Influence of processing and substrate variety on survival and development of Tribolium confusum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Tribolium confusum is a major pest of grains and grain products. Some legumes hitherto not used as major food are gaining interest due to increase in human population and the need of food and feeds. Susceptibility of fresh and processed Glycine max and Cajanus cajan flours, and white wheat flour (control) to T. confusum was studied towards effective storage techniques and cheap insect diet. Ten copulating pairs of the beetle were introduced into twenty grams of each flour. Number of eggs laid, emerged larvae, pupae, eclosed adults, and duration of development of each stage was used as indices of survival of T. confusum. Proximate composition, saponin; and α-amylase and protease inhibitors determined suitability of flours as insect diet. This work discusses the significance of proximate composition and anti-nutrient properties in fresh and roasted processed flours on the development and survival of T. confusum.     

Hyphantria cunea ferritin heavy chain homologue: cDNA sequence and mRNA expression

We have sequenced a cDNA clone encoding a 26-kDa ferritin subunit, which was heavy chain homologue (HCH), in fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea. The HCH cDNA was obtained from the screening of a cDNA library using a PCR product. H. cunea ferritin is composed of 221 amino acid residues and their calculated mass is 26,160 Da. The protein contains the conserved motifs for the ferroxidase center typical for heavy chains of vertebrate ferritin. The iron-responsive element sequence with a predicted stem-loop structure is present in the 5'-untranslated region of ferritin HCH mRNA. The sequence alignment of ferritin HCH shows 68.9 and 68.7% identity with Galleria mellonella HCH (26 kDa ferritin) and Manduca sexta HCH, respectively. While G type insect ferritin vertebrate light chain homologue (LCH) is distantly related to H. cunea ferritin HCH (17.2-20.8%), the Northern blot analysis revealed that H. cunea ferritin HCH was ubiquitously expressed in various tissues and all developmental stages. The ferritin expression of midgut is more responsive to iron-fed, compared to fat body in H. cunea.     

Structural Brain Changes after Traditional and Robot-Assisted Multi-Domain Cognitive Training in Community-Dwelling Healthy Elderly

The purpose of this study was to investigate if multi-domain cognitive training, especially robot-assisted training, alters cortical thickness in the brains of elderly participants. A controlled trial was conducted with 85 volunteers without cognitive impairment who were 60 years old or older. Participants were first randomized into two groups. One group consisted of 48 participants who would receive cognitive training and 37 who would not receive training. The cognitive training group was randomly divided into two groups, 24 who received traditional cognitive training and 24 who received robot-assisted cognitive training. The training for both groups consisted of daily 90-min-session, five days a week for a total of 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the changes in cortical thickness. When compared to the control group, both groups who underwent cognitive training demonstrated attenuation of age related cortical thinning in the frontotemporal association cortices. When the robot and the traditional interventions were directly compared, the robot group showed less cortical thinning in the anterior cingulate cortices. Our results suggest that cognitive training can mitigate age-associated structural brain changes in the elderly.

Trial Registration

ClnicalTrials.gov NCT01596205     

Comparison of Nitrogen Fixation for North- and South-facing <Emphasis Type="Italic">Robinia pseudoacacia</Emphasis> Stands in Central Korea

The nitrogenase activity, root nodule biomass, and rates of nitrogen (N) fixation were measured in 25-year-old pure north- and south-facing Robinia pseudoacacia stands in an urban forest of Seoul (Kkachisan Mountain) in central Korea. The nitrogenase activity was estimated using an acetylene reduction (AR) assay, which showed an increasing trend during the early growing season, with sustained high rates from June through to September with a decrease thereafter. July had the highest nitrogenase activity rate (micromoles C₂H₄ per gram dry nodule per hour), averaging 95.8 and 115.1 for the north- and south-facing stands, respectively. The maximum root nodule biomass (kilograms per hectare) was 45.7 and 9.1 for the north- and south-facing stands in July, respectively. The AR rate appeared to be strongly correlated to the soil temperature (r ² = 0.68, P < 0.001) and soil pH (r ² = 0.59, P < 0.001) while root nodule biomass was correlated to the soil temperature (r ² = 0.36, P < 0.01) and water content (r ² = 0.35, P < 0.05). The soil temperature showed clear differences between seasons, while there was a significant difference in soil pH, organic matter, total N concentrations, and available phosphorus between the north- and south-facing stands. The N₂ fixation rates during the growing season varied from 0.1 to 37.5 kg N ha⁻¹ month⁻¹ depending on the sampling location and time. The annual N₂ fixation rate (kg N per hectare per year) was 112.3 and 23.2 for the north- and south-facing stands, respectively. The differences in N₂ fixation rate between the two stands were due mainly to the differences in total nodule biomass.     

Mycophenolic acid inhibits mesangial cell activation through p38 MAPK inhibition

Mesangial cell (MC) proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation are major pathologic features of chronic renal disease including chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN). Mycophenolic acid (MPA), a potent immunosuppressant, has emerged as a treatment to prevent CAN because it inhibits MC proliferation and ECM synthesis, but the mechanism involved has not been clarified. The present study examined relative role of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) activation in inhibitory effect of MPA on MC activation. Growth arrested and synchronized primary rat MC (passages 7-11) were stimulated by PDGF 10 ng/ml in the presence and absence of clinically attainable dose of MPA (0-10 microM). Cell proliferation was assessed by [(3)H]thymidine incorporation, fibronectin and the activation of ERK and p38 MAPK by Western blot analysis, and total collagen by [(3)H]proline incorporation. PDGF increased cell proliferation by 4.6-fold, fibronectin secretion by 3.2-fold, total collagen synthesis by 1.8-fold, and the activation of ERK and 38 MAPK by 5.6-fold and 3.1-fold, respectively, compared to control. MPA, at doses inhibiting PDGF-induced MC proliferation and ECM synthesis, effectively blocked p38 MAPK activation but reduced ERK activation by 23% at maximal concentration tested (10 microM). Exogenous guanosine partially reversed the inhibition of MPA on p38 MAPK activation. Inhibitor of ERK or p38 MAPK suppressed PDGF-induced MC proliferation and ECM synthesis. In conclusion, MPA inhibits p38 MAPK activation leading to inhibiting proliferation and ECM synthesis in MC. Guanosine reduction is partially responsible for inhibitory effect of MPA on p38 MAPK activation in MC.     

Soil Metal Sorption Characteristics and its Influence on the Comparative Effectiveness of EDTA and Legume Intercrop on the Phytoremediative Abilities of Maize (Zea mays), Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens), Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), and Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus)

Heavy metal pollution in soils and the high costs of remediation necessitate the evaluation of cheaper alternatives. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu sorption characteristics of three soils and their influence on the comparative effectiveness of EDTA and legume intercrop on the remediative abilities of maize, mucuna, okra, and kenaf. The sorption studies were done using standard procedures. The EDTA-assisted phytoextraction (6 mmol kg^?1) and the cowpea intercrop trials were conducted in triplicate. The metal-spiked soils were planted with maize, kenaf, and mucuna in the EDTA trial and maize, kenaf, and okra were planted in the cowpea intercrop experiment. Cadmium was prefentially sorbed in acid and alkaline soils and Cu in slightly acid soil. Cadmium uptake was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in all the plants. Bioconcentration factors of Pb, Cu, and Zn were higher (P < 0.05) in maize compared with other plants. Phytoremediative ability of the plants in trials were maize > kenaf > mucuna and okra > maize > kenaf, respectively. It was concluded that a legume intercrop can substitute EDTA- assisted phytoextraction to prevent groundwater contamination resulting from high solubility of metals by EDTA.     

Telemedicine’s Potential to Support Good Dying in Nigeria: A Qualitative Study

Objectives

This qualitative study explores Nigerian health care professionals’ concepts of good dying/a good death and how telemedicine technologies and services would fit the current Nigerian palliative care practice.

Materials and Methods

Supported by the Centre for Palliative Care Nigeria (CPCN) and the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, Nigeria, the authors organized three focus groups with Nigerian health care professionals interested in palliative care, unstructured interviews with key role players for palliative care and representatives of telecom companies, and field visits to primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare clinics that provided palliative care. Data analysis consisted of open coding, constant comparison, diagramming of categorizations and relations, and extensive member checks.

Results

The focus group participants classified good dying into 2 domains: a feeling of completion of the individual life and dying within the community. Reported barriers to palliative care provision were socio-economic consequences of being seriously ill, taboos on dying and being ill, restricted access to adequate medical–technical care, equation of religion with medicine, and the faulty implementation of palliative care policy by government. The addition of telemedicine to Nigeria’s palliative care practice appears problematic, due to irregular bandwidth, poor network coverage, and unstable power supply obstructing interactivity and access to information. However, a tele-education ‘lite’ scenario seemed viable in Nigeria, wherein low-tech educational networks are central that build on non-synchronous online communication.

Discussion

Nigerian health care professionals’ concepts on good dying/a good death and barriers and opportunities for palliative care provision were, for the greater part, similar to prior findings from other studies in Africa. Information for and education of patient, family, and community are essential to further improve palliative care in Africa. Telemedicine can only help if low-tech solutions are applied that work around network coverage problems by focusing on non-synchronous online communication.