Biology

  La aplicación de bioreguladores es una práctica común tanto en frutales templados como tropicales y subtropicales para controlar el crecimiento vegetativo, estimular floración y amarre de fruto. Tal es el caso del Paclobutrazol “PBZ”, del cual los antecedentes de su respuesta en el cultivo del guayabo son limitados. Por lo anterior, se evaluó la aplicación de PBZ sobre la dinámica de crecimiento de los brotes y producción de fruta de ocho genotipos de guayabo establecidos en un sistema de alta densidad (5,000 plantas ha-1). El estudio se realizó en el Sitio Experimental “Los Cañones”, durante dos ciclos de producción, donde se evaluaron tres dosis (0.0, 1.0 y 2.0 ml árbol-1) del producto comercial Austar® (Paclobutrazol 25%) en 2013 y dos en 2015 (0.0 y 1.0 ml árbol-1). La aplicación se realizó al suelo a la base del tallo al inicio del cada ciclo, después de la poda. La dinámica de crecimiento de los brotes se determinó durante 15 semanas posteriores a la aplicación del PBZ en 5 ...

A small proportion of human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1)-infected individuals develop adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, a chemotherapy-resistant lymphoproliferative disease with a poor prognosis. HTLV-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), potential anti-tumor/virus effectors, are impaired in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma patients. Here, using Japanese monkeys naturally infected with simian T-cell leukemia/T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (STLV-1) as a model, we demonstrate that short-term-cultured autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) can serve as a therapeutic vaccine to activate such CTLs. In a screening test, STLV-1-specific CTL activity was detectable in 8/10 naturally STLV-1-infected monkeys. We conducted a vaccine study in the remaining two monkeys with impaired CTL responses. The short-term-cultured PBMCs of these monkeys spontaneously expressed viral antigens, in a similar way to PBMCs from human HTLV-1 carriers. The first monkey was subcutaneously in...

Human gut microbiome research focuses on populations living in high-income countries or on the other end of the spectrum, namely non-urban agriculturalist and hunter-gatherer societies. The scarcity of research between these extremes limits our understanding of how the gut microbiota relates to health and disease in the majority of the world’s population. We present the first study evaluating gut microbiome composition in transitioning South African populations using short- and long-read sequencing. We analyzed stool samples from adult females (age 40 - 72) living in rural Bushbuckridge municipality (n=118) or urban Soweto (n=51) and find that these microbiomes are taxonomically intermediate between those of individuals living in high-income countries and traditional communities. We demonstrate that reference collections are incomplete for characterization of microbiomes of individuals living outside high-income countries, resulting in artificially low species-level beta diversity m...

Asymptomatic infections often proceed undetected, yet can still prime the host to be sensitive to secondary environmental stress. While the mechanisms underlying disease caused by asymptomatic infections are unknown, it is believed that productive pathogen replication is required. We report that the environmental stress of carbon dioxide (CO2) anesthesia converts an asymptomatic rhabdovirus infection in Drosophila to one that is lethal. This lethality results from a pool of infectious virus in glial cells and is regulated by the antiviral RNAi pathway of the host. CO2 sensitivity is caused by the fusogenic activity of the viral glycoprotein, which results in fusion of neurons and glia. Expression of the viral glycoprotein, but not a fusion defective mutant, is sufficient to cause CO2 sensitivity, which can occur even in the absence of productive viral replication. These findings highlight how viral proteins, independent of pathogen replication, may predispose hosts to life-threateni...

To prevent the spread of infection, an invading pathogen must first be recognized by the innate immune system. Host pattern recognition receptors detect distinct pathogen-associated molecules and induce the transcription and release of interferon and inflammatory molecules to resolve infection. Unlike infections with pathogens that replicate autonomously from the host, viral infections blur the boundaries of self and non-self. Differentiation of host from virus is achieved by restricting localization of host nucleic acids and by placing pattern recognition receptors in specific subcellular compartments. Within this review, we discuss how several families of pattern recognition receptors act to provide a comprehensive surveillance network that has the potential to induce interferon expression in response to any viral infection.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the hexane extract of the branches of Mitrephora alba led to the isolation of five diterpenoids: ent-8b-hydroxypimar-15-en-18-oic acid, ent-15,16-dihydroxypimar-8( )-en-18oic acid, ent-3b-hydroxytrachyloban-18-oic acid, ent-3b-hydroxytrachyloban-18-al and methyl ent-3bhydroxytrachyloban-18-oate, together with five related known diterpenoids. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against three human cancer cell lines. The results showed that three ent-trachylobane diterpenes had moderate cytotoxicity against NCI-H187 cancer cells.

Information on the genetic diversity of pathogenic bacteria causing plant disease is rare to find. This study aims to identify and classify disease-causing pathogens in several ornamental plants molecularly. Sixteen bacterial strains were isolated from carnation, chrysanthemum, and kalanchoe. All strains were grouped in D. dianthicola although the carnation strains and kalanchoe strains gave different results from the identified carnation strains. The differences were found in rep-PCR and 16S rDNA. Band patterns produced by rep-ERIC PCR revealed that the carnation strains, chrysanthemum strains, and kalanchoe strains formed slightly different from the identified carnation strains. Meanwhile, sequence analysis of 16S rDNA revealed that the carnation strains and kalanchoe strains were grouped separately from the identified carnation strains. Even though they were positioned independently from the identified carnation strains and other D. dianthicola strains, but they have closely rela...

Penyakit antraknosa merupakan salah satu kendala utama dalam budidaya mangga. Penyakit ini sangat merugikan produksi mangga terutama pada saat lepas panen. Gejala antraknosa teramati pada mangga kultivar Golek di gudang simpan petani di Kabupaten Indramayu. Penelitian ini ditujukan untuk mengidentifikasi jenis cendawan fitopatogen penyebab penyakit antraknosa mangga sebagai langkah awal menyusun pengendalian yang efektif. Morfologi cendawan fitopatogen dikarakterisasi secara makroskopis dan mikroskopis. Identifikasi patogen dilakukan dengan teknik molekuler berbasis multilokus dengan penanda wilayah ITS dan gen actin. Cendawan fitopatogen teridentifikasi sebagai Colletotrichum asianum berdasarkan karakterisasi morfologi dan identifikasi molekuler. Anthracnose disease is one of the major obstacles in mango cultivation. This disease is highly detrimental to mango production, especially during the post-harvest period. Symptoms of anthracnose disease were observed on the Golek mango cul...

Protein mobility affects most cellular processes, such as the rates of enzymatic reactions, signal transduction, and assembly of macromolecular complexes. Despite such importance, little systematic information is available about protein diffusion inside bacterial cells. Here we combined fluorescence recovery after photobleaching with numerical modeling to analyze mobility of a set of fluorescent protein fusions in the bacterial cytoplasm, the plasma membrane, and in the nucleoid. Estimated diffusion coefficients of cytoplasmic and membrane proteins show steep dependence on the size and on the number of transmembrane helices, respectively. Protein diffusion in both compartments is thus apparently obstructed by a network of obstacles, creating the so-called molecular sieving effect. These obstructing networks themselves, however, appear to be dynamic and allow a slow and nearly size-independent movement of large proteins and complexes. The obtained dependencies of protein mobility on the molecular mass and the number of transmembrane helices can be used as a reference to predict diffusion rates of proteins in Escherichia coli. Mobility of DNA-binding proteins apparently mainly depends on their binding specificity, with FRAP recovery kinetics being slower for the highly specific TetR repressor than for the relatively nonspecific H-NS regulator.

Interrelationships between nuclear architecture and gene expression were examined by comparing the representation of nuclear matrix proteins in ROS 17/2.8 rat and MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells with those in normal diploid osteoblasts. The tumor-derived cells coexpress genes which are expressed in a sequential and mutually exclusive manner during the progressive stages of osteoblast differentiation. In osteosarcoma cells two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis indicates a composite representation of nuclear matrix proteins characteristic of both the proliferative and postproliferative periods of osteoblast phenotype development. In addition, nuclear matrix proteins unique to the tumor cells and the absence of nuclear matrix proteins found only in normal diploid osteoblasts are observed. Tumor-specific nuclear matrix proteins include those expressed in a proliferation-dependent and independent manner. There is a parallel relationship between nuclear matrix proteins and the expressio...

Introducción: La obtención de cultivos celulares epiteliales corneales humanos podría ser de gran utilidad tanto para la investigación básica como para su aplicación clínica en el tratamiento de diversas enfermedades corneales. Material y Métodos: Muestras de limbo esclerocorneal procedentes de donante humano cadáver se pusieron en cultivo con medios específicos para células epiteliales con distintos factores de crecimiento. En la mitad de los cultivos se utilizaron células alimentadoras 3T3. Resultados: Se obtuvieron cultivos primarios de células epiteliales corneales con un alto grado de proliferación, sin importar si el crecimiento se dio sobre células 3T3 o no. La tasa de contaminación de los cultivos fue menor en aquellos donde sí se encontraban estas células alimentadoras. Discusión: La obtención de células epiteliales corneales es posible en el laboratorio a partir de pequeñas biopsias del limbo esclerocorneal tras su expansión en cultivo, utilizando una técnica de cultivo estándar, fácilmente reproducible. Palabras clave: limbo esclerocorneal, ingeniería tisular, epitelio corneal, cultivos celulares. El limbo esclerocorneal es una zona de transición entre la córnea y la esclerótica. Histológicamente, el epitelio del limbo es la zona que separa el epitelio columnar conjuntival del epitelio escamoso estratificado

Iron deficiency anemia in toddlers can be prevented by introducing complementary foods alongside breastfeeding. Fish, rich in protein and iron, offers a valuable nutritional source for young children, but proper processing is crucial. This research investigated the impact of fish-based complementary food processing practices (known as MP-ASI in Indonesia) on the nutritional intake and hemoglobin levels of children under five in Tiro District, Pidie Regency. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study involved 40 toddlers from the stunting-prone area of Tiro District, Pidie Regency, along with their mothers as respondents. The toddlers, aged 12-36 months without severe illnesses, were included in the study. The intervention comprised educating and practicing complementary food processing. Beforeand-after intervention comparisons showed significant improvements in energy, carbohydrate, protein, zinc, and iron intake levels. Additionally, there was a notable increase in the average hemoglobin (Hb) level, rising by 1.06 g/dl after one month of fish-based complementary food processing intervention. In summary, this intervention effectively enhanced the nutritional quality of children's intake and increased their hemoglobin levels, contributing to the prevention of iron deficiency anemia in toddlers.

Breast cancer is currently the most common cancer in women worldwide. It is said that there is no proven method of preventing cancer. However, studies have shown that there are some women's lifestyle factors that have been scientifically shown to increase the risk of breast cancer. A review of the literature from the epidemiological, medical, and psychosocial disciplines strives to analyse factors that tend to increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Published material reviewed concerning the connection between breast cancer risk and lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity. This review shows that several women's lifestyle factors have been regularly considered as risk factors for developing breast cancer. They include women who have not had children or women who had their first child at an older age, short duration of brestfeeding or not breastfeed at all, diet and nutrition, and psychological stress.

COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 is a current global challenge and urgent discovery of potential drugs to combat this pandemic is a need of the hour. 3-chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease (3CLpro) enzyme is the vital molecular target against the SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, in the present study, 1528 anti-HIV1compounds were screened by sequence alignment between 3CLpro of SARS-CoV-2 and avian infectious bronchitis virus (avian coronavirus) followed by machine learning predictive model, drug-likeness screening and molecular docking, which resulted in 41 screened compounds. These 41 compounds were re-screened by deep learning model constructed considering the IC50 values of known inhibitors which resulted in 22 hit compounds. Further, screening was done by structural activity relationship mapping which resulted in two structural clefts. Thereafter, functional group analysis was also done, where cluster 2 showed the presence of several essential functional groups having pharmacological impo...

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a cell surface glycoprotein that is expressed in many different tumors and yet restricted in normal tissues to the gastrointestinal tract. It is upregulated by hypoxia and correlates with tumor grade and poor survival in several tumor indications. Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) with single digit nanomolar binding affinity for CAIX were derived by panning with the recombinant ectodomain of CAIX against the MorphoSys HUCAL Gold library of human Fabs. Highest affinity Fabs were converted to full-length IgGs and subjected to further characterization based upon their avidity and selectivity for CAIX, their capacity to undergo internalization in CAIX-expressing cell lines, and their selective localization to CAIX-positive human xenografted tumors when administered to mice as fluorescent conjugates. Through this selection process, the 3ee9 mAb was identified, which upon conjugation to monomethyl auristatin E through a self-immolative enzyme-cleavable linker yie...

We have identified a set of retinal basal glia, designated RBC cells, in the axon layer of thedeveloping Drosophila eye disc. In vivo pulse labeling with bromodeoxyuridine shows that these cells originate in the optic stalk and migrate into the disc. In mutants lacking photoreceptor axons, RBC cells accumulate in the optic stalk, but do not invade the disc. The association of RBG cells with photoreceptor axons, their origin in the optic stalk, and their migration into the retina are in common with the behavior of astrocytes in the developing mammalian retina.

The formation and maintenance of cell polarity is essential for epithelial morphogenesis. Dpatj (Drosophila homolog of mammalian Patj) is a multi-PDZ domain protein that localizes to the apical cell membrane and forms a protein complex with cell polarity proteins, Crumbs (Crb) and Stardust (Sdt). Whereas Crb and Sdt are known to be required for the organization of adherens junctions (AJs) and rhabdomeres in differentiating photoreceptors, the in vivo function of Dpatj as a member of the Crb complex in developing eye has been unclear due to the lack of loss-of-function mutations specifically affecting the dpatj gene. Our genetic analysis of hypomorph, null, and RNA interference reveals distinct dual functions of Dpatj in developing and mature photoreceptors. The C-terminal region (PDZ domains 2-4) of Dpatj is not essential for development of the animal but is required to prevent late-onset photoreceptor degeneration. In contrast, the N-terminal region of Dpatj is essential for animal viability and photoreceptor morphogenesis during development. The localization and maintenance of Crb and Sdt in the apical photoreceptor membrane are strongly affected by reduced levels of Dpatj. Dpatj is necessary for proper positioning of AJs and the integrity of photoreceptors in the developing retina as well as for the maintenance of adult photoreceptors. Our study provides evidence that Dpatj has domain-specific early and late functions in regulating the localization and stability of the Crb-Sdt complex in photoreceptor cells.

Patterning in multi-cellular organisms involves progressive restriction of cell fates by generation of boundaries to divide an organ primordium into smaller fields. We have employed the Drosophila eye model to understand the genetic circuitry responsible for defining the boundary between the eye and the head cuticle on the ventral margin. The default state of the early eye is ventral and depends on the function of Lobe (L) and the Notch ligand Serrate (Ser). We identified homothorax (hth) as a strong enhancer of the L mutant phenotype of loss of ventral eye. Hth is a MEIS class gene with a highly conserved Meis-Hth (MH) domain and a homeodomain (HD). Hth is known to bind Extradenticle (Exd) via its MH domain for its nuclear translocation. Loss-of-function of hth, a negative regulator of eye, results in ectopic ventral eye enlargements. This phenotype is complementary to the L mutant phenotype of loss-of-ventral eye. However, if L and hth interact during ventral eye development remains unknown. Here we show that (i) L acts antagonistically to hth, (ii) Hth is upregulated in the L mutant background, and (iii) MH domain of Hth is required for its genetic interaction with L, while its homeodomain is not, (iv) in L mutant background ventral eye suppression function of Hth involves novel MH domain-dependent factor(s), and (v) nuclear localization of Exd is not sufficient to mediate the Hth function in the L mutant background. Further, Exd is not a critical rate-limiting factor for the Hth function. Thus, optimum levels of L and Hth are required to define the boundary between the developing eye and head cuticle on the ventral margin.

Organogenesis involves an initial surge of cell proliferation, leading to differentiation. This is followed by cell death in order to remove extra cells. During early development, there is little or no cell death. However,there is a lack of information concerning the genes required for survival during the early cell-proliferation phase. Here, we show that Lobe(L) and the Notch (N) ligand Serrate (Ser), which are both involved in ventral eye growth, are required for cell survival in the early eye disc. We observed that the loss-of-ventral-eye phenotype in L or Ser mutants is due to the induction of cell death and the upregulation of secreted Wingless (Wg). This loss-of-ventral-eye phenotype can be rescued by (i) increasing the levels of cell death inhibitors, (ii)reducing the levels of Hid-Reaper-Grim complex, or (iii) reducing canonical Wg signaling components. Blocking Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling, which can induce caspase-independent cell death, significantly rescued vent...

The Drosophila eye consists of a reiterative hexagonal array of photoreceptor cell clusters, the ommatidia. During normal morphogenesis, the clusters in the dorsal or ventral halves of the disc rotate 90° in opposite directions, forming mirror images across a dorsoventral equator. In the mutant nemo (nmo), there is an initial turning of approximately 45O, but further rotation is blocked. Genetic mosaic analysis indicates that the nmo gene acts upon each cluster as a whole; normal nmo function in one or more photoreceptor cells appears to be sufficient to induce full rotation. The nmo gene sequence encodes a serinelthreonine protein kinase homolog, suggesting that the kinase is required to initiate the second step of rotation. In another mutant, roulette, excessive rotation through varying angles occurs in many ommatidia. This defect is suppressed by nmo, indicating that nmo acts upstream in a rotation-regulating pathway.

AJs, are larger in size than the vertebrate TJs, and only * Howard Hughes Medical Institute appear relatively late in embryogenesis. However, SJs † Department of Molecular and Human Genetics show similarities to TJs, suggesting that they play an ‡ Department of Cell Biology equivalent role (Woods and Bryant, 1993; Marfatia et al., § Program in Developmental Biology 1994; Baumgartner et al., 1996). Baylor College of Medicine Formation of polarized epithelia in most species is Houston, Texas 77030 dependent on and controlled by specific transmembrane proteins (TPs) (Tepass, 1997). The only known apically localized TP required for the maintenance of Summary cell polarity is the CRB protein of Drosophila (Wodarz et al., 1993, 1995; Tepass, 1996). Overexpression and Polarization of epithelial cells depends on a hierarchiloss-of-function studies show that much of the function cal process whereby specific membrane-associated of CRB seems to be confined to its short 37 amino acid proteins become targeted to specialized membrane cytoplasmic domain (Wodarz et al., 1993, 1995). The domains. Here, we describe a novel Drosophila prolaterally localized TPs required for the maintenance of tein, Discs Lost (DLT), that plays a crucial role in the epithelial polarity are Cadherins, enriched at AJs (Teppolarization of embryonic epithelia during cellular ass et al., 1996; Uemura et al., 1996; Yap et al., 1997), blastoderm formation. At subsequent stages of develand NRX IV, localized to SJs (Baumgartner et al., 1996; opment, DLT interacts with the apical determinant M. A. B. and H. J. B., unpublished data). Finally, basally Crumbs (CRB) and the laterally localized protein Neulocated TPs like integrins play a major role in the interrexin IV (NRX IV). Mutations in dlt or double-stranded action with basal substratum and are required for adhe-RNA interference lead to aberrant localization of CRB sion of epithelial cells to their extracellular environment and NRX IV and cause a concomitant loss of epithelial (Brown, 1993; Hynes, 1996). The activity of each of these cell polarity. Hence, DLT is required to establish and proteins causes only a partial polarization, and similarly, maintain cell polarity and participates in different moloss of any of these proteins leads only to a partial loss lecular complexes that define apical and lateral memof polarity (Tepass, 1997). brane domains. In vertebrates, several nontransmembrane proteins have been shown to be associated with AJs and TJs.

It was moved, seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote to accept the April 28, 2009 minutes as presented and the May 19, 2009 correcting the date of the meeting on the minutes. ___________________________________________________________________________ Ms. Rousseau raised a question regarding the handling of minutes and a brief discussion followed between Ms. Rousseau and Chairman LeBlanc. Ms. Rousseau felt that they were the only ones who really knew what they said and they had no idea what an individual typed into the minutes. She felt a responsibility to the citizens of Portsmouth to make sure they get the most accurate minutes possible and that minutes should not be approved without the Board seeing the changes made. Chairman LeBlanc noted that the minutes had been approved as corrected and the corrections were made in accordance with the tape that was made of the meeting. The corrected minutes could be viewed in city hall or on line. He saw no reason to change the protocols that had been place for over 20 years ____________________________________________________________________________ B. Request for Extension -24 Central Avenue Mr. Grasso made a motion to grant an extension of the Special Exception through December 31, 2009, which was seconded by Mr. Parrott. Mr. Grasso stated that he remembered when the applicant had appeared and they had discussed that the initial timeframe would not be enough to complete the construction. He found this to be a reasonable request and Mr. Parrott concurred.

A fundamental feature of developing tissues and organs is generation of planar polarity of cells in an epithelium with respect to the body axis. The Drosophila compound eye shows two-tier dorsoventral (DV) planar polarity. At the individual ommatidium level, the eight photoreceptors in each unit eye form a dorsoventrally asymmetric cluster. At the level of eye field, hundreds of ommatidia in the upper and lower halves of an eye are uniformly polarized dorsally or ventrally, respectively. This results in DV mirror symmetries about the equator. The uniform orientations of photoreceptor clusters over long distance in the eye field provide an excellent model for studying the genetic basis of long-range planar polarity. Ommatidial DV polarity can be detected in third instar eye imaginal disc during the early stage of retinal diVerentiation. Recent studies have strongly suggested that the foundation for this DV polarity pattern is laid much earlier in undiVerentiated eye disc. The eye disc primordium is partitioned into the DV compartments of independent cell lineages. The Iroquois-Complex genes specify the dorsal fate whereas their absence in the ventral compartment results in the ventral fate with expression of the fringe gene. Genetic evidence suggests that the interaction of dorsal and ventral cells at the DV boundary in early eye disc generates an organizing center for growth and patterning of the eye field. In this chapter, we outline key genetic events involved in early DV patterning and growth of eye disc, and its potential role in organizing long-range signaling for DV planar polarity during later diVerentiation of the eye.

Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNv) is a worldwide etiologic agent of one disease that causes severe economic losses in several species of fish, mainly in young salmonids. Its genome consists of two linear double-stranded RNA segments that encode five viral proteins. Teleost fish respond to infectious agents, mainly through the components of innate immunity. This response to viral infections is initiated, conducted, and coordinated by pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs), which can detect the presence of microorganisms through the identification of molecular patterns associated with pathogens (PAMPs). Heterologous PRR molecules have been found in salmonids, even in teleost fish. NOD-like receptors (NLRs) are a multigenic family of cytoplasmic molecules involved in immunity and apoptosis; these receptors have been little studied in fish. However, they have recently been linked to antiviral defense. There is no information that relates the expression of NOD-like receptors with IPNv infection. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the gene expression of several members of subfamily A of the NLRs (NOD1, NOD2, NLR-C3, NLR-C5, and NLR-X1) in response to IPNv infection by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and cellular models used in vitro and ex vivo. The expression analysis revealed that CHSE-214 cells, infected with IPNv, show a positive regulation of the NLRs, with the NLRX1 gene being the one with the highest expression. A similar result was obtained when primary cultures of head kidney of rainbow trout were infected with IPNv, but in this case, the most stimulated receptor was found to be NLR-C5. Overall, the results suggest that NLRs could play a key role in the regulation of defense mechanisms of salmonids against viral pathogens and justify the exploration of the precise molecular mechanism related to the immune system of the NLRs in these fish.

caso ofrece una perspectiva de uso efectivo de una CoP aportando un escenario o red de intercambio de conocimiento común, que sirve de apoyo al aprendizaje educativo y cuya finalidad principal es fomentar la cultura innovadora y emprendedora entre todos sus participantes.

Andhra Pradesh has a strong, well qualified, committed and forward looking State Animal Husbandry Department (AHD). The state has a large animal health and production support infrastructure -veterinary dispensaries, hospitals and polyclinics, rural livestock units, AI centres and so on -and individuals -professional veterinarians, para-veterinary and other support staff. Livestock keepers have generally appreciated the support received from the Animal Husbandry Department either in terms of routine animal health and breeding services or emergency response at the time of disease outbreaks. Within the constraints posed by the political environment and the human, physical and financial resources, the department has been doing a commendable job. However, changing market conditions (rapid growth in demand for livestock products, consumer demands for quality and consistency, food safety and environmental regulations, dwindling public resources for service delivery, etc) are putting additional pressures on service delivery systems to become more dynamic and needs-oriented, financially sustainable, and closer to the ground. This report synthesises the studies and consultations undertaken by the CALPI-PPLPI-AHD initiative in support of developing a framework for effective and efficient delivery of livestock services.

Infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) virus (IPNV) infection in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. post-smolts and its influence on the outcome of secondary infections with infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) virus (ISAV) or Vibrio salmonicida were studied. The infections with ISAV or V. salmonicida were performed both in a period of acute IPN and in the following IPNV carrier stage, 3 and 6 to 8 wk after experimental IPNV challenge, respectively. An IPNV carrier condition at low virus titre did not influence the mortality rates after secondary infections. Neither the ISAV infection nor the V. salmonicida infection in experimentally induced IPNV carriers resulted in mortalities different from those observed after challenge of IPNV-free fish. At higher IPNV titres in Atlantic salmon with acute IPN, the outcome of secondary infections was quite different from that observed in IPNVfree fish and in IPNV carriers. In 2 different experiments significantly more fish died when fish with acute IPN were infected with V. salmonicida than when fish were infected with V. salmonicida alone. Mortality also started earlier in the double-infected group than in the group challenged with V. salmonicida alone, 3 to 4 and 8 d after V. salmonicida infection, respectively. Similar results were observed independent of whether mortalities due to IPN alone were registered in the experiments. When Atlantic salmon with acute IPN were infected with ISAV, significantly fewer fish died than when fish were infected with ISAV alone. The ongoing IPNV infection seemed to provide some protection against development of ISA.

Two combinations (designated as options 1 and 2) of four plastid markers (matK, rpoC1, rpoB, psbA-trnH) that have been recommended for DNA barcoding were tested for utility in a putatively recently-diversified group: the primarily Canarian clade within the genus Tolpis (Asteraceae). Prior studies had indicated very little molecular variation in the group, and thus it was used to determine whether accepted taxa, segregate species, and morphological variants ostensibly deserving taxonomic recognition could be distinguished employing regions proposed as useful for DNA barcoding. The regions, particularly option 2, separated all morphologically distinct species of Tolpis except one, and distinguished one segregate species and certain variants in a morphologically variable and intergrading group (comprising both the T. laciniata and T. lagopoda species complexes). The barcoding sequences also revealed several variants that are worthy of additional study in order to further understand the diversity of Tolpis in the Canary Islands.

Two combinations (designated as options 1 and 2) of four plastid markers (matK, rpoC1, rpoB, psbA-trnH) that have been recommended for DNA barcoding were tested for utility in a putatively recently-diversified group: the primarily Canarian clade within the genus Tolpis (Asteraceae). Prior studies had indicated very little molecular variation in the group, and thus it was used to determine whether accepted taxa, segregate species, and morphological variants ostensibly deserving taxonomic recognition could be distinguished employing regions proposed as useful for DNA barcoding. The regions, particularly option 2, separated all morphologically distinct species of Tolpis except one, and distinguished one segregate species and certain variants in a morphologically variable and intergrading group (comprising both the T. laciniata and T. lagopoda species complexes). The barcoding sequences also revealed several variants that are worthy of additional study in order to further understand the diversity of Tolpis in the Canary Islands.

Fungal chitinases play important roles in the decomposition of wastes, mycoparasitism, and biocontrol of nematodes and plant pathogens through chitin biodegradation. This study was conducted during 2013-2017 to investigate the presence of chitinase genes in Trichoderma and Clonostachys species from the Birjand plain, and to evaluate their ability to degrade chitin. Fungal spores and soil suspensions were cultured on minimal medium containing 1% colloidal chitin from crab bodies to isolate chitinolytic fungi. Chitinolytic ability of the isolates was evaluated on this medium by staining with 1% Lugol's iodine solution and screening for the production of a bright halo around the colonies. Fifty-two isolates capable of degrading chitin were recovered. DNA extracted from the isolates was amplified using Chit2 or DECH degenerative primers that are related to the chitinase gene, and their sequences were aligned using the NCBI GenBank database. The Chit2 and DECH primers amplified 600-bp and 250-bp fragments, respectively, and according to sequence alignment, the isolates had sequences similar to that of the chi18 chitinase genes. Morphological and molecular characterization allowed identifying the isolates as belonging to the species Trichoderma harzianum (n = 41), T. longibrachiatum (n = 1), T. virens (n = 3), T. brevicompactum (n = 1), Clonostachys rosea (n = 5), and C. rogersoniana (n = 1), some of which may potentially be used as biocontrol agents of pathogenic nematodes and fungi. This is the first report of isolation of fungi capable of chitin biodegradation from the South Khorasan Province in Eastern Iran.

Orobanche ramosa (broomrape) is a widespread parasitic weed of many Solanaceouse crop species, such as tobacco or tomato, and attaches to many other species, including ornamentals and weeds. It is mainly distributed in the Mediterranean area, central Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East .Many fungi were isolated from diseased Orobanche plants, and some of them proved to be mycoherbicides for biological control of broomrapes (Galdames and Diaz, 2010). F. oxysporum f.sp. orthoceras obtained from diseased O. cumana tested in soil with sunflower as a host plant was able to reduce the number of attached and emerged Orobanche seedlings by about 90% . F. oxysporum f. sp. orthoceras on O. cumana was also tested by . F. arthroporioides and F. oxysporum isolated in Israel from O. aegyptiaca were shown to be effective in reducing broomrape growth . Muller -Stover (2001) showed two isolates of Ulocladium botrytis and F. oxysporum f.sp. orthoceras caused necroses on both O. cumana and O. crenata (Müller-Stöver et al., 2002).The development of an appropriate formulation which allows successful application of fungal propagules will determine the success of Fusarium in agriculture applications. The encapsulation of fungal propagules in a solid matrix 'Pesta' showed 70% reduction of Orobanche emergence when wheat flour kaolin granules containing chlamydospore rich biomass was applied. Some toxins produced by fungi of the genus Fusarium proved to be able to inhibit germination of O. ramosa seeds, and their practical use in integrated strategies of parasitic plant management has been proposed (Zonno

The compositional skills are analyzed to determine whether college students have improved their writing ability after the two years additional in the senior high school curriculum. This study examines the errors committed by first-year engineering students. There were 90 student respondents written outputs collected and subjected to Grammarly software. The researchers analyzed the data using the Scheffe test, comparing the difference between clarity, engagement, and delivery. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to test whether there is a significant difference among other variables. Findings revealed that clarity is the most common error committed by the student-respondents. The errors committed between male and female respondents do not show a difference. The K-12 graduates' compositional errors do not differ significantly from that in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) passers or the old basic education curriculum graduates. It is in delivery that students vary. This finding implies that college students' compositional skills still need strengthening. Instructors are encouraged to provide comprehensive activities and writing exercises to both genders, regardless of their curriculum. It is recommended that university language instructors identify specific interventions to help students struggling with writing. Therefore, providing enough written opportunities and practices is vital to make college students enhance their compositional skills.

BACKGROUND From 2019, science students at the University of Sydney will be required to have high school mathematics. Our research has highlighted biology students lack confidence in mathematics (e.g. Quinnell & Wong, 2007; Quinnell, Thompson & LeBard, 2013; LeBard, Thompson & Quinnell, 2014) and this lack of confidence can be associated with anxiety. We are interested in whether the new HSC maths requirement will impact biology students’ attitudes to, and conceptions of, mathematics, particularly mathematics confidence. Here we offer an early assessment using current data. APPROACHES We surveyed first year biology students in 2015 and 2018 using the Attitudes to Mathematics survey instrument (modified from Fennema and Sherman, Doepken et al; confidence n=12, usefulness n=12), would recommend maths to others (Wismath & Worrall, 2015; n=2), conceptions of Biology (Quinnell, May, Peat & Taylor, 2005; fragmented n=10 and cohesive n=10), and conceptions of mathematics (Crawford, Gordon, ...

El articulo presenta la relacion existente entre la antiguedad, el alcance y el numero de puestos laborales directos e indirectos generados por las entidades sin animo de lucro (ESAL) en Bogota, D.C. (Colombia), para lograr el proposito se reviso una base de datos que incluyo a 14,135 organizaciones que se catalogan como no lucrativas. Esta cantidad supone que las Asociaciones sin animo de lucro ostentan una alta participacion en la generacion de empleo en Bogota lo que experimentaria un ambiente de bienestar social alto, sin embargo, la evidencia muestra que en terminos reales se percibe una baja generacion de puestos de trabajo directo e indirecto. Se encuentra que una mayor cantidad de asociaciones, con mayor antiguedad, con un numero mas grande de afiliaciones, no implica una mayor generacion de empleo. Esta incongruencia en terminos de cantidad e impacto se debe en muchas ocasiones a que las organizaciones concilian sus objetivos no necesariamente a favor de la sociedad sino a ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been characterised by sequential variant-specific waves shaped by viral, individual human and population factors. SARS-CoV-2 variants are defined by their unique combinations of mutations and there has been a clear adaptation to human infection since its emergence in 2019. Here we use machine learning models to identify shared signatures, i.e., common underlying mutational processes, and link these to the subset of mutations that define the variants of concern (VOCs). First, we examined the global SARS-CoV-2 genomes and associated metadata to determine how viral properties and public health measures have influenced the magnitude of waves, as measured by the number of infection cases, in different geographic locations using regression models. This analysis showed that, as expected, both public health measures and not virus properties alone are associated with the rise and fall of regional SARS-CoV-2 reported infection numbers. This impact varies geographical...

The POU homeodomain protein Oct-4 and the Forkhead Box protein FoxD3 (previously Genesis) are transcriptional regulators expressed in embryonic stem cells. Down-regulation of Oct-4 during gastrulation is essential for proper endoderm development. After gastrulation, FoxD3 is generally down-regulated during early endoderm formation, although it specifically remains expressed in the embryonic neural crest. In these studies, we have found that Oct-4 and FoxD3 can bind to identical regulatory DNA sequences. In addition, Oct-4 physically interacted with the FoxD3 DNA-binding domain. Cotransfection of Oct-4 and FoxD3 expression vectors activated the osteopontin enhancer, which is expressed in totipotent embryonic stem cells. FoxA1 and FoxA2 (previously HNF-3α and HNF-3β) are Forkhead Box transcription factors that participate in liver and lung formation from foregut endoderm. Although FoxD3 activated the FoxA1 and FoxA2 promoters, Oct-4 inhibited FoxD3 activation of the FoxA1 and FoxA2 en...

The complex and diverse biological effects of retinoic acid (RA) are mediated through specific receptors that are members of the steroid hormone family of nuclear transcription factors. The RA receptor family consists of multiple structurally distinct RA receptors, which diverge primarily at the NH2-terminal domain. The evolutionary conservation of this divergent region in individual RA receptors among different species together with their tissue-specific patterns of expression suggest that the biological function and activity of the individual RA receptors may be confined to specific tissues. To test this hypothesis in hematopoietic cells, we used retrovirus-mediated gene transduction to introduce the RA receptors RAR-a, RAR-13, and RAR-y as well as RXR-a into a mutant subclone of the HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cell line (designated HL-60R) that is relatively resistant to RA-induced granulocytic differentiation. We found that each of these structurally distinct RA receptors could restore sensitivity of the HL-60R cells to RA. A critical threshold number of transduced receptors per cell appears to be necessary to restore this functional activity. Thus, the capability to mediate granulocytic differentiation of HL-60 cells is shared among distinctly different RA receptors. The retinoids and in particular retinoic acid (RA) exert a wide range of biological effects related to cell proliferation and differentiation. RA functions as a natural morphogen in regulating fetal development during vertebrate embryogenesis (2, 34). RA also influences adult epithelial cell growth and differentiation (27) and suppresses malignant transformation both in vitro and in vivo (5, 20, 29). In addition, RA induces the terminal differentiation of human promyelocytic leuke- mia cells . RA is thought to mediate these diverse and complex biological effects through specific re- ceptors that are members of the steroid/thyroid hormone receptor superfamily of nuclear transcription factors (15). These receptors exhibit a modular structure that includes discrete DNA-binding and hormone (ligand)-binding do- mains. The RA receptors presumably bind to specific cis- acting DNA sequences that are important for regulating transcription of specific target genes, and this target gene expression may be modified in the presence of ligand. The RA receptors, in contrast with the glucocorticoid receptors, exhibit a relatively large number of structurally distinct isoforms. The RAR-ot, RAR-,B, and RAR-,y receptors share marked structural similarity in their DNA-binding and ligand-binding domains but markedly diverge in their NH2terminal regions. In contrast, the RA receptors designated RXR exhibit marked divergence in both the NH2-terminal and ligand-binding domains compared with the RAR-a, RAR-,B, and RAR--y receptors and appear to define a distinct and separate family of RA receptors (28). Why are there so many different types of RA receptors? What specific physiological role does each distinct receptor play in regulating cell growth and differentiation? Several lines of indirect evidence suggest that the activity of each of * Corresponding author.

The objective of this work was to evaluate tolerance of soybean cultivars to water stress using the method solution-paper soaked with polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) at different levels of osmotic potential. Recently-picked seeds of 21 soybean cultivars were used:

Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar o efeito do estresse hídrico induzido por polietileno glicol, na qualidade fisiológica das sementes de catorze híbridos simples de milho-pipoca. Para tanto, foi conduzido um experimento em que as sementes foram colocadas para germinar em substrato de papel-toalha, umedecido com soluções de polietileno glicol (PEG 6000), nos níveis de potencial osmótico de zero (controle) e -0,3 MPa. A qualidade fisiológica das sementes foi avaliada por meio do teste de germinação (primeira contagem e contagem final), do comprimento da raiz primária e da parte aérea das plântulas e da biomassa seca das plântulas. A diminuição do potencial hídrico do substrato é prejudicial à germinação das sementes e, principalmente, ao crescimento das plântulas de milho-pipoca. Os decréscimos nas variáveis analisadas dependeram dos híbridos avaliados. Os híbridos G e K foram os que se mostraram mais tolerantes ao estresse hídrico, enquanto que o híbrido M foi mais susceptível à seca. A tolerância ao estresse hídrico independe da qualidade inicial das sementes de milho-pipoca.