Best minimally modified antisense oligonucleotides according to cell nuclease activity.

Minimally modified oligonucleotides belong to the second-generation antisense class. They are phosphodiester oligonucleotides with a minimum of phosphorothioate linkages in order to be protected against serum and cellular exonucleases and endonucleases. They activate RNase H, have weak interactions with proteins, and have thus a better antisense efficiency. Two of them have been designed from an all-phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotide directed against mdrl-expressing cells. They are protected against serum and cellular enzymatic degradation by the self-forming hairpin d(GCGAAGC) at their 3'-end and by judiciously located phosphorothioate residues, depending on the cellular composition in exonucleases or endonucleases. Besides their already demonstrated ability to cleave pyrimidine sites, endonucleases show some specificity for CpG sites. Their activity is hindered if specific sites are involved in secondary structure as hairpin.     

Histochemical localization of IGF-I and IGF-II mRNA in the rat between birth and adulthood

We describe the postnatal ontogeny and localization of insulin-like growth factors I and II (IGF-I and -II) in the rat. We have used oligodeoxyribonucleotide probes for in situ hybridization (hybridization histochemistry) and for Northern blotting. IGF-II mRNA is strongly expressed in liver, skeletal muscle, perichondrium, leptomeninges and choroid plexus of the newborn. Demonstrable levels fall dramatically in the liver at 18-20 days postnatally but persist for longer periods in muscle and remain undiminished throughout life in the pia/choroid plexus, indicating that different control mechanisms operate in these tissues. IGF-I mRNA is predominantly found in the liver. Its level in this organ rises well before levels of IGF-II fall. This suggests that distinct factors govern the expression of IGF-I and -II genes.     

New chromosome 21 DNA markers isolated by pulsed field gel electrophoresis from an ETS2-containing Down syndrome chromosomal region

To generate new chromosome 21 markers in a region that is critical for the pathogenesis of Down syndrome (D21S55-MX1), we used pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to isolate a 600-kb NruI DNA fragment from the WA17 hybrid cell line, which has retained chromosome 21 as the only human material. This fragment, which contains the oncogene ETS2, was used to construct a partial genomic library. Among the 14 unique sequences that were isolated, 3 were polymorphic markers and contained sequences that are conserved in mammals. Five of these markers mapped on the ETS2-containing NruI fragment and allowed us to define an 800-kb high-resolution PFGE map.     

Contribution of Lithologic and Anthropogenic Factors to Surface Soil Heavy Metals in Western Iran Using Multivariate Geostatistical Analyses

Heavy metals’ origin, accumulation, and distribution in soil have been the focus of much attention by many researchers. The objective of this study was to recognize the sources of heavy metals in surface soils in Hamadan Province in western Iran using multivariate geostatistical techniques. A total of 263 surface (0–10 cm) soil samples and 18 rock samples from major parent materials were collected. Cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) contents of the samples were determined. Selected soil physical and chemical characteristics were also measured. A multivariate geostatistical analysis was performed to identify the common source of heavy metals. The quantities of Co, Cr, and Ni were found to be associated with parent rocks, corresponding to the first factor termed the “lithologic component.” The second factor was mainly attributed to Cu, which also comprised the first and third factors, indicating a mixed source both from lithologic and anthropogenic inputs. Zn and Pb contents were related to the anthropogenic activities and comprised the third factor. A significant correlation was found between metals from the lithogenic sources and selected soil properties such as soil organic matter, clay, CEC, and carbonate, indicating an interaction among them. Generally, Zn and Pb showed a less significant correlation with soil properties.     

Utilization of the human gamma-satellite insulator for the enhancement of anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Molecular Biology Reports - Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are widely employed as invaluable therapeutics for a vast number of human disorders. Several approaches have been introduced for the...     

A gene silencing of V‐ATPase subunit A interferes with survival and development of the tomato leafminer,Tuta absoluta

RNA interference (RNAi) technology is not only considered as a tool to analyze gene function, but it is also potentially considered as a strategy to develop novel biopesticide. In the current study, a double‐stranded RNA specific to v‐ATPase subunit A of the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick; Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), was orally administered. A gradual decrease in the expression of the gene was observed from Day 1 to 3 and resulted in significant larval mortality. These results suggest that v‐ATPases A can be considered as a promising target gene by RNAi technology to be used in the management of the tomato leafminer.     

The Crosstalk Between Brain Mediators Regulating Food Intake Behavior in Birds: A Review

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Appetite is controlled by a complex system of central and peripheral signals interacting to modulate the ingestion response. Several...     

Increasing the quality of services and resource utilization in vehicular cloud computing using best host selection methods

One of the technology for increasing the safety and welfare of humans in roads is Vehicular Cloud Computing (VCC). This technology can utilize cloud computing advantages in the Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET). VCC by utilizing modern equipment along with current vehicles, can play a significant role in the area of smart transportation systems. Given the potential of this technology, effective methods for managing existing resources and providing the expected service quality that is essential for such an environment are not yet available as it should. One of the most important barriers to providing such solutions seems to be resource constraints and very high dynamics in vehicles in VCC. In this article, based on virtualization and taking into account the environment with these features, we propose simple ways to manage resources better and improve the quality of service. We were able to achieve better results in simulation than previous methods by providing a flexible data structure to control the important data in the environment effectively. To illustrate the impact of the proposed methods, we compared them with some of the most important methods in this context, and we used SUMO 1.2.0 and MATLAB R2019a software to simulate them. Simulation results indicate that the proposed methods provide better results than previous methods in terms of resource efficiency, Quality of Service (QoS), and load balancing.

     

Structure-activity study of phosphoramido acid esters as acetylcholinesterasf inhibitors

Phosphoramido acid esters (CH₃)₂NP(O)X(p-OC₆H₄-CH₃) (containing P-Cl (1), P-O (2), P-F (3), P-CN (5), and P-N (4,6) bonds, X for 2, 4 and 6 is OCH₃, (C₂H₅)₂N and morpholin) have been synthesized to investigate the structure-activity study of AChE enzyme inhibition, through the parameters logP, δ³¹P and IC₅₀. After their characterization by ³¹P, ³¹P{¹H}, ¹³C, ¹H NMR, IR and mass spectroscopy, the parameters logP and δ³¹P (³¹P chemical shift in NMR) were used to evaluated the lipophilicity and electronical properties. The ability of compounds to inhibit human AChE was predicted by PASS software (version 1.193), and experimentally evaluated by a modified Ellman's assay.