Formation of γ-Amino-β-Hydroxybutyric Acid from 2-Hydroxyputrescine in Rat Brain

gamma-Amino-beta-[3H]hydroxybutyric acid ([3H]-GABOB) was formed in rat brain from 2-[3H]-hydroxyputrescine that had been chemically synthesized from 2-oxoputrescine and [3H]sodium borohydride. After the injection of 2-[3H]hydroxyputrescine into the lateral ventricle of a rat brain, the rat was killed and then the brain was removed. [3H]GABOB in the brain was identified by a combination of ion-exchange chromatography, high-voltage paper electrophoresis, and recrystallization of the radioactive compound with authentic GABOB.     

Regulation of Exacerbated Immune Responses in Human Peripheral Blood Cells by Hydrolysed Egg White Proteins

The anti-allergic potential of egg white protein hydrolysates (from ovalbumin, lysozyme and ovomucoid) was evaluated as their ability to hinder cytokine and IgE production by Th2-skewed human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), as well as the release of pro-inflammatory factors and generation of reactive oxygen species from Th1-stimulated peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). The binding to IgE of egg allergic patients was determined and the peptides present in the hydrolysates were identified. The hydrolysates with alcalase down-regulated the production of Th2-biased cytokines and the secretion of IgE to the culture media of Th2-skewed PBMCs, and they significantly neutralized oxidative stress in PBLs. The hydrolysates of ovalbumin and ovomucoid with pepsin helped to re-establish the Th1/Th2 balance in Th2-biased PBMCs, while they also inhibited the release of pro-inflammatory mediators and reduced oxidative stress in PBLs treated with inflammatory stimuli. The hydrolysates with alcalase, in addition to equilibrating Th2 differentiation, exhibited a low IgE-binding. Therefore, they would elicit mild allergic reactions while retaining T cell-stimulating abilities, which might correlate with an anti-allergic benefit.     

Broad-Scale Patterns of Late Jurassic Dinosaur Paleoecology

Background

There have been numerous studies on dinosaur biogeographic distribution patterns. However, these distribution data have not yet been applied to ecological questions. Ecological studies of dinosaurs have tended to focus on reconstructing individual taxa, usually through comparisons to modern analogs. Fewer studies have sought to determine if the ecological structure of fossil assemblages is preserved and, if so, how dinosaur communities varied. Climate is a major component driving differences between communities. If the ecological structure of a fossil locality is preserved, we expect that dinosaur assemblages from similar environments will share a similar ecological structure.

Methodology/Principal Findings

This study applies Ecological Structure Analysis (ESA) to a dataset of 100+ dinosaur taxa arranged into twelve composite fossil assemblages from around the world. Each assemblage was assigned a climate zone (biome) based on its location. Dinosaur taxa were placed into ecomorphological categories. The proportion of each category creates an ecological profile for the assemblage, which were compared using cluster and principal components analyses. Assemblages grouped according to biome, with most coming from arid or semi-arid/seasonal climates. Differences between assemblages are tied to the proportion of large high-browsing vs. small ground-foraging herbivores, which separates arid from semi-arid and moister environments, respectively. However, the effects of historical, taphonomic, and other environmental factors are still evident.

Conclusions/Significance

This study is the first to show that the general ecological structure of Late Jurassic dinosaur assemblages is preserved at large scales and can be assessed quantitatively. Despite a broad similarity of climatic conditions, a degree of ecological variation is observed between assemblages, from arid to moist. Taxonomic differences between Asia and the other regions demonstrate at least one case of ecosystem convergence. The proportion of different ecomorphs, which reflects the prevailing climatic and environmental conditions present during fossil deposition, may therefore be used to differentiate Late Jurassic dinosaur fossil assemblages. This method is broadly applicable to different taxa and times, allowing one to address questions of evolutionary, biogeographic, and climatic importance.     

Quantification and stability of human adenoviruses and polyomavirus JCPyV in wastewater matrices

Human adenoviruses (HAdV) and human polyomavirus JCPyV have been previously proposed as indicators of fecal viral contamination in the environment. Different wastewater matrices have been analyzed by applying real-time quantitative PCR procedures for the presence, quantity, and stability of a wide diversity of excreted HAdV and JCPyV. High quantities of HAdV and JCPyV were detected in sewage, effluent wastewater, sludge, and biosolid samples. Both viruses showed high stability in urban sewage. These results confirm the suitability of both viruses as indicators of human fecal viral pollution.     

Secondary structure effects on DNA hybridization kinetics: a solution versus surface comparison

The hybridization kinetics for a series of designed 25mer probe–target pairs having varying degrees of secondary structure have been measured by UV absorbance and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy in solution and on the surface, respectively. Kinetic rate constants derived from the resultant data decrease with increasing probe and target secondary structure similarly in both solution and surface environments. Specifically, addition of three intramolecular base pairs in the probe and target structure slow hybridization by a factor of two. For individual strands containing four or more intramolecular base pairs, hybridization cannot be described by a traditional two-state model in solution-phase nor on the surface. Surface hybridization rates are also 20- to 40-fold slower than solution-phase rates for identical sequences and conditions. These quantitative findings may have implications for the design of better biosensors, particularly those using probes with deliberate secondary structure.     

Cylicocyclus asini n. sp. (Nematoda: Cyathostominae) from donkeys Equus asinus in South Africa

Cylicocyclus asini n. sp. is described from the ventral colons of seven domesticated donkeys Equus asinus in South Africa. The specimens are smaller than 11 members of the genus Cylicocyclus, which currently comprises 10 recognised species, one recognised subspecies and two species inquirendae, but is similar in size to the two smaller species, C. ashworthi and C. leptostomum. Additionally, the small size of its buccal capsule places it within the so-called small buccal capsule group, namely C. ashworthi, C. leptostomum, C. nassatus, C. radiatus and C. triramosus. The shape of the oesophagus at the oesophago-intestinal junction is elongate, similar to that of C. leptostomum. The female specimens have a tail length shorter than the vulva to anus distance, similar to three of the smaller Cylicocyclus species, namely C. leptostomum, C. radiatus and C. triramosus. The new species is distinguished from the smaller members of the genus by the presence of a `club-foot' posterior in the female specimens, 40–46 elements in the external leaf-crown and a deep division of the dorsal ray which extends beyond the origin of the externodorsal ray. Similarly, the new species can be separated from the two other members in the genus with a `club-foot' posterior in the females (C. auriculatus and C. gyalocephaloides) by its body length (6.6–8.47 mm) and the presence of a nipple-like dorsal gutter.     

Anthranilate Fluorescence Marks a Calcium-Propagated Necrotic Wave That Promotes Organismal Death in C. elegans

For cells the passage from life to death can involve a regulated, programmed transition. In contrast to cell death, the mechanisms of systemic collapse underlying organismal death remain poorly understood. Here we present evidence of a cascade of cell death involving the calpain-cathepsin necrosis pathway that can drive organismal death in Caenorhabditis elegans. We report that organismal death is accompanied by a burst of intense blue fluorescence, generated within intestinal cells by the necrotic cell death pathway. Such death fluorescence marks an anterior to posterior wave of intestinal cell death that is accompanied by cytosolic acidosis. This wave is propagated via the innexin INX-16, likely by calcium influx. Notably, inhibition of systemic necrosis can delay stress-induced death. We also identify the source of the blue fluorescence, initially present in intestinal lysosome-related organelles (gut granules), as anthranilic acid glucosyl esters—not, as previously surmised, the damage product lipofuscin. Anthranilic acid is derived from tryptophan by action of the kynurenine pathway. These findings reveal a central mechanism of organismal death in C. elegans that is related to necrotic propagation in mammals—e.g., in excitotoxicity and ischemia-induced neurodegeneration. Endogenous anthranilate fluorescence renders visible the spatio-temporal dynamics of C. elegans organismal death.