Direct observation of ordered trimers on Si(111)√3×√3 R30°-Au by scanned-energy glancing-angle Kikuchi electron wave-front reconstruction

We report the first atomically resolved images of ordered Au trimers on Si(111)√3×√3R30°-Au using wave-front reconstruction of scanned-energy glancing-angle Kikuchi electron spectra. Each Au image has a resolution (full width at half magnitude) of less than 1 Å . The images indicate that Au trimers are ordered and nonrotated within the surface plane and with respect to the second-layer Si plane providing direct evidence of the conjugate honeycomb-chained-trimer model for the Au-√3 system. © 1996 The American Physical Society.published_or_final_versio

Solution Structure of Tensin2 SH2 Domain and Its Phosphotyrosine-Independent Interaction with DLC-1

Background: Src homology 2 (SH2) domain is a conserved module involved in various biological processes. Tensin family member was reported to be involved in tumor suppression by interacting with DLC-1 (deleted-in-liver-cancer-1) via its SH2 domain. We explore here the important questions that what the structure of tensin2 SH2 domain is, and how it binds to DLC-1, which might reveal a novel binding mode. Principal Findings: Tensin2 SH2 domain adopts a conserved SH2 fold that mainly consists of five b-strands flanked by two a-helices. Most SH2 domains recognize phosphorylated ligands specifically. However, tensin2 SH2 domain was identified to interact with nonphosphorylated ligand (DLC-1) as well as phosphorylated ligand. Conclusions: We determined the solution structure of tensin2 SH2 domain using NMR spectroscopy, and revealed the interactions between tensin2 SH2 domain and its ligands in a phosphotyrosine-independent manner

Gene Expression in Chicken Reveals Correlation with Structural Genomic Features and Conserved Patterns of Transcription in the Terrestrial Vertebrates

Background - The chicken is an important agricultural and avian-model species. A survey of gene expression in a range of different tissues will provide a benchmark for understanding expression levels under normal physiological conditions in birds. With expression data for birds being very scant, this benchmark is of particular interest for comparative expression analysis among various terrestrial vertebrates. Methodology/Principal Findings - We carried out a gene expression survey in eight major chicken tissues using whole genome microarrays. A global picture of gene expression is presented for the eight tissues, and tissue specific as well as common gene expression were identified. A Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis showed that tissue-specific genes are enriched with GO terms reflecting the physiological functions of the specific tissue, and housekeeping genes are enriched with GO terms related to essential biological functions. Comparisons of structural genomic features between tissue-specific genes and housekeeping genes show that housekeeping genes are more compact. Specifically, coding sequence and particularly introns are shorter than genes that display more variation in expression between tissues, and in addition intergenic space was also shorter. Meanwhile, housekeeping genes are more likely to co-localize with other abundantly or highly expressed genes on the same chromosomal regions. Furthermore, comparisons of gene expression in a panel of five common tissues between birds, mammals and amphibians showed that the expression patterns across tissues are highly similar for orthologuous genes compared to random gene pairs within each pair-wise comparison, indicating a high degree of functional conservation in gene expression among terrestrial vertebrates. Conclusions - The housekeeping genes identified in this study have shorter gene length, shorter coding sequence length, shorter introns, and shorter intergenic regions, there seems to be selection pressure on economy in genes with a wide tissue distribution, i.e. these genes are more compact. A comparative analysis showed that the expression patterns of orthologous genes are conserved in the terrestrial vertebrates during evolutio

Working Group Report: Heavy-Ion Physics and Quark-Gluon Plasma

This is the report of Heavy Ion Physics and Quark-Gluon Plasma at WHEPP-09 which was part of Working Group-4. Discussion and work on some aspects of Quark-Gluon Plasma believed to have created in heavy-ion collisions and in early universe are reported.Comment: 20 pages, 6 eps figures, Heavy-ion physics and QGP activity report in "IX Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-09)" held in Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India, during January 3-14, 2006. To be published in PRAMANA - Journal of Physics (Indian Academy of Science

Genome-wide association study identifies single-nucleotide polymorphism in KCNB1 associated with left ventricular mass in humans: The HyperGEN Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and validation study for left ventricular (LV) mass in the Family Blood Pressure Program – HyperGEN population. LV mass is a sensitive predictor of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in all genders, races, and ages. Polymorphisms of candidate genes in diverse pathways have been associated with LV mass. However, subsequent studies have often failed to replicate these associations. Genome-wide association studies have unprecedented power to identify potential genes with modest effects on left LV mass. We describe here a GWAS for LV mass in Caucasians using the Affymetrix GeneChip Human Mapping 100 k Set. Cases (N = 101) and controls (N = 101) were selected from extreme tails of the LV mass index distribution from 906 individuals in the HyperGEN study. Eleven of 12 promising (<it>Q </it>< 0.8) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the genome-wide study were successfully genotyped using quantitative real time PCR in a validation study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Despite the relatively small sample, we identified 12 promising SNPs in the GWAS. Eleven SNPs were successfully genotyped in the validation study of 704 Caucasians and 1467 African Americans; 5 SNPs on chromosomes 5, 12, and 20 were significantly (<it>P </it>≤ 0.05) associated with LV mass after correction for multiple testing. One SNP (rs756529) is intragenic within <it>KCNB1</it>, which is dephosphorylated by calcineurin, a previously reported candidate gene for LV hypertrophy within this population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest <it>KCNB1 </it>may be involved in the development of LV hypertrophy in humans.</p

Retrograde trafficking of β-dystroglycan from the plasma membrane to the nucleus

β-Dystroglycan (β-DG) is a transmembrane protein with critical roles in cell adhesion, cytoskeleton remodeling and nuclear architecture. This functional diversity is attributed to the ability of β-DG to target to, and conform specific protein assemblies at the plasma membrane (PM) and nuclear envelope (NE). Although a classical NLS and importin α/β mediated nuclear import pathway has already been described for β-DG, the intracellular trafficking route by which β-DG reaches the nucleus is unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that β-DG undergoes retrograde intracellular trafficking from the PM to the nucleus via the endosome-ER network. Furthermore, we provided evidence indicating that the translocon complex Sec61 mediates the release of β-DG from the ER membrane, making it accessible for importins and nuclear import. Finally, we show that phosphorylation of β-DG at Tyr890 is a key stimulus for β-DG nuclear translocation. Collectively our data describe the retrograde intracellular trafficking route that β-DG follows from PM to the nucleus. This dual role for a cell adhesion receptor permits the cell to functionally connect the PM with the nucleus and represents to our knowledge the first example of a cell adhesion receptor exhibiting retrograde nuclear trafficking and having dual roles in PM and NE

Behavior and Impact of Zirconium in the Soil–Plant System: Plant Uptake and Phytotoxicity

Because of the large number of sites they pollute, toxic metals that contaminate terrestrial ecosystems are increasingly of environmental and sanitary concern (Uzu et al. 2010, 2011; Shahid et al. 2011a, b, 2012a). Among such metals is zirconium (Zr), which has the atomic number 40 and is a transition metal that resembles titanium in physical and chemical properties (Zaccone et al. 2008). Zr is widely used in many chemical industry processes and in nuclear reactors (Sandoval et al. 2011; Kamal et al. 2011), owing to its useful properties like hardness, corrosion-resistance and permeable to neutrons (Mushtaq 2012). Hence, the recent increased use of Zr by industry, and the occurrence of the Chernobyl and Fukashima catastrophe have enhanced environmental levels in soil and waters (Yirchenko and Agapkina 1993; Mosulishvili et al. 1994 ; Kruglov et al. 1996)

Comparison between clinical significance of serum proinflammatory proteins (IL-6 and CRP) and classic tumor markers (CEA and CA 19-9) in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is a second most common cause of cancer-related death and represents an inflammation-driven malignancy. It has been suggested that interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) play a potential role in the growth and progression of GC. The aim of the present study was to compare clinical significance of IL-6 and CRP with classic tumor markers—carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA 19-9) in GC patients. The study included 92 patients with GC and 70 healthy subjects. The serum concentrations of IL-6, CEA and CA 19-9 were determined using immunoenzyme assays, whereas CRP using immunoturbidimetric method. We defined the diagnostic criteria and prognostic value for proteins tested. In GC patients, the serum concentrations of all the proteins tested were significantly higher than in healthy subjects. The IL-6, CEA and CA 19-9 levels correlated with nodal metastases, while CRP with tumor stage, gastric wall invasion, presence of nodal and distant metastases. Diagnostic sensitivity of IL-6 was higher (85%) than those of other markers (CRP 66%, CA 19-9 34%, CEA 22%) and increased in combined use with CRP or CEA (88%). The area under ROC curve for IL-6 was larger than those of CRP and classic tumor markers (CEA and CA 19-9). None of the proteins tested was independent prognostic factor for the survival of GC patients. Our findings indicate better usefulness of serum proinflammatory proteins—IL-6 and CRP than classic tumor markers—CEA and CA 19-9 in the diagnosis of GC

Intramyocardial Transplantation of Undifferentiated Rat Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Causes Tumorigenesis in the Heart

BACKGROUND: Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a novel candidate for use in cardiac stem cell therapy. However, their intrinsic tumorigenicity requires further investigation prior to use in a clinical setting. In this study we investigated whether undifferentiated iPSCs are tumorigenic after intramyocardial transplantation into immunocompetent allogeneic recipients. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We transplanted 2 × 10(4), 2 × 10(5), or 2 × 10(6) cells from the established rat iPSC line M13 intramyocardially into intact or infarcted hearts of immunocompetent allogeneic rats. Transplant duration was 2, 4, or 6 weeks. Histological examination with hematoxylin-eosin staining confirmed that undifferentiated rat iPSCs could generate heterogeneous tumors in both intracardiac and extracardiac sites. Furthermore, tumor incidence was independent of cell dose, transplant duration, and the presence or absence of myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study demonstrates that allogeneic iPSC transplantation in the heart will likely result in in situ tumorigenesis, and that cells leaked from the beating heart are a potential source of tumor spread, underscoring the importance of evaluating the safety of future iPSC therapy for cardiac disease