Species-specific nuclear and chloroplast single nucleotide polymorphisms to distinguish Picea glauca, P. mariana and P. rubens

 Picea rubens (red spruce) and P. mariana (black spruce) are closely related species which are difficult to differentiate morphologically. They are sympatric with P. glauca (white spruce) in the northern portion of their ranges. In order to identify potential interspecific polymorphisms, the chloroplast trnK intron and rpl33-psaJ-trnP region were sequenced, and the nuclear-encoded ITS region of the rDNA repeat was partially sequenced. Thirteen chloroplast and 12 nuclear candidate interspecific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. The species-specificity of several SNPs was determined by surveying DNAs amplified from trees representing range-wide provenance tests; these included 46 red spruce from 11 provenances, 84 black spruce from 30 provenances and 90 white spruce from 22 provenances. Two SNPs (1 chloroplast and 1 nuclear), which distinguish black spruce from red and white spruce, were consistent among 96–100% of the trees surveyed. Five SNPs (4 chloroplast and 1 nuclear), which distinguish white spruce from red and black spruce, were consistent among 100% of surveyed trees. These species-specific SNPs were used to identify anonymous spruce samples in a blind test, and their utility for small amounts of tissue, as little as single needles, was demonstrated. Scoring these SNPs is much less labor intensive than previous molecular methods for taxa differentiation (restriction fragment length polymorphisms or random amplified polymorphic DNAs), therefore they can be applied to large population studies. Received: 16 December 1998 / Accepted: 5 January 1999     

Occurrence and genetics of black‐eyed migratory locusts,Locusta migratoria (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Black‐eyed Locusta migratoria appeared in albino locusts as a result of crossing between a short‐winged strain originating from Tsushima Island, Japan, and an albino strain originating from Okinawa Island. The black eye trait was recessive to the white eye trait because the crosses between black‐ and white‐eyed albino locusts produced only individuals with white eyes in the F₁ generation. In the F₂ generation, black‐ and white‐eyed individuals appeared in a ratio of 1:3, indicating that the black eye trait was controlled by a simple Mendelian unit. The black eye trait showed no genetic association with other traits including wing morph, adult body dimensions and classical morphometric ratios such as hind femur length / head width and forewing length / hind femur length.     

The effect of surface colour on the formation of marine micro and macrofouling communities

The effect of substratum colour on the formation of micro- and macro fouling communities was investigated. Acrylic tiles, painted either black or white were covered with transparent sheets in order to ensure similar surface properties. All substrata were exposed to biofouling at 1?m depth for 40?d in the Marina Bandar al Rowdha (Muscat, Sea of Oman). Studies were conducted in 2010 over a time course of 5, 10 and 20?d, and in 2012 samples were collected at 7, 14 and 21?d. The densities of bacteria on the black and white substrata were similar with the exception of day 10, when the black substrata had a higher abundance than white ones. Pyrosequencing via 454 of 16S rRNA genes of bacteria from white and black substrata revealed that Alphaproteobacteria and Firmicutes were the dominant groups. SIMPER analysis demonstrated that bacterial phylotypes (uncultured Gammaproteobacteria, Actibacter, Gaetbulicola, Thalassobius and Silicibacter) and the diatoms (Navicula directa, Navicula sp. and Nitzschia sp.) contributed to the dissimilarities between communities developed on white and black substrata. At day 20, the highest amount of chlorophyll a was recorded in biofilms developed on black substrata. SIMPER analysis showed that Folliculina sp., Ulva sp. and Balanus amphitrite were the major macro fouling species that contributed to the dissimilarities between the communities formed on white and black substrata. Higher densities of these species were observed on black tiles. The results emphasise the effect of substratum colour on the formation of micro and macro fouling communities; substratum colour should to be taken into account in future studies.     

Racial Differences in the Tracking of Childhood BMI to Adulthood

Objective: The possibility that there are racial differences in the patterns of BMI (kilograms per meter squared) change throughout life has not been examined. For example, the high prevalence of obesity among black women could result from a higher prevalence of obesity among black girls or because normal‐weight black girls experience larger BMI increases in adolescence or adulthood than do their white counterparts. Therefore, we examined the tracking of childhood BMI into adulthood in a biracial (36% black) sample. Research Methods and Procedures: Five‐ to 14‐year‐old children (2392) were followed for (mean) 17 years. Childhood overweight was defined as BMI ≥ 95th percentile, and adult obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m². Results: The tracking of childhood BMI differed between whites and blacks. Among overweight children, 65% of white girls vs. 84% of black girls became obese adults, and predictive values among boys were 71% (whites) vs. 82% (blacks). These racial differences reflected contrasting patterns in the rate of BMI change. Although the initial BMI of black children was not higher than that of white children, BMI increases with age were larger among black girls and overweight black boys than among their white counterparts. In contrast, relatively thin (BMI < 50th percentile) white boys were more likely to become overweight adults than were their black counterparts. Discussion: These findings emphasize the black/white differences in BMI changes with age. Because of the adult health consequences of childhood‐onset obesity, early prevention should be given additional emphasis.     

777. PASSIFLORA TRANSVERSA

Passiflora transversa Masters, considered by Killip to be a synonym of P. biflora Lam., is reinstated at species rank. It is here illustrated in colour and with black and white line drawings. Its history, distribution, similarities to related species and cultivation are discussed.     

The adaptive significance of alpine melanism in the butterfly Parnassius phoebus F. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Summary The adaptive significance of alpine melanism, the tendancy for insects to become darker with increased elevation and latitude, was investigated using the butterfly Parnassius phoebus. The effects on temperature dependent activity of five components of overall wing melanism, as well as size, were examined. The components of wing melanism examined were the transparency of the basal hindwing and distal fore-wing areas, the width of the black patch in the basal hind-wing area and the proportion of black to white scales in that area, and the proportion of the distal fore-wing covered by predominantly black scaling.The body temperature of dead specimens was correlated with air temperature, solar radiation, the width of the black patch at the base of the wings, and the proportion of black to white scales at the base of the wings. The minimum air temperatures and solar radiation levels required for initiation of flight did not vary with wing melanism of P. phoebus, in contrast to the results found for Colias butterflies by Roland (1982). However, under environmental conditions suitable for flight initiation, males with a higher proportion of black to white scales in the basal area of the hind-wing, and wider basal black patches, spent a greater proportion of time in flight at low air temperatures and low insolation. Increased basal wing melanism was also associated with increased movement of males within a population. In contrast, melanism in the distal area of the wings has no effect on activities which are dependant on body temperature. The amount of time spent feeding did not vary with differences in wing melanism. I suggest that in dorsal basking, slow-flying butterflies (Parnassius) basal wing color affects body temperature primarily during flight (rather than while basking), such that butterflies with darker wing bases cool down less rapidly because they absorb more solar radiation during flight.     

Aedes albopictus oviposits with other Aedes species in artificial oviposition cups: a case study in Knox County,Tennessee, U.S.A.

Interspecific associations between two mosquito species can lead to effects such as competition, species displacement, and species stability. To better understand Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and other Aedes species, we monitored eggs in artificial oviposition cups (ovitraps) within Knox County, TN, U.S.A., during the 2016 and 2017 mosquito seasons. In 2016, one black and one white ovitrap were placed at 18 sites for 21 weeks, while in 2017 black and white ovitraps baited with grass‐infused or deionized water were placed at 11 sites for nine weeks. Eggs were identified to species and resulting counts were used to determine the degree of interspecific association using Cole's coefficients (C₇) and the degree of heterogeneity across space and time using generalized linear mixed models (GLMM). Here, Aedes mosquitoes are generally ovipositing in black cups with grass‐infused water, and Ae. albopictus eggs co‐occurred with other Aedes species more often than would be expected. Finding a positive significant interspecific association between Ae. albopictus and other Aedes eggs suggests that methods used to control Ae. albopictus may also control other Aedes mosquitoes. Finding that Ae. albopictus co‐occurs with other Aedes mosquitoes warrants additional research to evaluate outcomes associated with co‐occurrence within the study area.     

Ethnic Differences in the Responsiveness of Adipocyte Lipolytic Activity to Insulin

Objective: The goal of this study was to quantify differences in lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity in black and white subjects to explain ethnic clinicopathological differences in type 2 diabetes. Research Methods and Procedures: The in vitro lipolytic activity of adipocytes isolated from obese black and white women was measured in the presence of insulin and isoproterenol. Insulin resistance was assessed in vivo using the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique. Results: Fasting plasma levels of insulin and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) in black and white women were 67 ± 5 pM vs. 152 ± 20 pM (p < 0.01) and 863 ± 93 μM vs. 412 ± 34 μM (p < 0.01), respectively. Euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp studies showed that obese black subjects were more insulin‐resistant than their white counterparts (glucose infusion rates: 1.3 ± 0.2 vs. 2.2 ± 0.3 mg/kg per min; p < 0.05). Isolated adipocytes from white women were more responsive to insulin than those from black women with 0.7 nM insulin causing a 55 ± 4% inhibition of isoproterenol‐stimulated lipolysis compared with 27 ± 10% in black women (p < 0.05). Discussion: The low responsiveness of adipocyte lipolytic activity to insulin in black women in the presence of a relative insulinopenia may account for the high plasma NEFA levels seen in these women, which may, in turn, account for their higher in vivo insulin resistance. High NEFA levels may also contribute to the low insulin secretory activity observed in the obese black females. These data suggest that the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes within the black obese community is strongly influenced by their adipocyte metabolism.     

On the distribution of the time required to remove white balls from an URN

Balls are removed one-at-a-time at equal time intervals from an urn initially containingw ₀ white balls and a large number b of black balls and each black or white ball is immediately replaced by a black ball. The distribution of the number of white balls remaining aftert iterations (under certain limiting operations) is taken from the literature. The problem is to use this result to find the time required to remove a fixed number of white ballsw ₁ from the urn. We then find the mean and variance of this distribution and also look at the special case whenw ₁ =w ₀.     

The Body Mass Index-Mortality Relationship in White and African American Women

Objective : To examine the association of body mass index to all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in white and African American women. Research methods and procedures : Women who were members of the American Cancer Society Prevention Study I were examined in 1959 to 1960 and then followed 12 years for vital status. Data for this analysis were from 8,142 black and 100,000 white women. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from reported height and weight. Associations were examined using Cox proportional hazards modeling with some analyses stratified by smoking (current or never) and educational status (less than complete high school or high school graduate). Results : There was a significant interaction between ethnicity and BMI for both all-cause (p<0.05) and CVD mortality (p<<0.001). BMI (as a continuous variable) was associated with all-dause mortality in white women in all four groups defined by smoking and education. In black women with less than a high school education, there were no significant associations between BMI mortality. For high school-educated black women, there was a significant association between BMI and all-cause mortality. Among never smoking women with at least a high school education, models using the lowest BMI as the reference indicated a 40% higher risk of all-cause mortality at a BMI of 35.9 in black women vs. 27.3 in white women. Discussion : The impact of BMI on mortality was modified by educational level in black women; however, BMI was a less potent risk factor in black women than in white women in the same category of educational status.     

Maternal Social Disadvantage and Newborn Telomere Length in Archived Dried Blood Spots from the Michigan Neonatal Biobank

Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Short telomere length is associated with morbidity and mortality among adults and may mark the biological impact of social experiences. Using archived dried blood spots from the Michigan Neonatal Biobank, this study examined markers of maternal social disadvantage (educational attainment, receipt of public assistance, marital status, and race/ethnicity) from linked birth certificates as predictors of telomere length at birth in a sample of 192 singleton neonates born to non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, and Latina mothers aged 20–35 years. Consistent with two recent studies in newborns, but counter to the idea that maternal social disadvantage is associated with shorter offspring telomere length, we found that infants born to black mothers had longer telomeres than those born to white mothers (b = 0.12, SE = 0.06, p = .05). However, black/white differences in newborn telomere length varied by receipt of public assistance. Among newborns whose mothers received WIC and/or Medicaid, there were no significant black/white differences in telomere length (b = 0.09, SE = 0.08, p = .25). In contrast, among those whose mothers did not receive public assistance—just 6 out of 69 infants born to black mothers versus 41 out of 69 infants born to white mothers—we found that babies born to black mothers had longer telomere length than babies born to white mothers (b = 0.37, SE = 0.16, p = .03). The interaction between black race/ethnicity and receipt of public assistance did not reach the conventional threshold for statistical significance (b = ?0.22, SE = 0.15, p = .13), suggesting that this finding may be due to chance. No other markers of maternal social disadvantage were related to infant telomere length. Although replication of these results in a larger sample with more infants born to black mothers with relatively high socioeconomic status is needed, this study offers preliminary support for the hypothesis that race/ethnic differences in newborn telomere length depend on social context.     

The chorion ultrastructure of ova of Lophius spp.

The chorion surface ultrastructure of unfertilized eggs of black anglerfish Lophius budegassa and white anglerfish Lophius piscatorius was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Species‐specific differences were observed.     

拟环纹豹蛛雄蛛触肢上黑白相间毛饰物的功能

狼蛛科雄蛛附肢上多样化的饰装往往与求偶行为相偶联,这些特殊的饰装通常被认为是雌性选择的结果。拟环纹豹蛛Pardosa pseudoannulata,属狼蛛科豹蛛属,雄蛛触肢胫节密被白毛,跗舟密被黑毛,具有典型的性二型现象;同时,只有成熟的雄蛛才展现触肢黑白相间的毛饰物。推测拟环纹豹蛛雄蛛触肢这种黑白相间的毛饰物可能在物种识别中具重要作用。在室内我们拟通过涂抹操作对拟环纹豹蛛雄蛛触肢黑白相间毛饰物的功能进行分析。实验分为4组,分别是对照组(A组,雄蛛不做任何处理)、雄蛛触肢白色胫节全部涂成黑色(B组)、雄蛛触肢黑色跗舟全部涂成白色(C组)和雄蛛触肢的黑色跗舟被涂成黑色(D组),然后采用雌雄配对进行求偶交配行为测定。实验结果表明,B组雄蛛的交配成功率显著低于A、C和D组的雄蛛,而后3组雄蛛的交配成功率无显著差异。相反,B组雄蛛被雌蛛相食百分率显著高于其它3组。可见拟环纹豹蛛雄蛛触肢上黑白相间毛饰物,尤其是其胫节上的白色饰物在雌蛛种间识别中起重要作用。     

Toward an Understanding of Health Services Use in Women with Binge Eating Disorder

Objectives : This study examined health services use in community samples of 102 white and 60 black women with binge eating disorder (BED), 164 white and 85 black healthy comparison women, and 86 white and 21 black women with a noneating Axis I psychiatric disorder. Research Methods and Procedures : Participants were matched on age, ethnicity, and education and were asked about their use of emergency room visits, outpatient physician visits for medical care, outpatient psychotherapy visits, and days spent in the hospital over the previous 12 months. Total health services use was computed. Results : There were no between‐group differences in outpatient physician visits or inpatient hospital days. Relative to healthy comparison women, women with BED and women with other Axis I disorders had increased total health services use, psychotherapy visits, and emergency department visits. Relative to women with noneating Axis I disorders, women with BED had less use of psychotherapy visits. Although obese white women were more likely to report emergency department visits than obese black women were, nonobese white women were less likely to report emergency department visits than nonobese black women were. Discussion : That health services use by women with BED compared more with that of women with other Axis I disorders than with that of healthy women suggested that BED has clinical significance and is not benign in terms of its impact on the health care system. It appeared, however, that despite the availability of effective treatments, few women with BED received psychotherapy.     

The effect of environmental colour on the growth,metabolism, physiology and skin pigmentation of the carnivorous freshwater catfish Lophiosilurus alexandri

The growth, physiology and skin pigmentation of pacamã Lophiosilurus alexandri juveniles were evaluated in an experiment using different tank colours (white, yellow, green, blue, brown and black) over an 80 day period. The tank colours did not cause significant differences to final body mass, total length, survival rate, carcass composition (moisture, crude protein, ash, ether extract, calcium, phosphorus, energy), or to plasma protein, triglyceride and cholesterol values. Haematocrit values, however, were highest for fish kept in white tanks (ANOVA P < 0·05), while the greatest haemoglobin levels were recorded for fish kept in blue and brown tanks (P < 0·01). The concentrations of cortisol (P < 0·001) and glucose (P < 0·01) were the most in fish in the black tanks. Tank colour affected skin pigmentation significantly, with fish in white tanks having the highest values of L* (brightness) and the lowest values in blue and black tanks. L*, however, decreased in all treatments throughout the experiment. C*_ab increased significantly over the course of the experiment in fish kept in white tanks. Similar increases of C*_ab were recorded in the other treatments but to a lesser extent. The use of black tanks during the cultivation of L. alexandri caused stress and should be avoided. Cultivation in white and yellow tanks produced individuals with a pale skin colour, while cultivation in blue and black tanks resulted in juveniles with a darker and more pigmented skin.     

MELANIN AND URATE ACT TO PREVENT ULTRAVIOLET DAMAGE IN THE INTEGUMENT OF THE SILKWORM,BOMBYX mori

The phenomenon that epidermal cells under the white stripes rather than black stripes contain many uric acid granules was found in larvae of several Lepidopteran species. However, the biological mechanism of this phenomenon is still unknown. In the present study, we take advantage of several silkworm (Bombyx mori) body color mutant strains to investigate the deposition patterns and biological mechanism of urate and melanin in the integuments of these mutant larvae. By imaging with transmission electron microscope, we found that there were some melanin granules in the larval cuticle in black body color mutant plain Black (p^B), but not in background strain plain (p) with white larval body color. In contrast, the larval epidermal cell of background strain had much more urate granules than that of black one. Furthermore, the uric acid content under the black stripes was significantly lower than that under the white stripes in a single individual of mottled stripe (p^S) with black and white stripes in each segment. Ultraviolet A (UVA) exposure experiments showed that the distinct oily (od) mutant individuals with translucent larval integument were more sensitive to the UVA damage than black body color mutant and background strain without any pigmentation in the larval cuticle. This is likely due to the absence of melanin granules and few urate granules in the integument of od mutant. Thus, both the deposited melanin granules in the cuticle and the abundant urate granules in the epidermis cells constitute effective barriers for the silkworm to resist UVA‐induced damage.     

Peptide‐YY Levels after a Fat Load in Black and White Women

Objective: To determine whether basal plasma peptide‐YY (PYY) levels in overweight, middle‐aged black women are different from those of white women of similar BMI and age and ascertain whether there is a difference between the two groups in plasma PYY levels in response to a liquid high fat load. Research Methods and Procedures: Using a commercial radioimmunoassay kit, the concentration of PYY was measured at baseline and at 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours after ingesting a fatty liquid meal (86.5% of the calories from fat) in 12 black and 12 white women who were matched for age and BMI. Results: PYY levels (picograms per milliliter) at baseline and at every other time‐point of the test meal were significantly lower in the black than in the white group. In addition, the change in PYY concentration from baseline was lower in the black than in the white group only at 8 hours after the meal. Discussion: The lower baseline level and the blunted PYY response of the black women to the fat load indicated that this signal for appetite suppression was reduced, which, in turn, might contribute to the enhanced obesity of the black women.     

Differential expression of MC1R gene in Liaoning Cashmere goats with different coat colors

Melanocyte stimulating hormone receptor (MC1R) has been known as a regulator of eumelanin and phaeomelanin production in the melanocytes, and MC1R mutations causing coat color changes are known in many vertebrates; however, there are no research reports about the differentially expression of MC1R gene and its coding protein in Cashmere goats with different coat color. We examined the presence of MC1R distribution and MC1R protein and gene expression in the white Cashmere goats and black Cashmere goats, respectively; q-PCR, Western blot and immunhistochemical analysis showed that the expression of the MC1R gene in the black Cashmere goats was 3.39 fold more than the white ones (p?<?0.01), and Cashmere goats with black genotype had significantly higher (2.03, p?<?0.01) MC1R protein expression than white genotype in the all investigated samples. Moreover, all Cashmere goats with different coat color available for immunhistochemical analysis showed either lower (white Cashmere goats) or higher (black Cashmere goats) expression of the MC1R protein; these findings suggested that it had a relationship between the MC1R and the coat color of Cashmere goats. That could lay the foundation for the further research of the MC1R and coat color controllability regulation of the Cashmere goats.     

Primulina melanofilamenta sp. nov. (Gesneriaceae) from Guangxi,China

A new species of Gesneriaceae, Primulina melanofilamenta Ying Liu & F. Wen from Guangxi, China, is illustrated and described. It is morphologically distinct from the most similar species P. eburnea and P. atroglandulosa by the color of the corolla, dark purplish black filaments, anthers backed with a beard of white hairs, the length of staminodes and the hairs of styles. The somatic chromosome number of P. melanofilamenta is also reported as 2n = 36.     

The association of oxidative stress with arterial compliance and vascular resistance in a bi-ethnic population: the SABPA study

A loss of arterial elasticity increases the risk for cardiovascular events. Oxidative injury to the vessel wall may be one of the underlying mechanisms influencing arterial elasticity. We compared markers of oxidative stress, antioxidant capacity, inflammation, windkessel compliance (Cwk), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) in black and white South Africans. Associations of arterial compliance and vascular resistance (as indicated by TPR) with oxidative stress, antioxidant capacity and inflammatory markers were also investigated. We included 146 black and 181 white men and women. Measurements from the Finometer device were used to calculate Cwk and TPR while thiobarbituric acids reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were analyzed in serum or urine samples. Black participants had higher TPR, TBARS, GPx, CRP, and IL-6 levels (all p?≤?0.018) and lower Cwk (both p?≤?0.013) compared to white participants. Multiple regression analyses revealed independent associations of Cwk (β?=??0.27, p?=?0.015) and TPR (β?=?0.18, p?=?0.018) with TBARS in black participants, while Cwk (β?=??0.10; p?=?0.019) and TPR (β?=?0.13, p?=?0.047) were independently associated with GPx in white participants. Decreased arterial compliance and increased vascular resistance associated with increased oxidative damage independent of hypertensive status in black participants. These results suggest that oxidative stress plays a role in early vascular changes in a black population prone to the development of cardiovascular disease.