Light intensity selectively influences the distribution and further redistribution of macro- and micronutrients in hydroponically grown wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)

Investigations were focused on light effects on allocation of root-borne macronutrients (calcium, magnesium and potassium) and micronutrients (iron, manganese, zinc and copper) in roots, shoots and harvested grains of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Plants were exposed to low (100 μmol photons m−2 s−1) or high light (380 μmol photons m−2 s−1). High light stimulated both root and shoot growth. While the total contents per plant of some nutrients were markedly higher (calcium and potassium) or lower (copper) under high light, no major differences were observed for other nutrients. The distribution of nutrients and the further redistribution within the shoot were influenced by the light intensity in an element-specific manner. Nutrients were selectively directed to the leaves of the main shoot (low light) or to the tillers (high light). The quality of the harvested grains was also affected by the light intensity.

Aus schmelzendem Eis. Funde vom Schnidejoch.

Am Ende des Hitzesommers 2003 entdeckten Wanderer am Rande eines kleinen Eisfeldes erstmals prähistorische Objekte. Die Fundstelle liegt am Schnidejoch, einem alpinen Übergang, der das Simmental mit dem Rhônetal verbindet. Bis heute liegen von dieser außergewöhnlichen Fundstelle rund 900 Funde vom Neolithikum bis zum Mittelalter vor. Die Forschungen am Schnidejoch können auch als „Archäologie zwischen Gletschern und Gipfeln“ bezeichnet werden. Die Fundstelle befindet sich auf 2750 m Höhe und wird von der höchsten Erhebung der westlichen Berner Alpen, dem 3248 m hohen Wildhorn, überragt. Die ältesten Objekte werden in die Zeitspanne von 4800 bis 4300 v. Chr. datiert. Es handelt sich um Fragmente von Pfeilen und um eine Schale aus Ulmenholz. Weitere Leder- und Pfeilfragmente zeigen, dass der Pass auch in der zweiten Hälfte des 4. Jahrtausends v. Chr. benutzt wurde. Eine ganze Serie von Objekten stammt aus dem Zeitraum um 2800 v. Chr.: eine komplette Bogenausrüstung, bestehend aus Pfeilbogen, Bogensehne, Bogenfutteral, Pfeilschäften und Pfeilspitzen. Ebenfalls zu diesem Ensemble gehören Bekleidungsreste: Teile eines Grasumhangs, Schuhfragmente und ein Hosenbein aus Leder. Es ist wenig wahrscheinlich, dass die in den Bergen lebensnotwendige Bekleidung und die Bewaffnung einfach verloren wurden. Es ist deshalb zu vermuten, dass am Schnidejoch vor fast 5000 Jahren jemand zu Tode kam; eine Leiche wurde aber – anders als beim „Ötzi“ – nicht gefunden. Möglicherweise wurde die am Schnidejoch umgekommene Person geborgen und in einem zeitgleich errichteten Kollektivgrab im Tal bestattet.

The role of the sonic hedgehog signaling pathway in epidermal homeostasis

Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in the United States of which basal cell carcinoma (BCC) accounts for 65%. It has recently been determined that deregulation of the sonic hedgehog (shh) pathway leads to the development of BCC. Shh, gli-1, gli-2 gli-3, ptc and smo are overexpressed in BCC and overexpression of these genes in the epidermis results in formation of BCC-like tumors. Despite these observations, the mechanisms by which the pathway controls epidermal homeostasis and the development of the malignant phentotype are unknown. This study assessed the role of the shh pathway in epidermal homeostasis through regulation of apoptosis and differentiation. ^ The anti-apoptotic protein, bcl-2 is overexpressed in BCC, however transcriptional regulators of bcl-2 in the epidermis are unknown. Transient transfection of primary keratinocytes with gli-1 resulted in an increase of bcl-2 expression. Database analysis revealed seven candidate gli binding sites on the bcl-2 promoter. Cotransfection of increasing amounts of gli-1 in keratinoycytes resulted in a corresponding dose-dependent increase in bcl-2 promoter luciferase activity. An N-terminal mutant of gli-3 inhibited gli-1 transactivation of the bcl-2 promoter. The region −428 to −420 was found to be important for gli-1 regulation through gel shift, luciferase assays and site-directed mutagenesis. ^ In order to assess the ability of the shh pathway to regulate keratinocyte differentiation, HaCaT keratinocytes overexpressing sonic hedgehog, were grown in organotypic raft culture. Overexpression of shh induced a basal cell phenotype compared to vector control, as evidenced by transmural staining of cytokeratin 14 and altered Ki67 staining. Shh also induced keratinocyte invasion into the underlying collagen. This was associated with increased phosphorylation of EGFR, jnk and raf and increased expression of c-jun, mmp-9 and Ki67. Interestingly, shh overexpression in HaCaTs did not induce the typical downstream effects of shh signaling, suggesting a gli-independent mechanism. Sonic hedgehog's ability to induce an invasive phenotype was found to be dependent on activation of the EGF pathway as inhibition of EGFR activity with AG1478 and c-225 was able to reduce the invasiveness of HaCaT shh keratinocytes, whereas treatment with EGF augmented the invasiveness of the HaCaT shh clones. ^ These studies reveal the importance of the sonic hedgehog pathway in epidermal homeostasis by regulation of apoptosis through bcl-2, and control of keratinocyte differentiation and invasion through activation of the EGF pathway. They further suggest potential mechanisms by which deregulation of the shh pathway may lead to the development of the malignant phenotype. ^

Ms. germ. qu. 45 - Wormbser Chronica

Vorbesitzer: Johann Maximilian zum Jungen; alte Signatur: Ms. II, 9;

Dictionarium latino Germanicvm Et Vice Versa Germanicolatinum, ex optimis Latinae linguae scriptoribus concinnatum : Cvi Accesservnt Nomina Locorum Et Amnium in Germania, aliorumq[ue] ...

Authore Petro Dasypodio

[Nichtärztliches Tagebuch: Januar - März 1763]

Handschrift

A cross-sectional study of human symptomatology and residential formaldehyde concentrations

The cross-sectional study was performed to quantify the prevalence of symtomatology in residents of mobile homes as a function of indoor formaldehyde concentration. Formaldehyde concentrations were monitored for a seven hour period with an automated wet-chemical colorimetric analyzer. The health status of family members was ascertained by administration of questionnaires and physical exams. This is the first investigation to perform clinical assessments on residents undergoing concurrent exposure assessment in the home.^ Only 22.8% of households eligible for participation chose to cooperate. Monitoring data and health evaluations were obtained from 155 households in four Texas counties. A total of 428 residents (86.1%) were available for examination during the sampling hours. The study population included 45 infants, 126 children, and 257 adults.^ Formaldehyde concentration was not found to be significantly associated with increased risks for symptoms and signs of ocular irritation, dermal anomalies, or malaise. Three associations were identified that warrant further investigation. The relative odds associated with a doubling of formaldehyde concentration was significantly associated with parenchymal rales in adults and children. However, risk was modified by log respirable suspended particulate concentrations. Due to the presence of modification by a continuous variable, prevalence odds ratios (POR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for these associations are presented in tables. A doubling of formaldehyde concentration was also associated with an increased risk of perceived tightness in the chest in adults. Prevalence odds ratios are presented in a table due to effect modification by the average number of hours spent indoors on weekdays. Furthermore, a doubling of formaldehyde concentration was associated with an increased risk of drowsiness in children (POR = 2.60; 95% CI 1.04-6.51) and adults (POR = 1.94; 95% CI 1.20-3.14). ^

Oceanography during TYDEMAN cruise DCM (DeepChlorMax) to the Equatorial Atlantic

The cruise with RV Tydeman was devoted to study permanently stratified plankton systems in the (sub)tropical ocean, which are characterised by a deep chlorophyll peak between 80 and 150 m. To minimise lateral effects by horizontal transport of nutrients and organic matter from river outflow and upwelling regions, stations were selected in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean between the continents of America and Africa. (5 - 35° N and 50 - 15° W). Here the vertical distributions of light and nutrients control the abundance and growth of autotrophic algae in the thermically stratified water column. This phytoplankton is numerically dominated by the prokaryotic picoplankters Synechococcus spp. and Prochlorococcus spp., which are smaller than 2 ?m. The productivity of the 100 to 150 m deep euphotic zone can be high, because a high heterotrophic/autotrophic biomass ratio induces a rapid regeneration of nutrients and inorganic carbon. Primary grazers are mainly micro-organisms such as heterotrophic nannoflagellates and ciliates, which feed on the small algae and on bacteria. Heterotrophic bacteria can outnumber the autotrophic algae, because their number is related to the substrate pools of dissolved and particulate dead organic matter. These DOC and detritus pools reach equilibrium at a concentration, where the rate of their production (proportional to algal biomass) equals their mineralisation and sinking rate (proportional to the concentration and weight of POC and detritus). At a relatively low value of the weight-specific loss rates, the equilibrium concentration of these carbon pools and their load of bacteria can be high. The bacterial productivity is proportional to the mineralisation rate, which in a steady state can never be higher than the rate of primary production. Hence the ratio in turnover rate of bacteria and autotrophs tends to be reciprocally proportional to their biomass ratio.

Stable oxygen isotope record and Sr/Ca ratios of corals from IODP Holes M0009D and M0023A

We present monthly resolved records of strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca) and oxygen isotope (d18O) ratios from well-preserved fossil corals drilled during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 310 'Tahiti Sea Level' and reconstruct sea surface conditions in the central tropical South Pacific Ocean during two time windows of the last deglaciation. The two Tahiti corals examined here are uranium/thorium (U/Th)-dated at 12.4 and 14.2 ka, which correspond to the Younger Dryas (YD) cold reversal and the Bølling-Allerød (B-A) warming of the Northern Hemisphere, respectively. The coral Sr/Ca records indicate that annual average sea surface temperature (SST) was 2.6-3.1 °C lower at 12.4 ka and 1.0-1.6 °C lower at 14.2 ka relative to the present, with no significant changes in the amplitude of the seasonal SST cycle. These cooler conditions were accompanied by seawater d18O (d18Osw) values higher by ~0.8 per mill and ~0.6 per mill relative to the present at 12.4 and 14.2 ka, respectively, implying more saline conditions in the surface waters. Along with previously published coral Sr/Ca records from the island [Cohen and Hart (2004), Deglacial sea surface temperatures of the western tropical Pacific: A new look at old coral. Paleoceanography 19, PA4031, doi:10.1029/2004PA001084], our new Tahiti coral records suggest that a shift toward lower SST by ~1.5 °C occurred from 13.1 to 12.4 ka, which was probably associated with a shift toward higher d18Osw by ~0.2 per mill. Along with a previously published coral Sr/Ca record from Vanuatu [Corrège et al. (2004), Interdecadal variation in the extent of South Pacific tropical waters during the Younger Dyras event. Nature 428, 927-929], the Tahiti coral records provide new evidence for a pronounced cooling of the western to central tropical South Pacific during the Northern Hemisphere YD event.