Purification and Characterization of Cell Suspensions Peroxidase from Cotton (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gossypium hirsutum</Emphasis> L.)

Two peroxidases, cPOD-I and rPOD-II, have been isolated and purified from cotton cell suspension and their biochemical characteristics studied. rPOD-II from R405-2000, a non-embryogenic cultivar, has higher activity than cPOD-I derived from Coker 312, which developed an embryogenic structure. The cPOD-I and rPOD-II had molecular mass of 39.1 and 64 kDa respectively, as determined by SDS-PAGE. Both enzymes showed high efficiency of interaction with the guaiacol at 25 mM. The optimal pH for cPOD-I and rPOD-II activity was 5.0 and 6.0, respectively. The enzyme had an optimum temperature of 25 °C and was relatively stable at 20–30 °C. The isoenzymes were highly inhibited by ascorbic acid, dithiothreitol, sodium metabisulfite, and β-mercaptoethanol. Their activities were highly enhanced by Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Ca²⁺, and Ni²⁺, but they were moderately inhibited by Mn²⁺ and K⁺. The enzyme lost 50% to 62% of its activity in the presence of Zn²⁺ and Hg²⁺.     

Biosorbent for tungsten species removal from water: effects of co-occurring inorganic species

The effect of co-occurring inorganic species on the removal of tungsten from water was investigated using biosorbent (i.e., chitosan coated montmorillonite clay). Simulated natural water and well water from Fallon, NV were used for this study. The concentrations of tungsten (21-541 mg/L) and inorganic species ([H(2)CO(3)]=0-4.2 mg/L, [H(4)SiO(4)]=0-90 mg/L, and [SO(2-)(4)]=0-400 mg/L) in simulated feed water were varied. The concentration of tungsten in the well water was 26 microg/L. The pH level of simulated feed water and well water was adjusted to 4 since this pH was found to be the most effective pH for the tungsten removal using chitosan coated clay. Tungsten removal without the existence of co-occurring inorganic species decreases from 99.8 to 87.1% with an increase in initial tungsten concentration from 21 to 541 mg/L. It reduces further as the co-occurring inorganic species concentration increases. The percentage of the tungsten removal ranges between 68.2-93.8%, 66.7-94.2%, and 53.6-93.7% for simulated natural water containing varied amount of H(2)CO(3), H(4)SiO(4), and SO(2-)(4), respectively. The adsorption kinetic data could be best described by the pseudo second order expression. The adsorption equilibrium data was modeled with the Langmuir, Temkin, and Freundlich equations and was found to be represented well by the Langmuir equation. The essential characteristics of the Langmuir isotherm indicate that the adsorption of tungsten on chitosan coated clay is favorable regardless of the presence of interfering species. Compared to natural clay, chitosan coated clay has about 116 times larger adsorption capacity per gram of chitosan, which makes it a superior adsorbent. However, the maximum tungsten adsorption capacity decreases in the presence of co-occurring species since the co-occurring species suppress the adsorption. For the well water treated with biosorbent, the tungsten concentration in the product water was found to be lower than the detection limit (1 microg/L) of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The repeatable results obtained from the treatment of both simulated and well water suggest that using chitosan coated clay can be an efficient adsorbent for tungsten removal from contaminated sites.     

Pyrethroid and Etofenprox Resistance in Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii from Vegetable Farms in Yaoundé, Cameroon: Dynamics,Intensity and Molecular Basis

Previous studies have indicated widespread insecticide resistance in malaria vector populations from Cameroon. However, the intensity of this resistance and underlying mechanisms are poorly known. Therefore, we conducted three cross-sectional resistance surveys between April 2018 and October 2019, using the revised World Health Organization protocol, which includes resistance incidences and intensity assessments. Field-collected Anopheles gambiae s.l. populations from Nkolondom, Nkolbisson and Ekié vegetable farms in the city of Yaoundé were tested with deltamethrin, permethrin, alpha-cypermethrin and etofenprox, using 1× insecticide diagnostic concentrations for resistance incidence, then 5× and 10× concentrations for resistance intensity. Subsamples were analyzed for species identification and the detection of resistance-associated molecular markers using TaqMan® qPCR assays. In Nkolbisson, both An. coluzzii (96%) and An. gambiae s.s. (4%) were found together, whereas only An. gambiae s.s. was present in Nkolondom, and only An. coluzzii was present in Ekié. All three populations were resistant to the four insecticides (<75% mortality rates―MR1×), with intensity generally fluctuating over the time between mod-erate (<98%―MR5×; ≥98%―MR10×) and high (76–97%―MR10×). The kdr L995F, L995S, and N1570Y, and the Ace-1 G280S-resistant alleles were found in An. gambiae from Nkolondom, at 73%, 1%, 16% and 13% frequencies, respectively, whereas only the kdr L995F was found in An. gambiae s.s. from Nkolbisson at a 50% frequency. In An. coluzzii from Nkolbisson and Ekié, we detected only the kdr L995F allele at 65% and 60% frequencies, respectively. Furthermore, expression levels of Cyp6m2, Cyp9k1, and Gste2 metabolic genes were highly upregulated (over fivefold) in Nkolondom and Nkolbisson. Pyrethroid and etofenprox-based vector control interventions may be jeopardized in the prospected areas, due to high resistance intensity, with multiple mechanisms in An. gambiae s.s. and An. coluzzii.     

Synthesis of nanozeolites type A and X from quartz-rich Cameroonian kaolin: application to the modification of carbon paste electrode for acetaminophen and epinine electrochemical sensing

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Nanozeolites A and X were synthesized via hydrothermal method using fine fraction of beneficiated clay. The beneficiation was achieved by collecting fine...