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Abstract
Cell cultures are models in biological and medical research to understand physiological and pathological processes. Cell lines are not always available depending on cell type and required species. In addition, the immortalization process often affects cell biology. Primary cells generally maintain a greater degree of similarity in short-term culture to the cells in tissue. Goal of this study was to verify the suitability of chicken primary epithelial caecal cells (PECCs) for in vitro investigations of host‒pathogen interactions. Epithelial nature of PECCs was confirmed by detection of tight and adherens junctions and cobblestone-like cell morphology. Sialic acids distribution was similar to that in caecal cyrosections. To understand the capacity of PECCs to respond to microbial challenges, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) repertoire was determined. Exposure of PECCs to polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) led to upregulation of type I and III interferon (IFN) as well as interleukin (IL-) 1β, IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA expression. Overall, the PECCs showed properties of polarized epithelial cells. The presence of TLRs, their differential expression, as well as pattern recognition receptor dependent immune responses enable PECCs to act as suitable in vitro model for host‒pathogen interaction studies, which are difficult to conduct under in vivo conditions.
This study assesses the elemental composition of Egyptian glauconite sediments, focusing on potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and macronutrients. The primary aim is to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing these sediments as a natural source of potassium for agricultural purposes, besides conventional chemical fertilizers like potassium sulfate. To quantify elemental content, chemical analysis was employed across five distinct grain size fractions after grinding glauconite rock. The assessment included potassium, calcium, sodium, and PTE concentrations, utilizing potassium chloride (KCl) and ammonium acetate lactate (AL Solution) as single extractants, and the BCR extraction protocol, in addition to measuring the pseudo-total content of these elements. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) facilitated a comparative analysis of elemental concentrations. Results indicate PTE concentrations within European Union regulations, with an absence of cadmium. Glauconite samples contain approximately 3–3.3% potassium by weight, alongside significant amounts of essential macronutrients (calcium, magnesium) and micronutrients (copper, nickel, zinc) crucial for agriculture. BCR sequential extraction protocol results closely align with or slightly surpass pseudo-total content results. Notably, the AL Solution demonstrates high efficiency compared to KCl or acetic acid in the first step of the BCR method. BCR sequential protocol provides valuable insights into various elemental forms and potential mobility. Overall, this study reveals that glauconite has the potential to serve as a promising alternative potassium fertilizer without causing adverse environmental impacts.
Abstract
Elderberry pomace, a by-product generated by elderberry processing industries, may be a favourable resource for further utilisation due to its components of high nutritional quality. In our research, elderberry pomace extract (EP) was added to apple juice as natural food additive for controlling microbial spoilage and enriching antioxidant components.
During the 8-week storage period of enriched apple juice (EPA) and control apple juice samples antioxidant properties were evaluated using the FRAP assay, Folin–Ciocalteu method, and pH differentiation method. The amount of polyphenols components was quantified using an RP-HPLC method. The microbiological status of samples was studied by determining the total viable and yeast/mould counts. The EPA is an important source of polyphenol components and other bioactive compounds, and the results suggest that extract of elderberry pomace could be a promising natural preservative to improve microbiological stability during refrigerated storage and increase the quality of apple juice.
Abstract
Myricetin has been reported to have a wide variety of beneficial physiological functions. The present study investigated the antihyperlipidaemic activity of myricetin against hyperlipidaemia of high-fat diet-fed obese rats. The four-week antihyperlipidaemic activity was assayed by giving different doses of myricetin to hyperlipidaemic rats. Results showed that myricetin could reduce the harm caused by oxidative stress, decrease thiobarbituric acid reactive substances value, and decrease total cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels of hyperlipidaemic rats. Quantitative analysis of gene expression showed that myricetin's lipid-lowering activity can be activated by downregulating gene expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) with upregulation of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) mRNA level. Thus, myricetin had significant health benefits and could be explored as a potentially promising dietary supplement for treating hyperlipidaemia.
Abstract
Botrytis cinerea is one of the fungal pathogens with the widest host plant spectrum, causing serious yield losses and significant economic damage in vineyards from year to year. As an ubiquitous, polyphagous fungal pathogen, with both saprophytic and parasitic lifestyle. The sequential use of active substances belonging to the same chemical family to protect vineyards can lead to an increase in fungal chemical resistance, which is reflected in the enrichment of point mutations in the genomic regions coding proteins involved in the mechanism of action of different pesticides. The aim of our studies was to compare the sensitivity to different fungicides of B. cinerea populations in two wine regions with different pest management practices: the Tokaj region, where the presence of B. cinerea is necessary to produce noble rot wines, and the adjacent Eger Region, where a total protection against B. cinerea is desired. Our study is the first Hungarian report of some previously studied resistance mutations in ERG27 and SDHB protein-coding genes. We identified point mutations in ERG27 transmembrane domain that have not been previously described but may affect the emergence of resistance to certain fungicides. Our study shows that the B. cinerea population of the Northern Hungary region is consistently characterized by an increase in fenhexamid resistance.
Abstract
Ergosterol, as a precursor for synthesising useful molecules like vitamin D2, possesses significant physiological functions in both fungal and human systems. In fungi, ergosterol plays a crucial role in stress responses. In contrast to Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, the changes in specific ergosterol content of Kluyveromyces marxianus under various stress conditions are less known. This study investigated how ergosterol content changes in response to different stress factors. Carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio was examined using experimental design. The effects of aeration and shear force beside constant overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient (KLa) were examined. Cell growth and specific ergosterol content were investigated using ethanol stress during a two-stage fermentation. Based on the results, contradictory settings regarding C/N ratio and shear force were found to be favourable for cell growth and specific ergosterol content. However, increased aeration consistently elevated specific ergosterol content and favoured cell growth as well (2.5-fold and 1.5-fold, respectively). In K. marxianus fermentations, higher ergosterol yield can be achieved through a two-stage fermentation (138.9 mg L−1 compared to 52.9 mg L−1), where the first stage provides favourable conditions for cell growth, and the second stage involves stress (beneficial for ergosterol production) conditions. Conclusions drawn from the two-stage fermentation results suggest that early transitioning of cell growth to the second phase will not result higher adaption and specific ergosterol content compared to the transition at the end of exponential growth phase.
Abstract
Serious risks to human health are posed by acute campylobacteriosis, an enteritis syndrome caused by oral infection with the food-borne bacterial enteropathogen Campylobacter jejuni. Since the risk for developing post-infectious autoimmune complications is intertwined with the severity of enteritis, the search of disease-mitigating compounds is highly demanded. Given that benzoic acid is an organic acid with well-studied health-promoting including anti-inflammatory effects we tested in our present study whether the compound might be a therapeutic option to alleviate acute murine campylobacteriosis. Therefore, microbiota-depleted IL-10−/− mice were perorally infected with C. jejuni and received benzoic acid through the drinking water from day 2 until day 6 post-infection. The results revealed that benzoic acid treatment did not affect C. jejuni colonization in the gastrointestinal tract, but alleviated clinical signs of acute campylobacteriosis, particularly diarrheal and wasting symptoms. In addition, benzoic acid mitigated apoptotic cell responses in the colonic epithelia and led to reduced pro-inflammatory immune reactions in intestinal, extra-intestinal, and systemic compartments tested on day 6 post-infection. Hence, our preclinical placebo-controlled intervention trial revealed that benzoic acid constitutes a promising therapeutic option for treating acute campylobacteriosis in an antibiotic-independent fashion and in consequence, also for reducing the risk of post-infectious autoimmune diseases.
Abstract
The article evaluates how well the goals of the European Green Deal are justified, especially considering the risks to energy and food security arising from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We agree with the objectives of the European Green Agreement as a whole, but whether some of the objectives which feature in the EASAC study can be achieved by 2030 is questionable, and the description of the tools necessary to achieve the objectives is incomplete. Among other things, there is hardly any mention of the role played by precision farming with digitalization, which is a revolutionary change from an ecological and economic point of view, in reducing the use of synthetic inputs, in regenerating the original state of the soil, in reducing GHG emissions, thus in increasing biodiversity, and at the same time in intensifying production, and finally in expanding the application of biotechnology. We examine these areas in our analysis. Some of the objectives of the EASAC study to be achieved by 2030 are subject to debate, and the description of the information and communication conditions necessary to achieve the objectives is incomplete. The IoT (Internet of Things) responds to global and local challenges: it integrates the precision technologies, WSNs (Wireless Sensor Networks), artificial intelligence, mobile field (Smart Small Robots) and remote data loggers (UAVs: Unmanned Air Vehicles and satellites), Big Data, and cloud computing. Consequently, decision support is increasingly developing into unmanned decision making. IoT (Internet of Things) is the basis of “Farm to Fork” and “Lab to Field” monitoring approaches.
This article evaluates the implementation of European Green Agreement objectives in light of energy and food security risks arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While overall support for the agreement exists, the feasibility of certain EASAC study objectives by 2030 is called into question due to insufficient tools specifications. Notably absent is the emphasis on precision farming with digitalization, which is a transformative ecological and economic practice. Our analyses look into its function in reducing synthetic inputs, soil regeneration, GHG emission reduction, biodiversity enhancement, production intensification, and biotechnology development. Debates surround EASAC study objectives for 2030, despite limited information and communication restrictions. The Internet of Things (IoT) arises as a solution, combining precision technology, WSNs (wireless sensor networks), AI (artificial intelligence), smart small robots, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), satellites, big data, and cloud computing. As a result, decision support turns toward unmanned decision-making, with IoT laying the groundwork for “Farm to Fork” and “Lab to Field” monitoring systems.
The use of organic fertilization is declining in Hungary due to the sharp fall of livestock stand since the middle of the 1980s. Most farmers are forced to use solely chemical crop enhancers. A bifactorial small plot experiment was carried out between 10 May 2023 and 19 October 2023 in Keszthely, in order to examine the effects of farmyard manure (M), green manure (GM) and stem residues (SR) on the nutrient uptake and nitrogen utilization efficiencies of maize at equidistantly increasing (0–70–140–210–280 kg N ha–1) nitrogen doses. The relationship between some vegetative traits (dry biomass weight, Leaf Area Index (LAI)) and yield, furthermore leaf relative water content (RWC) was also examined. According to the results, organic fertilizer substitution significantly increased the N content both in whole plant and grain samples of NPK+M and NPK+GM+SR treatments, compared to the chemically fertilized control (NPK). In case of P and K only slight differences were observed. Whole plant K contents of NPK+M were significantly higher than in the other treatments (P = 0.045; P = 0,005), furthermore P contents in grain samples were significantly higher in NPK+M (P = 0.004) and NPK+GM+SR (P = 0.05) than in control. Harvest index (HI [%]) of NPK+M and NPK+GM+SR were 1.06 and 1.05 times higher than in NPK. Depending on the treatment, P0023 maize hybrid absorbed 58.7–74.64% of total N uptake in the grain (HIN%), and the utilization of 1 kg N fertilizer for the extra yield above the yield of the individual control was 0.39–1.38 kg (AREN). Significant positive correlations were observed between dry biomass weight and yield (NPK: r = 0.937, P = 0.019; NPK+M: r = 0.971, P = 0.006; NPK+GM+SR: r = 0.88, P = 0.049), furthermore LAI and yield (NPK: r = 0.9, P = 0.037; NPK+M: r = 0.983, P = 0.003; NPK+GM+SR: r = 0.784, P = 0.117). Highest RWC values – which may be related to better soil aggregate stability – were measured in NPK+GM+SR treatment, therefore there may be a great potential in this treatment among drought conditions. The effect of organic amendments is particularly noticeable with smaller nitrogen doses so they should be used to reduce inorganic fertilizer application and the resulting environmental risks.
