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Sea cucumbers are important components of marine ecosystems and also highly valued commodities in Asian markets because of their use in oriental cuisine and traditional medicine. The increasing demand for sea cucumbers has elicited intense worldwide capture and many species are currently considered vulnerable or threatened due to overexploitation. The coast of Santa Catarina State (South Brazil) is the distribution limit of several tropical species in the Western South Atlantic, but little is known about the sea cucumber species occurring in this region. This study aimed to identify the holothuroids occurring in the littoral of Santa Catarina State and to survey their abundance and distribution along the coast. Visual and tactile inspections were carried out following transects in the intertidal zone of 11 locations and subtidal surveys were carried out by diving in two sites. The surveys indicated the occurrence of three species: Parathyone braziliensis in the intertidal zone, Holothuriu (Halodeima) grisea in the intertidal as well as in the sublittoral, and Isostichopus badionotus in the sublittoral. The most abundant species was H. (H.j grisea, which occurred in several sites along the coast, up to Lat. 28[degrees] 01' 07.67' S, its likely southern limit of distribution. The species /. badionotus was for the first time recorded to occur on the continental coast of the State, expanding its area of distribution. This study registers for the first time the occurrence of P. braziliensis in southern Brazil, expanding its limit of geographic distribution. KEY WORDS: Holothuria (Halodeima) grisea, Isostichopus badionotus, Parathyone braziliensis, holothurians, INTRODUCTION Sea cucumbers are echinoderms that occur in all oceans, from the intertidal zone to the ocean depths, and have fundamental importance in marine ecosystems because they act in the [...]

The adipose-derived hormone leptin acts via its receptor (LepRb) in the brain to control energy balance. A potentially unidentified population of GABAergic hypothalamic LepRb neurons plays key roles in the restraint of food intake and body weight by leptin. To identify markers for candidate populations of LepRb neurons in an unbiased manner, we performed single-nucleus RNA-Seq of enriched mouse hypothalamic LepRb cells, identifying several previously unrecognized populations of hypothalamic LepRb neurons. Many of these populations displayed strong conservation across species, including GABAergic Glp1r-expressing LepRb ([LepRb.sup.Glp1r]) neurons, which expressed more Leprthan other LepRb cell populations. Ablating Lepr from [LepRb.sup.Glp1r] cells provoked hyperphagic obesity without impairing energy expenditure. Similarly, improvements in energy balance caused by Lepr reactivation in GABA neurons of otherwise Lepr-null mice required Lepr expression in GABAergic Glp1r-expressing neurons. Furthermore, restoration of Glp1r expression in [LepRb.sup.Glp1r] neurons in otherwise Glp1r-null mice enabled food intake suppression by the GLP1R agonist, liraglutide. Thus, the conserved GABAergic [LepRb.sup.Glp1r] neuron population plays crucial roles in the suppression of food intake by leptin and GLP1R agonists., Introduction The ongoing obesity pandemic represents an enormous challenge to human health and longevity (1). Identifying therapeutic targets to combat obesity will require understanding the physiologic systems that modulate feeding [...]

The objective of this study was to assess parents' firearm storage behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and characterize reasons why some parents made their firearms more accessible during this time. In June-July 2020, the study team conducted the FACTS National Survey-a cross-sectional, web-based, survey of 2,924 parents and their teens (ages14-18) regarding firearm-related practices. We weighted descriptive analyses to be nationally representative of parents of teens in the United States. We utilized qualitative thematic analysis to identify parents' reasons for making firearms more accessible. Five percent of firearm-owning parents of teens reported making their firearms more accessible during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reasons why parents increased the ease of firearm access included: (1) Increased civil unrest and riots; (2) Threat of home invasion and/or crime victimization; (3) Fear of panic and the unknown; and (4) Easier access and greater protection, threat unspecified. Some parents-largely motivated by fear-chose to store firearms in a more accessible manner during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect their family against possible external threats. Understanding the fear that motivates parents' decisions regarding storage practices might aid interventions focused on harm reduction and safer storage., Author(s): Rebeccah L. Sokol [sup.1] , Lea Marineau [sup.2] , Marc A. Zimmerman [sup.3] [sup.4] [sup.5] , Laney A. Rupp [sup.3] [sup.5] , Rebecca M. Cunningham [sup.3] [sup.4] [sup.6] , [...]

To describe and identify the correlates of firearm purchasing at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic among US families with teenagers. In June-July 2020, we conducted a national survey of 2924 parents and their teenagers in the US. We report results from this survey to describe firearm purchasing behaviors following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate correlates of purchasing. Between the beginning of the pandemic and July 2020, 10% of households with teenagers purchased a firearm, and 3% became first-time firearm-owning households. Among firearm-owning households, firearm storage was associated with purchasing such that households that stored at least one firearm loaded and unlocked were more likely to purchase a firearm (OR: 2.02[1.07-3.79]) compared to households that stored all firearms unloaded and/or locked. Firearms purchased at the beginning of the pandemic were more likely to go to homes where at least one firearm was stored loaded and unlocked, which may contribute to increased risk for teen firearm injury and death., Author(s): Rebeccah L. Sokol [sup.1] , Marc A. Zimmerman [sup.2] [sup.3] , Laney Rupp [sup.2] [sup.3] , Justin E. Heinze [sup.2] , Rebecca M. Cunningham [sup.3] [sup.4] , Patrick M. [...]

Aquaculture is the fastest growing sector in food production worldwide (1); innovative intensive production technologies, such as recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), are becoming increasingly valuable for commercial fish production (2). [...]

The autosomal dominant monogenetic disease neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) affects approximately one in 3,000 individuals and is caused by mutations in the NF1 tumour suppressor gene, leading to dysfunction in the protein neurofibromin (Nf1).sup.1,2. As a GTPase-activating protein, a key function of Nf1 is repression of the Ras oncogene signalling cascade. We determined the human Nf1 dimer structure at an overall resolution of 3.3 Å. The cryo-electron microscopy structure reveals domain organization and structural details of the Nf1 exon 23a splicing.sup.3 isoform 2 in a closed, self-inhibited, Zn-stabilized state and an open state. In the closed conformation, HEAT/ARM core domains shield the GTPase-activating protein-related domain (GRD) so that Ras binding is sterically inhibited. In a distinctly different, open conformation of one protomer, a large-scale movement of the GRD occurs, which is necessary to access Ras, whereas Sec14-PH reorients to allow interaction with the cellular membrane.sup.4. Zn incubation of Nf1 leads to reduced Ras-GAP activity with both protomers in the self-inhibited, closed conformation stabilized by a Zn binding site between the N-HEAT/ARM domain and the GRD-Sec14-PH linker. The transition between closed, self-inhibited states of Nf1 and open states provides guidance for targeted studies deciphering the complex molecular mechanism behind the widespread neurofibromatosis syndrome and Nf1 dysfunction in carcinogenesis. Cryo-EM structure of Nf1 protein is reported, revealing closed and open conformations that regulate interaction with Ras oncogene, setting the stage for understanding the mechanistic action of Nf1 and how disease mutations lead to dysfunction., Author(s): Andreas Naschberger [sup.1] [sup.2] , Rozbeh Baradaran [sup.1] , Bernhard Rupp [sup.2] [sup.3] , Marta Carroni [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) SciLifeLab, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Solna, [...]