A New Species of \u3ci\u3eOryzomys\u3c/i\u3e (Rodentia: Muridae) from an Isolated Pocket of Cerrado in Eastern Bolivia

Reliable characterization of a species is an essential step toward eventual reconstruction of phylogenetic alliances among related taxa (Musser et al. 1998). Although characterization of species within the genus Oryzomys has met with some confusion in the past, significant work has taken place to help better define specific limits within this group (Musser et al. 1998; Bonvicino and Moreira 2001; Langguth and Bonvicino 2002). In spite of several recent surveys performed in the eastern Bolivian Panhandle (Emmons 1993; Taber et al. 1997; Brooks et al. 2002), our knowledge of the mammalian fauna in this region is still incomplete, and further studies are warranted. For example, of 1,259 collecting localities in Bolivia analyzed by Anderson (1997), less than two percent are from the eastern panhandle of Santa Cruz Department. Thus, this region constitutes a priority for mammalian exploration and conservation. In mid-April 1999, during an expedition to the eastern Bolivian panhandle (Brooks et al. 2002), we collected a single specimen of the genus Oryzomys that could not be assigned to any known species previously reported for the region in former studies (e.g., Anderson 1993, 1997). Extensive morphological comparisons with deposited voucher specimens revealed that this specimen may represent an undescribed species most closely related to the O. subflavus group (Guy Musser, pers. comm.). To confirm this taxonomic hypothesis, molecular analyses using a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene were perfonned to establish phylogenetic relationships. Molecular data supported our conclusion that this specimen represents a new taxon within the genus. In this study, we describe a new form of Oryzomys from the Department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Variable Influences of Water Availability and Rhizobacteria on the Growth of Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) at Different Ages

There is significant interest in understanding the role of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in alleviating different types of plant stress. Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) is a moderately drought tolerant, perennial bunchgrass native to North America. The goal of this experiment was to evaluate whether the addition of a bacterial root isolate in the Pseudomonas genus promoted the growth of S. scoparium with changes in water availability. Pseudomonas are common rhizobacteria and have been shown to improve plant growth. It was hypothesized that plants inoculated with the PGPR strain would have greater growth and health, and would be less affected by shifts in water availability. Pseudomonas strains were isolated from the roots of native S. scoparium plants. After germination, S. scoparium seedlings were subjected to four treatment groups: low water; high water; low water with PGPR; and high water with PGPR. The experiment was run three times with plants at different starting ages; 14-, 28-, and 70-day-old plants. The effects of the water and PGPR treatments were variable between the experimental trials. There were no significant effects of the water treatments on plant growth in Trial 1 (14-day-old plants) or Trial 2 (28-day-old plants), however, there was a significant negative effect of the high watering treatment on the shoot length and biomass in Trial 3. High water availability was significantly associated with greater plant health in Trial 1, but appeared to reduce plant health in Trials 2 and 3. The PGPR treatment appeared to promote root growth and biomass in Trial 2, and was associated with greater plant health in all three trials, especially when paired with the low water treatment. Results from a permutational MANOVA indicate that plant growth was significantly different between the trials due to differences in the starting age of the plants and the duration of the experiments. Thus, methodological choices, such as plant life history stage and experiment duration, may affect the response of plants to PGPR in the rhizosphere. This research provides an insight into the interactions between PGPR and water availability on the growth and health of native plants

Kinetic and equilibrium adsorption parameters estimation based on a heterogeneous intraparticle diffusion model

In this work, a commercial resin with a well-developed internal pore structure was chosen to adsorb four parabens used as probe molecules. The main novelty was to propose and validate a phenomenological transient adsorption model based on conservation law in both phases coupled with Langmuir’s equilibrium law and Fick’s mass transfer rate law inside the pores. With such an aim, a heterogeneous three-parameter intraparticle diffusion model, IPDM, was formulated, and its numerical solution was fitted to time-dependent concentration data by minimizing the sum of squared residuals. Equilibrium constants were also predicted by fitting Langmuir isotherm to equilibrium data. A monolayer capacity of 0.81 mmol/g was calculated for the four parabens regardless of the number of carbons in the ester group. With the optimal parameters values from the IPDM fitting process, a system of ODEs comprising local sensitivity coefficients as dependent variables was solved to compute the parameters’ variance-covariance matrix and infer their ranges for a 95% marginal confidence interval. In order to test the validity of the proposed model, an attempt to crosscheck between the parameters obtained by the estimation of the equilibrium related parameter, κ, and the modified capacity parameter, and the ones obtained by fitting the Langmuir’s isotherm to equilibrium data was carried out. As far as equilibrium related parameters concern, there is a relative agreement inside the limits of the confidence range between the estimated values of the amount adsorbed in equilibrium with initial bulk solution concentration, q0, and Langmuir’s equilibrium constant, K, adjusted to kinetic and equilibrium data, independently. Additionally, the order of magnitude of pore diffusivity obtained in this work is in accordance with the one predicted by Wilke-Chang correlation and is inversely proportional to the van der Waals volume raised to the power 0.53 in close agreement with the literature.The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support of this research work through the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT)-CTM2013-41354-R and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)-UIDB/04730/2020 projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Association of gene-enviroment and age of pre-onset cannabis use with age at onset of psychosis in frist-episode patients

Trabajo presentado a la 10ª Reunión anual de la Sociedad Española de Investigación sobre Cannabinoides celebrada en Santander del 26 al 28 de noviembre de 2009.Es conocida la influencia negativa del uso de cannabis sobre el curso y pronóstico de la esquizofrenia. El cannabis es, además, la sustancia de abuso más utilizada en pacientes con esquizofrenia (15%-65%). Sin embargo sólo una pequeña proporción de consumidores de cannabis desarrollan psicosis. Varios estudios han demostrado que el uso de cannabis precede al debut de la psicosis en varios años (entre 4 y 5 ). El inicio precoz del consumo de cannabis en la adolescencia, puede por tanto, estar asociado a un debut precoz de la psicosis, con el consiguiente pronóstico negativo de la enfermedad. Varios polimorfismos de nucleótidoúnico (SNPs) del gen que codifica el receptor CB1 (CNR1; rs806379, rs1535255, rs2023239 y rs1049353) han sido asociados al consumo de drogas o alcohol (Zhang et al., Molecular Psychiatry, 9, 916–931. 2004, Schmidtetal., 2002 Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 65, 221–224) Variaciones en el gen de la triptófano hidroxilasa se han asociado con un mayor riesgo de psicosis (LiD, HeL: Hum Genet 2006). Finalmente, algunos de los SNPs en los receptores de la serotonina se han asociado con diversos trastornos psiquiátricos como la esquizofrenia o la depresión, sin embargo, los resultados de estos estudios de asociación genética han mostrado resultados conflictivos.Peer Reviewe

Traditional and new strategies in the primary prevention of eating disorders: a comparative study in Spanish adolescents

Ignacio Jáuregui Lobera1, Pilar León Lozano2, Patricia Bolaños Ríos3, Juan Romero Candau2, Gregorio Sánchez del Villar y Lebreros4, M Teresa Morales Millán1,5, M Teresa Montaña González1,5, Lourdes Andrés Martín2, Isabela Justo Villalobos2, Nuria Vargas Sánchez21Área de Nutrición y Bromatología, Universidad Pablo de Olavide; 2Colegio Oficial de Farmacéuticos; 3Instituto de Ciencias de la Conducta; 4Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria “Murillo”; 5Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, SpainBackground: Research conducted to date into the primary prevention of eating disorders (ED) has mainly considered the provision of information regarding risk factors. Consequently, there is a need to develop new methods that go a step further, promoting a change in attitudes and behavior in the target population.Objective: This study describes an adaptation of the Girls’ Group model to the Spanish context, the main objective being to compare two types of intervention, ie, one based on this model and the other following the traditional approach of providing information. The ultimate aim was to implement a prevention program that reduces the risk factors and boosts the protection factors that have been empirically shown to be related to ED.Methods: On the basis of previous research on the primary prevention of ED, and taking into account recognized risk and protective factors, the following topics were addressed: nutritional aspects; self-esteem; coping strategies; the ideal image of what is attractive and role of the media; and body image. The total sample (174 girls and 197 boys) was divided into 12 work groups, six for the intervention group (one school) and six for the control group (two schools). School-based input (intervention group) was provided by a pharmacist, a psychologist, a qualified nutritionist/dietician, and specialist support staff (psychologists and/or educators) and teachers of the three schools.Results: Participation in the intervention group reduced body dissatisfaction (F = 13.41; P < 0.01), the drive to thinness (F = 10.79; P < 0.01), and the influence of the media with respect to the esthetic body shape model (F = 13.90; P < 0.01), while self-esteem (F = 7.34; P < 0.01) and the use of coping strategies (F = 13.74; P < 0.01) both improved. There was also an improvement in the eating habits of participants, with better outcomes being achieved when intervening with females.Conclusions: The present study shows that in the primary prevention of eating disorders, better outcomes are achieved by new models which target the attitudes and behavior of adolescents rather than focusing solely on the provision of risk information to raise awareness.Keywords: coping strategies, adolescence, primary prevention, eating disorders, positive psycholog

Genetic relationships among table-grape varieties

8 páginas, 3 tablas.Genetic relationships among important table-grape varieties were studied through nuclear and chloroplast microsatellite analysis. A total of 376 accessions were genotyped with 25 nuclear microsatellite loci using three multiplex PCRs. The average alleles per locus was 9.96, while the probability of identity was 1.66 x 10-21. A comparison among genotypes, morphology when needed, and literature data has defined synonyms, homonyms, sports, and mistakes among the plant material. In this study, groups of varieties such as Afus Ali, Ahmeur bou Ahmeur, Chasselas, and Muscat of Alexandria were clarified. A parentage analysis of table-grape cultivars was also carried out using a nonredundant genotype table, which included 273 accessions, accompanied by a thorough search in the literature and chloroplast haplotypes to define the direction of the crosses found. In most cases, the information available about the crosses originating these cultivars was correct, particularly in seedless cultivars. Nevertheless, some cultivars such as Cardinal could not originate from the crosses described or suggested in the literature and alternative parents have been proposed. In other cases, where previous information could not be found or was incomplete, some light has been shed on the genetic origin of some cultivars; for instance, the ancestors of Alphonse Lavallée, Admirable de Courtiller, and Calmeria have been suggested. A mathematical analysis, in the form of likelihood ratios, was done to determine the reliability of the suggested crosses.This work was financially supported by the projects RF99- 009 (INIA, Agriculture Ministry of Spain) and GrapeGen (a joint venture between Genome Canada and Genoma España). A.M. Vargas was funded by a predoctoral fellowship from IMIDRA.Peer reviewe

Microglial Sirtuin 2 shapes long-term potentiation in hippocampal slices

Copyright © 2020 Sa de Almeida, Vargas, Fonseca-Gomes, Tanqueiro, Belo, Miranda-Lourenço, Sebastião, Diógenes and Pais. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Microglial cells have emerged as crucial players in synaptic plasticity during development and adulthood, and also in neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory conditions. Here we found that decreased levels of Sirtuin 2 (Sirt2) deacetylase in microglia affects hippocampal synaptic plasticity under inflammatory conditions. The results show that long-term potentiation (LTP) magnitude recorded from hippocampal slices of wild type mice does not differ between those exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a pro-inflammatory stimulus, or BSA. However, LTP recorded from hippocampal slices of microglial-specific Sirt2 deficient (Sirt2-) mice was significantly impaired by LPS. Importantly, LTP values were restored by memantine, an antagonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. These results indicate that microglial Sirt2 prevents NMDA-mediated excitotoxicity in hippocampal slices in response to an inflammatory signal such as LPS. Overall, our data suggest a key-protective role for microglial Sirt2 in mnesic deficits associated with neuroinflammation.This study was supported by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (MB37-2017), GAPIC Research Program of the University of Lisbon Medical School (n° 2014002 and n° 2015028) and the following doctoral grants: PD/BD/128091/2016, SFRH/BD/118238/2016, PD/BD/114337/2016, and PD/BD/1144- 41/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Selective modulation by PARP-1 of HIF-1α-recruitment to chromatin during hypoxia is required for tumor adaptation to hypoxic conditions

[Background] The adaptation to hypoxia is mainly controlled by the HIF transcription factors. Increased expression/activity of HIF-1α correlates with poor prognosis in cancer patients. PARP-1 inhibitors are used in the clinic to treat BRCAness breast/ovarian cancer and have been shown to regulate the hypoxic response; therefore, their use could be expanded.[Methods] In this work by integrating molecular/cell biology approaches, genome-wide ChIP-seq, and patient samples, we elucidate the extent to which PARP-1 exerts control over HIF-1-regulated genes.[Results] In human melanoma, PARP-1 and HIF-1α expression are strongly associated. In response to a hypoxic challenge poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) is synthesized, HIF-1α is post-transcriptionally modified (PTM) and stabilized by PARylation at specific K/R residues located at its C-terminus. Using an unbiased ChIP-seq approach we demonstrate that PARP-1 dictates hypoxia-dependent HIF-recruitment to chromatin in a range of HIF-regulated genes while analysis of HIF-binding motifs (RCGTG) reveals a restriction on the recognition of hypoxia responsive elements in the absence of PARP-1. Consequently, the cells are poorly adapted to hypoxia, showing a reduced fitness during hypoxic induction.[Conclusions] These data characterize the fine-tuning regulation by PARP-1/PARylation of HIF activation and suggest that PARP inhibitors might have therapeutic potential against cancer types displaying HIF-1α over-activation.This work was supported by Junta de Andalucía, project of Excellence from Junta de Andalucía P10-CTS-0662, P12-CTS-383 to FJO, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness SAF2012-40011-C02-01, SAF2015-70520- R, RTI2018-098968-B-I00, RTICC RD12/0036/0026 and CIBER Cáncer ISCIII CB16/12/00421 to FJO. EB1s lab is supported by the Basque Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (Etortek) and the MINECO (CB16/12/00421) grants. Fundación Domingo Martínez (call 2019).Peer reviewe

TRAF3 alterations are frequent in del-3′IGH chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients and define a specific subgroup with adverse clinical features

Interstitial 14q32 deletions involving IGH gene are infrequent events in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), affecting less than 5% of patients. To date, little is known about their clinical impact and molecular underpinnings, and its mutational landscape is currently unknown. In this work, a total of 871 CLLs were tested for the IGH break-apart probe, and 54 (6.2%) had a 300 kb deletion of 3′IGH (del-3′IGH CLLs), which contributed to a shorter time to first treatment (TFT). The mutational analysis by next-generation sequencing of 317 untreated CLLs (54 del-3′IGH and 263 as the control group) showed high mutational frequencies of NOTCH1 (30%), ATM (20%), genes involved in the RAS signaling pathway (BRAF, KRAS, NRAS, and MAP2K1) (15%), and TRAF3 (13%) within del-3′IGH CLLs. Notably, the incidence of TRAF3 mutations was significantly higher in del-3′IGH CLLs than in the control group (p < .001). Copy number analysis also revealed that TRAF3 loss was highly enriched in CLLs with 14q deletion (p < .001), indicating a complete biallelic inactivation of this gene through deletion and mutation. Interestingly, the presence of mutations in the aforementioned genes negatively refined the prognosis of del-3′IGH CLLs in terms of overall survival (NOTCH1, ATM, and RAS signaling pathway genes) and TFT (TRAF3). Furthermore, TRAF3 biallelic inactivation constituted an independent risk factor for TFT in the entire CLL cohort. Altogether, our work demonstrates the distinct genetic landscape of del-3′IGH CLL with multiple molecular pathways affected, characterized by a TRAF3 biallelic inactivation that contributes to a marked poor outcome in this subgroup of patients.Funding information: Universidad de Salamanca; Fundación Española de Hematología y Hemoterapia (FEHH); Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Grant/Award Number: CB16/12/00233; Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer (RTICC); “Fundación Memoria Don Samuel Solórzano Barruso”: FS/33–2020, Grant/Award Number: RD12/0036/0069; “Gerencia Regional de Salud, SACYL”:, Grant/Award Numbers: GRS2385/A/21, GRS2140/A/20; Consejería de Educación, Junta de Castilla y León, Grant/Award Number: SA118P20; European Regional Development Fund and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Grant/Award Numbers: CD19/00222, FI19/00191; Spanish Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Grant/Award Numbers: PI21/00983, PI18/0150

Tumor xenograft modeling identifies an association between TCF4 loss and breast cancer chemoresistance

Understanding the mechanisms of cancer therapeutic resistance is fundamental to improving cancer care. There is clear benefit from chemotherapy in different breast cancer settings; however, knowledge of the mutations and genes that mediate resistance is incomplete. In this study, by modeling chemoresistance in patientderived xenografts (PDXs), we show that adaptation to therapy is genetically complex and identify that loss of transcription factor 4 (TCF4; also known as ITF2) is associated with this process. A triple-negative BRCA1-mutaied PDX was used to study the genetics of chemoresistance. The PDX was treated in parallel with four chemotherapies for five iterative cycles. Exome sequencing identified few genes with de novo or enriched mutations in common among the different therapies, whereas many common depleted mutations/ genes were observed. Analysis of somatic mutations from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) supported the prognostic relevance of the identified genes. A mutation in TCF4 was found de novo in all treatments, and analysis of drug sensitivity profiles across cancer cell lines supported the link to chemoresistance. Loss of TCF4 conferred chemoresistance in breast cancer cell models, possibly by altering cell cycle regulation. Targeted sequencing in chemoresistant tumors identified an intronic variant of TCF4 that may represent an expression quantitative trait locus associated with relapse outcome in TCGA. Immunohistochemical studies suggest a common loss of nuclear TCF4 expression post-chemotherapy. Together, these results from tumor xenograft modeling depict a link between altered TCF4 expression and breast cancer chemoresistance