Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 117181 - 117210 of 256031

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Scilla Bilgineri (Asparagaceae: Scilloideae): A New Species Ofscilla L. From Eastern Turkey, Hasan Yildirim, Yusuf Altioğlu Jan 2017

Scilla Bilgineri (Asparagaceae: Scilloideae): A New Species Ofscilla L. From Eastern Turkey, Hasan Yildirim, Yusuf Altioğlu

Turkish Journal of Botany

Scilla bilgineri Yıldırım (Asparagaceae) is described here as a new species. Diagnostic morphological characters, a full description, and detailed illustrations are provided on the basis of the type specimens and observations of wild populations. The new species is characterized by whitish to very pale lilac tepals, variegated ovary; style 5-6 mm long; oblong, straw to pale yellow and cucullate seed; pale creamy-white elaiosome, which is adherent to the testa; and pinkish to reddish, fleshy bulb scales. It belongs to Scilla bifolia agg. and is related to S. bifolia and S. albinerve within. It is easily distinguished from all other species …

Go to article

Leaf Morpho-Physiological Dynamics In Salvia Officinalis L. Var. Purpurascens, Filipa Martins, Ivo Oliveira, Ana Barros, Carla Amaral, Sílvia Afonso, Helena Ferreira, José Moutinho-Pereira, Berta Gonçalves Jan 2017

Leaf Morpho-Physiological Dynamics In Salvia Officinalis L. Var. Purpurascens, Filipa Martins, Ivo Oliveira, Ana Barros, Carla Amaral, Sílvia Afonso, Helena Ferreira, José Moutinho-Pereira, Berta Gonçalves

Turkish Journal of Botany

Salvia officinalis L. var. purpurascens is one of the most insufficiently studied varieties of the genus Salvia. Hence, the study and characterization of this plant, as well as the monitoring of changes occurring during leaf ontogeny, are of great importance and interest. For this purpose, young and adult leaves of Salvia officinalis L. var. purpurascens collected in two different seasons and in two different years were analyzed, considering morpho-anatomical traits but also leaf gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters. Leaf age was found to have significant effects on several of the analyzed parameters, including the parenchyma, mesophyll, xylem, and …

Go to article

Covariation In Diaspore Mass And Dispersal Patterns In Threemediterranean Coastal Dunes In Southern Spain, Carmen Rodriguez, Teresa Navarro, Ali El Keblawy Jan 2017

Covariation In Diaspore Mass And Dispersal Patterns In Threemediterranean Coastal Dunes In Southern Spain, Carmen Rodriguez, Teresa Navarro, Ali El Keblawy

Turkish Journal of Botany

The coastal dunes of southern Spain are an original Mediterranean ecosystem, insufficiently studied under dispersal. This study explores covariation patterns among diaspore mass, size, morphology, dispersal mode, and spatial dispersal in 78 native coastal dune species. Three coastal dunes under different climates were sampled and differentiated between fixed and mobile dunes. The Pérez-Harguindeguy methodology was applied and ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests were used in order to analyze the covariation. Diaspores were essentially small seeds or achenes (2-4 mm, from 10-5 to 1 g). The study revealed that diaspore mass is a key trait in the differentiation among dunes. …

Go to article

Foliar Applications Of Alpha-Tocopherol Improves The Composition Of Fresh Pods Of Vigna Radiata Subjected To Water Deficiency, Muhammad Sadiq, Nudrat Aisha Akram, Muhammad Ashraf Jan 2017

Foliar Applications Of Alpha-Tocopherol Improves The Composition Of Fresh Pods Of Vigna Radiata Subjected To Water Deficiency, Muhammad Sadiq, Nudrat Aisha Akram, Muhammad Ashraf

Turkish Journal of Botany

Alpha-tocopherol (α-Toc), so-called vitamin E, is a low molecular weight lipophilic antioxidant that generally protects plants from stress-induced cellular oxidation. It is well known that exogenously applied α-Toc is effective in improving plant growth and developmental processes under adverse environmental conditions. The current study was performed to determine the best concentration of α-Toc [0 (no spray), 100, 200, and 300 mg L-1] that could improve the biological yield and chemical constituents of fresh green pods of mung bean (Vigna radiata) and hence their quality under varying water regimes. Foliar spray of α-Toc significantly improved total soluble proteins, chlorophyll a and …

Go to article

Micromorphological Studies On The Genus Lotus L. (Fabaceae: Loteae) From Egypt, Momen Zareh, Ahmed Faried, Nashwa Farghaly Jan 2017

Micromorphological Studies On The Genus Lotus L. (Fabaceae: Loteae) From Egypt, Momen Zareh, Ahmed Faried, Nashwa Farghaly

Turkish Journal of Botany

Trichomes, epidermal cell features, and seed coat sculpturing of 12 Lotus taxa from Egypt were studied using scanning electron microscopy. In addition, statistical analysis for the taxa under investigation was carried out. The results revealed that trichomes have high taxonomic significances between studied taxa. Anticlinal and periclinal cell walls and epidermal cell shape for the stem, leaf, and calyx for each taxon were examined. Seed coat sculpturing exhibited 4 main different surface patterns categories: rugose, reticulate, sulcate, and verrucate. These features can serve as good diagnostic characters at the species level of the genus Lotus.

Go to article

The Complete Plastid Genome And Nuclear Genome Markers Provide Molecularevidence For The Hybrid Origin Of Pulsatilla × Hackelii Pohl., Monika Szczecinska, Grzegorz Lazarski, Katarzyna Bilska, Jakub Sawicki Jan 2017

The Complete Plastid Genome And Nuclear Genome Markers Provide Molecularevidence For The Hybrid Origin Of Pulsatilla × Hackelii Pohl., Monika Szczecinska, Grzegorz Lazarski, Katarzyna Bilska, Jakub Sawicki

Turkish Journal of Botany

This study presents the first molecularly proven data on natural hybridization in the genus Pulsatilla, including the complete plastome sequence. A plant with morphological characteristics intermediate between P. patens and P. pratensis was found near the village of Bocheniec (southern Poland). In this study, several classes of markers based on genotyping (SSR and ISJ) and sequencing (Sanger and NGS) were used to confirm hybridization and its direction, and to determine the prospective parent species. Analysis of ISJ and ISSR genotyping data revealed that all amplified loci were polymorphic. The hybrid species was characterized by only 3 specific bands, and it …

Go to article

A New Species Of Cirsium Sect. Epitrachys (Asteraceae: Cardueae)From The South Of Turkey, Hayri̇ Duman, Osman Tugay, Tuncay Di̇rmenci̇, Kuddi̇si̇ Ertuğrul Jan 2017

A New Species Of Cirsium Sect. Epitrachys (Asteraceae: Cardueae)From The South Of Turkey, Hayri̇ Duman, Osman Tugay, Tuncay Di̇rmenci̇, Kuddi̇si̇ Ertuğrul

Turkish Journal of Botany

A new species, Cirsium bozkirensis H.Duman, Dirmenci & Tugay (Asteraceae), Cirsium sect. Epitrachys DC, is described from Konya Province, South Anatolia, Turkey. Diagnostic and morphological characteristics that distinguish it from allied species C. cephalotes Boiss. and C. pugnax Sommier & Levier. are provided. A description, distribution map, and taxonomic comments on the new species and allied species are given. SEM photograph about setae, stem indumentum, and achene of new and allied species are obtained and characters are discussed.

Go to article

Lectotypifications Of Cerastium Siculum, C. Densiflorum, And C. Aggregatum,And Taxonomic Notes On C. Siculum (Caryophyllaceae), Sebastien Traclet, Mathias Pires, Gianniantonio Domina Jan 2017

Lectotypifications Of Cerastium Siculum, C. Densiflorum, And C. Aggregatum,And Taxonomic Notes On C. Siculum (Caryophyllaceae), Sebastien Traclet, Mathias Pires, Gianniantonio Domina

Turkish Journal of Botany

Nomenclatural notes on Cerastium siculum Guss. (Caryophyllaceae), a species described from Sicily and occurring in the central western region of the Mediterranean basin, are discussed. The names C. aggregatum Durieu ex Brign., C. densiflorum Guss., and C. siculum are lectotypified here. The taxonomic independence of C. siculum from C. semidecandrum L. and the other taxa of Cerastium L. sect. Orthodon Ser. subsect. Fugacia Fenzl is confirmed, as well as the synonymy of C. aggregatum and C. densiflorum.

Go to article

Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation Of Dendrobium Orchid With The Flavanone 3-Hydroxylase Gene, Nuntipa Khumkarjorn, Sudarat Thanonkeo, Mamoru Yamada, Preekamol Klanrit, Pornthap Thanonkeo Jan 2017

Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation Of Dendrobium Orchid With The Flavanone 3-Hydroxylase Gene, Nuntipa Khumkarjorn, Sudarat Thanonkeo, Mamoru Yamada, Preekamol Klanrit, Pornthap Thanonkeo

Turkish Journal of Botany

The Ascocenda flavanone 3-hydroxylase (AcF3H) gene was successfully transformed into Dendrobium 5N white orchid plants using Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation. In this study, for the first time, we report the construction of a plant expression vector harboring the AcF3H gene using the Gateway cloning system. Protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) were cocultivated with the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain AGL1 harboring the plant expression vector pGWB5-AcF3H, which contained the hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) gene as a selectable marker. The highest transformation efficiency (10.13%) was achieved when PLBs were cocultivated with Agrobacterium cells for 15 min. Three months after the transformation, the plantlets were regenerated, and the …

Go to article

Investigation Of The Regulation Mechanism Of Arabidopsis Thaliana Anion Channel Slah2, Fen-Yong Yao, Guo-Ning Qi, Jamshaid Husssain Jan 2017

Investigation Of The Regulation Mechanism Of Arabidopsis Thaliana Anion Channel Slah2, Fen-Yong Yao, Guo-Ning Qi, Jamshaid Husssain

Turkish Journal of Botany

In recent years a slow-type anion channel (SLAC) family composing five members, including slow anion channel associated 1 (SLAC1) and four SLAC1 homologs (SLAHs), has been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana. The anion channels are activated by calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) and play crucial roles in mediating anion fluxes across plasma membranes. SLAH2 is specifically expressed in root stele cells and has been characterized as a nitrate-selective anion channel activated by CPK21 and CBL-interacting protein kinase 23 (CIPK23). However, the interaction between CPKs and SLAH2 and how it is regulated remains to be elucidated. In this study we found that SLAH2 …

Go to article

Molecular Characterization Of Tocopherol Biosynthesisgenes From Olea Europaea (L.) Cv. Ayvalık, Fati̇h Sezer, Kemal Meli̇k Taşkin Jan 2017

Molecular Characterization Of Tocopherol Biosynthesisgenes From Olea Europaea (L.) Cv. Ayvalık, Fati̇h Sezer, Kemal Meli̇k Taşkin

Turkish Journal of Botany

Vitamin E is a group of compounds that includes metabolites known as tocopherols, which have high antioxidant activities. Tocopherols are synthesized in plants, and their beneficial effects on human health have been reported for diseases such as coronary heart disease and cancer. Here we report the full-length transcripts encoding vitamin E biosynthetic enzymes from fruit mesocarp tissues using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method for the first time in olives. We characterized the structure of the genes 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (PDS1), homogentisate phytyltransferase 1 (HPT1), vitamin E defective 3 (VTE3), tocopherol cyclase (VTE1), and gamma tocopherol methyltransferase (GTMT), which …

Go to article

Genetic Diversity And Molecular Characterization Of Natural Pancratium Maritimum L. Populations By Dna Markers, Ceren Eli̇bol, Behi̇ye Banu Bi̇lgen Jan 2017

Genetic Diversity And Molecular Characterization Of Natural Pancratium Maritimum L. Populations By Dna Markers, Ceren Eli̇bol, Behi̇ye Banu Bi̇lgen

Turkish Journal of Botany

Bulbous plants play an important role in Turkey's biodiversity due to their great potential use in various industries. Sea daffodils (Pancratium maritimum), one aspect of Turkey's biological richness, represent an important bulbous plant that generally spreads on sand dunes and can be seen only on the Mediterranean coast and on its certain beaches in our country. In this study, the genetic structure and genetic diversity of four natural P. maritimum populations have been determined by RAPD and nrSSR primers. Eight RAPD and four nrSSR loci were analyzed. All RAPD and nrSSR loci, except SSR-20, were found to be polymorphic. Genetic …

Go to article

Planaria: An Animal Model That Integrates Development, Regeneration And Pharmacology, Oné R. Pagán Jan 2017

Planaria: An Animal Model That Integrates Development, Regeneration And Pharmacology, Oné R. Pagán

Biology Faculty Publications

Although planarians are established model organisms in developmental biology and regeneration studies, in the last forty years or so, they have caught the attention of pharmacologists, especially to study the pharmacology of drugs of abuse. This review covers the following topics: some fundamentals of the history of animal models and planarians in biomedical research; an abbreviated story of systematic pharmacology research using planarians as a model organism; an example of how planarians are contributing to the search for compounds against acute cocaine toxicity; an analysis of the number of papers on planarians and pharmacological topics from 1900- 2016; some perspectives …

Go to article

Quantification Of Brain-Region Specific Alterations In Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Expression During Developmental Hypothyroidism, Cari Lee Graber-Feesl Jan 2017

Quantification Of Brain-Region Specific Alterations In Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Expression During Developmental Hypothyroidism, Cari Lee Graber-Feesl

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Insufficient thyroid hormone (TH) during development results in permanent neurological deficits. These deficits are the result of perturbed TH-mediated brain development. Interestingly, insufficient insulin-like growth factor 1 (Igf-1) during development results in neurological deficits that are similar to those reported for developmental hypothyroidism. This observation suggests that deficits associated with low TH during development may be the result of altered Igf-1 expression in the developing brain. To test this, timed-pregnant mice were treated with thyroid gland inhibitors from gestational day 16 (GD16) until postnatal day 21 (P21) to induce a hypothyroid state. A parallel set of untreated timed-pregnant mice were …

Go to article

Using Low-Coherence Interferometry To Monitor Cell Invasion In An In-Vitro Model System, Behnaz Davoudi Nasab Jan 2017

Using Low-Coherence Interferometry To Monitor Cell Invasion In An In-Vitro Model System, Behnaz Davoudi Nasab

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In an optically random system, such as naturally occurring and man-made media, light undergoes pronounced multiple scattering. This phenomenon has shown a remarkable potential in characterizing complex materials. In this regime, scattering occurs from each individual center of the scattering and independent scattering events lead to multiple light scattering. This phenomenon is often described as a random walk of photons and can be modeled in terms of a diffusion equation based on the radiative transfer theory. In this thesis, we used optical path-length spectroscopy (OPS), which is an experimental method to obtain the path-length probability density of the propagating light …

Go to article

Identifying The Effects Of A Human Dynein Mutation On Gfp-Rab7 Axonal Transport In Embryonic Mouse Neurons, Natalie E. Wilson Jan 2017

Identifying The Effects Of A Human Dynein Mutation On Gfp-Rab7 Axonal Transport In Embryonic Mouse Neurons, Natalie E. Wilson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The first dynein mutation found in humans that caused disease was a cytoplasmic dynein 1 heavy chain (DYNC1H1 in humans) p.His306Arg mutation, first described by Weedon et al. in 2011. This mutation caused Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) subtype 2O. CMT has a prevalence of approximately 1 in 2500 people, making it the most common hereditary neuromuscular disorder. Cytoplasmic dynein 1 is used by eukaryotic cells for minus-end directed microtubule-based transport of cargo. One such cargo is Rab7, a late endosomal marker. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of this mutation on the transport of GFP-tagged Rab7 cargo in …

Go to article

Micro-Spectroscopy Of Bio-Assemblies At The Single Cell Level, Jeslin Kera Jan 2017

Micro-Spectroscopy Of Bio-Assemblies At The Single Cell Level, Jeslin Kera

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this thesis, we investigate biological molecules on a micron scale in the ultraviolet spectral region through the non-destructive confocal absorption microscopy. The setup involves a combination of confocal microscope with a UV light excitation beam to measure the optical absorption spectra with spatial resolution of 1.4 μm in the lateral and 3.6 μm in the axial direction. Confocal absorption microscopy has the benefits of requiring no labels and only low light intensity for excitation while providing a strong signal from the contrast generated by the attenuation of propagating light due to absorption. This enables spatially resolved measurements of single …

Go to article

Advanced Castes At The Outset Of Eusociality In Wasps (Vespidae), Patrick Piekarski Jan 2017

Advanced Castes At The Outset Of Eusociality In Wasps (Vespidae), Patrick Piekarski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A dominating and widespread view is that evolutionary change is gradual and waits upon mutation. Likewise, it is thought that workers and queens of eusocial insects diverged gradually and stepwise. That is, rudimentary castes preceded advanced castes. This paradigm hinges on eusociality having evolved once in Vespidae, and primitively eusocial paper wasps lacking ontogenetic caste biasing (differentiation of castes during larval development). Using a phylogenomic approach this study shows strong evidence for two origins of eusociality in vespid wasps, wherein one origin is likely characterized by the sudden appearance of castes with physiological, and perhaps even morphological, differences established before …

Go to article

Effects Of An Acute High-Volume Isokinetic Intervention On Circulating Levels Of Tnf-Α And Stnfr: Influence Of Age, Eliott Arroyo Delgado Jan 2017

Effects Of An Acute High-Volume Isokinetic Intervention On Circulating Levels Of Tnf-Α And Stnfr: Influence Of Age, Eliott Arroyo Delgado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The immune system has been implicated in recovery and muscle regeneration following exercise. In response to muscle damage, the immune system responds with an increase in circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines with the goal of recruiting leukocytes to the damaged area. Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α), in particular, has been shown to be implicated in both muscle regeneration and muscle wasting. However, it remains unclear whether TNF-α is responsible for the age-related losses in muscle size and function. Also, due to the high clearance rate of TNF-α from circulation, analyzing the circulating levels of soluble TNF-α receptors 1 and 2 (STNFR1 and STNFR2) …

Go to article

Effects Of An Acute High-Volume Isokinetic Intervention On Inflammatory And Strength Changes: Influence Of Age, Joseph Gordon Jan 2017

Effects Of An Acute High-Volume Isokinetic Intervention On Inflammatory And Strength Changes: Influence Of Age, Joseph Gordon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a high volume isokinetic intervention on lower body strength and inflammation, as well as markers of muscle damage in the subsequent 48 hours between younger and middle-aged men. METHODS: 19 healthy, recreationally trained men were randomly assigned to two groups, younger adults (YA: 21.8 ± 2.0 y; 90.7 ± 11.6 kg; 21.5 ± 4.1 % body fat), or middle-aged adults (MA: 47.0 ± 4.4 y; 96.0 ± 21.5; 24.8 ± 6.3 % body fat). Both groups reported to the human performance laboratory (HPL) on four separate occasions. On …

Go to article

Go With The Flow: Patterns Of Connectivity In Low Dispersal Coral Reef Gobies (Coryphopterus Spp.) Throughout The Western Atlantic, Daniel Volk Jan 2017

Go With The Flow: Patterns Of Connectivity In Low Dispersal Coral Reef Gobies (Coryphopterus Spp.) Throughout The Western Atlantic, Daniel Volk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gene flow is an integral biological process that can mediate speciation. While many consider the ocean to be an open environment, there are many barriers that limit gene flow, particularly in the western Atlantic. I analyzed data from two widespread, coral reef fishes, the bridled goby (Coryphopterus glaucofraenum) and sand-canyon goby (C. venezuelae), throughout their range in the western Atlantic. Using two genetic datasets, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and genomic SNPs, I investigated the evolutionary history of these species and inferred the location and strength of putative barriers. My results suggest that several unique lineages have genetically diverged from one another …

Go to article

The Paths Less Traveled: Movement Of Gopher Tortoises Along Roads And Railways, Rhett Rautsaw Jan 2017

The Paths Less Traveled: Movement Of Gopher Tortoises Along Roads And Railways, Rhett Rautsaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and an expanding human population have led to a large degree of habitat destruction and fragmentation. These, in turn, reduce biodiversity and wildlife population sizes on a global scale. Transportation infrastructure, such as roads and railways, are some of the largest contributors to habitat fragmentation. Roads are well-established to negatively impact wildlife, but some studies suggest a potential use in habitat connectivity by functioning as wildlife corridors to connect distant populations. Railways are similarly known to impact wildlife by increasing mortality rates as well as provide unique risks such as electrocution and entrapment when compared to roads. However, the …

Go to article

The Effects Of Sprint Interval Training And Maturity Status On Metabolic And Neuromuscular Fatigue Thresholds In Adolescents, Kyle Beyer Jan 2017

The Effects Of Sprint Interval Training And Maturity Status On Metabolic And Neuromuscular Fatigue Thresholds In Adolescents, Kyle Beyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To examine the maturity-related differences in the adaptations to systemic and localized fatigue thresholds (FTs) in response to sprint interval training (SIT) amongst adolescent male athletes. Methods: Twenty-seven adolescent male athletes, 11-17 years of age, completed pre-testing, six weeks of SIT, and post-testing. Participants were grouped according to their number of years from peak height velocity (PHV), an estimation of somatic maturity status, into PRE ( < -1.5yr), PERI (between -1.5 to +1.5yr) and POST ( > +1.5yr) PHV groups. Each testing session consisted of a ramp exercise protocol on a cycle ergometer. During the protocol, three systemic FTs, gas exchange threshold, ventilatory threshold, and respiratory compensation point were calculated …

Go to article

Chaperonin Containing Tcp1 (Cct) As A Target For Cancer Therapy, Ana Carr Jan 2017

Chaperonin Containing Tcp1 (Cct) As A Target For Cancer Therapy, Ana Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Treatments for aggressive cancers like triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have not improved and remain associated with debilitating side effects. There is an unmet medical need for better, druggable targets and improved therapeutics. To this end, we investigated the role of Chaperonin-Containing TCP1 (CCT), an evolutionarily conserved protein-folding complex composed of eight subunits (CCT1-8), in oncogenesis. Our laboratory was the first to report that the CCT2 subunit is highly expressed in breast cancer and could be therapeutically targeted. To determine whether CCT is a marker of disease progression in other cancers, we analyzed CCT2 gene …

Go to article

Novel Cytokine Signaling And Molecular Therapeutic Strategy In Pancreatic Cancer, Sarah Gitto Jan 2017

Novel Cytokine Signaling And Molecular Therapeutic Strategy In Pancreatic Cancer, Sarah Gitto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly chemo-resistant and has a five year survival rate of < 8%. Risk factors of pancreatic cancer, such as chronic pancreatitis, help to elicit a pro-tumor immune response, and highly fibrotic environment that promotes tumorigenesis. To study how chronic pancreatitis promotes cancer initiation, traditional KRasG12D mice and double mutant Akt1Myr/KrasG12D mice were used to model microenvironment changes. Akt1Myr/KrasG12D mice were more susceptible to chronic tissue damage, accelerated tumor development and metastatic disease. These mice exhibited histological changes consistent with immune cell privilege, where M2 macrophages and non-cytotoxic eosinophils were co-localized with fibrotic regions. IL-5 expression was up regulated in pancreatic cells undergoing acinar to ductal metaplasia and then diminished in advanced lesions. Tumor cells treated with IL-5 exhibit increased migration and activation through STAT5 signaling. Collectively, the results suggest that eosinophils, which are responsive to IL-5, are key mediators in the pancreatic environment subjected to chronic inflammation and injury. Current therapeutics fall short in increasing patient survival. There remains an urgent need for innovative treatments and thus we tested difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) in combination with a novel polyamine transport inhibitor, Trimer44NMe, against Gemcitabine-resistant PDAC cells. Prior clinical failures when targeting polyamine biosynthesis with DFMO monotherapy may be due to tumor escape via an undefined polyamine transport system. In pancreatic tumor cells DFMO alone and with Trimer44NMe significantly reduced PDAC cell viability by inducing apoptosis or cell cycle arrest. In vivo orthotopic PDAC growth with DFMO treatment resulted in decreased c-Myc expression, a readout of polyamine pathway dysfunction. Moreover, dual inhibition significantly prolonged survival of tumor-bearing mice, and increased M1 macrophage infiltration and reduced FoxP3 expression. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that targeting polyamine pathways in PDAC is a promising immunomodulating therapy that increases survival.

Go to article

Targeting Inflammation And Downstream Protein Metabolism In Sarcopenia: A Brief Up-Dated Description Of Concurrent Exercise And Leucine-Based Multimodal Intervention, Zhi Xia, Jason Cholewa, Yan Zhao, Hua Yu Shang, Yue Qin Yang, Kassiana Araújo Pessôa, Quan Sheng Su, Fernanda Lima-Soares, Nelo Eidy Zanchi Jan 2017

Targeting Inflammation And Downstream Protein Metabolism In Sarcopenia: A Brief Up-Dated Description Of Concurrent Exercise And Leucine-Based Multimodal Intervention, Zhi Xia, Jason Cholewa, Yan Zhao, Hua Yu Shang, Yue Qin Yang, Kassiana Araújo Pessôa, Quan Sheng Su, Fernanda Lima-Soares, Nelo Eidy Zanchi

Kinesiology

Sarcopenia is defined as the progressive loss of muscle mass with age, and poses a serious threat to the physiological and psychological health of the elderly population with consequential economic and social burdens. Chronic low-grade inflammation plays a central role in the development of sarcopenia such that it alters cellular protein metabolism to favor proteolysis over synthesis, and thereby accelerates muscular atrophy. The purpose of this review is to highlight how exercise and nutrition intervention strategies can attenuate or treat sarcopenia. Resistance exercise increases not only muscle mass but also muscle strength, while aerobic exercise is able to ameliorate the …

Go to article

The E. Coli Protein Ybgl: A Novel Dna Repair Enzyme?, Mason H. Conen, Brooke D. Martin, Kent Sugden, Savannah Whitfield Jan 2017

The E. Coli Protein Ybgl: A Novel Dna Repair Enzyme?, Mason H. Conen, Brooke D. Martin, Kent Sugden, Savannah Whitfield

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Cr(V) is a carcinogen that oxidizes guanine aggressively to form spiroiminodihydantion (Sp) and guanidinohydantoin (Gh), both of which contain an unusual hydantoin moiety that cause G→T transversion mutations at a high rate. Endonuclease VIII (nei) can recognize and excise these oxidation products from DNA and is translated as one of five protein products of the Nei operon in Escherichia coli (E. coli). However, the functions of the other four proteins remain unknown. To address this gap in knowledge, we focused on one of the four that immediately precedes nei, the ybgL protein. Previous work by our group has suggested a …

Go to article

Examining Drivers Of Phenotypic Variation In The Perennial Herb Showy Milkweed (Asclepias Speciosa)., Kira I. Sussman Jan 2017

Examining Drivers Of Phenotypic Variation In The Perennial Herb Showy Milkweed (Asclepias Speciosa)., Kira I. Sussman

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Many plant species show variation in phenotypic traits, such as traits related to growth and defense against herbivores, across environmental gradients. Differences in phenotypic traits can be due to selection, leading to local adaptation, or due to the random process of genetic drift. To examine the driver of phenotypic variation, I conducted a Qst (a measure of phenotypic variation among populations) vs. Fst (a measure of genetic variation among populations) analysis for 13 populations of A. speciosa grown in a common garden, using five growth and defense traits and seven microsatellite markers. I found relatively low differentiation at the neutral …

Go to article

Characterization Of The Promoter Region Of The Glycerol-3-Phosphate-O-Acyltransferase Gene In Lilium Pensylvanicum, Lijing Chen, Li Zhang, Weikang Qi, Muhammad Irfan, Jing-Wei Lin, Hui Ma, Zhi-Fu Guo, Ming Zhong, Tian-Lai Li Jan 2017

Characterization Of The Promoter Region Of The Glycerol-3-Phosphate-O-Acyltransferase Gene In Lilium Pensylvanicum, Lijing Chen, Li Zhang, Weikang Qi, Muhammad Irfan, Jing-Wei Lin, Hui Ma, Zhi-Fu Guo, Ming Zhong, Tian-Lai Li

Turkish Journal of Biology

Cold environmental conditions influence the growth and development of plants, causing crop reduction or even plant death. Under stress conditions, cold-inducible promoters regulate cold-related gene expression as a molecular switch. Recent studies have shown that the chloroplast-expressed GPAT gene plays an important role in determining cold sensitivity. However, the mechanism of the transcriptional regulation of GPAT is ambiguous. The 5'-flanking region of GPAT with length of 1494 bp was successfully obtained by chromosome walking from Lilium pensylvanicum. The cis-elements of GPAT promoters were predicted and analyzed by a plant cis-acting regulatory DNA element database. There exist core promoter regions including …

Go to article

Cell-Compatible Phb/Silk Fibroin Composite Nanofibermat For Tissue Engineering Applications, Zeynep Karahali̇loğlu Jan 2017

Cell-Compatible Phb/Silk Fibroin Composite Nanofibermat For Tissue Engineering Applications, Zeynep Karahali̇loğlu

Turkish Journal of Biology

Cell compatibility is one of the prominent requirements for the fabrication of tissue engineering materials. Silk fibroin (SF) is an excellent material for biomedical applications and shows desirable properties such as good compatibility, minimal tissue reaction, and tailorable degradability. Poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) has a high percentage of crystallinity and a high melting temperature. In this study, PHB and SF were blended together to improve the mechanical properties of the SF fibrous structure and the crystallinity of PHB. Furthermore, the cell-biomaterial interaction on the PHB/SF composite scaffold was expected to be enhanced via the SF. For this purpose, PHB/SF composite scaffolds were …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last