Evaluation of qualitative traits in modified Iranian Red Rey onion and comparison genetic resistance with primary mass selection and Red Azar-shahr cv to Fusarium oxysporum using laboratory and molecular markers

Molecular Biology Reports - The bulb onion (Allium cepa L.) is grown on all continents except Antarctica, and is prized by essentially all of the world's cultures for its flavor and...     

Nicotinamide mononucleotide and melatonin counteract myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by activating SIRT3/FOXO1 and reducing apoptosis in aged male rats

Molecular Biology Reports - It has been documented that aging increases the risk of cardiovascular disease including myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury and acute myocardial infarction. In...     

microRNA-mediated translation repression through GYF-1 and IFE-4 in C. elegans development

microRNA (miRNA)-mediated gene silencing is enacted through the recruitment of effector proteins that direct translational repression or degradation of mRNA targets, but the relative importance of their activities for animal development remains unknown. Our concerted proteomic surveys identified the uncharacterized GYF-domain encoding protein GYF-1 and its direct interaction with IFE-4, the ortholog of the mammalian translation repressor 4EHP, as key miRNA effector proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans. Recruitment of GYF-1 protein to mRNA reporters in vitro or in vivo leads to potent translation repression without affecting the poly(A) tail or impinging on mRNA stability. Loss of gyf-1 is synthetic lethal with hypomorphic alleles of embryonic miR-35–42 and larval (L4) let-7 miRNAs, which is phenocopied through engineered mutations in gyf-1 that abolish interaction with IFE-4. GYF-1/4EHP function is cascade-specific, as loss of gyf-1 had no noticeable impact on the functions of other miRNAs, including lin-4 and lsy-6. Overall, our findings reveal the first direct effector of miRNA-mediated translational repression in C. elegans and its physiological importance for the function of several, but likely not all miRNAs.     

Anastrozole Eliminates the Improvement Effects of Nandrolone on Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity in Adolescent Male Rats

Biology Bulletin - Background: Nandrolone Decanoate (ND) is one of the most popular androgenic anabolic steroids (AASs) compounds that is widely abused during adolescence. Despite clear evidence...     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Histopathological and clinical evaluation of Kombucha tea and Nitrofurazone on cutaneous full-thickness wounds healing in rats: an experimental study

Background

Kombucha, a fermented tea (KT) is claimed to possess many beneficial properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical and histopathological alterations of Kombucha tea and Nitrofurazone on cutaneous full-thickness wounds healing in rat.

Methods

In present study 24 Wister -albino rats weighing 150–200 g were selected and divided to two treatment groups as Nitrofurazone ointment (0.2%) and Kombucha tea. Subsequently, the anesthesia was exerted by Ketamin hydrochloride 10% (40 mg/kg) and Xylasine (2 mg/kg) through intra muscular (IM) route. Furthermore, upon preparation of dorsal region of the animal for surgery, a piece of full-thickness skin removed (2?×?2 cm). In order to comparing wounds healing clinically and histologically, once every four days from the commencement, the wounds were photographed and the healed surface was measured by Scion image software.

Result

The clinical findings indicated that the Kombucha fungus resulted in precipitating healing than Nitrofurazone; however, it was not significant (p?>?0.05). In order to pathological comparing of wound healing process, several wound biopsies were taken on 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20^th days. Additionally, the histopathological results demonstrated that there was inflammation in Nitrofurazone group through twelveth day, somehow the epithelium was formed and abundant vessels were visible. Although on 16^th day and the previous days the healing condition of Kombucha fungus was considered as minimal rate, revealing it is similar to Nitrofurazone group on 20^th day.

Conclusions

To wrap up. These observations suggest that the Kombucha fungus healing quality was rapid from 12^th day to the end of the research, whereas no significant difference was observed.

Virtual slide

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1107407136102196

     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Ulnar malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour diagnosis in a mixed-breed dog as a model to study human: histologic,immunohistochemical, and clinicopathologic study

Canine Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNSTs) are uncommonly reported in the ulnar, since they are underestimated relative to the more common spindle cell tumours of soft tissue. In dogs, MPNST accounts for 27% of nervous system tumours. In man, MPNST represents 5-10% of all soft tissue sarcomas and is often associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1).An 8-year-old, 9 kg, female mixed-breed dog with a subcutaneous mass on the upper right side of the ulnar region was presented to the small animal research and teaching hospital of Tehran University. The dog was anorexic with general weakness. The mass (7 × 4 cm) was removed surgically and processed routinely. Microscopically, the mass was composed of highly cellular areas with a homogeneous population of round or spindle cells, high cellular pleomorphism, high mitotic index and various morphologic patterns. Furthermore, spindle cells arranged in densely or loosely sweeping fascicles, interlacing whorls, or storiform patterns together with wavy cytoplasm, nuclear palisades, and round cells were arranged in sheets or cords with a meshwork of intratumoral nerve fibers. In addition, in this case the presence of neoplastic cells within the blood vessels was observed. Immunohistochemically, tumor was positive for vimentin and S-100 protein. The histopathologic features coupled with the S-100 and vimentin immunoreactivity led to a diagnosis of malignant neurofibroma.To the best of our knowledge, primary ulnar MPNST has not been reported in animals. This is the first documentation of an ulnar malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour in a dog.

Virtual slides

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1310907815984587

     

Non-Invasive Brain-to-Brain Interface (BBI): Establishing Functional Links between Two Brains

Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is capable of modulating the neural activity of specific brain regions, with a potential role as a non-invasive computer-to-brain interface (CBI). In conjunction with the use of brain-to-computer interface (BCI) techniques that translate brain function to generate computer commands, we investigated the feasibility of using the FUS-based CBI to non-invasively establish a functional link between the brains of different species (i.e. human and Sprague-Dawley rat), thus creating a brain-to-brain interface (BBI). The implementation was aimed to non-invasively translate the human volunteer’s intention to stimulate a rat’s brain motor area that is responsible for the tail movement. The volunteer initiated the intention by looking at a strobe light flicker on a computer display, and the degree of synchronization in the electroencephalographic steady-state-visual-evoked-potentials (SSVEP) with respect to the strobe frequency was analyzed using a computer. Increased signal amplitude in the SSVEP, indicating the volunteer’s intention, triggered the delivery of a burst-mode FUS (350 kHz ultrasound frequency, tone burst duration of 0.5 ms, pulse repetition frequency of 1 kHz, given for 300 msec duration) to excite the motor area of an anesthetized rat transcranially. The successful excitation subsequently elicited the tail movement, which was detected by a motion sensor. The interface was achieved at 94.0±3.0% accuracy, with a time delay of 1.59±1.07 sec from the thought-initiation to the creation of the tail movement. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of a computer-mediated BBI that links central neural functions between two biological entities, which may confer unexplored opportunities in the study of neuroscience with potential implications for therapeutic applications.     

Compensatory Effort Parallels Midbrain Deactivation during Mental Fatigue: An fMRI Study

Fatigue reflects the functioning of our physiological negative feedback system, which prevents us from overworking. When fatigued, however, we often try to suppress this system in an effort to compensate for the resulting deterioration in performance. Previous studies have suggested that the effect of fatigue on neurovascular demand may be influenced by this compensatory effort. The primary goal of the present study was to isolate the effect of compensatory effort on neurovascular demand. Healthy male volunteers participated in a series of visual and auditory divided attention tasks that steadily increased fatigue levels for 2 hours. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed during the first and last quarter of the study (Pre and Post sessions, respectively). Tasks with low and high attentional load (Low and High conditions, respectively) were administrated in alternating blocks. We assumed that compensatory effort would be greater under the High-attentional-load condition compared with the Low-load condition. The difference was assessed during the two sessions. The effect of compensatory effort on neurovascular demand was evaluated by examining the interaction between load (High vs. Low) and time (Pre vs. Post). Significant fatigue-induced deactivation (i.e., Pre>Post) was observed in the frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal cortices, in the cerebellum, and in the midbrain in both the High and Low conditions. The interaction was significantly greater in the High than in the Low condition in the midbrain. Neither significant fatigue-induced activation (i.e., Pre<Post), nor its interaction with factor Load, was identified. The observed midbrain deactivation ([PreH – PostH]>[PreE– PostE]) may reflect suppression of the negative feedback system that normally triggers recuperative rest to maintain homeostasis.