Identifying unique areas in the Congo Basin for conservation

A major challenge in conservation biology is to identify areas to be protected in priority. With the hypotheses in mind that areas presenting unique environmental features when compared to their surroundings are more likely 1) to be vulnerable to changes and 2) hosting relatively more specialized species, we performed a global analysis to identify singular forested areas and further explored the relationship of those areas with forest bird richness and endemism. Using a moving window of 50 x 50 km, we computed, across the earth's surface, on a grid of 5 x 5 km resolution the probabilities for each cell to find similar biophysical features elsewhere in the window. The input variables were, NDVI and NDWI, slope, and the percentages of grassland and tree covers. This systematic screening allowed us to map areas presenting unique features and to further correlate this information with the level of the correlation between bird endemism and species richness. At the global scale, we found the forested biomes of the Congo Basin, namely the Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests and the Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands among the most homogeneous ones for what concern our environmental variables. While it is well-known that the Tropical Moist Forest is the biome holding the biggest diversity in terms of bird-species richness, the relationship between biomes and endemism levels is less documented. If we found that more than half of our variables explained bird endemism for the moist forests, such characterization of the level of endemism was not straightforward for other biomes. More relevant to the identification of potential new areas to focus on for biodiversity conservation, we found that the Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests shown little ecological heterogeneity and consequently present only a few unique areas. Interestingly, while we found that the relationship between endemism and areas presenting unique environmental features was not obvious for most forested ecosystems, we found a significant relationship between endemism and habitat uniqueness for the Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forest. It is the purpose of this contribution to discuss further our preliminary results and to contrast our findings with the current distribution of protected areas in the Congo Basin. (Texte integral

Evaluation of the combined glucose-insulin and intravenous glucose tolerance tests for insulin dysregulation diagnosis in donkeys

Background. Insulin dysregulation (ID) and donkey metabolic syndrome (DMS) are common in this species. Contrary to horses, diagnostic guidelines compiling insulin cut-offs values and dynamic testing interpretations have not been reported for this species. Objectives. To evaluate resting serum insulin concentrations, the combined glucose-insulin test (CGIT) and the glucose intravenous tolerance test (IVGTT) for the diagnosis of DMS with ID suspicion. Study design. Diagnostic test comparison.Methods. Six of 80 mix-breed adult donkeys fulfilled the inclusion criteria for DMS based on history or clinical evidence of recurrent laminitis, body condition >6 and neck score >2 or baseline insulin and leptin concentrations >20 µIU/mL and >12 ng/mL respectively. CGIT and IVGTT were performed in all donkeys within a week and interpreted following guidelines reported for equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Insulin and glucose curves were analysed, proxies calculated and correlations and multivariate analysis assessed. Results. Following EMS guidelines, CGIT classified 2 (using glucose-positive phase duration) or 3 (using insulin concentration) and IVGTT classified 5 donkeys as ID. ID donkeys showed a lower glucose/insulin ratio, QUICKI and RISQI, and a higher insulin/glucose ratio, MIRG and HOMA-B%. Main limitations. Comparison of these tests with additional dynamic testing including a larger number of ID donkeys is necessary. Conclusions. This is the first study evaluating dynamic tests to assess ID/DMS in DMS-suspected donkeys. IVGTT detected more ID donkeys than CGIT. EMS recommendations could also be used for DMS diagnosis, although a baseline insulin cut-off value is needed

Unprecedented pathway of reducing equivalents in a diflavin-linked disulfide oxidoreductase

Flavoproteinsparticipateinawidevarietyofphysiologicallyrelevant processes that typically involve redox reactions. Within this protein superfamily, there exists a group that is able to transfer reducing equivalents from FAD to a redox-active disulfide bridge, which further reduces disulfide bridges in target proteins to regulate their structure and function. We have identified a previously undescribed type of flavin enzyme that is exclusive to oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes and that is based on the primary sequence that had been assigned as an NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase (NTR). However, our experimental data show that the protein does not transfer reducing equivalents from flavins to disulfides as in NTRs but functions in the opposite direction. High-resolution structures of the protein from Gloeobacter violaceus and Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 obtained by X-ray crystallography showed two juxtaposed FADmoleculespermonomerinredoxcommunicationwithanactive disulfide bridge in a variant of the fold adopted by NTRs. We have tentatively named the flavoprotein “DDOR” (diflavin-linked disulfide oxidoreductase) and propose that its activity is linked to a thiol-basedtransferofreducingequivalentsinbacterialmembranes. These findings expand the structural and mechanistic repertoire of flavoenzymes with oxidoreductase activity and pave the way to explore new protein engineering approaches aimed at designing redox-active proteins for diverse biotechnological applications.Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad BFU2016-80343-P, BIO2016-75634-

Control of Jasmonate Biosynthesis and Senescence by miR319 Targets

Considerable progress has been made in identifying the targets of plant microRNAs, many of which regulate the stability or translation of mRNAs that encode transcription factors involved in development. In most cases, it is unknown, however, which immediate transcriptional targets mediate downstream effects of the microRNA-regulated transcription factors. We identified a new process controlled by the miR319-regulated clade of TCP (TEOSINTE BRANCHED/CYCLOIDEA/PCF) transcription factor genes. In contrast to other miRNA targets, several of which modulate hormone responses, TCPs control biosynthesis of the hormone jasmonic acid. Furthermore, we demonstrate a previously unrecognized effect of TCPs on leaf senescence, a process in which jasmonic acid has been proposed to be a critical regulator. We propose that miR319-controlled TCP transcription factors coordinate two sequential processes in leaf development: leaf growth, which they negatively regulate, and leaf senescence, which they positively regulate

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Long-Term Antipsychotic Effectiveness in First Episode of Psychosis: A 3-Year Follow-Up Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Aripiprazole, Quetiapine, and Ziprasidone

BACKGROUND: Different effectiveness profiles among second-generation antipsychotics may be a key point to optimize treatment in patients suffering a first episode of psychosis to affect long-term outcome. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical effectiveness of aripiprazole, ziprasidone, and quetiapine in the treatment of first episode of psychosis at 3-year follow-up. METHOD: From October 2005 to January 2011, a prospective, randomized, open-label study was undertaken. Two hundred-two first-episode, drug-naïve patients were randomly assigned to aripiprazole (n=78), ziprasidone (n =62), or quetiapine (n=62) and followed-up for 3 years. The primary effectiveness measure was all cause of treatment discontinuation. In addition, an analysis based on the intention-to-treat principle was conducted in the analysis for clinical efficacy. RESULTS: The overall dropout rate at 3 years reached 19.3%. Treatment discontinuation rates were significantly different among treatment groups (aripiprazole=73.08%, ziprasidone=79.03%, and quetiapine=95.16%) (?2=11.680; P=.001). Statistically significant differences in terms of nonefficacy, nonadherence, and side effects were observed among treatment groups along the 3-year follow-up determining significant differences in time to all-cause discontinuation (log-rank=32.260; P=.001). Significant differences between treatments were found in the categories of sleepiness/sedation (?2=9.617; P=.008) and increased sleep duration (?2=6.192; P=.004). No significant differences were found in the profile of extrapyramidal symptoms. Patients on aripiprazole were more likely to be prescribed benzodiazepines. CONCLUSIONS: First-episode psychosis patients on quetiapine were more likely to discontinue treatment due to nonefficacy. Identifying different discontinuation patterns may contribute to optimize treatment selection after first episode of psychosis.This work was supported by Plan Nacional de Drogas Research (2005-Orden sco/3246/2004); SENY Fundacio (CI 2005–0308007); Fundacion Marques de Valdecilla (API07/011); and Gerencia Regional de Salud de Castilla y Leon (INT/M/04/17). The study was carried out at the Hospital Marques de Valdecilla, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain. Unrestricted educational and research grants from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Johnson & Johnson provided support for PAFIP activities. No pharmaceutical industry or institutional sponsors participated in the study design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of the results

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

The ABC130 barrel module prototyping programme for the ATLAS strip tracker

For the Phase-II Upgrade of the ATLAS Detector, its Inner Detector, consisting of silicon pixel, silicon strip and transition radiation sub-detectors, will be replaced with an all new 100 % silicon tracker, composed of a pixel tracker at inner radii and a strip tracker at outer radii. The future ATLAS strip tracker will include 11,000 silicon sensor modules in the central region (barrel) and 7,000 modules in the forward region (end-caps), which are foreseen to be constructed over a period of 3.5 years. The construction of each module consists of a series of assembly and quality control steps, which were engineered to be identical for all production sites. In order to develop the tooling and procedures for assembly and testing of these modules, two series of major prototyping programs were conducted: an early program using readout chips designed using a 250 nm fabrication process (ABCN-25) and a subsequent program using a follow-up chip set made using 130 nm processing (ABC130 and HCC130 chips). This second generation of readout chips was used for an extensive prototyping program that produced around 100 barrel-type modules and contributed significantly to the development of the final module layout. This paper gives an overview of the components used in ABC130 barrel modules, their assembly procedure and findings resulting from their tests.Comment: 82 pages, 66 figure