Biogenic synthesis of gold nanoparticles using Sargassum tenerrimum and its evaluation of antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi

1291-1297An important aspect of nanotechnology is the development of a reliable and ecofriendly method for the synthesis of nanomaterials. In the present study, Sargassum tenerrimum extract was used to synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by the reduction of AuCl4− ions to Au0. The formation and morphology of the synthesized AuNPs were investigated using \UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The nanoparticles synthesized at 60 °C were spherical in shape while few were also hexagonal in shape with the size ranging between 10 and 40 nm. The antibacterial activity of AuNPs was tested against Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Salmonella typhi (ATCC 6539). On examination under an epifluorescence microscope, it was found to cause a significant amount of deterioration to the bacterial cells

MEAT QUALITY AND LIPID PROFILE OF BROILER CHICKENS FED DIETS CONTAINING TURMERIC (CURCUMA LONGA) POWDER AND CAYENNE PEPPER (CAPSICUM FRUTESCENS) POWDER AS ANTIOXIDANTS

This experiment was designed to determine the meat quality and lipid profile of broiler chickens fed diets containing turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder (Tur) and cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens) powder (Cay) as antioxidants. Two hundred and forty three (two-week old) Abor Acre broiler chicks were randomly allotted to nine treatment groups of 27 birds each, consisting of three replicates of nine birds each in a completely randomised design. Three levels of Tur (0, 2 and 4 g/kg) and three levels of Cay (0, 1 and 2 g/kg) were used to provide nine dietary treatments.  Meat quality indices such as cook and refrigerated losses, water absorptive power, etc were measured and determined at the 8th week. Broiler Chickens fed the basal diet had highest meat dry matter, protein content and least (p<0.05) meat pH, cook and refrigeration loss values. Meat triglyceride and meat malondialdehyde value was best (p<0.05) in treatments fed dietary 2 g/kg Cay, while chickens fed 2 g/kg Cay, 2 g/kg Tur + 1 g/kg Cay and 2 g/kg Tur + 2 g/kg Cay had better meat lipoprotein values. For meat sensory characteristic, meat flavour of broiler chickens fed diets containing 2 and 4 g/kg dietary Tur, were  moderately liked while overall flavour was best (p<0.05) in groups fed the basal diet with no dietary additive. It was evident in the study that the dietary inclusions of the test ingredients limited lipid oxidation, thus improved storage duration and meat flavor.   &nbsp

Nigella sativa oil attenuates aluminum-induced behavioral changes, oxidative stress and cortico-hippocampal neuronal degeneration in rats

Background: Aluminum (AlCl3) usage in both the industrial and domestic arena has dramatically risen over time owing to its ubiquity and utility for many activities despite frequent reporting of its neurotoxic effects over wide range of concentrations. The neuro-protective effects of Nigella sativa Oil (NSO) following intermediate exposure to aluminum salts has largely been unexplored. The present study explores the ameliorative and neuro-protective functions of NSO on aluminum chloride (AlCl3)-induced damages in the frontal cortices and hippocampus of exposed rats. Methods: The study involved the use of thirty two adult male Wistar rats weighing 180 ± 20 g, randomly divided into four groups, in which group 1 received saline, group 2 received AlCl3 (100 mg/kg), group 3 received AlCl3 (100 mg/kg) followed by NSO (1 ml/kg) 30 min later, while group 4 received NSO (1 ml/kg) only. All administrations were done orally for 14 days. Standardized behavioural tests for anxiety and cognitive performance were carried on after the treatments prior to euthanizing (Ketamine 10 mg/kg, ip). On day 15, the rats were euthanized, and their brains excised, with the frontal cortex and hippocampus removed. Five of these samples were homogenized and centrifuged to analyze nitric oxide (NO) metabolites and total reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the other three were processed for histology (cresyl violet stain) and proliferative markers (Ki-67 immunohistochemistry). Results: Increased Transfer latency, time in dark box, escape latency and reduced rearing frequency, percentage alternation and time in platform quadrant were observed in the AlCl3 exposed rats. There was also an increased level of ROS and NO in the brain regions with marked inhibition of neuronal cell proliferation as evidenced by reduced Ki-67 protein expression in the brain of AlCl3 only rats. However, rats co-administered AlCl3 and NSO showed significantly reduced ROS and NO levels, improved anxiety-like and cognitive behaviors and increased Ki-67 expression when compared with AlCl3 only treated rats. Conclusion: AlCl3 exposure causes neuronal damage and impaired anxiety-like and memory indices which are associated with increased free radical generation and inhibited neuronal proliferation, whereas the antioxidant and neuro-protective properties of NSO were efficacious against the observed effects. Keywords: Aluminum chloride, memory impairment, neuronal damage, Ki-67, nigella sativa oi

High Quality Genomic Copy Number Data from Archival Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Leiomyosarcoma: Optimisation of Universal Linkage System Labelling

Most soft tissue sarcomas are characterized by genetic instability and frequent genomic copy number aberrations that are not subtype-specific. Oligonucleotide microarray-based Comparative Genomic Hybridisation (array CGH) is an important technique used to map genome-wide copy number aberrations, but the traditional requirement for high-quality DNA typically obtained from fresh tissue has limited its use in sarcomas. Although large archives of Formalin-fixed Paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumour samples are available for research, the degradative effects of formalin on DNA from these tissues has made labelling and analysis by array CGH technically challenging. The Universal Linkage System (ULS) may be used for a one-step chemical labelling of such degraded DNA. We have optimised the ULS labelling protocol to perform aCGH on archived FFPE leiomyosarcoma tissues using the 180k Agilent platform. Preservation age of samples ranged from a few months to seventeen years and the DNA showed a wide range of degradation (when visualised on agarose gels). Consistently high DNA labelling efficiency and low microarray probe-to-probe variation (as measured by the derivative log ratio spread) was seen. Comparison of paired fresh and FFPE samples from identical tumours showed good correlation of CNAs detected. Furthermore, the ability to macro-dissect FFPE samples permitted the detection of CNAs that were masked in fresh tissue. Aberrations were visually confirmed using Fluorescence in situ Hybridisation. These results suggest that archival FFPE tissue, with its relative abundance and attendant clinical data may be used for effective mapping for genomic copy number aberrations in such rare tumours as leiomyosarcoma and potentially unravel clues to tumour origins, progression and ultimately, targeted treatment

Corrigendum: Clinical Protocol for a Longitudinal Cohort Study Employing Systems Biology to Identify Markers of Vaccine Immunogenicity in Newborn Infants in The Gambia and Papua New Guinea.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fped.2020.00197.]

In-Silico Computing of the Most Deleterious nsSNPs in HBA1 Gene.

BACKGROUND:α-Thalassemia (α-thal) is a genetic disorder caused by the substitution of single amino acid or large deletions in the HBA1 and/or HBA2 genes. METHOD:Using modern bioinformatics tools as a systematic in-silico approach to predict the deleterious SNPs in the HBA1 gene and its significant pathogenic impact on the functions and structure of HBA1 protein was predicted. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:A total of 389 SNPs in HBA1 were retrieved from dbSNP database, which includes: 201 non-coding synonymous (nsSNPs), 43 human active SNPs, 16 intronic SNPs, 11 mRNA 3' UTR SNPs, 9 coding synonymous SNPs, 9 5' UTR SNPs and other types. Structural homology-based method (PolyPhen) and sequence homology-based tool (SIFT), SNPs&Go, PROVEAN and PANTHER revealed that 2.4% of the nsSNPs are pathogenic. CONCLUSIONS:A total of 5 nsSNPs (G60V, K17M, K17T, L92F and W15R) were predicted to be responsible for the structural and functional modifications of HBA1 protein. It is evident from the deep comprehensive in-silico analysis that, two nsSNPs such as G60V and W15R in HBA1 are highly deleterious. These "2 pathogenic nsSNPs" can be considered for wet-lab confirmatory analysis

Plant Leaf Disease Detection by Using Different Classification Techniques: Comparative

One of the main factors that assist to increase the growth of any country is Agriculture. The detection of diseases from plant leaf images is one of the most important fields of agricultural research. To identify disease factors, this field requires a reliable prediction approach. Data Mining (DM) is the process of analyzing data from different aspects and summarizing it into valuable information. It helps users to categorize and identify relationships between data from various dimensions. As there are many plants on the farm, detecting and classifying the diseases of each plant on the farm is extremely difficult for the human eye. And diagnosing each plant is very critical since these diseases may spread. DM classification is an important method that has a wide range of applications. It classifies each item in a set of data into one of a set of predefined classes. In this paper, a comparison of different DM classification methods such as Naive Bayes, Decision trees, SVM, and Random Forest algorithms has been illustrated by using of Weka Tool

Graphic illustration of bioinformatic tools used for the precise identification of the most deleterious nsSNPs of <i>HBA1</i> gene.

<p>Graphic illustration of bioinformatic tools used for the precise identification of the most deleterious nsSNPs of <i>HBA1</i> gene.</p

Cumulative prediction of possible deleterious nsSNPs.

<p>Cumulative prediction of possible deleterious nsSNPs.</p