Evolution and Biogeographic History of Rubyspot Damselflies (Hetaerininae: Calopterygidae: Odonata)

The damselflies Hetaerininae, a subfamily of Calopterygidae, comprise four genera distributed from North to South America: Hetaerina, Mnesarete, Ormenophlebia and Bryoplathanon. While several studies have focused on the intriguing behavioral and morphological modifications within Hetaerina, little of the evolutionary history of the group is well understood. Understanding the biogeographical history of Hetaerininae is further complicated by uncertainty in important geological events, such as the closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS). We generated a phylogenetic hypothesis to test the relationships and divergence times within Hetaerininae using IQtree and BEAST2 and found that Mnesarete and Ormenophlebia render Hetaerina paraphyletic. Reclassification of the genera within Hetaerininae is necessary based on our results. We also tested the fit to our dataset of two different hypotheses for the closure of CAS. Our results supported a gradual closure, starting in the Oligocene and ending in the Pliocene. Using Ancestral Character State Reconstruction, we found that the rubyspot, which is associated with higher fecundity in several species, was ancestral for Hetaerininae and subsequently lost four times. Estimates of diversification in association with the rubyspot are needed to understand the plasticity of this important character. Forest habitat was the ancestral state for Hetaerininae, with transitions to generalist species of Hetaerina found primarily in the Mesoamerican region. These results add to our understanding of the relationship between morphology, biogeography and habitat in a charismatic group of damselflie

The field high-amplitude SX Phe variable BL Cam: results from a multisite photometric campaign. II. Evidence of a binary - possibly triple - system

Short-period high-amplitude pulsating stars of Population I ($\delta$ Sct stars) and II (SX Phe variables) exist in the lower part of the classical (Cepheid) instability strip. Most of them have very simple pulsational behaviours, only one or two radial modes being excited. Nevertheless, BL Cam is a unique object among them, being an extreme metal-deficient field high-amplitude SX Phe variable with a large number of frequencies. Based on a frequency analysis, a pulsational interpretation was previously given. aims heading (mandatory) We attempt to interpret the long-term behaviour of the residuals that were not taken into account in the previous Observed-Calculated (O-C) short-term analyses. methods heading (mandatory) An investigation of the O-C times has been carried out, using a data set based on the previous published times of light maxima, largely enriched by those obtained during an intensive multisite photometric campaign of BL Cam lasting several months. results heading (mandatory) In addition to a positive (161 $\pm$ 3) x 10$^{-9}$ yr$^{-1}$ secular relative increase in the main pulsation period of BL Cam, we detected in the O-C data short- (144.2 d) and long-term ($\sim$ 3400 d) variations, both incompatible with a scenario of stellar evolution. conclusions heading (mandatory) Interpreted as a light travel-time effect, the short-term O-C variation is indicative of a massive stellar component (0.46 to 1 M_{\sun}) with a short period orbit (144.2 d), within a distance of 0.7 AU from the primary. More observations are needed to confirm the long-term O-C variations: if they were also to be caused by a light travel-time effect, they could be interpreted in terms of a third component, in this case probably a brown dwarf star ($\geq$ 0.03 \ M_{\sun}), orbiting in $\sim$ 3400 d at a distance of 4.5 AU from the primary.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&

The Eleventh and Twelfth Data Releases of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Final Data from SDSS-III

The third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) took data from 2008 to 2014 using the original SDSS wide-field imager, the original and an upgraded multi-object fiber-fed optical spectrograph, a new near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph, and a novel optical interferometer. All of the data from SDSS-III are now made public. In particular, this paper describes Data Release 11 (DR11) including all data acquired through 2013 July, and Data Release 12 (DR12) adding data acquired through 2014 July (including all data included in previous data releases), marking the end of SDSS-III observing. Relative to our previous public release (DR10), DR12 adds one million new spectra of galaxies and quasars from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) over an additional 3000 deg2 of sky, more than triples the number of H-band spectra of stars as part of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), and includes repeated accurate radial velocity measurements of 5500 stars from the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey (MARVELS). The APOGEE outputs now include the measured abundances of 15 different elements for each star. In total, SDSS-III added 5200 deg2 of ugriz imaging; 155,520 spectra of 138,099 stars as part of the Sloan Exploration of Galactic Understanding and Evolution 2 (SEGUE-2) survey; 2,497,484 BOSS spectra of 1,372,737 galaxies, 294,512 quasars, and 247,216 stars over 9376 deg2; 618,080 APOGEE spectra of 156,593 stars; and 197,040 MARVELS spectra of 5513 stars. Since its first light in 1998, SDSS has imaged over 1/3 of the Celestial sphere in five bands and obtained over five million astronomical spectra. \ua9 2015. The American Astronomical Society

SDSS-III: Massive Spectroscopic Surveys of the Distant Universe, the Milky Way Galaxy, and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems

Building on the legacy of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-I and II), SDSS-III is a program of four spectroscopic surveys on three scientific themes: dark energy and cosmological parameters, the history and structure of the Milky Way, and the population of giant planets around other stars. In keeping with SDSS tradition, SDSS-III will provide regular public releases of all its data, beginning with SDSS DR8 (which occurred in Jan 2011). This paper presents an overview of the four SDSS-III surveys. BOSS will measure redshifts of 1.5 million massive galaxies and Lya forest spectra of 150,000 quasars, using the BAO feature of large scale structure to obtain percent-level determinations of the distance scale and Hubble expansion rate at z<0.7 and at z~2.5. SEGUE-2, which is now completed, measured medium-resolution (R=1800) optical spectra of 118,000 stars in a variety of target categories, probing chemical evolution, stellar kinematics and substructure, and the mass profile of the dark matter halo from the solar neighborhood to distances of 100 kpc. APOGEE will obtain high-resolution (R~30,000), high signal-to-noise (S/N>100 per resolution element), H-band (1.51-1.70 micron) spectra of 10^5 evolved, late-type stars, measuring separate abundances for ~15 elements per star and creating the first high-precision spectroscopic survey of all Galactic stellar populations (bulge, bar, disks, halo) with a uniform set of stellar tracers and spectral diagnostics. MARVELS will monitor radial velocities of more than 8000 FGK stars with the sensitivity and cadence (10-40 m/s, ~24 visits per star) needed to detect giant planets with periods up to two years, providing an unprecedented data set for understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of giant planet systems. (Abridged)Comment: Revised to version published in The Astronomical Journa

Aspectos genéticos de la mola hidatidiforme

La mola hidatidiforme (MH) consiste en un embarazo anormal caracterizado por la degeneración hidrópica de las vellosidades coriales e hiperplasia trofoblástica. Se clasifica en mola hidatidiforme parcial (MHP) y mola hidatidiforme completa (MHC). Tiene una incidencia de 1-3:1,000 embarazos en Norteamérica y Europa, y de 2.4:1,000 en México. Entre el 10-30% se complican con enfermedad gestacional trofoblástica persistente. El 75% de los embarazos molares se clasifican como MHC, la cual de manera general tiene un complemento cromosómico diploide androgenético. Histopatológicamente se caracteriza por edema hidrópico difuso e hiperplasia del sinciciotrofoblasto, citotrofoblasto y trofoblasto intermedio; el restante 25% se clasifica como MHP, con complemento cromosómico triploide e histopatológicamente se caracteriza por la presencia de dos poblaciones de vellosidades coriales, y existe hiperplasia del sinciciotrofoblasto y citotrofoblasto. La mayoría de las MHs son esporádicas, recurriendo de manera general del 0.6-2.57% de los casos. Se considera mola recurrente (MR) la ocurrencia de dos o más embarazos molares en una misma paciente, en este caso se identifican dos grupos de pacientes, aquellas con MR de origen androgenético y aquellas con MR con complemento diploide y origen biparental (MDBP), en el primer caso es raro que ocurra un tercer embarazo molar y el pronóstico reproductivo es más favorable. En aquellas pacientes con MDBP, su etiología se ha relacionado con alteraciones en la metilación materna del tejido molar por mutaciones en los genes NLRP7 y KHCD3L, el pronóstico reproductivo para estas pacientes es adverso, con probabilidad de lograr un embarazo normal a término solo del 5 al 7%

Alteraciones cromosómicas y decisiones reproductivas en pacientes con infertilidad masculina de causa genética

ResumenAntecedentesLas causas genéticas más frecuentemente asociadas con infertilidad masculina son las anomalías cromosómicas y microdeleciones del cromosoma Y.ObjetivoDeterminar la frecuencia de alteraciones cromosómicas en pacientes con alteraciones seminales y de microdeleciones del cromosoma Y en aquéllos con una concentración espermática <5 millones/ml, así como conocer la decisión reproductiva.Material y métodosDe enero de 2011 a agosto de 2014 se realizó cariotipo a 100 hombres infértiles referidos por el Servicio de Andrología; en 70 de ellos, que presentaban una concentración espermática <5 millones/ml y cariotipo normal, se estudiaron microdeleciones del cromosoma Y.ResultadosDos pacientes presentaron alteraciones cromosómicas estructurales, uno con criptozoospermia: 46,XY,t(13;18)(q11;p11) y otro con criptoteratozoospermia: 46,X,t(Y;6)(q12;p12). En cinco de estos 70 casos se detectaron microdeleciones del cromosoma Y cuatro de ellos presentaron deleción de la región AZFc, de los cuales dos cursaban con oligoastenoteratozoospermia, uno con azoospermia y otro con criptozoospermia. Un paciente con azoospermia presentó deleción de la región AZFa. Los pacientes con translocaciones cromosómicas abandonaron su seguimiento. Los dos hombres con deleción de AZFc y el paciente con deleción en AZFa solicitaron reproducción asistida con semen heterólogo; los otros dos pacientes con deleción de AZFc optaron por embarazo con técnicas de reproducción asistida y semen homólogo.DiscusiónLa valoración y los estudios genéticos de pacientes con infertilidad masculina son importantes para conocer la causa y otorgar un adecuado asesoramiento genético.AbstractBackgroundChromosomal abnormalities and Y chromosome microdeletions are the genetic causes most frequently associated with male infertility.ObjectivesTo determine the frequency of chromosomal abnormalities in patients with impaired seminal parameters, and Y chromosome microdeletions in those men with a sperm concentration <5 mill/ml, as well as to know their reproductive decision.Material and methodsDuring the period from January 2011 to August 2014, karyotyping was performed on 100 patients referred from the Andrology Service. Y chromosome microdeletions were studied in 70 patients with a sperm concentration <5 mill/ml and a normal karyotype.ResultsTwo patients had structural chromosome abnormalities: 1 with cryptozoospermia of 46,XY,t(13;18)(q11;p11) and 1 with cryptoteratozoospermia of 46,X,t(Y;6)(q12;p12). Five of the 70 had Y chromosome microdeletions and 4 of them had a deletion of the AZFc region; of these last 4, 2 presented oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, 1 azoospermia and another, cryptozoospermia. A patient with azoospermia presented deletion in the AZFa region. Patients with chromosomal translocations abandoned their medical follow-up. The 2 men with AZFc deletion and the patient with deletion in AZFa requested assisted reproduction with heterologous semen. Two patients with AZFc deletion opted for pregnancy with assisted reproductive techniques and homologous semen.DiscussionThe assessment and genetic studies of patients with male infertility are important to determine the cause and provide appropriate genetic counselling

Mosaico del cromosoma X en diferentes tejidos de pacientes con falla ovárica prematura

Antecedentes: La falla ovárica prematura (FOP) es el cese de la función ovárica acompañado por hipoestrogenismo y niveles de hormona foliculoestimulante (FSH) ≥40 UI/ml antes de los 40 años. Las alteraciones cromosómicas, principalmente las que involucran al cromosoma X, son la causa genética más común, con una prevalencia que llega a alcanzar el 15%. La existencia de mosaicismo del cromosoma X se asocia con la aparición de la enfermedad. Objetivo: Determinar la existencia de mosaicismo en diferentes tejidos de pacientes con falla ovárica prematura y compararlo con un grupo control. Materiales y métodos: Durante el período comprendido entre mayo y noviembre de 2014 se recolectaron muestras de mucosa oral, sangre periférica y orina de un total de 6 pacientes con diagnóstico de FOP y cariotipo normal y de 6 controles pareados por edad. Se realizó el análisis de 3,000 núcleos de cada paciente y su respectivo control, 1,000 por cada tejido analizado, y se obtuvo un total de 6,000 núcleos por cada pareja de caso y control para determinar la proporción de mosaicismo del cromosoma X mediante la técnica de hibridación fluorescente in situ (FISH). Resultados: En el grupo de casos, el análisis mediante FISH de los núcleos en interfase de los tres tejidos analizados mostró una línea celular con monosomía X en el 0.94% (0.3-2%) y una línea celular con trisomía X en el 0.52% (0-3.4%) del total de 18,000 células analizadas; la mayor proporción de células con cariotipo 45,X se observó en el urotelio. En el grupo control se encontró una señal correspondiente a monosomía X en el 0.32% (0-0.7%) y otra correspondiente a trisomía X en el 0.4% (0-3.4%). Discusión: Se encuentra una diferencia significativa (p <0.05) entre el porcentaje de mosaicismo correspondiente a monosomía del cromosoma X entre las pacientes y las controles; de igual manera existe diferencia significativa entre el porcentaje de mosaicismo encontrado en células uroteliales y el encontrado en células de sangre periférica y mucosa oral. Conclusión: La existencia de mosaicismo de bajo grado puede ser la causa de falla ovárica prematura. Este estudio indica que es necesario más de un tipo de tejido para identificar el mosaicismo de bajo grado. Por ello, el estudio de células del urotelio puede incluirse dentro del abordaje diagnóstico de las pacientes con esta enfermedad