The expression of AmphiTCTP, a TCTP orthologous gene in amphioxus related to the development of notochord and somites

The translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is highly conserved and has been widely found in eukaryotic organisms. Here, we report the phylogenetic analysis and developmental expression of AmphiTCTP, a TCTP homologous gene in cephalochordate amphioxus. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the putative protein of AmphiTCTP is close to its vertebrate orthologs. The mRNA of AmphiTCTP is found in fertilized eggs, early cleavage embryo and most of the early developmental stages by in situ hybridization and RT-PCR, but its expression is not detectable from late cleavage stage to mid-gastrula. The expression of AmphiTCTP in zygotes and early cleavage stages shows that AmphiTCTP may be a maternal gene. From the early neurula stage onward, AmphiTCTP transcript is localized in the presumptive notochord, presomitic mesoderm, and nascent somites. However, its expression is gradually down-regulated after the notochord and somites have been formed. The expression pattern of AmphiTCTP thus coincides with the differentiation of the notochord and somites, this suggests that AmphiTCTP may not be a housekeeping gene and may play an important role in mesoderm development. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Screening of genes related to ovary development in Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis by suppression subtractive hybridization

The ovary of triploid shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis was apparently impaired compared to that of the diploid shrimp at the same age. Therefore triploid shrimp ovary is possible to be taken as a model to understand the mechanism of ovary development of shrimp compared to that of the ovary of diploid shrimp at the same age. In the present study, a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technique was applied to identify differentially expressed genes in the ovary between diploid and triploid shrimp. For the forward library (RNA from the ovary of triploid shrimp as the tester), 54 genes were identified. For the reverse library (RNA from the ovary of diploid shrimp as the tester), 16 genes were identified. The identified genes encoded proteins with multiple functions, including extracellular matrix components, cytoskeleton, cell growth and death, metabolism, genetic information processing, signal transduction/transport or immunity related proteins. Eleven differentially expressed genes were selected to be confirmed in the ovaries of triploid and diploid shrimp by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Genes encoding spermatogonial stem-cell renewal factor, cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and II, clottable protein, antimicrobial peptide and transposase showed up-regulated expressions in the ovary of triploid shrimp. Genes encoding tubulin, cellular apoptosis susceptibility protein, farnesoic acid O-methyltransferase, thrombospondin and heat shock protein 90 genes showed higher expressions in the ovary of diploid shrimp. The differential expressions of the above genes are suggested to be related to the ovary development of shrimp. It will provide a new clue to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying the ovarian development in penaeid shrimp. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

'Adipaging': Aging and obesity share biological hallmarks related to a dysfunctional adipose tissue

The increasing aging of our societies is accompanied by a pandemic of obesity and related cardiometabolic disorders. Progressive dysfunction of the white adipose tissue is increasingly recognized as an important hallmark of the aging process which in turn contributes to metabolic alterations, multi-organ damage, and a systemic pro-inflammatory state ('inflammaging'). On the other hand, obesity, the paradigm of adipose tissue dysfunction, shares numerous biological similarities with the normal aging process such as chronic inflammation and multi-system alterations. Accordingly, understanding the interplay between accelerated aging related to obesity and adipose tissue dysfunction is critical to gain insight into the aging process in general as well as into the pathophysiology of obesity and other related conditions. Here we postulate the concept of 'adipaging' to illustrate the common links between aging and obesity and the fact that, to a great extent, obese adults are prematurely aged individuals.

Cancer Risk Assessment Related to Anatomical Tissue Types

H. Strange, W. He, E. Denton and R. Zwiggelaar, 'Cancer Risk Assessment Related to Anatomical Tissue Types', Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Conference on Medical Image Understanding and Analysis, 2008, p.138. Sponsorship: EPSRC

Effects of prior heavy exercise on V(over dot)O-2 kinetics during heavy exercise are related to changes in muscle activity

Burnley, M., Doust, J.H., Ball, D. and Jones, A.M. (2002) Effects of prior heavy exercise on VO2 kinetics during heavy exercise are related to changes in muscle activity. Journal of Applied Physiology 93, 167-174. RAE2008

Binding of MetJ repressor to specific and nonspecific DNA and effect of S-adenosylmethionine on these interactions.

We have used analytical ultracentrifugation to characterize the binding of the methionine repressor protein, MetJ, to synthetic oligonucleotides containing zero to five specific recognition sites, called metboxes. For all lengths of DNA studied, MetJ binds more tightly to repeats of the consensus sequence than to naturally occurring metboxes, which exhibit a variable number of deviations from the consensus. Strong cooperative binding occurs only in the presence of two or more tandem metboxes, which facilitate protein-protein contacts between adjacent MetJ dimers, but weak affinity is detected even with DNA containing zero or one metbox. The affinity of MetJ for all of the DNA sequences studied is enhanced by the addition of SAM, the known cofactor for MetJ in the cell. This effect extends to oligos containing zero or one metbox, both of which bind two MetJ dimers. In the presence of a large excess concentration of metbox DNA, the effect of cooperativity is to favor populations of DNA oligos bound by two or more MetJ dimers rather than a stochastic redistribution of the repressor onto all available metboxes. These results illustrate the dynamic range of binding affinity and repressor assembly that MetJ can exhibit with DNA and the effect of the corepressor SAM on binding to both specific and nonspecific DNA.

Two Antarctic penguin genomes reveal insights into their evolutionary history and molecular changes related to the Antarctic environment.

BACKGROUND: Penguins are flightless aquatic birds widely distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The distinctive morphological and physiological features of penguins allow them to live an aquatic life, and some of them have successfully adapted to the hostile environments in Antarctica. To study the phylogenetic and population history of penguins and the molecular basis of their adaptations to Antarctica, we sequenced the genomes of the two Antarctic dwelling penguin species, the Adélie penguin [Pygoscelis adeliae] and emperor penguin [Aptenodytes forsteri]. RESULTS: Phylogenetic dating suggests that early penguins arose ~60 million years ago, coinciding with a period of global warming. Analysis of effective population sizes reveals that the two penguin species experienced population expansions from ~1 million years ago to ~100 thousand years ago, but responded differently to the climatic cooling of the last glacial period. Comparative genomic analyses with other available avian genomes identified molecular changes in genes related to epidermal structure, phototransduction, lipid metabolism, and forelimb morphology. CONCLUSIONS: Our sequencing and initial analyses of the first two penguin genomes provide insights into the timing of penguin origin, fluctuations in effective population sizes of the two penguin species over the past 10 million years, and the potential associations between these biological patterns and global climate change. The molecular changes compared with other avian genomes reflect both shared and diverse adaptations of the two penguin species to the Antarctic environment.

Scholarly research productivity is not related to higher three-year licensure pass rates for physical therapy academic programs.

BACKGROUND: In the domain of academia, the scholarship of research may include, but not limited to, peer-reviewed publications, presentations, or grant submissions. Programmatic research productivity is one of many measures of academic program reputation and ranking. Another measure or tool for quantifying learning success among physical therapists education programs in the USA is 100 % three year pass rates of graduates on the standardized National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). In this study, we endeavored to determine if there was an association between research productivity through artifacts and 100 % three year pass rates on the NPTE. METHODS: This observational study involved using pre-approved database exploration representing all accredited programs in the USA who graduated physical therapists during 2009, 2010 and 2011. Descriptive variables captured included raw research productivity artifacts such as peer reviewed publications and books, number of professional presentations, number of scholarly submissions, total grant dollars, and numbers of grants submitted. Descriptive statistics and comparisons (using chi square and t-tests) among program characteristics and research artifacts were calculated. Univariate logistic regression analyses, with appropriate control variables were used to determine associations between research artifacts and 100 % pass rates. RESULTS: Number of scholarly artifacts submitted, faculty with grants, and grant proposals submitted were significantly higher in programs with 100 % three year pass rates. However, after controlling for program characteristics such as grade point average, diversity percentage of cohort, public/private institution, and number of faculty, there were no significant associations between scholarly artifacts and 100 % three year pass rates. CONCLUSIONS: Factors outside of research artifacts are likely better predictors for passing the NPTE.

Current scenario of scientific publications related to weeds in Argentina : comparison with some countries of America

p.131-140

Current scenario of scientific publications related to weeds in Argentina : comparison with some countries of America

p.131-140

Seven 3-methylidene-1H-indol-2(3H)-ones related to the multiple-receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib

The solid-state structures of a series of seven substituted 3-methylidene-1H-indol-2(3H)-one derivatives have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and are compared in detail. Six of the structures {(3Z)-3-(1H-pyrrol-2- ylmethylidene)-1H-indol-2(3H)-one, C13H10N2O, (2a); (3Z)-3-( 2-thienylmethylidene)-1H-indol-2(3H)-one, C13H9NOS, (2b); (3E)-3-(2-furylmethylidene)-1H-indol-2(3H)-one monohydrate, C13H9NO2 center dot H2O, (3a); 3-(1-methylethylidene)-1H-indol- 2(3H)-one, C11H11NO, (4a); 3-cyclohexylidene-1H-indol- 2(3H)-one, C14H15NO, (4c); and spiro[1,3-dioxane-2,3'-indolin]- 2'-one, C11H11NO3, (5)} display, as expected, intermolecular hydrogen bonding (N-H center dot center dot center dot O=C) between the 1H-indol-2(3H)-one units. However, methyl 3-(1-methylethylidene)- 2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-1-carboxylate, C13H13NO3, (4b), a carbamate analogue of (4a) lacking an N-H bond, displays no intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The structure of (4a) contains three molecules in the asymmetric unit, while (4b) and (4c) both contain two independent molecules.

Chronotype, sleep quality and sleep duration in adult distance education: Not related to study progress

Research in traditional education shows chronotype, sleep duration and sleep quality to be related to learning performance. Research in adult students participating in distance education (DE) is scarce. This study aims to provide knowledge on these relationships in this educational setting. In an observational longitudinal study, chronotype, sleep duration (i.e., for work and free days separately) and sleep quality of 894 students were analyzed in a multiple regression analyses. Students provided information on sleep-relatedmeasures and important covariates at the start of their study and study progress was evaluated after 14 months (i.e., the number of successfully completed modules). In linewith previous research, chronotype did not predict study progress. Further, sleep duration did not predict study progress, neither as a linear nor as a polynomial term. Third, sleep quality did not predict study progress. Concluding, these results are in linewith previous research that DE provides a solution to the asynchrony problem. Findings regarding sleep duration and sleep quality are new and unexpected, asking for attention and further research. Despite the study's observational nature, findings suggest that students participating in DE may benefit from this type of education as the asynchrony problem appears not to apply here, as students can choose their own study schedule.

Long-term changes in phytoplankton, zooplankton and salmon related to climate

Recently, large-scale changes in the biogeography of calanoid copepod crustaceans have been detected in the northeastern North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. Strong biogeographical shifts in all copepod assemblages were found with a northward extension of more than ° in latitude of warm-water species associated with a decrease in the number of colder-water species. These changes were attributed to regional increase in sea surface temperature. Here, we have extended these studies to examine long-term changes in phytoplankton, zooplankton and salmon in relation to hydro-meteorological forcing in the northeast Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. We found highly significant relationships between (1) long-term changes in all three trophic levels, (2) sea surface temperature in the northeastern Atlantic, (3) Northern Hemisphere temperature and (4) the North Atlantic Oscillation. The similarities detected between plankton, salmon, temperature and hydro-climatic parameters are also seen in their cyclical variability and in a stepwise shift that started after a pronounced increase in Northern Hemisphere Temperature anomalies at the end of the 1970s. All biological variables show a pronounced change which started after circa 1982 for euphausiids (decline), 1984 for the total abundance of small copepods (increase), 1986 for phytoplankton biomass (increase) and Calanus finmarchicus (decrease) and 1988 for salmon (decrease). This cascade of biological events led to an exceptional period, which is identified after 1986 to present and followed another shift in large-scale hydro-climatic variables and sea surface temperature. This regional temperature increase therefore appears to be an important parameter that is at present governing the dynamic equilibrium of northeast Atlantic pelagic ecosystems with possible consequences for biogeochemical processes and fisheries.