Histomorphometrical study of gonads in the endemic cyprinid fish, Cyprinion tenuiradius Heckel, 1847 (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae)

To describe the morphological and histological changes during the annual reproductive cycle of the gonads of Cyprinion tenuiradius, a total of 341 specimens (102 female and 235 male specimens) were collected monthly from the Rudbal River (in the Qarah Aghaj sub-basin, the Persian Gulf basin), Firuzabad, Fars Province, southern Iran. The randomly sampling was adequate to collect males and females at the immature, mature, spawning-active, and non-active phases of reproduction. Five ovarian and five testicular maturation stages (I–V) were described using macroscopic and light and electron microscopic criteria. Also based on the histological examination, six types of ovarian follicles (A-F) and five types of testicular cells were designated. The largest ovarian follicles were found in the stage V of ovarian developmental stages in females with mean body weight and standard length of 22.27 g and 95.13 mm, respectively. The highest number of sperms was observed in the stage V of testicular developmental stages in males with mean body weight of 25.67 g and mean standard length of 97.83 mm. Based on the percentage of late ovary and testis maturation stages (IV, V) and high frequency of large oocytes and sperms it was concluded that the Qarah Aghaj botak spawns once a year during spring and the beginning of summer from April to July

Effect of Salicylic Acid Foliar Application on Physiological Indices and Induction of Terminal Heat Stress Tolerance of Quinoa in Ahvaz

IntroductionQuinoa (Chenopodium quinoa L.) is a dicotyledonous, allotetraploid, three-carbon, annual, optional salt-loving plant and is native to South America and the Andean highlands. The growth period of the plant varies between 70 and 240 days depending on the cultivated area. The main product of this plant is the seed, which has a high nutritional value in terms of protein, amino acid balance, unsaturated fat, vitamins, and minerals. Like other plants, quinoa faces various environmental stresses during its growth period, and its growth and yield are a function of environmental factors and their mutual effects. The occurrence of high temperatures during the sensitive stages of plant growth, such as flowering and seed formation, may cause a significant decrease in quinoa yield, and high temperature has been cited as one of the most important challenges for the cultivation and expansion of quinoa in the world. Salicylic acid acts as a signal molecule and plays an important role in regulating growth and development processes in plants under environmental stress. Salicylic acid increases the content of relative humidity, accumulation of dry matter, and the amount of chlorophyll.Materials and MethodsThe objective of this research is to assess the physiological responses of quinoa cultivars to varying planting dates and the impact of foliar application of salicylic acid in mitigating the adverse effects of end-of-season heat stress during the 2021-2022 crop year. The study was conducted at the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, using a split-split plot design within a randomized complete block framework, with three replications. In this experiment, three factors a) planting date including October 12, November 11, and December 11, and b) foliar application of salicylic acid in the two stages of budding and the beginning of flowering including non-application, 1.5 mM and 3 mM and c) Quinoa cultivars including Titicaca, Giza, Q12 and Redcarin were investigated.Results and DiscussionThe effect of investigated factors such as planting date, salicylic acid, and variety on different traits had statistically significant differences. The results showed that the maximum amount of stomatal conductance and the relative content of leaf water belonged to the date of October 12. The highest biological yield and seed yield were observed under conditions of application of 1.5 and 3 mM salicylic acid, respectively. Probably, salicylic acid has increased the growth and accumulation of dry matter by improving carbon fixation, synthesis of metabolites, and maintaining the water status of plant tissues. Based on the results of the comparison of the mean of the three-way interaction, the maximum amount of biological yield and seed as the most important goals of quinoa plant cultivation, respectively, in the treatment of not using salicylic acid in the Redcarin cultivar on the planting date of December 11 and the application of 3 mM salicylic acid was obtained in the variety Redcarin on the planting date of October 12. The highest rate of net assimilation and the growth rate of the product belonged to the treatments of no application of salicylic acid in the Redcarin cultivar on December 11 and no application of salicylic acid in the Giza cultivar on October 12, respectively. The treatment of not using salicylic acid in the Redcarin variety on the planting date of October 12 was also able to achieve a high harvest index.Conclusion According to the obtained results, it seems that to achieve a high seed yield of quinoa, it is possible to benefit from the treatment of 3 mM salicylic acid in the Redcarin variety on the planting date of October 12

Pot, kettle: Nonliteral titles aren’t (natural) science

© 2020 The Author. Published by MIT Press. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00078Researchers may be tempted to attract attention through poetic titles for their publications, but would this be mistaken in some fields? Whilst poetic titles are known to be common in medicine, it is not clear whether the practice is widespread elsewhere. This article investigates the prevalence of poetic expressions in journal article titles 1996-2019 in 3.3 million articles from all 27 Scopus broad fields. Expressions were identified by manually checking all phrases with at least 5 words that occurred at least 25 times, finding 149 stock phrases, idioms, sayings, literary allusions, film names and song titles or lyrics. The expressions found are most common in the social sciences and the humanities. They are also relatively common in medicine, but almost absent from engineering and the natural and formal sciences. The differences may reflect the less hierarchical and more varied nature of the social sciences and humanities, where interesting titles may attract an audience. In engineering, natural science and formal science fields, authors should take extra care with poetic expressions, in case their choice is judged inappropriate. This includes interdisciplinary research overlapping these areas. Conversely, reviewers of interdisciplinary research involving the social sciences should be more tolerant of poetic licens

Substrate-Trapped Interactors of PHD3 and FIH Cluster in Distinct Signaling Pathways

Amino acid hydroxylation is a post-translational modification that regulates intra- and inter-molecular protein-protein interactions. The modifications are regulated by a family of 2-oxoglutarate- (2OG) dependent enzymes and, although the biochemistry is well understood, until now only a few substrates have been described for these enzymes. Using quantitative interaction proteomics, we screened for substrates of the proline hydroxylase PHD3 and the asparagine hydroxylase FIH, which regulate the HIF-mediated hypoxic response. We were able to identify hundreds of potential substrates. Enrichment analysis revealed that the potential substrates of both hydroxylases cluster in the same pathways but frequently modify different nodes of signaling networks. We confirm that two proteins identified in our screen, MAPK6 (Erk3) and RIPK4, are indeed hydroxylated in a FIH- or PHD3-dependent mechanism. We further determined that FIH-dependent hydroxylation regulates RIPK4-dependent Wnt signaling, and that PHD3-dependent hydroxylation of MAPK6 protects the protein from proteasomal degradation.European Commission - Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)Science Foundation IrelandUniversity College DublinCancer Research UKPRIMES Projec

Substrate-Trapped Interactors of PHD3 and FIH Cluster in Distinct Signaling Pathways

Amino acid hydroxylation is a post-translational modification that regulates intra- and inter-molecular protein-protein interactions. The modifications are regulated by a family of 2-oxoglutarate- (2OG) dependent enzymes and, although the biochemistry is well understood, until now only a few substrates have been described for these enzymes. Using quantitative interaction proteomics, we screened for substrates of the proline hydroxylase PHD3 and the asparagine hydroxylase FIH, which regulate the HIF-mediated hypoxic response. We were able to identify hundreds of potential substrates. Enrichment analysis revealed that the potential substrates of both hydroxylases cluster in the same pathways but frequently modify different nodes of signaling networks. We confirm that two proteins identified in our screen, MAPK6 (Erk3) and RIPK4, are indeed hydroxylated in a FIH- or PHD3-dependent mechanism. We further determined that FIH-dependent hydroxylation regulates RIPK4-dependent Wnt signaling, and that PHD3-dependent hydroxylation of MAPK6 protects the protein from proteasomal degradation.European Commission - Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)Science Foundation IrelandUniversity College DublinCancer Research UKPRIMES Projec

Implementing Reverse Phase Protein Array Profiling as a Sensitive Method for the Early Pre-Clinical Detection of Off-Target Toxicities Associated with Sunitinib Malate

Item does not contain fulltextPURPOSE: The tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) sunitinib is a multi-targeted agent approved across multiple cancer indications. Nevertheless, since approval, data has emerged to describe a worrisome side effect profile including hypertension, hand-foot syndrome, fatigue, diarrhea, mucositis, proteinuria, and (rarely) congestive heart failure. It has been hypothesized that the observed multi-parameter toxicity profile is related to "on-target" kinase inhibition in "off-target" tissues. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: To interrogate off-target effects in pre-clinical studies, a reverse phase protein array (RPPA) approach is employed. Mice are treated with sunitinib (40 mg kg(-1) ) for 4 weeks, following which critical organs are removed. The Zeptosens RPPA platform is employed for protein expression analysis. RESULTS: Differentially expressed proteins associated with damage and/or stress are found in the majority of organs from treated animals. Proteins differentially expressed in the heart are associated with myocardial hypertrophy, ischaemia/reperfusion, and hypoxia. However, hypertrophy is not evidenced on histology. Mild proteinuria is observed; however, no changes in renal glomerular structure are visible via electron microscopy. In skin, proteins associated with cutaneous inflammation, keratinocyte hyper-proliferation, and increased inflammatory response are differentially expressed. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: It is posited that pre-clinical implementation of a combined histopathological/RPPA approach provides a sensitive method to mechanistically elucidate the early manifestation of TKI on-target/organ off-target toxicities