Advantages of granivory in seasonal environments: feeding ecology of an arboreal seed predator in Amazonian forests

Specialized seed predators are uncommon in arboreal vertebrate assemblages, and the hypothesis that consuming seeds of immature fruits – which may be available for relatively long periods compared to mature fruit – could reduce seasonal food scarcity experienced by generalist frugivores remains largely untested. To test this hypothesis, we examined the diet and feeding ecology of bald‐faced saki monkeys Pithecia irrorata in a largely intact forest mosaic of southeastern Peru based on systematic monitoring of five habituated groups over a three‐year period and compared the relative availability of ripe and unripe fruits in their diet. Plant phenology data from individual tree crowns showed that, compared to ripe fruits, immature fruits were available in more tree species, in greater quantities, and for longer periods. Despite pronounced community‐wide seasonal changes in fruit production at our study area, feeding patterns of bald‐faced saki remained largely invariant: fruits comprised approximately 95% of the species’ monthly diet, with seeds alone accounting for 75%, with no major monthly dietary shifts. The flexible exploitation by this species of a consistently available food supply for which it faces little competition likely reduces foraging effort and consumption of less desirable foods, even during prolonged periods of overall fruit scarcity. The relative rarity of immature fruit specialists in tropical forests may reflect the fact that processing the hard pericarps and neutralizing the toxicities of immature seeds present substantial evolutionary hurdles that few arboreal vertebrate species have overcome.     

Implication of new atherosclerotic carotid plaques in the cardiovascular outcome of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Early detection of atherosclerosis is of major importance to reduce the increased incidence of cardiovascular (CV) complications observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Prospective studies have shown that an abnormally increased carotid intima-media thickness and the presence of plaques assessed by carotid ultrasound are good markers to predict the development of CV events in these patients. Age, classic CV risk factors, and corticosteroid use are also predictors of new plaque formation in patients with RA. Active treatment of the disease may decrease the inflammatory burden, leading to a reduction in the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis in these patients.     

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.     

The solvent in CNBr cleavage reactions determines the fragmentation efficiency of ketosteroid isomerase fusion proteins used in the production of recombinant peptides

Abnormal fragmentation during cyanogen bromide polypeptide cleavage rarely occurs, although parallel side reactions are known to typically accompany normal cleavage. We have observed that cyanogen bromide cleavage of highly hydrophobic fusion proteins utilized for production of recombinant peptides results in almost complete abolishment of the expected reaction products when the reaction is carried out in 70% trifluoroacetic acid. On the basis of mass spectrometric analysis of the reaction products, we have identified a number of fragments whose origin can be attributed to incomplete fragmentation of the fusion protein, and to unspecific degradation affecting the carrier protein. Substituting the solvent in the reaction media with 70% formic acid or with a matrix composed of 6M guanidinium hydrochloride in 0.1M HCl, however, was found to alleviate polypeptide cleavage. We have attributed the poor yields of the CNBr cleavage carried out in 70% TFA to the increased hydrophobicity of our particular fusion proteins, and to the poor solubilizing ability of this reaction medium. We propose the utilization of chaotropic agents in the presence of diluted acids as the preferred cyanogen bromide cleavage medium of fusion proteins in order to maximize cleavage efficiency of hydrophobic sequences and to prevent deleterious degradation and structural modifications of the target peptides.     

A hybrid model for erythrocyte membrane: a single unit of protein network coupled with lipid bilayer

To investigate the nanomechanics of the erythrocyte membrane we developed a hybrid model that couples the actin-spectrin network to the lipid bilayer. This model features a Fourier space Brownian dynamics model of the bilayer, a Brownian dynamics model of the actin protofilament, and a modified wormlike-chain model of the spectrin (including a cable-dynamics model to predict the oscillation in tension). This model enables us to predict the nanomechanics of single or multiple units of the protein network, the lipid bilayer, and the effect of their interactions. The present work is focused on the attitude of the actin protofilament at the equilibrium states coupled with the elevations of the lipid bilayer through their primary linkage at the suspension complex in deformations. Two different actin-spectrin junctions are considered at the junctional complex. With a point-attachment junction, large pitch angles and bifurcation of yaw angles are predicted. Thermal fluctuations at bifurcation may lead to mode-switching, which may affect the network and the physiological performance of the membrane. In contrast, with a wrap-around junction, pitch angles remain small, and the occurrence of bifurcation is greatly reduced. These simulations suggest the importance of three-dimensional molecular junctions and the lipid bilayer/protein network coupling on cell membrane mechanics.     

Small-scale elevational variation in the abundance of Eufriesea violacea (Blanchard) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Eufriesea violacea (Blanchard) males were sampled in a small-scale elevational gradient in Southeastern Brazil and showed sequential peaks of abundance from lowest (700 m) to highest (1,100 m) altitudes during the sampling period. The influence of the temperature on the length of the egg-to-adult period and flowering dates of plants producing food (nectar) suggests that it may be one of the factors determining the distribution of male abundance along the altitudinal gradient. The results emphasize the importance of obtaining altitudinal stratified samples when studying Euglossini populations, especially when the studies are done at sites with marked topographical variation.     

Prediction of survival by neutropenia according to delivery schedule of oxaliplatin-5-Fluorouracil-leucovorin for metastatic colorectal cancer in a randomized international trial (EORTC 05963)

Circadian clocks control cellular proliferation and drug metabolism over the 24?h. However, circadian chronomodulated chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (chronoFLO4) offered no survival benefit as compared with the non-time-stipulated FOLFOX2, in an international randomized trial involving patients with previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer (EORTC 05963). The authors hypothesized that treatment near maximum tolerated dose could disrupt circadian clocks thus impairing the efficacy of chronoFLO4 but not of FOLFOX2. Patients with available data (N?=?556) were categorized into three subgroups according to the worst grade (G) of neutropenia experienced during treatment. Distinct multivariate models with time-dependent covariates were constructed for each treatment schedule. Neutropenia incidence (all grades) was 33% on chronoFLO4 and 61% on FOLFOX2 (p?相似文献   

The folding of the hepatitis C virus internal ribosome entry site depends on the 3′-end of the viral genome

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) translation initiation is directed by an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) and regulated by distant regions at the 3′-end of the viral genome. Through a combination of improved RNA chemical probing methods, SHAPE structural analysis and screening of RNA accessibility using antisense oligonucleotide microarrays, here, we show that HCV IRES folding is fine-tuned by the genomic 3′-end. The essential IRES subdomains IIIb and IIId, and domain IV, adopted a different conformation in the presence of the cis-acting replication element and/or the 3′-untranslatable region compared to that taken up in their absence. Importantly, many of the observed changes involved significant decreases in the dimethyl sulfate or N-methyl-isatoic anhydride reactivity profiles at subdomains IIIb and IIId, while domain IV appeared as a more flexible element. These observations were additionally confirmed in a replication-competent RNA molecule. Significantly, protein factors are not required for these conformational differences to be made manifest. Our results suggest that a complex, direct and long-distance RNA–RNA interaction network plays an important role in the regulation of HCV translation and replication, as well as in the switching between different steps of the viral cycle.     

Secondary succession impairment in restored mangroves

In this work it was hypothesized that secondary succession on sites that have been managed by single planting of mangrove species is compromised by residual stressors, which could reduce the ecosystem??s structural development and lower its functions. Forest structure and environmental characteristics of three planted mangrove stands are compared with reference sites. Structural attributes showed significant differences in the comparison of planted and reference stands. Avicennia schaueriana was the dominant species within both natural regeneration and old-growth stands in terms of basal area (99.2 and 99.4?%, 69.6 and 84.5?%, and 59.0 and 87.1?% for Itacorubi, Saco Grande, and Ratones, respectively). Restoration stands were dominated by Laguncularia racemosa (80.6 and 94.2?% for Saco Grande and Ratones, respectively), except at one site (Itacorubi), where A. schaueriana prevailed (99.7?%). Even though restoration and regeneration stands at Itacorubi showed similar species composition and dominance, cohort sorting revealed an inferior regeneration potential in the restoration stand. Multiple correlation analysis indicated that variables related to elevation disruptions (p _w ?=?0.521) were the environmental drivers responsible for the differences observed in forest structure. At restoration sites an impaired pattern of secondary succession was observed, indicating that single species plantings may be ineffective if characteristics of the site, as well as of the area surrounding it, are not considered. The inadequate management of restoration sites can therefore have implications for both immediate and long-term large-scale ecosystem services.