Effect of Salinity on the Growth Parameters of Halotolerant Microalgae, Dunaliella spp.

Dunaliella strains (T35, T36 and T37) were isolated from saline river of Namibia. The effects of salinity stress on their growth and pigment content was investigated. The specific growth rate (μ) of Dunaliella was established in a controlled environment. NaCl concentration has a strong effect on the growth rate and generation time of these halotolerant microalgae. Dunaliella strains were shown to withstand large variations of salinity of the growth medium, 0.5 - 4.0 M NaCl. The optimum conditions for their growth were 1.0 M NaCl at 25 oC, pH 7.5 and 45 μmol m-2 s-1. Increasing salinity from 1.0 to 4.0 M NaCl decreased cell density by 40 %. Increased cellular chlorophyll content was observed form 2 to 14 days of inoculation for all the three strains investigated. However, after day 10 of inoculation there was no significant difference in the pigment content per cell in all strains (p ≤ 0.05). This study shows that there is a good relationship between growth rate and efficient photosynthetic apparatus during the cultivation.Keywords: Dunaliella, salinity stress, chlorophyll, specific growth rat

Treatment with methanol root extract of Mirabilis jalapa suppresses postprandial hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia in diabetic rats

The present study demonstrates the postprandial hypoglycemic effects of methanol root extract of Mirabilis jalapa. Alloxan induced diabetic rats were treated with 200 mg/kg body weight of the extract for 9 days at 12 hourly intervals. The experiment was designed to assess both fasting and 2 hour postprandial blood glucose levels. Lipid profile and liver function biochemical analyses were conducted using serum obtained from the experimental animals sacrificed after 10 days. The results showed a marked difference in blood glucose levels postprandial in the diabetic group treated with the extract (DTM) (11.02 ± 1.42 mmol/L) when compared with the diabetic untreated group (DU) (19.80 ± 5.37 mmol/L). Similar trends were observed for the fasting blood glucose which remained elevated in the DU group throughout the experiment but was maintained at comparable levels (4.70 – 6.82 mmol/L) between healthy control group (HU) and all other groups treated both with extract and standard drug metformin. Triglyceride levels of diabetic groups treated with the extract were also observed to fall within comparable limits with the HU group (30.79 ±4.76 – 65.95 ± 2.42 mg/L). In conclusion, treatment with methanol root extract of Mirabilis jalapa suppresses hyperglycemia postprandial and probably promotes slow progression to dyslipidemia in experimentally induced diabetes in rats.Keywords: Mirabilis jalapa, Diabetes mellitus, Hypoglycemia, metformi

Antimicrobial Activities of Acacia nilotica, Ziziphus Jujube Linn and Lawsonia Inermis

Infectious diseases are important cause of morbidity and mortality due to continuous emergence of microbial resistance to conventional drugs. Acacia nilotica, Ziziphus jujube Linn and Lawsonia inermis are widely used for traditional medicine in Northern Nigeria. However, little is known about the biochemical and microbiological potentials of these indigenous plants. In this study, the plants leaves were screened for phytochemical and in vitro antimicrobial potentials using standard methods. Quantitative phytochemical analysis of crude methanolic leave extracts revealed high content of glycoside, tannins and phenols. High levels of saponins and flavonoids were also detected. The extracts exhibited antibacterial effects on Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas flourecense, Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus. At 50 mg/ml extract concentration, the zone of inhibition observed was greater than 6mm. This indicates high inhibitory potency of the plants leaves. In comparison to streptomycin sulphate, A. nilotica and L. inermis had statistically similar (P>0.05) effect on E. coli at 50 mg/ml. In general, the inhibitory effect of A. nilotica and L. inermis were higher than that of Z. jujube Linn in all concentrations, except on E. coli at 150 mg/ml. Both the extracts and control drug had minimum inhibitory concentration of 10 mg/ml for all the microbes testedexcept Streptococcus (20-25 mg/ml). Furthermore, the average Minimum Bactericidal Concentration was 15 mg/ml except for Streptococcus with 20-25 mg/ml. Methanol extracts of Acacia nilotica, Ziziphus jujube Linn, and Lawsonia inermis exhibit antibacterial effect, hence could be used as sources of potent agents against bacterial infection.Keywords: Antimicrobial, infectious disease, Methanol extract, Phytochemica

Testing the infectivity of a Begomovirus by particle bombardment method using a gene gun

This study was design to identify the causal agent of Horsegram yellow mosaic disease and to investigate the pathogenicity of Horsegram yellow mosaic viruses (HgYMV) infective clones. The samples were obtained using standard method from the two main horsegram growing areas of Bangalore, Karnataka State of India. The viral DNA from horsegram plants exhibiting severe symptoms was amplified by PCR. An isolate of HgYMV1 and HgYMV2 were associated with severe symptom phenotype from HgYMV. Full-length clones of DNA-A and DNA-B genomic components were constructed and attempts were made to introduce homologous (HgYMV1/HgYMV2) combinations of DNA-A and DNA-B genomic components into Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Inoculation of linearized constructs containing full-length clones or partial head-to-tail dimers of DNA-A and DNAB genomic components resulted in the introduction of DNA-A genomic components into the host plant. However, these combinations of genomic DNA component were not detected in the inoculated plants bombarded using the gene gun. Thus, this study was unable to confirm the pathogenicity of HgYMV infective clones using N. benthamiana as model plant.Keywords: Horsegram, Begomovirus, yellow mosaic viruses, Particle bombardment, Gene gu

Molecular identification and sequence analysis of bipartite Begomovirus infecting Horsegram legume in India

The molecular diversity of Begomovirus infecting Horsegram yellow Mosaic viruses (HgYMV1 and HgYMV2), from two main horsegram growing farms near Bangalore, Karnataka State, South India was investigated. The viral DNA was amplified from horsegram plants exhibiting mild and severe symptoms by polymerase chain reaction, and complete genome of the HgYMV were identified by their sequence analysis. Isolates of HgYMV1 and HgYMV2 were found to be associated with severe symptom phenotype from HgYMV. HgYMV was most closely related to Mungbean yellow mosaic indian viruse (MYMIV) and Mungbean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) at 81.8 to 84.8 % nucleotide identity, based on DNA-A and DNA-B component sequences. HgYMV was distantly related to Dolicos yellow mosaic virus from Asia (DoYMV-Ban and DoYMV-DB) and partially to Cowpea golden mosaic virus from Nigeria (CPGMV-[NG]) at 64 and 62 % DNA nucleotide identity. Analysis of the DNA-B sequence of HgYMV revealed a DNA-B component identical to those of Bean golden yellow mosaic virus BGYMV isolates described. Furthermore, the DNA-B component for extant BGYMV isolates and strains were also the closest relatives for the HgYMV1 DNA-B components at 48.7 % nucleotide identity. Therefore, HgYMV could be considered to be a new species of the genus Begomovirus (family Geminiviridae).Keywords: Begomovirus, Horsegram, yellow Mosaic viruses, DNA sequencin

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods: We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings: Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation: Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries