Hygromycin B, carboxin and nourseothricin susceptibility of polyunsaturated fatty acid producing Mortierella and Umbelopsis strains

Mortierella and Umbelopsis species are particularly active in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) synthesis as they are able to produce many ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs. Genetic manipulation of the lipid production to generate PUFA overproducing strains and strains with altered PUFA profile requires well-established transformation systems and reliable selectable markers. Therefore, we screened different antifungal agents, which can be used for selection in further transformation experiments. Hygromycin B, carboxin, pyrithiamine and nourseothricin susceptibility of several Mortierella and Umbelopsis isolates was investigated using a broth microdilution method. Pyrithiamine was totally ineffective against all isolates while the other three antifungal agents were active against Mortierella and Umbelopsis strains. Several Mortierella isolates represented high sensitivity to hygromycin B whilst nourseothricin was rather active against Umbelopsis species. Carboxin inhibited the hyphal growth and the spore germination of all isolates completely in low concentrations

Visualization Resources: A Survey

Visualization, a vibrant field for researchers, practitioners, and higher educational institutions, is growing and evolving very rapidly. Tremendous progress has been made since 1987, the year often cited as the beginning of data visualization as a distinct field. As such, the number of visualization resources and the demand for those resources is increasing at a rapid pace. After a decades-equivalent long search process, we present a survey of open visualization resources for all those with an interest in interactive data visualization and visual analytics. Because the number of resources is so large, we focus on collections of resources, of which there are already many ranging from literature collections to collections of practitioner resources. Based on this, we develop a classification of visualization resource collections with a focus on the resource type, e.g. literature-based, web-based, developer focused and special topics. The result is an overview and details-on-demand of many useful resources. The collection offers a valuable jump-start for those seeking out data visualization resources from all backgrounds spanning from beginners such as students to teachers, practitioners, developers, and researchers wishing to create their own advanced or novel visual designs. This paper is a response to students and others who frequently ask for visualization resources available to them

Identification and Characterization of Novel Mutations in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) in Saudi Subjects by Whole-Exome Sequencing

Background: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a condition usually caused by a single gene mutation and manifested by both renal and extrarenal features, eventually leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) by the median age of 60 years worldwide. Approximately 89% of ADPKD patients had either PKD1 or PKD2 gene mutations. The majority (85%) of the mutations are in the PKD1 gene, especially in the context of family history. Objectives: This study investigated the genetic basis and the undiscovered genes that are involved in ADPKD development among the Saudi population. Materials and Methods: In this study, 11 patients with chronic kidney disease were enrolled. The diagnosis of ADPKD was based on history and diagnostic images: CT images include enlargement of renal outlines, renal echogenicity, and presence of multiple renal cysts with dilated collecting ducts, loss of corticomedullary differentiation, and changes in GFR and serum creatinine levels. Next-generation whole-exome sequencing was conducted using the Ion Torrent PGM platform. Results: Of the 11 Saudi patients diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and ADPKD, the most common heterozygote nonsynonymous variant in the PKD1 gene was exon15: (c.4264G > A). Two missense mutations were identified with a PKD1 (c.1758A > C and c.9774T > G), and one patient had a PKD2 mutation (c.1445T > G). Three detected variants were novel, identified at PKD1 (c.1758A > C), PKD2L2 (c.1364A > T), and TSC2 (deletion of a'a at the 3'UTR, R1680C) genes. Other variants in PKD1L1 (c.3813_381 4delinsTG) and PKD1L2 (c.404C > T) were also detected. The median age of end-stage renal disease for ADPK patients in Saudi Arabia was 30 years. Conclusion: This study reported a common variant in the PKD1 gene in Saudi patients with typical ADPKD. We also reported (to our knowledge) for the first time two novel missense variants in PKD1 and PKD2L2 genes and one indel mutation at the 3'UTR of the TSC2 gene. This study establishes that the reported mutations in the affected genes resulted in ADPKD development in the Saudi population by a median age of 30. Nevertheless, future protein-protein interaction studies to investigate the influence of these mutations on PKD1 and PKD2 functions are required. Furthermore, large-scale population-based studies to verify these findings are recommended

Three-dimensional printing of porous load-bearing bioceramic scaffolds

This article reports on the use of the binder jetting three-dimensional printing process combined with sintering to process bioceramic materials to form micro- and macroporous three-dimensional structures. Three different glass-ceramic formulations, apatite–wollastonite and two silicate-based glasses, have been processed using this route to create porous structures which have Young’s modulus equivalent to cortical bone and average bending strengths in the range 24–36 MPa. It is demonstrated that a range of macroporous geometries can be created with accuracies of ±0.25 mm over length scales up to 40 mm. Hot-stage microscopy is a valuable tool in the definition of processing parameters for the sintering step of the process. Overall, it is concluded that binder jetting followed by sintering offers a versatile process for the manufacture of load-bearing bioceramic components for bone replacement applications

Femtosecond Laser Mass Spectrometry and High Harmonic Spectroscopy of Xylene Isomers

Structural isomers, molecules having the same chemical formula but with atoms bonded in different order, are hard to identify using conventional spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. They exhibit virtually indistinguishable mass spectra when ionized by electrons. Laser mass spectrometry based on photoionization of the isomers has emerged as a promising alternative but requires shaped ultrafast laser pulses. Here we use transform limited femtosecond pulses to distinguish the isomers using two methods. First, we probe doubly charged parent ions with circularly polarized light. We show that the yield of doubly charged ortho-xylene decreases while para-xylene increases over a range of laser intensities when the laser polarization is changed from linear to circular. Second, we probe high harmonic generation from randomly oriented isomer molecules subjected to an intense laser field. We show that the yield of high-order harmonics varies with the positioning of the methyl group in xylene isomers (ortho-, para- and meta-) and is due to differences in the strength of tunnel ionization and the overlap between the angular peaks of ionization and photo-recombination

Retinal image enhancement via a multiscale morphological approach with OCCO filter.

Retinal images are widely used for diagnosis and eye disease detection. However, due to the acquisition process, retinal images often have problems such as low contrast, blurry details or artifacts. These problems may severely affect the diagnosis. Therefore, it is very impor tant to enhance the visual quality of such images. Contrast enhancement is a pre-processing applied to images to improve their visual quality. This technique betters the identification of retinal structures in degraded reti nal images. In this work, a novel algorithm based on multi-scale mathe matical morphology is presented. First, the original image is blurred us ing the Open-Close Close-Open (OCCO) filter to reduce any artifacts in the image. Next, multiple bright and dark features are extracted from the filtered image by the Top-Hat transform. Finally, the maximum bright values are added to the original image and the maximum dark values are subtracted from the original image, previously adjusted by a weight. The algorithm was tested on 397 retinal images from the public STARE database. The proposed algorithm was compared with state of the art al gorithms and results show that the proposal is more efficient in improving contrast, maintaining similarity with the original image and introducing less distortion than the other algorithms. According to ophthalmologists, the algorithm, by improving retinal images, provides greater clarity in the blood vessels of the retina and would facilitate the identification of pathologies.CONACYT - Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPROCIENCI

Resultative Compound Verb in Modern Chinese : A Comment on Imai(1985) and Lu(1986)

<p>A. API and DMO suppresses NF-κB DNA binding ability in HCT116 cells. HCT116 cells were treated with DMO and API at indicated doses, nuclear extracts were prepared, and 20 μg of the nuclear extract protein was used for the ELISA-based DNA-binding assay *p<0.05; **p<0.005). B & C. NF-κB responsive elements linked to a luciferase reporter gene were transfected with wild-type or dominant-negative IκB and transfected cancer cells were treated at indicated doses for 6 h and luciferase activity was measured as described in Materials and Methods section. All luciferase experiments were done in triplicate and repeated twice (*p<0.05; **p<0.005). D. API abrogates constitutive IκBα phosphorylation in dose-dependent manner in HCT116 cells. HCT116 cells were treated with different concentrations of API (0, 5, 10 and 20 μM) for 6 h and cytoplasmic extract was prepared. Lysates were resolved on SDS gel and electrotransferred to a nitrocellulose membrane and probed with anti-phospho-IκBα/IκBα. The blot was washed, exposed to HRP-conjugated secondary antibodies for 1 h, and finally examined by chemiluminescence. GAPDH was used as loading control.</p

Efficient Hydrogen Evolution from Dimethylamine Borane, Ammonia Borane and Sodium Borohydride Catalyzed by Ruthenium and Platinum Nanoparticles Stabilized by an Amine Modified Polymer Immobilized Ionic Liquid: a Comparative Study

Platinum and ruthenium nanoparticles stabilised by an amine modified polymer immobilised ionic liquid (MNP@NH2-PEGPIILS, M = Pt, Ru) catalyse the hydrolytic liberation of hydrogen from dimethylamine borane (DMAB), ammonia borane (AB) and NaBH4 under mild conditions. While RuNP@NH2-PEGPIILS and PtNP@NH2-PEGPIILS catalyse the hydrolytic evolution of hydrogen from NaBH4 with comparable initial TOFs of 6,250 molesH2.molcat−1.h−1 and 5,900 molesH2.molcat−1.h−1, respectively, based on the total metal content, RuNP@NH2-PEGPIILS is a markedly more efficient catalyst for the dehydrogenation of DMAB and AB than its platinum counterpart, as RuNP@NH2-PEGPIILS gave initial TOFs of 8,300 molesH2.molcat−1.h−1 and 21,200 molesH2.molcat−1.h−1, respectively, compared with 3,050 molesH2.molcat−1.h−1 and 8,500 molesH2.molcat−1.h−1, respectively, for PtNP@NH2-PEGPIILS. Gratifyingly, for each substrate tested RuNP@NH2-PEGPIILS and PtNP@NH2-PEGPIILS were markedly more active than commercial 5wt % Ru/C and 5wt% Pt/C, respectively. The apparent activation energies of 55.7 kJ mol−1 and 27.9 kJ mol−1 for the catalytic hydrolysis of DMAB and AB, respectively, with RuNP@NH2-PEGPIILS are significantly lower than the respective activation energies of 74.6 kJ mol−1 and 35.7 kJ mol−1 for its platinum counterpart, commensurate with the markedly higher initial rates obtained with the RuNPs. In comparison, the apparent activation energies of 44.1 kJ mol−1 and 46.5 kJ mol−1, for the hydrolysis NaBH4 reflect the similar initial TOFs obtained for both catalysts. The difference in apparent activation energies for the hydrolysis of DMAB compared with AB also reflect the higher rates of hydrolysis for the latter. Stability and reuse studies revealed that RuNP@NH2-PEGPIILS recycled efficiently as high conversions for the hydrolysis of DMAB were maintained across five runs with the catalyst retaining 97% of its activity