Ceruloplasmin serum level in post-menopausal women treated with oral estrogens administered at different times.

The liver is an estrogen-responsive organ and the administration of estrogens in humans increases the hepatic synthesis of many proteins. The existence of a circadian rhythm of estrogen receptors in the liver has been proved by different authors. We studied the presence of a different responsiveness of the human liver to the estrogens in two groups of post-menopausal women by evaluating the changes in ceruloplasmin serum level. Conjugated equine estrogens were administered at different times (A: 8 a.m. and B: 8 p.m.). The replacement therapy increased ceruloplasmin serum levels both in group A and B, but the increase was higher in group B than in group A. These data reflect indirectly the presence of a circadian rhythm of hepatic responsiveness to the estrogens.     

From Innovation to Diversification: A Simple Competitive Model

Few attempts have been proposed in order to describe the statistical features and historical evolution of the export bipartite matrix countries/products. An important standpoint is the introduction of a products network, namely a hierarchical forest of products that models the formation and the evolution of commodities. In the present article, we propose a simple dynamical model where countries compete with each other to acquire the ability to produce and export new products. Countries will have two possibilities to expand their export: innovating, i.e. introducing new goods, namely new nodes in the product networks, or copying the productive process of others, i.e. occupying a node already present in the same network. In this way, the topology of the products network and the country-product matrix evolve simultaneously, driven by the countries push toward innovation.     

A High-Throughput Fatty Acid Profiling Screen Reveals Novel Variations in Fatty Acid Biosynthesis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Related Algae

Analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) by gas chromatography (GC) is a common technique for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of acyl lipids. Methods for FAME preparation are typically time-consuming and labor-intensive and require multiple transfers of reagents and products between reaction tubes and autosampler vials. In order to increase throughput and lower the time and materials costs required for FAME preparation prior to GC analysis, we have developed a method in which 10-to-20-mg samples of microbial biomass are transferred to standard GC autosampler vials, transesterified using an emulsion of methanolic trimethylsulfonium hydroxide and hexane, and analyzed directly by GC without further sample handling. This method gives results that are essentially identical to those obtained by the more labor- and material-intensive FAME preparation methods, such as transmethylation with methanolic HCl. We applied this method to the screening of laboratory and environmental isolates of the green alga Chlamydomonas for variations in fatty acid composition. This screening method facilitated two novel discoveries. First, we identified a common laboratory strain of C. reinhardtii, CC-620, completely lacking all ω-3 fatty acids normally found in this organism and showed that this strain contains an inactivating mutation in the CrFAD7 gene, encoding the sole ω-3 desaturase activity in this organism. Second, we showed that some species of Chlamydomonas make Δ6-unsaturated polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) rather than the Δ5 species normally made by the previously characterized laboratory strains of Chlamydomonas, suggesting that there is species-specific variation in the regiospecificity and substrate selectivity of front-end desaturases in this algal genus.     

Immunoglobulin A Targets a Unique Subset of the Microbiota in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

1. Download : Download high-res image (156KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Adenocarcinoma of the human exocrine pancreas: presence of secretin and caerulein receptors

We have measured the cytochrome compositions of subfractions derived from appressed and non-appressed thylakoids by centrifugation and aqueous two-phase partition. Cytochrome $\text{b}$-559 (HP) was not detectable in the fraction derived from non-appressed thylakoids. Cytochromes $\text{f}\text{,}\text{b}$-563 and $\text{b}$-559 (LP) were all evenly distributed throughout the thylakoid membrane. This distribution points to plastocyanin as a possible lateral shuttle of reducing equivalents between spatially separated photosystems.Cytochrome $\text{f}$ was accessible to externally added plastocyanin in the inside-out vesicles but not in vesicles of normal sidedness. This strongly supports a location at the inner side of the thylakoid membrane. Cytochrome $\text{b}$-563 was slowly reduced by dithionite in vesicles with both normal and inside-out orientation suggesting a location within the membrane interior.     

Evaluating the efficiency of enzyme accelerated CO2 capture: chemical kinetics modelling for interpreting measurement results

In this paper, the efficiency of the carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme in accelerating the hydration of CO₂ is evaluated using a measurement system which consists of a vessel in which a gaseous flow of mixtures of nitrogen and CO₂ is bubbled into water or water solutions containing a known quantity of CA enzyme. The pH value of the solution and the CO₂ concentration at the measurement system gas exhaust are continuously monitored. The measured CO₂ level allows for assessing the quantity of CO₂, which, subtracted from the gaseous phase, is dissolved into the liquid phase and/or hydrated to bicarbonate. The measurement procedure consists of inducing a transient and observing and modelling the different kinetics involved in the steady-state recovery with and without CA. The main contribution of this work is exploiting dynamical system theory and chemical kinetics modelling for interpreting measurement results for characterising the activity of CA enzymes. The data for model fitting are obtained from a standard bioreactor, in principle equal to standard two-phase bioreactors described in the literature, in which two different techniques can be used to move the process itself away from the steady-state, inducing transients.     

Effects of including endurance and speed sessions within small-sided soccer games periodization on physical fitness

The main aim of this study was to analyse the effects of including additional speed and endurance sessions during small-sided games (SSG) training periodization on physical fitness in professional soccer players. Sixteen outfield players (age = 25.6 ± 7.6 years) who competed in the First Division of a European League participated in this study. Players were randomly assigned to perform only the SSG periodization (G-SSG group) or to add endurance and speed training contents to the SSG (ES-SSG group). Before and after the 6-week experimental period, a Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test level 1 (YYIR1) and a 40 m sprinting test were performed. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was also measured after each training session. The G-SSG group showed a large improvement in the YYIR1 performance (p = 0.018–0.028; ES = 0.521–0.576) after the training programme, whereas no significant changes were observed for the ES-SSG group (p = 0.763–1.000; ES = 0.000–0.014). In addition, no significant differences (p > 0.05, ES = 0.005–361, trivial to small) in sprint performance at 5 and 10 m intervals up to 40 m were observed at post-training in comparison to pre-training evaluation in G-SSG and ES-SSG groups. No significant differences (p > 0.05) between groups were observed at baseline in the YYIR1 test. The 6-week SSG training supported with only six endurance and speed training sessions was no more effective than well-organized SSG alone for improving running endurance in professional soccer players.     

Une forme de cryptorchidie d’origine génétique: le syndrome de persistance des canaux de Müller

Persistent Müllerian duct syndrome (PMDS), a rare form of male peudohermaphrodism, is characterized by lack of regression of Müllerian derivatives. These patients are externally phenotypic males in whom the presence of a uterus and Fallopian tubes is discovered during surgical correction of cryptorchidism and/or inguinal hernia. Molecular studies, in a total of 76 PMDS families, were performed by automatic sequencing after amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of different parts of the gene. AMH, synthesized by Sertoli cells, is a member of the Transforming Growth Factor-β superfamily. The 560 amino-acid glycoprotein is formed by two 70 kDa monomers linked by disulfide bonds. This hormone is cleaved at a proteolytic site 109 amino acids upstream of the C-terminus, yielding the bioactive C-terminal domain and a N-terminus which is not itself bioactive, but which enhances the bioactivity of the C-terminus. The gene, composed of five exons, is located on chromosome 19 (band p13.3). AMH gene mutations are present on the whole length of the gene in 47% of PMDS families. Sixty-one per cent were homozygous due to a high proportion of patients from Arabic or Mediterranean countries, characterized by a high rate of consanguinity. The serum AMH level, assessed by a commercially available enzyme immunoassay technique (ELISA), is extremely low in the great majority of patients, even before puberty when AMH levels are normally high. AMH binds to two distinct membrane-bound receptors, both serine/threonine kinases. The type II AMH receptor (AMHR-II) binds to the ligand, and this complex recruits receptor type I, which acts as a signal transducer by activating specific cytoplasmic substrates, the Smad molecules. AMHR-II, coded by a 8 kbp gene on chromosome 12 (band q13), contains 11 exons. Exons 1–3 encode the extracellular domain, exon 4 encodes the transmembrane part and exons 5–11 encode the intracellular serine/threonine kinase domain. An AMHR-II mutation was detected in 38% of PMDS families, characterized by a normal AMH level for the patient’s age. A particular mutation, a deletion of 27 bp in exon 10, was present in 45% of families of this group. No mutation of either AMH or the AMHR-II gene could be detected in 11 PMDS families.     

FARMIT: continuous assessment of crop quality using machine learning and deep learning techniques for IoT-based smart farming

Cluster Computing - The race for automation has reached farms and agricultural fields. Many of these facilities use the Internet of Things technologies to automate processes and increase...     

Effect of near-infrared and blue laser light on vero E6 cells SARS-CoV-2 infection model

Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) employing laser light has been emerging as a safe strategy to challenge viruses. In this study the effect of blue and near-infrared (NIR) laser light was assessed in an in vitro model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. PBMT at blue wavelength inhibited viral amplification when the virus was directly irradiated and then transferred to cell culture and when cells already infected were treated. The NIR wavelength resulted less efficacious showing a minor effect on the reduction of the viral load. The cells receiving the irradiated virus or directly irradiated rescued their viability to level comparable to not treated cells. Virion integrity and antigenicity were preserved after blue and NIR irradiation, suggesting that the PBMT antiviral effect was not correlated to viral lipidic envelope disruption. Our results suggested that PBMT can be considered a valid strategy to counteract SARS-CoV-2 infection, at least in vitro.