Regenerating functional heart tissue for myocardial repair

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and the number of patients with the disease is likely to grow with the continual decline in health for most of the developed world. Heart transplantation is one of the only treatment options for heart failure due to an acute myocardial infarction, but limited donor supply and organ rejection limit its widespread use. Cellular cardiomyoplasty, or cellular implantation, combined with various tissue-engineering methods aims to regenerate functional heart tissue. This review highlights the numerous cell sources that have been used to regenerate the heart as well as cover the wide range of tissue-engineering strategies that have been devised to optimize the delivery of these cells. It will probably be a long time before an effective regenerative therapy can make a serious impact at the bedside.     

Labelling of a pyrazole derivative with 131I and investigation of its radiopharmaceutical potential

We investigated the radiolabeling efficiency, in vitro stability, and biodistribution of radioactive iodine (131I)-labeled 4-benzoyl-1-(4-carboxyphenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid (P3CA). A quality-control study of the labeled substance ( 131I-P3CA) was conducted using electrophoresis and radio thin-layer chromatography (RTLC). Biodistribution studies were undertaken in 9 female albino Wistar rats. Rats were killed at various times (15, 60 and 180 min), their organs removed, and percentage of injected dose per gram (ID%/g) values calculated. The labeling yield of P3CA was 97.08%±0.80%. The maximum uptake of 131I-P3CA was seen in the lungs, stomach and spleen at 15 min. The uptake of labeled compound decreased over time in the lungs, whereas that in the stomach decreased. These data suggest that 131I-P3CA had high binding efficiency, high uptake in the lung, and sufficient stability to be used in diagnostic studies.     

Mutations in NOTCH2 cause Hajdu-Cheney syndrome, a disorder of severe and progressive bone loss

We used an exome-sequencing strategy and identified an allelic series of NOTCH2 mutations in Hajdu-Cheney syndrome, an autosomal dominant multisystem disorder characterized by severe and progressive bone loss. The Hajdu-Cheney syndrome mutations are predicted to lead to the premature truncation of NOTCH2 with either disruption or loss of the C-terminal proline-glutamate-serine-threonine-rich proteolytic recognition sequence, the absence of which has previously been shown to increase Notch signaling.     

Effect of seed treatment on sex expression in the cucumber

Résumé Il a été trouvé que l'immersion des graines de concombres dans des solutions d'auxines végétales de concentrations déterminées, suivie d'un traitement par le froid, peut amener dans la plante adulte un changement dans les manifestations du sexe. La relation possible entre ce traitement et la vernalisation ordinaire est brièvement discutée.