On an accidental degeneracy in the 31P{¹H} NMR chemical shifts in ruthenium diphosphine complexes

The [RuCl(bipy)(dppb)(4-pic)]PF6 complex was prepared and fully characterized. The X-ray crystal structure of this complex was determined in order to make an unambiguous distinction between the two possible positions of the 4-methylpyridine ligand (4-pic) in the compound: trans to phosphorus atom or trans to nitrogen atom. The [RuCl(bipy)(dppb)(4-pic)]PF6 complex exhibits an unusual temperature-dependent accidental degeneracy of the 31P chemical shifts in its solution NMR spectrum

Lipases and lipid droplet-associated protein expression in subcutaneous white adipose tissue of cachectic patients with cancer

Background: Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial metabolic syndrome characterized by marked loss of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Fat loss from adipose tissue in cancer cachexia is partly the result of increased lipolysis. Despite the growing amount of studies focused on elucidating the mechanisms through which lipolysis-related proteins regulate the lipolytic process, there are scarce data concerning that profile in the adipose tissue of cancer cachectic patients. Considering its fundamental importance, it was our main purpose to characterize the expression of the lipolysis-related proteins in the white adipose tissue of cachectic cancer patients. Methods: Patients from the University Hospital were divided into three groups: control, cancer cachexia (CC), and weight-stable cancer patients (WSC). To gain greater insight into adipose tissue wasting during cancer cachexia progression, we have also analyzed an experimental model of cachexia (Walker 256 carcinosarcoma). Animals were divided into: control, intermediate cachexia (IC) and terminal cachexia (TC). Subcutaneous white adipose tissue of patients and epidydimal white adipose tissue of animals were investigated regarding molecular aspects by determining the protein content and gene expression of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), comparative gene identification-58 (CGI-58), perilipin 1, leptin, adiponectin, visfatin, and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). Results: We found augmented lipolysis in CC associated with increased HSL expression, as well as upregulation of ATGL expression and reduction in perilipin 1 content. In IC, there was an imbalance in the secretion of pro-and anti-inflammatory factors. The alterations at the end-stage of cachexia were even more profound, and there was a reduction in the expression of almost all proteins analyzed in the animals. Conclusions: Our findings show that cachexia induces important morphological, molecular, and humoral alterations in the white adipose tissue, which are specific to the stage of the syndrome.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Univ São Paulo, Canc Metab Res Grp, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Surg,Fac Med, São Paulo, BrazilSão Paulo State Univ UNESP, Exercise & Immunometab Res Grp, Dept Phys Educ, Presidente Prudente, SP, BrazilUniv Fed São Paulo, UNIFESP, Dept Fisiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Univ Hosp, Dept Clin Surg, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Mogi das Cruzes, Lab Adipose Tissue Biol, Ctr Integrated Biotechnol, Mogi Das Cruzes, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Ave Prof Lineu Prestes 1524,Lab 434, BR-05508900 São Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed São Paulo, UNIFESP, Dept Fisiol, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2012/50079-0Web of Scienc

Causas, consequências e métodos atribuídos para prevenir a desertificação na caatinga / Causes, consequences and methods attributed to prevent desertification in caatinga

A desertificação é um fenômeno que resulta da combinação de fatores naturais, principalmente as episódicas secas; e de fatores antrópicos, como sobrepastoreio, desmatamento e remoção da cobertura vegetal, juntamente com as atividades agrícolas que ocorrem acima da capacidade de suporte do ambiente. No Brasil o bioma Caatinga é o mais atingido, perdendo apenas para a Floresta Atlântica e o Cerrado. Estima-se que 80% da vegetação encontre-se completamente modificada, devido ao extrativismo e a agropecuária, apresentando-se a maioria dessas áreas em estádios iniciais ou intermediários de sucessão ecológica. Entretanto, o objetivo da presente pesquisa bibliográfica foi mostrar as causas e as consequências da desertificação da Caatinga e os métodos que são atribuídos para prevenção. É preciso ressaltar que as restrições físicas e químicas dos solos, a escassez de água no Semiárido nordestino, bem como a exploração intensiva dos recursos naturais e o super pastoreio tornam a Caatinga vulnerável à desertificação e à ameaça de extinção de espécies da fauna e da flora nativa da região, entretanto, esse processo pode ser controlado, evitado, e até mesmo revertido, desde que haja o envolvimento da população e que os órgãos governamentais proponham soluções, junto com as comunidades e as escolas e toda a sociedade para resolver, ou ao menos, buscar alternativas sustentáveis, oferecendo auxílio técnico para o manejo dessas áreas e incentivando a preservação ambiental de maneira que não ocorra uma sobrecarga de problemas nas áreas de risco. Nos locais onde o processo de desertificação já se instalou são necessários investimentos para sua contenção; porém, o custo é da ordem de bilhões de dólares

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Sex and lifestyle dictate learning performance in a neotropical wasp

Summary: In contrast to extensive investigations on bee cognition, the cognitive capacities of wasps remain largely unexplored despite their key role as pollinators and predators of insect pests. Here we studied learning and memory in the neotropical wasp Mischocyttarus cerberus using a Pavlovian conditioning in which harnessed wasps respond with conditioned movements of their mouthparts to a learned odorant. We focused on the different castes, sexes, and ages coexisting within a nest and found that adults of M. cerberus learned and memorized efficiently the odor-sugar associations. In contrast, newly emerged females, but not males, were unable to learn odorants. This difference concurs with their different lifestyle as young males perform regular excursions outside the nest while young females remain in it until older age. Our results thus highlight the importance of socio-ecological constraints on wasp cognition and set the basis for mechanistic studies on learning differences across ages and castes

Exhaustive exercise causes an anti-inflammatory effect in skeletal muscle and a pro-inflammatory effect in adipose tissue in rats

It is well known that exhaustive exercise increases serum and skeletal muscle IL-6 concentrations. However, the effect of exhaustive exercise on the concentrations of other cytokines in the muscle and in the adipose tissue is controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of exhaustive exercise on mRNA and protein expression of IL-10, TNF-alpha and IL-6 in different types of skeletal muscle (EDL, soleus) and in two different depots of white adipose tissue (mesenteric-MEAT and retroperitoneal-RPAT). Rats were killed by decapitation immediately (E0 group, n = 6), 2 (E2 group, n = 6) and 6 (E6 group, n = 6) hours after the exhaustion protocol, which consisted of running on a treadmill (approximately 70% VO(2max) for 50 min and then subsequently at an elevated rate that increased at 1 m/min every minute, until exhaustion). The control group (C group, n = 6) was not subjected to exercise. Cytokine protein expression increased in EDL, soleus, MEAT and RPAT from all exercised groups, as detected by ELISA. EDL IL-10 and TNF-alpha expression was higher than that of the soleus. The IL-10/TNF-alpha ratio was increased in the skeletal muscle, especially in EDL, but it was found to be decreased in the adipose tissue. These results show that exhaustive exercise presents a different effect depending on the tissue which is analysed: in the muscle, it induces an anti-inflammatory effect, especially in type 2 fibres, while the pro-inflammatory effect prevails in adipose tissue, possibly contributing to increased lipolysis to provide energy for the exercising muscle.FAPESP[04/11588-0]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESP[05/01445-0