Long-Term Second Malignancies in Prostate Cancer Patients Treated With Low-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy and Radical Prostatectomy.

Purpose: Second malignancy is a rare but potentially lethal event after prostate brachytherapy, but data remain scarce on its long-term risk. The objective of this study is to estimate the number of pelvic second malignancies following brachytherapy compared to radical prostatectomy (RP).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients treated with low-dose I brachytherapy and RP in British Columbia from 1999 to 2010.

Neuromorphological Changes following Selection for Tameness and Aggression in the Russian Farm-Fox experiment.

The Russian farm-fox experiment is an unusually long-running and well-controlled study designed to replicate wolf-to-dog domestication. As such, it offers an unprecedented window onto the neural mechanisms governing the evolution of behavior. Here we report evolved changes to gray matter morphology resulting from selection for tameness versus aggressive responses toward humans in a sample of 30 male fox brains.

Malakoplakia, a malignant mimic.

Malakoplakia is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects multiple systems, most commonly the urogenital tract. Its clinical presentation is often non-specific, but is typically characterized by recurrent urinary tract infections and haematuria. We report a rare case of intravesical malakoplakia mimicking an aggressive transitional cell carcinoma both in its clinical presentation and in its macroscopic appearance on cystoscopy in an 82-year patient, the oldest reported case in the literature.

Hypothalamic transcriptome of tame and aggressive silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) identifies gene expression differences shared across brain regions.

The underlying neurological events accompanying dog domestication remain elusive. To reconstruct the domestication process in an experimental setting, silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) have been deliberately bred for tame vs aggressive behaviors for more than 50 generations at the Institute for Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk, Russia. The hypothalamus is an essential part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and regulates the fight-or-flight response, and thus, we hypothesized that selective breeding for tameness/aggressiveness has shaped the hypothalamic transcriptomic profile.

Genomic responses to selection for tame/aggressive behaviors in the silver fox ().

Animal domestication efforts have led to a shared spectrum of striking behavioral and morphological changes. To recapitulate this process, silver foxes have been selectively bred for tame and aggressive behaviors for more than 50 generations at the Institute for Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk, Russia. To understand the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms underlying the phenotypic changes, we profiled gene expression levels and coding SNP allele frequencies in two brain tissue specimens from 12 aggressive foxes and 12 tame foxes.

Author Correction: Red fox genome assembly identifies genomic regions associated with tame and aggressive behaviours.

In the version of this Article originally published, there were some errors in the affiliations: Stephen J. O'Brien's affiliations were incorrectly listed as 8,9; they should have been 7,9. Affiliation 3 was incorrectly named the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences; it should have read Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Red fox genome assembly identifies genomic regions associated with tame and aggressive behaviours.

Strains of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) with markedly different behavioural phenotypes have been developed in the famous long-term selective breeding programme known as the Russian farm-fox experiment. Here we sequenced and assembled the red fox genome and re-sequenced a subset of foxes from the tame, aggressive and conventional farm-bred populations to identify genomic regions associated with the response to selection for behaviour. Analysis of the re-sequenced genomes identified 103 regions with either significantly decreased heterozygosity in one of the three populations or increased divergence between the populations.

Anterior Pituitary Transcriptome Suggests Differences in ACTH Release in Tame and Aggressive Foxes.

Domesticated species exhibit a suite of behavioral, endocrinological, and morphological changes referred to as "domestication syndrome." These changes may include a reduction in reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and specifically reduced adrenocorticotropic hormone release from the anterior pituitary. To investigate the biological mechanisms targeted during domestication, we investigated gene expression in the pituitaries of experimentally domesticated foxes ().

Genetics of Interactive Behavior in Silver Foxes (Vulpes vulpes).

Individuals involved in a social interaction exhibit different behavioral traits that, in combination, form the individual's behavioral responses. Selectively bred strains of silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) demonstrate markedly different behaviors in their response to humans. To identify the genetic basis of these behavioral differences we constructed a large F population including 537 individuals by cross-breeding tame and aggressive fox strains.

Contemporary trends in urinary tract stone surgery, a regional perspective: Auckland, New Zealand.

Background: The aim of the study is to assess the contemporary patterns of utilization of various therapeutic options for the management of nephrolithiasis in our tertiary referral institution in Auckland, New Zealand.

Methods: A retrospective audit was conducted for all urinary stone procedures between January 2007 and December 2013. Procedure-related information was collected for each year.

Genotyping-By-Sequencing (GBS) Detects Genetic Structure and Confirms Behavioral QTL in Tame and Aggressive Foxes (Vulpes vulpes).

The silver fox (Vulpes vulpes) offers a novel model for studying the genetics of social behavior and animal domestication. Selection of foxes, separately, for tame and for aggressive behavior has yielded two strains with markedly different, genetically determined, behavioral phenotypes. Tame strain foxes are eager to establish human contact while foxes from the aggressive strain are aggressive and difficult to handle.

IQCB1 and PDE6B mutations cause similar early onset retinal degenerations in two closely related terrier dog breeds.

Purpose: To identify the causative mutations in two early-onset canine retinal degenerations, crd1 and crd2, segregating in the American Staffordshire terrier and the Pit Bull Terrier breeds, respectively.

Methods: Retinal morphology of crd1- and crd2-affected dogs was evaluated by light microscopy. DNA was extracted from affected and related unaffected controls.

A non-stop S-antigen gene mutation is associated with late onset hereditary retinal degeneration in dogs.

Purpose: To identify the causative mutation of canine progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) segregating as an adult onset autosomal recessive disorder in the Basenji breed of dog.

Methods: Basenji dogs were ascertained for the PRA phenotype by clinical ophthalmoscopic examination. Blood samples from six affected cases and three nonaffected controls were collected, and DNA extraction was used for a genome-wide association study using the canine HD Illumina single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and PLINK.

Genomic deletion of CNGB3 is identical by descent in multiple canine breeds and causes achromatopsia.

Background: Achromatopsia is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by the loss of cone photoreceptor function that results in day-blindness, total colorblindness, and decreased central visual acuity. The most common causes for the disease are mutations in the CNGB3 gene, coding for the beta subunit of the cyclic nucleotide-gated channels in cones. CNGB3-achromatopsia, or cone degeneration (cd), is also known to occur in two canine breeds, the Alaskan malamute (AM) and the German shorthaired pointer.

Genetics of behavior in the silver fox.

The silver fox provides a rich resource for investigating the genetics of behavior, with strains developed by intensely selective breeding that display markedly different behavioral phenotypes. Until recently, however, the tools for conducting molecular genetic investigations in this species were very limited. In this review, the history of development of this resource and the tools to exploit it are described.

Genetic and phenotypic variations of inherited retinal diseases in dogs: the power of within- and across-breed studies.

Considerable clinical and molecular variations have been known in retinal blinding diseases in man and also in dogs. Different forms of retinal diseases occur in specific breed(s) caused by mutations segregating within each isolated breeding population. While molecular studies to find genes and mutations underlying retinal diseases in dogs have benefited largely from the phenotypic and genetic uniformity within a breed, within- and across-breed variations have often played a key role in elucidating the molecular basis.

Photoreceptor cell death, proliferation and formation of hybrid rod/S-cone photoreceptors in the degenerating STK38L mutant retina.

A homozygous mutation in STK38L in dogs impairs the late phase of photoreceptor development, and is followed by photoreceptor cell death (TUNEL) and proliferation (PCNA, PHH3) events that occur independently in different cells between 7-14 weeks of age. During this period, the outer nuclear layer (ONL) cell number is unchanged. The dividing cells are of photoreceptor origin, have rod opsin labeling, and do not label with markers specific for macrophages/microglia (CD18) or Müller cells (glutamine synthetase, PAX6).

Sequence comparison of prefrontal cortical brain transcriptome from a tame and an aggressive silver fox (Vulpes vulpes).

Background: Two strains of the silver fox (Vulpes vulpes), with markedly different behavioral phenotypes, have been developed by long-term selection for behavior. Foxes from the tame strain exhibit friendly behavior towards humans, paralleling the sociability of canine puppies, whereas foxes from the aggressive strain are defensive and exhibit aggression to humans. To understand the genetic differences underlying these behavioral phenotypes fox-specific genomic resources are needed.

On the origin of a domesticated species: Identifying the parent population of Russian silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes).

The foxes at Novosibirsk, Russia, are the only population of domesticated foxes in the world. These domesticated foxes originated from farm-bred silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes), whose genetic source is unknown. In this study we examined the origin of the domesticated strain of foxes and two other farm-bred fox populations (aggressive and unselected) maintained in Novosibirsk.

Structural organization and expression pattern of the canine RPGRIP1 isoforms in retinal tissue.

Purpose: To examine the structure and expression of RPGRIP1 in dog retina.

Methods: Determination of the structural analysis and expression pattern of canine RPGRIP1 (cRPGRIP1) was based on cDNA amplification. Absolute quantification of the expression level of cRPGRIP1 splice variants was determined by qRT-PCR.

Mapping Loci for fox domestication: deconstruction/reconstruction of a behavioral phenotype.

During the second part of the twentieth century, Belyaev selected tame and aggressive foxes (Vulpes vulpes), in an effort known as the "farm-fox experiment", to recapitulate the process of animal domestication. Using these tame and aggressive foxes as founders of segregant backcross and intercross populations we have employed interval mapping to identify a locus for tame behavior on fox chromosome VVU12. This locus is orthologous to, and therefore validates, a genomic region recently implicated in canine domestication.

Differential genetic regulation of canine hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis.

Background: Canine hip dysplasia (HD) is a common polygenic trait characterized by hip malformation that results in osteoarthritis (OA). The condition in dogs is very similar to developmental dysplasia of the human hip which also leads to OA.

Methodology/principal Findings: A total of 721 dogs, including both an association and linkage population, were genotyped.

Exonic SINE insertion in STK38L causes canine early retinal degeneration (erd).

Fine mapping followed by candidate gene analysis of erd - a canine hereditary retinal degeneration characterized by aberrant photoreceptor development - established that the disease cosegregates with a SINE insertion in exon 4 of the canine STK38L/NDR2 gene. The mutation removes exon 4 from STK38L transcripts and is predicted to remove much of the N terminus from the translated protein, including binding sites for S100B and Mob proteins, part of the protein kinase domain, and a Thr-75 residue critical for autophosphorylation. Although known to have roles in neuronal cell function, the STK38L pathway has not previously been implicated in normal or abnormal photoreceptor development.