Screening of drought oxidative stress tolerance in Serbian melliferous plant species

This study was designed to examine and compare antioxidant and free-radical scavenging activities of leaves of six different melliferous plant species (Populus alba, Robinia pseudoacacia, Sophora japonica, Euodia hupehensis, Tilia sp., Fraxinus sp.) from Serbia in order to evaluate their drought oxidative stress tolerance. Experiment was conducted during June, July and August. In this study, we reported the results concerning proline accumulation, soluble protein content, quantities of malonyldialdehyde,total antioxidant capacity determined by FRAP method and scavenger activity determined by DPPH method. According to our results, all melliferous plant species were subjected to drought oxidative stress during July when soil humidity decreased. During July, proline content and MDA quantity increased and soluble proteins decreased in all investigated species. High and permanent antioxidant activity during the whole investigated period was observed in P. alba, but insufficient to protect itsleaves from oxidative injury during the period of drought in July. The highest ability to accumulate proline and highest protein content under severe drought stress in July was observed in Fraxinus sp. Other investigated antioxidant parameters (total antioxidant and DPPH radical scavenger capacities) were high and accumulation of MDA was low which indicate high drought oxidative stress tolerance. Therefore, highest ability to adapt under severe drought stress and highest drought oxidative stresstolerance were observed in Fraxinus sp.Key words: Melliferous trees, lipid peroxidation, DPPH, FRAP, proline accumulation

Physical and mechanical characteristics of Hisex Brown hen eggs from three different housing systems

The aim of this study was to compare physical and mechanical characteristics of Hisex hen eggs collected from three different housing systems: enriched cage housing, aviary housing, and free-range systems. The following physical and mechanical characteristics if eggs were compared: dimensions, surface area, volume, sphericity, shape index, shell thickness, weight, composition, yolk to albumen ratio, rupture force, specific deformation, absorbed energy, and firmness. The largest and heaviest eggs were collected from cage housing, followed by eggs from free-range systems and aviary housing. According to shape index, eggs from aviary housing can be described as round, while eggs from cage housing and free-range systems can be characterised as normal or standard. Eggs from free-range laying hens had the highest yolk percentage and yolk to albumen ratio (26.2% and 0.427). In comparison to eggs from aviary housing and free-range systems, eggs from enriched cage housing had the thickest shells and the highest shell strength, and required the highest force to rupture those eggs. The average force required to rupture Hisex Brown hen eggs from cage housing in all three axes was 44.14 N, which was 12.1% higher than the average force required to rupture eggs from a free-range system (39.37 N) and 17.1% higher than the average force required to rupture eggs from aviary housing (37.68 N). The highest forces required to rupture eggs from all three housing systems were determined on loading along the X-front axis and the lowest forces were determined along the Z-axis. The results obtained in this study can be useful to producers when selecting hen housing systems in order to reduce egg damage during storage and transport.Keywords: egg composition, egg weight, rupture force, shape index, shell thicknes

Tending operation models for white poplar (Populus alba L.) stands growing under sandy soil conditions

Integrated research aimed to intensify the practices of afforestation especially of white poplar and grey poplar woods. A new, simplified tending procedure has been developed to substitute earlier models considering the target diameter by right spacing as a tool to achieve adequat quality of logs. The practice-oriented model may help the qualitative improvement of white poplar growing technology in Hungary as well as in Serbia

Tending operation models for white poplar (Populus alba L.) stands growing under sandy soil conditions

Integrated research aimed to intensify the practices of afforestation especially of white poplar and grey poplar woods. A new,simplified tending procedure has been developed to substitute earlier models considering the target diameter by right spacing as a tool toachieve adequat quality of logs. The practice-oriented model may help the qualitative improvement of white poplar growing technology inHungary as well as in Serbia

How fast is fast? Eco-evolutionary dynamics and rates of change in populations and phenotypes

It is increasingly recognized that evolution may occur in ecological time. It is not clear, however, how fast evolution – or phenotypic change more generally – may be in comparison with the associated ecology, or whether systems with fast ecological dynamics generally have relatively fast rates of phenotypic change. We developed a new dataset on standardized rates of change in population size and phenotypic traits for a wide range of species and taxonomic groups. We show that rates of change in phenotypes are generally no more than 2/3, and on average about 1/4, the concurrent rates of change in population size. There was no relationship between rates of population change and rates of phenotypic change across systems. We also found that the variance of both phenotypic and ecological rates increased with the mean across studies following a power law with an exponent of two, while temporal variation in phenotypic rates was lower than in ecological rates. Our results are consistent with the view that ecology and evolution may occur at similar time scales, but clarify that only rarely do populations change as fast in traits as they do in abundance

How fast is fast? Eco-evolutionary dynamics and rates of change in populations and phenotypes

It is increasingly recognized that evolution may occur in ecological time. It is not clear, however, how fast evolution – or phenotypic change more generally – may be in comparison with the associated ecology, or whether systems with fast ecological dynamics generally have relatively fast rates of phenotypic change. We developed a new dataset on standardized rates of change in population size and phenotypic traits for a wide range of species and taxonomic groups. We show that rates of change in phenotypes are generally no more than 2/3, and on average about 1/4, the concurrent rates of change in population size. There was no relationship between rates of population change and rates of phenotypic change across systems. We also found that the variance of both phenotypic and ecological rates increased with the mean across studies following a power law with an exponent of two, while temporal variation in phenotypic rates was lower than in ecological rates. Our results are consistent with the view that ecology and evolution may occur at similar time scales, but clarify that only rarely do populations change as fast in traits as they do in abundance

Human Developmental Chondrogenesis as a Basis for Engineering Chondrocytes from Pluripotent Stem Cells

Joint injury and osteoarthritis affect millions of people worldwide, but attempts to generate articular cartilage using adult stem/progenitor cells have been unsuccessful. We hypothesized that recapitulation of the human developmental chondrogenic program using pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) may represent a superior approach for cartilage restoration. Using laser-capture microdissection followed by microarray analysis, we first defined a surface phenotype (CD166(low/neg)CD146(low/neg)CD73(+)CD44(low)BMPR1B(+)) distinguishing the earliest cartilage committed cells (prechondrocytes) at 5-6 weeks of development. Functional studies confirmed these cells are chondrocyte progenitors. From 12 weeks, only the superficial layers of articular cartilage were enriched in cells with this progenitor phenotype. Isolation of cells with a similar immunophenotype from differentiating human PSCs revealed a population of CD166(low/neg)BMPR1B(+) putative cartilage-committed progenitors. Taken as a whole, these data define a developmental approach for the generation of highly purified functional human chondrocytes from PSCs that could enable substantial progress in cartilage tissue engineering.Fil: Wu, Ling. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Bluguermann, Carolina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Kyupelyan, Levon. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Latour, Brooke. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Gonzalez, Stephanie. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Shah, Saumya. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Galic, Zoran. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Ge, Sundi. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Zhu, Yuhua. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Petrigliano, Frank A.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Nsair, Ali. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Miriuka, Santiago Gabriel. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Li, Xinmin. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Lyons, Karen M.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Crooks, Gay M.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: McAllister, David R.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Van Handel, Ben. Novogenix Laboratories; Estados UnidosFil: Adams, John S.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Evseenko, Denis. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados Unido

INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN MIXED-HANDEDNESS, DIGIT RATIOS AND HAND AND FOOT MINOR ANOMALIES IN PREDICTING SCHIZOPHRENIA

Background: According to the neurodevelopmental theory, brain structuring early markers could be seen in different body parts as minor physical anomalies. Alongside minor physical anomalies, handedness and index to ring finger ratio are brain development indicators, specifically brain lateralization. Studies are consentient about the association of these findings with schizophrenia, though there is inconsistency about individual anatomical regions\u27 contribution. We proposed that handedness in combination with morphological indicators of early brain development could be sensitive and specific in predicting schizophrenia status. Subjects and methods: Within the list for the assessment of schizophrenia patients and normal controls of the Caucasian race were seven categorical minor physical anomalies of hand and feet, handedness, and index to ring finger ratio. In this cross-sectional study the examinees were recruited from January 2012 to December 2015. Results: Forced-entry binary logistic regression model correctly classified 86.5% of patients and 99.2% of the comparison subjects with a 92.8% overall accuracy. Mixed-handedness, hyperconvex fingernails, big gap between 1st and 2nd toe, and partial syndactyly of 2nd and 3rd toe made a significant independent contribution to the patient-control prediction group status. Furthermore, these items showed a significant correlation with the predictors of the head from the previous study. Conclusion: Briefly, the limb components, assessed independently of other body regions, proved to be worthy as schizophrenia predictors

Skeletal muscle ACC2 S212 phosphorylation is not required for the control of fatty acid oxidation during exercise

During submaximal exercise fatty acids are a predominant energy source for muscle contractions. An important regulator of fatty acid oxidation is acetyl‐CoA carboxylase (ACC), which exists as two isoforms (ACC1 and ACC2) with ACC2 predominating in skeletal muscle. Both ACC isoforms regulate malonyl‐CoA production, an allosteric inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT‐1); the primary enzyme controlling fatty acyl‐CoA flux into mitochondria for oxidation. AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a sensor of cellular energy status that is activated during exercise or by pharmacological agents such as metformin and AICAR. In resting muscle the activation of AMPK with AICAR leads to increased phosphorylation of ACC (S79 on ACC1 and S221 on ACC2), which reduces ACC activity and malonyl‐CoA; effects associated with increased fatty acid oxidation. However, whether this pathway is vital for regulating skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation during conditions of increased metabolic flux such as exercise/muscle contractions remains unknown. To examine this we characterized mice lacking AMPK phosphorylation sites on ACC2 (S212 in mice/S221 in humans‐ACC2‐knock‐in [ACC2‐KI]) or both ACC1 (S79) and ACC2 (S212) (ACC double knock‐in [ACCD‐KI]) during submaximal treadmill exercise and/or ex vivo muscle contractions. We find that surprisingly, ACC2‐KI mice had normal exercise capacity and whole‐body fatty acid oxidation during treadmill running despite elevated muscle ACC2 activity and malonyl‐CoA. Similar results were observed in ACCD‐KI mice. Fatty acid oxidation was also maintained in muscles from ACC2‐KI mice contracted ex vivo. These findings indicate that pathways independent of ACC phosphorylation are important for regulating skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation during exercise/muscle contractions