First Report of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani' (16SrXII-A) Associated with Fox Nut (Euryale ferox Salisb.) Stolbur Disease in India

Fox nut also known as Gorgon nut, Makhana (Euryale ferox Salisb.) is a high value aquatic crop belonging to the family Nymphaeaceae. In India, it is generally grown in flood prone areas of North Bihar, lower Assam, parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Manipur and Tripura (Jana et al., 2018). India contributes nearly 70-80% of the global fox nut production. During September 2021, a phytoplasma like symptom was noticed on fox nut leaves at Basudeopur Farm of Research Centre for Makhana, Darbhanga, Bihar, India (23° 9' N and 65° 53' E). The characteristic symptom was that some portion of leaf lamina deformed along the veins with wrinkled and raised overgrowth or hypertrophy. The veins were thickened and reddened in the infected leaf area. The infection occurs in petiole as well as in flower stalk. The disease incidence was found as high as 30% which caused severe yield loss which was calculated to be 40% in that particular field. Total of 20 sampled fox nut plants, 10 symptomatic and 10 asymptomatic ones, were collected and tested for the presence of phytoplasma. A nested PCR assay using the phytoplasma universal 16S rRNA primer pairs: P1/P7 followed by R16F2n/R16R2 (J. Jović et al. 2011) amplified the expected ~1.2-kb 16S rDNA fragment in all 10 symptomatic samples. No amplification was detected from asymptomatic samples. One of the ten 1.2-kb nested 16S rDNA PCR products was gel purified, cloned into the pGEM-T-easy plasmid vector (Promega, Madison, WI), and sequenced and was deposited in NCBI under the Accession no.OL873590. BLAST analysis showed that the sequence of the PCR 16S rDNA product was 100% identical to several GenBank sequences of Ca. P. solani (16SrXII Stolbur group) viz. KF907506. Furthermore, analysis by iPhyClassifier software showed that the virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) pattern of the sequenced PCR 16S rDNA product is identical (similarity coefficient 1.00) to the reference pattern of the 16SrXII-A subgroup. Identification of 'Ca. P. solani' was conducted following the STOL11 stolbur-specific protocol (Radonjić et al. 2009). Sequencing of tuf gene (Elongation factor Tu) was performed by using tuf marker genes (Cvrković et al. 2014) from 10 symptomatic and 10 asymptomatic samples. Sequence of the amplified gene (896 bp) was deposited in GenBank under Accession number OM174272. The presence of 'Ca. P. solani' was detected in all symptomatic samples, while all control plants tested negative. The RFLP analysis of tuf gene nested PCR products using HpaII endonuclease (Fermentas) revealed uniform tuf-b type in all positive samples. Nucleotide blast analyses showed that the tuf gene was 100% identical to STOL11 strain of C. P. solani subgroup 16SrXII-A (Accession No JQ797670). For developing a suitable management strategy, identification of the vector is essential. Leaf hoppers visiting the infected plants as well as nearby crop fields will be tested for presence of the phytoplasma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Candidatus Phytoplasma solani' (16SrXII-A) infecting Fox nut (Euryale ferox Salisb.) in India. References Cvrković et al. 2014. Plant Pathol. 63:42. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.12080 Jana, B. R., et al. 2018. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci. 7(12): 578-587. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.712.072 Jović, J. et al. 2011. B. Insectol. 64:S83. ISI Radonjić, S. et al. 2009. J. Phytopathol. 157:682. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439- 0434.2009.01560.

Efficient passivation of n-type and p-type silicon surface defects by hydrogen sulfide gas reaction

An efficient surface defect passivation is observed by reacting clean Si in a dilute hydrogen sulfide-argon gas mixture (<5% H₂S in Ar) for both n-type and p-type Si wafers with planar and textured surfaces. Surface recombination velocities of 1.5 and 8 cm s^-1are achieved on n-type and p-type Si wafers, respectively, at an optimum reaction temperature of 550 °C that are comparable to the best surface passivation quality used in high efficiency Si solar cells. Surface chemical analysis using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that sulfur is primarily bonded in a sulfide environment, and synchrotron-based soft x-ray emission spectroscopy of the adsorbed sulfur atoms suggests the formation of S-Si bonds. The sulfur surface passivation layer is unstable in air, attributed to surface oxide formation and a simultaneous decrease of sulfide bonds. However, the passivation can be stabilized by a low-temperature (300 °C) deposited amorphous silicon nitride (a-Si:N_X:H) capping layer.

Dermoscopy of a rare case of linear syringocystadenoma papilliferum with review of the literature

Syringocystadenoma papilliferum (SCAP) is a benign hamartomatous tumor arising from pluripotent cells with either apocrine or eccrine differentiation. We report a rare case of de novo linear SCAP in a 12-year-old female child with lesions over the chest along with the dermoscopic findings.

Power-limited contraction dynamics of Vorticella convallaria: an ultrafast biological spring

Vorticella convallaria is one of the fastest and most powerful cellular machines. The cell body is attached to a substrate by a slender stalk containing a polymeric structure-the spasmoneme. Helical coiling of the stalk results from rapid contraction of the spasmoneme, an event mediated by calcium binding to a negatively charged polymeric backbone. We use high speed imaging to measure the contraction velocity as a function of the viscosity of the external environment and find that the maximum velocity scales inversely with the square root of the viscosity. This can be explained if the rate of contraction is ultimately limited by the power delivered by the actively contracting spasmoneme. Microscopically, this scenario would arise if the mechanochemical wave that propagates along the spasmoneme is faster than the rate at which the cell body can respond due to its large hydrodynamic resistance. We corroborate this by using beads as markers on the stalk and find that the contraction starts at the cell body and proceeds down the stalk at a speed that exceeds the velocity of the cell body.

Is ligation of azygos vein necessary in primary repair of tracheoesophageal fistula with esophageal atresia?

INTRODUCTION

Congenital tracheoesophageal fistula with esophageal atresia (TEF with EA) is not an uncommon disease of newborns. Classical approach for primary repair of TEF with EA is right thoracotomy with extrapleural approach, ligation of the azygos vein, identification and ligation of tracheoesophageal fistula, identification of upper esophageal pouch and end-to-end anastomosis. This study was conducted to evaluate if the ligation of the azygos vein is a must during primary repair of TEF with EA.

METHOD

We studied 50 randomly selected cases in the last two years (Jan 2003 - Jan 2005). In 25 babies (group A), primary repair was done with preservation of the azygous vein while 25 babies (group B) were operated with a classical approach with ligation and division of the azygos vein. The postoperative result was comparative in both cases.

RESULT

Postoperative pneumonitis was higher in the babies operated with the classical approach (56 % in group B and 12 % in group A) and was found to be statistically significant. In postoperative complication, anastomotic leak was slightly higher in group B but was not statistically significant. Mortality rate was similar in both groups. Babies in group A were hemodynamically more stable in comparison to group B.

CONCLUSION

Preservation of the azygos vein maintains the normal venous drainage of mediastinum and hence decreases the postoperative chest congestion and pneumonitis in the postoperative period in cases of congenital esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula, so it should be preserved whenever possible.

Neutrophil chemorepulsion in defined interleukin-8 gradients in vitro and in vivo

We report for the first time that primary human neutrophils can undergo persistent, directionally biased movement away from a chemokine in vitro and in vivo, termed chemorepulsion or fugetaxis. Robust neutrophil chemorepulsion in microfluidic gradients of interleukin-8 (IL-8; CXC chemokine ligand 8) was dependent on the absolute concentration of chemokine, CXC chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2), and was associated with polarization of cytoskeletal elements and signaling molecules involved in chemotaxis and leading edge formation. Like chemoattraction, chemorepulsion was pertussis toxin-sensitive and dependent on phosphoinositide-3 kinase, RhoGTPases, and associated proteins. Perturbation of neutrophil intracytoplasmic cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentrations and the activity of protein kinase C isoforms modulated directional bias and persistence of motility and could convert a chemorepellent to a chemoattractant response. Neutrophil chemorepulsion to an IL-8 ortholog was also demonstrated and quantified in a rat model of inflammation. The finding that neutrophils undergo chemorepulsion in response to continuous chemokine gradients expands the paradigm by which neutrophil migration is understood and may reveal a novel approach to our understanding of the homeostatic regulation of inflammation.

TFIIAalpha/beta-like factor is encoded by a germ cell-specific gene whose expression is up-regulated with other general transcription factors during spermatogenesis in the mouse

TFIIAalpha/beta-like factor (ALF) is a testis-specific counterpart of the large subunit of human general transcription factor TFIIA. Northern analysis shows that ALF mRNA first appears in mouse testis at Postnatal Day 14. Similarly, expression of the general transcription factors TBP, TRF2, TFIIAalpha/beta, TFIIAgamma, and TFIIIB(90) is also increased beginning at Postnatal Day 14, suggesting that there is a coordinated induction of many general transcription factors during male germ cell differentiation. Analysis of male germ cells separated by Staput sedimentation shows that ALF is present in pachytene spermatocytes and haploid spermatids. In addition, in situ hybridization experiments with adult mouse testis shows that ALF is present in haploid spermatids. Searches of the human genome sequence database using the basic local alignment search tool reveal that the ALF and TFIIAalpha/beta(GTF2A1) genes are both composed of nine exons, whereas the TFIIAgamma (GTF2A2) gene is composed of five exons. Furthermore, nucleotide and amino acid comparisons among human and mouse ALF, TFIIAalpha/beta, and TFIIAgamma cDNA sequences show that ALF has diverged more rapidly than either TFIIAalpha/beta or TFIIAgamma. Finally, the ALF and SBLF (Stoned B-Like Factor) sequences present in the chimeric SALF cDNA are both present on human chromosome 2, and an analysis of the corresponding genes suggests a model for the formation of SALF.

Diffusion and deformations of single hydra cells in cellular aggregates

Cell motion within cellular aggregates consists of both random and coherent components. We used confocal microscopy to study the center of mass displacements and deformations of single endodermal Hydra cells in two kinds of cellular aggregates, ectodermal and endodermal. We first carefully characterize the center of mass displacements using standard statistical analysis. In both aggregates, cells perform a persistent random walk, with the diffusion constant smaller in the more cohesive endodermal aggregate. We show that a simple parametric method is able to describe cell deformations and relate them to displacements. These deformations are random, with their amplitude and direction uncorrelated with the center of mass motion. Unlike for an isolated cell on a substrate, the random forces exerted by the surrounding cells predominate over the deformation of the cell itself, causing the displacements of a cell within an aggregate.

Anti-invasive, antitumorigenic, and antimetastatic activities of the PHSCN sequence in prostate carcinoma

Using naturally serum-free SU-ECM basement membranes as invasion substrates showed that plasma fibronectin was necessary to stimulate invasion by DU 145 human and metastatic MATLyLu (MLL) rat prostate carcinoma cells. This activity mapped to the PHSRN sequence, which induced invasion through alpha5beta1 integrin. PHSCN, a competitive inhibitor, blocked both PHSRN- and serum-induced invasion. Acetylated, amidated PHSCN (Ac-PHSCN-NH2) was 30-fold more potent; however, Ac-HSPNC-NH2 was inactive. Rats receiving injections s.c. with 100,000 MLL cells were treated systemically by i.v. injection three times weekly with 1 mg of either Ac-PHSCN-NH2 or Ac-HSPNC-NH2 beginning 24 h later, three times weekly with 1 mg of Ac-PHSCN-NH2 beginning only after surgery to remove large (2 cm) MLL tumors, or were left untreated. MLL tumors grew rapidly in Ac-HSPNC-NH2-treated and in untreated rats. MLL tumor growth in rats treated with Ac-PHSCN-NH2 beginning 1 day after MLL cell injection was reduced by 99.9% during the first 16 days of treatment, although subsequent tumor growth occurred. MLL tumor cryosections immunostained with anti-PECAM-1 showed that Ac-PHSCN-NH2 inhibited neovascularization by 12-fold during this time. Whether initiated after MLL cell injection or only after MLL tumor removal, Ac-PHSCN-NH2 treatment reduced the numbers of MLL lung colonies and micrometastases by 40- to >100-fold, whereas Ac-HSPNC-NH2 was inactive. Thus, Ac-PHSCN-NH2 may be a potent antitumorigenic and antimetastatic agent for postsurgical use prior to extensive metastasis.

Physiologic and neuroendocrine responses to intravenous naloxone in subjects with Alzheimer's disease and age-matched controls

BACKGROUND

Prior work showed that administration of naloxone HCl had different behavioral effects in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) than controls. The aim of the present study was to contrast the physiologic and neuroendocrine responses to administration of a wide range of doses of intravenous naloxone of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease to aged-matched controls.

METHODS

This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, study of 12 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease and 8 age-matched normal controls who each received intravenous infusions of naloxone HCl on 3 different days in doses of 0.1 mg/kg and 2.0 mg/kg preceded by test doses of 0.5 mcg/kg. Order of treatment condition was randomized. Vital signs and plasma cortisol and prolactin were obtained at regular intervals.

RESULTS

Both groups showed increased cortisol after naloxone 0.1 mg/kg and 2.0 mg/kg (p < .0001), but the increase was significantly greater and longer lived in controls than in patients. Patients, but not controls, also experienced a significant hypothermic response after naloxone 2.0 mg/kg (p < .05). Prolactin, heart rate, and blood pressure did not change following naloxone and did not differ between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support a growing body evidence that HPA axis activity is increased in AD, and further suggest that at least part of this may be due to decreased opiatergic tonic inhibition.

Hepatitis B subtypes and hepatitis C genotypes in cirrhosis in western India: results of a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the major causes of viral chronic liver diseases in India. HBV subtypes and HCV genotypes have not been reported from Western India. The aims of the study were (i) To study the prevalence of viral markers to HBV and HCV in adult cirrhotics, (ii) To determine HBV subtypes and HCV genotypes using serological and molecular biological methods.

METHODS

A total of 99 adult cirrhotic patients, proven by liver biopsy, laparoscopy, or a combined score of clinical features, biochemical tests, ultrasonography of abdomen, and radioisotope 99m Technetium scan in presence of oesophageal varices were studied. Sera collected from these patients were stored at -8 degrees C and subjected to various tests. HBsAg was determined by ELISA, anti-HBc by ELISA and anti HCV Ab was determined by the third generation ELISA. HBsAg subtypes were determined by enzyme immunoassay. HCV RNA was determined by PCR in those who tested positive for anti HCV antibody. Genotyping of HCV was done with a second generation PCR.

RESULTS

HBsAg was detected in 16, out of which subtyping was possible in 14, adw was found in 6 and ayw in 8. Anti HCV Ab was found in 5. Genotyping was possible in three samples which revealed one to be of genotypes 3, one of genetic group 4, and one of genetic group 5.

CONCLUSIONS

Subtypes and genotypes of HBV and HCV have not been reported from Western India. Their determination can have implications in understanding the spectrum of disease, characteristics and response to treatment.

Purification of Mitochondrial Glutamate Dehydrogenase from Dark-Grown Soybean Seedlings

Proteins in extracts from cotyledons, hypocotyls, and roots of 5-d-old, dark-grown soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. cv Williams) seedlings were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Three isoforms of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) were resolved and visualized in gels stained for GDH activity. Two isoforms with high electrophoretic mobility, GDH1 and GDH2, were in protein extracts from cotyledons and a third isoform with the lowest electrophoretic mobility, GDH3, was identified in protein extracts from root and hypocotyls. Subcellular fractionation of dark-grown soybean tissues demonstrated that GDH3 was associated with intact mitochondria. GDH3 was purified to homogeneity, as determined by native and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. The isoenzyme was composed of a single 42-kD subunit. The pH optima for the reductive amination and the oxidative deamination reactions were 8.0 and 9.3, respectively. At any given pH, GDH activity was 12- to 50-fold higher in the direction of reductive amination than in the direction of the oxidative deamination reaction. GDH3 had a cofactor preference for NAD(H) over NADP(H). The apparent Michaelis constant values for [alpha]-ketoglutarate, ammonium, and NADH at pH 8.0 were 3.6, 35.5, and 0.07 mM, respectively. The apparent Michaelis constant values for glutamate and NAD were 15.8 and 0.10 mM at pH 9.3, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first biochemical and physical characterization of a purified mitochondrial NAD(H)-dependent GDH isoenzyme from soybean.

In vitro production of flowering shoots in 'German Red' carnation: effect of uniconazole and gibberellic acid

Callus regenerated near the base of senescing petals of flower bud explants of 'German Red' carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) produced adventitious flowering microshoots on MS-medium containing benzylaminopurine (8.9 μM) and naphthaleneacetic acid (2.7 μM). When these microshoots were subcultured with some callus, additional adventitious flowering microshoots were produced from the callus. The production of adventitious flowering shoots continued for many subcultures spanning a period of more than two years. Uniconazole (6.9 μM) increased the number of adventitious shoots formed by as much as two-fold but decreased shoot length by about 50%. In contrast, GA3 (2.9 μM) decreased adventitious shoot formation and increased shoot length. Regardless of the growth regulator treatment, virtually all of the adventitious shoots produced flower buds. Thus, the growth regulators influenced flowering only indirectly by altering the number of adventitious shoots produced in vitro. These results demonstrate that the flowering habit of the adventitious shoots of 'German Red' carnation is highly persistent and the flowering stimulus continues to be transmitted to the newly formed microshoots through the callus.

Influence of growth regulators on somatic embryogenesis, plantlet regeneration, and post-transplant survival of Echinochloa frumentacea

After placement on Murashige and Skoog's basal medium supplemented with 3-5 mg/l 2,4-D, immature inflorescence expiants of Echinochloa frumentacea gave rise to three distinct types of callus: a) loosely arranged and soft; b) compact and translucent; c) compact, sticky and mucilaginous. Somatic embryo formation occurred in type 'b' callus in about 18-24 d. Callus types 'a' and 'c' did not produce somatic embryos. The highest percentage of cultures exhibiting somatic embryogenesis occurred on the medium containing 5 mg/l 2,4-D and 0.5 mg/l kinetin. Somatic embryos also formed directly on the inflorescence (without intervening callus formation) in about 15% of the expiants placed on this medium. The addition of paclobutrazol or uniconazole (0.25 or 1 mg/l) to the medium had no influence on the percentage of cultures exhibiting direct somatic embryogenesis, but paclobutrazol slightly increased the mean number of somatic embryos per culture. Many of the callus-derived somatic embryos germinated when subcultured on basal MS medium supplemented with kinetin. Addition of paclobutrazol or uniconazole to the culture medium at 0.25 or 1 mg/l decreased somatic embryo germination and shoot elongation but increased root length and leaf width. Both paclobutrazol and uniconazole increased survival of the plantlets following transplanting to soil. Increased post-transplant survival was accompanied by reduced water loss from plantlets produced on culture media containing triazoles.

Psychiatric morbidity among mothers attending well-baby clinic: a cross-cultural comparison

The Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), a screening instrument developed for psychiatric disorders in developing countries, was administered to 149 mothers, half of whom where non-white, attending a well-baby clinic in Manchester, United Kingdom. Psychiatric interview confirmed that high scorers on the SRQ could be given DSM-III diagnoses of anxiety and depression, but the cut-off point on SRQ for being a definite psychiatric case was found to be 7/8, higher than previous validation studies. This was the same for Asians as well as white mothers. Comparison of somatic versus psychological scores between Asian and white mothers showed no significant difference across the range of total SRQ scores. Over half of the mothers who were psychiatric cases were attending their doctors and all the Asian women doing so were attending for somatic symptoms. This study suggests that when measured in a well-baby clinic, somatic and psychological symptoms are reported equally frequently by white and Asian immigrant women in the United Kingdom but somatic symptoms predominate when Asian women consult a doctor.

Poor seroconversion rate after hepatitis B vaccination in high-risk institutionalized mentally retarded patients

We studied the rate of seroconversion to positivity for antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) after immunization with hepatitis B vaccine in a group of mentally retarded institutionalized patients. Eight hundred sixty-eight individuals were screened for seromarkers of hepatitis B infection (hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-HBs), and 287 seronegative patients were vaccinated with the recommended schedule of hepatitis B virus vaccine (20 micrograms IM at 0, 1, and 6 months). Overall, 59% of patients responded to vaccination with detectable anti-HBs. We found a high correlation of lack of response with both intragluteal injection and increasing age (p less than 0.0008), although the design of the study did not allow these factors to be analyzed separately. We conclude that buttock injection and advancing age may be risk factors for poor immunogenicity of the hepatitis B vaccine in mentally retarded populations.

Beta-blockers in the severely and profoundly mentally retarded

The authors present data from four different institutions from open clinical trials of propranolol in 19 mentally retarded patients with IQs less than 50. When customary forms of treatment had failed, propranolol was initiated. A table showing changes in the patients' behavior is included. Twelve patients demonstrated a pronounced improvement in self-abusive and aggressive behavior, four made moderate gains, and three were considered unchanged. The authors postulate that at least some aspects of the behavioral improvement were due to the peripheral anxiolytic action of the beta-blockers. Contrary to other reports of using higher doses (greater than 520 mg/day range), the authors used a mean dose of 120 mg/day and consider the duration of time spent on the medication as a crucial factor in its effectiveness.