Mass extinctions drove increased global faunal cosmopolitanism on the supercontinent Pangaea

Mass extinctions have profoundly impacted the evolution of life through not only reducing taxonomic diversity but also reshaping ecosystems and biogeographic patterns. In particular, they are considered to have driven increased biogeographic cosmopolitanism, but quantitative tests of this hypothesis are rare and have not explicitly incorporated information on evolutionary relationships. Here we quantify faunal cosmopolitanism using a phylogenetic network approach for 891 terrestrial vertebrate species spanning the late Permian through Early Jurassic. This key interval witnessed the Permian–Triassic and Triassic–Jurassic mass extinctions, the onset of fragmentation of the supercontinent Pangaea, and the origins of dinosaurs and many modern vertebrate groups. Our results recover significant increases in global faunal cosmopolitanism following both mass extinctions, driven mainly by new, widespread taxa, leading to homogenous ‘disaster faunas’. Cosmopolitanism subsequently declines in post-recovery communities. These shared patterns in both biotic crises suggest that mass extinctions have predictable influences on animal distribution and may shed light on biodiversity loss in extant ecosystems

A standardised study to compare prostate cancer targeting efficacy of five radiolabelled bombesin analogues

Purpose: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer (PC) has dramatically increased early diagnosis. Current imaging techniques are not optimal to stage early PC adequately. A promising alternative to PC imaging is peptide-based scintigraphy using radiolabelled bombesin (BN) analogues that bind to gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) being overexpressed in PC. When labelled to appropriate radionuclides BN targeting of GRPRs may also provide applications for peptide radionuclide receptor therapy (PRRT). Assessment studies under identical experimental conditions allowing a reliable comparison of the potential of such analogues are lacking. This study was performed to evaluate and directly compare five promising radiolabelled BN analogues for their targeting efficacy for PC under standardised conditions. Methods: The BN agonists [111In]DOTA-PESIN, [111In]AMBA, [111In]MP2346 and [111In]MP2653 and one antagonist [99mTc]Demobesin-1 were evaluated in GRPR-overexpressing human PC-3 tumou

Antihypertensive, antidyslipidemic and endothelial modulating activities of Orchis mascula

The objective of this study was to investigate the possible mode(s) of action for the medicinal use of Orchis mascula (OM) (family Orchidaceae) in hypertension and dyslipidemia. In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), OM significantly (

Recent Shift in Climate Relationship Enables Prediction of the Timing of Bird Breeding

Large-scale climate processes influence many aspects of ecology including breeding phenology, reproductive success and survival across a wide range of taxa. Some effects are direct, for example, in temperate-zone birds, ambient temperature is an important cue enabling breeding effort to coincide with maximum food availability, and earlier breeding in response to warmer springs has been documented in many species. In other cases, time-lags of up to several years in ecological responses have been reported, with effects mediated through biotic mechanisms such as growth rates or abundance of food supplies. Here we use 23 years of data for a temperate woodland bird species, the great tit (Parus major), breeding in deciduous woodland in eastern England to demonstrate a time-lagged linear relationship between the on-set of egg laying and the winter index of the North Atlantic Oscillation such that timing can be predicted from the winter index for the previous year. Thus the timing of bird breeding (and, by inference, the timing of spring events in general) can be predicted one year in advance. We also show that the relationship with the winter index appears to arise through an abiotic time-lag with local spring warmth in our study area. Examining this link between local conditions and larger-scale processes in the longer-term showed that, in the past, significant relationships with the immediately preceding winter index were more common than those with the time-lagged index, and especially so from the late 1930s to the early 1970s. However, from the mid 1970s onwards, the time-lagged relationship has become the most significant, suggesting a recent change in climate patterns. The strength of the current time-lagged relationship suggests that it might have relevance for other temperature-dependent ecological relationships

Visual laterality in dolphins: importance of the familiarity of stimuli

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many studies of cerebral asymmetries in different species lead, on the one hand, to a better understanding of the functions of each cerebral hemisphere and, on the other hand, to develop an evolutionary history of hemispheric laterality. Our animal model is particularly interesting because of its original evolutionary path, i.e. return to aquatic life after a terrestrial phase. The rare reports concerning visual laterality of marine mammals investigated mainly discrimination processes. As dolphins are migrant species they are confronted to a changing environment. Being able to categorize new versus familiar objects would allow dolphins a rapid adaptation to novel environments. Visual laterality could be a prerequisite to this adaptability. To date, no study, to our knowledge, has analyzed the environmental factors that could influence their visual laterality.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We investigated visual laterality expressed spontaneously at the water surface by a group of five common bottlenose dolphins (<it>Tursiops truncatus</it>) in response to various stimuli. The stimuli presented ranged from very familiar objects (known and manipulated previously) to familiar objects (known but never manipulated) to unfamiliar objects (unknown, never seen previously). At the group level, dolphins used their left eye to observe very familiar objects and their right eye to observe unfamiliar objects. However, eyes are used indifferently to observe familiar objects with intermediate valence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest different visual cerebral processes based either on the global shape of well-known objects or on local details of unknown objects. Moreover, the manipulation of an object appears necessary for these dolphins to construct a global representation of an object enabling its immediate categorization for subsequent use. Our experimental results pointed out some cognitive capacities of dolphins which might be crucial for their wild life given their fission-fusion social system and migratory behaviour.</p

Effect of clinical signs, endocrinopathies, timing of surgery, hyperlipidemia, and hyperbilirubinemia on outcome in dogs with gallbladder mucocele

Gallbladder mucocele (GBM) is a common extra-hepatic biliary syndrome in dogs with death rates ranging from 7 to 45%. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the association of survival with variables that could be utilized to improve clinical decisions. A total of 1194 dogs with a gross and histopathological diagnosis of GBM were included from 41 veterinary referral hospitals in this retrospective study. Dogs with GBM that demonstrated abnormal clinical signs had significantly greater odds of death than subclinical dogs in a univariable analysis (OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 2.14–8.23; P &lt; 0.001). The multivariable model indicated that categorical variables including owner recognition of jaundice (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.19–3.77; P = 0.011), concurrent hyperadrenocorticism (OR 1.94; 95% CI, 1.08–3.47; P = 0.026), and Pomeranian breed (OR, 2.46; 95% CI 1.10–5.50; P = 0.029) were associated with increased odds of death, and vomiting was associated with decreased odds of death (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.30–0.72; P=0.001). Continuous variables in the multivariable model, total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01– 1.04; P &lt; 0.001) and age (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.08–1.26; P &lt; 0.001), were associated with increased odds of death. The clinical utility of total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration as a biomarker to predict death was poor with a sensitivity of 0.61 (95% CI, 0.54–0.69) and a specificity of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.59–0.66). This study identified several prognostic variables in dogs with GBM including total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration, age, clinical signs, concurrent hyperadrenocorticism, and the Pomeranian breed. The presence of hypothyroidism or diabetes mellitus did not impact outcome in this study

Two Chromogranin A-Derived Peptides Induce Calcium Entry in Human Neutrophils by Calmodulin-Regulated Calcium Independent Phospholipase A2

Background: Antimicrobial peptides derived from the natural processing of chromogranin A (CgA) are co-secreted with catecholamines upon stimulation of chromaffin cells. Since PMNs play a central role in innate immunity, we examine responses by PMNs following stimulation by two antimicrobial CgA-derived peptides. Methodology/Principal Findings: PMNs were treated with different concentrations of CgA-derived peptides in presence of several drugs. Calcium mobilization was observed by using flow cytometry and calcium imaging experiments. Immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy have shown the intracellular localization of the peptides. The calmodulin-binding and iPLA2 activating properties of the peptides were shown by Surface Plasmon Resonance and iPLA2 activity assays. Finally, a proteomic analysis of the material released after PMNs treatment with CgA-derived peptides was performed by using HPLC and Nano-LC MS-MS. By using flow cytometry we first observed that after 15 s, in presence of extracellular calcium, Chromofungin (CHR) or Catestatin (CAT) induce a concentration-dependent transient increase of intracellular calcium. In contrast, in absence of extra cellular calcium the peptides are unable to induce calcium depletion from the stores after 10 minutes exposure. Treatment with 2-APB (2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate), a store operated channels (SOCs) blocker, inhibits completely the calcium entry, as shown by calcium imaging. We also showed that they activate iPLA2 as the two CaM-binding factors (W7 and CMZ) and that the two sequences can be aligned with the two CaMbinding domains reported for iPLA2. We finally analyzed by HPLC and Nano-LC MS-MS the material released by PMNs following stimulation by CHR and CAT. We characterized several factors important for inflammation and innate immunity. Conclusions/Significance: For the first time, we demonstrate that CHR and CAT, penetrate into PMNs, inducing extracellular calcium entry by a CaM-regulated iPLA2 pathway. Our study highlights the role of two CgA-derived peptides in the active communication between neuroendocrine and immune systems

Who Eats Whom in a Pool? A Comparative Study of Prey Selectivity by Predatory Aquatic Insects

Predatory aquatic insects are a diverse group comprising top predators in small fishless water bodies. Knowledge of their diet composition is fragmentary, which hinders the understanding of mechanisms maintaining their high local diversity and of their impacts on local food web structure and dynamics. We conducted multiple-choice predation experiments using nine common species of predatory aquatic insects, including adult and larval Coleoptera, adult Heteroptera and larval Odonata, and complemented them with literature survey of similar experiments. All predators in our experiments fed selectively on the seven prey species offered, and vulnerability to predation varied strongly between the prey. The predators most often preferred dipteran larvae; previous studies further reported preferences for cladocerans. Diet overlaps between all predator pairs and predator overlaps between all prey pairs were non-zero. Modularity analysis separated all primarily nectonic predator and prey species from two groups of large and small benthic predators and their prey. These results, together with limited evidence from the literature, suggest a highly interconnected food web with several modules, in which similarly sized predators from the same microhabitat are likely to compete strongly for resources in the field (observed Pianka’s diet overlap indices >0.85). Our experiments further imply that ontogenetic diet shifts are common in predatory aquatic insects, although we observed higher diet overlaps than previously reported. Hence, individuals may or may not shift between food web modules during ontogeny