Alteration of Key Cytokine Levels by Aflatoxin B\u3csub\u3e1\u3c/sub\u3e and T-2 Toxin in Male CD-1 Mice

Aflatoxin B1 and T-2 toxin are mycotoxins, which produce their immunotoxic effects by affecting nonspecific and acquired immunity in different species. The mechanisms of their immunotoxicity are still obscure. Cytokines are the key signaling molecules during the immune response. In this study, expression of macrophage-produced cytokines Interleukin-lα (IL-lα), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and IL-6, and lymphocyte-produced cytokines IL-2, interferon y (IFNy), and IL-3 was measured at the mRNA and protein levels, after in vitro activation with mitogens in AFB1-and T-2-toxin-exposed mice. Significant changes in the organ weights, especially in the mice exposed to a high dose of T-2 toxin, and no effect in AFB1-exposed mice were observed. ConA-induced production of IL-2, IFNy, and IL-3 mRNA and protein levels in AFB1-exposed mice showed a decrease in low dose groups (significant for IL-2 mRNA), but no change at other doses. However, in T-2-toxin-treated animals, there was a significant induction of IL-2 and IFNy mRNA in high and low doses and of IL-3 mRNA at the medium dose. The protein levels of IL-2 and IFNy did not follow the mRNA levels in high dose and the protein levels of IL-3 were significantly increased in medium and low doses. LPS-induced IL-lα and TNF mRNA and protein levels in AFB1-exposed mice were suppressed at the high dose while mRNA levels of both cytokines were increased significantly in the low and medium doses. Low and medium doses of AFB1 also significantly decreased IL-lα protein levels and the high dose decreased IL-6 protein. In T-2 toxin-treated mice, no significant difference in mRNA levels of these cytokines was observed but a general pattern of significant suppression of their protein levels (except IL-lα at medium dose) showed that both toxins regulate the cytokine expression differently. Based on the above discussed results and others, AFB1 may alter cell-mediated immunity by affecting the communication between macrophages and T lymphocytes through inhibiting the macrophage-producing cytokines. T-2 toxin-induced immunosuppression may be due not only to the inhibition of macrophage-producing cytokines, but also to the lack of effector cells to respond to the cytokines (IL-2, IFNy, and IL-3)

SMART CROP PROTECTION SYSTEM WITH IMAGE CAPTURE OVER IOT

The problem of wild animal attacks on crop fields i.e. crop vandalization is becoming a very common phenomenon in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and many other states. Wild animals like monkeys, estray animals especially cows and buffaloes, wild dogs, nilgais, bisons, elephants deer, wild pigs and even birds like parakeets cause a lot of damage to crops either by running over them or eating them and vandalizing them completely. This leads to poor yield of crops. These animals attack on fruit orchards and destroy the flowerings and fruits. In both cases, this leads to significant financial loss to the farmers and orchard owners. The problem is so pronounced that sometimes farmers decide to leave the area barren due to these animal attacks

Self-assembly of particles via controlled evaporation

Evaporation of solvent from a dispersion is a simple and effective method to direct the self-assembly of colloidal scale materials. In particular, the drying of particle laden sessile drops has received considerable attention since pioneering work in the late 1990’s. Upon evaporation, suspension drops leave a distinct ring-like deposit of particles at the periphery of the drop. It is widely accepted that physics of pattern formation in drying of drops containing in-soluble material is identical to that observed in drying of a coffee drop. Both the formation and suppression of coffee-stains are fundamentally and technologically important. There is need for the design of strategies to prevent coffee stains, which are unwanted in several applications. However, there are several reports where the desirable consequences of coffee-stain formation are exploited – especially in the field of separation technology and in the detection and diagnosis of diseases. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Identification of seedling resistance in wild oat relatives against oat crown rust

Faculty advisor: Melania FigueroaThis research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Drying-mediated patterns in colloid-polymer suspensions

Drying-mediated patterning of colloidal particles is a physical phenomenon that must be understood in inkjet printing technology to obtain crack-free uniform colloidal films. Here we experimentally study the drying-mediated patterns of a model colloid-polymer suspension and specifically observe how the deposit pattern appears after droplet evaporation by varying particle size and polymer concentration. We find that at a high polymer concentration, the ring-like pattern appears in suspensions with large colloids, contrary to suppression of ring formation in suspensions with small colloids thanks to colloidpolymer interactions. We attribute this unexpected reversal behavior to hydrodynamics and size dependence of colloid-polymer interactions. This finding would be very useful in developing control of drying-mediated self-assembly to produce crack-free uniform patterns from colloidal fluids.ope

Temporal trends and factors associated with increased mortality among atrial fibrillation weekend hospitalizations: an insight from National Inpatient Sample 2005–2014

Abstract Objective Atrial fibrillation (AF) weekend hospitalizations were reported to have poor outcomes compared to weekday hospitalizations. The relatively poor outcomes on the weekends are usually referred to as ‘weekend effect’. We aim to understand trends and outcomes among weekend AF hospitalizations. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the trends for weekend AF hospitalizations using Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2005–2014. Hospitalizations with AF as the primary diagnosis, in-hospital mortality, length of stay, co-morbidities and cardioversion procedures have been identified using the international classification of diseases 9 codes. Results Since 2005, the weekend AF hospitalizations increased by 27% (72,216 in 2005 to 92,220 in 2014), mortality decreased by 29% (1.32% in 2005 to 0.94% in 2014), increase in urban teaching hospitalizations by 72% (33.32% in 2005 to 57.64% in 2014), twofold increase in depression and a threefold increase in the prevalence of renal failure were noted over the period of 10 years. After adjusting for significant covariates, weekend hospitalizations were observed to have higher odds of in-hospital mortality OR 1.17 (95% CI 1.108–1.235, P < 0.0001). Weekend AF hospitalizations appear to be associated with higher in-hospital mortality. Opportunities to improve care in weekend AF hospitalizations need to be explored.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152157/1/13104_2019_Article_4440.pd

Evaluation of a standardised Vi poly-l-lysine ELISA for serology of Vi capsular polysaccharide antibodies

Typhoid vaccines based on protein-conjugated capsular Vi polysaccharide (TCVs) prevent typhoid in infants and young children. Analysis of the serum anti-Vi IgG response following immunisation against typhoid confirms the immunogenicity of TCVs and forms an important part of the pathway to licensing. Comparative studies could expedite the licencing process, and the availability of a standardised ELISA method alongside the 1st International Standard (IS) 16/138 for anti-typhoid capsular Vi polysaccharide IgG (human) will facilitate this process. To this end, a non-commercial ELISA based on a coat of Vi and poly-l-lysine (Vi-PLL ELISA) was evaluated by 10 laboratories. Eight serum samples, including IS 16/138, were tested in the standardised Vi-PLL ELISA (n = 10), a commercial Vi ELISA (n = 3) and a biotinylated Vi ELISA (n = 1). Valid estimates of potencies relative to IS 16/138 were obtained for all samples in the Vi-PLL ELISA and the commercial ELISA, with good repeatability and reproducibility evident from the study results and concordant estimates obtained by the two ELISA methods. The study demonstrates that the Vi-PLL ELISA can be used in clinical trial studies to determine the immunogenicity of TCVs

Mechanisms of pattern formation from dried sessile drops

The formation of patterns after the evaporation of colloidal droplets deposited on a solid surface is an everyday natural phenomenon. During the past two decades, this topic has gained broader audience due to its numerous applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology, printing, coating, etc. This paper presents a detailed review of the experimental studies related to the formation of various deposition patterns from dried droplets of complex fluids (i.e., nanofluids, polymers). First, this review presents the fundamentals of sessile droplet evaporation including evaporation modes and internal flow fields. Then, the most observed dried patterns are presented and the mechanisms behind them are discussed. The review ends with the categorisation and exhaustive investigation of a wide range of factors affecting pattern formation

Towards Identifying the Physical and Molecular Components Involved in Resistance to Leaf Rust Pathogen Puccinia Triticina in Wheat and Barley

Genetic resistance is the preferred method to reduce yield losses caused by many diseases including wheat leaf rust. However, in many cases host resistance seems to be short-lived. For decades, scientists have tried and continue trying to understand genetics and physical mechanisms involved in durable host resistance. Incompatible host-pathogen interactions in wheat- Puccinia triticina (Pt) pathosystem can be classified into pre-and post-haustorial. Post-haustorial resistance tends to be involved in race specific resistance and is commonly characterized by presence of hypersensitive reaction (HR), while pre-haustorial resistance do not generally involve HR. The objective of this work was to understand the physical and molecular components associated with resistance mechanisms to Pt. A set of Thatcher near isogenic lines (NIL) carrying different leaf rust (Lr) resistance genes and barley (non-host) genotypes were evaluated in time course experiments for histological analysis and relative fungal DNA quantification. Histological evaluation and q-PCR assay showed differences in time of fungal structures formation and amount of fungal DNA among genotypes. The q-PCR assay could differentiate between resistant and susceptible genotypes at 24 hpi. Additionally, Cq ratio of q-PCR assay allowed for classification of resistant genotypes carrying pre-haustorial (Lr9, Q21860) and those carrying post-haustorial resistance (Lr21, Lr34 and Harrington). To our surprise, despite carrying pre-haustorial resistance, Tc-Lr9 presented HR as early as 6 hpi. Tc-Lr21 presented HR, before (5 hpi) and after haustoria formation (24 hpi). To better characterize the HR and determine if the HR observed was the product of H2O2 accumulation, histochemical and gene expression studies were used. Both methods confirmed that the HR observed in Tc-Lr9 and Tc-Lr21 indeed involved H2O2 accumulation. In addition, up-regulation of hypersensitive induced resistance genes TaHIR1, TaHIR2 was observed in Tc-Lr9. Up-regulation of Tc-Lr21 gene at 5 hpi was observed in Tc-Lr21. The protocols developed and data obtained from this study provide opportunities for quantitatively assess components of resistance and suggest that some previous assumptions about plant-pathogen interaction in host and non-host systems should be revisited