Topical 1% Nalbuphine on corneal sensivity and epitheilization after experimental lamellar keratectomy in rabbits

The present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of topical 1% nalbuphine on corneal sensitivity and re-epithelialization, after lamellar keratectomy in rabbits. All protocols were approved by the Animal Care Comission of São Paulo State University (Protocol 028793-08) and were conducted in accordance with the Institutional Animal Committee and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) statement for the use of animals in research. Surgeries were performed on the left eye (Nalbuphine Group) and on the right eye (Control Group). Two groups were formed (n=10) and corneas received either 30µl of 1% nalbuphine (NG) or 30µl of 0,9% saline (CG). Treatments occurred at 7, 11, 15 and 19 hours. After the surgery, the corneas were stained with fluorescein and photographed daily; corneal touch threshold (CTT) was assessed with Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer, at 7 and 19 hours, 20 minutes after treatments. Data were statistically compared with repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc test, and T test (P0.05); however, a higher area under the curve for both parameters was observed in the NG (2771), in comparison to CG (2164). Topical 1% nalbuphine did not change significantly corneal sensitivity and re-epithelialization, after experimental lamellar keratectomy in rabbits.Avaliaram-se os efeitos da nalbufina 1% sobre o limiar de sensibilidade corneal (LSC) e a epitelização corneal em coelhos submetidos à ceratectomia lamelar unilateral. Os procedimentos foram aprovados pela Comissão de Ética no Uso de Animais da Faculdade de Ciências Agrarias e Veterinárias da Universidade Estadual Paulista (Protocolo no 028793-08), de acordo com as normas do Institutional Animal Committee and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Conceberam-se dois grupos (n=10) e os olhos foram tratados com 30µl de Nalbufina 1% (Olho esquerdo - GN) ou com 30µl de solução salina (Olho direito - GC), às 7, 11, 15 e 19 horas das ceratectomias unilaterais, até sua reepitelização. O limiar de sensibilidade corneal (LSC) foi avaliado 20 minutos após cada tratamento, 48 horas antes e depois da ceratectomia a intervalos regulares de 12 horas (7 e 19 horas) com estesiômetro de Cochet-Bonnet. Após a realização da cirurgia, diariamente, as córneas foram coradas com fluoresceína e registradas em fotos digitais para mensuração em software Image-J. A normalidade dos dados foi avaliada ao teste de Kolmogorov-Smirnov. O limiar de sensibilidade e a área ulcerada foram comparados ao teste de Bonferroni, após ANOVA de medias repetidas (P0,05), todavia, constatou-se maior área sob a curva, relativamente ao LSC, no GN (2771), comparativamente ao GC (2164). O tempo médio±DP de reepitelização no GN foi de 7,40±0,47 dias e de 8,90±0,31 dias no GC, não havendo diferença significativa entre os grupos (P=0,11). Como conclusão, tem-se que o uso tópico de nalbufina 1% não alterou significativamente o limiar de sensibilidade e a reepitelização corneais em coelhos submetidos a ceratectomia lamelar experimental

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

XBP-1-deficient plasmablasts show normal protein folding but altered glycosylation and lipid synthesis

10.4049/jimmunol.0900953Journal of Immunology18363690-3699JOIM

Placental 13C-DHA metabolism and relationship with maternal BMI, glycemia and birthweight

Background: fetal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supply relies on preferential transplacental transfer, which is regulated by placental DHA lipid metabolism. Maternal hyperglycemia and obesity associate with higher birthweight and fetal DHA insufficiency but the role of placental DHA metabolism is unclear.Methods: explants from 17 term placenta were incubated with 13C-labeled DHA for 48h, at 5 or 10 mmol/L glucose treatment, and the production of seventeen individual newly synthesized 13C-DHA labeled lipids quantified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Results: maternal BMI positively associated with 13C-DHA-labeled diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, lysophospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens, while maternal fasting glycemia positively associated with five 13C-DHA triacylglycerols. In turn, 13C-DHA-labeled phospholipids and triacylglycerols positively associated with birthweight centile. In-vitro glucose treatment increased most 13C-DHA-lipids, but decreased 13C-DHA phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens. However, with increasing maternal BMI, the magnitude of the glucose treatment induced increase in 13C-DHA phosphatidylcholine and 13C-DHA lysophospholipids was curtailed, with further decline in 13C-DHA phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens. Conversely, with increasing birthweight centile glucose treatment induced increases in 13C-DHA triacylglycerols were exaggerated, while glucose treatment induced decreases in 13C-DHA phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens were diminished.Conclusions: maternal BMI and glycemia increased the production of different placental DHA lipids implying impact on different metabolic pathways. Glucose-induced elevation in placental DHA metabolism is moderated with higher maternal BMI. In turn, findings of associations between many DHA lipids with birthweight suggest that BMI and glycemia promote fetal growth partly through changes in placental DHA metabolism. <br/

Sex-dependent regulation of placental oleic acid and palmitic acid metabolism by maternal glycemia and associations with birthweight.

Pregnancy complications such as maternal hyperglycemia increase perinatal mortality and morbidity, but risks are higher in males than in females. We hypothesized that fetal sex-dependent differences in placental palmitic-acid (PA) and oleic-acid (OA) metabolism influence such risks. Placental explants (n = 22) were incubated with isotope-labeled fatty acids ( 13C-PA or 13C-OA) for 24 or 48 h and the production of forty-seven 13C-PA lipids and thirty-seven 13C-OA lipids quantified by LCMS. Linear regression was used to investigate associations between maternal glycemia, BMI and fetal sex with 13C lipids, and between 13C lipids and birthweight centile. Placental explants from females showed greater incorporation of 13C-OA and 13C-PA into almost all lipids compared to males. Fetal sex also influenced relationships with maternal glycemia, with many 13C-OA and 13C-PA acylcarnitines, 13C-PA-diacylglycerols and 13C-PA phospholipids positively associated with glycemia in females but not in males. In contrast, several 13C-OA triacylglycerols and 13C-OA phospholipids were negatively associated with glycemia in males but not in females. Birthweight centile in females was positively associated with six 13C-PA and three 13C-OA lipids (mainly acylcarnitines) and was negatively associated with eight 13C-OA lipids, while males showed few associations. Fetal sex thus influences placental lipid metabolism and could be a key modulator of the impact of maternal metabolic health on perinatal outcomes, potentially contributing toward sex-specific adaptions in which females prioritize survival. </p

Myo-inositol moderates glucose-induced effects on human placental ¹³C-arachidonic acid metabolism

Maternal hyperglycemia is associated with disrupted transplacental arachidonic acid (AA) supply and eicosanoid synthesis, which contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Since placental inositol is lowered with increasing glycemia, and since myo-inositol appears a promising intervention for gestational diabetes, we hypothesized that myo-inositol might rectify glucose-induced perturbations in placental AA metabolism. Term placental explants (n = 19) from women who underwent a mid-gestation oral glucose-tolerance-test were cultured with 13C-AA for 48 h in media containing glucose (5, 10 or 17 mM) and myo-inositol (0.3 or 60 µM). Newly synthesized 13C-AA-lipids were quantified by liquid-chromatography-mass-spectrometry. Increasing maternal fasting glycemia was associated with decreased proportions of 13C-AA-phosphatidyl-ethanolamines (PE, PE-P), but increased proportions of 13C-AA-triacylglycerides (TGs) relative to total placental 13C-AA lipids. This suggests altered placental AA compartmentalization towards storage and away from pools utilized for eicosanoid production and fetal AA supply. Compared to controls (5 mM glucose), 10 mM glucose treatment decreased the amount of four 13C-AA-phospholipids and eleven 13C-AA-TGs, whilst 17 mM glucose increased 13C-AA-PC-40:8 and 13C-AA-LPC. Glucose-induced alterations in all 13C-AA lipids (except PE-P-38:4) were attenuated by concurrent 60 µM myo-inositol treatment. Myo-inositol therefore rectifies some glucose-induced effects, but further studies are required to determine if maternal myo-inositol supplementation could reduce AA-associated pregnancy complications. </p