DIFFERENTIAL ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH ORAL AND LARYNGEAL CANCER: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

The purpose of this investigation was to gather information on whether there are differences in the areas of concern affecting quality of life for individuals treated for oral cancer versus laryngeal cancer. The investigation also sought to assess whether current questionnaires are able to detect differences between these two groups. Thirteen adults who had been treated for oral cancer and 6 adults who had been treated for laryngeal cancer served as participants. Participants completed three validated and widely used questionnaires. A method of assessing relative differences in areas of concern was explored. Results indicated variable findings, with some subscales approaching significance. Overall, both groups reported concern with taUdng/speech, eating, and swallowing. Commonalities were found in the areas of concern for both groups, although the impact of these areas may vary. The data suggest that further explorations are warranted and raise continuing clinical questions relative to the assessment of these populations

NPR1 Protein Regulates Pathogenic and Symbiotic Interactions between Rhizobium and Legumes and Non-Legumes

BACKGROUND:Legumes are unique in their ability to establish symbiotic interaction with rhizobacteria from Rhizobium genus, which provide them with available nitrogen. Nodulation factors (NFs) produced by Rhizobium initiate legume root hair deformation and curling that entrap the bacteria, and allow it to grow inside the plant. In contrast, legumes and non-legumes activate defense responses when inoculated with pathogenic bacteria. One major defense pathway is mediated by salicylic acid (SA). SA is sensed and transduced to downstream defense components by a redox-regulated protein called NPR1. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We used Arabidopsis mutants in SA defense pathway to test the role of NPR1 in symbiotic interactions. Inoculation of Sinorhizobium meliloti or purified NF on Medicago truncatula or nim1/npr1 A. thaliana mutants induced root hair deformation and transcription of early and late nodulins. Application of S. meliloti or NF on M. truncatula or A. thaliana roots also induced a strong oxidative burst that lasted much longer than in plants inoculated with pathogenic or mutualistic bacteria. Transient overexpression of NPR1 in M. truncatula suppressed root hair curling, while inhibition of NPR1 expression by RNAi accelerated curling. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:We show that, while NPR1 has a positive effect on pathogen resistance, it has a negative effect on symbiotic interactions, by inhibiting root hair deformation and nodulin expression. Our results also show that basic plant responses to Rhizobium inoculation are conserved in legumes and non-legumes

Resource Competition Triggers the Co-Evolution of Long Tongues and Deep Corolla Tubes

Background: It is normally thought that deep corolla tubes evolve when a plant’s successful reproduction is contingent on having a corolla tube longer than the tongue of the flower’s pollinators, and that pollinators evolve ever-longer tongues because individuals with longer tongues can obtain more nectar from flowers. A recent model shows that, in the presence of pollinators with long and short tongues that experience resource competition, coexisting plant species can diverge in corolla-tube depth, because this increases the proportion of pollen grains that lands on co-specific flowers. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have extended the model to study whether resource competition can trigger the coevolution of tongue length and corolla-tube depth. Starting with two plant and two pollinator species, all of them having the same distribution of tongue length or corolla-tube depth, we show that variability in corolla-tube depth leads to divergence in tongue length, provided that increasing tongue length is not equally costly for both species. Once the two pollinator species differ in tongue length, divergence in corolla-tube depth between the two plant species ensues. Conclusions/Significance: Co-evolution between tongue length and corolla-tube depth is a robust outcome of the model, obtained for a wide range of parameter values, but it requires that tongue elongation is substantially easier for one pollinator species than for the other, that pollinators follow a near-optimal foraging strategy, that pollinators experienc

Effects of Metformin on Spatial and Verbal Memory in Children with ASD and Overweight Associated with Atypical Antipsychotic Use

Abstract Objectives: Studies in humans and rodents suggest that metformin, a medicine typically used to treat type 2 diabetes, may have beneficial effects on memory. We sought to determine whether metformin improved spatial or verbal memory in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and overweight associated with atypical antipsychotic use. Methods: We studied the effects of metformin (Riomet®) concentrate on spatial and verbal memory in 51 youth with ASD, ages 6 through 17 years, who were taking atypical antipsychotic medications, had gained significant weight, and were enrolled in a trial of metformin for weight management. Phase 1 was a 16-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparison of metformin (500–850 mg given twice a day) versus placebo. During Phase 2, all participants took open-label metformin from week 17 through week 32. We assessed spatial and verbal memory using the Neuropsychological Assessment 2nd Edition (NEPSY–II) and a modified children's verbal learning task. Results: No measures differed between participants randomized to metformin versus placebo, at either 16 or 32 weeks, after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Sixteen-week change in memory for spatial location on the NEPSY–II was nominally better among participants randomized to placebo. However, patterns of treatment response across all measures revealed no systematic differences in performance, suggesting that metformin had no effect on spatial or verbal memory in these children. Conclusions: Although further study is needed to support these null effects, the overall impression is that metformin does not affect memory in overweight youth with ASD who were taking atypical antipsychotic medications

Cytoplasmic H2O2 prevents translocation of NPR1 to the nucleus and inhibits the induction of PR genes in Arabidopsis

Plants activate a number of defense reactions in response to pathogen attack. One of the major pathways involves biosynthesis of Salicylic acid (SA), which acts as a signaling molecule that regulates local defense reaction at the infection site and in induction of systemic acquired resistance (SAR). SA is sensed and transduced by NPR1 protein, which is a redox sensitive protein that acts as a central transcription activator of many pathogenesis related and defense related genes. In its uninduced state NPR1 exists as an oligomer in the cytoplasm. Following pathogen attack and SAR induction, cells undergo a biphasic change in cellular redox, resulting in reduction of NPR1 to a monomeric form, which moves to the nucleus. Recently, it was shown that pathogen attack or SA treatment cause S-nitrosylation of NPR1, promoting NPR1 oligomerization and restricting it in the cytoplasm. We used A. thaliana mutants in cytosolic ASCORBATE PEROXIDASE, apx1 and plants expressing antisense CATALASE gene, as well as the CATALASE inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, to examine the effect of H2O2 on the pathogen-triggered translocation of the NPR1 to the nucleus. Our results show that the pathogen-triggered or SA-induced nuclear translocation is prevented by accumulation of H2O2 in the cytosol. Moreover, we show that increased accumulation of cytoplasmic ROS in apx1 mutants reduced the NPR1-dependent gene expression. We suggest that H2O2 has a signaling role in pathogenesis, acting as a negative regulator of NPR1 translocation to the nucleus, limiting the NPR1-dependent gene expression

Improved Compact Routing Scheme for Chordal Graphs

This paper concerns routing with succinct tables in chordal graphs. We show how to construct in polynomial time, for every n-node chordal graph, a routing scheme using routing tables and addresses of O(log³ n/ log log n) bits per node, and O(log² n/ log log n) bit not alterable headers such that the length of the route between any two nodes is at most the distance between the nodes in the graph plus two

Passive-sampler-derived PCB and OCP concentrations in the waters of the world-first results from the AQUA-GAPS/MONET Network

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are recognized as pollutants of global concern, but so far, information on the trends of legacy POPs in the waters of the world has been missing due to logistical, analytical, and financial reasons. Passive samplers have emerged as an attractive alternative to active water sampling methods as they accumulate POPs, represent time-weighted average concentrations, and can easily be shipped and deployed. As part of the AQUA-GAPS/MONET, passive samplers were deployed at 40 globally distributed sites between 2016 and 2020, for a total of 21 freshwater and 40 marine deployments. Results from silicone passive samplers showed α-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and γ-HCH displaying the greatest concentrations in the northern latitudes/Arctic Ocean, in stark contrast to the more persistent penta (PeCB)- and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), which approached equilibrium across sampling sites. Geospatial patterns of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) aqueous concentrations closely matched original estimates of production and use, implying limited global transport. Positive correlations between log-transformed concentrations of Σ7PCB, ΣDDTs, Σendosulfan, and Σchlordane, but not ΣHCH, and the log of population density (p < 0.05) within 5 and 10 km of the sampling sites also supported limited transport from used sites. These results help to understand the extent of global distribution, and eventually time-trends, of organic pollutants in aquatic systems, such as across freshwaters and oceans. Future deployments will aim to establish time-trends at selected sites while adding to the geographical coverage