Incidence of organochlorine insecticides (DDT and heptachlor) in Bangladeshi dry fish: Seasonal trends and species variability

The concentrations of organochlorine insecticides dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and heptachlor were investigated to estimate the current status of insecticides used in dry fish in different season and different species. Six most popular species of dry fishes namely Bombay duck (Loittya), Ribbon fish (Chhuri), Shrimp (Chingri), Hilsha shed (Ilish), Chinese pomfret (Rupchanda) and Indian salmon (Lakhua) were collected from Asadgonj (whole sell market for dry fish) of Chittagong, Bangladesh at different seasons, six samples at winter season (December) and six same samples at rainy season (July). The range of DDT concentration at winter was found 5.588 ppb to 250.758 ppb and at rainy season the range of concentration was found 11.054 ppb to 1107.427 ppb. The range of heptachlor concentration at winter was found to range from 0.401 to 2.480 ppb and at rainy season was found to range from 1.087 to 37.780 ppb. The concentrations of DDT and heptachlor were much higher in the samples of rainy season than those of the winter

Composition of the Essential Oil of Clausena Suffruticosa Leaf and Evaluation of its Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities

Purpose: To investigate the essential oil content of Clausena suffruticosa leaf for its in-vitro antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities.Methods: The essential oil of Clausena suffruticosa leaf was extracted by hydrodistillation using a modified Clevenger-type apparatus and was analyzed by GC-MS using electron impact ionization method. Antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic screenings were made by disc diffusion technique,poisoned food technique and brine shrimp lethality bioassay, respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the oil was determined by measuring the zone of inhibition, with tetracycline as reference standard. Fluconazole served as standard in the antifungal assessment.Results: A total of twenty two compounds, of which Estragole, Anethole and â-Ocimene were the major ones, were found in the essential oil of C. suffruticosa. The oil showed higher antibacterial activity against Shigella flexneri than the reference, tetracycline (p < 0.05). Significant activity (p < 0.001) against other Gram-positive microbes - Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus polymyxa and Bacillus megaterium – was also observed. However, Gram-negative bacteria -Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Shigella sonnei - showed no sensitivity to the oil. In the antifungal assay, the oil exhibited greater activity (p < 0.001) against Aspergillus ochraceus than the reference, fluconazole, Inhibition of other fungal strains tested was also statistically significant (p < 0.001). The lethal concentration (LC50) of the oil against brine shrimp was 41.2 ìg/ml in the cytotoxic assay.Conclusion: It is evident that the essential oil of C. suffruticosa is a potent antimicrobial and cytotoxic agent that should be further evaluated.Keywords: Clausena suffruticosa, Essential oil, Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial, Brine shrim

Behavior and Impact of Zirconium in the Soil–Plant System: Plant Uptake and Phytotoxicity

Because of the large number of sites they pollute, toxic metals that contaminate terrestrial ecosystems are increasingly of environmental and sanitary concern (Uzu et al. 2010, 2011; Shahid et al. 2011a, b, 2012a). Among such metals is zirconium (Zr), which has the atomic number 40 and is a transition metal that resembles titanium in physical and chemical properties (Zaccone et al. 2008). Zr is widely used in many chemical industry processes and in nuclear reactors (Sandoval et al. 2011; Kamal et al. 2011), owing to its useful properties like hardness, corrosion-resistance and permeable to neutrons (Mushtaq 2012). Hence, the recent increased use of Zr by industry, and the occurrence of the Chernobyl and Fukashima catastrophe have enhanced environmental levels in soil and waters (Yirchenko and Agapkina 1993; Mosulishvili et al. 1994 ; Kruglov et al. 1996)

Mutations with pathogenic potential in proteins located in or at the composite junctions of the intercalated disk connecting mammalian cardiomyocytes: a reference thesaurus for arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies and for Naxos and Carvajal diseases

In the past decade, an avalanche of findings and reports has correlated arrhythmogenic ventricular cardiomyopathies (ARVC) and Naxos and Carvajal diseases with certain mutations in protein constituents of the special junctions connecting the polar regions (intercalated disks) of mature mammalian cardiomyocytes. These molecules, apparently together with some specific cytoskeletal proteins, are components of (or interact with) composite junctions. Composite junctions contain the amalgamated fusion products of the molecules that, in other cell types and tissues, occur in distinct separate junctions, i.e. desmosomes and adherens junctions. As the pertinent literature is still in an expanding phase and is obviously becoming important for various groups of researchers in basic cell and molecular biology, developmental biology, histology, physiology, cardiology, pathology and genetics, the relevant references so far recognized have been collected and are presented here in the following order: desmocollin-2 (Dsc2, DSC2), desmoglein-2 (Dsg2, DSG2), desmoplakin (DP, DSP), plakoglobin (PG, JUP), plakophilin-2 (Pkp2, PKP2) and some non-desmosomal proteins such as transmembrane protein 43 (TMEM43), ryanodine receptor 2 (RYR2), desmin, lamins A and C, striatin, titin and transforming growth factor-β3 (TGFβ3), followed by a collection of animal models and of reviews, commentaries, collections and comparative studies

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication