Presence of presynaptic neurotoxin complexes in the venoms of Australo-Papuan death adders (Acanthophis spp.)

Australo-papuan death adders (Acanthophis spp.) are a cause of serious envenomations in Papua New Guinea and northern Australia often resulting in neurotoxic paralysis. Furthermore, victims occasionally present with delayed-onset neurotoxicity that sometimes responds poorly to antivenom or anticholinesterase treatment. This clinical outcome could be explained by the presence of potent snake presynaptic phospholipase A2 neurotoxin (SPAN) complexes and monomers, in addition to long- and short-chain postsynaptic α-neurotoxins, that bind irreversibly, block neurotransmitter release and result in degeneration of the nerve terminal. The present study therefore aimed to determine within-genus variations in expression of high molecular mass SPAN complexes in the venoms of six major species of Acanthophis, four geographic variants of Acanthophis antarcticus. Venoms were separated by size-exclusion liquid chromatography under non-denaturing conditions and fractions corresponding to proteins in the range of 22 to >60 kDa were subjected to pharmacological characterization using the isolated chick biventer cervicis nerve-muscle (CBCNM) preparation. All venoms, except Acanthophis wellsi and Acanthophis pyrrhus, contained high mass fractions with phospholipase A2 activity that inhibited twitch contractions of the CBCNM preparation. This inhibition was of slow onset, and responses to exogenous nicotinic agonists were not blocked, consistent with the presence of SPAN complexes. The results of the present study indicate that clinicians may need to be aware of possible prejunctional neurotoxicity following envenomations from A. antarcticus (all geographic variants except perhaps South Australia), Acanthophis praelongus, Acanthophis rugosus and Acanthophis. laevis species, and that early antivenom intervention is important in preventing further development of toxicity. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Visual ecology of aphids – a critical review on the role of colours in host finding

We review the rich literature on behavioural responses of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to stimuli of different colours. Only in one species there are adequate physiological data on spectral sensitivity to explain behaviour crisply in mechanistic terms. Because of the great interest in aphid responses to coloured targets from an evolutionary, ecological and applied perspective, there is a substantial need to expand these studies to more species of aphids, and to quantify spectral properties of stimuli rigorously. We show that aphid responses to colours, at least for some species, are likely based on a specific colour opponency mechanism, with positive input from the green domain of the spectrum and negative input from the blue and/or UV region. We further demonstrate that the usual yellow preference of aphids encountered in field experiments is not a true colour preference but involves additional brightness effects. We discuss the implications for agriculture and sensory ecology, with special respect to the recent debate on autumn leaf colouration. We illustrate that recent evolutionary theories concerning aphid–tree interactions imply far-reaching assumptions on aphid responses to colours that are not likely to hold. Finally we also discuss the implications for developing and optimising strategies of aphid control and monitoring

Towards third generation matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors for cancer therapy

The failure of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor drug clinical trials in cancer was partly due to the inadvertent inhibition of MMP antitargets that counterbalanced the benefits of MMP target inhibition. We explore how MMP inhibitor drugs might be developed to achieve potent selectivity for validated MMP targets yet therapeutically spare MMP antitargets that are critical in host protection

Community ecology of the Middle Miocene primates of La Venta, Colombia: the relationship between ecological diversity, divergence time, and phylogenetic richness

It has been suggested that the degree of ecological diversity that characterizes a primate community correlates positively with both its phylogenetic richness and the time since the members of that community diverged (Fleagle and Reed in Primate communities. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 92–115, 1999). It is therefore questionable whether or not a community with a relatively recent divergence time but high phylogenetic richness would be as ecologically variable as a community with similar phylogenetic richness but a more distant divergence time. To address this question, the ecological diversity of a fossil primate community from La Venta, Colombia, a Middle Miocene platyrrhine community with phylogenetic diversity comparable with extant platyrrhine communities but a relatively short time since divergence, was compared with that of modern Neotropical primate communities. Shearing quotients and molar lengths, which together are reliable indicators of diet, for both fossil and extant species were plotted against each other to describe the dietary “ecospace” occupied by each community. Community diversity was calculated as the area of the minimum convex polygon encompassing all community members. The diversity of the fossil community was then compared with that of extant communities to test whether the fossil community was less diverse than extant communities while taking phylogenetic richness into account. Results indicate that the La Ventan community was not significantly less ecologically diverse than modern communities, supporting the idea that ecological diversification occurred along with phylogenetic diversification early in platyrrhine evolution

A historically controlled, single-arm, multi-centre, prospective trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MonoMax® suture material for abdominal wall closure after primary midline laparotomy. ISSAAC-Trial [NCT005725079]

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several randomized controlled trials have compared different suture materials and techniques for abdominal wall closure with respect to the incidence of incisional hernias after midline laparotomy and shown that it remains, irrespective of the methods used, considerably high, ranging from 9% to 20%. The development of improved suture materials which would reduce postoperative complications may help to lower its frequency.</p> <p>Design</p> <p>This is a historically controlled, single-arm, multi-centre, prospective trial to evaluate the safety of MonoMax^®suture material for abdominal wall closure in 150 patients with primary elective midline incisions. INSECT patients who underwent abdominal closure using Monoplus^®and PDS^®will serve as historical control group. The incidences of wound infections and of burst abdomen are defined as composite primary endpoints. Secondary endpoints are the frequency of incisional hernias within one year after operation and safety. To ensure adequate comparability in surgical performance and recruitment, the 4 largest centres of the INSECT-Trial will participate. After hospital discharge, the investigators will examine the enrolled patients again at 30 days and at 12 ± 1 months after surgery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This historically controlled, single-arm, multi-centre, prospective ISSAAC trial aims to assess whether the use of an ultra-long-lasting absorbable monofilament suture material is safe and efficient.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>NCT005725079</p

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT