Dynamic changes of rumen microbiota and serum metabolome revealed increases in meat quality and growth performances of sheep fed bio-fermented rice straw.

Background: Providing high-quality roughage is crucial for improvement of ruminant production because it is an essential component of their feed. Our previous study showed that feeding bio-fermented rice straw (BF) improved the feed intake and weight gain of sheep. However, it remains unclear why feeding BF to sheep increased their feed intake and weight gain.

Multi-environment evaluation of rice genotypes: impact of weather and culm biochemical parameters against sheath blight infection.

Introduction: Sheath blight caused by is one of the major diseases of rice, causing widespread crop losses. The use of semi-dwarf rice varieties in the ongoing nutrient-intensive rice cultivation system has further accentuated the incidence of the disease. An ideal solution to this problem would be identifying a stable sheath blight-tolerant genotype.

Investigating and Addressing Challenges Associated with Filling Protein Drug Products.

The fill-finish process for vials and syringes, although considered standard in the biopharmaceutical industry, comes with numerous technical challenges when manufacturing high concentration products. This paper includes case studies, illustrating the operational challenges associated with the filling unit operation for three of the commonly used filling technologies for biopharmaceutical products - piston pump, time over pressure pump and peristaltic pump. First case study consists of a piston pump filling operation and evaluates impact of product related parameters such as a) protein concentration, b) product viscosity and c) surface tension.

Characterization of feruloyl esterases from Pecoramyces sp. F1 and the synergistic effect in biomass degradation.

Feruloyl esterase (FAE; EC 3.1.1.

Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation of Donor Corneal Tissue by Slit Lamp and Specular Microscopy.

Background In India, donor eye collection and promotion of eye banking are insufficient to meet the needs. By adequately evaluating donor corneas, eye banks can maximize the number of viable corneas for transplantation. This study evaluated donor corneal tissue based on age, lens status, and cause of death by their morphology and endothelial cell count via slit lamp and specular microscopy.

A Prospective Study on Temporal Bone Involvement in Polytrauma Patients and the Effect of Early Diagnosis on Hearing Loss.

As polytrauma cases are on the rise, a large number of patients presents with temporal bone fractures, which can result in various types of injuries varying from trivial to more serious injuries. Early diagnosis and appropriate management in required in case of serious injuries for a better outcome. The aim of my study is to study the incidence, the different injuries occurring and the effect of early diagnosis on hearing loss.

Levels of Mercury in Fish-Eating Children, With and Without Amalgam Restoration.

Background: Mercury is a naturally occurring metal that exists in three forms: elemental (metallic), inorganic, and organic mercury. Amalgam, which is an alloy of inorganic mercury, is used as a restorative material in dentistry. Organic mercury gets ingested in the body mainly by the consumption of seafood.

Detection of differential fetal and adult expression of chloride intracellular channel 4 (CLIC4) protein by analysis of a green fluorescent protein knock-in mouse line.

Background: Chloride Intracellular Channel 4 (CLIC4) is one of seven members in the closely related CLIC protein family. CLIC4 is involved in multiple cellular processes including apoptosis, cellular differentiation, inflammation and endothelial tubulogenesis. Despite over a decade of research, no comprehensive in situ expression analysis of CLIC4 in a living organism has been reported.

Loss of Cdk2 and cyclin A2 impairs cell proliferation and tumorigenesis.

Cell-cycle inhibition has yet to offer a generally effective approach to cancer treatment, but a full evaluation of different combinations of cell-cycle inhibitors has not been evaluated. Cyclin A2, a core component of the cell cycle, is often aberrantly expressed in cancer where it may impact cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the role of cyclin A2 in tumorigenesis using a conditional genetic knockout mouse model.

Food-safety hazards in the pork chain in Nagaland, North East India: implications for human health.

Pork occupies an important place in the diet of the population of Nagaland, one of the North East Indian states. We carried out a pilot study along the pork meat production chain, from live animal to end consumer. The goal was to obtain information about the presence of selected food borne hazards in pork in order to assess the risk deriving from these hazards to the health of the local consumers and make recommendations for improving food safety.

CLIC4 regulates TGF-β-dependent myofibroblast differentiation to produce a cancer stroma.

Cancer stroma has a profound influence on tumor development and progression. The conversion of fibroblasts to activated myofibroblasts is a hallmark of reactive tumor stroma. Among a number of factors involved in this conversion, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β has emerged as a major regulator.

Spontaneous skin erosions and reduced skin and corneal wound healing characterize CLIC4(NULL) mice.

Cutaneous wound healing is a complex process involving blood clotting, inflammation, migration of keratinocytes, angiogenesis, and, ultimately, tissue remodeling and wound closure. Many of these processes involve transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling, and mice lacking components of the TGF-β signaling pathway are defective in wound healing. We show herein that CLIC4, an integral component of the TGF-β pathway, is highly up-regulated in skin wounds.

Inducible NOS-induced chloride intracellular channel 4 (CLIC4) nuclear translocation regulates macrophage deactivation.

Nuclear translocation of cytosolic CLIC4 is an essential feature of its proapoptotic and prodifferentiation functions. Here we demonstrate that CLIC4 is induced concurrently with inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and S-nitrosylated in proinflammatory peritoneal macrophages. Chemical inhibition or genetic ablation of iNOS inhibits S-nitrosylation and nuclear translocation of CLIC4.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1) is essential for cell division and suppression of DNA re-replication but not for liver regeneration.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1) is an archetypical kinase and a central regulator that drives cells through G2 phase and mitosis. Knockouts of Cdk2, Cdk3, Cdk4, or Cdk6 have resulted in viable mice, but the in vivo functions of Cdk1 have not been fully explored in mammals. Here we have generated a conditional-knockout mouse model to study the functions of Cdk1 in vivo.

Cdk2 and Cdk4 activities are dispensable for tumorigenesis caused by the loss of p53.

The loss of p53 induces spontaneous tumors in mice, and p53 mutations are found in approximately 50% of human tumors. These tumors are generally caused by a number of events, including genomic instability, checkpoint defects, mitotic defects, deregulation of transcriptional targets, impaired apoptosis, and G(1) deregulation or a combination of these effects. In order to determine the role of proteins involved in G(1) control in tumorigenesis, we focused on Cdk2 and Cdk4, two cyclin-dependent kinases that in association with cyclin E and cyclin D promote the G(1)/S phase transition.

Nesprin-2 Giant (NUANCE) maintains nuclear envelope architecture and composition in skin.

Giant isoforms, encoded by Nesprin-1 (Syne1) and Nesprin-2 (Syne2), are multifunctional actin-binding and nuclear-envelope-associated proteins belonging to the spectrin superfamily. Here, we investigate the function of Nesprin-2 Giant (NUANCE) in skin by generating mice lacking the actin-binding domain of Nesprin-2 (Nesprin-2DeltaABD). This loss results in a slight but significant thickening of the epidermis, which is a consequence of the increased epithelial nuclear size.

The inner nuclear membrane protein Sun1 mediates the anchorage of Nesprin-2 to the nuclear envelope.

Nesprins form a novel class of nuclear envelope-anchored spectrin-repeat proteins. We show that a direct association of their highly conserved C-terminal luminal domain with the inner nuclear membrane protein Sun1 mediates their nuclear envelope localisation. In Nesprin-1 and Nesprin-2 the conserved C-terminal amino acids PPPX are essential for the interaction with a C-terminal region in Sun1.

Lamin A/C-dependent localization of Nesprin-2, a giant scaffolder at the nuclear envelope.

The vertebrate proteins Nesprin-1 and Nesprin-2 (also referred to as Enaptin and NUANCE) together with ANC-1 of Caenorhabditis elegans and MSP-300 of Drosophila melanogaster belong to a novel family of alpha-actinin type actin-binding proteins residing at the nuclear membrane. Using biochemical techniques, we demonstrate that Nesprin-2 binds directly to emerin and the C-terminal common region of lamin A/C. Selective disruption of the lamin A/C network in COS7 cells, using a dominant negative lamin B mutant, resulted in the redistribution of Nesprin-2.

Enaptin, a giant actin-binding protein, is an element of the nuclear membrane and the actin cytoskeleton.

Enaptin belongs to a family of recently identified giant proteins that associate with the F-actin cytoskeleton as well as the nuclear membrane. It is composed of an N-terminal alpha-actinin type actin-binding domain (ABD) followed by a long coiled coil rod and a transmembrane domain at the C-terminus. The ABD binds to F-actin in vivo and in vitro and leads to bundle formation.

A gradient PCR-based screen for use in site-directed mutagenesis.

Site-directed mutagenesis is widely used to study protein and nucleic acid structure and function. Despite recent advancements in the efficiency of procedures for site-directed mutagenesis, the fraction of site-directed mutants by most procedures rarely exceeds 50% on a routine basis and is never 100%. Hence it is typically necessary to sequence two or three clones each time a site-directed mutant is constructed.