Emergence of multidrug-resistant Bacillus spp. derived from animal feed, food and human diarrhea in South-Eastern Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance poses a huge risk to human health worldwide, while Bangladesh is confronting the most severe challenge between the food supply and the huge consumption of antibiotics annually. More importantly, probiotics containing Bacillus spp. are claimed to be an alternative to antimicrobial stewardship programs. However, their antibiotic resistance remains elusive. Thus, we employed the antimicrobial susceptibility test and PCR to assess the prevalence of resistance, including multidrug resistance (MDR) and resito-genotyping of isolated Bacillus spp. RESULTS: The phenotypic profile showed that Bacillus spp. were 100% sensitive to gentamicin (2 µg/mL), whereas lowered sensitivity to levofloxacin (67.8%, 0.5-1 µg/mL), ciprofloxacin (62.3%, 0.5-1 µg/mL), clindamycin (52.2%, 0.25-0.5 µg/mL), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (37.6%, 0.06 µg/mL), azithromycin (33.4%, 1-2 µg/mL), tetracycline (25.6%, 2-4 µg/mL), nitrofurantoin (21.1%, 16-32 µg/mL), co-trimoxazole (19.2%, 2 µg/mL), and erythromycin (18.8%, 0.25-0.5 µg/mL). The strains were completely resistant to penicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefixime, ceftriaxone, vancomycin, and co-trimoxazole, and a species-specific trend was seen in both phenotypic and genotypic resistance patterns. Genotypic resistance indicated prevalence of the bla1 (71.5%), tetA (33%), erm1 (27%), blaTEM (13.1%), blaCTX-M-1/blaCTX-M-2 /sul1 (10.1%), blaSHV (9.6%), and qnrS (4.1%) genes. The ß-lactamase resistance gene bla1 was found in all penicillin-resistant (MIC ≥ 32 µg/mL) Bacillus spp. One hundred ninety-one isolates (89.6%) were MDR, with 100% from diarrhea, 90.3% from food, and 88.7% from animal feed. CONCLUSION: Based on the MIC value and profile analysis of antibiotic resistance genes, this is the first study that Bacillus spp. antimicrobial susceptibilities have been identified in Bangladesh, and our study will shed light on the adverse effects of feed-borne Bacillus spp. emerging from animal feed to the food chain. A comprehensive investigation is urgently needed by policymakers on tolerance limits and harmful effects in the animal industry.

Carbohydrate-Binding Properties and Antimicrobial and Anticancer Potential of a New Lectin from the Phloem Sap of Cucurbita pepo.

A Cucurbita phloem exudate lectin (CPL) from summer squash (Cucurbita pepo) fruits was isolated and its sugar-binding properties and biological activities were studied. The lectin was purified by affinity chromatography and the hemagglutination assay method was used to determine its pH, heat stability, metal-dependency and sugar specificity. Antimicrobial and anticancer activities were also studied by disc diffusion assays and in vivo and in vitro methods. The molecular weight of CPL was 30 ± 1 KDa and it was stable at different pH (5.0 to 9.0) and temperatures (30 to 60 °C). CPL recovered its hemagglutination activity in the presence of Ca2+. 4-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside, lactose, rhamnose and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine strongly inhibited the activity. With an LC50 value of 265 µg/mL, CPL was moderately toxic and exhibited bacteriostatic, bactericidal and antibiofilm activities against different pathogenic bacteria. It also exhibited marked antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and agglutinated A. flavus spores. In vivo antiproliferative activity against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells in Swiss albino mice was observed when CPL exerted 36.44% and 66.66% growth inhibition at doses of 3.0 mg/kg/day and 6.0 mg/kg/day, respectively. A 12-day treatment by CPL could reverse their RBC and WBC counts as well as restore the hemoglobin percentage to normal levels. The MTT assay of CPL performed against human breast (MCF-7) and lung (A-549) cancer cell lines showed 29.53% and 18.30% of inhibitory activity at concentrations of 128 and 256 µg/mL, respectively.

Fuzzy logic, geostatistics, and multiple linear models to evaluate irrigation metrics and their influencing factors in a drought-prone agricultural region.

The quality of water used for irrigation is one of the major threats to maintaining the long-term sustainability of agricultural practices. Although some studies have addressed the suitability of irrigation water in different parts of Bangladesh, the irrigation water quality in the drought-prone region has yet to be thoroughly studied using integrated novel approaches. This study aims to assess the suitability of irrigation water in the drought-prone agricultural region of Bangladesh using traditional irrigation metrics such as sodium percentage (NA%), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), Kelley's ratio (KR), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), total hardness (TH), permeability index (PI), and soluble sodium percentage (SSP), along with novel irrigation indices such as irrigation water quality index (IWQI) and fuzzy irrigation water quality index (FIWQI). Thirty-eight water samples were taken from tube wells, river systems, streamlets, and canals in agricultural areas, then analyzed for cations and anions. The multiple linear regression model predicted that SAR (0.66), KR (0.74), and PI (0.84) were the primary important elements influencing electrical conductivity (EC). Based on the IWQI, all water samples fall into the "suitable" category for irrigation. The FIWQI suggests that 75% of the groundwater and 100% of the surface water samples are excellent for irrigation. The semivariogram model indicates that most irrigation metrics have moderate to low spatial dependence, suggesting strong agricultural and rural influence. Redundancy analysis shows that Na+, Ca2+, Cl-, K+, and HCO3- in water increase with decreasing temperature. Surface water and some groundwater in the southwestern and southeastern parts are suitable for irrigation. The northern and central parts are less suitable for agriculture because of elevated K+ and Mg2+ levels. This study determines irrigation metrics for regional water management and pinpoints suitable areas in the drought-prone region, which provides a comprehensive understanding of sustainable water management and actionable steps for stakeholders and decision-makers.

Amentoflavone derivatives significantly act towards the main protease (3CLPRO/MPRO) of SARS-CoV-2: in silico admet profiling, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, network pharmacology.

SARS-CoV-2 is the foremost culprit of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (nCoV-19 and/or simply COVID-19) and poses a threat to the continued life of humans on the planet and create pandemic issue globally. The 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (MPRO or 3CLPRO) is the crucial protease enzyme of SARS-CoV-2, which directly involves the processing and release of translated non-structural proteins (nsps), and therefore involves the development of virus pathogenesis along with outbreak the forecasting of COVID-19 symptoms. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 infections can be inhibited by plant-derived chemicals like amentoflavone derivatives, which could be used to develop an anti-COVID-19 drug. Our research study is designed to conduct an in silico analysis on derivatives of amentoflavone (isoginkgetin, putraflavone, 4''''''-methylamentoflavone, bilobetin, ginkgetin, sotetsuflavone, sequoiaflavone, heveaflavone, kayaflavone, and sciadopitysin) for targeting the non-structural protein of SARS-CoV-2, and subsequently further validate to confirm their antiviral ability. To conduct all the in silico experiments with the derivatives of amentoflavone against the MPRO protein, both computerized tools and online servers were applied; notably the software used is UCSF Chimera (version 1.14), PyRx, PyMoL, BIOVIA Discovery Studio tool (version 4.5), YASARA (dynamics simulator), and Cytoscape. Besides, as part of the online tools, the SwissDME and pKCSM were employed. The research study was proposed to implement molecular docking investigations utilizing compounds that were found to be effective against the viral primary protease (MPRO). MPRO protein interacted strongly with 10 amentoflavone derivatives. Every time, amentoflavone compounds outperformed the FDA-approved antiviral medicine that is currently underused in COVID-19 in terms of binding affinity (- 8.9, - 9.4, - 9.7, - 9.1, - 9.3, - 9.0, - 9.7, - 9.3, - 8.8, and - 9.0 kcal/mol, respectively). The best-selected derivatives of amentoflavone also possessed potential results in 100 ns molecular dynamic simulation (MDS) validation. It is conceivable that based on our in silico research these selected amentoflavone derivatives more precisely 4''''''-methylamentoflavone, ginkgetin, and sequoiaflavone have potential for serving as promising lead drugs against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In consequence, it is recommended that additional in vitro as well as in vivo research studies have to be conducted to support the conclusions of this current research study.

Smart Crop Cultivation System Using Automated Agriculture Monitoring Environment in the Context of Bangladesh Agriculture.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a transformative technology that is reshaping industries and daily life, leading us towards a connected future that is full of possibilities and innovations. In this paper, we present a robust framework for the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technology in the agricultural sector in Bangladesh. The framework encompasses the integration of IoT, data mining techniques, and cloud monitoring systems to enhance productivity, improve water management, and provide real-time crop forecasting. We conducted rigorous experimentation on the framework. We achieve an accuracy of 87.38% for the proposed model in predicting data harvest. Our findings highlight the effectiveness and transparency of the framework, underscoring the significant potential of the IoT in transforming agriculture and empowering farmers with data-driven decision-making capabilities. The proposed framework might be very impactful in real-life agriculture, especially for monsoon agriculture-based countries like Bangladesh.

Compounds from the Petroleum Ether Extract of Wedelia chinensis with Cytotoxic, Anticholinesterase, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activities.

Wedelia chinensis is a folk medicine used in many Asian countries to treat various ailments. Earlier investigations reported that the petroleum ether extract of the plant has potential biological activity, but the compounds responsible for activity are not yet completely known. Therefore, the current work was designed to isolate and characterize the compounds from the petroleum ether extract and to study their bioactivities. Four compounds including two diterepenes (-) kaur-16α-hydroxy-19-oic acid (1) and (-) kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (2), and two steroids ß-sitosterol (3), and cholesta-5,23-dien-3-ol (4) were isolated and characterized. Among the compounds, the diterpenes were found to have more biological activities than the steroidal compounds. Compound 1 showed the highest cytotoxicity with LC50 of 12.42 ± 0.87 µg/mL. Likewise, it possesses good antioxidant activity in terms of reducing power. On the contrary, compound 2 exerted the highest antiacetylcholinesterase and antibutyrylcholinesterase activity. Both the diterpenes showed almost similar antibacterial and antifungal activity. The identification of diterpenoid and steroid compounds with multifunctional activities suggests that W. chinensis may serve as an important source of bioactive compounds which should be further investigated in animal model for therapeutic potential in the treatment of different chronic diseases.

Perception and legacy of soil chromium and lead contamination in an operational small-scale coal mining community.

Operational small-scale coal mining (OSCM) is one of the most significant sources of chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) pollution in Bangladesh. Attempts to minimize or lessen the use of Cr and Pb in OSCM have shown unsatisfactory results, mainly because they need to address the sociotechnical complexity of pollution concerns in OSCM. This research adopts a multidisciplinary, sociotechnical approach to addressing Cr and Pb problems, coupling soil sampling for Cr and Pb with questionnaires of miners' and inhabitants' perceptions of pollution and its distribution. The study was undertaken in the Barapukuria coal basin in northwest Bangladesh. Except for mining areas (average of 49.80 ± 27.25 mg/kg), Cr levels in soils exceeded the world average in the periphery (73.34 ± 24.39 mg/kg, ~ 1.2 times) and residential areas (88.85 ± 35.87 mg/kg, 1.5 times the world standard of 59.5 mg/kg). Pb levels in soils exceeded national and global averages in mining (53.56 ± 37.62 mg/kg, ~ 1.9 times), periphery (35.05 ± 21.77 mg/kg, ~ 1.3 times), and residential areas (32.14 ± 26.59 mg/kg, ~ 1.2 times) when compared to Bangladesh and global standards of 20 and 27 mg/kg. Pb levels were highest in mining areas, while Cr concentrations were highest in residential areas. The questionnaire findings indicated that miners and inhabitants did not correctly assume that the highest levels of Cr and Pb pollution would be found in these areas. Among all respondents, 54% are unaware of the health impacts of prolonged Cr and Pb exposure. They face respiratory problems (38.6%), skin diseases (32.7%), and other health issues. A large number of people (66.6%) agreed with the fact that Cr and Pb contamination has an impact on drinking water. Cr and Pb pollution has caused 40% crop loss and a 36% decrease in productivity in the agricultural sector. However, respondents underestimated the level of Cr pollution in mining areas, and most assumed that only individuals working directly with mines were impacted by the Cr and Pb content. Participants also rated the reduction of Cr and Pb contamination as of low importance. There is less awareness of Cr and Pb pollution among miners and inhabitants. Sincere efforts to reduce Cr and Pb pollution will likely be met with extra attention and hostility.

Arachidonic acid supplementation attenuates adipocyte inflammation but not adiposity in high fat diet induced obese mice.

Obesity is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and has a remarkable role in the pathophysiology of metabolic complications. In triggering these inflammatory responses, the arachidonic acid (AA) cascade plays a key role. However, there is a lack of data on how supplementary AA would affect obesity, adipose tissue inflammation, and the AA cascade in obesity. This study aims to investigate how AA supplementation affects obesity, adipocyte morphology, inflammation, and AA cascade signaling. Male Swiss Albino mice were used in our experiment. The mice were fed high-fat diets to induce obesity, and these obese mice were treated with two different doses of AA for 3 weeks. A normal diet non-obese group and an untreated obese group were kept as controls. Bodyweight and daily food intake data were recorded during that period. After the treatment period, blood serum and white adipose tissue of the experimental mice were collected for colorimetric lipid profile tests, histology, and mRNA extraction. The ΔΔCT method was employed for calculating the relative mRNA expression of target genes. The findings of our study suggest that AA has no significant effects on body weight, visceral adiposity, adipose tissue morphology, and serum lipid profile. However, AA treatment has resulted in a significant down-regulation of pro-inflammatory markers as well as the COX pathway. Besides, up-regulation of 12/15-LOX has been observed, indicating the metabolism pathway of supplementary AA through the LOX pathway. Our findings indicate that AA treatment may not provide significant benefits in terms of body weight, visceral fat mass, or serum lipid profile. However, it has effectively alleviated obesity-induced adipocyte inflammation in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.

Aspirin attenuates the expression of adhesion molecules, risk of obesity, and adipose tissue inflammation in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate and keeps on being one of the significant challenges of this century. Obesity promotes adipose tissue hypertrophy and causes the release of different pro-inflammatory cytokines, playing a significant role in the pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome. Aspirin is known as a potent anti-inflammatory drug, but its role in adipogenesis, adipocyte-specific inflammation, and metabolic syndrome is not well characterized. Thus, in this experiment, we aimed to determine the effect of low-dose aspirin on obesity, obesity-induced inflammation, and metabolic syndrome. High-fat diet-induced obese female mice (Swiss Albino) were used in our study. Mice were fed on a normal diet, a high-fat diet, and a low dose of aspirin (LDA) in the presence of a high-fat diet for 11 weeks. Body weight, lipid profile, adipose tissue size, and inflammatory status were analyzed after that period. The ∆∆CT method was used to calculate the relative mRNA expression of target genes. Treatment with a low dose of aspirin resulted in a significant reduction of body weight, visceral fat mass and serum total cholesterols, serum and adipose tissue triglycerides, and blood glucose levels in high-fat diet-induced obese mice compared to the untreated obese group. Consistent with these biochemical results, a significant reduction in mRNA expression of different genes like PPARγ, GLUT4, IL-6, TNFα, MCP-1, ICAM-I, and VCAM-I associated with adipogenesis and inflammation were noticed. Overall, current study findings indicate that low-dose aspirin reduces obesity, hyperlipidemia, adipocyte-specific inflammation, and metabolic syndrome in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.

Gender-related influences on adherence to advice and treatment-seeking guidance for infants and young children post-hospital discharge in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Post-hospital discharge mortality risk is high among young children in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The available literature suggests that child, caregiver and health care provider gender all play important roles in post-discharge adherence to medical advice, treatment-seeking and recovery for ill children in LMICs, including those with undernutrition. METHODS: A qualitative study was embedded within a larger multi-country multi-disciplinary observational cohort study involving children aged less than 2 years conducted by the Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) Network. Primary data were collected from family members of 22 purposively selected cohort children. Family members were interviewed several times in their homes over the 6 months following hospital discharge (total n = 78 visits to homes). These in-depth interviews were complemented by semi-structured individual interviews with 6 community representatives, 11 community health workers and 12 facility-based health workers, and three group discussions with a total of 24 community representatives. Data were analysed using NVivo11 software, using both narrative and thematic approaches. RESULTS: We identified gender-related influences at health service/system and household/community levels. These influences interplayed to family members' adherence to medical advice and treatment-seeking after hospital discharge, with potentially important implications for children's recovery. Health service/system level influences included: fewer female medical practitioners in healthcare facilities, which influenced mothers' interest and ability to consult them promptly for their child's illnesses; gender-related challenges for community health workers in supporting mothers with counselling and advice; and male caregivers' being largely absent from the paediatric wards where information sessions to support post-discharge care are offered. Gendered household/community level influences included: women's role as primary caretakers for children and available levels of support; male family members having a dominant role in decision-making related to food and treatment-seeking behaviour; and greater reluctance among parents to invest money and time in the treatment of female children, as compared to male children. CONCLUSIONS: A complex web of gender related influences at health systems/services and household/community levels have important implications for young children's recovery post-discharge. Immediate interventions with potential for positive impact include awareness-raising among all stakeholders - including male family members - on how gender influences child health and recovery, and how to reduce adverse consequences of gender-based discrimination. Specific interventions could include communication interventions in facilities and homes, and changes in routine practices such as who is present in facility interactions. To maximise and sustain the impact of immediate actions and interventions, the structural drivers of women's position in society and gender inequity must also be tackled. This requires interventions to ensure equal equitable opportunities for men and women in all aspects of life, including access to education and income generation activities. Given patriarchal norms locally and globally, men will likely need special targeting and support in achieving these objectives.

Strengthening the role of community health workers in supporting the recovery of ill, undernourished children post hospital discharge: qualitative insights from key stakeholders in Bangladesh and Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Undernourished children in low- and middle-income countries remain at elevated risk of death following hospital discharge, even when treated during hospitalisation using World Health Organisation recommended guidelines. The role of community health workers (CHWs) in supporting post-discharge recovery to improve outcomes has not been adequately explored. METHODS: This paper draws on qualitative research conducted as part of the Childhood Acute Illnesses and Nutrition (CHAIN) Network in Bangladesh and Kenya. We interviewed family members of 64 acutely ill children admitted across four hospitals (a rural and urban hospital in each country). 27 children had severe wasting or kwashiorkor on admission. Family members were interviewed in their homes soon after discharge, and up to three further times over the following six to fourteen months. These data were supplemented by observations in facilities and homes, key informant interviews with CHWs and policy makers, and a review of relevant guidelines. RESULTS: Guidelines suggest that CHWs could play a role in supporting recovery of undernourished children post-discharge, but the mechanisms to link CHWs into post-discharge support processes are not specified. Few families we interviewed reported any interactions with CHWs post-discharge, especially in Kenya, despite our data suggesting that opportunities for CHWs to assist families post-discharge include providing context sensitive information and education, identification of danger signs, and supporting linkages with community-based services and interventions. Although CHWs are generally present in communities, challenges they face in conducting their roles include unmanageable workloads, few incentives, lack of equipment and supplies and inadequate support from supervisors and some community members. CONCLUSION: A multi-pronged approach before or on discharge is needed to strengthen linkages between CHWs and children vulnerable to poor outcomes, supported by clear guidance. To encourage scale-ability and cost-effectiveness of interventions, the most vulnerable, high-risk children, should be targeted, including undernourished children. Intervention designs must also take into account existing health worker shortages and training levels, including for CHWs, and how any new tasks or personnel are incorporated into hospital and broader health system hierarchies and systems. Any such interventions will need to be evaluated in carefully designed studies, including tracking for unintended consequences.

Influence of Mg substitution on structural, magnetic and electrical properties of Zn-Cu ferrites.

Studies on Mg substituted Zn-Cu ferrites with chemical formula of Zn0.6Cu0.4-xMgxFe2O4 were synthesized by solid-state reaction technique. The structural phase of all the samples is characterized by XRD, show single phased cubic spinel structure. Density of the samples increases with the increase of Mg quantity. Average grain diameter decreases with increasing Mg content. All samples show soft ferromagnetic behavior as confirmed from the M-H hysteresis loop obtained from the VSM analysis. Thesaturation magnetization decreases with increasing Mg quantity. Increasing and decreasing trend of coercivity with the increase of Mg quantityis observed, which led to the slightly hard magnetic phase. The high frequencies create more effective for the ferrite grains of advanced conductivity and minor dielectric constant for all the samples but the AC electrical resistivity and dielectric constant are initiate to be more operational at lower frequencies. The variation of resistivity, dielectric constant with the Mg concentration is completely related to the porosity and bulk density.

Salinity-affected threshold yield loss: A signal of adaptation tipping points for salinity management of dry season rice cultivation in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.

The potential existence of threshold yield loss in dry season rice growing systems under coastal saline environment remains unexplored, a scenario that could have policy relevance in government planning of rice intensification in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. This study applied the adaptation tipping points (ATPs) approach to investigate threshold yield loss from multiple perspectives of farmers affected by salinity. Data were generated from 280 randomly-selected farmers (rice farmers, n = 109; shrimp farmers, n = 107; salt farmers, n = 64) from two coastal sub-districts using a semi-structured survey. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to complement the survey results. Our study revealed that despite government actions to promote dry season rice cultivation, farmers have been growing less rice in this season, with salinity-affected yield loss being the prime reason. Most of the rice farmers have considered that they would discontinue rice cultivation in this season due to yield loss, while shrimp and salt farmers have already reduced rice cultivation for the same reason and shifted to shrimp and salt farming as they perceived these enterprises as highly profitable and require less labour than rice farming. Rice farmers would tolerate a greater rice yield loss (23%) under saline conditions compared with the shrimp (16%) and salt farmers (14%). The yield loss thresholds indicate the need for government actions to support and encourage integrated land management for rice, shrimp and salt farming, rather than research and extension efforts for dry season rice expansion alone. These actions could strengthen sustainable livelihood options to ensure food security, and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals, for instance no poverty (SDG-1), zero hunger (SDG-2), and good health and well-being (SDG-3).

5-ALA Attenuates the Palmitic Acid-Induced ER Stress and Apoptosis in Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells.

The conservation of mammary gland physiology by maintaining the maximum number of mammary epithelial cells (MECs) is of the utmost importance for the optimum amount of milk production. In a state of negative energy balance, palmitic acid (PA) reduces the number of bovine MECs. However, there is no effective strategy against PA-induced apoptosis of MECs. In the present study, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) was established as a remedial agent against PA-induced apoptosis of MAC-T cells (an established line of bovine MECs). In PA-treated cells, the apoptosis-related genes BCL2 and BAX were down- and upregulated, respectively. The elevated expression of major genes of the unfolded protein response (UPR), such as CHOP, a proapoptotic marker (C/EBP homologous protein), reduced the viability of PA-treated MAC-T cells. In contrast, 5-ALA pretreatment increased and decreased BCL2 and BAX expression, respectively. Moreover, cleaved caspase-3 protein expression was significantly reduced in the 5-ALA-pretreated group in comparison with the PA group. The downregulation of major UPR-related genes, including CHOP, extended the viability of MAC-T cells pretreated with 5-ALA and also reduced the enhanced intensity of the PA-induced expression of phospho-protein kinase R-like ER kinase. Moreover, the enhanced expression of HO-1 (antioxidant gene heme oxygenase) by 5-ALA reduced PA-induced oxidative stress (OxS). HO-1 is not only protective against OxS but also effective against ER stress. Collectively, these findings offer new insights into the protective effects of 5-ALA against PA-induced apoptosis of bovine MECs.

Transcriptome Modifications in the Porcine Intramuscular Adipocytes during Differentiation and Exogenous Stimulation with TNF-α and Serotonin.

Adipocytes are dynamic cells that have critical functions to maintain body energy homeostasis. Adipocyte physiology is affected by the adipogenic differentiation, cell program, as well as by the exogenous stimulation of biochemical factors, such as serotonin and TNF-α. In this work, we investigated the global transcriptome modifications when porcine intramuscular preadipocyte (PIP) was differentiated into porcine mature adipocyte (pMA). Moreover, we studied transcriptome changes in pMA after stimulation with serotonin or TNF-α by using a microarray approach. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the expression of 270, 261, and 249 genes were modified after differentiation, or after serotonin and TNF-α stimulation, respectively. Expression changes in APP, HNF4A, ESR1, EGR1, SRC, HNF1A, FN1, ALB, STAT3, CBL, CEBPB, AR, FOS, CFTR, PAN2, PTPN6, VDR, PPARG, STAT5A and NCOA3 genes which are enriched in the 'PPAR signaling' and 'insulin resistance' pathways were found in adipocytes during the differentiation process. Dose-dependent serotonin stimulation resulted in a decreased fat accumulation in pMAs. Serotonin-induced differentially expressed genes in pMAs were found to be involved in the significant enrichment of 'GPCR ligand-binding', 'cell chemotaxis', 'blood coagulation and complement', 'metabolism of lipid and lipoproteins', 'regulation of lipid metabolism by PPARA', and 'lipid digestion, mobilization and transport' pathways. TNF-α stimulation also resulted in transcriptome modifications linked with proinflammatory responses in the pMA of intramuscular origin. Our results provide a landscape of transcriptome modifications and their linked-biological pathways in response to adipogenesis, and exogenous stimulation of serotonin- and TNF-α to the pMA of intramuscular origin.

Bayesian latent class evaluation of three tests for the screening of subclinical caprine mastitis in Bangladesh.

Routine monitoring for subclinical infection is one of the key mastitis control approaches. However, the accuracy of the most commonly used screening tests has not yet been established. The aim of the present study was therefore to evaluate the accuracy of three screening tests, namely California mastitis test (CMT), white side test (WST), and surf field mastitis test (SFMT) for the screening of subclinical caprine mastitis. A cross-sectional study based on 484 randomly collected milk (242 goats) samples from three districts of Bangladesh was conducted for the screening of subclinical mastitis by the aforementioned tests. The Bayesian latent class model was implemented in WinBUGS to estimate the tests' characteristics and true prevalence of subclinical mastitis. The Bayesian posterior estimates of sensitivities with a 95% credible intervals (CrIs) were 98.60% (95.18-99.95%), 98.28% (94.56-99.92%), and 89.98% (83.39-95.03%), and specificities with 95% CrIs were 99.19% (98.11-99.96%), 99.27% (97.34-99.98%), and 99.28% (97.35-99.98%), respectively for CMT, WST, and SFMT. The true prevalence of subclinical caprine mastitis was estimated to be 43.49% (95% CrI 37.46-48.98%). The positive predictive values (PPV) of the three tests were similar. The serial and parallel interpretation of any test pairs increased the PPV and negative predictive value respectively close to 100%. Based on the simplicity, cost and performance as well WST and SFMT simultaneously could be recommended for the screening of caprine subclinical mastitis in Bangladesh.

Deciphering transcriptome profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to PRRSV vaccination in pigs.

BACKGROUND: Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is one of the most economically important viral diseases affecting swine industry worldwide. Despite routine farm vaccination, effective control strategies for PRRS remained elusive which underscores the need for in-depth studies to gain insight into the host immune response to vaccines. The current study aimed to investigate transcriptional responses to PRRS Virus (PRRSV) vaccine in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) within 3 days following vaccination in German Landrace pigs. RESULTS: Transcriptome profiling of PBMCs from PRRSV vaccinated and age-matched unvaccinated pigs at right before (0 h), and at 6, 24 and 72 h after PRRSV vaccination was performed using the Affymetrix gene chip porcine gene 1.0 st array. Comparison of PBMCs transcriptome profiles between vaccinated and unvaccinated pigs revealed a distinct host innate immune transcriptional response to PRRSV vaccine. There was a significant temporal variation in transcriptional responses of PRRSV vaccine in PBMCs accounting 542, 2,263 and 357 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at 6, 24 and 72 h post vaccination, respectively compared to the time point before vaccination (controls). Gene ontology analysis revealed the involvement of these DEGs in various biological process including innate immune response, signal transduction, positive regulation of MAP kinase activity, TRIF-dependent toll-like receptor signaling pathway, T cell differentiation and apoptosis. Immune response specific pathways such as cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway, signal transduction, JAK-STAT pathway and regulation, TRAF6 mediated induction of NF-kB and MAPK, the NLRP3 inflammasome, endocytosis and interferon signaling were under regulation during the early stage of PRRSV vaccination. Network enrichment analysis revealed APP, TRAF6, PIN1, FOS, CTNNB1, TNFAIP3, TIP1, CDKN1, SIRT1, ESR1 and HDAC5 as the highly interconnected hubs of the functional network of PRRSV vaccine induced transcriptome changes in PBMCs. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that a massive gene expression change occurred in PBMCs following PRRSV vaccination in German Landrace pigs. Within first 3 days of vaccine exposure, the highest transcript abundance was observed at 24 h after vaccination compared to that of control. Results of this study suggest that APP, TRAF6, PIN1, FOS, CDKN1A and TNFAIP3 could be considered as potential candidate genes for PRRSV vaccine responsiveness.

Seed traits, fatty acid profile and genetic diversity assessment in Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre germplasm.

Phenotypic variation of important seed traits like seed length, seed breadth, seed thickness, 100 seed weight and seed oil content were recorded in a total of 157 collected accessions of Pongamia. Out of these, fatty acid profiles of 38 accessions selected based on their high and low oil content was analyzed. Fatty acid profile revealed high variability in stearic, oleic and linoleic acid which varied from 0.42 to 10.61 %, 34.34 to 74.58 %, and 7.00 to 31.28 % respectively. Variations in palmitic and linolenic acid were small. Iodine value, saponification number and cetane number (CN) of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) of seed oil ranges from 186.99 to 201.25, 81.13 to 108.19 and 46.16 to 56.47 respectively. Fatty acid compositions, degree of unsaturation and CN are the important parameters, which are used to determine quality of FAME were used as biodiesel. Some of the Pongamia accessions identified were higher in oil content while some accessions showed higher degree of unsaturation and a few of them had CN values higher than 55. Genetic diversity analysis with six TE-AFLP primers generated a total of 334 bands out of which 174 (52.10 %) were polymorphic. The genetic similarity ranged from 0.11 to 0.47. These findings clearly showed high level of genetic diversity and all economically desirable traits were not present in a single genotype of Pongamia. All these traits could be selected from these CPTs and transfer to a single elite variety through selection and breeding programme and could be utilized for large scale multiplication and plantation to produce high quantity and quality biodiesel in future.

Estimation of outcrossing rates in interspecific backcross plants of Jatropha curcas (L.) using AFLP and SSR markers.

In this paper, we report the estimates of outcrossing rates using open-pollinated progeny arrays of 40 BC1 individuals of Jatropha developed as a result of interspecific hybridization between J. curcas and J. integerrima. For analysis PCR-based dominant AFLP and codominant SSR markers were used. The multilocus outcrossing rate (tm) estimated from AFLP markers (0.892 ± 0.112) are almost in the same range with SSR (0.884 ± 0.293) markers which indicate a high level of heterozygosity. A low value of inbreeding coefficient (F) also points out to the fact that outcrossing was the prevalent mode of reproduction in Jatropha and suggests maintenance of adequate genetic variability within families.

Optimizing Optical Dielectrophoretic (ODEP) Performance: Position- and Size-Dependent Droplet Manipulation in an Open-Chamber Oil Medium.

An optimization study is presented to enhance optical dielectrophoretic (ODEP) performance for effective manipulation of an oil-immersed droplet in the floating electrode optoelectronic tweezers (FEOET) device. This study focuses on understanding how the droplet's position and size, relative to light illumination, affect the maximum ODEP force. Numerical simulations identified the characteristic length (Lc) of the electric field as a pivotal factor, representing the location of peak field strength. Utilizing 3D finite element simulations, the ODEP force is calculated through the Maxwell stress tensor by integrating the electric field strength over the droplet's surface and then analyzed as a function of the droplet's position and size normalized to Lc. Our findings reveal that the optimal position is xopt= Lc+ r, (with r being the droplet radius), while the optimal droplet size is ropt = 5Lc, maximizing light-induced field perturbation around the droplet. Experimental validations involving the tracking of droplet dynamics corroborated these findings. Especially, a droplet sized at r = 5Lc demonstrated the greatest optical actuation by performing the longest travel distance of 13.5 mm with its highest moving speed of 6.15 mm/s, when it was initially positioned at x0= Lc+ r = 6Lc from the light's center. These results align well with our simulations, confirming the criticality of both the position (xopt) and size (ropt) for maximizing ODEP force. This study not only provides a deeper understanding of the position- and size-dependent parameters for effective droplet manipulation in FEOET systems, but also advances the development of low-cost, disposable, lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices for multiplexed biological and biochemical analyses.