Development and validation of a one-tube, nested real-time PCR method suitable for routine detection of Mycobacterium bovis in animal tissue.

Aims: Development and validation of a real-time PCR test for high-throughput routine screening of animal tissue for Mycobacterium bovis and other Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) members.

Methods And Results: A preliminary study compared the results of a combination of five tissue preparation/DNA extraction methods and nine PCR assays on a panel of 92 cattle tissue samples of known M. bovis culture status (55 positive and 37 negative).

Evaluation of VOC concentrations in indoor and outdoor microenvironments at near-road schools.

A 14-week air quality study, characterizing the indoor and outdoor concentrations of 18 VOCs at four El Paso, Texas elementary schools, was conducted in Spring 2010. Three schools were in an area of high traffic density and the fourth school, considered as a background school, was situated in an area affected minimally by stationary and mobile sources of air pollution. Passive samplers were deployed for monitoring and analyzed by GC/MS.

Assessment of indoor and outdoor PM species at schools and residences in a high-altitude Ecuadorian urban center.

An air monitoring campaign to assess children's environmental exposures in schools and residences, both indoors and outdoors, was conducted in 2010 in three low-income neighborhoods in Z1 (north), Z2 (central), and Z3 (southeast) zones of Quito, Ecuador - a major urban center of 2.2 million inhabitants situated 2850 m above sea level in a narrow mountainous basin. Z1 zone, located in northern Quito, historically experienced emissions from quarries and moderate traffic.

[Virilization of a post-menopausal woman. Diagnostic and therapeutic considerations].

Virilizing tumors are rare disorders that commonly develop in the adrenal cortex or the ovaries. Because these tumors are usually millimetric, androgen-secreting ovarian tumors can be particularly difficult to identify through commonly available imaging techniques and can thus pose a diagnostic challenge. We present the case of a 71-year-old woman who presented with severe clinical hyperandrogenism and biochemical traits suggestive of an ovarian source but who was diagnosed with a 10-cm adrenal mass.

Applying the mental models framework to carbon monoxide risk in northern Mexico.

Objectives: Low-income residents of northern Mexico rely on unvented heaters during the winter, a practice that puts them at elevated risk for carbon monoxide intoxication. The goal of this study is to develop a communication protocol for carbon monoxide intoxication risks among the primarily low socioeconomic status population of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Methods: The mental models risk communication approach was used to identify important gaps in public understanding.

Effects of orlistat on visceral fat after liposuction.

Background: Liposuction can aggravate metabolic complications associated with obesity. It has been shown that the recovery of weight lost through these interventions is associated with body fat redistribution toward the visceral cavity, increasing metabolic risk factors for coronary heart disease such as insulin resistance and high triglyceride levels.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the consequences of liposuction on body mass redistribution and metabolic parameters 6 months after surgery and to evaluate the use of orlistat treatment (tetrahydrolipstatin) in controlling these parameters.

Tomato BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1 is required for systemin-induced root elongation in Solanum pimpinellifolium but is not essential for wound signaling.

The tomato Leu-rich repeat receptor kinase BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1 (BRI1) has been implicated in both peptide (systemin) and steroid (brassinosteroid [BR]) hormone perception. In an attempt to dissect these signaling pathways, we show that transgenic expression of BRI1 can restore the dwarf phenotype of the tomato curl3 (cu3) mutation. Confirmation that BRI1 is involved in BR signaling is highlighted by the lack of BR binding to microsomal fractions made from cu3 mutants and the restoration of BR responsiveness following transformation with BRI1.

Carbon monoxide exposure in households in Ciudad Juárez, México.

This study assessed exposure to carbon monoxide from gas and wood heater emissions in a sample of 64 households in peri-urban residential areas in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México. Indoor and outdoor carbon monoxide concentrations and temperatures were monitored for a continuous period of 1 week at 1 and 6-min intervals, respectively. The moving average carbon monoxide concentrations were compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards for carbon monoxide.

Patterns of Dwarf expression and brassinosteroid accumulation in tomato reveal the importance of brassinosteroid synthesis during fruit development.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are essential for many physiological functions in plants, however little is known concerning where and when they are synthesized. This is especially true during flower and fruit production. To address this we have used a promoter-GUS reporter fusion and RT-PCR to determine the relative expression levels of the tomato Dwarf (D) gene that encodes a BR C-6 oxidase.

Cloning the tomato curl3 gene highlights the putative dual role of the leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase tBRI1/SR160 in plant steroid hormone and peptide hormone signaling.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are plant steroid hormones that are essential for normal plant development. To gain better understanding of the conservation of BR signaling, the partially BR-insensitive tomato mutant altered brassinolide sensitivity1 (abs1) was identified and found to be a weak allele at the curl3 (cu3) locus. BR content is increased in both of these mutants and is associated with increased expression of DWARF: The tomato homolog of the Arabidopsis Brassinosteroid Insensitive1 Leu-rich repeat (LRR) receptor-like kinase, named tBri1, was isolated using degenerate primers.