Impalement of marine turtles (Reptitia,Chelonia: Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae) by billfishes (Osteichthyes,Perciformes: Istiophoridae and Xiphiidae)

Synopsis Billfishes have long been known to impale a great variety of objects, but there are only two brief, obscure records of marine turtles being speared. Details are presented on these two, as well as on two other confirmed records; data from two additional unconfirmed records are also presented. In total, three species of marine turtles are known to have been impaled by three species of billfishes; a fourth species of fish and a fourth species turtle are listed in an unconfirmed case. Records come from the eastern and western Pacific as well as the eastern Atlantic. Of the four confirmed cases, the turtles survived in two, and apparently died as an effect of the spearing in the other two. In three confirmed cases only the impaled rostrum was encountered, and in one confirmed case the entire fish was found, with its rostrum piercing the turtle. There is no obvious advantage — or clear disadvantage — involved in impaling turtles. It is argued that these attacks are accidental, and the result of attempts made by the billfish to capture prey that are near the turtle. These spearings indicate that the chelonians serve as shelters for prey animals on the high seas, and thus, are further evidence of the pelagic existence of marine turtles. The impalings are evidence of a singular ecological role of the turtles — as live fish aggregation devices.     

Abscisic Acid Sprays Significantly Increase Yield per Plant in Vineyard-Grown Wine Grape (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vitis vinifera</Emphasis> L.) cv. Cabernet Sauvignon Through Increased Berry Set with No Negative Effects on Anthocyanin Content and Total Polyphenol Index of Both Juice and Wine

In many cultivars of Vitis vinifera periods of mild water stress during ripening are thought to increase grape quality for winemaking, even though yields may be negatively affected. Because abscisic acid (ABA) is involved in the signaling of water stress in plants, we examine the effects of the ABA signal being given without the concomitant water stress. ABA at 250 mg l⁻¹ was sprayed weekly or biweekly from bud-burst until harvest onto the leaves of vineyard-grown plants of cv. Cabernet Sauvignon. For ABA-treated plants berry yield per bunch and per plant was significantly increased (1.5- to 2.0-fold) across three consecutive harvests (2005 through 2007). Number of berries per bunch and per plant was the primary basis for the significant crop increases, although bunches per plant also tended to increase (1.1- to 1.3-fold) across all three harvests. Other parameters assessed included number of internodes, shoot length, leaf area, leaf water potential at midday, photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance. These parameters showed no significant change with ABA treatment, although shoot length tended to be reduced, as was leaf area relative to control plants. The significantly increased fruit yields were thus accomplished without accompanying increases in leaf photosynthesis and leaf areas. Juice at harvest had equal levels of sugars (Brix) and somewhat higher levels of anthocyanins and total polyphenols relative to control values. The two latter trends continued for the resultant wine across two vintage years. In conclusion, three seasons of experimental trials have demonstrated that ABA application can significantly enhance yield per plant in the field-grown grape (cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) by favoring increased berry set without diminishing the quality of the fruit for winemaking use.     

Thieno[3,4‐c]Pyrrole‐4,6‐Dione‐Based Polymer Acceptors for High Open‐Circuit Voltage All‐Polymer Solar Cells

While polymer acceptors are promising fullerene alternatives in the fabrication of efficient bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, the range of efficient material systems relevant to the “all‐polymer” BHJ concept remains narrow, and currently limits the perspectives to meet the 10% efficiency threshold in all‐polymer solar cells. This report examines two polymer acceptor analogs composed of thieno[3,4‐c ]pyrrole‐4,6‐dione (TPD) and 3,4‐difluorothiophene ([2F]T) motifs, and their BHJ solar cell performance pattern with a low‐bandgap polymer donor commonly used with fullerenes (PBDT‐TS1; taken as a model system). In this material set, the introduction of a third electron‐deficient motif, namely 2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole (BT), is shown to (i) significantly narrow the optical gap (E _opt) of the corresponding polymer (by ≈0.2 eV) and (ii) improve the electron mobility of the polymer by over two orders of magnitude in BHJ solar cells. In turn, the narrow‐gap P2TPDBT[2F]T analog (E _opt = 1.7 eV) used as fullerene alternative yields high open‐circuit voltages (V _OC) of ≈1.0 V, notable short‐circuit current values (J _SC) of ≈11.0 mA cm⁻², and power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) nearing 5% in all‐polymer BHJ solar cells. P2TPDBT[2F]T paves the way to a new, promising class of polymer acceptor candidates.     

Impact of single-site axonal GABAergic synaptic events on cerebellar interneuron activity

Axonal ionotropic receptors are present in a variety of neuronal types, and their function has largely been associated with the modulation of axonal activity and synaptic release. It is usually assumed that activation of axonal GABA_ARs comes from spillover, but in cerebellar molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) the GABA source is different: in these cells, GABA release activates presynaptic GABA_A autoreceptors (autoRs) together with postsynaptic targets, producing an autoR-mediated synaptic event. The frequency of presynaptic, autoR-mediated miniature currents is twice that of their somatodendritic counterparts, suggesting that autoR-mediated responses have an important effect on interneuron activity. Here, we used local Ca²⁺ photolysis in MLI axons of juvenile rats to evoke GABA release from individual varicosities to study the activation of axonal autoRs in single release sites. Our data show that single-site autoR conductances are similar to postsynaptic dendritic conductances. In conditions of high [Cl⁻]_i, autoR-mediated conductances range from 1 to 5 nS; this corresponds to ∼30–150 GABA_A channels per presynaptic varicosity, a value close to the number of channels in postsynaptic densities. Voltage responses produced by the activation of autoRs in single varicosities are amplified by a Na_v-dependent mechanism and propagate along the axon with a length constant of 91 µm. Immunolabeling determination of synapse location shows that on average, one third of the synapses produce autoR-mediated signals that are large enough to reach the axon initial segment. Finally, we show that single-site activation of presynaptic GABA_A autoRs leads to an increase in MLI excitability and thus conveys a strong feedback signal that contributes to spiking activity.     

Molecular mechanics of mouse cardiac myosin isoforms

Two myosin isoforms are expressed in myocardium, alphaalpha-homodimers (V(1)) and betabeta-homodimers (V(3)). V(1) exhibits higher velocities and myofibrillar ATPase activities compared with V(3). We also observed this for cardiac myosin from normal (V(1)) and propylthiouracil-treated (V(3)) mice. Actin velocity in a motility assay (V(actin)) over V(1) myosin was twice that of V(3) as was the myofibrillar ATPase. Myosin's average force (F(avg)) was similar for V(1) and V(3). Comparing V(actin) and F(avg) across species for both V(1) and V(3), our laboratory showed previously (VanBuren P, Harris DE, Alpert NR, and Warshaw DM. Circ Res 77: 439-444, 1995) that mouse V(1) has greater V(actin) and F(avg) compared with rabbit V(1). Mouse V(3) V(actin) was twice that of rabbit V(actin). To understand myosin's molecular structure and function, we compared alpha- and beta-cardiac myosin sequences from rodents and rabbits. The rabbit alpha- and beta-cardiac myosin differed by eight and four amino acids, respectively, compared with rodents. These residues are localized to both the motor domain and the rod. These differences in sequence and mechanical performance may be an evolutionary attempt to match a myosin's mechanical behavior to the heart's power requirements.     

Auto‐phosphorylation of a voltage‐gated K+ channel controls non‐associative learning

Here, we characterize a new K⁺ channel–kinase complex that operates in the metazoan Caenorhabditis elegans to control learning behaviour. This channel is composed of a pore‐forming subunit, dubbed KHT‐1 (73% homology to human Kv3.1), and the accessory subunit MPS‐1, which shows kinase activity. Genetic, biochemical and electrophysiological evidence show that KHT‐1 and MPS‐1 form a complex in vitro and in native mechanosensory PLM neurons, and that KHT‐1 is a substrate for the kinase activity of MPS‐1. Behavioural analysis further shows that the kinase activity of MPS‐1 is specifically required for habituation to repetitive mechanical stimulation. Thus, worms bearing an inactive MPS‐1 variant (D178N) respond normally to touch on the body but do not habituate to repetitive mechanical stimulation such as tapping on the side of the Petri dish. Hence, the phosphorylation status of KHT‐1–MPS‐1 seems to be linked to distinct behavioural responses. In the non‐phosphorylated state the channel is necessary for the normal function of the touch neurons. In the auto‐phosphorylated state the channel acts to induce neuronal adaptation to mechanical stimulation. Taken together, these data establish a new mechanism of dynamic regulation of electrical signalling in the nervous system.     

Canalization and developmental instability of the fetal skull in a mouse model of maternal nutritional stress

Nutritional imbalance is one of the main sources of stress in both extant and extinct human populations. Restricted availability of nutrients is thought to disrupt the buffering mechanisms that contribute to developmental stability and canalization, resulting in increased levels of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and phenotypic variance among individuals. However, the literature is contradictory in this regard. This study assesses the effect of prenatal nutritional stress on FA and among‐individual variance in cranial shape and size using a mouse model of maternal protein restriction. Two sets of landmark coordinates were digitized in three dimensions from skulls of control and protein restricted specimens at E17.5 and E18.5. We found that, by the end of gestation, maternal protein restriction resulted in a significant reduction of skull size. Fluctuating asymmetry in size and shape exceeded the amount of measurement error in all groups, but no significant differences in the magnitude of FA were found between treatments. Conversely, the pattern of shape asymmetry was affected by the environmental perturbation since the angles between the first eigenvectors extracted from the covariance matrix of shape asymmetric component of protein restricted and control groups were not significantly different from the expected for random vectors. In addition, among‐individual variance in cranial shape was significantly higher in the protein restricted than the control group at E18.5. Overall, the results obtained from a controlled experiment do not support the view of fluctuating asymmetry of cranial structures as a reliable index for inferring nutritional stress in human populations. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:544–553, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris gum Mutants: Effects on Xanthan Biosynthesis and Plant Virulence

Xanthan is an industrially important exopolysaccharide produced by the phytopathogenic, gram-negative bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. It is composed of polymerized pentasaccharide repeating units which are assembled by the sequential addition of glucose-1-phosphate, glucose, mannose, glucuronic acid, and mannose on a polyprenol phosphate carrier (L. Ielpi, R. O. Couso, and M. A. Dankert, J. Bacteriol. 175:2490–2500, 1993). A cluster of 12 genes in a region designated xpsI or gum has been suggested to encode proteins involved in the synthesis and polymerization of the lipid intermediate. However, no experimental evidence supporting this suggestion has been published. In this work, from the biochemical analysis of a defined set of X. campestris gum mutants, we report experimental data for assigning functions to the products of the gum genes. We also show that the first step in the assembly of the lipid-linked intermediate is severely affected by the combination of certain gum and non-gum mutations. In addition, we provide evidence that the C-terminal domain of the gumD gene product is sufficient for its glucosyl-1-phosphate transferase activity. Finally, we found that alterations in the later stages of xanthan biosynthesis reduce the aggressiveness of X. campestris against the plant.     

Ocular-Motor Profile and Effects of Memantine in a Familial Form of Adult Cerebellar Ataxia with Slow Saccades and Square Wave Saccadic Intrusions

Fixation instability due to saccadic intrusions is a feature of autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxias, and includes square wave intrusions (SWI) and macrosaccadic oscillations (MSO). A recent report suggested that the non-competitive antagonist of NMDA receptors, memantine, could decrease MSO and improve fixation in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia with saccadic intrusions (SCASI). We similarly tested two sisters, respectively of 58 and 60 years, with an unrecognized form of recessive, adult-onset cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuropathy and slow saccades, who showed prominent SWI and also complained with difficulty in reading. We tested horizontal visually guided saccades (10°–18°) and three minutes of steady fixation in each patient and in thirty healthy controls. Both patients showed a significant reduction of peak and mean velocity compared with control subjects. Large SWI interrupting steady fixation were prominent during steady fixation and especially following visually guided saccades. Eye movements were recorded before and during the treatment with memantine, 20 mg/daily for 6 months. The treatment with memantine reduced both the magnitude and frequency of SWI (the former significantly), but did not modified neurological conditions or saccade parameters. Thus, our report suggests that memantine may have some general suppressive effect on saccadic intrusions, including both SWI and MSO, thereby restoring the capacity of reading and visual attention in these and in other recessive forms of ataxia, including Friedreich’s, in which saccadic intrusions are prominent.