Periodontal disease burden and pathological changes in organs of dogs

Bacterial plaque associated periodontal disease is the most common chronic infection in man and dogs. In man, there is an association between periodontal disease and myocardial infarction and stroke, while in dogs it has also been associated with changes in internal organs. Inflamed periodontal tissues present a 'periodontal disease burden' to the host and the extent of this inflammatory disease burden is likely to affect the degree of associated pathological change in distant organs. This hypothesis was investigated in dogs with naturally occurring periodontal disease. Post-mortem investigations including periodontal assessment, standard necropsy, and organ histology were performed on 44 mature toy and miniature Poodles (related, periodontitis predisposed breeds) that died naturally or were euthanized based on clinical disease. Animals with gross primary organ pathology were excluded. The periodontal disease burden was estimated from the total surface area of periodontal pocket epithelium using six measurements of probing depth for each tooth and the tooth circumferences. Ordinal logistic regression (OR) analysis established that for each square centimeter of periodontal disease burden there was a 1.4-times higher likelihood of greater changes being present in the left atrio-ventricular valves (OR = 1.43), plus 1.2 and 1.4 times higher likelihoodfor greater liver and kidney pathology (OR = 1.21; OR = 1.42), respectively The results show that there is a link between the estimated 'periodontal disease burden' resulting from plaque-bacteria associated periodontal disease and the level of internal pathology in this population, implying that periodontitis might contribute to the development of systemic pathology in dogs.     

Influence of aluminum on the membranes of mycorrhizal fungi

The influence of Al³⁺ on the membrane fluidity of the mycorrhizal fungus Lactarius piperatus (L.ex.Fr.) S. F. Gray was studied. When mycelia grew on media supplemented with 1 or 10 mM aluminum for 21 days, a significant increase in fluidity was detected, compared with the corresponding controls. The comparisons of the EPR spectra calculated by a model, with the experimental ones showed that the spectra are superimpositions of two components with different membrane ordering. The action of aluminum induced a relative enlargement of the less immobilized portion in the membrane. No significant alterations of fluidity were measured after 30-minute treatment, with Al³⁺.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) detection in food samples using an electrochemical immunosensor

In this work, a disposable electrochemical immunosensor, based on a competitive assay scheme, was applied to detect polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in food. For this purpose, antibodies against PCBs were directly immobilized onto the carbon surface of a disposable screen-printed electrode. A competition between the PCBs present in the sample and a fixed concentration of an enzyme-labeled PCB was realized and evaluated by electrochemical detection. Alkaline phosphatase was used as the enzyme label, coupled with differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) as the electrochemical technique. The immunosensor was tested on aroclor mixture detection (1242 and 1248) and then on some typologies of food samples to evaluate the possible application for real sample analysis. Samples analyzed were from different matrixes, such as sheep milk, bovine adipose tissue, and bovine muscle. Results obtained were compared with the accredited results according to ISO 17025 methods for PCB detection (HRGC-LRMS) as a confirmatory analysis. Preliminary results show the possibility to use this device as a screening method in food sample analysis. The negligible matrix effect observed may lead to a simplified extraction procedure, and considerable time and consumable savings are the immediate benefits given by the proposed method.     

First report of dry rot of potato caused by Fusarium proliferatum in India

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Potato stands first as a non-cereal food crop for global consumption purposes. During the year 2019–20, dry rot disease symptoms were observed on...     

Effect of Acid Aluminous Soil on Photosynthetic Parameters of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Potato is grown worldwide, in some cases in very acid soils. Aluminum (Al) is a major limiting factor for crop productivity in acid soils. Al toxicity was studied mainly on plant roots, while less attention was given to its effects on leaves. Al tolerance observed in solution cultures has rarely been correlated with Al tolerance in acid soils. Al tolerance was assessed in 12 potato cultivars grown in nutrient solutions containing 0, 25, and 50 μmol Al L^?1 by its relative root elongation (RRE). The effect of acid soil with high level of exchangeable Al on leaf mineral content, chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO₂ concentration, water use efficiency (WUE), and light use efficiency (LUE) was studied on cultivars, with the greatest differences in RRE (cv. Tresor, 63.1 and 42.5% and cv. Canberra, 23.3 and 19.2%, for the 25 and 50 μmol Al L^?1 treatments, respectively), grown for 49 days after planting (DAP) in acid and limed soil. Growth in acid soil significantly reduced concentrations of nitrogen (?18.51%) and magnesium (?27.17%) in the leaves in cv. Canberra and concentrations of potassium and copper in both cultivars. Canberra grown in acid soil showed a significant decrease in chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate, from 28 to 49 DAP, and in transpiration rate and LUE when averaged across all measurements, while cv. Tresor was not affected. Physiological disorders observed on leaves of plants grown in acid soil can be correlated with the differences in Al tolerance observed in nutrient solutions.