Kinship verification in the wild: the first kinship verification competition

In this paper, we present the Kinship Verification in the Wild Competition: the first kinship verification competition which is held in conjunction with the International Joint Conference on Biometrics 2014, Clearwater, Florida, USA. The key goal of this competition is to compare the performance of different methods on a new-collected dataset with the same evaluation protocol and develop the first standardized benchmark for kinship verification in the wild.

The FG 2015 kinship verification in the wild evaluation

[ES]The aim of the Kinship Verification in the Wild Evaluation (held in conjunction with the 2015 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition, Ljubljana, Slovenia) was to evaluate different kinship verification algorithms. For this task, two datasets were made available and three possible experimental protocols (unsupervised, image-restricted, and image-unrestricted) were designed. Five institutions submitted their results to the evaluation: (i) Politecnico di Torino, Italy; (ii) LIRIS-University of Lyon, France; (iii) Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; (iv) Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China; and (v) Bar Ilan University, Israel. Most of the participants tackled the image-restricted challenge and experimental results demonstrated better kinship verification performance than the baseline methods provided by the organizers.

On using periocular biometric for gender classification in the wild

[EN]Gender information may serve to automatically modulate interaction to the user needs, among other applications. Within the Computer Vision community, gender classification (GC) has mainly been accomplished with the facial pattern. Periocular biometrics has recently attracted researchers attention with successful results in the context of identity recognition. But, there is a lack of experimental evaluation of the periocular pattern for GC in the wild. The aim of this paper is to study the performance of this specific facial area in the currently most challenging large dataset for the problem.

Production, purification, properties and application of the cellulases from a wild type strain of a yeast isolate

Kurzzusammenfassung Produktion, Reinigung, Eigenschaften und Anwendung von Cellulasen eines Wildtyp-Hefeisolates. Die effiziente Verwendung von Cellulose wird in naher Zukonft ein wichtiges Instrument zur Vermeidung einer Nahrungsmittel- und Energieknappheit werden. Deshalb haben wir uns intensiv mit Cellulasen befaßt, die aus Hefestämmen isoliert wurden. Die Fähigkeit der Cellulase-produktion eines Hefe-Stammes der Feuerwanze Pyrrhocoris apterus wurde genauer untersucht. Die systematische Stellung des Hefe-Isolates PAG1 wurde durch Sequenzierung der 18S rDNA bestimmt. Es zeigte eine nahe Verwandtschaft zu einem bereits beschriebenen Stämme der Gattung Trichosporon. Außerdem wurden die Wachstums-bedingungen für eine optimale Cellulase–Produktion bestimmt. Anschließend konnte eine der produzierten Cellulasen mit FPLC aufgereinigt und deren biochemische Eigenschaften (z.B. Substratspezifität, Temperatur optimum, optimaler pH-Wert, Einfluß von Chemikalien) untersucht werden. Eine Analyse der Abbau-Produkte zeigte, daß kristalline Cellulose und CMC zu Cellobiose, Cellulotriose, Cellulotetraose und Cellulopentaose in einem molaren Verhältnis von 32:16:8:1 umgesetezt wurden. Bei Zusatz von ?-Glykosidase aus demselben Hefestamm entstand nur Glucose und Cellobiose in einem molaren Verhältnis von 1:10. Da bisher nur eine Publikation über Cellulase-produzierende Hefe-Stämme erschienen ist, zeigen auch unsere Untersuchungen, daß Wildtyp-Hefestämme Cellulasen mit interessanten Eigenschaften produzieren können.

Variable Na(v)1.5 protein expression from the wild-type allele correlates with the penetrance of cardiac conduction disease in the Scn5a(+/-) mouse model

BACKGROUND: Loss-of-function mutations in SCN5A, the gene encoding Na(v)1.5 Na+ channel, are associated with inherited cardiac conduction defects and Brugada syndrome, which both exhibit variable phenotypic penetrance of conduction defects. We investigated the mechanisms of this heterogeneity in a mouse model with heterozygous targeted disruption of Scn5a (Scn5a(+/-) mice) and compared our results to those obtained in patients with loss-of-function mutations in SCN5A. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Based on ECG, 10-week-old Scn5a(+/-) mice were divided into 2 subgroups, one displaying severe ventricular conduction defects (QRS interval>18 ms) and one a mild phenotype (QRS< or = 18 ms; QRS in wild-type littermates: 10-18 ms). Phenotypic difference persisted with aging. At 10 weeks, the Na+ channel blocker ajmaline prolonged QRS interval similarly in both groups of Scn5a(+/-) mice. In contrast, in old mice (>53 weeks), ajmaline effect was larger in the severely affected subgroup. These data matched the clinical observations on patients with SCN5A loss-of-function mutations with either severe or mild conduction defects. Ventricular tachycardia developed in 5/10 old severely affected Scn5a(+/-) mice but not in mildly affected ones. Correspondingly, symptomatic SCN5A-mutated Brugada patients had more severe conduction defects than asymptomatic patients. Old severely affected Scn5a(+/-) mice but not mildly affected ones showed extensive cardiac fibrosis. Mildly affected Scn5a(+/-) mice had similar Na(v)1.5 mRNA but higher Na(v)1.5 protein expression, and moderately larger I(Na) current than severely affected Scn5a(+/-) mice. As a consequence, action potential upstroke velocity was more decreased in severely affected Scn5a(+/-) mice than in mildly affected ones. CONCLUSIONS: Scn5a(+/-) mice show similar phenotypic heterogeneity as SCN5A-mutated patients. In Scn5a(+/-) mice, phenotype severity correlates with wild-type Na(v)1.5 protein expression.

Regulation of wingless-type MMTV integration site family (WNT) signalling in pancreatic islets from wild-type and obese mice

TCF7L2 is a type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene and downstream effector of canonical wingless-type MMTV integration site family (WNT) signalling. However, it is unknown whether this pathway is active in adult pancreatic islets in vivo, and whether it is regulated in obesity.

No evidence for large differences in genomic methylation between wild and hatchery steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

When salmonid fish that have been raised in hatcheries spawn in the wild, they often produce fewer surviving adult offspring than wild fish. Recent data from steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Hood River (Oregon, USA) show that even one or two generations of hatchery culture can result in dramatic declines in fitness. Although intense domestication selection could cause such declines, it is worth considering alternative explanations. One possibility is heritable epigenetic changes induced by the hatchery environment. Here, we show, using methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphism, that hatchery and wild adult steelhead from the Hood River do not appear to differ substantially in overall levels of genomic methylation. Thus, although altered methylation of specific DNA sites or other epigenetic processes could still be important, the hatchery environment does not appear to cause a global hypo- or hypermethylation of the genome or create a large number of sites that are differentially methylated.

A novel steroidal antiandrogen targeting wild type and mutant androgen receptors

Prostate cancer (PCa) progression is enhanced by androgen and treatment with antiandrogens represents an alternative to castration. While patients initially respond favorably to androgen ablation therapy, most experience a relapse of the disease within 1-2 years by expressing androgen receptor (AR) mutants. Such mutations, indeed, promote unfavorable agonistic behavior from classical antagonists. Here, we have synthesized and screened 37 novel compounds derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT), cyanolutamide and hydroxyflutamide. These derivatives were tested for their potential antagonistic activity using a luciferase reporter gene assay and binding properties were determined for wild type (WT) and mutant ARs (T877A, W741C, W741L, H874Y). In the absence and presence of antiandrogens, androgen dependent cellular proliferation and prostate specific antigen (PSA) expression were assayed in the prostate cancer cell line LNCaP by crystal violet, real time PCR and by Western blots. Also, cellular proliferation and PSA expression were assayed in 22Rv1. A novel compound RB346, derived from DHT, was found to be an antagonist for all tested AR forms, preventing DHT induced proliferation and PSA expression in LNCaP and 22Rv1 cells. RB346 displayed no agonistic activity, in contrast to the non-steroidal antiandrogen bicalutamide (Casodex) with unfavorable agonistic activity for W741L-AR. Additionally, RB346 has a slightly higher binding affinity for WT-AR, T877A-AR and H874Y-AR than bicalutamide. Thus, RB346 is the first potent steroidal antiandrogen with efficacy for WT and various AR mutants.

Wild immunology: converging on the real world

Recently, the Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution sponsored a one-day symposium entitled "Wild Immunology." The CIIE is a new Wellcome Trust-funded initiative with the remit to connect evolutionary biology and ecology with research in immunology and infectious diseases in order to gain an interdisciplinary perspective on challenges to global health. The central question of the symposium was, "Why should we try to understand infection and immunity in wild systems?" Specifically, how does the immune response operate in the wild and how do multiple coinfections and commensalism affect immune responses and host health in these wild systems? The symposium brought together a broad program of speakers, ranging from laboratory immunologists to infectious disease ecologists, working on wild birds, unmanaged animals, wild and laboratory rodents, and on questions ranging from the dynamics of coinfection to how commensal bacteria affect the development of the immune system. The meeting on wild immunology, organized by Amy Pedersen, Simon Babayan, and Rick Maizels, was held at the University of Edinburgh on 30 June 2011.

Seropositivity and Risk Factors Associated with Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Wild Birds from Spain

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic intracellular protozoan parasite of worldwide distribution that infects many species of warm-blooded animals, including birds. To date, there is scant information about the seropositivity of T. gondii and the risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in wild bird populations. In the present study, T. gondii infection was evaluated on sera obtained from 1079 wild birds belonging to 56 species (including Falconiformes (n = 610), Strigiformes (n = 260), Ciconiiformes (n = 156), Gruiformes (n = 21), and other orders (n = 32), from different areas of Spain. Antibodies to T. gondii (modified agglutination test, MAT titer ≥1:25) were found in 282 (26.1%, IC95%:23.5–28.7) of the 1079 birds. This study constitute the first extensive survey in wild birds species in Spain and reports for the first time T. gondii antibodies in the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), short-toed snake-eagle (Circaetus gallicus), Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus), Western marsh-harrier (Circus aeruginosus), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), long-eared owl (Asio otus), common scops owl (Otus scops), Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), white stork (Ciconia ciconia), grey heron (Ardea cinerea), common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus); in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) “vulnerable” Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti), lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) and great bustard (Otis tarda); and in the IUCN “near threatened” red kite (Milvus milvus). The highest seropositivity by species was observed in the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) (68.1%, 98 of 144). The main risk factors associated with T. gondii seropositivity in wild birds were age and diet, with the highest exposure in older animals and in carnivorous wild birds. The results showed that T. gondii infection is widespread and can be at a high level in many wild birds in Spain, most likely related to their feeding behaviour.

Can wild ungulate carcasses provide enough biomass to maintain avian scavenger populations? An empirical assessment using a bio-inspired computational model

Background The reduction in the amount of food available for European avian scavengers as a consequence of restrictive public health policies is a concern for managers and conservationists. Since 2002, the application of several sanitary regulations has limited the availability of feeding resources provided by domestic carcasses, but theoretical studies assessing whether the availability of food resources provided by wild ungulates are enough to cover energetic requirements are lacking. Methodology/Findings We assessed food provided by a wild ungulate population in two areas of NE Spain inhabited by three vulture species and developed a P System computational model to assess the effects of the carrion resources provided on their population dynamics. We compared the real population trend with to a hypothetical scenario in which only food provided by wild ungulates was available. Simulation testing of the model suggests that wild ungulates constitute an important food resource in the Pyrenees and the vulture population inhabiting this area could grow if only the food provided by wild ungulates would be available. On the contrary, in the Pre-Pyrenees there is insufficient food to cover the energy requirements of avian scavenger guilds, declining sharply if biomass from domestic animals would not be available. Conclusions/Significance Our results suggest that public health legislation can modify scavenger population trends if a large number of domestic ungulate carcasses disappear from the mountains. In this case, food provided by wild ungulates could be not enough and supplementary feeding could be necessary if other alternative food resources are not available (i.e. the reintroduction of wild ungulates), preferably in European Mediterranean scenarios sharing similar and socio-economic conditions where there are low densities of wild ungulates. Managers should anticipate the conservation actions required by assessing food availability and the possible scenarios in order to make the most suitable decisions.