The core–sheath bi‐polymeric scaffold has been proven as an encouraging material based on the requirement of scaffolds. This study aims to prepare electrospun core–sheath scaffolds by using ...acid‐soluble collagen (ASC) as core material and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) or PLA‐g‐VAc as sheath material to get the most in combination from a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic polymer. ASC is extracted from waste Tilapia fish skin conserving the triple helix structure of the α1 (130 kDa) chain, and a α2 (120 kDa) chain cross‐linked with the β (280 kDa) chain confirmed by amino acid profile, sodium dodecyl sulphate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. PLA‐g‐VAc is prepared by grafting vinyl acetate (VAc) onto the PLA chain using benzoyl peroxide as the initiator. FT‐IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR of PLA‐g‐VAc reveal that grafting occurs between the double bond of VAc and the methine group of PLA. The morphology of the scaffolds is determined by the field emission scanning electron microscope. FT‐IR, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, XRD, and water contact angle measurements are used for further characterization of scaffolds. In vivo, cytotoxicity analysis on the Vero cell line exposes that scaffolds are biocompatible. Application of scaffolds to the surgically produced wounding of skin in a rat model followed by histological assay indicates the enhanced properties of core–sheath scaffolds rather than the single polymeric scaffolds.
Core‐sheath acid‐soluble collagen and poly(lactic acid) scaffold as a wound dressing.
This study investigates the composition of and preferences by farmers related to trees and crops planted in agroforestry systems, and their role on the livelihood of tribal farmers in a tropical ...moist deciduous forest in Tangail, Bangladesh. Data was collected from 150 tribal farmers practicing different types of agroforestry systems in Madhupur Sal forest, using a mixed-method strategy that included a survey, focus group discussion, key informant interviews, and direct observation. According to the results, tribal farmers used a total of 22 trees and 33 crop species in their existing agroforestry systems, indicating a rich composition and high diversity. Acacia auriculiformis was the most common tree species (with 82% of farmers possessing this species), followed by Mangifera indica (75%), Acacia sp. (73%), and Gmelina arborea (54%). Interviews revealed that agroforestry systems have provided numerous benefits and greatly enhanced farmers’ livelihoods through better access to food, timber, fodder, and fuelwood and greater access to livelihood capitals (except social capital). Though agroforestry practices increase species diversity, provide economic returns, and help farmers maintain their livelihoods, tribal farmers face several constraints including bureaucracy and a lack of alternative market facilities. Our study can be of interest for future policy interventions focusing on sustainable reforestation practices, how to solve the problems faced by the farmers, and livelihood improvement in Bangladesh.
The study aimed to investigate if vegetable-based high-energy mash diets supplemented with NaHCO
3
,
l
-arginine + vitamin C, and vegetable oils were effective against tachycardia and polycythemia in ...the broiler chicken. A total of 256 Ross-308 day-old male broiler chicks were randomly distributed into eight dietary treatment groups in a three-way ANOVA with 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement (three factors, i.e., NaHCO
3
,
l
-arginine + vitamin C, and vegetable oil each with two levels, e.g., 0 and 0.1% of NaHCO
3
and
l
-arginine + vitamin C; 3 and 4% of vegetable oil supplemented with basal diet) for a period of 35 days. Iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets were formulated and supplied ad libitum. The final live weight (FLW), average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency (FE), carcass traits, cardio-pulmonary morphometry, total protein (TP), hemoglobin (Hb), triiodothyronine (T
3
), incidence of tachycardia, and polycythemia were examined. Supplementation of NaHCO
3
increased 2.2% ADFI, 5.5% FE, and 23.2% TP. The
l
-arginine + vitamin C increased 2.4% FLW and decreased 1.9% heart rate. Vegetable oil increased 1.3% ADFI, 4.2% ADG, 8.6% FE, 23.1% Hb, and 15.5% PCV. The NaHCO
3
,
l
-arginine + vitamin C, and vegetable oil additively interacted to increase 31.5% T
3
at the expense of 21.1% of the weight of the right ventricle (RV). The RV:TV, carcass traits, and hemato-biochemical indices remained within normal range irrespective of the levels of the supplementations of the test ingredients. It was concluded that vegetable-based high-energy mash diets were not susceptible to tachycardia and polycythemia. The addition of NaHCO
3
and
l
-arginine + vitamin C ameliorated the propensity of tachycardia and polycythemia without deteriorating performance, carcass traits, and hemato-biochemical indices of the broiler chicken in a dose-dependent manner.
Electrospinning of a heterogeneous solution is difficult to continue because the required process parameters are different for multiple phases. In this study, nanofibrous mats were successfully ...prepared from a heterogeneous blend of solid cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAp) in a solution mixture of chitosan and gelatin using an electrospinning technique. HAp and CNC were used as filler materials in the nanofibrous mats. Gelatin and chitosan polymer chains in the mats were crosslinked using glutaraldehyde. The fiber diameter was noticed to decrease from around 86 to 43 nm with the increase of electrical conductivity of the spinning solution from 890 to 1166 μS cm−1 and after crosslinking a significant variation in fibers’ diameter was noticed. The elemental analysis data showed that around 85% of the HAp used in the spinning solution was passed through the nozzle and the rest of the portion remained settled in the spinning syringe. In the XRD study, the crystallinity of chitosan, HAp and CNC was not observed in the non-crosslinked and crosslinked mats. The TGA analysis showed that the crosslinked mat has no weight retention at 500 °C which is due to its complete amorphous nature. The mats showed single-phase transition temperatures in DSC analysis which proves that no segregation of materials was present in the electrospun fibers. FTIR analysis of the mats showed a new peak at 1205 cm−1 which suggests the Michael addition type reactions to be happened between chitosan and gelatin. Cytotoxicity analysis of the mats on the vero-cell line showed around 95% of cell viability. The prepared mats were applied as wound dressings on a mice model experiment and 50% faster healing of wounds on the mice was noticed for the non-crosslinked mats than the control one.
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Isothiocyanates are enzymatically produced from glucosinolates in plants, and allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) induces stomatal closure in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study, we investigated stomatal ...responses to AITC in Vicia faba. AITC-induced stomatal closure accompanied by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and NO production, cytosolic alkalization and glutathione (GSH) depletion in V. faba. GSH monoethyl ester induced stomatal reopening and suppressed AITC-induced GSH depletion in guard cells. Exogenous catalase and a peroxidase inhibitor, salicylhydroxamic acid, inhibited AITC-induced stomatal closure, unlike an NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor, diphenylene iodonium chloride. The peroxidase inhibitor also abolished the AITC-induced ROS production, NO production, and cytosolic alkalization. AITC-induced stomatal closure was suppressed by an NO scavenger, 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide, and an agent to acidify cytosol, butyrate. These results indicate that AITC-induced stomatal closure in V. faba as well as in A. thaliana and suggest that AITC signaling in guard cells is conserved in both plants.
Signal transduction of allyl isothiocyanate in Vicia faba guard cells.
Realizing the efficacy of the liquid-phase exfoliation technique to obtain a greater quantity of graphene, this study demonstrates a cost-effective technique of bio-surfactant-assisted liquid-phase ...exfoliation of few-layer graphene (FLG) with a low defect ratio. An ultrasonic bath without any toxic chemicals or chemical modification was employed to exfoliate the graphene at room temperature. Several state-of-the-art characterization techniques such as TEM, AFM, XRD UV-Vis, and Raman spectroscopy were used to confirm the presence of the graphene. The dispersion exhibits a typical Tyndall scattering to the red laser beam. After a 7-h sonication of the dispersion, followed by a centrifugation frequency of 500 rpm for half an hour, the graphene concentration was found to be 1.2 mg/mL. The concentration decreases monotonically with an increase in the frequency, as a higher frequency causes sedimentation of the larger flakes or removes the adsorbed surfactant molecules from the graphene structures that collapse the graphene sheets into the graphite. The presence of an amino acid head-group in the surfactant facilitated exfoliation in an aqueous solution at well below the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the surfactant. The product demonstrates all characteristic features of an FLG system. The TEM and AFM image reveals large-area graphene with a wrinkle-free surface; these morphological properties are confirmed by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. This study suggests that a sonication-induced process with a biocompatible surfactant can produce a cheap, large-surface-area graphene system for a wide range of applications. Moreover, the use of a probe sonicator as an alternative to the bath-type sonicator, together with the demonstrated technique, may reduce the time needed, and leads to a manifold increase in the yield.
Understanding the order of limiting amino acids (AA) in reduced-protein (RP) diets for laying hens will facilitate precise feed formulation and ensure that AA requirements are met cost-effectively. ...The order of the first three limiting AAs—lysine (Lys), methionine (Met), and threonine (Thr)—has been well established in RP laying hen diets. This study aimed to determine the priority order of eight additional limiting AAs (critically important AAs) when formulating wheat–sorghum-based RP diets for laying hens: tryptophan (Trp), valine (Val), isoleucine (Ile), arginine (Arg), leucine (Leu), histidine (His), phenylalanine (Phe), and glycineequivalent (Gly). A total of 330 Hy-Line Brown laying hens were randomly assigned to 11 dietary treatments (30 replicates of individual birds per treatment) from 20 to 39 weeks of age (WOA). Treatments were a standard-protein (17.24% CP) diet as the control (SP); a reduced-protein (15.00% CP) diet with sufficient levels of Lys, Met, and Thr but insufficient levels of the eight experimental essential AA (RP); a reduced-protein diet with sufficient levels of all essential AAs (RP-EAA); and eight subsequent dietary treatments of the RP-EAA diet with one of the experimental essential AAs removed: Trp (RP-EAA-Trp), Val (RP-EAA-Val), Ile (RP-EAA-Ile), Arg (RP-EAA-Arg), Leu (RP-EAA-Leu), His (RP-EAA-His), Phe (RP-EAA-Phe), and Gly (RP-EAA-Gly). Eggs were collected and weighed daily, and feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated weekly. External and internal egg quality was measured at 29 and 39 WOA. Nutrient digestibility, serum uric acid concentration, caecal microbiota composition, and tibia parameters were measured at 40 WOA. Overall, hens fed the RP-EAA-Val, RP-EAA-Ile, and RP diets presented significantly lower egg mass compared to hens fed the SP, RP-EAA-His, and RP-EAA-Gly diets (p < 0.001). Hens fed the RP diet and RP-EAA-Val diet had a higher FCR compared to those offered the RP-EAA, RP-EAA-Leu, RP-EAA-Phe, and RP-EAA-Gly diets (p = 0.046). Lower protein intake and excretion were observed in hens offered the RP diets compared to hens fed the SP diet (p = 0.001 and 0.018, respectively). Based on the egg mass, Ile may be considered the fourth and Val the fifth limiting AA, after Lys, Met, and Thr, in laying hens fed wheat–sorghum-based RP diets during peak lay. However, if ranked based on FCR, Val may be considered the fourth limiting AA, followed by Trp, Ile, Arg, and His as the co-fifth limiting AAs. Leu, Phe, and Gly may be considered as non-essential AAs for laying hens fed RP diets.
is argued as one of the principal organisms responsible for mammary gland infection in lactating goats, causing both clinical and subclinical mastitis. Being highly zoonotic potential, pathogen ...emergence of methicillin-resistant
(MRSA) has a significant clinical impact on treatment and management of clinical mastitis. We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence of coagulase-positive
(CoPS), antimicrobial resistance profile of
spp., prevalence of MRSA, and association between different clinical parameters with CoPS.
A total of 67 clinical mastitic goats were sampled based on clinical examination and California mastitis test. Standard bacteriological methods were performed to isolate and identify
spp. CoPS were confirmed by
gene using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All staphylococcal isolates were further examined for antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion method. MRSA was confirmed based on
gene-based PCR.
Here, 49 (73.13%; 95% confidence interval CI, 61.41-82.35) samples were positive for
spp., of which 17 (34.69%; 95% CI, 22.88-48.73) isolates were CoPS and rest of the isolates (32; 65.30%; 95% CI, 51.27-77.12) were identified as coagulase-negative
spp. (coagulase-negative staphylococci CNS). Both, CoPS and CNS isolates displayed the highest resistance against tetracycline (76.47% and 75%, respectively) and oxacillin (70.58% and 68.75%, respectively). Notably, all staphylococcal isolates were multidrug-resistant (showed resistance to ≥3 classes of antimicrobials).
gene was found in 6 (8.96%; 95% CI, 3.84-18.52) CoPS isolates indicating MRSA strains. Among different clinical parameters, presence of high body temperature (p<0.05), firm udder consistency (p<0.01), bloodstained milk (p<0.00), and pus in milk (p<0.00) were significantly associated with the presence of CoPS in mastitic caprine milk.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of MRSA isolated from clinical caprine mastitis cases in Bangladesh. The findings of this study would help in cautious selection as well as administration of antimicrobials for therapeutic management of mastitic goats.
Salinity significantly increased trisodium-8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulphonic acid (PTS) uptake and decreased the K(+)/Na(+) ratio in salt-sensitive rice (Nipponbare) but did not markedly in ...salt-tolerant rice (Pokkali). Proline and glycinebetaine (betaine) suppressed the increase in PTS uptake and the decrease in the K(+)/Na(+) ratio in Nipponbare, but did not affect PTS uptake or the K(+)/Na(+) ratio in Pokkali.
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