Mycetozoal bloom in a hydroponic culture of garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.).

The role and importance of the true slime moulds (mycetozoans, Mycetozoa, formerly Myxomycetes) for agriculture and food industry are poorly documented, most probably because of a low popularity of these "macroscopic microorganisms" among researchers in the past. Here we report probably for the first time the massive occurrence of true slime moulds in their vegetative, plasmodial form in a product intended for direct consumption, i.e. in a household hydroponic culture of garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.). The plasmodia gradually produced numerous, stalked or sessile sporangia and plasmodiocarps, which made it possible to identify them as Didymium species complex (the stalked sporangia) and Didymium difforme (Pers.) Gray (the sessile sporangia and plasmodiocarps). The mycetozoans were transferred to in vitro culture where they were maintained for several weeks on oat flour. We briefly discuss the importance of this observation from the point of view of biochemical interactions between the plant and the true slime moulds in a general context of slime mould biology. Our observation indicates that the presence of mycetozoan material in food products may be frequent, while its influence on food safety and quality remains unknown.

Oral zinc sulphate causes murine hair hypopigmentation and is a potent inhibitor of eumelanogenesis in vivo.

BACKGROUND: C57BL/6 a/a mice have been widely used to study melanogenesis, including in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies. Zinc cations modulate melanogenesis, but the net effect of Zn2+ in vivo is unclear, as the reported effects of Zn2+ on melanogenesis are ambiguous: zinc inhibits tyrosinase and glutathione reductase in vitro, but also enhances the activity of dopachrome tautomerase (tyrosinase-related protein-2) and has agonistic effects on melanocortin receptor signalling. OBJECTIVES: To determine in a C57BL/6 a/a murine pilot study whether excess zinc ions inhibit, enhance or in any other way alter hair follicle melanogenesis in vivo, and to test the usefulness of EPR for this study. METHODS: ZnSO(4).7H2O was continuously administered orally to C57BL/6 a/a mice during spontaneous and depilation-induced hair follicle cycling (20 mg mL-1; in drinking water; mean+/-SD daily dose 1.2+/-0.53 mL), and hair pigmentation was examined macroscopically, by routine histology and by EPR. RESULTS: Oral zinc cations induced a bright brown lightening of new hair shafts produced during anagen, but without inducing an EPR-detectable switch from eumelanogenesis to phaeomelanogenesis. The total content of melanin in the skin and hair shafts during the subsequent telogen phase, i.e. after completion of a full hair cycle, was significantly reduced in Zn-treated mice (P=0.0005). Compared with controls, melanin granules in precortical hair matrix keratinocytes, hair bulb melanocytes and hair shafts of zinc-treated animals were reduced and poorly pigmented. Over the course of several hair cycles, lasting hair shaft depigmentation was seen during long-term exposure to high-dose oral Zn2+. CONCLUSIONS: High-dose oral Zn2+ is a potent downregulator of eumelanin content in murine hair shafts in vivo. The C57BL/6 mouse model offers an excellent tool for further dissecting the as yet unclear underlying molecular basis of this phenomenon, while EPR technology is well suited for the rapid, qualitative and quantitative monitoring of hair pigmentation changes.

Your most valuable asset. Increasing the value of your hospital through its brand.

The authors argue that hospitals could achieve the same brand name recognition as such popular consumer product names as Coke, Nike, and GE. In fact, they say, a brand identity strategy could bring hospitals the advantage they need in a growing marketplace. Increasingly, brand recognition is becoming important in the health care world, as hospitals battle for customers. The majority of patients now choose their health plan and hospital, and they're seeking brands that provide them with the same convenience, access, and value they demand from other consumer products companies. Hospitals can create a viable brand identity strategy by defining their brand's image, maximizing their bran's positioning and patients' brand experience, communicating their brand and measuring the brand's performance.