Carbon dioxide efflux from soil with poultry litter applications in conventional and conservation tillage systems in northern Alabama.

Increased CO2 release from soils resulting from agricultural practices such as tillage has generated concerns about contributions to global warming. Maintaining current levels of soil C and/or sequestering additional C in soils are important mechanisms to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere through production agriculture. We conducted a study in northern Alabama from 2003 to 2006 to measure CO2 efflux and C storage in long-term tilled and non-tilled cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plots receiving poultry litter or ammonium nitrate (AN). Treatments were established in 1996 on a Decatur silt loam (clayey, kaolinitic thermic, Typic Paleudults) and consisted of conventional-tillage (CT), mulch-tillage (MT), and no-tillage (NT) systems with winter rye [Secale cereale (L.)] cover cropping and AN and poultry litter (PL) as nitrogen sources. Cotton was planted in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Corn was planted in 2005 as a rotation crop using a no-till planter in all plots, and no fertilizer was applied. Poultry litter application resulted in higher CO2 emission from soil compared with AN application regardless of tillage system. In 2003 and 2006, CT (4.39 and 3.40 micromol m(-2) s(-1), respectively) and MT (4.17 and 3.39 micromol m(-2) s(-1), respectively) with PL at 100 kg N ha(-1) (100 PLN) recorded significantly higher CO2 efflux compared with NT with 100 PLN (2.84 and 2.47 micromol m(-2) s(-1), respectively). Total soil C at 0- to 15-cm depth was not affected by tillage but significantly increased with PL application and winter rye cover cropping. In general, cotton produced with NT conservation tillage in conjunction with PL and winter rye cover cropping reduced CO2 emissions and sequestered more soil C compared with control treatments.

A targeted RNAi screen for genes involved in chromosome morphogenesis and nuclear organization in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline.

We have implemented a functional genomics strategy to identify genes involved in chromosome morphogenesis and nuclear organization during meiotic prophase in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline. This approach took advantage of a gene-expression survey that used DNA microarray technology to identify genes preferentially expressed in the germline. We defined a subset of 192 germline-enriched genes whose expression profiles were similar to those of previously identified meiosis genes and designed a screen to identify genes for which inhibition by RNA interference (RNAi) elicited defects in function or development of the germline. We obtained strong germline phenotypes for 27% of the genes tested, indicating that this targeted approach greatly enriched for genes that function in the germline. In addition to genes involved in key meiotic prophase events, we identified genes involved in meiotic progression, germline proliferation, and chromosome organization and/or segregation during mitotic growth.

Nicolau syndrome.

A case of Nicolau syndrome in a woman following intramuscular injection of diclofenac sodium is reported.

Enantioselective synthesis and antiproliferative properties of an ilmofosine analog, 2'-(trimethylammonio)ethyl 3-(hexadecyloxy)-2-(methoxymethyl)propyl phosphate, on epithelial cancer cell growth.

An asymmetric synthesis of the 1-alkyloxy analog of the thioether phosphocholine ilmofosine (BM 41.440, rac-1), 2'-(trimethylammonio)ethyl 3-(hexadecyloxy)-2-(methoxymethyl)propyl phosphate (2), is described. Stereoselectivity was obtained in an asymmetric hydroboration-oxidation sequence carried out on a 2,2-disubstituted 1-alkene, 3-(hexadecyloxy)-2-(methoxymethyl)-1-propene (9), which was prepared by starting with either ethyl acrylate or ethyl alpha-(hydroxymethyl)acrylate (3). (R)- and (S)-2 and rac-1 were highly effective in inhibiting the proliferation of the breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7 (IC50, 2 microM), moderately effective against A549 (non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma) (IC50, 8-10 icroM), and less effective against A427 (large cell lung carcinoma) (IC50, approximately 20 microM). The in vitro cytotoxicity against the three epithelial cancer cell lines was independent of the configuration about C-2 of the glycerol backbone of 2 and was also not altered by substitution of oxygen for sulfur in the sn-1 ether linkage of ilmofosine.

Transformation of epithelial cells stably transfected with H2O2-generating peroxisomal urate oxidase.

Peroxisome proliferators, a group of structurally diverse nongenotoxic agents, induce predictable pleiotropic responses in liver, including the development of liver tumors in rats and mice. These agents transcriptionally activate the three genes of the peroxisomal beta oxidation enzyme system by interacting with the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor(s). It has been proposed that H2O2 generated by the peroxisomal beta oxidation system leads to DNA damage and neoplastic transformation. Consistent with this hypothesis is that cells stably transfected with H2O2-generating peroxisomal fatty acyl-CoA oxidase cDNA, which encodes the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the beta oxidation system, undergo transformation in the presence of a fatty acid substrate. To test whether H2O2 generated by other peroxisomal oxidases can also lead to transformation, a full-length cDNA encoding rat urate oxidase (UOX), which oxidizes uric acid to allantoin and in the process generates H2O2, was introduced into African green monkey kidney cells (CV-1 cells) under the control of constitutively active human peroxisomal fatty acyl-CoA oxidase gene promoter. Five stably transfected CV-1 cell lines expressing recombinant rat UOX were isolated in which the recombinant protein was targeted to peroxisomes and formed crystalloid structures or cores similar to those present in rat liver peroxisomes. Increased levels of H2O2 were found when cells stably expressing UOX were exposed to the substrate uric acid. These five clones, designated A-U1 to A-U5, exhibited anchorage-independent growth, as demonstrated by the formation of transformed colonies in soft agar in proportion to the duration of exposure to uric acid. These transformants exhibited clonal growth under serum-deprived conditions. One of these transformed cell lines, the A-U3 cell line, was evaluated for tumorigenicity by s.c. injection in nude mice. All five mice injected with transformed A-U3 cells developed adenocarcinomas, but no tumors developed in mice injected with control CV-1 cells or cells stably expressing UOX that were not exposed to uric acid. These results provide further evidence indicating that sustained overexpression of a peroxisomal H2O2-generating oxidase causes cell transformation.

Sphingolipid-dependent fusion of Semliki Forest virus with cholesterol-containing liposomes requires both the 3-hydroxyl group and the double bond of the sphingolipid backbone.

Low-pH-induced membrane fusion of Semliki Forest virus (SFV) in a model system is mediated by sphingolipids in the target membrane; ceramide is the sphingolipid minimally required (J. L. Nieva, R. Bron, J. Corver, and J. Wilschut, EMBO J. 13:2797-2804, 1994). Here, using various ceramide analogs, we demonstrate that sphingolipid-dependent fusion of SFV with cholesterol-containing liposomes exhibits remarkable molecular specificity, the 3-hydroxyl group and the 4,5-trans carbon-carbon double bond of the sphingosine backbone being critical for the sphingolipid to mediate the process. This observation supports the notion that sphingolipids act as a cofactor in SFV fusion, interacting directly with the viral fusion protein to induce its ultimate fusion-active conformation.

Fusion of Semliki Forest virus with cholesterol-containing liposomes at low pH: a specific requirement for sphingolipids.

Semliki Forest virus (SFV) utilizes a membrane fusion strategy to introduce its genome into the host cell. After binding to cell-surface receptors, virus particles are internalized through receptor-mediated endocytosis and directed to the endosomal cell compartment. Subsequently, triggered by the acid pH in the lumen of the endosomes, the viral envelope fuses with the endosomal membrane. As a result of this fusion reaction the viral RNA gains access to the cell cytosol. Low-pH-induced fusion of SFV, in model systems as well as in cells, has been demonstrated previously to be strictly dependent on the presence of cholesterol in the target membrane. In this paper, we show that fusion of SFV with cholesterol-containing liposomes depends on sphingomyelin (SM) or other sphingolipids in the target membrane, ceramide representing the sphingolipid minimally required for mediating the process. The action of the sphingolipid is confined to the actual fusion event, cholesterol being necessary and sufficient for low-pH-dependent binding of the virus to target membranes. The 3-hydroxyl group on the sphingosine backbone plays a key role in the SFV fusion reaction, since 3-deoxy-sphingomyelin does not support the process. This, and the remarkably low levels of sphingolipid required for half-maximal fusion (1-2 mol%), suggest that the sphingolipid does not play a structural role in SFV fusion, but rather acts as a cofactor, possibly through activation of the viral fusion protein. Domain formation between cholesterol and sphingolipid, although it may facilitate SFV fusion, is unlikely to play a crucial role in the process.

Malignant mediastinal chemodectoma.

A 20-year-old man with a posterior mediastinal mass and erosion of the rib proved to have a malignant chemodectoma. The case is of interest because of the rare location and malignant fatal course.