Magnesium oxide column chromatography: A novel and rapid method for steroid purification

Two dozen inorganic crystals, resins and other substances were surveyed in an effort to find a rapid method for separation of a broad spectrum of steroid hormones, including representatives of the androgen, estrogen, progestagen, and glucocorticoid classes. Magnesium oxide (MgO) was found to yield the best recoveries and separations with a great saving in time and effort, since MgO microcolumns could be rapidly poured, in contrast with those of Celite, which require repeated pouring followed by packing, and those of Sephadex LH-20, which are generally large and slow running.     

Use of SSR and Retrotransposon-Based Markers to Interpret the Population Structure of Native Grapevines from Southern Italy

Native grapevines are the quintessential elements of Southern Italy winemaking, and genomic characterization plays a role of primary importance for preservation and sustainable use of these unexploited genetic resources. Among the various molecular techniques available, SSR and retrotransposons-based markers result to be the most valuable for cultivars and biotypes distinctiveness. A total of 62 accessions including 38 local grape cultivars were analyzed with 30 SSR, four REMAP and one IRAP markers to assess their genetic diversity and obtain a complete genomic profiling. The use of VrZAG79, VrZAG112, VVS2, VVMD25 and VVMD5 combined with retrotransposon-based markers proved to be the most discriminating and polymorphic markers for the rapid and unambiguous identification of minority grapevines from Campania region, which is considered one of the most appreciated Italian districts for wine production. Results revealed 58 SSR marker-specific alleles, 22 genotype-specific SSR alleles, and four REMAP and IRAP private bands. Cases of synonymy and homonymy were discovered. In conclusion, we provided evidences that the integrating SSR and retrotransposon-based markers is an effective strategy to assess the genetic diversity of autochthonous grapes, allowing their easy identification.     

On the connection between the T-system and the subsynaptic folds in the motor end plate of amphibians

Using lanthanum as an extracellular marker, the transition between the subsynaptic folds of the motor end plate and the T-system of frog muscle fibres is portrayed for the first time. On the lower segment of the subsynaptic folds of frogs, there are numerous caveolae which can connect with one another to form meandering, branching tubes. The T-system is in contact with these tubes (which run through the sarcoplasm) beneath the motor end plate. In those segments of the end plate with massed sarcoplasm and a cell nucleus, these tubes form networks in close proximity to the cellular organelles. The morphological findings obtained here are compared with findings from mammals. The physiological significance of the transition between the subsynaptic fold and the T-system is discussed.     

Four novel mutant alleles of the arylsulfatase B gene in two patients with intermediate form of mucopolysaccharidosis VI (Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome)

We have used pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to construct a long range restriction map of the myxoid liposarcoma (MLS) breakpoint region in 12q13-14. The CHOP/GADD153 gene, consistently translocated in myxoid liposarcomas, is located less than 55 kb from the putative oncogene GLI. We have used fluorescent in situ hybridization to orient the map with respect to the chromosome, and to show that GLI (and thus A2MR) is located proximal to the MLS breakpoint.     

MMP-2 Isoforms in Aortic Tissue and Serum of Patients with Ascending Aortic Aneurysms and Aortic Root Aneurysms

ObjectiveThe need for biological markers of aortic wall stress and risk of rupture or dissection of ascending aortic aneurysms is obvious. To date, wall stress cannot be related to a certain biological marker. We analyzed aortic tissue and serum for the presence of different MMP-2 isoforms to find a connection between serum and tissue MMP-2 and to evaluate the potential of different MMP-2 isoforms as markers of high wall stress.MethodsSerum and aortic tissue from n = 24 patients and serum from n = 19 healthy controls was analyzed by ELISA and gelatin zymography. 24 patients had ascending aortic aneurysms, 10 of them also had aortic root aneurysms. Three patients had normally functioning valves, 12 had regurgitation alone, eight had regurgitation and stenosis and one had only stenosis. Patients had bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valves (9/15). Serum samples were taken preoperatively, and the aortic wall specimen collected during surgical aortic repair.ResultsPro-MMP-2 was identified in all serum and tissue samples. Pro-MMP-2 was detected in all tissue and serum samples from patients with ascending aortic/aortic root aneurysms, irrespective of valve morphology or other clinical parameters and in serum from healthy controls. We also identified active MMP-2 in all tissue samples from patients with ascending aortic/aortic root aneurysms. None of the analyzed serum samples revealed signals relatable to active MMP-2. No correlation between aortic tissue total MMP-2 or tissue pro-MMP-2 or tissue active MMP-2 and serum MMP-2 was found and tissue MMP-2/pro-MMP-2/active MMP-2 did not correlate with aortic diameter. This evidence shows that pro-MMP-2 is the predominant MMP-2 species in serum of patients and healthy individuals and in aneurysmatic aortic tissue, irrespective of aortic valve configuration. Active MMP-2 species are either not released into systemic circulation or not detectable in serum. There is no reliable connection between aortic tissue—and serum MMP-2 isoforms, nor any indication that pro-MMP-2 functions as a common marker of high aortic wall stress.     

Communal range defence in primates as a public goods dilemma

Classic socio-ecological theory holds that the occurrence of aggressive range defence is primarily driven by ecological incentives, most notably by the economic defendability of an area or the resources it contains. While this ecological cost–benefit framework has great explanatory power in solitary or pair-living species, comparative work on group-living primates has always found economic defendability to be a necessary, but not sufficient condition to account for the distribution of effective range defence across the taxon. This mismatch between theory and observation has recently been ascribed to a collective action problem among group members in, what is more informatively viewed as, a public goods dilemma: mounting effective defence of a communal range against intrusions by outgroup conspecifics. We here further develop this framework, and report on analyses at three levels of biological organization: across species, across populations within a single lineage and across groups and individuals within a single population. We find that communal range defence in primates very rarely involves collective action sensu stricto and that it is best interpreted as the outcome of opportunistic and strategic individual-level decisions. Whether the public good of a defended communal range is produced by solitary, joint or collective action is thus the outcome of the interplay between the unique characteristics of each individual, local and current socio-ecological conditions, and fundamental life-history traits of the species.     

A photoswitchable GPCR-based opsin for presynaptic inhibition

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