Selective sweeps on novel and introgressed variation shape mimicry loci in a butterfly adaptive radiation.

Natural selection leaves distinct signatures in the genome that can reveal the targets and history of adaptive evolution. By analysing high-coverage genome sequence data from 4 major colour pattern loci sampled from nearly 600 individuals in 53 populations, we show pervasive selection on wing patterns in the Heliconius adaptive radiation. The strongest signatures correspond to loci with the greatest phenotypic effects, consistent with visual selection by predators, and are found in colour patterns with geographically restricted distributions. These recent sweeps are similar between co-mimics and indicate colour pattern turn-over events despite strong stabilising selection. Using simulations, we compare sweep signatures expected under classic hard sweeps with those resulting from adaptive introgression, an important aspect of mimicry evolution in Heliconius butterflies. Simulated recipient populations show a distinct 'volcano' pattern with peaks of increased genetic diversity around the selected target, characteristic of sweeps of introgressed variation and consistent with diversity patterns found in some populations. Our genomic data reveal a surprisingly dynamic history of colour pattern selection and co-evolution in this adaptive radiation

Ancient and historical DNA in conservation policy

Although genetic diversity has been recognized as a key component of biodiversity since the first Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1993, it has rarely been included in conservation policies and regulations. Even less appreciated is the role that ancient and historical DNA (aDNA and hDNA, respectively) could play in unlocking the temporal dimension of genetic diversity, allowing key conservation issues to be resolved, including setting baselines for intraspecies genetic diversity, estimating changes in effective population size (N-e), and identifying the genealogical continuity of populations. Here, we discuss how genetic information from ancient and historical specimens can play a central role in preserving biodiversity and highlight specific conservation policies that could incorporate such data to help countries meet their CBD obligations.Peer reviewe

BK polyomavirus DNAemia with a high DNA load is associated with de novo donor-specific HLA antibodies in kidney transplant recipients

BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (BKPyVAN) is a well-known complication of kidney transplantation (KTx). The mainstay of prevention is the reduction of immunosuppression upon detection of BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) DNAemia, which precedes BKPyVAN. However, this reduction may inadvertently increase the risk of alloimmunity particularly in patients with a high BKPyV DNA load, where significant immunosuppression reduction is often necessary. This single-center, retrospective cohort study assesses the risk of de novo donor-specific antibodies (dnDSA) development and biopsy-proven acute rejection (BPAR) following high and low BKPyV DNAemia. All patients who underwent KTx at Leiden University Medical Center between 2011 and 2020 were included. Patients were grouped according to high (maximum BKPyV DNA load > 4log10 copies/mL), low (maximum serum BKPyV DNA load ≤ 10E4 copies/mL), and absent BKPyV DNAemia, and analyzed for the development of dnDSA and BPAR, using Cox regression. Of 1076 KTx recipients included, 108 (10%) developed a BKPyV DNAemia with a maximum DNA load below 4log10 copies/mL, whereas 121 (11.2%) developed a BKPyV DNAemia exceeding 4log10 copies/mL. The risk of dnDSA development was higher in patients with a high BKPyV DNAemia, compared to patients without DNAemia (adjusted hazard ratio of 1.9 (95% CI 1.1–3.2, p = 0.017). No significant difference in dnDSA risk was observed between patients with low and absent BKPyV DNAemia. Risk of BPAR did not differ between groups. Our study shows that higher BKPyV DNA loads in KTx patients are associated with a higher risk for dnDSA development, highlighting the importance of exploring additional strategies for the prevention and treatment of BKPyV infections in KTx recipients. Clinical Pharmacy and Toxicolog

MicroRNA-96 Directly Inhibits γ-Globin Expression in Human Erythropoiesis

Fetal hemoglobin, HbF (α2γ2), is the main hemoglobin synthesized up to birth, but it subsequently declines and adult hemoglobin, HbA (α2β2), becomes predominant. Several studies have indicated that expression of the HbF subunit γ-globin might be regulated post-transcriptionally. This could be confered by ∼22-nucleotide long microRNAs that associate with argonaute proteins to specifically target γ-globin mRNAs and inhibit protein expression. Indeed, applying immunopurifications, we found that γ-globin mRNA was associated with argonaute 2 isolated from reticulocytes that contain low levels of HbF (<1%), whereas association was significantly lower in reticulocytes with high levels of HbF (90%). Comparing microRNA expression in reticulocytes from cord blood and adult blood, we identified several miRNAs that were preferentially expressed in adults, among them miRNA-96. The overexpression of microRNA-96 in human ex vivo erythropoiesis decreased γ-globin expression by 50%, whereas the knock-down of endogenous microRNA-96 increased γ-globin expression by 20%. Moreover, luciferase reporter assays showed that microRNA-96 negatively regulates expression of γ-globin in HEK293 cells, which depends on a seedless but highly complementary target site located within the coding sequence of γ-globin. Based on these results we conclude that microRNA-96 directly suppresses γ-globin expression and thus contributes to HbF regulation

PSIII-3 Effect of Type of Desiccant Used to Dry Piglets at Birth on Postnatal Changes in Rectal Temperature

Abstract All piglets experience hypothermia immediately after birth, which can be a predisposing factor for pre-weaning mortality. Drying piglets at birth with a desiccant reduces the extent and duration of postnatal temperature decline. This study compared the effectiveness of different types of commercially-available desiccant products using a CRD with four treatments (applied at birth): Control (piglets not dried) and 3 Desiccant Product treatments [dried with a Mineral-based, Cellulose-based, or Mixed (mineral and cellulose-based) desiccant]. Sows (40) and litters (546 piglets) were randomly allotted to a treatment at the birth of the first piglet. Sows were housed in individual farrowing crates within pens; a heat lamp was suspended over one side of each pen. Room temperature was set at 22.8°C throughout farrowing. Piglets were weighed at birth, those on the Desiccant Product treatments were coated with desiccant until completely dry, and then returned to the pen. Piglet rectal temperatures were measured at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 120 min after birth. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). The model included the fixed effects of treatment, measurement time (repeated measure), and the interaction. There was no effect (P &amp;gt; 0.05) of treatment on rectal temperatures at birth. At all other measurement times, piglets on the Control treatment had lower (P &amp;lt; 0.05) rectal temperatures than those on the 3 Desiccant Product treatments, which had similar (P &amp;gt; 0.05) rectal temperatures. These results suggest that the 3 commercial desiccant products evaluated were equally effective at minimizing the extent and duration of piglet rectal temperature decline in the early postnatal period. <jats:p /

PSIII-3 Changes in Sow Posture from Weaning to Estrus

Abstract Sows exhibit changes in behavior as they approach estrus that could aid in identifying the optimum time for insemination. The objective was to monitor changes in posture of sows from weaning to the first day that sows exhibited standing reflex. A cross-sectional survey was carried out using 99 multi-parous sows (in 7 groups) that were monitored over an 11–d period following weaning. At weaning, sows were moved from a farrowing to a breeding facility and were housed in individual stalls. Sows were checked daily for standing reflex from d 4 to 8 post-weaning; 97 sows exhibited standing reflex (80.4% of sows by d 6). Continuous video recordings were collected throughout the study period. Scan sampling was carried out on the videos every 5 min with the posture of each sow recorded (lying, standing, or sitting). The relative frequency of each posture was estimated as a percentage of the total number of observations within each day. Regression analyses were carried out using PROC REG of SAS to determine the rate of change in the frequency of active behavior (standing + sitting) from day of weaning to the first day of standing reflex. Over the study period, the frequency of sows lying, standing, and sitting was 76.5%, 20.0%, and 3.5%, respectively. The frequency of active behaviors increased linearly (P &amp;lt; 0.05) from day of weaning to day of standing reflex (Table 1); slopes ranged from 1.73 to 4.39 %/d depending on the period analyzed. However, there was considerable variation between sows with 9 showing no change in the frequency of active behavior between weaning and standing estrus. These results suggest that changes in posture could potentially be used as a predictor for the start of estrus; however, further research is needed to understand individual sow variations in these postures. <jats:p /

Hyponatrémie aux urgences

IntroductionL’hyponatrémie (HNa) est une des anomalies hydro-électrolytiques les plus fréquentes. Une seule étude prospective a été réalisée aux urgences montrant une prévalence de l’HNa de 3.8%. L’impact de l’HNa sur la mortalité et la morbidité des patients admis aux urgences reste toutefois inconnu.Objectifs :Evaluer la fréquence et les complications associées à l’ HNa chez des patients admis dans le service des urgences d’un hôpital universitaire bruxellois.Patients et MéthodesNous avons rétrospectivement identifié les dossiers de tous les patients admis aux urgences entre le 1er juin 2009 et le 30 mars 2010 grâce à un système informatique (E-Care). Les patients présentant un sodium plasmatique < 130mmol/l ont été identifiés via le laboratoire central de l’hôpital ;cette liste a été confrontée avec celle de tous les patients sur le système E-Care pour identifier ceux dont la prise de sang avaient été effectuée aux urgences (le groupe « cas »). Nous avons par la suite créé un groupe « contrôle », en appariant pour l’âge et le sexe, un même nombre de patients admis aux urgences durant la même période n’ayant pas d’HNa (appariement 1 :1). Nous avons collecté les donnés démographiques (âge, sexe et date d’admission), cliniques (motif d’admission, signes et symptômes), biologiques (sodium plasmatique, urée, créatinine, sodium, osmolarité et créatinine urinaire, diurèse de 24 heures) ainsi que les co-morbidités. Nous avons aussi enregistré les médicaments que les patients prenaient avant l’admission (corticoïdes, antidépresseurs, antiépileptiques, immunosuppresseurs, diurétiques, inhibiteurs de l’enzyme de conversion ou les antagonistes du récepteur à l’angiotensine II). Les variables d’intérêt étaient :l’admission à l’hôpital, l’admission aux Soins Intensifs, la survenue de complications respiratoires (pneumonie, syndrome de détresse respiratoire aigu - SDRA), cardio-vasculaires (œdème pulmonaire aigu, syndrome coronarien aigu), neurologiques (épilepsie, coma), du système uro-gynécologique (infection urinaire, avortement, insuffisance rénale aiguë), digestives (diarrhée, hémorragie digestive), orthopédiques (fracture, douleur ostéo-tendineuse) ou de sepsis ;la mortalité hospitalière.RésultatsParmi les 36036 patients admis aux urgences dans la période d’étude, 10816 ont eu une prise de sang, dont 183 avaient une HNa (1.7%). Les patients dans le group HNa avaient plus fréquemment des tumeurs solides (29/183 vs. 12/183 p = 0.03) et recevaient plus de diurétiques que les patients « contrôles » (68/183 vs. 47/183 p = 0.04). Le tableau clinique à l’admission n’était pas différent entre les groupes. Seulement 59 patients (32%) avec HNa avaient eu une récolte des urines de 24 heures et/ou une analyse du sodium, de l’osmolarité et de la créatinine urinaires permettant une démarche diagnostique pour identifier la cause d’HNa. L’admission à l’hôpital ou à l’USI était significativement plus fréquente chez les patients HNa que les contrôles (163/183 vs. 99/183 - p = 0.001, 25/183 vs. 7/183, p = 0.01, respectivement). La durée d’hospitalisation était de 11 jours [6-16] dans le groupe HNa et de 8 jours [4-14] dans le groupe contrôle (p = 0.01). Les patients HNa présentaient plus fréquemment au moins une complication pendant leur séjour (44 vs. 10%, p<0.001), et plus spécifiquement plus de complications respiratoires (13 vs. 4%, p = 0.01), uro-gynécologiques (15 vs. 5%, p = 0.01), digestives (18 vs. 4%, p < 0.001), orthopédiques (4 vs. 0%, p = 0.01) et de sepsis (17 vs. 0%, p < 0.001). La mortalité hospitalière n’était pas différente entre les deux groupes (9 vs. 5%, p = 0.23).ConclusionL’HNa est une pathologie peu fréquente aux urgences. Elle est associée à un risque plus élevé de séjour à l’hôpital ou aux soins intensifs. L’HNa est aussi associée plus fréquemment à la survenue de différentes complications, mais pas à un risque accru de mortalité. Le rôle de l’HNa comme marqueur de risque aux urgences devrait être prospectivement confirmé dans des études futures.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Knee size chart nomogram for evaluation of tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove distance in knees with or without history of patellofemoral instability

Purpose: Lateralized tibial tubercle is a cause of patellar instability. Before proceeding with reduction of the tibial tubercle-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance, surgeons prefer to know whether this distance is pathologic. However, the pathological value remains discussed and may vary with the size of the knee. Methods: We sought to determine variability in the traditional TT-TG distance versus the anthropometric knee size, using dimensions of the distal part of the femur and proximal part of the tibia of 85 CT scans of the knees in two groups of knees, one normal group without history of patellofemoral instability and one pathologic group with history of instability. Results: The average TT-TG distance measured 13 mm in normal knees and 16.4 mm in pathologic knees. The variability in measurements between normal and pathologic knees varied respectively between ± 5 and ± 15 mm, with as consequence absence of threshold value between normal and pathologic knees. These measurements were supplemented by an analysis of a size ratio coefficient. In the normal group without history of instability, linear regression analysis showed that patients with larger knees tended to have higher TT-TG distances and that the values are associated with the mean ML femoro-tibial width (p = 0.014; Pearson coefficient = 0.4). The knees with history of instability also keep proportional increase of TT-TG with the size of the knee as the knees without history of instability. We developed a nomogram to more appropriately represent the normal values for a given size of the knee. Application of the nomographic model on the CT scan TT-TG data of the patients who have knee instability allows the orthopaedic surgeon to associate the TT-TG distance with the knee size and to evaluate the medial transfer corresponding to the knee size. Conclusions: The average TT-TG distances in normal and pathologic knees were not identical for each size of the knees. © 2018, SICOT aisbl

4 Variation in Sow Body Temperature Following Weaning

Abstract There is limited data available on variation in sow temperature following weaning. The objective of this study was to determine variation (diurnal and with day post-weaning) in rectal (RT) and vulva surface (VT) temperature following weaning. A cross-sectional survey was carried out using 114 multi-parous sows weaned in 7 groups between September and December. Sows were housed in individual stalls and were checked daily for standing reflex from d 4 to 8 post-weaning. Sow RT (measured with a standard thermometer) and VT (measured with an infrared thermal camera) were measured daily [at 06:15 (feeding time), 07:00, 07:30 (heat checking time), 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00, 21:00, and 23:00]. A repeated-measures analysis was carried out using PROC MIXED of SAS; models included the fixed effect of either study day or measurement time, and random effect of group. The number of sows exhibiting standing reflex on d 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 post-weaning was 1, 45, 45, 19, 1, respectively; 3 sows did not exhibit standing reflex. Average VT and RT over the study period were 30.8 ± 3.23 and 38.2 ± 0.60°C, respectively; the correlation between these measurements was 0.08 (P &amp;lt; 0.05). There was considerable day-to-day variation in average VT (range between day: 29.5 to 32.6°C) and to a lesser extent RT (range: 37.7 to 38.5°C). The VT was higher (P &amp;lt; 0.05) on d 3 to 5 post-weaning compared with other days. Also, VT was higher (P &amp;lt; 0.05) between 06:15 and 07:30 than at the other measurement times. There was no clear pattern for either day-to-day or diurnal variation in RT. In conclusion, this study described between-sow variation in RT and VT following weaning. Further research is needed to determine if any of this variation in temperature is associated with the onset of estrus.</jats:p