Endangered shark species traded as “cação” in São Paulo during the COVID-19 lockdown: DNA-barcoding a snapshot of products

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordData availability: The data presented in this study are available in supplementary material submitted with this manuscript.Background Elasmobranch populations are declining, predominantly driven by overfishing, and over a third of global sharks, rays, and chimeras are estimated to be threatened with extinction. In terms of trade, Brazil is ranked the eleventh-largest shark producer and the top importer of shark meat in the world. Research has shown that elasmobranchs are sold in Brazil under the name “cação” (a generic designation for cartilaginous fish) to overcome consumer resistance. Methodology and results This study used DNA barcoding to investigate the sale of sharks in the State of São Paulo during the COVID-19 lockdown. A total of 35 samples of “cação” were analysed, revealing six different shark species on sale, including Carcharhinus falciformis, Carcharhinus signatus, Carcharias taurus, Isurus oxyrinchus, and Isurus paucus, that are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN red list. This study demonstrates that vulnerable elasmobranchs are being commercialised under the label “cação” in the São Paulo State and Brazil. Conclusions Comparison of shark products traded before and during the COVID-19 pandemic showed no significant difference, suggesting lockdown did not affect patterns of species commercialisation. Effective fisheries and sale monitoring, correct product labelling legislation and increased consumer awareness that “cação” is shark are needed for appropriate conservation and management of shark populations in Brazil.ExeterMarin

Modeling RR Tel through the Evolution of the Spectra

We investigate the evolution of RR Tel after the outburst by fitting the emission spectra in two epochs. The first one (1978) is characterized by large fluctuations in the light curve and the second one (1993) by the slow fading trend. In the frame of a colliding wind model two shocks are present: the reverse shock propagates in the direction of the white dwarf and the other one expands towards or beyond the giant. The results of our modeling show that in 1993 the expanding shock has overcome the system and is propagating in the nearby ISM. The large fluctuations observed in the 1978 light curve result from line intensity rather than from continuum variation. These variations are explained by fragmentation of matter at the time of head-on collision of the winds from the two stars. A high velocity (500 km/s) wind component is revealed from the fit of the SED of the continuum in the X-ray range in 1978, but is quite unobservable in the line profiles. The geometrical thickness of the emitting clumps is the critical parameter which can explain the short time scale variabilities of the spectrum and the trend of slow line intensity decrease.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX (including 5 Tables) + 6 PostScript figures. To appear in "The Astrophysical Journal

Arachidonic acid-evoked Ca^{2+} signals promote nitric oxide release and proliferation in human endothelial colony forming cells

Arachidonic acid (AA) stimulates endothelial cell (EC) proliferation through an increase in intracellular Ca^{2+} concentration ([Ca^{2+}]_{i}), that, in turn, promotes nitric oxide (NO) release. AA-evoked Ca^{2+} signals are mainly mediated by Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channels. Circulating endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) represent the only established precursors of ECs. In the present study, we, therefore, sought to elucidate whether AA promotes human ECFC (hECFC) proliferation through an increase in [Ca^{2+}]_{i} and the following activation of the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS). AA induced a dose-dependent [Ca^{2+}]_{i} raise that was mimicked by its non-metabolizable analogue eicosatetraynoic acid. AA-evoked Ca^{2+} signals required both intracellular Ca^{2+} release and external Ca^{2+} inflow. AA-induced Ca^{2+} release was mediated by inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors from the endoplasmic reticulum and by two pore channel 1 from the acidic stores of the endolysosomal system. AA-evoked Ca^{2+} entry was, in turn, mediated by TRPV4, while it did not involve store-operated Ca^{2+} entry. Moreover, AA caused an increase in NO levels which was blocked by preventing the concomitant increase in [Ca^{2+}]_{i} and by inhibiting eNOS activity with NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME). Finally, AA per se did not stimulate hECFC growth, but potentiated growth factors-induced hECFC proliferation in a Ca^{2+} - and NO-dependent manner. Therefore, AA-evoked Ca^{2+} signals emerge as an additional target to prevent cancer vascularisation, which may be sustained by ECFC recruitment

Evidence of detrimental effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on offspring birthweight and neurodevelopment from a systematic review of quasi-experimental studies

Background: Systematic reviews of prenatal alcohol exposure effects generally only include conventional observational studies. However, estimates from such studi

In Depth Characterization of Repetitive DNA in 23 Plant Genomes Reveals Sources of Genome Size Variation in the Legume Tribe Fabeae

The differential accumulation and elimination of repetitive DNA are key drivers of genome size variation in flowering plants, yet there have been few studies which have analysed how different types of repeats in related species contribute to genome size evolution within a phylogenetic context. This question is addressed here by conducting large-scale comparative analysis of repeats in 23 species from four genera of the monophyletic legume tribe Fabeae, representing a 7.6-fold variation in genome size. Phylogenetic analysis and genome size reconstruction revealed that this diversity arose from genome size expansions and contractions in different lineages during the evolution of Fabeae. Employing a combination of low-pass genome sequencing with novel bioinformatic approaches resulted in identification and quantification of repeats making up 55-83% of the investigated genomes. In turn, this enabled an analysis of how each major repeat type contributed to the genome size variation encountered. Differential accumulation of repetitive DNA was found to account for 85% of the genome size differences between the species, and most (57%) of this variation was found to be driven by a single lineage of Ty3/gypsy LTR-retrotransposons, the Ogre elements. Although the amounts of several other lineages of LTR-retrotransposons and the total amount of satellite DNA were also positively correlated with genome size, their contributions to genome size variation were much smaller (up to 6%). Repeat analysis within a phylogenetic framework also revealed profound differences in the extent of sequence conservation between different repeat types across Fabeae. In addition to these findings, the study has provided a proof of concept for the approach combining recent developments in sequencing and bioinformatics to perform comparative analyses of repetitive DNAs in a large number of non-model species without the need to assemble their genomes

Earthquake rupture forecasts for the mps19 seismic hazard model of Italy

In recent years, new approaches for developing earthquake rupture forecasts (ERFs) have been proposed to be used as an input for probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA). Zone-based approaches with seismicity rates derived from earthquake catalogs are commonly used in many countries as the standard for national seismic hazard models. In Italy, a single zone-based ERF is currently the basis for the official seismic hazard model. In this contribution, we present eleven new ERFs, including five zone-based, two smoothed seismicity-based, two fault-based, and two geodetic-based, used for a new PSH model in Italy. The ERFs were tested against observed seismicity and were subject to an elicitation procedure by a panel of PSHA experts to verify the scientific robustness and consistency of the forecasts with respect to the observations. Tests and elicitation were finalized to weight the ERFs. The results show a good response to the new inputs to observed seismicity in the last few centuries. The entire approach was a first attempt to build a community-based set of ERFs for an Italian PSHA model. The project involved a large number of seismic hazard practitioners, with their knowledge and experience, and the development of different models to capture and explore a large range of epistemic uncertainties in building ERFs, and represents an important step forward for the new national seismic hazard model

Associations between an Obesity Related Genetic Variant (FTO rs9939609) and Prostate Cancer Risk

Observational studies suggest that obese men have a lower risk of incident prostate cancer, but an increased risk of advanced and fatal cancers. These observations could be due to confounding, detection bias, or a biological effect of obesity. Genetic studies are less susceptible to confounding than observational epidemiology and can suggest how associations between phenotypes (such as obesity) and diseases arise. To determine whether the associations between obesity and prostate cancer are causal, we conducted a genetic association study of the relationship between a single nucleotide polymorphism known to be associated with obesity (FTO rs9939609) and prostate cancer. Data are from a population-based sample of 1550 screen-detected prostate cancers, 1815 age- and general practice matched controls with unrestricted prostate specific antigen (PSA) values and 1175 low-PSA controls (PSA <0.5 ng/ml). The rs9939609 A allele, which was associated with higher BMI in the sample, was inversely associated with overall (odds ratio (OR) versus all controls  = 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85–1.02 p = 0.12 per allele) and low-grade (OR = 0.90; 0.81–0.99 p = 0.03 per allele) prostate cancer risk, but positively associated with high-grade cancer among cases (OR high- versus low-grade cancer  = 1.16; 0.99–1.37 p = 0.07 per allele). Although evidence for these effects was weak, they are consistent with observational data based on BMI phenotypes and suggest that the observed association between obesity and prostate cancer is not due to confounding. Further research should confirm these findings, extend them to other BMI-related genetic variants and determine whether they are due to detection bias or obesity-related hormonal changes

Sequencing of diverse mandarin, pummelo and orange genomes reveals complex history of admixture during citrus domestication

Cultivated citrus are selections from, or hybrids of, wild progenitor species whose identities and contributions to citrus domestication remain controversial. Here we sequence and compare citrus genomes-a high-quality reference haploid clementine genome and mandarin, pummelo, sweet-orange and sour-orange genomes-and show that cultivated types derive from two progenitor species. Although cultivated pummelos represent selections from one progenitor species, Citrus maxima, cultivated mandarins are introgressions of C. maxima into the ancestral mandarin species Citrus reticulata. The most widely cultivated citrus, sweet orange, is the offspring of previously admixed individuals, but sour orange is an F1 hybrid of pure C. maxima and C. reticulata parents, thus implying that wild mandarins were part of the early breeding germplasm. A Chinese wild 'mandarin' diverges substantially from C. reticulata, thus suggesting the possibility of other unrecognized wild citrus species. Understanding citrus phylogeny through genome analysis clarifies taxonomic relationships and facilitates sequence-directed genetic improvement