Male Gender,Increased Blood Viscosity,Body Mass Index and Triglyceride Levels Are Independently Associated with Systemic Relative Hypertension in Sickle Cell Anemia

Patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) have usually lower diastolic, systolic and mean blood pressure (BP) than the general population. However, BP values ≥120/70 mmHg considerably increase the risk for acute and chronic complications in SCA. The aim of this study was to identify biological factors associated with relative hypertension in adults with SCA. We compared the hematological, lipid and hemolytic profiles, as well as blood viscosity, between SCA patients with normal BP (<120/70 mmHg, n = 54) and those with relative hypertension (BP≥120/70 mmHg, n = 43). Our results demonstrated that male gender (OR: 3.49; 95%CI 1.20 to 10.16, p<0.05), triglycerides (OR: 9.19; 95% CI 2.29 to 36.95, p<0.01), blood viscosity (OR: 1.35; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.81, p<0.05) and body mass index (OR: 1.37; 95% CI 1.14 to 1.64, p<0.01) were independent risks factors for relative hypertension in SCA. No association was found between the BP status and the positive history of painful vaso-occlusive crisis or acute chest syndrome. An association between triglycerides level and the occurrence of these two major acute complications was detected. Our study suggests that male gender, increased triglycerides level, BMI and blood viscosity could increase the risk for developing relative hypertension in SCA. In addition, our results support a role of moderately elevated triglycerides in the pathophysiology of vaso-occlusive events.     

Enthalpie and Entropie Contributions in the Transesterification of Sucrose: Computational Study of Lipases and Subtilisin

Abstract

Transesterification of sucrose with fatty acids catalyzed by subtilisin Carlsberg occurs with regioselectivity that is different from that in lipases. Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TlL) and Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) catalyze synthesis at positions 6 and 6′, with differing abilities, while subtilisin catalysis leads to the l′-acylated sucrose. The catalytic machinery in lipases is approximately mirrored in subtilisins but different pocket morphologies including size, shape, and rearrangement of the catalytic elements underlies the differing regioselectivities. The thermodynamic consequences of these differences on the above reactions have been explored systematically using computational methods, determining the free energies of interaction of the putative transition-state adducts. Analysis of the conformers with the lowest transition state energies (protein-ligand interactions and vibrational entropy contributions) indicates that enthalpic factors control specificities in lipases while entropic factors are more important in subtilisin.     

Pollen morphology and systematics of Atripliceae (Chenopodiaceae)

Pollen morphology of 58 species from 17 putative genera of the tribe Atripliceae (Chenopodiaceae) was investigated using light (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Morphological variation was analyzed based on a dense sampling of the subtribes Atriplicinae and Eurotiinae, including many of the species in the two largest genera: Atriplex and Obione. The pantoporate pollen grains of Atripliceae are characterized by their spheroidal or subspheroidal shape, flat or moderately vaulted mesoporia with 21–120 pores, tectum with 1–8 spinules and 5–28(?38) puncta per?µm², and 1–13 ectexinous bodies bearing 1–7 spinules each. Taxonomic relevance of the most important pollen morphological characters is discussed (pollen diameter, pore number, pore diameter, interporal distance, spinule and puncta density and ratio, number of ectexinous bodies, and their spinules). Pollen morphological data support the exclusion of Suckleya from the tribe and the recognition of subtribe Eurotiinae, but suggest that it needs to be reviewed. Pollen does not support generic recognition of Atriplex, Neopreissia and Obione and infrageneric subdivisions as currently recognized, and suggests the need to review them. Smaller or monotypic genera, such as Axyris, Ceratocarpus, Endolepis, Krascheninnikovia, Microgynoecium, Proatriplex and Spinacia have distinctive pollen morphological characters that support their generic status. Grayia needs to be reevaluated; although its two species are distinct from all the other species in the study, there are notable differences between each of them, and this suggests they may not form a natural group. Multivariate techniques were employed to investigate if there are discrete patterns of variation within Atripliceae. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) weakly differentiates four groups based on variation in pore number, puncta density per?µm², and ratio between spinule and puncta density per?µm²; species of Ceratocarpus, Haloxanthium, Krascheninnikovia, Manochlamys, Microgynoecium, Spinacia, and some species of Atriplex and Obione are isolated. Preliminary results indicate that pollen data are potentially useful in the classification of the tribe, and further studies will be of taxonomic value.     

Characterization of a Monoclonal Antibody Directed against Mytilus spp Larvae Reveals an Antigen Involved in Shell Biomineralization

The M22.8 monoclonal antibody (mAb) developed against an antigen expressed at the mussel larval and postlarval stages of Mytilus galloprovincialis was studied on adult samples. Antigenic characterization by Western blot showed that the antigen MSP22.8 has a restricted distribution that includes mantle edge tissue, extrapallial fluid, extrapallial fluid hemocytes, and the shell organic matrix of adult samples. Other tissues such as central mantle, gonadal tissue, digestive gland, labial palps, foot, and byssal retractor muscle did not express the antigen. Immunohistochemistry assays identified MSP22.8 in cells located in the outer fold epithelium of the mantle edge up to the pallial line. Flow cytometry analysis showed that hemocytes from the extrapallial fluid also contain the antigen intracellularly. Furthermore, hemocytes from hemolymph have the ability to internalize the antigen when exposed to a cell-free extrapallial fluid solution. Our findings indicate that hemocytes could play an important role in the biomineralization process and, as a consequence, they have been included in a model of shell formation. This is the first report concerning a protein secreted by the mantle edge into the extrapallial space and how it becomes part of the shell matrix framework in M. galloprovincialis mussels.     

Phylogenetic characterization and morphological and physiological aspects of a novel acidotolerant and halotolerant microalga <Emphasis Type="Italic">Coccomyxa onubensis</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Chlorophyta,Trebouxiophyceae)

The genus Coccomyxa comprises green microalgae, which can be found worldwide in remarkably versatile aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems including symbiotic associations with a number of different hosts. In this study, we describe a new species, Coccomyxa onubensis, based on 18S and ITS ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence data. Coccomyxa onubensis was isolated from acidic water, and its ability to adapt to a wide range of acidic and alkaline pH values and to high salinity was analyzed. The long-term adaptation capacity of the microalga to such extreme conditions was evaluated by performing continuous repeated batches at selected salt concentrations and pH values. Adapted cultures of C. onubensis were found to yield high biomass productivities from pH 2.5 to 9, with maximum yields at acidic pH between 2.5 and 4.5. Moreover, C. onubensis was also found to adapt to salinities as high as 0.5 M NaCl, reaching biomass productivities that were similar to those of control cultures. Ultrastructural analysis by transmission electron microscopy of C. onubensis cells adapted to high salinity showed a robust response to hyperosmotic shock. Thus, C. onubensis was found to be acidotolerant and halotolerant. High biomass productivity over a wide range of pH and salinities denotes C. onubensis as an interesting candidate for various biotechnological applications including outdoor biomass production.     

Insights into the molecular basis of thermal stability from the structure determination of Pyrococcus furiosus gluatamate dehydrogenase

Abstract: The structure determination of the glutamate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus has been completed at 2.2 Å resolution. The structure has been compared with the glutamate dehydrogenases from the mesophiles Clostridium symbiosum, Escherichia coli and Neurospora crassa . This comparison has revealed that the hyperthermophilic enzyme contains a striking series of networks of ion-pairs which are formed by regions of the protein which contain a high density of charged residues. Such regions are not found in the mesophilic enzymes and the number and extent of ion-pair formation is much more limited. The ion-pair networks are clustered at both inter domain and inter subunit interfaces and may well represent a major stabilising feature associated with the adaptation of enzymes to extreme temperatures.     

The anthropogenic environment lessens the intensity and prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in Balinese long-tailed macaques (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Macaca fascicularis</Emphasis>)

The distribution of wildlife parasites in a landscape is intimately tied to the spatial distribution of hosts. In parasite species, including many gastrointestinal parasites, with obligate or common environmental life stages, the dynamics of the parasite can also be strongly affected by geophysical components of the environment. This is especially salient in host species, for example humans and macaques, which thrive across a wide variety of habitat types and quality and so are exposed to a wealth of environmentally resilient parasites. Here, we examine the effect of environmental and anthropogenic components of the landscape on the prevalence, intensity, and species diversity of gastrointestinal parasites across a metapopulation of long-tailed macaques on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Using principal-components analysis, we identified significant interaction effects between specific environmental and anthropogenic components of the landscape, parsing the Balinese landscape into anthropogenic (PC1), mixed environment (PC2), and non-anthropogenic (PC3) components. Further, we determined that the anthropogenic environment can mitigate the prevalence and intensity of specific gut parasites and the intensity of the overall community of gut parasites, but that non-anthropogenically driven landscape components have no significant effect in increasing or reducing the intensity or prevalence of the community of gut parasites in Balinese macaques.