RESUMEN
Cucumber grafting has been used in Egypt recently to induce soil diseases tolerance. The impact of various grafting techniques on the vulnerability of grafted cucumber seedlings to Fusarium which stimulates the stem rot was investigated. Consequently, the anatomical and physiological studies were carried out on the diseased and healthy grafted cucumber seedlings, comparing with the non-grafted ones. Fusarium equiseti (MW216971.1) caused a severe stem rot of the grafted seedling through affecting the connection area of the different grafting methods, leading to complete seedling death. The hole insertion grafting method significantly exhibited the highest diseases incidence (100%), and mean disease severity index (5) when inoculated with F. equiseti. The pathogen remarkably affected the graft union area causing tissue discoloration and decay. The levels of antioxidant enzymes and total phenols were significantly enhanced in the diseased grafted and self-rooted cucumber. However, the diseased grafted cucumber recorded significantly the highest values of the antioxidant enzymes activities and total phenolic content when compared with the self-rooted ones. The results of SDS-PAGE profile revealed variations in the leaves protein profile of the grafted and self- rooted seedlings in response to Fusarium infection. Taken together, grafting cucumber onto a resistant rootstock using the splice technique can alleviate the stem rot severity caused by Fusarium spp. by enhancing the histological, physiological and molecular defense response of the grafted seedling.
RESUMEN
The progression of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is characterized by extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, leading to structural abnormalities and improper valve function. The focus of the present study was to relate aortic valve leaflet axial curvature changes as a function of elastin degradation, which has been associated with CAVD. Circumferential rectangular strips (L × W = 10 × 2.5 mm) of normal and elastin-degraded (via enzymatic digestion) porcine AV leaflets were subjected to cyclic flexure (1 Hz). A significant increase in mean curvature (p < 0.05) was found in elastin-degraded leaflet specimens in comparison to un-degraded controls at both the semi-constrained (50% of maximum flexed state during specimen bending and straightening events) and fully-constrained (maximally-flexed) states. This significance did not occur in all three flexed configurations when measurements were performed using either minimum or maximum curvature. Moreover, the mean curvature increase in the elastin-degraded leaflets was most pronounced at the instance of maximum flexure, compared to un-degraded controls. We conclude that the mean axial curvature metric can detect distinct spatial changes in aortic valve ECM arising from the loss in bulk content and/or structure of elastin, particularly when there is a high degree of tissue bending. Therefore, the instance of maximum leaflet flexure during the cardiac cycle could be targeted for mean curvature measurements and serve as a potential biomarker for elastin degradation in early CAVD remodeling.
RESUMEN
A child with clinicopathological features of eosinophilic fasciitis terminated in progressive systemic sclerosis. The clinical and laboratory similarities and disparities between these two conditions are presented.
