Templated dewetting of single-crystal sub-millimeter-long nanowires and on-chip silicon circuits.

Large-scale, defect-free, micro- and nano-circuits with controlled inter-connections represent the nexus between electronic and photonic components. However, their fabrication over large scales often requires demanding procedures that are hardly scalable. Here we synthesize arrays of parallel ultra-long (up to 0.

Emergence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases-producing Escherichia coli in community-acquired urinary infections in Casablanca, Morocco.

Introduction: Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase- (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli are an increasingly significant cause of community-acquired infection worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli in a community, to analyze the relationship between strains studied, and to characterize the ESBL genes involved in this resistance.

Inhibition of double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase strongly decreases cytokine production and release in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is the most common form of dementia in the elderly individuals. Among the pathogenic mechanisms in AD, chronic systemic inflammation is described and characterized by massive production of proinflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), which may contribute to an altered immune response and exacerbation of neurodegeneration. Studies have also reported increased double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) activation in the PBMCs of patients with AD.

Decreased expression of cyclic adenosine monophosphate-regulated aldose reductase (AKR1B1) is associated with malignancy in human sporadic adrenocortical tumors.

The human aldose reductase, AKR1B1, participates in glucose metabolism and osmoregulation and is supposed to play a protective role against toxic aldehydes derived from lipid peroxidation and steroidogenesis that could affect cell growth/differentiation when accumulated. Adrenal gland is a major site of expression of AKR1B1, and we asked whether changes in its expression could be associated with adrenal disorders. Therefore, we examined AKR1B1 gene expression in human fetal adrenals, adrenocortical cell line, and tumors and compared the results with the expression of steroidogenic genes (StAR and CYP11A) and regulators of adrenal cortex development [steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) and dosage-sensitive sex reversal-adrenal hypoplasia congenita critical region on the X chromosome, gene 1 (DAX1)].

A 77-base pair LINE-like sequence elicits androgen-dependent mvdp/akr1-b7 expression in mouse vas deferens, but is dispensable for adrenal expression in rats.

Mvdp/akr1-b7 (mouse vas deferens protein/aldo-keto reductase 1-B7) encodes an enzyme responsible for detoxification of a steroidogenesis byproduct. MVDP/AKR1-B7 is expressed in both rat and mouse adrenal cortex under ACTH control, whereas strong androgen-dependent accumulation in the vas deferens is mouse specific. Comparison of the regulatory regions of the two orthologs reveals a strong identity, disrupted by acquisition of a 77-bp LINE-derived sequence in the mouse promoter.

Androgen receptor expression is regulated by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway in normal and tumoral epithelial cells.

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-responsive transcription factor known to play a central role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. However, the regulation of AR gene expression in the normal and pathological prostate remains poorly understood. This study focuses on the effect of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase)/Akt axis on AR expression in vas deferens epithelial cells (VDEC), a suitable model to study androgen regulation of gene expression, and LNCaP cells (derived from a metastasis at the left supraclavicular lymph node from a 50-year-old patient with a confirmed diagnosis of metastatic prostate carcinoma).