26th European Congress of Arachnology in Midreshet Ben-Gurion

Early in September, 130 arachnologists and 11 accompanying persons from 27 countries from all over the world headed to Israel to attend the 26th European Congress of Arachnology hosted by the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research

Epigenetics in Melanoma Development and Drug Resistance

Melanomas, which originate from melanocytic cells, mainly develop in the skin but can also arise at other body sites. The disease accounts for approximately 90% of deaths related to cutaneous tumors with late stage metastatic melanoma having a very poor prognosis of 6–9 month median survival for untreated patients. Research in the last decades resulted in ground-breaking discoveries of melanoma genetics and biology. High frequency mutations in genes like BRAF, NRAS and KIT, which lead to hyper-activation of the MAPK signaling pathway, drive melanoma progression. Targeting the MAPK signaling pathway has successfully been translated into effective therapies that significantly improve patient survival. Despite the unquestionable importance of such genetic events, the involvement of epigenetic alterations for melanoma development, and resistance to aforementioned therapies is becoming increasingly apparent. In this chapter, epigenetic alterations commonly found in melanoma are introduced, with a focus on histone and DNA modifications and their relevance for melanoma development, progression and therapy response. Detailed knowledge about this emerging aspect of melanoma research will help to understand the plastic nature of melanoma and set the foundation for novel treatment strategies that target aberrant gene regulation on genetic and epigenetic levels

On the enigmatic scent glands of dyspnoan harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones): first evidence for the production of volatile secretions

La utilización en encuestas de preguntas con tarjetas de respuesta está totalmente aceptada por la comunidad investigadora. Esto supone una carga de trabajo “extra” en la tarea del entrevistador, lo que explica que en ocasiones no se utilicen correctamente. Pese a esta situación, hay muy poca literatura sobre la influencia de las tarjetas en las respuestas del entrevistado. El objetivo de este trabajo es profundizar en los efectos que la utilización de tarjetas tiene en la calidad de las respuestas del cuestionario, partiendo de la hipótesis que considera que las tarjetas —pese a complicar la tarea del encuestador— suponen importantes mejoras en la administración del cuestionario. Utilizaremos para ello un estudio del Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas con 23 preguntas de tarjeta, comparando las respuestas de los entrevistados que utilizaron las tarjetas con aquellos que no las emplearon.Using “response cards” in question surveys is unanimously approved by the research community. The fact that this represents an extra workload for the interviewer’s task explains why they sometimes are not used correctly. Despite this situation there is a paucity of literature on the influence of the response card on the respondent’s answers. The aim of this study is to deepen the analysis of how using these cards affect the quality of the survey’s responses. To do so, we start from the assumption that the cards —while complicating the interviewer’s task, result in significant improvements in the survey’s administration. For this purpose we will use a study with 23 card questions (question cards) by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, (the Spanish Centre for Sociological Research), and we will compare the answers of respondents that used cards with those who did not

Naphthoquinones and Anthraquinones from Scent Glands of a Dyspnoid Harvestman, Paranemastoma quadripunctatum

Extracts of Paranemastoma quadripunctatum (Opiliones, Dyspnoi, Nemastomatidae) contained seven components, all of which likely originated from the secretion of well-developed prosomal scent glands. The two main components (together accounting for more than 90% of the secretion) were identified as 1,4-naphthoquinone and 6-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone. The minor components were 1,4-naphthalenediol, two methoxy-naphthoquinones (2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, and 2-methoxy-6-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone) and two anthraquinones (2-methyl-9,10-anthraquinone and a dimethyl-9,10-anthraquinone). While some chemical data on scent gland secretions of the other suborders of Opiliones (Cyphophthalmi, palpatorean Eupnoi, and Laniatores) already exist, this is the first report on the scent gland chemistry in the Dyspnoi. Naphthoquinones are known scent gland exudates of Cyphophthalmi and certain Eupnoi, methoxy-naphthoquinones and anthraquinones are new for opilionid scent gland secretions

A Novel Class of Defensive Compounds in Harvestmen: Hydroxy-γ-Lactones from the Phalangiid Egaenus convexus

When threatened, the harvestman Egaenus convexus (Opiliones: Phalangiidae) ejects a secretion against offenders. The secretion originates from large prosomal scent glands and is mainly composed of two isomers of 4-hydroxy-5-octyl-4,5-dihydro-3H-furan-2-one (1), a β-hydroxy-γ-lactone. The compounds were characterized by GC-MS of their microreaction derivatives, HRMS, and NMR. After the synthesis of all four possible stereoisomers of 1, followed by their separation by chiral-phase GC, the absolute configurations of the lactones in the Egaenus secretion was found to be (4S,5R)-1 (90%) and (4S,5S)-1 (10%). Hydroxy-γ-lactones represent a new class of exocrine defense compounds in harvestmen