Replication Protein A (RPA70C) Negatively Regulates Ribonucleotide Reductase (RNR) in the model plant \u3cem\u3eArabidopsis thaliana\u3c/em\u3e

Replication protein A (RPA) is a heterotrimeric single-stranded DNA-binding protein that plays an important role in cellular responses to DNA damage. For example, RPA can activate the cell-cycle checkpoint protein ATR in the presence of persisting DNA damage. The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has 5 functional homologous RPA70 genes which may play specific roles in response to DNA damaging agents. One chemical that causes DNA damage in Arabidopsis is Hydroxyurea (HU), which blocks DNA replication by inhibiting activity in Ribonucleotide Reductase (RNR), an enzyme responsible for the production of free deoxyribonucleotides (dNTPs). In studies of Arabidopsis mutants, atr plants, but not rpa70c, were found to be hypersensitive to HU and had inhibited root and shoot growth and increased root hair formation. However, the double mutant rpa70c.atr was found to be less sensitive to HU and had an enhanced expression of RNR compared to atr single mutants. The double mutant\u27s curious phenotype indicates that the double mutant suppresses the phenotype of the atr mutation and that the absence of the RPA70C gene partially reverses the effect of HU on atr mutant plants, probably due to the enhanced expression of RNR. These results indicate that RPA70C in conjunction with ATR plays a role in the regulation of DNA replication

Informe jurídico sobre la Resolución 1121-2020/SPC-INDECOPI

El presente informe jurídico contiene el análisis de los hechos y problemas jurídicos que se presentan en la Resolución 1121-2020/SPC-INDECOPI de fecha 22 de julio de 2020. La referida resolución versa sobre el procedimiento administrativo sancionador iniciado contra la empresa Crediscotia Financiera S.A. por haber incurrido en un acto discriminatorio en contra del señor Rafael Delgado Carranza por razón de su género. El acto analizado en la referida resolución consiste en la denegación de brindar la atención preferente al señor Delgado debido a su condición de hombre, quien acudió al local de la denunciada acompañado de su hijo de dos años. La Resolución 1121- 2020/SPC-INDECOPI representa un caso emblemático en materia de discriminación por género en el marco del derecho de protección al consumidor, y constituye un ejemplo del uso de este derecho como uno de los instrumentos con los que cuenta el Estado, y en el presente caso el Indecopi, para combatir la discriminación que pueden enfrentar los ciudadanos en su calidad de consumidores. Al respecto, en el presente informe analizaremos el razonamiento empleado por los órganos resolutivos del Indecopi en materia de discriminación, los medios probatorios empleados en el presente caso y el empleo de capacitaciones como medidas correctivasThis legal report contains the analysis of the most relevant facts and legal questions that were introduced in Decision 1121-2020/SPC-INDECOPI. The aforementioned decision consists of an administrative sanctioning proceeding initiated against the company Crediscotia Financiera S.A. for having committed a discriminatory act against Mr. Rafael Delgado Carranza. The conduct that was analyzed in the decision consists on the refusal to provide preferential attention to Mr. Delgado for his male gender, who went to the premises of the defendant in company of his two-year-old son. Decision 1121-2020/SPC-INDECOPI represents a relevant case on gender discrimination in consumer protection law, and an example of the use of consumer protection law as one of the instruments that the State institution can employ to fight against discrimination that the citizens may face as consumers. In this report we will analyse the reasoning of Indecopi's decision bodies regarding discrimination cases, the evidence used in this case and the use of trainings as a corrective measur

Primary nasopharyngeal amyloidosis with nasal polyposis: Case report of a diagnostic challenge

Background: Primary nasopharyngeal amyloidosis is a rare entity of localised amyloidosis. Patients usually present with symptoms that mimic other common nasal diseases. We report an unusual case of nasopharyngeal amyloidosis that co-exist with nasal polyposis at the same time. Case presentation: We described a 72-year-old gentleman who presented with left-sided nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea and hyposmia and right-sided hearing loss. Examination revealed bilateral intranasal polyposis with right lobular swelling at torus tubarius and right sided middle ear effusion. Biopsy revealed inflammatory nasal polyps with nasopharyngeal amyloidosis. Patient was treated successfully with functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) for nasal polyposis and an en bloc wide local excision of the torus tubarius with no signs of recurrence at one year follow-up. Conclusion: Clinicians should have raised index of suspicion of a possible primary nasopharyngeal amyloidosis in patients presenting with nasopharyngeal mass with co-existing nasal polyposis to avoid delay in diagnosis and treatment

Loss of murine Paneth cell function alters the immature intestinal microbiome and mimics changes seen in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains the leading cause of gastrointestinal morbidity and mortality in premature infants. Human and animal studies suggest a role for Paneth cells in NEC pathogenesis. Paneth cells play critical roles in host-microbial interactions and epithelial homeostasis. The ramifications of eliminating Paneth cell function on the immature host-microbial axis remains incomplete. Paneth cell function was depleted in the immature murine intestine using chemical and genetic models, which resulted in intestinal injury consistent with NEC. Paneth cell depletion was confirmed using histology, electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and real time RT-PCR. Cecal samples were analyzed at various time points to determine the effects of Paneth cell depletion with and without Klebsiella gavage on the microbiome. Deficient Paneth cell function induced significant compositional changes in the cecal microbiome with a significant increase in Enterobacteriacae species. Further, the bloom of Enterobacteriaceae species that occurs is phenotypically similar to what is seen in human NEC. This further strengthens our understanding of the importance of Paneth cells to intestinal homeostasis in the immature intestine

Constraining the NFW Potential with Observations and Modeling of LSB Galaxy Velocity Fields

We model the NFW potential to determine if, and under what conditions, the NFW halo appears consistent with the observed velocity fields of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies. We present mock DensePak IFU velocity fields and rotation curves of axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric potentials that are well-matched to the spatial resolution and velocity range of our sample galaxies. We find that the DensePak IFU can accurately reconstruct the velocity field produced by an axisymmetric NFW potential and that a tilted-ring fitting program can successfully recover the corresponding NFW rotation curve. We also find that non-axisymmetric potentials with fixed axis ratios change only the normalization of the mock velocity fields and rotation curves and not their shape. The shape of the modeled NFW rotation curves does not reproduce the data: these potentials are unable to simultaneously bring the mock data at both small and large radii into agreement with observations. Indeed, to match the slow rise of LSB galaxy rotation curves, a specific viewing angle of the non-axisymmetric potential is required. For each of the simulated LSB galaxies, the observer's line-of-sight must be along the minor axis of the potential, an arrangement which is inconsistent with a random distribution of halo orientations on the sky.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 15 pages, 13 color figures; High resolution version at http://www.astro.umd.edu/~kuzio/PAPERS/NFWvfs.htm

Sustained proliferation in cancer: mechanisms and novel therapeutic targets

Proliferation is an important part of cancer development and progression. This is manifest by altered expression and/or activity of cell cycle related proteins. Constitutive activation of many signal transduction pathways also stimulates cell growth. Early steps in tumor development are associated with a fibrogenic response and the development of a hypoxic environment which favors the survival and proliferation of cancer stem cells. Part of the survival strategy of cancer stem cells may manifested by alterations in cell metabolism. Once tumors appear, growth and metastasis may be supported by overproduction of appropriate hormones (in hormonally dependent cancers), by promoting angiogenesis, by undergoing epithelial to mesenchymal transition, by triggering autophagy, and by taking cues from surrounding stromal cells. A number of natural compounds (e.g., curcumin, resveratrol, indole-3-carbinol, brassinin, sulforaphane, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, genistein, ellagitannins, lycopene and quercetin) have been found to inhibit one or more pathways that contribute to proliferation (e.g., hypoxia inducible factor 1, nuclear factor kappa B, phosphoinositide 3 kinase/Akt, insulin-like growth factor receptor 1, Wnt, cell cycle associated proteins, as well as androgen and estrogen receptor signaling). These data, in combination with bioinformatics analyses, will be very important for identifying signaling pathways and molecular targets that may provide early diagnostic markers and/or critical targets for the development of new drugs or drug combinations that block tumor formation and progression

Neurological Tremor: Sensors, Signal Processing and Emerging Applications

Neurological tremor is the most common movement disorder, affecting more than 4% of elderly people. Tremor is a non linear and non stationary phenomenon, which is increasingly recognized. The issue of selection of sensors is central in the characterization of tremor. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art instrumentation and methods of signal processing for tremor occurring in humans. We describe the advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly used sensors, as well as the emerging wearable sensors being developed to assess tremor instantaneously. We discuss the current limitations and the future applications such as the integration of tremor sensors in BCIs (brain-computer interfaces) and the need for sensor fusion approaches for wearable solutions

The Northern HIPASS catalogue - Data presentation, completeness and reliability measures

The Northern HIPASS catalogue (NHICAT) is the northern extension of the HIPASS catalogue, HICAT (Meyer et al. 2004). This extension adds the sky area between the declination range of +2 deg < dec. < +25.5 deg to HICAT's declination range of -90 deg < dec. < +2 deg. HIPASS is a blind HI survey using the Parkes Radio Telescope covering 71% of the sky (including this northern extension) and a heliocentric velocity range of -1,280 km/s to 12,700 km/s . The entire Virgo Cluster region has been observed in the Northern HIPASS. The galaxy catalogue, NHICAT, contains 1002 sources with v_hel > 300 km/s . Sources with -300 km/s < v_hel < 300 km/s were excluded to avoid contamination by Galactic emission. In total, the entire HIPASS survey has found 5317 galaxies identified purely by their HI content. The full galaxy catalogue is publicly-available at .Comment: 12 pages, accepted for publication by MNRA

Following the Ontogeny of Retinal Waves: Pan-Retinal Recordings of Population Dynamics in the Neonatal Mouse

The immature retina generates spontaneous waves of spiking activity that sweep across the ganglion cell layer during a limited period of development before the onset of visual experience. The spatiotemporal patterns encoded in the waves are believed to be instructive for the wiring of functional connections throughout the visual system. However, the ontogeny of retinal waves is still poorly documented as a result of the relatively low resolution of conventional recording techniques. Here, we characterize the spatiotemporal features of mouse retinal waves from birth until eye opening in unprecedented detail using a large-scale, dense, 4096-channel multielectrode array that allowed us to record from the entire neonatal retina at near cellular resolution. We found that early cholinergic waves propagate with random trajectories over large areas with low ganglion cell recruitment. They become slower, smaller and denser when GABA(A) signalling matures, as occurs beyond postnatal day (P) 7. Glutamatergic influences dominate from P10, coinciding with profound changes in activity dynamics. At this time, waves cease to be random and begin to show repetitive trajectories confined to a few localized hotspots. These hotspots gradually tile the retina with time, and disappear after eye opening. Our observations demonstrate that retinal waves undergo major spatiotemporal changes during ontogeny. Our results support the hypotheses that cholinergic waves guide the refinement of retinal targets and that glutamatergic waves may also support the wiring of retinal receptive fields