Loss of egg yolk genes in mammals and the origin of lactation and placentation

Embryonic development in nonmammalian vertebrates depends entirely on nutritional reserves that are predominantly derived from vitellogenin proteins and stored in egg yolk. Mammals have evolved new resources, such as lactation and placentation, to nourish their developing and early offspring. However, the evolutionary timing and molecular events associated with this major phenotypic transition are not known. By means of sensitive comparative genomics analyses and evolutionary simulations, we here show that the three ancestral vitellogenin-encoding genes were progressively lost during mammalian evolution (until around 30-70 million years ago, Mya) in all but the egg-laying monotremes, which have retained a functional vitellogenin gene. Our analyses also provide evidence that the major milk resource genes, caseins, which have similar functional properties as vitellogenins, appeared in the common mammalian ancestor approximately 200-310 Mya. Together, our data are compatible with the hypothesis that the emergence of lactation in the common mammalian ancestor and the development of placentation in eutherian and marsupial mammals allowed for the gradual loss of yolk-dependent nourishment during mammalian evolution

Limestone particle sizes and lighting regimens on egg and bone quality of laying hens

Abstract:The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of limestone particle sizes in the diet and of lighting regimes on the egg and bone quality and on the performance of commercial laying hens. Three hundred Hissex White layers, at 18 weeks of age, were distributed in a completely randomized design, in a 5×2 factorial arrangement (coarse limestone in the diet at 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%; with or without artificial light), with five replicates of six birds. No significant interaction was observed between particle sizes and lighting regime for the evaluated parameters. There was no significant effect of coarse limestone level in the diet on the performance and egg quality of hens; however, bone deformity (3.23 to 4.01 mm), strength (5.19 to 6.70 kgf cm-2), and mineral matter (51.09 to 59.61%) improved as the proportion of coarse limestone increased. For lighting regime, the treatment with artificial light yielded higher Haugh unit values (87.17 vs. 85.54) than that with natural light only. Greater limestone particles improve bone quality of laying hens, and the use of artificial light can benefit the albumen quality of the eggs.

Comparative efficacy of chelators to remove renal cadmium burden in isolated perfused rat kidneys

Trois agents chélateurs (l?acide diéthylène triamine penta-acétique, DTPA; l?acide méso-2,3- dimercaptosucchique, DMSA; l?acide 2,3-dimercapto- 1 -propanesulfonique, DMPS) ont été comparés quant à leur efficacité à mobiliser du cadmium (Cd) accumulé dans le tissu rénal. Des reins prélevés chez des rats exposés durant 3 j au Cd (acétate de Cd , 0.75 mg/kg.j, i.p) ont été isolés et perfusés in vitro, à l?aide d?un système de reperfusion utilisant une solution de Krebs-Henseleit, pH 7.4, contenant 8 acides aminés et 6% d?albumine. Les concentrations de Cd dans le perfusat et l?urine ont été mesurées par spectrométrie d?absorption atomique. Six périodes de clearance, après une période d?équilibration de 20 min, ont ?été obtenues. Le DMSA et le DMPS ont mobilisé le Cd à partir du tissu rénal, comme l?ont montré les augmentations dose-dépendantes des concentrations de Cd dans l?urine et le perfusat. L?accumulation de Cd était nettement plus élevée dans le perfusat que dans l?urine, indiquant que l?effet des chélateurs se marquait surtout au niveau tubulaire basolatéral. Le DTPA n?induisait qu?une faible mobilisation de Cd dans l?urine et le perfusat, et son efficacité était clairement inférieure à celle des autres chélateurs. Comme prévu, la quantité de Cd présente dans le tissu rénal après perfùsion par le DMSA ou le DMPS diminuait en fonction de l?efficacité des chélateurs, jusqu?à des valeurs inférieures de 46% au taux rénal de Cd avant perfusion. Le DMPS apparaissait induire une excretion urinaire de Cd plus importante que celle induite par le DMSA, une caractéristique qui pourrait être liée à une sécrétion tubulaire du chélateur, qui a été décrite antérieurement. Un intervalle de temps prolongé (1 -2 semaines) entre le moment de l?administration du Cd et la perfusion du rein avec le DMPS induisait une augmentation de l?excrétion urinaire de Cd. Tous les chélateurs se sont montrés néphrotoxiques à concentrations élevées.

The avocado fruit borer, Stenoma catenifer (wals.) (Lepidoptera: elachistidae): egg and damage distribution and parasitism

The avocado fruit borer, Stenoma catenifer (Wals.) has been a limiting factor in growing avocados over the last years in many Brazilian states. This is a result of the lack of safe and feasible management practices to minimize the fruit borer damage. The aim of this study was to obtain information on the pest biology and ecology as well as on the role of natural enemies to define strategies to control the pest. Samples were taken biweekly and consisted of 20 fruits collected randomly (10 from the upper half and 10 from the lower half of the plant) in ten plants, cv. Margarida, in a commercial avocado grove in Arapongas and Cambé regions, PR, from October/2001 to September/2002. Laboratory determinations of the percentage of damaged fruit per plant region, location and number of bored fruit sites, and the number and location of the fruit borer eggs, including parasitized ones, were performed. The results showed that S. catenifer preferred to oviposit and attack fruits located on the upper half of the trees. The majority of the eggs were laid on the fruit pedicel whereas the damage was mainly located on the lower half of the fruits. Trichogrammatids were the most constant and abundant parasitoids found in both localities throughout the study period.

The Atherosclerosis Burden Score (ABS): a Convenient Ultrasound-Based Score of Peripheral Atherosclerosis for Coronary Artery Disease Prediction.

Ultrasonographic detection of subclinical atherosclerosis improves cardiovascular risk stratification, but uncertainty persists about the most discriminative method to apply. In this study, we found that the "atherosclerosis burden score (ABS)", a novel straightforward ultrasonographic score that sums the number of carotid and femoral arterial bifurcations with plaques, significantly outperformed common carotid intima-media thickness, carotid mean/maximal thickness, and carotid/femoral plaque scores for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) (receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve area under the curve (AUC) = 0.79; P = 0.027 to <0.001 with the other five US endpoints) in 203 patients undergoing coronary angiography. ABS was also more correlated with CAD extension (R = 0.55; P < 0.001). Furthermore, in a second group of 1128 patients without cardiovascular disease, ABS was weakly correlated with the European Society of Cardiology chart risk categories (R (2) = 0.21), indicating that ABS provided information beyond usual cardiovascular risk factor-based risk stratification. Pending prospective studies on hard cardiovascular endpoints, ABS appears as a promising tool in primary prevention.

Clinical management and burden of bipolar disorder: a multinational longitudinal study (WAVE-bd Study)

BACKGROUND: Studies in bipolar disorder (BD) to date are limited in their ability to provide a whole-disease perspective--their scope has generally been confined to a single disease phase and/or a specific treatment. Moreover, most clinical trials have focused on the manic phase of disease, and not on depression, which is associated with the greatest disease burden. There are few longitudinal studies covering both types of patients with BD (I and II) and the whole course of the disease, regardless of patients' symptomatology. Therefore, the Wide AmbispectiVE study of the clinical management and burden of Bipolar Disorder (WAVE-bd) (NCT01062607) aims to provide reliable information on the management of patients with BD in daily clinical practice. It also seeks to determine factors influencing clinical outcomes and resource use in relation to the management of BD. METHODS: WAVE-bd is a multinational, multicentre, non-interventional, longitudinal study. Approximately 3000 patients diagnosed with BD type I or II with at least one mood event in the preceding 12 months were recruited at centres in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Venezuela. Site selection methodology aimed to provide a balanced cross-section of patients cared for by different types of providers of medical aid (e.g. academic hospitals, private practices) in each country. Target recruitment percentages were derived either from scientific publications or from expert panels in each participating country. The minimum follow-up period will be 12 months, with a maximum of 27 months, taking into account the retrospective and the prospective parts of the study. Data on demographics, diagnosis, medical history, clinical management, clinical and functional outcomes (CGI-BP and FAST scales), adherence to treatment (DAI-10 scale and Medication Possession Ratio), quality of life (EQ-5D scale), healthcare resources, and caregiver burden (BAS scale) will be collected. Descriptive analysis with common statistics will be performed. DISCUSSION: This study will provide detailed descriptions of the management of BD in different countries, particularly in terms of clinical outcomes and resources used. Thus, it should provide psychiatrists with reliable and up-to-date information about those factors associated with different management patterns of BD. TRIAL REGISTRATION NO: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01062607.

Two-year outcome of an observe-and-plan regimen for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: how to alleviate the clinical burden with maintained functional results.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to report the 2-year outcome of an individually tailored 'observe-and-plan' treatment regimen for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), and to investigate its clinical value in terms of functional outcome. This regimen aimed to reduce the clinical burden (visits) by employing individually fixed injection intervals, based on the predictability of an individual's need for retreatment.MethodsThis prospective case series included 104 patients (115 eyes) with nAMD. Following three loading doses of ranibizumab, the disease recurrence interval was determined in monthly observation visits. Retreatment was applied in a series of three injections with individually fixed intervals (2 weeks shorter than the recurrence interval), combined with periodic adjustment of the intervals. The allowed injection intervals in treatment plans ranged from 1 to 3 months. If there was no recurrence at 3 months, the patient could change to monitoring alone.ResultsMean visual acuity (VA) improved by 8.7, 9.7, and 9.2 letters at months 3, 12, and 24, respectively. The mean number of injections was 7.8 and 5.8 during years 1 and 2, respectively, whereas the mean number of ophthalmic examinations was 4.0 and 2.9, respectively. The mean treatment interval (after the loading doses) was 2.0 months during year 1, and 2.2 months during year 2.ConclusionThe observe-and-plan regimen significantly improved and maintained VA over the course of 2 years. This favourable functional outcome was achieved with fewer clinic visits compared with other regimens. Therefore, this observe-and-plan regimen has the potential to alleviate the clinical burden of nAMD treatment.

Declining diversity of egg-associated bacteria during development of naturally spawned whitefish embryos (Coregonus spp.)

Fish eggs are associated with microbes, whose roles range from mutualism to parasitism. Recent laboratory experiments have shown that the taxonomic composition of associated microbial communities on the egg influences embryonic development. Host genetics also plays an important role in determining the consequences for embryonic growth and survival in this interaction. Moreover, it has been found that the importance of host genetics increases during embryogenesis. These findings suggest that during embryogenesis, the host increasingly influences the composition of its associated microbial community. However, little is known about the composition of microbial communities associated with naturally spawned eggs in the wild. We sampled fertilized whitefish eggs (Coregonus spp.) of different developmental stages from six sub-Alpine lakes and used a universal primer pair and 454 pyrosequencing in order to describe the taxonomic composition of egg-associated bacterial communities. We found bacterial communities on early embryos to be very diverse and to resemble the bacterial composition of the surrounding water environment. The bacterial communities on late embryos were significantly less diverse than on early embryos and displayed a clear shift in taxonomic composition that corresponded poorly with the bacterial composition of the surrounding water environment. The main bacterial components on whitefish eggs in this study were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes, while the five most common families were Leuconostocaceae, Streptococcaceae, Comamonadaceae, Oxalobacteraceae and Moraxellaceae. Their putative relationships with the host are discussed. We conclude that natural symbiotic bacterial communities become more specialized during embryogenesis because of specific interactions with their embryo host.

Cadmium body burden of the Swiss population.

Urinary cadmium (Cd) excretion was measured within a representative Swiss collective. With a median of 0.23 µg/24 h (n = 1409) and the 95th percentile at 0.81 µg/24 h, no increased health risk for the general non-exposed population was identified. The independent variables Age, BMI and Smoking habit had a significant effect on urinary Cd excretion. No association was found with the region of residence and sex. A subsample comparison between 24-h and spot urines of the same subjects (n = 90) did not reveal an evident concentration difference for both creatinine-adjusted sample types. Dependencies on age and gender were observed for creatinine, which consequently impacts on the creatinine normalisation of urine samples.

Theory of mind impairment in patients with behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia (bv-FTD) increases caregiver burden.

BACKGROUND: Theory of mind (ToM), the capacity to infer the intention, beliefs and emotional states of others, is frequently impaired in behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia patients (bv-FTDp); however, its impact on caregiver burden is unexplored. SETTING: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. SUBJECTS: bv-FTDp (n = 28), a subgroup of their caregivers (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 32). METHODS: we applied a faux-pas (FP) task as a ToM measure in bv-FTDp and healthy controls and the Zarit Burden Interview as a measure of burden in patients' caregivers. Patients underwent structural MRI; we used voxel-based morphometry to examine relationships between regional atrophy and ToM impairment and caregiver burden. RESULTS: FP task performance was impaired in bv-FTDp and negatively associated with caregiver burden. Atrophy was found in areas involved in ToM. Caregiver burden increased with greater atrophy in left lateral premotor cortex, a region associated in animal models with the presence of mirror neurons, possibly involved in empathy. CONCLUSION: ToM impairment in bv-FTDp is associated with increased caregiver burden.

Increased diversity of egg-associated bacteria on brown trout (Salmo trutta) at elevated temperatures.

The taxonomic composition of egg-associated microbial communities can play a crucial role in the development of fish embryos. In response, hosts increasingly influence the composition of their associated microbial communities during embryogenesis, as concluded from recent field studies and laboratory experiments. However, little is known about the taxonomic composition and the diversity of egg-associated microbial communities within ecosystems; e.g., river networks. We sampled late embryonic stages of naturally spawned brown trout at nine locations within two different river networks and applied 16S rRNA pyrosequencing to describe their bacterial communities. We found no evidence for a significant isolation-by-distance effect on the composition of bacterial communities, and no association between neutral genetic divergence of fish host (based on 11 microsatellites) and phylogenetic distances of the composition of their associated bacterial communities. We characterized core bacterial communities on brown trout eggs and compared them to corresponding water samples with regard to bacterial composition and its presumptive function. Bacterial diversity was positively correlated with water temperature at the spawning locations. We discuss this finding in the context of the increased water temperatures that have been recorded during the last 25 years in the study area.

Severity and burden of partial-onset seizures in a phase III trial of eslicarbazepine acetate.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare posttreatment seizure severity in a phase III clinical trial of eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) as adjunctive treatment of refractory partial-onset seizures. METHODS: The Seizure Severity Questionnaire (SSQ) was administered at baseline and posttreatment. The SSQ total score (TS) and component scores (frequency and helpfulness of warning signs before seizures [BS]; severity and bothersomeness of ictal movement and altered consciousness during seizures [DS]; cognitive, emotional, and physical aspects of postictal recovery after seizures [AS]; and overall severity and bothersomeness [SB]) were calculated for the per-protocol population. Analysis of covariance, adjusted for baseline scores, estimated differences in posttreatment least square means between treatment arms. RESULTS: Out of 547 per-protocol patients, 441 had valid SSQ TS both at baseline and posttreatment. Mean posttreatment TS for ESL 1200mg/day was significantly lower than that for placebo (2.68 vs 3.20, p<0.001), exceeding the minimal clinically important difference (MCID: 0.48). Mean DS, AS, and SB were also significantly lower with ESL 1200mg/day; differences in AS and SB exceeded the MCIDs. The TS, DS, AS, and SB were lower for ESL 800mg/day than for placebo; only SB was significant (p=0.013). For both ESL arms combined versus placebo, mean scores differed significantly for TS (p=0.006), DS (p=0.031), and SB (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic ESL doses led to clinically meaningful, dose-dependent reductions in seizure severity, as measured by SSQ scores. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study presents Class I evidence that adjunctive ESL (800 and 1200mg/day) led to clinically meaningful, dose-dependent seizure severity reductions, measured by the SSQ.

Attitudes and burden in relatives of patients with schizophrenia in a middle income country

BACKGROUND: Most studies of family attitudes and burden have been conducted in developed countries. Thus it is important to test the generalizability of this research in other contexts where social conditions and extended family involvement may be different. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the attitudes of caregivers and the burden they experience in such a context, namely Arica, a town located in the northernmost region of Chile, close to the border with Peru and Bolivia. METHODS: We assessed attitudes towards schizophrenia (including affective, cognitive and behavioural components) and burden (including subjective distress, rejection and competence) in 41 main caregivers of patients with schizophrenia, all of whom were users of Public Mental Health Services in Arica. RESULTS: Attitude measures differed significantly according to socio-demographic variables, with parents (mainly mothers) exhibiting a more negative attitude towards the environment than the rest of the family (t = 4.04; p = 0.000).This was also the case for caregivers with a low educational level (t = 3.27; p < 0.003), for the oldest caregivers (r = 0.546; p = 0.000) and for those who had spent more time with the patient (r = 0.377; p = 0.015). Although attitudes had significant association with burden, their explanatory power was modest (R2 = .104, F = 4,55; p = .039). CONCLUSIONS: Similar to finding developed countries, the current study revealed a positive and significant relationship between the attitudes of caregivers and their burden. These findings emphasize the need to support the families of patients with schizophrenia in this social context.