Biodiversidade de epifíticos em folhas de Avicennia germinans e tolerância a salinidade.

Manguezais são ecossistemas complexos e particulares, possuem alta produtividade e diversidade biológica. No Brasil esse nicho ainda é inexplorado. O presente trabalho visou o levantamento da biodiversidade epifítica cultivável de folhas de Avicennia germinans e a tolerância dos isolados à salinidade. Foram obtidos 41 isolados dos quais muitos não puderam ser identificados, provavelmente por se tratarem de novas linhagens e espécies

Convergent evidences from human and animal studies implicate angiotensin I-converting enzyme activity in cognitive performance in schizophrenia

In schizophrenia (SCZ), higher angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) levels have been reported in patient's blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Hereby, we propose to explore whether the ACE activity levels are associated to cognitive performance in SCZ. Seventy-two patients with SCZ or schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, and 69 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a cognitive battery with parallel collection of peripheral blood samples to measure ACE activity. Significant higher ACE activity levels were confirmed in the plasma of SCZ patients compared with HCs (Student's t=−5.216; P<0.001). ACE activity significantly correlated to Hopkins delayed recall measures (r=−0.247; P=0.004) and Hopkins total (r=−0.214; P=0.012). Subjects grouped as high ACE activity (above average) had worse performance compared with low ACE activity level group for Hopkins delayed recall measure, even after correction for clinical condition, age, gender and years of education (P=0.029). The adjusted R squared for this final model was 0.343. This result was evident only comparing extreme groups for ACE activity, when splitting the sample in three groups with similar number of subjects. To clarify this finding, we performed an evaluation of the cognitive performance of transgenic mice with three copies of ACE gene in novel object recognition (NOR) test, which showed that such animals presented impairment in NOR (P<0.05) compared with two copies of wild-type animals. The results observed in SCZ patients and animal model suggest both the association of ACE to cognitive deficits in SCZ. This finding may support the evaluation of novel treatment protocols and/or of innovative drugs for specific intervention of cognitive deficits in SCZ envisioning concomitant ACE activity and behavior evaluations

Dynamics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from vine bark in vineyard: Influence of plant age and strain presence during grape must spontaneous fermentations

In this study, two vineyards of different age were chosen. During three years, a sampling campaign was performed for isolating vineyard-associated Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) strains. Bark portions and, when present, grape bunches were regularly collected from the same vine plants during the overall sampling period. Each bark portion was added to a synthetic must, while each grape bunch was manually crushed, and fermentations were run to isolate S. cerevisiae strains. All collected yeasts were identified at different species and strain levels to evaluate the genetic variability of S. cerevisiae strains in the two vineyards and strains dynamics. Moreover, bark-associated strains were compared with those isolated from spontaneous fermentations of grapes collected during the two harvests. Regarding the youngest vineyard, no S. cerevisiae was identified on bark and grape surface, highlighting the importance of vine age on yeast colonization. Results reported the isolation of S. cerevisiae from vine bark of the old vineyard at all sampling times, regardless of the presence of the grape bunch. Therefore, this environment can be considered an alternative ecological niche that permanently hosts S. cerevisiae. Bark-associated strains were not found on grape bunches and during pilot-scale vinifications, indicating no significative strain transfer from vine bark to the grape must. Commercial starters were identified as well both in vineyards and during vinifications

Carnitine partially improves oxidative stress, acrosome integrity, and reproductive competence in doxorubicin-treated rats

Doxorubicin has been largely used in anticancer therapy in adults, adolescents, and children. The efficacy of l-carnitine as an antioxidant substance has been confirmed both in humans and rats. Carnitine, present in testis and epididymis, is involved in sperm maturation. It is also effective in infertility treatment. As a continuation of a previous study, we evaluated whether some spermatic qualitative parameters, DNA integrity, chromatin structure, and fertility status, could be ameliorated by the carnitine treatment in adult rats, which were subsequently exposed to doxorubicin at pre-puberty. Pre-pubertal male rats were distributed into four groups: Sham ControlDoxorubicinl-carnitinel-carnitine+Doxorubicin (l-carnitine injected 1h before doxorubicin). At 100days of age, all groups were reassigned into two sets: One set was submitted to the evaluation of sperm motility, acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity, sperm chromatin structure analysis (SCSA), and evaluation of the oxidative stress. The other set of rats was destined to the evaluation of reproductive competence. The percentage of spermatozoa with intact acrosome integrity was higher in the Carnitine+Doxorubicin group when compared with the Doxorubicin group. However, sperm motility and mitochondrial activity were not improved by carnitine pre-treatment. Both values of malondialdehyde and nitrite (indirect measurement of nitric oxide) concentrations were statistically higher in the only doxorubicin-treated group when compared to the Carnitine+Doxorubicin group. Fertility index and implantation rate were lower in Doxorubicin group, when compared to Carnitine+Doxorubicin group. Moreover, the percentage of spermatozoa with damaged DNA was higher in the Doxorubicin-treated group when compared to the Carnitine+Doxorubicin group. l-carnitine, when administered before doxorubicin, partially preserved the acrosome integrity, an important feature related to sperm fertilization ability that positively correlated with the reproductive competence and sperm DNA integrity at adulthood. In conclusion, l-carnitine attenuated the long-term alterations caused by doxorubicin in the germ cells and improved male reproductive capacity in adulthood.National Council for the Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES/Brazil)Fed Univ Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Lab Dev Biol, Dept Morphol & Genet, Botucatu St 740,Leitao da Cunha Bldg,2nd Floor, BR-04023900 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFed Univ Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Lab Dev Biol, Dept Morphol & Genet, Botucatu St 740,Leitao da Cunha Bldg,2nd Floor, BR-04023900 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

The plant traits that drive ecosystems: Evidence from three continents.

Question: A set of easily‐measured (‘soft’) plant traits has been identified as potentially useful predictors of ecosystem functioning in previous studies. Here we aimed to discover whether the screening techniques remain operational in widely contrasted circumstances, to test for the existence of axes of variation in the particular sets of traits, and to test for their links with ‘harder’ traits of proven importance to ecosystem functioning. Location: central‐western Argentina, central England, northern upland Iran, and north‐eastern Spain. Recurrent patterns of ecological specialization: Through ordination of a matrix of 640 vascular plant taxa by 12 standardized traits, we detected similar patterns of specialization in the four floras. The first PCA axis was identified as an axis of resource capture, usage and release. PCA axis 2 appeared to be a size‐related axis. Individual PCA for each country showed that the same traits remained valuable as predictors of resource capture and utilization in all of them, despite their major differences in climate, biogeography and land‐use. The results were not significantly driven by particular taxa: the main traits determining PCA axis 1 were very similar in eudicotyledons and monocotyledons and Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae. Links between recurrent suites of ‘soft’ traits and ‘hard’ traits: The validity of PCA axis 1 as a key predictor of resource capture and utilization was tested by comparisons between this axis and values of more rigorously established predictors (‘hard’ traits) for the floras of Argentina and England. PCA axis 1 was correlated with variation in relative growth rate, leaf nitrogen content, and litter decomposition rate. It also coincided with palatability to model generalist herbivores. Therefore, location on PCA axis 1 can be linked to major ecosystem processes in those habitats where the plants are dominant. Conclusion: We confirm the existence at the global scale of a major axis of evolutionary specialization, previously recognised in several local floras. This axis reflects a fundamental trade‐off between rapid acquisition of resources and conservation of resources within well‐protected tissues. These major trends of specialization were maintained across different environmental situations (including differences in the proximate causes of low productivity, i.e. drought or mineral nutrient deficiency). The trends were also consistent across floras and major phylogenetic groups, and were linked with traits directly relevant to ecosystem processes.Fil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Hodgson, J.G.. The University. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences. Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology; Reino UnidoFil: Thompson, K.. The University. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences. Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology; Reino UnidoFil: Cabido, Marcelo Ruben. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Cornelissen, Johannes H. C.. Free University. Faculty Earth and Life Sciences. Department of Systems Ecology; Países BajosFil: Funes, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Pérez Harguindeguy, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Vendramini, Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Falczuk, Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Zak, Marcelo Román. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Khoshnevi, M.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; IránFil: Pérez Rontomé, M. C.. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología; EspañaFil: Shirvani, F. A.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; IránFil: Yazdani, S.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; IránFil: Abbas Azimi, R. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; IránFil: Bogaard, A. The University. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory; Reino UnidoFil: Boustani, S.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; IránFil: Charles, M.. The University. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory; Reino UnidoFil: Dehghan, M.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; IránFil: de Torres Espuny, L.. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología; EspañaFil: Guerrero Campo, J.. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología; EspañaFil: Hynd, A.. The University. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory; Reino UnidoFil: Jones, G.. The University. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory; Reino UnidoFil: Kowsary, E.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; Irán. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología; EspañaFil: Kazemi Saeed, F.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; IránFil: Maestro Martínez, M.. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología; EspañaFil: Romo Diez, A.. Instituto Botanico de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Shaw, S.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; Irán. The University. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; Reino UnidoFil: Siavash, B.. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands; IránFil: Villar Salvador, P.. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología; Españ

Unveiling the mechanism of N‐methylation of indole with dimethylcarbonate using either DABCO or DBU as catalyst

B.R.V.F., P.H.V. and M.N.E. acknowledge the São Paulo State Science Foundation (FAPESP) and the Brazilian National Science Council (CNPq) for financial support. L.A.Z. thanks CNPQ for his PhD scholarship (142476/2018-8), R.A.C. thanks SDumont and CESUP. M.B. thanks the School of Chemistry and EaStCHEM for support and for access to a computer cluster maintained by Dr. H. Früchtl.Depending on the catalyst used, N‐methylation of indole with dimethylcarbonate (DMC) ‐ an environmentally friendly alkylation agent – yields different products. With 1,4‐diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO), the reaction forms only N‐methylated indole but with or 1,8‐diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene (DBU), both N‐methylated and N‐methoxycarbonylated indole are formed. Using direct ESI(+)‐MS monitoring to collect actual snapshots of the changing ionic composition of the reaction solution, we report on the interception and characterization of key intermediates for such reactions. Although a mechanism has been proposed with methoxycarbonylated base as the key intermediate for both DBU and DABCO, the ESI(+)‐MS data as well as B3LYP‐D3/6‐311+G** calculations suggest that the reaction of DMC with indole under either DABCO or DBU catalysis follow contrasting mechanisms.PostprintPeer reviewe

Mapping and vegetation cover index from cáceres city, Mato Grosso State (MT), Brazil.

Analyzing the urban space related to its own growth allows to identify the identification of the dynamics of the natural elements and the way the intensified anthropic action shapes and at the same time degrades the landscape, which in the present study is the Pantanal biome. The objective of this study is to use high resolution images and vegetation cover indexes to analyze the urban expansion of Cáceres/MT, and to generate financial support for municipal planning and management. For the execution of this research, remote sensing images and a Geographic Information System (GIS) were used, as well as demographic census data. The urban expansion contributed to the removal of 19.62% of the vegetation and to the increase of 15.28% of anthropic use. The Caceres Vegetation Cover Index is high, with vegetation percentages above 30% occurring in 74.42% of the neighborhoods. From the date of the study on the Index of Vegetation Cover for Inhabitant (ICVH) decreased by 37.20%, remained at 32.55% and increased by 30.25%. It was concluded that an increase in the use of urban space contributed to the reduction of vegetation, as well as the decrease of the population associated to the vegetation of the neighborhoods influenced on the decrease of the ICVH.Especial - Geopantanal 2016. Na publicação: João Santos Vila da SILVA

Convergent evidences from human and animal studies implicate angiotensin I-converting enzyme activity in cognitive performance in schizophrenia

In schizophrenia (SCZ), higher angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) levels have been reported in patient's blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Hereby, we propose to explore whether the ACE activity levels are associated to cognitive performance in SCZ. Seventy-two patients with SCZ or schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, and 69 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a cognitive battery with parallel collection of peripheral blood samples to measure ACE activity. Significant higher ACE activity levels were confirmed in the plasma of SCZ patients compared with HCs (Student's t =-5.216; Po0.001). ACE activity significantly correlated to Hopkins delayed recall measures (r =-0.247; P = 0.004) and Hopkins total (r =-0.214; P = 0.012). Subjects grouped as high ACE activity (above average) had worse performance compared with low ACE activity level group for Hopkins delayed recall measure, even after correction for clinical condition, age, gender and years of education (P = 0.029). The adjusted R squared for this final model was 0.343. This result was evident only comparing extreme groups for ACE activity, when splitting the sample in three groups with similar number of subjects. To clarify this finding, we performed an evaluation of the cognitive performance of transgenic mice with three copies of ACE gene in novel object recognition (NOR) test, which showed that such animals presented impairment in NOR (P &lt; 0.05) compared with two copies of wild-type animals. The results observed in SCZ patients and animal model suggest both the association of ACE to cognitive deficits in SCZ. This finding may support the evaluation of novel treatment protocols and/or of innovative drugs for specific intervention of cognitive deficits in SCZ envisioning concomitant ACE activity and behavior evaluations.</p

Ecosystem Services Provided by Overseeding Aeschynomene Into Bahiagrass Pastures in South Florida

Aeschynomene (Aeschynomene americana L.) is a warm-season annual legume commonly overseeded into warm-season perennial grass pastures in tropical and subtropical regions. Although aeschynomene usually increases forage production and nutritive value, there is limited information about the ecosystem services provided by this legume. The objective of these studies was to evaluate the effects of overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flüggé) pastures on nutrient dynamics and microbial N-cycling gene abundances. The studies were conducted in Ona, FL, from April to March 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Treatments were the split-plot arrangement of two forage systems treatments (overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass or bahiagrass monoculture; main plots) and two N fertilization levels [0 (control) and 60 kg N ha-1 ; sub-plot], distributed in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Forage characteristics were evaluated 8-wk after seeding and every 35 d thereafter. The static chamber technique was used to estimate nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The litter bag technique was used to estimate organic matter (OM) and N decomposition. Nitrogen-cycling gene abundances were measured by qPCR. Bahiagrass-aeschynomene had greater crude protein concentration than bahiagrass monoculture but there was no difference in forage accumulation. Nitrogen fertilization increased forage accumulation and daily N2O emissions. Litter from bahiagrass-aeschynomene had greater OM and N decomposition rates than bahiagrass only, and N fertilization did not affect litter decomposition. There were no differences in N-cycling microbial gene abundances among treatments. Overseeding aeschynomene into bahiagrass may provide additional ecosystem services, but the magnitude is conditional to the establishment and proportion of aeschynomene in the pasture botanical composition

SF3B1-mutated chronic lymphocytic leukemia shows evidence of NOTCH1 pathway activation including CD20 downregulation

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by a low CD20 expression, in part explained by an epigenetic-driven downregulation triggered by mutations of the NOTCH1 gene. In the present study, by taking advantage of a wide and well-characterized CLL cohort (n=537), we demonstrate that CD20 expression is downregulated in SF3B1-mutated CLL in an extent similar to NOTCH1-mutated CLL. In fact, SF3B1-mutated CLL cells show common features with NOTCH1-mutated CLL cells, including a gene expression profile enriched of NOTCH1-related gene sets and elevated expression of the active intracytoplasmic NOTCH1. Activation of the NOTCH1 signaling and down-regulation of surface CD20 in SF3B1-mutated CLL cells correlate with over-expression of an alternatively spliced form of DVL2, a component of the Wnt pathway and negative regulator of the NOTCH1 pathway. These findings are confirmed by separately analyzing the CD20-dim and CD20-bright cell fractions from SF3B1-mutated cases as well as by DVL2 knock-out experiments in CLL-like cell models. Altogether, the clinical and biological features that characterize NOTCH1-mutated CLL may also be recapitulated in SF3B1-mutated CLL, contributing to explain the poor prognosis of this CLL subset and providing the rationale for expanding novel agents-based therapies to SF3B1-mutated CLL