Exogenous application of β-sitosterol mediated growth and yield improvement in water-stressed wheat (Triticum aestivum) involves up-regulated antioxidant system

Journal of Plant Research - Water stress reduces crop production significantly, and climate change has further aggravated the problem mainly in arid and semi-arid regions. This was the first study...     

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Some New Coumarin and Dicoumarol Derivatives

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - Phase transfer catalysis reaction of 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-chromen-2-one with alkyl halides afforded C4 oxygen alkylation products of 2H-chromen-2-one...     

The association between overweight/obesity and psychological distress: A population based cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to compare the association between mental well-being between obese (classes 1 and 2), over-weight and non-obese population-based individualsMethodsA population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. A total of 1019 Saudi nationals aged ≥ 18 years participated in the survey. BMI scores were used to categorize participants into three groups: Obese, overweighted and non-obese/non-overweight. Mental well-being was evaluated by using the validated Arabic version of the General Health Questionnaire version 12 (GHQ-12).ResultsWe used total GHQ score (Mean=12; SD=5.23) to compare mental well-being between the four BMI class categories. The overall one-way ANOVA model was statistically significant (F = 7.018, d = 6, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, after adjusting for sociodemographic variables, diabetes and smoking statuses we found that higher psychological distress (as evident by a higher total GHQ score) was associated with higher BMI. The unstandardized Beta regression coefficient = 2.627; P = 0.034). Females were more likely to have higher psychological distress than males (unstandardized Beta = 1.466, P = 0.003). Job status whether being unemployed or ‘civilian’ (civil worker) was significantly associated with higher psychological distress (unstandardized Beta = 1.405, P = 0.041). Being diabetic has a 1.6 times higher risk of psychological distress (unstandardized Beta = 1.604, P = 0.027).ConclusionThe study highlights the public health implications of psychological distress amongst individuals with overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia. Future longitudinal studies should explore the temporality of this relationship.     

Lipoxygenase inhibition induced apoptosis, morphological changes, and carbonic anhydrase expression in human pancreatic cancer cells

Epidemiologic and animal studies have linked pancreatic cancer growth with fat intake, especially unsaturated fats. Arachidonic acid release from membrane phospholipids is essential for tumor cell proliferation. Lipoxygenases (LOX) constitute one pathway for arachidonate metabolism. We previously reported that 5-LOX and 12-LOX are upregulated in human pancreatic cancer cells and that blockade of these enzymes abolishes pancreatic cancer cell growth. The present study was aimed at evaluating the effect of LOX inhibition on differentiation and apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells in parallel with growth inhibition. Four human pancreatic cancer cell lines, PANC-1, MiaPaca2, Capan2, and HPAF, were used. Apoptosis was evaluated by three separate methods, including DNA propidium iodide staining, DNA fragmentation, and the TUNEL assay. Morphological changes and carbonic anhydrase activity were used to determine the effect of LOX inhibitors on differentiation. The general LOX inhibitor NDGA, the 5-LOX inhibitor Rev5901, and the 12-LOX inhibitor baicalein all induced apoptosis in all four pancreatic cancer cell lines, as confirmed by all three methods, suggesting that both the 5-LOX and 12-LOX pathways are important for survival of these cells. Furthermore, NDGA, Rev5901, or baicalein resulted in marked cellular morphological changes in parallel with increased intracellular carbonic anhydrase activity, indicating that LOX blockade induced a more differentiated phenotype in human pancreatic cancer cells. Together with our previous findings, this study suggests that perturbations of LOX activity affect pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and survival. Blockade of LOX enzymes may be valuable for the treatment of human pancreatic cancer.     

Next-Generation Sequence Assembly: Four Stages of Data Processing and Computational Challenges

Decoding DNA symbols using next-generation sequencers was a major breakthrough in genomic research. Despite the many advantages of next-generation sequencers, e.g., the high-throughput sequencing rate and relatively low cost of sequencing, the assembly of the reads produced by these sequencers still remains a major challenge. In this review, we address the basic framework of next-generation genome sequence assemblers, which comprises four basic stages: preprocessing filtering, a graph construction process, a graph simplification process, and postprocessing filtering. Here we discuss them as a framework of four stages for data analysis and processing and survey variety of techniques, algorithms, and software tools used during each stage. We also discuss the challenges that face current assemblers in the next-generation environment to determine the current state-of-the-art. We recommend a layered architecture approach for constructing a general assembler that can handle the sequences generated by different sequencing platforms.     

Molecular identification of a novel inulinolytic fungus isolated from and grown on tubers of Helianthus tuberosus and statistical screening of medium components

Of 24 fungi belonging to more than five genera isolated from tubers of rotten Helianthus tuberosus, 11-inulinolytic active isolates were able to develop halo zones around their fungal colonies, indicating inulinase activity. Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Pencillium and Trichoderma were the most common inulinolytic genera, representing more than 90?% of the total positive inulinolytic fungi. Aspergillus tamarii and Pencillium citrinum quantitatively recorded better growth (5.5 and 4.7?mg?ml^?1) and inulinase production (21.53 and 20.15?U?ml^?1) in submerged culture. The enzyme preparation showed also invertase activity. Aspergillus tamarii, as the most potent producer of inulinase, was identified using the Inter Transcribed Spacer marker. The sequence comparisons showed that our molecularly identified strain (GU295949) is related more closely to A. tamarii strains of the gene bank. Statistical screening using the fractional factorial Plackett-Burman design with 12 run was applied for screening ten variables, the low levels of pH (4.8), inoculum size (10³ spore?g^?1), NH₄NO₃ (1.0?mg?g^?1) and MgSO₄ (0.12?mg?g^?1), were the most significant variables on A. tamarii inulinase production. The high inulinase/invertase ratio (1.841?C4.293) classified the enzyme preparation as inulinases, which can be used efficiently in production of fructose syrup from tubers of H. tuberosus.     

Optimization of treatment conditions for studying the anticancer effects of retinoids using pancreatic adenocarcinoma as a model

Retinoids are natural differentiation-inducing compounds that are promising as anticancer agents. Cancer cell lines are valuable in the investigation of the potential of retinoids for the treatment of specific cancers. However, using different treatment conditions but the same cell lines, investigators have produced markedly contradictory results for the effectiveness of retinoids. The present study examined different factors in the treatment conditions that may have masked or interfered with the effects of retinoids and, thereby, resulted in this conflict. Our studies revealed that the effects of retinoids on cancer cell proliferation were influenced by serum, the choice of vehicle (DMSO vs ethanol) and its concentration, phenol red, the degree of cellular confluence, and the method of assessing proliferation (cell number or [3H]thymidine uptake vs the MTT assay). Optimized conditions were the use of serum-free, ethanol-free, and phenol red-free media, investigating cells in the log phase of growth, using 相似文献