Predicting spatial distribution patterns and hotspots of fish assemblage in a coastal basin of the central-south of Chile, by geostatistical techniques

Currently the application of geographic information systems in the subjects of biology and ecology has facilitated the study patterns of distribution, richness y diversity of species. However, in freshwater ecosystems the application of geostatistical analysis are scarcely used in the worldwide, including Chile. Therefore, in our study we developed predictive maps using simple Kriging (resolution 12.5 x 12.5 m), based on richness and Shannon-Weaver diversity, and we analyzed spatial autocorrelation of fish assemblages (Moran and Getis-Ord index) present in the Andalién River basin. Our results established a fish assemblage composition of 24 species, most of them native (79%) and with endanger conservation status. Predictive maps showed highest values of richness and diversity of fish species in the potamon zone of the Andalién and Nonguén streams, while the low values were described in the Chaimavida sub-basin and the transition zone of Andalién River. The Moran and Getis-Ord index determined a cluster pattern of the data and define hotspot and coldspot zones, concordant with the predictive maps of richness and Shannon-Weaver diversity. The geostatistical and spatial techniques showed to be relevant tools for the determination of distribution patterns of freshwater species and conservation issues

Exploiting inflammation for therapeutic gain in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy associated with <5% 5-year survival, in which standard chemotherapeutics have limited benefit. The disease is associated with significant intra- and peritumoral inflammation and failure of protective immunosurveillance. Indeed, inflammatory signals are implicated in both tumour initiation and tumour progression. The major pathways regulating PDAC-associated inflammation are now being explored. Activation of leukocytes, and upregulation of cytokine and chemokine signalling pathways, both have been shown to modulate PDAC progression. Therefore, targeting inflammatory pathways may be of benefit as part of a multi-target approach to PDAC therapy. This review explores the pathways known to modulate inflammation at different stages of tumour development, drawing conclusions on their potential as therapeutic targets in PDAC

The AI Neuropsychologist: Automatic scoring of memory deficits with deep learning

Memory deficits are a hallmark of many different neurological and psychiatric conditions. The Rey-Osterrieth complex figure (ROCF) is the state–of-the-art assessment tool for neuropsychologists across the globe to assess the degree of non-verbal visual memory deterioration. To obtain a score, a trained clinician inspects a patient’s ROCF drawing and quantifies deviations from the original figure. This manual procedure is time-consuming, slow and scores vary depending on the clinician’s experience, motivation and tiredness. Here, we leverage novel deep learning architectures to automatize the rating of memory deficits. For this, a multi-head convolutional neural network was trained on 20225 ROCF drawings. Unbiased ground truth ROCF scores were obtained from crowdsourced human intelligence. The neural network outperforms both online raters and clinicians. Our AI-powered scoring system provides healthcare institutions worldwide with a digital tool to assess objectively, reliably and time-efficiently the performance in the ROCF test from hand-drawn images

Immune signatures and disorder-specific patterns in a cross-disorder gene expression analysis

BACKGROUND: Recent studies point to overlap between neuropsychiatric disorders in symptomatology and genetic aetiology. AIMS: To systematically investigate genomics overlap between childhood and adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). METHOD: Analysis of whole-genome blood gene expression and genetic risk scores of 318 individuals. Participants included individuals affected with adult ADHD (n = 93), childhood ADHD (n = 17), MDD (n = 63), ASD (n = 51), childhood dual diagnosis of ADHD-ASD (n = 16) and healthy controls (n = 78). RESULTS: Weighted gene co-expression analysis results reveal disorder-specific signatures for childhood ADHD and MDD, and also highlight two immune-related gene co-expression modules correlating inversely with MDD and adult ADHD disease status. We find no significant relationship between polygenic risk scores and gene expression signatures. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal disorder overlap and specificity at the genetic and gene expression level. They suggest new pathways contributing to distinct pathophysiology in psychiatric disorders and shed light on potential shared genomic risk factors

Biotic resistance to invasion along an estuarine gradient

Biotic resistance is the ability of native communities to repel the establishment of invasive species. Predation by native species may confer biotic resistance to communities, but the environmental context under which this form of biotic resistance occurs is not well understood. We evaluated several factors that influence the distribution of invasive Asian mussels (Musculista senhousia) in Mission Bay, a southern California estuary containing an extensive eelgrass (Zostera marina) habitat. Asian mussels exhibit a distinct spatial pattern of invasion, with extremely high densities towards the back of Mission Bay (up to 4,000 m−2) in contrast with near-complete absence at sites towards the front of the bay. We established that recruits arrived at sites where adult mussels were absent and found that dense eelgrass does not appear to preclude Asian mussel growth and survival. Mussel survival and growth were high in predator-exclusion plots throughout the bay, but mussel survival was low in the front of the bay when plots were open to predators. Additional experiments revealed that consumption by spiny lobsters (Panulirus interruptus) and a gastropod (Pteropurpura festiva) likely are the primary factors responsible for resistance to Asian mussel invasion. However, biotic resistance was dependent on location within the estuary (for both species) and also on the availability of a hard substratum (for P. festiva). Our findings indicate that biotic resistance in the form of predation may be conferred by higher order predators, but that the strength of resistance may strongly vary across estuarine gradients and depend on the nature of the locally available habitat

Changes in the socio-ecological system of a protected area in the yucatan peninsula: A case study on land-use, vegetation cover, and household management strategies

Protected areas (PA) are effective means for protecting biodiversity, but less is known about their effect on the social-ecological system (SES). Using a semi-experimental approach and a descriptive case study based evaluation, we analyzed the effect of a PA in the Yucatan Peninsula on land-cover and household resource management strategies in time and space (before and after the PA establishment; inside and outside its limits). To assess the changes of land-use practices in the areas surrounding the communities inside and outside the PA, and their change over time (from 2003 to 2015), we used remote sensing analysis and semi-structured interviews. Our results show that after the PA was established, the forest increased and agricultural plots decreased inside and to a lesser extent outside the PA. However, fires reduced the area of old-growth forest and increased young secondary forest, highlighting the system’s vulnerability to uncommon events. Resource management strategies were also affected: while inside the PA households tended toward specializing on tourism, outside the PA household strategies implied a diversification of productive activities. Overall, the establishment of the PA proved to be an effective tool to promote forest recovery and prevent deforestation in the regions surrounding the communities both inside and outside the PA

Anaphylatoxin C3a receptors in asthma

The complement system forms the central core of innate immunity but also mediates a variety of inflammatory responses. Anaphylatoxin C3a, which is generated as a byproduct of complement activation, has long been known to activate mast cells, basophils and eosinophils and to cause smooth muscle contraction. However, the role of C3a in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma remains unclear. In this review, we examine the role of C3a in promoting asthma. Following allergen challenge, C3a is generated in the lung of subjects with asthma but not healthy subjects. Furthermore, deficiency in C3a generation or in G protein coupled receptor for C3a abrogates allergen-induced responses in murine models of pulmonary inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness. In addition, inhibition of complement activation or administration of small molecule inhibitors of C3a receptor after sensitization but before allergen challenge inhibits airway responses. At a cellular level, C3a stimulates robust mast cell degranulation that is greatly enhanced following cell-cell contact with airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells. Therefore, C3a likely plays an important role in asthma primarily by regulating mast cell-ASM cell interaction

DNA immunoprecipitation semiconductor sequencing (DIP-SC-seq) as a rapid method to generate genome wide epigenetic signatures

Modification of DNA resulting in 5-methylcytosine (5 mC) or 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) has been shown to influence the local chromatin environment and affect transcription. Although recent advances in next generation sequencing technology allow researchers to map epigenetic modifications across the genome, such experiments are often time-consuming and cost prohibitive. Here we present a rapid and cost effective method of generating genome wide DNA modification maps utilising commercially available semiconductor based technology (DNA immunoprecipitation semiconductor sequencing; “DIP-SC-seq”) on the Ion Proton sequencer. Focussing on the 5hmC mark we demonstrate, by directly comparing with alternative sequencing strategies, that this platform can successfully generate genome wide 5hmC patterns from as little as 500 ng of genomic DNA in less than 4 days. Such a method can therefore facilitate the rapid generation of multiple genome wide epigenetic datasets