Fatty Acids Profile of Wild and Cultivar Tunisian Peanut Oilseeds (A. hypogaea L.) at Different Developmental Stages.

Eleven fatty acids were identified during maturity in the wild (AraA) and varieties peanut kernels (AraC and AraT). These fatty acids included C (palmitic acid), C (stearic acid), C (oleic acid), C (linoleic acid), C (nonadecanoic acid), C (gadoleic acid), C (arachidic acid), C (erucic acid), C (behenic acid), C (tricosanoic acid) and C (linoceric acid). Two fatty acids C and C were not previously detected from peanut kernels.

Study of the Unidimensionality of the Subjective Measurement Scale of Schizophrenia Coping Oral Health Profile and Index: SCOOHPI.

Background: The Schizophrenia Coping Oral Health Profile and Index (SCOOHPI) scale studies the coping strategies of schizophrenic patients with regard to oral health. The structural validity of this scale is studied has been studied using factor analyses. In this article, we study the unidimensionality of the SCOOHPI scale to use it as an index.

Robust Superhydrophobic Cotton Fibers Prepared by Simple Dip-Coating Approach Using Chemical and Plasma-Etching Pretreatments.

The preparation of superhydrophobic textiles with high mechanical and chemical durability is challenging. Here, facile and fluorine-free methods, using alkali and plasma-etching treatments, followed by the addition of silica nanoparticles and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), were used to prepare superhydrophobic cotton surfaces. With different input variables and etching techniques, superhydrophobic cotton fabrics with high chemical and mechanical durability were successfully prepared, with contact angles up to 173°.

Odd skipped-related 1 (Osr1) identifies muscle-interstitial fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) activated by acute injury.

Fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) are resident mesenchymal progenitors in adult skeletal muscle that support muscle repair, but also give rise to fibrous and adipose infiltration in response to disease and chronic injury. FAPs are identified using cell surface markers that do not distinguish between quiescent FAPs and FAPs actively engaged in the regenerative process. We have shown previously that FAPs are derived from cells that express the transcription factor Osr1 during development.

Transplantation of Allogeneic PW1/Pax7 Interstitial Cells Enhance Endogenous Repair of Injured Porcine Skeletal Muscle.

Skeletal muscle-derived PW1/Pax7 interstitial cells (PICs) express and secrete a multitude of proregenerative growth factors and cytokines. Utilizing a porcine preclinical skeletal muscle injury model, delivery of allogeneic porcine PICs (pPICs) significantly improved and accelerated myofiber regeneration and neocapillarization, compared with saline vehicle control-treated muscles. Allogeneic pPICs did not contribute to new myofibers or capillaries and were eliminated by the host immune system.

Comparative Analysis of Culture Conditions for the Optimization of Carotenoid Production in Several Strains of the Picoeukaryote Ostreococcus.

Microalgae are promising sources for the sustainable production of compounds of interest for biotechnologies. Compared to higher plants, microalgae have a faster growth rate and can be grown in industrial photobioreactors. The microalgae biomass contains specific metabolites of high added value for biotechnology such as lipids, polysaccharides or carotenoid pigments.

Toward a unified theory of efficient, predictive, and sparse coding.

A central goal in theoretical neuroscience is to predict the response properties of sensory neurons from first principles. To this end, "efficient coding" posits that sensory neurons encode maximal information about their inputs given internal constraints. There exist, however, many variants of efficient coding (e.

Odd skipped-related 1 identifies a population of embryonic fibro-adipogenic progenitors regulating myogenesis during limb development.

Fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) are an interstitial cell population in adult skeletal muscle that support muscle regeneration. During development, interstitial muscle connective tissue (MCT) cells support proper muscle patterning, however the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood and it remains unclear whether adult FAPs and embryonic MCT cells share a common lineage. We show here that mouse embryonic limb MCT cells expressing the transcription factor Osr1, differentiate into fibrogenic and adipogenic cells in vivo and in vitro defining an embryonic FAP-like population.

Peg3/PW1 Is a Marker of a Subset of Vessel Associated Endothelial Progenitors.

Vascular associated endothelial cell (ECs) progenitors are still poorly studied and their role in the newly forming vasculature at embryonic or postnatal stage remains elusive. In the present work, we first defined a set of genes highly expressed during embryo development and strongly downregulated in the adult mouse. In this group, we then concentrated on the progenitor cell marker Peg3/PW1.

On the use of orientation filters for 3D reconstruction in event-driven stereo vision.

The recently developed Dynamic Vision Sensors (DVS) sense visual information asynchronously and code it into trains of events with sub-micro second temporal resolution. This high temporal precision makes the output of these sensors especially suited for dynamic 3D visual reconstruction, by matching corresponding events generated by two different sensors in a stereo setup. This paper explores the use of Gabor filters to extract information about the orientation of the object edges that produce the events, therefore increasing the number of constraints applied to the matching algorithm.

Event-based 3D reconstruction from neuromorphic retinas.

This paper presents a novel N-ocular 3D reconstruction algorithm for event-based vision data from bio-inspired artificial retina sensors. Artificial retinas capture visual information asynchronously and encode it into streams of asynchronous spike-like pulse signals carrying information on, e.g.

Reciprocal signaling between the ectoderm and a mesendodermal left-right organizer directs left-right determination in the sea urchin embryo.

During echinoderm development, expression of nodal on the right side plays a crucial role in positioning of the rudiment on the left side, but the mechanisms that restrict nodal expression to the right side are not known. Here we show that establishment of left-right asymmetry in the sea urchin embryo relies on reciprocal signaling between the ectoderm and a left-right organizer located in the endomesoderm. FGF/ERK and BMP2/4 signaling are required to initiate nodal expression in this organizer, while Delta/Notch signaling is required to suppress formation of this organizer on the left side of the archenteron.

In situ survey of life cycle phases of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi (Haptophyta).

The cosmopolitan coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi is characterized by a strongly differentiated haplodiplontic life cycle consisting of a diploid phase, generally bearing coccoliths (calcified) but that can be also non-calcified, and a non-calcified biflagellated haploid phase. Given most studies have focused on the bloom-producing calcified phase, there is little-to-no information about non-calcified cells in nature. Using field mesocoms as experimental platforms, we quantitatively surveyed calcified and non-calcified cells using the combined calcareous detection fluorescent in situ hybridization (COD-FISH) method and qualitatively screened for haploid specific transcripts using reverse transcription-PCR during E.

[Flexible ureteroscopy in the treatment of kidney stone between 2 and 3 cm].

Purpose: Our aim was to evaluate the outcome of flexible ureteroscopy (F-URS) with Holmium Laser as a minimal invasive procedure for kidney stone between 2 and 3 cm in diameter.

Material: We prospectively evaluated 101 patients (103 kidney units) with kidney stone between 2 and 3 cm, who underwent flexible ureteroscopy (F-URS) with Holmium Laser. Patient age, sex, body mass index (BMI), stone size, stone composition, associated lower calyx stone, prestenting, congenital abnormalities, urological history, operating time and complications were evaluated.

Interplay between the parasite Amoebophrya sp. (Alveolata) and the cyst formation of the red tide dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea.

Syndiniales (Alveolata) are marine parasites of a wide range of hosts, from unicellular organisms to Metazoa. Many Syndiniales obligatorily kill their hosts to accomplish their life cycle. This is the case for Amoebophrya spp.

Ancestral regulatory circuits governing ectoderm patterning downstream of Nodal and BMP2/4 revealed by gene regulatory network analysis in an echinoderm.

Echinoderms, which are phylogenetically related to vertebrates and produce large numbers of transparent embryos that can be experimentally manipulated, offer many advantages for the analysis of the gene regulatory networks (GRN) regulating germ layer formation. During development of the sea urchin embryo, the ectoderm is the source of signals that pattern all three germ layers along the dorsal-ventral axis. How this signaling center controls patterning and morphogenesis of the embryo is not understood.

Biotic and abiotic factors affecting the delta(13)C of soil respired CO(2) in a Mediterranean oak woodland.

The flux (R(s)) and carbon isotopic composition (delta(13)C (Rs)) of soil respired CO (2) was measured every 2 h over the course of three diel cycles in a Mediterranean oak woodland, together with measurements of the delta(13)C composition of leaf, root and soil organic matter (delta(13)C (SOM)) and metabolites. Simulations of R(s) and delta(13)C (Rs) were also made using a numerical model parameterised with the SOM data and assuming short-term production rates were driven mainly by temperature. Average values of delta(13)C (Rs) over the study period were within the range of root metabolite and average delta(13)C (SOM) values, but enriched in (13)C relative to the bulk delta(13)C of leaf, litter, and roots and the upper soil organic layers.

[Hydroxychloroquine and systemic lupus: a reappraisal].

Purpose: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is still too often considered as a second-line treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.

Key Points: Recently, interest for this drug has grown as a consequence of its favorable efficacy/toxicity ratio, its low cost and the availability of a blood measurement assay. Its efficiency has been demonstrated in the reduction of the risk of SLE flares and of overall damage accrual.

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have elicited a great clinical interest, particularly in the areas of regenerative medicine and induction of tolerance in allogeneic transplantation. Previous reports demonstrated the feasibility of transplanting MSCs, which generates new prospects in cellular therapy. Recently, injection of MSCs induced remission of steroid-resistant acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Nemo-like kinase (NLK) acts downstream of Notch/Delta signalling to downregulate TCF during mesoderm induction in the sea urchin embryo.

Studies in Caenorhabditis elegans and vertebrates have established that the MAP kinase-related protein NLK counteracts Wnt signalling by downregulating the transcription factor TCF. Here, we present evidence that during early development of the sea urchin embryo, NLK is expressed in the mesodermal precursors in response to Notch signalling and directs their fate by downregulating TCF. The expression pattern of nlk is strikingly similar to that of Delta and the two genes regulate the expression of each other.

Guidelines versus clinical practice in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The main purpose of this study was to assess whether pharmacological treatments prescribed by respiratory physicians to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were consistent with the guidelines. The treatments prescribed by respiratory physicians to 631 consecutive patients with COPD, compared to 879 asthmatics were prospectively recorded. All subjects underwent peak expiratory flow rate measurement, spirometry and assessment of recent evolution and dyspnoea (visual analogue and Medical Research Council scales).

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of aging and age related diseases.

This review on aging is focused on those cellular and molecular mechanisms which concern age related pathologies. The central question addressed is the relationship between normal aging and age-related pathologies such as osteoarthritis, cardiovascular diseases, emphysema, malignant tumors and cognitive decline, dementias. The mechanisms recognized as most important in cell and tissue aging are briefly outlined.

Some noradrenergic neurons of locus ceruleus-olfactory pathways contain neuropeptide-Y.

We report a specific tracing technique for studying projections of noradrenergic neurons that contain other transmitters. Autoradiography after retrograde axonal transport of tritiated-noradrenaline ([3H]NA) was combined with immunocytochemical detection of endogenous NA or neuropeptide Y (NPY). The specificity of [3H]NA retrograde labeling was dependent on the concentration of [3H]NA injected at the terminal region.