Dichloridotetra­kis­(diniconazole)nickel(II)

In the title compound, [NiCl2(C15H17Cl2N3O)4], the Ni atom lies on an inversion center and has an axially extended trans-NiCl2N4 octa­hedral geometry arising from its coordination by four diniconazole [systematic name: (E)-(RS)-1-(2,4-dichloro­phen­yl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)pent-1-en-3-ol] ligands and two chloride ions. In the crystal, O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into [100] chains

Neurochemical characterization of pERK-expressing spinal neurons in histamine-induced itch

Date of Acceptance: 08/07/2015 Acknowledgements This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2012CB966904, 2011CB51005), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31271182, 81200692, 91232724, 81200933, 81101026), Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (12ZR1434300), Key Specialty Construction Project of Pudong Health Bureau of Shanghai (PWZz2013-17), Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Molecular Biology of Neural Development (ZDSY20120617112838879), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (1500219072) and Sino-UK Higher Education Research Partnership for PhD Studies.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation is required for itch sensation in the spinal cord

BACKGROUND: Itch, chronic itch in particular, can have a significant negative impact on an individual’s quality of life. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying itch processing in the central nervous system remain largely unknown. RESULTS: We report here that activation of ERK signaling in the spinal cord is required for itch sensation. ERK activation, as revealed by anti-phosphorylated ERK1/2 immunostaining, is observed in the spinal dorsal horn of mice treated with intradermal injections of histamine and compound 48/80 but not chloroquine or SLIGRL-NH2, indicating that ERK activation only occurs in histamine-dependent acute itch. In addition, ERK activation is also observed in 2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced itch. Consistently, intrathecal administration of the ERK phosphorylation inhibitor U0126 dramatically reduces the scratching behaviors induced by histamine and DNFB, but not by chloroquine. Furthermore, administration of the histamine receptor H1 antagonist chlorpheniramine decreases the scratching behaviors and ERK activation induced by histamine, but has no effect on DNFB-induced itch responses. Finally, the patch-clamp recording shows that in histamine-, chloroquine- and DNFB-treated mice the spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current (sEPSC) of dorsal horn neurons is increased, and the decrease of action potential threshold is largely prevented by bathing of U0126 in histamine- and DNFB-treated mice but not those treated with chloroquine. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate a critical role for ERK activation in itch sensation at the spinal level

Successful extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for postoperative cardiopulmonary failure in newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia: case reports and literature reviews

IntroductionCongenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a structural defect caused by inadequate fusion of the pleuroperitoneal membrane that forms the diaphragm, allowing peritoneal viscera to protrude into the pleural cavity. Up to 30% of newborns with CDH require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. As with all interventions, the risks and benefits of ECMO must be carefully considered in these patients. Cardiopulmonary function has been shown to worsen rather than improve after surgical CDH repair. Even after a detailed perioperative assessment, sudden cardiopulmonary failure after surgery is dangerous and requires timely and effective treatments.MethodThree cases of cardiopulmonary failure after surgical CDH treatment in newborns have been reported. ECMO support was needed for these three patients and was successfully discontinued. We report our treatment experience.ConclusionECMO is feasible for the treatment of postoperative cardiopulmonary failure in newborns with CDH

A mouse line for inducible and reversible silencing of specific neurons

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Acknowledgements: We thank Dr. Joseph W. Lynch for sharing the IVMR plasmid, and Dr. Lisa M. Monteggia for sharing the AAV2-Cre plasmid. Rosa-CAG targeting vector was obtained from Addgenes. This work was supported by the Key State Research Program from Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2011CB510005, 2012CB966900, 2013CB835103), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81221001, 81200692, 81101026, 31100788, 31271182, 31030034, 91232724), Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (12XD1404800), Shanghai Pujiang Program (12PJ1408800), Key Disciplines Group Construction Project of Pudong Health Bureau of Shanghai (PWZxq2014-04) and Sino-UK Higher Education Research Partnership for PhD Studies.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Regulatory mechanisms of plant rhizobacteria on plants to the adaptation of adverse agroclimatic variables

The mutualistic plant rhizobacteria which improve plant development and productivity are known as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). It is more significant due to their ability to help the plants in different ways. The main physiological responses, such as malondialdehyde, membrane stability index, relative leaf water content, photosynthetic leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence efficiency of photosystem-II, and photosynthetic pigments are observed in plants during unfavorable environmental conditions. Plant rhizobacteria are one of the more crucial chemical messengers that mediate plant development in response to stressed conditions. The interaction of plant rhizobacteria with essential plant nutrition can enhance the agricultural sustainability of various plant genotypes or cultivars. Rhizobacterial inoculated plants induce biochemical variations resulting in increased stress resistance efficiency, defined as induced systemic resistance. Omic strategies revealed plant rhizobacteria inoculation caused the upregulation of stress-responsive genes—numerous recent approaches have been developed to protect plants from unfavorable environmental threats. The plant microbes and compounds they secrete constitute valuable biostimulants and play significant roles in regulating plant stress mechanisms. The present review summarized the recent developments in the functional characteristics and action mechanisms of plant rhizobacteria in sustaining the development and production of plants under unfavorable environmental conditions, with special attention on plant rhizobacteria-mediated physiological and molecular responses associated with stress-induced responses

Development of genome-specific primers for homoeologous genes in allopolyploid species: the waxy and starch synthase II genes in allohexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as examples

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In allopolypoid crops, homoeologous genes in different genomes exhibit a very high sequence similarity, especially in the coding regions of genes. This makes it difficult to design genome-specific primers to amplify individual genes from different genomes. Development of genome-specific primers for agronomically important genes in allopolypoid crops is very important and useful not only for the study of sequence diversity and association mapping of genes in natural populations, but also for the development of gene-based functional markers for marker-assisted breeding. Here we report on a useful approach for the development of genome-specific primers in allohexaploid wheat.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>In the present study, three genome-specific primer sets for the <it>waxy </it>(<it>Wx</it>) genes and four genome-specific primer sets for the <it>starch synthase II </it>(<it>SSII</it>) genes were developed mainly from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and/or insertions or deletions (Indels) in introns and intron-exon junctions. The size of a single PCR product ranged from 750 bp to 1657 bp. The total length of amplified PCR products by these genome-specific primer sets accounted for 72.6%-87.0% of the <it>Wx </it>genes and 59.5%-61.6% of the <it>SSII </it>genes. Five genome-specific primer sets for the <it>Wx </it>genes (one for Wx-7A, three for Wx-4A and one for Wx-7D) could distinguish the wild type wheat and partial waxy wheat lines. These genome-specific primer sets for the <it>Wx </it>and <it>SSII </it>genes produced amplifications in hexaploid wheat, cultivated durum wheat, and <it>Aegilops tauschii </it>accessions, but failed to generate amplification in the majority of wild diploid and tetraploid accessions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>For the first time, we report on the development of genome-specific primers from three homoeologous <it>Wx </it>and <it>SSII </it>genes covering the majority of the genes in allohexaploid wheat. These genome-specific primers are being used for the study of sequence diversity and association mapping of the three homoeologous <it>Wx </it>and <it>SSII </it>genes in natural populations of both hexaploid wheat and cultivated tetraploid wheat. The strategies used in this paper can be used to develop genome-specific primers for homoeologous genes in any allopolypoid species. They may be also suitable for (i) the development of gene-specific primers for duplicated paralogous genes in any diploid species, and (ii) the development of allele-specific primers at the same gene locus.</p

Deciphering neo-sex and B chromosome evolution by the draft genome of Drosophila albomicans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Drosophila albomicans </it>is a unique model organism for studying both sex chromosome and B chromosome evolution. A pair of its autosomes comprising roughly 40% of the whole genome has fused to the ancient X and Y chromosomes only about 0.12 million years ago, thereby creating the youngest and most gene-rich neo-sex system reported to date. This species also possesses recently derived B chromosomes that show non-Mendelian inheritance and significantly influence fertility.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We sequenced male flies with B chromosomes at 124.5-fold genome coverage using next-generation sequencing. To characterize neo-Y specific changes and B chromosome sequences, we also sequenced inbred female flies derived from the same strain but without B's at 28.5-fold.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We assembled a female genome and placed 53% of the sequence and 85% of the annotated proteins into specific chromosomes, by comparison with the 12 <it>Drosophila genomes</it>. Despite its very recent origin, the non-recombining neo-Y chromosome shows various signs of degeneration, including a significant enrichment of non-functional genes compared to the neo-X, and an excess of tandem duplications relative to other chromosomes. We also characterized a B-chromosome linked scaffold that contains an actively transcribed unit and shows sequence similarity to the subcentromeric regions of both the ancient X and the neo-X chromosome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results provide novel insights into the very early stages of sex chromosome evolution and B chromosome origination, and suggest an unprecedented connection between the births of these two systems in <it>D. albomicans</it>.</p