The Interplay of Mycosporine-like Amino Acids between Phytoplankton Groups and Northern Krill (Thysanoessa sp.) in a High-Latitude Fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard).

We investigated pigment and mycosporine-like amino acid (MAA) concentrations of phytoplankton and Northern krill (Thysanoessa sp.) in sub-Arctic Kongsfjorden. Chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentrations in the surface and middle-layer water were 0.44 µg L-1 (±0.17 µg L-1) and 0.63 µg L-1 (±0.25 µg L-1), respectively. Alloxanthin (Allo, a marker of cryptophytes) was observed at all stations, and its mean values for surface and middle-layer water were 0.09 µg L-1 (±0.05 µg L-1) and 0.05 (±0.02 µg L-1), respectively. The mean MAA-to-Chl-a ratios at the surface (3.31 ± 2.58 µg (µg Chl-a)-1) were significantly higher than those in the middle-layer water (0.88 ± 0.49 µg (µg Chl-a)-1), suggesting that these compounds play an important role in reducing UV photodamage. In gut pigment levels of Northern krill, the most abundant accessory pigment was Allo (2.79 ± 0.33 µg g-1 dry weight; d.w.), as was the accumulation of Chl-a (8.29 ± 1.13 µg g-1 d.w.). The average concentration of MAAs was 1.87 mg g-1 d.w. (±0.88 mg g-1 d.w.) in krill eyes, which was higher than that in all other body parts (0.99 ± 0.41 mg g-1 d.w.), except for the gut. Thysanoessa sp. was found to contain five identified MAAs (shinorine, palythine, porphyra-334, mycosporine-glycine, and M-332) in the krill eye, whereas shinorine and porphyra-334 were only observed in the krill body, not the eyes and gut. These findings suggest that Northern krill accumulate MAAs of various compositions through the diet (mainly cryptophytes) and translocate them among their body parts as an adaptation for photoprotection and physiological demands.

Islandinium minutum subsp. barbatum subsp. nov. (Dinoflagellata), a New Organic-Walled Dinoflagellate Cyst from the Western Arctic: Morphology, Phylogenetic Position Based on SSU rDNA and LSU rDNA, and Distribution.

A study of modern sediment from the Western Arctic has revealed the presence of a distinctive brown-colored cyst with a spherical central body bearing unbranched processes that are usually solid with a small basal pericoel. Distinctive barbs project from some processes, and process tips are usually minutely expanded into conjoined barbs. The archeopyle is apical and saphopylic. This cyst corresponds to Islandinium? cezare morphotype 2 of Head et al. (2001, J. Quat. Sci., 16:621). Phylogenetic analyses based on the small and large subunit rRNA genes infer close relationship with Islandinium minutum, the type of which is that of the genus. Re-examination of specimens of I. minutum reveals the presence of minute barbs on its processes, but differences with Islandinium? cezare morphotype 2 remain based on size, process distribution, and barb development. Furthermore, the internal transcribed spacer shows I. minutum to be distinct from this morphotype. On the basis of these small but discrete differences, we propose the new subspecies Islandinium minutum subsp. barbatum subsp. nov. Molecular sequencing of other cysts encountered, namely Echinidinium karaense, an unidentified flattened cyst, and "Polykrikos quadratus", places them in the Monovela clade, the latter showing greater morphological variability than previously thought.

Aerosolized Fibrin Sealant Is Effective for Postoperative Edema and Ecchymosis in Open Rhinoplasty Without Osteotomy.

PURPOSE: Fibrin sealant (FS) was approved as a hemostatic agent, sealant, and adhesive by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998. Our study sought to determine whether FS also reduced edema and pain in rhinoplasty without osteotomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective randomized trial involving patients who underwent open rhinoplasty without osteotomy. The patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: those treated with aerosolized FS (FS group) and those not treated (control group). The effect of FS on edema of the eyelid, edema of the dorsum and tip of the nose, and periorbital ecchymosis was separately rated postoperatively using a scale of 0 to 4 or 0 to 3. Postoperative pain was evaluated using questionnaires quantified with a visual analog scale. The Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests were used to compare parameters between the groups. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients were included in this study. The FS group (n = 20) consisted of 13 male and 7 female patients with a mean age of 34.8 ± 5.8 years. The control group (n = 21) consisted of 15 male and 6 female patients with a mean age of 32.4 ± 4.8 years. There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups with respect to age, gender, or combined surgical techniques (P > .05). Aerosolized FS significantly reduced not only ecchymosis and swelling in the periorbital area but also edema of the nasal dorsum (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Aerosolized FS can be effective for reducing eyelid edema, dorsal edema, and periorbital ecchymosis after open rhinoplasty. FS may serve as an adhesive for minimizing dead space by promoting adherence of the skin flap and as a hemostatic agent in reducing the amount of postoperative bleeding by sealing capillary vessels.

Low-concentration hypochlorous acid nasal irrigation for chronic sinonasal symptoms: a prospective randomized placebo-controlled study.

Low-concentration hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is an endogenous antibacterial and antiviral agent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of HOCl irrigation in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) refractory to medical therapy. Forty-three adult patients (mean age 45.5 years) were enrolled in this study. They were randomly chosen to receive nasal irrigation with either low-concentration HOCl generated by a Salicid device (n = 21), or a placebo (saline; n = 22) for 8 weeks. The outcome measures were scores on the 20-Item SinoNasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20), rhinosinusitis disability index (RSDI), nasal endoscopic score, and bacterial cultures. The SNOT-20 scores were significantly lower in the HOCl group than in the placebo group after 2 weeks of treatment (p < 0.05) and remained lower after 4 weeks of treatment. With respect to the RSDI scores, there was a significant improvement in the HOCl group at 1 week after treatment and in both groups at 2 weeks after treatment (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the endoscopic scores between the two groups after the treatment. The bacterial culture rates were lower in the HOCl group than in the placebo group after 4 weeks of treatment, but this was not significant (p > 0.05). Our results showed that low-concentration HOCl irrigation resulted in a greater improvement in CRS symptoms as compared to saline irrigation.

Enzymatic modification by point mutation and functional analysis of an omega-6 fatty acid desaturase from Arctic Chlamydomonas sp.

Arctic Chlamydomonas sp. is a dominant microalgal strain in cold or frozen freshwater in the Arctic region. The full-length open reading frame of the omega-6 fatty acid desaturase gene (AChFAD6) was obtained from the transcriptomic database of Arctic Chlamydomonas sp. from the KOPRI culture collection of polar micro-organisms. Amino acid sequence analysis indicated the presence of three conserved histidine-rich segments as unique characteristics of omega-6 fatty acid desaturases, and three transmembrane regions transported to plastidic membranes by chloroplast transit peptides in the N-terminal region. The AChFAD6 desaturase activity was examined by expressing wild-type and V254A mutant (Mut-AChFAD6) heterologous recombinant proteins. Quantitative gas chromatography indicated that the concentration of linoleic acids in AChFAD6-transformed cells increased more than 3-fold [6.73 ± 0.13 mg g-1 dry cell weight (DCW)] compared with cells transformed with vector alone. In contrast, transformation with Mut-AChFAD6 increased the concentration of oleic acid to 9.23 ± 0.18 mg g-1 DCW, indicating a change in enzymatic activity to mimic that of stearoyl-CoA desaturase. These results demonstrate that AChFAD6 of Arctic Chlamydomonas sp. increases membrane fluidity by enhancing denaturation of C18 fatty acids and facilitates production of large quantities of linoleic fatty acids in prokaryotic expression systems.

Comparative analysis of the expression of E-cadherin, ß-catenin, and ß1 integrin in congenital and acquired cholesteatoma.

E-cadherin, ß-catenin, and ß1 integrin are important cell adhesion molecules to maintain epithelial structure and function. We investigated the expression of these cell adhesion molecules in cholesteatomas to understand the role of cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interaction in cholesteatomas. An immunohistochemical investigation was carried out on 35 cholesteatoma tissue samples (14 congenital, 21 acquired cholesteatomas) and 10 normal retroauricular skin (RAS) tissues which are obtained during middle ear surgery. The expression rate was measured to find out differences between retroauricular skin and cholesteatoma, as well as between congenital and acquired cholesteatoma. E-cadherin expression rate was significantly lower in the cholesteatoma (spinous layer 88.7 ± 17.9 %, granular layer 54.6 ± 22.6 %) than in the RAS (100 %, 74.4 ± 7.4 %) and in the acquired (83.3 ± 19.4 %, 48.1 ± 22.9 %) than in the congenital (96.7 ± 12.0 %, 64.4 ± 18.8 %). ß-catenin expression rate was significantly lower in the cholesteatoma (spinous layer 84.1 ± 17.2 %, granular layer 28.7 ± 30.8 %) than in the RAS (100 %, 75.9 ± 6.1 %) and in the acquired (78.1 ± 17.0 %, 17.1 ± 22.3 %) than in the congenital (93.2 ± 13.5 %, 46.1 ± 34.2 %). The expression pattern of ß-catenin is similar to that of E-cadherin. In ß1 integrin, there was no significant difference of the expression rate between RAS and cholesteatoma, as well as between congenital and acquired cholesteatoma. In conclusion, the expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin is reduced in cholesteatoma, and the reduction is more pronounced in acquired cholesteatoma than in congenital cholesteatoma. Acquired cholesteatomas showed more aggressive characteristics than congenital cholesteatomas in terms of cell-cell adhesion.

The Total Synthesis of Inostamycin†A.

The first total synthesis of inostamycin A is described. With efficient and stereoselective synthetic routes to aldehyde 3 and ketone 4 developed through asymmetric aldol reactions, addition reactions and reduction, and with chiral building blocks, the two large fragments were coupled with remarkable anti stereoselectivity and efficiency by aldol condensation. The coupling reaction provided the complete carbon skeleton with all the requisite functional groups and stereogenic centers for inostamycin A. The two quaternary carbons at C20 and C16 of ketone 4 were elaborated in a highly stereocontrolled manner by addition reactions of the transmetallated 5 to ethyl ketone 6 and the transmetallated 7 to methyl ketone 8, respectively, in which the use of LaCl3 for transmetallation was critical for high coupling efficiency.

Aureimonas glaciistagni sp. nov., isolated from a melt pond on Arctic sea ice.

A Gram-staining-negative, motile, aerobic and rod-shaped bacterial strain, PAMC 27157T, was isolated from a melt pond on sea ice in the Chukchi Sea. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain PAMC 27157T revealed an affiliation to the genus Aureimonas with the closest sequence similarity (96.2 %) to that of Aureimonas phyllosphaerae. Strain PAMC 27157T grew optimally at 30 °C and pH 7.0 in the presence of 3.5 % (w/v) NaCl. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol and an unidentified aminolipid. The major cellular fatty acid was summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c, 83.1 %) and the major respiratory quinone was Q-10. The genomic DNA G+C content was 69.1 mol%. The combined phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data showed that strain PAMC 27157T could be clearly distinguished from species of the genus Aureimonas with validly published names. Thus, strain PAMC 27157T should be classified as representing a novel species in the genus Aureimonas, for which the name Aureimonas glaciistagni sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is PAMC 27157T ( = KCCM 43049T = JCM 30183T).

Investigation of the interaction between a novel unnatural chiral ligand and reactant on palladium for asymmetric hydrogenation.

We report about the mechanistic studies of the reaction between a newly synthesized (S)-2-((R)-3H-dinaphtho[2,1-c:1',2'-e]azepin-4(5H)-yl)-2-phenylethanol based on the binaphthyl skeleton and (E)-2-methyl-5-phenylpent-2-enoic acid for the asymmetric hydrogenation of α,ß-unsaturated acids with heterogeneous palladium catalysts. The specific interactions between the chiral ligand and reactant were investigated in solution with palladium nanoparticles, as well as under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions on the palladium metal surface in the absence of hydrogen. The reactions were explored using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES) combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A NMR study identified the interaction between both molecules with palladium nanoparticles in solution. In addition, STM and HRPES studies revealed the spatial distribution and configuration of both compounds on the palladium metal surface under UHV conditions. The theoretical results support the experimental results with respect to the interaction energy value. It was found that the reaction between the ligand and reactant occurs with hydrogen bonding on palladium surface, simultaneously. The present study provides mechanistic details of the asymmetric hydrogenation reaction, which bears a correlation between the ligand, reactant, and catalyst during the reaction.

Production rate estimation of mycosporine-like amino acids in two Arctic melt ponds by stable isotope probing with NAH(13) CO3.

The net carbon uptake rate and net production rate of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) were measured in phytoplankton from 2 different melt ponds (MPs; closed and open type pond) in the western Arctic Ocean using a (13) C stable isotope tracer technique. The Research Vessel Araon visited ice-covered western-central basins situated at 82°N and 173°E in the summer of 2012, when Arctic sea ice declined to a record minimum. The average net carbon uptake rate of the phytoplankton in polycarbonate (PC) bottles in the closed MP was 3.24 mg C · m(-3) · h(-1) (SD = ±1.12 mg C · m(-3) · h(-1) ), while that in the open MP was 1.3 mg C · m(-3) · h(-1) (SD = ±0.05 mg C · m(-3) · h(-1) ). The net production rate of total MAAs in incubated PC bottles was highest (1.44 (SD = ±0.24) ng C · L(-1) · h(-1) ) in the open MP and lowest (0.05 (SD = ±0.003) ng C · L(-1) · h(-1) ) in the closed MP. The net production rate of shinorine and palythine in incubated PC bottles at the open MP presented significantly high values 0.76 (SD = ±0.12) ng C · L(-1) · h(-1) and 0.53 (SD = ±0.06) ng C · L(-1) · h(-1) . Our results showed that high net production rate of MAAs in the open MP was enhanced by a combination of osmotic and UVR stress and that in situ net production rates of individual MAA can be determined using (13) C tracer in MPs in Arctic sea ice.