Natural distribution of environmental radon daughters in the different brain areas of an Alzheimer Disease victim

BACKGROUND: Radon is a ubiquitous noble gas in the environment and a primary source of harmful radiation exposure for humans; it decays in a cascade of daughters (RAD) by releasing the cell damaging high energy alpha particles. RESULTS: We studied natural distribution of RAD (210)Po and (210)Bi in the different parts of the postmortem brain of 86-year-old woman who had suffered from Alzheimer's disease (AD). A distinct brain map emerged, since RAD distribution was different among the analyzed brain areas. The highest RAD irradiation (mSv·year(-1)) occurred in the decreasing order of magnitude: amygdale (Amy) >> hippocampus (Hip) > temporal lobe (Tem) ~ frontal lobe (Fro) > occipital lobe (Occ) ~ parietal lobe (Par) > substantia nigra (SN) >> locus ceruleus (LC) ~ nucleus basalis (NB); generally more RAD accumulated in the proteins than lipids of gray and white (gray > white) brain matter. Amy and Hip are particularly vulnerable brain structure targets to significant RAD internal radiation damage in AD (5.98 and 1.82 mSv·year(-1), respectively). Next, naturally occurring RAD radiation for Tem and Fro, then Occ and Par, and SN was an order of magnitude higher than that in LC and NB; the later was within RAD we observed previously in the healthy control brains. CONCLUSION: Naturally occurring environmental RAD exposure may dramatically enhance AD deterioration by selectively targeting brain areas of emotions (Amy) and memory (Hip)

Potato Aeroponics: Effects of Cultivar and Plant Origin on Minituber Production

Aeroponics is a modern and soilless technology that is used for the efficient production of pre-basic seed potatoes, namely minitubers. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the cultivar and type of planting material on the production of minitubers in the aeroponic facility in Guča, Serbia, at short, 7-day harvest intervals. Although aeroponic cultivation prolonged the vegetative cycle in all five investigated cultivars, the dynamics of minituber formation varied between genotypes. Two early maturing cultivars, Cleopatra and Sinora, quickly completed the vegetative cycle and formed a small number of minitubers, while the medium-late to late cultivars, Kennebec and Agria, steadily tuberized during the entire cultivation period in the aeroponic facility. The type of planting material affected the dynamics of minituber formation in three investigated cultivars. Sinora, Cleopatra, and Désirée’s plants of in vitro origin reached the final number of minitubers and the vines started senescing much earlier than plants of minituber origin. Kennebec and Agria plants of in vitro origin produced the largest number of minitubers (53.8–54.5) and showed the highest yield (9.8–10.5 kg m−2) during the cultivation period, while the heaviest minitubers were formed by Sinora plants of minituber origin (15.48 g). In addition, the temperature during pre-harvest periods significantly affected the number of tubers at harvests in Kennebec and Agria, and minituber mass in Désirée. © 2022 by the authors

Radonove kćeri u okolišu kao pokazatelji biokemijskih promjena u mozgu bolesnika s Alzheimerovom i Parkinsonovom bolesti i u pušača

This paper presents an investigation of the retention of environmental radon daughters, 210Po (alpha particle emitting radio-nuclide) and 210Bi (beta particle emitting radio-nuclide), in lipid and protein fractions of the cortical grey and subcortical white matter from the frontal and temporal brain lobes of patients who had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, of cigarette smokers, and of control subjects. 210Po and 210Bi radioactivity increased tenfold in the cortical grey and subcortical white protein fraction in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and smokers, and tenfold in the cortical grey and subcortical white lipid fraction in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Free radicals generated by radon daughters may add to the severity of the radio-chemical injury to the brain astrocytes. The pathognomonic distribution of radon daughters to lipids in patients with Parkinson’s disease and to proteins in patients with Alzheimer’s disease was attributed to high chlorine affinity of radon daughters. The changes in the membrane protein pores, channels, and gates in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in the lipid bilayer in patients with Parkinson’s disease are at the core of what the authors think are two systemic brain diseases.Odredili smo radioaktivnost radonovih kćeri, 210Po (alfa čestice) i 210Bi (beta-čestice) u lipidima i proteinima iz sive mase korteksa i bijele supkortikalne supstancije iz frontalnog i temporalnog režnja mozga osoba oboljelih od Alzheimerove ili Parkinsonove bolesti, pušača i nepušača bez kliničkih znakova neurološke bolesti. Ustanovili smo da je radioaktivnost 210Pb i 210Bi bila deset puta veća selektivno u proteinima sive i bijele moždane supstancije osoba oboljelih od Alzheimerove bolesti i u pušača. Za razliku od toga, radioaktivnost radonovih kćeri bila je selektivno deset puta veća u lipidima sive i bijele supstancije mozga osoba oboljelih od Parkinsonove bolesti. Alfa čestice visoke energije predstavile su se kao neizbježni čimbenik rizika iz prirodnog okoliša za čovjekov mozak koji zajedno s popratnim stvaranjem slobodnih radikala mogu dovesti do minimalne lokalne udružene radiokemijske ozljede moždanih stanica, najvjerojatnije astrocita. Rezultati pokazuju da patognomonična distribucija afiniteta radonovih kćeri za lipide u bolesnika s Parkinsonovom bolesti i za proteine u bolesnika s Alzheimerovom bolesti odražava povećanu prisutnost lokalno raspoloživih klornih iona za koje se radonove kćeri selektivno vežu. Mislimo da promjene u sastavu proteinskih pora, kanala i vrata ugrađenih u staničnu membranu u bolesnika s Alzheimerovom bolesti, kao i promjene propusnosti dvoslojnoga lipidnog sloja te iste membrane leže u biti tih dviju teških sistemskih bolesti čovjekova mozga

Replication of fifteen loci involved in human plasma protein N-glycosylation in 4,802 samples from four cohorts

Human protein glycosylation is a complex process, and its in vivo regulation is poorly understood. Changes in glycosylation patterns are associated with many human diseases and conditions. Understanding the biological determinants of protein glycome provides a basis for future diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) allow to study biology via a hypothesis-free search of loci and genetic variants associated with a trait of interest. Sixteen loci were identified by three previous GWAS of human plasma proteome N-glycosylation. However, the possibility that some of these loci are false positives needs to be eliminated by replication studies, which have been limited so far. Here, we use the largest set of samples so far (4,802 individuals) to replicate the previously identified loci. For all but one locus, the expected replication power exceeded 95%. Of the sixteen loci reported previously, fifteen were replicated in our study. For the remaining locus (near the KREMEN1 gene) the replication power was low, and hence replication results were inconclusive. The very high replication rate highlights the general robustness of the GWAS findings as well as the high standards adopted by the community that studies genetic regulation of protein glycosylation. The fifteen replicated loci present a good target for further functional studies. Among these, eight genes encode glycosyltransferases: MGAT5, B3GAT1, FUT8, FUT6, ST6GAL1, B4GALT1, ST3GAL4, and MGAT3. The remaining seven loci offer starting points for further functional follow-up investigation into molecules and mechanisms that regulate human protein N-glycosylation in vivo

The concentration ratio of alkaline earth elements calcium, barium and strontium in grains of diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid wheat

Even though calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr) and barium (Ba) belong to the same group of the periodic table of elements, and thus have similar chemical features, their importance for plants differs greatly. Since plants do not have the ability to completely dis­criminate between essential (e.g. Ca) and non-essential elements (e.g. Sr and Ba), they read­ily take all of them up from soil solution, which is reflected in the ratios of concentrations of those elements in plant tissues, and it influences their nutritive characteristics. The ability of plant species and genotypes to take up and accumulate chemical elements in their different tissues is related to their genetic background. However, differences in chemical composition are the least reflected in their reproductive parts. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate ratios of concentrations of Ca, Sr and Ba in the whole grain of diploid and tetraploid wheat - ancestors of common wheat, as well as in hexaploid commercial cultivars, grown in the field, at the same location, over a period of three years. The investigated genotypes accumulated Ca, Sr and Ba at different levels, which is reflected in the ratio of their concentrations in the grain. The lowest ratio was established between Ba and Sr, followed by Ca and Ba, while the highest ratio was between Ca and Sr. Moreover, the results have shown that the year of study, genotype and the combination highly significantly affected the ratio of the concentration Ca:Sr, Ca:Ba, and Ba:Sr