Reducing extreme weather impacts in greenhouses: the effect of a new passive climate control system on nutritional quality of pepper fruits.

Background: Environmental conditions affect the quality of the fruits and their organoleptic properties. In low-tech greenhouses, these environmental conditions are frequently not optimal for crops. Therefore, the present study demonstrates the effects of the use of an integrated passive heating and cooling system in a greenhouse located in the Mediterranean area on the quality of pepper fruits.

Manufacturing of Human Tissues as off-the-Shelf Grafts Programmed to Induce Regeneration.

Design criteria for tissue-engineered materials in regenerative medicine include robust biological effectiveness, off-the-shelf availability, and scalable manufacturing under standardized conditions. For bone repair, existing strategies rely on primary autologous cells, associated with unpredictable performance, limited availability and complex logistic. Here, a conceptual shift based on the manufacturing of devitalized human hypertrophic cartilage (HyC), as cell-free material inducing bone formation by recapitulating the developmental process of endochondral ossification, is reported.

Proteomic analysis reveals dexamethasone rescues matrix breakdown but not anabolic dysregulation in a cartilage injury model.

Objectives: In this exploratory study, we used discovery proteomics to follow the release of proteins from bovine knee articular cartilage in response to mechanical injury and cytokine treatment. We also studied the effect of the glucocorticoid Dexamethasone (Dex) on these responses.

Design: Bovine cartilage explants were treated with either cytokines alone (10 ng/ml TNFα, 20 ng/ml IL-6, 100 ng/ml sIL-6R), a single compressive mechanical injury, cytokines and injury, or no treatment, and cultured in serum-free DMEM supplemented with 1% ITS for 22 days.

Association between changes in molecular biomarkers of cartilage matrix turnover and changes in knee articular cartilage: a longitudinal pilot study.

Background: An early detection of Osteoarthritis is urgently needed and still not possible until today. The aim of the study was to assess whether molecular biomarkers of cartilage turnover are associated with longitudinal change in knee cartilage thickness during a 2 year period in individuals with increased risk of developing knee osteoarthritis. A secondary aim was to assess whether prior knee injury or subjective patient-reported outcomes at baseline (BL) were associated with articular cartilage changes.

Differential Nitrogen Nutrition Modifies Polyamines and the Amino-Acid Profile of Sweet Pepper Under Salinity Stress.

The horticultural industry demands high-quality resources to achieve excellence in yield and optimal revenues. Nitrogen is a pivotal nutrient to accomplish these goals for plant growth and product quality. However, competition for water in semi-arid regions can force the use of brackish waters, which can impair N uptake.

Photosynthetic acclimation to elevated CO concentration in a sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) crop under Mediterranean greenhouse conditions: influence of the nitrogen source and salinity.

In many plant species, long-term exposure to elevated CO2 concentration results in a reduction in photosynthetic capacity, known as acclimation. This process is mainly explained by a feedback inhibition mechanism. The supply of a fraction of the nitrogen (N) in the nutrient solution as NH4+ can play an important role in the maintenance of photosynthetic activity and could mitigate the acclimation process.

Differences in biomarkers of cartilage matrix turnover and their changes over 2 years in adolescent and adult volleyball athletes.

Background: This study aimed the feasibility to assess longitudinal changes in biomarkers of cartilage turnover and to determine their relationship with patient-rated outcomes over 2 years in volleyball athletes.

Methods: Thirty-seven athletes were studied: 18 adolescents (age 15.9 ± 0.

The Form in Which Nitrogen Is Supplied Affects the Polyamines, Amino Acids, and Mineral Composition of Sweet Pepper Fruit under an Elevated CO Concentration.

We investigated the effect of supplying nitrogen, as NO or as NO/NH, on the composition of fruits of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Melchor) plants grown with different CO concentrations ([CO]): ambient or elevated (800 μmol mol).

Transcriptome Profiling Reveals Degree of Variability in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines: Impact for Human Disease Modeling.

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology has become an important tool for disease modeling. Insufficient data on the variability among iPSC lines derived from a single somatic parental cell line have in practice led to generation and analysis of several, usually three, iPSC sister lines from each parental cell line. We established iPSC lines from a human fibroblast line (HDF-K1) and used transcriptome sequencing to investigate the variation among three sister lines (iPSC-K1A, B, and C).

Effects of salinity and nitrogen supply on the quality and health-related compounds of strawberry fruits (Fragaria × ananassa cv. Primoris).

Background: Different nitrogen inputs and/or development under adverse water conditions (water stress/low quality and/or high salinity/electrical conductivity), such as those prevailing in Almeria (Mediterranean coast, south-east Spain), may affect overall fruit and vegetable quality. This study evaluated the influence of salinity and nitrogen reduction in hydroponic nutrient solution on strawberry fruit quality and nutritional compounds (Fragaria × ananassa Duch., cv.

Novel cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) neoepitopes identified in synovial fluids from patients with joint diseases using affinity chromatography and mass spectrometry.

To identify patients at risk for progressive joint damage, there is a need for early diagnostic tools to detect molecular events leading to cartilage destruction. Isolation and characterization of distinct cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) fragments derived from cartilage and released into synovial fluid will allow discrimination between different pathological conditions and monitoring of disease progression. Early detection of disease and processes in the tissue as well as an understanding of the pathologic mechanisms will also open the way for novel treatment strategies.

Saline infusion through the pancreatic duct leads to changes in calcium homeostasis similar to those observed in acute pancreatitis.

This work focuses on studying the early events associated with pancreatic damage after retrograde infusion through the pancreatic duct in rats. We have analyzed changes in calcium homeostasis and secretory response in pancreatic acini from rats with taurocholate-induced acute pancreatitis. Moreover, in order to test whether pancreatic duct manipulation can trigger damage inside pancreatic acinar cells, we have studied both parameters in acini from animals infused with saline.

Altered patterns and synthesis of extracellular matrix macromolecules in early osteoarthritis.

The synthesis and contents of extracellular non-collagenous matrix macromolecules was studied in early and late human osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage obtained at surgery for sarcomas in the lower extremities (normal and early OA) or for total knee replacement (late stage OA). The early OA samples were those that had some fibrillation in the joint by visual examination. One group had fibrillation in the area sampled and the other group had no fibrillation.