A Creatine Transporter Is Operative at the Brush Border Level of the Rat Jejunal Enterocyte

Abstract Although ergogenic effects and health benefits have been reported for creatine used as nutritional supplement, to date little is known about the mechanism of creatine absorption in the small intestine. Thus the current study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism of creatine intake in rat jejunum with the use of well-purified brush border membrane vesicles, isolated from jejunal enterocyte. Creatine uptake was found markedly stimulated by inwardly directed Na(+) and Cl(- )gradients, potential-sensitive, strongly reduced by the substitution of Na(+) and Cl(-) with various cations and anions and positively affected by intravesicular K(+). Moreover, creatine uptake is: 1) significantly inhibited by creatine structural analogs, 2) abolished by low concentrations of 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate hydrobromide (MTSEA), 3) saturable as a function of creatine concentration with an apparent Michaelis-Menten constant of 24.08 +/- 0.80 muM and a maximal velocity of 391.30 +/- 6.19 pmoles mg protein(-1) 30 s(-1). The transport is electrogenic since at least two Na(+) and one Cl(-) are required to transport one creatine molecule. Western blot analysis showed the same amount of creatine transport protein in the jejunal apical membrane when compared to ileum. Thus, these data demonstrate the existence of a Na(+)- and Cl(-)-dependent, membrane potential-sensitive, electrogenic carrier-mediated mechanism for creatine absorption in rat jejunal apical membrane vesicles, which is biochemically and pharmacologically similar to those observed in other tissues. However, in other cell types the stimulatory effect of intravesicular K(+) was never detected

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 9

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of three vascular plants according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment of Soldanella calabrella Kress at global level, and the regional assessment of Luzula pindica (Hausskn.) Chrtek & Křísa and Romulea variicolor Mifsud (Italy)

Phenolic compounds from Achillea millefolium L. and their bioactivity

Since antiquity, Achillea millefolium L. (Asteraceae) has been used in traditional medicine of several cultures, from Europe to Asia. Its richness in bioactive compounds contributes to a wide range of medicinal properties. In this study, we assessed A. millefolium methanolic extract and its isolated components for free radical scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-pycrilhydrazyl, total antioxidant capacity (based on the reduction of Cu ++ to Cu +), and ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation. The activity against chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum was also tested. Chlorogenic acid, its derivatives and some flavonoids isolated by semipreparative HPLC and identified by NMR and spectrometric techniques were the major bioactive constituents of the methanolic extract. The latter exhibited significant antioxidant properties, as well as its flavonol glycosides and chlorogenic acids. With regard to the antiplasmodial activity, apigenin 7-glucoside was the most effective compound, followed by luteolin 7-glucoside, whereas chlorogenic acids were completely inactive. On the whole, our results confirmed A. millefolium as an important source of bioactive metabolites, justifying its pharmaceutical and ethnobotanical use

Global and regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 1

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of six plant species according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment at global level of Linaria tonzigii Lona, Allium garganicum Brullo, Pavone, Salmeri & Terrasi, Ferula arrigonii Bocchieri, Orchis patens Desf. subsp. patens and Armeria saviana Selvi and the assessment at regional level (Italy) of Viola jordanii Hanry

Nuove liste rosse della flora italiana

Vengono presentate le nuove liste rosse per la Flora Italiana incluse le piante superiori, le briofite ed i fungh

Past, present and future of adjuvant HIPEC in patients at high risk for colorectal peritoneal metastases

EDITORIA

Familial aggregation of MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery scores in a large sample of outpatients with schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives

Background The increased use of the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to investigate cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia fostered interest in its sensitivity in the context of family studies. As various measures of the same cognitive domains may have different power to distinguish between unaffected relatives of patients and controls, the relative sensitivity of MCCB tests for relative-control differences has to be established. We compared MCCB scores of 852 outpatients with schizophrenia (SCZ) with those of 342 unaffected relatives (REL) and a normative Italian sample of 774 healthy subjects (HCS). We examined familial aggregation of cognitive impairment by investigating within-family prediction of MCCB scores based on probands' scores.Methods Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze group differences in adjusted MCCB scores. Weighted least-squares analysis was used to investigate whether probands' MCCB scores predicted REL neurocognitive performance.Results SCZ were significantly impaired on all MCCB domains. REL had intermediate scores between SCZ and HCS, showing a similar pattern of impairment, except for social cognition. Proband's scores significantly predicted REL MCCB scores on all domains except for visual learning.Conclusions In a large sample of stable patients with schizophrenia, living in the community, and in their unaffected relatives, MCCB demonstrated sensitivity to cognitive deficits in both groups. Our findings of significant within-family prediction of MCCB scores might reflect disease-related genetic or environmental factors

Notulae to the Italian native vascular flora: 11.

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of native vascular flora in Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes to the Italian administrative regions. A new combination in the genus Pilosella is proposed. Nomenclatural and distribution updates, published elsewhere, and corrigenda are provided as Suppl. material 1

Innovation and growth in the UK pharmaceuticals: the case of product and marketing introductions

New drug introductions are key to growth for pharmaceutical firms. However, not all innovations are the same and they may have differential effects that vary by firm size. We use quarterly sales data on UK pharmaceuticals in a dynamic panel model to estimate the impact of product (new drugs) and marketing (additional pack varieties) innovations within a therapeutic class on a firm’s business unit growth. We find that product innovations lead to substantial growth in both the short and long run, whereas a new pack variety only produces short-term effects. The strategies are substitutes but the marginal effects are larger for product innovations relative to additional packs, and the effects are larger for smaller business units. Nonetheless, pack introductions offer a viable short-term growth strategy, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0\u20135 and 5\u201315 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world's major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10\ub0C (mean = 3.0 \ub1 2.1\ub0C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 \ub1 2.3\ub0C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler ( 120.7 \ub1 2.3\ub0C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications