Behavioral differentiation during collective building in wild mice Mus spicilegus

Although well documented in social insects, the possibility of behavioral differentiation during collective building has been poorly studied in mammals. In this context, the mound-building mouse Mus spicilegus is an interesting model. Under natural conditions, juveniles from different litters gather vegetal material and build a sophisticated structure, the mound, under which the mice will spend winter. The first steps of this complex building process may be elicited under laboratory conditions by offering cotton balls as building material. Spatio-temporal distribution of both animals and cotton balls was automatically recorded by RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification Device) technique. Our results revealed a behavioral differentiation during a collective building task. In a group of six individuals, only two mice (called carriers) transported 80% of the building material whereas the contribution of the remaining mice was weak or even non-existent. The proportion of carriers was constant in all of the six groups studied. This behavioral differentiation was implemented immediately after the building material was made available and remained stable during the 4 days of experiment. The high contribution level of carriers did not result from resource monopolization, nor did it depend on the gender or parental origin of the mice.     

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers in Tetranychus urticae and cross amplification in other Tetranychidae and Phytoseiidae species of economic importance

Tetranychus urticae Koch is a cosmopolitan phytophagous mite considered as the most polyphagous species among spider mites. Population genetic studies using molecular markers such as microsatellites have proven to be extremely informative to address questions about population structure, phylogeography and host preferences. The aim of this study was to increase the available molecular tools to gain insight into the genetic structure of T. urticae populations of citrus orchards, which might help in their management. Five microsatellite DNA libraries were developed using probes with the motifs CT, CTT, GT and CAC following the FIASCO protocol. Positive clones, those that included the insert with the microsatellite, were detected using the PIMA-PCR technique. Combinations of primers were designed on 22 out of 32 new microsatellites loci and their polymorphism was tested in four populations sampled along the eastern coast of Spain. Eleven successful amplifications were obtained. Cross amplification was tested in the tetranychids Aphlonobia histricina, Eutetranychus banksi, E. orientalis, Oligonychus perseae, Panonychus citri, Tetranychus evansi, T. okinawanus and T. turkestani, and the phytoseiids Amblyseius swirskii, A. cucumeris, A. andersoni, Euseius stipulatus, Neoseiulus barkeri, N. californicus, Phytoseiulus persimilis and Typhlodromus phialatus. Eight successful cross amplifications were obtained.     

Effect of the Gas6 c.834+7G>A Polymorphism and the Interaction of Known Risk Factors on AMD Pathogenesis in Hungarian Patients

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in the developed world. Numerous genetic factors contribute to the development of the multifactorial disease. We performed a case-control study to assess the risk conferred by known and candidate genetic polymorphisms on the development of AMD. We searched for genetic interactions and for differences in dry and wet AMD etiology. We enrolled 213 patients with exudative, 67 patients with dry AMD and 106 age and ethnically matched controls. Altogether 12 polymorphisms in Apolipoprotein E, complement factor H, complement factor I, complement component 3, blood coagulation factor XIII, HTRA1, LOC387715, Gas6 and MerTK genes were tested. No association was found between either the exudative or the dry form and the polymorphisms in the Apolipoprotein E, complement factor I, FXIII and MerTK genes. Gas6 c.834+7G>A polymorphism was found to be significantly protective irrespective of other genotypes, reducing the odds of wet type AMD by a half (OR = 0.50, 95%CI: 0.26–0.97, p = 0.04). Multiple regression models revealed an interesting genetic interaction in the dry AMD subgroup. In the absence of C3 risk allele, mutant genotypes of both CFH and HTRA1 behaved as strongly significant risk factors (OR = 7.96, 95%CI: 2.39 = 26.50, p = 0.0007, and OR = 36.02, 95%CI: 3.30–393.02, p = 0.0033, respectively), but reduced to neutrality otherwise. The risk allele of C3 was observed to carry a significant risk in the simultaneous absence of homozygous CFH and HTRA1 polymorphisms only, in which case it was associated with a near-five-fold relative increase in the odds of dry type AMD (OR = 4.93, 95%CI: 1.98–12.25, p = 0.0006). Our results suggest a protective role of Gas6 c.834+7G>A polymorphism in exudative AMD development. In addition, novel genetic interactions were revealed between CFH, HTRA1 and C3 polymorphisms that might contribute to the pathogenesis of dry AMD.     

Temporal Constraints of Behavioral Inhibition: Relevance of Inter-stimulus Interval in a Go-Nogo Task

The capacity to inhibit prepotent and automatic responses is crucial for proper cognitive and social development, and inhibitory impairments have been considered to be key for some neuropsychiatric conditions. One of the most used paradigms to analyze inhibitory processes is the Go-Nogo task (GNG). This task has been widely used in psychophysical and cognitive EEG studies, and more recently in paradigms using fMRI. However, a technical limitation is that the time resolution of fMRI is poorer than that of the EEG technique. In order to compensate for these temporal constraints, it has become common practice in the fMRI field to use longer inter-stimulus intervals (ISI) than those used in EEG protocols. Despite the noticeable temporal differences between these two techniques, it is currently assumed that both approaches assess similar inhibitory processes. We performed an EEG study using a GNG task with both short ISI (fast-condition, FC, as in EEG protocols) and long ISI (slow-condition, SC, as in fMRI protocols). We found that in the FC there was a stronger Nogo-N2 effect than in the SC. Moreover, in the FC, but not in the SC, the number of preceding Go trials correlated positively with the Nogo-P3 amplitude and with the Go trial reaction time; and negatively with commission errors. In addition, we found significant topographical differences for the Go-P3 elicited in FC and SC, which is interpreted in terms of different neurotransmitter dynamics. Taken together, our results provide evidence that frequency of stimulus presentation in the GNG task strongly modulates the behavioral response and the evoked EEG activity. Therefore, it is likely that short-ISI EEG protocols and long-ISI fMRI protocols do not assess equivalent inhibitory processes.     

b-Annulated 1,4-dihydropyridines as Notch inhibitors

The Notch signaling pathway is involved in cell proliferation and differentiation, and has been recognized as an active pathway in regenerating tissue and cancerous cells. Notch signaling inhibition is considered a viable approach to the treatment of a variety of conditions including colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and metastatic melanoma. The discovery that the b-annulated dihydropyridine FLI-06 (1) is an inhibitor of the Notch pathway with an EC50?≈?2.5?μM prompted us to screen a library of related analogs. After structure activity studies were conducted, racemic compound 7 was identified with an EC50?=?0.36?μM. Synthesis of individual enantiomers provided (+)-7 enantiomer with an EC50?=?0.13?μM, or about 20-fold the potency of 1.     

First report of a hatched,hand‐reared,and released African oystercatcher

The African oystercatcher Haematopus moquini is a near‐threatened wader that is endemic to southern Africa. In the past, the species suffered a drastic decrease in nesting success due to human disturbance. We present the case report of an African oystercatcher that was hatched, hand‐reared, and released in the Western Cape, South Africa. African oystercatchers are semi‐altricial birds that tend to be highly sensitive to stress; as a result, strategies to minimize stress and the employment of surrogate parents and pre‐release acclimatization are important to ensure post‐release survival of hand‐reared chicks. Considering the lack of literature on the incubation and hand‐rearing of oystercatchers, this case report provides a basis for the development of hand‐rearing techniques that might be useful for the protection of this and other threatened wader species.     

DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF THE AMAZON RIVER DOLPHIN (INIA GEOFFRENSIS) AND THE TUCUXI (SOTALIA FLUVIATILIS) IN THE UPPER AMAZON RIVER

A boat survey was conducted from 5 to 26 June 1993 to estimate the abundance of the Amazon river dolphin ( Inia geoffrensis ) and the tucuxi ( Sotalia fluviatilis ) along ca . 120 km of the Amazon River bordering Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. Two survey methods were used: line transects during 5 d and strip transects during 15 d. The line transects were used to estimate the abundance of both species in the main channels of the Amazon at distances greater than 200 m from river banks and islands, and strip transects were used to estimate abundance in the remainder of the habitat. A total of 29 sightings was obtained using line transects, including 8 of Inia , 15 of Sotalia , and 6 with both species present. The total number of sightings made while using strip transects was 143, including 78 of Inia , 51 of Sotalia , and 14 with both species present. The distributions of sightings with respect to distance from the nearest bank were not significantly different between the two species. Based on the results from the two methods, we estimate that there are 346 (CV = 0.12) Inia and 409 (CV = 0.13) Sotalia in the study area. Overall, the mean group size for Inia was 2.9 individuals and for Sotalia was 3.9 individuals. Inia density (dolphin/km²) was highest in tributaries (4.8), followed by areas around islands (2.7) and along main banks (2.0); while Sotalia density was highest in lakes (8.6), followed by areas along main banks (2.8) and around islands (2.0). These are among the highest densities measured to date for any cetacean.