The “lead line” was described by Henry Burton in 1840. Rodents are used as sentinels to monitor environmental pollution, but their teeth have not been used to determine lead. To determine whether ...lead deposits can be observed in the teeth of lead-exposed animals, since the gingival deposits known as “lead line” would likely have a correlate in the calcified tissue to which the gums are opposed during life. Male Wistar rats were exposed to lead in the drinking water (30 mg/L) since birth until 60 days-old. Molars and the incisors of each hemimandible were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on regular and backscattered electrons (BSE) mode. Elements were determined using electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Clean cervical margins were observed on control teeth, as opposed to the findings of extensive deposits on lead-exposed animals, even in hemimandibles that had been exhumed after being buried for 90 days. BSE/EDS indicated that those deposits were an exogenous material compatible with lead sulfite. Presence of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, carbon, lead, and oxygen is presented. Lead-exposed animals presented marked root resorption. The lead deposits characterized here for the first time show that the “lead line” seen in gums has a calcified tissue counterpart, that is detectable
post-mortem
even in animals exposed to a low dose of lead. This is likely a good method to detect undue lead exposure and will likely have wide application for pollution surveillance using sentinels.
Protein N-glycosylation begins with the assembly of a lipid-linked oligosaccharide (LLO) on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. The first two steps of LLO biosynthesis are catalyzed by a ...functional multienzyme complex comprised of the Alg7 GlcNAc phosphotransferase and the heterodimeric Alg13/Alg14 UDP-GlcNAc transferase on the cytosolic face of the ER. In the Alg13/14 glycosyltransferase, Alg14 recruits cytosolic Alg13 to the ER membrane through interaction between their C-termini. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that eukaryotic Alg14 contains an evolved N-terminal region that is missing in bacterial orthologs. Here, we show that this N-terminal region of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Alg14 localize its green fluorescent protein fusion to the ER membrane. Deletion of this region causes defective growth at 38.5°C that can be partially complemented by overexpression of Alg7. Coimmunoprecipitation demonstrated that the N-terminal region of Alg14 is required for direct interaction with Alg7. Our data also show that Alg14 lacking the N-terminal region remains on the ER membrane through a nonperipheral association, suggesting the existence of another membrane-binding site. Mutational studies guided by the 3D structure of Alg14 identified a conserved α-helix involved in the second membrane association site that contributes to an integral interaction and protein stability. We propose a model in which the N- and C-termini of Alg14 coordinate recruitment of catalytic Alg7 and Alg13 to the ER membrane for initiating LLO biosynthesis.
A fast beam-profile monitor has been developed for high-energy photon beamlines at the Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University. The position of the photon converted into an ...electron–positron pair in a 0.5mm-thick aluminum plate is measured with two hodoscopes made of scintillating fibers with cross-sections of 3×3mm2. Events in which charged particles are produced upstream are rejected with a charge veto plastic scintillator placed in front of the plate, and pair-production events are identified with a trigger plastic scintillator placed behind the plate. The position is determined by a developed logic module with a field-programmable gate array. The dead time for processing an event is 35ns, and a high data acquisition efficiency (~100%) can be achieved with this monitor for high-intensity photon beams corresponding to 20MHz tagging signals.
Sex of birds is genetically determined by the inheritance of sex chromosomes (ZZ for male and ZW for female), and the Z-linked gene named doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1 (DMRT1) is ...a candidate sex-determining gene in avian species. However, the mechanisms underlying sex determination in birds are not yet understood, and the expression patterns of the DMRT1 protein in urogenital tissues have not been identified. In the current study, we used immunohistochemistry to investigate the detailed expression patterns of the DMRT1 protein in the urogenital systems (including Müllerian ducts) in male and female chicken embryos throughout embryonic development. Gonadal somatic cells in the male indifferent gonads showed stronger expressions of DMRT1 compared with those in the female indifferent gonads well before the presumptive period of the sex determination, and Sertoli cells forming testicular cords expressed DMRT1 in the testes after sex determination. Germ cells expressed DMRT1 equally in males and females after sex determination. The expression was continuous in males, but in females it gradually disappeared from the germ cells in the central part of the cortex of the left ovary toward both edges. The DMRT1 was also detected in the tubal ridge, which is a precursor of the Müllerian duct, and at the mesenchyme and outermost coelomic epithelium of the Müllerian duct in both sexes. Strong expression was observed in the males, but it was restricted to coelomic epithelium after the regression of the duct started. Thus, we observed the detailed spatiotemporal expression patterns of DMRT1 in the developing chicken urogenital systems throughout embryonic development, suggesting its various roles in the development of urogenital tissues in the chicken embryo.
Sakamoto M, Hashimoto R, Yoshida I, Maeno T. Clin Ophthalmol. 2018;12:733-738.Page 733, Abstract, Results section, line 2, the text "(P=0.08)" should read "(P=0.008)".Read the original article
Coherent double neutral-pion photoproduction on the deuteron, γd→π0π0d, has been experimentally studied at incident photon energies ranging from 0.75 to 1.15 GeV. The total cross section as a ...function of the γd center-of-mass energy shows resonance-like behavior, which peaks at approximately 2.47 and 2.63 GeV. The measured angular distribution of deuteron emission is rather flat, which cannot be reproduced by the kinematics of quasi-free π0π0 production with deuteron coalescence. In π0d invariant-mass distributions, a clear peak is observed at 2.14±0.01 GeV/c2 with a width of 0.09±0.01 GeV/c2. The spin-parity of this state is restricted to 1+, 2+ or 3− from the angular distributions of the two π0s. The present work shows strong evidence for the existence of an isovector dibaryon resonance with a mass of 2.14 GeV/c2. The 2+ assignment is consistent with the theoretically predicted D12 state, and also with the energy dependence of the πd partial-wave amplitude P23 for the π±d→π±d and π+d→pp reactions.
Previous studies have suggested that genetic variations in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene may be associated with several neuropsychiatric diseases including bipolar disorder. The ...present study examined a microsatellite polymorphism located approximately 1.0 kb upstream of the translation initiation site of the BDNF gene for novel sequence variations, association with bipolar disorder, and effects on transcriptional activity. Detailed sequencing analysis revealed that this polymorphism is not a simple dinucleotide repeat, but it is highly polymorphic with a complex structure containing three types of dinucleotide repeats, insertion/deletion, and nucleotide substitutions that gives rise to a total of 23 novel allelic variants. We obtained evidence supporting the association between this polymorphic region (designated as BDNF-linked complex polymorphic region (BDNF-LCPR)) and bipolar disorder. One of the major alleles ('A1' allele) was significantly more common in patients than in controls (odds ratio 2.8, 95% confidential interval 1.5-5.3, P=0.001). Furthermore, a luciferase reporter gene assay in rat primary cultured neurons suggests that this risk allele (A1) has a lower-transcription activity, compared to the other alleles. Our results suggest that the BDNF-LCPR is a functional variation that confers susceptibility to bipolar disorder and affects transcriptional activity of the BDNF gene.
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