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Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) made up of aggregated tau protein have been identified as the pathologic hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease. In vivo detection of NFTs using PET imaging represents a unique opportunity to develop a pharmacodynamic tool to accelerate the discovery of new disease modifying therapeutics targeting tau pathology. Herein, we present the discovery of 6-(fluoro-(18)F)-3-(1H-pyrrolo[2,3-c]pyridin-1-yl)isoquinolin-5-amine, 6 ([(18)F]-MK-6240), as a novel PET tracer for detecting NFTs. 6 exhibits high specificity and selectivity for binding to NFTs, with suitable physicochemical properties and in vivo pharmacokinetics.

Water requirements for `Meyer' zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud., hereafter referred to as zoysia), `Midlawn' bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy, hereafter referred to as bermuda], `Falcon II' tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and `Brilliant' kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L., hereafter referred to as bluegrass) were evaluated under a mobile rainout shelter at deficit irrigation levels of 20% to 100% of actual evapotranspiration (ETa), applied twice weekly, between June and September 2001 and 2002. Soil was a river-deposited silt loam (fine, montmorillonitic, mesic Aquic Arquidolls). Minimum annual irrigation amounts required to maintain quality ranged from 244 mm for bermuda to 552 mm for bluegrass. Turfgrass species and respective irrigation levels (% of ETa) at which season-long acceptable turf quality was maintained in each year were bluegrass, 100% (evaluated 2001 only); tall fescue, 60% in 2001 and 80% in 2002; bermuda, 60% in both years; and zoysia, 80% in both years. A landscape manager who could tolerate one week of less-than-acceptable quality could have irrigated tall fescue at 40% ETa (224 mm) in 2001 and 60% ETa (359 mm) in 2002. Likewise, bermuda exhibited unacceptable quality on only one September rating date when irrigated at 40% ETa (163 mm) in 2001. Bermuda was able to tolerate a lower leaf relative water content (LRWC) and higher level of leaf electrolyte leakage (EL) compared to other grasses before quality declined to an unacceptable level.

Heavy metal pollution is a serious global environmental problem as it adversely affects plant growth and genetic variation. It also alters the composition and activity of soil microbial communities. The objectives of this study were to determine the soil microbial diversity, bermudagrass genetic variation in Cd contaminated or uncontaminated soils from Hunan province of China, and to evaluate Cd-tolerance of bermudagrass at different soils. The Biolog method, hydroponic experiments and simple sequence repeat markers were used to assess the functional diversity of microorganisms, Cd-tolerance and the genetic diversity of bermudagrass, respectively. Four of the sampling sites were heavily contaminated with heavy metals. The total bioactivity, richness, and microbial diversity decreased with increasing concentration of heavy metal. The hydroponic experiment revealed that bermudagrass populations collected from polluted sites have evolved, encompassing the feature of a higher resistance to Cd toxicity. Higher genetic diversity was observed to be more in contaminated populations than in uncontaminated populations. Heavy metal pollution can result in adverse effects on plant growth, soil microbial diversity and activity, and apparently has a stronger impact on the genetic structure. The results of this study provide new insights and a background to produce a genetic description of populations in a species that is suitable for use in phytoremediation practices.