Effect of salt stress on photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence in Medicago truncatula

In the present study, photosynthetic parameters including gas exchanges, pigment contents, and chlorophyll fluorescence, were compared in two contrasting local Medicago truncatula lines TN6.18 and TN8.20, in response to salt added to the nutrient solution. Plants were cultivated under symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) after inoculation with a reference strain Sinorhizobium meliloti 2011, a very tolerant strain to salinity (700 mM NaCl), and grown in a controlled glasshouse. On one month old plants (with active SNF), salt treatment (75 mM NaCl) was gradually applied. Photosynthesis, assimilating pigments and chlorophyll fluorescence were monitored throughout the experiment during both short and long terms, compared to control (non-saline) conditions. A genotypic variation in salt tolerance was found; TN6.18 was the more sensitive to salinity. The relative tolerance of TN8.20 was concomitant with the highest photochemical quenching coefficient (q_P) affecting the maximum quantum yield of PSII (Y); the real quantum yield (?_exc) was the most affected in the sensitive line. Moreover, stomatal and PSII reaction centers activities differed clearly between the studied lines. We found that the effect of salinity on photosynthesis of M. truncatula was related to PSII activity reduction rather than to stomatal conductance limitation. Photosynthesis was reduced by the inhibition of CO₂ assimilation caused by PSII damage. This was clearly estimated by the Y, ?_exc and especially by the quantum yield of electron transport of PSII (Φ_PSII). Thus, on the basis of our results on the two local M. truncatula lines, we recommend the use of chlorophyll fluorescence as non-destructive screening method to discriminate susceptible and resistant legumes to salt stress.     

Validation of an OpenSim full-body model with detailed lumbar spine for estimating lower lumbar spine loads during symmetric and asymmetric lifting tasks

There is currently no validated full-body lifting model publicly available on the OpenSim modelling platform to estimate spinal loads during lifting. In this study, the existing full-body-lumbar-spine model was adapted and validated for lifting motions to produce the lifting full-body model. Back muscle activations predicted by the model closely matched the measured erector spinae activation patterns. Model estimates of intradiscal pressures and in vivo measurements were strongly correlated. The same spine loading trends were observed for model estimates and reported vertebral body implant measurements. These results demonstrate the suitability of this model to evaluate changes in lumbar loading during lifting.     

Domain redistribution within ergosterol-containing model membranes in the presence of the antimicrobial compound fengycin

The cyclic lipopeptide fengycin, produced by Bacillus subtilis, exhibits its antimicrobial capabilities by altering the integrity of the cell membrane of plant pathogens. Previous work has correlated fengycin activity with membrane characteristics, such as sterol content. This work focused on the influence of fengycin on supported lipid bilayers containing varying levels of ergosterol. Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy was used to visualize and distinguish ordered (L_β/L_o) and disordered (L_α/L_d) domains in the model membranes following exposure to low (50 μg) and high (500 μg) fengycin doses. Application of an initial low dose of fengycin to 0% and 3% ergosterol-containing bilayers resulted in redistribution of L_α/L_β and L_o/L_d domains, respectively, which the bilayers compensated and corrected for over time. These membranes were unable to tolerate a second 50 μg dose or a single high fengycin dose. The 6% ergosterol bilayers were able to tolerate sequential low doses of fengycin. Exposure of these bilayers to the high fengycin dose caused a decrease in the number of L_o domains, albeit less than that seen in the 0% and 3% ergosterol bilayers. Bilayers containing 12% ergosterol, exhibited the least amount of change after fengycin exposure. These were the only bilayer to exhibit an increase in area taken up by ordered domains. These results suggest fengycin may preferentially act on the L_β or L_o phase, the area in which ergosterol resides. Bilayers containing low levels of ergosterol appear to be more sensitive to the lipopeptide, suggesting ergosterol plays a role in buffering perturbations caused by fengycin.     

混合喂养法建立成年营养性肥胖大鼠模型

目的:尝试用混合喂养法建立一种与临床相仿的成年营养性肥胖大鼠模型。方法:55只8周龄SD大鼠随机分为对照组10只(普通饲料喂养)和实验组45只(混合喂养),喂养2周后实验组剔除肥胖抵抗大鼠。每周记录大鼠体重,喂养9周后观察两组大鼠体重、体长、Lee's指数、空腹血糖(FBG)、血脂、葡萄糖耐量水平和肝脏组织病理改变。结果:喂养第9周末,实验组大鼠和对照组大鼠体重分别为(645.6±34.8)g和(483.3±31.5)g,Lee's指数分别为(326.3±24.2)和(302.7±19.8),组间比较有显著差异(P0.05)。实验组血清甘油三酯(TG)、总胆固醇(TC)及低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL-C)、FPG、糖负荷后30、60、120分钟血糖均明显高于对照组,差异有统计学意义。HE染色病理结果显示实验组大鼠肝脏均出现脂肪样变,而对照组未见明显变性。结论:本研究所应用的混合喂养法可以稳定成功地建立伴有葡萄糖耐量减低和高脂血症的成年营养性肥胖大鼠模型。     

Median estimation of chemical constituents for sampling on two occasions under a log‐normal model

Sampling from a finite population on multiple occasions introduces dependencies between the successive samples when overlap is designed. Such sampling designs lead to efficient statistical estimates, while they allow estimating changes over time for the targeted outcomes. This makes them very popular in real‐world statistical practice. Sampling with partial replacement can also be very efficient in biological and environmental studies where estimation of toxicants and its trends over time is the main interest. Sampling with partial replacement is designed here on two occasions in order to estimate the median concentration of chemical constituents quantified by means of liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Such data represent relative peak areas resulting from the chromatographic analysis. They are therefore positive‐valued and skewed data, and are commonly fitted very well by the log‐normal model. A log‐normal model is assumed here for chemical constituents quantified in mainstream cigarette smoke in a real case study. Combining design‐based and model‐based approaches for statistical inference, we seek for the median estimation of chemical constituents by sampling with partial replacement on two time occasions. We also discuss the limitations of extending the proposed approach to other skewed population models. The latter is investigated by means of a Monte Carlo simulation study.     

Technique of Porcine Liver Procurement and Orthotopic Transplantation using an Active Porto-Caval Shunt

The success of liver transplantation has resulted in a dramatic organ shortage. Each year, a considerable number of patients on the liver transplantation waiting list die without receiving an organ transplant or are delisted due to disease progression. Even after a successful transplantation, rejection and side effects of immunosuppression remain major concerns for graft survival and patient morbidity. Experimental animal research has been essential to the success of liver transplantation and still plays a pivotal role in the development of clinical transplantation practice. In particular, the porcine orthotopic liver transplantation model (OLTx) is optimal for clinically oriented research for its close resemblance to human size, anatomy, and physiology. Decompression of intestinal congestion during the anhepatic phase of porcine OLTx is important to guarantee reliable animal survival. The use of an active porto-caval-jugular shunt achieves excellent intestinal decompression. The system can be used for short-term as well as long-term survival experiments. The following protocol contains all technical information for a stable and reproducible liver transplantation model in pigs including post-operative animal care.     

Adapting the Electrospinning Process to Provide Three Unique Environments for a Tri-layered In Vitro Model of the Airway Wall

Electrospinning is a highly adaptable method producing porous 3D fibrous scaffolds that can be exploited in in vitro cell culture. Alterations to intrinsic parameters within the process allow a high degree of control over scaffold characteristics including fiber diameter, alignment and porosity. By developing scaffolds with similar dimensions and topographies to organ- or tissue-specific extracellular matrices (ECM), micro-environments representative to those that cells are exposed to in situ can be created. The airway bronchiole wall, comprised of three main micro-environments, was selected as a model tissue. Using decellularized airway ECM as a guide, we electrospun the non-degradable polymer, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), by three different protocols to produce three individual electrospun scaffolds optimized for epithelial, fibroblast or smooth muscle cell-culture. Using a commercially available bioreactor system, we stably co-cultured the three cell-types to provide an in vitro model of the airway wall over an extended time period.This model highlights the potential for such methods being employed in in vitro diagnostic studies investigating important inter-cellular cross-talk mechanisms or assessing novel pharmaceutical targets, by providing a relevant platform to allow the culture of fully differentiated adult cells within 3D, tissue-specific environments.