Highly efficient in vitro adventitious shoot regeneration of Adenosma glutinosum (Linn.) Druce using leaf explants

Adenosma glutinosum (Linn.) Druce is an important aromatic plant, but no information is available regarding its regeneration, callus induction and proliferation from leaf explants. In this study, an in vitro shoot regeneration procedure was developed for native A. glutinosum using leaf explants. Callus induction and shoots regeneration from leaf explants was evaluated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with combinations of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Callus induction in all 16 treatments exceeded 95%, and the highest adventitious shoot number per callus (7.22 shoots per explant) was obtained when leaf explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg• L-1 6-BA, 0.1 mg• L-1 NAA, 3% sucrose and 0.72% agar. The highest shoots strengthening were obtained when adventitious buds were cultured on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 0.3 mg• L-1 NAA, 3% sucrose, 1.0 g• L-1 active carbon and 0.72% agar. The highest total root number (45.2) and root length (43.3 cm) were obtained when adventitious buds were cultured on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 0.0 mg• L-1 NAA, 3% sucrose, 1.0 g L−1 active carbon and 0.72% agar, while the highest total root surface area (4.1 cm2) and total root volume (114.1 mm3) were obtained when adventitious buds were cultured on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg• L-1 NAA, 3% sucrose, 1.0 g• L-1 active carbon and 0.72% agar. The efficient plant regeneration system developed here will be helpful for rapid micropropagation and further genetic improvement in A. glutinosum. Keywords: Adenoma glutinous, plant growth regulator, plant regenerationAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(29), pp. 7542-7548, 10 April, 201

LLM as A Robotic Brain: Unifying Egocentric Memory and Control

Embodied AI focuses on the study and development of intelligent systems that possess a physical or virtual embodiment (i.e. robots) and are able to dynamically interact with their environment. Memory and control are the two essential parts of an embodied system and usually require separate frameworks to model each of them. In this paper, we propose a novel and generalizable framework called LLM-Brain: using Large-scale Language Model as a robotic brain to unify egocentric memory and control. The LLM-Brain framework integrates multiple multimodal language models for robotic tasks, utilizing a zero-shot learning approach. All components within LLM-Brain communicate using natural language in closed-loop multi-round dialogues that encompass perception, planning, control, and memory. The core of the system is an embodied LLM to maintain egocentric memory and control the robot. We demonstrate LLM-Brain by examining two downstream tasks: active exploration and embodied question answering. The active exploration tasks require the robot to extensively explore an unknown environment within a limited number of actions. Meanwhile, the embodied question answering tasks necessitate that the robot answers questions based on observations acquired during prior explorations

Thomas Jefferson University, Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oral Administration of Apigenin Inhibits Metastasis through AKT/P70S6K1/MMP-9 Pathway in Orthotopic Ovarian Tumor Model.

Apigenin, a flavonoid commonly present in the daily diet, is known for its potential anti-tumor properties. However, the effect of apigenin via oral administration on tumor growth and metastasis remains unknown. In this study we developed an orthotopic ovarian tumor model in nude mice to test the effect of apigenin oral administration, and showed that apigenin inhibited the micrometastasis of cancer cells in the animal tumor model. To understand the mechanism of apigenin in inhibiting metastasis, we found that apigenin greatly inhibited MMP-9 expression and p-AKT and p-p70S6K1 levels in the tumor tissues compared to the control group. We further demonstrated that the downregulation of MMP-9 by apigenin was mediated by the AKT/p70S6K1 pathway. These findings help to address the question with common interests to the public of whether oral uptake of flavonoids is effective in preventing cancer. Our results demonstrate for the first time that oral uptake of apigenin can inhibit tumor metastasis through MMP-9 expression using the orthotopic ovarian tumor model

Diaqua­bis(pyrimidine-2-carboxylic acid-κ2 N,O)cobalt(II) dichloride

In the title salt, [Co(C5H4N2O2)2(H2O)2]Cl2, the CoII ion is located on an inversion center. It is chelated by two neutral pyrimidine-2-carboxylic acid molecules and is coordinated by two water mol­ecules in an octa­hedral coordination geometry. The cations and anions are linked via O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds into a layer structure; an intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bond connects the carboxylic acid group to the pyrimidine N atom

Roles and mechanism of miR-199a and miR-125b in tumor angiogenesis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be involved in different aspects of cancer biology including tumor angiogenesis. In this study, we identified that two miRNAs, miR-199a and miR-125b were downregulated in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR-199a and miR-125b inhibited tumor-induced angiogenesis associated with the decrease of HIF-1α and VEGF expression in ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, the levels of miR-199a and miR-125b were negatively correlated with VEGF mRNA levels in ovarian tissues. We further showed that direct targets of miR-199a and miR-125b HER2 and HER3 were functionally relevant. Forced expression of HER2 and HER3 rescued miR-199a- and miR-125b-inhibiting angiogenesis responses and Akt/p70S6K1/HIF-1α pathway. This study provides a rationale for new therapeutic approach to suppress tumor angiogenesis using miR-199a, miR-125b, or their mimics for ovarian cancer treatment in the future

Deficiency of Mkrn2 causes abnormal spermiogenesis and spermiation, and impairs male fertility.

Although recent studies have shed insights on some of the potential causes of male infertility, new underlining molecular mechanisms still remain to be elucidated. Makorin-2 (Mkrn2) is an evolutionarily conserved gene whose biological functions are not fully known. We developed an Mrkn2 knockout mouse model to study the role of this gene, and found that deletion of Mkrn2 in mice led to male infertility. Mkrn2 knockout mice produced abnormal sperms characterized by low number, poor motility, and aberrant morphology. Disruption of Mkrn2 also caused failure of sperm release (spermiation failure) and misarrangement of ectoplasmic specialization (ES) in testes, thus impairing spermiogenesis and spermiation. To understand the molecular mechanism, we found that expression of Odf2, a vital protein in spermatogenesis, was significantly decreased. In addition, we found that expression levels of Odf2 were decreased in Mkrn2 knockout mice. We also found that MKRN2 was prominently expressed in the sperm of normal men, but was significantly reduced in infertile men. This result indicates that our finding is clinically relevant. The results of our study provided insights into a new mechanism of male infertility caused by the MKRN2 downregulation

Increase in neuroexcitability of unmyelinated C-type vagal ganglion neurons during initial postnatal development of visceral afferent reflex functions

BACKGROUND: Baroreflex gain increase up closely to adult level during initial postnatal weeks, and any interruption within this period will increase the risk of cardiovascular problems in later of life span. We hypothesize that this short period after birth might be critical for postnatal development of vagal ganglion neurons (VGNs). METHODS: To evaluate neuroexcitability evidenced by discharge profiles and coordinate changes, ion currents were collected from identified A- and C-type VGNs at different developmental stages using whole-cell patch clamping. RESULTS: C-type VGNs underwent significant age-dependent transition from single action potential (AP) to repetitive discharge. The coordinate changes between TTX-S and TTX-R Na(+) currents were also confirmed and well simulated by computer modeling. Although 4-AP or iberiotoxin age dependently increased firing frequency, AP duration was prolonged in an opposite fashion, which paralleled well with postnatal changes in 4-AP- and iberiotoxin-sensitive K(+) current activity, whereas less developmental changes were verified in A-types. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate for the first time that the neuroexcitability of C-type VGNs increases significantly compared with A-types within initial postnatal weeks evidenced by AP discharge profiles and coordinate ion channel changes, which explain, at least in part, that initial postnatal weeks may be crucial for ontogenesis in visceral afferent reflex function