Assessment of platelet function in patients with stroke using multiple electrode platelet aggregometry: a prospective observational study

The Qatari law, as in many other countries, uses brain death as the main criteria for organ donation and cessation of medical support. By contrast, most of the public in Qatar do not agree with the limitation or withdrawal of medical care until the time of cardiac death. The current study aims to examine the duration of somatic survival after brain death, organ donation rate in brain-dead patients as well as review the underlying etiologies and level of support provided in the state of Qatar. This is a retrospective study of all patients diagnosed with brain death over a 10-year period conducted at the largest tertiary center in Qatar (Hamad General Hospital). Among the 53 patients who were diagnosed with brain death during the study period, the median and mean somatic survivals of brain-dead patients in the current study were 3 and 4.5 days respectively. The most common etiology was intracranial hemorrhage (45.3%) followed by ischemic stroke (17%). Ischemic stroke patients had a median survival of 11 days. Organ donation was accepted by only two families (6.6%) of the 30 brain dead patients deemed suitable for organ donation. The average somatic survival of brain-dead patients is less than one week irrespective of supportive measures provided. Organ donation rate was extremely low among brain-dead patients in Qatar. Improved public education may lead to significant improvement in resource utilization as well as organ transplant donors and should be a major target area of future health care policies.     

Absence of Tau triggers age‐dependent sciatic nerve morphofunctional deficits and motor impairment

Dementia is the cardinal feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the clinical symptoms of this disorder also include a marked loss of motor function. Tau abnormal hyperphosphorylation and malfunction are well‐established key events in AD neuropathology but the impact of the loss of normal Tau function in neuronal degeneration and subsequent behavioral deficits is still debated. While Tau reduction has been increasingly suggested as therapeutic strategy against neurodegeneration, particularly in AD, there is controversial evidence about whether loss of Tau progressively impacts on motor function arguing about damage of CNS motor components. Using a variety of motor‐related tests, we herein provide evidence of an age‐dependent motor impairment in Tau?/? animals that is accompanied by ultrastructural and functional impairments of the efferent fibers that convey motor‐related information. Specifically, we show that the sciatic nerve of old (17–22‐months) Tau?/? mice displays increased degenerating myelinated fibers and diminished conduction properties, as compared to age‐matched wild‐type (Tau+/+) littermates and younger (4–6 months) Tau?/? and Tau+/+ mice. In addition, the sciatic nerves of Tau?/? mice exhibit a progressive hypomyelination (assessed by g‐ratio) specifically affecting large‐diameter, motor‐related axons in old animals. These findings suggest that loss of Tau protein may progressively impact on peripheral motor system.     

Conditional restoration and inactivation of Rbm47 reveal its tissue‐context requirement for viability and growth

Rbm47 encodes a RNA binding protein that is necessary for Cytidine to Uridine RNA editing. Rbm47^gt/gt mutant mice that harbor inactivated Rbm47 display poor viability. Here it was determined that the loss of Rbm47^gt/gt offspring is due to embryonic lethality at mid‐gestation. It was further showed that growth of the surviving Rbm47^gt/gt mutants is impaired. Rbm47 is expressed in both the visceral endoderm and the definitive endoderm. Using the utility of the switchable FlEx gene‐trap cassette and the activity of Cre and FLP recombinases to generate mice that conditionally inactivate and restore Rbm47 function in tissue‐specific manner, it was demonstrated that Rbm47 function is required in the embryo proper, and not the visceral endoderm, for viability and growth. genesis 54:115–122, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Chitons’ apparent camouflage does not reduce predation by green crabs Carcinus maenas

Chitons are very common molluscs on European rocky shores. They are common prey of fish and crabs and often display several colour morphs within a given habitat. Predation is one of the potential mechanisms accounting for chiton colour polymorphism. The colour variation is considered to provide a camouflage protection through a match with the substratum surface typology. However, the effectiveness of chiton polymorphism as a predation defence requires further investigation. Previously we found a relationship between chiton colour morphs and substrate characteristics, with chitons most commonly found on substrates that were of similar colour to their shells. Here, we examined whether each morph displayed an active choice for matching the substratum. Next, we assessed if the predation success of the intertidal common crab Carcinus maenas varied significantly with the absence/presence of an apparent camouflage effect created between the chiton colour morph and the substratum type. The present study indicates that chiton colour morphs probably actively choose substratum types where they blend in. Carcinus maenas was able to prey on all Lepidochitona cinereus colour morphs, regardless of the substrate camouflage effect. Surprisingly, the predation frequency was higher on camouflaged chitons than on contrasting chitons. It was concluded that chiton camouflage is probably not a defence mechanism against predation by the crab C. maenas, and that chiton colour polymorphism is probably promoted by other, more visual predators.     

Contrasting Brood-Sex Ratio Flexibility in Two Opiine (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Parasitoids of Tephritid (Diptera) Fruit Flies

Mass-rearing of fruit fly parasitoids for augmentative release would be more economical if production could be biased towards females. If sex ratios are ever to be manipulated under rearing conditions it is important to determine if, then understand why, sex ratio flexibility exists. Unequal brood-sex ratios are common in parasitic Hymenoptera and two reasons are generally advanced for such cases: 1) avoidance of Local Mate Competition (LMC) predicts that the number of females exploiting a host-patch can influence the optimal sex ratio of their offspring; and 2) one sex is more likely to develop under a particular set of physical/competitive conditions. We hypothesized that LMC is more often encountered in relatively uncommon species with coarse-grained distributions. As a result, isolated females of such species would be more likely to expect future LMC to be high and to bias offspring sex ratios towards females. We proposed that the opiine braconid Utetes anastrephae is such a coarse-grained species and compared its responses to differences to LMC (isolated females and those paired with a conspecific competitor) with those of another opiine, Diachasmimorpha longicaudata believed to have a finer-grained distribution. Adult sex ratios were mutable in D. longicaudata and U. anastrephae and, as predicted by avoidance of LMC, males were relatively more abundant among the paired females in both species. However, superparasitized hosts yielded relatively more daughters, perhaps because female larvae are superior intrinsic competitors. Contrary to prediction, there was no suggestion that U. anastrephae was more likely to than D. longicaudata to avoid LMC. While these results did not reveal any species differences in sex-allocation patterns or suggest any modifications to the present practice of fruit fly mass-rearing for augmentative release they did provide new information regarding U. anastrephae, a widespread natural enemy of Anastrepha spp. about which relatively little is known.     

Structural Insight into Layer Gliding and Lattice Distortion in Layered Manganese Oxide Electrodes for Potassium‐Ion Batteries

Potassium‐ion batteries (PIBs) are an emerging, affordable, and environmentally friendly alternative to lithium‐ion batteries, with their further development driven by the need for suitably performing electrode materials capable of reversibly accommodating the relatively large K⁺. Layer‐structured manganese oxides are attractive as electrodes for PIBs, but suffer from structural instability and sluggish kinetics of K⁺ insertion/extraction, leading to poor rate capability. Herein, cobalt is successfully introduced at the manganese site in the K_xMnO₂ layered oxide electrode material and it is shown that with only 5% Co, the reversible capacity increases by 30% at 22 mA g^‐1 and by 92% at 440 mA g^‐1. In operando synchrotron X‐ray diffraction reveals that Co suppresses Jahn–Teller distortion, leading to more isotropic migration pathways for K⁺ in the interlayer, thus enhancing the ionic diffusion and consequently, rate capability. The detailed analysis reveals that additional phase transitions and larger volume change occur in the Co‐doped material as a result of layer gliding, with these associated with faster capacity decay, despite the overall capacity remaining higher than the pristine material, even after 500 cycles. These results assert the importance of understanding the detailed structural evolution that underpins performance that will inform the strategic design of electrode materials for high‐performance PIBs.     

A Combination of Proteomic Approaches Identifies A Panel of Circulating Extracellular Vesicle Proteins Related to the Risk of Suffering Cardiovascular Disease in Obese Patients

Plasma‐derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been extensively described as putative biomarkers in different diseases. Interestingly, increased levels of EVs subpopulations are well known to associate with obesity. The goal of this study is to identify EVs‐derived biomarkers in plasma from obese patients in order to predict the development of pathological events associated with obesity. Samples are obtained from 22 obese patients and their lean‐matched controls are divided into two cohorts: one for a 2D fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis (2D‐DIGE)‐based study, and the other one for a label free LC–MS/MS‐based approach. EVs are isolated following a serial ultracentrifugation protocol. Twenty‐two and 23 differentially regulated features are detected from 2D‐DIGE and label free LC–MS/MS, respectively; most of them involve in the coagulation and complement cascades. Remarkably, there is an upregulation of complement C4, complement C3, and fibrinogen in obese patients following both approaches, the latter two also validated by 2D‐western‐blotting in an independent cohort. These results correlate with a proinflammatory and prothrombotic state of those individuals. On the other hand, a downregulation of adiponectin leading to an increased risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases has been shown. The results suggest the relevance of plasma‐derived‐EVs proteins as a source of potential biomarkers for the development of atherothrombotic events in obesity.