Physiological variation of irradiated red radish plants and their phylogenic relationship using SCoT and CDDP markers

Greenhouse experiment is carried out to explore the outcome of γ-radiation on physiological and genetic variation in red radish (Raphanus sativus) for two generations. Gamma rays from 60Co were used to penetrate red radish seeds with different dose levels (0.0, 10, 20, 40 and 80 Gy). Plants generated from irradiated seeds and from self-pollination of these plants, called M1 and M2 generations, respectively. Some morphological and physiological traits were then determined, and the genetic diversity of both generations was studied using Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) and Conserved DNA-Derived Polymorphism (CDDP) molecular markers.  All studied morphological traits (number of leaves/plants, leave height, root diameter, and root weight) were steadily improved by raising irradiation dose rate, reaching a cumulative raise at the irradiation doe level 40 Gy and decreased at dose level 80 Gy. Photosynthetic pigments of red radish plants released a notable increase by increasing gamma rays dose level for chlorophyll (a), chlorophyll (b) and carotenoids for 40 Gy dose rate. Proline content was elevated proportionally to the irradiation dose level, with the greatest increase seen at dose level of 80 Gy. Moreover, phytochemical screening was detected for the both two generations. Fourteen SCoT primers generated a total number of banding patterns of 194 with average 13.86 and the primer SCoT-33 released the highest number banding patterns (21). The percentage mean of polymorphism for all the SCoT primers was 74.66% and was 66.49 and 63.74% for M1 and M2 respectively. Furthermore, fifteen CDDP primers generated a total number of banding patterns of 186 and the primer CDDP-5 relieved the highest number of banding patterns (20). The percentage mean of polymorphism for all the CDDP primers was 73.41% and was 64.38 and 65.91% for M1 and M2 respectively. It could be concluded that gamma irradiation exhibited an appropriate variation in red radish M1 and M2 which was detected by SCoT and CDDP molecular markers

Evaluation of the Phytochemical, Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Anticancer Activity of Prunus domestica Fruit

Plants have been used long ago through man history of life for their use in food and medicinal drives. In modern life, natural products have been extracted and isolated from several kinds of plants for the development of new drugs. There are numerous interests in natural antioxidants extracted from medicinal plants, vegetables and fruits, which might help to prevent oxidative damage. One of such plants is plum Prunus domestica L., family Rosaceae. Samples from ‘African Rose’, and ‘Santa Rosa’ plum cultivars were collected from local market in Giza governorate, Egypt. The main phytochemicals of plums (fruit flesh and skin) were analyzed. Total polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins, and reducing power were higher in ‘African Rose’ fruit. The ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of two plum cultivars were both high in the antioxidant effect with IC50 13.923 and 18.416 μg/ml of ethanolic extract of ‘African Rose’, and ‘Santa Rosa’ respectively. The IC50 of ‘African Rose’ and ‘Santa Rose’ extract against Caco-2 was 4 and 8.5 μg/ml. GC-MS analysis was carried out, fourteen and twenty one compound were identified in ‘Santa Rosa’ and ‘African Rose’ respectively. The fruits had an antimicrobial action against gram positive and negative bacteria. There was anticancer activity against 3 cell lines: Liver cell line (HepG2), colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cell line, and breast cell line (MCF-7)

Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase, transforming growth factor-β1 and lymphotoxin-α genes polymorphisms and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis

AbstractBackgroundRheumatoid arthritis is a widely prevalent autoimmune disorder with suggested genetic predisposition.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to detect the pattern of genetic polymorphism of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR C677 T and A1298 C), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1 T869 C) and lymphotoxin-α (LT-α A252G) in patients having rheumatoid arthritis and correlate these patterns to disease activity and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), B-Cell Activating Factor (BAFF), and osteopontin.MethodsA total of 194 subjects, 90 controls and 104 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were genotyped for MTHFR C677 T and A1298 C, TGF-β1 T869 C and LT-α A252G polymorphisms using a methodology based on PCR-RFLP. Also serum levels of TNF-α, osteopontin and BAFF were measured by ELISA kits.ResultsThe CT genotype and T allele of MTHFR C677 T and GG genotype and G allele of LT-α A252G are associated with the risk of RA and with higher levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.ConclusionOur findings suggest that there is association between MTHFR C677 T and LT-α A252G genes polymorphisms and increased risk of RA in this sample of Egyptian population

Polimorfismos dos genes metilenotetrahidrofolato redutase, fator de crescimento transformador β1 e linfotoxina‐α e susceptibilidade à artrite reumatoide

ResumoAntecedentesA artrite reumatoide é uma doença autoimune amplamente prevalente com sugerida predisposição genética.ObjetivosDetectar o padrão de polimorfismo dos genes metilenotetrahidrofolato redutase (MTHFR C677T e A1298C), fator de crescimento transformador β1 (TGF‐β1 T869C) e linfotoxina‐α (LT‐α A252G) em pacientes com artrite reumatoide e correlacionar esses padrões com a atividade da doença e os níveis séricos de fator de necrose tumoral alfa (TNF‐α), fator ativador de linfócitos B (BAFF) e osteopontina.MétodosForam genotipados 194 indivíduos – 90 controles e 104 com artrite reumatoide – à procura de polimorfismos dos genes MTHFR C677T e A1298C, TGF‐β1 T869C e LT‐α A252G com uma metodologia baseada na PCR‐RFLP. Mensuraram‐se também os níveis séricos de TNF‐α, osteopontina e BAFF com kits de Elisa.ResultadosO genótipo CT e o alelo T do MTHFR C677T e o genótipo GG e alelo G do LT‐α A252G estão associados ao risco de AR e a níveis mais elevados da citocina pró‐inflamatória TNF‐α em pacientes com artrite reumatoide.ConclusãoOs achados do presente estudo sugerem que há associação entre os polimorfismos dos genes MTHFR C677T e LT‐α A252G e um risco aumentado de AR nessa amostra da população egípcia.AbstractBackgroundRheumatoid arthritis is a widely prevalent autoimmune disorder with suggested genetic predisposition.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to detect the pattern of genetic polymorphism of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR C677T and A1298C), transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1 T869C) and lymphotoxin‐α (LT‐α A252G) in patients having rheumatoid arthritis and correlate these patterns to disease activity and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), B‐Cell Activating Factor (BAFF), and osteopontin.MethodsA total of 194 subjects, 90 controls and 104 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were genotyped for MTHFR C677T and A1298C, TGF‐β1 T869C and LT‐α A252G polymorphisms using a methodology based on PCR‐RFLP. Also serum levels of TNF‐α, osteopontin and BAFF were measured by ELISA kits.ResultsThe CT genotype and T allele of MTHFR C677T and GG genotype and G allele of LT‐α A252G are associated with the risk of RA and with higher levels of the pro‐inflammatory cytokine, TNF‐α in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.ConclusionOur findings suggest that there is association between MTHFR C677T and LT‐α A252G genes polymorphisms and increased risk of RA in this sample of Egyptian population

The Pearson-Readhead Survey of Compact Extragalactic Radio Sources From Space. II. Analysis of Source Properties

We have performed a multi-dimensional correlation analysis on the observed properties of a statistically complete core-selected sample of compact radio-loud active galactic nuclei, based on data from the VLBI Space Observing Programme (Paper I) and previously published studies. Our sample is drawn from the well-studied Pearson-Readhead (PR) survey, and is ideally suited for investigating the general effects of relativistic beaming in compact radio sources. In addition to confirming many previously known correlations, we have discovered several new trends that lend additional support to the beaming model. These trends suggest that the most highly beamed sources in core-selected samples tend to have a) high optical polarizations; b) large pc/kpc-scale jet misalignments; c) prominent VLBI core components; d) one-sided, core, or halo radio morphology on kiloparsec scales; e) narrow emission line equivalent widths; and f) a strong tendency for intraday variability at radio wavelengths. We have used higher resolution space and ground-based VLBI maps to confirm the bi-modality of the jet misalignment distribution for the PR survey, and find that the sources with aligned parsec- and kiloparsec-scale jets generally have arcsecond-scale radio emission on both sides of the core. The aligned sources also have broader emission line widths. We find evidence that the BL Lacertae objects in the PR survey are all highly beamed, and have very similar properties to the high-optically polarized quasars, with the exception of smaller redshifts. A cluster analysis on our data shows that after partialing out the effects of redshift, the luminosities of our sample objects in various wave bands are generally well-correlated with each other, but not with other source properties.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Part I can be found at astro-ph/010227

Measuring the brightness temperature distribution of extragalactic radio sources with space VLBI

We have used VSOP space very long baseline interferometry observations to measure the brightness temperature distribution of a well-defined sub-set of the Pearson-Readhead sample of extragalactic radio sources. VLBI which is restricted to Earth-diameter baselines is not generally sensitive to emitting regions with brightness temperatures greater than approximately $10^{12}$ K, coincidentally close to theoretical estimates of brightness temperature limits, $10^{11} - 10^{12}$ K. We find that a significant proportion of our sample have brightness temperatures greater than $10^{12}$ K; many have unresolved components on the longest baselines, and some remain completely unresolved. These observations begin to bridge the gap between the extended jets seen with ground-based VLBI and the microarcsecond structures inferred from intraday variability, evidenced here by the discovery of a relationship between intraday variability and VSOP-measured brightness temperature, likely due to the effects of relativistic beaming. Also, lower limits on jet Lorentz factors, estimated from space VLBI observations, are starting to challenge numerical simulations that predict low Lorentz factor jets.Comment: 4 pages + 1 figure, ApJ letters, accepte

Discovery of the Galaxy Proximity Effect and Implications for Measurements of the Ionizing Background Radiation at Low Redshifts

We present an analysis of galaxy and QSO absorption line pairs toward 24 QSOs at redshifts between z~0.2 and 1 in an effort to establish the relationship between galaxies and absorption lines in physical proximity to QSOs. We demonstrate the existence of a galaxy proximity effect, in that galaxies in the vicinities of QSOs do not show the same incidence and extent of gaseous envelopes as galaxies far from QSOs. We show that the galaxy proximity effect exists to galaxy-QSO velocity separations of ~ 3000 km/s, much larger than the size of a typical cluster (~ 1000 km/s), i.e. it is more comparable to the scale of the sphere of influence of QSO ionizing radiation rather than the scale of galaxy-QSO clustering. This indicates that the QSO ionizing radiation rather than some dynamical effect from the cluster environment is responsible for the galaxy proximity effect. We combine previous findings that (1) many or most Lya absorption lines arise in extended galaxy envelopes, and (2) galaxies cluster around QSOs to show that the magnitude of the Lya forest proximity effect is underestimated. Consequently, determinations of the UV ionizing background intensity using the proximity effect are likely overestimated. We use the galaxy-QSO cross-correlation function measured from our data to estimate the magnitude of this overestimate and find that it could be as high as a factor of 20 at z<1. This can have strong implications for models of the origin and evolution of the ionizing background, and may indicate that QSOs produce sufficient ionizing flux at all redshifts to account for the entire background radiation field.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, to appear in ApJ, October 20, 200

Cross-species complementation reveals conserved functions for EARLY FLOWERING 3 between monocots and dicots

Plant responses to the environment are shaped by external stimuli and internal signaling pathways. In both the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and crop species, circadian clock factors are critical for growth, flowering, and circadian rhythms. Outside of Arabidopsis, however, little is known about the molecular function of clock gene products. Therefore, we sought to compare the function of Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) and Setaria viridis (Setaria) orthologs of EARLY FLOWERING 3, a key clock gene in Arabidopsis. To identify both cycling genes and putative ELF3 functional orthologs in Setaria, a circadian RNA-seq dataset and online query tool (Diel Explorer) were generated to explore expression profiles of Setaria genes under circadian conditions. The function of ELF3 orthologs from Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, and Setaria was tested for complementation of an elf3 mutation in Arabidopsis. We find that both monocot orthologs were capable of rescuing hypocotyl elongation, flowering time, and arrhythmic clock phenotypes. Using affinity purification and mass spectrometry, our data indicate that BdELF3 and SvELF3 could be integrated into similar complexes in vivo as AtELF3. Thus, we find that, despite 180 million years of separation, BdELF3 and SvELF3 can functionally complement loss of ELF3 at the molecular and physiological level

Electrical transport between epitaxial manganites and carbon nanotubes

The possibility of performing spintronics at the molecular level may be realized in devices that combine fully spin polarized oxides such as manganites with carbon nanotubes. However, it is not clear whether electrical transport between such different material systems is viable. Here we show that the room temperature conductance of manganite-nanotube-manganite devices is only half the value recorded in similar palladium-nanotube-palladium devices. Interestingly, the former shows a pseudogap in the conductivity below the relatively high temperature of 200 K. Our results suggest the possibility of new spintronics heterostructures that exploit fully spin polarized sources and drains