Novel Cellulose-Binding-Domain Protein in Phytophthora Is Cell Wall Localized

Cellulose binding domains (CBD) in the carbohydrate binding module family 1 (CBM1) are structurally conserved regions generally linked to catalytic regions of cellulolytic enzymes. While widespread amongst saprophytic fungi that subsist on plant cell wall polysaccharides, they are absent amongst most plant pathogenic fungal cellulases. A genome wide survey for CBM1 was performed on the highly destructive plant pathogen Phytophthora infestans, a fungal-like Stramenopile, to determine if it harbored cellulolytic enzymes with CBM1. Only five genes were found to encode CBM1, and none were associated with catalytic domains. Surveys of other genomes indicated that the CBM1-containing proteins, lacking other domains, represent a unique group of proteins largely confined to the Stramenopiles. Immunolocalization of one of these proteins, CBD1, indicated that it is embedded in the hyphal cell wall. Proteins with CBM1 domains can have plant host elicitor activity, but tests with Agrobacterium-mediated in planta expression and synthetic peptide infiltration failed to identify plant hypersensitive elicitation with CBD1. A structural basis for differential elicitor activity is proposed

The CAZyome of Phytophthora spp.: A comprehensive analysis of the gene complement coding for carbohydrate-active enzymes in species of the genus Phytophthora

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism include Carbohydrate esterases (CE), Glycoside hydrolases (GH), Glycosyl transferases (GT), and Polysaccharide lyases (PL), commonly referred to as carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes). The CE, GH, and PL superfamilies are also known as cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDE) due to their role in the disintegration of the plant cell wall by bacterial and fungal pathogens. In <it>Phytophthora infestans</it>, penetration of the plant cells occurs through a specialized hyphal structure called appressorium; however, it is likely that members of the genus <it>Phytophthora </it>also use CWDE for invasive growth because hyphal forces are below the level of tensile strength exhibited by the plant cell wall. Because information regarding the frequency and distribution of CAZyme coding genes in <it>Phytophthora </it>is currently unknown, we have scanned the genomes of <it>P. infestans, P. sojae</it>, and <it>P. ramorum </it>for the presence of CAZyme-coding genes using a homology-based approach and compared the gene collinearity in the three genomes. In addition, we have tested the expression of several genes coding for CE in cultures grown <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have found that <it>P. infestans, P. sojae </it>and <it>P. ramorum </it>contain a total of 435, 379, and 310 CAZy homologs; in each genome, most homologs belong to the GH superfamily. Most GH and PL homologs code for enzymes that hydrolyze substances present in the pectin layer forming the middle lamella of the plant cells. In addition, a significant number of CE homologs catalyzing the deacetylation of compounds characteristic of the plant cell cuticle were found. In general, a high degree of gene location conservation was observed, as indicated by the presence of sequential orthologous pairs in the three genomes. Such collinearity was frequently observed among members of the GH superfamily. On the other hand, the CE and PL superfamilies showed less collinearity for some of their putative members. Quantitative PCR experiments revealed that all genes are expressed in <it>P. infestans </it>when this pathogen grown <it>in vitro</it>. However, the levels of expression vary considerably and are lower than the expression levels observed for the constitutive control.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, we have identified a highly complex set of CAZy homologs in the genomes of <it>P. infestans, P. sojae</it>, and <it>P. ramorum</it>, a significant number of which could play roles critical for pathogenicity, by participating in the degradation of the plant cell wall.</p

Finite axisymmetric charged dust disks in conformastatic spacetimes

An infinite family of axisymmetric charged dust disks of finite extension is presented. The disks are obtained by solving the vacuum Einstein-Maxwell equations for conformastatic spacetimes, which are characterized by only one metric function. In order to obtain the solutions, it is assumed that the metric function and the electric potential are functionally related and that the metric function is functionally dependent of another auxiliary function, which is taken as a solution of Laplace equation. The solutions for the auxiliary function are then taken as given by the infinite family of generalized Kalnajs disks recently obtained by Gonz\'alez and Reina (MNRAS 371, 1873, 2006), which is expressed in terms of the oblate spheroidal coordinates and represents a well behaved family of finite axisymmetric flat galaxy models. The so obtained relativistic thin disks have then a charge density that is equal, except maybe by a sign, to their mass density, in such a way that the electric and gravitational forces are in exact balance. The energy density of the disks is everywhere positive and well behaved, vanishing at the edge. Accordingly, as the disks are made of dust, their energy-momentum tensor it agrees with all the energy conditions.Comment: Submitted to PR

APPLICATION OF ESSENTIAL OILS FROM TWO SPECIES OF THE RUTACEAE FAMILY AS CELLULAR OXIDATION CONTROLLER AGENT AND TRYPANOCIDAL CAPACITY

AbstractThe essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation from peel of Citrus aurantium and Swinglea glutinosa, collected from Ibagué-Province of Tolima-Colombia (South America), was analyzed by GC/MS. The major compounds identified in essential oil of S. glutinosa were germacrene-D (30.8%), β-pinene (22.6%) and sabinene (11.6%), while limonene (94.4%)was identified as the most abundant component in C. aurantium.The ability of these products and mixturesto control cellular oxidation and measure theiranti-epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi activity, the protozoan Chagas transmitter,were investigated.Besides, the type ofdrug interactionbetweenessential oil mixtureswas determinedby the values ofcombination index, which indicated for all cases the existence of a strong antagonism between the mixtures prepared.According to ABTS assay, β-carotene bleaching test andprotective activityagainst erythrocytes degradationshowed that volatiles compounds have a wide spectrum as cellular oxidation controller.This is the first time, that oils of S. glutinosa and C. aurantium, have high activity against T. cruzi, in vitro; capacity that could be directly associated to the chemotype of they, one of which (Swinglea glutinosa) appears not to be found in other research.  KeywordsEssential oil composition, Citrusaurantium, Swingleaglutinosa, ABTS, Rutaceae.Â

Charged Annular Disks and Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m Type Black Holes from Extremal Dust

We present the first analytical superposition of a charged black hole with an annular disk of extremal dust. In order to obtain the solutions, we first solve the Einstein-Maxwell field equations for sources that represent disk-like configurations of matter in confomastatic spacetimes by assuming a functional dependence among the metric function, the electric potential and an auxiliary function,which is taken as a solution of the Laplace equation. We then employ the Lord Kelvin Inversion Method applied to models of finite extension in order to obtain annular disks. The structures obtained extend to infinity, but their total masses are finite and all the energy conditions are satisfied. Finally, we observe that the extremal Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m black hole can be embedded into the center of the disks by adding a boundary term in the inversion.Comment: 17 revtex pages, 8 eps figure

Incidence and Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease among Aboriginal Peoples in Alberta, Canada

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major respiratory disorder, largely caused by smoking that has been linked with large health inequalities worldwide. There are important gaps in our knowledge about how COPD affects Aboriginal peoples. This retrospective cohort study assessed the epidemiology of COPD in a cohort of Aboriginal peoples relative to a non-Aboriginal cohort. Methods We used linkage of administrative health databases in Alberta (Canada) from April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2010 to compare the annual prevalence, and the incidence rates of COPD between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cohorts aged 35 years and older. Poisson regression models adjusted the analysis for important sociodemographic factors. Results Compared to a non-Aboriginal cohort, prevalence estimates of COPD from 2002 to 2010 were 2.3 to 2.4 times greater among Registered First Nations peoples, followed by the Inuit (1.86 to 2.10 times higher) and the Métis (1.59 to 1.67 times higher). All Aboriginal peoples had significantly higher COPD incidence rates than the non-Aboriginal group (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.97, 2.27). COPD incidence rates were higher in First Nation peoples (IRR: 2.37; 95% CI: 2.19, 2.56) followed by Inuit (IRR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.64, 2.25) and Métis (IRR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.32, 1.69) groups. Conclusions We found a high burden of COPD among Aboriginal peoples living in Alberta; a province with the third largest Aboriginal population in Canada. Altogether, the three Aboriginal peoples groups have higher prevalence and incidence of COPD compared to a non-Aboriginal cohort. The condition affects the three Aboriginal groups differently; Registered First Nations and Inuit have the highest burden of COPD. Reasons for these differences should be further explored within a framework of social determinants of health to help designing interventions that effectively influence modifiable COPD risk factors in each of the Aboriginal groups

Quantum hypercomputation based on the dynamical algebra su(1,1)

An adaptation of Kieu's hypercomputational quantum algorithm (KHQA) is presented. The method that was used was to replace the Weyl-Heisenberg algebra by other dynamical algebra of low dimension that admits infinite-dimensional irreducible representations with naturally defined generalized coherent states. We have selected the Lie algebra $\mathfrak{su}(1,1)$, due to that this algebra posses the necessary characteristics for to realize the hypercomputation and also due to that such algebra has been identified as the dynamical algebra associated to many relatively simple quantum systems. In addition to an algebraic adaptation of KHQA over the algebra $\mathfrak{su}(1,1)$, we presented an adaptations of KHQA over some concrete physical referents: the infinite square well, the infinite cylindrical well, the perturbed infinite cylindrical well, the P{\"o}sch-Teller potentials, the Holstein-Primakoff system, and the Laguerre oscillator. We conclude that it is possible to have many physical systems within condensed matter and quantum optics on which it is possible to consider an implementation of KHQA.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure, conclusions rewritten, typing and language errors corrected and latex format changed minor changes elsewhere and

Long-term outcomes in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 and pancreaticoduodenal neuroendocrine tumours

Summary Background In patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1), pancreaticoduodenal (PD) neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are associated with early mortality, yet the best treatment strategy remains uncertain. Aim To assess patient important outcomes (mortality and metastasis) of PD-NETs and predictors of outcomes in patients with MEN-1. Methods Retrospective cohort of patients with MEN-1 who attended the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN from 1997 to 2014. Results We identified 287 patients with MEN-1; 199 (69%) patients had 217 PD-NETs. Among those with a PD-NETs, 129 (65%) had surgery of which 90 (70%) had their primary surgery performed at Mayo Clinic. The median postoperative follow-up was 8 years during which 13 (14%) patients died. The mean (±standard deviation) age of death was 51 (±9) years. Tumour size, metastasis at surgery or tumour type were not predictive of mortality, but for every year older at surgery, the odds of metastasis increased by 6%. Surgery was not performed in 70 (35%) patients. Among those who were observed/medically managed without known metastatic disease, mean tumour growth was 0·02 cm/year (range, -0·13–0-4 cm/year). Four patients (7%) died at a median age of 77 (range, 51–89) years. Conclusion PD-NETs are common in patients with MEN-1 and are associated with early mortality even after surgical intervention. Active surveillance is a viable option in nonaggressive PD-NETs, although definitive factors identifying such patients are lacking. Therefore, counselling regarding risks and benefits of current treatment options remains integral to the care of patients with MEN-1