Seasonal variation of serotonin turnover in human cerebrospinal fluid, depressive symptoms and the role of the 5-HTTLPR.

Studying monoaminergic seasonality is likely to improve our understanding of neurobiological mechanisms underlying season-associated physiological and pathophysiological behavior. Studies of monoaminergic seasonality and the influence of the serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) on serotonin seasonality have yielded conflicting results, possibly due to lack of power and absence of multi-year analyses. We aimed to assess the extent of seasonal monoamine turnover and examined the possible involvement of the 5-HTTLPR. To determine the influence of seasonality on monoamine turnover, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid of 479 human subjects collected during a 3-year period. Cosine and non-parametric seasonal modeling were applied to both metabolites. We computed serotonin (5-HT) seasonality values and performed an association analysis with the s/l alleles of the 5-HTTLPR. Depressive symptomatology was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Circannual variation in 5-HIAA fitted a spring-peak cosine model that was significantly associated with sampling month (P=0.0074). Season of sampling explained 5.4% (P=1.57 × 10(-7)) of the variance in 5-HIAA concentrations. The 5-HTTLPR s-allele was associated with increased 5-HIAA seasonality (standardized regression coefficient=0.12, P=0.020, N=393). 5-HIAA seasonality correlated with depressive symptoms (Spearman's rho=0.13, P=0.018, N=345). In conclusion, we highlight a dose-dependent association of the 5-HTTLPR with 5-HIAA seasonality and a positive correlation between 5-HIAA seasonality and depressive symptomatology. The presented data set the stage for follow-up in clinical populations with a role for seasonality, such as affective disorders

Isolation and characterisation of fungi growing on volatile aromatic hydrocarbons as their sole carbon and energy source

Five fungal strains that are able to grow on toluene were isolated from enrichment cultures. Three different techniques were used: solid state-like batches, air biofilters and liquid cultures. Fungal growth in the latter systems was favoured by combining low pH and low water activity. Soil and groundwater samples from gasoline-polluted environments were used as inocula. The isolates were identified as deuteromycetes belonging to the genera Cladophialophora, Exophiala and Leptodontium and the ascomycete Pseudeurotium zonatum. The previously isolated toluene-degrading fungus Cladosporium sphaerospermum was included in the present study. Results showed that fungi grew on toluene with doubling times of about 2 to 3 days. Some of the strains also grew on ethylbenzene and styrene. The apparent half-saturation constant (Km) for toluene oxidation ranged from 5 to 22 μM. Degradation activity was inhibited by 50t toluene concentrations ranging from 2.4 to 4.7 mM. These kinetic parameters are comparable to analogous data reported for toluene-degrading bacteria. The ability of fungi to grow at low water activities and low pH suggest that they may be used for the purification of gas streams containing aromatic hydrocarbons in air biofilters

Allergenicity attributes of different peanut market types

Four different market classes of peanut (Runner, Virginia Spanish, and Valencia) are commonly consumed in Western countries, but for some consumers peanuts are a main cause of food-induced anaphylaxis. Limited information is available on the comparative allergenicity of these distinct market classes. The aim of this study was to compare allergenicity attributes of different peanut cultivars. The protein content and protein profiles were highly comparable for all tested cultivars. All cultivar samples contained the major allergens Ara h 1, Ara h 2, Ara h 3 and Ara h 6, as assessed by SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC, although some minor differences in major allergen content were found between samples. All samples were reactive in commercial ELISAs for detection and quantification of peanut protein. IgEbinding potency differed between samples with a maximum factor of 2, indicating a highly comparable allergenicity. Based on our observations, we conclude that peanuts from the main market types consumed in Western countries are highly comparable in their allergenicity attributes, indicating that safety considerations with regard to peanut allergy are not dependent on the peanut cultivar in question

DNA content of a functioning chicken kinetochore

© The Author(s) 2014. In order to understand the three-dimensional structure of the functional kinetochore in vertebrates, we require a complete list and stoichiometry for the protein components of the kinetochore, which can be provided by genetic and proteomic experiments. We also need to know how the chromatin-containing CENP-A, which makes up the structural foundation for the kinetochore, is folded, and how much of that DNA is involved in assembling the kinetochore. In this MS, we demonstrate that functioning metaphase kinetochores in chicken DT40 cells contain roughly 50 kb of DNA, an amount that corresponds extremely closely to the length of chromosomal DNA associated with CENP-A in ChIP-seq experiments. Thus, during kinetochore assembly, CENP-A chromatin is compacted into the inner kinetochore plate without including significant amounts of flanking pericentromeric heterochromatin. © 2014 The Author(s).Wellcome Trust [grant number 073915]; Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology (core grant numbers 077707 and 092076); Darwin Trust of Edinburg

Observation of thickness dependence of magnetic surface anisotropy in ultrathin amorphous films.

Copyright © 1990 The American Physical SocietyFerromagnetic resonance (FMR) and SQUID magnetometry measurements have been made on multilayers of amorphous Fe70B30/Ag. The dependence of the magnetic surface anisotropy constant Ks on the magnetic layer thickness 2L has been determined in the range 1.6 Å16.5 Å, but decreases monotonically towards zero as 2L decreases from 16.5 Å towards zero. The FMR results can be well described by a theory developed for ultrathin amorphous ferromagnetic layers

International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci.

The risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma is heritable, but robust common variants have yet to be identified. In a multi-ethnic cohort including over 30,000 PTSD cases and 170,000 controls we conduct a genome-wide association study of PTSD. We demonstrate SNP-based heritability estimates of 5-20%, varying by sex. Three genome-wide significant loci are identified, 2 in European and 1 in African-ancestry analyses. Analyses stratified by sex implicate 3 additional loci in men. Along with other novel genes and non-coding RNAs, a Parkinson's disease gene involved in dopamine regulation, PARK2, is associated with PTSD. Finally, we demonstrate that polygenic risk for PTSD is significantly predictive of re-experiencing symptoms in the Million Veteran Program dataset, although specific loci did not replicate. These results demonstrate the role of genetic variation in the biology of risk for PTSD and highlight the necessity of conducting sex-stratified analyses and expanding GWAS beyond European ancestry populations

Effects of spoilage on nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes signatures of the clam Ruditapes decussatus

Fish and seafood products are highly susceptible to post-mortem spoilage due to autolytic reactions at start, then microbiological activity and eventually oxidative reactions. Chemical and microbiological parameters are usually used to assess quality and make decisions for protecting public health, but they lack precision in defining which spoilage pathway is occurring at each moment. The objective of this work was to assess the effects of spoilage reactions on nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes in the grooved carpet shell clam, Ruditapes decussatus, and compare them to biochemical indicators of seafood deterioration, in order to better understand the relations between the different spoilage pathways during commercial storage conditions. Clams were kept in a refrigerator at 5 ºC, to simulate normal commercial storage conditions, and sampled in the beginning of the experiment, and after eight, ten and twelve days. Moisture, condition index, percentage edibility, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), pH, nitrogen and carbon percentages and stable isotopes were determined for each sampling moment. Stable isotope analyses were performed using a Costech Elemental Analyzer (ECS 4010) coupled to a ThermoFinnigan Delta V Advantage. Stable isotopes analysis, especially for nitrogen, proved to be a good tool for the study of clam deterioration. Nitrogen stable isotopes results showed a relation with other spoilage indicators, such as pH and TVB-N, and allowed identifying spoilage specific pathways, such as amino acids decarboxylation and production of volatile nitrogen compounds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio