Different natural biomasses for lead cation removal

It is believed that some wastes play an important role on the pollution prevention. In this paper, three different natural biomasses were investigated as biosorbent. Salsola green plant which grown at Jubail (industrial area) in KSA, it is phyto remediation plant. Salsola is metal hyper accumulation plant, it adsorbed (23.5, 25.7 mg lead per gram stem or leaf) from soil. Also it can be reused as ion exchanger for pb²⁺ from solution. Shrimp shell’s used for extraction of chitosan in laboratory with degree of substitution 81%. Chitosan and crosslinked carboxymethyl chitosan were investigated for pb²⁺ adsorption and compared with crosslinked carboxymethyl corn cob. The adsorption experiments demonstrated that the three biomasses have high adsorption capacity for pb²⁺, good reusability and stability for three cycles.     

Why some species cannot colonise restored habitats? The effects of seed and microsite availability

Restoration of calcareous grasslands was promoted as a conservation strategy to reduce the risks imposed by habitat loss and fragmentation. Restoration already provided promising results for several taxa, however some specialist species still fail at colonising restored habitats. We aimed at explaining this lack of colonisation success for three calcareous grasslands specialist species in southern Belgium: Pulsatilla vulgaris; Trifolium montanum; and, Veronica prostrata. We studied: (i) germination in control and outdoor conditions (cold, heat, smoke and litter effects); (ii) in situ seedling emergence patterns (effects of seed addition and germination microsites availability). The three species were able to germinate in Petri dishes in the absence of treatment. Cold enhanced the germination of V. prostrata. Fire-related treatments (heat shock and smoke exposure) did not enhance germination and were deleterious to V. prostrata. Litter cover improved P. vulgaris emergence in outdoor containers, but had a negative effect on V. prostrata. In the field, V. prostrata did not emerge. T. montanum seedlings were observed in the reference grasslands when seeds were added, but not in the restored grasslands. P. vulgaris emerged in the reference grasslands, and to a lower degree in the restored grasslands. The combination of seed addition and microsites availability for seed germination resulted in enhanced seedling emergence for P. vulgaris. Our results suggest that seed and microsite availability can be limiting factors for site colonisation, but the combination of both is likely much more limiting. Lower seedling emergence in restored than in reference grasslands suggests a lower habitat quality in restored grasslands.     

Purification and characterization of a thermostable α-galactosidase from Thielavia terrestris NRRL 8126 in solid state fermentation

Several seeds and husks of some plants belonging to leguminosae, Graminae, Compositae and Palmae were evaluated as carbon substrates to produce α-galactosidase (α-Gal) by the thermophilic fungus, Thielavia terrestris NRRL 8126 in solid substrate fermentation. The results showed that Cicer arietinum (chick pea seed) was the best substrate for α-Gal production. The crude enzyme was precipitated by ammonium sulphate (60%) and purified by gel filtration on sephadex G-100 followed by ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Cellulose. The final purification fold of the enzyme was 30.42. The temperature and pH optima of purified α-Gal from Thielavia terrestris were 70 °C and 6.5, respectively. The enzyme showed high thermal stability at 70 °C and 75 °C and the half-life of the α-Gal at 90 °C was 45 min. Km of the purified enzyme was 1.31 mM. The purified enzyme was inhibited by Ag2+, Hg2+, Zn2+, Ba2+, Mg2+, Mn2+ and Fe2+ at 5 mM and 10 mM. Also, EDTA, sodium arsenate, L-cysteine and iodoacetate inhibited the enzyme activity. On the other hand, Ca2+, Cu2+, K+ and Na+ slightly enhanced the enzyme activity at 5 mM while at 10 mM they caused inhibition. The molecular weight of the α-Gal was estimated to be 82 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This enzyme displays a number of biochemical properties that make it a potentially strong candidate for biotechnological and medicinal applications.     

Efficacy and safety of artemether in the treatment of chronic fascioliasis in Egypt: exploratory phase-2 trials

Background

Fascioliasis is an emerging zoonotic disease of considerable veterinary and public health importance. Triclabendazole is the only available drug for treatment. Laboratory studies have documented promising fasciocidal properties of the artemisinins (e.g., artemether).

Methodology

We carried out two exploratory phase-2 trials to assess the efficacy and safety of oral artemether administered at (i) 6×80 mg over 3 consecutive days, and (ii) 3×200 mg within 24 h in 36 Fasciola-infected individuals in Egypt. Efficacy was determined by cure rate (CR) and egg reduction rate (ERR) based on multiple Kato-Katz thick smears before and after drug administration. Patients who remained Fasciola-positive following artemether dosing were treated with single 10 mg/kg oral triclabendazole. In case of treatment failure, triclabendazole was re-administered at 20 mg/kg in two divided doses.

Principal Findings

CRs achieved with 6×80 mg and 3×200 mg artemether were 35% and 6%, respectively. The corresponding ERRs were 63% and nil, respectively. Artemether was well tolerated. A high efficacy was observed with triclabendazole administered at 10 mg/kg (16 patients; CR: 67%, ERR: 94%) and 20 mg/kg (4 patients; CR: 75%, ERR: 96%).

Conclusions/Significance

Artemether, administered at malaria treatment regimens, shows no or only little effect against fascioliasis, and hence does not represent an alternative to triclabendazole. The role of artemether and other artemisinin derivatives as partner drug in combination chemotherapy remains to be elucidated.     

Turner syndrome female with a small ring X chromosome lacking the XIST, an unexpectedly mild phenotype and an atypical association with alopecia universalis

Rearranged X chromosome in Turner syndrome (TS) are generally well tolerated but in cases of ring X chromosomes and of X/autosome translocations the incidence of mental retardation and other congenital abnormalities can be significantly higher. These abnormal phenotypes can be ascribed to failed or partial X inactivation. Here, we report a 10-year-old female who was referred for a cytogenetic analysis because she developed an alopecia universalis. The patient, of normal intelligence, had been found to have traits of TS, especially short stature. A first cytogenetic analysis showed a no mosaic 45,X karyotype. Since, the risk of developing gonadoblastoma in TS patients with mosaicism for a Y derivative chromosome and because association of alopecia universalis and TS is uncommon, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to search for a second cell population. Our patient was found to have a mosaic 45,X/46,X,+r. FISH analysis using sex chromosome probes permitted us to identify the very small marker as a ring X chromosome, detected in 90% of cells. The ring appeared to be formed almost totally of alphoid sequences with breakpoints in the juxtacentromeric region. The r(X) does not include the XIST locus and may, therefore, not be subject to X-inactivation. Unexpectedly mild phenotype in our patient and its association with alopecia universalis will be discussed.