Cesárea en un mono titi (Callithrix Jacchus Jacchus)

Describimos la resolución mediante cesárea de un parto distócico en una hembra de mono titi.We describe the resolution with a caesarian section of a dystocic parturition in a female marmoset

Significado sedimentológico de los niveles con Assilinas de la Formación Armancies (Eoceno medio) y sus equivalentes laterales

En esta nota exponemos las características sedimentológicas de los niveles con Assilina de la Fm. Armancies y sus equivalentes laterales que permiten precisar algunos aspectos acerca de su génesis.Se llega a la conclusión de que las "barras de Assilinas" de la Fm. Armancies, en su extremo occidental (Bagà-Campdevànol), son canales de "grain flow" depositados originariamente al W de Terrades y deslizados, de E a W, en una cuenca turbidítica sin aportes de clásticos groseros

Encefalopatía hepática por hernia diafragmática

Encefalopatía hepática en un perro Groendendael de 4 años, causada por una hernia diafragmática congénita.Hepatic encephalopaty in a four years oid Groendendael, caused by a congenital diafragmatic hernia

Silibinin and SARS-CoV-2: Dual Targeting of Host Cytokine Storm and Virus Replication Machinery for Clinical Management of COVID-19 Patients

COVID-19, the illness caused by infection with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is a rapidly spreading global pandemic in urgent need of effective treatments. Here we present a comprehensive examination of the host- and virus-targeted functions of the flavonolignan silibinin, a potential drug candidate against COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2. As a direct inhibitor of STAT3-a master checkpoint regulator of inflammatory cytokine signaling and immune response-silibinin might be expected to phenotypically integrate the mechanisms of action of IL-6-targeted monoclonal antibodies and pan-JAK1/2 inhibitors to limit the cytokine storm and T-cell lymphopenia in the clinical setting of severe COVID-19. As a computationally predicted, remdesivir-like inhibitor of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp)-the central component of the replication/transcription machinery of SARS-CoV-2-silibinin is expected to reduce viral load and impede delayed interferon responses. The dual ability of silibinin to target both the host cytokine storm and the virus replication machinery provides a strong rationale for the clinical testing of silibinin against the COVID-19 global public health emergency. A randomized, open-label, phase II multicentric clinical trial (SIL-COVID19) will evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of silibinin in the prevention of acute respiratory distress syndrome in moderate-to-severe COVID-19-positive onco-hematological patients at the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Catalonia, Spain

Micro-hotspots for conservation: an umbrella tree species for the unique Socotran reptile fauna

Umbrella species are defined as species that can be rare and sensitive to human disturbance, whose protection may confer the protection of other co-occurring species. The dragon's blood tree Dracaena cinnabari Balf.f. was already considered an umbrella species on Socotra Island (Indic Ocean, Yemen) due to its ecological importance for some native biota. We studied the reptile community living on D. cinnabari from Socotra Island. We sampled reptiles on trees across most D. cinnabari populations and applied co-occurrence and network partition analyses to check if the presence of reptiles on D. cinnabari populations was random or structured. Regardless of its patched and scarce actual distribution, we report the use of this tree as a habitat by more than half of the reptile community (12 endemic reptiles). Co-occurrence and network partition analyses demonstrate that this community is structured across the distribution of dragon's blood trees, reflecting complex allopatric, vicariant, and biotic interaction processes. Hence, these trees act as micro-hotspots for reptiles, that is, as areas where endemic and rare species that are under threat at the landscape scale co-occur. This Socotra endemic tree is currently threatened by overgrazing, overmaturity, and climate change. Its protection and declaration as an umbrella species are expected to benefit the reptile community and to protect evolutionary processes that are partially driven by the ecological links between reptiles and this tree. To our knowledge, no tree species has been proposed as an umbrella species for island vertebrate endemics so far, highlighting the ecological uniqueness of Socotra Island

Observations on the intraspecific variation in tadpole morphology in natural ponds

Intraspecific morphological variation of anuran tadpoles occurs in response to several factors. Causes and consequences of this variation have been largely studied hitherto in controlled environments, but data from natural habitats is clearly less abundant. Here, we present a series of observations on the morphology – mainly tail depth – of three tadpole species from NE Iberian Peninsula across different pond typologies. According to experimental data on tadpole morphology and selective pressures along the pond permanency gradient, we should expect that tadpoles inhabiting ponds with a short hydroperiod – mainly facing desiccation risk – have shallower tail fins than tadpoles from ponds with longer hydroperiod – mainly facing predation risk. Thus, we expected that the link between these complementary selective pressures – predation risk, desiccation risk – and hydroperiod could make possible to detect intraspecific variation in tadpole morphology among different typologies of natural ponds. Morphological differences were found in all studied species, and variation, when present, agreed with theory: tadpoles had deeper fin tails as they were collected in ponds with a longer hydroperiod. Interestingly, in most cases these morphological differences were more marked as tadpoles were larger in size. Although distances among the studied ponds were generally short – posing phenotypic plasticity as the most plausible proximate mechanism – specifically designed studies would be needed to disentangle the relative role of other processes like local adaptation

Stable isotopes and diet uncover trophic-niche divergence and ecological diversification processes of endemic reptiles on Socotra Island

Ecological diversification on islands typically results in divergence of ecological niches. As diet is a majorcomponent of species niches, we hypothesize that sister species within island monophyletic groupsdiversify in their dietary preferences. We have examined this hypothesis in two Haemodracon and fourHemidactylus species endemic reptiles of from Socotra Island (Yemen), corresponding to two indepen-dent colonization events. Convergence i.e., similar dietary patterns of phylogenetically unrelated species,was also examined. Trophic niches were studied by the analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopescombined with faecal samples. We collected tail tips (for isotopes) and faecal pellets during two visitsin 2013 and 2014 to Socotra. Specific trophic niche widths inferred from stable isotopes were estimatedfrom ellipse-based metrics, whereas interspecific differences were compared by linear mixed models andexamined in a phylogenetic framework. From faecal samples, diet variation among species was quanti-fied by the Bray-Curtis index. Isotope and dietary interspecific divergence was compared with Manteltests. For both isotopes, models detected interspecific differences between sister species i.e., trophic nichedivergence and also interspecific similarities of distant lineages that use similar microhabitats i.e., ecolog-ical convergence. We did not find any phylogenetic signal neither in the interspecific differences in 13Cnor in 15N isotopic values; thus species phylogenetically more closely related did not have more similarisotopic niches. The Mantel test demonstrated similar interspecific divergence using isotopes and faecalsamples. In a phylogenetic context, trophic-niche interspecific comparisons highlight some mechanismsthat are driving ecological diversification and speciation of Socotra Island

Differential trophic traits between invasive and native anuran tadpoles

How trophic resources are managed is a key factor in our understanding of the success of invasive species. In amphibians that usually occupy ephemeral ponds, the capacity to acquire resources and food selection are especially important because as a pond dries, the larval density increases and food resources are limited. Abundant and high-quality food can increase the final size and reduce the duration of development of amphibians. The aim of this work was to assess the trophic traits of tadpoles of the invasive (originally North African) anuran Discoglossus pictus compared to those of native European Epidalea calamita tadpoles under laboratory conditions. Food of two different levels of quality was supplied, and the feeding activity and food preference of the two species were analysed alone and in co-occurrence. D. pictus was capable of modifying its behaviour and food preferences; while E. calamita displayed much milder differences between treatments. Both alone and in co-occurrence with the native species, the invasive tadpoles obtained higher feeding activity values and showed a stronger preference for high-quality food. Additionally, when high densities of the two species shared food resources, the feeding activity results indicated potential displacement of the native tadpoles to lowquality resources. D. pictus thus presents trophic traits that are favourable for invasion and could limit the fitness of E. calamita when resources are limited or there is a risk of pond desiccation