Short communication.Wood identification based on their common name and their transversal surface anatomy. Application to the batch from the expedition of Ruiz and Pavon

Aim of study: To identify species of wood samples based on common names and anatomical analyses of their transversal surfaces (without microscopic preparations). Area of study: Spain and South America Material and methods: The test was carried out on a batch of 15 lumber samples deposited in the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid, from the expedition by Ruiz and Pavon (1777-1811). The first stage of the methodology is to search and to make a critical analysis of the databases which list common nomenclature along with scientific nomenclature. A geographic filter was then applied to the information resulting from the samples with a more restricted distribution. Finally an anatomical verification was carried out with a pocket microscope with a magnification of x40, equipped with a 50 micrometers resolution scale. Main results: The identification of the wood based exclusively on the common name is not useful due to the high number of alternative possibilities (14 for “naranjo”, 10 for “ébano”, etc.). The common name of one of the samples (“huachapelí mulato”) enabled the geographic origin of the samples to be accurately located to the shipyard area in Guayaquil (Ecuador). Given that Ruiz y Pavon did not travel to Ecuador, the specimens must have been obtained by Tafalla. It was possible to determine correctly 67% of the lumber samples from the batch. In 17% of the cases the methodology did not provide a reliable identification. Research highlights: It was possible to determine correctly 67% of the lumber samples from the batch and their geographic provenance. The identification of the wood based exclusively on the common name is not useful.

Prediction in forensic science: a critical examination of common understandings

In this commentary, we argue that the term 'prediction' is overly used when in fact, referring to foundational writings of de Finetti, the correspondent term should be inference. In particular, we intend (i) to summarize and clarify relevant subject matter on prediction from established statistical theory, and (ii) point out the logic of this understanding with respect practical uses of the term prediction. Written from an interdisciplinary perspective, associating statistics and forensic science as an example, this discussion also connects to related fields such as medical diagnosis and other areas of application where reasoning based on scientific results is practiced in societal relevant contexts. This includes forensic psychology that uses prediction as part of its vocabulary when dealing with matters that arise in the course of legal proceedings.

Conservation and management of the Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) in Europe: past, present and future.

En el presente estudio hacemos una revisión del estado de conservación y las tendencias poblacionales de la codorniz común (Coturnix coturnix) desde 1900 hasta nuestros días. Algunos de los datos de los que disponemos son contradictorios con respecto al estado de la especie, que presenta ciertas características que dificultan el poder proporcionar estimas poblacionales fiables. Datos recientes sugieren claramente, tanto a escala local como a escala transnacional, que las poblaciones atlánticas de codorniz común han permanecido estables en las dos últimas décadas y que la práctica de liberar codornices criadas en granjas (híbridas con la codorniz japonesa, Coturnix japonica) con finalidades cinegéticas, no afectan significativamente a nuestras estimas. Por otra parte, los complejos patrones de desplazamiento de esta especie requieren especial atención. En este sentido, el análisis de recuperaciones de anillas puede aportar información relevante, especialmente de los movimientos nomádicos de codornices a la búsqueda de hábitats adecuados, tras la destrucción de los cultivos invernales de cereales debido a la siega. Así, al desarrollar un modelo de distribución de cría para esta especie, se debe incorporar continuamente información actualizada de los cambios estacionales de hábitat y clima, con el fin de obtener unas predicciones óptimas. En este sentido, por ejemplo, la inclusión de datos quincenales de índices de vegetación en los modelos de distribución ha dado muy buenos resultados. La obtención de predicciones fiables de los cambios de la distribución de la especie y de sus desplazamientos durante la estación de cría puede ser muy útil para un mejor conocimiento del estado de conservación y las tendencias poblacionales de la especie, así como para el diseño de futuras medidas de gestión.

Time and space: genetic structure of the common sea urchin paracentrotus lividus in the south-eastern iberian coast

Spatio-temporal variability in settlement and recruitment, high mortality during the first life-history stages, and selection may determine the genetic structure of cohorts of long-lived marine invertebrates at small scales. We conducted a spatial and temporal analysis of the common Mediterranean Sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus to determine the genetic structure of cohorts at different scales. In Tossa de Mar (NW Mediterranean), recruitment was followed over 5 consecutive springs (2006-2010). In spring 2008, recruits and two-year-old individuals were collected at 6 locations along East and South Iberian coasts separated from 200 to over 1,100 km. All cohorts presented a high genetic diversity based on a fragment of mtCOI. Our results showed a marked genetic homogeneity in the temporal monitoring and a low degree of spatial structure in 2006. In 2008, coupled with an abnormality in the usual circulation patterns in the area, the genetic structure of the southern populations studied changed markedly, with arrival of many private haplotypes. This fact highlights the importance of point events in renewing the genetic makeup of populations, which can only be detected through analysis of the cohort structure coupling temporal and spatial perspectives.

Common Variants of TLR1 Associate with Organ Dysfunction and Sustained Pro- Inflammatory Responses during Sepsis

Background: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are critical components for host pathogen recognition and variants in genes participating in this response influence susceptibility to infections. Recently, TLR1 gene polymorphisms have been found correlated with whole blood hyper-inflammatory responses to pathogen-associated molecules and associated with sepsis-associated multiorgan dysfunction and acute lung injury (ALI). We examined the association of common variants of TLR1 gene with sepsis-derived complications in an independent study and with serum levels for four inflammatory biomarker among septic patients. Methodology/Principal Findings: Seven tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms of the TLR1 gene were genotyped in samples from a prospective multicenter case-only study of patients with severe sepsis admitted into a network of intensive care units followed for disease severity. Interleukin (IL)-1 b, IL-6, IL-10, and C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels were measured at study entry, at 48 h and at 7th day. Alleles -7202G and 248Ser, and the 248Ser-602Ile haplotype were associated with circulatory dysfunction among severe septic patients (0.001<=p <= 0.022), and with reduced IL-10 (0.012<= p <=0.047) and elevated CRP (0.011<= p <=0.036) serum levels during the first week of sepsis development. Additionally, the -7202GG genotype was found to be associated with hospital mortality (p =0.017) and ALI (p =0.050) in a combined analysis with European Americans, suggesting common risk effects among studies Conclusions/Significance: These results partially replicate and extend previous findings, supporting that variants of TLR1 gene are determinants of severe complications during sepsis.

Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) post-breeding movements and migration patterns: from knowledge to management.

Hemos investigado los patrones de los movimientos postcría de la codorniz común (Coturnix coturnix) en la península ibérica con el fin de describir su fenología de paso migratorio y algunas características fisiológicas de los individuos. Esta información es necesaria para un ajuste óptimo de los períodos de caza. Hemos trabajado a partir de dos conjuntos de datos: a) capturas efectuadas en una zona que no es de cría (Garraf) de agosto a octubre en 2009 y 2010; b) recuperaciones, posteriores a la presunta época de cría, de individuos anillados en Europa y recapturados en España durante el período 1933-2005. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los movimientos postcría en Garraf están formados por dos oleadas: una primera, que se produce sobre el 10 VIII, formada principalmente por jóvenes del año inactivos sexualmente que no son fisiológicamente migrantes; y una segunda, mucho más intensa, que se produce sobre el 17 IX, formada principalmente por migrantes jóvenes del año inactivos sexualmente. La época de caza en España tiene lugar principalmente durante la primera oleada, preservando el paso de los migrantes provenientes de España y de otros países europeos. La información de los movimientos postcría en otras regiones españolas y en otros países europeos en los que la codorniz común es una especie cinegética popular, permitiría mejorar el ajuste entre el período de caza y la migración, proporcionando recomendaciones de gestión cinegética más precisas para esta especie.

Genetic consequences of population expansions and contractions in the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) since the Late Pleistocene.

Over the past two decades, an increasing amount of phylogeographic work has substantially improved our understanding of African biogeography, in particular the role played by Pleistocene pluvial-drought cycles on terrestrial vertebrates. However, still little is known on the evolutionary history of semi-aquatic animals, which faced tremendous challenges imposed by unpredictable availability of water resources. In this study, we investigate the Late Pleistocene history of the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence variation and range-wide sampling. We documented a global demographic and spatial expansion approximately 0.1-0.3 Myr ago, most likely associated with an episode of massive drainage overflow. These events presumably enabled a historical continent-wide gene flow among hippopotamus populations, and hence, no clear continental-scale genetic structuring remains. Nevertheless, present-day hippopotamus populations are genetically disconnected, probably as a result of the mid-Holocene aridification and contemporary anthropogenic pressures. This unique pattern contrasts with the biogeographic paradigms established for savannah-adapted ungulate mammals and should be further investigated in other water-associated taxa. Our study has important consequences for the conservation of the hippo, an emblematic but threatened species that requires specific protection to curtail its long-term decline.

A common BACE1 polymorphism is a risk factor for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

The β site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) is the rate-limiting β-secretase enzyme in the amyloidogenic processing of APP and Aβ formation, and therefore it has a prominent role in Alzheimer"s disease (AD) pathology. Recent evidence suggests that the prion protein (PrP) interacts directly with BACE1 regulating its β-secretase activity. Moreover, PrP has been proposed as the cellular receptor involved in the impairment of synaptic plasticity and toxicity caused by Aβ oligomers. Provided that common pathophysiologic mechanisms are shared by Alzheimer"s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) diseases, we investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge a possible association of a common synonymous BACE1 polymorphism (rs638405) with sporadic CJD (sCJD). Our results indicate that BACE1 C-allele is associated with an increased risk for developing sCJD, mainly in PRNP M129M homozygous subjects with early onset. These results extend the very short list of genes (other than PRNP) involved in the development of human prion diseases; and support the notion that similar to AD, in sCJD several loci may contribute with modest overall effects to disease risk. These findings underscore the interplay in both pathologies of APP, Aβ oligomers, ApoE, PrP and BACE1, and suggest that aging and perhaps vascular risk factors may modulate disease pathologies in part through these key players

Randomization tests for ABAB designs: Comparing-data-division-specific and common distributions

Monte Carlo simulations were used to generate data for ABAB designs of different lengths. The points of change in phase are randomly determined before gathering behaviour measurements, which allows the use of a randomization test as an analytic technique. Data simulation and analysis can be based either on data-division-specific or on common distributions. Following one method or another affects the results obtained after the randomization test has been applied. Therefore, the goal of the study was to examine these effects in more detail. The discrepancies in these approaches are obvious when data with zero treatment effect are considered and such approaches have implications for statistical power studies. Data-division-specific distributions provide more detailed information about the performance of the statistical technique.

Impact of common risk factors of fibrosis progression in chronic hepatitis C.

OBJECTIVE: The natural course of chronic hepatitis C varies widely. To improve the profiling of patients at risk of developing advanced liver disease, we assessed the relative contribution of factors for liver fibrosis progression in hepatitis C. DESIGN: We analysed 1461 patients with chronic hepatitis C with an estimated date of infection and at least one liver biopsy. Risk factors for accelerated fibrosis progression rate (FPR), defined as ≥0.13 Metavir fibrosis units per year, were identified by logistic regression. Examined factors included age at infection, sex, route of infection, HCV genotype, body mass index (BMI), significant alcohol drinking (≥20 g/day for ≥5 years), HIV coinfection and diabetes. In a subgroup of 575 patients, we assessed the impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms previously associated with fibrosis progression in genome-wide association studies. Results were expressed as attributable fraction (AF) of risk for accelerated FPR. RESULTS: Age at infection (AF 28.7%), sex (AF 8.2%), route of infection (AF 16.5%) and HCV genotype (AF 7.9%) contributed to accelerated FPR in the Swiss Hepatitis C Cohort Study, whereas significant alcohol drinking, anti-HIV, diabetes and BMI did not. In genotyped patients, variants at rs9380516 (TULP1), rs738409 (PNPLA3), rs4374383 (MERTK) (AF 19.2%) and rs910049 (major histocompatibility complex region) significantly added to the risk of accelerated FPR. Results were replicated in three additional independent cohorts, and a meta-analysis confirmed the role of age at infection, sex, route of infection, HCV genotype, rs738409, rs4374383 and rs910049 in accelerating FPR. CONCLUSIONS: Most factors accelerating liver fibrosis progression in chronic hepatitis C are unmodifiable.

CLARIN: common language resources and technology infrastructure

Presentamos el proyecto CLARIN, un proyecto cuyo objetivo es potenciar el uso de instrumentos tecnológicos en la investigación en las Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales