In-depth genome diversity,population structure and linkage disequilibrium analysis of worldwide diverse safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) accessions using NGS data generated by DArTseq technology

Molecular Biology Reports - Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is one of the most important oilseed crops for its seed oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Precise utilization of diverse genetic...     

Biosynthesis of rutin changes in Capparis spinosa due to altered expression of its pathway genes under elicitors’ supplementation

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Caper plant is (Capparis spinosa L.) a good source of rutin which plays a key role in the human diet. In this study, the effect of different...     

Predicting the Size of Silver Nanoparticles from Their Optical Properties

Plasmonics - In this study, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the spherical silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was evaluated based on experimental and theoretical viewpoints. In the...     

Routine HIV Screening in Portugal: Clinical Impact and Cost-Effectiveness

Objective

To compare the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of routine HIV screening in Portugal to the current practice of targeted and on-demand screening.

Design

We used Portuguese national clinical and economic data to conduct a model-based assessment.

Methods

We compared current HIV detection practices to strategies of increasingly frequent routine HIV screening in Portuguese adults aged 18-69. We considered several subpopulations and geographic regions with varying levels of undetected HIV prevalence and incidence. Baseline inputs for the national case included undiagnosed HIV prevalence 0.16%, annual incidence 0.03%, mean population age 43 years, mean CD4 count at care initiation 292 cells/μL, 63% HIV test acceptance, 78% linkage to care, and HIV rapid test cost €6 under the proposed routine screening program. Outcomes included quality-adjusted survival, secondary HIV transmission, cost, and incremental cost-effectiveness.

Results

One-time national HIV screening increased HIV-infected survival from 164.09 quality-adjusted life months (QALMs) to 166.83 QALMs compared to current practice and had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of €28,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Screening more frequently in higher-risk groups was cost-effective: for example screening annually in men who have sex with men or screening every three years in regions with higher incidence and prevalence produced ICERs of €21,000/QALY and €34,000/QALY, respectively.

Conclusions

One-time HIV screening in the Portuguese national population will increase survival and is cost-effective by international standards. More frequent screening in higher-risk regions and subpopulations is also justified. Given Portugal’s challenging economic priorities, we recommend prioritizing screening in higher-risk populations and geographic settings.     

Cellular Adaptation Facilitates Sparse and Reliable Coding in Sensory Pathways

Most neurons in peripheral sensory pathways initially respond vigorously when a preferred stimulus is presented, but adapt as stimulation continues. It is unclear how this phenomenon affects stimulus coding in the later stages of sensory processing. Here, we show that a temporally sparse and reliable stimulus representation develops naturally in sequential stages of a sensory network with adapting neurons. As a modeling framework we employ a mean-field approach together with an adaptive population density treatment, accompanied by numerical simulations of spiking neural networks. We find that cellular adaptation plays a critical role in the dynamic reduction of the trial-by-trial variability of cortical spike responses by transiently suppressing self-generated fast fluctuations in the cortical balanced network. This provides an explanation for a widespread cortical phenomenon by a simple mechanism. We further show that in the insect olfactory system cellular adaptation is sufficient to explain the emergence of the temporally sparse and reliable stimulus representation in the mushroom body. Our results reveal a generic, biophysically plausible mechanism that can explain the emergence of a temporally sparse and reliable stimulus representation within a sequential processing architecture.     

Reaction of some wheat cultivars and breeding lines to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici hot races in Iran

Many physiological races of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici which cause stripe rust in wheat can be determined in different parts of the world. The emergence of new races with different pathogenicity which happens very quickly breaks cultivars resistant and cause disease. Therefore, breeding cultivar for resistance to different pathogenic races should be continued. In this research, pathogenicity of two isolates collected from two regions of Iran were determined by using wheat yellow rust differential lines, which indicated race 70E50A+ and 6E18A+ The responses of 30 wheat genotypes were separately evaluated in the forms of randomized complete block design with three replicates in the seedling stage under greenhouse condition. The components of resistance including latent period and infection type were recorded. Results indicated genotypes were evaluated in terms of both traits and were significant at 1% level. Also, the results from pathogenicity study indicated of effective gene/s included Yr1, Yr2+, Yr3, Yr4, Yr5, Yr10, Yr15, Yr24, Yr26, YrSP, YrND, YrSD and YrSU. From the genotypes studied in the greenhouse condition, 39% of the genotypes showed complete resistance to both races. Probably, resistance genes, Yr32 and YrCV, or the other unknown genes which are types of seedling resistance are either alone or in combination of one another cause strength in resistant genotypes.     

Effective and ineffective resistance genes to wheat yellow rust during six years monitoring in Ardabil

Stripe (yellow) rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici is the most devastating disease of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) in the cool winter areas. This rust disease represents a constant threat to wheat production in several countries in Central and Western Asia. A wide range of virulent yellow rust pathotypes is evolving in this region causing the breakdown of widely utilised sources of resistance in wheat. Hence, the knowledge of effective resistance genes in the region will enable breeders to target those useful genes in their breeding programmes. From 2006 to 2012, in order to determine of effective resistance genes in Ardabil, north-west of Iran, virulence patterns of wheat yellow rust were studied under the field conditions by planting of differential sets and isogenic lines. The results showed that yellow rust resistance genes Yr1,Yr2⁺ , Yr3V, Yr3a, Yr4a, Yr4, Yr5, Yr7⁺ , Yr10, Yr15,Yr16, YrCV, YrSD and YrND were effective and race-nonspecific resistance genes YrA3, YrA4, Yr18 and Yr29 were partially effective during study periods. Genes Yr2, Yr6, Yr7, Yr9, Yr17, Yr20, Yr21,Yr22, Yr23, Yr24, Yr25, Yr26, Yr27, YrSU, YrSP and YrA were found ineffective. The Genes found effective against yellow rust under natural conditions may be deployed singly or in combinations with durable resistance genes to develop high yielding resistant wheat cultivars in wheat-growing areas in where yellow rust races have the same virulence profile to the prevalent race/s of Ardabil.     

SMER28 Attenuates Dopaminergic Toxicity Mediated by 6-Hydroxydopamine in the Rats via Modulating Oxidative Burdens and Autophagy-Related Parameters

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease that occurs due to cellular autophagy deficiency and the accumulation of alpha-synuclein in the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) of the brainstem. The SMER28 (also known as 6-Bromo-N-prop-2-enylquinazolin-4-amine) is an autophagy inducer. In this study, the neuroprotective effects of SMER28 were evaluated on autophagy induction, antioxidant system activation, and microgliosis attenuation. The Parkinson’s disease model was developed in the male Wistar rats by injection of 6-OHDA into the left striatum. Apomorphine-induced behavior assessment test and SNc cell counting were performed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of SMER28. This study examined the pharmacological roles of SMER28, especially by focusing on the autophagy (p62/ SQSTM1 and LC3II/LC3I ratio where LC3 is microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3), inhibiting free radicals, and activating the antioxidant system. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), GSH/glutathione peroxidase (GP_X), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) were measured to evaluate the antioxidant activity of SMER28. Moreover, Iba-1 (ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule, indicating microgliosis) and tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivities were evaluated in the SNc. In the behavioral assessment, SMER28 (50 µg/kg) attenuated damages to the SNc dopaminergic neurons, characterized by improved motor function. The tissue observations revealed that SMER28 prevented the destruction of SNc neurons and attenuated microgliosis as well. It also reduced MDA and ROS production and increased GSH, GP_X, SOD, and Nrf2 activities by inducing autophagy (decreasing p62 and increasing LC3II/LC3I ratio). Consequently, possibly with further studies, it can be considered as a drug for neurodegenerative diseases with proteinopathy etiology.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In vitro</Emphasis> study of HAX1 gene therapy by retro viral transduction as a therapeutic target in severe congenital neutropenia

Severe congenital neutropenia (SCN) is a primary immunodeficiency disease in which a number of underlying gene defects are responsible for abnormalities in neutrophil development. The HCLS1-associated protein X1 (HAX1) mutation is associated with an autosomal-recessive form of SCN. Considering the potential of gene therapy approaches for the treatment of monogenic disorders, in this study we aimed to develop retroviral vectors expressing coding sequences (CDS) to be used for the removal of the genetic blockade in deficient hematopoietic cells. Following amplification of CDS with primers containing appropriate restriction sites, HAX1 CDS was cloned into an intermediate vector using TA-cloning. The sequence was transferred into a retroviral vector, followed by retroviral packaging in Plat-A cells. To show HAX1 protein expression, HEK293T cells were exposed to 10 multiplicity of infection (MOI) of retroviral particles and HAX1 expression was confirmed in these cells, using indirect intracellular flow cytometry. This vector was applied for in vitro transduction of hematopoietic stem cell with HAX1 mutation; after 11 days, cultured cells were analyzed for CD66acde and CD177 (neutrophil surface markers) expression. Increased neutrophil production in HAX1 viral vector-expressing hematopoietic cells was observed as compared to control vector transduced cells. Hence, according to the results, this type of therapy could be considered a potential treatment protocol for the disease.     

Twelve-Year Cardiovascular and Mortality Risk in Relation to Smoking Habits in Type 2 Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Men: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

Introduction

To examine the associations between smoking and cardiovascular disease (CVD) / coronary heart disease (CHD) and all-cause mortality events in men with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a Middle Eastern cohort during a median follow-up of 12 years.

Methods

The study population included 2230 subjects aged ≥ 40 years, free from CVD, comprised of 367 participants with diabetes (21.2% current smokers) and 1863 without (27.3% current smokers). Multivariate Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for smoking (considering different definitions) for those with and without diabetes. Potential confounding factors including age, body mass index, estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and educational level were entered in the multivariate analysis.

Results

In men with diabetes, the HR (95% CI) of comparing current and non-smokers was 1.25 (0.74–2.12) for incident CHD, 1.52 (0.96–2.40) for CVD and 2.10 (1.27–3.47) for mortality events; the corresponding values for men without diabetes were 1.65 (1.24–2.20), 1.70 (1.30–2.22) and 1.72 (1.14–2.58), respectively (all P values for interactions > 0.46). After pooling past smokers with current smokers, among diabetic individuals there was no significant risk for CVD [1.29 (0.89–1.86)] or mortality events [1.25 (0.81–1.92)]; however, among non-diabetic individuals the HRs of current/past smokers reached significant levels for CVD [1.53 (1.23–1.91)] but not for mortality outcomes (all P values for interactions > 0.51).

Conclusions

The strength of the associations between smoking habits and incident CVD/CHD and mortality events from all causes did not differ significantly among diabetic and non-diabetic participants. Therefore, a comprehensive community-based smoking prevention program is important, given the increasing trend of smoking among the Iranian population regardless of diabetes status.