Opening the species box: what parsimonious microscopic models of speciation have to say about macroevolution.

In the last two decades, lineage-based models of diversification, where species are viewed as particles that can divide (speciate) or die (become extinct) at rates depending on some evolving trait, have been very popular tools to study macroevolutionary processes. Here, we argue that this approach cannot be used to break down the inner workings of species diversification and that "opening the species box" is necessary to understand the causes of macroevolution, but that too detailed speciation models also fail to make robust macroevolutionary predictions. We set up a general framework for parsimonious models of speciation that rely on a minimal number of mechanistic principles: (a) reproductive isolation is caused by excessive dissimilarity between genotypes; (b) dissimilarity results from a balance between differentiation processes and homogenizing processes; and (c) dissimilarity can feed back on these processes by decelerating homogenization.

0-1 Laws for Pattern Occurrences in Phylogenetic Trees and Networks.

In a recent paper, the question of determining the fraction of binary trees that contain a fixed pattern known as the snowflake was posed. We show that this fraction goes to 1, providing two very different proofs: a purely combinatorial one that is quantitative and specific to this problem; and a proof using branching process techniques that is less explicit, but also much more general, as it applies to any fixed patterns and can be extended to other trees and networks. In particular, it follows immediately from our second proof that the fraction of d-ary trees (resp.

Two patients with allergy to celery - Possible role of carbohydrate determinants and difference between seeds and tuber allergenicity.

Vegetables provide important nutrients but can also induce allergic symptoms. Celery tuber allergy frequently occurs in Central European countries and can cause allergic reactions including fatal anaphylactic shocks. There is little information about allergen content in seeds.

Occupational Performance and Hand Function in People With Parkinson's Disease After Participation in Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) BIG®.

Importance: People with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience motor and functional impairment that can negatively affect daily living and participation.

Objective: To examine the occupational performance and hand function outcomes of people with PD who participated in a Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) BIG® program.

Design: Retrospective record review.

Revisiting Shao and Sokal's [Formula: see text] index of phylogenetic balance.

Measures of phylogenetic balance, such as the Colless and Sackin indices, play an important role in phylogenetics. Unfortunately, these indices are specifically designed for phylogenetic trees, and do not extend naturally to phylogenetic networks (which are increasingly used to describe reticulate evolution). This led us to consider a lesser-known balance index, whose definition is based on a probabilistic interpretation that is equally applicable to trees and to networks.

The kinship matrix: inferring the kinship structure of a population from its demography.

The familial structure of a population and the relatedness of its individuals are determined by its demography. There is, however, no general method to infer kinship directly from the life cycle of a structured population. Yet, this question is central to fields such as ecology, evolution and conservation, especially in contexts where there is a strong interdependence between familial structure and population dynamics.

Factors Associated with Ocular and Extraocular Recovery in 143 Patients with Sarcoid Uveitis.

Background: Sarcoidosis is one of the leading causes of uveitis. To date, no studies have assessed the factors specifically related with recovery in ocular sarcoidosis. In this study, we aimed to determine factors associated with ocular and extraocular recovery in patients with sarcoid uveitis.

Thrombosis revealing POEMS syndrome. About a case.

POEMS syndrome (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal protein, skin changes) is a rare paraneoplastic disorder due to an underlying plasma cell dyscrasia. The diagnosis of POEMS syndrome requires a chronic polyneuropathy and a monoclonal lambda plasma cell-proliferative disorder (mandatory criteria), and various systematic symptoms such as sclerotic bone lesions, Castleman's disease, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, skin changes, papilloedema and biological abnormalities such as elevated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), thrombocytosis or polycythaemia. We describe an observation of a patient with recurrent thrombosis with thrombocytosis that, after excluding a myeloproliferative neoplasm, proved to be due to POEMS syndrome.

Insights into the Allergenic Potential of the Edible Yellow Mealworm ().

The edible yellow mealworm (), contains an extremely diverse panel of soluble proteins, including proteins with structural functions such as muscle proteins, as well as proteins involved in metabolic functions such as enzymes. Most of these proteins display a more or less pronounced allergenic character toward previously sensitized people, especially people allergic to shrimps and other shellfish. A mass spectrometry approach following the separation of a mealworm protein, extracted by sodiumdodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, allowed us to identify up to 106 distinct protein fractions including molecules with structural and functional functions, susceptible to developing an allergenic potential due to the possibility of immunoglobulin E-binding cross-reactions with their counterparts occurring in shellfish.

TAG-RNAi overcomes off-target effects in cancer models.

RNA interference offers therapeutic opportunities for the clinical targeting of otherwise undruggable oncogenes. However RNAi can have off-target effects that considerably increase treatment risks. To manage these side effects and allow an easy subtraction of their activity in healthy tissues, we present here the TAG-RNAi approach where cells that are not designated targets do not have the mRNA tag.

The Equivocal Mean Age of Parents in a Cohort.

The mean age at which parents give birth is an important notion in demography, ecology, and evolution, where it is used as a measure of generation time. A standard way to quantify it is to compute the mean age of the parents of all offspring produced by a cohort, and the resulting measure is thought to represent the mean age at which a typical parent produces offspring. In this note, I explain why this interpretation is problematic.

The genealogical decomposition of a matrix population model with applications to the aggregation of stages.

Matrix projection models are a central tool in many areas of population biology. In most applications, one starts from the projection matrix to quantify the asymptotic growth rate of the population (the dominant eigenvalue), the stable stage distribution, and the reproductive values (the dominant right and left eigenvectors, respectively). Any primitive projection matrix also has an associated ergodic Markov chain that contains information about the genealogy of the population.

Delta Hemolysin and Phenol-Soluble Modulins, but Not Alpha Hemolysin or Panton-Valentine Leukocidin, Induce Mast Cell Activation.

Mast cells are located at host interfaces, such as the skin, and contribute to the first-line defense against pathogens by releasing soluble mediators, including those that induce itching and scratching behavior. Here, we show that delta-hemolysin (Hld) and phenol soluble modulins (PSMs) PSMα1 and PSMα3, but not alpha-hemolysin (Hla) or Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), induce dose-dependent tryptase, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release by the HMC-1 human mast cell line. Using supernatants from isogenic strains, we verified that tryptase and LDH release was Hld- and PSMα-dependent.

Cross-reactivity to fish and chicken meat - a new clinical syndrome.

Background: Fish is one of the most allergenic foods. While clinical cross-reactivity among different fishes is a widely accepted feature of fish allergy, associations with other food allergies are not well understood. This study aims at analyzing the relevance of clinical cross-reactivity between fish and chicken meat in patients with allergy to chicken meat without sensitization to hen's eggs.

Hyper sensitive protein detection by Tandem-HTRF reveals Cyclin D1 dynamics in adult mouse.

We present here a novel method for the semi-quantitative detection of low abundance proteins in solution that is both fast and simple. It is based on Homogenous Time Resolved Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (HTRF), between a lanthanide labeled donor antibody and a d2 or XL665 labeled acceptor antibody that are both raised against different epitopes of the same target. This novel approach we termed "Tandem-HTRF", can specifically reveal rare polypeptides from only a few microliters of cellular lysate within one hour in a 384-well plate format.

The basophil activation test: a sensitive test in the diagnosis of allergic immediate hypersensitivity to pristinamycin.

Immediate hypersensitivity (IHS) reactions to macrolides and to macrolide-derived antibiotics like pristinamycin are uncommon. In this context, there is little data available to appreciate the true value of biological tools regarding the diagnosis of immediate allergy to pristinamycin. Here we assess the clinical usefulness of the basophil activation test (BAT) to differentiate allergic from nonallergic IHS to pristinamycin.

A new approach to the generation time in matrix population models.

The generation time is commonly defined as the mean age of mothers at birth. In matrix population models, a general formula is available to compute this quantity. However, it is complex and hard to interpret.

The importance of EN ISO 15189 accreditation of allergen-specific IgE determination for reliable in vitro allergy diagnosis.

Background: Allergen-specific serum immunoglobulin E detection and quantification have become an important step in allergy diagnosis and follow-up. In line with the current trend of laboratory test accreditation to international standards, we set out to design and assess an accreditation procedure for allergen-specific serum IgE.

Methods: Method validation according to the accreditation procedure under the EN ISO 15189 standard was carried out for allergen-specific immunoglobulin E determination using the fluoroimmunoenzymatic method ImmunoCAP(®) (ThermoFisher).

Early diagnosis of celiac disease in IgA deficient children: contribution of a point-of-care test.

Background: The serological diagnosis of celiac disease (CD) often relies on the presence of anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) IgA autoantibodies. Patients suffering from selective IgA deficiency (IgAD) are often not aware of their IgA deficiency and are tested as CD negative, delaying considerably the diagnosis. The detection of IgG against deamidated gliadin peptides (DGP) has high specificity and better sensitivity than IgG anti-tTG.

Immediate allergic hypersensitivity to quinolones associates with neuromuscular blocking agent sensitization.

Background: We identified a case of quinolone allergic hypersensitivity associated with quaternary ammonium (QA) sensitization, the allergic determinant of neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs). Concomitant sensitization to several chemically different drugs is rarely reported and raises the question of a nonfortuitous association.

Objective: We evaluated a potential association between quinolone immediate allergic hypersensitivity and NMBA sensitization.

[For an efficient and reasonable accreditation of allergen specific IgE].

French medical laboratories must be accredited before November 2016 according to NF/EN/ISO 15189 standard. However, technical accreditation guidelines cannot be applied literally for the determination of specific IgE for several reasons: more than 600 allergen tests, lack of international gold standard, limited external quality controls. Furthermore, the technique for determination of specific IgE is CE DM-IVD marked, common to all specificities, automatised, standardized according to a single calibration curve.