A predictive model for ethylene-mediated auxin and cytokinin patterning in the Arabidopsis root.

The interaction between auxin and cytokinin is important in many aspects of plant development. Experimental measurements of both auxin and cytokinin concentration and reporter gene expression clearly show the coexistence of auxin and cytokinin concentration patterning in Arabidopsis root development. However, in the context of crosstalk among auxin, cytokinin, and ethylene, little is known about how auxin and cytokinin concentration patterns simultaneously emerge and how they regulate each other in the Arabidopsis root.

Root growth responses to mechanical impedance are regulated by a network of ROS, ethylene and auxin signalling in Arabidopsis.

The growth and development of root systems is influenced by mechanical properties of the substrate in which the plants grow. Mechanical impedance, such as by compacted soil, can reduce root elongation and limit crop productivity. To understand better the mechanisms involved in plant root responses to mechanical impedance stress, we investigated changes in the root transcriptome and hormone signalling responses of Arabidopsis to artificial root barrier systems in vitro.

[Complexity and research during 50 years of Italian psychiatry].

Several discernible trends have changed the outlook of psychiatric resources available to the general public during the last 50 years in Western countries and particularly in Italy. Among these trends, two conflicting issues are here outlined. On the one side, evidence based medicine is the core of a methodological revolution, which asks for a deeper criticism of subjective judgements in clinical matters; on the other side, the study of emotions and attitudes has stressed the outstanding importance of conscious and unconscious expectations both in patients and in caregivers.

Trisomy 3p23----pter and monosomy 11q23----qter in an infant with two translocation carrier parents.

A newborn male infant with multiple congenital abnormalities was found to be trisomic for 3p23----pter and monosomic for 11q23----qter. His parents were both carriers of a balanced reciprocal translocation. Considerable overlap in phenotype-karyotype correlations was found between the two chromosomal syndromes in the patient.

Intermitochondrial septate structures in dystrophic axons.

Intermitochondrial septate structures were found in the dystrophic axons of two cases of infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy. Septate structures were previously seen in some tumors (glioblastomas and Schwannomas) and several organs of vertebrates and invertebrates, but never in human central nervous system (CNS). The structures were studied by transmission and transmission tilt electron microscopy.

Encephalopathy in infantile hepatic cirrhosis.

The cases are described of two sibs who developed hepatic cirrhosis in early infancy, accompanied by profound mental retardation. Post mortem in one sib there were multiple foci of demyelination with abundant cellular infiltration, scattered throughout the brain. These unusual pathological changes are briefly commented.

Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles in diseases other than senile and presenile dementia.

A brief description is given of neurofibrillary changes of the paired helical filament type in a variety of chronic neurological diseases. These include subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, lead encephalopathy, tuberous sclerosis, Down syndrome, Hallervorden-Spatz disease, and lipofuscinosis. In these conditions, with the exception of Hallervorden-Spatz disease neurofibrillary changes were previously recognized but paired helical filaments were identified only in some cases.

Pigment variant of lipofuscinosis.

A woman had a progressive neurologic syndrome beginning at age 3 and lasting for three decades. Clinical manifestations included severe mental deterioration, spastic paralysis, myoclonus, and tremors. A postmortem examination showed ubiquitous infiltration of neurons by lipofuscin and deposits of pigment in the globus pallidus and substantia nigra, as well as senile changes of nerve cells.

Ultrastructural and histological studies of brains of ferrets inoculated with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis: similarities to human disease.

Similarities to human subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) were revealed in a study of the brains of ferrets inoculated with a cell associated measles virus originally isolated from an SSPE patient. The similarities were greatest in animals that showed neurological signs 3-4 months after inoculation and had high titers of neutralizing antibodies against measles virus. These included dense core particles, nuclear bodies, alterations of basement membranes of small blood vessels, plasma cells, distorted myelin, and rod-like structures in some nuclei.

An unusual type of infantile lipofuscinosis.

The case of a child is described who at the age of 2 years showed the first evidence of a developing neurological disease. Within a couple of years, profound mental retardation and severe motor deficit with spastic tetraplegia became established. No seizures and no pigmentation of the retina were observed.