Chitosan nanoparticles enhance developmental competence of in vitro-matured porcine oocytes

Oxidative stress is inevitable as it is derived from the handling, culturing, inherent metabolic activities and medium supplementation of embryos. This study was performed to investigate the protective effect of chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) on oxidative damage in porcine oocytes. For this purpose, cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) derived from porcine slaughterhouse ovaries were exposed to different concentrations of CNPs (0, 10, 25 and 50 µg/ml) during in vitro maturation (IVM). Oocytes treated with 25 µg/ml CNPs showed significantly higher levels of GSH, along with a significant reduction in ROS levels compared to control, CNPs10 and CNPs50 groups. In parthenogenetic embryo production, the maturation rate was significantly higher in the CNPs25 group than that in the control and all other treated groups. In addition, when compared to the CNPs50 and control groups, CNPs25-treated oocytes showed significantly higher cleavage and blastocyst development rates. The highest concentration of CNPs reduced the total cell number and ratio of ICM: TE cells in parthenogenetic embryos, suggesting that there is a threshold where benefits are lost if exceeded. In cloned embryos, the CNPs25 group, as compared to all other treated groups, showed significantly higher maturation and cleavage rates. Furthermore, the blastocyst development rate in the CNPs25-treated group was significantly higher than that in the CNPs50-treated group, as was the total cell number. Moreover, we found that cloned embryos derived from the CNPs25-treated group showed significantly higher expression levels of Pou5f1, Dppa2, and Ndp52il genes, compared with those of the control and other treated groups. Our results demonstrated that 25 µg/ml CNPs treatment during IVM improves the developmental competence of porcine oocytes by reducing oxidative stress.     

Seasonal Changes of Shoot Carbohydrates and Growth Characteristics of ‘Trakya İlkeren’ Grape Variety (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vitis vinifera</Emphasis> L.)

This research was conducted to determine the changes in the seasonal carbohydrates of annual shoots and growth characteristics of 10 years old ‘Trakya ?lkeren’ grape variety. Grapevines are grafted on 5BB and 5C rootstocks and they were grown in heavy clay soil conditions. In the study, changes of sugar, starch and total carbohydrates were determined from bud burst to dormancy. While sugar, starch and total carbohydrates showed significant differences (P < 0.01) there were no differences between rootstocks. Although sugar, starch and total carbohydrates of shoots decreased from bud burst to blooming, they increased thereafter until vegetative growth stopped. Total carbohydrates of annual shoots have been found to accumulate in period from blooming to harvest. Total and mean leaf area, shoot length and diameter, total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a/b ratio showed significantly variation among rootstocks and phenological stages (P < 0.01). Whereas the highest chlorophyll contents were found in the blooming, it was found at the lowest through to harvest. Overall mean and total leaf area, shoot length and shoot diameter, total chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a/b ratio were significantly higher on 5BB grafted vines. In the study, 5BB rootstocks are found suitable in terms of shoot carbohydrate accumulation and growth characteristics for ‘Trakya ?lkeren’ grape variety.     

光照对加工番茄穴盘苗植株形态及生理的影响

【目的】通过对穴盘苗设置光照和遮阴条件,探讨光照对穴盘苗植株形态及生理的影响。【方法】以加工番茄87-5(里格尔,下同)和新番41号为材料,设置正常光照和遮阴两个处理,对比研究穴盘徒长苗与正常苗在外部形态指标及生理发生的变化差异。【结果】遮光处理下的穴盘苗株高变高、叶面积变大、RWC(相对含水量)上升、叶片数减少、WSD(饱和亏)下降、根系活力下降,与此同时SOD(超氧化物歧化酶)活性、游离脯氨酸、POD(过氧化物酶)活性、总糖量、过氧化氢酶活性、丙二醛均有一定程度的下降。【结论】光照对加工番茄穴盘苗的植株形态及生理有明显的影响,充足的光照直接影响到穴盘苗的成苗质量。     

Evaluation of bermuda and paspalum grass types for urban landscapes under saline water irrigation

In the arid regions, turfgrass cover is an integral part of landscape to protect the soil from erosion, enhance the aesthetic value, and improve the microclimate. The salinity and the scarcity of fresh water of the arid region are the major challenging factors in turfgrass production. Therefore, the need for salt tolerant turfgrass with functional quality is necessary to improve the turf performance. The detrimental effects of salinity include growth suppression, and lowered osmotic potential ultimately leading to firing of the leaf blades. In this context, the study was undertaken to determine the relative salt tolerance and growth response of turfgrass genotypes in order to recommend turfgrass cultivars that can tolerate high salinity irrigation and maintain excellent visual and functional qualities under United Arab Emirates (UAE) condition. The paspalum cultivars maintained the highest succulence percentage compared to the bermudagrass cultivars under enhanced salinity levels. The shoots count, fresh weight (FW), and dry weight (DW) were found highest in paspalum types. The chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and the total chlorophyll content was found higher in bermuda grass types under high salinity levels. The bermudagrass cultivars showed significantly higher carotenoids, anthocyanins and proline compared to the paspalum types under salt stress condition. In the case of princess 77 and Yukon, an inherently high amount of proline was recorded which confirmed an increase up to 10,000 ppm and drastically declined beyond this concentration. Sea Dwarf paspalum and Sea Isle 2000 maintained uniformity in the proline level at all levels of salinity without significant variation. These findings point to the fact that both paspalum and bermuda types exhibited varied responses to different physiological and biochemical parameters under the saline conditions. Paspalum types have an edge over the bermudagrass in terms of shoot density, which is a potential factor in determining the high-quality turfs. Bermudagrass types can be applied in lower salinity conditions based on the responses as evidenced from the present results.     

Effect of animal age,postmortem chilling rate,and aging time on meat quality attributes of water buffalo and humped cattle bulls

The study was aimed to investigate the influence of animal age, post‐slaughter chilling rate, and aging time on meat quality of M. longissimus dorsi (LD) of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and humped cattle (Bos taurus indicus) bulls. After slaughtering, one side of carcasses was subjected to rapid chilling (RC) (0 ± 2°C) and other side was hanged in controlled room temperature (25 ± 2°C) for 3 hr, then allowed to the chiller (0 ± 2°C). The meat quality traits were analyzed at 1, 7, and 14 days of storage. It was noted that rapidly chilled carcasses from the younger animals of both species missed the ideal pH/temperature window, which affects the toughness of the meat. Buffalo meat presented higher shear force, color L* values, and lower b* value as compared to the cattle meat. Moreover, meat shear force values decreased while all color coordinates and cooking loss values increased with lengthening the storage time in both age groups of cattle and buffalo. In conclusion, the tenderness of cattle meat was superior to that of buffalo and RC adversely affect the shear force values of young cattle and both age groups of buffalo bulls.     

Morphologic,morphometric and contour shape variations of sagittal otoliths of Lepidorhombus spp. in the Aegean Sea

Otoliths are calcareous anatomical structures in the inner ear of fishes, and they can be used in the discrimination of fish species and stocks due to their species-specific shape. Sagittal otoliths in the Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis and Lepidorhombus boscii, two flatfish species of the same genus distributed in the Aegean Sea, were compared using morphology, morphometry and contour shape analyses. Blind and eyed side otoliths of Lepidorhombus species were evaluated separately due to their morphological features and statistical differences in morphometric measurements (p < 0.05). Four analysis groups were formed: blind side otolith of L. whiffiagonis, eyed side otolith of L. whiffiagonis, blind side otolith of L. boscii and eyed side otolith of L. boscii. Morphometric differences in otolith shape were performed by canonical discriminant analysis, and the first discriminant axis explained 97.4% (Wilks λ = 0.270) of the variance between the groups, and the second axis explained 2.3% (Wilks λ = 0.620). Classification success between Lepidorhombus species based on CDA is 100%, and the overall CDA classification score between groups is 76.5%. The wavelet functions obtained in the contour analysis showed high variability in the anterior, posterior-dorsal, antero-dorsal and ventral regions of the otoliths among these four analysis groups. Consequently, it is thought that this study will contribute to the taxonomic classification of fish with the morphological and morphometric differences in the blind and eyed side otoliths and the analyses made with the high discrimination success obtained in Lepidorhombus species.     

Promising apricot genetic resources from the Lake Van Region

This study was conducted in order to select valuable genetic resources(Prunus armeniaca L.) of apricot in Geva situatedon Lake Van Region (East Anatolia) of Turkey during 1998 and 1999. Allpopulation consisted of native apricot genotypes were examined with respect tofruit and tree characteristics for two years, and twenty-eight genotypes wereselected for future breeding efforts. Their flowering habit and desirable fruitcharacteristics were determined in comparison withHachalilolu. All selected apricots grown at 1700m in the region were not affected by late spring frosts. In themajority of genotypes, bud break, first flowering, full flowering and end offlowering occurred a few days earlier than the cultivarHachalilolu in both years, whereas, harvest waslater than that. Some selections produced larger fruits thanHachalilolu. All genotypes showed a range of25–48 g for fruit weight, 11–21% for soluble solids and0.19–2.90% for acidity. Soluble solids content was more than 20% in threeselections (G12, G29 and G33), and the acidity was lower than 1% in fivegenotypes (G2, G12, G27, G29 and G33). Selections with attractive fruit colorshad small to medium-sized fruits. Many genotypes were evaluated as promising forfurther breeding efforts.     

Elevated Plasma Levels of Interleukin 1β, Tumour Necrosis Factor α and Monocyte Chemotactic Protein 1 Are Associated with Pregnancy Toxaemia in Ewes

Pregnancy toxaemia is a metabolic disorder that results from an inadequate energy supply to the growing maternal–fetal unit. The mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of the syndrome has not been fully clarified; however, a key role for cytokines and chemokines including interleukin 1 β (IL-1β), tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) has been indicated in women and experimental animals. However, information on the maternal plasma levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and MCP-1 in ewes with pregnancy toxaemia is limited. Thus, the present study was designed to determine plasma IL-1β, TNF-α and MCP-1 concentrations in ewes with severe (n = 6) and mild (n = 4) naturally occurring pregnancy toxaemia and in uncomplicated pregnant ewes (n = 10) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All ewes with pregnancy toxaemia had significantly lower body temperature and respiratory rate than uncomplicated pregnant ewes (p < 0.05). With the highest concentrations in severe cases, heart rate, proteinuria and serum uric acid levels as well as plasma IL-1β, TNF-α and MCP-1 were significantly different among all three groups (p < 0.05). The plasma concentrations of IL-1β in control ewes and ewes with mild and severe toxaemia were 15.81 ± 3.90 pg/ml, 23.83 ± 2.42 pg/ml and 34.55 ± 8.03 pg/ml, respectively. The plasma concentrations of TNF-α in control ewes and ewes with mild and severe toxaemia were 7.71 ± 1.61 pg/ml, 16.13 ± 3.63 pg/ml, and 22.85 ± 3.64 pg/ml, respectively. The plasma concentrations of MCP-1 in control ewes and ewes with mild and severe toxaemia were 101.70 ± 9.86 pg/ml, 134.75 ± 6.24 pg/ml, and 157.67 ± 9.69 pg/ml, respectively. Moreover, plasma IL-1β, TNF-α and MCP-1 levels were positively correlated with clinical and well-establish biochemical parameters of pregnancy toxaemia, serum uric acid and proteinuria (p < 0.01). Concomitant increase of plasma IL-1β, TNF-α and MCP-1 concentrations along with serum uric acid, proteinuria, and worsening of the clinical signs indicates that such cytokines are involved in the aetiopathogenesis and in perpetuation of the local and systemic inflammatory reactions in pregnancy toxaemia in ewes. Hence, plasma IL-1β, TNF-α and MCP-1 may potentially serve as markers to monitor prognosis of pregnancy toxaemia in ewes.     

Designing double-layered nanofibrous membranes as a wound dressing material

New generation wound dressings require the criteria that both bioactive and conventional wound dressing materials can recompense the fundamental properties like defense of wound from microbial invasion, dehydration during the wound care duration and mimic the healing process. In this study, functional double-layered nanofibrous composite membranes were fabricated via electrospinning method. The matrices consist of a sheet of ampicillin loaded poly(2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate/polyacrylic acid (pHEMA/pAA) nanofibers on the upper side (first layer: pH sensitive antibacterial barrier) and a sheet of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/gelatin nanofibers (second layer: bioactive part). Ampicillin was successfully incorporated to double-layered matrices which greatly changed the mechanical properties, biodegradability and water uptake ratios (up to 4 fold higher values). The success of the antimicrobial activity of ampicillin on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was indicated by the inhibition zone test. pH sensitivity was confirmed by the swelling and ampicillin release studies by shifting pH value to basic environment. Thus, double-layered pHEMA-pAA nanofibers suggest as a potential wound dressing material for its pH sensitive drug delivery ability and its bioactive part.