A Drosophila Reporter for the Translational Activation of ATF4 Marks Stressed Cells during Development.

Eukaryotic cells have evolved signaling pathways that help to restore cellular homeostasis in response to various physiological or pathological conditions. ATF4 is a transcription factor whose mRNA translation is stimulated in response to stress-activated eIF2alpha kinases. Established conditions that activate eIF2alpha phosphorylation and ATF4 translation include excessive stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and amino acid deprivation.

Three novel pathogenic mutations in KATP channel genes and somatic imprinting alterations of the 11p15 region in pancreatic tissue in patients with congenital hyperinsulinism.

Background/aims: This study was performed to investigate the molecular pathology underlying focal and diffuse congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI).

Methods: The ABCC8 and KCNJ11 genes were analyzed in 3 patients with focal CHI and in 1 patient with diffuse CHI. Immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR, methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) and microsatellite marker analyses of the 11p15 region were performed on both normal tissues and adenomatous hyperplasia lesions.

Role of Drosophila EDEMs in the degradation of the alpha-1-antitrypsin Z variant.

The synthesis of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that exceeds the protein folding capacity of this organelle is a frequent cause of cellular dysfunction and disease. An example of such a disease is alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency, caused by destabilizing mutations in this glycoprotein. It is considered that the mutant proteins are recognized in the ER by lectins and are subsequently degraded through the proteasome, leading to a deficiency in this enzyme in the afflicted patients.

Nitric oxide induction of Parkin translocation in PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) deficiency: functional role of neuronal nitric oxide synthase during mitophagy.

The failure to trigger mitophagy is implicated in the pathogenesis of familial Parkinson disease that is caused by PINK1 or Parkin mutations. According to the prevailing PINK1-Parkin signaling model, mitophagy is promoted by the mitochondrial translocation of Parkin, an essential PINK1-dependent step that occurs via a previously unknown mechanism. Here we determined that critical concentrations of NO was sufficient to induce the mitochondrial translocation of Parkin even in PINK1 deficiency, with apparent increased interaction of full-length PINK1 accumulated during mitophagy, with neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS).

Atrazine induces endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis of T lymphocytes via the caspase-8-dependent pathway.

Atrazine (ATR) is one of the most commonly applied broad-spectrum herbicides. Although ATR is well known to be a biologically hazardous molecule with potential toxicity in the immune system, the molecular mechanisms responsible for ATR-induced immunotoxicity remain unclear. In this study, we found that the immunotoxic properties of ATR were mediated through the induction of apoptotic changes in T lymphocytes.

Disease-Associated Mutations of TREM2 Alter the Processing of N-Linked Oligosaccharides in the Golgi Apparatus.

The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is an immune-modulatory receptor involved in phagocytosis and inflammation. Mutations of Q33X, Y38C and T66M cause Nasu-Hakola disease (NHD) which is characterized by early onset of dementia and bone cysts. A recent, genome-wide association study also revealed that single nucleotide polymorphism of TREM2, such as R47H, increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) similar to ApoE4.

Outcome of nonsurgical retreatment and endodontic microsurgery: a meta-analysis.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of nonsurgical endodontic retreatment and endodontic microsurgery by a meta-analysis.

Materials And Methods: Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Medline, and The Cochrane Library were searched, and the references of related articles were manually searched to identify all the clinical studies that evaluated the clinical and radiographic outcomes after retreatment or microsurgery. The first and second screening processes were conducted by three reviewers independently.

A randomized controlled study of the use of ProRoot mineral trioxide aggregate and Endocem as direct pulp capping materials.

Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare the short-term clinical outcomes of direct pulp capping using ProRoot MTA (Dentsply, Tulsa, OK) or Endocem (Maruchi, Wonju, Korea) as capping materials in a prospective randomized controlled study.

Materials And Methods: This study was conducted with subjects who were recruited from the pool of patients from the Department of Conservative Dentistry at the Dental College of Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, between January and May 2013. Of the 48 teeth confirmed to be eligible for direct pulp capping, a total of 46 teeth were randomly assigned to either the ProRoot MTA or the Endocem group (23 teeth per group).

An approach for an advanced anode interfacial layer with electron-blocking ability to achieve high-efficiency organic photovoltaics.

The interfacial properties of PEDOT:PSS, pristine r-GO, and r-GO with sulfonic acid (SR-GO) in organic photovoltaic are investigated to elucidate electron-blocking property of PEDOT:PSS anode interfacial layer (AIL), and to explore the possibility of r-GO as electron-blocking layers. The SR-GO results in an optimized power conversion efficiency of 7.54% for PTB7-th:PC71BM and 5.

Complete genome sequence of motherwort yellow mottle virus, a novel putative member of the genus Torradovirus.

The complete genome sequence of a new virus isolated from a motherwort plant exhibiting yellow mottle, mild mosaic, and stunting symptoms in Andong, Korea, was determined. The genome of this virus is composed of two single-stranded RNAs (7068 and 4963 nucleotides in length, respectively) carrying poly(A) tails. RNA1 contains one large open reading frame (RNA1-ORF1), while two potential ORFs (RNA2-ORF1 and RNA2-ORF2) were found in RNA2.

Stable charge storing in two-dimensional MoS2 nanoflake floating gates for multilevel organic flash memory.

In this study, we investigated chemically exfoliated two-dimensional (2-D) nanoflakes of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as charge-storing elements for use in organic multilevel memory devices (of the printed/flexible non-volatile type) based on organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) containing poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The metallic MoS2 nanoflakes were exfoliated in 2-methoxyethanol by the lithium intercalation method and were deposited as nano-floating gates between polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate), used as bilayered gate dielectrics, by a simple spin-coating and low temperature (<150 °C) process. In the developed OFET memory devices, electrons could be trapped/detrapped in the MoS2 nano-floating gates by modulating the charge carrier density in the active channel through gate bias control.

Unusual morphology of permanent tooth related to traumatic injury: a case report.

Introduction: Root duplication, or multiple roots, is a very rare anatomy of the maxillary central incisor.

Methods: This case report describes a permanent central incisor having 2 distinct roots as an assumed sequela of the avulsion and replantation of a primary incisor.

Results: The permanent successor might have had a disturbance of development because of the traumatic injury and discontinuity in the treatment after replantation.

Solution-processed barium salts as charge injection layers for high performance N-channel organic field-effect transistors.

N-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have generally shown lower field-effect mobilities (μFET) than their p-type counterparts. One of the reasons is the energetic misalignment between the work function (WF) of commonly used charge injection electrode, i.e.

Simultaneous enhancement of electron injection and air stability in N-type organic field-effect transistors by water-soluble polyfluorene interlayers.

Here, we report the simultaneous attainment of efficient electron injection and enhanced stability under ambient conditions for top-gate/bottom-contact (TG/BC), n-type, organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using water-soluble polyfluorene derivatives (WPFs). When inserting the WPF interlayers between a semiconductor and the BC Au electrodes, initially the ambipolar (6,6)-phenyl-C61butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) OFETs were fully converted to unipolar charge transport characteristics that were exclusively n-type with significantly increased electron mobilities as high as 0.12 cm(2)/(V s) and a decreased threshold voltage.

CDK7 regulates the mitochondrial localization of a tail-anchored proapoptotic protein, Hid.

The mitochondrial outer membrane is a major site of apoptosis regulation across phyla. Human and C. elegans Bcl-2 family proteins and Drosophila Hid require the C-terminal tail-anchored (TA) sequence in order to insert into the mitochondrial membrane, but it remains unclear whether cytosolic proteins actively regulate the mitochondrial localization of these proteins.

Tooth discoloration after the use of new pozzolan cement (Endocem) and mineral trioxide aggregate and the effects of internal bleaching.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate tooth discoloration after the use of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and to examine the effect of internal bleaching on discoloration associated with MTA.

Methods: Thirty-two teeth were endodontically treated. Three-millimeter plugs of MTA, ProRoot, Angelus, or Endocem were placed on the access cavities of 24 teeth.

Inkjet-printing-based soft-etching technique for high-speed polymer ambipolar integrated circuits.

Here, we report the so-called soft-etching process based on an inkjet-printing technique for realizing high-performance printed and flexible organic electronic circuits with conjugated polymer semiconductors. The soft-etching process consists of selective etching of the gate made of a dielectric polymer and deposition of another gate dielectric layer. The method enables the use of a more desirable polymer dielectric layer for the p-channel and n-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) in complementary integrated circuits.

A review of the literature on common CYP17A1 mutations in adults with 17-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase deficiency, a case series of such mutations among Koreans and functional characteristics of a novel mutation.

Objective: 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase deficiency is a rare form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia, characterized by hypertension and sexual infantilism and caused by loss-of-function mutations in CYP17A1. This study investigated the clinical and molecular characteristics of six adults with 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase deficiency and the functional consequences of a novel CYP17A1 mutation.

Materials And Methods: Six phenotypic females, three with 46,XY and three with 46,XX karyotypes, presented with primary amenorrhea and hypertension.

Drosophila XBP1 expression reporter marks cells under endoplasmic reticulum stress and with high protein secretory load.

Expression of genes in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) beyond its protein folding capacity activates signaling pathways that are collectively referred to as the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR). A major branch of the UPR pathway is mediated by IRE1, an ER-tethered endonuclease. Upon ER stress-induced activation, IRE1 splices the mRNA of XBP1, thereby generating an active isoform of this transcription factor.

Total 4EBP1 Is Elevated in Liver of Rats in Response to Low Sulfur Amino Acid Intake.

Translation initiation is known to be regulated by the binding of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) by binding proteins (4EBPs), and there is evidence that amino acid deprivation and other cellular stresses upregulate 4EBP1 expression. To pursue the question of whether diets limited in an essential amino acid lead to induction of 4EBP1 expression in vivo, diets that varied in methionine and cystine content were fed to rats for 7 days, and 4EBP1 mRNA and protein levels and 4EBP1 phosphorylation state were determined. Total 4EBP1 mRNA and protein abundance increased in liver of rats with severely deficient intakes of sulfur amino acids (0.

The HEX1 gene of Fusarium graminearum is required for fungal asexual reproduction and pathogenesis and for efficient viral RNA accumulation of Fusarium graminearum virus 1.

The accumulation of viral RNA depends on many host cellular factors. The hexagonal peroxisome (Hex1) protein is a fungal protein that is highly expressed when the DK21 strain of Fusarium graminearum virus 1 (FgV1) infects its host, and Hex1 affects the accumulation of FgV1 RNA. The Hex1 protein is the major constituent of the Woronin body (WB), which is a peroxisome-derived electron-dense core organelle that seals the septal pore in response to hyphal wounding.

Rapid purification of Soybean mosaic virus from small quantities of tissue by immunoprecipitation.

A rapid, simple, and efficient method for purification of Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) was developed based on immunoprecipitation. Traditional centrifugation-based methods for purification of SMV and other potyviruses require long, complicated procedures and large quantities of infected tissue (100-500 g). The immunoprecipitation procedure described in this study allows the purification of intact SMV virion particles in 4h from 0.

The early molecular processes underlying the neurological manifestations of an animal model of Wilson's disease.

The Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rat shows age-dependent hepatic manifestations that are similar to those of Wilson's disease (WD). The pathogenic process in the brain has, however, not been evaluated in detail due to the rarity of the neurological symptoms. However, copper accumulation is noted in LEC rat brain tissue from 24 weeks of age, which results in oxidative injuries.