Transformation of Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense by Rhizobium rhizogenes: Hairy root induction and gossypol production

Gossypol and its methylated derivatives are produced in the leaves, seeds, stems, and roots of cotton plants. Although gossypol is toxic to many animals, other uses for gossypol are actively being investigated. To develop an experimental model for gossypol biosynthesis, a project to produce hairy root cultures from cotton was initiated. Hairy root cultures from two cotton species, Gossypium hirsutum (DPL 90) and Gossypium barbadense (Sea Island) were developed in this study. Gossypol was synthesized and retained by hairy root tissue at levels similar to that found in cottonseed. Cultures originating from a single transformation event were more similar in their gossypol levels than cultures originating from different transformation events. The effects of media composition, temperature, and addition of elicitors and a signal transducer on culture growth rate and gossypol content were also monitored. The hairy root culture system developed by this project is a suitable model for studying gossypol biosynthesis and nematode resistance

Living Values through the Center for Social Justice and Public Service

According to a 2012 American Bar Association study, at least 40 percent of low- and moderate-income households experience a legal problem each year. Yet studies show that the collective legal aid effort is meeting only about 20 percent of the legal needs of low-income people.1 Unlike defendants in criminal cases, low-income parties in most civil proceedings have no right to appointed counsel.2Low-income parties’ legal needs often go unmet when potential litigants are without resources to hire an attorney. The Santa Clara Law Center for Social Justice and Public Service tries to address this justice gap in many ways, but especially by educating students to work with underserved communities and facilitating avenues for students to engage in public service work, thus increasing available representation to marginalized, subordinated, and underrepresented clients and causes. Although the responsibility to help others is universal, the call has a meaning that is inextricably tied to the admonishment in Leviticus 25:35, “uphold him”—we are to help others. Santa Clara School of Law’s commitment to educating lawyers of “conscience, competence, and compassion” highlights Jesuit, Christian values, which are also Jewish values.

How do exercise and diet compare for weight loss?

Exercise alone produces short-term weight loss that is comparable with that induced by diet, after which a plateau in weight loss appears to occur (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B). Exercise in combination with diet promotes maintenance of weight loss above either intervention alone in both obese and overweight men and women (SOR: A). Exercise-induced weight loss has been shown to preferentially reduce abdominal fat and increase lean skeletal muscle compared with that induced by diet (SOR: B)

Perceptions Of Parenting And College Student Alcohol Use

Many college students consume alcohol and experience negative consequences. Research has shown that in addition to peer influences, parenting practices are associated with alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences among college students. However, previous research has not examined the multitude of possible parenting variables in a single study. The present study examined the predictive utility of perceptions of parental monitoring, permissiveness, and modeling as well as specific parental disciplining responses in relation to college student alcohol use and related consequences above and beyond perception of peers. College student participants (N = 290; 67.3% female) reported on their alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences as well as perceptions of their parents’ parenting behavior and their peers’ drinking. After controlling for perception of peers, parental monitoring remained significant for both quantity-frequency and alcohol-related consequences, and permissiveness remained significant for alcohol-related consequences. The present findings are discussed in relation to previous research and implications for parent-based interventions. The present study is limited due to use of a cross-sectional methodology and self-report measures

Extravascular lung water in patients with severe sepsis: a prospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION: Few investigations have prospectively examined extravascular lung water (EVLW) in patients with severe sepsis. We sought to determine whether EVLW may contribute to lung injury in these patients by quantifying the relationship of EVLW to parameters of lung injury, to determine the effects of chronic alcohol abuse on EVLW, and to determine whether EVLW may be a useful tool in the diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). METHODS: The present prospective cohort study was conducted in consecutive patients with severe sepsis from a medical intensive care unit in an urban university teaching hospital. In each patient, transpulmonary thermodilution was used to measure cardiovascular hemodynamics and EVLW for 7 days via an arterial catheter placed within 72 hours of meeting criteria for severe sepsis. RESULTS: A total of 29 patients were studied. Twenty-five of the 29 patients (86%) were mechanically ventilated, 15 of the 29 patients (52%) developed ARDS, and overall 28-day mortality was 41%. Eight out of 14 patients (57%) with non-ARDS severe sepsis had high EVLW with significantly greater hypoxemia than did those patient with low EVLW (mean arterial oxygen tension/fractional inspired oxygen ratio 230.7 ± 36.1 mmHg versus 341.2 ± 92.8 mmHg; P < 0.001). Four out of 15 patients with severe sepsis with ARDS maintained a low EVLW and had better 28-day survival than did ARDS patients with high EVLW (100% versus 36%; P = 0.03). ARDS patients with a history of chronic alcohol abuse had greater EVLW than did nonalcoholic patients (19.9 ml/kg versus 8.7 ml/kg; P < 0.0001). The arterial oxygen tension/fractional inspired oxygen ratio, lung injury score, and chest radiograph scores correlated with EVLW (r(2 )= 0.27, r(2 )= 0.18, and r(2 )= 0.28, respectively; all P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: More than half of the patients with severe sepsis but without ARDS had increased EVLW, possibly representing subclinical lung injury. Chronic alcohol abuse was associated with increased EVLW, whereas lower EVLW was associated with survival. EVLW correlated moderately with the severity of lung injury but did not account for all respiratory derangements. EVLW may improve both risk stratification and management of patients with severe sepsis

Study Protocol of Coaching End-of-Life Palliative Care for Advanced Heart Failure Patients and Their family Caregivers in Rural Appalachia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Heart failure (HF) afflicts 6.5 million Americans with devastating consequences to patients and their family caregivers. Families are rarely prepared for worsening HF and are not informed about end-of-life and palliative care (EOLPC) conservative comfort options especially during the end stage. West Virginia (WV) has the highest rate of HF deaths in the U.S. where 14% of the population over 65 years have HF. Thus, there is a need to investigate a new family EOLPC intervention (FamPALcare), where nurses coach family-managed advanced HF care at home. Methods This study uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design stratified by gender to determine any differences in the FamPALcare HF patients and their family caregiver outcomes versus standard care group outcomes (N = 72). Aim 1 is to test the FamPALcare nursing care intervention with patients and family members managing home supportive EOLPC for advanced HF. Aim 2 is to assess implementation of the FamPALcare intervention and research procedures for subsequent clinical trials. Intervention group will receive routine standard care, plus 5-weekly FamPALcare intervention delivered by community-based nurses. The intervention sessions involve coaching patients and family caregivers in advanced HF home care and supporting EOLPC discussions based on patients’ preferences. Data are collected at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Recruitment is from sites affiliated with a large regional hospital in WV and community centers across the state. Discussion The outcomes of this clinical trial will result in new knowledge on coaching techniques for EOLPC and approaches to palliative and end-of-life rural home care. The HF population in WV will benefit from a reduction in suffering from the most common advanced HF symptoms, selecting their preferred EOLPC care options, determining their advance directives, and increasing skills and resources for advanced HF home care. The study will provide a long-term collaboration with rural community leaders, and collection of data on the implementation and research procedures for a subsequent large multi-site clinical trial of the FamPALcare intervention. Multidisciplinary students have opportunity to engage in the research process. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04153890, Registered on 4 November 201

Self-assembled peptide habitats to model tumor metastasis

Metastatic tumours are complex ecosystems; a community of multiple cell types, including cancerous cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells that exist within a supportive and specific microenvironment. The interplay of these cells, together with tissue specific chemical, structural and temporal signals within a three-dimensional (3D) habitat, direct tumour cell behavior, a subtlety that can be easily lost in 2D tissue culture. Here, we investigate a significantly improved tool, consisting of a novel matrix of functionally programmed peptide sequences, self-assembled into a scaffold to enable the growth and the migration of multicellular lung tumour spheroids, as proof-of-concept. This 3D functional model aims to mimic the biological, chemical, and contextual cues of an in vivo tumor more closely than a typically used, unstructured hydrogel, allowing spatial and temporal activity modelling. This approach shows promise as a cancer model, enhancing current understandings of how tumours progress and spread over time within their microenvironment. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland