Sexual Dimorphism in the Western Blacknose Dace, Rhinichthys atratulus meleagris

Breeding activities and sexual dimorphism of the minnow Rhinichthys atratulus meleagris were studied in the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Minnesota\u27s Itasca Stole Pork. The following characteristics were measured in 25 specimens of each sex: Total length, standard length, length of pectoral fins, length of pelvic fins, height of anal fin, length of caudal fin, fork length of caudal fin, length of depressed dorsal fin, and depth of caudal peduncle. The anal fin differed most significantly between the sexes, being long and keeled in females and comparatively truncated in males. Mating behavior was also observed. Results suggest that differences between sexes in general morphology and in breeding behavior may be related

Revised Distribution Records of Some Minnesota Fishes, With Addition of Two Species to the Faunal List

Recent collections of fishes in Minnesota hove resulted in the addition of two species, Moxostoma carinatum (Catostomidae) and Ammocrypta asprella (Percidae), to the state\u27s inland faunal list. Additional information on the distribution of 11 other species (Minytrema melanops, Hybopsis x-punctata, Opsopoeodus emiliae, Dionda nubiloa, Notropis amnis, Notropis texanus, Notropis umbratilis, Pimephales vigilax, Lepomis humilis, Etheostoma asprigene, ond Etheostoma microperca) is presented . Collections in large rivers are responsible for several new distribution records, and further sampling in such habitats should lead to further discoveries

A \u27New\u27 Hybrid Minnow

The specimen of a hybrid between the minnows Chrosomus erythrogaster and Dionda nubila is described. Taken in southeastern Minnesota near the known northernmost distributional limits of both parent species, this hybrid is between the parental extremes in most of the anatomical features examined

HIGHLY DIVERSIFIED LATE CRETACEOUS FISH ASSEMBLAGE REVEALED BY OTOLITHS (RIPLEY FORMATION AND OWL CREEK FORMATION, NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI, USA)

Bulk sampling and extensive, systematic surface collecting of the Coon Creek Member of the Ripley Formation (early Maastrichtian) at the Blue Springs locality and primarily bulk sampling of the Owl Creek Formation (late Maastrichtian) at the Owl Creek type locality, both in northeast Mississippi, USA, have produced the largest and most highly diversified actinopterygian otolith (ear stone) assemblage described from the Mesozoic of North America. The 3,802 otoliths represent 30 taxa of bony fishes representing at least 22 families. In addition, there were two different morphological types of lapilli, which were not identifiable to species level. The large number of otolith specimens as well as the preservation contributed to the recognition of 4 new genera and 13 new species. The otoliths supplied information regarding the presence of bony fishes not available solely on the basis of osteological remains, and the Late Cretaceous bony fish assemblage at the sites would be underestimated and misinterpreted without an examination of the otoliths. The otoliths also contributed evidence on the evolutionary development of teleosts in North America, especially the diversity of the beryciforms in the Late Cretaceous, and provided indications of the paleoecology during the Maastrichtian. The Ripley Formation (Coon Creek Member) otolith assemblage, which accounted for 3,718 of the specimens, is compared to other Cretaceous otolith assemblages in North America that meet certain criteria (employed bulk-sampling techniques, had well-preserved specimens, and possessed a substantial number of specimens and taxa for analysis). These sites were in Alabama, Maryland, Mississippi (two localities), New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. Systematic surface collecting at the Blue Springs locality proved to be very beneficial in supplying otoliths specimens from maturer fishes. Many of the surface-collected otoliths represent older adult fishes that assist with the identification of several forms with greater specificity

Quantum mechanical calculation of aqueuous uranium complexes: carbonate, phosphate, organic and biomolecular species

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Quantum mechanical calculations were performed on a variety of uranium species representing U(VI), U(V), U(IV), U-carbonates, U-phosphates, U-oxalates, U-catecholates, U-phosphodiesters, U-phosphorylated N-acetyl-glucosamine (NAG), and U-2-Keto-3-doxyoctanoate (KDO) with explicit solvation by H₂O molecules. These models represent major U species in natural waters and complexes on bacterial surfaces. The model results are compared to observed EXAFS, IR, Raman and NMR spectra.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Agreement between experiment and theory is acceptable in most cases, and the reasons for discrepancies are discussed. Calculated Gibbs free energies are used to constrain which configurations are most likely to be stable under circumneutral pH conditions. Reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) is examined for the U-carbonate and U-catechol complexes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results on the potential energy differences between U(V)- and U(IV)-carbonate complexes suggest that the cause of slower disproportionation in this system is electrostatic repulsion between UO₂[CO₃]₃^5-ions that must approach one another to form U(VI) and U(IV) rather than a change in thermodynamic stability. Calculations on U-catechol species are consistent with the observation that UO₂²⁺can oxidize catechol and form quinone-like species. In addition, outer-sphere complexation is predicted to be the most stable for U-catechol interactions based on calculated energies and comparison to ¹³C NMR spectra. Outer-sphere complexes (i.e., ion pairs bridged by water molecules) are predicted to be comparable in Gibbs free energy to inner-sphere complexes for a model carboxylic acid. Complexation of uranyl to phosphorus-containing groups in extracellular polymeric substances is predicted to favor phosphonate groups, such as that found in phosphorylated NAG, rather than phosphodiesters, such as those in nucleic acids.</p

Hypoxia as a target for drug combination therapy of liver cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most frequentcause of cancer deaths worldwide. The standard of care for intermediate HCC is transarterial chemoembolization, which combines tumour embolization with locoregional delivery of the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin. Embolization therapies induce hypoxia, leading to the escape and proliferation of hypoxia-adapted cancer cells. The transcription factor that orchestrates responses to hypoxia is hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1). The aim of this work is to show that targeting HIF-1 with combined drug therapy presents an opportunity for improving outcomes for HCC treatment. HepG2 cells were cultured under normoxic and hypoxic conditions exposed to doxorubicin, rapamycin and combinations thereof, and analyzed for viability and the expression of hypoxia-induced HIF-1α in response to these treatments. A pilot study was carried out to evaluate the antitumour effects of these drug combinations delivered from drug-eluting beads in vivo using an ectopic xenograft murine model of HCC. A therapeutic doxorubicin concentration that inhibits the viability of normoxic and hypoxic HepG2 cells and above which hypoxic cells are chemoresistant was identified, together with the lowest effective dose of rapamycin against normoxic and hypoxicHepG2 cells. It was shown that combinations of rapamycinand doxorubicin are more effective than doxorubicin alone. Western Blotting indicated that both doxorubicin and rapamycin inhibit hypoxia-induced accumulation of HIF-1α. Combination treatments were more effective in vivo than either treatment alone. mTOR inhibition can improve outcomes of doxorubicin treatment in HCC Anti-Cancer

Evaluating the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales in acute intermittent porphyria.

PurposeAcute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare inborn error of heme biosynthesis characterized by life-threatening acute attacks. Few studies have assessed quality of life (QoL) in AIP and those that have had small sample sizes and used tools that may not have captured important domains.MethodsBaseline data from the Porphyrias Consortium's Longitudinal Study were obtained for 259 patients, including detailed disease and medical history data, and the following Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scales: anxiety, depression, pain interference, fatigue, sleep disturbance, physical function, and satisfaction with social roles. Relationships between PROMIS scores and clinical and biochemical AIP features were explored.ResultsPROMIS scores were significantly worse than the general population across all domains, except depression. Each domain discriminated well between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with symptomatic patients having worse scores. Many important clinical variables like symptom frequency were significantly associated with domain scores in univariate analyses, showing responsiveness of the scales, specifically pain interference and fatigue. However, most regression models only explained ~20% of the variability observed in domain scores.ConclusionPain interference and fatigue were the most responsive scales in measuring QoL in this AIP cohort. Future studies should assess whether these scales capture longitudinal disease progression and treatment response

Delay in Antibiotic Administration Is Associated With Mortality Among Septic Shock Patients With Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

Objectives: The relationship between the timing of antibiotics and mortality among septic shock patients has not been examined among patients specifically with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Design: Retrospective analysis of a Veterans Affairs S. aureus bacteremia database. Settings: One-hundred twenty-two hospitals in the Veterans Affairs Health System. Patients: Patients with septic shock and S. aureus bacteremia admitted directly from the emergency department to the ICU from January 1, 2003, to October 1, 2015, were evaluated. Interventions: Time to appropriate antibiotic administration and 30-day mortality. Measurements and Main Results: A total of 506 patients with S. aureus bacteremia and septic shock were included in the analysis. Thirty-day mortality was 78.1% for the entire cohort and was similar for those participants with methicillin-resistant S. aureus and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus bacteremia. Our multivariate analysis revealed that, as compared with those who received appropriate antibiotics within 1 hour after emergency department presentation, each additional hour that passed before appropriate antibiotics were administered produced an odds ratio of 1.11 (95% CI, 1.02–1.21) of mortality within 30 days. This odds increase equates to an average adjusted mortality increase of 1.3% (95% CI, 0.4–2.2%) for every hour that passes before antibiotics are administered. Conclusions: The results of this study further support the importance of prompt appropriate antibiotic administration for patients with septic shock. Physicians should consider acting quickly to administer antibiotics with S. aureus coverage to any patient suspected of having septic shock

Novel Campylobacter concisus lipooligosaccharide is a determinant of inflammatory potential and virulence

This work was supported in part by Department of Veterans Affairs Merit Review award BX000727 (to G.A.J.). The authors also acknowledge National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources Shared Instrumentation Grant S10 RR029446 (to H. E. Witkowska) for acquisition of the Synapt G2 high definition mass spectrometer, which is located at the University of California, San Francisco Sandler-Moore Mass Spectrometry Core Facility and supported by the Sandler Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA082103, and the Canary Foundation. G.A.J. is a recipient of the Senior Research Career Scientist award from the Department of Veterans Affairs. R.H. is funded by a Career Researcher Fellowship from NHS Research Scotland. The BISCUIT study was funded by a Clinical Academic Training Fellowship from the Chief Scientist Office (CAF/08/01). This is paper number 116 from the Center for Immunochemistry. The contents of this article do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. K.B. acknowledges funding from the Child Health Research Charitable Incorporated Organisation and the Bogue Fellowship for travel. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article.Peer reviewe