Study of fungicidal properties of colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on trout egg pathogen, Saprolegnia sp.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are known to have bactericidal and fungicidal effects. Since, there is few information available on the interaction of colloidal nanosilver with fish pathogens. Hence, the current study investigated the effects of colloidal AgNPs on the in vitro growth of the fish pathogen Saprolegnia sp.. Before the experiments, various important properties of AgNPs were well-characterized. The antifungal activity of AgNPs was then evaluated by determining the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) using two-fold serial dilutions of colloidal nanosilver in a glucose yeast extract agar at 22ºC. The growth of Saprolegnia sp. on the AgNPs agar treatments was compared to that of nanosilver-free agar as controls. The results showed that AgNPs have an inhibitory effect on the in vitro growth of the tested fungi. The MIC of AgNPs for Saprolegnia sp. was calculated at 1800 mg/L, which is equal to 0.18 percent. It seems that AgNPs could be a proper replacement for teratogenic and toxic agents, such as malachite green. In addition, the indirect use of AgNPs could be a useful method for providing new antifungal activity in aquaculture systems

Nutritional and ameliorative effects of dietary curcumin and its nano-silica and nano-zeolite encapsulated forms on growth, biochemical and fatty acid profile of common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

The present study aimed to examine individual nutritional and ameliorative effects of silica nanoparticles (SiO(2)NPs) and natural zeolite nanoparticles (ZeNPs) and their potential role as carriers to alter the bioavailability of curcumin. Common carps (Cyprinus carpio) were fed during 60 days with a control diet, and curcumin, turmeric, SiO(2)NPs, curcumin-loaded SiO(2)NPs, ZeNPs, and curcumin-loaded ZeNPs each at 1, 50, 6.15, 7.15, 39, and 40 g/kg diet, respectively. The highest weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) were observed in fish fed with turmeric (P < 0.05). Moreover, dietary curcumin and ZeNPs increased the content of monounsaturated fatty acids (P < 0.05). After exposure to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), the lowest amount of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was obtained in fish fed with curcumin (P < 0.05). In addition, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) decreased significantly in the negative control, curcumin, and curcumin-loaded SiO(2)NPs treatments in comparison to the positive control group (P < 0.05). The lowest silver accumulation was observed in the negative control and SiO(2)NPs groups (P < 0.05). This experiment demonstrated that while the nanoencapsulation of curcumin on SiO(2)NPs and ZeNPs did not enhanced the impact of curcumin on the growth and biochemical factors of carps, it can still be considered a potential dietary supplement for enhancing growth and antioxidant indices when added individually to the diet.GRC97-06503-1info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Subchronic oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles has resulted in their extensive application in health, electronic, consumer, medicinal, pesticide, and home products; however, silver nanoparticles remain a controversial area of research with respect to their toxicity in biological and ecological systems.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study tested the oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles (56 nm) over a period of 13 weeks (90 days) in F344 rats following Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guideline 408 and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). Five-week-old rats, weighing about 99 g for the males and 92 g for the females, were divided into four 4 groups (10 rats in each group): vehicle control, low-dose (30 mg/kg), middle-dose (125 mg/kg), and high-dose (500 mg/kg). After 90 days of exposure, clinical chemistry, hematology, histopathology, and silver distribution were studied. There was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the body weight of male rats after 4 weeks of exposure, although there were no significant changes in food or water consumption during the study period. Significant dose-dependent changes were found in alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol for the male and female rats, indicating that exposure to more than 125 mg/kg of silver nanoparticles may result in slight liver damage. Histopathologic examination revealed a higher incidence of bile-duct hyperplasia, with or without necrosis, fibrosis, and/or pigmentation, in treated animals. There was also a dose-dependent accumulation of silver in all tissues examined. A gender-related difference in the accumulation of silver was noted in the kidneys, with a twofold increase in female kidneys compared to male kidneys.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The target organ for the silver nanoparticles was found to be the liver in both the male and female rats. A NOAEL (no observable adverse effect level) of 30 mg/kg and LOAEL (lowest observable adverse effect level) of 125 mg/kg are suggested from the present study.</p

Subchronic inhalation toxicity of gold nanoparticles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gold nanoparticles are widely used in consumer products, including cosmetics, food packaging, beverages, toothpaste, automobiles, and lubricants. With this increase in consumer products containing gold nanoparticles, the potential for worker exposure to gold nanoparticles will also increase. Only a few studies have produced data on the <it>in vivo </it>toxicology of gold nanoparticles, meaning that the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of gold nanoparticles remain unclear.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The toxicity of gold nanoparticles was studied in Sprague Dawley rats by inhalation. Seven-week-old rats, weighing approximately 200 g (males) and 145 g (females), were divided into 4 groups (10 rats in each group): fresh-air control, low-dose (2.36 × 10⁴particle/cm³, 0.04 μg/m³), middle-dose (2.36 × 10⁵particle/cm³, 0.38 μg/m³), and high-dose (1.85 × 10⁶particle/cm³, 20.02 μg/m³). The animals were exposed to gold nanoparticles (average diameter 4-5 nm) for 6 hours/day, 5 days/week, for 90-days in a whole-body inhalation chamber. In addition to mortality and clinical observations, body weight, food consumption, and lung function were recorded weekly. At the end of the study, the rats were subjected to a full necropsy, blood samples were collected for hematology and clinical chemistry tests, and organ weights were measured. Cellular differential counts and cytotoxicity measurements, such as albumin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and total protein were also monitored in a cellular bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Among lung function test measurements, tidal volume and minute volume showed a tendency to decrease comparing control and dose groups during the 90-days of exposure. Although no statistically significant differences were found in cellular differential counts, histopathologic examination showed minimal alveoli, an inflammatory infiltrate with a mixed cell type, and increased macrophages in the high-dose rats. Tissue distribution of gold nanoparticles showed a dose-dependent accumulation of gold in only lungs and kidneys with a gender-related difference in gold nanoparticles content in kidneys.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Lungs were the only organ in which there were dose-related changes in both male and female rats. Changes observed in lung histopathology and function in high-dose animals indicate that the highest concentration (20 μg/m³) is a LOAEL and the middle concentration (0.38 μg/m³) is a NOAEL for this study.</p

Higher-order renormalization of graphene many-body theory

We study the many-body theory of graphene Dirac quasiparticles interacting via the long-range Coulomb potential, taking as a starting point the ladder approximation to different vertex functions. We test in this way the low-energy behavior of the electron system beyond the simple logarithmic dependence of electronic correlators on the high-energy cutoff, which is characteristic of the large-N approximation. We show that the graphene many-body theory is perfectly renormalizable in the ladder approximation, as all higher powers in the cutoff dependence can be absorbed into the redefinition of a finite number of parameters (namely, the Fermi velocity and the weight of the fields) that remain free of infrared divergences even at the charge neutrality point. We illustrate this fact in the case of the vertex for the current density, where a complete cancellation between the cutoff dependences of vertex and electron self-energy corrections becomes crucial for the preservation of the gauge invariance of the theory. The other potentially divergent vertex corresponds to the staggered (sublattice odd) charge density, which is made cutoff independent by a redefinition in the scale of the density operator. This allows to compute a well-defined, scale invariant anomalous dimension to all orders in the ladder series, which becomes singular at a value of the interaction strength marking the onset of chiral symmetry breaking (and gap opening) in the Dirac field theory. The critical coupling we obtain in this way matches with great accuracy the value found with a quite different method, based on the resolution of the gap equation, thus reassuring the predictability of our renormalization approach.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, references adde

The Impact of Fasciation on Maize Inflorescence Architecture

How functional genetics research can be applied to improving crop yields is a timely challenge. One of the most direct methods is to produce larger inflorescences with higher productivity, which should be accompanied by a balance between stem cell proliferation and lateral organ initiation in meristems. Unbalanced proliferation of stem cells causes the fasciated inflorescences, which reflect the abnormal proliferation of meristems, derived from the Latin word ‘fascis’, meaning ‘bundle’. Maize, a model system for grain crops, has shown tremendous yield improvements through the mysterious transformation of the female inflorescence during domestication. In this review, we focus on maize inflorescence architecture and highlight the patterns of fasciation, including recent progress

Downregulated miR-18b-5p triggers apoptosis by inhibition of calcium signaling and neuronal cell differentiation in transgenic SOD1 (G93A) mice and SOD1 (G17S and G86S) ALS patients

Abstract Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and are key modulators in neurodegenerative diseases. Overexpressed miRNAs play an important role in ALS; however, the pathogenic mechanisms of deregulated miRNAs are still unclear. Methods We aimed to assess the dysfunction of RNAs or miRNAs in fALS (SOD1 mutations). We compared the RNA-seq of subcellular fractions in NSC-34 WT (hSOD1) and MT (hSOD1 (G93A)) cells to find altered RNAs or miRNAs. We identified that Hif1α and Mef2c were upregulated, and Mctp1 and Rarb were downregulated in the cytoplasm of NSC-34 MT cells. Results SOD1 mutations decreased the level of miR-18b-5p. Induced Hif1α which is the target for miR-18b increased Mef2c expression as a transcription factor. Mef2c upregulated miR-206 as a transcription factor. Inhibition of Mctp1 and Rarb which are targets of miR-206 induces intracellular Ca2+ levels and reduces cell differentiation, respectively. We confirmed that miR-18b-5p pathway was also observed in G93A Tg, fALS (G86S) patient, and iPSC-derived motor neurons from fALS (G17S) patient. Conclusions Our data indicate that SOD1 mutation decreases miR-18b-5p, which sequentially regulates Hif1α, Mef2c, miR-206, Mctp1 and Rarb in fALS-linked SOD1 mutation. These results provide new insights into the downregulation of miR-18b-5p dependent pathogenic mechanisms of ALS

Gene expression profiling in the lung tissue of cynomolgus monkeys in response to repeated exposure to welding fumes

Many in the welding industry suffer from bronchitis, lung function changes, metal fume fever, and diseases related to respiratory damage. These phenomena are associated with welding fumes; however, the mechanism behind these findings remains to be elucidated. In this study, the lungs of cynomolgus monkeys were exposed to MMA-SS welding fumes for 229 days and allowed to recover for 153 days. After the exposure and recovery period, gene expression profiles were investigated using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Human U133 plus 2.0. In total, it was confirmed that 1,116 genes were up-or down-regulated (over 2-fold changes, P < 0.01) for the T1 (31.4 ± 2.8 mg/m3) and T2 (62.5 ± 2.7 mg/m3) dose groups. Differentially expressed genes in the exposure and recovery groups were analyzed, based on hierarchical clustering, and were imported into Ingenuity Pathways Analysis to analyze the biological and toxicological functions. Functional analysis identified genes involved in immunological disease in both groups. Additionally, differentially expressed genes in common between monkeys and rats following welding fume exposure were compared using microarray data, and the gene expression of selected genes was verified by real-time PCR. Genes such as CHI3L1, RARRES1, and CTSB were up-regulated and genes such as CYP26B1, ID4, and NRGN were down-regulated in both monkeys and rats following welding fume exposure. This is the first comprehensive gene expression profiling conducted for welding fume exposure in monkeys, and these expressed genes are expected to be useful in helping to understand transcriptional changes in monkey lungs after welding fume exposure

Transposon Ac/Ds-induced chromosomal rearrangements at the rice OsRLG5 locus

Previous studies have shown that pairs of closely-linked Ac/Ds transposable elements can induce various chromosomal rearrangements in plant genomes. To study chromosomal rearrangements in rice, we isolated a line (OsRLG5-161) that contains two inversely-oriented Ds insertions in OsRLG5 (Oryza sativa Receptor like kinase Gene 5). Among approximately 300 plants regenerated from OsRLG5-161 heterozygous seeds, 107 contained rearrangements including deletions, duplications and inversions of various sizes. Most rearrangements were induced by previously identified alternative transposition mechanism. Furthermore, we also detected a new class of rearrangements that contain juxtaposed inversions and deletions on the same chromosome. We propose that these novel alleles were generated by a previously unreported type of alternative transposition reactions involving the 5′ and 3′ termini of two inversely-oriented Ds elements located on the same chromatid. Finally, 11% of rearrangements contained inversions resulting from homologous recombination between the two inverted Ds elements in OsRLG5-161. The high frequency inheritance and great variety of rearrangements obtained suggests that the rice regeneration system results in a burst of transposition activity and a relaxation of the controls which normally limit the transposition competence of individual Ds termini. Together, these results demonstrate a greatly enlarged potential of the Ac/Ds system for plant chromosome engineering

Computational Design of Auxotrophy-Dependent Microbial Biosensors for Combinatorial Metabolic Engineering Experiments

Combinatorial approaches in metabolic engineering work by generating genetic diversity in a microbial population followed by screening for strains with improved phenotypes. One of the most common goals in this field is the generation of a high rate chemical producing strain. A major hurdle with this approach is that many chemicals do not have easy to recognize attributes, making their screening expensive and time consuming. To address this problem, it was previously suggested to use microbial biosensors to facilitate the detection and quantification of chemicals of interest. Here, we present novel computational methods to: (i) rationally design microbial biosensors for chemicals of interest based on substrate auxotrophy that would enable their high-throughput screening; (ii) predict engineering strategies for coupling the synthesis of a chemical of interest with the production of a proxy metabolite for which high-throughput screening is possible via a designed bio-sensor. The biosensor design method is validated based on known genetic modifications in an array of E. coli strains auxotrophic to various amino-acids. Predicted chemical production rates achievable via the biosensor-based approach are shown to potentially improve upon those predicted by current rational strain design approaches. (A Matlab implementation of the biosensor design method is available via http://www.cs.technion.ac.il/~tomersh/tools)