Assessment of the efficiency in trapping North American mink (Neovison vison) for population control in Patagonia

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.BACKGROUND: Introduced species can have a major negative impact on biodiversity; an example is the American mink, which was introduced in the 1930s in Patagonia. While there is a consensus that reversing alien mustelids continental scale invasions remains unfeasible, there is little consensus, given a maximum cost or investment, on the feasibility and efficiency of region-wide control or eradication. Thus, our goal was to provide information about efficiency for mink control in Patagonia METHODS: Between January 2009 and February 2013 this study was conducted in ten study sites (4 km to 15 km long) between 39°S to 45°S latitude. Minks were trapped using cage traps operated by two trappers. We estimated the population density at each study site assuming they were close populations, exhibit intrasexual territoriality and the home range of females were smaller than those of males. We obtained a theoretical population and a modeled population from our trapping results. Sixty five minks were trapped over 2190 trap nights (0.03 mink/trap night). Mink captures were higher in the first six days and in the first trapping campaigns. A two person team was able to control a maximum distance of approximately 6 km of river shore by foot and 15 km of sea and lake shores by boat. There was an over linear increase of operational costs as time passed. Our modeled population was 91% of the theoretical population CONCLUSIONS: We believe that to trap and remove a minimum of 70% of the mink population in a region under ideal circumstances, traps should be deployed every 200 m and after the sixth day should be moved to another new transect. We suggest an annual repetition of this strategy as the more efficient for controlling mink populations in terms of trapping success and reduced costs. The number of traps will depend on the number of trappers participating and also on habitat characteristicshttp://ref.scielo.org/qcr5j

Sequential Monte Carlo with transformations

This paper examines methodology for performing Bayesian inference sequentially on a sequence of posteriors on spaces of different dimensions. For this, we use sequential Monte Carlo samplers, introducing the innovation of using deterministic transformations to move particles effectively between target distributions with different dimensions. This approach, combined with adaptive methods, yields an extremely flexible and general algorithm for Bayesian model comparison that is suitable for use in applications where the acceptance rate in reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo is low. We use this approach on model comparison for mixture models, and for inferring coalescent trees sequentially, as data arrives

Amphibian diversity in Serranía de Majé, an isolated mountain range in eastern Panamá

Eastern Panama is within the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot and supports an understudied amphibian fauna. Here we characterize the amphibian diversity across an elevational gradient in one of the least studied mountain ranges in eastern Panama, Serrania de Maje. A total of 38 species were found, which represent 17% of all species reported for Panama. Based on expected richness function and individual-based rarefaction curves, it is estimated that this is an underestimate and that at least 44 amphibian species occur in this area. Members of all three amphibian orders were encountered, represented by ten families and 22 genera, including five species endemic to Central America. Estimated species richness decreased with elevation, and the mid-elevation site supported both lowland and highland species. Our study provides a baseline for understanding the distribution pattern of amphibians in Panama, for conservation efforts, and for determining disease-induced changes in amphibian communities.85911713

Investigating photoexcitation-induced mitochondrial damage by chemotherapeutic corroles using multimode optical imaging

We recently reported that a targeted, brightly fluorescent gallium corrole (HerGa) is highly effective for breast tumor detection and treatment. Unlike structurally similar porphryins, HerGa exhibits tumor-targeted toxicity without the need for photoexcitation. We have now examined whether photoexcitation further modulates HerGa toxicity, using multimode optical imaging of live cells, including two-photon excited fluorescence, differential interference contrast (DIC), spectral, and lifetime imaging. Using two-photon excited fluorescence imaging, we observed that light at specific wavelengths augments the HerGa-mediated mitochondrial membrane potential disruption of breast cancer cells in situ. In addition, DIC, spectral, and fluorescence lifetime imaging enabled us to both validate cell damage by HerGa photoexcitation and investigate HerGa internalization, thus allowing optimization of light dose and timing. Our demonstration of HerGa phototoxicity opens the way for development of new methods of cancer intervention using tumor-targeted corroles

Multimodality imaging in vivo for preclinical assessment of tumor-targeted doxorubicin nanoparticles.

This study presents a new multimodal imaging approach that includes high-frequency ultrasound, fluorescence intensity, confocal, and spectral imaging to improve the preclinical evaluation of new therapeutics in vivo. Here we use this approach to assess in vivo the therapeutic efficacy of the novel chemotherapy construct, HerDox during and after treatment. HerDox is comprised of doxorubicin non-covalently assembled in a viral-like particle targeted to HER2+ tumor cells, causing tumor cell death at over 10-fold lower dose compared to the untargeted drug, while sparing the heart. Whereas our initial proof-of-principle studies on HerDox used tumor growth/shrinkage rates as a measure of therapeutic efficacy, here we show that multimodal imaging deployed during and after treatment can supplement traditional modes of tumor monitoring to further characterize the particle in tissues of treated mice. Specifically, we show here that tumor cell apoptosis elicited by HerDox can be monitored in vivo during treatment using high frequency ultrasound imaging, while in situ confocal imaging of excised tumors shows that HerDox indeed penetrated tumor tissue and can be detected at the subcellular level, including in the nucleus, via Dox fluorescence. In addition, ratiometric spectral imaging of the same tumor tissue enables quantitative discrimination of HerDox fluorescence from autofluorescence in situ. In contrast to standard approaches of preclinical assessment, this new method provides multiple/complementary information that may shorten the time required for initial evaluation of in vivo efficacy, thus potentially reducing the time and cost for translating new drug molecules into the clinic

Influencia de los cerrojos distales en el tratamiento de las fracturas trocantéreas estables mediante clavo gamma

Hemos tratado consecutivamente mediante clavo gamma 100 pacientes mayores de 60 años con fracturas trocantéreas estables colocando en 50 de ellas los cerrojos distales y no en las otras 50, habiéndose realizado un estudio comparativo quirúrgico y evolutivo entre ambas series con un seguimiento mínimo de 3 meses. Se han producido complicaciones operatorias en el 18% de la serie con cerrojos, todas ellas en la colocación de los mismos, y en 1 caso en la serie sin cerrojos, que obligó a la colocación de éstos. La consolidación se ha producido en todos los casos, no habiendo diferencias finales en la deambulación. No se han producido complicaciones evolutivas en la serie con cerrojos y sí en la de sin cerrojos, donde se han producido 2 fracturas en la zona externa proximal del fémur que no precisaron tratamiento adicional. Los resultados apoyan que la colocación de los cerrojos distales no es necesaria en el tratamiento con clavo gamma de las fracturas estables en la región trocantérea.One hundred consecutive patients, older than 60 years, with stable trochanteric fractures were treated with gamma nail: 50 of them with distal locking screws and the other 50 without them. We performed a prospective surgical and clinical comparative study between both groups, with a minimum follow-up of three months. Opcrative complications were found in 18% of cases in the group with distal locking, all of them during the implantation of the distal screws; and in one case in the group without distal screws, which forced its placing. Healing was always achieved, without diferences for walking ability. Complications during follow-up were not observed in the group treated with distal locking, but in the other group two proximal femoral fractures of the external cortical ocurred, although they do not need additional treatment. Our results support the hypothesis that distal locking screws are not necessary for the treatment of stable trochanteric fractures with the gamma nail

Melatonin Treatment of Apricot Trees Leads to Maintenance of Fruit Quality Attributes during Storage at Chilling and Non-Chilling Temperatures

The effects of preharvest melatonin treatment on apricot crop yield and fruit quality properties at harvest and during storage have not yet been investigated. Apricot trees, of the ‘Colorado’ and ‘Mikado’ cultivars, were sprayed with 0.1 mM melatonin at three key points of fruit development. Fruit were harvested at commercial ripening stage and yield was higher in melatonin treated trees than in the controls. Fruit were stored at 1 and 8 °C for 21 and 28 days, respectively. Samples were taken weekly and left at 20 °C for 1 day. Weight losses, as well as reduction in firmness and acidity, were delayed in fruits from melatonin treated trees, showing an effect of treatment on delaying the postharvest ripening process, which was attributed to a reduced ethylene production in both cultivars and at both storage temperatures. In addition, chilling injury symptoms were observed in apricots stored at 1 °C, which were reduced by preharvest melatonin treatment. Moreover, apricot from melatonin-treated fruit retained higher total phenolic content than the controls after 14 days of storage, although the phenolic profile was not affected by treatment. Thus, melatonin could be a useful tool for practical purposes to improve apricot crop yield and maintain fruit quality properties during storag

Re-evaluation of mammary stem cell biology based on in vivo transplantation

Over nearly half a century, transplantation methods have been employed to regenerate the mammary gland in vivo. Recent highly cited reports claim to have demonstrated the regeneration of an entire functional mammary gland from a single mammary epithelial cell. Nevertheless, re-examination of the literature on the transplantation biology of mammary gland regeneration reveals that a complex, combinatorial interaction between variously differentiated mammary epithelial cells and the mammary fat pad stroma is indispensable to this process. In the present article, these issues are reviewed and discussed to provide a greater understanding of the complexity of these multiplex interactions

A Bayesian analysis of the 27 highest energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory

It is possible that ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are generated by active galactic nuclei (AGNs), but there is currently no conclusive evidence for this hypothesis. Several reports of correlations between the arrival directions of UHECRs and the positions of nearby AGNs have been made, the strongest detection coming from a sample of 27 UHECRs detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO). However, the PAO results were based on a statistical methodology that not only ignored some relevant information (most obviously the UHECR arrival energies but also some of the information in the arrival directions) but also involved some problematic fine-tuning of the correlation parameters. Here we present a fully Bayesian analysis of the PAO data (collected before 2007 September), which makes use of more of the available information, and find that a fraction F_AGN = 0.15^(+0.10)_(-0.07) of the UHECRs originate from known AGNs in the Veron-Cetty & Veron (VCV) catalogue. The hypothesis that all the UHECRs come from VCV AGNs is ruled out, although there remains a small possibility that the PAO-AGN correlation is coincidental (F_AGN = 0.15 is 200 times as probable as F_AGN = 0.00).Comment: MNRAS, accepted; 8 pages, 7 figure