Sec16 and Sed4 interdependently function as interaction and localization partners at ER exit sites.

COPII proteins assemble at ER exit sites (ERES) to form transport carriers. The initiation of COPII assembly in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is triggered by the ER membrane protein Sec12. Sec16, which plays a critical role in COPII organization, localizes to ERES independently of Sec12. However, the mechanism underlying Sec16 localization is poorly understood. Here, we show that a Sec12 homolog, Sed4, is concentrated at ERES and mediates ERES localization of Sec16. We found that the interaction between Sec16 and Sed4 ensures their correct localization to ERES. Loss of the interaction with Sec16 leads to redistribution of Sed4 from the ERES specifically to high-curvature ER areas, such as the tubules and edges of the sheets. The luminal domain of Sed4 mediates this distribution, which is required for Sed4, but not for Sec16, to be concentrated at ERES. We further show that the luminal domain and its O-mannosylation are involved in the self-interaction of Sed4. Our findings provide insight into how Sec16 and Sed4 function interdependently at ERES.

Studies on Fluorescence Quenching, Decay Rate Parameters, Dipole Moment, Rotational Diffusion of 3-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-7-(diethylamino)-2H-chromen-2-one Laser Dye in Excited Singlet State: Temperature Effect.

The effect of temperature on the absorption and emission characteristics of 3-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-7-(diethylamino)-2H-chromen-2-one (3BT7D2H-one) laser dye in glycerol solvent has been studied by the steady-state method. Fluorescence intensity decreases with an increase in temperature and shifts towards a shorter wavelength. Parameters like fluorescence lifetime, rate constants, activation energy, and dipole moment (using the thermochromic method) are determined experimentally. Also, the temperature effect on rotational diffusion of 3BT7D2H-one laser dye is studied and also estimated theoretical and experimental hydrodynamic volumes.

Influence of Temperature on Rotational Dynamics of 3B7D2HC-2-one Molecule in Non-polar, Polar, and Polar Aprotic Solvents.

Rotational dynamics of 3-(3H-2l4-benzo[c]isothiazol-2-yl)-7-(diethylamino)-2H-chromen-2-one (3B7D2HC-2-one) is studied using steady-state fluorescence depolarization and time-resolved fluorescence techniques in non-polar, polar and polar aprotic solvents by varying temperatures. Computational calculations are performed using Gaussian 09 software. Over the general solvatochromic method, an advanced thermochromic shift method is used to estimate dipole moments. Experiment rotational diffusion of 3B7D2HC-2-one in methanol indicates slow rotation over the other two solvents. Further, experiment rotational diffusion is analyzed using hydrodynamic and Quasi-hydrodynamic theories. The observed reorientation time follows the trend as predicted by quasi-hydrodynamic models.

Diversity study of Beauveria bassiana species for finding the most virulent strain to manage Bemisia tabaci in cotton.

Beauveria bassiana (Bal.-Criv.) is an important entomopathogenic fungus being used for the management of various agricultural pests worldwide. However, all strains of B. bassiana may not be effective against whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, or other pests, and strains show diversity in their growth, sporulation, virulence features, and overall bioefficacy. Thus, to select the most effective strain, a comprehensive way needs to be devised. We studied the diversity among the 102 strains of B. bassiana isolated from 19 insect species based on their physiological features, virulence, and molecular phylogeny, to identify promising ones for the management of B. tabaci. Strains showed diversity in mycelial growth, conidial production, and their virulence against B. tabaci nymphs. The highest nymphal mortality (2nd and 3rd instar) was recorded with MTCC-4511 (95.1%), MTCC-6289 (93.8%), and MTCC-4565 (89.9%) at a concentration of 1 × 106 conidia ml-1 under polyhouse conditions. The highest bioefficacy index (BI) was in MTCC-4511 (78.3%), MTCC-4565 (68.2%), and MTCC-4543 (62.1%). MTCC-4511, MTCC-4565, and MTCC-4543 clustered with positive loading of eigenvalues for the first two principal components and the cluster analysis also corresponded well with PCA (principal component analysis) (nymphal mortality and BI). The molecular phylogeny could not draw any distinct relationship between physiological features, the virulence of B. bassiana strains with the host and location. The BI, PCA, and square Euclidean distance cluster were found the most useful tools for selecting potential entomopathogenic strains. The selected strains could be utilized for the management of the B. tabaci nymphal population in the field through the development of effective formulations. KEY POINTS: • 102 B. bassiana strains showed diversity in growth and virulence against B. tabaci. • Bioefficacy index, PCA, and SED group are efficient tools for selecting potential strains. • MTCC-4511, 4565, and 4543 chosen as the most virulent strains to kill whitefly nymphs.

Evaluating Readmission Rates for a Statewide In-Home Ecosystemic Family-Based Treatment Program for Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance.

Family Based Mental Health Services (FBMHS) with an embedded clinical model, Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy, is an intervention designed for youth with a serious emotional disturbance (SED) who are at risk of out-of-home placement. The current evaluation examines the association between receipt of FBMHS and rates of out-of-home and community-based care during and after an episode of FBMHS. We identified 25,016 Medicaid-enrolled youth ages 3 to 17 years with receipt of a new FBMHS episode from 1/1/2015 to 6/30/2021. 14% of youth received out-of-home services. Rates of out-of-home service decreased during receipt of FBMHS (14.25-6.98%, p < .0001) and remained lower 6 months following discharge (to 6.95%, p < .0001). Short and longer doses of service were both associated with decreased rates of out-of-home services. FBMHS has been scaled across a large geographic area and is associated with lower rates of out-of-home placement for youth with SED.

Detection of virulence genes of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from raw beef for retail sale in the markets of Ulaanbaatar city, Mongolia.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a highly virulent pathogen that causes food-borne illness, food poisoning, skin and soft tissue infections, abscesses, mastitis, and bacteremia. It is common for meat and meat products to become contaminated with S. aureus due to dirty hands, food storage conditions, food production processes, and unhygienic conditions, causing food poisoning. Therefore, we aimed to isolate S. aureus strain from the raw beef and reveal virulence genes and antibiotic resistance profile from isolated S. aureus strains. METHODS: In this study, 100 samples of raw beef were collected from 4 major market stalls in Ulaanbaatar city, Mongolia. S. aureus was detected according to the ISO 6888-1:2021 standard, and the nucA gene encoding the species-specific thermonuclease was amplified and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In the strains of S. aureus isolated from the samples, the genes encoding the virulence factors including sea, sed, tsst, eta, etb, and mecA were amplified by multiplex PCR. These genes are encoded staphylococcal enterotoxin A, enterotoxin D, toxic shock syndrome toxin, exotoxin A, exotoxin B and penicillin-binding protein PBP 2A, respectively. Antibiotic sensitivity test was performed by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines as CLSI M100-S27 was used for analysis of the data. RESULTS: Thirty-five percent of our samples were detected contaminated with of the S. aureus strains. Subsequently, antibiotic resistance was observed in the S. aureus contaminated samples. Among our samples, the highest rates of resistance were determined against ampicillin (97.1%), oxacillin (88.6%), and penicillin (88.6%), respectively. Three genes including mecA, sea, and tsst from six virulence genes were detected in 17% of S. aureus strain-contaminated samples by multiplex PCR. The sed, etb and eta genes were detected in the 2.9%, 11.4% and 5.7% of our samples, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results show that S. aureus related contamination is high in the raw beef for retail sale and prevalent S. aureus strains are resistant to all antibiotics used. Also, our results have demonstrated that there is a high risk for food poisoning caused by antibiotic resistant S. aureus in the raw beef and it may establish public health issues. Genes encoding for both heat-resistant and nonresistant toxicity factors were detected in the antibiotic resistant S. aureus strains and shown the highly pathogenic. Finally, our study is ensuring to need proper hygienic conditions during beef's preparation and sale.

Identification of factors influencing net primary productivity of terrestrial ecosystems based on interpretable machine learning --evidence from the county-level administrative districts in China.

Global climate change is rooted in the imbalance between carbon sources and sinks, and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions should focus not only on the source-side drivers but also on the sink-side influencing factors. Taking the county-level administrative districts in China as the sample, this study uses machine learning models to fit the relationship between socioeconomic development (SED) and net primary productivity (NPP) of terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, it identifies key influencing factors and their effects based on the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) algorithm. The results show that the districts with low terrestrial NPP show the characteristics of agglomeration distribution. The eight key factors, in order, are as follows: agricultural development level, latitude, population size, longitude, animal husbandry development level, economic scale, time trend and industrialization level. In this study, via SHAP interaction plots, we found that the effects of population, economic growth, and industrialization on terrestrial NPP are regionally heterogeneous; via cluster analysis, we found the stage characteristics of the mode of SED affecting terrestrial NPP. Therefore, the conservation of terrestrial NPP needs to be combined with the stage changes of SED, as well as inter-regional differences, to develop a regionally coordinated and time-coherent ecological carbon sink conservation plan.

Rotational Diffusion Dynamics of Fluorescein Derivatives in Binary Mixtures of Solvents: An Experimental and Computational Study.

With a view to understand the nature of solute solvent interactions, rotational reorientation times (τr) of three medium sized dipolar laser dyes viz., dichlorofluorescein (DCF), sodium fluorescein (SF) and kiton red (KR) in two binary mixtures namely, aqueous-DMSO and aqueous-1-propanol have been determined employing steady state fluorescence depolarization technique. The experimental results are analyzed in the light of SED hydrodynamic and of Gierer and Wirtz (GW) and Dote, Kivelson and Schwartz (DKS) quasihydrodynamic models. Rotational reorientation times (τr) are plotted as function of viscosity (η) on the binary solvent mixtures. An interesting hook shaped profile is observed in both the binary mixtures of solvents that is likely to shed light on solute-solvent interactions. Further, theoretical study has been carried out using Gaussian 09 software. The optimized geometry, HOMO-LUMO, energy gap and molecular electron potential map (MEPM) were extracted from DFT/B3LYP 6-311g(d) basis set. The hyper conjugation or intra-molecular delocalization was estimated from NBO analysis. Strong interactions were observed between nO33→σ*C31, πN38→σ*C12 and πO32→π*(C31- O33) with E(2) energies of 203.58, 121.89 and 39.92 kJ/mol for SF, KR and DCF.

ANATOMIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC CHANGES OF ANTERIOR SEGMENT STRUCTURES IN EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME PATIENTS WITH MYOPIA.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: Determination of anatomical and topographical relationships of the eyeball anterior segment structures to assess possible glaucoma development risk factors in SED patients with myopic refraction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: Patients, aged from 10 to 34, have been examined since 2009. All the patients have undergone required medic and genetic examination as well as generally accepted ophthalmological one. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) has been performed using the VuMax II apparatus (Sonomed, USA) with a sensor frequency of 50 MHz. RESULTS: Results: Biomicroscopy found no symptoms such as pigment dispersion on the iris stroma, in the chamber anterior angle, iris transillumination and "Krukenberg's Spindle", which are characteristic for the ultrasound picture in pigment dispersion syndrome. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: 1. Clinical and functional study with the eyeballs mandatory ultrasound biomicroscopy have revealed functional space limitations for the structures of the iridociliary zone in patients with myopic type of eye structure in SED. 2. Detected congenital changes in the anterior segment structures (iridociliary cystic formations and residual mesodermal tissue) can lead to the emergence of intraocular blocks. 3. The research has identified conducive anatomical and topographic changes, which are likely to induce pigment dispersion syndrome or lead to the development of pigmentary glaucoma. 4. In our opinion, the UBM role in the early diagnosing and monitoring patients with SED syndrome is quite significant in terms of assessing the stability or dynamics of the changes received and possible complications. Ultrasound biomicroscopic scanning should be added to the list of necessary early diagnostic examinations to determine the markers and features of structures in SED.

Dose quantities for measurement and comparison of doses to individual patients in computed tomography (CT).

The dose quantities displayed routinely on CT scanners, the volume averaged CT dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product, provide measures of doses calculated for standard phantoms. The American Association of Medical Physics has published conversion factors for the adjustment of CTDIvolto take account of variations in patient size, the results being termed size-specific dose estimate (SSDE). However, CTDIvoland SSDE, while useful in comparing and optimising doses from a set procedure, do not provide risk-related information that takes account of the organs and tissues irradiated and associated cancer risks. A derivative of effective dose that takes account of differences in body and organ sizes and masses, referred to here as size-specific effective dose (SED), can provide such information. Data on organ doses from NCICT software that is based on Monte Carlo simulations of CT scans for 193 adult phantoms have been used to compute values of SED for CT examinations of the trunk and results compared with corresponding values of SSDE. Relationships within ±8% were observed between SED and SSDE for scans extending over similar regions for phantoms with a wide range of sizes. Coefficients have been derived from fits of the data to estimate SED values from SSDEs for different regions of the body for scans of standard lengths based on patient height. A method developed to take account of differences in scan length gave SED results within ±5% of values calculated using the NCI phantom library. This approach could potentially be used to estimate SED from SSDE values, allowing their display at the time a CT scan is performed.

Novel strategy for anchorage position control of GPI-attached proteins in the yeast cell wall using different GPI-anchoring domains.

The yeast cell surface provides space to display functional proteins. Heterologous proteins can be covalently anchored to the yeast cell wall by fusing them with the anchoring domain of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored cell wall proteins (GPI-CWPs). In the yeast cell-surface display system, the anchorage position of the target protein in the cell wall is an important factor that maximizes the capabilities of engineered yeast cells because the yeast cell wall consists of a 100- to 200-nm-thick microfibrillar array of glucan chains. However, knowledge is limited regarding the anchorage position of GPI-attached proteins in the yeast cell wall. Here, we report a comparative study on the effect of GPI-anchoring domain-heterologous protein fusions on yeast cell wall localization. GPI-anchoring domains derived from well-characterized GPI-CWPs, namely Sed1p and Sag1p, were used for the cell-surface display of heterologous proteins in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Immunoelectron-microscopic analysis of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP)-displaying cells revealed that the anchorage position of the GPI-attached protein in the cell wall could be controlled by changing the fused anchoring domain. eGFP fused with the Sed1-anchoring domain predominantly localized to the external surface of the cell wall, whereas the anchorage position of eGFP fused with the Sag1-anchoring domain was mainly inside the cell wall. We also demonstrate the application of the anchorage position control technique to improve the cellulolytic ability of cellulase-displaying yeast. The ethanol titer during the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of hydrothermally-processed rice straw was improved by 30% after repositioning the exo- and endo-cellulases using Sed1- and Sag1-anchor domains. This novel anchorage position control strategy will enable the efficient utilization of the cell wall space in various fields of yeast cell-surface display technology.

A study of the significance of photoparoxysmal responses and spontaneous epileptiform discharges in the EEG in childhood epilepsy.

AIM: In clinical practice, there is a prevailing notion that photosensitivity mostly occurs in children with epilepsy (CWE) with idiopathic generalized epilepsy. We investigated the distribution of epilepsy types and etiology in photosensitive children and the associations with specific clinical and electroencephalogram (EEG) variables. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, clinical data were acquired from all children that showed photosensitivity during systematic intermittent photic stimulation (IPS), over a 10-year interval at a tertiary level Children's Hospital, Winnipeg. Patient demographics, EEG findings, and clinical data and symptoms during IPS were abstracted. Classification of diagnoses using the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) 2017 guidelines was done by an expert panel. RESULTS: Seventy-eight photosensitive children were identified. Forty (51.3%) had generalized epilepsy (idiopathic: 27, structural: 2, other: 11) compared with 19 (24.4%) focal (idiopathic: 1, structural: 2, other: 16), 8 (10.3%) combined focal and generalized (structural: 4, other: 4), and 11 (14.1%) unknown epilepsy (other: 11); (χ2 (3) = 32.1, p = .000). Self-sustaining or outlasting photoparoxysmal responses (PPRs) occurred in association with all epilepsy types; however, the EEGs of focal CWE without treatment comprised almost solely of PPRs which outlasted the stimulus (8/10), in contrast to only 8/17 of focal CWE with treatment and to 13/26 of generalized epilepsy without treatment. Most frequency intervals in individual patients were less under treatment: a decrease in standardized photosensitivity range (SPR) was seen in 5 CWE, an increase in 2, and no change in 1 during treatment. Both CWE with focal and generalized epilepsy showed abnormal activity on EEG during hyperventilation (40% vs 65.7%). Thirteen out of 14 CWE with clinical signs during IPS had independent spontaneous epileptiform discharges (SEDs) in the EEG recording. CONCLUSION: Photosensitivity occurs in all types of epilepsy rather than in idiopathic generalized epilepsy alone. Surprisingly, there is a tendency for focal epilepsy to be associated with self-sustaining PPRs, especially when no treatment is used. Treatment tends to make the PPR more self-limiting and decrease the SPR. There is a tendency that clinical signs during IPS occur in EEGs in individuals with SEDs.

Development of novel surface display platforms for anchoring heterologous proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

BACKGROUND: Cell surface display of recombinant proteins has become a powerful tool for biotechnology and biomedical applications. As a model eukaryotic microorganism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an ideal candidate for surface display of heterologous proteins. However, the frequently used commercial yeast surface display system, the a-agglutinin anchor system, often results in low display efficiency. RESULTS: We initially reconstructed the a-agglutinin system by replacing two anchor proteins with one anchor protein. By directly fusing the target protein to the N-terminus of Aga1p and inserting a flexible linker, the display efficiency almost doubled, and the activity of reporter protein α-galactosidase increased by 39%. We also developed new surface display systems. Six glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored cell wall proteins were selected to construct the display systems. Among them, Dan4p and Sed1p showed higher display efficiency than the a-agglutinin anchor system. Linkers were also inserted to eliminate the effects of GPI fusion on the activity of the target protein. We further used the newly developed Aga1p, Dan4p systems and Sed1p system to display exoglucanase and a relatively large protein ß-glucosidase, and found that Aga1p and Dan4p were more suitable for immobilizing large proteins. CONCLUSION: Our study developed novel efficient yeast surface display systems, that will be attractive tools for biotechnological and biomedical applications.

Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network-Based Event Detection in Tunnels Using Multiple Microphones.

This paper proposes a sound event detection (SED) method in tunnels to prevent further uncontrollable accidents. Tunnel accidents are accompanied by crashes and tire skids, which usually produce abnormal sounds. Since the tunnel environment always has a severe level of noise, the detection accuracy can be greatly reduced in the existing methods. To deal with the noise issue in the tunnel environment, the proposed method involves the preprocessing of tunnel acoustic signals and a classifier for detecting acoustic events in tunnels. For preprocessing, a non-negative tensor factorization (NTF) technique is used to separate the acoustic event signal from the noisy signal in the tunnel. In particular, the NTF technique developed in this paper consists of source separation and online noise learning. In other words, the noise basis is adapted by an online noise learning technique for enhancement in adverse noise conditions. Next, a convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN) is extended to accommodate the contributions of the separated event signal and noise to the event detection; thus, the proposed CRNN is composed of event convolution layers and noise convolution layers in parallel followed by recurrent layers and the output layer. Here, a set of mel-filterbank feature parameters is used as the input features. Evaluations of the proposed method are conducted on two datasets: a publicly available road audio events dataset and a tunnel audio dataset recorded in a real traffic tunnel for six months. In the first evaluation where the background noise is low, the proposed CRNN-based SED method with online noise learning reduces the relative recognition error rate by 56.25% when compared to the conventional CRNN-based method with noise. In the second evaluation, where the tunnel background noise is more severe than in the first evaluation, the proposed CRNN-based SED method yields superior performance when compared to the conventional methods. In particular, it is shown that among all of the compared methods, the proposed method with the online noise learning provides the best recognition rate of 91.07% and reduces the recognition error rates by 47.40% and 28.56% when compared to the Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-hidden Markov model (HMM)-based and conventional CRNN-based SED methods, respectively. The computational complexity measurements also show that the proposed CRNN-based SED method requires a processing time of 599 ms for both the NTF-based source separation with online noise learning and CRNN classification when the tunnel noisy signal is one second long, which implies that the proposed method detects events in real-time.

Two Swedish screening instruments for exhaustion disorder: cross-sectional associations with burnout, work stress, private life stress, and personality traits.

AIMS: To examine the relationships of two screening instruments recently developed for assessment of exhaustion disorder (ED) with some other well-known inventories intended to assess ED-related concepts and self-reports of job demands, job control, job support, private life stressors, and personality factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional population sample ( n = 1355) completed: the Karolinska Exhaustion Disorder Scale (KEDS), Self-reported Exhaustion Disorder Scale (s-ED), Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9), Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), Big Five Inventory (BFI), and items concerning family-to-work interference and stress in private life. RESULTS: Compared to participants without any indication of ED, participants classified as having ED on KEDS or s-ED had higher scores on all four SMBQ subscales, lower scores on the UWES-9 subscales vigor and dedication, higher JCQ job demands scores, lower JCQ job support scores, higher degrees of family-to-work interference and stress in private life, and higher BFI neuroticism and openness scores. In addition, participants classified as having ED on KEDS had lower scores on the UWES-9 absorption subscale, the JCQ job control scale, and lower BFI extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness scores, compared to the subgroup not classified as having ED. CONCLUSIONS: As expected, we observed an overall pattern of associations between the ED screening inventories KEDS and s-ED and measures of burnout, work engagement, job demands-control-support, stress in private life, family-to-work interference, and personality factors. The results suggest that instruments designed to assess burnout, work engagement, and ED share common ground, despite their conceptual differences.

Production of Staphylococcal Enterotoxins D and R in Milk and Meat Juice by Staphylococcus aureus Strains.

Seventeen Staphylococcus aureus strains were tested for production of staphylococcal enterotoxin D (SED) and staphylococcal enterotoxin R (SER) in milk and meat juice. SED was secreted in milk by 12 S. aureus strains at 6-54 ng/mL at 24 h and 9-98 ng/mL at 48 h. Another five strains secreted SED at 0.9-1.9 µg/mL at 24 h and at 1.2-2.4 µg/mL at 48 h. Strains producing high levels of SED in milk secreted 77-666 µg/mL of SED in meat juice at 24 h and 132-1225 µg/mL at 48 h. Strains producing lower amounts of SED in milk secreted 228-1109 ng/mL of SED at 24 h and 377-1782 ng/mL at 48 h in meat juice. Tested S. aureus strains produced SER in milk at 33-183 ng/mL at 24 h and 41-832 ng/mL at 48 h. Fourteen strains produced more SER in meat juice than in milk (17- to 232-fold and 15- to 269-fold more at 24 and 48 h, respectively). Three S. aureus strains secreted less than 74 ng/mL of SER in meat juice. Expression pattern of known enterotoxin regulators, that is, agrA, sarA, hld, rot, and sigB, was similar in selected strong and weak SED producers grown in both food matrices and could not explain differences in enterotoxin protein level. This suggests that enterotoxin regulation is more complex than previously thought. We demonstrated that in a number of tested S. aureus strains, production of SED and SER was significantly decreased in milk when compared with meat juice, supporting previous reports. However, certain strains secreted high amounts of SED and SER, irrespective of environment, likely contributing to higher food safety risk.

Arabidopsis mitochondrial protein slow embryo development1 is essential for embryo development.

The plant seeds formation are crucial parts in reproductive process in seed plants as well as food source for humans. Proper embryo development ensure viable seed formation. Here, we showed an Arabidopsis T-DNA insertion mutant slow embryo development1 (sed1) which exhibited retarded embryogenesis, led to aborted seeds. Embryo without SED1 developed slower compared to normal one and could be recognized at early globular stage by its white appearance. In later development stage, storage accumulated poorly with less protein and lipid body production. In vitro culture did not rescue albino embryo. SED1 encoded a protein targeted to mitochondria. Transmission electron microscopic analysis revealed that mitochondria developed abnormally, and more strikingly plastid failed to construct grana in time in sed1/sed1 embryo. These data indicated that SED1 is indispensable for embryogenesis in Arabidopsis, and the mitochondria may be involved in the regulation of many aspects of seed development.

The independent prospective associations of activity intensity and dietary energy density with adiposity in young adolescents.

There is limited evidence on the prospective association of time spent in activity intensity (sedentary (SED), moderate (MPA) or vigorous (VPA) physical activity) and dietary intake with adiposity indicators in young people. This study aimed to assess associations between (1) baseline objectively measured activity intensity, dietary energy density (DED) and 4-year change in adiposity and (2) 4-year change in activity intensity/DED and adiposity at follow-up. We conducted cohort analyses including 367 participants (10 years at baseline, 14 years at follow-up) with valid data for objectively measured activity (Actigraph), DED (4-d food diary), anthropometry (waist circumference (WC), %body fat (%BF), fat mass index (FMI), weight status) and covariates. Linear and logistic regression models were fit, including adjustment for DED and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results showed that baseline DED was associated with change in WC (ß for 1kJ/g difference: 0·71; 95% CI 0·26, 1·17), particularly in boys (1·26; 95% CI 0·41, 2·16 v. girls: 0·26; 95% CI -0·34, 0·87), but not with %BF, FMI or weight status. In contrast, baseline SED, MPA or VPA were not associated with any of the outcomes. Change in DED was negatively associated with FMI (ß for 1kJ/g increase: -0·86; 95% CI -1·59, -0·12) and %BF (-0·86; 95% CI -1·25, -0·11) but not WC (-0·27; 95% CI -1·02, 0·48). Change in SED, MPA and VPA did not predict adiposity at follow-up. In conclusion, activity intensity was not prospectively associated with adiposity, whereas the directions of associations with DED were inconsistent. To inform public health efforts, future studies should continue to analyse longitudinal data to further understand the independent role of different energy-balance behaviours in changes in adiposity in early adolescence.

Determination of the anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective effects of l-glutamine and l-alanine, or dipeptide, supplementation in rats submitted to resistance exercise.

We evaluated the effects of chronic oral supplementation with l-glutamine and l-alanine in their free form or as the dipeptide l-alanyl-l-glutamine (DIP) on muscle damage, inflammation and cytoprotection, in rats submitted to progressive resistance exercise (RE). Wistar rats (n 8/group) were submitted to 8-week RE, which consisted of climbing a ladder with progressive loads. In the final 21 d before euthanasia, supplements were delivered in a 4 % solution in drinking water. Glutamine, creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), TNF-α, specific IL (IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-10) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels were evaluated in plasma. The concentrations of glutamine, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10, as well as NF-κB activation, were determined in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) skeletal muscle. HSP70 level was assayed in EDL and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). RE reduced glutamine concentration in plasma and EDL (P<0·05 v. sedentary group). However, l-glutamine supplements (l-alanine plus l-glutamine (GLN+ALA) and DIP groups) restored glutamine levels in plasma (by 40 and 58 %, respectively) and muscle (by 93 and 105 %, respectively). GLN+ALA and DIP groups also exhibited increased level of HSP70 in EDL and PBMC, consistent with the reduction of NF-κB p65 activation and cytokines in EDL. Muscle protection was also indicated by attenuation in plasma levels of CK, LDH, TNF-α and IL-1ß, as well as an increase in IL-6, IL-10 and MCP-1. Our study demonstrates that chronic oral l-glutamine treatment (given with l-alanine or as dipeptide) following progressive RE induces cyprotective effects mediated by HSP70-associated responses to muscle damage and inflammation.