Endosymbiotic bacteria nodulating a new endemic lupine Lupinus mariae-josephi from alkaline soils in Eastern Spain represent a new lineage within the Bradyrhizobium genus

Lupinus mariae-josephi is a recently described endemic Lupinus species from a small area in Eastern Spain where it thrives in soils with active lime and high pH. The L. mariae-josephi root symbionts were shown to be very slow-growing bacteria with different phenotypic and symbiotic characteristics from those of Bradyrhizobium strains nodulating other Lupinus. Their phylogenetic status was examined by multilocus sequence analyses of four housekeeping genes (16S rRNA, glnII, recA, and atpD) and showed the existence of a distinct evolutionary lineage for L. mariae-josephi that also included Bradyrhizobium jicamae. Within this lineage, the tested isolates clustered in three different sub-groups that might correspond to novel sister Bradyrhizobium species. These core gene analyses consistently showed that all the endosymbiotic bacteria isolated from other Lupinus species of the Iberian Peninsula were related to strains of the B. canariense or B. japonicum lineages and were separate from the L. mariae-josephi isolates. Phylogenetic analysis based on nodC symbiotic gene sequences showed that L. mariae-josephi bacteria also constituted a new symbiotic lineage distant from those previously defined in the genus Bradyrhizobium. In contrast, the nodC genes of isolates from other Lupinus spp. from the Iberian Peninsula were again clearly related to the B. canariense and B. japonicum bv. genistearum lineages. Speciation of L. mariae-josephi bradyrhizobia may result from the colonization of a singular habitat by their unique legume host

Proposed Regulation of Gene Expression by Glucose in Rodent Heart

Background: During pressure overload-induced hypertrophy, unloading-induced atrophy, and diabetes mellitus, the heart induces ‘fetal’ genes (e.g. myosin heavy chain β; mhcβ). Hypothesis: We propose that altered glucose homeostasis within the cardiomyocyte acts as a central mechanism for the regulation of gene expression in response to environmental stresses. The evidence is as follows. Methods and Results: Forced glucose uptake both ex vivo and in vivo results in mhc isoform switching. Restricting dietary glucose prevents mhc isoform switching in hearts of both GLUT1-Tg mice and rats subjected to pressure overload-induced hypertrophy. Thus, glucose availability correlates with mhc isoform switching under all conditions investigated. A potential mechanism by which glucose affects gene expression is through O-linked glycosylation of specific transcription factors. Glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT) catalyzes the flux generating step in UDP-N-acetylglucosamine biosynthesis, the rate determining metabolite in protein glycosylation. Ascending aortic constriction increased intracellular levels of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, and the expression of gfat2, but not gfat1, in the rat heart. Conclusions: Collectively, the results strongly suggest glucose-regulated gene expression in the heart, and the involvement of glucose metabolites in isoform switching of sarcomeric proteins characteristic for the fetal gene program

Learning from Negativity of Experience in School Moral Education

The paper attempts to answer the questions of what learning from negativity of experience perspective is and if it could become the right way of teaching and learning morality at school. It consists of three sections. The first one explains the fundamental distinction between negative moral experiences and negativity of moral experience. In the second section, the author’s attention focuses on the possibility of didactic application of teaching and learning from negativity of experience. The last section contains J. F. Herbart’s concept of educative guidance as a permanently valid theoretical framework for contemporary moral education at school

Learning from Negativity of Experience in School Moral Education

The paper attempts to answer the questions of what learning from negativity of experience perspective is and if it could become the right way of teaching and learning morality at school. It consists of three sections. The first one explains the fundamental distinction between negative moral experiences and negativity of moral experience. In the second section, the author’s attention focuses on the possibility of didactic application of teaching and learning from negativity of experience. The last section contains J. F. Herbart’s concept of educative guidance as a permanently valid theoretical framework for contemporary moral education at school

Unique and universal: the Bildung process of individuality by Sergius Hessen

Jedinečný a obecný: Bildung proces individuality v pojetí Sergeje Hessena. – Sergej Hessen byl filosofem výchovy ruského původu, který po Říjnové revoluci emigroval z bolševického Ruska a následně žil v Německu, Československu a konečně v Polsku. Jeho teorie výchovy (Bildung) byla v Polsku znovuobjevena v 90. letech 20. století. Vyznačuje ji touha po smíření extrémů individuality a komunity, osoby a společnosti, osobního formování a školské výuky.Unique and universal: the Bildung process of personality by Sergei Hessen. - Sergei Hessen was a philosopher of education of Russian origin, who after the October Revolution emigrated from Bolshevik Russia and subsequently lived in Germany, Chechoslovakia and finally in Poland. His theory of Bildung was re-discovered in Poland in the 90s of the 20th century. What it distinguishes is desire to reconcile such extremes as individuality and community, person and society, personal formation and school teaching

Emancipovaný pedagogický úsudek: Morálka, vzdělávání a politika v současné polské mravní výchově

Emancipovaný pedagogický úsudek: Morálka, vzdělávání a politika v současné polské mravní výchově. – Pojednání postuluje radikální změnu v uvažování o mravní výchově v Polsku. Tento požadavek vyplývá z emancipovaného pedagogického úsudku, který vyžaduje revizi rozšířeného paradigmatu, podle něhož etické formace musely splňovat pouze pomocnou funkci pro politickou sféru. Uznání samostatnosti mravní výchovy a jejích principů na jedné straně umožňuje demonstrovat pedagogické podmínky politiky, a na druhé straně určit své vlastní možnosti a meze

Cyclosporin A Treatment Modulates Cytokine mRNA Expression by Inflammatory Cells Extracted from the Spinal Cord of Rats with Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Induced by Inoculation with Myelin Basic Protein

In Lewis rats, treatment with high doses of cyclosporin A (CsA) suppresses clinical signs of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), although disease occurs when treatment is ceased. Treatment with low doses of CsA causes EAE to take a chronic relapsing course. We have previously shown that CsA treatment causes a decline in the number of T cells and increased inflammatory cell apoptosis in the spinal cord. The present study was undertaken to assess whether CsA therapy also modulates cytokine mRNA expression by inflammatory cells in the spinal cord of rats with EAE, looking for changes that might contribute to the observed effects of CsA on the course of EAE. EAE was induced in Lewis rats by inoculation with myelin basic protein and adjuvants. At the peak of neurological signs, on day 14 after inoculation, rats were given a single intraperitoneal injection of saline, or CsA at a dose of 8, 16, 32 or 64 mg/kg. The next day, rats were sacrificed, the spinal cords removed, inflammatory cells were extracted from the cords, and mRNA isolated from these cells. Expression of cytokine mRNA was assessed by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by quantitative real-time PCR. With both techniques, we found that CsA suppressed the expression of interferon-gamma mRNA and interleukin-2 (IL-2) mRNA. With real-time PCR, we found that CsA caused significantly increased expression of transforming growth factor-beta mRNA. With the different techniques, we observed no consistent pattern of alteration of expression of interleukin-10 or interleukin-4 mRNA. It is possible that these changes in cytokine mRNA expression contribute to the modulation of the clinical course of EAE that is produced by CsA treatment

Jaskinia jako metafora opisująca procesy kształcenia. Studium transformacji Platońskiej opowieści o jaskini w dyskursach edukacyjnych

Od powstania paraboli Platona wielu badaczy, opisując i interpretując procesy wychowania i kształcenia, odwoływało się i nadal odwołuje do motywu jaskini. Autorzy niniejszej publikacji swoje rozważania rozpoczynają od prezentacji dwóch skrajnie odmiennych sposobów odczytania Platońskiej opowieści (Hans Blumenberg – Eugen Fink), następnie przedstawiają swój punkt widzenia, by z kolei przejść do przykładów korzystania z toposu jaskini zarówno w nowożytnych, jak i współczesnych dyskursach na temat kształcenia. W przedostatnim punkcie swoich rozważań autorzy zastanawiają się nas kwestią ciągłości i nieciągłości starożytnego oraz nowożytnego myślenia na temat wychowania i kształcenia, aby na końcu spróbować odpowiedzieć na pytanie: czy współcześnie warto jeszcze odwoływać się do metafory jaskini przy opisywaniu i wyjaśnianiu procesu kształcenia?Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00. Publikacja dofinansowana ze środków Wydziału Nauk o Wychowaniu Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego oraz Towarzystwa Pedagogiki Filozoficznej im. B. F. Trentowskiego

Phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides induce the formation of nuclear bodies

Antisense oligonucleotides are powerful tools for the in vivo regulation of gene expression. We have characterized the intracellular distribution of fluorescently tagged phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (PS-ONs) at high resolution under conditions in which PS-ONs have the potential to display antisense activity. Under these conditions PS-ONs predominantly localized to the cell nucleus where they accumulated in 20-30 bright spherical foci designated phosphorothioate bodies (PS bodies), which were set against a diffuse nucleoplasmic population excluding nucleoli. PS bodies are nuclear structures that formed in cells after PS-ON delivery by transfection agents or microinjection but were observed irrespectively of antisense activity or sequence. Ultrastructurally, PS bodies corresponded to electron-dense structures of 150-300 nm diameter and resembled nuclear bodies that were found with lower frequency in cells lacking PS-ONs. The environment of a living cell was required for the de novo formation of PS bodies, which occurred within minutes after the introduction of PS-ONs. PS bodies were stable entities that underwent noticeable reorganization only during mitosis. Upon exit from mitosis, PS bodies were assembled de novo from diffuse PS-ON pools in the daughter nuclei. In situ fractionation demonstrated an association of PS-ONs with the nuclear matrix. Taken together, our data provide evidence for the formation of a nuclear body in cells after introduction of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides

Predicting Kidney Transplant Survival using Multiple Feature Representations for HLAs

Kidney transplantation can significantly enhance living standards for people suffering from end-stage renal disease. A significant factor that affects graft survival time (the time until the transplant fails and the patient requires another transplant) for kidney transplantation is the compatibility of the Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLAs) between the donor and recipient. In this paper, we propose new biologically-relevant feature representations for incorporating HLA information into machine learning-based survival analysis algorithms. We evaluate our proposed HLA feature representations on a database of over 100,000 transplants and find that they improve prediction accuracy by about 1%, modest at the patient level but potentially significant at a societal level. Accurate prediction of survival times can improve transplant survival outcomes, enabling better allocation of donors to recipients and reducing the number of re-transplants due to graft failure with poorly matched donors