TWO NEW GENERA OF BRAZILIAN BAMBOOS RELATED TO GUADUA (POACEAE: BAMBUSOIDEAE: BAMBUSEAE)

Of all the genera of woody bamboos described from America, only three have pseudospikelets—Atractantha, Elytrostachys, and Guadua. The former two have pseudospikelets with an elongated rachilla internode that precedes the floret, making it pedicellate; they also share a type of leaf anatomy that separates them from the latter. The two new genera herein described, Criciuma and Eremocaulon, show most similarity to species of Guadua, both in spikelet morphology and in leaf anatomy. The study of these new taxa has helped to clarify the limits of New World genera with pseudospikelets and strengthened the case for maintaining Guadua as a genus distinct from its Old World counterpart, Bambusa. We are now able to discern a New World line of bamboos that includes Criciuma, Eremocaulon, and Guadua, separate from an Old World line that includes Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, and several other genera.     

Predictors of success in hypertensives treated with biofeedback-assisted relaxation

This paper describes differences in response in seventeen patients with essential hypertension who participated in a treatment program consisting of electromyograph biofeedback assisted relaxation training. Responders were found to have higher treatment values of urinary and plasma cortisol, Trait Anxiety and forehead muscle tension compared to treatment failures. Responders also sustained greater decreases in plasma, and urinary cortisol after treatment. These data are discussed in light of the ability to predict which hypertensive patients may be most benefitted by a relaxation based treatment.We would like to thank Dr. Charles Spielberger for his permission to use the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. We thank Michael Robinson for assistance with statistical analysis.     

Islet-Activating Protein Inhibits the β-Adrenergic Receptor Facilitation Elicited by γ-Aminobutyric AcidB Receptors

gamma-Aminobutyric acidB (GABAB) receptor recognition sites that inhibit cyclic AMP formation, open potassium channels, and close calcium channels are coupled to these effector systems by guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins). These G proteins are ADP-ribosylated by islet-activating protein (IAP), also known as pertussis toxin. This process prevents receptor coupling to these G proteins. In slices of cerebral cortex and hippocampus from rat, stimulation of GABAB receptors with baclofen, a receptor agonist, also potentiates the accumulation of cyclic AMP stimulated by beta-adrenergic agonists. It was unknown whether those GABAB receptors that potentiate the beta-adrenergic response were also sensitive to IAP. IAP was injected intracerebroventricularly into rats to ADP-ribosylate IAP-sensitive G proteins. Four days after the IAP injection, 38% and 52% of these G proteins from cerebral cortex and hippocampus, respectively, were ADP-ribosylated by the IAP injection. In slices of both structures prepared from IAP-treated rats, the GABAB receptor-mediated potentiation of the beta-adrenergic receptor response was attenuated. Thus, many GABAB receptor-mediated responses are coupled to IAP-sensitive G proteins.     

Comparison of the chemical changes in the rhizosphere of the nickel hyperaccumulator Alyssum murale with the non-accumulator Raphanus sativus

Changes in pH and redox potential were studied in the rhizosphere soil of a nickel hyperaccumulator plant (Alyssum murale) and of a crop plant, radish (Raphanus sativus). Differences in rhizosphere pH and reducing activity were found between the lateral and the main roots of both species, but the pH changes in the rhizosphere were similar in both species. Changes in pH were associated with the relative uptakes of cations and anions; whether the concentrations of heavy metals in the growth medium did not have any effect on the rhizosphere pH. The source of nitrogen (ammonium or nitrate) was the major factor determining the pH of the rhizosphere of both species. The redox potential of the rhizosphere was influenced by both the N-source and the concentrations of heavy metals. When heavy metals were not present in the growth medium, and nitrate was the N-source, the reducing capacity of A. murale roots was enhanced. However, the reducing activity of A. murale was always smaller than that of radish. Therefore, the mechanism of metal solubilization by the hyperaccumulator plant does not involve either the reduction of pH in the rhizosphere or the release of reductants from roots. The acidification and reducing activity of the roots of A. murale was always smaller than that of R. sativus.     

Coastal intrusion of copepods: mechanisms and consequences on the population biology of Rhincalanus nasutus

In contrast to its usual habitat as a copepod that may occurin shelf or slope waters with low oxygen content between depthsfrom the surface to >2000 m, Rhincalanus nasutus was foundin a shallow (<60 m) embayment, the Arauco Gulf in Chile.Here, we document the complex life history of this copepod wheredid and ontogenetic vertical migratory behavior was co-ordinatedwith the circulation pattern which helped to retain a summerresident population in the vicinity of the gulf. With the onsetof the upwelling season in the southern summer, the mid-depthEquatorial Sub Surface Waters intrude into the gulf, leadingto the formation of a strong thermocline at 10–20 m andthe development of a two-layer circulation pattern. CopepoditesI, C.II and C.III (first stage to exhibit migratory behavior)were found within the gulf in the layer where the net transportwas at a minimum while chlorophyll-a concentrations were ata maximum. Older stages (C.IV-C.VI females and males) migratefrom their daytime depth in the bottom, shoreward-moving, low-oxygenlayer, to their night-time depth in the shallow seaward-movinglayer. The population of copepods retained in the area thuslyreproduce, as reflected in the sequential pulses of differentdevelopmental stages. Because coastal intrusions such as thisof R.nasutus have been documented for several other speciesduring the seasons of maximum phytoplankton production (upwelling),they may form part of a more widespread reproductive strategyof the larger zooplankton of coastal upwelling systems thanpreviously suspected.     

Joyful by nature: approaches to investigate the evolution and function of joy in non-human animals

The nature and evolution of positive emotion is a major question remaining unanswered in science and philosophy. The study of feelings and emotions in humans and animals is dominated by discussion of affective states that have negative valence. Given the clinical and social significance of negative affect, such as depression, it is unsurprising that these emotions have received more attention from scientists. Compared to negative emotions, such as fear that leads to fleeing or avoidance, positive emotions are less likely to result in specific, identifiable, behaviours being expressed by an animal. This makes it particularly challenging to quantify and study positive affect. However, bursts of intense positive emotion (joy) are more likely to be accompanied by externally visible markers, like vocalisations or movement patterns, which make it more amenable to scientific study and more resilient to concerns about anthropomorphism. We define joy as intense, brief, and event-driven (i.e. a response to something), which permits investigation into how animals react to a variety of situations that would provoke joy in humans. This means that behavioural correlates of joy are measurable, either through newly discovered ‘laughter’ vocalisations, increases in play behaviour, or reactions to cognitive bias tests that can be used across species. There are a range of potential situations that cause joy in humans that have not been studied in other animals, such as whether animals feel joy on sunny days, when they accomplish a difficult feat, or when they are reunited with a familiar companion after a prolonged absence. Observations of species-specific calls and play behaviour can be combined with biometric markers and reactions to ambiguous stimuli in order to enable comparisons of affect between phylogenetically distant taxonomic groups. Identifying positive affect is also important for animal welfare because knowledge of positive emotional states would allow us to monitor animal well-being better. Additionally, measuring if phylogenetically and ecologically distant animals play more, laugh more, or act more optimistically after certain kinds of experiences will also provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the evolution of joy and other positive emotions, and potentially even into the evolution of consciousness.     

Ontogenetic trajectories and early shape differentiation of treehopper pronota (Hemiptera: Membracidae)

Membracids (family: Membracidae), commonly known as treehoppers, are recognizable by their enlarged and often elaborated pronota. Much of the research investigating the development and evolution of this structure has focused on the fifth instar to adult transition, in which the pronotum undergoes the largest transformation as it takes on adult identity. However, little is known about the earlier nymphal stages, the degree to which the pronotum develops at these timepoints, and how development has changed relative to the ancestral state. Here, we studied the nymphal stages and adults of five morphologically distinct membracid species and of Aetalion reticulatum (family: Aetalionidae), the outgroup which was used as an ancestral state proxy. We found that shape differentiation in the pronotum of membracids can start as early as the second instar stage. Most shape differentiation occurs within the nymphal stages and not in the embryo since the shape of the first-instar pronotum did not differ from the outgroup species in all but one species we investigated. We found the anterior–posterior axis of the pronotum elongated at a faster relative rate in membracid species than in A. reticulatum, which contributed to the development of exaggerated pronotal size. Finally, we found differences in the morphogenesis of shape across species. We suggest this is due to the developmental and evolutionary divergence of differential growth patterning of the dorsal surface of the pronotum, not only across species, but also between stages within the same species. This lability may contribute to the evolvability and diversification of the membracid pronotum.     

Use of olive mill wastewater compost for crop production

Vast amounts of olive mill wastewaters (OMW) are produced in Mediterranean countries, where their treatment and disposal are becoming a serious environmental problem. Increasing attention has been paid to discovering a use for OMW and a wide range of technological treatments are available nowadays for reducing their pollutant effects and for their transformation into valuable products, the most suitable procedures being found to involve recycling rather than the detoxication of these wastes. Direct application of OMW to soil has been considered as an inexpensive method of disposal and recovery of their mineral and organic components but, because of their organic acid and phenol contents, OMW are also a source of pollution. By using composting technologies, it is possible to transform either fresh OMW or sludge from pond-stored OMW mixed with appropriate plant waste waterials (carriers) into organic fertilizers (composts) with no phytotoxicity to improve soil fertility and plant production, the process involving the microbial degradation of the polluting load of the wastes. Results of field and pot experiments using OMW-composts to cultivate horticultural and other crops have shown that yields obtained with organic fertilization are similar, and sometimes higher, to those obtained with a balanced mineral fertilizer. A comparison between the macro and micronutrient contents of plants cultivated with organic or mineral fertilizers did not generally reveal important differences. However, the cases of iron and manganese are worth mentioning as their bio-availability may be linked to the soil humic complexes originated by the OMW organic fertilizers.     

Hydrological extremes modulate nutrient dynamics in mediterranean climate streams across different spatial scales

We studied benthic macroinvertebrate communities upstream and downstream of five small reservoirs (surface release in autumn–winters) (north Spain) to assess the effect of flow regulation on structural and functional characteristics of stream ecosystems. We based our approach on the use of structural metrics (density, biomass, richness and diversity) in combination with two functional diversity indices based on biological and ecological traits: FD_PG index, related to species richness, and FD_Q, which incorporates evenness across taxa. Although water physicochemical parameters were unaffected by the reservoirs during the study period (autumn–winter), macroinvertebrate metrics were lower below the dams, with detritivores (shredders and collector-gatherers) being the most affected. The alder leaf breakdown rate estimated by the litter-bag technique was related to the density, biomass, richness, diversity and FD_PG index of shredders, compromising the ecosystem functioning. The most plausible origin for the observed differences in macroinvertebrate metrics between upstream and downstream reaches was the change of the flow regime caused by the impoundments at downstream sites, leading to droughts in summer in those naturally permanently flowing streams. The observed functional diversity loss might reduce the chances of the community to override natural or man-induced fluctuations in their environment with possible repercussions on important ecosystem functions and services.     

Analysis of temperature‐mediated changes in the wine yeast Saccharomyces bayanus var uvarum. An oenological study of how the protein content influences wine quality

Saccharomyces bayanus var. uvarum plays an important role in the fermentation of red wine from the D.O. Ribera del Duero. This is due to the special organoleptic taste that this yeast gives the wines and their ability to ferment at low temperature. To determine the molecular factors involved in the fermentation process at low temperature, a differential proteomic approach was performed by using 2D‐DIGE, comparing, qualitatively and quantitatively, the profiles obtained at 13 and 25°C. A total of 152 protein spots were identified. We detected proteins upregulated at 13°C that were shown to be related to temperature stress, the production of aromatic compounds involved in the metabolism of amino acids, and the production of fusel alcohols and their derivatives, each of which is directly related to the quality of the wines. To check the temperature effects, an aromatic analysis by GC–MS was performed. The proteomic and “aromatomic” results are discussed in relation to the oenological properties of S. bayanus var. uvarum.