Turnover of dysfunctional organelles is vital to maintain homeostasis in eukaryotic cells. As photosynthetic organelles, plant chloroplasts can suffer sunlight-induced damage. However, the process for turnover of entire damaged chloroplasts remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that autophagy is responsible for the elimination of sunlight-damaged, collapsed chloroplasts in Arabidopsis thaliana ...

The parvovirus adeno-associated virus (AAV) contains a small single-stranded DNA genome with inverted terminal repeats that form hairpin structures. In order to propagate, AAV relies on the cellular replication machinery together with functions supplied by coinfecting helper viruses such as adenovirus (Ad). Here, we examined the host cell response to AAV replication in the context of Ad or Ad h...

A wavelet-based approach is proposed for structural damage detection and health monitoring. Characteristics of representative vibration signals under the wavelet transformation are examined. The method­ ology is then applied to simulation data generated from a simple structural model subjected to a harmonic excitation. The model consists of multiple breakable springs, some of which may suffer i...

In cultured pulmonary artery endothelial cells and other cell types, overexpression of mt-targeted DNA repair enzymes protects against oxidant-induced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and cell death. Whether mtDNA integrity governs functional properties of the endothelium in the intact pulmonary circulation is unknown. Accordingly, the present study used isolated, buffer-perfused rat lungs to d...

Since the first publication on Somatic Mutation Theory of Aging (Szilárd, 1959), a great volume of knowledge in the field has been accumulated. Here we attempted to organize the evidence "for" and "against" the hypothesized causal role of DNA damage and mutation accumulation in aging in light of four Koch-like criteria. They are based on the assumption that some quantitative relationship betwee...

Hip replacements provide a means of achieving a higher quality of life for individuals who have, through aging or injury, accumulated damage to their natural joints. This is a very common operation, with over a million people a year benefiting from the procedure. The replacements themselves fail mainly as a result of the mechanical loosening of the components of the artificial joint due to dama...

Within their natural habitat plants are subjected to a combination of different abiotic stresses, each with the potential to exacerbate the damage caused by the others. One of the most devastating stress combinations for crop productivity, which frequently occurs in the field, is drought and heat stress. In this study we conducted proteomic and metabolic analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana plants ...

Transcription factor Nrf2 regulates production of antioxidants and protects cells from oxidative/electrophilic stresses. Paradoxically, glutathione, one of the Nrf2-regulated antioxidants, has been assumed to promote genotoxicity of KBrO3. To address this glutathione hypothesis, we examined roles Nrf2 plays in the cellular defense against KBrO3-induced oxidative damage using Nrf2-/-, Ogg1-/- an...

Obesity-related glomerulopathy is an increasing cause of end-stage renal disease. Obesity has been considered a state of chronic low-grade systemic inflammation and chronic oxidative stress. Augmented inflammation in adipose and kidney tissues promotes the progression of kidney damage in obesity. Adipose tissue, which is accumulated in obesity, is a key endocrine organ that produces multiple bi...

—The Homerus Swallowtail, Papilio (Pterourus) homerus, is an endangered butterfly endemic to Jamaica. We report conspecific male interactions observed in the Cockpit Country. Field observations of the patrolling behavior and the conspecific male circular flights suggest that males are territorial. Unlike most previous reports of male butterfly territoriality, physical contact occurs in the male...