Blood pressure and hypertension in an American colony (Puerto Rico) and on the USA mainland compared, 1886–1930

We compare blood pressure and hypertension between adult men on the USA mainland and in Puerto Rico born during 1886-1930 to test hypotheses about the link between cardiovascular health and large socioeconomic and political changes in society: (a) 8853 men surveyed in Puerto Rico in 1965 and (b) 1449 non-Hispanic White men surveyed on the mainland during 1971-1975. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and hypertension were regressed separately on demographic and socioeconomic variables and cardiovascular risk factors. Mainland men not taking anti-hypertensive medication showed statistically significant improvements in systolic blood pressure and hypertension at the beginning of the century and men in Puerto Rico showed improvements in diastolic blood pressure but only during the last two quinquenniums. An average man born on the mainland during the last birth quinquennium (1926-1930) had 7.4-8.7 mmHg lower systolic blood pressure and was 61% less likely to have systolic hypertension than one born before 1901. On average Puerto Rican men born during 1921-1925 had approximately 1.7 mmHg lower diastolic blood pressure than men born before 1901. Analyses of secular trends in cardiovascular health complements analyses of secular trends in anthropometric indicators and together provide a fuller view of the changing health status of a population.     

In vitro antimicrobial effect of metallic nanoparticles on phytopathogenic strains of crop plants

In this research, the in vitro antimicrobial effect of zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO) and iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles (NPs)—with average sizes of 20, 46 and 30 nm, respectively—on the root rot disease caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum and on blight disease caused by the fungus Alternaria solani were studied. Also, bacterial diseases caused by Clavibacter michiganensis and Pseudomonas syringae that infects a wide range of plant species were assessed. Different concentrations of NPs (0, 100, 250, 500, 700 and 1,000 mg/L) were prepared on PDA agar or King's B medium in a complete randomized design with four replicates. According to the results, ZnO NPs exhibited an outstanding inhibitory effect against fungi and bacteria strains. The above results were associated with the smaller particle size. Fungi strains showed a differential sensitivity depending on the kind of NPs used. A. solani showed the highest sensitivity to ZnO NPs at 1,000 mg/L (99%), followed by CuO NPs at the same dose (95%). Fe₂O₃ NPs at all evaluated doses had no inhibitory effects on the mycelia growth of this strain, although F. oxysporum revealed greater effectiveness of the CuO NPs (96%) compared with ZnO NPs since it only inhibited 91% of the mycelial growth. The antibacterial activity was studied through optical density. C. michiganensis was found to be more sensitive to ZnO NPs because a lesser dose (700 mg/L) was required to reduce the bacterial growth (90%); in comparison, P. syringae required a dose of 1,000 mg/L to inhibit its growth (67%). CuO NPs displayed the smallest growth inhibition against the bacteria strains analysed. The antimicrobial effect of the metallic NPs that were assayed increased with higher doses.     

Subject: Migration

Research Notes on Avian Biology 1994: Selected Contributions from the 21st International Ornithological CongressGeneral Biology: Migration

Subject: Migration     

A survey of alkaloids in the genera Harpalyce and Brongniartia (Fabaceae—Brongniartieae)

The presence of alkaloids in six species of Brongniartia and three species of Harpalyce is reported. This survey revealed remarkable qualitative differences in the alkaloid profiles of these two genera. B. discolor, B. lupinoides, B. sousae and B. intermedia showed a typical -pyridone pattern, with cytisine, anagyrine and baptifoline as major alkaloids. In leaves of the first three species ormosanine-type alkaloids occurred additionally. B. flava and B. vazquezii are devoid of -pyridones, but accumulate lupanine, hydroxylated lupanines and ester alkaloids. All three species of Harpalyce were similar in accumulating -pyridones, but H. formosa differed from H. brasiliana and H. pringlei in the presence of epilupinine. In general the alkaloid profiles of Brongniartia and Harpalyce show similarities to those of the Australian genera Hovea, Lamprolobium, Plagiocarpus and Templetonia and support therefore the actual concept of the enlarged tribe Brongniartieae.     

New conservation opportunities: Using citizen science in monitoring non-native species in Neotropical region

The combination of highly equipped smartphones, with the increased use of social media, has offered a wide database. Given this, citizen science can be used to record and monitor non-native fish fauna, target new samples and collaborate with monitoring occurrences in new areas. We aimed to demonstrate the efficiency of social media in citizen science as a tool to cooperate with monitoring studies of non-native species. Consequently, we determined the occurrence points of S. brasiliensis in the Iguaçu River basin, indicating sites of greatest occurrence and analyzing the impact of the invasion on the native fauna of the basin. Files and information available on the YouTube^® and Facebook^® media platforms were used as data, was carried out from April 2019 to April 2020. The results were 40 records, 22 videos obtained from Youtube, and seven videos and 11 photos from Facebook, the oldest record was from April 2013, while the largest number of posts was in 2016. Fish records available from online platforms can reveal the occurrence and progressive dispersion of species, in the context of biological invasions, these tools can be of great value in studies that aim to follow the progress of introduced species, contributing by helping to direct new sampling programs and corroborating the occurrence of species in new areas in conjunction with standard monitoring programs. Based on citizen science records, it was possible to update the range of occurrence of the non-native S. brasiliensis in the Iguaçu River basin, cooperating with scientific knowledge. Innovative monitoring and control measures are necessary to deal with invasive species, with citizen science proving to be competent for determining the occurrence of species and showing promise in the entire field of ichthyology.     

Testing the Performance of Fourteen Native Tropical Tree Species in Two Abandoned Pastures of the Lacandon Rainforest Region of Chiapas,Mexico

The rainforest of Mexico has been degraded and severely fragmented, and urgently require restoration. However, the practice of restoration has been limited by the lack of species‐specific data on survival and growth responses to local environmental variation. This study explores the differential performance of 14 wet tropical early‐, mid‐ or late‐successional tree species that were grown in two abandoned pastures with contrasting land‐use histories. After 18 months, seedling survival and growth of at least 7 of the 14 tree species studied were significantly higher in the site with a much longer history of land use (site 2). Saplings of the three early‐successional species showed exceptional growth rates. However, differences in performance were noted in relation to the differential soil properties between the experimental sites. Mid‐successional species generally showed slow growth rates but high seedling survival, whereas late‐successional species exhibited poor seedling survival at both the study sites. Stepwise linear regressions revealed that the species integrated response index combining survivorship and growth measurements, was influenced mostly by differences in soil pH between the two abandoned pastures. Our results suggest that local environmental variation among abandoned pastures of contrasting land‐use histories influences sapling survival and growth. Furthermore, the similarity of responses among species with the same successional status allowed us to make some preliminary site and species‐specific silvicultural recommendations. Future field experiments should extend the number of species and the range of environmental conditions to identify site “generalists” or more narrowly adapted species, that we would call “sensitive.”     

EARLY TOXIC EFFECTS OF ZINC ON PSII OF SYNECHOCYSTIS AQUATILIS F. AQUATILIS (CYANOPHYCEAE)1

Zinc toxicity on photosynthetic activity in cells of Synechocystis aquatilis f. aquatilis Sauvageau was investigated by monitoring Hill activity and fluorescence. The oxygen‐evolving activity decreased to about 80% of the initial value after exposure to 0.1 mM ZnSO₄ for 1 h. The PSII activity was inhibited by 40% in the presence of zinc concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 5.0 mM, suggesting that the metal effect is limited by zinc uptake. The fluorescence capacity (F_max–F/F_max) decreased from 0.57 to 0.35 and 0.20 in Zn‐treated cells for 15 and 60 min, respectively, thus providing evidence for rapid inactivation of electron transport at PSII. Zinc treatment promoted a rapid increase in PSII fluorescence that was counteracted by addition of 1,4‐benzoquinone, indicating that electron transfer at the reducing side of the PSII reaction center is arrested by zinc. Furthermore, a decline in the fluorescence yield could be observed after 1 h of zinc treatment as well as when Zn‐treated cells were excited in presence of 3‐(3′,4′‐dichlorophenyl)‐1,1‐dimethylurea. Under these conditions, zinc did not affect energy transfer from phycobilisomes to PSII, and the gradual quenching of PSII fluorescence may be due to a decrease in electron flow on the donor side of PSII. However, the 20% increase in the minimal fluorescence intensity (F_o) in parallel to the absence of changes in the maximal fluorescence intensity (F_max), observed in the first hour of zinc treatment, could also suggest a metal‐induced decline in the energy transfer from PSII‐chl a antenna to the PSII reaction center.     

Expression and high glucose-mediated regulation of K channel interacting protein 3 (KChIP3) and KV4 channels in retinal Müller glial cells

Normal vision depends on the correct function of retinal neurons and glia and it is impaired in the course of diabetic retinopathy. Müller cells, the main glial cells of the retina, suffer morphological and functional alterations during diabetes participating in the pathological retinal dysfunction. Recently, we showed that Müller cells express the pleiotropic protein potassium channel interacting protein 3 (KChIP3), an integral component of the voltage-gated K⁺ channels K_V4. Here, we sought to analyze the role of KChIP3 in the molecular mechanisms underlying hyperglycemia-induced phenotypic changes in the glial elements of the retina. The expression and function of KChIp3 was analyzed in vitro in rat Müller primary cultures grown under control (5.6 mM) or high glucose (25 mM) (diabetic-like) conditions. We show the up-regulation of KChIP3 expression in Müller cell cultures under high glucose conditions and demonstrate a previously unknown interaction between the K_V4 channel and KChIP3 in Müller cells. We show evidence for the expression of a 4-AP-sensitive transient outward voltage-gated K⁺ current and an alteration in the inactivation of the macroscopic outward K⁺ currents expressed in high glucose-cultured Müller cells. Our data support the notion that induction of KChIP3 and functional changes of K_V4 channels in Müller cells could exert a physiological role in the onset of diabetic retinopathy.