Herpesvirus Antibodies Are Correlated With Greater Expression of p16 in the T Cells of Humans.

Background: There is an increasing awareness that aging of the immune system, or immunosenescence, is a key biological process underlying many of the hallmark diseases of aging and age-related decline broadly. While immunosenescence can be in part due to normal age-related changes in the immune system, emerging evidence posits that viral infections may be biological stressors of the immune system that accelerate the pace of immunosenescence.

Methods: We used a convenience sample of 42 individuals aged 65 years and older to examine correlations between antiviral immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels for 4 human herpesviruses (cytomegalovirus [CMV], herpes simplex virus [types 1 and 2], and Epstein-Barr virus) and multiple indicators of T-cell immunosenescence.

Improving transformation and regeneration efficiency in medicinal plants: insights from other recalcitrant species.

Medicinal plants are integral to traditional medicine systems worldwide, being pivotal for human health. Harvesting plant material from natural environments, however, has led to species scarcity, prompting action to develop cultivation solutions that also aid conservation efforts. Biotechnological tools, specifically plant tissue culture and genetic transformation, offer solutions for sustainable, large-scale production and enhanced yield of valuable biomolecules.

Does social participation make Thai psychologically abused elders happier? a stress-buffering effect hypothesis.

This study investigates the influence of psychological elder abuse on life satisfaction levels in Thailand. This study also analyses the stress-buffering effect of social participation on the life satisfaction levels of Thai mentally abused elderly. Elder abuse has been proven to dramatically reduce Thai elders' levels of life satisfaction as their function in society shrinks owing to ageism.

Metabolomic analysis of methyl jasmonate treatment on phytocannabinoid production in .

is a multi-use and chemically complex plant which is utilized for food, fiber, and medicine. Plants produce a class of psychoactive and medicinally important specialized metabolites referred to as phytocannabinoids (PCs). The phytohormone methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is a naturally occurring methyl ester of jasmonic acid and a product of oxylipin biosynthesis which initiates and regulates the biosynthesis of a broad range of specialized metabolites across a number of diverse plant lineages.

Heterologous production of Cannabis sativa-derived specialised metabolites of medicinal significance - Insights into engineering strategies.

Cannabis sativa L. has been known for at least 2000 years as a source of important, medically significant specialised metabolites and several bio-active molecules have been enriched from multiple chemotypes. However, due to the many levels of complexity in both the commercial cultivation of cannabis and extraction of its specialised metabolites, several heterologous production approaches are being pursued in parallel.

A Model to Incorporate the bHLH Transcription Factor OsIRO3 within the Rice Iron Homeostasis Regulatory Network.

Iron (Fe) homeostasis in plants is governed by a complex network of regulatory elements and transcription factors (TFs), as both Fe toxicity and deficiency negatively impact plant growth and physiology. The Fe homeostasis network is well characterized in and remains poorly understood in monocotyledon species such as rice ( L.).

You are my death: the shattered temporalities of zombie time.

This essay considers the relationship between the experience of life shortening chronic illness and the current COVID-19 crisis. Martin O'Brien uses his experience of living with cystic fibrosis to interrogate the temporal experience of living within a global pandemic. He returns to his concept of zombie time, the temporal experience of living longer than expected, in order to understand the presence of death as a way of life.

Multi-omics analysis on an agroecosystem reveals the significant role of organic nitrogen to increase agricultural crop yield.

Both inorganic fertilizer inputs and crop yields have increased globally, with the concurrent increase in the pollution of water bodies due to nitrogen leaching from soils. Designing agroecosystems that are environmentally friendly is urgently required. Since agroecosystems are highly complex and consist of entangled webs of interactions between plants, microbes, and soils, identifying critical components in crop production remain elusive.

Are the current gRNA ranking prediction algorithms useful for genome editing in plants?

Introducing a new trait into a crop through conventional breeding commonly takes decades, but recently developed genome sequence modification technology has the potential to accelerate this process. One of these new breeding technologies relies on an RNA-directed DNA nuclease (CRISPR/Cas9) to cut the genomic DNA, in vivo, to facilitate the deletion or insertion of sequences. This sequence specific targeting is determined by guide RNAs (gRNAs).

Efficient sampling of shiitake-inoculated oak logs to determine the log-to-mushroom transfer factor of stable cesium.

Background: Stable cesium (Cs) naturally exists in the environment whereas recently deposited radionuclides (e.g., Cs) are not at equilibrium.

Life-span Extension Drug Interventions Affect Adipose Tissue Inflammation in Aging.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA)-sponsored Interventions Testing Program (ITP) has identified a number of dietary drug interventions that significantly extend life span, including rapamycin, acarbose, and 17-α estradiol. However, these drugs have diverse downstream targets, and their effects on age-associated organ-specific changes are unclear (Nadon NL, Strong R, Miller RA, Harrison DE. NIA Interventions Testing Program: investigating putative aging intervention agents in a genetically heterogeneous mouse model.

Adipose Tissue Senescence and Inflammation in Aging is Reversed by the Young Milieu.

Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation plays a central role in longevity and multiple age-related disorders. Cellular senescence (SEN) is a fundamental aging mechanism that contributes to age-related chronic inflammation and organ dysfunction, including VAT. Recent studies using heterochronic parabiosis models strongly suggested that circulating factors in young plasma alter the aging phenotypes of old animals.

Novel role of autophagy-associated Pik3c3 gene in gonadal white adipose tissue browning in aged C57/Bl6 male mice.

Adipose tissue dysfunction is associated with inflammation, metabolic syndrome and other diseases in aging. Recent work has demonstrated that compromised autophagy activity in aging adipose tissue promotes ER stress responses, contributing to adipose tissue and systemic inflammation in aging. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit type 3 (Pik3c3) is an 887 amino acid lipid kinase that regulates intracellular membrane trafficking and autophagy activity.

A unique role for galectin-9 in angiogenesis and inflammatory arthritis.

Background: Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a mammalian lectin secreted by endothelial cells that is highly expressed in rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissues and synovial fluid. Roles have been proposed for galectins in the regulation of inflammation and angiogenesis. Therefore, we examined the contribution of Gal-9 to angiogenesis and inflammation in arthritis.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) deficient mice are protected from adipose tissue inflammation in aging.

Adipose tissue (AT) inflammation is a central mechanism for metabolic dysfunction in both diet-induced obesity and age-associated obesity. Studies in diet-induced obesity have characterized the role of Fetuin A (Fet A) in Free Fatty Acids (FFA)-mediated TLR4 activation and adipose tissue inflammation. However, the role of Fet A & TLR4 in aging-related adipose tissue inflammation is unknown.

Impaired autophagy activity is linked to elevated ER-stress and inflammation in aging adipose tissue.

Adipose tissue dysfunction in aging is associated with inflammation, metabolic syndrome and other diseases. We propose that impaired protein homeostasis due to compromised lysosomal degradation (micro-autophagy) might promote aberrant ER stress response and inflammation in aging adipose tissue. Using C57BL/6 mouse model, we demonstrate that adipose tissue-derived stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells from old (18-20 months) mice have reduced expression of autophagy markers as compared to the younger (4-6 months) cohort.

Epigenetic landscape of germline specific genes in the sporophyte cells of Arabidopsis thaliana.

In plants, the germline lineages arise in later stages of life cycle as opposed to animals where both male and female germlines are set aside early in development. This developmental divergence is associated with germline specific or preferential expression of a subset of genes that are normally repressed for the rest of plant life cycle. The gene regulatory mechanisms involved in such long-term suppression and short-term activation in plant germline remain vague.

PETAL LOSS, a trihelix transcription factor that represses growth in Arabidopsis thaliana, binds the energy-sensing SnRK1 kinase AKIN10.

Organogenesis in plants involves differential growth. Rapidly growing primordia are distinguished from the meristem and each other by slower growing boundaries. PETAL LOSS (PTL) is a trihelix transcription factor of Arabidopsis that represses growth in boundaries between newly arising sepals.

Elevated Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response Contributes to Adipose Tissue Inflammation in Aging.

Adipose tissue inflammation has been linked to age-related metabolic diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance in diet associated obesity has been correlated with aberrant endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress.

Functional domains of the PETAL LOSS protein, a trihelix transcription factor that represses regional growth in Arabidopsis thaliana.

PETAL LOSS (PTL) is a trihelix transcription factor that represses growth, especially between sepal primordia. As one of 30 trihelix proteins in Arabidopsis, it falls in the GT2 clade with duplicated trihelix DNA-binding domains and a long α-helical central domain. PTL orthologs occur in all angiosperm genomes examined except grasses, and sequence comparisons reveal that there are two further short conserved domains at each end.

A key role for Fut1-regulated angiogenesis and ICAM-1 expression in K/BxN arthritis.

Objectives: Angiogenesis contributes to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Fucosyltransferases (Futs) are involved in angiogenesis and tumour growth. Here, we examined the role of Fut1 in angiogenesis and K/BxN serum transfer arthritis.

INDEHISCENT and SPATULA interact to specify carpel and valve margin tissue and thus promote seed dispersal in Arabidopsis.

Structural organization of organs in multicellular organisms occurs through intricate patterning mechanisms that often involve complex interactions between transcription factors in regulatory networks. For example, INDEHISCENT (IND), a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor, specifies formation of the narrow stripes of valve margin tissue, where Arabidopsis thaliana fruits open on maturity. Another bHLH transcription factor, SPATULA (SPT), is required for reproductive tissue development from carpel margins in the Arabidopsis gynoecium before fertilization.

Inhibition of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli in model broth and rumen systems by carvacrol and thymol.

The antimicrobial activities of thymol and carvacrol were assessed against a selection of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) strains (n=11) and other bacterial species and spoilage bacteria (n=7) using a model broth system. The effects of pH, temperature, water activity, sodium chloride concentrations, inoculum size and the presence of competing microflora on the activities of thymol and carvacrol against E. coli O157:H7 strain 380-94 were also determined.

Morphological and molecular characterisation of Penicillium roqueforti and P. paneum isolated from baled grass silage.

The morphological and molecular features of Penicillium roqueforti and P. paneum isolated from baled grass silage were characterised. A total of 315 isolates were investigated, comprising 237 P.

Mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites produced in vitro by Penicillium paneum Frisvad and Penicillium roqueforti Thom isolated from baled grass silage in Ireland.

Secondary metabolites produced by Penicillium paneum and Penicillium roqueforti from baled grass silage were analyzed. A total of 157 isolates were investigated, comprising 78 P. paneum and 79 P.