Lifestyle related causes of cancer and chemoprevention through phytonutrients

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. There are a lot of cancer causing agents which are divided as physical carcinogens, chemical carcinogens and biological carcinogens. But most of the carcinogens or causes of cancer are related to our lifestyle like diet, habit, occupation, radiation and some infection, etc. Chemoprevention is highly necessary to prevent cancer related preterm death. For this besides avoiding the causes of cancer we should concentrate ourselves on our diet. Because, numerous phytochemicals derived from edible plants have been reported to interfere with a specific stage of the carcinogenic process. Many mechanisms have been shown to account for the anticarcinogenic actions of dietary constituents and recently attention has been focused on intracellular-signalling cascades as common molecular targets for various chemopreventive phytochemicals. In this study, we tried to describe lifestyle related causes of cancer and the molecular basis of cancer prevention through the phytochemicals.     

Dyeing behavior of chemically modified poly(1,4-phenylene sulfide) fiber towards disperse,anionic, and cationic dyes

Poly(1,4-phenylene sulfide) (PPS) exhibits good dimensional stability and flame retardant characteristics but its commercial development as fibers is highly limited due to lesser dyeing and finishing characteristics. Hence in the present study, we focused on the anionic and cationic modifications of PPS to enhance its dyeing ability towards disperse, cationic, and anionic dyes. Novel sulfonation and chloromethylation-quaternization of PPS fiber were carried out to achieve an industrially viable dyeing process methodology. The chemically modified PPS fiber is dyed with disperse, cationic, and anionic dyes, and the dyeing adsorption efficiency is quantitatively studied using a dye-o-meter equipped with UV-visible absorption spectroscope. The ideal parameters for dye adsorption were determined as a function of dyeing time, material-toliquor ratio, dyeing temperature, carrier concentration, sulfonation, and chloromethylation. The fastness properties of the dyed fabrics were also studied. Overall, with a maximum dye uptake of 99 % and 90 % achieved for sulfonated PPS and quaternized PPS respectively, the optimized conditions can be readily scaled-up to the commercial dyeing of PPS fiber with disperse, anionic, and cationic dyes.     

Morphological and phylogenetic identification of Botrytis cinerea causing blossom blight and fruit rot of sweet cherries in Aegean region,Turkey

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Gray mold disease (Botrytis cinerea Pers.: Fr.) of sweet cherries causes blossom blight and fruit rot during pre- and post-harvest stages. This study was...     

Cropping diversity with rice influences soil aggregate formation and nutrient storage under different tillage systems

Background : The soils under continuous rice monocropping are currently facing a serious threat of accelerated soil and environmental quality degradation. Aims : Examining the impact of tillage and cropping diversity on soil aggregate stability and associated nutrients in a sub‐tropical rice ecosystem. Methods : A split‐plot experiment with tillage (minimum, MT vs. conventional, CT) as a main plot and cropping diversity [mustard (Brassica napus)–rice (Oryza sativa)–rice (M–R–R), wheat (Triticum aestivum)–rice–rice (W–R–R), and lentil (Lens esculenta)–rice–rice (L–R–R)] as a sub‐plot was repeated for four years. Soil aggregate properties were measured using wet sieving techniques. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrients were measured in different aggregate size groups as well as in the bulk soil samples. Results : Results show that all the aggregate size groups were similar in both MT and CT, except in 0.85–0.30 mm. Likewise, cropping diversities increased soil aggregation, being higher aggregate size of < 0.053 mm in M–R–R relative to the W–R–R and L–R–R, where the latter two were alike. By contrast, > 2 mm aggregates were higher in L–R–R than in M–R–R and W–R–R, where the latter two were similar. The MT increased aggregate mean weight diameter (MWD) by 14% in W–R–R, and by 29% in L–R–R. Soil organic carbon (SOC), total N (TN), and available P were higher in MT than in CT, while it was alike for exchangeable K and available S. While W–R–R had a higher aggregate‐associated SOC, available P, and available S, L–R–R had a higher TN, and M–R–R had a higher exchangeable K. While SOC, TN, and exchangeable K accumulated more in the > 0.85 mm size aggregates, the available P, in contrast, accumulated more in < 0.85 mm size aggregates. Conclusion : Wheat–rice–rice diversity, coupled with minimum tillage, has a higher potential for soil fertility sustenance and crop productivity through better nutrient protection.     

Immunophenotypic analysis of the distribution of hepatic macrophages,lymphocytes and hepatic stellate cells in the adult rat liver

The liver consists of parenchymal hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells. Non-parenchymal cells, Kupffer cells, hepatic stellate cells and cholangiocytes have crucial roles in liver homeostasis and liver pathology. To establish baseline data, this study investigated immunohistochemically the distribution of non-parenchymal cells in perivenular areas (PV), periportal areas (PP) and Glisson's sheath (GS) of adult rat liver. Liver tissues were collected from the left lateral lobe of rats. CD163-positive macrophages were seen along the sinusoid of PV and PP areas, indicating Kupffer cells. Double immunofluorescence showed, Kupffer cells partly co-expressed CD68 and MHC class II antigens in the liver. The numbers of Kupffer cells were significantly high in PP areas as compared with PV or GS areas. CD68-positive exudative macrophages were highly localized in PP and GS areas and a comparatively low PV area. MHC class II-positive dendritic cells (activated macrophages) were localized mainly in GS. Granzyme B-positive NK cells were mainly localized in the Glisson's sheath. CD3-positive T cells and CD20-positive B cells were distributed along the sinusoids of the PP and PV areas of hepatic lobules. Vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive hepatic stellate cells were localized along sinusoids in the hepatic lobules of the liver. Cholangiocytes reacting to cytokeratin 19 were seen on interlobular bile ducts in Glisson's sheath of the liver. This study shows that heterogeneous macrophage populations, liver-resident lymphocytes and hepatic stellate cells localized in PP and PV areas or GS areas of the liver with cells specific patterns.