Increased tolerance to photooxidative stress by overexpression of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase in transgenic tobacco

76-80Under abiotic stress conditions, plants suffer from oxidative damage caused by increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Although chloroplasts are the main source of ROS generation in plant cells, changes in ROS level in mitochondria affect plant stress response. In this study, we investigated whether overexpression of mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) can enhance tolerance to photooxidative stress. We produced transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing rice Mn-SOD under the control of cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, and assessed the stress tolerance of those plants. The transgenic lines showed higher total SOD activity by 2.8 to 5.2 fold than wild type plants. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurement revealed that the stress-induced inhibition of photosystem II was alleviated under high light, chilling and heat stresses in the transgenic lines. This result indicates that the Mn-SOD contributes to the defense against photooxidative damages in chloroplasts under these stress conditions

Association of Human Leukocyte Antigen with Interstitial Lung Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Protective Role for Shared Epitope

INTRODUCTION: Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) is frequently associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) as one of extra-articular manifestations. Many studies for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) allelic association with RA have been reported, but few have been validated in an RA subpopulation with ILD. In this study, we investigated the association of HLA class II alleles with ILD in RA. METHODS: An association study was conducted on HLA-DRB1, DQB1, and DPB1 in 450 Japanese RA patients that were or were not diagnosed with ILD, based on the findings of computed tomography images of the chest. RESULTS: Unexpectedly, HLA-DRB1*04 (corrected P [Pc] = 0.0054, odds ratio [OR] 0.57), shared epitope (SE) (P = 0.0055, OR 0.66) and DQB1*04 (Pc = 0.0036, OR 0.57) were associated with significantly decreased risk of ILD. In contrast, DRB1*16 (Pc = 0.0372, OR 15.21), DR2 serological group (DRB1*15 and *16 alleles) (P = 0.0020, OR 1.75) and DQB1*06 (Pc = 0.0333, OR 1.57, respectively) were significantly associated with risk of ILD. CONCLUSION: HLA-DRB1 SE was associated with reduced, while DR2 serological group (DRB1*15 and *16) with increased, risk for ILD in Japanese patients with RA

Transport of trace metals (Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn and Cd) in the western Arctic Ocean (Chukchi Sea and Canada Basin) in late summer 2012

Distributions of trace metals (Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn and Cd) in the western Arctic Ocean (Chukchi Sea and Canada Basin) in September 2012 were investigated to elucidate the mechanisms behind the transport of these metals from the Chukchi Shelf to the Canada Basin. Filtered (<0.22 μm) and unfiltered seawater samples were analyzed to determine dissolved (D) and total dissolvable (TD) trace metal concentrations, respectively. We identified maxima in vertical profiles for the concentrations of D-Fe and TD-Fe, as well as for the other four analyzed trace metals, which occurred in the halocline and/or near-bottom waters. Concentration profiles of all trace metals except for Cd also tended to show peaks near the surface, which suggest that the inflow of low-salinity Pacific-origin water from the Bering Strait, as well as local fresh water inputs such as river water and melting sea-ice, influenced trace metal concentrations. The distribution patterns and concentration ranges were generally similar between the D and TD fractions for Ni, Zn and Cd, which indicate that Ni, Zn and Cd were present mainly in their dissolved forms, whereas the concentrations of TD-Fe and TD-Mn were generally higher than those of D-Fe and D-Mn, respectively. These results are consistent with the results of previous studies of this region. For both Fe and Mn, labile particulate (LP) concentrations (the difference between the TD and D fractions, which is acid-leachable fraction in the particles during storage at pH 1.5?1.6) were highest in the near-bottom waters of the Chukchi Shelf region. The relationships between the distance from the shelf break and the concentrations of trace metals revealed that Fe and Mn concentrations in halocline waters tended to decrease logarithmically with distance, whereas changes in the concentrations of Ni, Zn, Cd and phosphate with distance were small. These results suggest that the distributions of Fe and Mn were controlled mainly by input from shelf sediment and removal through scavenging processes. Based on the phase distributions of Fe and Mn, which were calculated as ratios between the LP and D fractions, different behaviors between Fe and Mn were expressed during lateral transportation. The concentration of TD-Fe declined rapidly via removal of LP-Fe from the water column, whereas the concentration of TD-Mn declined more slowly through the transformation of D-Mn into LP-Mn. In contrast, the concentrations of D-Cd, D-Zn and D-Ni were more strongly correlated with phosphate levels, which suggest that, like phosphate, the distributions of Cd, Zn and Ni were generally controlled by the internal biogeochemical cycles of the ocean interior. Based on the findings of studies that have previously evaluated the concentration maxima of Ni, Zn and Cd within the halocline layer in the Canada Basin near the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the elevated Ni, Zn and Cd concentrations in the halocline layer may extend across the Canada Basin from the Chukchi Sea shelf-break area. The determination coefficients for correlations with phosphate concentration varied between the concentrations of Ni, Zn and Cd, which suggest that the sources of these trace metals, such as sediments and sea-ice melting, affected their patterns of distributions differently. Our findings reveal the importance and impact of the halocline layer for the transport of trace metals in the western Arctic Ocean during the late summer. The existence of rich and various sources likely sustained the high concentrations of trace metals and their unique profiles in this region

Remote sensing of multiple vital signs using a CMOS camera-equipped infrared thermography system and its clinical application in rapidly screening patients with suspected infectious diseases

Background: Infrared thermography (IRT) is used to screen febrile passengers at international airports, but it suffers from low sensitivity. This study explored the application of a combined visible and thermal image processing approach that uses a CMOS camera equipped with IRT to remotely sense multiple vital signs and screen patients with suspected infectious diseases. Methods: An IRT system that produced visible and thermal images was used for image acquisition. The subjects’ respiration rates were measured by monitoring temperature changes around the nasal areas on thermal images; facial skin temperatures were measured simultaneously. Facial blood circulation causes tiny color changes in visible facial images that enable the determination of the heart rate. A logistic regression discriminant function predicted the likelihood of infection within 10 s, based on the measured vital signs. Sixteen patients with an influenza-like illness and 22 control subjects participated in a clinical test at a clinic in Fukushima, Japan. Results: The vital-sign-based IRT screening system had a sensitivity of 87.5% and a negative predictive value of 91.7%; these values are higher than those of conventional fever-based screening approaches. Conclusions: Multiple vital-sign-based screening efficiently detected patients with suspected infectious diseases. It offers a promising alternative to conventional fever-based screening

Przypadek przejściowego bloku przedsionkowo-komorowego z przewodzeniem 2:1, który ustąpił po suplementacji tyroksyną zastosowaną w celu leczenia subklinicznej postaci niedoczynności tarczycy

Mężczyznę w wieku 42 lat przyjęto do szpitala, w którym pracują autorzy niniejszego doniesienia, z powodu napadów kołatania serca. W holterowskim badaniu EKG wykazano blok przedsionkowo-komorowy (AV) z przewodzeniem 2:1 oraz bradykardię z minimalną częstością akcji serca wynoszącą 44 uderzenia/min. Stwierdzono obecność wskazań do przeprowadzenia dalszych badań elektrofizjologicznych oraz do wszczepienia rozrusznika serca. Wyniki badań laboratoryjnych wykonanych w dniu przyjęcia wykazały podwyższone stężenie tyreotropiny przy prawidłowym stężeniu tyroksyny. W celu wykluczenia czynnościowego bloku AV przez 2 tygodnie podawano pacjentowi tyroksynę, zaś w holterowskim badaniu EKG wykonanym po tym okresie wykazano znaczącą poprawę częstości akcji serca bez obecności bloku AV lub długotrwałych przerw w przewodzeniu. Na tej podstawie uznano, że ciężka bradykardia oraz blok AV z przewodzeniem 2:1 wynikały z subklinicznej postaci niedoczynności tarczycy, a przyjmowanie tyroksyny całkowicie wyeliminowało istniejące objawy. (Folia Cardiologica Excerpta 2006; 1: 448-451

Incidentally found abdominal para-aortic and inferior mesenteric root lymph node metastases of prostatic adenocarcinoma in a surgical case with sigmoid colon cancer

We report a rare case of incidentally found metastatic adenocarcinoma in the abdominal para-aortic and inferior mesenteric root lymph nodes originating from the prostate, at the time of surgery in a patient with sigmoid colon cancer. A man in his mid-seventies was scheduled to undergo laparoscopic-assisted sigmoidectomy and regional lymph node dissection. At the beginning of laparoscopic surgery, a caterpillar-like swelling of abdominal para-aortic lymph nodes was found; the diagnosis using frozen sections was a metastatic adenocarcinoma showing cribriform and solid growth patterns different from typical colorectal cancer. The surgical procedure was changed to an abdominal sigmoidectomy with widely extended lymph node dissection, including inferior mesenteric root lymph nodes and sampling of abdominal para-aortic lymph nodes. The resected sigmoid colon cancer was a papillary/tubular adenocarcinoma invading the muscularis with no lymph node metastasis (pT2N0M0/pStage IIA). Additionally, the presence of a metastatic adenocarcinoma showing cribriform and solid growth patterns different from the primary sigmoid colon cancer was confirmed in the abdominal para-aortic and inferior mesenteric root lymph nodes. The metastatic adenocarcinoma cells were positive for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and negative for CDX2, indicating that the tumor was from the prostate. A total of ten prostatic core needle biopsy specimens also contained a usual (acinar) adenocarcinoma, with a Gleason score of 4 + 5 = 9. Androgen blockade was performed; the serum PSA level was reduced to 0.06 nanograms per microliter in the subsequent five months. Regardless of radiologic images, examination of serum PSA level is recommended before surgery in male surgical colorectal cancer patients more than 60 years old