A Qualitative Model Demonstrating the Adaptation of Amphibians to Semi-Arid and Arid Habitats: Comparing the Green Toad (Pallas, 1771) and (Camerano, 1882).

In this brief article, the green toad () and the Levant water frog () were compared to better understand the adaptations needed by amphibians, specifically the green toad, to survive in arid regions and to inhabit a wide range of habitats. The information mainly comes from data gathered in Israel, a nation experiencing a shift from Mediterranean to desert ecosystems where both amphibian species can be found. Using these data, a qualitative model is put forward that showcases the differences between these two amphibians and illustrates how the green toad has adapted to arid environments.

Site-directed mutagenesis reveals the interplay between stability, structure, and enzymatic activity in RidA from Capra hircus.

Reactive intermediate deaminase A (RidA) is a highly conserved enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of 2-imino acids to the corresponding 2-keto acids and ammonia. RidA thus prevents the accumulation of such potentially harmful compounds in the cell, as exemplified by its role in the degradation of 2-aminoacrylate, formed during the metabolism of cysteine and serine, catalyzing the conversion of its stable 2-iminopyruvate tautomer into pyruvate. Capra hircus (goat) RidA (RidA) was the first mammalian RidA to be isolated and described.

Transcriptome variation in banded newt (Ommatotriton vittatus) during its life cycle and habitat transition.

Israel represents the southern limit of the distribution of the banded newt (Ommatotriton vittatus). The life cycle of O. vittatus includes several distinct phases: eggs, aquatic larvae, a terrestrial phase and an aquatic reproductive phase.

Vaccination against human papilloma virus in a Northeastern Italian area.

Objectives: Vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) in adolescents and persons at increased risk of infection and related consequences is an effective strategy to prevent genital cancers. The objective of this study was to assess vaccination activity and coverages in a Northeastern Italian area.

Methods: Anonymous data from various health administrative databases of the Italian 530,000-inhabitant Health Authority "Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale" were deterministically linked at the individual level through an anonymous stochastic key.

Identification and quantification of ionising radiation-induced oxysterol formation in membranes of lens fibre cells.

Ionising radiation (IR) is a cause of lipid peroxidation, and epidemiological data have revealed a correlation between exposure to IR and the development of eye lens cataracts. Cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness around the world. The plasma membranes of lens fibre cells are one of the most cholesterolrich membranes in the human body, forming lipid rafts and contributing to the biophysical properties of lens fibre plasma membrane.

Minimally invasive surgery versus laparotomy in women with high risk endometrial cancer: A multi-center study performed in Argentina.

Objective: Compare the perioperative outcomes and disease-free survival between minimally invasive and open surgery in women with stage I-II high-risk endometrial cancer.

Methods: A retrospective, cohort study was performed involving twenty-four centers from Argentina. Patients with grade 3 endometrioid, serous, clear cell, undifferentiated carcinoma or carcinosarcoma who underwent hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and staging between January 2010-2018 were included.

Whole-Genome Inter-Sex Variation in Russian Sturgeon ().

The Russian sturgeon (, AG) is an endangered fish species increasingly raised on fish farms for black caviar. Understanding the process of sex determination in AG is, therefore, of scientific and commercial importance. AG lacks sexual dimorphism until sexual maturation and has a predominantly octoploid genome without a definite sex chromosome.

Apis mellifera RidA, a novel member of the canonical YigF/YER057c/UK114 imine deiminase superfamily of enzymes pre-empting metabolic damage.

The Reactive intermediate deiminase (Rid) protein family is a group of enzymes widely distributed in all Kingdoms of Life. RidA is one of the eight known Rid subfamilies, and its members act by preventing the accumulation of 2-aminoacrylate, a highly reactive enamine generated during the metabolism of some amino acids, by hydrolyzing the 2-iminopyruvate tautomer to pyruvate and ammonia. RidA members are homotrimers exhibiting a remarkable thermal stability.

Cross-species conservation of a transposase-linked element enables genetic sexing of commercial populations of Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii).

All-female culture of sturgeon is essential for efficient caviar production. However, Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) does not exhibit external sexual dimorphism, and therefore, commercial farms apply gonadal endoscopy or ultrasound at the earliest age of 4-5 years to separate the sexes, with ~90% accuracy. Recently, a dominant genomic marker (AllWSEX2) has been found with association to femaleness in sturgeons.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care in the public health subsector, province of Santa Fe, Argentina.

Introduction: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the measures taken to lessen its impact have had side effects affecting timely care of other diseases. The aim of this paper is to quantify the impact of the pandemic on the cancer care line in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina.

Method: It is an observational cross-sectional study comparing the impact on selected variables of the pre-pandemic and intra-pandemic periods.

Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products regulates age-associated Cardiac Fibrosis.

Myocardial aging increases the cardiovascular risk in the elderly. The Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE) is involved in age-related disorders. The soluble isoform (sRAGE) acts as a scavenger blocking the membrane-bound receptor activation.

Markers of Genetic Variation in Blue Gourami () as a Model for Labyrinth Fish.

Markers of genetic variation between species are important for both applied and basic research. Here, various genes of the blue gourami (, suborder Anabantoidei, a model labyrinth fish), many of them involved in growth and reproduction, are reviewed as markers of genetic variation. The genes encoding the following hormones are described: kisspeptins 1 and 2, gonadotropin-releasing hormones 1, 2, and 3, growth hormone, somatolactin, prolactin, follicle- stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, as well as mitochondrial genes encoding cytochrome b and 12S rRNA.

Using D- and L-Amino Acid Oxidases to Generate the Imino Acid Substrate to Measure the Activity of the Novel Rid (Enamine/Imine Deaminase) Class of Enzymes.

This chapter describes a method to assay the activity of reactive intermediate deaminases (Rid), a large family of conserved soluble enzymes, which have been proposed to prevent damages from metabolic intermediates such as the highly reactive and unstable compounds enamines/imines. In this method, the flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent L- or D-amino acid oxidases generate an imino acid starting from a L- or D- amino acid, respectively. This reaction is coupled to the hydrolysis of the imino acid to the corresponding α-keto acid and ammonium ion catalyzed by a Rid enzyme.

Molecular characterization of kisspeptin receptors and gene expression analysis during oogenesis in the Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii).

Sturgeons belong to a subclass of fishes that derived from ray-finned fish ancestors preceding the emergence of teleosts. The Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) is a late-maturing fish with the females reaching puberty under aquaculture conditions at 6-10 years of age. Since kisspeptin has been shown to be a key hormone involved in regulation of major reproductive processes of many vertebrate species, this study was conducted to better understand the kisspeptin receptor (KissR) in sturgeon.

Molecular characterization of two Russian sturgeon gonadotropin receptors: Cloning, expression analysis, and functional activity.

Sturgeons are being used in aquaculture because wild populations are now endangered due to overfishing for caviar. A challenge in working with sturgeon as an aquacultured species is its long and slow reproductive development. Reproduction is a hormonally regulated process that involves hierarchical signaling between the brain, pituitary gland, and gonads.

Prothrombin is a binding partner of the human receptor of advanced glycation end products.

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) plays a key role in mammal physiology and in the etiology and progression of inflammatory and oxidative stress-based diseases. In adults, RAGE expression is normally high only in the lung where the protein concentrates in the basal membrane of alveolar Type I epithelial cells. In diseases, RAGE levels increase in the affected tissues and sustain chronic inflammation.

Two novel fish paralogs provide insights into the Rid family of imine deaminases active in pre-empting enamine/imine metabolic damage.

Reactive Intermediate Deaminase (Rid) protein superfamily includes eight families among which the RidA is conserved in all domains of life. RidA proteins accelerate the deamination of the reactive 2-aminoacrylate (2AA), an enamine produced by some pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes. 2AA accumulation inhibits target enzymes with a detrimental impact on fitness.

Brain Control Reproduction by the Endocrine System of Female Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus).

Blue gourami belongs to the Labyrinithici fish and the Anabantiform order. It is characterized by a specific organ located above its gills for the respiration of atmospheric oxygen. This specific adaptation to low oxygen levels affects reproduction that is controlled by the brain, which integrates different effects on reproduction mainly through two axes-the gonadotropic brain pituitary gonad axis (BPG) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-somatotropic axis (HPS axis), including the interactions between them.

Unveiling the molecular mechanisms underpinning biorecognition of early-glycated human serum albumin and receptor for advanced glycation end products.

Serum levels of early-glycated albumin are significantly increased in patients with diabetes mellitus and may play a role in worsening inflammatory status and sustaining diabetes-related complications. To investigate possible pathological recognition involving early-glycated albumin and the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), an early-glycated human serum albumin (HSAgly), with a glycation pattern representative of the glycated HSA form abundant in diabetic patients, and the recombinant human RAGE ectodomain (VC1) were used. Biorecognition between the two interactants was investigated by combining surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis and affinity chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (affinity-MS) for peptide extraction and identification.

Advanced mobile prehospital nursing care for elderly people post-trauma: integrative review.

Objective: to identify scientific evidences available on the literature on nursing interventions on advanced mobile prehospital care for elderly people post-trauma.

Method: an integrative review of literature on the databases PubMed, CINAHL, and LILACS, from 2012 to 2017.

Results: a sample composed by 26 studies, grouped into six thematic categories: circulation with hemorrhage control (n=11); dysfunction, neurological state (n=7); airway with protection of the cervical spine (n=3); secondary evaluation (n=3); ventilation and breathing (n=1), and environment exposition/control (n=1).

The Glucan-Remodeling Enzyme Phr1p and the Chitin Synthase Chs1p Cooperate to Maintain Proper Nuclear Segregation and Cell Integrity in .

GH72 family of β-(1,3)-glucanosyltransferases is unique to fungi and is required for cell wall biogenesis, morphogenesis, virulence, and in some species is essential for life. and are pH-regulated genes that encode GH72 enzymes highly similar to Gas1p of is expressed at pH ≥ 5.5 while is transcribed at pH ≤ 5.

Insights into the effects of N-glycosylation on the characteristics of the VC1 domain of the human receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) secreted by Pichia pastoris.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and advanced lipoxidation end products (ALEs), resulting from non-enzymatic modifications of proteins, are potentially harmful to human health. They directly act on proteins, affecting structure and function, or through receptor-mediated mechanisms. RAGE, a type I transmembrane glycoprotein, was identified as a receptor for AGEs.

Advanced lipoxidation end products (ALEs) as RAGE binders: Mass spectrometric and computational studies to explain the reasons why.

Advanced Lipoxidation End-products (ALEs) are modified proteins that can act as pathogenic factors in several chronic diseases. Several molecular mechanisms have so far been considered to explain the damaging action of ALEs and among these a pathway involving the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) should be considered. The aim of the present work is to understand if ALEs formed from lipid peroxidation derived reactive carbonyl species (RCS) are able to act as RAGE binders and also to gain a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms involved in the protein-protein engagement.

Sex-related gonadal gene expression differences in the Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) grown in stable aquaculture conditions.

The Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) is a primitive freshwater fish and a source of caviar. In the present study, the gonadal transcriptomes of male and female Russian sturgeons grown in stable aquaculture conditions were analyzed. RNA sequencing of whole-gonad transcriptomes from pools of 4-year old fish (five females, four males), resulted in the identification of 28,170 unique transcripts.