The Parasitoid, Verticia fasciventris Causes Morphological and Behavioral Changes in Infected Soldiers of the Fungus-Growing Termite, Macrotermes carbonarius

The larval parasitoid Verticia fasciventris Malloch (Diptera: Calliphoridae) develops in the head of soldiers of the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes carbonarius (Hagen) (Isoptera: Termitidae). Morphological and behavioral changes in the host were evaluated and the termite castes and stages that were parasitized were identified. The larval emergence process is also described and possible mechanisms for the parasitoid fly's entry into the host body are discussed based on qualitative observations. Only a single larva per host was found. The mature larva pupated outside the host's body by exiting between the abdominal cerci. Parasitized soldiers possess a short and square-shaped head capsule, a pair of notably short mandibles, and a pair of 18-segmented antennae. Although parasitized soldiers were statistically less aggressive than healthy soldiers (P < 0.05), they expressed varying levels of aggression. Both minor and major soldiers can be parasitized and based on evidence from presoldiers, parasitization may begin during the precursor stages of soldiers. However, the stage at which parasitism first occurs has not been determined

Treatment of landfill leachate using ASBR combined with zeolite adsorption technology

Sanitary landfilling is the most common way to dispose solid urban waste; however, improper landfill management may pose serious environmental threats through discharge of high strength polluted wastewater also known as leachate. The treatment of landfill leachate to fully reduce the negative impact on the environment, is nowadays a challenge. In this study, an aerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) was proposed for the treatment of locally obtained real landfill leachate with initial ammoniacal nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of 1800 and 3200 mg/L, respectively. ASBR could remove 65 % of ammoniacal nitrogen and 30 % of COD during seven days of treatment time. Thereafter, an effective adsorbent, i.e., zeolite was used as a secondary treatment step for polishing the ammoniacal nitrogen and COD content that is present in leachate. The results obtained are promising where the adsorption of leachate by zeolite further enhanced the removal of ammoniacal nitrogen and COD up to 96 and 43 %, respectively. Furthermore, this combined biological–physical treatment system was able to remove heavy metals, i.e. aluminium, vanadium, chromium, magnesium, cuprum and plumbum significantly. These results demonstrate that combined ASBR and zeolite adsorption is a feasible technique for the treatment of landfill leachate, even considering this effluent’s high resistance to treatment

Dietary intakes of women with Type 1 diabetes before and during pregnancy: A pre‐specified secondary subgroup analysis among CONCEPTT participants

Aim To describe the dietary intakes of women with Type 1 diabetes before and during pregnancy. Methods This was a pre‐specified subgroup analysis of CONCEPTT involving 63 women planning pregnancy and 93 pregnant women from 14 sites in England, Scotland and Ireland. Two hundred and forty‐six 3‐day food diaries (104 planning pregnancy, 142 pregnant) were matched to data source and food reference codes, and analysed using dietary software. Participants were informed that food diaries would be de‐identified and used only for research purposes. Results Mean (sd) daily energy intake was 1588 (346) kcal and 1673 (384) kcal in women planning pregnancy and pregnant women respectively. Total carbohydrate intake was consistent with dietary guideline recommendations [180 (52) g planning pregnancy, 198 (54) g pregnant], but non‐recommended sources (e.g. sugars, preserves, confectionery, biscuits, cakes) contributed to 46% of total daily carbohydrate intake. Fat consumption exceeded guideline recommendations [70 (21) g planning pregnancy, 72 (21) g pregnant]. Fibre [15.5 (5.3) g planning pregnancy, 15.4 (5.1) g pregnant], fruit and vegetable intakes [3.5 (2.2) and 3.1 (1.8) serves/day] were inadequate. Twelve women planning pregnancy (19%) and 24 pregnant women (26%) did not meet micronutrient requirements. Conclusions The diets of pregnant women from England, Scotland and Ireland are characterized by high fat, low fibre and poor‐quality carbohydrate intakes. Fruit and vegetable consumption is inadequate, with one in four women at risk of micronutrient deficiencies. Further research is needed to optimize maternal nutrition for glycaemic control and for maternal and offspring health

Genotyping of Sarawak rice cultivars using microsatellite markers

Genetic diversity of 53 Sarawak rice cultivars, originating from Southern Sarawak, was assessed using 54 microsatellite markers. Initial polymorphism detection was conducted using 54 primer pairs distributed on 12 rice chromosomes. Polymorphic markers were chosen from the initial screening results in order to obtain microsatellite marker panels that can differentiate the rice cultivars undertaken in the study. The chosen microsatellite marker panel consisted of RM1, RM240, RM489, RM252, RM413, RM204, RM11, RM404, RM316, RM271, RM206, and RM19, with one representative from each chromosome. A total of 43 alleles were detected with an average of 3.58 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) values obtained from the microsatellite marker panels ranged from 0.306 to 0.730, with an average of 0.622. The Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) dendrogram (r = 0.789) revealed 2 major groups with 6 sub-clusters and the wide range of similarity values (0.24-1.0) obtained showed a high degree of diversity among the cultivars. The results suggest microsatellite markers as a useful tool for the estimation of genetic diversity and cultivar differentiation and present invaluable genetic information for future breeding and association mapping efforts

Differential Metabolite Profiles during Fruit Development in High-Yielding Oil Palm Mesocarp

10.1371/journal.pone.0061344PLoS ONE84

Physiochemical characteristics of alcohol-acid modified sago and rice starches

Native starch has limited applications. It has many disadvantages in industrial applications such as insolubility in cold water, loss of viscosity, and thickening power after cooking. In order to overcome these disadvantages, native starch is modified through physical, chemical or biotechnological techniques. Starch is one of the major components in sago but it had not been well explored to the same degree as maize or potato starch especially in the starch modification processes. In this study, the effects of alcohol-acid treatment on the physiochemical characteristics of sago and rice starches were investigated. Sago and rice starches were hydrolysed for 2 hours at 25 ºC with hydrochloric acid in the presence of methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol. They were characterized according to their granular structure, solubility, amylose content, gelatinization temperature and functional group. After treatment, presence of internal fissures or cavities was observed. The degradation activity increased corresponding to carbon number of alcohol. Results also showed that the gelatinization onset temperature (To), conclusion temperature (Tc) and peak temperature (Tp) increased with increasing carbon number of the alcohol. The Tp of starches was negatively correlated to the amylose content of starches before and after treatment (r2 = 0.954 for rice and 0.945 for sago). Solubility increased profoundly after treatment and the degree of hydrolysis increased with the increase in carbon number of the alcohol. Rice starch was less soluble than sago starch due to higher amylose content. Rice starch was also found to be less susceptible to alcohol-acid degradation than sago starch, and the unstable properties of native starches improved with 50% increase in solubility at temperature 80 ºC. Results concluded that alcohol-acid treatment of sago and rice starches provide a wide range of modified starches with better solubility, higher gelatinization temperatures but lower in amylose content

Cyclic Tetrapyrrolic Photosensitisers from the leaves of Phaeanthus ophthalmicus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Twenty-seven extracts from 26 plants were identified as photo-cytotoxic in the course of our bioassay guided screening program for photosensitisers from 128 extracts prepared from 64 terrestrial plants in two different collection sites in Malaysia - Royal Belum Forest Reserve in the State of Perak and Gunung Nuang in the State of Selangor. One of the photo-cytotoxic extracts from the leaves of <it>Phaeanthus ophtalmicus </it>was further investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ethanolic extract of the leaves from <it>Phaeanthus ophtalmicus </it>was able to reduce the <it>in vitro </it>viability of leukaemic HL60 cells to < 50% when exposed to 9.6 J/cm²of a broad spectrum light at a concentration of 20 μg/mL. Dereplication of the photo-cytotoxic fractions from <it>P. ophthalmicus </it>extracts based on TLC R_fvalues and HPLC co-injection of reference tetrapyrrolic compounds enabled quick identification of known photosensitisers, pheophorbide-<it>a</it>, pheophorbide-<it>a </it>methyl ester, 13²-hydroxypheophorbide-<it>a </it>methyl ester, pheophytin-<it>a </it>and 15¹-hydroxypurpurin 7-lactone dimethyl ester. In addition, compound <b>1 </b>which was not previously isolated as a natural product was also identified as 7-formyl-15¹-hydroxypurpurin-7-lactone methyl ester using standard spectroscopic techniques.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that the main photosensitisers in plants are based on the cyclic tetrapyrrole structure and photosensitisers with other structures, if present, are present in very minor amounts or are not as active as those with the cyclic tetrapyrrole structure.</p

The Prospective Evaluation of the Net Effect of Red Blood Cell Transfusions in Routine Provision of Palliative Care.

"Final publication is available from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2017.0072” This author accepted manuscript is made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication (June 2017) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyBackground Red Blood Cell (RBC) transfusions are commonly used in palliative care. RBCs are a finite resource, transfusions carry risks, and the net effect (benefits and harms) is poorly defined for people with life-limiting illnesses. Aim The aim of this study was to examine the indications and the effects of RBC transfusion in palliative care patients. Design This international, multisite, prospective consecutive cohort study assessed target symptoms (fatigue, breathlessness, generalised weakness, or dizziness) prior to transfusion and at day 7 by treating clinicians, using National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. Assessment of harms was made at day 2. Setting/participants One-hundred and one transfusions with day 7 followup were collected. Median age was 72·0 (IQR 61·5-83·0) years, 58% male, and mean Australian-modified Karnofsky Performance Status of 48 (SD 17). Results A mean 2·1 (SD 0·6) units was transfused. The target symptom was fatigue (61%), breathlessness (16%), generalized weakness (12%), dizziness (6%) or other (5%). Forty-nine percent of transfusions improved the primary target symptom, and 78% of transfusions improved at least one of the target symptoms. Harms were infrequent and mild. An AKPS of 40-50% was associated with higher chances of symptomatic benefit in the target symptom, however no other predictors of response were identified. Conclusions In the largest prospective consecutive case series to date, clinicians generally reported benefit, with minimal harms. Ongoing work is required to define the optimal patient- and clinician-reported haematological and functional outcome measures to optimise the use of donor blood and minimise transfusion-associated risk

Mammalian lectin arrays for screening host-microbe interactions

Many members of the C-type lectin family of glycan-binding receptors have been ascribed roles in the recognition of microorganisms and serve as key receptors in the innate immune response to pathogens. Other mammalian receptors have become targets through which pathogens enter target cells. These receptor roles have often been documented with binding studies involving individual pairs of receptors and micro-organisms. To provide a systematic overview of interactions between microbes and the large complement of C-type lectins, here we developed a lectin array and suitable protocols for labeling of microbes that could be used to probe this array. The array contains C-type lectins from cow, chosen as a model organism of agricultural interest for which the relevant pathogen–receptor interactions have not been previously investigated in detail. Screening with yeast cells and various strains of both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria revealed distinct binding patterns, which in some cases could be explained by binding to lipo­poly­saccharides or capsular poly­saccharides, but in other cases suggested the presence of novel glycan targets on many of the microorganisms. These results are consistent with interactions previously ascribed to the receptors, but also highlight binding to additional sugar targets that have not previously been recognized. Our findings indicate that mammalian lectin arrays represent unique discovery tools for identifying both novel ligands and new receptor functions