Effects of salinity stress on some growth,physiological, biochemical parameters and nutrients in two pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) rootstocks

In the present study, effects of salinity stress were evaluated in the leaves and roots of two pistachio cultivars (Badami-Rize-Zarand (BZ) and Badami-e-Sefid (BS)). In overall, salinity negatively affects growth of both cultivars with more pronounced effects on BS. The physiological reason of the reduction could be attributed to some extent to more depletion of photosynthetic pigment in BS. In both cultivars, salinity increased proline content. Moderate and high salinities increased the soluble sugar contents in BZ. In both cultivars, Na⁺ content increased in plant organs with increasing Na⁺ in the media. Salinity treatment decreased the Fe and Pi contents in BS cultivar, while they remained unchanged in BZ. These results show that BZ cultivar exhibits more tolerance to salinity stress than BS cultivar possibly by better growth performance, accumulating more osmolytes, lesser accumulation of toxic sodium ion and lower Na⁺/K⁺ in the shoots as well as maintaining nutrient contents.     

The Phenolics of the Ornithogalum umbellatum L. (Hyacinthaceae): Phytochemical and Ecological Characterization

Ornithogalum umbellatum L. is a widely distributed species in Europe, that exhibits considerable variability at ecological, morphological, anatomical, and karyological level. Previous reports of the chemical investigations among Ornithogalum species indicate significant diversity of the secondary metabolites, as well. Knowing that environment affects the phenolic composition in plants to a large extent, the main objective of the research was to define relationship between phytochemical and ecological characters. To estimate an environmental influence on these results, plant material was collected at four habitats that differ in ecological factors and belong to two biogeographical regions: the Balkan Peninsula and the Pannonian Plane. Measured phytochemical characters are yield of dry extract, total phenolic and flavonoid contents, the presence of selected phenolic compounds as well as free‐radical scavenging activity (neutralization of DPPH and OH radicals). Results revealed that all analyzed phytochemical parameters differ between investigated O. umbellatum samples. The moisture level of habitat has the highest correlation, either positive or negative, with most of phytochemical characters, and is followed by temperature and soil reaction. Light intensity and nitrogen level have mostly moderate correlation coefficient with phytochemical characters. More complex correlation is revealed between ecological factors and nine phenolic compounds, with three observed patterns of relationship.     

Hypo-Vascular Liver Metastases Treated with Transarterial chemoembolization: Assessment of Early Response by Volumetric Contrast-Enhanced and Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of anatomic and volumetric functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in early assessment of response to trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in hypovascular liver metastases. METHODS: This retrospective study included 52 metastatic lesions (42 targeted and 10 non-targeted) in 17 patients who underwent MRI before and early after TACE. Two reviewers reported response by anatomic criteria (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor [RECIST], modified RECIST [mRECIST], and European Association for the Study of Liver Disease [EASL]) and functional criteria (volumetric apparent diffusion coefficient and contrast enhancement). Treatment endpoint was RECIST at 6 months. A 2-sample paired t test was used to compare the mean changes after intra-arterial therapy. P < .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Reduction in mRECIST and EASL at 1 month was significant in the whole cohort as well as in responders by RECIST at 6 months, and the changes fulfilled partial response criteria for both metrics in responders. Responders also had significant changes in volumetric apparent diffusion coefficient (P = .01 and P = .03) and contrast enhancement (P < .0001 and P < .0001) at 1 month for both readers, respectively. CONCLUSION: At 1 month post treatment, responders did not fulfill RECIST criteria but fulfilled mRECIST and EASL criteria. In addition, volumetric contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted MRI may be helpful in evaluating early treatment response after TACE in hypovascular liver metastases in patients who have failed to respond to initial chemotherapy.     

Signalling pathway of tumor necrosis factor in normal and tumor cells

Summary Several aspects of the activity and effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were investigated to gain further insight into its cytotoxic mechanism. The relation between number of TNF receptors and TNF susceptibility of both tumor cells and normal cells was studied, utilizing a specific binding assay. Among the tumor cells, a fairly close correlation (r=0.855) was observed between receptor number and sensitivity to TNF. No cytotoxic effect by TNF was observed on any of the normal cells tested, even though TNF receptors were shown to be present, and cell proliferation was apparently stimulated by TNF in some cases. TNF internalization and intracellular distribution were studied by pulse-labelling and Percoll density gradient centrifugation. In L-M (murine tumorigenic fibroblasts, highly sensitive to TNF cytotoxicity) cells and HEL (human embryonic lung cells, non-sensitive to TNF cytotoxicity) cells, receptor-bound ¹²⁵I-labelled recombinant human TNF was rapidly internalized and delivered to lysosomes within 15–30 min, and this was followed by degradation and release into the culture medium. The presence of either a cytoskeletal disrupting agent or a lysosomotropic agent was observed to inhibit the cytotoxic effect of TNF, thus also indicating that TNF internalization, followed by delivery to lysosomes, is essential in the cytolytic mechanism of TNF.As observed by [³H]uridine incorporation, TNF did not affect RNA synthesis in L-R cells (TNF-resistant cell lines derived from L-M cells) and HEL cells, but markedly stimulated (by 3.5 times) RNA synthesis in L-M cells.     

Continuous internalization of tumor necrosis factor receptors in a human myosarcoma cell line

The cell dynamics of the receptor for tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were examined in TNF-sensitive KYM cells derived from human myosarcoma. With receptor synthesis inhibited by cycloheximide, the half-life of the surface TNF receptor was 2 h in the absence of TNF and 30 min in its presence, suggesting that the TNF receptor is non-recycling and that its internalization is accelerated by TNF. During cell incubation with TNF receptor degradation suppressed by chloroquine, the number of surface TNF receptors remained approximately constant, but the total number of surface and internal TNF receptors increased gradually, at 3 h reaching 1.5 times the initial number, thus suggesting continuous synthesis, externalization, internalization, and degradation of the TNF receptor in the absence of cycloheximide. On cell incubation with 125I-TNF, the intracellular quantity of the pulse-labeled TNF-receptor complex promptly increased, reaching a maximum at 20 min, and then gradually declined, thus confirming that the TNF receptor is internalized as a TNF-receptor complex in the presence of TNF. During incubations with protein synthesis suppressed by cycloheximide following surface TNF receptor digestion by trypsin, TNF receptors reappeared on the cell surface, increasing in number to a peak at 60 min and gradually decreasing, and cells previously exposed to cycloheximide with or without TNF showed no recurrence of surface TNF receptors, suggesting that the TNF receptor is non-recycling. The results of the study thus suggest that the TNF receptor is continuously internalized and degraded intracellularly by lysosomes without being recycled regardless of the presence or absence of TNF and, further, that its internalization is accelerated when it is part of the TNF-receptor complex.     

Possible relation between a bloom of Distephanus speculum (Silicoflagellata) and anoxia in bottom waters in the Northern Adriatic, 1983

Silicoflagellates, rare planktonic algae, were registered inbloom-like conditions in the 20-m-deep bottom layer of the Gulfof Trieste, Northern Adriatic. The confusing taxonomy and ecologyof these phytoflagellates, as well as their possible contributionto the oxygen depletion of the bottom layer, is discussed.