The impact of the use of natural resources associated with anthropogenic activities has increased evidently, mainly through land use changes which have altered hydrophysical properties of soils. We ...hypothesized that, in the same soil type (Vertisol), four types of land use system (grassland, agricultural, Eucalyptus plantation and thornscrub) and seasonal variation can modify the soil hydrophysical properties. Results showed significant differences between land use systems and seasons for hydraulic conductivity (K), infiltration capacity (fp) and cumulative infiltration (fc). There were no seasonal differences in soil penetration resistance (SPR), bulk density (ρd) and total porosity (φP). Grassland presented higher values for ρd (1.2 g cm−3) and SPR (5.3 kg cm−2) and lower for K (0.8 × 10−5 cm s−1) and φP (53%), unlike thornscrub. Agriculture presented lower SPR (0.4 kg cm−2), while plantation showed similar values when compared to the thornscrub. Kostiakov infiltration model was fitted to land use infiltration curves, showing differences between land use and season. The values for fp oscillated between 53.6 and 548.8 mm hr−1 and fc ranged from 105.3 to 1,061 mm. The order of the infiltration values goes as follows: agriculture > plantation > thornscrub > grassland. Land use changes in Vertisols induced modification of soil physical properties affecting processes like permeability, soil compaction and water availability.
In vivo body exposure therapy is considered an effective and suitable intervention to help patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) reduce their body image disturbances (BIDs). However, these ...interventions have notable limitations and cannot effectively reproduce certain fears usually found in AN, such as the fear of gaining weight (FGW). The latest developments in virtual reality (VR) technology and embodiment-based procedures could overcome these limitations and allow AN patients to confront their FGW and BIDs. This study aimed to provide further evidence of the efficacy of an enhanced (by means of embodiment) VR-based body exposure therapy for the treatment of AN. Thirty-five AN patients (16 in the experimental group, 19 in the control group) participated in the study. FGW, BIDs, and other body-related and ED measures were assessed before and after the intervention and three months later. The experimental group received treatment as usual (TAU) and five additional sessions of VR-based body exposure therapy, while the control group received only TAU. After the intervention, ED symptoms were clearly reduced in both groups, with most of the changes being more noticeable in the experimental group. Specifically, after the intervention and at follow-up, significant group differences were found in the FGW and BIDs, with the experimental group showing significantly lower values than the control group. The current study provides new insights and encouraging findings in the field of exposure-based therapies in AN. VR technology might improve research and clinical practice in AN by providing new tools to help patients confront their core fears (i.e., food- or weight-related cues) and improve their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to their body image.
7,8‐Dihydro‐8‐deoxyguanine (8oG) is one of the most common oxidative lesions in DNA. DNA polymerases misincorporate an adenine across from this lesion. Thus, 8oG is a highly mutagenic lesion ...responsible for G:C→T:A transversions. MutY is an adenine glycosylase, part of the base excision repair pathway that removes adenines, when mispaired with 8oG or guanine. Its catalytic domain includes a 4Fe‐4S cluster motif coordinated by cysteinyl ligands. When this cluster is absent, MutY activity is depleted and several studies concluded that the 4Fe‐4S cluster motif is an indispensable component for DNA binding, substrate recognition and enzymatic activity. In the present study, we identified 46 MutY homologues that lack the canonical cysteinyl ligands, suggesting an absence of the 4Fe‐4S cluster. A phylogenetic analysis groups these novel MutYs into two different clades. One clade is exclusive of the order Lactobacillales and another clade has a mixed composition of anaerobic and microaerophilic bacteria and species from the protozoan genus Entamoeba. Structural modeling and sequence analysis suggests that the loss of the 4Fe‐4S cluster is compensated by a convergent solution in which bulky amino acids substitute the 4Fe‐4S cluster. We functionally characterized MutYs from Lactobacillus brevis and Entamoeba histolytica as representative members from each clade and found that both enzymes are active adenine glycosylases. Furthermore, chimeric glycosylases, in which the 4Fe‐4S cluster of Escherichia coli MutY is replaced by the corresponding amino acids of LbY and EhY, are also active. Our data indicates that the 4Fe‐4S cluster plays a structural role in MutYs and evidences the existence of alternative functional solutions in nature.
MutY is DNA glycosylase that removes mispaired adenine from adenine:guanine and adenine:8oG base pairs. Its catalytic domain includes a 4Fe‐4S cluster coordinated by cysteinyl ligands. Here, we identified MutY homologues that are devoid of the 4Fe‐4S cluster. These novel MutYs are grouped into two well‐defined clades. Functional studies indicate that the 4Fe‐4S cluster is dispensable in these novel MutY glycosylases.
The skeletal and dental effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) have been extensively studied, but high-quality research is still needed to determine the three-dimensional (3D) effects of RME. The ...aim of this study was to compare skeletal and dentoalveolar parameters through cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) pre- (T1) and post-treatment (T2) with respect to RME. Twenty growing patients (mean age 10.7 years) were treated with a Hyrax-type expander. A 3D CBCT was performed at T1 and T2, measuring nasal width, maxillary width, palatal height, maxillary arch perimeter, angulation of the upper first molar, and intermolar width. The mean palatal suture opening was 2.85 ± 0.62 mm (
< 0.0001). Nasal width increased 1.28 ± 0.64 mm and maxillary width 2.79 ± 1.48 mm (
< 0.0001). In contrast, palatal height was reduced 0.65 ± 0.64 mm (
< 0.0001). Regarding arch perimeter, the radicular perimeter increased 2.89 ± 1.80 mm, while the coronal perimeter increased 3.42 ± 2.09 mm (
< 0.0001). Molar angulation increased 5.62 ± 3.20° for the right molar and 4.74 ± 2.22° for the left molar (
< 0.0001). Intermolar width increased 5.21 ± 1.55 mm (
< 0.0001). Treatment with Hyrax produced a significant opening in the mean palatal suture. Also, a significant increase in nasal width, maxillary width, arch perimeter, molar angulation, and intermolar width, and a decrease in palatal height, were observed.
Abstract
Background
Ecological restoration is a process that helps the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed. The success of restoration actions depend on the ...understanding of the processes, mechanisms and factors that guide vegetation dynamics. The restoration of plant communities can be made by unassisted (passive restoration, where the community recover by itself) and assisted (active restoration) ecological succession. It is imperative to know the scope of both types of activities to guide future restoration actions by evaluating the properties and functioning of the intervened communities.
Methods
Variance analysis of the carbon (C) stocks, basal area, canopy area, Shannon–Weaver index values, specific richness and abundance of three Tamaulipan thornscrub communities (assisted natural succession area, unassisted natural succession area and control area) was performed. Furthermore, a similarity analysis between the sampling areas using the floristic composition (abundance) was performed.
Results
In total, 11 families, 17 genera and 20 species of vascular plants were registered. The richness of species and abundance ranked as follows per area: assisted ecological natural succession > control > unassisted ecological natural succession. The species composition between sampling areas showed a low number of common species between plant communities.
Conclusions
The values of species richness, diversity, abundance, basal area, and canopy area of the assisted natural succession vegetal community was statistical similar to the control plan community. The values of C stocks showed that assisted ecological succession could recover not only structure and composition attributes but also this key ecosystem property.
Abstract
Mutations in the
GBA
gene that encodes the lysosomal enzyme β-glucocerebrosidase (GCase) are a major genetic risk factor for Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this study, we generated a set of ...differentiated and stable human dopaminergic cell lines that express the two most prevalent
GBA
mutations as well as
GBA
knockout cell lines as a in vitro disease modeling system to study the relationship between mutant
GBA
and the abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein. We performed a deep analysis of the consequences triggered by the presence of mutant GBA protein and the loss of GCase activity in different cellular compartments, focusing primarily on the lysosomal compartment, and analyzed in detail the lysosomal activity, composition, and integrity. The loss of GCase activity generates extensive lysosomal dysfunction, promoting the loss of activity of other lysosomal enzymes, affecting lysosomal membrane stability, promoting intralysosomal pH changes, and favoring the intralysosomal accumulation of sphingolipids and cholesterol. These local events, occurring only at a subcellular level, lead to an impairment of autophagy pathways, particularly chaperone-mediated autophagy, the main α-synuclein degradative pathway. The findings of this study highlighted the role of lysosomal function and lipid metabolism in PD and allowed us to describe a molecular mechanism to understand how mutations in
GBA
can contribute to an abnormal accumulation of different α-synuclein neurotoxic species in PD pathology.
Background: The Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve is located which is considered an “island of vegetation” within an arid environment. Considering that this protected natural area has an altitudinal ...gradient that ranges from 500 to 2,100 meters above sea level.Hypothesis: Higher altitudinal gradient decreases abundance, basal area and diversity of plant species.Studied species and data description: The data analyzed in this study included the structural variables of abundance (N ha-1), basal area (m2 ha-1) and diversity (alfa and beta) of arborous species in areas with different elevations.Study site and dates: This study was carried out in four localities of the tropical deciduous forest and broadleaved forest. In the spring of 2016.Methods: Five circular sampling plots of 500 m2 for arborous vegetation and 1m2 for herbaceous vegetation were established in every vegetation community, resulting in 20 sampling plots. Results: Sixteen families, 22 genera and 22 vascular plant species were recorded. The most diverse family was Fabacea with four species followed by Cactaceae with three species. The abundance, dominance and diversity of vegetation species did not show any decrease (or increase) tendency of values as the altitudinal gradient augmented.Conclusions: The hypothesis is rejected because abundance, dominance and diversity of vegetation species do not show any decrease or increase tendency as the altitudinal gradient augmented. The vegetation communities showed a high similarity in the composition of species.
Vegetation structure is defined as the temporal and spatial distribution of plant species in a particular site. Vegetation structure includes vertical and horizontal distribution and has been widely ...used as an indicator of successional changes. Ecological succession plays an essential role in the determination of the mechanisms that structure plant communities under anthropogenic disturbances. After an anthropogenic disturbance, such as grazing, forests follow changes in the original composition and vegetation structure, which eventually could restore some of their attributes to become mature forests again. To know how the time of abandonment affects woody plant communities, we ask the following questions: (1) How does the species richness, diversity, and vertical structure (A index) change concerning the time of abandonment? (2) Are species similarities among woody vegetation communities determined by land abandonment? (3) Which woody species have the highest ecological importance in each successional stage?
We explored how successional stages after land abandonment mediated the species richness, species diversity (alpha and beta), and ecological importance value index on four areas of Tamaulipan thornscrub. We selected four areas that differed in time of abandonment: 10, 20, 30, and >30 years. The first three areas were used for cattle grazing, whereas the >30-year area was selected as a control since it does not have a record of disturbance by cattle grazing or agriculture. During the summer of 2012, we randomly established four square plots (40 m × 40 m) in each area, separated at least 200 m from each other. In each plot, we recorded all woody individuals per species with a basal diameter ≥1 cm at 10 cm above ground level. We estimated species richness indices, species diversity (alpha and beta), and ecological importance value index.
We recorded 27 woody species belonging to 23 genera and 15 families. Fabaceae accounted for 40% of the species.
was the most important and abundant species in the first three successional stages. We suggested that older successional stages of Tamaulipan thornscrub promote woody plant communities, characterized by a higher complex structure than younger communities. We observed the highest species similarity between the sites with a closer time of abandonment, while the lowest similarity was shown between the sites with extreme time of abandonment. We conclude that Tamaulipan thornscrub shows a similar trend of ecological succession to other dry forests and the time of abandonment has a high mediation on plant dynamics in the Tamaulipan thornscrub. Also, we stand out the importance of secondary forests for Tamaulipan thornscrub woody plant communities. Finally, we recommended future studies include aspects of regeneration speed, the proximity of mature vegetation, and the interactions of plants with their seed dispersers.
Experts typically define vitamin D deficiency levels by the determination of a circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D
-calcifediol prohormone. A large part of the population is characterized by deficient ...vitamin D levels (calcifediol < 20 ng mL
) despite individuals not being affected by any disorder. Cholecalciferol (vitamin D
) and/or calcifediol supplementation is a common practice for vitamin D-deficient individuals as recommended by international scientific societies and official agencies. In the last few years, several studies have reported the presence of conjugated vitamin D
metabolites, mainly glucuronidation and sulfation derivatives, although simultaneous quantitative measurements involving phase I and II vitamin D metabolites have not been carried out. A quantitative method based on tandem mass spectrometry detection is proposed here for the combined determination of phase I and phase II vitamin D
metabolites in human serum. As phase I and phase II metabolites are preferentially ionized in different modes, a switching polarity mode was adopted to determine both groups of compounds in serum at high sensitivity levels (pg mL
). The validation of this proposal was successfully accomplished by following the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) guidelines. Its applicability was tested in a cohort of volunteers with mostly deficient baseline levels. Considering the sulfated form of calcifediol, the sum of its concentrations showed sufficient baseline vitamin D levels in all individuals, suggesting that this could be a novel strategy for vitamin D deficiency definition. Therefore, phase II metabolites are proposed to be included when evaluating the vitamin D status since they provide more information about the overall status of the vitamin D endocrine system. Nevertheless, further studies are required to confirm the biological activity of these conjugated metabolites and the suitability of this strategy for the description of vitamin D deficiency.
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