Ichtyotoxic activity of extracts from Mexican marine macroalgae

Seventy-three species of macroalgae from the Mexican Pacific, Atlantic and Caribbean coast were screened for ichtyotoxic activity. Ethanolic, acetonic and aqueous extracts were prepared and tested against the fish Carassius auratus. The extracts were classified on the basis of their effects as: toxic if the fish died in two hours or less; moderately toxic, if the organism behaved abnormally but death did notoccur, and non-toxic if the fish did not display any change. 79% species were ichtyotoxic to some degree. Extracts of 39 species were toxic, with at least one extract with lethal effects, 19 were moderately toxic and 15 species were non-toxic. Only the extracts ofDictyota bartayresiana, Dictyota cervicornis,Lobophora variegata, Bryothamnion triquetrum and Laurencia obtusa were toxic in all three solvents. The acetone and ethanol extracts were more active, and therefore are more suitable for extraction of toxic substances. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Pollen-based biome reconstruction for southern Europe and Africa 18,000 yr bp

Pollen data from 18,000 ¹⁴C yr bp were compiled in order to reconstruct biome distributions at the last glacial maximum in southern Europe and Africa. Biome reconstructions were made using the objective biomization method applied to pollen counts using a complete list of dryland taxa wherever possible. Consistent and major differences from present‐day biomes are shown. Forest and xerophytic woods/scrub were replaced by steppe, both in the Mediterranean region and in southern Africa, except in south‐western Cape Province where fynbos (xerophytic scrub) persisted. Sites in the tropical highlands, characterized today by evergreen forest, were dominated by steppe and/or xerophytic vegetation (cf. today’s Ericaceous belt and Afroalpine grassland) at the last glacial maximum. Available data from the tropical lowlands are sparse but suggest that the modern tropical rain forest was largely replaced by tropical seasonal forest while the modern seasonal or dry forests were encroached on by savanna or steppe. Montane forest elements descended to lower elevations than today.     

Influence of rainfall on sleeping site choice by a group of anubis baboons (Papio anubis)

For diurnal nonhuman primates, shifting among different sleeping sites may provide multiple benefits such as better protection from predators, reduced risk of parasitic infection, and closer proximity to spatially and temporally heterogeneous food and water. This last benefit may be particularly important in sleeping site selection by primates living in savanna‐woodlands where rainfall is more limited and more seasonally pronounced than in rainforests. Here, we examined the influence of rainfall, a factor that affects food and water availability, on the use of sleeping sites by anubis baboons (Papio anubis) over two 13‐month study periods that differed in rainfall patterns. We predicted that during wet periods, when food and water availability should be higher, the study group would limit the number of sleeping sites and would stay at each one for more consecutive nights than during dry periods. Conversely, we predicted that during dry periods the group would increase the number of sleeping sites and stay at each one for fewer consecutive nights as they searched more widely for food and water. We also predicted that the group would more often choose sleeping sites closer to the center of the area used during daytime (between 07:00 and 19:00) during wet months than during dry months. Using Global Positioning System data from collared individuals, we found that our first prediction was not supported on either monthly or yearly timescales, although past monthly rainfall predicted the use of the main sleeping site in the second study period. Our second prediction was supported only on a yearly timescale. This study suggests that baboons’ choice of sleeping sites is fluid over time while being sensitive to local environmental conditions, one of which may be rainfall.     

EPR Monitored Redox Titration of the Cofactors of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Nar1

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) monitored redox titrations are a powerful method to determine the midpoint potential of cofactors in proteins and to identify and quantify the cofactors in their detectable redox state.The technique is complementary to direct electrochemistry (voltammetry) approaches, as it does not offer information on electron transfer rates, but does establish the identity and redox state of the cofactors in the protein under study. The technique is widely applicable to any protein containing an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) detectable cofactor.A typical titration requires 2 ml protein with a cofactor concentration in the range of 1-100 µM. The protein is titrated with a chemical reductant (sodium dithionite) or oxidant (potassium ferricyanide) in order to poise the sample at a certain potential. A platinum wire and a Ag/AgCl reference electrode are connected to a voltmeter to measure the potential of the protein solution. A set of 13 different redox mediators is used to equilibrate between the redox cofactors of the protein and the electrodes. Samples are drawn at different potentials and the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectra, characteristic for the different redox cofactors in the protein, are measured. The plot of the signal intensity versus the sample potential is analyzed using the Nernst equation in order to determine the midpoint potential of the cofactor.     

Interaction between the canine diaphragm and intercostal muscles in lung expansion.

Changes in intrathoracic pressure produced by the various inspiratory intercostals are essentially additive, but the interaction between these muscles and the diaphragm remains uncertain. In the present study, this interaction was assessed by measuring the changes in airway opening (DeltaPao) or transpulmonary pressure (DeltaPtp) in vagotomized, phrenicotomized dogs during spontaneous inspiration (isolated intercostal contraction), during isolated rectangular or ramp stimulation of the peripheral ends of the transected C(5) phrenic nerve roots (isolated diaphragm contraction), and during spontaneous inspiration with superimposed phrenic nerve stimulation (combined diaphragm-intercostal contraction). With the endotracheal tube occluded at functional residual capacity, DeltaPao during combined diaphragm-intercostal contraction was nearly equal to the sum of the DeltaPao produced by the two muscle groups contracting individually. However, when the endotracheal tube was kept open, DeltaPtp during combined contraction was 123% of the sum of the individual DeltaPtp (P < 0.001). The increase in lung volume during combined contraction was also 109% of the sum of the individual volume increases (P < 0.02). Abdominal pressure during combined contraction was invariably lower than during isolated diaphragm contraction. It is concluded, therefore, that the canine diaphragm and intercostal muscles act synergistically during lung expansion and that this synergism is primarily due to the fact that the intercostal muscles reduce shortening of the diaphragm. When the lung is maintained at functional residual capacity, however, the synergism is obscured because the greater stiffness of the rib cage during diaphragm contraction enhances the DeltaPao produced by the isolated diaphragm and reduces the DeltaPao produced by the intercostal muscles.     

Endomycopsis montevidensis n. sp.

A new species of the genusEndomycopsis is proposed. It was isolated from waste water, at Montevideo-Uruguay.By its morphological and biochemical proprieties it differs from allEndomycopsis previously described.

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Este trabajo fue desarrollado en el Laboratorio de Micologia de la Facultad de Química de Montevideo, Uruguay y en uso de una beca de la Universidad Federal de Pernambuco para perfecciobamiento en el estudio de las levaduras.