Plant Vascular Biology and Agriculture

The evolution of animal and plant vascular systems played a pivotal role in the advancement from simple to complex organisms, through the provision of a delivery system for the distribution     

Feature extraction and classification for rectal bleeding in prostate cancer radiotherapy: A PCA based method

In this work, we studied the efficiency of principal component analysis for feature extraction and classification of prostate cancer patients suffering from rectal bleeding. We fully exploited the three-dimensional planned dose distribution by considering the voxels as observations. We compared different possibilities for selecting the most relevant features (sequential and combinatory). The receiving operator characteristics were used as performance criterion. The obtained results demonstrate the ability of the method to classify two groups of patients, namely rectal bleeding and non-rectal bleeding. They also suggest that local dose/toxicity relationships exist.     

Tremacron hongheense,a New Species of Gesneriaceaefrom Southeastern Yunnan,China

A new species of Gesneriaceae from Honghe County, Southeastern Yunnan, China, Tremacron hongheense WH. Chen & YM. Shui, is described and illustrated. The new species is similar to Tremacron forrestii Craib, but differs by its leaf blade adaxially sparsely long setose (vs. densely white appressed pubescent and sparsely rusty brown villous), corolla tube outside short white glandular (vs. nearly glabrous), corolla lobes red and thickening at apex, especially adaxial lip (vs. yellow and not thickening), stamens 16-18cm long (vs. 04-12cm long), staminode 05-14cm long (vs. 02-04cm long).     

Peak plasma interleukin-6 and other peripheral markers of inflammation in the first week of ischaemic stroke correlate with brain infarct volume, stroke severity and long-term outcome

Background

Cerebral ischaemia initiates an inflammatory response in the brain and periphery. We assessed the relationship between peak values of plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the first week after ischaemic stroke, with measures of stroke severity and outcome.

Methods

Thirty-seven patients with ischaemic stroke were prospectively recruited. Plasma IL-6, and other markers of peripheral inflammation, were measured at pre-determined timepoints in the first week after stroke onset. Primary analyses were the association between peak plasma IL-6 concentration with both modified Rankin score (mRS) at 3 months and computed tomography (CT) brain infarct volume.

Results

Peak plasma IL-6 concentration correlated significantly (p < 0.001) with CT brain infarct volume (r = 0.75) and mRS at 3 months (r = 0.72). It correlated similarly with clinical outcome at 12 months or stroke severity. Strong associations were also noted between either peak plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration or white blood cell (WBC) count, and all outcome measures.

Conclusions

These data provide evidence that the magnitude of the peripheral inflammatory response is related to the severity of acute ischaemic stroke, and clinical outcome.     

1H NMR metabolomics reveals increased glutaminolysis upon overexpression of NSD3s or Pdp3 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

NSD3s, the proline-tryptophan-tryptophan-proline (PWWP) domain-containing, short isoform of the human oncoprotein NSD3, displays high transforming properties. Overexpression of human NSD3s or the yeast protein Pdp3 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae induces similar metabolic changes, including increased growth rate and sensitivity to oxidative stress, accompanied by decreased oxygen consumption. Here, we set out to elucidate the biochemical pathways leading to the observed metabolic phenotype by analyzing the alterations in yeast metabolome in response to NSD3s or Pdp3 overexpression using ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics. We observed an increase in aspartate and alanine, together with a decrease in arginine levels, on overexpression of NSD3s or Pdp3, suggesting an increase in the rate of glutaminolysis. In addition, certain metabolites, including glutamate, valine, and phosphocholine were either NSD3s or Pdp3 specific, indicating that additional metabolic pathways are adapted in a protein-dependent manner. The observation that certain metabolic pathways are differentially regulated by NSD3s and Pdp3 suggests that, despite the structural similarity between their PWWP domains, the two proteins act by unique mechanisms and may recruit different downstream signaling complexes. This study establishes for the first time a functional link between the human oncoprotein NSD3s and cancer metabolic reprogramming.     

Full-genome sequences of hepatitis B virus subgenotype D3 isolates from the Brazilian Amazon Region

The Brazilian Amazon Region is a highly endemic area for hepatitis B virus (HBV). However, little is known regarding the genetic variability of the strains circulating in this geographical region. Here, we describe the first full-length genomes of HBV isolated in the Brazilian Amazon Region; these genomes are also the first complete HBV subgenotype D3 genomes reported for Brazil. The genomes of the five Brazilian isolates were all 3,182 base pairs in length and the isolates were classified as belonging to subgenotype D3, subtypes ayw2 (n = 3) and ayw3 (n = 2). Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the Brazilian sequences are not likely to be closely related to European D3 sequences. Such results will contribute to further epidemiological and evolutionary studies of HBV.     

Differential expression of Prominin-1 (CD133) and Prominin-2 in major cephalic exocrine glands of adult mice

The major cephalic exocrine glands share many morphological and functional features and so can be simultaneously affected in certain autoimmune- and inherited disorders leading to glandular hypofunction. Phenotypic characterization of these exocrine glands is not only an interesting biological issue, but might also be of considerable clinical relevance. The major salivary and lacrimal glands might therefore be potential subjects of future cell-based regenerative/tissue engineering therapeutic approaches. In the present study, we described the expression of the stem and progenitor cell marker Prominin-1 and those of its paralogue, Prominin-2, in the three pairs of major salivary glands, i.e., submandibular-, major sublingual-, and parotid glands in adult mice. We have also documented their expression in the extraorbital lacrimal and meibomian glands (Glandulae tarsales) of the eyelid (Palpebra). Our analysis revealed that murine Prominin-1 and Prominin-2 were differentially expressed in these major cephalic exocrine organs. Expression of Prominin-1 was found to be associated with the duct system, while Prominin-2 expression was mostly, but not exclusively, found in the acinar compartment of these organs with marked differences among the various glands. Finally, we report that Prominin-2, like Prominin-1, is released into the human saliva associated with small membrane particles holding the potential for future diagnostic applications.