Der einheitliche Bauplan der Angiospermengynözeen und die Homologie ihrer fertilen Abschnitte

Zusammenfassung Die Auffassung vom Gynözeum als einem verschieden festen, durch kongenitale oder postgenitale Verwachsung entstandenen Verband von verschieden stark peltaten Karpellen mit offenen oder geschlossenen Ventralspalten, die — nicht in dieser ausgeprägten Form, wohl aber in den Grundzügen — vonGoethe bisGoebel vertreten wurde, wird als die einfachste, ungezwungenste und umfassendste erwiesen.Jedes coenokarpe Gynözeum besitzt demnach einen die peltaten, sterilen, kongenital verwachsenen Karpellbasen umfassenden primär synkarpen Abschnitt, auf den, falls die Karpelle nicht völlig manifest peltat sind, nach oben eine Zone folgt, in der die Karpellränder stets ursprünglich frei und immer fertil sind. Bleiben die Karpellränder — im parakarpen Gynözeum — unverwachsen, so bleibt auch die Natur des fertilen Abschnittes offensichtlich. Verwachsen jedoch — in fast allen synkarpen Gynözeen — die fertilen Ränder postgenital (sekundär synkarper Abschnitt), so wird die eigentliche Natur des fertilen Abschnittes verwischt, so daß bei der Beobachtung des fertigen synkarpen Gynözeums der synkarpe Abschnitt im Gegensatz zum parakarpen fertil zu sein scheint, wasTroll bekannterweise veranlaßte, eine Verschiebung der Fertilität vom parakarpen in den synkarpen Abschnitt anzunehmen, welche Annahme also nicht nur nicht notwendig, sondern unrichtig ist, da sie auf der Nichtbeachtung der sekundär synkarpen Zone beruht. Die Homologie der fertilen (parakarpen) Zone im parakarpen Gynözeum und der fertilen (sekundär synkarpen) Region im synkarpen Fruchtknoten kann durch die ontogenetische Beobachtung eindeutig bewiesen werden.DaTroll und seine Schüler jede Postgenitalverwachsung zwischen den Karpellen eines typisch coenokarpen Gynözeums negieren und Gynözeen, deren Karpelle postgenital verwachsen als modifiziert apokarp bezeichnen, müßten konsequenterweise alle sekundär synkarpen Gynözeen — und es ist dies die überwiegende Mehrzahl der synkarpen Fruchtknoten — als modifiziert parakarp bezeichnet werden, wodurch 1. die Unrichtigkeit der Gegenüberstellung und Nichthomologisierung der parakarpen und synkarpen Zone erneut bestätigt wird, 2. deutlich gezeigt wird, daßTroll einen Abschnitt als synkarp bezeichnet, der nach seiner eigenen Auffassung gar nicht synkarp ist, und 3. erwiesen wird, daßTrolls Schema vom coenokarpen Gynözeum nur für Gynözeen mit völlig manifest peltaten Karpellen — d. h. nur für einen verschwindenden Bruchteil der synkarpen Gynözeen—Gültigkeit hat und daher hinfällig ist.     

Update on differences between childhood-onset and adult-onset systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease and occurs worldwide in both children and adults. The estimated annual incidence among children is 2.22/100,000 and among adults is 23.2/100,000 in the United States. There is increasing understanding about differences in disease manifestations, medication use, and disease severity between those with childhood-onset SLE as compared with adult-onset SLE. Children have a more fulminant disease onset and course than adults with SLE, resulting in two to three times higher mortality. In future years, we anticipate more insight into the genetics between childhood-onset SLE and adult-onset SLE to help delineate the best therapies for both subsets of patients.     

Success in Developing Regions: World Records Evolution through a Geopolitical Prism

A previous analysis of World Records (WR) has revealed the potential limits of human physiology through athletes'' personal commitment. The impact of political factors on sports has only been studied through Olympic medals and results. Here we studied 2876 WR from 63 nations in four summer disciplines. We propose three new indicators and show the impact of historical, geographical and economical factors on the regional WR evolution. The south-eastward path of weighted annual barycenter (i.e. the average of country coordinates weighting by the WR number) shows the emergence of East Africa and China in WR archives. Home WR ratio decreased from 79.9% before the second World War to 23.3% in 2008, underlining sports globalization. Annual Cumulative Proportions (ACP, i.e. the cumulative sum of the WR annual rate) highlight the regional rates of progression. For all regions, the mean slope of ACP during the Olympic era is 0.0101, with a maximum between 1950 and 1989 (0.0156). For European countries, this indicator reflects major historical events (slowdown for western countries after 1945, slowdown for eastern countries after 1990). Mean North-American ACP slope is 0.0029 over the century with an acceleration between 1950 and 1989 at 0.0046. Russia takes off in 1935 and slows down in 1988 (0.0038). For Eastern Europe, maximal progression is seen between 1970 and 1989 (0.0045). China starts in 1979 with a maximum between 1990 and 2008 (0.0021), while other regions have largely declined (mean ACP slope for all other countries  = 0.0011). A similar trend is observed for the evolution of the 10 best performers. The national analysis of WR reveals a precise and quantifiable link between the sport performances of a country, its historical or geopolitical context, and its steps of development.     

From Oxford to Hawaii ecophysiological barriers limit human progression in ten sport monuments

In order to understand the determinants and trends of human performance evolution, we analyzed ten outdoor events among the oldest and most popular in sports history. Best performances of the Oxford-Cambridge boat race (since 1836), the channel crossing in swimming (1875), the hour cycling record (1893), the Elfstedentocht speed skating race (1909), the cross country ski Vasaloppet (1922), the speed ski record (1930), the Streif down-hill in Kitzbühel (1947), the eastward and westward sailing transatlantic records (1960) and the triathlon Hawaii ironman (1978) all follow a similar evolutive pattern, best described through a piecewise exponential decaying model (r(2) = 0.95+/-0.07). The oldest events present highest progression curvature during their early phase. Performance asymptotic limits predicted from the model may be achieved in fourty years (2049+/-32 y). Prolonged progression may be anticipated in disciplines which further rely on technology such as sailing and cycling. Human progression in outdoor sports tends to asymptotic limits depending on physiological and environmental parameters and may temporarily benefit from further technological progresses.     

Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of mastocytosis according to the age of onset

Adult's mastocytosis is usually associated with persistent systemic involvement and c-kit 816 mutation, while pediatrics disease is mostly limited to the skin and often resolves spontaneously. We prospectively included 142 adult patients with histologically proven mastocytosis. We compared phenotypic and genotypic features of adults patients whose disease started during childhood (Group 1, n = 28) with those of patients whose disease started at adult's age (Group 2, n = 114). Genotypic analysis was performed on skin biopsy by sequencing of c-kit exons 17 and 8 to 13. According to WHO classification, the percentage of systemic disease was similar (75 vs. 73%) in 2 groups. C-kit 816 mutation was found in 42% and 77% of patients in groups 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.001). 816 c-kit mutation was associated with systemic mastocytosis in group 2 (87% of patients with systemic mastocytosis vs. 45% with cutaneous mastocytosis, p = 0.0001). Other c-kit activating mutations were found in 23% of patients with mastocytosis' onset before the age of 5, 0% between 6 and 15 years and 2% at adults' age (p<0.001). In conclusion, pathogenesis of mastocytosis significantly differs according to the age of disease's onset. Our data may have major therapeutic relevance when considering c-kit-targeted therapy.     

TGF-beta 1 prevents the noncognate maturation of human dendritic Langerhans cells

TGF-beta 1 is critical for differentiation of epithelial-associated dendritic Langerhans cells (LC). In accordance with the characteristics of in vivo LC, we show that LC obtained from human monocytes in vitro in the presence of TGF-beta 1 1) express almost exclusively intracellular class II Ags, low CD80, and no CD83 and CD86 Ags and 2) down-regulate TNF-RI (p55) and do not produce IL-10 after stimulation, in contrast to dermal dendritic cells and monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Surprisingly, while LC exhibit E-cadherin down-regulation upon exposure to TNF-alpha and IL-1, TGF-beta 1 prevents the final LC maturation in response to TNF-alpha, IL-1, and LPS with respect to Class II CD80, CD86, and CD83 Ag expression, loss of FITC-dextran uptake, production of IL-12, and Ag presentation. In sharp contrast, CD40 ligand cognate signal induces full maturation of LC and is not inhibited by TGF-beta 1. The presence of emigrated immature LCs in human reactive skin-draining lymph nodes provides in vivo evidence that LC migration and final maturation may be differentially regulated. Therefore, due to the effects of TGF-beta 1, inflammatory stimuli may not be sufficient to induce full maturation of LC, thus avoiding potentially harmful immune responses. We conclude that TGF-beta 1 appears to be responsible for both the acquisition of LC phenotype, cytokine production pattern, and prevention of noncognate maturation.     

Protein undernutrition reduces the efficacy of praziquantel in a murine model of Schistosoma mansoni infection

BackgroundUndernutrition and schistosomiasis are public health problems and often occur in low and middle-income countries. Protein undernutrition can alter the host-parasite environment system and aggravate the course of schistosomiasis. This study aimed to assess the impact of a low-protein diet on the efficacy of praziquantel.Methodology/Principal findingsThirty-day-old mice were fed with a low-protein diet, and 40 days later, they were individually infected with fifty Schistosoma mansoni cercariae. A 28-day-treatment with praziquantel at 100 mg/kg for five consecutive days followed by distilled water begins on the 36^th day post-infection. Mice were sacrificed on the 64^th day post-infection. We determined the parasitological burden, liver and intestine histomorphometry, liver injury, and immunomodulation parameters. Praziquantel treatment of infected mice fed with a standard diet (IN-PZQ) resulted in a significant reduction of worm and egg burdens and a normalization of iron and calcium levels. The therapy also improved schistosomiasis-induced hepatopathy and oxidative stress. The anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities of praziquantel were also significant in these mice. When infected mice receiving the low-protein diet were treated with praziquantel (ILP-PZQ), the body weight loss and hepatomegaly were not alleviated, and the worm and liver egg burdens were significantly higher than those of IN-PZQ mice (P < 0.001). The treatment did not reduce the increased activities of ALT and γ-GGT, the high malondialdehyde concentration, and the liver granuloma volume. The iron and calcium levels were not ameliorated and differed from those of IN-PZQ mice (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05). Moreover, in these mice, praziquantel treatment did not reverse the high level of IL-5 and the low mRNA expression of CCL3/MIP-1α and CXCL-10/IP-10 induced by S. mansoni infection.Conclusion/SignificanceThese results demonstrated that a low-protein diet reduced the schistosomicidal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activities of praziquantel.     

Das Zustandekommen „offener“ Angiospermengynözeen

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