Genetic variation of wild American mink (Neovison vison) in the Province of Santa Cruz. Is the genetic paradox of invasive species met?

Las especies invasoras constituyen una amenaza para la biodiversidad nativa. El éxito de las especies invasoras pese a su baja variabilidad genética se conoce como “paradoja genética”. El visón americano (Neovison vison) fue introducido en varias regiones del planeta como Europa, Asia y América del Sur con fines peleteros. En Argentina fue introducido en la década de 1930 y, como resultado de la liberación de individuos en la na-turaleza, lograron establecerse poblaciones silvestres en la región Patagónica. El objetivo del presente trabajo es estudiar la diversidad genética de una población asilvestrada de la provincia de Santa Cruz y compararla con la de una población en cautiverio. Analizamos un fragmento de 359 pb de la región control de ADN mitocondrial y encontramos índices de variabilidad similares entre la población silvestre y la población cautiva. Al igual que en poblaciones asilvestradas de otras regiones del planeta, no se observa una reducción en la variabilidad genética en la población silvestre de Santa Cruz, probablemente como consecuencia de liberaciones y escapes recurrentes desde diversas fuentes de cautiverio.Alien species represent a threat to native biodiversity. The suc-cess of invasive species despite their reduced genetic diversity is known as “the genetic paradox”. The American mink (Neovison vison) was introduced in several regions of the world, like Europe, Asia and South America. In Argentina, they were introduced in the 1930’s by the fur industry and wild populations were established in Patagonia due to liberations and escapes. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity of a wild American mink population of northern Santa Cruz province and compared it with a captive population. We sequenced a 359-bp fragment of the mtDNA control region and found that genetic variability was similar between both groups. Like in other wild invasive populations, genetic variability was not reduced in the population of Santa Cruz, probably as a consequence of frequent releases and escapes from different sources of captive minks.Fil: Malerba, Martina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Laboratorio de Ecología y Comportamiento Animal; ArgentinaFil: Fasola, Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Roesler, Carlos Ignacio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Laboratorio de Ecología y Comportamiento Animal; ArgentinaFil: Pereda, Maria Inés. Aves Argentinas; ArgentinaFil: de Miguel, Andrés. Aves Argentinas; ArgentinaFil: Martina, Florencia Lucia. Aves Argentinas; ArgentinaFil: Mahler, Bettina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Laboratorio de Ecología y Comportamiento Animal; Argentin

The use of nest protectors for the saffron-cowled blackbird Xanthopsar flavus in Argentina

Summary. A simple predator exclosure applied to saffron-cowled blackbird nests resulted in 69% fledging success compared to 36% for the controls.Fil: Pucheta, Maria Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; Argentina. Aves Argentinas; ArgentinaFil: Pereda, María Inés. Aves Argentinas; ArgentinaFil: Di Giacomo, Adrian Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; Argentin

β3 adrenergic agonist treatment in chronic pulmonary hypertension associated with heart failure (SPHERE-HF): a double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.

AIMS Pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with left heart disease is an increasingly prevalent problem, orphan of targeted therapies, and related to a poor prognosis, particularly when pre- and post-capillary PH combine. The current study aimed to determine whether treatment with the selective β3 adrenoreceptor agonist mirabegron improves outcomes in patients with combined pre- and post-capillary PH (CpcPH). METHODS AND RESULTS The β3 Adrenergic Agonist Treatment in Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension Secondary to Heart Failure (SPHERE-HF) trial is a multicentre, randomized, parallel, placebo-controlled clinical trial that enrolled stable patients with CpcPH associated with symptomatic heart failure. A total of 80 patients were assigned to receive mirabegron (50 mg daily, titrated till 200 mg daily, n = 39) or placebo (n = 41) for 16 weeks. Of them, 66 patients successfully completed the study protocol and were valid for the main analysis. The primary endpoint was the change in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) on right heart catheterization. Secondary outcomes included the change in right ventricular (RV) ejection fraction by cardiac magnetic resonance or computed tomography, other haemodynamic variables, functional class, and quality of life. The trial was negative for the primary outcome (placebo-corrected mean difference of 0.62 Wood units, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.38, 1.61, p = 0.218). Patients receiving mirabegron presented a significant improvement in RV ejection fraction as compared to placebo (placebo-corrected mean difference of 3.0%, 95% CI 0.4, 5.7%, p = 0.026), without significant differences in other pre-specified secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS SPHERE-HF is the first clinical trial to assess the potential benefit of β3 adrenergic agonists in PH. The trial was negative since mirabegron did not reduce PVR, the primary endpoint, in patients with CpcPH. On pre-specified secondary outcomes, a significant improvement in RV ejection fraction assessed by advanced cardiac imaging was found, without differences in functional class or quality of life.The SPHERE-HF trial is an investigator-initiated noncommercial trial independent of the pharmaceutical industry. This work was funded by a grant from Fundació La Marató de TV3 (20151730-31-32) to A.G.-A. as the coordinator. A.G.A. was granted by Instituto de Salud Carlos III INT19/00022, PI17/00995 and PI20/00742 during the study period. B.I. is funded by the European Commission (ERC-Consolidator Grant agreement No. 819775), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-110369RB-I00), and the Comunidad de Madrid (S2017/BMD-3867 RENIM-CM). The CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (CEX2020-001041-S). CNIC imaging facilities are part of the ICTS ReDIB. IDIBAPS belongs to the CERCA Programme and receives partial funding from the Generalitat de Catalunya. The study funders were not involved in the study design; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; the writing of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the paper to publication. Conflict of interest: CNIC and Fundació Clínic per a la recerca biomèdica hold a patent for the use of beta-3 agonists for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (B.I., A.G.A., and V.F. are co-inventors). All other authors have nothing to disclose.S