Specific recommendations (or lack thereof) for older patients with cardiovascular disease in the current European Society of Cardiology guidelines

Due to population ageing, the number of older and frail patients with cardiovascular disease is increasing. In the current guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology specific recommendations for this older population are missing or scarce, probably due to limited evidence concerning diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease in older patients. Moreover, recommendations on shared decision making, palliative care and advanced care planning are also essential in these guidelines. In this article we evaluate the current European of Society of Cardiology guidelines (2013–2020) to determine whether specific recommendations for older patients have been included.

     

To Mia or not to Mia: stepwise evolution of the mitochondrial intermembrane space disulfide relay

The disulfide relay system found in the intermembrane space (IMS) of mitochondria is an essential pathway for the import and oxidative folding of IMS proteins. Erv1, an essential member of this pathway, has been previously found to be ubiquitously present in mitochondria-containing eukaryotes. However, the other essential protein, Mia40, was found to be absent or not required in some organisms, raising questions about how the disulfide relay functions in these organisms. A recent study published in BMC Biology demonstrates for the first time that some Erv1 proteins can function in oxidative folding independently of a Mia40 protein, providing for the first time strong evidence that the IMS disulfide relay evolved in a stepwise manner.See research article: 10.1186/s12915-017-0445-8     

The Fundamental Constraint on the evolution of culture

This paper argues that there is a general constraint on the evolution of culture. This constraint – what I am calling the Fundamental Constraint – must be satisfied in order for a cultural system to be adaptive. The Fundamental Constraint is this: for culture to be adaptive there must be a positive correlation between the fitness of cultural variants and their fitness impact on the organisms adopting those variants. Two ways of satisfying the Fundamental Constraint are introduced, structural solutions and evaluative solutions. Because of the limitations on these solutions, this constraint helps explain why there is not more culture in nature, why the culture that does exist has the form it has, and why complex, cumulative culture is restricted to the human species.     

The lack of carbon dioxide evolution in maize leaves in the light

Summary Significant carbon dioxide evolution in the light could not be betected in maize leaves held in single-leaf chambers. The leaves that were used remained attached to the plant and were kept at 30° C and with 200 w m^-2 of light incident on the leaf surface. Several experimental techniques were combined in an attempt to detect CO₂ evolution from cells within the leaf; these techniques included that of passing air through, rather than over, the leaf, using different levels of O₂ and obtaining CO₂ response curves.     

Chromosomal evolution in naked catfishes (Bagridae,Siluriformes): A comparative chromosome mapping study

We analyzed the distribution of repetitive DNA sequences on the chromosomes of nine species of the Bagridae from Thailand, i.e., Hemibagrus filamentus; H. nemurus; H. wyckii; H. wyckioides; Mystus atrifasciatus; M. multiradiatus; M. mysticetus; M. bocourti and Pseudomystus siamensis. Two classes of microsatellites and one transposable element (TE) were mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The distribution of the repetitive sequences was comparatively analyzed in view to investigate their contribution in the chromosomal evolution of this fish group. In all species the microsatellites (CA)₁₅ and (GA)₁₅ are abundantly distributed in all chromosomes, usually in the telomeric regions. The retrotransposable element Rex 1 is widely distributed over the whole genome including heterochromatin and euchromatin, but with an unexpected accumulation in one chromosome pair in some species. In fact, some species–specific patterns could be observed considering both microsatellites and TE distribution. The results demonstrated that the compartmentalization of repeated elements is not simply restricted to heterochromatic regions, as it has been postulated in the first concepts of the genomic organization of repetitive elements in genomes. Moreover, the organization of these repeats seems to reflect their intense and specific evolutionary pathway, providing new insights about the chromosomal evolution in the Bagridae.     

The evolution of the basicranium in the Henophidia (Reptilia: Serpentes)

In lizards, a short Vidian canal pierces the base of the basipterygoid process. In snakes, the anterior opening of the primitively short Vidian canal lies on the dorsal surface of the basisphenoid, trapped in an intracranial position by downgrowths of the frontal and parietal which meet the lateral edges of the basisphenoid-parasphenoid complex. This condition is observed in anilioid snakes which retain other primitive features in the braincase: the paroccipital process and the spheno-occipital tubercle (Aniliidae only) and participation of the basioccipital in the apertura lateralis of the recessus scalae tympani.
Subsequent evolution within booid snakes shows a shift of the anterior opening of the Vidian canal around the anterior edge of the basisphenoid, thus acquiring a secondary extracranial position. This occurs in parallel within boine and pythonine snakes. Dinilysia shows a parallel development of die condition observed in advanced booid snakes. Pseudoboa , with its short Vidian canal opening in-tracranially, demonstrates that caenophidians originated from a basal henophidian or pre-henophidian stock. The Acrochordidae show a basicranium that can be interpreted as either primitive henophidian or primitive caenophidian.     

The optogenetic (r)evolution

Optogenetics is a rapidly evolving field of technology that allows optical control of genetically targeted biological systems at high temporal and spatial resolution. By heterologous expression of light-sensitive microbial membrane proteins, opsins, cell type-specific depolarization or silencing can be optically induced on a millisecond time scale. What started in a petri dish is applicable today to more complex systems, ranging from the dissection of brain circuitries in vitro to behavioral analyses in freely moving animals. Persistent technical improvement has focused on the identification of new opsins, suitable for optogenetic purposes and genetic engineering of existing ones. Optical stimulation can be combined with various readouts defined by the desired resolution of the experimental setup. Although recent developments in optogenetics have largely focused on neuroscience it has lately been extended to other targets, including stem cell research and regenerative medicine. Further development of optogenetic approaches will not only highly increase our insight into health and disease states but might also pave the way for a future use in therapeutic applications.     

The mapping of visual space by dragonfly lateral ocelli

We study the extent to which the lateral ocelli of dragonflies are able to resolve and map spatial information, following the recent finding that the median ocellus is adapted for spatial resolution around the horizon. Physiological optics are investigated by the hanging-drop technique and related to morphology as determined by sectioning and three-dimensional reconstruction. L-neuron morphology and physiology are investigated by intracellular electrophysiology, white noise analysis and iontophoretic dye injection. The lateral ocellar lens consists of a strongly curved outer surface, and two distinct inner surfaces that separate the retina into dorsal and ventral components. The focal plane lies within the dorsal retina but proximal to the ventral retina. Three identified L-neurons innervate the dorsal retina and extend the one-dimensional mapping arrangement of median ocellar L-neurons, with fields of view that are directed at the horizon. One further L-neuron innervates the ventral retina and is adapted for wide-field intensity summation. In both median and lateral ocelli, a distinct subclass of descending L-neuron carries multi-sensory information via graded and regenerative potentials. Dragonfly ocelli are adapted for high sensitivity as well as a modicum of resolution, especially in elevation, suggesting a role for attitude stabilisation by localization of the horizon.     

An essay on the evolution of cognition: Constructing a theoretical conceptual framework

In this essay we provide an interdisciplinary approach to the problem of the evolution of human cognition and suggest the theoretical framework of genetic system theory (GST) for organizing the relevant content of several disciplines. This bio-social-cultural theory is based on the assumption that organisms are dynamic systems which interact with one another and their environment and are themselves composed of dynamic internal relations at several levels. Special emphasis will be placed upon these internal cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the physiological mechanisms of learning and memory. The human individual organism is emphasized because in its experiential activity over time it is the site of integration for social, and cultural stimuli and because of its unique properties among living things. The primary disciplines for our discussion are drawn from the biological, social, and humanistic sciences and several concrete examples are given from each science.     

Ecological cultivation ark (ECA) project--mutation and evolution of micro-organisms in space.

Ecological cultivation capsules (ECC), that is a materially sealed microcosm. composed of primary producers, consumers and bacteria as a decomposer were developed in order to cultivate bacteria without any artificial operation for long duration more than 10 years in space. It is planned to be left on the space station to study the process that bacteria in MIR space station had acquired their resistance to cosmic ray radiation as well as ultra-violet light. As contrasted with the space experiment, bacteria are cultivating in the ECC on the ground to trace the changes of bacteria under the simulated radiation dose in Earth orbit.     

The evolution of Strepsiptera (Hexapoda)

An evolutionary scenario for the enigmatic group Strepsiptera is provided, based on the results of a comprehensive cladistic analysis of characters of all life stages. A recently described fossil--+Protoxenos janzeni--the most archaic strepsipteran, sheds new light on the early evolution of the group and reduces the "morphological gap" between Strepsiptera and other insects. It weakens both current hypotheses--Coleoptera+Strepsiptera and Diptera+Strepsiptera (="Halteria"). The splitting into +Protoxenos (Protoxenidae) and the remaining Strepsiptera was linked with a distinct size reduction and many morphological changes. Unlike males of extant strepsipteran species, +Protoxenos was still able to process food. Mengeidae (+Mengea), with two small species, is the sister group of extant Strepsiptera. A unique characteristic of extant males (Strepsiptera s. str.) is the mouthfield sclerite. It is part of an air uptake apparatus which belongs to an extremely modified air-filled "balloon gut". Besides this, male strepsipterans possess specialised antennae and compound eyes, a strongly developed flight apparatus, large testes, and a sperm pump, whereas other organ systems are strongly reduced (e.g., fat body, malpighian tubules). Males are designed to find females within a few hours and to copulate. A dramatic change is linked with the split into Mengenillidae and Stylopidia. The change to pterygote hosts and the permanent endoparasitism of the females are evolutionary novelties acquired by the latter clade, and linked with far-reaching morphological transformations, e.g. the presence of unique brood organs. Hairy tarsal adhesive devices are present in males and guarantee efficient attachment to the host during copulation. A well-founded clade within Stylopidia is Stylopiformia, which are characterised by a unique fissure-shaped birth opening. The evolutionary development towards the most specialised and successful forms (parasites of aculeate Hymenoptera [e.g., Xenidae+Stylopidae], ca. 46% of the species) is a stepwise process. The presented evolutionary scenario comprises a complex network of functionally correlated morphological changes in primary larvae, secondary larvae, females and males.     

Triadic conceptual structure of the maximum entropy approach to evolution

Many problems in evolutionary theory are cast in dyadic terms, such as the polar oppositions of organism and environment. We argue that a triadic conceptual structure offers an alternative perspective under which the information generating role of evolution as a physical process can be analyzed, and propose a new diagrammatic approach. Peirce's natural philosophy was deeply influenced by his reception of both Darwin's theory and thermodynamics. Thus, we elaborate on a new synthesis which puts together his theory of signs and modern Maximum Entropy approaches to evolution in a process discourse. Following recent contributions to the naturalization of Peircean semiosis, pointing towards ‘physiosemiosis’ or ‘pansemiosis’, we show that triadic structures involve the conjunction of three different kinds of causality, efficient, formal and final. In this, we accommodate the state-centered thermodynamic framework to a process approach. We apply this on Ulanowicz's analysis of autocatalytic cycles as primordial patterns of life. This paves the way for a semiotic view of thermodynamics which is built on the idea that Peircean interpretants are systems of physical inference devices evolving under natural selection. In this view, the principles of Maximum Entropy, Maximum Power, and Maximum Entropy Production work together to drive the emergence of information carrying structures, which at the same time maximize information capacity as well as the gradients of energy flows, such that ultimately, contrary to Schrödinger's seminal contribution, the evolutionary process is seen to be a physical expression of the Second Law.     

The adaptive evolution database (TAED)

Background

The Master Catalog is a collection of evolutionary families, including multiple sequence alignments, phylogenetic trees and reconstructed ancestral sequences, for all protein-sequence modules encoded by genes in GenBank. It can therefore support large-scale genomic surveys, of which we present here The Adaptive Evolution Database (TAED). In TAED, potential examples of positive adaptation are identified by high values for the normalized ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitution rates (K_A/K_S values) on branches of an evolutionary tree between nodes representing reconstructed ancestral sequences.

Results

Evolutionary trees and reconstructed ancestral sequences were extracted from the Master Catalog for every subtree containing proteins from the Chordata only or the Embryophyta only. Branches with high K_A/K_S values were identified. These represent candidate episodes in the history of the protein family when the protein may have undergone positive selection, where the mutant form conferred more fitness than the ancestral form. Such episodes are frequently associated with change in function. An unexpectedly large number of families (between 10% and 20% of those families examined) were found to have at least one branch with high K_A/K_S values above arbitrarily chosen cut-offs (1 and 0.6). Most of these survived a robustness test and were collected into TAED.

Conclusions

TAED is a raw resource for bioinformaticists interested in data mining and for experimental evolutionists seeking candidate examples of adaptive evolution for further experimental study. It can be expanded to include other evolutionary information (for example changes in gene regulation or splicing) placed in a phylogenetic perspective.     

New method for culture of zona-included or zona-free embryos: the Well of the Well (WOW) system

Culture of mammalian zygotes individually and in small groups results in lower developmental rates than culture of large groups. Zona-free zygotes also have impaired developmental potential in current culture systems. This paper describes a new approach to resolve the problems, the Well of the Well (WOW) system. Small wells (WOWs) were formed in four-well dishes by melting the bottom with heated steel rods. The WOWs were then rinsed, the wells were filled with medium, and the embryos were placed into the WOWs. To test the value of the WOW system a 3 x 3 factorial experiment was performed. Bovine presumptive zygotes were cultured from day 1 to day 7 (day 0: day of insemination) using three modules (single embryos, embryo groups of five, or single zona-digested embryos) and three different culture systems (400 microl medium, 200 microl drops, or WOWs). An additional control group consisted of 40 to 50 embryos cultured in 400 microl medium. The WOW system resulted in higher blastocyst/oocyte rates for all three modules (single: 59%; group of five: 61%; single zona-digested: 53%) than the culture in drops or in wells (P < 0.05 for all). The developmental rate was independent of the number of WOWs per well. The cell number of blastocysts cultured in the WOW system did not differ from that of the controls. Apart from its theoretical value in revealing the role of different factors influencing embryo development in vitro, the WOW system may have immediate practical consequences in certain areas of mammalian embryo production.