Ultrafine Bubbles Technology for Breaking Dormancy of Sandalwood Seeds (Santalum album L.

Sandalwood seed has two types of dormancy, namely physical dormancy and physiological dormancy which is a combination of the Two-part is called morphophysiological dormancy. There is for breaks dormancy in sandalwood for earlier embryo maturation and elongation also it has hard and impermeable skin. Its structure consists of layers of thick-walled palisade-like cells especially on the outermost surface and the inside has a waxy coating and curse material. The objective of this study was to break of seed dormancy with technology Ultrafine Bubbles (UFB) on the morphophysiological dormancy on sandalwood seeds. The experiments used a randomized complete block designed (RCBD) with 3 replications. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and will be continued using the DMRT test at the 5% level. The research was conducted from February - March 0f 2020. The results showed that immersion using UFB water with oxygen 20 ppm or either UFB free oxygen for 24 and 48 hours combined with physical scarification and chemical scarification could accelerate germination in 13 days after germination (appeared radicle), percentage of growth speed (GS) is 4.67%, maximum growth (MG) in 21 days after sowing is 66.67% with normal sprouts 2-4 leaves have grown.

Millimeter-scale vertical partitioning of nitrogen cycling in hypersaline mats reveals prominence of genes encoding multi-heme and prismane proteins

Microbial mats are modern analogues of the first ecosystems on the Earth. As extant representatives of microbial communities where free oxygen may have first been available on a changing planet, they offer an ecosystem within which to study the evolution of biogeochemical cycles requiring and inhibited by oxygen. Here, we report the distribution of genes involved in nitrogen metabolism across a vertical oxygen gradient at 1 mm resolution in a microbial mat using quantitative PCR (qPCR), retro-transcribed qPCR (RT-qPCR) and metagenome sequencing. Vertical patterns in the presence and expression of nitrogen cycling genes, corresponding to oxygen requiring and non-oxygen requiring nitrogen metabolism, could be seen across gradients of dissolved oxygen and ammonium. Metagenome analysis revealed that genes annotated as hydroxylamine dehydrogenase (proper enzyme designation EC 1.7.2.6, hao) and hydroxylamine reductase (hcp) were the most abundant nitrogen metabolism genes in the mat. The recovered hao genes encode hydroxylamine dehydrogenase EC 1.7.2.6 (HAO) proteins lacking the tyrosine residue present in aerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that those proteins were more closely related to ɛHao protein present in Campylobacterota lineages (previously known as Epsilonproteobacteria) rather than oxidative HAO of AOB. BLAST analysis of some transcribed proteins indicated that they likely functioned as a nitrate reductase. The presence of hao sequences related with ɛHao protein, as well as numerous hcp genes encoding a prismane protein, suggest the presence of a nitrogen cycling pathway previously described in Nautilia profundicola as ancestral to the most commonly studied present day nitrogen cycling pathways.

Markers of Neuroinflammation in the Serum of Prepubertal Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Background: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are the manifestation of the damage caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the extreme FASD manifestation, show both facial dysmorphology and mental retardation. Alcohol consumed during gestational age prejudices brain development by reducing, among others, the synthesis and release of neurotrophic factors and neuroinflammatory markers. Alcohol drinking induces also oxidative stress. Hypothesis/Objective : The present study aims at investigating the potential association between neurotrophins, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in 12 prepubertal male and female FASD children diagnosed as FAS or partial FAS (pFAS). Methods: Accordingly, we analyzed, in the serum, the level of BDNF and NGF and the oxidative stress, as free oxygen radicals test (FORT) and free oxygen radicals defense (FORD). Moreover, serum levels of inflammatory mediators (IL-1α, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, MCP-1, TGF-β and TNF-α) involved in neuroinflammatory and oxidative processes have been investigated. Results: We demonstrated in pre-pubertal FASD children low serum levels of NGF and BDNF, respect to healthy controls. These changes were associated with higher serum presence of TNF-α and IL-1α. Quite interestingly, an elevation in the FORD was also found despite normal FORT levels. Moreover, we found a potentiation of IL-1α, IL-2, IL-10 and IL-1α1 in the analyzed female compared to male children. Conclusion: The present investigation shows an imbalance in the peripheral neuroimmune pathways that could be used in children as early biomarkers of the deficits observed in FASD.

Oleuropein multicompartment nanovesicles enriched with collagen as a natural strategy for the treatment of skin wounds connected with oxidative stress

Aim: Collagen-enriched transfersomes, glycerosomes and glytransfersomes were specifically tailored for skin delivery of oleuropein. Methods: Vesicles were prepared by direct sonication and their main physicochemical and technological properties were measured. Biocompatibility, protective effect and promotion of the healing of a wounded cell monolayer were tested in vitro using fibroblasts. Results: Vesicles were mainly multicompartment, small (∼108 nm), slightly polydispersed (approximately 0.27) and negatively charged (~-49 mV). Oleuropein was incorporated in high amounts (approximately 87%) and vesicles were stable during four months of storage. In vitro studies confirmed the low toxicity of formulations (viability ≥95%), their effectiveness in counteracting nitric oxide generation and damages caused by free oxygen radicals, especially when collagen glytransfersomes were used (viability ~100%). These vesicles also promoted the regeneration of a wounded area by promoting the proliferation and migration of fibroblasts. Conclusion: Collagen-enriched vesicles are promising formulations capable of speeding up the healing of the wounded skin.