Experimental Zika Virus Infection in the Pregnant Common Marmoset Induces Spontaneous Fetal Loss and Neurodevelopmental Abnormalities.

During its most recent outbreak across the Americas, Zika virus (ZIKV) was surprisingly shown to cause fetal loss and congenital malformations in acutely and chronically infected pregnant women. However, understanding the underlying pathogenesis of ZIKV congenital disease has been hampered by a lack of relevant in vivo experimental models. Here we present a candidate New World monkey model of ZIKV infection in pregnant marmosets that faithfully recapitulates human disease. ZIKV inoculation at the human-equivalent of early gestation caused an asymptomatic seroconversion, induction of type I/II interferon-associated genes and proinflammatory cytokines, and persistent viremia and viruria. Spontaneous pregnancy loss was observed 16-18 days post-infection, with extensive active placental viral replication and fetal neurocellular disorganization similar to that seen in humans. These findings underscore the key role of the placenta as a conduit for fetal infection, and demonstrate the utility of marmosets as a highly relevant model for studying congenital ZIKV disease and pregnancy loss

The Antioxidant Potential of the Mediterranean Diet in Patients at High Cardiovascular Risk: An In-Depth Review of the PREDIMED

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death. Diet is known to be important in the prevention of CVD. The PREDIMED trial tested a relatively low-fat diet versus a high-fat Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) for the primary prevention of CVD. The resulting reduction of the CV composite outcome resulted in a paradigm shift in CV nutrition. Though many dietary factors likely contributed to this effect, this review focuses on the influence of the MedDiet on endogenous antioxidant systems and the effect of dietary polyphenols. Subgroup analysis of the PREDIMED trial revealed increased endogenous antioxidant and decreased pro-oxidant activity in the MedDiet groups. Moreover, higher polyphenol intake was associated with lower incidence of the primary outcome, overall mortality, blood pressure, inflammatory biomarkers, onset of new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity. This suggests that polyphenols likely contributed to the lower incidence of the primary event in the MedDiet groups. In this article, we summarize the potential benefits of polyphenols found in the MedDiet, specifically the PREDIMED cohort. We also discuss the need for further research to confirm and expand the findings of the PREDIMED in a non-Mediterranean population and to determine the exact mechanisms of action of polyphenols

A new small-bodied azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of England and its implications for pterosaur anatomy, diversity and phylogeny

BACKGROUND: Pterosaurs have been known from the Cretaceous sediments of the Isle of Wight (southern England, United Kingdom) since 1870. We describe the three-dimensional pelvic girdle and associated vertebrae of a small near-adult pterodactyloid from the Atherfield Clay Formation (lower Aptian, Lower Cretaceous). Despite acknowledged variation in the pterosaur pelvis, previous studies have not adequately sampled or incorporated pelvic characters into phylogenetic analyses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The new specimen represents the new taxon Vectidraco daisymorrisae gen. et sp. nov., diagnosed by the presence of a concavity posterodorsal to the acetabulum and the form of its postacetabular process on the ilium. Several characters suggest that Vectidraco belongs to Azhdarchoidea. We constructed a pelvis-only phylogenetic analysis to test whether the pterosaur pelvis carries a useful phylogenetic signal. Resolution in recovered trees was poor, but they approximately matched trees recovered from analyses of total evidence. We also added Vectidraco and our pelvic characters to an existing total-evidence matrix for pterosaurs. Both analyses recovered Vectidraco within Azhdarchoidea. CONCLUSIONS/ SIGNIFICANCE: The Lower Cretaceous strata of western Europe have yielded members of several pterosaur lineages, but Aptian pterosaurs from western Europe are rare. With a pelvis length of 40 mm, the new animal would have had a total length of c. 350 mm, and a wingspan of c. 750 mm. Barremian and Aptian pterodactyloids from western Europe show that small-bodied azhdarchoids lived alongside ornithocheirids and istiodactylids. This assemblage is similar in terms of which lineages are represented to the coeval beds of Liaoning, China; however, the number of species and specimens present at Liaoning is much higher. While the general phylogenetic composition of western European and Chinese communities appear to have been approximately similar, the differences may be due to different palaeoenvironmental and depositional settings. The western Europe pterodactyloid record may therefore be artificially low in diversity due to preservational factors

Publisher Correction: Experimental Zika Virus Infection in the Pregnant Common Marmoset Induces Spontaneous Fetal Loss and Neurodevelopmental Abnormalities.

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Environmental variables, habitat discontinuity and life history shaping the genetic structure of Pomatoschistus marmoratus

Coastal lagoons are semi-isolated ecosystems exposed to wide fluctuations of environmental conditions and showing habitat fragmentation. These features may play an important role in separating species into different populations, even at small spatial scales. In this study, we evaluate the concordance between mitochondrial (previous published data) and nuclear data analyzing the genetic variability of Pomatoschistus marmoratus in five localities, inside and outside the Mar Menor coastal lagoon (SE Spain) using eight microsatellites. High genetic diversity and similar levels of allele richness were observed across all loci and localities, although significant genic and genotypic differentiation was found between populations inside and outside the lagoon. In contrast to the FST values obtained from previous mitochondrial DNA analyses (control region), the microsatellite data exhibited significant differentiation among samples inside the Mar Menor and between lagoonal and marine samples. This pattern was corroborated using Cavalli-Sforza genetic distances. The habitat fragmentation inside the coastal lagoon and among lagoon and marine localities could be acting as a barrier to gene flow and contributing to the observed genetic structure. Our results from generalized additive models point a significant link between extreme lagoonal environmental conditions (mainly maximum salinity) and P. marmoratus genetic composition. Thereby, these environmental features could be also acting on genetic structure of coastal lagoon populations of P. marmoratus favoring their genetic divergence. The mating strategy of P. marmoratus could be also influencing our results obtained from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Therefore, a special consideration must be done in the selection of the DNA markers depending on the reproductive strategy of the species

Extra-uterine (abdominal) full term foetus in a 15-day pregnant rabbit

[EN] Background: While ectopic pregnancies account for 1-2% of all pregnancies, abdominal pregnancy is extremely rare, accounting for approximately 1% of ectopic pregnancies. Extrauterine abdominal pregnancy is defined as the implantation and development of an embryo in the peritoneal cavity. The present report is the first of an incidental case of abdominal pregnancy within four full-term foetus simultaneously with 2 weeks of physiological gestation in a healthy doe rabbit. Case presentation: The doe was born on November 3, 2014 and the first partum took place on May 18, 2015. The doe had previously delivered and weaned an average of 12.0 +/- 1.41 live kits at birth (no stillbirths were recorded) during 5 consecutive pregnancies. The last mating was on December 18, 2015 and the detection of pregnancy failure post breeding (by abdominal palpation) on December 31, 2015. Then, the doe was artificially inseminated on January 27, 2016, diagnosed pregnant on February 11, 2016 and subsequently euthanized to recover the foetus. A ventral midline incision revealed a reproductive tract with 12 implantation sites with 15 days old foetus and 4 term foetus in abdominal cavity. There were two foetus floating on either side of the abdominal cavity and two suspended near the greater curvature of the stomach. They were attached to internal organs by means of one or 2 thread-like blood vessels that linked them to the abdominal surfaces. Conclusions: In our opinion a systematic monitoring of rabbit breeding should be included to fully understand and enhance current knowledge of this phenomenon of abdominal pregnancy.This work was supported by Spanish Research Project AGL2014-53405-C2-1-P (Interministerial Commission on Science and Technology).Marco-Jiménez, F.; Garcia-Dominguez, X.; Valdes-Hernández, J.; Vicente Antón, JS. (2017). Extra-uterine (abdominal) full term foetus in a 15-day pregnant rabbit. BMC Veterinary Research. 13:1-4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-017-1229-7S1413Petracci M, Bianchi M, Cavani C. Development of rabbit meat products fortified with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Nutrients. 2009;1:111–8.FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, authors). Available online: http://faostat.fao.org/site/569/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=569#ancor . Accessed Sept 2012.Segura Gil P, Peris Palau B, Martínez Martínez J, Ortega Porcel J, Corpa Arenas JM. Abdominal pregnancies in farm rabbits. Theriogenology. 2004;62:642–51.Rosell JM, de la Fuente LF. Culling and mortality in breeding rabbits. Prev Vet Med. 2009;88:120–7.Tena-Betancourt E, Tena-Betancourt CA, Zúniga-Muñoz AM, Hernández-Godínez B, Ibáñez-Contreras A, Graullera-Rivera V. Multiple extrauterine pregnancy with early and near full-term mummified foetuses in a New Zealand white rabbit (Oryctolagus Cuniculus). J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2014;53:204–7.Sánchez JP, Theilgaard P, Mínguez C, Baselga M. Constitution and evaluation of a long-lived productive rabbit line. J Anim Sci. 2008;86:515–25.Savietto D, Friggens NC, Pascual JJ. Reproductive robustness differs between generalist and specialist maternal rabbit lines: the role of acquisition and allocation of resources. Genet Sel Evol. 2015;47:2.Viudes-de-Castro MP, Vicente JS. Effect of sperm count on the fertility and prolificity rates of meat rabbits. Anim Reprod Sci. 1997;46:313–9.Marco-Jiménez F, Garcia-Dominguez X, Jimenez-Trigos E, Vera-Donoso CD, Vicente JS. Vitrification of kidney precursors as a new source for organ transplantation. Cryobiology. 2015;70:278–82.Garcia-Dominguez X, Vera-Donoso CD, Jimenez-Trigos E, Vicente JS, Marco-Jimenez. First steps towards organ banks: vitrification of renal primordial. Cryo Letters. 2016;37:47–52.Arvidsson A. Extra-uterine pregnancy in a rabbit. Vet Rec. 1998;142:176.Glišić A, Radunović N, Atanacković J. Methotrexate and fallopian tubes in ectopic pregnancy. Acta veterinaria. 2006;56:375–82.Nwobodo EI. Abdominal pregnancy. A case report. Ann Afr Med. 2004;3:195–6.Nassali MN, Benti TM, Bandani-Ntsabele M, Musinguzi E. A case report of an asymptomatic late term abdominal pregnancy with a live birth at 41 weeks of gestation. BMC Res Notes. 2016;9:31.Baffoe P, Fofie C, Gandau BN. Term abdominal pregnancy with healthy new-born: a case report. Ghana Med J. 2011;45:81–3.Eleje GU, Adewae O, Osuagwu IK, Obianika CE. Post-date extra-uterine abdominal pregnancy in a rhesus negative Nullipara with successful outcome: a case report. J Women's Health. 2013;6:2.Hong CC, Armstrong ML. Ectopic pregnancy in 2 guinea-pigs. Lab Anim. 1978;12:243–4.Peters LJ. Abdominal pregnancy in a golden hamster (Mesocricetus Auratus). Lab Anim Sci. 1982;32:392–3.Xiccato G, Trocino A, Boiti C, Brecchia G. Reproductive rhythm and litter weaning age as they affect rabbit doe performance and body energy balance. Anim Sci. 2005;81:289–96.Fortun-Lamothe L, De Rochambeau H, Lebas F, Tudela F. Influence of the number of suckling young on reproductive performance in intensively reared rabbits does. In: Blasco A, editor. Proceedings of the 7th world rabbit congress; 2002. p. 125–32

Cooperative Genome-Wide Analysis Shows Increased Homozygosity in Early Onset Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) occurs in both familial and sporadic forms, and both monogenic and complex genetic factors have been identified. Early onset PD (EOPD) is particularly associated with autosomal recessive (AR) mutations, and three genes, PARK2, PARK7 and PINK1, have been found to carry mutations leading to AR disease. Since mutations in these genes account for less than 10% of EOPD patients, we hypothesized that further recessive genetic factors are involved in this disorder, which may appear in extended runs of homozygosity

The MUSE view of the host galaxy of GRB 100316D

The low distance, $z=0.0591$, of GRB 100316D and its association with SN 2010bh represent two important motivations for studying this host galaxy and the GRB's immediate environment with the Integral-Field Spectrographs like VLT/MUSE. Its large field-of-view allows us to create 2D maps of gas metallicity, ionization level, and the star-formation rate distribution maps, as well as to investigate the presence of possible host companions. The host is a late-type dwarf irregular galaxy with multiple star-forming regions and an extended central region with signatures of on-going shock interactions. The GRB site is characterized by the lowest metallicity, the highest star-formation rate and the youngest ($\sim$ 20-30 Myr) stellar population in the galaxy, which suggest a GRB progenitor stellar population with masses up to 20 -- 40 $M_{\odot}$. We note that the GRB site has an offset of $\sim$660pc from the most luminous SF region in the host. The observed SF activity in this galaxy may have been triggered by a relatively recent gravitational encounter between the host and a small undetected ($L_{H\alpha} \leq 10^{36}$ erg/s) companion

Biodegradation of Pig Manure by the Housefly, Musca domestica: A Viable Ecological Strategy for Pig Manure Management

The technology for biodegradation of pig manure by using houseflies in a pilot plant capable of processing 500–700 kg of pig manure per week is described. A single adult cage loaded with 25,000 pupae produced 177.7±32.0 ml of eggs in a 15-day egg-collection period. With an inoculation ratio of 0.4–1.0 ml eggs/kg of manure, the amount of eggs produced by a single cage can suffice for the biodegradation of 178–444 kg of manure. Larval development varied among four different types of pig manure (centrifuged slurry, fresh manure, manure with sawdust, manure without sawdust). Larval survival ranged from 46.9±2.1%, in manure without sawdust, to 76.8±11.9% in centrifuged slurry. Larval development took 6–11 days, depending on the manure type. Processing of 1 kg of wet manure produced 43.9–74.3 g of housefly pupae and the weight of the residue after biodegradation decreased to 0.18–0.65 kg, with marked differences among manure types. Recommendations for the operation of industrial-scale biodegradation facilities are presented and discussed

Impact of cumulative body mass index and cardiometabolic diseases on survival among patients with colorectal and breast cancer: a multi-centre cohort study

BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) and cardiometabolic comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes have been studied as negative prognostic factors in cancer survival, but possible dependencies in the mechanisms underlying these associations remain largely unexplored. We analysed these associations in colorectal and breast cancer patients. METHODS: Based on repeated BMI assessments of cancer-free participants from four European countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC) study, individual BMI-trajectories reflecting predicted mean BMI between ages 20 to 50 years were estimated using a growth curve model. Participants with incident colorectal or breast cancer after the age of 50 years were included in the survival analysis to study the prognostic effect of mean BMI and cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) prior to cancer. CMD were defined as one or more chronic conditions among stroke, myocardial infarction, and type 2 diabetes. Hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) of mean BMI and CMD were derived using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression for mean BMI and CMD separately and both exposures combined, in subgroups of localised and advanced disease. RESULTS: In the total cohort of 159,045 participants, there were 1,045 and 1,620 eligible patients of colorectal and breast cancer. In colorectal cancer patients, a higher BMI (by 1 kg/m2) was associated with a 6% increase in risk of death (95% CI of HR: 1.02-1.10). The HR for CMD was 1.25 (95% CI: 0.97-1.61). The associations for both exposures were stronger in patients with localised colorectal cancer. In breast cancer patients, a higher BMI was associated with a 4% increase in risk of death (95% CI: 1.00-1.08). CMDs were associated with a 46% increase in risk of death (95% CI: 1.01-2.09). The estimates and CIs for BMI remained similar after adjustment for CMD and vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that cumulative exposure to higher BMI during early to mid-adulthood was associated with poorer survival in patients with breast and colorectal cancer, independent of CMD prior to cancer diagnosis. The association between a CMD diagnosis prior to cancer and survival in patients with breast and colorectal cancer was independent of BMI