Analysis of CTLA4 gene 49A/G polymorphism association with development of allergic rhinitis

CTLA4 gene 49A/G polymorphism was analyzed in 44 patients with allergic rhinitis and 70 nominally healthy donors of the Uzbek population. The unfavorable allele rate of this polymorphism in general studied groups and control groups did not differ significantly; it was 73.3 and 72.9% respectively. A comparative analysis of the distribution of CTLA4 gene 49A/G polymorphism in groups of patients with allergic rhinitis, depending on the clinical course and patient’s gender, with the control groups did not reveal statistically significant differences. However, in patients with year-round forms of allergic rhinitis, the rate of the functionally unfavorable allele 49A/G of CTLA4 gene was almost 1.29 times higher than the same rate in the group with the seasonal form and the slightly higher than the rate in the control group.     

Molecular docking of alkaloid compounds with the matrix metalloproteinase 2

Matrix metalloproteinase protein-2 (MMP-2) is linked to the human oral squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, it is of interest to design new inhibitors for MMP-2 to combat the disease. Thus, we document the molecular docking features of Aristolochic acid, Cryptopleurine, Epipodophyllotoxin, and Fagaronine with MMP-2 for further consideration.     

Frequency of mutations in “thrombophilic state” genes in Uzbekistan

The frequency of mutations in a number of genetic markers, specifically factor V gene (G1691A), blood coagulation factor II gene (G20210A), and the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene (C677T), is studied in ethnic Uzbek patients with deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities and in healthy donors. It is established that the incidence of mutant alleles among patients in Uzbekistan for FV Leiden is 12.9%; for prothrombin, 4%; and for MTHFR, 47.8%. The mutant allele C677T of the MTHFR gene has the highest expressivity in the appearance of MTHFR (47.8%). It is noted that this mutation in the MTHFR gene is encountered significantly more frequently in females with deep vein thrombosis than in males with deep vein thrombosis. The G20210A mutation in the prothrombin gene is encountered more rarely in the Uzbek population. The penetrance is studied and the role of these mutations in the appearance of deep vein thrombosis is estimated.     

Prof. Dr. H. C. Władysław Węgorek 16 February 1918-16 July 2001

Abstract

In 2004, two field trials with cotton were conducted at two locations in Tajikistan to estimate the effectiveness of FZB 24® Bacillus subtilis (ABiTEP GmbH Berlin) as a biofertilizer for increasing the cotton yield in comparison to the utilization of the conventional fertilizer containing nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), with an application rate per ha 180 kg N, 120 kg P, 60 kg K. The following treatments of cotton cultivated as test variants each on 1 ha field under the same conditions were carried out and the effect on the plant growth, the development of number of bolls/plant and mainly the cotton fibre yield were calculated: (i) Seed treatment with water and only crop application of the NPK fertilizer; (ii) Only seed treatment with spore suspension of FZB 24 WG Bacillus subtilis, without application of the NPK fertilizer; (iii) Seed treatment with spore suspension of FZB 24 WG Bacillus subtilis plus crop application of the NPK fertilizer; and (iv) Only seed treatment with the comparable plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria product Extrasol 55 (ARRIAM St Petersburg), without application of the fertilizer. Comparing cotton growth and yield of the variants in both field tests, there appeared a remarkable yield and growth increase (up to 30%) by the use of FZB 24 alone compared to the application of the NPK fertilizer. The additional application of the NPK fertilizer (Variant: FZB 24 + NPK) could not enlarge this plant productivity-promoting effect. Apparently under the test conditions the increase of the root system in size and capacity as well as the additional enzymatic mobilizing of organic bound phosphorus for the plant as activities from the Bacillus subtilis introduction was more important for the plant system than the limited direct input with N, P and K. The plant treatment alone with Extrasol 55 resulted in similar promotion of cotton growth and yield as FZB 24 when compared with the NPK plant fertilizing, showing that the activity of FZB 24 was not very specific. However the cotton field tests generally demonstrate for FZB 24 Bacillus subtilis a high ability to improve plant growth and yield based on increasing the capacity of roots to mobilize and take up nutrients and substances for overall reproductive plant fitness. The use and value for part-substitutions of some environmentally problematical mineral fertilizers in other and intensive plant production systems is discussed.     

Use of Plasma Flows to Clean the Near-Earth Space

Plasma Physics Reports - A system for cleaning near-Earth space from space debris in the upper layers of the atmosphere is proposed, which is based on a plasma accelerator that uses the medium of...     

OntologyWidget – a reusable,embeddable widget for easily locating ontology terms

Background  

Biomedical ontologies are being widely used to annotate biological data in a computer-accessible, consistent and well-defined manner. However, due to their size and complexity, annotating data with appropriate terms from an ontology is often challenging for experts and non-experts alike, because there exist few tools that allow one to quickly find relevant ontology terms to easily populate a web form.     

High-yield isolation of chloroplast DNA from Hordeum vulcare barley protoplasts

A fraction of intact chloroplasts free of other cell components in isolated from barley leaf chloroplasts. Instead of mechanical desintegration of plant tissue, the method described includes the cellulysine treatment, thus increasing the yeild of chloroplast DNA. The mean content of DNA per barley chloroplast is found to be 1.10(-4) g. Base composition of barley chloroplast DNA is 39.8 mol.% of G+C. The treatment of chloroplast DNA with restriction endonuclease EcoRI results in the appearance of 17-19 bands under agarose gel electrophoresis.