Physiological and photosynthetic response of quinoa to drought stress

Water shortage is a critical problem touching plant growth and yield in semi-arid areas, for instance the Mediterranean región. For this reason was studied the physiological basis of drought tolerance of a new, drought tolerant crop quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) tested in Morocco in two successive seasons, subject to four irrigation treatments (100, 50, and 33%ETc, and rainfed). The chlorophyll a fluorescence transients were analyzed by the JIP-test to transíate stress-induced damage in these transients to changes in biophysical parameter's allowing quantification of the energy flow through the photosynthetic apparatus. Drought stress induced a significant decrease in the maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry (Φpo = Fv/Fm), and the quantum yield of electron transport (Φeo). The amount of active Photosystem II (PSII) reaction centers (RC) per excited cross section (RC/CS) also decreased when exposed to the highest drought stress. The effective antenna size of active RCs (ABS/RC) increased and the effective dissipation per active reaction centers (DIo/RC) increased by increasing drought stress during the growth season in comparison to the control. However the performance index (PI), was a very sensitive indicator of the physiological status of plants. Leaf area index, leaf water potential and stomatal conductance decreased as the drought increased. These results indicate that, in quinoa leaf, JIP-test can be used as a sensitive method for measuring drought stress effects

Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of brucellosis, Rift Valley fever and Q fever among settled and mobile agro-pastoralist communities and their livestock in Chad.

Brucellosis, Rift Valley fever (RVF) and Q fever are zoonoses prevalent in many developing countries, causing a high burden on human and animal health. Only a few studies are available on these among agro-pastoralist communities and their livestock in Chad. The objective of our study was to estimate brucellosis, RVF and Q fever seroprevalence among Chadian agro-pastoralist communities and their livestock, and to investigate risk factors for seropositivity. We conducted a multi-stage cross-sectional serological survey in two rural health districts, Yao and Danamadji (966 human and 1041 livestock (cattle, sheep, goat and equine) samples)). The true seroprevalence were calculated applying a Bayesian framework to adjust for imperfect diagnostic test characteristics and accounting for clustering in the study design. Risk factors for each of the zoonotic diseases were estimated using mixed effects logistic regression models. The overall prevalence for brucellosis, Q fever and RVF combined for both regions was estimated at 0.2% [95% credibility Interval: 0-1.1], 49.1% [%CI: 38.9-58.8] and 28.1% [%CI: 23.4-33.3] in humans, and 0.3% [%CI: 0-1.5], 12.8% [%CI: 9.7-16.4] and 10.2% [%CI: 7.6-13.4] in animals. Risk factors correlating significantly with the respective disease seropositivity were sex for human brucellosis, sex and Q fever co-infection for animal brucellosis, age for human Q fever, species and brucellosis co-infection for animal Q fever, age and herd-level animal RVF seroprevalence within the same cluster for human RVF, and cluster-level human RVF seroprevalence within the same cluster for animal RVF. In Danamadji and Yao, Q fever and RVF are notably seroprevalent among agro-pastoralist human and animal communities, while brucellosis appears to have a low prevalence. Correlation between the seroprevalence between humans and animals living in the same communities was detected for RVF, highlighting the interlinkage of human and animal transmissible diseases and of their health, highlighting the importance of a One Health approach

Inhibition of p90 Ribosomal S6 Kinase Attenuates Cell Migration and Proliferation of the Human Lung Adenocarcinoma through Phospho-GSK-3b and Osteopontin

Background Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women and it is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Lung cancer can be divided into two broad categories: non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which consists of about 85% of all lung cancers and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which account for 15% of all lung cancers. The evolution of lung cancer is a multistep process involving genetic and epigenetic alterations. Standard treatment therapies such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy and surgery has reached a plateau phase. As a result, much work has centered on identifying the molecular targets involved in the tumor cell proliferation, survival and metastasis in effort to identify novel therapeutic approaches. p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (p90RSK) constitutes a family of serine/threonine kinases that have been shown to be involved in cell proliferation of various malignancies via direct or indirect effects on the cell-cycle machinery. Objectives To investigate the role of p90RSK in lung adenocarcinomas and whether the inhibition of p90RSK diminishes cancer progression. Moreover, we investigated the involvement of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) and osteopontin (OPN) in the p90 RSK induced lung adenocarcinoma progression. Methods p90RSK, OPN, GSK-3β protein expression were examined in the A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cell line in the presence and absence of BI-D1870 (BID), a p90RSK inhibitor. Gene expression of anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic markers namely Bcl2 and Bax, respectively, were studied by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In addition, the A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line was characterized for cell proliferation using the MTT assay and cell migration using the scratch migration assay. Results Our study revealed that the treatment of the A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line with BID resulted in a significant reduction in protein expression of p90RSK 1 (69.32 ± 12.41% of control; P < 0.05). The inhibition of p90RSK also showed a significant suppression of cell proliferation (54.3 ± 6.73% of control; Pqscienc

Carbohydrates and lipids metabolic enzymes inhibitory, antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic potentials of Anchusa ovata Lehm. from Palestine

Introduction: Throughout history, therapeutically active plant products have received substantial attention due to their valuable role in the discoveries of specific medications. The aim of this study was to assess, for the first time, the antimicrobial, antioxidant, antilipase, anti-α-amylase and cytotoxic properties of four fractions derived from Anchusa ovata Lehm. (AO) leaves. Methods: Antioxidant, antilipase and anti-amylase potentials of (AO) were established using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl- 2-picrylhydrazyl), p-nitrophenyl butyrate and dinitro-salicylic acid procedures, respectively, while antimicrobial activity was conducted using broth microdilution assay against eight Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacterial strains in addition to one fungal strain. Moreover, the MTS [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)- 2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] cytotoxic assay was utilized against cervical cancer cells (HeLa). Results: The methanol fraction of AO showed potential antioxidant, antilipase, and α-amylase inhibitory activities with IC50 values of 9.55 ± 0.13, 53.7 ± 0.41 and 16.55 ± 1.84 μg/ml, respectively compared with the positive controls Trolox, Orlistat and Acarbose that had IC50 values of 3.23 ± 0.92, 12.3 ± 0.35 and 28.18 ± 1.22 μg/ml, respectively. Moreover, the hexane, acetone, and methanol fractions had wide ranges of antimicrobial potential. In addition, the cytotoxic activity outcomes which showed the best activity was for the aqueous followed by acetone, hexane and methanol fractions with IC50 values of 1.04, 2.72, 3.96 and 17.67 mg/ ml, respectively. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate a wide range of biological characteristics for each AO plant fraction. This profiling information about the methanol fraction provided important data for further research and pharmaceutical applications.The authors would like to acknowledge the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at An-Najah National University for facilitating the accomplishment of the current study

Stereological Evidence of Non-Selective Hippocampal Neurodegeneration, IGF-1 Depletion, and Behavioral Deficit following Short Term Bilateral Adrenalectomy in Wistar Rats

The development of animal models to study cell death in the brain is a delicate task. One of the models, that was discovered in the late eighties, is the induction of neurodegeneration through glucocorticoid withdrawal by adrenalectomy in albino rats. Such a model is one of the few noninvasive models for studying neurodegeneration. In the present study, using stereological technique and ultrastructural examination, we aimed to investigate the impact of short-term adrenalectomy (2 weeks) on different hippocampal neuronal populations in Wistar rats. In addition, the underlying mechanism(s) of degeneration in these neurons were investigated by measuring the levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and β-nerve growth factor (β-NGF). Moreover, we examined whether the biochemical and histological changes in the hippocampus, after short-term adrenalectomy, have an impact on the cognitive behavior of Wistar rats. Stereological counting in the hippocampus revealed significant neuronal deaths in the dentate gyrus and CA4/CA3, but not in the CA2 and CA1 areas, 7 and 14 days post adrenalectomy. The ultrastructural examinations revealed degenerated and degenerating neurons in the dentate, as well as CA4, and CA3 areas, over the course of 3, 7 and 14 days. The levels of IGF-1 were significantly decreased in the hippocampus of ADX rats 24 h post adrenalectomy, and lasted over the course of two weeks. However, β-NGF was not affected in rats. Using a passive avoidance task, we found a cognitive deficit in the ADX compared to the SHAM operated rats over time (3, 7, and 14 days). In conclusion, both granule and pyramidal cells were degenerated in the hippocampus following short-term adrenalectomy. The early depletion of IGF-1 might play a role in hippocampal neuronal degeneration. Consequently, the loss of the hippocampal neurons after adrenalectomy leads to cognitive deficits

Self-Reflections in a Personal Space: Investigating the Process of Self-Portrait Painting by Academic Research

The purpose of this practice-based paper is to investigate the artistic reflections and self-aesthetics into the process of artwork making. Every stage of this process represents a particular significance from the initial stage to the finishing stage. Furthermore, this exploration aims to develop the employment of practical research in the field of Visual Arts on personal, communal and institutional levels. In this exploration, the methodology is the vehicle that transforms the research into reality. Making the artwork itself is the methodology, and this process is the primary reference of the present research. Therefore, the author presents the synthesis of the artwork making rather than the analysis of its aftermath, the focus in this context is the construction of the artwork. This is the result of this research, the artwork itself. Regarding the employability aspects of this approach, it involves the practitioners and researchers in the fields of the visual arts toward further realizations of the actual creative process. This employability takes place into the signs of progress on different levels through academic and artistic practices in schools, universities as well as higher learning and teaching institutions. The present practical paper is significant because it investigates reflections of the cultural identity as well as the narratives of personal memory into academic research. In the multicultural present temporality, research-oriented artists highlight the diversity of their societies and represent significantly personal aesthetics as themes in their artworks. This approach would elevate the mutual understanding among people from different aesthetical backgrounds; people's trends enhance multicultural perceptions, harmony, and coexistence. In addition, artists in this regard illustrate such an approach in their visual art when they compose practice and research with the symbolic content, which reflects social motives. Artists practice such art to critique the violent content in communication media and educate people that media may fake reality to create more audience and viewers. This study focused on the significance of subjective representations in contemporary arts, and the impact of such representations on the mutual understanding among people of multicultural societies. Keywords: Contemporary Art Practice, Studio-Based Methodology, Practice-Based Research, Hybrid Painting Techniques, Multimedia, Mixed media, Photography. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-12-18 Publication date: April 30th 202

People’s Reflections in the City: Exploring the Painting Practices of Figurative Expressionism by Academic Research

This paper is a practical outcome of a multidisciplinary research project conducted by the authors on the contemporary and modern practices of the Improvisation in Arts. All the authors are research-oriented practitioners in the fields of visual arts, performance arts, multimedia, Information and communication technologies as well as vocational training. Furthermore, the drawings, paintings, and sketches are all made by the correspondent author Assistant Professor Dr. Mohammed Baker Mohammed Al-Abbas as part of his research-oriented artistic practice through the hybrid painting techniques. Abstract The present studio-based paper aims to explore the creative reflections of the aesthetics of otherness within the practical phases of the painting production. This paper represents an experimental endeavor to create a two-dimensional artwork, which is a hybrid painting technique on canvas with mixed media and acrylic paints. Within such a specific practice-based context, each phase of this practical approach outlines a critical significance from the first phase of creating that painting to the completing phase. The practical methodology is the tool that converts the researcher's/artist's vision into creative academic production. The process of creating the painting on the canvas is the methodology; such manner turns to be a primary reference for the present exploration. There is a significant paradigm in this approach, which focuses on the artwork as a morphological creature being created by the researcher/artist rather than a consequent result that only exists as a finished/complete/polished outcome. The outcome of this research is the record of the artwork production itself. This record presents visual references of the artwork progress as well as a textual reflective narrative to describe this process with written words. This research-oriented artistic attempt introduces the artists and researchers in the domains of the Fine Arts to integrate the process of art-making into the methodologies of academic research. It is an academic text, reflective text as well as sequential images recording the artwork making. This studio-based experimentation is significant because it examines the aesthetics of the otherness into the expressive figurative abstraction in painting. Furthermore, the impact of such a studio-based approach manifests on advancing applications of the artistic oriented research in the field of Fine Arts globally on curatorial and academic levels. Keywords: Contemporary Art Practice, Studio-Based Methodology, Practice-Based Research, Hybrid Painting Techniques, Multimedia, Mixed media, Photography DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-10-08 Publication date: April 30th 202

Total phenolic contents, cytotoxic, free radicals, porcine pancreatic α-amylase, and lipase suppressant activities of Artemisia dracunculus plant from Palestine

Artemisia dracunculus: L. (A. dracunculus) is a popular vegetable and spice cultivated across many Middle Eastern countries. The herb’s aqueous extract has significant folkloric medicinal importance for treating various disorders. Hence, the present investigation aimed to investigate A. dracunculus hydrophilic extract phytochemical constituents and pleiotropic biological potentials, as no previous studies have investigated the antilipase and anti-α-amylase effects of the A. dracunculus plant. Total phenol content and phytochemical screening assays were performed utilizing standard analytical methods. While the α-amylase inhibition, free radical-scavenging, antilipase, and cytotoxic activities were determined using dinitrosalicylic acid (DNSA), DPPH, p-nitrophenyl butyrate (PNPB), and MTS assays, respectively. The standard phytochemical analysis of A. dracunculus aqueous extract shows that this extract contains only a phenolic group. The total phenol content was 0.146 ± 0.012 mg GAE/g of the plant dry extract. The A. dracunculus aqueous extract exhibited potent DPPH free radical inhibitory (IC50 dose of 10.71 ± 0.01 μg/mL) and anti-lipase activities (IC50 dose of 60.25 ± 0.33 μg/mL) compared with Trolox (IC50 = 5.7 ± 0.92 μg/mL) and Orlistat (IC50 = 12.3 ± 0.35 μg/mL), respectively. However, it showed a weak anti-α-amylase effect (IC50 value &gt; 1,000 μg/mL) compared with Acarbose (IC50 = 28.18 ± 1.27 μg/mL). A. dracunculus has a cytotoxic effect against the HeLa cancer cell line compared with the chemotherapeutic agent Doxorubicin. The extract has the same percent of inhibition as Doxorubicin (99.9%) at 10 mg/mL. Overall, these results pointed out for the first time the importance of considering A. dracunculus effects as a favorite candidate for preventing and treating metabolic disorders. Also, our results confirm the findings of previous reports on the role of A. dracunculus in the management of cancer and disorders resulting from the accumulation of harmful free radicals. On the contrary, the current study concluded that the antidiabetic role of A. dracunculus could be minimal. Further in-depth investigations are urgently warranted to explore the importance of A. dracunculus in pharmaceutical production

Lunapark deficiency leads to an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental phenotype with a degenerative course, epilepsy and distinct brain anomalies

LNPK encodes a conserved membrane protein that stabilizes the junctions of the tubular endoplasmic reticulum network playing crucial roles in diverse biological functions. Recently, homozygous variants in LNPK were shown to cause a neurodevelopmental disorder (OMIM#618090) in four patients displaying developmental delay, epilepsy and nonspecific brain malformations including corpus callosum hypoplasia and variable impairment of cerebellum. We sought to delineate the molecular and phenotypic spectrum of LNPK-related disorder. Exome or genome sequencing was carried out in 11 families. Thorough clinical and neuroradiological evaluation was performed for all the affected individuals, including review of previously reported patients. We identified 12 distinct homozygous loss-of-function variants in 16 individuals presenting with moderate to profound developmental delay, cognitive impairment, regression, refractory epilepsy and a recognizable neuroimaging pattern consisting of corpus callosum hypoplasia and signal alterations of the forceps minor ('ear-of-the-lynx' sign), variably associated with substantia nigra signal alterations, mild brain atrophy, short midbrain and cerebellar hypoplasia/atrophy. In summary, we define the core phenotype of LNPK-related disorder and expand the list of neurological disorders presenting with the 'ear-of-the-lynx' sign suggesting a possible common underlying mechanism related to endoplasmic reticulum-phagy dysfunction