Transcriptional Profiling of Stress Response or Slow Growth?

Transcriptomic profiling analyses are frequently used for the study of cells in response to environmental stress factors that often impede cell optimal growth. Given that transcriptional profiles of optimally growing cells differ significantly from those of sub-optimally growing cells, stress-induceddifferentially-transcribed genes are thus inevitably mixed with slow growthgenes.

Stress Response

It is therefore necessary to separate the stress-specific response genes from slow growth genes. Methodologies used to deconvolute stress-specific response from non-specific response such as slow growth are discussed in this editorial. Transcription regulation is one of the major ways to control gene activity in cells. Hence, transcription levels of genes are thought to be linked largely to the levels of gene activity. Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) was the technology that for the first time allows the study of a transcriptome or a majority of transcripts in eukaryotic cells. Instead of sequencing the entire Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) derived from cDNA libraries, the SAGE method takes only a ~15 bps tag from end of each cDNA fragment and ligates to chain multiple short cDNA tags for PCR amplification and sequencing analysis. Read more>>>>>>>

Production Performance, Slaughtering and Meat Quality of Different Breed Pigs

Pork is an important part of the human diet. With the improvement of living standard and strengthening awareness of diet and health, people pay more and more attention to the sensory quality and healthcareful function of animal production.

Therefore, at the same time of guaranteeing health security and high lean pork production, how to improve the sensory quality of pork and produce high quality pork has become the urgent task of modern pig production. The genotype, nutrition, stress before slaughter, and the carcass fast cooling, which can affect the meat quality. The quality of the pork has already become an important subject of collaborative research and concern in the field of the world pig science, meat science, animal genetics and breeding, feed industry and so on. The research results showed that there were many influencing factors in meat quality, but the main influence factors of meat quality are the improving varieties (genetic control) and nutritional regulation, and breed is the decisive factor. To know more>>>>>

Synthesis and SAR Studies of Potent Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Imidazole Derived Schiff Base Analogues

Medicinal chemistry is an interdependently established science that encompasses the innovation, progress, recognition and revelation of the mode of action of biologically dynamic compounds at the molecular level.

 Imidazole Derived Schiff Base Analogues

Heterocycles form by far the most of classical divisions of organic chemistry and are of vast use in biologically and industrially. Heterocyclic nucleus imparts an essential function in medicinal chemistry and serves as a key template for the improvement of various therapeutic agents. Imidazole’s have in use a sole arrangement in heterocyclic chemistry, and its derivatives have attracted significant interests in recent years for their multipurpose properties in chemistry and pharmacology. It improves pharmacokinetic characteristics of pilot analogues and thus is used as a remedy to optimize solubility and bioavailability parameters of projected unsuccessfully soluble lead molecules. The imidazole derivatives possess extensive spectrum of biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-tubercular and anti-HIV activities etc. Read more>>>>>>>

A Novel Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for the Selective Removal of Interfering Hemoglobin Prior to Whole Blood Analysis.

Bioanalytical assays are often affected by the presence of either exogenous or endogenous interfering matrix components, in samples assayed for the targeted analytes such as the disease associated biomarkers, in molecular diagnosis. Whole blood,as one of the most preferred samples, is known for its complex matrix andsometimes characterized to be ‘dirty’ due to presence of the interfering hemoglobin found in higher levels than the targeted analytes that often exist at trace levels. In this case, hemoglobin as the interferent poses a challenge when whole blood is directly introduced in to sensitive analytical instruments such as gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/ MS) as sensitive and specific detection systems of choice. 

On the other hand, hemoglobin usually masks the targeted analytes from being easily detected, thus, clog the instrument’s components more especially the columns, which end up being plugged and inactivated during chromatographic separation, leading to interference, imprecise and inaccurate results after a few runs. Furthermore, when not removed, hemoglobin generally leads to matrix effects caused by its co-elution with the biomarkers, which are the targeted analytes. Consequently, prior to employing sensitive instruments with low detection and quantification limits, whole blood as a sample must undergo extensive sample preparation to eliminate the matrix interferents as well as to achieve even more accurate and precise results.(Read More)

In-Silico Identification of Novel Resistant Genes for Fungal Pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Race 4: Causative Agent of Banana Vascular Wilt Disease .

Fusarium wilt of banana (Panama infection), brought about by the soil borne Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), is a common disease in the banana (Musa spp.) generation inclusively. Foc can affect the several types of Musa and Heliconia, their strains have been arranged into four physiological races. Race1 is pathogenic to ‘Gros Michel’(aaa) and “Silk” (AAB); Race 2 justinfluences the crossbreed triploid Bluggoe (ABB), and the race 4 attacks Cavendish cultivars, and all the cultivars susceptible to races 1 and 2, viewed as the most vital on the fact that it influences the cultivars which deliver more than 80% of the world’s bananas. The race 4 segregates are subdivided into subtropical race 4 (St4) and tropical race 4 (Tr4). The St4 segregate causes disease in Cavendish bananas in the subtropics, and Tr4 isolates are pathogenic both under tropical and subtropical conditions. 

In South China, Fusarium wilt of Xiang Jiao (AAA, Cavendish bananas) was initially reported in Guangdong Province in 2001, which brought about by Tr4. Till date, there are fewer fungicides accessible to control Fusarium wilt of banana. Chemical control is troublesome in light of the fact, that the chlamydospores can make holes in the soil. The best alternative is planting resistant cultivars, for example, Fusarium wilt-resistant bananas chose by means of genetic variations from tissue, and transgenic bananas. Notwithstanding, Fusarium wilt of banana is still a significant danger to banana production around the world. Quarantine policies and Foc free tissue culture planting materials are the vital methodologies to counteract the spread of infection.(Read more)

Does Salt Obesity Exist?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) obesity is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation, caused by factors such as genetic inheritance; thebehavior of the nervous, endocrine system. Altogether, there are two main causes: Higher intake of calories than the body uses and/or less physical activity than the body needs. It has been established that men with more than 25% body fat and women with more than 35% body fat are obese. According to the aforementioned criterion it has been reported that around the world there are 300 million obese people.

Fat tissue produces bioactive proteins known as adipocytokines as epidermal growth factor that binds heparin (HB-EGF), leptin, Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-a), the inhibitor of Plasminogen Activator-1 (PAI-1), resistin and adiponectin. The expression of these adipocytokines (except adiponectin) increases with the accumulation of visceral fat and contribute to the development of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, cerebrovascular events, kidney failure and some forms of cáncer.(Read more)

Proteomics Analysis for Therapeutic Options of Neurodegeneration: A Review

The characterization and identification of putative disease modifying pathways in neurodegenerative disorders has enormous potential for discovery of new therapeutic agents that target these pathways. There is an increasing evidence that a number ofpotentially informative Neurodegenerative Disease (NDD) biomarkers can improve the accuracy of diagnosing NDD, especially when they are used as a panel of diagnostic assays and interpreted in the context of neuroimaging and clinical data. The greatest contributing risk factor for NDDs is age. With an aging population, the inevitable result is a steep rise in the incidence of NDDs. The first publication that reported about Alzheimer disease (AD) was in 1907, which described a woman in her middle age that had lost her memory with a progressive loss of cognitive functions.

James Parkinson in 1817 was the first one who described medically a neurological syndrome and it was known as Parkinson's disease. In 1912, the lewy body that characterized the Parkinson’s disease was reported by Forman et al. Protein aggregation and inclusion body formation that was mostly associated with many forms of neurodegenerative diseases were detected using different techniques in the last century. These suggested that changes in physicochemical properties of the proteins in human brain were responsible for and lead to neurodegenerative diseases.(Read More)

Role of Autacoids in the Development of Vulnerability and Resilience in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

There are three monoamines in the family, including dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5HT). First two monoamines are catecholamines and serotonin is an indolamine. Role of DA inPTSD is not very clear even though there is evidence that exposure to stressinduces mesolimbic dopamine release that may play a major role in the modulation of HPA axis and often may result some of the psychosis and paranoid behavior associated with some PTSD patients. NE is one of the principal mediators.

Catecholamine neurons centrally seem to play a very important role in enhancing the levels of vigilance, alertness, selective attention, fear conditioning and cardiovascular stimuli as described elsewhere. This evidence of catecholamine dysregulation increases the vulnerability to PTSD through the mechanisms of increased heart rate and blood pressure when an individual is exposed to visual or auditory trauma. Preventing pre-synaptic NE release with alpha 2 adrenergic agonists (clonidine) or opioids, or blocking post-synaptic norepinephrine with beta adrenergic blockers (propranolol) may diminish the fear conditioning.(Read more)

Effect of Socio-Economic Status on Nutritional Status on Adolescent Girls of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India.

Teenager, or teen, is a young person whose age falls within the range from 13–19. They are called teenagers because their age number ends with "teen". Usage by ordinary people varies, and also varies in different societies. Most societies traditionallyhad a formal ceremony to mark the change from childhood to adulthood. During puberty, rapid mental and physical development occurs. Adolescence is the name for this transition period from childhood to adulthood.

In the United States, teenagers from the ages 12-14 go to middle school while teenagers from the ages of 14-18 typically go to high school. In the United Kingdom (UK); teenagers and non-teens are mixed in secondary school. Teenagers attending secondary school (high school in the US) generally graduate at the age of 17 or 18. 

On average, girls begin puberty at ages 10-11; boys at ages 11-12. Girls usually complete puberty by ages 15-17, while boys usually complete puberty by ages 16-17. The major landmark of puberty for females is menarche, the onset of menstruation, which occurs on average between ages 12-13; for males, it is the first ejaculation, which occurs on average at age 13. In the 21^st century, the average age at which children, especially girls, reach puberty is lower compared to the 19^th century, when it was 15 for girls and 16 for boys. This can be due to improved nutrition resulting in rapid body growth, increased weight and fat deposition, eating meat from animals which have been dosed up with oestrogen. Adolescence can be defined biologically, as the physical transition marked by the onset of puberty and the termination of physical growth; cognitively, as changes in the ability to think abstractly and multi-dimensionally; or socially, as a period of preparation for adult roles.(Read more) 

Flow Lectin Affinity Chromatography-A Model with Sambucus nigra Agglutinin.

Never like today have proteomic and glycoproteomic procedures been used as valuable tools to obtain information and characterize general or specific proteomes such in disease states and todiscover disease biomarkers that can help in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitoring of several diseases, for instance in cancer.

Plasma and serum are the most informative samples for proteomic studies but they are also the most difficult versions of the human proteome, due to the high heterogeneity they present. The complexity of these samples is potentiated by plasma or serum proteolysis, the presence of protein and glycoprotein isoforms and post-translational modifications of proteins. Additionally, the dynamic range of protein abundance in these samples is very wide (in plasma the dynamic range comprises up to ten orders of magnitude) and cannot be covered by a single analytical technique without fractionation, depletion or concentration. Furthermore, disease biomarkers occur in very low concentrations, at least in early stages, and the analytical techniques must present adequate sensitivity to detect lowabundant proteins or glycoproteins.(Read More)

A Simple Kinetic Model to Estimate Ascorbyl Radical Steady State Concentration in Rat Central Nervous System. Effect of Subchronic Fe Overload .

There is an increasing interest in the use of ascorbyl radical content (A^•) in biological tissues as an informative, non-invasive and natural indicator of oxidative stress in the hydrophilic medium. It was also showed that A• steadystate concentration in tissues may be considered as an objective but not a universal indicator characterizing oxidative stress intensity, since ascorbate (AH¯) oxidation rate depends on AH¯ concentration, pH and non-disproportionation mechanisms of A^• decay. A basic kinetic approach was applied to calculate A^• steady state concentration in the rat brain under physiological conditions.

Ascorbic acid is an especially significant component, due to the fact that its low redox potential, allows it to donate one single electron to almost any free radical occurring in a biological system or to reduce oxidized biological radical scavengers, such as α-tocopherol. The A^• is the intermediate in the oxidation of AH¯ to dehydroascorbate (DHA). It has an unpaired electron in a highly delocalized π-system, giving stability to it as the terminal small-molecule antioxidant. The concentration of A^• is a dynamic value, which is determined by the rates of generation and decay of this species.(Read more)

The Toxicological Effect on the Liver Function caused by Fecal Coliform Bacteria.

Fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) are the most common microbiological contaminants of natural waters. Fecal coliform live in the digestive tracks of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and are excreted in the feces. Although most ofthese bacteria are not harmful and are part of the normal digestive system,some are pathogenic to humans. Those that are pathogenic can cause disease such as gastroenteritis, ear infections, typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis A, and cholera. The biological analysis of mice blood samples is used to investigate the significant variations in the levels of some important compounds in the blood which act as a laboratory indication to the presence of defects in the physiological activities of the liver which normally accompany administration of pathogenic substances to the animal. 

The liver normal function is to metabolize, synthesize and/or degrade both absorbed and circulating products, and this function places it in potentially direct contact with gut-driven bacteria. Scientists in their toxicity tests normally depend on the biochemical analysis of blood characters for observation of any significant variations in concentration of some important compounds which work as clinical indicators of disturbances that take place in the physiological functions of the liver. Studies by Lichtman et al. Suggested that intestinal bacterial overgrowth or infection with helicobacter alone contributed to hepatic pathological change including increased serum Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) release and inflammatory cell recruitment.(Read more)

Quality and Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Tomato Products in the Brazilian Market.

Fungi are a major cause of reduction in agricultural yields and may contaminate food before, during and after harvest. Damage due to mycotoxins-producing fungi (secondary metabolites)goes beyond damage to fruit and may seriously compromise the quality of processed products, posing risks to food safety. In tomato fruits, Alternaria sp. is the main pathogen attacking fresh tomatoes.

Infection of tomatoes by Alternaria alternata is linked to injuries or to plant tissue fragility. In addition, other factors such as damages and the presence of free water due to rain, dew and excessive irrigation may induce the germination of spores on fruit surface. This fungus can penetrate fruit skin through injuries caused by mishandling, insect attacks and by calix scars. Measures to control production and growth of mycotoxins produced by A. alternata after harvest include maintaining products at temperatures below 7°C and storage periods shorter than ten days. Although the consumption of fresh tomatoes contaminated by A. Alternaria is unlikely, their use in processing is a reality.(Read more)

Selective Permeation of CO2 through Amine Bearing Facilitated Transport Membranes

The increase in the concentration of various hazardous gases in the atmosphere results in numerous environmental problems like global warming, greenhouse effect etc. A large number of research studies have been carried out on the process of capturing and storage of CO₂ fromgaseous mixture. Membranes and membrane processes are not a recent invention. The preparation of synthetic membrane and their utilization on a large industrial scale however are a more recent development which has rapidly gained a substantial importance due to the large number of practical application. Now a days; membranes are used to produce potable water from sea to clean industrial effluent and recover valuable constituent, purify or fractionate macromolecular mixture in food and drug industries and to separate gas and vapours.

They are also key component in energy conversion system and in artificial organs and drug delivery devices. Membrane technology is one of the most interestingtechnologies for its applications in various fields including Biologicalapplications. Lin et al.in his research study reported the substrate selectivity of Lysophospholipid Transporter (LplT ) involved in Membrane Phospholipids remodelling in Escherichia coli. Tong et al. Carried out their research study on the structural insight into substrate selection and catalysis of Lipid Phosphate Phosphates in the cell membrane

Racing for the True Metabolomics Signature of Coronary Artery Disease,

Since the introduction of metabolomics in late 1990s, researchers have been looking for the holy grail of cardiovascular diseases using this approach. However, despite several reports showing metabolomics markers successfully identifying coronaryartery disease (CAD), there is still lack of consensus on the true metabolomics signature of CAD.

Previous research has identified several metabolites related to gut microbiome, fatty acid metabolism, inflammation, steroid metabolism, sphingolipids, and phospholipids as biomarkers of CAD. Many of these biomarkers were either not validated or could not be replicated in other cohorts. Most of these studies were also done on collected samples obtained several years ago in dissimilar cohorts. There is therefore an inherent bias in using them either as a derivative or validation cohort. Limited participants or samples in each cohort also sometimes prohibit dividing a cohort into derivative and validation sub cohorts for identifying the true metabolomics signature of CAD. Furthermore, it also remains unclear whether the identified metabolite associated with CAD is causal or just a bystander.(Read more)

Production Performance, Slaughtering and Meat Quality of Different Breed Pigs

Pork is an important part of the human diet. With the improvement of living standard and strengthening awareness of diet and health, people pay more and more attention to the sensory quality and health careful function of animal production. Therefore, at the same time of guaranteeing health security and high lean pork production, how to improve the sensory quality of pork and produce high quality pork has become the urgent task of modern pig production. 

The genotype, nutrition, stress before slaughter, and the carcass fast cooling, which can affect the meat quality [1]. The quality of the pork has already become an important subject of collaborative research and concern in the field of the world pig science, meat science, animal genetics and breeding, feed industry and so on. The research results showed that there were many influencing factors in meat quality, but the main influence factors of meat quality are the improving varieties (genetic control) and nutritional regulation, and breed is the decisive factor.(Read more)

In Vitro Enhancement of Bacoside in Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) Using Colchicine

Bacopa monnieri, a small herb, commonly called as Brahmi belongs to the family Scrophulariaceae. It grows in the humid climate, mainly distributed in damp and marshy tracts in the subtropical region of the Indian subcontinent. It requires a well-drained, moist, sandy loam soil, rich in organic matter and grows well at a temperature from 30°C to 40°C. Brahmi is an important Ayurvedic medicinal herb used for the improvement of intelligence, memory and revitalization of sensory organs.

The major chemical entity shown to be responsible for neuropharmacological effects and the nootropic action of B. monnieri is triterpenoid saponin. The medicinal properties of Bacopa monnieri responsible for improving memory related function have been attributed to the presence of different types of saponins such as Bacosides (A, B, C and D) called the “memory chemicals” i.e., important secondary metabolite. (Read more)

Time-Resolved Fluoro-immunoassays (TRFIA): A Novel Method For Fast And Efficient Screening Of Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer is a heterogeneous disease and occupies highest incidence in developed country. There are over 70,000 new cases of bladder cancer each year in the United States alone. The incidence of bladder cancer rises with age, peakingbetween age 50 years and 70 years, and is three times more common in men than in women . The high rate of recurrence is the feature of bladder cancer that makes effective detection means is crucial importance for bladder cancer patients.

The conventional method for bladder cancer detection is morphological examination of cytology samples or cystoscopic biopsies. Urine cytology is poorly differentiated tumors and time-consuming practice for both the patient and physician. The diagnosis and monitoring of bladder cancer are facilitated by the availability of newer, simpler urine based diagnostic tests.

E-Pharmacophore Model Assisted Discovery of Novel Antagonists of nNOS

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia characterized clinically with progressive cognitive decline and neuronal loss. Pathologically, AD affected brain shows accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles formed by the hyper phosphorylation of tau protein. Recent studies indicate that mitochondrial dysfunction, a pathological featurethat can be detected early in AD. Nitric oxide synthases (NOS) are a family of enzymes catalyzing the production of nitric oxide (NO), which functions as neuronal signalingmolecule. Altered expression of nNOS by the Aβ stimulus results in the formation of peroxy nitrite and reactive oxygen species. These peroxy-nitrite, nitrosylates the cytoplasmic protein tau and phosphorylates GSK-3β.

Nitrosylation of tau protein results in structural and conformational change of tau protein ensuring the destabilization of microtubule. This leads to dissociation of tau protein from microtubule and oligomerization of tau occurs to form neuro-fibrillary tangles (NFT’s). These tangles forms a physical road blocks within the neuronal cells and interrupts the neurotransmitter signaling.

Zipf’s Law in Proteomics

After completion of the human genome sequencing and determination of its size, there is a great demand for similar information about the human proteome as proteins mediate almost all processes in a cell. To better understand the functionality of proteins, we need the information about their activity that is directly linked to their abundance. However, the situation is not simple here because of the complexity of proteins themselves. This complexity may arise from allelicvariations, alternative splicing of RNA transcripts, and post-translational modifications. All these cellular events create distinct protein molecules, proteoforms/protein species, that modulate a wide variety of biological processes. 

Apparently, by using standard technologies, it has been impossible so far to identify and calculate all protein species/ proteoforms present in a single human cell or in human plasma. The main problem is a huge dynamic range of concentrations, where the number of copies of different protein species in an object lies in the range from one to a billion molecules. One ofquantitative proteomic approaches, a proteomic technique that is mainlyperformed using 2DE or liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is expected to offer an alternative solution this problem. Recently, using a shotgun approach, a large amount of information about protein abundance was produced. This information is still not enough as we still need to know how many specific molecules (protein species/ proteoforms) are present in a cell.

The Significance of Salivary Cytokines in Oral Leukoplakia

Early detection of oral premalignant lesions which might evolve into oral cancer by screening methods using suitable markers is critical. Saliva as a diagnostic fluid seems to be promising and has a number of advantages when compared to the blood-based testing. Histopathological diagnosis is still gold standard when diagnosing oral premalignant lesions, however, studies upon the role of salivary cytokines show promising results although more studies are needed on a larger sample. Cytokines have an important role in oral diseases and increased levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) have been reported in patients with cancer and premalignant lesions such as oral lichen planus and oral submucous fibrosis. 

Brailo et al. reported significantly increased levels of salivary IL-6 and TNF-alpha in patients with oral leukoplakia when compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, the levels of salivary IL-6 and TNF-alpha did not correlate with the size of leukoplakic lesions nor with its localization. Recently, Brailo et al.reported that salivary IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly higher in oral cancer patients than in patients with leukoplakia and control group.

The Role of GroE Chaperonins in Developing Biocatalysts for Biofuel and Chemical Production

Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology have been applied for the discovery and redesign of the potentials of microorganisms for numerous desired purposes. Both model hosting strains and microorganisms with highly-specific functionshave been engineered to improve feedstock utilization, target fuel and chemical production, as well as regulate cellular physiology. For instance, the baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which was first used by the human society thousands of years ago, has been genetically engineered to ferment otherwise non-fermentable carbon sources. Indeed, C5 sugars such as xylose cannot natively be catabolized by S. cerevisiae. 

However, the engineered S. cerevisiae strains are able to metabolize xylose efficiently and to produce ethanol. Theengineered microbes could simultatneously co-ferment carbon in the hydrolysateof lignocellulosic biomass such as hemicellulose- and cellulose-derived C5/C6 sugars and lignin-derived aromatics and produce fuels and value-added chemicals such as ethanol, n-butanol, sesquiterpenes, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), and fatty acid ethyl esters. These advances are not limited to model hosts, such as S. cerevisiae and Escherichia coli, but have also been demonstrated in Clostridium acetobutylicum, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas putida, and Synechococcus elongatus.