Canine squamous cell carcinoma: Electrochemotherapy association with surgery and correlation with overall survival

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an important malignancy in dogs, due to its incidence and clinical presentation, which can be of locally aggressive single or multiple lesions with a metastatic potential. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate SCC response to treatment, anatomopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics, disease-free interval and overall survival time. 54 dogs with histopathologically diagnosed SCC were included in this study. Their mean age was 9.16 years with a range of 1–14 years. Of the 54 animals in the study, 34 (65.4%) had white skin and white fur coats. There was a significant correlation between fur coat colour and the development of tumours in areas of sun exposure (p = .001). Animals with tumours in areas of the body exposed to the sun had longer overall survival time than animals with tumours in areas not associated with sun exposure (p = .001). Surgery combined with electrochemotherapy (ECT) yielded a survival rate 32% higher than using a surgical approach alone (HR = 0.32, p = .038, IC = 0.11–0.94). ECT, with or without surgery, had an objective response rate of 90.9%. Local lymph node and/or distant site metastasis at diagnosis, or at some point during follow-up, occurred in 34.6% (18/52) of animals. Animals with tumours in sun exposed locations had more aggressive histopathological characteristics but had longer overall survival time. This is probably due to individualised therapeutic treatment with both surgery and ECT.     

Consequences of a large-scale fragmentation experiment for Neotropical bats: disentangling the relative importance of local and landscape-scale effects

Context

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are widespread drivers of biodiversity decline. Understanding how habitat quality interacts with landscape context, and how they jointly affect species in human-modified landscapes, is of great importance for informing conservation and management.

Objectives

We used a whole-ecosystem manipulation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon to investigate the relative roles of local and landscape attributes in affecting bat assemblages at an interior-edge-matrix disturbance gradient.

Methods

We surveyed bats in 39 sites, comprising continuous forest (CF), fragments, forest edges and intervening secondary regrowth. For each site, we assessed vegetation structure (local-scale variable) and, for five focal scales, quantified habitat amount and four landscape configuration metrics.

Results

Smaller fragments, edges and regrowth sites had fewer species and higher levels of dominance than CF. Regardless of the landscape scale analysed, species richness and evenness were mostly related to the amount of forest cover. Vegetation structure and configurational metrics were important predictors of abundance, whereby the magnitude and direction of response to configurational metrics were scale-dependent. Responses were ensemble-specific with local-scale vegetation structure being more important for frugivorous than for gleaning animalivorous bats.

Conclusions

Our study indicates that scale-sensitive measures of landscape structure are needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of fragmentation on tropical biota. Although forest fragments and regrowth habitats can be of conservation significance for tropical bats our results further emphasize that primary forest is of irreplaceable value, underlining that their conservation can only be achieved by the preservation of large expanses of pristine habitat.

     

Aroma potential of two bairrada white grape varieties: Maria Gomes and Bical

Maria Gomes and Bical are the main white grape varieties in Portuguese Bairrada Appellation, which represent 80% and 15%, respectively, of white vineyard. To estimate their aroma potentialities, free and potential volatile components from the musts were examined. The free volatile components were extracted using a liquid-liquid continuous method and were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The potential volatile compounds were determined after elimination of the free components by heat and enzymatic treatments. Principal component analysis was used to establish relations between the compounds and the varieties and also the form (free or in potential). Maria Gomes has 11.5 mg/L volatile compounds, of which 33% are in free form; Bical has 4.4 mg/L volatile compounds, of which 46% are in free form. A total of 59 compounds was identified and quantified. In Maria Gomes, the sum of the terpenoids is within the perception limits for hotrienol (0.21 mg/L) and linalool (0.20 mg/L). In Bical, benzyl alcohol and phenylethylethanol represent 20% of the volatile compounds. Considering that the volatile composition pattern of Maria Gomes and Bical varieties are different, wine-making technologies should be developed specifically for each variety.     

Genetic characterization of a collection of chayote, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sechium edule</Emphasis> (Jacq.) Swartz,in Costa Rica by using isozyme markers

We established protocols for the analysis of genetic diversity in chayote (Sechium edule) by using isozyme markers, thereby determining the level of genetic diversity present in 42 accessions of chayote from Costa Rica. We obtained clear and reproducible zymograms for eight enzyme staining systems: PGM, 6-PGD, PGI, IDH, MDH, SOD, SKD, and EST, and were able to score 14 putative loci. Eight of the 14 loci examined were polymorphic. We found 35 distinct multilocus genotypes among these accessions. Five of these multilocus genotypes were homozygous for all loci. In addition, our data also revealed that most of the multilocus genotypes (24) were heterozygous for only one of the eight loci, and the rest were heterozygous for two or three loci (9 and 4 accessions, respectively). Seven multilocus genotypes were found in two different accessions. Dice similarity coefficient was used to study the relationship between accessions. This analysis, based on the presence and absence of alleles, revealed that accessions collected in the same location seldom shared the same multilocus genotype. The value of isozyme polymorphisms as tools to continue studies on the characterization of chayote is discussed.     

Potential Anti-Obesity,Anti-Steatosis,and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Extracts from the Microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorococcum amblystomatis under Different Growth Conditions

Microalgae are known as a producer of proteins and lipids, but also of valuable compounds for human health benefits (e.g., polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs); minerals, vitamins, or other compounds). The overall objective of this research was to prospect novel products, such as nutraceuticals from microalgae, for application in human health, particularly for metabolic diseases. Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorococcum amblystomatis were grown autotrophically, and C. vulgaris was additionally grown heterotrophically. Microalgae biomass was extracted using organic solvents (dichloromethane, ethanol, ethanol with ultrasound-assisted extraction). Those extracts were evaluated for their bioactivities, toxicity, and metabolite profile. Some of the extracts reduced the neutral lipid content using the zebrafish larvae fat metabolism assay, reduced lipid accumulation in fatty-acid-overloaded HepG2 liver cells, or decreased the LPS-induced inflammation reaction in RAW264.7 macrophages. Toxicity was not observed in the MTT assay in vitro or by the appearance of lethality or malformations in zebrafish larvae in vivo. Differences in metabolite profiles of microalgae extracts obtained by UPLC-LC-MS/MS and GNPS analyses revealed unique compounds in the active extracts, whose majority did not have a match in mass spectrometry databases and could be potentially novel compounds. In conclusion, microalgae extracts demonstrated anti-obesity, anti-steatosis, and anti-inflammatory activities and could be valuable resources for developing future nutraceuticals. In particular, the ultrasound-assisted ethanolic extract of the heterotrophic C. vulgaris significantly enhanced the anti-obesity activity and demonstrated that the alteration of culture conditions is a valuable approach to increase the production of high-value compounds.     

Strategy to identify resistance to white mould associated with high yield for irrigated common bean in Brazil

Development of common bean cultivars with partial white mould resistance through breeding techniques has been a challenge in Brazil. As yet, lines/cultivars from breeding programmes have not been investigated for resistance; therefore, this study screened 107 lines/cultivars for their reactions to white mould in 14 preliminary trials conducted under irrigation. Thirteen resistant lines/cultivars (three of Andean origin) and six Mesoamerican cultivars (three intermediately resistant and three susceptible) were selected for further investigation. These lines/cultivars and the resistant control A195 were evaluated in six advanced trials and two straw tests to assess the effectiveness of the screening procedure. In 11 preliminary trials, screenings were performed under moderate/high or higher disease pressure. These pressures occurred in two advanced trials in which, when yields were averaged across moderate/high and high pressures, 10 Mesoamerican lines/cultivars selected for resistance yielded 14%, 23%, and 38% more than intermediately resistant cultivars, A195, and susceptible cultivars, with median disease ratings (1–9 scale) of 4.5, 5.7, 5.7, and 6.7, respectively. In the straw test, three Andean lines/cultivars (A195 included) and two susceptible cultivars in the field were among those with the highest levels of physiological resistance. Thus, field rating under high disease pressure and greenhouse rating did not correlate significantly, suggesting that field trials are critical to evaluating resistance and to identifying high-yielding beans. Therefore, lines/cultivars from breeding programmes assessed in field trials may provide a low cost and fast way to identify high-yielding bean cultivars with partial resistance to white mould in the subtropical southern hemisphere.     

Genes related to flooding tolerance during germination and early growth of weedy rice

Evolution of flooding tolerance in weedy rice has occurred in several rice-growing regions, but the genes related to this process and the environmental effects are unknown. The objective of this study was to analyse the expression of genes related to flooding tolerance in response to temperature and flooding during the initial establishment of weedy rice. The experiments were carried out with rice cultivars IRGA 417 and Nipponbare, which are sensitive to flooding, and weedy rice ITJ03 and AV04 genotypes that have high and intermediate tolerance to flooding, respectively. The expression of genes related to reserve mobilisation, anaerobic respiration, escape and quiescence strategies was analysed at periods up to 24 days after sowing. The flooding tolerance of weedy rice genotype ITJ03 was associated with the expression of RAmy3D and OsTPP7 , which are involved in the mobilisation of carbohydrate reserves, ADH1 and ADH2, which participate in anaerobic respiration, and SNRKL1 that triggers rapid elongation of the coleoptile and emergence. Although the genes PDC1, SUS3 and SUB1 are important for flooding tolerance in cultivated rice, their expression was not directly related to flooding tolerance in weedy rice. A temperature of 20°C reduced levels of expression of the RAmy3D, ADH2 and SNRKL1 genes and low temperature had a negative effect on the establishment of weedy rice. Breeding of rice genotypes with tolerance of low temperatures and anaerobic conditions may be a viable strategy to improve the control of weedy rice in paddy fields.