Environmental DNA (eDNA) reveals potential for interoceanic fish invasions across the Panama Canal

Interoceanic canals can facilitate biological invasions as they connect the world's oceans and remove dispersal barriers between bioregions. As a consequence, multiple opportunities for biotic exchange arise and the resulting establishment of migrant species often causes adverse ecological and economic impacts. The Panama Canal is a key region for biotic exchange as it connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in Central America. In this study, we used two complementary methods (environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and gillnetting) to survey fish communities in this unique waterway. Using COI (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) metabarcoding, we detected a total of 142 fish species, including evidence for the presence of sixteen Atlantic and eight Pacific marine fish in different freshwater sections of the Canal. Of these, nine are potentially new records. Molecular data did not capture all species caught with gillnets, but generally provided a more complete image of the known fish fauna as more small-bodied fish species were detected. Diversity indices based on eDNA surveys revealed significant differences across different sections of the Canal reflecting in part the prevailing environmental conditions. The observed increase in the presence of marine fish species in the Canal indicates a growing potential for interoceanic fish invasions. The potential ecological and evolutionary consequences of this increase in marine fishes are not only restricted to the fish fauna in the Canal as they could also impact adjacent ecosystems in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

The Feasibility and Acceptability of a Smartphone-Based Music Intervention for Acute Pain

Pain is an unpleasant experience the neurobiology of which is influenced by psychosocial factors including negative affect. Music is a ubiquitous experience that can improve affect, potentially decreasing anxiety and catastrophizing, both of which are associated with greater pain severity. We hypothesized that a machine-learning generative music intervention in the form of a smartphone web app (Unwind) could be used to modulate the experience of pain. In this pilot study, we recruited 15 individuals with acute pain who were admitted to an observation unit in the emergency department, and were being treated with opioids. Participants used the music intervention (Unwind) during this brief hospitalization, after which we assessed their response to its use through a semi- structured qualitative interview. Overall, participants responded positively to Unwind. While some reported some technical challenges, participants were willing to continue using it at home. In particular, participants reported using Unwind to address their anxiety, and many used it to facilitate sleep in the presence of pain. This study demonstrates that individuals with acute pain will accept and use a smartphone-based music protocol

Development and Validation of the Vending Evaluation for Nutrient-Density (VEND)ing Audit

Background: This paper describes the development and validation of the Vending Evaluation for Nutrient-Density (VEND)ing audit to comprehensively evaluate vended products based upon healthfulness, price and promotion, and machine accessibility. Methods: A novel vending nutrient-density score was created to determine the healthfulness of vended snack/beverage products. Field tested in United States colleges, VENDing audit (Σnutrient-density + 10 x % healthy products) and Support sub-scores (price + promotion + accessibility) were calculated for snack/beverage machines. Higher scores indicate more healthful vending options and supports for choosing healthfully. Nutrition Environment Measures Survey-Vending (NEMS-V) was used to validate the nutrient-density score for a sub-sample of machines. Sensitivity and specificity were computed by comparing the number of healthy snacks/beverages determined by NEMS-V and the VENDing nutrient-density scores. Results: Researchers conducted the VENDing audit on 228 snack/beverage vending machines at 9 universities within the United States and used both VENDing and NEMS-V on 33 snack and 52 beverage vending machines. Mean VENDing audit scores were 4.5 ± 2.0 (2.6, 3.4) and 2.6 ± 2.0 (0, 12) for snack/beverage machines, respectively. The number of products considered healthy assessed with both the VENDing nutrient-density scores and the NEMS-V were positively correlated for beverages (r = 0.687, p \u3c 0.001) and snacks (r = 0.366, p \u3c 0.05). The sensitivity was excellent for beverages (0.83) and moderate for snacks (0.69); while the specificity was moderate for both beverages (0.66) and snacks (0.50). Conclusions: The VENDing audit uses unique, valid, an

The World Social Situation: Development Challenges at the Outset of a New Century

World social development has arrived at a critical turning point. Economically advanced nations have made significant progress toward meeting the basic needs of their populations; however, the majority of developing countries have not. Problems of rapid population growth, failing economies, famine, environmental devastation, majority-minority group conflicts, increasing militarization, among others, are pushing many developing nations toward the brink of social chaos. This paper focuses on worldwide development trends for the 40-year period 1970-2009. Particular attention is given to the disparities in development that exist between the world’s “rich” and “poor” countries as well as the global forces that sustain these disparities. The paper also discusses more recent positive trends occurring within the world’s “socially least developed countries” (SLDCs), especially those located in Africa and Asia, in reducing poverty and in promoting improved quality of life for increasing numbers of their populations

The Role of lncRNAs TAPIR-1 and -2 as Diagnostic Markers and Potential Therapeutic Targets in Prostate Cancer

In search of new biomarkers suitable for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, genome-wide transcriptome sequencing was carried out with tissue specimens from 40 prostate cancer (PCa) and 8 benign prostate hyperplasia patients. We identified two intergenic long non-coding transcripts, located in close genomic proximity, which are highly expressed in PCa. Microarray studies on a larger cohort comprising 155 patients showed a profound diagnostic potential of these transcripts (AUC~0.94), which we designated as tumor associated prostate cancer increased lncRNA (TAPIR-1 and -2). To test their therapeutic potential, knockdown experiments with siRNA were carried out. The knockdown caused an increase in the p53/TP53 tumor suppressor protein level followed by downregulation of a large number of cell cycle- and DNA-damage repair key regulators. Furthermore, in radiation therapy resistant tumor cells, the knockdown leads to a renewed sensitization of these cells to radiation treatment. Accordingly, in a preclinical PCa xenograft model in mice, the systemic application of nanoparticles loaded with siRNA targeting TAPIR-1 significantly reduced tumor growth. These findings point to a crucial role of TAPIR-1 and -2 in PCa

Genetic risk and a primary role for cell-mediated immune mechanisms in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a common disease of the central nervous system in which the interplay between inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes typically results in intermittent neurological disturbance followed by progressive accumulation of disability. Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors are primarily responsible for the substantially increased frequency of the disease seen in the relatives of affected individuals, and systematic attempts to identify linkage in multiplex families have confirmed that variation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) exerts the greatest individual effect on risk. Modestly powered genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have enabled more than 20 additional risk loci to be identified and have shown that multiple variants exerting modest individual effects have a key role in disease susceptibility. Most of the genetic architecture underlying susceptibility to the disease remains to be defined and is anticipated to require the analysis of sample sizes that are beyond the numbers currently available to individual research groups. In a collaborative GWAS involving 9,772 cases of European descent collected by 23 research groups working in 15 different countries, we have replicated almost all of the previously suggested associations and identified at least a further 29 novel susceptibility loci. Within the MHC we have refined the identity of the HLA-DRB1 risk alleles and confirmed that variation in the HLA-A gene underlies the independent protective effect attributable to the class I region. Immunologically relevant genes are significantly overrepresented among those mapping close to the identified loci and particularly implicate T-helper-cell differentiation in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis

Phylogeography of the second plague pandemic revealed through analysis of historical Yersinia pestis genomes

The second plague pandemic, caused by Yersinia pestis, devastated Europe and the nearby regions between the 14th and 18th centuries AD. Here we analyse human remains from ten European archaeological sites spanning this period and reconstruct 34 ancient Y. pestis genomes. Our data support an initial entry of the bacterium through eastern Europe, the absence of genetic diversity during the Black Death, and low within-outbreak diversity thereafter. Analysis of post-Black Death genomes shows the diversification of a Y. pestis lineage into multiple genetically distinct clades that may have given rise to more than one disease reservoir in, or close to, Europe. In addition, we show the loss of a genomic region that includes virulence-related genes in strains associated with late stages of the pandemic. The deletion was also identified in genomes connected with the first plague pandemic (541–750 AD), suggesting a comparable evolutionary trajectory of Y. pestis during both events

Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height

Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P < 0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways.

The genome and transcriptome of Japanese flounder provide insights into flatfish asymmetry

Flatfish have the most extreme asymmetric body morphology of vertebrates. During metamorphosis, one eye migrates to the contralateral side of the skull, and this migration is accompanied by extensive craniofacial transformations and simultaneous development of lopsided body pigmentation(1-5). The evolution of this developmental and physiological innovation remains enigmatic. Comparative genomics of two flatfish and transcriptomic analyses during metamorphosis point to a role for thyroid hormone and retinoic acid signaling, as well as phototransduction pathways. We demonstrate that retinoic acid is critical in establishing asymmetric pigmentation and, via cross-talk with thyroid hormones, in modulating eye migration. The unexpected expression of the visual opsins from the phototransduction pathway in the skin translates illumination differences and generates retinoic acid gradients that underlie the generation of asymmetry. Identifying the genetic underpinning of this unique developmental process answers long-standing questions about the evolutionary origin of asymmetry, but it also provides insight into the mechanisms that control body shape in vertebrates.National Natural Science Foundation of China [31130057, 31461163005, 31530078, 31472269, 31472262, 31472273]; State 863 High Technology R&D Project of China [2012AA092203, 2012AA10A408, 2012AA10A403-2]; Education and Research of Guangdong Province [2013B090800017]; Taishan Scholar Climb Project Fund of Shandong of China; Taishan Scholar Project Fund of Shandong of China for Young Scientists; Shanghai Universities First-class Disciplines Project of Fisheries; Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at the Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning; Shanghai Municipal Science, Special Project on the Integration of Industryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The ACTTION-APS-AAPM Pain Taxonomy (AAAPT) Multidimensional Approach to Classifying Acute Pain Conditions.

Objective: With the increasing societal awareness of the prevalence and impact of acute pain, there is a need to develop an acute pain classification system that both reflects contemporary mechanistic insights and helps guide future research and treatment. Existing classifications of acute pain conditions are limiting, with a predominant focus on the sensory experience (e.g., pain intensity) and pharmacologic consumption. Consequently, there is a need to more broadly characterize and classify the multidimensional experience of acute pain. Setting: Consensus report following expert panel involving the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION), American Pain Society (APS), and American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM). Methods: As a complement to a taxonomy recently developed for chronic pain, the ACTTION public-private partnership with the US Food and Drug Administration, the APS, and the AAPM convened a consensus meeting of experts to develop an acute pain taxonomy using prevailing evidence. Key issues pertaining to the distinct nature of acute pain are presented followed by the agreed-upon taxonomy. The ACTTION-APS-AAPM Acute Pain Taxonomy will include the following dimensions: 1) core criteria, 2) common features, 3) modulating factors, 4) impact/functional consequences, and 5) putative pathophysiologic pain mechanisms. Future efforts will consist of working groups utilizing this taxonomy to develop diagnostic criteria for a comprehensive set of acute pain conditions. Perspective: The ACTTION-APS-AAPM Acute Pain Taxonomy (AAAPT) is a multidimensional acute pain classification system designed to classify acute pain along the following dimensions: 1) core criteria, 2) common features, 3) modulating factors, 4) impact/functional consequences, and 5) putative pathophysiologic pain mechanisms. Conclusions: Significant numbers of patients still suffer from significant acute pain, despite the advent of modern multimodal analgesic strategies. Mismanaged acute pain has a broad societal impact as significant numbers of patients may progress to suffer from chronic pain. An acute pain taxonomy provides a much-needed standardization of clinical diagnostic criteria, which benefits clinical care, research, education, and public policy. For the purposes of the present taxonomy, acute pain is considered to last up to seven days, with prolongation to 30 days being common. The current understanding of acute pain mechanisms poorly differentiates between acute and chronic pain and is often insufficient to distinguish among many types of acute pain conditions. Given the usefulness of the AAPT multidimensional framework, the AAAPT undertook a similar approach to organizing various acute pain conditions