Does egg dispersal occur via the ocean in the stick insect Megacrania tsudai (Phasmida: Phasmatidae)?

Although insects expand their distribution by various ways, generally only the adult phase has been taken into consideration in research on dispersal. In Megacrania tsudai, it has been proposed that eggs are dispersed through seawater. To test this hypothesis, eggs were treated under normal condition (NC) on wet cotton swabs, and marine condition (MC), floating on salt water for 30, 60, 90, and 365 days. In addition, eggs in the NC and MC treatment groups were dissected every 10 days to verify the developmental stage. The hatching rates in the NC and MC treatment groups were not significantly different among the five treatment groups. However, the egg period, time from laying to hatching, in the MC treatment group was significantly longer than that in any other treatment groups. The egg period was lengthened when the floating period on seawater was longer. The time of the start of egg development was similar in the NC and MC treatment groups, but the developmental speed was slower in the MC treatment group. These results support that M. tsudai can expand its distribution by dispersing its eggs through seawater, probably thanks to specific characteristics of eggs that allow their survival when they float in the sea.     

Ultrastructural characterization of antennal sensilla and immunocytochemical localization of a chemosensory protein in Carausius morosus Brünner (Phasmida: Phasmatidae)

The aim of this work was to investigate the olfactory system of the walking stick insect, Carausius morosus. Morphological, ultrastructural and immunocytochemical studies of adult female antennae were conducted by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Extensive cross-section series were made through the last antennal segment to define the cuticular apparatus, wall pore distribution and the number of innervating receptor neurons of each sensillum type. Single-walled wall pore sensilla occur in three subtypes: (i) with 27 or 28 branched receptor neurons, (ii) with two branched neurons and (iii) with one or two unbranched neurons, respectively. Double-walled wall pore sensilla were found in two subtypes with spoke channels, one with four unbranched neurons, the other with two unbranched neurons. One terminal pore sensillum was found, showing two cavities within the hair and being innervated by six sensory cells. Immunocytochemical experiments were performed to show the localization of a 19 kDa soluble protein found in the chemosensory organs of C. morosus. This protein shows an amino acid sequence homologous to the family of chemosensory proteins (CSP). The polyclonal antibody raised against the purified protein (CSP-cmA) showed, for the first time in CSPs, a strong labeling in olfactory sensilla, specifically in the sensillum lymph surrounding the dendritic branches of SW-WP sensilla and in the uninnervated lumen between the two concentric walls of DW-WP type 1 sensilla.     

The flocculation of wine yeasts: biochemical and morphological characteristics inZygosaccharomyces — flocculation inZygosaccharomyces

The floc-forming ability of flocculent strains ofZygosaccharomyces bailii andZ fermentati, isolated from musts, was tested for susceptibility to proteinase and sugar treatments.Z. fermentati was found highly resistant to the proteolytic enzymes tested, whereasZ. baili was only trypsin-resistant.The inhibition of flocculation by sugars distinguished two types: inZ. fermentati flocculation was completely inhibited by mannose, inZ. bailli by various sugars.By SEM observation, the cell surface ofZygosaccharomyces revealed the presence of a column structure, resulting from fusion of vesicles present on the cell surface.     

Isolation and physiological and biochemical characterization of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii C-41 mutant,a superproducer of ζ-carotene

The composition of the carotenes and xanthophylls of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dang. C-41, a mutant of a unicellular green alga and a superproducer of ζ-carotene, was studied. The light-harvesting complexes and a complex of the PS-II reaction center were established to be disrupted in the C-41 mutant. However, the mutant retained a high (up to 46%) photosynthetic activity and the capacity to accumulate chlorophylls and carotenoids (up to 50%). The composition of carotenes was studied, and it was shown that, in contrast to wild-type K(+) cells, which accumulate up to 95% of β-carotene and 5% α-carotene, cells of the C-41 mutant contained 43% β-carotene, 19% β-zeacarotene, and 38% ζ-carotene. The high level of C-41 mutant biomass accumulation made it possible to recommend the mutant as a superproducer of ζ-carotene in phytobiotechnology.     

The cytology,histochemistry, and ultrastructure of the cell types found in the digestive gland of the slug,Agriolimax reticulatus (Müller)

Summary Four cell types have been identified in the digestive glands from light and electron microscope studies. The possible functions of each cell type are discussed.Thin cells are undifferentiated. Calcium cells contain spherules of calcium salts which have a characteristic ultrastructure. Different protein granules are found apically. Digestive cells are present as two distinct forms. One form is believed to be absorbing food material and digesting it intracellularly, and the other form is a secreting cell. Both forms contain green and yellow granules and histochemistry shows these granules to be distinct. Protein granules also occur apically.Excretory cells are distinguished by having a large central vacuole containing excretory granules. Histochemistry shows these granules, like the yellow granules of digestive cells, to be composed mainly of lipofuscin.It is suggested that digestive cells form excretory cells.     

Ontogeny of the digestive system and the profile of proteases in larvae of cachara (Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) and its hybrid (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans × Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum)

The development of the digestive system and digestive proteases was studied in cachara (Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum) and its hybrid (P. reticulatum × Pseudoplatystoma corruscans) during the first 25 days after fertilization. Both groups presented a fast and similar development of the digestive system, and the unspecific alkaline protease profile suggested that the digestive capacity of hybrid larvae is higher than that of cachara after the last half of the studied phase. The activities of trypsin and chymotrypsin were similar and observed since the oocyte. These observations suggested that cachara and its hybrid has similar digestive capacity and digestive system development.     

A biochemical approach to the problem of aging: “Megaproject” on membrane-penetrating ions. The first results and prospects

Antioxidants specifically addressed to mitochondria have been studied for their ability to decelerate aging of organisms. For this purpose, a project has been established with participation of several research groups from Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology and some other Russian research institutes as well as two groups from the USA and Sweden, with support by the "Mitotechnology" company founded by "RAInKo" company (O. V. Deripaska and Moscow State University). This paper summarizes the first results of the project and estimates its prospects. Within the framework of the project, antioxidants of a new type (SkQ) were synthesized comprising plastoquinone (an antioxidant moiety), a penetrating cation, and decane or pentane linker. Using planar bilayer phospholipid membranes, we selected SkQ derivatives with the highest penetrating ability, namely plastoquinonyl-decyl-triphenylphosphonium (SkQ1), plastoquinonyl-decyl-rhodamine 19 (SkQR1), and methylplastoquinonyl-decyl-triphenylphosphonium (SkQ3). Anti- and prooxidant properties of these substances and also of ubiquinone and ubiquinonyl-decyl-triphenylphosphonium (MitoQ) were tested on isolated mitochondria. Micromolar concentrations of cationic quinones are found to be very strong prooxidants, but in lower (sub-micromolar) concentrations they display antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity decreases in the series SkQ1=SkQR1>SkQ3>MitoQ, so the window between the anti- and prooxidant effects is smallest for MitoQ. SkQ1 is rapidly reduced by complexes I and II of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, i.e. it is a rechargeable antioxidant. Extremely low concentrations of SkQ1 and SkQR1 completely arrest the H2O2-induced apoptosis in human fibroblasts and HeLa cells (for SkQ1 C1/2=1.10(-9) M). Higher concentrations of SkQ are required to block necrosis initiated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). In mice, SkQ1 decelerates the development of three types of accelerated aging (progeria) and also of normal aging, and this effect is especially demonstrative at early stages of aging. The same pattern is shown in invertebrates (drosophila and daphnia). In mammals, the effect of SkQs on aging is accompanied by inhibition of development of such age-related diseases as osteoporosis, involution of thymus, cataract, retinopathy, etc. SkQ1 manifests a strong therapeutic action on some already developed retinopathies, in particular, congenital retinal dysplasia. With drops containing 250 nM SkQ1, vision is recovered in 50 of 66 animals who became blind because of retinopathy. SkQ1-containing drops instilled in the early stage of the disease prevent the loss of sight in rabbits with experimental uveitis and restore vision to animals that had already become blind. A favorable effect is also achieved in experimental glaucoma in rabbits. Moreover, the pretreatment of rats with 0.2 nmol SkQ1 per kg body weight significantly decreases the H2O2-induced arrhythmia of the isolated heart. SkQ1 strongly reduces the damaged area in myocardial infarction or stroke and prevents the death of animals from kidney infarction. In p53-/- mice, SkQ1 decreases the ROS level in the spleen cells and inhibits appearance of lymphomas which are the main cause of death of such animals. Thus, it seems reasonable to perform clinical testing of SkQ preparations as promising drugs for treatment of age-related and some other severe diseases of human and animals.     

Pollinator abundance,morphology, and flower visitation rate: analysis of the “quantity” component in a plant-pollinator system

Summary Abundance and flower visitation rate of the pollinators of Lavandula latifolia (Labiatae), an insect-pollinated shrub, were studied over a 6-year period. The objective was to elucidate interspecific patterns in the quantity component of the plant-pollinator interaction. A total of 54 insect taxa are considered in the analyses, including hynenopterans, dipterans and lepidopterans. Most pollinators were comparatively scarce, with a few taxa acounting collectively for the majority of individuals. Pollinators differed broadly in flower visitation rate (0.2–30 flowers/min). Most of this variation was explained by differences in flower handling time (HT). Regardless of proboscis length, hymenopterans had intrinsically shorter handling times than lepidopterans. Within each group, HT decreased exponentially with increasing proboscis length. Abundance and visitation rate were uncorrelated across pollinator taxa. The total number of visits that each pollinator contributed to the plant (NFV) was estimated as the product of abundance x visitation rate. NFV values spanned four orders of magnirade. A small, taxonomically diverse group of species (1 moth, 1 butterfly, 4 bees) accounted for most visits and thus could effectively exert some selection on floral features. Nevertheless, the morphological diversity represented in this group of dominant pollinators probably constrains plant specialization, as they will most likely select for different floral features or in opposing directions on the same traits.     

IRAP — A system for the retrieval and analysis of orthopaedic implant data

An interactive computer system for the storage, retrieval and analysis of standardized clinical and material characterization data associated with orthopaedic implants is described. The system consists basically of four independent modules. The essence of the system centers on the cross-referencing capabilities which are virtually unlimited. The system has been designed for use by non-computer trained personnel.     

Biochemical characterization of digestive α-amylase, α-glucosidase and β-glucosidase in pistachio green stink bug,Brachynema germari Kolenati (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

The pistachio green stink bug, Brachynema germari, has 3–5 generations per year and causes severe damages to pistachio crops in Iran. Physiological digestive processes, such as digestive carbohydrases, can be used to design new strategies in IPM programs for controlling this pest. The enzyme α-amylase digests starch during the initial stage of digestion. Complete breakdown of carbohydrates takes place in the midgut where α- and β-glucosidic activities are highest. Alpha-amylase and α- and β-glucosidase activities were found in the midgut and salivary glands of pistachio green stink bug adults. Overall enzyme activities were significantly higher in the midgut than in salivary glands. The highest α-amylase and α- and β-glucosidase activities were in section v3, whereas the lowest activities were in section v4. V_max was higher and K_m was lower in the midgut than in the salivary glands for these enzymes. In the pistachio green stink bug, the optimal pH was pH 5–6.5 and the optimal temperature was 30 °C to 35 °C for these enzymes. Alpha-amylase activity in the midgut and salivary glands decreased as the concentrations of MgCl₂, EDTA and SDS increased. Enzyme activities in both midgut and salivary glands increased in the presence of NaCl, CaCl₂, and KCl. NaCl had a negative effect on alpha-amylase extracted from salivary glands.     

Into the world of steroids: A biochemical “keep in touch” in plants and animals

Evolution of steroids such as sex hormones and ecdysteroids occurred independently in the animal and plant kingdoms. Plants use phytoecdysteroids (PEs) to control defense interactions with some predators; furthermore, PEs can exert beneficial influence on many aspects of mammalian metabolism. Endocrine disrupting compounds such as the estrogen agonist bisphenol A (BPA) are widespread in the environment, posing a potential hormonal risk to animals and plants. Adverse BPA effects on reproductive development and function are coupled with other toxic effects. BPA bioremediation techniques could be developed by exploiting some tolerant plant species.Key words: androgens, endocrine disrupting compounds, bisphenol A, estrogens, hormone receptors, phytoecdysteroids     

“The tools of the discipline: Biochemists and molecular biologists”: A comment

Conclusion and Issues for Further Investigation This last result leads, rather naturally, to some concluding observations and a series of questions for further investigation. These case studies show that in all of the sites examined, the institutionalization of molecular biology as a discipline was primarily driven by the need to separate groups of practitioners with divergent but overlapping interests within the local context. Thus molecular biology was contingently separated from agricultural or medical biochemistry, virology, work on the physiology of nucleic acids, and so forth for contingent local institutional reasons. This makes it even more pressing to try to understand how molecular biology came to be delimited on a larger scale. How did it come to be a discipline with specific intellectual content (or did it?), including some problems, tools, and practices and excluding others? How did it gain authority as the forefront biological science by the mid-1960s? We need to understand the ways in which the tensions between different practices, projects, aims, understandings of the goals of molecular biology, and so on were resolved, on what scale and in what venues, so that something approximating the political character of a discipline, rather than a federation, was achieved. If these case studies provide a sound starting point, it will nevertheless prove difficult to answer the interconnected questions implicit here satisfactorily.One means of getting at such questions that should prove of considerable interest is to examine carefully the work of those who were widely cited in the papers of the late fifties through the mid-seventies by the people now considered major founders of molecular biology. By studying the contributions of those who are now omitted in the standard histories and recollections, we will gain a clearer sense of the possibilities that were open as molecular biology took shape. It is already widely recognized that the contributions of a number of biochemists have been given short shrift, but (as the example of Ernest Gale in Rheinberger's study illustrates) there are a great many more figures whose line of work were then crucial but who are now overlooked.⁶ To understand both what molecular biology was at the time of its early institutionalization and what is has become, it will be enormously helpful to understand at what point the definition or ideology hardened and the grounds for inclusion and exclusion of individuals and lines of work were reformed. Studies of this sort are appropriate in many other areas as well, of course; in general, they should different histories, political standing, and institutional bases of those disciplines in their national cultures. It is likely (but a matter for investigation!) that such differences influenced the opportunities for introducing new bench practices, if in no other way than by delimiting the niches within which certain practices could be initiated.⁷ And since new practices can fail to achieve their objectives, can transform the direction of work and disciplinary allegiances of their practitioners, can lead to only routine results, or can open up important new vistas, the character of the available niches from which to work can prove to have a strong influence on the direction that new work takes if and when it starts to flourish. A key aspect of this problematic (not yet adequately studied, I believe) is the problem of drawing boundaries between different kinds of work and determining where each should fit among established disciplines and/or within some new construct. To the extent that an international solution is ultimately achieved to such problems, it must surely be achieved in light of initially different ways of dealing with it in different countries.Underlying work of the sort we have been exploring is the thorny problem of how best to contextualize the work being studied. This, I believe, is one of the major historiographic problems that we must face in the history of science. It is by no means a new problem, of course, but a particularization of the age-old problem of the (seeming) overdetermination of historical events. If we deal with local cultures, to understand how they develop and their fate we need to understand their location within larger cultures. But it is utterly unclear how to draw appropriate boundaries on the relevant larger culture(s). As even this brief discussion has shown, institutional cultures, the cultures of sponsoring agencies, the culture of science (or of biological science, physical science, etc., as appropriate), and national cultures all can provide relevant contexts, all can occasionally determine the fate of work undertaken in a particular local context. The potentially intractable problem of delimiting the boundaries of investigation looms large here, but it is one that must be faced explicity if we are to profit fully from the enormously stimulating investigations of local cultures exemplified in the four papers published in this symposium. My own view is that we have no abstract standard available for determining which boundaries are appropriate to a given study, and, indeed, that no single contextualization is adequate to the examination of any given case, but that, nonetheless, we can (at least sometimes) distinguish useful and explanatory delimitations of the larger context from others that prove to be misleading.Against this background, I hope that the four papers published in this special issue will stimulate the readers of the JHB to carry out similar studies—that is, studies that seek to characterize and contextualize local experimental cultures —over a wide range of cases. I also hope that some of those who take up this challenge will deal with the larger questions raised by the need to find a way of balancing different, sometimes competing, contextualizations of such studies. The fact that any given case requires multiple contextualizations, resulting in multifaceted representations no one of which is alone adequate, will surely land us in fascinating, hopefully fruitful and productive, controversies.     

The kinin–kallikrein system: physiological roles,pathophysiology and its relationship to cancer biomarkers

Abstract

The kinin–kallikrein system (KKS) is an endogenous multiprotein cascade, the activation of which leads to triggering of the intrinsic coagulation pathway and enzymatic hydrolysis of kininogens with the consequent release of bradykinin-related peptides. This system plays a crucial role in inflammation, vasodilation, smooth muscle contraction, cardioprotection, vascular permeability, blood pressure control, coagulation and pain. In this review, we will outline the physiology and pathophysiology of the KKS and also highlight the association of this system with carcinogenesis and cancer progression.     

Genomic analysis of immunity in a Urochordate and the emergence of the vertebrate immune system: “waiting for Godot”

Genome-wide sequence analysis in the invertebrate chordate, Ciona intestinalis, has provided a comprehensive picture of immune-related genes in an organism that occupies a key phylogenetic position in vertebrate evolution. The pivotal genes for adaptive immunity, such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II genes, T-cell receptors, or dimeric immunoglobulin molecules, have not been identified in the Ciona genome. Many genes involved in innate immunity have been identified, including complement components, Toll-like receptors, and the genes involved in intracellular signal transduction of immune responses, and show both expansion and unexpected diversity in comparison with the vertebrates. In addition, a number of genes were identified which predicted integral membrane proteins with extracellular C-type lectin or immunoglobulin domains and intracellular immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs) and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs) (plus their associated signal transduction molecules), suggesting that activating and inhibitory receptors have an MHC-independent function and an early evolutionary origin. A crucial component of vertebrate adaptive immunity is somatic diversification, and the recombination activating genes (RAG) and activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) genes responsible for the Generation of diversity are not present in Ciona. However, there are key V regions, the essential feature of an immunoglobulin superfamily VC1-like core, and possible proto-MHC regions scattered throughout the genome waiting for Godot.     

The muscular system of the ovipositor of Spaziphora hydromyzina (Fallén) (Diptera, Scathophagidae)

The structure of the ovipositor sclerites and muscles was investigated in Spaziphora hydromyzina (Diptera, Scathophagidae).     

The Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives: A discourse analysis of stakeholders’ perspectives

In 2015, the European Union’s Birds and Habitats Directives underwent an evaluation in which selected national stakeholders provided their perspectives on the directives’ implementation. Analyzing the views of different stakeholder groups from eight European member states, this study found that these views could be synthesized into three more general perspectives. The first perspective focuses on problems, indicating that these are caused by legislative drawbacks in the directives. The second perspective holds that problems are generated by improper implementation by member states. The third perspective commends the benefits of the directives in face of the existing implementation problems. Interest groups and to a minor extent governmental bodies espoused the first perspective, and environmental non-governmental organizations especially favored the third. The struggle between these three perspectives reflects ongoing debates regarding positive and negative aspects of the directives and possibilities for improving their implementation. We conclude that the relevance and impact of conservation policies should never be seen as self-evident. In order to reach the conservation goals envisaged, continuous efforts are needed to enforce and maintain environmental legislation.     

A Delicate Adjustment: Wallace and Bates on the Amazon and “The Problem of the Origin of Species”

For over a century it has been believed that Alfred Russel Wallace and Henry Walter Bates set out for the Amazon in 1848 with the aim of “solving the problem of the origin of species”. Yet this enticing story is based on only one sentence. Bates claimed in the preface to his 1863 book that Wallace stated this was the aim of their expedition in an 1847 letter. Bates gave a quotation from the letter. But Wallace himself never endorsed or repeated this story. Many writers have acknowledged that this letter still survives. Yet the wording is different from that quoted by Bates and the letter says nothing of an expedition. It is argued that the sentence given by Bates is not a genuine quotation from this or any other Wallace letter but was modified by Bates to promote his own reputation. More significantly, this leads to the conclusion that there was a very sudden and dramatic shift in the way species were thought of and discussed after Darwin’s Origin of species appeared. Something called “the problem of the origin of species” (and similar variants) never occurred before Darwin’s book but exploded in frequency immediately after it. A profound change in how species origins were discussed happened which no one seemed to notice.