La collection de <i>Pelagosphaera</i> du <i>Dana</i>

1.- More than 1900 specimens of Pelagosphaera were collected during the Dana Expedition. They were caught in all explored seas. 2.- In addition to contracted specimens which have already been described by previous authors, a few inflated individuals were found. In front of a spherical body, these larvae present a conical collar with a strong metatroch (fallen in fixed specimens) and a proboscis orientated ventrally. 3.- The anatomical features of the larvae are exactly similar to those described by previous authors. The number of longitudinal muscles as well of retractor muscles is so variable that it is even impossible to try to class the larvae in a definitive species. But it is highly probable that they belong to a Sipunculus.4.- Some anatomical features are described with more precision, especially the structure of the accessory organs of the mouth and of the nephridia which are metanephridia. 5.- Some 15 individuals were at the beginning of metamorphosis, but they still retained all the larval organs. The metatroch, in particular, is in a perfect state. The collar is invaded by a lot of muscle fibers and is fringed, so that it seems to be the origin of the tentacles of the adult. 6.- Many Radiolarians and Diatoms were found in the gut of Pelagosphaera. 7 .- Pelagosphaera is a trochophore highly adapted to pelagic life. It was caught mostly in the upper 300 metres but above depths of 2000 metres or more. 8.- The study of , especially of the specimens in metamorphosis, suggests that the Sipunculids are trochophores adapted to benthic life

Chromosome Segregation Is Biased by Kinetochore Size

Chromosome missegregation during mitosis or meiosis is a hallmark of cancer and the main cause of prenatal death in humans. The gain or loss of specific chromosomes is thought to be random, with cell viability being essentially determined by selection. Several established pathways including centrosome amplification, sister-chromatid cohesion defects, or a compromised spindle assembly checkpoint can lead to chromosome missegregation. However, how specific intrinsic features of the kinetochore—the critical chromosomal interface with spindle microtubules—impact chromosome segregation remains poorly understood. Here we used the unique cytological attributes of female Indian muntjac, the mammal with the lowest known chromosome number (2n = 6), to characterize and track individual chromosomes with distinct kinetochore size throughout mitosis. We show that centromere and kinetochore functional layers scale proportionally with centromere size. Measurement of intra-kinetochore distances, serial-section electron microscopy, and RNAi against key kinetochore proteins confirmed a standard structural and functional organization of the Indian muntjac kinetochores and revealed that microtubule binding capacity scales with kinetochore size. Surprisingly, we found that chromosome segregation in this species is not random. Chromosomes with larger kinetochores bi-oriented more efficiently and showed a 2-fold bias to congress to the equator in a motor-independent manner. Despite robust correction mechanisms during unperturbed mitosis, chromosomes with larger kinetochores were also strongly biased to establish erroneous merotelic attachments and missegregate during anaphase. This bias was impervious to the experimental attenuation of polar ejection forces on chromosome arms by RNAi against the chromokinesin Kif4a. Thus, kinetochore size is an important determinant of chromosome segregation fidelity

31. Biopsia aspirativa transtorácica por agulha fina para o diagnóstico de lesões pulmonares

Transthoracic Fine-Needle Aspiration contributes for the diagnosis of pulmonary malignant and benign lesions through cytologic analysis of the obtained material.The purpose of this study was to determine indications, accuracy and safety of transthoracic fine-needle aspiration (TNA) in the evaluation of patients with pulmonary lesions.The authors made a retrospective chart review of seven hundred and forty patients submitted to TNA in our hospital, between September 1, 1998 and June 30, 2003. Three hundred and seventy four (50,5%) were outpatients. TNA procedure was performed using an ultrathin needle, guided by fluoroscopy and cytopathologic evaluation of samples was immediate in all patients. TNA was diagnostic in 72.0% patients: a diagnosis of malignancy was achieved in 81.8% of those and benign pathology was identified in 18.2%. Complications occurred in 7.8%: pneumothorax in 5,9% patients (chest tube placement required in 2,1%); haemoptysis occurred in 2.5%.We concluded that TNA has an excellent diagnostic accuracy for malignant pulmonary lesions at a low complication rate, therefore it can be safely done in outpatients

Automatic system for personalised exercise recommendation in breast cancer care using mobile technologies and machine learning

[ES] Aliviar las secuelas del cáncer en general, y en particular del cáncer de mama, es uno de los mayores retos de nuestros tiempos, y precisamente el ejercicio terapéutico se plantea como una solución para paliar los efectos secundarios del cáncer y su tratamiento a corto y largo plazo. No obstante, para que las intervenciones del ejercicio físico sean más efectivas estas deben estar adaptadas a cada paciente según sus capacidades y necesidades de entrenamiento específicas. Dicha adaptación al entrenamiento utilizando tecnologías de salud móvil (mSalud) ya se ha llevado a cabo con éxito en entornos deportivos, y en este trabajo se plantea una aproximación similar para pacientes con cáncer de mama, donde se pretende ajustar de forma individual las dosis de entrenamiento a las necesidades de cada paciente. Para ello, se ha diseñado y desarrollado un sistema completo de mSalud que ha permitido extraer un conjunto de datos longitudinal con mediciones de la carga del ejercicio de pacientes de cáncer de mama. A partir de dichos datos se están utilizando técnicas de ciencia de datos y aprendizaje automático para extraer los diferentes estados de recuperación de las pacientes a lo largo de una intervención en ejercicio físico, lo cual nos permitirá plantear un sistema de ayuda a la toma de decisiones para prescribir dosis individualizadas de ejercicio terapéutico.[EN] Alleviating the sequelae of cancer in general, and breast cancer in particular, is one of the greatest challenges of our times, and therapeutic exercise is precisely one solution to alleviate the side effects of cancer and its treatment in the short and long term. However, in order to make exercise interventions more effective, they must be adapted to each patient according to their specific training needs and abilities. Such adaptation to training using mobile health technologies (mHealth) has already been successfully carried out in sports settings, and this work proposes a similar approach for breast cancer patients, where the aim is to individually adjust the training doses to the needs of each patient. To this end, a complete mHealth system has been designed and developed to extract a longitudinal dataset of exercise load measurements from breast cancer patients. To leverage these data, data science and machine learning techniques are being used to extract the different states of recovery of patients throughout a physical exercise intervention, which will allow us to propose a decision support system to prescribe individualized doses of therapeutic exercise

Upgrading short read animal genome assemblies to chromosome level using comparative genomics and a universal probe set

Most recent initiatives to sequence and assemble new species’ genomes de-novo fail to achieve the ultimate endpoint to produce a series of contigs, each representing one whole chromosome. Even the best-assembled genomes (using contemporary technologies) consist of sub-chromosomal sized scaffolds. To circumvent this problem, we developed a novel approach that combines computational algorithms to merge scaffolds into chromosomal fragments, scaffold verification by PCR and physical mapping to chromosomes. Multi genome-alignment-guided probe selection led to the development of a set of universal avian BAC clones that permit rapid anchoring of multiple scaffold loci to chromosomes on all avian genomes. As proof of principle we assembled genomes of the pigeon (Columbia livia) and peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) to chromosome level comparable, in continuity, to avian reference genomes. Both species are of interest for breeding, cultural, food and/or environmental reasons. Pigeon has a typical avian karyotype (2n=80) while falcon (2n=50) is highly rearranged compared to the avian ancestor. Using chromosome breakpoint data, we established that avian interchromosomal breakpoints appear in the regions of low density of conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) and that the chromosomal fission sites are further limited to long CNE “deserts”. This corresponds with fission being the rarest type of rearrangement in avian genome evolution. High-throughput multiple hybridization and rapid capture strategies using the current BAC set provide the basis for assembling numerous avian (and possibly other reptilian) species while the overall strategy for scaffold assembly and mapping provides the basis for an approach that could be applied to any animal genome

Novel neuronal surface autoantibodies in plasma of patients with depression and anxiety

Neuronal surface autoantibodies (NSAbs) against various antigens cause autoimmune encephalitis. Some of these antigens are also involved in the pathology of depression and anxiety. To study whether NSAbs are more common in plasma of individuals with depression and anxiety than in controls, and to investigate if NSAbs correlate with disease status, plasma samples of 819 individuals with a current diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety, 920 in remission and 492 individuals without these disorders were included in this study. Samples were tested by a combination of immunohistochemistry (IHC), staining on live rat hippocampus neurons and cell-based assay (CBA). By IHC, 50 (2.2%) samples showed immunoreactivity to rat brain tissue, with no significant differences between the aforementioned groups (22/819 vs 18/920 vs 11/492, P > 0.99). In addition, eight IHC positive samples were positive for NSAbs on live neurons (7/819 vs 0/920 vs 1/492, P = 0.006). The IHC-staining patterns of these eight samples were atypical for autoimmune encephalitis and accordingly, they tested negative for known NSAbs by CBA. No obvious difference in the clinical characteristics between individuals with or without NSAbs was observed. In conclusion, novel NSAbs were rare but predominately found in patients with current anxiety or depression indicating they might affect mental health in a small group of patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio