Daytime sleepiness in Japanese patients with multiple system atrophy: prevalence and determinants

BACKGROUND: The recent SLEEMSA study that evaluated excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in Caucasian patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) demonstrated that EDS was more frequent in patients (28%) than in healthy subjects (2%). However, the prevalence and determinants of EDS in other ethnic populations have not been reported to date. METHODS: We performed a single-hospital prospective study on patients with probable MSA. To ascertain the prevalence and determinants of EDS in Japanese MSA patients, we assessed the patients’ degree of daytime sleepiness by using the Japanese version of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). In addition, we investigated the effects of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and abnormal periodic leg movements in sleep (PLMS), which were measured by polysomnography, on the patients’ ESS scores. RESULTS: A total of 25 patients with probable MSA (21 patients with cerebellar MSA and 4 patients with parkinsonian MSA) were included in this study. All patients underwent standard polysomnography. The mean ESS score was 6.2 ± 0.9, and EDS was identified in 24% of the patients. SDB and abnormal PLMS were identified in 24 (96%) and 11 (44%) patients, respectively. The prevalences of EDS in patients with SDB and abnormal PLMS were 25% and 18%, respectively. No correlations were observed between ESS scores and the parameters of SDB or abnormal PLMS. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of EDS in Japanese patients with MSA was similar to that in Caucasian MSA patients. SDB and abnormal PLMS were frequently observed in MSA patients, although the severities of these factors were not correlated with EDS. Further investigations using objective sleep tests need to be performed

A rare species of Uropterygius (Anguilliformes, Muraenidae) found in the stomach content of a yellow-lipped sea krait from Japan

A single muraenid specimen (genus Uropterygius), recovered from the stomach of a live Yellow-lipped Sea Krait, Laticauda colubrina (Schneider, 1799), captured at Iriomote Island, Japan, was found to possess intermediate traits between 2 rare species, Uropterygius xenodontus McCosker & Smith, 1997 and Uropterygius golanii McCosker & Smith, 1997. The specimen is provisionally identified as U. xenodontus and is described below with its morphs, as an important addition to material of rare specimens of the genus in the western North Pacific

Importance of sand particle size and temperature for nesting success of green turtles in Penang Island, Malaysia

The microhabitats of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests were investigated to identify key factors influencing nesting success by monitoring both successful nests (n = 43) and aborted nests (n = 106) created by the same individuals (n = 9) from September 2013 to September 2014 on Penang Island, Malaysia. The effect of sand particle size on nesting success was significant, suggesting that green turtles tend to abort nesting at sites with sands of particle sizes < 1 mm. In addition, nests were successful at superficial sand temperatures less than 32.95°C

Comparative functional analysis of CYP71AV1 natural variants reveals an important residue for the successive oxidation of amorpha-4,11-diene

AbstractArtemisinin is an antimalarial sesquiterpenoid isolated from the aerial parts of the plant Artemisia annua. CYP71AV1, a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase was identified in the artemisinin biosynthetic pathway. CYP71AV1 catalyzes three successive oxidation steps at the C12 position of amorpha-4,11-diene to produce artemisinic acid. In this study, we isolated putative CYP71AV1 orthologs in different species of Artemisia. Comparative functional analysis of CYP71AV1 and its putative orthologs, together with homology modeling, enabled us to identify an amino acid residue (Ser479) critical for the second oxidation reaction catalyzed by CYP71AV1. Our results clearly show that a comparative study of natural variants is useful to investigate the structure–function relationships of CYP71AV1

Genetic stock compositions and natal origin of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) foraging at Brunei Bay

AbstractKnowledge of genetics composition and growth stages of endangered green turtles, as well as the connectivity between nesting and foraging grounds is important for effective conservation. A total of 42 green turtles were captured at Brunei Bay with curved carapace length ranging from 43.8 to 102.0 cm, and most sampled individuals were adults and large juveniles. Twelve haplotypes were revealed in mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. Most haplotypes contained identical sequences to haplotypes previously found in rookeries in the Western Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity indices of the Brunei Bay were 0.8444±0.0390 and 0.009350±0.004964, respectively. Mixed-stock analysis (for both uninformative and informative prior weighting by population size) estimated the main contribution from the Southeast Asian rookeries of the Sulu Sea (mean ≥45.31%), Peninsular Malaysia (mean ≥17.42%), and Sarawak (mean ≥12.46%). Particularly, contribution from the Sulu Sea rookery was estimated to be the highest and lower confidence intervals were more than zero (≥24.36%). When estimating contributions by region rather than individual rookeries, results showed that Brunei Bay was sourced mainly from the Southeast Asian rookeries. The results suggest an ontogenetic shift in foraging grounds and provide conservation implications for Southeast Asian green turtles

Reproductive seasonality and environmental effects in green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nesting at Penang Island, Malaysia

For species with environmental sex determination, understanding the relationship between reproduction and environmental factors is important for predicting their reproductive output. Here, we study intra-annual variation in green turtle nesting during the 2010-2016 seasons at Penang Island (5°16′28″-5°28′15″N 100°10′52″-100°11′55″E), Malaysia. The additive modelling on a monthly-basis number of nests shows that fluctuation in the number of nests relates to temperature in addition to month of year, rather than precipitation. The number of nests tended to be higher in response to higher temperature during March-July, whereas the lower temperature during August-February also tended to result in a relatively higher number of nests. Concentration of nests during March-July resulted from a shorter inter-nesting interval during warm temperatures, whereas relatively low temperatures may homogenize the temporal distribution of the number of nests. This study provides fundamental information for green turtle nesting seasonality in response to environmental change

A validation of abstracted dive profiles relayed via the Argos satellite system: a case study of a loggerhead turtle

Satellite telemetry devices can record movement data of animals along with the environmental data. Such data are relayed remotely via satellite systems, but are constrained by the limited bandwidth availability. A satellite relay data logger (SRDL) that can abstract dive profiles and compress the data for transmission using a broken stick model (BSM) has been widely used in studies on dive behavior and physiology of marine animals. However, there is still uncertainty in the abstracted dive profiles. Here, we aimed to evaluate the certainty of abstracted dive profiles (via satellite communication) in terms of dive performance (dive depth, duration, and dive type) by comparing it with the actual dive data (from the retrieved tag) in a loggerhead turtle deployed with the SRDL throughout a 1.4-year foraging period. There was no significant difference in the maximum dive depth between the retrieved and satellite transmission data; however, there was a slight but significant difference in the dive duration. The dives from both datasets were classified into five types. Inconsistent dive classifications occurred in 1.7% of the data. There was no significant difference in the proportion of time spent diving between the retrieved and satellite transmission data for each type during the common recording period. In monthly scale comparisons, however, a significant difference was detected when the amount of data via satellite transmission was the smallest. Our results demonstrated that the dive data abstracted using BSM almost reconstructed the actual dive profiles with certainty in a loggerhead turtle, although slight inconsistencies were observed

Striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) exploit food sources across anaerobic decomposition- and primary photosynthetic production-based food chains

Dietary information from aquatic organisms is instrumental in predicting biological interactions and understanding ecosystem functionality. In freshwater habitats, generalist fish species can access a diverse array of food sources from multiple food chains. These may include primary photosynthetic production and detritus derived from both oxic and anoxic decomposition. However, the exploitation of anoxic decomposition products by fish remains insufficiently explored. This study examines feeding habits of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) at both adult and juvenile stages within a tropical reservoir, using stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope ratios (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S, respectively) and fatty acid (FA) analyses. The adult catfish exhibited higher δ¹⁵N values compared to primary consumers that feed on primary photosynthetic producers, which suggests ingestion of food sources originating from primary photosynthetic production-based food chains. On the other hand, juvenile catfish demonstrated lower δ¹⁵N values than primary consumers, correlating with low δ³⁴S value and large proportions of bacterial FA but contained small proportions of polyunsaturated FA. This implies that juveniles utilize food sources from both anoxic decomposition and primary photosynthetic production-based food chains. Our results indicate that food chains based on anoxic decomposition can indeed contribute to the dietary sources of tropical fish species

Qualitative investigation of the factors that generate ambivalent feelings in women who give birth after receiving negative results from non-invasive prenatal testing

Background: Women who receive negative results from non-invasive prenatal genetic testing (NIPT) may find that they later have mixed or ambivalent feelings, for example, feelings of accepting NIPT and regretting undergoing the test. This study aimed to investigate the factors generating ambivalent feelings among women who gave birth after having received negative results from NIPT. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to women who received a negative NIPT result, and a contents analysis was conducted focusing on ambivalent expressions for those 1562 women who responded the questionnaire. The qualitative data gathered from the questionnaire were analyzed using the N-Vivo software package. Results: Environmental factors, genetic counseling-related factors, and increased anticipatory anxiety, affected the feeling of ambivalence among pregnant women. Furthermore, pregnant women desired more information regarding the detailed prognosis for individuals with Down syndrome and living with them and/or termination, assuming the possibility that they were positive. Conclusions: Three major interrelated factors affected the feeling of ambivalence in women. Highlighting and discussing such factors during genetic counseling may resolve some of these ambivalences, thereby enhancing the quality of decisions made by pregnant women

Latitudinal cline in the foraging dichotomy of loggerhead sea turtles reveals the importance of East China Sea for priority conservation

Special Issue: Biological traits, geographic distributions and species conservation in aquatic ecosystems[Aim]Quantifying the importance of habitat areas for conservation of highly migratory marine species with complex life histories can be challenging. For example loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting in Japan forage both oceanically and neritically after their reproductive period. Here, we aimed to quantify the proportions of turtles using these two contrasting habitats (foraging dichotomy) to suggest priority conservation areas. [Location]North Pacific Ocean. [Methods]We examined the occurrence of foraging dichotomy at three nesting sites (Ishigaki, Okinoerabu Islands and Ichinomiya) based on stable isotope analysis of the egg yolks for 82 turtles and satellite tracking of post-nesting migration for 12 turtles. Moreover, we used the data of three other sites from previous studies (Yakushima Island, Minabe and Omaezaki). [Results]Two neritic foraging grounds (East China Sea and the coastal area of the Japanese archipelago), and an oceanic ground (North Pacific Ocean) were identified. We found a latitudinal cline with respect to the occurrence of foraging dichotomy; >84% of the females nesting at southern sites (Ishigaki and Okinoerabu Islands), 73% at middle sites (Yakushima Island and Minabe) and <46% at northern sites (Omaezaki and Ichinomiya) were neritic foragers; the proportion of oceanic foragers increased at northern sites. Based on the annual number of nests in the entire nesting region of Japan, satellite tracking and the latitudinal cline of foraging dichotomy, we estimated that 70% and 9% of annual nesting females in Japan utilize the neritic foraging habitat in the East China Sea and the coastal area of the Japanese archipelago, respectively, and that and 22% utilize the oceanic habitat of the North Pacific Ocean. [Main conclusions]The East China Sea represents a critical foraging habitat for the North Pacific populations of endangered loggerhead sea turtles. Our findings emphasize the need for international management to ensure their protection