483 research outputs found
Microclimate accounts for demographic, morphological and reproductive differentiation of two neighbour peripheral populations of the canopy-forming Fucus guiryi
Demography, reproductive ecology and thermal regime of Fucus guiryi from the Strait of Gibraltar was monitored between 2018-2019, at two populations ca. 7 km apart (Tarifa and Guadalmesí, South Spain). Due to its peripheral and southern range distribution, they are characterized by low population density and minimum length of reproductive individuals, shorter individuals, and higher individual bushiness in comparison to their northern counterparts. Significant interactions were detected among populations and sampling locations and related to local environmental conditions. Tarifa population had higher population density, cover, extent, and more aggregated individuals, while Guadalmesí had a patchier distribution. Outside the canopies of F. guiryi in Tarifa there is a plethora of biota growing on the numerous protruding rocks, leading to varying microhabitats, while at Guadalmesí, there is only barnacle-covered bare rock. Accordingly, specimens from Tarifa had greater mean and maximum individual lengths, a higher minimum length of reproductive individuals, a greater proportion of mature receptacles and higher individual bushiness. Thermal regime and wave exposure confirmed that F. guiryi from Guadalmesí is exposed to higher disruptive stress due to higher summer temperatures, which is less buffered due to its distribution. Between summer and fall 2018, high summer air temperatures, exceeding overall mean historical records, caused the breakage of apical fronds at Guadalmesí, disrupting the expected parallel seasonal dynamics. Thallus height declined towards the upper intertidal limits to a similar extent in both populations. Canopies of F. guiryi ameliorated understory microclimatic conditions, by reducing the temperature in 5-7ºC and surface irradiance by 10-16%. Demographic, morphological and reproduction-related variables from these populations consistently “fit in” the core to edge trends reported along Portuguese Iberian coasts.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec
Dataset for proteomic analysis of Chlorella sorokiniana cells under cadmium stress
Cadmium is one of the most hazardous heavy metal for aquatic environments and one of the most toxic contaminants for phytoplankton. This work provides the dataset associated
with the research publication “Effect of cadmium in the microalga Chlorella sorokiniana : a proteomic study” [1] . This dataset describes a proteomic approach, based on the sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS), derived from exposure of Chlorella sorokiniana to 250 μM Cd 2 + for 40 h, showing the proteins that are up- or downregulated. The processing of data included the identification of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii protein sequences equivalent to the corresponding of Chlorella sorokiniana sequences obtained, which made possible to use KEGG Database. MS and MS/MS information, and quantitative data were deposited PRIDE public repository under accession number PXD015932 .This work was supported in part by research grants from the European governments (IN- TERREG VA-POCTEP- 2014-2020; 0055_ALGARED_PLUS_5_E), the Operative FEDER Program- Andalucía 2014-2020 ( UHU-1257518 ) University of Huelva and by the European Regional De- velopment Fund through the Agencia Estatal de Investigación grants ( PID 2019-110438RB-C22 and PID 2019-109785 GB-100 )
NK-lysin peptides ameliorate viral encephalopathy and retinopathy disease signs and provide partial protection against nodavirus infection in European sea bass
Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) comprise a wide range of small molecules with direct antibacterial activity and
immunostimulatory role and are proposed as promising substitutes of the antibiotics. Additionally, they also
exert a role against other pathogens such as viruses and fungi less evaluated. NK-lysin, a human granulysin
orthologue, possess a double function, taking part in the innate immunity as AMP and also as direct effector in
the cell-mediated cytotoxic (CMC) response. This molecule is suggested as a pivotal molecule involved in the
defence upon nervous necrosis virus (NNV), an epizootic virus provoking serious problems in welfare and health
status in Asian and Mediterranean fish destined to human consumption. Having proved that NK-lysin derived
peptides (NKLPs) have a direct antiviral activity against NNV in vitro, we aimed to evaluate their potential use as
a prophylactic treatment for European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), one of the most susceptible cultured-fish
species. Thus, intramuscular injection of synthetic NKLPs resulted in a very low transcriptional response of some
innate and adaptive immune markers. However, the injection of NKLPs ameliorated disease signs and increased
fish survival upon challenge with pathogenic NNV. Although NKLPs showed promising results in treatments
against NNV, more efforts are needed to understand their mechanisms of action and their applicability to the
aquaculture industry.This work was supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
(MINECO; grant AGL2016-74866-C3-1-R with FEDER co-funds), Agencia
Espanola ˜ de Investigacion ´ (PID2019-105522 GB-I00), Fundacion ´ S´eneca,
Grupo de Excelencia de la Regi´
on de Murcia (grant 19883/GERM/15) and
National Commission for Scientific & Technological Research Chile
(grant FONDECYT N◦ 1170379)
Insights into the room temperature magnetism of ZnO/Co3O4 mixtures
The origin of room temperature (RT) ferromagneticlike behavior in ZnO-based
diluted magnetic semiconductors is still an unclear topic. The present work
concentrates on the appearance of RT magnetic moments in just mixed ZnO/Co3O4
mixtures without thermal treatment. In this study, it is shown that the
magnetism seems to be related to surface reduction of the Co3O4 nanoparticles,
in which, an antiferromagnetic Co3O4 nanoparticle (core) is surrounded by a
CoO-like shell. This singular superficial magnetism has also been found in
other mixtures with semiconductors such as TiO2 and insulators such as Al2O3
Impact of heavy metals in the microalga Chlorella sorokiniana and assessment of its potential use in cadmium bioremediation
The chlorophyte microalga Chlorella sorokiniana was tested for the bioremediation of heavy metals pollution. It was cultured with different concentrations of Cu2+, Cd2+, As (III) and As (V), showing a significant inhibition on its growth at concentrations of 500 µM Cu2+, 250 µM Cd2+, 750 µM AsO33- and 5 mM AsO43- or higher. Moreover, the consumption of ammonium was also studied, showing significant differences for concentrations higher than 1 mM of Cu2+ and As (III), and 5 mM of As (V). The determination of intracellular heavy metals concentration revealed that Chlorella sorokiniana is an outstanding Cd accumulator organism, able to accumulate 11,232 mg kg−1 of Cd, and removing 65% of initial concentration of this heavy metal. Finally, antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and enzymes involved in the production of glutamate and cysteine, such as glutamine syntethase (GS), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), O-acetylserine (thiol) lyase (OASTL) and NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase (NAD-IDH) were studied both at gene expression and enzymatic activity levels. These enzymes exhibited different grades of upregulation, especially in response to Cd and As stress. However, GS expression was downregulated when Chlorella sorokiniana was cultured in the presence of these heavy metals.This work was supported in part by research grants from the Euro-
pean governments (INTERREG VAPOCTEP-2014-2020; 0055_ALGAR-
ED_PLUS_5_E), the Operative FEDER Program-Andalucía 2014-2020,
the University of Huelva (UHU-1257518), and by the European Regional Development Fund through the Agencia Estatal de Investigaci ́on grant
(PID 2019-110438RB-C22
Fecal Gluten Peptides Reveal Limitations of Serological Tests and Food Questionnaires for Monitoring Gluten-Free Diet in Celiac Disease Patients
Objectives:
Treatment for celiac disease (CD) is a lifelong strict gluten-free diet (GFD). Patients should be followed-up with dietary interviews and serology as CD markers to ensure adherence to the diet. However, none of these methods offer an accurate measure of dietary compliance. Our aim was to evaluate the measurement of gluten immunogenic peptides (GIP) in stools as a marker of GFD adherence in CD patients and compare it with traditional methods of GFD monitoring.
Methods:
We performed a prospective, nonrandomized, multicenter study including 188 CD patients on GFD and 84 healthy controls. Subjects were given a dietary questionnaire and fecal GIP quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serological anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) IgA and anti-deamidated gliadin peptide (anti-DGP) IgA antibodies were measured simultaneously.
Results:
Of the 188 celiac patients, 56 (29.8%) had detectable GIP levels in stools. There was significant association between age and GIP in stools that revealed increasing dietary transgressions with advancing age (39.2% in subjects ≥13 years old) and with gender in certain age groups (60% in men ≥13 years old). No association was found between fecal GIP and dietary questionnaire or anti-tTG antibodies. However, association was detected between GIP and anti-DGP antibodies, although 46 of the 53 GIP stool-positive patients were negative for anti-DGP.
Conclusions:
Detection of gluten peptides in stools reveals limitations of traditional methods for monitoring GFD in celiac patients. The GIP ELISA enables direct and quantitative assessment of gluten exposure early after ingestion and could aid in the diagnosis and clinical management of nonresponsive CD and refractory CD. Trial registration number NCT02711397
How can seasonality modulate thermal sensitivity in early stages of fucoids?: The colder, the better
In the face of ocean global change, determining critical thermal thresholds for marine organisms is a
key aspect to predict the survival and persistence of populations, particularly those from rear-edge
areas. Seasonal variability implies acclimation of adult individuals, which might result in shifting thermal
sensitivities of their recruits. In this work, we aimed to investigate the influence of natural seasonal parental
acclimation on the warming response of single- and few-celled stages of Fucus guiryi, a monoecious
fucoid from the east Atlantic coast and Strait of Gibraltar, whose populations are iteroparous. To address
this, we obtained embryos from fertile thalli collected in early summer, late summer, and winter. In the
three replicate experiments under laboratory-controlled conditions, we followed growth, development,
survival, and photosynthetic responses of embryos exposed to control (15ºC) and warming conditions
(25ºC) for 3 weeks, and initial elemental composition was characterized. Our findings revealed that
breeding from winter parents possessed broader thermal sensitivity and thrived better under warming
conditions than those from summer specimens, where only 50% survived and experience 75% reductions
in photosynthetic rates. Nevertheless, there was a significant gain in thermal resilience from early to late
summer regarding survival at 25º C. This research highlighted that warmer winters would not potentially
harm new recruits, while extreme temperature events in early summer might compromise the survival
of the most sensitive early summer recruits, considering the RCP8.5 predictions for 2050. The influence
of parental and provisioning effects and how this might be applied to ecological restoration is discussed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
Marrow aplasia during high dose mebendazole treatment
A patient with chronic liver disease was treated with large doses of mebendazole for a hepatic hydatid cyst. Eighteen days after beginning treatment he developed marrow aplasia which reverted to normal after the drug was stopped. This is the sixth patient described as developing marrow aplasia when treated with large doses of mebendazole. We suggest that the aplasia is related to the dose of the drug, and that the patient's chronic liver disease was an important factor in its genesis. Patients treated with large doses of mebendazole should have their blood counts monitored during treatment
Resilience of a warm-temperate fucoid to a simulated marine heatwave: Exploring the interplay between life stages and tissues in relation to emersion.
Oral communication presented at Symposia 8 "Algal photosynthesis, carbon fixation and respiration"Marine heatwaves (MHW) represent one of the main climatic threats for seaweed assemblages, altering their functioning, structure, and ecosystem services. Experimental simulations allow to assess the potential impacts of MHWs, given the unpredictability of these events and frequently, the lack of responsive workflows to access the target population during these events. This study explored the ability of the warm-temperate intertidal fucoid Fucus guiryi to respond to a simulated MHW. We aimed to evaluate the intraspecific response of different life stages (adult/juvenile/recruit) and blade types (vegetative / fertile−receptacles) in response to emersion, and to ascertain whether previous moderate MHWs in the area might impact its recruitment. The experimental design accounted for daily thermal and emersion fluctuations considering the most intense registered MHW event and maximum air temperatures in the study area.
Photophysiological evaluation revealed that receptacles were the most resilient tissue to the combined effects of heat and emersion, followed by canopy-protected embryos. Vegetative apices and plantlets exhibited marked declines in Fv/Fm, ETRmax and NPQmax close to the MHW peak, due to the additive stressors, while embryos were more affected by the end of the experiment. During the recovery and end phases, recruit density dropped by 50% in the MHW treatment, being 80% of extruded structures unfertilized egg packets, while in the control treatment recruitment was successful and up to 35-times higher. Fucus guiryi was able to recover from the MHW, but more intense and frequent events might affect their reproductive output and compromise its long-term survival.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
Marrow aplasia during high dose mebendazole treatment
A patient with chronic liver disease was treated with large doses of mebendazole for a hepatic hydatid cyst. Eighteen days after beginning treatment he developed marrow aplasia which reverted to normal after the drug was stopped. This is the sixth patient described as developing marrow aplasia when treated with large doses of mebendazole. We suggest that the aplasia is related to the dose of the drug, and that the patient's chronic liver disease was an important factor in its genesis. Patients treated with large doses of mebendazole should have their blood counts monitored during treatment
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