Effects of Selective Deletion of Tyrosine Hydroxylase from Kisspeptin Cells on Puberty and Reproduction in Male and Female Mice.

The neuropeptide kisspeptin, encoded by Kiss1, regulates reproduction by stimulating GnRH secretion. Kiss1-syntheizing neurons reside primarily in the hypothalamic anteroventral periventricular (AVPV/PeN) and arcuate (ARC) nuclei. AVPV/PeN Kiss1 neurons are sexually dimorphic, with females expressing more Kiss1 than males, and participate in estradiol (E2)-induced positive feedback control of GnRH secretion. In mice, most AVPV/PeN Kiss1 cells coexpress tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis (in this case, dopamine). Dopamine treatment can inhibit GnRH neurons, but the function of dopamine signaling arising specifically from AVPV/PeN Kiss1 cells is unknown. We generated a novel TH flox mouse and used Cre-Lox technology to selectively ablate TH specifically from Kiss1 cells. We then examined the effects of selective TH knock-out on puberty and reproduction in both sexes. In control mice, 90% of AVPV/PeN Kiss1 neurons coexpressed TH, whereas in mice lacking TH exclusively in Kiss1 cells (termed Kiss THKOs), TH was successfully absent from virtually all Kiss1 cells. Despite this absence of TH, both female and male Kiss THKOs displayed normal body weights, puberty onset, and basal gonadotropin levels in adulthood, although testosterone (T) was significantly elevated in adult male Kiss THKOs. The E2-induced LH surge was unaffected in Kiss THKO females, and neuronal activation status of kisspeptin and GnRH cells was also normal. Supporting this, fertility and fecundity were normal in Kiss THKOs of both sexes. Thus, despite high colocalization of TH and Kiss1 in the AVPV/PeN, dopamine produced in these cells is not required for puberty or reproduction, and its function remains unknown

Developing health-related indicators of climate change: Australian stakeholder perspectives

Published: 22 May 2017Climate-related health indicators are potentially useful for tracking and predicting the adverse public health effects of climate change, identifying vulnerable populations, and monitoring interventions. However, there is a need to understand stakeholders' perspectives on the identification, development, and utility of such indicators. A qualitative approach was used, comprising semi-structured interviews with key informants and service providers from government and non-government stakeholder organizations in South Australia. Stakeholders saw a need for indicators that could enable the monitoring of health impacts and time trends, vulnerability to climate change, and those which could also be used as communication tools. Four key criteria for utility were identified, namely robust and credible indicators, specificity, data availability, and being able to be spatially represented. The variability of risk factors in different regions, lack of resources, and data and methodological issues were identified as the main barriers to indicator development. This study demonstrates a high level of stakeholder awareness of the health impacts of climate change, and the need for indicators that can inform policy makers regarding interventions.Maryam Navi, Alana Hansen, Monika Nitschke, Scott Hanson-Easey and Dino Pisaniell

Effects of crop season, storage conditions, cultivars and fungicide on postharvest mold fungi infecting sorghum grain

The frequency of fungal infection of sorghum grain samples taken from 5 storage systems (gunny bags, mud-lined baskets (MB), polypropylene bags (PB), an MB/PB mix and open storage in the corner of a room), involving 26 different varieties, hybrids or local cultivars, 2 seasons (1996 rainy and 1996/97 post-rainy) and 4 fungicide treatments (surface sterilization with 1% sodium hypochlorite plus benomyl treatment, sodium hypochlorite or benomyl alone, and an untreated control) was recorded from rural areas of India (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra) in 1997. The major fungi recorded in the samples were Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Bipolaris australiensis [Cochliobolus australiensis], Curvularia lunata [Cochliobolus lunatus], C. lunata var. aeria, Fusarium moniliforme [Gibberella fujikuroi], Lisea fujikuroi [Gibberella fujikuroi], Penicillium citrinum, Phoma sorghina and Rhizopus stolonifer. Full results are tabulated. Grain germination was better in samples collected after the rainy season and from grain stored in gunny bags and mud-lined baskets. Local cultivars tended to germinate better than hybrids and have lower fungal infection. Grains surface-sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite and treated with benomyl (0.05%) had the highest germination (81%), but sterilization did not eliminate all fungal contamination. It is suggested that grain be stored in gunny bags or jute bags to minimize damage from Fusarium spp. and that mould tolerant/resistant genotypes are grown during the rainy season

Cytotoxic potential of fungi in the genus Ganoderma

Ganoderma lucidum is a mushroom forming fungus that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years. G. lucidum, also known as lingzhi or reishi, is consumed in several Asian cultures to promote health and longevity. Bioactive molecules with anticancer properties have been isolated and characterized primarily from the species Ganoderma lucidum, and the cytotoxic potential of other species in the genus Ganoderma remains relatively unclear. Bioactive molecules isolated from mushroom fruiting bodies are demonstrated to have cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines. Triterpenes and polysaccharides are the two major groups of compounds that exhibit antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties both in in vitro and animal studies. Genes involved in the production of triterpenoids are organized into clusters known as secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and can be easily identified from genome and transcriptome sequencing efforts. Most studies to date have utilized the species G. lucidum for anticancer research. In North America, 12 Ganoderma species have been reported, but little has been done to explore their potential in human cancer cell research although preliminary results have suggested anticancer potential in a few of these species. This calls for efforts to mine for diversity in the anticancer potential of different species in the genus Ganoderma by, 1) analyzing the variation at the nucleotide sequence level and 2) investigating the cytotoxic potential against in vitro cancer cell lines. In this review, we discuss the potential of using the North American Ganoderma species for cytotoxic evaluations against cancer cell lines. Crude extracts from the mushroom fruiting bodies of these species can be evaluated for their cytotoxicity potential, and publicly available genome sequence datasets can be leveraged to explore secondary metabolite gene clusters associated with terpenoid biosynthesis to determine correlation between the two studies. Such studies will help establish the pharmaceutical and nutritional role of natural products from the genus Ganoderma and create opportunities to develop market ready health products

Comparative Genomics across Ganoderma Species to Identify Anti-Cancer Secondary Metabolite Clusters

Ganoderma lucidum is a mushroom-forming fungus that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years. G. lucidum, also known as lingzhi or reishi, is consumed in several Asian cultures to promote health and longevity. Bioactive molecules isolated from mushroom fruiting bodies have been demonstrated to have cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines. Triterpenes and polysaccharides are the two major groups of compounds that exhibit antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties both in in vitro and animal studies. These anticarcinogenic compounds have already demonstrated apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest. Genes involved in the production of triterpenoids are organized into clusters known as secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and can be identified from genome and transcriptome sequencing efforts. However, very few of the widely available Ganoderma species in the US have been explored for anti-cancer properties. In this project, we aim to analyze the anti-cancer potential of multiple Ganoderma species, at the sequence level, as well as using in vitro cancer cell lines. Publicly available genome sequence data for eight Ganoderma species will be leveraged to explore secondary metabolite gene clusters associated with terpenoid biosynthesis. Observations from the secondary metabolite gene cluster analysis will be analyzed and correlated to cytotoxicity studies. This study will help establish the pharmaceutical and nutritional role of natural products from Ganoderma and create opportunities to develop market-ready health products

In Vitro Evaluation of Commercial Fungicides against some of the Major Soil Borne Pathogens of Soybean

Four Strobilurin, two premix of Strobilurin and Triazole, and one pyrazole-carboxamide foliar fungicides were tested in a modified in vitro culture plug technique against Colletotrichum truncatum (CT), Fusarium virguliforme (FV), Macrophomina phaseolina (MP), Pythium irregulare (PI), Rhizoctonia solani (RS), and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (SS) and three Strobilurin and two premixes against Septoria glycines (SG). Under aseptic conditions, a single 6-mm culture plug of actively growing individual fungus was placed inverted on one end inside periphery of 9-cm PDA plates and on the opposite end 6-mm sterilized blotter disc with 50-μl fungicide solution was placed. Tests against SG were by spreading 50-μl spore suspension (1×108 spores/ml) on to PDA and placing blotter disc with 50-μl fungicide in the center. During 12-day incubation in 12-h photoperiod, assessed in vitro (i) effects of fungicides on growth of pathogens, (ii) sensitivity of pathogens to fungicides and (iii) persistence of fungicide tolerance in pathogens. All the fungicides except Sercadis, significantly (P<0.05) reduced radial growth of CT, while Headline EC, Priaxor and Stratego YLD significantly reduced growth of FV, MP, RS and SS. Similarly, Sercadis was effective against RS, and Aproach and Quadris against FV. SG and CT showed significant (P<0.05) sensitivity to most of the fungicides, FV, RS and SS showed significant sensitivity by forming inhibition zone between their growth ends and Headline EC, Priaxor and Stratego YLD discs. CT, MP and RS showed significant (P<0.05) persistence to all the fungicides that is considered fungistatic effect.This article is published as Navi SS, Rajasab AH, Yang XB (2016) In Vitro Evaluation of Commercial Fungicides against Some of the Major Soil Borne Pathogens of Soybean. J Plant Pathol Microbiol 7: 340. doi:10.4172/2157-7471.1000340. © 2016 Navi SS, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Acute ischaemic stroke in active cancer versus non-cancer patients: stroke characteristics, mechanisms and clinical outcomes.

Demographics, clinical characteristics, stroke mechanisms and long-term outcomes were compared between acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) patients with active cancer (AC) versus non-cancer patients. Using data from 2003 to 2021 in the Acute STroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne, a retrospective cohort study was performed comparing patients with AC, including previously known and newly diagnosed cancers, with non-cancer patients. Patients with inactive cancer were excluded. Outcomes were the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 3 months, death and cerebrovascular recurrences at 12 months before and after propensity score matching. Amongst 6686 patients with AIS, 1065 (15.9%) had a history of cancer. After excluding 700 (10.4%) patients with inactive cancer, there were 365 (5.5%) patients with AC and 5621 (84%) non-cancer AIS patients. Amongst AC patients, 154 (42.2%) strokes were classified as cancer related. In multivariable analysis, patients with AC were older (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.03), had fewer vascular risk factors and were 48% less likely to receive reperfusion therapies (aOR 0.52, 95% CI 0.35-0.76). Three-month mRS scores were not different in AC patients (aOR 2.18, 95% CI 0.96-5.00). At 12 months, death (adjusted hazard ratio 1.91, 95% CI 1.50-2.43) and risk of cerebrovascular recurrence (sub-distribution hazard ratio 1.68, 95% CI 1.22-2.31) before and after propensity score matching were higher in AC patients. In a large institutional registry spanning nearly two decades, AIS patients with AC had less past cerebrovascular disease but a higher 1-year risk of subsequent death and cerebrovascular recurrence compared to non-cancer patients. Antithrombotic medications at discharge may reduce this risk in AC patients

Prevalence of ergot of sorghum in India

This paper reports the incidence and severity of ergot (Claviceps sorghi and Claviceps africana) on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) grown in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh from 1999 to 2002. Crops were surveyed at vegetative to physiological maturity stages and disease incidence (number of plants infected) and severity (percentage, based on the number of florets infected within panicles) recorded in 12 m2 areas. Percentage incidence of ergot infection varied with location, with Rajasthan and Gujarat recording only trace infections from 1999-2002 and Karnataka having 27-60% infection. Disease severity followed the same pattern