Environmental Pollution and Relationship Between Total Antioxidant Capacity and Heavy Metals (Pb,Cd, Zn,Mn, and Fe) in Solanum tuberosum L. and Allium cepa L.

In the natural environment, plants are exposed to different stress factors that are responsible for overproduction of reactive oxygen species. Exposure to heavy metals is one of these factors. The present article highlights the correlation between the effects of bioaccumulation of heavy metals in a highly polluted region as the industrial zone of the Thermo Power Plants “Kosova” in Kosovo on the antioxidant capacity of two selected target species: Solanum tuberosum L. and Allium cepa L. The results show that environmental pollution in the industrial zone of the Thermo Power Plants “Kosova” generates a significant bioaccumulation of heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, Zn, Mn, and Fe. The high concentration of heavy metals leads to an increased production of reactive radical species. The extracts of target plants cultivated in this region display a lower antioxidant capacity than the same plants grown in a control rural area. The Fe bioaccumulation markedly influences the antioxidant capacity of plant samples analyzed.     

Preliminary investigation: the impact of the NCAA Wrestling Weight Certification Program on weight cutting

Historically, wrestling is a sport dependent on weight. Three tragic deaths in late 1997 prompted the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to make a Wrestling Weight Certification Program (WWCP) mandatory to foster a safe competitive environment. One institution examined the impact of this program on weight cutting. Thirty-two NCAA Division I wrestlers completed the WWCP in the 1998-1999 season and 29 in 1999-2000. Eighteen (56%) of 32 wrestlers in 1998-1999 weighed in 10 or more pounds above the previous year's competition weight. Whereas, 28% weighed in 20 or more pounds above the previous year's competition weight. Weekly weight loss for the wrestlers in 1998-1999 revealed a substantial loss during the first week, possibly demonstrating the use of time-tested techniques for weight loss. However, in 1999-2000, the first week weight loss was less pronounced, with 65.8% of the weight being lost during the second half of the WWCP. Therefore, these wrestlers may be breaking the sport historic cycle of weight fluctuations through the WWCP.     

Hyperphosphorylation of Intrinsically Disordered Tau Protein Induces an Amyloidogenic Shift in Its Conformational Ensemble

Tau is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) whose primary physiological role is to stabilize microtubules in neuronal axons at all stages of development. In Alzheimer''s and other tauopathies, tau forms intracellular insoluble amyloid aggregates known as neurofibrillary tangles, a process that appears in many cases to be preceded by hyperphosphorylation of tau monomers. Understanding the shift in conformational bias induced by hyperphosphorylation is key to elucidating the structural factors that drive tau pathology, however, as an IDP, tau is not amenable to conventional structural characterization. In this work, we employ a straightforward technique based on Time-Resolved ElectroSpray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TRESI-MS) and Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange (HDX) to provide a detailed picture of residual structure in tau, and the shifts in conformational bias induced by hyperphosphorylation. By comparing the native and hyperphosphorylated ensembles, we are able to define specific conformational biases that can easily be rationalized as enhancing amyloidogenic propensity. Representative structures for the native and hyperphosphorylated tau ensembles were generated by refinement of a broad sample of conformations generated by low-computational complexity modeling, based on agreement with the TRESI-HDX profiles.     

Mass Media and the Contagion of Fear: The Case of Ebola in America

Background

In the weeks following the first imported case of Ebola in the U. S. on September 29, 2014, coverage of the very limited outbreak dominated the news media, in a manner quite disproportionate to the actual threat to national public health; by the end of October, 2014, there were only four laboratory confirmed cases of Ebola in the entire nation. Public interest in these events was high, as reflected in the millions of Ebola-related Internet searches and tweets performed in the month following the first confirmed case. Use of trending Internet searches and tweets has been proposed in the past for real-time prediction of outbreaks (a field referred to as “digital epidemiology”), but accounting for the biases of public panic has been problematic. In the case of the limited U. S. Ebola outbreak, we know that the Ebola-related searches and tweets originating the U. S. during the outbreak were due only to public interest or panic, providing an unprecedented means to determine how these dynamics affect such data, and how news media may be driving these trends.

Methodology

We examine daily Ebola-related Internet search and Twitter data in the U. S. during the six week period ending Oct 31, 2014. TV news coverage data were obtained from the daily number of Ebola-related news videos appearing on two major news networks. We fit the parameters of a mathematical contagion model to the data to determine if the news coverage was a significant factor in the temporal patterns in Ebola-related Internet and Twitter data.

Conclusions

We find significant evidence of contagion, with each Ebola-related news video inspiring tens of thousands of Ebola-related tweets and Internet searches. Between 65% to 76% of the variance in all samples is described by the news media contagion model.     

Cryopreserved mesenchymal stromal cells display impaired immunosuppressive properties as a result of heat-shock response and impaired interferon-γ licensing

Human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) can suppress T-cell activation in vitro in an indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)-dependent manner. However, their clinical effects on immune ailments have been inconsistent, with a recent phase III study showing no benefit in acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). We here tested the hypothesis that the banked, cryopreserved MSC often used in clinical trials display biologic properties distinct from that of MSC in the log phase of growth typically examined in pre-clinical studies. In freshly thawed cryopreserved MSC derived from normal human volunteers, we observed that MSC up-regulate heat-shock proteins, are refractory to interferon (IFN)-γ-induced up-regulation of IDO, and are compromised in suppressing CD3/CD28-driven T cell proliferation. Immune suppressor activity, IFN-γ responsiveness and induction of IDO were fully restored following 24 h of MSC tissue culture post-thaw. These results highlight a possible cause for the inefficacy of MSC-based immunotherapy reported in clinical trials using cryopreserved MSC thawed immediately prior to infusion.     

Inflammatory disease and lymphomagenesis caused by deletion of the Myc antagonist Mnt in T cells

Mnt is a Max-interacting protein that can antagonize the activities of Myc oncoproteins in cultured cells. Mnt null mice die soon after birth, but conditional deletion of Mnt in breast epithelium leads to tumor formation. These and related data suggest that Mnt functions as a tumor suppressor. Here we show that conditional deletion of Mnt in T cells leads to tumor formation but also causes inflammatory disease. Deletion of Mnt caused increased apoptosis of thymic T cells and interfered with T-cell development yet led to spleen, liver, and lymph node enlargement. The proportion of T cells in the spleen and lymph nodes was reduced, and the numbers of cells in non-T-cell immune cell populations were elevated. The disruption of immune homeostasis is linked to a strong skewing toward production of T-helper 1 (Th1) cytokines and enhanced proliferation of activated Mnt-deficient CD4+ T cells. Consistent with Th1 polarization in vivo, extensive intestinal inflammation and liver necrosis developed. Finally, most mice lacking Mnt in T cells ultimately succumbed to T-cell lymphoma. These results strengthen the argument that Mnt functions as a tumor suppressor and reveal a critical and surprising role for Mnt in the regulation of T-cell development and in T-cell-dependent immune homeostasis.     

Avoiding a compromise between sexual selection and species recognition: female swordtail fish assess multiple species-specific cues

Females increase their risk of mating with heterospecifics whenthey prefer the traits of conspecifics that overlap with traitsfound in heterospecifics. Xiphophorus pygmaeus females havea strong preference for larger males, which could lead to femalespreferring to mate with heterospecific males; almost all sympatricX. cortezi males are larger than X. pygmaeus males. In thisstudy, we show that X. pygmaeus females preferred the chemicalcues from conspecifics over those of X. cortezi males. However,preference for the chemical cues of conspecifics could not reversethe preference for larger heterospecific males. Only when femaleswere presented with two species-specific cues (vertical barsand chemical cues) did more females spend more time on averagewith the smaller conspecific males. These results support the"backup signal" hypothesis for the evolution of multiple preferences;together, the two species-specific cues increased the accuracywith which females were able to avoid heterospecific males.In addition, the results suggest that in those situations inwhich the traits of conspecifics overlap with traits found inheterospecifics, females can use the assessment of multiplecues to avoid mating with heterospecifics without compromisingtheir preference for the highest-quality conspecific.     

Polymorphic Variants of SCN1A and EPHX1 Influence Plasma Carbamazepine Concentration,Metabolism and Pharmacoresistance in a Population of Kosovar Albanian Epileptic Patients

Aim

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of gene variants in key genes influencing pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic of carbamazepine (CBZ) on the response in patients with epilepsy.

Materials & Methods

Five SNPs in two candidate genes influencing CBZ transport and metabolism, namely ABCB1 or EPHX1, and CBZ response SCN1A (sodium channel) were genotyped in 145 epileptic patients treated with CBZ as monotherapy and 100 age and sex matched healthy controls. Plasma concentrations of CBZ, carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide (CBZE) and carbamazepine-10,11-trans dihydrodiol (CBZD) were determined by HPLC-UV-DAD and adjusted for CBZ dosage/kg of body weight.

Results

The presence of the SCN1A IVS5-91G>A variant allele is associated with increased epilepsy susceptibility. Furthermore, carriers of the SCN1A IVS5-91G>A variant or of EPHX1 c.337T>C variant presented significantly lower levels of plasma CBZ compared to carriers of the common alleles (0.71±0.28 vs 1.11±0.69 μg/mL per mg/Kg for SCN1A IVS5-91 AA vs GG and 0.76±0.16 vs 0.94±0.49 μg/mL per mg/Kg for EPHX1 c.337 CC vs TT; P<0.05 for both). Carriers of the EPHX1 c.416A>G showed a reduced microsomal epoxide hydrolase activity as reflected by a significantly decreased ratio of CBZD to CBZ (0.13±0.08 to 0.26±0.17, p<0.05) also of CBZD to CBZE (1.74±1.06 to 3.08±2.90; P<0.05) and CDR_CBZD (0.13±0.08 vs 0.24±0.19 μg/mL per mg/Kg; P<0.05). ABCB1 3455C>T SNP and SCN1A 3148A>G variants were not associated with significant changes in CBZ pharmacokinetic. Patients resistant to CBZ treatment showed increased dosage of CBZ (657±285 vs 489±231 mg/day; P<0.001) but also increased plasma levels of CBZ (9.84±4.37 vs 7.41±3.43 μg/mL; P<0.001) compared to patients responsive to CBZ treatment. CBZ resistance was not related to any of the SNPs investigated.

Conclusions

The SCN1A IVS5-91G>A SNP is associated with susceptibility to epilepsy. SNPs in EPHX1 gene are influencing CBZ metabolism and disposition. CBZ plasma levels are not an indicator of resistance to the therapy.