A phylogenetic study ofSaxifraga sect.Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae) based on nrDNA ITS sequences

Parsimony analyses of 54 nrDNA ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) sequences ofSaxifraga sect.Saxifraga were performed. In addition to some unresolved clades, there is strong disagreement between the ITS phylogeny and previous classifications based primarily on morphology. The extensive cytological instability of sect.Saxifraga prevents previous cytotaxonomical results from resolving the incongruence between molecular and morphological data. Dissimilar topologies between chloroplast (matK) and nuclear (ITS) trees for eight species of sect.Saxifraga suggest that gene trees and the true species tree are not coincident. Recent and mid-term reticulation is proposed as an explanation for the incongruence between morphological, cytological, organellar, and nuclear data. Homogenization in multigene families, such as the ITS region, via concerted evolution may be the key to the interpretation of results based on ITS sequences within sect.Saxifraga. The use of organellar genes in a larger sample should help to determine whether extensive reticulation occurs in sect.Saxifraga, as has been documented in various genera of Saxifragaceae.     

Urinary excretion of digoxin-like immunoreactive factor and arginine-vasopressin in rats after several osmotic loads

Urinary digoxin-like immunoreactive factor (DLIF), arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and other urinary parameters were investigated under normal conditions and after the i.p. injection of the following solutions: distilled water, isotonic and hypertonic NaCl, NaHCO3, KCl and urea, at a rate of 3 ml/100 g body weight. The measurement of digoxin-like immunoreactivity by two different radioimmunoassays showed that DLIF was stimulated by all volume loads regardless of the presence or absence of osmolar compounds. This dissociation between DLIF and urinary sodium excretion suggests that DLIF may not constitute the natriuretic hormone. Moreover, a dissociation between DLIF and AVP excretion also were found, which speaks against the hypothesis of a common mechanism of stimulation for both substances.     

Detecting Dysglycemia Using the 2015 United States Preventive Services Task Force Screening Criteria: A Cohort Analysis of Community Health Center Patients

BackgroundIn 2015, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended targeted screening for prediabetes and diabetes (dysglycemia) in adults who are aged 40 to 70 y old and overweight or obese. Given increasing prevalence of dysglycemia at younger ages and lower body weight, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities, we sought to determine whether the current screening criteria may fail to identify some high-risk population subgroups.ConclusionsTargeted diabetes screening based on new USPSTF criteria may detect approximately half of adult community health center patients with undiagnosed dysglycemia and proportionately fewer racial/ethnic minorities than whites. Future research is needed to estimate the performance of these screening criteria in population-based samples.     

Effect of water molecules on the fluorescence enhancement of Aflatoxin B1 mediated by Aflatoxin B1:beta-cyclodextrin complexes. A theoretical study.

In order to explain the observed fluorescence enhancement of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) when forming AFB1:beta-cyclodextrin (AFB1:beta-CD) inclusion complexes, we have performed a theoretical (quantum chemistry calculations) study of AFB1 and AFB1:beta-CD in vacuum and in the presence of aqueous solvent. The AM1 method was used to calculate the absorption and emission wavelengths of these molecules. With the help of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) vibrational frequencies and related excitation energies of AFB1 and AFB1.(H2O)m = 4,5,6,11 were calculated. On the basis of these calculations we propose a plausible mechanism for the fluorescence enhancement of AFB1 in the presence of beta-CD: (1) before photoexcitation of AFB1 to its S1 excited state, there is a vibrational coupling between the vibrational modes involving the AFB1 carbonyl groups and the bending modes of the nearby water molecules (CG + WM); (2) these interactions allow a thermal relaxation of the excited AFB1 molecules that results in fluorescence quenching; (3) when the AFB1 molecules form inclusion complexes with beta-CD the CG + WM interaction decreases; and (4) this gives rise to a fluorescence enhancement.     

Epidemiological studies based on medical and administrative databases : a potential strength in France

Population-based epidemiological cohorts may include nowadays hundreds of thousands of subjects, followed-up during decades. France has a major potential strength: nationwide medical and social databases set up for administrative purposes. The main databases useful for epidemiology are the social security database which contains individual medical data from different sources, and the retirement fund database on employment and social benefits. These databases have several advantages: they cover the whole French population, with no lost to follow-up, data are often of good quality and it is possible to link them with individual surveys. However medical data are not always ascertained and an important methodological and practical work has to be done, and some legal and practical problems have to be solved for an optimal use.     

Echinococcus granulosus antigen B structure: subunit composition and oligomeric states

Background

Antigen B (AgB) is the major protein secreted by the Echinococcus granulosus metacestode and is involved in key host-parasite interactions during infection. The full comprehension of AgB functions depends on the elucidation of several structural aspects that remain unknown, such as its subunit composition and oligomeric states.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The subunit composition of E. granulosus AgB oligomers from individual bovine and human cysts was assessed by mass spectrometry associated with electrophoretic analysis. AgB8/1, AgB8/2, AgB8/3 and AgB8/4 subunits were identified in all samples analyzed, and an AgB8/2 variant (AgB8/2v8) was found in one bovine sample. The exponentially modified protein abundance index (emPAI) was used to estimate the relative abundance of the AgB subunits, revealing that AgB8/1 subunit was relatively overrepresented in all samples. The abundance of AgB8/3 subunit varied between bovine and human cysts. The oligomeric states formed by E. granulosus AgB and recombinant subunits available, rAgB8/1, rAgB8/2 and rAgB8/3, were characterized by native PAGE, light scattering and microscopy. Recombinant subunits showed markedly distinct oligomerization behaviors, forming oligomers with a maximum size relation of rAgB8/3>rAgB8/2>rAgB8/1. Moreover, the oligomeric states formed by rAgB8/3 subunit were more similar to those observed for AgB purified from hydatid fluid. Pressure-induced dissociation experiments demonstrated that the molecular assemblies formed by the more aggregative subunits, rAgB8/2 and rAgB8/3, also display higher structural stability.

Conclusions/Significance

For the first time, AgB subunit composition was analyzed in samples from single hydatid cysts, revealing qualitative and quantitative differences between samples. We showed that AgB oligomers are formed by different subunits, which have distinct abundances and oligomerization properties. Overall, our findings have significantly contributed to increase the current knowledge on AgB expression and structure, highlighting issues that may help to understand the parasite adaptive response during chronic infection.