Gomesin peptides prevent proliferation and lead to the cell death of devil facial tumour disease cells.

The Tasmanian devil faces extinction due to devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), a highly transmittable clonal form of cancer without available treatment. In this study, we report the cell-autonomous antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities exhibited by the spider peptide gomesin (AgGom) and gomesin-like homologue (HiGom) in DFTD cells. Mechanistically, both peptides caused a significant reduction at G0/G1 phase, in correlation with an augmented expression of the cell cycle inhibitory proteins p53, p27, p21, necrosis, exacerbated generation of reactive oxygen species and diminished mitochondrial membrane potential, all hallmarks of cellular stress. The screening of a novel panel of AgGom-analogues revealed that, unlike changes in the hydrophobicity and electrostatic surface, the cytotoxic potential of the gomesin analogues in DFTD cells lies on specific arginine substitutions in the eight and nine positions and alanine replacement in three, five and 12 positions. In conclusion, the evidence supports gomesin as a potential antiproliferative compound against DFTD disease

Variability of coastal and ocean water temperature in the upper 700 m along the western Iberian Peninsula from 1975 to 2006

Temperature is observed to have different trends at coastal and ocean locations along the western Iberian Peninsula from 1975 to 2006, which corresponds to the last warming period in the area under study. The analysis was carried out by means of the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA). Reanalysis data are available at monthly scale with a horizontal resolution of 0.5° × 0.5° and a vertical resolution of 40 levels, which allows obtaining information beneath the sea surface. Only the first 21 vertical levels (from 5.0 m to 729.35 m) were considered here, since the most important changes in heat content observed for the world ocean during the last decades, correspond to the upper 700 m. Warming was observed to be considerably higher at ocean locations than at coastal ones. Ocean warming ranged from values on the order of 0.3 °C dec(-1) near surface to less than 0.1 °C dec(-1) at 500 m, while coastal warming showed values close to 0.2 °C dec(-1) near surface, decreasing rapidly below 0.1 °C dec(-1) for depths on the order of 50 m. The heat content anomaly for the upper 700 m, showed a sharp increase from coast (0.46 Wm(-2)) to ocean (1.59 Wm(-2)). The difference between coastal and ocean values was related to the presence of coastal upwelling, which partially inhibits the warming from surface of near shore water.publishe

Analysis of paternal lineages in Brazilian and African populations

The present-day Brazilian population is a consequence of the admixture of various peoples of very different origins, namely, Amerindians, Europeans and Africans. The proportion of each genetic contribution is known to be very heterogeneous throughout the country. The aim of the present study was to compare the male lineages present in two distinct Brazilian populations, as well as to evaluate the African contribution to their male genetic substrate. Thus, two Brazilian population samples from Manaus (State of Amazon) and Ribeirão Preto (State of São Paulo) and three African samples from Guinea Bissau, Angola and Mozambique were typed for a set of nine Y chromosome specific STRs. The data were compared with those from African, Amerindian and European populations. By using Y-STR haplotype information, low genetic distances were found between the Manaus and Ribeirão Preto populations, as well as between these and others from Iberia. Likewise, no significant distances were observed between any of the African samples from Angola, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau. Highly significant Rst values were found between both Brazilian samples and all the African and Amerindian populations. The absence of a significant Sub-Saharan African male component resulting from the slave trade, and the low frequency in Amerindian ancestry Y-lineages in the Manaus and Ribeirão Preto population samples are in accordance with the accentuated gender asymmetry in admixture processes that has been systematically reported in colonial South American populations

Revisión de la literatura integradora acerca de intervenciones de la enfermería volcadas hacia el incremento del autocuidado entre pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca

Objective: to analyze and summarize knowledge concerning critical components of interventions that have been proposed and implemented by nurses with the aim of optimizing self-care by heart failure patients.Methods: PubMed and CINAHL were the electronic databases used to search full peer-reviewed papers, presenting descriptions of nursing interventions directed to patients or to patients and their families and designed to optimize self-care. Forty-two studies were included in the final sample (n=4,799 patients).Results: this review pointed to a variety and complexity of nursing interventions. As self-care encompasses several behaviors, interventions targeted an average of 3.6 behaviors. Educational/counselling activities were combined or not with cognitive behavioral strategies, but only about half of the studies used a theoretical background to guide interventions. Clinical assessment and management were frequently associated with self-care interventions, which varied in number of sessions (1 to 30); length of follow-up (2 weeks to 12 months) and endpoints.Conclusions: these findings may be useful to inform nurses about further research in self-care interventions in order to propose the comparison of different modalities of intervention, the use of theoretical background and the establishment of endpoints to evaluate their effectiveness.Objetivo:analisar e sintetizar o conchecimento relacionado aos componentes críticos das intervençoes que têm, sido propostas e implementadas por enfermeiros(as) com objetivo de optimizar o auto-cuidado de pacientes portadores de insuficiência cardíaca.Método:PubMed e CINAHL foram as bases de dados electrônicas utilizadas para investigar artigos revisados por pares (peer review), apresentando as descrições das intervenções dirigidas ao paciente ou ao paciente e sua familia, visando melhorar o auto-cuidado. Foram incluídos 42 estudos na amostra final (n=4799 pacientes).Resultados:esta revisão apontou variedade e complexidade das intervenções de enfermagem. Como o auto-cuidado envolve diferentes comportamentos, as intervenções visaram em média 3,6 comportamentos. As Atividades de educação e aconselhamento foram combinadas ou não com estratégias cognitivo-comportamentais, mas somente a metade dos estudos utilizaram suporte teórico para guiar as intervenções. A avaliação e o manejo clínico foram frequentemente associados às intervenções de auto-cuidado, as quais variam em número de sessões (1 a 30), duração do seguimento (2 semanas a 12 meses) e desfechos.Conclusão:estes resultados podem ser úteis para guiar os enfermeiros no que se refere à futuros estudos sobre intervenções de auto-cuidado, de maneira a propor a comparação de diferentes modalidades de intervenção, uso de suporte teórico e estabelecimento de desfechos para melhor avaliar sua eficácia.Objetivo:analizar y sintetizar el conocimiento relacionado a componentes críticos de intervenciones que han sido propuestas e implementadas por enfermeros(as) con el objetivo de optimizar el autocuidado entre pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca.Método:PUBMED y CINAHL han sido las bases de datos electrónicas usadas para investigar artículos revisados por pares (peer review), presentando descripciones de intervenciones destinadas a perfeccionar el autocuidado dirigido al paciente o al paciente y a su familia. Se incluyeron 42 estudios en la muestra final (n=4799 pacientes).Resultados:esta revisión apuntó a una variedad y complejidad de intervenciones de enfermería. Como el autocuidado abarca varios comportamientos, las intervenciones tuvieron como blanco, en media, 3,6 comportamientos. Actividades de educación/consejería fueron combinadas o no con estrategias cognitivo-comportamentales, pero tan solo cerca de la mitad de los estudios tenían aporte teórico para guiar intervenciones. La gestión y la evaluación clínica fueron frecuentemente asociadas a intervenciones de autocuidado, las cuales oscilaron en número de sesiones (1 a 30), duración del seguimiento (2 semanas a 12 meses) y objetivos.Conclusiones:estos resultados pueden ser útiles para informar a las enfermeras acerca de nuevas investigaciones en intervenciones de autocuidado, de modo a proponer la comparación de distintas modalidades de intervención, el uso de un aporte teórico y el establecimiento de objetivos para evaluar su eficacia

Drivers of population structure of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

The drivers of population differentiation in oceanic high dispersal organisms, have been crucial for research in evolutionary biology. Adaptation to different environments is commonly invoked as a driver of differentiation in the oceans, in alternative to geographic isolation. In this study, we investigate the population structure and phylogeography of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in the Mediterranean Sea, using microsatellite loci and the entire mtDNA control region. By further comparing the Mediterranean populations with the well described Atlantic populations, we addressed the following hypotheses: (1) bottlenose dolphins show population structure within the environmentally complex Eastern Mediterranean Sea; (2) population structure was gained locally or otherwise results from chance distribution of preexisting genetic structure; (3) strong demographic variations within the Mediterranean basin have affected genetic variation sufficiently to bias detected patterns of population structure. Our results suggest that bottlenose dolphin exhibits population structures that correspond well to the main Mediterranean oceanographic basins. Furthermore, we found evidence for fine scale population division within the Adriatic and the Levantine seas. We further describe for the first time, a distinction between populations inhabiting pelagic and coastal regions within the Mediterranean. Phylogeographic analysis suggests that current genetic structure, results mostly from stochastic distribution of Atlantic genetic variation, during a recent postglacial expansion. Comparison with Atlantic mtDNA haplotypes, further suggest the existence of a metapopulation across North Atlantic/Mediterranean, with pelagic regions acting as source for coastal environments

Integrated monitoring of mola mola behaviour in space and time

Over the last decade, ocean sunfish movements have been monitored worldwide using various satellite tracking methods. This study reports the near-real time monitoring of finescale (< 10 m) behaviour of sunfish. The study was conducted in southern Portugal in May 2014 and involved satellite tags and underwater and surface robotic vehicles to measure both the movements and the contextual environment of the fish. A total of four individuals were tracked using custom-made GPS satellite tags providing geolocation estimates of fine-scale resolution. These accurate positions further informed sunfish areas of restricted search (ARS), which were directly correlated to steep thermal frontal zones. Simultaneously, and for two different occasions, an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) videorecorded the path of the tracked fish and detected buoyant particles in the water column. Importantly, the densities of these particles were also directly correlated to steep thermal gradients. Thus, both sunfish foraging behaviour (ARS) and possibly prey densities, were found to be influenced by analogous environmental conditions. In addition, the dynamic structure of the water transited by the tracked individuals was described by a Lagrangian modelling approach. The model informed the distribution of zooplankton in the region, both horizontally and in the water column, and the resultant simulated densities positively correlated with sunfish ARS behaviour estimator (r(s) = 0.184, p < 0.001). The model also revealed that tracked fish opportunistically displace with respect to subsurface current flow. Thus, we show how physical forcing and current structure provide a rationale for a predator's finescale behaviour observed over a two weeks in May 2014