Agricultural farming alters predator–prey interactions in nearby natural habitats

Agricultural farming is a major consumer of global arable lands and has a direct effect on species decline through habitat destruction. However, agricultural endeavours can also evoke indirect threats that will result in behavioural modifications of indigenous species. In a desert ecosystem, where a political border led to a farming dichotomy between intensive cultivates in Israel and intact lands in Jordan, we compared the foraging behaviours and abundances of the red fox and two species of gerbils, close to and distant from farms, and during two moon phases. We estimated fox and gerbil foraging levels by track counts, and measured gerbil time allocation, vigilance and apprehension by the giving-up density method. While foxes were significantly more abundant and active at locations close to farms, gerbils were significantly more abundant and active at locations distant from farms. Moreover, the typical reduction in food consumption during full-moon nights was exhibited only at locations close to farms. These results could suggest that indicators of predation risk, such as illumination intensity or distance to cover, are not universal, and their effectiveness may depend indirectly on anthropogenic activities, such as agricultural farming. The results could also suggest that although intensive agricultural endeavours benefit foxes, they might increase the predatory pressure on gerbils in addition to the already known effects of habitat loss. Therefore, agriculture acts as a double-edged sword by reducing natural habitats, while at the same time changing the predator–prey natural balance.     

Is There a Relationship between Research Sponsorship and Publication Impact? An Analysis of Funding Acknowledgments in Nanotechnology Papers

This study analyzes funding acknowledgments in scientific papers to investigate relationships between research sponsorship and publication impacts. We identify acknowledgments to research sponsors for nanotechnology papers published in the Web of Science during a one-year sample period. We examine the citations accrued by these papers and the journal impact factors of their publication titles. The results show that publications from grant sponsored research exhibit higher impacts in terms of both journal ranking and citation counts than research that is not grant sponsored. We discuss the method and models used, and the insights provided by this approach as well as it limitations.     

Heat-shock protein 83 of Leishmania mexicana amazonensis is an abundant cytoplasmic protein with a tandemly repeated genomic arrangement

The 83-kDa heat-shock protein HSP83 is a highly abundant protein in Leishmania amastigotes and promastigotes exposed to elevated temperature. Antibodies against this protein were obtained by immunization with a synthetic peptide derived from a conserved region. These antibodies recognized both the denatured and the native form of the molecule and were used for immunofluorescence analysis. These experiments, together with analysis by cell fractionation, show that HSP83 is distributed in the cytoplasm of Leishmania parasites. The gene for HSP83 in Leishmania mexicana amazonensis has been cloned from a genomic library, and molecular characterization shows it is present in several copies of 4-kb repeats arranged in tandem.     

Two immunologically distinct human acidic beta-galactosidase A isozymes

Two acidic beta-galactosidase isozymes (designated A1 and A2) were separated by isoelectric focusing from beta-galactosidase A of human liver. Kinetic studies with 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside substrate revealed similar parameters for both. The Km value was 0.32 mmol/1 for A1 and 0.30 mmol/1 for A2 and Vmax values of 59.3 and mumol min-1 mg-1, respectively. The pH optimum was 4.2 for beta-galactosidase A1 and 4.5 for the A2 form. The A1 enzyme form was shown to be more heat labile than the A2. Significant differences were observed with antibody preparations against the two enzyme forms. Using the anti-A1 antibodies two precipitin arcs with residual enzymatic activity were obtained by immunoelectrophoresis of beta-galactosidase A whereas only one with anti-A2 antibodies. Anti-A1 precipated 85% of the original activity present in beta-galactosidase A and only 56% could be precipated by anti-A2. The possibility of common structural components is suggested.     

Synthesis of Leishmania cap-4 intermediates, cap-2 and cap-3

Synthesis of Leishmania mRNA 5'-cap analogs, m(7)Gpppm(2)(6)AmpAm (cap-2), and m(7)Gpppm(2)(6)AmpAmpCm (cap-3) is reported. Binding affinities of those cap analogs for LeishIF4E proteins were determined using fluorescence spectroscopy. Cap-3 showed similar affinity to LeishIF4Es compared to the mature trypanosomatids cap structure (cap-4).