RESULTS: Higher calcium concentrations (1.5 and 2% w/v) increased calcium concentration in the peel and pulp tissues, maintained firmness, and reduced anthracnose incidence and severity. While leakage of calcium-treated fruit was lower for 1.5 and 2% calcium treatments compared to the control, microscopic results confirmed that pulp cell wall thickness was higher after 6 days in storage, for the 2% calcium treatment compared to the control. Calcium-treated fruit also had higher total antioxidant activity and total phenolic compounds during storage.
CONCLUSION: Calcium chloride, especially at higher concentrations, is effective in maintaining papaya fruit quality during ambient storage. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
METHODS: Organic acid and antioxidant profiles of Xeniji fermented foods were evaluated. Moreover, oral acute (5 g/kg body weight) and subchronic toxicity (0.1, 1 and 2 g/kg body weight) of Xeniji were tested on mice for 14 days and 30 days, respectively. Mortality, changes of body weight, organ weight and serum liver enzyme level were measured. Liver and spleen of mice from subchronic toxicity study were subjected to antioxidant and immunomodulation quantification.
RESULTS: Xeniji was rich in β-carotene, phytonadione, polyphenol, citric acid and essential amino acids. No mortality and significant changes of body weight and serum liver enzyme level were recorded for both oral acute and subchronic toxicity studies. Antioxidant level in the liver and immunity of Xeniji treated mice were significantly upregulated in dosage dependent manner.
CONCLUSION: Xeniji is a fermented functional food that rich in nutrients that enhanced antioxidant and immunity of mice. Xeniji that rich in β-carotene, phytonadione, polyphenol, citric acid and essential amino acids promote antioxidant and immunity in mice without causing toxic effect.
RESULTS: Supplementation of 1% IMO (PRE), 0.1% PrimaLac® (PRO) and 1% IMO + 0.1% PrimaLac® (SYN) improved (P
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A persistent infection was generated using a small-colony variant (SCV) and a wild-type (WT) B. pseudomallei in BALB/c mice via intranasal administration. Infected mice that survived for >60 days were sacrificed. Lungs, livers, spleens, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were harvested for experimental investigations. Histopathological changes of organs were observed in the infected mice, suggestive of successful establishment of persistent infections. Moreover, natural killer (NK) cell frequency was increased in SCV- and WT-infected mice. We observed programmed death-1 (PD-1) upregulation on B cells of SCV- and WT-infected mice. Interestingly, PD-1 upregulation was only observed on NK cells and monocytes of SCV-infected mice. In contrast, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) downregulation was seen on NK cells of WT-infected mice, and on monocytes of SCV- and WT-infected mice.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The SCV and the WT of B. pseudomallei distinctly upregulated PD-1 expression on B cells, NK cells, and monocytes to dampen host immunity, which likely facilitates bacterial persistence. PD-1/PD-L1 pathway appears to play an important role in the persistence of B. pseudomallei in the host.
RESULTS: Results indicated that different Se sources did not significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affect broiler growth performance. However, bacterial organic Se of T5 (basal diet +0.3 mg /kg feed ADS18 Se), T4 (basal diet +0.3 mg /kg feed ADS2 Se), and T3 (basal diet +0.3 mg /kg feed ADS1 Se) exhibited significantly (P ≤ 0.05) highest Se concentration in serum, liver, and kidney respectively. Dietary inorganic Se and bacterial organic Se were observed to significantly affect broiler serum ALT, AST, LDH activities and serum creatinine level. ADS18 supplemented Se of (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia) bacterial strain showed the highest GSH-Px activity with the lowest MDA content in serum, and the highest GSH-Px and catalase activity in the kidney, while bacterial Se of ADS2 (Klebsiella pneumoniae) resulted in a higher level of GSH-Px1 and catalase in liver. Moreover, our study showed that in comparison with sodium selenite, only ADS18 bacterial Se showed a significantly higher mRNA level in GSH-Px1, GSH-Px4, DIO1, and TXNDR1, while both ADS18 and ADS2 showed high level of mRNA of DIO2 compared to sodium selenite.
CONCLUSIONS: The supplementation of bacterial organic Se in broiler chicken, improved tissue Se deposition, antioxidant status, and selenoproteins gene expression, and can be considered as an effective alternative source of Se in broiler chickens.
RESULTS: PSC-AgNPs with an average particle size of 11.68 nm inhibited the growth of the pathogenic yeast C. albicans. Values for minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration were 250 and 500 mg L-1 , respectively. TEM images revealed that the average particle size of PSC-AgNPs was 16.8 nm, with the values for zeta potential and the polydispersity index being -8.54 mV and 0.137, respectively. XRD and FTIR spectra showed PSC-AgNPs to have a face-centered cubic crystalline structure. The polysaccharides and amino acid residues present in P. sajor-caju extract were found to be involved in reducing Ag+ to AgNP. Both CaICL1 transcription and ICL protein expression were found to be suppressed in the cells treated with PSC-AgNPs as compared with the control.
CONCLUSION: Our PSC-AgNP preparation makes for a promising antifungal agent that can downregulate isocitrate lyase. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
METHODS: Soil and water samples near leptospirosis patients' residences were collected, processed and cultured into EMJH media. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to confirm the identity of Leptospira.
RESULTS: EMJH culture and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed predominant growth of pathogenic Leptospira kmetyi (17%, n=7/42). All tested locations had at least one Leptospira sp., mostly from the soil samples.
CONCLUSION: More than one species of Leptospira may be present in a sampling area. The most common environmental isolates were pathogenic L. kmetyi.