Modelled population growth based on reproduction differs from life tables based on age determination in Danish raccoon dogs ( Nyctereutes procyonoides )

The population of raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in Denmark has increased rapidly from 1995 when the first was recorded until today where 3291 raccoon dogs are trapped, shot by hunters or road killed. The aims of this study are to present the first data on reproduction and life tables of raccoon dogs in Denmark and to compare mortality from modelled life tables with game bag records and sampled raccoon dogs in different age groups. In this study, the uteri of 89 adult females (> 10 months) were examined for placental scars (PSC), and 561 individuals (289 males, 272 females) were aged using pulp cavity width and dental lines in canine teeth. The litter size of raccoon dogs in Denmark is to date the largest litter size recorded in the wild (mean ± SE) 10.8 ± 0.4, range 1–16 pubs and fecundity 8.4 ± 0.6 pubs. The percent-reproducing females are 78–83%, based on dark and all PSC, respectively. A significant difference was found between the proportion of individuals composing the different age groups based on age determination of individuals collected (Ntage) and the modelled number of individuals in age groups based on fecundity and different mortality rate (Ntmodel), X2 = 8, p < 0.05. The discrepancy between the relatively high reproduction and lifetables may be due to older and more experienced animals that avoid culling. A low population density in a newly founded Danish population of raccoon dogs, together with a milder climate where raccoon dogs can forage during the winter, may cause an exceptionally high reproduction in Danish raccoon dogs.     

RPA alleviates the inhibitory effect of vinylphosphonate internucleotide linkages on DNA unwinding by BLM and WRN helicases

Bloom (BLM) and Werner (WRN) syndrome proteins are members of the RecQ family of SF2 DNA helicases. In this paper, we show that restricting the rotational DNA backbone flexibility, by introducing vinylphosphonate internucleotide linkages in the translocating DNA strand, inhibits efficient duplex unwinding by these enzymes. The human single-stranded DNA binding protein replication protein A (RPA) fully restores the unwinding activity of BLM and WRN on vinylphosphonate-containing substrates while the heterologous single-stranded DNA binding protein from Escherichia coli (SSB) restores the activity only partially. Both RPA and SSB fail to restore the unwinding activity of the SF1 PcrA helicase on modified substrates, implying specific interactions of RPA with the BLM and WRN helicases. Our data highlight subtle differences between SF1 and SF2 helicases and suggest that although RecQ helicases belong to the SF2 family, they are mechanistically more similar to the SF1 PcrA helicase than to other SF2 helicases that are not affected by vinylphosphonate modifications.     

Delayed stigma receptivity in Collinsia heterophylla (Plantaginaceae): genetic variation and adaptive significance in relation to pollen competition, delayed self-pollination, and mating-system evolution

To increase our knowledge about mating-system evolution, we need to understand the relationship between specific floral traits and mating system. Species of Collinsia (Plantaginaceae) vary extensively in mating system; this variation is associated with variation in floral morphology and development and with the timing of self-pollination. Counterintuitively, large-flowered, more outcrossing species tend to have delayed stigma receptivity, reducing the amount of time that the stigma is receptive to cross-pollination before autonomous self-pollination. To understand how the timing of stigma receptivity is related to mating-system evolution, we studied in detail the timing of both stigma receptivity and self-pollination (anther-stigma contact) in two greenhouse-grown populations of large-flowered Collinsia heterophylla. Crosses on emasculated flowers at different stages of floral development always produced seeds, suggesting that cross-fertilization can be effected by pollen arriving prior to physiological receptivity. Phenotypic and genetic variation within populations in the timing of stigma receptivity and anther-stigma contact was substantial, although slightly less for the contact. Despite strong interspecific and interpopulation correlations, we did not find an among-genet phenotypic correlation between the traits. This indicates that each trait may respond independently to selection, and the trait association may be the result of correlational selection.     

A trypsin-like protease with apparent dual function in early Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Kr?yer) development

Background  

Trypsin-like serine proteases are involved in a large number of processes including digestive degradation, regulation of developmental processes, yolk degradation and yolk degradome activation. Trypsin like peptidases considered to be involved in digestion have been characterized in Lepeophtheirus salmonis. During these studies a trypsin-like peptidase which differed in a number of traits were identified.     

Oscillatory growth movements of roots in weightlessness

The gravitropic curvature of lentil roots ( Lens culinaris L. cv. Verte du Puy), grown in near weightlessness and stimulated on a 1-g centrifuge for 5 to 60 min was followed by time lapse photography. The experiment was carried out in the frame of the IML 1 Mission of Spacelab. Due to the applied acceleration field, the tip of the roots bent and reoriented with respect to the acceleration vector. However, visual inspection of the data could indicate an oscillatory movement superimposed on the gravitropic reorientation.
We applied two signal processing techniques, fast Fourier transform (FFT) and maximum entropy spectral analysis (MESA), to provide quantitative data about the oscillatory movements of the lentil roots under gravity free conditions. In the case with very few data points in the time series the MESA method is superior to the conventional FFT. In the lentil root movements, the Fourier analysis could not extract and resolve the oscillatory signals present in the time series. The MESA approach revealed oscillations with periods around 35 and 50 min for the present lentil roots.
Circumnutations are, therefore, present in roots also in weightlessness.     

Effects of microgravity on the growth of Lepidium roots

The normal growth dynamics of plant roots is partly controlled by the gravitational force. In order to study the detailed growth behavior in absence of gravity, the growth of Lepidium sativum roots was recorded by time lapse photography at 1h intervals in a Spacelab ESA-experiment (IML-2). Plants were germinated and kept in microgravity during the experiments, while control roots were at 1 g with normal static gravistimulation. Extended image analyses allowed new information to be achieved about movements of all parts of the roots, extending earlier published results. Root contours were extracted from the images and divided into 0.6mm segments. Deviation angles were calculated for each root segment, both for the first 8-10 h (phase I) and for the last 6-8 h of the experiment (phase II). For phase I, the present analysis confirmed that the average square deviation increased linearly with time for roots in microgravity, while for roots under 1 g conditions it stayed constant. This was consistent with a random walk hypothesis for the bending pattern. In phase II, roots in microgravity stopped their spontaneous curvatures and showed more straight growth or even diminished the root curvatures that had occurred during phase I. Thus, the growth is distinctly different in the two phases and is thought to be controlled by autotropic reactions in phase II. Root hairs developed when the roots passed into phase II. During phase I, the root growth rates were equal in microgravity and on the ground (0.50 mm h-1 with SE 0.04 and 0.51 mm h-1 with SE 0.03, respectively). In phase II the growth rate on the ground was higher than in microgravity (1.44 mm h-1 with SE 0.10 and 1.07 mm h-1 with SE 0.04 in microgravity). Microgravity conditions, therefore, clearly affect Lepidium root growth: In phase I the bending pattern is random in contrast to the normal straight growth under 1g. In phase II the growth rate is reduced, as compared to the growth rate under 1 g.     

Expression of Netrin-1 and its two receptors DCC and UNC5H2 in the developing mouse lung

The ligand Netrin-1 and its receptors DCC and UNC5H2 are critical for the regulation of neuronal migration in nervous system development. Here we demonstrate expression of these molecules in lung development. The mRNA expression profiles of Netrin-1, DCC and UNC5H2 are developmentally regulated during embryonic mouse lung formation. Netrin-1 shows a bimodal expression pattern with elevated mRNA levels early followed by a second peak in late gestation. Peak expression of DCC occurs early in development whereas expression of UNC5H2 peaks late in development. We also demonstrate localization of Netrin-1, DCC and UNC5H2 during the stages of lung development. We present evidence that these proteins are modulated spatially in the mesenchyme and epithelium during lung organogenesis.     

Positive predictive value of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, codes to identify osteonecrosis of the jaw in patients with cancer

Background: Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is an important adverse event associated with therapies suppressing bone turnover, especially in patients with high-dose regimens of antiresorptive therapy, such as cancer patients. Danish health registries are an important resource for monitoring side effects of drugs. The International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10), currently used in Denmark, does not have a specific code for ONJ, making it difficult to monitor its occurrence. Objectives: To estimate the positive predictive value (PPV) for ONJ of currently used ICD-10 codes, suggested by Danish oral and maxillofacial surgeons, in order to assess feasibility of identification of ONJ cases among cancer patients in the Danish National Registry of Patients (DNRP). Methods: This study was conducted in northern Denmark (1.8 million inhabitants) among patients with a history of cancer. In Denmark ONJ cases are referred to hospital-based departments of oral and maxillofacial surgery (DOMS). In the DNRP, we identified patients with potential ONJ diagnosed at DOMS (as suggested by a series of ICD-10 codes) from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2009. To confirm or rule out ONJ, we reviewed hospital records of these patients originating from DOMS. A confirmed ONJ case was defined by the presence of exposed maxillofacial bone for 8 weeks or more, in the absence of previous craniofacial radiation therapy. The PPV was the proportion of confirmed cases among all potential cases. Results: Among 85,910 eligible cancer patients, we identified 91 (0.11%) potential cases of ONJ, of which 18 were confirmed. The overall PPV was 20% (95% CI: 12–29%), ranging from 0% to50% for individual ICD-10 codes. Conclusions: A majority of cases identified by the suggested ICD-10 codes did not fulfill the criteria for ONJ, even though the potential cases were identified at DOMS. Therefore, reliance on ICD-10 codes, without hospital chart review, will lead to an overestimation of the occurrence of ONJ among cancer patients.