Pre-harvest spray of GABA and spermine delays postharvest senescence and alleviates chilling injury of gerbera cut flowers during cold storage.

Short vase life, capitulum wilting, neck bending, and postharvest chilling injury (CI) are major disorders have negative impact on quality and marketing of gerbera cut flowers. Low storage temperatures prolonging the vase life, but on the other hand leads serious CI which decreases the quality and consumer preferences. Spermine (SPER) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were identified as anti-aging factors delay the senescence and elevate the chilling tolerance in many species. Greenhouse-grown gerbera cv. 'Stanza' sprayed with 2 mM SPER and 1 mM GABA twice (2 T) or thrice (3 T). Cut flowers were stored at 1.5 °C and 8 °C postharvest to study the effects of GABA and SPER on senescence and CI. Vase life, CI and quality of cut flowers were improved by GABA and SPER treatments. No CI was observed in GABA-treated flowers at 1.5 °C; while, flowers sprayed with water showed severe CI. GABA treatments efficiently prolonged the vase life for 6-7 days more than the control (15 days). GABA and SPER increased the fresh weight, solution uptake, protein and proline contents, catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase activities, while decreased the electrolyte leakage, H2O2, and malondialdehyde contents, polyphenol oxidase, lipoxygenase, and phospholipase D activities. GABA and SPER significantly prolonged the vase life and prevented degradation of proteins and chilling damage and increased capacity of detoxifying and scavenging of H2O2 and reactive oxygen species (ROS), led to alleviate the negative consequences of the senescence and CI.

Solitary osteochondroma arising in lumbar spinous process: Case report.

Solitary osteochondromas rarely occur in the axial skeleton. Those tumors mostly arise on the posterior elements of the cervical column causing various symptoms especially when developing within the spinal canal. Exophytic lumbar variety is uncommon presenting with palpable mass or spinal deformity. We report a 20-year-old man presenting with a solid painless mass at the lower lumbar region. Radiological examinations revealed an exophytic lesion arising in the third lumbar spinous process appearing to be a solitary osteochondroma. The lesion was treated by en-bloc resection; histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of osteochondroma with no evidence of recurrence at the end of 2-year follow up.

Molecular genetic diversity of Satureja bachtiarica.

Fifty-seven genotypes from eight population of Satureja bachtiarica was evaluated using fifteen ISSR and eleven RAPD markers. DNA profiling using RAPD primers amplified 84 loci, among which 81 were polymorphic with an average of 7.36 polymorphic fragments per locus. Also, using RAPD markers maximum and minimum polymorphic bands observed for Semyrom (77.38 %) and Farsan (40.48 %) populations, respectively. Semyrom population recorded the highest unbiased expected heterozygosity (0.259) and Shannon's Indices (0.38). While, the lowest values of unbiased expected heterozygosity (0.172) and Shannon's Index (0.245) were recorded for Eghlid and Farsan populations, respectively. On the other hand, ISSR primers produced 136 bands, from which 134 were polymorphic with an average of 9.06 polymorphic fragments per primer (98.52 %). The ISSR markers evaluation revealed that maximum and minimum polymorphic bands observed for Semyrom (66.18 %) and Farsan (31.62 %), respectively. Shahrekorud population recorded the highest unbiased expected heterozygosity (0.211) and Shannon's Indices (0.301). While, the lowest value of unbiased expected heterozygosity (0.175) observed for Farsan and Yazd populations and the lowest Shannon's Index (0.191) recorded by Farsan population. The overall results of the study revealed that both ISSR and RAPD markers were effective for evaluation of genetic variation of S. bachtiarica.

In vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of black thyme (Thymbra spicata L.) essential oils.

In order to study antimicrobial effects of essential oils of Wild Thyme (Thymbra spicata L.) on two Gram positive bacteria (Streptococcus agalactiae RJTTC1978 and Staphylococcus aureus RJTTC1885) and two Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli RJTTC2409 and Klebsiella pneumoniae RJTTC1097), the research carried out with five concentrations (0.2, 2, 4, 10 and 20 microl) using disk diffusion and microbroth dilution (to determine MIC and MBC) methods at Ilam University during 2010. Tetracycline and Gentamicin discs were used as control. Chemical composition of the EOs was analyzed by GC-MS. Antioxidant activity of the essential oils (EOs) was measured following DPPH assay. Results showed that Carvacrol (60.36%), gamma-Terpinene (15.09%), beta-Myrcene (2.15%), trans-Caryophyllene (1.78%) and alpha-Thujene (1.54%) were the main components of the oils. Evaluation of antimicrobial activity revealed that the oils were active against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. However, the biggest growth inhibitory zone (33.34 +/- 0.5 mm) was recorded on Streptococcus agalactiae at 20 microl/ml concentration. The lowest MIC (3.12 microl/ml) observed for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus agalactiae, while minimum MBC (6.25 microl/ml) recorded on Klebsiella pneumoniae. Radical-scavenging ability of the EOs and BHT ranged from 9.93 +/- 2.57 to 77.81 +/- 1.3% and 80.48 +/- 0.56 to 10.66 +/- 1.11%, respectively. The inhibiting effect of Thymbra oils was stronger than the synthetic BHT, particularly at lower concentrations, as IC50 concentration of EOs for the reduction of DPPH radicals was 1.28 microl/ml which was lower than IC50 calculated for BHT (1.31 microl/ml). The total phenolic content, determined according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method, was 1.52 +/- 0.15 mg PyE/ml EOs.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor treatment provides neuroprotection in surgically induced brain injured mice.

Surgically induced brain injury (SBI) is a common concern after a neurosurgical procedure. Current treatments aimed at reducing the postoperative sequela are limited. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), a hematopoietic growth factor involved in the inflammatory process, has been shown in various animal models to be neuroprotective. Consequently, in this study, we investigated the use of G-CSF as a treatment modality to reduce cell death and brain edema, while improving neurobehavioral deficits following an SBI in mice. Eleven-week-old C57 black mice (n=76) were randomly placed into four groups: sham (n=19), SBI (n=21), SBI with G-CSF pre-treatment (n=15) and SBI with G-CSF pre/post-treatment (n=21). Treated groups received a single dose of G-CSF intraperitoneally at 24, 12 and 1 h pre-surgery and/or 6 and 12 h post-surgery. Postoperative assessment occurred at 24 h and included neurobehavioral testing and measurement for both cell death and brain edema. Results indicated that pre-treatment with G-CSF reduced both cell death and brain edema, while post-treatment reduced neurobehavioral deficits. This study implies that the morphological changes in the brain are effected by pre-treatment; however, in order to activate and/or amplify targets involved in the recovery process, more dosing regimens may be needed.