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Anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins are considered to be essential secondary metabolites in grapes and are used to regulate metabolic processes, while miRNAs are involved in their synthesis of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins to regulate metabolic processes. The present research work was carried out to investigate the underlying regulatory mechanism of target genes in the grape cultivars 'Italia' and 'Benitaka'. miRNA and transnscriptomic sequencing technology were employed to characterize both the profiles of miRNAs and the transcripts of grape peels at 10 and 11 weeks post flowering (10 wpf and 11 wpf). The results revealed that the expression level of vvi-miR828a in 'Italia' at 10 and 11 wpf was significantly higher than that in 'Benitaka'. miRNA-seq analysis predicted MYBPA1 to be the target gene of vvi-miR828a. In transcriptome analysis, the expression level of the VvMYBPA1 gene in 'Benitaka' was significantly higher than that in 'Italia'; in addition, the TPM values (expression levels) of VvMYBPA1 and miR828a also showed an evident negative correlation. The determination of the proanthocyanidin (PA) content in 'Italia' and 'Benitaka' peels at 11 wpf demonstrated that the PA content of 'Benitaka' was significantly higher than that of 'Italia'. The outcomes of RT-qRCR analysis exhibited that the expression levels of the VdPAL, VdCHS, VdCHI, VdDFR, VdMYB5b, VdANR, and VdMYBPA1 genes related anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin pathways were reduced, while the expression levels of all of the above genes were increased after the transient expression of the VvMYBPA1 vector into grape leaves. The results of the transient overexpression experiment of vvi-miR828a before the veraison period of strawberry fruits showed that vvi-miR828a can significantly slow down the coloration of strawberries. The vvi-miR828a negatively regulates the accumulation of proanthocyanidins in grape fruits by inhibiting the expression of VvMYBPA1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The objective of this study was to see the efficacy of intralesional vitamin D3 injection in treatment of warts. The efficacy was assessed in the term of =50% improvement in warts after treatment at 3rd month. Methods This was a descriptive case series study and was completed in 6 months duration in dermatology department, Mayo hospital Lahore. A total of 97 cases of cutaneous warts fulfilling inclusion criteria were enrolled after getting approval from hospital ethical committee. All cases were included through OPD of Dermatology, Mayo Hospital Lahore after taking informed consent. Initially, lesions were anaesthetized with 0.1 ml of prilocaine (20 mg/ml). A 21-gauge syringe was used to inject 0.2 ml of vitamin D3 (7.5 mg/ml) slowly into the base of each wart. According to the treatment protocol, injections of vitamin D3 were given monthly with a maximum of 2 sessions. Per single session, the total amount injected into a patient was 7.5 mg. The whole procedure was done by consultant dermatologist having more than 5 years of experience. The treatment response = 50% was recorded as per operational definition at 3rd month. All data was recorded by researchers themselves on the prescribed proforma. Results The mean age of all cases was 40.94±11.53 with minimum and maximum age as 18 and 60 years. There were 56 (57.7%) male and 41 (42.3%) female cases. A total of 79 (81.4%) cases achieved efficacy of treatment while in 18 (18.6%) cases efficacy was not seen. Efficacy was seen in 77.5% cases who had duration of disease < 6 months and 92.3% of cases who had duration of disease since = 6 months. The frequency of efficacy was statistically same in both genders and both duration of disease groups. These results showed that intralesional vitamin D3 was effective in the treatment of different types of cutaneous warts with high significance level. Conclusion It was concluded that intralesional vitamin D3 injection was highly effective in treatment of cutaneous warts. Hence, intralesional vitamin D3 being an effective, inexpensive and safe treatment must be opted for this common problem in our society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The objective was to assess the efficacy by comparing the percent decrease in FASI (Freckles area and severity index) score in patients of facial freckles treated with Intense pulsed light (IPL) and electrofulguration. Methods This is a comparative interventional study conducted in Dermatology department Mayo Hospital Lahore. Total 240 patients with clinical diagnosis of freckles fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Patients were randomly divided into two equal groups, group A (n=120) and group B (n=120). Group A was treated with IPL and group B was treated with electrofulguration. 1st treatment session was given at baseline and total 6 sessions were given with 4 weeks' interval for both treatment modalities. Photographs were taken and FASI score was calculated at baseline and at the end of 6th session. Results Out of 240 patients enrolled in the study, females (53%) out-numbered the males (47%). The percent decrease in FASI was 15.73% with IPL while with electrofulguration it was 14.29% with p value <0.05, showing comparable efficacy with both treatment modalities. Both IPL and electrofulguration showed highly significant reduction in freckles and FASI scores with minimal side effects like postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, erythema and mild pain. But post treatment side effects were less reported with IPL. Patients showed an excellent compliance with both treatment modalities. Conclusion Current study concluded that IPL and electrofulguration are both effective treatment modalities for freckles but post treatment side effects were less reported with IPL. These results have shown that IPL is a safer treatment option than electrofulguration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Atopic dermatitis is an itchy dry skin problem commonly present in children. The evaluation of vitamin D level in atopic patients with regular supplementation can help to improve disease outcome and prognosis. To find frequency of serum 25(OH) D (vitamin D) level in patients of atopic dermatitis. Methods This cross sectional study was performed at Mayo Hospital Lahore, dermatology facility, over a period of 6 months. A total of 95 clinically diagnosed cases of atopic dermatitis (AD) meeting inclusion criteria were enrolled after taking informed consent. All basic demographical data and other contact details were taken from each patient. Blood samples were taken from the antecubital veins and were sent to hospital laboratory for the measurement of serum 25(OH) D levels. Results The mean age of cases was 21.93±13.02 years with minimum and maximum age as 1and 45 years. There were 51 male and 44 female cases. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 25.39±3.62 with minimum and maximum BMI as 20.10 and 32.70. The mean serum vitamin D level was 31.26±13.85ng/ml with minimum and maximum serum vitamin D level as 15.20 and 54.90ng/ml. There were 44 (46.3%) cases who had serum level of vitamin D <20ng/ml and 51(53.7%) cases had serum level of vitamin D =20ng/ml. Conclusion It is concluded that frequency of serum vitamin D level <20ng/ml was seen in 46.3%. Hence in patients of atopic dermatitis vitamin D levels should be checked and if found low then vitamin D supplementation must be given additionally. This additional supplementation will help patients to reduce the severity of the disease and better prognosis of standard care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Psoriasis is chronic inflammatory disease having prevalence of 3% in developed world. Most of these patients have low levels of serum vitamin D. The objective of the study is to determine vitamin D levels in serum of patients having chronic plaque psoriasis. Methods In this cross sectional study 400 patients who fulfilled the selection criteria were enrolled from Dermatology Department Mayo Hospital Lahore over 6 months (June 6, 2018-December 6, 2018). Informed consent was taken. Demographic profile was noted. Their blood samples were taken after aseptic measures and sent to hospital laboratory for analysis of Vitamin D levels by ELISA method. The levels of Vitamin D3 were labeled as; Deficient (<20ng/ml), Insufficient (20ng/ml-30ng/ml), Desirable (>30ng/ml). Results The mean age of patients was 30.20±5.81 years with range of 18-40 years. 177(44.2%) cases were 18-29 years old and 223 (55.8%) cases were 30-40 years of age. There were 166 (41.5%) males and 234 (58.5%) cases were female. A total of 168(42%) cases had disease duration 6->12 months and 232(58%) cases had disease duration >12 months. A total of 118 (29.5%) cases had mild, 183 (45.75%) cases had moderate and 99 (24.75%) cases had severe disease. There were 69(17.2%) cases that had desirable vitamin D levels, 135 (33.8%) cases had vitamin D deficiency while 196 (49%) cases had insufficient vitamin D levels. Conclusion Findings of this study concludes that only 17.2% patients had desirable vitamin D levels while rest of the 82.8% cases had low levels of vitamin D levels. Hence, while treating patients with psoriasis, treatment of Vitamin D deficiency must also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sesuvium sesuvioides(Fenzl) Verdc. (Aizoaceae) is commonly known as BarriUlwaiti and used in folklore remedies; i.e. arthritis, gout, epistaxis, hemorrhage, smallpox, chickenpox, cold and flu by the local practitioners in the Cholistan desert. In the current study, fresh and dried plant material was examined macroscopically and microscopically. Transverse sections of plant parts such as leaf, stem, root and flower were also examined. Physico-chemical and fluorescence analysis according to WHO recommendations for standardization of plant material were performed. Phytochemical screening maybe helpful in determining the secondary metabolites responsible for their biological activities. Mineral analysis (Na+, K+, Li+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, Zn2+, Cu2+ and Fe2+), total fat and crude proteins were estimated to evaluate the nutritional value of the plant. In in-vitro cytotoxic activity, n-hexane fraction (50µg) showed significant results against Human T-lymphoblastic Leukemia CCRF-CEM cell lines followed by methanol and chloroform fractions. This study will be worthwhile for the correct identification and for observing any type of adulteration. This observation will be helpful for differentiating this species from closely related species of the same genus or family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the deeper coloring mechanism of berry, the 'Benitaka' (Be) grape, ABA treatment on 'Benitaka' (Be (ABA)), and its deeper coloring bud mutation 'Brasil' (Br) grape were compared three weeks post-ABA treatment (11 weeks post-flowering, 200 mg/g ABA). Firstly, the ABA-treated group exhibited a deeper coloring at three weeks post-ABA treatment than the 'Brasil'. Deeper color in 'Brasil' was caused by higher content of peonidin-3-O-monoglucoside, malvidin-3-O-monoglucoside, and malvidin-3-O-coumarylglucoside, while the deeper color in ABA-treated group was mainly caused by higher content of cyanidin-3-O-monoglucoside and peonidin-3-O-monoglucoside. In addition, the results revealed that 'Brasil' showed deeper coloring than 'Benitaka' was probably due to the higher expression of the VvmybA1 and VvmybA1-1 genes, similar with ABA-treated group. Compared with 'Benitaka', the distinction between the ABA-treated group and 'Brasil' was the expression of VvmybA1 gene. The gene expression was delayed in the ABA-treated group until three weeks post treatment. The VvmybA1 gene and transcription factor play an important role in the anthocyanin biosynthesis, and showed the difference in expressions of the VvmybA1 and VvmybA1-1 gene during different period of time probably due to different kind of anthocyanins. Based on these results, a possible mechanism of anthocyanins biosynthesis was established to elaborate the reason for the deeper coloring in ABA-treated 'Benitaka' and 'Brasil' grapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physiological (metabolite analysis) and molecular (gene expression) approaches were used to understand the mechanism underlying russet formation in response to the application of GA3 and CPPU (Forchlorfenuron) in a Japanese table grape cultivar 'Shine Muscat'. Several different concentrations of GA3 and GA3 + CPPU [25 mg L−1 GA3 (A), 25 mg L−1 GA3 + 5 mg L−1 CPPU (B), 25 mg L−1 GA3 + 10 mg L−1 CPPU (C), and 25 mg L−1 GA3 + 15 mg L−1 CPPU (D)] were applied to grape berry clusters at two weeks after flowering (WAF). No russet was observed on the berries treated with the 'C' combination. Lower levels of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity was observed in the treated samples, relative to the untreated material. Reduced peroxide (POD) activity was also observed in response to different treatments, while the expression of Peroxidase 17 and Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase G1 genes mirrored lignin content. Increased activity of 4-coenzyme A ligase (4CL) may contribute to decreasing the level of russet and help to improve grape berry quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The red-skinned fruit of Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc) appeals to customers due to its eye-catching pigmentation, while the mechanism related to its colour formation is still unclear. In this study, genome re-sequencing of six Japanese apricot cultivars was carried out with approximately 92.2 Gb of clean bases using next-generation sequencing. A total of 32,004 unigenes were assembled with an average of 83.1% coverage rate relative to reference genome. A wide range of genetic variation was detected, including 7,387,057 single nucleotide polymorphisms, 456,222 insertions or deletions and 129,061 structural variations in all genomes. Comparative sequencing data revealed that 13 candidate genes were involved in biosynthesis of anthocyanin. Significantly higher expression patterns were observed in genes encoding three anthocyanin synthesis structural genes (4CL, F3H and UFGT), five transcription factors (MYB–bHLH–WD40 complexes and NAC) and five anthocyanin accumulation related genes (GST1, RT1, UGT85A2, ABC and MATE transporters) in red-skinned than in green-skinned Japanese apricots using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Eight main kinds of anthocyanin s were detected by UPLC/MS, and cyanidin 3-glucoside was identified as the major anthocyanin (124.2 mg/kg) in red-skinned cultivars. The activity of UDP-glucose flavonoid-3-O-glycosyltransferase enzyme determined by UPLC was significantly higher in all red-skinned cultivars, suggesting that it is the potential vital regulatory gene for biosynthesis of anthocyanin in Japanese apricot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) approach, we analyzed the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and physiological behaviors of "Manicure Finger" grape plantlets grown in vitro under white, blue, green, and red light. A total of 670, 1601, and 746 DEGs were identified in plants exposed to blue, green, and red light, respectively, compared to the control (white light). By comparing the gene expression patterns with the growth and physiological responses of the grape plantlets, we were able to link the responses of the plants to light of different spectral wavelengths and the expression of particular sets of genes. Exposure to red and green light primarily triggered responses associated with the shade-avoidance syndrome (SAS), such as enhanced elongation of stems, reduced investment in leaf growth, and decreased chlorophyll levels accompanied by the expression of genes encoding histone H3, auxin repressed protein, xyloglucan endotransglycosylase/hydrolase, the ELIP protein, and microtubule proteins. Furthermore, specific light treatments were associated with the expression of a large number of genes, including those involved in the glucan metabolic pathway and the starch and sucrose metabolic pathways; these genes were up/down-regulated in ways that may explain the increase in the starch, sucrose, and total sugar contents in the plants. Moreover, the enhanced root growth and up-regulation of the expression of defense genes accompanied with SAS after exposure to red and green light may be related to the addition of 30 g/L sucrose to the culture medium of plantlets grown in vitro. In contrast, blue light induced the up-regulation of genes related to microtubules, serine carboxypeptidase, chlorophyll synthesis, and sugar degradation and the down-regulation of auxin-repressed protein as well as a large number of resistance-related genes that may promote leaf growth, improve chlorophyll synthesis and chloroplast development, increase the ratio of chlorophyll a (chla)/chlorophyll b (chlb), and decrease the ratio of carbohydrates to proteins in plants. Although exposure to red and green light seems to impose "shade stress" on the plantlets, growth under blue light is comparable to growth observed under white or broad-spectrum light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dodder (Cuscuta reflexa Roxb.) is found locally as parasitic weed on host plants. This plant often causes irritation on the hands. The main objective of the present investigation was to evaluate its irritation potential on animal skin. Skins irritating chemical constituents were separated in the form of various fractions. To do this, solvents with various polarities were used to extract least-polar compounds (petroleum ether extract), constituents of intermediate polarities [Chloroform (CHCl3) extract] and polar constituents [methanol (MeOH) extract] from pulverized biomass of Cuscuta reflexa. Ten fractions were collected from methanol extract by Liquid Column Chromatography and purified by Thin Layer Chromatography. The irritation potential of these purified fractions was evaluated on rabbit's skin. Fractions eluted by CHCI3 / MeOH (90:10), CHCI3 / MeOH (40:60) and CHCI3 / MeOH (20:80) showed more irritant potential. These biologically active purified fractions were characterized by Ultra Violet (UV) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The presence of -OH, -COOH, or ketonic group and a double bond in these fractions were liable to be reacted with the cell membrane and cellular contents of both superficial and deeper layers of epidermis causing irritancy. It was concluded that Cuscuta reflexa contained skin irritant compounds. © 2014 Friends Science Publishers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]