Applications of microsatellite markers for the characterization of olive genetic resources of tunisia

Among the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, Tunisia is located at the crossroad for the immigration of several civilizations over the last two millennia, becoming a strategic place for gene flow, and a secondary center of diversity for olive species. Olive is one of the principal crop species in Tunisia and now it strongly characterizes the rural landscape of the country. In recent years, collecting missions on farm and in situ were carried out by various institutes, with special emphasis given to ex situ collections serving as a reference for the identification of olive germplasm. Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) represent the easiest and cheapest markers for olive genetic fingerprinting and have been the tool of choice for studying the genetic diversity of this crop in Tunisia, to resolve cases of homonymy and synonymy among the commercialized varieties, to identify rare cultivars, to improve knowledge about the genetic variability of this crop, to identify a hot spot of olive biodiversity in the Tunisian oasis of Degache, and to enrich the national reference collection of olive varieties. The present review describes the state of the art of the genetic characterization of the Tunisian olive germplasm and illustrate the progress obtained through the SSR markers, in individuating interesting genotypes that could be used for facing incoming problems determined by climate changes

Surdité professionnelle dans une industrie automobile de la région du centre Tunisien reconnaissance et indemnisation

Objectif : La surdité professionnelle pose encore des problèmes de reconnaissance et d’indemnisation en Tunisie. L’objectif de notre étude est d’analyser les conditions de reconnaissance et d’indemnisation de la surdité professionnelle auprès des travailleurs d’une industrie automobile.Matériel et méthodes : Nous avons mené une étude descriptive rétrospective qui a porté sur les salariés de la Société Tunisienne d’Industrie Automobile (STIA) victimes de surdité professionnelle reconnue par la Commission Médicale du centre sur une période de cinq ans (2003 à 2007).Résultats : Un total de 81 dossiers de surdité professionnelle reconnue a été colligé durant la période d’étude. Notre population était constituée par une main d’oeuvre masculine qualifiée (50,6%) et non qualifiée (38,3%) ayant une ancienneté moyenne dans le poste bruyant de 28,7 ± 6,8 ans. Le niveau moyen d’exposition professionnelle au bruit était de 90,7 ± 3,9dB(A). Il était plus élevé dans les ateliers de presse [92,4dB(A)], de tôlerie [91,6 dB(A)] et de peinture [90 dB(A)]. La perte auditive moyenne (PAM) sur la meilleure oreille était de 65,7 ± 17,4dB. Les potentiels évoqués auditifs ont été pratiqués chez 66 patients (81,5%) et ont confirmé le diagnostic de surdité de perception dans 64 cas et d’une surdité mixte dans les 2 autres cas. L’audiométrie tonale avec prothèse auditive a été pratiquée dans 71,6% des cas et a relevé une amélioration estimée nette chez 81% des patients. Le taux moyen de l’incapacitépermanente partielle était de 21,5 ± 6,8% avec des extrêmes allant de 8 et 51%. La majorité des salariés (92,6%) avaient un taux d’IPP entre 15 et 35%. La PAM > 60 dB a été statistiquement corrélée avec la catégorie professionnelle (p=0,017) et l’ancienneté au travail (p=0,039).Conclusion : La réparation de la surdité professionnelle présente encore des limites et des imperfections liées aux critères de reconnaissances qui doivent être révisées.Mots-clés : Surdité professionnelle, Bruit, Industrie automobile, Réparation

Recovery, assessment, and molecular characterization of minor olive genotypes in Tunisia

Olive is one of the oldest cultivated species in the Mediterranean Basin, including Tunisia, where it has a wide diversity, with more than 200 cultivars, of both wild and feral forms. Many minor cultivars are still present in marginal areas of Tunisia, where they are maintained by farmers in small local groves, but they are poorly characterized and evaluated. In order to recover this neglected germplasm, surveys were conducted in different areas, and 31 genotypes were collected, molecularly characterized with 12 nuclear microsatellite (simple sequence repeat (SSR)) markers, and compared with 26 reference cultivars present in the Tunisian National Olive collection. The analysis revealed an overall high genetic diversity of this olive’s germplasm, but also discovered the presence of synonymies and homonymies among the commercialized varieties. The structure analysis showed the presence of different gene pools in the analyzed germplasm. In particular, the marginal germplasm from Ras Jbal and Azmour is characterized by gene pools not present in commercial (Nurseries) varieties, pointing out the very narrow genetic base of the commercialized olive material in Tunisia, and the need to broaden it to avoid the risk of genetic erosion of this species in this country

Loss of Proliferation and Antigen Presentation Activity following Internalization of Polydispersed Carbon Nanotubes by Primary Lung Epithelial Cells

Interactions between poly-dispersed acid functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes (AF-SWCNTs) and primary lung epithelial (PLE) cells were studied. Peritoneal macrophages (PMs, known phagocytic cells) were used as positive controls in this study. Recovery of live cells from cultures of PLE cells and PMs was significantly reduced in the presence of AF-SWCNTs, in a time and dose dependent manner. Both PLE cells as well as PMs could take up fluorescence tagged AF-SWCNTs in a time dependent manner and this uptake was significantly blocked by cytochalasin D, an agent that blocks the activity of acto-myosin fibers and therefore the phagocytic activity of cells. Confocal microscopic studies confirmed that AF-SWCNTs were internalized by both PLE cells and PMs. Intra-trachially instilled AF-SWCNTs could also be taken up by lung epithelial cells as well as alveolar macrophages. Freshly isolated PLE cells had significant cell division activity and cell cycling studies indicated that treatment with AF-SWCNTs resulted in a marked reduction in S-phase of the cell cycle. In a previously standardized system to study BCG antigen presentation by PLE cells and PMs to sensitized T helper cells, AF-SWCNTs could significantly lower the antigen presentation ability of both cell types. These results show that mouse primary lung epithelial cells can efficiently internalize AF-SWCNTs and the uptake of nanotubes interfered with biological functions of PLE cells including their ability to present BCG antigens to sensitized T helper cells

The Role of Alveolar Epithelial Cells in Initiating and Shaping Pulmonary Immune Responses: Communication between Innate and Adaptive Immune Systems

Macrophages and dendritic cells have been recognized as key players in the defense against mycobacterial infection. However, more recently, other cells in the lungs such as alveolar epithelial cells (AEC) have been found to play important roles in the defense and pathogenesis of infection. In the present study we first compared AEC with pulmonary macrophages (PuM) isolated from mice in their ability to internalize and control Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) growth and their capacity as APCs. AEC were able to internalize and control bacterial growth as well as present antigen to primed T cells. Secondly, we compared both cell types in their capacity to secrete cytokines and chemokines upon stimulation with various molecules including mycobacterial products. Activated PuM and AEC displayed different patterns of secretion. Finally, we analyzed the profile of response of AEC to diverse stimuli. AEC responded to both microbial and internal stimuli exemplified by TLR ligands and IFNs, respectively. The response included synthesis by AEC of several factors, known to have various effects in other cells. Interestingly, TNF could stimulate the production of CCL2/MCP-1. Since MCP-1 plays a role in the recruitment of monocytes and macrophages to sites of infection and macrophages are the main producers of TNF, we speculate that both cell types can stimulate each other. Also, another cell-cell interaction was suggested when IFNs (produced mainly by lymphocytes) were able to induce expression of chemokines (IP-10 and RANTES) by AEC involved in the recruitment of circulating lymphocytes to areas of injury, inflammation, or viral infection. In the current paper we confirm previous data on the capacity of AEC regarding internalization of mycobacteria and their role as APC, and extend the knowledge of AEC as a multifunctional cell type by assessing the secretion of a broad array of factors in response to several different types of stimuli

The role of alveolar type II cells in swine leptospirosis

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate a possible relationship between alveolar type II cells and the inflammatory response to infection with Leptospira spp., and thus comprise a further element that can be involved in the pathogenesis of lung injury in naturally infected pigs. The study group consisted of 73 adult pigs that were extensively reared and slaughtered in Teresina, Piauí state, and Timon, Maranhão state, Brazil. The diagnosis of leptospirosis was made using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) aided by immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction. The MAT registered the occurrence of anti-Leptospira antibodies in 10.96% (8/73) of the pigs. Immunohistochemistry allowed for the visualization of the Leptospira spp. antigen in the lungs of 87.67% (64/73) of the pigs. There was hyperplasia of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue and circulatory changes, such as congestion of alveolar septa, parenchymal hemorrhage and edema within the alveoli. Lung inflammation was more intense (p = 0.0312) in infected animals, which also showed increased thickening of the alveolar septa (p = 0.0006). Evaluation of alveolar type II (ATII) cells using an anti-TTF-1 (Thyroid Transcription Factor-1) antibody showed that there were more immunostained cells in the non-infected pigs (53.8%) than in the infected animals (46.2%) and that there was an inverse correlation between TTF-1 positive cells and the inflammatory infiltrate. There was no amplification of Leptospira DNA in the lung samples, but leptospiral DNA amplification was observed in the kidneys. The results of this study showed that a relationship exists between a decrease in alveolar type II cells and a leptospire infection. Thus, this work points to the importance of studying the ATII cells as a potential marker of the level of lung innate immune response during leptospirosis in pigs

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age.

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Transient Ureteral Obstruction Prevents against Kidney Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury via Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF)-2α Activation

Although the protective effect of transient ureteral obstruction (UO) prior to ischemia on subsequent renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury has been documented, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be understood. We showed in the current study that 24 h of UO led to renal tubular hypoxia in the ipsilateral kidney in mice, with the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α, which lasted for a week after the release of UO. To address the functions of HIF-2α in UO-mediated protection of renal IRI, we utilized the Mx-Cre/loxP recombination system to knock out target genes. Inactivation of HIF-2α, but not HIF-1α blunted the renal protective effects of UO, as demonstrated by much higher serum creatinine level and severer histological damage. UO failed to prevent postischemic neutrophil infiltration and apoptosis induction in HIF-2α knockout mice, which also diminished the postobstructive up-regulation of the protective molecule, heat shock protein (HSP)-27. The renal protective effects of UO were associated with the improvement of the postischemic recovery of intra-renal microvascular blood flow, which was also dependent on the activation of HIF-2α. Our results demonstrated that UO protected the kidney via activation of HIF-2α, which reduced tubular damages via preservation of adequate renal microvascular perfusion after ischemia. Thus, preconditional HIF-2α activation might serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of ischemic acute renal failure

Life satisfaction around the world: measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a widely used self-report measure of subjective well-being, but studies of its measurement invariance across a large number of nations remain limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset-with data collected between 2020 and 2022 -to assess measurement invariance of the SWLS across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups (N = 56,968). All participants completed the SWLS under largely uniform conditions. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that configural and metric invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional SWLS model has universal applicability. Full scalar invariance was achieved across gender identities and age groups. Based on alignment optimisation methods, partial scalar invariance was achieved across all but three national groups and across all languages represented in the BINS. There were large differences in latent SWLS means across nations and languages, but negligible-to-small differences across gender identities and age groups. Across nations, greater life satisfaction was significantly associated with greater financial security and being in a committed relationship or married. The results of this study suggest that the SWLS largely assesses a common unidimensional construct of life satisfaction irrespective of respondent characteristics (i.e., national group, gender identities, and age group) or survey presentation (i.e., survey language). This has important implications for the assessment of life satisfaction across nations and provides information that will be useful for practitioners aiming to promote subjective well-being internationally