Pat1 promotes processing body assembly by enhancing the phase separation of the DEAD-box ATPase Dhh1 and RNA

Processing bodies (PBs) are cytoplasmic mRNP granules that assemble via liquid-liquid phase separation and are implicated in the decay or storage of mRNAs. How PB assembly is regulated in cells remains unclear. Previously, we identified the ATPase activity of the DEAD-box protein Dhh1 as a key regulator of PB dynamics and demonstrated that Not1, an activator of the Dhh1 ATPase and member of the CCR4-NOT deadenylase complex inhibits PB assembly; in vivo; (Mugler et al., 2016). Here, we show that the PB component Pat1 antagonizes Not1 and promotes PB assembly via its direct interaction with Dhh1. Intriguingly,; in vivo; PB dynamics can be recapitulated; in vitro; , since Pat1 enhances the phase separation of Dhh1 and RNA into liquid droplets, whereas Not1 reverses Pat1-Dhh1-RNA condensation. Overall, our results uncover a function of Pat1 in promoting the multimerization of Dhh1 on mRNA, thereby aiding the assembly of large multivalent mRNP granules that are PBs

Vitamin D2-Enriched Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) Improves Memory in Both Wild Type and APPswe/PS1dE9 Transgenic Mice

Vitamin D deficiency is widespread, affecting over 30% of adult Australians, and increasing up to 80% for at-risk groups including the elderly (age>65). The role for Vitamin D in development of the central nervous system is supported by the association between Vitamin D deficiency and incidence of neurological and psychiatric disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). A reported positive relationship between Vitamin D status and cognitive performance suggests that restoring Vitamin D status might provide a cognitive benefit to those with Vitamin D deficiency. Mushrooms are a rich source of ergosterol, which can be converted to Vitamin D2 by treatment with UV light, presenting a new and convenient dietary source of Vitamin D2. We hypothesised that Vitamin D2-enriched mushrooms (VDM) could prevent the cognitive and pathological abnormalities associated with dementia. Two month old wild type (B6C3) and AD transgenic (APPSwe/PS1dE9) mice were fed a diet either deficient in Vitamin D2 or a diet which was supplemented with VDM, containing 1±0.2 μg/kg (∼54 IU/kg) vitamin D2, for 7 months. Effects of the dietary intervention on memory were assessed pre- and post-feeding. Brain sections were evaluated for amyloid β (Aβ) plaque loads and inflammation biomarkers using immuno-histochemical methods. Plasma vitamin D metabolites, Aβ40, Aβ42, calcium, protein and cholesterol were measured using biochemical assays. Compared with mice on the control diet, VDM-fed wild type and AD transgenic mice displayed improved learning and memory, had significantly reduced amyloid plaque load and glial fibrillary acidic protein, and elevated interleukin-10 in the brain. The results suggest that VDM might provide a dietary source of Vitamin D2 and other bioactives for preventing memory-impairment in dementia. This study supports the need for a randomised clinical trial to determine whether or not VDM consumption can benefit cognitive performance in the wider population

On the need for an international effort to capture, share and use crystallization screening data

Development of an ontology for the description of crystallization experiments and results is proposed

Parameter recovery in frequency-domain time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy; resolution of the prototropic forms of 5-carboxyfluorescein in the physiological pH range

In time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, the resoln. of fluorescence species becomes increasingly difficult as their resp. lifetimes get closer. For a biexponential decay, a factor of 1.4 between the 2 decay times is commonly accepted as the practical resoln. limit. The goal of the present contribution is to characterize the fluorescence probe 5-carboxyfluorescein using frequency-domain time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (FD-TRFS). To resolve the different prototropic forms of this probe, the limit above had to be overcome. For this purpose, the std. global anal. method was used, and special emphasis was put on the errors assocd. with the recovered parameters. In particular, a Monte Carlo simulation was performed to est. these errors and the results of this anal. were compared with those delivered by software packages widely used in the field. The lifetimes of the trianionic and dianionic forms of 5-carboxyfluorescein were 4.01 +- 0.06 and 3.03 +- 0.09 ns, resp., and the pKa for this acid-base equil. is 6.9 +- 0.3. [on SciFinder (R)

Fast Linear Feature Detection Using Multiple Directional Non-Maximum Suppression

Linear feature detection is a very important issue in the areas of image analysis, computer vision, and pattern recognition. It has found applications in many diverse areas such as neurite outgrowth detection, compartment assay analysis, retinal vessel extraction, skin hair removal for malonoma detection, plant root analysis, and roads detection. We have developed a new algorithm for linear feature detection using multiple directional non-maximum suppression. The algorithm is very fast compared with methods in the literature. We also show a large number of application examples using our linear feature detection algorithm, and very good results have been obtained. 1