Assessment of RAPD markers for barley doubled haploid lines resistant and susceptible to Fusarium culmorum at seedling and adult plant growth stages

Thirty doubled haploid (DH) lines of barley derived from F(1) of a cross between the six-rowed cultivar Pomo and two-rowed cultivar Maresi were examined for susceptibility to Fusarium seedling blight (SB) and head blight (FHB), measured by mycotoxin (nivalenol) content of kernels. RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) polymorphism was analysed by using 53 decamer primers. Amplification products (APs) were 200 bp up to 2000 bp in size on average 5.7 per primer and the total number of APs was 284, 51.06% of which were polymorphic. Only 32 APs differentiated the examined DH lines - 19 APs for nivalenol content of kernels and 13 for seedling resistance. DH lines segregated with continuous distribution of resistance to FHB and SB. At the seedling stage all DH lines exhibited lower susceptibility than parental cultivars, but in the adult stage only two lines (MP 2 and MP 7) appeared to be more resistant to FHB, i.e. accumulated in kernels a lower amount of mycotoxin than cultivars Maresi and Pomo.     

Algorithm of hair restoration surgery in children

Hair is an inseparable element of external appearance of every human being. Although various fashion trends come and go, the lack of hair is for many a major aesthetic and psychological problem. Even if men's balding can be accepted as a natural phenomenon, hair loss in children is considered to be a condition demanding correction. During an 18-year period, 8440 hair restoration operations were performed at the Hair Clinic Poznan, in Poznan, Poland. Most patients were men treated for androgenic alopecia. Among the patients were 57 children in whom hair loss resulted from hereditary factors, perinatal traumas, radiotherapy, and mechanical, thermal, and chemical damage. Methods of restoration were adjusted to type of hair loss, patient age, and ability to cooperate with the surgeon. In cases of single massive scars, skin flap correction was usually used. The flaps were prepared with the use of expanders. In cases of numerous scattered defects or considerable thinning of the scalp, the method of choice was hair transplantation. The "four-hand stick-and-place" technique developed by the authors enabled the surgeon to quickly and precisely carry out the procedure. Application of varied surgery techniques in scalp reconstruction procedures in children gave very good aesthetic results with a minimal complication rate.     

Effects of matriconditioning on onion seed germination, seedling emergence and associated physical and metabolic events

The effect of matriconditioning, the physiological presowing seed technique, using Micro-Cel E on Allium cepa L. cv. Czerniakowska seed quality was studied. Several ratios of seeds, carrier, water and time of priming were tested. The most effective treatment for improving onion seed germination at most tested temperatures was priming to a ratio of 2 g seed:1 g Micro-Cel:3 g water for 5 days in light at 15 °C. Matriconditioning greatly improved the germination and emergence percentage, seedling fresh and dry weight and reduced electrolyte leakage compared to that of untreated seeds; this beneficial effect was especially evident at suboptimal temperatures. Matriconditioning improved the germinability of aged seeds, the effect being more pronounced in the more aged seeds. No significant differences in ethylene production by primed and non-primed seeds were observed in the absence of its precursor, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), but its presence during imbibition caused an increase in ethylene production; an enhanced activity of in vivo ACC oxidase in Allium cepa matriconditioned seeds in comparison to untreated seeds, indicates that the endogenous level of ACC is a limiting factor of ethylene production. Likewise, the activity of ACC oxidase isolated from matriconditioned seeds was higher than that from untreated seeds. Higher endo--mannanase and total dehydrogenase activities were observed in primed air-dried seeds in comparing to non-primed seeds.     

Effects of electron transport inhibitors on iron reduction in Aeromonas hydrophila strain KB1

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of respiratory chain inhibitors upon iron (III) reduction in Aeromonas hydrophila strain KB1. Optimal conditions of the reduction process were established by determining the amount of biomass, optimal pH, temperature and substrate concentration. The obtained results allowed us to determine Hill equation coefficients (K(m)=1.45+/-0.18 mM; V(max)=83.40+/-2.70 microM/min, and h=0.7+/-0.03). The value of h points to Michaelis-like kinetics of the process. The substrate concentration used in our study was such as to allow the maximum iron reduction rate. The reaction was mesophilic. The participation of electron carriers in the iron reduction process was investigated using respiratory chain inhibitors. Rotenone and capsaicin were used to study Q sites of the respiratory chain complex I. Dicumarol was used as an inhibitor of the quinone loop, while quinacrine was used to inhibit alloxazine centers. Additionally, complex III inhibitors, such as antimycin A, myxothiazole and 2-heptyl-4-hydroxy-quinoline N-oxide (HQNO) were used. Azide was used to inhibit complex IV. The observed inhibition of iron reduction by rotenone and capsaicin may suggest the existence of Q sites in formate reductase, analogous to those in complex I. Inhibition of quinones, isoalloxazine centers and complex III suggests participation of these carriers in the electron transport during iron reduction. Lack of inhibition of iron reduction by azide suggests that complex IV does not participate in this process.     

Glutamine transport in C6 glioma cells shows ASCT2 system characteristics

Previous studies from this laboratory have shown that glutamine (Gln) uptake in a rat astrocytoma-derived C6 cell line shows characteristics similar with the uptake of a model ASC system substrate, threonine, whose pH-dependence and partial tolerance of Li(+) substitution for Na(+) resemble the ASCT2 variant of the system. In support of the previous findings, RT-PCR analysis revealed that C6 cells strongly express ASCT2 mRNA, but not at all GlnT mRNA or NAT2 mRNA, the A and N system variants specifically engaged in Gln transport in normal CNS. Other features of Gln transport in C6 cells indicating the involvement of ASCT2 system included its resistance to ouabain and stimulation of Gln efflux from the cells in the presence of excess Gln or cysteine (Cys), demonstrating that the system operates in the exchange mode. Replacement of NaCl in the incubation medium with isoosmotic sucrose did neither significantly affect the kinetics, nor any other major characteristics of Gln or Thr transport, including its pH-dependence, inhibition by ASCT system substrates or resistance to the model system A substrate-N-methylamino-isobutyric acid (MeAiB).     

Detection of substance P and its mRNA in human blast cells in childhood lymphoblastic leukaemia using immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridisation

The study focused on determining the expression of substance P (SP) in neoplastic cells of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) at the levels of its mRNA and the protein production. The study group comprised 44 children treated for ALL in the Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences in Poznań, in the years 1999-2001. Bone marrow smears were obtained by needle biopsy. Expression of SP was examined by immunocytochemistry with specific antibody against human SP and by in situ hybridisation with anti-mRNA 5'-biotinylated probe. The results of the study demonstrated that SP could be detected in the cytoplasm of lymphoblasts (mean percentage of 81.8% for immunocytochemical and 84.5% for in situ hybridisation technique) in leukaemias of the common and T-cell types. SP was absent from blasts in B-cell leukaemia and from normal haematopoietic, cells in children of the control group. The results show that lymphoblasts of common and T-cell origin acquire the capability to synthesise SP after their neoplastic transformation in childhood acute leukaemia. SP may be involved in auto- and paracrine mechanisms capable of inducing hyperplasia of the neoplastic cells.     

The identity of the O-specific polysaccharide structure of Citrobacter strains from serogroups O2, O20 and O25 and immunochemical characterisation of C. youngae PCM 1507 (O2a,1b) and related strains

Serological studies using SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting revealed that from five strains that are ascribed to Citrobacter serogroup O2, four strains, PCM 1494, PCM 1495, PCM 1496 and PCM 1507, are reactive with specific anti-Citrobacter O2 serum. In contrast, strain PCM 1573 did not react with anti-Citrobacter O2 serum and, hence, does not belong to serogroup O2. The LPS of Citrobacter youngae O2a,1b (strain PCM 1507) was degraded under mild acidic conditions and the O-specific polysaccharide (OPS) released was isolated by gel chromatography. Sugar and methylation analyses along with (1)H- and (13)C-NMR spectroscopy, including two-dimensional (1)H,(1)H COSY, TOCSY, NOESY and (1)H,(13)C HSQC experiments, showed that the repeating unit of the OPS has the following structure: [structure: see text]. NMR spectroscopic studies demonstrated that Citrobacter werkmanii O20 and C. youngae O25 have the same OPS structure as C. youngae O2. Sugar and methylation analyses of the core oligosaccharide fractions demonstrated structural differences in the lipopolysaccharide core regions of these strains, which may substantiate their classification in different serogroups.     

Immunohistochemical localisation of ET-1 and eNOS in lymphatic stomata of the porcine broad ligament of the uterus

Immunohistochemical localization and distribution of endothelin (ET-1) and nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were investigated in lymphatic stomata in areas of their special accumulation in the porcine broad ligament during the estrous cycle. The study was performed using polyclonal antibody for ET-1 and monoclonal antibody for eNOS. ET-1 and eNOS immunoreactivities were demonstrated in some thin endothelial lymphatic lacuna walls throughout the estrous cycle. In the mesothelial cell layer, ET-1 and eNOS were detected only in stomata-related cuboidal mesothelial cells, however, the intensity of the immunostaining and distribution of the positive cells varied during the cycle. These results suggest that ET-1 and eNOS can play a role in mechanisms regulating the tone of lymphatic stomata during the absorption and passage of fluids, particles and cells from the peritoneal cavity to lymphatic vessels in the porcine broad ligament.