The macroecology of chemical communication in lizards: do climatic factors drive the evolution of signalling glands?

Chemical communication plays a pivotal role in shaping sexual and ecological interactions among animals. In lizards, fundamental mechanisms of sexual selection such as female mate choice have rarely been shown to be influenced by quantitative phenotypic traits (e.g., ornaments), while chemical signals have been found to potentially influence multiple forms of sexual and social interactions, including mate choice and territoriality. Chemical signals in lizards are secreted by glands primarily located on the edge of the cloacae (precloacal glands, PG) and thighs (femoral glands), and whose interspecific and interclade number ranges from 0 to >100. However, elucidating the factors underlying the evolution of such remarkable variation remains an elusive endeavour. Competing hypotheses suggest a dominant role for phylogenetic conservatism (i.e., species within clades share similar numbers of glands) or for natural selection (i.e., their adaptive diversification results in deviating numbers of glands from ancestors). Using the prolific Liolaemus lizard radiation from South America (where precloacal glands vary from 0-14), we present one of the largest-scale tests of both hypotheses to date. Based on climatic and phylogenetic modelling, we show a clear role for both phylogenetic inertia and adaptation underlying gland variation: (i) solar radiation, net primary productivity, topographic heterogeneity and precipitation range have a significant effect on number of PG variation, (ii) humid and cold environments tend to concentrate species with a higher number of glands, (iii) there is a strong phylogenetic signal that tends to conserve the number of PG within clades. Collectively, our study confirms that the inertia of niche conservatism can be broken down by the need of species facing different selection regimes to adjust their glands to suit the demands of their specific environments

Mechanical properties of double-layer and graded composite coatings of YSZ obtained by atmospheric plasma spraying

Double-layer and graded composite coatings of yttria-stabilized zirconia were sprayed on metallic substrates by atmospheric plasma spray. The coating architecture was built up by combining two different feedstocks: one micro- and one nanostructured. Microstructural features and mechanical properties (hardness and elastic modulus) of the coatings were determined by FE-SEM microscopy and nanoindentation technique, respectively. Additional adherence and scratch tests were carried out in order to assess the failure mechanisms occurring between the layers comprising the composites. Microstructural inspection of the coatings confirms the two-zone microstructure. This bimodal microstructure which is exclusive of the layer obtained from the nanostructured feedstock negatively affects the mechanical properties of the whole composite. Nanoindentation tests suitably reproduce the evolution of mechanical properties through coatings thickness on the basis of the position and/or amount of nanostructured feedstock used in the depositing layer. Adhesion and scratch tests show the negative effect on the coating adhesion of layer obtained from the nanostructured feedstock when this layer is deposited on the bond coat. Thus, the poor integrity of this layer results in lower normal stresses required to delaminate the coating in the adhesion test as well as minor critical load registered by using the scratch test.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project MAT2012-38364-C03) and co-funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Funds).Carpio-Cobo, P.; Rayón Encinas, E.; Salvador Moya, MD.; Lusvarghi, L.; Sanchez, E. (2016). Mechanical properties of double-layer and graded composite coatings of YSZ obtained by atmospheric plasma spraying. Journal of Thermal Spray Technology. 25(4):778-787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-016-0390-zS778787254Y.S. Tian, C.Z. Chen, D.Y. Wang, and J.I. Quianmao, Recent Developments in Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings, Surf. Rev. Lett., 2005, 12, p 369-378S. Sampath, U. Schulz, M.O. Jarligo, and S. Kuroda, Processing Science of Advanced Thermal-Barrier Systems, MRS Bull., 2012, 37(10), p 903-910D.R. Clarke, M. Oeschsner, and N.P. Padture, Thermal-Barrier Coatings for More Efficient Gas-Turbine Engines, MRS Bull., 2012, 37(10), p 891-898A. Feuersein, J. Knapp, T. Taylor, A. Ashary, A. Bolcavage, and N. Hitchman, Technical and Economical Aspects of Current Thermal Barrier Coating Systems for Gas Turbine Engines by Thermal Spray and EBPVD: A Review, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2008, 17(2), p 199-213R.S. Lima and B.R. Marple, Thermal Spray Coatings Engineered from Nanostructured Ceramic Agglomerated Powders for Structural, Thermal Barrier and Biomedical Applications: A Review, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2007, 16(1), p 40-63P. Fauchais, G. Montavon, R.S. Lima, and B.R. Marple, Engineering a New Class of Thermal Spray Nano-based Microstructures from Agglomerated Nanostructured Particles, Suspensions and Solutions: An Invited Review, J. Phys. D Appl. Phys., 2011, 44(9), p 093001P. Carpio, Q. Blochet, B. Pateyron, L. Pawlowski, M.D. Salvador, A. Borrell, and E. Sánchez, Correlation of Thermal Conductivity of Suspension Plasma Sprayed Yttira Stabilized Zirconia Coatings with some Microstructural Effects, Mater. Lett., 2013, 107, p 370-373R. Vassen, A. Stuke, and D. Stöver, Recent Developments in the Field of Thermal Barrier Coatings, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2009, 18(2), p 181-186H. Dai, X. Zhong, J. Li, Y. Zhang, J. Meng, and X. Cao, Thermal Stability of Double-Ceramic-Layer Thermal Barrier Coatings with Various Coating Thickness, Mater. Sci. Eng. A—Struct., 2006, 433(1), p 1–7V. Viswanathan, G. Dwivedi, and S. Sampath, Multimaterial Thermal Barrier Coating Systems: Design, Synthesis, and Performance Assessment, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 2015, 98(6), p 1769-1777M. Saremi and Z. Valefi, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Nano-YSZ-Alumina Functionally Graded Coatings Deposited by Nano-agglomerated Powder Plasma Spraying, Ceram. Int., 2014, 40(8), p 13453-13459A. Portinham, V. Teixeira, J. Carneiro, J. Martins, M.F. Costa, R. Vassen, and D. Stoever, Characterization of Thermal Barrier Coatings with a Gradient Porosity, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2005, 195(2), p 245-251P. Carpio, E. Bannier, M.D. Salvador, R. Benavente, and E. Sánchez, Multilayer and Particle Size-Graded YSZ Coatings Obtained by Plasma Spraying of Micro- and Nanostructured Feedstocks, J. Therm. Spray Technol., 2014, 23(8), p 1362-1372S. Nath, I. Manna, and J.D. Majumdar, Nanomechanical Behavior of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) Based Thermal Barrier Coating, Ceram. Int., 2015, 41(4), p 5247-5256P. Carpio, E. Rayón, L. Pawlowski, A. Cattini, R. Benavente, E. Bannier, M.D. Salvador, and E. Sánchez, Microstructure and Indentation Mechanical Properties of YSZ Nanostructured Coatings Obtained by Suspension Plasma Spraying, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2013, 220, p 237-243H.B. Guo, H. Murakami, and S. Kuroda, Effect of Hollow Spherical Powder Size Distribution on Porosity and Segmentation Cracks in Thermal Barrier Coatings, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 2006, 89(12), p 3797-3804R.S. Lima, A. Kucuk, and C.C. Berndt, Integrity of Nanostructured Partially Stabilized Zirconia After Plasma Spray Processing, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2001, 313(1), p 75-82E. Rayón, V. Bonache, M.D. Salvador, and E. Sánchez, Hardness and Young’s Modulus Distributions in Atmospheric Plasma Sprayed WC-Co Coatings Using Nanoindentation, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2011, 205(17), p 4192-4197J.A. Wollmershauser, B.N. Feigelson, E.P. Gorzkowski, C.T. Ellis, R. Goswami, S.B. Qadri, J.G. Tischler, F.J. Kub, and R.K. Everett, An Extend Hardness Limit in Bulk Nanoceramics, Acta Mater., 2014, 69, p 9-16L. Wang, Y. Wang, X.G. Sun, J.Q. He, Z.Y. Pan, and C.H. Wang, Microstructure and Indentation Mechanical Properties of Plasma Sprayed Nano-Bimodal and Conventional ZrO2-8 wt% Y2O3 Thermal Barrier Coatings, Vacuum, 2012, 86(8), p 1174-1185G.S. Barroso, W. Krenkel, and G. Motz, Low Thermal Conductivity Coating System for Application up to 1000 °C by Simple PDC Processing with Active and Passive Fillers, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 2015, 35(12), p 3339-3348R. Ghasemi, R. Shoja-Razavi, R. Mozafarinia, H. Jamali, M. Hajizadh-Oghaz, and R. Ahmadi-Pidani, The Influence of Laser Treatment on Hot Corrosion Behavior of Plasma-Sprayed Nanostructured Yttria Stabilized Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 2014, 34(8), p 2013-2021E. Rayón, V. Bonache, M.D. Salvador, E. Bannier, E. Sánchez, A. Denoirjean, and H. 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Genetic characterization of 12 heterologous microsatellite markers for the giant tropical tree Cariniana legalis (Lecythidaceae)

Twelve microsatellite loci previously developed in the tropical tree Cariniana estrellensis were genetically characterized in Cariniana legalis. Polymorphisms were assessed in 28 C. legalis individuals found between the Pardo and Mogi-Guaçu River basins in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Of the 12 loci, 10 were polymorphic and exhibited Mendelian inheritance. The allelic richness at each locus ranged from 2-11, with an average of 7 alleles per locus, and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.07-0.88. These loci showed a high probability of paternity exclusion. The characteristics of these heterologous microsatellite markers indicate that they are suitable tools for investigating questions concerning population genetics in C. legalis

QServer: A Biclustering Server for Prediction and Assessment of Co-Expressed Gene Clusters

BACKGROUND: Biclustering is a powerful technique for identification of co-expressed gene groups under any (unspecified) substantial subset of given experimental conditions, which can be used for elucidation of transcriptionally co-regulated genes. RESULTS: We have previously developed a biclustering algorithm, QUBIC, which can solve more general biclustering problems than previous biclustering algorithms. To fully utilize the analysis power the algorithm provides, we have developed a web server, QServer, for prediction, computational validation and analyses of co-expressed gene clusters. Specifically, the QServer has the following capabilities in addition to biclustering by QUBIC: (i) prediction and assessment of conserved cis regulatory motifs in promoter sequences of the predicted co-expressed genes; (ii) functional enrichment analyses of the predicted co-expressed gene clusters using Gene Ontology (GO) terms, and (iii) visualization capabilities in support of interactive biclustering analyses. QServer supports the biclustering and functional analysis for a wide range of organisms, including human, mouse, Arabidopsis, bacteria and archaea, whose underlying genome database will be continuously updated. CONCLUSION: We believe that QServer provides an easy-to-use and highly effective platform useful for hypothesis formulation and testing related to transcription co-regulation

CD5 expression promotes IL-10 production through activation of the MAPK/Erk pathway and upregulation of TRPC1 channels in B lymphocytes.

CD5 is constitutively expressed on T cells and a subset of mature normal and leukemic B cells in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Important functional properties are associated with CD5 expression in B cells, including signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activation, IL-10 production and the promotion of B-lymphocyte survival and transformation. However, the pathway(s) by which CD5 influences the biology of B cells and its dependence on B-cell receptor (BCR) co-signaling remain unknown. In this study, we show that CD5 expression activates a number of important signaling pathways, including Erk1/2, leading to IL-10 production through a novel pathway independent of BCR engagement. This pathway is dependent on extracellular calcium (Ca2+) entry facilitated by upregulation of the transient receptor potential channel 1 (TRPC1) protein. We also show that Erk1/2 activation in a subgroup of CLL patients is associated with TRPC1 overexpression. In this subgroup of CLL patients, small inhibitory RNA (siRNA) for CD5 reduces TRPC1 expression. Furthermore, siRNAs for CD5 or for TRPC1 inhibit IL-10 production. These findings provide new insights into the role of CD5 in B-cell biology in health and disease and could pave the way for new treatment strategies for patients with B-CLL

MSH2/MSH6 Complex Promotes Error-Free Repair of AID-Induced dU:G Mispairs as well as Error-Prone Hypermutation of A:T Sites

Mismatch repair of AID-generated dU:G mispairs is critical for class switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM) in B cells. The generation of a previously unavailable Msh2−/−Msh6−/− mouse has for the first time allowed us to examine the impact of the complete loss of MutSα on lymphomagenesis, CSR and SHM. The onset of T cell lymphomas and the survival of Msh2−/−Msh6−/− and Msh2−/−Msh6−/−Msh3−/− mice are indistinguishable from Msh2−/− mice, suggesting that MSH2 plays the critical role in protecting T cells from malignant transformation, presumably because it is essential for the formation of stable MutSα heterodimers that maintain genomic stability. The similar defects on switching in Msh2−/−, Msh2−/−Msh6−/− and Msh2−/−Msh6−/−Msh3−/− mice confirm that MutSα but not MutSβ plays an important role in CSR. Analysis of SHM in Msh2−/−Msh6−/− mice not only confirmed the error-prone role of MutSα in the generation of strand biased mutations at A:T bases, but also revealed an error-free role of MutSα when repairing some of the dU:G mispairs generated by AID on both DNA strands. We propose a model for the role of MutSα at the immunoglobulin locus where the local balance of error-free and error-prone repair has an impact in the spectrum of mutations introduced during Phase 2 of SHM

Impact of therapy on quality of life, neurocognitive function and their correlates in glioblastoma multiforme: a review

The maintenance of quality of life (QoL) in patients with high-grade glioma is an important endpoint during treatment, particularly in those with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) given its dismal prognosis despite limited advances in standard therapy. It has proven difficult to identify new therapies that extend survival in patients with recurrent GBM, so one of the primary aims of new therapies is to reduce morbidity, restore or preserve neurologic functions, and the capacity to perform daily activities. Apart from temozolomide, cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents do not appear to significantly impact response or survival, but produce toxicity that is likely to negatively impact QoL. New biological agents, such as bevacizumab, can induce a clinically meaningful proportion of durable responses among patients with recurrent GBM with an acceptable safety profile. Emerging evidence suggests that bevacizumab produces an improvement or preservation of neurocognitive function in GBM patients, suggestive of QoL improvement, in most poor-prognosis patients who would otherwise be expected to show a sudden and rapid deterioration in QoL

Depth-Sensing Indentation on REBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) Single Crystals obtained from Xenotime Mineral

A natural mixture of heavy rare earths oxides extracted from xenotime mineral have been used to prepare large single crystals of high-temperature REBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) superconductor grown using the CuO-BaO self-flux method. Its mechanical properties along the ab-plane were characterized using instrumented indentation. Hardness and elastic modulus were obtained by the Oliver and Pharr method and corresponds to 7.4 \pm 0.2 GPa and in range 135-175 GPa at small depths, respectively. Increasing the load promotes the nucleation of lateral cracks that causes a decrease in hardness and the measured elastic modulus by instrumented indentation at higher loads. The indentation fracture toughness was estimated by measuring the radial crack length from cube-corner indentations at various loads and was 0.8 \pm 0.2 MPa.m1/2. The observed slip systems of REBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) single crystals were [100](001) and [010](001), the same as for YBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) single crystals. The initial stages of deformation and fracture in the indentation process were investigated. The hardness and elastic modulus were not strongly modified by the crystallographic orientation in the ab-plane. This was interpreted in terms of the resolved shear stresses in the active slip systems. Evidence of cracking along the {100} and {110} planes on the ab-plane was observed. As a conclusion, the mechanical properties of REBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) single crystals prepared from xenotime are equivalent to those of YBa2Cu3O(7-\delta) single crystals produced by conventional rare earths oxides.Comment: The paper will appear in Volume 42 (2012) of the Brazilian Journal of Physic

Search for CP violation in D+→ϕπ+ and D+s→K0Sπ+ decays

A search for CP violation in D + → ϕπ + decays is performed using data collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. The CP -violating asymmetry is measured to be (−0.04 ± 0.14 ± 0.14)% for candidates with K − K + mass within 20 MeV/c 2 of the ϕ meson mass. A search for a CP -violating asymmetry that varies across the ϕ mass region of the D + → K − K + π + Dalitz plot is also performed, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the CP asymmetry in the D+s→K0Sπ+ decay is measured to be (0.61 ± 0.83 ± 0.14)%

Spatiotemporal processing of somatosensory stimuli in schizotypy

Unusual interaction behaviors and perceptual aberrations, like those occurring in schizotypy and schizophrenia, may in part originate from impaired remapping of environmental stimuli in the body space. Such remapping is contributed by the integration of tactile and proprioceptive information about current body posture with other exteroceptive spatial information. Surprisingly, no study has investigated whether alterations in such remapping occur in psychosis-prone individuals. Four hundred eleven students were screened with respect to schizotypal traits using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. A subgroup of them, classified as low, moderate, and high schizotypes were to perform a temporal order judgment task of tactile stimuli delivered on their hands, with both uncrossed and crossed arms. Results revealed marked differences in touch remapping in the high schizotypes as compared to low and moderate schizotypes. For the first time here we reveal that the remapping of environmental stimuli in the body space, an essential function to demarcate the boundaries between self and external world, is altered in schizotypy. Results are discussed in relation to recent models of 'self-disorders' as due to perceptual incoherence