An improved formulation of the zirconyl hematoxylin stain for acidic mucins

Zirconyl hematoxylin stains acidic mucins darkly and specifically using a solution of 100 mg hematoxylin, 5 ml ethanol, 5 ml 0.5% sodium iodate, 400 mg zirconyl chloride octahydrate, and 30 ml 25% aqueous glycerol. The stain is especially advantageous for studying goblet cells and Paget cells.     

Plant-specific SR-related protein atSR45a interacts with spliceosomal proteins in plant nucleus

Serine/arginine-rich (SR) protein and its homologues (SR-related proteins) are important regulators of constitutive and/or alternative splicing and other aspects of mRNA metabolism. To clarify the contribution of a plant-specific and stress-responsive SR-related protein, atSR45a, to splicing events, here we analyzed the interaction of atSR45a with the other splicing factors by conducting a yeast two-hybrid assay and a bimolecular fluorescence complementation analysis. The atSR45a-1a and -2 proteins, the presumed mature forms produced by alternative splicing of atSR45a, interacted with U1-70K and U2AF³⁵b, splicing factors for the initial definition of 5′ and 3′ splice sites, respectively, in the early stage of spliceosome assembly. Both proteins also interacted with themselves, other SR proteins (atSR45 and atSCL28), and PRP38-like protein, a homologue of the splicing factor essential for cleavage of the 5′ splice site. The mapping of deletion mutants of atSR45a proteins revealed that the C-terminal arginine/serine-rich (RS) domain of atSR45a proteins are required for the interaction with U1-70K, U2AF³⁵b, atSR45, atSCL28, PRP38-like protein, and themselves, and the N-terminal RS domain enhances the interaction efficiency. Interestingly, the distinctive N-terminal extension in atSR45a-1a protein, but not atSR45a-2 protein, inhibited the interaction with these splicing factors. These findings suggest that the atSR45a proteins help to form the bridge between 5′ and 3′ splice sites in the spliceosome assembly and the efficiency of spliceosome formation is affected by the expression ratio of atSR45a-1a and atSR45a-2.     

Differential effects of pre and post-payment on neurologists' response rates to a postal survey

Background  

Monetary incentives are an effective way of increasing response rates to surveys, though they are generally less effective in physicians, and are more effective when the incentive is paid up-front rather than when made conditional on completion.     

Motor training programs of arm and hand in patients with MS according to different levels of the ICF: a systematic review

Background

Breast cancer survivors, particularly those treated with chemotherapy, are at significantly increased risk for long-term cognitive and neurobiologic impairments. These deficits tend to involve skills that are subserved by distributed brain networks. Additionally, neuroimaging studies have shown a diffuse pattern of brain structure changes in chemotherapy-treated breast cancer survivors that might impact large-scale brain networks.

Methods

We therefore applied graph theoretical analysis to compare the gray matter structural networks of female breast cancer survivors with a history of chemotherapy treatment and healthy age and education matched female controls.

Results

Results revealed reduced clustering coefficient and small-world index in the brain network of the breast cancer patients across a range of network densities. In addition, the network of the breast cancer group had less highly interactive nodes and reduced degree/centrality in the frontotemporal regions compared to controls, which may help explain the common impairments of memory and executive functioning among these patients.

Conclusions

These results suggest that breast cancer and chemotherapy may decrease regional connectivity as well as global network organization and integration, reducing efficiency of the network. To our knowledge, this is the first report of altered large-scale brain networks associated with breast cancer and chemotherapy.     

Overexpression of a cyanobacterial fructose-1,6-/sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase in tobacco enhances photosynthesis and growth

Transgenic tobacco plants expressing a cyanobacterial fructose-1,6/sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase targeted to chloroplasts show enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and growth characteristics under atmospheric conditions (360 p.p.m. CO2). Compared with wild-type tobacco, final dry matter and photosynthetic CO2 fixation of the transgenic plants were 1.5-fold and 1.24-fold higher, respectively. Transgenic tobacco also showed a 1.2-fold increase in initial activity of ribulose 1,5 bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) compared with wild-type plants. Levels of intermediates in the Calvin cycle and the accumulation of carbohydrates were also higher than those in wild-type plants. This is the first report in which expression of a single plastid-targeted enzyme has been shown to improve carbon fixation and growth in transgenic plants.     

Characterization of ascorbate peroxidases from unicellular red alga Galdieria partita

Galdieria partita, a unicellular red alga isolated from acidic hot springs and tolerant to sulfur dioxide, has at least two ascorbate peroxidase (APX) isozymes. This was the first report to demonstrate that two isozymes of APX are found in algal cells. Two isozymes were separated from each other at the hydrophobic chromatography step of purification and named APX-A and APX-B after the elution order in the chromatography. APX-B accounted for 85% of the total activity. Both isozymes were purified. APXs from Galdieria were monomers whose molecular weights were about 28,000, similar to stromal APX of higher plants. APX-A cross-reacted with monoclonal antibody raised against APX of Euglena gracilis in immunoblotting, but APX-B did not, although the antibody can recognize all other APXs tested. The amino-terminal sequences of APX-A and -B from Galdieria had some homology with each other but little homology with those from other sources. Their Km values for ascorbate and hydrogen peroxide were comparable with those of APX from higher plants. Unlike the green algal enzymes, the donor specificities of Galdieria APXs were as high as those of plant chloroplastic APX. On the contrary, these APXs reduced tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide as an electron acceptor as APXs from Euglena and freshwater Chlamydomonas do. The inhibition of APX-A and -B by cyanide and azide, and characteristics of their light absorbance spectra indicated that they were heme peroxidases.     

INDUCTION OF ERYTHROID MATURATION BY DIMETHYL SULFOXIDE IN FRIEND LEUKEMIC CELLS

Enhancement of the erythroid maturation in Friend virus-induced leukemic cells has been examined in vitro by the treatment with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Although the cell growth was inhibited in the medium containing 2% DMSO, many cells remained viable for a week. By the 3rd day of the culture, the cells treated with DMSO became more strongly agglutinated by phytohemagglutinin than the cells incubated without DMSO. Mouse erythrocyte membrane-specific antigens were also detectable at the 4th day. At the 8th day of the culture hemoglobin synthesis was apparently demonstrated in the cells treated with DMSO, which could not be seen in the untreated cells. Maturation or differentiation along the erythroid pathway in Friend leukemic cells by DMSO is discussed on these markers.     

Use of cervicovaginal fluid for the identification of biomarkers for pathologies of the female genital tract

Cervicovaginal fluid has an important function in the homeostasis and immunity of the lower female genital tract. Analysis of the cervicovaginal fluid proteome may therefore yield important information about the pathogenesis of numerous gynecological pathologies. Additionally, cervicovaginal fluid has great potential as a source of biomarkers for these conditions.     

NaCl-preferring NZB/B1NJ mice and NaCl-avoiding CBA/J mice have similar amiloride inhibition of chorda tympani responses to NaCl

Integrated chorda tympani nerve responses to NaCl were studied in two mouse strains, an NaCl-preferring NZB/B1NJ and an NaCl-avoiding CBA/J. The NaCl responses of both strains had similar magnitude and were suppressed by amiloride to a similar extent. This suggests that peripheral gustatory responsiveness to NaCl is not the only mechanism underlying mouse strain variation in NaCl acceptance.