Experimental Manipulation of Food Accessibility Affects Conflict Management Behaviour in Ravens

Conflict management strategies such as reconciliation and bystander affiliation have been described for a variety of species. A common determinant seems to be a ‘complex’ social life, with individuals relying on affiliate relationships or social bonds. Little is known, however, about the strategic and flexible use of conflict management skills in experimental settings in species other than primates. We here investigated conflict and post‐conflict behaviour of ravens by manipulating the accessibility of food and, thus, the likelihood of aggressive interactions while foraging. Specifically, we presented birds with a certain amount of highly preferred food that varied in the number of pieces (one piece, two pieces or, as a control, small pieces matching the number of participating birds) and observed their agonistic behaviour during feeding and their affiliative behaviour afterwards. The results showed that high levels of conflicts during feeding in the 1‐piece and 2‐piece conditions led to high levels of affiliation after feeding. Depending on the experimental condition, this effect is best explained (a) by the affiliative behaviour of former aggressors (1‐piece condition) and (b) by the affiliation directed to the receivers of aggression after feeding (2‐piece condition). Those dyads that engaged in allo‐preening after feeding also engaged in allo‐preening outside the experimental setting, suggesting that socially bonded individuals provided third‐party affiliation to victims of aggression. Moreover, socially bonded ravens fed close to each other in the experiment when food was clumped, indicating that they actively coordinated their behaviour when there was a high conflict potential. Taken together, these findings support the assumption that ravens use their social bonds to avoid conflicts by choosing with whom to feed, and to buffer effects of conflicts by engaging in third‐party affiliation as post‐conflict behaviour.     

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Changes in Abdominal Compartments in Obese Diabetics during a Low-Calorie Weight-Loss Program

ObjectivesTo investigate changes in the fat content of abdominal compartments and muscle area during weight loss using confounder-adjusted chemical-shift-encoded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in overweight diabetics.MethodsTwenty-nine obese diabetics (10/19 men/women, median age: 59.0 years, median body mass index (BMI): 34.0 kg/m²) prospectively joined a standardized 15-week weight-loss program (six weeks of formula diet exclusively, followed by reintroduction of regular food with gradually increasing energy content over nine weeks) over 15 weeks. All subjects underwent a standardized MRI protocol including a confounder-adjusted chemical-shift-encoded MR sequence with water/fat separation before the program as well at the end of the six weeks of formula diet and at the end of the program at 15 weeks. Fat fractions of abdominal organs and vertebral bone marrow as well as volumes of visceral and subcutaneous fat were determined. Furthermore, muscle area was evaluated using the L4/L5 method. Data were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired samples.ResultsMedian BMI decreased significantly from 34.0 kg/m² to 29.9 kg/m² (p < 0.001) at 15 weeks. Liver fat content was normalized (14.2% to 4.1%, p < 0.001) and vertebral bone marrow fat (57.5% to 53.6%, p = 0.018) decreased significantly throughout the program, while fat content of pancreas (9.0%), spleen (0.0%), and psoas muscle (0.0%) did not (p > 0.15). Visceral fat volume (3.2 L to 1.6 L, p < 0.001) and subcutaneous fat diameter (3.0 cm to 2.2 cm, p < 0.001) also decreased significantly. Muscle area declined by 6.8% from 243.9 cm² to 226.8 cm².ConclusionMRI allows noninvasive monitoring of changes in abdominal compartments during weight loss. In overweight diabetics, weight loss leads to fat reduction in abdominal compartments, such as visceral fat, as well as liver fat and vertebral bone marrow fat while pancreas fat remains unchanged.     

Epigenetic Signatures at AQP3 and SOCS3 Engage in Low-Grade Inflammation across Different Tissues

BackgroundElevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP, determined by a high-sensitivity assay) indicate low-grade inflammation which is implicated in many age-related disorders. Epigenetic studies on CRP might discover molecular mechanisms underlying CRP regulation. We aimed to identify DNA methylation sites related to CRP concentrations in cells and tissues regulating low-grade inflammation.ResultsGenome-wide DNA methylation was measured in peripheral blood in 1,741 participants of the KORA F4 study using Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip arrays. Four CpG sites (located at BCL3, AQP3, SOCS3, and cg19821297 intergenic at chromosome 19p13.2, P ≤ 1.01E-07) were significantly hypomethylated at high CRP concentrations independent of various confounders including age, sex, BMI, smoking, and white blood cell composition. Findings were not sex-specific. CRP-related top genes were enriched in JAK/STAT pathways (Benjamini-Hochberg corrected P < 0.05). Results were followed-up in three studies using DNA from peripheral blood (EPICOR, n = 503) and adipose tissue (TwinsUK, n = 368) measured as described above and from liver tissue (LMU liver cohort, n = 286) measured by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry using EpiTYPER. CpG sites at the AQP3 locus (significant p-values in peripheral blood = 1.72E-03 and liver tissue = 1.51E-03) and the SOCS3 locus (p-values in liver < 2.82E-05) were associated with CRP in the validation panels.ConclusionsEpigenetic modifications seem to engage in low-grade inflammation, possibly via JAK/STAT mediated pathways. Results suggest a shared relevance across different tissues at the AQP3 locus and highlight a role of DNA methylation for CRP regulation at the SOCS3 locus.     

The role of stand structure and palm abundance in predicting above-ground biomass at local scale in southern Amazonia

Background: Most work in Amazonia has concentrated on dense lowland evergreen rain forest, a vegetation type with >40% cover. Large parts of southern Amazonia are covered by open evergreen lowland rain forest, physiognomically dominated by high abundance of palms. This vegetation type has received relatively little attention so far. Understanding the key predictors of above-ground biomass (AGB) across scales is important to accurately quantify the impacts of land cover change on the terrestrial carbon budget.

Aims: We assessed the structure of southern Amazonian forests, Brazil, to quantify the relative importance of variation in AGB caused by the abundance/density of palm species and by forest structure.

Methods: We stratified the landscape into homogeneous units in terms of vegetation types and elevation for using as a guide for plot establishment. We used the variation partitioning technique to decompose the relative contribution of forest structure and palm abundance.

Results: The AGB_community (including trees, palms and lianas) and AGB_tree (excluding palms and lianas) significantly decreased with increasing abundance of palms. The Attalea speciosa, a large-leaved palm species, was the most important for explaining the variance of AGB. The total variance of AGB_tree was partially explained by a redundant effect of A. speciosa and trees (28%) and by trees alone (62%), based on models of basal area. The redundant effect, alongside with additional analyses, indicated (1) competition between A. speciosa and small trees and (2) covariation between A. speciosa and large trees.

Conclusions: The abundance of palms plays a minor but significant role in predicting the AGB at the local scale in southern Amazonia.     

Diabetes Is Associated with Worse Clinical Presentation in Tuberculosis Patients from Brazil: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

The rising prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) worldwide, especially in developing countries, and the persistence of tuberculosis (TB) as a major public health issue in these same regions, emphasize the importance of investigating this association. Here, we compared the clinical profile and disease outcomes of TB patients with or without coincident DM in a TB reference center in Brazil.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of a TB patient cohort (treatment naïve) of 408 individuals recruited at a TB primary care center in Brazil between 2004 and 2010. Data on diagnosis of TB and DM were used to define the groups. The study groups were compared with regard to TB disease presentation at diagnosis as well as to clinical outcomes such as cure and mortality rates upon anti-tuberculosis therapy (ATT) initiation. A composite score utilizing clinical, radiological and microbiological parameters was used to compare TB severity between the groups.

Results

DM patients were older than non-diabetic TB patients. In addition, diabetic individuals more frequently presented with cough, night sweats, hemoptysis and malaise than those without DM. The overall pattern of lung lesions assessed by chest radiographic examination was similar between the groups. Compared to non-diabetic patients, those with TB-diabetes exhibited positive acid-fast bacilli in sputum samples more frequently at diagnosis and at 30 days after ATT initiation. Notably, higher values of the TB severity score were significantly associated with TB-diabetes comorbidity after adjustment for confounding factors. Moreover, during ATT, diabetic patients required more frequent transfers to TB reference hospitals for complex clinical management. Nevertheless, overall mortality and cure rates were indistinguishable between the study groups.

Conclusions

These findings reinforce the idea that diabetes negatively impacts pulmonary TB severity. Our study argues for the systematic screening for DM in TB reference centers in endemic areas.     

Testing plasmid stability of Escherichia coli using the Continuously Operated Shaken BIOreactor System

Plasmids are common vectors to genetically manipulate Escherichia coli or other microorganisms. They are easy to use and considerable experience has accumulated on their application in heterologous protein production. However, plasmids can be lost during cell growth, if no selection pressure like, e.g., antibiotics is used, hampering the production of the desired protein and endangering the economic success of a biotechnological production process. Thus, in this study the Continuously Operated Shaken BIOreactor System (COSBIOS) is applied as a tool for fast parallel testing of strain stability and operation conditions and to evaluate measures to counter such plasmid loss. In specific, by applying various ampicillin concentrations, the lowest effective ampicillin dosage is investigated to secure plasmid stability while lowering adverse ecological effects. A significant difference was found in the growth rates of plasmid‐bearing and plasmid‐free cells. The undesired plasmid‐free cells grew 30% faster than the desired plasmid‐bearing cells. During the testing of plasmid stability without antibiotics, the population fraction of plasmid‐bearing cells rapidly decreased in continuous culture to zero within the first 48 h. An initial single dosage of ampicillin did not prevent plasmid loss. By contrast, a continuous application of a low dosage of 10 µg/mL ampicillin in the feed medium maintained plasmid stability in the culture. Consequently, the COSBIOS is an apt reactor system for measuring plasmid stability and evaluating methods to enhance this stability. Hence, decreased production of heterologous protein can be prevented. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1418–1425, 2016     

Proteomic Profile of Brucella abortus-Infected Bovine Chorioallantoic Membrane Explants

Brucella abortus is the etiological agent of bovine brucellosis, a zoonotic disease that causes significant economic losses worldwide. The differential proteomic profile of bovine chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) explants at early stages of infection with B. abortus (0.5, 2, 4, and 8 h) was determined. Analysis of CAM explants at 0.5 and 4 h showed the highest differences between uninfected and infected CAM explants, and therefore were used for the Differential Gel Electrophoresis (DIGE). A total of 103 spots were present in only one experimental group and were selected for identification by mass spectrometry (MALDI/ToF-ToF). Proteins only identified in extracts of CAM explants infected with B. abortus were related to recognition of PAMPs by TLR, production of reactive oxygen species, intracellular trafficking, and inflammation.     

Label-Free Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Puccinia psidii Uredospores Reveals Differences of Fungal Populations Infecting Eucalyptus and Guava

Puccinia psidii sensu lato (s.l.) is the causal agent of eucalyptus and guava rust, but it also attacks a wide range of plant species from the myrtle family, resulting in a significant genetic and physiological variability among populations accessed from different hosts. The uredospores are crucial to P. psidii dissemination in the field. Although they are important for the fungal pathogenesis, their molecular characterization has been poorly studied. In this work, we report the first in-depth proteomic analysis of P. psidii s.l. uredospores from two contrasting populations: guava fruits (PpGuava) and eucalyptus leaves (PpEucalyptus). NanoUPLC-MS^E was used to generate peptide spectra that were matched to the UniProt Puccinia genera sequences (UniProt database) resulting in the first proteomic analysis of the phytopathogenic fungus P. psidii. Three hundred and fourty proteins were detected and quantified using Label free proteomics. A significant number of unique proteins were found for each sample, others were significantly more or less abundant, according to the fungal populations. In PpGuava population, many proteins correlated with fungal virulence, such as malate dehydrogenase, proteossomes subunits, enolases and others were increased. On the other hand, PpEucalyptus proteins involved in biogenesis, protein folding and translocation were increased, supporting the physiological variability of the fungal populations according to their protein reservoirs and specific host interaction strategies.     

Incontinentia pigmenti and X-autosome translocations

Summary Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) is a rare X-linked disease with marked female-to-female transmission and a dominant pattern of inheritance. Reports of six unrelated females with IP and X-autosomal translocations, all with the X breakpoint at Xp11, and an additional report of a female with IP and a 45,X/46,X,r(X) karyotype suggests that this may be the locus for the IP gene. When four of these cases, including the r(X), were re-examined with a non-isotopic in situ hybridization technique and an X centromere-specific probe (pSV2X5), the Xp11 breakpoint was confirmed. However, results from a fifth reported case, t(X;17), showed that the X breakpoint was within the centromeric alphoid repetitive sequences recognized by the probe pSV2X5. As the clinical presentation of this patient was consitent with the IP phenotype and diagnosis, the centromeric position of the X-chromosome breakpoint raises several questions with respect to the homogeneity of the Xp11 locus for IP.