ABSTRACT
Ectotherms that maintain thermal balance in the face of varying climates should be able to colonise a wide range of habitats. In lizards, thermoregulation usually appears as a variety of ...behaviours that buffer external influences over physiology. Basking species rely on solar radiation to raise body temperatures and usually show high thermoregulatory precision. By contrast, species that do not bask are often constrained by climatic conditions in their habitats, thus having lower thermoregulatory precision. While much focus has been given to the effects of mean habitat temperatures, relatively less is known about how seasonality affects the thermal biology of lizards on a macroecological scale. Considering the current climate crisis, assessing how lizards cope with temporal variations in environmental temperature is essential to understand better how these organisms will fare under climate change. Activity body temperatures (Tb) represent the internal temperature of an animal measured in nature during its active period (i.e. realised thermal niche), and preferred body temperatures (Tpref) are those selected by an animal in a laboratory thermal gradient that lacks thermoregulatory costs (i.e. fundamental thermal niche). Both traits form the bulk of thermal ecology research and are often studied in the context of seasonality. In this study, we used a meta‐analysis to test how environmental temperature seasonality influences the seasonal variation in the Tb and Tpref of lizards that differ in thermoregulatory strategy (basking versus non‐basking). Based on 333 effect sizes from 137 species, we found that Tb varied over a greater magnitude than Tpref across seasons. Variations in Tb were not influenced by environmental temperature seasonality; however, body size and thermoregulatory strategy mediated Tb responses. Specifically, larger species were subjected to greater seasonal variations in Tb, and basking species endured greater seasonal variations in Tb compared to non‐basking species. On the other hand, the seasonal variation in Tpref increased with environmental temperature seasonality regardless of body size. Thermoregulatory strategy also influenced Tpref, suggesting that behaviour has an important role in mediating Tpref responses to seasonal variations in the thermal landscape. After controlling for phylogenetic effects, we showed that Tb and Tpref varied significantly across lizard families. Taken together, our results support the notion that the relationship between thermal biology responses and climatic parameters can be taxon and trait dependent. Our results also showcase the importance of considering ecological and behavioural aspects in macroecological studies. We further highlight current systematic, geographical, and knowledge gaps in thermal ecology research. Our work should benefit those who aim to understand more fully how seasonality shapes thermal biology in lizards, ultimately contributing to the goal of elucidating the evolution of temperature‐sensitive traits in ectotherms.
Over the past few years, different Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems have been proposed to tackle skin lesion analysis. Most of these systems work only for dermoscopy images since there is a ...strong lack of public clinical images archive available to evaluate the aforementioned CAD systems. To fill this gap, we release a skin lesion benchmark composed of clinical images collected from smartphone devices and a set of patient clinical data containing up to 21 features. The dataset consists of 1373 patients, 1641 skin lesions, and 2298 images for six different diagnostics: three skin diseases and three skin cancers. In total, 58.4% of the skin lesions are biopsy-proven, including 100% of the skin cancers. By releasing this benchmark, we aim to support future research and the development of new tools to assist clinicians to detect skin cancer.
Understanding the evolutionary and ecological mechanisms that shape the spatial divergence of signals involved in reproductive isolation is a central goal in studies of speciation. For birds with ...innate songs, such as the suboscine passerine birds, the integration and comparison of both genetic and ecological factors in explaining song variation at the microevolutionary scale are rare. Here, we evaluated the evolutionary and ecological processes underlying the variation in the songs of the Atlantic Forest endemic Drab-breasted Bamboo Tyrant (Hemitriccus diops), testing the effects of both stochastic and adaptive processes, namely the stochastic and acoustic adaptation hypotheses, respectively. We combined vocal, genetic, and ecological (climate and forest cover) data across the species' range. To this end, we analyzed 89 samples of long and short songs. We performed analyses on raw and synthetic data song variables with linear mixed models and multivariate statistics. Our results show that both song types differ in spectral features between the 2 extant phylogeographic lineages of this species, but such vocal divergence is weak and subtle in both song types. Overall, there is a positive relationship of acoustic distances with the amount of forest cover in long songs. Our results suggest that there is cryptic geographical variation in both song types and that this variation is associated with low levels of genetic divergence in both songs and with ecological factors in long songs. LAY SUMMARY Birds with innate songs constitute good models to evaluate the role of ecological and evolutionary forces in shaping vocal geographic variation. Here, we tested if selective and stochastic–neutral factors underlay the spatial variation in two types of songs in a Neotropical suboscine bird. To this end, we contrasted the variation in songs with genetic and environmental variation across the entire species range. We found that there is cryptic geographical variation in both song types and that this variation is associated with low levels of genetic divergence in both songs and with ecological factors in long songs.
Severe cases of COVID-19 are characterized by a strong inflammatory process that may ultimately lead to organ failure and patient death. The NLRP3 inflammasome is a molecular platform that promotes ...inflammation via cleavage and activation of key inflammatory molecules including active caspase-1 (Casp1p20), IL-1β, and IL-18. Although participation of the inflammasome in COVID-19 has been highly speculated, the inflammasome activation and participation in the outcome of the disease are unknown. Here we demonstrate that the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and is active in COVID-19 patients. Studying moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, we found active NLRP3 inflammasome in PBMCs and tissues of postmortem patients upon autopsy. Inflammasome-derived products such as Casp1p20 and IL-18 in the sera correlated with the markers of COVID-19 severity, including IL-6 and LDH. Moreover, higher levels of IL-18 and Casp1p20 are associated with disease severity and poor clinical outcome. Our results suggest that inflammasomes participate in the pathophysiology of the disease, indicating that these platforms might be a marker of disease severity and a potential therapeutic target for COVID-19.
•Patterns of phenotypic variation do not perfectly match optimization predictions of Ecomorphology.•We tested burrowing performance of two Calyptommatus lizards in different soil types.•In ...Calyptommatus lizards, expected associations among morphology-performance-habitat only emerge at the soil type that facilitates burying in the sand.•Manipulation of environmental conditions contributes to elucidate phenotypic evolution in fossorial lineages.
Associations among ecology, morphology and locomotor performance have been intensively investigated in several vertebrate lineages. Knowledge on how phenotypes evolve in natural environments likely benefits from identification of circumstances that might expand current ecomorphological equations. In this study, we used two species of Calyptommatus lizards from Brazilian Caatingas to evaluate if specific soil properties favor burrowing performance. As a derived prediction, we expected that functional associations would be easily detectable at the sand condition that favors low-resistance burrowing. We collected two endemic lizards and soil samples in their respective localities, obtained morphological data and recorded performance of both species in different sand types. As a result, the two species burrowed faster at the fine and homogeneous sand, the only condition where we detected functional associations between morphology and locomotion. In this sand type, lizards from both Calyptommatus species that have higher trunks and more concave heads were the ones that burrowed faster, and these phenotypic traits did not morphologically discriminate the two Calyptommatus populations studied. We discuss that integrative approaches comprising manipulation of environmental conditions clearly contribute to elucidate processes underlying phenotypic evolution in fossorial lineages.
The potentiometric titration method was used for characterization of uranium compounds to be applied in intercomparison programs. The method is applied with traceability assured using a potassium ...dichromate primary standard. A semi-automatic version was developed to reduce the analysis time and the operator variation. The standard uncertainty in determining the total concentration of uranium was around 0.01%, which is suitable for uranium characterization and compatible with those obtained by manual techniques.
► A semi-automatic potentiometric titration method was developed for U charaterization. ► K2Cr2O7 was the only certified reference material used. ► Values obtained for U3O8 samples were consistent with certified. ► Uncertainty of 0.01% was useful for characterization and intercomparison program.
Abstract Health professionals working to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic are one of the main risk groups for the disease, being prioritized for vaccination. Considering this, the aim of this study was ...to analyze the immune response of these professionals immunized with CoronaVac in the first and second doses. Blood samples were collected after the first and second doses of the vaccine (CoronaVac) and used to investigate hematological and biochemical parameters, analysis of immunoglobulin production, cytokines, and gene expression profile, as well as the identification of subsets of immune cells. Post-first dose immunological phenotypic memory (CD27+) profiles (T CD4+, TCD8+ and CD19+) showed a significant increase, as did Monocyte APCs (CD80+HLA-DR+) in relation to the second dose. The cytokines IL-2, IL-6 and IFN-° showed increased values in relation to the other analyzed cytokines. The Th2/Th17 profile in the second dose was characterized by gene expression analysis. The production of IgM and IgG after vaccination showed statistically significant values in the comparison between doses. CoronaVac showed activation of APCs monocytes, memory response of T and B lymphocytes, with immunoglobulins production. This set of responses is characterized by the Th2/Th17 immunological profile.
The effects of rivaroxaban in patients with atrial fibrillation and a bioprosthetic mitral valve remain uncertain.
In this randomized trial, we compared rivaroxaban (20 mg once daily) with ...dose-adjusted warfarin (target international normalized ratio, 2.0 to 3.0) in patients with atrial fibrillation and a bioprosthetic mitral valve. The primary outcome was a composite of death, major cardiovascular events (stroke, transient ischemic attack, systemic embolism, valve thrombosis, or hospitalization for heart failure), or major bleeding at 12 months.
A total of 1005 patients were enrolled at 49 sites in Brazil. A primary-outcome event occurred at a mean of 347.5 days in the rivaroxaban group and 340.1 days in the warfarin group (difference calculated as restricted mean survival time, 7.4 days; 95% confidence interval CI, -1.4 to 16.3; P<0.001 for noninferiority). Death from cardiovascular causes or thromboembolic events occurred in 17 patients (3.4%) in the rivaroxaban group and in 26 (5.1%) in the warfarin group (hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.35 to 1.20). The incidence of stroke was 0.6% in the rivaroxaban group and 2.4% in the warfarin group (hazard ratio, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.88). Major bleeding occurred in 7 patients (1.4%) in the rivaroxaban group and in 13 (2.6%) in the warfarin group (hazard ratio, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.21 to 1.35). The frequency of other serious adverse events was similar in the two groups.
In patients with atrial fibrillation and a bioprosthetic mitral valve, rivaroxaban was noninferior to warfarin with respect to the mean time until the primary outcome of death, major cardiovascular events, or major bleeding at 12 months. (Funded by PROADI-SUS and Bayer; RIVER ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02303795.).
Recent phylogenomic analyses based on the maternally inherited plastid organelle have enlightened evolutionary relationships between the subfamilies of Orchidaceae and most of the tribes. However, ...uncertainty remains within several subtribes and genera for which phylogenetic relationships have not ever been tested in a phylogenomic context. To address these knowledge-gaps, we here provide the most extensively sampled analysis of the orchid family to date, based on 78 plastid coding genes representing 264 species, 117 genera, 18 tribes and 28 subtribes. Divergence times are also provided as inferred from strict and relaxed molecular clocks and birth-death tree models. Our taxon sampling includes 51 newly sequenced plastid genomes produced by a genome skimming approach. We focus our sampling efforts on previously unplaced clades within tribes Cymbidieae and Epidendreae. Our results confirmed phylogenetic relationships in Orchidaceae as recovered in previous studies, most of which were recovered with maximum support (209 of the 262 tree branches). We provide for the first time a clear phylogenetic placement for Codonorchideae within subfamily Orchidoideae, and Podochilieae and Collabieae within subfamily Epidendroideae. We also identify relationships that have been persistently problematic across multiple studies, regardless of the different details of sampling and genomic datasets used for phylogenetic reconstructions. Our study provides an expanded, robust temporal phylogenomic framework of the Orchidaceae that paves the way for biogeographical and macroevolutionary studies.
Sapajus apella is a wild monkey of South America distributed across almost all of Brazil. This species adapts to domesticated life and reproduces easily. The present study describes the macro- and ...microscopic morphology of male genital organs (penis, penis bone, glans penis, prepuce, bulb of penis, and urethra) of Sapajus apella. Four male monkeys were used in this study. For macroscopic description, the genitals were dissected, examined and photographed. For microscopic analysis, samples were stained by HE and Tricom Masson and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. The penis has a gutter shape with numerous spines on the free part of the penis and glans, and showed cavernous body elements in which mesenchymal cells appear. The glans penis is well developed with a broad crown shape. The prepuce does not cover the free part of the penis. The bulb displays well-developed muscle structure and the membranous urethra is very elongated. These results reveal that Sapajus apella shows specific male genital features, different from other primates.
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