Root-TRAPR: a modular plant growth device to visualize root development and monitor growth parameters, as applied to an elicitor response of Cannabis sativa

Background Plant growth devices, for example, rhizoponics, rhizoboxes, and ecosystem fabrication (EcoFAB), have been developed to facilitate studies of plant root morphology and plant-microbe interactions in controlled laboratory settings. However, several of these designs are suitable only for studying small model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon and therefore require modification to be extended to larger plant species like crop plants. In addition, specific tools and technical skills needed for fabricating these devices may not be available to researchers. Hence, this study aimed to establish an alternative protocol to generate a larger, modular and reusable plant growth device based on different available resources. Results Root-TRAPR (Root-Transparent, Reusable, Affordable three-dimensional Printed Rhizo-hydroponic) system was successfully developed. It consists of two main parts, an internal root growth chamber and an external structural frame. The internal root growth chamber comprises a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) gasket, microscope slide and acrylic sheet, while the external frame is printed from a three-dimensional (3D) printer and secured with nylon screws. To test the efficiency and applicability of the system, industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) was grown with or without exposure to chitosan, a well-known plant elicitor used for stimulating plant defense. Plant root morphology was detected in the system, and plant tissues were easily collected and processed to examine plant biological responses. Upon chitosan treatment, chitinase and peroxidase activities increased in root tissues (1.7- and 2.3-fold, respectively) and exudates (7.2- and 21.6-fold, respectively). In addition, root to shoot ratio of phytohormone contents were increased in response to chitosan. Within 2 weeks of observation, hemp plants exhibited dwarf growth in the Root-TRAPR system, easing plant handling and allowing increased replication under limited growing space. Conclusion The Root-TRAPR system facilitates the exploration of root morphology and root exudate of C. sativa under controlled conditions and at a smaller scale. The device is easy to fabricate and applicable for investigating plant responses toward elicitor challenge. In addition, this fabrication protocol is adaptable to study other plants and can be applied to investigate plant physiology in different biological contexts, such as plant responses against biotic and abiotic stresses

Key Role of Mfd in the Development of Fluoroquinolone Resistance in Campylobacter jejuni

Campylobacter jejuni is a major food-borne pathogen and a common causative agent of human enterocolitis. Fluoroquinolones are a key class of antibiotics prescribed for clinical treatment of enteric infections including campylobacteriosis, but fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter readily emerges under the antibiotic selection pressure. To understand the mechanisms involved in the development of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter, we compared the gene expression profiles of C. jejuni in the presence and absence of ciprofloxacin using DNA microarray. Our analysis revealed that multiple genes showed significant changes in expression in the presence of a suprainhibitory concentration of ciprofloxacin. Most importantly, ciprofloxacin induced the expression of mfd, which encodes a transcription-repair coupling factor involved in strand-specific DNA repair. Mutation of the mfd gene resulted in an approximately 100-fold reduction in the rate of spontaneous mutation to ciprofloxacin resistance, while overexpression of mfd elevated the mutation frequency. In addition, loss of mfd in C. jejuni significantly reduced the development of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter in culture media or chickens treated with fluoroquinolones. These findings indicate that Mfd is important for the development of fluoroquinolone resistance in Campylobacter, reveal a previously unrecognized function of Mfd in promoting mutation frequencies, and identify a potential molecular target for reducing the emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter

A novel pathogenesis-related protein (LcPR4a) from lentil, and its involvement in defence against Ascochyta lentis

A novel pathogenesis-related protein 4 (PR4) encoding gene, LcPR4a, was induced in Lens culinaris following Ascochyta lentis infection. LcPR4a encodes a predicted 146 amino acid protein of 15.8 kDa. The putative LcPR4a protein belongs to the class II PR4 family and has close phylogenetic affinity to PR4 proteins from related species. qPCR analysis revealed differential expression of the LcPR4a gene upon Ascochyta lentis infection in both resistant and susceptible cultivars. This, combined with preliminary in vitro antifungal assays of the recombinant protein expressed in E. coli, suggests the potential important role of LcPR4a in the defence response of lentil to Ascochyta lentis attack

Repeatability of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound to Determine Renal Cortical Perfusion

Alterations in renal perfusion play a major role in the pathogenesis of renal diseases. Renal contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is increasingly applied to quantify renal cortical perfusion and to assess its change over time, but comprehensive assessment of the technique’s repeatability is lacking. Ten adults attended two renal CEUS scans within 14 days. In each session, five destruction/reperfusion sequences were captured. One-phase association was performed to derive the following parameters: acoustic index (AI), mean transit time (mTT), perfusion index (PI), and wash-in rate (WiR). Intra-individual and inter-operator (image analysis) repeatability for the perfusion variables were assessed using intra-class correlation (ICC), with the agreement assessed using a Bland–Altman analysis. The 10 adults had a median (IQR) age of 39 years (30–46). Good intra-individual repeatability was found for mTT (ICC: 0.71) and PI (ICC: 0.65). Lower repeatability was found for AI (ICC: 0.50) and WiR (ICC: 0.56). The correlation between the two operators was excellent for all variables: the ICCs were 0.99 for PI, 0.98 for AI, 0.87 for mTT, and 0.83 for WiR. The Bland–Altman analysis showed that the mean biases (± SD) between the two operators were 0.03 ± 0.16 for mTT, 0.005 ± 0.09 for PI, 0.04 ± 0.19 for AI, and −0.02 ± 0.11 for WiR

Cucurbit extrafascicular phloem has strong negative impacts on aphids and is not a preferred feeding site.

Cucurbits have long been known to possess two types of phloem: fascicular (FP) within vascular bundles and extrafascicular phloem (EFP) surrounding vascular bundles and scattered through the cortex. Recently, their divergent composition was revealed, with FP having high sugar content consistent with conventional phloem, but EFP having much lower sugar levels and a very different proteome. However, the evolutionary advantages of possessing both FP and EFP have remained unclear. Here, we present four lines of quantitative evidence that together support the hypothesis that FP represents a typical phloem and is an attractive diet for aphids, whereas aphids avoid feeding on EFP. First, aphid stylet track endings were more abundant near the abaxial FP element of minor veins, suggesting a feeding preference for FP over EFP. Second, sugar profiles from stylet exudates were wholly consistent with FP origins, further supporting preference for FP and avoidance of EFP. Third, supplementation of EFP exudate into artificial diets confirmed an aversion to EFP in choice experiments. Finally, EFP exudate had negative effects on aphid performance. On the basis of aphids' inability to thrive on EFP, we conclude that EFP is atypical and perhaps should not be classed as a phloem system

Dietary Phytochemicals Promote Health by Enhancing Antioxidant Defence in a Pig Model

Phytochemical-rich diets are protective against chronic diseases and mediate their protective effect by regulation of oxidative stress (OS). However, it is proposed that under some circumstances, phytochemicals can promote production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitro, which might drive OS-mediated signalling. Here, we investigated the effects of administering single doses of extracts of red cabbage and grape skin to pigs. Blood samples taken at baseline and 30 min intervals for 4 hours following intake were analyzed by measures of antioxidant status in plasma, including Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. In addition, dose-dependent production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by the same extracts was measured in untreated commercial pig plasma in vitro. Plasma from treated pigs showed extract dose-dependent increases in non-enzymatic (plasma TEAC) and enzymatic (GPx) antioxidant capacities. Similarly, extract dose-dependent increases in H2O2 were observed in commercial pig plasma in vitro. The antioxidant responses to extracts by treated pigs were highly correlated with their respective yields of H2O2 production in vitro. These results support that dietary phytochemicals regulate OS via direct and indirect antioxidant mechanisms. The latter may be attributed to the ability to produce H2O2 and to thereby stimulate cellular antioxidant defence systems

Early Prediction of Shiraz Wine Quality Based on Small Volatile Compounds in Grapes

Wine producers perform early wine quality prediction based on berry morphology, the taste of the berry and the measurement of basic chemical parameters. Incorporating analysis on grape and wine volatiles could potentially achieve a more accurate prediction of wine quality, but forming these models requires careful selection of grapes, controlled fermentations, and standardised quality assessment. Here, we present 3 models for the prediction of quality in Shiraz wine. Modelling was performed by general regression analysis with 4-fold cross-validation: Model 1 (R2 = 99.97% and 4-foldR2 = 97.61%) for prediction of wine quality from wine volatiles, Model 2 (R2 = 99.89% and 4-foldR2 = 98.42%) for early prediction of wine quality from free-bound and glycosidically bound grape volatiles, and Model 3 (R2 = 91.62% and 4-foldR2 = 80.21%) for the prediction of wine quality from free grape volatiles only. The accuracy of these models presents an advancement in the early prediction of wine quality and provides a valuable tool to assist grape growers and winemakers to support the understanding of quality in the vineyard to better direct scarce resources

Ethnic Differences in Hormone Replacement Prescribing Patterns

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prescription patterns of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) differ in African-American, Asian, Latina, Soviet immigrant, and white women. DESIGN: Retrospective review of computerized medical records. SETTING: The general internal medicine, family medicine, and gynecology practices of an academic medical center. PATIENTS: Women aged 50 years or older with at least one outpatient visit from January 1, 1992, to November 30, 1995. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Use of HRT was defined as documentation of systemic estrogen use. The main predictor variable was self-identified ethnicity. Age, diagnosis (coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, or breast cancer), and median income were included in the analysis. Of the 8,968 women (mean age, 65.4 years) included, 50% were white, 20% Asian, 15% African American, 9% Latina, and 6% Soviet immigrants. Whites (33%) were significantly more likely to be prescribed HRT than Asians (21%), African Americans (25%), Latinas (23%), or Soviet immigrants (6.6%), p < 0.01 for each. Multivariate analysis, comparing ethnic groups and controlling for confounding variables, showed that Asians (odds ratio [OR] 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49, 0.64), African Americans (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.60, 0.81), Latinas (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.58, 0.84), and Soviet immigrants (OR 0.14; 95% CI 0.10, 0.20) were each less likely to be prescribed HRT than were white women. Although women with osteoporosis were more likely to receive HRT (OR 2.28; 95% CI 1.71, 2.99), those with coronary heart disease were not (OR 0.88; 95% CI 0.68, 1.09). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians at this medical center were more likely to prescribe HRT for white women and women with osteoporosis. Further study is needed to address whether these differences in HRT prescribing result in different health outcomes