Chemical inducers for resistance induction against powdery mildew of cucumber under greenhouse conditions

This study was completed to assess the efficacy of certain chemical inducers (potassium dihydrogen phosphate, potassium monohydrogen phosphate, oxalic acid, salicylic acid, sodium salicylate, ferrous sulfate and magnesium sulfate) compare to flusilazole fungicide against Sphaerotheca fuliginea, the causative fungus of powdery mildew of cucumber under greenhouse conditions. The impact of these elicitors on some biochemical and growth characters of cucumber was also examined. The data demonstrated that the flusilazole was the best treatment against powdery mildew followed by salicylic acid, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, magnesium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, oxalic acid and potassium monohydrogen phosphate, respectively. Marked raise in the measured biochemical parameters (chlorophyll content, peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase) of treated cucumber compare to untreated control. Growth and yield characters (plant height, number of fruits/plant and yield/plant) of cucumber were remarkably increased in cucumber treated with examined elicitors compare to untreated control. The examined chemical inducers could be counted as stand by for control powdery mildew of cucumber

A Cross-Cultural Systematic Review of Vitamin D Deficiency in Women

Vitamin D deficiency has been reported in several cultures and regions, including the Middle East, North Europe, and Australia. In this review, we summarize and discuss existing studies on factors underlying vitamin D deficiency across different regions. In particular, we explain key roles played by lifestyle, including sun exposure, season change, diet, and clothing (concealing vs. non-concealing) as factors leading to vitamin D deficiency. We further discuss gender differences in vitamin D levels and, the impact of vitamin D supplements on cognition. The introductory section of this paper focuses on introducing vitamin D deficiency and highlighting the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Eastern countries. Here, we also provide a comparative literature analysis not only based on Eastern and Western countries but also compare the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency between males and females. Our review provides key information on potential life changes that help increase vitamin D and protect against the development of several disorders

Redox Regulation of Heart Regeneration: An Evolutionary Tradeoff

Heart failure is a costly and deadly disease, affecting over 23 million patients worldwide, half of which die within 5 years of diagnosis. The pathophysiological basis of heart failure is the inability of the adult heart to regenerate lost or damaged myocardium. Although limited myocyte turnover does occur in the adult heart, it is insufficient for restoration of contractile function1-6. In contrast to lower vertebrates which can regenerate their myocardium through cardiomyocyte proliferation,7-13, adult mammalian heart cardiomyogenesis very limited1-5. Studies in the late 90s elegantly demonstrated that mammalian cardiomyocytes continue to divide for a few days after birth 14-16, only to undergo permanent cell cycle arrest shortly thereafter. Recently, we demonstrated that resection of up to 15% of the apex of the left ventricle of postnatal day 1 (P1) mice results in complete regeneration within 21 days following injury, without significant fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction17. Moreover, we described a similar regenerative response following ischemic myocardial infarction 18. This response was well characterized by robust cardiomyocyte proliferation, with gradual restoration of normal cardiac morphology and function. In addition to the histological evidence of proliferating myocytes, genetic fate-mapping studies confirmed that the majority of newly formed cardiomyocytes are derived from proliferation of preexisting cardiomyocytes17. Intriguingly, this regenerative capacity is lost by P7, after which injury results in the cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and scar-formation, which coincides with binucleation and cell cycle exit of cardiomyocytes 14, 19. An important approach to understanding the loss of regenerative ability of the mammalian heart is to first consider why, and not only how, this happens. The regenerative ability of the early postnatal heart following resection or ischemic infarction involves regeneration of the lost myocardium and vasculature with restoration of normal myocardial thickness and architecture, and long-term functional recovery. Why would the heart permanently forego such a remarkable regenerative program shortly after birth? The answer may lie in within the fundamental principal of evolutionary tradeoff

Metabolomic Analysis of Blood and Urine to identify Alcohol-Dependence Biomarkers

The clinical diagnosis of alcohol-dependence (AD) currently relies on AD assessment questionnairesand biomarkers such as Carbohydrate-DeficientTransferrin (CDT), Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) and Phosphatidylethanol (PEth). However, both methods of diagnosis lackspecificity and sensitivity. Metabolic fingerprinting using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR)of plasma may give us a novel andaccurate method for the diagnosis of the disease. Our primary objective was to identify the metabolites/biomarkers that could discriminate between subjects diagnosed asAD, social drinkersnon-dependent and healthy control

Potentially toxic elements in saltmarsh sediments and common reed (Phragmites australis) of Burullus coastal lagoon at North Nile Delta, Egypt: A survey and risk assessment

Burullus lagoon is the second largest lake in Egypt. However, there has never been a comprehensive survey which studied nineteen potentially toxic elements in sediments and plants and evaluated the associated potential risk. Thus, we aimed to study the total and potentially available content of As, Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sb, Se, Sn, Tl, V, and Zn in the sediments and common reed (Phragmites australis) at thirty two sites along the entire lagoon and connected drains. Contamination Factor (CF), Pollution Load Index (PLI), Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), and Enrichment Factor (EF) were calculated to assess the grade of contamination. Element accumulation factor (AF) and bio-concentration ratio (BCR) were also calculated. Aluminum showed the highest median (mg kg−1) total content (41,200), followed by Fe (30,300), Mn (704.7), V (82.0), Zn (75.5), Cr (51.2), Cu (47.8), Ni (44.3), As (31.9), Tl (24.6), Co (21.4), Se (20.3), Sb (17.6), Sn (15.6), Mo (11.3), and Hg (16.6 μg kg−1). Values of the EF, CF, and Igeo showed that the sediments were heavily contaminated with As, Sb, Se, Tl, Mo, Sn, Co, Ni, and Cu. The drained sediment had significantly higher values of total and potentially available element content than the lagoon sediments. Sediments of the middle and western area showed significantly higher contents of total and available elements than the eastern section. The BCR and AF values indicate that the studied plant is efficient in taking up high amounts of Zn, Fe, As, Sn, Tl, Ni, Mo, Mn; then Co, Cu, and V. The results exhibit a dramatic contamination at certain sites of the lagoon, and the studied PTEs have a predominant role in contamination-related ecological risk. Further investigations concerning redox-induced mobilization of PTEs in sediments, the risk of fish contamination and the potential health hazards are highly recommended

Artemisia absinthium L. Aqueous and Ethyl Acetate Extracts: Antioxidant Effect and Potential Activity In Vitro and In Vivo against Pancreatic α-Amylase and Intestinal α-Glucosidase

Artemisia absinthium L. is one of the plants which has been used in folk medicine for many diseases over many centuries. This study aims to analyze the chemical composition of the Artemisia absinthium ethyl acetate and its aqueous extracts and to evaluate their effect on the pancreatic α-amylase enzyme and the intestinal α-glucosidase enzyme. In this study, the total contents of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and condensed tannins in ethyl acetate and the aqueous extracts of Artemisia absinthium leaves were determined by using spectrophotometric techniques, then the antioxidant capacity of these extracts was examined using three methods, namely, the DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging method, the iron reduction method FRAP, and the β-carotene bleaching method. The determination of the chemical composition of the extracts was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography—the photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD). These extracts were also evaluated for their ability to inhibit the activity of the pancreatic α-amylase enzyme, as well as the intestinal α-glucosidase enzyme, in vitro and in vivo, thus causing the reduction of blood glucose. The results of this study showed that high polyphenol and flavonoid contents were obtained in ethyl acetate extract with values of 60.34 ± 0.43 mg GAE/g and 25.842 ± 0.241 mg QE/g, respectively, compared to the aqueous extract. The results indicated that the aqueous extract had a higher condensed tannin content (3.070 ± 0.022 mg EC/g) than the ethyl acetate extract (0.987 ± 0.078 mg EC/g). Ethyl acetate extract showed good DPPH radical scavenging and iron reduction FRAP activity, with an IC50 of 0.167 ± 0.004 mg/mL and 0.923 ± 0.0283 mg/mL, respectively. The β-carotene test indicated that the aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts were able to delay the decoloration of β-carotene with an inhibition of 48.7% and 48.3%, respectively, which may mean that the extracts have antioxidant activity. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of naringenin and caffeic acid as major products in AQE and EAE, respectively. Indeed, this study showed that the aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts significantly inhibited the pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase, in vitro. To confirm this result, the inhibitory effect of these plant extracts on the enzymes has been evaluated in vivo. Oral intake of the aqueous extract significantly attenuated starch- and sucrose-induced hyperglycemia in normal rats, and evidently, in STZ-diabetic rats as well. The ethyl acetate extract had no inhibitory activity against the intestinal α-glucosidase enzyme in vivo. The antioxidant and the enzyme inhibitory effects may be related to the presence of naringenin and caffeic acid or their synergistic effect with the other compounds in the extracts

Artemisia absinthium L. Aqueous and Ethyl Acetate Extracts: Antioxidant Effect and Potential Activity In Vitro and In Vivo against Pancreatic α-Amylase and Intestinal α-Glucosidase

Artemisia absinthium L. is one of the plants which has been used in folk medicine for many diseases over many centuries. This study aims to analyze the chemical composition of the Artemisia absinthium ethyl acetate and its aqueous extracts and to evaluate their effect on the pancreatic α-amylase enzyme and the intestinal α-glucosidase enzyme. In this study, the total contents of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and condensed tannins in ethyl acetate and the aqueous extracts of Artemisia absinthium leaves were determined by using spectrophotometric techniques, then the antioxidant capacity of these extracts was examined using three methods, namely, the DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging method, the iron reduction method FRAP, and the β-carotene bleaching method. The determination of the chemical composition of the extracts was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography—the photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD). These extracts were also evaluated for their ability to inhibit the activity of the pancreatic α-amylase enzyme, as well as the intestinal α-glucosidase enzyme, in vitro and in vivo, thus causing the reduction of blood glucose. The results of this study showed that high polyphenol and flavonoid contents were obtained in ethyl acetate extract with values of 60.34 ± 0.43 mg GAE/g and 25.842 ± 0.241 mg QE/g, respectively, compared to the aqueous extract. The results indicated that the aqueous extract had a higher condensed tannin content (3.070 ± 0.022 mg EC/g) than the ethyl acetate extract (0.987 ± 0.078 mg EC/g). Ethyl acetate extract showed good DPPH radical scavenging and iron reduction FRAP activity, with an IC50 of 0.167 ± 0.004 mg/mL and 0.923 ± 0.0283 mg/mL, respectively. The β-carotene test indicated that the aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts were able to delay the decoloration of β-carotene with an inhibition of 48.7% and 48.3%, respectively, which may mean that the extracts have antioxidant activity. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of naringenin and caffeic acid as major products in AQE and EAE, respectively. Indeed, this study showed that the aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts significantly inhibited the pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase, in vitro. To confirm this result, the inhibitory effect of these plant extracts on the enzymes has been evaluated in vivo. Oral intake of the aqueous extract significantly attenuated starch- and sucrose-induced hyperglycemia in normal rats, and evidently, in STZ-diabetic rats as well. The ethyl acetate extract had no inhibitory activity against the intestinal α-glucosidase enzyme in vivo. The antioxidant and the enzyme inhibitory effects may be related to the presence of naringenin and caffeic acid or their synergistic effect with the other compounds in the extracts