Age and Diet Affect Gene Expression Profiles in Canine Liver Tissue

BACKGROUND: The liver plays a central role in nutrient and xenobiotic metabolism, but its functionality declines with age. Senior dogs suffer from many of the chronic hepatic diseases as elderly humans, with age-related alterations in liver function influenced by diet. However, a large-scale molecular analysis of the liver tissue as affected by age and diet has not been reported in dogs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Liver tissue samples were collected from six senior (12-year old) and six young adult (1-year old) female beagles fed an animal protein-based diet (APB) or a plant protein-based diet (PPB) for 12 months. Total RNA in the liver tissue was extracted and hybridized to Affymetrix GeneChip® Canine Genome Arrays. Using a 2.0-fold cutoff and false discovery rate <0.10, our results indicated that expression of 234 genes was altered by age, while 137 genes were differentially expressed by diet. Based on functional classification, genes affected by age and/or diet were involved in cellular development, nutrient metabolism, and signal transduction. In general, gene expression suggested that senior dogs had an increased risk of the progression of liver disease and dysfunction, as observed in aged humans and rodents. In particular for aged liver, genes related to inflammation, oxidative stress, and glycolysis were up-regulated, whereas genes related to regeneration, xenobiotic metabolism, and cholesterol trafficking were down-regulated. Diet-associated changes in gene expression were more common in young adult dogs (33 genes) as compared to senior dogs (3 genes). CONCLUSION: Our results provide molecular insight pertaining to the aged canine liver and its predisposition to disease and abnormalities. Therefore, our data may aid in future research pertaining to age-associated alterations in hepatic function or identification of potential targets for nutritional management as a means to decrease incidence of age-dependent liver dysfunction

Patterns of deep-sea genetic connectivity in the New Zealand region : implications for management of benthic ecosystems

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 7 (2012): e49474, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049474.Patterns of genetic connectivity are increasingly considered in the design of marine protected areas (MPAs) in both shallow and deep water. In the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), deep-sea communities at upper bathyal depths (<2000 m) are vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance from fishing and potential mining operations. Currently, patterns of genetic connectivity among deep-sea populations throughout New Zealand’s EEZ are not well understood. Using the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I and 16S rRNA genes as genetic markers, this study aimed to elucidate patterns of genetic connectivity among populations of two common benthic invertebrates with contrasting life history strategies. Populations of the squat lobster Munida gracilis and the polychaete Hyalinoecia longibranchiata were sampled from continental slope, seamount, and offshore rise habitats on the Chatham Rise, Hikurangi Margin, and Challenger Plateau. For the polychaete, significant population structure was detected among distinct populations on the Chatham Rise, the Hikurangi Margin, and the Challenger Plateau. Significant genetic differences existed between slope and seamount populations on the Hikurangi Margin, as did evidence of population differentiation between the northeast and southwest parts of the Chatham Rise. In contrast, no significant population structure was detected across the study area for the squat lobster. Patterns of genetic connectivity in Hyalinoecia longibranchiata are likely influenced by a number of factors including current regimes that operate on varying spatial and temporal scales to produce potential barriers to dispersal. The striking difference in population structure between species can be attributed to differences in life history strategies. The results of this study are discussed in the context of existing conservation areas that are intended to manage anthropogenic threats to deep-sea benthic communities in the New Zealand region.This work was funded in part by a Fulbright Fellowship administered by Fulbright New Zealand and the U.S. Department of State, awarded in 2011 to EKB. Funding and support for research expedition was provided by Land Information New Zealand, New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries, NIWA, Census of Marine Life on Seamounts (CenSeam), and the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. Other research funding was provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Science and Innovation project “Impacts of resource use on vulnerable deep-sea communities” (FRST contract CO1X0906), the National Science Foundation (OCE-0647612), and the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute (Fellowship support to TMS)

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behavior with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months

Global Biodiversity and Phylogenetic Evaluation of Remipedia (Crustacea)

Remipedia is one of the most recently discovered classes of crustaceans, first described in 1981 from anchialine caves in the Bahamas Archipelago. The class is divided into the order Enantiopoda, represented by two fossil species, and Nectiopoda, which contains all known extant remipedes. Since their discovery, the number of nectiopodan species has increased to 24, half of which were described during the last decade. Nectiopoda exhibit a disjunct global distribution pattern, with the highest abundance and diversity in the Caribbean region, and isolated species in the Canary Islands and in Western Australia. Our review of Remipedia provides an overview of their ecological characteristics, including a detailed list of all anchialine marine caves, from which species have been recorded. We discuss alternative hypotheses of the phylogenetic position of Remipedia within Arthropoda, and present first results of an ongoing molecular-phylogenetic analysis that do not support the monophyly of several nectiopodan taxa. We believe that a taxonomic revision of Remipedia is absolutely essential, and that a comprehensive revision should include a reappraisal of the fossil record

Die toksikologiese telefoniese konsultasies gerig aan die Departement Farmakologie van die Universiteit van die Vrystaat gedurende 1998/ The toxicology telephonic consultations directed to the department of pharmacology of the University of the Free State during 1998

Background: Epidemiologic surveys of poisonings as well as enquiries regarding poisonings are necessary to obtain information for the combating as well successful medical management of poisonings. Methods: All telephonic consultations regarding poisonings from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 1998 of two of the four consultants of the toxicology centre of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of the Free State were studied retrospectively. Information was noted on a coding form from the consultation forms of the consultants. Results: 994 consultations were included in the study. Most consultations were on Mondays (20.7%), after hours (68.6%) and by general practitioners (33.7%) and registrars (32.1%). Of the enquiries 58.4% was with regard to intentional intake. Medications were responsible for 55.7% of enquiries, followed by household products (27.6%) and agricultural products (10.4%). Paracetamol (10.9%) was the most common medication, followed by benzodiasepine (9.9%) and organophosphate (8.7%). Central nervous system medications were involved in 23.3% of the enquiries, and pain medication in 15.9%. Conclusion: Undergraduate and postgraduate training of doctors should place sufficient emphasis on the most common types of poisonings and medication overdosages. SA Fam Prac Vol.25(5) 2002: 11-1

Nicomache (Loxochona) lokii sp. nov. (Annelida: Polychaeta: Maldanidae) from the Loki’s Castle vent field: an important structure builder in an Arctic vent system

The discovery of the Loki’s Castle vent field at 2,350 m depth on the Arctic mid-ocean ridge in 2008 represents the first known black smoker vent system in the Arctic region. Preliminary results on the benthic invertebrates collected at Loki’s Castle indicate the presence of an endemic fauna dominated by tube-building polychaetes, melitid amphipods and gastropods. Here, we formally describe and investigate the ecological role of a new maldanid species, Nicomache (Loxochona) lokii sp. nov., a species found to be particularly common and regarded as a keystone species in this vent system. The description of the new species is supplemented with a DNA barcode. The subgenus N. (Loxochona) includes at present six nominal species, and the new species described herein is the fourth species associated with reducing habitats. A table with diagnostic characters for all species referred to the subgenus is provided. The new species builds tubes up to a length of 20 cm or more, tightly fastened to the substratum. Together with other tube-building species, N. (L.) lokii sp. nov. form a complex three-dimensional habitat for a number of free-living invertebrates. Based on the morphology of the foregut, the microbial community in the gut and the stable isotope values found for this species, it is concluded that it acts as a grazer in this vent system