Low clonal propagation in Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Octocorallia)

Clonal propagation is a common feature of benthic marine organisms. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of clonal reproduction in the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata. Mediterranean populations of P. clavata were severely affected by mass mortality events caused by increased water temperature in 1999 and 2003. The populations are characterized by slow growth and episodic recruitment, but after the observed mortalities, an unexpectedly high recovery rate was observed in the severely affected populations from the Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean. Ten years after the last mortality event, we investigated the contribution of clonal propagation in populations from the Ligurian Sea, where some populations were highly affected by mass mortality events, and from the Atlantic, where mortality was never observed. All individuals were genotyped for nine microsatellite loci. The contribution of clonal reproduction varied from 0% to 13% and did not differ significantly between affected and unaffected populations. We confirm by using genetic markers that clonal propagation in P. clavata is not common, and that the contribution of clones is too low to play an important role in red gorgonian reproduction and cannot contribute to population recovery at sites that have been affected by mass mortality events.Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) under the COMPETE program - European Regional Development Fund [PTDC/BIA-BIC/114526/2009]; MARES Grant; Erasmus Mundus [FPA 2011-0016

Effects of ocean acidification and high temperatures on the bryozoanMyriapora truncataat natural CO2vents

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Genetic diversity increases with depth in red gorgonian populations of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean

In the ocean, the variability of environmental conditions found along depth gradients exposes populations to contrasting levels of perturbation, which can be reflected in the overall patterns of species genetic diversity. At shallow sites, resource availability may structure large, persistent and well-connected populations with higher levels of diversity. In contrast, the more extreme conditions, such as thermal stress during heat waves, can lead to population bottlenecks and genetic erosion, inverting the natural expectation. Here we examine how genetic diversity varies along depth for a long-lived, important ecosystem-structuring species, the red gorgonian, Paramuricea clavata.Agência financiadora CESAM UID/AMB/50017/2019 Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement FEDER, within the Compete 2020 Pew Marine Fellowship (USA) National Geographic Channel through project Deep Reefs, a National Geographic/Waitt grant W153-11 InAqua Conservation Fund (Oceanario de Lisboa) European Regional Development Fund (COMPETE program) Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology SFRH/BPD/111003/2015 CCMAR/Multi/04326/2013 UID/MAR/04292/2013 PTDC/BIA-BIC/114526/2009 MARES Grant Joint Doctorate programme under Erasmus Mundus by Ghent University FPA 2011-0016info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Single-Center Experience With 1400 Patients

To assess whether the pattern of presentation and the outcome of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) have changed over the last 3 decades, we evaluated 1400 patients, divided into 3 groups: group I (1975-1987), group II (1988-1997), and group III (1998-2007). We observed a significant increase in age (p = 0.001), IgM and biclonal MGUS (p = 0.003), hemoglobin (p < 0.0001), and albumin (p = 0.0001), and a significant reduction of monoclonal (M)-protein concentration (p < 0.0001), percentage of bone marrow plasma cells (p < 0.0001), and beta2-microglobulin (p = 0.0001) over the 3 decades. The proportion of patients with M-protein <1.5 g/dL was significantly higher in group III (66%) than in group II (44%) and group I (26%) (p < 0.0001). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, group III had a significantly lower 5-year probability of transformation (5%) compared to group II (12%) and group I (22%) (p = 0.003). Patients with M-protein <1.5 g/dL had the same life expectancy as the general population (standardized mortality ratio 1.09; p = 0.41). In conclusion, we found that the pattern of presentation of MGUS has changed over time and now includes a higher proportion of patients with more favorable presenting features and probably a better outcome compared to patients presenting in the past. This changing scenario calls for revising the current concepts of the clinical significance of MGUS and the management of patients

Low pH conditions impair module capacity to regenerate in a calcified colonial invertebrate, the bryozoan Cryptosula pallasiana

Many aquatic animals grow into colonies of repeated, genetically identical, modules (zooids). Zooid interconnections enable colonies to behave as integrated functional units, while plastic responses to environmental changes may affect individual zooids. Plasticity includes the variable partitioning of resources to sexual reproduction, colony growth and maintenance. Maintenance often involves regeneration, which is also a routine part of the life history in some organisms, such as bryozoans. Here we investigate changes in regenerative capacity in the encrusting bryozoan Cryptosula pallasiana when cultured at different seawater pCO2 levels. The proportion of active zooids showing polypide regeneration was highest at current oceanic pH (8.1), but decreased progressively as pH declined below that value, reaching a six-fold reduction at pH 7.0. The zone of budding of new zooids at the colony periphery declined in size below pH 7.7. Under elevated pCO2 conditions, already experienced sporadically in coastal areas, skeletal corrosion was accompanied by the proportional reallocation of resources from polypide regeneration in old zooids to the budding of new zooids at the edge of the colony. Thus, future ocean acidification can affect colonial organisms by changing how they allocate resources, with potentially profound impacts on life-history patterns and ecological interactions. -- Keywords : Phenotypic plasticity ; Resource allocation ; Climate change ; Ocean acidification ; Modular organism ; Bryozoa

The Economic Burden of Multiple Myeloma. Definition of a Model for Forecasting Patients’ Costs

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate healthcare costs in a single-centre population of patients with multiple myeloma (MM), in an attempt to develop a model for forecasting costs. Methods: A cohort of 387 MM patients, diagnosed at Policlinico San Matteo (Pavia, Italy), between 2002 and 2014, was analysed grouping patients into those eligible (n=223) or not eligible (n=164) for transplantation. After descriptive statistics, the benchmark model - Ordinary Least Squares - and different variations of the Generalized Linear Model were adopted. Results: The average total cost per patient was around €28,500 for patients not eligible for transplantation and around €87,000 for the eligible ones. The difference in marginal costs for transplant-eligible patients was probably due to higher costs for hospitalisation and the costs of the transplant procedure itself. The analysis highlighted four determinants useful for building a model to forecast expenditure: age, bortezomib use, lenalidomide use, and number of lines of therapies. The two most important determinants of expenditure were use of the novel agents and the total number of lines of therapy, which reflects a higher number of doses and a greater need for accesses to hospital. Conclusion: In conclusion, using a Generalized Linear Model, we identified four determinants in our cohort which were useful for building a model to predict expenditure for MM patients. Although the analysis was performed in a particular setting in a single hospital, the model could be applied to any scenario of patients

The Bryozoa collection of the Italian National Antarctic Museum, with an updated checklist from Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea

This study provides taxonomic and distributional data of bryozoan species from the Ross Sea area, mainly around Terra Nova Bay, based on specimens curated at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa). Bryozoan specimens were collected at 75 different sampling stations in the Ross Sea and in the Magellan Strait, in a bathymetric range of 18–711 meters, during 13 expeditions of the Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA) conducted between 1988 and 2014. A total of 282 MNA vouchers corresponding to 311 specimens and 127 morphospecies have been identified and included in the present dataset. 62% of the species were already reported for the Terra Nova Bay area, where most of the Italian samples come from, with a 35% of samples representing new records classified at the specific level, and 3% classified at the genus level. These new additions increase to 124 the total number of species known to occur in Terra Nova Bay. Four 3D-models of Antarctic bryozoans from the Ross Sea are also presented and will be released for research and educational purposes on the Museum website

Genetic diversity and local connectivity in the mediterranean red gorgonian coral after mass mortality events

Estimating the patterns of connectivity in marine taxa with planktonic dispersive stages is a challenging but crucial task because of its conservation implications. The red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata is a habitat forming species, characterized by short larval dispersal and high reproductive output, but low recruitment. In the recent past, the species was impacted by mass mortality events caused by increased water temperatures in summer. In the present study, we used 9 microsatellites to investigate the genetic structure and connectivity in the highly threatened populations from the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean). No evidence for a recent bottleneck neither decreased genetic diversity in sites impacted by mass mortality events were found. Significant IBD pattern and high global F-ST confirmed low larval dispersal capability in the red gorgonian. The maximum dispersal distance was estimated at 20-60 km. Larval exchange between sites separated by hundreds of meters and between different depths was detected at each site, supporting the hypothesis that deeper subpopulations unaffected by surface warming peaks may provide larvae for shallower ones, enabling recovery after climatically induced mortality events

Bioconstrucción y biodiversidad: su influencia mutua

This paper describes the functional role of main benthic constructor organisms and reviews processes by which bioconstructions increase diversity and abundance of associated biota, and the reverse. Based on the literature, patterns of diversity of carbonate bryozoan bioconstructions, one of the most important groups performing important constructional roles, have been analysed. Diversity of bryozoan bioconstructors seems not to follow the latitudinal gradient, from tropics to increasing distance from tropics, recognised for coral bioconstructors. The only case of a high diversity bryozoan reef (Joulters Cays, Bahamas) represents a situation virtually unique in carbonate environments. Dimension and extension of bryozoan bioconstructions show their maximum in temperate environments, where seasonality or variability of environmental parameters could afford advantages for success to bryozoans. With only one exception (the bryozoan-serpulid build-ups from South Australia), diversity of biota associated with bryozoan bioconstructions is high, but comparison is not possible due to the fact that exhaustive faunal studies are rare, sometimes referring only to one taxon, and environments differing in depth range, salinity, hydrodynamics, trophic diversity, etc. are involved.Se describe el papel funcional de los principales organismos bentónicos constructores y se revisan los procesos por los que las bioconstrucciones aumentan la diversidad y la abundancia de la biota asociada, y al revés. Sobre la base de la bibliografía, se han analizado los patrones de diversidad de las bioconstrucciones carbonatadas de los briozoos, uno de los grupos más importantes por su papel constructor. La diversidad de los briozoos en tanto que bioconstructores no parece seguir el gradiente latitudinal, desde los trópicos hasta distancias crecientes de éstos, que se ha reconocido para los bioconstructores que son los corales. El único caso de “arrecife de briozoos de gran diversidad” (los cayos Joulters, Bahamas), representan una situación prácticamente única en ambientes carbonatados. La dimensión y la extensión de las bioconstrucciones de briozoos presentan su máximo en ambientes templados, en los que la estacionalidad o la variabilidad de los parámetros ambientales pueden proporcionar ventajas para el éxito de los briozoos. Con una sola excepción (los edificios de briozoos y serpúlidos de Australia del Sur), la diversidad de la biota asociada con las bioconstrucciones de briozoos es elevada, pero no es posible la comparación debido al hecho de que los estudios faunísticos exhaustivos son raros, a veces se refieren únicamente a un táxon, y a que se trata de ambientes que difieren en rango batimétrico, salinidad, hidrodinamismo, diversidad trófica, etc

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SUMMARY: This paper describes the functional role of main benthic constructor organisms and reviews processes by which bioconstructions increase diversity and abundance of associated biota, and the reverse. Based on the literature, patterns of diversity of carbonate bryozoan bioconstructions, one of the most important groups performing important constructional roles, have been analysed. Diversity of bryozoan bioconstructors seems not to follow the latitudinal gradient, from tropics to increasing distance from tropics, recognised for coral bioconstructors. The only case of a &quot;high diversity bryozoan reef&quot; (Joulters Cays, Bahamas) represents a situation virtually unique in carbonate environments. Dimension and extension of bryozoan bioconstructions show their maximum in temperate environments, where seasonality or variability of environmental parameters could afford advantages for success to bryozoans. With only one exception (the bryozoan-serpulid build-ups from South Australia), diversity of biota associated with bryozoan bioconstructions is high, but comparison is not possible due to the fact that exhaustive faunal studies are rare, sometimes referring only to one taxon, and environments differing in depth range, salinity, hydrodynamics, trophic diversity, etc. are involved. Key words: biodiversity, biological habitat provision, bioconstructor, physical habitat structure, associated fauna, Bryozoa. RESUMEN: BIOCONSTRUCCIÓN Y BIODIVERSIDAD: SU INFLUENCIA MUTUA. -Se describe el papel funcional de los principales organismos bentónicos constructores y se revisan los procesos por los que las bioconstrucciones aumentan la diversidad y la abundancia de la biota asociada, y al revés. Sobre la base de la bibliografía, se han analizado los patrones de diversidad de las bioconstrucciones carbonatadas de los briozoos, uno de los grupos más importantes por su papel constructor. La diversidad de los briozoos en tanto que bioconstructores no parece seguir el gradiente latitudinal, desde los trópicos hasta distancias crecientes de éstos, que se ha reconocido para los bioconstructores que son los corales. El único caso de &quot;arrecife de briozoos de gran diversidad&quot; (los cayos Joulters, Bahamas), representan una situación prácticamente única en ambientes carbonatados. La dimensión y la extensión de las bioconstrucciones de briozoos presentan su máximo en ambientes templados, en los que la estacionalidad o la variabilidad de los parámetros ambientales pueden proporcionar ventajas para el éxito de los briozoos. Con una sola excepción (los edificios de briozoos y serpúlidos de Australia del Sur), la diversidad de la biota asociada con las bioconstrucciones de briozoos es elevada, pero no es posible la comparación debido al hecho de que los estudios faunísticos exhaustivos son raros, a veces se refieren únicamente a un táxon, y a que se trata de ambientes que difieren en rango batimétrico, salinidad, hidrodinamismo, diversidad trófica, etc. Palabras clave: biodiversidad, provisión de hábitat biológico, bioconstructores, estructura física del hábitat, fauna asociada, briozoos