With an increasing understanding that select soil microbes play a signaling role in activating growth and stress responses in plants, the question arises as to whether such symbionts regulate iron assimilation. Here we report a previously unidentified mechanism in which the growth-promoting bacterium Bacillus subtilis GB03 activates the plant’s own iron acquisition machinery to increase assimilation of metal ions

in Arabidopsis. Mechanistic studies reveal that GB03 transcriptionally CYT387 up-regulates the Fe-deficiency-induced transcription factor 1 (FIT1), which is necessary for GB03-induction of ferric reductase FRO2 and the iron transporter IRT1. In addition, GB03 causes acidification of the rhizosphere by enhancing HSP990 clinical trial root proton release and by direct bacterial acidification, thereby facilitating iron mobility. As a result, GB03-exposed plants have elevated endogenous iron levels as well as increased photosynthetic capacity compared with water-treated controls. In contrast, loss-of-function fit1-2 mutants are compromised in terms of enhanced iron assimilation and photosynthetic efficiency triggered by GB03. In all studies reported herein, a physical partition separating roots from bacterial media precludes non-volatile microbial siderophores from contributing to

GB03-stimulated iron acquisition. These results demonstrate the potential of microbes to control iron acquisition in plants and emphasize the sophisticated integration of microbial signaling in photosynthetic

regulation.”
“Heart failure (HF) and benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) are two conditions that commonly coexist in men 60 years and older. Carvedilol is the only beta-adrenergic blocker approved for HF that also has additional alpha 1-adrenergic blockade. As alpha 1-adrenergic blockers are used in the treatment of BPH, it is intuitive that carvediolol could improve BPH symptoms. We present a case where carvedilol was replaced with bisoprolol resulting in acute urinary retention. When carvediolol was reinstituted, the patient’s symptoms of BPH resolved. Benign prostatic hypertrophy was later diagnosed by digital rectal exam. Six month after reinstituting the carvediolol, the patient remains free of his BPH selleck inhibitor symptoms. This case suggests that carvedilol may be considered for the management of HF with systolic dysfunction in patients with concomitant BPH thus eliminating the need for an alpha 1-adrenergic blockers. (J Cardiac Fail 2011;17:875-877)”
“BackgroundIn the present study, an electrochemical technique was used to remove nickel from aqueous solutions on a laboratory scale using a self-made Plexiglas cell. Electrodes comprising a stainless steel net coated with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs@SSN) were used as both the anode and the cathode.