Growth measurement of surface colonies of bacteria using augmented reality

ABSTRACT

The provision of hands-on wet lab training for students to perform micro-organism proliferation experiments is useful for experiential skills development. However, the risk of laboratory-acquired infections arising from inadvertent ingestion, inhalation or skin penetration of these micro-organisms presents a safety concern. To obviate this risk, an augmented reality exercise requiring only a tablet/smartphone, and a petri dish with appropriate markers, was devised to allow students to study Escherichia coli colony growth on agar plates. Positive responses were obtained from a pilot study conducted with high school and undergraduate students on its use.     

Effects of red ginseng extract on sleep architecture and electroencephalogram power spectra in rats

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - We evaluated the ability of the ethanol extract of red ginseng (RGE) to regulate sleep architecture. Adult rats were chronically fitted with sleep-wake recording...     

Barrier-to-autointegration-factor (Banf1) modulates DNA double-strand break repair pathway choice via regulation of DNA-dependent kinase (DNA-PK) activity

DNA repair pathways are essential to maintain the integrity of the genome and prevent cell death and tumourigenesis. Here, we show that the Barrier-to-Autointegration Factor (Banf1) protein has a role in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Banf1 is characterized as a nuclear envelope protein and mutations in Banf1 are associated with the severe premature aging syndrome, Néstor–Guillermo Progeria Syndrome. We have previously shown that Banf1 directly regulates the activity of PARP1 in the repair of oxidative DNA lesions. Here, we show that Banf1 also has a role in modulating DNA double-strand break repair through regulation of the DNA-dependent Protein Kinase catalytic subunit, DNA-PKcs. Specifically, we demonstrate that Banf1 relocalizes from the nuclear envelope to sites of DNA double-strand breaks. We also show that Banf1 can bind to and directly inhibit the activity of DNA-PKcs. Supporting this, cellular depletion of Banf1 leads to an increase in non-homologous end-joining and a decrease in homologous recombination, which our data suggest is likely due to unrestrained DNA-PKcs activity. Overall, this study identifies how Banf1 regulates double-strand break repair pathway choice by modulating DNA-PKcs activity to control genome stability within the cell.     

云南瓶尔小草属一新种

Ophioglossum yongrenense Ching ex Z. R. He et W. M. Chu, sp. nov.Species nova aspectu inter O. kawamuram Tagawa et O. parvum Nishida et Kurita Japonicae, differt a priore frondibus pro parte laminis sterilibus praeditis (in illa frondibus omnino laminis sterilibus non praeditis), a posteriore frondibus pro parte laminis sterilibus non praeditis (in O. parvo Nishida et Kurita frondibus omino laminis sterilibus praeditis).……     

Tumor bioenergetics: An emerging avenue for cancer metabolism targeted therapy

Cell proliferation is a delicately regulated process that couples growth signals and metabolic demands to produce daughter cells. Interestingly, the proliferation of tumor cells immensely depends on glycolysis, the Warburg effect, to ensure a sufficient amount of metabolic flux and bioenergetics for macromolecule synthesis and cell division. This unique metabolic derangement ould provide an opportunity for developing cancer therapeutic strategy, particularly when other diverse anti-cancer treatments have been proved ineffective in achieving durable response, largely due to the emergence of resistance. Recent advances in deeper understanding of cancer metabolism usher in new horizons of the next generation strategy for cancer therapy. Here, we discuss the focused review of cancer energy metabolism, and the therapeutic exploitation of glycolysis and OXPHOS as a novel anti-cancer strategy, with particular emphasis on the promise of this approach, among other cancer metabolism targeted therapies that reveal unexpected complexity and context-dependent metabolic adaptability, complicating the development of effective strategies. [BMB Reports 2014; 47(3): 158-166]     

Polypharmacy in the management of patients with schizophrenia on risperidone in a tertiary-care hospital in Malaysia

The present study was conducted primarily to determine the occurrence of polypharmacy in patients with schizophrenia on risperidone. The secondary aim was to ascertain the incidence of inappropriate prescribing with anticholinergics. A retrospective review of the medical records of all patients who were being followed up at the out-patient clinic of a tertiary-care hospital in Malaysia was conducted. Only patients who were being prescribed risperidone between 1 June 2008 and 31 December 2008 were included in the study. Demographic data such as patient’s age, gender and race were obtained from the patient’s medical records. In total, 113 patients met the selection criteria. Polypharmacy was found to occur in 34 patients (30.09%), with the majority (76.47%) being on two antipsychotics. In total, 27 patients (34.18%) on monotherapy with risperidone were prescribed an anticholinergic on scheduled dosing, while 19 patients (24.05%) were prescribed it on an as-needed basis. Of the patients on polypharmacy, 26 (76.47%) were on scheduled dosing of anticholinergics, while three (8.82%) were taking the medication on an as-needed basis. Polypharmacy should be avoided, and the use of anticholinergics should be closely reviewed. By adopting more efficient prescribing practices, costs can be reduced and financial resources can instead be channelled towards more beneficial areas for the patients.     

DNA methylome changes by estradiol benzoate and bisphenol A links early-life environmental exposures to prostate cancer risk

Developmental exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), 17β-estradiol-3-benzoate (EB) and bisphenol A (BPA), increases susceptibility to prostate cancer (PCa) in rodent models. Here, we used the methylated-CpG island recovery assay (MIRA)-assisted genomic tiling and CpG island arrays to identify treatment-associated methylome changes in the postnatal day (PND)90 dorsal prostate tissues of Sprague-Dawley rats neonatally (PND1, 3, and 5) treated with 25 µg/pup or 2,500 µg EB/kg body weight (BW) or 0.1 µg BPA/pup or 10 µg BPA/kg BW. We identified 111 EB-associated and 86 BPA-associated genes, with 20 in common, that have significant differentially methylated regions. Pathway analysis revealed cancer as the top common disease pathway. Bisulfite sequencing validated the differential methylation patterns observed by array analysis in 15 identified candidate genes. The methylation status of 7 (Pitx3, Wnt10b, Paqr4, Sox2, Chst14, Tpd52, Creb3l4) of these 15 genes exhibited an inverse correlation with gene expression in tissue samples. Cell-based assays, using 5-aza-cytidine-treated normal (NbE-1) and cancerous (AIT) rat prostate cells, added evidence of DNA methylation-mediated gene expression of 6 genes (exception: Paqr4). Functional connectivity of these genes was linked to embryonic stem cell pluripotency. Furthermore, clustering analyses using the dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas revealed that expression of this set of 7 genes was associated with recurrence-free survival of PCa patients. In conclusion, our study reveals that gene-specific promoter methylation changes, resulting from early-life EDC exposure in the rat, may serve as predictive epigenetic biomarkers of PCa recurrence, and raises the possibility that such exposure may impact human disease.     

Salt-stress signaling

Salinity stress has a major impact on plant growth and development. Increasing concentrations of salt in farm soils means that researchers must develop tolerant crops if the global food supply is to be sustained. Salt adaptation involves a complex network of different mechanisms whose responses to high salinity are regulated in an integrated fashion. The salt-stress signaling cascade(s) that activates these mechanisms starts by perceiving the saline environment. However, little is known about the components involved in either the perception or signaling of this stress. The mechanisms that are activated under such conditions include those responsible for ion homeostasis and osmotic adjustment. Here, we review the current understanding of those molecular mechanisms used by plants to respond and adapt to salt stress. Particular attention is paid to the information yielded by genetic analyses of the yeast modelSaccharomyces cerevisiae and the higher-plant model system ofArabidopsis.