A systematic review of commercial weight loss programmes' effect on glycemic outcomes among overweight and obese adults with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the glycemic benefits of commercial weight loss programmes as compared with control/education or counselling among overweight and obese adults with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and references cited by individual programmes. We included randomized controlled trials of ≥12 weeks duration. Two reviewers extracted information on study design, population characteristics, interventions, and mean changes in haemoglobin A1c and glucose. RESULTS: We included 18 randomized controlled trials. Few trials occurred among individuals with T2DM. In this population, Jenny Craig reduced A1c at least 0.4% more than counselling at 12 months, Nutrisystem significantly reduced A1c 0.3% more than counselling at 6 months, and OPTIFAST reduced A1c 0.3% more than counselling at 6 months. Among individuals without T2DM, few studies evaluated glycemic outcomes, and when reported, most did not show substantial reductions. DISCUSSION: Few trials have examined whether commercial weight loss programmes result in glycemic benefits for their participants, particularly among overweight and obese individuals without T2DM. Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem and OPTIFAST show promising glycemic lowering benefits for patients with T2DM, although additional studies are needed to confirm these conclusions. © 2016 World Obesity.

E2 interference effects in the 12C(α,γ0)16O reaction.

The E1-E2 interference sign between the E(c.m.)=2.68-MeV E2 resonance and an underlying E1 strength has been measured for the first time. An E1-E2 asymmetry parameter of a=0.07±0.05 was extracted from the thick-target γ-ray yields of the narrow resonance at angles of 45° and 135°. The positive sign of a corresponded to constructive interference at forward angles and, further, allowed the interference between the resonance and an E2 background to be identified as constructive below the resonance energy. The E2-E2 interference was then used to evaluate the global S(E2) data within the vicinity of the resonance 2.5≤E(c.m.)≤3.0 MeV. An analysis of the global S(E2) data that agreed with the interference scenario has determined the E2-E2 interference scheme of the 4.34-MeV resonance and background, resulting in a value of S(E2)(300)=62(-6)(+9) keV b.

Comparative phylogeography of sympatric sister species, Clevelandia ios and Eucyclogobius newberryi (Teleostei, Gobiidae), across the California Transition Zone.

It is paradigmatic in marine species that greater dispersal ability often, but not always, results in greater gene flow and less population structure. Some of the exceptions may be attributable to studies confounded by comparison of species with dissimilar evolutionary histories, i.e. co-occurring species that are not closely related or species that are closely related but allopatric. Investigation of sympatric sister species, in contrast, should allow differences in phylogeographic structure to be attributed reliably to recently derived differences in dispersal ability. Here, using mitochondrial DNA control region sequence, we first confirm that Clevelandia ios and Eucyclogobius newberryi are sympatric sister taxa, then demonstrate considerably shallower phylogeographic structure in C. ios than in E. newberryi. This shallower phylogeographic structure is consistent with the higher dispersal ability of C. ios, which most likely results from the interaction of habitat and life-history differences between the species. We suggest that the paradigm will be investigated most rigorously by similar studies of other sympatric sister species, appended by thorough ecological studies, and by extending this sister-taxon approach to comparative phylogeographic studies of monophyletic clades of sympatric species.

The isolation of a Distal-less gene fragment from two molluscs.

The transcription factor, Distal-less, and its orthologues (e.g. DLL/Dlx) are best known for their roles in proximo-distal and nervous system patterning as well as for their use in inferring the evolution of limbs and other proximo-distal structures. However, evolutionary applications to non-model taxa have primarily employed a polyclonal antibody, and sequence data are generally lacking. We have designed a degenerate PCR primer set specific to the recovery of a Distal-less gene fragment, and present sequence data for two bivalve molluscs, Crassostrea gigas and Nutricola sp. These sequences represent the first Distal-less homologs isolated from lophotrochozoan taxa.

Phylogeography of the tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi (Teleostei, Gobiidae), in coastal California.

The tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi, inhabits discrete, seasonally closed estuaries and lagoons along approximately 1500 km of California coastline. This species is euryhaline but has no explicit marine stage, yet population extirpation and recolonization data suggest tidewater gobies disperse intermittently via the sea. Analyses of mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b sequences demonstrate a deep evolutionary bifurcation in the vicinity of Los Angeles that separates southern California populations from all more northerly populations. Shallower phylogeographic breaks, in the vicinities of Seacliff, Point Buchon, Big Sur, and Point Arena segregate the northerly populations into five groups in three geographic clusters: the Point Conception and Ventura groups between Los Angeles and Point Buchon, a lone Estero Bay group from central California, and San Francisco and Cape Mendocino groups from northern California. The phylogenetic relationships between and patterns of molecular diversity within the six groups are consistent with repeated, and sometimes rapid, northward and southward range expansions out of central California caused by Quaternary climate change. Plio-Pleistocene tectonism, Quaternary coastal geography and hydrography, and historical human activities probably also influenced the modern geographic and genetic structure of E. newberryi. The phylogeography of E. newberryi is concordant with phylogeographic patterns in several other coastal California taxa, suggesting common extrinsic factors have had similar effects on different species. However, there is no evidence of a phylogeographic break coincident with a biogeographic boundary at Point Conception.

Effects of sampling standardization on estimates of Phanerozoic marine diversification.

Global diversity curves reflect more than just the number of taxa that have existed through time: they also mirror variation in the nature of the fossil record and the way the record is reported. These sampling effects are best quantified by assembling and analyzing large numbers of locality-specific biotic inventories. Here, we introduce a new database of this kind for the Phanerozoic fossil record of marine invertebrates. We apply four substantially distinct analytical methods that estimate taxonomic diversity by quantifying and correcting for variation through time in the number and nature of inventories. Variation introduced by the use of two dramatically different counting protocols also is explored. We present sampling-standardized diversity estimates for two long intervals that sum to 300 Myr (Middle Ordovician-Carboniferous; Late Jurassic-Paleogene). Our new curves differ considerably from traditional, synoptic curves. For example, some of them imply unexpectedly low late Cretaceous and early Tertiary diversity levels. However, such factors as the current emphasis in the database on North America and Europe still obscure our view of the global history of marine biodiversity. These limitations will be addressed as the database and methods are refined.

A phylogenetic tree of the Wnt genes based on all available full-length sequences, including five from the cephalochordate amphioxus.

The WNT: gene family is large, and new members are still being discovered. We constructed a parsimony tree for the WNT: family based on all 82 of the full-length sequences currently available. The inclusion of sequences from the cephalochordate amphioxus is especially useful in comprehensive gene trees, because the amphioxus genes in each subfamily often mark the base of the vertebrate diversification. We thus isolated full-length cDNAs of five amphioxus WNT: genes (AmphiWnt1, AmphiWnt4, AmphiWnt7, AmphiWnt8, and AmphiWnt11) for addition to the overall WNT: family tree. The analysis combined amino acid and nucleotide sequences (excluding third codon positions), taking into account 97% of the available data for each sequence. This combinatorial method had the advantage of generating a single most-parsimonious tree that was trichotomy-free. The reliability of the nodes was assessed by both jackknifing and Bremer support (decay index). A regression analysis revealed that branch length was strongly correlated with branch support, and possible reasons for this pattern are discussed. The tree topology suggested that in amphioxus, at least an AmphiWnt5 and an AmphiWnt10 have yet to be discovered.

Molluscan engrailed expression, serial organization, and shell evolution.

Whether the serial features found in some molluscs are ancestral or derived is considered controversial. Here, in situ hybridization and antibody studies show iterated engrailed-gene expression in transverse rows of ectodermal cells bounding plate field development and spicule formation in the chiton, Lepidochitona cavema, as well as in cells surrounding the valves and in the early development of the shell hinge in the clam, Transennella tantilla. Ectodermal expression of engrailed is associated with skeletogenesis across a range of bilaterian phyla, suggesting a single evolutionary origin of invertebrate skeletons. The shared ancestry of bilaterian-invertebrate skeletons may help explain the sudden appearance of shelly fossils in the Cambrian. Our interpretation departs from the consideration of canonical metameres or segments as units of evolutionary analysis. In this interpretation, the shared ancestry of engrailed-gene function in the terminal/posterior addition of serially repeated elements during development explains the iterative expression of engrailed genes in a range of metazoan body plans.

Expression of Distal-less in molluscan eggs, embryos, and larvae.

Distal-less (Dll) is best known as a transcription factor involved with "limb patterning" in Drosophila melanogaster. Observations of both deuterostome and protostome phyla have led to the suggestion that some aspect of this gene's function in "appendage" or proximal-distal "outgrowth" development is conserved. Here we explore the possibility of other conserved roles operating earlier in development. We examine the expression of DLL protein during the early development of two molluscan classes, Polyplacophora (chiton) and Gastropoda (snail). Using an antibody approach, we find DLL expression in the oocytes of a chiton (Mopalia muscosa) and in the pregastrulae through early veliger larvae of a marine snail (Kelletia kelletii). We observe antibody localization in the oocyte, nuclear expression in all cells of the pregastrulae, and predominant expression in the ectoderm of postgastrulae and early veliger larvae. Comparison of our observations on spiralian taxa, thought to have conservative development with previous work, primarily on deuterostomes, suggests the possibility of an ancient role(s) for DLL in early development. Possible functions appear to include maternal and zygotic involvement in the establishment of embryonic polarity, involvement in the process of germ layer formation, and a role in the specification and/or differentiation of ectoderm/epithelia. We note that the exploration of conserved gene function in early development may be clarified by examining taxa whose early development has putatively not been subject to dramatic evolutionary change.

Oxygen and evolutionary patterns in the sea: onshore/offshore trends and recent recruitment of deep-sea faunas.

Over the last 15 years a striking pattern of diversification has been documented in the fossil record of benthic marine invertebrates. Higher taxa (orders) tend to originate onshore, diversify offshore, and retreat into deep-water environments. Previous studies attribute this macroevolutionary pattern to a variety of causes, foremost among them the role of nearshore disturbance in providing opportunities for the evolution of novel forms accorded ordinal rank. Our analysis of the post-Paleozoic record of ordinal first appearances indicates that the onshore preference of ordinal origination occurred only in the Mesozoic prior to the Turonian stage of the Cretaceous, a period characterized by relatively frequent anoxic/dysoxic bottom conditions in deeper marine environments. Later, in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic, ordinal origination of benthic organisms did not occur exclusively, or even preferentially, in onshore environments. This change in environmental pattern of ordinal origination roughly correlates with Late Cretaceous: (i) decline in anoxia/dysoxia in offshore benthic environments; (ii) extinction of faunas associated with dysoxic conditions; (iii) increase in bioturbation with the expansion of deep burrowing forms into offshore environments; and (iv) offshore expansion of bryozoan diversity. We also advance a separate argument that the Cenomanian/Turonian and latest Paleocene global events eliminated much of the deep-water benthos. This requires a more recent origin of modern vent and deep-sea faunas, from shallower water refugia, than the Paleozoic or early Mesozoic origin of these faunas suggested by other workers.

Field preservation of marine invertebrate tissue for DNA analyses.

Successful preservation of tissue samples is a prerequisite for long field studies in remote areas. However, there is little published information concerning field preservation of marine invertebrate tissues for DNA analyses. This omission is significant because marine biodiversity is centered in the Indo-Pacific, where immediate DNA analysis is often impossible. Consequently, we used an assay based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to examine the effect of five storage solutions and three temperature regimens on the degradation of DNA from four common classes of marine invertebrates (Anthozoa, Gastropoda, Polychaeta, and Scyphozoa). Control samples were cryopreserved. Storage solution and the type of tissue preserved were the best predictors of preservation success. The length of time in storage and the storage temperature also affected the preservation of DNA. A field test demonstrates that a solution of dimethylsulfoxide and sodium chloride (DMSO-NaCl) preserves a wide range of tissues for DNA analyses and is very simple to use in remote field locations.

Homologues of the engrailed gene from five molluscan classes.

We used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify, clone, and sequence 10 engrailed homeodomains from 8 species in the five major molluscan classes, including the serially organized chiton (Polyplacophora) lineage. The Drosophila melanogaster gene engrailed (en) is one of several genes involved in embryonic segment polarity determination. Studies of engrailed sequence and expression in molluscs are of interest due to questions regarding the evolution and homology of segmentation in these taxa. Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence comparisons reflect evolutionary conservation within helices of the en homeodomain and ancient divergences in the region 3' to the homeodomain.

Developmental genes and the origin and evolution of Metazoa.

NASA: The author discusses the role of developmental genes in evolution of life and the use of molecular approaches to confirm morphologic homology, to aid in understanding developmental mechanisms of evolution of novel structures, and to investigate some aspects of the evolution of life. Topics examined include developmental genes and homology; the role of co-optation and divergence, homeosis, and heterochrony as mechanisms of evolution; and life history evolution and model organisms.^ieng

Selector genes and the Cambrian radiation of Bilateria.

There is a significantly greater post-Cambrian decline in frequency of ordinal origination among serially constructed Bilateria, such as arthropods, than in nonserially constructed Bilateria. Greater decline in arthropod ordinal origination is not predicted by ecologic, diversity-dependent models of decline in the production of higher taxa. Reduction in ordinal origination indicates increased constraint on arthropod body-plan evolution. The dispersal of selector genes in the genomes of arthropods in conjunction with the retention of a simple regulatory hierarchy in development may have caused the increased constraint seen. Increased constraint would not be expected in those organisms that are not serially constructed and presumably have not retained the simple ancestral regulatory hierarchy in development of selector gene differentiation of serial elements. The hypothesis of differential constraint tested against the fossil record in this paper can be further tested by examination of the distribution of selector genes in the genomes of arthropods.