The Content of Fluoride, Calcium and Magnesium in the Hair of Young Men of the Bantu Language Group from Tanzania Versus Social Conditioning

The present study aimed at analysing the content of fluorine (F), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the hair of young male students (n?=?52) of a secondary school in Mafinga in Tanzania (Africa) who participated in anthropological examinations. Ca and Mg concentrations were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer while F levels using a potentiometric method. F in the hair of boys from older group (≥16 years old; n?=?24) was significantly higher than in the younger group (<16 years old; n?=?28) versus Ca and Mg levels. High carbohydrate diet was predominant—mainly based on corn or bean and meat served once a week, with few fruit and raw vegetables. Collective catering in the dormitory reflected habits and culinary preferences at home. The lack of balanced diet, with majority of the nutritional energy supplied by easily accessible and cheap carbohydrates, was reflected in dietary deficiencies, characterised, among others, by visible skin conditions and tooth decay.     

One-pot synthesis and cytotoxicity studies of new Mannich base derivatives of polyether antibiotic—Lasalocid acid

Seven Mannich base derivatives of polyether antibiotic Lasalocid acid (2a–2g) were synthesized and screened for their antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines. A novel chemoselective one-pot synthesis of these Mannich bases was developed. Compounds 2a–2c and 2g with sterically smaller dialkylamine substituent, displayed potent antiproliferative activity (IC₅₀: 3.2–7.3 μM), and demonstrated higher than twofold selectivity for specific type of cancer. The nature of Mannich base substituent on C-2 atom at the aromatic ring may be critical in the search for selectivity towards a particular cancer cell.     

Pregnancy and Delivery in Patients with Mastocytosis Treated at the Polish Center of the European Competence Network on Mastocytosis (ECNM)

Objective

To present current guidelines regarding treatment of mastocytosis in pregnancy on the example of observed patients.

Design

Case control national study.

Setting

Polish Center of the European Competence Network on Mastocytosis (ECNM).

Population or Sample

23 singleton spontaneous pregnancies in 17 women diagnosed with mastocytosis in years 1999–2014, before becoming pregnant.

Methods

Prospective analysis outcomes of pregnancies and deliveries.

Main Outcome Measures

Survey developed in cooperation with the Spanish Instituto de Estudios de Mastocitosis de Castilla-La Mancha (CLMast), Hospital Virgen del Valle, Toledo, Red Espańola de Mastocitosis (REMA), Spain.

Results

All 23 pregnancies resulted from natural conception. Obstetrical complications recorded in the first trimester included spontaneous miscarriage (5 pregnancies). Four patients delivered preterm, including one delivery due to preeclampsia at 26 weeks which resulted with neonate death due to extreme prematurity. Five women delivered via cesarean: four due to obstetrical indications and one due to mastocytosis, during which no anesthesia related complications were recorded. Of patients delivering vaginally, two received extradural anesthesia, three required oxytocin infusion due to uterine hypotonia. No labor complications were recorded. In one woman with pregnancy-induced hypertension, early puerperium was complicated by the presence of persistent arterial hypertension. One neonate was born with the signs of cutaneous mastocytosis. Another neonate was diagnosed with Patau syndrome. Four women were treated for mastocytosis prior to conception and continued therapy after becoming pregnant. One patient was put on medications in the first trimester due to worsening of her symptoms. Pregnancy exerted only a slight effect on the intensity and frequency of mastocytosis-related symptoms observed. Worsening of the disease-related symptoms was documented in only four patients (23%). None of the patients showed the signs of anaphylaxis, either before becoming pregnant, or during pregnancy and puerperium.

Conclusions

There is no contraindication to pregnancy when mastocystosis-related pathologies are under appropriate medical control.     

Cities through the Prism of People’s Spending Behavior

Scientific studies of society increasingly rely on digital traces produced by various aspects of human activity. In this paper, we exploit a relatively unexplored source of data–anonymized records of bank card transactions collected in Spain by a big European bank, and propose a new classification scheme of cities based on the economic behavior of their residents. First, we study how individual spending behavior is qualitatively and quantitatively affected by various factors such as customer’s age, gender, and size of his/her home city. We show that, similar to other socioeconomic urban quantities, individual spending activity exhibits a statistically significant superlinear scaling with city size. With respect to the general trends, we quantify the distinctive signature of each city in terms of residents’ spending behavior, independently from the effects of scale and demographic heterogeneity. Based on the comparison of city signatures, we build a novel classification of cities across Spain in three categories. That classification exhibits a substantial stability over different city definitions and connects with a meaningful socioeconomic interpretation. Furthermore, it corresponds with the ability of cities to attract foreign visitors, which is a particularly remarkable finding given that the classification was based exclusively on the behavioral patterns of city residents. This highlights the far-reaching applicability of the presented classification approach and its ability to discover patterns that go beyond the quantities directly involved in it.     

Conversion of oat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Avena sativa</Emphasis> L.) haploid embryos into plants in relation to embryo developmental stage and regeneration media

Obtaining oat DH lines is only effective via wide crossing with maize. Seven hundred haploid embryos from 21 single F₁ progeny obtained from wide crosses with maize were isolated, divided into four groups according to their size (<0.5 mm, 0.5–0.9 mm, 1.0–1.4 mm, and ≥1.5 mm), and transferred into 190–2 regeneration medium with different growth regulators: 0.5 mg L^?1 kinetin (KIN) and 0.5 mg L^?1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA); 1 mg L^?1 zeatin (ZEA) and 0.5 mg L^?1 NAA; or 1 mg L^?1 dicamba (DIC), 1 mg L^?1 picloram (PIC), and 0.5 mg L^?1 kinetin (KIN). Among all isolated embryos, approximately 46.1% were between 1.0–1.4 mm, while the smallest group of embryos (7.1%) were those <0.5 mm. The ability of haploid embryos to germinate varied depending on oat genotypes and the size of embryos. Haploid embryos <0.5 mm were globular and did not germinate, whereas embryos ≥1.5 mm had clearly visible coleoptiles, radicles, and scutella, and were able to germinate. Germination of oat haploid embryos varied depending on growth regulators in the regeneration medium. Most haploid embryos germinated on medium with 0.5 mg L^?1 NAA and 0.5 mg L^?1 KIN, while the fewest germinated on medium with 1 mg L^?1 DIC, 1 mg L^?1 PIC, and 0.5 mg L^?1 KIN. One hundred thirty germinated haploid embryos converted into haploid plants. Fifty oat DH lines were obtained after colchicine treatment.     

Alpha1-antitrypsin, old dog, new tricks. Alpha1-antitrypsin exerts in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in human monocytes by elevating cAMP

Regulation of serine protease activity is considered to be the sole mechanism for the function of alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT). However, recent reports of the anti-inflammatory effects of AAT are hard to reconcile with this classical mechanism. We discovered that two key activities of AAT in vitro, namely inhibition of endotoxin-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha and enhancement of interleukin-10 in human monocytes, are mediated by an elevation of cAMP and activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A. As expected with this type of mechanism, the AAT-mediated rise in cAMP and the impact on endotoxin-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-10 was enhanced when the catabolism of cAMP was blocked by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor rolipram. These effects were still observed with modified forms of AAT lacking protease inhibitor activity.     

Identification of Biomarkers of Mercury Contamination in Brachyplatystoma filamentosum of the Madeira River,Brazil, Using Metalloproteomic Strategies

Biological Trace Element Research - Predator fish can accumulate high levels of mercury, which qualifies them as potential indicators of this toxic metal. The predatory species Brachyplatystoma...     

Regulation of alternative oxidase activity during phosphate deficiency in bean roots (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Cyanide-resistant respiration was studied in mitochondria isolated from the roots of bean plants ( Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Złota Saxa) grown hydroponically up to 16 days on a phosphate-sufficient (+P, control) or phosphate-deficient (−P) medium. Western blotting indicated that the alternative oxidase (AOX) was present only in its reduced (active) form, both in phosphate-sufficient and phosphate-deficient roots, but in the latter, the amount of AOX protein was greater. Addition of pyruvate to the isolation, washing and reaction media made mitochondria from +P roots cyanide-insensitive, similar to mitochondria from −P roots. The doubled activity of NAD-malic enzyme (NAD-ME) in −P compared with +P root mitochondria may suggest increased pyruvate production in −P mitochondria. Lower cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity and no uncoupler effect on respiration indicated limited cytochrome chain activity in −P mitochondria. In −P mitochondria, the oxygen uptake decreased and the level of Q reduction increased from 60 to 80%. With no pyruvate present (AOX not fully activated), inhibition of the cytochrome pathway resulted in an increased level of the ratio of reduced ubiquinone (Qr) to total ubiquinone (Qt) (Qr/Qt) in +P mitochondria, but did not change Qr/Qt in −P mitochondria. When pyruvate was present, the kinetics for AOX were similar in mitochondria from −P and +P roots. It is suggested that AOX participation in −P respiration may provide an acclimation to phosphate deficiency. Stabilization of the ubiquinone reduction level by AOX might prevent the harmful effect of an increased formation of reactive oxygen species.     

Biochemical characterization of the tobacco 42-kD protein kinase activated by osmotic stress

In tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), hyperosmotic stress induces rapid activation of a 42-kD protein kinase, referred to as Nicotiana tabacum osmotic stress-activated protein kinase (NtOSAK). cDNA encoding the kinase was cloned and, based on the predicted amino acid sequence, the enzyme was assigned to the SNF1-related protein kinase type 2 (SnRK2) family. The identity of the enzyme was confirmed by immunoprecipitation of the active kinase from tobacco cells subjected to osmotic stress using antibodies raised against a peptide corresponding to the C-terminal sequence of the kinase predicted from the cloned cDNA. A detailed biochemical characterization of NtOSAK purified from stressed tobacco cells was performed. Our results show that NtOSAK is a calcium-independent Ser/Thr protein kinase. The sequence of putative phosphorylation sites recognized by NtOSAK, predicted by the computer program PREDIKIN, resembled the substrate consensus sequence defined for animal and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) AMPK/SNF1 kinases. Our experimental data confirmed these results, as various targets for AMPK/SNF1 kinases were also efficiently phosphorylated by NtOSAK. A range of protein kinase inhibitors was tested as potential modulators of NtOSAK, but only staurosporine, a rather nonspecific protein kinase inhibitor, was found to abolish the enzyme activity. In phosphorylation reactions, NtOSAK exhibited a preference for Mg(2+) over Mn(2+) ions and an inability to use GTP instead of ATP as a phosphate donor. The enzyme activity was not modulated by 5'-AMP. To our knowledge, these results represent the first detailed biochemical characterization of a kinase of the SnRK2 family.