Lama glama αS1-casein: Identification of new polymorphisms in the CSN1S1 gene

South American camelids have been poorly genetically investigated and little information is available in llamas (Lama glama) regarding the diversity of the caseins at the protein and gene level. Exon skipping and duplication events previously reported in the α_S1-casein gene (CSN1S1) led us to investigate the genetic variability at this locus. Seventy-two positive clones for the α_S1-casein transcripts were analyzed and randomly sequenced. The comparative analysis of the sequences revealed 2 transitions, c.366A>G and c.690T>C, at the 10th nucleotide of exon 12 and 94 bp of exon 19, respectively. These SNP are responsible for 2 amino acid changes, Ile→Val in position 86 and Tyr→His in position 194 of the mature protein. Both polymorphisms clarify the genetic events behind the protein variants A and B. This result was confirmed by isoelectric focusing analysis of llama milk samples. Quick methods based on PCR-RFLP and allele-specific PCR were set up for allelic discrimination in a population of 128 animals. Based on genotyping results, 4 haplotypes were observed and the estimated frequencies indicated B as the most common haplotype (0.629) in the investigated population. These data add knowledge to the genetic variability of a species little investigated, and open opportunity for new investigation in the field of milk protein for South American camelids, including the possibility, in the future, to select alleles with favorable characteristics.

The evaluation of upright posture caused by simple movement test

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Actual studies show increasing poor posture especially in the cervical-thoracic spine. The aim of this study was to develop a model-based evaluation of posture and the amount of segmental spinal movement using a simple movement test.

METHODS

Twenty-five subjects with forward head posture were recruited. We were interested in the external humeral rotation with the adduction of the shoulder, its influence on posture of the cervical thoracic spine and the evaluation of upright posture. Upright posture was determined as the change in the gradient of the trunk from forward posture to erect posture. The kinematics of the cervical-thoracic spine and the inclination of the pelvis and thorax were measured in the sagittal plane with a motion analysis system.

RESULTS

The kinematic model for the evaluation of upright posture and as a control the electromyography was presented. Correlation (Pearson r = 0.89; p < 0.01) was achieved between the gradients of the trunk in the initial and final position.

CONCLUSION

The postural quality was more important than the quantity of spinal movement. Upright posture of the cervical-thoracic spine was provoked only if there was horizontal position of the pelvis and thorax. This should be considered in clinical practice.

Title: Freshwater phytoplankton responses to global warming

Global warming alters species composition and function of freshwater ecosystems. However, the impact of temperature on primary productivity is not sufficiently understood and water quality models need to be improved in order to assess the quantitative and qualitative changes of aquatic communities. On the basis of experimental data, we demonstrate that the commonly used photosynthetic and water chemistry parameters alone are not sufficient for modeling phytoplankton growth under changing temperature regimes. We present some new aspects of the acclimation process with respect to temperature and how contrasting responses may be explained by a more complete physiological knowledge of the energy flow from photons to new biomass. We further suggest including additional bio-markers/traits for algal growth such as carbon allocation patterns to increase the explanatory power of such models. Although carbon allocation patterns are promising and functional cellular traits for growth prediction under different nutrient and light conditions, their predictive power still waits to be tested with respect to temperature. A great challenge for the near future will be the prediction of primary production efficiencies under the global change scenario using a uniform model for phytoplankton assemblages.

Increased Throwing Accuracy Improves Children's Catching Performance in a Ball-Catching Task from the Movement Assessment Battery (MABC-2)

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2) is a functional test for identifying deficits in the motor performance of children. The test contains a ball-catching task that requires the children to catch a self-thrown ball with one hand. As the task can be executed with a variety of different catching strategies, it is assumed that the task success can also vary considerably. Even though it is not clear, whether the performance merely depends on the catching skills or also to some extent on the throwing skills, the MABC-2 takes into account only the movement outcome. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine (1) to what extent the throwing accuracy has an effect on the children's catching performance and (2) to what extent the throwing accuracy influences their choice of catching strategy. In line with the test manual, the children's catching performance was quantified on basis of the number of correctly caught balls. The throwing accuracy and the catching strategy were quantified by applying a kinematic analysis on the ball's trajectory and the hand movements. Based on linear regression analyses, we then investigated the relation between throwing accuracy, catching performance and catching strategy. The results show that an increased throwing accuracy is significantly correlated with an increased catching performance. Moreover, a higher throwing accuracy is significantly correlated with a longer duration of the hand on the ball's parabola, which indicates that throwing the ball more accurately could enable the children to effectively reduce the requirements on temporal precision. As the children's catching performance and their choice of catching strategy in the ball-catching task of the MABC-2 are substantially determined by their throwing accuracy, the test evaluation should not be based on the movement outcome alone, but should also take into account the children's throwing performance. Our findings could be of particular value for the development of simple but informative catching assessments, and may provide additional insights into the causes of performance deficits in ball catching.

Photosystem II cycle activity and alternative electron transport in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum under dynamic light conditions and nitrogen limitation

Alternative electron sinks are an important regulatory mechanism to dissipate excessively absorbed light energy particularly under fast changing dynamic light conditions. In diatoms, the cyclic electron transport (CET) around Photosystem II (PS II) is an alternative electron transport pathway (AET) that contributes to avoidance of overexcitation under high light illumination. The combination of nitrogen limitation and high-intensity irradiance regularly occurs under natural conditions and is expected to force the imbalance between light absorption and the metabolic use of light energy. The present study demonstrates that under N limitation, the amount of AET and the activity of CETPSII in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum were increased. Thereby, the activity of CETPSII was linearly correlated with the amount of AET rates. It is concluded that CETPSII significantly contributes to AET in P. tricornutum. Surprisingly, CETPSII was found to be activated already at the end of the dark period under N-limited conditions. This coincided with a significantly increased degree of reduction of the plastoquinone (PQ) pool. The analysis of the macromolecular composition of cells of P. tricornutum under N-limited conditions revealed a carbon allocation in favor of carbohydrates during the light period and their degradation during the dark phase. A possible linkage between the activity of CETPSII and degree of reduction of the PQ pool on the one side and the macromolecular changes on the other is discussed.

Using ultrasound to assess the thickness of the transversus abdominis in a sling exercise

BACKGROUND

Activation of the deep stabilizing trunk muscle transversus abdominis (TrA) is important for trunk stabilization and spine stability. Sling exercises are used for the activation of trunk muscles, therefore we determined the thickness of the TrA in a standardized sling exercise in comparison to rest and abdominal press. Furthermore we propose a standardized measurement method, which can be used to compare relative muscle thickness levels in different exercises.

METHODS

The main objective of the study was to assess and to compare the thickness of the TrA during different conditions; resting condition, sling exercise condition (non-voluntary contraction), and abdominal press condition (voluntary contraction) using a non-invasive ultrasound-based measurement method. Ultrasound measurement (USM; 8.9 MHz, B-mode) was employed to measure the thickness of the TrA in twenty healthy volunteers (13 m, 7 f), each one measured three times with breaks of 48 h. On each measurement day, the subjects were measured on three different conditions: resting condition (RC), sling condition (SC), and abdominal press condition (APC). The USM images were analyzed using a custom-made MatLab script, to determine the thickness of the TrA.

RESULTS

A two-way repeated-measurements ANOVA was performed with a significant effect of the factor condition [F(2,38) = 47.82, p < 0.0001, η(2) = 0.72], no significant effect of the factor time [F(2.38) = 2.45, p = 0.1, η(2) = 0.11], and no significant interaction effect [F(4,76) = 0.315, p = 0.867, η(2) = 0.02]. Statistically corrected post-hoc t-tests revealed significant differences in TrA thickness showing that RC < SC (p < 0.001; η(2) = 0.19; d = 0.96), SC < APC (p < 0.0001; η(2) = 0.23; d = 1.10), RC < APC (p < 0.0001; η(2) = 0.53; d = 2.11). As for the test-retest reliability the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) yielded a value of 0.71, 0.54, and 0.29, on the conditions RC, SC, and APC, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

We showed that the investigated sling exercise can be used to significantly increase the TrA thickness, and that the TrA thickness was significantly different on the three conditions (RC, SC, APC) using the ultrasound-based method.

Effects of saralasin on blood pressure, renin and renal blood flow in unilateral renovascular hypertension

The effect of saralasin, a competitive inhibitor of angiotensin II, was assessed in hypertensive patients with unilateral renal artery stenosis after furosemide application. A significant fall of systemic arterial blood pressure, an increase of renal venous renin activity, significantly on the stenosed side in patients without arteriosclerosis of the contralateral kidney, and an almost equal decrement of renal blood flow in both kidneys were observed. Conceivably saralasin exerts different sodium-dependent effects on peripheral angiotensin II and specific intrarenal vascular receptors.

Survival after neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab or everolimus for HER2-negative primary breast cancer (GBG 44-GeparQuinto)†

BACKGROUND

The GeparQuinto study showed that adding bevacizumab to 24 weeks of anthracycline-taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy increases pathological complete response (pCR) rates overall and specifically in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). No difference in pCR rate was observed for adding everolimus to paclitaxel in nonearly responding patients. Here, we present disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) analyses.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients (n = 1948) with HER2-negative tumors of a median tumor size of 4 cm were randomly assigned to neoadjuvant treatment with epirubicin/cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel (EC-T) with or without eight infusions of bevacizumab every 3 weeks before surgery. Patients without clinical response to EC ± Bevacizumab were randomized to 12 weekly cycles paclitaxel with or without everolimus 5 mg/day. To detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.75 (α = 0.05, β = 0.8) 379 events had to be observed in the bevacizumab arms.

RESULTS

With a median follow-up of 3.8 years, 3-year DFS was 80.8% and 3-year OS was 89.7%. Outcome was not different for patients receiving bevacizumab (HR 1.03; P = 0.784 for DFS and HR 0.974; P = 0.842 for OS) compared with patients receiving chemotherapy alone. Patients with TNBC similarly showed no improvement in DFS (HR = 0.99; P = 0.941) and OS (HR = 1.02; P = 0.891) when treated with bevacizumab. No other predefined subgroup (HR+/HER2-; locally advanced (cT4 or cN3) or not; cT1-3 or cT4; pCR or not) showed a significant benefit. No difference in DFS (HR 0.997; P = 0.987) and OS (HR 1.11; P = 0.658) was observed for nonearly responding patients receiving paclitaxel with or without everolimus overall as well as in subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

Long-term results, in opposite to the results of pCR, do not support the neoadjuvant use of bevacizumab in addition to an anthracycline-taxane-based chemotherapy or everolimus in addition to paclitaxel for nonearly responding patients.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER

NCT 00567554, www.clinicaltrials.gov.

[Association between trunk muscle activation and wall inclination during various static climbing positions: implications for therapeutic climbing]

BACKGROUND

Sport climbing has been increasingly applied as therapy for patients with orthopaedic problems. Results from previous intervention studies have already revealed positive effects, especially for people with back problems, although there is a lack of baseline knowledge regarding the general effects of climbing. The aim of this present study is to investigate the muscle activation of the trunk while performing various static climbing positions at different inclination angles. SUBJECTS/MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirteen healthy adults without climbing experience were asked to hold three static climbing positions (base position, lifting a hand, lifting a foot) at three different handhold set-ups and six wall inclination angles (0°, 4°, 8°, 12°, 15°, 18°) for 5 seconds each. Bilateral muscle activity of Erector spinae, Multifidus, Latissimus dorsi, Obliquus externus abdominis, Obliquus internus abdominis and Rectus abdominis was measured using surface electromyography. Data were analysed for each muscle and climbing condition separately.

RESULTS

Compared to the vertical wall, the muscle activity starts to differ significantly (p ≤ 0.05) from 12° onwards. This inclination angle particularly affects the activity of all muscles when lifting a hand (0.000 ≤ p ≤ 0.048). The oblique abdominal muscles did not show any or little effects when lifting a foot or being in the base position, while all other muscles demonstrate a continuous increase. The EMG data were normalised to the corresponding base position and analysed for each muscle and climbing condition separately.

CONCLUSION

Inclinable climbing walls are an appropriate method to increase muscle activity. Compared to the base position, activation of the oblique abdominal muscles, which are relevant for a stable trunk, is increased only when a hand is lifted. Climbing walls used for therapy should offer variable inclination angles. Further research should concentrate on the development and evaluation of climbing exercises for specific patients (eg people with scoliosis).

A computational model unifies apparently contradictory findings concerning phantom pain

Amputation often leads to painful phantom sensations, whose pathogenesis is still unclear. Supported by experimental findings, an explanatory model has been proposed that identifies maladaptive reorganization of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) as a cause of phantom pain. However, it was recently found that BOLD activity during voluntary movements of the phantom positively correlates with phantom pain rating, giving rise to a model of persistent representation. In the present study, we develop a physiologically realistic, computational model to resolve the conflicting findings. Simulations yielded that both the amount of reorganization and the level of cortical activity during phantom movements were enhanced in a scenario with strong phantom pain as compared to a scenario with weak phantom pain. These results suggest that phantom pain, maladaptive reorganization, and persistent representation may all be caused by the same underlying mechanism, which is driven by an abnormally enhanced spontaneous activity of deafferented nociceptive channels.

Lack of host gut microbiota alters immune responses and intestinal granuloma formation during schistosomiasis

Fatalities from schistosome infections arise due to granulomatous, immune-mediated responses to eggs that become trapped in host tissues. Schistosome-specific immune responses are characterized by initial T helper type 1 (Th1) responses and our previous studies demonstrated that myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (Myd88)-deficient mice failed to initiate such responses in vivo. Paradoxically, schistosomal antigens fail to stimulate innate cells to release proinflammatory cytokines in vitro. Since Schistosoma mansoni infection is an intestinal disease, we hypothesized that commensal bacteria could act as bystander activators of the intestinal innate immune system to instigate Th1 responses. Using a broad spectrum of orally administered antibiotics and anti-mycotics we analysed schistosome-infected mice that were simultaneously depleted of gut bacteria. After depletion there was significantly less inflammation in the intestine, which was accompanied by decreased intestinal granuloma development. In contrast, liver pathology remained unaltered. In addition, schistosome-specific immune responses were skewed and faecal egg excretion was diminished. This study demonstrates that host microbiota can act as a third partner in instigating helminth-specific immune responses.

2. Über die Hämolyseaktivität von Lysolecithin, das durch Lecithinspaltung mit Phospholipase A in wäßrigem Milieu erhalten wird

Die hypothetische Zwischenverbindung, die bei der Phosphatidylcholin (PC)-Spaltung durch Phospholipase A (E.C. 3.1.1.4.) aus Crotalus terr. terr. und durch Crotalus adamant.-Schlangen-Gift in wäßrigem System entsteht, entfaltet gegenüber Rindererythrocyten im Gegensatz zu freiem Lysophosphatidylcholin (LPC) nur eine sehr geringe Hämolyseaktivität. Dieses Ergebnis ist eine weitere Bestätigung für die Bildung einer Zwischenverbindung bei Einwirkung von Crotalus-Phospholipase A auf PC in wäßrigem Medium. Zusatz von Desoxycholat setzt das „gebundene Lysolecithin“

in Freiheit und führt zu der erwarteten Totalhämolyse. Lysolecithin, das man nach Bienengifteinwirkung im wäßrigen Medium erhält, entspricht in seiner lytischen Wirkung dem „freien“ Lysolecithin.

Synthesis of Xanthone-O-glycosides, I Synthesis of 3-0-β-Glycosides

The synthesis of hydroxy-xanthone-3-O-β-glycosides by condensation of the appropriate aglycone and the acetyl-α-D-glycosyl bromide in pyridine solution in presence of silver carbonate is described. The naturally occurring l-hydroxy-3-O-β-primeverosyl-7-methoxy xanthone (gentioside) has been synthesized and its structure thereby confirmed.

Über die Inhaltsstoffe der Früchte von Angelica silvestris L

Angelica silvestris L. gehört zu den verbreitetsten Umbelliferen Mitteleuropas. Die Wurzel (Wald-Engelwurz) wird in der Volksmedizin wegen ihrer spasmolytischen und karminativen Wirkung gegen Erkrankungen des Magens und der Niere verwendet. Die gepulverten Früchte benutzte man als Insekticidum.

Mit den Inhaltsstoffen von Radix Angelicae silvestris beschäftigten sich vor allem BAERHEIM-SVENDSEN 1 und CAPORALE 2. Isoliert wurden die Furanocumarine Oxypeucedanin, Oxypeucedaninhydrat, Isoimperatorin, ein Bergaptol-Derivat mit einer C10H17-Seitenkette und eine Verbindung der Bruttoformel C18H24O4 (Silvangin). Papierchromatographisch war Umbelliferon nachzuweisen. Über die Inhaltsstoffe der Früchte liegt lediglich eine Arbeit von KHADZHAI und SOKOLOVA 3 vor, in der ohne nähere Angaben über die Isolierung einer spasmolytisch wirksamen Verbindung (Angesin) berichtet wird.

Bei der erneuten Bearbeitung der Früchte haben wir aus einem Äther- und Alkoholextrakt durch Chromatographie an Aluminiumoxyd insgesamt 7 Verbindungen isoliert und größtenteils strukturell aufgeklärt.

Sphingolipide und Glykolipide von Pilzen und höheren Pflanzen

Aus der Phosphatidfraktion der Erdnuß (Arachis hypogaea L.) wurde ein phosphorhaltiges Sphingoglykolipid isoliert, das in der qualitativen und quantitativen Zusammensetzung seiner Sphingosinbasen, Fettsäuren und Zuckerbausteine mit dem Phytoglykolipid (PhGL) aus Soja und Mais große Ähnlichkeit aufweist. Nach dem Ergebnis der Mol.-Gew.-Bestimmungen ist für das Erdnuß-PhGL eine Polymerstruktur wahrscheinlich.

Endgültiger Strukturbeweis und Synthese von Frangulin A

By coupling emodine with α-acetobromo-L-rhamnose according to Koenigs-Knorr frangulin A was synthesized and thereby its final structure proved as 1,6,8-trihydroxy-3-methyl-anthra-chinone-6-O-α-ʟ-rhamnopyranoside.

Notizen: Silydianin und Silychristin, zwei isomere Silymarine aus Silybum marianum L. Gaertn. (Mariendistel) / Silydianin and Silychristin, two Isomeric Silymarins from Silybum marianum L. Gaertn. (milk thistle)

Two isomeric flavonolignans (Silymarins) have been isolated from the fruits of Silybum marianum L. Gaertn. and structurally elucidated mainly by means of NMR/mass spectroscopy and X-ray analysis respectively.