Identification of Biomarkers of Mercury Contamination in Brachyplatystoma filamentosum of the Madeira River,Brazil, Using Metalloproteomic Strategies

Biological Trace Element Research - Predator fish can accumulate high levels of mercury, which qualifies them as potential indicators of this toxic metal. The predatory species Brachyplatystoma...     

Photosynthesis supported by a chlorophyll f-dependent,entropy-driven uphill energy transfer in Halomicronema hongdechloris cells adapted to far-red light

Photosynthesis Research - The phototrophic cyanobacterium Halomicronema hongdechloris shows far-red light-induced accumulation of chlorophyll (Chl) f, but the involvement of the pigment in...     

Explant type and natural ventilation systems influence growth and content of carvacrol and thymol of Lippia gracilis Schauer

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different natural ventilation systems and explant types on the growth and volatile compound content of Lippia gracilis cultured in vitro. The treatments consisted of four membrane systems (without membrane, with one, two, and four porous membranes) and two explant types (nodal segments with and without a pair of leaves). The evaluation of growth, photosynthetic pigments and chemical analysis of the volatile fraction were performed at 35 days of cultivation in half strength MS basal medium. Natural ventilation systems significantly influenced the in vitro growth and volatile fraction of L. gracilis. Explants with a pair of leaves obtained the best experimental responses. The natural ventilation system with four membranes provided the best growth parameters and leaf area response of L. gracilis explants with leaves. The photosynthetic pigments decreased with an increase in the number of porous membranes in the culture flask. Variations in the number, content, and profile of volatile compounds under the influence of natural ventilation systems were observed. Major constituents such as ρ-cymene, γ-terpinene, thymol, carvacrol, and E-caryophyllene, regardless of experimental conditions, were identified. The highest carvacrol and thymol contents were observed in plantlets grown in culture flasks with four porous membranes. To maximize the content of carvacrol and thymol from the in vitro culture of L. gracilis, explants with a pair of leaves and four porous membranes in culture flasks are recommended for use.

     

Length–weight relationships of four freshwater fish species from two Atlantic coastal drainage areas in Brazil

Length–weight relationships (LWRs) were determined for four fish species from two drainage areas, those of the Itapemirim and Jucu River, in the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Fishes were collected between May 2015 and November 2016, with gill nets, casting net, dip net, and sieve. Herein are presented LWRs for Astyanax lacustris, Astyanax taeniatus, Hyphessobrycon bifasciatus and Oligosarcus acutirostris.     

NEOSQUIRREL: a data set of ecological knowledge on Neotropical squirrels

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Evolution,diversity and interactions with past human populations of recently extinct Pholidoscelis lizards (Squamata: Teiidae) from the Guadeloupe Islands (French West-Indies)

This paper aims to demonstrate how subfossil bone remains from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits can help to reconstruct the history of recently extinct taxa through the example of Pholidoscelis lizards from the Guadeloupe Islands in the French West Indies. To achieve this, we conducted a new anatomical and zooarchaeological study of fossil Pholidoscelis remains collected from 23 archaeological and paleontological deposits on the Guadeloupe Islands from which this genus is nowadays absent. Our results shed light on the past existence of large Pholidoscelis lizards on all the Guadeloupe islands but also on the difficulties of confident specific identification for these remains. Nevertheless, we suggest a possible past occurrence of the now extinct Pholidoscelis major on nearly all of the Guadeloupe islands. In addition, we identified a new Pholidoscelis species, Pholidoscelis turukaeraensis sp. nov., on Marie-Galante Island, where no Pholidoscelis lizards were previously reported. This new species underwent an increase in size after the end of the Pleistocene period, possibly due to reduced predation pressure. We also highlight the consumption of Pholidoscelis lizards by pre-Columbian Amerindians and the huge impact of European colonization, which led to the extinction of all these lizards in less than 300 years.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:15C39436-A083-483F-B35E-78807B606904     

Restoration potential of threatened ecosystem engineers increases with aridity: broad scale effects on soil nutrients and function

Species extinctions alter ecosystem services, and the magnitude of this impact is likely to change across environmental gradients. In Australia, soil‐disturbing mammals that are now considered ecologically extinct are thought to be important ecosystem engineers. Previous studies have demonstrated microsite‐level impacts of reintroduced soil‐disturbing mammals on soil functions, but effects are yet to be tested across larger scales. Further, it is unclear how impacts vary across environmental gradients and if the restoration potential of reintroductions changes with climate. We examined the effects of soil‐disturbing mammal reintroductions across a large rainfall gradient in Australia to test the hypothesis that ecosystem engineering effects on soil function depend on climate. We compared soil labile carbon, available nitrogen and the activity of four enzymes associated with nutrient cycling in three microsite types with and without soil‐disturbing mammals in five sites along a large rainfall gradient (166–870 mm). Soil enzyme activity was greatest in the presence of soil‐disturbing mammals and increased with rainfall, but soil available carbon and nitrogen varied across the gradient and among microsites. Microsite effects were often stronger than any effects of soil‐disturbing mammals, with soil beneath vegetated patches (shrubs and trees) having greater enzyme activity, carbon and nitrogen than bare soils. However, soil‐disturbing mammals homogenised nutrient distributions across microsites. The impacts of soil‐disturbing mammals on soil function previously detected at micro‐scales was detected at a landscape‐scale. However, the overall effects of soil‐disturbing mammals on soil functions varied with productivity (rainfall). The context of soil‐disturbing mammal reintroductions is thus likely to be critical in determining their effectiveness in restoring soil function.     

Mindfulness and self-compassion along the chronotype: a cross-sectional study

It is well established in the literature that morning-type individuals present better health indicators than evening-types. Mindfulness is considered an adaptive self-regulation skill associated with well-being and physical and mental health. However, there is scarce studies that relate chronotype and mindfulness. Thus, in this research, our aim was to study the relationship between chronotype and mindfulness-related variables. For this purpose, a sample composed of 483 participants from the community was recruited through an online survey and invited to fill out the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Composite Morningness Scale. Regarding mindfulness measure, the results indicated that morning-types presented higher levels of “acting with awareness” than intermediate and evening-types. Additionally, as to self-compassion measure, morning-types presented higher levels of “mindfulness” and “overall self-compassion” than intermediate and evening-types. The remaining associations examined were not statistically significant. In sum, the morning-types showed higher scores in some of the mindfulness and self-compassion scales which seem to suggest that this morningness tendency may function as protective factor concerning eventual disorders´ development. Nonetheless, more systematic studies are needed to better understand this association and subsequently foster changes for psychological intervention.     

MAPK/ERK pathway inhibition is a promising treatment target for adrenocortical tumors

Unraveling molecular mechanisms that regulate tumor development and proliferation is of the utmost importance in the quest to decrease the high mortality rate of adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC). Our aim was to evaluate the role of two of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways (extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases [ERKs 1/2] and p38) in the adrenocortical tumorigenesis, as well as the therapeutic potential of MAPK/ERK inhibition. ERKs 1/2 and p38 activation were evaluated in incidentalomas (INC; n = 10), benign Cushing's syndrome (BCS; n = 12), malignant Cushing's syndrome (MCS; n = 6) and normal adrenal glands (NAG; 8). ACC cell line (H295R) was used to evaluate the ability of PD184352 (0.1, 1, and 10 µM), a specific MEK-MAPK-ERK pathway inhibitor, to modulate cell proliferation, viability, metabolism, and steroidogenesis. ERKs 1/2 activation was significantly higher in MCS (2.83 ± 0.17) compared with NAG (1.00 ± 0.19 “arbitrary units”), INC (1.20 ± 0.13) and BCS (2.09 ± 0.09). Phospho-p38 expression was absent in all the MCS analyzed. MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibition with PD184352 significantly decreased proliferation as well as steroidogenesis and also increased the redox state of the H295R cells. This data suggests that MEK-MAPK-ERK signaling has a role in adrenocortical tumorigenesis that could be potentially used as a diagnostic marker for malignancy and targeted treatment in ACC.