Decreased energy demanding processes in the frontal lobes of schizophrenics due to neuroleptics? A P-magneto-resonance spectroscopic study

In the present investigation on ³¹P-magneto-resonance spectroscopic parameters in the frontal lobe, we found phosphocreatine levels and the ratio phosphocreatine/adenosine triphosphate to be increased (12.62±1.98% resp. 0.31±0.06) in 50 neuroleptic-treated schizophrenics, whereas no differences were detected in 10 neuroleptic-free patients (11.66±2.57% resp. 0.29±0.08) compared to 36 controls (11.37±1.45 resp. 0.29±0.04). This result points to a major role of neuroleptics in the metabolism of high-energy phosphates.     

Systemic sclerosis in childhood: clinical and immunologic features of 153 patients in an international database

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical and immunologic features of systemic sclerosis (SSc) in a large group of children and describe the clinical evolution of the disease and compare it with the adult form. METHODS: Data on 153 patients with juvenile SSc collected from 55 pediatric rheumatology centers in Europe, Asia, and South and North America were analyzed. Demographic, clinical, and immunologic characteristics of children with juvenile SSc at the onset, at diagnosis, and during the disease course were evaluated. RESULTS: Raynaud's phenomenon was the most frequent symptom, followed by skin induration in approximately 75% of patients. Musculoskeletal symptoms were present in one-third of patients, and the most frequently involved internal organs were respiratory and gastrointestinal, while involvement of renal, cerebral, and cardiovascular systems was extremely rare. Antinuclear antibodies were present in the sera of 81% of patients. Anti-topoisomerase I (Scl-70) and anticentromere antibodies were found to be positive in 34% and 7.1% of patients, respectively. Involvement of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular systems was more frequent and occurred earlier in patients who died than in those who survived. Compared with the adult form, juvenile SSc appears to be less severe, with the involvement of fewer internal organs, particularly at the time of diagnosis, and has a less characterized immunologic profile. CONCLUSION: This study provides information on the largest collection of patients with juvenile SSc ever reported. Juvenile SSc appears to be less severe than in adults because children have less internal organ involvement, a less specific autoantibody profile, and a better long-term outcome.     

Plant–environment microscopy tracks interactions of Bacillus subtilis with plant roots across the entire rhizosphere

Our understanding of plant–microbe interactions in soil is limited by the difficulty of observing processes at the microscopic scale throughout plants’ large volume of influence. Here, we present the development of three-dimensional live microscopy for resolving plant–microbe interactions across the environment of an entire seedling growing in a transparent soil in tailor-made mesocosms, maintaining physical conditions for the culture of both plants and microorganisms. A tailor-made, dual-illumination light sheet system acquired photons scattered from the plant while fluorescence emissions were simultaneously captured from transparent soil particles and labeled microorganisms, allowing the generation of quantitative data on samples ∼3,600 mm³ in size, with as good as 5 µm resolution at a rate of up to one scan every 30 min. The system tracked the movement of Bacillus subtilis populations in the rhizosphere of lettuce plants in real time, revealing previously unseen patterns of activity. Motile bacteria favored small pore spaces over the surface of soil particles, colonizing the root in a pulsatile manner. Migrations appeared to be directed toward the root cap, the point of “first contact,” before the subsequent colonization of mature epidermis cells. Our findings show that microscopes dedicated to live environmental studies present an invaluable tool to understand plant–microbe interactions.

The ability of plants and microorganisms to cooperate to capture soil resources underpins life in terrestrial ecosystems. In modern crop production systems, in which these natural plant–microbe interactions have largely been replaced by artificial fertilizer input, it is thought that crop varieties may have lost the ability to maintain a diverse microbiome (1), and as a consequence, the sustainability of the system has declined. Consequently, understanding of plant–microbe interactions has become a major focus of research. Technological development has greatly expanded the knowledge of the microbial composition of soil: Metabolomics detail the chemical composition of organic material deposited by the root and high-throughput sequencing now describes the huge complexity of microbial communities associated with them (2). Soil habitats, however, are incredibly dynamic and structurally complex. The behavior of the microbes inhabiting the inner structures of soil are equally complex, and to date, current approaches have failed to provide mechanistic understanding of soil microbial dynamics (3).Since the discovery of microorganisms, microscopy has constantly improved, and modern microscopes are now able to solve problems of considerable complexity (4, 5). However, live microscopy of plants within the biotic and abiotic environment remains complex and rarely achieved. Processes within the opaque world hidden within the soil structure are particularly difficult to monitor. Current microscopy methods applicable to soil are either destructive (6, 7), operate with samples of extremely limited volume and area (8), or oversimplify the role of the physical and chemical structure of the soil material (9). Maintaining a viable, undisturbed biological system is also a challenging condition to meet in the laboratory because processes occur both below and above ground, with different controls required for light, temperature, water, and mineral content (10).The aim of this study was to build an “environmental microscope,” which we define as a live-sample imaging platform dedicated to the observation of physical and biological interactions that are relevant to the understanding of processes at environmental or system levels. The platform we propose exploits recent advances in transparent soils, mesofluidics, and light sheet imaging. It acquires both fluorescence emissions and elastically scattered photons across the entire spatial domain surrounding a plant root, simultaneously combining all necessary controls for light, temperature, and water content within the mesocosm. This study reveals previously unobserved phenomena of how bacteria colonize the rhizosphere, the region of soil surrounding plant root, and demonstrate the potential of the method to fill important knowledge gaps in environmental biology.     

Ex Vivo Imaging of Pancreatic Beta Cells using a Radiolabeled GLP-1 Receptor Agonist

Purpose  

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the binding specificity of the radiolabeled glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist (Lys⁴⁰(DOTA)NH₂)Exendin-4 in the pancreas using a combination of ex vivo autoradiography and immunohistochemistry.     

Traumatic brain injury and hypopituitarism in children and adolescents: is the problem under-estimated?

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death in children. Only recently, the importance of hypopituitarism as a consequence of TBI has been highlighted in adult patients. Data from systematic clinical studies in adults and patients in transition from adolescence to adulthood point to the presence of hypopituitarism in nearly a third of patients hospitalized for TBI. But, no systematic studies on posttraumatic hypopituitarism exist in children and adolescents. Case reports and small series of patients, however, suggest that children are affected to a comparable extent. Since normal pituitary function is required for normal growth and pubertal development in childhood, particular attention should be paid to this condition. The aim of this review is to summarize the literature on TBI and causes, clinical picture, and diagnosis of hypopituitarism in childhood and adolescence, underlying the relevance of the problem and its underestimation in clinical paediatric practice.