Interactions of Photobleaching and Inorganic Nutrients in Determining Bacterial Growth on Colored Dissolved Organic Carbon

Abstract Bacteria are key organisms in the processing of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in aquatic ecosystems. Their growth depends on both organic substrates and inorganic nutrients. The importance of allochthonous DOC, usually highly colored, as bacterial substrate can be modified by photobleaching. In this study, we examined how colored DOC (CDOC) photobleaching, and phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) availability, affect bacterial growth. Five experiments were conducted, manipulating nutrients (P and N) and sunlight exposure. In almost every case, nutrient additions had a significant, positive effect on bacterial abundance, production, and growth efficiency. Sunlight exposure (CDOC photobleaching) had a significant, positive effect on bacterial abundance and growth efficiency. We also found a significant, positive interaction between these two factors. Thus, bacterial use of CDOC was accelerated under sunlight exposure and enhanced P and N concentrations. In addition, the accumulation of cells in sunlight treatments was dependent on nutrient availability. More photobleached substrate was converted into bacterial cells in P- and N-enriched treatments. These results suggest nutrient availability may affect the biologically-mediated fate (new biomass vs respiration) of CDOC.     

Preparation of allogeneic bone for alveolar ridge augmentation

Implant treatment is safe and predictable with sufficient amount and quality of bone tissue. In case of severely reduced bone tissue after a tooth was lost, augmentation of such tissue is necessary before implant embedment. Retrospective evaluation covered 380 alveolar ridge reconstructions. The study material consisted of human grafts prepared by the Department of Transplantology and Central Tissue Bank, Medical University of Warsaw. Presentation of laboratory procedures in the context of physical parameters of frozen, radiation sterilised, allogeneic corticocancellous material was presented. The preparation process makes it possible to obtain two types of bone material: granules and blocks. Women underwent 164 procedures with the use of bone granules and 61 augmentations with bone blocks. In case of men 122 packages of granules were used as well as 33 bone blocks. Based on the results an evaluation of usability of available allogeneic grafts was performed with reference to planned alveolar ridge augmentation procedures, which they were used for.

1. 1.
   The opportunity to prepare allogeneic material of different textures allowed selection to meet augmentation requirements while providing biological safety.
    
2. 2.
   Allogeneic granules should be used in multi-wall defects, such as a double, closed sinus lift and post-extraction socket augmentation.
    
3. 3.
   Owing to their superior mechanical parameters, bone blocks were successfully used in extending the width and height of the alveolar ridge and in open sinus lifts with one-wall or two-wall defects and adequate location of the lamellar bone in a graft prevented substantial graft resorption.
    

     

Characterization of 13 newly isolated strains of anaerobic, cellulolytic, thermophilic bacteria

Characteristics of 13 newly isolated thermophilic, anaerobic, and cellulolytic strains were compared with previously described strains of Clostridium thermocellum: ATCC 27405 and JW20 (ATCC 31549). Colony morphology, antibiotic sensitivity, fermentation end-products, and cellulose degradation were documented. All 13 strains were sensitive to erythromycin (5 μg/ml) and chloramphenicol (25 μg/ml), and all strains but one were sensitive to kanamycin (20 μg/ml). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using primers based on gene sequences from C. thermocellum ATCC 27405 was successful for all 13 strains in the case of the hydrogenase gene and 11 strains in the case of phosphotransacetylase/acetate kinase genes. Ten strains amplified a product of the expected size with primers developed to be specific for C. thermocellum 16SrRNA primers. Two of the 13 strains did not amplify any product with the PCR primers designed for the phosphotransacetylase/acetate kinase and 16SrRNA primers. A MboI-like GATC- recognizing restriction activity was present in all of the five strains examined. The results of this study have several positive implications with respect to future development of a transformation system for cellulolytic thermophiles. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2001) 27, 275–280. Received 12 September 2000/ Accepted in revised form 20 November 2000     

Allogeneic materials in complications associated with pre-implantation restoration of maxillary and mandibular alveolar processes. A four case report

There are numerous types of bone replacement materials used to regenerate atrophic alveolar processes before the elective intraosseous implantation. Properties of these materials differ one from another, therefore the choice of material should be thoroughly analysed as well as its type and texture in regard of intraoral conditions and the objective to be achieved. The study involved reconstruction of atrophic alveolar processes with allogeneic bone following unsuccessful use of synthetic and animal materials. The procedure of bone regeneration was performed with frozen bone block (case 1) and allogeneic bone granulate (cases 2, 3, 4) radiation-sterilised with 35 kGy prepared by the Tissue Bank. In all of the presented cases after 3-month implant reorganisation optimal width of the process was obtained, which allowed implant embedment (case 1) or correct implant submergence in the osseous tissue, when implantation took place at the same time (case 2, 3, 4). Allogeneic bone material both, in the form of a block as well as granulate, seems to be an adequate alternative for other materials used in order to widen the bone of the alveolar process, particularly in difficult, complicated cases, where the first regeneration procedure was not successful.     

Regulation of Ca2+ influx in proliferating and differentiating myoblasts of mice with participation of L-type Ca2+ channels

The basic mechanisms of regulation of Ca2+ influx in proliferating and differentiating myoblasts, in culture have been studied. The presence of L-type Ca2+ channels in proliferating myoblasts has been shown for the first time. The influx of Ca2+ through these channels was shown to be regulated by the adrenergic system. The influx of Ca2+ through L-type Ca2+ channels after the activation of the adrenergic system by the addition of adrenaline in comparison with the contribution of reticular stocks exhausted by ATP in calcium-free medium was estimated. It was shown that the Ca2+ influx in proliferating myoblasts is regulated by beta-2 adrenergic receptors whose action is mediated by adenylate cyclase through L-type calcium channels. In differentiating myoblasts, the Ca2+ influx on the activation of the adrenergic system was essentially lower than in proliferating cells. It was found that the maximum influx of Ca2+ may be reached by the exhaustion of reticular stocks.     

BioGraph: unsupervised biomedical knowledge discovery via automated hypothesis generation

We present BioGraph, a data integration and data mining platform for the exploration and discovery of biomedical information. The platform offers prioritizations of putative disease genes, supported by functional hypotheses. We show that BioGraph can retrospectively confirm recently discovered disease genes and identify potential susceptibility genes, outperforming existing technologies, without requiring prior domain knowledge. Additionally, BioGraph allows for generic biomedical applications beyond gene discovery. BioGraph is accessible at .     

Assessment of lexical semantic judgment abilities in alcohol-dependent subjects: An fMRI study

Neuropsychological studies have shown that alcohol dependence is associated with neurocognitive deficits in tasks requiring memory, perceptual motor skills, abstraction and problem solving, whereas language skills are relatively spared in alcoholics despite structural abnormalities in the language-related brain regions. To investigate the preserved mechanisms of language processing in alcohol-dependents, functional brain imaging was undertaken in healthy controls (n=18) and alcohol-dependents (n=16) while completing a lexical semantic judgment task in a 3 T MR scanner. Behavioural data indicated that alcohol-dependents took more time than controls for performing the task but there was no significant difference in their response accuracy. fMRI data analysis revealed that while performing the task, the alcoholics showed enhanced activations in left supramarginal gyrus, precuneus bilaterally, left angular gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus as compared to control subjects. The extensive activations observed in alcoholics as compared to controls suggest that alcoholics recruit additional brain areas to meet the behavioural demands for equivalent task performance. The results are consistent with previous fMRI studies suggesting compensatory mechanisms for the execution of task for showing an equivalent performance or decreased neural efficiency of relevant brain networks. However, on direct comparison of the two groups, the results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons; therefore, the present findings need further exploration.     

Short-term hypoxia/reoxygenation activates the angiogenic pathway in rat caudate putamen

In response to hypoxia, tissues have to implement numerous mechanisms to enhance oxygen delivery, including the activation of angiogenesis. This work investigates the angiogenic response of the hypoxic caudate putamen after several recovery times. Adult Wistar rats were submitted to acute hypoxia and analysed after 0 h, 24 h and 5 days of reoxygenation. Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alfa (HIF-1α) and angiogenesis-related genes including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), adrenomedullin (ADM) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) was determined by both RT-PCR and ELISA. For vessel labelling, lectin location and expression were analysed using histochemical and image processing techniques (fractal dimension). Expression of Hif-1α, Vegf, Adm and Tgf-β1 mRNA rose immediately after hypoxia and this increase persisted in some cases after 5 days post-hypoxia. While VEGF and TGF-β1 protein levels increased parallel to mRNA expression, ADM remained unaltered. The quantification of the striatal vessel network showed a significant augmentation at 24 h of reoxygenation. These results reveal that not only short-term hypoxia, but also the subsequent reoxygenation period, up-regulate the angiogenic pathway in the rat caudate putamen as a neuroprotective mechanism to hypoxia that seeks to maintain a proper blood supply to the hypoxic tissue, thereby minimizing the adverse effects of oxygen deprivation.     

Loss of meiosis in Aspergillus

If strictly mitotic asexual fungi lack recombination, the conventional view predicts that they are recent derivatives from older meiotic lineages. We tested this by inferring phylogenetic relationships among closely related meiotic and strictly mitotic taxa with Aspergillus conidial (mitotic) states. Phylogenies were constructed by using DNA sequences from the mitochondrial small ribosomal subunit, the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers, and the nuclear 5.8S ribosomal gene. Over 920 bp of sequence was analyzed for each taxon. Phylogenetic analysis of both the mitochondrial and nuclear data sets showed at least four clades that possess both meiotic and strictly mitotic taxa. These results support the hypothesis that strictly mitotic lineages arise frequently from more ancient meiotic lineages with Aspergillus conidial states. Many of the strictly mitotic species examined retained characters that may be vestiges of a meiotic state, including the production of sclerotia, sclerotium-like structures, and hulle cells.