Salinity Tolerance of Selected Ectomycorrhizal Fungi (Pisolithus tinctorius Pers.) and Ectomycorrhizal Eucalypts

Increasing soil salinity has become a major problem worldwide. It has led to a reduction in the amount of arable land, has put at risk the supply of freshwater and threatens the existence of many natural habitats. The major increase in salinity has been attributed to human activities such as clearing of natural vegetation and large-scale irrigation programmes. The alleviation of this problem has focussed on changed management strategies. the most significant of which is the re-establishment of deep rooted plants in sail affected areas. This, however, is difficult because of the variation in salt tolerance of such plants and the problems created through nutrient deficiencies characteristic of such sites. This study investigated the role of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) associations in assisting eucalypts tolerate soil salt. The response of specific isolates of P. tinctorius Pers. To salinity in vitro was used to determine which may be the most effective when transferrred to saline soils. All isolates tested appeared to be at least tolerant or semi-tolerant to 150 mM NaCI. However, the different isolates produced different patterns of colony growth, making assessment of growth rates, and therefore salt tolerance, difficult. Inoculation of E. camaldulensis Dehnh. and E. diversicolor F. Muell. with spores of field collected Scleroderma species and Pisolithus tinctorius improved salt tolerance of E. camaldulensis but not E. diversicolor. Inoculation of E. diversicolor and E. camaldulensis seedlings and clones with P. tinctorius isolates used in in vitro studies, showed no significant growth response to salinity. This may be attributed to poor development of ECM structures within the root zone of these plants. Root and shoot proline content showed significant responses to both inoculation with ECM Fungi and salt treatment. These results did vary between experiments. Further research into the use of ECM to alleviate the problem of soil salinity is justified by this study. The development of new, and improvement of current techniques is discussed in light of these findings

The unrestricted Skyrme-tensor time-dependent Hartree-Fock and its application to the nuclear response from spherical to triaxial nuclei

The nuclear time-dependent Hartree-Fock model formulated in the three-dimensional space,based on the full Skyrme energy density functional and complemented with the tensor force,is presented for the first time. Full self-consistency is achieved by the model. The application to the isovector giant dipole resonance is discussed in the linear limit, ranging from spherical nuclei (16O, 120Sn) to systems displaying axial or triaxial deformation (24Mg, 28Si, 178Os, 190W, 238U). Particular attention is paid to the spin-dependent terms from the central sector of the functional, recently included together with the tensor. They turn out to be capable of producing a qualitative change on the strength distribution in this channel. The effect on the deformation properties is also discussed. The quantitative effects on the linear response are small and, overall, the giant dipole energy remains unaffected. Calculations are compared to predictions from the (quasi)-particle random phase approximation and experimental data where available, finding good agreement

Role of the Skyrme tensor force in heavy-ion fusion

Abstract. We make use of the Skyrme effective nuclear interaction within the time-dependent Hartree-Fock framework to assess the effect of inclusion of the tensor terms of the Skyrme interaction on the fusion window of the 16 O-16 O reaction. We find that the lower fusion threshold, around the barrier, is quite insensitive to these details of the force, but the higher threshold, above which the nuclei pass through each other, changes by several MeV between different tensor parametrisations. The results suggest that eventually fusion properties may become part of the evaluation or fitting process for effective nuclear interactions

Schizotypy-Related Magnetization of Cortex in Healthy Adolescence Is Colocated With Expression of Schizophrenia-Related Genes.

BACKGROUND: Genetic risk is thought to drive clinical variation on a spectrum of schizophrenia-like traits, but the underlying changes in brain structure that mechanistically link genomic variation to schizotypal experience and behavior are unclear. METHODS: We assessed schizotypy using a self-reported questionnaire and measured magnetization transfer as a putative microstructural magnetic resonance imaging marker of intracortical myelination in 68 brain regions in 248 healthy young people (14-25 years of age). We used normative adult brain gene expression data and partial least squares analysis to find the weighted gene expression pattern that was most colocated with the cortical map of schizotypy-related magnetization. RESULTS: Magnetization was significantly correlated with schizotypy in the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus (and for disorganized schizotypy, also in medial prefrontal cortex; all false discovery rate-corrected ps < .05), which are regions of the default mode network specialized for social and memory functions. The genes most positively weighted on the whole-genome expression map colocated with schizotypy-related magnetization were enriched for genes that were significantly downregulated in two prior case-control histological studies of brain gene expression in schizophrenia. Conversely, the most negatively weighted genes were enriched for genes that were transcriptionally upregulated in schizophrenia. Positively weighted (downregulated) genes were enriched for neuronal, specifically interneuronal, affiliations and coded a network of proteins comprising a few highly interactive "hubs" such as parvalbumin and calmodulin. CONCLUSIONS: Microstructural magnetic resonance imaging maps of intracortical magnetization can be linked to both the behavioral traits of schizotypy and prior histological data on dysregulated gene expression in schizophrenia

Structure-based design and synthesis of antiparasitic pyrrolopyrimidines targeting pteridine reductase 1

The treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis remains a major unmet health need in sub-Saharan Africa. Approaches involving new molecular targets are important and pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1), an enzyme that reduces dihydrobiopterin in Trypanosoma spp. has been identified as a candidate target and it has been shown previously that substituted pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines are inhibitors of PTR1 from T. brucei (J. Med. Chem. 2010, 53, 221-229). In this study, 61 new pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines have been prepared, designed with input from new crystal structures of 23 of these compounds complexed with PTR1, and evaluated in screens for enzyme inhibitory activity against PTR1 and in vitro antitrypanosomal activity. 8 compounds were sufficiently active in both screens to take forward to in vivo evaluation. Thus although evidence for trypanocidal activity in a stage I disease model in mice was obtained, the compounds were too toxic to mice for further development

Functional network dysconnectivity as a biomarker of treatment resistance in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia may develop from disruptions in functional connectivity regulated by neurotransmitters such as dopamine and acetylcholine. The modulatory effects of these neurotransmitters might explain how antipsychotics attenuate symptoms of schizophrenia and account for the variable response to antipsychotics observed in clinical practice. Based on the putative mechanisms of antipsychotics and evidence of disrupted connectivity in schizophrenia, we hypothesised that functional network connectivity, as assessed using network-based statistics, would exhibit differences between treatment response subtypes of schizophrenia and healthy controls. Resting-state functional MRI data were obtained from 17 healthy controls as well as individuals with schizophrenia who responded well to first-line atypical antipsychotics (first-line responders; FLR, n=18), had failed at least two trials of antipsychotics but responded to clozapine (treatment-resistant schizophrenia; TRS, n=18), or failed at least two trials of antipsychotics and a trial of clozapine (ultra-treatment-resistant schizophrenia; UTRS, n=16). Data were pre-processed using the Advanced Normalization Toolkit and BrainWavelet Toolbox. Network connectivity was assessed using the Network-Based Statistics toolbox in Matlab. ANOVA revealed a significant difference in functional connectivity between groups that extended between cerebellar and parietal regions to the frontal cortex (p<0.05). Post-hoc t-tests revealed weaker network connectivity in individuals with UTRS compared with healthy controls but no other differences between groups. Results demonstrated distinct differences in functional connectivity between individuals with UTRS and healthy controls. Future work must determine whether these changes occur prior to the onset of treatment and if they can be used to predict resistance to antipsychotics during first-episode psychosis

Creating a proof-of-concept climate service to assess future renewable energy mixes in Europe: an overview of the C3S ECEM project

The EU Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) European Climatic Energy Mixes (ECEM) has produced, in close collaboration with prospective users, a proof-of-concept climate service, or Demonstrator, designed to enable the energy industry and policy makers assess how well different energy supply mixes in Europe will meet demand, over different time horizons (from seasonal to long-term decadal planning), focusing on the role climate has on the mixes. The concept of C3S ECEM, its methodology and some results are presented here. The first part focuses on the construction of reference data sets for climate variables based on the ERA-Interim reanalysis. Subsequently, energy variables were created by transforming the bias-adjusted climate variables using a combination of statistical and physically-based models. A comprehensive set of measured energy supply and demand data was also collected, in order to assess the robustness of the conversion to energy variables. Climate and energy data have been produced both for the historical period (1979–2016) and for future projections (from 1981 to 2100, to also include a past reference period, but focusing on the 30 year period 2035–2065). The skill of current seasonal forecast systems for climate and energy variables has also been assessed. The C3S ECEM project was designed to provide ample opportunities for stakeholders to convey their needs and expectations, and assist in the development of a suitable Demonstrator. This is the tool that collects the output produced by C3S ECEM and presents it in a user-friendly and interactive format, and it therefore constitutes the essence of the C3S ECEM proof-of-concept climate service

Network analysis of inflammation and symptoms in recent onset schizophrenia and the influence of minocycline during a clinical trial

Abstract Attempts to delineate an immune subtype of schizophrenia have not yet led to the clear identification of potential treatment targets. An unbiased informatic approach at the level of individual immune cytokines and symptoms may reveal organisational structures underlying heterogeneity in schizophrenia, and potential for future therapies. The aim was to determine the network and relative influence of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines on depressive, positive, and negative symptoms. We further aimed to determine the effect of exposure to minocycline or placebo for 6 months on cytokine-symptom network connectivity and structure. Network analysis was applied to baseline and 6-month data from the large multi-center BeneMin trial of minocycline (N = 207) in schizophrenia. Pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ had the greatest influence in the inflammatory network and were associated with depressive symptoms and suspiciousness at baseline. At 6 months, the placebo group network connectivity was 57% stronger than the minocycline group, due to significantly greater influence of TNF-α, early wakening, and pathological guilt. IL-6 and its downstream impact on TNF-α, and IFN-γ, could offer novel targets for treatment if offered at the relevant phenotypic profile including those with depression. Future targeted experimental studies of immune-based therapies are now needed