THE CHROMOSOMES OF TWO SPECIES OF THE GENUS AUSTRALOTETTIX RICHARDS (GRYLLACRIDOIDEA: MACROPATHINAE)

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The chromosomes of Australotettix montanus Richards and A. carraiensis Richards have been studied. Both species share the following characteristics: the chromosome number is 2n=45 ♂-46 ♀ the sex mechanism is of the XO ♂-XX ♀ type with the X submetacentric; the X chromosome as well as two bivalents (H₁ and H₂) are heterochromatic during first prophase.
The species differ in: (a) the pattern of distribution of heterochromatic blocks in H₁; (b) the H₁ pair consists of two metacentric autosomes in A. carraiensis while these chromosomes are acrocentric in A. montanus ; (c) a medium-sized pair of autosomes is formed by subacrocentric elements in A. carraiensis while they are acrocentric in A. montanus.
The karyotypes of both species do not differ basically from that which is typical for the Macropathinae.     

Nucleotide regulation of vasoactive intestinal peptide binding to bovine thyroid plasma membranes

The specific binding of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) to bovine thyroid plasma membranes is inhibited by guanine nucleotides. Guanosine 5-triphosphate (GTP) and the non-hydrolyzable GTP analogs guanosine 5-,-imidotriphosphate (Gpp(NH)p) and guanosine 5-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP--S) inhibited markedly the binding of VIP to its receptors. This inhibition was higher with GTP than with Gpp(NH)p and GTP--S and was due to an increase of the rate of dissociation of peptide bound to membranes. Other nucleotides did not show any effect.     

Vulnerability to predation and physiological stress responses of experimentally descaled juvenile chinook salmon,Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Synopsis Juvenile salmonids,Oncorhynchus spp., commonly encounter conditions (e.g., during hatchery release and dam passage) that result in damage to the skin, scale, and slime complex. We conducted laboratory experiments to determine if descaling of juvenile chinook salmon,O. tshawytscha, increased their vulnerability to predation, and to assess the physiological stress responses elicited by descaling. Salmon were experimentally descaled on either 10% or 20% of their total body area. When offered equal numbers of control and descaled juvenile chinook salmon, northern squawfish,Ptychocheilus oregonensis, did not consume significantly more of either prey type (48–60% of consumed prey were descaled). Juvenile chinook salmon descaled on 10% of their body area did show significant physiological stress responses, however. Mean concentrations of plasma cortisol peaked 1 h after descaling, and returned to control levels by 12 h. Plasma glucose peaked 3 h post-treatment and remained elevated for 24 h. Plasma lactate increased immediately following treatment and returned to undisturbed control levels by 3 h. The osmoregulatory response of plasma potassium was highly variable, but plasma sodium decreased immediately and remained low for 24 h. The observed physiological responses suggest that descaling of juvenile chinook salmon could result in decreased resistance to disease and other stressors encountered in the field, possibly leading to reduced performance capacity and lowered survival.     

A social panorama within the life cycle thinking and the circular economy: a literature review

Purpose

This literature review aims to present the current methodologies that have been developed to perform a social life cycle assessment (sLCA) and to display the main differences among them. In addition to that, to identify the nexus between sLCA and circular economy (CE) and to what extent this life cycle technique has been involved within CE studies.

Methods

An analysis of scientific literature using online databases was made. A total of 76 publications, including all industry sectors worldwide, were chosen spanning 11 years, from 2009 to 2020. Special attention was made to the methodology used to assess the social impacts, the impact categories analyzed, and whether there is or not a circular economy case. All the impact categories of both UNEP/SETAC and PSIA were taken into account when doing the review, and the top three of the categories are mentioned here.

Results and discussion

The leadership of the UNEP/SETAC methodology is clear with 58 cases. Almost 90% of the case studies are focused on products while the remaining ones are related with services. Workers are the most considered stakeholder when conducting an sLCA research, followed by local communities and society. Regarding the impact assessment, the performance reference point (PRP) was the most common method used. When considering the CE even when some cases included the end-of-life stage in the system boundaries, the studies did not consider the actors from that stage; excluding these cases, one out of four articles has a link with CE, a promising proportion taking into account the early stage of both concepts (i.e., sLCA and CE).

Conclusions

UNEP/SETAC guidelines seem to be the most promising methodology due to its reception among the scientific community. However, a more industry-oriented approach is proposed by the Roundtable for Product Social Metrics (PSIA) in a way to respond to manufacturing companies’ demand. Regardless of the type of methodology to be implemented, workers represent the key stakeholder when assessing social impacts. The change in usual patterns is leading to a change in the way how stakeholders interact and therefore new and more impacts may arise, and that is the reason why it is important to include the CE into the sLCA. A series of challenges such as the feasibility of aggregating all the life cycle techniques to one (life cycle sustainability assessment), data availability, and quality are still present for the moment.

     

Effectiveness of treatments for hypertension in a sample of Colombian patients

Hypertension represents a high health cost because of its prevalence, its low level of diagnosis and control, and its role as a primary risk factor for other cardiovascular diseases. According to the JNC 7 report, hypertensive individuals have blood pressures of 140/90 mm Hg or higher; recommended treatment reduces these values to below 120/80 mm Hg. Co-morbidity and the presence of other risk factors must also be considered. In a random sample of 458 hypertensive patients from 6 Colombian cities, the effectiveness, tolerance and adherence to treatment was compared in cases with treatment of at least one year's duration. During routine blood pressure examinations, trained nurses obtained patient consent and additional anthropometric data, such as including co-morbidity, risk factors, antihypertensive medication prescribed, dosages and usage of unrelated medications. Some of the data were retrieved from the patients' medical histories. The average age of the patients was 57.6 +/- 13 years, with 67.5% women; 92% with complete adherence to the treatment and 59% not reporting adverse events associated with the medication. Forty-four percent were treated with antihypertensive monotherapy with the most commonly prescribed medications as follows (in order): hydrochlorothiazide, verapamil, enalapril, metoprolol and propanolol. Forty-five percent (n=207) were control patients, 35% were in a hypertensive stage 1 and 19.7% were in stage 2. Multivariate analysis showed that uncontrolled hypertension was significantly associated with geriatrics receiving a combination of antihypertensive medication and residence in three cities--Ibagué, Barranquilla and Manizales--where smaller daily doses of hypertensive medications are prescribed. Health care teams are advised to adjust doses carefully to obtain clearly defined therapeutic objectives.     

Glucose ingestion attenuates the exercise-induced increase in circulating heat shock protein 72 and heat shock protein 60 in humans

Heat shock protein (Hsp) 72 is a cytosolic stress protein that is highly inducible by several factors including exercise. Hsp60 is primarily mitochondrial in cellular location, plays a key role in the intracellular protein translocation and cytoprotection, is increased in skeletal muscle by exercise, and is found in the peripheral circulation of healthy humans. Glucose deprivation increases Hsp72 in cultured cells, whereas reduced glycogen availability elevates Hsp72 in contracting human skeletal muscle. To determine whether maintained blood glucose during exercise attenuates the exercise-induced increase in intramuscular and circulating Hsp72 and Hsp60, 6 males performed 120 minutes of semirecumbent cycling at approximately 65% maximal oxygen uptake on 2 occasions while ingesting either a 6.4% glucose (GLU) or sweet placebo (CON) beverage throughout exercise. Muscle biopsies, obtained before and immediately after exercise, were analyzed for Hsp72 and Hsp60 protein expression. Blood samples were simultaneously obtained from a brachial artery, a femoral vein, and the hepatic vein before and during exercise for the analysis of serum Hsp72 and Hsp60. Leg and hepatosplanchnic blood flow were measured to determine Hsp72-Hsp60 flux across these tissue beds. Neither exercise nor glucose ingestion affected the Hsp72 or Hsp60 protein expression in, or their release from, contracting skeletal muscle. Arterial serum Hsp72 increased (P < 0.05) throughout exercise in both trials but was attenuated (P < 0.05) in GLU. This may have been in part because of the increased (P < 0.05) hepatosplanchnic Hsp72 release in CON, being totally abolished (P < 0.05) in GLU. Serum Hsp60 increased (P < 0.05) after 60 minutes of exercise in CON before returning to resting levels at 120 minutes. In contrast, no exercise-induced increase in serum Hsp60 was observed in GLU. We detected neither hepatosplanchnic nor contracting limb Hsp60 release in either trial. In conclusion, maintaining glucose availability during exercise attenuates the circulating Hsp response in healthy humans.     

Rapid suppression of drive for a parasitic B chromosome

The persistence of parasitic B chromosomes in natural populations depends on both B ability to drive and host response to counteracting it. In the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans, the B24 chromosome is the most widespread B chromosome variant in the Torrox area (Málaga, Spain). Its evolutionary success, replacing its ancestral neutralized B variant, B2, was based on meiotic drive in females, as we showed in a sample caught in 1992. In females collected six years later, mean B24 transmission ratio (k(B)) was 0.523, implying a very rapid decrease from the 0.696 observed in 1992. This shows that B24 neutralization is running very fast and suggests that it might most likely be based on a single gene of major effect.