Search

Abstract Background Restenosis frequently occurs after percutaneous angioplasty in patients with vascular occlusion and seriously threatens their health. Substantial evidence has revealed that preventing vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation using a drug‐eluting stent is an effective approach to improve restenosis. Cucurbitacins have been demonstrated to exert an anti‐proliferation effect in various tumors and a hypotensive effect. This study aims to investigate the role of cucurbitacins extracted from Cucumis melo L. (CuECs) and cucurbitacin B (CuB) on restenosis. Methods C57BL/6 mice were subjected to left carotid artery ligation and subcutaneously injected with CuECs or CuB for 4 weeks. Hematoxylin–Eosin, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry staining were used to evaluate the effect of CuECs and CuB on neointimal hyperplasia. Western blot, real‐time PCR, flow cytometry analysis, EdU staining and cellular immunofluorescence assay were employed to measure the effects of CuECs and CuB on cell proliferation and the cell cycle in vitro. The potential interactions of CuECs with cyclin A2 were performed by molecular docking. Results The results demonstrated that both CuECs and CuB exhibited significant inhibitory effects on neointimal hyperplasia and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, CuECs and CuB mediated cell cycle arrest at the S phase. Autodocking analysis demonstrated that CuB, CuD, CuE and CuI had high binding energy for cyclin A2. Our study also showed that CuECs and CuB dramatically inhibited FBS‐induced cyclin A2 expression. Moreover, the expression of cyclin A2 in CuEC‐ and CuB‐treated neointima was downregulated. Conclusions CuECs, especially CuB, exert an anti‐proliferation effect in VSMCs and may be potential drugs to prevent restenosis.

Ordinal responses often arise from surveys which require respondents to rate items on a Likert scale. Since most surveys contain more than one question, the data collected are multivariate in nature, and the associations between different survey items are usually of considerable interest. In this paper, we focus on a mixture distribution, called the combination of uniform and binomial (CUB), under which each response is assumed to originate from either the respondent's uncertainty or the actual feeling towards the survey item. We extend the CUB model to the bivariate case for modelling two correlated ordinal data without using copula-based approaches. The proposed model allows the associations between the unobserved uncertainty and feeling components of the variables to be estimated, a distinctive feature compared to previous attempts. This article describes the underlying logic and deals with both theoretical and practical aspects of the proposed model. In particular, we will show that the model is identifiable under a wide range of conditions. Practical inferential aspects such as parameter estimation, standard error calculations and hypothesis tests will be discussed through simulations and a real case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A four-year-old pregnant African lioness with dystocia was referred to the university teaching hospital. History-taking revealed the parturition had started four hours ago, but the cubs couldn't come out due to incomplete dilation of the cervix. This article describes the procedures before, during, and after the surgical operation, including the anesthesia protocol performed and performing a Cesarean section through the midline celiotomy to remove a dead and two live cubs from the uterus and successfully heal the dam without any complications. This surgery was performed about three years ago. After the operation to date, the lioness is in perfect health and she gave birth to 2 and 3 healthy cubs, respectively in two of her last parturition with no need for any help.

A four-year-old pregnant African lioness with dystocia was referred to the university teaching hospital. History-taking revealed the parturition had started four hours ago, but the cubs couldn't come out due to incomplete dilation of the cervix. This article describes the procedures before, during, and after the surgical operation, including the anesthesia protocol performed and performing a Cesarean section through the midline celiotomy to remove a dead and two live cubs from the uterus and successfully heal the dam without any complications. This surgery was performed about three years ago. After the operation to date, the lioness is in perfect health and she gave birth to 2 and 3 healthy cubs, respectively in two of her last parturition with no need for any help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boron presents an important role in chemistry, biology, and materials science. Diatomic transition-metal borides (MBs) are the building blocks of many complexes and materials, and they present unique electronic structures with interesting and peculiar properties and a variety of bonding schemes which are analyzed here. In the first part of this paper, we present a review on the available experimental and theoretical studies on the first-row-transition-metal borides, i.e., ScB, TiB, VB, CrB, MnB, FeB, CoB, NiB, CuB, and ZnB; the second-row-transition-metal borides, i.e., YB, ZrB, NbB, MoB, TcB, RuB, RhB, PdB, AgB, and CdB; and the third-row-transition-metal borides, i.e., LaB, HfB, TaB, WB, ReB, OsB, IrB, PtB, AuB, and HgB. Consequently, in the second part, the second- and third-row MBs are studied via DFT calculations using the B3LYP, TPSSh, and MN15 functionals and, in some cases, via multi-reference methods, MRCISD+Q, in conjunction with the aug-cc-pVQZ-PPM/aug-cc-pVQZB basis sets. Specifically, bond distances, dissociation energies, frequencies, dipole moments, and natural NPA charges are reported. Comparisons between MB molecules along the three rows are presented, and their differences and similarities are analyzed. The bonding of the diatomic borides is also described; it is found that, apart from RhB(X1Σ+), which was just recently found to form quadruple bonds, RuB(X2Δ) and TcB(X3Σ−) also form quadruple σ2σ2π2π2 bonds in their X states. Moreover, to fill the gap existing in the current literature, here, we calculate the TcB molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dalbergia plants are widely distributed across more than 130 tropical and subtropical countries and have significant economic and medicinal value. Codon usage bias (CUB) is a critical feature for studying gene function and evolution, which can provide a better understanding of biological gene regulation. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the CUB patterns of the nuclear genome, chloroplast genome, and gene expression, as well as systematic evolution of Dalbergia species. Our results showed that the synonymous and optimal codons in the coding regions of both nuclear and chloroplast genome of Dalbergia preferred ending with A/U at the third codon base. Natural selection was the primary factor affecting the CUB features. Furthermore, in highly expressed genes of Dalbergia odorifera, we found that genes with stronger CUB exhibited higher expression levels, and these highly expressed genes tended to favor the use of G/C-ending codons. In addition, the branching patterns of the protein-coding sequences and the chloroplast genome sequences were very similar in the systematic tree, and different with the cluster from the CUB of the chloroplast genome. This study highlights the CUB patterns and features of Dalbergia species in different genomes, explores the correlation between CUB preferences and gene expression, and further investigates the systematic evolution of Dalbergia, providing new insights into codon biology and the evolution of Dalbergia plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal literature testifies the presence of animals since its beginnings, thus continuing oral traditions of all nations. Animal symbolism was attributed to human beings in different circumstances of life, in accordance with their personality and behavior. Liviu Rebreanu’s novel “Ciuleandra” (1927) comes with two characters, Puiu (Cub, in an approximate translation) and Ursu (Bear), and their struggle for a central place after the discovery of rivalry in love. The first one is rich and occupies an important social position, while the other earns everything by himself. While the name of the first character sends to frailness or childish behavior, the second one evokes the strongest animal of the Romanian forests, sometimes mocked at because of its massiveness and slowliness. The field of battle between the two characters is represented by their levels of conscience. Puiu Faranga crosses a series of concentric circles which should represent symbolic stages in his inner transformation on the way towards spiritual harmony. But in his psychological fight with Doctor Ursu, he is defeated for not knowing how to use his own powers. He will thus pass to another stage of his life, followed by the obsession of the folk dance “Ciuleandra”, imagined by Doctor Ursu as a scary vortex out of which one cannot escape.

Al llarg de les etapes acadèmiques hi ha conceptes que, per la seua importància i utilitat, es repeteixen en diversos nivells. Un d'ells són les escales d'unitats. L’alumnat s'inicia en la conversió d'unitats a primària per a, en el primer cicle de l'ESO, acabar d'assentar el seu domini. En el present article presentem els conceptes de longitud, superfície i volum de forma no memorística. A partir de les nocions bàsiques, de reptes i peces de construcció s'entendran els diferents canvis d'unitats. La comprensió profunda de les nocions exposades s'aconseguirà en fabricar un cub amb el qual trobarem l'equivalència entre litre i decímetre cúbic.

The goal of this study was to observe the specific behavior of Carpathian wolf cubs, considering the importance of this specie from fauna balance and ecology point of view. Chronological observations of young cubs’ evolution from birth to wean period were made, in order to determine the mother-cubs relation and the relations between brother cubs from the same litter.

A novel system-on-a-chip compatible one-transistor one-capacitor ferroelectric random-access memory array (1T1C FeRAM) based on ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 with a capacitor under bitline (CUB) structure was experimentally demonstrated. The CUB structure facilitates the application of post-metallization annealing on metal/ferroelectric/metal capacitors above 500 °C because they are fabricated before the back-end-of-line process. A large remanent polarization of 2Pr $ {>}40~\mu \text{C}$ /cm2, projected endurance ${>}10^{11}$ cycles, and ten years of data retention at 85 °C were obtained at 500 °C, after metallization using a single large capacitor. Furthermore, a large memory window of the 64 kbit 1T1C FeRAM array with 500 °C post-metallization was comprehensively demonstrated without degradation of the underlying CMOS logic transistors. The operation voltage and speed dependence were extensively investigated using a dedicated sense amplifier for the 1T1C FeRAM. Furthermore, the perfect bit functionality at an operation voltage of 2.5 V and a read/write speed < 10 ns were obtained. Therefore, superior properties of CUB-structured 1T1C FeRAM can be achieved by flexible process engineering of crystallization annealing for metal/ferroelectric/metal fabrication.

Bats contain a diverse spectrum of viral species in their bodies. The RNA virus family Paramyxoviridae tends to infect several vertebrate species, which are accountable for a variety of devastating infections in both humans and animals. Viruses of this kind include measles, mumps, and Hendra. Some synonymous codons are favoured over others in mRNAs during gene-to-protein synthesis process. Such phenomenon is termed as codon usage bias (CUB). Our research emphasized many aspects that shape the CUB of genes in the Paramyxoviridae family found in bats. Here, the nitrogenous base A occurred the most. AT was found to be abundant in the coding sequences of the Paramyxoviridae family. RSCU data revealed that A or T ending codons occurred more frequently than predicted. Furthermore, 3 overrepresented codons (CAT, AGA, and GCA) and 7 underrepresented codons (CCG, TCG, CGC, CGG, CGT, GCG and ACG) were detected in the viral genomes. Correspondence analysis, neutrality plot, and parity plots highlight the combined impact of mutational pressure and natural selection on CUB. The neutrality plot of GC12 against GC3 yielded a regression coefficient value of 0.366, indicating that natural selection had a significant (63.4 %) impact. Moreover, RNA editing analysis was done, which revealed the highest frequency of C to T mutations. The results of our research revealed the pattern of codon usage and RNA editing sites in Paramyxoviridae genomes. Fig: Graphical Abstract (Parameters for analysis of codon usage bias and RNA editing sites in the coding sequences of Paramyxoviridae). [Display omitted] • Paramyxoviridae coding sequences were AT rich. • Average ENC value was >35 which indicated a low CUB in Paramyxoviridae. • RSCU values identified overrepresented and underrepresented codons. • Neutrality plot generated a regression slope of 0.366 suggesting greater role of natural selection in Paramyxoviridae. • RNA editing site analysis revealed C to T transition was most frequent in Paramyxoviridae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appearance of synapses was a crucial step in the creation of the variety of nervous systems that are found in the animal kingdom. With increased complexity of the organisms came a greater number of synaptic proteins. In this review we describe synaptic proteins that contain the structural domains CUB, CCP, or TSP-1. These domains are found in invertebrates and vertebrates, and CUB and CCP domains were initially described in proteins belonging to the complement system of innate immunity. Interestingly, they are found in synapses of the nematode C. elegans , which does not have a complement system, suggesting an ancient function. Comparison of the roles of CUB-, CCP-, and TSP-1 containing synaptic proteins in various species shows that in more complex nervous systems, these structural domains are combined with other domains and that there is partial conservation of their function. These three domains are thus basic building blocks of the synaptic architecture. Further studies of structural domains characteristic of synaptic proteins in invertebrates such as C. elegans and comparison of their role in mammals will help identify other conserved synaptic molecular building blocks. Furthermore, this type of functional comparison across species will also identify structural domains added during evolution in correlation with increased complexity, shedding light on mechanisms underlying cognition and brain diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present the command cub, which fits ordinal rating data using combination of uniform and binomial (CUB) models, a class of finite mixture distributions accounting for both feeling and uncertainty of the response process. CUB identifies the components that define the mixture in the baseline model specification. We apply maximum likelihood methods to estimate feeling and uncertainty parameters, which are possibly explained in terms of covariates. An extension to inflated CUB models is discussed. We also present a subcommand, scattercub, for visualization of results. We then illustrate the use of cub using a case study on students' satisfaction for the orientation services provided by the University of Naples Federico II in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appearance of synapses was a crucial step in the creation of the variety of nervous systems that are found in the animal kingdom. With increased complexity of the organisms came a greater number of synaptic proteins. In this review we describe synaptic proteins that contain the structural domains CUB, CCP, or TSP-1. These domains are found in invertebrates and vertebrates, and CUB and CCP domains were initially described in proteins belonging to the complement system of innate immunity. Interestingly, they are found in synapses of the nematode C. elegans, which does not have a complement system, suggesting an ancient function. Comparison of the roles of CUB-, CCP-, and TSP-1 containing synaptic proteins in various species shows that in more complex nervous systems, these structural domains are combined with other domains and that there is partial conservation of their function. These three domains are thus basic building blocks of the synaptic architecture. Further studies of structural domains characteristic of synaptic proteins in invertebrates such as C. elegans and comparison of their role in mammals will help identify other conserved synaptic molecular building blocks. Furthermore, this type of functional comparison across species will also identify structural domains added during evolution in correlation with increased complexity, shedding light on mechanisms underlying cognition and brain diseases.

Family groups with cubs-of-the-year (cubs) in Finland's brown bear Ursus arctos population are protected from hunting, but sport hunters inadvertently shoot some cubs almost every year. In our data, 39 of 1463 bears from hunting bags (and 39 of all 1503 shot bears) during 1996-2018 were cubs. Mortality of cubs owing to inadvertent shooting by hunters was estimated to be relatively low (ca 8%) and was therefore above all an ethical problem. Male bias from the 1:1 sex ratio was significant (67%, 2 = 4.333, p = 0.037) and possibly attributed to a greater resemblance with yearlings (legal game) given their larger body size. The year trend in the proportion of cubs in hunting bag was not significant (t = -1.832, p = 0.076) We examined whether the risk of cub to being killed by hunters was related to the distance from the Russian border because bear hunting has been practised for more years in eastern Finland compared with mid- and western Finland. The risk of cub being killed was not related to the distance but the risk of female cubs being killed was highest within a narrow zone at the Russian border. If the family group escapes to the Russian side, the risk of losing the hunting dog is presumably high. Given hunters' high motivation to keep their valuable bear-hunting dogs, the proportion of female cubs might be highest near the border. Systematic educational programs for hunters would likely reduce the risk of inadvertent killing of cubs. The full legal protection of all family groups is potentially the most efficient method to reduce the risk and thereby formally provide improved ethics in bear hunting. However, this practice might also prolong the mother-offspring bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorafenib, the first‐line agent for treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), improves median overall survival by approximately 3 months. In the present study, we investigated whether sorafenib combined with cucurbitacin B (CuB), a natural tetracyclic triterpenoid isolated from Cucurbitaceae, exerts enhanced antitumor effects against HCC. Cell viability and colony formation ability were detected by cell‐counting kit‐8 and colony formation assays. Cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Protein expression was detected by western blotting. HepG2 xenografts in nude mice were used to evaluate in vivo antitumor effects. We report that sorafenib and CuB exhibited synergistic effects on cellular proliferation inhibition and cell apoptosis induction, but not on cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, combination treatment enhanced levels of cleaved caspase 3 and cleaved caspase 9, but suppressed phosphorylation of STAT3. Epidermal growth factor, a potent stimulator of signal transducer and activator of transcription‐3 (STAT3), promoted cell viability and colony formation ability, whereas combination treatment exerted inhibitory effects on epidermal growth factor‐induced STAT3 phosphorylation. Finally, HepG2 xenograft mice cotreated with sorafenib and CuB exhibited reduced tumor progression without notable weight loss. In conclusion, sorafenib and CuB exert synergistic antitumor effects through a pathway that may involve STAT3 phosphorylation, and this may represent a promising therapeutic approach for treatment of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the performance of automatically generating high-resolution realistic images from text descriptions has been significantly boosted, many challenging issues in image synthesis have not been fully investigated, due to shapes variations, viewpoint changes, pose changes, and the relations of multiple objects. In this article, we propose a novel end-to-end approach for text-to-image synthesis with spatial constraints by mining object spatial location and shape information. Instead of learning a hierarchical mapping from text to image, our algorithm directly generates multi-object fine-grained images through the guidance of the generated semantic layouts. By fusing text semantic and spatial information into a synthesis module and jointly fine-tuning them with multi-scale semantic layouts generated, the proposed networks show impressive performance in text-to-image synthesis for complex scenes. We evaluate our method both on single-object CUB dataset and multi-object MS-COCO dataset. Comprehensive experimental results demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches consistently across different evaluation metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Codon usage bias (CUB), where certain codons are used more frequently than expected by chance, is a ubiquitous phenomenon and occurs across the tree of life. The dominant paradigm is that the proportion of preferred codons is set by weak selection. While experimental changes in codon usage have at times shown large phenotypic effects in contrast to this paradigm, genome-wide population genetic estimates have supported the weak selection model. Here we use deep genomic population sequencing of two Drosophila melanogaster populations to measure selection on synonymous sites in a way that allowed us to estimate the prevalence of both weak and strong purifying selection. We find that selection in favor of preferred codons ranges from weak (|Nes| ~1) to strong (|Nes| . 10), with strong selection acting on 10-20% of synonymous sites in preferred codons. While previous studies indicated that selection at synonymous sites could be strong, this is the first study to detect and quantify strong selection specifically at the level of CUB. Further, we find that CUB-associated polymorphism accounts for the majority of strong selection on synonymous sites, with secondary contributions of splicing (selection on alternatively spliced genes, splice junctions, and spliceosome-bound sites) and transcription factor binding. Our findings support a new model of CUB and indicate that the functional importance of CUB, as well as synonymous sites in general, have been underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife agencies face difficult situations when orphaned or injured American black bear (Ursus americanus) cubs (<12 months old) or yearlings (≥12 and <24 months old) are captured. One option is bear rehabilitation, the care and feeding of cubs or yearlings in a semi‐natural environment, followed by release. Unfortunately, the survival and movements of bears released from rehabilitation facilities are often poorly documented and the ultimate reasons for success or failure poorly understood. Our goal was to assess survival and post‐release conflict of orphaned bear cubs and yearlings following release from a rehabilitation facility, Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR), in Townsend, Tennessee, USA, from 2015–2016. We predicted that rehabilitated bears would survive at similar rates, die from similar causes, and engage in similar conflict behavior to wild conspecifics. We equipped 42 black bear cubs and yearlings from ABR with global positioning system‐collars and released them in Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee and North Carolina, USA. Estimated annual survival using known‐fate methods for all released bears was 0.93 ± 0.06 [SE]). Survival for 13 bears released as cubs was 0.64 ± 0.14, whereas none of the bears released as yearlings died within 1 year after release (n = 29). Survival of rehabilitated bears was similar to or higher than published rates for wild conspecifics. Three of 42 bears (7.1%) released from ABR engaged in conflict behavior up to 1 year following release, and those had spent time involved in conflict behavior with their mothers (e.g., approaching humans) prior to being orphaned. Despite not having the typical post‐natal experience with their mothers, the bears in our study appeared to behave and survive similarly to their wild conspecifics. Rehabilitation is effective for managing orphaned or injured bears. Best survival occurred for bears released as yearlings; however, managers can maximize cub survival through fall releases when plentiful wild foods are available. © 2019 The Authors. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society. Survival was high for orphaned bear cubs and yearlings following release from Appalachian Bear Rescue, a rehabilitation facility in Townsend, Tennessee and these bears showed limited conflict behavior post‐release. Rehabilitation and release back to the wild is an effective method for managing orphaned or injured bears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible summary: What is known on the subject?: The psychometrics of the CUB measure have been tested within an inpatient psychiatric setting. Results show that the CUB has two factors that reflect patients' approach and avoidance of dimensions of the treatment milieu, and that an increase of approach and decrease of avoidance are correlated with discharge. No empirical research has examined the validity of the CUB in a day hospital programme. What this article adds to existing knowledge?: This study was the first to address the validity of this questionnaire within a psychiatric day hospital setting. This now allows other mental health service providers to use this questionnaire following administration of patient engagement interventions (such as behavioural activation), which are routinely used within this type of a setting. What are the implications for practice?: Our results can enable healthcare providers to employ an effective and psychometrically validated tool in a day hospital setting to measure treatment outcomes and provide reflections of patients' approach behaviours and avoidance behaviours. Abstract: Introduction: We evaluated the Checklist of Unit Behaviours (CUBs) questionnaire in a novel mental health setting: a day hospital within a large acute care general hospital. No empirical evidence exists, as of yet, to look at the validity of this measure in this type of a treatment setting. The CUB measures two factors, avoidance or approach, of the patients' engagement with the treatment milieu within the previous 24 hr. Aim: A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to validate the CUB's original two factor structure in an outpatient day programme. Methods: Psychiatric outpatients (n = 163) completed the CUB daily while participating in a day hospital programme in Toronto, Canada. Results: A CFA was used to confirm the CUB factors but resulted in a poor fitting model for our sample, χ2 (103) = 278.59, p < .001, CFI = 0.80, RMSEA = 0.10, SRMR = 0.10. Questions 5, 8 and 10 had higher loadings on a third factor revealed through exploratory factor analysis. We believe this factor, “Group Engagement,” reflects the construct of group‐related issues. Discussion: The CUB was a practical and useful tool in our psychiatric day hospital setting at a large acute care general hospital. Implications for practice: Our analysis identified group engagement, a critical variable in day programmes, as patients have autonomy regarding staying or leaving the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A milk substitute developed in 1988 (OM) has been used to feed giant panda cubs, but its contents do not match those of panda breast milk. OM contains 10% more protein than the breast milk, and so a novel milk substitute (NM) was developed based on breast milk data. NM has the following nutrition: protein, 38%; fat, 40%; carbohydrates, 12% (containing lactose, 7%); ash, 6%; and moisture, 3%; and it also contains lactoferrin, nucleotides, oligosaccharides and docosahexaenoic acid. In order to ensure that NM is safe before it is fed to premature newborns, a plan was made to subject twin cubs (Kaihin and Youhin, around one year old) to the first feeding test of NM. Here, a crossover feeding test of OM mixture (OMM) and NM-containing mixture (NMM) is described. Kaihin and Youhin were fed 800-1300 ml/d NMM and OMM, respectively, combined with 200 ml/d breast milk for 280-380 days after birth. Then, they were fed 1370-1570 ml/d OMM and NMM, respectively, without breast milk for the next 100 days. Both cubs exhibited constant growth of 90 g/day throughout the test, which is comparable with the growth of previous panda cubs (including twins). Moreover, no NMM-associated safety concerns were observed. Feces were excreted every 3-5 d during milk feeding, whereas they were excreted several times a day when bamboo was consumed. It could be concluded that NM can be fed safely to newborn panda cubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A exigência para boro (B) varia largamente entre e dentro das espécies vegetais. Objetivando avaliar a resposta de clones de eucalipto ao B em solução nutritiva foi realizado ensaio em casa de vegetação com oito clones. As plantas cresceram em soluções nutritivas com 0, 10, 20, 50 e 100 µmol/L de B, durante 70 dias. Na finalização do ensaio determinaram-se características fisiológicas, produção de matéria seca e teores de B no tecido vegetal. Houve resposta diferenciada dos clones à concentração de B na solução nutritiva, com máxima produção de matéria seca entre 28 e 69 µmol/L de B. Em baixas concentrações de B, pôde-se observar sintomas visuais de deficiência e, em altas concentrações, não foram observados sintomas de toxidez, porém houve redução na produção de matéria seca. A resposta do eucalipto ao B na solução nutritiva depende do clone, havendo diferenças entre eles na tolerância à deficiência e toxidez e na eficiência de utilização de B. Os clones 68 e 129 apresentaram as mais elevadas taxas de fotossíntese. O clone 3487 foi o mais responsivo ao B. Os clones 3487, 3336 e 68 foram mais sensíveis à deficiência e os clones 3281 e 1270 os mais tolerantes à deficiência. O clone 2486 foi o mais sensível à toxidez e o clone 3281 o mais tolerante. Os clones 3487, 2486 e 129 foram mais eficientes na utilização de B.Boron (B) requirement for plant growth varies both within and among plant species. In order to evaluate the response of clones of eucalyptus to B in nutrient solution, an experiment was carried out under glasshouse conditions, with eight clones. Plants were grown in nutrient solutions at B concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 50 and 100 µmol/L for 70 days, after which, physiological variables, dry matter production and boron content were determined. There was a differential response of the eucalyptus clones to the concentration of boron in nutrient solution with maximum dry matter production occurring between 28 and 68 µmol/L of B in nutrient solution. At low concentrations of B, visual symptoms of deficiency were observed. At high B concentrations, toxicity symptoms were not observed; however, there was a reduction in dry matter production. The response to B depends on the clone. The clones 129 and 68 showed the highest rates of photosynthesis. The clone 3487 was the most responsive to B. The clones 3487, 3336 and 68 were more sensitive to B deficiency whereas clones 3281 and 1270 exhibited greater tolerance to B deficiency. Clone 2486 was the most sensitive to B toxicity and the clone 3281 showed the highest tolerance to B. Clones 3487, 2486 and 129 were more efficient in the use of boron.

Likert-type scales are commonly used in both academia and industry to capture human feelings since they are user-friendly, easy-to-develop and easy-to administer. This kind of scales generate ordinal variables made up of a set of rank ordered items. Since the distance between two consecutive items cannot be either defined or presumed equal, this kind of variable cannot be analysed by either statistical methods defined on a metric space or parametric tests. Therefore, Likert-type variables cannot be used as segmentation variables of a traditional cluster analysis unless pre-transformed. In such context, fuzzy numbers have been suggested as a way to recode Likert-type variables. Fuzzy numbers are defined by a membership function whose form is usually determined by an expert. In practice, researchers usually define one membership function for each Likert-type scale, not considering the peculiar characteristics of neither questions nor respondents. In this way, the individual uncertainty against each question is considered equal and constant. To overcome this limitation and to reduce the expert's subjectivity, in this study an adaptive membership function based on CUB model is suggested to pre-transform Likert-type variables into fuzzy numbers before the adoption of a clustering algorithm. After a theoretical presentation of the method, an application using real data will be presented to demonstrate how the method works. • An adaptive membership function for fuzzy data is suggested. • CUB model with covariates is used to estimate individual uncertainty. • Each item of the Likert-type scale is fuzzified using respondents' characteristics. • The proposed function reduces expert intervention in the fuzzification process. • The case study shows the usefulness of the proposed function in cluster analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Brevibacillus comprises diverse collection of gram-positive/gram-variable, endospore-forming, rod-shaped, aerobic/facultative anaerobic bacteria inhabitant of varied environmental habitats contributing many industrial enzymes. A thermophilic lipolytic bacterium was previously isolated from a hot spring of Orissa, India, and identified as Brevibacillus sp. AK-P2 via 16S rRNA gene technology. A 750-bp lipase gene from Brevibacillus sp. AK-P2 was isolated and sequenced, which encoded a deduced polypeptide of 250 amino acid residues. The comparative analysis of amino acid composition among thermostable and mesostable homologue of Brevibacillus lipases ascertains the role of neutral, charged, and aromatic amino acid residues in thermostability. Three amino acid residues Ser 94, His 242, and Asp 213 were identified from this putative lipase of Brevibacillus sp. AK-P2 as catalytic triad. The consensus 'P-loop' motif (-[AG]-X4-G-K-[ST]-) previously reported for Bacillus thermoalkalophilic lipases is modified to (-[AT]-[GE]-X5-G-[RQ]-[S]-) in Brevibacillus lipases. Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) revealed that there is a methionine residue (M) in the oxyanion hole consensus sequence of thermostable Brevibacillus lipases. The frequency of occurrence of AXXXA motif is more for thermophilic Brevibacillus lipases than their mesophilic counterparts ensures strong van der Waals interaction and stabilization of proteins. Higher percentage of Alanine (A) in thermophilic Brevibacillus lipases attributed toward thermostabilization of lipases. Codon usage analysis revealed that there was intermediate codon usage bias in lipase-coding genes, and the same supports our hypothesis that GC mutation pressure might determine codon usage bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tarangire lions reveal similar population characteristics to most of other lion populations in other protected areas in Africa. Tarangire lion population was estimated to be around 155 individuals as in June 2013 based on individual identification facilitated by the use of Radio telemetry coupled with the use of GPS to get information on individual lions within a specific pride to determine their location and characteristics. The population had a density of 7.5 lions per 100 square kilometers. The sex ratio was 1 male to 1.2 females more in favor of females but cubs had a sex ratio of 1 male to 1 female. The age composition was dominated by pre-reproductive age class (cubs and sub-adults), which constitutes 63.9% of the whole population. There was a total of 9 prides residing the park, the number of lions in the pride ranges from 2-38 individuals with the mean of 17.2 individuals. Cub survival was high with the average of 70.8% of all cubs born survived to year one. The overall population trend shows declining curve which suggests more conservation efforts are needed to make it stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Calcium plays a role in the coupling/uncoupling of ligands to receptors. [•] New crystal structures show similar calcium-binding modalities in different domain types. [•] Ligand uncoupling through acidification may involve calcium in direct and indirect ways. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We studied reproduction of American black bears (Ursus americanus) in western Virginia from 1994 to 2003. We handled 326 ⩾2-year-old female black bears 672 times during summer trapping and followed 176 of these individuals through 424 winter den seasons. We examined 183 litters consisting of 455 cubs. Primiparity occurred at mean andmodal ages of 3.8 and 3 years, respectively. Composite mean litter size was 2.49 (SE ¼ 0.06) cubs/litter; 3- and 4-year-olds had smaller litters than older bears. We tracked reproductive synchrony using 5 indices and documented a resetting of this synchrony, likely in response to hard-mast failure. The amplitude of oscillations in synchrony indices dampened through time after the synchronizing events. Documentation and quantification of relationships between nutrient availability, reproduction and population dynamics can be used to inform population modeling efforts and more accurately forecast harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Neurotransmitter receptors play central roles in basic neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity. Recent studies have revealed that some transmembrane and extracellular proteins bind to neurotransmitter receptors, forming protein complexes that are required for proper synaptic localization or gating of core receptor molecules. Consequently, the components of these complexes contribute to long-term potentiation, a process that is critical for learning and memory. Here, we review factors that regulate neurotransmitter receptors, with a focus on proteins containing CUB (complement C1r/C1s, Uegf, Bmp1) or CCP (complement control protein) domains, which are frequently found in complement system proteins. Proteins that contain these domains are structurally distinct from TARPs (transmembrane AMPA receptor regulatory proteins), and may constitute new protein families that modulate either the localization or function of neurotransmitter receptors. In addition, other CCP domain-containing proteins participate in dendritic patterning and/or synaptic differentiation, although current evidence has not identified any direct activities on neurotransmitter receptors. Some of these proteins are involved in pathologic conditions such as epileptic seizure and mental retardation. Together, these lines of information have shown that CUB and CCP domain-containing proteins contribute to a wide variety of neuronal events that ultimately establish neural circuits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Iron, an essential element for life, is regulated primarily at the level of uptake, storage, and transport in order to maintain sufficient availability for normal physiology. The key protein in iron homeostasis is a 25-amino-acid peptide, hepcidin, which modulates the amount of iron in the circulation by binding and promoting the degradation of the iron exporter ferroportin. Given the central importance of hepcidin, recent studies have focused on how iron is sensed and how the iron signal is transmitted to hepcidin. Mutations in a type II serine protease, matriptase-2/TMPRSS6, were recently identified to be associated with severe iron deficiency caused by inappropriately high levels of hepcidin expression. A key biologically relevant substrate for the proteolytic activity of matriptase-2/TMPRSS6 was found to be hemojuvelin, a cell surface protein that regulates hepcidin expression through a BMP/SMAD pathway. In this review, we discuss the putative role of matriptase-2/TMPRSS6 in iron homeostasis. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service uses counts of unduplicated female grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) with cubs-of-the-year to establish limits of sustainable mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA. Sightings are clustered into observations of unique bears based on an empirically derived rule set. The method has never been tested or verified. To evaluate the rule set, we used data from radiocollared females obtained during 1975--2004 to simulate populations under varying densities, distributions, and sighting frequencies. We tested individual rules and rule-set performance, using custom software to apply the rule-set and cluster sightings. Results indicated most rules were violated to some degree, and rule-based clustering consistently underestimated the minimum number of females and total population size derived from a nonparametric estimator (Chao2). We conclude that the current rule set returns conservative estimates, but with minor improvements, counts of unduplicated females-with-cubs can serve as a reasonable index of population size useful for establishing annual mortality limits. For the Yellowstone population, the index is more practical and cost-effective than capture-mark-recapture using either DNA hair snagging or aerial surveys with radiomarked bears. The method has useful application in other ecosystems, but we recommend rules used to distinguish unique females be adapted to local conditions and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer is currently the second leading cause of gynecological malignancy and cisplatin or cisplatin-based regimens have been the standard of care for the treatment of advance epithelial ovarian cancers. However, the efficacy of cisplatin treatment is often limited by the development of drug resistance either through the inhibition of apoptotic genes or activation of antiapoptotic genes. We have previously reported the overexpression of human UO-44 (HuUO-44) in ovarian cancers and the HuUO-44 antisera markedly inhibited NIH-OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cell attachment and proliferation (Oncogene 23: 5707–5718, 2004). In the present study, we observed through the cancer cell line profiling array that the expression of HuUO-44 was suppressed in the ovarian cancer cell line (SKOV-3) after treatment with several chemotherapeutic drugs. Similarly, this suppression in HuUO-44 expression was also correlated to the cisplatin sensitivity in two other ovarian cancer cell lines NIH-OVCAR3 and OV-90 in a dose-dependent manner. To elucidate the function of HuUO-44 in cisplatin chemoresistance in ovarian cancer cell, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) were employed to mediate HuUO-44 silencing in ovarian cancer cell line, NIH-OVCAR3. HuUO-44 RNA interference (RNAi) resulted in the inhibition of cell growth and proliferation. Importantly, HuUO-44 RNAi significantly increased sensitivity of NIH-OVCAR3 to cytotoxic stress induced by cisplatin (P<0.01). Strikingly, we have also demonstrated that overexpression of HuUO-44 significantly conferred cisplatin resistance in NIH-OVCAR3 cells (P<0.05). Taken together, UO-44 is involved in conferring cisplatin resistance; the described HuUO-44-specific siRNA oligonucleotides that can potently silence HuUO-44 gene expression may prove to be valuable pretreatment targets for antitumor therapy or other pathological conditions that involves aberrant HuUO-44 expression.Oncogene (2007) 26, 870–880. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1209836; published online 24 July 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A week old male leopard (Panthera pardus) cub was spotted near the agricultural field by farmers and a day after it was decided to hand rear using milk replacer initially and later with cow's milk and finally meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) family was for more than 25 years assumed to consist of only PDGF-A and -B. The discovery of the novel family members PDGF-C and PDGF-D triggered a search for novel activities and complementary fine tuning between the members of this family of growth factors. Since the expansion of the PDGF family, more than 60 publications on the novel PDGF-C and PDGF-D have been presented, highlighting similarities and differences to the classical PDGFs. In this paper we review the published data on the PDGF family covering structural (gene and protein) similarities and differences among all four family members, with special focus on PDGF-C and PDGF-D expression and functions. Little information on the protein structures of PDGF-C and -D is currently available, but the PDGF-C protein may be structurally more similar to VEGF-A than to PDGF-B. PDGF-C contributes to normal development of the heart, ear, central nervous system (CNS), and kidney, while PDGF-D is active in the development of the kidney, eye and brain. In adults, PDGF-C is active in the kidney and the central nervous system. PDGF-D also plays a role in the lung and in periodontal mineralization. PDGF-C is expressed in Ewing family sarcoma and PDGF-D is linked to lung, prostate and ovarian cancers. Both PDGF-C and -D play a role in progressive renal disease, glioblastoma/medulloblastoma and fibrosis in several organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Strongyloides stercoralis, an important nematode pathogen of humans, is transmitted by contact with soil contaminated with the microscopic larvae of the parasite. We determined the cDNA sequence and deduced amino acid structure of a metallo-proteinase that is abundantly transcribed expressed by infective stage larvae of S. stercoralis. This deduced structure of the enzyme revealed a multi-domain protein that included an NH2-terminal peptidase. This peptidase consisted of a signal peptide, a pro-enzyme region, and a mature peptidase domain that included the metal ion co-ordinating motifs, HETSHALGVIH and SIMHY (“Met-turn”), characteristic of the catalytic active site of members of the metzincin superfamily of zinc metallo-endopeptidases. It was phylogenetically and structurally similar to astacin from the digestive gland of the crayfish Astacus astacus, to the HCH-1 peptidase of Caenorhabditis elegans required for hatching and migration of a post-embryonic neuroblast, and to the morphogenetically important peptidases, bone morphogenetic protein-1 (BMP-1) and Drosophila tolloid. In addition, the Strongyloides enzyme, designated strongylastacin, includes a central epidermal growth factor (EGF) domain followed by a carboxyl CUB (complement sub component C1r/C1s/embryonic sea urchin protein Uegf/bone morphogenetic protein) domain. Inspection of the dbEST database revealed the presence of at least 9 transcript clusters that are related to greater or lesser extent to strongylastacin; based on these expressed sequence tags, strongylastacin was expressed only in the infective third stage larvae, whereas other transcript clusters were expressed both in filariform and rhabditiform stages or only in the rhabditiform stage. Based on the deduced sequence, structure, and expression profile, strongylastacin is the probable candidate for the zinc-dependent metalloprotease, Ss40, known to be deployed by larvae of S. stercoralis to penetrate human skin to initiate infection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is a serine protease involved in the degradation of blood clots through the activation of plasminogen to plasmin. Here we report on the identification of tPA as a specific protease able to activate platelet-derived growth factor C (PDGF-C). The newly identified PDGF-C is secreted as a latent dimeric factor (PDGF-CC) that upon proteolytic removal of the N-terminal CUB domains becomes a PDGF receptor α agonist. The CUB domains in PDGF-CC directly interact with tPA, and fibroblasts from tPA-deficient mice fail to activate latent PDGF-CC. We further demonstrate that growth of primary fibroblasts in culture is dependent on a tPA-mediated cleavage of latent PDGF-CC, generating a growth stimulatory loop. Immunohistochemical analysis showed similar expression patterns of PDGF-C and tPA in developing mouse embryos and in tumors, indicating both autocrine and paracrine modes of activation of PDGF receptor-mediated signaling pathways. The identification of tPA as an activator of PDGF signaling establishes a novel role for the protease in normal and pathological tissue growth and maintenance, distinct from its well-known role in plasminogen activation and fibrinolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identified a novel giant gene encoding a transmembrane protein with CUB and sushi multiple domains on the human chromosome 8q23.3–q24.1 in which benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy type 1 (BAFME1/FAME, OMIM:601068) has been mapped. This giant gene consists of 73 exons and spans over 1.2 Mb on the genomic DNA region. It showed significant homology to two genes, CSMD1 gene on 8p23 and CSMD2 gene on 1p34, at reduced amino acid sequence level and hence we designated as CSMD3. The CSMD3 gene was expressed mainly in adult and fetal brains. We performed mutation analysis on the CSMD3 gene for seven patients with BAFME1/FAME, but no mutation was found in the coding sequence of the CSMD3 gene. Comparative genomic analysis revealed a conserved family of CSMD genes in the mouse and fugu genomes. Possible functions of the CSMD gene family are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A variety of secreted and membrane proteins play key roles in the formation of neuronal circuits in the central nervous system. Using the signal sequence trap method, we isolated and characterized a novel gene, Btcl1 (brain-specific transmembrane protein containing two CUB and an LDLa domains). BTCL1 has significant homology with neuropilin-1 and -2 in their CUB domains. Domain structure of BTCL1 indicates that BTCL1 belongs to a new class of brain-specific CUB domain-containing protein. On Northern blot analysis, Btcl1 mRNA was observed as a single transcript of 3.7 kb specifically in the brain. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that Btcl1 mRNA was highly expressed in the hippocampal CA3 region, olfactory bulb, and neocortex in the adult brain. Expression pattern of mRNA and structural similarity with neuropilin suggest that BTCL1 plays a role in the development and/or maintenance of neuronal circuitry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ultrafine catalysts of CuB and Me-CuB were prepared by chemical reduction, examined for hydrogenolysis, and co-used with potassium methoxide for both carbonylation and one-step synthesis of methanol from CO/H2 at low temperature. Doping with Th and Cr additives enhanced the stability and dispersion of copper in the resulting catalysts, Th-CuB and Cr-CuB, and promoted the hydrogenolysis of methyl formate. The Th-CuB and Cr-CuB catalysts, co-used with potassium methoxide, prevented the deactivation of potassium methoxide in carbonylation and in one-step synthesis of methanol. A higher temperature favored the hydrogenolysis of methyl formate, but limited the formation of methyl formate by carbonylation. A higher PCO facilitated the formation of methyl formate, but inhibited the hydrogenolysis of methyl formate. A trade-off between temperature and PCO must be made in the one-step synthesis of methanol, including carbonylation and subsequent hydrogenolysis. The optimal temperature was around 423 K. A higher PCO was employed to overcome the limitation of methyl formate formation. An accompanying rise in PH2 (H2/CO≥2) was required to weaken the inhibitory effect of CO on the Cu-based catalysts during the subsequent hydrogenolysis of methyl formate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report herein the cDNA cloning of a novel retina and brain specific gene from mouse and human encoding a putative transmembrane protein with an N-terminal signal sequence and two conserved extracellular CUB domains followed by a single copy of the low-density lipoprotein class A (LDLa) module. The mouse and human genes, termed NETO1 (neuropilin and tolloid like-1), display sequence identities of 87% at the nucleotide and 95% at the protein level. The human NETO1 gene comprises 13 exons on chromosome 18q22–q23 and gives rise to three different mRNA isoforms. Two alternative leader exons 1a and 1b generate transcripts that translate into putative signal peptides with individual sequence composition but otherwise do not affect the primary structure of the mature NETO1 protein. Usage of the internal exon 5 is restricted to the retinal tissue and generates a truncated transcript that codes for a putative soluble protein, termed sNETO1, with only one copy of the CUB domain while lacking the LDLa module. NETO1 exhibits 57% identity to the deduced amino acid sequence of a non-annotated nucleotide sequence in the GenBank database, therefore designated NETO2. Both NETO1 and NETO2 share an identical and unique domain structure thus representing a novel subfamily of CUB- and LDLa-containing proteins. The cytoplasmic domains of NETO1 and NETO2 are not homologous to other known protein sequences but contain a conserved FXNPXY-like motif, which is essential for the internalization of clathrin coated pits during endocytosis or alternatively, may be implicated in intracellular signaling pathways. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Background Genetic mutation, selective pressure for translational efficiency and accuracy, level of gene expression, and protein function through natural selection are all believed to lead to codon usage bias (CUB). Therefore, informative measurement of CUB is of fundamental importance to making inferences regarding gene function and genome evolution. However, extant measures of CUB have not fully accounted for the quantitative effect of background nucleotide composition and have not statistically evaluated the significance of CUB in sequence analysis. Results Here we propose a novel measure--Codon Deviation Coefficient (CDC)--that provides an informative measurement of CUB and its statistical significance without requiring any prior knowledge. Unlike previous measures, CDC estimates CUB by accounting for background nucleotide compositions tailored to codon positions and adopts the bootstrapping to assess the statistical significance of CUB for any given sequence. We evaluate CDC by examining its effectiveness on simulated sequences and empirical data and show that CDC outperforms extant measures by achieving a more informative estimation of CUB and its statistical significance. Conclusions As validated by both simulated and empirical data, CDC provides a highly informative quantification of CUB and its statistical significance, useful for determining comparative magnitudes and patterns of biased codon usage for genes or genomes with diverse sequence compositions.

The article presents a case study of a 32 day old captive-born female clouded leopard cub, who exhibited hyperextension of both tarsal joints and a flattened thorax. Examination showed that thorax was compressed dorsoventrally and treatment to this resulting in normal development of the clouded leopard cub reported here.

The X-ray crystallographic structure of nitric oxide-treated bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) in the fully reduced state has been determined at 50 K under light illumination. In this structure, nitric oxide (NO) is bound to the CcO oxygen-reduction site, which consists of haem and a Cu atom (the haem a3-CuB site). Electron density for the NO molecule was observed close to CuB. The refined structure indicates that NO is bound to CuB in a side-on manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]