Substrate moisture,particle size and temperature preferences of trap‐building larvae of sympatric antlions and wormlions from the rainforest of Borneo

1. Larvae of antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) and wormlions (Diptera: Vermileonidae) display a convergently evolved sit‐and‐wait hunting strategy of building pitfall traps in sandy areas. This study investigated a sympatric population of antlions and wormlions in the lowland rainforest of Borneo for substrate moisture, particle size and temperature preferences. It was hypothesised that these animals would show different preferences regarding these microhabitat traits. 2. The results showed that antlions had a higher aversion to moisture compared with wormlions, but that wormlions had a higher preference for small‐particle sand. Furthermore, thermal preferences in antlions and wormlions were significantly different, with antlions choosing higher temperatures. 3. The detected differences between antlions and wormlions might contribute to their niche partitioning in the mixed Bornean population and thus facilitate coexistence of these animals. It is possible that the hotter and dryer microhabitat edges are preferred by antlions.     

Combined effect of X‐ray radiation and static magnetic fields on reactive oxygen species in rat lymphocytes in vitro

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of static magnetic fields (SMF) on reactive oxygen species induced by X‐ray radiation. The experiments were performed on lymphocytes from male albino Wistar rats. After exposure to 3 Gy X‐ray radiation (with a dose rate of 560 mGy/min) the measurement of intracellular reactive oxygen species in lymphocytes, using a fluorescent probe, was done before exposure to the SMF, and after 15 min, 1 and 2 h of exposure to the SMF or a corresponding incubation time. For SMF exposure, 0 mT (50 µT magnetic field induction opposite to the geomagnetic field) and 5 mT fields were chosen. The trend of SMF effects for 0 mT was always opposite that of 5 mT. The first one decreased the rate of fluorescence change, while the latter one increased it. Bioelectromagnetics 34:333–336, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Composition of bryozoan assemblages related to depth in Svalbard fjords and sounds

Svalbard bryozoan communities were investigated along a depth range from the surface to 296 m between the inner glacial fronts and fjord mouths during 2001 and 2002. The main study area was Kongsfjorden (79°N, 12°E). A total of 137 taxa of bryozoans were identified: 108 to species, 24 to genus, 3 to family, 1 to order and 1 to phylum level. Cluster and multidimensional scaling analyses revealed four distinct assemblages of bryozoans: shallow (0–40 m; 68 taxa), deep (40–296 m; 80 taxa), inner fjordic (three taxa) and an assemblage found on small stones in shallow waters (nine taxa). The inner fjordic assemblage was recorded from the front of tidal glaciers extending about 10 km out into the fjord. In terms of abundance, Celleporella hyalina Linnaeus dominated in shallow areas (18%), Hippothoa arctica Kluge (55%) in deep water, Alcyonidium disciforme Smitt (86%) proximate to glaciers fronts and Electra arctica Borg on small stones (98%). The species were classified according to their depth range as a stenobathic-shallow (46 taxa), stenobathic-deep (57 taxa) and eurybathic-generalist (21 taxa). Mean diversity measures did not show any significant differences between the shallow and deep communities. The bryozoan assemblages seem to be structured primarily by processes related to depth and sediment characteristics.     

Limits to the estimation of species richness: The use of relative abundance distributions

The present study demonstrates the possibility of estimating species numbers of animal or plant communities from samples using relative abundance distributions. We use log‐abundance–species‐rank order plots and derive two new estimators that are based on log‐series and lognormal distributions. At small to moderate sample sizes these estimators appear to be more precise than previous parametric and nonparametric estimators. We test our estimators using samples from 171 published medium‐sized to large animal and plant communities taken from the literature. By this we show that our new estimators define also limits of precision.     

High concentrations of d-pinitol or d-chiro-inositol inhibit the biosynthesis of raffinose family oligosaccharides in maturing smooth tare (Vicia tetrasperma [L.] Schreb.) seeds

In the present study we have investigated the effect of exogenous cyclitols on accumulation of their galactosides and raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) in maturing smooth tare (Vicia tetrasperma [L.] Schreb) seeds. Feeding d-pinitol to pods of smooth tare increased the amount of free d-pinitol and its galactosides: galactopinitol A, galactopinitol B, di- and trigalactopinitol A in seeds. Similarly, feeding d-chiro-inositol, which does not occur naturally in Vicia seeds, resulted in the transport of this cyclitol in the seed, and caused accumulation of high levels of d-chiro-inositol galactosides (fagopyritol B1, B2 and B3). Accumulation of both cyclitols and their galactosides drastically reduced accumulation of verbascose and, to a lesser extent, stachyose and di-galactosyl- myo-inositol. Feeding d-chiro-inositol also decreased accumulation of di- and tri-galactosyl pinitols, naturally occurring in seeds. Inhibition of RFOs accumulation by elevated levels of free cyclitols indicates competition between biosynthesis of both types galactosides, and similarity of both biosynthetic pathways in smooth tare seeds.     

An unstructured model for studies on phenanthrene bioconversion by filamentous fungus Cunninghamella elegans

An unstructured model for phenanthrene bioconversion by filamentous fungus Cunnighamella elegans in stirred tank batch bioreactors was proposed. It was observed that the process of phenanthrene bioconversion is strictly associated with exponential growth of biomass. Therefore, a Monod-type, with Contois term, unstructured model could be applied to describe the process mathematically. The inhibition of biomass growth due to high concentrations of phenanthrene present in the medium was taken into account in the form of Yerusalimski's uncompetitive inhibition term.     

An integrated approach to the ligand binding specificity of Neisseria meningitidis M1 alanine aminopeptidase by fluorogenic substrate profiling,inhibitory studies and molecular modeling

Neisseria meningitides is a gram-negative diplococcus bacterium and is the main causative agent of meningitis and other meningococcal diseases. Alanine aminopeptidase from N. meningitides (NmAPN) belongs to the family of metallo-exopeptidase enzymes, which catalyze the removal of amino acids from the N-terminus of peptides and proteins, and are found among all the kingdoms of life. NmAPN is suggested to be mostly responsible for proteolysis and nutrition delivery, similar to the orthologs from other bacteria.     

Heterogeneity of 11q13 region rearrangements in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma analyzed by microarray platforms and fluorescence in situ hybridization

We reinvestigated rearrangements occurring in region q13 of chromosome 11 aiming to: (i) describe heterogeneity of the observed structural alterations, (ii) estimate amplicon size and (iii) identify of oncogenes involved in laryngeal cancer progression as potential targets for therapy. The study included 17 cell lines derived from laryngeal cancers and 34 specimens from primary laryngeal tumors. The region 11q13 was analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and gene expression microarray. Next, quantitative real time PCR was used for chosen genes to confirm results from aCGH and gene expression microarray. The observed pattern of aberrations allows to distinguish three ways, in which gain and amplification involving 11q13 region may occur: formation of a homogeneously staining region; breakpoints in/near 11q13, which lead to the three to sevenfold increase of the copy number of 11q13 region; the presence of additional copies of the whole chromosome 11. The minimal altered region of gain and/or amplification was limited to ~1.8 Mb (chr.11:69,395,184–71,209,568) and comprised mostly 11q13.3 band which contain 12 genes. Five, out of these genes (CCND1, ORAOV1, FADD, PPFIA1, CTTN) had higher expression levels in comparison to healthy controls. Apart from CCND1 gene, which has an established role in pathogenesis of head and neck cancers, CTTN, ORAOV1 and FADD genes appear to be oncogene-candidates in laryngeal cancers, while a function of PPFIA1 requires further studies.