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The variance of soil moisture, vegetation and evapotranspiration over land has been recognized to be strongly connected to the variance of precipitation. However, the feedbacks and couplings between these variables are still not well understood and quantified. Furthermore, soil moisture and vegetation processes are associated to a memory and therefore they may have important implications for predictability. In this study we apply a generalized linear method, specifically designed to assess the reciprocal forcing between connected fields, to the latest available observational datasets of global precipitation, evapotranspiration, vegetation and soil moisture content. For the first time a long global observational dataset is used to investigate the spatial and temporal land variability and to characterize the relationships and feedbacks between land and precipitation. The variables considered show a significant coupling among each other. The analysis of the response of precipitation to soil moisture evidences a robust coupling between these two variables. In particular, the first two modes of variability of the precipitation forced by soil moisture appear to have a strong link with volcanic eruptions and ENSO cycles, respectively, and these links are modulated by the effects of evapotranspiration and vegetation. It is suggested that vegetation state and soil moisture provide a biophysical memory of ENSO and major volcanic eruptions, revealed through delayed feedbacks on rainfall patterns. The third mode of variability reveals a trend very similar to the trend of the inter-hemispheric contrast in SST and appears to be connected to greening/browning trends of vegetation over the last three decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The amphibian peptide Bv8 induces potent nociceptive sensitization in rodents. Its mammalian homologue, prokineticin 2 (PROK2), is strongly up-regulated in inflamed tissues and is a major determinant in triggering inflammatory pain. Bv8 and PROK2 activate two closely related GPCRs, PK1 and PK2, in a relatively non-selective fashion. To characterize better the roles of the two receptors in hyperalgesia and to obtain ligands whose binding affinity and efficacy differed for the two receptors, we modified the Bv8 molecule in regions essential for receptor recognition and activation. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH We modified the Bv8 molecule by substituting Trp in position 24 with Ala (A-24) and compared it with Bv8 for binding and activating PK1 and PK2 receptors in cell preparations and in affecting nociceptive thresholds in rodents. KEY RESULTS A-24 preferentially bound to PK2 receptors and activated them with a lower potency (5-fold) than Bv8. When systemically injected, A-24 induced Bv8-like hyperalgesia in rats and in mice, at doses 100 times higher than Bv8. Locally and systemically injected at inactive doses, A-24 antagonized Bv8-induced hyperalgesia. In rat and mouse models of inflammatory and post-surgical pain, A-24 showed potent and long-lasting anti-hyperalgesic activity. Unlike Bv8, A-24 increased β-endorphin levels in mouse brain. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS A-24 induced its anti-hyperalgesic effect in rodents by directly blocking nociceptor PK1 receptors and by activating the central opioid system and the descending pain control pathway through brain PK2 receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To isolate and characterize spore-former bacteria able to colonize the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Methods and Results: A total of 25 spore-formers was isolated from faeces and ileal biopsies of healthy human volunteers and identified at the species level. Physiological analysis was performed to evaluate the ability of the various isolates to form biofilms, to swarm, to produce surfactants and molecules that have antimicrobial activity against selected pathogens. To assess the potential probiotic activity of the isolates, we tested the resistance of cells and spores to simulated gastric conditions, the ability to grow and sporulate in anaerobic conditions and the presence of toxin-encoding genes in their genome. Conclusions: Spore-formers belonging to various bacterial species have been isolated from the gut of healthy human volunteers. These strains appear to be well adapted to the intestinal environment and we propose them as potential probiotic strains for human use and as oral vaccine vehicles. Significance and Impact of the Study: To our knowledge this is the first detailed characterization of spore-forming Bacilli from the human GIT. Our data suggest that the isolated species do not transit, but rather colonize this specific habitat and propose them as probiotic strains for human use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thyroid-stimulating hormone/thyrotropin (TSH) is the most relevant hormone in the control of thyroid gland physiology in adulthood. TSH effects on the thyroid gland are mediated by the interaction with a specific TSH receptor (TSHR). We studied the role of TSH/TSHR signaling on gland morphogenesis and differentiation in the mouse embryo using mouse lines deprived either of TSH (pit[sup dW]/pit[sup dw]) or of a functional TSHR (tshr[sup hyt]/tshr[sup hyt] and TSHRknockout lines). The results reported here show that in the absence of either TSH or a functional TSHR, the thyroid gland develops to a normal size, whereas the expression of thyroperoxidase and the sodium/iodide symporter are reduced greatly. Conversely, no relevant changes are detected in the amounts of thyroglobulin and the thyroid-enriched transcription factors TTF-1, TTF-2, and Pax8. These data suggest that the major role of the TSH/TSHR pathway is in controlling genes involved in iodide metabolism such as sodium/iodide symporter and thyroperoxidase. Furthermore, our data indicate that in embryonic life TSH does not play an equivalent role in controlling gland growth as in the adult thyroid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cryptic ilvlH locus of Salmonella typhimurium has genetic information for two distinct subunits of acetohydroxy acid synthase III. We show that the ilvH-encoded subunit is normally translated and the lack of activity is due to early termination of translation within the promoter-proximal ilvl gene. Analysis of the 5′ region of the operon led to identification of the promoter and the amino-terminal part of ilvl. Expression of this gene in a mutant producing acetohydroxy acid synthase is due to a transversion which creates a UUA (leucine) codon in the place of a UGA (stop) codon present in position 12 of the wild-type coding region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]