Cushion star (Culcita schmideliana) preys on coral polyps in Gulf of Mannar,Southeast India

Corallivore animals play vital role in coral reef ecology. Predation on corals by other organisms has not been studied properly in the Indian waters. This study reports the first observation of predation by cushion star (Culcita schmideliana) on coral polyps in Gulf of Mannar (GoM), southeast India. During our regular underwater surveys in GoM, C. schmideliana was found preying on hard coral Acropora formosa and soft coral Sarcophyton sp. at a depth of 3 m in Vilanguchalli patch reef. Though C. schmideliana has been sighted often under water, it has not been observed to predate on corals in GoM before. The area where predation was observed has a major population of hard corals (50.21%) besides seagrasses (8.36%) and soft corals (6.11%). Temperature anomalies and the consequent coral bleaching could be the factors making C. schmideliana prefer coral polyps.     

Cloning and Sequencing of Phytoplasma Ribosomal DNA (rONA) Associated with Kerala Wilt Disease of Coconut Palms

Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) the 165 rRNA gene of phytoplasma associated with Kerala wilt disease of coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L) was amplified from infected leaf samples. Within the three universal primer pairs P1/P6, P1/P7and P41 P7, the primer pair P4/P7 only showed an amplification of 650 bp DNA fragment. 5ince P4/P7 amplifies the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region of 165 rRNA gene, the PCR product 650 bp of Kerala wilt disease palm indicates the phytoplasma DNA. The amplified fragment was sequenced and deposited in Genbank data library (Accession No. AY158660). The absence of restriction sites for Bcll and Rsa/l in 650 bp indicates phytoplasmic nature of DNA and its strain difference. A comparison of the 650 bp sequence with other phytoplasmas and its restriction profile indicates Kerala wilt disease phytoplasma as a separate 165 rRNA group in the classification of phytoplasmas. To our knowledge, this report records the first finding of the phytoplasma DNA using universal primers and its sequence analysis in coconut palms of Kerala, south India.     

Alkali treatment of corn stover to improve sugar production by enzymatic hydrolysis

Alkali treatment of corn stover improves the avaliability of cellulose and hemicellulose for enzymatic attack. Treatments were carried out for 1 to 60 min at temperatures and NaOH concentrations ranging from 100 to 150 degrees C and 0 to 2%, respectively. Solubilization of the stover and sugar production by enzymatic hydrolysis (Trichoderma viride cellulase) of the solid residue and the dissolved solids were used to measure the effect of caustic treatment. At 150 degrees C and 2% NaOH concentration, 65% of the original stover was dissolved after 5 min and 52% saccharificatin (g sugar/g stover) of the residue and dissolved solids by enzymatic hydrolysis was achieved compared to 20% for untreated corn stover.     

Androgens and autistic traits: A study of individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Testosterone promotes male-typical neural and behavioral development in non-human mammals. There is growing evidence that testosterone exerts similar influences on human development, although the range of behaviors affected is not completely known. This study examined the hypothesis that autistic traits are increased following prenatal exposure to abnormally high levels of testosterone caused by congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Sixty individuals with CAH (34 female, 26 male) and 49 unaffected relatives (24 female, 25 male) completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Females with CAH scored significantly higher than unaffected females on total AQ score, largely due to enhanced scores on subscales measuring social skills and imagination. These results suggest that prenatal exposure to high levels of testosterone influences some autistic traits and that hormonal factors may be involved in vulnerability to autism.     

Ribonucleotide reductase, a possible agent in deoxyribonucleotide pool asymmetries induced by hypoxia

While investigating the basis for marked natural asymmetries in deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) pools in mammalian cells, we observed that culturing V79 hamster lung cells in a 2% oxygen atmosphere causes 2-3-fold expansions of the dATP, dGTP, and dTTP pools, whereas dCTP declines by a comparable amount. Others have made similar observations and have proposed that, because O(2) is required for formation of the catalytically essential oxygen-bridged iron center in ribonucleotide reductase, dCTP depletion at low oxygen tension results from direct or indirect effects upon ribonucleotide reductase. We have tested the hypothesis that oxygen limitation affects ribonucleotide specificity using recombinant mouse ribonucleotide reductase and an assay that permits simultaneous monitoring of the reduction of all four nucleotide substrates. Preincubation and assay of the enzyme in an anaerobic chamber caused only partial activity loss. Accordingly, we treated the enzyme with hydroxyurea, followed by removal of the hydroxyurea and exposure to atmospheres of varying oxygen content. The activity was totally depleted by hydroxyurea treatment and nearly fully regained by exposure to air. By the criterion of activities regained at different oxygen tensions, we found CDP reduction not to be specifically sensitive to oxygen depletion; however, GDP reduction was specifically sensitive. The basis for the differential response to reactivation by O(2) is not known, but it evidently does not involve varying rates of reactivation of different allosteric forms of the enzyme or altered response to allosteric effectors at reduced oxygen tension.     

Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals: Room Temperature Syntheses toward Commercial Viability

In this progress report, recent improvements to the room temperaturesyntheses of lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (APbX₃, X = Cl, Br, I) are assessed, focusing on various aspects which influence the commercial viability of the technology. Perovskite nanocrystals can be prepared easily from low‐cost precursors under ambient conditions, yet they have displayed near‐unity photoluminescence quantum yield with narrow, highly tunable emission peaks. In addition to their impressive ambipolar charge carrier mobilities, these properties make lead halide perovskite nanocrystals very attractive for light‐emitting diode (LED) applications. However, there are still many practical hurdles preventing commercialization. Recent developments in room temperature synthesis and purification protocols are reviewed, closely evaluating the suitability of particular techniques for industry. This is followed by an assessment of the wide range of ligands deployed on perovskite nanocrystal surfaces, analyzing their impact on colloidal stability, as well as LED efficiency. Based on these observations, a perspective on important future research directions that can expedite the industrial adoption of perovskite nanocrystals is provided.     

Immunoaffinity liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry detection of nitrotyrosine in biological fluids: development of a clinically translatable biomarker

Measurement of nitrotyrosine levels in biological fluids can serve as a biomarker for oxidative/nitrative damage arising from formation of reactive nitrogen species, including peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrite is formed by the reaction of the superoxide radical (O2.-) with the nitric oxide radical (.NO) that is generated by nitric oxide synthase (NOS). This article describes an immunoaffinity liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to measure 3-nitrotyrosine at very low (picomolar) levels. Incorporation of a pronase digestion step prior to the immunoaffinity LC-MS/MS allowed for measuring not only free amino acid but also protein 3-nitrotyrosine in biological fluids. The use of an in-line antibody column allowed for increased specificity as compared with previously reported assays. The assay is linear over a range of 5 to 500 pg/ml (0.022-2.20 nM, r(2)=0.9987), with the lower detection limit being 5 pg/ml. In addition to its increased sensitivity and specificity, this assay showed great nitrotyrosine recovery from biological fluids when either nitrotyrosine or nitrotyrosine-containing peptides were added exogenously. The utility of this assay for nitrotyrosine as a clinically translatable biomarker was demonstrated by quantifying both free and total nitrotyrosine levels in various biological fluids, including urine, plasma, serum, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and synovial fluid (SF) from both preclinical species and human subjects. Thus, whether in an animal model of human disease or in a clinical setting, the quantification of nitrotyrosine levels should provide support for NOS-driven pathology and its blockade following therapeutic intervention.     

Dynalign II: common secondary structure prediction for RNA homologs with domain insertions

Homologous non-coding RNAs frequently exhibit domain insertions, where a branch of secondary structure is inserted in a sequence with respect to its homologs. Dynamic programming algorithms for common secondary structure prediction of multiple RNA homologs, however, do not account for these domain insertions. This paper introduces a novel dynamic programming algorithm methodology that explicitly accounts for the possibility of inserted domains when predicting common RNA secondary structures. The algorithm is implemented as Dynalign II, an update to the Dynalign software package for predicting the common secondary structure of two RNA homologs. This update is accomplished with negligible increase in computational cost. Benchmarks on ncRNA families with domain insertions validate the method. Over base pairs occurring in inserted domains, Dynalign II improves accuracy over Dynalign, attaining 80.8% sensitivity (compared with 14.4% for Dynalign) and 91.4% positive predictive value (PPV) for tRNA; 66.5% sensitivity (compared with 38.9% for Dynalign) and 57.0% PPV for RNase P RNA; and 50.1% sensitivity (compared with 24.3% for Dynalign) and 58.5% PPV for SRP RNA. Compared with Dynalign, Dynalign II also exhibits statistically significant improvements in overall sensitivity and PPV. Dynalign II is available as a component of RNAstructure, which can be downloaded from http://rna.urmc.rochester.edu/RNAstructure.html.