Effects of salt stress on antioxidant and ascorbate glutathione cycle enzyme activities in Pokkali rice varieties – Vytilla 1-9

The enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels in the released salt tolerant Pokkali, (vytilla, VTL 1-9) varieties were studied under different NaCl concentrations (0-150 mM NaCl). The specific activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate-glutathione cycle enzymes and non-enzymatic antioxidants like superoxide (O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AsA) was determined in plants exposed to salt stress. IR-28 was used as positive control and the VTL varieties were used as negative control. The H2O2 and superoxide (O2-) contents were higher in IR-28 at all the applied concentrations of NaCl. The VTL varieties without salt treatment did not evoke any response substantiating the role of salt priming in antioxidant signalling. The MDA contents were higher in the positive and negative control. MDA content was reduced in the NaCl treated VTL varieties. In the positive and negative control varieties, the quantity of ascorbate and glutathione contents were lesser and upregulated in salt treated VTL varieties. Highest H2O2 content was observed in 150 mM NaCl treatment. The H2O2 contents decreased with the increase in all concentrations of NaCl and lowest H2O2 contents was observed in VTL-1 and highest in VTL-2 and VTL-8 treated with 150 mM NaCl. Superoxide contents varied in all the nine varieties depending on the salt concentration. The SOD levels in all the varieties showed a positive correlation with the superoxide and H2O2 content. Lesser quantities of SOD, CAT and the ascorbate - glutathione cycle enzymes were expressed in the positive and negative control. The increased NaCl concentration (25-150 mM) upregulated antioxidant and ascorbate-glutathione cycle enzymes in the VTL varieties. The APX activity was lower in the control and salt treated plants. The GR activity increased linearly in all the varieties with respect to salt concentrations. The MDHAR and DHAR activities showed marginally linear increase, with all concentrations of NaCl. The APX activity was similar or lower to MDHAR activity while DHAR activity was similar to MDHAR activity. The results of the present study reveals the higher levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants under salt stress reflect the salt tolerance potential of pokkali varieties mediated by the up regulation of ROS scavenging enzymes

Regulation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants contributes to salt tolerance in hitherto unknown upland farmer rice varieties.

Salt tolerance potential of the three upland farmer varieties, koduvelliyan, mullankayama and marathondi was evaluated by comparing with the released salt-tolerant pokkali variety, vytilla-2. The salt tolerance exhibited by the upland varieties was identical with the salt tolerant variety. The superoxide (O2-) content in the upland varieties was lower; however, the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content increased with the salt concentration. The lesser malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the koduvelliyan variety was equivalent to the vytilla-2 and slight increase was observed in mullankayama and marathondi. The ascorbate (AsA) content in the upland varieties was comparable to vytilla-2 and upon exposure to increased concentration of NaCl, the AsA level reduced in all the treatments. Reduced glutathione (GSH) content was uniform in all the varieties up to a concentration of 100mM NaCl, however, in 125-150mM NaCl, mullankayama showed a pronounced increase in GSH content. Under salt stress, due to the formation of O2-, the oxidation of GSH was higher, maintaining a stable GSH/GSSG ratio. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity of the upland varieties was higher than vytilla-2 up to 100mM NaCl, however, in 125-150mM NaCl the SOD activity increased slightly and the CAT activity decreased. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity increased in upland varieties up to 125mM NaCl, and in 150mM NaCl, maintained a steady level in all the varieties. Glutathione reductase (GR) activity increased proportionate with NaCl concentration; with highest activity in all the upland varieties. Monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) activity was uniform in all the varieties up to 100mM NaCl, however, in 125 and 150mM NaCl, vytilla-2 showed higher MDHAR activity. Dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) activity was lesser in upland varieties under salt stress compared to vytilla-2. The GSH/GSSG ratio decreased in marathondi and koduvelliyan varieties with the increase in NaCl concentration, however, in mullankayama and vytilla-2, the GSH/GSSG ratio was higher. The membrane stability index of all the varieties was uniform in all the concentrations of NaCl used, except marathondi. The Na+ content in all the varieties increased in relation to NaCl concentration and the K+ efflux was higher suggesting a higher Na+/K+ ratio, with increased NaCl concentration

Micropropagation and Evaluation of Genetic Stability of Wild Curcuma Species and C. longa Morphotypes Using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA

Species specific responses in micropropagation of 10 wild species of Curcuma and 15 morphotypes of C. longa were observed. Five to eight shoots were produced from a single rhizome bud explant of C. aeruginosa, C. amada, C. amarissima and six morphotypes of C. longa (M1, M4, M7,M9,M14 and M16) in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 5.0 mg dm-3 6-Benzyl Adenine (BA). C. aurantiaca, C. caesia, C. zeodaria and four C. longa morphotypes (M2, M8, M10 and M11) produced six to eleven shoots in MS medium containing 0.1 mg dm-3 Indole-3 acetic acid (IAA) and 2.5 mg dm-3 BA. C. brog, C. latifolia, C. malabarica, C. raktakanta and five C. longa morphotypes (M3, M15, M17, M18 and M19) developed five to seven shoots in MS medium containing 0.1 mg dm-3 IAA and 5.0 mg dm-3 BA. Initiated shoots were multiplied and rooted in the same medium. Rooted plantlets were transferred to field and 95% of the plantlets survived during acclimatisation. Genetic stability of in- vitro raised plants was tested using 30 Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers during each stage of subculture. Twenty primers produced 275 bands out of which 249 were polymorphic exhibiting 90.53% polymorphism for the species and morphotypes establishing their wide genetic basis. In-vitro cultures were stable in their genetic makeup until fifth or sixth passage of subculture depending on the species and showed variation in RAPD banding pattern after these cycles. These results indicates that exposure to long term in-vitro conditions resulted in variation in the DNA in almost all the species and morphotypes of Curcuma

Risk Factors Affecting Exacerbation of Bronchiectasis Leading to Hospitalisation In Patients Attending A Tertiary Care Setting

Introduction: Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by structural changes in airways, leading to recurrent episodes of cough with expectoration. Exacerbations are significant events associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Aim: To evaluate factors associated with exacerbations requiring hospitalization in patients with bronchiectasis Materials and methods: A prospective observational study was done at a tertiary care teaching hospital from December 2017 to May 2019. Demographic data, comorbidities, investigations including HRCT, sputum culture and spirometry were collected. Patients were grouped into exacerbations requiring hospitalizations and those managed as outpatients and followed up for one year. Factors associated with exacerbations were assessed and compared between the two groups. Results: 89 patients were recruited for the study, out of which 12 patients without exacerbation during the study period were excluded. The remaining 77 patients were divided into those who needed hospitalization (37) and those managed as outpatients (40). About 48.1%required hospital admission. Factors associated with exacerbations were advanced age, isolation of organisms from sputum, FEV1 less than 50%, PPI use during the study period, concomitant COPD, vaccination with pneumococcal and influenza vaccines and high severity scores. Use of LTO2, LABA/ICS, chest physiotherapy, mucolytic agents, radiological extent and previous history of exacerbations were not associated with exacerbations leading to hospitalization. Conclusion: Factors associated with bronchiectasis exacerbations leading to hospitalizations were advanced age, high bronchiectasis severity score, FEV1 less than 50%, PPI use and concomitant COPD. Vaccination for influenza and pneumococcus had a favourable impact in reducing hospitalization

Cardiovascular Risk in Psoriasis: A Population-Based Analysis with Assessment of the Framingham Risk Score

Objective. To examine the utility of the Framingham risk score (FRS) in estimating cardiovascular risk in psoriasis. Methods. We compared the predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular events, namely, cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, heart failure, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass grafting using the FRS, to the observed risk of cardiovascular events in a population-based cohort of patients with psoriasis. Patients with incident or prevalent adult-onset psoriasis aged 30–79 years without prior history of cardiovascular disease were included. Results. Among the 1197 patients with predicted risk scores, the median FRS was 6.0%, while the observed 10-year cardiovascular risk was 6.9% (standardized incidence ratio (SIR): 1.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92–1.42). The SIR was not elevated for women nor for men. The differences between observed and predicted cardiovascular risks in patients <60 years (SIR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.73–1.41) or ≥60 years (SIR: 1.26; 95% CI: 0.95–1.68) were not statistically significant. Conclusion. There was no apparent difference between observed and predicted cardiovascular risks in patients with psoriasis in our study. FRS reasonably estimated cardiovascular risk in both men and women as well as in younger and older psoriasis patients, suggesting that FRS can be used in risk stratification in psoriasis without further adjustment

The level of formal support received by people with severe mental illness living in supported accommodation and participation: A systematic review

Akkara Lionel Jose - ORCID: 0000-0003-0064-7106 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0064-7106Replaced AM deposited on 2021-01-26 with version without highlighting - 2021-02-02.Aim: The review aimed to identify and explore the association of level of support received by people with severe mental illness in supported accommodation and participation.Method: The authors conducted a systematic search in MEDLINE, PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, CINAHL Plus and ASSIA. Searches were restricted to articles published in English and participants aged 18 years and over with severe mental illness. Articles were included based on level of support received in mental health supported accommodation, classified according to the Simple Taxonomy for Supported Accommodation, and three factors of participation: social participation, daily living functioning and personal empowerment. Studies of in-patient settings and nursing homes were excluded. The review protocol is registered on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42019161808).Results: Six articles were included in the review from USA, Australia, Sweden and Taiwan. Factors of participation for people living in accommodation with moderate support and accommodation with high support were explored. Data indicated an association between level of support and participation showing that people living in accommodation with moderate support had increased participation compared to people living in accommodation with high support.Conclusion: This review identified an association between level of formal support and participation. People with SMI living in accommodation with medium support participated in more community occupations, more activities and had a higher level of personal empowerment than people living in accommodation with high support.https://doi.org/10.1177/002076402098857667pubpub

Optimisation study of large-scale enzymatic synthesis of oleyl oleate, a liquid wax ester, by response surface methodology

An optimisation study of the large-scale enzymatic synthesis of a liquid wax ester from oleic acid and oleyl alcohol using Novozym 435 was carried out. Investigations were performed in batch mode with a stirred tank reactor (STR) with one multi-bladed impeller. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on a five-level, three-variable central composite rotatable design (CCRD) was used to evaluate the interactive effects of various parameters. The parameters are amount of enzyme (A) (90–120 g), impeller speed (B) (100–400 rpm) and temperature (C) (40–60 °C). The optimum conditions derived via RSM at a fixed reaction time of 1 h were successfully optimised as A = 104 g, B = 388.0 rpm and C = 49.7 °C. The actual experimental yield was 96.7% under the optimum conditions, which compared well with the maximum predicted value of 97.6%

Enzymatic hydrophobic modification of jute fibers via grafting to reinforce composites

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP)/H2O2 system catalyzes the free-radical polymerization of aromatic compounds such as lignins and gallate esters. In this work, dodecyl gallate (DG) was grafted onto the surfaces of lignin-rich jute fabrics by HRP-mediated oxidative polymerization with an aim to enhance the hydrophobicity of the fibers. The DG-grafted jute fibers and reaction products of their model compounds were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results clearly indicated the grafting of DG to the jute fiber by HRP. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of jute fabrics was determined by measuring the wetting time and static contact angle. Compared to the control sample, the wetting time and static contact angle of the grated fabrics changed from ~1 s to 1 h and from ~0° to 123.68°, respectively. This clearly proved that the hydrophobicity of jute fabrics improved considerably. Conditions of the HRP-catalyzed DG-grafting reactions were optimized in terms of the DG content of modified jute fabrics. Moreover, the results of breaking strength and elongation of DG-grafted jute/ polypropylene (PP) composites demonstrated improved reinforcement of the composite due to enzymatic hydrophobic modification of jute fibers.This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51173071), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-12-0883), Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT_15R26) the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JUSRP51312B, JUSRP51505), and the Graduate Student Innovation Plan of Jiangsu Province of China (SJLX_0527)

Computer-Aided Solvent Screening for Biocatalysis

A computer-aidedsolventscreening methodology is described and tested for biocatalytic systems composed of enzyme, essential water and substrates/products dissolved in a solvent medium, without cells. The methodology is computationally simple, using group contribution methods for calculating constrained properties related to chemical reaction equilibrium, substrate and product solubility, water solubility, boiling points, toxicity and others. Two examples are provided, covering the screening of solvents for lipase-catalyzed transesterification of octanol and inulin with vinyl laurate. Esterification of acrylic acid with octanol is also addressed. Solvents are screened and candidates identified, confirming existing experimental results. Although the examples involve lipases, the method is quite general, so there seems to be no preclusion against application to other biocatalyst