Vitamins A, C, and E and β-Carotene Content in Seeds of Seven Species of Vicia L.

To determine the vitamins A, C, and E and β-carotene content of Vicia species that can be used in animal feed, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used to investigate the vitamin and β-carotene content in mature and immature seeds of seven Vicia species (Vicia anatolica Turrill., V. ervilia (L.) Willd., V. michauxii Sprengel, V. mollis Boiss. et Hausskn. ex Boiss., V. noeana Reuter ex Boiss., V. peregrina L., and V. sericocarpa Fenzl.), which are useful plants in animal feed in the eastern Anatolia region in Turkey. The vitamin content was found to differ between mature and immature seeds. The levels of vitamins A, C, and E and β-carotene were higher in mature seeds than in immature seeds (P ＜ 0.01).     

Effect of salt stress on antioxidant defense systems,lipid peroxidation,and chlorophyll content in green bean

Salt stress-induced changes in antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR), total chlorophyll content, and lipid peroxidation measured as malondialdehyde (MDA) content, in leaves of a green bean genotype Gevas sirsk 57 (GS57) and cv. Fransiz 4F-89 differing in salt tolerance were investigated. Plants were subjected to three salt treatments (0, 50, and 100 mM NaCl) under controlled climatic conditions for 7 days. The salt-sensitive cv. 4F-89 exhibited a decrease in GR activity at all salt treatments, but the salt-tolerant genotype GS57 showed only a slight decrease in GR under 50 mM salt treatment and an increase under 100 mM salt treatment. CAT and APX activities increased with increasing salt stress in both varieties. CAT and APX activities were higher in the salt-tolerant GS57 than salt-ensitive cv. 4F-89. The two varieties showed an increase in MDA content with an increase in salinity, but the increase in sensitive cv. 4F-89 under salt stress was higher than that in salt-tolerant GS57 genotype. The increasing NaCl concentration caused a reduction in the chlorophyll content in cv. 4F-89 but not in GS57.     

Treatment of textile effluents with Pistia stratiotes,Eichhornia crassipes and Oedogonium sp.

Abstract

Phytoremediation by aquatic macrophytes is a promising technology with higher efficiency and no energy consumption. For this purpose, two macrophytes (Pistia stratiotes, Eichhornia crassipes), and an alga (Oedogonium sp.) were used to treat textile effluents rich in COD, BOD, dyes, and heavy metals (Pb, Fe, Cd, Cu). The aim of the study was to focus on comparative phytoremediation potential of these species by their metal removal capability. During 7?days experiment (day 0–day 6), the results showed that Oedogonium sp. was the best for COD removal and decolorization. Eichhornia crassipes was the best for BOD and heavy metal removal and proves more efficient than Pistia stratiotes and Oedogonium sp. However, Pistia stratiotes was found to accumulate more concentrations of Pb and Fe than Eichhornia stratiotes.     

Partial purification and characterization of the novel halotolerant and alkalophilic laccase produced by a new isolate of Bacillus subtilis LP2

Laccases (benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductases, [EC1.10.3.2] are mostly known as members of the blue multicopper oxidase family that are used in very different industrial applications: textile, pulp and paper, food, cosmetics industries, bioremediation process, biosensor, biofuel and organic synthesis. Stability against the extreme conditions is an important property and it makes laccase suitable for several industrial processes. Laccase should have salt resistance to be used in textile dye degradation because the textile wastewaters include dyes with high concentrations of salts, especially NaCl. Bacterial laccases are preferable to be used for bioremediation process due to their high stability to extremely salt contaminated and alkalophilic environment. Bacillus subtilis LP2 was identified as a source of alkali-tolerant, salt resistant laccase. Laccase showed activity over a wide pH (4–10) and temperature (30–80?°C) range. Maximum laccase activity was observed as 140.4?U/mg (umol/min*mg) at pH 8 and 50?°C with the substrate guaiacol. Stability of laccase was determined as 60% and 20% after incubation of the enzyme for different time intervals of 20 and 40?min at 50?°C and pH 8. SDS (10?mM) and EDTA (5?mM) decreased laccase activity from 100% to 0% and 56%, respectively. Despite the other inhibitors, NaCI increased the activity of laccase to 167% at 500?mM concentration. Laccase from Bacillus subtilis LP2 barely showed the activity on the substrates vanillin and L-tyrosine. These results clearly show that laccase from Bacillus subtilis LP2 has high potential to be used for several applications in textile industry.     

The removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions by Ulothrix zonata

In this work, adsorption of copper(II) ions on alga has been studied by using batch adsorption techniques. The equilibrium biosorption level was determined as a function of contact time at several initial metal ion concentrations. The effect of adsorbent concentration on the amount adsorbed was also investigated. The experimental adsorption data were fitted to the Langmuir adsorption model. The free energy change (deltaG0) for the adsorption process was found to be -12.60 kJ/mol. The results indicated that the biomass of Ulothrix zonata is a suitable biosorbent for both the removal and recovery of heavy metals from wastewater.     

Antioxidant response to drought in red and white clover

Antioxidant response to drought in red (Trifolium pratense L., cv. ??Start??) and white clover (Trifolium repens L, cv. ??Haifa?? and cv. ??Debut??) grown as soil cultures was evaluated in water-deprived and recovered plants. Drought provoked oxidative stress in leaves confirmed by the considerable changes in electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxides and proline contents. Immunoblot of ??-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS), which catalyzes the first two steps in proline biosynthesis, revealed strong induction of the enzyme in red clover plants submitted to drought. Water-deprived white clover plants exhibited distinct P5CS profiles. This was related to different drought tolerance of the studied T. repens cultivars. Isoenzyme analyses of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT) demonstrated certain differences in antioxidant defence among the tested varieties. It was confirmed that MnSOD (in both T. repens and T pratense) and FeSOD (in T. repens) isoforms were the most affected by drought. The red clover cultivar ??Start?? exhibited the lowest FeSOD and POX activities which could contribute to its poor performance under water deprivation.     

Rapid and sensitive detection of Nampt (PBEF/visfatin) in human serum using an ssDNA aptamer-based capacitive biosensor

A single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) aptamer was successfully developed to specifically bind to nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (Nampt) through systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) and successfully implemented in a gold-interdigitated (GID) capacitor-based biosensor. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis of the aptamer revealed high specificity and affinity (K(d)=72.52nM). Changes in surface capacitance/charge distribution or dielectric properties in the response of the GID capacitor surface covalently coupled to the aptamers in response to changes in applied AC frequency were measured as a sensing signal based on a specific interaction between the aptamers and Nampt. The limit of detection for Nampt was 1ng/ml with a dynamic serum detection range of up to 50ng/ml; this range includes the clinical requirement for both normal Nampt level, which is 15.8ng/ml, and Nampt level in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, which is 31.9ng/ml. Additionally, the binding kinetics of aptamer-Nampt interactions on the capacitor surface showed that strong binding occurred with increasing frequency (range, 700MHz-1GHz) and that the dissociation constant of the aptamer under the applied frequency was improved 120-240 times (K(d)=0.3-0.6nM) independent on frequency. This assay system is an alternative approach for clinical detection of Nampt with improved specificity and affinity.     

The embryonic development of Xenopus laevis under a low frequency electric field

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a low frequency electric field on the early embryonic development of frogs. The embryos of African clawed toads, Xenopus laevis, were exposed to a 20-μA electric current during the cleavage stages. The developmental processes of embryos during and after electric field exposure were monitored for teratogenic effects. All the embryos continuously exposed to the electric field died without undergoing any developmental processes. However, when the embryos were exposed to the electric field for 20-min periods (four times/over 2 d), the embryos developed into both normal tadpoles (70 %) and malformed tadpoles with light edema, reduced pigmentation, or axial anomalies, such as crooked tails. After exposure, the control embryos were at development stage 35.5 (2 d 2 h), while the normal embryos of the assay group were at developmental stage 41(3 d 4 h). There was a 1 d 2 h difference between the two developmental stages, revealing the importance of that time period for embryogenesis. In conclusion, the effects of electric current on Xenopus embryos are dependent on the initial developmental stage and the duration of exposure.     

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell microRNAs in coronary artery disease

The accuracy of risk prediction for coronary artery disease can be improved with the use of novel molecular or genetic biomarkers. In this study, we investigated the difference of five selected microRNAs (miR or miRNA) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and controls, assessed by coronary angiography. The study population consisted of 85 subjects, aged between 18 and 75 years and underwent invasive coronary angiography. Subjects with more than 30% stenosis in at least one coronary artery, patients with a history of prior percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary by-pass surgery were allocated to the patient group; whereas the subjects without at least 30% stenosis consisted the control group. Groups were similar in age, presence of hypertension, and smoking status. However, the proportion of males and subjects taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, beta blockers, nitrates, and statins were higher in the patient group. miR-221 and miR-155 were downregulated (P = .02 and .001, respectively), while miR-21 levels were significantly increased (P = .003) in the patient group compared to controls. Changes in miR-145 and miR-126 did not reach statistical significance (P > .05). miRNA- 21, miR-155, and miR-221 were differentially expressed between the patients and controls. miRNAs are promising biomarkers for CAD diagnosis, however, this requires further research with larger groups.