Four-bar Geometry is Shared among Ecologically DivergentFish Species.

Understanding the factors that influence morphological evolution is a major goal in biology. One such factor is the ability to acquire and process prey. Prey hardness and evasiveness are important properties that can impact evolution of the jaws. Similar diets and biomechanical systems have repeatedly evolved among fish lineages, providing an opportunity to test for shared patterns of evolution across distantly related organisms. Four-bar linkages are structures often used by animals to transmit force and motion during feeding and that provide an excellent system to understand the impact of diet on morphological and biomechanical evolution. Here, we tested how diet influences the evolutionary dynamics of the oral four-bar linkage system in wrasses (Family: Labridae) and cichlids (Family: Cichlidae). We found that shifts in prey hardness/evasiveness are associated with limited modifications in four-bar geometry across these two distantly related fish lineages. Wrasse and cichlid four-bar systems largely exhibit many-to-one mapping in response to dietary shifts. Across two iconic adaptive radiations of fish, an optimal four-bar geometry has largely been co-opted for different dietary functions during their extensive ecological diversification. Given the exceptional jaw diversity of both lineages, many-to-one mapping of morphology to mechanical properties may be a core feature of fish adaptive radiation.

Entender los factores que influyen en la evolución morfológica es un objetivo principal en biología. Uno de esos factores es la capacidad para atrapar y procesar presas. La dureza y evasividad de las presas son propiedades importantes que pueden impactar la evolución de las mandíbulas. Dietas y sistemas biomecánicos similares han evolucionado repetidamente entre linajes de peces, proporcionando una oportunidad para evaluar patrones evolutivos compartidos entre organismos lejanamente emparentados. Los mecanismos de cuatro barras en animales, usados usualmente para transmitir fuerza y movilidad durante la alimentación, proveen un sistema excelente para entender el efecto de la dieta en la evolución morfológica y biomecánica. Aquí, evaluamos cómo la dieta influye en las dinámicas evolutivas del mecanismo oral de cuatro barras en lábridos (Familia: Labridae) y cíclidos (Familia: Cichlidae). Encontramos que los cambios en la dureza y evasividad de las presas están asociados con modificaciones limitadas de la geometría de las cuatro barras entre esos dos linajes de peces lejanamente emparentados. Los mecanismos de cuatro barras de los lábridos y cíclidos muestran en gran medida diferentes estructuras que conducen a un mismo resultado funcional en respuesta a cambios de dieta. A lo largo de dos radiaciones adaptativas icónicas de peces, una geometría óptima de cuatro barras ha sido en gran medida adaptada para diferentes funciones dietéticas durante una diversificación ecológica extensa. Dada la excepcional diversidad de mandíbulas en ambos linajes, estructuras que conducen a un mismo resultado en morfología y propiedades mecánicas podrían ser características esenciales durante la radiación adaptativa de peces.Translated by Saúl Dominguez-Guerrero, Postdoctoral Associate- Yale University.

Comprendre les facteurs qui influencent l'évolution morphologique est un objectif majeur en biologie. L'un de ces facteurs est la capacité d'acquérir et de traiter des proies. La dureté et le caractère évasif des proies sont des propriétés importantes qui peuvent avoir un impact sur l'évolution des mâchoires. Des régimes alimentaires et des systèmes biomécaniques similaires ont évolué à plusieurs reprises parmi les lignées de poissons, offrant ainsi l'occasion de tester des modèles d'évolution partagés entre des organismes éloignés. Les liaisons à quatre barres sont des structures souvent utilisées par les animaux pour transmettre la force et le mouvement pendant l'alimentation, et qui constituent un excellent système pour comprendre l'impact du régime alimentaire sur l'évolution morphologique et biomécanique. Ici, nous avons testé comment le régime alimentaire influence la dynamique évolutive du système de liaison orale à quatre barres chez les labres (famille : Labridae) et les cichlidés (famille : Cichlidae). Nous avons constaté que les changements dans la dureté/le caractère évasif des proies sont associés à des modifications limitées de la géométrie à quatre barres dans ces deux lignées de poissons éloignées. Les systèmes à quatre barres de labres et de cichlidés présentent en grande partie une cartographie plusieurs-à-un en réponse aux changementsde régime alimentaire. Pour deux radiations adaptatives emblématiques de poissons, une géométrie optimale à quatre barres a été largement adoptée pour différentes fonctions alimentaires au cours de leur vaste diversification écologique. Compte tenu de la diversité exceptionnelle des mâchoires des deux lignées, la cartographie plusieurs-à-un de la morphologie aux propriétés mécaniques peut être une caractéristique essentielle du rayonnement adaptatif des poissons.Translated by Pauline Raimondeau, Postdoctoral Associate, Yale University.

Impact of adjuvant therapy toxicity on quality of life and emotional symptoms in patients with colon cancer: a latent class analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify distinct trajectories of toxicity in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients after adjuvant chemotherapy and its impact on quality of life (QoL) and psychological symptoms. METHODS: A prospective, multicenter study was conducted in 157 patients. A latent class analysis defined the unobserved latent constructs that can be predicted as symptom clusters, considering the intensity of four types of adverse events (AEs). Patients completed EORTC-QLQ-C30, BSI-18, PDRQ-9, and DRS scales. RESULTS: Ninety-six percent had some degree of toxicity, with grades 3-4 being the most common: neurotoxicity (7.2%), hematological (13.1%), digestive (5.2%), and skin toxicity (1.4%). Three distinct latent classes were identified (high [72.5%], mild [16.9%], and low [10.6%] toxicity). Patients with high toxicity had the worst QoL scores and moderately high somatization and psychological distress scores. CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant chemotherapy for CRC was associated with frequent toxicity that negatively impacted QoL and psychological wellbeing.

Janzen's Hypothesis Meets the Bogert Effect: Connecting Climate Variation, Thermoregulatory Behavior, and Rates of Physiological Evolution.

Understanding the motors and brakes that guide physiological evolution is a topic of keen interest, and is of increasing importance in light of global climate change. For more than half a century, Janzen's hypothesis has been used to understand how climatic variability influences physiological divergence across elevation and latitude. At the same time, there has been increasing recognition that behavior and physiological evolution are mechanistically linked, with regulatory behaviors often serving to dampen environmental selection and stymie evolution (a phenomenon termed the Bogert effect). Here, we illustrate how some aspects of Janzen's hypothesis and the Bogert effect can be connected to conceptually link climate, behavior, and rates of physiological evolution in a common framework. First, we demonstrate how thermal heterogeneity varies between nighttime and daytime environments across elevation in a tropical mountain. Using data from Hispaniolan Anolis lizards, we show how clinal variation in cold tolerance is consistent with thermally homogenous nighttime environments. Elevational patterns of heat tolerance and the preferred temperature, in contrast, are best explained by incorporating the buffering effects of thermoregulatory behavior in thermally heterogeneous daytime environments. In turn, climatic variation and behavior interact to determine rates of physiological evolution, with heat tolerance and the preferred temperature evolving much more slowly than cold tolerance. Conceptually bridging some aspects of Janzen's hypothesis and the Bogert effect provides an integrative, cohesive framework illustrating how environment and behavior interact to shape patterns of physiological evolution.

The relationship between physician and cancer patient when initiating adjuvant treatment and its association with sociodemographic and clinical variables.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze differences in physician and patient satisfaction in shared decision-making (SDM); patients' emotional distress, and coping in subjects with resected, non-metastatic cancer. METHODS: 602 patients from 14 hospitals in Spain were surveyed. Information was collected regarding physician and patient satisfaction with SDM, participants' emotional distress and coping, as well as patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics by means of specific, validated questionnaires. RESULTS: Overall, 11% of physicians and 19% of patients were dissatisfied with SDM; 22% of patients presented hopelessness or anxious preoccupation as coping strategies, and 56% presented emotional distress. By gender, female patients showed a higher prevalence of dissatisfaction with SDM (23 vs 14%), anxious preoccupation (26 vs 17%), and emotional distress (63 vs 44%) than males. Hopelessness was more prevalent in individuals with stage III disease than those with stages I-II (28 vs 18%). CONCLUSION: Physicians must be mindful of the importance of emotional support and individual characteristics when communicating treatment options, benefits, and adverse effects of each alternative to oncological patients.

Validation of SDM-Q-Doc Questionnaire to measure shared decision-making physician's perspective in oncology practice.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire-Physician version (SDM-Q-Doc) in a sample of medical oncologists who provide adjuvant treatment to patients with non-metastatic resected cancer and the correlations between the total SDM-Q-Doc score and physician satisfaction with the information provided. METHODS: Prospective, observational and multicenter study in which 32 medical oncologists and 520 patients were recruited. The psychometric properties, dimensionality, and factor structure of the SDM-Q-Doc were assessed. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analyses suggested that the most likely solution was two-dimensional, with two correlated factors: one factor regarding information and another one about treatment. Confirmatory factor analysis based on cross-validation showed that the fitted two-dimensional solution provided the best fit to the data. Reliability analyses revealed good accuracy for the derived scores, both total and sub-scale, with estimates ranging from 0.81 to 0.89. The results revealed significant correlations between the total SDM-Q-Doc score and physician satisfaction with the information provided (p < 0.01); between information sub-scale scores (factor 1) and satisfaction (p < 0.01), and between treatment sub-scale scores (factor 2) and satisfaction (p < 0.01). Medical oncologists of older age and those with more years of experience showed more interest in the patient preferences (p = 0.026 and p = 0.020, respectively). Patient age negatively correlated with SDM information (p < 0.01) and physicians appear to provide more information to young patients. CONCLUSION: SDM-Q-Doc showed good psychometric properties and could be a helpful tool that examines physician's perspective of SDM and as an indicator of quality and satisfaction in patients with cancer.

Identification of Leishmania isolates from a Lebanese population.

We report the results of enzymatic patterns of isolates of Leishmania cultured from patients referred to Department of Dermatology of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon. The results reveal that these Lebanese isolates are all very similar despite variable clinical presentations of the patients and differences in geographic origin. Leishmania donovani sensu lato is the dominant species present in the skin lesions observed; thus, clinical manifestations and/or geographic distribution cannot be used as reliable criteria for identifying Leishmania parasites from this geographic area. Enzyme data should be combined with these parameters before definitive identification can be made.

Identification and genetic comparison of leishmanial parasites causing viscerotropic and cutaneous disease in soldiers returning from Operation Desert Storm.

Six Leishmania major and seven L. tropica parasites were isolated and identified from participants in Operation Desert Shield/Storm. A complete enzyme analysis (21 enzymes) revealed that there was enzyme polymorphism among the isolates of each species group. Any one Desert Storm L. major isolate could differ from any other for 1-3 enzymes, and any L. tropica isolate could differ from any one other for up to eight enzymes. Enzyme polymorphism data from other L. major and L. tropica isolates from Africa and the Middle East region were obtained and combined with the Desert Storm data to produce population enzyme polymorphism estimates. Results from these population data indicated that L. major parasites could be expected to differ from each other for as many as eight enzymes and still be L. major, and similarly, L. tropica isolates could differ for as many as 14 enzymes. These expected isolate variation extremes have not been observed among the isolates studied. All L. major and most L. tropica isolates were from patients who, as expected, presented with cutaneous disease, but the Desert Storm and two Kenyan patients infected with L. tropica presented with a viscerotropic disease, the symptoms of which are unlike those of classic visceral leishmaniasis. Such unrecognized presentation for these L. tropica-infected patients indicates that both parasite and patient can play critical roles in disease manifestations. The Desert Storm isolates are, as indicated, either L. major or L. tropica.

The performance of the Rigiscan in the measurement of penile tumescence and rigidity.

The validity of the Rigiscan as a measure of both penile circumference and rigidity was assessed. In the first study, the Rigiscan was used simultaneously with a mercury-in-rubber strain gauge to monitor nocturnal penile tumescence. The Rigiscan was found to underestimate the circumference proportional to the degree of erection. In a second study a calibration system was developed which allowed independent variation of circumference and rigidity. Assessment of the Rigiscan with this system confirmed that circumference was underestimated, particularly at lower levels of rigidity, and also that different devices consistently recorded different degrees of rigidity. The use of this type of system for regular calibration is recommended, and other potential improvements in the device for research purposes are discussed.

Influence of hydrolysis, purification, and calibration method on furosine determination using Ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

The influence of HCI concentration (6M, 8M, and 10M) and the ratio of sample protein to acid (1 or 5 mg of protein per mL of acid) on furosine formation during sample hydrolysis is studied. The conditions that maximize furosine formation are 10M HCI in the ratio of 1 mg of protein to 1 mL of acid. Purification of the hydrolysate by solid-phase extraction is also considered by examining the effect of hydrolysate volume and volume of 3M HCI used to elute the furosine. Furosine quantitation is carried out using the standard additions and external standard methods. The results indicate that there is no interference by the sample matrix and that external calibration is adequate.

Liquid chromatographic determination of the total available free and intrachain lysine in various foods.

A method for the quantitative determination of the total available lysine in various foods is developed. The method is based on the reaction of the amino groups on the lysine molecule with fluorodinitrobenzene and is capable of furnishing simultaneous determination of the available intrachain lysine (known as N-epsilon-[2,4-dinitrophenyl]-L-lysine) or the available free and/or N-terminal lysine (known as N,N'-di-[2,4-dinitrophenyl]-L-lysine). Optimum conditions for separation and quantitation are studied. The results show the proposed method to be both accurate and precise and suitable for food samples containing hydrolyzed proteins.

[Multiple sclerosis and neurocysticercosis: a diagnostic dilemma]. / Esclerosis múltiple y neurocisticercosis. dilema diagnóstico.

INTRODUCTION: Both Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Neurocysticercosis (NC) are two entities in which clinical manifestations, neuroimaging findings and immunoserologic assays are neither pathognomonic nor specific requiring for their diagnosis an accurate examination of the clinical history of patients and an adequate follow up. CASE REPORTS: Two patients who consulted non neurologists about focal neurological symptoms. Neuroimaging findings revealed multiple lesions, some of them contrast enhanced. A diagnosis of neurocysticercosis was established, supported in one of the patients by positive serologic assays for cysticerci and antihelmintic therapy began to be administered. Observing the clinical evolution of the patients, monitoring their clinical history and considering the diagnostic criteria proposed by McDonald for MS and by Del Brutto for NC the patients were finally diagnosed of MS. CONCLUSION: The first step to reach a diagnosis of MS is to consider such a possibility. The diagnosis is mainly based on clinical grounds and it is necessary to prove that symptoms disseminate or that alterations occur in neuroimaging findings both in time and space. It is of the utmost importance to establish a differential diagnosis with other conditions presenting with similar clinical manifestations, neuroimaging findings and cerebrospinal fluid tests results. Even with the latest criteria proposed for the diagnosis of MS and NC we may have doubts making it fundamental to cautiously interpret the clinical manifestations and tests results.

[Characterization of surface molecules of Entamoeba invadens]. / Caracterización de moléculas superficiales de Entamoeba invadens.

In this paper we studied the externally disposed plasma membrane antigens in Entamoeba invadens using the enzymatic iodination technique. Sodiumdodecyl-sulfate-polyacrylamide gels of solubilized trophozoite proteins revealed six labeled peaks ranging from 14,000 to 67,000 daltons in gradient slab gels. Over 60 percent of the labeled was in the polypeptide of 67,000 daltons. Concanavalin A binding to these trophozites induced cell surface coat release consituted by three radioactive bands of 67,000, 60,000 and 24,000 daltons. Using an affinity chromatography method with Con A conjugated to Sepharose 4B, trophozoites in culture mixture with these beads during three hours at 22 degree C, released three components that were eluted from immobilized Con A, 67,000, 60,000 and 56,000 daltons revealed in gradient slab gels. In several determinations, the 67,000 daltons glycoprotein consistently was the major surface component, and the most immunogenic as analyzed from rabbits sera immunized with whole cell extracts as well with cell surface coat.