Effects of non-chemical treatments on postharvest diseases, shelf life and quality of papaya under two different maturity stages

Papaya is a climacteric fruit and highly perishable in nature, which trigger ethylene production and hence, its consumption period is very short after harvesting. The experiment was conducted at the Laboratories of the Departments of Horticulture and Agricultural Chemistry, Bangladesh Agricultural University; and Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh during the period from March to June 2018 to study the effect of non-chemical treatments on postharvest diseases, shelf life and quality of papaya under two different maturity stages. The two-factor experiment consisted of two maturity stages viz. (i) Maturity stage 1 (M1: mature green colour) and (ii) Maturity stage 2 (M2: 0-10% yellowing); and six non-chemical treatments viz. (i) Control (T0), (ii) Hot water treatment @ 50�C for 10 minutes (T1), (iii) Gamma irradiation @ 0.08 kGy for 10 minutes (T2), (iv) Chitosan coating @ 2% (T3), (iv) Hot water + gamma irradiation (T4), and (vi) Hot water + chitosan coating (T5). The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 replications. The combined effect of maturity stages and non-chemical treatments were significant on all the parameters studied viz. external colour, weight loss, pulp to peel ratio, pulp pH, total soluble solids (TSS), disease incidence and severity, and shelf life of papaya. The papaya fruits under combined treatment of hot water plus gamma irradiation showed better appearance and external colour than the others at both maturity stages. The maximum weight loss was recorded in M1T0 (17.96%) followed by M2T0 (16.58%) while the minimum was found in M1T5 (3.69) followed by M2T5 (3.91). The highest pulp to peel ratio was observed in M1T4 (3.82) followed by M1T5 (3.78), while the lowest (3.00) was recorded in control under both maturity stages. The highest pulp pH was observed in M2T4 (6.15) followed by M2T5 (6.07) while the lowest was found in M2T0 (4.83) followed by M1T0 (5.05). The maximum disease incidence and severity were recorded (100%) in M1T0 and M2T0, whereas the minimum disease incidence (81%) and severity (12.36%) was found in M1T4. The longest shelf life (16.50 days) was obtained in M1T4 followed by M2T4 (15.25 days) and the shortest shelf life (8.65 days) was observed in M2T0 followed by M1T0 (9.25 days). Thus, hot water plus gamma irradiation followed by hot water plus chitosan coating under both maturity stages could be used to significantly reduce postharvest fungal infection, extend shelf life and improve quality of papaya

Benign Yellow Dot Maculopathy: A New Macular Phenotype

PURPOSE: To describe a novel macular phenotype that is associated with normal visual function. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case series. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-six affected individuals from 23 unrelated families. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of patients who had a characteristic macular phenotype. Subjects underwent a full ocular examination, electrophysiologic studies, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fundus autofluorescence imaging. Genomic analyses were performed using haplotype sharing analysis and whole-exome sequencing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Visual acuity, retinal features, electroretinography, and whole-exome sequencing. RESULTS: Twenty-six of 36 subjects were female. The median age of subjects at presentation was 15 years (range, 5–59 years). The majority of subjects were asymptomatic and presented after a routine eye examination (22/36 subjects) or after screening because of a positive family history (13/36 subjects) or by another ophthalmologist (1/36 subjects). Of the 3 symptomatic subjects, 2 had reduced visual acuity secondary to nonorganic visual loss and bilateral ametropic amblyopia with strabismus. Visual acuity was 0.18 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) or better in 30 of 33 subjects. Color vision was normal in all subjects tested, except for the subject with nonorganic visual loss. All subjects had bilateral symmetric multiple yellow dots at the macula. In the majority of subjects, these were evenly distributed throughout the fovea, but in 9 subjects they were concentrated in the nasal parafoveal area. The dots were hyperautofluorescent on fundus autofluorescence imaging. The OCT imaging was generally normal, but in 6 subjects subtle irregularities at the inner segment ellipsoid band were seen. Electrophysiologic studies identified normal macular function in 17 of 19 subjects and normal full-field retinal function in all subjects. Whole-exome analysis across 3 unrelated families found no pathogenic variants in known macular dystrophy genes. Haplotype sharing analysis in 1 family excluded linkage with the North Carolina macular dystrophy (MCDR1) locus. CONCLUSIONS: A new retinal phenotype is described, which is characterized by bilateral multiple early-onset yellow dots at the macula. Visual function is normal, and the condition is nonprogressive. In familial cases, the phenotype seems to be inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, but a causative gene is yet to be ascertained

The range of the golden-mantle tamarin, Saguinus tripartitus (Milne Edwards, 1878): distributions and sympatry of four tamarin species in Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru

A detailed understanding of the range of the golden-mantle tamarin, Saguinus tripartitus (Milne Edwards, 1878), in Amazonian Peru and Ecuador is of particular relevance, not only because it is poorly known but also because it was on the basis of its supposed sympatry with the saddleback tamarin (S. fuscicollis lagonotus) that Thorington (Am J Primatol 15:367–371, 1988) argued that it is a distinct species rather than a saddleback tamarin subspecies, as was believed by Hershkovitz (Living new world monkeys, vol I. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1977). A number of surveys have been carried out since 1988 in the supposed range of S. tripartitus, in both Ecuador and Peru. Here we summarize and discuss these issues and provide a new suggestion for the geographic range of this species; that is, between the ríos Napo and Curaray in Peru and extending east into Ecuador. We also review current evidence for the distributions of Spix’s black-mantle tamarin (S. nigricollis nigricollis), Graells’ black-mantle tamarin (S. n. graellsi), and the saddleback tamarin (S. fuscicollis lagonotus), which are also poorly known, and examine the evidence regarding sympatry between them. We conclude that despite the existence of a number of specimens with collecting localities that indicate overlap in their geographic ranges, the fact that the four tamarin species are of similar size and undoubtedly very similar in their feeding habits militates strongly against the occurrence of sympatry among them

Synthetic biology approaches in drug discovery and pharmaceutical biotechnology

Synthetic biology is the attempt to apply the concepts of engineering to biological systems with the aim to create organisms with new emergent properties. These organisms might have desirable novel biosynthetic capabilities, act as biosensors or help us to understand the intricacies of living systems. This approach has the potential to assist the discovery and production of pharmaceutical compounds at various stages. New sources of bioactive compounds can be created in the form of genetically encoded small molecule libraries. The recombination of individual parts has been employed to design proteins that act as biosensors, which could be used to identify and quantify molecules of interest. New biosynthetic pathways may be designed by stitching together enzymes with desired activities, and genetic code expansion can be used to introduce new functionalities into peptides and proteins to increase their chemical scope and biological stability. This review aims to give an insight into recently developed individual components and modules that might serve as parts in a synthetic biology approach to pharmaceutical biotechnology

The Airway Microbiota in Cystic Fibrosis: A Complex Fungal and Bacterial Community—Implications for Therapeutic Management

International audienceBackground Given the polymicrobial nature of pulmonary infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), it is essential to enhance our knowledge on the composition of the microbial community to improve patient management. In this study, we developed a pyrosequencing approach to extensively explore the diversity and dynamics of fungal and prokaryotic populations in CF lower airways. Methodology and Principal Findings Fungi and bacteria diversity in eight sputum samples collected from four adult CF patients was investigated using conventional microbiological culturing and high-throughput pyrosequencing approach targeting the ITS2 locus and the 16S rDNA gene. The unveiled microbial community structure was compared to the clinical profile of the CF patients. Pyrosequencing confirmed recently reported bacterial diversity and observed complex fungal communities, in which more than 60% of the species or genera were not detected by cultures. Strikingly, the diversity and species richness of fungal and bacterial communities was significantly lower in patients with decreased lung function and poor clinical status. Values of Chao1 richness estimator were statistically correlated with values of the Shwachman-Kulczycki score, body mass index, forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (p = 0.046, 0.047, 0.004, and 0.001, respectively for fungal Chao1 indices, and p = 0.010, 0.047, 0.002, and 0.0003, respectively for bacterial Chao1 values). Phylogenetic analysis showed high molecular diversities at the sub-species level for the main fungal and bacterial taxa identified in the present study. Anaerobes were isolated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which was more likely to be observed in association with Candida albicans than with Aspergillus fumigatus

A homozygous mutation in the TUB gene associated with retinal dystrophy and obesity.

Inherited retinal dystrophies are a major cause of childhood blindness. Here, we describe the identification of a homozygous frameshift mutation (c.1194_1195delAG, p.Arg398Serfs*9) in TUB in a child from a consanguineous UK Caucasian family investigated u