Membrane Functions and Tolerance to Aromatic Hydrocarbon Fungitoxicants in Conidia of Fusarium solani

With the use of ³²P-labeled phosphate and ⁴²K₂CO₃ the effect of diphenyl on permeability and uptake properties of the cytoplasmic membrane in wild type and diphenyl-tolerant mutant conidia of Fusarium solani f. cucurbitae was studied. No general damage to the membrane with unspecific leakage of cell constituents was demonstrated under conditions in which diphenyl prevents germination of wild type conidia. The fresh conidia do not require exogenous supply of energy for the uptake of phosphate or of potassium. In the wild type the entry of ³²P is inhibited but that of ⁴²K strikingly stimulated by diphenyl. Independently of the tolerant mutant gene present, the mutant conidia are significantly less sensitive to the phosphate uptake inhibition and not affected at all by diphenyl with respect to the uptake of potassium. The latter difference from the wild type seems to indicate genetic control of some property of the potassium transport system in this fungus.     

Anonymous nuclear DNA markers in the American oyster and their implications for the heterozygote deficiency phenomenon in marine bivalves

A puzzling population-genetic phenomenon widely reported in allozyme surveys of marine bivalves is the occurrence of heterozygote deficits relative to Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Possible explanations for this pattern are categorized with respect to whether the effects should be confined to protein-level assays or are genomically pervasive and expected to be registered in both protein- and DNA-level assays. Anonymous nuclear DNA markers from the American oyster were employed to reexamine the phenomenon. In assays based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), two DNA-level processes were encountered that can lead to artifactual genotypic scorings: (a) differential amplification of alleles at a target locus and (b) amplification from multiple paralogous loci. We describe symptoms of these complications and prescribe methods that should generally help to ameliorate them. When artifactual scorings at two anonymous DNA loci in the American oyster were corrected, Hardy-Weinberg deviations registered in preliminary population assays decreased to nonsignificant values. Implications of these findings for the heterozygote-deficit phenomenon in marine bivalves, and for the general development and use of PCR-based assays, are discussed.      

Monocarbonyl Analogs of Curcumin with Potential to Treat Colorectal Cancer

Curcumin has a plethora of biological properties, making this compound potentially effective in the treatment of several diseases, including cancer. However, curcumin clinical use is compromised by its poor pharmacokinetics, being crucial to find novel analogs with better pharmacokinetic and pharmacological properties. Here, we aimed to evaluate the stability, bioavailability and pharmacokinetic profiles of monocarbonyl analogs of curcumin. A small library of monocarbonyl analogs of curcumin 1a–q was synthesized. Lipophilicity and stability in physiological conditions were both assessed by HPLC-UV, while two different methods assessed the electrophilic character of each compound monitored by NMR and by UV-spectroscopy. The potential therapeutic effect of the analogs 1a–q was evaluated in human colon carcinoma cells and toxicity in immortalized hepatocytes. Our results showed that the curcumin analog 1e is a promising agent against colorectal cancer, with improved stability and efficacy/safety profile.     

Is the association between optimistic cardiovascular risk perceptions and lower rates of cardiovascular disease mortality explained by biomarkers of systemic inflammation or endothelial function? A case-cohort study

Background  

More optimistic perceptions of cardiovascular disease risk are associated with substantively lower rates of cardiovascular death among men. It remains unknown whether this association represents causality (i.e. perception leads to actions/conditions that influence cardiovascular disease occurrence) or residual confounding by unmeasured factors that associate with risk perceptions and with physiological processes that promote cardiovascular disease (i.e. inflammation or endothelial dysfunction).     

The promoter of filamentation (POF1) protein from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> is an ATPase involved in the protein quality control process

Background

The gene YCL047C, which has been renamed promoter of filamentation gene (POF1), has recently been described as a cell component involved in yeast filamentous growth. The objective of this work is to understand the molecular and biological function of this gene.

Results

Here, we report that the protein encoded by the POF1 gene, Pof1p, is an ATPase that may be part of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein quality control pathway. According to the results, Δpof1 cells showed increased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, heat shock and protein unfolding agents, such as dithiothreitol and tunicamycin. Besides, the overexpression of POF1 suppressed the sensitivity of Δpct1, a strain that lacks a gene that encodes a phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase, to heat shock. In vitro analysis showed, however, that the purified Pof1p enzyme had no cytidylyltransferase activity but does have ATPase activity, with catalytic efficiency comparable to other ATPases involved in endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation of proteins (ERAD). Supporting these findings, co-immunoprecipitation experiments showed a physical interaction between Pof1p and Ubc7p (an ubiquitin conjugating enzyme) in vivo.

Conclusions

Taken together, the results strongly suggest that the biological function of Pof1p is related to the regulation of protein degradation.

     

Sampling properties of DNA sequence data in phylogenetic analysis

We inferred phylogenetic trees from individual genes and random samples of nucleotides from the mitochondrial genomes of 10 vertebrates and compared the results to those obtained by analyzing the whole genomes. Individual genes are poor samples in that they infrequently lead to the whole-genome tree. A large number of nucleotide sites is needed to exactly determine the whole-genome tree. A relatively small number of sites, however, often results in a tree close to the whole-genome tree. We found that blocks of contiguous sites were less likely to lead to the whole-genome tree than samples composed of sites drawn individually from throughout the genome. Samples of contiguous sites are not representative of the entire genome, a condition that violates a basic assumption of the bootstrap method as it is applied in phylogenetic studies.      

Annual and monthly carbon balance in an intensively managed Mediterranean olive orchard

At present, research activities on the role of orchard systems in sequestering atmospheric CO₂ remain scarce. This paper aimed to contribute to assessing the carbon balance of a Mediterranean olive (Olea europea) orchard. The net ecosystem exchange, the ecosystem respiration and the gross primary production were computed for two consecutive years through eddy covariance, and the different biomass accumulation terms were also inferred in the same period through an inventorial method. The net carbon exchange ranged from 13.45 t(C) ha^?1 year^?1 to 11.60 t(C) ha^?1 year^?1. Very similar values [12.2 and 11.5 t(C) ha^?1 year^?1] were found with the direct carbon accumulation inventory. The intensive farming management (irrigation included) and the young age of the plants (12–16 years old), still in an active growing phase, led the olive plantation to be a higher carbon sink with respect to other evergreen orchards reported in the literature.     

Economic evaluation of water loss saving due to the biological control of water hyacinth at New Year’s Dam,Eastern Cape province,South Africa

Water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes is considered the most damaging aquatic weed in the world. However, few studies have quantified the impact of this weed economically and ecologically, and even fewer studies have quantified the benefits of its control. This paper focuses on water loss saving as the benefit derived from biological control of this plant between 1990 and 2013 at New Year’s Dam, Alicedale, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Estimates of water loss due to evapotranspiration from water hyacinth vary significantly; therefore, the study used three different rates, high, medium and low. A conservative raw agriculture value of R 0.26 per m³ was used to calculate the benefits derived by the water saved. The present benefit and cost values were determined using 10% and 5% discount rates. The benefit/cost ratio at the low evapotranspiration rate was less than one, implying that biological control was not economically viable but, at the higher evapotranspiration rates, the return justified the costs of biological control. However, at the marginal value product of water, the inclusion of the costs of damage to infrastructure, or the adverse effects of water hyacinth on biodiversity, would justify the use of biological control, even at the low transpiration rate.     

Maternal Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Lengthening of the Umbilical Cord: Indirect Evidence of Increased Foetal Activity—A Retrospective Cohort Study

BackgroundAntenatal depression affects up to 19% of pregnant women. Some of these women are also in need of antidepressant treatment. Nevertheless, the impact of maternal antidepressant treatment and prenatal depression on the course of pregnancy, foetal development and delivery outcomes is not fully understood.MethodsWe analysed data from 24 818 women who gave birth at Kuopio University Hospital between 2002–2012. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate associations between the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy and the progression of pregnancy, development of the foetus and delivery outcomes.ResultsAltogether, 369 (1.5%) women used SSRIs. A regression model adjusted for age, overweight, nulliparity, prior termination, miscarriages, smoking, maternal alcohol consumption, chronic illness and polyhydramnion showed that pregnant women exposed to SSRI medication had significantly lower Apgar scores at 1 minute (p < 0.0001) and 5 minutes (p < 0.0001) and more admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit (p < 0.0001) than unexposed pregnant women. In addition, exposed newborns had longer umbilical cords (p < 0.0001) than non-exposed newborns.ConclusionIn addition to the previously known associates with maternal SSRI exposure, such as lowered Apgar scores, SSRI exposure appeared to be associated with increased umbilical cord length. The observation related to increased umbilical cord length may be explained by an SSRI-induced increase in the movements of the developing foetus.