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AbstractPhenolic compounds are secondary metabolites involved in plant innate chemical defence against pests and diseases. Their concentration varies depending on plant tissue and also on genetic and environmental factors, e.g. availability of nutrient resources. This study examines specific effects of low (LN) and high (HN) nitrogen supply on organ (root, stem and leaf) growth and accumulation of major phenolics [chlorogenic acid (CGA); rutin; kaempferol rutinoside (KR)] in nine hydroponically grown tomato cultivars. LN limited shoot growth but did not affect root growth, and increased concentrations of each individual phenolic in all organs. The strength of the response was organ‐dependent, roots being more responsive than leaves and stems. Significant differences were observed between genotypes. Nitrogen limitation did not change the phenolic content in shoots, whereas it stimulated accumulation in roots. The results show that this trade‐off between growth and defence in a LN environment can be discussed within the framework of the growth–differentiation balance hypothesis (i.e. GDBH), but highlight the need to integrate all plant organs in future modelling approaches regarding the impact of nitrogen limitation on primary and secondary metabolism.

Abstract Motivation: The steady growth of the number of available protein structures has constantly motivated the development of new algorithms for detecting structural correspondences in proteins. Detecting structural equivalences in two or more proteins is computationally demanding as it typically entails the exploration of the combinatorial space of all possible amino acid pairings in the parent proteins. The search is often aided by the introduction of various constraints such as considering protein fragments, rather than single amino acids, and/or seeking only sequential correspondences in the given proteins. An additional challenge is represented by the difficulty of associating to a given alignment, a reliable a priori measure of its statistical significance. Results: Here, we present and discuss MISTRAL (Multiple STRuctural ALignment), a novel strategy for multiple protein alignment based on the minimization of an energy function over the low-dimensional space of the relative rotations and translations of the molecules. The energy minimization avoids combinatorial searches and returns pairwise alignment scores for which a reliable a priori statistical significance can be given. Availability: MISTRAL is freely available for academic users as a standalone program and as a web service at http://ipht.cea.fr/protein.php. Contact: michelet@sissa.it Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Alcohol consumption has long been a global problem affecting human health, and has been found to influence both fetal and adult liver functions. However, how alcohol affects human liver development and liver progenitor cells remains largely unknown. Here, we used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as a model to examine the effects of alcohol, on multi-stage hepatic cells including hepatic progenitors, early and mature hepatocyte-like cells derived from human iPSCs. While alcohol has little effect on endoderm development from iPSCs, it reduces formation of hepatic progenitor cells during early hepatic specification. The proliferative activities of early and mature hepatocyte-like cells are significantly decreased after alcohol exposure. Importantly, at a mature stage of hepatocyte-like cells, alcohol treatment increases two liver progenitor subsets, causes oxidative mitochondrial injury and results in liver disease phenotypes (i.e., steatosis and hepatocellular carcinoma associated markers) in a dose dependent manner. Some of the phenotypes were significantly improved by antioxidant treatment. This report suggests that fetal alcohol exposure may impair generation of hepatic progenitors at early stage of hepatic specification and decrease proliferation of fetal hepatocytes; meanwhile alcohol injury in post-natal or mature stage human liver may contribute to disease phenotypes. This human iPSC model of alcohol-induced liver injury can be highly valuable for investigating alcoholic injury in the fetus as well as understanding the pathogenesis and ultimately developing effective treatment for alcoholic liver disease in adults.

SignificanceMarginal emissions of CO2from the electricity sector are critical for evaluating many climate policies. We provide estimates of marginal CO2emissions for electricity use in the United States that vary by region, hour of day, and year to year. Despite a decrease in average emissions over the last decade, marginal emissions have increased. We apply our estimates to an analysis of the Biden administration’s target of having electric vehicles make up 50% of new vehicle purchases by 2030. We find that, without significant and concurrent changes to the electricity sector far more substantial than those over the last decade, the increase in electricity emissions is likely to offset more than half the emission reductions from having fewer gasoline-powered vehicles.

<abstract> <p>Fish is a key component of Nigeria's protein supply, making up about 40% of the nation's protein intake and considerably aiding in the achievement of the second Sustainable Development Goal of feeding the expanding population. Despite its importance, Nigeria's fish production and supply cannot keep up with demand. While total fish output has increased from 1,073,059 tonnes in 2014 to 1,169,000 tonnes in 2018 and is expected to reach 1,275,000 tonnes by 2030, there is a great supply gap. Fish production not only affects food security but also the national economy and employment. Notwithstanding, the fisheries sub-sector suffers several difficulties, such as poor management, a deficient fisheries policy, overfishing, diminishing catch, and a lack of technical know-how among fish growers and fishermen. Thus, exploring untapped aquaculture potential and managing small-scale fisheries effectively are necessary to close the gap between the demand for and supply of fish. The fish output situation can be improved by enforcing fisheries policy and regulations, increasing investments in ethical fisheries and aquaculture, and providing sufficient training for fish farmers and fisherfolk. To reduce waste associated with the limited number of fish now produced, post-harvest losses must also be addressed. By solving these issues and putting in place the necessary actions, Nigeria can increase its fish production, strengthen its food security, and accomplish the sustainable development goals in its evolving blue economy.</p> </abstract>

Bridgeman (2017) describes the important role of population growth in contributing to environmental problems. The present essay argues that population is an important component of human impact on the environment, but it must be considered in combination with consumption rates. A place-based approach, examining the local context for reproductive decisions, is necessary to assess population growth as a contributor to environmental impact and to develop appropriate behavioral interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record

Alcohol abuse impairs the pulmonary immune response to infection and increases the morbidity and mortality of bacterial pneumonia. Acute alcohol intoxication suppresses lung expression of CXC chemokines bearing the Glu-Leu-Arg motif (ELR+) following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, but its effect on the structurally related ELR- CXC chemokines, which attract T cells, is unknown. We therefore investigated the effect of acute alcohol intoxication on the pulmonary response to intratracheal (i.t.) LPS challenge for the ELR- CXC chemokines monokine induced by gamma (MIG or CXCL9), interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10 or CXCL10), and interferon-inducible T cell alpha chemoattractant (I-TAC or CXCL11). Male C57BL/6 or C3H/HeN mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of ethanol (3.0 g/kg) or phosphate buffered saline 30 min before i.t. LPS challenge. Chemokine mRNA transcripts were measured at 0, 2, 6, and 16 h. Acute alcohol intoxication inhibited the lung's expression of all three chemokine genes in response to LPS. Lung IFN-gamma mRNA was also inhibited by acute intoxication over the same time course. The in vitro effect of ethanol on chemokine secretion was further studied in the MH-S alveolar macrophage cell line. IP-10, MIG, and I-TAC in response to LPS were enhanced by exogenous interferon (IFN)-gamma, and these responses were blunted by exposure to ethanol. Alcohol exposure did not affect MH-S cell nuclear factor kappa beta p65 nuclear localization during challenge, despite dose-dependent inhibition of Erk 1/2 phosphorylation. In addition, phospho-signal transduction and activator of transcription 1 was not decreased in the presence of acute ethanol, thereby indicating that acute intoxication does not affect IFN-gamma signaling in MH-S cells. Recruitment of CD3+ T cells into the alveolar space 4 days after LPS challenge was moderately impaired by acute ethanol intoxication. These results implicate acute ethanol intoxication as a significant inhibitor of lymphocyte chemoattractant expression during pulmonary inflammation.

The Nuclear Energy Agency organised its third workshop on ‘Science and values in radiological protection’ in November 2012 in Tokyo. One of the issues addressed, non-cancer effects, had also been addressed in the first two science and values workshops (Helsinki, Finland, 2008; Vaux-de-Cernay, France, 2009), but presented several new elements of relevance to International Commission on Radiological Protection discussions of the evolution of the system of radiological protection. Radiological protection science, both epidemiological and biological, now suggests that stroke and heart disease may well be caused by radiation exposure at doses of the order of 0.5 Gy or less. Further, it is possible that such detriments may be caused by either chronic or acute exposures. While significant uncertainties remain, the need to consider non-cancer detriment in risk assessment and in the development of protection strategies is now a significant scientific and ethical question. This paper will present the results of the Nuclear Energy Agency science and values workshop discussion of non-cancer risks, and of the questions and possible future directions raised during the workshop.