Connectivity among estuarine and coastal fish populations using otolith geochemistry

Connectivity is a critical property of marine fish populations as it defines population replenishment, colonization patterns and populations’ resilience to harvesting. Otolith geochemistry is one of the techniques with greatest potential to determine fish movements, especially at early life stages. The accurate use of otolith geochemical signatures as natural tags in connectivity and population structure studies is tied to a thorough assessment of the variability of these markers at different spatio-temporal scales. Additionally, understanding the relationships between otolith geochemical composition and physicochemical properties of ambient water is necessary for tracking fish movement patterns. Several otolith elemental and isotopic ratios were identified as potentially useful proxies for temperature or salinity in estuarine environment which might allow the accurate reconstruction of habitat use of juvenile Solea solea. The significant differences between the geochemical composition of otolith core and edge observed in S. solea and Merluccius merluccius were possibly related to ontogenetic and environmental factors. Otolith geochemical signatures of juvenile S. solea and Solea senegalensis varied significantly between and within years yet without interfering in the spatial discrimination of estuaries. Juvenile soles were accurately assigned to their estuaries of origin and the established geochemical signatures constitute the baseline data for assessments of connectivity between juvenile and adult populations. The estimated relative contributions from estuarine source areas to adult coastal populations allowed the successful identification of the estuarine systems that accounted most for the replenishment of adult stocks of both sole species in two years. The integration of otolith geochemistry and microsatellite DNA markers, applied in a hierarchical manner, enhanced population structure estimates of M. merluccius since the two markers act at different spatio-temporal scales. Overall, the present results should promote the development of effective conservation strategies for ecologically important habitats and integrated fisheries management plans for these commercially important speciesA conectividade é uma característica importante de populações de peixes marinhos, pois determina a reposição populacional, os padrões de colonização e a resiliência das populações à pesca. A geoquímica de otólitos é uma das técnicas com maior potencial para determinar movimentos de peixes, sobretudo nos estados de vida iniciais. A aplicação correcta das assinaturas geoquímicas de otólitos como marcadores naturais depende duma avaliação abrangente da sua variabilidade a diferentes escalas espácio-temporais. Além disso, é necessário um conhecimento sobre as relações entre a composição geoquímica e as propriedades físico-químicas da água para seguir os movimentos dos peixes. Diferentes elementos e isótopos foram identificados como potenciais indicadores de temperatura ou salinidade em estuários, que poderão permitir a determinação do padrão de utilização por habitats de juvenis de Solea solea. As diferenças significativas entre a composição geoquímica do núcleo e da margem de otólitos de S. solea e Merluccius merluccius estão provavelmente associadas a factores ontogenéticos e ambientais. As assinaturas químicas dos juvenis de S. solea e Solea senegalensis variaram significativamente entre anos e meses, porém sem interferir com a discriminação espacial entre estuários. Os juvenis foram correctamente atribuídos aos seus estuários de origem e as assinaturas estabelecidas constituem as bases de referência para avaliar a conectividade entre populações de juvenis e adultos. As estimativas de contribuições relativas das áreas estuarinas para as populações adultas na costa permitiram a identificação dos estuários que mais contribuem para a reposição dos mananciais das duas espécies de linguado em dois anos distintos. A integração de geoquímica de otólitos e marcadores genéticos melhorou as estimativas de estrutura populacional de M. merluccius, quando aplicada hierarquicamente, pois os dois marcadores naturais têm resoluções espácio-temporais diferentes. Globalmente, os resultados obtidos poderão ajudar a promover o desenvolvimento de estratégias de conservação eficientes e planos de gestão integrados para estas espécies

Early Biofilm Formation on UV Light Activated Nanoporous TiO2 Surfaces In Vivo

Purpose. To explore early S. mutans biofilm formation on hydrothermally induced nanoporous TiO2 surfaces in vivo and to examine the effect of UV light activation on the biofilm development. Materials and Methods. Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy discs (n = 40) were divided into four groups with different surface treatments: noncoated titanium alloy (NC); UV treated noncoated titanium alloy (UVNC); hydrothermally induced TiO2 coating (HT); and UV treated titanium alloy with hydrothermally induced TiO2 coating (UVHT). In vivo plaque formation was studied in 10 healthy, nonsmoking adult volunteers. Titanium discs were randomly distributed among the maxillary first and second molars. UV treatment was administered for 60 min immediately before attaching the discs in subjects' molars. Plaque samples were collected 24h after the attachment of the specimens. Mutans streptococci (MS), non-mutans streptococci, and total facultative bacteria were cultured, and colonies were counted. Results. The plaque samples of NC (NC + UVNC) surfaces showed over 2 times more often S. mutans when compared to TiO2 surfaces (HT + UVHT), with the number of colonized surfaces equal to 7 and 3, respectively. Conclusion. This in vivo study suggested that HT TiO2 surfaces, which we earlier showed to improve blood coagulation and encourage human gingival fibroblast attachment in vitro, do not enhance salivary microbial (mostly mutans streptococci) adhesion and initial biofilm formation when compared with noncoated titanium alloy. UV light treatment provided Ti-6Al-4V surfaces with antibacterial properties and showed a trend towards less biofilm formation when compared with non-UV treated titanium surfaces

So rare we need to hunt for them: reframing the ethical debate on incidental findings

Incidental findings are the subject of intense ethical debate in medical genomic research. Every human genome contains a number of potentially disease-causing alterations that may be detected during comprehensive genetic analyses to investigate a specific condition. Yet available evidence shows that the frequency of incidental findings in research is much lower than expected. In this Opinion, we argue that the reason for the low level of incidental findings is that the filtering techniques and methods that are applied during the routine handling of genomic data remove these alterations. As incidental findings are systematically filtered out, it is now time to evaluate whether the ethical debate is focused on the right issues. We conclude that the key question is whether to deliberately target and search for disease-causing variations outside the indication that has originally led to the genetic analysis, for instance by using positive lists and algorithms

Religionstrends in der Schweiz

Diese Open-Access-Publikation beschreibt gegenwärtige Entwicklungen in der Religionslandschaft der Schweiz. Sie führt eine Reihe von Studien fort, die seit den 1980er Jahren in regelmässigen Zeitabständen publiziert werden. Die hier versammelten Beiträge basieren auf der Auswertung aktueller statistischer Daten und bearbeiten Fragestellungen aus der Religions- und Kirchensoziologie sowie aus der Politikwissenschaft

The effect of posterior subtenon methylprednisolone acetate in the refractory diabetic macular edema: a prospective nonrandomized interventional case series

BACKGROUND: To investigate the efficacy of posterior subtenon methylprednisolone acetate injection in treatment of refractory diffuse clinically significant diabetic macular edema (CSME). METHODS: In a prospective, nonrandomized, interventional case series, 52 eyes were diagnosed with CSME and treated with at least two sessions of laser photocoagulation according to Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study guidelines. At least 3 months after laser therapy, eyes with a residual central macular thickness were offered posterior subtenon injection of 40 mg methylprednisolone acetate. Main outcome measures were visual acuity, macular thickness and intraocular pressure. Potential complications were monitored, including intraocular pressure response, cataract progression and scleral perforation. RESULTS: Mean baseline visual acuity (in logMAR) improved significantly (p = 0.003) from 0.8 ± 0.36 to 0.6 ± 0.41 at 3 months. Mean foveal thickness decreased from 388 ± 78 μm at baseline to 231 ± 40 μm after 3 months (p < 0.0001). Visual acuity improvement in eyes with CSME with extrafoveal hard exudates was significant (p = 0.0001), but not significant in eyes with CSME with subfoveal hard exudates (p = 0.32). Intraocular pressure increased from 14.7 ± 2.0 mmHg (range, 12–18 mmHg) to a maximum value of 15.9 ± 2.1 mmHg (range, 12–20 mmHg) during the follow-up period. Complications in two eyes developed focal conjunctival necrosis at the site of injection. CONCLUSION: Posterior subtenon methylprednisolone acetate may improve early visual outcome in diffuse diabetic macular edema that fails to respond to conventional laser photocoagulation. Visual acuity improvement in eyes with CSME with extrafoveal hard exudates was significant; and this improvement is depends on location of hard exudates. Further study is needed to assess the long-term efficacy, safety, and retreatment

Overcoming roadblocks for in vitro nurseries in plants: induction of meiosis

Efforts to increase genetic gains in breeding programs of flowering plants depend on making genetic crosses. Time to flowering, which can take months to decades depending on the species, can be a limiting factor in such breeding programs. It has been proposed that the rate of genetic gain can be increased by reducing the time between generations by circumventing flowering through the in vitro induction of meiosis. In this review, we assess technologies and approaches that may offer a path towards meiosis induction, the largest current bottleneck for in vitro plant breeding. Studies in non-plant, eukaryotic organisms indicate that the in vitro switch from mitotic cell division to meiosis is inefficient and occurs at very low rates. Yet, this has been achieved with mammalian cells by the manipulation of a limited number of genes. Therefore, to experimentally identify factors that switch mitosis to meiosis in plants, it is necessary to develop a high-throughput system to evaluate a large number of candidate genes and treatments, each using large numbers of cells, few of which may gain the ability to induce meiosis

Comparison of cisplatin sensitivity and the 18F fluoro-2-deoxy 2 glucose uptake with proliferation parameters and gene expression in squamous cell carcinoma cell lines of the head and neck

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The survival of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer is still poor, with 5-year survival rates of 24–35%. The identification of prognostic and predictive markers at the molecular and cellular level could make it possible to find new therapeutic targets and provide "taylor made" treatments. Established cell lines of human squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are valuable models for identifying such markers.</p> <p>The aim of this study was to establish and characterize a series of cell lines and to compare the cisplatin sensitivity and 18F fluoro-2 deoxy 2 glucose (18F-FDG) uptake of these cell lines with other cellular characteristics, such as proliferation parameters and TP53 and CCND1 status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Explant cultures of fresh tumour tissue were cultivated, and six new permanent cell lines were established from 18 HNSCC cases. Successfully grown cell lines were analysed regarding clinical parameters, histological grade, karyotype, DNA ploidy, and index and S-phase fraction (Spf). The cell lines were further characterized with regard to their uptake of 18F-FDG, their sensitivity to cisplatin, as measured by a viability test (crystal violet), and their TP53 and CCND1 status, by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) with DNA sequencing and, for cyclin D1, by immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients with tumours that could be cultured in vitro had shorter disease-free periods and overall survival time than those whose tumours did not grow in vitro, when analysed with the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Their tumours also showed more complex karyotypes than tumours from which cell lines could not be established. No correlation was found between TP53 or CCND1 status and 18F-FDG uptake or cisplatin sensitivity. However, there was an inverse correlation between tumour cell doubling time and 18F-FDG uptake.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In vitro growth of HNSCC cells seem to be an independent prognostic factor, with cell lines being more readily established from aggressive tumours, a phenomenon more dependent on the molecular genetic characteristics of the tumour cells than on tumour location or TNM status.</p