Na-K-Cl Cotransporter-1 as a Regulator of Manganese-induced Astrocyte Swelling

Astrocyte swelling leads to brain edema, intracranial pressure, brain herniation and acute liver failure (fulminant hepatic failure) which is the major cause of death in this condition. Manganese has been strongly implicated as an important factor in astrocyte swelling. Manganese in excess is neurotoxic and causes a CNS disorder that resembles  Parkinson¡¦s disease (manganism). Manganese highly accumulates in astrocytes, which renders these cells more vulnerable to its toxicity. In addition to manganism, increased brain levels of manganese have been found in hepatic encephalopathy. Manganese is known to cause cellswelling in cultured astrocytes, although the means by which this occurs has not been fully elucidated. A disturbance in one or more of these systems may result in loss of ion homeostasis and cell swelling. In particular, activation of the Na-K-Cl cotransporter-1 (NKCC1) has been shown to be involved in cell swelling in several neurological disorders.We therefore examined the effect of manganese on NKCC activity and its potential role in the swelling of astrocytes. Cultured astrocytes were exposed to manganese (50 µM), and NKCC activity was measured. Manganese increased NKCC activity at 24 h. Inhibition of this  activity by bumetanide diminished manganese-induced astrocyte swelling.  Manganese (Mn) also increased total as well as phosphorylated NKCC1. These results suggest that activation of NKCC1 is an important factor in the mediation of astrocyte swelling by manganese and that such activation appears to be mediated by NKCC1 abundance

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for deep vein thrombosis

Background Ultrasound (US) has largely replaced contrast venography as the definitive diagnostic test for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). We aimed to derive a definitive estimate of the diagnostic accuracy of US for clinically suspected DVT and identify study-level factors that might predict accuracy. Methods We undertook a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of diagnostic cohort studies that compared US to contrast venography in patients with suspected DVT. We searched Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Database of Reviews of Effectiveness, the ACP Journal Club, and citation lists (1966 to April 2004). Random effects meta-analysis was used to derive pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity. Random effects meta-regression was used to identify study-level covariates that predicted diagnostic performance. Results We identified 100 cohorts comparing US to venography in patients with suspected DVT. Overall sensitivity for proximal DVT (95% confidence interval) was 94.2% (93.2 to 95.0), for distal DVT was 63.5% (59.8 to 67.0), and specificity was 93.8% (93.1 to 94.4). Duplex US had pooled sensitivity of 96.5% (95.1 to 97.6) for proximal DVT, 71.2% (64.6 to 77.2) for distal DVT and specificity of 94.0% (92.8 to 95.1). Triplex US had pooled sensitivity of 96.4% (94.4 to 97.1%) for proximal DVT, 75.2% (67.7 to 81.6) for distal DVT and specificity of 94.3% (92.5 to 95.8). Compression US alone had pooled sensitivity of 93.8 % (92.0 to 95.3%) for proximal DVT, 56.8% (49.0 to 66.4) for distal DVT and specificity of 97.8% (97.0 to 98.4). Sensitivity was higher in more recently published studies and in cohorts with higher prevalence of DVT and more proximal DVT, and was lower in cohorts that reported interpretation by a radiologist. Specificity was higher in cohorts that excluded patients with previous DVT. No studies were identified that compared repeat US to venography in all patients. Repeat US appears to have a positive yield of 1.3%, with 89% of these being confirmed by venography. Conclusion Combined colour-doppler US techniques have optimal sensitivity, while compression US has optimal specificity for DVT. However, all estimates are subject to substantial unexplained heterogeneity. The role of repeat scanning is very uncertain and based upon limited data

Chemical, functional, and structural properties of spent coffee grounds and coffee silverskin

Spent coffee grounds (SCG) and coffee silverskin (CS) represent a great pollution hazard if discharged into the environment. Taking this fact into account, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, functional properties, and structural characteristics of these agro-industrial residues in order to identify the characteristics that allow their reutilization in industrial processes. According to the results, SCG and CS are both of lignocellulosic nature. Sugars polymerized to their cellulose and hemicellulose fractions correspond to 51.5 and 40.45 % w/w, respectively; however, the hemicellulose sugars and their composition significantly differ from one residue to another. SCG and CS particles differ in terms of morphology and crystallinity, but both materials have very low porosity and similar melting point. In terms of functional properties, SCG and CS present good water and oil holding capacities, emulsion activity and stability, and antioxidant potential, being therefore great candidates for use on food and pharmaceutical fields.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Science and Technology Foundation of Portugal (FCT) through the grant SFRH/BD/80948/2011 and the Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013. The authors also thank the Project "BioInd - Biotechnology and Bioengineering for improved Industrial and Agro-Food processes", REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028 co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2-O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER. Thanks are also given to Prof. Jose J.M. Orfao, from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade do Porto (Portugal), for his assistance with the porosity analyses

Influence of mitochondrial genome rearrangement on cucumber leaf carbon and nitrogen metabolism

The MSC16 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) mitochondrial mutant was used to study the effect of mitochondrial dysfunction and disturbed subcellular redox state on leaf day/night carbon and nitrogen metabolism. We have shown that the mitochondrial dysfunction in MSC16 plants had no effect on photosynthetic CO2 assimilation, but the concentration of soluble carbohydrates and starch was higher in leaves of MSC16 plants. Impaired mitochondrial respiratory chain activity was associated with the perturbation of mitochondrial TCA cycle manifested, e.g., by lowered decarboxylation rate. Mitochondrial dysfunction in MSC16 plants had different influence on leaf cell metabolism under dark or light conditions. In the dark, when the main mitochondrial function is the energy production, the altered activity of TCA cycle in mutated plants was connected with the accumulation of pyruvate and TCA cycle intermediates (citrate and 2-OG). In the light, when TCA activity is needed for synthesis of carbon skeletons required as the acceptors for NH4+ assimilation, the concentration of pyruvate and TCA intermediates was tightly coupled with nitrate metabolism. Enhanced incorporation of ammonium group into amino acids structures in mutated plants has resulted in decreased concentration of organic acids and accumulation of Glu

Prospect and potential of Burkholderia sp. against Phytophthora capsici Leonian: a causative agent for foot rot disease of black pepper

Foot rot disease is a very destructive disease in black pepper in Malaysia. It is caused by Phytophthora capsici Leonian, which is a soilborne pathogenic protist (phylum, Oomycota) that infects aerial and subterranean structures of many host plants. This pathogen is a polycyclic, such that multiple cycles of infection and inoculum production occur in a single growing season. It is more prevalent in the tropics because of the favourable environmental conditions. The utilization of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as a biological control agent has been successfully implemented in controlling many plant pathogens. Many studies on the exploration of beneficial organisms have been carried out such as Pseudomonas fluorescens, which is one of the best examples used for the control of Fusarium wilt in tomato. Similarly, P. fluorescens is found to be an effective biocontrol agent against the foot rot disease in black pepper. Nowadays there is tremendous novel increase in the species of Burkholderia with either mutualistic or antagonistic interactions in the environment. Burkholderia sp. is an indigenous PGPR capable of producing a large number of commercially important hydrolytic enzymes and bioactive substances that promote plant growth and health; are eco-friendly, biodegradable and specific in their actions; and have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity in keeping down the population of phytopathogens, thus playing a great role in promoting sustainable agriculture today. Hence, in this book chapter, the potential applications of Burkholderia sp. to control foot rot disease of black pepper in Malaysia, their control mechanisms, plant growth promotion, commercial potentials and the future prospects as indigenous PGPR were discussed in relation to sustainable agriculture

Prototype learning methods for online handwriting recognition

In this paper, we study different methods for prototype selection for recognizing handwritten characters of Tamil script. In the first method, cumulative pairwise- distances of the training samples of a given class are used to select prototypes. In the second method, cumulative distance to allographs of different orientation is used as a criterion to decide if the sample is representative of the group. The latter method is presumed to offset the possible orientation effect. This method still uses fixed number of prototypes for each of the classes. Finally, a prototype set growing algorithm is proposed, with a view to better model the differences in complexity of different character classes. The proposed algorithms are tested and compared for both writer independent and writer adaptation scenarios

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Not AvailableAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) due to the emergence and spread of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing bacteria are becoming a serious global public health concern. This article aims to assess the overall prevalence of ESBLs among animals in India, with year-wise, zone-wise and species-wise stratification. Systematic search from PubMed, Google Scholar and J-Gate Plus was carried out and 24 eligible articles from 2013–2019 in India were retrieved. The R Open source Scripting software was used to perform statistical analysis. The overall prevalence of ESBLs among animals in India was 9%. The pooled prevalence of ESBLs in animals were 26, 11, 6 and 8% for north, east, south and central zones, respectively. The reported prevalence of ESBLs in animals were 12, 5, 8, 8, 12, 13 and 33% were reported for the years 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 respectively. The species-wise stratified results showed a predominance of ESBL producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains (11%) when compared to Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas spp. which were 7% and 5%, respectively. The prevalence data generated could be utilized in infection control and in antibiotic use management decisions for developing appropriate intervention strategies.Not Availabl

PCR-based diagnosis of surra-targeting VSG gene: Experimental studies in small laboratory rodents and buffalo

Not AvailableTrypanosoma evansi, the causative organism of ‘surra’ expresses its variable surface glycoprotein (VSG) at early, middle and late stages of infection in animals. The variable antigenic nature of VSG caused by switching its expression type favours evasion from the host immune response and leads to chronic and persistent infection. Developing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic tool targeting the VSG gene is expected to be highly specific and sensitive for diagnosis of surra. Hence, in the present study, we have designed EXP3F/4R primer pair and amplified the 1.4 kb of VSG gene of T. evansi and studied the phylogenetic relationship by in silico analysis. The PCR method was standardised using another set of primer, DITRYF/R, and 400 bp was amplified from blood and tissue samples of experimentally infected animals. Applying the PCR method, we were able to detect as low as 0.15 trypanosome ml−1. Considering the number of parasite-to-DNA concentration, the PCR method has a sensitivity of 0.015 pg ml−1. The PCR could detect the presence of the parasite as early as 24 h post-infection (p.i.) and 72 h p.i., respectively, in experimentally infected rats and buffalo. No amplification was observed with DNA of Babesia bigemina and Theileria annulata, indicating the primers are specific for T. evansi. The PCR method could detect the dog, lion and leopard isolates of T. evansi. Similarly, amplifying the DNA from the experimentally infected tissues was also found to be sensitive. Thus, the findings of this study favour the application of PCR over the parasitological methods for the detection of the early and/or chronic stage of surra in domestic and wild animals.Not Availabl