NMR Fingerprinting of Conventional and Genetically Modified Soybean Plants with AtAREB1 Transcription Factors.

Drought stress impacts soybean yields and physiological processes. However, the insertion of the activated form of the AtAREB1 gene in the soybean cultivar BR16, which is sensitive to water deficit, improved the drought response of the genetically modified plants. Thus, in this study, we used H NMR in solution and solid-state NMR to investigate the response of genetically modified soybean overexpressing AtAREB1 under water deficiency conditions.

Influence of plant growth-promoting bacteria on leaf carbon and nitrogen metabolism of two drought-stressed neotropical tree species: a metabolomic approach.

Deforestation of Atlantic Forest has caused prolonged drought events in the last decades. The need for reforestation is growing, and the development of native seedlings that are more tolerant to drought stress is necessary. A biotechnological tool that improves plant tolerance is the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) as inoculants.

Machine Learning-Based Virtual Screening of Antibacterial Agents against Methicillin-Susceptible and Resistant .

The application of computer-aided drug discovery (CADD) approaches has enabled the discovery of new antimicrobial therapeutic agents in the past. The high prevalence of methicillin-resistant(MRSA) strains promoted this pathogen to a high-priority pathogen for drug development. In this sense, modern CADD techniques can be valuable tools for the search for new antimicrobial agents.

Transformer-based models for ICD-10 coding of death certificates with Portuguese text.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) can offer important tools for unlocking relevant information from clinical narratives. Although Transformer-based models can achieve remarkable results in several different NLP tasks, these models have been less used in clinical NLP, and particularly in low resource languages, of which Portuguese is one example. It is still not entirely clear whether pre-trained Transformer models are useful for clinical tasks, without further architecture engineering or particular training strategies.

Metabolic alterations in conventional and genetically modified soybean plants with GmDREB2A;2 FL and GmDREB2A;2 CA transcription factors during water deficit.

Water deficit is one of the main abiotic stress that affects plant growth and productivity. The GmDREB2A;2 (Glyma14g06080) gene is an important transcription factor involved in regulating the plants' responses under water deficit. In previous studies, soybean plants overexpressing full-length (GmDREB2A;2 FL) and constitutively active (GmDREB2A;2 CA) forms of the GmDREB2A;2 gene, presented higher tolerance to water deficit when compared with the conventional cultivar BRS 283.

Identification of primary and secondary metabolites and transcriptome profile of soybean tissues during different stages of hypoxia.

NMR and chromatography methods combined with mass spectrometry are the most important analytical techniques employed for plant metabolomics screening. Metabolomic analysis integrated to transcriptome screening add an important extra dimension to the information flow from DNA to RNA to protein. The most useful NMR experiment in metabolomics analysis is the proton spectra due the high receptivity of H and important structural information, through proton-proton scalar coupling.

Integrating High-Resolution and Solid-State Magic Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy and a Transcriptomic Analysis of Soybean Tissues in Response to Water Deficiency.

Introduction: Solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy methods provide chemical environment and ultrastructural details that are not easily accessible by other non-destructive, high-resolution spectral techniques. High-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) has been widely used to obtain the metabolic profile of a heterogeneous sample, combining the resolution enhancement provided by MAS in SSNMR with the shimming and locking procedures in liquid-state NMR.

Objective: In this work, we explored the feasibility of using the HR-MAS and SSNMR techniques to identify metabolic changes in soybean leaves subjected to water-deficient conditions.

Novel Androgen Receptor Coregulator GRHL2 Exerts Both Oncogenic and Antimetastatic Functions in Prostate Cancer.

Alteration to the expression and activity of androgen receptor (AR) coregulators in prostate cancer is an important mechanism driving disease progression and therapy resistance. Using a novel proteomic technique, we identified a new AR coregulator, the transcription factor Grainyhead-like 2 (GRHL2), and demonstrated its essential role in the oncogenic AR signaling axis. GRHL2 colocalized with AR in prostate tumors and was frequently amplified and upregulated in prostate cancer.

Characterization of new exopolysaccharide production by Rhizobium tropici during growth on hydrocarbon substrate.

Exopolysaccharide (EPS) are produced by a diverse of rhizobia species and has been demonstrated to be a bioemulsifier with potential applications in the degradation of hydrocarbons. In the present study, attempts were made to obtain the new exopolysaccharide production by Rhizobium tropici (SEMIA 4080 and MUTZC3) strains during growth on hydrocarbon substrate. Under the different cultivation conditions, the high molecular weight exopolysaccharides from Rhizobium tropici strains cultivated for 96h mainly consisted of carbohydrates (79-85%) and a low percentage of protein.

Androgen receptor signaling in castration-resistant prostate cancer: a lesson in persistence.

The androgen receptor (AR) signaling axis drives all stages of prostate cancer, including the lethal, drug-resistant form of the disease termed castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), which arises after failure of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Persistent AR activity in spite of ADT and the second-generation AR-targeting agents enzalutamide and abiraterone is achieved in many cases by direct alterations to the AR signaling axis. Herein, we provide a detailed description of how such alterations contribute to the development and progression of CRPC.

Metabolite Profiling of Sugarcane Genotypes and Identification of Flavonoid Glycosides and Phenolic Acids.

Sugarcane is an important agricultural crop in the economy of tropical regions, and Brazil has the largest cultivated acreage in the world. Sugarcane accumulates high levels of sucrose in its stalks. Other compounds produced by sugarcane are currently not of economic importance.

Effect of water content on the acid-base equilibrium of cyanidin-3-glucoside.

Laser Flash Photolysis was employed to measure the deprotonation and reprotonation rate constants of cyanidin 3-monoglucoside (kuromanin) in water/methanol mixtures. It was found that the deprotonation rate constant kd decreases with decreasing water content, reflecting the lack of free water molecules around kuromanin, which may accommodate and stabilize the outgoing protons. On the other hand, the reprotonation rate constant, kp, increases with the decrease in water concentration from a value of kp = 2 × 10(10) l mol(-1) s(-1) in water up to kp = 6 × 10(10) l mol(-1) s(-1) at 5.

Modulating the structure of EGFR with UV light: new possibilities in cancer therapy.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a member of the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases. EGFR is activated upon binding to e.g.

Potential small-molecule activators of caspase-7 identified using yeast-based caspase-3 and -7 screening assays.

Caspases-3 and -7 are at the core of the execution phase of apoptosis. The search for activators of these proteases has therefore deserved particular attention in the field of anticancer drug discovery. Here, a simplified yeast-based screening approach was developed and used to search for activators of caspases-3 and -7, followed by evaluation of the activity of the selected compounds in the human tumor cell lines HL-60 (acute promyelocytic leukemia) and MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma).

Europium(III) tetrakis(β-diketonate) complex as an ionic liquid: a calorimetric and spectroscopic study.

An intrinsic photoluminescent ionic liquid based on europium(III) tetrakis(β-diketonate) complex with a tetraalkylphosphonium as counterion was synthesized. Calorimetric measurements showed a melting point at 63 °C, which allows the ionic liquid classification. When cooling the material from the liquid state, metastable supercooled ionic liquid is obtained, as seen from NMR spectroscopy as well.

Yeast as a powerful model system for the study of apoptosis regulation by protein kinase C isoforms.

Protein kinase C (PKC) is a family of serine/threonine kinases involved in the transduction of signals that control different cellular processes, such as cell death and proliferation. This family comprises at least 10 isoforms that regulate apoptosis in an isoformspecific manner. However, controversial data about the role of individual PKC isoforms in apoptosis regulation are frequently reported.

New insights into cancer-related proteins provided by the yeast model.

Cancer is a devastating disease with a profound impact on society. In recent years, yeast has provided a valuable contribution with respect to uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying this disease, allowing the identification of new targets and novel therapeutic opportunities. Indeed, several attributes make yeast an ideal model system for the study of human diseases.

Aspartic vinyl sulfones: inhibitors of a caspase-3-dependent pathway.

In this article we describe an expanded structure-activity relationship study for vinyl sulfones as caspase-3 inhibitors, a topic virtually unexplored in the existing literature. Most remarkably, and to our surprise, tripeptidyl vinyl sulfones were not active for caspase-3, opposite to other examples described in literature for peptidyl vinyl sulfones as potent cysteine protease inhibitors of clan CA. Moreover, the caspase-3 inhibitory activity of vinyl sulfones using an in vitro assay was then confirmed using a yeast cell-based assay.

Distinct regulation of p53-mediated apoptosis by protein kinase Cα, δ, ε and ζ: Evidence in yeast for transcription-dependent and -independent p53 apoptotic mechanisms.

The role of individual protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms in the regulation of p53-mediated apoptosis is still uncertain. Using yeast cells co-expressing the human wild-type p53 and a single mammalian PKCα, δ, ε or ζ, we showed a differential regulation of p53-mediated apoptosis by these PKC isoforms. Whereas PKCα and ζ had no effect on p53 activity, PKCδ and ε stimulated a p53-mediated mitochondria-dependent apoptosis.

Differential regulation of p53 function by protein kinase C isoforms revealed by a yeast cell system.

The complexity of the mammalian p53 pathway and protein kinase C (PKC) family has hampered the discrimination of the effect of PKC isoforms on p53 activity. Using yeasts co-expressing the human wild-type p53 and a mammalian PKC-alpha, -delta, -epsilon or -zeta, we showed a differential regulation of p53 activity and phosphorylation state by PKC isoforms. Whereas PKC-alpha reduced the p53-induced yeast growth inhibition and cell cycle arrest, PKC-delta and -epsilon enhanced the p53 activity through p53 phosphorylation, and PKC-zeta had no effect on p53.

Rapid method for testing the susceptibility of Aspergillus fumigatus to amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole by assessment of oxygen consumption.

Objectives: Antifungal stress conditions affect fungal germination and growth. The assessment of oxygen consumption resulting from the challenge of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia with antifungal agents might be predictive of the susceptibility of this species to the agents evaluated.

Methods: The antifungal susceptibilities of A.