Assessment of Morpho-Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Perennial Ryegrass to Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Application Under Salinity Stress Using Multivariate Analyses Techniques

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Salinity stress is one of the most important global problems that afflicts and limits the growth and development of turfgrass in arid and semi-arid areas....     

Computational Design and Analysis of a Multi-epitope Against Influenza A virus

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Influenza A viruses are among the most studied viruses, however no effective prevention against influenza infection has been developed....     

Molecular Detection of Ehrlichia canis in Dogs in Malaysia

An epidemiological study of Ehrlichia canis infection in dogs in Peninsular Malaysia was carried out using molecular detection techniques. A total of 500 canine blood samples were collected from veterinary clinics and dog shelters. Molecular screening by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using genus-specific primers followed by PCR using E. canis species-specific primers. Ten out of 500 dogs were positive for E. canis. A phylogenetic analysis of the E. canis Malaysia strain showed that it was grouped tightly with other E. canis strains from different geographic regions. The present study revealed for the first time, the presence of genetically confirmed E. canis with a prevalence rate of 2.0% in naturally infected dogs in Malaysia.     

Incorporation of SPION-casein core-shells into silk-fibroin nanofibers for cardiac tissue engineering

Mimicking the structure of extracellular matrix (ECM) of myocardium is necessary for fabrication of functional cardiac tissue. The superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs, Fe₃O₄), as new generation of magnetic nanoparticles (NPs), are highly intended in biomedical studies. Here, SPION NPs (1 wt%) were synthesized and incorporated into silk-fibroin (SF) electrospun nanofibers to enhance mechanical properties and topography of the scaffolds. Then, the mouse embryonic cardiac cells (ECCs) were seeded on the scaffolds for in vitro studies. The SPION NPs were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). SF nanofibers were characterized after incorporation of SPIONs by SEM, TEM, water contact angle measurement, and tensile test. Furthermore, cytocompatibility of scaffolds was confirmed by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. SEM images showed that ECCs attached to the scaffolds with elongated morphologies. Also, the real-time PCR and immunostaining studies approved upregulation of cardiac functional genes in ECCs seeded on the SF/SPION-casein scaffolds including GATA-4, cardiac troponin T, Nkx 2.5, and alpha-myosin heavy chain, compared with the ones in SF. In conclusion, incorporation of core-shells in SF supports cardiac differentiation, while has no negative impact on ECCs' proliferation and self-renewal capacity.     

Synthesis and characterization of cadmium selenide quantum dots doped by europium and investigation of their chemiluminescence properties and antibacterial activities

Nanoparticles of cadmium selenide (CdSe) doped with europium, were synthesized as stabilizing agents using thioglycolic acid ligand. This method is based on the enhancing effect of CdSe quantum dots (QDs) doped with europium on chemiluminescence (CL) emission. This emission was generated by mixing CdSe QDs with manganese (II), iron (II) and chrome (II) sulfates as catalysts in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The structural characteristics and morphology of these nanoparticles were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, X‐ray pattern and dynamic light scattering methods. The CdSe QDs doped with europium were used as the sensitizer in a luminol?hydrogen peroxide CL system. The sensitized CdSe QDs were analyzed for antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive or Gram‐negative bacteria. The results showed that the CdSe QDs are effective against all the studied bacteria, effectiveness was especially higher for Bacillus subtilis.     

Wnt lipidation: Roles in trafficking,modulation, and function

The Wnt signaling pathway consists of various downstream target proteins that have substantial roles in mammalian cell proliferation, differentiation, and development. Its aberrant activity can lead to uncontrolled proliferation and tumorigenesis. The posttranslational connection of fatty acyl chains to Wnt proteins provides the unique capacity for regulation of Wnt activity. In spite of the past belief that Wnt molecules are subject to dual acylation, it has been shown that these proteins have only one acylation site and undergo monounsaturated fatty acylation. The Wnt monounsaturated fatty acyl chain is more than just a hydrophobic coating and appears to be critical for Wnt signaling, transport, and receptor activation. Here, we provide an overview of recent findings in Wnt monounsaturated fatty acylation and the mechanism by which this lipid moiety regulates Wnt activity from the site of production to its receptor interactions.     

An Investigation on Strains of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis in North and North West of Iran

Tomato bacterial canker disease was first reported from Urmiyeh in West Azerbaijan province in Iran. The disease causes lesion (canker), wilting and dryness of infected plants, leaf and fruit spots and the decline of the whole plant. Out of 102 isolates obtained from the fields in the major tomato producing areas of understudy regions, 98 were found Gram positive, yellow‐pigmented isolates, identified as Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis based on the morphological and biochemical characteristics described in previous studies. Among these strains, 64 were virulent and 34 showed poor virulence. A strain of Cmm (NCPPB382) was used as a check (standard) in all steps of this study. DNA fingerprinting with repetitive‐sequence‐based PCR (rep‐PCR) (BOX primer) carried out among 11 representative strains (eight strains from West Azerbaijan, two from Golestan and one as standard). The most virulent strain was chosen as representative in each location. Dendrograms were prepared using NTSYS‐pc version 2/o2e software, unweighted pair group with arithmetic average method and simple matching similarity coefficient. According to the site of cut‐off line, three groups (clusters) with 82/5% similarity and six groups with 55% similarity were separated based on biochemical and SDS‐PAGE data, and rep‐PCR reactions respectively. Low similarity among groups (55%) can be explained as high genetic diversity among the strains. One strain of west Azerbaijan and the strains of Golestan, clustered in the same group suggesting that they may have been originated from a common source. Other strains of west Azerbaijan were clustered into different groups including II, III, IV, V and VI, suggesting the possibility of occurrence of different populations in a geographical region.     

Mass Media and the Contagion of Fear: The Case of Ebola in America

Background

In the weeks following the first imported case of Ebola in the U. S. on September 29, 2014, coverage of the very limited outbreak dominated the news media, in a manner quite disproportionate to the actual threat to national public health; by the end of October, 2014, there were only four laboratory confirmed cases of Ebola in the entire nation. Public interest in these events was high, as reflected in the millions of Ebola-related Internet searches and tweets performed in the month following the first confirmed case. Use of trending Internet searches and tweets has been proposed in the past for real-time prediction of outbreaks (a field referred to as “digital epidemiology”), but accounting for the biases of public panic has been problematic. In the case of the limited U. S. Ebola outbreak, we know that the Ebola-related searches and tweets originating the U. S. during the outbreak were due only to public interest or panic, providing an unprecedented means to determine how these dynamics affect such data, and how news media may be driving these trends.

Methodology

We examine daily Ebola-related Internet search and Twitter data in the U. S. during the six week period ending Oct 31, 2014. TV news coverage data were obtained from the daily number of Ebola-related news videos appearing on two major news networks. We fit the parameters of a mathematical contagion model to the data to determine if the news coverage was a significant factor in the temporal patterns in Ebola-related Internet and Twitter data.

Conclusions

We find significant evidence of contagion, with each Ebola-related news video inspiring tens of thousands of Ebola-related tweets and Internet searches. Between 65% to 76% of the variance in all samples is described by the news media contagion model.     

Frequency of micronuclei in 4–8 cell mouse embryos generated after maternal gamma-irradiation in the presence and in the absence of vitamin C

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the frequency of chromosomal aberrations expressed as micronuclei (MN) in 4–8 cell embryos generated by gamma-irradiation of female mice in the absence and in the presence of vitamin C. Female NMRI mice were whole body exposed to 4 Gy gamma-irradiation after intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of pregnant mare’s serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) followed by injection of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) and mating with non-irradiated NMRI male mice. Pregnant animals were sacrificed and embryos flushed from the oviducts and fixed on slides. Cells were treated for MN observation using standard method. To investigate the protective effect of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on the frequency of MN, 100 mg/kg vitamin C was i.p. injected 1 h before irradiation. Results show that the frequency of MN generated in the embryos of irradiated mother compared to those of control in the non-irradiated group increased dramatically (P < 0.001). Frequency of MN in embryos generated in irradiated female mice treated with vitamin C dramatically and statistically decreased relative to the frequency observed in the irradiation only group (P < 0.001). This decrease returned the combined treatment group to a level that was not statistically different from the controls (P > 0.05). Thus, irradiation of preovulatory stage oocytes leads to stable chromosome abnormalities expressed as micronuclei in successive preimplantation embryos. Vitamin C reduces these clastogenic effects of radiation in preovulatory oocytes and thus the reduced frequency of MN in embryos is probably due to its antioxidation and radical scavenging properties.