Familial true hermaphrodism in three siblings: clinical, cytogenetic, histological and hormonal studies.

Three affected siblings with the hermaphrodism are described. The propositi showed the following characteristics: male phenotype and gender role, hypospadias, bilateral scrotal ovotestes with palpable nodules, and absence of müllerian structures. The X chromatin was positive and the Y chromatin was negative in the 3 affected subjects. Their karyotype in peripheral blood lymphocytes and in gonadal fibroblasts was 46,XX and no Y chromosome fluorescence was observed. Plasma FSH was elevated in the 2 older patients and plasma LH was elevated only in the oldest. Plasma testosterone was low and plasma estradiol high in the 3 siblings; plasma progesterone was elevated in 2, but normal in 1 sibling. Since some of the clinical characteristics of these 3 affected siblings are not the most common features in the majority of sporadic cases of true hermaphrodism, it is suggested that the presence of all of them may be the first clue for the clinical suspicion of the familial type of true hermaphrodism.     

Hastifolins A–G,antifeedant neo-clerodane diterpenoids from Scutellaria hastifolia

From the aerial parts of Scutellaria hastifolia, family Lamiaceae (Labiatae), seven neo-clerodane diterpenoids (hastifolins A–G) were isolated. The products are similar to the known scuteparvin and are characterized by being trans-cinnamoyl derivatives. Structures and stereochemistry were determined by intensive NMR investigation. Six of the products form three pairs of epimers at C-13. Hastifolins A–C showed significant antifeedant activity.     

Comparison of forest above‐ground biomass from dynamic global vegetation models with spatially explicit remotely sensed observation‐based estimates

Gaps in our current understanding and quantification of biomass carbon stocks, particularly in tropics, lead to large uncertainty in future projections of the terrestrial carbon balance. We use the recently published GlobBiomass data set of forest above‐ground biomass (AGB) density for the year 2010, obtained from multiple remote sensing and in situ observations at 100 m spatial resolution to evaluate AGB estimated by nine dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs). The global total forest AGB of the nine DGVMs is 365 ± 66 Pg C, the spread corresponding to the standard deviation between models, compared to 275 Pg C with an uncertainty of ~13.5% from GlobBiomass. Model‐data discrepancy in total forest AGB can be attributed to their discrepancies in the AGB density and/or forest area. While DGVMs represent the global spatial gradients of AGB density reasonably well, they only have modest ability to reproduce the regional spatial gradients of AGB density at scales below 1000 km. The 95th percentile of AGB density (AGB₉₅) in tropics can be considered as the potential maximum of AGB density which can be reached for a given annual precipitation. GlobBiomass data show local deficits of AGB density compared to the AGB₉₅, particularly in transitional and/or wet regions in tropics. We hypothesize that local human disturbances cause more AGB density deficits from GlobBiomass than from DGVMs, which rarely represent human disturbances. We then analyse empirical relationships between AGB density deficits and forest cover changes, population density, burned areas and livestock density. Regression analysis indicated that more than 40% of the spatial variance of AGB density deficits in South America and Africa can be explained; in Southeast Asia, these factors explain only ~25%. This result suggests TRENDY v6 DGVMs tend to underestimate biomass loss from diverse and widespread anthropogenic disturbances, and as a result overestimate turnover time in AGB.     

Amazonia trees have limited capacity to acclimate plant hydraulic properties in response to long‐term drought

The fate of tropical forests under future climate change is dependent on the capacity of their trees to adjust to drier conditions. The capacity of trees to withstand drought is likely to be determined by traits associated with their hydraulic systems. However, data on whether tropical trees can adjust hydraulic traits when experiencing drought remain rare. We measured plant hydraulic traits (e.g. hydraulic conductivity and embolism resistance) and plant hydraulic system status (e.g. leaf water potential, native embolism and safety margin) on >150 trees from 12 genera (36 species) and spanning a stem size range from 14 to 68 cm diameter at breast height at the world's only long‐running tropical forest drought experiment. Hydraulic traits showed no adjustment following 15 years of experimentally imposed moisture deficit. This failure to adjust resulted in these drought‐stressed trees experiencing significantly lower leaf water potentials, and higher, but variable, levels of native embolism in the branches. This result suggests that hydraulic damage caused by elevated levels of embolism is likely to be one of the key drivers of drought‐induced mortality following long‐term soil moisture deficit. We demonstrate that some hydraulic traits changed with tree size, however, the direction and magnitude of the change was controlled by taxonomic identity. Our results suggest that Amazonian trees, both small and large, have limited capacity to acclimate their hydraulic systems to future droughts, potentially making them more at risk of drought‐induced mortality.     

Assessing influence in biofuel production and ecosystem services when environmental changes affect plant–pest relationships

Climate change is currently affecting both biodiversity and human activities; land use change and greenhouse gas emissions are the main drivers. Many agricultural services are affected by the change, which in turn reflects on the basic provisioning services, which supply food, fibre and biofuels. Biofuels are getting increasing interest because of their sustainability potential. Jatropha curcas gained popularity as a biodiesel crop, due to its ease of cultivation even in harsh environmental conditions. Notwithstanding its high economic importance, few studies are available about its co‐occurrence with pests of the genus Aphthona in sub‐Saharan Africa, where these insects feed on J. curcas, leading to relevant economic losses. Using ecological niche modelling and GIS post‐modelling analyses, we infer the current and future suitable territories for both these taxa, delineating areas where J. curcas cultivations may occur without suffering the presence of Aphthona, in the context of future climate and land use changing. We introduce an area‐normalized index, the ‘Potential‐Actual Cultivation Index’, to better depict the ratio between the suitable areas shared both by the crop and its pest, and the number of actual cultivations, in a target country. Moreover, we find high economic losses (~?50%) both in terms of carbon sequestration and in biodiesel production when J. curcas co‐occur with the Aphthona cookei species group.     

Decomposition of woody debris in Mediterranean ecosystems: the role of wood chemical and anatomical traits

Plant and Soil - Data about woody debris (WD) decomposition are very scarce for the Mediterranean basin. The specific aim of this work is to explore the relationships between WD traits with the...     

The role of miRNA-221 and miRNA-126 in patients with benign metastasizing leiomyoma of the lung: an overview with new interesting scenarios

Molecular Biology Reports - Benign metastasizing leiomyoma (BML) is a rare disease characterized by extrauterine benign leiomyomatosis in patients with a previous or concomitant history of uterine...     

Critical considerations for the development of potency tests for therapeutic applications of mesenchymal stromal cell-derived small extracellular vesicles

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) have been widely tested against many diseases, with more than 1000 registered clinical trials worldwide. Despite many setbacks, MSCs have been approved for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease and Crohn disease. However, it is increasingly clear that MSCs exert their therapeutic functions in a paracrine manner through the secretion of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) of 50–200 nm in diameter. Unlike living cells that can persist long-term, sEVs are non-living and non-replicative and have a transient presence in the body. Their small size also renders sEV preparations highly amenable to sterilization by filtration. Together, acellular MSC-sEV preparations are potentially safer and easier to translate into the clinic than cellular MSC products. Nevertheless, there are inherent challenges in the development of MSC-sEV drug products. MSC-sEVs are products of living cells, and living cells are sensitive to changes in the external microenvironment. Consequently, quality control metrics to measure key identity and potency features of MSC-sEV preparations have to be specified during development of MSC-sEV therapeutics. The authors have previously described quantifiable assays to define the identity of MSC-sEVs. Here the authors discuss requirements for prospective potency assays to predict the therapeutic effectiveness of the drug substance in accordance with International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use guidelines. Although potency assays should ideally reflect the mechanism of action (MoA), this is challenging because the MoA for the reported efficacy of MSC-sEV preparations against multiple diseases of diverse underlying pathology is likely to be complex and different for each disease and difficult to fully elucidate. Nevertheless, robust potency assays could be developed by identifying the EV attribute most relevant to the intended biological activity in EV-mediated therapy and quantifying the EV attribute. Specifically, the authors highlight challenges and mitigation measures to enhance the manufacture of consistent and reproducibly potent sEV preparations, to identify and select the appropriate EV attribute for potency assays despite a complex “work-in-progress” MoA and to develop assays likely to be compliant with regulatory guidance for assay validation.