Molecular cloning of the myo-inositol oxygenase gene from the kidney of baboons

Abstract. The enzyme myo-Inositol oxygenase (MIOX) is also termed ALDRL6. It is a kidney‑specific member of the aldo‑keto reductase family. MIOX catalyzes the first reaction involved in the myo‑inositol metabolism signaling pathway and is fully expressed in mammalian tissues. MIOX catalyzes the oxidative cleavage of myo‑Inositol and its epimer, D-chiro-Inositol to D-glucuronate. The dioxygen-dependent cleavage of the C6 and C1 bond in myo‑Inositol is achieved by utilizing the Fe2+/Fe3+ binuclear iron center of MIOX. This enzyme has also been implicated in the complications of diabetes, including diabetic nephropathy. The MIOX gene was amplified with reverse transcription‑polymerase chain reaction from baboon tissue samples, and the product was cloned and sequenced. MIOX expression in the baboon kidney is described in the present study. The percentages of nucleotide and amino acid similarities between baboons and humans were 95 and 96%, respectively. The MIOX protein of the baboon may be structurally identical to that of humans. Furthermore, the evolutionary changes, which have affected these sequences, have resulted from purifying forces. Key words: animal models, gene expression, kidney, myo-inositol oxygenase, Old World monke

Winter diet of Burrowing Owls in the Llano La Soledad, Galeana, Nuevo León, México

The dietary niche breadth of the Burrowing Owl was determined (Athene cunicularia Molina, 1782) in Llano La Soledad, Galeana, Nuevo Leon in northern Mexico, by considering prey type, numerical percentage, weight, weight percentage, frequency of occurrence percentage, and IRI percentage. The study compared data from three winters (2002–2003, 2003–2004, 2004–2005) by analyzing 358 pellets, identifying 850 prey items. Invertebrates constituted 90% of prey items, which mostly included insects (85%); beetles were the most common insects found in pellets (70%). Vertebrates made up 84% of consumed weight, of which 83% were mammals. Most of the mammals were cricetid rodents (41%). Niche breadth based on the numerical and weight percentage confirmed the Burrowing Owl as a generalist species with mean values per year ranging between 0.65 and 0.82. Additionally, there was a strong association between the weight of rodent species in winter. This association was mainly driven by changes in composition and frequency of these prey species during the second winter, probably caused by high annual rainfall. The second season also showed a statistically significant narrower niche (Ro = 0.96) and the smallest overlap (0.45 vs. 0.76) among the three winters

Tourists perceptions of Caribbean islands facing environmental threats before the COVID-19 health crisis: Holbox Island and Archipelago of Bocas del Toro

Data from the tourists´ surveys were analyzed by summing up the number of responses for each answer category of each survey question. All information was plotted into bar charts. To further explore the differences between the responses of tourists in Holbox and ABT