Gelsolin role in microapocrine secretion

A role of gelsolin in opening the way along the microvilli for secretory vesicles during microapocrine secretion is proposed here. Data obtained with different techniques showed that many digestive enzymes are released by microapocrine secretion in insects. Proteins that might be involved in the machinery of microapocrine secretion were selected from our transcriptomes and literature searches. The proteins were annexin, Complex actin-related proteins 2 and 3 (ARP 2/3) cofilin, fimbrin, gelsolin 1, gelsolin 2, moesin, myosin 1, myosin 6, protein disulphide isomerase 1 (PDI 1), PDI 2 and profilin. The cDNAs coding for annexin, fimbrin, gelsolin 1, myosin 1, PDI 1 and PDI 2 were cloned and their sequences deposited in GenBank. Only gelsolin 1 and myosin 1 are expressed exclusively in the midgut (semiquantitative reverse transcriptase PCR). As myosin 1 may have a structural role in microvilli, gelsolin 1 is the best guess to be involved in the secretory machinery. A truncated recombinant gelsolin 1 was used to generate antibodies with which it was shown labelling inside and around midgut cell microvilli shown in an electron microscope, reinforcing a microvillar role for gelsolin 1. Suppression of gelsolin 1 synthesis by RNA interference prevents secretory vesicles from advancing inside the microvilli, in agreement with its putative role in severing the actin filaments to free the way for the vesicles.

The Impact of Early Affiliative Memories on Psychological Health: The Mediator Role of External Shame and Cognitive Fusion

Early positive interactions have been positively associated with positive mental health outcomes. In contrast, the lack of these early affiliative experiences of warmth and safeness can have negative consequences on the individual's physical, emotional and social development.

The current study tests a mediation model that examines the mediator effect of external shame and cognitive fusion on the association between early affiliative memories with attachment figures and with peers, and psychological quality of life. These analyses were conducted using a sample of 453 participants from the community.

The final model explained 47% of psychological quality of life and presented excellent model fit indices. Results from path analysis showed that both early affiliative memories of warmth and safeness with peers and attachment figures present a significant impact on psychological quality of life through the indirect effect of external shame and cognitive fusion. In fact, although early affiliative memories with peers also presented a direct effect on psychological quality of life, the impact of early affiliative memories with attachment figures on this outcome was totally mediated through the mechanisms of external shame and cognitive fusion.

These findings seem to provide an important contribution to the field of early affiliative memories of warmth and safeness with attachment figures and with peers by uncovering the mediating role of external shame and cognitive fusion. Furthermore, these data highlighted the relevance of developing intervention programs in the community, especially in a context of early adverse experiences, for the promotion of mental health well-being.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Convergence beyond flower morphology? Reproductive biology of hummingbird-pollinated plants in the Brazilian Cerrado

Convergent reproductive traits in non-related plants may be the result of similar environmental conditions and/or specialised interactions with pollinators. Here, we documented the pollination and reproductive biology of Bionia coriacea (Fabaceae), Esterhazya splendida (Orobanchaceae) and Ananas ananassoides (Bromeliaceae) as case studies in the context of hummingbird pollination in Cerrado, the Neotropical savanna of Central South America. We combined our results with a survey of hummingbird pollination studies in the region to investigate the recently suggested association of hummingbird pollination and self-compatibility. Plant species studied here differed in their specialisation for ornithophily, from more generalist A. ananassoides to somewhat specialist B. coriacea and E. splendida. This continuum of specialisation in floral traits also translated into floral visitor composition. Amazilia fimbriata was the most frequent pollinator for all species, and the differences in floral display and nectar energy availability among plant species affect hummingbirds' behaviour. Most of the hummingbird-pollinated Cerrado plants (60.0%, n = 20), including those studied here, were self-incompatible, in contrast to other biomes in the Neotropics. Association to more generalist, often territorial, hummingbirds, and resulting reduced pollen flow in open savanna areas may explain predominance of self-incompatibility. But it is possible that mating system is more associated with the predominance of woody hummingbird plants in the Cerrado plant assemblage than to the pollination system itself.

Chronic illness-related shame and experiential avoidance mediate the impact of IBD symptomatology on depression

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is group of chronic diseases that cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, urgent diarrhoea and fatigue, as well as associated complications (e.g., arthritis). Literature has pointed that IBD may cause depressive symptomatology, which seems to aggravate physical symptoms in a cycle of depression and inflammation. This study's aims to examine the mediator roles of chronic illness-related shame and experiential avoidance in the relationship between IBD symptomatology and depression, while controlling for associated medical complications. The sample comprised 161 adult IBD patients (52 males and 109 females), with a mean age of 36.73 (SD = 10.93), that completed validated measures. The hypothesised model was tested through path analyses. Results (see Fig. 1) showed that although IBD symptomatology presented a direct effect of .13 on depression, the majority of its impact was mediated through chronic illness-related shame and experiential avoidance with an indirect effect of 0.22. Indeed, IBD symptomatology seemed to lead to higher chronic illness-related shame, which presented a direct effect on depression of .15 and an indirect effect mediated by experiential avoidance of 0.37. This model presented excellent goodness-of-fit indices. These findings suggest that targeting shame and experiential avoidance in IBD patients would have beneficial outcomes for patients’ well-being. It thus seems that compassion and acceptance-based psychotherapies should be included in treatment programs for IBD.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Maladaptive emotion regulation mediating the link between the recall of early affiliative memories and depressive symptomatology

The inability of recalling warm and safe memories with parents and close relatives has been often associated in literature with a negative and judgmental sense of self, and a higher proneness to experience feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, and defectiveness. Thus, intending to deal with self-judgment and inferiority, individuals may become submissive as a way of compensating one's negative emotional states with other's positive attention and desirability. However, both early negative affiliative memories and submissiveness are associated with higher vulnerability to psychopathology, namely depression. Using a sample of 338 young women, the present study intended to examine the association between early affiliative memories and depressive symptomatology, and the mediator roles of self-judgment and submissive attitudes and behaviours on this association, through a path analysis. The tested model provided an excellent fit to the data, accounting for 41% of the depressive symptomatology's variance. Results revealed a direct effect of early affiliative memories on depressive symptomatology; and also on self-judgement and submissiveness, explaining 28% and 23% of their variances, respectively. Moreover, part of these memories’ effect on depressive symptomatology was explained by self-judgment and submissiveness, which seems to suggest that submissiveness, although used to compensate feelings of inferiority and a judging attitude towards the self, may be a maladaptive strategy due to its positive association with depressive symptoms. This study's findings appear to emphasize the relevance of targeting submissiveness, especially in the context of a scarce recall of early affiliative experiences, when approaching women's depressive symptomatology on mental health promotion programs.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Leaf malate and succinate accumulation are out of phase throughout the development of the CAM plant Ananas comosus

In plants with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM), organic acids, mainly malate are crucial intermediates for carbon fixation. In this research we studied the circadian oscillations of three organic anions (malate, citrate, and succinate) in Ananas comosus, assessing the effect of season and plant development stage. Seasonal and plant development dependencies were observed. The circadian oscillations of malate and citrate were typical of CAM pathways reported in the literature. Citrate content was quite stable (25-30 μmol g(-1) FW) along the day, with a seasonal effect. Succinate was shown to have both diurnal and seasonal oscillations and also a correlation with malate, since it accumulated during the afternoon when malate content was normally at a minimum, suggesting a possible mechanistic effect between both anions in CAM and/or respiratory metabolisms.

Hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and kidney transplant acute rejection and survival

The effect of hepatitis Bs-antigen (AgHBs) and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) positivity on renal transplant outcomes is still controversial. Some studies describe higher rates of acute rejection and allograft loss, and greater mortality in transplant recipients with hepatitis. We retrospectively evaluated data from 2284 allograft recipients who underwent transplantation at our hospital between July 1980 and December 2012. Statistical analysis was made using chi-square and Student t tests, Kaplan-Meier curves, and survival analysis. We identified 62 AgHBs+ patients, 99 anti-HCV+ patients, and 14 AgHBs+/anti-HCV+ patients; 2109 patients had "no hepatitis." Mean follow-up time was 7.93 years. No statistical differences were identified on allograft acute rejection rate or patient survival between groups. AgHBs+ patients had, however, an inferior allograft survival, with statistical significance. According to our study, hepatitis B has a harmful impact on allograft survival, although it does not compromise the patient survival.

Insect midgut carboxypeptidases with emphasis on S10 hemipteran and M14 lepidopteran carboxypeptidases

We compared the whole complement of midgut carboxypeptidases from 10 insects pertaining to five orders based on transcriptomes obtained by deep sequencing and biochemical data. Most of the carboxypeptidases were metallocarboxypeptidases from family M14, with carboxypeptidase A (CPA) predominating over carboxypeptidase B (CPB). They were found in all of the insects studied except for the hemipterans and a bruchid beetle. M14 carboxypeptidases were expressed only in the midgut of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera). The most expressed CPA from this insect (SfCPA) was cloned, sequenced and expressed as a recombinant enzyme. This enzyme was used to generate antibodies used to demonstrate that SfCPA is secreted by an exocytic route. Serine carboxypeptidases from family S10 were found in all of the insects studied here. In S. frugiperda, they are expressed in all tissues besides the midgut, in accordance with their presumed lysosomal role. In the hemipteran Dysdercus peruvianus, S10 carboxypeptidases are expressed only in midgut, suggesting that they are digestive enzymes. This was confirmed by enzyme assays of midgut contents. Furthermore, the substrate specificity of D. peruvianus S10 carboxypeptidases are predicted to be one CPC (preferring hydrophobic residues) and one CPD (preferring basic residues), thus able to hydrolyse the peptides formed by their digestive cathepsin D and cathepsin L, respectively. The role of S10 carboxypeptidases in bruchid beetles are suggested to be the same as in hemipterans.