Migration of wild and cultivated juvenile honmoroko Gnathopogon caerulescens of from the spawning and nursery areas in Lake Biwa were investigated, both in the Ibanaiko Lagoon and its outlet to Daido ...River, using beam‐trawl surveys in 2013 and 2014. The study demonstrated migration of G. caerulescens from a nursery lagoon toward Lake Biwa after the juvenile stage. These findings appear to be the first direct evidence for migration of an exclusively pelagic cyprinid species from a littoral nursery to a pelagic adult habitat in a large deep lake.
We analysed associations between exposure to nightlife businesses and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 PCR test results at a tertiary hospital in Tokyo between March and April 2020. A ...nightlife group was defined as those who had worked at or visited the businesses. We included 1517 individuals; 196 (12.9%) were categorised as the nightlife group. After propensity score matching, the proportion of positive PCR tests in the nightlife group was significantly higher than that in the non-nightlife group (nightlife, 63.8%; non-nightlife, 23.0%; P < 0.001). An inclusive approach to mitigate risks related to the businesses needs to be identified.
To study the potential importance of introgressive hybridization to the evolutionary diversification of a carabid beetle lineage, we studied intraspecific and trans-species polymorphisms in the ...mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene sequence (1083 bp) in four species of the subgenus Ohomopterus (genus Carabus) in central and eastern Honshu, Japan. Of the four species, C. insulicola is parapatric with the other three, and can hybridize naturally with at least two. This species possesses two haplotypes of remote lineages. We classified ND5 haplotypes using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism with TaqI endonuclease for 524 specimens, and sequenced 143 samples. Analysis revealed that each species was polyphyletic in its mitochondrial DNA phylogeny, representing a marked case of trans-species polymorphism. Recent one-way introgression of mitochondria from C. arrowianus nakamurai to C. insulicola, and from C. insulicola to C. esakii, was inferred from the frequency of identical sequences between these species and from direct evidence of hybridization in their contact zones. Other intraspecific polymorphisms in the four species may be due to undetected introgressive hybridization (e.g. C. insulicola to C. maiyasanus) or from stochastic lineage sorting of ancestral polymorphisms. This beetle group has a genital lock-and-key system, with species-specific or subspecies-specific genital morphology that may act as a barrier to hybridization. However, our results demonstrate that introgressive hybridization has occurred multiple times, at least for mitochondria, despite differences among, and stability within, morphological characters that distinguish local populations. Thus, hybridization and introgression could have been key processes in the evolutionary diversification of Ohomopterus.
We describe Global Atmosphere 7.0 and Global Land 7.0 (GA7.0/GL7.0), the latest science configurations of the Met Office Unified Model (UM) and the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land ...surface model developed for use across weather and climate timescales. GA7.0 and GL7.0 include incremental developments and targeted improvements that, between them, address four critical errors identified in previous configurations: excessive precipitation biases over India, warm and moist biases in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), a source of energy non-conservation in the advection scheme and excessive surface radiation biases over the Southern Ocean. They also include two new parametrisations, namely the UK Chemistry and Aerosol (UKCA) GLOMAP-mode (Global Model of Aerosol Processes) aerosol scheme and the JULES multi-layer snow scheme, which improve the fidelity of the simulation and were required for inclusion in the Global Atmosphere/Global Land configurations ahead of the 6th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). In addition, we describe the GA7.1 branch configuration, which reduces an overly negative anthropogenic aerosol effective radiative forcing (ERF) in GA7.0 whilst maintaining the quality of simulations of the present-day climate. GA7.1/GL7.0 will form the physical atmosphere/land component in the HadGEM3–GC3.1 and UKESM1 climate model submissions to the CMIP6.
Geographic variation and interspecific differentiation in body size (body length) were analyzed for 15 species of the carabid subgenus Ohomopterus (genus Carabus; Coleoptera, Carabidae) in Japan. ...Local species assemblages of this subgenus consist of up to 5 species of different size classes. These beetles exhibited sexual dimorphism in body size where females are larger than males, except Carabus uenoi, in which the male and female sizes were equivalent, possibly because of the exaggerated male genitalia. In 9 of 15 species, there was a positive correlation between mean body size and annual mean temperature of habitat, representing the converse of Bergmann's rule. However, in some cases this correlation does not hold over the range of a species because of regional differences. When allopatric and sympatric populations were compared, allopatric populations of Carabus albrechti and C. japonicus had larger bodies than sympatric populations. These intraspecific differences may have resulted from character displacement. In each local assemblage with 2 or more species, there was little interspecific overlap of body size, although the body size ratio between two species with adjacent body sizes seldom showed strict constancy. The mean size ratio between 2 adjacent species in an assemblage was reduced with the number of species, whereas the size ratio of the largest to smallest species in an assemblage increased with the number of species (i.e., the expansion of body size range). These results indicate that the body size of Ohomopterus species may have evolved in response to both climatic conditions and interspecific interactions. Because each species or species group represents the same size class over the distribution range and similar‐sized species are parapatric or allopatric, the interspecific segregation in body size in local assemblages may have resulted mainly from a size assortment process during colonization.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can cause substantial morbidity and mortality among older adults. An mRNA-based RSV vaccine, mRNA-1345, encoding the stabilized RSV prefusion F glycoprotein, is ...under clinical investigation.
In this ongoing, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2-3 trial, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, adults 60 years of age or older to receive one dose of mRNA-1345 (50 μg) or placebo. The two primary efficacy end points were the prevention of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease with at least two signs or symptoms and with at least three signs or symptoms. A key secondary efficacy end point was the prevention of RSV-associated acute respiratory disease. Safety was also assessed.
Overall, 35,541 participants were assigned to receive the mRNA-1345 vaccine (17,793 participants) or placebo (17,748). The median follow-up was 112 days (range, 1 to 379). The primary analyses were conducted when at least 50% of the anticipated cases of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease had occurred. Vaccine efficacy was 83.7% (95.88% confidence interval CI, 66.0 to 92.2) against RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease with at least two signs or symptoms and 82.4% (96.36% CI, 34.8 to 95.3) against the disease with at least three signs or symptoms. Vaccine efficacy was 68.4% (95% CI, 50.9 to 79.7) against RSV-associated acute respiratory disease. Protection was observed against both RSV subtypes (A and B) and was generally consistent across subgroups defined according to age and coexisting conditions. Participants in the mRNA-1345 group had a higher incidence than those in the placebo group of solicited local adverse reactions (58.7% vs. 16.2%) and of systemic adverse reactions (47.7% vs. 32.9%); most reactions were mild to moderate in severity and were transient. Serious adverse events occurred in 2.8% of the participants in each trial group.
A single dose of the mRNA-1345 vaccine resulted in no evident safety concerns and led to a lower incidence of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease and of RSV-associated acute respiratory disease than placebo among adults 60 years of age or older. (Funded by Moderna; ConquerRSV ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05127434.).
ABSTRACT
Objective: To establish the generality of cerebrovascular pathology frequently observed with Alzheimer disease, we have assessed blood‐brain barrier (BBB) integrity using the Alzheimer ...disease model Tg2576 mice in which cognitive deficits and neuritic plaque formation develop around 10–12 months of age.
Methods: We assessed BBB integrity using well‐established methods involving albumin and Evans blue uptake and introduce the use of a novel perfusion protocol using succinimidyl ester of carboxyfluorescein diacetate.
Results: BBB permeability is increased in the cerebral cortex of 10‐month‐old Tg2576 mice preceding Alzheimer disease pathology presentation. Furthermore, when compared with their nontransgenic littermates, 4‐month‐old Tg2576 mice exhibit compromised BBB integrity in some areas of the cerebral cortex. An age‐related increase in albumin uptake by the brains of Tg2576 mice, compared with nontransgenic mice, was also observed. These findings were supported by quantitative Evans blue analysis (p = 0.07, two‐way analysis of variance).
Conclusion: A breakdown of BBB was evident in young 4‐ to 10‐month‐old Tg2576 mice. Compromised barrier function could explain the mechanisms of Aβ entry into the brain observed in experimental Alzheimer disease vaccination models. Such structural changes to the BBB caused by elevated Aβ could play a central role in Alzheimer disease development and might define an early point of intervention for designing effective therapy against the disease.
The search is ongoing for a reliable serum biomarker for AD. The level of iron is elevated in the brain of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Our studies have demonstrated that the level of the iron ...transport protein, p97, is increased in the serum of AD patients but not in various control groups. These results have recently been confirmed by another laboratory who extended our findings by demonstrating that p97 is not elevated in other neurodegenerative diseases. This qualifies p97 as a potentially powerful biomarker for AD. Although the relationship between increased level of iron and p97 in the AD brain is not well understood, our research supports the hypothesis that p97 over-expressed by senile plaque associated reactive microglia is exocytosed and appears in blood. The relationship between elevated levels of serum p97 and AD, together with the possible future clinical application of p97 are considered in this report.
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