Based in high sensitivity and specificity reported recently in detection of the cancer, the technique of Raman spectroscopy is proposed to discriminate between breast cancer, leukemia and cervical ...cancer using blood serum samples from patients officially diagnosed. In order to classify Raman spectra, clustering method known as Super Paramagnetic Clustering based on statistical physics concepts with a stochastic approach was implemented. Comparing firstly average Raman spectra of the three cancers, some peaks that allowed differentiating one cancer from other were identified, however, other peaks allowed concluding that there are biochemical similarities among them. According to these spectra, the band associated with amide I (1654 cm-1) and one of two shoulders assigned to amide III (1230-1282 cm-1) allowed discriminating leukemia from breast and cervical cancer, whereas band 714 cm-1 (polysaccharides) achieves to differentiate cervical cancer from leukemia and breast cancer, and bulged region, 1040 - 1100 cm-1 (phenylalanine, phospholipid) discriminated breast cancer from leukemia and cervical cancer. Subsequently, Super Paramagnetic Clustering method was applied to Raman spectra to study similarity relationships between cancers based on the biochemical composition of serum samples. Finally, as a cross check method, the standard method to classify Raman spectra of breast cancer, leukemia and cervical cancer, known as principal components analysis, was used showing excellent agreement with results of Super Paramagnetic Clustering method. Preliminary results demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy and Super Paramagnetic Clustering method can be used to discriminate between breast cancer, leukemia and cervical cancer samples using blood serum samples.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Given the major ongoing influence of environmental change on the oceans, there is a need to understand and predict the future distributions of marine species in order to plan appropriate mitigation ...to conserve vulnerable species and ecosystems. In this study we use tracking data from seven large seabird species of the Southern Ocean (black‐browed albatross Thalassarche melanophris, grey‐headed albatross T. chrysostoma, northern giant petrel Macronectes halli, southern giant petrel M. giganteus, Tristan albatross Diomedea dabbenena, wandering albatross D. exulans and white‐chinned petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis, and on fishing effort in two types of fisheries (characterised by low or high‐bycatch rates), to model the associations with environmental variables (bathymetry, chlorophyll‐a concentration, sea surface temperature and wind speed) through ensemble species distribution models. We then projected these distributions according to four climate change scenarios built by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change for 2050 and 2100. The resulting projections were consistent across scenarios, indicating that there is a strong likelihood of poleward shifts in distribution of seabirds, and several range contractions (resulting from a shift in the northern, but no change in the southern limit of the range in four species). Current trends for southerly shifts in fisheries distributions are also set to continue under these climate change scenarios at least until 2100; some of these may reflect habitat loss for target species that are already over‐fished. It is of particular concern that a shift in the distribution of several highly threatened seabird species would increase their overlap with fisheries where there is a high‐bycatch risk. Under such scenarios, the associated shifts in distribution of seabirds and increases in bycatch risk will require much‐improved fisheries management in these sensitive areas to minimise impacts on populations in decline.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
In this paper, breast cancer patients were monitored throughout their chemotherapy treatments (CHT), with blood serum sample Raman spectroscopy and multivariate analysis, approximately for a year. ...First of all, we discriminate between healthy and clinically diagnosed breast cancer patients. Breast cancer detection in terms of sensitivity and specificity were 87.14
%
and 90.55
%
respectively. Although no shifts of peaks in mean spectrum of samples from breast cancer patients were found with respect to the mean spectrum from control patients, some peaks did show clear differences in intensity, the greatest disparities found at 509, 545, 1063, 1103, 1338, 1556, 1083 and 1449 cm
− 1
are associated with amino acids and phospholipid, 1246 and 1654 cm
− 1
, corresponding to amide III and I, respectively. Other peaks of interest encountered at 450, 661, 890, 917 and 1405 cm
− 1
are associated to glutathione. Then, 6 breast cancer patients were monitored during their chemotherapy treatments, the results were in complete correspondence with their medical records, enabling a detailed study of the evolution of each patient’s cancer. A special interest arose in the possible correlation between the intensity of Raman peak, 450 cm
− 1
, corresponding to glutathione and evolution of cancer throughout CHT, i.e., glutathione appears to be a good candidate as breast cancer biomarker. The results confirmed that Raman spectroscopy and PCA are, not only a good support to current breast cancer detection techniques, but could also be excellent techniques to monitor more efficiently breast cancer patients undergoing CHT, using blood serum samples which are a lot less invasive than other methods.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Shearwaters deprived of their olfactory sense before being displaced to distant sites have impaired homing ability but it is unknown what the role of olfaction is when birds navigate freely without ...their sense of smell. Furthermore, treatments used to induce anosmia and to disrupt magneto-reception in displacement experiments might influence non-specific factors not directly related to navigation and, as a consequence, the results of displacement experiments can have multiple interpretations. To address this, we GPS-tracked the free-ranging foraging trips of incubating Scopoli's shearwaters within the Mediterranean Sea. As in previous experiments, shearwaters were either made anosmic with 4% zinc sulphate solution, magnetically impaired by attachment of a strong neodymium magnet or were controls. We found that birds from all three treatments embarked on foraging trips, had indistinguishable at-sea schedules of behaviour and returned to the colony having gained mass. However, we found that in the pelagic return stage of their foraging trips, anosmic birds were not oriented towards the colony though coastal navigation was unaffected. These results support the case for zinc sulphate having a specific effect on the navigational ability of shearwaters and thus the view that seabirds consult an olfactory map to guide them across seascapes.
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Sympatric Speciation by Allochrony in a Seabird Friesen, V. L.; Smith, A. L.; Gómez-Diaz, E. ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
11/2007, Volume:
104, Issue:
47
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The importance of sympatric speciation (the evolution of reproductive isolation between codistributed populations) in generating biodiversity is highly controversial. Whereas potential examples of ...sympatric speciation exist for plants, insects, and fishes, most theoretical models suggest that it requires conditions that are probably not common in nature, and only two possible cases have been described for tetrapods. One mechanism by which it could occur is through allochronic isolation-separation of populations by breeding time. Oceanodroma castro (the Madeiran or bandrumped storm-petrel) is a small seabird that nests on tropical and subtropical islands throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In at least five archipelagos, different individuals breed on the same islands in different seasons. We compared variation in five microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial control region among 562 O. castro from throughout the species' range. We found that sympatric seasonal populations differ genetically within all five archipelagos and have ceased to exchange genes in two. Population and gene trees all indicate that seasonal populations within four of the archipelagos are more closely related to each other than to populations from the same season from other archipelagos; divergence of the fifth sympatric pair is too ancient for reliable inference. Thus, seasonal populations appear to have arisen sympatrically at least four times. This is the first evidence for sympatric speciation by allochrony in a tetrapod, and adds to growing indications that population differentiation and speciation can occur without geographic barriers to gene flow.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The evolution of different life-history strategies has been suggested as a major force constraining physiological mechanisms such as immunity. In some long-lived oviparous species, a prolonged ...persistence of maternal antibodies in offspring could thus be expected in order to protect them over their long growth period. Here, using an intergenerational vaccination design, we show that specific maternal antibodies can display an estimated half-life of 25 days post-hatching in the nestlings of a long-lived bird. This temporal persistence is much longer than previously known for birds and it suggests specific properties in the regulation of IgY immunoglobulin catabolism in such a species. We also show that maternal antibodies in the considered procellariiform species are functional as late as 20 days of age. Using a modelling approach, we highlight that the potential impact of such effects on population viability could be important, notably when using vaccination for conservation. These results have broad implications, from comparative immunology to evolutionary eco-epidemiology and conservation biology.
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•High COVID-19 incidence was observed in working-age Mexican outpatients.•Logistics or delivery jobs have a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.•Three symptomatic profiles were identified in COVID-19 ...patients.•Presymptomatic people were more frequent among elders than among young individuals.•Different epidemiologic profiles were found between symptomatic and presymptomatic.
The COVID-19 diagnosis is difficult and ambiguous due to nonspecific symptoms. Further, data from Mexico arehospitable population-based without signs and symptoms information. Thus, this work aims to provide epidemiology information about the burden of COVID-19 in Mexican outpatients and to identify symptomatic COVID-19 profiles that could help in the early diagnosis of the disease.
From June to September, epidemiological, clinical, and demographic data of 482,413 individuals diagnosed by RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 in Salud Digna clinics were collected.
We observed a 41% incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections with a mean age of 36 years and with young adults (20–40 years) being the most affected. Among occupations, delivery persons (OR 1.38) or informal traders (OR 1.33) had a higher risk of COVID-19. Moreover, 13% of SARS-CoV-2 infections were in presymptomatic patients. Finally, we identified three different symptomatic profiles (common, respiratory, and gastrointestinal) associated with COVID-19.
The incidence of SARS-CoV-2 was high among outpatients with a significant proportion of presymptomatic carriers, and thus it is necessary to increase testing and continue SARS-CoV-2 surveillance with a better description of signs and symptoms; in this regard, we identified three symptomatic profiles that could help in the diagnosis of COVID-19.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Macaronesia (north‐east Atlantic archipelagos) has been host to complex patterns of colonization and differentiation in many groups of organisms including seabirds such as gadfly petrels (genus ...Pterodroma). Considering the subspecies of widely distributed soft‐plumaged petrel for many years, the taxonomic status of the three gadfly petrel taxa breeding in Macaronesia is not yet settled, some authors advocating the presence of three, two or one species. These birds have already been the subject of genetic studies with only one mtDNA gene and relatively modest sample sizes. In this study, using a total of five genes (two mitochondrial genes and three nuclear introns), we investigated the population and phylogeographical histories of petrel populations breeding on Madeira and Cape Verde archipelagos. Despite confirming complete lineage sorting with mtDNA, analyses with nucDNA failed to reveal any population structuring and Isolation with Migration analysis revealed the absence of gene flow during the differentiation process of these populations. It appears that the three populations diverged in the late Pleistocene in the last 150 000 years, that is 10 times more recently than previous estimates based solely on one mtDNA gene. Finally, our results suggest that the Madeira petrel population is ancestral rather than that from Cape Verde. This study strongly advocates the use of nuclear loci in addition to mtDNA in demographical and phylogeographical history studies.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Seabirds are facing a growing number of threats in both terrestrial and marine habitats, and many populations have experienced dramatic changes over past decades. Years of seabird research have ...improved our understanding of seabird populations and provided a broader understanding of marine ecological processes. In an effort to encourage future research and guide seabird conservation science, seabird researchers from 9 nations identified the 20 highest priority research questions and organized these into 6 general categories: (1) population dynamics, (2) spatial ecology, (3) tropho-dynamics, (4) fisheries interactions, (5) response to global change, and (6) management of anthropogenic impacts (focusing on invasive species, contaminants and protected areas). For each category, we provide an assessment of the current approaches, challenges and future directions. While this is not an exhaustive list of all research needed to address the myriad conservation challenges seabirds face, the results of this effort represent an important synthesis of current expert opinion across sub-disciplines within seabird ecology. As this synthesis highlights, research, in conjunction with direct management, education, and community engagement, can play an important role in facilitating the conservation and management of seabird populations and of the ocean ecosystems on which they and we depend.
It has been suggested that sexual size dimorphism (SSD) may influence sex ratios at different life stages. Higher energy requirements during growth associated with larger body size could lead to a ...greater mortality of the larger sex and ultimately to an overproduction of the smaller sex. To explore the associations between SSD and hatching and fledging sex ratio we performed a species-level analysis and a phylogenetically controlled analysis, based on 83 bird species. Overall, there was a significant inverse relationship between the degree of SSD and the proportion of males at hatching and fledging. Sex-specific mortality related to SSD showed a weak but persistent negative tendency, suggesting a mortality bias towards the larger sex. These results suggest that changes in relation to SSD may take place mainly at the conception stage, but could be adjusted during growth. However, conclusions should be treated cautiously as these relationships weaken when additional variables are considered.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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