Structural and ultrastructural hepatic changes in experimental canine leishmaniasis

Six 4 month-old beagles were inoculated with Leishmania donovani infantum, three of them intraperitoneally (Group A) and the other three intravenously (Group B). The animals from Group A were killed 109, 433 and 592 days after inoculation and animals from Group B 109, 171 and 334 after inoculation. The liver of each of them was examined by means of light and electron microscopy. The lesions observed in both groups were very similar, but developed more rapidly in Group B. A chronic hepatitis appeared due to infection, characterized by the presence of multiple intralobular granulomas and portal inflammatory infiltrates consisting of lymphocytes, plasmocytes and macrophages with a variable number of amastigotes. The Kupffer cells were hyperplastic and contained parasites in their cytoplasm. Gradually the hepatocytes developed a progressive cellular swelling, which during the end-stages of the process showed itself with severe nuclear degeneration, disintegration of cytoplasmic organelles, enlargement of the cytoplasmic matrix and disruption of the plasma membranes, leading to cytolysis.     

Object Representations in Dreams of Chicanos and Anglos

The relationship between the cultures to which persons belong and their internalized object representations as revealed by manifest dream content was investigated. It was hypothesized that because Chicanos are from a more nurturing culture than Anglos, they would represent persons in their dreams as more differentiated, articulated, and integrated, with more benevolent interactions. 50 Chicano and 50 Anglo university students (25 of each gender in each culture) reported a total of 555 dreams that were scored according to the Concept of the Object Scale (Blatt, Brenneis, Schimek & Glick, 1976). The Scale applies developmental principles concerning the three dimensions of differentiation, articulation, and integration to the study of human responses given to the Rorschach. This research applied the Scale to the manifest content of the subjects' reported dreams. The cross-cultural hypothesis was disconfirmed; however, there were strong findings concerning gender. Gender differences across culture were statistically significant in each developmental dimension, ranging from females representing more humans, who are better articulated and more benevolently interactive (p < .01) to females reporting more intentional, congruent actions and more interactions (p < .05). The only cross-cultural finding was that Anglos represent more action in their dreams than Chicanos (p < .05). Within the sample of acculturated Chicano subjects, genders were polarized to a much greater extent than in the Anglo sample. Implications of the findings for theoretical understanding of gender and cultural differences in object representations are discussed.     

Multiregional Evaluation of the SimPlate Heterotrophic Plate Count Method Compared to the Standard Plate Count Agar Pour Plate Method in Water

A new SimPlate heterotrophic plate count (HPC) method (IDEXX Laboratories, Westbrook, Maine) was compared with the pour plate method at 35°C for 48 h. Six laboratories tested a total of 632 water samples. The SimPlate HPC method was found to be equivalent to the pour plate method by regression analysis (r = 0.95; y = 0.99X + 0.06).     

The effect of agricultural land use practice on habitat selection of red deer

The population of red deer (Cervus elaphus) has increased substantially in many western European countries during recent decades. Simultaneously, agricultural practices have undergone major changes. Observations suggest that meadows and pastures are important sources of nutrients for deer, but there are few studies quantifying the selection of agricultural land by deer in general. Here, we study red deer selection of various types of agricultural land and the history of land use (times of fertilisation and since renewal) in Norway. We used data from 14 female and 12 male red deer with GPS collars during the years 2007–2010. Our study design was to compare pairs of agricultural fields that had received “low” and “high” use by a given individual red deer and data were analysed by using case–control logistic regression. Our results showed that both sexes selected meadows over other types of agricultural land. Females selected intensively fertilised meadows and meadows of intermediate age, while male selection did not depend on meadow age (time since renewal) or fertilisation. The smaller females thus selected meadows of high quality, while the larger males continued to use old meadows of lower quality but rich in biomass. Our analysis suggests that a decreasing supply of meadows in the future due to lower production of livestock fodder may also affect management of red deer, and that a future change in the intensity of agricultural practices may affect sexes of wild large herbivores differently.     

Anticancer potency of small linear and cyclic tetrapeptides and pharmacokinetic investigations of peptide binding to human serum albumin

We have in the present study explored the anticancer activity against human Burkitt's lymphoma cells (Ramos) of a series of small linear and cyclic tetrapeptides containing a β^2,2‐amino acid with either two 2‐naphthyl‐methylene or two para‐CF₃‐benzyl side chains, along with their interaction with the main plasma protein human serum albumin (HSA). The cyclic and more amphipathic tetrapeptides revealed a notably higher anticancer potency against Ramos cells [50% inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) 11–70 μM] compared to the linear tetrapeptide counterparts (IC₅₀ 18.7 to >413 μM). The most potent cyclic tetrapeptide c3 had a 16.5‐fold preference for Ramos cells compared to human red blood cells, whereas the cyclic tetrapeptide c1 both showed low hemolytic activity and displayed the overall highest (2.9‐fold) preference for Ramos cells (IC₅₀ 23 μM) compared to healthy human lung fibroblast cells (MRC‐5). Investigating the interaction of selected tetrapeptides and recently reported hexapeptides with HSA revealed that the peptides bind to drug site II of HSA in the 22–28 μM range, disregarding size and overall structure. NMR and in silico molecular docking experiments identified the lipophilic residues as responsible for the interaction, but in vitro studies showed that the anticancer potency of the peptides varied in the presence of HSA and that c3 remained the most potent peptide. Based on our findings, we call for implementing serum albumin binding in development of anticancer peptides, as it may have implications for future administration and systemic distribution of peptide‐based cancer drugs. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Natural history,physiology and energetic strategies of Asellia tridens (Chiroptera)

We used radio-telemetry, observations and physiological measurements to study the basic biology and energetic strategies of Asellia tridens in northern Israel from 2009 to 2010. Between late May and early November, the bats occupied abandoned man-made structures in this area. Parturition occurred between late June and mid-July, and juveniles were independent by late August. A. tridens foraged near the roost in a vegetation-rich, cluttered background environment, catching insects flying close to vegetation. Its diet was diverse, with Coleoptera, Heteroptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera being the main diet components. During summer, males and females differed in their foraging patterns and energetic strategies: Lactating females departed for more frequent foraging bouts than males, and maintained euthermy throughout the day, while males became torpid on a daily basis.     

1H, 15N, 13C resonance assignment of the AlgE6R1 subunit from the Azotobacter vinelandii mannuronan C5-epimerase

Isotopically labelled, ¹³C/¹⁵N from of recombinant subunit of the first R-module from alginate C5-epimerase 6 (AlgE6R1) from Azotobacter vinelandii mannuronan C5-epimerase was produced. We report here the ¹H, ¹⁵N, ¹³C resonance assignment of this subunit from AlgE6 epimerase.     

Pleckstrin 2, a widely expressed paralog of pleckstrin involved in actin rearrangement.

We have identified a cDNA for pleckstrin 2 that is 39% identical and 65% homologous to the original pleckstrin. Like the original pleckstrin 1, this protein contains a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain at each end of the molecule as well as a DEP (Dishevelled, Egl-10, and pleckstrin) domain in the intervening sequence. A Northern blot probed with the full-length cDNA reveals that this homolog is ubiquitously expressed and is most abundant in the thymus, large bowel, small bowel, stomach, and prostate. Unlike pleckstrin 1, this newly discovered protein does not contain obvious sites of PKC phosphorylation, and in transfected Cos-7 cells, it is a poor substrate for phosphorylation, even after PMA stimulation. Cells expressing pleckstrin 2 undergo a dramatic shape change associated with actin rearrangement, including a loss of central F-actin and a redistribution of actin toward the cell cortex. Overexpression of pleckstrin 2 causes large lamellipodia and peripheral ruffle formation. A variant of pleckstrin 2 lacking both PH domains still had some membrane binding but did not efficiently induce lamellipodia, suggesting that the PH domains of pleckstrin 2 contribute to lamellipodia formation. This work describes a novel, widely expressed, membrane-associating protein and suggests that pleckstrin 2 may help orchestrate cytoskeletal arrangement.