Genetic variation of volatiles and rosmarinic acid in populations of Salvia fruticosa mill growing in Crete

Using plant material collected from the field and subsequently cultivated in the glasshouse, the basis of variation in a number of chemical parameters observed in Salvia fruticosa has been examined. It was shown that clones from three populations collected from different parts of Crete and previously found to exhibit different essential oil yields and profiles maintained these differences during cultivation. They were found to differ also in morphology and habit, phenolic yield and composition and different nitrogen-utilizing capacity as estimated by nitrate reductase activity. Some clones had very high levels of rosmarinic acid. The population with the highest essential oil yield had the lowest phenolic content and vice versa, but within populations there were clones with high levels of both.     

Attract‐and‐kill systems efficiency against Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) and effects on non‐target insects in peach orchards

For control of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae), the attract‐and‐kill or attracticide technique is an alternative to the spraying of traditional organophosphate pesticides. In this study, the effectiveness of Ceranock and AAL&K attract‐and‐kill bait stations was assessed for control of C. capitata in Tunisian peach (Prunus persica) orchards. Our results showed that, in orchards with early‐ripening varieties, the numbers of C. capitata males and fruit damage were significantly lower in plots treated with Ceranock and AAL&K bait stations than in plots treated with conventional organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides. In addition, the abundances of non‐target insects in the Chrysopidae, Coccinellidae and Miridae were significantly greater in plots treated with the bait stations than in plots treated with the conventional pesticides; that is, the use of attract‐and‐kill bait stations had fewer negative effects than the application of conventional pesticides on the biological diversity in Tunisian peach orchards. Overall, the results indicate that Ceranock and AAL&K attract‐and‐kill bait stations are useful alternatives for the control of C. capitata in Tunisian peach orchards planted with early‐ripening varieties.     

Genetic associations of adult height with risk of cardioembolic and other subtypes of ischemic stroke: A mendelian randomization study in multiple ancestries

BackgroundTaller adult height is associated with lower risks of ischemic heart disease in mendelian randomization (MR) studies, but little is known about the causal relevance of height for different subtypes of ischemic stroke. The present study examined the causal relevance of height for different subtypes of ischemic stroke.Methods and findingsHeight-associated genetic variants (up to 2,337) from previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) were used to construct genetic instruments in different ancestral populations. Two-sample MR approaches were used to examine the associations of genetically determined height with ischemic stroke and its subtypes (cardioembolic stroke, large-artery stroke, and small-vessel stroke) in multiple ancestries (the MEGASTROKE consortium, which included genome-wide studies of stroke and stroke subtypes: 60,341 ischemic stroke cases) supported by additional cases in individuals of white British ancestry (UK Biobank [UKB]: 4,055 cases) and Chinese ancestry (China Kadoorie Biobank [CKB]: 10,297 cases). The associations of genetically determined height with established cardiovascular and other risk factors were examined in 336,750 participants from UKB and 58,277 participants from CKB. In MEGASTROKE, genetically determined height was associated with a 4% lower risk (odds ratio [OR] 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.94, 0.99; p = 0.007) of ischemic stroke per 1 standard deviation (SD) taller height, but this masked a much stronger positive association of height with cardioembolic stroke (13% higher risk, OR 1.13 [95% CI 1.07, 1.19], p < 0.001) and stronger inverse associations with large-artery stroke (11% lower risk, OR 0.89 [0.84, 0.95], p < 0.001) and small-vessel stroke (13% lower risk, OR 0.87 [0.83, 0.92], p < 0.001). The findings in both UKB and CKB were directionally concordant with those observed in MEGASTROKE, but did not reach statistical significance: For presumed cardioembolic stroke, the ORs were 1.08 (95% CI 0.86, 1.35; p = 0.53) in UKB and 1.20 (0.77, 1.85; p = 0.43) in CKB; for other subtypes of ischemic stroke in UKB, the OR was 0.97 (95% CI 0.90, 1.05; p = 0.49); and for other nonlacunar stroke and lacunar stroke in CKB, the ORs were 0.89 (0.80, 1.00; p = 0.06) and 0.99 (0.88, 1.12; p = 0.85), respectively. In addition, genetically determined height was also positively associated with atrial fibrillation (available only in UKB), and with lean body mass and lung function, and inversely associated with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in both British and Chinese ancestries. Limitations of this study include potential bias from assortative mating or pleiotropic effects of genetic variants and incomplete generalizability of genetic instruments to different populations.ConclusionsThe findings provide support for a causal association of taller adult height with higher risk of cardioembolic stroke and lower risk of other ischemic stroke subtypes in diverse ancestries. Further research is needed to understand the shared biological and physical pathways underlying the associations between height and stroke risks, which could identify potential targets for treatments to prevent stroke.

In a Mendelian randomization study, Andrew B. Linden and colleagues study the relationship between height and risk of stroke subtypes among individuals from the MEGASTROKE consortium, China Kadoorie Biobank, and UK Biobank.     

Secreted recombinant P53 protein from Pichia pastoris is a useful antigen for detection of serum p53: autoantibody in patients with advanced colorectal adenocarcinoma

The detection of P53 alteration by serological method is easier to perform, does not require tumor tissues and is of interest for patients monitoring. In this study, we described the development of a home made ELISA test based on recombinant human P53 protein produced in Pichia pastoris and used as antigen for the detection of serum p53-Abs in colorectal carcinoma patients. The human P53 was secreted as a His-tagged protein by recombinant KM71 strain (Kα21) via the peptide signal α of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating type gene. The recombinant P53-His was able to detect p53-Abs in 23.4 % of patients. Serum p53-Abs correlated significantly with surgical treatment (P = 0.007), relapse during follow-up (P = 0.036), depth of invasion (P = 0.036) and the level of CA19-9 (P = 0.034). Survival analysis showed that patients negative for serum p53-Abs exhibited a prolonged disease free survival period (P log rank = 0.012). In conclusion, the secreted recombinant human P53-His produced in P. pastoris seems to be a useful antigen for detection of serum p53 Abs in patients with colorectal carcinoma.     

Surface Nanostructure Control with Poly (ethylene glycol)(PEG) Spacer by Templateless Electropolymerization

Controlling the shape of surface nanostructures is fundamental for various potential applications for cxamples,in water harvesting systems,liquid transportation or oil/water separation membranes.In this paper,the creation of porous surface structures is made by a process called templateless electropolymerization,in which water(H₂0)is oxidizedreduced to form gas(O₂/H₂)bubbles onto the surfaces and acting as soft template for the polymer growth.Keeping the monomer(thieno[3,4-b]lhiophene)and the substituent(pyrene)constant,we demonstrate how a flexible PEG spacer can affect the structure shape.When the PEG spacer increases,the structures change frorm nanotubes(1D growth)to nanoribbons(2D)and after to hollow nanospheres(3D),which also affeets the wettig propertics.     

High level production and purification of human interferon α2b in high cell density culture of Pichia pastoris

Human interferon α2b gene was cloned in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris under the control of the AOX1 methanol inducible promoter. To optimise the volumetric productivity, we performed different fed-batch studies in a 5-L bioreactor. We demonstrated that hIFNα2b was highly sensitive to proteases activity during high cell density culture. The target protein was totally degraded 20h after the start of methanol feeding. Replacement of culture medium with fresh medium after glycerol fed-batch culture mode as well as medium enrichment with casamino acids at 0.1% and EDTA at 10mM, had significantly improved hIFNα2b expression and prevented its proteolysis. Moreover, to further improve hIFNα2b production, three different methanol fed-batch strategies had been assayed in high cell density culture. The optimal strategy resulted in a production level of 600mg/l while residual methanol level was maintained below 2g/l. Clarification of culture supernatant through a 0.1μm hollow fiber cartridge showed that almost 95% of the target protein was retained within the retentate. Triton X-100 or NaCl addition to the culture harvest before microfiltration had improved the recovery yield of this step. rhIFNα2b was further purified by cation exchange on Sepharose SP resin followed by gel permeation on Sephacryl S-100. The overall yield of the process was equal to 30% (180mg/l). The biological activity of the purified protein based on the antiviral activity test was 1.5×10(8)IU/mg. The optimised process has a great potential for large scale production of fully functional hIFNα2b.     

Hypolipidemic effect of diet supplementation with bacterial levan in cholesterol-fed rats

Levan polysaccharide, a type of fructan, has been shown to have industrial applications as a new industrial gum in the fields of cosmetics, foods like dietary fiber and pharmaceutical goods. The objective of this current study was to investigate the possible hypolipidemic and antioxidative effects of levan in rats fed with a high-cholesterol diet. Animals were allocated into four groups of six rats each: a normal diet group (Control), normal rats received levan (L), a high-cholesterol diet group (Chol) and a high-cholesterol diet with a daily dose of levan equivalent to 5%. Treated hypercholesterolemic rats were administrated with levan in drinking water through oral gavage for 60 days. After the treatment period, the plasma antioxidant enzymes and lipid profiles were determined. Our results show that treatment with levan polysaccharide positively changed plasma antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid profiles (total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides) in cholesterol-rats, and thus may have potential hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects. Levan could protect against oxidative stress linked atherosclerosis and decrease the atherogenic index.