Magnesium binding in the digesta of the chicken.

Two experiments involving laying hens and mature roosters were carried out to determine the effect of pH on the ultrafilterable fraction of Mg((Mg)u) present in the digesta along the gastrointestinal tract. Concurrently, the approximate molecular weight of the (Mg)u was determined. The average pH's for laying hens were: crop 4.88, proventriculus 5.27, ventriculus 4.77, duodenum 5.57, jejunum 6.15, ileum 7.82, and colon 6.65. Similar pH values were obtained for mature roosters. The (Mg)u fraction decreased significantly in the ileum where the pH was greater than 7.00. However, treating the ileal digesta with an acid pH buffer released about 70% of the nonfilterable Mg. The molecular weight of the (Mg)u was found to be less than 700, suggesting that the Mg was present in digesta as an inorganic salt or as an organic complex of low molecular weight.     

Incorporation of 5′-N-BOC-2′, 5′-Dideoxynucleoside-3′-O-Phosphoramidites Into Oligonucleotides by Automated Synthesis

Abstract

An efficient method for synthesizing 5′-Boc-5′-amino-2′, 5′- dideoxynucleoside phosphoramidites and conditions for their incorporation in solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis are presented.     

Project portfolio selection under uncertainty with outsourcing opportunities

The paper presents a stochastic optimization model for project portfolio selection under uncertainty about the real efforts required for the execution of the work packages contained in the projects. As a subproblem, the assignment of the work to human resources and the distribution of work over time is addressed. The available workforce is assumed as multi-skilled. Required efforts are modeled as random variables. The recourse action for the case where the available capacities of the internal human resources do not suffice to cover the actual work times consists in delegating parts of the work to external human resources. The staffing-and-scheduling subproblem is solved by means of a Frank-Wolfe type algorithm. To solve the upper-level problem of project portfolio determination, a modification of the Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) algorithm is applied. Experimental results for a benchmark of synthetically generated test instances and for an illustrative example from the E-Commerce Competence Center Austria are provided.     

Cardiac-specific overexpression of perilipin 5 provokes severe cardiac steatosis via the formation of a lipolytic barrier

Cardiac triacylglycerol (TG) catabolism critically depends on the TG hydrolytic activity of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL). Perilipin 5 (Plin5) is expressed in cardiac muscle (CM) and has been shown to interact with ATGL and its coactivator comparative gene identification-58 (CGI-58). Furthermore, ectopic Plin5 expression increases cellular TG content and Plin5-deficient mice exhibit reduced cardiac TG levels. In this study we show that mice with cardiac muscle-specific overexpression of perilipin 5 (CM-Plin5) massively accumulate TG in CM, which is accompanied by moderately reduced fatty acid (FA) oxidizing gene expression levels. Cardiac lipid droplet (LD) preparations from CM of CM-Plin5 mice showed reduced ATGL- and hormone-sensitive lipase-mediated TG mobilization implying that Plin5 overexpression restricts cardiac lipolysis via the formation of a lipolytic barrier. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed TG hydrolytic activities in preparations of Plin5-, ATGL-, and CGI-58-transfected cells. In vitro ATGL-mediated TG hydrolysis of an artificial micellar TG substrate was not inhibited by the presence of Plin5, whereas Plin5-coated LDs were resistant toward ATGL-mediated TG catabolism. These findings strongly suggest that Plin5 functions as a lipolytic barrier to protect the cardiac TG pool from uncontrolled TG mobilization and the excessive release of free FAs.     

The impact of genetic stress by ATGL deficiency on the lipidome of lipid droplets from murine hepatocytes

We showed earlier that nutritional stress like starvation or high-fat diet resulted in phenotypic changes in the lipidomes of hepatocyte lipid droplets (LDs), representative for the pathophysiological status of the mouse model. Here we extend our former study by adding genetic stress due to knockout (KO) of adipocyte triglyceride lipase (ATGL), the rate limiting enzyme in LD lipolysis. An intervention trial for 6 weeks with male wild-type (WT) and ATGL-KO mice was carried out; both genotypes were fed lab chow or were exposed to short-time starvation. Isolated LDs were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Triacylglycerol, diacylglycerol, and phosphatidylcholine lipidomes, in that order, provided the best phenotypic signatures characteristic for respective stresses applied to the animals. This was evidenced at lipid species level by principal component analysis, calculation of average values for chain-lengths and numbers of double bonds, and by visualization in heat maps. Structural backgrounds for analyses and metabolic relationships were elaborated at lipid molecular species level. Relating our lipidomic data to nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases of nutritional and genetic etiologies with or without accompanying insulin resistance, phenotypic distinction in hepatocyte LDs dependent on insulin status emerged. Taken together, lipidomes of hepatocyte LDs are sensitive responders to nutritional and genetic stress.     

Evolutionary potential in the Alpine: trait heritabilities and performance variation of the dwarf willow Salix herbacea from different elevations and microhabitats

Alpine ecosystems are seriously threatened by climate change. One of the key mechanisms by which plants can adapt to changing environmental conditions is through evolutionary change. However, we still know little about the evolutionary potential in wild populations of long‐lived alpine plants. Here, we investigated heritabilities of phenological traits, leaf size, and performance traits in natural populations of the long‐lived alpine dwarf shrub Salix herbacea using relatedness estimates inferred from SSR (Simple Sequence Repeat) markers. Salix herbacea occurs in early‐ and late‐snowmelt microhabitats (ridges and snowbeds), and we assessed how performance consequences of phenological traits and leaf size differ between these microhabitats in order to infer potential for evolutionary responses. Salix herbacea showed low, but significant, heritabilities of leaf size, clonal and sexual reproduction, and moderate heritabilities of phenological traits. In both microhabitats, we found that larger leaves, longer intervals between snowmelt and leaf expansion, and longer GDD (growing‐degree days) until leaf expansion resulted in a stronger increase in the number of stems (clonal reproduction). In snowbeds, clonal reproduction increased with a shorter GDD until flowering, while the opposite was found on ridges. Furthermore, the proportion of flowering stems increased with GDD until flowering in both microhabitats. Our results suggest that the presence of significant heritable variation in morphology and phenology might help S. herbacea to adapt to changing environmental conditions. However, it remains to be seen if the rate of such an evolutionary response can keep pace with the rapid rate of climate change.     

A Combination of CD28 (rs1980422) and IRF5 (rs10488631) Polymorphisms Is Associated with Seropositivity in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Case Control Study

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to analyse genetic architecture of RA by utilizing multiparametric statistical methods such as linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and redundancy analysis (RDA).MethodsA total of 1393 volunteers, 499 patients with RA and 894 healthy controls were included in the study. The presence of shared epitope (SE) in HLA-DRB1 and 11 SNPs (PTPN22 C/T (rs2476601), STAT4 G/T (rs7574865), CTLA4 A/G (rs3087243), TRAF1/C5 A/G (rs3761847), IRF5 T/C (rs10488631), TNFAIP3 C/T (rs5029937), AFF3 A/T (rs11676922), PADI4 C/T (rs2240340), CD28 T/C (rs1980422), CSK G/A (rs34933034) and FCGR3A A/C (rs396991), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti–citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) and clinical status was analysed using the LDA and RDA.ResultsHLA-DRB1, PTPN22, STAT4, IRF5 and PADI4 significantly discriminated between RA patients and healthy controls in LDA. The correlation between RA diagnosis and the explanatory variables in the model was 0.328 (Trace = 0.107; F = 13.715; P = 0.0002). The risk variants of IRF5 and CD28 genes were found to be common determinants for seropositivity in RDA, while positivity of RF alone was associated with the CTLA4 risk variant in heterozygous form. The correlation between serologic status and genetic determinants on the 1st ordinal axis was 0.468, and 0.145 on the 2nd one (Trace = 0.179; F = 6.135; P = 0.001). The risk alleles in AFF3 gene together with the presence of ACPA were associated with higher clinical severity of RA.ConclusionsThe association among multiple risk variants related to T cell receptor signalling with seropositivity may play an important role in distinct clinical phenotypes of RA. Our study demonstrates that multiparametric analyses represent a powerful tool for investigation of mutual relationships of potential risk factors in complex diseases such as RA.     

Biotechnology of flavonoids and other phenylpropanoid-derived natural products. Part I: Chemical diversity, impacts on plant biology and human health

Plant natural products derived from phenylalanine and the phenylpropanoid pathway are impressive in their chemical diversity and are the result of plant evolution, which has selected for the acquisition of large repertoires of pigments, structural and defensive compounds, all derived from a phenylpropanoid backbone via the plant-specific phenylpropanoid pathway. These compounds are important in plant growth, development and responses to environmental stresses and thus can have large impacts on agricultural productivity. While plant-based medicines containing phenylpropanoid-derived active components have long been used by humans, the benefits of specific flavonoids and other phenylpropanoid-derived compounds to human health and their potential for long-term health benefits have been only recognized more recently. In this part of the review, we discuss the diversity and biosynthetic origins of phenylpropanoids and particularly of the flavonoid and stilbenoid natural products. We then review data pertaining to the modes of action and biological properties of these compounds, referring on their effects on human health and physiology and their roles as plant defense and antimicrobial compounds. This review continues in Part II discussing the use of biotechnological tools targeting the rational reconstruction of multienzyme pathways in order to modify the production of such compounds in plants and model microbial systems for the benefit of agriculture and forestry.