Publications by authors named "Weissinger A"

Objective: Our aim in this study was to determine the safety, glycemia, and quality of life (QoL) associated with in-clinic installation and management of supported open-source artificial pancreas systems (SOSAPS) in type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods: This investigation is a retrospective cohort study of consecutive SOSAPS users at a Canadian diabetes centre. SOSAPS were offered to all moderately tech-savvy T1D clients on sensor-augmented multiple daily injection or pump, able to pay for hardware, and willing to sign a consent and waiver document.

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Background: Patients who have barriers to attending traditional mental health clinics are at risk for psychiatric decompensation, which can lead to inappropriate utilization of emergency departments (EDs). Mobile health clinics have the potential to reduce avoidable ED visits by providing easily accessible care.

Aims: To determine whether psychiatric patients have a significant reduction in ED visits after admission to the mobile mental health clinic (MMHC).

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Soybean is a common allergenic food; thus, a comprehensive characterization of all the proteins that cause allergy is crucial to the development of effective diagnostic and immunotherapeutic strategies. A cDNA library was constructed from seven stages of developing soybean seeds to investigate candidate allergens. We searched the library for cDNAs encoding a seed-specific biotinylated protein (SBP) based on its allergenicity in boiled lentils.

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Coenzyme Q (CoQ) is a naturally occurring lipid-soluble quinone that performs multiple functions in all living cells and has become a popular antioxidant supplement, a coadjuvant in the treatment of heart disease, and the object of study for treating neurodegenerative disorders. Although there are many tools for CoQ analysis of microbial and animal samples, there have been relatively few reports of methods for CoQ analysis of green plants. This work describes a method for the routine analysis of coenzyme Q(10) in green leaf tissue of cultivated Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection.

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Currently, the sole strategy for managing food hypersensitivity involves strict avoidance of the trigger. Several alternate strategies for the treatment of food allergies are currently under study. Also being explored is the process of eliminating allergenic proteins from crop plants.

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ABSTRACT The maize inbred Tex6 has resistance to colonization and aflatoxin accumulation by Aspergillus flavus. A protein inhibitory to growth of A. flavus has been identified from aqueous extracts of mature Tex6 seeds.

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High-level expression of transgenes is essential for cost-effective production of valuable pharmaceutical proteins in plants. However, transgenic proteins often accumulate in plants at low levels. Low levels of protein accumulation can be caused by many factors including post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) and/or rapid turnover of the transgenic proteins.

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Concerns exist that transgenic crop x weed hybrid populations will be more vigorous and competitive with crops compared with the parental weed species. Hydroponic, glasshouse, and field experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of introgression of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cry1Ac and green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenes on hybrid productivity and competitiveness in four experimental Brassica rapa x transgenic Brassica napus hybrid generations (F1, BC1F1, BC2F1 and BC2F2). The average vegetative growth and nitrogen (N) use efficiency of transgenic hybrid generations grown under high N hydroponic conditions were lower than that of the weed parent (Brassica rapa, AA, 2n = 20), but similar to the transgenic crop parent, oilseed rape (Brassica napus, AACC, 2n = 38).

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Matrix attachment regions (MARs) are DNA elements that can increase and stabilize transgene expression. We investigated the effect of the RB7 MAR on transgenic virus resistance. Constructs for resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) with and without flanking RB7 MARs were used to transform tobacco and produce homozygous lines.

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Determining the frequency of crop-wild transgene flow under field conditions is a necessity for the development of regulatory strategies to manage transgenic hybrids. Gene flow of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) transgenes was quantified in three field experiments using eleven independent transformed Brassica napus L. lines and the wild relatives, B.

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The green fluorescent protein (GFP) holds promise as a field-level transgene marker. One obstacle to the use of GFP is fluorescence variability observed within leaf canopies. In growth chamber and field experiments, GFP fluorescence in transgenic oilseed rape ( Brassica napus) was shown to be variable at each leaf position over time and among different leaves on the same plant.

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The level of transgene expression in crop x weed hybrids and the degree to which crop-specific genes are integrated into hybrid populations are important factors in assessing the potential ecological and agricultural risks of gene flow associated with genetic engineering. The average transgene zygosity and genetic structure of transgenic hybrid populations change with the progression of generations, and the green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene is an ideal marker to quantify transgene expression in advancing populations. The homozygous T(1) single-locus insert GFP/ Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) transgenic canola ( Brassica napus, cv Westar) with two copies of the transgene fluoresced twice as much as hemizygous individuals with only one copy of the transgene.

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We investigated the effect of the Rb7 matrix attachment region (MAR) on trans-silencing in tobacco plants, comparing the effects of three transgene silencer loci on ten target loci. Two of the silencer loci, C40 and C190, contain complex and rearranged transgene arrays consisting of 35S:GUS or NOS:NPTII containing plasmids. The third silencer locus, V271, was previously characterized as a complex locus containing rearranged 35S:RiN sequences.

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In this paper, we present a new purification procedure that yields a new crystalline form of rubisco and has enabled us to completely remove this most abundant protein from tobacco leaf extract. The crystals formed within 48 h after refrigeration at 4 degrees C at pH 5.6.

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The tobacco nuclear matrix attachment region (MAR), RB7, has been shown to have a much greater effect on transgene expression in cultured cells than in transgenic plants. This is comparable to work in mouse systems showing that MARs have a positive effect on transgene expression in embryonic tissues but not adult tissues. There are several possible explanations for these observations.

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We have previously shown that yeast scaffold attachment regions (SARs) flanking a chimeric beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene increased per-copy expression levels by 24-fold in tobacco suspension cell lines stably transformed by microprojectile bombardment. In this study, we examined the effect of a DNA fragment originally identified in a tobacco genomic clone by its activity in an in vitro binding assay. The tobacco SAR has much greater scaffold binding affinity than does the yeast SAR, and tobacco cell lines stably transformed with constructs containing the tobacco SAR accumulated greater than fivefold more GUS enzyme activity than did lines transformed with the yeast SAR construct.

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We have discovered an unusual and complex regulatory network used by the phytopathogen Pseudomonas solanacearum to control transcription of eps, which encodes for production of its primary virulence factor, the exopolysaccharide EPS I. The major modules of this network were shown to be three separate signal transduction systems: PhcA, a LysR-type transcriptional regulator, an dual two-component regulatory systems, VsrA/VsrD and VsrB/VsrC. Using lacZ fusions and RNA analysis, we found that both PhcA and VsrA/VsrD control transcription of another network component, xpsR, which in turn acts in conjunction with vsrB/vsrC to increase transcription of the eps promoter by > 25-fold.

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Sunn-hemp mosaic tobamovirus (SHMV) moves slowly from cell to cell in Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi, but fails to move long distance. To determine the role of the SHMV movement protein (MP) in cell-to-cell and long-distance movement in tobacco, the SHMV MP gene was inserted into a TMV-cDNA clone that had approximately the 5'-half of the endogenous MP gene deleted.

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The yeast ARS-1 element contains a scaffold attachment region (SAR) that we have previously shown can bind to plant nuclear scaffolds in vitro. To test effects on expression, constructs in which a chimeric beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene was flanked by this element were delivered into tobacco suspension cells by microprojectile bombardment. In stably transformed cell lines, GUS activity averaged 12-fold higher (24-fold on a gene copy basis) for a construct containing two flanking SARs than for a control construct lacking SARs.

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A method for rapidly producing fertile peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) plants from embryo axes was developed for use with microprojectile bombardment. Using this method, the apical meristem housing the germ line cells was easily exposed for bombardment without compromising the viability of the plant.

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Breeding and selection was used to generate a population of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) from cultivar Osceola with a high embryogenic capacity. Somatic embryos were obtained from immature cotyledons of white clover placed onto EC6 basal medium containing 40 mg L(-1) of 2,4-D and 6% sucrose.

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Complementary DNA libraries representing the capsid protein cistron of the potato virus Y (PVY) isolate 'Chilean', 'Hungarian', MsNr, NsNr, O, and 'Potato US' were synthesized and used as template for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. An AUG codon for initiating a discrete capsid protein (CP) open reading frame was embedded upstream of the first codon of the CP cistrons. PCR-amplified products of the expected size of 0.

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Stable transformation of Norway spruce tissue has been obtained following bombardment of mature somatic embryos with pRT99gus, a plasmid that contains neo coding for NPTII, and gusA, coding for beta-glucuronidase, both fused to the CaMV 35S promoter. At least 8 lines have been stably transformed (over 15 months in culture) following bombardment and selection on kanamycin. Polymerase chain reaction analyses showed a high frequency of cotransformation of the gusA and neo genes.

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Transfer of plasmid DNA to Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) cotyledon cells by microprojectile bombardment has been demonstrated using beta-glucuronidase (GUS). GUS histochemical staining indicated active enzyme in localized centers (blue spots) 24 hours after bombardment.

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