Trait to gene analysis reveals that allelic variation in three genes determines seed vigour

Predictable seedling establishment is essential for resource-efficient and cost-effective crop production; it is widely accepted as a critically important trait determining yield and profitability. Seed vigour is essential to this, but its genetic basis is not understood. We used natural variation and fine mapping in the crop Brassica oleracea to show that allelic variation at three loci influence the key vigour trait of rapid germination. Functional analysis in both B. oleracea and the model Arabidopsis identified and demonstrated activity of genes at these loci. Two candidate genes were identified at the principal Speed of Germination QTL (SOG1) in B. oleracea. One gene BoLCVIG2 is a homologue of the alternative-splicing regulator (AtPTB1). The other gene BoLCVIG1 was unknown, but different alleles had different splice forms that were coincident with altered abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity. We identified a further QTL, Reduced ABscisic Acid 1 (RABA1) that influenced ABA content and provide evidence that this results from the activity of a homologue of the ABA catabolic gene AtCYP707A2 at this locus. Lines containing beneficial alleles of these three genes had greater seed vigour. We propose a mechanism in which both seed ABA content and sensitivity to it determines speed of germination

Co-ingestion of protein or a protein hydrolysate with carbohydrate enhances anabolic signaling, but not glycogen resynthesis, following recovery from prolonged aerobic exercise in trained cyclists

Purpose: The effect of carbohydrate (CHO), or CHO supplemented with either sodium caseinate protein (CHO–C) or a sodium caseinate protein hydrolysate (CHO–H) on the recovery of skeletal muscle glycogen and anabolic signaling following prolonged aerobic exercise was determined in trained male cyclists [n = 11, mean ± SEM age 28.8 ± 2.3 years; body mass (BM) 75.0 ± 2.3 kg; VO2peak 61.3 ± 1.6 ml kg−1 min−1]. Methods: On three separate occasions, participants cycled for 2 h at ~ 70% VO2peak followed by a 4-h recovery period. Isoenergetic drinks were consumed at + 0 and + 2 h of recovery containing either (1) CHO (1.2 g kg −1 BM), (2) CHO–C, or (3) CHO–H (1.04 and 0.16 g kg−1 BM, respectively) in a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design. Muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis were taken prior to commencement of each trial, and at + 0 and + 4 h of recovery for determination of skeletal muscle glycogen, and intracellular signaling associated with protein synthesis. Results: Despite an augmented insulin response following CHO–H ingestion, there was no significant difference in skeletal muscle glycogen resynthesis following recovery between trials. CHO–C and CHO–H co-ingestion significantly increased phospho-mTOR Ser2448 and 4EBP1 Thr37/46 versus CHO, with CHO–H displaying the greatest change in phospho-4EBP1 Thr37/46. Protein co-ingestion, compared to CHO alone, during recovery did not augment glycogen resynthesis. Conclusion: Supplementing CHO with intact sodium caseinate or an insulinotropic hydrolysate derivative augmented intracellular signaling associated with skeletal muscle protein synthesis following prolonged aerobic exercise

Regulation of GLUT4 translocation in an in vitro cell model using postprandial human serum ex vivo

Individual amino acids, amino acid mixtures and protein hydrolysates stimulate glucose uptake in many experimental models. To replicate better in vitro the dynamic postprandial response to feeding in vivo, in the present study we investigated the effects of culture media conditioned with fasted and postprandial human serum on GLUT4 translocation in L6‐GLUT4myc myotubes. Serum samples were collected from healthy male participants (n = 8) at baseline (T0), 60 (T60) and 120 min (T120) after the ingestion of 0.33 g (kg body mass)−1 of intact (WPC) or hydrolysed (WPH) whey protein and an isonitrogenous non‐essential amino acid (NEAA) control. L6‐GLUT4myc myotubes were starved of serum and amino acids for 1 h before incubation for 1 h in medium containing 1% postprandial human serum, after which GLUT4 translocation was determined via colorimetric assay. Medium conditioned with fasted human serum at concentrations of 5–20% increased cell surface GLUT4myc abundance. Incubation with serum collected after the ingestion of WPH increased cell surface GLUT4myc at T60 relative to T0 [mean (lower, upper 95% confidence interval)]; [1.13 (1.05, 1.22)], whereas WPC [0.98 (0.90, 1.07)] or NEAA [1.02 (0.94, 1.11)] did not. The differential increases in cell surface GLUT4myc abundance were not explained by differences in serum concentrations of total, essential and branched‐chain amino acids or insulin, glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP). Using a new ex vivo, in vitro approach, cell culture medium conditioned with postprandial serum after the ingestion of a whey protein hydrolysate increased GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle cells

Do the Processes of Psychoanalytic Work Lead to Benefit? Studies by the APS Research Group and the Psychoanalytic Research Consortium

There is a need for careful study of the relationships between the psychoanalytic/psychodynamic processes and their outcomes, yet the raw data to accomplish this study (i.e., psychoanalyses and psychoanalytic psychotherapies fully recorded and transcribed, and empirical instruments for assessing from an analytic perspective both the processes and results of these treatments) have been limited. Two related strategies to solve this deficit have been developed over the past 30 years by the Psychoanalytic Research Consortium (PRC): (1) the collection of an increasing database currently holding 31 fully recorded psychoanalyses and a number of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapies safeguarded, confidentialized, and made available to the field; and (2) the development of new measures for assessing processes and outcomes of treatments from an analytic point of view, such as the Analytic Process Scales (APS), the Dynamic Interaction Scales (DIS), and the Personality Health Index (PHI) with RADIO categories. This article summarizes the history of the PRC and some of the findings of the research conducted with the APS, DIS, and PHI on the PRC cases