Ocean Acidification and Increased Temperature Have Both Positive and Negative Effects on Early Ontogenetic Traits of a Rocky Shore Keystone Predator Species

The combined effect of ocean acidification and warming is expected to have significant effects on several traits of marine organisms. The gastropod Concholepas concholepas is a rocky shore keystone predator characteristic of the south-eastern Pacific coast of South America and an important natural resource exploited by small-scale artisanal fishermen along the coast of Chile and Peru. In this study, we used small juveniles of C. concholepas collected from the rocky intertidal habitats of southern Chile (39°S) to evaluate under laboratory conditions the potential consequences of projected near-future levels of ocean acidification and warming for important early ontogenetic traits. The individuals were exposed long-term (5.8 months) to contrasting pCO₂ (ca. 500 and 1400 μatm) and temperature (15 and 19°C) levels. After this period we compared body growth traits, dislodgement resistance, predator-escape response, self-righting and metabolic rates. With respect to these traits there was no evidence of a synergistic interaction between pCO₂ and temperature. Shell growth was negatively affected by high pCO₂ levels only at 15°C. High pCO₂ levels also had a negative effect on the predator-escape response. Conversely, dislodgement resistance and self-righting were positively affected by high pCO₂ levels at both temperatures. High tenacity and fast self-righting would reduce predation risk in nature and might compensate for the negative effects of high pCO₂ levels on other important defensive traits such as shell size and escape behaviour. We conclude that climate change might produce in C. concholepas positive and negative effects in physiology and behaviour. In fact, some of the behavioural responses might be a consequence of physiological effects, such as changes in chemosensory capacity (e.g. predator-escape response) or secretion of adhesive mucous (e.g. dislodgement resistance). Moreover, we conclude that positive behavioural responses may assist in the adaptation to negative physiological impacts, and that this may also be the case for other benthic organisms.     

Application of the Red List Index as an indicator of habitat change

For the first time ever, the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Index for habitat types was calculated for an entire country, Finland. The RLIs were based on species threat assessments from 2000 and 2010 and included habitat definitions for all 10,131 species of 12 organism groups. The RLIs were bootstrapped to track statistically significant changes. The RLI changes of species grouped by habitats were negative for all habitat types except for forests and rural biotopes which showed a stable trend. Trends of beetles and true bugs were positive in rural and forest habitats. Other 16 observed trends of species group and habitat combinations were negative. Several trends observed were in accordance with studies focusing on particular taxa and habitats, and drivers for their change. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the RLI as a tool for observing habitat change based on species threat assessment data.     

Proper timing of cytokinesis is regulated by Schizosaccharomyces pombe Etd1

Cytokinesis must be initiated only after chromosomes have been segregated in anaphase and must be terminated once cleavage is completed. We show that the fission yeast protein Etd1 plays a central role in both of these processes. Etd1 activates the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Spg1 to trigger signaling through the septum initiation network (SIN) pathway and onset of cytokinesis. Spg1 is activated in late anaphase when spindle elongation brings spindle pole body (SPB)–localized Spg1 into proximity with its activator Etd1 at cell tips, ensuring that cytokinesis is only initiated when the spindle is fully elongated. Spg1 is active at just one of the two SPBs during cytokinesis. When the actomyosin ring finishes constriction, the SIN triggers disappearance of Etd1 from the half of the cell with active Spg1, which then triggers Spg1 inactivation. Asymmetric activation of Spg1 is crucial for timely inactivation of the SIN. Together, these results suggest a mechanism whereby cell asymmetry is used to monitor cytoplasmic partitioning to turn off cytokinesis signaling.     

Advantages of Task-Specific Multi-Objective Optimisation in Evolutionary Robotics

The application of multi-objective optimisation to evolutionary robotics is receiving increasing attention. A survey of the literature reveals the different possibilities it offers to improve the automatic design of efficient and adaptive robotic systems, and points to the successful demonstrations available for both task-specific and task-agnostic approaches (i.e., with or without reference to the specific design problem to be tackled). However, the advantages of multi-objective approaches over single-objective ones have not been clearly spelled out and experimentally demonstrated. This paper fills this gap for task-specific approaches: starting from well-known results in multi-objective optimisation, we discuss how to tackle commonly recognised problems in evolutionary robotics. In particular, we show that multi-objective optimisation (i) allows evolving a more varied set of behaviours by exploring multiple trade-offs of the objectives to optimise, (ii) supports the evolution of the desired behaviour through the introduction of objectives as proxies, (iii) avoids the premature convergence to local optima possibly introduced by multi-component fitness functions, and (iv) solves the bootstrap problem exploiting ancillary objectives to guide evolution in the early phases. We present an experimental demonstration of these benefits in three different case studies: maze navigation in a single robot domain, flocking in a swarm robotics context, and a strictly collaborative task in collective robotics.     

Early endosteal bone response to incorporated plutonium-238 in mice

Ten Swiss albino ICR SPF female mice 110 days old (weight about 30 g) were exposed for 48 hours to a solution of plutonium-238 nitrate (spec. act. 5 MBq/1 m1, pH 2.7) injected in amounts of 0.01 ml into the popliteal area of the right femur, each thus receiving about 500 kBq per 30 g body weight. Of the injected activity, 50% was retained in the right femur, 2% in the left femur and approximately 2-3% in the excrements collected separately from each animal during the whole exposure period. Ultrastructurally, electron micrographs revealed a variety of changes, including hypertrophy and destruction of endosteal cell organelles (primary damage), deformation and hypertrophy of osteocytes (secondary damage) and the irregularities in the osteocyte self-burial process leading to an abnormal formation of bone tissue structure (tertiary damage). Qualitatively, these changes in the irradiated bone ultrastructure were analogous to those occurring with age. This was confirmed by comparing two groups of control mice 110 and 330 days old. Assessed quantitatively, changes due to irradiation were more pronounced than those associated with aging.     

Renal cortical intermediary metabolism in the recovery phase of postischemic acute renal failure in the dog.

Renal metabolism has been studied in eight dogs before and 48 hr after a 60-min period of renal ischemia induced by clamping the left renal artery with the simultaneous removal of the right kidney, and in 12 sham-operated animals. The study involved the measurement of renal uptake and production of lactate, glutamine, glutamate, alanine, ammonium, and oxygen, and the measurement of the tissue concentrations of ATP, glutamine, lactate, alpha-ketoglutarate, aspartate, and alanine in the renal cortex. Two days after a temporary renal ischemia, the remaining kidney showed a 22% decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and a 25% decrease in renal plasma flow. Fractional sodium and potassium excretions were similar to those of control dogs. Renal production or extraction of glutamine, glutamate, alanine, ammonium, and oxygen (all expressed by 100 ml of GFR) was not significantly different in basal conditions or 2 days after ischemia, but lactate extraction was reduced in postischemic kidneys (-101 +/- 29 vs -204 +/- 38 mumol/100 ml GFR in control dogs). The cortical concentrations of glutamine and glutamate were lower in postischemic than in control kidneys. No differences were found in cortical concentration of alpha-ketoglutarate, aspartate, lactate, pyruvate, or ATP, but total nucleotides and inorganic phosphate were decreased in postischemic kidneys. It is concluded that in the recovery phase of the ischemia, a decreased lactate uptake is the main metabolic change, and total ATP production is adapted to the decrease of GFR and sodium reabsorption.     

Melanocortin‐1 receptor structure and functional regulation

The melanogenic actions of the melanocortins are mediated by the melanocortin‐1 receptor (MC1R). MC1R is a member of the G‐protein‐coupled receptors (GPCR) superfamily expressed in cutaneous and hair follicle melanocytes. Activation of MC1R by adrenocorticotrophin or α‐melanocyte stimulating hormone is positively coupled to the cAMP signaling pathway and leads to a stimulation of melanogenesis and a switch from the synthesis of pheomelanins to the production of eumelanic pigments. The functional behavior of the MC1R agrees with emerging concepts in GPCR signaling including dimerization, coupling to more than one signaling pathway and a high agonist‐independent constitutive activity accounting for inverse agonism phenomena. In addition, MC1R displays unique properties such as an unusually high number of natural variants often associated with clearly visible phenotypes and the occurrence of endogenous peptide antagonists. Therefore MC1R is an ideal model to study GPCR function. Here we review our current knowledge of MC1R structure and function, with emphasis on information gathered from the analysis of natural variants. We also discuss recent data on the regulation of MC1R function by paracrine and endocrine factors and by external stimuli such as ultraviolet light.     

Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase activity in chronic nephropathies

The authors present data from a group of 55 patients suffering from chronic renal diseases. Twenty-two were treated by haemodialysis; the rest had serum creatinine levels ranging from normal to 950 mumol/l. The molar esterification rats [MER] and total cholesterol [TCH] values decreased parallel to the gradual extinction of renal function. A reduced fractional esterification rate [FER] was found in about two thirds of the dialysed patients and in about half of those whose kidney function was still relatively well preserved. It can thus be concluded that reduction of FER values indicative of a disturbance of cholesterol metabolism can already be detected in the early stages of chronic nephropathies.