The pre-Columbian dog from Arica,Chile

Burials and mummies of dogs from the Arica, Chile, area are described. It is concluded that these dogs were brought to this area 2500 years ago by shepherds from the highlands and are still present, relatively unchanged.     

Medicinal plants of the Argentine Yungas plants of the Las Yungas biosphere reserve, Northwest of Argentina, used in health care

We have compared the species richness of medicinal plants and the differential patterns of use amongst settlements in the Andean communities of Northwest Argentina which have differing levels of isolation. About 259 ethnoespecies, belonging to 74 plant families, were included, representing between 70 and 80% of the total estimate. The results indicate that Coronopus didymus is the most relevant and important species. The method of use of medicinal plants and the ailments treated by rural doctors compared to those of the layperson is different. Native and exotic plants are used differently according to the body system treated. There are some relationships between internal and external use and body systems and recipes. The greater medicinal species richness found in the less isolated locations is due to external enriching cultural influences.     

Effect of Zeitgeber Intensity Reduction on a Simulated Dual-Oscillator Human Circadian System: Classical and Dynamic Analysis

The two-oscillator model of human circadian rhythmicity was analyzed when a zeitgeber relative intensity of 1, 0.5, or 0.1 was introduced into the equations. Fourier analysis was compared with dynamic analysis such as attractor reconstruction or Liapunov exponent calculation. After a 50 or 90% reduction in zeitgeber intensity, the dynamics of the system became equivalent and differed significantly from those of a system with maximal zeitgeber intensity. When 10% aleatory noise was added to the data, the analysis was still applicable, and the results obtained were essentially the same as in the absence of noise. Dynamic analysis could thus provide a distinct classification for periodic data, based on the type of analysis.     

DIASTOLIC OPENING OF THE AORTIC VALVE (AV) IN A CASE OF AORTIC INSUFFICIENCY DUE TO AV FENESTRATION

A patient with severe aortic insufficiency due to fenestration of the non-coronary aortic valve leaflet is described. A preoperative echocardiogram demonstrated early closure of the mitral valve and early diastolic separation of the aortic valve leaflets. These findings disappeared after partial surgical correction and subsequent hemodynamic improvement. Premature opening of the aortic valve is common in severe aortic insufficiency.     

A new genus of Syllidae (Polychaeta) from Western Australia

During a study carried out on the subfamily Exogoninae (Syllidae) from Australia, several specimens of a new genus and species were found in samples of dead coral substrate from Western Australia. They have long palps, fused except for a terminal notch, long median and two short lateral antennae, a single pair of short tentacular cirri, and short dorsal cirri, somewhat longer than the parapodial lobes. These characters resemble those of the genus Exogone Örsted, 1845. However, all these appendages are articulated. The chaetae are very similar to those of several species of Syllis Lamarck, 1818, having coarse spines on the margin of compound chaetal blades and truncated dorsal simple chaetae. Furthermore, the pharynx begins in chaetiger 3, posterior to the peristomium, as in many species of the genus Syllis; this condition does not occur in any described species of Exogone. The new genus is provisionally proposed to belong to the subfamily Syllinae, although it has some characters typical of the Exogoninae. Examination under the SEM shows another peculiar feature, the nuchal organs are distinctly laterally located. Within the Syllinae, only Paratyposyllis Hartmann-Schröder, 1962 has a single pair of tentacular cirri, but in that genus, the palps are only basally fused.     

Strategy for fluorescent labeling of human acidic fibroblast growth factor without impairment of mitogenic activity: A bona fide tracer

Here we describe, for the first time, the design and characterization of a bona fide fluorescently labeled mutant of the human acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF). The aFGF–Cys2 mutant was recombinantly synthesized by substituting the second amino acid with a reactive cysteine whose sulfhydryl group’s side chain reactivity facilitated the covalent binding of a fluorescent probe as a thiolyte monobromobimane. Using a combination of biophysical and functional assays, we found that the fluorescently labeled mutant aFGF is characterized by essentially the same global folding, mitogenic activity, and association behavior with heparin, its physiological activator, as the unlabeled wild-type protein. We used this new tracer protein mutant to determine the association behavior of aFGF with heparin in the presence of high concentrations of albumin that mimicked more closely the plasma medium in which aFGF is naturally located and in which it has evolved to function. By exposing the aFGF–Cys2–heparin complex to increasing concentrations of albumin up to physiological plasma levels, we were able to demonstrate that macromolecular crowding does not affect the stoichiometry of the interaction. In summary, the dimeric aFGF–Cys2–heparin complex might represent a biologically relevant complex in physiological media.     

Enhancing single-molecule fluorescence with nanophotonics

Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy has become an important research tool in the life sciences but a number of limitations hinder the widespread use as a standard technique. The limited dynamic concentration range is one of the major hurdles. Recent developments in the nanophotonic field promise to alleviate these restrictions to an extent that even low affinity biomolecular interactions can be studied. After motivating the need for nanophotonics we introduce the basic concepts of nanophotonic devices such as zero mode waveguides and nanoantennas. We highlight current applications and the future potential of nanophotonic approaches when combined with biological systems and single-molecule spectroscopy.