Water conditions influence the detectability of Crossodactylus gaudichaudii (Anura,Hylodidae) in streams of the Atlantic Forest

Stream-dwelling amphibians' occurrence, behaviour and reproductive success are strongly influenced by dynamic abiotic factors, for example, water flow and spray. These factors can disproportionately affect these frogs due to their dependency on specific favourable conditions for development and incapacity to disperse from unfavourable environments. We analysed the influence of environmental covariates on the detectability of Crossodactylus gaudichaudii, an amphibian species endemic to streams in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We conducted sampling in the streams of the Duas Bocas Biological Reserve, Brazil, and we measured air and water temperature, air humidity and pH of water on each sampling occasion. We estimated the effects of variables on the detectability of the species using single-season occupancy models. Our results indicated that the detectability of the species increases on occasions with higher water temperatures (24–26°C) and lower pH (5.0–5.5). We investigated the influence of these covariates only on the detectability of adult frogs, but it is likely that the physiochemical properties of stream water are more important to aquatic larvae, and hence, the probability of their detection. Given this, further studies should examine the relevance of covariates on the detectability of adult frogs as well as larvae.     

Ecological and behavioral consequences of digestion in frugivorous animals

The postingestional effect of seed size and mass and nutrient composition on fruit profitability are reviewed. It is emphasized that profitability results from the interaction between fruit characteristics and the physiological and morphological traits of frugivores. The processes by which frugivores regurgitate or defecate seeds and the differential processing of the nutrient rich pulp and ballast in fruit are strongly dependent on the interaction between frugivore gut morphology and seed size. Euphonias that lack a functional gizzard defecate seeds, whereas tanagers that have a delete a functional gizzards regurgitate seeds. Some frugivores separate seeds from pulp and exocarp in the gizzard. It is hypothesized that the gizzard plays an important role in determining the postigestional fate of different pulp components. Although fruit nutrient content is often invoked as a determinant of frugivore feeding choices, studies that rely on proximal nutrient analysis, have often failed to find clear nutrient composition-preference correlations. It is argued that a partial reason for this failure is that proximal nutrient analysis ignores the complexities of fruit digestion. The ecological and physiological correlates of lipid and sugar assimilation are used to identify the limitations of traditional proximal nutrient analyses in fruit-frugivore studies. We suggest that recognizing the intricacies of the digestive characteristics of frugivores may reveal a much richer patterning in the interaction of frugivores with plants than has been previously hypothesized.     

The Glucose-Related Decrease in Polar Auxin Transport During Ripening and its Possible Role in Grapevine Berry Coloring

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Auxin is a hormone that delays ripening in part by reducing anthocyanin content and impairing color development. Auxin content declines during the ripening...     

Substance use disorders: a comprehensive update of classification,epidemiology, neurobiology,clinical aspects,treatment and prevention

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly prevalent and exact a large toll on individuals’ health, well-being, and social functioning. Long-lasting changes in brain networks involved in reward, executive function, stress reactivity, mood, and self-awareness underlie the intense drive to consume substances and the inability to control this urge in a person who suffers from addiction (moderate or severe SUD). Biological (including genetics and developmental life stages) and social (including adverse childhood experiences) determinants of health are recognized factors that contribute to vulnerability for or resilience against developing a SUD. Consequently, prevention strategies that target social risk factors can improve outcomes and, when deployed in childhood and adolescence, can decrease the risk for these disorders. SUDs are treatable, and evidence of clinically significant benefit exists for medications (in opioid, nicotine and alcohol use disorders), behavioral therapies (in all SUDs), and neuromodulation (in nicotine use disorder). Treatment of SUDs should be considered within the context of a Chronic Care Model, with the intensity of intervention adjusted to the severity of the disorder and with the concomitant treatment of comorbid psychiatric and physical conditions. Involvement of health care providers in detection and management of SUDs, including referral of severe cases to specialized care, offers sustainable models of care that can be further expanded with the use of telehealth. Despite advances in our understanding and management of SUDs, individuals with these conditions continue to be stigmatized and, in some countries, incarcerated, highlighting the need to dismantle policies that perpetuate their criminalization and instead develop policies to ensure support and access to prevention and treatment.     

Green mass aggregations of Gyrodinium cf. aureolum Hulburt in the Ria of Pontevedra (north-west Spain)

In this paper we report a bloom of Gyrodinium cf. aureolum occurringin an estuary of the north-west coast of Spain. It was sampledin late August 1989, in shallow waters 2 m deep in the Ria ofPontevedra. Its temperature was 19.5°C and salinity 35     

INTRACELLULAR AND EXTRACELLULAR AMINO ACID POOLS OF THE MARINE DIATOM PHAEODACTYLUM TRICORNUTUM (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) GROWN ON UNENRICHED SEAWATER IN HIGH-CELL-DENSITY DIALYSIS CULTURE1

The consumption of inorganic macronutrients (NO₃^?+ NO₂^?, NH₄⁺, and PO₄^?3) and the composition of intra- and extracellular dissolved free amino acid pools (IDFAA and EDFAA, respectively) were determined in continuous-reservoir batch dialysis cultures of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin maintained on unenriched natural seawater as a growth medium. Nutrient diffusion (Nd), which equals the nutrient uptake of the culture, increased with the cell density and the age of the culture. A concentration of 6.77 × 10⁷ cells · mL^?1 was obtained in stationary phase, which coincided with the NO₃^?+ NO₂^? diffusion limit (Nd_max) of the dialysis apparatus. The Nd_max for NH₄⁺ occurred much earlier, at the end of exponential growth, whereas Nd_max for PO₄^?3 was not attained during the growth cycle of the culture, even in early stationary phase. A significant depletion (77%) of the IDFAA pool during exponential phase was followed by a reestablishment–to approximately 60% of the initial level–of internal pools during linear and stationary growth phases. This recovery occurred during the illuminated portion of the photoperiod (12:12 h LD) and involved principally the amino acids GLN, GLU, β-GLU, and ASN. The recovery of GLN and ASN levels was particularly significant, because the intracellular concentrations of these amino acids were higher at the end of the growth cycle than before. The EDFAA pool was generally dominated by the amino acids SER and GLY+THR; however, during active growth, ORN and LYS often constituted an important fraction. The EDFAA concentration increased until linear growth phase was reached, during which a higher concentration of total free amino acids was attained in darkness than under illumination. The EDFAA component diminished afterward, and in stationary phase this fraction returned to concentrations equivalent to those observed at the beginning of the growth cycle. The variations in EDFAA concentrations were expressed by a pronounced decrease in the cellular excretion of amino acids with increasing cell density. These cellular responses of Phaeodactylum tricornutum in dense culture, specifically the regulation of amino acid excretion and intracellular pool size, may affect the N-conversion coefficient (Y_N). Consequently, by prolonging the linear phase of growth and reducing the concentration of autoinhibitory metabolites by diffusion, a markedly enhanced final cell density can be achieved in cultures grown on natural unenriched seawater.     

The deactivation pathways of the excited-states of the mycosporine-like amino acids shinorine and porphyra-334 in aqueous solution.

In vitro studies on the structurally related mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) porphyra-334 and shinorine in aqueous solutions were carried out aiming at their full photochemical and photophysical characterization and expanding the evidence on the assigned UV-photoprotective role of the molecules in vivo. The experiments on shinorine confirmed a high photostability and a poor fluorescence quantum yield, in concordance with previous results on porphyra-334. The estimation of triplet production quantum yields for both MAAs was achieved by laser-flash photolysis measurements. In particular, photosensitization experiments on porphyra-334 support the participation of the triplet state in the photodecomposition mechanism yielding a more precise value of [capital Phi](T). As well, photoacoustic calorimetry experiments allowed the first direct quantification of the nonradiative relaxation pathways of the excited MAAs in solution, corroborating that the vast majority (ca. 97%) of the absorbed energy is promptly delivered to the surroundings as heat, consistently with the low photodecomposition and emission yields observed.     

The ability of rufous hummingbirds Selasphorus rufus to dilute and concentrate urine

Most terrestrial animals face the challenge of having to conserve water in a desiccating environment. Not surprisingly, the ability to produce concentrated urine has been relatively well studied in birds. Nectar-feeding birds are unusual among terrestrial animals in that they often ingest and excrete prodigious water volumes to obtain adequate energy. Thus, they confront the unusual challenge of having to conserve electrolytes. The diluting abilities of birds and the renal mechanisms that may correlate with them have been relatively neglected. To elucidate diluting and concentrating abilities in nectar-feeding birds, we fed rufous hummingbirds Selasphorus rufus an electrolyte-free nectar and a nectar containing a range of NaCl concentrations. Hummingbirds had a spectacular (and possibly unique) diluting ability: when fed on electrolyte-free food they produced excreta containing less than 0.5 mM l⁻¹ each of sodium and potassium. Hummingbirds also had a poor concentrating ability, retaining sodium and chloride when their food (0.632 M l⁻¹ sucrose) contained more than 35 mM l⁻¹ of NaCl. The kidneys of hummingbirds do not appear to be suited for concentrating urine, and possibly contain structural features that give them a unique diluting ability compared with those of birds that do not feed on nectar.     

Evaluation of coupling conditions for the incorporation of Nα-Fmoc-Tyr(PO3H2)-OH in solid-phase peptide synthesis

Summary In order to minimise the formation of the pyrophosphate derivative of the target peptide when side-chain-unprotected phopshotyrosine is used in solid-phase peptide synthesis, this building block can be incorporated using benzotriazolyloxy-tris-(dimethylamino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate/1-hydroxybenzotriazole/N-methylmorpholine (1:1:2.3) in the presence of a chaotropic salt (0.4 M LiCl in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone).Abbreviations BOP benzotriazolyloxy-tris-(dimethylamino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate - DIEA diisopropylethylamine - Fmoc 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbony - HATU N-[(dimethylamino)1H-1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-b]pyridin-1-ylmethylene]-N-methylmethan-aminium hexafluorophosphate N-oxide - HOBt 1-hydroxybenzotriazole - HPLC high-performance liquid chromatography - MALDI-TOF matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry - NMM N-methylmorpholine - NMP N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone - Pmc 2,2,5,7,8-pentamethyl-chroman-6-sulfonyl - ® solid support - TFA trifluoroacetic acid - TPTU 2-(2-pyridon-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluroniumfluoroborate. Abbreviations used for amino acids follow the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Commission of Biochemical Nomenclature [Eur. J. Biochem., 138 (1984) 9]