Cerebrovascular diseases epidemiology in the Stavropol region rural residents in the implementation context of the regional program «Fighting mediavascular diseases in the Stavropol region»

Relevance. During the implementation of the program for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in the Stavropol Territory, measures were taken to prevent hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes, train medical personnel in methods of timely detection of cerebrovascular diseases (CVD), recognition (including through training of the general population) and routing patients with acute cerebrovascular accidents; during a pandemic, opening specialized departments. This organizational experiment required an assessment of its impact on the most medically complex group of the population - rural residents. The aim was to study in dynamics the epidemic situation of CVD among the rural population in the Stavropol Territory in comparison with the Russian Federation. Materials and Methods. Information from official statistical observation forms on the incidence of CVD and mortality from them was studied. Results and Discussion. In the period from 2010 to 2022, there was an increase in the incidence of CVD in the rural population from 464.6 to 1045.1 per 100,000 rural population, which is partly due to the aging of the population, and partly due to improved diagnosis of CVD. The overall incidence of CVD increased from 1275.5 to 3416.1, which suggests an improvement in patient survival. The incidence of strokes of all types tended to decrease, which indicates the effectiveness of the impact on the risk factors for their development. The incidence of unspecified strokes decreased significantly, which led to an increase in the primary incidence of cerebral infarctions (which, however, grew more slowly in the Stavropol Territory than in the Russian Federation as a whole; the coefficients of the regression equations were 2.5 and 4.3, respectively). Between 2015 and 2022. the mortality rates (from 208.4 to 161.1) and mortality (from 5.8 to 2.8) from CVD decreased rapidly (relative to mortality from CVD in the Russian Federation). Conclusion. The proposed set of measures for the prevention and treatment of CVD, including preventive measures, a system of social mobilization, FAST-test, patient routing systems with the delivery of eligible persons to vascular centers within an hour, timely response to new risk factors for the development of CVD, was effective and can be recommended for implementation in similar areas with a high proportion of rural population

Who are you, Griselda? A replacement name for a new genus of the Asiatic short-tailed shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Soricidae): molecular and morphological analyses with the discussion of tribal affinities

The first genetic study of the holotype of the Gansu short-tailed shrew, Blarinella griselda Thomas, 1912, is presented. The mitochondrial analysis demonstrated that the type specimen of B. griselda is close to several recently collected specimens from southern Gansu, northern Sichuan and Shaanxi, which are highly distinct from the two species of Asiatic short-tailed shrews of southern Sichuan, Yunnan, and Vietnam, >B. quadraticauda and B. wardi. Our analysis of four nuclear genes supported the placement of B. griselda as sister to B. quadraticauda / B. wardi, with the level of divergence between these two clades corresponding to that among genera of Soricinae. A new generic name, Parablarinella, is proposed for the Gansu short-tailed shrew. Karyotypes of Parablarinella griselda(2n = 49, NFa = 50) and B. quadraticauda (2n = 49, NFa = 62) from southern Gansu are described. The tribal affinities of Blarinellini and Blarinini are discussed.Copyright Anna A. Bannikova et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article

The potential and shortcomings of mitochondrial DNA analysis for cheetah conservation management

There are only about 7,100 adolescent and adult cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) remaining in the wild. With the majority occurring outside protected areas, their numbers are rapidly declining. Evidence-based conservation measures are essential for the survival of this species. Genetic data is routinely used to inform conservation strategies, e.g., by establishing conservation units (CU). A commonly used marker in conservation genetics is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Here, we investigated the cheetah’s phylogeography using a large-scale mtDNA data set to refine subspecies distributions and better assign individuals to CUs. Our dataset mostly consisted of historic samples to cover the cheetah’s whole range as the species has been extinct in most of its former distribution. While our genetic data largely agree with geography-based subspecies assignments, several geographic regions show conflicting mtDNA signals. Our analyses support previous findings that evolutionary forces such as incomplete lineage sorting or mitochondrial capture likely confound the mitochondrial phylogeography of this species, especially in East and, to some extent, in Northeast Africa. We caution that subspecies assignments solely based on mtDNA should be treated carefully and argue for an additional standardized nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker set for subspecies identification and monitoring. However, the detection of the A. j. soemmeringii specific haplogroup by a newly designed Amplification-Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) can already provide support for conservation measures.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Genomic Analyses Show Extremely Perilous Conservation Status of African and Asiatic cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus).

We live in a world characterized by biodiversity loss and global environmental change. The extinction of large carnivores can have ramifying effects on ecosystems like an uncontrolled increase in wild herbivores, which in turn can have knock-on impacts on vegetation regeneration and communities. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) serve important ecosystem functions as apex predators; yet, they are quickly heading towards an uncertain future. Threatened by habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and illegal trafficking, there are only approximately 7100 individuals remaining in nature. We present the most comprehensive genome-wide analysis of cheetah phylogeography and conservation genomics to date, assembling samples from nearly the entire current and past species' range. We show that their phylogeography is more complex than previously thought, and that East African cheetahs (A. j. raineyi) are genetically distinct from Southern African individuals (A. j. jubatus), warranting their recognition as a distinct subspecies. We found strong genetic differentiation between all classically recognized subspecies, thus refuting earlier findings that cheetahs show only little differentiation. The strongest differentiation was observed between the Asiatic and all the African subspecies. We detected high inbreeding in the Critically Endangered Iranian (A. j. venaticus) and North-western (A. j. hecki) subspecies, and show that overall cheetahs, along with snow leopards, have the lowest genome-wide heterozygosity of all the big cats. This further emphasizes the cheetah's perilous conservation status. Our results provide novel and important information on cheetah phylogeography that can support evidence-based conservation policy decisions to help protect this species. This is especially relevant in light of ongoing and proposed translocations across subspecies boundaries, and the increasing threats of illegal trafficking

An annotated checklist of the insectivores (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla) of Laos

Abramov, Alexei V. (2021): An annotated checklist of the insectivores (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla) of Laos. Zootaxa 5006 (1): 13-25, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5006.1.

Mitochondrial DNA Control Region Variations in the Sable Martes zibellina of Hokkaido Island and the Eurasian Continent, Compared with the Japanese Marten M. melampus

To reveal phylogeographical features of the sable Martes zibellina on Hokkaido Island, northern Japan, we analyzed the 5'-portion sequences of the mitochondrial DNA control region (535-537 base pairs), and compared their sequence variations with those in Russia. Genetic differences between the Hokkaido and Russian individuals, revealed by the present study, indicated that the Hokkaido population has not been well-differentiated after the immigration into Hokkaido from the Eurasian Continent. The intraspecific variations of M. zibellina showed interpopulation-differentiations due to 'isolation by distance' within Hokkaido, and they were smaller than those of the Japanese marten M. melampus, endemic to Honshu, Kyushu and Sikoku Islands of Japan. The genetic diversity in M. melampus populations introduced to Hokkaido was lower than that of M. melampus native on Honshu and Kyushu, and the two mitochondrial DNA haplotypes were distributed at restricted areas in southern Hokkaido. These findings suggest founder effects in introduced populations of M. melampus on Hokkaido. In addition, the clear phylogenetic separation between M. zibellina and M. melampus indicates that no hybridization between them have occurred on Hokkaido so far, although further studies using paternally and biparentally inherited genetic markers are necessary

Genetic diversity of MHC class II DRB alleles in the continental and Japanese populations of the sable Martes zibellina (Mustelidae, Carnivora, Mammalia)

The sable (Martes zibellina) is a medium-sized mustelid inhabiting forest environments in Siberia, northern China, the Korean Peninsula, and Hokkaido Island, Japan. To further understand the molecular evolution of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), we sequenced part of exon 2 in MHC class II DRB genes, including codons encoding the antigen binding site, from 33 individuals from continental Eurasia and Japan. We identified 16 MHC class II DRB alleles (Mazi-DRBs), some of which were geographically restricted and others broadly distributed, and eight putative pseudogenes. A single-breakpoint recombination analysis detected a recombination site in the middle of exon 2. A mixed effects model of evolution analysis identified five amino acid sites presumably under positive selection. These sites were all located in the region 3' to the recombination site, suggesting that positive selection and recombination could be committed to the diversity of the M. zibellina DRB gene. In a Bayesian phylogenetic free, all Mazi-DRBs and the presumed pseudogenes grouped within a Mustelidae clade. The Mazi-DRBs showed trans-species polymorphism, with some alleles most closely related to alleles from other mustelid species. This result suggests that the sable DRBs have evolved under long-lasting balancing selection

The taxonomic status of badgers (Mammalia, Mustelidae) from Southwest Asia based on cranial morphometrics, with the redescription of Meles canescens

Abramov, Alexei V., Puzachenko, Andrey Yu. (2013): The taxonomic status of badgers (Mammalia, Mustelidae) from Southwest Asia based on cranial morphometrics, with the redescription of Meles canescens. Zootaxa 3681 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3681.1.