Search

Successful reproduction of the plants is assumed as a crucial challenge for meeting nutritional needs of growing human population. One of the significant changes in the plant's life cycle is its transition from vegetative to reproductive phase. Obviously, the flowering and bolting processes are influenced by many genetic and physiological factors. In this way, several main regulatory pathways and effective genes have been identified, so far. The age-dependent phenomenon as an effective pathway of reproductive transition phase is influenced by the miR172 and miR156 genes. In the present study, the miR156 sequence was identified in the sugar beet genome. First, the miR156 gene was cloned into the over-expression construct from the Beta vulgaris genome and then, was transferred to the beet explants. After the confirmation of transgenic plants, the transcript level of miR156 gene, and its target genes (SPL4 and SPL9) were evaluated in transgenic plants related to the control plants. Also, transgenic plants were studied in terms of flower phenotypic development, and root growth characteristics. By evidence evaluation, the research revealed that over-expression of miR156 played an effective role in reduction of SPL4 and SPL9 genes' expression that resulted in flowering suppression in the Sea beet. According to the findings, it had also a suppression effect on the root growth in transgenic beets.

The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis confers RNA virus refractoriness in Drosophila and Aedes mosquitoes. Questions remain about the Wolbachia-virus restriction phenotype and how extensive this phenomenon may be within other arthropods. Here, we generated two Spodoptera frugiperda cell lines stably transinfected with two strains of Wolbachia, wAlbB and wMelPop-CLA. Despite the high density of Wolbachia in stably infected Sf9 cells, RT-PCR indicated the presence of the negative-sense RNA virus Spodoptera frugiperda rhabdovirus (SfRV) in Wolbachia-infected and uninfected cell lines. No differences in the replication of SfRV between Sf9 and Wolbachia-infected cells was found. RNA-Seq analysis of the parental Sf9 cells supported SfRV's presence in these cells with abundant 20 nt virus-derived small RNAs indicating active replication of SfRV in these cells. Overall, this study supports a growing body of evidence that Wolbachia does not restrict negative-sense RNA viruses and generates an in vitro model to examine Lepidoptera-Wolbachia virus interactions.

Backgrounds PCR is a proper technique that significantly improves toxoplasmosis diagnosis. However, a more sensitive technique is required. This study compared real-time PCR with nested PCR using B1, SAG-4, and MAG-1 bradyzoite genes to diagnose toxoplasmosis in toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis patients. Methods Blood samples were collected from 10 patients with active toxoplasmic chorioretinal lesions and 10 healthy individuals. Blood samples including peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), serum and whole blood samples were used for DNA extraction. Serum was also used to detect anti-toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies. Nested PCR and real-time PCR were performed using B1, SAG-4, and MAG-1 target genes. Results Five (50%) out of the 10 patients were tested positive for toxoplasmosis with nested PCR using the PBMC samples. All the five patients tested positive with nested PCR were also tested positive for toxoplasmosis with real-time PCR using the PBMC samples. The real-time PCR results demonstrated that 9(90%) out of the 10 patients were positive based on B1 and the remaining one (10%) was positive only based on MAG-1. In general, of the patients, five (50%) were positive using SAG-4 and three (30%) were positive in term of MAG-1 using PBMCs with real-time PCR. Conclusion It appears that PBMC samples have the best performance as the PCR extraction method and are a good source for toxoplasmosis diagnosis. The use of B22 and B23 target genes due to their high sensitivity and specificity along with bradyzoite genes are recommended for toxoplasmosis diagnosis using PBMC samples with real-time PCR.

As single-cell datasets grow in sample size, there is a critical need to characterize cell states that vary across samples and associate with sample attributes, such as clinical phenotypes. Current statistical approaches typically map cells to clusters and then assess differences in cluster abundance. Here we present co-varying neighborhood analysis (CNA), an unbiased method to identify associated cell populations with greater flexibility than cluster-based approaches. CNA characterizes dominant axes of variation across samples by identifying groups of small regions in transcriptional space-termed neighborhoods-that co-vary in abundance across samples, suggesting shared function or regulation. CNA performs statistical testing for associations between any sample-level attribute and the abundances of these co-varying neighborhood groups. Simulations show that CNA enables more sensitive and accurate identification of disease-associated cell states than a cluster-based approach. When applied to published datasets, CNA captures a Notch activation signature in rheumatoid arthritis, identifies monocyte populations expanded in sepsis and identifies a novel T cell population associated with progression to active tuberculosis.

The mechanical properties of human aortas are linked to the layered tissue and its microstructure at different length scales. Each layer has specific mechanical and structural properties. While the ground substance and the elastin play an important role in tissue stiffness at small strain, collagen fibers carry most of the load at larger strains, which corresponds to the physiological conditions of the aorta at maximum pulsatile blood pressure. In fact, collagen fibers are crimped in the unloaded state. Collagen fibers show different orientation distributions when they are observed in a plane that is tangent to the aortic wall (in-plane section) or along a direction orthogonal to it (out-of-plane section). This was systematically investigated using large images (2500 × 2500 µm) with high resolution obtained by second harmonic generation (SHG) in order to homogenize tissue heterogeneity after a convergence analysis, which is a main goal of the study. In addition, collagen fibers show lateral interactions due to entanglements and the presence of transverse elastin fibers, observed on varying length scales using atomic force microscopy and a three-dimensional rendering obtained by stacking a sequence of SHG and two-photon fluorescence images; this is another important contribution. Human descending thoracic aortas from 13 heartbeat donors aged 28 to 66 years were examined. Uniaxial tensile tests were carried out on the longitudinal and circumferential strips of the aortic wall and the three separated layers (intima, media and adventitia). A structurally-motivated material model with (i) a term to describe the combined response of ground substance and elastin and (ii) terms to consider four families of collagen fibers with different directions was applied. The exclusion of compressed fibers was implemented in the fitting process of the experimental data, which was optimized by a genetic algorithm. The results show that a single fiber family with directional and dispersion parameters measured from SHG images can describe the mechanical response of all 39 layers (3 layers for each of the 13 aortas) with very good accuracy when a second (auxiliary) family of aligned fibers is introduced in the orthogonal direction to account for lateral fiber interaction. Indeed, all observed distributions of collagen directions can be accurately fitted by a single bivariate von Mises distribution. Statistical analysis of in-plane and out-of-plane dispersion of fiber orientations reveals structural differences between the three layers and a change of collagen dispersion parameters with age. Statement of significance The stiffness of healthy young aortas is adjusted so that a diameter expansion of about 10 % is possible during the heartbeat. This creates the Windkessel effect, which smooths out the pulsating nature of blood flow and benefits organ perfusion. The specific elastic properties of the aorta that are required to achieve this effect are related to the microstructure of the aortic tissue at different length scales. An increase in the aortic stiffness, in addition to reducing cyclic expansion and worsening perfusion, is a risk factor for clinical hypertension. The present study relates the microstructure of healthy human aortas to the mechanical response and examines the changes in microstructural parameters with age, which is a key factor in increasing stiffness.

Background Prostate cancer (PCa) may be initiated by CD133+/CD44+ expressing stem cell-like cells (PCSC), which are also thought to drive metastasis. Platelets also contribute to metastasis via tumor cell-induced platelet aggregation (TCIPA), which in part enhances cancer cell invasion. Moreover, activated platelets secrete stromal derived growth factor-1α (SDF-1α) that can mobilize CSCs via the CXCR4 receptor. However, the potential reciprocal interactions between CSCs and platelets have not been investigated. Objective To characterize the mechanisms behind PCSC-platelet interaction. Methods Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting was utilized to separate DU145 and PC3 PCa cells into CD133+/CD44+, CD133+/CD44-, CD44+/CD133-, and CD133-/CD44- subpopulations and to measure their CXCR4 surface expression. PCa subpopulation TCIPA experiments were performed using aggregometry and immunoblot was used to measure prothrombin. Platelet SDF-1α secretion was measured by ELISA. Modified-Boyden chamber assays were used to assess the role of SDF-1α:CXCR4 pathway in platelet-PCSC interactions. Results DU145 and PC3 expressing both CD133 and CD44 stem cell markers accounted for only small fractions of total cells (DU145: CD133+/CD44+ 3.44 ± 1.45% vs. CD133+/CD44- 1.56 ± 0.45% vs. CD44+/CD133- 68.19 ± 6.25% vs. CD133-/CD44- 20.36 ± 4.51%). However, CD133+ subpopulations induced the greatest amount of aggregation compared to CD44+/CD133- and double-negative DU145, and this aggregation potency of CD133+ PCa cells corresponded with high levels of prothrombin expression. Additionally, CD133+ subpopulations expressed significantly higher level of CXCR4 compared to CD133-/CD44- and CD44+/CD133-. Disruption of SDF-1α:CXCR4 pathway reduced platelet-induced PCSC invasion. Conclusions CD133+/CD44+ and CD133+/CD44- PCSCs have highest platelet aggregation potency, which could be attributed to their increased prothrombin expression. Reciprocally, platelet-derived SDF-1α stimulates PCSC invasion.

A novel series of phenoxymethybenzoimidazole derivatives (9a-n) were rationally designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their α-glycosidase inhibitory activity. All tested compounds displayed promising α-glycosidase inhibitory potential with IC50 values in the range of 6.31 to 49.89 μM compared to standard drug acarbose (IC50 = 750.0 ± 10.0 μM). Enzyme kinetic studies on 9c, 9g, and 9m as the most potent compounds revealed that these compounds were uncompetitive inhibitors into α-glycosidase. Docking studies confirmed the important role of benzoimidazole and triazole rings of the synthesized compounds to fit properly into the α-glycosidase active site. This study showed that this scaffold can be considered as a highly potent α-glycosidase inhibitor. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11030-021-10310-7.

Myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is a recently identified autoimmune disorder that presents in both adults and children as CNS demyelination. Although there are clinical phenotypic overlaps between MOGAD, multiple sclerosis, and aquaporin-4 antibody-associated neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) cumulative biological, clinical, and pathological evidence discriminates between these conditions. Patients should not be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis or NMOSD if they have anti-MOG antibodies in their serum. However, many questions related to the clinical characterisation of MOGAD and pathogenetic role of MOG antibodies are still unanswered. Furthermore, therapy is mainly based on standard protocols for aquaporin-4 antibody-associated NMOSD and multiple sclerosis, and more evidence is needed regarding how and when to treat patients with MOGAD.

BackgroundToxoplasma parasite alters the transduction of neurotransmitter signals and leads to changes in the level of brain neurotransmitters including tyrosine and dopamine, so, behavior changes can occur in infected hosts. Based on this concept, this study was conducted for evaluation of the tyrosine and dopamine serum level in infected mice with chronic toxoplasmosis.Materials and methodsToxoplasma gondii (Prugniaud strain II) was injected intra-peritoneal into BALB/c mice to induce chronic toxoplasmosis. Modified agglutination test (MAT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and microscopic methods were conducted to confirm the induction of chronic toxoplasmosis. The infected mice sera were separated at days 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 for evaluation of tyrosine and dopamine serum level using High-performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).ResultsMicroscopic methods confirmed the formation of the Toxoplasma cysts in mice tissues. Inducing chronic toxoplasmosis is also confirmed by MAT, PCR and histological methods. HPLC results indicated a decrease in serum tyrosine level at days 40 in infected mice in comparison to control and the levels were too low to be measured at other times. However, a significantly high serum dopamine level was observed that gradually increased after parasite inoculation.ConclusionsNo detection of tyrosine level in most of the sample groups is probably related to the very low concentration of tyrosine in sera. However, low concentration of tyrosine at days 40 and increase of dopamine in most of the sample groups suggests the production of dopamine from tyrosine due to the presence of Toxoplasma in infected mice.

Background and Objective: The major pneumococcal pathogenesis factor is the capsular polysaccharide. the production of polysaccharide is regulated by cpsB and cpsD genes. Thus, every agent that induce or inhibition of expression of these genes probably increased pathogenesis of bacteria, intracellular survival and vis versa. The aim of this study was to assay the effect of Xylitol on Streptococcus pneumoniae cpsB, cpsD, psaA and aroE genes expression by Real Time RT-PCR. Materials and Methods: During 2019 in Baqiyatallah university laboratories, 20 clinical isolates and a reference strain Streptococcus pneumoniae (ATCC 6305) were studied. To assay the effect of Xylitol and fructose، different concentration of these sugars were exposed to BHI Broth media. Thereafter, the bacterial suspension was added to 5% Xylitol, 5%Xylitol + 5% fructose and control medium for 3hours. RNA was extracted and cDNA synthesis was carried out. Then, the cpsB, cpsD and psaA genes expression levels were measured. Results: The mean of cpsB gene expression ratio in presence of the % 5 Xylitol treated media compared with those in the control media and % 5 Xylitol + 5% fructose were 0.022 and 0.027 respectively. The means of the cpsD and psaA genes expression ratio in the % 5 Xylitol treated media compared with those in the control media and % 5 Xylitol + 5% fructose were 1.659 and 0.056, and 0.633 and 3.294 respectively. Conclusion: Our finding revealed that, the 5% Xylitol inhibit the cpsB gene expression properly. Therefore, it is possible to use of Xylitol for reductive on cpsB gene expression and superficial pneumococcal infections control.

Mosquito vectors transmit various diseases through blood feeding, required for their egg development. Hence, blood feeding is a major physiological event in their life cycle, during which hundreds of genes are tightly regulated. Blood is a rich source of proteins for mosquitoes, but also contains many other molecules including microRNAs (miRNAs). Here, we found that human blood miRNAs are transported abundantly into the fat body tissue of Aedes aegypti, a key metabolic center in post-blood feeding reproductive events, where they target and regulate mosquito genes. Using an artificial diet spiked with the mimic of an abundant and stable human blood miRNA, hsa-miR-21-5p, and proteomics analysis, we found over 40 proteins showing differential expression in female Ae. aegypti mosquitoes after feeding. Of interest, we found that the miRNA positively regulates the vitellogenin gene, coding for a yolk protein produced in the mosquito fat body and then transported to the ovaries as a protein source for egg production. Inhibition of hsa-miR-21-5p followed by human blood feeding led to a statistically insignificant reduction in progeny production. The results provide another example of the involvement of small regulatory molecules in the interaction of taxonomically vastly different taxa., Perdomo et al. fed mosquitos (Aedes aegypti) a diet spiked with human blood miRNA, hsa-miR-21-5p and used proteomics analysis to show differential protein expression in female Ae. aegypti mosquitoes after feeding. They showed that hsa-miR-21-5p positively regulated vitellogenin, which plays a role in egg production, thus could have effects on Ae. aegypti progeny production.

Background: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUMSCs) have been considered to repair damaged tissues and cells. This study aims to investigate the differentiation efficiency affected by Schwann cells (SCs) and laminin and also compare them to other strategies using chemicals or growth factors. Methods: SCs and hUMSCs were separated from dorsal root ganglion of rats and newborn human umbilical cords (hUCs), respectively, and then cultured. The marker expressions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), hematopoietic and endothelial for hUMSCs were confirmed by flow cytometry. The hUMSCs were cultured in four groups: 1) control, 2) co-culture with SCs (C), 3) laminin (L), and 4) co-culture with SCs treated by laminin (CL). The expression of protein and gene-related differentiation NSE, MAP2 and β-tubulin were examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunocytochemistry after 12 days. Results: The flow cytometry analysis revealed high expression of mesenchymal and low expression of hematopoietic and endothelial markers, where the SCs expressed S100 at a high level (97.4%±2.25). The expression of NSE, MAP2 and β-tubulin increased significantly in the C, L and CL groups compared to the control group (P

Objective The relationship between drug resistance and the expression of hexokinase (HK) has been indicated in leishmaniasis. According to the prolonged treatment period in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) patients co-infected with Crithidia in Iran, this study aims to investigate the expression of HK in the proteome of Leishmania major and Crithidia using a proteomic approach. Methods A total of 205 samples were removed from the lesions of patients in Fars province, Iran, for the characterization of L. major and Crithidia using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). After protein extraction, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was employed for protein separation. Several spots were isolated for HK determination in the proteomes of L. major and Crithidia using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF/TOF MS). Results The PCR results showed 5 positive cases for Crithidia and 96 positive cases for L. major. MALDI TOF/TOF MS indicated HK as a common protein in the proteome of L. major and Crithidia. HK was up-regulated in the Crithidia proteome in comparison with the L. major proteome. Conclusion Since a relationship between HK expression and drug resistance has been indicated in leishmaniasis, the overexpression of HK in Crithidia might be related to the increased duration of the treatment period in CL patients co-infected with Crithidia.

Background Few investigations of genotype II of Toxoplasma gondii, the most prevalent form of the Toxoplasma parasite in humans, have been carried out on due to the rapid conversion of tachyzoites to bradyzoites in its life cycle. The current study aimed to create animal and in vitro models for production of the tachyzoites of the Prugniaud (PRU) genotype II strain. Methods To develop an immunocompromised model and obtain tachyzoites of the PRU strain, BALB/c mice were orally treated with dexamethasone (10 mg/kg), cyclophosphamide (36 mg/kg), and cyclosporine (18 mg/kg) from 5 days prior to inoculation. Then, 10‐15 tissue cysts of PRU strain were inoculated intraperitoneally into the mice. The tachyzoites obtained from mice were then cultivated in a HeLa cell culture. The resulting yield of tachyzoites was cryopreserved in 92% fetal calf serum, 8% dimethyl sulfoxide. The infectivity of these tachyzoites was evaluated using in vivo and in vitro examinations. Results Numerous tachyzoites were observed in the peritoneal fluid of the immunosuppressed mice within 10‐15 days after inoculation, and many tachyzoites were harvested from the HeLa cell culture. Trypan Blue staining showed 80% viability of the tachyzoites recovered from cryopreservation and this was confirmed by HeLa cell culture. In addition, mice infected intraperitoneally with the recovered tachyzoites presented with cysts in the brain after 2 months. Conclusion We have developed an animal model for mass production of T. gondii tachyzoites of the PRU strain. This method can provide fresh viable tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii for use as and when required in future investigations.

Introduction: Studies have investigated the pathogenesis of depression, with few focusing on the elevation of pro inflammatory cytokine levels in depression. This article undertakes a scoping review of the available research to explore the current understanding of the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in depression. Furthermore, the ability of exercise to reduce depression severity through lowering these cytokine levels is examined. Method: Analysis of online research articles was used to investigate the intended objective, and 18 English-based papers published between 2010-2020 were selected. These studies examined pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in healthy, depressed, diseased and/or physically active patients or research animals as a primary or secondary outcome. Other inclusion criteria such as number of participants and appropriate control selection were used to further refine the search results. Results: Based on the conducted search, sufficient evidence seems to exist to support an association between elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β and incidence of depression. Exercise increases the production and release of anti-inflammatory cytokines and reduces baseline levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These anti-inflammatory properties of physical activity supported by exercise-focused studies, can explain the mechanism behind reduced depressive symptoms after a period of regular exercise. Discussion: The available data supports an association between elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and depression, and the antidepressant effects of exercise. However, there is no evidence of causality between elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and depression. Whether pro-inflammatory cytokine levels changed as a result of regular exercise, the specific types of pro-inflammatory cytokines that experienced the change, and the extent to which they did, depended on the participant, and the exercise activity. Conclusion: Measuring the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines can potentially provide an objective method for diagnosing depression. Due to the potential anti-inflammatory effects of exercise, programs can be designed as a non-pharmacological treatment in mild cases and augment the effectiveness of drug therapy in severe cases.

α-Glucosidase is responsible for glucose release of oligosaccharides and disaccharides in the intestine and increase postprandial hyperglycemia. Inhibition of this enzyme is a beneficial therapeutic method for glycemic control in diabetes. This study deals with the design and synthesis of 4,5-diphenylimidazole-N-phenylacetamide derivatives 7a–l and the screen of these compounds for their potential for α-glucosidase inhibition. All the synthesized compounds exhibited superior α-glucosidase inhibition (IC50 = 90.0–598.5 µM) as compared to standard inhibitor acarbose (IC50 = 750.0 µM). In contrast, these compounds were inactive against α-amylase. Among the synthesized compounds, compound 7h was the most potent inhibitor of this library and was a competitive inhibitor into α-glucosidase with Ki value = 86.3 μM. Docking study of the most potent compounds was performed to evaluate the binding interactions of these compounds with the active site of enzyme and to determine of binding energies of ligand–enzyme complexes. The results of this in silico study are in complete agreement with the results obtained from in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition assay. Docking study of the most potent compound demonstrated that it interacted with important residues in the active site of α-glucosidase. In vitro cytotoxic activity of the most potent compounds and in silico druglikeness/ADME/toxicity study of these compounds were evaluated.

The antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiangiogenic effects of the nanoemulsions synthesized using cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) tincture were evaluated. The zeta potential and droplets’ sizes, as well as the morphological appearance of nanoemulsions were assessed using a particle-size analyzer and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. Antioxidant capacity was assessed against 2, 2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals; disc diffusion analysis was conducted against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumonia, and anti-angiogenic activity was determined using the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. Finally, the gene expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor (VEGFR) were analyzed by real-time PCR. The synthesized nanoemulsions had good and dose-dependent radical scavenging capacity as observed in the ABTS and DPPH assays (IC50 of about 31.2 and 14.2 µg/mL respectively). Disc diffusion analysis showed that the inhibition zones for S. aureus and K. pneumonia were 3 ± 0.1 and 11 ± 0.9 mm, respectively, which confirmed the antibacterial activity of the nanoemulsions. Also, the anti-angiogenic effect of the nanoemulsions was confirmed by reduced length and number of vessels in the CAM assay and decreased gene expressions of VEGF and VEGF-R in real-time PCR. As the nanoemulsions synthesized by the tincture of C. cyminum L. showed remarkable antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-angiogenic effects, these bio-functional substances can be applied as beneficial agents in food and medical fields.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are both derived from epidermal keratinocytes but are phenotypically diverse. To improve the understanding of keratinocyte carcinogenesis, it is critical to understand epigenetic alterations, especially those that govern gene expression. We examined changes to the enhancer-associated histone acetylation mark H3K27ac by mapping matched tumor-normal pairs from 11 patients (five with BCC and six with SCC) undergoing Mohs surgery. Our analysis uncovered cancer-specific enhancers on the basis of differential H3K27ac peaks between matched tumor-normal pairs. We also uncovered biological pathways potentially altered in keratinocyte carcinoma, including enriched epidermal development and Wnt signaling pathways enriched in BCCs and enriched immune response and cell activation pathways in SCCs. We also observed enrichment of transcription factors that implicated SMAD and JDP2 in BCC pathogenesis and FOXP1 in SCC pathogenesis. On the basis of these findings, we prioritized three loci with putative regulation events (FGFR2 enhancer in BCC, intragenic regulation of FOXP1 in SCC, and WNT5A promoter in both subtypes) and validated our findings with published gene expression data. Our findings highlight unique and shared epigenetic alterations in histone modifications and potential regulators for BCCs and SCCs that likely impact the divergent oncogenic pathways, paving the way for targeted drug discoveries.

Medicinal plants play important role in industrial production of medicines. Moreover, they consume without complicated processes around the world. They are considered as healthy cure without any harmful side effects at least among ordinary people. Cold stress is one the harmful abiotic stresses and constrains medicinal plants yielding geographically. Cold acclimation is a process that induces cold stress resistance in temperate plants. Various structural and morphological alterations are involved in this process. Also, enzymatic and non-enzymatic agents play role in cold acclimation. Cell membrane modification and compatible solutes accumulation and so many other changes occur through cold acclimation. Growing under different stressful conditions, medicinal plants synthesize different components such as metabolites. Moreover, ROS can be generated in plant cells under stressful conditions. The accumulation of bioactive components, biosynthesis of phytohormones, ion hemostasis, osmolyte (compatible solutes) accumulation and changes in nutrient uptake, root system modification and systemic resistance are some of new investigations that are considered in this review.

Erysiphe adunca s. lat. is a common powdery mildew species, distributed almost worldwide, on hosts of Populus and Salix species. Based on its wide host range and distribution as well as its strong morphological variations, E. adunca s. lat. was previously divided into several species or, alternatively, into varieties. However, comprehensive phylogenetic examinations on the putative monophyly of this species or the existence of a possible E. adunca species complex have not been conducted based on combined morphological and molecular approaches. In this study, we retrieved rDNA (ITS and LSU) sequences of 22 powdery mildew specimens on Populus and Salix spp. collected in China, Germany, Iran, Japan, Russia, and the United States and conducted morphological examinations of these and additional specimens. The morphological and molecular data obtained clearly indicate that E. adunca is a species complex comprised of at least four species., viz., E. adunca s. str. (on Populus spp. in Asia, Europe, and North America), E. capreae, including E. pseudoregularis as a new synonym (on Salix spp., particularly on species in Salix subgen. Vetrix sect. Vetrix in Asia, Europe, and North America), the reinstated E. salicis (on Salix spp. belonging to various subgenera of Salix in Asia and Europe), and E. mandshurica (which has been confirmed as a species of its own on Populus spp., in Asia). In addition to the clear phylogenetic differentiation, the morphology of the asexual and sexual morphs of E. adunca s. str., E. capreae and E. salicis is easily distinguishable. Sequences retrieved from collections on Salix gracilistyla (Uncinula salicis-gracilistylae), a species that was previously considered a variety of Uncinula adunca and Erysiphe adunca, formed a small subclade within the E. salicis clade and are now referred to as Erysiphe salicis var. salicis-gracilistylae comb. nov. Alphitomorpha adunca; Erysiphe capreae and E. salicis are epitypified, and a neotype is designated for Alphitomorpha obtusata, with ex-epitype sequences and, in the latter case, an ex-neotype sequence.

Background: Brucellosis, a deteriorating zoonotic disease, is very common in most parts of Iran. Consumption of contaminated milk and dairy products is one of the most significant ways for transmission of the infections to human. Since the close rearing of cattle and sheep is practiced in Kurdistan province of Iran, the infection of cow with non-specific species is not out of mind. The present study aimed to determine the frequency of bovine milk contamination with zoonotic Brucella spp. Methods: A total of 240 milk samples, equally from traditional and industrialized dairy farms, were collected aseptically. Conventional microbiological method was used for isolation of the bacterium, followed by the genotypic identification of the isolates. Moreover, direct molecular processing of the samples was carried out for detection of the bacterial genome. The positive samples were further genotypically assessed to identify the contamination as Brucella abortus or Brucella melitensis. Results: In general, 16 (6.66%) and 15 (6.25%) of the samples were contaminated with Brucella spp. in phenotypic and genotypic methods, respectively. The proportion of contamination with B. abortus and B. melitensis in phenotypic and genotypic methods were 5% and 1.66%, and 5% and 1.25%, respectively. The overall rate of contamination in traditional milk samples was more than industrialized samples. Conclusions: Contamination of bovine milk with Brucella spp. is a serious threat to public health in the studied region. Continuous vaccination, application of test and slaughter policy, and presumption of pasteurized milk and dairy products are highly recommended.

Background. Type I diabetes (TΙDM) is a genetic or autoimmune disorder, which may be stimulated by induced immune system components due to the underlying infectious diseases. This study was undertaken to find out any possible association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and TIDM. Materials and Methods. One hundred and eighty-two blood samples were taken from individuals who were referred to outpatient clinics in Shiraz city, Southern Iran, during a 6-month period. The age of type I diabetic subjects ( n = 91 ) and the control group ( n = 91 ) was identical, which were less than 30 years. The sera were examined for IgG and IgM antibodies by ELISA and correlated with epidemiological factors such as age, sex, and family history of diabetes. Results. Out of 91 diabetic patients, 54 (59.3%) were female and 37 (40.7%) were male. The highest frequency of diabetes belonged to 6-10- and 11-15-year groups ( P = 0.17 ). Toxoplasma infection prevalence in diabetic and control groups was 28.6% and 7.7%, respectively ( P = 0.001 ). A significantly positive family history of diabetes was observed between diabetic patients (31 cases, 34.1%) and the control group (3 cases, 3.3%) ( P = 0.01 ). Interestingly, IgG positivity was seen in 13 cases (41.9%) of patients with positive family history of type I diabetes and 13 cases (21.7%) of subjects with no positive family history of type I diabetes ( P = 0.04 ). Conclusion. Our study showed a higher prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in type I diabetes patients. It is likely that the prevalence of TIDM decreases by increasing hygiene and preventing toxoplasmosis.

“This is a pre-print of an article published in journal of Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-020-01032-9"; International audience; Rabies virus (RABV) is a neurotropic virus exclusively infecting neurons in the central nervous system. RABV encodes five proteins. Among them, the viral glycoprotein (RVG) plays a key role in viral entry into neurons and rabies pathogenesis. It was shown that the nature of the C-terminus of the RABV G protein, which possesses a PDZ-binding motif (PBM), modulates the virulence of the RABV strain. The neuronal protein partners recruited by this PBM may alter host cell function. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of RVG on synaptic function in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of rat. Two μl (108 T.U./ml) of the lentiviral vector containing RVG gene was injected into the DG of rat hippocampus. After 2 weeks, the rat’s brain was cross-sectioned and RVG-expressing cells were detected by fluorescent microscopy. Hippocampal synaptic activity of the infected rats was then examined by recording the local field potentials from DG after stimulation of the perforant pathway. Short-term synaptic plasticity was also assessed by double pulse stimulation. Expression of RVG in DG increased long-term potentiation population spikes (LTP-PS), whereas no facilitation of LTP-PS was found in neurons expressing δRVG (deleted PBM). Furthermore, RVG and δRVG strengthened paired-pulse facilitation. Heterosynaptic long-term depression (LTD) in the DG was significantly blocked in RVG-expressing group compared to the control group. This blockade was dependent to PBM motif as rats expressing δRVG in the DG-expressed LTD comparable to the RVG group. Our data demonstrate that RVG expression facilitates both short- and long-term synaptic plasticity in the DG indicating that it may involve both pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms to alter synaptic function. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

Background and purpose: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a global health problem. The discovery of new and highly efficient anti-leishmanial treatments with lower toxicity is globally needed. The current study was carried out to evaluate the anti-leishmanial effects of artemether (ART) and ART-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (ART-NLCs) against promastigotes and amastigotes of Leishmania major . Experimental approach: Solvent diffusion evaporation technique was applied to prepare ART-NLCs. These nanoparticles were characterized using a particle size analyzer (PSA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The antiparasitic activity on amastigote was assessed in J774 cell culture. The drug cytotoxicity on promastigote and macrophage was assessed using the MTT technique after 24 and 48 h and compared with NLCs, ART, and amphotericin B, as the control agents. The selectivity index was calculated for the agents. Findings/Results: The DLS and PSA techniques confirmed that ART-NLCs were homogenous in size with an average diameter of 101 ± 2.0 nm and span index of 0.9. The ART-NLCs significantly heighten the anti-leishmanial activity of ART ( P < 0.001). The IC 50 values of ART and ART-NLCs on promastigotes after 24 and 48 h were 76.08, 36.71 and 35.14, 14.81 μg/mL, respectively while they were calculated 53.97, 25.43 and 20.13, 11.92 for amastigotes. Also, ART-NLCs had the lowest cytotoxicity against macrophages. Furthermore, among the agents tested, ART-NLCs had the highest selectivity index. Conclusion and implications: ART-NLCs had lower cytotoxic effects than ART and amphotericin B, also its selectivity index was significantly higher. Based on the findings of the study, this formulation could be a promising candidate for further research into leishmaniasis treatment.

We describe Allocanariomyces tritici gen et sp. nov. and Achaetomium aegilopis sp. nov. as seed endophytes of wheat and its poaceous relatives in the west and northwestern provinces of Iran using morphological traits and sequences of ITS region, partial LSU rDNA, β-tubulin and the second largest subunit of DNA-directed RNA polymerase II genes. Chaetomium iranianum, C. truncatulum and C. carinthiacum are also combined here under the new genus, Parachaetomium. Allocanariomyces is differentiated from the closest genus, Canariomyces by having solitary, glabrous perithecia with walls of textura epidermoidea, stalked asci, densely granular-ornamented ascospores with a distinct subapical germ pore, and producing only solitary conidia. Parachaetomium has fusiform or navicular ascospores not bilaterally flattened, compared to Chaetomium with limoniform to globose, bilaterally flattened ascospores. Achaetomium aegilopis is mainly distinguished from A. strumarium, the closest relative, by possessing brown, often scattered perithecia, hyaline perithecial hairs covered with many hyaline crystals, hyaline chlamydospores, and lacking of the asexual morph.

Miniature rose (Rosa chinensis) is an ornamental and commercial plant having many applications, especially in green space design. One of the major environmental factors limiting the cultivation of ...

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by an obligatory intracellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. The congenital form of the disease is a significant health problem around the world. This study aimed to determine the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis in the newborn of Shiraz, Southern Iran, between 2013 and 2018. A total of 2498 blood samples of neonates were randomly collected by a standard heel puncture technique and dried on Guthrie cards from Shiraz newborn screening center. We provided questionnaire forms for mothers according to their demographic characteristics, such as age, place of residence, history of having cats as pet, and literacy level. ELISA immunocapture and PCR assays were applied to detect anti-Toxoplasma IgM and the parasite DNA in dried blood spot samples. The anti-Toxoplasma IgM antibody was detected in two out of the 2498 infants. Moreover, borderline titers were observed in 3 samples, which were considered suspicious, so these were retested after 18 months to detect IgG against Toxoplasma. Positive IgG titer was observed in two infants who had a positive IgM level. The genome of Toxoplasma was detected in one sample out of 2498. No significant differences were seen between the epidemiological factors with congenital infection. The incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis is estimated at 0.08% of studied samples. It seems that this incidence could present to the health ministry as a logical research achievement for the national screening program of newborns in Iran.

The secondary sex ratio can be affected by various factors such as stress, immunosuppression, and age of parents in addition to mother infectious disease (Maternal infections). Toxoplasmosis is one...

Although canids are regarded as major reservoir hosts for Leishmania infantum, feline leishmaniasis are reported sporadically from different endemic foci of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Despite the risk of parasite transmission between human and other animals, most of the studies are limited to dogs and few studies are focused to investigate Leishmania sp. among other mammals. This project was aimed to detect L. infantum antibodies of cats in two VL endemic regions of Iran by Fucose Mannose Ligand (FML) and soluble L. infantum antigen (SLA) ELISA. Forty nine stray cats of different age and sex, from Fars and Ardabil provinces (two VL endemic loci of Iran) were sampled, then tested for L. infantum by FML and SLA-ELISA. Sixteen percent (8/49) of cat sera were reported positive by FML-ELISA. SLA-ELISA showed 18.3% (9/48) positive cases in cats. Sensitivity of FML-ELISA was calculated 57% and SLA ELISA 25%. Specificity of FML and SLA ELISA were assessed 78% and 68% respectively. Kappa coefficient of agreement between FML and SLA-ELISA was detected on 0.45. As feline leishmaniasis could be a potential risk in endemic areas, FML-ELISA could be considered as an appropriate examination to detect leishmaniasis in cats.

Background: The use of medicinal plants has been one of the most common treatments since ancient times. Various plants are used in traditional and modern medicine, due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer properties, and other biological potentials. Objective: In this study, the aerial parts of four species of Salvia including two populations of S. reuteriana Boiss., two populations of S. limbata C.A.Mey. and one population of each S. syriaca L. and S. ceratophylla L. species from Kashan region have been investigated. Methods: The antioxidative activity of the methanol extracts of plant samples were evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The total phenol and flavonoid contents were determined via the Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride methods, respectively. The cytotoxic effects of samples on HeLa cells were determined through MTT assay. Results: Based on the results of DPPH assay, IC50 levels of methanolic extracts were in the range of 39.08 ± 0.15 to 163.77 ± 0.63 μg/ml, and total phenol contents were in the range of42.7 ± 3.09 to 105.8 ± 1.15 μg/mg. In addition, the flavonoid contents ranged from 30.07 ± 2.52 to 82.46 ± 2.2 μg/mg. There was a direct relationship between antioxidant activity and phenol compound contents. According to our study, the methanolic extracts of Salvia species showed toxicity effects on HeLa cells. Conclusion: The extracts of two populations of S. reuteriana were associated with the highest cytotoxicity, compared to other species of Salvia. Furthermore, all examined extracts exhibited weak to moderate antioxidant activities. The S. ceratophylla extract was associated with the highest antioxidant activity.

Background and Objectives: Postural control disorder is a common complication in patients with Chronic Ankle Instability (CAI). The present study aimed to investigate the effect of dual cognitive task on postural control behavior with regard to the Center of Pressure (CoP) signal regularity while standing on an unstable surface in athletes with CAI. Methods: In the present study, 58 men participated in two groups of healthy and patients with CAI. The CoP signal was examined in 4 different unstable states on the wobble board located at the center of the force plate. The regularity of the signals recorded from the force plate was investigated using sample entropy in two directions: anterior-posterior and medial-lateral. Results: In both groups, there was a significant difference in CoP’s sample entropy signal when performing a cognitive task with a postural task (P

Plant growth and development are vastly affected by different abiotic and biotic stresses. Seed priming is an effective tool for increasing seed germination and plant growth that will eventually increase productivity under different environmental conditions and stresses. Efficient seed germination promotes successful establishment and deep root system of plants. Among the different seed priming methods, nano-priming is more effective mainly because of its small size and unique physicochemical properties. Since plant species are physiologically different, they differ in their uptake of nanoparticles in nano-priming, and hence in their rate and manner of growth. Most previous studies have separately investigated the effect of nanomaterial on seed germination, growth, and development of one plant at a time. However, very few studies have reported nano-priming effects using different particles on seed germination and seedling growth of forage and medicinal plants together. Therefore, this review summarizes studies of nano-priming effects using various particles on seed germination and seedling growth of forage and medicinal plants. Furthermore, the effect of different nanoparticles on the most important characteristics of germination, morphology and physiology affecting the establishment, growth and production of these plants are reviewed. In general, nano-priming increased seed germination, seedling growth and development, vigor, rate of seedling emergence and subsequent performance in most of the medicinal and forage plants. While the use of nanoparticles enhanced environmental stress resistance of these plants, negative effects of nano-priming on seed germination, seedling and plant growth traits were observed. In addition, future research areas of focus are discussed briefly.

Molybdenum is an essential micronutrient that regulates plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic environmental stresses. However, little is known about the joint effects of water stress,...

Background Blastocystis is the most common parasite in humans and animals. Molecular studies based on the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU-rRNA) have shown that Blastocystis isolates have 17 subtypes and nine of these subtypes have been reported in human. The objective of the present study was to identify the subtype of Blastocystis. isolated from human in Shiraz city, southern Iran. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to August 2019. A total of 802 fecal samples from persons who were referred to health centers of Shiraz University of medical sciences were collected and tested by wet mount method to find Blastocystis. Genomic DNA was extracted from the fecal samples to be positive for Blastocystis. SSU-rRNA gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. The amplicons were sequenced and compared with published sequences in GenBank using BLAST system. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using the maximum likelihood method in the MEGA 5.0 software. Results The microscopy method showed that 39 out of the 802 fecal samples were positive to Blastocystis. A 500 bp fragment of SSU-rRNA was amplified from isolates after the PCR. Sequence analysis identified four subtypes (STs) of Blastocystis consisted of ST1 (32.43%), ST2 (24.32%), ST3 (35.14%) and ST7 (8.11%). Conclusions Four subtypes (STs) of Blastocystis in human was identified in our study and subtype 3 was the most prevalent subtype. The common subtype (ST3) in this study was identical to the reports from other regions of Iran. For identification of the more subtypes of Blastocystis, comprehensive molecular studies with a large number of Blastocystis isolates are suggested.

A novel series of (thio)barbituric-phenoxy-N-phenylacetamide derivatives 7a-l was synthesized and evaluated against Helicobacter pylori urease. The latter assay revealed that all the synthesized compounds 7a-l (IC50 = 0.69 ± 0.33–2.47 ± 0.23 μM) were significantly more potent than two used standard inhibitors, thiourea (IC50 = 23 ± 0.73 μM) and hydroxyurea (IC50 = 100 ± 1.7 μM). Docking study of the synthesized compounds demonstrated that these compounds as well fitted in the urease active site. Moreover, molecular dynamic study of the most potent compound 7d showed that this compound created important interactions with the active site flap residues, Cys592 and His593. Furthermore, in silico pharmacokinetic study predicted that all the synthesized compounds are drug-like.

The most important pathogenesis factor in the Apicomplexa parasites is invasion to the host cell. Given the inhibitory role of Butanedione Monoxime (BDM) on myosin–actin interaction, this study aimed to investigate the effects of this molecule on the vitality and infectivity of Toxoplasma tachyzoites in order to provide a new option for vaccine development. The tachyzoites of the RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii were exposed to different concentrations (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 μg/mL) of BDM, and mortality effect was assessed by flow cytometry. Then, the penetration ability of the tachyzoites was investigated in HeLa and macrophage cell lines. The infectivity of exposed tachyzoites to BDM were also investigated in mice through following up and detecting the etiological factor. The highest percentage of mortality (72.69%) was seen in the tachyzoites exposed to 128 μg/mL of the compound. The tachyzoites exposed to 32, 64, and 128 μg/mL of BDM began the proliferation in HeLa cells after 48 h, while this proliferation was initiated within 24 h in macrophage cells. All the mice inoculated with the BDM-treated tachyzoites died after 13 days. The mean survival time of the mice receiving tachyzoites exposed to 128 μg/mL of BDM was 12.4 days, which was significantly different from the negative control group (p = 0.001). BDM, as the inhibitor of myosin–actin interaction, and other substances that block the entry of parasites into cells may be suitable candidates for vaccine production against Toxoplasma. Yet, future studies are required to be conducted on the issue.

Some of the microorganisms such as Escherichia coli have the ability to migrate to areas in which the intensity of magnetic fields (MFs) is higher, which is called magnetotactic properties. Magnetotaxis is a process implemented by a group of gram-negative bacteria that involves orienting and coordinating movement in response to magnetic fields. This study was conducted to investigate these properties of Escherichia coli in laboratory conditions. By means of coated wires (30 rounds) placed in two parts of the reactor (with five zones and a volume of 250 mL) and direct current (DC), an intensity of 0.18 mT for 42 minutes has been prepared. The most probable number of E. coli per 100 mL (MPN/100 mL) in each zone of the reactor, before and after exposure, was estimated. According to the results of this study, E. coli has magnetotactic properties, and the mean density of these bacteria in higher MFs (0.18 mT) is higher compared to the other zones in the reactor.

We have designed and synthesized phthalimide-Schiff base-coumarin hybrids 8a–b, 9a–d, 10a–b, and 11a–d and evaluated them for α-glucosidase inhibitory potential against yeast form of this enzyme. For the synthesis of title compounds 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde derivatives, coumarin-3-carbohydrazide, and coumarin-7-yloxy-acetohydrazide were used. In vitro α-glucosidase inhibition revealed that all the synthesized compounds exhibited outstanding α-glucosidase inhibition with IC50 values ranging between 85.2 ± 1.7 and 577.7 ± 7.5 µM when compared with the standard inhibitor acarbose having IC50 value 750.0 ± 12.0 µM. The most potent compounds were 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde derivative 8a with coumarin-3-carbohydrazide moiety, 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzaldehyde derivative 11d with coumarin-7-yloxy-acetohydrazide moiety, and 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzaldehyde derivative 9d with coumarin-3-carbohydrazide moiety. Molecular docking studies were carried out to understand the interaction modes and binding energies of the most active compounds and standard drug acarbose. This studies predicted that compounds 8a, 11d, and 9d (respectively with binding energies = − 10.77, − 8.65, and − 8.66 kcal/mol) bind to active site α-glucosidase more easily than acarbose (binding energy = − 4.04 kcal/mol).

Here, we used data generated from amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis to address the biodiversity status and taxonomic relationships among 47 wild accessions representing 9 species of the genus Tulipa in Iran. A high level of genetic diversity within the genus was observed; the most distant taxa were T. humilis and T. schrenkii, while the highest degree of similarity was found between T. montana and T. biflora. Twelve AFLP primer sets amplified 342 fragments, of which 304 were polymorphic (88.1%). The average number of polymorphic bands per AFLP primer pair was 28.5. A hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out on the genetic profile of the taxa, and the results mostly reconfirmed the recognized taxonomy of the genus. However, we found evidence for recognition of a new subgenus for T. biebersteiniana.

The effects of dietary hydroalcoholic extract of honeybee pollen (HBPE) on growth performance, flesh quality, immunity and stress response were investigated. Two hundred fifty‐five rainbow trout (11.14 ± 1.06 g) were fed five diets containing increasing levels of HBPE: control, 0.25HBPE (0.25 g HBPE/kg), 0.5HBPE (0.5 g HBPE/kg), 1HBPE (1 g HBPE/kg) and 1.5HBPE (1.5 g HBPE/kg). After 56 days, rainbow trout fed the 0.5HBPE and 1HBPE diets displayed significantly higher weight gain (49.58 and 53.25 g) and protein efficiency (2.88 and 2.83) compared to those fed the control diet (4.89 and 2.05), respectively (p p p p Aeromonas hydrophila was exposed to different dosages of HBPE, a higher inhibitory zone resulted from 1,000 and 1,500 mg/ml dosage. The lower levels of plasma cortisol were observed in the 1HBPE and 1.5HBPE groups after the complement stress test. Collectively, the present findings suggest that the 1HBPE diet supported superior growth, flesh quality, immunity and stress response of rainbow trout.

Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune disease clinically characterized by vascular and immune dysfunction, leading to fibrosisthat can damage multiple organs. The presence of non-overlapping SSc-associated autoantibodies best presents the autoimmunenature of systemic sclerosis. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the autoantibody profile in Iranian patientswith systemic sclerosis. Sera from 481 patients with systemic sclerosis were collected from 2013 to 2016. Levels of anti-nuclearantibodies (ANA) were quantitatively detected using the indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) method, and levels of specificautoantibodies including anti-topoisomerase I antibody (ATA), anti-centromere antibody (ACA) and anti RNA polymerase IIIantibody (anti-RNAP III) were determined qualitatively using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique.Among all patients evaluated, a predominance of females (86.7%) was found, and 434 (90.2%) patients showed positive ANAresults by IIF. ANA was detected in 87.3% and 92.0% of limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc) and diffuse cutaneoussystemic sclerosis (dcSSc) patients, respectively, which was not significantly different. The frequency of anti-RNAP III, ACA,and ATA was 5.19%, 6.09%, and 72.3%, respectively. Furthermore, anti-RNAP III, ATA, and ANA levels were correlated withdcSSc, whereas ACA levels were correlated with lcSSc. It was confirmed that ATA expression is significantly higher in dcSScpatients. This study had a lower frequency of ACA (6.09%) than most previous cohorts. The results demonstrated that theclinical subtype of systemic sclerosis may correlate positively with the presence of specific autoantibodies.

Artificial vision systems of autonomous agents face very difficult challenges, as their vision sensors are required to transmit vast amounts of information to the processing stages, and to process it in real-time. One first approach to reduce data transmission is to use event-based vision sensors, whose pixels produce events only when there are changes in the input. However, even for event-based vision, transmission and processing of visual data can be quite onerous. Currently, these challenges are solved by using high-speed communication links and powerful machine vision processing hardware. But if resources are limited, instead of processing all the sensory information in parallel, an effective strategy is to divide the visual field into several small sub-regions, choose the region of highest saliency, process it, and shift serially the focus of attention to regions of decreasing saliency. This strategy, commonly used also by the visual system of many animals, is typically referred to as ``selective attention''. Here we present a digital architecture implementing a saliency-based selective visual attention model for processing asynchronous event-based sensory information received from a DVS. For ease of prototyping, we use a standard digital design flow and map the architecture on an FPGA. We describe the architecture block diagram highlighting the efficient use of the available hardware resources demonstrated through experimental results exploiting a hardware setup where the FPGA interfaced with the DVS camera., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Life development in all figures is dependent on agricultural, food security and soil properties. Soil microbes, synergistic co-evolution with plants and bio-mineralization, demonstrate soil dynamism. The population growth around the world is increasing the demand for agricultural products enormously causing an increase in the application of chemical fertilizers. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is deteriorating soil quality and fecundity in the fields, which in turn is making sustainable agricultural production almost unachievable. Therefore, researchers are now focusing on safer and effective agricultural production. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that operate as one co-progression among plants and microorganisms exhibiting synergetic and antagonistic collaborations between the soil and microorganisms is the future. Applying plant growth promoters leads to improving microbial regeneration via direct and indirect strategies such as bio-fertilization, revitalizing root development, rhizoremediation, disease tolerance, and so on. The performance of PGPR varies a lot possibly due to different environmental factors that influence its growth and duplication in plants. These limitations can be managed by applying advanced methods, ideas such as micro-encapsulation and nano-encapsulation along with investigating a multidisciplinary studies that integrate nanotechnology, biotechnology, agro-biotechnology, material science, chemical engineering, merging diverse ecological, practical biological methods, and new formulizations.

Neuromorphic engineers develop event-based spiking neural networks (SNNs) in hardware. These SNNs closer resemble the dynamics of biological neurons than conventional artificial neural networks and achieve higher efficiency thanks to the event-based, asynchronous nature of the processing. Learning in the hardware SNNs is a more challenging task, however. The conventional supervised learning methods cannot be directly applied to SNNs due to the non-differentiable event-based nature of their activation. For this reason, learning in SNNs is currently an active research topic. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a particularly promising learning method for neuromorphic implementation, especially in the field of autonomous agents’ control. An SNN realization of a bio-inspired RL model is in the focus of this work. In particular, in this article, we propose a new digital multiplier-less hardware implementation of an SNN with RL capability. We show how the proposed network can learn stimulus-response associations in a context-dependent task. The task is inspired by biological experiments that study RL in animals. The architecture is described using the standard digital design flow and uses power- and space-efficient cores. The proposed hardware SNN model is compared both to data from animal experiments and to a computational model. We perform a comparison to the behavioral experiments using a robot, to show the learning capability in hardware in a closed sensory-motor loop.

Background: Current knowledge on antioxidant properties of anesthetics is inconclusive. Nevertheless, experiments on different anesthesia-related drugs and techniques are growing. Objectives: The aim of this prospective blinded randomized study was to assess the effect of dexmedetomidine (Dex) infusion during anesthesia on oxidative stress resulting from lumbar laminectomy. Methods: The antioxidant activity of Dex compared to placebo (normal saline) was evaluated by measuring the antioxidant enzyme activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX). A total of 56 patients who underwent laminectomy surgery were allocated into two groups of intervention and control. Dex group received 0.6 µg.kg-1 dexmedetomidine infusion before induction of anesthesia over 15 minutes, followed by 0.4 µg.kg-1.hr-1 maintenance. Control group received the same volume and sequence of normal saline. Anesthesia protocol was similar in both groups. The antioxidant activity of the previously mentioned enzymes was measured at the beginning of the anesthesia (T1) and after surgery (T2). Propofol consumption, hemodynamic indices, shivering, bleeding volume, and pain Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) were recorded. Results: Although the serum levels of CAT and GPX increased during the procedure, these changes were not significant (P-values 0.579 and 0.762, respectively). Also, the mean SOD level did not change over time in any of the groups, and it was not meaningfully different between the groups at any of the predetermined times (P-value 0.665). Conclusions: As expected, Dex decreased propofol consumption, mean heart rate, mean arterial pressure, and pain intensity allover the perioperative period. It seems that adding Dex to anesthesia regimen during laminectomy had no dominant antioxidant effects.

Sex chromosome gene content frequently differs from that of the autosomes, a phenomenon that can be informative of the effects of chromatin environment, sex-specific selection, recombination, and ploidy on genome evolution. For example, the Drosophila X chromosome is depauperate in genes with male-biased expression or limited expression in specific tissues--in particular those expressed in the accessory gland of the male reproductive tract. Multiple hypotheses have been put forth to explain the unique gene content of the X chromosome, including selection against male-beneficial X-linked alleles, expression limits imposed by the haploid dosage of the X in males, and interference by the dosage compensation complex (DCC) on expression in males. Here, we investigate these hypotheses by examining differential gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster following several treatments known to have widespread transcriptomic effects: bacterial infection, viral infection, and abiotic stress. We found that genes that are induced (up-regulated) by these biotic and abiotic treatments are frequently under-represented on the X chromosome, but so are those that are repressed (down-regulated) following treatment. We further show that whether a gene is bound by the DCC in males can largely explain the paucity of both up- and down-regulated genes on the X chromosome. Specifically, genes that are bound by the DCC are unlikely to be up- or down-regulated after treatment. Moreover, genes that are closer to a high-affinity site where the DCC is thought to initiate binding to the X chromosome experience a smaller change in expression following treatment. This relationship, however, could partially be explained by a correlation between differential expression and breadth of expression across tissues. Nonetheless, our results suggest that DCC binding, or the associated chromatin modifications, inhibit both up- and down-regulation of X chromosome gene expression within specific contexts. This effect could explain why the Drosophila X chromosome is depauperate in genes with tissue-specific expression, in addition to the paucity of X-linked genes differentially expressed after biotic or abiotic treatments. We propose multiple possible mechanisms of action for the effect, including a role of Males absent on the first (Mof), a component of the DCC, as a dampener of gene expression variance in both males and females.

Incursions of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros, into different islands in the South Pacific have been detected in recent years. It has been suggested that this range expansion is related to an O. rhinoceros haplotype reported to show reduced susceptibility to the well-established classical biocontrol agent, Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV). Our understanding of the genetic characteristics which distinguish the population of O. rhinoceros that has recently established in Solomon Islands from other well-established populations across the region is very limited. Here, we hypothesized that the recently established O. rhinoceros population should have greater innate immune responses when challenged by OrNV than those of well-established and native O. rhinoceros populations. We used the RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) approach to generate gene expression profiles of midgut tissue from OrNV-infected and noninfected individuals collected in the Solomon Islands (recent incursion), Papua New Guinea and Fiji (previously established), and the Philippines (within the native range). The collections included individuals from each of the three major mitochondrial lineages (CRB-G, CRB-PNG, and CRB-S) known to the region, allowing us to explore the specific responses of each haplotype to infection. Although insects from the Philippines and Solomon Islands that were tested belong to the same mitochondrial lineage (CRB-G), their overall responses to infection were different. The number of differentially expressed genes between OrNV-infected and noninfected wild-caught individuals from the four different locations varied from 148 to 252. Persistent OrNV infection caused a high level of induced antimicrobial activity and immune responses in O. rhinoceros, but the direction and magnitude of the responses were population specific. The insects tested from the Solomon Islands displayed extremely high expression of genes which are known to be involved in immune responses (e.g. coleoptericin, cecropin, and serpin). These variations in the host immune system among insects from different geographical regions might be driven by variations in the virulence of OrNV isolates, and this requires further investigation. Overall, our current findings support the importance of immunity in insect pest incursion and an expansion of the pest’s geographic range. IMPORTANCE Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV) is a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus which has been used as a biocontrol agent to suppress coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) in the Pacific Islands. Recently a new wave of CRB incursions in Oceania is thought to be related to the presence of low-virulence isolates of OrNV or virus-tolerant haplotypes of beetles (CRB-G). Our comparative analysis of OrNV-infected and noninfected CRBs revealed that specific sets of genes were induced by viral infection in the beetles. This induction was much stronger in beetles collected from the Solomon Islands, a newly invaded country, than in individuals collected from within the beetle’s native range (the Philippines) or from longer-established populations in its exotic range (Fiji and Papua New Guinea [PNG]). Beetles from the Philippines and the Solomon Islands that were tested in this study all belonged to the CRB-G haplotype, but the country-specific responses of the beetles to OrNV infection were different.