Epigeal fauna of urban food production sites show no obvious relationships with soil characteristics or site area

Urban food production is a growing area of interest as a way of increasing food security, social capital and biodiversity. As food production relies upon ecosystem services provided by invertebrates (e.g. decomposition), it is important to understand the underlying factors affecting their distribution. Here we investigated the influence of soil characteristics and patch area on the abundance and diversity of epigeal invertebrates. Seventeen sites of different size from in and around Leeds, UK, were selected from an open source database on urban food production. Pitfall traps were placed along transects to collect beetles, springtails, and spiders. These invertebrates were identified and counted, adjusting total counts for the number of traps used at each location. Soil samples from the trap locations were homogenized, dried, and analysed to measure organic carbon content, moisture content, and pH, while productivity was assessed by growing radish Raphanus sativus on the soils under uniform conditions. This study found no evidence of correlation of epigeal abundance and diversity with site area or soil characteristics. These findings suggest that there is no evidence as yet of urban food production sites that are too small to be able to draw upon ecosystem services delivered by epigeal invertebrates

Genetic diversity of Bursaphelenchus cocophilus in South America

Molecular characterisation of Bursaphelenchus cocophilus, the causal agent of ‘red ring disease’, is imperative for efficient identification procedures in Brazil and Colombia, because quarantine species such as B. xylophilus and B. mucronatus are already listed in both countries. ITS-1/2 region and D2-D3 segment of LSU rDNA were used to characterise isolates of B. cocophilus obtained from coconut plantations in Brazil and Colombia. Results from ITS-1/2 and LSU rDNA regions showed that all isolates of B. cocophilus from Brazil and Colombia formed a monophyletic group. The LSU rDNA region indicated that all isolates formed a single monophyletic group with high Bayesian posterior probability (100%). This is the first study on ITS-1/2 for the characterisation of B. cocophilus populations. A species-specific primer was designed for identification of B. cocophilus

Acoustic signals in the sand fly Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) intermedia (Diptera: Psychodidae)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acoustic signals are part of the courtship of many insects and they often act as species-specific signals that are important in the reproductive isolation of closely related species. Here we report the courtship songs of the sand fly <it>Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) intermedia</it>, one of the main vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Recordings were performed using insects from three localities from Eastern Brazil: Posse and Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro State and Corte de Pedra in Bahia State. The three areas have remnants of the Brazilian Atlantic forest, they are endemic for cutaneous leishmaniasis and <it>L. intermedia </it>is the predominant sand fly species. We observed that during courtship <it>L. intermedia </it>males from all populations produced pulse songs consisting of short trains. No significant differences in song parameters were observed between the males of the three localities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>L. intermedia </it>males produce acoustic signals as reported for some other sand flies such as the sibling species of the <it>Lutzomyia longipalpis </it>complex. The lack of differences between the males from the three localities is consistent with previous molecular studies of the <it>period </it>gene carried out in the same populations, reinforcing the idea that <it>L. intermedia </it>is not a species complex in the studied areas and that the three populations are likely to have similar vectorial capacities.</p

Histomorphometric and immunohistochemical analysis of infectious agents, T-cell subpopulations and inflammatory adhesion molecules in placentas from HIV-seropositive pregnant women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to compare histomorphometric changes and the results of immunohistochemical tests for VCAM, ICAM-1, CD4 and CD8 in normal placentas from HIV-seropositive pregnant women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Samples of normal placentas were divided into 2 groups: healthy HIV-seronegative pregnant women (control group = C = 60) and HIV-seropositive women (experimental group = E = 57). Conventional histological sections were submitted to morphometric analysis and evaluated in terms of the immunohistochemical expression of ICAM-1, VCAM, CD4 and CD8.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The villi in group E were smaller than those in group C. The median for the CD8+ T cell count was higher in group E than in group C (p = 0.03). Immunohistochemical expression of ICAM-1 was observed in 57% of the cases in group E, compared with 21% of those in group C (p = 0.001). There was no difference in VCAM expression or CD4+ cell counts between groups and no correlation between the data for antiretroviral therapy and morphometric or immunohistochemical data.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The morphometric data showed that placentas of HIV-seropositive pregnant women tend to have smaller villi than those of seronegative women. In addition, immunohistochemical testing for infectious agents helped to identify cases that were positive for microorganisms (6/112) that routine pathological examination had failed to detect. The anti-p24 antibody had a limited ability to detect HIV viral protein in this study (2/57). Correlation of immunohistochemical expression of CD8+ T cells and ICAM-1 with the presence of HIV in the placenta revealed that those expressions can act as biomarkers of inflammatory changes. There was no correlation between the data for antiretroviral therapy and morphometric or immunohistochemical data.</p

Comparative cytogenetic analysis of two grasshopper species of the tribe Abracrini (Ommatolampinae, Acrididae)

The grasshopper species Orthoscapheus rufipes and Eujivarus fusiformis were analyzed using several cytogenetic techniques. The karyotype of O. rufipes, described here for the first time, had a diploid number of 2n = 23, whereas E. fusiformis had a karyotype with 2n = 21. The two species showed the same mechanism of sex determination (XO type) but differed in chromosome morphology. Pericentromeric blocks of constitutive heterochromatin (CH) were detected in the chromosome complement of both species. CMA3/DA/DAPI staining revealed CMA3-positive blocks in CH regions in four autosomal bivalents of O. rufipes and in two of E. fusiformis. The location of active NORs differed between the two species, occurring in bivalents M6 and S9 of O. rufipes and M6 and M7 of E. fusiformsi. The rDNA sites revealed by FISH coincided with the number and position of the active NORs detected by AgNO3 staining. The variability in chromosomal markers accounted for the karyotype differentiation observed in the tribe Abracrini

Isokinetic muscle function comparison of lower limbs among elderly fallers and non-fallers

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar se há diferenças entre o desempenho muscular de tornozelo, joelho e quadril em idosos com e sem relato de queda nos últimos seis meses. Foram incluídos 81 idosos com 65 anos ou mais: 56 negaram quedas (G1) e 25 relataram quedas (G2). Utilizou-se o questionário perfil de atividade humana para medir o nível de atividade física, e o dinamômetro isocinético para mensurar os parâmetros físicos da função muscular. Os grupos não diferiram entre si em relação à idade (p=0,925), duração (p=0,065) e frequência (p=0,302) da prática do exercício físico, índice de massa corpórea (p=0,995) e nível de atividade física (p=0,561). O G2 apresentou menor desempenho para as variáveis pico de torque de flexão e extensão de joelho esquerdo (p=0,027 e p=0,030, respectivamente) e trabalho por peso corporal (p=0,040) de flexão de joelho esquerdo a 60°/s; pico de torque e trabalho por peso corporal de flexão e extensão de joelho a 180°/s bilateralmente (p<0,050); e potência média de flexão de joelhos direito e esquerdo (p=0,030). A maioria das variáveis do tornozelo e quadril não apresentou diferenças entre os grupos. Apenas a variável pico de torque de extensão de quadril esquerdo foi significativamente maior no G1 (p=0,035). É importante considerar a função muscular do joelho na avaliação clínica de idosos para direcionar a intervenção terapêutica e a prevenção de quedas.The aim of this study was to identify whether there are differences between the performance of muscular groups of ankle, knee and hip among elderly people who didn't have falls and individuals who reported falls in the last six months. The study included 81 elderly aged 65 or older: 56 non-faller subjects (G1) and 25 faaller subjects (G2). To obtain the level of physical activity, the questionnaire Human Activity Profile was used, and the muscle function of the lower limbs was assessed using isokinetic dynamometer. The groups did not differ regarding age (p=0.925), duration (p=0.065) and frequency (p=0.302) of the practice of physical exercise, body mass index (BMI) (p=0.995) and level of physical activity (p=0.561). The G2 showed a lower performance of peak torque of left knee flexion and extension (p=0.027 and p=0.030, respectively) and work proportional to body weight (p=0.040) of left knee flexion at 60°/s; peak torque and work proportional to body weight of bilaterally knee flexion and extension at 180°/s (p<0.05) and average power of right and left knee extension (p=0.03). Most variables of ankle and hip joints did not differ between groups. Only peak torque of left hip extension was significantly higher in the non-faller group (p=0.035). It is important to consider knee muscle function in the clinical evaluation of elderly in order to make the intervention more assertive and thus to prevent falls

Molecular and Behavioral Differentiation among Brazilian Populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

Lutzomyia longipalpis is the main vector of visceral leishmaniasis in the Americas. There is strong evidence that L. longipalpis is a species complex, but there is still no consensus regarding the number of species occurring in Brazil. We combined molecular and behavioral analyses of a number of L. longipalpis populations in order to help clarify this question. This approach has allowed us to identify two main groups of populations in Brazil. One group probably represents a single species distributed mainly throughout the coastal regions of North and Northeast Brazil and whose males produce the same type of copulation song and pheromone. The second group is more heterogeneous, probably represented by a number of incipient species with different levels of genetic divergence among the siblings that produce different combinations of copulation songs and pheromones. The high level of complexity observed raises important questions concerning the epidemiological consequences of this incipient speciation process

Synthesis and characterization of Ca2CoTaO6, a new monoclinically distorted double perovskite

The new Ca2CoTaO6 double perovskite has been synthesized by a conventional solid state reaction and its unit cell parameters determined by X-ray powder diffractometry. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n. The unit cell parameters are: a = 5.507(2) Å; b = 5.564(3) Å; c = 7.798(3) Å; &#946; = 89.99(4)° and Z = 2. The IR spectrum of the material was recorded and is briefly discussed. Some comparisons with Ca2CoNbO6 and other isostructural perovskites are also performed