Geographical variation in the skeletal morphology of red jungle fowl

1. The skulls and postcranial skeletons of the red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) were compared osteometrically between the populations from North and South Vietnam, North and Central Laos and Southeast Bangladesh. The populations include the three subspecies of G. g. spadiceus, G. g. gallus and G. g. murghi and were sampled to reveal the geographical morphological variations among populations in G. gallus. 2. The morphometric characteristics of subspecies murghi could be clearly distinguished from those of the other subspecies using a canonical discriminant analysis. However, the size and shape of the skull of the gallus population from South Vietnam were not statistically different from that of the subspecies spadiceus from North Laos. The canonical discriminant scores also clearly indicated that there were morphological similarities in the skulls of the populations from North Laos and South Vietnam. 3. From the results, therefore, it is concluded that red jungle fowls do not exhibit high levels of osteometric variation between geographical localities at least within the Indochinese Peninsula. 4. This contrasts with previous studies which have described these subspecies as having various external morphological differences and have argued that zoogeographical barriers exist between the north and south areas of the Indochinese Peninsula.

A pre-operative predictive score for the outcome of eccentric rotational acetabular osteotomy in the treatment of acetabular dysplasia and early osteoarthritis of the hip in adults

AIMS

The influence of identifiable pre-operative factors on the outcome of eccentric rotational acetabular osteotomy (ERAO) is unknown. We aimed to determine the factors that might influence the outcome, in order to develop a scoring system for predicting the prognosis for patients undergoing this procedure.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We reviewed 700 consecutive ERAOs in 54 men and 646 women with symptomatic acetabular dysplasia or early onset osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip, which were undertaken between September 1989 and March 2013. The patients' pre-operative background, clinical and radiological findings were examined retrospectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed using the time from the day of surgery to a conversion to total hip arthroplasty (THA) as an endpoint. A risk score was calculated to predict the prognosis for conversion to THA, and its predictive capacity was investigated.

RESULTS

The congruity of the hip, age, the pre-operative minimum width of the joint space and range of abduction were identified as factors predicting conversion to THA. For three groups of patients (scoring 0 to 5, 6 to 7, and 8 to 9 points), the Kaplan-Meier event-free rates of survival at 15 years post-operatively for conversion to THA were 99.6%, 85.2% and 67.3%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

These four pre-operative factors are easily measured and predict the prognosis for patients following ERAO. They may be used for decision making when offering surgical treatment to patients with acetabular dysplasia and early onset osteoarthritis. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1326-32.

76 Clock MUTANT MICE HAVING A DIMINISHED CIRCADIAN CLOCK SHOW ABNORMAL IMPLANTATION

The circadian clock involves co-operative transcription of circadian genes including Clock and regulates circadian rhythms in mammals such as the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness. In reproductive physiologies in mammals, there are several time-dependent events such as progression of the oestrous cycle and embryonic development, and we therefore checked the reproductive characters of mice homozygous for Clock delta-19 mutation (CL) having a diminished circadian clock to elucidate the effect of the circadian clock on reproductive physiologies. Profiles of the oestrous cycle were the same in female (f) wild-type mice (WT) and fCL: oestrous cycles of both fWT and fCL consisted of the same 3 stages, proestrous, oestrous, and metestrous/diestrous stages, and the average lengths of each stage and one oestrous cycle were the same in 10 fWT and 14 fCL. We therefore compared outcomes from the 4 possible mating groups between WT and CL. Average numbers of newborn pups obtained from mating pairs of 14 male (m) WT × fWT, 10 mCL × fWT, 14 mWT × fCL, and 15 mCL × fCL were 13.4 ± 0.8, 12.6 ± 0.4, 12.3 ± 0.7, and 8.6 ± 1.5, respectively, and gradually decreased depending on the number of mutated Clock alleles in mothers and embryos. Since increases in body weights of the mothers during the gestation period were not different in the 4 mating groups and since there were no signs of spontaneous abortion from mid to late gestation, we reasoned that some embryos were lost before or at the time of implantation. Immediately before implantation (88 h after fertilization), neither the number of embryos collected from uteri nor the percentage of embryos that reached the pre-implantation stage (blastocyst stage) differed significantly among mating groups. In contrast, immediately after implantation (160 h after fertilization), the average numbers of implantation sites in mating pairs of 12 mWT × fWT, 11 mCL × fWT, 13 mWT × fCL, and 13 fCL × fCL were 13.0 ± 1.5, 13.1 ± 1.2, 11.7 ± 0.8, and 7.0 ± 1.3, respectively, and also gradually decreased with increase in the number of mutated Clock alleles in mothers and embryos. This decrease was accompanied by a significant lowering of the positions of implantation sites in uteri, a possible cause of the decrease of the number of newborns and implantation sites, and average percentages of embryos implanted in a lower part of the uterus were 48.8, 59.3, 69.7, and 77.7% in mWT × fWT, mCL × fWT, mWT × fCL, and mCL × fCL, respectively. The difference between the mCL × fWT and mWT × fWT groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05), and this difference was thought to be due to the difference in embryonic genotype, specifically between WT and heterozygous embryos. However, the distribution of implantation sites in the mWT × fCL group was significantly smaller than that in the mCL × fWT group (P < 0.05), presumably due to the difference in maternal genotype, specifically between WT and homozygous mutant dams. This study showed involvement of the circadian clock, possibly the maternal and embryonic circadian clock, in implantation among events that occur from fertilization to parturition.

Pericardiectomy and pericardium window creation to treat recurrent pericardial tamponade involving a borderline ovarian tumor

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION

Pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade is an uncommon metastatic manifestation of ovarian tumors, with only one previously reported case involving a borderline ovarian tumor (BOT).

CASE

A 50-year-old woman was diagnosed and treated for a primary Stage IIc BOT. The disease recurred as an emergency pericardiocentesis eight years later, which was resected following pericardial effusion with a cardiac tamponade. This occurred two more times, and on the last occasion, drainage failed to relieve her symptoms. However, her symptoms resolved after the creation of a pericardium pleural window together with a pericardiectomy.

CONCLUSION

For patients with a metastatic BOT, the creation of a pericardium pleural window and pericardiectomy is effective for recurrent pericardial tamponade, if the pericardial space is posteriorly located and/or segmented.

Effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 4 agonist mosapride on human gastric accommodation

BACKGROUND

Impaired gastric accommodation is one of the major features of functional dyspepsia. Mosapride citrate is a 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 4 (5-HT4) agonist, which is shown to improve upper abdominal symptoms. However, effect of mosapride on gastric accommodation was not clear. We tested the hypothesis that mosapride enhances the gastric accommodation in normal individuals.

METHODS

Fourteen male healthy volunteers completed this study. Single administration of mosapride or placebo was performed randomly with more than 1-week interval. Subjects swallowed a triple-lumen polyvinyl tube with a polyethylene bag. The bag was positioned in the proximal stomach and the minimal distending pressure (MDP) was determined. The ramp distension starting from the MDP was then performed and subjects were instructed to score their perception using ordinate scales. Next the intra-bag pressure was set at MDP + 2 mmHg and a liquid meal was administered 30 min later, and the intra-bag volume was recorded for 60 min. We compared the MDP, perception scores, and the intra-bag volume changes by administering placebo and mosapride.

KEY RESULTS

Minimal distending pressure was not significantly different in subjects receiving mosapride or placebo. Treatment with mosapride had no effect on intra-bag pressures or volumes inducing first sensation or discomfort. Gastric accommodation, expressed as the difference between pre- and postmeal intra-bag volumes, and the percent change of the intra-bag volumes by the meal was significantly enhanced by mosapride compared with placebo.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

This is the first study clearly demonstrating that single administration of 5-HT4 agonist can enhance gastric accommodation in humans. (Umin.ac.jp, number UMIN000014063).

Influence of exercise training with thigh compression on heat-loss responses

We investigated the effect of thigh compression, which accelerates activation of central command and muscle metabo- and mechanoreceptors, on the adaptation of sweating and cutaneous vascular responses during exercise heat acclimation. Nine non-heat-acclimated male subjects were acclimated to heat (32 °C and 50% RH) while cycling [50% of maximum oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2 m a x )] 60 min/day for 7 days (control group). The experimental group (n = 9) conducted the same training while the proximal thighs were compressed by a cuff at 60 mmHg. V ˙ O 2 m a x , acetylcholine-induced forearm sweating rate (iontophoresis), and mean sweating and cutaneous vascular responses on the forehead, chest, and forearm (SRmean and CVCmean ) during passive heating were evaluated before and after training. Training significantly increased V ˙ O 2 m a x while did not affect acetylcholine-induced sweating rates in either group. Training significantly decreased Tb thresholds for SRmean and CVCmean during passive heating without the alternations of sensitivities in both groups. Although SRmean during passive heating at a given ΔTb was not improved in either group, CVCmean was significantly (P < 0.05) attenuated after exercise training only in experimental group. Our results indicate that thigh cuff compression during exercise heat acclimation does not influence adaptation of the sweating response but attenuate cutaneous vasodilation.

Electron acceleration in a nonrelativistic shock with very high Alfvén Mach number

Electron acceleration associated with various plasma kinetic instabilities in a nonrelativistic shock with very high Alfvén Mach number (M(A)~45) is revealed by means of a two-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulation. Electromagnetic (ion Weibel) and electrostatic (ion-acoustic and Buneman) instabilities are strongly activated at the same time in different regions of the two-dimensional shock structure. Relativistic electrons are quickly produced predominantly by the shock surfing mechanism with the Buneman instability at the leading edge of the foot. The energy spectrum has a high-energy tail exceeding the upstream ion kinetic energy accompanying the main thermal population. This gives a favorable condition for the ion-acoustic instability at the shock front, which in turn results in additional energization. The large-amplitude ion Weibel instability generates current sheets in the foot, implying another dissipation mechanism via magnetic reconnection in a three-dimensional shock structure in the very-high-M(A) regime.

Reconstructing the origin and dispersal patterns of village chickens across East Africa: insights from autosomal markers

Unravelling the genetic history of any livestock species is central to understanding the origin, development and expansion of agricultural societies and economies. Domestic village chickens are widespread in Africa. Their close association with, and reliance on, humans for long-range dispersal makes the species an important biological marker in tracking cultural and trading contacts between human societies and civilizations across time. Archaezoological and linguistic evidence suggest a complex history of arrival and dispersion of the species on the continent, with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop analysis revealing the presence of five distinct haplogroups in East African village chickens. It supports the importance of the region in understanding the history of the species and indirectly of human interactions. Here, through a detailed analysis of 30 autosomal microsatellite markers genotyped in 657 village chickens from four East African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan), we identify three distinct autosomal gene pools (I, II and III). Gene pool I is predominantly found in Ethiopia and Sudan, while II and III occur in both Kenya and Uganda. A gradient of admixture for gene pools II and III between the Kenyan coast and Uganda's hinterland (P = 0.001) is observed, while gene pool I is clearly separated from the other two. We propose that these three gene pools represent genetic signatures of separate events in the history of the continent that relate to the arrival and dispersal of village chickens and humans across the region. Our results provide new insights on the history of chicken husbandry which has been shaped by terrestrial and maritime contacts between ancient and modern civilizations in Asia and East Africa.