Tamoya haplonema (Cnidaria: Cubozoa) from uruguayan and adjacent waters: oceanographic context of new and historical findings

New records of the cubozoan jellyfish Tamoya haplonema in Uruguayan waters are reported together with historical records for the region, and associated with the oceanographic conditions at the moment of the finding. Occurrences of the species are mainly associated with positive Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies especially during summer months when the intrusion of warm oceanic waters to the Uruguayan coastline is stronger. This was particularly strong during 2012–2013, when a dry period enhanced this scenario. This species is the only cubozoan present in Uruguay, with a sporadic occurrence and so far has no appreciated negative effects on public health. However, from observed increasing frequency of positive temperature anomalies it would be reasonable to predict a future southward shift in the latitudinal distribution of T. haplonema. In this context, occurrence of this toxic species along Uruguayan coastal waters must be considered with particular attention to the potential negative impact on tourism and on general public health

Protective Effects of Walnut Extract Against Amyloid Beta Peptide-Induced Cell Death and Oxidative Stress in PC12 Cells

Amyloid beta-protein (Aβ) is the major component of senile plaques and cerebrovascular amyloid deposits in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Aβ is known to increase free radical production in neuronal cells, leading to oxidative stress and cell death. Recently, considerable attention has been focused on dietary antioxidants that are able to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby offering protection against oxidative stress. Walnuts are rich in components that have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The inhibition of in vitro fibrillization of synthetic Aβ, and solubilization of preformed fibrillar Aβ by walnut extract was previously reported. The present study was designed to investigate whether walnut extract can protect against Aβ-induced oxidative damage and cytotoxicity. The effect of walnut extract on Aβ-induced cellular damage, ROS generation and apoptosis in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells was studied. Walnut extract reduced Aβ-mediated cell death assessed by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) reduction, and release of lactate dehydrogenase (membrane damage), DNA damage (apoptosis) and generation of ROS in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that walnut extract can counteract Aβ-induced oxidative stress and associated cell death

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016