Eosinophilic Heart Disease: A Case Report and Review of Literature (Poster).

Hypereosinophilic syndrome is a rare condition and present with nonspecific symptoms. Literature is limited. The involvement of myocardium has some peculiar features. Use of different diagnostic techniques such as echocardiography and MRI can help make the diagnosis of hypereosinophilic syndrome. We are presenting a case with review of the topic

Biochemical Studies on Mitochondria and Storage Proteins of Helicoverpa Armigera (Hubner)

Helicoverpa armigera is a major pest of agricultural crops, and has been reported to attack more than 200 different species of plants including cotton, pigeonpea, chickpea, groundnut sorghum, maize, vegetables, fruit and forest trees. The lepidopteran larvae essentially are ‘eating machines’, and grow much faster than mammals and birds with a high rate of metabolic processes. This phenomenal growth occurs due to large midgut epithelium, which digests and absorbs the nutrients, and requires the presence of a complete mitochondrial system for oxidative phosphorylation to meet the energy demands of the insect undergoing metamorphosis through different larval instars...

Methylparathion- and carbofuran-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in Helicoverpa armigera (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)

The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera is a polyphagous pest of several crops in Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean Europe. Organophosphate and carbamate insecticides are used on a large-scale to control Helicoverpa. Therefore, we studied the effect of methylparathion and carbofuran, an organophosphate and carbamate insecticide, respectively, on oxidative phosphorylation and oxidative stress in H. armigera larvae to gain an understanding of the different target sites of these insecticides. It was observed that state III and state IV respiration, respiratory control index (RCI), and P/O ratios were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by methylparathion and carbofuran under invitro and in vivo conditions. Methylparathion and carbofuran inhibited complex II by ∼ 45% and 30%, respectively. Lipid peroxidation, H2O2 content, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity increased and glutathione reductase (GR) activity decreased in a time- and dose-dependent manner in insecticide-fed larvae. However, catalase activity was not affected in insecticide-fed larvae. Larval growth decreased by ∼ 64 and 67% in larvae fed on diets with sub-lethal doses of methylparathion and carbofuran. The results suggested that both the insecticides impede the mitochondrial respiratory functions and induced lipid peroxidation, H2O2, and LDH leak, leading to oxidative stress in cells, which contribute to deleterious effects of these insecticides on the growth of H. armigera larvae, along with their neurotoxic effects

Characterization of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase from the mitochondria of Helicoverpa armigera, a pest resistant to insecticides

Dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DHLDH) was isolated from the mitochondria of Helicoverpa armigera, a destructive pest which has developed resistance to commonly used insecticides. The flavoenzyme was purified 17.98-fold to homogeneity with an overall yield of 10.53% by employing ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydroxylapatite chromatography and CM-Sephadex chromatography. The purified enzyme exhibited the specific activity of 18.7 U/mg and was characterized as a dimer with a subunit mass of 66 kDa. The enzyme showed specificity for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide – hydrogen (NADH) and lipoamide, as substrates, with Michaelis-Menten constants (Km) of 0.083 mmol/L and 0.4 mmol/L, respectively. The reduction reaction of lipoamide by the enzyme could be explained by ping-pong mechanism. The spectra of DHLDH showed the maximum absorbance at 420 nm, 455 nm and 475 nm. The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by mercurial and arsenical compounds. The N-terminal sequence of Ha-DHLDH showed homology with those of mammalian and arthropod DHLDH. Since H. armigera has developed high levels of resistance to commonly used insecticides, biochemical properties of the metabolic enzymes such as DHLDH, could be helpful to develop insecticidal molecules for the control of H. armigera, with a different mode of action

Interaction of plant cell signaling molecules, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid, with the mitochondria of Helicoverpa armigera

The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera is a polyphagous pest in Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean Europe. Salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) are the cell signaling molecules produced in response to insect attack in plants. The effect of these signaling molecules was investigated on the oxidative phosphorylation and oxidative stress of H. armigera. SA significantly inhibited the state III and state IV respiration, respiratory control index (RCI), respiratory complexes I and II, induced mitochondrial swelling, and cytochrome c release in vitro. Under in vivo conditions, SA induced state IV respiration as well as oxidative stress in time- and dose-dependent manner, and also inhibited the larval growth. In contrast, JA did not affect the mitochondrial respiration and oxidative stress. SA affected the growth and development of H. armigera, in addition to its function as signaling molecules involved in both local defense reactions at feeding sites and the induction of systemic acquired resistance in plants

Man-made maternity roost selection by Scotophilus kuhlii (Lesser Asiatic yellow bat) in two anthropogenically altered habitats

Scotophilus kuhlii is a highly gregarious bat that thrives in anthropogenically altered habitats readily roosting in man-made structures. Although widespread, information on the ecology of S. kuhlii is very scarce in Southeast Asia. We conducted this study to determine if the females used the same day roost as a maternity roost in buildings in an agricultural and suburban habitat from July 2013 to April 2015. The females were found to use the same day roost as a maternity roost as the buildings provided a higher temperature and more stable thermal conditions as compared to the ambient temperature. We found that there was a significant positive relationship between roost microclimate and ambient microclimate. Based on the observation of the external body condition, females were found to be seasonally monoestrous. Our findings are useful for conservation and management of these synantrophic bats where natural roost sites are lacking and in managing human-bat conflicts

Mitochondrial P-Glycoprotein ATPase Contributes to Insecticide Resistance in the Cotton Bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)

Cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is one of the most damaging polyphagous pests worldwide, which has developed high levels of resistance to commonly applied insecticides. Mitochondrial P-glycoprotein (Pgp) was detected in the insecticide-resistant strain of H. armigera using C219 antibodies, and its possible role was demonstrated in the efflux of xenobiotic compounds using spectrofluorometer. The TMR accumulated in mitochondria in the absence of ATP, and effluxed out in presence of ATP; the process of efflux was inhibited in the presence of ortho-vandate, an inhibitor of Pgp, in insecticide-resistant larvae of H. armigera. The mitochondria isolated from insecticide-resistant larvae were resistant to insecticide-induced inhibition of oxygen consumption and cytochrome c release. Membrane potential decreased in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of higher concentration of insecticides (>50 µM) in mitochondria of insecticide-resistant larvae. In conclusion, mitochondrial Pgp ATPase detected in the insecticide-resistant larvae influenced the efflux of xenobiotic compounds. Pgp might be involved in protecting the mitochondrial DNA and the components of the electron transport chain from damage due to insecticides, and contributing to the resistance to the deleterious effects of insecticides on the growth of insecticide-resistant H. armigera larvae

f(R) theories

Over the past decade, f(R) theories have been extensively studied as one of the simplest modifications to General Relativity. In this article we review various applications of f(R) theories to cosmology and gravity - such as inflation, dark energy, local gravity constraints, cosmological perturbations, and spherically symmetric solutions in weak and strong gravitational backgrounds. We present a number of ways to distinguish those theories from General Relativity observationally and experimentally. We also discuss the extension to other modified gravity theories such as Brans-Dicke theory and Gauss-Bonnet gravity, and address models that can satisfy both cosmological and local gravity constraints.Comment: 156 pages, 14 figures, Invited review article in Living Reviews in Relativity, Published version, Comments are welcom

Influence of Stefan blowing on nanofluid flow submerged in microorganisms with leading edge accretion or ablation

The unsteady forced convective boundary layer flow of viscous incompressible fluid containing both nanoparticles and gyrotactic microorganisms, from a flat surface with leading edge accretion (or ablation), is investigated theoretically. Utilizing appropriate similarity transformations for the velocity, temperature, nanoparticle volume fraction and motile microorganism density, the governing conservation equations are rendered into a system of coupled, nonlinear, similarity ordinary differential equations. These equations, subjected to imposed boundary conditions, are solved numerically using the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg fourth-fifth order numerical method in the MAPLE symbolic software. Good agreement between our computations and previous solutions is achieved. The effect of selected parameters on flow velocity, temperature, nano-particle volume fraction (concentration) and motile microorganism density function is investigated. Furthermore, tabular solutions are included for skin friction, wall heat transfer rate, nano-particle mass transfer rate and microorganism transfer rate. Applications of the study arise in advanced micro-flow devices to assess nanoparticle toxicity

Is Malaysia’s banded langur, Presbytis femoralis femoralis, actually Presbytis neglectus neglectus? Taxonomic revision with new insights on the radiation history of the Presbytis species group in Southeast Asia

The disjunct distribution of Presbytis femoralis subspecies across Sumatra (P. f. percura), southern (P. f. femoralis) and northern (P. f. robinsoni) Peninsular Malaysia marks the unique vicariance events in the Sunda Shelf. However, the taxonomic positions and evolutionary history of P. f. femoralis are unresolved after decades of research. To elucidate this evolutionary history, we analyzed 501 base pairs of the mitochondrial HVSI gene from 25 individuals representing Malaysia’s banded langur, with the addition of 29 sequences of Asian Presbytis from Genbank. Our results revealed closer affinity of P. f. femoralis to P. m. mitrata and P. m. sumatrana while maintaining the monophyletic state of P. f. femoralis as compared to P. f. robinsoni. Two central theses were inferred from the results; (1) P. f. femoralis does not belong in the same species classification as P. f. robinsoni, and (2) P. f. femoralis is the basal lineage of the Presbytis in Peninsular Malaysia. Proving the first hypothesis through genetic analysis, we reassigned P. f. femoralis of Malaysia to Presbytis neglectus (Schlegel’s banded langur) (Schlegel in Revue Methodique, Museum d’Histoire Naturelle des Pays-Bas 7:1, 1876) following the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (article 23.3). The ancestors of P. neglectus are hypothesized to have reached southern Peninsular Malaysia during the Pleistocene and survived in refugium along the western coast. Consequently, they radiated upward, forming P. f. robinsoni and P. siamensis resulting in the highly allopatric distribution in Peninsular Malaysia. This study has successfully resolved the taxonomic position of P. neglectus in Peninsular Malaysia while providing an alternative biogeographic theory for the Asian Presbytis