Increase in body size is correlated to warmer winters in a passerine bird as inferred from time series data

Climate change is expected to affect natural populations in many ways. One way of getting an understanding of the effects of a changing climate is to analyze time series of natural populations. Therefore, we analyzed time series of 25 and 20 years, respectively, in two populations of the citril finch (Carduelis citrinella) to understand the background of a dramatic increase in wing length in this species over this period, ranging between 1.3 and 2.9 phenotypic standard deviations. We found that the increase in wing length is closely correlated to warmer winters and in one case to rain in relation to temperature in the summer. In order to understand the process of change, we implemented seven simulation models, ranging from two nonadaptive models (drift and sampling), and five adaptive models with selection and/or phenotypic plasticity involved and tested these models against the time series of males and females from the two population separately. The nonadaptive models were rejected in each case, but the results were mixed when it comes to the adaptive models. The difference in fit of the models was sometimes not significant indicating that the models were not different enough. In conclusion, the dramatic change in mean wing length can best be explained as an adaptive response to a changing climate.     

The role of nutrition on epigenetic modifications and their implications on health

Nutrition plays a key role in many aspects of health and dietary imbalances are major determinants of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer. Adequate nutrition is particularly essential during critical periods in early life (both pre- and postnatal). In this regard, there is extensive epidemiologic and experimental data showing that early sub-optimal nutrition can have health consequences several decades later.     

Twilight activity patterns and angling vulnerability of yellowmouth barracuda (Sphyraena viridensis Cuvier, 1829), a range-expanding thermophilic fish

Among the thermophilic fishes that have become established in the north-western Mediterranean as a consequence of sea warming, the yellowmouth barracuda (Sphyraena viridensis Cuvier, 1829) appears to be one of the most successful and abundant in the coastal rocky environment, having increasingly become the object of recreational and commercial exploitation in the study area. Lure-fishing sessions were carried out from May 2016 to November 2018 in the Catalan Sea (NE Spain) at dawn and dusk, with the aim of providing new insight into the behavioural, spatial and feeding ecology and vulnerability to angling of this poorly known species. Generalized mixed-effects linear models showed that S. viridensis is a crepuscular inshore dweller, whose vulnerability to angling is significantly influenced by solar and lunar light intensities, being highest in the pre-spawn and spawning periods. Asymmetries between dawn and dusk activity patterns were detected, evidently related to a drop in aggressiveness at dusk following the spawning period. The simple study design adopted may be applied to other contexts, aiming to the recognition of several levels of fish vulnerability to angling.     

Novel Approach to Simulate Sleep Apnea Patients for Evaluating Positive Pressure Therapy Devices

Bench testing is a useful method to characterize the response of different automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) devices under well-controlled conditions. However, previous models did not consider the diversity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients’ characteristics and phenotypes. The objective of this proof-of-concept study was to design a new bench test for realistically simulating an OSA patient’s night, and to implement a one-night example of a typical female phenotype for comparing responses to several currently-available APAP devices. We developed a novel approach aimed at replicating a typical night of sleep which includes different disturbed breathing events, disease severities, sleep/wake phases, body postures and respiratory artefacts. The simulated female OSA patient example that we implemented included periods of wake, light sleep and deep sleep with positional changes and was connected to ten different APAP devices. Flow and pressure readings were recorded; each device was tested twice. The new approach for simulating female OSA patients effectively combined a wide variety of disturbed breathing patterns to mimic the response of a predefined patient type. There were marked differences in response between devices; only three were able to overcome flow limitation to normalize breathing, and only five devices were associated with a residual apnea-hypopnea index of <5/h. In conclusion, bench tests can be designed to simulate specific patient characteristics, and typical stages of sleep, body position, and wake. Each APAP device behaved differently when exposed to this controlled model of a female OSA patient, and should lead to further understanding of OSA treatment.     

Viral control of bacterial biodiversity – evidence from a nutrient-enriched marine mesocosm experiment

We demonstrate here results showing that bottom-up and top-down control mechanisms can operate simultaneously and in concert in marine microbial food webs, controlling prokaryote diversity by a combination of viral lysis and substrate limitation. Models in microbial ecology predict that a shift in the type of bacterial growth rate limitation is expected to have a major effect on species composition within the community of bacterial hosts, with a subsequent shift in the composition of the viral community. Only moderate effects would, however, be expected in the absolute number of coexisting virus–host pairs. We investigated these relationships in nutrient-manipulated systems, under simulated in situ conditions. There was a strong correlation in the clustering of the viral and bacterial community data supporting the existence of an important link between the bacterial and viral communities. As predicted, the total number of viral populations was the same in all treatments, while the composition of the viral community varied. Our results support the theoretical prediction that there is one control mechanism for the number of niches for coexisting virus–host pairs (top-down control), and another mechanism that controls which virus–host pairs occupy these niches (bottom-up control).     

Increased incidence of disomic sperm nuclei in a 47,XYY male assessed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH)

Using triple-colour fluorescent in situ hybridization in decondensed sperm heads, we assessed the sex-chromosome distribution in spermatozoa from a 47,XYY male compared with controls. The incidence of spermatozoa with 24,XY (0.30%) and 24,YY (1.01%) disomy was significantly higher than in our control series. Diploid meiocytes present in the ejaculate were mainly 47,XYY (60.6–86.7%), and haploid meiocytes were mainly 24,XY (78.1%).These results suggest that, although the extra Y chromosome is thought to be eliminated during spermatogenesis, XYY germ cells can complete meiosis and produce disomic spermatozoa. Received: 5 August 1996 / Revised: 2 October 1996     

3D Computational Mechanics Elucidate the Evolutionary Implications of Orbit Position and Size Diversity of Early Amphibians

For the first time in vertebrate palaeontology, the potential of joining Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Parametrical Analysis (PA) is used to shed new light on two different cranial parameters from the orbits to evaluate their biomechanical role and evolutionary patterns. The early tetrapod group of Stereospondyls, one of the largest groups of Temnospondyls is used as a case study because its orbits position and size vary hugely within the members of this group. An adult skull of Edingerella madagascariensis was analysed using two different cases of boundary and loading conditions in order to quantify stress and deformation response under a bilateral bite and during skull raising. Firstly, the variation of the original geometry of its orbits was introduced in the models producing new FEA results, allowing the exploration of the ecomorphology, feeding strategy and evolutionary patterns of these top predators. Secondly, the quantitative results were analysed in order to check if the orbit size and position were correlated with different stress patterns. These results revealed that in most of the cases the stress distribution is not affected by changes in the size and position of the orbit. This finding supports the high mechanical plasticity of this group during the Triassic period. The absence of mechanical constraints regarding the orbit probably promoted the ecomorphological diversity acknowledged for this group, as well as its ecological niche differentiation in the terrestrial Triassic ecosystems in clades as lydekkerinids, trematosaurs, capitosaurs or metoposaurs.     

Bio-catalyzed coloration of cellulose fibers

Cotton fabrics were dyed with dyes generated in situ by laccase-catalyzed oxidative coupling of the colorless 2,5-diaminobenzenesulfonic acid (2,5-DABSA) and 1-hydroxyphenol (catechol). The enzymatic oxidation of the dye intermediates led to cross-coupling reaction products when the reaction was conducted with an excess of catechol. At least fourfold excess of catechol was necessary to achieve satisfactory dye fixation on cotton. Formation of the same colored product using either an equimolar ratio of the reagents or tenfold excess of catechol was observed. Most probably, homo-molecular reactions predominate over the cross-coupling at equimolar ratio of the precursors, while with an excess of catechol, the cross-coupling occurs in higher yield. The reaction was followed using UV-Vis spectroscopy, HPLC, FTIR and MALDI-TOF MS. A reaction pathway for laccase-induced cross-coupling of catechol and 2,5-DABSA yielding a major colored product was proposed.