Role of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) in assessing disease control in Asian patients with axial spondyloarthritis

Introduction: C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) which are used for assessment of axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) related disease activity have poor specificity and sensitivity. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV) have not been investigated as disease activity markers among Asian AxSpA patients.

Methodology: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in Singapore General Hospital from January 2013 to December 2015 to investigate the role of NLR, PLR and MPV as disease activity markers in AxSpA patients.

Results: The mean age of patients (n?=?122) was 37.0?±?12.5 years old and majority of them were male (n?=?93, 76.2%). No significant differences were found between patients with disease with regards to age, gender, ethnicity, HLAB-27 status, age at onset of diagnosis of AxSpA, duration of disease and comorbidities such as cardiac disease (p?>?0.05).

There were no significant differences in the ESR, NLR, PLR and MPV between the four disease activity groups (p?>?0.05). However, patients with very high disease activity had higher ESR and CRP compared to patients with inactive disease and moderate disease activity (p?Conclusion: NLR, PLR and MPV were not associated with disease activity in Asian AxSpA patients.     

Chromosome plasticity in Ctenomys (Rodentia Octodontidae): chromosome 1 evolution and heterochromatin variation

A chromosome 1 (Cr1) pericentric inversion is described in six of seven species in the genus Ctenomys (tuco-tucos) from Uruguay. The inversion was inferred from G-band analyses of subtelocentric Cr1 hypothesised to be derived from the ancestral metacentric condition. Cr1 varies across species in heterochromatin amount and localisation including a metacentric chromosome without positive C-bands in C. torquatus, a subtelocentric chromosome with heterochromatic short arms in C. rionegrensis, and a subtelocentric chromosome negative after C-banding in five of the species analysed here. Pachytene chromosomes from C. rionegrensis, a species with the highest heterochromatin content, and C. torquatus, one of the species with the lowest heterochromatin content, were analysed in order to assess possible mechanisms of heterochromatin evolution. This analysis revealed the presence of three heterochromatic chromocenters in C. rionegrensis where bivalents converge, while in C. torquatus only one chromocenter was observed. In both species, highly repetitive DNA was observed, localised in chromocenters after “in situ” hybridisation. Heterochromatin associated protein M31 was localised in chromocenters of both species after immuno-detection. The spread of heterochromatin in Ctenomys chromosomes could be produced by chromatin exchanges at the chromocenter level. We propose the exchange of this DNA associated proteins between non-homologous chromosomes in pachytene to be the responsible for the spread of heterochromatin through the karyotypes of species like C. rionegrensis     

La vegetazione degli Stagni di Ossero (Cherso)

Summary

The Author has studied the vegetation of the Ossero pools (the large and the small one) analising especially the formation which are characteristic of them.

In the level partion of the large pool the following formations — starting from the beach — are to be noted: Salicornia herbacea L., Hordeum marinum Huds., Inula viscosa All. and Artemisia coerulescens L.

The Salicornia herbacea L. formation is sensibly homogencus in that portion of its area in which, owing to the high saline concentration of the soil, no other pecies is able to grow. In the remaining portion with a lower saline concentration, other species accompagny Salicornia herbacea.

The Hordeun marinum Huds. formation comprises that portion of the pool which, being but little above the sea level, is invaded by high tides during the winter time. The saline concentation of the soil is here lower than in the area of the Salicornia herbacea formation. On the sea side Hordeum marinum is mixed to Salicornia herbacea; on the opposite side it accompanies annual species with brief life cycle.

The Inula viscosa All. formation which is generally characteristic of the newly formed ground in the Ossero pound is only occasional and consequently unstable.

Last of all the Artemisia coerulescens formation is much more stable than that of Inula viscosa, although established in a ground of similar origin, but with a greater humus content.

Of special interest are two small lakes which are situated on the border of the large pool. Thir vegetation is composed by typically laky species.

The author compares the succession of formation described above with that of the other coast marsh in the mediterranean region, especially at Campora, Arbe (see Morton 1915).

Here is, however, the succession of formations not so regular as in the large pool of Ossero. Nevertheless, both Campora and Ossero are to be classified as « Formation des Meeresstrandes» (Morton).

Crypsis aculeata Ait., Hordeum marinum Huds., and Medicago litoralis Rohde found at Ossero were not known for the flora of Cherso.

The vegetation of the small pool at Ossero (which only rarely invaded by the sea water) does not show the regular succession of formations which is typical of the large pool it comprises two main groups of species, namely: 1) those living between the beach and the pool, and 2) those extending from the pool to the inland.

Some species present in the large pool (among them Crypsis aculeata, Hordeum marinum, Medicago litoralis) are not represented in the flora of the small pool and vice versa.     

Synthesis of Uridylyl (3′-5′) Uridine Derivatives Containing 5-(Methylamino-Methyl) Uridine as A Modified Nucleoside Found from E. COLI Minor tRNAArg

Abstract

5-(Methylaminomethyl)uridine-containing uridylyl (3′-5′) uridine derivatives (14, 26, and 29), which were the original and modified sequences corresponding to the first letter (position 34) and the 5′-upper ribonucleoside (position 33) in the anticodon loop of minor tRNA^Arg, have been synthesized via 5-(methylaminomethyl)uridine derivatives (4 and 24).     

Flora Delle Acque Circostanti L'Isola Di Pianosa (Is. Tremiti)

Abstract

The marine flora of the Isle of Pianosa (Isles Tremiti). – The little Isle Pianosa (Middle Adriatic) presents an algal flora typical for clear, deep seas. Its main components are here described. Endolithic flora on calcareous rocks has been particularly well examined.     

Trilobites and minute ovoid pellets in a burrow (Ordovician,llanvirnian, Czech Republic)

Old collections from the Ordovician of the Barrandian area (Czech Republic) have yielded a probable vertical burrow that contains several dozen specimens of the pliomerid trilobite Placo‐paria (Placoparia) cambriensis Hicks, some of them enrolled. The fill of the burrow (classified as ?Skolithos isp.) also contains minute ovoid pellets corresponding to the ichnotaxon Tomaculum cf. problematicum Groom. The enrollment of a portion of the trilobite exoskeletons might reflect a defensive response. The pellets may be interpreted as fecal material or, less probably, as eggs. The exoskeletons and the pellets might have been mechanically trapped into the open burrow, or their concentration may have resulted from biological relationships between the tracemaker and the trilobites.     

La Vegetazione e L'ecologia Di Pratofiorito (Appennino Settentrionale)

Abstract

Ecology and vegetazion of mount Pratofiorito. — The author examines position, climatic conditions, geological nature and vegetation of Mount « Pratofiorito » in the Tuscan Appennine.

Mount Pratofiorito is a residue of secondary rocks and derived soil surrounded by tertiary and quaternary rocks and soil.

Its vegetations is actually constituted by grass-land and so it differs-from that of the neihbouring mountains which comprises the flora has been made. This list was then comparend with spades found in the adjacent beech and helm-oak zones.

From these comparisons one can deduce thath the meadow of « Graminaceae » and « Cyperaceae » growing on Mount Pratofiorito may bed considered as a grass-land resulting from the degradation of an arboreal zone, problably from a beech-wood.     

Caryological analysis of South American species of Vernonia (Vernonieae,Asteraceae)

Abstract

In the present study 16 populations belonging to 13 species of the genus Vernonia Schreb. were examined cytologically. In total, six different chromosome numbers, which represent three basic numbers: x = 10, x = 16 and x = 17, were found. These results include the first chromosome number reports for the following four species: V. lanifera Cristóbal & Dematt. (2n = 2x = 32), V. membranacea Gardner (2n = 2x = 34), V. salzmannii DC. (2n = 2x = 20) and V. scabrifoliata Hieron. (2n = 2x = 128). Besides, a new chromosome number was found in V. saltensis Hieron. (2n = 2x = 32), for which only tetraploid populations have been previously recorded. The data obtained in this work, along with the information available from the literature, show that the genus Vernonia in South America is heterogeneous with basic chromosome numbers that range between x = 9 and x = 19. These numbers suggest that a combination of polyploidy and aneuploidy has played an important role in the evolution of the genus.     

A redescription of the antitropical pufferfish Arothron firmamentum (Plectognathi: Tetraodontidae)

Abstract

Arothron firmamentum (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) is redescribed; it is returned to genus Arothron Muller, 1841 on the basis of osteology, nostril structure, and lateral line pattern. Tetrodon gillbanksii Clark is returned to synonymy with A. firmamentum. Known latitudinal distribution limits extend between approximately 25°-37°N and 27°-43°S. Gene pool reinforcement between both hemispheres, if not still occurring, may have been by means of isothermic submergence.     

First pollen record for Ancyloscelis apiformes (Apidae: Emphorini) in Central Amazon

Abstract

The first pollen study for the solitary bee Ancyloscelis apiformes (Emphorini) in a nest aggregation in the Central Amazon was made in October 2012 at the Sucupira apiary in east Manaus, Amazonas, at 03° 00? 05″ S, 59° 51? 05″ W. A total of 15 samples/nests (N1–N15) were analysed, including intact pollen loads (stored inside the nest) and post-emergence residues, which were acetolysed and mounted in glycerine gelatin. From each sample, 500 pollen grains were counted to determine the pollen frequencies and diversity (H′) and evenness (J′) indices. The most representative pollen types were Bonamia ferruginea (N1 = 95.6% and N2 = 96.00%) and the Ipomoea (N3 = 96.40%), both of which belong to the Convolvulaceae. In addition, Byrsonima crispa (N10 = 93.40%) and Malpighia glabra (N7 = 90.20% and N9 = 97.60%), representatives of the Malpighiaceae, were classified as temporary specialisation events with frequencies above 90%. In this study, A. apiformes, which is considered an oligolectic bee species, presented a polylectic tendency since it collected large percentages of pollen types from plants in distinct families that were not phylogenetically related.     

The role of environmental factors for the composition of microbial communities of saline lakes in the Novosibirsk region (Russia)

Background

Nothing is currently known about microbial composition of saline lakes of the Novosibirsk region and its dependence on physical-chemical parameters of waters. We studied the structure of microbial communities of saline lakes of the Novosibirsk region and the effect of physical-chemical parameters of waters on microbial communities of these lakes.

Results

According to the ion content, the lakes were classified either as chloride or chloride-sulfate types. Water salinity ranges from 4.3 to 290 g L⁻¹. Many diverse microbial communities were found. Filamentous and colonial Cyanobacteria of the genera Scytonema, Aphanocapsa, and/or filamentous Algae dominated in littoral communities. Spatial and temporal organization of planktonic microbial communities and the quantities of Archaea and Bacteria were investigated using fluorescent in situ hybridization. We have found that the dominant planktonic component is represented by Archaea, or, less frequently, by Bacteria. Various phylogenetic groups (Bacteria, Archaea, Algae, and Cyanobacteria) are nonuniformly distributed. The principal component analysis was used to detect environmental factors that affect microorganism abundance. We found the principal components responsible for 71.1 % of the observed variation. It was demonstrated that two-block partial least squares was a better method than principal component analysis for analysis of the data. We observed general relationships between microbial abundance and water salinity.

Conclusions

We have performed the first-ever study of the structure of the microbial communities of eleven saline lakes in the Novosibirsk region along with their physical-chemical parameters of waters. Our study demonstrates that saline lakes in the Novosibirsk region contain a unique microbial communities that may become a prolific source of microorganisms for fundamental and applied studies in various fields of ecology, microbiology, geochemistry, and biotechnology, and deserve further metagenomic investigation.

     

Structural Model of the HIV-1 Tat(46–58)-TAR Complex

Abstract

The trans-activator protein (Tat) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1>) binds to an uridine-rich bulge of an RNA target (TAR; trans-activation responsive element) predominantly via its basic sequence domain. The structure of the Tat(46–58)-TAR complex has been determined by a novel modeling approach relying on structural information about one crucial arginine residue and crosslink data. The strategy described here solely uses this experimental data without additional “modeling” assumptions about the structure of the complex in order to avoid human bias. Model building was performed in a fashion similar to structure calculations from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-spectroscopic data using restrained molecular dynamics.

The resulting set of structures of Tat(46–58) in its complex with TAR reveals that all models have converged to a common fold, showing a backbone root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 1.36Å. Analysis of the calculated structures suggests that HIV-1 Tat forms a hairpin loop in its complex with TAR that shares striking similarity to the hairpin formed by the structure of the bovine immunodeficiency virus Tat protein after TAR binding as determined by NMR studies. The outlined approach is not limited to the Tat-TAR complex modeling, but is also applicable to all molecular complexes with sufficient biochemical and biophysical data available.     

La vegetazione degli stagni della zona di Olbia (Sardegna nord-orientale)

Abstract

Vegetation of the ponds in the zone of Olbia (northeast Sardinia). – The present paper contains a study on the vegetation of the ponds and marshes in the neighbourhood of Olbia. The following well determined associations have been ascertained: Chaetomorpho-Ruppietum, Salicornietum fruticosae, Arthrocnemeto-Limoniastretum monopetali, Juncetum maritimi, Scirpetum maritimi, Caricetum divisae, Schoeneto-Plantaginetum crassifoliae. Furthermore, some other consociations have been observed (with: Pholiurus incurvas and Triglochin bulbosum; Juncus subulatus; Scirpus setaceus and Spergularia rubra; Agropyrum elongatum and Spartina juncea).

The authors have also taken into consideration the present distribution of the vegetation in relation to the modifications due to the fact that this area has been reclaimed.     

Is the variation of floral elaiophore size in two species of Stigmaphyllon (Malpighiaceae) dependent on interaction with pollinators?

Background: Intraspecific variations in floral traits of species over its geographic range can be associated with differences in pollinator assemblages and/or with environmental conditions.

Aims: We evaluated the area of elaiophores in different populations of Stigmaphyllon bonariense (n = 9) and S. jatrophifolium (n = 6), and we hypothesised a marked reduction in their size towards their southern limits of distribution, associated with different oil-collecting bee assemblages.

Methods: Area of elaiophores was calculated and we carried out linear correlations with floral size, pollinators, visitation rate and pollinator size along the latitudinal gradient of the plants’ distributions. Moreover, we examined the relative size relationships using allometric analyses, to verify this reduction.

Results: Floral elaiophore area decreased with latitude. However, for S. bonariense we observed an allometric reduction in elaiophore area with respect to floral size, while for S. jatrophifolium an isometric reduction was found. In both species, pollinator richness and visitation rate did not diminish with latitude, but pollinator size for S. bonariense varied.

Conclusions: Our results show a reduction in the size of elaiophores in both species along their distribution range, with dissimilar tendencies, suggesting that these species may have different selection pressures that cause variation of their phenotypic traits.     

Morphological study of the reproductive system and ovarian growth of the univoltine bamboo borer,Omphisa fuscidentalis (Hampson, 1896) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

ABSTRACT

The female reproductive system and protein deposition in the ovaries during development have never been examined in the bamboo borer Omphisa fuscidentalis Hampson. The aim of this study was thus to study the morphology of the female reproductive system of each stage of development. The female reproductive system of the borer consists of a pair of ovary, oviduct and accessory glands. Each ovary is composed of four polytrophic ovarioles that connect to lateral oviducts, fused with a common oviduct. The size of the ovary in diapausing larvae for 9 months was determined. The length and width of the ovaries were the smallest in September larvae (0.343 ± 0.03 and 0.071 ± 0.01 mm, respectively). The ovaries were the largest during ovarian development in May (0.752 ± 0.08 mm long and 0.084 ± 0.01 wide). Additionally, ovarian size was significantly larger in adults than in pupae. The ovarian protein concentration of larvae in May was 0.59 ± 0.06 mg/ml and increased to 16.61 ± 7.5 and 37.42 ± 5.5 mg/ml in pupae (June) and adults (July), respectively. The results showed ovarian development in all life stages of this holometabolous insect, which has a longer life cycle than other lepidopterans.

Abbreviation: TEM: transmission electron microscope     

Resistance of the alga Spermatozopsis acidophila Kalina (Chlorophyta,Volvocales) to heavy metals

Abstract

The toxic effects of 14 chemical elements (prevalently heavy metals) on the alga Spermatozopsis acidophila Kalina (Volvocales, Polyblepharidaceae) have been investigated.

The results obtained show a high resistance to heavy metals, particularly to Cu, in comparison with data found in literature on other algae.

This phenomenon might be interpreted as a consequence of evolutionary adaptation to highly acid environments.