Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the evolution of form and function in the amniote jaw.

The amniote jaw complex is a remarkable amalgamation of derivatives from distinct embryonic cell lineages. During development, the cells in these lineages experience concerted movements, migrations, and signaling interactions that take them from their initial origins to their final destinations and imbue their derivatives with aspects of form including their axial orientation, anatomical identity, size, and shape. Perturbations along the way can produce defects and disease, but also generate the variation necessary for jaw evolution and adaptation. We focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate form in the amniote jaw complex, and that enable structural and functional integration. Special emphasis is placed on the role of cranial neural crest mesenchyme (NCM) during the species-specific patterning of bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, and other jaw tissues. We also address the effects of biomechanical forces during jaw development and discuss ways in which certain molecular and cellular responses add adaptive and evolutionary plasticity to jaw morphology. Overall, we highlight how variation in molecular and cellular programs can promote the phenomenal diversity and functional morphology achieved during amniote jaw evolution or lead to the range of jaw defects and disease that affect the human condition

Serum CEA and CA 15-3 as prognostic factors in primary breast cancer

In the present study, we investigated the association of the serum levels of the tumour markers carcinoembryonic antigen and cancer antigen 15-3 with disease free survival and death from disease in 1046 women with breast cancer without metastases at the time of primary diagnosis in relation to age and the established prognostic factors tumour size, lymph node status, histological grading and hormone receptor status. We found that elevated pre-operative serum marker values were correlated with early relapse (cancer antigen 15-3; P=0.0003) and death from disease (carcinoembryonic antigen, cancer antigen 15-3; P=0.0001 both) in univariate analyses. By comparing pre- and post-operative values we found a decline in values post-surgery. In those patients where marker levels of carcinoembryonic antigen decreased more than 33%, a significantly higher risk for relapse and death from disease (both P=0.0001) in univariate analyses was observed. In multivariate analysis this decrease of carcinoembryonic antigen proved to be an independent prognostic factor. The results for cancer antigen 15-3 were comparable to carcinoembryonic antigen in univariate analyses but showed no significance in multivariate analysis. In this study the post-operative decrease of the serum tumour marker carcinoembryonic antigen was a strong independent prognostic factor for disease free survival and death from disease in breast cancer patients

Rapid detection and specific identification of offals within minced beef samples utilising ambient mass spectrometry

The morphological transformation of beef tissues after various processing treatments facilitates the addition of cheap offal products. Undetectable to the naked eye, analytical techniques are required to identify such scenarios within minced and processed products. DNA methodologies are ill-equipped to detect adulteration of offal cuts from the same species and vibrational spectroscopic studies, although rapid and non-destructive, have proved inconclusive as to whether the specific adulterant can be identified. For the first time we present a mass spectrometric approach employing an ambient ionisation process to eliminate sample preparation and provide near-instantaneous results. Rapid evaporative ionisation mass spectrometry (REIMS) was used to assess its capabilities of detecting minced beef adulteration with beef brain, heart, kidney, large intestine and liver tissues and chemometric analysis enabled unique or significant markers to be identified. The adulteration levels detected with the REIMS technology when analysing raw adulterated beef burgers were; brain (5%); heart (1–10%); kidney (1–5%); large intestine (1–10%) and liver (5–10%). For boiled adulterated samples; brain (5–10%); heart (1–10%); kidney (1–5%); large intestine (1–10%) and liver (5–10%). REIMS allows rapid and specific identification of offal cuts within adulterated beef burgers and could provide a paradigm shift across many authenticity applications

Türkiye Vizyonu: Multidisipliner Çalışmalar 2019(Turkey Vision: Multidisciplinary Studies 2019)

The basic body plan of a number of vertebrates results from two processes that occur early in the development of the blastoderm: large scale rearrangements of tissue via a process called gastrulation, and axial subdivision of tissue in a process called somitogenesis. The first step of gastrulation in avians is formation of the primitive streak, which marks the first clear manifestation of the anterior-posterior axis. Cell movements that occur through the streak ultimately convert the singled layed-blastoderm into a trilaminar blastoderm comprising prospective endodermal, mesodermal and ectodermal tissue. During streak formation a group of cells moves anteriorly as a coherent column from the posterior end of the blastoderm, and as it proceeds other cells stream over the lateral edges of the furrow left behind. The anterior end of the streak is a specialized structure called Hensen's node, which serves as an organizing center for later axis formation and determination of the left-right asymmetry of the body. Soon after the primitive streak forms, Hensen's node regresses towards the tail, leaving the notochord and a pair of segmental plates parallel to the primitive streak in its wake. The posterior end of the segmental plate moves down the cranio-caudal axis with the node, as more cells are added to it by cell division within the plate and by cells entering from the primitive streak. A pair of somites forms from the anterior ends of the two plates at regular intervals. Despite the fact that much is known about the basic biological processes, the mechanisms that underlie the formation of the primitive streak and somitogensis are still unknown, and elucidating them is one of the major unsolved problems in developmental biology. Mathematical modelling has been a useful tool in this process, as it provides a framework in which to study the outcome of proposed interactions and can make experimentally testable predictions. In this paper, we outline the biological background of these processes and review existing models of them

Azaspiracid Toxins: Toxicological Profile

Azaspiracids (AZAs) are a toxin group that originate from marine dinoflagellates of the genera Azadinium and Amphidoma. After accumulation of these toxins in edible marine organisms and their subsequent consumption, humans develop a gastrointestinal syndrome referred to as azaspiracid shellfish poisoning (AZP). This syndrome is very similar to diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP), with main symptoms appearing after a few hours from consumption and including diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. Due to extensive metabolism in shellfish, more than 30 analogues have been reported to date, and purified compounds for selected analogues have recently been made available for toxicological studies. Currently, only AZA1, AZA2, and AZA3 are regulated in Europe and internationally; however, more recent evidence suggests that AZA6, AZA17, and AZA19 may also be analogues of importance for estimating the full risk of seafood. Even though animal studies have pointed out target organs (digestive tract, liver, heart, and lung), mechanism of action studies at cellular level are not yet conclusive. While a number of common targets have been excluded (protein phosphatases, kinases, actin depolymerization, G protein-coupled receptors), some evidence points toward ion channel activity of AZAs. Still, in vitro studies do not correlate well with symptoms observed in humans. Also, while some animal studies point toward longer-term effects, no such evidence has been reported from human poisoning events. However, it should be noted that in-depth epidemiological studies are still lacking. Even though all risk assessments have based their evaluation on a single, relatively early poisoning event in 1997, in Arranmore Island, Ireland, producing organisms and toxin occurrences have been reported worldwide, and further occurrence studies should provide a better base for such epidemiological studie