Falta de estructura genética en las poblaciones chipriotas de Alectoris chukar (Aves, Galliformes), deducida de los datos de secuenciación del ADNmt

The Chukar (Alectoris chukar cypriotes) is the most common game bird in Cyprus. Since 1990 the Cypriot Government has established a restocking program with captive–reared birds. However, this program has not been guaranteed by checking the genetic nature of wild and farmed samples, either in the areas controlled by the Cypriot Government or in northern Cyprus. The sequencing of both Cytochrome–b and Control Region of the mitochondrial DNA was carried out for 61 Cypriot representatives and 14 specimens of the same subspecies from Crete and Israel. Only the A. chukar maternal lineage was found. A partitioning of Cypriot specimens among different clades was not reliably supported, whereas robust bootstrap values weighted for an evolutionary divergence between Cypriot and Cretan Chukars. An overall genetic homogeny of the Cypriot populations was disclosed, whatever their status (captive vs. wild stocks) and origin (Government controlled vs. occupied areas) would be, a higher nucleotide diversity of the wild vs. captive representatives notwithstanding. Key words: Chukar, Control Region, Cytochrome–b, Genetic diversity, mtDNA, Partridges.Una subespecie de la perdiz chucar (Alectoris chukar cypriotes) es el ave de caza más común de Chipre. A partir de 1990 el gobierno chipriota estableció un programa de repoblación utilizando aves criadas en cautividad. No obstante, dicho programa no ha sido avalado mediante la comprobación de la naturaleza genética de muestras tanto de ejemplares salvajes como de granja, ni en las zonas controladas por el gobierno chipriota ni en el norte de Chipre. Se ha llevado a cabo la secuenciación del citocromo-b y de la región de control del ADN mitocondrial de 61 ejemplares chipriotas y de 14 especimenes de la misma subespecie de Creta y de Israel. Sólo se encontró el linaje materno de A. chukar. No se pudo demostrar con fiabilidad el reparto de los especimenes chipriotas en distintos clados, mientras que unos valores bootstrap muy consistentes sustentaban una divergencia evolutiva entre las perdices chucar chipriotas y cretenses. Se reveló la existencia de una homogeneidad genética en las poblaciones chipriotas, cualquiera que fuera su estatus (linajes cautivos frente a salvajes) o su origen (zonas controladas por el gobierno frente a zonas ocupadas), por más que se diera una mayor diversidad de nucleótidos de los ejemplares salvajes frente a los cautivos. Palabras clave: Perdiz chucar, Región de control, Citocromo-b, Diversidad genética, ADNmt, Perdices

Unravelling the biogeography of secretive taxa by museum collections: the untold story of the black francolin (Francolinus francolinus, Phasianidae) in the Mediterranean

The black francolin (Francolinus francolinus) (BF) comprises six morphological subspecies distributed from Cyprus and Turkey across Asia to India. In spite of being renowned as courtly gamebird since the Classic Age, this species suffers from paucity of demographic and molecular studies. In order to update the BF biogeographic pattern by pursuing a thorough sampling across the unsafe and remote areas representing most of the specie’s range, tissues from museum specimens (76, XVIIIth c.-­‐1954) hosted in US and European ornithological collections were genotyped at a 185 bp-­‐long fragment of the mtDNA Control Region gene along with modern birds (205) sequenced at the entire gene. The access to ornithological collections opened the unforeseen opportunity to elucidate the genetic affinity of the extinct populations once residing in the western Mediterranean (Italy, Spain), thus settling the debate about autochthony versus allochthony in that region. Three well-­‐defined haplogroups -­‐ each one including a pair of morphological subspecies and matching the phylogeographical pattern inferred with the whole gene -­‐ were found to reflect a westward adaptive radiation, a more complex scenario being nonetheless disclosed in the Indian sub-­‐continent. The nonnative status of the western Mediterranean BFs was ultimately assessed, a tight genetic affinity with conspecifics from Cyprus and southern Asia being found. This finding, which partly confirmed the invoked importation during the Crusades, pointed to the major human impact on Mediterranean biodiversity through long-­‐distance trade across Asia to satisfy the high demand for exotic species by the European aristocracy during the Medieval times and the Renaissance

Assessing a sustainable manufacturing route to lapatinib

A synthetic route to an anti-cancer drug, lapatinib, was devised to support the development of a sustainable manufacturing process in South Africa. Quantitative metrics were employed to evaluate the sustainability of the key steps of the reaction

AI in Medical Imaging Informatics: Current Challenges and Future Directions

This paper reviews state-of-the-art research solutions across the spectrum of medical imaging informatics, discusses clinical translation, and provides future directions for advancing clinical practice. More specifically, it summarizes advances in medical imaging acquisition technologies for different modalities, highlighting the necessity for efficient medical data management strategies in the context of AI in big healthcare data analytics. It then provides a synopsis of contemporary and emerging algorithmic methods for disease classification and organ/ tissue segmentation, focusing on AI and deep learning architectures that have already become the de facto approach. The clinical benefits of in-silico modelling advances linked with evolving 3D reconstruction and visualization applications are further documented. Concluding, integrative analytics approaches driven by associate research branches highlighted in this study promise to revolutionize imaging informatics as known today across the healthcare continuum for both radiology and digital pathology applications. The latter, is projected to enable informed, more accurate diagnosis, timely prognosis, and effective treatment planning, underpinning precision medicine

Molecular DNA identity of the mouflon of Cyprus (Ovis orientalis ophion, Bovidae): Near Eastern origin and divergence from Western Mediterranean conspecific populations

The mouflon population of Cyprus (Ovis orientalis ophion) comprises historically preserved feral descendants of sheep domesticated during the Neolithic. We determined genetic identity of this taxon in order to elucidate its systematic placement and enforce its protection. We used 12 loci of microsatellite DNA to infer genetic relationships between the Cypriot mouflon and either long-time isolated (Corsica, Sardinia) or recently introduced (central Italy) European mouflons (O. o. musimon). We also sequenced the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Cytochrome-b gene to infer the origin of the Cypriot mouflon including many National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) entries of European and Near Eastern conspecifics. Microsatellites disclosed net divergence between Western Mediterranean and Cypriot mouflon. The latter was included in the highly heterogeneous Near Eastern O. orientalis mtDNA group, Iran representing the most credited region as the source for its ancient introduction to Cyprus. Both international and national legislation protect the mouflon of Cyprus as a wild taxon (O. o. ophion). However, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and NCBI include the Cypriot mouflon as subspecies of its respective domestic species, the sheep (O. aries). Unfortunately, people charged with crime against protected mouflon may benefit from such taxonomic inconsistency between legislation and databases, as the latter can frustrate molecular DNA forensic outcomes. Until a definitive light can be shed on Near Eastern O. orientalis systematics, we suggest that the Cypriot mouflon should be unvaryingly referred to as O. o. ophion in order not to impair conservation in the country where it resides

Portuguese validation of the Internet Addiction Test: An empirical study

Abstract Background and aims Research into Internet addiction (IA) has increased greatly over the last decade. Despite its various definitions and general lack of consensus regarding its conceptualisation amongst researchers, instruments for measuring this phenomenon have proliferated in a number of countries. There has been little research on IA in Portugal and this may be partly due to the absence of standardised measurement tools for assessing IA. Methods This study attempted to address this issue by adapting a Portuguese version of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) via a translation-back translation process and Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a sample of 593 Portuguese students that completed a Portuguese version of the IAT along with questions related to socio-demographic variables. Results The findings suggested that the IAT appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring IA among Portuguese young adults as demonstrated by its satisfactory psychometric properties. However, the present findings also suggest the need to reword and update some of the IAT's items. Prevalence of IA found in the sample was 1.2% and is discussed alongside findings relating to socio-demographic correlates. Limitations and implications of the present study are also discussed. Conclusions The present study calls for a reflection of the IAT while also contributing to a better understanding of the basic aspects of IA in the Portuguese community since many health practitioners are starting to realise that Internet use may pose a risk for some individuals

The impact of supply chain agility on business performance in a high level customization environment

To improve business performance in rapidly changing environments, supply chain agility can be a crucial requisite to address responsiveness issues, especially in environments with high levels of customization. This paper examines the effect of supply chain agility on customer service, differentiation, and business performance. A survey research methodology was employed using a sample of 156 manufacturing firms that provide high levels of customization. In particular, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to evaluate the proposed model. The results suggest that supply chain agility influences customer service and differentiation positively. However, it does not affect business performance directly; instead, better business performance can be achieved and mediated through improved customer service and differentiation. In particular, differentiation through customer service is the most effective way to improve business performance, and supply chain agility can help to achieve high-level customer service. The paper advises managers on details of how to fulfil their business performance ambitions better through suggested key agile supply chain management activities