Babassu palm (Attalea speciosa Mart.) super-dominance shapes its surroundings via multiple biotic,soil chemical,and physical interactions and accumulates soil carbon: a case study in eastern Amazonia

Plant and Soil - Aggressive ruderal plant species pose an increasing problem in anthropically degraded lands. They both affect and are affected by other vegetation and by soil fertility in their...     

Phagosomes induced by cytokines function as anti-Listeria vaccines: novel role for functional compartmentalization of STAT-1 protein and cathepsin-D

Phagosomes are critical compartments for innate immunity. However, their role in the protection against murine listeriosis has not been examined. We describe here that listericidal phago-receptosomes are induced by the function of IFN-γ or IL-6 as centralized compartments for innate and adaptive immunity because they are able to confer protection against murine listeriosis. These phago-receptosomes elicited LLO(91-99)/CD8(+)- and LLO(189-201)/CD4(+)-specific immune responses and recruited mature dendritic cells to the vaccination sites controlled by T cells. Moreover, they present exceptional features as efficient vaccine vectors. First, they compartmentalize a novel listericidal STAT-1-mediated signaling pathway that confines multiple innate immune components to the same environment. Second, they show features of MHC class II antigen-loading competent compartments for cathepsin-D-mediated LLO processing. Third, murine cathepsin-D deficiencies fail to develop protective immunity after vaccination with listericidal phago-receptosomes induced by IFN-γ or IL-6. Therefore, it appears that the connection of STAT-1 and cathepsin-D in a single compartment is relevant for protection against listeriosis.     

p27kip1 protein levels reflect a nexus of oncogenic signaling during cell transformation

SV40 small t-antigen (ST) collaborates with SV40 large T-antigen (LT) and activated rasv12 to promote transformation in a variety of immortalized human cells. A number of oncogenes or the disruption of the general serine-threonine phosphatase protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) can replace ST in this paradigm. However, the relationship between these oncogenes and PP2A activity is not clear. To address this, we queried the connectivity of these molecules in silico. We found that p27 was connected to each of those oncogenes that could substitute for ST. We further determined that p27 loss can substitute for the expression of ST during transformation of both rodent and human cells. Conversely, knock-in cells expressing the degradation-resistant S10A and T187A mutants of p27 were resistant to the transforming activities of ST. This suggests that p27 is an important target of the tumor-suppressive effects of PP2A and likely an important target of the multitude of cellular oncoproteins that emulate the transforming function of ST.     

The cell death protease Kex1p is essential for hypochlorite-induced apoptosis in yeast

Following microbial pathogen invasion, the human immune system of activated phagocytes generates and releases the potent oxidant hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which contributes to the killing of menacing microorganisms. Though tightly controlled, HOCl generation by the myeloperoxidase-hydrogen peroxide-chloride system of neutrophils/monocytes may occur in excess and lead to tissue damage. It is thus of marked importance to delineate the molecular pathways underlying HOCl cytotoxicity in both microbial and human cells. Here, we show that HOCl induces the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptotic cell death and the formation of specific HOCl-modified epitopes in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Interestingly, HOCl cytotoxicity can be prevented by treatment with ROS scavengers, suggesting oxidative stress to mediate the lethal effect. The executing pathway involves the pro-apoptotic protease Kex1p, since its absence diminishes HOCl-induced production of ROS, apoptosis and protein modification. By characterizing HOCl-induced cell death in yeast and identifying a corresponding central executor, these results pave the way for the use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in HOCl research, not least given that it combines both being a microorganism as well as a model for programmed cell death in higher eukaryotes.     

Computational simulation of internal bone remodelling around dental implants: a sensitivity analysis

This study aimed to predict the distribution of bone trabeculae, as a density change per unit time, around a dental implant based on applying a selected mathematical remodelling model. The apparent bone density change as a function of the mechanical stimulus was the base of the applied remodelling model that describes disuse and overload bone resorption. The simulation was tested in a finite element model of a screw-shaped dental implant in an idealised bone segment. The sensitivity of the simulation to different mechanical parameters was investigated; these included element edge length, boundary conditions, as well as direction and magnitude of the implant loads. The alteration in the mechanical parameters had a significant influence on density distribution and model stability, in particular at the cortical bone region. The remodelling model could succeed to achieve trabeculae-like structure around osseointegrated dental implants. The validation of this model to a real clinical case is required.     

Development of the sperm head in the caddis fly Potamophylax rotundipennis (Insecta,Trichoptera)

The restructuring of the sperm head has been examined in a caddis fly, Potamophylax rotundipennis (Limnephilidae), using light and electron microscopy. The roughly spherical nuclei of young spermatids are transformed into needle-shaped elements in advanced spermatids. During this process, the nuclei transiently become sickle-shaped. Prominent structural changes occur within the nucleus during spermiogenesis. The chromatin of spherical and slightly elongated nuclei has an amorphous appearance, then coarse granules become apparent, chromatin threads are visible in fully elongated nuclei and finally lamellar elements appear. During the changes in chromatin texture, a dense layer, the chromatin rim, develops transiently. This feature of the chromatin surface is interpreted as the structural expression of exchanges between nucleus and cytoplasm. A microtubular manchette is formed at the cytoplasmic face of the nuclear envelope. Whereas the manchette covers the full perimeter of the nucleus in early stages of elongation, gaps in the palisade of microtubules appear before the nuclear diameter decreases and needle-shaped nuclei develop. It is possible that the intermittent deployment of manchette microtubules is involved in reducing the nuclear diameter towards the end of nuclear elongation. The delayed detachment of the chromatin from the posterior pole of the nucleus, observed at the onset of nuclear clongation, points to local modifications of the nuclear envelope responsible for the connection of the centriole adjunct and the flagellum with the posterior pole of the nucleus.     

Geostrategic Supply Risk and Economic Importance as Drivers for Implementation of Industrial Ecology Measures in a Nitrogen Fertilizer Production Company

Among other concerns, safeguarding the supply chains of raw materials is an important task for industrial companies. Therefore, not surprisingly, the number of scientific publications concerning the evaluation of resource criticality has increased in recent years. However, it was noticed that currently published methodologies are too complex to be applied by industrial companies on a daily basis. For this reason, the need to develop a methodology that would allow not only assessing resource criticality, but could also be integrated into widely applied methodological frameworks as an additional driver to improve resource efficiency was identified. Geostrategic supply risk and economic importance were chosen as key indicators to analyze and assess relative resource criticality. The developed methodology was field tested by applying it to a resource‐intensive nitrogen fertilizer production company. Five scenarios for resource efficiency improvements, consisting of cleaner production and industrial symbiosis measures, were investigated. If all the proposed measures were implemented, consumption of natural gas would decrease by 3.552 million cubic meters per year (0.3% of the total consumption). However, not all identified measures contribute to a reduction of the overall criticality of resources for the production company. Nevertheless, the integration of criticality assessments into the widely applied methodologies for development and implementation of resource efficiency innovations is a valuable addition and should be included in the analysis for sustainable innovations and development.     

Negative Feedback Enables Fast and Flexible Collective Decision-Making in Ants

Positive feedback plays a major role in the emergence of many collective animal behaviours. In many ants pheromone trails recruit and direct nestmate foragers to food sources. The strong positive feedback caused by trail pheromones allows fast collective responses but can compromise flexibility. Previous laboratory experiments have shown that when the environment changes, colonies are often unable to reallocate their foragers to a more rewarding food source. Here we show both experimentally, using colonies of Lasius niger, and with an agent-based simulation model, that negative feedback caused by crowding at feeding sites allows ant colonies to maintain foraging flexibility even with strong recruitment to food sources. In a constant environment, negative feedback prevents the frequently found bias towards one feeder (symmetry breaking) and leads to equal distribution of foragers. In a changing environment, negative feedback allows a colony to quickly reallocate the majority of its foragers to a superior food patch that becomes available when foraging at an inferior patch is already well underway. The model confirms these experimental findings and shows that the ability of colonies to switch to a superior food source does not require the decay of trail pheromones. Our results help to resolve inconsistencies between collective foraging patterns seen in laboratory studies and observations in the wild, and show that the simultaneous action of negative and positive feedback is important for efficient foraging in mass-recruiting insect colonies.