Protocol for the purification of the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase from transplastomic tobacco plants.

The plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) plays an essential role in the transcription of the chloroplast genome. Here, we present a strategy to purify the transcriptionally active protein complex from transplastomic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) lines in which one of the PEP core subunits is fused to an epitope tag. We describe experimental procedures for designing transformation constructs for PEP purification, selection, and analysis of transplastomic tobacco plants.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in disaster-exposed youth: examining diagnostic concordance and model fit using ICD-11 and DSM-5 criteria.

Background: Competing definitions of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been proposed by ICD-11 and DSM-5; it is unclear which diagnostic model works best for children and adolescents. Although other studies have predicted the impact of these models by approximating the criteria using older measures, this study advances the research by comparing measures designed to assess ICD-11 and DSM-5 criteria in hurricane-exposed youth. This study evaluates ICD-11 and DSM-5 (both the standard and preschool-age) diagnostic models by identifying diagnostic rates, evaluating diagnostic concordance, investigating the predictive value of constructs associated with PTSD (demographics, disaster threat and exposure, functional impairment), and examining model fit.

Oxford Nanopore Technology-Based Identification of an Endosymbiosis in Microbial Keratitis.

(1) Background: Microbial keratitis is a serious eye infection that carries a significant risk of vision loss. spp. are known to cause keratitis and their bacterial endosymbionts can increase virulence and/or treatment resistance and thus significantly worsen the course of the disease.

Free-space optical communication link using a single Laguerre-Gaussian beam with tunable radial and azimuthal spatial indices generated by an integrated concentric circular antenna array.

We experimentally demonstrate a 10-Gbit/s free-space communication link using a single Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam with tunable radial and azimuthal modal indices generated by a photonic integrated circuit comprising two concentric uniform circular antenna arrays (UCAs). To tune the azimuthal modal indices ℓ of the generated beam, the azimuthal phase gradient inside each UCA is tuned. To tune the radial mode p of the generated beam, the amplitude ratio and phase difference between the two concentric UCA are tuned.

Test-retest reliability of behavioral and computational measures of advice taking under volatility.

The development of computational models for studying mental disorders is on the rise. However, their psychometric properties remain understudied, posing a risk of undermining their use in empirical research and clinical translation. Here we investigated test-retest reliability (with a 2-week interval) of a computational assay probing advice-taking under volatility with a Hierarchical Gaussian Filter (HGF) model.

Detailed Profiling of 17-Hydroxygeranyllinalool Diterpene Glycosides from Species Reveals Complex Reaction Networks of Conjugation Isomers.

Background: Specialised anti-herbivory metabolites are abundant in the solanaceous genus . These metabolites include the large family of 17-hydroxygeranyllinalool diterpene glycosides (HGL-DTGs). Many HGL-DTGs occur exclusively within the genus, but information from the molecular model species , , and the tree tobacco is limited.

Membrane protein provision controls prothylakoid biogenesis in tobacco etioplasts.

The cytochrome b559 heterodimer is a conserved component of photosystem II whose physiological role in photosynthetic electron transfer is enigmatic. A particularly puzzling aspect of cytochrome b559 has been its presence in etiolated seedlings, where photosystem II is absent. Whether or not the cytochrome has a specific function in etioplasts is unknown.

Identification and characterization of the COPII vesicle-forming GTPase Sar1 in .

Eukaryotic cells are highly compartmentalized, requiring elaborate transport mechanisms to facilitate the movement of proteins between membrane-bound compartments. Most proteins synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are transported to the Golgi apparatus through COPII-mediated vesicular trafficking. Sar1, a small GTPase that facilitates the formation of COPII vesicles, plays a critical role in the early steps of this protein secretory pathway.

Structure, function, and assembly of PSI in thylakoid membranes of vascular plants.

The photosynthetic apparatus is formed by thylakoid membrane-embedded multiprotein complexes that carry out linear electron transport in oxygenic photosynthesis. The machinery is largely conserved from cyanobacteria to land plants, and structure and function of the protein complexes involved are relatively well studied. By contrast, how the machinery is assembled in thylakoid membranes remains poorly understood.

The red alga as a host for molecular farming: Efficient production of immunologically active hepatitis C virus glycoprotein.

Microalgae are promising production platforms for the cost-effective production of recombinant proteins. We have recently established that the red alga provides superior transgene expression properties, due to the episomal maintenance of transformation vectors as multicopy plasmids in the nucleus. Here, we have explored the potential of to synthesize complex pharmaceutical proteins to high levels.

Removal of the large inverted repeat from the plastid genome reveals gene dosage effects and leads to increased genome copy number.

The chloroplast genomes of most plants and algae contain a large inverted repeat (IR) region that separates two single-copy regions and harbours the ribosomal RNA operon. We have addressed the functional importance of the IR region by removing an entire copy of the 25.3-kb IR from the tobacco plastid genome.

[ChatGPT and the German board examination for ophthalmology: an evaluation].

Purpose: In recent years artificial intelligence (AI), as a new segment of computer science, has also become increasingly more important in medicine. The aim of this project was to investigate whether the current version of ChatGPT (ChatGPT 4.0) is able to answer open questions that could be asked in the context of a German board examination in ophthalmology.

Altered Perception of Environmental Volatility During Social Learning in Emerging Psychosis.

Paranoid delusions or unfounded beliefs that others intend to deliberately cause harm are a frequent and burdensome symptom in early psychosis, but their emergence and consolidation still remains opaque. Recent theories suggest that overly precise prediction errors lead to an unstable model of the world providing a breeding ground for delusions. Here, we employ a Bayesian approach to test for such an unstable model of the world and investigate the computational mechanisms underlying emerging paranoia.

An RNA polymerase that became a Swiss army knife.

RNA polymerases (RNAPs) control the first step of gene expression in all forms of life by transferring genetic information from DNA to RNA, a process known as transcription. In this issue of Cell, Webster et al. and Wu et al.

Clarifying relations of emotion regulation, emotional avoidance and anxiety symptoms in a community-based treatment-seeking sample.

Objectives: Anxiety is a global problem that is readily treatable with psychosocial interventions, though many individuals do not benefit following participation in extant treatment protocols. Accordingly, clarification of process-related variables that may be leveraged to enhance outcomes appears warranted. Emotion regulation (ER) is a robust correlate of anxiety symptoms and is often targeted in behavioural treatments applied to anxiety-related problems.

CO-EXPRESSED WITH PSI ASSEMBLY1 (CEPA1) is a photosystem I assembly factor in Arabidopsis.

Photosystem I (PSI) forms a large macromolecular complex of ∼580 kDa that resides in the thylakoid membrane and mediates photosynthetic electron transfer. PSI is composed of 18 protein subunits and nearly 200 co-factors. The assembly of the complex in thylakoid membranes requires high spatial and temporal coordination, and is critically dependent on a sophisticated assembly machinery.

Optimized transgene expression in the red alga Porphyridium purpureum and efficient recombinant protein secretion into the culture medium.

Microalgae represent a promising but yet underexplored production platform for biotechnology. The vast majority of studies on recombinant protein expression in algae have been conducted in a single species, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. However, due to epigenetic silencing, transgene expression in Chlamydomonas is often inefficient.

Primary intranodal Warthin-like variant of mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

This report describes a rare case of primary intranodal Warthin-like mucoepidermoid carcinoma (WL-MEC) presenting as a left level II lymph node mass in a 48-year-old man. Warthin-like mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a recently defined variant of MEC that bears a close histologic resemblance to Warthin tumor. Whereas MEC has readily identifiable key histologic features that render diagnosis relatively straightforward, WL-MEC is a challenging diagnosis due to overlapping histologic features and only limited case reports in the literature.

Hypothetical chloroplast reading frame 51 encodes a photosystem I assembly factor in cyanobacteria.

Hypothetical chloroplast open reading frames (ycfs) are putative genes in the plastid genomes of photosynthetic eukaryotes. Many ycfs are also conserved in the genomes of cyanobacteria, the presumptive ancestors of present-day chloroplasts. The functions of many ycfs are still unknown.

A heat-inducible expression system for external control of gene expression in plastids.

Inducible expression systems can overcome the trade-off between high-level transgene expression and its pleiotropic effects on plant growth. In addition, they can facilitate the expression of biochemical pathways that produce toxic metabolites. Although a few inducible expression systems for the control of transgene expression in plastids have been developed, they all depend on chemical inducers and/or nuclear transgenes.