Colonization of a portion of the bovine tongue by unusual filamentous bacteria.

Tongue samples from cattle on varied diets and ranging in age from 2 months to adult were studied by transmission and scanning electron microscopy to observe the in situ distribution and adhesion patterns of two readily identifiable genera of filamentous bacterial. The two, both members of the Simonsiellaceae, adhere to the epithelium by means of fibers which are produced on one side of the bacterial filaments and subsequently display a sidedness in their manner of adhesion to epithelial surfaces. Other bacterial populations found on the tongue were normally members of chains and seldom present as single cells. This suggests that filamentous or chain-forming bacteria may have a selective advantage over single bacteria in their ability to colonize and remain attached to the epithelium of the tongue.     

Fused bicyclic Gly-Asp beta-turn mimics with potent affinity for GPIIb-IIIa. Exploration of the arginine isostere

6-[4-Amidinobenzoyl]amino]-tetralone-2-acetic acid is a potent antagonist of GPIIb-IIIa. Substitution in the meta position of the benzamidine, or replacement with a heteroaryl amidine was tolerated in this series. Use of an acyl-linked 4-alkyl piperidine as an arginine isostere also provided active compounds. Compounds from this series provided substantial systemic exposure in the rat following oral administration.     

Increased produce enrichment reduces trauma in socially‐housed captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Due to primate adaptations for sociality, captive rhesus macaques have optimal welfare and utility as a biomedical model when they can be maintained in outdoor social groups. As a despotic species; however, aggression can result in costly injuries and may result in temporary or permanent removal of specific individuals from social housing. Enrichment items, such as toys, climbing structures, and foraging material, are employed to keep captive animals occupied. We hypothesized that produce enrichment that requires more processing to extract may reduce socially‐derived injuries by keeping animals occupied. We tested the effects of additional weekly produce (corn‐in‐husk, whole melon, or whole squash) on trauma incidence in an outdoor social group of rhesus macaques across two distinct seasons (mating and birthing seasons) at the California National Primate Research Center. Aggression and status behavioral data, food resource use and proximity, and trauma incidence were collected over two 16‐week periods, with eight control and treatment conditions alternating biweekly. Mixed‐effects regression modeling was used to determine the best predictors of trauma risk and severe aggression at the group level and at an individual level. We found that food resource use was an important predictor of trauma risk at both group and individual levels; greater use of food resources reduced trauma risk. Produce enrichment did not; however, reduce severe aggression. We suggest that other captive social groups of rhesus macaques with high levels of trauma may benefit from supplemental produce enrichment that increases animal engagement with food resources.     

Changes in Bleaching Susceptibility among Corals Subject to Ocean Warming and Recurrent Bleaching in Moorea,French Polynesia

Background

Climate-induced coral bleaching poses a major threat to coral reef ecosystems, mostly because of the sensitivities of key habitat-forming corals to increasing temperature. However, susceptibility to bleaching varies greatly among coral genera and there are likely to be major changes in the relative abundance of different corals, even if the wholesale loss of corals does not occur for several decades. Here we document variation in bleaching susceptibility among key genera of reef-building corals in Moorea, French Polynesia, and compare bleaching incidence during mass-bleaching events documented in 1991, 1994, 2002 and 2007.

Methodology/Principal Findings

This study compared the proportion of colonies that bleached for four major genera of reef-building corals (Acropora, Montipora, Pocillopora and Porites), during each of four well-documented bleaching events from 1991 to 2007. Acropora and Montipora consistently bleached in far greater proportions (up to 98%) than Pocillopora and Porites. However, there was an apparent and sustained decline in the proportion of colonies that bleached during successive bleaching events, especially for Acropora and Montipora. In 2007, only 77% of Acropora colonies bleached compared with 98% in 1991. Temporal variation in the proportion of coral colonies bleached may be attributable to differences in environmental conditions among years. Alternately, the sustained declines in bleaching incidence among highly susceptible corals may be indicative of acclimation or adaptation.

Conclusions/Significance

Coral genera that are highly susceptible to coral bleaching, and especially Acropora and Montipora, exhibit temporal declines in their susceptibility to thermal anomalies at Moorea, French Polynesia. One possible explanation for these findings is that gradual removal of highly susceptible genotypes (through selective mortality of individuals, populations, and/or species) is producing a coral assemblage that is more resistant to sustained and ongoing ocean warming.     

Clinical Prediction in Early Pregnancy of Infants Small for Gestational Age by Customised Birthweight Centiles: Findings from a Healthy Nulliparous Cohort

Objective

Small for gestational age (SGA) infants comprise up to 50% of all stillbirths and a minority are detected before birth. We aimed to develop and validate early pregnancy predictive models for SGA infants.

Methods

5628 participants from SCOPE, a prospective study of nulliparous pregnant women, were interviewed at 15±1 weeks’ gestation. Fetal anthropometry, uterine and umbilical Doppler studies were performed at 20±1 weeks’. The cohort was divided into training (n = 3735) and validation datasets (n = 1871). All-SGA (birthweight <10th customised centile), Normotensive-SGA (SGA with normotensive mother) and Hypertensive-SGA (SGA with mother who developed hypertension) were the primary outcomes. Multivariable analysis was performed using stepwise logistic regression firstly using clinical variables and then with clinical and ultrasound variables. Receiver operator curves were constructed and areas under the curve (AUC) calculated.

Results

633 infants (11.3%) in the whole cohort were SGA; 465 (8.3%) Normotensive-SGA and 165 (3.0%) Hypertensive-SGA. In the training dataset risk factors for All-SGA at 15±1 weeks’ included: family history of coronary heart disease, maternal birthweight <3000 g and 3000 g to 3499 g compared with ≥3500 g, >12 months to conceive, university student, cigarette smoking, proteinuria, daily vigorous exercise and diastolic blood pressure ≥80. Recreational walking ≥4 times weekly, rhesus negative blood group and increasing random glucose were protective. AUC for clinical risk factors was 0.63. Fetal abdominal or head circumference z scores <10^th centile and increasing uterine artery Doppler resistance at 20±1 weeks’ were associated with increased risk. Addition of these parameters increased the AUC to 0.69. Clinical predictors of Normotensive and Hypertensive-SGA were sub-groups of All-SGA predictors and were quite different. The combined clinical and ultrasound AUC for Normotensive and Hypertensive-SGA were 0.69 and 0.82 respectively.

Conclusion

Predictors for SGA of relevance to clinical practice were identified. The identity and predictive potential differed in normotensive women and those who developed hypertension.     

Effects of natal male alliances on aggression and power dynamics in rhesus macaques

In the wild, male rhesus macaques disperse at sexual maturity. In captivity, however, males cannot disperse from their natal groups. Thus, the presence of natal males in captive rhesus social groups is unnatural and has the potential to negatively influence group dynamics and stability. A primary difference between natal males and non-natal (immigrant) males is that natal males have the opportunity to form long-term alliances with their maternal kin as well as nonkin. We investigated the factors associated with natal males' kin alliances and the impact of these alliances on measures of natal male behavior, group dynamics, and group stability. We found that natal males more frequently formed alliances with maternal kin when they were from high-ranking matrilines, had more siblings, and were younger. More frequent kin alliances were associated with more frequent use of intense aggression, higher individual rank, and higher degree of integration within the male displacement network. Thus, it seems that natal males use their alliances to be more active and influential in the social group, which may affect group stability. It appears that juvenile natal males from high-ranking matrilines, in particular, have the largest impact on group stability. Younger natal males from high-ranking matrilines formed alliances with kin more frequently and used intense aggression more frequently than older or lower ranking males. Furthermore, groups with a higher proportion of juvenile males from high-ranking matrilines also had higher rates of wounding. We suggest that the presence of natal males in rhesus groups may act in opposition to group stability.     

Risk factors for preterm birth in an international prospective cohort of nulliparous women

Objectives

To identify risk factors for spontaneous preterm birth (birth <37 weeks gestation) with intact membranes (SPTB-IM) and SPTB after prelabour rupture of the membranes (SPTB-PPROM) for nulliparous pregnant women.

Design

Prospective international multicentre cohort.

Participants

3234 healthy nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy, follow up was complete in 3184 of participants (98.5%).

Results

Of the 3184 women, 156 (4.9%) had their pregnancy complicated by SPTB; 96 (3.0%) and 60 (1.9%) in the SPTB-IM and SPTB-PPROM categories, respectively. Independent risk factors for SPTB-IM were shorter cervical length, abnormal uterine Doppler flow, use of marijuana pre-pregnancy, lack of overall feeling of well being, being of Caucasian ethnicity, having a mother with diabetes and/or a history of preeclampsia, and a family history of low birth weight babies. Independent risk factors for SPTB-PPROM were shorter cervical length, short stature, participant’s not being the first born in the family, longer time to conceive, not waking up at night, hormonal fertility treatment (excluding clomiphene), mild hypertension, family history of recurrent gestational diabetes, and maternal family history of any miscarriage (risk reduction). Low BMI (<20) nearly doubled the risk for SPTB-PPROM (odds ratio 2.64; 95% CI 1.07–6.51). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC), after internal validation, was 0.69 for SPTB-IM and 0.79 for SPTB-PPROM.

Conclusion

The ability to predict PTB in healthy nulliparous women using clinical characteristics is modest. The dissimilarity of risk factors for SPTB-IM compared with SPTB-PPROM indicates different pathophysiological pathways underlie these distinct phenotypes.

Trial Registration

ACTR.org.au ACTRN12607000551493