Body

An early warning system, more than a decade in development, successfully predicted the 2006-2007 outbreak of the deadly Rift Valley fever in northeast Africa, according to a new study led by NASA scientists.

SALINAS, CA—Since around 1960, methyl bromide (MB) has been the foundation for soilborne disease and weed control in California strawberries. MB, classified as a Class I stratospheric ozone-depleting chemical, has been phased out since 2005, but is still being used in strawberry production under a critical-use exemption.

Strawberry production is important to California's economy; the state leads the U.S. in strawberry production. In 2006, the fruit harvest yielded a value of $1.2 billion, and accounted for 79% of the total U.S. gross sales.

New Orleans, LA – Michael Lan, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, is the senior author of a paper revealing the molecular mechanism of how a protein determines the fate of the cells that make and release insulin. Zinc Finger Transcription Factor INSM1 Interrupts Cyclin D1 and CDK4 Binding and Induces Cell Cycle Arrest, a paper in press currently available online, will be published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 284, Issue 9, 5574-5581, February 27, 2009.

PPAR- gamma is manifested in a variety of tissues and cancer cells and the ligands that activate PPAR- PPAR- are currently being studied as a novel treatment. The PPAR-gamma ligand generally decreases the survival rate of cancer cells via differentiation, apoptotic induction, and changes in genes or proteins associated with entrance into the G1/S phase. There have been some reports suggesting that stomach cancer cells manifest PPAR- gamma and are suppressed by the PPAR- gamma ligand.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis can be thought of as a series of events that together form a peritoneal metastatic cascade. The peritoneal stromal tissue appears to be a friendly host for tumour proliferation, providing a rich source of growth factors and chemokines known to be involved in tumour metastasis. Till now, our understanding of the molecular mediators that orchestrate this cascade is weakly understood. Astragalus memebranaceus,a traditional chinese herbal medicine used for the treatment of common cold , diarrhea, fatigue anorexia and cardiac diseases.

Needle liver biopsy has been used as the "gold standard" for the assessment of liver fibrosis and disease stage of PBC . Due to possible complications of this procedure, for both, the physician and the patient, the decision to proceed with liver biopsy is not trivial one. So, scientists tend to introduce non-invasive methods for assessment of liver diseases stages.

New research reveals a critical cellular signaling pathway that is responsible for generating excess connective tissue in multiple organs, similar to what is seen in human patients with scleroderma. The study, published by Cell Press in the February issue of the journal Developmental Cell, also reveals an intriguing but unexpected regulatory role for a tumor suppressor gene in fibrotic disease.

Researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and the University of California, San Francisco have unraveled a complex signaling process that reveals how different types of cells interact to create a heart. It has long been known that heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) actively divide and expand in the embryo, but after birth this proliferative capacity is permanently lost. How this transition occurs has not been known.

BIGLERVILLE, PA—Hand thinning is a necessary but costly management practice in peach and organic apple production. Mechanical devices designed to help with thinning have been developed, but none has proven highly effective and capable of completely replacing hand thinning.

Early, vigorous and sustained lymphocyte proliferative responses specific to hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been regarded as pivotal for viral clearance. On the other hand, antibody responses' contribution is still controversial. Research data have been accumulated regarding the significance of specific antibody classes during chronic infection. Particularly, the relation of IgA and alcohol-induced hepatic damage has been recognized, but its possible implication in HCV chronic infection has not been explored so far.

TUSKEGEE, AL—Because of the distinct lack of grocery stores in outer space, scientists are looking for ways to provide food for long-term space missions.

Desmond G. Mortley and colleagues from the Center for Food and Environmental Systems for Human Exploration of Space, G.W. Carver Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Kennedy Space Center undertook a study on microgravity's effects on sweetpotato. The study findings were published in the Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science.

Although GABA and GABA receptors function as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mature CNS, abnormal levels of gene and protein expression of some GABA receptor subunits have been detected in many malignant tumors, such as π subunit in pancreatic cancer. This indicates that GABAergic system may play an important role in the pathogenesis and development of malignant tumors, and their expression levels are important for prognosis.

A significant increase in the arginine/ADMA ratio after TIPS placement was shown. Moreover, TIPS placement enhanced renal function and thereby decreased systemic levels of symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA). In patients with renal dysfunction before TIPS placement, both arginine/ADMA ratio and creatinine clearance rate increased significantly while this was not the case in patients with normal renal function before TIPS placement. Hepatic function did not change significantly after TIPS placement and no significant decline in ADMA plasma levels was measured.

Alcohol and iron are believed to have a synergistic effect in the development of liver injury. Furthermore, alcohol enhances iron absorption. Primary hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder, mostly resulting from mutations in the HFE gene, with a disturbance in the iron metabolism which leads to iron accumulation that may eventually result in liver disease. However, data regarding an association between iron metabolism, HFE mutations and alcoholic liver disease are inconclusive at present.

ITHACA, N.Y. – Six studies published in the past year by a Cornell researcher add to growing evidence that an apple a day -- as well as daily helpings of other fruits and vegetables -- can help keep the breast-cancer doctor away.