Local use and cultural and economic value of products from trees in the Parklands of the municipality of Cinzana, Mali

This paper reports on the most important non-timber forest products (NTFPs) marketed and used during the dry season in Cinzana, near Ségou, Mali. Data was gathered from villagers through market surveys and interviews with vendors, buyers, and key informants in traditional medicine. In the Sudano-sahelian agricultural region, NTFPs are collected from parklands, comprising of fallows and croplands. Of the 20 species, five were used in handicraft production, 11 yielded human foods, and 11 had medicinal uses. In addition, many tree species have multipurpose value: six of the 20 species were recorded to be food producers in addition to having uses for handicraft production and/or medicine. The contribution of herbaceous species to the NTFPs used and harvested during the dry season is negligible. Only one of the species was non-ligneous, indicating the large significance of tree species for local communities in a region with long seasonal dry periods.     

Chlorophyll-a determination with ethanol – a critical test

Chlorophyll-a content is widely used as an indicator of the quality of freshwater bodies. Quantification of chlorophyll-a is a routine procedure in the test laboratories of water works, and in research laboratories. Although attempts have been made to standardise the measurement procedure, there are nonetheless many procedures currently in use. This work is focused on a careful re-examination of the ISO: 10260, 1992 standard, which prescribes 90% (v/v) ethanol for chlorophyll extraction and measurement. Chlorophyll contents of cultures of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus Nägeli and the chlorophyte Scenedesmus acutus Meyen were determined by means of a series of concentrations of ethanol/water mixtures which were employed as extracting agents – the water content was gradually decreased from 20 to 0%. The extraction procedure was verified by measuring the amount of retained water after using both water and oil pumps for filtering the samples. The spectroscopic effects of the presence of water were studied and the molecular background of these spectral phenomena is discussed. The extraction yields obtained with 90% ethanol were compared to those obtained with methanol and acetone. On the basis of the calculated error level, improvements to the ISO: 10260, 1992 standard method have been suggested.     

Peculiarities of Visually Sensitive Neurons of the Extrastriate Associative Area 21b of the Cat Brain Cortex

On cats with pretrigeminal brainstem transection, we studied the properties of visually sensitive neurons of the extrastriate associative cortical area 21b. The dimensions and spatial distribution of the receptive fields (RF) of the neurons within the vision field were determined. It was found that large-sized RF prevailed within the area 21b (10 to 200 deg², 61%; greater than 200 deg², 22%), whereas small-sized RF (1 to 10 deg²) constituted 17% of all the studied RF. Stationary visual stimuli evoked on–off, off, and on responses in 43, 30, and 27% neurons of the area 21b, respectively. In the cases where moving stimuli were presented, 35% of the neurons demonstrated directional sensitivity; the rest of the neurons (65%) were directionally insensitive. We also found a group of neurons that were capable of differentiating not only the direction of the stimulus movement along the RF but also the dimension, shape, and orientation of a complicated moving stimulus. Taking into account the data obtained, we discuss the functional role of the neurons, which demonstrated a specific (specialized with respect to a set of the parameters of visual stimulus, and not to a single parameter) response in central processing of the sensory information.     

Altitudinal distribution limits of aquatic macroinvertebrates: an experimental test in a tropical alpine stream

1. Temperature and oxygen are recognised as the main drivers of altitudinal limits of species distributions. However, the two factors are linked, and both decrease with altitude, why their effects are difficult to disentangle. 2. This was experimentally addressed using aquatic macroinvertebrates; larvae of Andesiops (Ephemeroptera), Claudioperla, (Plecoptera), Scirtes (Coleoptera) and Anomalocosmoecus (Trichoptera), and the amphipod Hyalella in an Ecuadorian glacier‐fed stream (4100–4500 m a.s.l.). The following were performed: (i) quantitative benthic sampling at three sites to determine altitudinal patterns in population densities, (ii) transplants of the five taxa upstream of their natural altitudinal limit to test the short‐term (14 days) effect on survival, and (iii) in situ experiments of locomotory activity as a proxy for animal response to relatively small differences in temperature (5 °C vs. 10 °C) and oxygen saturation (55% vs. 62%). 3. The transplant experiment reduced survival to a varying degree among taxa, but Claudioperla survived well at a site where it did not naturally occur. In the in situ experiment, Scirtes and Hyalella decreased their activity at lower oxygen saturation, whereas Andesiops and Anomalocosmoecus did so at a low temperature. The decrease in activity from a high to a low temperature and oxygen for the five taxa was significantly correlated with their mortality in the transplant experiment. 4. Together the present experiments indicate that even relatively small differences in temperature and oxygen may produce effects explaining ecological patterns, and depending on the taxon, either water temperature or oxygen saturation, without clear interacting effects, are important drivers of altitudinal limits.     

Y-SNP haplogroups related to the Yqh+ heteromorphism in the Mexican northwestern population

Morphological variation of the Y chromosome has been observed in different populations. This variation is mostly related to the heteromorphic Yq12 band, which is composed of a variable block of constitutive heterochromatin. The Yqh+ heteromorphism has a worldwide frequency of 2.85% and is considered clinically innocuous. The aim of this study was to identify the ancestry of the Yqh+ heteromorphism present in individuals from western Mexico. For this purpose, 17 Y-chromosome single nucleotide polymorphisms were analysed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction and SNaPshot assays. In 28 Yqh+ males, only five haplogroups were observed; with a haplogroup diversity of 0.4841 ± 0.1094, which was less than that observed in a study of unselected Mexican mestizo population. Differences were specifically conferred by the high frequencies of haplogroups R1b1 and P*(xQ,R), and by the absence of the Amerindian haplogroup Q (Q*(xQ1a3a) plus Q1a3a) from the Yqh+ group. This study suggests a post-1492 incorporation for Yqh+ chromosomes into the Mexican northwestern population.     

Thermal tolerance and recovery behaviour of Thorectes lusitanicus (Coleoptera,Geotrupidae)

1. Population differences in physiological responses are examined in Thorectes lusitanicus, an endemic Iberian dung beetle species, by submitting individuals of different populations to the same experimental and acclimation conditions. 2. An infrared thermography protocol was used, consisting of three assays: start of activity, cold response, and heat response. Individuals of 12 populations were studied and the comparative explanatory capacities of several environmental factors in relation to the observed inter‐population differences were examined. 3. The heating rate from chill coma to the beginning of activity was the variable with the highest discrimination power among the studied populations, accounting for 94% of the observed variance. Regarding the heat response, only six of the 16 thermal variables reached significance (inter‐population differences accounted for 52–74% in these six thermal parameters). 4. From the three considered environmental factors (Mediterranean climate, land cover, and trophic characteristics) only land cover characteristics remain statistically significant, affecting the cold response of individuals. 5. Thorectes lusitanicus is a species characterised by a high diversity of thermotolerance and recovery traits across populations with a low degree of association with broad environmental factors. Finally, it is suggested that the apterous character of this species could be a determinant factor explaining the high diversity of ecophysiological traits related to thermal stress tolerance and the recovery time.     

Prey: predator ratio dependence in the functional response of a freshwater amphipod

1. First known for their shredding activity, freshwater amphipods also behave as active predators with consequences for prey population regulation and amphipod coexistence in the context of biological invasions. 2. A way to quantify predation is to determine the average consumption rate per predator, also known as its functional response (FR). 3. Although amphipods are gregarious and can display social interactions that can alter per capita consumption rates, previous studies using the FR approach to investigate amphipod predation ignored such potential mutual interference because they did not consider variations in predator density. 4. We investigated the FR of Echinogammarus berilloni feeding on dipteran larvae with joint variations in prey and predator densities. This bivariate experimental design allowed us to estimate interference and to compare the fits of the three main classes of theoretical FR models, in which the predation rate is a function of prey density alone (prey‐dependent models), of both prey and predator densities (predator‐dependent models) or of the prey‐to‐predator ratio (ratio‐dependent models). 5. The Arditi–Ginzburg ratio‐dependent FR model provided the best representation of the FR of E. berilloni, whose predation rate showed a decelerating rise to a horizontal asymptote as prey abundance increased. 6. Ratio dependence means that mutual interference between amphipods leads to prey sharing. Mutual interference is likely to vary between amphipod species, depending on their level of aggressiveness.     

Reduction in hypoxia-reoxygenation-induced myocardial mitochondrial damage with exogenous methane

Albeit previous experiments suggest potential anti-inflammatory effect of exogenous methane (CH₄) in various organs, the mechanism of its bioactivity is not entirely understood. We aimed to investigate the potential mitochondrial effects and the underlying mechanisms of CH₄ in rat cardiomyocytes and mitochondria under simulated ischaemia/reperfusion (sI/R) conditions. Three-day-old cultured cardiomyocytes were treated with 2.2% CH₄-artificial air mixture during 2-hour-long reoxygenation following 4-hour-long anoxia (sI/R and sI/R + CH₄, n = 6-6), with normoxic groups serving as controls (SH and SH + CH₄; n = 6-6). Mitochondrial functions were investigated with high-resolution respirometry, and mitochondrial membrane injury was detected by cytochrome c release and apoptotic characteristics by using TUNEL staining. CH₄ admixture had no effect on complex II (CII)-linked respiration under normoxia but significantly decreased the complex I (CI)-linked oxygen consumption. Nevertheless, addition of CH₄ in the sI/R + CH4 group significantly reduced the respiratory activity of CII in contrast to CI and the CH₄ treatment diminished mitochondrial H₂O₂ production. Substrate-induced changes to membrane potential were partially preserved by CH₄, and additionally, cytochrome c release and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes were reduced in the CH₄-treated group. In conclusion, the addition of CH₄ decreases mitochondrial ROS generation via blockade of electron transport at CI and reduces anoxia-reoxygenation-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and cardiomyocyte injury in vitro.