TB5: Effects of Factorially Combined Levels of Sulfur and Magnesium on Potato Plants (Solanum tuberosum)

Katahdin potatoes were grown in the greenhouse in 2-gallon, crocks containing a virgin Caribou loam soil. Factorially combined levels of S and Mg, each at an equivalent rate of 0, 10, 20, and 30 pounds per acre, were imposed as treatments for the first five of seven crops. The sixth and seventh crops of potatoes were grown primarily to further deplete the soil of S and Mg and to enhance or accentuate plant deficiency symptoms which occurred quite intensively during growth of the fifth crop of potatoes. The objective was to evaluate effects of factorially combined levels of sulfur and magnesium on the growth, quality, and chemical composition of the white potato.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1187/thumbnail.jp

Helminth-Associated Systemic Immune Activation and HIV Co-receptor Expression: Response to Albendazole/Praziquantel Treatment

Background: It has been hypothesized that helminth infections increase HIV susceptibility by enhancing systemic immune activation and hence contribute to elevated HIV-1 transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. Objective: To study systemic immune activation and HIV-1 co-receptor expression in relation to different helminth infections and in response to helminth treatment. Methods: HIV-negative adults with (n = 189) or without (n = 57) different helminth infections, as diagnosed by Kato-Katz, were enrolled in Mbeya, Tanzania. Blinded to helminth infection status, T cell differentiation (CD45RO, CD27),activation (HLA-DR, CD38) and CCR5 expression was determined at baseline and 3 months after Albendazole/Praziquantel treatment. Plasma cytokine levels were compared using a cytometric bead array. Results: Trichuris and Ascaris infections were linked to increased frequencies of "activated'' CD4 and/or CD8 T cells (p< 0.05),whereas Hookworm infection was associated with a trend towards decreased HLA-DR+ CD8 T cell frequencies (p = 0.222). In Trichuris infected subjects, there was a linear correlation between HLA-DR+ CD4 T cell frequencies and the cytokines IL-1 beta and IL-10 (p<0.05). Helminth treatment with Albendazole and Praziquantel significantly decreased eosinophilia for S. mansoni and Hookworm infections (p<0.005) but not for Trichuris infection and only moderately modulated T cell activation. CCR5 surface density on memory CD4 T cells was increased by 1.2-fold during Trichuris infection (p-value: 0.053) and reduced after treatment (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Increased expression of T cell activation markers was associated with Trichuris and Ascaris infections with relatively little effect of helminth treatment