SNPs in DNA repair genes associated to meningitis and host immune response

In vitro and in animal models, APE1, OGG1, and PARP-1 have been proposed as being involved with inflammatory response. In this work, we have investigated if the SNPs APE1 Asn148Glu, OGG1 Ser326Cys, and PARP-1 Val762Ala are associated to meningitis. The patient genotypes were investigated by PIRA-PCR or PCR-RFLP. DNA damages were detected in genomic DNA by Fpg treatment. IgG and IgA were measured from plasma and the cytokines and chemokines were measured from cerebrospinal fluid samples using Bio-Plex assays. A higher frequency (P<0.05) of APE1 Glu allele in bacterial meningitis (BM) and aseptic meningitis (AM) patients was observed. The genotypes Asn/Asn in control group and Asn/Glu in BM group was also higher. For the SNP OGG1 Ser326Cys, the genotype Cys/Cys was more frequent (P<0.05) in BM group. The frequency of PARP-1 Val/Val genotype was higher in control group (P<0.05). The occurrence of combined SNPs is significantly higher in BM patients, indicating that these SNPs may be associated to the disease. Increasing in sensitive sites to Fpg was observed in carriers of APE1 Glu allele or OGG1 Cys allele, suggesting that SNPs affect DNA repair activity. Alterations in IgG production were observed in the presence of SNPs APE1 Asn148Glu, OGG1 Ser326Cys or PARP-1 Val762Ala. Moreover, reduction in the levels of IL-6, IL-1Ra, MCP-1/CCL2 and IL-8/CXCL8 was observed in the presence of APE1 Glu allele in BM patients. In conclusion, we obtained indications of an effect of SNPs in DNA repair genes on the regulation of immune response in meningitis.     

Evaluation of the effects of several zoanthamine-type alkaloids on the aggregation of human platelets

Ten zoanthamine-type alkaloids from two marine zoanthids belonging to the Zoanthus genus (Zoanthus nymphaeus and Zoanthus sp.) along with one semisynthetic derivative were evaluated for their antiplatelet activities on human platelet aggregation induced by several stimulating agents. 11-Hydroxyzoanthamine (11) and a synthetic derivative of norzoanthamine (16) showed strong inhibition against thrombin-, collagen- and arachidonic acid-induced aggregation, zoanthenol (15) displayed a selective inhibitory activity induced by collagen, while zoanthaminone (10) behaved as a potent aggregant agent. These evaluations allowed us to deduce several structure-activity relationships and suggest some mechanisms of action for this type of compounds.     

Camera Trap Observations of Nonhabituated Critically Endangered Wild Blonde Capuchins,Sapajus flavius (Formerly Cebus flavius)

Habituation presents major challenges for the study of wild primates, particularly in areas where threats such as hunting pressure and increasing forest fragmentation exist. This study describes the use of ground camera trapping to investigate nonhabituated blonde capuchins. Capuchins are arboreal animals, but often use the ground when foraging. Thus, we hypothesized that a ground-baited camera trapping station would be an efficient method to document the presence of capuchins, and to collect information about aspects of their social behavior and ecology. We conducted 92 systematic trapping days over 15 months (from December 2010 to February 2011 and from August 2011 to July 2012). The capuchins visited the trapping stations 43 times. All visits occurred between 05:13h and 17:32h, and lasted 3 min-2:03 h. Sixty-five percent of the photographs included our target species. Groups contained up to 46 individuals and were multimale-multifemale. We recorded no monkeys at the trapping stations during August and November (2011) and January (2012). Infants were more likely to be carried than not. Infants were carried by both sexes; however, 96% of photographs showed females as carriers. Adult males always arrived first at the camera trapping stations, suggesting that males led the group’s movements. The ground-baited camera trapping stations proved effective for confirming the presence of the blonde capuchins in the study site and for documenting aspects of their social behavior. The technique could potentially be used to provide comparative data among populations of this and other primate species in areas where habituation is difficult or risky to the primates.     

Classifying conservation targets based on the origin of motivation: implications over the success of community-based conservation projects

Community-based conservation (CBC) projects represent one approach to biodiversity conservation when working with indigenous and local people. This method aims to achieve conservation and development goals simultaneously, however whether both types of goals can be met or whether competition between the two precludes success is an issue of much discussion. Conservation targets are one of the most important elements upon which a conservation project is built. We propose that one way to link biodiversity conservation with human development goals is to consider people’s needs and interests in the selection of the conservation target. Here, we present three categories of conservation targets that vary according to the origin of motivation that drives indigenous and local people to conserve the target. According to the type of target selected, the level of participation, integration of traditional ecological knowledge, level of external intervention and long-term sustainability will vary. We encourage conservation practitioners to understand the motivations that lead indigenous and local people to participate in conservation projects, and to develop and design CBC projects from these incentives.     

Intrapulmonary Vascular Dilatation Evaluated by 99mTc-MAA Scintigraphy and Its Association with Portal Hypertension in Schistosomiasis

Background

Portal hypertension is responsible for various complications in patients with schistosomiasis, among them intrapulmonary vascular dilations (IPVD). In cirrhotic patients the presence of IPVD is a sign of poor prognosis, but in patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis (HSS) there are no studies assessing the significance of this change. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of IPVD through ^99mTc-MAA scintigraphy in patients with HSS and its relationship with clinical, laboratory, endoscopic and ultrasound parameters.

Methods

Cross-sectional study evaluating 51 patients with HSS. Patients were diagnosed with IPVD when the brain uptake of ^99mTc-MAA was higher than 6%. Subsequently, they were divided according to presence (G1) or absence (G2) of IPVD and variables were compared between groups.

Results

Overall, 51 patients with mean age of 56±12 years were assessed. IPVD was observed in 31 patients (60%). There was no statistically significant differences between groups when clinical, laboratory and endoscopic parameters were compared. Regarding ultrasound parameters, the splenic vein diameter was smaller in G1 (0.9±0.3 cm) compared to G2 (1.2±0.4 cm), p = 0.029.

Conclusion

In patients with HSS, the occurrence of IPVD by ^99mTc-MAA scintigraphy was high and was associated with lower splenic vein diameter, which can be a mechanism of vascular protection against portal hypertension. However, more studies are needed to determine the clinical significance of the early diagnosis and natural evolution of IPVD in this population.     

Detection of insect prey by wild common marmosets: The effect of color vision

Most species of New World primates have an unusual color vision pattern that can affect an individual's ability to detect food. Whereas males can only be dichromatic, females can be either dichromatic or trichromatic. Trichromats are expected to have an advantage in detecting conspicuous food whereas dichromats should be better at locating cryptic resources. Here we aimed to understand how color vision phenotype influences insect foraging by five groups of common marmosets living in a semiarid environment. We recorded insect predation events, noting morphotype and color of the captured insect, and the substrate from which it was captured. Color modeling suggested that, for all values of chromatic contrast resulting from comparing the measured insect–substrate pairs, trichromats outperformed dichromats. Females showed an overall higher insect capture rate than males. Females also showed a higher capture rate of conspicuous insects but there was no sex difference for the capture of cryptic insects. When we compared only dichromatic individuals there was no difference between sexes. These findings suggest that differences found in capture rate related not only to sex but also to visual polymorphism and that the latter is a crucial factor determining insect capture rate in common marmosets. Nevertheless, these results should be interpreted with caution because of the small number (three) of dichromat females and the unknown phenotype of the remaining females. Our results support the balancing selection hypothesis, suggesting that the advantage of one phenotype over the other may depend on environmental circumstances. This hypothesis has recently been considered as the most plausible for the maintenance of visual polymorphism in New World primates.     

A new species of Drepanocnemis (Diptera,Muscidae) from Andes in Peru,with an updated phylogenetic analysis of species

Drepanocnemis Stein (Diptera, Muscidae) is a small genus of flies that occur in high altitudes in the Colombian Andes, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Herein we describe Drepanocnemis aurifronssp. nov. from Cuzco, Peru, which is found from high (2904 m) to lower altitudes (707 m). An updated phylogeny, key to species and map of species’ distributions are provided, together with images and illustrations of the male and the female terminalia.     

Macrophages Generate Pericytes in the Developing Brain

Pericytes are defined by their anatomical location encircling blood vessels' walls with their long projections. The exact embryonic sources of cerebral pericytes remain poorly understood, especially because of their recently revealed diversity. Yamamoto et al. (Sci Rep 7(1):3855, 2017) using state-of-the-art techniques, including several transgenic mice models, reveal that a subpopulation of brain pericytes are derived from phagocytic macrophages during vascular development. This work highlights a new possible ancestor of brain pericytes. The emerging knowledge from this research may provide new approaches for the treatment of several neurodevelopmental disorders in the future.