Quantitative genetics of extreme insular dwarfing: The case of red deer on Jersey

[Aim]: The Island Rule—that is, the tendency for body size to decrease in large mammals and increase in small mammals on islands has been commonly evaluated through mac-roecological or macroevolutionary, pattern-orientated approaches, which generally fail to model the microevolutionary processes driving either dwarfing or gigantism. Here, we seek to identify which microevolutionary process could have driven extreme insular dwarfism in the extinct dwarf red deer population on the island of Jersey.[Location]: Jersey, UK (Channel Islands).[Taxon]: Red deer (Cervus elaphus).[Methods]: We applied an individual-based quantitative genetics model parameterized with red deer life-history data to study the evolution of dwarfism in Jersey's deer, con-sidering variations in island area and isolation through time due to sea level changes.[Results]: The body size of red deer on Jersey decreased fast early on, due to pheno-typic plasticity, then kept decreasing almost linearly over time down to the actual body size of the Jersey deer (36kg on average). Only 1% of 10,000 replicates failed to reach that size in our simulations. The distribution of time to adaptation in these simulations was right skewed, with a median of 395 generations (equivalent to roughly 4kyr), with complete dwarfism effectively occurring in less than 6kyr 84.6% of times. About 72% of the variation in the time to adaptation between simulations was col-lectively explained by higher mutational variance, the number of immigrants from the continent after isolation, available genetic variance, heritability, and phenotypic plasticity.[Main Conclusions]: The extreme dwarfing of red deer on Jersey is an expected out-come of high mutational variance, high immigration rate, a wide adaptive landscape, low levels of inbreeding, and high phenotypic plasticity (in the early phase of dwarfing), all occurring within a time window of around 6kyr. Our model reveals how extreme dwarfism is a plausible outcome of common, well-known evolutionary processes.This study is a contribution of the INCT in Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation founded by MCTIC/CNPq/FAPEG (grant 465610/2014-5), arising from the workshop “Fast Evolution on Islands”, organized by AMCS and JAFD-F. Authors EB, FN, WS, KSS, RSS, and ZASV are supported by CAPES MsC or Doctoral fellowships. JAFD-F, RT, TFR, and RD are supported by CNPq Productivity Fellowships and grants, and LJ and EB received CNPq/DTI-A Fellowships from INCT. JH was supported by the project ‘Predicting diversity variations across scales through process-based models linking community ecology and biogeography’ (CNPq PVE 314523/2014-6), and AMCS by a Spanish MICIU Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación (IJCI-2014-19502) fellowship.Peer reviewe

POTENCIAL ANTI-INFLAMATÓRIO DAS FOLHAS DE Chenopodium ambrosioides L. NO MODELO DE CISTITE HEMORRÁGICA EM CAMUNDONGOS

A cistite hemorrágica (CH) possui etiologia infecciosa, medicamentosa ou radioterápica. Consiste na presença de hematúria macroscópica secundária a sangramento vesical e uma das suas possíveis causas é o uso de ciclofosfamida (CYP). Várias alternativas farmacológicas têm sido investigadas para o tratamento da CH. Dentre as possibilidades, o potencial terapêutico de espécies vegetais tem sido avaliado. A espécie Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Amaranthaceae), tem sido utilizado popularmente como anti-infamatório, efeito que  tem  sido comprovado cientifcamente. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo  foi investigar os efeitos do extrato bruto hidroalcoólico (EBH) de folhas secas de C. ambrosioides na CH induzida em camundongos pela ciclofosfamida. Camundongos fêmeas da linhagem Swiss receberam 150 mg/kg de CYP por via intraperitoneal para indução de CH. Em seguida, os animais foram tratados em dose única de acordo com protocolo estabelecido para cada grupo: soro fsiológico a 0,9% (grupo Controle); diclofenaco potássico (grupo Diclofenaco); EBH com dose única de 5 (grupo EBH5) ou 50mg/kg (grupo EBH50). Após 12 horas da indução da CH, o sangue dos animais foi retirado para realização do hemograma.  Os animais foram então sacrifcados e as bexigas retiradas, avaliadas macroscopicamente (hemorragia) e pesadas. Foram removidos, ainda, os órgãos linfóides a fm de realizar contagem de células do baço, medula óssea e linfonodos. Os resultados demonstraram que houve diminuição do peso das bexigas e da hemorragia nos grupos Diclofenaco e EBH5 quando comparados ao grupo controle. Houve um aumento das células da medula óssea, baço e linfonodo mesentérico em todos os animais tratados em relação ao controle. Em relação ao hemograma houve apenas aumentos pontuais no grupo EBH50. Em conclusão, o extrato bruto hidroalcoólico de folhas de C. ambrosioides na dose de 5mg/Kg apresentou efeito anti-infamatório e imunoestimulante, pois diminuiu o peso e a hemorragia da bexiga, e aumentou a produção e proliferação de células linfóides. Diante dos resultados desse estudo, bem como da evidência de ausência de toxicidade de outros trabalhos, podemos sugerir o tratamento com este extrato como alternativa terapêutica nos modelos de CH induzida por CYP em camundongos.Descritores: Anti-infamatório. Chenopodium ambrosioides. Ciclofosfamida. Cistite.AbstractHemorrhagic cystitis (HC) has infectious, drug or radiotherapy etiology. Consists in the presence of macroscopic hematuria secondary to bladder bleeding, and one of its possible causes is the use of cyclophosphamide (CYP). Several pharmacological alternatives have been investigated for the treatment of HC. Among the possibilities, the therapeutic potential of plant species have been reported. The species Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Amaranthaceae) has been popularly used as an anti-infammatory efect that has been proven scientifcally. The objective of this study was to investigate the efects of crude hydroalcoholic extract of dried leaves of C. ambrosioides in HC cyclophosphamide induced in mice. Female mice of the Swiss strain received 150 mg / kg of CYP intraperitoneally to induce HC. Then the animals were treated with a single dose according to protocol established for each group: normal saline 0.9% (control group); diclofenac (diclofenac group); hydroalcoholic extract with a single dose of 5 (EBH5 group) or 50 mg / kg (EBH50 group). After 12 hours from the induction of HC, the bleeding was performed in the animal for the complete blood count. The animals were then sacrifced and had their bladders removed, as assessed macroscopically (bleeding) and weighed. The lymphoid organs were also removed in order to perform spleen, bone marrow and lymph nodes cell count. The results demonstrated that there was a decrease in the weight of bladders and bleeding in the diclofenac group and EBH5 when compared to the control group. There was an increase of cells in the bone marrow, spleen and lymph node in all treated animals as compared to control. In blood count there were only occasional increases in EBH50 group. In conclusion, the hydroalcoholic crude extract of Chenopodium ambrosioides leaves at a dose of 5 mg / kg showed anti-infammatory and immunostimulatory efect as decreased body weight and bleeding of the bladder, and increased production and proliferation of lymphoid cells. Given the results of this study, as well as evidence of absence of toxicity in other studies, we suggest treatment with this extract as an alternative therapy in models of CH-induced CYP in mice.Descriptors: Anti-infammatory. Chenopodium ambrosioides. Cyclophosphamide. Cystitis

Signaling Pathways Activation by Primary Endodontic Infectious Contents and Production of Inflammatory Mediators

Introduction: This study investigated the bacterial community involved in primary endodontic diseases, evaluated its ability to activate the macrophage Toll-like receptor 4 receptor through p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-B-K) signaling pathways, and determined the levels of endotoxins and interleukins (interleukin [IL]-6 and -10) produced by endodontic content-stimulated macrophages. Methods: Samples were taken from 21 root canals by using sterile/apyrogenic paper points. Raw 264.7 macrophages were stimulated with root canal contents. Checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization was used for bacterial analysis and the limulus amebocyte lysate assay for endotoxin measurement; p38 MAPK and NF-KB activation was determined by Western blot analysis. IL-6 and IL-10 were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Bacteria and endotoxins were detected in 100% of the samples (21/21). The most frequently observed species were Parvimonas micra (16121, 76%), Fusobacterium nudeatum ssp. nucleatum (15121, 71%), and Porphyromonas endodontalis (14121, 66%). Correlations were found between endotoxins and IL-6 and IL-10 (P <.05); p38 phosphorylation had a peak at 60 minutes, and NF-KB was quickly activated after 10 minutes of stimulation. Conclusions: It was concluded that the complex bacterial community was shown to be a potent activator of TLR-4 determined by the p38 MAPK and NF-KB signaling pathways, culminating in a high antigenicity against macrophages through the levels of IL-6 and IL-10, all significantly affected by endotoxin levels.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Quantitative genetics of extreme insular dwarfing: The case of red deer on Jersey

[Aim]: The Island Rule—that is, the tendency for body size to decrease in large mammals and increase in small mammals on islands has been commonly evaluated through mac-roecological or macroevolutionary, pattern-orientated approaches, which generally fail to model the microevolutionary processes driving either dwarfing or gigantism. Here, we seek to identify which microevolutionary process could have driven extreme insular dwarfism in the extinct dwarf red deer population on the island of Jersey.[Location]: Jersey, UK (Channel Islands).[Taxon]: Red deer (Cervus elaphus).[Methods]: We applied an individual-based quantitative genetics model parameterized with red deer life-history data to study the evolution of dwarfism in Jersey's deer, con-sidering variations in island area and isolation through time due to sea level changes.[Results]: The body size of red deer on Jersey decreased fast early on, due to pheno-typic plasticity, then kept decreasing almost linearly over time down to the actual body size of the Jersey deer (36kg on average). Only 1% of 10,000 replicates failed to reach that size in our simulations. The distribution of time to adaptation in these simulations was right skewed, with a median of 395 generations (equivalent to roughly 4kyr), with complete dwarfism effectively occurring in less than 6kyr 84.6% of times. About 72% of the variation in the time to adaptation between simulations was col-lectively explained by higher mutational variance, the number of immigrants from the continent after isolation, available genetic variance, heritability, and phenotypic plasticity.[Main Conclusions]: The extreme dwarfing of red deer on Jersey is an expected out-come of high mutational variance, high immigration rate, a wide adaptive landscape, low levels of inbreeding, and high phenotypic plasticity (in the early phase of dwarfing), all occurring within a time window of around 6kyr. Our model reveals how extreme dwarfism is a plausible outcome of common, well-known evolutionary processes.This study is a contribution of the INCT in Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation founded by MCTIC/CNPq/FAPEG (grant 465610/2014-5), arising from the workshop “Fast Evolution on Islands”, organized by AMCS and JAFD-F. Authors EB, FN, WS, KSS, RSS, and ZASV are supported by CAPES MsC or Doctoral fellowships. JAFD-F, RT, TFR, and RD are supported by CNPq Productivity Fellowships and grants, and LJ and EB received CNPq/DTI-A Fellowships from INCT. JH was supported by the project ‘Predicting diversity variations across scales through process-based models linking community ecology and biogeography’ (CNPq PVE 314523/2014-6), and AMCS by a Spanish MICIU Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación (IJCI-2014-19502) fellowship.Peer reviewe

Fractionation of Asphaltene by Adsorption onto Silica and Chemical Characterization by Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Coupled to Attenuated Total Reflectance, and Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Asphaltenes are defined as the petroleum fraction insoluble in <i>n</i>-alkanes and soluble in aromatic solvents, such as toluene. Such definition implies that asphaltenes are not a homogeneous material but a mixture of fractions. Asphaltenes represent one of the major contributors to several problematic issues for the petroleum industry. Destabilized asphaltenes can cause arterial clogging within pipelines and wellbores, corrosion and fouling of production equipment, reduction of catalyst activity in refining processes, and other problems. This work describes an investigation of the separation of asphaltenes into three different fractions by adsorption onto silica particles. These fractions (two adsorbed and one non-adsorbed onto silica) were characterized by elemental analysis (C, H, and N), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled to attenuated total reflectance (ATR–FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy, and atmospheric pressure photoionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (APPI–FT-ICR MS). APPI–FT-ICR MS and ATR–FTIR accessed chemical information on a molecular level [molecular formula, carbon number (CN) and double bond equivalent (DBE) distributions, and organic groups], whereas ¹H NMR and elemental analysis provided the aromaticity degree and C/H atomic ratio of the samples, respectively. The C/H atomic ratio decreases in the following the order: non-adsorbed > whole asphaltene > adsorbed > irreversibly adsorbed. The irreversible fraction adsorbed had the lowest percentage of aromatic hydrogen compared to other fractions by ¹H NMR. There was a good correlation between the results of NMR and elemental analysis. The efficiency of fractionation on silica particles was proven to be successful by the low concentration of polyaromatic hydrocabons observed for two samples adsorbed onto silica and the increasing of the aromaticity degree and C/H ratio for the non-adsorbed fraction. N₂, N₂O, and NO compound classes were selectively separated from whole asphaltene and concentrated in polar fractions (adsorbed fractions onto silica), with their CN and DBE distributions reported. Therefore, this work demonstrated the selectivity of the fractionation method onto silica to retain highly polar compounds and, moreover, extends to the study of the adsorbent surface and how the molecules of the asphaltenes will behave against this change

Histopathological analysis of the synovial membrane from animals with MIA- induced OA and treated with <i>Chenopodium ambrosioides</i> HCE.

<p>^a Mean ±S.E.M.of following scores: 0—absent, 1—light, 2—moderate and 3 –intense.</p><p>* p ≤ 0.05 when compared to the CTL- group.</p><p>Histopathological analysis of the synovial membrane from animals with MIA- induced OA and treated with <i>Chenopodium ambrosioides</i> HCE.</p