Ciglitazone-a human PPARγ agonist-disrupts dorsoventral patterning in zebrafish.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates lipid/glucose homeostasis and adipocyte differentiation. While the role of PPARγ in adipogenesis and diabetes has been extensively studied, little is known about PPARγ function during early embryonic development. Within zebrafish, maternally-loaded pparγ transcripts are present within the first 6 h post-fertilization (hpf), and de novo transcription of zygotic pparγ commences at ~48 hpf. Since maternal pparγ transcripts are elevated during a critical window of cell fate specification, the objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that PPARγ regulates gastrulation and dorsoventral patterning during zebrafish embryogenesis. To accomplish this objective, we relied on (1) ciglitazone as a potent PPARγ agonist and (2) a splice-blocking, pparγ-specific morpholino to knockdown pparγ. We found that initiation of ciglitazone-a potent human PPARγ agonist-exposure by 4 hpf resulted in concentration-dependent effects on dorsoventral patterning in the absence of epiboly defects during gastrulation, leading to ventralized embryos by 24 hpf. Interestingly, ciglitazone-induced ventralization was reversed by co-exposure with dorsomorphin, a bone morphogenetic protein signaling inhibitor that induces strong dorsalization within zebrafish embryos. Moreover, mRNA-sequencing revealed that lipid- and cholesterol-related processes were affected by exposure to ciglitazone. However, pparγ knockdown did not block ciglitazone-induced ventralization, suggesting that PPARγ is not required for dorsoventral patterning nor involved in ciglitazone-induced toxicity within zebrafish embryos. Our findings point to a novel, PPARγ-independent mechanism of action and phenotype following ciglitazone exposure during early embryonic development

Growing garden roses

The rose has been called the “Queen of Flowers,”- and its universal popularity is clearly shown by the fact that people attempt to grow roses in all parts of this and other countries. Roses are among the oldest of cultivated flowers and the frequent references to them in the Bible and other ancient writings testify to the prominent part they have played in the history of mankind. Although the rigorous and rather changeable climate of certain sections of the United States offers some handicaps to rose growing, it is possible to select certain types of roses which can be grown easily in any location where other sun-loving garden flowers are successful. The wise gardener is careful to study the particular situation in question before selecting varieties and types for planting. For the average home garden in Iowa, the following classes of roses will be found most suitable

Is Your Garden Plus or Minus?

The home garden has come to stay. In every well planned home it is as much a part of the equipment as the kitchen or the dining room. It is an outdoor supply room. However, many people think this supply room cannot be improved upon. This is a mistake and the person who believes that his or her garden is the acme of perfection will soon be traveling in a garden rut. Too often home vegetable plots are laid out year after year m precisely the same fashion, the same kind of vegetables in the same place. It has become a habit to do it this way. If rotation is good for farm crops why shouldn\u27t it be valuable for vegetable crops? Gardeners need to get out of the old rut and make the vegetable yield plus instead of minus, not only in quantity but also in quality

Planting the Back Yard Forty Your Garden - A Place of Utility and Beauty

Popular slogans as Eat more vegetables, Vegetables for Vitamines have recently swept the country, and for a purpose. We have been too much of a meat-eating race and food specialists tell us that vegetables are the most logical food elements to balance our somewhat one-sided ration. In order to eat more vegetables we must grow more vegetables. Most amateur vegetable growers will admit that quantity and quality of vegetables produced is the primary object of the home garden, although here and there we find some ultra-enthusiasts who garden for the fun of it. It is the purpose of this article to emphasize the importance of the home garden as a source of these vegetables and also to suggest ways and means of adding beauty and pleasure to what ordinarily is considered a place of utility

Modern Women and Floriculture - Flower Growing is Interesting to Homemakers, But May Also Serve as a Profession

Floriculture is best defined as the art and science of growing flowers and ornamental plants. Demands for in· formation on this subject come from two distinct groups of people. One group is professional and includes greenhouse men, wholesale and retail florists, seeds· men, nurserymen and bulb growers. The other group is largely composed of amateur flower lovers and home gardeners

Passing the California High School Exit Exam: Have Recent Policies Improved Student Performance?

This report evaluates the effectiveness of three support services in helping struggling students pass the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). The report highlights the need to help students before they first take the exam in grade 10 and introduces the CAHSEE Early Warning Model, a forecasting tool to identify at-risk students in earlier grades

Gladiolus varieties in floriculture trial gardens at Iowa State College

One of the few gladiolus trial gardens in the United States is located at Ames, Iowa. This project was established in 1929 by the Iowa Gladiolus Society and the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State College. It has enjoyed the active cooperation of gladiolus breeders and commercial growers. The purpose of this garden is to make a comparative study of new and important varieties of gladioli to determine their commercial value and general adaptability. The value of this trial garden from a demonstration point of view alone can hardly be overestimated. Thousands of plant lovers visit the garden annually to inspect and study the blooms of the named varieties of this popular flower. The entire stock now under observation has been acquired by voluntary contribution of gladiolus growers and originators. These donated corms are held for test and demonstration only; none are for sale or otherwise distributed. Complete records are taken on season, racial character, vigor, habits of growth, color, markings and commercial value. This information is available to all who desire it, and it is the purpose of this bulletin to present tabulated results of performance records taken on the outstanding varieties under trial over a one-year and in some cases a two-year period. There are 253 varieties in this special list

Optical diode based on the chirality of guided photons

Photons are nonchiral particles: their handedness can be both left and right. However, when light is transversely confined, it can locally exhibit a transverse spin whose orientation is fixed by the propagation direction of the photons. Confined photons thus have chiral character. Here, we employ this to demonstrate nonreciprocal transmission of light at the single-photon level through a silica nanofibre in two experimental schemes. We either use an ensemble of spin-polarised atoms that is weakly coupled to the nanofibre-guided mode or a single spin-polarised atom strongly coupled to the nanofibre via a whispering-gallery-mode resonator. We simultaneously achieve high optical isolation and high forward transmission. Both are controlled by the internal atomic state. The resulting optical diode is the first example of a new class of nonreciprocal nanophotonic devices which exploit the chirality of confined photons and which are, in principle, suitable for quantum information processing and future quantum optical networks

Experimental Acute Exposure to Thirdhand Smoke and Changes in the Human Nasal Epithelial Transcriptome: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance:No previous studies have shown that acute inhalation of thirdhand smoke (THS) activates stress and survival pathways in the human nasal epithelium. Objective:To evaluate gene expression in the nasal epithelium of nonsmoking women following acute inhalation of clean air and THS. Design, Setting, and Participants:Nasal epithelium samples were obtained from participants in a randomized clinical trial (2011-2015) on the health effects of inhaled THS. In a crossover design, participants were exposed, head only, to THS and to conditioned, filtered air in a laboratory setting. The order of exposures was randomized and exposures were separated by at least 21 days. Ribonucleic acid was obtained from a subset of 4 healthy, nonsmoking women. Exposures:By chance, women in the subset were randomized to receive clean air exposure first and THS exposure second. Exposures lasted 3 hours. Main Outcomes and Measures:Differentially expressed genes were identified using RNA sequencing with a false-discovery rate less than 0.1. Results:Participants were 4 healthy, nonsmoking women aged 27 to 49 years (mean [SD] age, 42 [10.2] years) with no chronic diseases. A total of 389 differentially expressed genes were identified in nasal epithelium exposed to THS, while only 2 genes, which were not studied further, were affected by clean air. Enriched gene ontology terms associated with stress-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion were identified, such as respiratory electron transport chain (q = 2.84 × 10-3) and mitochondrial inner membrane (q = 7.21 × 10-6). Reactome pathway analysis identified terms associated with upregulation of DNA repair mechanisms, such as nucleotide excision repair (q = 1.05 × 10-2). Enrichment analyses using ingenuity pathway analysis identified canonical pathways related to stress-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion (eg, increased oxidative phosphorylation) (P = .001), oxidative stress (eg, glutathione depletion phase II reactions) (P = .04), and cell survival (z score = 5.026). Conclusions and Relevance:This study found that acute inhalation of THS caused cell stress that led to the activation of survival pathways. Some responses were consistent with stress-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion and similar to those demonstrated previously in vitro. These data may be valuable to physicians treating patients exposed to THS and may aid in formulating regulations for the remediation of THS-contaminated environments