Functional ectodomain of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein is expressed in transgenic tobacco cells as a candidate vaccine against Newcastle disease virus.

Recently, the use of plants for the production of recombinant proteins has been well demonstrated with promising outcomes. In this study, an efficient Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Bright Yellow 2 (BY-2) cells system expressing the ectodomain of hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (eHN) protein from Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strain AF2240 was established. Transgenic tobacco BY-2 cell cultures expressing the immunogenic eHN protein were generated and the translation efficiency of eHN protein was enhanced using the 5′-untranslated region of Nicotiana tabacum alcohol dehydrogenase gene (NtADH 5′-UTR) under the control of strong cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV 35S) promoter. Transgenic lines verified by real-time PCR showed high level of eHN mRNA transcripts and immunoblotting confirmed the presence of 66 kD eHN protein. The eHN protein was stably produced in an average of 0.2–0.4 % total soluble protein. Green fluorescent protein-tagged eHN protein was expressed and localized at the cytosol of BY-2 cell. All mice receiving purified eHN protein from transgenic tobacco BY-2 cells produced specific anti-NDV antibodies. We concluded that plant made eHN elicit immune response and can serve as candidate vaccine against NDV

Plasmodium knowlesi: Reservoir Hosts and Tracking the Emergence in Humans and Macaques

Plasmodium knowlesi, a malaria parasite originally thought to be restricted to macaques in Southeast Asia, has recently been recognized as a significant cause of human malaria. Unlike the benign and morphologically similar P. malariae, these parasites can lead to fatal infections. Malaria parasites, including P. knowlesi, have not yet been detected in macaques of the Kapit Division of Malaysian Borneo, where the majority of human knowlesi malaria cases have been reported. In order to extend our understanding of the epidemiology and evolutionary history of P. knowlesi, we examined 108 wild macaques for malaria parasites and sequenced the circumsporozoite protein (csp) gene and mitochondrial (mt) DNA of P. knowlesi isolates derived from macaques and humans. We detected five species of Plasmodium (P. knowlesi, P. inui, P. cynomolgi, P. fieldi and P. coatneyi) in the long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques, and an extremely high prevalence of P. inui and P. knowlesi. Macaques had a higher number of P. knowlesi genotypes per infection than humans, and some diverse alleles of the P. knowlesi csp gene and certain mtDNA haplotypes were shared between both hosts. Analyses of DNA sequence data indicate that there are no mtDNA lineages associated exclusively with either host. Furthermore, our analyses of the mtDNA data reveal that P. knowlesi is derived from an ancestral parasite population that existed prior to human settlement in Southeast Asia, and underwent significant population expansion approximately 30,000–40,000 years ago. Our results indicate that human infections with P. knowlesi are not newly emergent in Southeast Asia and that knowlesi malaria is primarily a zoonosis with wild macaques as the reservoir hosts. However, ongoing ecological changes resulting from deforestation, with an associated increase in the human population, could enable this pathogenic species of Plasmodium to switch to humans as the preferred host

Physico-chemical properties of native and cross-linked banana starches (Ciri fizikokimia kanji pisang asli dan kanji pisang rangkaian silang)

Abstrak Ekstrak kanji pisang varieti Awak, Embun dan Nangka dirangkai silang dengan menggunakan natrium trimetafosfat. Ciri fizikokimia kanji asli dan kanji rangkaian silang ditentukan. Cirinya dibandingkan dengan ciri kanji pisang yang dikaji di tempat lain. Perbezaannya dengan kanji pisang varieti lain juga dikenal pasti. Keluk viskositi pes kanji tersebut didapati serupa dengan keluk kanji jagung terubahsuai komersial yang disyorkan untuk sos. Viskositi pes kanji asli dan kanji rangkaian silang Embun lebih tinggi daripada viskositi pes kanji varieti Awak dan Nangka. Pengasingan air (sineresis) kanji asli dan kanji rangkaian silang Embun terendah manakala sineresis bagi kanji Nangka tertinggi. Kanji asli pisang mengandungi lembapan, protein, lemak, abu dan serabut kasar yang rendah. Kandungan amilosanya berjulat antara 33.6% hingga 40.9%. Kandungan sisa fosforus dan fosfat kanji rangkaian silang lebih rendah daripada tahap yang dibenarkan oleh FAO/WHO dan EEC. Kedua-dua kanji asli dan kanji rangkaian silang boleh digunakan sebagai pemekat bagi makanan yang berasid. Akan tetapi kanji rangkaian silang lebih stabil terhadap haba, pH dan ricih. Abstract The extracted starches of banana varieties Awak, Cavendish and Nangka were cross-linked with sodium trimetaphosphate. Their physico-chemical properties were determined and compared with banana varieties studied elsewhere. The pasting viscosity curves of banana starches were similar to that of a commercial modified corn starch recommended for sauces. The pasting viscosities of native and cross-linked Cavendish starches were higher than those of the other two varieties. The water separation in native and cross-linked Cavendish starches was the lowest while that of Nangka was the highest. The native banana starches had low moisture, protein, fat, ash and crude fibre contents. The amylose contents of banana starches were between 33.6% and 40.9%. The residual phosphorus and phosphate contents were lower than the permitted levels specified by FAO/WHO and EEC. Both native and cross-linked banana starches can be used as thickener in acidic foods such as sauces but the cross-linked ones are more stable to heat, pH and shear

Synthesis of Amorphous Platinum Nanofibers Directly on an ITO Substrate and Its Heterogeneous Catalytic Hydrogenation Characterization

This paper reports a facile, solution-phase approach to synthesizing a one-dimensional amorphous face-centered-cubic (fcc) platinum (a-Pt) nanostructure (nanofibers) directly on an indium–tin oxide (ITO) substrate. The electron microscopy analysis result shows that the a-Pt nanofiber has a diameter and length of approximately 50 nm and 1 μm, respectively, and is grown in high density on the entire surface of the ITO substrate. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis result further reveals that the a-Pt nanofibers feature metallic properties with highly reactive surface chemistry, promising novel performance in electrochemistry, catalysis, and sensors. A synergetic interplay between the formic acid reducing agent and the hexamethylenetetramine surfactant in the reduction of Pt ions is assumed as the driving force for the formation of the amorphous phase in the Pt nanostructure. The catalytic properties of a-Pt were examined in the acetone hydrogenation reaction under microwave irradiation. a-Pt shows excellent heterogeneous catalytic properties for converting acetone to isopropyl alcohol with turnover number and frequency as high as 400 and 140 min^–1, respectively. The preparation and formation mechanism of the a-Pt nanofibers will be discussed in detail in this paper