Late Triassic and Lower Jurassic Foraminifera of the carbonate platform of the Beyaz Aladağ Group (Eastern Taurus,Turkey): New stratigraphic implications

Foraminifera have proven to be reliable biostratigraphic indicators. Accordingly, Triassic and Early Jurassic benthic Foraminifera allow us to define a biostratigraphic zonation within the carbonate platform of Kayseri (Yahyal?), Göksun (Kahramanmara?) and Sivas (Delikta?) regions in the Eastern Taurus (Ceviz, Alada?, Kaman and Felfan Mountains). Seven new stratigraphic sections are described in detail and the first precise inventory and illustration of the benthic foraminifer assemblages from the Triassic successions are presented over a large geographic area. The stratigraphic and palaeontological features of the Lower Mesozoic carbonate units of these mountains include several synchronous transgressive–regressive events that suggest continuity of the Lower Mesozoic environments over a large parautochthonous Taurus zone. Palaeogeographic considerations about the Eastern Taurus carbonates are given, evidencing three stages of development underwent by the studied area: 1) a stable continental margin from Lower Triassic to Lower Cretaceous; 2) a dismantling of the continental margin and first emplacement of ophiolites in the Upper Cretaceous; and 3) a deformation of the continental margin and emplacement of the Peridotite Nappe in the uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian).     

An investigation of the Common Jellyfish,Aurelia aurita,in the harbour of Trabzon

Summary

Some allometric relationships of the Common Jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, a common species along the Turkish Eastern Black Sea coast, were studied in the harbour of Trabzon. Log bell diameter was linearly related to log wet weight: wet weight = 0.61 . diameter^1.88. Some physico-chemical parameters of the sea water in the harbour are also given.     

A Bayesian Method for the Detection of Proof of Concept in Early Phase Oncology Studies with a Basket Design

In the clinical drug development, proof of clinical concept (PoC) refers to the evidence of treatment efficacy that is obtained from early phase clinical s     

Molecular phylogeny of the subgenus Ceratotropis (genus Vigna, Leguminosae) reveals three eco-geographical groups and Late Pliocene-Pleistocene diversification: evidence from four plastid DNA region sequences

Background and Aims

The subgenus Ceratotropis in the genus Vigna is widely distributed from the Himalayan highlands to South, Southeast and East Asia. However, the interspecific and geographical relationships of its members are poorly understood. This study investigates the phylogeny and biogeography of the subgenus Ceratotropis using chloroplast DNA sequence data.

Methods

Sequence data from four intergenic spacer regions (petA-psbJ, psbD-trnT, trnT-trnE and trnT-trnL) of chloroplast DNA, alone and in combination, were analysed using Bayesian and parsimony methods. Divergence times for major clades were estimated with penalized likelihood. Character evolution was examined by means of parsimony optimization and MacClade.

Key Results

Parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses on the combined data demonstrated well-resolved species relationships in which 18 Vigna species were divided into two major geographical clades: the East Asia–Southeast Asian clade and the Indian subcontinent clade. Within these two clades, three well-supported eco-geographical groups, temperate and subtropical (the East Asia–Southeast Asian clade) and tropical (the Indian subcontinent clade), are recognized. The temperate group consists of V. minima, V. nepalensis and V. angularis. The subtropical group comprises the V. nakashimae–V. riukiuensis–V. minima subgroup and the V. hirtella–V. exilis–V. umbellata subgroup. The tropical group contains two subgroups: the V. trinervia–V. reflexo-pilosa–V. trilobata subgroup and the V. mungo–V. grandiflora subgroup. An evolutionary rate analysis estimated the divergence time between the East Asia–Southeast Asia clade and the Indian subcontinent clade as 3·62 ± 0·3 million years, and that between the temperate and subtropical groups as 2·0 ± 0·2 million years.

Conclusions

The findings provide an improved understanding of the interspecific relationships, and ecological and geographical phylogenetic structure of the subgenus Ceratotropis. The quaternary diversification of the subgenus Ceratotropis implicates its geographical dispersal in the south-eastern part of Asia involving adaptation to climatic condition after the collision of the Indian subcontinent with the Asian plate. The phylogenetic results indicate that the epigeal germination is plesiomorphic, and the germination type evolved independently multiple times in this subgenus, implying its limited taxonomic utility.     

The human adenocarcinoma-associated gene, AGR2, induces expression of amphiregulin through Hippo pathway co-activator YAP1 activation

Anterior Gradient Homolog 2 (AGR2) is expressed by the normal intestine and by most human adenocarcinomas, including those derived from the esophagus, pancreas, lung, breast, ovary, and prostate. Xenografts of human adenocarcinoma cell lines in nude mice previously demonstrated that AGR2 supports tumor growth. In addition, AGR2 is able to induce in vitro a transformed phenotype in fibroblast and epithelial cell lines. The mechanism underlying the growth promoting effects of AGR2 is unknown. The present study shows that AGR2 induces expression of amphiregulin (AREG), a growth promoting EGFR ligand. Induced AREG expression in adenocarcinoma cells is able to rescue the transformed phenotype that is lost when AGR2 expression is reduced. Additional experiments demonstrate that AGR2 induction of AREG is mediated by activation of the Hippo signaling pathway co-activator, YAP1. Thus AGR2 promotes growth by regulating the Hippo and EGF receptor signaling pathways.     

The effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and naloxone combination on survival rates in rats exposed to severe hemorrhage.

In this experiment, the effects of different doses of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and naloxone (NLX) combinations on survival rates were investigated in rats exposed to 40% hemorrhage. A combination of 25 ng.kg-1 VIP+5 mg.kg-1 NLX showed the best results on survival. The important prospect of this combination is to have the most potent inhibitory effect on mast cell degranulation. When this combination was given together with shed blood reperfusion and 7.5% NaCl, survival rate increased relative to the administration of shed blood alone and of 7.5% NaCl. These findings suggest that inhibition of mast cell degranulation has a beneficial effect on severe hemorrhage.     

Prevention of LLC-PK(1) cell overgrowth in a bioartificial renal tubule device using a MEK inhibitor, U0126

A common approach to construct a bioartificial renal tubule system is to utilize renal tubular cells seeded in porous polymer membrane hollow fibers. We have reported that overgrowth of renal tubular cells was not beneficial for the transport and reabsorption functions of bioartificial tubules. Therefore, long-term maintenance of a confluent monolayer of cells in hollow fibers is essential and technically challenging. In this study, we examined whether MEK inhibitor, U0126, could maintain the monolayer of Lewis-lung cancer porcine kidney 1 (LLC-PK(1)) cells on polystyrene plates and in a dialysis module housing hollow fibers made of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVAL). We also evaluated the leakage of urea nitrogen (UN) and creatinine (Cr) through the cell-lined hollow fibers, and reabsorption of glucose and sodium by the cells, comparing the U0126-treated cells with nontreated cells in the module. Treatment with 50micromol l(-1) U0126 prevented the overgrowth of cells cultured on polystyrene plates. Moreover, U0126-treatment reduced the leakage of UN, and increased the reabsorption of electrolytes in 65cm(2) modules. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that it also prevented the overconfluence of cells in modules. Therefore, application of U0126 is a potentially effective method to improve the performance of the device.     

Examining the critical roles of human CB2 receptor residues Valine 3.32 (113) and Leucine 5.41 (192) in ligand recognition and downstream signaling activities

We performed molecular modeling and docking to predict a putative binding pocket and associated ligand–receptor interactions for human cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2). Our data showed that two hydrophobic residues came in close contact with three structurally distinct CB2 ligands: CP-55,940, SR144528 and XIE95-26. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments and subsequent functional assays implicated the roles of Valine residue at position 3.32 (V113) and Leucine residue at position 5.41 (L192) in the ligand binding function and downstream signaling activities of the CB2 receptor. Four different point mutations were introduced to the wild type CB2 receptor: V113E, V113L, L192S and L192A. Our results showed that mutation of Val113 with a Glutamic acid and Leu192 with a Serine led to the complete loss of CB2 ligand binding as well as downstream signaling activities. Substitution of these residues with those that have similar hydrophobic side chains such as Leucine (V113L) and Alanine (L192A), however, allowed CB2 to retain both its ligand binding and signaling functions. Our modeling results validated by competition binding and site-directed mutagenesis experiments suggest that residues V113 and L192 play important roles in ligand binding and downstream signaling transduction of the CB2 receptor.