Genomic signals of adaptation to a natural CO gradient over a striking microgeographic scale.

Our study explores genomic signs of adaptation in A. lixula to different water pH conditions. To achieve this, we analysed the genomics variation of A.

VERMEER FCM: A tool integrating exposure and hazard modelling for chemicals migrating from food contact materials.

A new tool, VERMEER FCM, was developed to support the risk assessment of single organic chemicals migrating from plastic food contact materials (FCM). The freely available tool is integrated into MERLIN-Expo and has been designed in line with Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 for plastic FCM. Overall, the tool consists of three modules that allow (i) to model the migration of chemicals into food, (ii) to predict toxicological endpoints relevant to risk assessment of FCM chemicals, and (iii) to automatically check whether the chemical of interest is included in Regulation (EU) No 10/2011.

Effectiveness of autologous mononuclear cells as adjuvant therapy in patients with ischaemic diabetic foot ulcers receiving indirect lower limb revascularization.

Aim: The current study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB-MNCs) therapy for patients with ischaemic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) treated through indirect revascularization.

Methods: The study is a prospective non-controlled observational study including patients with neuro-ischaemic DFUs who received indirect peripheral revascularization and showed a persistence of wound ischaemia defined by the absence of angiographic collateral vessels and TcPO2 values < 30 mmHg in the wound angiosome area. All patients received 3 cycles of PB-MNCs therapy administered along the wound related artery based on the angiosome theory.

The predicting value of post neoadjuvant treatment magnetic resonance imaging: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant therapy has become standard of care for locally advanced rectal cancer patients. It is correlated with improved clinical and pathological outcomes, including significant tumor downstaging and organ preservation in certain patients. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which has become the standard for pre-operative staging, is also used for clinical and pre-operative restaging following pre-operative treatment.

High taxonomic diversity and miniaturization in benthic communities under persistent natural CO disturbances.

Metabarcoding techniques have revolutionized ecological research in recent years, facilitating the differentiation of cryptic species and revealing previously hidden diversity. In the current scenario of climate change and ocean acidification, biodiversity loss is one of the main threats to marine ecosystems. Here, we explored the effects of ocean acidification on marine benthic communities using DNA metabarcoding to assess the diversity of algae and metazoans.

Modeling the migration of chemicals from food contact materials to food: The MERLIN-expo/VERMEER toolbox.

Evaluating the migration of chemicals from food contact materials (FCM) into food is a key step in the safety assessment of such materials. In this paper, a simple mechanistic model describing the migration of chemicals from FCM to food was combined with quantitative property-property relationships (QPPRs) for the prediction of diffusion coefficients and FCM-Food partition coefficients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of these operational models in the prediction of a chemical's concentration in food in contact with a plastic monolayer FCM.

Herbarium macroalgae specimens reveal a rapid reduction of thallus size and reproductive effort related with climate change.

Understanding and forecasting the effects of climate changes on vulnerable species are leading concerns for ecologists and conservation biologists. Herbaria are invaluable for use in long-term data series, and one of the few available methods for quantifying biodiversity changes over large periods of time. Gelidium canariense is an endemic and habitat-forming macroalga of the Canary Islands that coexists with two other habitat-forming Gelidiales: G.

Regulation of Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Complex Levels, Organization, and Function by Arginyltransferase 1.

Arginyltransferase 1 (ATE1) is an evolutionary-conserved eukaryotic protein that localizes to the cytosol and nucleus. It is the only known enzyme in metazoans and fungi that catalyzes posttranslational arginylation. Lack of arginylation has been linked to an array of human disorders, including cancer, by altering the response to stress and the regulation of metabolism and apoptosis.

Kinetic Analysis of the Thermal Decomposition of Iron(III) Phosphates: Fe(NH)PO and Fe(ND)PO.

The hydrothermal synthesis and both the chemical and structural characterization of a diamin iron phosphate are reported. A new synthetic route, by using -butylammonium dihydrogen phosphate as a precursor, leads to the largest crystals described thus far for this compound. Its crystal structure is determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data.

Assessment of Transport of Lipid Metabolites Within Trabecular Meshwork Cells.

Lipids from trabecular meshwork (TM) cells are of particular interest to ophthalmological researchers as a therapeutic target for lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucomatous eyes. Fluorescence-based lipid transport assays (FBLTA) and immunocytochemistry (ICC) are dynamic fluorescence analysis techniques that allow for quantitative and qualitative comparisons, respectively, between multiple samples. Here we describe methods for FBLTA, ICC, and mass spectroscopy designed to measure the kinetics and localization of lipid metabolites within the trabecular meshwork.

Modelling the exposure to chemicals for risk assessment: a comprehensive library of multimedia and PBPK models for integration, prediction, uncertainty and sensitivity analysis - the MERLIN-Expo tool.

MERLIN-Expo is a library of models that was developed in the frame of the FP7 EU project 4FUN in order to provide an integrated assessment tool for state-of-the-art exposure assessment for environment, biota and humans, allowing the detection of scientific uncertainties at each step of the exposure process. This paper describes the main features of the MERLIN-Expo tool. The main challenges in exposure modelling that MERLIN-Expo has tackled are: (i) the integration of multimedia (MM) models simulating the fate of chemicals in environmental media, and of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models simulating the fate of chemicals in human body.

A new version of the ERICA tool to facilitate impact assessments of radioactivity on wild plants and animals.

A new version of the ERICA Tool (version 1.2) was released in November 2014; this constitutes the first major update of the Tool since release in 2007. The key features of the update are presented in this article.

Previous gastric bypass surgery complicating total thyroidectomy.

Hypocalcemia is a well-known complication of total thyroidectomy. Patients who have previously undergone gastric bypass surgery may be at increased risk of hypocalcemia due to gastrointestinal malabsorption, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and an underlying vitamin D deficiency. We present the case of a 58-year-old woman who underwent a total thyroidectomy for the follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Is there visceral adipose tissue (VAT) intracellular hypercortisolism in human obesity?

The fact that obesity is a prominent feature of Cushing's syndrome (systemic hypercortisolism of adrenocortical origin) stimulated a 40-year search for evidence of systemic hypercortisolism in human obesity. That search has failed to find such evidence. For the past 15 years, however, studies have been done to evaluate a possible alternative type of hypercortisolism in obesity, namely visceral adipose tissue (VAT) intracellular hypercortisolism.

Bone quality and nutritional status in children with congenital heart defects.

The aim of this study was to evaluate bone quality and nutritional status in children with congenital heart defects (CHDs) using quantitative ultrasound. A cross-sectional study was designed. A population-based sample of 75 children with CHD (age: 0--6yr) from the Department of Pediatric Cardiology at the National Cardiology Institute "Ignacio Chávez" was compared with 106 healthy children during 2009.

A flow-through reaction cell for in situ X-ray diffraction and absorption studies of heterogeneous powder-liquid reactions and phase transformations.

A portable powder-liquid high-corrosion-resistant reaction cell has been designed to follow in situ reactions by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) techniques. The cell has been conceived to be mounted on the experimental stations for diffraction and absorption of the Spanish CRG SpLine-BM25 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Powder reactants and/or products are kept at a fixed position in a vertical geometry in the X-ray pathway by a porous membrane, under forced liquid reflux circulation.

Vitamin D intoxication with severe hypercalcemia due to manufacturing and labeling errors of two dietary supplements made in the United States.

Context: More than 50% of Americans use dietary supplements, and 60-70% fail to report this use to their physicians. Intoxication from vitamin D supplements has been rarely reported but may now occur more frequently. This may be attributable to an increase in vitamin D supplement intake due to the findings that deficiency is common and has been associated with a number of disease states.

Epistatic and functional interactions of catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) and AKT1 on neuregulin1-ErbB signaling in cell models.

Background: Neuregulin1 (NRG1)-ErbB signaling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer and schizophrenia. We have previously reported that NRG1-stimulated migration of B lymphoblasts is PI3K-AKT1dependent and impaired in patients with schizophrenia and significantly linked to the catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) Val108/158Met functional polymorphism.

Methodology/principal Findings: We have now examined AKT1 activation in NRG1-stimulated B lymphoblasts and other cell models and explored a functional relationship between COMT and AKT1.

On the crystal structure and thermal decomposition of ammonium-iron(III) bis(hydrogenphosphate).

NH(4)Fe(HPO(4))(2) and its deuterated form have been synthesized as monophasic polycrystalline materials. Their crystal structures, including hydrogen positions, were determined by Rietveld refinement and Fourier synthesis using constant-wavelength neutron powder diffraction data. In addition, the thermal decomposition of NH(4)Fe(HPO(4))(2) was found to give mixtures of Fe(4)(P(2)O(7))(3) and Fe(PO(3))(3)via NH(4)FeP(2)O(7) formation, the crystal structure of which has also been refined from X-ray powder diffraction data.

Mycobacterium abscessus infection in solid organ transplant recipients: report of three cases and review of the literature.

Mycobacterium abscessus is an ubiquitous organism found in the environment. This rapidly growing mycobacterium infrequently causes disease in humans; however, in immunocompromised hosts, disease can range from localized cutaneous lesions to disseminated infection. The organism is resistant to most antimycobacterial drugs and therapy can be limited by drug interactions.

Vitamin D in diabetes mellitus-a new field of knowledge poised for D-velopment.

This commentary reviews the current state of knowledge regarding the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. In type 1 diabetes mellitus or in adult onset latent autoimmune diabetes (LADA), vitamin D exhibits immunomodulatory actions, influencing the activity of lymphocytes and interleukins. In type 2 diabetes mellitus vitamin D appears to act through different mechanisms, affecting insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity through its effects on the beta cells, mediators of inflammation and parathyroid hormone.