Effect of exposing mice to 50 ATA helium pressure at different stages of pregnancy

Pregnant T-O mice were exposed to 50 ATA He-O2 pressure for 4 days at different stages of gestation: 4-7, 6-9, and 9-12 days gestation. Controls were exposed to 1 atmosphere absolute (ATA) air. After the exposure period, pregnancy continued until 18 days gestation when the mice were killed and autopsied. Data were collected relating to the litters and placentas (Litter size, percent resorptions, placental weight, fetal-to-placental ratio) and fetuses (weight, crown-rump length, sex, skeletal abnormalities) and analyzed using analysis of variance. Results showed a small but significant increase in the percent resorptions in the pressure group and also a decrease in crown-rump length and placental weight. None of these changes were related to the stage of gestation in which the mice were exposed. No teratogenic effects of pressure were seen. We conclude that exposure to 50 ATA He-O2 during pregnancy in mice produces a small nonselective effect on fetal growth and development but does not affect any specific event taking place during these stages of embryogenesis.     

A frequent Aγ-persistence of fetal hemoglobin in northern Sardinia: its molecular basis and hematologic phenotype in heterozygotes and compound heterozygotes with β-thalassemia

Summary A survey of hemoglobinopathies in northern Sardinia revealed a high frequency (0.3%) of carriers of a hematologic condition characterized by increased expression of fetal hemoglobin during adult life (hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin or HPFH). In spite of a normal hematologic phenotype, the heterozygous carriers for this condition display about 12% HbF, almost exclusively of the ^A type; compound heterozygotes with -thalassemia have 20%–26% HbF and run a very mild clinical course. The sequence analysis of the cloned ^A gene linked to the HPFH determinant revealed the presence of a GA substitution at position-117 of the ^A- gene promoter; the same mutation occurs also in Greek HPFH, although associated with different restriction polymorphisms. Another hereditary condition characterized by increased HbF (₂ ^A₂) level and a mild thalassemic phenotype in Sardinia is associated with the-196 CT substitution in the ^A-globin gene promoter (Sardinian -thalassemia). Population studies using oligonucleotides complementary both to the-117 GA and-196 CT mutations and the corresponding normal sequences confirm the presence of these mutations only in HPFH and -thalassemia chromosomes and exclude these changes being common DNA polymorphisms.     

Potential use of theaux2 gene fromAgrobacterium rhizogenes as a conditional negative marker in transgenic cabbage

An originalAgrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation procedure, based on the actions of both wild type and disarmed bacterial strains, was developed. Theaux2 gene ofA. rhizogenes was introduced into a rapid-cycling genotype of cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.). Theaux2 gene product converts naphthalene acetamide into the auxin naphthalene acetic acid. Expression of this gene in the transgenic progeny grownin vitro led to an altered root phenotype. On a medium supplemented with napthalene acetamide (NAM), two of the three analysed progenies were characterized by the formation of callus instead of roots, whereas on a NAM-free medium all the plantlets from these progenies presented a normal phenotype. Expression of theaux2 gene was also assessed under horticultural conditions by sowing seeds in sand and watering them with a nutritive solution supplemented with NAM. Under these conditions, NAM inhibited the formation of a root system in transgenic plantlets and induced the death of the transgenic plantlets three to four weeks after germination. Thus,aux2 acts as a lethal conditional marker which could be used in negative selection of cabbage. Potential utilization of theaux2 gene to screen spontaneous androgenetic plants in order to transfer cytoplasmic male sterility in a single generation is discussed.     

Immunity markers in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection: effect of eradication

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is a microorganism able to stimulate a robust inflammatory and systemic immune response. AIM: The aim of our study was to evaluate autoimmune markers in dyspeptic patients positive for H. pylori infection compared to a control group of non-H. pylori-infected subjects. The kinetics of cryoglobulins and autoantibodies was evaluated after treatment of the infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Dyspeptic patients with active H. pylori infection and age- and sex-matched healthy H. pylori-negative controls were studied. Markers of immunity were compared, in H. pylori-infected patients before, 6 months and 1 year after the end of therapy. Results were also compared between those with and without successful eradication therapy. RESULTS: Eighty-six individual were entered (43 H. pylori-infected). H. pylori-infected patients had higher levels of IgG and/or IgA and/or IgM (22/43 versus 2/43). Circulating immune complexes and cryoglobulins were detected in patients more often than controls (p < .05 for both). Autoantibodies were observed in 13 patients (30% versus 5% in controls) and antithyroid antibodies in 12 (p < .04 versus controls). Lower levels of C3 and/or C4 complement fractions were observed in infected patients with respect to controls (7/43 versus 1/43; p = .014). After 1 year of follow-up, the markers of autoimmunity dramatically improved in patients eradicated for H. pylori infection compared to those in whom therapy failed. No patient developed a clinical autoimmune disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Additional studies are necessary to ascertain the clinical significance of the modifications of autoimmune markers in patients with H. pylori infection.     

A specific alkaline phosphatase of amphibia integument levamisole effect on short circuit current (SCC).

Using the Ussing chamber technique we have measured the short-circuit current (SCC), and so the ion transport, in the ventral skin of samples of Rana esculenta complex. The animals were not exposed to experimental treatment, and on SCC we have observed the effect of levamisole, administered either on external or internal side. Levamisole 0.0025 mM was ineffective; higher concentrations (0.025 mM, 2.5 mM), which inhibit alPase activity in tissue extracts and sections, induced an increase in SCC measurements and the effect was proportional to the concentration. Levamisole 25 mM produced a rapid and transitory increase of SCC, followed by a very quick decrement of it. Because of the action of Levamisole, "specific inhibitor of alPase activity", on ion transport in Rana skin, we propose that the alPase enzyme is probably involved in ion cutaneous transport and thus in the adaptative osmoregulation in the integument of amphibia.     

Ethnoprimatology without Conservation: The Political Ecology of Farmer–Green Monkey (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chlorocebus sabaeus</Emphasis>) Relations in St. Kitts,West Indies

The driving force behind the mixed-methods ethnoprimatological endeavor is to effectively conserve nonhuman primates. In this article, I argue that ethnoprimatological research can meet this goal only by discarding the purely science views of conservation that dominate the current literature. By considering more than local ecological perceptions, their ideological agendas, and their levels of power via a political ecology framework, ethnoprimatologists can simultaneously socialize the ecosystems we study and contribute our ethological skills to advance traditionally humanist disciplines’ increased attention to a wider field of agents and structures that matter. I support these arguments through an examination of farmer–green monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus) relations in St. Kitts. Kittitian farmers’ narrative revealed three scales that collectively construct what is locally known as “the monkey problem:” increased rates of local contact between farmers and monkeys on farms, contestations over the future of St. Kitts’ land, and global debates over appropriate strategies to manage the monkey population. I show that although “the monkey problem” in St. Kitts does not involve an endangered or threatened species, my analysis of this construct has implications for primate populations that are threatened. This is because the root cause of this “problem”—the globalized discourse of nature conservation overpowering and problematizing local views about people–animal interactions—characterizes so many of the locales home to primates of conservation concern.     

The State of Ethnoprimatology: Its Use and Potential in Today’s Primate Research

The human–primate interface is an increasingly relevant theme in primatological research. To understand the extent of ethoprimatological studies in contemporary primatology, we explored 7 years of primatological literature through a systematic review. We reviewed original research papers published in the American Journal of Primatology, the International Journal of Primatology, Primates, and Folia Primatologica between January 2010 and December 2016 for the presence of 14 search terms relevant to the ethnoprimatological approach. We sorted research papers into topical categories to identify trends in the recent primatological literature. Of the 1551 papers that met the criteria for inclusion in this review, 12 papers (0.8%) self-identified as an ethnoprimatological study by using the term in the title or keywords, and only 17 papers (1.1%) used the term anywhere in their text. However, the presence of other relevant keywords—anthropogenic (16.3%), crop (9.1%), disturbance (18.7%), conflict (6.2%), human–nonhuman (0.5%), human–primate (1.0%), interface (1.5%), perception (2.5%), culture (2.6%), ethnography (0.1%), trade (6.8%), provision (16.1%), and tourism (4.6%)—in a variety of research papers suggests that the human–primate dimension is salient for many, if not most, areas of primatological interest. The ethnoprimatological approach is relevant to every research trend we identified in today’s primatology. We highlight existing literature that exemplifies ethnoprimatological engagement and present potential research questions in each area, demonstrating that primatology as a whole would benefit from greater attention to the human dimension.     

Plasma Interferon-Gamma-Inducible Protein-10 Levels Are Associated with Early,but Not Sustained Virological Response during Treatment of Acute or Early Chronic HCV Infection

Background

High plasma levels of interferon-gamma inducible protein-10 (IP-10) have been shown to be associated with impaired treatment response in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Whether IP-10 levels predict treatment in acute HCV infection is unknown.

Methods

Patients with acute or early chronic HCV infection from the Australian Trial in Acute Hepatitis C (ATAHC) cohort were evaluated. Baseline and on-treatment plasma IP-10 levels were measured by ELISA. IL28B genotype was determined by sequencing.

Results

Overall, 74 HCV mono-infected and 35 HIV/HCV co-infected patients were treated in ATAHC, of whom 89 were adherent to therapy and were included for analysis. IP-10 levels correlated with HCV RNA levels at baseline (r = 0.48, P<0.001) and during treatment. Baseline IP-10 levels were higher in patients who failed to achieve rapid virological response (RVR). Only one patient with a plasma IP-10 level >600 pg/mL achieved RVR. There was no association with IP-10 levels and early virological response (EVR) or sustained virological response (SVR).

Conclusions

Baseline IP-10 levels are associated with early viral kinetics but not ultimate treatment outcome in acute HCV infection. Given previous data showing that patients with high baseline IP-10 are unlikely to spontaneously clear acute HCV infection, they should be prioritized for early antiviral therapy.