Genetic Diversity, Population Structure, and Demographic History of Exploited Sea Urchin Populations (Tripneustes Gratilla) in the Philippines

The sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla is ecologically and economically important in the Indo-Pacific region. We use population genetic methods to investigate the population structure and historical demography of exploited populations in the Philippines. Sea urchins sampled in 6 localities in western Luzon and 4 outgroup sites were sequenced for mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase-1 gene (n = 282) and genotyped for seven microsatellite loci (n = 277). No significant genetic structure was found for either class of markers, indicating either extensive gene flow across the archipelago, or that populations have high genetic diversity and have not yet attained equilibrium between genetic drift and migration following large changes in demography. Interestingly, demographic inferences from the two types of markers were discordant. Mitochondrial lineages showed demographic expansion during the Pleistocene while microsatellite data indicated population decline. Estimates for the date of each event suggest that a Pleistocene expansion could have preceded a more recent population decline, but we also discuss other hypotheses for the discordant inferences.The high genetic diversity and broad distribution of haplotypes in populations that recently recovered from fishery collapse indicate that this species is very resilient over evolutionary timescales

Micro-crystalline inclusions analysis by PIXE and RBS

A characteristic feature of the nuclear microprobe using a 3 MeV proton beam is the long range of particles (around 70 \mu m in light matrices). The PIXE method, with EDS analysis and using the multilayer approach for treating the X-ray spectrum allows the chemistry of an intra-crystalline inclusion to be measured, provided the inclusion roof and thickness at the impact point of the beam (Z and e, respectively) are known (the depth of the inclusion floor is Z + e). The parameter Z of an inclusion in a mineral can be measured with a precision of around 1 \mu m using a motorized microscope. However, this value may significantly depart from Z if the analyzed inclusion has a complex shape. The parameter e can hardly be measured optically. By using combined RBS and PIXE measurements, it is possible to obtain the geometrical information needed for quantitative elemental analysis. This paper will present measurements on synthetic samples to investigate the advantages of the technique, and also on natural solid and fluid inclusions in quartz. The influence of the geometrical parameters will be discussed with regard to the concentration determination by PIXE. In particular, accuracy of monazite micro-inclusion dating by coupled PIXE-RBS will be presented

The littoral sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) of Guam re-assessed - a diversity curve that still does not asymptote

The Micronesian island of Guam has been an important site for the study of littoral tropical holothuriantaxonomy for almost 200 years. Despite substantial attention by both expeditions and resident taxonomists, new records arestill regularly added to the fauna, demonstrating the challenge of documenting even such large and well-known animals ina small hyper-diverse area. Guam is the type locality of species described by Quoy & Gaimard (1833) and Brandt (1835).A survey of the sea cucumber fauna by Rowe & Doty (1977) led to one of the most used guides for the identification oftropical Pacific sea cucumbers because of the color illustrations of living animals it presented. Focus on echinodermsincluding holothurians continued with numerous new records added in the following decades. Paulay (2003a) summarizedthe fauna last, recording 46-47 species. At this stage the fauna was thought to be well documented. A week-long workshopon holothurian systematics sponsored by the National Science Foundation PEET (Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise inTaxonomy) project in 2010 included a substantial field work component, sampling both during the day and night, withsnorkeling and SCUBA, across a variety of habitats. This survey yielded 40 species, including numerous new records andeven species. Further sampling by Kerr’s lab since the workshop has added additional records. The littoral holothuroidfauna of Guam now comprises 65 species in 17 genera and 7 families. Half of the 19 newly recorded species are the resultof unravelling cryptic species in complexes, the other half are based on new collections. Eleven species are known fromsingle specimens, suggesting that much still remains to be learned about the fauna

Inovação estratégica: proposta para gestão eficiente do portfólio de projetos de inovação na Embrapa.

Monografia (Especialização) - Programa Corporativo de MBA em Gestão da Inovação e Capacidade Tecnológica, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brasília, DF

The littoral sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) of Guam re-assessed – a diversity curve that still does not asymptote

The Micronesian island of Guam has been an important site for the study of littoral tropical holothurian taxonomy for almost 200 years. Despite substantial attention by both expeditions and resident taxonomists, new records are still regularly added to the fauna, demonstrating the challenge of documenting even such large and well-known animals in a small hyper-diverse area. Guam is the type locality of species described by Quoy & Gaimard (1833) and Brandt (1835). A survey of the sea cucumber fauna by Rowe & Doty (1977) led to one of the most used guides for the identification of tropical Pacific sea cucumbers because of the color illustrations of living animals it presented. Focus on echinoderms including holothurians continued with numerous new records added in the following decades. Paulay (2003a) summarized the fauna last, recording 46-47 species. At this stage the fauna was thought to be well documented. A week-long workshop on holothurian systematics sponsored by the National Science Foundation PEET (Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy) project in 2010 included a substantial field work component, sampling both during the day and night, with snorkeling and SCUBA, across a variety of habitats. This survey yielded 40 species, including numerous new records and even species. Further sampling by Kerr’s lab since the workshop has added additional records. The littoral holothuroid fauna of Guam now comprises 65 species in 17 genera and 7 families. Half of the 19 newly recorded species are the result of unravelling cryptic species in complexes, the other half are based on new collections. Eleven species are known from single specimens, suggesting that much still remains to be learned about the fauna

Predictors of Renal Outcomes in Sclerotic Class Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody Glomerulonephritis

Background: The prognostic value of the anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated glomerulonephritis (GN) classification has been demonstrated in several cohorts with sclerotic class having the worst renal outcome. Relevant published data on factors predicting outcomes in sclerotic ANCA GN is limited. Methods: Sclerotic ANCA GN patients were recruited from 5 centers worldwide for this retrospective cohort study. We describe the clinical characteristics of this cohort and evaluate predictors of 1-year glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Kidney function at 12 months as measured by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease estimated GFR (eGFR) was modeled by simple and multiple linear regression analyses. We used Cox proportional hazards regression modeling to evaluate ESRD-free survival. Results: Of the 50 patients, 92% were Caucasian and 60% male with a mean age of 61 years. While 72% had renal limited disease, 82% were MPO ANCA positive. Kidney biopsies contained a median of 20 (interquartile range [IQR] 15–34) glomeruli with 96% showing moderate to severe interstitial fibrosis. Overall, 96% of patients received immunosuppressive drug therapy and 16% received plasmapheresis. Treatment response was achieved in all but 1 patient. The median (IQR) eGFR at entry was 14.5 (9–19) mL/min/1.73 m2. Over a median (IQR) follow-up of 33.5 (17–82) months, 26 patients reached ESRD. Ten patients died with 6 of the deaths occurring within the first year of diagnosis. The hazard of progression to ESRD was significantly higher in those with lower GFR at study entry (p = 0.003) and with higher degree of tubular atrophy (p = 0.043). Conclusions: Renal recovery is rare among sclerotic ANCA GN patients requiring dialysis at entry and 12% of patients died in the first year. Entry GFR and tubular atrophy were significant predictors of GFR at 12 months and renal survival in patients with sclerotic class ANCA GN

The littoral sea cucumber (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) fauna of Guam re-assessed – a diversity curve that still does not asymptote

The Micronesian island of Guam has been an important site for the study of tropical holothuroid taxonomy for almost 200 years. Despite such substantial attention by both expeditions and resident taxonomists, new records are being regularly added to the fauna demonstrating the challenge of documenting the biota of even a small hyper-diverse area. Guam is the type locality of species described by Quoy & Gaimard (1833) and Brandt (1835). A survey of the sea cucumber fauna by Rowe & Doty (1977) led to one of the most used guides for the identification of tropical Pacific sea cucumbers because of the color illustrations of living animals it presented. Focus on echinoderms including holothuroids continued with numerous new records added in the following decades. Paulay (2003) summarized the fauna last, recording 46 species, including 9 new records. At this stage the fauna was thought to be well documented. A week-long workshop on holothuroid systematics sponsered by the NSF PEET project in 2010 included a substantial field work component, sampling both during the day and night, with snorkeling and SCUBA, across a variety of habitats, yielding more than 40 species. 10 of these proved new records for Guam; two proved new to science. Further sampling by Kerr’s lab since the workshop has added two additional species. The holothuroid fauna of Guam thus now comprises 58 species that belong to 17 genera and 7 families. This contribution presents them as an illustrated and briefly annotated checklist

Rapid solubility and mineral storage of CO2 in basalt

The long-term security of geologic carbon storage is critical to its success and public acceptance. Much of the security risk associated with geological carbon storage stems from its buoyancy. Gaseous and supercritical CO2 are less dense than formation waters, providing a driving force for it to escape back to the surface. This buoyancy can be eliminated by the dissolution of CO2 into water prior to, or during its injection into the subsurface. The dissolution makes it possible to inject into fractured rocks and further enhance mineral storage of CO2 especially if injected into silicate rocks rich in divalent metal cations such as basalts and ultra-mafic rocks. We have demonstrated the dissolution of CO2 into water during its injection into basalt leading to its geologic solubility storage in less than five minutes and potential geologic mineral storage within few years after injection [1–3]. The storage potential of CO2 within basaltic rocks is enormous. All the carbon released from burning of all fossil fuel on Earth, 5000 GtC, can theoretically be stored in basaltic rocks [4]

ICAM-2 Expression Mediates a Membrane-Actin Link, Confers a Nonmetastatic Phenotype and Reflects Favorable Tumor Stage or Histology in Neuroblastoma

The actin cytoskeleton is a primary determinant of tumor cell motility and metastatic potential. Motility and metastasis are thought to be regulated, in large part, by the interaction of membrane proteins with cytoplasmic linker proteins and of these linker proteins, in turn, with actin. However, complete membrane-to-actin linkages have been difficult to identify. We used co-immunoprecipitation and competitive peptide assays to show that intercellular adhesion molecule-2 (ICAM-2)/α-actinin/actin may comprise such a linkage in neuroblastoma cells. ICAM-2 expression limited the motility of these cells and redistributed actin fibers in vitro, and suppressed development of disseminated tumors in an in vivo model of metastatic neuroblastoma. Consistent with these observations, immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated ICAM-2 expression in primary neuroblastoma tumors exhibiting features that are associated with limited metastatic disease and more favorable clinical outcome. In neuroblastoma cell lines, ICAM-2 expression did not affect AKT activation, tumorigenic potential or chemosensitivity, as has been reported for some types of transfected cells. The observed ICAM-2-mediated suppression of metastatic phenotype is a novel function for this protein, and the interaction of ICAM-2/α-actinin/actin represents the first complete membrane-linker protein-actin linkage to impact tumor cell motility in vitro and metastatic potential in an in vivo model. Current work focuses on identifying specific protein domains critical to the regulation of neuroblastoma cell motility and metastasis and on determining if these domains represent exploitable therapeutic targets

HAMLET Binding to α-Actinin Facilitates Tumor Cell Detachment

Cell adhesion is tightly regulated by specific molecular interactions and detachment from the extracellular matrix modifies proliferation and survival. HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumor cells) is a protein-lipid complex with tumoricidal activity that also triggers tumor cell detachment in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that molecular interactions defining detachment are perturbed in cancer cells. To identify such interactions, cell membrane extracts were used in Far-western blots and HAMLET was shown to bind α-actinins; major F-actin cross-linking proteins and focal adhesion constituents. Synthetic peptide mapping revealed that HAMLET binds to the N-terminal actin-binding domain as well as the integrin-binding domain of α-actinin-4. By co-immunoprecipitation of extracts from HAMLET-treated cancer cells, an interaction with α-actinin-1 and -4 was observed. Inhibition of α-actinin-1 and α-actinin-4 expression by siRNA transfection increased detachment, while α-actinin-4-GFP over-expression significantly delayed rounding up and detachment of tumor cells in response to HAMLET. In response to HAMLET, adherent tumor cells rounded up and detached, suggesting a loss of the actin cytoskeletal organization. These changes were accompanied by a reduction in β1 integrin staining and a decrease in FAK and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, consistent with a disruption of integrin-dependent cell adhesion signaling. Detachment per se did not increase cell death during the 22 hour experimental period, regardless of α-actinin-4 and α-actinin-1 expression levels but adherent cells with low α-actinin levels showed increased death in response to HAMLET. The results suggest that the interaction between HAMLET and α-actinins promotes tumor cell detachment. As α-actinins also associate with signaling molecules, cytoplasmic domains of transmembrane receptors and ion channels, additional α-actinin-dependent mechanisms are discussed