Capicua regulates neural stem cell proliferation and lineage specification through control of Ets factors

Capicua (Cic) is a transcriptional repressor mutated in the brain cancer oligodendroglioma. Despite its cancer link, little is known of Cic’s function in the brain. We show that nuclear Cic expression is strongest in astrocytes and neurons but weaker in stem cells and oligodendroglial lineage cells. Using a new conditional Cic knockout mouse, we demonstrate that forebrain-specific Cic deletion increases proliferation and self-renewal of neural stem cells. Furthermore, Cic loss biases neural stem cells toward glial lineage selection, expanding the pool of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). These proliferation and lineage effects are dependent on de-repression of Ets transcription factors. In patient-derived oligodendroglioma cells, CIC re-expression or ETV5 blockade decreases lineage bias, proliferation, self-renewal, and tumorigenicity. Our results identify Cic as an important regulator of cell fate in neurodevelopment and oligodendroglioma, and suggest that its loss contributes to oligodendroglioma by promoting proliferation and an OPC-like identity via Ets overactivity

Arsenate and arsenite removal from contaminated water by iron oxides nanoparticles formed inside a bacterial exopolysaccharide

In the last decades, the presence of high As levels in groundwaters poses a serious limitation to the use of this resources for drinking purposes in several parts of the world. Treatment of As-rich waters selected iron oxides filters as more effective, low cost and selective technology. Green and biologically-driven pathways to synthetize new nanostructured iron oxy-hydroxides are becoming always more attractive. We tested the suitability of FeOOH nanoparticles (9–15 nm) produced by Klebsiella oxytoca strain DSM 29614 and encapsulated in EPS gel structure to treat arsenic rich water. Different gel:water volume ratios were tested to treat 5000 μg As/L solution. 20% FeEPS solution was able to remove 95% of As(V) while in 5% solution removal was reduced to 60%. Arsenic adsorption was very fast and follows pseudo-2nd order kinetic with maximum adsorption capacity reached at about 30 min. Adsorption followed Langmuir model for As(V) with qmax=31.8 mgAs/gFe and BET for As(III) with 8 mgAs/gFe for the first layer in 10% FeEPS solution. FeEPS dried into powder showed noticeable removal only after 2 h, hence not suitable for drinking water treatment. Treatment of natural As levels in mimicked groundwaters showed 87–95% As(V) and 45–61% As(III) removal after 5 min. FeEPS gel immobilized onto bivalve shell debris was used in packed-bed filters. It retained 49.8 mgAs/gFe from 150 μg/L As(V) spiked groundwater before reaching breakthrough at 8000 BVs. Biologically produced FeEPS gel showed good potentialities as eco-friendly material to remove As from contaminated groundwater

A 2x2 element planar phased array of rectangular microstrip antenna for Ni-Co ferrite substrate at 10 GHz

289-296A comprehensive study of 2x2 planar phased array of rectangular microstrip antenna on Ni-Co based ferrite substrate at 10 GHz is presented. The far-zone field expressions have been derived using vector wave function technique and pattern multiplication approach. The pattern characteristics and other important antenna parameters like half power beam width (HPBW), direction of maximum radiation, total shift of major andminor lobe, side lobe level (SLL), radiation conductance, directive gain and impedance bandwidth are estimated for the two values of progresseive phase excitation difference, i.e, βx=βy=π/2 and 2π/3. The results of ferrite based array geometry are compared with those of dielectric based (PTFE quartz reinforced) array antenna. The results are quite interesting and the antenna geometry is suitable to be employed as a scanned array for radar applications

Attentional difference in males and females for emojis during Emotional Stroop task

The study described the effect of perception of emojis as emotional component to produce attentional difference in males and females

A Qualitative and Quantitative Assay to Study DNA/Drug Interaction Based on Sequence Selective Inhibition of Restriction Endonucleases

Purpose: To explore the use of restriction inhibition assay (RIA) to study the binding specificity of some anticancer drugs. Methods: A 448 bp DNA fragment derived from pBCKS+ plasmid (harboring the polylinker region with multiple restriction endonuclease sites) was used as a template for sequence selective inhibition of the test drugs. The template was incubated with different concentrations of anticancer drugs (adriamycin, daunomycin, mitoxantrone, distamycin-A, berberine and palmatine) prior to digestion with restriction endonucleases - HindIII, EcoRI and EcoRV. Results: Mitoxantrone, adriamycin and daunomycin showed specificity for HindIII restriction site (5’- AAGCTT-3’) at 220, 100 and 100 μM concentration, respectively. Conversely, distamycin-A showed an affinity for EcoRI (5’-AAATGC-3’) restriction sites at a concentration of 10 μM. No binding was observed for berberine and palmatine at a maximum concentration of 2 mM at HindIII, EcoRI and EcoRV restriction sites, respectively. Conclusion: The inhibition of endonucleases by mitoxantrone, adriamycin, daunomycin, distamycin-A, provides direct evidence of the co-existence of concentration and sequence specificity for drug-DNA interaction as well as the need to explore the possible use of RIA for demonstrating the binding specificity of anticancer drugs

A Qualitative and Quantitative Assay to Study DNA/Drug Interaction Based on Sequence Selective Inhibition of Restriction Endonucleases

Purpose: To explore the use of restriction inhibition assay (RIA) to study the binding specificity of some anticancer drugs. Methods: A 448 bp DNA fragment derived from pBCKS+ plasmid (harboring the polylinker region with multiple restriction endonuclease sites) was used as a template for sequence selective inhibition of the test drugs. The template was incubated with different concentrations of anticancer drugs (adriamycin, daunomycin, mitoxantrone, distamycin-A, berberine and palmatine) prior to digestion with restriction endonucleases - HindIII, EcoRI and EcoRV. Results: Mitoxantrone, adriamycin and daunomycin showed specificity for HindIII restriction site (5’- AAGCTT-3’) at 220, 100 and 100 μM concentration, respectively. Conversely, distamycin-A showed an affinity for EcoRI (5’-AAATGC-3’) restriction sites at a concentration of 10 μM. No binding was observed for berberine and palmatine at a maximum concentration of 2 mM at HindIII, EcoRI and EcoRV restriction sites, respectively. Conclusion: The inhibition of endonucleases by mitoxantrone, adriamycin, daunomycin, distamycin-A, provides direct evidence of the co-existence of concentration and sequence specificity for drug-DNA interaction as well as the need to explore the possible use of RIA for demonstrating the binding specificity of anticancer drugs

Plag1 and Plagl2 have overlapping and distinct functions in telencephalic development

The Plag gene family has three members; Plagl1/Zac1, which is a tumor suppressor gene, and Plag1 and Plagl2, which are proto-oncogenes. All three genes are known to be expressed in embryonic neural progenitors, and Zac1 regulates proliferation, neuronal differentiation and migration in the developing neocortex. Here we examined the functions of Plag1 and Plagl2 in neocortical development. We first attempted, and were unable to generate, E12.5 Plag1;Plagl2 double mutants, indicating that at least one Plag1 or Plagl2 gene copy is required for embryonic survival. We therefore focused on single mutants, revealing a telencephalic patterning defect in E12.5 Plagl2 mutants and a proliferation/differentiation defect in Plag1 mutant neocortices. Specifically, the ventral pallium, a dorsal telencephalic territory, expands into the ventral telencephalon in Plagl2 mutants. In contrast, Plag1 mutants develop normal regional territories, but neocortical progenitors proliferate less and instead produce more neurons. Finally, in gain-of-function studies, both Plag1 and Plagl2 reduce neurogenesis and increase BrdU-uptake, indicative of enhanced proliferation, but while Plagl2 effects on proliferation are more immediate, Plag1 effects are delayed. Taken together, we found that the Plag proto-oncogenes genes are essential regulators of neocortical development and although Plag1 and Plagl2 functions are similar, they do not entirely overlap. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper

Unraveling dual feeding associated molecular complexity of salivary glands in the mosquito Anopheles culicifacies

Mosquito salivary glands are well known to facilitate meal acquisition, however the fundamental question on how adult female salivary gland manages molecular responses during sugar versus blood meal uptake remains unanswered. To investigate these responses, we analyzed a total of 58.5 million raw reads generated from two independent RNAseq libraries of the salivary glands collected from 3–4 day-old sugar and blood fed Anopheles culicifacies mosquitoes. Comprehensive functional annotation analysis of 10,931 contigs unraveled that salivary glands may encode diverse nature of proteins in response to distinct physiological feeding status. Digital gene expression analysis and PCR validation indicated that first blood meal significantly alters the molecular architecture of the salivary glands. Comparative microscopic analysis also revealed that first blood meal uptake not only causes an alteration of at least 12–22% of morphological features of the salivary glands but also results in cellular changes e.g. apoptosis, confirming together that adult female salivary glands are specialized organs to manage meal specific responses. Unraveling the underlying mechanism of mosquito salivary gene expression, controlling dual feeding associated responses may provide a new opportunity to control vector borne diseases