In silico identification, characterization and expression analysis of miRNAs in Cannabis sativa L.

AbstractCannabis sativa L. is an annual herb and economically important as a source of fiber, oil, food and for its medicinal and intoxicating properties. MicroRNAs are a class of short (~21nt), non-coding regulatory RNAs that play a major role in post-transcriptional gene silencing. By in silico analysis of the publically available Transcript Sequence Assemblies (TSA) and Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) of C. sativa, a total of 18 conserved miRNAs belonging to 9 independent families were identified. To validate the predicted miRNAs, SYBR green based assay of qPCR was applied to detect the tissue-specific (young and mature leaf) expression of 6 putative miRNAs (csa-miR156, csa-miR159a, csa-miR171b, csa-miR172a, csa-miR5021a, csa-miR6034) in C. sativa. A total of 80 target genes were also recognized for the newly identified miRNAs, and subsequently assigned to three broad functional categories: biological processes, cellular components and molecular functions as defined for the Arabidopsis proteome. The potential target genes consist of transcription factors (33.75%), transporters (5%), kinase and other enzymes (20%) as well as signaling and other functional proteins (32.50%). The findings in this study on C. sativa miRNA precursors, mature miRNAs, and miRNA targets will be helpful for future research on miRNA-mediated gene regulation in this important plant species

Can the Intestine Perform Some Functions of the Kidney?

The majority of patients in countries like India and Pakistan with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) die without renal replacement therapy due to lack of adequate resources. The use of the intestinal mucosa as a semipermeable membrane for removal of urea and creatinine from the body has been previously studied using various types of intestinal lavage for gut dialysis. This study was undertaken in an animal model to assess the applicability, cost of therapy, and acceptability of the method for potential application in humans. Renal failure was induced in six dogs by bilateral ureteric ligation along with six healthy controls. Dialysis fluid was introduced per rectum as an enema, which was repeatedly administered. Clearances of serum creatinine and urea were assessed. Mean recovery of creatinine and urea in dialysate in the present study was around 8.925 mmol/l and around 207.74 μmol//l, respectively. The mean clearances of serum creatinine and urea were, respectively, 0.0683 and 0.0633 ml/sec. Enteral dialysis was effective and, considering its minimal cost (monthly cost will be around US$35–40) vis a vis available methods, it holds promise for the treatment of patients with ESRD. The creation of an appendicostomy for repeated introduction of antegrade enemas would be a consideration

The Large Hadron-Electron Collider at the HL-LHC

The Large Hadron-Electron Collider (LHeC) is designed to move the field of deep inelastic scattering (DIS) to the energy and intensity frontier of particle physics. Exploiting energy-recovery technology, it collides a novel, intense electron beam with a proton or ion beam from the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The accelerator and interaction region are designed for concurrent electron-proton and proton-proton operations. This report represents an update to the LHeC's conceptual design report (CDR), published in 2012. It comprises new results on the parton structure of the proton and heavier nuclei, QCD dynamics, and electroweak and top-quark physics. It is shown how the LHeC will open a new chapter of nuclear particle physics by extending the accessible kinematic range of lepton-nucleus scattering by several orders of magnitude. Due to its enhanced luminosity and large energy and the cleanliness of the final hadronic states, the LHeC has a strong Higgs physics programme and its own discovery potential for new physics. Building on the 2012 CDR, this report contains a detailed updated design for the energy-recovery electron linac (ERL), including a new lattice, magnet and superconducting radio-frequency technology, and further components. Challenges of energy recovery are described, and the lower-energy, high-current, three-turn ERL facility, PERLE at Orsay, is presented, which uses the LHeC characteristics serving as a development facility for the design and operation of the LHeC. An updated detector design is presented corresponding to the acceptance, resolution, and calibration goals that arise from the Higgs and parton-density-function physics programmes. This paper also presents novel results for the Future Circular Collider in electron-hadron (FCC-eh) mode, which utilises the same ERL technology to further extend the reach of DIS to even higher centre-of-mass energies.Peer reviewe

Reduction of Nitrobenzene by Dichloro-bis(phenylisocyano)-palladium(II) as Homogeneous Catalyst

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Abstract: This study describes development and subsequent validation of a reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for estimation of letrozole, a new aromatase inhibitor, in raw material, pharmaceutical formulations like tablets and nanoparticles and in release medium. The chromatographic system consisted of a FinePak C 8 column, an isocratic mobile phase composed of deionized water, acetonitrile and methanol (50:30:20 v/v/v) and UV detection at 240 nm. Letrozole was eluted at 9.8 min with no interfering peak of excipients used for the preparation of dosage forms. The method was linear over the range from 1 to 50 µg/mL in raw drug (R 2 = 0.9999). The intra-day and inter-day precision values were in the range of 0.122 ñ 0.277%. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.207 µg/mL and 0.627 µg/mL, respectively. Results were validated statistically according to ICH guidelines in both tablets and nanoparticles. Validation of the method yielded good results concerning range, linearity, precision and accuracy. The method was successfully applied in drug release studies from nanoparticles. The release kinetics was found to be fitted into the Higuchi model

PUB63, a novel early heat responsive ubiquitin E3 ligase from rice implicates heat stress tolerance

Heat stress has emerged as a major environmental challenge triggering reduced crop yields, compromised growth, and negatively affecting the development of crops. The cellular response to heat stress involves transcriptional and translational reprogramming and regulation of protein homeostasis which is crucial for the heat stress response and leads to the differential expression of many genes associated with protein turnover mechanisms. Plant U-box (PUB) proteins are a class of the Ubiquitin-E3 ligase involved in the Ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. In the present study, we investigated the role of a PUB protein from rice, OsPUB63, involved in heat stress responses in rice. We also identified all PUB coding genes from O. sativa indica and compared with O. sativa japonica. A quantitative real time PCR demonstrated, OsPUB63 as an early heat inducible gene in rice and the subcellular localization study confirmed its presence in the nucleus and cytosol. OsPUB63 was demonstrated as a TPR repeat containing protein with molecular weight of 39.3 KDa. Using a combination of genetic, biochemical, and physiological assays, our work establishes OsPUB63 as crucial in regulating the heat stress response in rice. Specifically, we show that OsPUB63 enhances the heat stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis by promoting the accumulation of proline and reduced MDA content. Our work has identified PUB63 as the first PUB gene family E3 ligase from rice which is implicated in heat stress response and provide a crucial target for improving crop yields under high-temperature conditions in rice