Bioaccumulation of heavy metals by Dyera costulata cultivated in sewage sludge contaminated soil

High concentrations of heavy metals are harmful to plants, animals and humans and their potential accumulation in human tissues and bio-magnification through the food chain cause serious health hazards. An experiment was conducted in the glasshouse to evaluate the potential of Dyera costulata as a bioaccumulator to absorb heavy metals from sewage sludge contaminated soils. D. costulata seedlings were planted in the following growth media: T0 (control soil), T1 (100% sludge), T2 (80% sludge + 20% soil), T3 (60% sludge + 40% soil), T4 (40% sludge + 60% soil) and T5 (20% sludge + 80% soil). T4 showed the best growth performance in terms of height, basal diameter and number of leaves. The maximum reduction of Cd, Cr and Pb was found in the 100% sludge treatment. Zn, Cd, Ni and Cr were highly concentrated in the leaves, while Pb accumulated mainly in the stems. D. costulata showed high potential to retain high amounts of Zn, Ni and Cr in the leaves and Pb in the stems. The species had high translocation factor (TF) and low bioconcentration factor (BCF) values in the soil at higher metal concentrations as well as it was able to tolerate and accumulate high concentrations of Zn, Cd, Ni, Cr and Pb. It means that, this species is a good accumulator of heavy metals and can be considered as a potential bioaccumulator species.Key words: Phytoremediation, Dyera costulata, heavy metals, sewage sludge

Effectivity of Inhibition of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches Liquid Smoke Against Ganoderma boninense Fungus In Vitro

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) can be processed into liquid smoke through pyrolysis. This study aimed to obtain the best concentration of unpurified liquid smoke from OPEFB in inhibiting the growth of the fungus of Ganoderma boninense. OPEFB samples were obtained from PT. Citra Putra Kebun Asri and G. boninense were collected from Muara Teweh Plantation. The study was conducted in 2 stages; Analysis of liquid smoke from pyrolysis using the GC-MS method at the Organic Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University; and testing the inhibition of liquid smoke on G. boninense in vitro at the Basic Plantation Cultivation Laboratory, Hasnur Polytechnic, and the Microbiology Laboratory of Plantation Products Processing Technology, Muara Teweh Polytechnic. This study was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments and six replications. The treatment was the difference in concentration of liquid smoke (1 ml/AC1, 2 ml/AC2, 3 ml/AC3, and control/AC0) in the planting medium, potato dextrose agar (PDA). The results showed that the average yield of unpurified liquid smoke from OPEFB was 34.5%, containing 49.28% acetic acid, 11.57% methyl alcohol, and 9.10% phenol. Application ? 2 ml liquid smoke in PDA completely inhibited G.boninense's growth in vitro, starting three days after application

Evaluation of heavy metal uptake and translocation by Acacia mangium as a phytoremediator of copper contaminated soil

Many organic and inorganic pollutants, including heavy metals are being transported and mixed with the cultivated soils and water. Heavy metals are the most dangerous pollutants as they are nondegradable and accumulate and become toxic to plants and animals. An experiment was conducted in the glasshouse to evaluate the potential of Acacia mangium as a phytoremediator to absorb heavy metals from contaminated soils. A. mangium seedlings were planted in the growth media (soil + different levels of copper). The different levels of Cu were: T0 (control, soil), T1 (50 ppm Cu), T2 (100 ppm Cu), T3 (200 ppm Cu), T4 (300 ppm Cu) and T5 (400 ppm Cu). The highest growth performance such as basal diameter, height and number of leaves was in T1. The highest biomass was recorded in T1. Highest accumulation of Cu (93.55 ppm) and Zn (79.13 ppm) were recorded in T5 while Cd (8.88 ppm) in T3. Cu was highly concentrated in the roots, Cd was accumulated in the leaves and roots, whereas, Zn was in stems and leaves. A. mangium showed high translocation factor (TF) and low bioconcentration factor (BCF) values in soil at higher metal concentrations as well as it was able to tolerate and accumulate high concentrations of Cd, Cu and Zn. It may be concluded that this species can be a good efficient phtyoremediator for heavy metals (Cd, Cu and Zn) contaminated soils to mitigate soil pollution.Key words: Heavy metals, phytoremediation, bioaccumulation capacity

Evaluation of cadmium bioaccumulation and translocation by Hopea odorata grown in a contaminated soil

Cadmium (Cd) contamination has an adverse effect on soil productivity and crop production. Phytoremediation is a long term and environmental friendly technology to remediate Cadmium polluted areas. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of Hopea adorata for remediation of soils contaminated with Cd. Plant seedlings were planted in a clayey soil spiked contaminated with Cd in the amount of 0, 25, 50, 75, 100 and 150 mg kg-1 named as; Cd0, Cd1, Cd2, Cd3, Cd4 and Cd5 for a period of five months. The highest growth performance was recorded in the control (Cd0). Cd concentrations among plant parts were in the following trend: roots>stems>leaves. In order to evaluate the potential of species selected as phytoremediator, three indicators were used namely, bioconcentration factor (BCF, the metal concentration ratio of plant roots to soil), translocation factor (TF, the metal concentration ratio of plant shoots to roots) and removal efficiency (RE, total concentrations of metal and dry biomass of plants to total loaded metal in growth media). The highest total Cd concentration (290.23 ± 13.38 mg kg-1) and Cd removal efficiency (0.81± 0.06%) were found in Cd5 and Cd1, respectively. Cd2 exhibited the maximum total dry biomass (60.88 ± 1.78 g). H. odorata showed high BCFs (>1) and low TFs (<1). It can be concluded that this species is suitable to be used in phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated. For further confirmation, an evaluation under field condition will be needed.Keywords: Phytoremediation, Hopea odorata, heavy metals, soil pollution, removal efficiencyAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(29), pp. 7472-7482, 10 April, 201

International Consensus Based Review and Recommendations for Minimum Reporting Standards in Research on Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (Version 2020).

Given its non-invasive nature, there is increasing interest in the use of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) across basic, translational and clinical research. Contemporaneously, tVNS can be achieved by stimulating either the auricular branch or the cervical bundle of the vagus nerve, referred to as transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation(VNS) and transcutaneous cervical VNS, respectively. In order to advance the field in a systematic manner, studies using these technologies need to adequately report sufficient methodological detail to enable comparison of results between studies, replication of studies, as well as enhancing study participant safety. We systematically reviewed the existing tVNS literature to evaluate current reporting practices. Based on this review, and consensus among participating authors, we propose a set of minimal reporting items to guide future tVNS studies. The suggested items address specific technical aspects of the device and stimulation parameters. We also cover general recommendations including inclusion and exclusion criteria for participants, outcome parameters and the detailed reporting of side effects. Furthermore, we review strategies used to identify the optimal stimulation parameters for a given research setting and summarize ongoing developments in animal research with potential implications for the application of tVNS in humans. Finally, we discuss the potential of tVNS in future research as well as the associated challenges across several disciplines in research and clinical practice

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Global variation in anastomosis and end colostomy formation following left-sided colorectal resection

Background End colostomy rates following colorectal resection vary across institutions in high-income settings, being influenced by patient, disease, surgeon and system factors. This study aimed to assess global variation in end colostomy rates after left-sided colorectal resection. Methods This study comprised an analysis of GlobalSurg-1 and -2 international, prospective, observational cohort studies (2014, 2016), including consecutive adult patients undergoing elective or emergency left-sided colorectal resection within discrete 2-week windows. Countries were grouped into high-, middle- and low-income tertiles according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Factors associated with colostomy formation versus primary anastomosis were explored using a multilevel, multivariable logistic regression model. Results In total, 1635 patients from 242 hospitals in 57 countries undergoing left-sided colorectal resection were included: 113 (6·9 per cent) from low-HDI, 254 (15·5 per cent) from middle-HDI and 1268 (77·6 per cent) from high-HDI countries. There was a higher proportion of patients with perforated disease (57·5, 40·9 and 35·4 per cent; P < 0·001) and subsequent use of end colostomy (52·2, 24·8 and 18·9 per cent; P < 0·001) in low- compared with middle- and high-HDI settings. The association with colostomy use in low-HDI settings persisted (odds ratio (OR) 3·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·35 to 7·57; P = 0·008) after risk adjustment for malignant disease (OR 2·34, 1·65 to 3·32; P < 0·001), emergency surgery (OR 4·08, 2·73 to 6·10; P < 0·001), time to operation at least 48 h (OR 1·99, 1·28 to 3·09; P = 0·002) and disease perforation (OR 4·00, 2·81 to 5·69; P < 0·001). Conclusion Global differences existed in the proportion of patients receiving end stomas after left-sided colorectal resection based on income, which went beyond case mix alone

Liriodenine, an aporphine alkaloid from &shy;Enico&shy;santhellum pulchrum, inhibits proliferation of&nbsp;human ovarian cancer cells through induction of apoptosis via the mitochondrial signaling pathway and blocking cell cycle progression

Noraziah Nordin,1 Nazia Abdul Majid,2 Najihah Mohd Hashim,1 Mashitoh Abd Rahman,1 Zalila Hassan,3 Hapipah Mohd Ali3 1Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, 2Institute of Biological Sciences, 3Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of&nbsp;Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract: Enicosanthellum pulchrum is a tropical plant from Malaysia and belongs to the Annonaceae family. This plant is rich in isoquinoline alkaloids. In the present study, liriodenine, an isoquinoline alkaloid, was examined as a potential anticancer agent, particularly in ovarian cancer. Liriodenine was isolated by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Cell viability was performed to determine the cytotoxicity, whilst the detection of morphological changes was carried out by acridine orange/propidium iodide assay. Initial and late apoptosis was examined by Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate and DNA laddering assays, respectively. The involvement of pathways was detected via caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 analyses. Confirmation of pathways was further performed in mitochondria using a cytotoxicity 3 assay. Apoptosis was confirmed at the protein level, including Bax, Bcl-2, and survivin, while interruption of the cell cycle was used for final validation of apoptosis. The result showed that liriodenine inhibits proliferation of CAOV-3 cells at 37.3 &micro;M after 24 hours of exposure. Changes in cell morphology were detected by the presence of cell membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation, and formation of apoptotic bodies. Early apoptosis was observed by Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate bound to the cell membrane as early as 24 hours. Liriodenine activated the intrinsic pathway by induction of caspase-3 and caspase-9. Involvement of the intrinsic pathway in the mitochondria could be seen, with a significant increase in mitochondrial permeability and cytochrome c release, whereas the mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased. DNA fragmentation occurred at 72 hours upon exposure to liriodenine. The presence of DNA fragmentation indicates the CAOV-3 cells undergo late apoptosis or final stage of apoptosis. Confirmation of apoptosis at the protein level showed overexpression of Bax and suppression of Bcl-2 and survivin. Liriodenine inhibits progression of the CAOV-3 cell cycle in S phase. These findings indicate that liriodenine could be considered as a promising anticancer agent. Keywords: Enicosanthellum pulchrum, liriodenine, ovarian cancer, CAOV-3, apoptosi