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Citrus fruits are characterized by the accumulation of high levels of citric acid, which account for 90% of the total organic acids. Citric acid is an important determinant of fruit taste because it affects the sourness of the fruit as well as the perceived sweetness, by masking the taste of sugars. To study the role of gene expression in citric acid accumulation we compared the transcriptomes of juice sac cells in acid and acidless lemon genotypes using an Affymetrix microarray. Three genotypes were used for the transcriptome analysis: ‘Frost Lisbon’ (L), a standard sour lemon, and two ‘Faris’ genotypes obtained from a chimera that produces on the same tree both sweet (‘Faris’ non-acid, FNA) and sour fruit (‘Faris’ acid, FA). After the transcriptome comparison was completed, we discovered that ‘Faris’ is a graft chimera. Here we present SSR marker data showing that layer 1 of ‘Faris’ is derived from ‘Millsweet’ lime or a very similar cultivar, whereas layer 2 is derived from an acid lemon similar to ‘Eureka’ or ‘Lisbon’. Transcriptome comparisons among the three genotypes during two ripening stages showed high similarity between the two acid fruits and considerable divergence of FNA. Among the more interesting differences are genes involved in the GABA shunt pathway and a plasma-membrane type H+-ATPase.

The sour taste of lemons (Citrus limon (L.) Burm.) is determined by the amount of citric acid in vacuoles of juice sac cells. Faris is a “sweet” lemon variety since it accumulates low levels of citric acid. The University of California Riverside Citrus Variety Collection includes a Faris tree that produces sweet (Faris non-acid; FNA) and sour fruit (Faris acid; FA) on different branches; it is apparently a graft chimera with layer L1 derived from Millsweet limetta and layer L2 from a standard lemon. The transcription profiles of Faris sweet lemon were compared with Faris acid lemon and Frost Lisbon (L), which is a standard sour lemon genetically indistinguishable from Faris in prior work with SSR markers. Analysis of microarray data revealed that the transcriptomes of the two sour lemon genotypes were nearly identical. In contrast, the transcriptome of Faris sweet lemon was very different from those of both sour lemons. Among about 1,000 FNAspecific, presumably pH-related genes, the homolog of Arabidopsis H+-ATPase proton pump AHA10 was not expressed in FNA, but highly expressed in FA and L. Since Arabidopsis AHA10 is involved in biosynthesis and acidification of vacuoles, the lack of expression of the AHA10 citrus homolog represents a very conspicuous molecular feature of the FNA sweet phenotype. In addition, high expression of several 2-oxoglutarate degradationrelated genes in FNA suggests activation of the GABA shunt and degradation of valine and tyrosine as components of the mechanism that reduces the level of citric acid in sweet lemon.

Background. Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for severe malaria, including pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM). During intra-erythrocytic maturation, the infected erythrocyte (iE) membrane is modified by insertion of parasite-derived proteins, primarily consisting of variant surface antigens such as P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1. Methods. To identify new PAM-specific parasite membrane proteins, we conducted a mass spectrometry-based proteomic study and compared the protein expression profiles of 10 PAM and 10 uncomplicated malaria (UM) samples. Results. We focused on the 454/1139 membrane-associated and hypothetical proteins for comparative analysis. Using filter-based feature-selection methods combined with supervised data analysis, we identified a subset of 53 proteins that distinguished PAM and UM samples. Up to 19/20 samples were correctly assigned to their respective clinical group. A hierarchical clustering analysis of these 53 proteins based on the similarity of their expression profiles revealed 2 main clusters of 40 and 13 proteins that were under-or over-expressed, respectively, in PAM. Conclusions. VAR2CSA is identified and associated with PAM, validating our experimental approach. Other PAM-predictive proteins included PFI1785w, PF14_0018, PFB0115w, PFF0325c, and PFA_0410w. These proteomics data demonstrate the involvement of selected proteins in the pathophysiology of PAM, providing new insights for the definition of potential new targets for a vaccine against PAM.

Rapporto finale riguardante il Progetto n. 2: Materiali catodici con tensioni di esercizio prossimi ai 3 V; Linea di attività A: Ricerca e Sviluppo di nuovi materiali catodici; Obiettivo A1, A2 e A3

The NMR-MOUSE is a mobile sensor for single-sided NMR inspection of organic materials which takes advantage of the principles of magnetic resonance and inside-out-NMR. Historical books dating from the 17th century were measured at different points by positioning the NMR-MOUSE on the paper. Different degrees of paper degradation can be discriminated from the regularized inverse Laplace transform of the envelope of the acquired echo signals. For the first time the degradation of historical paper was characterized entirely nondestructively by NMR. As a contribution to current preservation efforts, NMR shows great promise for future use in damage assessment of historical documents.

Human muscle-specific calpain (CAPN3) was expressed in two heterologous systems: Sf9 insect cells and Escherichia coli cells. Polyclonal antibodies were prepared against peptides whose sequences were taken from the three unique regions of human CAPN3, namely NS, IS1, and IS2, which are not found in other members of the calpain family. Western blot analysis using these antibodies revealed that CAPN3 was well expressed in both systems. However, considerable rapid degradation of the expressed CAPN3 was observed in both Sf9 and E. coli cells. These antibodies were therefore also used to detect CAPN3 and its degradation products in human and rat muscles, as well as to detect the protein throughout the purification of the recombinant His-tagged human CAPN3 by Ni 2+ affinity chromatography and by immunopurification over immobilized antibody. An alternative purification procedure was used for purification of all putative CAPN3 immunoreactive fragments by combining SDS–PAGE and hydroxyapatite chromatography. Two fragments of CAPN3 of approximately 55 kDa were purified, and their N-terminal amino acid sequencing demonstrated that cleavage of CANP3 occurred between residues 30–31 and 412–413, thus providing the first evidence for the localization of putative autolytic sites in this enzyme.

Submitted by Guilherme Lemeszenski (guilherme@nead.unesp.br) on 2014-02-26T17:06:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 WOSA1995TG79700003.pdf: 308542 bytes, checksum: ba3b7f10d3171efba667bdb669aed6bb (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-02-26T17:06:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WOSA1995TG79700003.pdf: 308542 bytes, checksum: ba3b7f10d3171efba667bdb669aed6bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 1995-11-01 Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-20T15:26:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 WOSA1995TG79700003.pdf: 308542 bytes, checksum: ba3b7f10d3171efba667bdb669aed6bb (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-20T15:26:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WOSA1995TG79700003.pdf: 308542 bytes, checksum: ba3b7f10d3171efba667bdb669aed6bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 1995-11-01 In this work it was studied the capacity of cellulose and chemically modified celluloses (carboxymethylcellulose, cellulose phosphate and oxicellulose) to adsorb copper(II) cations of aqueous and non aqueous solutions. The influence of the principal physical chemical parameters on the adsorption process was examined using the batch adsorption method and copper(II) perchlorate solutions, the maximum adsorption capacity determined for adsorbents were as follows (mol.g(-1)): cellulose, 0.54 . 10(-5); carboxymethylcellulose, 1.28 . 10(-4); cellulose phosphate, 1.12 . 10(-4); oxicellulose, 0.38 . 10(-4). UNESP,INST QUIM,BR-14800900 ARARAQUARA,SP,BRAZIL UNESP,INST QUIM,BR-14800900 ARARAQUARA,SP,BRAZIL

To assess the impact of acute caloric shortage on reproduction, rabbit does were either fed ad libitum (control, AL), or fasted for 24 (STF) or 48 h (LTF) before induction of ovulation with GnRH injection. Blood samples were collected during the last 3 h of fasting, and the following 4 h after GnRH injection, when feed was provided again, to measure plasma concentrations of LH, estradiol-17β, leptin, insulin, T3, corticosterone, glucose, and NEFA. Before re-feeding, plasma leptin, insulin, and T3 concentrations were lower (P ≤ 0.01) in both fasted groups than in controls, but then gradually increased following realimentation to match those of controls. During fasting, corticosterone levels were higher (P ≤ 0.01) in LTF than in STF and AL does, but decreased to control values soon after realimentation. During fasting, plasma glucose concentrations did not differ among groups, but upon re-feeding they markedly increased (P ≤ 0.01) both in STF and LTF does. NEFA levels were also more elevated (P ≤ 0.01) in fasted rabbits than in controls, and rapidly decreased (P ≤ 0.01) after re-feeding. Following GnRH injection, LH peak was lower (P ≤ 0.01) in LTF than in AL and STF does. Estradiol-17β showed higher pulse frequency and amplitude in AL than in STF and LTF does. Compared to controls, receptivity rate of STF and LTF artificially inseminated does declined respectively by −20.5% (P ≤ 0.05) and −22.7%, and fertility rate by −23.9% (P ≤ 0.05) and 21.4%, but no difference was found in ovulation rate. In summary, nutritional status of does, as modified by fasting, greatly influenced fertility, metabolic and reproductive hormones.

In previous studies, a clinical association between eruptive cherry angiomas(CAs) and cutaneous malignancies has been found.1-2 The presence of both lesions in the same individuals may suggest shared pathophysiology between eruptive CAs and other tumors.2 While the association of eruptive CAs with cutaneous melanoma has been well established, the rate of association with other rare melanocytic malignancies, such as uveal melanoma(UM) has not been yet explored.

Background\ud \ud : Nutrition interventions have specific features that might warrant modifications to the methods used for economic evaluations of healthcare interventions.\ud \ud \ud Aim\ud \ud : The aim of the article is to identify these features and when they challenge the use of cost-utility analysis (CUA).\ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud : A critical review of the literature is conducted and a 2 by 2 classification matrix for nutrition interventions is proposed based on 1) who the main party responsible for the implementation and funding of the intervention is; and 2) who the target recipient of the intervention is. The challenges of conducting economic evaluations for each group of nutrition interventions are then analysed according to four main aspects: attribution of effects, measuring and valuing outcomes, inter-sectorial costs and consequences and equity considerations.\ud \ud \ud Results and conclusions\ud \ud : CUA is appropriate for nutrition interventions when they are funded from the healthcare sector, have no (or modest) spill-overs to other sectors of the economy and have only (or mainly) health consequences. For other interventions, typically involving different government agencies, with cost implications for the private sector, with important wellbeing consequences outside health and with heterogeneous welfare effects across socio-economic groups, other economic evaluation methods need to be developed in order to offer valid guidance to policy making. For these interventions, checklists for critical appraisal of economic evaluations may require some substantial changes.

Recurrent pericarditis (RP) is a rare cause of morbidity in children. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), glucocorticoids and colchicine are the standard of care in adults. Recently, anakinra has been proven to be effective in patients with steroid-dependence and colchicine resistance.

The aim of this article was to compare plasma estrone sulfate (E1SO4), clinical biochemistry, and milk yield of dairy cows carrying a female fetus from a bull (BULL) or from its clone (CLONE), evaluating also the relationship between the former variables and the birth weight of the newborn. Sixteen recipient dairy Friesian heifers (10 BULL and 7 CLONE) received a female embryo, obtained by in vitro embryo production and sexing by polymerase chain reaction with the semen of the BULL or the CLONE. Blood samples on all cows were obtained before feed distribution in the morning from jugular vein from 4 weeks before to 4 weeks after calving, to be analyzed for metabolic profile. The samples from late gestation were also analyzed for E1SO4 concentration. To separately assess the effect of calf birth weight (CBW), data were categorized as follows: low (46 kg; BWT-C). The plasma concentrations of β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB, P=0.019), Na (P=0.002), Cl (P=0.026), strong cation-anion balance (P=0.020), total bilirubin (P=0.054), and α1-globulin (P=0.044) were higher in prepartum BULL recipients than those in CLONE, whereas BHB (P=0.021) and Mg (P=0.090) were higher in postpartum BULL recipients, while no differences were recorded in the remaining postpartum parameters. The CBW class had significant interaction with week of gestation on antepartum plasma estrone sulfate (P=0.021), whereas CBW per se affected antepartum plasma BHB (P=0.021), and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA; P=0.011) being higher in BWT-C which also had the lower NEFA concentration during postpartum. Milk yield was unaffected by the sire used, both for quantitative and qualitative aspects. Cows carrying heavier fetus (BWT-C) had a different lactation affected by month compared with the other 2 CBW groups. From these results, there were no differences between BULL and CLONE recipients. Estrone sulfate, BHB, and NEFA may be used to predict CBW and provide different nutritional management during gestation.