Key drivers for copepod assemblages in a eutrophic coastal brackish lake

The copepod assemblages and abiotic parameters were investigated at 11 stations in a large coastal lake (Lake Manzalah, Nile Delta) from 2009-2010 in order to verify any impacts of eutrophication and salinity on the copepod species composition. The environmental conditions and the copepod assemblages appeared to have changed in comparison with previous studies, possibly because of increasing eutrophication and invasions of non-indigenous species (NIS). The aim of the present study was the identification of species which can be used as ecological indicators of high trophic status. Among the nine copepod species of Lake Manzalah, Acartia tonsa, Mesocyclops ogunnus, and Apocyclops panamensis were reported for the first time. Acartia tonsa, a well-known NIS for the Mediterranean, numerically dominated the copepod assemblages in some portions of the lake. The distribution of Acanthocyclops trajani and Thermocyclops consimilis was insensible to eutrophication because they can stand high levels of nutrients and hypoxia. Compared with previous reports, the copepod assemblage of Lake Manzalah was richer in species. The invasions of NIS, in addition to the heterogeneous progress of eutrophication in the lake, created an environmental mosaic with many species in total, but with single areas suitable for only a small number of them

On the compactness and spectra of the generalized difference operator on the spaces ℓ∞ and bv

In this paper, we consider the compactness and the spectrum of the generalized difference operator Δab on the Banach sequence spaces ℓ∞, of bounded sequences, and bv, of bounded variation sequences, which allows us to generalize and extend some existing results for the operator Δab . Furthermore, the results for the operator Δab on ℓ∞ are new even in the case where Δab is reduced to the difference operator Δ . © 2021, Element D.O.O.. All rights reserved

Fine spectra of the discrete generalized Cesàro operator on Banach sequence spaces

This paper concerns the spectrum and the fine spectrum of the discrete generalized Cesàro operator Ct, where 0 ≤ t< 1 , on Banach sequence spaces close to ℓ1 and ℓ∞. We derive some compactness results for the operator Ct to describe the spectrum. Our technique involves standard operator theory and summability theory. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature

Correction to: Fine spectra of the discrete generalized Cesàro operator on Banach sequence spaces (Monatshefte für Mathematik, (2020), 10.1007/s00605-020-01376-w)

In the original article, in Theorem 7.4 (in all statements from (1) to (9)): the symbol C0 should be replaced by bv. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature

The spectra of the generalized difference operators on the spaces of convergent series

An investigation is made on the spectrum and fine spectrum of the generalized difference operator ∆ab on the space cs of convergent series. Some related results, concerning the spectrum of the adjoint operator (∆ab)*=∆ab on the space bv of bounded variation sequences, are also derived. Further, some special cases of the main results are investigated deeper. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

MS/MS-based molecular networking for mapping the chemical diversity of the pulp and peel extracts from Citrus japonica Thunb.; in vivo evaluation of their anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer potential

Although inflammation is a beneficial response to harmful triggers, the associated diseases develop the potential for death-threatening conditions. Citrus species are valuable sources of chemical compounds with diverse structural properties that could alleviate damaging inflammation and reduce serious side effects of synthetic drugs. Kumquats are the smallest trees among the citrus family widely distributed in Asia, Europe, and North America, with little cultivation in Africa. The current study aims to conduct comprehensive chemical, anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer studies of Citrus japonica, thus focusing attention on extensive cultivation of these species in Africa to enhance their beneficial uses. A comparative chemical profiling of peel and pulp extracts was performed via HPLC-MS/MS analysis, 164 metabolites were annotated aided by the spectral similarity networks. Around 148 of which were visualized as a species-first documentation. Phenolics were the predominant classes including methoxylated flavonoids, O/C-glycosylated flavones, and flavanones with the less common O- or C-O-triglycosyl methoxylated flavones among the genus Citrus. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory study demonstrated the significant activity of the pulp and peel extracts (200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) via reducing paw swelling induced by carrageenan at all-time points and decreasing the formation of TNF-α and IL-1β. Moreover, in ethanol-induced gastric ulcer rat model, the high doses of both extracts significantly improved ulcer indexes and suppressed gastric inflammation by inhibiting myeloperoxidase activity and possessed an antioxidant effect via increasing reduced glutathione, decreasing malondialdehyde, and nitric oxide. Additionally, histopathological investigations confirmed the anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer effects. Considering the two fruit tissues, peels markedly improved inflammatory and gastroprotective properties associated with the high diversity of their flavonoid structures

EphB2 isolates a human marrow stromal cell subpopulation with enhanced ability to contribute to the resident intestinal cellular pool

To identify human bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) subsets with enhanced ability to engraft/contribute to the resident intestinal cellular pool, we transplanted clonally derived BMSCs into fetal sheep. Analysis at 75 d post-transplantation showed 2 of the 6 clones engrafting the intestine at 4- to 5-fold higher levels (5.03±0.089 and 5.04±0.15%, respectively) than the other clones (P<0.01), correlating with the percentage of donor-derived Musashi-1(+) (12.01–14.17 vs. 1.2–3.8%; P<0.01) or leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5)(+) cells within the intestinal stem cell (ISC) region. Phenotypic and transcriptome analysis determined that the clones with enhanced intestinal contribution expressed high levels of Ephrin type B receptor 2 (EphB2). Intestinal explants demonstrated proliferation of the engrafted cells and ability to generate crypt-like structures in vitro still expressing EphB2. Additional transplants based on BMSC EphB2 expression demonstrated that, at 7 d post-transplant, the EphB2(high) BMSCs engrafted in the ISC region at levels of 2.1 ± 0.2%, while control EphB2(low) BMSCs engrafted at 0.3 ± 0.1% (P<0.01). Therefore we identified a marker for isolating and culturing an expandable subpopulation of BMSCs with enhanced intestinal homing and contribution to the ISC region.—Colletti, E., El Shabrawy, D., Soland, M., Yamagami, T., Mokhtari, S., Osborne, C., Schlauch, K., Zanjani, E. D., Porada, C. D., Almeida-Porada, G. EphB2 isolates a human marrow stromal cell subpopulation with enhanced ability to contribute to the resident intestinal cellular pool

Comparative "Omics" of the Fusarium fujikuroi Species Complex Highlights Differences in Genetic Potential and Metabolite Synthesis

Species of the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFC) cause a wide spectrum of often devastating diseases on diverse agricultural crops, including coffee, fig, mango, maize, rice, and sugarcane. Although species within the FFC are difficult to distinguish by morphology, and their genes often share 90% sequence similarity, they can differ in host plant specificity and life style. FFC species can also produce structurally diverse secondary metabolites (SMs), including the mycotoxins fumonisins, fusarins, fusaric acid, and beauvericin, and the phytohormones gibberellins, auxins, and cytokinins. The spectrum of SMs produced can differ among closely related species, suggesting that SMs might be determinants of host specificity. To date, genomes of only a limited number of FFC species have been sequenced. Here, we provide draft genome sequences of three more members of the FFC: a single isolate of F. mangiferae, the cause of mango malformation, and two isolates of F. proliferatum, one a pathogen of maize and the other an orchid endophyte. We compared these genomes to publicly available genome sequences of three other FFC species. The comparisons revealed species-specific and isolate-specific differences in the composition and expression (in vitro and in planta) of genes involved in SM production including those for phytohormome biosynthesis. Such differences have the potential to impact host specificity and, as in the case of F. proliferatum, the pathogenic versus endophytic life style