Cytokine profile of autologous conditioned serum for treatment of osteoarthritis, <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>effects on cartilage metabolism and intra-articular levels after injection

Introduction  

Intraarticular administration of autologous conditioned serum (ACS) recently demonstrated some clinical effectiveness in treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). The current study aims to evaluate the in vitro effects of ACS on cartilage proteoglycan (PG) metabolism, its composition and the effects on synovial fluid (SF) cytokine levels following intraarticular ACS administration.     

The abundance of an invasive freshwater snail Tarebia granifera (Lamarck, 1822) in the Nseleni River,South Africa

The invasive freshwater snail Tarebia granifera (Lamarck, 1822) was first reported in South Africa in 1999 and it has become widespread across the country, with some evidence to suggest that it reduces benthic macroinvertebrate biodiversity. The current study aimed to identify the primary abiotic drivers behind abundance patterns of T. granifera, by comparing the current abundance of the snail in three different regions, and at three depths, of the highly modified Nseleni River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Tarebia granifera was well established throughout the Nseleni River system, with an overall preference for shallow waters and seasonal temporal patterns of abundance. Although it is uncertain what the ecological impacts of the snail in this system are, its high abundances suggest that it should be controlled where possible and prevented from invading other systems in the region.     

Sensitive fluorescence in situ hybridization signal detection in maize using directly labeled probes produced by high concentration DNA polymerase nick translation

The signal produced by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) often is inconsistent among cells and sensitivity is low. Small DNA targets on the chromatin are difficult to detect. We report here an improved nick translation procedure for Texas red and Alexa Fluor 488 direct labeling of FISH probes. Brighter probes can be obtained by adding excess DNA polymerase I. Using such probes, a 30 kb yeast transgene, and the rp1, rp3 and zein multigene clusters were clearly detected.     

Economic evaluation of water loss saving due to the biological control of water hyacinth at New Year’s Dam,Eastern Cape province,South Africa

Water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes is considered the most damaging aquatic weed in the world. However, few studies have quantified the impact of this weed economically and ecologically, and even fewer studies have quantified the benefits of its control. This paper focuses on water loss saving as the benefit derived from biological control of this plant between 1990 and 2013 at New Year’s Dam, Alicedale, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Estimates of water loss due to evapotranspiration from water hyacinth vary significantly; therefore, the study used three different rates, high, medium and low. A conservative raw agriculture value of R 0.26 per m³ was used to calculate the benefits derived by the water saved. The present benefit and cost values were determined using 10% and 5% discount rates. The benefit/cost ratio at the low evapotranspiration rate was less than one, implying that biological control was not economically viable but, at the higher evapotranspiration rates, the return justified the costs of biological control. However, at the marginal value product of water, the inclusion of the costs of damage to infrastructure, or the adverse effects of water hyacinth on biodiversity, would justify the use of biological control, even at the low transpiration rate.     

Using naturally shed feathers for individual identification, genetic parentage analyses, and population monitoring in an endangered Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) population from Kazakhstan

Genetic analyses on noninvasively collected samples have revolutionized how populations are monitored. Most noninvasive monitoring studies have used hair or scat for individual identification of elusive mammals, but here we utilize naturally shed feathers. The Eastern imperial eagle (EIE) is a species of conservation concern throughout Central Asia and, like most raptors, EIEs are inherently challenging to study because adults are difficult to capture and band using conventional techniques. Over 6 years, we noninvasively collected hundreds of adult feathers and directly sampled EIE chicks at a national nature reserve in Kazakhstan. All samples were genetically sexed and genotyped at a suite of microsatellite loci. Genetically profiled adult feathers identified and monitored the presence of individual eagles over time, enabling us to address a variety of issues related to the biology, demography, and conservation of EIEs. Specifically, we characterized (i) the genetic mating system, (ii) relatedness among mated pairs, (iii) chick sex ratios, and (iv) annual turnover in an adult breeding population. We show that EIEs are genetically monogamous and furthermore, there is no apparent relatedness-based system of mate choice (e.g. inbreeding avoidance). Results indicate that annual adult EIE survivorship (84%) is lower than expected for a long-lived raptor, but initial analyses suggest the current reproductive rate at our study site is sufficient to maintain a stable breeding population. The pristine habitat at our study site supports an EIE population that is probably the most demographically robust in the world; thus, our results caution that populations in marginal habitats may not be self-sustaining.     

Selected anthropometric variables and aerobic fitness as predictors of cardiovascular disease risk in children

The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and aerobic fitness as predictors of cardiovascular risk factor clustering in children. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 290 school boys and girls from 6 to 10 years old, randomly selected. Blood was collected after a 12-hour fasting period. Blood pressure, waist circumference (WC), height and weight were evaluated according to international standards. Aerobic fitness (AF) was assessed by the 20-metre shuttle-run test. Clustering was considered when three of these factors were present: high systolic or diastolic blood pressure, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, high plasma glucose, high insulin concentrations and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. A ROC curve identified the cut-off points of body mass index (BMI), WC, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and AF as predictors of risk factor clustering. BMI, WC and WHR resulted in significant areas under the ROC curves, which was not observed for AF. The anthropometric variables were good predictors of cardiovascular risk factor clustering in both sexes, whereas aerobic fitness should not be used to identify cardiovascular risk factor clustering in these children.     

Accuracy and precision of methods to estimate the number of parents contributing to a half-sib progeny array

Molecular technologies have made feasible large-scale studies of genetic parentage in nature by permitting the genotypic examination of hundreds or thousands of progeny. One common goal of such studies is to estimate the true number of unshared parents who contributed to a large half-sib progeny array. Here we introduce computer programs designed to count the number of gametotypes contributed by unshared parents to each such progeny array, as well as assess the accuracy and precision of various estimators for the true number of unshared parents via computer simulation. These simulations indicate that under most biological conditions (1) a traditional approach (the multilocus MINIMUM METHOD) that merely counts the number of distinct haplotypes in offspring and divides by 2L, where L is the number of loci assayed, often vastly underestimates the true number of unshared parents who contributed to a half-sib progeny array; (2) a recently developed HAPLOTYPES estimator is a considerable improvement over the MINIMUM METHOD when parental numbers are high; and (3) the accuracy and precision of the HAPLOTYPES estimator increase as marker polymorphism and sample size increase, or as reproductive skew and the number of parents contributing to the progeny array decrease. Generally, HAPLOTYPES-based estimates of parental numbers in large half-sib cohorts should improve the characterization of organismal reproductive strategies and mating systems from genetic data.     

Nucleotide variation in the p53 tumor-suppressor gene of voles from Chernobyl, Ukraine

The 1986 Chernobyl disaster contaminated vast regions of Ukraine and Belarus with a variety of radioactive isotopes and heavy metals. While over 90% of the radioactive isotopes have decayed into stable compounds, radiation levels in contaminated areas are still extraordinarily high. In fact, some rodents living near the reactor have internal 134,137Cs concentrations approaching 80 000 Bq/g. Several recent genetic analyses of vertebrates have illustrated that mutation rates of organisms exposed to radiation from Chernobyl are higher than in control groups, but none have studied DNA sequences. Nucleotide sequences of rodent mitochondrial genes were originally reported to have been hypervariable, but those results were subsequently retracted. Herein, I report the results of a pilot study to determine the extent of nucleotide variation at the p53 gene in four species of rodents (voles) from Chernobyl and from control sites. I sequenced a 788 bp region (coding and non-coding) of p53 in 30 different mice comprising four different species of Microtus. Nucleotide variation at the population level was due to deletions and substitutions; both were limited to introns. There were no significant differences between the number of haplotypes in radioactive and control populations (p=0.60). Rare or private alleles might have arisen due to unique mutational pressures at Chernobyl. Alternatively, natural selection might have favored one allele over others (i.e., a selective sweep). Neither scenario is strongly supported by these data. Thus, no apparent genetic effects of the Chernobyl disaster on the p53 gene of resident voles were revealed; more extensive surveys will be necessary to determine if mutation rates are indeed elevated in mice from Chernobyl. However, two salient points emerge; the first involves the utility of introns as markers for mutations in coding regions and the second considers the relative merits of cloning in mutation detection studies.     

Genetic monogamy and biparental care in an externally fertilizing fish, the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Breeding, male North American sunfish (Centrarchidae), are often brightly coloured and promiscuous. However, the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is sexually monomorphic in appearance and socially monogamous. Unlike some other nest-tending centrarchids in the genus Lepomis, largemouth bass have also been reported to provide biparental care to eggs and fry. Here we use microsatellite markers in order to test whether social monogamy predicts genetic monogamy in the largemouth bass. Offspring were collected from 26 nests each usually guarded by a pair of adults, many of which were also captured. Twenty-three of these progeny cohorts (88%) proved to be composed almost exclusively of full-sibs and were thus the product of monogamous matings. Cuckoldry by males was rare. The genetic data also revealed that some nests contain juveniles that were not the progeny of the guardian female, a finding that can be thought of as low-level 'female cuckoldry'. Overall, however, the data provide what may be the first genetic documentation of near-monogamy and biparental care in a vertebrate with external fertilization.