Association between EBRT dose volume histograms and quality of life in prostate cancer patients

Aim

To evaluate the association between dose–volume histogram (DVH) values in organs at risk (OAR) and patient-reported HRQoL outcomes.

Genetic diversity measures of local European beef cattle breeds for conservation purposes

This study was undertaken to determine the genetic structure, evolutionary relationships, and the genetic diversity among 18 local cattle breeds from Spain, Portugal, and France using 16 microsatellites. Heterozygosities, estimates of Fst, genetic distances, multivariate and diversity analyses, and assignment tests were performed. Heterozygosities ranged from 0.54 in the Pirenaica breed to 0.72 in the Barrosã breed. Seven percent of the total genetic variability can be attributed to differences among breeds (mean F_st = 0.07; P < 0.01). Five different genetic distances were computed and compared with no correlation found to be significantly different from 0 between distances based on the effective size of the population and those which use the size of the alleles. The Weitzman recursive approach and a multivariate analysis were used to measure the contribution of the breeds diversity. The Weitzman approach suggests that the most important breeds to be preserved are those grouped into two clusters: the cluster formed by the Mirandesa and Alistana breeds and that of the Sayaguesa and Tudanca breeds. The hypothetical extinction of one of those clusters represents a 17% loss of diversity. A correspondence analysis not only distinguished four breed groups but also confirmed results of previous studies classifying the important breeds contributing to diversity. In addition, the variation between breeds was sufficiently high so as to allow individuals to be assigned to their breed of origin with a probability of 99% for simulated samples.     

L'élevage en laboratoire,sur un hote de substitution dePhanerotoma flavitestacea [Hym.Braconidae] récolté dans le milieu naturel: conséquences sur le potentiel biotique de l'espèce

Résumé Des individus issus d'une population dePhanerotoma flavitestacea Fisher élevée dequis 1962 sur un h?te de substitutionAnagasta kühniella Zell., ont été réacclimatés avec succés, en 1968, à leur h?te naturelEctomyelois ceratoniae,Zell. dans la région de Nice où ce parasite n'existait pas jusqu'alors. Quatre ans après l'introduction, cette souche ?de plein air” ramenée au laboratoire et élevée dans les mêmes conditions que la souche d'origine, présente par rapport à celle-ci un certain nombre de particularités biologiques; le nombre d'ovocytes contenus dans les ovaires des jeunes femelles, le rythme de ponte et la ponte totale sont plus faibles, la maturité sexuelle est plus lente à s'établir. Par contre la durée de la période de ponte, la longévité et le nombre d'anomalies ovariennes ne sont pas modifiées.

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Summary Individuals from a population ofP. flavitestacea, reared from 1962 on the substitute hostAnagasta kuehniella, were successfully re-acclimatised in 1968 on their natural hostEctomylois ceratoniae, in the Nice region, were the parasite was hitherto unknown. Four years after the introduction, this “open air” strain, returned to the laboratory and raised under the same conditions as the original strain, showed certain biological pecularities: the number of ovocytes in the ovaries of the young females, the oviposition rhythm and the total oviposition were all reduced, and sexual maturity was delayed. On the other hand, duration of oviposition, longevity and number of ovarian aberrations were not affected.

     

Non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs mediate dinitrogen fixation in biological soil crusts during early crust formation

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are key components of ecosystem productivity in arid lands and they cover a substantial fraction of the terrestrial surface. In particular, BSC N₂-fixation contributes significantly to the nitrogen (N) budget of arid land ecosystems. In mature crusts, N₂-fixation is largely attributed to heterocystous cyanobacteria; however, early successional crusts possess few N₂-fixing cyanobacteria and this suggests that microorganisms other than cyanobacteria mediate N₂-fixation during the critical early stages of BSC development. DNA stable isotope probing with ¹⁵N₂ revealed that Clostridiaceae and Proteobacteria are the most common microorganisms that assimilate ¹⁵N₂ in early successional crusts. The Clostridiaceae identified are divergent from previously characterized isolates, though N₂-fixation has previously been observed in this family. The Proteobacteria identified share >98.5% small subunit rRNA gene sequence identity with isolates from genera known to possess diazotrophs (for example, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Shigella and Ideonella). The low abundance of these heterotrophic diazotrophs in BSCs may explain why they have not been characterized previously. Diazotrophs have a critical role in BSC formation and characterization of these organisms represents a crucial step towards understanding how anthropogenic change will affect the formation and ecological function of BSCs in arid ecosystems.     

Influence d'une alimentation préalable et du jeûne sur l'apparition de la recherche intensive des proies chez Semiadalia undecimnotata

Résumé Les prédateurs qui vivent aux dépens de ressources alimentaires groupées, modifient leur mode de déplacement après la capture et l'ingestion d'une proie. Ils passent de la recherche extensive (déplacements rapides et linéaires) à la recherche intensive (déplacements lents et sinueux). Chez les adultes et les larves de dernier stade de la coccinelle Semiadalia undecimnotata Schn. (Col., Coccinellidae), dans les premières heures qui suivent leur naissance ou leur mue, l'ingestion d'un premier puceron ne modifie pas les caractéristiques locomotrices individuelles: les déplacements restent de type extensif. Au début de chaque stade, cette coccinelle présente une période de sensibilisation à la proie rencontrée. Durant ces laps de temps, elle doit consommer plusieurs proies avant d'être capable d'adopter la recherche intensive. L'existence d'une période de jeûne avant cette première prise alimentaire favorise, au contraire, l'adoption de la recherche intensive.

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The ladybird, Semiadalia undecimnotata, like all other entomophagous insects feeding on relatively sedentary prey, exhibits two types of walking pattern during the search for prey: xtensive and intensive search. The latter is engaged following detection of visual or chemical cues. Changes in the ladybird search pattern: extensive search—a single prey capture—intensive search, were investigated in relation to experience of prior feeding-periods (experienced coccinellids) or to lack of such experience (naïve coccinellids) and with respect to changes in duration of fasting. The analysis of their pathways was performed initially by comparison of three locomotory paramètres: the number of stops (number/s), the walking speed (mm/s) and the turning-rate (degrees/s), and subsequently by statistical classification (principle components analysis). Unlike experienced coccinellids, observations of naïve coccinellids, indicate that a single feeding session during the three to five hours after emergence of an adult, or ecdysis of the larva, will change the walking pattern slightly. These animals will maintain extensive search or adopt a particular, intermediate locomotory pattern which is a development of extensive search but do not adopt intensive search. Fasting, for periods over twelve hours, favoured intensive search in populations studied. It is probable that the requirement to feed on more than one prey item before adopting intensive search involves concepts such as forms of learning (sensitization).