A new genus and species of Coenosiini from Costa Rica (Diptera,Muscidae, Coenosiinae)

Palpilongus gen. n. is herein described for one species – Palpilongus bifurcus sp. n., from Costa Rica, based on male and females. The striking morphological characters of the species – palpus very long, about as long as prementum; upper calypter truncate and very short and setae of male sternite 5 bifurcated, confirm that this new species is also a new genus in the tribe Coenosiini. Male and female terminalia were dissected and illustrated.     

Differentially expressed proteins during an incompatible interaction between common bean and the fungus Pseudocercospora griseola

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the main source of protein and an important source of minerals in several countries around the world. Angular leaf spot, caused by the fungus Pseudocercospora griseola, is one of the major diseases of the common bean. In this work, we used two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to analyze alterations in the proteome of common bean leaves challenged with an incompatible race of P. griseola. Twenty-three differentially expressed proteins were detected in leaves of cultivar AND 277 collected at 12, 24 and 48 h after inoculation. The proteins were digested with trypsin and submitted to MALDI-TOF/TOF and MicrOTOF-Q electrospray mass spectrometry. Nineteen of them were identified upon MS/MS fragmentation. Most of these proteins are involved with amino acid metabolism, terpenoid metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, antioxidant systems, vitamin and cofactor metabolism, plant–pathogen interaction, carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis, or genetic information processing, showing that the interaction in this pathosystem affects different genes from various metabolic pathways and processes.     

Sexuality Generates Diversity in the Aflatoxin Gene Cluster: Evidence on a Global Scale

Aflatoxins are produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus in oil-rich seed and grain crops and are a serious problem in agriculture, with aflatoxin B₁ being the most carcinogenic natural compound known. Sexual reproduction in these species occurs between individuals belonging to different vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs). We examined natural genetic variation in 758 isolates of A. flavus, A. parasiticus and A. minisclerotigenes sampled from single peanut fields in the United States (Georgia), Africa (Benin), Argentina (Córdoba), Australia (Queensland) and India (Karnataka). Analysis of DNA sequence variation across multiple intergenic regions in the aflatoxin gene clusters of A. flavus, A. parasiticus and A. minisclerotigenes revealed significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) organized into distinct blocks that are conserved across different localities, suggesting that genetic recombination is nonrandom and a global occurrence. To assess the contributions of asexual and sexual reproduction to fixation and maintenance of toxin chemotype diversity in populations from each locality/species, we tested the null hypothesis of an equal number of MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 mating-type individuals, which is indicative of a sexually recombining population. All samples were clone-corrected using multi-locus sequence typing which associates closely with VCG. For both A. flavus and A. parasiticus, when the proportions of MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 were significantly different, there was more extensive LD in the aflatoxin cluster and populations were fixed for specific toxin chemotype classes, either the non-aflatoxigenic class in A. flavus or the B₁-dominant and G₁-dominant classes in A. parasiticus. A mating type ratio close to 1∶1 in A. flavus, A. parasiticus and A. minisclerotigenes was associated with higher recombination rates in the aflatoxin cluster and less pronounced chemotype differences in populations. This work shows that the reproductive nature of the population (more sexual versus more asexual) is predictive of aflatoxin chemotype diversity in these agriculturally important fungi.     

Human Spermatogenic Failure Purges Deleterious Mutation Load from the Autosomes and Both Sex Chromosomes,including the Gene DMRT1

Gonadal failure, along with early pregnancy loss and perinatal death, may be an important filter that limits the propagation of harmful mutations in the human population. We hypothesized that men with spermatogenic impairment, a disease with unknown genetic architecture and a common cause of male infertility, are enriched for rare deleterious mutations compared to men with normal spermatogenesis. After assaying genomewide SNPs and CNVs in 323 Caucasian men with idiopathic spermatogenic impairment and more than 1,100 controls, we estimate that each rare autosomal deletion detected in our study multiplicatively changes a man''s risk of disease by 10% (OR 1.10 [1.04–1.16], p<2×10⁻³), rare X-linked CNVs by 29%, (OR 1.29 [1.11–1.50], p<1×10⁻³), and rare Y-linked duplications by 88% (OR 1.88 [1.13–3.13], p<0.03). By contrasting the properties of our case-specific CNVs with those of CNV callsets from cases of autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and intellectual disability, we propose that the CNV burden in spermatogenic impairment is distinct from the burden of large, dominant mutations described for neurodevelopmental disorders. We identified two patients with deletions of DMRT1, a gene on chromosome 9p24.3 orthologous to the putative sex determination locus of the avian ZW chromosome system. In an independent sample of Han Chinese men, we identified 3 more DMRT1 deletions in 979 cases of idiopathic azoospermia and none in 1,734 controls, and found none in an additional 4,519 controls from public databases. The combined results indicate that DMRT1 loss-of-function mutations are a risk factor and potential genetic cause of human spermatogenic failure (frequency of 0.38% in 1306 cases and 0% in 7,754 controls, p = 6.2×10⁻⁵). Our study identifies other recurrent CNVs as potential causes of idiopathic azoospermia and generates hypotheses for directing future studies on the genetic basis of male infertility and IVF outcomes.     

The Brazilian Preference: Cesarean Delivery among Immigrants in Portugal

Objective

To evaluate how the country of origin affects the probability of being delivered by cesarean section when giving birth at public Portuguese hospitals.

Study Design

Women delivered of a singleton birth (n = 8228), recruited from five public level III maternities (April 2005–August 2006) during the procedure of assembling a birth cohort, were classified according to the country of origin and her migration status as Portuguese (n = 7908), non-Portuguese European (n = 84), African (n = 77) and Brazilian (n = 159). A Poisson model was used to evaluate the association between country of birth and cesarean section that was measured by adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

Results

The cesarean section rate varied from 32.1% in non-Portuguese European to 48.4% in Brazilian women (p = 0.008). After adjustment for potential confounders and compared to Portuguese women as a reference, Brazilian women presented significantly higher prevalence of cesarean section (PR = 1.26; 95%CI: 1.08–1.47). The effect was more evident among multiparous women (PR = 1.39; 95%CI: 1.12–1.73) and it was observed when cesarean section was performed either before labor (PR = 1.43; 95%CI: 0.99–2.06) or during labor (PR = 1.30; 95%CI: 1.07–1.58).

Conclusions

The rate of cesarean section was significantly higher among Brazilian women and it was independent of the presence of any known risk factors or usual clinical indications, suggesting that cultural background influences the mode of delivery overcoming the expected standard of care and outcomes in public health services.     

Glocal Clinical Registries: Pacemaker Registry Design and Implementation for Global and Local Integration – Methodology and Case Study

Background

The ability to apply standard and interoperable solutions for implementing and managing medical registries as well as aggregate, reproduce, and access data sets from legacy formats and platforms to advanced standard formats and operating systems are crucial for both clinical healthcare and biomedical research settings.

Purpose

Our study describes a reproducible, highly scalable, standard framework for a device registry implementation addressing both local data quality components and global linking problems.

Methods and Results

We developed a device registry framework involving the following steps: (1) Data standards definition and representation of the research workflow, (2) Development of electronic case report forms using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), (3) Data collection according to the clinical research workflow and, (4) Data augmentation by enriching the registry database with local electronic health records, governmental database and linked open data collections, (5) Data quality control and (6) Data dissemination through the registry Web site. Our registry adopted all applicable standardized data elements proposed by American College Cardiology / American Heart Association Clinical Data Standards, as well as variables derived from cardiac devices randomized trials and Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium. Local interoperability was performed between REDCap and data derived from Electronic Health Record system. The original data set was also augmented by incorporating the reimbursed values paid by the Brazilian government during a hospitalization for pacemaker implantation. By linking our registry to the open data collection repository Linked Clinical Trials (LinkedCT) we found 130 clinical trials which are potentially correlated with our pacemaker registry.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates how standard and reproducible solutions can be applied in the implementation of medical registries to constitute a re-usable framework. Such approach has the potential to facilitate data integration between healthcare and research settings, also being a useful framework to be used in other biomedical registries.     

Cellular alteration and differential protein profile explain effects of GA3 and ABA and their inhibitor on Trichocline catharinensis (Asteraceae) seed germination

Seed physiology of wild species has not been studied as deeply as that of domesticated crop species. Trichocline catharinensis (Asteraceae) is an endemic wildflower species from the high-altitude fields of southern Brazil. This species is of interest as a source of genes to improve cultivated Asteraceae because of its ornamental features, disease resistance and ability to tolerate drought and poor soil conditions. We studied the effects of abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA₃) and their inhibitors, fluridone (FLU) and paclobutrazol (PAC), on seed germination. We individually assessed ultrastructural changes and differential protein accumulation. The principal component analysis explained 69.66% of differential accumulation for 32 proteins at phase II of seed germination in response to hormone and inhibitor treatment. GA₃-imbibed seed germination (98.75%) resulted in increased protein accumulation to meet energy demand, redox regulation, and reserve metabolism activation. FLU-imbibed seeds showed a higher germination speed index as a consequence of metabolism activation. ABA-imbibed seeds (58.75%) showed osmotolerance and flattened cells in the hypocotyl-radicular axis, suggesting that ABA inhibits cell expansion. PAC-imbibed seeds remained at phase II for 300 h, and germination was suppressed (7.5%) because of the increased signaling proteins and halted reserve mobilization. Therefore, our findings provide insight into the behavior of Asteraceae non-dormant seed germination, which broadens our knowledge of seed germination in a wild and endemic plant species from a threatened ecosystem.     

Fish biodiversity of Saint Peter and Saint Paulʼs Archipelago,Mid-Atlantic Ridge,Brazil: new records and a species database

Saint Peter and Saint Paul's Archipelago (SPSPA), one of the smallest and most isolated island groups in the world, is situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, between Brazil and the African continent. SPSPA has low species richness and high endemism; nonetheless, the diversity of fishes from deep habitats (>30 m depth) had not been previously studied in detail. Several expeditions conducted between 2009 and 2018 explored the shallow and deep reefs of SPSPA using scuba, closed-circuit rebreathers, manned submersibles, baited remote underwater stereo-videos (stereo-BRUV) and fishing between 0 and 1050 m depth. These expeditions yielded 41 new records of fishes for SPSPA: 9 in open waters, 9 in shallow waters (0–30 m), 8 in mesophotic ecosystems (30–150 m) and 15 in deeper reefs (>150 m). Combined with literature records of adult pelagic, shallow and deep-reef species, as well as larvae, the database of the fish biodiversity for SPSPA currently comprises 225 species (169 recorded as adult fishes and 79 as larvae, with 23 species found in both stages). Most of them (112) are pelagic, 86 are reef-associated species and 27 are deep-water specialists. Species accumulation curves show that the number of fish species has not yet reached an asymptote. Whereas the number of species recorded in SPSPA is similar to that in other oceanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the proportion of shorefishes is relatively lower, and the endemism level is the third highest in the Atlantic. Twenty-nine species are listed as threatened with extinction. Observations confirm the paucity of top predators on shallow rocky reefs of the island, despite the presence of several pelagic shark species around SPSPA. Because all of the endemic species are reef associated, it is argued that the new marine-protected areas created by the Brazilian government do not ensure the protection and recovery of SPSPA's biodiversity because they allow exploitation of the most vulnerable species around the archipelago itself. This study suggests a ban on reef fish exploitation inside an area delimited by the 1000 m isobath around the islands (where all known endemics are concentrated) as the main conservation strategy to be included in the SPSPA management plan being prepared by the Brazilian government.