Hepatitis C virus quasispecies in cancerous and noncancerous hepatic lesions: the core protein-encoding region.

We have shown that highly proofreading DNA polymerase is required for the polymerase chain reaction in the genetic analysis of hepatitis C virus (HCV). To clarify the status of HCV quasispecies in hepatic tissue using proofreading DNA polymerase, we performed a genetic analysis of the HCV core protein-encoding region in cancerous and noncancerous lesions derived from 4 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In contrast to the previously published data, we observed neither deletions nor stop codons in the analyzed region and no significant difference in the complexity of HCV quasispecies between cancerous and noncancerous lesions. This result suggests that the HCV core gene is never structurally defective in hepatic tissues, including cancerous lesions. However, in 3 of the patients, the consensus HCV species differed between cancerous and noncancerous lesions, suggesting that the predominant replicating HCV species differs between these 2 types of lesions. Moreover, during the course of the study, we obtained several interesting variants possessing a substitution at codon 9 of the core gene, whose substitution has been shown to induce the production of the F protein synthesized by a - 2/+1 ribosomal frameshift.</p

Effect of Protein Supplementation on Growth Performance in Female Goats and Sheep under Grazing Condition

Abstract: The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of protein supplementation on growth performance in female goats and sheep. Ten does and six ewes aged about 15 months and weighing on average, 13.9 and 14.4 kg respectively were studied in this experiment. Animals were allocated to two feeding regimes [low protein (LP), 168g and high protein (HP), 208g per kg DM] in a randomized block design according to live weight. HP diet did not significantly (p&gt;0.05) increase live weight gain (33.0 vs. 25.2 g/d) in goats. In contrast, sheep received the HP diet significantly (p&lt;0.05, p&lt;0.01) improved DM intake (509.0 vs. 425.9 g/d) and live weight gain (36.6 vs. 10.7 g/d) compared to those given the LP diet. These results indicate that supplementary feeding of high protein diet (208g CP per kg DM) significantly increased growth performance of sheep under grazing condition

Modification of Superabsorbent Hydrogels for Industrial Wastewater Treatment

A breakthrough in superabsorbent hydrogel (SAH) preparation was studied in the current issue by blending potato starch and acrylic acid for wastewater treatment. Gamma irradiation source (60Co irradiation) was used to irradiate SAH from 1 to 10 kGy dose at room temperature (~27°C). The swelling ratio, water absorption, equilibrium water content, and gel fraction properties of the hydrogel were investigated. The as-prepared hydrogel treated with KOH (THG) showed excellent absorption capacity but less mechanical stability compared to untreated hydrogel (UHG). The gel fraction of treated SAH was slightly lower in methanol, but the utmost in water at 5 kGy infers the proper grafting of SAH at this point. The prepared SAH was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) to investigate the surface morphology and molecular interaction, respectively. Moreover, this study’s focal point is to propose an alternative method to remove chromium and methylene blue by SAH from industrial wastewater. The Cr adsorption capacity of UHG was higher than that of THG because the proton’s replacement is easier than that of K by Cr. On the other hand, THG was found to be more efficient in removing methylene blue from industrial wastewater due to the presence of an easily ionized group (–COOK) in SAH. Therefore, the hydrogel can be proposed as a potential superabsorbent to remove heavy metals and organic dyes from industrial wastewater