Mycorrhization in trees: ecology, physiology, emerging technologies and beyond

Mycorrhization has been an integral part of plants since colonization by the early land plants. Over decades, substantial research has highlighted its potential role in improving nutritional efficiency and growth, development and survival of crop plants. However, the focus of this review is trees. Evidence have been provided to explain ecological and physiological significance of mycorrhization in trees. Advances in recent technologies (e.g., metagenomics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, agricultural drones) may open new windows to apply this knowledge in promoting tree growth in forest ecosystems. Dual mycorrhization relationships in trees and even triple relationships among trees, mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria offer an interesting physiological system to understand how plants interact with other organisms for better survival. Besides, studies indicate additional roles of mycorrhization in learning, memorizing and communication between host trees through a common mycorrhizal network (CMN). Recent observations in trees suggest that mycorrhization may even promote tolerance to multiple abiotic (e.g., drought, salt, heavy metal stress) and biotic (e.g. fungi) stresses. Due to the extent of physiological reliance, local adaptation of trees is heavily impacted by the mycorrhizal community. This knowledge opens the possibility of a non-GMO avenue to promote tree growth and development. Indeed, mycorrhization could impact growth of trees in nurserys and subsequent survival of the inoculated trees in field conditions. Future studies might integrate hyperspectral imaging and drone technologies to identify tree communities that are deficient in nitrogen and spray mycorrhizal spore formulations on them.

Nicotinic Acid Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate (NAADP)-Mediated Calcium Signaling Is Active in Memory CD4+ T Cells

Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP), identified as one of the most potent calcium-mobilizing second messengers, has been studied in different eukaryotic cell types, including lymphocytes. Although aspects of NAADP-mediated calcium release in lymphocytes are still under debate, the organelles pertaining to NAADP-mediated calcium release are often characterized as acidic and related to lysosomes. Although NAADP-mediated calcium release in different subsets of T cells, including naïve, effector and natural regulatory T cells, has been studied, it has not been widely studied in memory CD4+ T cells, which show a different calcium flux profile. Using a pharmacological approach, the effect of Ned-19, an NAADP pathway antagonist, on the involvement of NAADP in TCR activation in murine memory CD4+ T cells and their downstream effector functions, such as proliferation and cytokine production, was studied. According to this study, Ned-19 inhibited TCR-mediated calcium flux and its downstream effector functions in primary memory CD4+ T cells. The study also revealed that both extracellular and intracellular calcium stores, including endoplasmic reticulum and lysosome-like acidic calcium stores, contribute to the TCR-mediated calcium flux in memory CD4+ T cells. NAADP-AM, a cell permeable analogue of NAADP, was shown to release calcium in memory CD4+ T cells and calcium flux was inhibited by Ned-19.

Higher-level gait disorder as a presenting manifestation of progressive supranuclear palsy: a video case report

INTRODUCTION

Frontal gait disorder/gait apraxia is a higher-order motor deficit with various causes, characterized by difficulties with gait initiation, such as freezing or ignition failure. We aimed to report a patient who presented with progressive higher-level gait disorder and fall episodes as the initial manifestations of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Patient data were obtained from medical records from the Department of General Medicine, Burdwan Medical College and Hospital (Burdwan, West Bengal, India).

CASE REPORT

A 58-year-old previously healthy woman presented with a gait disorder and fall episodes. Detailed neurological examination highlighted characteristic facial appearance (wide-eyed staring, furrowing of the forehead with a frowning expression, and fixed expression of the lower face). She was hypokinetic-rigid with symmetrical signs and predominant axial rigidity with retrocolic trunk and neck posture. Gait examination revealed a higher-level gait pattern characterized by an exhibition of profound start hesitation requiring assistance from nearby objects/persons. Once walking was underway, steps became relatively better, but ineffective gait re-emerged when she attempted turning. She had short strides, freezing, broad stance base, disequilibrium, slow leg movement, shuffling, and loss of normal fluidity of trunk and limbs. Postural reflexes were impaired. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed atrophy of the midbrain, dilated aqueduct of Sylvius and third ventricle, atrophy of frontal lobes and typical hummingbird sign. Diagnosis of probable PSP was finally made.

CONCLUSIONS

Several etiologies, including PSP, should be considered in appropriate clinical contexts if gait examination demonstrates a higher-order gait disorder.

The Sequential Recruitments of Rab-GTPase Ypt1p and the NNS Complex onto pre-HAC1 mRNA Promote Its Nuclear Degradation in Baker's Yeast

Induction of unfolded protein response involves activation of transcription factor Hac1p that is encoded by HAC1 pre-mRNA harboring an intron and a bipartite element (BE), which is subjected to nuclear mRNA decay by the nuclear exosome/Cbc1p-Tif4631p-dependent Exosome Targeting (CTEXT) complex. Using a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches, we demonstrate that a Rab-GTPase Ypt1p controls unfolded protein response signaling dynamics. This regulation relies on the nuclear localization of a small fraction of the cellular Ypt1p pool in the absence of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress causing a strong association of the nuclear Ypt1p with pre-HAC1 mRNA that eventually promotes sequential recruitments of NNS, CTEXT, and the nuclear exosome onto this pre-mRNA. Recruitment of these decay factors onto pre-HAC1 mRNA is accompanied by its rapid nuclear decay that produces a precursor RNA pool lacking functional BE thereby causing its inefficient targeting to Ire1p foci leading to their diminished splicing and translation. ER stress triggers rapid relocalization of the nuclear pool of Ypt1p to the cytoplasm leading to its dissociation from pre-HAC1 mRNA thereby causing decreased recruitment of these decay factors to precursor HAC1 RNA leading to its diminished degradation. Reduced decay results in an increased abundance of pre-HAC1 mRNA with intact functional BE leading to its enhanced recruitment to Ire1p foci.

Fixing the catastrophic breakdown of single reference coupled cluster theory for strongly correlated systems: Two paradigms toward the implicit inclusion of high-rank correlation with low-spin channels

The dual exponential coupled cluster theory proposed by Tribedi et al.[J. Chem. Theory Comput. 16, 10, 6317-6328 (2020)] performs significantly better for a wide range of weakly correlated systems than the coupled cluster theory with singles and doubles excitations due to the implicit inclusion of high-rank excitations. The high-rank excitations are included through the action of a set of vacuum annihilating scattering operators that act non-trivially on certain correlated wavefunctions and are determined via a set of local denominators involving the energy difference between certain excited states. This often leads the theory to be prone to instabilities. In this paper, we show that restricting the correlated wavefunction, on which the scattering operators act, to be spanned by only the singlet-paired determinants can avoid catastrophic breakdown. For the first time, we present two nonequivalent approaches to arrive at the working equations, viz., the projective approach with sufficiency conditions and the amplitude form with many-body expansion. Although the effect of the triple excitation is quite small around molecular equilibrium geometry, this scheme leads to a better qualitative description of the energetics in the regions of strong correlation. With many pilot numerical applications, we have demonstrated the performance of the dual-exponential scheme with both the proposed solution strategies while restricting the excitation subspaces coupled to the corresponding lowest spin channels.

Porphyrias: Uncommon disorders masquerading as common childhood diseases

Porphyrias are a rare group of inborn errors of metabolism due to defects in the heme biosynthetic pathway. The biochemical hallmark is the overproduction of porphyrin precursors and porphyrin species. Afflicted patients present with a myriad of symptoms causing a diagnostic odyssey. Symptoms often overlap with those of common diseases and may be overlooked unless there is heightened clinical suspicion. We are reporting clinical features and diagnostic challenges in four pediatric patients having variegate porphyria, congenital erythropoietic porphyria, acute intermittent porphyria, and erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), who presented with diverse multisystem manifestations. This case series illustrates a logical analysis of symptoms and judicious selection of investigations and the role of genotyping in successfully diagnosing porphyrias.

Novel characterization of CXCR4 expressing cells in uninfected and herpes simplex virus-1 infected corneas

PURPOSE

To characterize CXCR4-expressing cells in uninfected and herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infected corneas.

METHODS

The corneas of C57BL/6J mice were infected with HSV-1 McKrae. The RT-qPCR assay detected CXCR4 and CXCL12 transcripts in uninfected and HSV-1-infected corneas. Immunofluorescence staining for CXCR4 and CXCL12 protein was performed in the frozen sections of herpes stromal keratitis (HSK) corneas. Flow cytometry assay characterized the CXCR4-expressing cells in uninfected and HSV-1-infected corneas.

RESULTS

Flow cytometry data showed CXCR4 expressing cells in the separated epithelium and stroma of uninfected corneas. In the uninfected stroma, CD11b + F4/80+ macrophages are the predominant CXCR4-expressing cells. In contrast, most CXCR4 expressing cells in the uninfected epithelium were CD207 (langerin)+, CD11c+, and expressed MHC class II molecule, documenting the Langerhans cells (LCs) phenotype. After corneal HSV-1 infection, CXCR4 and CXCL12 mRNA levels increased significantly in HSK corneas than in uninfected corneas. Immunofluorescence staining showed CXCR4 and CXCL12 protein localization in the newly formed blood vessels in the HSK cornea. Furthermore, the infection resulted in LCs proliferation, causing an increase in their numbers in the epithelium at 4 days post-infection (p.i.). However, by 9-day p.i., the LCs numbers declined to the counts observed in naïve corneal epithelium. Our results also showed neutrophils and vascular endothelial cells as the prominent CXCR4-expressing cell types in the stroma of HSK corneas.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, our data demonstrate the expression of CXCR4 on resident antigen presenting cells in the uninfected cornea and on infiltrating neutrophils and newly formed blood vessels in the HSK cornea.

Comparative study between GRA and MEREC technique on an agricultural-based MCGDM problem in pentagonal neutrosophic environment

In this research article, an improved Multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) strategy has been developed in pentagonal neutrosophic environment incorporating grey relational analysis and method on the removal effects of criteria (MEREC) techniques to address the relative advantages and disadvantages of these aspects in MCGDM. The aim of the study is to improve MCGDM technique which can capture the underlying uncertainties in robust way and can produce consistent results in a more rigorous way. Here, the conception of Hamming distance between two pentagonal neutrosophic number (PNN)s is introduced and the weighted arithmetic and geometric averaging operators in PNN arena are deployed to craft our computational technique more progressive and robust. An agriculture-based numerical problem is illustrated to demonstrate the ranking results of the alternatives by both of the techniques. After evaluating the problem by two aggregation operators, it is found that "plantation crop" is the best alternative under certain circumstances. Lastly, the sensitivity investigation is performed which reveals that with the appliance of arithmetic and geometric aggregation operators the best ranked alternative preserves its position by both of the ranking methods, which definitely exhibit the consistency and robustness of our executed methodology.

A Synergistic Approach towards Optimization of Coupled Cluster Amplitudes by Exploiting Dynamical Hierarchy

The coupled cluster iteration scheme for determining the cluster amplitudes involves a set of nonlinearly coupled difference equations. In the space spanned by the amplitudes, the set of equations are analyzed as a multivariate time-discrete map where the concept of time appears in an implicit manner. With the observation that the cluster amplitudes have difference in their relaxation timescales with respect to the distributions of their magnitudes, the coupled cluster iteration dynamics are considered as a synergistic motion of coexisting slow and fast relaxing modes, manifesting a dynamical hierarchical structure. With the identification of the highly damped auxiliary amplitudes, their time variation can be neglected compared to the principal amplitudes which take much longer time to reach the fixed points. We analytically establish the adiabatic approximation where each of these auxiliary amplitudes are expressed as unique parametric functions of the collective principal amplitudes, allowing us to study the optimization with the latter taken as the independent degrees of freedom. Such decoupling of the amplitudes significantly reduces the computational scaling without sacrificing the accuracy in the ground state energy as demonstrated by a number of challenging molecular applications. A road-map to treat higher order post-adiabatic effects is also discussed.

Diphenyleneiodonium Treatment Inhibits the Development of Severe Herpes Stromal Keratitis Lesions

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in tissue inflammation. In this study, we measured the intracellular level of ROS in herpes stromal keratitis (HSK) corneas and determined the outcome of manipulating ROS level on HSK severity. Our results showed the predominance of ROS generation in neutrophils but not CD4 T cells in HSK corneas. NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) enzyme is known to generate ROS in myeloid cells. Our results showed baseline expression of different NOX2 subunits in uninfected corneas. After corneal herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) infection, an enhanced expression of NOX2 subunits was detected in infected corneas. Furthermore, flow cytometry results showed a higher level of gp91 (Nox2 subunit) protein in neutrophils from HSK corneas, suggesting the involvement of NOX2 in generating ROS. However, no significant decrease in ROS level was noticed in neutrophils from HSV-1-infected gp91-/- mice than in C57BL/6J (B6) mice, suggesting NOX2 is not the major contributor in generating ROS in neutrophils. Next, we used diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), a flavoenzyme inhibitor, to pharmacologically manipulate the ROS levels in HSV-1-infected mice. Surprisingly, the neutrophils from peripheral blood and corneas of the DPI-treated group exhibited an increased level of ROS than the vehicle-treated group of infected B6 mice. Excessive ROS is known to cause cell death. Accordingly, DPI treatment resulted in a significant decrease in neutrophil frequency in peripheral blood and corneas of infected mice and was associated with reduced corneal pathology. Together, our results suggest that regulating ROS levels in neutrophils can ameliorate HSK severity. IMPORTANCE Neutrophils are one of the primary immune cell types involved in causing tissue damage after corneal HSV-1 infection. This study demonstrates that intracellular ROS production in the neutrophils in HSK lesions is not NOX2 dependent. Furthermore, manipulating ROS levels in neutrophils ameliorates the severity of HSK lesions. Our findings suggest that excessive intracellular ROS in neutrophils disrupt redox homeostasis and affect their survival, resulting in a decrease in HSK lesion severity.

A double exponential coupled cluster theory in the fragment molecular orbital framework

Fragmentation-based methods enable electronic structure calculations for large chemical systems through partitioning them into smaller fragments. Here, we have developed and benchmarked a dual exponential operator-based coupled cluster theory to account for high-rank electronic correlation of large chemical systems within the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) framework. Upon partitioning the molecular system into several fragments, the zeroth order reference determinants for each fragment and fragment pair are constructed in a self-consistent manner with two-body FMO expansion. The dynamical correlation is induced through a dual exponential ansatz with a set of fragment-specific rank-one and rank-two operators that act on the individual reference determinants. While the single and double excitations for each fragment are included through the conventional rank-one and rank-two cluster operators, the triple excitation space is spanned via the contraction between the cluster operators and a set of rank-two scattering operators over a few optimized fragment-specific occupied and virtual orbitals. Thus, the high-rank dynamical correlation effects within the FMO framework are computed with rank-one and rank-two parametrization of the wave operator, leading to significant reduction in the number of variables and associated computational scaling over the conventional methods. Through a series of pilot numerical applications on various covalent and non-covalently bonded systems, we have shown the quantitative accuracy of the proposed methodology compared to canonical, as well as FMO-based coupled-cluster single double triple. The accuracy of the proposed method is shown to be systematically improvable upon increasing the number of contractible occupied and virtual molecular orbitals employed to simulate triple excitations.

Work From Home, Mental Health and Employee Needs: A pilot study in selected information technology organizations in India

Introduction: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the economy and has resulted in changes to the working arrangements of employees who are based at home and may continue to work from home (WFH). Organizations are expected to develop an inclusive policy for their employees to promote mental health whilst working from home. The aim of this study was to document the impact of WFH on mental health and determine the expectations of employees from their organizations regarding occupational health policy. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the impact of work from home on mental health and to document the mental health support needs of employees. Google form was floated through social media platform to receive the responses. A total of 74 responses were received. Descriptive analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel, while qualitative answers were manually analysed. Results: About 67% employees (n=45) mentioned that their workload has increased significantly during work from home. Thirty five percent (n=26) felt lonely and lost and 47% (n= 34) felt disconnected from the real world, indicating the mental health impact of work from home. Fifty three percent employees (n=40) mentioned that there were no efforts made by their organization to reduce the mental health impact of work from home. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that there is an urgent need to create a comprehensive occupational health and safety policy inclusive of strategies to improve mental health by the organizations in light of “work from home” as a “new-normal”.

Cardiovascular and behavioural risk factors in families with elevated lipoprotein(a)[Lp(a)]

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Background/Introduction

Elevated lipoprotein(a)[Lp(a)] is an inherited and independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD). However, it is an under detected condition with no specific therapy available at present for lowering Lp(a). Hence, identifying the distribution of modifiable cardiovascular and behavioural risk factors is important for implementing an effective intervention programme to mitigate the overall risk of ASCVD in high-risk individuals with elevated Lp(a).

Purpose

The primary aim was to describe and compare the distribution of modifiable cardiovascular and behavioural risk factors in both index cases and their relatives with elevated Lp(a) identified through cascade testing at the Lipid Disorders Clinic, Royal Perth Hospital.

Methods

We studied 51 index cases and 71 relatives cascade tested with elevated Lp(a) (≥0.5 g/L).  Questionnaires were completed concerning aspects of cardiovascular health (cholesterol level, blood pressure and blood glucose level) and behavioural health metrics (diet, smoking, physical activity, body-mass-index [BMI]). Lp(a) was measured by an immunoassay having minimal dependence on apolipoprotein(a) isoform size. The health metrics were described as proportions and statistical analyses performed using Student’s t-test or Chi-square where appropriate.

Results

Compared with the index cases, a higher proportion of their affected relatives were female (62% vs 43%, p = 0.039), younger (43 years vs 53 years, p < 0.001) and had lower Lp(a) levels (1.03 g/L vs 1.12 g/L, p = 0.003). A lower proportion of the affected relatives were treated for dyslipidaemia (31% vs 96%, p < 0.001). The affected relatives also had a lower incidence of ASCVD events (3% vs 37%, p < 0.001), hypertension (21% vs 43%, p = 0.003), and lower HbA1c levels (5.3% vs 5.9%, p = 0.031) compared with index cases. Additionally, a larger proportion of the affected relatives had ideal cardiovascular health (35% vs 14%, p = 0.008) compared with their index cases. However, more than half of the index cases and their relatives did not maintain a healthy diet (59% and 69%, respectively) and an ideal BMI (68% and 59%, respectively).

Conclusion(s)

Although the younger affected relatives with elevated Lp(a) have a lower cardiovascular risk compared with the index cases, a focus on modifiable behavioural changes, such as a healthy diet and an ideal body weight, is still required to mitigate the overall risk of ASCVD.

Collisions between Ultracold Molecules and Atoms in a Magnetic Trap

We prepare mixtures of ultracold CaF molecules and Rb atoms in a magnetic trap and study their inelastic collisions. When the atoms are prepared in the spin-stretched state and the molecules in the spin-stretched component of the first rotationally excited state, they collide inelastically with a rate coefficient k_{2}=(6.6±1.5)×10^{-11}  cm^{3}/s at temperatures near 100  μK. We attribute this to rotation-changing collisions. When the molecules are in the ground rotational state we see no inelastic loss and set an upper bound on the spin-relaxation rate coefficient of k_{2}<5.8×10^{-12}  cm^{3}/s with 95% confidence. We compare these measurements to the results of a single-channel loss model based on quantum defect theory. The comparison suggests a short-range loss parameter close to unity for rotationally excited molecules, but below 0.04 for molecules in the rotational ground state.

Melanoma-associated glycosyltransferase GCNT2 as an emerging biomarker and therapeutic target

In metastatic melanoma, with a dismal survival rate and propensity for treatment resistance and recurrence, it is critical to establish biomarkers that better predict treatment response and disease severity. The melanoma glycome, composed of complex carbohydrates termed glycans, is an under-investigated area of research, although it is gaining momentum in the cancer biomarker and therapeutics field. Novel findings suggest that glycans play a major role in influencing melanoma progression and could be exploited for prognosticating metastatic activity and/or as therapeutic targets. In this review, we discuss the role of aberrant glycosylation, particularly the specialized function of β1,6 N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 2 (GCNT2), in melanoma pathogenesis and summarize mechanisms of GCNT2 regulation to illuminate its potential as a predictive marker and therapeutic target.

Accelerating coupled cluster calculations with nonlinear dynamics and supervised machine learning

In this paper, the iteration scheme associated with single reference coupled cluster theory has been analyzed using nonlinear dynamics. The phase space analysis indicates the presence of a few significant cluster amplitudes, mostly involving valence excitations, that dictate the dynamics, while all other amplitudes are enslaved. Starting with a few initial iterations to establish the inter-relationship among the cluster amplitudes, a supervised machine learning scheme with a polynomial kernel ridge regression model has been employed to express each of the enslaved amplitudes uniquely in terms of the former set of amplitudes. The subsequent coupled cluster iterations are restricted solely to determine those significant excitations, and the enslaved amplitudes are determined through the already established functional mapping. We will show that our hybrid scheme leads to a significant reduction in the computational time without sacrificing the accuracy.

Formulation of a Dressed Coupled-Cluster Method with Implicit Triple Excitations and Benchmark Application to Hydrogen-Bonded Systems

In this paper, we present a coupled-cluster theory based on a double-exponential wave operator ansatz, which is capable of mimicking the effects of connected triple excitations in an iterative manner. The triply excited manifold is spanned via the action of a set of scattering operators on doubly excited determinants, whereas their action annihilates the Hartree-Fock reference determinant. The effect of triple excitations is included at a computational scaling slightly higher than that of conventional coupled-cluster singles and doubles. Furthermore, we demonstrate two approximate schemes, which arise naturally, and argue that both these schemes come equipped with certain renormalization terms capable of handling nonbonding interactions due to robust inclusion of the screened Coulomb interaction. We justify our claims from both a theoretical perspective and a number of numerical applications to prototypical water clusters, in a number of basis functions. Our methods show overall comparable performance to the canonical coupled-cluster theory with singles, doubles, and perturbative triples (CCSD(T)) and allied methods, however, at a lower computational scaling.

Stability analysis of a double similarity transformed coupled cluster theory

In this paper, we have analyzed the time series associated with the iterative scheme of a double similarity transformed coupled cluster theory. The coupled iterative scheme to solve the ground state Schrödinger equation is cast as a multivariate time-discrete map, and the solutions show the universal Feigenbaum dynamics. Using recurrence analysis, it is shown that the dynamics of the iterative process is dictated by a small subgroup of cluster operators, mostly those involving chemically active orbitals, whereas all other cluster operators with smaller amplitudes are enslaved. Using synergetics, we will indicate how the master-slave dynamics can suitably be exploited to develop a novel coupled-cluster algorithm in a much reduced dimension.

Risk factors for early mortality in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis admitted to the emergency room

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Mortality of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) admitted to emergency departments is high. This study was aimed at analysing the risk factors associated with early mortality and designing a risk score based on simple parameters.

METHODS

This prospective case-control study enrolled patients admitted to the emergency department of a referral TB hospital. Clinical, radiological, biochemical and microbiological risk factors associated with death were compared among patients dying within one week from admission (cases) and those surviving (controls).

RESULTS

Forty-nine of 250 patients (19.6%) experienced early mortality. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that oxygen saturation (SaO₂) ≤90%, severe malnutrition, tachypnoea, tachycardia, hypotension, advanced disease at chest radiography, severe anaemia, hyponatremia, hypoproteinemia and hypercapnia were independently and significantly associated with early mortality. A clinical scoring system was further designed to stratify the risk of death by selecting five simple parameters (SpO₂ ≤ 90%, tachypnoea, hypotension, advanced disease at chest radiography and tachycardia). This model predicted early mortality with a positive predictive value of 94.88% and a negative predictive value of 19.90%.

CONCLUSIONS

The scoring system based on simple parameters may help to refer severely ill patients early to a higher level to reduce mortality, improve success rates, minimise the need for pulmonary rehabilitation and prevent post-treatment sequelae.

Seasonal fluctuation in three mode of greenhouse gases emission in relation to soil labile carbon pools in degraded mangrove, Sundarban, India

Tropical mangrove represents one of the most threatened ecosystems despite their huge contribution to ecosystem services, carbon (C) sequestration and climate change mitigation. Understanding the system in light of seasonal fluctuations on greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions due to human interferences and the tidal effect is important for devising site-specific real-time climate change mitigation strategies. In order to capture the seasonal variations, the three modes of transport of GHGs through pneumatophore, ebullition as bubbles and water-soluble diffusion was quantified. The three unique techniques for the gas collection were used to estimate the GHGs [methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and carbon dioxide (CO₂)] emission, at three degraded-mangrove sites in Sundarban, India. We identified three degraded mangrove ecologies based on the remote sensing data of 1930 and 2013 (mangrove-covered area in Sundarban; 2387, 2136 km², respectively). Samples were collected and analyzed for four seasons [winter (November-January), summer (February-April), pre-monsoon (May-June) and monsoon (July-October)], at three representative sites (Sadhupur, Dayapur, and Pakhiralaya). Monsoonal CH₄ and CO₂ fluxes (0.353 ± 0.026 and 64.5 ± 6.1 mmol m^-2 d^-1, respectively) were higher than winter and summer. However, the soil labile C pools showed the opposite trend i.e. more in summer followed by winter and monsoon. In contrast, the N₂O fluxes were more during summer (54.2 ± 3.2 μmol m^-2 d^-1). The stagnant water had higher dissolved GHGs concentration compared to tidewater due to less salinity and a long time of stagnation. The mode of transport of GHGs through pneumatophore, ebullition, and water-soluble diffusion was also significantly varied with seasons, soil‑carbon status and tidewater intrusion. Therefore, seasonal fluctuations of GHGs emission and tidal effect must be considered along with soil labile C pools for GHG-C budgeting and climate change mitigation in the mangrove ecosystem.

First operation in SPIDER and the path to complete MITICA

The requirements of ITER neutral beam injectors (1 MeV, 40 A negative deuterium ion current for 1 h) have never been simultaneously attained; therefore, a dedicated Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) was set up at Consorzio RFX (Padova, Italy). The NBTF includes two experiments: SPIDER (Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from Rf plasma), the full-scale prototype of the source of ITER injectors, with a 100 keV accelerator, to investigate and optimize the properties of the ion source; and MITICA, the full-scale prototype of the entire injector, devoted to the issues related to the accelerator, including voltage holding at low gas pressure. The present paper gives an account of the status of the procurements, of the timeline, and of the voltage holding tests and experiments for MITICA. As for SPIDER, the first year of operation is described, regarding the solution of some issues connected with the radiofrequency power, the source operation, and the characterization of the first negative ion beam.

Quantification of atomic hydrogen anion density in a permanent magnet based helicon ion source (HELEN) by using pulsed ring down spectroscopy

In the present work, a permanent magnet-based helicon plasma source (HELEN) is characterized as a negative ion source. A noninvasive diagnostic technique based on cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) is developed to measure the line-integrated negative hydrogen ion (H^-) density in HELEN. This paper discusses the experimental results in which negative hydrogen ion density is measured for different magnetic field, pressure, and RF (13.56 MHz) power configurations. It is observed that in high power range (800-850 W), the source is operating in helicon wave heating mode with a background plasma density of ∼10¹⁸ m^-3 and electron temperature of ∼2 eV. Negative hydrogen ion density is measured by CRDS method and also by optical emission spectroscopic technique. The measured negative ion density is in the range of ∼10¹⁶ m^-3 under volume mode operational condition even without any use of standard magnetic filter or cesium seeding in the downstream region. The influence of pressure variation (pressure range from 4 × 10^-3 mbar to 4 × 10^-2 mbar) on negative ion density production is not significant, except for a particular axial magnetic field configuration (55 G) and at 8 × 10^-3 mbar pressure, where ∼34% hike is observed.

Nontyphoidal Salmonella: a potential anticancer agent

Use of bacteria in cancer therapy, despite being considered as a potent strategy, has not really picked up the way other methods of cancer therapies have evolved. However, in recent years, the interest on use of bacteria to kill cancer cells has renewed considerably. The standard and widely followed strategies of cancer treatment often fail either due to the complexity of tumour biology or because of the accompanying side effects. In contrast, these limitations can be easily overcome in a bacteria-mediated approach. Salmonella is a bacterium, which is known for its ability to colonize solid or semisolid tumours more efficiently than any other bacteria. Among more than 2500 serovars of Salmonella, S. Typhimurium has been widely studied for its antagonistic effects on cancer cells. Here in, we review the current status of the preclinical and the clinical studies with a focus on the mechanisms that attribute the anticancer properties to nontyphoidal Salmonella.

A virome from ornamental flowers in an Australian rural town

Samples of leaves exhibiting symptoms resembling those caused by virus infection were collected from ornamental street flowers in a rural town in Western Australia. Thirty-seven leaf samples were collected from plants of iris, tulip, lily, daffodil, stock and grape hyacinth. Shotgun sequencing of cDNA derived from leaf samples was done, and analysis showed that about 6% of the sequences obtained were of viral origin. Assembly of virus-like sequences revealed complete or partial genome sequences of 13 virus isolates representing 11 virus species. Eight of the isolates were of potyviruses, one was of a macluravirus, three were of potexviruses, and one was of a bunya-like virus. The complete genome of an isolate originally classified as ornithogalum mosaic virus was genetically divergent and differed in polyprotein cleavage motifs, and we propose that this isolate represents a distinct species. The implications of importing to Australia live plant propagules infected with viruses are discussed.

Assessment of trace metal contamination of wetland sediments from eastern and western coastal region of India dominated with mangrove forest

Ecosystem and biodiversity of India's coastal areas dominated with mangrove forest have been threatened by growing anthropogenic activities. The present work aims to investigate the contamination of wetland sediments with trace elements and assess the sediment quality at different sampling locations in eastern and western costal region dominated with mangrove forest. The longitudinal profile of trace elements in sediments from different sampling locations analyzed by employing Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer shows variations in distribution of elements like Al, Si, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb. The enrichment factor (EF) and Geo-accumulation index (I_geo) values suggested depletion of clay minerals and enrichment of heavy metals like Cr, Cu Fe and Mn. Depending on the variations in Igeo values, the elements are put into I_geo Class 0 to 3 levels of contamination. Contamination factor (Cf) and pollution load index (PLI) suggested deterioration of sediments analyzed in the present study. Assessment of ecological risk potential of elements suggests that few elements (Cr and Cu) are moderately contaminated and may cause environmental stress on the exposed flora and fauna.

Age Related Natural Killer Activity of Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes from Healthy Subjects and Cancer Patients. A Comparative in Vitro Study with Interleukin-2

Aims and Beckground

Natural killer (NK) cell activity is known to be depressed in neoplastic diseases, and ageing influences the cytotoxicity of NK cells. However, very little information is available on the responsiveness of NK cells of cancer patients to the stimulating effects of interleukin-2 (IL-2) as a function of age.

Methods

We assessed in vitro IL-2 induced modulation of NK activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from 7 young (30-50 years) and 9 elderly (55-78 years) male patients with carcinoma of the oral cavity. In these patients generation of lyphokine activated killer (LAK) activity was also studied. NK and LAK activity of PBL were measured in 14 age and sex matched healthy volunteers as who served as conrols. Cytotoxicity of the NK and LAK cells was assayed against NK sensitive K562 and NK resistant Daudi cells in 4-h 51 Cr-release assays.

Results

NK activity in the cancer patients was significantly lower than that in healthy volunteers. In both groups the younger subjects had higher NK activity than the elderly ones. NK cells of both young and elderly healthy controls responded similarly to 24-hour in vitro exposure to human recombinant IL-2 (rIL-2, 100 u/ml) with highly increased cytotoxicity. Though there was significant enhancement of NK activity with rIL-2 in both young and elderly cancer patients, the rIL-2 induced NK cytotoxicity in the elderly patients was much lower than the basal level of NK activity of the age matched controls. Interestingly, LAK activity, generated by 3-7 days of in vitro exposure of PBL to rlL-2 was comparable in the cancer patients and healthy volunteers

Conclusion

The data suggest serious impairment of NK function in elderly patients with oral carcinoma. Generation of LAK activity with exogenous IL-2 could be an important modality of treatment in these patients.

The local and global climate forcings induced inhomogeneity of Indian rainfall

India is home for more than a billion people and its economy is largely based on agrarian society. Therefore, rainfall received not only decides its livelihood, but also influences its water security and economy. This situation warrants continuous surveillance and analysis of Indian rainfall. These kinds of studies would also help forecasters to better tune their models for accurate weather prediction. Here, we introduce a new method for estimating variability and trends in rainfall over different climate regions of India. The method based on multiple linear regression helps to assess contributions of different remote and local climate forcings to seasonal and regional inhomogeneity in rainfall. We show that the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall (ISMR) variability is governed by Eastern and Central Pacific El Niño Southern Oscillation, equatorial zonal winds, Atlantic zonal mode and surface temperatures of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, and the North East Monsoon Rainfall variability is controlled by the sea surface temperature of the North Atlantic and extratropial oceans. Also, our analyses reveal significant positive trends (0.43 mm/day/dec) in the North West for ISMR in the 1979–2017 period. This study cautions against the significant changes in Indian rainfall in a perspective of global climate change.

Interrelationship between iodine nutritional status of lactating mothers and their absolutely breast-fed infants in coastal districts of Gangetic West Bengal in India

Iodine nutritional status of 128 lactating mothers and their breast-fed infants (1-3 months) from iodine-replete villages during post-salt iodization period was evaluated. Mothers' urine, blood, and breast milk (BM) and infants' urine and blood were collected and analyzed for iodine and serum FT₄ and TSH estimation. Mothers' and infants' age, parity, occupation, education, and household income were recorded. Median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) of infants was 250 μg/L, indicating their iodine intake was more than adequate. Mothers' median UIC was 185 μg/L, indicating adequate iodine nutrition; however, 13.28% had mild to severe deficiency. Median breast milk iodine concentration (BMIC) was 230 μg/L, which was more than their median UIC 185 μg/L. In iodine-deficient mothers, positive correlation was found between mothers' and infants' serum FT₄ and TSH levels, and negative correlation was found between mothers' and infants' serum FT₄ and TSH levels in excessive iodine nutrition group.

CONCLUSION

Iodine intake of breast-fed infants was at the limit of above requirement, and they are possibly at the risk of excess iodine intake. In iodine deficient and excessive iodine intake mothers, their infants' serum FT₄ and TSH are independent on their iodine nutritional status but dependent on thyroid hormone profile of their mothers but differently. What is Known: • A median urinary iodine of 100 μg/L is used to define adequate iodine intake of lactating mothers and children < 2 years. However, adequate iodine intake in terms of urinary iodine of infants of age 1-3 months is not known. What is New: • Iodine intake of absolutely breast-fed infants (1-3 months) was more than adequate, though their mother's intake was adequate as breast milk contains more iodine than urine. The infants of iodine deficient and excessive iodine intake mothers, infants' hormonal profile is independent of their iodine nutritional status but dependent on their mothers thyroid hormone profile.

Performance evaluation of a permanent ring magnet based helicon plasma source for negative ion source research

Helicon wave heated plasmas are much more efficient in terms of ionization per unit power consumed. A permanent magnet based compact helicon wave heated plasma source is developed in the Institute for Plasma Research, after carefully optimizing the geometry, the frequency of the RF power, and the magnetic field conditions. The HELicon Experiment for Negative ion-I source is the single driver helicon plasma source that is being studied for the development of a large sized, multi-driver negative hydrogen ion source. In this paper, the details about the single driver machine and the results from the characterization of the device are presented. A parametric study at different pressures and magnetic field values using a 13.56 MHz RF source has been carried out in argon plasma, as an initial step towards source characterization. A theoretical model is also presented for the particle and power balance in the plasma. The ambipolar diffusion process taking place in a magnetized helicon plasma is also discussed.

Keratitis by a rare pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides: A case report

Colletotrichum species have been reported infrequently as the cause of keratitis or subcutaneous lesions. The patient we describe developed keratitis after ocular trauma. The sample from the corneal scrapings grew Colletotrichum gloeosporioides as identified from morphological characters and DNA sequence of the 'Internal Transcribed Spacer' (ITS) region. The patient underwent topical application of amphotericin-B followed by itraconazole and natamycin treatment. Simultaneous oral voriconazole regimen leads to complete regression of corneal ulcer. This report highlights the fact that early and accurate identification and therapy can resolve keratitis caused by rare pathogen C. gloeosporioides.

NAADP mediated calcium signaling in memory CD4+ T cells

Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) is a metabolite of NADP that serves as a Ca2+ mobilizing second messenger in a variety of different eukaryotic cells including lymphocytes. Although the sources of Ca+2 mobilized by NAADP in lymphocytes are still under study and controversial, NAADP-responsive stores in other cells are often acidic, lysosome-related organelles. NAADP-mediated calcium signaling and its downstream physiological responses have been studied in our lab in naïve, effector, and natural regulatory T cells; however, these have not been studied in memory T cells. Since calcium responses vary in different T cell subsets, it is important to examine this pathway in memory cells as well. Memory T cells are important in terms of maintaining a pool in a quiescent state and activating more rapidly than do naïve cells during exposure to cognate antigen. Using a pharmacological approach with the NAADP antagonist Ned-19, we are studying the involvement of NAADP in memory CD4+ T cells during TCR activation and its downstream physiological events, such as proliferation and cytokine production. This study will gain insight into the possible sources of Ca2+ released in response to NAADP-mediated TCR activation of memory CD4+ T cells.