Our objective was to determine whether dietary supplementation with phosphatidylcholine (PC) plus vitamin B 12 could afford beneficial effects on biochemical and biophysical events in the brain of senescence-accelerated mouse (SAM) substrain SAMP8. We measured learning behaviour, hippocampal protein kinase C (PKC) activity, cerebral antioxidant status, phospholipid composition and fatty acid composition in 6-month-old SAMP8 and in agematched controls (SAM substrain SAMR1). In comparison with SAMR1, SAMP8 showed a significant elevation in total grading score of senescence ðP , 0 : 05Þ and a significant decline in acquisition ðP , 0 : 05Þ: SAMP8 had a lower hippocampal PKC activity and cerebral PKC-b mRNA abundance than SAMR1. SAMP8 had increased cerebral lipid peroxide levels and proportion of sphingomyelin, and a lower proportion of 20 : 4n-6 and 22 : 6n-3 in cerebral phosphtidylethanolamine than SAMR1. SAMP8 fed the PC combined with vitamin B 12 diet had an increased PKC activity and a higher proportion of 22 : 6n-3 than SAMP8 fed the control diet. These results indicate the potential benefit of PC combined with vitamin B 12 as a dietary supplement.Phosphatidylcholine: Vitamin B 12 : Protein kinase C: Senescence-accelerated mouse: Brain
Dead wood represents an important pool of carbon and nitrogen in forest ecosystems. This source of soil organic matter has diverse ecosystem functions that include, among others, carbon and nitrogen cycling. However, information is limited on how deadwood properties such as chemical composition, decomposer abundance, community composition, and age correlate and affect decomposition rate. Here, we targeted coarse dead wood of beech, spruce, and fir, namely snags and tree trunks (logs) in an old-growth temperate forest in central Europe; measured their decomposition rate as CO2 production in situ; and analyzed their relationships with other measured variables. Respiration rate of dead wood showed strong positive correlation with acid phosphatase activity and negative correlation with lignin content. Fungal biomass (ergosterol content) and moisture content were additional predictors. Our results indicate that dead wood traits, including tree species, age, and position (downed/standing), affected dead wood chemical properties, microbial biomass, moisture condition, and enzyme activity through changes in fungal communities and ultimately influenced the decomposition rate of dead wood.
The use of LEDs as a light source in plant factories with artificial lighting is expected to reduce costs, but it has been reported that some crops do not grow as expected due to differences in the wavelength of the light source. Therefore, it is necessary to design LEDs with the appropriate wavelength for each crop to be grown. On the other hand, there is research toward the realization of smart plant factories that utilize artificial intelligence, and artificial intelligence may contribute to the design of the light environment in plant factories. In this study, we selected mini-tomatoes as a model crop, and prepared fluorescent lamps and LEDs as the light environment during seedling growth, respectively, and searched for suitable light source wavelengths while investigating the relationship with growth conditions using statistical analysis methods, one of the artificial intelligence techniques. We investigated the relationship between multiple light environments, PPFD, R/B ratio, and spectrum of wavelengths respectively, using LEDs, fluorescent lamps, and dimming filters, and growth indices stem diameter in order to clarify the light environments that contribute to growth. The correlation between the measured light environment and crop growth results was objectively shown by PLS regression analysis, and the contributing wavelengths were explored by calculating the selectivity ratio and regression coefficient. As a result, it was suggested that stem diameter was promoted at around 550 nm and 630 nm, and suppressed at around 460 nm.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.