Impact of Heat Treatment on Humic Acid Elemental Content and Thermal Stability

AbstractThe article examines the impact of thermal peat modification on the elemental content and properties of humic acids. It has been revealed that preliminary heat treatment of different peat types characterized by various decomposition degrees causes the changes in elemental content; precisely it leads to the increase in macromolecule benzoid degree and subsequent enhancement of its thermal stability

Impact of Heat Treatment on Humic Acid Elemental Content and Thermal Stability

The article examines the impact of thermal peat modification on the elemental content and properties of humic acids. It has been revealed that preliminary heat treatment of different peat types characterized by various decomposition degrees causes the changes in elemental content; precisely it leads to the increase in macromolecule benzoid degree and subsequent enhancement of its thermal stability

Plasticity of Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells and Regulation of Angiogenesis

Adipose tissue is recognized as an important organ with metabolic, regulatory, and plastic roles. Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) with self-renewal properties localize in the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) being present in a vascular niche, thereby, contributing to local regulation of angiogenesis and vessel remodeling. In the past decades, ASCs have attracted much attention from biologists and bioengineers, particularly, because of their multilineage differentiation potential, strong proliferation, and migration abilities in vitro and high resistance to oxidative stress and senescence. Current data suggest that the SVF serves as an important source of endothelial progenitors, endothelial cells, and pericytes, thereby, contributing to vessel remodeling and growth. In addition, ASCs demonstrate intriguing metabolic and interlineage plasticity, which makes them good candidates for creating regenerative therapeutic protocols, in vitro tissue models and microphysiological systems, and tissue-on-chip devices for diagnostic and regeneration-supporting purposes. This review covers recent achievements in understanding the metabolic activity within the SVF niches (lactate and NAD+ metabolism), which is critical for maintaining the pool of ASCs, and discloses their pro-angiogenic potential, particularly, in the complex therapy of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases

Vascular RAGE transports oxytocin into the brain to elicit its maternal bonding behaviour in mice

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Oxytocin sets the stage for childbirth by initiating uterine contractions, lactation and maternal bonding behaviours. Mice lacking secreted oxcytocin (Oxt -/-, Cd38 -/-) or its receptor (Oxtr -/-) fail to nurture. Normal maternal behaviour is restored by peripheral oxcytocin replacement in Oxt -/- and Cd38 -/-, but not Oxtr -/- mice, implying that circulating oxcytocin crosses the blood-brain barrier. Exogenous oxcytocin also has behavioural effects in humans. However, circulating polypeptides are typically excluded from the brain. We show that oxcytocin is transported into the brain by receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) on brain capillary endothelial cells. The increases in oxcytocin in the brain which follow exogenous administration are lost in Ager -/- male mice lacking RAGE, and behaviours characteristic to abnormalities in oxcytocin signalling are recapitulated in Ager -/- mice, including deficits in maternal bonding and hyperactivity. Our findings show that RAGE-mediated transport is critical to the behavioural actions of oxcytocin associated with parenting and social bonding.3082047

Endothelial progenitor cells physiology and metabolic plasticity in brain angiogenesis and blood-brain barrier modeling

Currently, there is a considerable interest to the assessment of blood-brain barrier (BBB) development as a part of cerebral angiogenesis developmental program. Embryonic and adult angiogenesis in the brain is governed by the coordinated activity of endothelial progenitor cells, brain microvascular endothelial cells, and non-endothelial cells contributing to the establishment of the BBB (pericytes, astrocytes, neurons). Metabolic and functional plasticity of endothelial progenitor cells controls their timely recruitment, precise homing to the brain microvessels, and efficient support of brain angiogenesis. Deciphering endothelial progenitor cells physiology would provide novel engineering approaches to establish adequate microfluidically-supported BBB models and brain microphysiological systems for translational studies

Population Genomic Structure of Eurasian and African Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica) Landrace Accessions Inferred from Genotyping-by-sequencing (GbS) Supports a Single Domestic Origin and Identifies Four Environmentally-Adapted Groups

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is the second most important millet species globally, adapted to cultivation in diverse environments. Like its wild progenitor, green foxtail (S. viridis), it is a model species for C4 photosynthetic pathways and stress tolerance genes in related bioenergy crops. We addressed questions regarding the evolution and spread of foxtail millet through a population genomic study of landraces from across its cultivated range in Europe, Asia and Africa. We sought to determine population genomic structure and the relationship of domesticated lineages relative to wild S. viridis. Further, we aimed to identify genes involved in environmental stress tolerance, that have undergone differential selection between geographical and genetic groups. 328 S. italica landrace accessions and 12 S. viridis accessions were sequenced by genotyping-by-sequencing (GbS). After filtering, 5677 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were retained for the combined S. italica/S. viridis dataset, and 5020 SNPs for the S. italica dataset. We extended geographic coverage of S. viridis by including previously published GbS sequence tags, yielding an 825-SNP dataset for phylogenetic reconstruction. All S. italica samples were monophyletic relative to S. viridis, suggesting a single origin of foxtail millet, although no group of S. italica was clearly the most ancestral. Four genetic clusters were found within S. italica, with distinctive geographical distributions. These results, together with archaeobotanical evidence, suggest plausible routes of spread of foxtail millet. Selection scans identified nine candidate genes in comparisons between clusters potentially involved in environmental adaptations, particularly to novel climates encountered as domesticated foxtail millet spread to new altitudes and latitudes.European Research Council Advanced Investigator award (ref. 249642, “Food Globalisation in Prehistory” by Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grants (refs. F/09717/C, “Pioneers of Pan-Asian Contact” and RPG-2017-196, “Crops, Pollinators and People”) BBSRC-CASE studentship with co-funding from Unilever The Smithsonian Institution Royal Society International Joint Projects grant (ref. JP101321