Investigation of a mass stranding of 68 short-beaked common dolphins in Golfo Nuevo, Península Valdés, Argentina

We report on the investigation of a mass stranding of 68 short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) that occurred in Golfo Nuevo, Península Valdés, Argentina in March 2018. Twenty-one of the stranded dolphins were returned alive to the sea, while 47 animals died. Dead dolphins included all ages, with more males than females (29 males and 18 females). The cause of death investigation reported here is restricted to 15 adult individuals and one fetus on which a full set of diagnostics was prioritized due to limited funding. Our results demonstrate that the death of 16 dolphins assessed in this study was not due to obvious human effects (e.g. bycatch) or underlying pathologies, as all animals were in good body condition and had no external evidence of injuries. Infections by Morbillivirus, Influenza A virus, Sarcocystis spp., Toxoplasma gondii, or Neospora caninum, as well domoic acid (DA) toxicity were ruled out as ethiologies in this event. Notably, results on exposure to paralytic shelfish toxins (PSP) were the only investigated cause of death found positive. This is the first documentation of exposure to PSP toxins in short-beaked common dolphins from the Argentine Sea. At present our results are insufficient to assess whether PSP toxin exposure played a role in the death of the stranded dolphins. Notwithstanding, the full documentation and investigation of the most commonly reported pathogens and toxins involved in cetacean mass strandings allowed us to clear the most relevant health differentials and suggests areas for future study. Additional potential hypothesis related to factors known or speculated to cause cetacean mass strandings are currently being explored within the ecological context at the time of the event

Optimization of Environmentally Benign Polymers Based on Thymine and Polyvinyl Sulfonate Using Plackett-Burman Design and Surface Response

Traditional approaches to the development of integrated circuits involve the use and/or manufacture of toxic materials that have a potential environmental impact. An extensive research has been done to design environmentally benign synthetic polymers containing nucleic acid bases, which can be used to enhance the photoresistor technologies. Water soluble, environmentally benign photopolymers of 1-(4-vinylbenzyl) thymine (VBT) and vinylphenyl sufonate (VPS) undergo a photodimerization reaction when exposed to low levels of ultraviolet irradiation leading to an immobilization of the copolymer on a variety of substrates. Plackett-Burman design (PBD) and central composite design (CCD) were applied to identify the significant factors influencing the polymer crosslinking and dye adsorption processes, which are relevant in the fabrication of copolymer films for potential photoresist use. The PBD results assigned a maximum absorption signal of 0.67, while optimal conditions obtained in this experiment following the CCD method predictions provided a response of 0.83 ± 0.03, being a solid foundation for further use of this methodology in the production of potential photoresistors. The pH effect was relevant for low concentrations but not significant for higher concentrations. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first report applying statistical experimental designs to optimize the crosslinking of thymine-based polymers

Author Correction: The copy number variation landscape of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract.

In the version of this article initially published, affiliation 38 incorrectly read ICNU-Nephrology and Urology Department, Barcelona, Spain ; Renal Division, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain is the correct affiliation. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article

The copy number variation landscape of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract.

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are a major cause of pediatric kidney failure. We performed a genome-wide analysis of copy number variants (CNVs) in 2,824 cases and 21,498 controls. Affected individuals carried a significant burden of rare exonic (that is, affecting coding regions) CNVs and were enriched for known genomic disorders (GD). Kidney anomaly (KA) cases were most enriched for exonic CNVs, encompassing GD-CNVs and novel deletions; obstructive uropathy (OU) had a lower CNV burden and an intermediate prevalence of GD-CNVs; and vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) had the fewest GD-CNVs but was enriched for novel exonic CNVs, particularly duplications. Six loci (1q21, 4p16.1-p16.3, 16p11.2, 16p13.11, 17q12 and 22q11.2) accounted for 65% of patients with GD-CNVs. Deletions at 17q12, 4p16.1-p16.3 and 22q11.2 were specific for KA; the 16p11.2 locus showed extensive pleiotropy. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we identified TBX6 as a driver for the CAKUT subphenotypes in the 16p11.2 microdeletion syndrome