Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum 1792) develop a more robust body shape under organic rearing

Prolonged exposure to captive conditions has led to the development of a rainbow trout ‘farmed’ pheno- type, which is different from that of wild trout. Selec- tion for desirable productive traits in hatcheries has resulted in the development of some morphological traits that are maladaptive in nature. The recent development of organic aquaculture, guided by the well-being of the fish, could potentially produce a new farmed phenotype that would be more adaptive in nature. In this study, rainbow trout reared in intensive and organic farms were compared by means of shape analysis, to detect patterns of shape variation associated with rearing environment. The results of this study highlight a significant effect of the rearing method on rainbow trout shape: organi- cally reared trout showed a higher body profile, in particular in the head and trunk regions, shorter median fins and a deeper caudal peduncle. A combined effect of density and habitat complexity could have contributed to the observed shape differences: in organic rearing systems, lower densi- ties and steady water could increase territoriality and aggressive interactions, promoting body designs more functional in rapid attacks and escapes

Genetic homogeneity in the deep-sea grenadier Macrourus berglax across the North Atlantic Ocean

Paucity of data on population structure and connectivity in deep sea species remains a major obstacle to their sustainable management and conservation in the face of ever increasing fisheries pressure and other forms of impacts on deep sea ecosystems. The roughhead grenadier Macrourus berglax presents all the classical characteristics of a deep sea species, such as slow growth and low fecundity, which make them particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic impact, due to their low resilience to change. In this study, the population structure of the roughhead grenadier is investigated throughout its geographic distribution using two sets of molecular markers: a partial sequence of the Control Region of mitochondrial DNA and species-specific microsatellites. No evidence of significant structure was found throughout the North Atlantic, with both sets of molecular markers yielding the same results of overall homogeneity. We posit two non-mutually exclusive scenarios that can explain such outcome: i) substantial high gene flow among locations, possibly maintained by larval stages, ii) very large effective size of post-glacially expanded populations. The results can inform management strategies in this by-caught species, and contribute to the broader issue of biological connectivity in the deep ocean

Ocean acidification as a driver of community simplification via the collapse of higher-order and rise of lower-order consumers

Increasing oceanic uptake of CO2 is predicted to drive ecological change as both a resource (i.e. CO2 enrichment on primary producers) and stressor (i.e. lower pH on consumers). We use the natural ecological complexity of a CO2 vent (i.e. a seagrass system) to assess the potential validity of conceptual models developed from laboratory and mesocosm research. Our observations suggest that the stressor-effect of CO2 enrichment combined with its resource-effect drives simplified food web structure of lower trophic diversity and shorter length. The transfer of CO2 enrichment from plants to herbivores through consumption (apparent resource-effect) was not compensated by predation, because carnivores failed to contain herbivore outbreaks. Instead, these higher-order consumers collapsed (apparent stressor-effect on carnivores) suggesting limited trophic propagation to predator populations. The dominance of primary producers and their lower-order consumers along with the loss of carnivores reflects the duality of intensifying ocean acidification acting both as resource-effect (i.e. bottom-up control) and stressor-effect (i.e. top-down control) to simplify community and trophic structure and function. This shifting balance between the propagation of resource enrichment and its consumption across trophic levels provides new insights into how the trophic dynamics might stabilize against or propagate future environmental change

Composition and trophic structure of motile fauna populations in macrophytes of a natural CO2 vent system

As a consequence of global change, ocean acidification is predicted to increase progressively in the next centuries and evidence suggests that decreased levels of pH could lead to severe modifications in marine communities. Levante Bay in Vulcano Island (Aeolian Archipelago, Italy) hosts a shallow submarine volcanic CO2 vent, representing a natural laboratory suitable to study the effects of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems. However, in addition to direct CO2 effects, volcanic emissions may also increase a number of trace elements, providing harsh features to the surrounding environment. The aim of this work was to examine the motile fauna populations associated to macrophytes, Cymodocea nodosa and macroalgal beds, in order to detect any change in composition and trophic structure attributable to the peculiar features of the volcanic vent. We compared the structure of populations sampled in a site close to the vents (weakly acidified) and in a control site (normal pH conditions). Samples were collected in May 2013 using an airlift sampler on 30 cm quadrats. Results revealed clear differences in macrophyte composition, cover and biomass between the two sites, as well as in the structure of the faunal community, with the weakly acidified site showing higher abundances of polychaetes and amphipods and a marked reduction in molluscs in comparison with the control site. Furthermore, stable isotope analysis showed that in the weakly acidified site δ13C and δ15N signatures of primary producers were depleted, while the isotopic niche space of the motile fauna became narrower and markedly shifted towards lower values. These findings highlight the importance of studying the effects of ocean acidification on the composition and structure of food webs within benthic communities and its ecological implications are discussed in terms of diversity and local adaptation

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum ) develop a more robust body shape under organic rearing

Prolonged exposure to captive conditions has led to the development of a rainbow trout 'farmed' phenotype, which is different from that of wild trout. Selection for desirable productive traits in hatcheries has resulted in the development of some morphological traits that are maladaptive in nature. The recent development of organic aquaculture, guided by the well-being of the fish, could potentially produce a new farmed phenotype that would be more adaptive in nature. In this study, rainbow trout reared in intensive and organic farms were compared by means of shape analysis, to detect patterns of shape variation associated with rearing environment. The results of this study highlight a significant effect of the rearing method on rainbow trout shape: organically reared trout showed a higher body profile, in particular in the head and trunk regions, shorter median fins and a deeper caudal peduncle. A combined effect of density and habitat complexity could have contributed to the observed shape differences: in organic rearing systems, lower densities and steady water could increase territoriality and aggressive interactions, promoting body designs more functional in rapid attacks and escapes

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum ) develop a more robust body shape under organic rearing

Prolonged exposure to captive conditions has led to the development of a rainbow trout 'farmed' phenotype, which is different from that of wild trout. Selection for desirable productive traits in hatcheries has resulted in the development of some morphological traits that are maladaptive in nature. The recent development of organic aquaculture, guided by the well-being of the fish, could potentially produce a new farmed phenotype that would be more adaptive in nature. In this study, rainbow trout reared in intensive and organic farms were compared by means of shape analysis, to detect patterns of shape variation associated with rearing environment. The results of this study highlight a significant effect of the rearing method on rainbow trout shape: organically reared trout showed a higher body profile, in particular in the head and trunk regions, shorter median fins and a deeper caudal peduncle. A combined effect of density and habitat complexity could have contributed to the observed shape differences: in organic rearing systems, lower densities and steady water could increase territoriality and aggressive interactions, promoting body designs more functional in rapid attacks and escapes

Machine Learning Using Real-World and Translational Data to Improve Treatment Selection for NSCLC Patients Treated with Immunotherapy

Simple Summary: In this paper, the authors show that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are useful approaches to integrate multifactorial data and helpful for personalized prediction. In detail, compared to PD-L1 for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ML tools predicted better responder (R) and non-responder (NR) patients to immunotherapy (IO). It was also able to indirectly foresee OS and PFS of R and NR patients. Given the high incidence of NSCLC, and the absence of reliable biomarkers to predict the response to IO other than PD-L1, the authors believe this research may be of great interest to anyone involved in thoracic oncology. Furthermore, given the growing interest from the scientific community in AI and ML, the authors believe that this manuscript could represent a fascinating topic to anyone who needs to exploit the enormous potential of these tools in the treatment of cancer. Abstract: (1) Background: In advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC), programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) remains the only biomarker for candidate patients to immunotherapy (IO). This study aimed at using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools to improve response and efficacy predictions in aNSCLC patients treated with IO. (2) Methods: Real world data and the blood microRNA signature classifier (MSC) were used. Patients were divided into responders (R) and non-responders (NR) to determine if the overall survival of the patients was likely to be shorter or longer than 24 months from baseline IO. (3) Results: One-hundred sixty-four out of 200 patients (i.e., only those ones with PD-L1 data available) were considered in the model, 73 (44.5%) were R and 91 (55.5%) NR. Overall, the best model was the linear regression (RL) and included 5 features. The model predicting R/NR of patients achieved accuracy ACC = 0.756, F1 score F1 = 0.722, and area under the ROC curve AUC = 0.82. LR was also the best-performing model in predicting patients with long survival (24 months OS), achieving ACC = 0.839, F1 = 0.908, and AUC = 0.87. (4) Conclusions: The results suggest that the integration of multifactorial data provided by ML techniques is a useful tool to select NSCLC patients as candidates for IO