High chloroplast haplotype diversity in Greek populations of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

The distribution of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variations in Greek beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) populations was studied using chloroplast microsatellite markers. Thirteen haplotypes were identified from 40 populations by combining three different primers. Most of the cpDNA variation was distributed among populations, but a considerable variation was also observed within populations. The total diversity was very high for all regions. The N_st/G_st comparison was significant, indicating phylogenetic subdivision, but no strong spatial structure was detected, suggesting complex post-glacial migration patterns. Possible scenarios explaining this diversity pattern include the existence of several separated refugia in the region, the recolonisation of mountains by different beech lineages and the formation of an introgression zone between two different beech subspecies in the eastern part of the country.     

Medium term planning of biopharmaceutical manufacture with uncertain fermentation titers

The growing trend of employing multiproduct manufacturing facilities along with the randomness inherent in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing environment is creating significant scheduling and planning challenges for the biopharmaceutical industry. This work focuses on capturing the effect of uncertainty in fermentation titers when optimizing the planning of biopharmaceutical manufacturing campaigns. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model based on previous work is derived via chance constrained programming (CCP). The methodology is applied to two illustrative examples, and the results are compared with those from the deterministic model and a multiscenario model accompanied by an iterative construction algorithm. The computational results indicate that the proposed methodology offers significant improvements in solution quality over the compared approaches and presents an opportunity for biopharmaceutical manufacturers to make better medium term planning decisions, particularly under uncertain manufacturing conditions.     

Foods of hunter-killed Black Francolins <Emphasis Type="Italic">(Francolinus francolinus)</Emphasis> in Cyprus

Using stomach content analysis, we studied the diet of the Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus) on the island of Cyprus during November and December of 2004 and 2005. The purpose of this study was to estimate the most important sources of food on its diet. Stomachs of Black Francolins were obtained from two study areas on Cyprus. We sampled 53 freshly hunter-killed specimens for dietary analysis. Our results showed that dietary intake reflected a generalist and omnivorous diet with seeds of cultivated crops and insects of the Coleoptera and Hymenoptera orders being the most commonly identified. Differences in food composition between the two study areas reflected differences in land use, suggesting that human management of Black Francolin habitat is critical in understanding and managing this important game species.     

Modes of morphogen cooperation for limb formation in vertebrates and insects.

Diffusing morphogens in cooperation can control gene expression in developing limbs. Additive cooperation corresponds to the Boolean operator OR and implies the equivalent action of the (suitably scaled) concentrations of two morphogens, either by their alternative binding to the same receptor or by another way of convergence of their effects during the signal transduction procedure. This cooperation can explain the spatial and temporal collinearities of the expression of hoxd genes in the vertebrate limb bud. A multiplicative cooperation of morphogens (corresponding to the Boolean operator AND), produced at the DPP and WG domains in the Drosophila leg imaginal disc, may account for the expression domains observed for Dll and dac. A molecular interpretation of the multiplicative morphogen cooperation is proposed. Some experiments are suggested for further testing of the model.     

pH control of the chlorophyll a fluorescence in algae

The pH of the suspension medium was found to have a remarkable influence on the “slow” (min) time course of Chlorophyll a fluorescence yield in the green alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa and in the blue-green alga Anacystis nidulans. In Chlorella, the decay of fluorescence yield, in the 1- to 5-min region, is strongly retarded at alkaline pH; this decay rate shows an optimum at pH 6–7. In Anacystis, the rise of fluorescence yield, in the same time range, is decreased optimally at pH 6–7; poisoning with 3(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea reverses the direction of this pH effect. These observations suggest a correlation of the H⁺ status (or the processes associated with it such as photophosphorylation and resulting conformational changes) of the chloroplast to the yield of chlorophyll a fluorescence in vivo.     

Novel cystic fibrosis mutation associated with mild disease in Cypriot patients

Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediter-ranean basin inhabited by people of Caucasian extraction, mostly Greek-Cypriots. The most common inherited disease among Caucasians is cystic fibrosis (CF). Although no careful scientific study had ever been done the impression was that CF was extremely rare among the Greek-Cypriots, with an incidence estimated at around 130,000. About 2 years ago, we introduced molecular diagnostic methodology in an effort to assist clinicians in safer diagnosis of patients presenting with atypical CF symptomatology, and also for testing the hypothesis that mutations that cause milder phenotypes might be responsible for misdiagnosis or for missing entirely some cases of CF. Initial screening for F508 revealed that it is indeed rare in the general population. Further screening of suspected CF patients revealed a novel mutation that converted leucine at position 346 to proline (L346P) in two unrelated families. The second CF mutation was F508 and 1677delTA in the two families respectively, both reportedly associated with severe phenotypes. Yet our patients did not present with typical CF pictures possibly because of the dominant nature of this novel mild mutation in exon 7. Symptoms included failure to thrive, chest infections and electrolyte disturbances. These findings raise the possibility that Cyprus might have been spared very severe CF phenotypes but not cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutations.     

The length weight relationship, age, growth and reproduction of the roach Rutilus rutilus (L.) in Lake Volvi

The length-weight relationship of a sample of 233 roach ( Rutilus rutilus ) can be described by the following equations: y =0·0356 x ^3·405 and y =0·0215 ×^3·606 for males and females respectively. In both equations y equals the body weight in grams and × is the standard length in centimetres. The average condition factor K was 2·01 with a range of 1·71 to 2·26. The roach's span of life was 13 years for both sexes. The growth increment is greater during the first year of life (about 56 mm), decreasing to approximately 17 mm at the end of the sixth year of life and then becoming constant at about 12 mm per year. Roach become sexually mature at age 1 + for males and one year later for females. The mean absolute fecundity was 9294 eggs; with a range from 920 to 32 810. The growth of the gonads is related to the age of the fish. Spawning occurs during the first half of April, at a mean water temperature of 10° C.     

Medium term planning of biopharmaceutical manufacture using mathematical programming

Regulatory pressures and capacity constraints are forcing the biopharmaceutical industry to consider employing multiproduct manufacturing facilities running on a campaign basis. The need for such flexible and cost-effective manufacture poses a significant challenge for planning and scheduling. This paper reviews the problem of planning and scheduling of biopharmaceutical manufacture and presents a methodology for the planning of multiproduct biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear program (MILP) to represent the relevant decisions required within the planning process and is tested on two typical biopharmaceutical industry planning problems. The proposed formulation is compared with an industrial rule based approach, which it outperforms in terms of profitability. The results indicate that the developed formulation offers an effective representation of the planning problem and would be a useful decision tool for manufacturers in the biopharmaceutical industry particularly at times of limited manufacturing capacity.     

Rapid alterations of serum fatty acids with the intravenous administration of an arachidonate solution

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been shown to possess a considerable anti-tumor and anti-bacterial effect in vitro. In an attempt to achieve serum concentrations of these acids similar to those applied in vitro, a solution of ethyl ester of arachidonic acid (AA) was administered intravenously at 25 mg/kg within 10 min in six male rabbits. Blood samples were collected before and 60 min after infusion from catheters inserted in the hepatic veins and in the carotid artery. Analysis of serum fatty acids was performed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Elevated concentrations of elongated fatty acids were detected in the hepatic veins after infusion. Mean concentrations of arachidonate in the hepatic veins and the carotid arteries after infusion of AA were 2.77 and 3.73 microM, respectively. It is concluded that the intravenous administration of a solution of AA might result in increased hepatic biosynthesis of serum saturated and unsaturated fatty acids of elongated carbon chains. The increasing interest for the application of PUFAs in therapeutics renders further study mandatory to clarify the significance of these findings.     

Structural similarities and differences in Staphylococcus aureus exfoliative toxins A and B as revealed by their crystal structures

Staphylococcal aureus epidermolytic toxins (ETs) A and B are responsible for the induction of staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, a disease of neonates and young children. The clinical features of this syndrome vary from localized blisters to severe exfoliation affecting most of the body surface. Comparison of the crystal structures of two subtypes of ETs-rETA (at 2.0 A resolution), rETB (at 2.8 A resolution), and an active site variant of rETA, Ser195Ala at 2.0 A resolution has demonstrated that their overall topology resembles that of a "trypsin-like" serine protease, but with significant differences at the N- and C-termini and loop regions. The details of the catalytic site in both ET structures are very similar to those in glutamate-specific serine proteases, suggesting a common catalytic mechanism. However, the "oxyanion hole," which is part of the catalytic sites of glutamate specific serine proteases, is in the closed or inactive conformation for rETA, yet in the open or active conformation for rETB. The ETs contain a unique amphipathic helix at the N-terminus, and it appears to be involved in optimizing the conformation of the catalytic site residues. Determination of the structure of the rETA catalytic site variant, Ser195Ala, showed no significant perturbation at the active site, establishing that the loss of biological and esterolytic activity can be attributed solely to disruption of the catalytic serine residue. Finally, the crystal structure of ETs, together with biochemical data and mutagenesis studies, strongly confirms the classification of these molecules as "serine proteases" rather than "superantigens."