Impact of fecal sludge and municipal solid waste co-compost on crop growth of Raphanus Sativus\textit {Raphanus Sativus} L. and Capsicum Anuum\textit {Capsicum Anuum} L. under stress conditions

Co-composted dewatered faecal sludge (FS) with organic fractions of municipal solid waste (MSW) has a high potential to be used as an agricultural resource in Sri Lanka. In addition to options for cost recovery in waste management, closing the nutrient and carbon cycles between urban and rural areas, substitution of mineral fertilizers, reduced pollution. and the restoration of degraded arable land are possible with important benefits. Up to now little is known about the usage of FS-MSW as fertilizer and it needs to be studied in order to achieve a better understanding and generate application recommendations. The aim of these experiments has been to evaluate the possibility of substituting mineral fertilization. Two field experiments were conducted on sandy loam to assess the effects of MSW compost and FS-MSW co-compost, its pelletized forms, and mineral-enriched FS-MSW on crop growth. As a short-term crop $\textit {Raphanus sativus}$ "Beeralu rabu" (radish) was studied for 50 days in a randomized complete block design (RCDB). Results show that, under drought conditions, FS-MSW co-compost increased the yield significantly, while MSW and FS-MSW compost enabled the highest survival rate of the plants. Similarly, the second field trial with a long-term crop, $\textit {Capsicum anuum}$ "CA-8" (capsicum), was planted as RCBD, using the same treatments, for a cultivation period of 120 days. Results display that during a drought followed by water saturated soil conditions co-compost treatments achieved comparable yields and increased the survival rate significantly compared to the control, fertilized with urea, triple super phosphate, and muriate of potash. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) revealed that pelletizing decreased the monetary benefits if only fertilizer value is considered. It can be concluded that, under drought and water stress, co-compost ensures comparable yields and enables more resistance, but might not be economical viable as a one-crop fertilizer. These findings need to be validated with further trials under different climate regimes and soil

A Single Amino Acid Deletion (ΔF1502) in the S6 Segment of Ca2.1 Domain III Associated with Congenital Ataxia Increases Channel Activity and Promotes Ca 2+ Influx

Mutations in the CACNA1A gene, encoding the pore-forming Ca2.1 (P/Q-type) channel α subunit, result in heterogeneous human neurological disorders, including familial and sporadic hemiplegic migraine along with episodic and progressive forms of ataxia. Hemiplegic Migraine (HM) mutations induce gain-of-channel function, mainly by shifting channel activation to lower voltages, whereas ataxia mutations mostly produce loss-of-channel function. However, some HM-linked gain-of-function mutations are also associated to congenital ataxia and/or cerebellar atrophy, including the deletion of a highly conserved phenylalanine located at the S6 pore region of α domain III (ΔF1502). Functional studies of ΔF1502 Ca2.1 channels, expressed in Xenopus oocytes, using the non-physiological Ba 2+ as the charge carrier have only revealed discrete alterations in channel function of unclear pathophysiological relevance. Here, we report a second case of congenital ataxia linked to the ΔF1502 α mutation, detected by whole-exome sequencing, and analyze its functional consequences on Ca2.1 human channels heterologously expressed in mammalian tsA-201 HEK cells, using the physiological permeant ion Ca 2+. ΔF1502 strongly decreases the voltage threshold for channel activation (by ~ 21 mV), allowing significantly higher Ca 2+ current densities in a range of depolarized voltages with physiological relevance in neurons, even though maximal Ca 2+ current density through ΔF1502 Ca2.1 channels is 60% lower than through wild-type channels. ΔF1502 accelerates activation kinetics and slows deactivation kinetics of Ca2.1 within a wide range of voltage depolarization. ΔF1502 also slowed Ca2.1 inactivation kinetic and shifted the inactivation curve to hyperpolarized potentials (by ~ 28 mV). ΔF1502 effects on Ca2.1 activation and deactivation properties seem to be of high physiological relevance. Thus, ΔF1502 strongly promotes Ca 2+ influx in response to either single or trains of action potential-like waveforms of different durations. Our observations support a causative role of gain-of-function Ca2.1 mutations in congenital ataxia, a neurodevelopmental disorder at the severe-most end of CACNA1A -associated phenotypic spectru

Brain MRI of the proband at the age of 14 months (A), 28 months (B), and 4 and a half years (C,D).

<p>After the initial normal findings (A), note the progressive cerebellar atrophy mainly involving the complete vermis (indicated by the arrows in B, C). The hemispheres, displaying prominence of the cerebellar folia, were eventually affected (D).</p

ΔF1502 effects on Ca²⁺ influx evoked by a 42 Hz train of 2 ms action potential-like waveforms (APWs).

<p>(A) Average current density-voltage relationships (left) and normalized I-V curves (right) for WT (open circles, n = 10) and ΔF1502 (filled circles, n = 11) Ca_V2.1 channels expressed in tsA-201 HEK cells, before stimulation with a 42 Hz train of 2 ms APWs. In this series of experiments, maximal Ca²⁺ current density through Ca_V2.1 channels is still significantly reduced by ΔF1502 (left panel: from -94.26 ± 18.9 pA/pF (for WT, n = 10) to -47.76 ± 5.7 pA/pF (for ΔF1502, n = 11), P < 0.05, Student’s <i>t</i> test) and the significant left-shift induced by ΔF1502 on the Ca_V2.1 voltage-dependent activation is also noticed (right panel: WT V_{1/2 act} = 2.32 ± 1.18 mV (n = 10) <i>versus</i> ΔF1502 V_{1/2 act} = -17.74 ± 0.35 mV (n = 11), P < 0.0001, Student’s <i>t</i> test). (B) Representative Ca²⁺ current traces evoked by every 200^th pulse of a 42 Hz train of medium (2 ms) APWs (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0146035#sec002" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a> for details) obtained from two tsA-201 HEK cells expressing either WT (left) or ΔF1502 (right) Ca_V2.1 channels. Dotted lines stand for the zero current level. The corresponding current density-voltage relationships (left) and normalized I-V curves (right), obtained from these two cells before stimulation with a 42 Hz train of 2 ms APWs, are shown at the bottom (maximal Ca²⁺ current density through WT and ΔF1502 Ca_V2.1 channels are -115.28 pA/pF and -52.27 pA/pF, respectively; V_{1/2 act} values for WT and ΔF1502 Ca_V2.1 channels are 2.52 mV and -17.23 mV, respectively). (C) Average data for Ca²⁺ influx normalized by cell size (Q_Ca²⁺) in response to every 5^th pulse of a 42 Hz train of medium (2 ms) APWs, obtained from cells expressing WT (blue symbols, n = 10) or ΔF1502 (red symbols, n = 11) Ca_V2.1 channels.</p