On differentiation of cod (Gadus morhua L.) groups in Baltic Sea

Russian Journal of Genetics - Using the AGP*, PGI-1*, PGI-2*, LDH*, IDH*, and PGM* allozyme markers, the differentiation of cod groups during the spawning period in Baltic Sea was evaluated. It was...     

MRI Plaque Imaging Detects Carotid Plaques with a High Risk for Future Cerebrovascular Events in Asymptomatic Patients

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate prospectively whether MRI plaque imaging can identify patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis who have an increased risk for future cerebral events. MRI plaque imaging allows categorization of carotid stenosis into different lesion types (I–VIII). Within these lesion types, lesion types IV–V and VI are regarded as rupture-prone plaques, whereas the other lesion types represent stable ones.

Methods

Eighty-three consecutive patients (45 male (54.2%); age 54–88 years (mean 73.2 years)) presenting with an asymptomatic carotid stenosis of 50–99% according to ECST-criteria were recruited. Patients were imaged with a 1.5-T scanner. T1-, T2-, time-of-flight-, and proton-density weighted studies were performed. The carotid plaques were classified as lesion type I–VIII. Clinical endpoints were ischemic stroke, TIA or amaurosis fugax. Survival analysis and log rank test were used to ascertain statistical significance.

Results

Six out of 83 patients (7.2%) were excluded: 4 patients had insufficient MR image quality; 1 patient was lost-to-follow-up; 1 patient died shortly after the baseline MRI plaque imaging. The following results were obtained by analyzing the remaining 77 patients. The mean time of follow-up was 41.1 months.During follow-up, n = 9 (11.7%) ipsilateral ischemic cerebrovascular events occurred. Only patients presenting with the high-risk lesion types IV–V and VI developed an ipsilateral cerebrovascular event versus none of the patients presenting with the stable lesion types III, VII, and VIII (n = 9 (11.7%) vs. n = 0 (0%) during follow-up). Event-free survival was higher among patients with the MRI-defined stable lesion types (III, VII, and VIII) than in patients with the high-risk lesion types (IV–V and VI) (log rank test P<0.0001).

Conclusions

MRI plaque imaging has the potential to identify patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis who are particularly at risk of developing future cerebral ischemia. MRI could improve selection criteria for invasive therapy in the future.     

Migratory New World Blackbirds (Icterids) Are More Neophobic than Closely Related Resident Icterids

Environments undergo short-term and long-term changes due to natural or human-induced events. Animals differ in their ability to cope with such changes which can be related to their ecology. Changes in the environment often elicit avoidance reactions (neophobia) which protect animals from dangerous situations but can also inhibit exploration and familiarization with novel situations and thus, learning about new resources. Studies investigating the relationship between a species’ ecology and its neophobia have so far been restricted to comparing only a few species and mainly in captivity. The current study investigated neophobia reactions to experimentally-induced changes in the natural environment of six closely-related blackbird species (Icteridae), including two species represented by two distinct populations. For analyses, neophobic reactions (difference in number of birds feeding and time spent feeding with and without novel objects) were related to several measures of ecological plasticity and the migratory strategy (resident or migratory) of the population. Phylogenetic relationships were incorporated into the analysis. The degree of neophobia was related to migratory strategy with migrants expressing much higher neophobia (fewer birds feeding and for a shorter time with objects present) than residents. Furthermore, neophobia showed a relationship to diet breadth with fewer individuals of diet generalists than specialists returning when objects were present supporting the dangerous niche hypothesis. Residents may have evolved lower neophobia as costs of missing out on opportunities may be higher for residents than migrants as the former are restricted to a smaller area. Lower neophobia allows them approaching changes in the environment (e.g. novel objects) quickly, thereby securing access to resources. Additionally, residents have a greater familiarity with similar situations in the area than migrants and the latter may, therefore, initially stay behind resident species.     

Cellulose-bound Peptide Arrays: Preparation and Applications

Spatial organization of metabolic enzymes may represent a general cellular mechanism to regulate metabolic flux. One recent example of this type of cellular phenomenon is the purinosome, a newly discovered multi-enzyme metabolic assembly that includes all of the enzymes within the de novo purine biosynthetic pathway. Our understanding of the components and regulation of purinosomes has significantly grown in recent years. This paper reviews the purine de novo biosynthesis pathway and its regulation, and presents the evidence supporting the purinosome assembly and disassembly processes under the control of G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. This paper also discusses the implications of purinosome and GPCR regulation in drug discovery.     

Synthesis and properties of fatty acid starch esters

Being completely bio-based, fatty acid starch esters (FASEs) are attractive materials that represent an alternative to crude oil-based plastics. In this study, two synthesis methods were compared in terms of their efficiency, toxicity and, especially, product solubility with starch laurate (C₁₂) as model compound. Laurates (DS > 2) were obtained through transesterification of fatty acid vinylesters in DMSO or reaction with fatty acid chlorides in pyridine. The latter lead to higher DS-values in a shorter reaction time. But due to the much better solubility of the products compared to lauroyl chloride esterified ones, vinylester-transesterification was preferred to optimize reaction parameters, where reaction time could be shortened to 2 h. FASEs C₆–C₁₈ were also successfully prepared via transesterification. To determine the DS of the resulting starch laurates, the efficient ATR-IR method was compared with common methods (elementary analysis, ¹H NMR). Molar masses (M_w) of the highly soluble starch laurates were analyzed using SEC-MALLS (THF). High recovery rates (>80%) attest to the outstanding solubility of products obtained through transesterification, caused by a slight disintegration during synthesis. Particle size distributions (DLS) demonstrated stable dissolutions in CHCl₃ of vinyl laurate esterified – contrary to lauroyl chloride esterified starch. For all highly soluble FASEs (C₆–C₁₈), formation of concentrated solutions (10 wt%) is feasible.     

Draft genome sequence of Sinorhizobium meliloti RU11/001, a model organism for flagellum structure,motility and chemotaxis

Sinorhizobium meliloti of the order Rhizobiales is a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacterium nodulating plants of the genera Medicago, Trigonella and Melilotus and hence is of great agricultural importance. In its free-living state it is motile and capable of modulating its movement patterns in response to chemical attractants. Here, the draft genome consisting of a circular chromosome, the megaplasmids pSymA and pSymB and three accessory plasmids of Sinorhizobium meliloti RU11/001, a model organism for flagellum structure, motility and chemotaxis, is reported.     

Discovery of aryl ureas and aryl amides as potent and selective histamine H3 receptor antagonists for the treatment of obesity (Part I)

A series of structurally novel aryl ureas was derived from optimization of the HTS lead as selective histamine H₃ receptor (H₃R) antagonists. The SAR was explored and the data obtained set up the starting point and foundation for further optimization. The most potent tool compounds, as exemplified by compounds 2l, 5b, 5d, and 5e, displayed antagonism potencies in the subnanomolar range in in vitro human-H₃R FLIPR assays and rhesus monkey H₃R binding assays.     

The Phosphate Source Influences Gene Expression and Quality of Mineralization during In Vitro Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

For in vitro differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells/mesenchymal stromal cells into osteoblasts by 2-dimensional cell culture a variety of protocols have been used and evaluated in the past. Especially the external phosphate source used to induce mineralization varies considerably both in respect to chemical composition and concentration. In light of the recent findings that inorganic phosphate directs gene expression of genes crucial for bone development, the need for a standardized phosphate source in in vitro differentiation becomes apparent. We show that chemical composition (inorganic versus organic phosphate origin) and concentration of phosphate supplementation exert a severe impact on the results of gene expression for the genes commonly used as markers for osteoblast formation as well as on the composition of the mineral formed. Specifically, the intensity of gene expression does not necessarily correlate with a high quality mineralized matrix. Our study demonstrates advantages of using inorganic phosphate instead of β-glycerophosphate and propose colorimetric quantification methods for calcium and phosphate ions as cost- and time-effective alternatives to X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy for determination of the calcium phosphate ratio and concentration of mineral matrix formed under in vitro-conditions. We critically discuss the different assays used to assess in vitro bone formation in respect to specificity and provide a detailed in vitro protocol that could help to avoid contradictory results due to variances in experimental design.