A user-friendly fully digital TDPAC-spectrometer

A user-friendly fully digital TDPAC-spectrometer with six detectors and fast digitizers using Field Programmable Gate Arrays is described and performance data are given

Identification of the Transcriptional Regulator NcrB in the Nickel Resistance Determinant of Leptospirillum ferriphilum UBK03

The nickel resistance determinant ncrABCY was identified in Leptospirillum ferriphilum UBK03. Within this operon, ncrA and ncrC encode two membrane proteins that form an efflux system, and ncrB encodes NcrB, which belongs to an uncharacterized family (DUF156) of proteins. How this determinant is regulated remains unknown. Our data indicate that expression of the nickel resistance determinant is induced by nickel. The promoter of ncrA, designated pncrA, was cloned into the promoter probe vector pPR9TT, and co-transformed with either a wild-type or mutant nickel resistance determinant. The results revealed that ncrB encoded a transcriptional regulator that could regulate the expression of ncrA, ncrB, and ncrC. A GC-rich inverted repeat sequence was identified in the promoter pncrA. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and footprinting assays showed that purified NcrB could specifically bind to the inverted repeat sequence of pncrA in vitro; this was confirmed by bacterial one-hybrid analysis. Moreover, this binding was inhibited in the presence of nickel ions. Thus, we classified NcrB as a transcriptional regulator that recognizes the inverted repeat sequence binding motif to regulate the expression of the key nickel resistance gene, ncrA

Serum Potassium and Risk of Death or Kidney Replacement Therapy in Older People With CKD Stages 4-5: Eight-Year Follow-up

Rationale & Objective: Hypokalemia may accelerate kidney function decline. Both hypo- and hyperkalemia can cause sudden cardiac death. However, little is known about the relationship between serum potassium and death or the occurrence of kidney failure requiring replacement therapy (KRT). We investigated this relationship in older people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 4-5. Study Design: Prospective observational cohort study. Setting & Participants: We followed 1,714 patients (≥65 years old) from the European Quality (EQUAL) study for 8 years from their first estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 20 mL/min/1.73 m2 measurement. Exposure: Serum potassium was measured every 3 to 6 months and categorized as ≤3.5, >3.5-≤4.0, >4.0-≤4.5, >4.5-≤5.0 (reference), >5.0-≤5.5, >5.5-≤6.0, and >6.0 mmol/L. Outcome: The combined outcome death before KRT or start of KRT. Analytical Approach: The association between categorical and continuous time-varying potassium and death or KRT start was examined using Cox proportional hazards and restricted cubic spline analyses, adjusted for age, sex, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibition, eGFR, and subjective global assessment (SGA). Results: At baseline, 66% of participants were men, 42% had diabetes, 47% cardiovascular disease, and 54% used RAAS inhibitors. Their mean age was 76 ± 7 (SD) years, mean eGFR was 17 ± 5 (SD) mL/min/1.73 m2, and mean SGA was 6.0 ± 1.0 (SD). Over 8 years, 414 (24%) died before starting KRT, and 595 (35%) started KRT. Adjusted hazard ratios for death or KRT according to the potassium categories were 1.6 (95% CI, 1.1-2.3), 1.4 (95% CI, 1.1-1.7), 1.1 (95% CI, 1.0-1.4), 1 (reference), 1.1 (95% CI, 0.9-1.4), 1.8 (95% CI, 1.4-2.3), and 2.2 (95% CI, 1.5-3.3). Hazard ratios were lowest at a potassium of about 4.9 mmol/L. Limitations: Shorter intervals between potassium measurements would have allowed for more precise estimations. Conclusions: We observed a U-shaped relationship between serum potassium and death or KRT start among patients with incident CKD 4-5, with a nadir risk at a potassium level of 4.9 mmol/L. These findings underscore the potential importance of preventing both high and low potassium in patients with CKD 4-5. Plain-Language Summary: Abnormal potassium blood levels may increase the risk of death or kidney function decline, especially in older people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We studied 1,714 patients aged ≥65 years with advanced CKD from the European Quality (EQUAL) study and followed them for 8 years. We found that both low and high levels of potassium were associated with an increased risk of death or start of kidney replacement therapy, with the lowest risk observed at a potassium level of 4.9 mmol/L. In patients with CKD, the focus is often on preventing high blood potassium. However, this relatively high optimum potassium level stresses the potential importance of also preventing low potassium levels in older patients with advanced CKD

Métodos multivariados aplicados ao melhoramento genético do feijoeiro visando ao aumento da tolerância ao estresse osmótico e biofortificação de grãos

O feijoeiro (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) é uma cultura agrícola muito importante economicamente e nutricionalmente para a população brasileira e necessita de metodologias simples e eficazes que auxiliem o processo de melhoramento genético. As técnicas empregadas devem minimizar os efeitos indesejáveis da multicolinearidade entre as características estudadas durante o processo de seleção. A produção de sementes de feijão, normalmente, é limitada pela escassez hídrica e solos salinos. No entanto, devido a grande variabilidade genética, característica da espécie, é possível encontrar materiais genéticos mais tolerantes a esses estresses osmóticos. A germinação e o desenvolvimento inicial da plântula são fases críticas e desta maneira é importante selecionar os matérias genéticos mais tolerantes nestas fases. Além de selecionar genótipos tolerantes é necessário selecionar materiais genéticos que sejam ricos nutricionalmente, principalmente, em relação à composição mineralógica. Os principais objetivos almejados com este trabalho foram reduzir a multicolinearidade e selecionar genótipos para a tolerância ao estresse osmótico e a biofortificação dos grãos do feijoeiro, com base nos valores genéticos. Desta maneira, foram utilizadas duas técnicas para reduzir a influência da multicolinearidade: o descarte de variáveis redundantes pelas variáveis canônicas, e o uso das análises de fatores para reduzir o número de variáveis. As variáveis analisadas foram: porcentagem de germinação e de plântulas normais, tempo médio de germinação, índice de velocidade de germinação, comprimentos de raiz e de hipocótilo, massas seca de raiz e da parte aérea, razão raiz/parte aérea e o produto da porcentagem de plântulas normais pelo comprimento das plântulas. Avaliou-se também a composição mineralógica dos grãos em relação à concentração de cálcio, ferro, zinco, potássio, magnésio, manganês e fósforo. Adicionalmente, para estimar os parâmetros e os valores genéticos realizou-se análise via modelos mistos, utilizando-se a técnica de REML/BLUP. Os genótipos foram selecionados com base da média genética, estabilidade e adaptabilidade, utilizando-se a técnica da média harmônica da performance relativa dos valores genéticos. Os genótipos que apresentaram as maiores tolerâncias, adaptabilidade e estabilidade quanto aos estresses osmóticos foram: CNFC 15466, CNFC 15462, CNFC 15630, BRS Valente, Capixaba Precoce, CNFP 15290, CNFP 15292 e CNFP 15302. Enquanto os genótipos mais ricos e divergentes geneticamente do grupo comercial carioca foram: CNFC 15475 e CNFC 15625, e do grupo comercial preto foram: CNFP 15310 e CNFP 15304. Conclui-se que a utilização de técnicas multivariadas facilita a seleção de genótipos promissores como parentais na formação de linhagens tolerantes ao estresse osmótico e biofortificados. Palavras-chave: feijoeiro comum; seleção de genótipos; estresse hídrico e salino; multicolinearidade; composição mineral

TGFbeta induces apoptosis and EMT in primary mouse hepatocytes independently of p53, p21Cip1 or Rb status

Melville Trust for the Care and Cure of Cancer to SP and SS.Background: TGF beta has pleiotropic effects that range from regulation of proliferation and apoptosis to morphological changes and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Some evidence suggests that these effects may be interconnected. We have recently reported that P53, P21(Cip1) and pRB, three critical regulators of the G1/S transition are variably involved in TGF beta-induced cell cycle arrest in hepatocytes. As these proteins are also involved in the regulation of apoptosis in many circumstances, we investigated their contribution to other relevant TGF beta-induced effects, namely apoptosis and EMT, and examined how the various processes were interrelated. Methods: Primary mouse hepatocytes deficient in p53, p21 and/or Rb, singly or in combination were treated with TGF beta for 24 to 96 hours. Apoptosis was quantified according to morphology and by immunostaining for cleavedcapsase 3. Epithelial and mesenchymal marker expression was studied using immunocytochemistry and real time PCR. Results: We found that TGF beta similarly induced morphological changes regardless of genotype and independently of proliferation index or sensitivity to inhibition of proliferation by TGF beta. Morphological changes were accompanied by decrease in E-cadherin and increased Snail expression but the mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin, SMA alpha and Vimentin) studied remained unchanged. TGF beta induced high levels of apoptosis in p53-/-, Rb-/-, p21(cip1)-/- and control hepatocytes although with slight differences in kinetics. This was unrelated to proliferation or changes in morphology and loss of cell-cell adhesion. However, hepatocytes deficient in both p53 and p21(cip1)were less sensitive to TGF beta-induced apoptosis. Conclusion: Although p53, p21(Cip1) and pRb are well known regulators of both proliferation and apoptosis in response to a multitude of stresses, we conclude that they are critical for TGF beta-driven inhibition of hepatocytes proliferation, but only slightly modulate TGF beta-induced apoptosis. This effect may depend on other parameters such as proliferation and the presence of other regulatory proteins as suggested by the consequences of p53, p21(Cip1) double deficiency. Similarly, p53, p21(Cip1) and pRB deficiency had no effect on the morphological changes and loss of cell adhesion which is thought to be critical for metastasis. This indicates that possible association of these genes with metastasis potential would be unlikely to involve TGF beta-induced EMT.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A user-friendly fully digital TDPAC-spectrometer

A user-friendly fully digital TDPAC-spectrometer with six detectors and fast digitizers using Field Programmable Gate Arrays is described and performance data are given

Lock-in thermography with depth resolution on silicon solar cells

Lock-in thermography (LIT) is the standard method for imaging and evaluating leakage currents in solar cells. For usually applied lock-in frequencies in the order of 10 Hz, silicon solar cells are considered to be thermally thin. Hence, depth-dependent investigations, as they are performed in non-destructive testing and failure analysis of ICs, were not performed until now by LIT. In this contribution two special LIT investigation and evaluation methods are introduced, which have the potential to judge whether some recombination occurs at the top, in the middle, or at the bottom of a Si solar cell. Such investigations can be useful to evaluate e.g. metal-induced recombination or the influence of crystal defects in multicrystalline solar material on the emitter or backside recombination. The methods are tested at a cell containing a diamond scratch in the emitter and backside recombination at the Ag back contact

Lock-in contact thermography on solar cells comparison with IR-measurements

Abstract Since all internal forward currents flowing during operation of a photovoltaic solar cell represent losses in its light conversion efficiency, local regions of increased forward current (local shunts) are degrading the cell performance. These regions may be detected and investigated by lock-in contact thermography allowing the detection of local current densities as low as 100 IJAlcm 2 • This technique is described and experimentally compared with two types of IR-based measurements. We find that the detection sensitivity of the IR-measurements is at least one order of magnitude worse than that of contact thermography, as long as no high-sensitive focal plane array IR-camera and/or longer integration times can be used

The mechanism of a formaldehyde-sensing transcriptional regulator

Most organisms are exposed to the genotoxic chemical formaldehyde, either from endogenous or environmental sources. Therefore, biology has evolved systems to perceive and detoxify formaldehyde. The frmRA(B) operon that is present in many bacteria represents one such system. The FrmR protein is a transcriptional repressor that is specifically inactivated in the presence of formaldehyde, permitting expression of the formaldehyde detoxification machinery (FrmA and FrmB, when the latter is present). The X-ray structure of the formaldehyde-treated Escherichia coli FrmR (EcFrmR) protein reveals the formation of methylene bridges that link adjacent Pro2 and Cys35 residues in the EcFrmR tetramer. Methylene bridge formation has profound effects on the pattern of surface charge of EcFrmR and combined with biochemical/biophysical data suggests a mechanistic model for formaldehyde-sensing and derepression of frmRA(B) expression in numerous bacterial species