Insights into the genetic architecture of morphological traits in two passerine bird species.

Knowledge about the underlying genetic architecture of phenotypic traits is needed to understand and predict evolutionary dynamics. The number of causal loci, magnitude of the effects and location in the genome are, however, still largely unknown. Here, we use genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from two large-scale data sets on house sparrows and collared flycatchers to examine the genetic architecture of different morphological traits (tarsus length, wing length, body mass, bill depth, bill length, total and visible badge size and white wing patches). Genomic heritabilities were estimated using relatedness calculated from SNPs. The proportion of variance captured by the SNPs (SNP-based heritability) was lower in house sparrows compared with collared flycatchers, as expected given marker density (6348 SNPs in house sparrows versus 38 689 SNPs in collared flycatchers). Indeed, after downsampling to similar SNP density and sample size, this estimate was no longer markedly different between species. Chromosome-partitioning analyses demonstrated that the proportion of variance explained by each chromosome was significantly positively related to the chromosome size for some traits and, generally, that larger chromosomes tended to explain proportionally more variation than smaller chromosomes. Finally, we found two genome-wide significant associations with very small-effect sizes. One SNP on chromosome 20 was associated with bill length in house sparrows and explained 1.2% of phenotypic variation (VP), and one SNP on chromosome 4 was associated with tarsus length in collared flycatchers (3% of VP). Although we cannot exclude the possibility of undetected large-effect loci, our results indicate a polygenic basis for morphological traits.

Three cases of acute hepatitis E virus infection imported into Norway.

We report 3 cases of acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection imported from Asia. All 3 patients had fever and upper abdominal discomfort preceding jaundice which lasted 2-3 weeks with maximum bilirubin levels of 141-254 mmol/l. The ALT values peaked between 1,347 and 3,690 U/l. Both values normalized within 1-2 months. During the acute phase of the disease, all patients had high levels of IgG and IgM antibodies against HEV (anti-HEV) recombinant and synthetic peptides. The duration of the anti-HEV IgM was about 1-2 months.

Absorption of paracetamol from suppositories in geriatric patients with fecal accumulation in the rectum.

The bioavailability of paracetamol from suppositories was studied in 16 geriatric in-patients in stable clinical condition; 9 had significant amounts of feces in the rectum. Rectal accumulation of feces reduced the peak plasma paracetamol concentration by 32% (p = 0.05) and the AUC0-8h by 27% (p = 0.04). The peak concentration, however, appeared earlier among patients with rectal accumulation of feces. Compared to findings in 6 healthy young controls, geriatric patients had higher plasma concentrations of the main paracetamol metabolites.