The short term effects of a fire fighting foam and fire retardant on selected flora from Australia\u27s Southwest

Chemical fire suppressants arc used extensively throughout Australia\u27s Southwest to contain and suppress wildfires. Despite several studies being conducted into their effects on terrestrial vegetation in North America and Eastern Australia, where a variety of significant effects were found, no such investigation has been carried out in Australia\u27s Southwest. This study examined the short-term effects of a fire fighting foam and fire retardant on selected flora from Australia\u27s Southwest. Various concentrations of fire fighting foam and fire retardant were applied to seeds and seedlings of several native species. Native species were chosen for their high abundance and widespread distribution throughout Australia\u27s Southwest. Seed germination was assessed over 28 days for the number of germinants, whilst the seedlings were assessed on numerous growth characteristics over a ten-week period. Both the fire fighting foam and fire retardant treatments significantly reduced the germination of all seven species. Greater concentrations resulted in reduced seed germination. Both the 3.0% foam and 3.0% fire retardant treatments showed no sign of germination within the study period. The effect of the fire fighting foam on some native seedlings was significant, yet significant differences were inconsistent throughout the species examined and the variables applied. The fire retardant was far more influential on the growth characteristics measured and significantly affected all seven species. Significant responses included increases and decreases in biomass and improved and reduced plant health. From these results. it was determined that the use of fire retardants to control and suppress wildfires should be avoided where possible. The use of fire fighting foams between 0.1% and 0.4% foam concentrate is recommended as an ecologically sound and effective fire suppressant tool

Panax ginseng has no effect on indices of glucose regulation following acute or chronic ingestion in healthy volunteers

In the absence of effective pharmacotherapy for diabetes there has been an increase in the use of, and research into, alternative treatment strategies. These include exercise, dietary interventions and the use of supplements including extracts of ginseng. Two separate, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over studies investigating the effects of chronic ingestion of Panax ginseng (study 1 used G115, study 2 used Cheong Kwan Jang) on glycated Hb (HbA1c; study 1, n 18; study 2, n 11), fasting plasma insulin (study 1, n 17; study 2, n 12), fasting plasma glucose and postprandial response (following breakfast) (study 1, n 23; study 2, n 14) in healthy volunteers are reported. In both studies it was found that Panax ginseng had no effect on any gluco-regulatory parameter investigated. These results are not consistent with those reported for a diabetic sample (albeit using slightly different outcomes). These results would suggest that chronic use of Panax ginseng by non-diabetic individuals will have little long-term effect on glucose regulation. The benefits to glucose regulation associated with long-term ginseng use may only be present in populations with compromised glucose control; however, further research is needed to confirm such a speculation

A high-throughput, quantitative cell-based screen for efficient tailoring of RNA device activity

Recent advances have demonstrated the use of RNA-based control devices to program sophisticated cellular functions; however, the efficiency with which these devices can be quantitatively tailored has limited their broader implementation in cellular networks. Here, we developed a high-efficiency, high-throughput and quantitative two-color fluorescence-activated cell sorting-based screening strategy to support the rapid generation of ribozyme-based control devices with user-specified regulatory activities. The high-efficiency of this screening strategy enabled the isolation of a single functional sequence from a library of over 106 variants within two sorting cycles. We demonstrated the versatility of our approach by screening large libraries generated from randomizing individual components within the ribozyme device platform to efficiently isolate new device sequences that exhibit increased in vitro cleavage rates up to 10.5-fold and increased in vivo activation ratios up to 2-fold. We also identified a titratable window within which in vitro cleavage rates and in vivo gene-regulatory activities are correlated, supporting the importance of optimizing RNA device activity directly in the cellular environment. Our two-color fluorescence-activated cell sorting-based screen provides a generalizable strategy for quantitatively tailoring genetic control elements for broader integration within biological networks

A versatile cis-blocking and trans-activation strategy for ribozyme characterization

Synthetic RNA control devices that use ribozymes as gene-regulatory components have been applied to controlling cellular behaviors in response to environmental signals. Quantitative measurement of the in vitro cleavage rate constants associated with ribozyme-based devices is essential for advancing the molecular design and optimization of this class of gene-regulatory devices. One of the key challenges encountered in ribozyme characterization is the efficient generation of full-length RNA from in vitro transcription reactions, where conditions generally lead to significant ribozyme cleavage. Current methods for generating full-length ribozyme-encoding RNA rely on a trans-blocking strategy, which requires a laborious gel separation and extraction step. Here, we develop a simple two-step gel-free process including cis-blocking and trans-activation steps to support scalable generation of functional full-length ribozyme-encoding RNA. We demonstrate our strategy on various types of natural ribozymes and synthetic ribozyme devices, and the cleavage rate constants obtained for the RNA generated from our strategy are comparable with those generated through traditional methods. We further develop a rapid, label-free ribozyme cleavage assay based on surface plasmon resonance, which allows continuous, real-time monitoring of ribozyme cleavage. The surface plasmon resonance-based characterization assay will complement the versatile cis-blocking and trans-activation strategy to broadly advance our ability to characterize and engineer ribozyme-based devices

Images in cardiovascular medicine : multiphoton microscopy for three-dimensional imaging of lymphocyte recruitment into apolipoprotein-E-deficient mouse carotid artery

Two recent elegant studies have shown that in apolipoprotein-E– deficient mice, the lamina adventitia is a major site of arterial wall inflammation associated with lymphocyte infiltration into atherosclerotic arteries and with formation of adventitial lymphoid-like tissues.1,2 These results suggest that lymphocyte responses in the lamina adventitia may play a crucial role in atherosclerosis development.1,

Protein-responsive ribozyme switches in eukaryotic cells

Genetic devices that directly detect and respond to intracellular concentrations of proteins are important synthetic biology tools, supporting the design of biological systems that target, respond to or alter specific cellular states. Here, we develop ribozyme-based devices that respond to protein ligands in two eukaryotic hosts, yeast and mammalian cells, to regulate the expression of a gene of interest. Our devices allow for both gene-ON and gene-OFF response upon sensing the protein ligand. As part of our design process, we describe an in vitro characterization pipeline for prescreening device designs to identify promising candidates for in vivo testing. The in vivo gene-regulatory activities in the two types of eukaryotic cells correlate with in vitro cleavage activities determined at different physiologically relevant magnesium concentrations. Finally, localization studies with the ligand demonstrate that ribozyme switches respond to ligands present in the nucleus and/or cytoplasm, providing new insight into their mechanism of action. By extending the sensing capabilities of this important class of gene-regulatory device, our work supports the implementation of ribozyme-based devices in applications requiring the detection of protein biomarkers

Rapid Prenatal Diagnosis and Exclusion of Epidermolysis Bullosa Using Novel Antibody Probes

Prenatal diagnosis of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa was successfully achieved at 19 weeks' gestation by indirect immunofluorescence examination of a fetal skin biopsy sample using the monoclonal antibody LH 7:2. The abortus displayed marked blistering and the diagnosis was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In 3 further pregnancies at risk for lethal junctional epidermolysis bullosa the diagnosis was excluded using the polyclonal antibody AA3. In all these studies the results were available within 4h of receiving the samples. These new techniques offer a quick and simple alternative to TEM for midtrimester prenatal diagnosis of 2 severe recessive forms of epidermolysis bullosa

Nonsurgical treatment for localized hepatocellular carcinoma

The most common non-surgical approaches for the treatment of localized hepatocellular carcinoma remain hepatic artery-delivered particles laden with chemotherapy (TACE), or radioactive microparticles (TARE). External beam radiotherapy has been an effective option in many parts of the world for selected HCC patients, but now has an expanded role with stereotactic and proton beam technologies. This review focuses on existing evidence and current guidance for utilizing these modalities for localized, but unresectable, non-transplantable HCC patients

A randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of Mediterranean diet and aerobic exercise on cognition in cognitively healthy older people living independently within aged care facilities: The Lifestyle Intervention in Independent Living Aged Car

Background: The rapid ageing of the population is becoming an area of great concern, both globally and in Australia. On a societal level, the cost of supporting an ageing demographic, particularly with their associated medical requirements, is becoming an ever increasing burden that is only predicted to rise in the foreseeable future. The progressive decline in individuals\u27 cognitive ability as they age, particularly with respect to the ever increasing incidence of Alzheimer\u27s Disease (AD) and other cognitive complications, is in many respects one of the foundation stones of these concerns. There have been numerous observational studies reporting on the positive effects that aerobic exercise and the Mediterranean diet appear to have on improving cognitive ability. However, the ability of such interventions to improve cognitive ability, or even reduce the rate of cognitive ageing, has not been fully examined by substantial interventional studies within an ageing population. Methods: The LIILAC trial will investigate the potential for cognitive change in a cohort of cognitively healthy individuals, between the ages of 60 and 90 years, living in independent accommodation within Australian aged care facilities. This four-arm trial will investigate the cognitive changes which may occur as a result of the introduction of aerobic exercise and/or Mediterranean diet into individuals\u27 lifestyles, as well as the mechanisms by which these changes may be occurring. Participants will be tested at baseline and 6 months on a battery of computer based cognitive assessments, together with cardiovascular and blood biomarker assessments. The cardiovascular measures will assess changes in arterial stiffness and central pulse pressures, while the blood measures will examine changes in metabolic profiles, including brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), inflammatory factors and insulin sensitivity. Conclusion: It is hypothesised that exercise and Mediterranean diet interventions, both individually and in combination, will result in improvements in cognitive performance compared with controls. Positive findings in this research will have potential implications for the management of aged care, particularly in respect to reducing the rate of cognitive decline and the associated impacts both on the individual and the broader community