Cancer Gene Therapy to Restore P53 Function: A New Way for an Old Aim

Millions of people are living with cancer having specific mutation in p53 gene while every single person is truly unique in genetic basis or clinical manifestation. The gene encodes transcription factor p53, which plays a central role in regulating cell cycle progression, senescence, differentiation, DNA repair and apoptosis in response to DNA damage or other stress signals. P53 activity is up regulated to initiate a cascade of biological events that ultimately results in prevention of tumor development. Mutations in p53 abrogate normal tumor suppressor functions, contributing to the survival and proliferation of abnormal cells. Cancer cells containing mutant p53 are associated with more aggressive disease, increased resistance to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and poor prognosis. However the majority of p53 mutations are missense and great number of these mutants represent GOF (Gain of Function) effect resulting increased invasion and metastasis in tumors. These mutations confer a dominant-negative activity over the remaining wild-type allele by functionally inactive hetero-oligomers interactions of the mutants with the wild-type protein. Increasing evidence indicates that many p53 mutants also gain new oncogenic properties that are independent from wild-type p53. Several factors including type of p53 mutations in cancers may limit the efficacy and application of p53 gene therapy. As a result, there is a great interest in therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring the function of p53 for the treatment of cancer. Increasing evidence demonstrate that silencing GOF mutations (targeted antisense therapy) reduce the transactivation activity of mutant p53 and induce apoptosis in cells bearing these mutations then provide a potential strategy to inhibit the oncogenic functions of mutant p53 and improve mutant p53-targeted cancer therapies

Methane transport and emissions from soil as affected by water table and vascular plants

Background: The important greenhouse gas (GHG) methane is produced naturally in anaerobic wetland soils. By affecting the production, oxidation and transport of methane to the atmosphere, plants have a major influence upon the quantities emitted by wetlands. Different species and functional plant groups have been shown to affect these processes differently, but our knowledge about how these effects are influenced by abiotic factors such as water regime and temperature remains limited. Here we present a mesocosm experiment comparing eight plant species for their effects on internal transport and overall emissions of methane under contrasting hydrological conditions. To quantify how much methane was transported internally through plants (the chimney effect), we blocked diffusion from the soil surface with an agar seal. Results: We found that graminoids caused higher methane emissions than forbs, although the emissions from mesocosms with different species were either lower than or comparable to those from control mesocosms with no plant (i.e. bare soil). Species with a relatively greater root volume and a larger biomass exhibited a larger chimney effect, though overall methane emissions were negatively related to plant biomass. Emissions were also reduced by lowering the water table. Conclusions: We conclude that plant species (and functional groups) vary in the degree to which they transport methane to the atmosphere. However, a plant with a high capacity to transport methane does not necessarily emit more methane, as it may also cause more rhizosphere oxidation of methane. A shift in plant species composition from graminoids to forbs and/or from low to high productive species may lead to reduction of methane emissions

Phytoextraction as a tool for green chemistry

The unique chemical and physical properties of metals mean that they are extensively utilized by industry in a huge variety of applications, including electronics, materials, industrial catalysts and chemicals. The increased consumer demand from a growing population worldwide with rising aspirations for a better life has resulted in concerns over the security of supply and accessibility of these valuable elements. As such, there is a growing need to develop alternative methods to recover them from waste repositories, current or historic, both for hazard avoidance and potentially, as a new source of metals for industry. Phytoextraction (the use of plants for the recovery of metals from waste repositories) is a green and novel technique for metal recovery, which, if done with the goal of resource supply rather than hazard mitigation, is termed “phytomining”. The ability for plants to form metallic nanoparticles as a consequence of phytoextraction could make the recovered metal ideally suited for utilization in green chemical technologies, such as catalysis. This review focuses on a multidisciplinary approach to elemental sustainability and highlights important aspects of metal lifecycle analysis, metal waste sources (including mine tailings), phytoextraction and potential green chemical applications that may result from the integration of these approaches

Respiration Modulates Olfactory Memory Consolidation in Humans

Contains fulltext : 198790.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)9 p

Can losing the sense of smell affect odor language?

A number of studies have explored whether language is grounded in action and perception, however little attention has been given to the sense of smell. Here we directly test whether olfactory information is necessary for comprehension of odor-related language, by comparing language performance in a group of participants with no sense of smell (anosmics) with a group of control participants with an intact sense of smell. We found no difference in comprehension of odor- and taste-related language between anosmics and controls using a lexical decision task, suggesting olfaction is not crucial to semantic representations of odor-related language. However, we did find that anosmics were better at remembering odor-related words than controls, and they also rated odor- and taste-related words as more positively valenced than control participants. We suggest odor-related language is more salient and emotional to anosmics because it reminds them of their missing sense. Overall, this study supports the proposal that odor-related language is not grounded in odor perception

Can losing the sense of smell affect odor language?

A number of studies have explored whether language is grounded in action and perception, however little attention has been given to the sense of smell. Here we directly test whether olfactory information is necessary for comprehension of odor-related language, by comparing language performance in a group of participants with no sense of smell (anosmics) with a group of control participants with an intact sense of smell. We found no difference in comprehension of odor- and taste-related language between anosmics and controls using a lexical decision task, suggesting olfaction is not crucial to semantic representations of odor-related language. However, we did find that anosmics were better at remembering odor-related words than controls, and they also rated odor- and taste-related words as more positively valenced than control participants. We suggest odor-related language is more salient and emotional to anosmics because it reminds them of their missing sense. Overall, this study supports the proposal that odor-related language is not grounded in odor perception

Losing the sense of smell does not disrupt processing of odor words

Whether language is grounded in action and perception has been a key question in cognitive science, yet little attention has been given to the sense of smell. We directly test whether smell is necessary for comprehension of odor language, by comparing language processing in a group of participants with no sense of smell (anosmics) to a group of control participants. We found no evidence for a difference in online comprehension of odor and taste language between anosmics and controls using a lexical decision task and a semantic similarity judgment task, suggesting olfaction is not critical to the comprehension of odor language. Contrary to predictions, anosmics were better at remembering odor words, and rated odor and taste words as more positively valenced than control participants. This study finds no detriment to odor language after losing the sense of smell, supporting the proposal that odor language is not grounded in odor perception

Monitoring Cumulative Effects of Human Activity on Alberta’s (Canada) Biodiversity

Due to its significant natural resource wealth, the province of Alberta in western Canada has experienced rapid expansion of related industrial activities (forestry, agriculture, and oil and gas exploration and development), as well as associated population growth, over recent decades. The resulting rate of conversion of natural ecosystems to support these activities led to increasing concerns regarding their cumulative effects on Alberta's biodiversity. As a result, in 2007, the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) was formally established to monitor the status and trends of Alberta's species, their habitats, as well as human footprint (HF). The ABMI is a not-for-profit scientific organization that operates at arm's length from government and industry. The goal of the ABMI is to provide relevant scientific information on the state of Alberta's biodiversity to support natural resource and land-use decision making in the province. To meet this goal, the ABMI employs a systematic grid of 1,656 site locations across the province, spaced 20 km apart, to collect biodiversity information on terrestrial and wetland sites. At each location, data and field samples are collected for a wide range of plant and animal species through on-the-ground measurements, and also using motion-sensitive camera traps and acoustic technology. Since 2007, over 480,000 specimens-data on over 3000 species have been collected and processed, many of which represent new scientific records for the province, sometimes new records for Canada, and even records new to science. Annually, a percentage of the total sites is surveyed, with the sites revisited approximately every 7 years to measure trend in species abundance. In addition to field surveys, Alberta's land cover and human footprint is monitored using remote sensing technology at two spatial scales. To report on patterns and trend in human footprint, the ABMI classifies human footprint into 115 feature types, which are then rolled up into the categories of energy, forestry, agriculture, residential and industrial, human-created water bodies, and transportation. The ABMI's accumulated biodiversity and HF database supports the creation of predictive species models that provide information on spatial distribution, habitat associations, responses to HF, and predicted relative abundance for over 800 species, including mammals, birds, soil mites, vascular plants, mosses (bryophytes), and lichens. The scale and depth of the ABMI's monitoring program and biodiversity data make it a unique program nationally, and a leader internationally. In addition to ongoing protocol development and data analysis, the ABMI is committed to deriving value from its data and information for a wide range of Alberta stakeholders through concerted knowledge translation and stakeholder engagement efforts.peerReviewe