Three-step pathway engineering results in more incidence rate and higher emission of nerolidol and improved attraction of Diadegma semiclausum

The concentration and ratio of terpenoids in the headspace volatile blend of plants have a fundamental role in the communication of plants and insects. The sesquiterpene (E)-nerolidol is one of the important volatiles with effect on beneficial carnivores for biologic pest management in the field. To optimize de novo biosynthesis and reliable and uniform emission of (E)-nerolidol, we engineered different steps of the (E)-nerolidol biosynthesis pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana. Introduction of a mitochondrial nerolidol synthase gene mediates de novo emission of (E)-nerolidol and linalool. Co-expression of the mitochondrial FPS1 and cytosolic HMGR1 increased the number of emitting transgenic plants (incidence rate) and the emission rate of both volatiles. No association between the emission rate of transgenic volatiles and their growth inhibitory effect could be established. (E)-Nerolidol was to a large extent metabolized to non-volatile conjugates.

ELEKTRONIIKKATEHTAAN PAIKALLISESTIVALMISTETTUJEN KOMPONENTTIEN HANKINTAKETJUN KEHITTÄMINEN

Varastojen vähentämiseksi ehdotetaan usein eräkokojen pienentämistä. Tämä sopii sellaiseen toimintaympäristöön, jossa voidaan ostaa nimikkeitä oman valmistuksen ja myynnin tahdissa. Kun kiihkeärytmisessä elektroniikkabisneksessä alihankkijoilta ja varustetoimittajilta sitovasti tilataan hyvin lyhyellä toimitusajalla, ei oston eräkokojen pienentäminen kevennä materiaalivirtaa. Täytyy ottaa löysät pois hankintaketjun toimitusajoista. Monessa toimitusketjussa jalostava työ vaatii vain murto-osan toimitusajasta, ja loppuaika kuluu varastoissa odotteluun, kuljettamiseen ja moninkertaiseen tarkastamiseen. Hukka-ajan leikkaamisen ohessa haetaan muita kustannussäästöjä. Korkeiden työvoimakustannusten rasittama teollisuus on pyrkinyt teknisillä ratkaisuilla korvaamaan palkkatyövoiman erilaisilla mekaanisilla järjestelmillä. Pisimmällä ollaan pienerä- ja yksittäisvalmistusta harjoittavissa konepajoissa, joissa on investoitu FM-järjestelmiin. Diplomityössä on esitetty kaksi nivoutuvaa tutkimusprojektia, joista ensimmäinen keskittyy miehittämättömän käytön kehittämiseen ja toinen keventää hankintaketjun materiaalivirtaa. Ensin esiteltävä projekti on elektroniikkateollisuudelle uusi aluevaltaus. Siksi asiassa on jouduttu tekemään runsaasti perustutkimusta ja etenemään etappi kerrallaan. Projektin tuloksena on saatu aikaan automaattinen, joustava kuljetin, joka yksinään pystyy toimimaan ilman työvoimaa niin pitkään kunnes sen akut pitää ladata. Joustavan kuljettimen sisältävän järjestelmän muita elementtejä ei projektissa nostettu samalle miehittämättömän käytön tasolle, vaan ensin päätettiin hankkia kokemuksia kuljettimen toiminnasta. Toinen projekti syventää yhteistyötä yrityksen alihankkijan kanssa. Alihankkija on yksi harvojen Suomesta hankittavien komponenttien toimittaja. Siksi on pidetty tärkeänä tiivistää toimitusaikaa lähemmäs yrityksen sitovan tilauskannan pituutta. Tutkittavaksi valittiin mahdollisuus siirtää alihankkijan tuotantolaite yrityksen välittömään läheisyyteen, jolloin yrityksen tuotanto voisi tilata komponenttierän alihankkijan koneelta, kun se lähtötilanteessa tilataan komponenttivarastosta. Ennusteen perusteella tilattaisiin vain raaka-aine, mutta arvoa lisäävä työ tehtäisiin vain ja ainoastaan tilauksen mukaisesti.

Changes of Root Length and Root-to-Crown Ratio after Apical Surgery: An Analysis by Using Cone-beam Computed Tomography.

INTRODUCTION: Apical surgery is an important treatment option for teeth with post-treatment periodontitis. Although apical surgery involves root-end resection, no morphometric data are yet available about root-end resection and its impact on the root-to-crown ratio (RCR). The present study assessed the length of apicectomy and calculated the loss of root length and changes of RCR after apical surgery. METHODS: In a prospective clinical study, cone-beam computed tomography scans were taken preoperatively and postoperatively. From these images, the crown and root lengths of 61 roots (54 teeth in 47 patients) were measured before and after apical surgery. Data were collected relative to the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) as well as to the crestal bone level (CBL). One observer took all measurements twice (to calculate the intraobserver variability), and the means were used for further analysis. The following parameters were assessed for all treated teeth as well as for specific tooth groups: length of root-end resection and percentage change of root length, preoperative and postoperative RCRs, and percentage change of RCR after apical surgery. RESULTS: The mean length of root-end resection was 3.58 ± 1.43 mm (relative to the CBL). This amounted to a loss of 33.2% of clinical and 26% of anatomic root length. There was an overall significant difference between the tooth groups (P < .05). There was also a statistically significant difference comparing mandibular and maxillary teeth (P < .05), but not for incisors/canines versus premolars/molars (P = .125). The mean preoperative and postoperative RCRs (relative to CEJ) were 1.83 and 1.35, respectively (P < .001). With regard to the CBL reference, the mean preoperative and postoperative RCRs were 1.08 and 0.71 (CBL), respectively (P < .001). The calculated changes of RCR after apical surgery were 24.8% relative to CEJ and 33.3% relative to CBL (P < .001). Across the different tooth groups, the mean RCR was not significantly different (P = .244 for CEJ and 0.114 for CBL). CONCLUSIONS: This CBCT-based study demonstrated that the RCR is significantly changed after root-end resection in apical surgery irrespective of the clinical (CBL) or anatomic (CEJ) reference levels. The lowest, and thus clinically most critical, postoperative RCR was observed in maxillary incisors. Future clinical studies need to show the impact of resection length and RCR changes on the outcome of apical surgery.

The Confidence Information Ontology: a step towards a standard for asserting confidence in annotations.

Biocuration has become a cornerstone for analyses in biology, and to meet needs, the amount of annotations has considerably grown in recent years. However, the reliability of these annotations varies; it has thus become necessary to be able to assess the confidence in annotations. Although several resources already provide confidence information about the annotations that they produce, a standard way of providing such information has yet to be defined. This lack of standardization undermines the propagation of knowledge across resources, as well as the credibility of results from high-throughput analyses. Seeded at a workshop during the Biocuration 2012 conference, a working group has been created to address this problem. We present here the elements that were identified as essential for assessing confidence in annotations, as well as a draft ontology--the Confidence Information Ontology--to illustrate how the problems identified could be addressed. We hope that this effort will provide a home for discussing this major issue among the biocuration community. Tracker URL: https://github.com/BgeeDB/confidence-information-ontology Ontology URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BgeeDB/confidence-information-ontology/master/src/ontology/cio-simple.obo

Length of the Mitral Isthmus But Not Anatomical Location of Ablation Line Predicts Bidirectional Mitral Isthmus Block in Patients Undergoing Catheter Ablation of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Mitral isthmus (MI) ablation is an effective option in patients undergoing ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Achieving bidirectional conduction block across the MI is challenging, and predictors of MI ablation success remain incompletely understood. We sought to determine the impact of anatomical location of the ablation line on the efficacy of MI ablation. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 40 consecutive patients (87% male; 54 ± 10 years) undergoing stepwise AF ablation were included. MI ablation was performed in sinus rhythm. MI ablation was performed from the left inferior PV to either the posterior (group 1) or the anterolateral (group 2) mitral annulus depending on randomization. The length of the MI line (measured with the 3D mapping system) and the amplitude of the EGMs at 3 positions on the MI were measured in each patient. MI block was achieved in 14/19 (74%) patients in group 1 and 15/21 (71%) patients in group 2 (P = NS). Total MI radiofrequency time (18 ± 7 min vs. 17 ± 8 min; P = NS) was similar between groups. Patients with incomplete MI block had a longer MI length (34 ± 6 mm vs. 24 ± 5 mm; P < 0.001), a higher bipolar voltage along the MI (1.75 ± 0.74 mV vs. 1.05 ± 0.69 mV; P < 0.01), and a longer history of continuous AF (19 ± 17 months vs. 10 ± 10 months; P < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, decreased length of the MI was an independent predictor of successful MI block (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.1-2.1; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Increased length but not anatomical location of the MI predicts failure to achieve bidirectional MI block during ablation of persistent AF.

Avaliação da velocidade de processamento de processadoras automáticas ultilizado o método "STEP test"

A avaliação do processamento radiográfico utilizando o "STEP test" ("sensitometric test for the evaluation of processing") tem como objetivo a identificação de desvios importantes no sistema processadora-químicos-filmes. Neste tipo de avaliação são estabelecidas as condições ideais para o processamento. Um filme padrão é revelado de acordo com as condições do fabricante, ou seja, com padrão igual a 100. O filme é exposto à luz de um sensitômetro calibrado e os valores dos degraus são avaliados com o uso de um densitômetro, sendo obtida sua curva característica (densidade óptica × degrau). O desvio porcentual máximo deve ser de 20% quando comparado com a curva padrão. Este método é útil na identificação de problemas no processamento radiográfico. Várias processadoras de hospitais públicos/universitários foram avaliadas empregando este método, e verificou-se que aproximadamente 33% das instalações apresentam condições inadequadas de processamento.

“Of Spitzenkandidaten and European Leaders”: Is the new 2014 "politicized” Presidency of the Commission going to be a real step forward in the EU legitimization process?

Thanks to ART.17.7 of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Council now has to “take into account” the results of EP Elections when selecting a candidate for the role of Commission President. The European Parliament has grabbed the opportunity to launch the first electoral race for spitzenkandidaten to the Presidency. Is this the start of a new democratizing (and thus, politicizing) process for the European Union? This dissertation will try to give a possible answer to the dilemma by constructing a comprehensive framework around EP Elections 2014 that will involve both the Commission and the Parliament and an analysis of the debate beyond legal provisions and the possibility of a politicized presidency of the Commission.

Combining niche modelling and landscape genetics to study local adaptation: A novel approach illustrated using alpine plants

Understanding the factors that shape adaptive genetic variation across species niches has become of paramount importance in evolutionary ecology, especially to understand how adaptation to changing climate affects the geographic range of species. The distribution of adaptive alleles in the ecological niche is determined by the emergence of novel mutations, their fitness consequences and gene flow that connects populations across species niches. Striking demographical differences and source sink dynamics of populations between the centre and the margin of the niche can play a major role in the emergence and spread of adaptive alleles. Although some theoretical predictions have long been proposed, the origin and distribution of adaptive alleles within species niches remain untested. In this paper, we propose and discuss a novel empirical approach that combines landscape genetics with species niche modelling, to test whether alleles that confer local adaptation are more likely to occur in either marginal or central populations of species niches. We illustrate this new approach by using a published data set of 21 alpine plant species genotyped with a total of 2483 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP), distributed over more than 1733 sampling sites across the Alps. Based on the assumption that alleles that were statistically associated with environmental variables were adaptive, we found that adaptive alleles in the margin of a species niche were also present in the niche centre, which suggests that adaptation originates in the niche centre. These findings corroborate models of species range evolution, in which the centre of the niche contributes to the emergence of novel adaptive alleles, which diffuse towards niche margins and facilitate niche and range expansion through subsequent local adaptation. Although these results need to be confirmed via fitness measurements in natural populations and functionally characterised genetic sequences, this study provides a first step towards understanding how adaptive genetic variation emerges and shapes species niches and geographic ranges along environmental gradients.

99mTc-HDP SPECT With CT Myelography in a 1-Step Procedure.

We present the case of a 45-year-old woman with a history of multiple back surgeries to illustrate the feasibility of combining CT myelography (myeloCT) and Tc-HDP SPECT/CT bone scan in a 1-step procedure to realize a combined SPECT-myeloCT. Myelography CT and SPECT/CT were required to assess nerve root compression and pseudarthrosis, respectively. The proposed combined acquisition protocol provides information about nervous compression as well as pseudarthrosis in a 1 examination, optimizing radiation dose and patient comfort.

Reversal of a full-length mutant huntingtin neuronal cell phenotypeby chemical inhibitors of polyglutamine-mediated aggregation

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder triggered by an expanded polyglutamine tract in huntingtin that is thought to confer a new conformational property on this large protein. The propensity of small amino-terminal fragments with mutant, but not wild-type, glutamine tracts to self-aggregate is consistent with an altered conformation but such fragments occur relatively late in the disease process in human patients and mouse models expressing full-length mutant protein. This suggests that the altered conformational property may act within the full-length mutant huntingtin to initially trigger pathogenesis. Indeed, genotypephenotype studies in HD have defined genetic criteria for the disease initiating mechanism, and these are all fulfilled by phenotypes associated with expression of full-length mutant huntingtin, but not amino-terminal fragment, in mouse models. As the in vitro aggregation of amino-terminal mutant huntingtin fragment offers a ready assay to identify small compounds that interfere with the conformation of the polyglutamine tract, we have identified a number of aggregation inhibitors, and tested whether these are also capable of reversing a phenotype caused by endogenous expressionof mutant huntingtin in a striatal cell line from the HdhQ111/Q111 knock-in mouse. Results: We screened the NINDS Custom Collection of 1,040 FDA approved drugs and bioactive compounds for their ability to prevent in vitro aggregation of Q58-htn 1¿171 amino terminal fragment. Ten compounds were identified that inhibited aggregation with IC50 < 15 ¿M, including gossypol, gambogic acid, juglone, celastrol, sanguinarine and anthralin. Of these, both juglone and celastrol were effective in reversing the abnormal cellular localization of full-length mutant huntingtin observed in mutant HdhQ111/Q111 striatal cells. Conclusions: At least some compounds identified as aggregation inhibitors also prevent a neuronal cellular phenotype caused by full-length mutant huntingtin, suggesting that in vitro fragment aggregation can act as a proxy for monitoring the disease-producing conformational property in HD. Thus, identification and testing of compounds that alter in vitro aggregation is a viable approach for defining potential therapeutic compounds that may act on the deleterious conformational property of full-length mutant huntingtin.

Step-by-step of ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy of the breast: review and technique

Ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy has high sensitivity in the diagnosis of breast cancer. The present study is aimed at detailing the main steps of such procedure, including indications, advantages, limitations, follow-up and description of the technique, besides presenting a checklist including the critical steps required for an appropriate practice of the technique. In the recent years, an increasing number of patients have required breast biopsy, indicating the necessity of a proportional increase in the number of skilled professionals to carry out the procedures and histological diagnoses. A multidisciplinary approach involving the tripod clinical practice-radiology-pathology is responsible for the highest rate of accuracy of the technique and must always be adopted.