Browse Articles

The global air pollution and undernutrition among children under five

Simultaneous multimodal measures for aesthetic evaluation of furniture color and form

Calcium hydroxide nanoparticles induce cell death, genomic instability, oxidative stress and apoptotic gene dysregulation on human HepG2 cells

Abstract Calcium hydroxide nanoparticles (Ca(OH)2NPs) possess potent antimicrobial activities and unique physical and chemical properties, making them valuable across various fields. However, limited information exists regarding their effects on genomic DNA integrity and their potential to induce apoptosis in normal and cancerous human cell lines. This study thus aimed to evaluate the impact of Ca(OH)2NPs on cell viability, genomic DNA integrity, and oxidative stress induction in human normal skin fibroblasts (HSF) and cancerous hepatic (HepG2) cells. Cell viability and genomic DNA stability were assessed using the Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay and alkaline comet assay, respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were measured using 2,7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate, while the expression level of apoptosis-related genes (p53, Bax, and Bcl-2) were quantified using real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The SRB cytotoxicity assay revealed that a 48-hour exposure to Ca(OH)2NPs caused concentration-dependent cell death and proliferation inhibition in both HSF and HepG2 cells, with IC50 values of 271.93 µg/mL for HSF and 291.8 µg/mL for HepG2 cells. Treatment with the IC50 concentration of Ca(OH)2NPs selectively induced significant DNA damage, excessive ROS generation, and marked dysregulation of apoptotic (p53 and Bax) and anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) gene expression in HepG2 cells, triggering apoptosis. In contrast, exposure of HSF cells to the IC50 concentration of Ca(OH)2NPs caused no significant changes in genomic DNA integrity, ROS generation, or apoptotic gene expression. These findings indicate that Ca(OH)2NPs exhibit concentration-dependent cytotoxicity in both normal HSF and cancerous HepG2 cells. However, exposure to the IC50 concentration was non-genotoxic to normal HSF cells while selectively inducing genotoxicity and apoptosis in HepG2 cancer cells through DNA breaks and ROS-mediated mechanisms. Further studies are required to explore the biological and toxicological properties and therapeutic potential of Ca(OH)2NPs in hepatic cancer treatment.

Assumptions and perceptions of food wasting behavior and intention to reduce food waste in the case of Generation Y and Generation X

Abstract One of the global problems of our time is food waste that is most significant at the household level. There is a lack of research that focus on the food-wasting behavior of the main breadwinner groups in society, generations Y and X. To fill this gap, the purpose of this study is to analyse the factors that influence the food-wasting behavior of these groups. From data of a representative sample of 1,665 respondents by using structural equation modeling it is shown that the intention of reducing food waste is positively influenced by attitudes, health-, price and environmental consciousness, planning routines and ecological motives. The results show that influences from the immediate environment and the media are not effective, therefore programs dealing with the future of the Earth, children and sustainability, which strengthen environmental and ecological awareness and planning routines in generations X and Y are recommended.

An exploration of RSM, ANN, and ANFIS models for methylene blue dye adsorption using Oryza sativa straw biomass: a comparative approach

Author Correction: Predictive model for abdominal liposuction volume in patients with obesity using machine learning in a longitudinal multi-center study in Korea

These are the 20 most-studied bacteria — the majority have been ignored

Constitutive expression of Cas9 and rapamycin-inducible Cre recombinase facilitates conditional genome editing in Plasmodium berghei

Abstract Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium and remains a global health concern. The parasite has a highly adaptable life cycle comprising successive rounds of asexual replication in a vertebrate host and sexual maturation in the mosquito vector Anopheles. Genetic manipulation of the parasite has been instrumental for deciphering the function of Plasmodium genes. Conventional reverse genetic tools cannot be used to study essential genes of the asexual blood stages, thereby necessitating the development of conditional strategies. Among various such strategies, the rapamycin-inducible dimerisable Cre (DiCre) recombinase system emerged as a powerful approach for conditional editing of essential genes in human-infecting P. falciparum and in the rodent malaria model parasite P. berghei. We previously generated a DiCre-expressing P. berghei line and validated it by conditionally deleting several essential asexual stage genes, revealing their important role also in sporozoites. Another potent tool is the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, which has enabled targeted genome editing with higher accuracy and specificity and greatly advanced genome engineering in Plasmodium spp. Here, we developed new P. berghei parasite lines by integrating the DiCre cassette and a fluorescent marker in parasites constitutively expressing Cas9. Owing to the dual integration of CRISPR/Cas9 and DiCre, these new lines allow unparalleled levels of gene modification and conditional regulation simultaneously. To illustrate the versatility of this new tool, we conditionally knocked out the essential gene encoding the claudin-like apicomplexan micronemal protein (CLAMP) in P. berghei and confirmed the role of CLAMP during invasion of erythrocytes.

Earth breaches 1.5 °C climate limit for the first time: what does it mean?

Ex vivo detection of recreationally consumed nitrous oxide in exhaled breath

Voter turnout drives margins of victory ― if elections are fair

Comparative analysis of biodiversity, physiology, and anatomical adaptations in riparian flora exposed to industrial pollution stress

Jimmy Carter obituary: former US president who dedicated his life after office to peace, human rights and global health

A multi-spectral and hyperspectral image dataset for evaluating chemical traits and the water status of avocado, olive and grape through leaf dehydration under laboratory conditions

Author Correction: Progressive plasticity during colorectal cancer metastasis

De novo assembly of the complete mitochondrial genomes of two Camellia-oil tree species reveals their multibranch conformation and evolutionary relationships

Abstract Camellia-oil trees are economically valuable, oil-rich species within the genus Camellia, family Theaceae. Among these species, C. oleifera, a member of Section Oleifera in the genus, is the most extensively cultivated in China. In this study, we assembled the mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of two Camellia species, namely C. oleifera and C. lanceoleosa. These two species are closely related and belong to the same genus and section, with C. oleifera being hexaploid and C. lanceoleosa being diploid. The mitogenome of C. oleifera is comprised of 1,039,838 base pairs (bp), and C. lanceoleosa is comprised of 934,155 bp. Both genomes exhibit a multipartite genome structure, which is supported by our PCR experiments. We conducted codon usage and RNA editing site analysis on these two mitogenomes, which showed highly consistent results. However, analysis of repetitive sequences and mitochondrial plastid sequences (MTPTs) revealed differences between the two mitogenomes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that these two species clustered together, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship. The collinearity analysis results showed extensive genome rearrangements in the mitogenomes of Camellia species. We successfully assembled the mitogenomes of C. oleifera and C. lanceoleosa, marking a significant advancement in understanding camellia-oil tree mitogenomes. Unlike circular mitogenomes reported before, our research confirms multiple-branched configurations in these two species. This sheds light on mitogenome structural complexities and contributes to our understanding of evolutionary processes. Additionally, these results enrich Camellia genetic resources and expand our knowledge of mitogenome variation.

Novel relatives of Mecsek Mountains mammarenavirus (family Arenaviridae) in hedgehogs living in different sampling areas in Hungary

Abstract Mammarenaviruses (genus Mammarenavirus, family Arenaviridae) are rodent-borne zoonotic viruses consisting of 52 viral species, including ten that are pathogenic to humans. Currently, only two endemic mammarenavirus species are known in Europe: the human pathogenic Mammarenavirus choriomeningitidis (LCMV) and the recently discovered hedgehog-origin Mammarenavirus mecsekense (MEMV). In this study, 59 faecal specimens from Northern white-breasted hedgehogs (Erinaceus roumanicus) from different geographic regions in Hungary were investigated for mammarenavirus presence and complete genome characterization using newly designed screening primers by RT-semi-nested PCR and sequencing methods. Five (8.5%) of the 59 samples tested positive for mammarenavirus RNA (ER8, ER15, ER27, ER33, and ER39, GenBank accession numbers PQ441959-PQ441968). The L- and S-segments of these strains showed 66–93% and 73–92% nt identity to the closest known mammarenavirus, MEMV, respectively. The NP protein exhibited 86–97% aa sequence identity compared to the corresponding protein of MEMV. Notably, the S-segment intergenic region (S-IGR) of strains ER8, ER15, ER27 and ER33 exceeded the average nt length among known mammarenaviruses and contained two, highly similar stem-loop structures with conserved self-complementary nucleotide motifs. Based on the sequence- and phylogenetic analysis these strains (ER8, ER15, ER27 and ER33) potentially represent a novel mammarenavirus species, tentatively named Pannonia mammarenavirus (PANV).

Comparative analysis of extensive form zero sum game algorithms for Poker like games

Synthesis and performance analysis of novel SiO2 Janus nanoparticles for enhancing gas foam injection in oil reservoirs

A de novo, mosaic and complex chromosome 21 rearrangement causes APP triplication and familial autosomal dominant early onset Alzheimer disease

Abstract Copy number variation (CNV) of the amyloid-β precursor protein gene (APP) is a known cause of autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD), but de novo genetic variants causing ADAD are rare. We report a mother and daughter with neuropathologically confirmed definite Alzheimer disease (AD) and extensive cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Copy number analysis identified an increased number of APP copies and genome sequencing (GS) revealed the underlying complex genomic rearrangement (CGR) including a triplication of APP with two unique breakpoint junctions (BPJs). The mosaic state in the mother had likely occurred de novo. Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) on 42 different tissues, including 17 different brain regions, showed the derivative chromosome at varying mosaic levels (20–96%) in the mother who had symptom onset at age 58 years. In contrast, the derivative chromosome was present in all analyzed cells in the daughter whose symptom onset was at 34 years. This study reveals the architecture of a de novo CGR causing APP triplication and ADAD with a striking difference in age at onset between the fully heterozygous daughter compared to the mosaic mother. The GS analysis identified the complexity of the CGR illustrating its usefulness in identifying structural variants (SVs) in neurodegenerative disorders.