Search results for " metabolism"

THE ROLE OF CALCIUM AS A METALLOTHERAPEUTIC DRUG

2005

Diabetes and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system: Implications for covid-19 patients with diabetes treatment management

2020

In the context of the COVID-19 continuous spreading, this paper focuses on the increased risk of diabetic patients regarding the metabolic control and the uncertainties related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Chronic hyperglycaemia negatively affects the immune system, which triggers an increase of morbidity and mortality for viral infections. A key aspect of COVID-19 resides in the involvement of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAAS) system that causes a cascade of reactions mediated by vasoactive peptides with implications in vasoconstriction, vascular permeability, oxidative stress remodelling and tissue injuries. Activation of RAAS at pulmonary level, is responsible for the local damage. Many q…

Influence of littoral periphyton on whole-lake metabolism relates to littoral vegetation in humic lakes

2017

The role of littoral habitats in lake metabolism has been underrated, especially in humic lakes, based on an assumption of low benthic primary production (PP) due to low light penetration into water. This assumption has been challenged by recent recognition of littoral epiphyton dominance of whole-lake PP in a small highly humic lake and of epiphyton as an important basal food source for humic lake biota. However, as these studies have mostly concerned single lakes, there is a need to test their wider generality. We studied the whole-lake PP and community respiration (CR) in eight small humic lakes in southern Finland during July 2015 using 14 C incorporation to measure pelagic PP and the c…

Ecosystem responses to increased organic carbon concentration: comparing results based on long-term monitoring and whole-lake experimentation

2019

Recent increases in terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in northern inland waters have many ecological consequences. We examined available data on carbon cycles and food webs of 2 boreal headwater lakes in southern Finland. Basic limnology and catchment characteristics of a pristine lake, Valkea-Kotinen (VK), were monitored over the past 25 years while the lake has undergone browning and DOC increased from similar to 11 to 13 mg L-1. Pronounced changes in the early 2000s represent a regime shift in DOC concentration and color. Lake Alinen Mustajarvi (AM) was manipulated for 2 years by additions of labile DOC (cane sugar), raising the DOC concentration from similar to 1…

Survival and gene expression under different temperature and humidity regimes in ants

2017

Short term variation in environmental conditions requires individuals to adapt via changes in behavior and/or physiology. In particular variation in temperature and humidity are common, and the physiological adaptation to changes in temperature and humidity often involves alterations in gene expression, in particular that of heat-shock proteins. However, not only traits involved in the resistance to environmental stresses, but also other traits, such as immune defenses, may be influenced indirectly by changes in temperature and humidity. Here we investigated the response of the ant F. exsecta to two temperature regimes (20 degrees C & 25 degrees C), and two humidity regimes (50% & 75%), for…

C4-like photosynthesis and the effects of leaf senescence on C4-like physiology in Sesuvium sesuvioides (Aizoaceae).

2019

Sesuvium sesuvioides represents a young C4 lineage with C4-like metabolism: CO2 compensation points range between C4 and C3–C4 intermediate values, and Rubisco was detected in bundle sheath and mesophyll.

To move or not to move: roles and specificity of plant RNA mobility

2020

Intercellular communication in plants coordinates cellular functions during growth and development, and in response to environmental cues. RNAs figure prominently among the mobile signaling molecules used. Many hundreds of RNA species move over short and long distances, and can be mutually exchanged in biotic interactions. Understanding the specificity determinants of RNA mobility and the physiological relevance of this phenomenon are areas of active research. Here, we highlight the recent progress in our knowledge of small RNA and messenger RNA movement. Particular emphasis is given to novel insight into the specificity determinants of messenger RNA mobility, the role of small RNA movement…

Responsiveness of metallothionein and hemocyanin genes to cadmium and copper exposure in the garden snail Cornu aspersum.

2020

Abstract Terrestrial gastropods express metal‐selective metallothioneins (MTs) by which they handle metal ions such as Zn2+, Cd2+, and Cu+/Cu2+ through separate metabolic pathways. At the same time, they depend on the availability of sufficient amounts of Cu as an essential constituent of their respiratory protein, hemocyanin (Hc). It was, therefore, suggested that in snails Cu‐dependent MT and Hc pathways might be metabolically connected. In fact, the Cu‐specific snail MT (CuMT) is exclusively expressed in rhogocytes, a particular molluscan cell type present in the hemocoel and connective tissues. Snail rhogocytes are also the sites of Hc synthesis. In the present study, possible interacti…

Carotenoids and Some Other Pigments from Fungi and Yeasts †

2021

Carotenoids are an essential group of compounds that may be obtained by microbiological synthesis. They are instrumental in various areas of industry, medicine, agriculture, and ecology. The increase of carotenoids’ demand at the global market is now essential. At the moment, the production of natural carotenoids is more expensive than obtaining their synthetic forms, but several new approaches/directions on how to decrease this difference were developed during the last decades. This review briefly describes the information accumulated until now about the beneficial effects of carotenoids on human health protection, their possible application in the treatments of various diseases, and their…

Opposite trends in the genus Monsonia (Geraniaceae): Specialization in the African deserts and range expansions throughout eastern Africa

2017

The African Austroerate Flora stands out by its important species richness. A distinctive element of this flora is Monsonia (Geraniaceae), mostly found in the Namib-Karoo but also in the Natal-Drakensberg, the Somalian Zambezian and the Saharo-Arabian regions. Here, we reconstruct the evolution and biogeographic history of Monsonia based on nuclear and plastid markers, and examine the role of morphological and niche evolution in its diversification using species distribution modeling and macroevolutionary models. Our results indicate that Monsonia first diversified in the Early Miocene c.21 Ma, coinciding with the start of desertification in southwestern Africa. An important diversification…