Tritaenia Maegdefrau et Rudolf, Mesozoic 'Sciadopitys-like' leaves in mass accumulations

The Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous genus Tritaenia Maegdefrau et Rudolf 1969 is problematic because of: (1) missing authentic material of its type species, T. linkii (Roemer 1839) Maegdefrau et Rudolf; and (2) Watson and Harrison's (1998) synonymization of T. linkii with Pseudotorellia heterophylla Watson. This paper: (1) rectifies the status of T. linkii on the basis of newly recovered specimens carrying the original author's authentication; and (2) gives the basis for rejecting Watson and Harrison's claim that T. linkii and T. crassa (Seward) Bose et Manum 1991 represent linear leaves of the heterophyllous taxon Pseudotorellia heterophylla. The three species of Tritaenia known to date (T. crassa, T. linkii, T. scotica) are reviewed, and the genus is compared with other Mesozoic so-called 'Sciadopitys-like' hypostomatic leaves with a median stomatal zone, many of which occur in mass accumulations such as T. linkii. Deciduousness is indicated for T. linkii and T. crassa by their occurrence in mass accumulations and the possession of well-developed abscission scars. Known mass accumulations of fossil foliage are reviewed and their implications for palaeoenvironmental interpretations discussed.     

Nutrient-induced signal transduction through the protein kinase A pathway and its role in the control of metabolism, stress resistance, and growth in yeast

Yeast cells growing in the presence of glucose or a related rapidly-fermented sugar differ strongly in a variety of physiological properties compared to cells growing in the absence of glucose. Part of these differences appear to be caused by the protein kinase A (PKA) and related signal transduction pathways. Addition of glucose to cells previously deprived of glucose triggers cAMP accumulation, which is apparently mediated by the Gpr1-Gpa2 G-protein coupled receptor system. However, the resulting effect on PKA-controlled properties is only transient when there is no complete growth medium present. When an essential nutrient is lacking, the cells arrest in the stationary phase G0. At the same time they acquire all characteristics of cells with low PKA activity, even if there is ample glucose present. When the essential nutrient is added again, a similar PKA-dependent protein phosphorylation cascade is triggered as observed after addition of glucose to glucose-deprived cells, but which is not cAMP-mediated. Because the pathway involved requires a fermentable carbon source and a complete growth medium, at least for its sustained activation, it has been called “fermentable growth medium (FGM)-induced pathway.”     

Intimal lining layer macrophages but not synovial sublining macrophages display an IL-10 polarized-like phenotype in chronic synovitis

Introduction

Synovial tissue macrophages play a key role in chronic inflammatory arthritis, but the contribution of different macrophage subsets in this process remains largely unknown. The main in vitro polarized macrophage subsets are classically (M1) and alternatively (M2) activated macrophages, the latter comprising interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 polarized cells. Here, we aimed to evaluate the polarization status of synovial macrophages in spondyloarthritis (SpA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

Expression of polarization markers on synovial macrophages, peripheral blood monocytes, and in vitro polarized monocyte-derived macrophages from SpA versus RA patients was assessed by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry, respectively. The polarization status of the intimal lining layer and the synovial sublining macrophages was assessed by double immunofluorescence staining.

Results

The expression of the IL-10 polarization marker cluster of differentiation 163 (CD163) was increased in SpA compared with RA intimal lining layer, but no differences were found in other M1 and M2 markers between the diseases. Furthermore, no significant phenotypic differences in monocytes and in vitro polarized monocyte-derived macrophages were seen between SpA, RA, and healthy controls, indicating that the differential CD163 expression does not reflect a preferential M2 polarization in SpA. More detailed analysis of intimal lining layer macrophages revealed a strong co-expression of the IL-10 polarization markers CD163 and cluster of differentiation 32 (CD32) but not any of the other markers in both SpA and RA. In contrast, synovial sublining macrophages had a more heterogeneous phenotype, with a majority of cells co-expressing M1 and M2 markers.

Conclusions

The intimal lining layer but not synovial sublining macrophages display an IL-10 polarized-like phenotype, with increased CD163 expression in SpA versus RA synovitis. These differences in the distribution of the polarized macrophage subset may contribute to the outcome of chronic synovitis.     

Effects of age,replicative lifespan and growth rate of human nucleus pulposus cells on selecting age range for cell-based biological therapies for degenerative disc diseases

Autologous disc cell implantation, growth factors and gene therapy appear to be promising therapies for disc regeneration. Unfortunately, the replicative lifespan and growth kinetics of human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells related to host age are unclear. We investigated the potential relations among age, replicative lifespan and growth rate of NP cells, and determined the age range that is suitable for cell-based biological therapies for degenerative disc diseases. We used NP tissues classified by decade into five age groups: 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. The mean cumulative population doubling level (PDL) and population doubling rate (PDR) of NP cells were assessed by decade. We also investigated correlations between cumulative PDL and age, and between PDR and age. The mean cumulative PDL and PDR decreased significantly in patients in their 60s. The mean cumulative PDL and PDR in the younger groups (30s, 40s and 50s) were significantly higher than those in the older groups (60s and 70s). There also were significant negative correlations between cumulative PDL and age, and between PDR and age. We found that the replicative lifespan and growth rate of human NP cells decreased with age. The replicative potential of NP cells decreased significantly in patients 60 years old and older. Young individuals less than 60 years old may be suitable candidates for NP cell-based biological therapies for treating degenerative disc diseases.     

Molecular modeling of cornulin (CRNN) for docking with phytocompounds from Justicia adhatoda L.

Cornulin (CRNN) is linked with tumour progression. Therefore, it is of interest to document data on the molecular modeling of cornulin (CRNN) for docking with phytocompounds (Pyrazinamide, Anisotine, Vasicinone, Vasicoline) from Justicia adhatoda L. Thus, we document the optimal binding features of these compounds with the cornulin model for further consideration.     

Molecular docking analysis of SARS-CoV-2 linked RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) with compounds from Plectranthus amboinicus

It is of interest to document the moelcular docking analysis of SARS-CoV-2 linked RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) with compounds from Plectranthus amboinicus. Hence, we report the binding features of rutin, Luteolin, Salvianolic acid A, Rosmarinic acid and p-Coumaric acid with the target protein SARS-CoV-2 linked RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) for further consideration.     

Characterisation factors for greenhouse gases at a midpoint level including indirect effects based on calculations with the IMAGE model

Background, Aims and Scope  

The traditional method of using Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) to assess the effects of climate change in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) does not account for indirect atmospheric effects like saturation effects and emissions of ozone precursors. The aim of this paper is to provide GWP values for LCA purposes of the most important climate related gases including indirect effects and assess whether these values are dependent of different background conditions and size of change in emissions fluxes.     

The measurement and modelling of the mechanical properties of human skin in vivo--I. The measurement

The mechanical properties of human skin in vivo are studied by means of uniaxial strain measurements. In order to obtain a stress-strain relationship which is independent of the in vivo measuring configuration, values for the effective width and effective length of the loaded skin strip have to be known. By variation of tab width and tab distance in a few series of experiments on the same subject, these effective values are found. In order to obtain a time independent stress-strain relationship a correction procedure is introduced. In this procedure the time dependent (viscoelastic) effects are described and subtracted from the total response.