Stress related epigenetic changes may explain opportunistic success in biological invasions in Antipode mussels

Different environmental factors could induce epigenetic changes, which are likely involved in the biological invasion process. Some of these factors are driven by humans as, for example, the pollution and deliberate or accidental introductions and others are due to natural conditions such as salinity. In this study, we have analysed the relationship between different stress factors: time in the new location, pollution and salinity with the methylation changes that could be involved in the invasive species tolerance to new environments. For this purpose, we have analysed two different mussels’ species, reciprocally introduced in antipode areas: the Mediterranean blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the New Zealand pygmy mussel Xenostrobus securis, widely recognized invaders outside their native distribution ranges. The demetylathion was higher in more stressed population, supporting the idea of epigenetic is involved in plasticity process. These results can open a new management protocols, using the epigenetic signals as potential pollution monitoring tool. We could use these epigenetic marks to recognise the invasive status in a population and determine potential biopollutants

Management and Outcome of Cardiac and Endovascular Cystic Echinococcosis

Cardiac and vascular involvement are infrequent in classical cystic echinococcosis (CE), but when they occur they tend to present earlier and are associated with complications that may be life threatening. Cardiovascular CE usually requires complex surgery, so in low-income countries the outcome is frequently fatal. This case series describes the characteristics of cardiovascular CE in patients diagnosed and treated at a Tropical Medicine & Clinical Parasitology Center in Spain. A retrospective case series of 11 patients with cardiac and/or endovascular CE, followed-up over a period of 15 years (1995–2009) is reported. The main clinical manifestations included thoracic pain or dyspnea, although 2 patients were asymptomatic. The clinical picture and complications vary according to cyst location. Isolated cardiac CE may be cured after surgery, while endovascular extracardiac involvement is associated with severe chronic complications. CE should be included in the differential diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in patients from endemic areas. CE is a neglected disease and further studies are necessary in order to make more definite management recommendations for this rare and severe form of the disease. The authors propose a general approach based on cyst location: exclusively cardiac, endovascular or both

Spatial pattern in stress drops of moderate-sized earthquakes on the Pacific Plate off the south-east of Hokkaido, Japan: implications for the heterogeneity of frictional properties

Abstract ᅟ We show that the spatial heterogeneity in the coseismic displacement of large earthquakes likely reflects the spatial characteristics of the frictional properties and that it can be inferred from the stress drop of moderate-sized earthquakes. We analyzed stress drops of 686 earthquakes with magnitudes of 4.0 to 5.0 off the south-east of Hokkaido, Japan, and investigated the spatial heterogeneity between the difference of shear strength and dynamic stress level on the Pacific Plate. We deconvolved observed P and S waves with those of collocated small earthquakes and derived the source effect of the earthquakes. We then estimated the corner frequencies of the earthquakes and calculated stress drops using a circular fault model. The values of stress drops showed a spatial pattern consistent with slip distributions of historical large earthquakes. Earthquakes that occurred in the area with a large coseismic slip during the 1968 Tokachi-oki (M W 8.2) and the 2003 Tokachi-oki (M W 8.0) earthquakes had large values of stress drop, whereas earthquakes in the afterslip area of the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake showed smaller values. In addition, an area between coseismic ruptures of the 1973 Nemuro-oki (M W 7.8) and the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquakes had a large value of stress drop. Ruptures occurred in this area during the 1952 Tokachi-oki earthquake (M W 8.1), and the area acted as a barrier during the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake. These facts suggest that the frictional properties of the plate interface show little temporal change, and their spatial pattern can be monitored by stress drops of moderate-sized earthquakes. The spatial heterogeneity provides important information for estimating the slip pattern of a future large earthquake and discussing a policy for disaster mitigation, especially for regions in which slip patterns of historical large earthquakes are unclear. Graphical abstrac