Exogenous methyl jasmonate enhanced kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) tolerance against lead (Pb) toxicity by improving antioxidant capacity and osmoregulators

In this study, the effects of exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on metal uptake and its ability to attenuate metal toxicity in kenaf plants under Pb stress were investigated. The experiment was conducted with five different MeJA concentrations (0, 40, 80, 160, and 320 μM) as a foilar application to kenaf plants exposed to 200 μM Pb stress. The results revealed that pretreatmen of MeJA significantly increased plant dry weight, plant height, and root architecture at all concentrations tested, with the most significant increase at 320 μM. Foliar application of MeJA at 160 μM and 320 μM increased the Pb concentrations in leaves and stems as well as the translocation factor (TF) from root to leaf. However, the bioaccumulation factor in the shoot initially decreased and then increased with increasing MeJA concentration. By increasing enzymatic (SOD, POD, and CAT) and non-enzymatic (AsA and non-protein thiols) antioxidants, MeJA pretreatment decreased lipid peroxidation, O2- and H2O2 accumulation and recovered photosynthetic pigment content under Pb stress. Increased osmolytes (proline, sugar, and starch) and protein content after MeJA pretreatment under Pb stress restore cellular homeostasis and improved kenaf tolerance. Our results suggest that MeJA pretreatment modifies the antioxidant machinery of kenaf and inhibits stress-related processes that cause lipid peroxidation, hence enhancing plant tolerance to Pb stress.

Morpho-physio-biochemical, molecular, and phytoremedial responses of plants to red, blue, and green light: a review

Light is a basic requirement to drive carbon metabolism in plants and supports life on earth. Spectral quality greatly affects plant morphology, physiology, and metabolism of various biochemical pathways. Among visible light spectrum, red, blue, and green light wavelengths affect several mechanisms to contribute in plant growth and productivity. In addition, supplementation of red, blue, or green light with other wavelengths showed vivid effects on the plant biology. However, response of plants differs in different species and growing conditions. This review article provides a detailed view and interpretation of existing knowledge and clarifies underlying mechanisms that how red, blue, and green light spectra affect plant morpho-physiological, biochemical, and molecular parameters to make a significant contribution towards improved crop production, fruit quality, disease control, phytoremediation potential, and resource use efficiency.

Calcium Nanoparticles Impregnated With Benzenedicarboxylic Acid: A New Approach to Alleviate Combined Stress of DDT and Cadmium in Brassica alboglabra by Modulating Bioacummulation, Antioxidative Machinery and Osmoregulators

At present, the alleviation of stress caused by climate change and environmental contaminants is a crucial issue. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a persistent organic pollutant (POP) and an organochlorine, which causes significant health problems in humans. The stress caused by cadmium (Cd) and the toxicity of DDT have direct effects on the growth and yield of crop plants. Ultimately, the greater uptake and accumulation of DDT by edible plants affects human health by contaminating the food chain. The possible solution to this challenging situation is to limit the passive absorption of POPs into the plants. Calcium (Ca) is an essential life component mandatory for plant growth and survival. This study used impregnated Ca (Bd_Ca) of benzenedicarboxylic acid (Bd) to relieve abiotic stress in plants of Brassica alboglabra. Bd_Ca mitigated the deleterious effects of Cd and reduced DDT bioaccumulation. By increasing the removal efficacy (RE) up to 256.14%, Bd_Ca greatly decreased pollutant uptake (Cd 82.37% and DDT 93.64%) and supported photosynthetic machinery (86.22%) and antioxidant enzyme defenses (264.73%), in applied plants. Exogenously applied Bd also successfully improved the antioxidant system and the physiochemical parameters of plants. However, impregnation with Ca further enhanced plant tolerance to stress. This novel study revealed that the combined application of Ca and Bd could effectively relieve individual and combined Cd stress and DDT toxicity in B. alboglabra.

Phytochemical and biological activities of four wild medicinal plants

The fruits of four wild plants, namely, Capparis decidua, Ficus carica, Syzygium cumini, and Ziziphus jujuba, are separately used as traditional dietary and remedial agents in remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The results of our study on these four plants revealed that the examined fruits were a valuable source of nutraceuticals and exhibited good level of antimicrobial activity. The fruits of these four investigated plants are promising source of polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and saponins. These four plants' fruits are good sources of iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, and chromium. It was also observed that these fruits are potential source of antioxidant agent and the possible reason could be that these samples had good amount of phytochemicals. Hence, the proper propagation, conservation, and chemical investigation are recommended so that these fruits should be incorporated for the eradication of food and health related problems.

Survival analysis and prognostic indicators of systemic lupus erythematosus in Pakistani patients

To aim of this study is to analyse the survival rate and prognostic indicators of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Pakistani population. A total of 198 patients with SLE diagnosed between 1992 and 2005 were reviewed retrospectively. Clinical features at presentation, subsequent evolving features, autoantibody profile, damage scores and mortality data were obtained. Prognostic factors for survival were studied by statistical analysis. Of 198 SLE patients studied, 174 were women and 24 were men. The women to men ratio was 7.2:1. Mean age at presentation was 31 years (range 14-76). Mean duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 2.8 years. Mean duration of follow-up was 34.21 months (+/-33.69). Mean disease duration was 15.6 years. At diagnosis, arthritis, malar rash, oral ulcers and alopecia were the commonest features. During the follow-up, the prevalence of nephritis, arthritis, neurological and hematological disease increased significantly. About 76% (n = 151) of the patients had organ damage at the time of data analysis, and renal disease was the commonest cause. Univariate analysis revealed that renal disease (P = 0.000), seizures (P = 0.048), pleural involvement (P = 0.019), alopecia (P = 0.000) and discoid lesions (P = 0.005) were predictors for damage. Multivariate model, however, revealed that only renal disease was independent risk factor for damage (P = 0.002). During the study period, 47 patients (24%) died (five due to disease-related complications and rest as a result of infections). The 3-, 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year survival rates of our cohort were 99, 80, 77, 75 and 75%, respectively. Cox regression analysis revealed that renal involvement (P = 0.002) and infections (P = 0.004) were independent risk factors for mortality. The survival of our Pakistani SLE patients was significantly lower compared to that of the Caucasian series reported in last decade. Nephritis not only contributes to organ damage but also acts a major determinant for survival. Infection remains the commonest cause of death. Renal involvement and infections are independent risk factors for mortality. Judicious use of immunosuppressive agents is necessary to improve the short-term survival of lupus patients.

Recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome in a child due to fibrolipomatous hamartoma of the median nerve successfully treated by limited excision and decompression

We present a case of recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome in a child caused by fibrolipomatous hamartoma of the median nerve which was successfully treated by limited excision of the fibrolipomatous tissue and decompression.

Efficacy of bronchial wash cytology and its correlation with biopsy in lung tumours

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate bronchial wash cytology with histology in our set up.

METHODS

Seventy three specimens were obtained by flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope at pulmonology department of Military Hospital Rawalpindi. All the preserved samples were processed under standard conditions. The slides were stained with Papanicolaou and Haematoxylin and Eosin stains.

RESULTS

A total of 73 patients were studied. The age range was 21 to 80 years. Male to female ratio was 8:1. Complete cytological and biopsy consensus was found in 55 (77.4%) cases. Cytology revealed 24 cases as malignant and nine as atypical/suspicious. Benign and inadequate were 29 and 2 respectively. Histopathology of these cases confirmed 24 (32.9%) as malignant and 29 (39.8%) as benign. True positive alongwith suspicious/atypical were 33 and true negative cases were 29. False positive was one case only whereas false negative cases were eight. The bronchial wash cytology showed sensitivity (80.5%), specificity (96.6%) and accuracy (87.3%). Positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 97% and 78.4% respectively. The commonest types of tumours were squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma.

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that bronchial wash cytology is a valuable tool and yields almost same information as biopsy. It is useful in patients with evidence of obstruction or risk of haemorrhage.

Violence and homicidal behaviors in psychiatric disorders

Our review evaluating the relationship between violent/homicidal behaviors and mental illness/psychiatric disorders used many different data including that assessing the prevalence of violent/homicidal behaviors in former psychiatric inpatients (just before hospitalization, during hospitalization, and after discharge) as outpatients and in community samples as well as evaluating the prevalence rate of psychiatric disorders in people who actually engaged in violent/homicidal disorders (jail detainees, prison inmates, and community samples). Irrespective of which line of investigation, there was convincing evidence that violent/ homicidal behavior was associated significantly with mental illness. Although earlier investigations failed to control for important variables, such as age and sociodemographics, most studies reviewed in this article did control for these items, further underlining the association of violence and mental illness. The question of whether specific psychiatric diagnostic categories are associated with violent/homicidal behavior is less definite across the various studies reviewed. The presence of substance abuse and dependence and alcohol abuse and dependence as well as antisocial personality disorder are particularly associated with an increased risk of violent/homicidal behaviors. The risk for these latter behaviors in schizophrenia, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders may appear somewhat greater than that for a general population but are not of the same magnitude of that for substance abuse or antisocial personality disorder. Interestingly, our outpatient study found that homicidal behaviors were not associated with any specific psychiatric diagnosis. Although understanding whether specific psychiatric diagnostic categories are more prone to violent behaviors may be of importance, most studies have been shortsighted regarding this evaluation. All the studies presented in this article except the ECA project, presented diagnostic data where either the presence of one psychiatric disorder did not preclude the diagnosis of another or assigned subjects/patients into the severest disorder of a predetermined hierarchy of diagnoses or only selected their principal/primary diagnosis. Thus, the effect of having a solitary psychiatric disorder (only one disorder present) as well as the effect of comorbidity per se on the relationship of psychiatric disorders and violent/homicidal behaviors were unexplored. Only the ECA study by Swanson and colleagues reported on the effect of comorbidity. As reviewed earlier in the article, Swanson et al found that comorbidity of psychiatric diagnostic categories further increased the risk of violent/ homicidal behaviors. In most cases, it was many more times than simply adding the rates of either diagnosis alone. Because more than 54% of respondents of the National Comorbidity Survey study who had one DSM-III-R diagnosis also had at least a second Axis I diagnosis, the association of violent/homicidal behaviors to mental illness may even be stronger than originally believed. Within the relationship of violent/homicidal behaviors and mental illness, this article suggests a number of particular risk factors. As just reviewed, substance/alcohol abuse and antisocial personality disorder as well as the presence of comorbid psychiatric disorders are significant risk factors. Which particular comorbid illness increases the risk still needs further elaboration. Studies must continue to try to define and understand the relationship of violent/homicidal behaviors in mental illness. Although mental disorders per se are significantly associated with violent/homicidal behaviors, it is reasonable to believe that targeting certain subgroups of patients should be helpful. Probably the presence of psychotic symptoms is a significant risk factor in violent/ homicidal behaviors in the mentally ill. Only one of the studies reviewed in this article evaluated this issue. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

Modulation of the prolactin response to thyrotropin releasing hormone by ovarian steroids in ovariectomized turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo)

The effect of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) administered intramuscularly (im) on serum levels of prolactin (Prl) in ovariectomized (ovx) adult turkeys before and following the onset of photostimulation, before and during daily administration (im) of progesterone (P; 0.1, 0.4, or 1.0 mg/kg), estradiol benzoate (EB; 0.01, 0.1, or 0.2 mg/kg), or their combination (1.0 mg/kg EB + 0.1 mg/kg P) were studied. Ovariectomy reduced Prl levels in the serum of photostimulated turkeys, and blunted the Prl response to TRH administration. Progesterone treatment had no effect on basal serum Prl levels but the Prl response to TRH was higher in P-treated turkeys than in non-treated ovx turkeys. Basal serum Prl levels were higher (P less than 0.05) in the EB-treated ovx turkeys than in the untreated birds. The Prl response to TRH in ovx EB-treated turkeys was greatly increased (P less than 0.05). Progesterone treatment of EB-primed ovx turkey did not alter the basal levels of serum Prl or the Prl response to TRH administration. These results suggest that ovarian steroids may be responsible for the increased Prl secretion in the female turkey associated with laying.