Plant Genomic Databases for Oilseeds Crop Improvement

oai:ojs.ijcb.in:article/8Plant genomic databases are collections of huge information on plants, germplasm accessions, descriptors, plant genetics, physical and genomic sequence maps, QTLs, loci, sequence information, molecular markers, references etc. At present more than 100 plants genomic databases are available. These are dedicated to generic genome data focusing on specific crops. Some of the important oilseeds plant databases include Castor Bean Genome Database, CGPDB, SoyBase, Legume Information System (LIS), Brassica database, Sinbase etc. Due to availability of number of genomic databases for crop plants before using any of these databases the researcher needs to visit most appropriate database and choose suitable parameters for genomic information mining. The wealth of information available to researchers today can be overwhelming hence; understanding the plant databases for harnessing genomic information is the need of the hour for crop improvement research programmes

Hybrid SPECT-CT for characterizing isolated vertebral lesions observed by bone scintigraphy: comparison with planar scintigraphy, SPECT, and CT

PURPOSEWe aimed to assess the role of single photon emission computed tomography-computed tomography (SPECT-CT) for characterizing isolated vertebral lesions observed by bone scintigraphy compared to planar scintigraphy, SPECT, and CT, and to evaluate the impact of SPECT-CT on patient management. MATERIALS AND METHODSData from 99 patients (mean age, 52.4±18.9 years; females, 58.5%) with 108 isolated vertebral lesions visible on planar bone scintigraphy, who had undergone SPECT-CT of a selected volume, were retrospectively analyzed. Planar scintigraphy, SPECT, CT, and SPECT-CT images were independently evaluated in separate sessions to minimize recall bias. A scoring scale of 1 to 5 was used, with 1 being definitely metastatic, 2 most likely metastatic, 3 indeterminate, 4 most likely benign, and 5 definitely benign. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated; a score ≤3 was defined as metastatic. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were calculated and compared. Clinical and imaging followup with or without histopathology were used as a reference standard. RESULTSAmong the 108 lesions, 49 were indeterminate on planar scintigraphy, 16 on SPECT, and one each on SPECT-CT and CT. SPECT-CT was superior to both planar scintigraphy (P < 0.001) and SPECT alone (P = 0.014), but not to CT (P = 0.302). CT was superior to planar scintigraphy (P < 0.001) but only slightly superior to SPECT (P = 0.063). SPECT-CT correctly characterized 96% of the indeterminate lesions observed by planar scintigraphy. SPECT-CT had an impact on the clinical management of 60.6% patients compared to planar scintigraphy and 18.1% compared to SPECT. CONCLUSIONSPECT-CT is better than planar scintigraphy and SPECT alone, but not CT alone, for characterizing equivocal vertebral lesions that are observed by bone scintigraphy, thus SPECT-CT can have a significant impact on patient management

Evaluation of Wuchereria bancrofti GST as a Vaccine Candidate for Lymphatic Filariasis

Lymphatic parasites survive for years in a complex immune environment by adopting various strategies of immune modulation, which includes counteracting the oxidative free radical damage caused by the host. We now know that the filarial parasites secrete antioxidant enzymes. Among these, the glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) have the potent ability to effectively neutralize cytotoxic products arising from reactive oxygen species (ROS) that attack cell membranes. Thus, GSTs have the potential to protect the parasite against host oxidative stress. GSTs of several helminthes, including schistosomes, fasciola and the filarial parasite Seteria cervi, are also involved in inducing protective immunity in the host. The schistosome 28 kDa GST has been successfully developed into a vaccine and is currently in Phase II clinical trials. Thus, GST appears to be a potential target for vaccine development. Therefore, in the present study, we cloned W. bancrofti GST, and expressed and purified the recombinant protein. Immunization and challenge experiments showed that 61% of protection could be achieved against B. malayi infections in a jird model. In vitro studies confirm that the anti-WbGST antibodies participate in the killing of B. malayi L3 through an ADCC mechanism and enzymatic activity of WbGST appears to be critical for this larvicidal function

A multi-targeted approach to suppress tumor-promoting inflammation

Cancers harbor significant genetic heterogeneity and patterns of relapse following many therapies are due to evolved resistance to treatment. While efforts have been made to combine targeted therapies, significant levels of toxicity have stymied efforts to effectively treat cancer with multi-drug combinations using currently approved therapeutics. We discuss the relationship between tumor-promoting inflammation and cancer as part of a larger effort to develop a broad-spectrum therapeutic approach aimed at a wide range of targets to address this heterogeneity. Specifically, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, cyclooxygenase-2, transcription factor nuclear factor-κB, tumor necrosis factor alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase, protein kinase B, and CXC chemokines are reviewed as important antiinflammatory targets while curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, lycopene, and anthocyanins are reviewed as low-cost, low toxicity means by which these targets might all be reached simultaneously. Future translational work will need to assess the resulting synergies of rationally designed antiinflammatory mixtures (employing low-toxicity constituents), and then combine this with similar approaches targeting the most important pathways across the range of cancer hallmark phenotypes

Biochemical Characterization and Evaluation of a Brugia malayi Small Heat Shock Protein as a Vaccine against Lymphatic Filariasis

Filarial nematodes enjoy one of the longest life spans of any human pathogen due to effective immune evasion strategies developed by the parasite. Among the various immune evasion strategies exhibited by the parasite, Interleukin 10 (IL-10) productions and IL-10 mediated immune suppression has significant negative impact on the host immune system. Recently, we identified a small heat shock protein expressed by Brugia malayi (BmHsp12.6) that can bind to soluble human IL-10 receptor alpha (IL-10R) and activate IL-10 mediated effects in cell lines. In this study we show that the IL-10R binding region of BmHsp12.6 is localized to its N-terminal region. This region has significant sequence similarity to the receptor binding region of human IL-10. In vitro studies confirm that the N-terminal region of BmHsp12.6 (N-BmHsp12.6) has IL-10 like activity and the region containing the alpha crystalline domain and C-terminus of BmHsp12.6 (BmHsp12.6αc) has no IL-10 like activity. However, BmHsp12.6αc contains B cell, T cell and CTL epitopes. Members of the sHSP families are excellent vaccine candidates. Evaluation of sera samples from putatively immune endemic normal (EN) subjects showed IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies against BmHsp12.6αc and these antibodies were involved in the ADCC mediated protection. Subsequent vaccination trials with BmHsp12.6αc in a mouse model using a heterologous prime boost approach showed that 83% protection can be achieved against B. malayi L3 challenge. Results presented in this study thus show that the N-BmHsp12.6 subunit of BmHsp12.6 has immunoregulatory function, whereas, the BmHsp12.6αc subunit of BmHsp12.6 has significant vaccine potential

Synthetic Nanoparticles for Vaccines and Immunotherapy

The immune system plays a critical role in our health. No other component of human physiology plays a decisive role in as diverse an array of maladies, from deadly diseases with which we are all familiar to equally terrible esoteric conditions: HIV, malaria, pneumococcal and influenza infections; cancer; atherosclerosis; autoimmune diseases such as lupus, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. The importance of understanding the function of the immune system and learning how to modulate immunity to protect against or treat disease thus cannot be overstated. Fortunately, we are entering an exciting era where the science of immunology is defining pathways for the rational manipulation of the immune system at the cellular and molecular level, and this understanding is leading to dramatic advances in the clinic that are transforming the future of medicine.1,2 These initial advances are being made primarily through biologic drugs– recombinant proteins (especially antibodies) or patient-derived cell therapies– but exciting data from preclinical studies suggest that a marriage of approaches based in biotechnology with the materials science and chemistry of nanomaterials, especially nanoparticles, could enable more effective and safer immune engineering strategies. This review will examine these nanoparticle-based strategies to immune modulation in detail, and discuss the promise and outstanding challenges facing the field of immune engineering from a chemical biology/materials engineering perspectiveNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grants AI111860, CA174795, CA172164, AI091693, and AI095109)United States. Department of Defense (W911NF-13-D-0001 and Awards W911NF-07-D-0004

Picture this:A review of research relating to narrative processing by moving image versus language

Reading fiction for pleasure is robustly correlated with improved cognitive attainment and other benefits. It is also in decline among young people in developed nations, in part because of competition from moving image fiction. We review existing research on the differences between reading or hearing verbal fiction and watching moving image fiction, as well as looking more broadly at research on image or text interactions and visual versus verbal processing. We conclude that verbal narrative generates more diverse responses than moving image narrative. We note that reading and viewing narrative are different tasks, with different cognitive loads. Viewing moving image narrative mostly involves visual processing with some working memory engagement, whereas reading narrative involves verbal processing, visual imagery, and personal memory (Xu et al., 2005). Attempts to compare the two by creating equivalent stimuli and task demands face a number of challenges. We discuss the difficulties of such comparative approaches. We then investigate the possibility of identifying lower level processing mechanisms that might distinguish cognition of the two media and propose internal scene construction and working memory as foci for future research. Although many of the sources we draw on concentrate on English-speaking participants in European or North American settings, we also cover material relating to speakers of Dutch, German, Hebrew, and Japanese in their respective countries, and studies of a remote Turkish mountain community