Effect of NPK-SRFS on the Growth, Yield and Essential Oil Composition of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.).

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Basil (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L.), an aromatic herb, is considered one of the most important crops with essential oils as well as other bioactive compounds. Basil leaves have tremendous pharmaceutical benefits and are used for foods. Slow-release fertilizers have been developed to optimize the fertilization of crops. This work aims to discover the effect of NPK Slow-Release Fertilizer Coated by Starch (NPK-SRFS) at different rates on growth, yield and essential oil components of basil grown on the field in Northern Vietnam. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Basil seedlings, sown from seeds, were used as plant materials. NPK-SRFS was stocked in the Faculty of Chemistry, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. The experiments were designed in a fully randomized block model, consisting of four treatments with different rates of NPK-SRFS. Each treatment had three replicates with an area of 8 m². Duncan's Multiple Range Test was being used for statistical analysis (p = 0.05). <b>Results:</b> All 3 NPK-SRFS treatments significantly increased the number of buds and leaves per plant compared to the control. However, NPK-SRFS at different rates affected diversely plant height and leaf area of the basil. F5.0 and F10 treatments accelerated chlorophyll content as well as Fv/Fm value in comparison with none NPK-SRFS treatment. The application of NPK-SRFS at different rates caused slightly different changes in basil essential oil composition, especially the content of Methyl Chavicol, the most abundant oxygenated monoterpene and α-trans-Bergamotene, the most abundant sesquiterpene hydrocarbon. <b>Conclusion:</b> The present study provides further insight into the influence of NPK-SRFS on the growth, yield and essential oil components of basil.

Proinflammatory Cytokines Are Modulated in Vietnamese Patients with Dengue Fever.

The clinical outcome of dengue is due to a complex interplay between dengue virus (DENV) and host immune factors, including complement and cytokine systems. Proinflammatory cytokines are mainly produced by monocytes in response to infectious pathogens. This study investigated the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), and IL-12 in Vietnamese patients with dengue, and their correlations with the clinical outcome of dengue infection in 156 patients clinically classified as dengue without warning signs (DWS-, n = 87), dengue with warning signs (DWS+, n = 62), and severe dengue (SD, n = 7) patients as well as in 60 healthy controls (HCs). Serum TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-12 levels were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-12 levels were significantly increased in dengue patients compared with HCs (p < 0.0001). TNF-α levels were significantly correlated with white blood cells and platelet counts (rs = 0.52, 0.2; p < 0.0001, p = 0.018, respectively). IL-1ß levels were correlated with red blood cells counts and the levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (rs = 0.23, 0.21, 0.23; p = 0.004, 0.012, 0.005, respectively). The results suggest that these three proinflammatory cytokines are associated with the clinical outcome of dengue and could play roles in the pathogenesis of the disease.

A comparison of non-viral vectors for gene delivery to pancreatic beta-cells: delivering a hypoxia-inducible vascular endothelial growth factor gene to rat islets.

Although non-viral vectors are relatively safe, they have very low gene transfection efficiency, especially in pancreatic islet cells. To provide information on the use of non-viral vectors for transfecting genes into pancreatic islet cells, a comparative evaluation of non-viral options was performed. In vitro experiments were used to compare the transfection efficiency of three classes of non-viral vectors: Effectene, polyethylenimine (PEI, 25 kDa) and hemagglutinating virus of Japan-envelope (HVJ-E), into insulinoma cells (INS-1) and rat islets. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene with hypoxia-inducible RTP801 promoter was delivered into rat islets with Effectene and VEGF secretion under hypoxia was measured in the culture media. Luciferase activity and GFP assays indicated that Effectene exhibited the highest transfection efficiency, and HVJ-E was not suitable for transfection into pancreatic beta-cells. The cytotoxicity of Effectene was found to be similar to that of 25-kDa PEI by 7-amino actinomycin D (7-AAD) flow cytometry and acridine orange/propidium iodide (AO/PI) assays. When RTP801 promoter-VEGF plasmid was delivered to rat islets with Effectene, VEGF secretion increased specifically in islets under hypoxia. In conclusion, Effectene showed higher gene-delivery efficiency for pancreatic islets compared with other classes of non-viral delivery systems and is promising as a gene delivery agent for pretransplant ex vivo gene therapy of islets.