Cytoprotective effect of lithium against spontaneous and induced apoptosis of lymphoid cell line MOLT-4.

Lithium (Li) is still useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Cellular mechanisms of Li action are not fully understood and include some cytoprotective properties. Data concerning Li effect on the apoptotic mechanisms in cells other than neurons are fragmentary and contradictory. We have investigated anti-apoptotic activity of Li in a lymphoid derived MOLT-4 cell line. Spontaneous and camptothecin-induced apoptosis was analyzed in cells treated with 0-20 mM Li carbonate. Early apoptosis was identified as significant mitochondrial depolarization (JC-1 staining). Later stages of apoptosis were estimated with annexin V binding and by the proportion of cells containing sub-G1 amounts of DNA (PI staining). We have observed a biphasic effect of Li on the proportion of spontaneously apoptotic cells;namely, low (therapeutic) concentrations of Li had a significant effect stabilizing the mitochondrial membrane polarization, while 10 and 20mM Li increased apoptosis. The latter could be seen both as mitochondrial depolarization as well as an increased proportion of sub-G1 cells, accompanied by reduced proportion of S phase cells. Li at concentrations above 2 mM had a significant, dose-dependent, anti-apoptotic effect on the cells undergoing camptothecin induced apoptosis. In conclusion, demonstrated cytoprotective effect of Li is at least partially related to stabilization of mitochondrial membrane potential and to the reduction of DNA damaging effects in proliferating cells; both may form part of the mechanism through which Li is useful in therapy of bipolar disorder, but may have more general consequences

Cytoprotective effect of lithium against spontaneous and induced apoptosis of lymphoid cell line MOLT-4.

Lithium (Li) is still useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Cellular mechanisms of Li action are not fully understood and include some cytoprotective properties. Data concerning Li effect on the apoptotic mechanisms in cells other than neurons are fragmentary and contradictory. We have investigated anti-apoptotic activity of Li in a lymphoid derived MOLT-4 cell line. Spontaneous and camptothecin-induced apoptosis was analyzed in cells treated with 0-20 mM Li carbonate. Early apoptosis was identified as significant mitochondrial depolarization (JC-1 staining). Later stages of apoptosis were estimated with annexin V binding and by the proportion of cells containing sub-G1 amounts of DNA (PI staining). We have observed a biphasic effect of Li on the proportion of spontaneously apoptotic cells;namely, low (therapeutic) concentrations of Li had a significant effect stabilizing the mitochondrial membrane polarization, while 10 and 20mM Li increased apoptosis. The latter could be seen both as mitochondrial depolarization as well as an increased proportion of sub-G1 cells, accompanied by reduced proportion of S phase cells. Li at concentrations above 2 mM had a significant, dose-dependent, anti-apoptotic effect on the cells undergoing camptothecin induced apoptosis. In conclusion, demonstrated cytoprotective effect of Li is at least partially related to stabilization of mitochondrial membrane potential and to the reduction of DNA damaging effects in proliferating cells; both may form part of the mechanism through which Li is useful in therapy of bipolar disorder, but may have more general consequences

Observation of ozone concentration during the solar eclipse

Abstract We report the results of measurements of ozone concentrations during the solar eclipse of 11 Ž . August 1999. The experiment was performed in Warsaw Poland and its surroundings. The temporal evolution of ozone concentration was measured using the differential absorption lidar Ž . DIAL and it was compared with results obtained by several monitoring stations measuring with other methods. In almost all cases, a drop in the ozone concentration was observed during the eclipse. Experimental data was compared with calculations done using a simple model based on NO -O chemical kinetics. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Four-dimensional distribution of the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic cloud over Europe observed by EARLINET

© Author(s) 2013. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallaj ökull in April-May 2010 represents a "natural experiment" to study the impact of volcanic emissions on a continental scale. For the first time, quantitative data about the presence, altitude, and layering of the volcanic cloud, in conjunction with optical information, are available for most parts of Europe derived from the observations by the European Aerosol Research Lidar NETwork (EARLINET). Based on multi-wavelength Raman lidar systems, EARLINET is the only instrument worldwide that is able to provide dense time series of high-quality optical data to be used for aerosol typing and for the retrieval of particle microphysical properties as a function of altitude. In this work we show the four-dimensional (4-D) distribution of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic cloud in the troposphere over Europe as observed by EARLINET during the entire volcanic event (15 April-26 May 2010). All optical properties directly measured (backscatter, extinction, and particle linear depolarization ratio) are stored in the EARLINET database available at www.earlinet.org. A specific relational database providing the volcanic mask over Europe, realized ad hoc for this specific event, has been developed and is available on request at www.earlinet.org. During the first days after the eruption, volcanic particles were detected over Central Europe within a wide range of altitudes, from the upper troposphere down to the local planetary boundary layer (PBL). After 19 April 2010, volcanic particles were detected over southern and south-eastern Europe. During the first half of May (5-15 May), material emitted by the Eyjafjallajökull volcano was detected over Spain and Portugal and then over the Mediterranean and the Balkans. The last observations of the event were recorded until 25 May in Central Europe and in the Eastern Mediterranean area. The 4-D distribution of volcanic aerosol layering and optical properties on European scale reported here provides an unprecedented data set for evaluating satellite data and aerosol dispersion models for this kind of volcanic events.Peer reviewe

Long-term aerosol and cloud database from correlative EARLINET-CALIPSO observations

The European Aerosol Research Lidar Network, EARLINET, performs correlative observations during CALIPSO overpasses based on a sophisticated measurement strategy since June 2006. Within a dedicated activity supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), sixteen EARLINET stations contributed about 1500 measurements during an intensive observational period from May 2008 to October 2009. From these measurements, we establish a long-term aerosol and cloud database of correlative EARLINET-CALIPSO observations. This database shall provide a basis for homogenizing long-term space-borne observations conducted with different lidar instruments operating at different wavelengths on various platforms over the next decade(s). The database is also used to study the quality and representativeness of satellite lidar cross sections along an orbit against long-term lidar network observations on a continental scale.Postprint (published version

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Ghosts in Euripides' Hecuba

The prologue of Euripides' Hecuba is delivered by the ghost of Polydorus, one of the sons of Hecuba and Priam. Polydorus tells the spectators about his own fate and mentions the earlier apparition of the spirit of Achilles, who demanded that the Greeks sacrifice the captive Polyxena to him. The present article centres on the questions of why Euripides introduced the ghost of Polydorus on stage and what his spectre has in common with the dream related by Hecuba just after the prologue. It is argued that, by introducing the ghost scene, Euripides creates a link between his play and Sophocles' Polyxena

Relation between macrophyte-based classification of rivers and physico-chemical quality of riverine water, exemplified in the rivers of Wielkopolska

W województwie wielkopolskim w latach 2007-2009 przebadano 153 stanowiska na rzekach, które sklasyfikowano w 5-klasowym systemie stanu ekologicznego. Klasyfikacja opierała się na Makrofitowym Indeksie Rzecznym (MIR). Wartości indeksu makrofitowego porównano następnie z wynikami analiz fizyczno-chemicznych wody w rzekach należących do różnych typów. W analizie statystycznej wykorzystano następujące wartości wskaźników hydrochemicznych: średnie roczne, średnie w sezonie wegetacyjnym (VI-IX), maksymalne i minimalne oraz kwartyle. Badania wykazały istotne powiązania pomiędzy indeksem makrofitowym a zawartością pierwiastków biogennych w wodzie oraz BZT5, węglem organicznym, przewodnością właściwą oraz chlorofilem a w rzekach typu piaszczystego i kamienisto-żwirowego. Najwyższe wartości korelacji wskaźnika makrofitowego wykazano w odniesieniu do BZT5, chlorofilu a, węgla organicznego i azotu Kjeldahla, przy czym wskaźnik ten najsilniej odzwierciedlał średnie wartości roczne i w podobny sposób średnie z okresu wegetacji oraz najwyższe wartości w roku.In the time span of 2007-2009, assessments were carried out for 153 monitoring stations located along the rivers of Wielkopolska, which were classified according to the 5-class system of ecological status. Their classification was based on the Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR). The MIR values were then compared with the results obtained from physico-chemical analysis of water samples taken at different types of rivers. Statistical analysis included the following hydrochemical parameters: annual averages, growth season averages (June-September), annual maximum and minimum values and quartiles. The study revealed a significant relation between the macrophyte index and nutrient content of the water, as well as BOD5, organic carbon, conductivity and chlorophyll a in sandy rivers and stone-and-gravel rivers. The highest correlation values of the macrophyte index were observed with BOD5, chlorophyll a, organic carbon and Kjeldahl nitrogen. The macrophyte index most accurately reflects annual average values and, in a very similar way, the average values of the growth season and the highest values in a year