Know Your Monkey: Identifying Primate Conservation Challenges in an Indigenous Kichwa Community Using an Ethnoprimatological Approach

© 2016 The Author(s) Increasing pressure on tropical forests is continually highlighting the need to find new solutions that mitigate the impact of human populations on biodiversity. However, developing solutions that can tackle the drivers of anthropogenic pressure, or at least take them into account, hinges upon building a good understanding of the culture and perceptions of local people. This study aims to provide an overview of the ethnoprimatology of an indigenous Kichwa community in the Ecuadorian Amazon that maintains a traditional lifestyle but also has good access to markets. We examine whether primates are seen as a distinctive group and their relative importance as sources of bushmeat and as household pets. Pile-sorting exercises revealed that although locals generally group members of the order Primates together, tree-dwelling nonprimates including sloths, coatis, kinkajous and tamanduas are also frequently classified as 'monkeys'. The perceived importance of primates to the forest and the community lay more in their potential as bushmeat, and only 1 respondent identified an ecological role for the group in terms of seed dispersal. Gaining a better understanding of local perceptions will allow for better-informed conservation decisions that are more aware of potential impacts and are more likely to gain community support

Optimizing CIGB-300 intralesional delivery in locally advanced cervical cancer

Background:We conducted a phase 1 trial in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer by injecting 0.5 ml of the CK2-antagonist CIGB-300 in two different sites on tumours to assess tumour uptake, safety, pharmacodynamic activity and identify the recommended dose.Methods:Fourteen patients were treated with intralesional injections containing 35 or 70 mg of CIGB-300 in three alternate cycles of three consecutive days each before standard chemoradiotherapy. Tumour uptake was determined using 99 Tc-radiolabelled peptide. In situ B23/nucleophosmin was determined by immunohistochemistry.Results:Maximum tumour uptake for CIGB-300 70-mg dose was significantly higher than the one observed for 35 mg: 16.1±8.9 vs 31.3±12.9 mg (P=0.01). Both, AUC 24h and biological half-life were also significantly higher using 70 mg of CIGB-300 (P<0.001). Unincorporated CIGB-300 diffused rapidly to blood and was mainly distributed towards kidneys, and marginally in liver, lungs, heart and spleen. There was no DLT and moderate allergic-like reactions were the most common systemic side effect with strong correlation between unincorporated CIGB-300 and histamine levels in blood. CIGB-300, 70 mg, downregulated B23/nucleophosmin (P=0.03) in tumour specimens.Conclusion:Intralesional injections of 70 mg CIGB-300 in two sites (0.5 ml per injection) and this treatment plan are recommended to be evaluated in phase 2 studies.Fil: Sarduy, M. R.. Medical-surgical Research Center; CubaFil: García, I.. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; CubaFil: Coca, M. A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: Perera, A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: Torres, L. A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: Valenzuela, C. M.. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; CubaFil: Baladrón, I.. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; CubaFil: Solares, M.. Hospital Materno Ramón González Coro; CubaFil: Reyes, V.. Center For Genetic Engineering And Biotechnology Havana; CubaFil: Hernández, I.. Isotope Center; CubaFil: Perera, Y.. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; CubaFil: Martínez, Y. M.. Medical-surgical Research Center; CubaFil: Molina, L.. Medical-surgical Research Center; CubaFil: González, Y. M.. Medical-surgical Research Center; CubaFil: Ancízar, J. A.. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; CubaFil: Prats, A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: González, L.. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; CubaFil: Casacó, C. A.. Clinical Investigation Center; CubaFil: Acevedo, B. E.. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; CubaFil: López Saura, P. A.. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; CubaFil: Alonso, Daniel Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; ArgentinaFil: Gómez, R.. Elea Laboratories; ArgentinaFil: Perea Rodríguez, S. E.. Center For Genetic Engineering And Biotechnology Havana; Cuba. Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología; Cub

Induction of humoral immune response to multiple recombinant Rhipicephalus appendiculatus antigens and their effect on tick feeding success and pathogen transmission

BACKGROUND: Rhipicephalus appendiculatus is the primary vector of Theileria parva, the etiological agent of East Coast fever (ECF), a devastating disease of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa. We hypothesized that a vaccine targeting tick proteins that are involved in attachment and feeding might affect feeding success and possibly reduce tick-borne transmission of T. parva. Here we report the evaluation of a multivalent vaccine cocktail of tick antigens for their ability to reduce R. appendiculatus feeding success and possibly reduce tick-transmission of T. parva in a natural host-tick-parasite challenge model. METHODS: Cattle were inoculated with a multivalent antigen cocktail containing recombinant tick protective antigen subolesin as well as two additional R. appendiculatus saliva antigens: the cement protein TRP64, and three different histamine binding proteins. The cocktail also contained the T. parva sporozoite antigen p67C. The effect of vaccination on the feeding success of nymphal and adult R. appendiculatus ticks was evaluated together with the effect on transmission of T. parva using a tick challenge model. RESULTS: To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the anti-tick effects of these antigens in the natural host-tick-parasite combination. In spite of evidence of strong immune responses to all of the antigens in the cocktail, vaccination with this combination of tick and parasite antigens did not appear to effect tick feeding success or reduce transmission of T. parva. CONCLUSION: The results of this study highlight the importance of early evaluation of anti-tick vaccine candidates in biologically relevant challenge systems using the natural tick-host-parasite combination

Ears of the Armadillo: Global Health Research and Neglected Diseases in Texas

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have\ud been recently identified as significant public\ud health problems in Texas and elsewhere in\ud the American South. A one-day forum on the\ud landscape of research and development and\ud the hidden burden of NTDs in Texas\ud explored the next steps to coordinate advocacy,\ud public health, and research into a\ud cogent health policy framework for the\ud American NTDs. It also highlighted how\ud U.S.-funded global health research can serve\ud to combat these health disparities in the\ud United States, in addition to benefiting\ud communities abroad

Nucleoporin Mediated Nuclear Positioning and Silencing of HMR

The organization of chromatin domains in the nucleus is an important factor in gene regulation. In eukaryotic nuclei, transcriptionally silenced chromatin clusters at the nuclear periphery while transcriptionally poised chromatin resides in the nuclear interior. Recent studies suggest that nuclear pore proteins (NUPs) recruit loci to nuclear pores to aid in insulation of genes from silencing and during gene activation. We investigated the role of NUPs at a native yeast insulator and show that while NUPs localize to the native tDNA insulator adjacent to the silenced HMR domain, loss of pore proteins does not compromise insulation. Surprisingly we find that NUPs contribute to silencing at HMR and are able to restore silencing to a silencing-defective HMR allele when tethered to the locus. We show that the perinuclear positioning of heterochromatin is important for the NUP-mediated silencing effect and find that loss of NUPs result in decreased localization of HMR to the nuclear periphery. We also show that loss of telomeric tethering pathways does not eliminate NUP localization to HMR, suggesting that NUPs may mediate an independent pathway for HMR association with the nuclear periphery. We propose that localization of NUPs to the tDNA insulator at HMR helps maintain the intranuclear position of the silent locus, which in turn contributes to the fidelity of silencing at HMR

Variability and Action Mechanism of a Family of Anticomplement Proteins in Ixodes ricinus

Background: Ticks are blood feeding arachnids that characteristically take a long blood meal. They must therefore counteract host defence mechanisms such as hemostasis, inflammation and the immune response. This is achieved by expressing batteries of salivary proteins coded by multigene families. Methodology/Principal Findings: We report the in-depth analysis of a tick multigene family and describe five new anticomplement proteins in ixodes ricinus. Compared to previously described Ixodes anticomplement proteins, these segregated into a new phylogenetic group or subfamily. These proteins have a novel action mechanism as they specifically bind to properdin, leading to the inhibition of C3 convertase and the alternative complement pathway. An excess of non-synonymous over synonymous changes indicated that coding sequences had undergone diversifying selection. Diversification was not associated with structural, biochemical o, functional diversity, adaptation to host species or stage specificity but rather to differences in antigenicity. Conclusion/Significance: Anticomplement proteins from I. ricinus are the first inhibitors that specifically target a positive regulator of complement, properdin. They may provide new tools for the investigation of role of properdin in physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms. They may also be useful in disorders affecting the alternative complement pathway, Looking for and detecting the different selection pressures involved will help in understanding the evolution of multigene families and hematophagy in arthropods. © 2008 Couveur et al.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Hemodialysis Affects Phenotype and Proliferation of CD4-Positive T Lymphocytes

CD4+ T lymphocytes of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are characterized by reduced levels of crucial surface antigens and changes in the cell cycle parameters. Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) normalizes their altered phenotype and proliferative capacity. Mechanisms leading to the deficient responses of T lymphocytes are still not clear but it is postulated that immunological changes are deepened by hemodialysis (HD). Study of activation parameters of CD4+ T lymphocytes in hemodialyzed and predialysis CKD patients could bring insight into this problem. Two groups of patients, treated conservatively (predialysis, PD) and hemodialyzed (HD), as well as healthy controls, were included into the study; neither had received rhEPO. Proportions of main CD4+CD28+, CD4+CD25+, CD4+CD69+, CD4+CD95+, and CD4+HLA-DR+ lymphocyte subpopulations and proliferation kinetic parameters were measured with flow cytometry, both ex vivo and in vitro. No differences were seen in the proportions of main CD4+ lymphocyte subpopulations (CD4+CD28+, CD4+CD25+, CD4+HLA-DR+, CD4+CD69+, CD4+CD95+) between all examined groups ex vivo. CD4+ T lymphocytes of HD patients exhibited significantly decreased expression of co-stimulatory molecule CD28 and activation markers CD25 and CD69 after stimulation in vitro when compared with PD patients and healthy controls. HD patients showed also decreased percentage of CD4+CD28+ lymphocytes proliferating in vitro; these cells presented decreased numbers of finished divisions after 72 h of stimulation in vitro and had longer G0→G1 time when compared to healthy controls. CD4+ T lymphocytes of PD patients and healthy controls were characterized by similar cell cycle parameters. Our study shows that repeated hemodialysis procedure influences phenotype and proliferation parameters of CD4+ T lymphocytes

Age is no barrier: predictors of academic success in older learners

Although predictors of academic success have been identified in young adults, such predictors are unlikely to translate directly to an older student population, where such information is scarce. The current study aimed to examine cognitive, psychosocial, lifetime, and genetic predictors of university-level academic performance in older adults (50–79 years old). Participants were mostly female (71%) and had a greater than high school education level (M = 14.06 years, SD = 2.76), on average. Two multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. The first examined all potential predictors of grade point average (GPA) in the subset of participants who had volunteered samples for genetic analysis (N = 181). Significant predictors of GPA were then re-examined in a second multiple linear regression using the full sample (N = 329). Our data show that the cognitive domains of episodic memory and language processing, in conjunction with midlife engagement in cognitively stimulating activities, have a role in predicting academic performance as measured by GPA in the first year of study. In contrast, it was determined that age, IQ, gender, working memory, psychosocial factors, and common brain gene polymorphisms linked to brain function, plasticity and degeneration (APOE, BDNF, COMT, KIBRA, SERT) did not influence academic performance. These findings demonstrate that ageing does not impede academic achievement, and that discrete cognitive skills as well as lifetime engagement in cognitively stimulating activities can promote academic success in older adults

Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in psychiatric inpatients in a northern Mexican city

BACKGROUND: Patients with psychiatric disorders were found to show a high seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection. There is scarce information about the epidemiology of T. gondii infection in psychiatric patients in Mexico. Therefore, we sought to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection and associated socio-demographic, clinical and behavioural characteristics in a population of psychiatric patients in Durango City, Mexico. Seroprevalence in patients was compared with that obtained in a control population. METHODS: One hundred and thirty seven inpatients of a public psychiatric hospital and 180 controls were examined for the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii by enzyme-linked immunoassay (Diagnostic Automation Inc., Calabasas, CA, USA). The control population consisted of blood donors of a public blood bank and elderly persons attending a senior center in the same city. Age in controls (42 years +/- 20.2) was comparable with that of the psychiatric patients (43.7 years +/-13.8) (p = 0.42). Socio-demographic, clinical and behavioral characteristics from the patients were also obtained. RESULTS: Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies indicating latent infection with T. gondii was found in 25 (18.2%) of 137 psychiatric inpatients and 16 (8.9%) of 180 controls (p = 0.02). Ten (26.3%) of 38 schizophrenic patients had latent infection and this prevalence was also significantly higher than that observed in controls (p = 0.005). Prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies was comparable among patients and controls (4.4% vs 2.2%, respectively, p = 0.22). Multivariate analysis showed that T. gondii infection in inpatients was positively associated with sexual promiscuity (adjusted OR = 15.8; 95% CI: 3.8–64.8), unwashed raw fruit consumption (adjusted OR = 5.19; 95% CI: 2.3–11.3), and a history of surgery (adjusted OR = 6.5; 95% CI: 2.6–16), and negatively associated with lamb meat consumption (adjusted OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.10–0.63). CONCLUSION: In the present study, psychiatric inpatients in Durango, Mexico, in general and schizophrenia inpatients in particular had a significantly higher prevalence of T. gondii infection than the control group. Results suggest that unwashed raw fruit consumption might be the most important route of T. gondii transmission in our psychiatric inpatients while lamb meat consumption the less important. Additional studies will have to elucidate the causative relation between infection with T. gondii and psychiatric disorders

Deciphering ligand specificity of a Clostridium thermocellum family 35 carbohydrate binding module (CtCBM35) for Gluco- and Galacto- Substituted mannans and Its calcium induced stability

Articles in International JournalsThis study investigated the role of CBM35 from Clostridium thermocellum (CtCBM35) in polysaccharide recognition. CtCBM35 was cloned into pET28a (+) vector with an engineered His6 tag and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. A homogenous 15 kDa protein was purified by immobilized metal ion chromatography (IMAC). Ligand binding analysis of CtCBM35 was carried out by affinity electrophoresis using various soluble ligands. CtCBM35 showed a manno-configured ligand specific binding displaying significant association with konjac glucomannan (Ka = 14.3×104 M−1), carob galactomannan (Ka = 12.4×104 M−1) and negligible association (Ka = 12 µM−1) with insoluble mannan. Binding of CtCBM35 with polysaccharides which was calcium dependent exhibited two fold higher association in presence of 10 mM Ca2+ ion with konjac glucomannan (Ka = 41×104 M−1) and carob galactomannan (Ka = 30×104 M−1). The polysaccharide binding was further investigated by fluorescence spectrophotometric studies. On binding with carob galactomannan and konjac glucomannan the conformation of CtCBM35 changed significantly with regular 21 nm peak shifts towards lower quantum yield. The degree of association (Ka) with konjac glucomannan and carob galactomannan, 14.3×104 M−1 and 11.4×104 M−1, respectively, corroborated the findings from affinity electrophoresis. The association of CtCBM35with konjac glucomannan led to higher free energy of binding (ΔG) −25 kJ mole−1 as compared to carob galactomannan (ΔG) −22 kJ mole−1. On binding CtCBM35 with konjac glucomannan and carob galactomannan the hydrodynamic radius (RH) as analysed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) study, increased to 8 nm and 6 nm, respectively, from 4.25 nm in absence of ligand. The presence of 10 mM Ca2+ ions imparted stiffer orientation of CtCBM35 particles with increased RH of 4.52 nm. Due to such stiffer orientation CtCBM35 became more thermostable and its melting temperature was shifted to 70°C from initial 50°C