Some dasyclad algae of the sinemurian from the north-western iberian chains (Spain)

In a section of the Liassic southwest of the village of Préjano (Prov. Logroño) Sinemurian Dasyclad algae were found for the first time in the “Bankkalk-Series” of the “Carniolas-Formation” which is not dated up to that time. Six species,Dissocladella lucasi (Cros & Lemoine),Dissocladella iberica nov. sp.,Dissocladella ebroensis nov. sp.,Sestrosphaera liasina Pia,Gyroporella retica (Zanin) andMacroporella nov. sp. aff. sturi Bystricky are described.     

Operationalising Factors That Explain the Emergence of Infectious Diseases: A Case Study of the Human Campylobacteriosis Epidemic

A framework of general factors for infectious disease emergence was made operational for Campylobacter utilising explanatory variables including time series and risk factor data. These variables were generated using a combination of empirical epidemiology, case-case and case-control studies, time series analysis, and microbial sub-typing (source attribution, diversity, genetic distance) to unravel the changing/emerging aetiology of human campylobacteriosis. The study focused on Scotland between 1990–2012 where there was a 75% increase in reported cases that included >300% increase in the elderly and 50% decrease in young children. During this period there were three phases 1990–2000 a 75% rise and a 20% fall to 2006, followed by a 19% resurgence. The rise coincided with expansions in the poultry industry, consumption of chicken, and a shift from rural to urban cases. The post-2000 fall occurred across all groups apart from the elderly and coincided with a drop of the prevalence of Campylobacter in chicken and a higher proportion of rural cases. The increase in the elderly was associated with uptake of proton pump inhibitors. During the resurgence the increase was predominantly in adults and the elderly, again there was increasing use of PPIs and high prevalences in chicken and ruminants. Cases associated with foreign travel during the study also increased from 9% to a peak of 16% in 2006 before falling to an estimated 10% in 2011, predominantly in adults and older children. During all three periods source attribution, genetic distance, and diversity measurements placed human isolates most similar to those in chickens. A combination of emergence factors generic for infectious diseases were responsible for the Campylobacter epidemic. It was possible to use these to obtain a putative explanation for the changes in human disease and the potential to make an informed view of how incidence rates may change in the future.     

Bisphenol A Exposure during Adulthood Alters Expression of Aromatase and 5α-Reductase Isozymes in Rat Prostate

The high incidence of prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) in elderly men is a cause of increasing public health concern. In recent years, various environmental endocrine disruptors, such as bisphenol A (BPA), have been shown to disrupt sexual organs, including the prostate gland. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. Because androgens and estrogens are important factors in prostate physiopathology, our objective was to examine in rat ventral prostate the effects of adult exposure to BPA on 5α-Reductase isozymes (5α-R types 1, 2, and 3) and aromatase, key enzymes in the biosynthesis of dihydrotestosterone and estradiol, respectively. Adult rats were subcutaneously injected for four days with BPA (25, 50, 300, or 600 µg/Kg/d) dissolved in vehicle. Quantitative RT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemical analyses showed lower mRNA and protein levels of 5α-R1 and 5α-R2 in BPA-treated groups versus controls but higher mRNA levels of 5α-R3, recently proposed as a biomarker of malignancy. However, BPA treatment augmented mRNA and protein levels of aromatase, whose increase has been described in prostate diseases. BPA-treated rats also evidenced a higher plasma estradiol/testosterone ratio, which is associated with prostate disease. Our results may offer new insights into the role of BPA in the development of prostate disease and may be of great value for studying the prostate disease risk associated with exposure to BPA in adulthood.     

Age‐related ultrastructural changes of the basement membrane in the mouse blood‐brain barrier

The blood‐brain barrier (BBB) is essential for a functional neurovascular unit. Most studies focused on the cells forming the BBB, but very few studied the basement membrane (BM) of brain capillaries in ageing. We used transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography to investigate the BM of the BBB in ageing C57BL/6J mice. The thickness of the BM of the BBB from 24‐month‐old mice was double as compared with that of 6‐month‐old mice (107 nm vs 56 nm). The aged BBB showed lipid droplets gathering within the BM which further increased its thickness (up to 572 nm) and altered its structure. The lipids appeared to accumulate toward the glial side of the BM. Electron tomography showed that the lipid‐rich BM regions are located in small pockets formed by the end‐feet of astrocytes. These findings suggest an imbalance of the lipid metabolism and that may precede the structural alteration of the BM. These alterations may favour the accretion of abnormal proteins that lead to neurodegeneration in ageing. These findings warrant further investigation of the BM of brain capillaries and of adjoining cells as potential targets for future therapies.     

Simulating the embolization of blood vessels using magnetic microparticles and acupuncture needle in a magnetic field

Computer models were developed to simulate the capture and subsequent deposition of magnetic microparticles (MMPs) in a blood vessel adjacent to a ferromagnetic wire (e.g., acupuncture needle) magnetized by a uniform external magnetic field. Process parameter conditions were obtained to enable optimal capture of MMPs into the deposit. It was found that the maximum capture distance of the MMPs was within 0.5-2.0 mm when the particles were superparamagnetic and had large size (>1.0 microm) and relative large flow rates (2.5-5.0 cm/s) as in a healthy artery. It was also found that the deposits were asymmetrical and that their size was between 1.0 and 2.0 mm. For the case of lower flow rates as can be found in a tumor (<1.0 mm/s) and using small magnetite particles (0.25-2.0 microm) the maximum capture distance was larger, ranging between approximately 0.5 and 6.4 mm, depending on the blood flow rate, the radius of wire, and particle clustering. The range of embolization (deposition) in this later case was between 0.5 and 5.9 mm. The potential of this technique to generate MMPs deposits to embolize blood vessels inhibiting the blood supply and thus facilitating necrosis of tumors located deep within the patient (3-7 cm) is discussed.     

No evidence of inhibition of horizontal gene transfer by CRISPR–Cas on evolutionary timescales

The CRISPR (clustered, regularly, interspaced, short, palindromic repeats)–Cas (CRISPR-associated genes) systems of archaea and bacteria provide adaptive immunity against viruses and other selfish elements and are believed to curtail horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Limiting acquisition of new genetic material could be one of the sources of the fitness cost of CRISPR–Cas maintenance and one of the causes of the patchy distribution of CRISPR–Cas among bacteria, and across environments. We sought to test the hypothesis that the activity of CRISPR–Cas in microbes is negatively correlated with the extent of recent HGT. Using three independent measures of HGT, we found no significant dependence between the length of CRISPR arrays, which reflects the activity of the immune system, and the estimated number of recent HGT events. In contrast, we observed a significant negative dependence between the estimated extent of HGT and growth temperature of microbes, which could be explained by the lower genetic diversity in hotter environments. We hypothesize that the relevant events in the evolution of resistance to mobile elements and proclivity for HGT, to which CRISPR–Cas systems seem to substantially contribute, occur on the population scale rather than on the timescale of species evolution.     

Altered expression of claudin family proteins in Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia brains

Claudins (Cls) are a multigene family of transmembrane proteins with different tissue distribution, which have an essential role in the formation and sealing capacity of tight junctions (TJs). At the level of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), TJs are the main molecular structures which separate the neuronal milieu from the circulatory space, by a restriction of the paracellular flow of water, ions and larger molecules into the brain. Different studies suggested recently significant BBB alterations in both vascular and degenerative dementia types. In a previous study we found in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) brains an altered expression of occludin, a molecular partner of Cls in the TJs structure. Therefore in this study, using an immunohistochemical approach, we investigated the expression of Cl family proteins (Cl‐2, Cl‐5 and Cl‐11) in frontal cortex of aged control, AD and VaD brains. To estimate the number of Cl‐expressing cells, we applied a random systematic sampling and the unbiased optical fractionator method. We found selected neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and endothelial cells expressing Cl‐2, Cl‐5 and Cl‐11 at detectable levels in all cases studied. We report a significant increase in ratio of neurons expressing Cl‐2, Cl‐5 and Cl‐11 in both AD and VaD as compared to aged controls. The ratio of astrocytes expressing Cl‐2 and Cl‐11 was significantly higher in AD and VaD as compared to aged controls. The ratio of oligodendrocytes expressing Cl‐11 was significantly higher in AD and the ratio of oligodendrocytes expressing Cl‐2 was significantly higher in VaD as compared to aged controls. Within the cerebral cortex, Cls were selectively expressed by pyramidal neurons, which are the ones responsible for cognitive processes and affected by AD pathology. Our findings suggest a new function of Cl family proteins which might be linked to response to cellular stress.     

Trends and barriers to lateral gene transfer in prokaryotes

Gene acquisition by lateral gene transfer (LGT) is an important mechanism for natural variation among prokaryotes. Laboratory experiments show that protein-coding genes can be laterally transferred extremely fast among microbial cells, inherited to most of their descendants, and adapt to a new regulatory regime within a short time. Recent advance in the phylogenetic analysis of microbial genomes using networks approach reveals a substantial impact of LGT during microbial genome evolution. Phylogenomic networks of LGT among prokaryotes reconstructed from completely sequenced genomes uncover barriers to LGT in multiple levels. Here we discuss the kinds of barriers to gene acquisition in nature including physical barriers for gene transfer between cells, genomic barriers for the integration of acquired DNA, and functional barriers for the acquisition of new genes.