Elevated Level of DNA Damage and Impaired Repair of Oxidative DNA Damage in Patients with Recurrent Depressive Disorder

Background: Depressive disorder (DD), including recurrent DD (rDD), is a severe psychological disease, which affects a large percentage of the world population. Although pathogenesis of the disease is not known, a growing body of evidence shows that inflammation together with oxidative stress may contribute to development of DD. Since reactive oxygen species produced during stress may damage DNA, we wanted to evaluate the extent of DNA damage and efficiency of DNA repair in patients with depression. Material and Methods: We measured and compared the extent of endogenous DNA damage – single- and double-strand breaks, alkali-labile sites, and oxidative damage of the pyrimidines and purines – in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from rDD patients (n=40) and healthy controls (n=46) using comet assay. We also measured DNA damage evoked by hydrogen peroxide and monitored changes in DNA damage during repair incubation. Results: We found an increased number DNA breaks, alkali-labile sites, and oxidative modification of DNA bases in the patients compared to the controls. Exposure to hydrogen peroxide evoked the same increased damage in both groups. Examination of the repair kinetics of both groups revealed that the lesions were more efficiently repaired in the controls than in the patients. Conclusions: For the first time we showed that patients with depression, compared with non-depresses individuals, had more DNA breaks, alkali-labile sites, and oxidative DNA damage, and that those lesions may be accumulated by impairments of the DNA repair systems. More studies must be conducted to elucidate the role of DNA damage and repair in depression

Transcriptional responses of winter barley to cold indicate nucleosome remodelling as a specific feature of crown tissues

We report a series of microarray-based comparisons of gene expression in the leaf and crown of the winter barley cultivar Luxor, following the exposure of young plants to various periods of low (above and below zero) temperatures. A transcriptomic analysis identified genes which were either expressed in both the leaf and crown, or specifically in one or the other. Among the former were genes responsible for calcium and abscisic acid signalling, polyamine synthesis, late embryogenesis abundant proteins and dehydrins. In the crown, the key organ for cereal overwintering, cold treatment induced transient changes in the transcription of nucleosome assembly genes, and especially H2A and HTA11, which have been implicated in cold sensing in Arabidopsis thaliana. In the leaf, various heat-shock proteins were induced. Differences in expression pattern between the crown and leaf were frequent for genes involved in certain pathways responsible for osmolyte production (sucrose and starch, raffinose, γ-aminobutyric acid metabolism), sugar signalling (trehalose metabolism) and secondary metabolism (lignin synthesis). The action of proteins with antifreeze activity, which were markedly induced during hardening, was demonstrated by a depression in the ice nucleation temperature

Termodynamiczne funkcje aktywacji lepkiego przepływu w układach elektrolit-woda-rozpuszczalnik organiczny. Część I. Roztwory NaI w mieszaninach wody z izopropanolem i tert-butanolem

Functions of activation for viscous flow ΔH*, ΔS*, and ΔG* have been calculated for the systems NaI-water-isopropanol in the range of temperatures 288.15-313.15 K and NaI-water-tert- -butanol in the range of temperatures 299.15-313.15 K. The calculations were made for NaI solutions with concentrations 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 moles of salt per 100 moles of the solvent on the basis of our previous viscosity data. The results obtained have been interpreted from the point of view of alcohol effect on the water structure and that of NaI on a mixed solvent structure.Obliczono termodynamiczne funkcje aktywacji lepkiego przepływu ΔH*, ΔS* i ΔG* dla układów NaI-woda-izopropanol w zakresie temperatur 288.15-313.15 K i NaI-woda-tert-butanol w zakresie temperatur 299.15-313.15 K. Obliczenia wykonano dla roztworów NaI o stężeniach 0.5, 1.0 i 2.0 mole soli na 100 moli rozpuszczalnika. Uzyskane wyniki zinterpretowano z punktu widzenia wpływu alkoholu na strukturę wody oraz NaI na strukturę mieszanego rozpuszczalnika.Zadanie pt. Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Wartości współczynników lepkości roztworów NaI w mieszaninach wody z izomerami butanolu

The viscosity of NaI solutions at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 moles of electrolyte per 100 moles of the mixed solvent has been measured within the whole composition range of the mixtures of water with isobutanol, sec-butanol at 298.15 K and with tert-butanol at 299.15 K.Zmierzono lepkość roztworów NaI w mieszaninach wody z lzobutanolem, aec- -butanolem w temperaturze 296,15 K i tert-butanolem w temperaturze 299,15 K w całym zakresie składów mieszanego rozpuszczalnika. Pomiary wykonano w roztworach NaI o stężeniu: 0,5, 1,0 i 2,0 mole elektrolitu na 100 moli mieszanego rozpuszczalnika.Zadanie pt. Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Vesicle-Surfactant Interactions: Effects of Added Surfactants on the Gel to Liquid-crystal Transition for Two Vesicular Systems

Interactions of both cationic and anionic surfactants with vesicles formed by dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DOAB) and by sodium didodecylphosphate (DDP) have been probed using differential scanning microcalorimetry. The scans show that the surfactants are incorporated into the vesicle bilayers. The change in the melting temperature, Tm, characterising the gel to liquid-crystal transition depends on whether the charges on the head groups of surfactant ion and vesicular ion have either similar or opposite signs.

Giver fiskebørnehaver mere liv?

Et af de nye redskaber der bruges til at fremme livet i havet, er fiskebørnehaver. En fiskebørnehave er en gitterkasse, der giver fiskeyngel ly og skjul, når de små fisk skal slå deres spæde haleslag i starten af livet. Meningen med fiskebørnehaven er at give fiskene gode muligheder for at overleve og til at fremme den samlede biodiversitet i vores havne. Det er til glæde for både dyr og mennesker. Men virker de efter hensigten, og hvordan måler vi det