Inhibition of the Aquaporin-1 Cation Conductance by Selected Furan Compounds Reduces Red Blood Cell Sickling

In sickle cell disease (SCD), the pathological shift of red blood cells (RBCs) into distorted morphologies under hypoxic conditions follows activation of a cationic leak current (Psickle) and cell dehydration. Prior work showed sickling was reduced by 5-hydroxylmethyl-2-furfural (5-HMF), which stabilized mutant hemoglobin and also blocked the Psickle current in RBCs, though the molecular basis of this 5-HMF-sensitive cation current remained a mystery. Work here is the first to test the hypothesis that Aquaporin-1 (AQP1) cation channels contribute to the monovalent component of Psickle. Human AQP1 channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes were evaluated for sensitivity to 5-HMF and four derivatives known to have differential efficacies in preventing RBC sickling. Ion conductances were measured by two-electrode voltage clamp, and osmotic water permeability by optical swelling assays. Compounds tested were: 5-HMF; 5-PMFC (5-(phenoxymethyl)furan-2-carbaldehyde); 5-CMFC (5-(4-chlorophenoxymethyl)furan-2-carbaldehyde); 5-NMFC (5-(2-nitrophenoxymethyl)-furan-2-carbaldehyde); and VZHE006 (tert-butyl (5-formylfuran-2-yl)methyl carbonate). The most effective anti-sickling agent, 5-PMFC, was the most potent inhibitor of the AQP1 ion conductance (98% block at 100 µM). The order of sensitivity of the AQP1 conductance to inhibition was 5-PMFC > VZHE006 > 5-CMFC ≥ 5-NMFC, which corresponded with effectiveness in protecting RBCs from sickling. None of the compounds altered AQP1 water channel activity. Combined application of a selective AQP1 ion channel blocker AqB011 (80 µM) with a selective hemoglobin modifying agent 5-NMFC (2.5 mM) increased anti-sickling effectiveness in red blood cells from human SCD patients. Another non-selective cation channel known to be expressed in RBCs, Piezo1, was unaffected by 2 mM 5-HMF. Results suggest that inhibition of AQP1 ion channels and capacity to modify hemoglobin are combined features of the most effective anti-sickling agents. Future therapeutics aimed at both targets could hold promise for improved treatments for SCD.

Residual Effects of Chemical Fertilizers, Organic Manure and Biofertilizers Applied to Preceding Gobhi sarson Crop on Summer Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L.)

Background: Inclusion of legume crops in multiple cropping systems has become crucial to increase the sustainability of agroecosystems. Short duration mung bean can be easily fitted into many cropping sequences which also turns the farming highly remunerative along with strengthening the sustainability. The current study was aimed to evaluate residual effect of nutrient management on performance of summer mung bean in a gobhi sarson - summer mung bean sequence. Methods: During the period of 2016-17 and 2017-18 different doses of chemical fertilizers (NPK), combination of FYM with chemical fertilizers and different biofertilizers alone as well as their combination were evaluated to find out their residual effect on summer mung bean grown after the gobhi sarson crop. The data on growth parameters, yield attributes viz; plant height, dry matter accumulation, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, 100- seed weight were collected. The seed and biological yield from different treatments was also evaluated. Result: All growth parameters, yield attributes, seed and biological yield of summer mung bean were affected significantly with chemical fertilizers, their combined application with FYM treatments as well as different biofertilizers treatments applied to preceding gobhi sarson. Growth and yield significantly improved with each incremental dose of chemical fertilizers i.e. from 0 to 50% RDF, 50 to 75% RDF, 75 to 100% RDF while 50% RDF + FYM @ 10 t ha-1 being the best treatment. The treatment with consortium showed significantly maximum yield and growth parameters followed by combined application of Azotobacter + PSB, PSB alone, Azotobacter alone and no inoculation treatments, respectively.

Design optimization of broadband extreme ultraviolet polarizer in high-dimensional objective space

With the purpose of designing the extreme ultraviolet polarizer with many objectives, a combined application of multiobjective genetic algorithms is theoretically proposed. Owing to the multiobjective genetic algorithm, the relationships between different designing objectives of extreme ultraviolet polarizer have been obtained by analyzing the distribution of nondominated solutions in the 4D objective space, and the optimized multilayer design can be obtained by guiding the searching in the desired region based on the multiobjective genetic algorithm with reference direction. Comparing with the conventional method of multilayer design, our method has a higher probability of achieving the optimal multilayer design. Our work should be the first research in optimizing the optical multilayer designs in the high-dimensional objective space, and our results demonstrate a potential application of our method in the designs of optical thin films.

The Combined Effect of Hot Water Treatment and Chitosan Coating on Mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. Kent) Fruits to Control Postharvest Deterioration and Increase Fruit Quality

The synergistic effect of dipping in 55 °C for 5 min of hot water (HW) and 1% chitosan coating during the storage of mango at 13 ± 0.5 °C and 85%–90% relative humidity for 28 days was investigated. The combined treatment significantly suppressed the fruit decay percentage compared with both the single treatment and the control. In addition, the specific activities of key plant defense-related enzymes, including peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), markedly increased. The increase occurred in the pulp of the fruits treated with the combined treatment compared to those treated with HW or chitosan alone. While the control fruits showed the lowest values, the combination of pre-storage HW treatment and chitosan coating maintained higher values of flesh hue angle (h°), vitamin C content, membrane stability index (MSI) percentage, as well as lower weight loss compared with the untreated mango fruits. The combined treatment and chitosan treatment alone delayed fruit ripening by keeping fruit firmness, lessening the continuous increase of total soluble solids (TSS), and slowing the decrease in titratable acidity (TA). The results showed that the combined application of HW treatment and chitosan coating can be used as an effective strategy to suppress postharvest decay and improve the quality of mango fruits.

Synergistic effect of naturally occurring Granulosis virus isolates (PbGV) with phagostimulants against the cabbage butterfly, Pieris brassicae (L.) for its eco-friendly management

Background To manage the cabbage butterfly, Pierisbrassicae (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), it is not wise to use insecticides on leafy vegetables which are eaten mostly fresh. During the past decades, the efforts to manage the pest, through chemical insecticides have raised serious health. Investigations were carried out to isolate naturally occurring GVs (PbGV) as a potent biopesticide against P.brassicae and to explore their efficacy with the application of phagostimulants. Results Among the four naturally occurring isolates obtained from Northwestern Himalayas, Sudhmahadev isolate was found to be the most promising based on virulence and speed of kill against all the instars tested in the laboratory, showing the natural incidence of PbGV infection in field conditions. In concentration and time–response bioassay, all the isolates of P.brassicae Granulosis virus were found high virulent against second instar larvae of cabbage butterfly. Therefore, for enhanced efficacy of PBGV, its combined application with phagostimulants (Lepidiumsativum + Teepol + jaggery) or sticker (Teepol + jaggery), applied in field trials, resulted into greater mortality of larval instars than the single one. Overall, the results indicated that the introduction of a more isolates PBGV strain into populations of P.brassicae could be of vital importance for eco-friendly suppression of this pest globally with the combination of phagostimulants. The application virus alone with the pre-standardized concentration of 1 × 1012 OBs/ha did not reduce the larval population density to the desirable extent in the greenhouse chamber and therefore was not included in field experiments. Overall, the most promising treatments in reducing the larval population of the pest were PbGV + Teepol + B.thuringiensis (93.49 and 91.39%) and PbGV + Teepol + L.sativum (88.79 and 86.97%) over control in both greenhouse and field trials, respectively. Conclusions In this study, the native isolates of PbGV from different target locations to test their efficacy against different instars of P.brassicae were explored. Using native PBGV isolates with phagostimulant combinations played an important role for regulating the pest effectively. These phagostimulants not only protected the OBs from degradation in the presence of sunlight but also increased the speed of killing. The biocontrol potential of PbGV in both laboratory and field conditions indicated that baculoviruses are sustainable alternative to chemical insecticides.

Combined application of zinc and iron-lysine and its effects on morpho-physiological traits, antioxidant capacity and chromium uptake in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

Environmental contamination of chromium (Cr) has gained substantial consideration worldwide because of its high levels in the water and soil. A pot experiment using oil seed crop (rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)) grown under different levels of tannery wastewater (0, 33, 66 and 100%) in the soil using the foliar application of zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe)–lysine (lys) has been conducted. Results revealed that a considerable decline in the plant growth and biomass elevates with the addition of concentrations of tannery wastewater. Maximum decline in plant height, number of leaves, root length, fresh and dry biomass of root and leaves were recorded at the maximum level of tannery wastewater application (100%) compared to the plants grown without the addition of tannery wastewater (0%) in the soil. Similarly, contents of carotenoid and chlorophyll, gas exchange parameters and activities of various antioxidants (superoxidase dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)) were also reduced significantly (P < 0.05) with the increasing concentration of tannery wastewater (33, 66 and 100%) in the soil. In addition, a combined application of Zn and Fe-lys reduced the accumulation and uptake of toxic Cr, while boosting the uptake of essential micronutrients such as Zn and Fe in different tissues of the plants. Results concluded that exogenous application of micronutrients chelated with amino acid successfully mitigate Cr stress in B. napus. Under field conditions, supplementation with these micronutrient-chelated amino acids may be an effective method for alleviating metal stress in other essential seed crops.

Productivity of natural phytocenoses of the Namsky agrolandscape in Yakutia under organic and mineral nutrition regimes

The results of the study of the productivity potential of natural phytocenoses of different species composition in the Namsky agrolandscape of the middle taiga subzone of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are presented. The research was conducted in 2009-2016. The soils of the experimental plot are permafrost soils with a thin humus layer. The effect of mineral and organic fertilizers on the productivity of steppe meadows was studied. On herb-grass, wheatgrass, steppificated phytocenoses the following practices of organo-mineral nutrition of plants were used: control (no fertilizer); humus 20 t/ha; humus 20 t/ha once every 4 years + N60P60K60 annually; N30P30K30 annually; humus 20 t/ha annually. The optimum rates of organic and mineral nutrients to improve the productivity potential of natural steppe meadows have been established. The highest productivity potential in the Namsky agrolandscape was obtained with the combined application of organic and mineral fertilizers (humus 20 t/ha once every 4 years + N60P60K60 annually). On herb-grass and wheatgrass phytocenoses hay yield reached 23.0-24.1 c/ha. Yield per 1 ha of metabolizable energy was 27.0-22.4 GJ, fodder units 1472-1663, crude protein 336-371 kg. The content of digestible protein in 1 fodder unit in herb-grass was 92 g, in wheatgrass - 102 g. The annual application of mineral fertilizers at a dose of 60 kg/ha of the active substance provided a 2-fold increase in the productivity of natural phytocenoses, depending on agroclimatic conditions of the growing season. The influence of mineral fertilizers and their joint application with organic fertilizers on the yield of natural phytocenoses is statistically reliable, which indicates the possibility of regulating the productivity of steppificated phytocenoses.