True Digestibility of Phosphorus in Different Resources of Feed Ingredients in Growing Pigs

Wu, X.,Ruan, Z.,Zhang, Y.G.,Hou, Y.Q.,Yin, Y.L.,Li, T.J.,Huang, R.L.,Chu, W.Y.,Kong, X.F.,Gao, B.,Chen, L.X. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2008 Animal Bioscience Vol.21 No.1

To determine the true digestible phosphorus (TDP) requirement of growing pigs, two experiments were designed with the experimental diets containing five true digestible P levels (0.16%, 0.20%, 0.23%, 0.26% and 0.39%) and the ratio of total calcium to true digestible P (TDP) kept at 2:1. In Experiment 1, five barrows (Duroc${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire) with an average initial body weight of 27.9 kg were used in a $5{\times}5$ Latin-square design to evaluate the effect of different dietary P levels on the digestibility and output of P and nitrogen. In Experiment 2, sixty healthy growing pigs (Duroc${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Yorkshire) with an average body weight (BW) of 21.4 kg were assigned randomly to one of the five dietary treatments (12 pigs/diet), and were used to determine the true digestible phosphorus (TDP) requirement of growing pigs on the basis of growth performance and serum biochemical indices. The results indicated that the true digestibility of P increased (p<0.05) linearly with increasing dietary TDP level below 0.26%. The true P digestibility was highest (56.6%) when dietary TDP was 0.34%. Expressed as g/kg dry matter intake (DMI), fecal P output increased (p<0.05) linearly with increasing P input. On the basis of g/kg fecal dry matter (DM), fecal P output was lowest for Diet 4 and highest (p<0.05) for Diet 5. The apparent digestibility of crude protein (CP) did not differ (p>0.05) among the five diets, with the average nitrogen output of 12.14 g/d and nitrogen retention of 66% to 74% (p>0.05), which suggested that there was no interaction between dietary P and CP protein levels. During the 28-d experimental period of Experiment 2, the average daily gain (ADG) of pigs was affected by dietary TDP levels as described by Eq. (1): $y=-809,532x^4+788,079x^3-276,250x^2+42,114x-1,759$; ($R^2=0.99$; p<0.01; y = ADG, g/d; x = dietary TDP, %), F/G for pigs by Eq. (2): $y=3,651.1x^4-3,480.4x^3+1,183.8x^2-172.5x+10.9$ ($R^2=0.99$; p<0.01; y = F/G; x = dietary TDP, %), and Total P concentrations in serum by Eq. (3): $y=-3,311.7x^4+3,342.7x^3-1,224.6x^2+195.6x-8.7$ (R2 = 0.99; p<0.01; y = total serum P concentration and x = dietary TDP, %). The highest ADG (782 g/d), the lowest F/G (1.07) and the highest total serum P concentration (3.1 mmol/L) were obtained when dietary TDP level was 0.34%. Collectively, these results indicate that the optimal TDP requirement of growing pigs is 0.34% of the diet at a total Ca to TDP ratio of 2:1.

DMSO‐ and Serum‐Free Cryopreservation of Wharton's Jelly Tissue Isolated From Human Umbilical Cord

Shivakumar, Sharath Belame,Bharti, Dinesh,Subbarao, Raghavendra Baregundi,Jang, Si&#x2010,Jung,Park, Ji&#x2010,Sung,Ullah, Imran,Park, Ji&#x2010,Kwon,Byun, June&#x2010,Ho,Park, Bong&#x2010,Wook,Rho, G John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2016 Journal of cellular biochemistry Vol.117 No.10

<P><B>ABSTRACT</B></P><P>The facile nature of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) acquisition in relatively large numbers has made Wharton's jelly (WJ) tissue an alternative source of MSCs for regenerative medicine. However, freezing of such tissue using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for future use impedes its clinical utility. In this study, we compared the effect of two different cryoprotectants (DMSO and cocktail solution) on post‐thaw cell behavior upon freezing of WJ tissue following two different freezing protocols (Conventional [−1°C/min] and programmed). The programmed method showed higher cell survival rate compared to conventional method of freezing. Further, cocktail solution showed better cryoprotection than DMSO. Post‐thaw growth characteristics and stem cell behavior of Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJMSCs) from WJ tissue cryopreserved with a cocktail solution in conjunction with programmed method (Prog‐Cock) were comparable with WJMSCs from fresh WJ tissue. They preserved their expression of surface markers, pluripotent factors, and successfully differentiated in vitro into osteocytes, adipocytes, chondrocytes, and hepatocytes. They also produced lesser annexin‐V‐positive cells compared to cells from WJ tissue stored using cocktail solution in conjunction with the conventional method (Conv‐Cock). Real‐time PCR and Western blot analysis of post‐thaw WJMSCs from Conv‐Cock group showed significantly increased expression of pro‐apoptotic factors (BAX, p53, and p21) and reduced expression of anti‐apoptotic factor (BCL2) compared to WJMSCs from the fresh and Prog‐Cock group. Therefore, we conclude that freezing of fresh WJ tissue using cocktail solution in conjunction with programmed freezing method allows for an efficient WJ tissue banking for future MSC‐based regenerative therapies. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 2397–2412, 2016. © 2016 The Authors. <I>Journal of Cellular Biochemistry</I> published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.</P>

Long‐term efficacy and safety of bosutinib in patients with advanced leukemia following resistance/intolerance to imatinib and other tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Gambacorti&#x2010,Passerini, Carlo,Kantarjian, Hagop M.,Kim, Dong&#x2010,Wook,Khoury, Hanna J.,Turkina, Anna G.,Brü,mmendorf, Tim H.,Matczak, Ewa,Bardy&#x2010,Bouxin, Nathalie,Shapiro, Mark,Turnbu John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2015 American journal of hematology Vol.90 No.9

<P>Long‐term efficacy and safety of bosutinib (≥4 years follow‐up from last enrolled patient) were evaluated in an ongoing phase 1/2 study in the advanced leukemia cohort with prior treatment failure (accelerated‐phase [AP, <I>n =</I> 79] chronic myeloid leukemia [CML], blast‐phase [BP, <I>n =</I> 64] CML, acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL, <I>n =</I> 24]). Fourteen AP, 2 BP, and 1 ALL patient remained on bosutinib at 4 years (vs. 38, 8, 1 at 1 year); median (range) treatment durations: 10.2 (0.1–88.6), 2.8 (0.03–55.9), 0.97 (0.3–89.2) months. Among AP and BP patients, 57% and 28% newly attained or maintained baseline overall hematologic response (OHR); 40% and 37% attained/maintained major cytogenetic response (MCyR) by 4 years (most by 12 months). In responders at 1 versus 4 years, Kaplan‐Meier (KM) probabilities of maintaining OHR were 78% versus 49% (AP) and 28% versus 19% (BP); KM probabilities of maintaining MCyR were 65% versus 49% (AP) and 21% versus 21% (BP). Most common AEs (AP, BP) were gastrointestinal (96%; 83%), primarily diarrhea (85%; 64%), which was typically low grade (maximum grade 1/2: 81%; 59%) and transient; no patient discontinued due to diarrhea. Serious AEs occurred in 44 (56%) AP and 37 (58%) BP patients, most commonly pneumonia (<I>n =</I> 9) for AP and pyrexia (<I>n =</I> 6) for BP; 11 and 13 died within 30 days of last dose (2 considered bosutinib‐related [AP] per investigator). Responses were durable in ∼50% AP responders at 4 years (∼25% BP patients responded at year 1, suggesting possible bridge‐to‐transplant role in BP patients); toxicity was manageable.Am. J. Hematol. 90:755–768, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. American Journal of Hematology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.</P>

Interference of hepatitis C virus replication in cell culture by antisense peptide nucleic acids targeting the X‐RNA

Ahn, D.&#x2010,G.,Shim, S.&#x2010,B.,Moon, J.&#x2010,E.,Kim, J.&#x2010,H.,Kim, S.&#x2010,J.,Oh, J.&#x2010,W. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011 Journal of viral hepatitis Vol.18 No.7

<P><B>Summary. </B> The RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the essential catalytic enzyme for viral genome replication. It initiates minus‐strand RNA synthesis from a highly conserved 98‐nt sequence, called the X‐RNA, at the 3′‐end of the plus‐strand viral genome. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral effects of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) targeting the X‐RNA. Our <I>in vitro</I> RdRp assay results showed that PNAs targeting the three major stem‐loop (SL) domains of X‐RNA can inhibit RNA synthesis initiation. Delivery of X‐RNA‐targeted PNAs by fusing the PNAs to cell‐penetrating peptides (CPPs) into HCV‐replicating cells effectively suppressed HCV replication. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that the PNA targeting the SL3 region at the 5′‐end of X‐RNA dissociated the viral RdRp from the X‐RNA. Furthermore, delivery of the SL3‐targeted PNA into HCV‐infected cells resulted in the suppression of HCV RNA replication without activation of interferon β expression. Collectively, our results indicate that the HCV X‐RNA can be effectively targeted by CPP‐fused PNAs to block RNA–protein and/or RNA–RNA interactions essential for viral RNA replication and identify X‐RNA SL3 as an RdRp binding site crucial for HCV replication. In addition, the ability to inhibit RNA synthesis initiation by targeting HCV X‐RNA using antisense PNAs suggests their promising therapeutic potential against HCV infection.</P>

Preclinical Analysis of Fetal Human Mesencephalic Neural Progenitor Cell Lines: Characterization and Safety In Vitro and In Vivo

Moon, Jisook,Schwarz, Sigrid C.,Lee, Hyun&#x2010,Seob,Kang, Jun Mo,Lee, Young&#x2010,Eun,Kim, Bona,Sung, Mi&#x2010,Young,Hö,glinger, Gü,nter,Wegner, Florian,Kim, Jin Su,Chung, Hyung&#x2010,Min unknown 2017 Stem cells translational medicine Vol.6 No.2

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>We have developed a good manufacturing practice for long‐term cultivation of fetal human midbrain‐derived neural progenitor cells. The generation of human dopaminergic neurons may serve as a tool of either restorative cell therapies or cellular models, particularly as a reference for phenotyping region‐specific human neural stem cell lines such as human embryonic stem cells and human inducible pluripotent stem cells. We cultivated 3 different midbrain neural progenitor lines at 10, 12, and 14 weeks of gestation for more than a year and characterized them in great detail, as well as in comparison with Lund mesencephalic cells. The whole cultivation process of tissue preparation, cultivation, and cryopreservation was developed using strict serum‐free conditions and standardized operating protocols under clean‐room conditions. Long‐term‐cultivated midbrain‐derived neural progenitor cells retained stemness, midbrain fate specificity, and floorplate markers. The potential to differentiate into authentic A9‐specific dopaminergic neurons was markedly elevated after prolonged expansion, resulting in large quantities of functional dopaminergic neurons without genetic modification. In restorative cell therapeutic approaches, midbrain‐derived neural progenitor cells reversed impaired motor function in rodents, survived well, and did not exhibit tumor formation in immunodeficient nude mice in the short or long term (8 and 30 weeks, respectively). We conclude that midbrain‐derived neural progenitor cells are a promising source for human dopaminergic neurons and suitable for long‐term expansion under good manufacturing practice, thus opening the avenue for restorative clinical applications or robust cellular models such as high‐content or high‐throughput screening. S<SMALL>TEM</SMALL> C<SMALL>ELLS</SMALL> T<SMALL>RANSLATIONAL</SMALL> M<SMALL>EDICINE</SMALL><I>2017;6:576–588</I></P>

OGLE‐2009‐BLG‐023/MOA‐2009‐BLG‐028: characterization of a binary microlensing event based on survey data

Hwang, K.&#x2010,H.,Han, C.,Udalski, A.,Sumi, T.,Gould, A.,Jaroszy&#x144,ski, M.,Kubiak, M.,Szyma&#x144,ski, M. K.,Pietrzy&#x144,ski, G.,Soszy&#x144,ski, I.,Szewczyk, O.,Ulaczyk, K.,Wyrzykowski, &#x13 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011 MONTHLY NOTICES- ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Vol.413 No.2

<P><B>ABSTRACT</B></P><P>We report the result of the analysis of the light curve of a caustic‐crossing binary‐lens microlensing event OGLE‐2009‐BLG‐023/MOA‐2009‐BLG‐028. Even though the event was observed solely by survey experiments, we could uniquely determine the mass of the lens and distance to it by simultaneously measuring the Einstein radius and lens parallax. From this, we find that the lens system is composed of M‐type dwarfs with masses (0.50 ± 0.07) and (0.15 ± 0.02) M<SUB>⊙</SUB> located in the Galactic disc with a distance of ∼1.8 kpc toward the Galactic bulge direction. The event demonstrates that physical lens parameters of binary‐lens events can be routinely determined from future high‐cadence lensing surveys and thus microlensing can provide a new way to study Galactic binaries.</P>

Organic Thin‐Film Transistors: Simultaneous Modification of Bottom‐Contact Electrode and Dielectric Surfaces for Organic Thin‐Film Transistors Through Single‐Component Spin‐Cast Monolayers (Adv. Funct. Mater. 8/2011)

Acton, Orb,Dubey, Manish,Weidner, Tobias,O’Malley, Kevin M.,Kim, Tae&#x2010,Wook,Ting, Guy G.,Hutchins, Daniel,Baio, J. E.,Lovejoy, Tracy C.,Gage, Alexander H.,Castner, David G.,Ma, Hong,Jen, Alex K.& WILEY‐VCH Verlag 2011 Advanced functional materials Vol.21 No.8

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>An efficient process is developed by spin‐coating a single‐component, self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) to simultaneously modify the bottom‐contact electrode and dielectric surfaces of organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs). This effi cient interface modifi cation is achieved using <I>n</I>‐alkyl phosphonic acid based SAMs to prime silver bottom‐contacts and hafnium oxide (HfO<SUB>2</SUB>) dielectrics in low‐voltage OTFTs. Surface characterization using near edge X‐ray absorption fi ne structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and spectroscopic ellipsometry suggest this process yields structurally well‐defi ned phosphonate SAMs on both metal and oxide surfaces. Rational selection of the alkyl length of the SAM leads to greatly enhanced performance for both <I>n</I>‐channel (C<SUB>60</SUB>) and p‐channel (pentacene) based OTFTs. Specifi cally, SAMs of <I>n</I>‐octylphos‐phonic acid (OPA) provide both low‐contact resistance at the bottom‐contact electrodes and excellent interfacial properties for compact semiconductor grain growth with high carrier mobilities. OTFTs based on OPA modifi ed silver electrode/HfO<SUB>2</SUB> dielectric bottom‐contact structures can be operated using < 3V with low contact resistance (down to 700 Ohm‐cm), low subthreshold swing (as low as 75 mV dec<SUP>−1</SUP>), high on/off current ratios of 107, and charge carrier mobilities as high as 4.6 and 0.8 cm<SUP>2</SUP> V<SUP>−1</SUP> s<SUP>−1</SUP>, for C60 and pentacene, respectively. These results demonstrate that this is a simple and efficient process for improving the performance of bottom‐contact OTFTs.</P>

Genetic Variability of mtDNA Sequences in Chinese Native Chicken Breeds

Liu, Z.G.,Lei, C.Z.,Luo, J.,Ding, C.,Chen, G.H.,Chang, H.,Wang, K.H.,Liu, X.X.,Zhang, X.Y.,Xiao, X.J.,Wu, S.L. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2004 Animal Bioscience Vol.17 No.7

The variability of mtDNA hypervariable segment I (HVS I) sequences was investigated in a total of 48 birds belonging to 12 Chinese native chicken breeds. Sixteen haplotypes were identified from 35 polymorphic nucleotide sites which accounted for 6.4% of a sequenced 544 bp fragment. Diversity analysis of the haplotypes showed that Tibetan, Langshan and Henan cockfight chicken had only one haplotype, while ancient haplotypes existed in Taihe silky and Chahua chicken. Phylogenetic analysis of the haplotypes suggested that Chinese native chicken breeds shared 5 maternal lineages and some breeds would share the same maternal lineage, regardless of their external features and ecological types. Both divergent and phylogenetic analysis of the haplotypes indicated the close genetic relationships between the Chinese native chicken breeds and G. g. gallus and G. g. spadiceus from different areas, which implied that G. g. gallus and G. g. spadiceus were the original ancestors of the Chinese native chicken breeds.

Molecular genetic diversity and population structure of a selected core set in garlic and its relatives using novel SSR markers

Zhao, W.&#x2010,G.,Chung, J.&#x2010,W.,Lee, G.&#x2010,A.,Ma, K.&#x2010,H.,Kim, H.&#x2010,H.,Kim, K.&#x2010,T.,Chung, I.&#x2010,M.,Lee, J.&#x2010,K.,Kim, N.&#x2010,S.,Kim, S.&#x2010,M.,Park, Y.&#x2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011 Plant breeding Vol.130 No.1

<P> <I>With 7 figures and 6 tables</I> </P><P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>Garlic is widely consumed for its culinary and medical benefits. Six hundred and thirteen accessions of garlic and its relatives with diverse origin were evaluated for genetic diversity at eight recently novel simple sequence repeat loci in this study. A total of 113 alleles were detected, the average allelic richness was 14.1 alleles per locus. Using a heuristic approach, a core set of 95 accessions was successfully developed, which showed 100% coverage of alleles with minimum redundancy. The model‐based structure analysis here revealed the presence of four subpopulations in the selected core set, which was basically consistent with clustering based on the genetic distance. The analysis of molecular variance based on this core set showed that between‐population component of genetic variance is <15.6% in contrast to 84.4% for the within population component. Overall <I>F</I><SUB>ST</SUB> value was 0.1560, indicating a moderate differentiation among the four groups. These results will provide an effective aid for future allele mining, association genetics, mapping and cloning gene(s), germplasm conservation, and improvement programs.</P>

<i>BRCA2</i> Hypomorphic Missense Variants Confer Moderate Risks of Breast Cancer

Shimelis, Hermela,Mesman, Romy L.S.,Von Nicolai, Catharina,Ehlen, Asa,Guidugli, Lucia,Martin, Charlotte,Calle&#x301,ja, Fabienne M.G.R.,Meeks, Huong,Hallberg, Emily,Hinton, Jamie,Lilyquist, Jenna,Hu, American Association for Cancer Research 2017 Cancer Research Vol.77 No.11

<P>These results show how BRCA2 missense variants that partially influence protein function can confer clinically relevant increased risks of breast cancer, with potential implications for risk management of women who harbor specific variants.</P><P>Breast cancer risks conferred by many germline missense variants in the <I>BRCA1</I> and <I>BRCA2</I> genes, often referred to as variants of uncertain significance (VUS), have not been established. In this study, associations between 19 BRCA1 and 33 BRCA2 missense substitution variants and breast cancer risk were investigated through a breast cancer case–control study using genotyping data from 38 studies of predominantly European ancestry (41,890 cases and 41,607 controls) and nine studies of Asian ancestry (6,269 cases and 6,624 controls). The BRCA2 c.9104A>C, p.Tyr3035Ser (OR = 2.52; <I>P</I> = 0.04), and BRCA1 c.5096G>A, p.Arg1699Gln (OR = 4.29; <I>P</I> = 0.009) variant were associated with moderately increased risks of breast cancer among Europeans, whereas BRCA2 c.7522G>A, p.Gly2508Ser (OR = 2.68; <I>P</I> = 0.004), and c.8187G>T, p.Lys2729Asn (OR = 1.4; <I>P</I> = 0.004) were associated with moderate and low risks of breast cancer among Asians. Functional characterization of the BRCA2 variants using four quantitative assays showed reduced BRCA2 activity for p.Tyr3035Ser compared with wild-type. Overall, our results show how BRCA2 missense variants that influence protein function can confer clinically relevant, moderately increased risks of breast cancer, with potential implications for risk management guidelines in women with these specific variants. <I>Cancer Res; 77(11); 2789–99. ©2017 AACR</I>.</P>