Common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) alters its feeding niche in response to changing food resources: direct observations in simulated ponds

We used customized fish tanks as model fish ponds to observe grazing, swimming, and conspecific social behavior of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) under variable food-resource conditions to assess alterations in feeding niche. Different food and feeding situations were created by using only pond water or pond water plus pond bottom sediment or pond water plus pond bottom sediment and artificial feeding. All tanks were fertilized twice, prior to stocking and 2 weeks later after starting the experiment to stimulate natural food production. Common carp preferred artificial feed over benthic macroinvertebrates, followed by zooplankton. Common carp did not prefer any group of phytoplankton in any treatment. Common carp was mainly benthic in habitat choice, feeding on benthic macroinvertebrates when only plankton and benthic macroinvertebrates were available in the system. In the absence of benthic macroinvertebrates, their feeding niche shifted from near the bottom of the tanks to the water column where they spent 85% of the total time and fed principally on zooplankton. Common carp readily switched to artificial feed when available, which led to better growth. Common carp preferred to graze individually. Behavioral observations of common carp in tanks yielded new information that assists our understanding of their ecological niche. This knowledge could be potentially used to further the development of common carp aquaculture

TopBP1 contains transcriptional regulatory domains and regulates gene pathways involved in breast cancer

No abstract available

Multilevel Safety Climate in The UK Rail Industry: A Cross Validation of the Zohar and Luria MSC Scale

Despite a downward trend in injury rates in UK workplaces, accident occurrence remains an on-going issue for the rail workforce. Results from the RSSB annual survey reveal that there were 164 major injuries in 2016/17. Safety climate is defined as “shared perceptions with regard to safety policies, procedures and practices.” Many studies have examined the positive effects of safety climate on safety performances by individuals, teams, organizations. Despite widespread attempts to measure safety climate, the validity of measurement tools has not been systematically tested in the rail industry. The primary goal of our research was to validate Zohar and Luria’s (2005) Multilevel Safety Climate Scale in a sample of rail infrastructure workers (N = 528). A cross-validation strategy was adopted. Half of the data were used to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA), with the remaining data submitted to confirmative factor analysis (CFA). The statistical results reveal a three-factor structure with organizational safety climate (OSC), supervisor safety communication (SSC), supervisor safety monitoring (SSM). A nomological analysis showed that SSC and SSM presented distinct correlation patterns with other measures of relevance for safety, risk and health management. SSM was found more strongly related with variables such as: safety priorities; safety systems; reporting attitudes; safety compliance. On the other hand, SSC was mainly related with measures refereed to distinct forms of organizational support: supervisor support; peer support; support to change. Overall, our findings showed the validity of a multidimensional approach on the study of safety climate and safety supervision in the rail industry

Endovascular aneurysm sealing for the treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility and report preliminary results of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) repair with endovascular aneurysm sealing (EVAS), a novel therapeutic alternative whose feasibility has not been established in rAAAs due to the unknown effects of the rupture site on the ability to achieve sealing. CASE REPORT: Between December 2013 and April 2014, 5 patients (median age 71 years, range 57-90; 3 men) with rAAAs were treated with the Nellix EVAS system at a single institution. Median aneurysm diameter was 70 mm (range 67-91). Aneurysm morphology in 4 of the 5 patients was noncompliant with instructions for use (IFU) for both EVAS and standard stent-grafts; the remaining patient was outside the IFU for standard stent-grafts but treated with EVAS under standard IFU for the Nellix system. Median Hardman index was 2 (range 0-3). Two patients died of multiorgan failure after re-laparotomy and intraoperative cardiac arrest, respectively. Among survivors, all devices were patent with no signs of endoleak or failed aneurysm sac sealing at 6 months (median follow-up 9.2 months). CONCLUSION: EVAS for the management of infrarenal rAAAs appears feasible. The use of EVAS in emergency repairs may broaden the selection criteria of the current endovascular strategy to include patients with more complex aneurysm morphology

miR-150-PTPMT1-cardiolipin signaling in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Circulating levels of endothelial miR-150 are reduced in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and act as an independent predictor of patient survival, but links between endothelial miR-150 and vascular dysfunction are not well understood. We studied the effects of endothelial miR-150 supplementation and inhibition in PAH mice and cells from patients with idiopathic PAH. The role of selected mediators of miR-150 identified by RNA sequencing was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Endothelium-targeted miR-150 delivery prevented the disease in Sugen/hypoxia mice, while endothelial knockdown of miR-150 had adverse effects. miR-150 target genes revealed significant associations with PAH pathways, including proliferation, inflammation, and phospholipid signaling, with PTEN-like mitochondrial phosphatase (PTPMT1) most markedly altered. PTPMT1 reduced inflammation and apoptosis and improved mitochondrial function in human pulmonary endothelial cells and blood-derived endothelial colony-forming cells from idiopathic PAH. Beneficial effects of miR-150 in vitro and in vivo were linked with PTPMT1-dependent biosynthesis of mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin and reduced expression of pro-apoptotic, pro-inflammatory, and pro-fibrotic genes, including c-MYB, NOTCH3, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), and Col1a1. In conclusion, we are the first to show that miR-150 supplementation attenuates pulmonary endothelial damage induced by vascular stresses and may be considered as a potential therapeutic strategy in PAH

Targeting HOX transcription factors in prostate cancer

YesBackground: The HOX genes are a family of transcription factors that help to determine cell and tissue identity during early development, and which are also over-expressed in a number of malignancies where they have been shown to promote cell proliferation and survival. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of HOX genes in prostate cancer and to establish whether prostate cancer cells are sensitive to killing by HXR9, an inhibitor of HOX function. Methods: HOX function was inhibited using the HXR9 peptide. HOX gene expression was assessed by RNA extraction from cells or tissues followed by quantitative PCR, and siRNA was used to block the expression of the HOX target gene, cFos. In vivo modelling involved a mouse flank tumour induced by inoculation with LNCaP cells. Results: In this study we show that the expression of HOX genes in prostate tumours is greatly increased with respect to normal prostate tissue. Targeting the interaction between HOX proteins and their PBX cofactor induces apoptosis in the prostate cancer derived cell lines PC3, DU145 and LNCaP, through a mechanism that involves a rapid increase in the expression of cFos, an oncogenic transcription factor. Furthermore, disrupting HOX/PBX binding using the HXR9 antagonist blocks the growth of LNCaP tumours in a xenograft model over an extended period. Conclusion: Many HOX genes are highly over-expressed in prostate cancer, and prostate cancer cells are sensitive to killing by HXR9 both in vitro and in vivo. The HOX genes are therefore a potential therapeutic target in prostate cancer.The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Prostate Project charity (UK)

Assessment on the ownership and use of mosquito nets in Mozambique

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To assess the ownership and use of mosquito nets in 2014, in Mozambique. METHODS This observational and cross-sectional study assessed, in February and March 2015, 69 districts (nine of 11 provinces of Mozambique) that have benefited from the mass distribution of mosquito nets. The Lot Quality Assurance Sampling methodology was used. Each locality was denominated supervision area. The Lot Quality Assurance Sampling opts for a minimum of 19 households (in this case, we decided for a minimum of 100 households per district) from each supervision area to assess an indicator (in this case, two indicators were assessed: ownership and use of mosquito nets). Two questions guided the research: a) received a mosquito net; b) used a mosquito net the night before. RESULTS A total of 6,725 households were assessed. Eighty three percent of them had received mosquito nets in the campaign. Of the 6,232 respondents, 82.0% said they used mosquito nets the night before. The districts of the provinces with low coverage of ownership and use were Tete (69.5% and 60.0%, respectively), Zambezia (79.0% and 60.0%, respectively), and Gaza (81.6% and 70.7%, respectively). The largest coverage of ownership and use were observed in the districts of Nampula (96.7% and 93.8%, respectively) and Niassa (86.0% and 85.4% respectively). CONCLUSIONS In the districts assessed, the progression of ownership and use of mosquito nets is satisfactory. Nampula and Niassa are the only provinces where ownership and use are at desired levels