\n\nSoil properties and vegetation composition were analyzed

for several sites underlain by serpentinite, gabbro, and calc-schist NSC-23766 substrates and correlated using direct and indirect statistical methods.\n\nBoreal forest soils were well-developed and tended to have low pH throughout the soil profile resulting in high Ni availability. Alpine soils, in comparison, were less developed. The distinct serpentine plant communities of the Western Alps are most strongly correlated with high levels of bioavailable Ni associated with low soil pH. Other factors such as macronutrient deficiency, low Ca:Mg molar ratio and drought appear to be less important.\n\nThe strong ecological influence of Ni is caused by environmental conditions which increase metal mobilization.”
“The Alzheimer’s disease-linked gene presenilin is required for intramembrane proteolysis of amyloid-beta precursor protein, contributing to the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration that is characterized by loss of neuronal connections, but the role of Presenilin in establishing neuronal Z-DEVD-FMK in vitro connections is less clear. Through a forward genetic screen in mice

for recessive genes affecting motor neurons, we identified the Columbus allele, which disrupts motor axon projections from the spinal cord. We mapped this mutation to the Presenilin-1 gene. Motor neurons and commissural interneurons in Columbus mutants lacking Presenilin-1 acquire an inappropriate attraction to Netrin produced by the floor plate because of an accumulation Ricolinostat in vitro of DCC receptor fragments within the membrane that are insensitive to Slit/Robo silencing. Our findings reveal that Presenilin-dependent DCC receptor processing coordinates the interplay between Netrin/DCC and Slit/Robo signaling. Thus, Presenilin is a key neural circuit builder that gates the spatiotemporal pattern of guidance signaling, thereby ensuring neural projections occur with high fidelity.”
“We investigated the strength of

the association between oxidative stress, hypoxia inducible factor I (HIFI a) and acute hypoxic ventilatory response (AHVR) after hypoxic training in elite runners.\n\nSix elite runners were submitted to 18-day of “living high-training low” (LHTL) and six performed the same training in normoxia. AHVR was measured during an acute hypoxic test before and after training. Plasma levels of protein oxidation (AOPP), malondialdehydes and (HIF-1 alpha) mRNA in the leukocytes were measured before and after the acute hypoxic test.\n\nLHTL increased AHVR and amplified the responses of HIF-1 alpha mRNA and AOPP (Delta(AOPP)) to the acute hypoxic test. Furthermore, between PRE and POST, the changes in Delta(AOPP) were correlated with the changes in AHVR (r = 0.69, P = 0.01).\n\nThe ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia occurring in athletes after LHTL seems to be modulated by oxidative stress. Furthermore, LHTL induced a higher sensitivity of HIF-1 alpha mRNA to acute hypoxia in elite athletes. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.