Impact of group interactions on farmers' entrepreneurial behaviour

Group interactions form an important component among the many factors influencing the entrepreneurial behaviour of farmers. Understanding group interactions provides insights to foster entrepreneurial activities. Matale district, which is among the top 4 districts producing high amount of vegetables in the Sri Lanka was selected for the study. Two successful farmer organizations, one of them farming in both seasons (throughout the year), and the other farming only a single season per year, were selected for the study. Overall objective of the study was to examine the impact of group interactions on entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable farmers. Stratified random sampling was used to select an overall sample of 60 vegetable farmers, having two samples consisting of 30 each from the two farmer organizations. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted using the SPSS software package. Results indicated a significant relationship between the group interactions and entrepreneurial behaviour of farmers. Study revealed effective entrepreneurial behaviour involving high planning ability, and decision making ability Majority of the farmers were at a moderate level of innovativeness, risk orientation, coordinating ability, opportunity seeking behaviour, self-confidence, achievement motivation, and cosmopolitanism. Group interactions were moderate at seasonal planning, and in selecting of crops. Group interactions were low in land preparation, pest and disease controlling, harvesting, irrigation water distribution, participating in training programmes, and selling. Entrepreneurial behaviour of farmers has enhanced with group interactions. The two farmer groups had significant differences in group interactions and entrepreneurial behaviour due to group characteristics. It is recommended to improve group interactions through awareness programmes, and small group formation activities

Quantification of Rapid Myosin Regulatory Light Chain Phosphorylation Using High-Throughput In-Cell Western Assays: Comparison to Western Immunoblots

Quantification of phospho-proteins (PPs) is crucial when studying cellular signaling pathways. Western immunoblotting (WB) is commonly used for the measurement of relative levels of signaling intermediates in experimental samples. However, WB is in general a labour-intensive and low-throughput technique. Because of variability in protein yield and phospho-signal preservation during protein harvesting, and potential loss of antigen during protein transfer, WB provides only semi-quantitative data. By comparison, the "in-cell western" (ICW) technique has high-throughput capacity and requires less extensive sample preparation. Thus, we compared the ICW technique to WB for measuring phosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain (PMLC(20)) in primary cultures of uterine myocytes to assess their relative specificity, sensitivity, precision, and quantification of biologically relevant responses.ICWs are cell-based microplate assays for quantification of protein targets in their cellular context. ICWs utilize a two-channel infrared (IR) scanner (Odyssey(R)) to quantify signals arising from near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores conjugated to secondary antibodies. One channel is dedicated to measuring the protein of interest and the second is used for data normalization of the signal in each well of the microplate. Using uterine myocytes, we assessed oxytocin (OT)-stimulated MLC(20) phosphorylation measured by ICW and WB, both using NIR fluorescence. ICW and WB data were comparable regarding signal linearity, signal specificity, and time course of phosphorylation response to OT.ICW and WB yield comparable biological data. The advantages of ICW over WB are its high-throughput capacity, improved precision, and reduced sample preparation requirements. ICW might provide better sensitivity and precision with low-quantity samples or for protocols requiring large numbers of samples. These features make the ICW technique an excellent tool for the study of phosphorylation endpoints. However, the drawbacks of ICW include the need for a cell culture format and the lack of utility where protein purification, concentration or stoichiometric analyses are required

Design and Development of Fluoride Riboswitch Based Biosensor to Detect the Fluoride Level in Drinking Water

Fluoride plays a major role in human health as it is categorized as an essential micronutrient. Fluoride may cause adverse effects or beneficial effects depending on the concentration present in the human body. Since drinking water plays an important role in the fluoride diet, it is crucial to determine the fluoride concentration in the drinking water to reduce the vulnerability of communities to fluoride -dependent diseases. However, there are many drawbacks associated with the conventional methods for fluoride detection, such as interference with other anions, which greatly limits the scope of their use. Bacterial riboswitches are well known for their high selectivity towards the ligand. The detection method utilizes an Escherichia coli mutant carrying a plasmid cloned with fluoride responsive riboswitch, coupled to the lacZ reporter gene. LacZ, which is under the regulation of fluorideriboswitch, encodes β-galactosidase in response to the intracellular fluoride levels. The activity of βgalactosidase was determined by the turn-over of its substrate ONPG, which forms a yellow color product ONP which absorbs light at 420 nm. The ONP absorbance was used to quantify the fluoride level in the aqueous samples. The calibration curve showed a linear relationship (R2=0.9842) for the concentrations between 5-100 µM. Next, the biosensor was used to measure the groundwater samples collected from different regions of Sri Lanka. The highest level of groundwater fluoride was found in Ampara, Batticaloa, Kurunegala (>2 ppm), and the lowest level was found in Colombo and Matara (<0.5 ppm). The experimentally determined fluoride levels are in agreement with the reported values. Our results also demonstrate that the novel biosensor is highly selective for fluoride and can readily discriminate between chloride and hydroxyl ions. This work provides a critical proof-of-principle for utilizing the fluoride riboswitch-based whole-cell biosensor to selectively and accurately detect fluoride levels in drinking water. Keywords: Fluoride, Riboswitch, Lac

Oligomeric structure and functional characterization of the urea transporter from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

Urea transporters facilitate urea permeation across cell membranes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Bacteria use urea either as a means to survive in acidic environments and/or as a nitrogen source. The urea transporter ApUT from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the pathogen that causes porcine pleurisy and pneumonia, was expressed in E. coli and purified. Analysis of the recombinant protein using cross-linking and blue-native gel electrophoresis established that ApUT is a dimer in detergent solution. To determine the urea transport kinetics of ApUT, purified protein was reconstituted into proteoliposomes, and urea efflux was measured by stopped-flow fluorometry. The measured urea flux was saturable, could be inhibited by phloretin, and was not affected by pH. Two-dimensional crystals of the biologically active ApUT show that it is also dimeric in a lipid membrane and provide the first structural information on a member of the urea transporter family

Progressive Intramuscular Haematoma in a 12-Year-Old Boy: A Case of Acquired Haemophilia A

Acquired hemophilia A (AHA) is a rare bleeding disorder due to acquired antibodies against coagulation factor VIII (FVIII). It is rare in children less than 16 years old, and the incidence is 0.45/million/year. An otherwise healthy, 12-year-old boy was admitted to the ward with a history of swelling of the right and left forearms, for 1 day duration. He did not have any history of trauma or bleeding disorder. He had prolonged APPTT level with very high antibody titer against factor VIII. His gene expression for factor VIII was found to be normal. He was managed with FEIBA and recombinant FVII activated complexes and prednisolone 1 m/kg/day regime to control bleeding. AHA is associated with several underlying pathologies such as pregnancy, autoimmune diseases, malignancy, medications and infections; however, up to 50% of reported cases are idiopathic. In contrast to congenital haemophilia A, in which haemarthrosis is the hallmark clinical presentation, patients with AHA mainly bleed in to the skin, muscles, and soft tissues. High mortality rate of more than 20% is either to retroperitoneal or intracranial bleeds. Diagnosis is confirmed on isolated prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin time which does not normalize after addition of normal plasma, reducing the factor VIII levels with evidence of FVIII inhibitor activity. They have normal prothrombin time and platelet functions. Management of AHA involves two aspects, namely, eradication of antibodies and maintaining effective haemostasis during a bleeding episode

Ultrasensitive and label-free biosensor for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein II in saliva.

Malaria elimination is a global public health priority. To fulfil the demands of elimination diagnostics, we have developed an interdigitated electrode sensor platform targeting the Plasmodium falciparum Histidine Rich Protein 2 (PfHRP2) protein in saliva samples. A protocol for frequency-specific PfHRP2 detection in phosphate buffered saline was developed, yielding a sensitivity of 2.5 pg/mL based on change in impedance magnitude of the sensor. This protocol was adapted and optimized for use in saliva with a sensitivity of 25 pg/mL based on change in resistance. Further validation demonstrated detection in saliva spiked with PfHRP2 from clinical isolates in 8 of 11 samples. With a turnaround time of ~2 hours, the label-free platform based on impedance sensors has the potential for miniaturization into a point-of-care diagnostic device for malaria elimination

A Label-Free, Quantitative Fecal Hemoglobin Detection Platform for Colorectal Cancer Screening

The early detection of colorectal cancer is vital for disease management and patient survival. Fecal hemoglobin detection is a widely-adopted method for screening and early diagnosis. Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) is favored over the older generation chemical based Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) as it does not require dietary or drug restrictions, and is specific to human blood from the lower digestive tract. To date, no quantitative FIT platforms are available for use in the point-of-care setting. Here, we report proof of principle data of a novel low cost quantitative fecal immunochemical-based biosensor platform that may be further developed into a point-of-care test in low-resource settings. The label-free prototype has a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 10 µg hemoglobin per gram (Hb/g) of feces, comparable to that of conventional laboratory based quantitative FIT diagnostic systems