Habitat preference in the critically endangered yellow‐tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) at La Esperanza,Peru

Habitat loss is one of the main threats to wildlife. Therefore, knowledge of habitat use and preference is essential for the design of conservation strategies and identification of priority sites for the protection of endangered species. The yellow‐tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda Humboldt, 1812), categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, is endemic to montane forests in northern Peru where its habitat is greatly threatened. We assessed how habitat use and preference in L. flavicauda are linked to forest structure and composition. The study took place near La Esperanza, in the Amazonas region, Peru. Our objective was to identify characteristics of habitat most utilized by L. flavicauda to provide information that will be useful for the selection of priority sites for conservation measures. Using presence records collected from May 2013 to February 2014 for one group of L. flavicauda, we classified the study site into three different use zones: low‐use, medium‐use, and high‐use. We assessed forest structure and composition for all use zones using 0.1 ha Gentry vegetation transects. Results show high levels of variation in plant species composition across the three use zones. Plants used as food resources had considerably greater density, dominance, and ecological importance in high‐use zones. High‐use zones presented similar structure to medium‐ and low‐use zones; thus it remains difficult to assess the influence of forest structure on habitat preference. We recommend focusing conservation efforts on areas with a similar floristic composition to the high‐use zones recorded in this study and suggest utilizing key alimentation species for reforestation efforts.     

Identification and design of a novel series of MGAT2 inhibitors

[Acyl CoA]monoacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 (MGAT2) is of interest as a target for therapeutic treatment of diabetes, obesity and other diseases which together constitute the metabolic syndrome. In this Letter we report our discovery and optimisation of a novel series of MGAT2 inhibitors. The development of the SAR of the series and a detailed discussion around some key parameters monitored and addressed during the lead generation phase will be given. The in vivo results from an oral lipid tolerance test (OLTT) using the MGAT2 inhibitor (S)-10, shows a significant reduction (68% inhibition relative to na?ve, p <0.01) in plasma triacylglycerol (TAG) concentration.     

Phenotypically normal transgenic T-cyt tobacco plants as a model for the investigation of plant gene expression in response to phytohormonal stress

The tumour-inducing T-DNA gene 4 (T-cyt gene) of the nopaline Ti plasmid pTiC58 was cloned and introduced into tobacco cells by leaf disc transformation using Agrobacterium plasmid vectors. Tobacco shoots exposed to elevated cytokinin levels were unable to develop roots and lacked apical dominance. Using exogenously applied phytohormone manipulations we were able to regenerate morphologically normal transgenic tobacco plants which differed in endogenous cytokinin levels from normal untransformed plants. Although T-cyt gene mRNA levels, as revealed by dot-blot hybridization data, in these rooting plants were only about half those in primary transformed shoots the total amount of cytokinins was much lower than in crown gall tissue or cytokinin-type transformed shoots as reported by others. Nevertheless the cytokinin content in T-cyt plants was about 3 times greater than in control tobacco plants.Elevated cytokinin levels have been shown to change the expression of several plant genes, including some nuclear genes encoding chloroplast proteins. Our results show that the mRNA levels of chloroplast rbcL gene increase in cytokinin-type transgenic tobacco plants as compared with untransformed plants. Data obtained suggest that T-cyt transgenic plants are a good model for studying plant gene activity in different parts of the plant under endogenous cytokinin stress.     

Effect of methylation of histidine-48 on some enzymatic and pharmacological activities of snake venom phospholipases A2

The effects on some pharmacological and enzymatic properties were determined following methylation of histidine at the enzymatic active site of the basic relatively toxic $\text{Naja}$$\text{nigricollis}$ and the acidic relatively non-toxic $\text{Naja}$$\text{naja}$$\text{atra}$ phospholipases A₂. Following methylation a very low residual enzymatic activity (0.4 -- 1% of control) was accompanied by a parallel loss in intraventricular lethality, anticoagulant potency, direct hemolytic action and ability to block directly and indirectly evoked contractions of the mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation. Since methylation does not impair the enzyme's ability to bind monomeric of micellar substrates or Ca²⁺, the results suggest that the pharmacologicallly active region of the molecule is different from the micellular substrate binding site but strongly influenced by the invariant histidine-48 located at the enzymatic active site.     

Androgen dynamics in vitro in the normal and hyperplastic human prostate gland

The dynamics of uptake and metabolism in vitro of androgens by normal and hyperplastic human prostate glands was studied by means of a new experimental design proposed by Gurpide & Welch (1969). Prostate slices were perfused with a medium containing [(3)H]testosterone and [(14)C]androstenedione, or 5alpha-dihydro-[(3)H]testosterone and [(14)C]testosterone. The entry into the slices, the irreversible metabolism, the conversion between the compounds and the tissue retention or ;uptake' of the steroids were measured at the steady state. A similar portion of the three androgens entered the tissue and was irreversibly metabolized. Conversion of testosterone into 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone was much greater than the interconversion of testosterone and androstenedione. The prostate slices retained 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone at a concentration three times that in the medium, whereas testosterone and androstenedione were retained to a smaller extent. At a steroid concentration of 0.11mumol/l in the medium, the various parameters did not differ significantly in experiments performed with slices from normal and hyperplastic glands. When the steroid concentration in the medium was increased tenfold, however, a difference between normal and hyperplastic glands was evident. The normal glands increased the uptake and metabolism proportionally to the elevation of the steroid concentration in the medium. In the hyperplastic glands the entry and metabolism lagged behind the increase in steroid supply, whereas the tissue uptake became disproportionately high. The possible causes of this finding are discussed.     

Scanning Electron Microscopy of Selected Members of the Streptomyces hygroscopicus Group

Distinctive variations in whole spore morphology and spore surface morphology of Streptomyces hygroscopicus strains, which had been observed previously by the authors by the preshadowed carbon replica technique, were confirmed by observations with the scanning electron microscope.     

U-21,963, a New Antibiotic: I. Discovery and Biological Activity

A new antibiotic, U-21,963, is produced by a new strain of Trichoderma viride. Antibiotic activity can be demonstrated against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and also against a wide variety of fungi. U-21,963 is not cross-resistant with other commonly used antibiotics. U-21,963 afforded no protection against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, or Staphylococcus aureus when it was injected subcutaneously into mice.     

Induction of Lambda-Bacteriophage in Escherichia coli as a Screening Test for Potential Antitumor Agents

A simple, rapid, quantitative test procedure to measure induction of phage production in lysogenic Escherichia coli K-12 (λ) was described. This test was used in a study of 209 substances, including antibiotics, pyrimirines, purines, alkylating agents, thiols, amino acids, vitamins, and miscellaneous compounds. Minimal inducing concentrations for the 26 (12.5% of total tested) substances found to be effective inducing agents, as well as a listing of the inactive compounds, are presented. Since 21 of the 26 active agents reportedly have antineoplastic activity in rodent tumor systems, it was concluded that the induction test may provide a useful screen for the detection of potentially useful antitumor compounds.     

Human hypertensive placenta contains an increased amount of Na,K-ATPase with higher affinity for cardiac glycosides

Placentas of women suffering from pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) were found to contain a greater amount of Na,K-ATPase molecules, estimated from anthroyl ouabain binding, than normotensive individuals. Both the microsomal fraction of placental cells and purified Na,K-ATPase showed an increased affinity for the specific inhibitor ouabain which, in the case of the microsomes, bound with a dissociation constant of 0.9 nM as compared with 3.4 nM in the controls. Likewise, the dissociation constant of the ouabain complex with purified Na,K-ATPase was about 3.5 times lower in the hypertensive patients. The differences are apparently caused by a different microenvironment of the ouabain-binding site, as reflected in the quantum yield of bound anthroyl ouabain. If an endogenous digitalis-like factor is present in the body fluids to regulate Na,K-ATPase activity, the present results render its role quite plausible.