Phosphorylation of several core subunits of PSII, regulated mainly by STN8 and PBCP, correlates with changes in thylakoid architecture, the repair cycle of PSII after photo-damage as well as regulation of light harvesting and of alternative routes of photosynthetic electron transfer. Other kinases, such as the PLASTID CASEIN KINASE II (pCKII), also intervene in thylakoid protein phosphorylation and take part in the chloroplast kinase network. While some features of thylakoid phosphorylation were conserved through the evolution of photosynthetic eukaryotes, others have diverged in different lineages possibly as a result of their adaptation to varied environments.

Development of clinical risk factors linked to metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescence is associated with higher incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events in adulthood. Given the increasing burden of obesity and MetS in African-American (AA) youth, there is a need to establish the relation of MetS with modifiable risk factors such as diet quality, because these data may enhance preventative and treatment approaches.

The purpose of this study was to assess diet quality, measured by the Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI-2010) and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) pattern score, in AA adolescents and youth (aged 12-21 y) from the NHANES, and to investigate the association of diet quality with MetS and its components.

This study is a cross-sectional analysis of NHANES data from the 2005-2016 cycles (n=2459). Survey-weighted logistic regression models were used to assess the association of diet quality with the prevalence of MetS and individual cardiometabolic components ociated with lower odds of hypertensive BP and higher AHEI-2010 scores were associated with lower odds of MetS.We present a protocol to prepare extracted DNA for sequencing on the Illumina sequencing platform that has been optimized for ancient and degraded DNA. Our approach, the Santa Cruz Reaction or SCR, uses directional splinted ligation of Illumina’s P5 and P7 adapters to convert natively single-stranded DNA and heat denatured double-stranded DNA into sequencing libraries in a single enzymatic reaction. To demonstrate its efficacy in converting degraded DNA molecules, we prepare 5 ancient DNA extracts into sequencing libraries using the SCR and 2 of the most commonly used approaches for preparing degraded DNA for sequencing BEST, which targets and converts double-stranded DNA, and ssDNA2.0, which targets and converts single-stranded DNA. We then compare the efficiency with which each approach recovers unique molecules, or library complexity, given a standard amount of DNA input. We find that the SCR consistently outperforms the BEST protocol in recovering unique molecules and, despite its relative simplicity to perform and low cost per library, has similar performance to ssDNA2.0 across a wide range of DNA inputs. The SCR is a cost- and time-efficient approach that minimizes the loss of unique molecules and makes accessible a taxonomically, geographically, and a temporally broader sample of preserved remains for genomic analysis.Light is a key environmental cue that fundamentally regulates plant growth and development, which is mediated by the multiple photoreceptors including the blue light photoreceptor cryptochrome 1 (CRY1). The signaling mechanism of Arabidopsis thaliana CRY1 involves direct interactions with CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1)/SUPPRESSOR OF PHYA-105 1 (SPA1) and stabilization of COP1 substrate ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5). this website H2A.Z is an evolutionarily conserved histone variant, which plays a critical role in transcriptional regulation through its deposition in chromatin catalyzed by SWR1 complex. Here we show that CRY1 physically interacts with SWC6 and ARP6, the SWR1 complex core subunits that are essential for mediating H2A.Z deposition, in a blue light-dependent manner, and that blue light-activated CRY1 enhances the interaction of SWC6 with ARP6. Moreover, HY5 physically interacts with SWC6 and ARP6 to direct the recruitment of SWR1 complex to HY5 target loci. Based on previous studies and our findings, we propose that CRY1 promotes H2A.Z deposition to regulate HY5 target gene expression and photomorphogenesis in blue light through the enhancement of both SWR1 complex activity and HY5 recruitment of SWR1 complex to HY5 target loci, which is likely mediated by interactions of CRY1 with SWC6 and ARP6, and CRY1 stabilization of HY5, respectively.

Trichomonas vaginalis is the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infection. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of secnidazole vs. placebo in women with trichomoniasis.

Women with trichomoniasis, confirmed by a positive T. vaginalis culture, were randomized to single-dose oral secnidazole 2g or placebo. The primary endpoint was microbiological test of cure (TOC) by culture 6-12 days after dosing. At the TOC visit, participants were given the opposite treatment. They were followed for resolution of infection afterward and offered treatment at subsequent visits, if needed. Fifty patients per group (N=100) provided ~95% power to detect a statistically significant difference between treatment groups.

Between April 2019 and March 2020, 147 women enrolled at 10 US sites. The modified intent-to-treat (mITT) population included 131 randomized patients (64/67, in secnidazole/placebo). Cure rates were significantly higher in the secnidazole vs. placebo group (92.2% [95% CI 82.7-97.4] vs. 1.5% [95% CI 0.0-8.0]) for the mITT population and for the per-protocol population (94.9% [95% CI 85.9-98.9]) vs. 1.7% [95% CI 0.0-8.9]). Cure rates were 100% (4/4) in women with HIV and 95.2% (20/21) in women with bacterial vaginosis (BV). Secnidazole was generally well tolerated. The most frequently reported treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were vulvovaginal candidiasis and nausea (each 2.7%). No serious TEAEs were observed.

A single oral 2g dose of secnidazole was associated with significantly higher microbiological cure rates vs. placebo, supporting a role for secnidazole in treating women with trichomoniasis, including those with HIV and/or BV.

A single oral 2g dose of secnidazole was associated with significantly higher microbiological cure rates vs. placebo, supporting a role for secnidazole in treating women with trichomoniasis, including those with HIV and/or BV.