The telomerase activator TA-65 protects from cigarette smoke-induced small airway remodeling in mice through extra-telomeric effects.

Small airway remodeling (SAR) is a key phenomenon of airflow obstruction in smokers, leading to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). SAR results in an increased thickness of small airway walls, with a combination of peribronchiolar fibrosis with increased fibrous tissue and accumulation of mesenchymal and epithelial cells. SAR pathogenesis is still unclear but recent data suggest that alterations in telomerase activity could represent a possible underlying mechanism of SAR.

Determination of Serum Infliximab Concentration by Point-of-care Devices in Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Objectives: Therapeutic drug monitoring is becoming increasingly important in clinical decision-making in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assays do not allow results to be provided in real-time. We sought to compare 2 point-of-care (POC) devices for quantification of serum infliximab concentration with 2 validated ELISA assays in children with IBD.

A centriole- and RanGTP-independent spindle assembly pathway in meiosis I of vertebrate oocytes.

Spindle formation is essential for stable inheritance of genetic material. Experiments in various systems indicate that Ran GTPase is crucial for meiotic and mitotic spindle assembly. Such an important role for Ran in chromatin-induced spindle assembly was initially demonstrated in Xenopus laevis egg extracts.

Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensis) Bark Necrosis Syndrome III: A Physiological Disease Linked to Impaired Cyanide Metabolism.

First attempts to discriminate between tapping panel dryness (TPD) and bark necrosis (BN), two Hevea sp. bark diseases leading to the cessation of latex production, showed differences in latex biochemical characteristics (1). Further, contrary to TPD, BN is characterized by inner phloem necrosis starting at the rootstock/scion junction (RS/S) and spreading upward to the tapping cut.

Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensis) Bark Necrosis Syndrome II: First Comprehensive Report on Causal Stresses.

Bark necrosis (BN), described and first studied in Côte d'Ivoire in the 1980s (2), affects most modern rubber plantations (i.e., grafted trees with high-yielding clones, intensive exploitation due to tapping frequency, and use of Ethrel as a yield stimulant) worldwide with a wide range of severity across sites.