Community structure of tenebrionid beetles in the Ulan Buh Desert (Inner Mongolia, China) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Tenebrionids are a conspicuous faunal component of Central Asian deserts, but little is known about their community ecology. We investigated how tenebrionid community structure varied along a vegetational gradient in the Ulan Buh Desert (Gobi Desert). Sampling was done with pitfall traps in three sites with different vegetation cover. Species abundance distributions were fitted by the geometric series model, which expresses the "niche pre-emption" hypothesis. Community structure was investigated using different measures of diversity (number of species, Margaleff richness and Shannon-Weaner index), dominance (Simpson and Berger-Parker indexes) and evenness (Pielou's index). The observed tenebrionid species richness was similar to that known from other Gobi Desert sites. The three investigated sites have similar species-abundance patterns, but the most dominant species varied among them. This suggests that the local environment operates a filtering action on the same basic fauna, allowing different species to dominate under different conditions. Overall, the highest total abundance was observed in the true desert site, however this site had a community structure similar to that observed in the site with more vegetation. By contrast, the investigated site with intermediate conditions showed a higher diversity and evenness, and a lower dominance. Thus, intermediate conditions of plant cover favour tenebrionid diversity, whereas a dense cover or a very sparse cover increases the dominance

Uloma (Uloma) intricornicula Liu, Ren & Wang, 2007 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Ulomini): Descriptions of the larva and pupa and new distributional records

The genus Uloma Dejean, 1821 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Ulomini) comprises more than 200 species and subspecies worldwide, 37 of which are recorded from China. However, the morphology of the immature stages of Chinese Uloma have been poorly documented. Up to now, larva and pupa descriptions are available for only one species, Uloma (Uloma) metogana Ren, 2004.The larva and pupa of Uloma (Uloma) intricornicula Liu, Ren & Wang, 2007, from southern China, are described and illustrated for the first time and are compared with those of U. (U.) metogana Ren, 2004. Differences between male and female pupae of this species are highlighted. New distributional data for U. (U.) intricornicula are also provided. Finally, 13 Uloma species from China are formally assigned to the nominated subgenus

7-Piperazinethylchrysin inhibits melanoma cell proliferation by targeting Mek 1/2 kinase activity

Purpose: To investigate the growth-inhibitory effect of 7-piperazinethylchrysin (PEC) on melanoma cell lines.Methods: Cell viability was analyzed by trypan blue exclusion assays and the cell cycle by flow cytometry using ModFit LT software. Specifically, cells were stained with propidium iodide (0.5 mg/mL) supplemented with RNase A (50 mg/mL), and analyzed using flow cytometry and ModFit LT software.Results: In A375 and B16F10 cell cultures, proliferation was reduced to 79 and 72 %, respectively, on treatment with 30 μM PEC. PEC increased the proportion of A375 cells in G1/G0 phase to 71.23 %, versus 42.76 % in untreated cells. In B16F10 and A375 cells, treatment with PEC caused the inhibition of Mek 1/2 kinase activity and suppressed Erk 1/2 phosphorylation. The level of cAMP-response element binding protein was increased by PEC. The expression of microphthalmia-linked transcription factor was also increased by PEC treatment. Marked enhancement was observed in the level of tyrosinase in melanoma cells on treatment with PEC. Analysis of PBG-D expression showed a marked increase in B16F10 and A375 cells on the addition of PEC to cell cultures at 72 h. The level of PBG D expression was increased by 9- and 8.5-fold in B16F10 and A375 cells, respectively, on incubation with 30 μM PEC. The addition of a Mek 1/2 inhibitor (U0126) to the cultures promoted PEC-mediated growth inhibition.Conclusion: PEC inhibited melanoma cell proliferation, apparently by blocking the cell cycle at G0/G1 and downregulating the Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk pathway.Keywords: Tyrosinase, Kinase, Microphthalmia, Phosphorylation, 7-Piperazinethylchrysi

The Impact of Self-Relevance on Preschool Children’s Sharing

This study was designed to investigate the impact of self-relevance between preschool children and recipients on children’s sharing behavior in dictator games using a forced-choice resource distribution paradigm. Experiment 1: A total of 75 children aged 3–6 years were evaluated in a first-party situation in which they were distributed as recipients and dictators and shared resources with distracting recipients with different extents of self-relevance under three different payoff structures, including non-costly, costly, and envy structures. Children could choose between a sharing option and a non-sharing option. The results showed that, in a first-party situation, children aged 3–6 years old typically share more resources with highly self-relevant recipients (friends) than with moderately self-relevant recipients (acquaintances) and lowly self-relevant recipients (strangers) and that they share more resources with moderately self-relevant recipients (acquaintances) than lowly self-relevant recipients (strangers). Experiment 2: A total of 62 children aged 3–6 years old were evaluated in a third-party situation in which they were distributed not as recipients but only dictators, making decisions between the options of sharing more or sharing less with distracting recipients who had different extents of self-relevance under three different payoff structures, such as non-bias, high self-bias, and low self-bias. The results showed that, in a third-party situation, children typically share in a similar manner to that of Experiment 1, meaning that children display selective generosity and that the self-relevance between the children and recipients played a key role. Across age groups, this study of preschool children (total N = 137) demonstrates a degree of effect of self-relevance on preschool children’s sharing in first-party and third-party situations, with highly self-relevant recipients receiving a more preferential share in the dictator game than those with low self-relevance, although this effect was stronger in the older preschool children

Analysis of 16S rRNA genes reveals reduced Fusobacterial community diversity when translocating from saliva to GI sites

Fusobacterium nucleatum is a Gram-negative oral commensal anaerobe which has been increasingly implicated in various gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease,appendicitis, GI cancers. The oral cavity harbors a diverse group of Fusobacterium, and it ispostulated that F. nucleatum in the GI tract originate from the mouth. It is not known, however, ifall oral Fusobacterium translocate to the GI sites with equal efficiencies. Therefore, we amplified 16SrRNA genes of F. nucleatum and F. periodonticum, two closely related oral species from matchedsaliva, gastric aspirates, and colon or ileal pouch aspirates of three patients with inflammatorybowel disease (IBD) and three healthy controls, and saliva alone from seven patients with eitheractive IBD or IBD in remission. The 16S rRNA gene amplicons were cloned, and the DNA sequencesdetermined by Sanger sequencing. The results demonstrate that fusobacterial community composition differs more significantly between the oral and GI sites than between different individuals.The oral communities demonstrate the highest level of variation and have the richest pool ofunique sequences, with certain nodes/strains enriched in the GI tract and others diminished duringtranslocation. The gastric and colon/pouch communities exhibit reduced diversity and are moreclosely related, possibly due to selective pressure in the GI tract. This study elucidates selectivetranslocation of oral fusobacteria to the GI tract. Identification of specific transmissible clones willfacilitate risk assessment for developing Fusobacterium-implicated GI disorders.Fil: Richardson, Miles. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Ren, Jihui. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Rubinstein Guichon, Mara Roxana. Columbia University; Estados Unidos. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Taylor, Jamila A.. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Friedman, Richard A.. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Shen, Bo. No especifíca;Fil: Han, Yiping W.. Columbia University; Estados Unido

Analysis of 16S rRNA genes reveals reduced Fusobacterial community diversity when translocating from saliva to GI sites

Fusobacterium nucleatum is a Gram-negative oral commensal anaerobe which has been increasingly implicated in various gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease,appendicitis, GI cancers. The oral cavity harbors a diverse group of Fusobacterium, and it ispostulated that F. nucleatum in the GI tract originate from the mouth. It is not known, however, ifall oral Fusobacterium translocate to the GI sites with equal efficiencies. Therefore, we amplified 16SrRNA genes of F. nucleatum and F. periodonticum, two closely related oral species from matchedsaliva, gastric aspirates, and colon or ileal pouch aspirates of three patients with inflammatorybowel disease (IBD) and three healthy controls, and saliva alone from seven patients with eitheractive IBD or IBD in remission. The 16S rRNA gene amplicons were cloned, and the DNA sequencesdetermined by Sanger sequencing. The results demonstrate that fusobacterial community composition differs more significantly between the oral and GI sites than between different individuals.The oral communities demonstrate the highest level of variation and have the richest pool ofunique sequences, with certain nodes/strains enriched in the GI tract and others diminished duringtranslocation. The gastric and colon/pouch communities exhibit reduced diversity and are moreclosely related, possibly due to selective pressure in the GI tract. This study elucidates selectivetranslocation of oral fusobacteria to the GI tract. Identification of specific transmissible clones willfacilitate risk assessment for developing Fusobacterium-implicated GI disorders.Fil: Richardson, Miles. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Ren, Jihui. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Rubinstein Guichon, Mara Roxana. Columbia University; Estados Unidos. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Taylor, Jamila A.. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Friedman, Richard A.. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Shen, Bo. No especifíca;Fil: Han, Yiping W.. Columbia University; Estados Unido

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