Increased lipid peroxidation in kidney of vitamin B-6 deficient rats

Lipid peroxidation in kidney of rats fed with vitamin B-6 deficient diet for a period of 12 weeks was studied with pair-fed controls. The basal lipid peroxide level as well as the degree of susceptibility to lipid peroxidation in presence of promotors such as NADPH, ascorbate, t-butyl hydroperoxide, Fe2+, Cu2+ and oxalate, were increased in vitamin B-6 deficient kidney. The observed increased lipid peroxidation in vitamin B-6 deficient kidney was correlated with high levels of lipids, copper, iron, calcium and oxalate, low levels of antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes and increased levels of hydroperoxides and hydroxyl radicals.     

Effect of Ash Pond Soil and Amendments on the Growth and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Colonization of Allium cepa and Germination of Arachis hypogaea,Lycopersicon esculentum,and Vigna mungo Seeds

The effect of fly ash pond soil on the growth and yield of onion (Allium cepa var. microaggregatum) plants grown in pots was investigated. The fly ash pond soil was amended with combinations of red soil and press mud, a waste product from sugar mills. Water-holding capacity of ash pond soil amended with press mud increased; however, addition of press mud delayed onion bulb development. Onion bulb germination took place rapidly in ash pond soil; however, subsequent bulb development declined. The addition of red soil and press mud increased the growth and yield of onion plants. In all the soils and amendments, onion plant roots were colonized by native arbuscular mycorrhizal species. Both vesicles and arbuscules were present in the roots. Colonization was low in ash pond soil but increased with the addition of red soil. Effect of fly ash pond soil on germination of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), and black gram (Vigna mungo) seeds was evaluated and compared with red soil in the laboratory. Ash pond soil increased the germination of tomato seeds but did not affect the germination of groundnut and black gram seeds.     

Increased plasma lipidperoxidation in vitamin B-6 deficient rats

Lipidperoxidation in plasma of rats fed with vitamin B-6 deficient diet for a period of 12 weeks was studied with pair-fed controls. Plasma pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, alanine amino transferase and aspartate amino transferase, the markers of vitamin B-6 status, were significantly low in vitamin B-6 deficient rats. Plasma malondialdehyde level, conjugated dienes and lipofuscin like pigments were increased in vitamin B-6 deficiency. Increased levels of plasma lipids, calcium, iron and copper were observed in vitamin B-6 deficiency. Plasma susceptibility to lipidperoxidation was maximal in vitamin B-6 deficiency, upon stimulation by the promotors, Fe2+, Fe3+, Cu2+, ascorbate, t-butyl hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide.     

Sequential Processing for Organic Photovoltaics: Design Rules for Morphology Control by Tailored Semi‐Orthogonal Solvent Blends

Design rules are presented for significantly expanding sequential processing (SqP) into previously inaccessible polymer:fullerene systems by tailoring binary solvent blends for fullerene deposition. Starting with a base solvent that has high fullerene solubility, 2‐chlorophenol (2‐CP), ellipsometry‐based swelling experiments are used to investigate different co‐solvents for the fullerene‐casting solution. By tuning the Flory‐Huggins χ parameter of the 2‐CP/co‐solvent blend, it is possible to optimally swell the polymer of interest for fullerene interdiffusion without dissolution of the polymer underlayer. In this way solar cell power conversion efficiencies are obtained for the PTB7 (poly[(4,8‐bis[(2‐ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene‐2,6‐diyl)(3‐fluoro‐2‐[(2‐ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4‐b]thiophenediyl)]) and PC₆₁BM (phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester) materials combination that match those of blend‐cast films. Both semicrystalline (e.g., P3HT (poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl)) and entirely amorphous (e.g., PSDTTT (poly[(4,8‐di(2‐butyloxy)benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene‐2,6‐diyl)‐alt‐(2,5‐bis(4,4′‐bis(2‐octyl)dithieno[3,2‐b:2′3′‐d]silole‐2,6‐diyl)thiazolo[5,4‐d]thiazole)]) conjugated polymers can be processed into highly efficient photovoltaic devices using the solvent‐blend SqP design rules. Grazing‐incidence wide‐angle x‐ray diffraction experiments confirm that proper choice of the fullerene casting co‐solvent yields well‐ordered interdispersed bulk heterojunction (BHJ) morphologies without the need for subsequent thermal annealing or the use of trace solvent additives (e.g., diiodooctane). The results open SqP to polymer/fullerene systems that are currently incompatible with traditional methods of device fabrication, and make BHJ morphology control a more tractable problem.     

Genetic association of Glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) and NAD(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase 1(NQO1) variants and their association of CAD in patients with type-2 diabetes

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major health concern and the leading cause of death in individuals with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) are known for its broad range of detoxification. The role of functional variants of these genes in the development of various disorders is proven. Hereby, we investigated the possible role of these variants in the development of CAD in T2DM patients of South Indian population. In this case-control study, a total of 539 patients (T2DM = 241; T2DM-CAD = 298) and 285 controls were included. The C198T GPx-1 and C609T NQO1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP. Further, these genotypes were correlated with blood lipid profile. Regression analysis showed that GPx1-C/T genotype is associated with a 1.35-fold increase (95% CI = 1.000-1.824; P = 0.048) and GPx1-T/T genotype is associated with a 1.76-fold increase (95% CI = 1.011 to 3.066; P = 0.046) to the T2DM development. Increased odds ratio showed that NQO1-T/T genotype had a higher occurrence of CAD in diabetic patients with CAD (95% CI = 1.003-2.674, P = 0.049) than T2DM patients without CAD. The level of triglycerides alone showed significant increase for GPx-1-C/T and -T/T genotypes in Tukey's Post hoc analysis (177.1 ± 19.2 vs. 184 ± 23.5; P = 0.039 and 177.1 ± 19.2 vs. 190 ± 22.4; P = 0.006) among the patients with T2DM-CAD. Our work concludes that GPx-1 variants might contribute to the development of diabetes and both GPx-1 and NQO1 variants confirm the association of CAD in people with T2DM of South Indian population.     

Induction of lipid peroxidation by oxalate in experimental rat urolithiasis

The function of lipid peroxidation and the antiperoxidative enzymes of rat liver and kidney were studied in stone formation induced by intraperitoneal administration of sodium oxalate (7 mg/100 g body weight). The animals sacrificed 3 and 12 h after administration of sodium oxalate had higher level of malondialdehyde in liver and kidney than control animals. A significantly pronounced release of malondialdehyde was observed in treated liver and kidney homogenates when incubated with either ferrous sulphate or hydrogen peroxide compared to control liver and kidney. Superoxide dismutase activity was increased only in liver and not in kidney in treated animals compared to the control. A highly significant decrease in catalase activity was observed in both liver and kidney of treated animals.     

Induction of oxalate binding by lipid peroxidation in rat kidney mitochondria.

Enhanced oxalate binding (150-180% of control) was observed in kidney, liver, brain and heart, after subjecting them to lipid peroxidation in presence of iron. Kidney mitochondrial oxalate binding was stimulated by different promoters, and the order of stimulation was Fe2+ greater than t-BH greater than ascorbic acid greater than Fe3+ greater than H2O2. Oxalate binding was maximum when iron concentration was between 1-2 mM. The iron-induced oxalate binding was inhibited by reduced glutathione, beta-mercaptoethanol, alpha-tocopherol and hydroxyl ion scavengers, histidine and mannitol. Catalase inhibited both Fe(2+)-H2O2 induced oxalate binding and lipid peroxidation reactions, suggesting that the induced oxalate binding in mitochondria was mediated through the hydroxyl radical reaction mechanism.     

Rapid degradation of lindane (��-hexachlorocyclohexane) at low temperature by Sphingobium strains

Bioremediation of anthropogenic organic pollutants in cold climates is often limited by lower microbial or enzyme activity induced by low temperature. The present study addressed this issue through the degradation of ??-hexachlorocyclohexane (??-HCH) by three Sphingobium strains (S. indicum B90A, S. japonicum UT26 and S. francense Sp+) under low temperature (4 °C). After 5 days incubation at 4 °C, 79.7% and 43.8% of 5 and 25 mg L⁻¹ of ??-HCH added were degraded, respectively by the inoculation of 1.75 × 10⁷ cells mL⁻¹ of S. indicum B90A. An increase in inoculum concentration to 1.72 × 10⁸ cells mL⁻¹ significantly increased the degradation to 98.1 ± 1.7% of 5 mg L⁻¹ within 24 h. Further, S. indicum B90A and S. japonicum UT26 can rapidly degrade ??-HCH at 4 °C, while the degradation capability of S. francense Sp+ is relatively low. At 4 °C, ??-HCH is transformed to extremely low amounts of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (1,2,4-TCB) and 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP) by S. indicum B90A, but most of ??-HCH were transformed to 2,5-Dichloro-2,5-cyclohexadiene-1,4-diol (2,5-DDOL) by S. japonicum UT26. These results revealed that haloalkane dehalogenases in some Sphingobium species are very active at temperature as low as 4 °C and S. indicum B90A might be a good candidate for developing novel bioremediation techniques for cold regions to decontaminate ??-HCH from soils/waters.     

Temporal distribution and abundance of shrimp postlarvae and juveniles in the mangroves of Muthupet,Tamilnadu, India

The temporal distribution patterns of the predominantly occurring postlarvae and juvenile shrimps in the mangrove and associated habitats of Muthupet, India were investigated for two years from February 1984 to January 1986. Among the eight commercially important species recorded, Penaeus indicus H. Milne Edwards, P. merguiensis De Man, P. monodon Fabricus and Metapenaeus dobsoni (Miers) were predominant. The postlarval recruitment size variedwith species: P. indicus and P. merguiensis recruited at the size of 9–11 mm total length (TL), P. monodon at 12–14 mm TL and M. dobsoni at 4–6 mm TL. The species P. indicus, P. merguiensis and M. dobsoni were observed continuously throughout the study period with maximum abundance occurring from July to September in 1984–85 and from August through October in 1985–86. P. monodon occurred seasonally from November to January in both years. Postlarvae and juvenile catches were low during low salinity and high salinity periods and a higher density was observed in the months of moderate water salinity. Large numbers of P. indicus, P. merguiensis and M. dobsoni clearly showed the preference to the detritus rich muddy substrate, whereas P. monodon did not show any preference and was equally abundant over different substrate types.