahexaenoic, unsaturated and total polyunsaturated fatty acid slightly increased (p<0.05) in the second and third groups as compared to the first group. The level of myristic and stearic acids in muscle tissue slightly increased (p<0.05) in the first group as compared to the second and third groups. The proportion of arachidonic, docosahexaenoic and unsaturated fatty acids slightly increased (p<0.05) in the second and third groups relative to the first group. The amount of MDA was slightly higher in the diabetic group than in the other groups in all tissues. The results indicate that vitamin E supplementation, in experimental diabetes could play a role in controlling the oxidative status and altered fatty acid metabolism in tissues, thereby maintaining favourable fatty acid distribution in the tissues affected by diabetic complications.