Editorial "Earth and Space Science Informatics: informatics in oceanography"

A decade ago, information was discrete and disconnected, assembling data from many different sources was inherently time consuming, and was made for specific studies, such as evaluation of trends in ecosystems, climatology productions, etc. Most of the data were not directly accessible, but were sent by mail on CD-ROMs or floppy discs. The world is changed and the collection of digital data is growing at an exponential rate, making the access to data more difficult than before. During the last decade, with the advent of Internet-based system architectures a fundamental shift has occurred. The digitization of all kinds of data, the implementation of computer networks and the availability of broad band have posed the basis for the connection of a vast amount of data and information. Internet, Web, distributed information systems and computing infrastructures have been changing the working way in science, engineering, business, and education. Today, advances in all kind of application domains is often related with the possibilities to access heterogeneous information and the related tools to understand and use them. Different scientific and technological communities are today working together to develop federated information systems by applying interoperability solutions and recognising that: ‐ Data in the Earth sciences is being used by a far broader community than ever before. ‐ Information harvesting by selecting the appropriate, exchange metadata, the evolving interoperability standards, and the multi-disciplinary scenarios raises important and difficult challenges

miR-34a-/- mice are susceptible to diet-induced obesity

Objective: MicroRNA (miR)−34a regulates inflammatory pathways, and increased transcripts have been observed in serum and subcutaneous adipose of subjects who have obesity and type 2 diabetes. Therefore, the role of miR-34a in adipose tissue inflammation and lipid metabolism in murine diet-induced obesity was investigated. Methods: Wild-type (WT) and miR-34a−/− mice were fed chow or high-fat diet (HFD) for 24 weeks. WT and miR-34a−/− bone marrow-derived macrophages were cultured in vitro with macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). Brown and white preadipocytes were cultured from the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of intrascapular brown and epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), with rosiglitazone. Results: HFD-fed miR-34a−/− mice were significantly heavier with a greater increase in eWAT weight than WT. miR-34a−/− eWAT had a smaller adipocyte area, which significantly increased with HFD. miR-34a−/− eWAT showed basal increases in Cd36, Hmgcr, Lxrα, Pgc1α, and Fasn. miR-34a−/− intrascapular brown adipose tissue had basal reductions in c/ebpα and c/ebpβ, with in vitro miR-34a−/− white adipocytes showing increased lipid content. An F4/80high macrophage population was present in HFD miR-34a−/− eWAT, with increased IL-10 transcripts and serum IL-5 protein. Finally, miR-34a−/− bone marrow-derived macrophages showed an ablated CXCL1 response to tumor necrosis factor-α. Conclusions: These findings suggest a multifactorial role of miR-34a in controlling susceptibility to obesity, by regulating inflammatory and metabolic pathways

Investigation of the Functional Roles of Specific Protein Kinase C Isoforms in 3T3-F442A Adipocyte Development and Function

It is clear, from a wide range of studies, that the protein kinase C (PKC) family has an important role in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and function. However, as of yet, relatively little is known about the functions of the individual members of the PKC family in any system. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of specific PKC isoforms in the regulation of adipocyte development and function using 3T3-F442A cells which differentiate in culture into cells with the charateristics of adipocytes. Initially, the PKC complement of 3T3-F442A cells was thoroughly characterised using a panel of isoform-specific antibodies with application of strict criteria to ensure the appropriate identification of PKC isoforms. The PKC complement of 3T3-F442A adipocytes was found to be identical to that of rat adipocytes. This supported the suitability of using 3T3-F442A cells as a model system of adipocyte development and function. Initially, in order to gain an indication of the functional roles of individual PKC isoforms in the process of preadipocyte differentiation, the temporal changes in cellular levels of PKC isoforms were examined throughout the time-course of differentiation of 3T3-F442A cells. The alpha, gamma and delta isoforms displayed similar temporal patterns of expression during the differentiation of 3T3-F442A cells; all increased rapidly, peaking at day two of differentiation. Subsequently, the expression of these isoforms decreased, resulting in markedly reduced levels in fully differentiated adipocytes as compared to preadipocytes. The expression of PKC s increased steadily during differentiation, resulting in markedly elevated levels in adipocytes. Although expression of PKCmu increased during differentiation, this was attributable to prolonged confluence rather than to the differentiation process per se. No change was observed in the expression of PKCzeta during adipocyte development. That selective changes in PKC isoform expression accompanied the differentiation process in 3T3-F442A cells implied distinct functional roles for PKC isoforms in the regulation of adipocyte development and function. To define the dependence of 3T3-F442A preadipocyte differentiation on PKC isoforms, antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) were used to deplete the individual PKC subtypes selectively from 3T3-F442A preadipocytes prior to the induction of differentiation. Each of the ODNs depleted effectively the appropriate PKC isoform and did not affect the expression of other PKC subtypes. By this approach it was demonstrated that PKCzeta is not essential for the differentiation of 3T3-F442A preadipocytes. PKCalpha, delta and zeta each exert an inhibitory influence upon the early stages of adipocyte development and are therefore likely to modulate this stage of the differentiation process. PKCepsilon and PKCgamma are both essential for 3T3- F442A preadipocyte differentiation. Further antisense studies revealed that PKCgamma is necessary for the clonal expansion of differentiating cells. PKCepsilon is not required for clonal expansion but is essential for later stages of the differentiation process, when its expression is markedly elevated, for the attainment of the adipocyte phenotype. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

Does One Size Fit All? Drug Resistance and Standard Treatments: Results of Six Tuberculosis Programmes in Former Soviet Countries.

SETTING: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, countries in the region faced a dramatic increase in tuberculosis cases and the emergence of drug resistance. OBJECTIVE: To discuss the relevance of the DOTS strategy in settings with a high prevalence of drug resistance. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of one-year treatment outcomes of short-course chemotherapy (SCC) and results of drug susceptibility testing (DST) surveys of six programmes located in the former Soviet Union: Kemerovo prison, Russia; Abkhasia, Georgia; Nagorno-Karabagh, Azerbaijan; Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan; Dashoguz Velayat, Turkmenistan; and South Kazakhstan Oblast, Kazakhstan. Results are reported for new and previously treated smear-positive patients. RESULTS: Treatment outcomes of 3090 patients and DST results of 1383 patients were collected. Treatment success rates ranged between 87% and 61%, in Nagorno-Karabagh and Kemerovo, respectively, and failure rates between 7% and 23%. Any drug resistance ranged between 66% and 31% in the same programmes. MDR rates ranged between 28% in Karakalpakstan and Kemerovo prison and 4% in Nagorno-Karabagh. CONCLUSION: These results show the limits of SCC in settings with a high prevalence of drug resistance. They demonstrate that adapting treatment according to resistance patterns, access to reliable culture, DST and good quality second-line drugs are necessary

Concentration phase diagram of Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3 solid solutions

Method of derivation of phenomenological thermodynamic potential of solid solutions is proposed in which the interaction of the order parameters of constituents is introduced through the account of elastic strain due to misfit of the lattice parameters of the end-members. The validity of the method is demonstrated for Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3 system being a typical example of ferroelectric solid solution. Its phase diagram is determined using experimental data for the coefficients in the phenomenological potentials of SrTiO3 and BaTiO3. In the phase diagram of the Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3 system for small Ba concentration, there are a tricritical point and two multiphase points one of which is associated with up to 6 possible phases.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Characteristics of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Abkhazia (Georgia), a high-prevalence area in Eastern Europe

Although multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem in Eastern Europe, the factors contributing to emergence, spread and containment of MDR-TB are not well defined. Here, we analysed the characteristics of drug-resistant TB in a cross-sectional study in Abkhazia (Georgia) between 2003 and 2005, where standard short-course chemotherapy is supplemented with individualized drug-resistance therapy. Drug susceptibility testing (DST) and molecular typing were carried out for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains from consecutive smear-positive TB patients. Out of 366 patients, 60.4% were resistant to any first-line drugs and 21% had MDR-TB. Overall, 25% of all strains belong to the Beijing genotype, which was found to be strongly associated with the risk of MDR-TB (OR 25.9, 95% CI 10.2-66.0) and transmission (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.6-5.0). One dominant MDR Beijing clone represents 23% of all MDR-TB cases. The level of MDR-TB did not decline during the study period, coinciding with increasing levels of MDR Beijing strains among previously treated cases. Standard chemotherapy plus individualized drug-resistance therapy, guided by conventional DST, might be not sufficient to control MDR-TB in Eastern Europe in light of the spread of "highly transmissible" MDR Beijing strains circulating in the community

Biochemical Markers of Salt Stress in European Larch (Larix decidua)

[EN] Larix decidua, the European larch, does not grow in natural saline areas, but it can be affected by salinity either by the common practice of winter de-icing of mountain roads with NaCl, or when grown as an ornamental tree in urban areas by the use of low quality, salinised irrigation water. In the present study, the responses to salt stress of young seedlings obtained from seeds of seven Carpathian larch populations were analysed. After 30 days of treatments with 150 mM NaCl, growth and biochemical parameters were determinated. Salt stress inhibited growth of all seedlings, as shown by the relative reduction of stem length and fresh weight, and induced significant changes in the needle levels of several biochemical stress markers. Seedlings from all populations showed a marked reduction of photosynthetic pigments contents and an increase of proline and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. Under salt stress, plants accumulated Na+ and Cl- in the needles, whereas K+ was maintained at a steady level. Responses of seedlings from the different populations were similar, with only small quantitative differences that did not allow the identification of more salt tolerant genotypes. However, the study revealed that several of the biochemical markers mentioned above can be suitable for the rapid and non-destructive assessment of the effects of salinity in European larch.Plesa, IM.; Al Hassan, M.; Sestras, A.; Vicente, O.; Boscaiu, M.; Sestras, R. (2018). Biochemical Markers of Salt Stress in European Larch (Larix decidua). Notulae Scientia Biologicae. 10(3):430-438. https://doi.org/10.15835/nsb10310322S43043810

Ovarian carcinosarcoma is highly aggressive compared to other ovarian cancer histotypes

Background: Ovarian carcinosarcoma (OCS) is an unusual ovarian cancer type characterized by distinct carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. OCS has been excluded from many of the pan-histotype studies of ovarian carcinoma, limiting our understanding of its behavior.Methods: We performed a multi-cohort cross-sectional study of characteristics and outcomes in ovarian cancer patients from Scotland (n=2082) and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER, n=44946) diagnosed with OCS or one of the other major histotypes: high grade serous (HGSOC), endometrioid (EnOC), clear cell (CCOC), mucinous (MOC) or low grade serous ovarian carcinoma (LGSOC). Differences in overall survival were quantified using Cox regression models to calculate hazard ratios (HR).Results: Across both cohorts, OCS patients were significantly older at diagnosis compared to all other histotypes (median age at diagnosis 69 and 67 in Scottish and SEER cohorts) and demonstrated the shortest survival time upon univariable analysis. Within the Scottish cohort, 59.3% and 16.9% of OCS patients presented with FIGO stage III and IV disease, respectively; this was significantly higher than in EnOC, CCOC or MOC (P<0.0001 for all), but lower than in HGSOC (P=0.004). Multivariable analysis accounting for other prognostic factors identified OCS as independently associated with significantly shorter survival time compared to HGSOC, EnOC, LGSOC and MOC in both the Scottish (multivariable HR vs OCS: HGSOC 0.45, EnOC 0.39, LGSOC 0.26, MOC 0.43) and SEER cohorts (multivariable HR vs OCS: HGSOC 0.59, EnOC 0.34, LGSOC 0.30, MOC 0.81). Within the SEER cohort, OCS also demonstrated shorter survival compared to CCOC (multivariable HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.58-0.68), but this was not replicated within the Scottish cohort (multivariable HR for CCOC: 1.05, 95% CI 0.74-1.51). Within early-stage disease specifically (FIGO I-II or SEER localized stage), OCS was associated with the poorest survival of all histotypes across both cohorts. In the context of late-stage disease (FIGO III-IV or SEER distant stage), OCS, MOC and CCOC represented the histotypes with poorest survival.Conclusion: OCS is a unique ovarian cancer type that affects older women and is associated with exceptionally poor outcome, even when diagnosed at earlier stage. New therapeutic options are urgently required to improve outcomes

Investigations of the copper peptide hepcidin-25 by LC-MS/MS and NMR+

Hepcidin-25 was identified as the main iron regulator in the human body, and it by binds to the sole iron-exporter ferroportin. Studies showed that the N-terminus of hepcidin is responsible for this interaction, the same N-terminus that encompasses a small copper(II)-binding site known as the ATCUN (amino-terminal Cu(II)- and Ni(II)-binding) motif. Interestingly, this copper-binding property is largely ignored in most papers dealing with hepcidin-25. In this context, detailed investigations of the complex formed between hepcidin-25 and copper could reveal insight into its biological role. The present work focuses on metal-bound hepcidin-25 that can be considered the biologically active form. The first part is devoted to the reversed-phase chromatographic separation of copper-bound and copper-free hepcidin-25 achieved by applying basic mobile phases containing 0.1% ammonia. Further, mass spectrometry (tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS)) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were employed to characterize the copper-peptide. Lastly, a three-dimensional (3D) model of hepcidin-25 with bound copper(II) is presented. The identification of metal complexes and potential isoforms and isomers, from which the latter usually are left undetected by mass spectrometry, led to the conclusion that complementary analytical methods are needed to characterize a peptide calibrant or reference material comprehensively. Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR), inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), ion-mobility spectrometry (IMS) and chiral amino acid analysis (AAA) should be considered among others