The Australian sexually deceptive orchid, Chiloglottis trapeziformis, employs a unique UV-B-dependent floral volatile, chiloglottone 1, for specific male wasp pollinator attraction. Chiloglottone 1 and related variants (2,5-dialkylcyclohexane-1,3-diones), represent a unique class of specialized metabolites presumed to be the product of cyclization between two fatty acid (FA) precursors. However, the genes involved in the biosynthesis of precursors, intermediates, and transcriptional regulation remains to be discovered. Chiloglottone 1 production occurs in the aggregation of calli (callus) on the labellum under continuous UV-B light. Therefore, deep sequencing, transcriptome assembly, and differential expression (DE) analysis were performed across different tissue types and UV-B treatments. Transcripts expressed in the callus and labellum (∼23,000 transcripts) were highly specialized and enriched for a diversity of known and novel metabolic pathways. DE analysis between chiloglottone-emitting callus versus the remainder of the labellum showed strong coordinated induction of entire FA biosynthesis and β-oxidation pathways including genes encoding Ketoacyl-ACP Synthase, Acyl-CoA Oxidase, and Multifunctional Protein. Phylogenetic analysis revealed potential gene duplicates with tissue-specific differential regulation including two Acyl-ACP Thioesterase B and a Ketoacyl-ACP Synthase genes. UV-B treatment induced the activation of UVR8-mediated signaling and large-scale transcriptome changes in both tissues, however, neither FA biosynthesis/β-oxidation nor other lipid metabolic pathways showed clear indications of concerted DE. Gene co-expression network analysis identified three callus-specific modules enriched with various lipid metabolism categories. These networks also highlight promising candidates involved in the cyclization of chiloglottone 1 intermediates (e.g., Bet v I and dimeric α,β barrel proteins) and orchestrating regulation of precursor pathways (e.g., AP2/ERF) given a strong co-regulation with FA biosynthesis/β-oxidation genes. Possible alternative biosynthetic routes for precursors (e.g., aldehyde dehydrogenases) were also indicated. Our comprehensive study constitutes the first step toward understanding the biosynthetic pathways involved in chiloglottone 1 production in Chiloglottis trapeziformis - supporting the roles of FA metabolism in planta, gene duplication as a potential source of new genes, and co-regulation of novel pathway genes in a tissue-specific manner. This study also provides a new and valuable resource for future discovery and comparative studies in plant specialized metabolism of other orchids and non-model plants.

Durum wheat is the 10th most important crop in the world, and its use traces back to the origin of agriculture. Unfortunately, in the last century only part of the genetic diversity available for this species has been captured in modern varieties through breeding. Here, the population structure and genetic diversity shared among elites and landraces collected from 32 countries was investigated. A total of 370 entries were genotyped with Axiom 35K array to identify 8,173 segregating single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Of these, 500 were selected as highly informative with a PIC value above 0.32 and used to test population structure via DAPC, STRUCTURE, and neighbor joining tree. A total of 10 sub-populations could be identified, six constituted by modern germplasm and four by landraces of different geographical origin. Interestingly, genomic comparison among groups indicated that Middle East and Ethiopia had the lowest level of allelic diversity, while breeding programs and landraces collected outside these regions were the richest in rare alleles. Further, phylogenetic analysis among landraces indicated that Ethiopia might represent a second center of origin of durum wheat, rather than a second domestication site as previously believed. Together, the analyses carried here provide a global picture of the available genetic diversity for this crop and shall guide its targeted use by breeders.

The long-term course to lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LDH) patients receiving integrative Korean medicine treatment and predictive factors associated with disc resorption were investigated. LDH patients who received integrative Korean medicine treatment from February 2012 to December 2015 and were registered in the "longitudinal project for LDH on MRI" were included. Disc resorption amount was measured 3-dimensionally with disc degeneration and modic change levels on baseline and follow-up MRIs. Patient characteristics, Korean medicine use, pain, symptom recurrence, and satisfaction were assessed through medical records and phone surveys. Of 505 participants, 19 did not show disc resorption, while 486 did. A total of 220 displayed resorption rates of ≥50%. LDH volume at baseline was 1399.82 ± 594.96 mm3, and that on follow-up MRI was 734.37 ± 303.33 mm3, indicating a 47.5% decrease (p < 0.0001). Predictive factors for disc resorption were disc extrusion, Komori migration classification, and LDH amount. Approximately 68.4% did not experience symptom recurrence over the 51.86 ± 19.07-month follow-up, and 90.3% were satisfied with Korean medicine treatment. The majority of LDH patients who improved after integrative Korean medicine treatment showed disc resorption within 1 year with favorable long-term outcomes. Predictive factors for disc resorption should be duly considered for informed decision-making. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02841163.

Tobacco use is the second major cause of morbidity and the 4th most common health risk factor in the world. Medical professionals have a critical role in the process of smoking cessation both as advisers and behavioural models for the citizens. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of smoking among health care professionals, their smoking habits and personal attitudes toward smoking, role and the responsibility of health care professionals in the prevention of smoking.

Both cupping therapy and acupuncture have been used in China for a long time, and their target indications are pain-related conditions. There is no systematic review comparing the effectiveness of these two therapies.

The serine protease HtrA is an important factor for regulating stress responses and protein quality control in bacteria. In recent studies, we have demonstrated that the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori can secrete HtrA into the extracellular environment, where it cleaves-off the ectodomain of the tumor suppressor and adherens junction protein E-cadherin on gastric epithelial cells.

Sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction increases mortality in sepsis, yet the underlying mechanism is unclear. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been found to enhance cardiomyocyte function, but whether BDNF has a beneficial effect against septic myocardial dysfunction is unknown. Septic shock was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). BDNF was expressed in primary cardiomyocytes, and its expression was significantly reduced after sepsis. In rats with sepsis, a sharp decline in survival was observed after CLP, with significantly reduced cardiac BDNF expression, enhanced myocardial fibrosis, elevated oxidative stress, increased myocardial apoptosis, and decreased endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) and NO. Supplementation with recombined BDNF protein (rhBDNF) enhanced myocardial BDNF and increased survival rate with improved cardiac function, reduced oxidative stress, and myocardial apoptosis, which were associated with increased eNOS expression, NO production, and Trk-B, a BDNF receptor. Pretreatment with NOS inhibitor, N (omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, abolished the abovementioned BDNF cardioprotective effects without affecting BDNF and Trk-B. It is concluded that BDNF protects the heart against septic cardiac dysfunction by reducing oxidative stress and apoptosis via Trk-B, and it does so through activation of eNOS/NO pathway. These findings provide a new treatment strategy for sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction.

The neuroprotectant and memory enhancer supplement for menopause is required due to the side effects of hormone replacement therapy. Since purple waxy corn cob and pandan leaves exert antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibition (AChEI) effects, we hypothesized that the combined extract of both plants (PCP) might provide synergistic effect leading to the improved brain damage and memory impairment in experimental menopause. To test this hypothesis, female Wistar rats were ovariectomized bilaterally and orally given various doses of the functional drink at doses of 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg for 28 days. The animals were assessed nonspatial memory using object recognition test every 7 days throughout the study period. At the end of study, they were assessed with oxidative stress status, AChEI, neuron density, and ERK1/2 signal in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Interestingly, all doses of PCP increased object recognition memory and neuron density but decreased oxidative stress status in PFC. Low dose of PCP also decreased AChE activity while medium dose of PCP increased phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in PFC. Therefore, the improved oxidative stress status and cholinergic function together with signal transduction via ERK in PFC might be responsible for the neuroprotective and memory-enhancing effects of PCP.

Community assembly processes is the primary focus of community ecology. Using phylogenetic-based and functional trait-based methods jointly to explore these processes along environmental gradients are useful ways to explain the change of assembly mechanisms under changing world. Our study combined these methods to test assembly processes in wide range gradients of elevation and other habitat environmental factors. We collected our data at 40 plots in Taibai Mountain, China, with more than 2,300 m altitude difference in study area and then measured traits and environmental factors. Variance partitioning was used to distinguish the main environment factors leading to phylogeny and traits change among 40 plots. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to colligate other environment factors. Community assembly patterns along environmental gradients based on phylogenetic and functional methods were studied for exploring assembly mechanisms. Phylogenetic signal was calculated for each community along environmental gradients in order to detect the variation of trait performance on phylogeny. Elevation showed a better explanatory power than other environment factors for phylogenetic and most traits' variance. Phylogenetic and several functional structure clustered at high elevation while some conserved traits overdispersed. Convergent tendency which might be caused by filtering or competition along elevation was detected based on functional traits. Leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and leaf nitrogen content along PCA 1 axis showed conflicting patterns comparing to patterns showed on elevation. LDMC exhibited the strongest phylogenetic signal. Only the phylogenetic signal of maximum plant height showed explicable change along environmental gradients. Synthesis. Elevation is the best environment factors for predicting phylogeny and traits change. Plant's phylogenetic and some functional structures show environmental filtering in alpine region while it shows different assembly processes in middle- and low-altitude region by different trait/phylogeny. The results highlight deterministic processes dominate community assembly in large-scale environmental gradients. Performance of phylogeny and traits along gradients may be independent with each other. The novel method for calculating functional structure which we used in this study and the focus of phylogenetic signal change along gradients may provide more useful ways to detect community assembly mechanisms.

Telomeres in human fibroblasts shorten progressively during in vitro culturing and trigger replicative senescence. Furthermore, shortened telomeres can be used as biomarkers of disease. These observations have led to the suggestion that telomere dynamics may also be associated with viability and selection for life history variation in non-human taxa. Model systems to examine this suggestion would particularly benefit from the coexistence of multiple phenotypes within the same species with different life history trade-offs, since those could be compared in terms of telomere characteristics. This scenario also provokes the classic question of why one morph does not have marginally higher fitness and replaces the others. One explanation is that different morphs have different reproductive tactics with equal relative fitness. In Australian painted dragons (Ctenophorus pictus), males differ in head color, the presence or absence of a gular bib, and reproductive expenditure. Red males out-compete yellow males in dominance contests, while yellow males copulate quickly and have higher success in sperm competition than red males. Males with bibs better defend partners against rival matings, at the cost of loss of body condition. We show that yellow-headed and bib-less males have longer telomeres than red, blue and bibbed males, suggesting that telomere length is positively associated with higher investment into self-maintenance and less reproductive expenditure.

Salinity gradients are critical habitat determinants for freshwater organisms. Silverside fishes in the genus Odontesthes have recently and repeatedly transitioned from marine to freshwater habitats, overcoming a strong ecological barrier. Genomic and transcriptomic changes involved in this kind of transition are only known for a few model species. We present new data and analyses of gene expression and microbiome composition in the gills of two closely related silverside species, marine O. argentinensis and freshwater O. bonariensis and find more than three thousand transcripts differentially expressed, with osmoregulatory/ion transport genes and immune genes showing very different expression patterns across species. Interspecific differences also involve more than one thousand transcripts with nonsynonymous SNPs in the coding sequences, most of which were not differentially expressed. In addition to characterizing gill transcriptomes from wild-caught marine and freshwater fishes, we test experimentally the response to salinity increases by O. bonariensis collected from freshwater habitats. Patterns of expression in gill transcriptomes of O. bonariensis exposed to high salinity do not resemble O. argentinensis mRNA expression, suggesting lack of plasticity for adaptation to marine conditions in this species. The diversity of functions associated with both the differentially expressed set of transcripts and those with sequence divergence plus marked microbiome differences suggest that multiple abiotic and biotic factors in marine and freshwater habitats are driving transcriptomic differences between these species.

Sister species that diverged in allopatry in similar environments are expected to exhibit niche conservatism. Using ecological niche modeling and a multivariate analysis of climate and habitat data, I test the hypothesis that the Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) and Gray-cheeked Thrush (C. mimimus), sister species that breed in the North American boreal forest, show niche conservatism. Three tree species that are important components of breeding territories of both thrush species were combined with climatic variables to create niche models consisting of abiotic and biotic components. Abiotic-only, abiotic+biotic, and biotic-only models were evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) criterion. Abiotic+biotic models had higher AUC scores and did not over-project thrush distributions compared to abiotic-only or biotic-only models. From the abiotic+biotic models, I tested for niche conservatism or divergence by accounting for the differences in the availability of niche components by calculating (1) niche overlap from ecological niche models and (2) mean niche differences of environmental values at occurrence points. Niche background similarity tests revealed significant niche divergence in 10 of 12 comparisons, and multivariate tests revealed niche divergence along 2 of 3 niche axes. The Bicknell's Thrush breeds in warmer and wetter regions with a high abundance of balsam fir (Abies balsamea), whereas Gray-cheeked Thrush often co-occurs with black spruce (Picea mariana). Niche divergence, rather than conservatism, was the predominant pattern for these species, suggesting that ecological divergence has played a role in the speciation of the Bicknell's Thrush and Gray-cheeked Thrush. Furthermore, because niche models were improved by the incorporation of biotic variables, this study validates the inclusion of relevant biotic factors in ecological niche modeling to increase model accuracy.

The aim of this research was to investigate the process of familial relationship change for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and their parents, who participated in Family-Based Treatment (FBT).

Uterine rupture is a tear in the wall of uterus which carries grave risks to the mother as well as her baby.

Burkholderia pseudomallei is an intracellular bacterial pathogen and the causative agent of melioidosis, a severe disease of humans and animals. Like other clinically important Gram-negative bacteria, fundamental to B. pseudomallei pathogenesis is the Bsa Type III Secretion System. The Bsa system injects bacterial effector proteins into the cytoplasm of target host cells subverting cellular pathways for the benefit of the bacteria. It is required for invasion of non-phagocytic host cells, escape from the endocytic compartment into the host cell cytoplasm, and for virulence in murine models of melioidosis. We have recently described the repertoire of effector proteins secreted by the B. pseudomallei Bsa system, however the functions of many of these effector proteins remain an enigma. One such protein is BipC, a homolog of the translocator/effector proteins SipC and IpaC from Salmonella spp. and Shigella flexneri respectively. SipC and IpaC each have separate and distinct roles acting both as translocators, involved in creating a pore in the eukaryotic cell membrane through which effector proteins can transit, and as effectors by interacting with and polymerizing host cell actin. In this study, pull-down assays demonstrate an interaction between BipC and actin. Furthermore, we show that BipC directly interacts with actin, preferentially with actin polymers (F-actin) and has the ability to polymerize actin in a similar manner as that described for SipC. Yet unlike SipC, BipC does not stabilize F-actin filaments, indicating a functionally distinct interaction with actin. Expression of Myc-tagged BipC in HeLa cells induces the formation of pseudopodia similar to that seen for IpaC. This study explores the effector function of BipC and reveals that actin interaction is conserved within the BipC/SipC/IpaC family of translocator/effector proteins.

Infant oral mutilation (IOM) is a traditional method of extracting un-erupted teeth practiced in several Sub-Saharan African countries including Uganda. This practice is referred to as "ebinyo" by Bantu-speaking Ethnic groups, though it has several terms depending on cultural group and researcher. The un-erupted tooth is gouged out as a cure for medical symptoms in infants that include high fevers and diarrhea. The spreading of IOM practice in African populations is blamed on poor health literacy with regard to the common childhood illnesses. One study in Uganda revealed that adverse cases following IOM seen in the hospital peaked in tandem with the malaria and diarrheal disease cases. This paper is a review of the practice with a particular focus on Uganda as presented in literature compiled from PubMed, Dentaid, Google Scholar, Local Uganda sources, and the authors' observations. The paper explains reason for the persistence of the practice, and to further inform on IOM to health practitioners who were previously unaware of the practice.

In asthmatic airways, repeated epithelial damage and repair occur. No current therapy directly targets this process. We aimed to determine the effects of mannan derived from S. cerevisiae (SC-MN) on airway epithelial wound repair, in vitro. The presence of functional mannose receptors in bronchial epithelial cells was shown by endocytosis of colloidal gold-Man BSA via clathrin-coated pits in 16HBE cells. In primary normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBEC), SC-MN significantly facilitated wound closure. Treatment with SC-MN stimulated cell spreading as indicated by a significant increase in the average lamellipodial width of wound edge 16HBE cells. In addition, NHBEC treated with SC-MN showed increased expression and activation of Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) 4 and 5, transcription factors important in epithelial cell survival and regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. We conclude that SC-MN facilitates wound repair in human bronchial epithelium, involving mannose receptors.

In this study the authors determined the extent of cellular infiltration and dispersion, and regional vascularization in electrophysiologically (EP) defined zones in post-myocardial infarction (MI) swine ventricle.

Pioglitazone was used to treat patients of PCOS in many researches, but the treatment has not been recognized by public or recommended by all the guidelines.

We developed software tools to download, extract features, and organize the Cell Types Database from the Allen Brain Institute (ABI) in order to integrate its whole cell patch clamp characterization data into the automated modeling/data analysis cycle. To expand the potential user base we employed both Python and MATLAB. The basic set of tools downloads selected raw data and extracts cell, sweep, and spike features, using ABI's feature extraction code. To facilitate data manipulation we added a tool to build a local specialized database of raw data plus extracted features. Finally, to maximize automation, we extended our NeuroManager workflow automation suite to include these tools plus a separate investigation database. The extended suite allows the user to integrate ABI experimental and modeling data into an automated workflow deployed on heterogeneous computer infrastructures, from local servers, to high performance computing environments, to the cloud. Since our approach is focused on workflow procedures our tools can be modified to interact with the increasing number of neuroscience databases being developed to cover all scales and properties of the nervous system.