Cereus jamacaru, a Cactaceae found throughout northeast Brazil, is widely used as cattle food and as an ornamental and medicinal plant. However, there has been little information about the physiological and biochemical aspects involved in its germination. The aim of this study was to investigate its reserve mobilization during germination ...

The present study describes the complete and annotated genome sequence of Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis strain B10 (DSM 24529(T), CSUR P135), which was isolated from human feces. The 2.6-Mb genome represents the largest genome of a methanogenic euryarchaeon isolated from humans. The genome data of M. luminyensis reveal unique features and horizontal ...

Subsets of cutaneous soft tissue tumors present morphologic features which are diagnostically challenging in part because of their ability to obscure the ultimate nature of the underlying neoplastic process. This review discusses entities, which in the authors' experience, present such challenges. The clinical, histologic, immunohistochemical, and where appropriate, molecular features ...

The bee Melipona scutellaris is considered the reared meliponine species with the largest distribution in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, with records from the state of Rio Grande do Norte down to the state of Bahia. Considering the importance of this species in the generation of income for ...

Gastrointestinal stents offer a feasible, safe, cost effective, and minimally invasive method for reestablishing luminal patency. Previous clinical reports and systematic reviews have demonstrated the role of enteral stents in both the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. Over the last two decades, the rapid development of deep enteroscopy in concert ...

Immigrants typically express cravings for the food of their homeland, but for undocumented and temporarily documented Salvadoran immigrants living in the United States, the hunger for their traditional cuisine is particularly poignant. To cope with a history of food scarcity in El Salvador and their documentation liminality in the United ...

Context: Mangiferin, a natural bioactive xanthone C-glycoside, is widely present in medicinal plants like the leaf of Mangifera indica L. (Anacardiaceae). It has been reported that mangiferin possesses a variety of biological activities, including antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic. Objective: The hypouricemic effect and xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) inhibitory activity ...

Hydrogenophaga sp. strain PBC is an effective degrader of 4-aminobenzenesulfonate isolated from textile wastewater. Here we present the assembly and annotation of its genome, which may provide further insights into its metabolic potential. This is the first announcement of the draft genome sequence of a strain from the genus Hydrogenophaga.

Diffuse lung diseases promote the development of vascular changes and pulmonary hypertension (PH). Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) seem to be involved in pulmonary vascular remodeling. We evaluated circulating and intra-pulmonary EPCs in end-stage lung diseases in relation to pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP). The study included 19 patients affected by different ...

BACKGROUND: In 2009, the Victorian Parliament Legislative Assembly of Australia commissioned a Parliamentary Inquiry into the opportunities for schools to become a focus for promoting healthy community living. Submissions to the Inquiry varied widely in their positions about school health promotion. The aim of this review is to analyze the ...

The complete and assembled genome sequences were determined for six strains of the alphaproteobacterial genus Methylobacterium, chosen for their key adaptations to different plant-associated niches and environmental constraints.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa XMG, isolated from soil, utilizes lactate. Here we present a 6.45-Mb assembly of its genome sequence. Besides the lactate utilization mechanism of the strain, the genome sequence may also provide other useful information related to P. aeruginosa, such as identifying genes involved in virulence, drug resistance, and aromatic ...

Xanthomonas campestris JX, a soil bacterium, is an industrially productive strain for xanthan gum. Here we present a 5.0-Mb assembly of its genome sequence. We have annotated 12 coding sequences (CDSs) responsible for xanthan gum biosynthesis, 346 CDSs encoding carbohydrate metabolism, and 69 CDSs related to virulence, defense, and plant ...

Food service directors have a concern that federal reimbursement is not meeting the demands of increasing costs of healthier meals. The purpose of this article is to report the food option changes and the annual revenues and expenses of the school food service environment. The HEALTHY study was a 3-year ...

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia PML168 was isolated from Wembury Beach on the English Coast from a rock pool following growth and selection on agar plates. Here we present the permanent draft genome sequence, which has allowed prediction of function for several genes encoding enzymes relevant to industrial biotechnology, including a novel flavoprotein ...

Alkalibacillus haloalkaliphilus C-5 is a haloalkaliphilic bacterium that was isolated from a soil sample from the salty Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan, India. The organism is capable of alkaline protease production under conditions of pH 10 and 10% (wt/vol) salt. We sequenced and have reported the whole genome of Alkalibacillus haloalkaliphilus C-5, ...

Mycobacterium massiliense has recently been proposed as a member of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii comb. nov. Strain M154, a clinical isolate from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of a Malaysian patient presenting with lower respiratory tract infection, was subjected to shotgun DNA sequencing with the Illumina sequencing technology to obtain whole-genome ...

This study investigates how deviated nasal septum affects the quantity and distribution of spray particles, and examines the effects of inspiratory airflow and head position on particle transport. Deposition of spray particles was analysed using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model created from a computed tomography scan of a human ...

We report the draft genome sequence of the Rickettsia sp. strain MEAM1, which is a facultative symbiont from an invasive species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. The total length of the assembled genome is approximately 1.24 Mb, with 335 scaffolds and 1,247 coding sequences predicted within the genome.

Thermococcus sp. strain CL1 is a hyperthermophilic, anaerobic, and heterotrophic archaeon isolated from a Paralvinella sp. polychaete worm living on an active deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide chimney on the Cleft Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. To further understand the distinct characteristics of this archaeon at the genome level, its ...

We report the performance of capillary zone electrophoresis coupled with an electrokinetically pumped electrospray interface and an Orbitrap-Velos mass spectrometer for high sensitivity protein analysis. We first investigated the system for quantitation of the tryptic digest of BSA. The system produced outstanding linearity with respect to peak height, number of ...

8-Oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG) is the most common base damage found in cells, where it resides in many structural contexts, including the nucleotide pool, single-stranded DNA at transcription forks and replication bubbles, and duplex DNA base-paired with either adenine (A) or cytosine (C). OG is prone to further oxidation to the highly ...

Regulation of secondary metabolite (SM) gene clusters in Aspergillus nidulans has been shown to occur through cluster-specific transcription factors or through global regulators of chromatin structure such as histone methyltransferases, histone deacetylases, or the putative methyltransferase LaeA. A multicopy suppressor screen for genes capable of returning SM production to the ...

In bacterial two-component regulatory systems (TCSs), dephosphorylation of phosphorylated response regulators is essential for resetting the activated systems to the pre-activation state. However, in the SaeRS TCS, a major virulence TCS of Staphylococcus aureus, the mechanism for dephosphorylation of the response regulator SaeR has not been identified. Here we report ...

Determining the redox energetics of redox site analogues of metalloproteins is essential in unraveling the various contributions to electron transfer properties of these proteins. Since studies of the [4Fe-4S] analogues show that the energies are dependent on the ligand dihedral angles, broken symmetry density functional theory (BS-DFT) with the B3LYP ...

In diethyl ether, N-Boc-2-lithio-2-arylpiperidines have been found to be configurationally stable at -80 °C, whereas N-Boc-2-lithio-2-arylpyrrolidines are configurationally stable at -60 °C. Several tertiary benzylic carbanions derived from enantioenriched 2-aryl heterocycles have been successfully alkylated or acylated with little to no loss of enantiopurity. The scope of the reactions has ...

Human aldo-keto reductases 1C1-1C4 (AKR1C1-AKR1C4) function in vivo as 3-keto-, 17-keto-, and 20-ketosteroid reductases and regulate the activity of androgens, estrogens, and progesterone and the occupancy and transactivation of their corresponding receptors. Aberrant expression and action of AKR1C enzymes can lead to different pathophysiological conditions. AKR1C enzymes thus represent important ...

P2X7 receptors (P2X7R) are extracellular ATP-gated ion channels expressed in the immune effector cells that carry out critical protective responses during the early phases of microbial infection or acute tissue trauma. P2X7R-positive cells include monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells and T cells. Given its presence in all host and pathogen cell ...

Dietary supplements based on an extract from Irvingia gabonensis (African mango, AM) seeds are one of the popular herbal weight loss dietary supplements in the U.S. market. The extract is believed to be a natural and healthy way to lose weight and improve overall health. However, the chemical composition of ...

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry approach was employed to evaluate the use of metabolite patterns to differentiate fruit from six commercially grown apple cultivars harvested in 2008. Principal component analysis (PCA) of apple fruit peel and flesh data indicated that individual cultivar replicates clustered together and were separated from all other ...

The impact of synthesis and solution formulation parameters on the swelling and mechanical properties of a novel class of thermally and chemically gelling hydrogels combining poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based thermogelling macromers containing pendant epoxy rings with polyamidoamine-based hydrophilic and degradable diamine cross-linking macromers was evaluated. Through variation of network hydrophilicity and capacity for ...

Market demands for new sensors for food quality and safety stimulate the development of new sensing technologies that can provide an unobtrusive sensor form, battery-free operation, and minimal sensor cost. Intelligent labeling of food products to indicate and report their freshness and other conditions is one important possible application of ...

Tip enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) microscopy is used to image antibody conjugated nanoparticles on intact cellular membranes. The combination of plasmonic coupling and the resultant electric field obtained from intermediate focusing of a radially polarized source gives rise to Raman images with spatial resolution below 50 nm. Finite element method ...

Early cancer diagnosis is very important for the prevention or mitigation of metastasis. However, effective and efficient methods are needed to improve the diagnosis and assessment of cancer. Here, we report a single-step detection method using a nanoplasmonic aptamer sensor (aptasensor), targeting a vascular endothelial growth factor-165 (VEGF(165)), a predominant ...

The presence of many salts, such as sodium chloride, can adversely affect the performance of native electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for the analysis of proteins and protein complexes by reducing the overall molecular ion abundances and distributing signal for any given charge state into many cationized forms with various numbers ...

Fullerenes are used across scientific disciplines because of their diverse properties gained by altering encapsulated or surface-bound components. In this study, the recently developed theranostic agent based on a radiolabeled functionalized metallofullerene ((177)Lu-DOTA-f-Gd(3)N@C(80)) was synthesized with high radiochemical yield and purity. The efficacy of this agent was demonstrated in two ...

The effects of varying the electron energy and cationizing agents on electron activated dissociation (ExD) of metal-adducted oligosaccharides were explored, using permethylated maltoheptaose as the model system. Across the examined range of electron energy, the metal-adducted oligosaccharide exhibited several fragmentation processes, including electron capture dissociation (ECD) at low energies, hot-ECD ...

Liposomes are intensively being developed for biomedical applications including drug and gene delivery. However, targeted liposomal delivery in cancer treatment is a very complicated multistep process. Unfavorable liposome biodistribution upon intravenous administration and membrane destabilization in blood circulation could result in only a very small fraction of cargo reaching the ...

Surfaces with good biocompatibility and tissue-specific inductive capabilities are highly desirable in various tissue engineering and cell therapeutic applications. On page 4285, K. P. Loh, C. T. Lim, and co-workers show that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be controllably patterned on fluorinated graphene, triggering alignment-induced neuronal differentiation. Their results point ...

BACKGROUND: Angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs) have been reported to attenuate hepatic fibrosis in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, it is uncertain whether ARBs prevent hepatocarcinogenesis in NASH even after hepatic fibrosis has developed. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were fed with a choline-deficient, L: -amino acid-defined (CDAA) diet for ...

A series of experimental methods including 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity measurement, alizarin red S stain and measurement, quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis were employed to assess the effects of LaCl(3) on the proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, and mineralization of a murine preosteoblast ...

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults. Compared with other malignancies, remote metastases in GBM are rare. However, multicentric spreading within the central nervous system is common and also metastases to the spinal cord have been reported. Some of these drop metastases may also ...

Clinical risk factors (CRFs) are established predictors of fracture events. However, the influence of individual CRFs on trabecular mechanical fragility is still a subject of debate. In this study, we aimed to assess differences, adjusted for CRFs, between bone macrostructural parameters measured in ex-vivo specimens from hip fragility fracture patients ...

To explore the skeletal effects and the potential underlying mechanisms of treatment with two thiazolidinediones (rosiglitazone and pioglitazone) or metformin in insulin-resistant mice, 24 female, 12-week-old C57BL6J ob/ob mice were evaluated according to the following treatment groups for 6 weeks: placebo group, pioglitazone group (Pio), rosiglitazone group (Rosi), and metformin group ...

Meningiomas, one of the most common benign brain tumors in humans, arise from arachnoid cells in the brain meninges. Our investigations have revealed that miR-335 is a typical microRNA overexpressed in meningiomas in humans. Characterization of the effects of miR-335 overexpression in meningiomas demonstrated that elevated levels of miR-335 increased ...

Neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) has been shown to attenuate cardiomyocyte apoptosis but the underlying signaling mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we focused on mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening and PI3K/Akt pathway to investigate the effects of NRG-1 on oxidative stress-induced apoptosis of cardiomyocyte. Human cardiac myocytes and neonatal rat cardiac ...

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) possesses protective properties in cardiovascular diseases. However, the effect of HDL on the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which could be mobilized to the damaged myocardial tissue, has not been well elucidated yet. In the current study, we investigated the effect of HDL on the proliferation of MSCs ...

Sleep disorders are common in hemodialysis patients, although causes and consequences remain unclear. We sought to establish prevalence, determinants, and outcomes of sleep disturbances in patients receiving incremental dialysis. One hundred two unselected patients undergoing incremental high-flux hemodialysis or hemodiafiltration underwent limited overnight sleep study. Large subsets underwent echocardiography, interdialytic ...

To date, there is still a lack of definite knowledge regarding the interaction of CuO nanoparticles with bacteria and the possible permeation of the nanoparticles into bacterial cells. This study was aimed at shedding light on the size-dependent (from the microscale down to the small nanoscale) antibacterial activity of CuO. ...

Mutations in ATP13A2 (PARK9) cause an autosomal recessive form of early-onset parkinsonism with pyramidal degeneration and dementia called Kufor-Rakeb Syndrome (KRS). The ATP13A2 gene encodes a transmembrane lysosomal P5-type ATPase (ATP13A2) whose physiological function in mammalian cells, and hence its potential role in Parkinson disease (PD), remains elusive. In this ...