26 research outputs found
Sweet orange scab with a new scab disease "syndrome" of citrus in the USA associated with Elsinoë australis
The inhibition of FGF receptor 1 activity mediates sorafenib-induced antiproliferative effects in human mesothelioma tumor-initiating cells
Tumor-initiating cells (TICs), the subset of cells within tumors endowed with stem-like features, being highly resistant to conventional cytotoxic drugs, are the major cause of tumor relapse. The identification of molecules able to target TICs remains a significant challenge in cancer therapy. Using TIC-enriched cultures (MM1, MM3 and MM4), from 3 human malignant pleural mesotheliomas (MPM), we tested the effects of sorafenib on cell survival and the intracellular mechanisms involved. Sorafenib inhibited cell-cycle progression in all the TIC cultures, but only in MM3 and MM4 cells this effect was associated with induction of apoptosis via the down-regulation of Mcl-1. Although sorafenib inhibits the activity of several tyrosine kinases, its effects are mainly ascribed to Raf inhibition. To investigate the mechanisms of sorafenib-mediated antiproliferative activity, TICs were treated with EGF or bFGF causing, in MM3 and MM4 cells, MEK, ERK1/2, Akt and STAT3 phosphorylation. These effects were significantly reduced by sorafenib in bFGF-treated cells, while a slight inhibition occurred after EGF stimulation, suggesting that sorafenib effects are mainly due to FGFR inhibition. Indeed, FGFR1 phosphorylation was inhibited by sorafenib.
A different picture was observed in MM1 cells, which, releasing high levels of bFGF, showed an autocrine activation of FGFR1 and a constitutive phosphorylation/activation of MEK-ERK1/2. A powerful inhibitory response to sorafenib was observed in these cells, indirectly confirming the central role of sorafenib as FGFR inhibitor.
These results suggest that bFGF signaling may impact antiproliferative response to sorafenib of MPM TICs, which is mainly mediated by a direct FGFR targeting
A Study of Parton Fragmentation in Hadronic Z0 Decays Using Lambda-Lambdabar Correlations
The correlated production of Lambda and Lambdabar baryons has been studied
using 4.3 million multihadronic Zo decays recorded with the OPAL detector at
LEP. Di-lambda pairs were investigated in the full data sample and for the
first time also in 2-jet and 3-jet events selected with the k_t algorithm. The
distributions of rapidity differences from correlated Lambda-Lambdabar pairs
exhibit short-range, local correlations and prove to be a sensitive tool to
test models, particularly for 2-jet events. The JETSET model describes the data
best but some extra parameter tuning is needed to improve agreement with the
experimental results in the rates and the rapidity spectra simultaneously. The
recently developed modification of JETSET, the MOdified Popcorn Scenarium
(MOPS), and also HERWIG do not give satisfactory results. This study of
di-lambda production in 2- and 3-jet events supports the short-range
compensation of quantum numbers.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 6 figures included plus 1 in colour, submitted to
Physics Letters
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Huanglongbing in Texas: Report on the first detections in commercial citrus
Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, is a destructive citrus disease associated with 3 α-proteobacteria species of Candidatus Liberibacter. The first report of HLB in the USA was from Florida in 2005 and Ca. L. asiaticus (Las) is the only species currently confirmed in the USA. In January 2012, a Valencia sweet orange tree in a commercial orchard in San Juan, Texas, tested positive for Las by real-time and conventional PCR assays and by the sequence of its partial 16S rRNA gene. The sample tested negative for Ca. L. americanus and Ca. L. africanus. All 4 Valencia sweet orange seedlings that were graft-inoculated using budwood from the first Texas HLB-infected tree showed typical HLB symptoms 3 months post-inoculation and tested positive for the pathogen. Such HLB typical symptoms as leaf blotchy mottle, twig die-back, veinal chlorosis, lopsided and greening fruits were observed on the Las-positive tree in the orchard, which immediately triggered an intensive survey of the disease in the area. Typical HLB symptoms were found on 54 Valencia sweet orange trees in the same orchard and 18 Rio Red grapefruit trees in an adjacent orchard. All these symptomatic trees tested positive for Las by PCR and sequencing
Recommended from our members
Huanglongbing in Texas: Report on the first detections in commercial citrus
Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, is a destructive citrus disease associated with 3 α-proteobacteria species of Candidatus Liberibacter. The first report of HLB in the USA was from Florida in 2005 and Ca. L. asiaticus (Las) is the only species currently confirmed in the USA. In January 2012, a Valencia sweet orange tree in a commercial orchard in San Juan, Texas, tested positive for Las by real-time and conventional PCR assays and by the sequence of its partial 16S rRNA gene. The sample tested negative for Ca. L. americanus and Ca. L. africanus. All 4 Valencia sweet orange seedlings that were graft-inoculated using budwood from the first Texas HLB-infected tree showed typical HLB symptoms 3 months post-inoculation and tested positive for the pathogen. Such HLB typical symptoms as leaf blotchy mottle, twig die-back, veinal chlorosis, lopsided and greening fruits were observed on the Las-positive tree in the orchard, which immediately triggered an intensive survey of the disease in the area. Typical HLB symptoms were found on 54 Valencia sweet orange trees in the same orchard and 18 Rio Red grapefruit trees in an adjacent orchard. All these symptomatic trees tested positive for Las by PCR and sequencing
Geology of Upper Pennsylvanian Carbonate Oil Reservoirs, Happy and Seberger Fields, Northwestern Kansas
Baylisascaris procyonis Roundworm Seroprevalence among Wildlife Rehabilitators, United States and Canada, 2012–2015
Baylisascaris procyonis roundworms can cause potentially fatal neural larva migrans in many species, including humans. However, the clinical spectrum of baylisascariasis is not completely understood. We tested 347 asymptomatic adult wildlife rehabilitators for B. procyonis antibodies; 24 were positive, suggesting that subclinical baylisascariasis is occurring among this population