Loss of a single Zn finger, but not that of two Zn fingers, of GATA3 drives skin inflammation.

Transcription factor GATA3 is essential for the developmental processes of T cells. Recently, the silencer of a cytokine IFNγ gene was identified, the inhibitory activity of which requires GATA3. GATA3 has 2 Zn fingers and the commonly used GATA3 deficient mice lack both fingers (D2).

The complications of traditional uvulectomy and concurrent occurrences of cultural malpractices in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Despite the establishment of a national strategy and plan to eliminate all harmful traditional practices, traditional uvulectomy remains widely practiced in Ethiopia, and there is a lack of comprehensive summary of national data on uvulectomy complications and associated malpractices. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the pooled complications of uvulectomy and concurrent occurrences of traditional malpractices in Ethiopia.

Methods: The following databases were used to retrieve studies: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, and Google Search.

Biochemical characterization of mitochondria from adult worms and plerocercoid larvae of Spirometra mansoni shows mixed populations of anaerobic and aerobic mitochondria.

The mitochondria of adult and plerocercoid Spirometra mansoni were characterized in isolated mitochondria and in situ by electron microscopic histochemistry with special attention to the respiratory chain. Although the specific activities of the constituent enzyme complexes of succinate oxidase are fairly similar in adult and plerocercoid mitochondria, those of succinate oxidase and NADH-FRD are approximately 4- and 25-fold higher in adult mitochondria than in plerocercoid mitochondria, respectively. Quinone analysis by high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry showed that adult and plerocercoid mitochondria contained both rhodoquinone-10 and ubiquinone-10 at concentrations of 4.

Potential Anthropogenic Pollution of High-technology Metals with a Focus on Rare Earth Elements in Environmental Water.

In recent years, the utilization of high-technology metals such as rare earth elements (REEs), which exist in extremely low quantities in the Earth, has rapidly increased with the development of new types of industrial materials and pharmaceutical products. This review provides an overview of a new type of potential anthropogenic pollution caused by high-technology metals, with a focus on REEs released into environmental waters from waste treatment plants. In this paper, potential anthropogenic pollution was defined as pollution caused by metals gradually enriched in the environment by human activity, although standard and guideline concentrations of these elements are not regulated by environmental quality standards for water pollution.

Resilience dynamics after interventions made among school children of rural Ethiopia.

Objectives of this study are to evaluate the impact of interventions on school children resilience and well-being; assess sensitivity of resilience evaluation tools; and identify shift in resilience among children in poor rural communities of Ethiopia. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected using semi-structured Pre- and Post- Interview Analysis (PIA), child and youth resilience measure (CYRM) and mental health continuum (MHC) questionnaires among the control and intervention groups. The study identified that PIA questions were not sensitive enough to detect all child resilience indicators.

A BTB-ZF protein, ZNF131, is required for early B cell development.

Members of the BTB-ZF transcription factor family play important roles in lymphocyte development. During T cell development, ZNF131, a BTB-ZF protein, is critical for the double-negative (DN) to double-positive (DP) transition and is also involved in cell proliferation. Here, we report that knockout of Znf131 at the pre-pro-B cell stage in mb1-Cre knock-in mouse resulted in defect of pro-B to pre-B cell transition.

Molecular identification and characterisation of catalase and catalase-like protein genes in urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC).

Background: Thermophilic Campylobacter are important bacterial pathogens of foodborne diseases worldwide. These organisms' physiology requires a microaerophilic atmosphere. To date, little is known about the protective catalase mechanism in urease-positive thermophilic campylobacters (UPTC); hence, it was the aim of this study to identify and characterise catalase and catalase-like protein genes in these organisms.

Analysis of Association between Norepinephrine Transporter Gene Polymorphisms and Personality Traits of NEO-FFI in a Japanese Population.

Objective: Norepinephrine is an important chemical messenger that is involved in mood and stress in humans, and is reabsorbed by the norepinephrine transporter (NET). According to Cloninger's theory, the noradrenergic system mediates the personality trait of reward dependence. Thus far, although association studies on NET gene polymorphisms and Cloninger's personality traits have been reported, they yielded inconsistent results.

Transformation and characterization of an arsenic gene operon from urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) in Escherichia coli.

An arsenate susceptibility test was performed with transformed and cultured Escherichia coli DH5α cells, which carried recombinant DNA of full-length arsenic (ars) operon, namely a putative membrane permease, ArsP; a transcriptional repressor, ArsR; an arsenate reductase, ArsC; and an arsenical-resistance membrane transporter, Acr3, from the Japanese urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter lari (UPTC) CF89-12. The E. coli DH5α transformant showed reduced susceptibility to arsenate (~1536 μg/mL), compared to the control.

Development of a novel molecular detection method for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) in Taylorella organisms.

Contagious equine metritis is a bacterial infectious disease of horses caused by Taylorella equigenitalis, a Gram-negative eubacterium. The disease has been described in several continents, including Europe, North America and Asia. A novel molecular method was developed to detect clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs), which were separated by non-repetitive unique spacer regions (NRUSRs) of similar length, in the Taylorella equigenitalis EQ59 strain using a primer pair, f-/r-TeCRISPR-ladder, by PCR amplification.

Molecular analysis of the tlyA gene in Campylobacter lari.

Full-length tlyA gene and its adjacent genetic loci from the urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) CF89-12 [approximately 15,000 base pairs (bp) in length], as well as a reference strain Campylobacter lari RM2100 (approximately 9,000 bp), were analyzed. The possible open-reading frame of tlyA from UPTC CF89-12 was shown to have 720 bp with a calculated molecular mass of approximately 26.7 kDa.

A PCR-RFLP assay for the detection and differentiation of Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli, C. fetus, C. hyointestinalis, C. lari, C. helveticus and C. upsaliensis.

Although Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are the most common bacterial causes of human gastrointestinal diseases, other Campylobacter species are also involved in human and animal infections. In this study, we developed a cytolethal distending toxin (cdt) gene-based PCR-RFLP assay for the detection and differentiation of C. jejuni, C.

[The relationship between glycogen synthase kinase - 3beta -1727A/T x -50T/C genetic polymorphisms and nicotine dependence].

As a help of the mechanism elucidation of nicotine dependence, we studied the relationship between glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) - 3beta -1727A/T and -50T/C genetic polymorphisms, which are reported to be related to bipolar disorder. We genotyped the two polymorphisms in the GSK-3beta gene using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 103 healthy controls (never smokers) and 71 smokers with FTND scores of 3 or above. There is no significant relationship between the polymorphism of GSK-3beta -1727A/T and the nicotine addicts.

Molecular cloning and characterisation of the methionine sulphoxide reductase A (msrA) gene locus in Campylobacter lari organisms.

The methionine sulphoxide reductase A (msrA) gene and its adjacent genetic loci from urease-negative (UN) Campylobacter lari RM2100 and urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC)CF89-12 strains appear to be composed of a msrA structure gene (507 base pairs [bp]) and another five-gene cluster (approximately 6300 bp) in the same strand and direction. A primer pair (F1/R4-msrA) for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification was designed to generate a product of approximately 900 bp of the msrA gene, including its adjacent genetic loci for the thermophilic Campylobacter organisms and generate an amplicon with 16 C. lari isolates (n = 4 for UN C.

Construction, expression and characterisation of recombinant molecules of the urease gene operon from a urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) isolate.

A recombinant molecule of the full-length urease gene operon was constructed in vitro from the Japanese urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) CF89-12 isolate and expressed in Escherichia coli cells. Several large deletion recombinant variants of urease subunit genes were also constructed and expressed in E. coli cells.

Molecular identification and characterization of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) gene cluster in Taylorella equigenitalis.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs), of approximately 10,000 base pairs (bp) in length, were shown to occur in the Japanese Taylorella equigenitalis strain, EQ59. The locus was composed of the putative CRISPRs-associated with 5 (cas5), RAMP csd1, csd2, recB, cas1, a leader region, 13 CRISPR consensus sequence repeats (each 32 bp; 5'-TCAGCCACGTTCGCGTGGCTGTGTGTTTAAAG-3'). These were in turn separated by 12 non repetitive unique spacer regions of similar length.

Molecular identification of an arsenic four-gene operon in Campylobacter lari.

An arsenic (ars) four-gene operon, containing genes encoding a putative membrane permease (ArsP), a transcriptional repressor (ArsR), an arsenate reductase (ArsC) and an arsenical-resistance membrane transporter (Acr3) was first identified in urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) isolate, CF89-12. UPTC CF89-12 and some other Campylobacter lari isolates contained their ars four-genes, similarly, differing from that in the reference C. lari RM2100 strain.

[The association between beta-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphisms and personality traits].

The relationship between the polymorphisms (SNPs) of the beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) gene and personality assessed by TCI (Temperament and Character Inventory), was studied among 192 healthy Japanese subjects (121 male subjects and 71 female subjects). In this study, the statistical analyses were performed overall and separately for each sex. As a result, it was shown that there were significant relationships between SD (self-directedness) and 49Ser/Gly (rs1801252) in ADRB1, P (persistence) and 389Arg/Gly (rs1801253) in ADRB1, and ST (self-transcendence) and 27Gln/Glu (rs1042714) in ADRB2 overall.

[Association between lithium sensitivity and GSK3beta gene polymorphisms in bipolar disorder].

GSK-3beta codes for an enzyme which is a target for the action of mood stabilizers, lithium and possibly of valproic acid. The relationship between the polymorphisms (SNPs) of GSK-3beta-50T/C and -1727A/T and the effect of lithium was studied among 29 Japanese bipolar patients. It was shown that GSK-3beta-50T/C may be linked with the effect of lithium treatment.

Molecular identification and characterization of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) in a urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter sp. (UPTC).

Novel clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) locus [7,500 base pairs (bp) in length] occurred in the urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) Japanese isolate, CF89-12. The 7,500 bp gene loci consisted of the 5'-methylaminomethyl-2-thiouridylate methyltransferase gene, putative (P) CRISPR associated (p-Cas), putative open reading frames, Cas1 and Cas2, leader sequence region (146 bp), 12 CRISPRs consensus sequence repeats (each 36 bp) separated by a non-repetitive unique spacer region of similar length (26-31 bp) and the phosphatidyl glycerophosphatase A gene. When the CRISPRs loci in the UPTC CF89-12 and five C.

Molecular analysis of the 16S-23S rDNA internal spacer region (ISR) and truncated tRNA(Ala) gene segments in Campylobacter lari.

Following PCR amplification and sequencing, nucleotide sequence alignment analyses demonstrated the presence of two kinds of 16S-23S rDNA internal spacer regions (ISRs), namely, long length ISRs of 837-844 base pair (bp) [n = six for urease-negative (UN) Campylobacter lari isolates, UN C. lari JCM2530(T), RM2100, 176, 293, 299 and 448] and short length ISRs of 679-725 bp [n = six for UN C. lari: n = 14 for urease-positive thermophilic Campylobacter (UPTC) isolates].