Prenatal greenspace exposure and cord blood cortisol levels : A cross-sectional study in a middle-income country

Exposure to greenspace has been associated with reduced stress; however, the available evidence on such an association for the fetus is still very scarce. We, for the first time, investigated the association between maternal greenspace exposure and the level of cortisol, a stress hormone, in the cord blood. Our study was based on a cohort of 150 pregnant women in Sabzevar, Iran (2018). We comprehensively assessed greenspace exposure for each participant through (i) residential surrounding greenspace (using two satellite-derived vegetation indices), (ii) residential proximity to green spaces, (iii) maternal visual access to greenspace, (iv) use of public and private green spaces, (v) having a private garden, and (vi) the number of plant pots at home. Linear regression models were developed to assess the association of each indicator of greenspace exposure with cord blood cortisol levels, controlled for the relevant covariates. We observed that a higher residential surrounding greenspace (100 m buffer), having a window with greenspace view, window greenspace coverage of more than 50%, frequently looking at greenspace through window, residential proximity to large green spaces, and more time spent in green spaces were associated with lower cortisol levels in the cord blood. The findings for residential surrounding greenspace at 300 m and 500 m buffers, residential proximity to any green space regardless of its size, having a private garden, and number of plant pots at home were not conclusive. While about one-third of the association between residential surrounding greenspace (100 m buffer) could be mediated through reduction in exposure to air pollution, we did not observe any strong evidence for such a mediatory role for the visual access to greenspace. The findings stratified for parental education and housing type showed mixed patterns. Our findings suggest that more greenspace exposure might reduce cortisol level in the cord blood

Temporal dynamics in dominant runoff sources and flow paths in the Andean Páramo

Funded by Central Research Office of the Universidad de Cuenca (DIUC) Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENESCYT 112–2012) . Grant Number: SENESCYT 112-2012 German Research Foundation (DFG) . Grant Number: BR2238/14-1Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Size diversity and species diversity relationships in fish assemblages of Western Palaearctic lakes

Body size, coupled with abundance and taxonomy, may help to understand the mechanisms shaping community structure. Since the body size of fish is closely related to their trophic niche, size diversity (based on individual body size) of fish communities may capture intraspecific variations in fish trophic niches that are not detected by species diversity. Thus, the relationship between size diversity and species diversity may help to integrate variation at both intraspecific and interspecific levels. We studied the relationship between species diversity and size diversity as a measure of the degree of overlap in size among species and thereby the potential overlap in niches in a community. We hypothesized that the relationship between size diversity and species would be different across the European continent due to different levels of size overlap in fish communities. The data were derived from samplings of fish communities using standardised benthic gill nets in 363 lakes. At the continental scale, size diversity increased with species diversity; at the ecoregion scale, the slope of the relation changed across the continent, with the greatest mismatch occurring in northern Europe where communities comprised only one or a few species, but each of which exhibited a great range in size. There was an increase in slope towards the south with significant relations for four out of six ecoregions. The steeper size diversity-species diversity slope at lower latitudes is attributable to a lower overlap in fish size and thus likely to finer niche separation. Our results also suggest that size diversity is not a strong surrogate for species diversity in European lake fish communities. Thus, particularly in fish communities composed of few species, measuring size diversity may help to detect potential functional variation which may be neglected by measuring species diversity alone

Effect of oxytocin and L-368,899 on the evoked meningeal nociception recorded at the trigeminocervical complex

SUMMARY: Migraine is a common, disabling, neurovascular disorder and its pathophysiology involves abnormal activation of trigeminocervical complex (TCC) neurons. METHODS: We performed in vivo electrophysiology in sevoflurane, anesthetized male Wistar (290-320g) rats. Under these conditions a craniotomy to expose the middle meningeal artery (MMA) region was made and unitary extracellular recordings of wide dynamic range neurons (WDRn) of TCC were performed. The nociceptive neuronal responses were evoked by dural electrical stimulation (20 electrical pulses at 0.5 Hz with 1-msec pulse duration at 0.1-3mA) to evoke the neuronal nociceptive response of TCC neurons. In these experiments, the WDRn recorded has convergence from dural tissue and the supraorbital area. The evoked neuronal activity was recorded, amplified, digitalized, and discriminated using CED hardware and Spike2 v5.15 software. The evoked nociceptive activity was analyzed with peri-stimulus time histograms (PSTH) that allowed to characterize the WDRn activity by their response latency: Aδ-fibers (3-33 msec) and C-fibers (26-80 msec). The role of OTR in the OXT (20 nmol) effect was tested using a highly selective and potent antagonist, the L-368,899 (20 nmol). KEY RESULTS: OXT inhibits the meningeal nociceptive neuronal activity in the TCC. The antinociceptive effect of OXT was abolished by pretreatment with the OTR antagonist. DATA CONTAINED IN THE .XLSX FILES. The .xlsx files contain the semi-processed raw data obtained in the electrophysiological experiments. All data were analyzed using the Spike 2 software to construct PSTH, the data generated were exported to .xlsx files. The file "1 - Control Group.xlsx" contains the data separated in several sheets for each cell recorded in the control group. The file "2 - OXT Group.xlsx" contains the data separated in several sheets for each cell recorded in the group of cells treated with OXT (20 nmol given in the trigeminocervical complex o TCC). The file "3- L3 + OXT Group.xlsx" contains the data separated in several sheets for each cell recorded in the group of cells pretreated with the OXT antagonist, the L-368,899 and OXT (20 nmol given in the trigeminocervical complex o TCC). In all files, the first sheet contains a summary of the content in this file

Effect of oxytocin and L-368,899 on the evoked meningeal nociception recorded at the trigeminocervical complex

SUMMARY: Migraine is a common, disabling, neurovascular disorder and its pathophysiology involves abnormal activation of trigeminocervical complex (TCC) neurons. METHODS: We performed in vivo electrophysiology in sevoflurane, anesthetized male Wistar (290-320g) rats. Under these conditions a craniotomy to expose the middle meningeal artery (MMA) region was made and unitary extracellular recordings of wide dynamic range neurons (WDRn) of TCC were performed. The nociceptive neuronal responses were evoked by dural electrical stimulation (20 electrical pulses at 0.5 Hz with 1-msec pulse duration at 0.1-3mA) to evoke the neuronal nociceptive response of TCC neurons. In these experiments, the WDRn recorded has convergence from dural tissue and the supraorbital area. The evoked neuronal activity was recorded, amplified, digitalized, and discriminated using CED hardware and Spike2 v5.15 software. The evoked nociceptive activity was analyzed with peri-stimulus time histograms (PSTH) that allowed to characterize the WDRn activity by their response latency: Aδ-fibers (3-33 msec) and C-fibers (26-80 msec). The role of OTR in the OXT (20 nmol) effect was tested using a highly selective and potent antagonist, the L-368,899 (20 nmol). KEY RESULTS: OXT inhibits the meningeal nociceptive neuronal activity in the TCC. The antinociceptive effect of OXT was abolished by pretreatment with the OTR antagonist. DATA CONTAINED IN THE .XLSX FILES. The .xlsx files contain the semi-processed raw data obtained in the electrophysiological experiments. All data were analyzed using the Spike 2 software to construct PSTH, the data generated were exported to .xlsx files. The file "1 - Control Group.xlsx" contains the data separated in several sheets for each cell recorded in the control group. The file "2 - OXT Group.xlsx" contains the data separated in several sheets for each cell recorded in the group of cells treated with OXT (20 nmol given in the trigeminocervical complex o TCC). The file "3- L3 + OXT Group.xlsx" contains the data separated in several sheets for each cell recorded in the group of cells pretreated with the OXT antagonist, the L-368,899 and OXT (20 nmol given in the trigeminocervical complex o TCC). In all files, the first sheet contains a summary of the content in this file

New records of invasive hammerhead flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae, Bipaliinae) from Mexico using a citizen science platform, with an identification key to the species found in North America

We present new records of the invasive hammerhead flatworms Bipalium kewense Moseley, 1878 and Bipalium vagum Jones & Sterrer, 2005 (Platyhelminthes, Geoplanidae, Bipaliinae) from several states in Mexico based on iNaturalist and two vouchered specimens. This represents for Mexico the first review of distribution records of this group and highlights the importance of citizen science in monitoring the distribution of these ecologically important invasive predators. Methods for the collection and preservation of hammerhead flatworms, as well as an identification key, are proposed

The bzd Gene Cluster, Coding for Anaerobic Benzoate Catabolism, in Azoarcus sp. Strain CIB

We report here that the bzd genes for anaerobic benzoate degradation in Azoarcus sp. strain CIB are organized as two transcriptional units, i.e., a benzoate-inducible catabolic operon, bzdNOPQMSTUVWXYZA, and a gene, bzdR, encoding a putative transcriptional regulator. The last gene of the catabolic operon, bzdA, has been expressed in Escherichia coli and encodes the benzoate-coenzyme A (CoA) ligase that catalyzes the first step in the benzoate degradation pathway. The BzdA enzyme is able to activate a wider range of aromatic compounds than that reported for other previously characterized benzoate-CoA ligases. The reduction of benzoyl-CoA to a nonaromatic cyclic intermediate is carried out by a benzoyl-CoA reductase (bzdNOPQ gene products) detected in Azoarcus sp. strain CIB extracts. The bzdW, bzdX, and bzdY gene products show significant similarity to the hydratase, dehydrogenase, and ring-cleavage hydrolase that act sequentially on the product of the benzoyl-CoA reductase in the benzoate catabolic pathway of Thauera aromatica. Benzoate-CoA ligase assays and transcriptional analyses based on lacZ-reporter fusions revealed that benzoate degradation in Azoarcus sp. strain CIB is subject to carbon catabolite repression by some organic acids, indicating the existence of a physiological control that connects the expression of the bzd genes to the metabolic status of the cell