Apomissia in “Ochna Serrulata„ Walp

Structural and functional characteristics of the photosynthetic apparatus in 15-day old Brassica rapa plants grown aboard the space shuttle Columbia (STS-87) have been studied. Maintaining of the same growth conditions for control plants was realized using the Orbiter Environmental Simulator in Kennedy Space Center. The main differences in spaceflight plants in comparison with control ones have been shown to be the following. An average volume of one mesophyll palisade cell increased approximately twice and the chloroplast number per cell by 69.8%. Partial volumes of stromal thylakoids, starch grains and plastoglobuli also increased by 19.4%, 20.6% and 2 times accordingly. At the same time, the grana number per chloroplast decreased. Greater diversity of the thylakoid length in grana and a decrease in thylakoid membrane stacking were revealed. A decrease of PSII and PSI light-harvesting antennae has been detected, for PSII by an increase of Chl a/b ratio and kinetics delay in chlorophyll fluorescence induction, and for PSI by a decrease of integral intensity in the excitation spectrum of fluorescence at 735?nm, which indicated a decline of PSI absorption cross-section. Some distortion of PSI complexes have been displayed by fluorescence spectra. A slight decrease in PSII photochemistry yield was detected for the spaceflight material. PSI is concluded to be more susceptible to the microgravity conditions.     

La Struttura Dell'Apice del Rizoma in Confronto Alla Struttura Dell'Apice del Fusto Aereo in “Equisetum Ramosissimum„ Desf

Riassunto

L'A. mette in rilievo le differenze esistenti fra l'apice dei fusti sotterranei e quello dei fusti aerei di Equisetum ramosissimum Desf. Tali differenze sono : secrezione di abbondante mucillaggine da parte delle cellule dell'epidermide esterna delle guaine pi[ugrave] periferiche che incappucciano l'apice dei rizomi, mentre le cellule epidermiche esterne delle guaine dei fusti aerei si differenziano nello stesso senso delle cellule epidermiche degli internodi; presenza di tricomi nella parte interna delle guaine che incappucciano l'apice del rizoma, tricomi che mancano nelle guaine dei fusti aerei; localizzazione dell'acerescimento in lunghezza al primo internodio del rizoma (quello pi[ugrave] vicino alla gemma apicale), mentre nei fusti aerei l'acerescimento è scaglionato su diversi internodi.

La mucillaggine che viene secreta dalle cellule epidermiche delle guaine del rizoma prende origine direttamente dai granuli d'amido, che sono abbondantissimi e particolarmente grossi in talli cellule all'inizio del processo di formazione della mucillaggine.     

Primi Dati Sull'andamento Stagionale delle Temperature del Troneo di Olivo

Abstract

Temperatures recorded in a olive-tree stem in 1961–1962. — In the Botanical Garden of Bari a temperature recorder has been placed, bearing 6 electrothermometers with platinum resistences having a sensitivity of 2,4 mm/C[ddot], with a recording approximation of 0,1 C[ddot].

The olive tree under examination is a grown-up tree, which has been pruned according to the local methode, and it belongs to a local breed named « Ogliarola leccese ».

— Five thermometers have been employed as follows: 1^rst in the air, hanging from the stem, m. 1,30, high; 2^nd into the outer bark, cm, 0,5 deep; 3^rd into the cambium, cm. 1,5 deep; 4^th into the sap-wood, cm. 6 deep; 5^th into the hearth-wood, cm. 22 deep.

— The thermometers were all placed on the east side of the stem.

— The figures and the graphs of the paper show that:

a) The whole stem of the specimen under examination has a mean temperature which is higher than that of the surrounding air.

b) The outer bark gets warmer than the air, during the day-time; during the night it gives up heat outside and inside, namely towards the stem tissues, particularly to the bark-cambium-sapwood zone, and also as far as the hearth wood zone.

c) The whole living zone of the stem (bark-cambium-sapwood) generally keeps temperature values intermediate between those of the outer bark and those of the air. The temperature values vary along the year.

d) In spring the cambium is warmer than the outer bark.

e) In winter cambium and sapwood generally have the same temperature. The temperature values recorded in this season are much lower than those of the outer bark and almost the same of those of the air.

f) The behaviour of temperature in cambium and sapwood is probably ruled by biological factors.

g) The hearth-wood keeps generally warmer than the air and cooler than other outer tissues. Its thermic rhytm is almost reversed in comparison with that of the outer tissues.

Il seems that hearth wood acts as an useful heat collector and distributor towards the living outer tissues during the diurnal and seasonal temperature remissions, at least in mild climates as that of Bari.     

Subthalamic local field beta oscillations during ongoing deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease in hyperacute and chronic phases

In the past years, local field potential (LFP) signals recorded from the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD) disclosed that DBS has a controversial effect on STN beta oscillations recorded 2-7 days after surgery for macroelectrode implantation. Nothing is known about these DBS-induced oscillatory changes 30 days after surgery. We recorded STN LFPs during ongoing DBS in 7 patients with PD, immediately (hyperacute phase) and 30 days (chronic phase) after surgery. STN LFP recordings showed stationary intranuclear STN beta LFP activity in hyperacute and chronic phases, confirming that beta peaks were also present in chronic recordings. Power spectra of nuclei with significant beta activity (54% of the sample) showed that it decreased significantly during DBS (p=0.021) under both recording conditions. The time course of beta activity showed more evident DBS-induced changes in the chronic than in the hyperacute phase (p=0.014). DBS-induced changes in STN beta LFPs in patients undergoing DBS in chronic phase provide useful information for developing a new neurosignal-controlled adaptive DBS system.     

Differentiation and migration properties of human foetal umbilical cord perivascular cells: potential for lung repair

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been derived from different cultured human tissues, including bone marrow, adipose tissue, amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood. Only recently it was suggested that MSC descended from perivascular cells, the latter being defined as CD146⁺ neuro‐glial proteoglycan (NG)2⁺ platelet‐derived growth factor‐Rβ⁺ ALP⁺ CD34^– CD45^– von Willebrand factor (vWF)^– CD144^–. Herein we studied the properties of perivascular cells from a novel source, the foetal human umbilical cord (HUC) collected from pre‐term newborns. By immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry we show that pre‐term/foetal HUCs contain more perivascular cells than their full‐term counterparts (2.5%versus 0.15%). Moreover, foetal HUC perivascular cells (HUCPC) express the embryonic cell markers specific embryonic antigen‐4, Runx1 and Oct‐4 and can be cultured over the long term. To further confirm the MSC identity of these cultured perivascular cells, we also showed their expression at different passages of antigens that typify MSC. The multilineage differentiative capacity of HUCPC into osteogenic, adipogenic and myogenic cell lineages was demonstrated in culture. In the perspective of a therapeutic application in chronic lung disease of pre‐term newborns, we demonstrated the in vitro ability of HUCPC to migrate towards an alveolar type II cell line damaged with bleomycin, an anti‐cancer agent with known pulmonary toxicity. The secretory profile exhibited by foetal HUCPC in the migration assay suggested a paracrine effect that could be exploited in various clinical conditions including lung disorders.     

How did the carrier shell Xenophora crispa (König, 1825) build its shell? Evidence from the Recent and fossil record

The genus Xenophora comprises species of marine gastropods (Cretaceous-Recent) able to add fragments of various origins to their shell surface. Agglutination potentials vary, from species lacking attachments to species completely covered by agglutinated materials, as in the Mediterranean species Xenophora crispa. Here, we analyse Recent and fossil specimens of Xenophora crispa from the Mediterranean area using SEM and XRD, to better understand their biomineralization patterns and the mechanisms leading to the agglutination of shells, bioclasts and lithoclasts, and their evolution in time. We also provide new data on poorly studied gastropod shell microstructures. We conclude that: (1) most of the Xenophora crispa shell consists of an aragonitic crossed lamellar fabric, but fibrous to spherulitic prismatic fabrics, seemingly of calcite, have been found in the columella and peripheral edge (the thickest parts of the shell); (2) attachment of objects is mediated by a prismatic microstructure, indicating that this may be the most functional fabric in attachment areas in molluscs; and (3) the functional purpose of the agglutination in Xenophora crispa may be related to a snowshoe strategy to successfully colonize muddy substrates, coupled with tactile and olfactory camouflage. Indeed, this species secretes in the columella and peripheral edge a less dense and a more organic rich calcitic fabric, possibly to lighten the shell thickest parts in order not to sink in soft sediments and to facilitate the shell raising from the substrate to create a protected feeding area. This behaviour seems to have been maintained by X. crispa over 2 My time span.     

Presence of Legionella and Free-Living Amoebae in Composts and Bioaerosols from Composting Facilities

Several species of Legionella cause Legionnaires’ disease (LD). Infection may occur through inhalation of Legionella or amoebal vesicles. The reservoirs of Legionella are water, soil, potting soil and compost. Some species of free-living amoebae (FLA) that are naturally present in water and soil were described as hosts for Legionella. This study aimed to understand whether or not the composting facilities could be sources of community-acquired Legionella infections after development of bioaerosols containing Legionella or FLA. We looked for the presence of Legionella (by co-culture) and FLA (by culture) in composts and bioaerosols collected at four composting facilities located in southern Switzerland. We investigated the association between the presence of Legionella and compost and air parameters and presence of FLA. Legionella spp. (including L. pneumophila) were detected in 69.3% (61/88) of the composts and FLA (mainly Acanthamoeba, Vermamoeba, Naegleria and Stenamoeba) in 92.0% (81/88). L. pneumophila and L. bozemanii were most frequently isolated. FLA as potential host for Legionella spp. were isolated from 40.9% (36/88) of the composts in all facilities. In Legionella-positive samples the temperature of compost was significantly lower (P = 0.012) than in Legionella-negative samples. Of 47 bioaerosol samples, 19.1% (9/47) were positive for FLA and 10.6% (5/47) for L. pneumophila. Composts (62.8%) were positive for Legionella and FLA contemporaneously, but both microorganisms were never detected simultaneously in bioaerosols. Compost can release bioaerosol containing FLA or Legionella and could represent a source of infection of community-acquired Legionella infections for workers and nearby residents.     

A Fasting Insulin–Raising Allele at IGF1 Locus Is Associated with Circulating Levels of IGF-1 and Insulin Sensitivity

Background

A meta-analysis of genome-wide data reported the discovery of the rs35767 polymorphism near IGF1 with genome-wide significant association with fasting insulin levels. However, it is unclear whether the effects of this polymorphism on fasting insulin are mediated by a reduced insulin sensitivity or impaired insulin clearance. We investigated the effects of the rs35767 polymorphism on circulating IGF-1 levels, insulin sensitivity, and insulin clearance.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Two samples of adult nondiabetic white Europeans were studied. In sample 1 (n=569), IGF-1 levels were lower in GG genotype carriers compared with A allele carriers (190±77 vs. 218±97 ng/ml, respectively; P=0.007 after adjusting for age, gender, and BMI). Insulin sensitivity assessed by euglycaemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp was lower in GG genotype carriers compared with A allele carriers (8.9±4.1 vs. 10.1±5.1 mg x Kg^-1 free fat mass x min^-1, respectively; P=0.03 after adjusting for age, gender, and BMI). The rs35767 polymorphism did not show significant association with insulin clearance. In sample 2 (n=859), IGF-1 levels were lower in GG genotype carriers compared with A allele carriers (155±60 vs. 164±63 ng/ml, respectively; P=0.02 after adjusting for age, gender, and BMI). Insulin sensitivity, as estimated by the HOMA index, was lower in GG genotype carriers compared with A allele carriers (2.8±2.2 vs. 2.5±1.3, respectively; P=0.03 after adjusting for age, gender, and BMI).

Conclusion/Significance

The rs35767 polymorphism near IGF1 was associated with circulating IGF-1 levels, and insulin sensitivity with carriers of the GG genotype exhibiting lower IGF-1 concentrations and insulin sensitivity as compared with subjects carrying the A allele.     

LRRK2 Affects Vesicle Trafficking,Neurotransmitter Extracellular Level and Membrane Receptor Localization

The leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene was found to play a role in the pathogenesis of both familial and sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD). LRRK2 encodes a large multi-domain protein that is expressed in different tissues. To date, the physiological and pathological functions of LRRK2 are not clearly defined. In this study we have explored the role of LRRK2 in controlling vesicle trafficking in different cellular or animal models and using various readouts. In neuronal cells, the presence of LRRK2^G2019S pathological mutant determines increased extracellular dopamine levels either under basal conditions or upon nicotine stimulation. Moreover, mutant LRRK2 affects the levels of dopamine receptor D1 on the membrane surface in neuronal cells or animal models. Ultrastructural analysis of PC12-derived cells expressing mutant LRRK2^G2019S shows an altered intracellular vesicle distribution. Taken together, our results point to the key role of LRRK2 to control vesicle trafficking in neuronal cells.     

Expression pattern of receptor activator of NFκB (RANK) in a series of primary solid tumors and related bone metastases

Receptor activator of NFκB ligand (RANKL), RANK, and osteoprotegerin (OPG) represent the key regulators of bone metabolism both in normal and pathological conditions, including bone metastases. To our knowledge, no previous studies investigated and compared RANK expression in primary tumors and in bone metastases from the same patient. We retrospectively examined RANK expression by immunohistochemistry in 74 bone metastases tissues from solid tumors, mostly breast, colorectal, renal, lung, and prostate cancer. For 40 cases, tissue from the corresponding primary tumor was also analyzed. Sixty‐six (89%) of the 74 bone metastases were RANK‐positive and, among these, 40 (59.5%) showed more than 50% of positive tumor cells. The median percentage of RANK‐positive cells was 60% in primary tumors and metastases, without any statistically significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.194). The same percentage was obtained by considering only cases with availability of samples both from primary and metastasis. Our study shows that RANK is expressed by solid tumors, with high concordance between bone metastasis and corresponding primary tumor. These data highlight the central role of RANK/RANKL/OPG pathway as potential therapeutic target not only in bone metastasis management, but also in the adjuvant setting. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 780–784, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.