Plant glycoside hydrolase family 9 (GH9) comprises typical endo-β-1,4-glucanase (EGases, EC3.2.1.4). Although GH9A (KORRIGAN) family genes have been reported to be involved in cellulose biosynthesis in plants, much remains unknown about other GH9 subclasses. In this study, we observed a global gene co-expression profiling and conducted a correlation analysis between OsGH9 and OsCESA among 66 tissues covering most periods of life cycles in 2 rice varieties. Our results showed that OsGH9A3 and B5 possessed an extremely high co-expression with OsCESA1, 3, and 8 typical for cellulose biosynthesis in rice. Using two distinct rice non-GH9 mutants and wild type, we performed integrative analysis of gene expression level by qRT-PCR, cellulase activities in situ and in vitro, and lignocellulose crystallinity index (CrI) in four internodes of stem tissues. For the first time, OsGH9B1, 3, and 16 were characterized with the potential role in lignocellulose crystallinity alteration in rice, whereas OsGH9A3 and B5 were suggested for cellulose biosynthesis. In addition, phylogenetic analysis and gene co-expression comparison revealed GH9 function similarity in Arabidopsis and rice. Hence, the data can provide insights into GH9 function in plants and offer the potential strategy for genetic manipulation of plant cell wall using the five aforementioned novel OsGH9 genes.

The interaction of nanomaterials with biological macromolecules is an important foundation of the design and the biological safety assessments of nanomaterials. This work aims to investigate the interaction between pristine C60 and serum albumins (human serum albumin and bovine serum albumin) in solution. Stable aqueous dispersion of C60 was prepared by simple direct ultrasonic method and characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometry, transmission electronic microscopy and dynamic light scattering techniques, and spectroscopic methods (fluorescence spectroscopy, synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism spectroscopy) were utilized for the investigation. It was found that the fluorescence of serum albumins could be quenched by C60 nanoparticles in a substantially similar way. Slight changes of the surrounding microenvironment of amino residues were observed, while little effects on the protein secondary structure occurred. The different effects of dispersion methods on the interaction of C60 nanoparticles with serum protein were also compared and discussed.

In the title compound, C12H13ClO4, the 1,3-dioxane ring adopts a chair conformation and the 2-chloro­benzene and methyl substituents occupy equatorial sites. The carboxyl group is in an axial inclination. In the crystal, carb­oxy­lic acid inversion dimers linked by pairs of O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate R 2 2(8) loops.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C8H6Br2FNO, C—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding results in six-membered rings and links the mol­ecules into chains running parallel to the c axis. The dihedral angle between the fluoro­phenyl ring and the acetamide group is 29.5 (5)°.

The crystal packing in the title compound, C11H14FNO, features N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, resulting in chains of mol­ecules running parallel to the c axis. The dihedral angle between the ring and the amide group is 39.1 (3)°.

In the title compound, C12H14N2O2, the indole ring is essentially planar, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.0136 Å. In the crystal, pairs of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into inversion dimers..

In the title compound, C18H17ClO4, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzene rings is 53.4 (1)°. Weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions are observed.

In the title mol­ecule, C17H12N2O, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 84.98 (10)°. The dicyano­ethyl­ene group is coplanar with the benzene ring to which it is bonded. No classic hydrogen bonds were found in the crystal.

The anti-neoplastic agent, paclitaxel, causes a dose-limiting distal, symmetrical, sensory peripheral neuropathy that is often accompanied by a neuropathic pain syndrome. In a low-dose model of paclitaxel-evoked painful peripheral neuropathy in the rat, we have shown that the drug causes degeneration of intraepidermal nerve fibers (IENFs), i.e., the fibers which give rise to the sensory afferent’s terminal receptor arbour. However, we did not find any evidence for axonal degeneration in samples taken at the mid-nerve level. Here we aimed to determine whether the absence of degenerating peripheral nerve axons was due to sampling a level that was too proximal. We used electron microscopy to study the distal-most branches of the nerves innervating the hind paw glabrous skin of normal and paclitaxel-treated rats. We confirmed that we sampled at a time when IENF degeneration was prominent. Because degeneration might be easier to detect with higher paclitaxel doses, we examined a four-fold cumulative dose range (8–32 mg/kg). We found no evidence of degeneration in the superficial subepidermal axon bundles (sSAB) that are located just a few microns below the epidermal basal lamina. Specifically, for all three dose groups there was no change in the number of sSAB per mm of epidermal border, no change in the number of axons per sSAB, and no change in the diameter of sSAB axons. We conclude that paclitaxel produces a novel type of lesion that is restricted to the afferent axon’s terminal arbor; we name this lesion “terminal arbor degeneration (TAD)”.

A chest wall approach combined with a gasless technique appears to make single-incision endoscopic thyroidectomy feasible and practicable.

Background:

Endoscopic thyroidectomy making the scar outside the neck area has a cosmetic appeal for patients. Based on an anterior chest wall approach combined with the gasless technique, we developed a novel method for gasless endoscopic thyroidectomy with a single incision.

Materials and Methods:

From March 2009 to November 2010, 48 patients with benign thyroid nodules underwent thyroidectomy with the gasless single-incision endoscopic surgery technique via the anterior chest wall approach. A 3-cm long skin incision parallel to the clavicle was made on the anterior chest wall on the side of the lesion. The platysma flap was lifted up to maintain working space from the incision to the thyroid cartilage. Dissection of the thyroid was begun from the inferior pole of the thyroid. The line of resection was selected to preserve recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroids. A 5-mm drainage tube was inserted into the lower portion of the operative space through the incision after the thyroid gland and the lesion were resected using the Harmonic scalpel.

Results:

The overall operating time was 126 minutes (range, 90 to 210), 138 minutes (range, 80 to 160) in first 24 cases; and 112 minutes in the second 24 patients (P<.05). Three cases were converted to the conventional procedure: 2 because of a malignancy diagnosed on frozen section, and one due to uncontrolled bleeding from the middle thyroid vein. Another malignancy diagnosed on final pathological examination was treated with additional surgery to complete the thyroidectomy by using the conventional open method. There were 2 cases of postoperative complications: transient hoarseness and hematoma. No wound infection occurred in our series. The scar was well hidden beneath the clothes, and the patients were satisfied with the cosmetic result of the surgery.

Conclusions:

Advantages of the chest wall approach combined with the gasless technique have made single-incision endoscopic thyroidectomy more feasible and practicable.

Background

The cellulose synthase and cellulose synthase-like gene superfamily (CESA/CSL) is proposed to encode enzymes for cellulose and non-cellulosic matrix polysaccharide synthesis in plants. Although the rice (Oryza sativa L.) genome has been sequenced for a few years, the global expression profiling patterns and functions of the OsCESA/CSL superfamily remain largely unknown.

Results

A total of 45 identified members of OsCESA/CSL were classified into two clusters based on phylogeny and motif constitution. Duplication events contributed largely to the expansion of this superfamily, with Cluster I and II mainly attributed to tandem and segmental duplication, respectively. With microarray data of 33 tissue samples covering the entire life cycle of rice, fairly high OsCESA gene expression and rather variable OsCSL expression were observed. While some members from each CSL family (A1, C9, D2, E1, F6 and H1) were expressed in all tissues examined, many of OsCSL genes were expressed in specific tissues (stamen and radicles). The expression pattern of OsCESA/CSL and OsBC1L which extensively co-expressed with OsCESA/CSL can be divided into three major groups with ten subgroups, each showing a distinct co-expression in tissues representing typically distinct cell wall constitutions. In particular, OsCESA1, -3 & -8 and OsCESA4, -7 & -9 were strongly co-expressed in tissues typical of primary and secondary cell walls, suggesting that they form as a cellulose synthase complex; these results are similar to the findings in Arabidopsis. OsCESA5/OsCESA6 is likely partially redundant with OsCESA3 for OsCESA complex organization in the specific tissues (plumule and radicle). Moreover, the phylogenetic comparison in rice, Arabidopsis and other species can provide clues for the prediction of orthologous gene expression patterns.

Conclusions

The study characterized the CESA/CSL of rice using an integrated approach comprised of phylogeny, transcriptional profiling and co-expression analyses. These investigations revealed very useful clues on the major roles of CESA/CSL, their potentially functional complement and their associations for appropriate cell wall synthesis in higher plants.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an endogenous gaseous molecule in organisms. Despite its reputation as a lethal gas, recent studies have shown that it is one of the most essential cellular components regulating a variety of biological processes. However, whether CO regulates physiological processes of morphological or developmental patterns in plants is largely unknown. In this paper, the observation that exogenous CO was able to promote the formation of tomato lateral roots (LR) is described. The CO stimulation of LR development was supported by analysis of tomato haem oxygenase-1 (LeHO-1), an enzymatic source of intracellular CO. It is shown that the amount of LeHO-1 proteins and transcripts increased parallel to the LR development. In addition, LeHO-1 loss-of-function tomato mutant yg-2 showed a phenotype of impaired LR development. The phenotype of yg-2 could be restored by treatment with CO. Since auxin is required for LR initiation and NO is shown to be a mediator for LR development, the correlation of CO with auxin and NO was tested. Our analysis revealed that the action of CO was blocked by the auxin transport inhibitor N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid and the NO scavenger cPTIO, respectively. Furthermore, the whole seedling assays of IAA show that treatment with CO increased the overall IAA levels in various tissues of tomato. Exposure of tomato roots to CO also enhanced intracellular NO generation. These results indicate that CO plays a critical role in controlling architectural change in tomato roots.