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However, exact definitions of 'detrimental changes' and 'natural state' are still missing. Hence, the current study provides an overview on natural and affected thermal groundwater conditions and international and national legislations of the thermal use of groundwater. Also, it presents recent studies on groundwater ecosystems and proposes a sustainable policy framework for the thermal use of groundwater. In addition to geothermal heat sources, other anthropogenic heat sources such as climate change, underground car parks, heated basements, district heating systems, land fills, wastewater treatment plants and mining are considered, although no legislation on these anthropogenic heat sources and their impact on groundwater is currently in place. Finally, we intend to answer the above question and provide recommendations for the further discussions on the joint use of shallow groundwater systems for drinking water production and thermal use.Silicon (Si) is a beneficial macronutrient for plants. The Si supplementation to growth media mitigates abiotic and biotic stresses by regulating several physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms. The uptake of Si from the soil by root cells and subsequent transport are facilitated by Lsi1 (Low silicon1) belonging to nodulin 26-like major intrinsic protein (NIP) subfamily of aquaporin protein family, and Lsi2 (Low silicon 2) belonging to putative anion transporters, respectively. The soluble Si in the cytosol enhances the production of jasmonic acid, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, secondary metabolites and induces expression of genes in plants under stress conditions. Silicon has been found beneficial in conferring tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses by scavenging the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and regulation of different metabolic pathways. In the present review, Si transporters identified in various plant species and mechanisms of Si-mediated abiotic and biotic stress tolerance have been presented. In addition, role of Si in regulating gene expression under various abiotic and biotic stresses as revealed by transcriptome level studies has been discussed. This provides a deeper understanding of various mechanisms of Si-mediated stress tolerance in plants and may help in devising strategies for stress resilient agriculture.Plants evolved different strategies to better adapt to the environmental conditions in which they live the control of their body architecture and the timing of phase change are two important processes that can improve their fitness. As they age, plants undergo two major phase changes (juvenile to adult and adult to reproductive) that are a response to environmental and endogenous signals. These phase transitions are accompanied by alterations in plant morphology and also by changes in physiology and the behavior of gene regulatory networks. Six main pathways involving environmental and endogenous cues that crosstalk with each other have been described as responsible for the control of plant phase transitions the photoperiod pathway, the autonomous pathway, the vernalization pathway, the temperature pathway, the GA pathway, and the age pathway. However, studies have revealed that sugar is also involved in phase change and the control of branching behavior. In this review, we discuss recent advances in plant biology concerning the genetic and molecular mechanisms that allow plants to regulate phase transitions in response to the environment. We also propose connections between phase transition and plant architecture control.Visual attention plays a key role in infants' interaction with the environment, and shapes their behavioral and brain development. As such, early problems with flexibly switching gaze from one stimulus to another (visual disengagement) have been hypothesized to lead to developmental difficulties (e.g. joint attention and social skills) over time. This study aimed to identify cross-sectional associations between performance in the Gap task (gaze shift latencies and visual attention disengagement) and measures of development and adaptive behavior in conjunction to any sex or socioeconomic status effects in infancy. We measured visual attention disengagement in 436 5-month-old infants and calculated its association with cognitive developmental level, adaptive behaviours, socioeconomic status (SES) and biological sex. In the Gap task, participants must redirect their gaze from a central stimulus to an appearing peripheral stimulus. The three experimental conditions of the task (Gap, Baseline and Overlap) differ oes of visual disengagement in early infancy.Canine (Canis familiaris) pseudocyesis, pseudopregnancy, false pregnancy or nervous lactation is a frequent syndrome observed in non-pregnant, late diestrous or early anestrous females that is characterized by different degrees of mammary gland enlargement, maternal behavior and lactation. Further education about this frequent canine physiological event is still necessary to ensure optimal diagnosis and treatment strategies. Thus, the aim of this article was to review and update the physiopathology, physical and behavioral signs, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of pseudocyesis in bitches in which it is a clinical problem.Photodynamic damage to the cell envelope can inactivate microorganisms and may be applied to combat super-resistance phenomenon, empowered by the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Efficiency in microbial inactivation is dependent on the incorporation of photosensitizers (PS) into the bacterial membranes to trigger oxidation reactions under illumination. Herein, Langmuir monolayers of Escherichia coli lipid extract were built to determine the binding mechanisms and oxidation outcomes induced by eosin decyl ester (EosDEC) and toluidine blue-O (TBO) PSs. Surface-pressure isotherms of the E. coli monolayers were expanded upon EosDEC and TBO, suggesting incorporation of both PSs. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) films reveled that the EosDEC and TBO binding mechanisms are dominated by electrostatic interactions with the anionic polar groups, with limited penetration into the chains. Light-irradiation reduced the relative area of E. coli monolayer on TBO, indicating an increased loss of material to the subphase owing to the chain cleavage, generated by contact-dependent reactions with excited states of TBO. In contrast, the increased relative area of E. coli monolayers containing EosDEC suggests lipid hydroperoxidation, which is PS contact-independent. Even considering a small chain penetration, the saturated EosDEC may have partitioned towards saturated reach domains, avoiding direct contact with membrane unsaturations.Incorporation of membrane proteins into reconstituted lipid membranes is a common approach for studying their structure and function relationship in a native-like environment. In this work, we investigated fluorescence properties of liposome-reconstituted major light-harvesting complexes of plants (LHCII). By utilizing liposome labelling with the fluorescent dye molecules and single-molecule microscopy techniques, we were able to study truly liposome-reconstituted LHCII and compare them with bulk measurements and liposome-free LHCII aggregates bound to the surface. Our results showed that fluorescence lifetime obtained in bulk and in single liposome measurements were correlated. The fluorescence lifetimes of LHCII were shorter for liposome-free LHCII than for reconstituted LHCII. In the case of liposome-reconstituted LHCII, fluorescence lifetime showed dependence on the protein density reminiscent to concentration quenching. The dependence of fluorescence lifetime of LHCII on the liposome size was not significant. Our results demonstrated that fluorescence quenching can be induced by LHCII - LHCII interactions in reconstituted membranes, most likely occurring via the same mechanism as photoprotective non-photochemical quenching in vivo.

The aim of this study was to explore the utility of inflammatory biomarkers in the peripheral blood to predict response to treatment in extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB).

A Luminex xMAP-based multiplex immunoassay was used to measure 40 inflammatory biomarkers in un-stimulated plasma of 91 EPTB patients (48 lymphadenitis, and 43 pleuritis) before and at 2 and 6months of treatment.

Overall a significant change was observed in 28 inflammatory biomarkers with treatment in EPTB patients. However, MIG/CXCL9, IP-10/CXCL10, and CCL23 decreased in all patients' groups with successful treatment at both time points. At 2months, 29/64 (45%) patients responded partially while 35/64 (55%) showed complete regress. Among good responders, a higher number of biomarkers (16/40) reduced significantly as compared to partial responders (1/40). Almost half (14/29) of partial responders required longer treatment than 6months to achieve satisfactory response. The levels of MIG, IP-10, MIF, CCL22 and CCL23 reduced significantly among 80, 74, 60, 71, 51% good responders, as compared to 52, 52, 52, 59, 52% partial responders, respectively. A biosignature, defined by a significant decrease in any one of these five biomarkers, corresponded with satisfactory response to treatment in 97% patients at 2month and 99% patients at 6months of treatment.

Change in inflammatory biomarkers correlates with treatment success. A five biomarker biosignature (MIG, IP-10, MIF, CCL22 and CCL23) could be used as an indicator of treatment success.

Change in inflammatory biomarkers correlates with treatment success. A five biomarker biosignature (MIG, IP-10, MIF, CCL22 and CCL23) could be used as an indicator of treatment success.Heat stress is one of the environmental factors that most severely affects milk industry, as it has impact on production, immune responses and reproductive performance. selleck chemicals The present study was conducted with high-performance Holando-Argentino cows. Our objective was to study TNF-α and its receptors pattern expression in cows from a region characterized by extreme climatic seasonality. Animals were evaluated in three periods spring (n = 15), summer (n = 14) and autumn (n = 11). Meteorological records from a local station were used to estimate the temperature and humidity index (THI) by means of an equation previously defined. A THI higher than 68 is indicative of stressing conditions. During the summer period, the animals were exposed to 8.5 ± 1.09 h of heat stress, or THI > 68. In spring, stress hours were reduced to 1.4 ± 0.5 every day, while during the autumn, there were no recorded heat stress events. Expression of TNF-α, and its receptors was determined by qPCR. During the summer, TNF-α and its receptors expression diminished drastically compared to the rest of the year, when stressful conditions were infrequent. We conclude that animals that are not physiologically prepared to resist high temperatures might have a less efficient immune response, reinforcing the need to develop new strategies to improve animal welfare.Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a malignancy of vascular origin. It is caused by the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV). Immune dysregulation is a key feature in the development and progression of KS. The main aim of this study was to determine and compare circulating CD4+ and CD8+T cell subsets including their expression of CD40 ligand (CD40L) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1), natural killer (NK) cells, and NK T cells between individuals with active HIV-associated KS versus those in remission. We found that the proportion of CD4+T cells was significantly higher in individuals in remission compared to those with active KS (26.3% vs 13.9%; p = 0.01). We also observed that the proportion of CD4+T cells and central memory CD4+T cells expressing CD40L was significantly higher in individuals with active KS versus those in remission, (10.6% vs 5.4%; p = 0.03) and (14.8% vs 5.9%; p = 0.01) respectively. There was no significant difference in proportion of CD4+ and CD8+ naïve, central memory, effector memory, and terminal effector cells between the two groups.