Maternal antibodies postpone hantavirus infection and enhance individual breeding success

The transfer of maternal antibodies from mother to progeny is a well-known phenomenon in avian and mammalian species. Optimally, they protect the newborn against the pathogens in the environment. The effect of maternal antibodies on microparasite transmission dynamics may have important consequences for both the fitness of the host and the epizootic processes of the pathogens. However, there is a scarcity of studies examining these effects in free-living wild species. We studied the influence of maternal antibodies against the zoonotic Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) on the fitness of bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and on PUUV transmission by exposing young maternal antibody-positive (MatAb+) and negative (MatAb−) bank voles (n=160) to PUUV in experimental populations. PUUV-specific maternal antibodies delayed the timing of infection. Females were more susceptible to PUUV infection than males. Interestingly, both the females and the males with maternal antibodies matured earlier than the other individuals in the population. Our results highlight the significance of maternal antibodies in the transmission of a pathogen and in the breeding success of the carriers

Observing wind, aerosol particles, clouds and precipitation: Finland's new ground-based remote-sensing network

The Finnish Meteorological Institute, in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, has established a new ground-based remote-sensing network in Finland. The network consists of five topographically, ecologically and climatically different sites distributed from southern to northern Finland. The main goal of the network is to monitor air pollution and boundary layer properties in near real time, with a Doppler lidar and ceilometer at each site. In addition to these operational tasks, two sites are members of the Aerosols, Clouds and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network (ACTRIS); a Ka band cloud radar at Sodankylä will provide cloud retrievals within CloudNet, and a multi-wavelength Raman lidar, PollyXT (POrtabLe Lidar sYstem eXTended), in Kuopio provides optical and microphysical aerosol properties through EARLINET (the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network). Three C-band weather radars are located in the Helsinki metropolitan area and are deployed for operational and research applications. We performed two inter-comparison campaigns to investigate the Doppler lidar performance, compare the backscatter signal and wind profiles, and to optimize the lidar sensitivity through adjusting the telescope focus length and data-integration time to ensure sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in low-aerosol-content environments. In terms of statistical characterization, the wind-profile comparison showed good agreement between different lidars. Initially, there was a discrepancy in the SNR and attenuated backscatter coefficient profiles which arose from an incorrectly reported telescope focus setting from one instrument, together with the need to calibrate. After diagnosing the true telescope focus length, calculating a new attenuated backscatter coefficient profile with the new telescope function and taking into account calibration, the resulting attenuated backscatter profiles all showed good agreement with each other. It was thought that harsh Finnish winters could pose problems, but, due to the built-in heating systems, low ambient temperatures had no, or only a minor, impact on the lidar operation – including scanning-head motion. However, accumulation of snow and ice on the lens has been observed, which can lead to the formation of a water/ice layer thus attenuating the signal inconsistently. Thus, care must be taken to ensure continuous snow removal

Advantage of rare infanticide strategies in an invasion experiment of behavioural polymorphism

Killing conspecific infants (infanticide) is among the most puzzling phenomena in nature. Stable polymorphism in such behaviour could be maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection (benefit of rare types). However, it is currently unknown whether there is genetic polymorphism in infanticidal behaviour or whether infanticide may have any fitness advantages when rare. Here we show genetic polymorphism in non-parental infanticide. Our novel invasion experiment confirms negative frequency-dependent selection in wild bank vole populations, where resource benefits allow an infanticidal strategy to invade a population of non-infanticidal individuals. The results show that infanticidal behaviour is highly heritable with genetic correlation across the sexes. Thus, a positive correlative response in male behaviour is expected when selection operates on females only and vice versa. Our results, on one hand, demonstrate potential benefits of infanticide, and on the other, they open a new perspective of correlative evolution of infanticide in females and males

Analysis of single-Alter-shielded and unshielded measurements of mixed and solid precipitation from WMO-SPICE

Precipitation measurements were combined from eight separate precipitation testbeds to create multi-site transfer functions for the correction of unshielded and single-Alter-shielded precipitation gauge measurements. Site-specific errors and more universally applicable corrections were created from these WMO-SPICE measurements. The importance and magnitude of such wind speed corrections were demonstrated.This research was funded by the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport through a grant (16AWMP-B079625-03) from the Water Management Research Program

Systemic blockade of ACVR2B ligands prevents chemotherapy-induced muscle wasting by restoring muscle protein synthesis without affecting oxidative capacity or atrogenes

Doxorubicin is a widely used and effective chemotherapy drug. However, cardiac and skeletal muscle toxicity of doxorubicin limits its use. Inhibiting myostatin/activin signalling can prevent muscle atrophy, but its effects in chemotherapy-induced muscle wasting are unknown. In the present study we investigated the effects of doxorubicin administration alone or combined with activin receptor ligand pathway blockade by soluble activin receptor IIB (sACVR2B-Fc). Doxorubicin administration decreased body mass, muscle size and bone mineral density/content in mice. However, these effects were prevented by sACVR2B-Fc administration. Unlike in many other wasting situations, doxorubicin induced muscle atrophy without markedly increasing typical atrogenes or protein degradation pathways. Instead, doxorubicin decreased muscle protein synthesis which was completely restored by sACVR2B-Fc. Doxorubicin administration also resulted in impaired running performance without effects on skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity/function or capillary density. Running performance and mitochondrial function were unaltered by sACVR2B-Fc administration. Tumour experiment using Lewis lung carcinoma cells demonstrated that sACVR2B-Fc decreased the cachectic effects of chemotherapy without affecting tumour growth. These results demonstrate that blocking ACVR2B signalling may be a promising strategy to counteract chemotherapy-induced muscle wasting without damage to skeletal muscle oxidative capacity or cancer treatment.Peer reviewe

Recommendations for selecting drug-drug interactions for clinical decision support

To recommend principles for including drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in clinical decision support

Predictive value of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia for the efficacy of oral fluoropyrimidine S-1 in advanced gastric carcinoma

Myelosuppression that occurs during chemotherapy has been reported to be a predictor of better survival in patients with breast or lung carcinomas. We evaluated the prognostic implications of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in advanced gastric carcinoma. Data from a prospective survey of oral fluoropyrimidine S-1 for advanced gastric cancer patients in Japan were reviewed. We identified 1055 untreated patients with adequate baseline bone marrow function. During treatment with S-1, a total of 293 (28%) patients experienced grade 1 or higher neutropenia. The adjusted hazard ratio of death for the presence of neutropenia, as compared with the absence of such toxicity, from a multivariate Cox model was 0.72 (95% confidence interval, 0.54–0.95; P=0.0189) for grade 1 neutropenia, 0.63 (0.50–0.78; P<0.0001) for grade 2 neutropenia and 0.71 (0.51–0.98; P=0.0388) for grade 3–4 neutropenia. These findings suggest that the occurrence of neutropenia during chemotherapy is an independent predictor of increased survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer, whereas the absence of such toxicity indicates that the dosages of drugs are not pharmacologically adequate. Monitoring of neutropenia in patients who receive chemotherapy may contribute to improved drug efficacy and favourable survival