Effects of water from Nakhodka Bay (Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan) on the early development of the Sea UrchinStrongylocentrotus intermedius

Our studies show that seawater from different sites in Nakhodka Bay has a deleterious effect on the development of the sea urchinStrongylocentrotus intermedius. As development proceeded to the pluteus I stage, the percentage of abnormal larvae maintained in water from Nakhodka, Novitskogo, and Vrangelya Bights increased markedly (66.7±2.2, 67.1±2.6, and 54.6±1.8%, respectively). These larvae developed more slowly, were smaller, and differed from those in the control in the intensity of color of their echinochrome granules. In water from Nakhodka and Novitskogo bights, larval survival rates were lower than in the control. This suggests that the water of Nakhodka Bay is heavily polluted, especially in its harbor areas.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia lerchiana</Emphasis> as a producer of essential oil

Abstrac  The composition of essential oil of Artemisia lerchiana Web. plants growing in Volgograd oblast was studied. Sampling was performed from plots contrasting in climatic and soil characteristics. Essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation. The content of essential oil in shoot biomass increased gradually during shoot formation, flower bud formation, and flowering beginning and then decreased. The highest content of essential oil varied from 1.1 to 1.5% of plant dry weight at the stage of flower bud formation. More than thirty compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The following major components were found: camphor, borneol, bornylacetate, camphene, and 1,8-cineole. Some of compounds (sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenoids) were identified for the first time. The time-course of accumulation of essential oil components strongly depended on habitat edaphic factors and climatic conditions during the year of sampling. The results permit a conclusion that A. lerchiana is a valuable producer of essential oils. Original Russian Text ? E.B. Kirichenko, Yu.V. Orlova, D.V. Kurilov, 2008, published in Fiziologiya Rastenii, 2008, Vol. 55, No. 6, pp. 934–941.     

An overview of indexes to evaluate terrestrial plants for phytoremediation purposes (Review)

This paper reviews the various factors, coefficients and indexes developed to evaluate terrestrial plant performance in respect to phytoremediation.A brief list of indexes includes the Accumulation factor, Bioabsorption coefficient, Bioaccumulation coefficient, Bioaccumulation factor, Bioconcentration, Bioconcentration coefficient, Bioconcentration factor, Biological absorption coefficient, Biological accumulation coefficient, Biological concentration factor, Biological transfer coefficient, Concentration factor, Enrichment coefficient, Enrichment factor, Extraction coefficient, Index of bioaccumulation, Mobility index, Shoot accumulation factor, Soil host transfer factor, Soil-plant transfer coefficient, Soil-plant transfer factor, Transfer factor and Translocation factor.These indexes represent the result of a ratio calculation between element concentrations in plant parts to that of substrata. In other cases indexes arise from the ratio calculation of element concentrations in two distinct plant parts.In the literature different terms have been attributed to the same ratio and this often represents an overlap in terminology. On the other hand the same term corresponds to several different ratios and this could create confusion and misinterpretation in data comparison.Furthermore, the evaluation of hyperaccumulation, phytostabilization or phytoextraction of plant species is not always performed in the same way. Different plant parts are considered as well as different extraction procedures for both plant and substrata element assessment. As a consequence, a direct comparison between obtained data is not always reliable and possible.In this paper the various available indexes are reviewed, highlighting both the similarity and differences between them with the aim of helping the community in choosing the appropriate term for both data evaluation and comparison. In this author’s opinion there is no need of new terms to define indexes. I would stress the need for conformity to the original definitions and criteria.     

DNA replication stress: Causes,resolution and disease

DNA replication is a fundamental process of the cell that ensures accurate duplication of the genetic information and subsequent transfer to daughter cells. Various pertubations, originating from endogenous or exogenous sources, can interfere with proper progression and completion of the replication process, thus threatening genome integrity. Coordinated regulation of replication and the DNA damage response is therefore fundamental to counteract these challenges and ensure accurate synthesis of the genetic material under conditions of replication stress. In this review, we summarize the main sources of replication stress and the DNA damage signaling pathways that are activated in order to preserve genome integrity during DNA replication. We also discuss the association of replication stress and DNA damage in human disease and future perspectives in the field.     

Evolving anisotropy and degree of elastolytic insult in abdominal aortic aneurysms: Potential clinical relevance?

Accurately estimating patient-specific rupture risk remains a primary challenge in timing interventions for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). By re-analyzing published biaxial mechanical testing data from surgically repaired human AAAs, material anisotropy emerged as a potentially important determinant of patient-specific lesion progression. That is, based on a new classification scheme, we discovered that anisotropic aneurysmal specimens correlated with increased patient age at surgery when compared with more isotropic specimens (79.7 vs. 70.9 years, p<0.002), despite no significant difference in maximum diameter. Furthermore, using an idealized axisymmetric, finite-element growth and remodeling model of AAA progression, we found that both the initial axial extent of elastin loss and ongoing damage to elastin in the shoulder region of the AAA directly affected the degree of anisotropy as the lesion evolved, with more extensive insults increasing the anisotropy. This effect appeared to be mediated by alterations in axial loading and subsequent differences in orientation of deposited collagen fibers. While the observed increased age before surgical intervention may suggest a potential benefit of anisotropic remodeling, future biaxial tests coupled with pre-surgical data on expansion rates and detailed theoretical analyses of the biostability of a lesion as a function of anisotropy will be required to verify its clinical relevance to patient-specific rupture risk.     

Eye ontogeny in Pleurodema bufoninum: A comparison with Pleurodema somuncurense (Anura,Leptodactylidae)

Vision is one of the main sensory systems in amphibians, and the eye structure is highly associated with habitat conditions. The ontogeny, as well as the adult structure, of the eye has been studied in only a few species. The life change after metamorphosis is accompanied by changes in the visual environment. The aim of this work is to describe the eye ontogeny of Pleurodema bufoninum and to compare it with that of Pleurodema somuncurense . Specimens of both Pleurodema species were processed for histology analysis at different stages of development, including the tadpole, postmetamorphic, and adult forms. Eyes in both Pleurodema species are composed of the 3 tunics, tunica fibrosa , tunica vasculosa , and tunica interna , and the lens. Additionally, in both, the iris presents a projection on its dorsal and ventral free ends that screens the cornea. This structure has been reported in the eye of several anuran species and is called the umbraculum, meniscus or pupillary nodule. Our results show that the structures related to light capture (retina and lens) appear early in larval life, while the components of the terrestrial‐life eye (scleral cartilage, specialized cornea, eyelids, nictitating membrane, and Harderian's gland) do not develop until the metamorphic climax, when the tadpole leaves the water. The adult eyes of P. bufoninum and P. somuncurense are very similar in structure and development.     

Shape analysis of the jaws between two minnow species over ontogeny

This study compares sand shiner (Notropis stramineus ) and silverjaw (Ericymba buccata ) minnows, in terms of the morphological shape changes of the upper, lower, and pharyngeal jaws over ontogeny. These two species of minnows initially feed on midge larvae and undergo an ontogenic prey shift. The traditional morphometrics measured—total length, snout‐to‐vent length, eye diameter, premaxilla length, lower jaw length, gape—were regressed onto total length to test for allometry. Digital pictures were processed with tpsDig and further analyzed with MorphoJ utilizing a regular geometric morphometrics procedure using principle component analyses. We examined gut contents for 16 fish of each species. For the silverjaw minnows, we found all jaw variables to exhibit positive allometric growth with increasing total length, while most of the jaw variables for the sand shiner exhibited negative allometric growth with increasing total length. This correlates with an ontogenic prey shift for both species. Sand shiner minnows have been found to be more omnivorous, feeding on algae later in life, while silverjaw minnows undergo a prey shift to larger invertebrates. These species lack oral dentition causing an increased reliance on the pharyngeal apparatus. Principle component analyses revealed elongation of pharyngeal jaw elements in the silverjaw minnows and a relative shortening and bulking of pharyngeal jaws in the sand shiner minnows. The ontogenic dietary shifts observed in these two species provide possible explanation for the morphological changes over ontogeny in jaw elements, which are likely enabling these species to occupy the same habitat with little niche overlap.     

Activity of salivary glands in secreting honey‐elaborating enzymes in two subspecies of honeybee (Apis mellifera L)

The activity of invertase, glucose oxidase and amylase in the cephalic (post‐cerebral) and thoracic salivary glands is determined in Egyptian and Carniolan honeybees (Apis mellifera L). For this purpose, three ages of worker bees are selected for enzyme assays. The results show that the three target enzymes are detected in the two glands during the three worker ages, except invertase, which cannot be detected in the cephalic gland of newly emerged bees of both subspecies. In both glands, the secretion of invertase is highest, followed by amylase and then glucose oxidase. In Carniolan bees, invertase secretion of the cephalic and thoracic glands increases gradually with age. In Egyptian bees, invertase increases with age only in the cephalic gland, whereas, in the thoracic gland, the highest secretion activity is detected in 10–15‐day‐old bees. The highest amounts of glucose oxidase and amylase in the cephalic gland are detected in newly emerged individuals of both Egyptian and Carniolan bees. In the thoracic gland, however, the highest activity of both enzymes is recorded only in newly emerged Egyptian bees. The results are discussed in the light of bee management and biological aspects of the two subspecies.     

Comprehensive DNA microarray expression profiles of tumors in tenascin-C-knockout mice

Tenascin-C (TNC), an extracellular matrix glycoprotein, plays a pivotal role in tumor growth. However, the mechanism whereby TNC affects tumor biology remains unclear. To investigate the exact role of TNC in primary tumor growth, a mouse mammary tumor cell line, GLMT1, was first developed. Subsequently, global gene expression in GLMT1-derived tumors was compared between wild-type (WT) and TNC-knockout (TNKO) mice. Tumors in WT mice were significantly larger than those in TNKO mice. DNA microarray analysis revealed 447 up and 667 downregulated in the tumors inoculated into TNKO mice as compared to tumors in WT mice. Validation by quantitative gene expression analysis showed that Tnc, Cxcl1, Cxcl2, and Cxcr2 were significantly upregulated in WT mice. We hypothesize that TNC stimulates the CXCL1/2-CXCR2 pathway involved in cancer cell proliferation.