A Novel 5-Enolpyruvylshikimate-3-Phosphate Synthase Shows High Glyphosate Tolerance in Escherichia coli and Tobacco Plants

A key enzyme in the shikimate pathway, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) is the primary target of the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate. Identification of new aroA genes coding for EPSPS with a high level of glyphosate tolerance is essential for the development of glyphosate-tolerant crops. In the present study, the glyphosate tolerance of five bacterial aroA genes was evaluated in the E. coli aroA-defective strain ER2799 and in transgenic tobacco plants. All five aroA genes could complement the aroA-defective strain ER2799, and AM79 aroA showed the highest glyphosate tolerance. Although glyphosate treatment inhibited the growth of both WT and transgenic tobacco plants, transgenic plants expressing AM79 aroA tolerated higher concentration of glyphosate and had a higher fresh weight and survival rate than plants expressing other aroA genes. When treated with high concentration of glyphosate, lower shikimate content was detected in the leaves of transgenic plants expressing AM79 aroA than transgenic plants expressing other aroA genes. These results suggest that AM79 aroA could be a good candidate for the development of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant crops

A normalized Information based method for efficient signal representation

Function approximation in Hilbert spaces is a well studied problem but the automatic selection of the optimal set of coefficients of the expan- sion of a function on a basis still represents a challenging issue. In this paper a model for automatic selection of coefficients, based on informa- tion measures, is further studied. In particular its extension to wavelet bases is investigated. The model aims at finding the set of coefficients for optimal function reconstruction by maximizing the information measure named ENID, defined on the sequence of decreasingly sorted coefficients. The use of ENID in wavelet basis highlights some issues in its definition. As a result, two different solutions are proposed and investigated through numerical experiments in the MatLab environment

Early onset of cardiomyopathy and primary prevention of sudden death in X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy.

We report the case of 14-year-old boy with X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy who developed sick sinus syndrome and required placement of an implantable intracardiac cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to prevent sudden death. He demonstrated no significant risk factors for sudden death such as depressed left ventricular ejection fraction, or spontaneous or inducible ventricular tachycardia. One month after implantation, the patient experienced one appropriate ICD discharge

Which parameters describe the electrophysiological properties of successful slow pathway RF ablation in patients with common atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia?

Objective: Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) accounts for about 60% of the patients presenting with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. The radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation of the slow atrioventricular (AV) node pathway is the preferred therapeutic approach in patients with AV node reentrant tachycardia. The aim of our study was describe the electrophysiological properties of successful slow pathway RF ablation in patients with common atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. Methods: The study design was a retrospective analysis involving fifty consecutive patients (18 males; mean age of 39±22 years) who underwent slow pathway ablation because of AVNRT. Results: Slow junctional beats with a cycle length longer than 550 ms were observed in 39 patients (79%); the presence of rapid junctional beats with a cycle length less than 550 ms was showed in 5 patients (10%). Moreover, in 32 of 50 patients (65%) duration of atrial electrogram more than 40 ms was noticed. Analyzing data reported, we found the statistically significant presence of slow junctional beats (p<0.001) and atrial electrogram >40 ms (p<0.05) in successful RF ablation procedures. Conclusion: In patients with AVNRT undergoing slow pathway ablation, the duration of atrial electrogram >40 ms and slow junctional beats with cycle length >550 ms during the application of RF energy describe the electrophysiological properties of successful slow pathway RF ablation. (Anadolu Kardiyol Derg 2010; 10: 126-9) © Telif Hakki 2010 AVES Yayincilik Ltd. Sti

The effect of atrial preference pacing on paroxysmal atrial fibrillation incidence in myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients: a prospective, randomized, single-bind cross-over study.

AIMS: Atrial Preference Pacing (APP) is a pacemaker (PM) algorithm that supports a continuous atrial stimulation instead of a spontaneous atrial rhythm to prevent supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. The role of the APP in the prevention of atrial fibrillation (AF) is still controversial. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of preventive atrial pacing on AF incidence in myotonic dystrophy type I patients during a 12-month follow-up period. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 40 patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) who underwent dual-chamber PM implantation for first- and second-degree atrioventricular block. After a 1-month stabilization period, they were randomized to APP algorithm programmed OFF or ON for 6 months each, using a cross-over design. The number of AF episodes during active treatment (APP ON phases) was lower than those registered during no treatment (APP OFF phases). No statistically significant difference was found in AF episodes duration between the two phases. During the APP OFF phases and APP ON phases, the atrial pacing percentage was 0 and 98%, respectively, while the ventricular pacing percentage did not show statistically significant difference (10 vs. 8%, P =0.2). Atrial premature beats count was significantly greater during APP OFF phases than during APP ON phases. Lead parameters remained stable over time and there were no lead-related complications. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these 12-month follow-up data, it is concluded that APP is an efficacy algorithm for preventing paroxysmal AF in MD1 patients who underwent dual-chamber PM implantation for atrioventricular conduction disorders