Clausena lansium, also known as wampee (Clausena wampi), is a plant species native to China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where it is widely cultivated, and also grown in India, Sri Lanka, Queensland, Florida, and Hawaii, but less frequently (3). The fruit can be consumed fresh or made into juice, jam, or succade. In summer to fall 2014, a soft rot disease was found in a wampee planting region in Yunan County, Guangdong Province, China. On Sept. 18, we collected diseased samples from a wampee orchard with about 20% disease incidence. The infected fruit initially showed pinpoint spots on the peel, water-soaked lesions, and light to dark brown discoloration. Spots expanded in 2 days, and tissues collapsed after 5 days. Severely affected fruit showed cracking or nonodorous decay. Five diseased samples were collected, and causal agents were isolated from symptomatic tissues 1 cm under the peel after surface sterilization in 0.3% NaOCl for 10 min and rinsing in sterile water three times. Tissues were placed on a Luria Bertani (LB) plate for culture. Ten representative isolates were selected for further characterization. No colony was isolated from healthy tissues. Colonies were round, smooth, with irregular edges, and produced a yellow pigment in culture. Biolog identification (Version 4.20.05) showed that all strains were gram negative, negative for indole production, and utilized glucose, maltose, trehalose, sucrose, D-lactose, and pectin but not sorbitol or gelatin. The isolates were identified as Pantoea agglomerans (SIM 0.69). Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) was conducted for rapid classification of the strains. Sequences of atpD, gyrB, infB, and rpoB were amplified using corresponding primers (2). All sequences of the 10 isolates were identical in each gene. BLASTn was performed, and maximum likelihood trees based on the concatenated nucleotide sequences of the four genes were constructed using MEGA6. Bootstrap values after 1,000 replicates were expressed as percentages. Results showed that the tested strain named CL1 was most homologous to P. anthophila, with 98% identity for atpD (KM521543), 100% for gyrB (KM521544), infB (KM521545), and rpoB (KM521546). The 16S rRNA sequence (KM521542) amplified by primers 27f and 1492r shared 99% identity with that of P. anthophila M19_2C (JN644500). P. anthophila was previously reclassified from P. agglomerans (3); therefore, we suggest naming this wampee pathogen P. anthophila. Subsequently, 10 wampee fruits were injected with 20 μl of bacterial suspension (1 × 108 CFU/ml) of strains CL1 and CL2, respectively, and another 10 were injected with 20 μl of LB medium as controls, all kept at 28°C for 4 days. Symptoms similar to those of natural infections were observed on inoculated fruits but not on the negative controls. Bacteria were isolated from diseased tissues and further identified as P. anthophila by gyrB sequencing. P. anthophila was reported to naturally infect balsam and marigold (1,2). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. anthophila naturally causing soft rot disease and cracking on C. lansium (wampee). References: (1) C. Brady et al. Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 31:447, 2008. (2) C. Brady et al. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 59:2339, 2009. (3) J. Morton. Fruits of Warm Climates. Echo Point Books & Media, Miami, FL, 1987.
An efficient micropropagation protocol for high frequency plant regeneration was developed using nodal explants derived in vitro seedlings of Bambusa arundinacea which is an important multipurpose and edible bamboo species and recalcitrant to tissue culture. The nodal explants excised from 20-day-old seedlings were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium fortified with various concentrations of 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP) and kinetin (KIN) (0.5-5.0 mg/l) alone and/or in combination with 0.5 mg/l of different auxins [indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)] for shoot bud induction. The combination of BAP (3.0 mg/l) and IBA (0.5 mg/l) was found to be the best for the highest percent of shoot bud initiation (87.2%), with 24.2 shoots/explant. The highest frequency (95.2%) of shoot bud multiplication with maximum number of shoots (90.5 shoots/culture) was noticed on medium containing 4% coconut water with 4% sucrose. The regenerated shoot buds were cultured on MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of auxins alone and/or in combination with AgNO3 (0.5-4.0 mg/l) for in vitro rooting. Maximum percent of rooting (85%) was noticed on MS medium augmented with 3.0 mg/l IBA and 2.0 mg/l AgNO3 after 14 days of culture. Well rooted plantlets obtained were established in the field with 92% survival rate. The present plant regeneration protocol could be used for large scale propagation and ex-situ conservation of this important bamboo species in the near future.
Field size distributions and their changes have not been studied over large areas as field size change datasets are not available. This study quantifies agricultural field size changes in a consistent manner using Landsat satellite data that also provide geographic context for the observed decadal scale changes. Growing season cloud-free Landsat 30 m resolution images acquired from 9 to 25 years apart were used to extract field object classifications at seven sites located by examination of a global agricultural yield map, agricultural production statistics, literature review, and analysis of the imagery in the US Landsat archive. High spatial resolution data were used to illustrate issues identifying small fields that are not reliably discernible at 30 m Landsat resolution. The predominant driver of field size change was attributed by literature review. Significant field size changes were driven by different factors, including technological advancements (Argentina and USA), government land use and agricultural policies (Malaysia, Brazil, France), and political changes (Albania and Zimbabwe). While observed local field size changes were complex, the reported results suggest that median field sizes are increasing due to technological advancements and changes to government policy, but may decrease where abrupt political changes affect the agricultural sector and where pastures are converted to arable land uses. In the limited sample considered, median field sizes increased from 45% (France) to 159% (Argentina) and decreased from 47% (Brazil) to 86% (Albania). These changes imply significant impacts on landscape spatial configuration and land use diversity with ecological and biogeochemical consequences.
BACKGROUND: Calabash chalk, a kaolin-base substance is a common geophagic material mostly consumed by pregnant women. This study investigated its effect on the histomorphology of the foetal cerebral cortex.
METHODS: Twelve gestating Wistar rats were divided equally into groups 1 and 2. On pregnancy day seven (PD7), group 2 animals were administered 200 mg/kg body weight of calabash chalk suspension, while group 1 animals served as the control and received 1 ml of distilled water, by oral gavages and for 14 days (PD7-PD20). On PD21, the dams were sacrificed, and the foetuses removed, examined for gross malformations, weighed and culled to two foetuses per mother. Their whole brains were excised, weighed and preserved using 10% buffered formalin, and routinely processed by haematoxylin and eosin, and Luxol fast blue methods.
RESULTS: The foetuses showed no morphological change, but their mean body weights was higher (p=0.0001). Histomorphological sections of the cerebral cortex showed hypertrophy and hyperplasia of cells in all the cortical layers, with less demonstrated Nissl and higher (p=0.001) cellular population compared with the control group.
CONCLUSION: Calabash chalk cause body weight increase and histomorphological changes in the cerebral cortex of foetuses.
Identifying potential food sources in mangrove ecosystems is complex because of the multifarious inputs from both land and sea. This study, which was conducted in the Manko mangrove ecosystem of Okinawa, Japan, determined the composition of the stable isotopes δ(13)C and δ(15)N in primary producers and macrozoobenthos to estimate the potential food sources assimilated and to elucidate the target trophic levels of the macrozoobenthos. We measured the two stable isotope signatures of three gastropods (Cerithidea sp., Cassidula mustelina, Peronia verruculata), two crabs (Grapsidae sp., Uca sp.), mangrove tree (Kandelia candel) leaves, and sediment from the mangrove ecosystem. The respective carbon and nitrogen isotope signature results were as follows: -22.4‰ and 8.6‰ for Cerithidea sp., -25.06‰ and 8‰ for C. mustelina, -22.58‰ and 8‰ for P. verruculata, -24.3‰ and 10.6‰ for unidentified Grapsidae, -21.87 ‰ and 11.5 ‰ for Uca sp., -29.81‰ and 11‰ for K. candel, and -24.23‰ and 7.2‰ for the sediment. The stable isotope assimilation signatures of the macrozoobenthos indicated sediment as their food source. Considering the trophic levels, the stable isotope values may also indicate that the five macrozoobenthos species were secondary or higher consumers.
The diurnal time-activity patterns of the Small Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) were studied between 2005 and 2006 in the Nagapattinam District of Southern India. Bee-eaters were observed to spend an average of 52.5% of their day time scanning, 21.3% feeding, 13.3% flying, 8.8% resting and 4.1% engaging in preening activities. The time spent on scanning varied among seasons in 2005 (p<0.05) and among time blocks (p<0.05), but it did not vary among years or habitats (p>0.05). The feeding patterns differed among years, seasons within years, time blocks and habitats (p<0.05). The flying habits varied among years, time blocks and habitats (p<0.05) but did not change between seasons within years (p>0.05). The resting habits differed among years and habitats (p<0.05) but did not differ among seasons within years or time blocks (p>0.05). Preening differed among years and time blocks (p<0.05) but did not vary among seasons within years or habitats (p>0.05). We conclude that several factors, such as food availability, environmental factors and predation threats, may affect the diurnal activity patterns of Bee-eaters between habitats and seasons; a further study could clarify this conclusion.
Traditionally, Korean leadership has been perceived as hierarchically authoritative, paternalistic,
nationalistic and as having group consciousness. Unlike western societies which promotes freedom
and human rights, Korean society has been dominated by values of obligation, duty and group
harmony. By focusing on the role of national leadership and Korean entrepreneurship, this paper
examines how the collectivist values have been incorporated into the national ideology, governance
principles as well as Korean management system. Park Chung Hee’s leadership and Korean chaebol
founders are the main subjects of discussion in this paper, since they have laid the foundations
of Korean industries as well as are well known for their collectivist characteristics. This study
shows that the collectivist values worked very well in the early industrialization process of Korea,
Korean industrial players were able to produce goods and services through relatively lower costs,
Korean economy entered into the stage of innovation-driven, the rigidity of the collectivist culture
began to undermine economic performance. In sum, collectivism worked well in the initial stages
of industrialization; however it has not guaranteed better innovation as what had been enjoyed in
western individualist cultures.
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won the Lower House election in 2009 and became the
first party that defeated the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in terms of the number of
seats. The DPJ controlled both chambers, the Upper and Lower House when it formed a
coalition government with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the People’s New Party
(PNP). However, the DPJ administration lasted merely three years and three months
stretching from September 2009 to December 2012. The DPJ was badly defeated in the
Lower House election in 2012, losing 75 percent of its seats. The party obtained only
57 out of 480 seats contested compared with the LDP that won 294 seats. Furthermore,
8 of the DPJ cabinet members were defeated in the electio, including the finance
minister. The former Prime Minister, Naoto Kan also lost his seat in the election, but he
was saved by the Proportional Representative (PR) election system. The objective of this
paper is to analyze the defeat of the DPJ in the Lower House elections in December 2012.
Researchers argue that the change of the electoral system in 1994 which aimed at elevating
the importance of manifestoes in the election as the main cause of the defeat of the party.
Antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) has received significant interest worldwide particularly by the implementation of nanotechnology to synthesize particles in the nanometer region. Many microorganisms exist in the range from hundreds of nanometers to tens of micrometers. ZnO-NPs exhibit attractive antibacterial properties due to increased specific surface area as the reduced particle size leading to enhanced particle surface reactivity. ZnO is a bio-safe material that possesses photo-oxidizing and photocatalysis impacts on chemical and biological species. This review covered ZnO-NPs antibacterial activity including testing methods, impact of UV illumination, ZnO particle properties (size, concentration, morphology, and defects), particle surface modification, and minimum inhibitory concentration. Particular emphasize was given to bactericidal and bacteriostatic mechanisms with focus on generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), OH- (hydroxyl radicals), and O2 -2 (peroxide). ROS has been a major factor for several mechanisms including cell wall damage due to ZnO-localized interaction, enhanced membrane permeability, internalization of NPs due to loss of proton motive force and uptake of toxic dissolved zinc ions. These have led to mitochondria weakness, intracellular outflow, and release in gene expression of oxidative stress which caused eventual cell growth inhibition and cell death. In some cases, enhanced antibacterial activity can be attributed to surface defects on ZnO abrasive surface texture. One functional application of the ZnO antibacterial bioactivity was discussed in food packaging industry where ZnO-NPs are used as an antibacterial agent toward foodborne diseases. Proper incorporation of ZnO-NPs into packaging materials can cause interaction with foodborne pathogens, thereby releasing NPs onto food surface where they come in contact with bad bacteria and cause the bacterial death and/or inhibition.
The effects of the supporting reagents hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) and potassium chloride (KCl) mixed in zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO3)2·6H2O) on the morphological, structural, and optical properties of the resulting ZnO nanostructures electrodeposited on graphene/glass substrates were investigated. The supporting reagent HMTA does not increase the density of nanorods, but it does remarkably improve the smoothness of the top edge surfaces and the hexagonal shape of the nanorods even at a low temperature of 75 °C. Hydroxyl (OH-) ions from the HMTA suppress the sidewall growth of non-polar planes and promote the growth of ZnO on the polar plane to produce vertically aligned nanorods along the c axis. By contrast, the highly electronegative chlorine (Cl-) ions from the supporting reagent KCl suppress the growth of ZnO on the polar plane and promote the growth on non-polar planes to produce vertical stacking nanowall structures. HMTA was found to be able to significantly improve the crystallinity of the grown ZnO structures, as indicated by the observation of much lower FWHM values and a higher intensity ratio of the emission in the UV region to the emission in the visible region. Equimolar mixtures of Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and the supporting reagents HMTA and KCl seem to provide the optimum ratio of concentrations for the growth of high-density, uniform ZnO nanostructures. The corresponding transmittances for such molar ranges are approximately 55-58 % (HMTA) and 63-70 % (KCl), which are acceptable for solar cell and optoelectronic devices.
This review paper briefly explains the meaning and characteristics of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). EDCs comprise various types of natural and synthetic chemical compounds that can impede the reproductive action of the endocrine system in animals and humans. Further discussion is on bisphenol A (BPA), one of the examples of EDCs that is extensively used in industries nowadays. It acts as a monomer, which is desired in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. BPA later ends up in environmental compartments (air, water, sediment). In spite of this, BPA is not categorized as a persistent compound and it will be degraded either by photolysis or bacteria. It can only exist between three and five days in the environment. The concentration of BPA varies in different locations depending on the temperature, pH, source and time of sampling. BPA has been frequently debated due to its toxicity and carcinogenicity towards animals and humans. This paper also explains several extraction procedures and analytical methods concerning how to identify BPA in either aqueous or solid samples. However, an additional review is needed in respect of how to handle, reduce the level of BPA in the environment and understand the details concerning the existence of BPA.
In this study, the substrate specificity and the inhibition kinetics of various types of insecticides to the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from a local fish; Puntius schwanenfeldii were investigated. The substrate specificity determination was done using three thiocholine substrates, which were ATC, PTC and BTC. The results showed that he partially purified cholinesterase from Puntius schwanenfeldii that preferred ATC is a true AChE. The Km and Vmax values of AChE for these substrates were 16.61 mmol and 286.5 U/mg for ATC, 19.92 mmol and 245.3 U/mg for PTC, and 48.64 mmol and 219.6 U/mg for BTC, respectively. The IC50 values for the carbamates bendiocarb, carbaryl, propoxur, carbofuran and methomyl were 0.838, 7.045, 29.441, 1.411 and 8.335 mg/L, respectively, which were comparable to the IC50 values for carbamates from several AChE from fish.
The Malacca river runs through the Malacca UNESCO heritage site where a number of historical buildings are located. The river itself runs through several industrial sites that increase the chances of the water being polluted. Water pollution including heavy metals, in the long run, can damage the reputation of the site. Hence monitoring of the water quality needs to be done periodically. As the cost of instrumental monitoring is costly, biomonitoring using enzyme is being intensely developed worldwide. In this study, a rapid inhibitive enzyme assay using the molybdenum-reducing enzyme from the bacterium Serratia sp. strain DRY6 sensitive to the heavy metals mercury, copper, silver, and chromium was developed as a method for a rapid monitoring of heavy metals. The IC¬50 values for mercury, copper, silver and chromium were 0.268, 0.352, 0.393 and 0.499 mg L-1, while the LOD values were 0.166, 0.071, 0.033 and 0.064 mg L-1, respectively. The IC50 values for these heavy metals are comparable and in several cases, more sensitive than established assays. Water samples from various locations in the Melaka river were tested for the presence of heavy metals using the developed assay. Enzyme activity was found to be inhibited in one sampling location, but the concentration of metal ions on the site was found to be below the Maximum Permissible Limit according to Malaysian Environmental Quality standard. The assay for heavy metals can be completed in less than 10 minutes and can be carried out at ambient temperature. The assay is rapid and simple and can be used as a first screening method or even near real-time method for routine monitoring of heavy metals.
Human activities in a large array of industrial and agricultural sectors produce chemical contaminants which are chiefly hydrocarbons of various types that are potentially toxic and carcinogenic to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Globally, millions of tons of these pollutants are generated annually, and in some areas, they are released indiscriminately to the environment. In order to overcome this problem, microbiological decontamination or bioremediation has been suggested. Bioremediation has been argued to be an efficient, economic, and adaptable alternative to physicochemical remediation. However, to date, such claims of successful bioremediation are often not supported by evidence from toxicity studies. In this regard, luminescent bacteria have been employed in some hydrocarbon remediation experiments to denote reduction in toxicity. In this review, the utilization of luminescence bacteria as toxicity monitoring agent for hydrocarbon remediation is discussed.
Acrylamide is a monomer to polyacrylamide; a polymer with diverse application in basic research, industries and agriculture. The monomer is highly toxic while the polymeric form is slowly degraded to its monomeric form in the environment. In this mini review, the toxicity, uses, pollution and biodegradation of this important monomer are discussed. An important aspect of this review is to highlight the application of microorganisms as remediating agent for the removal of this compound from the environment.
The mistletoe fig (Ficus deltoidea) is frequently found in several areas of the world, and primarily functions as houseplant or an ornamental shrub. The plant is discovered indigenous generally in Asia tropical region for example Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. Scientific studies on the effect of plant growth regulators on cells production from this plant are vital as optimization of cells production may result in effective production of secondary products characterization and output. The growth of cell suspension cultures from this plant shows sigmoidal property. In this work, we model the effect of the plant growth regulator 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) on the growth kinetics of the cells from this plant according to the modified Gompertz model. The coefficient of determination showed good agreement between experimental and predicted data with values ranging from 0.97-0.98. The results showed that 2,4-D at 2 mg/L was optimal for achieving the highest cells growth rate. It is anticipated that the growth parameter constants extracted from the modelling exercise will be helpful in the future for additional secondary modelling on the effect of media conditions as well as other factors on cells growth.