Correlation between acoustic divergence and phylogenetic distance in soniferous European gobiids (Gobiidae; Gobius lineage)

In fish, species identity can be encoded by sounds, which have been thoroughly investigated in European gobiids (Gobiidae, Gobius lineage). Recent evolutionary studies suggest that deterministic and/or stochastic forces could generate acoustic differences among related animal species, though this has not been investigated in any teleost group to date. In the present comparative study, we analysed the sounds from nine soniferous gobiids and quantitatively assessed their acoustic variability. Our interspecific acoustic study, incorporating for the first time the representative acoustic signals from the majority of soniferous gobiids, suggested that their sounds are truly species-specific (92% of sounds correctly classified into exact species) and each taxon possesses a unique set of spectro-temporal variables. In addition, we reconstructed phylogenetic relationships from a concatenated molecular dataset consisting of multiple molecular markers to track the evolution of acoustic signals in soniferous gobiids. The results of this study indicated that the genus Padogobius is polyphyletic, since P. nigricans was nested within the Ponto-Caspian clade, while the congeneric P. bonelli turned out to be a sister taxon to the remaining investigated soniferous species. Lastly, by extracting the acoustic and genetic distance matrices, sound variability and genetic distance were correlated for the first time to assess whether sound evolution follows a similar phylogenetic pattern. The positive correlation between the sound variability and genetic distance obtained here emphasizes that certain acoustic features from representative sounds could carry the phylogenetic signal in soniferous gobiids. Our study was the first attempt to evaluate the mutual relationship between acoustic variation and genetic divergence in any teleost fish

Analysis of the combined effect of hydrogrinding process and inclination angle on hydraulic performance of diesel injection nozzles

A computational study to investigate the influence of the orifices inclination and the rounding radius at the orifice inlet (consequence of the hydro-erosive grinding process applied after the orifices machining) over the internal nozzle flow is performed in this paper. The study starts with the analysis of experimental results where the mass flow and momentum flux of two nozzles with very different values of these two variables are compared. This analysis shows relatively small differences in terms of mass flow and momentum flux, since the higher losses associated to the higher deflection of the streamlines with a higher inclination of the orifices are counteracted by the higher rounding radius, which favors the flow entrance to the orifice. To explain this experimental outcome, an extensive computational study involving nine geometries that combine different inclination angles and rounding radius is conducted, in order to quantify the influence of both parameters on the flow separately, as well as to assess the potential of their combination. These geometries are compared in terms of discharge coefficient, critical cavitation conditions and effective injection velocity, among others. Results show differences up to 15% in terms of mass flow rate and 8% for the effective injection velocity among the two extreme cases (lowest inclination and highest hydro-erosion level versus the nozzle with the highest inclination and lowest hydro-erosion level). Given the importance of these phenomena on the subsequent mixing and combustion processes, the results hereby presented are of interest for Diesel engines injectors and combustion chambers designers.This work was partly sponsored by "Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad" in the frame of the project "Comprension de la influencia de combustibles no convencionales en el proceso de inyeccion y combustion tipo diesel", Reference TRA2012-36932. The equipment used in this work has been partially supported by FEDER project funds "Dotacion de infraestructuras cientifico tecnicas para el Centro Integral de Mejora Energetica y Medioambiental de Sistemas de Transporte (CiMeT), (FEDER-ICTS-2012-06)", in the frame of the operation program of unique scientific and technical infrastructure of the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain. This support is gratefully acknowledged by the authors.Salvador Rubio, FJ.; Carreres Talens, M.; Jaramillo Císcar, D.; Martínez López, J. (2015). Analysis of the combined effect of hydrogrinding process and inclination angle on hydraulic performance of diesel injection nozzles. Energy Conversion and Management. 105:1352-1365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2015.08.035S1352136510

ACE as a Mechanosensor to Shear Stress Influences the Control of Its Own Regulation via Phosphorylation of Cytoplasmic Ser1270

Objectives: We tested whether angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and phosphorylation of Ser(1270) are involved in shear-stress (SS)-induced downregulation of the enzyme. Methods and Results: Western blotting analysis showed that SS (18 h, 15 dyn/cm(2)) decreases ACE expression and phosphorylation as well as p-JNK inhibition in human primary endothelial cells (EC). CHO cells expressing wild-type ACE (wt-ACE) also displayed SS-induced decrease in ACE and p-JNK. Moreover, SS decreased ACE promoter activity in wt-ACE, but had no effect in wild type CHO or CHO expressing ACE without either the extra-or the intracellular domains, and decreased less in CHO expressing a mutated ACE at Ser(1270) compared to wt-ACE (13 vs. 40%, respectively). The JNK inhibitor (SP600125, 18 h), in absence of SS, also decreased ACE promoter activity in wt-ACE. Finally, SS-induced inhibition of ACE expression and phosphorylation in EC was counteracted by simultaneous exposure to an ACE inhibitor. Conclusions: ACE displays a key role on its own downregulation in response to SS. This response requires both the extra- and the intracellular domains and ACE Ser(1270), consistent with the idea that the extracellular domain behaves as a mechanosensor while the cytoplasmic domain elicits the downstream intracellular signaling by phosphorylation on Ser(1270).Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[01/00009-0]Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[03/14115-2]Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[06/52053-7]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)[480120/2007-2

The two sides of cytokine signaling and glaucomatous optic neuropathy

The mechanistic study of glaucoma pathogenesis has shifted to seeking to understand the effects of immune responses on retinal ganglion cell damage and protection. Cytokines are the hormonal factors that mediate most of the biological effects in both the immune and nonimmune systems. CD4-expressing T helper cells are a major source of cytokine production and regulation. Type 1 helper T (Th1) cells are characterized by the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12, IL-23, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha while type 2 helper T (Th2) cells are characterized by the production of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-10. The balance of Th1/Th2 cytokine production influences many pathological processes and plays both causative and protective roles in neuron damages. Growing evidence indicates that imbalances of Th1/Th2 cytokine production are involved in neural damage or protection in many neurological diseases. In this review, we discuss the possible roles of Th1/Th2 cytokine production and imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines in retina, especially glaucomatous optic neuropathy

Organotin speciation in plants : uptake, accumulation and biotransformation

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