Primate modularity and evolution: first anatomical network analysis of primate head and neck musculoskeletal system

Network theory is increasingly being used to study morphological modularity and integration. Anatomical network analysis (AnNA) is a framework for quantitatively characterizing the topological organization of anatomical structures and providing an operational way to compare structural integration and modularity. Here we apply AnNA for the first time to study the macroevolution of the musculoskeletal system of the head and neck in primates and their closest living relatives, paying special attention to the evolution of structures associated with facial and vocal communication. We show that well-defined left and right facial modules are plesiomorphic for primates, while anthropoids consistently have asymmetrical facial modules that include structures of both sides, a change likely related to the ability to display more complex, asymmetrical facial expressions. However, no clear trends in network organization were found regarding the evolution of structures related to speech. Remarkably, the increase in the number of head and neck muscles – and thus of musculoskeletal structures – in human evolution led to a decrease in network density and complexity in humans

Scanning and filling : ultra-dense SNP genotyping combining genotyping-by-sequencing, SNP array and whole-genome resequencing data

Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) represents a highly cost-effective high-throughput genotyping approach. By nature, however, GBS is subject to generating sizeable amounts of missing data and these will need to be imputed for many downstream analyses. The extent to which such missing data can be tolerated in calling SNPs has not been explored widely. In this work, we first explore the use of imputation to fill in missing genotypes in GBS datasets. Importantly, we use whole genome resequencing data to assess the accuracy of the imputed data. Using a panel of 301 soybean accessions, we show that over 62,000 SNPs could be called when tolerating up to 80% missing data, a five-fold increase over the number called when tolerating up to 20% missing data. At all levels of missing data examined (between 20% and 80%), the resulting SNP datasets were of uniformly high accuracy (96– 98%). We then used imputation to combine complementary SNP datasets derived from GBS and a SNP array (SoySNP50K). We thus produced an enhanced dataset of >100,000 SNPs and the genotypes at the previously untyped loci were again imputed with a high level of accuracy (95%). Of the >4,000,000 SNPs identified through resequencing 23 accessions (among the 301 used in the GBS analysis), 1.4 million tag SNPs were used as a reference to impute this large set of SNPs on the entire panel of 301 accessions. These previously untyped loci could be imputed with around 90% accuracy. Finally, we used the 100K SNP dataset (GBS + SoySNP50K) to perform a GWAS on seed oil content within this collection of soybean accessions. Both the number of significant marker-trait associations and the peak significance levels were improved considerably using this enhanced catalog of SNPs relative to a smaller catalog resulting from GBS alone at 20% missing data. Our results demonstrate that imputation can be used to fill in both missing genotypes and untyped loci with very high accuracy and that this leads to more powerful genetic analyses

Use of SSR and retrotransposon-based markers to interpret the population structure of native grapevines from Southern Italy

Native grapevines are the quintessential ele- ments of Southern Italy winemaking, and genomic char- acterization plays a role of primary importance for preservation and sustainable use of these unexploited genetic resources. Among the various molecular techniques available, SSR and retrotransposons-based markers result to be the most valuable for cultivars and biotypes distinc- tiveness. A total of 62 accessions including 38 local grape cultivars were analyzed with 30 SSR, four REMAP and one IRAP markers to assess their genetic diversity and obtain a complete genomic profiling. The use of VrZAG79, VrZAG112, VVS2, VVMD25 and VVMD5 combined with retrotransposon-based markers proved to be the most dis- criminating and polymorphic markers for the rapid and unambiguous identification of minority grapevines from Campania region, which is considered one of the most appreciated Italian districts for wine production. Results revealed 58 SSR marker-specific alleles, 22 genotype- specific SSR alleles, and four REMAP and IRAP private bands. Cases of synonymy and homonymy were discov- ered. In conclusion, we provided evidences that the inte- grating SSR and retrotransposon-based markers is an effective strategy to assess the genetic diversity of autochthonous grapes, allowing their easy identification

In Vitro and In Vivo Activity of a Palladacycle Complex on Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis

Leishmaniasis is an important public health problem with an estimated annual incidence of 1.5 million of new human cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and 500,000 of visceral leishmaniasis. Treatment of the diseases is limited by toxicity and parasite resistance to the drugs currently in use, validating the need to develop new leishmanicidal compounds. We evaluated the killing by the palladacycle complex DPPE 1.2 of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, an agent of human cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Amazon region, Brazil. DPPE 1.2 destroyed promastigotes of L. (L.) amazonensis in vitro at nanomolar concentrations, whereas intracellular amastigotes were killed at drug concentrations 10-fold less toxic than those displayed to macrophages. L. (L.) amazonensis-infected BALB/c mice treated by intralesional injection of DPPE 1.2 exhibited a significant decrease of foot lesion sizes and a 97% reduction of parasite burdens when compared to untreated controls. Additional experiments indicated the inhibition of the cathepsin B activity of L. (L.) amazonensis amastigotes by DPPE 1.2. Further studies are needed to explore the potential of DPPE 1.2 as an additional option for the chemotherapy of leishmaniasis

Small individual loans and mental health: a randomized controlled trial among South African adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the developing world, access to small, individual loans has been variously hailed as a poverty-alleviation tool – in the context of "microcredit" – but has also been criticized as "usury" and harmful to vulnerable borrowers. Prior studies have assessed effects of access to credit on traditional economic outcomes for poor borrowers, but effects on mental health have been largely ignored.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Applicants who had previously been rejected (n = 257) for a loan (200% annual percentage rate – APR) from a lender in South Africa were randomly assigned to a "second-look" that encouraged loan officers to approve their applications. This randomized encouragement resulted in 53% of applicants receiving a loan they otherwise would not have received. All subjects were assessed 6–12 months later with questions about demographics, socio-economic status, and two indicators of mental health: the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scale (CES-D) and Cohen's Perceived Stress scale. Intent-to-treat analyses were calculated using multinomial probit regressions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Randomization into receiving a "second look" for access to credit increased perceived stress in the combined sample of women and men; the findings were stronger among men. Credit access was associated with reduced depressive symptoms in men, but not women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that a mechanism used to reduce the economic stress of extremely poor individuals can have mixed effects on their experiences of psychological stress and depressive symptomatology. Our data support the notion that mental health should be included as a measure of success (or failure) when examining potential tools for poverty alleviation. Further longitudinal research is needed in South Africa and other settings to understand how borrowing at high interest rates affects gender roles and daily life activities. CCT: ISRCTN 10734925</p