Results of a collaborative study of the EDNAP group regarding mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy and segregation in hair shafts.

A collaborative exercise was carried out by the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP) in order to evaluate the distribution of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy amongst the hairs of an individual who displays point heteroplasmy in blood and buccal cells. A second aim of the exercise was to study reproducibility of mtDNA sequencing of hairs between laboratories using differing chemistries, further to the first mtDNA reproducibility study carried out by the EDNAP group. Laboratories were asked to type 2 sections from each of 10 hairs, such that each hair was typed by at least two laboratories. Ten laboratories participated in the study, and a total of 55 hairs were typed. The results showed that the C/T point heteroplasmy observed in blood and buccal cells at position 16234 segregated differentially between hairs, such that some hairs showed only C, others only T and the remainder, C/T heteroplasmy at varying ratios. Additionally, differential segregation of heteroplasmic variants was confirmed in independent extracts at positions 16093 and the poly(C) tract at 302-309, whilst a complete A-G transition was confirmed at position 16129 in one hair. Heteroplasmy was observed at position 16195 on both strands of a single extract from one hair segment, but was not observed in the extracts from any other segment of the same hair. Similarly, heteroplasmy at position 16304 was observed on both strands of a single extract from one hair. Additional variants at positions 73, 249 and the HVII poly(C) region were reported by one laboratory; as these were not confirmed in independent extracts, the possibility of contamination cannot be excluded. Additionally, the electrophoresis and detection equipment used by this laboratory was different to those of the other laboratories, and the discrepancies at position 249 and the HVII poly(C) region appear to be due to reading errors that may be associated with this technology. The results, and their implications for forensic mtDNA typing, are discussed in the light of the biology of hair formation.

When the Line is Crossed... : Paths to Control and Sanction Behaviour Necessitating a State Reaction

The article presents a special form of a European comparative synopsis. For this case examples have been chosen ranging from administrative or minor (criminal) offences to increasingly serious offences and offenders. In this way it can be comparatively demonstrated how the criminal justice systems studied handle specific cases and whether they do so in a similar or different way.

A stable and 40Ar/39Ar isotope study of a major thrust in the Helvetic nappes (Swiss Alps) - Evidence for fluid-flow and constraints on nappe kinematics

Stable isotope and Ar-40/Ar-39 measurements,were made on samples associated with a major tectonic discontinuity in the Helvetic Alps, the basal thrust of the Diablerets nappe (external zone of the Alpine Belt) in order to determine both the importance of fluids in this thrust zone and the timing of thrusting. A systematic decrease in the delta(18)O values (up to 6 parts per thousand) of calcite, quartz, and white mica exists within a 10- to 70-m-wide zone over a distance of 37 km along the thrust, and they become more pronounced toward the root of the nappe. A similar decrease in the delta(13)C values of calcite is observed only in the deepest sections (up to 3 parts per thousand). The delta D-SMOW (SMOW = standard mean ocean water) values of white mica are -54 parts per thousand +/- 8 parts per thousand (n = 22) and are independent of the distance from the thrust. These variations are interpreted to reflect syntectonic solution reprecipitation during fluid passage along the thrust. The calculated delta(18)O and delta D values (versus SMOW) for the fluid in equilibrium with the analyzed minerals is 12 parts per thousand to 16 parts per thousand and -30 parts per thousand to +5 parts per thousand, respectively, for assumed temperatures of 250 to 450 degrees C. The isotopic and structural data are consistent with fluids derived from the deep-seated roots of the Helvetic nappes where large volumes of Mesozoic sediments were metamorphosed to the amphibolite facies, It is suggested that connate and metamorphic waters, overpressured by rapid tectonic burial in a subductive system escaped by upward infiltration along moderately dipping pathways until they reached the main shear zone at the base of the moving pile, where they were channeled toward the surface, This model also explains the mechanism by which large amounts of fluid were removed from the Mesozoic sediments during Alpine metamorphism. White mica Ar-49/Ar-39 ages vary from 27 Ma far from the Diablerets thrust to 15 Ma along the thrust. An older component is observed in micas far from the thrust, interpreted as a detrital signature, and indicates that regional metamorphic temperatures were less than about 350 degrees C. The;plateau and near plateau ages nearest the thrust are consistent with either neocrystallization of white mica or argon loss by recrystallization during thrusting, which may have been enhanced in the zones of highest fluid flow. The 15 Ma Ar-40/Ar-39 age plateau measured on white mica sampled exactly on the thrust surface dates the end of both fluid flow and tectonic transport.

Pre-Election Positions and Voting Behaviour in Parliament: Consistency among Swiss MPs

This article examines the determinants of positional incongruence between pre-election statements and post-election behaviour in the Swiss parliament between 2003 and 2009. The question is examined at the individual MP level, which is appropriate for dispersion-of-powers systems like Switzerland. While the overall rate of political congruence reaches about 85%, a multilevel logit analysis detects the underlying factors which push or curb a candidate's propensity to change his or her mind once elected. The results show that positional changes are more likely when (1) MPs are freshmen, (2) individual voting behaviour is invisible to the public, (3) the electoral district magnitude is not small, (4) the vote is not about a party's core issue, (5) the MP belongs to a party which is located in the political centre, and (6) if the pre-election statement dissents from the majority position of the legislative party group. Of these factors, the last one is paramount.

Cytostatic lung perfusion results in heterogeneous spatial regional blood flow and drug distribution: evaluation of different cytostatic lung perfusion techniques in a porcine model.

OBJECTIVES: Comparison of doxorubicin uptake, leakage and spatial regional blood flow, and drug distribution was made for antegrade, retrograde, combined antegrade and retrograde isolated lung perfusion, and pulmonary artery infusion by endovascular inflow occlusion (blood flow occlusion), as opposed to intravenous administration in a porcine model. METHODS: White pigs underwent single-pass lung perfusion with doxorubicin (320 mug/mL), labeled 99mTc-microspheres, and Indian ink. Visual assessment of the ink distribution and perfusion scintigraphy of the perfused lung was performed. 99mTc activity and doxorubicin levels were measured by gamma counting and high-performance liquid chromatography on 15 tissue samples from each perfused lung at predetermined localizations. RESULTS: Overall doxorubicin uptake in the perfused lung was significantly higher (P = .001) and the plasma concentration was significantly lower (P < .0001) after all isolated lung perfusion techniques, compared with intravenous administration, without differences between them. Pulmonary artery infusion (blood flow occlusion) showed an equally high doxorubicin uptake in the perfused lung but a higher systemic leakage than surgical isolated lung perfusion (P < .0001). The geometric coefficients of variation of the doxorubicin lung tissue levels were 175%, 279%, 226%, and 151% for antegrade, retrograde, combined antegrade and retrograde isolated lung perfusion, and pulmonary artery infusion by endovascular inflow occlusion (blood flow occlusion), respectively, compared with 51% for intravenous administration (P = .09). 99mTc activity measurements of the samples paralleled the doxorubicin level measurements, indicating a trend to a more heterogeneous spatial regional blood flow and drug distribution after isolated lung perfusion and blood flow occlusion compared with intravenous administration. CONCLUSIONS: Cytostatic lung perfusion results in a high overall doxorubicin uptake, which is, however, heterogeneously distributed within the perfused lung.

Massive nest-box supplementation boosts fecundity, survival and even immigration without altering mating and reproductive behaviour in a rapidly recovered bird population.

Habitat restoration measures may result in artificially high breeding density, for instance when nest-boxes saturate the environment, which can negatively impact species' demography. Potential risks include changes in mating and reproductive behaviour such as increased extra-pair paternity, conspecific brood parasitism, and polygyny. Under particular cicumstances, these mechanisms may disrupt reproduction, with populations dragged into an extinction vortex. With the use of nuclear microsatellite markers, we investigated the occurrence of these potentially negative effects in a recovered population of a rare secondary cavity-nesting farmland bird of Central Europe, the hoopoe (Upupa epops). High intensity farming in the study area has resulted in a total eradication of cavity trees, depriving hoopoes from breeding sites. An intensive nest-box campaign rectified this problem, resulting in a spectacular population recovery within a few years only. There was some concern, however, that the new, high artificially-induced breeding density might alter hoopoe mating and reproductive behaviour. As the species underwent a serious demographic bottleneck in the 1970-1990s, we also used the microsatellite markers to reconstitute the demo-genetic history of the population, looking in particular for signs of genetic erosion. We found i) a low occurrence of extra-pair paternity, polygyny and conspecific brood parasitism, ii) a high level of neutral genetic diversity (mean number of alleles and expected heterozygosity per locus: 13.8 and 83%, respectively) and, iii) evidence for genetic connectivity through recent immigration of individuals from well differentiated populations. The recent increase in breeding density did thus not induce so far any noticeable detrimental changes in mating and reproductive behaviour. The demographic bottleneck undergone by the population in the 1970s-1990s was furthermore not accompanied by any significant drop in neutral genetic diversity. Finally, genetic data converged with a concomitant demographic study to evidence that immigration strongly contributed to local population recovery.

Restricted gene flow and subpopulation differentiation in Silene dioica

The size of breeding units and the hierarchical population structure of the dioecious perennial herb Silene dioica were investigated on four closely situated island populations in the Skeppsvik Archipelago in northern Sweden. F-statistics analyses of nine polymorphic allozyme loci revealed that plants on single islands are divided into many small breeding units, between 0.2 m2 and 6 m2. Hierarchical analyses showed that levels of differentiation among subpopulations within islands (FPL=0.080) were about twice as high as among islands (FLT=0.048). These results are discussed in the light of what is known about pollen and seed movement in the archipelago.

The dermatophyte species Arthroderma benhamiae: intraspecies variability and mating behaviour.

Arthroderma benhamiae is a zoophilic dermatophyte belonging to the Trichophyton mentagrophytes species complex. Here, a population of A. benhamiae wild strains from the same geographical area (Switzerland) was studied by comparing their morphology, assessing their molecular variability using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S rRNA gene sequencing, and evaluating their interfertility. Sequencing of the ITS region and of part of the 28S rRNA gene revealed the existence of two infraspecific groups with markedly different colony phenotypes: white (group I) and yellow (group II), respectively. For all strains, the results of mating type identification by PCR, using HMG (high-mobility group) and α-box genes in the mating type locus as targets, were in total accordance with the results of mating type identification by strain confrontation experiments. White-phenotype strains were of mating type + (mt+) or mating type - (mt-), whilst yellow-phenotype strains were all mt-. White and yellow strains were found to produce fertile cleistothecia after mating with A. benhamiae reference tester strains, which belonged to a third group intermediate between groups I and II. However, no interfertility was observed between yellow strains and white strains of mt+. A significant result was that white strains of mt- were able to mate and produce fertile cleistothecia with the white A. benhamiae strain CBS 112371 (mt+), the genome of which has recently been sequenced and annotated. This finding should offer new tools for investigating the biology and genetics of dermatophytes using wild-type strains.

Molecular analysis and mating behaviour of the Trichophyton mentagrophytes species complex.

Isolates of the Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex vary phenotypically. Whether the closely related zoophilic and anthropophilic anamorphs currently associated with Arthroderma vanbreuseghemii have to be considered as members of the same biological species remains an open question. In order to better delineate species in the T. mentagrophytes complex, we performed a mating analysis of freshly collected isolates from humans and animals with A. benhamiae and A. vanbreuseghemii reference strains, in comparison to internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S rDNA sequencing. Mating experiments as well as ITS and 28S sequencing unambiguously allowed the distinction of A. benhamiae and A. vanbreuseghemii. We have also shown that all the isolates from tinea pedis and tinea unguium identified as T. interdigitale based on ITS sequences mated with A. vanbreuseghemii tester strains, but had lost their ability to give fertile cleistothecia. Therefore, T. interdigitale has to be considered as a humanized species derived from the sexual relative A. vanbreuseghemii.

Social structure emerges via the interaction between local ecology and individual behaviour.

1. The formation of groups is a fundamental aspect of social organization, but there are still many questions regarding how social structure emerges from individuals making non-random associations. 2. Although food distribution and individual phenotypic traits are known to separately influence social organization, this is the first study, to our knowledge, experimentally linking them to demonstrate the importance of their interaction in the emergence of social structure. 3. Using an experimental design in which food distribution was either clumped or dispersed, in combination with individuals that varied in exploratory behaviour, our results show that social structure can be induced in the otherwise non-social European shore crab (Carcinus maenas). 4. Regardless of food distribution, individuals with relatively high exploratory behaviour played an important role in connecting otherwise poorly connected individuals. In comparison, low exploratory individuals aggregated into cohesive, stable subgroups (moving together even when not foraging), but only in tanks where resources were clumped. No such non-foraging subgroups formed in environments where food was evenly dispersed. 5. Body size did not accurately explain an individual's role within the network for either type of food distribution. 6. Because of their synchronized movements and potential to gain social information, groups of low exploratory crabs were more effective than singletons at finding food. 7. Because social structure affects selection, and social structure is shown to be sensitive to the interaction between ecological and behavioural differences among individuals, local selective pressures are likely to reflect this interaction.

Sediment budget monitoring of debris-flow and bedload transport in the Manival Torrent, SE France

Steep mountain catchments typically experience large sediment pulses from hillslopes which are stored in headwater channels and remobilized by debris-flows or bedload transport. Event-based sediment budget monitoring in the active Manival debris-flow torrent in the French Alps during a two-year period gave insights into the catchment-scale sediment routing during moderate rainfall intensities which occur several times each year. The monitoring was based on intensive topographic resurveys of low- and high-order channels using different techniques (cross-section surveys with total station and high-resolution channel surveys with terrestrial and airborne laser scanning). Data on sediment output volumes from the main channel were obtained by a sediment trap. Two debris-flows were observed, as well as several bedload transport flow events. Sediment budget analysis of the two debris-flows revealed that most of the debris-flow volumes were supplied by channel scouring (more than 92%). Bedload transport during autumn contributed to the sediment recharge of high-order channels by the deposition of large gravel wedges. This process is recognized as being fundamental for debris-flow occurrence during the subsequent spring and summer. A time shift of scour-and-fill sequences was observed between low- and high-order channels, revealing the discontinuous sediment transfer in the catchment during common flow events. A conceptual model of sediment routing for different event magnitude is proposed.

Diving capacity and foraging behaviour of the water shrew (Neomys fodiens)

With regard to semi-aquatic mammals, Schröpfer & Stubbe (1992) distinguished three riparian guilds: the herbivores with the water vole and the beaver; the megacarnivores with the mink and the otter; and the macrocarnivores with water shrews and desmans. Among water shrews, the evolution of aquatic foraging behaviour occurred several times: Nectogale and Chimarrogale in Asia, several species of the genus Sorex in America, and Neomys in Eurasia (Churchfield, 1990). The fairly common European water shrew N. fodiens is the best known. However, the reports on the degree of adaptation to the water habitat are conflicting. Therefore some important findings from the literature are reviewed in this introduction, whereas new data are presented in the following sections. The swimming locomotion of water shrews was analysed by Ruthardt & Schröpfer (1985) and Köhler (1991), and the related morphological adaptation were reviewed by Hutterer (1985) and Churchfield (this volume pp. 49-51). They obviously present a compromise between the requirements for activity on land and in the water. Thermoregulation is a major problem for semi-aquatic mammals, because heat conductance in water is 25-fold greater than in air (Calder, 1969). According to this author, the body temperature of immersed American Sorex palustris dropped by a rate of 2.8 °C per min. However, this may be an experimental artefact, because Neomys fodiens can maintain its body temperature at 37 °C during an immersion of 6 min (Vogel, 1990).