Contrasting Effects of Farmyard Manure (FYM) and Compost for Remediation of Metal Contaminated Soil

We investigated effect of farm yard manure (FYM) and compost applied to metal contaminated soil at rate of 1% (FYM-1, compost-1), 2% (FYM-2, compost-2), and 3% (FYM-3, compost-3). FYM significantly (P < 0.001) increased dry weights of shoots and roots while compost increased root dry weight compared to control. Amendments significantly increased nickel (Ni) in shoots and roots of maize except compost applied at 1%. FYM-3 and -1 caused maximum Ni in shoots (11.42 mg kg^?1) and roots (80.92 mg kg^?1), respectively while compost-2 caused maximum Ni (14.08 mg kg^?1) and (163.87 mg kg^?1) in shoots and roots, respectively. Plants grown in pots amended with FYM-2 and compost-1 contained minimum Cu (30.12 and 30.11 mg kg^?1) in shoots, respectively. FYM-2 and compost-2 caused minimum zinc (Zn) (59.08 and 66.0 mg kg^?1) in maize shoots, respectively. FYM-2 caused minimum Mn in maize shoots while compost increased Mn in shoots and roots compared to control. FYM and compost increased the ammonium bicarbonate diethylene triamine penta acetic acid (AB-DTPA) extractable Ni and Mn in the soil and decreased Cu and Zn. Lower remediation factors for all metals with compost indicated that compost was effective to stabilize the metals in soil compared to FYM.     

Psychosocial Factors of Antenatal Anxiety and Depression in Pakistan: Is Social Support a Mediator?

Introduction

Pregnancy is generally viewed as a time of fulfillment and joy; however, for many women it can be a stressful event. In South Asia it is associated with cultural stigmas revolving around gender discrimination, abnormal births and genetic abnormalities.

Methodology

This cross-sectional study was done at four teaching hospitals in Lahore from February, 2014 to June, 2014. A total of 500 pregnant women seen at hospital obstetrics and gynecology departments were interviewed with a questionnaire consisting of three sections: demographics, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Social Provisions Scale (SPS). Pearson’s chi-squared test, bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression were used to analyze associations between the independent variables and scores on the HADS and SPS.

Results

Mean age among the 500 respondents was 27.41 years (5.65). Anxiety levels in participants were categorized as normal (145 women, 29%), borderline (110, 22%) or anxious (245, 49%). Depression levels were categorized as normal (218 women, 43.6%), borderline (123, 24.6%) or depressed (159, 31.8%). Inferential analysis revealed that higher HADS scores were significantly associated with lower scores on the SPS, rural background, history of harassment, abortion, cesarean delivery and unplanned pregnancies (P < .05). Social support (SPS score) mediated the relationship between the total number of children, gender of previous children and HADS score. Women with more daughters were significantly more likely to score higher on the HADS and lower on the SPS, whereas higher numbers of sons were associated with the opposite trends in the scores (P < .05).

Conclusion

Because of the predominantly patriarchal sociocultural context in Pakistan, the predictors of antenatal anxiety and depression may differ from those in developed countries. We therefore suggest that interventions designed and implemented to reduce antenatal anxiety and depression should take into account these unique factors.     

Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Risk of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Background and Objectives

Existing data on pregnancy complications in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are inconsistent. To address these inconsistencies, we investigated potential associations between IBD, IBD-related medication use during pregnancy, and pregnancy loss, pre-eclampsia, preterm delivery, Apgar score, and congenital abnormalities.

Methods

We conducted a cohort study in >85,000 Danish National Birth Cohort women who were pregnant in the period 1996-2002 and had information on IBD, IBD-related medication use (systemic or local corticosteroids, 5-aminosalicylates), pregnancy outcomes and potential confounders. We evaluated associations between IBD and adverse pregnancy/birth outcomes using Cox regression and log-linear binomial regression.

Results

IBD was strongly and significantly associated with severe pre-eclampsia, preterm premature rupture of membranes and medically indicated preterm delivery in women using systemic corticosteroids during pregnancy (hazard ratios [HRs] >7). IBD was also associated with premature preterm rupture of membranes in women using local corticosteroid medications (HR 3.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33-8.20) and with medically indicated preterm delivery (HR 1.91, 95% CI 0.99-3.68) in non-medicated women. Furthermore, IBD was associated with low 5-minute Apgar score in term infants (risk ratio [RR] 2.19, 95% CI 1.03-4.66). Finally, Crohn’s disease (but not ulcerative colitis) was associated with major congenital abnormalities in the offspring (RR 1.85, 95% CI 1.06-3.21). No child with a congenital abnormality born to a woman with IBD was exposed to systemic corticosteroids in utero.

Conclusion

Women with IBD are at increased risk of severe pre-eclampsia, medically indicated preterm delivery, preterm premature rupture of membranes, and delivering infants with low Apgar score and major congenital malformations. These associations are only partly explained by severe disease as reflected by systemic corticosteroid use.     

Radioprotective Effect of Aminothiol PrC-210 on Irradiated Inner Ear of Guinea Pig

Radiotherapy of individuals suffering with head & neck or brain tumors subserve the risk of sensorineural hearing loss. Here, we evaluated the protective effect of Aminothiol PrC-210 (3-(methyl-amino)-2-((methylamino)methyl)propane-1-thiol) on the irradiated inner ear of guinea pigs. An intra-peritoneal or intra-tympanic dose of PrC-210 was administered prior to receiving a dose of gamma radiation (3000 cGy) to each ear. Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABRs) were recorded one week and two weeks after the radiation and compared with the sham animal group. ABR thresholds of guinea pigs that received an intra-peritoneal dose of PrC-210 were significantly better compared to the non-treated, control animals at one week post-radiation. Morphologic analysis of the inner ear revealed significant inflammation and degeneration of the spiral ganglion in the irradiated animals not treated with PrC-210. In contrast, when treated with PrC-210 the radiation effect and injury to the spiral ganglion was significantly alleviated. PrC-210 had no apparent cytotoxic effect in vivo and did not affect the morphology or count of cochlear hair cells. These findings suggest that aminothiol PrC-210 attenuated radiation-induced cochlea damage for at least one week and protected hearing.     

In vitro propagation of Caralluma tuberculata and evaluation of antioxidant potential

Present study describes rapid in vitro propagation of Caralluma tuberculata, a traditional medicinal plant, and antioxidant potential of calli and plants extracts. The highest callus induction rate (93.3%) with maximum weight of calli 5.2 g was achieved from shoot tip explants on MS medium supplemented with 9.04 μM 2,4-D and 4.44 μM BA. The maximum shoot induction rate (71.1%) with mean number of shoots 3.66 ± 1.53 and 4.6 cm average shoot length was observed on 13.32 μM BA, 4.52 μM 2,4-D and 2.89 μM GA3 appended in MS medium. The developed shoots were best rooted in the presence of 5.07 μM IAA with 3.0 ± 0.15 roots per plantlet. The plants were successfully acclimatized under in vivo conditions. The plants and calli extracts exhibited good antioxidant activities, however, plant extract activities were more pronounced. The phenolic compounds in plant and calli extracts were 0.16% and 0.057%, respectively. While the flavonoids were 0.092% in plant and 0.039% in calli extract. Total Phenolics, flavonoids; DPPH radical scavenging activity and reducing power potential distributed among different fractions depending upon polarity of the solvent. The highest DPPH scavenging activity and reducing power was exhibited by water fractions; 4.95 mg/mL and 0.729 OD at 10 mg/mL, respectively. The micropropagation protocol can be successfully used for large-scale multiplication and conservation of germplasm of this threatened plant. Furthermore, antioxidant value describes importance of this valuable plant as food and medicine.     

Membrane Topology of Outer Membrane Protein AlgE,Which Is Required for Alginate Production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The ubiquitous opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa secretes a viscous extracellular polysaccharide, called alginate, as a virulence factor during chronic infection of patients with cystic fibrosis. In the present study, it was demonstrated that the outer membrane protein AlgE is required for the production of alginate in P. aeruginosa. An isogenic marker-free algE deletion mutant was constructed. This strain was incapable of producing alginate but did secrete alginate degradation products, indicating that polymerization occurs but that the alginate chain is subsequently degraded during transit through the periplasm. Alginate production was restored by introducing the algE gene. The membrane topology of the outer membrane protein AlgE was assessed by site-specific insertions of FLAG epitopes into predicted extracellular loop regions.Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an ubiquitous opportunistic human pathogen responsible for chronic infections of the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), in whom it is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity (9). The establishment of a chronic infection in the lungs of patients with CF coincides with the switch of P. aeruginosa to a stable mucoid variant, producing copious amounts of the exopolysaccharide alginate; this is typically a poor prognostic indicator for these patients (24, 31). Alginate is a linear unbranched exopolysaccharide consisting of 1,4-linked monomers of β-d-mannuronic acid and its C-5 epimer, α-l-guluronic acid, which is known to be produced by only two bacterial genera, Pseudomonas and Azotobacter (34). The switch to a mucoid phenotype coincides with the appearance of a 54-kDa protein in the outer membrane; this protein has been identified and has been designated AlgE (13, 31).The genes encoding the alginate biosynthesis machinery are located within a 12-gene operon (algD-alg8-alg44-algK-algE-algG-algX-algL-algI-algJ-algF-algA). AlgA and AlgD, along with AlgC (not encoded in the operon), are involved in precursor synthesis (34). Alg8 is the catalytic subunit of the alginate polymerase located at the inner membrane (35). AlgG is a C-5 mannuronan epimerase (19). AlgK contains four putative Sel1-like repeats, similar to the tetratricopeptide repeat motif often found in adaptor proteins involved in the assembly of multiprotein complexes (3, 10). AlgX shows little homology to any known protein, and its role is unclear (14). Knockout mutants of AlgK, AlgG, and AlgX have nonmucoid phenotypes, although they produce short alginate fragments, due to the activity of the alginate lyase (AlgL), which degrades the nascent alginate (1, 14, 19-21, 36). AlgF, AlgI, and AlgJ are involved in acetylation of alginate, but they are not ultimately required for its production (12). The membrane-anchored protein, Alg44, is required for polymerization and has a PilZ domain for the binding of c-di-GMP, a secondary messenger essential for alginate production (16, 25, 33). The periplasmic C terminus of Alg44 shares homology with the membrane fusion proteins involved in the bridging of the periplasm in multidrug efflux pumps (11, 43). The periplasmic alginate lyase, AlgL, appears to be required for the translocation of intact alginate across the periplasm (1, 26). AlgE is an outer membrane, anion-selective channel protein through which alginate is presumably secreted (30). A protein complex or scaffold through which the alginate chain can pass and be modified and which spans the periplasm bridging the polymerase located (Alg8) at the outer membrane pore (AlgE) has been proposed (21). Indeed, it has been demonstrated that both the inner and the outer membranes are required for the in vitro polymerization of alginate (35).The requirement of AlgE for the biosynthesis of alginate in P. aeruginosa was first observed by complementation of an alginate-negative mutant derived by chemical mutagenesis with a DNA fragment containing algE (8) Secondary structure predictions suggested that AlgE forms an 18-stranded β barrel with extended extracellular loops. Several of these loops show high densities of charged amino acids, suggesting a functional role in the translocation of the anionic alginate polymer (29, 30). Preliminary analysis of AlgE crystals has been reported (48).In this study, the role of AlgE in alginate biosynthesis was investigated and the membrane topology of AlgE was assessed by site-directed insertion mutagenesis.     

Proteome characterization of cassava (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Manihot esculenta</Emphasis> Crantz) somatic embryos,plantlets and tuberous roots

Background  

Proteomics is increasingly becoming an important tool for the study of many different aspects of plant functions, such as investigating the molecular processes underlying in plant physiology, development, differentiation and their interaction with the environments. To investigate the cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) proteome, we extracted proteins from somatic embryos, plantlets and tuberous roots of cultivar SC8 and separated them by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).     

Improved production of biosurfactant by a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas aeruginosa</Emphasis> mutant using vegetable oil refinery wastes

Biosurfactant production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa EBN-8 mutant was studied in shake flasks on separate wastes from canola, soybean and corn oil refineries. Of the substrates tested, canola oil refinery waste (COD=20 g l⁻¹) supplemented with sodium nitrate (at COD/N=20) showed the best microbial growth (4.50 g l⁻¹) and rhamnolipid production (8.50 g l⁻¹), at 10 d of incubation with the specific growth rate of 0.316 h⁻¹ and specific product yield of 0.597 g g⁻¹ h. Its cell-free supernatant showed the critical micelle dilution (CMD) of 150 and surface tension (ST) of 28.5 mN m⁻¹.     

Fungal rDNA signatures in coronary atherosclerotic plaques

Bacterial DNA has been found in coronary plaques and it has therefore been concluded that bacteria may play a role as trigger factors in the chronic inflammatory process underlying coronary atherosclerosis. However, the microbial spectrum is complex and it is not known whether microorganisms other than bacteria are involved in coronary disease. Fungal 18S rDNA signatures were systematically investigated in atherosclerotic tissue obtained through catheter-based atherectomy of 38 patients and controls (unaffected coronary arteries) using clone libraries, denaturating gradient gel analysis (DGGE), in situ hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Fungal DNA was found in 35 of 38 (92.11%) coronary heart disease patients by either polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with universal primers or in situ hybridization analysis (n = 5), but not in any control sample. In a clone library with more than 350 sequenced clones from pooled patient DNA, an overall richness of 19 different fungal phylotypes could be observed. Fungal profiles of coronary heart disease patients obtained by DGGE analysis showed a median richness of fungal species of 5 (range from 2 to 9) with a high interindividual variability (mean similarity 18.83%). For the first time, the presence of fungal components in atherosclerotic plaques has been demonstrated. Coronary atheromatous plaques harbour diverse and variable fungal communities suggesting a polymicrobial contribution to the chronic inflammatory aetiology.     

An adenovirus prime/plasmid boost strategy for induction of equipotent immune responses to two dengue virus serotypes

Background  

Dengue is a public health problem of global significance for which there is neither an effective antiviral therapy nor a preventive vaccine. It is a mosquito-borne viral disease, caused by dengue (DEN) viruses, which are members of the Flaviviridae family. There are four closely related serotypes, DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4, each of which is capable of causing disease. As immunity to any one serotype can potentially sensitize an individual to severe disease during exposure to a heterologous serotype, the general consensus is that an effective vaccine should be tetravalent, that is, it must be capable of affording protection against all four serotypes. The current strategy of creating tetravalent vaccine formulations by mixing together four monovalent live attenuated vaccine viruses has revealed the phenomenon of viral interference leading to the manifestation of immune responses biased towards a single serotype.