How do elevated CO2 and O3 affect the interception and utilization of radiation by a soybean canopy?

Net productivity of vegetation is determined by the product of the efficiencies with which it intercepts light (?_i) and converts that intercepted energy into biomass (?_c). Elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂) increases photosynthesis and leaf area index (LAI) of soybeans and thus may increase ?_i and ?_c; elevated O₃ may have the opposite effect. Knowing if elevated CO₂ and O₃ differentially affect physiological more than structural components of the ecosystem may reveal how these elements of global change will ultimately alter productivity. The effects of elevated CO₂ and O₃ on an intact soybean ecosystem were examined with Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment (SoyFACE) technology where large field plots (20‐m diameter) were exposed to elevated CO₂ (～550 μmol mol^?1) and elevated O₃ (1.2 × ambient) in a factorial design. Aboveground biomass, LAI and light interception were measured during the growing seasons of 2002, 2003 and 2004 to calculate ?_i and ?_c. A 15% increase in yield (averaged over 3 years) under elevated CO₂ was caused primarily by a 12% stimulation in ?_c , as ?_i increased by only 3%. Though accelerated canopy senescence under elevated O₃ caused a 3% decrease in ?_i, the primary effect of O₃ on biomass was through an 11% reduction in ?_c. When CO₂ and O₃ were elevated in combination, CO₂ partially reduced the negative effects of elevated O₃. Knowing that changes in productivity in elevated CO₂ and O₃ were influenced strongly by the efficiency of conversion of light energy into energy in plant biomass will aid in optimizing soybean yields in the future. Future modeling efforts that rely on ?_c for calculating regional and global plant productivity will need to accommodate the effects of global change on this important ecosystem attribute.     

Association between FABP2 Ala54Thr polymorphisms and type 2 diabetes mellitus risk: a HuGE Review and Meta‐Analysis

Many studies have examined the association between the FABP2 (rs1799883) Ala54Thr gene polymorphism and type 2 diabetes mellitus risk (T2DM) in various populations, but their results have been inconsistent. To assess this relationship more precisely, A HuGE review and meta‐analysis were performed. The PubMed and CNKI database was searched for case‐control studies published up to April 2014. Data were extracted and pooled odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Ultimately, 13 studies, comprising 2020 T2DM cases and 2910 controls were included. Overall, for the Thr carriers (Ala/Thr and Thr/Thr) versus the wild‐type homozygotes (Ala/Ala), the pooled OR was 1.18 (95% CI = 1.04–1.34, P = 0.062 for heterogeneity), for Thr/Thr versus Ala/Ala the pooled OR was 1.17 (95% CI = 1.05–1.41 P = 0.087 for heterogeneity). In the stratified analysis by ethnicity, the significantly risks were found among Asians but not Caucasians. This meta‐analysis suggests that the FABP2 (rs1799883) Ala54Thr polymorphisms are associated with increased susceptibility to T2DM risk among Asians but not Caucasians.     

Sequence heterogeneity and anomalous electrophoretic mobility of kinetoplast minicircle DNA from Leishmania tarentolae

Several unit-length minicircles from the kinetoplast DNA of Leishmania tarentolae were cloned into pBR322 and into M13 phage vectors. The complete nucleotide sequences of three different partially homologous minicircles were obtained. The molecules contained a region of approx. 80% sequence homology extending for 160–270 bp and a region unique to each minicircle. A 14-mer was found to be conserved in all kinetoplast minicircle sequences reported to date. The frequency distributions of various minicircle sequence classes in L. tarentolae were obtained by quantitative gel electrophoresis and by examination of the “T ladder” patterns of minicircles randomly cloned into M13 at several sites. By these methods we could assign approx. 50% of the total minicircle DNA into a minimum of five sequence classes. A sequence-dependent polyacrylamide gel migration abnormality was observed with several minicircle fragments both cloned and uncloned. The abnormality was dependent on the presence of a portion of the conserved region of the minicircle.     

Leaf micromorphology inAgathis and its taxonomic implications

This study surveys the micromorphological surface structure of the leaves of the conifer genusAgathis (Araucariaceae) from throughout the range of the genus (Malaysia to New Zealand and Fiji) as seen with the scanning electron microscope. These data confirm that the vegetative parts ofAgathis are taxonomically highly conservative, but suggest the Melanesian and New Zealand elements to be distinctive from those of the rest of the genus, and from one another. Conclusions are compared with those that have been derived from studies based on other characters.     

Studies on a leukocyte elastase inhibitor present in the culture medium of inflamed synovial tissue

The spent medium of cultured inflamed synovial tissue contains a potent inhibitor of leukocyte elastase. This leukocyte elastase inhibitor has no effect on leukocyte cathepsin G and pancreatic elastase is only marginally affected. The inhibitor is a glycoprotein, stable to heat, acid and reductive alkylation. Pretreatment of the inhibitor with either trypsin or chymotrypsin results in its inactivation.     

Fluorophotometric enzyme immunoassay of thyroid-stimulating hormone.

A method for enzyme immunoassay of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is described, TSH was conjugated with horseradish peroxidase according to periodate oxidation method. Separation of the bound and free was obtained by double-antibody solid-phase technique using Sepharose 4B-anti-rabbit immunogiobulin G (IgG)-geat IgG. The fluorescence reaction using tyramine and hydrogen peroxide as substrates was used for the determination of enzyme activity in order to increase the sensitivity of enzyme immunoassay. The standard curve for serum TSH was satisfactory to recognize TSH concentrations as 0.06 μU/tube. TSH values obtained by this method correlated well with those obtained by radioimmunoassay (r, 0.96). The coefficients of variation were 1.8 to 5.3% (within assay) and 5.1 to 10.5% (between assay). The method is about equal to radioimmunoassay with respect to sensitivity. Since it requires minimal equipment and is less expensive than radioimmunoassay, it is possible to perform routine assays even in laboratories with limited facilities.     

Infrared spectroscopy of proteins

This review discusses the application of infrared spectroscopy to the study of proteins. The focus is on the mid-infrared spectral region and the study of protein reactions by reaction-induced infrared difference spectroscopy.     

Biological effects of D2O administration to Coturnix japonica

Levels of 7.8, 18.5 and 26 mole % deuterium oxide were administered sequentially to $\text{Coturnix japonica}$ (Japanese quail) via the drinking water. The primary effect observed was on egg frequency, which decreased from a normal level of 0.89 for 7.8 mole % D₂O to a low of 0.38 during the administration of 26 mole % D₂O. Adverse symptoms, such as hyperexcitability, convulsions, skin ulcerations, comatosity, weight loss, or death, which have been associated with deuterium toxicity in other animals, were not observed in these experiments. The amount of deuterium deposited in the water of the egg was 6.9, 13.98, and 19.83 mole % when 7.8, 18.5 and 26 mole % deuterium respectively was administered. For each period, the deuterium content of egg water rapidly reached a maximum concentration after which the concentration decreased slightly. This dilution effect has not been noted previously in body fluids from other animals.     

MODY 2: Mutation identification and molecular ancestry in a Brazilian family

Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) is a heterogeneous group of genetic diseases characterized by a primary defect in insulin secretion and hyperglycemia, non-ketotic disease, monogenic autosomal dominant mode of inheritance, age at onset less than 25 years, and lack of auto-antibodies. It accounts for 2–5% of all cases of non-type 1 diabetes. MODY subtype 2 is caused by mutations in the glucokinase (GCK) gene. In this study, we sequenced the GCK gene of two volunteers with clinical diagnosis for MODY2 and we were able to identify four mutations including one for a premature stop codon (c.76C>T). Based on these results, we have developed a specific PCR-RFLP assay to detect this mutation and tested 122 related volunteers from the same family. This mutation in the GCK gene was detected in 21 additional subjects who also had the clinical features of this genetic disease. In conclusion, we identified new GCK gene mutations in a Brazilian family of Italian descendance, with one due to a premature stop codon located in the second exon of the gene. We also developed a specific assay that is fast, cheap and reliable to detect this mutation. Finally, we built a molecular ancestry model based on our results for the migration of individuals carrying this genetic mutation from Northern Italy to Brazil.     

Multiomic Metabolic Enrichment Network Analysis Reveals Metabolite–Protein Physical Interaction Subnetworks Altered in Cancer

Metabolism is recognized as an important driver of cancer progression and other complex diseases, but global metabolite profiling remains a challenge. Protein expression profiling is often a poor proxy since existing pathway enrichment models provide an incomplete mapping between the proteome and metabolism. To overcome these gaps, we introduce multiomic metabolic enrichment network analysis (MOMENTA), an integrative multiomic data analysis framework for more accurately deducing metabolic pathway changes from proteomics data alone in a gene set analysis context by leveraging protein interaction networks to extend annotated metabolic models. We apply MOMENTA to proteomic data from diverse cancer cell lines and human tumors to demonstrate its utility at revealing variation in metabolic pathway activity across cancer types, which we verify using independent metabolomics measurements. The novel metabolic networks we uncover in breast cancer and other tumors are linked to clinical outcomes, underscoring the pathophysiological relevance of the findings.