Rugosa und Heterocorallia aus Obervisé-Geröllen der Marbella-Formation (Betische Kordillere,Südspanien)

Limestone pebbles of the post-lower Bashkirian Marbella Formation (Malaguides, Internal Zone of the Betic Cordillera) yielded sixteen species of rugose corals belonging to eleven genera and two species of heterocorals belonging to two genera. The fauna is of uppermost Viséan age (V3b-V3c). Its paleogeographic significance within the western Mediterranean is discussed. Lonsdaleia corbariensis, known up to now only from debris flow deposits of the Mouthoumet massif (Southern France), covers approximately half of the total fauna.Hexaphyllia mirabilis is shown to have juvenile stages with five septa.     

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.     

Hydraulic sorting of microbiota in calciturbidites— A dinantian case study from the rheinische schiefergebirge,Germany

Summary A calciturbidite bed from the lower part of the Kieselkalk Formation (late cd II) at Wallau, eastern Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, displays ideal grading of reworked calcareous shallow-water microbiota, ranging from plurimillimetric agglutinated foraminifers and fragments of calcareous algae (Koninckopora sp.) to plurimicronic calcispheres, radiolarians and sponge spicules. Microbiota derived from all levels of the platform. Correspondingly, several carbonate microfacies types could be discerned. The early diagenetic micrite base of the turbidite preserved the anoxic basinal facies. The turbidite bed belongs to Foraminiferal Zone 15 (V3bα), theAlbaillella cartalla Zone (radiolarian chronology), and is the Lower and part of the Uppertexanus Zone (standard conodont zonation). From the few published data on foraminifers, the Kieselkalk is thought to range from Mid Viséan V2b to Late Viséan V3b gamma.     

Interaction of metabolic inhibitors with actin fibrils

Summary The dependence of the arrangement of fibrillar actin in cultured endothelial cells on metabolic conditions was investigated with cellular elements derived from the heart of Xenopus laevis tadpoles. Either primary culture or an established cell line (XTH-2) were used in these studies The metabolic stage of the cells was influenced by inhibiting respiration and lactate production. The actin pattern was revealed either by indirect immunofluorescence or by tetramethylrhodaminyl (TRITC)-phalloidin fluorescence. Total block of energy supply causes in all cases a distinct loss of actin fibrils, while inhibition of respiration alone increases the variability of actin organization. In primary XTH cells but not in XTH-2 cells cyanide disintegrates most of the actin fibres during 3 h of treatment. This effect is independent of the inhibition of respiration, since actin gels prepared from skeletal muscle also undergo destruction in the presence of cyanide. It is concluded that the actin fibrils of the primary cells and the established line behave differently to changing metabolic conditions and to application of KCN.     

Senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase reveals the abundance of senescent CD8+ T cells in aging humans

Aging leads to a progressive functional decline of the immune system, rendering the elderly increasingly susceptible to disease and infection. The degree to which immune cell senescence contributes to this decline remains unclear, however, since markers that label immune cells with classical features of cellular senescence accurately and comprehensively have not been identified. Using a second‐generation fluorogenic substrate for β‐galactosidase and multi‐parameter flow cytometry, we demonstrate here that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from healthy humans increasingly display cells with high senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase (SA‐βGal) activity with advancing donor age. The greatest age‐associated increases were observed in CD8+ T‐cell populations, in which the fraction of cells with high SA‐βGal activity reached average levels of 64% in donors in their 60s. CD8+ T cells with high SA‐βGal activity, but not those with low SA‐βGal activity, were found to exhibit features of telomere dysfunction‐induced senescence and p16‐mediated senescence, were impaired in their ability to proliferate, developed in various T‐cell differentiation states, and had a gene expression signature consistent with the senescence state previously observed in human fibroblasts. Based on these results, we propose that senescent CD8+ T cells with classical features of cellular senescence accumulate to levels that are significantly higher than previously reported and additionally provide a simple yet robust method for the isolation and characterization of senescent CD8+ T cells with predictive potential for biological age.     

Non-erythroid alpha spectrin prevents telomere dysfunction after DNA interstrand cross-link damage

Telomere integrity is critical for telomere function and genomic stability. We previously demonstrated that non-erythroid α-spectrin (αIISp) is present in mammalian cell nuclei where it is important in repair of DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs) and chromosome stability. We now demonstrate that αIISp is also important for telomere maintenance after ICL damage. It localizes to telomeres in S phase after ICL damage where it has enhanced association with TRF1 and TRF2 and is required for recruitment of the ICL repair protein, XPF, to damage-induced foci at telomeres. In telomerase-positive normal cells depleted of αIISp by siRNA or in Fanconi anemia, complementation group A (FA-A) cells, where αIISp levels are 35–40% of normal, ICL damage results in failure of XPF to localize to telomeres, markedly increased telomere dysfunction-induced foci, followed by catastrophic loss of telomeres. Restoration of αIISp levels to normal in FA-A cells corrects these deficiencies. Our studies demonstrate that αIISp is critical for repair of DNA ICLs at telomeres, likely by facilitating the recruitment of repair proteins similar, but not identical, to its proposed role in repair of DNA ICLs in genomic DNA and that this function in turn is critical for telomere maintenance after DNA ICL damage.     

Endorsing Darwin: global biogeography of the epipelagic goose barnacles Lepas spp. (Cirripedia,Lepadomorpha) proves cryptic speciation

It was Darwin that noted the large intraspecific diversity of the goose barnacle Lepas Linnaeus, 1758 and thought about distinct regional varieties. Today, biogeographic compartmentation is known from marine species, but data from globally occurring species remain scarce. We analysed inter‐ and intraspecific divergence within the epipelagic rafter Lepas from tropical and temperate oceans by means of two mitochondrial and one nuclear DNA marker. Besides phylogenetic relations, we resolved biogeography and controlling factors. Inhabiting the Southern Hemisphere, Lepas australis Darwin, 1851 shows separate populations from coastal Chile and from circum‐Antarctic waters, most probably related to temperature differences in the current systems. The cosmopolitan Lepas anatifera Linnaeus, 1758 displays four regional subgroups (coastal Chile, Northeast Pacific/Oregon, the Southern Hemisphere Indopacific, and the Atlantic), and a global group, which might be an ancestral stem group. The differentiation reflects vicariance effects rooted in geological history: the closure of the Neogene Tethys in the Middle East and at the Panama Isthmus, the installation of the cool Benguela Current, differing Pleistocene currents and temperatures, and modern current systems. The extreme ecological generalists Lepas anserifera Linnaeus, 1767 and Lepas pectinata Spengler, 1793 are not differentiated, and might represent true global species. In conclusion, compartmentation of the oceans acts at the species level according to ecospace limits. For Lepas, the multitude of barriers favours allopatric speciation.     

To manage or not? Successful native tree seedling restoration despite a dense,invasive shrub,Berberis thunbergii

Plant Ecology - Invasive plant species suppress native trees through a variety of mechanisms. A non-native shrub, Berberis thunbergii, has been shown to depress native tree seedling densities in...     

Direct peptide profiling of lateral cell groups of the antennal lobes of Manduca sexta reveals specific composition and changes in neuropeptide expression during development

The paired antennal lobes are the first integration centers for odor information in the insect brain. In the sphinx moth Manduca sexta, like in other holometabolous insects, they are formed during metamorphosis. To further understand mechanisms involved in the formation of this particularly well investigated brain area, we performed a direct peptide profiling of a well defined cell group (the lateral cell group) of the antennal lobe throughout development by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Although the majority of the about 100 obtained ion signals represent still unknown substances, this first peptidomic characterization of this cell group indicated the occurrence of 12 structurally known neuropeptides. Among these peptides are helicostatin 1, cydiastatins 2, 3, and 4, M. sexta-allatotropin (Mas-AT), M. sexta-FLRFamide (Mas-FLRFamide) I, II, and III, nonblocked Mas-FLRFamide I, and M. sexta-myoinhibitory peptides (Mas-MIPs) III, V, and VI. The identity of two of the allatostatins (cydiastatins 3 and 4) and Mas-AT were confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF). During development of the antennal lobe, number and frequency of ion signals including those representing known peptides generally increased at the onset of glomeruli formation at pupal Stage P7/8, with cydiastatin 2, helicostatin 1, and Mas-MIP V being the exceptions. Cydiastatin 2 showed transient occurrence mainly during the period of glomerulus formation, helicostatin 1 was restricted to late pupae and adults, while Mas-MIP V occurred exclusively in adult antennal lobes. The power of the applied direct mass spectrometric profiling lies in the possibility of chemically identifying neuropeptides of a given cell population in a fast and reliable manner, at any developmental stage in single specimens. The identification of neuropeptides in the antennal lobes now allows to specifically address the function of these signaling molecules during the formation of the antennal lobe network.