Documentation of the presence of Gmelinoides fasciatus (Stebbing, 1899) and the native benthic fauna in the Volga River at Tver (Tver Region,Russia)

In the Volga Basin, the small Baikalian amphipod Gmelinoides fasciatus was introduced in 1965 into the Gorky reservoir in order to enhance fish production; it appeared in 1986 in the Rybinsk reservoir and we recorded it during monitoring activities in 2006 at Tver. In total, at the monitoring site Tver/Migalovo 69 benthic invertebrate taxa were identified. We compared data from three summer seasons. During summer low flow period Gmelinoides fasciatus did not exceed a share of 12.6% considering individual (ind) densities (mean abundance 165 ± 104 ind m^?2) and 14.2% considering biomass (mean biomass 0.39 ± 0.44 g m^?2). Abundances and biomass of G. fasciatus were shown to be stable over three years and no increase was observed. The monthly dataset (March–November 2008) revealed dynamics in relation to the native benthic communities and it was shown that the maximal densities of Gmelinoides did not exceed 587 ind m^–2. Understanding the effects on benthic communities caused by the invasive amphipod Gmelinoides fasciatus is crucial in order to predict further developments in European inland waters and to establish management strategies.     

Peddling sport: liberal multiculturalism and the racial triangulation of blackness,Chineseness and Native American-ness in professional basketball

Abstract

Deploying liberal multiculturalist discourse, the media depicts professional basketball as a post-racial space where all talented players, regardless of their race, can thrive if they work hard. An analysis of the construction of non-white players in the 1930s and in 2010 demonstrates sport as modulated by racially charged discourse. As part of a liberal multiculturalist frame, the coding of basketball players as hero, threat and novelty serve to privilege whiteness and replicate racialized and gendered images that can be traced to the 1930s. In doing so, the article highlights how liberal multiculturalism involves racial triangulation and the simultaneous processes of hyper-racialization and de-racialization.     

Impact of the Arundo scale Rhizaspidiotus donacis (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) on the weight of Arundo donax (Poaceae: Arundinoideae) rhizomes in Languedoc southern France and Mediterranean Spain

Arundo donax L. (Poaceae) is native to Mediterranean Europe and invasive in the Rio Grande Basin of North America. Rhizomes from nine sites in France and Spain infested with a candidate control agent, the armoured scale Rhizaspidiotus donacis (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) weighed 50% less than those from nine sites without scale.     

Bone strontium in pregnant and lactating females from archaeological samples

Because plants and animals consume or absorb different amounts of strontium and calcium, anthropologists are able to use strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios from archaeologically recovered human bone to estimate the relative contributions of meat and plants to paleodiets. Often females exhibit higher Sr/Ca ratios than males, a fact usually attributed to lower meat intake among women. However, in vivo and in vitro experiments with laboratory animals show that pregnancy and lactation elevate maternal bone strontium and depress maternal bone calcium because 1) strontium is discriminated against in favor of calcium in the transport of ions to the placenta and mammary glands and 2) pregnancy and lactation facilitate absorption of alkaline earth metals from the gut. In this study, bone Sr/Ca ratios and strontium concentrations were compared between reproductive-age females, postmenopausal females, and adult males from two late prehistoric Native American sites in Georgia: the King site (N = 43) and the Etowah site (N = 51). At the King site, the mean Sr/Ca ratio of females was over 14% greater than that of males. At Etowah, the mean strontium level of reproductive-age females exceeded that of postmenopausal females by almost 25%. Most of the difference, it is argued, is due to pregnancy and lactation. A dietary preference among pregnant and lactating women for foods high in alkaline earths, particularly nuts and corn, may also be partially responsible. Until we assess the influence variables other than nutrition exert on trace element concentrations, our reconstructions of paleodiets will be suspect.     

Isolation and characterization of human heart cytochromec oxidase

Cytochromec oxidase was isolated from human hearts and separated by SDS gel electrophoresis. The identity of polypeptide bands with known subunits was demonstrated by immunoblotting with monospecific antisera to rat liver cytochromec oxidase subunits. The polarographically determined kinetics of cytochromec oxidation were similar to those reported for the bovine heart enzyme.     

Antipeptide antibodies to the 141-1141-1141-1receptor confirm the extracellular orientation of the amino-terminus and the putative first extracellular loop

Summary We developed site-directed rabbit antisera against synthetic peptides selected from the deduced amino acid sequence of the hamster lung ₂-adrenergic receptor (amino acids 16–31 and 174–189, respectively). All antisera directed against peptide 1 (four of four rabbits) as well as two antisera directed against peptide 2 (two of four rabbits) recognized the purified ₂-adrenergic receptor in immunoblot conditions when used at a dilution of 1500. Antisera directed against peptide 1 as well as peptide 2 were able to immunoprecipitate iodinated as well as¹²⁵I-cyanopindolol tabeled ₂-adrenergic receptor. This last result implies that the recognized epitopes do not contain the¹²⁵I-cyanopindolol binding domain of the ₂-adrenergic receptor. Immunoblot experiments performed on membrane fractions from hamster lung tissue showed that immunoreactive bands at 64,000, 57,000, 47,000, 44,000 and 38,000 daltons were specifically detected. When purified ₂-adrenergic receptor was iodinated and submitted to glycolytic and/or tryptic treatments, species with similar molecular weights could be recovered. Then, the immunoreactive bands probably correspond to native ₂-adrenergic receptor and to degradative or nonglycosylated species of this molecule. The antisera were also able to detect immunoreactive molecules in murine and human cell lines, suggesting conservation of the probed sequences between these species. Enzymatic linked immunosorbent assay tests on intact cells and immunofluorescence studies confirmed that the amino-terminus and putative first extracellular loop are extracellularly located. Immunofluorescence studies on mouse brain primary cultures showed that cells expressing ₂-adrenergic receptor-like molecules exhibited a neuronal phenotype.     

Predation by three hemipterans:Tropiconabis nigrolineatus,Oechalia schellenbergii andCermatulus nasalis,onHeliothis punctiger larvae in two types of searching arenas

Three species of hemipteran predators preyed differently upon 1^st instarHeliothis punctiger Wallengren larvae.Cermatulus nasalis consumed more larvae thanOechalia schellenbergii which consumed more larvae thanTropiconabis nigrolineatus. All the species consumed significantly less 1^st instar larvae on plants than what they consumed in Petri-dishes. Fifth instar predators showed significant differences in terms of prey consumption due to sex independent of searching conditions. Only 4^th and 5^th instars ofT. nigrolineatus attacked and captured 2^nd instars ofH. punctiger larvae. The other 2 species however readily attacked and consumed 2^nd instarH. punctiger larvae. Their prey consumption was similar in Petri-dishes and on plants. Only 5^th instars ofT. nigrolineatus could subdue and capture 3^rd instarH. punctiger larvae. Second instar pentatomids captured just one 3^rd instar larva but older instars killed and ate more. Fourth instarH. punctiger larvae were immune to attacks by allT. nigrolineatus and younger pentatomids due to their defense ploys but 5^th instar pentatomids could subdue and capture them. None of the predators captured 5^th instarH. punctiger larvae except few 5^th instar females ofC. naslis andO. schellenbergii.      

Different influences of cytochalasin B on the activation of human neurophils settled onto petri dishes displayed by simultaneously detected native and luminol-dependent luminescence

Cytochalasin B (CB) is known to interfere reversibly with the cytoplasmic contractile filamental network of mammalian cells. The role of the microfilament system in the mechanism of the reactive oxygen intermediates release of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) was studied for different kinds of stimuli. PMNL from fresh human blood were treated with CB and stimulated by adherence on plastic surfaces, by opsonized zymosan, by phorbol myristate acetate and by N-formylmethionyl-phenylalaline. The production of reactive oxygen species were monitored by simultaneous detection of native, luminol-independent, luminescence (NL) and luminol-dependent luminescence (LDL) using a method of spectral discrimination. Different influences of CB on NL with respect to LDL as well stimuli-dependent influences of CB on the luminescence response of PMNL were observed. Especially phagocytosis-associated activation of PMNL was strongly inhibited by CB, whereas LDL was reduced to a much greater extent in comparison with NL. A firm involvement of the microfilament system is indicated, but it depends on the kind of stimulus engaged.     

Identification of members of the HSP30 small heat shock protein family and characterization of their developmental regulation in heat-shocked xenopus laevis embryos

In the present study we have characterized the synthesis of members of the HSP30 family during Xenopus laevis development using a polyclonal antipeptide antibody derived from the carboxyl end of HSP30C. Two-dimensional PAGE/immunoblot analysis was unable to detect any heat-inducible small HSPs in cleavage, blastula, gastrula, or neurula stage embryos. However, heat-inducible accumulation of a single protein was first detectable in early tailbud embryos with an additional 5 HSPs at the late tailbud stage and a total of 13 small HSPs at the early tadpole stage. In the Xenopus A6 kidney epithelial cell line, a total of eight heat-inducible small HSPs were detected by this antibody. Comparison of the pattern of protein synthesis in embryos and somatic cells revealed a number of common and unique heat inducible proteins in Xenopus embryos and cultured kidney epithelial cells. To specifically identify the protein product of the HSP30C gene, we made a chimeric gene construct with the Xenopus HSP30C coding sequence under the control of a constitutive promoter. This construct was microinjected into fertilized eggs and resulted in the premature and constitutive synthesis of the HSP30C protein in gastrula stage embryos. Through a series of mixing experiments, we were able to specifically identify the protein encoded by the HSP30C gene in embryos and somatic cells and to conclude that HSP30C synthesis was first heat-inducible at the early tailbud stage of development. The differential pattern of heat-inducible accumulation of members of the HSP30 family during Xenopus development suggests that these proteins may have distinct functions at specific embryonic stages during a stress response.     

Influence of plant domestication on plant-pollinator interactions: Floral attributes and floral visitor communities in wild and cultivated squash plants

Premise

Domestication of plant species results in phenotypic modifications and changes in biotic interactions. Most studies have compared antagonistic plant-herbivore interactions of domesticated plants and their wild relatives, but little attention has been given to how domestication influences plant-pollinator interactions. Floral attributes and interactions of floral visitors were compared between sister taxa of the genus Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae), the domesticated C. moschata, C. argyrosperma ssp. argyrosperma and its wild progenitor C. argyrosperma ssp. sororia in the place of origin.

Methods

We conducted univariate and multivariate analyses to compare floral morphological traits and analyzed floral reward (nectar and pollen) quantity and quality between flowers of wild and domesticated Cucurbita taxa. Staminate and pistillate flowers of all three taxa were video recorded, and visitation and behavior of floral visitors were registered and analyzed.

Results

Most floral morphological characteristics of flowers of domesticated taxa were larger in both staminate and pistillate flowers. Staminate and pistillate flowers presented distinct correlations between floral traits and integration indices between domesticated and wild species. Additionally, pollen quantity and protein to lipid ratio were greater in domesticated species. Cucurbit pollen specialists, Eucera spp., had the highest probability of visit for all Cucurbita taxa.

Conclusions

We provide evidence that floral traits of domesticated and wild Cucurbita species experienced different selection pressures. Domesticated Cucurbita species may have more resources invested towards floral traits, thereby increasing attractiveness to pollinators and potentially plant reproductive success. Wild ancestor plant populations should be conserved in their centers of origin to preserve plant-pollinator interactions.