Transient increases in intracellular calcium and reactive oxygen species levels in TCam-2 cells exposed to microgravity

The effects of microgravity on functions of the human body are well described, including alterations in the male and female reproductive systems. In the present study, TCam-2 cells, which are considered a good model of mitotically active male germ cells, were used to investigate intracellular signalling and cell metabolism during exposure to simulated microgravity, a condition that affects cell shape and cytoskeletal architecture. After a 24 hour exposure to simulated microgravity, TCam-2 cells showed 1) a decreased proliferation rate and a delay in cell cycle progression, 2) increased anaerobic metabolism accompanied by increased levels of intracellular Ca(2+), reactive oxygen species and superoxide anion and modifications in mitochondrial morphology. Interestingly, all these events were transient and were no longer evident after 48 hours of exposure. The presence of antioxidants prevented not only the effects described above but also the modifications in cytoskeletal architecture and the activation of the autophagy process induced by simulated microgravity. In conclusion, in the TCam-2 cell model, simulated microgravity activated the oxidative machinery, triggering transient macroscopic cell events, such as a reduction in the proliferation rate, changes in cytoskeleton-driven shape and autophagy activation

Leukocytapheresis treatment for recurrence Virus C infection in liver transplant recipients

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Predicting the Impact of Alternative Splicing on Plant MADS Domain Protein Function

Several genome-wide studies demonstrated that alternative splicing (AS) significantly increases the transcriptome complexity in plants. However, the impact of AS on the functional diversity of proteins is difficult to assess using genome-wide approaches. The availability of detailed sequence annotations for specific genes and gene families allows for a more detailed assessment of the potential effect of AS on their function. One example is the plant MADS-domain transcription factor family, members of which interact to form protein complexes that function in transcription regulation. Here, we perform an in silico analysis of the potential impact of AS on the protein-protein interaction capabilities of MIKC-type MADS-domain proteins. We first confirmed the expression of transcript isoforms resulting from predicted AS events. Expressed transcript isoforms were considered functional if they were likely to be translated and if their corresponding AS events either had an effect on predicted dimerisation motifs or occurred in regions known to be involved in multimeric complex formation, or otherwise, if their effect was conserved in different species. Nine out of twelve MIKC MADS-box genes predicted to produce multiple protein isoforms harbored putative functional AS events according to those criteria. AS events with conserved effects were only found at the borders of or within the K-box domain. We illustrate how AS can contribute to the evolution of interaction networks through an example of selective inclusion of a recently evolved interaction motif in the MADS AFFECTING FLOWERING1-3 (MAF1–3) subclade. Furthermore, we demonstrate the potential effect of an AS event in SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP), resulting in the deletion of a short sequence stretch including a predicted interaction motif, by overexpression of the fully spliced and the alternatively spliced SVP transcripts. For most of the AS events we were able to formulate hypotheses about the potential impact on the interaction capabilities of the encoded MIKC protein

Feeding and oviposition preferences of Monochamus galloprovincialis on its main hosts Pinus sylvestris and Pinus pinaster

Θεωρώντας τον ρόλο του Monochamus galloprovincialis κλειδί στην εξάπλωση του νηματώδη του πεύκου στην Ευρώπη, η διαλεύκανση του εύρους των ξενιστών και των προτιμήσεων του Μ. galloprovincialis σε αυτούς είναι πρωτεύουσας σημασίας για την προστασία του δάσους. Συγκριτικές μελέτες σε συνθήκες εργαστηρίου διεξήχθησαν με σκοπό την διευκρίνηση των διατροφικών και ωοθετικών προτιμήσεων των ενηλίκων αυτού του εντόμου καθώς και της ανάπτυξης των προνυμφών του στα P. sylvestris και P. pinaster. Η διατροφή και η ωοτοκία βρέθηκαν στατιστικά πιο σημαντικές στο P. sylvestris αλλά καμία διαφορά δεν βρέθηκε στην επιβίωση των προνυμφών στα δύο είδη πεύκου. Οι προνύμφες έφτασαν στην 4η ηλικία νωρίτερα στο P. sylvestris από ότι στο P. pinaster. Τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσης μελέτης ισχυροποιούν τις υποψίες για μια γρήγορη μελλοντική εξάπλωση του νηματώδη σε ολόκληρη την Ευρώπη.Considering the key role of Monochamus galloprovincialis (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the dispersion of the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner & Bührer) Nickle (Nematoda: Aphelenchoidea), in Europe, defining the host spectrum and preference of M. galloprovincialis is of primary importance for forest management. Therefore, comparative studies under laboratory conditions were performed in order to define the feeding and oviposition preferences of M. galloprovincialis adults as well as the larval development on Pinus sylvestris and Pinus pinaster. Both nutrition and oviposition were significantly higher on P. sylvestris. However, no difference was found when comparing larval survival on the two Pinus species even though larvae attended the fourth instar earlier when reared on P. sylvestris than on P. pinaster. The results of this study reinforce the suspicions of a future rapid propagation of the nematode, by M. galloprovincialis, into the Pine forests all over Europe

Feeding and oviposition preferences of Monochamus galloprovincialis on its main hosts Pinus sylvestris and Pinus pinaster

Θεωρώντας τον ρόλο του Monochamus galloprovincialis κλειδί στην εξάπλωση του νηματώδη του πεύκου στην Ευρώπη, η διαλεύκανση του εύρους των ξενιστών και των προτιμήσεων του Μ. galloprovincialis σε αυτούς είναι πρωτεύουσας σημασίας για την προστασία του δάσους. Συγκριτικές μελέτες σε συνθήκες εργαστηρίου διεξήχθησαν με σκοπό την διευκρίνηση των διατροφικών και ωοθετικών προτιμήσεων των ενηλίκων αυτού του εντόμου καθώς και της ανάπτυξης των προνυμφών του στα P. sylvestris και P. pinaster. Η διατροφή και η ωοτοκία βρέθηκαν στατιστικά πιο σημαντικές στο P. sylvestris αλλά καμία διαφορά δεν βρέθηκε στην επιβίωση των προνυμφών στα δύο είδη πεύκου. Οι προνύμφες έφτασαν στην 4η ηλικία νωρίτερα στο P. sylvestris από ότι στο P. pinaster. Τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσης μελέτης ισχυροποιούν τις υποψίες για μια γρήγορη μελλοντική εξάπλωση του νηματώδη σε ολόκληρη την Ευρώπη.Considering the key role of Monochamus galloprovincialis (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the dispersion of the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner & Bührer) Nickle (Nematoda: Aphelenchoidea), in Europe, defining the host spectrum and preference of M. galloprovincialis is of primary importance for forest management. Therefore, comparative studies under laboratory conditions were performed in order to define the feeding and oviposition preferences of M. galloprovincialis adults as well as the larval development on Pinus sylvestris and Pinus pinaster. Both nutrition and oviposition were significantly higher on P. sylvestris. However, no difference was found when comparing larval survival on the two Pinus species even though larvae attended the fourth instar earlier when reared on P. sylvestris than on P. pinaster. The results of this study reinforce the suspicions of a future rapid propagation of the nematode, by M. galloprovincialis, into the Pine forests all over Europe

Mobile radio interferometric geodetic systems

Operation of the Astronomical Radio Interferometric Earth Surveying (ARIES) in a proof of concept mode is discussed. Accuracy demonstrations over a short baseline, a 180 km baseline, and a 380 km baseline are documented. Use of ARIES in the Sea Slope Experiment of the National Geodetic Survey to study the apparent differences between oceanographic and geodetic leveling determinations of the sea surface along the Pacific Coast is described. Intergration of the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System and a concept called SERIES (Satellite Emission Radio Interferometric Earth Surveying) is briefly reviewed

A subjective model for trustworthiness evaluation in the social Internet of Things

The integration of social networking concepts into the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to the so called Social Internet of Things (SIoT) paradigm, according to which the objects are capable of establishing social relationships in an autonomous way with respect to their owners. The benefits are those of improving scalability in information/service discovery when the SIoT is made of huge numbers of heterogeneous nodes, similarly to what happens with social networks among humans. In this paper we focus on the problem of understanding how the information provided by the other members of the SIoT has to be processed so as to build a reliable system on the basis of the behavior of the objects. We define a subjective model for the management of trustworthiness which builds upon the solutions proposed for P2P networks. Each node computes the trustworthiness of its friends on the basis of its own experience and on the opinion of the common friends with the potential service providers. We employ a feedback system and we combine the credibility and centrality of the nodes to evaluate the trust level. Preliminary simulations show the benefits of the proposed model towards the isolation of almost any malicious node in the network