Genome-wide abnormalities in embryos: Origins and clinical consequences

Ploidy or genome-wide chromosomal anomalies such as triploidy, diploid/triploid mixoploidy, chimerism, and genome-wide uniparental disomy are the cause of molar pregnancies, embryonic lethality, and developmental disorders. While triploidy and genome-wide uniparental disomy can be ascribed to fertilization or meiotic errors, the mechanisms causing mixoploidy and chimerism remain shrouded in mystery. Different models have been proposed, but all remain hypothetical and controversial, are deduced from the developmental persistent genomic constitutions present in the sample studied and lack direct evidence. New single-cell genomic methodologies, such as single-cell genome-wide haplotyping, provide an extended view of the constitution of normal and abnormal embryos and have further pinpointed the existence of mixoploidy in cleavage-stage embryos. Based on those recent findings, we suggest that genome-wide anomalies, which persist in fetuses and patients, can for a large majority be explained by a noncanonical first zygotic cleavage event, during which maternal and paternal genomes in a single zygote, segregate to different blastomeres. This process, termed heterogoneic division, provides an overarching theoretical basis for the different presentations of mixoploidy and chimerism.     

纳米羟基磷灰石对小麦植物酶及土壤酶活性的影响研究

采用土培方式研究纳米羟基磷灰石(NHAP)在不同质量分数下,小麦幼苗植株中3种植物酶及3种土壤酶活性的变化,并探讨添加不同质量分数NHAP对植物及土壤的影响.研究结果表明,添加NHAP后在初期(第7 d)能显著(p＜0.05)提高土壤pH值,但随着培养时间的推移,在第21 d时,对照处理(CK)与添加不同质量分数NHAP的处理1(T1)、处理2(T2)、处理3(T3)各处理间差异不显著(p＞0.05).添加NHAP可提高植物超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性,处理21 d后,与CK相比,除T1处理外,T2、T3处理SOD酶活性均显著提高.添加NHAP降低可过氧化物酶(POD)活性,在21 d处理时,T3处理POD酶活性显著降低,而T1、T2处理不明显.与CK相比,添加NHAP对植物过氧化氢酶(CAT)酶活性影响不显著.添加NHAP能提高小麦根际土壤过氧化氢酶活性,在第21 d,T1、T2、T3处理的土壤中过氧化氢酶活性显著增强,比CK分别提高19.5％、29.0％、49.8％.小麦根际土壤脲酶活性随时间延长变化不同,前14 d随NHAP质量分数升高而增加,之后随NHAP质量分数升高变化不明显.施加NHAP对土壤碱性磷酸酶活性影响不明显.综合考虑NHAP对小麦植物酶活性及土壤酶活性的影响以及经济成本等因素,确定添加纳米羟基磷灰石的适宜质量分数为1％.     

Advances in the antimicrobial and therapeutic potential of siderophores

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The increasing bacterial resistance from antibiotic overuse has fostered the search for novel antimicrobial strategies. In particular, bacterial systems involving...     

Driving under the influence of alcohol and the effects of alcohol prohibition—Case study in Serbia

Objective: The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) according to day of the week, specific roads (urban/rural), daytime or nighttime, and vehicle category. In addition, this study examines how the prohibition of selling alcoholic drinks in shops and supermarkets (not in restaurants) after 10 p.m. has affected the prevalence of DUI.

Method: Breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) was collected from all drivers through police checkpoints at 54 locations in Serbia. In this study, 17,945 drivers were tested in urban areas and 19,507 in rural areas. The relationship between DUI during the prohibition on alcohol sales in Belgrade and other large cities in Serbia was determined using logistic regression.

Results: On average, every 100th driver in traffic in Serbia was DUI (0.99%). This study shows that the 0 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for motorcyclists does not have an influence on DUI. Moreover, motorcyclists represent the category with the highest share of DUI, with a statistically significantly larger difference compared to drivers of other vehicle categories. These results may be a consequence of the fact that a large number of drivers drive both motorcycles and other vehicle categories (cars or mopeds), so the different BAC limits for nonprofessional drivers may create confusion about the legal BAC limit.

Conclusions: This study suggests that the required legal BAC limit for nonprofessional drivers should be the same. The prohibition of selling alcoholic drinks in Belgrade after 10 p.m. does not decrease the prevalence of DUI.     

Microbial fuel cell-induced production of fungal laccase to degrade the anthraquinone dye Remazol Brilliant Blue R

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The anthraquinone dye Remazol Brilliant Blue R is largely used in the textile industry. However, its removal from wastewaters is costly and complex. Many methods...     

40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 238U and 137Cs relationships and behaviour in sedimentary rocks and sediments of a karstic coastal area (Kaštela Bay,Croatia) and related rocks and sediments’ differentiation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Natural (40K, 226Ra, 232Th, 238U) and anthropogenic (137Cs) radionuclides in consolidated sedimentary rocks (limestones s.l. and marls) and...     

Uptake of Cd,Pb, U,and Zn by plants in floodplain pollution hotspots contributes to secondary contamination

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Willows, woody plants of genus Salix common in floodplains of temperate regions, act as plant pumps and translocate the Cd and Zn in the soil profiles...     

Identifying pathways to visions of future land use in Europe

Regional Environmental Change - Plausible scenarios of future land use derived from model projections may differ substantially from what is actually desired by society, and identifying such...     

Effects of thermobarical pretreatment of cattle waste as feedstock for anaerobic digestion

Lab-scale experiments were conducted to assess the impact of thermobarical treatment of cattle waste on anaerobic digestion. Treatment was at temperatures of 140–220 °C in 20 K steps for a 5-min duration. Methane yields could be increased by up to 58% at a treatment temperature of 180 °C. At 220 °C the abundance of inhibitors and other non-digestible substances led to lower methane yields than those obtained from untreated material. In an extended analysis it could be demonstrated that there is a functional correlation between the methane yields after 30 days and the formation rate and methane yield in the acceleration phase. It could be proved in a regression of these correlation values that the optimum treatment temperature is 164 °C and that the minimum treatment temperature should be above 115 °C.