Fluctuation and fixation of rodenticide resistance alleles in Rattus norvegicus

Berthier, K., Benoit, E., Berny, P., Lasseur, R., Merville, A., Peigneaux, F., Cosson, J.-F

P2Y12 Receptor Blockade Augments Glycoprotein IIb‐IIIa Antagonist Inhibition of Platelet Activation, Aggregation, and Procoagulant Activity

Background: New antiplatelet agents that provide greater, more consistent inhibition of the platelet ADP receptor P2Y12 may be used in combination with glycoprotein (GP) IIb‐IIIa antagonists, but their combined effect on platelet function and procoagulant activity is not well studied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the independent and complementary effects of P2Y12 and GPIIb‐IIIa inhibition on platelet function and procoagulant activity. Methods and Results: Healthy donor blood was treated with the active metabolite of prasugrel (R‐138727 5 μmol/L), GPIIb‐IIIa antagonists (abciximab 3 μg/mL or eptifibatide 0.9 μg/mL), and combinations thereof, exposed to physiologically relevant agonists (collagen and ADP) and then evaluated for markers of platelet activation and procoagulant activity. Significant interactions between R‐138727 and GPIIb‐IIIa antagonists were observed. R‐138727 and the GPIIb‐IIIa antagonists had additive inhibitory effects on collagen‐stimulated platelet aggregation and on the collagen plus ADP–stimulated level of activated platelet surface GPIIb‐IIIa. R‐138727 and abciximab each inhibited collagen plus ADP–stimulated platelet phosphatidylserine expression and prothrombin cleavage, and the combination produced greater inhibition than achieved with abciximab alone. In contrast, eptifibatide did not inhibit, but instead enhanced, collagen plus ADP–stimulated prothrombin cleavage. Addition of R‐138727 reduced prothrombin cleavage in eptifibatide‐treated samples, suggesting a novel mechanism for potential benefit from combined prasugrel and eptifibatide treatment. Conclusions: The complementary effects of abciximab and R‐138727 on platelet activation, aggregation, and procoagulant activity suggest their combined use may, to a greater degree than with either agent alone, reduce thrombus formation in vivo

MATRIKS SCORE DAN APLIKASINYA DALAM PENGAMANAN PESAN RAHASIA

The exchange of general information or confidential information between two persons through a medium does not guarantee its safety. This makes the sender of information and the recipient of information needs to be vigilant. In this case, the role of data encoding is very important. One of the most commonly used and recognized data encryption is cryptography. Cryptography is a technique for encrypting data through the process of encryption and decryption process by using certain keys so as generate new data that is secret. One of the cryptography is the security of secret messages using the Score matrix. The score matrix is defined as a symmetric matrix  with elements of complex number and  is a diagonal matrix

A study protocol to investigate the relationship between dietary fibre intake and fermentation, colon cell turnover, global protein acetylation and early carcinogenesis: the FACT study

Background: A number of studies, notably EPIC, have shown a descrease in colorectal cancer risk associated with increased fibre consumption. Whilst the underlying mechanisms are likely to be multifactorial, production of the short-chain fatty-acid butyrate fro butyratye is frequently cited as a major potential contributor to the effect. Butyrate inhibits histone deacetylases, which work on a wide range of proteins over and above histones. We therefore hypothesized that alterations in the acetylated proteome may be associated with a cancer risk phenotype in the colorectal mucosa, and that such alterations are candidate biomarkers for effectiveness of fibre interventions in cancer prevention. Methods an design: There are two principal arms to this study: (i) a cross-sectional study (FACT OBS) of 90 subjects recruited from gastroenterology clinics and; (ii) an intervention trial in 40 subjects with an 8 week high fibre intervention. In both studies the principal goal is to investigate a link between fibre intake, SCFA production and global protein acetylation. The primary measure is level of faecal butyrate, which it is hoped will be elevated by moving subjects to a high fibre diet. Fibre intakes will be estimated in the cross-sectional group using the EPIC Food Frequency Questionnaire. Subsidiary measures of the effect of butyrate on colon mucosal function and precancerous phenotype will include measures of apoptosis, apoptotic regulators cell cycle and cell division. Discussion: This study will provide a new level of mechanistic data on alterations in the functional proteome in response to the colon microenvironment which may underwrite the observed cancer preventive effect of fibre. The study may yield novel candidate biomarkers of fibre fermentation and colon mucosal function

Pod indehiscence is a domestication and aridity resilience trait in common bean.

Plant domestication has strongly modified crop morphology and development. Nevertheless, many crops continue to display atavistic characteristics that were advantageous to their wild ancestors but are deleterious under cultivation, such as pod dehiscence (PD). Here, we provide the first comprehensive assessment of the inheritance of PD in the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), a major domesticated grain legume. Using three methods to evaluate the PD phenotype, we identified multiple, unlinked genetic regions controlling PD in a biparental population and two diversity panels. Subsequently, we assessed patterns of orthology among these loci and those controlling the trait in other species. Our results show that different genes were selected in each domestication and ecogeographic race. A chromosome Pv03 dirigent-like gene, involved in lignin biosynthesis, showed a base-pair substitution that is associated with decreased PD. This haplotype may underlie the expansion of Mesoamerican domesticates into northern Mexico, where arid conditions promote PD. The rise in frequency of the decreased-PD haplotype may be a consequence of the markedly different fitness landscape imposed by domestication. Environmental dependency and genetic redundancy can explain the maintenance of atavistic traits under domestication

Environmental NGOs at a crossroads?

Article published as introduction to the Special Issue 'Environmental Politics at a crossroads', edited by Nathalie Berny & Christopher Rootes, Environmental Politics vol.27.no.6, November 201

Investigation into experimental toxicological properties of plant protection products having a potential link to Parkinson's disease and childhood leukaemia

In 2013, EFSA published a literature review on epidemiological studies linking exposure to pesticides and human health outcome. As a follow up, the EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their residues (PPR Panel) was requested to investigate the plausible involvement of pesticide exposure as a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD) and childhood leukaemia (CHL). A systematic literature review on PD and CHL and mode of actions for pesticides was published by EFSA in 2016 and used as background documentation. The Panel used the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) conceptual framework to define the biological plausibility in relation to epidemiological studies by means of identification of specific symptoms of the diseases as AO. The AOP combines multiple information and provides knowledge of biological pathways, highlights species differences and similarities, identifies research needs and supports regulatory decisions. In this context, the AOP approach could help in organising the available experimental knowledge to assess biological plausibility by describing the link between a molecular initiating event (MIE) and the AO through a series of biologically plausible and essential key events (KEs). As the AOP is chemically agnostic, tool chemical compounds were selected to empirically support the response and temporal concordance of the key event relationships (KERs). Three qualitative and one putative AOP were developed by the Panel using the results obtained. The Panel supports the use of the AOP framework to scientifically and transparently explore the biological plausibility of the association between pesticide exposure and human health outcomes, identify data gaps, define a tailored testing strategy and suggests an AOP’s informed Integrated Approach for Testing and Assessment (IATA)

Evaluation of chloroform/methanol extraction to facilitate the study of membrane proteins of non-model plants

Membrane proteins are of great interest to plant physiologists because of their important function in many physiological processes. However, their study is hampered by their low abundance and poor solubility in aqueous buffers. Proteomics studies of non-model plants are generally restricted to gel-based methods. Unfortunately, all gel-based techniques for membrane proteomics lack resolving power. Therefore, a very stringent enrichment method is needed before protein separation. In this study, protein extraction in a mixture of chloroform and methanol in combination with gel electrophoresis is evaluated as a method to study membrane proteins in non-model plants. Benefits as well as disadvantages of the method are discussed. To demonstrate the pitfalls of working with non-model plants and to give a proof of principle, the method was first applied to whole leaves of the model plant Arabidopsis. Subsequently, a comparison with proteins extracted from leaves of the non-model plant, banana, was made. To estimate the tissue and organelle specificity of the method, it was also applied on banana meristems. Abundant membrane or lipid-associated proteins could be identified in both tissues, with the leaf extract yielding a higher number of membrane proteins