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Objectives: Cervical length (CL) measurement ≤ 25 mm on mid-trimester ultrasound scan is a known risk factor for preterm birth, for which vaginal progesterone is recommended. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether CL measurement is affected by observer bias and to assess the impact on short cervix prevalence of masking CL measurement during routine mid-trimester ultrasound scan.Methods: This was a flash study designed for a 2-month period (October and November 2018) at Cruces University Hospital (Bizkaia, Spain), in which all CL measurements from routine mid-trimester scans were masked. During the study period, there was no modification of the routine screening method, and women with a short cervix were prescribed 200 mg vaginal progesterone daily as per usual. The control group included women examined in a 2-month period (April and May 2018) prior to the study, in which CL measurements were taken as usual by a non-blinded operator. The primary outcome was the prevalence of short cervix in each group.Results: A total of 983 CL measurements were analyzed, including 457 in the blinded group and 526 in the control group. The prevalence of short cervix was 2.7% in the non-blinded group and 5.5% in the blinded group (P = 0.024). We identified a statistically significant difference in the incidence of CL of 24-25 mm between the two groups, with a lower prevalence in the non-blinded vs blinded group (0.6% vs 2.4%; P < 0.005). Moreover, the distribution of CL values was normal in the blinded group, in contrast to the non-blinded group, which was characterized by skewed distribution of CL values.Conclusions: Expected-value bias exists and should be taken into account when measuring CL in mid-trimester preterm birth screening. Blinding has demonstrated to be an effective strategy to improve the performance of CL screening in clinical practice. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a comprehensive assessment of the suitability of random forests, a well‐known machine learning technique, for the statistical downscaling of precipitation. Building on the experimental and validation framework proposed in the Experiment 1 of the COST action VALUE—the largest, most exhaustive intercomparison study of statistical downscaling methods to date—we introduce and thoroughly analyze a posteriori random forests (AP‐RFs), which use all the information contained in the leaves to reliably predict the shape and scale parameters of the gamma probability distribution of precipitation on wet days. Therefore, as opposed to traditional random forests, which typically provide deterministic predictions, our AP‐RFs allow realistic stochastic precipitation samples to be generated for wet days. Indeed, as compared to one particular implementation of a generalized linear model that exhibited an overall good performance in VALUE, our AP‐RFs yield better distributional similarity with observations without loss of predictive power. Noteworthy, the new methodology proposed in this paper has substantial potential for hydrologists and other impact communities which are in need of local‐scale, reliable stochastic climate information. Plain Language Summary: Statistical downscaling methods aim to improve the limited spatial resolution of current climate models by linking a set of key large‐scale predictor variables (e.g., geopotential, winds, etc.) to the predictand of interest (e.g., precipitation). Recently, the Experiment 1 of the COST action VALUE carried out the most comprehensive intercomparison of statistical downscaling methods to date. However, it lacked the inclusion of machine learning techniques, whose popularity has rapidly grown during the last years. Therefore, building on the same data and experimental framework used in VALUE, this work aims to partially fill this knowledge gap by introducing a modification of random forests—a well‐known machine learning technique—for stochastic downscaling of precipitation at 86 European locations. As opposed to traditional random forests, which typically provide deterministic predictions, our proposed model predicts a probability distribution of precipitation for each predictors' state. This is key to appropriately characterize the uncertainty of the downscaled predictions, allowing us to produce realistic samples of precipitation for wet days and to answer questions such as "What is the probability of getting more than 40 mm of precipitation today?," relevant for many impact activities. Key Points: We thoroughly assess different configuration options of the random forest technique for statistical downscaling of precipitationWe introduce a posteriori random forests, which reliably estimate the probability distribution of rainfall on wet daysAs a consequence, this new methodology allows us to generate realistic stochastic precipitation amounts without loss of predictive power [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many existing approaches for multisite weather generation try to capture several statistics of the observed data (such as pairwise correlations) in order to generate spatially and temporarily consistent series. In this work, we analyze the application of Bayesian networks to this problem, focusing on precipitation occurrence and considering a simple case study to illustrate the potential of this new approach. We use Bayesian networks to approximate the multivariate (multisite) probability distribution of observed gauge data, which is factorized according to the relevant (marginal and conditional) dependencies. This factorization allows the simulation of synthetic samples from the multivariate distribution, thus providing a sound and promising methodology for multisite precipitation series generation. Key Points: Bayesian networks are introduced as a novel machine learning methodology for multisite precipitation occurrence generationTheir performance is assessed using several measures in terms of spatial and temporal coherenceThe proposed methodology shows promise, with improvement on several spatiotemporal aspects against existing models [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work evaluates the daily precipitation and mean temperature of eight CORDEX‐EUR11 ERA‐Interim‐driven simulations of EURO‐CORDEX over the Iberian Peninsula (IP) for the period 1989–2008. To this aim, three observational data sets (Iberia01, E‐OBS‐v19e, and MESAN‐0.11) were considered as reference and compared with the models by means of several indices reflecting the mean and extreme regimes over the IP. For precipitation the Lamb weather types were considered to identify synoptic conditions related with higher observational uncertainty. RCMs are able to reproduce the spatial pattern and the variability observed in the IP. However, there is a higher agreement between models and observations for mean temperature than for precipitation, decreasing when extremes are analyzed. For the observational uncertainty analysis, also extreme daily temperatures were considered to obtain a wider picture of this topic. A higher dependence on the observational data set has been found for precipitation than for temperature. This uncertainty is particularly significant when the 50‐year return value is considered for which the observational uncertainty doubles the model uncertainty. Only the wet‐day frequency presents values lower than 0.5 for all seasons, with most of the rest of values reflecting a similar contribution of both components to the uncertainty. In the case of temperatures, the main contribution of the observations has been found when the lower (MAE01) and upper (MAE99) extremes are considered, with values lower than 0.5. For precipitation the observational uncertainty increases when synoptic patterns affecting the Mediterranean Basin are considered, reflecting the difficulty to properly capture the Mediterranean precipitation regimes. Key Points: EURO‐CORDEX verication over Iberian PeninsulaObservational uncertainty analysis of the evaluation of the EURO‐CORDEX RCMsSynoptic patterns and observational uncertainty of precipitation regimes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive use of chemical acaricides for the control of cattle ticks (Rhipicephalus microplus) has led to the development of multiple acaricide resistance in Colombia. The present study aimed to characterize, using toxicological bioassays and molecular biology techniques, the resistance profile of a tick strain isolated from the Arauca state, Northeast Colombia. Commercial acaricides were used in adult immersion tests to determine its in vitro efficacies. Deltamethrin showed very low activity (4–7.3%), a mixture of cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos had intermediate efficacy (64–75.2%), and ethion presented the highest activity (88.5–100%). A colony (Arauquita strain) was established and larval immersion tests confirmed high resistance level to deltamethrin (241‐fold) and susceptibility to ivermectin. A quantitative polymerase chain reaction‐high resolution melt technique was used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the para‐sodium channel gene. All of the genotyped individuals were mutant, presenting one (n = 7), two (n = 7) or three (n = 9) SNPs previously associated with pyrethroid resistance. Sequencing revealed a novel mutation (F712L), that was found for the first time in R. microplus ticks from South America. This is the first description of mutations associated with pyrethroid resistance in R. microplus from Colombia. The acaricide resistance pattern found in the Arauquita strain is similar to other parts of Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) initiative has made available an enormous amount of regional climate projections in different domains worldwide. This information is crucial for the development of adaptation strategies and policy‐making. A relevant open issue in this context is assessing the potential multidomain conflicts that may result in overlapping regions and developing appropriate ensemble methods trying to make the most of all available information. This work addresses this timely topic by focusing on precipitation over the Mediterranean region, a first illustrative case study that is encompassed by both the Euro‐ and Africa‐CORDEX domains. We focus on several mean, extreme, and temporal indices and use variance decomposition to assess the separate contribution of the domain and models to the climate change signal, concluding that the contribution of the domain alone is nearly negligible (below 5% in all cases). Nevertheless, for some cases, the combined model/domain effect triggers up to 40% of the total variance. Plain Language Summary: The Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) provides spatially detailed climate change projections for different regions across the world. These projections are obtained through numerical models that solve the governing equations of the atmosphere over spatial domains, which typically cover continental areas and encompass several regions. The regional climate change information generated by these models presents various sources of uncertainties. This work addresses the uncertainty related to the choice of domain, which has not been properly assessed to date, despite it can potentially affect vast regions of the world for which model simulations coming from different CORDEX domains are available. We focus on precipitation over the Mediterranean region, which is encompassed by both the EURO‐ and AFR‐CORDEX domains, and quantify the separate contribution of the model and domain alone to the total uncertainty for the climate change signals. Our results indicate that this uncertainty comes mostly determined by the choice of model, with little variability coming from the domain. This would allow for combining different model simulations corresponding to overlapping domains since conflicting signals are very unlikely to occur. These findings may ease the decision‐making process in regions for which multimodel and multidomain heterogeneous climate change information is available. Key Points: Overlaps in multidomain CORDEX regional climate change projections (e.g., in the Mediterranean) may result in conflicting messagesA variance analysis shows that domain contribution to the grand ensemble is generally small for several mean, extreme, and temporal indicesWe conclude that combining the available multidomain CORDEX simulations for a given region is an appropriate methodology [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

VALUE is an open European collaboration to intercompare downscaling approaches for climate change research, focusing on different validation aspects (marginal, temporal, extremes, spatial, process‐based, etc.). Here we describe the participating methods and first results from the first experiment, using "perfect" reanalysis (and reanalysis‐driven regional climate model (RCM)) predictors to assess the intrinsic performance of the methods for downscaling precipitation and temperatures over a set of 86 stations representative of the main climatic regions in Europe. This study constitutes the largest and most comprehensive to date intercomparison of statistical downscaling methods, covering the three common downscaling approaches (perfect prognosis, model output statistics—including bias correction—and weather generators) with a total of over 50 downscaling methods representative of the most common techniques. Overall, most of the downscaling methods greatly improve (reanalysis or RCM) raw model biases and no approach or technique seems to be superior in general, because there is a large method‐to‐method variability. The main factors most influencing the results are the seasonal calibration of the methods (e.g., using a moving window) and their stochastic nature. The particular predictors used also play an important role in cases where the comparison was possible, both for the validation results and for the strength of the predictor–predictand link, indicating the local variability explained. However, the present study cannot give a conclusive assessment of the skill of the methods to simulate regional future climates, and further experiments will be soon performed in the framework of the EURO‐CORDEX initiative (where VALUE activities have merged and follow on). Finally, research transparency and reproducibility has been a major concern and substantive steps have been taken. In particular, the necessary data to run the experiments are provided at http://www.value‐cost.eu/data and data and validation results are available from the VALUE validation portal for further investigation: http://www.value‐cost.eu/validationportal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical downscaling methods (SDMs) are techniques used to downscale and/or bias‐correct climate model results to regional or local scales. The European network VALUE developed a framework to evaluate and inter‐compare SDMs. One of VALUE's experiments is the perfect predictor experiment that uses reanalysis predictors to isolate downscaling skill. Most evaluation papers for SDMs employ simple statistical diagnostics and do not follow a process‐based rationale. Thus, in this paper, a process‐based evaluation has been conducted for the more than 40 participating model output statistics (MOS, mostly bias correction) and perfect prognosis (PP) methods, for temperature and precipitation at 86 weather stations across Europe. The SDMs are analysed following the so‐called "regime‐oriented" technique, focussing on relevant features of the atmospheric circulation at large to local scales. These features comprise the North Atlantic Oscillation, blocking and selected Lamb weather types and at local scales the bora wind and the western Iberian coastal‐low level jet. The representation of the local weather response to the selected features depends strongly on the method class. As expected, MOS is unable to generate process sensitivity when it is not simulated by the predictors (ERA‐Interim). Moreover, MOS often suffers from an inflation effect when a predictor is used for more than one station. The PP performance is very diverse and depends strongly on the implementation. Although conditioned on predictors that typically describe the large‐scale circulation, PP often fails in capturing the process sensitivity correctly. Stochastic generalized linear models supported by well‐chosen predictors show improved skill to represent the sensitivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding population dynamics requires knowledge of the differential effects of survival, productivity and dispersal on population growth. This is particularly important for the conservation of small and recently established populations, where stochastic births and deaths may result in negative growth and even extinction. Here, we investigated the population dynamics of a small population of Eurasian cranes Grus grus in the UK and the effect of a population reinforcement in population growth. We also estimated the probability that the conservation status of cranes improves in the future. We developed stochastic population models to assess the population dynamics and the effect of adding 90 individuals between 2010 and 2014. The best‐supported models suggest that the crane population is self‐sustaining with an annual adult survival of 0.88, but suffers from low productivity. In addition, much of the population increase has been driven by immigration of birds from continental Europe. We found that population reinforcement resulted in a 50% increase in the projected population size, from 178 to 275 breeding pairs over the next 50 years. We showed that the relative contribution of immigration to population growth declined from 43%, when the translocated birds were not considered, to 29%, when they were included in the breeding pool. Moreover, after the population reinforcement, the probability of the population improving its conservation status increased from just above zero to 32%. In light of the recent increase in translocation programs worldwide, our study highlights the need to consider population dynamics to successfully predict the increase in population size when management strategies, such as reintroductions and reinforcements, are planned. Understanding population dynamics is particularly important for the conservation of small populations. We investigated the population dynamics of a small population of Eurasian cranes (Grus grus) in the UK and how a reinforcement program affected its population growth. Our models show that the crane population is self‐sustaining but suffers from low productivity, and that much of the population increase has been driven by immigration from continental Europe. Importantly, population reinforcement resulted in a 50% increase in the projected population size over the next 50 years. Overall, our study highlights the need to consider population dynamics to successfully predict population growth when reinforcements or reintroductions are planned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Spider naevi (SN) are considered a subtype of telangiectasias, currently classified as low‐flow vascular malformations. Objective: To describe the videodermoscopy and Doppler‐ultrasound (US) features of a large group of SN. Material and Methods: A retrospective study of cases of SN collected at our Dermatology department during the period between June 2015 and June 2017 was performed. Clinical images, dermoscopic, videodermoscopic and Doppler‐US files were reviewed. For each case, the age of the patient, time since onset, size and dermoscopic pattern of the lesions were recorded. The presence of pulsatility was also evaluated visually on the videodermoscopy. Results: Two hundred and thirty‐three SN in 189 patients were included. The mean age was 39.5 years (range: 10–76 years). Mean size of the lesions was 4.1 ± 2.0 mm. We described three dermoscopic patterns: network, star and looping. Older age, longer time since onset and larger size were found associated with higher frequency of the looping and star patterns compared to that of network pattern (P < 0.01). Pulsatility during videodermoscopy was found in 88 patients (37%). This pulsatility phenomenon was more commonly associated with the looping pattern (64.7%) than star‐ (40.3%) or network‐like patterns (29.9%) (P < 0.001). In Doppler‐US studies, a high‐flow with arterial biphasic waveform was found. Conclusions: In the light of the results, we support that SN could be reconsidered in upcoming classifications as lesions closer to the group of high‐flow arteriovenous malformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The histomorphometric features of umbilical cord constituents in seven foetuses of alpaca ( Vicugna pacos) from Cerro de Pasco, Department, Peru, were determined. Sections of 2-5 cm of umbilical cord were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and processed for light microscopy. Standard histological slides stained with haematoxylin and eosin, Masson's trichrome and Van Gieson's trichrome were obtained. Histologically, common features of umbilical artery and vein were observed as well as mucous connective tissue, some cell features that compound this tissue constituted by cells presented features of myofibroblasts. Among most important findings that were observed, the lumen of umbilical vein was obliterated into star-shaped form with the thinner umbilical artery wall; the smooth muscles and fibroblast were comparatively more in number in umbilical artery than that of umbilical vein, and the tunica media was larger in dimension than the tunica adventitia in umbilical vein. Conclusively, this histological study features an observation of the umbilical cord of alpaca foetuses and shows the similarity between them and those of other mammal species, including dromedaries and South American camelids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the identification and characterization of tenacibaculum dicentrarchi isolated from Chilean red conger eel. Topics discussed include clinical signs of disease in Genypterus chilensis (G. chilensis), bacterial isolation, and histological analyses of G. chilensis lesions.

This paper describes the use of parallelization techniques to reduce dynamic power consumption in hardware implementations of the Trivium stream cipher. Trivium is a synchronous stream cipher based on a combination of three non-linear feedback shift registers. In 2008, it was chosen as a finalist for the hardware profile of the eSTREAM project. So that their power consumption values can be compared and verified, the proposed low-power Trivium designs were implemented and characterized in 350-nm standard-cell technology with both transistors and gate-level models, in order to permit both electrical and logical simulations. The results show that the two designs decreased average power consumption by between 15% and 25% with virtually no performance loss and only a slight overhead (about 5%) in area. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human insulin receptor (IR) exists in two isoforms that differ by the absence (IR-A) or the presence (IR-B) of a 12-amino acid segment encoded by exon 11. Both isoforms are functionally distinct regarding their binding affinities and intracellular signalling. However, the underlying mechanisms related to their cellular functions in several tissues are only partially understood. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge in this field regarding the alternative splicing of IR isoform, tissue-specific distribution and signalling both in physiology and disease, with an emphasis on the human placenta in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Furthermore, we discuss the clinical relevance of IR isoforms highlighted by findings that show altered insulin signalling due to differential IR-A and IR-B expression in human placental endothelium in GDM pregnancies. Future research and clinical studies focused on the role of IR isoform signalling might provide novel therapeutic targets for treating GDM to improve the adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Observational gridded products are commonly used to evaluate the performance of regional climate models. To this aim, gridded datasets should be comparable to the output of these models and, thus, should represent grid-cell area-averaged values and, whenever possible, they should be defined on the same spatial domains as the models, in order to avoid re-gridding or re-projection. In this study, we present an update of the Spain02 gridded observational dataset for daily precipitation and mean temperature building on the grids defined for the EURO-CORDEX initiative. In order to assess and intercompare different interpolation approaches, we analysed (1) two standard methodologies (ordinary kriging and thin plate splines), (2) three horizontal resolutions: 0.11°, 0.22° and 0.44° (matching the rotated EURO-CORDEX and ENSEMBLES grids), (3) two different approaches to guarantee either area-averaged or point representativity of the resulting grid values and (4) including/excluding orography as a covariable in the interpolation procedure. Besides introducing the new gridded datasets, in this work we also present some preliminary results on the sensitivity of temperature and precipitation (both mean and extreme regimes) to all these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a new publicly available high-resolution daily precipitation gridded dataset developed for peninsular Spain and the Balearic islands using 2756 quality-controlled stations (this dataset is referred to as Spain02). The grid has a regular 0.2° (approx. 20 km) horizontal resolution and spans the period from 1950 to 2003. Different interpolation methods were tested using a cross-validation approach to compare the resulting interpolated values against station data: kriging, angular distance weighting, and thin plane splines. Finally, the grid was produced applying the kriging method in a two-step process. First, the occurrence was interpolated using a binary kriging and, in a second step, the amounts were interpolated by applying ordinary kriging to the occurrence outcomes. This procedure is similar to the interpolation method used to generate the E-OBS gridded data-the state-of-the-art publicly available high-resolution daily dataset for Europe-which was used in this study for comparison purposes. Climatological statistics and extreme value indicators from the resulting grid were compared to those from the 25 km E-OBS dataset using the observed station records as a reference. Spain02 faithfully reproduces climatological features such as annual precipitation occurrence, accumulated amounts and variability, whereas E-OBS has some deficiencies in the southern region. When focusing on upper percentiles and other indicators of extreme precipitation regimes, Spain02 accurately reproduces the amount and spatial distribution of the observed extreme indicators, whereas E-OBS data present serious limitations over Spain due to the sparse data used in this region. As extreme values are more sensitive to interpolation, the dense station coverage of this new data set was crucial to get an accurate reproduction of the extremes. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to assess the diagnostic yield of a colonoscopy screening programme in first-degree relatives of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and to identify factors associated with advanced neoplasia. We conducted a cross-sectional study. Individual characteristics, family trees and colonoscopy findings of asymptomatic first-degree relatives of CRC patients were collected. The findings were classified into cancer (invasive carcinoma and/or non-invasive high-grade neoplasia), high-risk adenomas (≥ 10 mm and/or a villous component) and low-risk adenomas (tubular < 10 mm). The dependent variable was the presence of advanced neoplasia, defined as cancer and/or high-risk adenoma. Two hundred and sixty-three relatives (147 females), 50.0 ± 11.5 (range, 25-75) years of age, agreed to participate out of a total of 618 who were invited (acceptance rate 42.5%). Index cases were diagnosed at 63.8 ± 12.4 (range, 37-88) years of age. The closest familial relationship was parent/offspring in 168 (63.9%) participants and sibling in 95 (36.1%) participants; 14.8% had three or more relatives with CRC/cancer associated with Lynch syndrome, and two or more affected generations were identified in 24.0%. Advanced neoplasia was found in 56 (21.3%) participants. Of these, invasive cancer, non-invasive high-grade neoplasia and high-risk adenomas were detected in five (1.9%), six (2.3%) and 45 (17.1%) participants, respectively. Low-risk adenomas were detected in 20 (7.6%) participants. Male sex (odds ratio, 2.59; P = 0.003) and sibling relationship (odds ratio, 2.74; P = 0.001) were independently associated with advanced neoplasia. We detected advanced neoplasia in a considerable number of participants. Our data support colonoscopy screening in first-degree relatives of patients with CRC at an earlier age than in the medium-risk population. Male sex and sibling relationship were predictors of advanced neoplasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis and simulation with statistical downscaling methods of snow trends in Northern Spain. It examines various topics such as the annual snow frequency measure as the annual number of snow days and precipitation occurrence and the simulation of the observed trends utilizing the connection of daily snow occurrence (DSO). Result shows that the downscaling method with typical values of hit and false alarm rates has predicted that the DSO is around 60% and 2%.

The purpose of this study was to assess the role of Helicobacter pylori and several genetic polymorphisms in relation to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We studied 44 unrelated patients with IBD and 75 subjects with no history of IBD as controls. Using pyrosequencing technology, we identified gene polymorphisms in IL-10, TNF-A, ILB-31, and TLR4. H. pylori status was determined by serology. Individuals homozygous for IL10-592 A or IL10-1082 A genotypes show significantly lower occurrence of IBD ( P = 0.03 and P < 0.01, respectively). Individuals heterozygous at IL10-1082 have significantly increased occurrence of IBD, both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease ( P < 0.01). There was no difference in the prevalence of H. pylori infection between cases and controls. This study provides evidence that variation in IL10 is correlated with IBD occurrence in this Mexican population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computation of inbreeding rate (Δ F) must consider that inbreeding is delayed with one generation with respect to the idealized population when addressed using individual inbreeding coefficients. The expression relating inbreeding in generation t with inbreeding rate F t = 1 – (1– ΔF) t should be more correctly written in real animal populations as F t = 1 – (1– ΔF) t−1, as changes in allele frequencies occur in the equivalent co-ancestries in the previous generation. This simple approach is tested on simulated and real pedigrees thus demonstrating that: (i) the adjusted individual increase in inbreeding becomes stable in populations under random mating while the unadjusted parameter does not; (ii) regression of the unadjusted parameter over generations in pedigrees under random mating is highly significant while after correction it is not significant; and (iii) the variance of the adjusted parameter is reduced with the generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents One hundred and twenty-six suckled crossbred cows ( Bos taurus × Bos indicus), with body condition score ≥3 (1–5 point scale), were employed in the present study to evaluate the effectiveness of intravaginal progestin-releasing sponges (IVS) for shortening anoestrous interval. Fifty-four cows were assigned to control group. Seventy-two cows were treated with IVS impregnated with 250 mg of medroxy-acetate-progesterone (MAP) as follows: day 0, IVS plus 5 mg of 17β-E and 50 mg of MAP i.m.; day 6, 500 IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin and 25 mg prostaglandin F2α i.m.; day 8, IVS withdrawal and day 9, 1 mg 17β-E i.m. Cows were also grouped according to postpartum days (dpp) at treatment: MAP <70 days (n = 25); control <70 days (n = 22); MAP >70 days (n = 47); control >70 days (n = 32). From IVS removal, cows were detected in oestrus and inseminated. Cows not detected in oestrus were timed artificial insemination 72 h after sponge removal. Treatment effect on oestrous rate (ER), conception rate (CR), pregnancy rate (PR) and treatment to conception intervals (TCI) and calving to conception intervals (CCI) were evaluated. The ER, CR and PR were analysed usingproc logistic, while TCI and CCI withproc glm of SAS. The groups MAP <70 days and MAP >70 days showed higher (p < 0.01) ER than control <70 days and control >70 days (84.0% and 76.6% vs 31.8% and 31.3% respectively). The PR was higher (p < 0.01) in MAP <70 days vs control <70 days (64.0% vs 22.7%) and also higher (p < 0.05) in MAP >70 days vs control <70 days (40.4% vs 18.8%). The TCI and CCI were shorter (p < 0.01) in MAP <70 days vs control <70 days (36.0 and 95.8 days; 95.3 and 158.6 days respectively). In conclusion, only cows treated with IVS before 70 dpp had a CCI shorter than 100 days, consequently this treatment shortened postpartum anoestrous interval in crossbred dual purpose cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents One hundred and twenty-six suckled crossbred cows ( Bos taurus × Bos indicus), with body condition score ≥3 (1–5 point scale), were employed in the present study to evaluate the effectiveness of intravaginal progestin-releasing sponges (IVS) for shortening anoestrous interval. Fifty-four cows were assigned to control group. Seventy-two cows were treated with IVS impregnated with 250 mg of medroxy-acetate-progesterone (MAP) as follows: day 0, IVS plus 5 mg of 17β-E and 50 mg of MAP i.m.; day 6, 500 IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin and 25 mg prostaglandin F2α i.m.; day 8, IVS withdrawal and day 9, 1 mg 17β-E i.m. Cows were also grouped according to postpartum days (dpp) at treatment: MAP <70 days (n = 25); control <70 days (n = 22); MAP >70 days (n = 47); control >70 days (n = 32). From IVS removal, cows were detected in oestrus and inseminated. Cows not detected in oestrus were timed artificial insemination 72 h after sponge removal. Treatment effect on oestrous rate (ER), conception rate (CR), pregnancy rate (PR) and treatment to conception intervals (TCI) and calving to conception intervals (CCI) were evaluated. The ER, CR and PR were analysed usingproc logistic, while TCI and CCI withproc glm of SAS. The groups MAP <70 days and MAP >70 days showed higher (p < 0.01) ER than control <70 days and control >70 days (84.0% and 76.6% vs 31.8% and 31.3% respectively). The PR was higher (p < 0.01) in MAP <70 days vs control <70 days (64.0% vs 22.7%) and also higher (p < 0.05) in MAP >70 days vs control <70 days (40.4% vs 18.8%). The TCI and CCI were shorter (p < 0.01) in MAP <70 days vs control <70 days (36.0 and 95.8 days; 95.3 and 158.6 days respectively). In conclusion, only cows treated with IVS before 70 dpp had a CCI shorter than 100 days, consequently this treatment shortened postpartum anoestrous interval in crossbred dual purpose cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to test the performance of a recently proposed methodology for the estimation of realized effective size ( Ne) based on individual increase in inbreeding ( ΔF i) on several real pedigrees: (a) an experimental mice population; (b) a closed pedigree of fighting bulls; (c) the Spanish Purebred (SPB, Andalusian) horse pedigree; (d) the Carthusian strain of SPB pedigree; (e) the Spanish Arab horse pedigree; and (f) the Spanish Anglo-Arab horse pedigree. Several reference subpopulations were defined on the basis of generation length in order to consider only animals in the last generation, to assess the influence of the pedigree content on the estimates of Ne . The estimates of realized Ne computed from Δ F i ( ) tended to be higher than those obtained from regression on equivalent generations. The new parameter remained approximately stable when pedigree depth achieved about five equivalent generations. Estimates of take into account the genetic history of the populations, the size of their founder population, and the mating policy or bottlenecks caused by poor use of reproducing individuals. The usefulness of the realized Ne computed from individual increase in inbreeding in real pedigrees is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gene pools for breeding cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Africa currently contain only a fraction of the existing genetic variation found in Latin America where the crop originates. Our research aimed to broaden the genetic base in Africa by introducing Latin American (LA) germ-plasm. The first set of introductions comprised sexual seeds that led to the evaluation of 20,032 seedlings in Nigeria between 1990 and 1994. A second set comprised in vitro cultures, where the dominant CMD2 gene for cassava mosaic disease (CMD) resistance was introgressed into LA germplasm through marker-assisted selection (MAS). Through MAS 156 genotypes were preselected for the gene and evaluated in Nigeria between 2004 and 2006. Initial results from the first set of introductions indicated that LA germplasm was highly susceptible to CMD, minimizing its usefulness in African cassava-breeding programs. In the second set of introductions from LA, introgression of the CMD2 gene resulted in high CMD resistance under African field conditions. Now at advanced stages in the African breeding program, 14 genotypes combining CMD resistance and high yield are being evaluated. Marker-assisted introgression of CMD resistance into LA germplasm has improved the potential value of LA germplasm for Africa and enhanced the prospect of elite LA genotypes being released as improved varieties in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose:Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in joint tissue destruction in arthritis. However, MMPs have not been assigned a role in joint pain. We investigated the ability of BaP1, a metalloproteinase from Bothrops asper snake venom, with structural homology to MMPs, to induce joint hypernociception.Experimental approach:Animals received intra-articular (i.art.) BaP1. Hypernociception was assessed using the rat-knee joint articular incapacitation test. Cell influx, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and TNF-α levels were assessed in joint exudates following BaP1 injection.Key results:BaP1 (5 μg per joint) provoked hypernociception between 1 and 6 h after i.art. injection. Cell influx, mostly neutrophils, was maximal 3 h after BaP1 i.art. injection. BaP1 also led to increase in PGE2 and TNF-α levels in the joint exudates. Pretreatment with either indomethacin (4 mg.kg−1 i.p.) or with an anti-TNF-α antiserum (i.art.) significantly inhibited both BaP1-induced joint hypernociception and cell influx. In isolated rat peritoneal macrophages, BaP1 increased cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression, while not altering that of COX-1.Conclusions and implications:This is the first demonstration that a metalloproteinase promotes joint hypernociception. This effect involves local release of PGE2 and TNF-α. BaP1-induced increase in PGE2 is associated to increased COX-2 expression in macrophages. Blocking PGE2 or TNF-α inhibits BaP1-induced hypernociception. In addition to unravelling a hitherto unknown mechanism whereby TNF blockade provides analgesia in arthritis, the data show, for the first time that MMPs are involved in inflammatory joint hypernociception and induce COX-2 expression.British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 151, 1254–1261. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707351; published online 25 June 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behaviour, distribution and abundance of the Pacific sardine Sardinops sagax, detected by acoustics, was studied in relation to the pelagic environmental conditions of water temperature, fluorescence and dissolved oxygen concentration induced by tidal currents in Bahía Magdalena, México (24°32′ N; 112°01′ W). Sampling was along an 18 km long transect covering an area inside the bay (mean depth 20 m), the main entrance to the bay (mean depth 35 m), and the continental shelf (mean depth 100 m). The main entrance to the bay was the most dynamic area along the hydrographic transect, where the Pacific sardines tended to aggregate, probably to feed on the phytoplankton accumulated during the receding tide. With the flood tide, a high-speed tidal current is generated, introducing cool water with low oxygen concentrations into the bay. During the ebb tide, a tidal wave is also formed, but the warm and relatively well oxygenated bay water mass is transported towards the open sea. Acoustic records showed that whatever the tidal current direction (inflow or outflow), no fish schools were detected within the area of more intense tidal current speeds (>120 cm s−1). Visual observations of surface Pacific sardine schools during the flood tide indicate that sardines were out of the transducer signal detection range (<10 m depth), suggesting that Pacific sardines undergo vertical migration, probably to avoid the high water current speed with low dissolved oxygen content. This behaviour may have a relevant effect on the overall hydroacoustic estimation of small pelagic fish abundance in shallower pelagic environments such as this subtropical bay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical signs, histopathological and ultrastructural findings associated with Atoxoplasma spp. natural infection in captive canaries ( Serinus canaria) are described. Intracytoplasmic Atoxoplasma-like protozoa were found in the liver and lung. In the liver, protozoa were found in hepatocytes and Kupffer's cells and were associated with granulomatous hepatitis and a marked bile duct hyperplasia. An usual finding was the presence of infected mononuclear cells adhered to the endothelium of the blood vessels in lung. The diagnosis was confirmed by ultrastructural examination of reprocessed paraffin-embedded tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Catalonian donkey is one of the most endangered donkey breeds in the world. At present, five main subpopulations exist: AFRAC, which consists of many genetically connected Catalonian localities; Berga, which consists of a single herd located also in Catalunya but under private management; and three minor non-Catalonian subpopulations (Huesca, Sevilla and Toledo). In this study, we analysed the pedigree information of the Catalonian donkey herdbook to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of the breed. We found that the Catalonian donkey has suffered an important loss of genetic diversity and moderate to high increases of inbreeding because of the abuse of a few individuals in matings. This scenario is mainly characterized by the fact that both the effective number of founders and ancestors for the whole population was 70.6 and 27, respectively, while the equivalent number of founders was 146.5 and the number of ancestors explaining overall genetic variability was 93. In addition, only 14% of animals born between the 1960s and 1970s were significantly represented in the pedigree. Our results also show that subpopulations where breeders exchanged reproductive individuals had low levels of inbreeding and average relatedness. One subpopulation, Berga, was reproductively isolated and showed high levels of inbreeding ( F = 7.22%), with average relatedness (AR = 6.61%) playing an important role in increasing the values of these coefficients in the whole pedigree. Using genealogical F-statistics we have found little evidence of population structuring ( FST = 0.0083) with major genetic differences among non-Catalonian subpopulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two cDNA fragments corresponding to a heat shock protein and a cell death receptor were isolated from the ovary of the bullseye puffer Sphoeroides annulatus that were arrested in vitellogenesis or induced to ovulate with LHRHa. A reduced expression of both genes was observed following injections of LHRHa, suggesting these genes may participate in processes associated with the arrested ovarian development and preparation for atresia or ovulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this note is to describe the programendog(v.3.0). The program handles pedigree information to conduct several demographic and genetic analyses including: (a) the individual inbreeding and average relatedness coefficients; (b) effective population size; (c) parameters characterizing the concentration of both gene and individuals origin such as the effective number of founders and ancestors, the effective number of founder herds; (d)Fstatistics and paired genetic distances for each subpopulation under study; (e) descriptors of the genetic importance of the herds in a population and (f) generation intervals. The program will help breeders and researchers to monitor the changes in genetic variability and population structure with limited costs of preparing datasets. The program, user's guide and example file can be downloaded free of charge from the World Wide Web at. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key problem of modular neural networks is finding the optimal aggregation of the different subtasks (or modules) of the problem at hand. Functional networks provide a partial solution to this problem, since the inter-module topology is obtained from domain knowledge (functional relationships and symmetries). However, the learning process may be too restrictive in some situations, since the resulting modules (functional units) are assumed to be linear combinations of selected families of functions. In this paper, we present a non-parametric learning approach for functional networks using feedforward neural networks for approximating the functional modules of the resulting architecture; we also introduce a genetic algorithm for finding the optimal intra-module topology (the appropriate balance of neurons for the different modules according to the complexity of their respective tasks). Some benchmark examples from nonlinear time-series prediction are used to illustrate the performance of the algorithm for finding optimal modular network architectures for specific problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graham Little­Piccardi­Lassueur syndrome is characterized by the presence of cicatricial alopecia on the scalp, keratosis pilaris in the skin of trunk and extremities, and non-cicatricial hair loss in pubis and axillae. A frequent form of male pseudohermaphroditism is complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS), also known as testicular feminization syndrome. It refers to genetic males with XY karyotype who, owing to a lack of sensitivity in the peripheral androgenic receptors, develop a female phenotype. Axillary and pubic hair is typically scarce or absent. To our knowledge, this is the first case describing the association of the two processes. The presence of both processes in the same patient furthers our understanding of Graham Little­Piccardi­Lassueur syndrome as it rejects the influence of androgens in the alopecias accompanying this syndrome. The coincidence of non-cicatricial alopecia in axillary and pubic hair in both processes is also remarkable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present two patients with subcutaneous nodular lesions of several years’ duration. These lesions were well defined and painless and were located next to bony surfaces or in the pulps of fingers and elbows. No other symptoms were observed except for frequent attacks of palindromic rheumatism with no evidence of arthritis or systemic manifestations suggestive of rheumatoid arthritis. Other studies performed were normal with negative results for rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibodies. Radiographs of affected sites showed no signs of arthritis while the histopathologic study revealed some findings compatible with rheumatoid nodule. One of the patients also presented desquamate papular lesions at the level of elbows while histologically a process of transepidermal elimination of fibrinoid could be observed. Our patients fulfil all the diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid nodulosis as they present multiple rheumatoid nodules confirmed on biopsy, symptoms of palindromic rheumatism, no evidence of arthritis or radiological alterations and negative rheumatoid factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The Sperm-Class Analyser[sup ®] was validated for assessing morphometric parameters of the head and midpiece of unwashed and washed human ejaculated spermatozoa from volunteers providing a wide range of semen quality. A higher proportion of sperm could be assessed (86% fresh semen and 75% washed sperm) if Hemacolor staining was used rather than DiffQuik (80 and 73%) or Papanicolaou (78 and 68%). Different stains employed different fixatives and the area, length, width and perimeter of the sperm head was significantly larger for washed sperm stained by Hemacolor and DiffQuik. Acrosomal area ranged from 48 to 51% of the sperm head area and this percentage was larger for washed sperm stained with DiffQuik. Sperm at the end of the slide, distant from the initial semen droplet, were larger in area and perimeter than those at that site or in the middle. The high precision and reproducibility of the equipment required assessing only 50 sperm on the slide. Far greater variation was found in head width, relative acrosomal area and midpiece width between different slides prepared from the same ejaculate, highlighting the inherent variability within the ejaculate and smear preparation, and requiring more than one slide to be assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The Laugier–Hunziker syndrome is an acquired, idiopathic, benign mucocutaneous hypermelanosis that usually occurs on the lips and oral mucosa, although it may appear at other sites. Nails are frequently involved, mainly forming longitudinal hyperpigmented bands. We report the case of a patient that presented a typical picture of this entity, nearly 1 year after the beginning of treatment with levodopa. Two years after the first lesions occurred, she developed Addison's disease. The patient suffered from a diffuse discrete hyperpigmentation (it was more remarkable on exposed areas) and an intensification of the melanotic macules that were previously noticeable before in oral and genital mucosa, fingers, toes and nails. Hormonal replacement treatment enabled the control of laboratory and general manifestations and to decrease the degree of mucocutaneous hyperpigmentation considerably, despite initial hyperpigmented lesions persisting in described areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The aim of this work is to highlight the need of monitoring small populations to conserve their genetic variability by using a set of parameters to characterize both the structure of populations and management practices. As a representative example we analyse the pedigree information of the endangered Xalda sheep breed of Asturias. The herdbook of Xalda sheep included a total of 805 animals and 62 herds. The number of founders was 329. Nowadays, there are 562 live animals and 26 active herds. The breed is in risk of losing genetic diversity because of the abusive use of certain individuals as parents. The effective number of founder animals is 81.1. The effective number of founder herds is 9.9. The average value of inbreeding in the whole Xalda population was 1.5%. The average relatedness (AR) coefficient reached 1.8% in the whole pedigree. The genetic representation of the lines of founders is unbalanced. Inbreeding trends and effective size do not provide realistic information concerning the risk of loss of diversity as a result of the shallowness of the genealogical information. We suggest the monitoring of the breed using AR to unbalance the genetic contributions of specific individuals, equalizing the genetic representation of the founders and lines in the population. In addition, AR can suggest the introduction of new, under-represented animals in herds showing high average AR values relative to the population. Our results can be useful to improve the development of conservation initiatives involving open herdbooks to avoid the risk of loss of genetic diversity caused by incorrect management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]