Immunocytochemical localization of the Bacillus sphaericus binary toxin components in Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae midgut

This study describes the immunocytochemical localization of the Bacillus sphaericus 2362 binary toxin components, BinA and BinB, in Culex quinquefasciatus larvae that had been intoxicated with this entomopathogen. Ultrathin sections of C. quinquefasciatus larvae midgut embedded in the hydrophilic resin L.R. White were incubated with the antibodies anti-BinA or anti-BinB and then revealed with goat anti-rabbit IgG coupled to gold particles. Immunocytochemical detection demonstrated the presence of specific labeling in ultra-thin sections that had been incubated with the BinA antiserum. Gold particles were detected on the apical areas of cell membranes and inside the epithelial cell cytoplasm, particularly the mitochondria, of cells from the gastric caeca and posterior stomach in larvae exposed during 2 or 24 h to the entomopathogen. A similar labeling pattern was observed in ultrathin sections from both midgut regions when incubated with BinB antiserum.     

Associations of fish with various types of littoral habitats in reservoirs

Fish associations with different types of littoral habitats were studied in four canyon‐shaped reservoirs in the Czech Republic in years 2010 and 2011 by gillnets. Two to three habitats per reservoir–beaches (former meadows), stump fields (former forest) and rubble slopes–were defined and sampled along the longitudinal axis of reservoirs. Effects of reservoir, habitat and locality (position along longitudinal axis) on fish biomass, abundance and species structure were tested for juvenile and adult fish separately. Hierarchical analysis of variance revealed that habitats differed significantly in fish biomass and abundance. Redundancy analysis showed that analysed environmental variables had significant influence on fish community structure. Most variability in community structure was explained by reservoir and then by combination of habitat and slope steepness. Locality position had the smallest influence on community structure. For both adult and juvenile fish total abundance and biomass, the most inhabited habitat was beaches; rubble slopes were the least inhabited. Habitat associations differed among species. Among adults, bream Abramis brama, white bream Blicca bjoerkna and roach Rutilus rutilus were associated with beaches and stump fields, whereas perch Perca fluviatilis, ruffe Gymnocephalus cernuus, asp Aspius aspius and pike Esox lucius were associated with rubble slopes. Bream, white bream, bleak Alburnus alburnus, roach, ruffe and pikeperch Sander lucioperca were associated with beaches among juveniles, whereas the only juvenile associated with rubble slopes was perch. We showed that most common species are associated with distinct habitats and also that utilisation of various littoral habitats differs in general.     

Effect of dietary Schizochytrium microalga oil on selected markers of low‐grade inflammation in rats

The objective of the present study was to evaluate a potential of Schizochytrium microalga oil to alleviate possible negative effects of high‐fat‐high‐energy diets. Forty adult male rats (Wistar Albino) were fed 7 weeks the diet containing beef tallow + evaporated sweetened milk (diet T) intended to cause mild obesity and low‐grade systemic inflammation. Consequently, the animals were divided into four groups by 10 animals each and fed either the T‐diet (control) or the diet containing 6% of safflower oil (S), 6% of fish oil (F) and 6% of Schizochytrium microalga oil (A), respectively, for another 7 weeks. The A‐diet decreased (p < 0.05) live weight to 86% and glycaemia to 85% of control, respectively; an effect of the S‐ and F‐diet on these markers was insignificant (p > 0.05). In comparison with control, higher (p < 0.05) deposition of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the epididymal adipose tissue (EAT) of the A‐rats correlated with increased (p < 0.05) plasma adiponectin concentration, but it was without the effect (p > 0.05) on cellular adiponectin content in the EAT. Higher (p < 0.05) EPA+DHA deposition in the liver of the A‐rats correlated with higher expression (149% of control; p < 0.05) of the gene coding for peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma, and with lower expression (82% and 66%; p < 0.05) of the genes coding for adiponectin receptors AdipoR1 and AdipoR2; no relationship to the expression of receptor GPR120 was found. The A‐diet did not affect amount of the nuclear fraction of the nuclear factor kappa B in the liver, but increased plasma level of anti‐inflammatory cytokine TGF‐β1 (p < 0.05). The presented data agree with results of other in vivo rodent and human studies, but not with literature data regarding in vitro experiments: it can be concluded that the effects of dietary oils on inflammatory markers need further investigation.     

Adoption and Impact of Modern Rice Varieties on Poverty in Eastern India

The factors affecting the adoption of modern varieties(MVs) of rice and impact on poverty in Odisha, India were discussed. A total of 363 households from Cuttack and Sambalpur districts of Odisha via multistage sampling technique participated in the survey. The Cragg's Double hurdle model was used to model the determinants of adoption and intensity of adoption of MVs of rice, and the propensity score matching was used to analyze the impact of adoption on poverty. The results showed that age, education, risk aversion, land size, yield, perception of MVs as high yielding, resistant to diseases and availability of MVs positively influenced the decision to adopt. However, variables such as household size, experience of a farmer, off-farm job participation, amount of credit received, cost of seeds, insecticides and fertilizers negatively influenced the adoption of MVs. Intensity of adoption of MVs was negatively influenced by experience of a farmer, cost of fertilizer and marketability of MVs, and positively affected by household size, risk aversion, land size, cost of insecticides, perception of MVs as high yielding and availability of MV seeds. Poverty incidence, gap and severity were high among non-adopters to adopters of MVs. After matching adopters and non-adopters of MV groups using four different algorithms of nearest neighbour matching, stratification matching, radius matching and kernel matching, the impact of MV adoption resulted in higher per capita monthly household expenditure by about US$ 52.82 to US$ 63.17.     

Effects of intensive fishing on the perch population in a large oligotrophic lake in eastern Finland

The perch population in Lake Höytiäinen was intensively fished to reduce the density of the population and hence also the predation pressure by perch on vendace larvae. A hypothesis suggests that this predation can prevent recovery of commercially important vendace stock from a state of low-density. In the 1990s the density of the perch population in Lake Höytiäinen has increased, while the vendace stock has been sparse. Intensive fishing was conducted by professional fishermen with a paired bottom trawl, seine net, hoop net and small fish traps and by recreational fishermen with small fish traps. The size of perch population during the intensive fishing period was studied by test fishing with multi-mesh gillnets and the Leslie method in which trawl YPUE was regressed on the cumulative yield. The results suggest that the population size clearly diminished in the area where the fishing pressure was strongest. YPUE of test fishing decreased ca. 30% whereas the Leslie method gave almost a decrease twice as large as that of the former. Mean weight of perch increased in the trawl and test fishing catches during the intensive fishing period. The most effective fishing gear was trawl (62% of the total yield), but importance of trap net fishing by recreational fishermen was also high as they caught 22% of the total yield.     

CD46 in meningococcal disease

The human-specific bacterial pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of sepsis and/or meningitis. The pili of N. meningitidis interact with CD46, a human cell-surface protein involved in regulation of complement activation. Transgenic mice expressing human CD46 were susceptible to meningococcal disease, because bacteria crossed the blood-brain barrier in these mice. Development of disease was more efficient with piliated bacteria after intranasal, but not intraperitoneal, challenge of CD46 transgenic mice, suggesting that human CD46 facilitates pilus-dependent interactions at the epithelial mucosa. Hence, the human CD46 transgenic mice model is a potentially useful tool for studying pathogenesis and for vaccine development against meningococcal disease.     

Spatial relationship between biodiversity and geodiversity across a gradient of land-use intensity in high-latitude landscapes

Context

‘Conserving Nature’s stage’ has been advanced as an important conservation principle because of known links between biodiversity and abiotic environmental diversity, especially in sensitive high-latitude environments and at the landscape scale. However these links have not been examined across gradients of human impact on the landscape.

Objectives

To (1) analyze the relationships between land-use intensity and both landscape-scale biodiversity and geodiversity, and (2) assess the contributions of geodiversity, climate and spatial variables to explaining vascular plant species richness in landscapes of low, moderate and high human impact.

Methods

We used generalized additive models (GAMs) to analyze relationships between land-use intensity and both geodiversity (geological, geomorphological and hydrological richness) and plant species richness in 6191 1-km² grid squares across Finland. We used linear regression-based variation partitioning (VP) to assess contributions of climate, geodiversity and spatial variable groups to accounting for spatial variation in species richness.

Results

In GAMs, geodiversity correlated negatively, and plant species richness positively, with land-use intensity. Both relationships were non-linear. In VP, geodiversity best accounted for species richness in areas of moderate to high human impact. These overall contributions were mainly due to variation explained jointly with climate, which dominated the models. Independent geodiversity contributions were highest in pristine environments, but low throughout.

Conclusions

Human action increases biodiversity but may reduce geodiversity, at landscape scale in high-latitude environments. Better understanding of the connections between biodiversity and abiotic environment along changing land-use gradients is essential in developing sustainable measures to conserve biodiversity under global change.