B- and C-type low molecular weight glutenin subunits in tetraploid wheat germplasm

General knowledge acquisition entails the extraction of statistical regularities from the environment. At high levels of complexity, this may involve the extraction, and consolidation, of associative regularities across event memories. The underlying neural mechanisms would likely involve a hippocampo-neocortical dialog, as proposed previously for system-level consolidation. To test these hypotheses, we assessed possible differences in consolidation between associative memories containing cross-episodic regularities and unique associative memories. Subjects learned face-location associations, half of which responded to complex regularities regarding the combination of facial features and locations, whereas the other half did not. Importantly, regularities could only be extracted over hippocampus-encoded, associative aspects of the items. Memory was assessed both immediately after encoding and 48 h later, under fMRI acquisition. Our results suggest that processes related to system-level reorganization occur preferentially for regular associations across episodes. Moreover, the build-up of general knowledge regarding regular associations appears to involve the coordinated activity of the hippocampus and mediofrontal regions. The putative cross-talk between these two regions might support a mechanism for regularity extraction. These findings suggest that the consolidation of cross-episodic regularities may be a key mechanism underlying general knowledge acquisition

Milk composition of "Nero Siciliano" sow. Preliminary results

AbstractQuantitative and qualitative milk production is the basis for determining the nutritional requirements of lactating sow; indeed, the gross nutrient composition of sow's milk is frequently used as a suitable starting point when formulating milk-replacer diets for piglets. Data about the sow's milk can be found from the literature but, in authors knowledge, no data on milk composition of Nero Siciliano sow exist. This study reports the preliminary results concerning some physical and chemical characteristics of the milk of this autochthonous Sicilian pig race during the lactation.The research was carried out on 10 "Nero Siciliano" sows, 4 primiparous (age: 9-12 months) and 6 pluriparous (age: 2-5 years), stabled in single boxes and fed with a concentrate. From the 10th day after farrowing to the weaning (day 58th), every week, in the morning, the sows were injected with 5 IU oxytocin (i.m.) and hand-milked; all functional mammary glands were milked. Piglets were removed and isolated from the dams fo..

Relationship between the D genome of hexaploid wheats (AABBDD) and Ae. squarrosa as deduced by seed storage proteins and molecular marker analyses

The electrophoretical analyses of seed storage protein components from the gliadin and glutenin fractions in T. aeslivum ssp. vulgare, compaction, sphaerococcum, macha, vavilovii, and spelta have revealed limited variation at the tightly linked coding loci Gli-D1/Glu-D3, and Glu-D1, located respectively on the short and long arm of chromosome ID, and at the GH-D2 locus, positioned on the short arm of chromosome 6D. Much higher variation was observed, for the same protein components, in the wild diploid Ae. squarrosa, the D genome donor of the aestivum group. Genetic variation in the same wheat subspecies and in Ae. squarrosa has also been evaluated by Southern hybridization of genomic DNAs, which were digested with several restriction enzymes, and hybridized with cloned sequences of genes coding for seed storage proteins. The much higher degree of variation observed for the seed storage protein genes of Ae. squarrosa, in comparison with the variation exhibited by the proteins encoded by the D genome chromosomes of hexaploid wheats, supports the hypothesis that a limited number of crosses gave rise to hexaploid wheats of the aestivum group

Desert Research and Technology Studies Exposure of Lotus Coated Electrodynamic Shield Samples

The passive Lotus dust mitigation coating currently being developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), was selected by the Habitation Demonstration Unit Deep Space Habitat (HDU-DSH) for participation in the 2011 Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RaTS). Based on the unique surface architecture of the Lotus leaf, the nano-engineered Lotus coating seeks to replicate these structures on space flight and habitation surfaces. By decreasing both the surface energy and area for particle attachment, the Lotus coating greatly diminishes dust accumulation on surfaces. This is a problem that can be encountered on lunar, Martian, and asteroid missions. Two different application methods of this coating were tested in summer 2011 at the D-RaTS site: the wet chemistry applied version and combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) applied version. These Lotus coatings, along with two common thermal control coatings, were combined with the active dust mitigation electrodynamic shield (EDS) technology developed at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The EDS technology uses an electrified grid to remove dust particles from the surface of a Kapton (Trademark) substrate. The Lotus coating and thermal control coatings were applied to these Kapton (Trademark) substrates for testing. The combination of these two innovations was theorized to be an applicable countermeasure for addressing dust accumulation during long-duration human space exploration. This theory was tested and characterized prior to, during, and after D-RaTS exposure

On the use of AMSU-based products for the description of soil water content at basin scale

Abstract. Characterizing the dynamics of soil moisture fields is a key issue in hydrology, offering a strategy to improve our understanding of complex climate-soil-vegetation interactions. Besides in-situ measurements and hydrological models, soil moisture dynamics can be inferred by analyzing data acquired by sensors on board of airborne and/or satellite platforms. In this work, we investigated the use of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (NOAA-AMSU-A) radiometer for the remote characterization of soil water content. To this aim, a field measurement campaign, lasted about three months (3 March 2010–18 May 2010), was carried out using a portable time-domain reflectometer (TDR) to get soil water content measures over five different locations within an experimental basin of 32.5 km2, located in the South of Italy. In detail, soil moisture measurements were carried out systematically at the times of satellite overpasses, over two square areas of 400 m2, a triangular area of 200 m2 and two transects of 60 and 170 m, respectively. Each monitored site is characterized by different land covers and soil textures, to account for spatial heterogeneity of land surface. Afterwards, a more extensive comparison (i.e. analyzing a 5 yr data time series) was made using soil moisture simulated by a hydrological model. Measured and modeled soil moisture data were compared with two AMSU-based indices: the Surface Wetness Index (SWI) and the Soil Wetness Variation Index (SWVI). Both time series of indices have been filtered by means of an exponential filter to account for the fact that microwave sensors only provide information at the skin surface. This allowed to understand the ability of each satellite-based index to account for soil moisture dynamics and to understand its performances under different conditions. As a general remark, the comparison shows a higher ability of the filtered SWI to describe the general trend of soil moisture, while the SWVI can capture soil moisture variations with a precision that increases at the higher values of SWVI

Anti-anxiety drugs and fish behavior: Establishing the link between internal concentrations of oxazepam and behavioral effects

This is the final published version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.Some of the chemistry data have been provided in the Supplemental Data. The raw data from the behavioral analysis can be provided on contact with the corresponding author ([email protected]).Psychoactive drugs are frequently detected in the aquatic environment. The evolutionary conservation of the molecular targets of these drugs in fish suggests that they may elicit mode of action–mediated effects in fish as they do in humans, and the key open question is at what exposure concentrations these effects might occur. In the present study, the authors investigated the uptake and tissue distribution of the benzodiazepine oxazepam in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) after 28 d of waterborne exposure to 0.8 μg L −1 , 4.7 μg L −1 , and 30.6 μg L −1 . Successively, they explored the relationship between the internal concentrations of oxazepam and the effects on fish exploratory behavior quantified by performing 2 types of behavioral tests, the novel tank diving test and the shelter-seeking test. The highest internal concentrations of oxazepam were found in brain, followed by plasma and liver, whereas muscle presented the lowest values. Average concentrations measured in the plasma of fish from the 3 exposure groups were, respectively, 8.7 ± 5.7 μg L −1 , 30.3 ± 16.1 μg L −1 , and 98.8 ± 72.9 μg L −1 . Significant correlations between plasma and tissue concentrations of oxazepam were found in all 3 groups. Exposure of fish to 30.6 µg L −1 in water produced plasma concentrations within or just below the human therapeutic plasma concentration (H T PC) range in many individuals. Statistically significant behavioral effects in the novel tank diving test were observed in fish exposed to 4.7 μg L −1 . In this group, plasma concentrations of oxazepam were approximately one-third of the lowest H T PC value. No significant effects were observed in fish exposed to the lowest and highest concentrations. The significance of these results is discussed in the context of the species-specific behavior of fathead minnow and existing knowledge of oxazepam pharmacology. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2782–2790. © 2016 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.Brunel University (London, UK)Spanish Ministry of Economy and CompetitivenessEconomy and Knowledge Department of the Catalan governmen

New Variant of the Treatment of Acromion-Clavicular Dislocation With TightRope ® System in a Mini - Open Approach: A Preliminary Clinical Study

Background: Many different surgical techniques have been described to stabilize the acromion-clavicular (AC) dislocations. So far many of these procedures are performed only in arthroscopy. Objectives: In this study, we describe a new technique that utilizes the tightrope with a mini-invasive open approach for the acute stabilization of the acromion-clavicular joint (ACJ) dislocation. Patients and Methods: We set an prospective study aimed to verify the efficacy of this new surgical technique. We treated 28 patients with acute ACJ dislocation with ACJ TightRope ® System with dual mini access. We retrospectively reviewed the data of 34 patients treated with arthroscopic technique. They were considered as the control group. Results: At 6 month’s follow-up, all the 28 patients showed a stable joint during clinical examination and obtained an average Constant score of 98.62/100, with a complete recovery of ROM and strength in abduction. The mean operation time was of 33.7 minutes. The mean recovery duration was 102.8 days. No significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Results of this trial suggest the effectiveness of this new mini-invasive surgical technique in producing clinical and functional recovery in patients with ACJ dislocations

The read-across hypothesis and environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright © 2013 American Chemical Society.Pharmaceuticals in the environment have received increased attention over the past decade, as they are ubiquitous in rivers and waterways. Concentrations are in sub-ng to low μg/L, well below acute toxic levels, but there are uncertainties regarding the effects of chronic exposures and there is a need to prioritise which pharmaceuticals may be of concern. The read-across hypothesis stipulates that a drug will have an effect in non-target organisms only if the molecular targets such as receptors and enzymes have been conserved, resulting in a (specific) pharmacological effect only if plasma concentrations are similar to human therapeutic concentrations. If this holds true for different classes of pharmaceuticals, it should be possible to predict the potential environmental impact from information obtained during the drug development process. This paper critically reviews the evidence for read-across, and finds that few studies include plasma concentrations and mode of action based effects. Thus, despite a large number of apparently relevant papers and a general acceptance of the hypothesis, there is an absence of documented evidence. There is a need for large-scale studies to generate robust data for testing the read-across hypothesis and developing predictive models, the only feasible approach to protecting the environment.BBSRC Industrial Partnership Award BB/ I00646X/1 and BBSRC Industrial CASE Partnership Studentship BB/I53257X/1 with AstraZeneca Safety Health and Environment Research Programme

AI-based structure prediction empowers integrative structural analysis of human nuclear pores

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) mediate nucleocytoplasmic transport. Their intricate 120-megadalton architecture remains incompletely understood. Here, we report a 70-megadalton model of the humanNPC scaffold with explicit membrane and in multiple conformational states. We combined artificial intelligence (AI)–based structure prediction with in situ and in cellulo cryo–electron tomography and integrative modeling. We show that linker nucleoporins spatially organize the scaffold within and across subcomplexes to establish the higher-order structure. Microsecond-long molecular dynamics simulationssuggest that the scaffold is not required to stabilize the inner and outer nuclear membrane fusion but rather widens the central pore. Our work exemplifies how AI-based modeling can be integrated within situ structural biology to understand subcellular architecture across spatial organization levels