Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of biofuel plant Jatropha curcas using kanamycin selection

Establishment of an efficient transformation system is a prerequisite for genetic improvement of Jatropha curcas, a promising biodiesel feedstock plant, by transgenic approach. In this study an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol using cotyledon explants from J. curcas seeds was developed. The integration and expression of the transgenes in the putatively transformed J. curcas plants was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Southern blot analysis and β- glucuronidase (GUS) activity staining. In the protocol used, the critical step for successful transformation is that the selective agent kanamycin (20 mg/L) is not included in the callus-inducing medium within the first 4 weeks after co-cultivation with Agrobacterium.Keywords: Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, biofuel, Jatropha curcas, kanamycin, physic nut, plant regeneration, transgenic plants

Trends of major hydroclimatic variables in the Tarim River basin during the past 50 years

The nonparametric Mann-Kendall test was used to detect the trends of major hydroclimatic variables in the Tarim River Basin, the largest inland river basin in China for the period of 1960-2007. Results showed that both mean annual air temperature and precipitation experienced an increasing trend, while annual streamflow demonstrated a mixed trend of decreasing and increasing: The mountainous region upstream showed an increasing trend and the region downstream exhibited a decreasing trend. impacts of the increased air temperature on streamflow have shown different characteristics depending on location and seasons: it has positive effect on the runoff at mountainous region due to snowmelt and glacier-melt in spring, but negative effect on the runoff at plain area due to the increase of actual evaporation in summer. in addition, human activity contributed to the declining of streamflow in the arid plain oases at downstream of the Tarim River Basin. The results obtained in this paper can be used as a reference for the planning and management of water resources to maintain the health of the river system. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Mechanisms of escape phenomenon of spinal cord and brainstem in human rabies

BACKGROUND: Rabies virus preferentially involves brainstem, thalamus and spinal cord in human furious and paralytic rabies beginning in the early stage of illness. Nevertheless, rabies patient remains alert until the pre-terminal phase. Weakness of extremities develops only when furious rabies patient becomes comatose; whereas peripheral nerve dysfunction is responsible for weakness in paralytic rabies. METHODS: Evidence of apoptosis and mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization in brain and spinal cord of 10 rabies patients was examined and these findings were correlated with the presence of rabies virus antigen. RESULTS: Although apoptosis was evident in most of the regions, cytochrome c leakage was relatively absent in spinal cord of nearly all patients despite the abundant presence of rabies virus antigen. Such finding was also noted in brainstem of 5 patients. CONCLUSION: Cell death in human rabies may be delayed in spinal cord and the reticular activating system, such as brainstem, thus explaining absence of weakness due to spinal cord dysfunction and preservation of consciousness

Serum Levels of FGF-21 Are Increased in Coronary Heart Disease Patients and Are Independently Associated with Adverse Lipid Profile

BACKGROUND: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is a metabolic regulator with multiple beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism in animal models. The relationship between plasma levels of FGF-21 and coronary heart disease (CHD) in unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study aimed to investigate the correlation of serum FGF-21 levels and lipid metabolism in the patients with coronary heart disease. We performed a logistic regression analysis of the relation between serum levels of FGF-21 and CHD patients with and without diabetes and hypertension. This study was conducted in the Departments of Endocrinology and Cardiovascular Diseases at two University Hospitals. Participants consisted of one hundred and thirty-five patients who have been diagnosed to have CHD and sixty-one control subjects. Serum FGF-21 level and levels of fasting blood glucose; triglyceride; apolipoprotein B100; HOMA-IR; insulin; total cholesterol; HDL-cholesterol; LDL-cholesterol; and C-reactive protein were measured. We found that median serum FGF-21 levels were significantly higher in CHD than that of control subjects (P<0.0001). Serum FGF-21 levels in CHD patients with diabetes, hypertension, or both were higher than that of patients without these comorbidities. Serum FGF-21 levels correlated positively with triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, apolipoprotein B100, insulin and HOMA-IR but negatively with HDL-C and apolipoprotein A1 after adjusting for BMI, diabetes and hypertension. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that FGF-21 showed an independent association with triglyceride and apolipoprotein A1. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: High levels of FGF-21 are associated with adverse lipid profiles in CHD patients. The paradoxical increase of serum FGF-21 in CHD patients may indicate a compensatory response or resistance to FGF-21

Emergent Phenomena Induced by Spin-Orbit Coupling at Surfaces and Interfaces

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) describes the relativistic interaction between the spin and momentum degrees of freedom of electrons, and is central to the rich phenomena observed in condensed matter systems. In recent years, new phases of matter have emerged from the interplay between SOC and low dimensionality, such as chiral spin textures and spin-polarized surface and interface states. These low-dimensional SOC-based realizations are typically robust and can be exploited at room temperature. Here we discuss SOC as a means of producing such fundamentally new physical phenomena in thin films and heterostructures. We put into context the technological promise of these material classes for developing spin-based device applications at room temperature

GenCLiP: a software program for clustering gene lists by literature profiling and constructing gene co-occurrence networks related to custom keywords

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Biomedical researchers often want to explore pathogenesis and pathways regulated by abnormally expressed genes, such as those identified by microarray analyses. Literature mining is an important way to assist in this task. Many literature mining tools are now available. However, few of them allows the user to make manual adjustments to zero in on what he/she wants to know in particular.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present our software program, GenCLiP (Gene Cluster with Literature Profiles), which is based on the methods presented by Chaussabel and Sher (<it>Genome Biol </it>2002, 3(10):RESEARCH0055) that search gene lists to identify functional clusters of genes based on up-to-date literature profiling. Four features were added to this previously described method: the ability to 1) manually curate keywords extracted from the literature, 2) search genes and gene co-occurrence networks related to custom keywords, 3) compare analyzed gene results with negative and positive controls generated by GenCLiP, and 4) calculate probabilities that the resulting genes and gene networks are randomly related. In this paper, we show with a set of differentially expressed genes between keloids and normal control, how implementation of functions in GenCLiP successfully identified keywords related to the pathogenesis of keloids and unknown gene pathways involved in the pathogenesis of keloids.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>With regard to the identification of disease-susceptibility genes, GenCLiP allows one to quickly acquire a primary pathogenesis profile and identify pathways involving abnormally expressed genes not previously associated with the disease.</p

14-3-3epsilon contributes to tumour suppression in laryngeal carcinoma by affecting apoptosis and invasion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>14-3-3epsilon regulates a wide range of biological processes, including cell cycle control, proliferation, and apoptosis, and plays a significant role in neurogenesis and the formation of malignant tumours. However, the exact function and regulatory mechanism of 14-3-3epsilon in carcinogenesis have not been elucidated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression of <it>14-3-3epsilon </it>was assessed by RT-PCR and western blotting. The invasiveness and viability of Hep-2 cells were determined by the transwell migration assay and MTT assay, respectively. Cell cycle and apoptosis of Hep-2 cells were detected by flow cytometry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mRNA and protein expression of <it>14-3-3epsilon </it>in larynx squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) tissues were significantly lower than those in clear surgical margin tissues. Statistical analysis showed that the 14-3-3epsilon protein level in metastatic lymph nodes was lower than that in paired tumour tissues. In addition, the protein level of 14-3-3epsilon in stage III or IV tumours was significantly lower than that in stage I or II tumours. Compared with control Hep-2 cells, the percentages of viable cells in the 14-3-3epsilon-GFP and negative control GFP groups were 36.68 ± 14.09% and 71.68 ± 12.10%, respectively. The proportions of S phase were 22.47 ± 3.36%, 28.17 ± 3.97% and 46.15 ± 6.82%, and the apoptotic sub-G1 populations were 1.23 ± 1.02%, 2.92 ± 1.59% and 13.72 ± 3.89% in the control, negative control GFP and 14-3-3epsilon-GFP groups, respectively. The percentages of the apoptotic cells were 0.84 ± 0.25%, 1.08 ± 0.24% and 2.93 ± 0.13% in the control, negative control GFP and 14-3-3epsilon-GFP groups, respectively. The numbers of cells that penetrated the filter membrane in the control, negative control GFP and 14-3-3epsilon-GFP groups were 20.65 ± 1.94, 17.63 ± 1.04 and 9.1 ± 0.24, respectively, indicating significant differences among the different groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Decreased expression of <it>14-3-3epsilon </it>in LSCC tissues contributes to the initiation and progression of LSCC. <it>14-3-3epsilon </it>can promote apoptosis and inhibit the invasiveness of LSCC.</p

Rabies-Specific Antibodies: Measuring Surrogates of Protection against a Fatal Disease

Antibodies play a central role in prophylaxis against many infectious agents. While neutralization is a primary function of antibodies, the Fc- and complement-dependent activities of these multifunctional proteins may also be critical in their ability to provide protection against most viruses. Protection against viral pathogens in vivo is complex, and while virus neutralization—the ability of antibody to inactivate virus infectivity, often measured in vitro—is important, it is often only a partial contributor in protection. The rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) remains the “gold standard” assay to measure rabies virus–neutralizing antibodies. In addition to neutralization, the rabies-specific antigen-binding activity of antibodies may be measured through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), as well as other available methods. For any disease, in selecting the appropriate assay(s) to use to assess antibody titers, assay validation and how they are interpreted are important considerations—but for a fatal disease like rabies, they are of paramount importance. The innate limitations of a one-dimensional laboratory test for rabies antibody measurement, as well as the validation of the method of choice, must be carefully considered in the selection of an assay method and for the interpretation of results that might be construed as a surrogate of protection

Rabies-Related Knowledge and Practices Among Persons At Risk of Bat Exposures in Thailand

Rabies is a fatal encephalitis caused by lyssaviruses. Evidence of lyssavirus circulation has recently emerged in Southeast Asian bats. We surveyed persons regularly exposed to bats and bat habitats in Thailand to assess rabies‐related knowledge and practices. Targeted groups included guano miners, bat hunters, game wardens, and residents/personnel at Buddhist temples where mass bat roosting occurs. Of the 106 people interviewed, 11 (10%) identified bats as a source of rabies. History of a bat bite/scratch was reported by 29 (27%), and 38 (36%) expressed either that they would do nothing or that they did not know what they would do in response to a bat bite. Guano miners were less likely than other groups to indicate animal bites as a mechanism of transmission (68% vs. 90%, p=0.03) and were less likely to say they would respond appropriately to a bat bite or scratch (61% vs. 27%, p=0.003). These findings indicate a need for educational outreach in Thailand to raise awareness of bat rabies, promote exposure prevention, and ensure health‐seeking behaviors for bat‐inflicted wounds, particularly among at‐risk groups