Oceanic Sharks Clean at Coastal Seamount

Interactions between pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus) and cleaner wrasse were investigated at a seamount in the Philippines. Cleaning associations between sharks and teleosts are poorly understood, but the observable interactions seen at this site may explain why these mainly oceanic sharks regularly venture into shallow coastal waters where they are vulnerable to disturbance from human activity. From 1,230 hours of observations recorded by remote video camera between July 2005 and December 2009, 97 cleaner-thresher shark events were analyzed, 19 of which were interrupted. Observations of pelagic thresher sharks interacting with cleaners at the seamount were recorded at all times of day but their frequency declined gradually from morning until evening. Cleaners showed preferences for foraging on specific areas of a thresher shark's body. For all events combined, cleaners were observed to conduct 2,757 inspections, of which 33.9% took place on the shark's pelvis, 23.3% on the pectoral fins, 22.3% on the caudal fin, 8.6% on the body, 8.3% on the head, 2.1% on the dorsal fin, and 1.5% on the gills respectively. Cleaners did not preferentially inspect thresher sharks by time of day or by shark sex, but there was a direct correlation between the amount of time a thresher shark spent at a cleaning station and the number of inspections it received. Thresher shark clients modified their behavior by “circular-stance-swimming,” presumably to facilitate cleaner inspections. The cleaner-thresher shark association reflected some of the known behavioral trends in the cleaner-reef teleost system since cleaners appeared to forage selectively on shark clients. Evidence is mounting that in addition to acting as social refuges and foraging grounds for large visiting marine predators, seamounts may also support pelagic ecology by functioning as cleaning stations for oceanic sharks and rays

Microarray-based identification and RT-PCR test screening for epithelial-specific mRNAs in peripheral blood of patients with colon cancer

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of screening for colorectal cancer using a simple blood-based assay for the detection of tumor cells disseminated in the circulation at an early stage of the disease is gaining positive feedback from several lines of research. This method seems able to reduce colorectal cancer mortality and may replace colonoscopy as the most effective means of detecting colonic lesions. METHODS: In this work, we present a new microarray-based high-throughput screening method to identifying candidate marker mRNAs for the early detection of epithelial cells diluted in peripheral blood cells. This method includes 1. direct comparison of different samples of colonic mucosa and of blood cells to identify consistent epithelial-specific mRNAs from among 20,000 cDNA assayed by microarray slides; 2. identification of candidate marker mRNAs by data analysis, which allowed selection of only 10 putative differentially expressed genes; 3. Selection of some of the most suitable mRNAs (TMEM69, RANBP3 and PRSS22) that were assayed in blood samples from normal subjects and patients with colon cancer as possible markers for the presence of epithelial cells in the blood, using reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Our present results seem to provide an indication, for the first time obtained by genome-scale screening, that a suitable and consistent colon epithelium mRNA marker may be difficult to identify. CONCLUSION: The design of new approaches to identify such markers is warranted

Order-disorder enantiotropy, monotropy and isostructurality in a tetroxoprim-sulfametrole 1:1 molecular complex: crystallographic and thermal studies

Twoenantiotropic polymorphs of a tetroxoprim (TXP)-sulfametrole (SMTR) 1:1 molecular complex monohydrate and two isostructural TXP-SMTR 1:1 molecular complex solvates with methanol and ethanol were grown and studied by X-ray diffraction and thermal methods (thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry). Interconversion of the polymorphic hydrates is essentially an order/disorder transition involving a substituent on the TXP molecule. These hydrated phases may be described as ‘‘nearly isostructural’’ with the methanol and ethanol solvates. Thermal data for decomposition of the solvates were rationalized on the basis of the location and topologies of solvent crystallographic sites. Solid-state properties of two monotropic polymorphs of the unsolvated TXP-SMTR 1:1 molecular complex were also investigated and the theoretical and experimental phase diagrams of the individual components were assessed. The existence of polymorphic and pseudopolymorphic forms is determined by conformational flexibility of the TXP-SMTR bimolecular complex components, a tendency for molecular disorder in TXP, the ability of the drug complex to form intricate, highly stabilized hydrogen-bonded frameworks, and the competition between nonspecific van der Waals and specific hydrogen bond interactions

Complexation between the Antioxidant Pterostilbene and Derivatized Cyclodextrins in the Solid State and in Aqueous Solution

Inadequate aqueous solubilities of bioactive compounds hinder their ability to be developed for medicinal applications. The potent antioxidant pterostilbene (PTB) is a case in point. The aim of this study was to use a series of modified water-soluble cyclodextrins (CDs), namely, hydroxypropyl beta-CD (HP beta CD), dimethylated beta-CD (DIMEB), randomly methylated beta-CD (RAMEB), and sulfobutyl ether beta-CD sodium salt (SBECD) to prepare inclusion complexes of PTB via various solid, semi-solid, and solution-based treatments. Putative CD-PTB products generated by solid-state co-grinding, kneading, irradiation with microwaves, and the evaporative treatment of CD-PTB solutions were considered to have potential for future applications. Primary analytical methods for examining CD-PTB products included differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to detect the occurrence of binary complex formation. Phase solubility analysis was used to probe CD-PTB complexation in an aqueous solution. Complexation was evident in both the solid-state and in solution. Complex association constants (K-1:1) in an aqueous solution spanned the approximate range of 15,000 to 55,000 M-1; the values increased with the CDs in the order HP beta CD < DIMEB < RAMEB < SBECD. Significant PTB solubility enhancement factors were recorded at 100 mM CD concentrations, the most accurately determined values being in the range 700-fold to 1250-fold