Changes in call properties of (Anura, Hylidae) in response to different noise conditions.

The increasing expansion of urban areas leads to the emergence of new noisy environments that can affect animal communication. Calls play a crucial role in the mating displays of anurans, and the negative impact of anthropogenic noise-induced auditory masking has been reported in several species. We investigated the acoustic variation in 96 males (971 calls) of the treefrog across acoustically undisturbed sites and different noise conditions, associated with urban areas (URBAN) and roads (ROAD), in Central Argentina.

Morphology characterization of dendrites on lithium metal electrodes by NMR spectroscopy.

Despite the considerable potential offered by lithium metal's high capacity for rechargeable batteries, challenges such as dendrite formation and safety concerns persist. As strategies continue to advance in dendrite management, the demand for efficient monitoring tools becomes increasingly pronounced. In this study, we delve into the characterization of dendrites, elucidating the influence of microstructure morphology on the NMR spectrum using a combination of simulations and experiments.

Hemoparasites Do Not Affect Life-History Traits and Cellular Immune Response in Treefrog Hosts .

We provide the first evidence for hemoparasites in the endemic Cordoba treefrog . We collected 37 adult frogs at 1200 m a.s.

Effect on growth and development of common toad (Rhinella arenarum) tadpoles in environment related to fluorite mine.

Fluorite mining activities have been scarcely evaluated so far and the potential effect of this activity on larval stages is poorly known. Thus, studies addressing the effect of contaminants present in water bodies on the health of amphibian larvae are crucial information for their conservation and constitute a warning sign of environmental modification. This study aims to evaluate the effects of natural and artificial surface waters associated with a fluorite mine on the early life stages of Rhinella arenarum.

Density Functional Tight-Binding Model for Lithium-Silicon Alloys.

The predictive power of molecular dynamic simulations is mainly restricted by the time scale and model accuracy. Many systems of current relevance are of such complexity that they require addressing both issues simultaneously. This is the case of silicon electrodes in Li-ion batteries, where different LiSi alloys are formed during charge/discharge cycles.

Body size, age and growth in males populations of Boana pulchella (Anura, Hylidae).

Age determination in amphibians is crucial to the investigation of life-history traits. In this context, we studied, for the first time, the life-history traits of Boana pulchella from a sample (63 adult males) of three populations (Las Acequias, Río Cuarto, Alejandro Roca) in central Argentina using the skeletochronological method. All adults of B.

Characterization of amorphous LiSi structures from ReaxFF accelerated exploration of local minima.

Motivated by the abundant experimental work in the area of Li-ion batteries, in the present work we characterize via computer simulations the structure of Si-Li amorphous alloys in a wide range of compositions. Using a reactive force field we propose a novel accelerated exploration of local minima to obtain amorphous structures close to equilibrium. The features of this system analyzed for different alloy compositions are the partial radial distribution functions g(r), the first and second nearest neighbour coordination numbers and the short-order structure.

Anuran tadpoles inhabiting a fluoride-rich stream: diets and morphological indicators.

We assessed the influence of natural fluoride concentrations in lotic freshwater ecosystems on diet and morphology of tadpoles. Two streams were sampled in Argentina: Los Vallecitos stream (LF-LV) and Los Cerros Negros stream (HF-CN) with low and high fluoride levels, respectively. We captured tadpoles of in each stream using nets.

Morphological abnormalities in natural populations of the common South American toad Rhinella arenarum inhabiting fluoride-rich environments.

Morphological abnormalities in amphibians may be attributed to contaminants, ultraviolet radiation and trematode parasites, or a synergistic effect between them. In the present study, morphological abnormalities in Rhinella arenarum adults from natural and artificial fluoride-rich environments were identified and evaluated. Three sites were sampled in central Argentina: Los Vallecitos stream (LF-LV), Los Cerros Negros stream (MF-CN), and Decantation ponds (HF-DP), with low (0.

Evaluation in situ of genotoxic and cytotoxic response in the diploid/polyploid complex Odontophrynus (Anura: Odontophrynidae) inhabiting agroecosystems.

Polyploidization has been documented across a wide range of vertebrates. Gene duplication could promote better adaptation to environmental changes and to chronic injury or stress. We investigated if genotoxic and cytotoxic responses to agricultural impact are affected by ploidy.

Design-Considerations regarding Silicon/Graphite and Tin/Graphite Composite Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

An analytical model is proposed to investigate properties of composite electrodes that utilize more than one active material. We demonstrate how the equations can be applied to aid in the design of electrodes by comparing silicon-graphite and tin-graphite composite negative electrodes as examples with practical relevance. Based on simple assumptions, the results show how volume expansion tolerance and initial porosity are important factors for the achievable gravimetric and volumetric capacities as well as volumetric energy density.

Evaluation in situ of genotoxicity and stress in South American common toad Rhinella arenarum in environments related to fluorite mine.

Little attention has been paid to the impact of wastewater generated by mining activities on fluoride. In this study, we evaluated the hematology responses of common South American toad Rhinella arenarum inhabiting natural and artificial environments associated with a fluorite mine from central Argentina. We analyzed three sampling stations associated with the fluorite mine: (I) Los Cerros Negros stream (CN), which runs on granitic rock with a high fluorite content; (II) Los Vallecitos stream (LV), which runs on metamorphic rock with low fluorite content; and (III) artificial decantation ponds (DP) containing sediments produced by fluorite flotation process.

Assessment in situ of genotoxicity in tadpoles and adults of frog Hypsiboas cordobae (Barrio 1965) inhabiting aquatic ecosystems associated to fluorite mine.

Non-lethal biological techniques such as blood biomarkers have gained attention due to their value as early signals of anthropic effects of contamination representing significant tools to evaluate ecosystems health. We evaluate and characterize in situ genotoxicity of water samples collected from aquatic ecosystems around a fluorite mine using amphibian frogs Hypsiboas cordobae as bioindicator species complemented with 16 physicochemical parameters. Four stations associated with fluorite mine sampling were sampled: a stream running on granitic rock with natural high fluorite content; two streams both running on metamorphic rock with low fluorite content; and an artificial decantation pond containing sediments produced by fluorite flotation process with high variation in physicochemical parameters.

Heart mitochondrial proteome study elucidates changes in cardiac energy metabolism and antioxidant PRDX3 in human dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a public health problem with no available curative treatment, and mitochondrial dysfunction plays a critical role in its development. The present study is the first to analyze the mitochondrial proteome in cardiac tissue of patients with DCM to identify potential molecular targets for its therapeutic intervention.

Methods And Results: 16 left ventricular (LV) samples obtained from explanted human hearts with DCM (n = 8) and control donors (n = 8) were extracted to perform a proteomic approach to investigate the variations in mitochondrial protein expression.

Differential gene expression of cardiac ion channels in human dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by idiopathic dilation and systolic contractile dysfunction of the cardiac chambers. The present work aimed to study the alterations in gene expression of ion channels involved in cardiomyocyte function.

Methods And Results: Microarray profiling using the Affymetrix Human Gene® 1.

Nesfatin-1 in human and murine cardiomyocytes: synthesis, secretion, and mobilization of GLUT-4.

Nesfatin-1, a satiety-inducing peptide identified in hypothalamic regions that regulate energy balance, is an integral regulator of energy homeostasis and a putative glucose-dependent insulin coadjuvant. We investigated its production by human cardiomyocytes and its effects on glucose uptake, in the main cardiac glucose transporter GLUT-4 and in intracellular signaling. Quantitative RT-PCR, Western blots, confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, and ELISA of human and murine cardiomyocytes and/or cardiac tissue showed that cardiomyocytes can synthesize and secrete nesfatin-1.

Erythrocyte nuclear size as a better diagnostic character than cell size in the identification of live cryptic polyploid species.

It is well documented in anurans the cryptic condition of many species complexes involving polyploids. In these complexes the character that clearly differentiates them is the number of chromosome complements. The blood cells of amphibians conserve their nucleus, and so the erythrocyte size is correlated with the DNA content.

Increased expression of fatty-acid and calcium metabolism genes in failing human heart.

Background: Heart failure (HF) involves alterations in metabolism, but little is known about cardiomyopathy-(CM)-specific or diabetes-independent alterations in gene expression of proteins involved in fatty-acid (FA) uptake and oxidation or in calcium-(Ca(2+))-handling in the human heart.

Methods: RT-qPCR was used to quantify mRNA expression and immunoblotting to confirm protein expression in left-ventricular myocardium from patients with HF (n = 36) without diabetes mellitus of ischaemic (ICM, n = 16) or dilated (DCM, n = 20) cardiomyopathy aetiology, and non-diseased donors (CTL, n = 6).

Results: Significant increases in mRNA of genes regulating FA uptake (CD36) and intracellular transport (Heart-FA-Binding Protein (HFABP)) were observed in HF patients vs CTL.

Aliskiren affects fatty-acid uptake and lipid-related genes in rodent and human cardiomyocytes.

Purpose: We investigated whether the direct renin inhibitor aliskiren can affect metabolism in cardiomyocytes from rat, mouse and human sources.

Methods And Results: At 10-50 μmol/L, aliskiren significantly increased medium-chain-fatty-acid uptake in primary-cultured neonatal-rat and HL-1 adult-mouse-derived cardiomyocytes (BODIPY-induced fluorescence intensity). The fatty-acid transporter CD-36 was correspondingly translocated to, but the glucose transporter Glut-4 away from, the sarcoplasmic reticulum/plasma membrane, in primary-cultured neonatal-rat (CD-36, Glut-4) and adult-human (CD-36) cardiomyocytes (confocal immunocytochemistry).

Percutaneous retrieval of foreign bodies from the cardiovascular system.

We report our experience of seven patients referred to our hospital with foreign bodies embolized in the cardiovascular system, namely fragmented catheters and devices used in interventional techniques, which were retrieved by a percutaneous approach. The patients' ages ranged from 2 to 29 years, with a mean age of 17. The majority (57%) were male.

Manidipine-delapril combination in the management of hypertension.

High blood pressure (BP) is the major cardiovascular risk factor and the main cause of death around the world. Control of blood pressure reduces the high mortality associated with hypertension and the most recent guidelines recommend reducing arterial BP values below 140/90 mmHg for all hypertensive patients (130/80 in diabetics) as a necessary step to reduce global cardiovascular risk, which is the fundamental objective of the treatment. To achieve these target BP goals frequently requires combination therapy with two or more antihypertensive agents.

Assessment of the antihypertensive efficacy of various doses of delapril by office and ambulatory blood pressure measurement: the DEFIND study.

This study was undertaken to compare and verify the antihypertensive effects of various delapril doses versus placebo on office and ambulatory blood pressure (BP). After a 2-wk placebo period, 303 patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension were randomized in a double-blind study to 8 wk of treatment with placebo, or delapril 7.5 mg twice daily, delapril 15 mg twice daily, delapril 30 mg twice daily, or delapril 30 mg once daily.