Supplemental phosphorus can be completely replaced with microbial phytase in White Leghorn layer diets

1. A study was conducted to assess the possibility of totally replacing supplemental phosphorus sources in White Leghorn (WL) layer diets (aged 28 to 45 weeks of age) with microbial phytase supplementation. One thousand commercial layers (HyLine White) of 28 weeks of age were housed in California cages fitted in open-sided poultry shed at the rate of 20 layers in each replicate. Ten replicates were randomly allotted to each treatment, and the respective diet was fed from 28 to 45 weeks of age.2. A control diet (CD) containing the recommended levels of non-phytate phosphorus (3.6 g/kg NPP) and four other test diets (2-5) having sub-optimal levels of NPP (2.4, 2.0, 1.6 and 1.2 g/kg), but with supplemental microbial phytase (600 FTU/kg) were prepared and fed for the trial duration.3. The layers fed with lower levels of NPP with phytase had the same laying performance as the group fed the CD. Egg production, feed efficiency, egg mass, shell defects, egg density, shell weight, shell thickness, ash content and breaking strength of the tibia and sternum were not affected by feeding the lowest concentration of NPP (1.2 g/kg) plus microbial phytase.4. Phytase supplementation in diets with sub-optimal levels of NPP (2.4, 2 and 1.6 g/kg) significantly improved the Haugh unit score compared to those fed the CD.5. It was concluded that supplemental phosphorus can be completely replaced with microbial phytase (600 FTU/kg) in a diet without affecting egg production, shell quality or bone mineral variables in WL layers (28 to 45 weeks).

Feed emulsifier improves the performance and nutrient digestibility in broiler chicken fed diets without antibiotic growth promoter

1. A study was conducted to assess the impact of supplementing-graded concentrations of emulsifier on the production performance, gut microbial count, and digestibility of nitrogen and energy in broiler chicken fed diets without AGP.2. Male broiler chicks (n = 1500; Vencobb-430), aged one-day-old, were randomly allocated into six dietary groups each with 10 replicates of 25 birds each. A maize-soybean and meat and bone meal-based basal diet without antibiotic (AGP) growth promoter served as negative control (NC). The basal diet was supplemented with BMD (AGP, bacitracin methylene disalicylate-BMD 100 g/T), which served as the positive control (PC). Emulsifier was added to the NC diets at either 250 g/ton in all phases (250-All), 250 g in starter and grower phases, and 500 g in the finisher phase (250:250:500), 250 g in starter and 500 g in both grower and finisher phases (250:500:500) and 500 g in all phases (500 g-All).3. Two broilers per replicate were slaughtered to record carcase traits and gut microbial count on day 43. There was significant improvement in body weight gain (BWG) and reduced FCR in broilers fed 250:250:500 and 250:500:500 g emulsifiers compared to other treatment groups. Carcase traits and faecal microbial count did not differ among treatments. The inclusion of BMD significantly improved nitrogen (N) digestibility compared to the NC group. The digestibility of emulsifier-supplemented groups was similar to those fed by the BMD group except for the 500-All group, which was an intermediary between NC and other emulsifier-fed groups.4. It was concluded that supplementation with emulsifier (250:250:500 or 250:500:500) without antibiotic growth promoter significantly improved FCR and body weight gain similar to broilers receiving antibiotic growth promoter, which was associated with increased ileal digestibility of N and energy.

Development of monoclonal antibodies to target the large surface protein of hepatitis B virus and their use in therapeutic and diagnostic applications

Over 250 million people are living with chronic infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV has three surface proteins, namely small (SHBs), medium (MHBs) and large (LHBs), and they play different roles in the virus life cycle. The approved hepatitis B vaccine only contains the SHBs protein and many studies have focused on characterising the functional domains in SHBs. Although the LHBs protein is less studied, recent studies have shown that it plays important roles in mediating viral entry, replication and assembly. Over the years, there have been major advancements in monoclonal antibody (mAb) discovery tools and multiple mAbs have been developed to specifically target the preS1 domain in LHBs. We summarise the HBV infection systems and antibody discovery strategies that have been utilised by various research groups to assess the potential use of anti-preS1 mAbs as therapeutic antibodies against HBV or in the development of new diagnostic assays.

Phage engineering for development of diagnostic tools

The bacteriophages rely on the host cell to provide energy and resources for their own replication. Antibody-based diagnostic tests rely on the antibody and the biomarker interactions. Since, most of these diagnostic tools employ the use of antibodies; hence, they require intensive storage protocols at cold conditions and incur high time and capital cost due to their production and purification process. Phage-based diagnostics can overcome this limitation. Bacteriophages, have been used as emerging tools for the detection of various pathogens. Rapid phage-mediated detection assays have become commercial diagnostic tools. Conventional method and new cloning approaches have been followed to specifically detect a disease- causing microbial strains. This review discusses use of Phage typing as diagnostic tools, phage-based detection methods, and their usage for signal amplification. Design rules for reporter phage engineering are also discussed followed by different engineering platforms for phage genome editing. We also discuss recent examples of how phage research is influencing the recent advances in the development of phage-based diagnostics for ultra-sensitive detection of various bio-species, outlining the advantages and limitations of detection technology of phage-based assays.

Effect of dietary supplementation of zinc proteinate on performance, egg quality, blood biochemical parameters, and egg zinc content in White Leghorn layers

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of zinc proteinate (Zn-P) on laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant indices, and egg zinc content in laying hens from 38 to 49 weeks of age. A total of 150 White Leghorn layers were randomly assigned to five treatments, each with six replicates with five birds per replication. Dietary treatments included a corn-soybean meal-based basal diet with no zinc addition and basal diet supplemented with Zn-P at 40, 80, 120, or 160 mg/kg of feed for 12 weeks. The analyzed zinc concentrations of the five diets were 29.5, 70.8, 110.2, 147.5, and 187.5 mg Zn/kg, respectively. Dietary Zn-P supplementation had no effect on feed intake and egg production. However, raising the zinc level improved egg weight (P < 0.01) and egg mass (P < 0.05) and lowered the feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05) during the later (46-49 weeks) period. The Zn-P supplementation also significantly (P < 0.05) increased Haugh units, egg shell strength, and shell thickness and had no influence on other egg quality parameters. Increasing zinc levels in the diet resulted in increase in egg zinc contents and serum zinc level. The serum triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol levels significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in Zn-P-supplemented groups. Supplementation of Zn-P significantly (P < 0.05) increased serum Cu-Zn-SOD activity and reduced MDA concentration. It could be concluded that dietary supplementation of higher levels of Zn-P, more than 80 mg/kg diet, significantly improved the egg zinc content, some egg quality traits, antioxidant activity, and serum zinc levels.

Genome assisted probiotic characterization and application of Bacillus velezensis ZBG17 as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in broiler chickens

The present study describes genome annotation and phenotypic characterization of Bacillus velezensis ZBG17 and evaluation of its performance as antibiotic growth promoter substitute in broiler chickens. ZBG17 comprises 3.89 Mbp genome with GC content of 46.5%. ZBG17 could tolerate simulated gastrointestinal juices prevalent in the animal gut. Some adhesion-associated genomic features of ZBG17 supported the experimentally determined cell surface hydrophobicity and cell aggregation results. ZBG17 encoded multiple secondary metabolite gene clusters correlating with its broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. Interestingly, ZBG17 completely inhibited Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli within 6 h and 8 h in liquid co-culture assay, respectively. ZBG17 genome analysis did not reveal any genetic determinant associated with reported safety hazards for use as a poultry direct-fed microbial. Dietary supplementation of ZBG17 significantly improved feed utilization efficiency and humoral immune response in broiler chickens, suggesting its prospective application as a direct-fed microbial in broiler chickens.

Repurposed Antiviral Drugs for the Treatment of COVID-19: Syntheses, Mechanism of Infection and Clinical Trials

COVID-19 is a public health emergency of international concern. Although considerable knowledge has been acquired with time about the viral mechanism of infection and mode of replication, yet no specific drugs or vaccines have been discovered against SARS-CoV-2 to date. There are few small molecule antiviral drugs like Remdesivir and Favipiravir, which have shown promising results in different advanced stages of clinical trials. Chloroquinine, Hydroxychloroquine, and Lopinavir- Ritonavir combination, although initially were hypothesized to be effective against SARSCoV- 2, are now discontinued from the solidarity clinical trials. This review provides a brief description of their chemical syntheses along with their mode of action, and clinical trial results available on Google and in different peer-reviewed journals till 24th October 2020.

A Mini Review on the Effectiveness of Peptoids as Therapeutic Interventions against Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases emerged as one of the major age-associated diseases in the recent years. Hence, the urge for understanding the mechanism and to find targeted therapeutics becomes inevitable. Peptide-based compounds emerged as one of the important tools for its therapy. But due to a lack of tolerability, specificity and proteolytic degradation, it loses its applicability in a wider sense. Thus, the search for suitable alternatives or peptidomimetics becomes an important criterion for neurotherapeutics. One of the versatile peptidomimetics are N-substituted glycines or Peptoids, which retain many properties of peptides but are successful in evading the drawbacks of peptides. Peptoids are manifested with greater cellular permeability, less immunogenicity and their ability to be administered intra-nasally. These properties enhance their potential as neurotherapeutics with respect to their peptide counterpart. Recently, peptoids have been explored towards neurotherapeutic applications as aggregation inhibitors, cell signaling pathways modulator, and as agents for inhibiting inflammations via multiple mechanisms. Peptoids, due to their versatility and low production cost, are becoming popular among peptidomimetics as potential neurotherapeutic agents. In this review, the diverse applications of peptoids with respect to neurodegenerative disease have been explored.

Silver-Based Nanomaterials as Therapeutic Agents Against Coronaviruses: A Review

Since the identification of the first human coronavirus in the 1960s, a total of six coronaviruses that are known to affect humans have been identified: 229E, OC43, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), NL63, HKU1, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Presently, the human world is affected by a novel version of the coronavirus family known as SARS-CoV-2, which has an extremely high contagion rate. Although the infection fatality rate (IFR) of this rapidly spreading virus is not high (ranging from 0.00% to 1.54% across 51 different locations), the increasing number of infections and deaths has created a worldwide pandemic situation. To provide therapy to severely infected patients, instant therapeutic support is urgently needed and the repurposing of already approved drugs is presently in progress. In this regard, the development of nanoparticles as effective transporters for therapeutic drugs or as alternative medicines is highly encouraged and currently needed. The size range of the viruses is within 60-140 nm, which is slightly larger than the diameters of nanoparticles, making nanomaterials efficacious tools with antiviral properties. Silver-based nanomaterials (AgNMs) demonstrate antimicrobial and disinfectant effects mostly by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and are presently considered as a versatile tool for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Other metal-based nanoparticles have been primarily reported as delivery agents or surface modifying agents, vaccine adjuvant against coronavirus. The present review summarizes and discusses the possible effectiveness of various surface-modified AgNMs against animal coronaviruses and presents a concept for AgNM-based therapeutic treatment of SARS-CoV-2 in the near future.

Tracking changes in soil organic carbon across the heterogeneous agricultural landscape of the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia

Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) can improve the capacity of agricultural systems to both adapt to and mitigate climate change. Despite its importance, the current understanding of the magnitude or even the direction of SOC change in agricultural landscapes is limited. While changes in land use/land cover (LULC) and climate are among the main drivers of changes in SOC, their relative importance for the spatiotemporal assessment of SOC is unclear. This study evaluated LULC and SOC dynamics using archived and recent soil samples, remote sensing, and digital soil mapping in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. We combined both pixel- and object-based analysis of Landsat satellite imagery to assess LULC changes from 1984 to 2018. We achieved an overall accuracy of 81% and kappa coefficient of 0.77 for LULC classification using a random forest model. For predicting SOC for the same time period, we applied soil and vegetation indices derived from Landsat images, topographic indices, historic soil survey variables, and climate data in a random forest model. The SOC prediction of 2018 resulted in a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.67, concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) of 0.76, and normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) of 0.12. For 1984, the SOC prediction accuracies were 0.46, 0.58, and 0.18 for R², CCC, and nRMSE, respectively. We detected SOC loss in 61%, gain in 12%, while 27% remained unchanged across the study area. Although we detected large losses of SOC due to LULC change, the majority of the SOC losses across the landscape were attributed to areas that were remained in the same type of agricultural production since 1984. Climate variability did not, however, have a strong effect on SOC changes. These results can inform decision making in the study area to support sustainable LULC management for enhancing SOC sequestration.

Evaluation of feeding value of combination of alternate protein sources in White Leghorn layers

1. A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of including graded levels of an alternate protein mixture (APM) containing cottonseed meal, distillery dried grain with solubles and mustard seed meal in a fixed ratio as a substitute for soybean meal in layer diets (hens aged 27 to 46 weeks). The trial studied the possibility of higher inclusion levels of APM with increased dietary concentrations of crude protein (CP) or critical amino acids (CAA). 2. Maize-soybean meal diet was used as the control diet. In experiment 1, APM was included at 0, 120, 160 and 200 g/kg diet (145 g/kg CP). In experiment 2, the control and three test diets (200 g/kg APM) with three levels of CP (145, 155 and 165 g/kg) were used. In experiment 3, a control and four test diets (200 g/kg APM) with four concentrations of CAA (100%, 105%, 110% and 115% relative to the control) were used. In all experiments, each diet was fed ad libitum to nine replicates of 88 birds each, housed in colony cages. 3. In experiment 1, egg production (EP) and feed intake (FI) were not affected by feeding up to 160 g/kg APM, but, at 200 g/kg, EP was significantly reduced. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) for the hens fed the highest level of APM was similar to the control. Egg weight (EW) and egg mass (EM) in the 160 and 200 g/kg AMS groups were lower than the control group. 4. Increase in dietary CP from 145 to 155 g/kg improved EP and reduced FCR to levels similar to the control group. EM in hens fed 165 g/kg APM was similar to the control in experiment 2. 5. Increasing concentrations of CAA progressively improved EP and reduced FCR in experiment 3. The EP at CAA 110% and FCR at CAA 105% were similar to the control group. 6. Based on the results, it was concluded that the APM can be included up to 160 g/kg diet without affecting layer performance, as long as the diet supplied the recommended levels of protein and amino acids. By increasing either protein from 145 to 155 g/kg or CAA concentrations by 10%, the dietary levels of the APM could be increased to 200 g/kg without affecting the layer performance.

Low Viability of Cholera Toxin-Producing Vibrio cholerae O1 in the Artificial Low Ionic Strength Aquatic Solution

It has been well known that Vibrio cholerae inhabit in environmental water. As many patients infected with cholera toxin-producing V. cholerae O1 (toxigenic V. cholerae O1) emerge in Kolkata, India, it has been thought that toxigenic V. cholerae O1 is easily detected in environmental water in Kolkata. However, we could not isolate toxigenic V. cholerae O1 from environmental water in Kolkata, though NAG Vibrio (generic name of V. cholerae non-O1/non-O139) is constantly detected. To clear the reason for the non-isolation of toxigenic V. cholerae O1, we examined the viability of V. cholera O1 and NAG Vibrios in the artificial low ionic strength aquatic solution. We found that the viability of toxigenic V. cholerae O1 in the solution is low, but that of NAG Vibrios is high. Subsequently, we examined the viability of NAG Vibrios possessing cholera toxin gene (ctx) in the same condition and found that the viability of these NAG Vibrios is low. These results indicate that the existence of ctx in V. cholerae affects the viability of V. cholerae in the aquatic solution used in this experiment. We thought that there was closely relation between the low viability of toxigenic V. cholerae O1 in the artificial low ionic strength aquatic solution and the low frequency of isolation of the strain from environmental water.

Identification and characterization of trait-specific SNPs using ddRAD sequencing in water buffalo

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) is one of the important molecular markers widely used in animal breeding program for improvement of any desirable genetic traits. Considering this, the present study was carried out to identify, annotate and analyze the SNPs related to four important traits of buffalo viz. milk volume, age at first calving, post-partum cyclicity and feed conversion efficiency. We identified 246,495, 168,202, 74,136 and 194,747 genome-wide SNPs related to mentioned traits, respectively using ddRAD sequencing technique based on 85 samples of Murrah Buffaloes. Distribution of these SNPs were highest (61.69%) and lowest (1.78%) in intron and exon regions, respectively. Under coding regions, the SNPs for the four traits were further classified as synonymous (4697) and non-synonymous (3827). Moreover, Gene Ontology (GO) terms of identified genes assigned to various traits. These characterized SNPs will enhance the knowledge of cellular mechanism for enhancing productivity of water buffalo through molecular breeding.

Feeding status of free-range scavenging chickens in different agro-climatic regions of India

1. The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional status of backyard chickens reared under 4 different agro-climatic conditions (tropical, humid subtropical, cool-temperate and semi-arid) of India during different seasons of the year and to compare their nutritional status with those reared under confined feeding system (CFS). In each season, 15 adult and 15 grower chickens were slaughtered for collecting content of crop and gizzard to assess the nutritional status from different agro-climatic conditions.2. The dry matter content of crop and gizzard was higher (P < 0.01) in chickens reared under backyard conditions compared to those reared under CFS.3. Higher (P < 0.01) crop and gizzard contents were recorded during winter compared to the rainy season. The proportion of grains in the crop during summer and winter season was higher compared to rainy season. Further, there were more insects present in the crop during the rainy season and winter compared to summer.4. The proportion of insects was higher in chickens reared in humid, subtropical and cool temperate regions compared to semi-arid conditions. The consumption of grasses was higher in cool-temperate regions as compared to those reared under other areas.5. Crude protein (CP), Ca, P and gross energy (GE) content of the crop were higher in chickens reared under CFS compared to those reared in backyard systems and CP in the crop contents was lower in backyard chickens reared in humid subtropical and semi-arid regions compared to other areas. Similarly, lower (P < 0.01) Ca levels were seen in crop and gizzard contents from birds reared in semi-arid Rajasthan, and P and GE were lower in tropical wet and dry Telangana (TWT) compared to the chickens reared in the backyard conditions in other regions.6. Based on the results, the nutrient intake for birds utilising the scavenging feed resource base (SFRB) in the TWT region was below the requirements of backyard chickens from the other regions selected in the present study. GE and CP were critically deficient in the SFRB of the TWT region. Therefore, evolving location-specific supplementary diets using locally available feed resources to meet nutrient requirement of backyard chickens is required for optimising production potential.

Effect of supplementing graded concentrations of non-phytate phosphorus on performance, egg quality and bone mineral variables in White Leghorn layers

1. An experiment was conducted to determine optimal non-phytate phosphorus (NPP) concentrations for White Leghorn (WL) layers (22-72 weeks) fed diet containing 38 g Ca/kg. 2. Eight diets with graded concentrations (1.5-3.25 g/kg in increments of 0.25 g) of NPP were prepared. Each diet was fed to eight pen replicates containing 88 birds in each. Performance data was evaluated in three different phases (phase I-22-37 weeks, phase II-38-53 weeks and phase III-54-72 weeks). Optimum levels of NPP were determined by fitting a quadratic polynomial (QP) regression model. 3. Egg production (EP) was not affected (P = 0.059) by the concentration of NPP and interaction between NPP and diet phase was non-significant, indicating that the lowest concentration (1.5 g/kg diet) of NPP used in the study was adequate across the three phases. However, EP was influenced by phase (P < 0.001). 4. Optimum concentration of NPP for feed intake (FI) was estimated to be 1.5, 1.71 and 2.40 g/kg diet during phases I, II and III, respectively. FI per egg mass (EM) or feed efficiency (FE) responded quadratically with NPP and also differed significantly between phases. Optimum concentration of NPP for FE during phases I, II and III was 1.5, 2.56 and 2.32 g/kg diet, respectively. 5. Egg weight (EW), EM, shell weight and thickness were not affected by NPP concentration although all of these variables (except shell weight) were influenced by phases. 6. Breaking strength of tibia and Ca contents in tibia ash were not affected by the concentration of NPP, but bone ash and P contents in tibia ash were influenced (P < 0.001) by NPP. Predicted optimal concentrations of NPP for responses for tibia ash at 44 or 72 weeks, tibia ash P at 44 weeks and tibia ash P at 72 weeks were 1.55, 2.63 and 1.5 g/kg diet, respectively. 7. Based on the results, it was concluded that WL layers required 1.5 g, 2.63 g and 2.4 g, respectively/kg diet during phase I, II and III with the calculated daily intake of 137.3, 278.3 and 262 mg NPP/b/d.

Fall-related hospitalization in people with Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Falls are common in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) but few data exist on fall-related hospitalizations in this group. This population-based study compared fall-related hospital admissions, injury rates and consequences in people with and without PD, and determined whether PD was an independent predictor of fall-related hospital length of stay.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study using probabilistic linkage of hospital data in people aged ≥65 years hospitalized for a fall between 1 July 2005 and 31 December 2013 in New South Wales, Australia. Rates of hospital admissions and injuries per person admitted over the study period were compared between people with and without PD using Poisson or negative binomial regression. Multilevel linear modelling was used to analyse length of stay by clustering individuals and adjusting for possible confounders.

RESULTS

There were 342 265 fall-related hospital admissions in people aged ≥65 years during the study period, of which 8487 (2.5%) were for people with PD. Sixty-seven per cent of fall-related PD admissions were associated with injury and 35% were associated with fracture. People with PD had higher rate ratios for fall admissions (1.63, 95% confidence interval 1.59-1.67) and injury (1.47, 95% confidence interval 1.43-1.51) and longer median length of stay [9 (interquartile range 1-27) vs. 6 (interquartile range 1-20) days in people without PD; P < 0.001]. PD remained associated with increased length of stay after controlling for comorbidity, age, sex and injury (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides important benchmark data for hospitalizations for falls and fall injuries for older people with PD, which may be used to monitor the effect of fall prevention programmes.

Effect of phenolic monomers on biomass and hydrolytic enzyme activities of an anaerobic fungus isolated from wild nil gai (Baselophus tragocamelus)

AIMS

To test the anaerobic fungus, Piromyces sp. FNG5, for its tolerance to phenolic monomers released in the rumen by degradation of lignocellulosic poor-quality feeds.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Effects of phenolic monomers on biomass and fibrolytic enzyme activities of a pure culture of lignocellulolytic anaerobic fungus (Piromyces sp. FNG5) isolated from faeces of wild nil gai (blue bull, Baselophus tragocamelus) were evaluated. There was a reduction in fungal biomass at 1 mm concentration of catechol with complete inhibition at 10 mm. p-Coumaric acid caused a reduction in biomass at 10 mm and no growth was observed above 20 mm concentration. The fungal isolate could tolerate up to 5 mm of ferulic acid without any reduction in biomass level, and was able to grow to some extent up to the highest level of ferulic acid tested (20 mm). Vanillic acid had no effect on biomass of the fungus even up to 50 mm level. The phenolic monomers varied in their potential to inhibit the secretion of carboxymethyl cellulase, xylanase, beta-glucosidase and acetyl esterase activities with catechol being the most inhibitory and vanillic acid being the least inhibitory. After 14 days of incubation, 38.49-65.14%p-Coumaric acid, 65.22-74.10% ferulic acid and 34.13-66.78% vanillic acid disappeared from the medium under anaerobic conditions.

CONCLUSIONS, SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

It is concluded that the anaerobic fungus Piromyces sp. FNG5 is tolerant to phenolic monomers and has ability to degrade them. Therefore, such anaerobic fungi may play an important role in fibre degradation in the rumen.

Distinct abscisic acid signaling pathways for modulation of guard cell versus mesophyll cell potassium channels revealed by expression studies in Xenopus laevis oocytes

Regulation of guard cell ion transport by abscisic acid (ABA) and in particular ABA inhibition of a guard cell inward K(+) current (I(Kin)) is well documented. However, little is known concerning ABA effects on ion transport in other plant cell types. Here we applied patch clamp techniques to mesophyll cell protoplasts of fava bean (Vicia faba cv Long Pod) plants and demonstrated ABA inhibition of an outward K(+) current (I(Kout)). When mesophyll cell protoplast mRNA (mesophyll mRNA) was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, I(Kout) was generated that displayed similar properties to I(Kout) observed from direct analysis of mesophyll cell protoplasts. I(Kout) expressed by mesophyll mRNA-injected oocytes was inhibited by ABA, indicating that the ABA signal transduction pathway observed in mesophyll cells was preserved in the frog oocytes. Co-injection of oocytes with guard cell protoplast mRNA and cRNA for KAT1, an inward K(+) channel expressed in guard cells, resulted in I(Kin) that was similarly inhibited by ABA. However, oocytes co-injected with mesophyll mRNA and KAT1 cRNA produced I(Kin) that was not inhibited by ABA. These results demonstrate that the mesophyll-encoded signaling mechanism could not substitute for the guard cell pathway. These findings indicate that mesophyll cells and guard cells use distinct and different receptor types and/or signal transduction pathways in ABA regulation of K(+) channels.

The World Bank, pensions, and income (in)security in the global south

The authors describe and analyze recent reductions and reorganizations of public pension programs in Latin America, as well as trends in pensions in the global South more broadly. They consider the role of the World Bank in the current pension "reform" process and situate the Bank's policies in the context of privatization, reduction of social budgets, and other aspects of structural adjustment. Chilean pension changes are analyzed in particular, showing that even by the Bank's criteria, the reforms have not been successful. The authors then discuss pension changes in China, where the World Bank is also deeply involved. The article concludes with the consideration of a number of arguments about pensions and support mechanisms in later life--including family support and means-tested welfarism--and argues in favor of global policy approaches, such as globally funded pensions and full access by older persons to productive and remunerated labor.

Evidence for follicle-stimulating hormone mediation in the hemiorchidectomy-induced compensatory increase in the function of the remaining testis of the adult male bonnet monkey (Macaca radiata)

Hemiorchidectomy (HO) in the adult male bonnet monkey results in a selective increase in circulating concentrations of FSH and testosterone, and this is accompanied by compensatory increase in sperm production by the remaining testis. We investigated the possible role of increased FSH concentration that occurs after HO in the compensatory increase in the activity of the remaining testis. Of eight adult male bonnet monkeys that underwent HO, four received i.v. injections every other day for 30 days of a well-characterized ovine FSH antiserum (a/s) that cross-reacts with monkey FSH. The remaining four males received normal monkey serum (NMS) as control treatment in a protocol similar to that employed for a/s-treated males. Blood samples were collected between 2100 and 2200 h before and 1/2, 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 22, and 29 days after HO. Testicular weight, number of 3 beta-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase-positive (3 beta-HSD+) cells, and DNA flow cytometric analysis of germ cell populations were obtained for testes collected before and at the termination of NMS or a/s treatment. In NMS-treated males, circulating serum FSH concentrations progressively increased to reach a maximal level by Day 7 after HO (1.95 +/- 0.3 vs. 5.6 +/- 0.7 ng/ml on Days -1 and 7, respectively). Within 30 min of a/s injection, FSH antibodies were detected in circulation, and the antibody level was maintained at a constant level between Day 7 and end of treatment (exhibiting 50-60% binding to 125I-hFSH).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of partial treatment on purulent meningitis

Various clinical and laboratory parameters were used for comparing 49 previously untreated and 55 partially treated children with purulent meningitis. The percentage of cases having fever, convulsions, unconsciousness and bulging anterior fontanel was almost the same in both groups. There was no difference in the cellular response and protein content of the cerebrospinal fluid. A Gram smear was positive in 32.6% of untreated and in 47.2% of partially treated patients. Percentages for a positive CSF culture were 38.7 and 50.9%; for CSF sugar of less than 40 mg, 59.1 and 72.7% respectively. The case fatality rate was the same in both groups. These observations suggest that partial treatment neither masks clinical and laboratory findings nor affects the case fatality rate in purulent meningitis in children.

Poliomyelitis vaccination of infants: preimmunization status and seroconversion

A study was carried out in Delhi on the preimmunization status of infants aged 2-6 months with regard to poliomyelitis and on seroconversion after the administration of oral poliomyelitis vaccine. It was found that 30.3% of the 204 infants included in the study excreted enteroviruses, 58% of which were found to be polioviruses. Of 197 sera examined for neutralizing antibodies against different types of poliovirus, 73% were found to be triple negative and only 4.0% triple positive. Three doses of oral poliomyelitis vaccine were administered at intervals of 1 month. It was found that 71.8% of the vaccinated infants excreted cytopathogenic agents in the 7 days following the first dose; 80.4% of these agents were found to be polioviruses. Seroconversion was studied in 71 infants, and good antibody responses to all three types of poliovirus were observed.