The major barriers to evidence-informed conservation policy and possible solutions.

Conservation policy decisions can suffer from a lack of evidence, hindering effective decision-making. In nature conservation, studies investigating why policy is often not evidence-informed have tended to focus on Western democracies, with relatively small samples. To understand global variation and challenges better, we established a global survey aimed at identifying top barriers and solutions to the use of conservation science in policy. This obtained the views of 758 people in policy, practice, and research positions from 68 countries across six languages. Here we show that, contrary to popular belief, there is agreement between groups about how to incorporate conservation science into policy, and there is thus room for optimism. Barriers related to the low priority of conservation were considered to be important, while mainstreaming conservation was proposed as a key solution. Therefore, priorities should focus on convincing the public of the importance of conservation as an issue, which will then influence policy-makers to adopt pro-environmental long-term policies

A Rapid and Simple Procedure for the Establishment of Human Normal and Cancer Renal Primary Cell Cultures from Surgical Specimens

The kidney is a target organ for the toxicity of several xenobiotics and is also highly susceptible to the development of malignant tumors. In both cases, in vitro studies provide insight to cellular damage, and represent adequate models to study either the mechanisms underlying the toxic effects of several nephrotoxicants or therapeutic approaches in renal cancer. The development of efficient methods for the establishment of human normal and tumor renal cell models is hence crucial. In this study, a technically simple and rapid protocol for the isolation and culture of human proximal tubular epithelial cells and human renal tumor cells from surgical specimens is presented. Tumor and normal tissues were processed by using the same methodology, based on mechanical disaggregation of tissue followed by enzymatic digestion and cell purification by sequential sieving. The overall procedure takes roughly one hour. The resulting cell preparations have excellent viabilities and yield. Establishment of primary cultures from all specimens was achieved successfully. The origin of primary cultured cells was established through morphological evaluation. Normal cells purity was confirmed by immunofluorescent staining and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis for expression of specific markers

Osteoarthritis medical labelling and health-related quality of life in the general population

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic joint disease. In the absence of an effective medical treatment and due to the chronic nature of this condition, an osteoarthritis medical diagnosis may finally result in decreased health-related quality of life. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure the impact of the osteoarthritis medical labelling on physical and mental health-related quality of life. METHODS: Subjects (n = 1132, 58.7% women) were approached as participants of an urban population-based cohort (EPIPorto). Self-reported information on previous diagnosis of knee, hip or hand osteoarthritis was obtained and rheumatologists established knee, hip or hand osteoarthritis clinical diagnosis in symptomatic individuals. Physical and mental dimensions of health-related quality of life were evaluated using the self-administered Medical Outcomes Study: 36-Item Short Form Survey. Crude and adjusted linear regression coefficients (beta) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were computed to estimate the associations between being labelled as an osteoarthritis case and health-related quality of life. RESULTS: Regardless of disease medical labelling, individuals with osteoarthritis scored significantly lower physical health-related quality of life when compared to those without joint disease (knee(unexposed): beta = −5.3, 95% CI: −7.6, −3.1; knee(exposed): beta = −6.0, 95% CI: −8.4, −3.7; hip(unexposed): beta = −6.0, 95% CI: −9.8, −2.3; hip(exposed): beta = −11.0, 95% CI: −15.6, −6.4; hand(unexposed): beta = −4.3, 95% CI: −6.5, −2.0; hand(exposed): beta = −4.3, 95% CI: −6.6, −2.1). The same was not observed regarding mental health-related quality of life. Among subjects with clinically confirmed osteoarthritis, the medical labelling of this joint disease was not significantly associated to health-related quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The labelling of knee, hip and hand osteoarthritis diagnosis may not add specific benefit to osteoarthritis patients in terms of its capability to improve health-related quality of life

Quantitative-spatial assessment of soil contamination in S. Francisco de Assis due to mining activity of the Panasqueira mine (Portugal)

Through the years, mining and beneficiation processes produces large amounts of As-rich mine wastes laid up in huge tailings and open-air impoundments (Barroca Grande and Rio tailings) that are the main source of pollution in the surrounding area once they are exposed to the weathering conditions leading to the formation of AMD and consequently to the contamination of the surrounding environments, in particularly soils. In order to investigate the environmental contamination impact on S. Francisco de Assis (village located between the two major impoundments and tailings) agricultural soils, a geochemical survey was undertaken to assess toxic metals associations, related levels and their spatial distribution, and to identify the possible contamination sources. According to the calculated contamination factor, As and Zn have a very high contamination factor giving rise to 65.4 % of samples with a moderate to high pollution degree; 34.6 % have been classified as nil to very low pollution degree. The contamination factor spatial distribution put in evidence the fact that As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn soils contents, downstream Barroca Grande tailing, are increased when compared with the local Bk soils. The mechanical dispersion, due to erosion, is the main contamination source. The chemical extraction demonstrates that the trace metals distribution and accumulation in S. Francisco de Assis soils is related to sulfides, but also to amorphous or poorly crystalline iron oxide phases. The partitioning study allowed understanding the local chemical elements mobility and precipitation processes, giving rise to the contamination dispersion model of the study area. The wind and hydrological factors are responsible for the chemical elements transport mechanisms, the water being the main transporter medium and soils as one of the possible retention media

Haplotypes of the bovine IgG2 heavy gamma chain in tick-resistant and tick-susceptible breeds of cattle

Bovines present contrasting, heritable phenotypes of infestations with the cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Tick salivary glands produce IgG-binding proteins (IGBPs) as a mechanism for escaping from host antibodies that these ectoparasites ingest during blood meals. Allotypes that occur in the constant region of IgG may differ in their capacity to bind with tick IGBPs; this may be reflected by the distribution of distinct allotypes according to phenotypes of tick infestations. In order to test this hypothesis, we investigated the frequency of haplotypes of bovine IgG2 among tick-resistant and tick-susceptible breeds of bovines. Sequencing of the gene coding for the heavy chain of IgG2 from 114 tick-resistant (Bos taurus indicus, Nelore breed) and tick-susceptible (B. t. taurus, Holstein breed) bovines revealed SNPs that generated 13 different haplotypes, of which 11 were novel and 5 were exclusive of Holstein and 3 of Nelore breeds. Alignment and modeling of coded haplotypes for hinge regions of the bovine IgG2 showed that they differ in the distribution of polar and hydrophobic amino acids and in shape according to the distribution of these amino acids. We also found that there was an association between genotypes of the constant region of the IgG2 heavy chain with phenotypes of tick infestations. These findings open the possibility of investigating if certain IgG allotypes hinder the function of tick IGBPs. If so, they may be markers for breeding for resistance against tick infestations

A2 Noradrenergic Lesions Prevent Renal Sympathoinhibition Induced by Hypernatremia in Rats

Renal vasodilation and sympathoinhibition are recognized responses induced by hypernatremia, but the central neural pathways underlying such responses are not yet entirely understood. Several findings suggest that A2 noradrenergic neurons, which are found in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), play a role in the pathways that contribute to body fluid homeostasis and cardiovascular regulation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of selective lesions of A2 neurons on the renal vasodilation and sympathoinhibition induced by hypertonic saline (HS) infusion. Male Wistar rats (280–350 g) received an injection into the NTS of anti-dopamine-beta-hydroxylase-saporin (A2 lesion; 6.3 ng in 60 nl; n = 6) or free saporin (sham; 1.3 ng in 60 nl; n = 7). Two weeks later, the rats were anesthetized (urethane 1.2 g⋅kg−1 b.wt., i.v.) and the blood pressure, renal blood flow (RBF), renal vascular conductance (RVC) and renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) were recorded. In sham rats, the HS infusion (3 M NaCl, 1.8 ml⋅kg−1 b.wt., i.v.) induced transient hypertension (peak at 10 min after HS; 9±2.7 mmHg) and increases in the RBF and RVC (141±7.9% and 140±7.9% of baseline at 60 min after HS, respectively). HS infusion also decreased the RSNA (−45±5.0% at 10 min after HS) throughout the experimental period. In the A2-lesioned rats, the HS infusion induced transient hypertension (6±1.4 mmHg at 10 min after HS), as well as increased RBF and RVC (133±5.2% and 134±6.9% of baseline at 60 min after HS, respectively). However, in these rats, the HS failed to reduce the RSNA (115±3.1% at 10 min after HS). The extent of the catecholaminergic lesions was confirmed by immunocytochemistry. These results suggest that A2 noradrenergic neurons are components of the neural pathways regulating the composition of the extracellular fluid compartment and are selectively involved in hypernatremia-induced sympathoinhibition

DNA microarray profiling of genes differentially regulated by the histone deacetylase inhibitors vorinostat and LBH589 in colon cancer cell lines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the significant progress made in colon cancer chemotherapy, advanced disease remains largely incurable and novel efficacious chemotherapies are urgently needed. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) represent a novel class of agents which have demonstrated promising preclinical activity and are undergoing clinical evaluation in colon cancer. The goal of this study was to identify genes in colon cancer cells that are differentially regulated by two clinically advanced hydroxamic acid HDACi, vorinostat and LBH589 to provide rationale for novel drug combination partners and identify a core set of HDACi-regulated genes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HCT116 and HT29 colon cancer cells were treated with LBH589 or vorinostat and growth inhibition, acetylation status and apoptosis were analyzed in response to treatment using MTS, Western blotting and flow cytometric analyses. In addition, gene expression was analyzed using the Illumina Human-6 V2 BeadChip array and Ingenuity^®Pathway Analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Treatment with either vorinostat or LBH589 rapidly induced histone acetylation, cell cycle arrest and inhibited the growth of both HCT116 and HT29 cells. Bioinformatic analysis of the microarray profiling revealed significant similarity in the genes altered in expression following treatment with the two HDACi tested within each cell line. However, analysis of genes that were altered in expression in the HCT116 and HT29 cells revealed cell-line-specific responses to HDACi treatment. In addition a core cassette of 11 genes modulated by both vorinostat and LBH589 were identified in both colon cancer cell lines analyzed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study identified HDACi-induced alterations in critical genes involved in nucleotide metabolism, angiogenesis, mitosis and cell survival which may represent potential intervention points for novel therapeutic combinations in colon cancer. This information will assist in the identification of novel pathways and targets that are modulated by HDACi, providing much-needed information on HDACi mechanism of action and providing rationale for novel drug combination partners. We identified a core signature of 11 genes which were modulated by both vorinostat and LBH589 in a similar manner in both cell lines. These core genes will assist in the development and validation of a common gene set which may represent a molecular signature of HDAC inhibition in colon cancer.</p