Effects of different levels of sanguinarine on antioxidant indices,immunological responses,ileal microbial counts and jejunal morphology of laying hens fed diets with different levels of crude protein

This study was carried out to assess the effects of different levels of sanguinarine on antioxidant indices, immunological responses, serum biochemical parameters, ileal microbial counts and jejunal morphology of laying hens fed on diets with different levels of crude protein (CP). A total of 180 laying hens were subjected into nine dietary treatments with four cages of five birds each. Experimental treatments consisted of three levels of CP (85.0, 92.5 and 100% of Hy‐Line W36 manual recommendation) and three levels of sanguinarine (0.00, 3.75 and 7.50 mg/kg) as a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement of laying hens which fed during a 70‐day feeding trial. The in vitro study showed that sanguinarine exhibited sevenfold and threefold decreased antioxidant activities to inhibit 2‐2‐diphenyl‐1‐picric hydrazyl free radical as well as ferric ion reducing rather than butylated hydroxyl toluene. Although using the decremental levels of CP caused the increase in heterophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.01), dietary administration of sanguinarine could suppress the serum cholesterol and malondialdehyde concentrations as well as heterophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.05). Additionally, decreasing CP content resulted in the decreased percentage of albumin (p < 0.05); however, it had no negative effects on humoral immunity. Nonetheless, feeding of at least 3.75 mg/kg sanguinarine led to the remarkable increases in serum gamma globulin concentration (p < 0.01) and secondary (p < 0.05) antibody titres against sheep red blood cells. Moreover, a decline in dietary CP content led to higher villi height and crypt depth (p < 0.05; p < 0.001) and consequently decreased villi height‐to‐crypt depth ratio (p < 0.001) than the optimum level (100% CP). In spite of the effects of sanguinarine on the suppression of Escherichia coli and Salmonella counts (p < 0.05), it markedly enhanced villi height‐to‐crypt depth ratio as well as lamina propria lymphatic follicles extent, simultaneously (p < 0.001). Therefore, in spite of the detrimental effects of feeding low‐CP diets on lymphocytes and serum albumin percentages, and villi height‐to‐crypt depth ratio, the administration of incremental levels of sanguinarine could improve cellular and humoral immunity, decrease ileal microbial counts and in turn improve the intestinal health indices in laying hens.     

The Use of Coal Gangue as a Cultivation Bed Conditioner in Forage Maize Inoculated with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of application of coal gangue (CG) at different rates (0, 5, 10, 20, and 50%) and inoculation with two arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi Glomus intraradices and Glomus mosseae, as mediating plant adaptation to soil amended with CG, on the nutrient content of forage maize. The results showed CG amendment at all levels and both AM fungi significantly improved the nutrient content of the plant as compared to control. In general, the highest shoot dry weight and nutrient phosphorus, iron, and zinc (P, Fe, and Zn) were obtained with 10% CG and G. intraradice treatments, which were 49.68, 30.49, 16.72, and 75.71% higher than those of the control plants, respectively. Therefore, 10% dose of CG may be considered as a suitable dose for amendment in the corn cultivation bed in terms of providing nutrient contents for this plant as well as AM fungi root colonization.     

Synthesis of highly intercalated urea-clay nanocomposite via domestic montmorillonite as eco-friendly slow-release fertilizer

The present study describes the preparation and characterization of montmorillonite-urea nanocomposites (Mt-Ur) using aqueous suspension technique at various stirring times and different ratio of montmorillonite to urea (Mt/Ur) via an impure and domestic montmorillonite (Mt), without the application of any chemical reagents and high-energy-demand process (environmentally friendly). The intercalation of urea into Mt interlayer was clearly demonstrated by a significant expansion of d₀₀₁ spacing (interlayer space of Mt) from 1.23 to 1.71 nm which has not yet been reported by aqueous suspension technique. Analyses performed by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) also confirmed the effectiveness of this simple process to intercalate the urea into clay lamella. The release pattern demonstrated that the nanocomposite had a slow-release behaviour for urea dissolution. The results also suggested that the Mt type applied in the current study, in a 1:20 Mt/Ur ratio and stirred for 1 h, possessed desirable ecological and economic efficiency in the production of slow-release urea fertilizer due to the application of the impure and domestic clay which is of very low-cost and eco-friendly. Nevertheless, urea was fully intercalated into the interlayer of clay by a simple technique and with a good slow-release behaviour.     

Isolation and identification of effective cellulolytic bacteria in composting process from different sources

Cellulolytic bacteria have a bio-activating role in the composting process. A study was carried out to isolate and identify cellulolytic bacteria from various sources. The isolates were cultured in the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) agar medium and incubated at 30°C for 3–7 days. Based on morphological characteristics of the isolates, maximum diameter of a clear zone around the colony and maximum cellulolytic activity, eight isolate were selected for further studies regarding composting experiments.

Molecular tests based on PCR amplification and sequencing of 16S rRNA gene of isolates showed the closest phylogenetic similarity with the species of Stenotrophomonas rhizophila DSM14405 (99.8%), Brevibacterium halotolerans DSM8802 (99.6%), Achromobacter marplatensis B2 (99.8%), Bacillus methylotrophicus CBMB205 (100%), Pseudomonas azotoformans IAM 1603 (99.7%), Bacillus sonorensis NBRC 101234 (99.8%), Bacillus subtilis KCTC 13429 (100%) and Ochrobactrum thiophenivorans DSM 7216 (99.3%). The study of the isolates impact on the composting of palm wastes in a randomized complete block design with 11 treatments in 3 replications showed that strain IB (B. methylotrophicus) caused a significant decrease in C:N ratio (58%). The increasing of microbial respiration compared with control after 30 days incubation at 37°C showed that the B. methylotrophicus strain IB with cellulolytic characteristics can be applied to hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass in the composting processes.     

Drought tolerance in four-day-old seedlings of a drought-sensitive cultivar of wheat

Four-day-old seedlings of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Marvdasht) can tolerate severe dehydration and recover after re-watering. In order to clarify tolerance mechanism, in a completely randomized design, the seedlings were exposed to drought by complete water cessation for 10 and 20 days, followed by re-watering for 3 and 7 days. Upon dehydration, the activity of α-amylase increased whereas growth parameters; photosynthetic pigments; and the activities of lipoxygenase, indole acetic acid (IAA) oxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) decreased. The activity of APX and the expression of its gene, however, increased after re-watering. Prolonged dehydration was also accompanied by increase in sucrose, soluble proteins, fructans, and certain amino acids, e.g. proline, glutamine, and valine. The results indicated that during dehydration, 4-day-old wheat seedlings shifted their energy expenditure from basal metabolism to withstand water deficiency via lowering the activity of membrane-damaging enzymes and enhancing the production of osmoprotectants.     

Colonization with endo-mycorrhiza affects the resistance of safflower in response to salinity condition

Two Safflower (Carthamus tinctoriusL.) cultivars' seeds were used to study the influence of inoculation with mycorrhiza arbuscular fungi under salinity stress condition. Factorial experiment based on completely randomized design (three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)) with 3 replications was used. Salinity treatment with 3 levels (0.5, 6, and 12 dS/m) and mycorrhizal arbuscular inoculation with two species (three levels consist of non-inoculation, and inoculation with Glomus intraradices and G. moseae) were applied on two cultivars of safflower (Goldasht and Padide) in this experiment. Some important biochemical, mineral, and growth traits were measured in this study. Salinity had a significant negative effect on all growth and morphological parameters including shoot and root dry weight, stem and root height. On the other hand, colonized plants showed better growth parameters under saline conditions compared with the control. The colonization of both mycorrhizal species decreased with salinity. Sugar and pigment content decreased with salinity, but their levels in colonized plants under saline conditions were higher than that in non-colonized plants. Mineral elements including phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and magnesium (Mg) were higher in colonized plants, while salinity decreased the absorption of these elements in both inoculated and non-inoculated plants. Higher activity of the enzymatic antioxidant means higher removal of these compounds and higher resistance to stress condition. Overall, it is clear that salinity had a negative effect on both cultivars of safflower, but these negative effects were lower in inoculated plants than in the non-inoculated ones; so, the use of mycorrhizal inoculation is a proper way to control the effect of salinity and maintain plant production.     

Expression of ROR1 in patients with renal cancer--a potential diagnostic marker

Background: The ectopic expression of receptor tyrosine kinase Ror1 has been reported in patients with hematological malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Here we report, for the first time, expression of ROR1 gene in both tumor tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with renal cancer (RC). Methods: In the current study, the expression of ROR1 gene was semi-quantitatively measured in PBMC and tumor tissues from 16 RC patients as well as PBMC from 22 healthy individuals relative to the expression of the housekeeping gene phosphoglucomutase 1 by RT-PCR. Results: Our results showed that ROR1 was expressed at gene level in 81.3% of renal tumor tissues (13 out of 16) whereas it was expressed in 94% of PBMC from RC patients (15 out of 16). A weak expression of ROR1 was observed in PBMC of 4 out of 22 healthy individual. A significant expression of ROR1 was observed in PBMC from RC patients when compared to that in PBMC from normal healthy individuals (P<0.001). The expression of ROR1 in PBMC may reflect a shedding of tumor cells into blood stream. Conclusion: We conclude that detection of a high level of ROR1 expression in blood cells might assist in early detection of renal malignancies, providing taking into consideration the clinical symptoms of the disease. Key Words: ROR1, Ectopic expression, Renal cancer     

Occurrence of anti-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Toxoplasma gondii</Emphasis> antibodies in female cattle in south-west of Iran

Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is a significant disease in livestock and humans. In Iran, studies shows that T. gondii infection in humans is relatively high and prevalence is associated mainly with consumption of undercooked meat or meat products. We have examined 450 serum samples from female cattle distributed over all Ahvaz, the center of Khouzestan province, south-west of Iran. IgG antibodies to T. gondii were assayed by the modified agglutination test using whole tachyzoites of T. gondii, and found in 71 (15.77%) of 450 cattle with titers of 1:25 in 38, 1:50 in 18, 1:100 in 11, 1:200 in three and 1:400 in one. Titers of antibodies were decreased in cattle over 2 years old. These results indicate that T. gondii infection in cattle of Khouzestan is relatively considerable, but not very high and consumption of beef may be a source of infection for humans in south-west of Iran.     

Changes in enzyme activities,soluble sugars and phenols during in vitro adventitious shoot regeneration from leaflet explants of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Albizia procera</Emphasis> (Roxb.) Benth

Changes in nitrate reductase, i.e. NR (E.C. 1.7.1.1) activity, peroxidase (E.C. 1.11.1.14) activity, soluble sugars and phenols were monitored at various time intervals from day 0 to 60 during in vitro adventitious shoot regeneration from leaflet explants of Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth. The explants were incubated on semi-solid Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2.6 g l^?1 Phytagel^®, 2.5% sucrose, 10 μM BAP, 1 μM NAA and 15 μM AgNO₃. NR activity, soluble sugars and phenols exhibited initial sharp rise on around day 20 followed by steep decline on day 25, whereas peroxidase activity peaked on day 50, highlighting significance of early input of nitrogen and energy and late emergence of lignification process for cellular differentiation and organization into adventitious shoot primordia. Morpho-anatomical changes in leaflets at various stages of in vitro adventitious shoot formation also followed the endogenous biochemical pattern.