A calcified sinutubular junction: the discovery of a supravalvular aortic stenosis in an elderly woman

We report a case of a 64 year old woman with a calcified ring at the level of the sinotubular junction. Echocardiography and Computed Tomography showed a supravalvular aortic stenosis, without known associated lesions, except for the existence of an aberrant right subclavian artery. These combination of abnormalities makes it an unique case. Differential diagnosis of sinutubular calcification is added. From the literature a short review of supravalvular aortic stenosis is presented with indications for surgical intervention. Lifelong and regular follow up is necessary.     

Phylogenetic relationships between members of the crucifer pathogenic Leptosphaeria maculans species complex as shown by mating type (MAT1-2), actin, and beta-tubulin sequences

The dothideomycetous fungus Leptosphaeria maculans comprises a complex of species differing in specificity and pathogenicity on Brassica napus. Twenty-eight isolates were investigated and compared to 20 other species of the Pleosporales order. Sequences of the mating type MAT1-2 (23), fragments of actin (48) and beta-tubulin (45) genes were determined and used for phylogenetic analyses inferred by maximum parsimony, distance, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian approaches. These different approaches using single genes essentially confirmed findings using concatanated sequences. L. maculans formed a monophyletic group separate from Leptosphaeria biglobosa. The L. biglobosa clade encompasses five sub-clades; this finding is consistent with classification made previously on the basis of internal-transcribed sequences of the ribosomal DNA repeat. The propensity for purifying and neutral evolution of the three genes was determined using sliding window analysis, a technique not previously applied to genes of filamentous fungi. For members of the L. maculans species complex, this approach showed that in comparison to actin and beta-tubulin, exonic sequences of MAT1-2 were more diverse and appeared to evolve at a faster rate. However, different regions of MAT1-2 displayed different degrees of sequence conservation. The more conserved upstream region (including the High Mobility Group domain) may be better suited for interspecies differentiation, while the more diverse downstream region is more appropriate for intraspecies comparisons.     

Family screening in patients with isolated bicuspid aortic valve

Netherlands Heart Journal - To determine the prevalence of undiagnosed bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and isolated aortic dilatation in first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with isolated BAV and...     

Origin and distribution of epipolythiodioxopiperazine (ETP) gene clusters in filamentous ascomycetes

Background  

Genes responsible for biosynthesis of fungal secondary metabolites are usually tightly clustered in the genome and co-regulated with metabolite production. Epipolythiodioxopiperazines (ETPs) are a class of secondary metabolite toxins produced by disparate ascomycete fungi and implicated in several animal and plant diseases. Gene clusters responsible for their production have previously been defined in only two fungi. Fungal genome sequence data have been surveyed for the presence of putative ETP clusters and cluster data have been generated from several fungal taxa where genome sequences are not available. Phylogenetic analysis of cluster genes has been used to investigate the assembly and heredity of these gene clusters.     

Sensing the Heat of Tomato Products Red: The New Approach to the Objective Assessment of their Color

The concept of optothermal window (OW) detection was used for the first time to assess the color of several products (juice, purée, paste) derived from thermally processed tomatoes. Unlike traditional techniques that operate either in the reflectance or transmission mode, the method proposed here actually relies on indirect measurement of absorbance in optically opaque and scattering samples. Very good correlation between the magnitude of the OW signal and the color-related parameters [colorimetric index L* and tomato paste index (TPI)] was observed.     

Nitrogen limitation induces expression of the avirulence gene avr9 in the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum

The avirulence gene avr9 of the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum encodes a race-specific peptide elicitor that induces the hypersensitive response in tomato plants carrying the complementary resistance gene Cf9. The avr9 gene is not expressed under optimal growth conditions in vitro, but is highly expressed when the fungus grows inside the tomato leaf. In this paper we present evidence for the induction of avr9 gene expression in C. fulvum grown in vitro under conditions of nitrogen limitation. Only growth medium with very low amounts of nitrogen (nitrate, ammonium, glutamate or glutamine) induced the expression of avr9. Limitation of other macronutrients or the addition of plant factors did not induce the expression of avr9. The induced expression of avr9 is possibly mediated by a positive-acting nitrogen regulatory protein, homologous to the Neurospora crassa NIT2 protein, which induces the expression of many genes under conditions of nitrogen limitation. The avr9 promoter contains several putative NIT2 binding sites. The expression of avr9 during the infection process was explored cytologically using transformants of C. fulvum carrying an avr9 promoter--glucuronidase reporter gene fusion. The possibility that expression of avr9 in C. fulvum growing in planta is caused by nitrogen limitation in the apoplast of the tomato leaf is discussed.     

Nitrogen limitation induces expression of the avirulence gene avr9 in the tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum

The avirulence gene avr9 of the fungal tomato pathogen Cladosporium fulvum encodes a race-specific peptide elicitor that induces the hypersensitive response in tomato plants carrying the complementary resistance gene Cf9. The avr9 gene is not expressed under optimal growth conditions in vitro, but is highly expressed when the fungus grows inside the tomato leaf. In this paper we present evidence for the induction of avr9 gene expression in C. fulvum grown in vitro under conditions of nitrogen limitation. Only growth medium with very low amounts of nitrogen (nitrate, ammonium, glutamate or glutamine) induced the expression of avr9. Limitation of other macronutrients or the addition of plant factors did not induce the expression of avr9. The induced expression of avr9 is possibly mediated by a positive-acting nitrogen regulatory protein, homologous to the Neurospora crassa NIT2 protein, which induces the expression of many genes under conditions of nitrogen limitation. The avr9 promoter contains several putative NIT2 binding sites. The expression of avr9 during the infection process was explored cytologically using transformants of C. fulvum carrying an avr9 promoter-β-glucuronidase reporter gene fusion. The possibility that expression of avr9 in C. fulvum growing in planta is caused by nitrogen limitation in the apoplast of the tomato leaf is discussed.     

Induction of tomato stress protein mRNAs by ethephon, 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid and salicylate

To study the possible involvement of plant hormones in the synthesis of stress proteins in tomato upon inoculation with Cladosporium fulvum, we investigated the induction of mRNAs encoding PR proteins and ethylene biosynthesis enzymes by ethephon, 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid (INA) and salicylic acid (SA) by northern blot analysis. Ethephon slightly induced some but not all mRNAs encoding intra- and extracellular PR proteins. INA induced all PR protein mRNAs analysed, except for intracellular chitinase and extracellular PR-4. SA induced all PR protein mRNAs analyzed, except for intracellular chitinase and osmotin. None of the inducers affected the expression of ACC synthase mRNA, whereas all three induced ethylene-forming enzyme (EFE) mRNA.Abbreviations ACC 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid - EFE ethylene-forming enzyme - HR hypersensitive response - INA 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid - PR pathogenesis-related - SA salicylic acid - SAR systemic acquired resistance