A review of the Namaqua gecko, Pachydactylus namaquensis (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from southern Africa, with the description of two new species

An analysis of morphological and allozyme variation in the Namaqua gecko, Pachydactylus namaquensis from southern Africa is presented. Three separately evolving lineages, well defined by morphology and allozyme variation, are identified. The isolated southern population, occurring on the southern escarpment and Cape Fold Mountains surrounding the western Little Karoo, is named P. kladamderma sp. nov., and is characterized by a slit-like ear opening, low number of granules bordering the mental (3-6) and mental and adjacent infralabials (513), the frequent (79%) occurence of the supralabial entering the nostril, and its drab brown base colouration. A northern population, occurring in southern Namibia and the Richtersveld is named P. haackei sp. nov., and is characterized by its more rounded or squared ear opening; high number of granules bordering the mental and adjacent infralabials (11-19), the general exclusion of the supralabial from the nostril (only 3.7% entry), and brighter, lighter colouration. It is further differentiated from P. kladaroderma on the basis of fixed differences at 11 allozyme loci. Both new species differ from P. namaquensis,  which is mainly restricted to Little Namaqualand, but is sympatric with P. haackei in the Lower Orange River region, by their more heterogenous dorsal scalation, smaller cloacal spurs, lack of spine-like tubercles on the lateral surfaces of the tail, and more fragile skin. The type locality of P. namaquensis is restricted to ‘the vicinity of Springbok, Little Namaqualand, Northern Cape Province, South Africa’

In silico Proteome-wide Amino aCid and Elemental Composition (PACE) Analysis of Expression Proteomics Data Provides A Fingerprint of Dominant Metabolic Processes

AbstractProteome-wide Amino aCid and Elemental composition (PACE) analysis is a novel and informative way of interrogating the proteome. The PACE approach consists of in silico decomposition of proteins detected and quantified in a proteomics experiment into 20 amino acids and five elements (C, H, N, O and S), with protein abundances converted to relative abundances of amino acids and elements. The method is robust and very sensitive; it provides statistically reliable differentiation between very similar proteomes. In addition, PACE provides novel insights into proteome-wide metabolic processes, occurring, e.g., during cell starvation. For instance, both Escherichia coli and Synechocystis down-regulate sulfur-rich proteins upon sulfur deprivation, but E. coli preferentially down-regulates cysteine-rich proteins while Synechocystis mainly down-regulates methionine-rich proteins. Due to its relative simplicity, flexibility, generality and wide applicability, PACE analysis has the potential of becoming a standard analytical tool in proteomics

Loss of murine Paneth cell function alters the immature intestinal microbiome and mimics changes seen in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains the leading cause of gastrointestinal morbidity and mortality in premature infants. Human and animal studies suggest a role for Paneth cells in NEC pathogenesis. Paneth cells play critical roles in host-microbial interactions and epithelial homeostasis. The ramifications of eliminating Paneth cell function on the immature host-microbial axis remains incomplete. Paneth cell function was depleted in the immature murine intestine using chemical and genetic models, which resulted in intestinal injury consistent with NEC. Paneth cell depletion was confirmed using histology, electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and real time RT-PCR. Cecal samples were analyzed at various time points to determine the effects of Paneth cell depletion with and without Klebsiella gavage on the microbiome. Deficient Paneth cell function induced significant compositional changes in the cecal microbiome with a significant increase in Enterobacteriacae species. Further, the bloom of Enterobacteriaceae species that occurs is phenotypically similar to what is seen in human NEC. This further strengthens our understanding of the importance of Paneth cells to intestinal homeostasis in the immature intestine

Improving Distances to Binary Millisecond Pulsars with Gaia

Pulsar distances are notoriously difficult to measure, and play an important role in many fundamental physics experiments, such as pulsar timing arrays (PTAs). Here we perform a cross-match between International PTA pulsars (IPTA) and Gaia's DR2 and DR3. We then combine the IPTA pulsar's parallax with its binary companion's parallax, found in Gaia, to improve the distance measurement to the binary. We find 7 cross-matched IPTA pulsars in Gaia DR2, and when using Gaia DR3, we find 6 IPTA pulsar cross-matches, but with 7 Gaia objects. Moving from Gaia DR2 to Gaia DR3, we find that the Gaia parallaxes for the successfully cross-matched pulsars improved by $53\%$, and pulsar distances improved by $29\%$. Finally, we find that binary companions with a $<3.0\sigma$ detection are unreliable associations, setting a high bar for successful cross-matches.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, 4 table

Chansu inhibits the expression of cortactin in colon cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo

Background: Chansu is a transitional Chinese medicine that has been used for centuries as therapy for inflammation, anaesthesia and arrhythmia in China and other Asian countries. Recently, it has also been used for anti-cancer purposes. We have previously shown that Chansu has a huge pro-apoptotic potential on colon cancer cells, but to date the detailed mechanism of this action is not well understood. Methods: One of the major components of Chansu, Cinobufagin (CBF) was used to treat cancer cells. The expressions of levels of cortactin, an important factor in tumour progression and cancer invasion, were assessed in in vitro and in vivo experiments. Additional analyses were performed in subcellular protein fractions and immune-fluorescent staining was used to define cortactin protein expression and the changes of location in CBF-treated cells. Results: CBF strongly inhibited the expression of cortactin in HCT116 cells. There were reductions of both mRNA transcription and protein synthesis, which were more significant in the absence of oxygen in vitro. In addition, nuclear translocation of cortactin was observed in HCT116 cells post CBF exposure but not in the negative control, indicating that CBF is likely to interrupt co-localisation of cortactin to cytoskeletal proteins. Most importantly, CBF could diminish the expression of cortactin in human HCT116 xenograft tumours in nude mouse in vivo. Conclusions: CBF inhibits cortactin expression and nuclear translocation in colon cancer cells in vitro and in mouse models bearing human colon tumour in vivo, suggesting it might disrupt actin-regulated cell movement. Thus, CBF or Chansu could be developed as an effective anti-cancer therapy to stop local invasion and metastasis

The mechanisms of Chansu in inducing efficient apoptosis in colon cancer cells

Chansu is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese medicines in China, Japan, and other Southeast Asian countries primarily for antipain, anti-inflammation, and recently anticancer. Over 10 recipes and remedies contained Chansu, which are easily available in pharmacies and hospitals, but the mechanisms of action were not clearly articulated. In the present study, Cinobufagin (CBF), the major compound of Chansu, was employed as a surrogate marker to determine its ability in inducing cancer cell death. As expected, CBF has significant cancer-killing capacity for a range of cancers, but such ability differs markedly. Colon and prostate cancers are more sensitive than skin and lung cancers. Interestingly, cancer cells die through apoptotic pathway either being biphasic caspase- 3-dependent (HCT116) or independent (HT29). Multipathway analysis reveals that CBF-induced apoptosis is likely modulated by the hypoxia-inducing factor-1 alpha subunit (HIF-

Combined assessment of microvascular integrity and contractile reserve improves differentiation of stunning and necrosis after acute anterior wall myocardial infarction

AbstractObjectivesWe sought to determine the relative accuracy of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) and low-dose dobutamine echocardiography (LDDE) in predicting recovery of left ventricular (LV) function in patients with a recent anterior wall myocardial infarction (MI).BackgroundLeft ventricular dysfunction after acute MI may be secondary to myocardial stunning or necrosis. Myocardial contrast echocardiography allows real-time echocardiographic perfusion assessment from a venous injection of a fluorocarbon-based contrast agent. Although this technique is promising, it has not been compared with LDDE.MethodsForty-six patients underwent baseline wall motion assessment, MCE, and LDDE two days after admission, as well as follow-up echocardiography after a mean period of 53 days.ResultsPerfusion by MCE predicted recovery of segmental function with a sensitivity of 69%, specificity of 85%, positive predictive value of 74%, negative predictive value of 81%, and overall accuracy of 78%. Contractile reserve by LDDE predicted recovery of segmental function with a sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 88%, positive predictive value of 72%, negative predictive value of 73%, and overall accuracy of 73%. Concordant test results occurred in 74% of segments and further increased the overall accuracy to 85%. The mean wall motion score at follow-up was significantly better in perfused versus nonperfused segments (1.9 vs. 2.6, p < 0.0001) and in segments with contractile reserve, compared with segments lacking contractile reserve (1.9 vs. 2.5, p < 0.0001).ConclusionsMyocardial contrast echocardiography compares favorably with LDDE in predicting recovery of regional LV dysfunction after acute anterior wall MI. Concordant contractile reserve and myocardial perfusion results further enhance the diagnostic accuracy

Ursinus College Bulletin Vol. 10, No. 1, October 1893

A digitized copy of the October 1893 Ursinus College Bulletin.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/ucbulletin/1088/thumbnail.jp