Long-term changes in Al thin-film extreme ultraviolet filters.

Thin-film Al filters are very popular owing to their high transmittance in the wavelength range of 17-67 nm and low transmittance in the visible and near-UV regions; however, they are prone to oxidation. The amorphous layers on the Al surfaces have much smaller transmittance than the bulk Al material; therefore, they strongly influence the total transmittance of the filter. This paper not only provides the transmittance of very old Al filters but also maps the transmittance development of Al filters over two years since their delivery (in 2016) in an uncontrolled atmosphere.

Beyond identity: Understanding the contribution of the 5' nucleotide of the antisense strand to RNAi activity.

In both the pharmaceutical and agricultural fields, RNA-based products have capitalized upon the mechanism of RNA interference for targeted reduction of gene expression to improve phenotypes and traits. Reduction in gene expression by RNAi is the result of a small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecule binding to an ARGONAUTE (AGO) protein and directing the effector complex to a homologous region of a target gene's mRNA. siRNAs properties that govern RNA-AGO association have been studied in detail.

Topically delivered 22 nt siRNAs enhance RNAi silencing of endogenous genes in two species.

22 nt siRNAs applied to leaves induce production of transitive sRNAs for targeted genes and can enhance local silencing. Systemic silencing was only observed for a GFP transgene. RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene silencing mechanism important in regulating gene expression during plant development, response to the environment and defense.

Systemic GFP silencing is associated with high transgene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana.

Gene silencing in plants using topical dsRNA is a new approach that has the potential to be a sustainable component of the agricultural production systems of the future. However, more research is needed to enable this technology as an economical and efficacious supplement to current crop protection practices. Systemic gene silencing is one key enabling aspect.

Carbon Dots for Efficient Small Interfering RNA Delivery and Gene Silencing in Plants.

The initiation of RNA interference (RNAi) by topically applied small interfering RNA has potential applications for plant functional genomics, crop improvement and crop protection, but the primary obstacle for the development of this technology is the efficient delivery of RNAi effectors into the cell. The plant cell wall is a particularly challenging barrier for the delivery of macromolecules because many of the transfection agents that are commonly used with animal cells produce nanocomplexes that are significantly larger than the size exclusion limit of the cell wall. Here, we illustrate the use of a class of very small nanoparticles, called carbon dots, for delivering small interfering RNA into the model plants and tomato ().

EDTA conditioning of dentine promotes adhesion, migration and differentiation of dental pulp stem cells.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of dentine conditioning on migration, adhesion and differentiation of dental pulp stem cells.

Methodology: Dentine discs prepared from extracted human molars were pre-treated with EDTA (10%), NaOCl (5.25%) or H2 O.

In vivo effects of focused shock waves on tumor tissue visualized by fluorescence staining techniques.

Shock waves can cause significant cytotoxic effects in tumor cells and tissues both in vitro and in vivo. However, understanding the mechanisms of shock wave interaction with tissues is limited. We have studied in vivo effects of focused shock waves induced in the syngeneic sarcoma tumor model using the TUNEL assay, immunohistochemical detection of caspase-3 and hematoxylin-eosin staining.

Posttranscriptional gene silencing in nuclei.

In plants, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) with sequence homology to transcribed regions of genes can guide the sequence-specific degradation of corresponding mRNAs, leading to posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS). The current consensus is that siRNA-mediated PTGS occurs primarily in the cytoplasm where target mRNAs are localized and translated into proteins. However, expression of an inverted-repeat double-stranded RNA corresponding to the soybean FAD2-1A desaturase intron is sufficient to silence FAD2-1, implicating nuclear precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA) rather than cytosolic mRNA as the target of PTGS.

Urine particle evaluation: a comparison between the UF-1000i and quantitative microscopy.

Background: The study of urine particles plays a key role in the diagnosis of kidney diseases. In this study, the authors evaluated the correlation between the UF-1000i and quantitative manual microscopy.

Methods: A total of 214 untreated urine samples were studied using the Sysmex UF-1000i and compared with results obtained from quantitative manual microscopy using the Fuchs-Rosenthal counting chamber.

Cutoff values for bacteria and leukocytes for urine flow cytometer Sysmex UF-1000i in urinary tract infections.

Because urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a quite common disease, the gold standard for diagnosing UTIs is still bacterial culture, although a large percentage of samples are negative: unnecessary cultures can be reduced by means of an effective screening test. The analytic performance of a new urine cytometer, the UF-1000i, has been tested on 1463 urine samples submitted to our laboratory for culture. Bacteria and leukocyte counts have been compared by means of the UF-1000i with colony-forming unit (CFU) quantification on citrate lactose electrolytes deficient agar to assess the best cutoff values.

Ferenczi's collaboration with rank: on paradigm shift and the origins of complementarity in psychoanalysis.

The publication in 1923 of Sigmund Freud's The Ego and the Id is generally recognized as a watershed event in the history of psychoanalysis. The following year Ferenczi and Rank jointly published a book on psychoanalytic technique, The Development of Psychoanalysis (Ger: Entwicklungsziele der Psychoanalyse), concurrently with the independent publication of Ferenczi's Thalassa: A Theory of Genitality (Ger: Versuch einer Genitaltheorie) and Rank's The Trauma of Birth, the latter of which sparked a storm of controversy within the psychoanalytic community. The ensuing debate over technical and theoretical issues raised in these works signaled the emergence of two rival paradigms (following the model described by Thomas Kuhn) in psychoanalytic technique, the one based on ego psychology and drive-dynamics, the other on preoedipal ego development and object relations, which, when viewed from a present-day vantage point, may be considered complementary.

[123I]IPCIT and [123I]beta-CIT as SPECT tracers for the dopamine transporter: a comparative analysis in nonhuman primates.

[123I]2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([123I]-CIT) and its isopropylester analog [123I]PCIT, both of which are phenyltropane derivatives of cocaine with high affinity for the dopamine (DA) transporter, were compared using single photon emission computed tomography in nonhuman primates. Although IPCIT is significantly more selective for the DA transporter than beta-CIT, striatal distribution volumes of specifically bound tracer were similar for both tracers. Compartmental modeling results were compared with a simple peak equilibrium method used previously by this group.

Ferenczi's fatal illness in historical context.

In August 1932, Ferenczi was already manifesting symptoms of his fatal illness, pernicious anemia. This was diagnosed between September 20 and October 2 of that year, less than a month after the Twelfth International Psychoanalytic Congress in Wiesbaden. Despite seemingly successful treatment with injectable liver extract, he underwent an acute psychotic episode in March 1933, triggered by the neurological symptoms of his illness.

Absence of an apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele is associated with increased parietal regional cerebral blood flow asymmetry in Alzheimer disease.

Background: The apolipoprotein E (Apo E) epsilon4 allele has been associated with parietal metabolic abnormalities and asymmetries in asymptomatic subjects at risk for Alzheimer disease (AD). However, previous research has shown minimal effect of the epsilon4 allele on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and metabolism in patients with probable AD.

Objective: To determine whether the Apo E epsilon4 allele is associated with parietal rCBF abnormalities and asymmetries in patients with probable AD.

DET1 represses a chloroplast blue light-responsive promoter in a developmental and tissue-specific manner in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The chloroplast psbD-psbC loci, which encode the D2 and CP43 subunits of the photosystem II reaction center, respectively, are regulated by a blue light-responsive promoter (BLRP). It has recently been shown in barley seedlings that activation of psbD-psbC transcription by blue light involves inhibition of a protein kinase that represses the BLRP in the dark. To elucidate further the photosensory pathways regulating the psbD BLRP, the effects of three nuclear mutations on the expression of the BLRP in chloroplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana were examined.

Structure and blue-light-responsive transcription of a chloroplast psbD promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana.

We characterized the effects of light on psbD transcription and mRNA levels during chloroplast development in Arabidopsis thaliana. After 6 to 12 hours of illumination of dark-grown seedlings, two psbD mRNAs were detected and their 5' ends were mapped to positions -550 and -190 bp upstream from the psbD translational start codon. Their kinetics of accumulation resembled the accumulation of chloroplast psbA and rbcL mRNAs but differed from the accumulation of the nuclear-encoded Lhcb and Chs mRNAs.

Test/retest reproducibility of iodine-123-betaCIT SPECT brain measurement of dopamine transporters in Parkinson's patients.

Unlabelled: Iodine-123-beta-CIT has been used as a probe of dopamine transporters in Parkinson's disease patients using SPECT. We studied the test/retest reproducibility of SPECT measures in Parkinson's disease patients and healthy controls obtained after injection of [123I])beta-CIT in part to assess the utility of this tracer for longitudinal evaluation of striatal dopamine transporters as a marker of disease progression.

Methods: Seven Parkinson's disease patients and seven healthy control subjects participated in two [123I]beta-CIT SPECT scans separated by 7-21 days.

The acetylcholine releaser linopirdine increases parietal regional cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer's disease.

Centrally acting cholinergic drugs have been reported to increase regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) as measured by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in brain regions affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD). We studied the effects of the acetylcholine releaser linopirdine (LPD) on SPECT rCBF in patients with probable AD. Twenty-four AD patients (12 M, 12 F; mean age +/- SD = 68.

Preclinical evaluation of [123I]R93274 as a SPECT radiotracer for imaging 5-HT2A receptors.

Studies in rodents have suggested that the radioiodinated 5-HT2A receptor antagonist [123I]R93274 (123-iodine-N-[(3-p-fluorophenyl-1-propyl)-4-methyl-4-piperidinyl]-4-ami no- 5-iodo-2-methoxybenzamide) (Kd = 0.1 nM) might be a promising single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) radiotracer to image 5-HT2A receptors in the living human brain. In this study, we characterized the brain uptake of [123I]R93274 in baboons.

Microdialysis and SPECT measurements of amphetamine-induced dopamine release in nonhuman primates.

The competition between endogenous transmitters and radiolabeled ligands for in vivo binding to neuroreceptors might provide a method to measure endogenous transmitter release in the living human brain with noninvasive techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) or single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT). In this study, we validated the measure of amphetamine-induced dopamine release with SPECT in nonhuman primates. Microdialysis experiments were conducted to establish the dose-response curve of amphetamine-induced dopamine release and to document how pretreatment with the dopamine depleter alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (alpha MPT) affects this response.

Comparison of technetium-99m-HMPAO and technetium-99m-ECD cerebral SPECT images in Alzheimer's disease.

Unlabelled: SPECT has shown increasing promise as a diagnostic tool in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recently, a new SPECT brain perfusion agent, 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer (99mTc-ECD) has emerged with purported advantages in image quality over the established tracer, 99mTc-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO). This research aimed to compare cerebral images for 99mTc-HMPAO and 99mTc-ECD in discriminating patients with AD from control subjects.