The antioxidant characteristics of medicinal plant extracts from Western Siberia

An antioxidant activity of the water-alcohol extracts of leaves of ten herbs from Western Siberia was studied. In vivo the capability of extracts to protect cells of Escherichia coli against the bacteriostatic action of H ₂O₂ and the influence of the extracts on the expression of the antioxidant gene katG coding catalase-hydroperoxidase I were investigated. In vitro the radical-binding activity with DPhPG^· (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical), the chelating capability with ferrozine, and total composition of flavonoids and tannins were determined. The extracts of Filipendula stepposa and Limonium gmelinii were characterized by the highest antioxidant activity. According to data, the test extracts could have an antioxidant effect on bacteria in different ways at once including the direct inhibition of ROS (reactive oxygen species), iron ion chelation and antioxidant gene induction.     

A Correspondence between Individual Differences in the Brain's Intrinsic Functional Architecture and the Content and Form of Self-Generated Thoughts

Although neural activity often reflects the processing of external inputs, intrinsic fluctuations in activity have been observed throughout the brain. These may relate to patterns of self-generated thought that can occur while not performing goal-driven tasks. To understand the relationship between self-generated mental activity and intrinsic neural fluctuations, we developed the New York Cognition Questionnaire (NYC-Q) to assess the content and form of an individual''s experiences during the acquisition of resting-state fMRI data. The data were collected as a part of the Nathan Kline Rockland Enhanced sample. We decomposed NYC-Q scores using exploratory factor analysis and found that self-reported thoughts clustered into distinct dimensions of content (future related, past related, positive, negative, and social) and form (words, images, and specificity). We used these components to perform an individual difference analysis exploring how differences in the types of self-generated thoughts relate to whole brain measures of intrinsic brain activity (fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations, regional homogeneity, and degree centrality). We found patterns of self-generated thoughts related to changes that were distributed across a wide range of cortical areas. For example, individuals who reported greater imagery exhibited greater low frequency fluctuations in a region of perigenual cingulate cortex, a region that is known to participate in the so-called default-mode network. We also found certain forms of thought were associated with other areas, such as primary visual cortex, the insula, and the cerebellum. For example, individuals who reported greater future thought exhibited less homogeneous neural fluctuations in a region of lateral occipital cortex, a result that is consistent with the claim that particular types of self-generated thought depend on processes that are decoupled from sensory processes. These data provide evidence that self-generated thought is a heterogeneous category of experience and that studying its content can be helpful in understanding brain dynamics.     

Differences between horse selection based on two forms of osteochondrosis in fetlock

Horses lose potential opportunities because of health problems. Available breeding strategies are not effective enough, probably also because of the different definition used and its genetic usefulness. The aim of the study was to compare the genetic background estimated by the genome-wide association study (GWAS) for osteochondrosis using two different scaling osteochondrosis (OC)/healthy and osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD)/healthy systems for evaluating the disease status of investigated fetlock joints. Two hundred one Warmblood horses trained for performance tests (87 stallions and 114 mares) were phenotyped and genotyped. Four fetlock x-ray images per horse were collected using the RTG Girth HF 80 and Vet Scan ray 3600. The DNA of each horse was genotyped using the BeadChip 70K. To identify SNPs that significantly affect the probability of osteochondrosis, two different methods were applied: the Cochran-Armitage test based on an additive mode of inheritance and logistic regression. The genetic background for osteochondrosis, expressed in the number of SNPs found with significant associations with osteochondrosis, was higher by evaluation in the scale of OCD/healthy horses (16 SNPs on several chromosomes mainly on the ECA1 and ECA10) than OC/healthy (2 SNPs on the ECA15 and one SNP on the ECA10). Detailed definition of osteochondrosis is needed in breeding and in veterinary practice. The genetic background for osteochondrosis and osteochondrosis dissecans seems not the same. Suggestive SNPs could be the candidate markers for osteochondrosis but should be checked on a larger population before usage.     

Statistical Analysis of Sleep Spindle Occurrences

Spindles - a hallmark of stage II sleep - are a transient oscillatory phenomenon in the EEG believed to reflect thalamocortical activity contributing to unresponsiveness during sleep. Currently spindles are often classified into two classes: fast spindles, with a frequency of around 14 Hz, occurring in the centro-parietal region; and slow spindles, with a frequency of around 12 Hz, prevalent in the frontal region. Here we aim to establish whether the spindle generation process also exhibits spatial heterogeneity. Electroencephalographic recordings from 20 subjects were automatically scanned to detect spindles and the time occurrences of spindles were used for statistical analysis. Gamma distribution parameters were fit to each inter-spindle interval distribution, and a modified Wald-Wolfowitz lag-1 correlation test was applied. Results indicate that not all spindles are generated by the same statistical process, but this dissociation is not spindle-type specific. Although this dissociation is not topographically specific, a single generator for all spindle types appears unlikely.     

Ethylene and IAA interactions in the inhibition of photoperiodic flower induction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pharbitis nil</Emphasis>

It has been shown that both IAA and ethylene application inhibit flower induction in the short-day plant Pharbitis nil. However application of IAA has elevated ethylene production in this plant, as well. Strong enhancement of ethylene production is also correlated with the night-break effect, which completely inhibits flowering. In order to determine what the role of IAA and ethylene is in the photoperiodic flower induction in Pharbitis nil, we measured changes in their levels during inductive and non-inductive photoperiods, and the effects of ethylene biosynthesis and action inhibitors on inhibition of flowering by IAA. Our results have shown that the inhibitory effect of IAA on Pharbitis nil flowering is not physiological but is connected with its effect on ethylene biosynthesis.     

Superoxide dismutase is upregulated in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis> following protoporphyrin-mediated photodynamic inactivation and does not directly influence the response to photodynamic treatment

Background  

Staphylococcus aureus, a major human pathogen causes a wide range of disease syndromes. The most dangerous are methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains, resistant not only to all β-lactam antibiotics but also to other antimicrobials. An alarming increase in antibiotic resistance spreading among pathogenic bacteria inclines to search for alternative therapeutic options, for which resistance can not be developed easily. Among others, photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of S. aureus is a promising option. Photodynamic inactivation is based on a concept that a non toxic chemical, called a photosensitizer upon excitation with light of an appropriate wavelength is activated. As a consequence singlet oxygen and other reactive oxygen species (e.g. superoxide anion) are produced, which are responsible for the cytotoxic effect towards bacterial cells. As strain-dependence in photodynamic inactivation of S. aureus was observed, determination of the molecular marker(s) underlying the mechanism of the bacterial response to PDI treatment would be of great clinical importance. We examined the role of superoxide dismutases (Sod) in photodynamic inactivation of S. aureus as enzymes responsible for oxidative stress resistance.     

Phagocytosis activity of monocytes and macrophages in patients with plasmacytoma

The capacity to phagocytosis in monocytic macrophages was investigated in 24 patients with plasmocytoma. The investigation of this capacity was made by using short-term cultures with sheep erythrocytes loaded with antibodies and complement. In comparison to the control group the percentage of phagocyting macrophages was lowered in 16 from 24 patients. This impairment of the function of monocytic macrophages seems to be bound neither to the type of plasmocytoma nor to the stage of disease. Among other things, the nature of cell defect is discussed. The necessity of further investigations is emphasized.     

Microbial characteristics of sandy soils exposed to diazinon under laboratory conditions

Changes in microbiological characteristics in response to diazinon, applied at three different dosages of 7, 35 and 700 mg kg^?1 soil, were studied in pots filled with sandy soils of different texture. The insecticide dosages corresponded to the maximum predicted environmental concentration (PEC) in field conditions and five or hundred times this rate, respectively. To ascertain these changes, activities of selected soil enzymes, numbers of some microbial populations and bacterial community structure (r/K-strategists) were determined. Acid phosphatase activity and concentrations of ammonium ions either increased or were unaffected by the diazinon dosages. In contrast, nitrate ions, alkaline phosphatase, urease and especially dehydrogenase activities decreased in both soils treated with the higher dosages of the insecticide. The diazinon treatments increased the numbers of culturable bacteria and fungi; however, N-fixing bacteria and nitrifiers (but not denitrifiers) were decreased in both soils. When the high concentration of diazinon (100-times PEC) was added to the loamy sand soil (LS), simulating an undiluted chemical spill, the bacterial community structure shifted towards domination of K-strategists over time. However, r-strategists dominated in the community exposed to the same dosage of the insecticide in the sandy loam soil (SL). Generally, SL soil characteristics were more suitable for microbial activity and growth than those of LS soil were. The results indicate that except a situation of undiluted spill diazinon seems to be a non-hazardous chemical for the culturable soil microorganisms when applied at recommended concentrations.