Tudor staphylococcal nuclease is an evolutionarily conserved component of the programmed cell death degradome

Programmed cell death (PCD) is executed by proteases, which cleave diverse proteins thus modulating their biochemical and cellular functions. Proteases of the caspase family and hundreds of caspase substrates constitute a major part of the PCD degradome in animals(1,2). Plants lack close homologues of caspases, but instead possess an ancestral family of cysteine proteases, metacaspases(3,4). Although metacaspases are essential for PCD(5-7), their natural substrates remain unknown(4,8). Here we show that metacaspase mcII-Pa cleaves a phylogenetically conserved protein, TSN (Tudor staphylococcal nuclease), during both developmental and stress-induced PCD. TSN knockdown leads to activation of ectopic cell death during reproduction, impairing plant fertility. Surprisingly, human TSN (also known as p100 or SND1), a multifunctional regulator of gene expression(9-15), is cleaved by caspase-3 during apoptosis. This cleavage impairs the ability of TSN to activate mRNA splicing, inhibits its ribonuclease activity and is important for the execution of apoptosis. Our results establish TSN as the first biological substrate of metacaspase and demonstrate that despite the divergence of plants and animals from a common ancestor about one billion years ago and their use of distinct PCD pathways, both have retained a common mechanism to compromise cell viability through the cleavage of the same substrate, TSN.

Preparation of planar retinal specimens:verification by histology, mRNA profiling, and proteome analysis

Elucidation of the transcriptome and proteome of the normal retina will be difficult since it is comprised of at least 55 different cell types. However the characteristic layered cellular anatomy of the retina makes it amenable to planar sectioning, enabling the generation of enriched retinal cell populations. The aim of this study was to validate a reproducible method for preparing enriched retinal layers from porcine retina.

The Holocene vegetation cover of Britain and Ireland: overcoming problems of scale and discerning patterns of openness

The vegetation of Europe has undergone substantial changes during the course of the Holocene epoch, resulting from range expansion of plants following climate amelioration, competition between taxa and disturbance through anthropogenic activities. Much of the detail of this pattern is understood from
decades of pollen analytical work across Europe, and this understanding has been used to address questions relating to vegetation-climate feedback, biogeography and human impact. Recent advances in modelling the relationship between pollen and vegetation now make it possible to transform pollen
proportions into estimates of vegetation cover at both regional and local spatial scales, using the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA), i.e. the REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites) and the LOVE (LOcal VEgetation) models. This paper presents the compilation and analysis of 73 pollen stratigraphies from the British Isles, to assess the application of the LRA and describe the pattern of landscape/woodland openness (i.e. the cover of low herb and bushy vegetation) through the Holocene. The results show that multiple small sites can be used as an effective replacement for a single large site for the reconstruction of regional vegetation cover. The REVEALS vegetation estimates imply that the British Isles had a greater degree of landscape/woodland openness at the regional scale than areas on the European mainland. There is considerable spatial bias in the British Isles dataset towards wetland areas and uplands, which may explain higher estimates of landscape openness compared with Europe. Where multiple estimates of regional vegetation are available from within the same region inter-regional differences are greater than intra-regional differences, supporting the use of the REVEALS model to the estimation of regional vegetation from pollen data.

Plant extract: A promising biomatrix for ecofriendly, controlled synthesis of silver nanoparticles

Uses of plants extracts are found to be more advantageous over chemical, physical and microbial (bacterial, fungal, algal) methods for silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesis. In phytonanosynthesis, biochemical diversity of plant extract, non-pathogenicity, low cost and flexibility in reaction parameters are accounted for high rate of AgNPs production with different shape, size and applications. At the same time, care has to be taken to select suitable phytofactory for AgNPs synthesis based on certain parameters such as easy availability, large-scale nanosynthesis potential and non-toxic nature of plant extract. This review focuses on synthesis of AgNPs with particular emphasis on biological synthesis using plant extracts. Some points have been given on selection of plant extract for AgNPs synthesis and case studies on AgNPs synthesis using different plant extracts. Reaction parameters contributing to higher yield of nanoparticles are presented here. Synthesis mechanisms and overview of present and future applications of plant-extract-synthesized AgNPs are also discussed here. Limitations associated with use of AgNPs are summarised in the present review.

An anatomical and analytical study of the Modiolus: Enlightening its relevance to plastic surgery

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the structures, muscles, and fasciae of which the modiolus is composed. It can aid in the understanding and, therefore, the utilization of plastic surgery for the aesthetic or reconstructive treatment of that region, especially the angle of the mouth. Methods: Dissections of the midface were done on five different cadavers. They were of different races (3 males, 2 females). The anatomy of the modiolus was studied in detail. New anatomical observations were classified as type I through type VI. Results: The perifacial artery fascia contributed to the modiolus in four (80%) specimens and was not part of it in 1 (20%) specimen. The facial artery was anterior to it in one (20%) specimen, lateral in four (80%) specimens, and never medial to it. No significant relationship was observed between the perifacial artery fascia contribution to the modiolus and gender or race. Also, the location of the facial artery lateral or anterior to the modiolus was not significantly related to gender or race. In addition, the deep and superficial fasciae of the face converged not anterior to the masseter muscle but actually at the modiolus, which was different from observations made by others. Conclusion: The modiolus is of critical importance in aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery of the face. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC and International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

An anatomical study of the human lumbar ligamentum flavum

Objectives: A detailed investigation of the gross and microscopic anatomy of ligamentum flavum. Methods: Material included 14 lumbar vertebral columns obtained from the Anatomy Department, King Faisal University, Dammam during the period between January 2005 and January 2006. Height, width, and thickness of ligamenta flava were measured. A microscopic study was also performed. Computed tomography scan was carried out on the lumbar vertebrae of 30 patients for measuring the ligamentum flavum. Results: The anatomical results showed that the right and left ligamenta flava join in the midline forming an acute angle with a ventral opening. The ligamentum flavum is rectangular and has 4 borders and 2 surfaces. It is attached inferiorly to the superior edge and the postero-superior surface of the lamina below. It is attached superiorly to the inferior edge and the antero-inferior surface of the lamina above. Its height ranges from 14-22 mm. The width of its lower part ranges from 11-23 mm, and the thickness ranges from 3.5-6 mm. The histological results revealed that it is comprised chiefly of elastic fibres and some collagen fibres. Conclusion: The information reported in this study is of clinical value in the practice of lumbar epidural anesthesia or analgesia. Epidural puncture will be best performed through the lower and medial portion of the ligamentum flavum slightly lateral to the midline.

Anatomic dissection of the arterial supply of the lips:an anatomical and analytical approach

Previous investigators have not described some of the new anatomic variations or provided quantitative and analytical data of the arterial anatomy of the lips in as much depth as in this study. Dissections of 14 different facial sides of cadavers were done. Through investigating the arterial supply of the upper and lower lips, measurements were performed and statistically analyzed. The main arterial supply of the upper lip was from the superior labial artery (SLA, mean external diameter, 1.8 mm [SD, 0.74 mm]); in addition, the subalar and septal branches contributed to its vascularization. The origin of the SLA was above the labial commissure in 78.6%. The subalar branch was not found but replaced by the alar artery that arose from the infraorbital artery in 1 specimen. The main arterial supply of the lower lip was derived from 3 branches of the facial artery, the inferior labial artery (mean external diameters, 1.4 mm [SD, 0.31 mm]) and the horizontal and vertical labiomental arteries. The inferior labial artery originated mostly below the labial commissure in 42.9% and formed a common trunk with the SLA in 28.6%. The horizontal labiomental artery was present in all, but vertical labiomental artery was absent in 21.4% of specimens. Overall, observed anatomic variations were classified into types I to VIII. Significant relations between the demographic variables and measured parameters were reported including the correlation coefficient among evaluated parameters. In conclusion, this study provides various information that aids in creating new flaps and supports the vascular base for clinical procedures in reconstructive surgery of the lip.

The Politics of Observation:Radical Psychiatry and Social Documentary

How did the counter-cultural aims of Radical Psychiatry coincide with those of documentary filmmaking in the 1960s? Where the forms and structures of new approaches to the documentary necessarily complicit in promoting the clinical and anti-clinical practices, and wider political agenda, of Radical Psychiatry? How did the documentary deal with the ethical, aesthetic, and audience-related issues associated with filming personalities and environments associated with Radical Psychiatry? How did Radical Psychiatry and the documentary shape postwar discourses on trauma, especially within conflict and post-conflict (PTSD) contexts? What is the legacy of Radical Pschiatry today, and how has it been explored by contemporary documentray film?

This article addresses these question by examining a range of documentaries dealing with the radical and 'anti-psychiatric' ideas and methods of figures such as R.D.Laing, David Cooper, Jan Bastiaans, Timothy Leary, and Franco Basaglia. Films analysed include Peter Robinson's Asylum (1972) and Psychiatry and Violence (1973); Ah, Sunflower (Klinkert and Sinclair, 1967); Anatomy of Violence (Davis, 1967); Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out (Robin Clarke, 1967), W. R. - Mysteries of the Organism (Makavejev, 1971); Raymond Depardon's San Clemente (1980) and Urgences (1988); and Louis van Gasteren's trilogy Now Do You Get it Why I am Crying (1969), The Price of Survival (2003), and There is No Plane to Zagreb (2012). 
The article concludes with a discussion of Nicolas Philibert's Every Little Thing (1997) within the context of the French documentary tradition and the film's more immediate subject - the famous clinic at La Borde established by Jean Oury, and associated with the methods and theories of figures such as Jacques
 Lacan, Francesc Tosquelles, Franz Fanon, and Félix Guattari.

Conserved histidine of metal transporter AtNRAMP1 is crucial for optimal plant growth under manganese deficiency at chilling temperatures

Manganese (Mn) is an essential nutrient required for plant growth, in particular in the process of photosynthesis. Plant performance is influenced by various environmental stresses including contrasting temperatures, light or nutrient deficiencies. The molecular responses of plants exposed to such stress factors in combination are largely unknown. 

Screening of 108 Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) accessions for reduced photosynthetic performance at chilling temperatures was performed and one accession (Hog) was isolated. Using genetic and molecular approaches, the molecular basis of this particular response to temperature (GxE interaction) was identified. 

Hog showed an induction of a severe leaf chlorosis and impaired growth after transfer to lower temperatures. We demonstrated that this response was dependent on the nutrient content of the soil. Genetic mapping and complementation identified NRAMP1 as the causal gene. Chlorotic phenotype was associated with a histidine to tyrosine (H239Y) substitution in the allele of Hog NRAMP1. This led to lethality when Hog seedlings were directly grown at 4 degrees C. 

Chemical complementation and hydroponic culture experiments showed that Mn deficiency was the major cause of this GxE interaction. For the first time, the NRAMP-specific highly conserved histidine was shown to be crucial for plant performance.

The extended phenotype of Scots pine Pinus sylvestris structures the understorey assemblage

Heritable variation in plant secondary compounds in dominant species has been hypothesised to effect ecosystem function and the structure of associated assemblages of plants, microbes and animals. The functioning of this extended phenotype in relation to the understorey vegetation composition was tested within a boreal forest system dominated by Pinus sylvestris which contains a range of monoterpenes, the composition of which is largely under genetic control. A variance partitioning approach was adopted to identify the relative importance of tree chemistry, environment, spatial location and tree architecture in controlling the distribution of species in the ground flora under individual trees. The monoterpene composition of the pine needles appeared to contribute significantly to controlling understorey vegetation composition, but was less important than environmental factors, though similar to spatial factors. Thus there appears to be a link between variation in the chemical composition of the single, dominant tree species within this system and the pattern of occurrence and abundance in other species at the same trophic level.