Anthocyanin pigmentation as a quantitative visual marker for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization of Medicago truncatula roots.

Visualization of root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is the most elementary experiment in the field of mycorrhizal symbiosis. The most widely used approach for evaluating levels of AMF colonization is staining with trypan blue or ink, which is scored using the time-consuming grid intersection method. Here we demonstrate the use of an anthocyanin-based visual marker system for visualizing AMF colonization of Medicago truncatula roots.

Three Common Symbiotic ABC Subfamily B Transporters in Are Regulated by a NIN-Independent Branch of the Symbiosis Signaling Pathway.

Several ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters involved in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and nodulation have been identified. We describe three previously unreported ABC subfamily B transporters, named AMN1, AMN2, and AMN3 (ABCB for mycorrhization and nodulation), that are expressed early during infection by rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These ABCB transporters are strongly expressed in symbiotically infected tissues, including in root-hair cells with rhizobial infection threads and arbusculated cells.

Managing pain in HIV/AIDS: a therapeutic relationship is as effective as an exercise and education intervention for rural amaXhosa women in South Africa.

Background: Pain is one of the most prevalent symptoms in people living with HIV/AIDS and is largely undermanaged. Both a peer-led exercise and education Positive Living programme (PL programme) and the PL programme workbook alone were previously found to be effective in reducing pain in urban amaXhosa Women Living With HIV/AIDS (WLWHA). A therapeutic relationship was hypothesised to have contributed to the efficacy of both interventions.

Barriers to implementing clinical trials on nonpharmacological treatments in developing countries: lessons learnt from addressing pain in HIV.

Pain affects over half of the people living with HIV/AIDS (LWHA), and pharmacological treatment has limited efficacy. Preliminary evidence supports nonpharmacological interventions. We previously piloted a multimodal intervention in amaXhosa women LWHA and chronic pain in South Africa with improvements seen in all outcomes, in both intervention and control groups.

NIN Acts as a Network Hub Controlling a Growth Module Required for Rhizobial Infection.

The symbiotic infection of root cells by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia during nodulation requires the transcription factor Nodule Inception (NIN). Our root hair transcriptomic study extends NIN's regulon to include and genes involved in cell wall modification, gibberellin biosynthesis, and a comprehensive group of nutrient (N, P, and S) uptake and assimilation genes, suggesting that NIN's recruitment to nodulation was based on its role as a growth module, a role shared with other NIN-Like Proteins. The expression of jasmonic acid genes in suggests the involvement of NIN in the resolution of growth versus defense outcomes.

Evidence for tryptophan being a signal molecule that inhibits conidial anastomosis tube fusion during colony initiation in Neurospora crassa.

Mycelial interconnectedness achieved by hyphal fusion has been hypothesized to facilitate the distribution and sharing of nutrients between different parts of a mycelium, especially when nutrients are heterogeneously distributed in the environment. However, the link between environmental nutrient availability and hyphal fusion is little understood. Here, we report that amino acids and extracellular pH regulate conidial anastomosis tube (CAT) fusion during colony initiation in Neurospora crassa.

Emergency department abdominal x-rays have a poor diagnostic yield and their usefulness is questionable.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and nature of new clinically significant abdominal x-ray (AXR) findings and the proportion of patients receiving additional imaging in the emergency department (ED).

Methods: This was a retrospective audit of consecutive adult patients, who presented to a tertiary referral ED (annual census 70,000) between September and December 2008. Data were extracted from radiologist reports and the medical records of patients with new significant AXR findings.