Age,growth, and reproductive biology of the Atlantic spadefish Chaetodipterus faber in southern Brazil

Ichthyological Research - This is the first study to investigate the age, growth and reproductive biology of the Atlantic spadefish Chaetodipterus faber in southern Brazil. A total of 625...     

Detailed Characterization of Brain Dysfunction in a Long-Term Rodent Model of Critical Illness

Neurochemical Research - Critical illness encompasses a wide spectrum of life-threatening clinical conditions requiring intensive care. Our objective was to evaluate cognitive, inflammatory and...     

High mobility group box 1 levels in large vessel vasculitis are not associated with disease activity but are influenced by age and statins

IntroductionTakayasu arteritis (TA) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) are large vessel vasculitides (LVV) that usually present as granulomatous inflammation in arterial walls. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a nuclear protein that acts as an alarmin when released by dying or activated cells. This study aims to evaluate whether serum HMGB1 can be used as a biomarker in LVV.MethodsTwenty-nine consecutive TA patients with 29 healthy controls (HC) were evaluated in a cross-sectional study. Eighteen consecutive GCA patients with 16 HC were evaluated at the onset of disease and some of them during follow-up. Serum HMGB1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.ResultsIn GCA patients at disease onset mean serum HMGB1 levels did not differ from HC (5.74 ± 4.19 ng/ml vs. 4.17 ± 3.14 ng/ml; p = 0.230). No differences in HMGB1 levels were found between GCA patients with and without polymyalgia rheumatica (p = 0.167), ischemic manifestations (p = 0.873), systemic manifestations (p = 0.474) or relapsing disease (p = 0.608). During follow-up, no significant fluctuations on serum HMGB1 levels were observed from baseline to 3 months (n = 13) (p = 0.075), 12 months (n = 6) (p = 0.093) and at the first relapse (n = 4) (p = 0.202). Serum HMGB1 levels did not differ between TA patients and HC [1.19 (0.45–2.10) ng/ml vs. 1.46 (0.89–3.34) ng/ml; p = 0.181] and no difference was found between TA patients with active disease and in remission [1.31 (0.63–2.16) ng/ml vs. 0.75 (0.39–2.05) ng/ml; p = 0.281]. HMGB1 levels were significantly lower in 16 TA patients on statins compared with 13 patients without statins [0.59 (0.29–1.46) ng/ml vs. 1.93 (0.88–3.34) ng/ml; p = 0.019]. Age was independently associated with higher HMGB1 levels regardless of LVV or control status.ConclusionsPatients with TA and GCA present similar serum HMGB1 levels compared with HC. Serum HMGB1 is not useful to discriminate between active disease and remission. In TA, use of statins was associated with lower HMGB1 levels. HMGB1 is not a biomarker for LVV.     

Changes in leaf epicuticular wax,gas exchange and biochemistry metabolism between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jatropha mollissima</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jatropha curcas</Emphasis> under semi-arid conditions

Jatropha curcas and Jatropha mollissima plants were evaluated under conditions of high (HSM) and low (LSM) soil moisture in a semi-arid environment, as changes in the content and concentration of epicuticular wax and the leaf metabolism which could have a relationship with drought tolerance. Besides epicuticular wax, gas exchange, antioxidant system and biochemical parameters of the photosynthetic metabolism were measured. The epicuticular wax content increased only in J. mollissima leaves 95 % under LSM, when compared with HSM conditions. Therefore, J. curcas invested less in the production of long-chain n-alkanes than did J. mollissima under LSM conditions. J. mollissima plants showed the highest CO₂ assimilation rate during the HSM period compared to J. curcas. Both species showed high stability in some leaf biochemistry products, highlighting the highest sugar content, free amino acids, total soluble protein, and photosynthetic pigments in the leaves of J. mollissima plants under both of the soil moisture conditions. Moreover, the stability and performance of the different parameters, such as morphologic variables, seem to allow J. mollissima plants to tolerate semi-arid conditions.     

A Bayesian extension of phylogenetic generalized least squares: Incorporating uncertainty in the comparative study of trait relationships and evolutionary rates

Phylogenetic comparative methods use tree topology, branch lengths, and models of phenotypic change to take into account nonindependence in statistical analysis. However, these methods normally assume that trees and models are known without error. Approaches relying on evolutionary regimes also assume specific distributions of character states across a tree, which often result from ancestral state reconstructions that are subject to uncertainty. Several methods have been proposed to deal with some of these sources of uncertainty, but approaches accounting for all of them are less common. Here, we show how Bayesian statistics facilitates this task while relaxing the homogeneous rate assumption of the well-known phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) framework. This Bayesian formulation allows uncertainty about phylogeny, evolutionary regimes, or other statistical parameters to be taken into account for studies as simple as testing for coevolution in two traits or as complex as testing whether bursts of phenotypic change are associated with evolutionary shifts in intertrait correlations. A mixture of validation approaches indicates that the approach has good inferential properties and predictive performance. We provide suggestions for implementation and show its usefulness by exploring the coevolution of ankle posture and forefoot proportions in Carnivora.     

Role of Zinc in Zinc-α2-Glycoprotein Metabolism in Obesity: a Review of Literature

Biological Trace Element Research - Excessive adipose tissue promotes the manifestation of endocrine disorders such as reduction of the secretion of zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG), an adipokine...     

MAPL is a new mitochondrial SUMO E3 ligase that regulates mitochondrial fission

The modification of proteins by the small ubiquitin‐like modifier (SUMO) is known to regulate an increasing array of cellular processes. SUMOylation of the mitochondrial fission GTPase dynamin‐related protein 1 (DRP1) stimulates mitochondrial fission, suggesting that SUMOylation has an important function in mitochondrial dynamics. The conjugation of SUMO to its substrates requires a regulatory SUMO E3 ligase; however, so far, none has been functionally associated with the mitochondria. By using biochemical assays, overexpression and RNA interference experiments, we characterized the mitochondrial‐anchored protein ligase (MAPL) as the first mitochondrial‐anchored SUMO E3 ligase. Furthermore, we show that DRP1 is a substrate for MAPL, providing a direct link between MAPL and the fission machinery. Importantly, the large number of unidentified mitochondrial SUMO targets suggests a global role for SUMOylation in mitochondrial function, placing MAPL as a crucial component in the regulation of multiple conjugation events.     

Effects of Passage Through Tamarin Guts on the Germination Potential of Dispersed Seeds

Passage through tamarin guts may have an effect on seed germination potential. To examine these effects, and the variation between 2 sympatric tamarin species, we studied Saguinus mystax and S. fuscicollis in northeastern Peruvian Amazonia. For most of 39 plant species, neither germination success nor latency was modified by gut passage. Neutral effects on seed germination potential suggest that tamarins may fulfill criteria for effective seed dispersal.