Occurrence of Insecticide Residues in Selected Crops and Natural Resources

Pesticide residue monitoring was taken up at Kothapally and Enkepally villages of Ranga Reddy district, Andhra Pradesh in food crops (rice, maize, pigeonpea), vegetables (tomato and brinjal), cotton besides soil and water during 2008–2009 seasons. Of the 80 food crop and cotton samples, only two rice grain samples (3 %) showed beta endosulfan residues and two (3 %) out of 80 soil samples of food crops and cotton showed alpha and beta endosulfan residues. Out of 75 tomato samples, 26 (35 %) were contaminated and 4 % had residues above maximum residue limit (MRLs). Out of the 50 soil samples from tomato fields, 13 (26 %) contained residues. Among the 80 brinjal samples, 46 (56 %) contained residues and 4 % of samples had residues above MRLs. Only 13 % of the soil samples from brinjal fields were contaminated. Water samples found free from residues. In general the incidence of residues was below MRL in food crops.     

Impact of lux gene insertion on bacterial surface properties and transport

Genetic markers have been in popular use for tracing microbial movement in the environment. However, the impact of genetic marker insertion on microbial surface properties and consequent transport is often ignored. For this research, we investigated the impact of luminescence-based genetic marker insertion on bacterial surface properties and transport. Typical Gram-positive bacterial strains of Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus mitis and Micrococcus luteus were used as model bacterial strains in this research. We manipulated gene transfer to observe the impact of lux gene insertion on bacterial surface properties based on contact angle measurements, and we conducted column experiments to evaluate the impact of lux gene insertion on bacterial transport. After lux gene insertion, bacterial interactions with the porous media increased, demonstrating stronger deposition potential in the porous media. Accordingly, retention of the daughter strains increased. Lux gene insertion also resulted in an increase in bacterial dispersion and equilibrium adsorption in the porous media. The bacterial deposition coefficient was found to correlate with the free energy of interactions between bacteria and the porous media.     

Recurrent Parotid Adenocarcinoma Presenting as Diffuse Myocardial Metastatic Disease

A 64-year-old man who had undergone treatment for left parotid adenocarcinoma presented with progressive exertional shortness of breath. Evaluation revealed metastatic invasion of the myocardium as a rare presentation of recurrent parotid adenocarcinoma. This case highlights the importance of using multimodal imaging methods in diagnostic evaluation and a collaborative multidisciplinary approach in managing patient care.     

Treatment of aged wound healing models with FGF2 and ABT-737 reduces the senescent cell population and increases wound closure rate

Delayed tissue repair in the aged presents a major socio-economic and clinical problem. Age-associated delay in wound healing can be attributed to multiple factors, including an increased presence of senescent cells persisting in the wound. Although the transient presence of senescent cells is physiologic during the resolution phase of normal healing, increased senescent cell accumulation with age can negatively impact tissue repair. The objective of the study was to test interventional strategies that could mitigate the negative effect of senescent cell accumulation and possibly improve the age-associated delay in wound healing. We utilised a 3D in vitro senescent fibroblast populated collagen matrix (FPCM) to study cellular events associated with senescence and delayed healing. Senescent fibroblasts showed an increase in anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) family proteins. We hypothesized that reducing the senescent cell population and promoting non-senescent cell functionality would mitigate the negative effect of senescence and improve healing kinetics. BCL-2 inhibition and mitogen stimulation (FGF2) improved healing in the in vitro senescent models. These results were confirmed with an ex vivo human skin biopsy model. These data suggested that modulation of the senescent cell population with soluble factors improved the healing outcome in our in vitro and ex vivo healing models.