extraction and characterization of proteins from cell walls of two strains of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

En el presente trabajo se analizaron las proteínas de la pared celular de 2 cepas de Paracoccidioides brasiliensis en fase levaduriforme (PbHC_PE y Pb18). Las proteínas dueron extraídas por tres diferentes métodos y estudiadas por electroforesis SDS-PAGE. Los resultados de los perfiles de las dos cepas fueron diferentes, permitiendo la posibilidad de su uso como marcadores quimiotaxonómicos. Se observó una secreción transitoria de la proteína gp43 a través de la pared celular de las cepas de P. brasiliensis

Alternative Carbon Sources from Sugar Cane Process for Submerged Cultivation of Cunninghamella bertholletiae to Produce Chitosan

Gljiva Cunninghamella bertholletiae upotrijebljena je za procjenu utjecaja sastava podloge na proizvodnju hitozana. U uobičajenoj podlozi za uzgoj gljiva, koja sadrži kvaščev ekstrakt, pepton i D-glukozu kao izvor ugljika, najveći prinos hitozana od 55 mg/g suhog micelija dobiven je nakon 72 sata submerznog uzgoja. Kao ekonomični izvori za proizvodnju hitozana korišteni su supstrati dobiveni lokalnom preradom šećerne trske u sjeveroistočnom Brazilu, kao što su sok šećerne trske i melasa, uz dodatak 0,3 % kvaščeva ekstrakta. Optimalna proizvodnja hitozana postignuta je korištenjem soka šećerne trske, pri čemu je dobiveno 128 mg/g suhog micelija u šarži pri 28 °C. Pri tim uvjetima nije bila potrebna velika koncentracija izvora ugljika iz šećerne trske i dobiven je dobar prinos hitozana tijekom 48 h (580 mg/L podloge). Melasa se nije pokazala kao dobar izvor ugljika za proizvodnju hitozana.A mucoralean strain of Cunninghamella bertholletiae was used to evaluate the influence of culture medium on chitosan production. In the traditional medium for the growth of mucoralean strains, constituted of yeast extract, peptone, and D-glucose as carbon source, the highest chitosan yield found was 55 mg/g of dry mycelia in a 72-hour submerged culture. Regional substrates from sugar cane process in Northeast Brazil, as sugar cane juice and molasses, which were supplemented with 0.3 % yeast extract, were used as economic substrates to produce chitosan. The optimal production of chitosan was found in sugar cane juice medium, yielding 128 mg/g of dry mycelia in batch flasks at 28 °C. This condition did not need high concentration of sugar cane and gave a good yield of chitosan produced within 48 h (580 mg per L of medium). Molasses did not show to be a good carbon source for chitosan production

Erratum to: Expression of myeloperoxidase and gene mutations in AML patients with normal karyotype: double CEBPA mutations are associated with high percentage of MPO positivity in leukemic blasts

Erratum to: International Journal of Hematology, 94(1), pp.81-89: 2011DOI 10.1007/s12185-011-0883-yThe original version of this article unfortunately contained some errors in Table 2 in the column headed ‘‘Amino acid changes’’. The corrected table is given here

The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article

Inhibitory Role of Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER) in Methamphetamine-Induced Locomotor Sensitization

BACKGROUND: The inducible cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) early repressor (ICER) is highly expressed in the central nervous system and functions as a repressor of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) transcription. The present study sought to clarify the role of ICER in the effects of methamphetamine (METH). METHODS AND FINDINGS: We tested METH-induced locomotor sensitization in wildtype mice, ICER knockout mice, and ICER I-overexpressing mice. Both ICER wildtype mice and knockout mice displayed increased locomotor activity after continuous injections of METH. However, ICER knockout mice displayed a tendency toward higher locomotor activity compared with wildtype mice, although no significant difference was observed between the two genotypes. Moreover, compared with wildtype mice, ICER I-overexpressing mice displayed a significant decrease in METH-induced locomotor sensitization. Furthermore, Western blot analysis and quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that ICER overexpression abolished the METH-induced increase in CREB expression and repressed cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) and prodynorphin (Pdyn) expression in mice. The decreased CART and Pdyn mRNA expression levels in vivo may underlie the inhibitory role of ICER in METH-induced locomotor sensitization. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that ICER plays an inhibitory role in METH-induced locomotor sensitization