| 1. |
- Islam, Khairul, et al.
(författare)
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Dose-response relationship between arsenic exposure and the serum enzymes for liver function tests in the individuals exposed to arsenic : a cross sectional study in Bangladesh
- 2011
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Ingår i: Environmental Health. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1476-069X. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Chronic arsenic exposure has been shown to cause liver damage. However, serum hepatic enzyme activity as recognized on liver function tests (LFTs) showing a dose-response relationship with arsenic exposure has not yet been clearly documented. The aim of our study was to investigate the dose-response relationship between arsenic exposure and major serum enzyme marker activity associated with LFTs in the population living in arsenic-endemic areas in Bangladesh. Methods: A total of 200 residents living in arsenic-endemic areas in Bangladesh were selected as study subjects. Arsenic concentrations in the drinking water, hair and nails were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The study subjects were stratified into quartile groups as follows, based on concentrations of arsenic in the drinking water, as well as in subjects' hair and nails: lowest, low, medium and high. The serum hepatic enzyme activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were then assayed. Results: Arsenic concentrations in the subjects' hair and nails were positively correlated with arsenic levels in the drinking water. As regards the exposure-response relationship with arsenic in the drinking water, the respective activities of ALP, AST and ALT were found to be significantly increased in the high-exposure groups compared to the lowest-exposure groups before and after adjustments were made for different covariates. With internal exposure markers (arsenic in hair and nails), the ALP, AST and ALT activity profiles assumed a similar shape of dose-response relationship, with very few differences seen in the higher groups compared to the lowest group, most likely due to the temporalities of exposure metrics. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that arsenic concentrations in the drinking water were strongly correlated with arsenic concentrations in the subjects' hair and nails. Further, this study revealed a novel exposure- and dose- response relationship between arsenic exposure metrics and serum hepatic enzyme activity. Elevated serum hepatic enzyme activities in the higher exposure gradients provided new insights into arsenic-induced liver toxicity that might be helpful for the early prognosis of arsenic-induced liver diseases.
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| 2. |
- Ahmed, Bulbul, et al.
(författare)
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A review on natural sweetener plant - Stevia having medical and commercial importance
- 2011
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Ingår i: Agronomy Journal. - : Croatian society of agronomist. - 0002-1954. ; 73:1-2, s. 75-91
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stevia is a perennial herb that belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is a natural sweetener plant and estimated to be 300 times sweeter than cane sugar. The leaves of stevia are the source of diterpene glycosides, viz. stevioside and rebaudioside. Stevioside is regenerated as a valuable natural sweetening agent because of its relatively good taste and chemical stability. Now it is being cultivated in Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Hawaii, Malaysia and overall South America for food and pharmaceutical products. Products can be added to tea and coffee, cooked or baked goods, processed foods and beverages, fruit juices,
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| 3. |
- Ahmed, Bulbul, et al.
(författare)
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Establishment of an Indirect Genetic Transformation Method for Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Bangladesh
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Central European Agriculture. - : Journal of Central Europian Agriculture (JCEA). - 1332-9049. ; 12:3, s. 519-528
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arabidopsis thaliana is a small flowering plant belonging to the Brassicaceae family, which is adopted as a model plant for genetic research. Agrobacterium tumifaciensmediated transformation method for A. thaliana ecotype Bangladesh was established. Leaf discs of A. thaliana were incubated with A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404 containing chimeric nos. nptII. nos and intron-GUS genes. Following inoculation and co-cultivation, leaf discs were cultured on selection medium containing 50 mg/l kanamycin + 50 mg/l cefotaxime + 1.5 mg/l NAA and kanamycin resistant shoots were induced from the leaf discs after two weeks. Shoot regeneration was achieved after transferring the tissues onto fresh medium of the same combination. Finally, the shoots were rooted on MS medium containing 50 mg/l kanamycin. Incorporation and expression of the transgenes were confirmed by PCR analysis. Using this protocol, transgenic A. thaliana plants can be obtained and indicates that genomic transformation in higher plants is possible through insertion of desired gene. Although Agrobacterium mediated genetic transformation is established for A. thaliana, this study was the conducted to transform A. thaliana ecotype Bangladesh.
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| 4. |
- Ali, Nurshad, et al.
(författare)
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Association between arsenic exposure and plasma cholinesterase activity : a population based study in Bangladesh
- 2010
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Ingår i: Environmental Health. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1476-069X. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Arsenic is a potent pollutant that has caused an environmental catastrophe in certain parts of the world including Bangladesh where millions of people are presently at risk due to drinking water contaminated by arsenic. Chronic arsenic exposure has been scientifically shown as a cause for liver damage, cancers, neurological disorders and several other ailments. The relationship between plasma cholinesterase (PChE) activity and arsenic exposure has not yet been clearly documented. However, decreased PChE activity has been found in patients suffering liver dysfunction, heart attack, cancer metastasis and neurotoxicity. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the PChE activity in individuals exposed to arsenic via drinking water in Bangladesh.Methods: A total of 141 Bangladeshi residents living in arsenic endemic areas with the mean arsenic exposure of 14.10 ± 3.27 years were selected as study subjects and split into tertile groups based on three water arsenic concentrations: low (< 129 μg/L), medium (130-264 μg/L) and high (> 265 μg/L). Study subjects were further sub-divided into two groups (≤50 μg/L and > 50 μg/L) based on the recommended upper limit of water arsenic concentration (50 μg/L) in Bangladesh. Blood samples were collected from the study subjects by venipuncture and arsenic concentrations in drinking water, hair and nail samples were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). PChE activity was assayed by spectrophotometer.Results: Arsenic concentrations in hair and nails were positively correlated with the arsenic levels in drinking water. Significant decreases in PChE activity were observed with increasing concentrations of arsenic in water, hair and nails. The average levels of PChE activity in low, medium and high arsenic exposure groups were also significantly different between each group. Lower levels of PChE activity were also observed in the > 50 μg/L group compared to the ≤50 μg/L group. Moreover, PChE activity was significantly decreased in the skin (+) symptoms group compared to those without (-).Conclusions: We found a significant inverse relationship between arsenic exposure and PChE activity in a human population in Bangladesh. This research demonstrates a novel exposure-response relationship between arsenic and PChE activity which may explain one of the biological mechanisms through which arsenic exerts its neuro-and hepatotoxicity in humans.
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| 5. |
- Bari, M. A., et al.
(författare)
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Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Solanum torvum (Solanaceae)
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Journal of Agriculture & Biology. - : Friends Science Publishers. - 1560-8530. ; 12:3, s. 386-390
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Leaves, stem, roots and inflorescence of Solanum torvum Sw. were extracted in two different organic solvents (chloroform & methanol). Antibacterial and antifungal effects of the extracts were tested on fifteen (six Gram positive & nine Gram negative) human pathogenic bacteria and on eight pathogenic fungi. Methanolic extracts of roots of S. torvum exhibited promising antibacterial and antifungal effects on all organisms tested in comparison with that observed in the leaves, stems and inflorescence extracts. The toxicity of the extracts was in the following order; root>stem>inflorescence>leaf. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of methanolic extract of roots of S. torvum were in the range between 64-128 µg mL -1 . Chloroform extracts of roots were more toxic (LC 50 35.4629 ppm) than other extracts analyzed in Brine shrimp test. In conclusion, S. torvum appears to be an attractive material for the development of antimicrobial drugs and environment friendly biopesticides.
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| 6. |
- Biswas, M. K., et al.
(författare)
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In exploitation of genetic diversity in potato breeding
- 2010
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Ingår i: Agronomski Glasnik (Agronomy Journal). - Zagreb : Hrvatsko agronomsko društvo. - 1848-8900. ; 72:4-5, s. 261-276
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With a view to select divergent parents genetic diversity was estimated among twenty genotypes. Thirty F1 progenies developed by line-tester mating were studied from seedling generation to first clonal generation for five important agronomic traits. Cluster analysis reveals that the parents could be grouped into seven different clusters. Cluster means showed wide range of variation for several traits among singles as well as multi genotypic clusters. Considering diversity pattern, parents should select from cluster I, III, IV, and V for the improvement of potato. Analysis of variance revealed that all most all the sources of variation were highly significant for all the studied traits in both generations. Parents Challisha, Lalpakri, Patnai, Chamak, Sadagoti, TPS-67 and TPS-364 were found to be good general combiners for tuber yield and yield contribution traits due to their gca effects. The sca effects showed that out of 30 hybrids 12 were found to have specific combining ability for tuber yield and those hybrids also exhibited considerable heterosis for tuber yield and yield contributing traits.
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| 7. |
- Desale, Prithviraj, et al.
(författare)
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Biosorption of Heavy Metals by Actinomycetes for Treatment of Industrial Effluents
- 2012
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rapid industrialization usually is the cause of increase in pollutants in the natural river bodies. This pollution is attributed to lack of improper treatment and inadequate disposal mechanisms of the waste generated thereof. The aim of present investigation was to screen actinomycetes for their ability to adsorb heavy metals. Actinomycetes belong to most diverse group of filamentous prokaryotes with ubiquitous presence in different ecological niches. This ubiquity is due to their ability to degrade almost any type of polymer and to use several compounds as carbon sources. Nearly 200 actinomycetes from different niches like fresh water, soda lake, geothermal springs, acid soils, etc from different locations in India were screened for ability to grow in presence of 1 to 5 mM of heavy metals like Cd, Hg, Pb, Ni, Sr, Fe, Mo, Zn and Mn. Most of the strains tolerant to heavy metals belonged to the genus Streptomyces spp. Five strains could grow in presence of 5 mM Cd2+, 4 strains in presence of 0.1 mM Hg2+, 18 strains in presence of 5 mM Pb2+, 21 strains in presence of 5 mM Ni2+, whereas 34 strains grew in presence of 5 mM Fe2+. One of the most promising strain was studied for its ability to absorb cadmium where 2x1011 cells or spores could adsorb 0.32 mM to 0.33 mM of cadmium. Spores and vegetative cells showed nearly similar level of adsorbtion ability. This strain can be very useful in developing a bioreactor for the adsorption of heavy metals from industrial effluents containing cadmium.
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| 8. |
- Desale, Prithviraj, et al.
(författare)
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Biosorption of nickel by Lysinibacillus sp. BA2 native to bauxite mine
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. - : Elsevier. - 0147-6513 .- 1090-2414. ; 107, s. 260-268
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current scenario of environmental pollution urges the need for an effective solution for toxic heavy metal removal from industrial wastewater. Bioremediation is the most cost effective process employed by the use of microbes especially bacteria resistant to toxic metals. In this study, Lysinibacillus sp. BA2, a nickel tolerant strain isolated from bauxite mine was used for the biosorption of Ni(II). Lysinibacillus sp. BA2 biomass had isoelectric point (pI) of 3.3. The maximum negative zeta potential value (−39.45) was obtained at pH 6.0 which was highly favourable for Ni(II) biosorption. 238.04 mg of Ni(II) adsorbed on one gram of dead biomass and 196.32 mg adsorbed on one gram of live biomass. The adsorption of Ni(II) on biomass increased with time and attained saturation after 180 min with rapid biosorption in initial 30 min. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms could fit well for biosorption of Ni(II) by dead biomass while Langmuir isotherm provided a better fit for live biomass based on correlation coefficient values. The kinetic studies of Ni(II) removal, using dead and live biomass was well explained by second-order kinetic model. Ni(II) adsorption on live biomass was confirmed by SEM-EDX where cell aggregation and increasing irregularity of cell morphology was observed even though cells were in non-growing state. The FTIR analysis of biomass revealed the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino groups, which seem responsible for biosorption of Ni(II). The beads made using dead biomass of Lysinibacillus sp. BA2 could efficiently remove Ni(II) from effluent solutions. These microbial cells can substitute expensive methods for treating nickel contaminated industrial wastewaters.
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| 9. |
- Ghosal, Anubrata, et al.
(författare)
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RNA interference and its therapeutic potential
- 2011
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Medicine. - : Versita. - 1895-1058 .- 1644-3640. ; 6:2, s. 137-147
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- RNA interference is a technique that has become popular in the past few years. This is a biological method to detect the activity of a specific gene within a cell. RNAi is the introduction of homologous double stranded RNA to specifically target a gene’s product resulting in null or hypomorphic phenotypes. This technique involves the degradation of specific mRNA by using small interfering RNA. Both microRNA (miRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) are directly related to RNA interference. RNAi mechanism is being explored as a new technique for suppressing gene expression. It is an important issue in the treatment of various diseases. This review considers different aspects of RNAi technique including its history of discovery, molecular mechanism, gene expression study, advantages of this technique against previously used techniques, barrier associated with this technique, and its therapeutic application.
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| 10. |
- Humayan Kabir, Ahmad, et al.
(författare)
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Nodularia spumigena and Its Attribute to Bloom Formation in the Baltic Sea
- 2012
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Ingår i: Environmental Research, Engineering and Management. - : Kaunas University of Technology. - 1392-1649 .- 2029-2139. ; 1:59, s. 5-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- N. spumigena is a dominant cyanobacterial species found in the Baltic Sea. It forms extensive bloom in late summer in the areas of the Baltic Sea with high phosphorus concentrations and moderate salinity. Both environmental and manmade factors are involved in bloom formation. This review also elucidates the physiological and molecular aspects of nitrogen fixation, heterocyst formation and nodularin production in N. spumigena.
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