Study of the relationship between photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, and mineral nutrition in wheat

The growth of wheat (triticum aestivum) was studied in an enclosed controlled environment for a period of 70 days. The exchange of gases (photosynthesis, respiration), water (transpiration) and the consumption of mineral elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) were continuously measured. The dynamical relations observed in the different physiological functions, under the influence of growth and in response to environment modifications are presented. The influence of carbon dioxide content during growth (normal or double percentage) was made clear

Efficient generation of A9 midbrain dopaminergic neurons by lentiviral delivery of LMX1A in human embryonic stem cells and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) offer great hope for in vitro modeling of Parkinson's disease (PD), as well as for designing cell-replacement therapies. To realize these opportunities, there is an urgent need to develop efficient protocols for the directed differentiation of hESC/iPSC into dopamine (DA) neurons with the specific characteristics of the cell population lost to PD, i.e., A9-subtype ventral midbrain DA neurons. Here we use lentiviral vectors to drive the expression of LMX1A, which encodes a transcription factor critical for ventral midbrain identity, specifically in neural progenitor cells. We show that clonal lines of hESC engineered to contain one or two copies of this lentiviral vector retain long-term self-renewing ability and pluripotent differentiation capacity. Greater than 60% of all neurons generated from LMX1A-engineered hESC were ventral midbrain DA neurons of the A9 subtype, compared with ∼10% in green fluorescent protein engineered controls, as judged by specific marker expression and functional analyses. Moreover, DA neuron precursors differentiated from LMX1A-engineered hESC were able to survive and differentiate when grafted into the brain of adult mice. Finally, we provide evidence that LMX1A overexpression similarly increases the yield of DA neuron differentiation from human iPSC. Taken together, our data show that stable genetic engineering of hESC/iPSC with lentiviral vectors driving controlled expression of LMX1A is an efficient way to generate enriched populations of human A9-subtype ventral midbrain DA neurons, which should prove useful for modeling PD and may be helpful for designing future cell-replacement strategies

Mathematische Theorie des Verhaltens endlicher Automaten

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93682/1/19620420106_ftp.pd

The Transcriptional Landscape of the Photosynthetic Model Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803.

Cyanobacteria exhibit a great capacity to adapt to different environmental conditions through changes in gene expression. Although this plasticity has been extensively studied in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a detailed analysis of the coordinated transcriptional adaption across varying conditions is lacking. Here, we report a meta-analysis of 756 individual microarray measurements conducted in 37 independent studies-the most comprehensive study of the Synechocystis transcriptome to date. Using stringent statistical evaluation, we characterized the coordinated adaptation of Synechocystis' gene expression on systems level. Evaluation of the data revealed that the photosynthetic apparatus is subjected to greater changes in expression than other cellular components. Nevertheless, network analyses indicated a significant degree of transcriptional coordination of photosynthesis and various metabolic processes, and revealed the tight co-regulation of components of photosystems I, II and phycobilisomes. Detailed inspection of the integrated data led to the discovery a variety of regulatory patterns and novel putative photosynthetic genes. Intriguingly, global clustering analyses suggested contrasting transcriptional response of metabolic and regulatory genes stress to conditions. The integrated Synechocystis transcriptome can be accessed and interactively analyzed via the CyanoEXpress website (http://cyanoexpress.sysbiolab.eu)

Parental Expectations and Prosocial Behavior of Adolescents From Low-Income Backgrounds: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Three Countries¿Argentina, Colombia, and Spain

Parental expectations are influenced by cultural models, which in turn are subject to a great influence from historically fluctuating features of the socioeconomic background. Parental expectations seem to be linked to children¿s social and emotional development in terms of empathy and prosocial behavior. The current study aims to (a) compare low-income adolescents¿ perceptions of parental expectations of prosocial and antisocial behavior across three Latin countries (Argentina, Colombia, and Spain), (b) compare the empathy and prosocial behavior between the three countries, (c) compare the prosocial behavior between the three countries, and (d) study the effect of perceived parental expectations and empathy on the prosocial behavior of adolescents in all three of the countries studied in this research. The sample was made up of 446 Argentinean adolescents, 474 Colombian adolescents, and 632 Spanish adolescents. The Expected Parental Reactions Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire were used to measure the variables included in this study. Results reveal considerable differences between children¿s perceptions of parental expectations in different countries. Results also show the existence of significant differences between male and female adolescents. In all three countries, girls score more highly than boys in prosocial behavior and empathy. Furthermore, we find that low-income Argentinean adolescents score more highly than Spanish and Colombian adolescents in prosocial behavior measures. Finally, expected parental reactions toward prosocial behavior and empathy seem to have an influence on the adolescents¿ development of prosocial behavior in all three countries

XXVII International Congress of Psychology, Estocolmo, 2000 : Simposio "Science from the standpoint of cognitive psychology"

Contiene los resúmenes de: Science rationality and inference : an insight from cognitive psychology / Prof. Dr. Alfredo Oscar López Alonso ; Cognitive maps across cultures and across sciences / Dr. Horacio J. A. Rimoldi ; Subjective and objective causality in science : a topic for attribution theory? / Prof. Dra. María Cristina Richaud de Minzi ; Metacognition and learning processes underlying science / Drnd. Pablo Narvaja & M. A. Carolina Jaroslavsk

Advanced cell-based modeling of the royal disease: characterization of the mutated F9 mRNA

Essentials The Royal disease (RD) is a form of hemophilia B predicted to be caused by a splicing mutation. We generated an iPSC-based model of the disease allowing mechanistic studies at the RNA level. F9 mRNA analysis in iPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells showed the predicted abnormal splicing. Mutated F9 mRNA level was very low but we also found traces of wild type transcripts. SUMMARY: Background The royal disease is a form of hemophilia B (HB) that affected many descendants of Queen Victoria in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was found to be caused by the mutation F9 c.278-3A>G. Objective To generate a physiological cell model of the disease and to study F9 expression at the RNA level. Methods Using fibroblasts from skin biopsies of a previously identified hemophilic patient bearing the F9 c.278-3A>G mutation and his mother, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Both the patient's and mother's iPSCs were differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) and their F9 mRNA was analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Results and Conclusion We demonstrated the previously predicted aberrant splicing of the F9 transcript as a result of an intronic nucleotide substitution leading to a frameshift and the generation of a premature termination codon (PTC). The F9 mRNA level in the patient's HLCs was significantly reduced compared with that of his mother, suggesting that mutated transcripts undergo nonsense-mediated decay (NMD), a cellular mechanism that degrades PTC-containing mRNAs. We also detected small proportions of correctly spliced transcripts in the patient's HLCs, which, combined with genetic variability in splicing and NMD machineries, could partially explain some clinical variability among affected members of the European royal families who had lifespans above the average. This work allowed the demonstration of the pathologic consequences of an intronic mutation in the F9 gene and represents the first bona fide cellular model of HB allowing the study of rare mutations at the RNA level

Microbial engineering for production of N-functionalized amino acids and amines

Mindt M, Walter T, Kugler P, Wendisch VF. Microbial engineering for production of N-functionalized amino acids and amines. Biotechnology Journal . 2020;15(7): 1900451.N‐ functionalized amines play important roles in nature and occur, for example, in the antibiotic vancomycin, the immunosuppressant cyclosporine, the cytostatic actinomycin, the siderophore aerobactin, the cyanogenic glucoside linamarin, and the polyamine spermidine. In the pharmaceutical and fine‐chemical industries N‐ functionalized amines are used as building blocks for the preparation of bioactive molecules. Processes based on fermentation and on enzyme catalysis have been developed to provide sustainable manufacturing routes to N‐ alkylated, N‐ hydroxylated, N‐ acylated, or other N‐ functionalized amines including polyamines. Metabolic engineering for provision of precursor metabolites is combined with heterologous N‐ functionalizing enzymes such as imine or ketimine reductases, opine or amino acid dehydrogenases, N‐ hydroxylases, N‐ acyltransferase, or polyamine synthetases. Recent progress and applications of fermentative processes using metabolically engineered bacteria and yeasts along with the employed enzymes are reviewed and the perspectives on developing new fermentative processes based on insight from enzyme catalysis are discussed

Case report of MR perfusion imaging in Sinking Skin Flap Syndrome: growing evidence for hemodynamic impairment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The syndrome of the sinking skin flap (SSSF) with delayed sensorimotor deficits after craniectomy is not well known and often neglected. Among various postulated causes, there is evidence that disturbed brain perfusion may be related to the observed symptoms, and that cranioplasty reliably alleviates these symptoms. We report a case of sinking skin flap syndrome (SSFS) with recovery from neurological sensorimotor deficits after cranioplasty correlated with pre- and postsurgical MR brain perfusion studies.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>A 42-year-old woman presented with slowly progressive sensorimotor paresis of her left arm after decompressive extensive craniectomy due to subarachnoid hemorrhage four months ago. Her right cranium showed a "sinking skin flap". After cranioplastic repair of her skull defect, the patient fully recovered from her symptoms. Before cranioplasty, reduced brain perfusion in the right central cortical region was observed in MR-perfusion images. After cranioplasty, a marked increase in brain perfusion was observed which correlated with objective clinical recovery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is increasing evidence that impaired blood flow is responsible for delayed motor deficits in patients with sinking skin flap syndrome in the area of compressed brain regions. Symptoms should be evaluated by brain perfusion imaging complementing surgical decision-making.</p