Search

Strontium isotope ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving 87 Sr/ 86 Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression. We demonstrate the efficacy of this Sr isoscape, in combination with other lines of evidence, to trace the African roots of individuals from historic slavery contexts, particularly those with highly radiogenic 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios uncommon in the African Diaspora. Our study provides an extensive African 87 Sr/ 86 Sr dataset which includes scientifically marginalized regions of Africa, with significant implications for the archaeology of the transatlantic slave trade, wildlife ecology, conservation, and forensics., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In ecosystems, sharks can be predators, competitors, facilitators, nutrient transporters, and food. However, overfishing and other threats have greatly reduced shark populations, altering their roles and effects on ecosystems. We review these changes and implications for ecosystem function and management. Macropredatory sharks are often disproportionately affected by humans but can influence prey and coastal ecosystems, including facilitating carbon sequestration. Like terrestrial predators, sharks may be crucial to ecosystem functioning under climate change. However, large ecosystem effects of sharks are not ubiquitous. Increasing human uses of oceans are changing shark roles, necessitating management consideration. Rebuilding key populations and incorporating shark ecological roles, including less obvious ones, into management efforts are critical for retaining sharks' functional value. Coupled social-ecological frameworks can facilitate these efforts.

Background:  As has been proven by numerous studies, people with gender identity disorders have a reduced quality of life. Considerable psychological strain leads to depressive and anxiety disorders and increased suicidal tendencies compared with the normal population. In addition, social limitations reduce the quality of life. More and more transsexual people use the possibility of undergoing gender reassignment surgery. However, this surgery means a radical change in a patient's life. This work aims to analyse whether surgical interventions help to improve the quality of and satisfaction with life of transmen and transwomen in a long-lasting way., Methods:  A systematic literature search was conducted using the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases. Our analysis only included original retrospective or prospective studies concerning the quality of life after gender reassignment surgery., Results:  Twenty-seven studies were included. Quality of life was analysed retrospectively in 20 studies and prospectively in 7 studies. Four publications studied only transmen, 11 studied only transwomen, and 12 studied both. The totality of all studies examined 1849 transwomen and 869 transmen. Changes in quality of life were measured by different validated questionnaires. A significant improvement in quality of life was shown in the subareas mental, physical and social health. It was proven that patients were more satisfied with their own bodies and genders and had a higher quality of life in general.Even after gender reassignment surgery, the rates of mental disorders and mortality remained increased. Compared with the normal population, the quality of life of transsexual people was reduced., Conclusion:  Numerous studies have proven that gender reassignment surgery helps to reduce the level of suffering in transmen and transwomen. Satisfaction with life, mental and physical health as well as social life improve after surgical treatment combined with endocrinologic and psychological treatment. However, compared with the normal population, the quality of life of transsexual people lags behind., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Large brains and behavioural innovation are positively correlated, species-specific traits, associated with the behavioural flexibility animals need for adapting to seasonal and unpredictable habitats. Similar ecological challenges would have been important drivers throughout human evolution. However, studies examining the influence of environmental variability on within-species behavioural diversity are lacking despite the critical assumption that population diversification precedes genetic divergence and speciation. Here, using a dataset of 144 wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) communities, we show that chimpanzees exhibit greater behavioural diversity in environments with more variability - in both recent and historical timescales. Notably, distance from Pleistocene forest refugia is associated with the presence of a larger number of behavioural traits, including both tool and non-tool use behaviours. Since more than half of the behaviours investigated are also likely to be cultural, we suggest that environmental variability was a critical evolutionary force promoting the behavioural, as well as cultural diversification of great apes.

Background: In our previous retrospective study, we detected an increased quality of life after aesthetic abdominoplasty. In this survey, we analyzed quality of life, self-esteem, emotional stability, and mental health before and after aesthetic abdominoplasty prospectively., Methods: Twenty-two female patients were surveyed before and six months after their surgeries. The testing instrument consisted of a self-developed indication-specific questionnaire and four standardized tests (Questions on Life Satisfaction plus a specified part body image, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Freiburg Personality Inventory, and Patient Health Questionnaire-4)., Results: Significantly increased values were found concerning feeling comfortable in swimwear in front of the mirror or the sexual partner and at social or professional activities (each p=0.000). Women had less problems doing sports (p=0.029) and felt more feminine (p=0.012). Sum scores of general life satisfaction (p=0.016) and scores of the items leisure activity (p=0.003), relaxing abilities (p=0.002), and sexuality (p=0.046) showed significant improvements. The body image improved in general (p=0.010) and in particular in the items abdomen, hips, and waist (each p=0.000). Emotional stability increased significantly (p=0.029). We detected a mild mental depression in 27% and a moderate depression in 32% of our patients before surgery. Depressive disorders were significantly reduced (p=0.004) down to mild depression in 18% and moderate depression in 9% of the patients., Conclusion: Positive results for quality of life shown in the retrospective study were confirmed. Abdominoplasty improves general life satisfaction and satisfaction with health and outer appearance and increases emotional stability. Depressive patients showed a significant improvement after aesthetic abdominoplasty., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chimpanzees possess a large number of behavioral and cultural traits among nonhuman species. The "disturbance hypothesis" predicts that human impact depletes resources and disrupts social learning processes necessary for behavioral and cultural transmission. We used a dataset of 144 chimpanzee communities, with information on 31 behaviors, to show that chimpanzees inhabiting areas with high human impact have a mean probability of occurrence reduced by 88%, across all behaviors, compared to low-impact areas. This behavioral diversity loss was evident irrespective of the grouping or categorization of behaviors. Therefore, human impact may not only be associated with the loss of populations and genetic diversity, but also affects how animals behave. Our results support the view that "culturally significant units" should be integrated into wildlife conservation., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)

Carrion scavenging is a well-studied phenomenon, but virtually nothing is known about scavenging on plant material, especially on remnants of cracked nuts. Just like meat, the insides of hard-shelled nuts are high in energetic value, and both foods are difficult to acquire. In the Taï forest, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and red river hogs (Potamochoerus porcus) crack nuts by using tools or strong jaws, respectively. In this study, previously collected non-invasive camera trap data were used to investigate scavenging by sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys), two species of Guinea fowl (Agelestres meleagrides; Guttera verreauxi), and squirrels (Scrunidae spp.) on the nut remnants cracked by chimpanzees and red river hogs. We investigated how scavengers located nut remnants, by analyzing their visiting behavior in relation to known nut-cracking events. Furthermore, since mangabeys are infrequently preyed upon by chimpanzees, we investigated whether they perceive an increase in predation risk when approaching nut remnants. In total, 190 nut-cracking events were observed in four different areas of Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. We could confirm that mangabeys scavenged on the nuts cracked by chimpanzees and hogs and that this enabled them to access food source that would not be accessible otherwise. We furthermore found that mangabeys, but not the other species, were more likely to visit nut-cracking sites after nut-cracking activities than before, and discuss the potential strategies that the monkeys could have used to locate nut remnants. In addition, mangabeys showed elevated levels of vigilance at the chimpanzee nut-cracking sites compared with other foraging sites, suggesting that they perceived elevated danger at these sites. Scavenging on remnants of cracked nuts is a hitherto understudied type of foraging behavior that could be widespread in nature and increases the complexity of community ecology in tropical rainforests., (© 2018 The Authors. American Journal of Primatology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objective: To evaluate the pain of patients in the immediate postoperative period during admission, an hour after admission, and at discharge of the post-anesthesia care unit in terms of intensity, and sensory and affective aspects., Methods: Analytical, cross-sectional study with 336 patients. Data were collected using a sociodemographic and clinical form, the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, and the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire. Data collection occurred from September to October 2015 at the post-anesthesia care unit of a general hospital in the north-west of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The significance level of the descriptive and statistical analyses was set at p<0.05., Results: According to the data, 57.3% of the patients did not report pain and 47% felt pain from admission to discharge. Patients submitted to cancer and trauma surgeries reported more pain (p<0.01). At admission and maintenance, there was a prevalence of moderate and intense pain, and at discharge, a predominance of mild and moderate pain., Conclusions: The results showed a high percentage of patients with pain in the immediate postoperative period from admission to discharge. These findings can encourage researchers and health workers to conduct further investigations with the larger number of patients to allow for inferences.

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D. erecta, D. mojavensis, and D. grimshawi F elements and euchromatic domains from the Muller D element. We find that F elements have greater transposon density (25-50%) than euchromatic reference regions (3-11%). Among the F elements, D. grimshawi has the lowest transposon density (particularly DINE-1: 2% vs. 11-27%). F element genes have larger coding spans, more coding exons, larger introns, and lower codon bias. Comparison of the Effective Number of Codons with the Codon Adaptation Index shows that, in contrast to the other species, codon bias in D. grimshawi F element genes can be attributed primarily to selection instead of mutational biases, suggesting that density and types of transposons affect the degree of local heterochromatin formation. F element genes have lower estimated DNA melting temperatures than D element genes, potentially facilitating transcription through heterochromatin. Most F element genes (~90%) have remained on that element, but the F element has smaller syntenic blocks than genome averages (3.4-3.6 vs. 8.4-8.8 genes per block), indicating greater rates of inversion despite lower rates of recombination. Overall, the F element has maintained characteristics that are distinct from other autosomes in the Drosophila lineage, illuminating the constraints imposed by a heterochromatic milieu., (Copyright © 2015 Leung et al.)

Mammalian (Clade 3) catalases utilize NADPH as a protective cofactor to prevent one-electron reduction of the central reactive intermediate Compound I (Cpd I) to the catalytically inactive Compound II (Cpd II) species by re-reduction of Cpd I to the enzyme's resting state (ferricatalase). It has long been known that ascorbate/ascorbic acid is capable of reducing Cpd I of NADPH-binding catalases to Cpd II, but the mode of this one-electron reduction had hitherto not been explored. We here demonstrate that ascorbate-mediated reduction of Cpd I, generated by addition of peroxoacetic acid to NADPH-free bovine liver catalase (BLC), requires specific binding of the ascorbate anion to the NADPH binding pocket. Ascorbate-mediated Cpd II formation was found to be suppressed by added NADPH in a concentration-dependent manner, for the achievement of complete suppression at a stoichiometric 1:1 NADPH:heme concentration ratio. Cpd I → Cpd II reduction by ascorbate was similarly inhibited by addition of NADH, NADP(+), thio-NADP(+), or NAD(+), though with 0.5-, 0.1-, 0.1-, and 0.01-fold reduced efficiencies, respectively, in agreement with the relative binding affinities of these dinucleotides. Unexpected was the observation that although Cpd II formation is not observed in the presence of NADP(+), the decay of Cpd I is slightly accelerated by ascorbate rather than retarded, leading to direct regeneration of ferricatalase. The experimental findings are supported by molecular mechanics docking computations, which show a similar binding of NADPH, NADP(+), and NADH, but not NAD(+), as found in the X-ray structure of NADPH-loaded human erythrocyte catalase. The computations suggest that two ascorbate molecules may occupy the empty NADPH pocket, preferably binding to the adenine binding site. The biological relevance of these findings is discussed.

Putrescine N-methyltransferase (PMT) is a key enzyme of plant secondary metabolism at the start of the specific biosynthesis of nicotine, of tropane alkaloids, and of calystegines that are glycosidase inhibitors with nortropane structure. PMT is assumed to have developed from spermidine synthases (SPDS) participating in ubiquitous polyamine metabolism. In this study decisive differences between both enzyme families are elucidated. PMT sequences were known from four Solanaceae genera only, therefore additional eight PMT cDNA sequences were cloned from five Solanaceae and a Convolvulaceae. The encoded polypeptides displayed between 76% and 97% identity and typical amino acids different from plant spermidine synthase protein sequences. Heterologous expression of all enzymes proved catalytic activity exclusively as PMT and K (cat) values between 0.16 s(-1) and 0.39 s(-1). The active site of PMT was initially inferred from a protein structure of spermidine synthase obtained by protein crystallisation. Those amino acids of the active site that were continuously different between PMTs and SPDS were mutated in one of the PMT sequences with the idea of changing PMT activity into spermidine synthase. Mutagenesis of active site residues unexpectedly resulted in a complete loss of catalytic activity. A protein model of PMT was based on the crystal structure of SPDS and suggests that overall protein folds are comparable. The respective cosubstrates S-adenosylmethionine and decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine, however, appear to bind differentially to the active sites of both enzymes, and the substrate putrescine adopts a different position.

Nicotine or nornicotine enriched with stable isotopes in either the N'-methyl group or the pyrrolidine-N were fed to Nicotiana plumbaginifolia suspension cell cultures that do not form endogenous nicotine. The metabolism of these compounds was investigated by analysing the incorporation of isotope into other alkaloids using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Nicotine metabolism primarily resulted in the accumulation of nornicotine, the N'-demethylation product. In addition, six minor metabolites appeared during the course of nicotine metabolism, four of which were identified as cotinine, myosmine, N'-formylnornicotine and N'-carboethoxynornicotine. While cotinine was formed from [(13)C,(2)H(3)-methyl]nicotine without dilution of label, N'-formylnornicotine was labelled at only about 6% of the level of nicotine and N'-carboethoxynornicotine was unlabelled. Feeding with [1'-(15)N]nornicotine resulted in incorporation without dilution of label into both N'-formylnornicotine and N'-carboethoxynornicotine. This pattern strongly indicates that, while nornicotine and cotinine are derived directly from nicotine, N'-formylnornicotine and N'-carboethoxynornicotine are metabolites of nornicotine. Thus, it is directly demonstrated that N'-formylnornicotine is not an intermediate in nicotine demethylation.