-
Journal of Nematology 2020induce necrotic lesions, the hallmark symptom for the genus, soon after infection. The objective of our study was to characterize and quantify gender differences in...
induce necrotic lesions, the hallmark symptom for the genus, soon after infection. The objective of our study was to characterize and quantify gender differences in lesion development. Independent experiments were conducted for three hosts; pea ( L. cv. Early Alaskan), dill ( cv. Long Island Mammoth), and alfalfa ( cv. Vernal). Each experimental unit was an excised radical placed on water agar in a Petri dish and inoculated with either 40 adult males or 40 fourth-stage juvenile females. Length, size, and number of lesions were recorded during the experiment and the radicals were harvested 14 days after introducing nematodes. Lesions were first observed on pea after two days for female-inoculated roots, and 24 hr after introducing both genders to dill and alfalfa. Lesions expanded either by multiple lesions coalescing or individual lesions expanding over time. Males made fewer, smaller lesions with less discoloration for all three hosts. There was no difference among genders for the total number of nematodes recovered per Petri dish or the number of endoparasitic nematodes after 14 days. The survival rate of males and females at harvest was not different, indicating that the difference in lesion formation was not related to nematode population densities. This study verified and quantified the observation that lesions induced by males are less extensive and in smaller numbers than lesions by females.
PubMed: 33842893
DOI: 10.21307/jofnem-2020-090 -
MethodsX 2022•To bypass the problem of viable but non-culturable bacteria that cannot be isolated by culturable methods would be to isolate DNA from bacterial cells concentrated...
•To bypass the problem of viable but non-culturable bacteria that cannot be isolated by culturable methods would be to isolate DNA from bacterial cells concentrated from water samples used as a template for the polymerase chain reactions (PCR). DNA extraction protocol (Omar et al. 2010) was used as a foundation for extracting DNA from water. The method combinations i.e., guanidium thiocyanate, celite and home-made spin column were chosen because it has been shown to be reliable, rapid, simple, and inexpensive for routine analysis in developing country settings.•The following optimizations were included: (a) Polycarbonate (Poly) was statistically compared with Polyether sulphone (PES), Nitrocellulose acetate (NA) and Nitrocellulose (NC) membranes; (b) Various housing containers for the membranes were tested: plastic/glass petri-dish, Falcon tubes, Ogreiner cryovials; (c) various solutions was tested to add to the membrane to remove cells from membranes; (d) celite was chosen to bind the DNA because it had a higher DNA binding capacity compared to silicon dioxide; (e) incubation times and rotation speed were tested when adding reagents.•The optimized in-house DNA extraction method was validated with environmental water samples, high (dam water) and low (borehole) bacterial load to determine upper and lower detection limits of the method.
PubMed: 35313544
DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2022.101653 -
Poultry Science Feb 2022Dust present in poultry houses can disseminate bacteria in air and deposit them on surfaces. This study evaluated bacteria in settled dust during growout of broilers...
Dust present in poultry houses can disseminate bacteria in air and deposit them on surfaces. This study evaluated bacteria in settled dust during growout of broilers from 2 flocks (Flocks A and B). Dust samples for bacteria analyses were obtained during 6 wk of growout (Flocks A and B) and 1 wk after flock termination (Flock B) by environmental swabbing and collecting dust in petri dishes from multiple locations inside the poultry house. For weekly swabbing, dust deposited during each wk of the sampling period (noncumulatively, n = 12/wk) and cumulatively (n = 12/wk) throughout the sampling period was collected. Swabbed dust samples were analyzed for counts (log CFU/28 cm) of aerobic bacteria, E. coli, coliforms, and Salmonella recovery. For petri dish dust collection, dust was collected in weekly and bi-weekly time spans during the sampling period and then analyzed for Salmonella recovery. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Fisher's Exact Test and means were separated using LSD. Only aerobic plate counts changed over time in dust during growout (Flocks A and B; P < 0.0001). In noncumulatively settled dust, aerobic bacteria (Flocks A and B; P < 0.0001), E. coli (Flock A; P = 0.0432), and coliforms (Flock B; P = 0.0303) varied during growout with peak counts on wk 5 or wk 6, wk 4, and wk 4, respectively, after bird placement. Salmonella recovery did not vary in cumulatively (3/72, 10/84) and noncumulatively (0/12, 10/84) settled dust during growout in both flocks. In dust sampled by bi-weekly collection in petri dishes, Salmonella recovery was highest (5/6) between wk 2 to wk 4 for Flock B (P = 0.0118). Overall, this study displayed that settled dust bacteria levels can fluctuate during broiler growout, and dust can contain Salmonella.
Topics: Animals; Chickens; Dust; Escherichia coli; Poultry Diseases; Salmonella Infections, Animal
PubMed: 34936956
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2021.101602 -
Advanced Science (Weinheim,... Mar 2018Although radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) has been widely used to treat orthopedic disorders with promising clinical results, rESWT largely relies on...
Although radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) has been widely used to treat orthopedic disorders with promising clinical results, rESWT largely relies on clinicians' personal experiences and arbitrary judgments, without knowing relationships between administration doses and effective doses at target sites. In fact, practitioners lack a general and reliable way to assess propagation and distribution of pressure waves inside biological tissues quantitatively. This study develops a methodology to combine experimental measurements and computational simulations to obtain pressure fields from rESWT through calibrating and validating computational models with experimental measurements. Wave pressures at the bottom of a petri dish and inside biological tissues are measured, respectively, by attaching and implanting flexible membrane sensors. Detailed wave dynamics are simulated through explicit finite element analyses. The data decipher that waves from rESWT radiate directionally and can be modeled as acoustic waves generated from a vibrating circular piston. Models are thus established to correlate pressure amplitudes at the bottom of petri dishes and in the axial direction of biological tissues. Additionally, a pilot simulation upon rESWT for human lumbar reveals a detailed and realistic pressure field mapping. This study will open a new avenue of personalized treatment planning and mechanism research for rESWT.
PubMed: 29593978
DOI: 10.1002/advs.201700797 -
Plants (Basel, Switzerland) Nov 2022In this study, the chemical composition of the essential oils (EOs) obtained from different aerial parts (flowers, leaves, and stems) of Guss., a wild species endemic...
In this study, the chemical composition of the essential oils (EOs) obtained from different aerial parts (flowers, leaves, and stems) of Guss., a wild species endemic of Sicily, was investigated. Furthermore, the EOs' biocidal effects towards two pests of stored products, and , were evaluated. This activity was evaluated in Petri dish bioassays to establish the survival rate of adults treated with the EOs comparing them with solvent and a commonly used insecticide (pyrethrum). The data obtained from the toxicity bioassay evidenced that stems' EOs and leaves' EOs have a contact/fumigation effect towards the two insect species tested, while the EOs from the flowers did not exhibit a different mortality than the solvent. The EOs from the stem and leaves of , tested at 10 mg/petri dish, determined a LT50 of 53.38 and 42.97 h, respectively, on adults, and of 45.23 and 42.97 h, respectively, on adults. The promising bioactivity of leaves' EOs and stems' EOs toward and is encouraging in the perspective to test these oils and their main constituents for further experiments in the laboratory and field.
PubMed: 36432776
DOI: 10.3390/plants11223047 -
Postdoc Journal : a Journal of... Nov 2015Ohio State University researchers have made a leap forward in disease research by creating an eraser sized human "brain" in a petri dish. Although lacking a circulatory...
Ohio State University researchers have made a leap forward in disease research by creating an eraser sized human "brain" in a petri dish. Although lacking a circulatory system their brain model includes spinal cord, cortex, midbrain, brain stem, and even the beginnings of an eye- aiding in the effectiveness of research on complex neurological disease. To create their new brain model, the researchers converted adult skin cells into pluripotent stem cells, which afforded the opportunity to build the multiple nervous cell types required for such a complex system. Having this tissue model will assist researchers in developing new disease models, and thus, facilitate the development of novel clinical interventions.
PubMed: 27429994
DOI: No ID Found -
MicroLife 2023On 9-13 July 2023, the 10th FEMS Congress took place in Hamburg, Germany. As part of this major event in European microbiology, the European Academy of Microbiology...
On 9-13 July 2023, the 10th FEMS Congress took place in Hamburg, Germany. As part of this major event in European microbiology, the European Academy of Microbiology (EAM) organized two full sessions. One of these sessions aimed to highlight the research of four recently elected EAM fellows and saw presentations on bacterial group behaviours and development of resistance to antibiotics, as well as on new RNA viruses including bacteriophages and giant viruses of amoebae. The other session included five frontline environmental microbiologists who showcased real-world examples of how human activities have disrupted the balance in microbial ecosystems, not just to assess the current situation but also to explore fresh approaches for coping with external disturbances. Both sessions were very well attended, and no doubt helped to gain the EAM and its fellows more visibility.
PubMed: 38107236
DOI: 10.1093/femsml/uqad045 -
Plants (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2021The present study was aimed at investigating the allelopathic effects of a crude extract from (L.) R.M.King and H.Rob. (Siam weed). The effects of 70% crude ethanol...
The present study was aimed at investigating the allelopathic effects of a crude extract from (L.) R.M.King and H.Rob. (Siam weed). The effects of 70% crude ethanol extract from the whole plant, leaf, stem, and root on the germination and growth of and seedlings were evaluated using Petri-dish tests under laboratory conditions. Crude extracts from the leaf showed the highest inhibitory activity. The leaf extract (OR) was further separated by sequential solvent extraction to provide hexane (HX), ethyl acetate (ET), and butanol (BU) fractions, which were also evaluated using Petri-dish tests. The hexane fraction was significantly the most active; therefore, it was selected for formulation in a concentrated suspension and tested for its herbicidal characteristics. The formulation showed greater early post-emergence than post- and pre-emergence activities, respectively. The physiological mechanism of the formulation was tested against and showed that chlorophyll a and b and the carotenoid contents of the leaf dramatically decreased when the concentration was increased, suggesting its ability to disrupt the process of photosynthesis. As thiobarbituric acid reactive substances also occurred in the leaf of , this suggests lipid peroxidation and cell disruption. These results represent the possibility that extract contains inhibitory compounds with herbicidal activity and could be used as an early post-emergence herbicide for weed control.
PubMed: 34451653
DOI: 10.3390/plants10081609 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2019is an ascomycete fungus that infects and contaminates corn, peanuts, cottonseed, and treenuts with acutely toxic and carcinogenic aflatoxins. The ecological function of...
is an ascomycete fungus that infects and contaminates corn, peanuts, cottonseed, and treenuts with acutely toxic and carcinogenic aflatoxins. The ecological function of aflatoxin production is not well understood; though not phytotoxic, aflatoxin may be involved in resisting oxidative stress responses from infection or drought stress in plants. Observation of aflatoxin stimulation in 48-well plates in response to increasing inoculated wells sparked an investigation to determine if volatiles influence aflatoxin production in neighboring colonies. Experiments controlling several culture conditions demonstrated a stimulation of aflatoxin production with increased well occupancy independent of pH buffer, moisture, or isolate. However, even with all wells inoculated, aflatoxin production was less in interior wells. Only one isolate stimulated aflatoxin production in a large Petri-dish format containing eight small Petri dishes with shared headspace. Other isolates consistently inhibited aflatoxin production when all eight Petri dishes were inoculated with . No contact between cultures and only shared headspace implied the fungus produced inhibitory and stimulatory gases. Adding activated charcoal between wells and dishes prevented inhibition but not stimulation indicating stimulatory and inhibitory gases are different and/or gas is inhibitory at high concentration and stimulatory at lower concentrations. Characterizing stimulatory and inhibitory effects of gases in headspace as well as the apparently opposing results in the two systems deserves further investigation. Determining how gases contribute to quorum sensing and communication could facilitate managing or using the gases in modified atmospheres during grain storage to minimize aflatoxin contamination.
PubMed: 32010096
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.03038 -
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2022Heating has recently been applied as an alternative to electrical stimulation to modulate excitability and to induce neuritogenesis and the expression of neuronal...
Heating has recently been applied as an alternative to electrical stimulation to modulate excitability and to induce neuritogenesis and the expression of neuronal markers; however, a long-term functional differentiation has not been described so far. Here, we present the results obtained by a new approach for scalable thermal stimulation on the behavior of a model of dorsal root ganglion neurons, the F-11 cell line. Initially, we performed experiments of bulk stimulation in an incubator for different time intervals and temperatures, and significant differences in neurite elongation and in electrophysiological properties were observed in cultures exposed at 41.5 °C for 30 min. Thus, we exposed the cultures to the same temperature increase using a near-infrared laser to irradiate a disc of Prussian blue nanoparticles and poly-vinyl alcohol that we had adhered to the outer surface of the petri dish. In irradiated cells, neurites were significantly longer, and the electrophysiological properties (action potential firing frequency and spontaneous activity) were significantly increased compared to the control. These results show for the first time that a targeted thermal stimulation could induce morphological and functional neuronal differentiation and support the future application of this method as a strategy to modify neuronal behavior in vivo.
PubMed: 35808140
DOI: 10.3390/nano12132304