The Pochonia chlamydosporia Serine Protease Gene vcp1 Is Subject to Regulation by Carbon, Nitrogen and pH: Implications for Nematode Biocontrol

The alkaline serine protease VCP1 of the fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia belongs to a family of subtilisin-like enzymes that are involved in infection of nematode and insect hosts. It is involved early in the infection process, removing the outer proteinaceous vitelline membrane of nematode eggs. Little is known about the regulation of this gene, even though an understanding of how nutrients and other factors affect its expression is critical for ensuring its efficacy as a biocontrol agent. This paper provides new information on the regulation of vcp1 expression. Sequence analysis of the upstream regulatory region of this gene in 30 isolates revealed that it was highly conserved and contained sequence motifs characteristic of genes that are subject to carbon, nitrogen and pH-regulation. Expression studies, monitoring enzyme activity and mRNA, confirmed that these factors affect VCP1 production. As expected, glucose reduced VCP1 expression and for a few hours so did ammonium chloride. Surprisingly, however, by 24 h VCP1 levels were increased in the presence of ammonium chloride for most isolates. Ambient pH also regulated VCP1 expression, with most isolates producing more VCP1 under alkaline conditions. There were some differences in the response of one isolate with a distinctive upstream sequence including a variant regulatory-motif profile. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy studies indicated that the presence of nematode eggs stimulates VCP1 production by P. chlamydosporia, but only where the two are in close contact. Overall, the results indicate that readily-metabolisable carbon sources and unfavourable pH in the rhizosphere/egg-mass environment may compromise nematode parasitism by P. chlamydosporia. However, contrary to previous indications using other nematophagous and entomopathogenic fungi, ammonium nitrate (e.g. from fertilizers) may enhance biocontrol potential in some circumstances

The impacts of oral health on quality of life in working adults

This study investigated the impacts of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) on daily activities and work productivity in adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a supermarket chain in the state of São Paulo, which included 386 workers, age-range 20 – 64 years. Participants were examined for oral disease following WHO recommendations, and the oral health impact profile (OHIP) assessment was used to determine OHRQoL. Demographic, socio-economic, use of dental services, and OHRQoL data were obtained. Answers to the OHIP were dichotomized into no impact and some impact, and the relationship to OHRQoL was determined. Poisson regression with robust variance was performed using SPSS version 17.0. Dimensions with highest OHIP scores were physical pain and psychological discomfort. Sex (male: PR = 0 .55, 9 5% C I 0 .38 – 0.80), lower family i ncome (PR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.04 – 2.12), visiting a dentist due to pain (PR = 2.14, 95% CI 1.57 – 3.43), tooth loss (PR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.09 – 2.32), and needing treatment for caries (PR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.09 – 2.32) were most likely to impact OHRQoL. Therefore, socioeconomic and demographic status and use of dental services impacted OHRQoL. These results indicate that oral health promotion strategies should be included in work environments

Neuron-glial Interactions

Although lagging behind classical computational neuroscience, theoretical and computational approaches are beginning to emerge to characterize different aspects of neuron-glial interactions. This chapter aims to provide essential knowledge on neuron-glial interactions in the mammalian brain, leveraging on computational studies that focus on structure (anatomy) and function (physiology) of such interactions in the healthy brain. Although our understanding of the need of neuron-glial interactions in the brain is still at its infancy, being mostly based on predictions that await for experimental validation, simple general modeling arguments borrowed from control theory are introduced to support the importance of including such interactions in traditional neuron-based modeling paradigms.Junior Leader Fellowship Program by “la Caixa” Banking Foundation (LCF/BQ/LI18/11630006

Neuron-Glial Interactions

Although lagging behind classical computational neuroscience, theoretical and computational approaches are beginning to emerge to characterize different aspects of neuron-glial interactions. This chapter aims to provide essential knowledge on neuron-glial interactions in the mammalian brain, leveraging on computational studies that focus on structure (anatomy) and function (physiology) of such interactions in the healthy brain. Although our understanding of the need of neuron-glial interactions in the brain is still at its infancy, being mostly based on predictions that await for experimental validation, simple general modeling arguments borrowed from control theory are introduced to support the importance of including such interactions in traditional neuron-based modeling paradigms.Comment: 43 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in the "Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience," D. Jaeger and R. Jung eds., Springer-Verlag New York, 2020 (2nd edition

PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS OF THE C-13 NMR SHIFTS OF NORBORNYL DERIVATIVES

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A theoretical investigation of steric effects on H-1 chemical shifts of camphor and norcamphor derivatives

Camphor and norcamphor derivatives provide convenient models for testing and evaluating some of the results of our work on substituted adamantanes and for checking their applicability to other systems. Our results show that the reduction in C-H bond lengths associated with steric interactions are not as pronounced in systems that are less rigid. Deshielding of H-1 chemical shifts on introduction of the substituent in exo and endo positions can also be traced to angular distortions which are stronger in norcamphor, bornane and camphor than in norbornane due to additional steric interactions with a carbonyl group, with methyl groups, or with both. H-1 chemical shifts are sensitive probes for steric effects, reflecting differences in bond lengths, bond angles and dihedral angles in a systematic way. Given the proper models for comparison purposes they can be used to evaluate the size of a certain group and locate its interactions with the rest of the molecular framework. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.76741699293

Pharmaceuticals from natural products: current trends

The use of products extracted from plants for medicinal purposes can be traced to the beginnings of civilization and up until the end of the nineteenth century natural products were the principal source of medicines. Since then their relative importance has oscillated according to the strategies of large pharmaceutical companies. Now that these strategies are changing, there are new opportunities for countries like Brazil, in which a large proportion of the world's biodiversity is located. There are, however, new circumstances that must be taken into consideration: material must be collected by groups which are formally authorized to do so and under the conditions of the Convention of Biological Diversity, the discovery process is being successively outsourced to smaller specialized firms and there is a growing integration with producers of cosmetics and phytomedicines.<br>O uso de produtos extraídos de plantas para fins medicinais pode ser tracejado aos inícios da civilização e até o fim do século XIX, os produtos naturais constituíram a principal fonte de medicamentos. Desde então, a importância relativa dos produtos naturais tem oscilado de acordo com as estratégias de grandes companhias farmacêuticas. Agora que estas estratégias vêm mudando, há novas oportunidades para países como o Brasil, no qual está localizada uma vasta proporção da biodiversidade mundial. Há, entretanto, novas circunstâncias que devem ser levadas em consideração: o material deve ser coletado por grupos que estão formalmente autorizados para tal, com a coleta sendo feita sob as condições da Convenção de Diversidade Biológica, o processo de descoberta está sendo sucessivamente terceirizado no sentido de firmas especializadas menores e há uma integração crescente como produtores de cosméticos e fitomedicamentos

LIQUID-LIQUID TRANSITIONS Silicon in silico

[No abstract available