Taphonomy and compositional fidelity of Quaternary fossil assemblages of terrestrial gastropods from carbonate-rich environments of the Canary Islands

Quaternary aeolian deposits of the Canary Islands contain well‐preserved terrestrial gastropods, providing a suitable setting for assessing the taphonomy and compositional fidelity of their fossil record over ~13 kyr. Nine beds (12, 513 shells) have been analysed in terms of multivariate taphonomic and palaeoecological variables, taxonomic composition, and the stratigraphic and palaeontological context. Shells are affected by carbonate coatings, colour loss and fragmentation. Shell preservation is size‐specific: juveniles are less fragmented and show colour preservation more commonly than adults. In palaeosols, the adult shell density correlates negatively with the proportion of fragmented adults, negatively with the proportion of juveniles, and positively with the proportion of adults with coatings. High bioturbation intensity in palaeosols is associated with low shell fragmentation and high proportion of shells with coatings. These relationships imply that high adult density in palaeosols was driven by an increase in shell production rate (related to a decrease in predation rates on adults and a decrease in juvenile mortality) and a decrease in shell destruction rate (related to an increase in durability enhanced by carbonate precipitation). In dunes, the relationships between taphonomic alteration, shell density and bioturbation are insignificant. However, dune assemblages are characterized by a lower frequency of shells with coatings and higher rates of colour loss, indicating lower shell durability in dunes than in palaeosols. Additionally, non‐random differences in the coating proportion among palaeosols imply substantial temporal variation in the rate of carbonate crust formation, reflecting long‐term changes in bioturbation intensity that covaries positively with shell preservation. Dunes and palaeosols do not differ in species abundances despite differences in the degree of shell alteration, suggesting that both weakly and strongly altered assemblages offer data with a high compositional fidelity. Carbonate‐rich terrestrial deposits originating in arid conditions can enhance the preservation of gastropods and result in fossil assemblages that are suitable for palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental studies of terrestrial ecosystems.     

Efficacy of neem and diatomaceous earth against cowpea aphids and their deleterious effect on predating Coccinelidae

Philippine vegetable farmers commonly use synthetic insecticides to control insect pests on yardlong beans ( Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis ). An important pest on yardlong beans is the cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch. Overuse of chemical insecticides and the adverse consequences for farmer health and for the environment have been reported. The natural enemies of A. craccivora , such as the coccinelidae beetle, Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabr.), do not provide economic control on their own. In the present study the efficacy of the biological insecticide neem (both commercial and homemade) alone, and in combination with diatomaceous earth against A. craccivora was evaluated. The same insecticides were also examined to investigate their deleterious effect on M. sexmaculatus . The efficacies of different treatments with biological insecticides were compared with the use of the synthetic insecticide Hostathion (triazophos). Experiments were conducted under Philippine lowland conditions during the dry season when the occurrence of pest problems in yardlong beans is very great. Commercial neem, NeemAzal-T/S (Trifolio-M GmbH, Lahnau, Germany), significantly reduced the number of A. craccivora . NeemAzal-T/S and diatomaceous earth in combination produced the best control of A. craccivora and were less toxic to M. sexmaculatus than treatment with Hostathion (triazophos). Aqueous homemade neem solution did not control the A. craccivora populations.     

Cross-reactivity studies of an anti-Plasmodium vivax apical membrane antigen 1 monoclonal antibody: binding and structural characterisation

Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) has an important, but as yet uncharacterised, role in host cell invasion by the malaria parasite, Plasmodium. The protein, which is quite conserved between Plasmodium species, comprises an ectoplasmic region, a single transmembrane segment and a small cytoplasmic domain. The ectoplasmic region, which can induce protective immunity in animal models of human malaria, is a leading vaccine candidate that has entered clinical trials. The monoclonal antibody F8.12.19, raised against the recombinant ectoplasmic region of AMA1 from Plasmodium vivax, cross-reacts with homologues from Plasmodium knowlesi, Plasmodium cynomolgi, Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium falciparum, as shown by immunofluorescence assays on mature schizonts. The binding of F8.12.19 to recombinant AMA1 from both P. vivax and P. falciparum was measured by surface plasmon resonance, revealing an apparent affinity constant that is about 100-fold weaker for the cross-reacting antigen when compared to the cognate antigen. Crystal structure analysis of Fab F8.12.19 complexed to AMA1 from P. vivax and P. falciparum shows that the monoclonal antibody recognises a discontinuous epitope located on domain III of the ectoplasmic region, the major component being a loop containing a cystine knot. The structures provide a basis for understanding the cross-reactivity. Antibody contacts are made mainly to main-chain and invariant side-chain atoms of AMA1; contact antigen residues that differ in sequence are located at the periphery of the antigen-binding site and can be accommodated at the interface between the two components of the complex. The implications for AMA1 vaccine development are discussed.     

Crystal Structure of Plasmodium knowlesi Apical Membrane Antigen 1 and Its Complex with an Invasion-Inhibitory Monoclonal Antibody

The malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi, previously associated only with infection of macaques, is now known to infect humans as well and has become a significant public health problem in Southeast Asia. This species should therefore be targeted in vaccine and therapeutic strategies against human malaria. Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA1), which plays a role in Plasmodium merozoite invasion of the erythrocyte, is currently being pursued in human vaccine trials against P. falciparum. Recent vaccine trials in macaques using the P. knowlesi orthologue PkAMA1 have shown that it protects against infection by this parasite species and thus should be developed for human vaccination as well. Here, we present the crystal structure of Domains 1 and 2 of the PkAMA1 ectodomain, and of its complex with the invasion-inhibitory monoclonal antibody R31C2. The Domain 2 (D2) loop, which is displaced upon binding the Rhoptry Neck Protein 2 (RON2) receptor, makes significant contacts with the antibody. R31C2 inhibits binding of the Rhoptry Neck Protein 2 (RON2) receptor by steric blocking of the hydrophobic groove and by preventing the displacement of the D2 loop which is essential for exposing the complete binding site on AMA1. R31C2 recognizes a non-polymorphic epitope and should thus be cross-strain reactive. PkAMA1 is much less polymorphic than the P. falciparum and P. vivax orthologues. Unlike these two latter species, there are no polymorphic sites close to the RON2-binding site of PkAMA1, suggesting that P. knowlesi has not developed a mechanism of immune escape from the host’s humoral response to AMA1.     

ZnCl2 catalyzed new coumarinyl-chalcones as cytotoxic agents

A new series of coumarin-yl-chalcone derivatives (3a-m) had been designed and synthesized through different reactions such as aromatic addition, cyclization and Claisen-Schmidt reactions in good yields (54–78%). 5-acetyl-4-(2-hydroxyphenyl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H) -one (1) has been synthesized by multi-component one pot reaction of salicylaldehyde, methyl acetoacetate and urea, which was further reacted with malonic acid employing ZnCl₂ catalyst to yield 5-acetyl-4-(4-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H) -one (2). The title compounds (3a-m) were synthesised by reacting 5-acetyl-4-(4-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one (2) with different aromatic aldehydes in the presence of potassium hydroxide. In silico studies, a preliminary screening method for predicting the anti-cancer activity was performed for the synthesized compounds (3a-m) against Src, Alb tyrosine kinase and homology model protein (PDB ID: 4csv). The derivatives 3h and 3m showed moderate binding energies. The in vitro cytotoxic activity was evaluated for the compounds 3h and 3m by using human cancer cell-line morphology and MTT assay against three human cell-lines A549 (Lung), Jurkat (Leukemia) and MCF-7 (Breast). The results indicate that the derivatives 3h and 3m display significant anti-cancer activity, however it was found to be less cytotoxic when compared to the standard used i.e. Imatinib.     

A molecular phylogeny of the cosmopolitan hyperdiverse genus Hydraena Kugelann (Coleoptera,Hydraenidae)

With almost 900 described species, Hydraena Kugelann (Hydraenidae) is one of the largest genera among Coleoptera. The subgeneric classification of Hydraena has been controversial, with 11 subgeneric names having so far been attributed to it. Some of these, Haenydra Rey and Spanglerina Perkins, have been treated as valid genera, as subgenera or as species groups. The most recent complete treatment of the genus, based on a cladistic analysis of morphological characters, recognized two major lineages, and only these were classified as subgenera: Hydraenopsis (mainly Gondwanan distribution), and Hydraena s.str. (mainly Laurasian). Here, we reconstruct the phylogeny of Hydraena using 212 species plus several outgroups and approximately 4 kb of sequence data from two nuclear (SSU and LSU) and four mitochondrial genes (cox1, rrnL, trnL and nad1). Data were aligned with two different strategies of multiple alignment (implemented in mafft and prank ), and the phylogenies reconstructed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. We estimated approximate ages of the main nodes using a relaxed molecular clock with Bayesian methods, and an a priori evolutionary rate of 0.01 substitutions/site/million years (Ma) plus a calibration point based on a biogeographical split. We found strong support for the monophyly of Hydraena and many of the clades recognized with morphological data. The following clades are considered as subgenera: Phothydraena Kuwert, Spanglerina Perkins, Holcohydraena Kuwert, Hydraenopsis Janssens and Hydraena s.str. The placement of three species groups, two Neotropical (H. multispina group, H. paeminosa group) and one South African/Madagascan (H. monikae group), is uncertain, and they are considered incertae sedis within Hydraena. The origin of the genus was estimated to be in the Lower Eocene, with many species complexes diversifying in the Pleistocene. Dispersal events seem to have played a key role in order to determine the current distribution of the species groups in the southern hemisphere (mainly in Hydraenopsis).     

CO2 responsiveness of plants: a possible link to phloem loading

Of the many responses of plants to elevated CO₂, accumulation of total non-structural carbohydrates (TNC in % dry weight) in leaves is one of the most consistent. Insufficient sink activity or transport capacity may explain this obvious disparity between CO₂ assimilation and carbohydrate dissipation and structural investment. If transport capacity contributes to the problem, phloem loading may be the crucial step. It has been hypothesized that symplastic phloem loading is less efficient than apoplastic phloem loading, and hence plant species using the symplastic pathway and growing under high light and good water supply should accumulate more TNC at any given CO₂ level, but particularly under elevated CO₂. We tested this hypothesis by carrying out CO₂ enrichment experiments with 28 plant species known to belong to groups of contrasting phloem-loading type. Under current ambient CO₂ symplastic loaders were found to accumulate 36% TNC compared with only 19% in apoplastic loaders (P=0.0016). CO₂ enrichment to 600 μmol mol^?1 increased TNC in both groups by the same absolute amount, bringing the mean TNC level to 41% in symplastic loaders (compared to 25% in apoplastic loaders), which may be close to TNC saturation (coupled with chlornplast malfunction). Eight tree species, ranked as symplastic loaders by their minor vein companion cell configuration, showed TNC responses more similar to those of apoplastic herbaceous loaders. Similar results are obtained when TNC is expressed on a unit leaf area basis, since mean specific leaf areas of groups were not significantly different. We conclude that phloem loading has a surprisingly strong effect on leaf tissue composition, and thus may translate into alterations of food webs and ecosystem functioning, particularly under high CO₂.     

Defunct brain stem cardiovascular regulation underlies cardiovascular collapse associated with methamphetamine intoxication

Background  

Intoxication from the psychostimulant methamphetamine (METH) because of cardiovascular collapse is a common cause of death within the abuse population. For obvious reasons, the heart has been taken as the primary target for this METH-induced toxicity. The demonstration that failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation, rather than the heart, holds the key to cardiovascular collapse induced by the pesticide mevinphos implicates another potential underlying mechanism. The present study evaluated the hypothesis that METH effects acute cardiovascular depression by dampening the functional integrity of baroreflex via an action on brain stem nuclei that are associated with this homeostatic mechanism.     

Carbohydrate cytochemistry on hypodermic lymphatic endothelium of the green lizard,Lacerta hispanica

Summary A cytochemical study on the endothelium of the hypodermic lymphatic capillaries of the green lizard,Lacerta hispanica, has been carried out. The dialysed iron method produced a homogeneous precipitate on the surface of the endothelial cells and on the inside of the endocytic vesicles. The periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate, low pH phosphotungstic acid and high iron diamine techniques gave negative results. The carbohydrates in the capillaries thus seem to be glycosaminoglycans with carboxyl groups. The possible role of these glycosaminoglycans in the formation of the endocytic vesicles is discussed.