Plasma Insulin/Erythrocytic Aldose Reductase Ratio as a Predictor for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among Type II Diabetics and Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Patients

Purpose Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a possible oncogenic progression during persistent hepatitis C-infection +/- type II diabetes mellitus (DM). To investigate the plasma insulin, erythrocytic aldose reductase (AR) and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) as possible predictive tools for HCC in hepatitis C-infected patients (HCV) +/- DM. Erythrocytes (RBCs) were adopted as a possible vehicle for pre-malignant variations being of short life span. Methods The study included 20 healthy control and 100 patients of 48–64 years old, divided into 5 equal groups as; type II DM, HCC, HCC with DM, DM- HCV infected and non-DM HCV infected. Plasma levels of AFP and insulin were measured. Results It showed an elevated AR, significant reduction of SDH in RBCs and plasma of DM patients. These values were greatly elevated among HCV, HCC, diabetic HCV, and diabetic HCC patients. All DM patients showed elevated insulin levels than normoglycemic controls. Conclusion The study substantiated the use of RBCs as a vehicle for early diagnostic markers better than plasma. We recommend the use of insulin/ erythrocytic AR ratio as a new laboratory marker for predicting HCC among type II diabetics or non-treated HCV-infected patients with control insulin/ erythrocytic AR ratio by each laboratory.

A Case of Pyruvate Carboxylase Deficiency With Longer Survival and Normal Laboratory Findings

Pyruvate carboxylase deficiency (PCD) is a rare autosomal recessive defect in a biotin-containing enzyme, Pyruvate carboxylase, which is considered as an enzyme of TCA-cycle regulation, gluconeogenesis, lipogenesis, and biosynthesis of neurotransmitters. Increased lactate to pyruvate ratio and decreased three hydroxybutyrates to acetoacetate are the main biochemical features of PCD. The elevated level of Citrulline, Proline, and Lysine with a short life span has been reported previously. Patients’ survival in almost all cases is below three months. Here, the authors aimed to report a girl with manifestations of Type B of PCD and longer survival (two-year and four-month-old). This patient did not have any changes in amino acid level, which was a unique case of Type B of PCD.

908 Humanized model for assessment of therapies targeting either lymphoid or myeloid compartment: enhanced evaluation of clinical relevancy & translatability

BackgroundThe breakthrough of immunotherapies has unleashed new hope and new success for cancer therapy. However, the choice of a preclinical model is one of the main challenges as they are important for evaluation of translatability to help support testing in clinical studies, including potential efficacy and tolerability of immunotherapies during preclinical development.The development of mouse models featuring a human immune system (HIS) provides new paths for the investigation of the efficacy of immunotherapies in preclinical models engrafted with human tumors. Although these models provided a breakthrough in the assessment of immune targeting agents, they also come with a few significant caveats. These include: a lack of a mature human myeloid compartment in the mouse, and a short life span of the model when this compartment is promoted at non-physiological levels via the over-expression of human cytokines. Here, we report a novel mouse model (BRGSF-HIS), featuring functional human lymphoid and myeloid compartments. The human immune response of this model was assessed through examination of the immune cells composition in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and its ability to respond to biologics known to trigger cytokine release syndrome (CRS).MethodsBRGSF (balb/C Rag2-/-, IL2Rg-/-, SIRPaNOD and Flt3-/-) is a highly immunodeficient mouse, with reduced murine myeloid cells, which allows long term CD34+ HSC-engraftment and development of human lymphoid and myeloid compartments (human CD141+ and CD1c+ DC subsets, CD123+ pDC, CD14+ monocytes), in blood, spleen and bone marrow. The engraftment is stable for over twelve months with no side effects. The effect of exogenous human Flt3 ligand (Flt3L) on the composition of TME in A549 model, and an anti-CD3 antibody (OKT3)-induced CRS, were assessed.ResultsExogenous human Flt3L significantly and transiently increased the proportion of human myeloid cells. This can be recalled by continuous dosing of Flt3L. Assessment of tumor immunobiology in A549 model, showed increased tumor-infiltrating T-cells (mainly CD8+ T-cells) and myeloid cells, while tumor-infiltrating NK cells were decreased. The presence of myeloid cells provides a new opportunity for assessment of myeloid targeted therapies, as proven using pDC-depleting antibodies. OKT3 administration resulted in CRS symptoms including a temperature drop, body weight loss and a change in serum cytokine levels. Symptoms were mitigated upon administration of tocilizumab, suggesting the contribution of the myeloid compartment in the response observed.ConclusionsThese data demonstrate that BRGSF-HIS mice support development of functional human myeloid cells and that this mouse model enables preclinical evaluation of cancer immunotherapy in vivo.

Exploring the Major Climate-smart Agricultural Practices for Dry Season Crop Production in Salinity Affected Fallow Land in the Coastal Areas of Bangladesh

The landmasses of the coastal areas of Bangladesh still remains under-utilized, thus cropping intensity is much less than the national average. Most areas remain fallow during dry (rabi) season from December to May due to presence of higher concentration of salts in soil and water, and scarcity of suitable irrigation water. Available adaptation options or technologies are not capable to solve these problems at all. Nevertheless, the areas receive a lot of water from monsoon rain, most of that rainwater is drain-out as surface runoff. The present study results suggest that the use of harvested rainwater and conservation agriculture either in combination or alone could mitigate the problem for bringing huge areas under crop cultivation. The public social safety net programmes such as cash-for-work, food-for-work etc. can be deployed for excavating or re-excavating the abandoned coastal ponds, ditches or canals for storing rainwater. Salt-, drought- and/or heat-tolerant crop varieties with short life span can also be cultivated to get the better results. Early plantation or growing crops with early-maturing varieties can ensure safer harvest in ahead of stress arrives. The avenues have immense potential as climate-smart practices for growing crops preferably non-rice crops during dry season in vast fallow land that will not only ensure food security for coastal people but could turn the entire southern Bangladesh as a food surplus zone. The findings refer the broad recommendation, therefore, specific research works based on the locations and resources available are necessary.

Could Norwegian fjords serve as an analogue for the future of the Svalbard fjords? State and fate of high latitude fjords in the face of progressive “atlantification”

Benthic foraminifera are one of the most widely and abundantly distributed organisms in the fjords of Svalbard and Norway. Due to their short life span and quick reactivity to environmental changes they can be used as indicators of the “atlantification” process. Here, we compare the benthic foraminifera assemblages along the latitudinal gradient, from the fjords of northern Svalbard to southern Norway to assess whether the “atlantification” process may homogenise the foraminiferal assemblages in terms of their abundance and species composition. Furthermore, the previously published data on benthic foraminiferal faunas was updated to identify changes in distribution that have occurred over the last few decades. For this purpose, fjord mouths in western and northern Svalbard (Isfjorden, Wijdefjorden and Rijpfjorden) and northern and southern Norway (Balsfjorden, Raunefjorden and Hjeltefjorden) were resampled. The analysis revealed similarities between the Svalbard and Norwegian foraminiferal assemblages of up to 30%; however, there were essential differences in terms of abundance and biodiversity. These results suggest that Svalbard fjords will remain distinct in the future, even under conditions of further warming or “atlantification”. Svalbard fjords may be dominated by Atlantic Water- preferring species, whereas, in Norwegian fjords, pressure from human activity will probably be the main driver of environmental changes, leading to changes in the foraminiferal assemblages with the increasing dominance of opportunistic, hypoxia-tolerant species.

Upgrading the Glass Bead Making Furnace for Ease of Operation: A Case Study of the Masaga Glass Guild

The glass bead making furnace of the Masaga Glass Guild in Bida, Niger State Nigeria was evaluated in comparison to those of Ghana (Krobo) and India (Firozabad); it was discovered that the Masaga furnace falls short of an efficient system for sustainable work that should facilitate appreciable productivity. Furthermore, the furnace is not built with refractory bricks, implying that it has a short life span; the furnace is operated by hand-worked traditional cloth bellows requiring sustained and strenuous efforts over a relatively long period of time; Following this assessment, efforts were directed at modifying the furnace by producing design drawings of the modified furnace, design and production of refractory bricks from the design drawing, constructing the modified furnace structure using the refractory bricks, producing suitable furniture for the furnace and subsequently, devising a suitable mechanical blower device as an alternative to the manually worked bellows for the supply of combustion air. Consequently, a furnace was developed which eliminates the strenuous manual working of the bellows as well as the bellow operator and ensures that a single individual can work unassisted at the furnace in the process of glassware production.

Extremophilic Prokaryotic Endoxylanases: Diversity, Applicability, and Molecular Insights

Extremophilic endoxylanases grabbed attention in recent years due to their applicability under harsh conditions of several industrial processes. Thermophilic, alkaliphilic, and acidophilic endoxylanases found their employability in bio-bleaching of paper pulp, bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into xylooligosaccharides, bioethanol production, and improving the nutritious value of bread and other bakery products. Xylanases obtained from extremophilic bacteria and archaea are considered better than fungal sources for several reasons. For example, enzymatic activity under broad pH and temperature range, low molecular weight, cellulase-free activity, and longer stability under extreme conditions of prokaryotic derived xylanases make them a good choice. In addition, a short life span, easy cultivation/harvesting methods, higher yield, and rapid DNA manipulations of bacterial and archaeal cells further reduces the overall cost of the product. This review focuses on the diversity of prokaryotic endoxylanases, their characteristics, and their functional attributes. Besides, the molecular mechanisms of their extreme behavior have also been presented here.

Current Strategies for the Production of Sustainable Biopolymer Composites

Rapid global population growth has led to an exponential increase in the use of disposable materials with a short life span that accumulate in landfills. The use of non-biodegradable materials causes severe damage to the environment worldwide. Polymers derived from agricultural residues, wood, or other fiber crops are fully biodegradable, creating the potential to be part of a sustainable circular economy. Ideally, natural fibers, such as the extremely strong fibers from hemp, can be combined with matrix materials such as the core or hurd from hemp or kenaf to produce a completely renewable biomaterial. However, these materials cannot always meet all of the performance attributes required, necessitating the creation of blends of petroleum-based and renewable material-based composites. This article reviews composites made from natural and biodegradable polymers, as well as the challenges encountered in their production and use.

Investigation of Self-Driven Profiler with Buoyancy Adjusting System towards Ocean Thermal Energy

An underwater profiler is one of the popular platforms for ocean observation. Due to energy limitations, conventional underwater vehicles have a short life span, which cannot meet the needs of long-term ocean exploration. Therefore, there is a growing interest in using ocean energy such as ocean thermal energy and wave energy for driving. This study aimed to investigate an energy-saving and ocean thermal energy (OTE)-powered buoyancy driving system of the ocean profiler. The purpose of this study was to explore an ocean profiler buoyancy driving system powered by ocean thermal energy (OTE). According to the seawater profile temperature gradient, an OTE-powered electro-hydraulic control system was designed, and the dynamic characteristics of this system are simulated and analyzed by using the power bonding diagram method. Based on the results conducted from lake tests, this profiler possesses the self-driving capability for using OTE perfectly. This research can provide important guidance for the design of the buoyancy drive system of underwater vehicles.

Osmo-priming in tomato seeds down-regulates genes associated with stress response and leads to reduction in longevity

Tomato seeds subjected to osmo-priming show fast and more uniform germination. However, osmo-priming reduces seed longevity, which is a complex seed physiological attribute influenced by several mechanisms, including response to stress. Thus, to have new insights as to why osmo-primed tomato seeds show a short life span, we performed a transcript analysis during their priming. For that, we performed gene expression studies of the heat-shock protein family genes that were previously reported to be associated with the enhancement of longevity in primed tomato seeds. Physiological assays of germination, vigour and longevity tests were used to support the data. The results show that the short life span of osmo-primed tomato seeds is related to the decrease in the expression of transcripts associated with response to stress during the priming treatment. These results are important because they add information regarding which seed longevity mechanisms are impacted by the priming treatment. In parallel, it will allow the use of these genes as markers to monitor longevity in osmo-primed tomato seeds.