A Pectate Lyase-Coding Gene Abundantly Expressed during Early Stages of Infection Is Required for Full Virulence in Alternaria brassicicola

We thank Fred Brooks for insightful discussions on the roles of PL1332 on pathogenesis mechanisms employed by A. brassicicola.Alternaria brassicicola causes black spot disease of Brassica species. The functional importance of pectin digestion enzymes and unidentified phytotoxins in fungal pathogenesis has been suspected but not verified in A. brassicicola. The fungal transcription factor AbPf2 is essential for pathogenicity and induces 106 genes during early pathogenesis, including the pectate lyase-coding gene, PL1332. The aim of this study was to test the importance and roles of PL1332 in pathogenesis. We generated deletion strains of the PL1332 gene, produced heterologous PL1332 proteins, and evaluated their association with virulence. Deletion strains of the PL1332 gene were approximately 30% less virulent than wild-type A. brassicicola, without showing differences in colony expansion on solid media and mycelial growth in nutrient-rich liquid media or minimal media with pectins as a major carbon source. Heterologous PL1332 expressed as fusion proteins digested polygalacturons in vitro. When the fusion proteins were injected into the apoplast between leaf veins of host plants the tissues turned dark brown and soft, resembling necrotic leaf tissue. The PL1332 gene was the first example identified as a general toxin-coding gene and virulence factor among the 106 genes regulated by the transcription factor, AbPf2. It was also the first gene to have its functions investigated among the 19 pectate lyase genes and several hundred putative cell-wall degrading enzymes in A. brassicicola. These results further support the importance of the AbPf2 gene as a key pathogenesis regulator and possible target for agrochemical development.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee

A Competência em Informação (Coinfo) na perspectiva da educação inclusiva

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciência da Informação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação, 2017.Discute os desafios da sociedade da informação no que tange à promoção e garantia de uma educação inclusiva a partir de uma agenda estabelecida em ambiências supranacionais, internacionais e multilaterais. Destaca a necessidade de formação de professores para lidar com necessidades informacionais emergentes da prática educativa, em especial quando aplicada a pessoas com deficiência. Neste contexto, situa nos aspectos interdisciplinares entre Ciência da Informação e Educação, contribuições relacionadas tanto à inclusão quanto à atuação de docentes da Educação Básica. Admite os pressupostos teóricos e práticos da temática Competência em Informação – termo adotado para o conceito de Information Literacy – como alternativa de formação de docentes da Educação Básica na perspectiva de uma educação inclusiva. Propõe a utilização de um percurso metodológico baseado nas contribuições de estudos sobre o Paradigma Indiciário de Ginzburg o qual é composto por uma fase exploratória e uma fase aplicada. Na fase exploratória utiliza a produção científica de Ciência da Informação, especialmente nos trabalhos divulgados no Encontro Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós graduação em Ciência da Informação para identificar tendências de pesquisa sobre Competência em Informação e possíveis relações com a inclusão. Discute estas tendências relacionando-as com a tridimensionalidade que o termo inclusão propõe, a saber, inclusão social, inclusão digital e inclusão relacionada a pessoas com deficiência. Realiza a aplicação de pré testes (denominados de Pré Testes Indiciais) em situações de formação de professores. Adicionalmente analisa 18 modelos de Competência em Informação desenvolvidos em contextos internacionais cuja síntese permitiu propor grade básica para elaboração de um modelo de Competência em Informação. Na fase aplicada admite a influência teórica de conceitos de mediação como norteador da prática. Adicionalmente utiliza como método de abordagem a problematização e como técnica o desenvolvimento de um curso de formação de professores com 22 professores de uma escola púbica do Distrito Federal. Utilizou recursos didáticos originais elaborados para esta pesquisa, combinados com procedimentos de utilização e avaliação do modelo pedagógico para formação de professores em Competência em Informação numa perspectiva inclusiva. Na fase aplicada analisa a utilização deste modelo nas atividades, objetivos e habilidades propostas nas três etapas em que se estrutura, nomeadamente, pré-busca, busca propriamente dita e pós-busca. As atividades foram desenvolvidas e analisadas principalmente nas duas etapas do modelo- pré-busca e busca. Atividades de pós-busca não foram realizadas, visto que exigiriam abordagem longitudinal. Os resultados das atividades mostraram que a proposta pedagógica desenvolvida e aplicada é útil para a formação de professores de Educação Básica, em Competência em Informação numa perspectiva inclusiva.This research discusses the challenges of the information society regarding the promotion and assurance of an inclusive education based on an agenda established in supranational, international and multilateral environments. It highlights the need for teacher training to deal with informational needs emerging from educational practice, especially when applied to people with disabilities. In this context, it focuses on the interdisciplinary aspects between Information Science and Education contributions related to the inclusion and also the performance of Basic Education teachers. It admits the theoretical and practical assumptions of the theme Information Competency - a term adopted to the Information Literacy concept - as an alternative to Basic Education teachers’ training from the perspective of an inclusive education. It offers the use of a methodological path based on the contributions from studies on the Ginzburg Evidential Paradigm which is composed by an exploratory phase and an applied phase. In the exploratory phase it uses the scientific production of Information Science, especially in the works published in the National Meeting of Research and Postgraduate in Information Science to identify research trends about Information Competency and its possible relation to inclusion. It discusses those trends by relating them to the tridimensionality proposed by the term inclusion, namely, social inclusion, digital inclusion and inclusion related to people with disabilities. It performs the application of pre-tests (called Evidential Pre-tests) in situations of teacher training. Additionally it analyzes 18 models of Information Competency developed in international contexts which synthesis allowed proposing a basic grade to elaborate an Information Competency model. In the applied phase, it admits the theoretical influence of mediation concepts as a guide to the practice. Additionally it uses the problematization as an approach method and as technique the development of a teacher training course with 22 teachers from a public school in the Federal District. It used original didactic resources elaborated for this research combined with use and evaluation procedures of the pedagogical model for teachers’ training in Information Competency through an inclusive perspective. In the applied phase, it analyzes the use of this model on the activities, goals and abilities proposed through the three stages in which it is structured, namely pre-search, search itself and post-search. The activities were developed and analyzed mainly in the model stages of pre-search and search. Post-search activities were not performed, as they would require a longitudinal approach. The results of the activities showed that the pedagogical proposal developed and applied is useful to Basic Education teachers’ training in Information Competency through an inclusive perspective

Efficacy and Safety of Sipjeondaebo-Tang for Anorexia in Patients with Cancer: A Pilot, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Background. Anorexia occurs in about half of cancer patients and is associated with high mortality rate. However, safe and long-term use of anorexia treatment is still an unmet need. Objective. The purpose of the present study was to examine the feasibility of Sipjeondaebo-tang (Juzen-taiho-to, Shi-Quan-Da-Bu-Tang) for cancer-related anorexia. Methods. A total of 32 participants with cancer anorexia were randomized to either Sipjeondaebo-tang group or placebo group. Participants were given 3 g of Sipjeondaebo-tang or placebo 3 times a day for 4 weeks. The primary outcome was a change in the Anorexia/Cachexia Subscale of Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Therapy (FAACT). The secondary outcomes included Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of anorexia, FAACT scale, and laboratory tests. Results. Anorexia and quality of life measured by FAACT and VAS were improved after 4 weeks of Sipjeondaebo-tang treatment. However, there was no significant difference between changes of Sipjeondaebo-tang group and placebo group. Conclusions. Sipjeondaebo-tang appears to have potential benefit for anorexia management in patients with cancer. Further large-scale studies are needed to ensure the efficacy. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02468141

Effects of Gyejibongnyeong-hwan on dysmenorrhea caused by blood stagnation: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gyejibongnyeong-hwan (GJBNH) is one of the most popular Korean medicine formulas for menstrual pain of dysmenorrhea. The concept of blood stagnation in Korean medicine is considered the main factor of causing abdominal pain, or cramps, during menstrual periods. To treat the symptoms, GJBNH is used to fluidify the stagnated blood and induce the blood flow to be smooth, reducing pain as the result. The purpose of this trial is to identify the efficacy of GJBNH in dysmenorrhea caused by blood stagnation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study is a multi-centre, randomised, double-blind, controlled trial with two parallel arms: the group taking GJBNH and the group taking placebo. 100 patients (women from age 18 to 35) will be enrolled to the trial. Through randomization 50 patients will be in experiment arm, and the other 50 patients will be in control arm. At the second visit (baseline), all participants who were already screened that they fulfil both the inclusion and the exclusion criteria will be randomised into two groups. Each group will take the intervention three times per day during two menstrual cycles. After the treatment for two cycles, each patient will be followed up during their 3^rd, 4^thand 5^thmenstrual cycles. From the screening (Visit 1) through the second follow-up (Visit 6) the entire process will take 25 weeks.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This trial will provide evidence for the effectiveness of GJBNH in treating periodical pain due to dysmenorrhea that is caused by blood stagnation. The primary outcome between the two groups will be measured by changes in the Visual Analogue Score (VAS) of pain. The secondary outcome will be measured by the Blood Stagnation Scale, the Short-form McGill questionnaire and the COX menstrual symptom scale. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and repeated measured ANOVA will be used to analyze the data analysis.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials: <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN30426947">ISRCTN30426947</a></p

Effects and Safety of Gyejibongnyeong-Hwan on Dysmenorrhea Caused by Blood Stagnation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective. This study was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and controlled trial with two parallel arms: the GJBNH group and the placebo group. This trial recruited 100 women aging 18 to 35 years with primary dysmenorrhea caused by blood stagnation. The investigational drugs, GJBNH or placebo, were administered for two menstrual periods (8 weeks) to the participants three times per day. The participants were followed up for two menstrual cycles after the administration. Results. The results were analyzed by the intention-to-treat (ITT) dataset and the per-protocol (PP) dataset. In the ITT dataset, the change of the average menstrual pain VAS score in the GJBNH group was statistically significantly lower than that in the control group. Significant difference was not observed in the SF-MPQ score change between the GJBNH group and the placebo group. No significant difference was observed in the PP analyses. In the follow-up phase, the VAS scores of the average menstrual pain and the maximum menstrual pain continually decreased in the placebo group, but they increased in the GJBNH group. Conclusion. GJBNH treatment for eight weeks improved the pain of the dysmenorrhea caused by blood stagnation, but it should be successively administered for more than two menstrual cycles. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials no. ISRCTN30426947

c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation has a prognostic implication and is negatively associated with FOXO1 activation in gastric cancer

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Abstract Background Since the biological function of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in gastric cancer remains unclear, we investigated the clinical significance of JNK activation and its association with FOXO1 activation. Methods Immunohistochemical tissue array analysis of 483 human gastric cancer specimens was performed, and the results of the immunostaining were quantified. The correlation between JNK activation (nuclear staining for pJNK) and clinicopathological features, the proliferation index, prognosis or FOXO1 inactivation (cytoplasmic staining for pFOXO1) was analyzed. The SNU-638 gastric cancer cell line was used for in vitro analysis. Results Nuclear staining of pJNK was found in 38 % of the gastric carcinomas and was higher in the early stages of pTNM (P < 0.001). pJNK staining negatively correlated with lymphatic invasion (P = 0.034) and positively correlated with intestinal type by Laurens classification (P = 0.037), Ki-67-labeling index (P < 0.001), cyclin D1 (P = 0.045), cyclin E (P < 0.001) and pFOXO1 (P < 0.001). JNK activation correlated with a longer patients survival (P =0.008) and patients with a JNK-active and FOXO1-inactive tumor had a higher survival rate than the remainder of the population (P = 0.004). In vitro analysis showed that JNK inhibition by SP600125 in SNU-638 cells decreased cyclin D1 protein expression and increased FOXO1 activation. Further, JNK inhibition markedly suppressed colony formation, which was partially restored by FOXO1 shRNA expression. Conclusions Our results indicate that JNK activation may serve as a valuable prognostic factor in gastric cancer, and that it is implicated in gastric tumorigenesis, at least in part, through FOXO1 inhibition