The use of gold nanoparticle aggregation for DNA computing and logic-based biomolecular detection

The use of DNA molecules as a physical computational material has attracted much interest, especially in the area of DNA computing. DNAs are also useful for logical control and analysis of biological systems if efficient visualization methods are available. Here we present a quick and simple visualization technique that displays the results of the DNA computing process based on a colorimetric change induced by gold nanoparticle aggregation, and we apply it to the logic-based detection of biomolecules. Our results demonstrate its effectiveness in both DNA-based logical computation and logic-based biomolecular detection.the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy through the Molecular Evolutionary Computing (MEC) Project the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MOEHRD) under the BK21-IT Program The ICT at Seoul National University provided research facilities a Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD, Basic Research Promotion) (KRF-2006-351-C00045

Potential for Prebiotics as Feed Additives to Limit Foodborne Campylobacter Establishment in the Poultry Gastrointestinal Tract

Campylobacter as an inhabitant of the poultry gastrointestinal tract has proven to be difficult to reduce with most feed additives. In-feed antibiotics have been taken out of poultry diets due to the negative reactions of consumers along with concerns regarding the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Consequently, interest in alternative feed supplements to antibiotics has grown. One of these alternatives, prebiotics, has been examined as a potential animal and poultry feed additive. Prebiotics are non-digestible ingredients by host enzymes that enhance growth of indigenous gastrointestinal bacteria that elicit metabolic characteristics considered beneficial to the host and depending on the type of metabolite, antagonistic to establishment of pathogens. There are several carbohydrate polymers that qualify as prebiotics and have been fed to poultry. These include mannan-oligosaccharides and fructooligosaccharides as the most common ones marketed commercially that have been used as feed supplements in poultry. More recently, several other non-digestible oligosaccharides have also been identified as possessing prebiotic properties when implemented as feed supplements. While there is evidence that prebiotics may be effective in poultry and limit establishment of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella in the gastrointestinal tract, less is known about their impact on Campylobacter. This review will focus on the potential of prebiotics to limit establishment of Campylobacter in the poultry gastrointestinal tract and future research directions

Dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in living donor liver transplantation recipients -A report of two cases-

We present two cases of dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in 2 patients who were undergoing living donor liver transplantation. On the preoperative transthoracic echocardiography, the first patient showed normal ventricular function and a normal wall thickness, but severe hemodynamic deterioration developed during the anhepatic period and this was further aggravated after reperfusion in spite of volume resuscitation and catecholamine therapy. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography revealed the systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve leaflet together with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. The second patient showed left ventricular hypertrophy with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction on the preoperative echocardiography. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography was used to guide fluid administration and the hemodynamic management throughout the procedure and a temporary portocaval shunt was established to mitigate the venous pooling during the anhepatic period. The purpose of this report is to emphasize the clinical significance of dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in patients who are undergoing living donor liver transplantation and the role of intraoperative echocardiography to detect and manage it

Cryptotanshinone chemosensitivity potentiation by TW-37 in human oral cancer cell lines by targeting STAT3–Mcl-1 signaling

Abstract Background Despite being one of the leading cancer types in the world, the diagnosis of oral cancer and its suitable therapeutic options remain limited. This study aims to investigate the single and chemosensitizing effects of TW-37, a BH3 mimetic in oral cancer, on human oral cancer cell lines. Methods We assessed the single and chemosensitizing effects of TW-37 in vitro using trypan blue exclusion assay, Western blotting, DAPI staining, Annexin V–FITC/PI double staining, and quantitative real-time PCR. Mcl-1 overexpression models were established by transforming vector and transient transfection was performed to test for apoptosis Results TW-37 enhanced the cytotoxicity of human oral cancer cell lines by inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis, which correlates with the reduction of the myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) expression via transcriptional and post-translational regulation. The ectopic expression of Mcl-1 partially attenuated the apoptosis-inducing capacity of TW-37 in human oral cancer cell lines. Besides, TW-37 decreased the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) at Tyr705 and nuclear translocation in human oral cancer cell lines at the early time points. Furthermore, TW-37 potentiated chemosusceptibility of cryptotanshinone in human oral cancer cell lines by suppressing STAT3–Mcl-1 signaling compared with either TW-37 or cryptotanshinone alone, resulting in potent apoptosis. Conclusions This study not only unravels the single and chemosensitizing effects of TW-37 for treatment of human oral cancer but also highlights the likelihood of TW-37 as a good therapeutic strategy to enhance the prognosis of patients with oral cancer in the future

Extracellular vesicle-associated miR-135b and -135a regulate stemness in Group 4 medulloblastoma cells by targeting angiomotin-like 2

Abstract Background Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by tumours, including exosomes, are important factors that regulate cell–cell interactions in oncogenesis. Although EV studies are ongoing, the biological understanding of EV-miRNAs derived from brain tumour spheroid-forming cells (BTSCs) of medulloblastoma is poor. Purposes We explored the specific cellular miRNAs and EV-miRNAs in medulloblastoma BTSCs to determine their potential biological function. Methods Bulk tumor cells (BTCs) and BTSCs were cultured under different conditions from medulloblastoma tissues (N = 10). Results Twenty-four miRNAs were simultaneously increased in both cells and EVs derived from BTSCs in comparison to BTCs. After inhibition of miR-135b or miR135a which were the most significantly increased in BTSCs, cell viability, self-renewal and stem cell marker expression decreased remarkably. Through integrated analysis of mRNAs and miRNAs data, we found that angiomotin-like 2 (AMOTL2), which was significantly decreased, was targeted by both miR-135b and miR-135a. STAT6 and GPX8 were targeted only by miR-135a. Importantly, low expression of AMOTL2 was significantly associated with overall poor survival in paediatric Group 3 and Group 4 medulloblastoma patients. Conclusion Our results indicated that inhibition of miR-135b or miR-135a leads to suppress stemness of BTSC through modulation of AMOTL2

The highly rearranged mitochondrial genomes of the crabs Maja crispata and Maja squinado (Majidae) and gene order evolution in Brachyura

Abstract We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of the spider crabs Maja crispata and Maja squinado (Majidae, Brachyura). Both genomes contain the whole set of 37 genes characteristic of Bilaterian genomes, encoded on both \u3b1- and \u3b2-strands. Both species exhibit the same gene order, which is unique among known animal genomes. In particular, all the genes located on the \u3b2-strand form a single block. This gene order was analysed together with the other nine gene orders known for the Brachyura. Our study confirms that the most widespread gene order (BraGO) represents the plesiomorphic condition for Brachyura and was established at the onset of this clade. All other gene orders are the result of transformational pathways originating from BraGO. The different gene orders exhibit variable levels of genes rearrangements, which involve only tRNAs or all types of genes. Local homoplastic arrangements were identified, while complete gene orders remain unique and represent signatures that can have a diagnostic value. Brachyura appear to be a hot-spot of gene order diversity within the phylum Arthropoda. Our analysis, allowed to track, for the first time, the fully evolutionary pathways producing the Brachyuran gene orders. This goal was achieved by coupling sophisticated bioinformatic tools with phylogenetic analysis

Seroprevalence of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Pregnant Women in China: An Observational Study

BACKGROUND: We investigated the seropositive rates and persistence of antibody against pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus (pH1N1) in pregnant women and voluntary blood donors after the second wave of the pandemic in Nanjing, China. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Serum samples of unvaccinated pregnant women (n = 720) and voluntary blood donors (n = 320) were collected after the second wave of 2009 pandemic in Nanjing. All samples were tested against pH1N1 strain (A/California/7/2009) with hemagglutination inhibition assay. A significant decline in seropositive rates, from above 50% to about 20%, was observed in pregnant women and voluntary blood donors fifteen weeks after the second wave of the pandemic. A quarter of the samples were tested against a seasonal H1N1 strain (A/Brisbane/59/2007). The antibody titers against pH1N1 strain were found to correlate positively with those against seasonal H1N1 strain. The correlation was modest but statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The high seropositive rates in both pregnant women and voluntary blood donors suggested that the pH1N1 virus had widely spread in these two populations. Immunity derived from natural infection seemed not to be persistent well

Adaptive Sampling of Information in Perceptual Decision-Making

In many perceptual and cognitive decision-making problems, humans sample multiple noisy information sources serially, and integrate the sampled information to make an overall decision. We derive the optimal decision procedure for two-alternative choice tasks in which the different options are sampled one at a time, sources vary in the quality of the information they provide, and the available time is fixed. To maximize accuracy, the optimal observer allocates time to sampling different information sources in proportion to their noise levels. We tested human observers in a corresponding perceptual decision-making task. Observers compared the direction of two random dot motion patterns that were triggered only when fixated. Observers allocated more time to the noisier pattern, in a manner that correlated with their sensory uncertainty about the direction of the patterns. There were several differences between the optimal observer predictions and human behaviour. These differences point to a number of other factors, beyond the quality of the currently available sources of information, that influences the sampling strategy

Complete genome sequence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus KOR/KNIH/002_05_2015, isolated in South Korea

The full genome sequence of a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was identified from cultured and isolated in Vero cells. The viral genome sequence has high similarity to 53 human MERS-CoVs, ranging from 99.5% to 99.8% at the nucleotide level. © 2015 Kim et al.

MicroRNAs in pulmonary arterial remodeling

Pulmonary arterial remodeling is a presently irreversible pathologic hallmark of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This complex disease involves pathogenic dysregulation of all cell types within the small pulmonary arteries contributing to vascular remodeling leading to intimal lesions, resulting in elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and right heart dysfunction. Mutations within the bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 gene, leading to dysregulated proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells, have been identified as being responsible for heritable PAH. Indeed, the disease is characterized by excessive cellular proliferation and resistance to apoptosis of smooth muscle and endothelial cells. Significant gene dysregulation at the transcriptional and signaling level has been identified. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression and have the ability to target numerous genes, therefore potentially controlling a host of gene regulatory and signaling pathways. The major role of miRNAs in pulmonary arterial remodeling is still relatively unknown although research data is emerging apace. Modulation of miRNAs represents a possible therapeutic target for altering the remodeling phenotype in the pulmonary vasculature. This review will focus on the role of miRNAs in regulating smooth muscle and endothelial cell phenotypes and their influence on pulmonary remodeling in the setting of PAH