Microbial Proxies for Anoxic Microsites Vary with Management and Partially Explain Soil Carbon Concentration.

Anoxic microsites are potentially important but unresolved contributors to soil organic carbon (C) storage. How anoxic microsites vary with soil management and the degree to which anoxic microsites contribute to soil C stabilization remain unknown. Sampling from four long-term agricultural experiments in the central United States, we examined how anoxic microsites varied with management (e.

Spring applied phosphorus loss with cover crops in no-till terraced field.

Cover crops (CC) can improve phosphorus (P) cycling by reducing water related P losses and contributing to P nutrition of a rotational crop. This is particularly important in claypan soils with freeze-thaw cycles in early spring in the Midwest U.S.

Nutrient loss from floodplain soil with controlled subsurface drainage under forage production.

Expansion of subsurface drainage into forage production may have a deleterious effect on surface waters due to increased nitrogen and phosphorus loading. The impact of controlled subsurface drainage (CD) on nitrogen and phosphorus loss compared with free subsurface drainage (FD) in tile drainage water has been explored to a lesser extent from forage production systems. This study quantifies the effects of CD and FD on average seasonal concentrations and cumulative loads of the total suspended solids (TSS), nitrate nitrogen (NO -N), and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) in subsurface drainage water from a poorly drained floodplain soil in a cereal rye (Secale cereale L.

Japanese experience with hepatic resection of KRAS-mutated colorectal liver metastases.

RAS mutation is a well-known prognostic marker predicting patterns of recurrence and survival after resection of colorectal liver metastases (CLMs). However, there has been scarce evidence regarding the optimal choice of treatment for RAS -mutated CLMs. Indeed, RAS -mutated CLMs are at high risk of lung metastases which may preclude curative-intent treatment at the time of recurrence.

Individual and Joint Effects of Early-Life Ambient Exposure and Maternal Prepregnancy Obesity on Childhood Overweight or Obesity.

Background: Although previous studies suggest that exposure to traffic-related pollution during childhood increases the risk of childhood overweight or obesity (COWO), the role of early life exposure to fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm; PM) and its joint effect with the mother’s prepregnancy body mass index (MPBMI) on COWO remain unclear.

Objectives: The present study was conducted to examine the individual and joint effects of ambient PM exposures and MPBMI on the risk of COWO.

Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Mediates the Association between Self-Control Skills and Subjective Well-Being.

Although studies have shown that self-control skills (SCSs) are positively linked to both personal and interpersonal outcomes in adolescent students, studies on the putative mechanisms underlying this relationship are scarce. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory and previous studies, we theorized that the association between students' SCSs and their subjective well-being (SWB) in school may be mediated by students' perceived satisfaction of their basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy. The sample consisted of 1576 Israeli adolescent students (54% girls) in grades 10-12 (mean age 16) enrolled in 20 schools.

Hepatic Histology and Morphometric Measurements in Idiopathic Extrahepatic Portal Vein Thrombosis in Children, Correlated to Clinical Outcome of Meso-Rex Bypass.

Objective: The aim of this study was to correlate clinical, histologic, and morphometric features of the liver in children with extrahepatic portal vein thrombosis (EHPVT), with surgical outcome after Meso-Rex bypass (MRB).

Background: Idiopathic EHPVT, a significant cause of portal hypertension, is surgically corrected by MRB. Correlation of histologic and morphometric features of the liver with outcome has not been reported in children.

Effects of the total flavonoid extract of Xiaobuxin-Tang on depression-like behavior induced by lipopolysaccharide and proinflammatory cytokine levels in mice.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Xiaobuxin-Tang (XBXT), a traditional Chinese herbal decoction, has been used for the treatment of depressive disorders from ancient clinic. The aim of the study was to explore the involvement of inflammation or inflammatory markers in the antidepressant-like effects of XBXT-2.

Materials And Methods: Depression-like behavior was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 0.

Characterization of Cre recombinase models for the study of adipose tissue.

The study of adipose tissue in vivo has been significantly advanced through the use of genetic mouse models. While the aP2-Cre(BI) and aP2-Cre(Salk) lines have been widely used to target adipose tissue, the specificity of these lines for adipocytes has recently been questioned. Here we characterize Cre recombinase activity in multiple cell populations of the major adipose tissue depots of these and other Cre lines using the membrane-Tomato/membrane-GFP (mT/mG) dual fluorescent reporter.

Engineering patient-specific valves using stem cells generated from skin biopsy specimens.

Background: Pediatric patients requiring valve replacement will likely require reoperations due to a progressive deterioration of valve durability and limited repair and growth potential. To address these concerns, we sought to generate a biologically active pulmonary valve using patient-specific valvular cells and decellularized human pulmonary valves.

Methods: We generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by reprogramming skin fibroblast cells.

IRF4 is a key thermogenic transcriptional partner of PGC-1α.

Brown fat can reduce obesity through the dissipation of calories as heat. Control of thermogenic gene expression occurs via the induction of various coactivators, most notably PGC-1α. In contrast, the transcription factor partner(s) of these cofactors are poorly described.

Terahertz spectroscopy and solid-state density functional theory calculation of anthracene: effect of dispersion force on the vibrational modes.

The phonon modes of molecular crystals in the terahertz frequency region often feature delicately coupled inter- and intra-molecular vibrations. Recent advances in density functional theory such as DFT-D(*) have enabled accurate frequency calculation. However, the nature of normal modes has not been quantitatively discussed against experimental criteria such as isotope shift (IS) and correlation field splitting (CFS).

Early origins of child obesity: bridging disciplines and phases of development -- September 30--October 1, 2010.

This report summarizes a conference: "Early Origins of Child Obesity: Bridging Disciplines and Phases of Development", held in Chicago on September 30-October 1, 2010. The conference was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Williams Heart Foundation, to achieve the conference objective: forging a next-step research agenda related to the early origins of childhood obesity. This research agenda was to include working with an array of factors (from genetic determinants to societal ones) along a continuum from prenatal life to age 7, with an emphasis on how the developing child deals with the challenges presented by his/her environment (prenatal, parental, nutritional, etc.

Nucleosome mapping across the CFTR locus identifies novel regulatory factors.

Nucleosome positioning on the chromatin strand plays a critical role in regulating accessibility of DNA to transcription factors and chromatin modifying enzymes. Hence, detailed information on nucleosome depletion or movement at cis-acting regulatory elements has the potential to identify predicted binding sites for trans-acting factors. Using a novel method based on enrichment of mononucleosomal DNA by bacterial artificial chromosome hybridization, we mapped nucleosome positions by deep sequencing across 250 kb, encompassing the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.

Coordinate regulation of the gel-forming mucin genes at chromosome 11p15.5.

Four of the genes that encode gel-forming mucins, which are major components of the mucus layer protecting many epithelial surfaces, are clustered at chromosome 11p15.5 and show both cell- and tissue-specific expression patterns. We aimed to determine whether the individual genes were coordinately regulated by mechanisms involving higher order chromatin structure.

Multi-tissue microarray analysis identifies a molecular signature of regeneration.

The inability to functionally repair tissues that are lost as a consequence of disease or injury remains a significant challenge for regenerative medicine. The molecular and cellular processes involved in complete restoration of tissue architecture and function are expected to be complex and remain largely unknown. Unlike humans, certain salamanders can completely regenerate injured tissues and lost appendages without scar formation.

Enuresis - children's predictions of their treatment's progress and outcomes.

Aims And Objectives: To investigate how nurses can use children's ability to predict treatment outcomes as a possible feature contributing to successful therapeutic processes targeting enuresis.

Background: Prediction of outcomes was viewed both as a self-efficacy component or belief (based on self-efficacy theory), and also as a skill for actually influencing change.

Design: The study was conducted in a mental health community center, located in a large city in central Israel, which was well known for treatment of children with enuresis.

Transcriptional analysis of histone deacetylase family members reveal similarities between differentiating and aging spermatogonial stem cells.

The differentiation of adult stem cells involves extensive chromatin remodeling, mediated in part by the gene products of histone deacetylase (HDAC) family members. While the transcriptional downregulation of HDACs can impede stem cell self-renewal in certain contexts, it may also promote stem cell maintenance under other circumstances. In self-renewing, differentiating, and aging spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), the gene expression dynamics of HDACs have not yet been characterized.

Transcriptional networks driving enhancer function in the CFTR gene.

A critical cis-regulatory element for the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) gene is located in intron 11, 100 kb distal to the promoter, with which it interacts. This sequence contains an intestine-selective enhancer and associates with enhancer signature proteins, such as p300, in addition to tissue-specific TFs (transcription factors). In the present study we identify critical TFs that are recruited to this element and demonstrate their importance in regulating CFTR expression.

A zebrafish Notum homolog specifically blocks the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Multiple developmental processes require tightly controlled Wnt signaling, and its misregulation leads to congenital abnormalities and diseases. Glypicans are extracellular proteins that modulate the Wnt pathway. In addition to interacting with Wnts, these glycosophosphotidylinositol (GPI)-anchored, heparan-sulfate proteoglycans bind ligands of several other signaling pathways in both vertebrates and invertebrates.

TGF-β mediated DNA methylation in prostate cancer.

Almost all tumors harbor a defective negative feedback loop of signaling by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation, including DNA methylation, are fundamental to normal cellular function and also play a major role in carcinogenesis. Recent evidence demonstrated that TGF-β signaling mediates cancer development and progression.

Potential for the embryonic morphogen Nodal as a prognostic and predictive biomarker in breast cancer.

Introduction: The re-emergence of the tumour growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-related embryonic morphogen Nodal has recently been reported in several different human cancers. In this study, we examined the expression of Nodal in a series of benign and malignant human breast tissues to determine the clinical significance of this expression and whether Nodal could represent a potential therapeutic target in breast cancer.

Methods: Tissue sections from 431 therapeutically naive patients diagnosed with benign or malignant breast disease were stained for Nodal by immunohistochemistry and analysed in a blinded manner.

Osteoblast-secreted collagen upregulates paracrine Sonic hedgehog signaling by prostate cancer cells and enhances osteoblast differentiation.

Background: Induction of osteoblast differentiation by paracrine Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling may be a mechanism through which Shh-expressing prostate cancer cells initiate changes in the bone microenvironment and promote metastases. A hallmark of osteoblast differentiation is the formation of matrix whose predominant protein is type 1 collagen. We investigated the formation of a collagen matrix by osteoblasts cultured with prostate cancer cells, and its effects on interactions between prostate cancer cells and osteoblasts.

Divergent roles of Smad3 and PI3-kinase in murine adriamycin nephropathy indicate distinct mechanisms of proteinuria and fibrogenesis.

Multiple transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-induced fibrogenic signals have been described in vitro. To evaluate mechanisms in vivo, we used an adriamycin nephropathy model in 129x1/Svj mice that display massive proteinuria by days 5 to 7 and pathological findings similar to human focal segmental glomerulosclerosis by day 14. TGF-β mRNA expression increased after day 7 along with nuclear translocation of the TGF-β receptor-specific transcription factor Smad3.

Tumor suppression by collagen XV is independent of the restin domain.

Non-fibrillar collagen XV is a chondroitin sulfate modified glycoprotein that is associated with the basement membrane zone in many tissues. Its precise functions remain to be fully elucidated though it clearly plays a critical role in the structural integrity of the extracellular matrix. Loss of collagen XV from the basement membrane zone precedes invasion of a number of tumor types and we previously showed that collagen XV functions as a dose-dependent suppressor of tumorigenicity in cervical carcinoma cells.