Correlates of pentraxin 3 serum concentration in men and women with type 2 diabetes

Elevated levels of plasma pentraxin 3 (PTX3), a marker of inflammation, are associated with the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases in the general population, as well as in patients with type 2 diabetes (DM2). In this study, we aimed to determine factors associated with PTX3 serum concentrations in men and women with DM2. The study included 116 consecutive patients (67 men and 49 women) with DM2 from an outpatient diabetic clinic. Men were characterised by lower age and higher uric acid, creatinine and bilirubin concentrations and waist/hip ratio than women. In women, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were higher than in men. In men, median (interquartile range) values of PTX3 concentration were 4.02 (1.99), and in women they were 4.53 (3.31) ng/ml (NS). In men, PTX3 concentrations correlated with total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides, apolipoprotein (Apo) C3, Apo B48, Glc and creatinine levels. In women, PTX3 correlated significantly with TC and LDL-C and Apo B100. Partial regression analysis revealed that after adjusting for age, PTX3 concentrations in men were significantly associated with TC, LDL-C, triglycerides, creatinine, Apo C3 and Apo B48, while in women they were associated with TC, LDL-C and Apo B100. The results could be of importance in sex-specific prevention of vascular complications in DM2 patients.     

Equilibrium of the Cis-Trans Isomerisation of the Peptide Bond with N-alkyl Amino Acids Measured by 2D NMR

The conformational cis-trans equilibrium around the peptide bond in model tripeptides has been determined by 2D NMR methods (HOHAHA, ROESY). The study was limited to three different N-substituted amino acids in position 2, namely Pro (proline), Tic (1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid), and N-MePhe (N-methylphenylalanine). In all cases the amino acid in position 1 was tyrosine and in position 3, phenylalanine. The results of our studies show that the cis-trans ratio depends mostly on the configuration of the amino acids forming the peptide bond undergoing the cis-trans isomerisation. The amino acid following the sequence (in position 3) does not have much influence on the cis-trans isomerisation, indicating that there is no interaction of the side chains between these amino acids. The model peptides with the L-Tyr-L-AA-(L- or D-)Phe (where AA is N-substituted amino acid) chiralities give 80–100% more of the cis form in comparison to the corresponding peptides with the D-Tyr-L-AA-(L-or D-)Phe chiralities. These results indicate that the incorporation of N-substituted amino acids in small peptides with the same chirality as the precedent amino acid involved in the peptide bond undergoing the cis/trans isomerisation moves the equilibrium to a significant amount of the cis form.     

Studies on the surface coat of Paramecium aurelia

Summary The plasma membrane of Paramecium aurelia is covered with a ruthenium red stainable surface coat. Results obtained after digestion with pronase, trypsin and neuraminidase suggest the glycoprotein nature of this structure. Lipid extraction also affects the surface coat forming material. The results are consistent with the model proposed by Ginsburg and Kobata dealing with spatial configuration of the surface coat components.Authors are grateful to Mrs. D. Kucharczyk for very efficient technical assistence, to Mrs. Z. Kaminska for sectioning the material and Mr. A. Renski for help with the electron microscope service.     

Nitroimidazole-based inhibitors DTP338 and DTP348 are safe for zebrafish embryos and efficiently inhibit the activity of human CA IX in Xenopus oocytes

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) IX is a hypoxia inducible enzyme that is highly expressed in solid tumours. Therefore, it has been considered as an anticancer target using specific chemical inhibitors. The nitroimidazoles DTP338 and DTP348 have been shown to inhibit CA IX in nanomolar range in vitro and reduce extracellular acidification in hypoxia, and impair tumour growth. We screened these compounds for toxicity using zebrafish embryos and measured their in vivo effects on human CA IX in Xenopus oocytes. In the toxicity screening, the LD₅₀ for both compounds was 3.5?mM. Neither compound showed apparent toxicity below 300?µM concentration. Above this concentration, both compounds altered the movement of zebrafish larvae. The IC₅₀ was 0.14?±?0.02?µM for DTP338 and 19.26?±?1.97?µM for DTP348, suggesting that these compounds efficiently inhibit CA IX in vivo. Our results suggest that these compounds can be developed as drugs for cancer therapy.     

Developmental History Provides a Roadmap for the Emergence of Tumor Plasticity

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A comparative study of hourly and daily relationships between selected meteorological parameters and airborne fungal spore composition

Air sampling was conducted in Szczecin (Poland) throughout April–September 2013. The final data set included 177 daily and 4248 hourly samples. The total of 21 types of spores, which occurred in a number >10 in the season, were taken into account. The following meteorological parameters were analyzed: air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind speed. Effects of individual weather parameters on hourly and daily concentrations of different fungal spore types were examined using Spearman’s rank association test, whereas effects of complex of meteorological factors on hourly and daily compositions of spore were assessed using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA). Airborne fungal spore distribution patterns in relation to meteorological variables were determined by RDA, after DCA results detected a linear structure of the spore data. The RDA results obtained indicated that all the applied variables accounted for 20 and 22% of the total variance in the hourly and daily spore data, respectively. The results of stepwise forward selection of variables revealed all included hourly and daily meteorological variables were statistically significant. The largest amount of the total variance in the spore composition was explained by the air temperature in both cases (16%). Multivariate ordination did not show large differences between the hourly and daily relationships (with exception of wind speed impact), while the differences between simple hourly and daily correlations were more clear. Correlations between daily values of variables were in most cases higher than between hourly values of variables.     

Soft songs in male ortolan buntings are used in an aggressive context but are not an aggressive signal

Many bird species produce low‐amplitude acoustic signals that have been poorly studied in comparison with loud, broadcast songs used for mate attraction and repelling rivals. In some birds, these soft signals were found to be emitted in an antagonistic context and were the most reliable predictor of a subsequent physical attack. The function of this signal is poorly understood, and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the mechanisms and possible functions of such low‐amplitude signals. The subject of this study is the ortolan bunting, a small passerine species that produces soft songs during territorial defence. In this study, we aim to study whether the soft songs of the ortolan bunting are a signal of increased aggressiveness by testing if they meet the context, prediction and response criteria of aggressive signals. We simulated stranger male intrusion into a focal male territory with three different playback experiments. We found no significant differences in the male responses to the taxidermic model regardless of whether they were or were not producing soft songs in response. The males responded more strongly to loud songs than to soft songs during the simulated intrusions, and the males did not treat soft songs as a predictor of conflict escalation. Although soft songs clearly appeared during territorial encounters and were not present during spontaneous singing before the intrusions, our results did not support the hypothesis that soft songs indicate aggressive character. We suggest that soft songs in the ortolan bunting are intentionally used by birds to modify their intentions or target‐specific individuals within a close range.     

Response of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dionaea muscipula</Emphasis> J. Ellis to light stress in in vitro: physiological study

Hyperhydricity can cause significant economic loss for the micro-propagation industry that produces blueberry. In order to predict and control the occurrence of hyperhydricity, better understanding of the anatomical and physiological features of hyperhydric plantlets is required. In this study, we investigated the ultrastructural and physiological changes associated with hyperhydric blueberry plantlets. Compared to normal plantlets, hyperhydric plantlets exhibited reduced cell wall thickness, damaged membrane and guard cell structure, decreased number of mitochondria and starch granule, higher cell vacuolation, more intercellular spaces, and collapse of vascular tissues. In addition, excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ethylene, decreased stomatal aperture and water loss, as well as abnormity of stomatal movement were also evident in the hyperhydric plantlets. The results suggested that excessive ethylene and ROS produced in response to the stress arising from in vitro culture could lead to abnormal stomatal closure, causing the accumulation of water in the tissues. This would lead to subsequent induction of oxidative stress (due to hypoxia) and cell damage, especially guard cell structure, eventually giving rise to the symptoms of hyperhydricity. Reducing the content of ethylene and ROS, and protecting the structure and function of the stomata could be considered as potential strategies for inhibiting hyperhydricity or restoring the hyperhydric plants to their normal state.     

Myoepithelial Cells of Submucosal Glands Can Function as Reserve Stem Cells to Regenerate Airways after Injury

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