A new specimen of Muiscasaurus catheti Maxwell et al., 2016 from upper Aptian of the Paja Formation found in Villa de Leiva (Boyacá, Colombia) is described herein. It consists of a well preserved ...skull and a nearly complete axial skeleton of a sub-adult individual and provides valuable new morphological information on the species, including two autapomorphies: the presence of a quadratojugal with extremely reduced external exposure, and basioccipital floor of the foramen magnum with a medially furrowed anterior ridge. A detailed comparison between the new specimen (FCG-CBP-16) and the holotype (CIP-FCG-CBP-74) allows us to reinterpret some features of the original description of M. catheti that were obscured by the highly deformed and partially unprepared state of the holotype. Consequently, we propose the new specimen (FCG-CBP-16) to be a benchmark specimen for the species. Morphological comparisons with other Ophthalmosauridae highlight the affinities between M. catheti and the species of the Upper Jurassic genus Ophthalmosaurus. A phylogenetic analysis recovers M. catheti in a ‘basal’ position within Ophthalmosaurinae, supporting its proximity to Ophthalmosaurus and contrasting with previous topologies where M. catheti was recovered as a basal Platypterygiinae. This implies a temporal extension of the Ophthalmosaurinae up to the Aptian in South America.
•A benchmark specimen for the species Muiscasaurus catheti is described.•Two new autapomorphies of the M. catheti are identified.•New morphological features of M. catheti are revealed.•M. catheti is recovered within Ophthalmosaurinae.•.•The Ophthalmosaurines are now recorded up to the Aptian in South America.
Seminal fluid protein composition is complex and commonly assumed to be rapidly divergent due to functional interactions with both sperm and the female reproductive tract (FRT), both of which evolve ...rapidly. In addition to sperm, seminal fluid may contain structures, such as mating plugs and spermatophores. Here, we investigate the evolutionary diversification of a lesser‐known ejaculate structure: the spermatostyle, which has independently arisen in several families of beetles and true bugs. We characterized the spermatostyle proteome, in addition to spermatostyle and FRT morphology, in six species of whirligig beetles (family Gyrinidae). Spermatostyles were enriched for proteolytic enzymes, and assays confirmed they possess proteolytic activity. Sperm‐leucylaminopeptidases (S‐LAPs) were particularly abundant, and their localization to spermatostyles was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Although there was evidence for functional conservation of spermatostyle proteomes across species, phylogenetic regressions suggest evolutionary covariation between protein composition and the morphology of both spermatostyles and FRTs. We postulate that S‐LAPs (and other proteases) have evolved a novel structural role in spermatostyles and discuss spermatostyles as adaptations for delivering male‐derived materials to females.
Whirligig beetle sperm travel cooperatively through the female reproductive tract attached to a spermatostyle, a poorly studied rod‐like structure. Proteome characterization revealed that spermatostyles are comprised of a restricted set of proteases and possess catalytic activity. Spermatostyle composition was also found to codiversify with spermatostyle length and female tract morphology.
Research of the indirect effects of neighbourhood risk through psychopathic personality traits (i.e., impulsiveness, narcissism and callous-unemotional traits) on juvenile antisocial behaviour has ...become relevant.
In the current study, mediation effects were assessed using a sample composed of 406 young people between 14 and 21 years old, 82.7% males, from juvenile centres in Galicia and Andalucía (Spain).
The results showed significant mediation effects of neighbourhood risk on antisocial behaviour through impulsiveness and callous-unemotional traits. Conclusions: The implications of the mediation effects for prevention, risk assessment, and risk management in juvenile offenders are discussed.
The identification of predictive markers of response to chemoradiotherapy treatment remains a promising approach for patient management in order to obtain the best response with minor side effects. ...Initially, we investigated whether the analysis of several markers previously studied and others not yet evaluated could predict response to 5-fluorouracil- and capecitabine-based neoadjuvant treatment in locally advanced rectal cancer.
We studied germline and tumoral samples of 65 stage II/III rectal patients. A panel of pharmacogenetic markers was genotyped in paired peripheral blood samples and rectal cancer tumors.
Our results seem to confirm the previously described association of thymidylate synthase and the prediction of chemoradiotherapy response in rectal cancer. However, it failed to confirm the clinical utility proposed for XRCC1, ERCC1, ERCC2, MTHFR and EGFR polymorphisms in blood/germline samples. Subsequently, with the aim of improving prediction of individual response and assessing the role of studied polymorphisms in response to treatment, we determined if changes in tumor response to these markers could predict clinical outcome. We found a high degree of changes between germline and tumor samples, mainly somatic mutations without microsatellite instability, and a minor frequency of loss-of-heterozygosity events. In tumoral samples, XRCC1 appeared to be significantly associated (p = 0.006) with downstaging of the tumor (odds ratio: 7.93; 95% CI: 1.03-60.83), but the increasing of TYMS low-expression alleles contradict the previous results observed in germline samples.
The detection of somatic mutations in rectal cancer tumors led us to re-evaluate the utility of the tests performed in blood samples for these polymorphisms in rectal cancer. Furthermore, studies aimed at assessing the influence of pharmacogenetic markers in treatment response performed in blood samples should take into account the particular pattern of hypermutability present in each tumor type. We hypothesize that different patterns of hypermutability present in each tumor type would be related to the different results in association studies related to response to the treatment.
Customers strongly base their e-commerce decisions on the opinions of others by checking reviews and ratings provided by other users. These assessments are overall opinions about the product or ...service, and it is not possible to establish why they perceive it as good or bad. To understand this “why”, it is necessary an expert’s analysis concerning the relevant factors of the product or service. Frequently, these two visions are not coincident and the best product for experts may not be the best one for users. For this reason, trustworthy decision-making methods that integrate the mentioned views are highly desirable. This article proposes a multi-criteria decision analysis model based on the integration of users’ preferences and experts’ opinions. It combines the majority’s opinion and criteria synergy to provide a unified perspective in order to support consumers’ ranking-based decisions in social media environments. At the same time, the model supplies useful information for managers about strengths and weaknesses of their product or service according to users’ experience and experts’ judgment. The aggregation processes and synergy criteria are modeled in order to obtain an adequate consensus mechanism. Finally, in order to test the proposed model, several simulations using hotel valuations are performed.
Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Despite several factors such as ionizing radiation exposure or rare genetic syndromes have been associated with the ...development of glioblastoma, no underlying cause has been identified for the majority of cases. We thus aimed to investigate the role of DNA repair polymorphisms in modulating glioblastoma risk.
Genotypic and allelic frequencies of seven common polymorphisms in DNA repair genes involved in nucleotide excision repair (ERCC1 rs11615, ERCC2 rs13181, ERCC6 rs4253079), base excision repair (APEX1 rs1130409, XRCC1 rs25487), double-strand break repair (XRCC3 rs861539) and mismatch repair (MLH1 rs1800734) pathways were analyzed in 115 glioblastoma patients and 200 healthy controls. Haplotype analysis was also performed for ERCC1 rs11615 and ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphisms, located on the same chromosomal region (19q13.32).
Our results indicated that carriers of the ERCC2 Gln/Gln genotype were associated with a lower glioblastoma risk (OR=0.32, 95% CI 0.12–0.89; P=0.028), whereas carriers of the MLH1 AA genotype were associated with an increased risk of glioblastoma (OR=3.14, 95% CI 1.09–9.06; P=0.034). Furthermore, the haplotype containing the C allele of ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphism and the T allele of ERCC1 rs11615 polymorphism was significantly associated with a protective effect of developing glioblastoma (OR=0.34, 95% CI 0.16–0.71; P=0.004).
These results pointed out that MLH1 rs1800734 and ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphisms might constitute glioblastoma susceptibility factors, and also suggested that the chromosomal region 19q could be important in glioblastoma pathogenesis.
•We investigated the role of DNA repair polymorphisms in glioblastoma risk.•MLH1 rs1800734 AA genotype was associated with an increased glioblastoma risk.•ERCC2 rs13181 Gln/Gln genotype was associated with a decreased glioblastoma risk.•Chromosomal region 19q13.32 was associated with glioblastoma susceptibility.
Bone loss, in malignant or non-malignant diseases, is caused by increased osteoclast resorption and/or reduced osteoblast bone formation, and is commonly associated with skeletal complications. Thus, ...there is a need to identify new agents capable of influencing bone remodeling. We aimed to further pre-clinically evaluate the effects of dasatinib (BMS-354825), a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, on osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation and function.
For studies on osteoblasts, primary human bone marrow mensenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) together with the hMSC-TERT and the MG-63 cell lines were employed. Osteoclasts were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of healthy volunteers. Skeletally-immature CD1 mice were used in the in vivo model.
Dasatinib inhibited the platelet derived growth factor receptor-β (PDGFR-β), c-Src and c-Kit phosphorylation in hMSC-TERT and MG-63 cell lines, which was associated with decreased cell proliferation and activation of canonical Wnt signaling. Treatment of MSCs from healthy donors, but also from multiple myeloma patients with low doses of dasatinib (2-5 nM), promoted its osteogenic differentiation and matrix mineralization. The bone anabolic effect of dasatinib was also observed in vivo by targeting endogenous osteoprogenitors, as assessed by elevated serum levels of bone formation markers, and increased trabecular microarchitecture and number of osteoblast-like cells. By in vitro exposure of hemopoietic progenitors to a similar range of dasatinib concentrations (1-2 nM), novel biological sequelae relative to inhibition of osteoclast formation and resorptive function were identified, including F-actin ring disruption, reduced levels of c-Fos and of nuclear factor of activated T cells 1 (NFATc1) in the nucleus, together with lowered cathepsin K, αVβ3 integrin and CCR1 expression.
Low dasatinib concentrations show convergent bone anabolic and reduced bone resorption effects, which suggests its potential use for the treatment of bone diseases such as osteoporosis, osteolytic bone metastasis and myeloma bone disease.
Search and Rescue operations in emergency response to natural or human catastrophes have the main objective of locating and rescuing potential victims as fast as possible, thus quick response and ...accurate actions are mandatory. While standard communications may be affected, a Wireless Sensor Network can be deployed to support the rescue team. This kind of network allows data acquisition close to events and enables persistence over time, among other advantages. However, enhancements must be made to improve the adaptation to this kind of scenario. This work presents two Hybrid Wireless Sensor Networks, based on ZigBee and LoRa, developed to address some of the challenges that Search and Rescue operations pose to the use of Wireless Sensor Networks, and tested in realistic scenarios in cooperation with first responders. Likewise, several software developments that increase the performance of the networks are described. Finally, the conclusions presented, and the lessons learnt are supported by a high amount of data, gathered in realistic exercises in cooperation with civilian and military first responders.
Giant aortic aneurysms are rare entities with a high mortality, and only a few cases have been described. Spinal cord ischemia secondary to an aortic aneurysm occurs even more rarely. We present the ...case of a giant aneurysm of the infrarenal abdominal aorta that was initially manifested through bilateral lower limb weakness.
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