Different frequency control mechanisms and the exploitation of frequency space in passerines

Birdsong is used in reproductive context and, consequently, has been shaped by strong natural and sexual selection. The acoustic performance includes a multitude of acoustic and temporal characteristics that are thought to honestly reveal the quality of the singing individual. One major song feature is frequency and its modulation. Sound frequency can be actively controlled, but the control mechanisms differ between different groups. Two described mechanisms are pressure-driven frequency changes in suboscines and control by syringeal muscles in oscines. To test to what degree these different control mechanisms enhance or limit the exploitation of frequency space by individual species and families, we compared the use of frequency space by tyrannid suboscines and emberizid/passerellid oscines. We find that despite the different control mechanisms, the songs of species in both groups can contain broad frequency ranges and rapid and sustained frequency modulation (FM). The maximal values for these parameters are slightly higher in oscines. Furthermore, the mean frequency range of song syllables is substantially larger in oscines than suboscines. Species within each family group collectively exploit equally broadly the available frequency space. The narrower individual frequency ranges of suboscines likely indicate morphological specialization for particular frequencies, whereas muscular control of frequency facilitated broader exploitation of frequency space by individual oscine species.Fil: Goller, Franz. University of Utah; Estados Unidos. Westfälische Wilhelms Universität; AlemaniaFil: Love, Jay. University of Utah; Estados UnidosFil: Mindlin, Bernardo Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Characterization of a Homozygous Deletion of Steroid Hormone Biosynthesis Genes in Horse Chromosome 29 as a Risk Factor for Disorders of Sex Development and Reproduction

Disorders of sex development (DSD) and reproduction are not uncommon among horses, though knowledge about their molecular causes is sparse. Here we characterized a 200 kb homozygous deletion in chromosome 29 at 29.7-29.9 Mb. The region contains AKR1C genes which function as ketosteroid reductases in steroid hormone biosynthesis, including androgens and estrogens. Mutations in AKR1C genes are associated with human DSDs. Deletion boundaries, sequence properties and gene content were studied by PCR and whole genome sequencing of select deletion homozygotes and control animals. Deletion analysis by PCR in 940 horses, including 622 with DSDs and reproductive problems and 318 phenotypically normal controls, detected 67 deletion homozygotes of which 79% were developmentally or reproductively abnormal. Altogether, 8-9% of all abnormal horses were homozygous for the deletion, with the highest incidence (9.4%) among cryptorchids. The deletion was found in 4% of our phenotypically normal cohort, 1% of global warmblood horses and ponies, and 7% of draught breeds of general horse population as retrieved from published data. Based on the abnormal phenotype of the carriers, the functionally relevant gene content, and the low incidence in general population, we consider the deletion in chromosome 29 as a risk factor for equine DSDs and reproductive disorders

Imaging immunoassay in negative: Surface-­‐catalysed chemiluminescence for the detection of pregnancy hormones in artificial saliva

A novel and rapid (45min), quantitative chemiluminescence-based, surface immunoassay is reported for the quantitative detection of progesterone and œstriol in artificial saliva. The detection limits for these pregnancy hormones are 2.3 and 2.5 pg mL-1, respectively. The assay is based on the use of ferrocene- tagged, monoclonal antibodies immobilised on a surface, so that the oxidised ferricenium catalyses the reaction between luminol and hydrogen peroxide. The immunoassay is performed in negative, such that increasing the antigen concentration gives rise to decreasing light intensity that is observed, and is unaffected by antibody orientation on the surface. This affords a method of calibration that is readily translated to pregnancy hormone detection in a primary point-of-care environment. Biomolecules with similar structures to these pregnancy hormones found in saliva are demonstrated not to interfere with the immunoassay

The Origin of a New Sex Chromosome by Introgression between Two Stickleback Fishes.

Introgression is increasingly recognized as a source of genetic diversity that fuels adaptation. Its role in the evolution of sex chromosomes, however, is not well known. Here, we confirm the hypothesis that the Y chromosome in the ninespine stickleback, Pungitius pungitius, was established by introgression from the Amur stickleback, P. sinensis. Using whole genome resequencing, we identified a large region of Chr 12 in P. pungitius that is diverged between males and females. Within but not outside of this region, several lines of evidence show that the Y chromosome of P. pungitius shares a most recent common ancestor not with the X chromosome, but with the homologous chromosome in P. sinensis. Accumulation of repetitive elements and gene expression changes on the new Y are consistent with a young sex chromosome in early stages of degeneration, but other hallmarks of Y chromosomes have not yet appeared. Our findings indicate that porous species boundaries can trigger rapid sex chromosome evolution

Early Cold Stored Platelet Transfusion Following Severe Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of early cold stored platelet transfusion compared with standard care resuscitation in patients with hemorrhagic shock. BACKGROUND: Data demonstrating the safety and efficacy of early cold stored platelet transfusion are lacking following severe injury. METHODS: A phase 2, multicenter, randomized, open label, clinical trial was performed at 5 US trauma centers. Injured patients at risk of large volume blood transfusion and the need for hemorrhage control procedures were enrolled and randomized. The intervention was the early transfusion of a single apheresis cold stored platelet unit, stored for up to 14 days versus standard care resuscitation. The primary outcome was feasibility and the principal clinical outcome for efficacy and safety was 24-hour mortality. RESULTS: Mortality at 24 hours was 5.9% in patients who were randomized to early cold stored platelet transfusion compared with 10.2% in the standard care arm (difference, -4.3%; 95% CI, -12.8% to 3.5%; P =0.26). No significant differences were found for any of the prespecified ancillary outcomes. Rates of arterial and/or venous thromboembolism and adverse events did not differ across treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In severely injured patients, early cold stored platelet transfusion is feasible, safe and did not result in a significant lower rate of 24-hour mortality. Early cold stored platelet transfusion did not result in a higher incidence of arterial and/or venous thrombotic complications or adverse events. The storage age of the cold stored platelet product was not associated with significant outcome differences. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04667468

The Influence of Obesity-Related Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms on BMI Across the Life Course: The PAGE Study

Evidence is limited as to whether heritable risk of obesity varies throughout adulthood. Among >34,000 European Americans, aged 18–100 years, from multiple U.S. studies in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Consortium, we examined evidence for heterogeneity in the associations of five established obesity risk variants (near FTO, GNPDA2, MTCH2, TMEM18, and NEGR1) with BMI across four distinct epochs of adulthood: 1) young adulthood (ages 18–25 years), adulthood (ages 26–49 years), middle-age adulthood (ages 50–69 years), and older adulthood (ages ≥70 years); or 2) by menopausal status in women and stratification by age 50 years in men. Summary-effect estimates from each meta-analysis were compared for heterogeneity across the life epochs. We found heterogeneity in the association of the FTO (rs8050136) variant with BMI across the four adulthood epochs (P = 0.0006), with larger effects in young adults relative to older adults (β [SE] = 1.17 [0.45] vs. 0.09 [0.09] kg/m2, respectively, per A allele) and smaller intermediate effects. We found no evidence for heterogeneity in the association of GNPDA2, MTCH2, TMEM18, and NEGR1 with BMI across adulthood. Genetic predisposition to obesity may have greater effects on body weight in young compared with older adulthood for FTO, suggesting changes by age, generation, or secular trends. Future research should compare and contrast our findings with results using longitudinal data

Early Cold Stored Platelet Transfusion Following Severe Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial

OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of early cold stored platelet transfusion compared with standard care resuscitation in patients with hemorrhagic shock. BACKGROUND: Data demonstrating the safety and efficacy of early cold stored platelet transfusion are lacking following severe injury. METHODS: A phase 2, multicenter, randomized, open label, clinical trial was performed at 5 US trauma centers. Injured patients at risk of large volume blood transfusion and the need for hemorrhage control procedures were enrolled and randomized. The intervention was the early transfusion of a single apheresis cold stored platelet unit, stored for up to 14 days versus standard care resuscitation. The primary outcome was feasibility and the principal clinical outcome for efficacy and safety was 24-hour mortality. RESULTS: Mortality at 24 hours was 5.9% in patients who were randomized to early cold stored platelet transfusion compared with 10.2% in the standard care arm (difference, -4.3%; 95% CI, -12.8% to 3.5%; P =0.26). No significant differences were found for any of the prespecified ancillary outcomes. Rates of arterial and/or venous thromboembolism and adverse events did not differ across treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In severely injured patients, early cold stored platelet transfusion is feasible, safe and did not result in a significant lower rate of 24-hour mortality. Early cold stored platelet transfusion did not result in a higher incidence of arterial and/or venous thrombotic complications or adverse events. The storage age of the cold stored platelet product was not associated with significant outcome differences

Structural analysis and DNA binding of the HMG domains of the human mitochondrial transcription factor A

The mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA) is central to assembly and initiation of the mitochondrial transcription complex. Human mtTFA (h-mtTFA) is a dual high mobility group box (HMGB) protein that binds site-specifically to the mitochondrial genome and demarcates the promoters for recruitment of h-mtTFB1, h-mtTFB2 and the mitochondrial RNA polymerase. The stoichiometry of h-mtTFA was found to be a monomer in the absence of DNA, whereas it formed a dimer in the complex with the light strand promoter (LSP) DNA. Each of the HMG boxes and the C-terminal tail were evaluated for their ability to bind to the LSP DNA. Removal of the C-terminal tail only slightly decreased nonsequence specific DNA binding, and box A, but not box B, was capable of binding to the LSP DNA. The X-ray crystal structure of h-mtTFA box B, at 1.35 Å resolution, revealed the features of a noncanonical HMG box. Interactions of box B with other regions of h-mtTFA were observed. Together, these results provide an explanation for the unusual DNA-binding properties of box B and suggest possible roles for this domain in transcription complex assembly