OverPlotter: A Utility for Herschel Data Processing

The OverPlotter utility is a GUI tool written in Java to support interactive data processing (DP) and analysis for the Herschel Space Observatory within the framework of the Herschel Common Science System (HCSS)(Wieprecht et al 2004). The tool expands upon the capabilities of the TableViewer (Zhang & Schulz 2005), providing now also the means to create additional overlays of sev- eral X/Y scatter plots within the same display area. These layers can be scaled and panned, either individually, or together as one graph. Visual comparison of data with different origins and units becomes much easier. The number of available layers is not limited, except by computer memory and performance. Presentation images can be easily created by adding annotations, labeling layers and setting colors. The tool will be very helpful especially in the early phases of Herschel data analysis, when a quick access to contents of data products is important

(E)-(2,4-Dichloro­benzyl­idene)amino cyclo­propane­carboxyl­ate

In the title compound C11H9Cl2NO2, the dihedral angle between the benzene and cyclo­propane ring planes is 89.95 (13)°. The carbon­yl–oxime grouping is almost coplanar with the benzene ring [dihedral angle = 4.08 (6)°]. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O inter­actions into [100] chains

Novel effects of piperlogumine on uterine fibroid tumor: An in vitro mouse model study

Purpose: To investigate the in vivo anti-tumor effect of piperlongumine (PL) in a mouse model of leiomyoma xenograft and in leiomyoma cell lines. Methods: The anti-proliferative effect of PL on ELT-3 cells was determined using MTT assay. Human and rat leiomyoma cells were used for the in vitro investigations. Rat leiomyoma cell lines were treated with various PL concentrations (50 - 100 μM)) for 48 h. Immunodeficient mice were subcutaneously injected with varying doses of estrogen or progesterone, and xenografted with explanting human leiomyoma cells in in vivo experiments. Proliferation assessment, caspase-3 expression, analysis of tumour samples, insertion of pellets of oestrogen-progesterone, tissue treatment and implantation, and immuno-histochemical analyses were carried out using appropriate procedures. Results: Piperlongumine (PL) produced significant and dose-dependent increase in caspase-3 activity, apoptosis and suppression of cellular proliferation (p < 0.01). Moreover, Western blot data demonstrated that PL decreased phosphorylation of Akt signaling pathway. The results showed significant (p < 0.01) inhibition of tumor growth, including in ultra-sound in vivo studies, when compared with 30-day control and animals treated with PL (100 μg/g). Immuno-histochemical studies showed that PL decreased the expression of proliferation marker in xenografted tumor tissues (p < 0.02). Conclusion: These results suggest that piperlongumine has potentials as a therapeutic agent for the management of uterine leiomyoma. However, additional studies using human cell lines are required to understand its genetic and molecular mechanisms

Prompting Fab Yeast Surface Display Efficiency by ER Retention and Molecular Chaperon Co-expression.

For antibody discovery and engineering, yeast surface display (YSD) of antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) and coupled fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) provide intact paratopic conformations and quantitative analysis at the monoclonal level, and thus holding great promises for numerous applications. Using anti-TNFα mAbs Infliximab, Adalimumab, and its variants as model Fabs, this study systematically characterized complementary approaches for the optimization of Fab YSD. Results suggested that by using divergent promoter GAL1-GAL10 and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) signal peptides for co-expression of light chain and heavy chain-Aga2 fusion, assembled Fabs were functionally displayed on yeast cell surface with sigmoidal binding responses toward TNFα. Co-expression of a Hsp70 family molecular chaperone Kar2p and/or protein-disulfide isomerase (Pdi1p) significantly improved efficiency of functional display (defined as the ratio of cells displaying functional Fab over cells displaying assembled Fab). Moreover, fusing ER retention sequences (ERSs) with light chain also enhanced Fab display quality at the expense of display quantity, and the degree of improvements was correlated with the strength of ERSs and was more significant for Infliximab than Adalimumab. The feasibility of affinity maturation was further demonstrated by isolating a high affinity Fab clone from 1:103 or 1:105 spiked libraries

Full-length enriched multistage cDNA library construction covering floral bud development in Populus tomentosa

Flowering involves expression of a suite of genes associated with floral development. The genome of the Chinese white poplar (Populus trichocarpa) was sequenced because of its importance as a model tree for genetic studies as well as being an economically important woody plant. However, information on expressed genes involved in poplar floral bud development is insufficient to allow annotation of genes and use of the genomic information. To isolate and characterize genes involved in flowering of Populus tomentosa, floral bud samples were collected at different developmental stages from floral bud initiation to flower maturity, and full-length enriched cDNA libraries from both male and female floral buds were constructed. The results of titer analysis showed that the titer of the female and male primary libraries were 8.00 × 105 and 7.20 × 105 pfu/ml, respectively, and the titer of the amplified libraries were 2.60 × 108 and 2.56 × 108 pfu/ml, respectively. The combination ratio reached 90% and the insert size was 400 to 2000 bp. The results indicated that cDNA libraries were successfully constructed.Keywords: cDNA library, floral bud, flowering, Populus tomentosaAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(29), pp. 7373-7377, 10 April, 201