Franciscanas are the most endangered dolphins in the Southwestern Atlantic. Due to their coastal and estuarine habits, franciscanas suffer from extensive fisheries bycatch, as well as from habitat ...loss and degradation. Four Franciscana Management Areas (FMA), proposed based on biology, demography, morphology and genetic data, were incorporated into management planning and in the delineation of research efforts. We re-evaluated that proposal through the analysis of control region sequences from franciscanas throughout their distribution range (N = 162), including novel sequences from the northern limit of the species and two other previously unsampled localities in Brazil. A deep evolutionary break was observed between franciscanas from the northern and southern portions of the species distribution, indicating that they must be managed as two Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESU). Furthermore, additional FMAs should be recognised to accommodate the genetic differentiation found in each ESU. These results have immediate consequences for the conservation and management of this endangered species.
Highlights • Neurotransmitter receptor density changes in Parkin and DJ-1 knockout mice. • Up-regulation of GABAB and kainate receptor densities in both animal models. • Increased NMDA as well as ...decreased AMPA receptor densities in Parkin knockout mice. • Possible role of altered glutamatergic neurotransmission in PD is highlighted.
The intracellular gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis causes the disease tularemia and is known for its ability to subvert host immune responses. Previous work from our laboratory ...identified the PI3K/Akt pathway and SHIP as critical modulators of host resistance to Francisella. Here, we show that SHIP expression is strongly down-regulated in monocytes and macrophages following infection with F. tularensis novicida (F.n.). To account for this negative regulation we explored the possibility that microRNAs (miRs) that target SHIP may be induced during infection. There is one miR that is predicted to target SHIP, miR-155. We tested for induction and found that F.n. induced miR-155 both in primary monocytes/macrophages and in vivo. Using luciferase reporter assays we confirmed that miR-155 led to down-regulation of SHIP, showing that it specifically targets the SHIP 3'UTR. Further experiments showed that miR-155 and BIC, the gene that encodes miR-155, were induced as early as four hours post-infection in primary human monocytes. This expression was dependent on TLR2/MyD88 and did not require inflammasome activation. Importantly, miR-155 positively regulated pro-inflammatory cytokine release in human monocytes infected with Francisella. In sharp contrast, we found that the highly virulent type A SCHU S4 strain of Francisella tularensis (F.t.) led to a significantly lower miR-155 response than the less virulent F.n. Hence, F.n. induces miR-155 expression and leads to down-regulation of SHIP, resulting in enhanced pro-inflammatory responses. However, impaired miR-155 induction by SCHU S4 may help explain the lack of both SHIP down-regulation and pro-inflammatory response and may account for the virulence of Type A Francisella.
Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) causes illness and death in cetaceans worldwide; the CeMV strains circulating in the Southern Hemisphere are poorly known. We detected a pilot whale CeMV strain in 3 ...short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) stranded in Brazil during July-October 2020. Our results confirm this virus circulates in this species.
On the basis of a voluntary registry of the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (GSTCVS), data of all cardiac surgical procedures performed in 79 German cardiac surgical units ...during the year 2013 are presented. In 2013, a total of 99,128 cardiac surgical procedures (implantable cardioverter defibrillator ICD and pacemaker procedures excluded) were submitted to the registry. More than 13.8% of the patients were older than 80 years, which remains equal in comparison to the previous year. In-hospital mortality in 40,410 isolated coronary artery bypass grafting procedures (84.5% on-pump and 15.5% off-pump) was 2.9%. In 29,672 isolated valve procedures (including 7,722 catheter-based procedures), an in-hospital mortality of 4.7% was observed. This long-lasting registry of the GSTCVS will continue to be an important tool for quality control and voluntary public reporting by illustrating current facts and developments of cardiac surgery in Germany.
Francisella tularensis is a gram-negative facultative bacterium that causes the disease tularemia, even upon exposure to low numbers of bacteria. One critical characteristic of Francisella is its ...ability to dampen or subvert the host immune response. In order to help understand the mechanisms by which this occurs, we performed Affymetrix microarray analysis on transcripts from blood monocytes infected with the virulent Type A Schu S4 strain. Results showed that expression of several host response genes were reduced such as those associated with interferon signaling, Toll-like receptor signaling, autophagy and phagocytosis. When compared to microarrays from monocytes infected with the less virulent F. tularensis subsp. novicida, we found qualitative differences and also a general pattern of quantitatively reduced pro-inflammatory signaling pathway genes in the Schu S4 strain. Notably, the PI3K/Akt1 pathway appeared specifically down-regulated following Schu S4 infection and a concomitantly lower cytokine response was observed. This study identifies several new factors potentially important in host cell subversion by the virulent Type A F. tularensis that may serve as novel targets for drug discovery.
We investigate the effect of dynamic boundary conditions on solute transport in unsaturated, heterogeneous, bimodal porous media. Solute transport is studied with two-dimensional numerical flow and ...transport models for scenarios where either (i) solely infiltration or (ii) more realistic dynamic (infiltration-evaporation) boundary conditions are imposed at the soil surface. Travel times of solute are affected by duration and intensity of infiltration and evaporation events even when cycle-averaged inflow rates of the scenarios are identical. Three main transport mechanisms could be identified based on a criterion for the infiltration rate that is related to the hydraulic conductivity curves of the media. If, based on this criterion, infiltration rates are low, the transport paths for upward and downward transport do not differ significantly, and the breakthrough curves of solute are similar to the one obtained under stationary infiltration. If infiltration rates are moderate, travel paths deviate between upward and downward flow, leading to a trapping of solute and strong tailing of the breakthrough curves. If infiltration and evaporation rates are very high, lateral advective-diffusive transport can lead to very efficient and fast downward transport. Thus, solute breakthrough depends strongly on lateral flow paths enforced by the boundary conditions at the soil surface. If heterogeneity of the materials is not strong and the structure is tortuous, dynamic boundary conditions mainly lead to increased macrodispersion. We test simplified upscaled transport models based on stationary flow rates to estimate breakthrough curves and demonstrate how the transport mechanisms are captured in the model parameters.
The continuing power of racist ideology threatens liberal democracy, for racism is more than a personal bias or a social construction. It is an ideological framework that reduces human beings to an ...existence along a color-coded spectrum, with people designated as "white" at the top of the hierarchy and people designated as "black" at the bottom. One has to see this ideology clearly in order to choose a proper response and then act accordingly. First, the reality of "race" has been exposed as unscientific and illusory, and as based not on biology or genetics, but on a legacy of empowerment for some and enslavement for others. Second, this racist ideology, part of our disenchanted, secular age, is exposed as a continuing form of enchantment in its manner of seeing the world, opening the possibility for a spiritual response. Third, dismantling this racist ideology requires a reimagining of "blackness" as a source of life and spirituality, as a way of countering and rewriting the dominant racist narrative. Fourth, a postsecular spiritualty, based on the work of Pope Francis-that emphasizes the importance of protecting our common human dignity, of caring for each other, and of "walking together"-can be engaged as a path for action in the battle against racism.
PDF
