Altered sensitivity to ethylene in ‘Tardivo’, a late‐ripening mutant of Clementine mandarin

‘Tardivo’ mandarin is a mutant of ‘Comune’ Clementine with a delay in peel degreening and coloration, allowing late harvesting. In this work, we have explored if the late‐harvesting phenotype of ‘Tardivo’ mandarin is related to altered perception and sensitivity to ethylene. The peel degreening rate was examined after a single ethephon treatment or during a continuous ethylene application in fruits at two maturation stages. In general, ethylene‐induced peel degreening was considerably delayed and reduced in fruits of ‘Tardivo’, as well as the concomitant reduction of chlorophyll (Chl) and chloroplastic carotenoids, and the accumulation of chromoplastic carotenoids. Analysis of the expression of genes involved in Chl degradation, carotenoids, ABA, phenylpropanoids and ethylene biosynthesis revealed an impairment in the stimulation of most genes by ethylene in the peel of ‘Tardivo’ fruits with respect to ‘Comune’, especially after 5 days of ethylene application. Moreover, ethylene‐induced expression of two ethylene receptor genes, ETR1 and ETR2, was also reduced in mutant fruits. Expression levels of two ethylene‐responsive factors, ERF1 and ERF2, which were repressed by ethylene, were also impaired to a different extent, in fruits of both genotypes. Collectively, results suggested an altered sensitivity of the peel of ‘Tardivo’ to ethylene‐induced physiological and molecular responses, including fruit degreening and coloration processes, which may be time‐dependent since an early moderated reduction in the responses was followed by the latter inability to sustain ethylene action. These results support the involvement of ethylene in the regulation of at least some aspects of peel maturation in the non‐climacteric citrus fruit.     

‘Not anymore,not yet’: Australian–Hungarians rediscover the ‘old‐new’ Hungary

This article examines the return visits of Australian‐Hungarians to their homeland after 1989 and the different types of homecoming experiences after an extended period of separation. The focus of the paper is returnees’ perceptions of changes to Hungary or lack thereof. I analyse the distinction between the ‘desired/nostalgic past’, which Hungarian returnees nurtured during the decades of separation and expected to rediscover upon return, and the ‘disdained past’ of the Communist dictatorship, which they had fled and hoped never to encounter again. The findings demonstrate that people interpret both past and present in relation to hopes, expectations and disappointments situated within particular nationalist imaginaries, political projects and ideological prisms. This allows us to analyse the nexus between local, national and diasporic belonging through post‐socialist identities, orientations toward democracy and understandings of ‘nation’.     

Wild‐type and specific mutant androgen receptor mediates transcription via 17β‐estradiol in sex hormone‐sensitive cancer cells

We previously encountered regulatory processes wherein dihydrotestosterone (DHT) exerted its inhibitory effect on parathyroid hormone‐related protein (PTHrP) gene repression through the estrogen receptor (ER)α, but not the androgen receptor (AR), in breast cancer MCF‐7 cells. Here, we investigated whether such aberrant ligand‐nuclear receptor (NR) interaction is present in prostate cancer LNCaP cells. First, we confirmed that LNCaP cells expressed large amounts of AR at negligible levels of ERα/β or progesterone receptor. Both suppression of PTHrP and activation of prostate‐specific antigen genes were observed after independent administration of 17β‐estradiol (E2), DHT, or R5020. Consistent with the notion that the LNCaP AR lost its ligand specificity due to a mutation (Thr‐Ala877), experiments with siRNA targeting the respective NR revealed that the AR monopolized the role of the mediator of shared hormone‐dependent regulation, which was invariably associated with nuclear translocation of this mutant AR. Microarray analysis of gene regulation by DHT, E2, or R5020 disclosed that more than half of the genes downstream of the AR (Thr‐Ala877) overlapped in the LNCaP cells. Of particular interest, we realized that the AR (wild‐type [wt]) and AR (Thr‐Ala877) were equally responsible for the E2‐AR interactions. Fluorescence microscopy experiments demonstrated that both EGFP‐AR (wt) and EGFP‐AR (Thr‐Ala877) were exclusively localized within the nucleus after E2 or DHT treatment. Furthermore, reporter assays revealed that some other cancer cells exhibited aberrant E2‐AR (wt) signaling similar to that in the LNCaP cells. We herein postulate the presence of entangled interactions between wt AR and E2 in certain hormone‐sensitive cancer cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 1594–1606, 2015. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Cellular Physiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Feeding of wildlife: How effective are the ‘Keep Wildlife Wild’ signs in Tasmania's National Parks?

Summary   We investigated attitudes of the visiting public to feeding wildlife and the effectiveness of the 'Keep Wildlife Wild' signs in Tasmania's National Parks. We surveyed visitors to three visitor nodes in two National Parks for their opinions regarding the feeding of wildlife. Participants were asked whether they had seen a 'Keep Wildlife Wild' sign, and the role played by the sign in determining their opinions. A total of 118 visitors were interviewed. The majority of respondents (92.2%) were against feeding wildlife. Only 3.5% of respondents were in favour of feeding wildlife, while 4.3% had no opinion on the subject. The most commonly cited reason against feeding wildlife was that it caused harm to the animal. The majority of respondents (69.6%) had sighted a 'Keep Wildlife Wild' sign posted in Tasmania's National Parks since 1996, 84.6% of which said that the sign had reinforced a pre-existing opinion against feeding. Only 3.9% of respondents who had seen the sign said that the sign had formed their opinion against feeding. We also observed a total of 68 people interacting with wildlife while they were eating lunch. A total of 70 interactions between visitors ( n  = 68) and wildlife were recorded. Thirty-seven (52.9%) of these interactions involved feeding an animal, although this feeding activity was carried out by only five people (7.4% of total). Numerous examples of inadvertent feeding were also observed in which Black Currawongs ( Strepera fuliginosa ) scavenged for food scraps once visitors had left.     

‘Black’ and ‘white’ death: burials in a time of Ebola in Freetown,Sierra Leone

The article examines experiences of the 2014‐15 Ebola crisis in Freetown, Sierra Leone, through an analysis of the performance of burials. While most of the city's residents had no contact with the virus, ‘Ebola’ was inescapable, owing to the onerous state of emergency regulations imposed by national and international authorities. All burials, regardless of the cause of death, were to be performed by newly established official teams operating according to unfamiliar biomedical and bureaucratic protocols. Burials became emblematic of the crisis through presenting a conflict between local practices and novel procedures, which was coded locally in a complex racial language of ‘black’ and ‘white’, recalling a long regional history of violent integration into the Atlantic World. Building on long‐standing anthropological discussion on the relationship between ‘good’ death and social order, the article explores how burials became sites around which opposing ‘orders’ were experienced, negotiated, and reconciled in locally meaningful ways.     

The ‘Abtropfung Phenomenon’ Revisited: Dermal Nevus Cells from Congenital Nevi Cannot Activate Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 (MMP‐2)

Since Unna's Abtropfung hypothesis, the process of migration of nevus cells in the dermis remains unknown. To investigate its mechanisms, we studied the role of gelatinases in dermal nevus cells obtained from congenital pigmented nevi, which are major actors in the remodeling of basement membrane proteins. Our previous studies have shown that dermal nevus cells express pro‐matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2 exclusively and cannot return to the dermis when seeded together with keratinocytes on top of the dermis in a skin reconstruction model. To examine why MMP‐2 was not in its active form, we used Western blot to study the expression of members of the MMP‐2 activation pathway (membrane type 1‐MMP and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐2), which proved to be normally expressed. To induce the dermal passage of nevus cells artificially, we also tried to activate gelatinases with phorbol‐12‐myristate‐13‐acetate and epidermal growth factor, using epidermis reconstructed with nevus cells. No migration in the dermis could be triggered. We conclude that the absence of active MMP‐2 is due to a functional blockade of its activation pathway and may prevent dermal nevus cells from reaching the dermal compartment in skin reconstructs. Furthermore, our findings reinforce the concept that dermal nevus cells originating from congenital nevi are in a quiescent status.     

Bearding the scorpion in his den: desert isopods take risks to validate their ‘landscape of fear’ assessment

Animals balance the risk of predation against other vital needs by adjusting their spatial behavior to match spatiotemporal variation in predation risk. To map this ‘landscape of fear’, prey use evolutionary rules of thumbs that are associated with the activity and hunting efficiency of predators. In addition, prey acquire perceptual information about the presence, identity and state of potential predators and use these cues to focus their acute anti‐predatory responses. Our goal was to explore if and how prey also use such perceptual information that decays with time to update their spatiotemporal risk assessment. We placed scorpions in freshly dug burrows and recorded the spatial activity and defense behavior of their isopod prey upon encountering the burrows straight after settling the scorpions and seven days later. To corroborate our understanding, we also examined the isopods’ detailed reactions towards deserted scorpion burrows. The isopods reacted defensively to scorpion burrows during their first encounter. After seven days, proportionally more isopods approached the scorpion burrows on their way out for foraging and fewer isopods encountered it on their way back. No changes in the spatial activity were observed towards deserted burrows. In addition, on the eighth day, more isopods entered the risky area near the scorpion burrows when leaving their own burrow than on the first encounter. The results suggest that isopods used predator cues to readjust the ‘landscape of fear’. Yet, rather than avoiding the dangerous areas altogether, the isopods implemented risky inspection behavior, validating whether the danger is actual. Our findings imply that inspection behavior toward predators can be used for future planning of prey spatial activity, offsetting possible ‘information decay costs’.     

Contamination effects by a ‘conventional’ and a ‘biodegradable’ lubricant oil on infaunal recruitment to Antarctic sediments: A field experiment

To investigate the impacts of synthetic lubricants on Antarctic infaunal communities, a field experiment was setup near Australia's Casey Station, East Antarctica. Two types of synthetic lubricants were tested: an ‘Unused’ and ‘Used’ conventional synthetic lubricant, and an alternative marketed as ‘biodegradable’. Clean defaunated sediment was contaminated with the lubricants, decanted into trays, and deployed by divers onto the seabed in a randomised block design. Sediments were sampled 5 and 56 weeks after deployment. After 5 weeks, benthic assemblages that had recruited to the lubricant contaminated sediments were significantly different to those in ‘Control’ sediments, and differences were more pronounced after 56 weeks. Total number of individuals did not significantly differ between treatments after 5 weeks. However, after 56 weeks total individuals in the ‘Control’ sediments were significantly greater than in the contaminated sediments. Nototanais antarcticus (tanaid) and to a lesser extent Monoculodes sp. (gammarid), Tanaid sp. IV and Eudorella sp. (cumacean) had significantly higher abundances in the control sediments after 56 weeks compared to the contaminated sediments. Copepods numerically dominated the benthic assemblages at both sampling times; however, their abundance did not significantly differ across treatments. The community recruiting to the contaminated sediments remained different from that in the ‘Control’ sediments for the duration of the experiment (1 year). The ‘biodegradable’ lubricant was just as environmentally harmful to the Antarctic infauna as the ‘conventional’ lubricant currently used at Australia's Antarctic stations. Our results demonstrate that changes to recruitment are one of the potential environmental consequences of a lubricant spill to Antarctic benthic communities, and reinforce the importance of preventative oil spill management and effective clean-up procedures. Further monitoring of this field experiment will provide much needed information about the long-term impacts by synthetic lubricants in the Antarctic marine environment.     

Going to ‘Pentecost’: how to study Pentecostalism – in Melanesia,for example

In this article, I question regional context as primary context in anthropological analyses. I argue that the idea of historical continuity in a geographical locality/region might prevent us from understanding not only radical change, but also more gradually emerging social patterns that connect the ethnography to very different kinds of histories and places. Concretely, I focus on the global Charismatic and Pentecostal movements, and as an experiment, I ask whether it is possible to go to ‘Pentecost’, instead of going to Melanesia. With ‘going to Pentecost’ as a heuristic device, I suggest it is possible to overcome methodological challenges in the study of global religious movements. In this article, I thus trace the practices and articulations of my interlocutors as part of a wider Pentecostal universe. I show how notions of seeing, borders, separations, and protection are crucial in ‘Pentecost’, and I connect this to key Christian ideas and values.     

Segment number,body length,and latitude in geophilomorph centipedes: a ‘converse‐Bergmann’ pattern

There is a negative relationship between trunk segment number and latitude among geophilomorph centipedes in general. A similar relationship is known to exist within the most intensively‐studied geophilomorph species, Strigamia maritima, and also within several other species from this group. Previously, it was considered that this relationship did not involve body length; instead, individuals of S. maritima with more segments were considered to be more finely subdivided (not longer) than those with fewer segments. This incorrect interpretation arose from the difficulty of reliably separating post‐embryonic stages and thus of making a simple and direct comparison. In the present study, we build on recent work that facilitates such comparisons; and we show conclusively that individuals with more segments are longer. Our finding means that it is now possible to connect the work on S. maritima in particular, and on geophilomorph centipedes in general, with the debate about Bergmann's ‘rule’: the proposal that body size increases with increasing latitude. There is a clear ‘converse‐Bergmann’ pattern, as has been found in several other taxa. We propose an adaptive hypothesis that may explain why geophilomorphs show this pattern. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ?? , ??–??.     

A plea for ‘genealogical thinking’ in comparative biology – a rebuttal to the reply of Szucsich,Wirkner, and Pass to my article ‘Deconstructing Morphology’

Scholtz G. in press. A plea for ‘genealogical thinking’ in comparative biology – a rebuttal to the reply of Szucsich, Wirkner, and Pass to my article ‘Deconstructing Morphology’. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00 : 1–4. Szucsich et al. (in press) claim that – in contrast to my statement – morphological thinking has to be ‘cladistic.’ Based on this premise, they stress the difference between the relationships among states of characters versus those among structures assigned to the same character state as implemented in numerical cladistic reasoning. SEA claim that my approach to the homology concept only deals with the problem of the integration of various character states into the same character, whereas the necessary relationships among structures assigned to the same state are not covered. Based on this distinction, SEA also criticise the application of similarity in my definition of homology. Furthermore, they address the issue of evolutionarily independent units.     

Potential ‘costs of reproduction’ in a skink: Inter‐ and intrapopulational variation

Reproductive costs are important determinants of reproductive effort in squamate reptiles. Consequently, differences in costs of reproduction between populations of geographically or climatically widespread species are likely to result in different patterns of reproductive effort. In the present study, the effect of pregnancy on sprint speed was examined in a small viviparous skink, Niveoscincus ocellatus (Gray 1845), from two populations at the climatic extremes of its distribution. Decreased sprint speed has the potential to be an important cost of reproduction in this species, through a reduced ability to avoid predation and/or decreased foraging efficiency. Lizards inhabiting the colder site were larger than those from the warmer site and, contrary to predictions from life history theory, had a higher reproductive effort. In both populations, sprint speed was lower in pregnant lizards than in either the same individuals after birth or non‐pregnant control lizards. Within each population, sprint speed was unrelated to the level of reproductive effort of the female in terms of either absolute mass of the reproductive burden or the burden relative to her post‐partum body mass. However, within each population, the mass of the clutch that an individual female was carrying relative to snout–vent length was an important determinant of her sprint speed while pregnant. Thus, within each population, a relatively high reproductive burden may potentially increase costs of reproduction in this species. Despite this relationship and predictions from life history theory suggesting that annual reproductive effort will be lower in populations with a large body size and delayed maturity, it is suggested that a higher reproductive effort at the cold site is possible because they have a higher absolute sprint speed because of their larger size and a relatively higher abundance of cover at the cold site, and differences in predation pressure may alter selective pressures on reproductive investment.