NSD3 protein methylation and stabilization transforms human ES cells into variant state.

Cultured human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can develop genetic anomalies that increase their susceptibility to transformation. In this study, we characterized a variant hESC (vhESC) line and investigated the molecular mechanisms leading to the drift towards a transformed state. Our findings revealed that vhESCs up-regulate EMT-specific markers, accelerate wound healing, exhibit compromised lineage differentiation, and retain pluripotency gene expression in teratomas.

Multiple mechanisms mediate growth and survival in young seedlings of two populations of the halophyte Atriplex halimus (L.) subjected to long single-step salinity treatments.

Understanding how halophytes survive high soil salinity in realistic long-term experiments is important for strategies to mitigate the effects of increasing soil salinity worldwide. Protective mechanisms in halophytes enabling survival include sequestration of salt via Na+/H+ antiporters, synthesis and accumulation of osmolytes, and activation of protective mechanisms against reactive oxygen species (ROS). Protective mechanisms elicited by a single step-up to a range of NaCl treatments (34-256mM) in two populations of the halophyte Atriplex halimus L.

An epidemiological analysis of acute flaccid paralysis and its surveillance system in Iraq, 1997-2011.

Background: Acute flaccid paralysis surveillance (AFP) is an essential strategy of the WHO's Polio Eradication Initiative. This is the first study conducted to estimate the incidence, etiology, distribution, and surveillance performance of AFP in Iraq.

Methods: Surveillance data about the AFP cases under the age of 15 years reported from Iraq during January 1997 to December 2011 were depended in the current study.

Guillain-Barré syndrome as a cause of acute flaccid paralysis in Iraqi children: a result of 15 years of nation-wide study.

Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is the most common cause of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in the post-poliomyelitis eradication era. This is the first study done to identify the epidemiology, clinical features, and outcome of GBS in Iraqi children over 15 years.

Methods: The surveillance database about AFP cases < 15 years reported during January 1997-December 2011 was used.

[Prenatal care in the city of Marrakech].

The data reported here come from a survey conducted in 2008, in direct interviews, according to a standard questionnaire, of 1712 women visiting 15 health centers in Marrakech. We selected 1202 women who gave birth during the past five years to examine the impact of socioeconomic and biodemographic determinants on access to prenatal care in this city. We also identified 309 women in our sample who were pregnant during the survey and studied the quality and content of their prenatal care.