Iron enhances the bactericidal action of streptonigrin

The lethal action of streptonigrin on strains of $\text{Escherichia}\text{coli}$ is greatly enhanced by citrate (10^?2 M). Desferrioxamine (2×10^?4 M), when added with streptonigrin and citrate, eliminates the citrate enhancement. These observations point to a role for iron in the bactericidal mechanism of streptonigrin. Extracellular citrate is known to promote the acquisition of iron by $\text{E.}\text{coli}$ by delivering it as a ferric citrate complex to a specific transport apparatus on the cell envelope. Therefore, it may promote action of streptonigrin by increasing the intracellular concentration of available iron. Desferrioxamine, which forms a much stronger complex with ferric ion than does citrate, would be expected to suppress the ferric citrate effect, and this was observed.     

Thermal ecology and baseline energetic requirements of a large‐bodied ectotherm suggest resilience to climate change

1. Most studies on how rising temperatures will impact terrestrial ectotherms have focused on single populations or multiple sympatric species. Addressing the thermal and energetic implications of climatic variation on multiple allopatric populations of a species will help us better understand how a species may be impacted by altered climates.
2. We used eight years of thermal and behavioral data collected from four populations of Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) living in climatically distinct habitat types (inland and coastal) to determine the field‐active and laboratory‐preferred body temperatures, thermoregulatory metrics, and maintenance energetic requirements of snakes from each population.
3. Physical models showed that thermal quality was best at coastal sites, but inland snakes thermoregulated more accurately despite being in more thermally constrained environments. Projected increases of 1 and 2°C in ambient temperature result in an increase in overall thermal quality at both coastal and inland sites.
4. Population differences in modeled standard metabolic rate estimates were driven by body size and not field‐active body temperature, with inland snakes requiring 1.6× more food annually than coastal snakes.
5. All snakes thermoregulated with high accuracy, suggesting that small increases in ambient temperature are unlikely to impact the maintenance energetic requirements of individual snakes and that some species of large‐bodied reptiles may be robust to modest thermal perturbations under conservative climate change predictions.

​     

Old,socially housed rhesus monkeys manipulate objects

Recent research has indicated that old, individually housed monkeys show little interest in novel objects. Yet unanswered is whether this effect is caused primarily by age or housing condition. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of social living in promoting responsiveness to objects. We measured the rates of object manipulation in older animals, assessed responsiveness over time to particular objects as a measure of habituation, and examined social influences on object use. Several social groups of rhesus monkeys that contained older adults were studied. These groups were housed in indoor pens or in an outdoor enclosure, and all monkeys had continuous access to a variety of objects in their home environment. In contrast to previous studies of individually housed monkeys, our group-housed monkeys showed sustained interest in objects. Old monkeys manipulated objects extensively, and this response was all the more significant, given that the objects were not novel. Monkeys housed in an outdoor enclosure showed object manipulation patterns that were not different from monkeys housed in indoor pens. However, females exhibited much higher object-related responses than males. Social facilitation played a role in the reactions of some monkeys to objects. Patterns of social facilitation as well as avoidance were present in two of the three indoor groups that were observed. Failure to manipulate objects in rhesus macaques appears to be more a function of individual housing than of old age. Factors such as environmental complexity, social needs, and early experience should be considered in order to understand why individually housed rhesus monkeys are unresponsive to objects. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Design of Carbon Nanotube‐Based Gas‐Diffusion Cathode for O2 Reduction by Multicopper Oxidases

Multicopper oxidases, such as laccase or bilirubin oxidase, are known to reduce molecular oxygen at very high redox potentials, which makes them attractive biocatalysts for enzymatic cathodes in biological fuel cells. By designing an enzymatic gas‐diffusion electrode, molecular oxygen can be supplied through the gaseous phase, avoiding solubility and diffusion limitations typically associated with liquid electrolytes. In doing so, the current density of enzymatic cathodes can theoretically be enhanced. This publication presents a material study of carbon/Teflon composites that aim to optimize the functionality of the gas‐diffusion and catalytic layers for application in enzymatic systems. The modification of the catalytic layer with multiwalled carbon nanotubes, for example, creates the basis for stronger π–π stacking interactions through tethered enzymatic linkers, such as pyrenes or perylene derivates. Cyclic voltammograms show the effective direct electron contact of laccase with carbon nanotube‐modified electrodes via tethered crosslinking molecules as a model system. The polarization behavior of laccase‐modified gas‐diffusion electrodes reveals open‐circuit potentials of +550 mV (versus Ag/AgCl) and current densities approaching 0.5 mA cm² (at zero potential) in air‐breathing mode.     

Characterization of in vitro models of SLC30A10 deficiency

BioMetals - Manganese (Mn), an essential metal, can be toxic at elevated levels. In 2012, the first inherited cause of Mn excess was reported in patients with mutations in SLC30A10, a Mn efflux...     

Skin responses to ultraviolet radiation: effects of constitutive pigmentation,sex, and ancestry

Constitutive skin pigmentation and skin responses to ultraviolet radiation were measured on a sample of volunteers (n=250) living in State College, PA, USA. The sample was composed of individuals of European American (n=190), Hispanic (n=45), and East Asian ancestry (n=15). Constitutive pigmentation was measured using the Adjusted Melanin Index (AMI), Erythemal Dose Response (EDR) was measured using the slope of a* at 24 h (Deltaa*), and Melanogenic Dose-Response (MDR) was measured using DeltaAM, the slope of AMI at 7 d. The relationships between constitutive skin pigmentation, EDR, MDR, sex, age, and ancestry were investigated. European Americans showed a lower constitutive pigmentation, had a significantly higher burn response (EDR), and had a significantly lower tanning response (MDR) than Hispanics and East Asians. No significant difference is seen between Hispanics and East Asians for either constitutive pigmentation or EDR. Constitutive pigmentation in females was slightly lower than in males in all three samples, but the difference was not significant. While no differences were observed in MDR between sexes, males had a stronger EDR than females regardless of population or constitutive pigmentation level, and this difference was significant in European Americans and Hispanics. We observed no age-related differences in any of the populations or measures investigated. We evaluated the relationship between constitutive pigmentation, EDR and MDR. There was a strong inverse correlation between constitutive pigmentation and EDR in the three samples (European Americans, R2=0.176, P < 0.001; Hispanics, R2=0.204, P=0.009; East Asians, R2=0.223, P=0.098) and a strong direct correlation between constitutive pigmentation and MDR in European Americans and Hispanics (European Americans, R2=0.094, P < 0.001; Hispanics, R2=0.164, P=0.012). In other words, persons with lower constitutive pigmentation both burn more and tan less than persons with higher pigmentation. However, after controlling for constitutive pigmentation, EDR and MDR were significantly correlated in European Americans (R2=0.041 P=0.006). Thus, the general observation that persons who burn more tan less is probable because of the common link that these two phenotypes have with constitutive skin pigmentation and, in fact, once pigmentation has been adjusted for, there is a positive correlation between tanning response and burning response in European Americans.     

Covariation and repeatability of male mating effort and mating preferences in a promiscuous fish

Although mate choice by males does occur in nature, our understanding of its importance in driving evolutionary change remains limited compared with that for female mate choice. Recent theoretical models have shown that the evolution of male mate choice is more likely when individual variation in male mating effort and mating preferences exist and positively covary within populations. However, relatively little is known about the nature of such variation and its maintenance within natural populations. Here, using the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) as a model study system, we report that mating effort and mating preferences in males, based on female body length (a strong correlate of fecundity), positively covary and are significantly variable among subjects. Individual males are thus consistent, but not unanimous, in their mate choice. Both individual mating effort (including courtship effort) and mating preference were significantly repeatable. These novel findings support the assumptions and predictions of recent evolutionary models of male mate choice, and are consistent with the presence of additive genetic variation for male mate choice based on female size in our study population and thus with the opportunity for selection and further evolution of large female body size through male mate choice.     

Interaction of glycoprotein H of human herpesvirus 6 with the cellular receptor CD46

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) employs the complement regulator CD46 (membrane cofactor protein) as a receptor for fusion and entry into target cells. Like other known herpesviruses, HHV-6 encodes multiple glycoproteins, several of which have been implicated in the entry process. In this report, we present evidence that glycoprotein H (gH) is the viral component responsible for binding to CD46. Antibodies to CD46 co-immunoprecipitated an approximately 110-kDa protein band specifically associated with HHV-6-infected cells. This protein was identified as gH by selective depletion with an anti-gH monoclonal antibody, as well as by immunoblot analysis with a rabbit hyperimmune serum directed against a gH synthetic peptide. In reciprocal experiments, a monoclonal antibody against HHV-6 gH was found to co-immunoprecipitate CD46. Studies using monoclonal antibodies directed against specific CD46 domains, as well as engineered constructs lacking defined CD46 regions, demonstrated a close correspondence between the CD46 domains involved in the interaction with gH and those previously shown to be critical for HHV-6 fusion (i.e. short consensus repeats 2 and 3).