The influence of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Rhizopogon subareolatus on growth and nutrient element localisation in two varieties of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii and var. glauca) in response to manganese stress

Acidification of forest ecosystems leads to increased plant availability of the micronutrient manganese (Mn), which is toxic when taken up in excess. To investigate whether ectomycorrhizas protect against excessive Mn by improving plant growth and nutrition or by retention of excess Mn in the hyphal mantle, seedlings of two populations of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), two varieties, one being menziesii (DFM) and the other being glauca (DFG), were inoculated with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Rhizopogon subareolatus in sand cultures. Five months after inoculation, half of the inoculated and non-inoculated seedlings were exposed to excess Mn in the nutrient solution for further 5 months. At the end of this period, plant productivity, nutrient concentrations, Mn uptake and subcellular compartmentalisation were evaluated. Non-inoculated, non-stressed DFM plants produced about 2.5 times more biomass than similarly treated DFG. Excess Mn in the nutrient solution led to high accumulation of Mn in needles and roots but only to marginal loss in biomass. Colonisation with R. subareolatus slightly suppressed DFM growth but strongly reduced that of DFG (−50%) despite positive effects of mycorrhizas on plant phosphorus nutrition. Growth reductions of inoculated Douglas fir seedlings were unexpected since the degree of mycorrhization was not high, i.e. ca. 30% in DFM and 8% in DFG. Accumulation of high Mn was not prevented in inoculated seedlings. The hyphal mantle of mycorrhizal root tips accumulated divalent cations such as Ca, but not Mn, thus not providing a barrier against excessive Mn uptake into the plants associated with R. subareolatus

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

Correlation between clinical presentation, peroperative finding and histopathological report in acute appendicitis.

Acute appendicitis is usually encountered clinically as acute abdomen. Typical cases are easy to diagnose, but sometimes it is very difficult to make a diagnosis in atypical cases. The objective of the study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy in patient of clinically diagnosed acute appendicitis. This prospective study conducted in Mymensingh medical college hospital on 1136 patients presented with acute abdomen and clinically diagnosed as acute appendicitis from July 2004 to June 2010. Emergency appendicectomy was done in all consecutive patients after relevant investigation. Intraoperative findings along with histopathological reports were compared with clinical diagnosis. On the basis of histopathological report, 85.65% were found to have acute appendicitis with misdiagnosis in rest of the subjects requiring unnecessary explorations. Negative exploration was more in emergency than office hour. This may be due to diagnostic inaccuracy and decision-making in the management of the acute appendicitis. Management errors can be significantly reduced by accurate preoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis by improving clinical skill and appropriate investigations

Lady's Finger Fibres for Possible Use as a Reinforcement in Composite Materials

In this work, testing on okra fibres (Abelmoschus esculentus) when included in a ®Bakelite matrix was performed. Two types of treatment were considered for the fibres to be included in the composite, scouring and bleaching. These led to surface modifications on the fibres, which were detailed using SEM micrographs. In particular, composites obtained including a small amount of scoured okra fibres, not exceeding 5%, resulted in some improvement in the tensile and flexural strength. In contrast, the introduction of higher volumes of okra fibres resulted in the degradation of mechanical properties: this was attributed to the presence of high void content in the composite

Supp_material - Material properties of sponge-gourd fiber–reinforced polylactic acid biocomposites: Effect of fiber weight ratio, chemical treatment, and treatment concentrations

<p>Supp_material for Material properties of sponge-gourd fiber–reinforced polylactic acid biocomposites: Effect of fiber weight ratio, chemical treatment, and treatment concentrations by Taimur Al-Mobarak, MF Mina, and MA Gafur in Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials</p

A young lady with secondary tuberculosis of breast.

Tuberculosis of breast is an extremly rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis even in endemic area like Bangladesh and the incidence is 0.25-4.5% of all breast lesions. The diagnosis is difficult because of nonspecific clinical, radiological and histopathological findings. Very often biopsy specimens are inadequate and microscopy or culture is negative. It is usually suspected in a multiparous woman who may be immunocompromised. We report a case of breast tuberculosis in a 26 years old multiparous lady who previously present with two times attack of right sided breast lump and then diagnosed as a case of breast abscess and treated by incision and drainage with antibiotics in a nearby local hospital. During her third time attack she admitted into Mymensingh Medical College Hospital with right sided breast lump with multiple discharging sinuses for one month. Biopsy was taken from the lump and sinus tract and histopathological report confirmed the diagnosis as a case of tuberculosis of breast. Her X-ray chest showed tubercular lesion in lungs. So this is a case of secondary breast tuberculosis. This case highlights how difficult is the diagnosis of a case of breast tuberculosis for which the patient may require even mastectomy at very late case. So this case is reported

Comparative study of thermal degradation kinetics of two woody biomass samples for bio-oil production

Japanese Larch wood and Bangladeshi Ipil Ipil wood are two potential candidates for pyrolysis and biofuel production, and they are widely available and fast-growing trees, but the study into these timbers is scant in the literature. In order to evaluate the potential for biofuel production, the kinetic and pyrolysis characteristics of both woody samples were determined using thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG) at varying heat rates of 10 K/min, 20 K/min, 30 K/min, 40 K/min, 50 K/min and 60 K/min. It was found that the weight reduction rate increased with the increase in the heat rate for both the wood samples. The maximum weight loss of 89 wt% for Larch wood and 85 wt% for Ipil Ipil wood was achieved, showing a good potential for biofuel production from these biomass samples. Additionally, the average activation energy and frequency factor were found to be 64 kJ/mol and 9 × 109 min−1 for the selected biomasses which indicates that the chemical reaction that occurred in the pyrolysis process is fast for both kinds of wood. The volatile matter was found to be 71 wt%, and 65 wt% for larch wood at 20 and 60 K/min heating rates. It was 57 wt% and 63 wt% for Ipil Ipil wood. Finally, using experimental TGA/DTG results, a mathematical model was developed to determine the kinetics of unreacted substances based on Arrhenius configuration. The results from this model were 83 wt% and 80 wt% weight loss at 20 K/min and 60 K/min heating rates respectively. Thus, this work provides useful information for optimising the pyrolysis process of these two kinds of woods for biofuel production