Impacts of cage culture on physico-chemical and bacteriological water quality in Lake Volta,Ghana

The effects of cage fish farming on physico-chemical and bacteriological water quality in Lake Volta, Ghana, were investigated in 2013–2014. Farmed and unfarmed (control) areas of the lake were selected for monitoring. Nutrients, temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, pH, total coliforms, Pseudomonas and Vibrio spp. in the water were monitored monthly. Analyses of the water samples were carried out according to standard procedures. Physico-chemical quality of the water in both farm and control sites were within ranges typical of minimally impacted water and did not vary significantly between the two contrasting sites. The bacteriological analysis, however, revealed contamination of the lake water by fish farming. The bacterial counts at the farmed sites were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of the control sites, with figures at the farmed sites ranging from 132 to 1 708 cfu 100 ml?1 for total coliforms, 514 to 5 170 cfu 100 ml?1 Pseudomonas spp. and 14 to 516 cfu 100 ml?1 for Vibrio spp. The results suggested that cage fish farming has increased bacterial loads in the lake water, but has had minimal impact on its physico-chemical quality.     

Analysis of structural characteristics of alpha-tubulins in plants with enhanced cold tolerance

The uniqueness of the point substitutions in the sequences of two alpha-tubulin isotypes from psychrophilic alga Chloromonas that can determine the increased cold tolerance of this alga was analyzed. The comparison of all known amino acid sequences of plant alpha-tubulins enabled to ascertain that only M268-->V replacement is unique and may have a significant influence on spatial structure of plant alpha-tubulins. Modeling of molecular surfaces of alpha-tubulins from Chloromonas, Chalmydomonas reinhardtii and goose grass Eleusine indica showed that insertion of the amino acid replacement M268-->V into the sequence of goose grace tubulin led to the likening of this protein surface to the surface of native alpha-tubulin from Chloromonas. Alteration of local hydrophobic properties of alpha-tubulin molecular surface in interdimeric contact zone as a result of the mentioned replacement was shown that may play important role in increasing the level of cold resistance of microtubules. The crucial role of amino acid residue in 268 position for forming the interdimeric contact surface of alpha-tubulin molecule was revealed. The assumption is made about the importance of replacements at this position for plant tolerance to abiotic factors of different nature (cold, herbicides).     

Serious adverse events following treatment with ivermectin for onchocerciasis control: a review of reported cases

This paper presents a summary of reported cases of Serious Adverse Events (SAEs) following treatment with Mectizan^® (ivermectin, Merck, Sharpe &; Dohme) in onchocerciasis mass treatment programs from January 1, 1989 to December 31, 2001 through a passive surveillance system. A total of 207 SAE cases were reported out of approximately 165 million reported treatments delivered during the period under review, giving rise to a cumulative incidence of 1 reported SAE per 800,000 reported treatments. The mean age was 40 years and 70% of the cases were males. The mean time between ivermectin intake and onset of illness was 1 day. For 57% of the cases (n = 118), that was their first exposure to ivermectin. The majority of cases were reported from Cameroon (n = 176; 85%) with peaks in the incidence of SAE reporting in 1989–1991 and 1994–1995 when the program expanded to ivermectin-naïve populations. Fifty-five percent of the cases from Cameroon (i.e. 97 out of 176 cases) were encephalopathic and were reported from the central-southern region of the country; two-thirds of these cases were 'probable' or 'possible' cases of Loa loa encephalopathy temporally related to ivermectin treatment. Reporting bias may explain some but not all of the differences in SAE reporting between the 34 onchocerciasis-endemic countries that have, or have had, mass treatment programs. Further research is needed to understand the apparent clustering of encephalopathy cases in central-southern Cameroon since L. loa infection alone probably does not explain the increased incidence of this type of SAE from this region.     

Targeting CoV-2 spike RBD and ACE-2 interaction with flavonoids of Anatolian propolis by in silico and in vitro studies in terms of possible COVID-19 therapeutics

Propolis is a multi-functional bee product rich in polyphenols. In this study, the inhibitory effect of Anatolian propolis against SARS-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was investigated in vitro and in silico. Raw and commercial propolis samples were used, and both samples were found to be rich in caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, t-cinnamic acid, hesperetin, chrysin, pinocembrin, and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) at HPLC-UV analysis. Ethanolic propolis extracts (EPE) were used in the ELISA screening test against the spike S1 protein (SARS-CoV-2): ACE-2 interaction for in vitro study. The binding energy values of these polyphenols to the SARS-CoV-2 spike and ACE-2 protein were calculated separately with a molecular docking study using the AutoDock 4.2.6 program. In addition, the pharmacokinetics and drug-likeness properties of these eight polyphenols were calculated according to the SwissADME tool. The binding energy value of pinocembrin was highest in both receptors, followed by chrysin, CAPE, and hesperetin. Based on the in silico modeling and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) behaviors of the eight polyphenols, the compounds exhibited the potential ability to act effectively as novel drugs. The findings of both studies showed that propolis has a high inhibitory potential against the Covid-19 virus. However, further studies are now needed.     

The Effects of Dietary Selenium and Vitamin E and their Combination on the Fatty Acids of Erythrocytes,Bone Marrow and Spleen Tissue Lipids of Lambs

The object was to determine the influence of dietary vitamin E, selenium and their combination on the fatty acid con-tent of erythrocytes, bone marrow and spleen lipids of Akkaraman lambs. After supplementation for 15 days, the amount of all fatty acids was slightly higher (p < 0·05) in the vitamin E as compared to the control group, whereas the amount of longer fatty acids was significantly higher (p < 0·01, p < 0·001) in the selenium and combination groups. On the thirtieth day, the amount of all fatty acids was slightly high (p < 0·5) in all the supplemented groups in comparison with the control group. In the bone marrow lipids, the amount of longer fatty acids was decreased (p < 0·05, p < 0·01, p < 0·001) in the vitamin E and combination groups as compared to the control. Although the amount of some fatty acids was high (p < 0·05, p < 0·01) in the selenium group compared to the control, linoleic (18:2), linolenic (18:3) and the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were lower (p < 0·05, p < 0·001). In the spleen lipids, the amount of longer fatty acids was slightly decreased (p < 0·05) in the vitamin E group as compared with the control; however the amount of longer fatty acids was significantly higher (p < 0·05, p < 0·01) in the selenium and combination groups in comparison to the control group. Thus dietary supplementation with selenium was more effective than dietary vitamin E supplementation in altering the fatty acid content of the erythrocyte, bone marrow and spleen lipids. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Construction of three-dimensional models of Arabidopsis thaliana FtsZ-proteins on basis of crystal structure of archaebacterial FtsZ-GDP complex

Three-dimensional models of FtsZ-protein complexes with GDP from Arabidopsis thaliana L. localized in cytosol (Entrez database code NP190843) and in chloroplasts (Entrez database code AAA82068) were developed. Crystal structure of the FtsZ-GDP complex from archaea Methanococcus jannaschii (PDB-code 1FSZ) was used as a matrix. Secondary structures of computed models contain ten beta-strands. A chloroplast form of FtsZ-protein has ten alpha-helices and four 3(10)-helices, whereas cytosolic form of protein has nine and three structures correspondently and neither a0-helix before nucleotide-binding domain nor C-terminal 3(10)-helix in secondary domain. The T2-loop of nucleotide-binding pocket of chloroplast form of FtsZ-ptotein in position 111 contains non-charged alanin residue instead of the charged one which is typical for cytosolic and bacterial forms of proteins. At low sequence homology of FtsZ-proteins (approximately 47%) the developed models demonstrate high coincidence with matrix both in the structures of nucleotide-binding pocket and in the whole molecule. The models are completely suitable for further studies of possible sites of binding with dinitroaniline herbicides.     

Exposure of beta-tubulin regions defined by antibodies on an <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis thaliana</Emphasis>microtubule protofilament model and in the cells

Background  

The function of the cortical microtubules, composed of αβ-tubulin heterodimers, is linked to their organizational state which is subject to spatial and temporal modulation by environmental cues. The role of tubulin posttranslational modifications in these processes is largely unknown. Although antibodies against small tubulin regions represent useful tool for studying molecular configuration of microtubules, data on the exposure of tubulin epitopes on plant microtubules are still limited.