Land degradation neutrality: Testing the indicator in a temperate agricultural landscape.

Land degradation directly affects around 25% of land globally, undermining progress on most of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly target 15.3. To assess land degradation, SDG indicator 15.

Vulnerability of glial cells to hydrogen peroxide in cultured hippocampal slices.

Massive production of free radicals (FR) has been associated with a variety of pathological conditions in the central nervous system (CNS). We have used the FR generating compound hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures to model oxidative injury in the brain. Necrotic cell death was monitored for up to 48 h using propidium iodide (PI) and confocal microscopy.

Modulation of mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species production by copper in astrocytes.

In monolayers of cultured rat astrocytes a number of agents that induce oxidative stress act synergistically with exposure to copper leading to rapid depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Psi m) and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Copper sensitized astrocytes to the action of menadione, an intracellular generator of superoxide anion radical, exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and rotenone, an inhibitor of mitochondrial electron transport chain complex I. However, significant differences were observed in the ability to modulate the copper-enhanced oxidative stress depending on which stressor was used.

A cuvette-based fluorometric analysis of mitochondrial membrane potential measured in cultured astrocyte monolayers.

Mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsi(M)) plays a key role in coordinating mitochondrial function and cell biology in general. In astrocytes, Deltapsi(M) is an important indicator of the health of these brain cells and their response to traumatic and hypoxic injury. We have shown previously how fluorescent signals can be measured from cells attached to a coverslip in a standard cuvette with a fluorometer and modulated using a cuvette perfusion system (Pflugers Arch-Eur.