Targeting ischemic memory

Long-chain free fatty acids and glucose account for the vast majority of ATP production in the heart. An alteration of fatty acid oxidation is considered to be a sensitive marker of ischemia and myocardial damage. Recently, several radiolabeled fatty acid analogs have been introduced to assess myocardial cellular function. The use of such analogs has enabled the analysis of cardiac metabolism and led to the identification of prior ischemic events, termed 'ischemic memory'. Such advances will find use in the clinical setting for the diagnosis and treatment of subclinical or progressive cardiovascular disorders, as in acute coronary syndrome, that often remain elusive with traditional imaging approaches.     

Phylogenetic relations of Rhizoplaca Zopf. from Anatolia inferred from ITS sequence data

Like many lichen-forming fungi, species of the genus Rhizoplaca have wide geographical distributions, but studies of their genetic variability are limited. The information about the ITS rDNA sequences of three species of Rhizoplaca from Anatolia was generated and aligned with other species from other countries and also with the data belonging to Lecanora species. The examined species were collected from the volcanic rocks of Mount Erciyes which is located in the middle of Anatolia (Turkey). The sequence data aligned with eight other samples of Rhizoplaca and six different species of Lecanora were obtained from GenBank. The results support the concept maintained by Arup and Grube (2000) that Rhizoplaca may not be a genus separate from Lecanora. According to the phylogenetic tree, Rhizoplaca melanopthalma from Turkey with two different samples of R. melanopthalma from Arizona (AF159929, AF159934) and a sample from Austria formed a group under the same branch. R. peltata and R. chrysoleuca samples from Anatolia located in two other branches of the tree formed sister groups with the samples of the same species from different countries. Although R. peltata remained on the same branch with other samples of the same species from other countries it was placed in a different branch within the group. When the three species from Anatolia were considered alone, it was noticed that Rhizoplaca melanopthalma and Rhizoplaca peltata are phylogenetically closer to each other than Rhizoplaca chrysoleuca; the morphological characteristics also support this result.     

Understanding the psychology of geriatric edentulous patients

doi: 10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2011.00496.x Understanding the psychology of geriatric edentulous patients Objective: This article focuses on understanding our older patients who require complete prosthodontic care. By breaking down the patient psychology to its component parts, it is easier to obtain a clear picture of this special cohort of patients. Considering the increase in number of geriatric edentulous patients, this knowledge will help the dentist serve the geriatric population better. Background: The role of psychology and personality in complete denture treatment is well documented. The geriatric patient who needs complete dentures has a psychological aspect that needs consideration. Although significant, these aspects may sometimes be ignored or considered irrelevant. Materials and methods: A review of relevant literature was carried out to obtain data on the psychology and personality of geriatric, complete denture patients and their behavioural changes. The obtained data was filtered and condensed to provide a short but comprehensive look at the geriatric edentulous patient’s psychology. Conclusion: When handling geriatric edentulous patients, the dentist must be confident of addressing and managing the psychology of these patients. A thorough understanding of the geriatric mental state thus becomes important and significant for the clinician.     

Synthesis and optimization of thiadiazole derivatives as a novel class of substrate competitive c-Jun N-terminal kinase inhibitors

A series of thiadiazole derivatives has been designed as potential allosteric, substrate competitive inhibitors of the protein kinase JNK. We report on the synthesis, characterization and evaluation of a series of compounds that resulted in the identification of potent and selective JNK inhibitors targeting its JIP-1 docking site.     

Correlation between total and EDTA/DTPA-extractable trace elements in soil and wheat

Wheat and wheat products are more important sources of energy and nutrients in diets of people in many cultures compared to other foods. The daily consumption of wheat is about 200 g/d/person in Western Europe and North America. On the other hand, 400–450 g of wheat and wheat products are consumed daily by average Turkish people. Wheat samples collected from the Iskenderun region in 1995 and 1996 and Ankara and Istanbul regions in 1995 were analyzed for their trace element content by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). In addition, 13 soil samples were collected from the Iskenderun region in 1996. Total soil samples were analyzed by INAA and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), EDTA-extractable elements by INAA, and DTPA-extractable elements by AAS. Correlation analysis and enrichment factor calculations were applied to the trace element results. In wheat samples, a strong correlation was found between the elements such as Sc, La, Sm, Rb, and K whose main source is soil. The concentration of Se appeared to show larger variations among different regions. No significant correlation was observed for elements such as As and Se whose main sources in the atmosphere are anthropogenic activities.     

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria enhanced leaf organic acids,FC-R activity and Fe nutrition of apple under lime soil conditions

Iron chlorosis in the calcareous soils is one most important stress factors worldwide that limits photosynthesis and decreases fruit yield and quality. Certain soil rhizobacteria produce organic compounds such as plant acids and they may reduce the soil rhizosphere pH and affect ferric chelate reductase (FC-R) activity in root. However, there is no knowledge regarding changes in organic acids content and FC-R activities of leaf due to rhizobacterial root inoculation. Therefore, the efficiency of six plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) were tested on apple cv. Braeburn on M9 and MM106 rootstocks. The results of the experiment showed leaf organic acid contents, iron quantity of soil, root and leaf and root and leaf FC-R activity were significantly affected via rhizobacteria applications in apple plants. In MM106 and M9, there was a remarkable increase in Fe in M3 inoculated soil by 95 and 89%, respectively, compared to control. Average increases in citric, malic, malonic, butyric and lactic acid in the leaf were obtained from rhizobacterial root inoculations of 25.1, 21.8, 29.6, 18.0 and 18.2% in Braeburn/MM106, respectively. In Braeburn/M9, MFDCa1 application increased all organic acid concentrations compared to the control. MFDCa2 treatment caused the maximum leaf FC-R activity in Braeburn on M9 and MM106 (60.9 and 50.3 nmol Fe⁺² g^?1 FW h^?1, respectively) while the least values were determined in the control (33.5 and 29.9 nmol Fe⁺² g^?1 FW h^?1, respectively). This study showed the bacterial strains tested in our study may be used as a biofertilizer instead of Fe fertilizers.     

Naïve blood monocytes suppress T-cell function. A possible mechanism for protection from autoimmunity

In certain disease context, cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage are known to exhibit T-cell suppressor function. However, whether na?ve monocytes are also able to suppress T-cell responses has not been previously investigated. In this study, we have discovered that CD11b(+)Ly6G(-) mononuclear cells in the blood of na?ve mice are potent suppressors of T-cell proliferation in vitro. The suppression of T-cell proliferation requires cell-cell contact and is partially dependent on nitric oxide production. Following the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice, the suppressor function of this blood CD11b(+)Ly6G(-) cell population is impaired. Therefore, blood CD11b(+)Ly6G(-) cells appear to be intrinsically suppressive and may have a key role in maintaining immune homoeostasis. Loss of this suppressive function may contribute to development of autoimmunity.     

Chemosensory and hormone information are relayed directly between the medial amygdala, posterior bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and medial preoptic area in male Syrian hamsters

In many rodent species, including Syrian hamsters, the expression of appropriate social behavior depends critically on the perception and identification of conspecific odors. The behavioral response to these odors is mediated by a network of steroid-sensitive ventral forebrain nuclei including the medial amygdala (Me), posterior bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), and medial preoptic area (MPOA). Although it is well-known that Me, BNST, and MPOA are densely interconnected and each uniquely modulates odor-guided social behaviors, the degree to which conspecific odor information and steroid hormone cues are directly relayed between these nuclei is unknown. To answer this question, we injected the retrograde tracer, cholera toxin B (CTB), into the BNST or MPOA of male subjects and identified whether retrogradely-labeled cells in Me and BNST 1) expressed immediate early genes (IEGs) following exposure to male and/or female odors or 2) expressed androgen receptor (AR). Although few retrogradely-labeled cells co-localized with IEGs, a higher percentage of BNST- and MPOA-projecting cells in the posterior Me (MeP) expressed IEGs in response to female odors than to male odors. The percentage of retrogradely-labeled cells that expressed IEGs did not, however, differ between and female and male odor-exposed groups in the anterior Me (MeA), posterointermediate BNST (BNSTpi), or posteromedial BNST (BNSTpm). Many retrogradely-labeled cells co-localized with AR, and a higher percentage of retrogradely-labeled MeP and BNSTpm cells expressed AR than retrogradely-labeled MeA and BNSTpi cells, respectively. Together, these data demonstrate that Me, BNST, and MPOA interact as a functional circuit to process sex-specific odor cues and hormone information in male Syrian hamsters.     

The integrins Mac-1 and alpha4beta1 perform crucial roles in neutrophil and T cell recruitment to lungs during Streptococcus pneumoniae infection

Neutrophils and T cells play an important role in host protection against pulmonary infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. However, the role of the integrins in recruitment of these cells to infected lungs is not well understood. In this study we used the twin approaches of mAb blockade and gene-deficient mice to investigate the relative impact of specific integrins on cellular recruitment and bacterial loads following pneumococcal infection. We find that both Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) and α(4)β(1) (CD49d/CD29) integrins, but surprisingly not LFA-1 (CD11a/CD18), contribute to two aspects of the response. In terms of recruitment from the circulation into lungs, neutrophils depend on Mac-1 and α(4)β(1), whereas the T cells are entirely dependent on α(4)β(1). Second, immunohistochemistry results indicate that adhesion also plays a role within infected lung tissue itself. There is widespread expression of ICAM-1 within lung tissue. Use of ICAM-1(-/-) mice revealed that neutrophils make use of this Mac-1 ligand, not for lung entry or for migration within lung tissue, but for combating the pneumococcal infection. In contrast to ICAM-1, there is restricted and constitutive expression of the α(4)β(1) ligand, VCAM-1, on the bronchioles, allowing direct access of the leukocytes to the airways via this integrin at an early stage of pneumococcal infection. Therefore, integrins Mac-1 and α(4)β(1) have a pivotal role in prevention of pneumococcal outgrowth during disease both in regulating neutrophil and T cell recruitment into infected lungs and by influencing their behavior within the lung tissue itself.     

Evaluation of copper-induced stress on eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) seedlings at the molecular and population levels by use of various biomarkers

Heavy-metal contamination is an important environmental problem in the world. It is known that high concentrations of heavy metals cause toxic damage to cells and tissues. In this study the effects of copper (Cu(2+)) contamination were determined at the molecular and population levels in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) seedlings exposed to various concentrations of the metal ion. Inhibition of root growth, reduction in dry weight and total soluble protein content in the roots of eggplant seedlings were observed with increasing Cu(2+) concentrations. In ecotoxicology, analysis by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) has been applied as a suitable biomarker assay for plants. For the RAPD analyses, nine RAPD primers were found to produce unique polymorphic band patterns and were subsequently used to produce a total of 80 and 168 bands in the roots of untreated and treated eggplant seedlings, respectively. The changes in RAPD profiles after Cu(2+) contamination were considered as variations, i.e. as gain and/or loss of bands compared with control seedlings. These results suggest that changes in genomic template stability could be detected with RAPD profiles and this result could be compared with the growth, dry weight and total soluble protein content of the seedlings grown at various Cu(2+) concentrations. The measurements of parameters at the molecular and population levels are fundamental to accumulate valuable information and to understand clearly the effect of a contaminant on an organism in ecotoxicology.