Toxicity assessment of modified Cry1Ac1 proteins and genetically modified insect-resistant Agb0101 rice

Insect-resistant Agb0101 rice was recently developed by modifying the cry1ac1 gene by changing codon usage changes relative to the native truncated cry1ac1 gene. To assess the toxicity of genetically modified Agb0101 rice, we conducted bioinfomational comparisons of the amino acid sequences that are not similar to known toxic proteins. Sufficient quantities of mCry1Ac1 protein were produced in Escherichia coli for in vitro evaluation and animal study. We compared the amino acid sequences and molecular mass. There have the same amino acid sequences and molecular masses after purifying the modified Cry1Ac1 (mCry1Ac1) protein from highly expressed bacteria and genetically modified rice were identical. We also investigated the acute and 90-days oral toxicities. No adverse effects were observed in mice following acute oral exposure to 2,000 mg/ kg body weight mCry1Ac1 protein of body weight and 90 days oral exposure to Agb0101. These results indicate that mCry1Ac1 proteins and Agb0101 rice demonstrate no adverse effects in these tests when applied via gavage and feed, respectively.Key words: Modified Cry1Ac1, food safety assessment, toxicity, insect- resistant rice Agb0101

Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities in some fruits and vegetables from Burkina Faso

Levels of total phenolic compounds (TPC), proanthocyanidins (PAs) and antioxidant activities among sixteen fruits and vegetables commonly consumed in Burkina Faso were determined. Levels of TPC ranged from 0.21 to 3.33 mg of gallic acid equivalent per gram of fresh matter. The highest contents in TPC were found in hot chili pepper, okra, lemon, spinach, onion, while the highest contents in PAs were found in spinach (3.52 mg), onion (2.35 mg), okra (1.27 mg), hot chili pepper (1.11 mg), tomato (0.54 mg) and garlic (0.46 mg). Antioxidant activities ranged from 0 to 9 μmol per gram of fresh weight, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC). The highest values of TEAC were found in garlic (9.6 μmol), okra (3 μmol), spinach (2.2 μmol), tamarind (2.2 μmol) and onion (2.1 μmol). These data revealed that, some local fruits and vegetables from Burkina Faso are potential sources of bioactive compounds.Key words: Antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds, fruits, vegetables, Burkina Faso

Facteurs de Risque, Epidémiologie et Prise en Charge de la Grossesse Extra-utérine Rompue (GEUR) au Service de Gynécologie et d’Obstétrique de l’Hôpital National Ignace Deen du CHU de Conakry en 2022

Introduction : urgence gynécologique fréquente, découverte fortuite aux urgences médicales et ou chirurgicales dans un tableau d’anémie. L’objectif de ce travail était d’étudier les facteurs de risque, épidémiologie, et prise en charge de la grossesse extra-utérine rompue au service de gynécologie et d’obstétrique de l’hôpital national Ignace Deen du CHU de Conakry en 2022. Méthodes : il s’agissait d’une étude descriptive transversale à recrutement rétrospectif. Elle a été menée au service de gynécologie et d’obstétrique de l’hôpital national Ignace Deen du CHU de Conakry du 1er janvier  2019 au 31 Décembre 2022 soit une période de trois ans. Ont été étudiées les variables se rapportant aux facteurs de risque, épidémiologie, et la prise en charge de la GEUR dans notre contexte de travail. Nous avons utilisé le logiciel Excel pour l’analyse des données. Résultats : fréquence de la GEUR dans notre étude était 1,26 % sur l’ensemble des interventions gynécologiques, les tranches d’âge les plus représentées étaient celles de 20-24 ans et 30-34 ans dans 32,69%, plus de la moitié était célibataire 69,23%, sans profession, non scolarisé respectivement 64,23% et 42,31%, primipares dans 49,04%.  Parmi les facteurs de risque (FDR) retrouvés dans notre série, figuraient les antécédents de :  l’infection génitale 46,15%, les fausses couches spontanées 10,58%, la contraception par microprogestatif 16,34%. La prise en charge a été exclusivement chirurgicale (100%), associée à la transfusion sanguine comme moyen de réanimation dans 95,16%. Conclusion : la grossesse extra-utérine rompue est une urgence médicochirurgicale fréquente, le diagnostic précoce traine les pas dans les pays à faibles ressources.   Introduction : a frequent gynecological emergency, discovered incidentally in medical and/or surgical emergencies in the setting of anemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors and management of ectopic pregnancy in the gynecology and obstetrics department of the Ignace Deen National Hospital of Conakry University Hospital in 2022. Methods : This was a descriptive study with retrospective recruitment. It was conducted at the gynecology and obstetrics department of the CHU Ignace Deen national hospital in Conakry from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022, a three-year period. Variables relating to risk factors, epidemiology and management of GEUR in our working context were studied. We used Excel software for data analysis. Results : The frequency of GEUR in our study was 1.26% of all gynaecological procedures, the most represented age groups were 20-24 and 30-34 years with 32.69%, more than half were single 69.23%, without profession, not in school respectively 64.23% and 42.31%, primiparous in 49.04%.  Among the risk factors found in our series were a history of : genital infection 46,15%, spontaneous miscarriage 10.58%, microprogestogen contraception 16.34%. Management was exclusively surgical (100%), associated with blood transfusion as a means of resuscitation in 95.16% Conclusion : Ruptured ectopic pregnancy is a frequent medico-surgical emergency, early diagnosis is lagging behind in low-resource countries

Ultrafast valley-resolved carrier dynamics in group IV semiconductors

Attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy at the M4,5-edge of Ge following ultrafast photoexcitation reveals valley-resolved hot electron and hole relaxation, carrier recombination and trapping in Ge and Si-Ge alloy in unprecedented clarity and simultaneously

Coarse-grained reconfigurable array architectures

Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Array (CGRA) architectures accelerate the same inner loops that benefit from the high ILP support in VLIW architectures. By executing non-loop code on other cores, however, CGRAs can focus on such loops to execute them more efficiently. This chapter discusses the basic principles of CGRAs, and the wide range of design options available to a CGRA designer, covering a large number of existing CGRA designs. The impact of different options on flexibility, performance, and power-efficiency is discussed, as well as the need for compiler support. The ADRES CGRA design template is studied in more detail as a use case to illustrate the need for design space exploration, for compiler support and for the manual fine-tuning of source code

Duodenal enteroglucagonoma revealed by differential comparison of serum and tissue glucagon reactivity with Siemens' Double Glucagon Antibody and DakoCytomation's Polyclonal Rabbit Anti-Human Glucagon: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>This case report demonstrates that the differential immunohistochemical reactivities of Siemens' <it>Double Antibody Glucagon </it>compared to DakoCytomation's <it>Polyclonal Rabbit Anti-Human Glucagon </it>allow for pathologic distinction of enteral versus pancreatic glucagonoma.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 64-year-old Caucasian man was diagnosed with a duodenal enteroglucagonoma following presentation with obstructive jaundice. He had a low serum glucagon level using Siemens' <it>Double Antibody Glucagon</it>, a clinical syndrome consistent with glucagon hypersecretion. A periampullary mass biopsy proved to be a neuroendocrine tumor, with positive immunohistochemical reactivity to DakoCytomation's <it>Polyclonal Rabbit Anti-Human Glucagon</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Differential comparison of the immunohistochemical reactivities of Siemens' <it>Double Antibody Glucagon </it>and DakoCytomation's <it>Polyclonal Rabbit Anti-Human Glucagon </it>discerns enteroglucagon from pancreatic glucagon.</p

Effect of preoperative thoracic duct drainage on canine kidney transplantation

Chronic drainage of the thoracic duct to the esophagus was developed in dogs, and its efficacy in immunomodulation was tested using kidney transplantation. Compared to 9.7 days in the control, the mean animal survival was prolonged to 9.9 days, 17.8 days, and 18.5 days when TDD was applied preoperatively for 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 9 weeks, respectively. Prolongation was significant after 6 weeks. Patency of the fistula was 93.5, 80.4, and 76.1% at respective weeks. Number of peripheral T-lymphocytes determined by a new monoclonal antibody diminished after 3 weeks. All animals were in normal health, requiring no special care for fluid, electrolyte, or protein replacement

Klebsiella pneumoniae is able to trigger epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in cultured airway epithelial cells

The ability of some bacterial pathogens to activate Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition normally is a consequence of the persistence of a local chronic inflammatory response or depends on a direct interaction of the pathogens with the host epithelial cells. In this study we monitored the abilities of the K. pneumoniae to activate the expression of genes related to EMT-like processes and the occurrence of phenotypic changes in airway epithelial cells during the early steps of cell infection. We describe changes in the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and increased HIF-1α mRNA expression in cells exposed to K. pneumoniae infection. We also describe the upregulation of a set of transcription factors implicated in the EMT processes, such as Twist, Snail and ZEB, indicating that the morphological changes of epithelial cells already appreciable after few hours from the K. pneumoniae infection are tightly regulated by the activation of transcriptional pathways, driving epithelial cells to EMT. These effects appear to be effectively counteracted by resveratrol, an antioxidant that is able to exert a sustained scavenging of the intracellular ROS. This is the first report indicating that strains of K. pneumoniae may promote EMT-like programs through direct interaction with epithelial cells without the involvement of inflammatory cells