Novel method to investigate thermal exchange rates in small, terrestrial ectotherms: A proof-of-concept on the gecko Tarentola mauritanica.

Thermoregulating ectotherms may resort to different external heat sources to modulate their body temperature through an array of behavioural and physiological adaptations which modulate heat exchange with the environment and its distribution across the animal's body. Even small-bodied animals are capable of fine control over such rates and the subsequent re-allocation of heat across the body. Such thermal exchanges with the environment usually happen through two non-mutually exclusive modes: heliothermy (radiant heat gain from the sun) or thigmothermy (heat gained or lost via conduction).

Male reproductive biotechnologies in South American Camelids Part II: Semen dilution, cryopreservation and artificial insemination.

Even though South American Camelids (SAC) are a rustic species, adapted to harsh environments, their ability to reproduce is low in their natural habitat. Conception and birth rates in camelids vary from 50 % to 90 %. This depends on the mating system used, sire and dam fertility, postpartum interval, environmental conditions, and nutrition.

Male reproductive biotechnologies in South American Camelids Part I: Semen collection, evaluation and handling.

This review describes the first steps necessary to apply any reproductive biotechnology in South American camelids (SAC) semen or sperm: sample collection, evaluation and handling. In camelids, the length and position adopted for mating and the site of semen deposition have conditioned semen collection methods. The advantages and disadvantages of available collection methods are summarized.

Biochemical profile of renal amyloidosis in a Latin American cohort.

Background: Two-thirds of patients with immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis have renal involvement. The biochemical profile of kidney damage is poorly described.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving patients diagnosed with AL amyloidosis and renal involvement between January 1, 2010, and April 30, 2022 at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires.

Nonlinear Charge Transport and Excitable Phenomena in Semiconductor Superlattices.

Semiconductor superlattices are periodic nanostructures consisting of epitaxially grown quantum wells and barriers. For thick barriers, the quantum wells are weakly coupled and the main transport mechanism is a sequential resonant tunneling of electrons between wells. We review quantum transport in these materials, and the rate equations for electron densities, currents, and the self-consistent electric potential or field.

Analysis of subcellular energy metabolism in five Lacertidae lizards across varied environmental conditions.

Aerobic respiration is the main energy source for most eukaryotes, and efficient mitochondrial energy transfer greatly influences organismal fitness. To survive environmental changes, cells have evolved to adjust their biochemistry. Thus, measuring energy metabolism at the subcellular level can enhance our understanding of individual performance, population dynamics, and species distribution ranges.

Comparison of different cryoprotectants for freezing donkey (Equus asinus) semen.

The aim of this study was to evaluate two cryoprotectants, dimethylformamide (DMF) and methylformamide (MF) in two concentrations (5 and 7 %) in vitro in donkey semen using a rapid freezing technique and the effect on pregnancy rates in mares. Twenty-four ejaculates from 8 jacks (n = 8; r = 3) were divided into 4 extenders: BotuSemen Gold with 5 % or 7 % MF and 5 % or 7 % DMF, all containing 11 % lactose, 20 % egg-yolk and 0.5 % Equex.

Environmental factors influence cross-talk between a heat shock protein and an oxidative stress protein modification in the lizard Gallotia galloti.

Better understanding how organisms respond to their abiotic environment, especially at the biochemical level, is critical in predicting population trajectories under climate change. In this study, we measured constitutive stress biomarkers and protein post-translational modifications associated with oxidative stress in Gallotia galloti, an insular lizard species inhabiting highly heterogeneous environments on Tenerife. Tenerife is a small volcanic island in a relatively isolated archipelago off the West coast of Africa.

Prader-Willi syndrome in a large sample from Spain: general features, obesity and regular use of psychotropic medication.

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a genetically determined disorder, the most frequent cause of early onset obesity, is associated with physical and cognitive dysfunctions and behavioural disturbances; these disturbances are frequently treated with psychotropic medication. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe the characteristics of the first large national sample of persons with PWS in Spain and analyse the relationships of those characteristics with key demographic and clinical factors, particularly with obesity and the regular use of psychotropic medication.

Methods: Participants were recruited among all members of the Spanish Prader-Willi Association who agreed to take part in the study and fulfilled its inclusion criteria.

Lizard host abundances and climatic factors explain phylogenetic diversity and prevalence of blood parasites on an oceanic island.

Host abundance might favour the maintenance of a high phylogenetic diversity of some parasites via rapid transmission rates. Blood parasites of insular lizards represent a good model to test this hypothesis because these parasites can be particularly prevalent in islands and host lizards highly abundant. We applied deep amplicon sequencing and analysed environmental predictors of blood parasite prevalence and phylogenetic diversity in the endemic lizard Gallotia galloti across 24 localities on Tenerife, an island in the Canary archipelago that has experienced increasing warming and drought in recent years.

Does heat tolerance actually predict animals' geographic thermal limits?

The "climate extremes hypothesis" is a major assumption of geographic studies of heat tolerance and climatic vulnerability. However, this assumption remains vastly untested across taxa, and multiple factors may contribute to uncoupling heat tolerance estimates and geographic limits. Our dataset includes 1000 entries of heat tolerance data and maximum temperatures for each species' known geographic limits (hereafter, Tmax).

Soliton approximation in continuum models of leader-follower behavior.

Complex biological processes involve collective behavior of entities (bacteria, cells, animals) over many length and time scales and can be described by discrete models that track individuals or by continuum models involving densities and fields. We consider hybrid stochastic agent-based models of branching morphogenesis and angiogenesis (new blood vessel creation from preexisting vasculature), which treat cells as individuals that are guided by underlying continuous chemical and/or mechanical fields. In these descriptions, leader (tip) cells emerge from existing branches and follower (stalk) cells build the new sprout in their wake.

Haematology and biochemistry in healthy llamas at sea level.

In the last years, there has been an increasing interest in llamas, not only as part of a productive system, but mostly as companion animals. Most reports regarding clinical biochemistry and haematology include few llamas and details about their health status are not available. The present study aims to provide haematological and biochemical parameters for llamas of known health status.

Cooling of alpaca spermatozoa using an extender with the addition of different percentages of seminal plasma.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of different percentages of seminal plasma (SP) during the cooling at 5 °C of alpaca spermatozoa from vas deferens. Fifteen pools of sperm from vas deferens were evaluated and then divided into four aliquots that were diluted to a final concentration of 30 × 10 sperm/ml with either: (1) Tris with 20% egg yolk (T-EY) (control, 0% SP), (2) T-EY with 10% SP, (3) T-EY with 25% SP, and (4) T-EY with 50% SP. Samples were cooled at 5 °C and the following sperm parameters were evaluated after 24 and 48 h of storage: motility, viability, membrane function, acrosome integrity, morphology, and chromatin condensation.

Pregnancy and birth rate outcomes in alpacas (Vicugna pacos) inseminated with frozen semen using two commercial extenders.

The aim of this study was to evaluate alpaca pregnancy outcomes and birth rates of females inseminated with frozen semen using two commercial extenders. A total of 18 ejaculates from 8 adult alpaca males were obtained with artificial vagina, and macroscopic and microscopic semen characteristics were assessed. Afterwards, samples were divided into two aliquots, diluted with Biladyl® B or AndroMed®, and cooled for 2 h at 5°C.

Genetic depletion does not prevent rapid evolution in island-introduced lizards.

Experimental introductions of species have provided some of the most tractable examples of rapid phenotypic changes, which may reflect plasticity, the impact of stochastic processes, or the action of natural selection. Yet to date, very few studies have investigated the neutral and potentially adaptive genetic impacts of experimental introductions. We dissect the role of these processes in shaping the population differentiation of wall lizards in three Croatian islands (Sušac, Pod Kopište, and Pod Mrčaru), including the islet of Pod Mrčaru, where experimentally introduced lizards underwent rapid (~30 generations) phenotypic changes associated with a shift from an insectivorous to a plant-based diet.

Risk of severe COVID in solid organ transplant recipient.

Despite the fact that COVID is today not a life-threat for the general population, recipients of solid organ transplantation should be viewed as a high risk group for severe COVID. Repetitive doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine still fail to protect SOT recipients from infection, disease or even death caused by COVID. A more frequent need for medical care may initially place these patients at greater chances of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Cardiac and autologous stem cell transplantation hematopoietic in patients with AL amyloidosis.

Objective: To describe the evolution of serum free light chains (FLC) in the period between orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), the hematological response one year after ASCT and chemotherapy and immunosuppressive treatment in patients with AL amyloidosis.

Method: Case series of consecutive patients diagnosed with AL amyloidosis who received OHT followed by ASCT from the Institutional Registry of Amyloidosis of the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires, between January 2010 and November 2021. FLC values between transplants and at year post ASCT.

Biophysical effects of a natural peloid on normal skin.

A protocol study was designed to examine cutaneous behavior after continuous application of a peloid in the dry mineral residue of Lanjarón-Capuchina natural mineral water. This study aims to analyze the biomechanical behavior of normal skin using various non-invasive bioengineering techniques after the application of this peloid. We determine the effects of its application for 3 months on 38 healthy volunteers (41.

Melanistic coloration does not influence thermoregulation in the crepuscular gecko Eublepharis macularius.

Body coloration in ectotherms serves multiple biological functions, including avoiding predators, communicating with conspecific individuals, and involvement in thermoregulation. As ectotherms rely on environmental sources of heat to regulate their internal body temperature, stable melanistic body coloration or color change can be used to increase or decrease heat absorption and heat exchange with the environment. While melanistic coloration for thermoregulation functions to increase solar radiation absorption and consequently heating in many diurnal ectotherms, research on crepuscular and nocturnal ectotherms is lacking.

Knowledge and belief in the times of COVID-19: A comparative analysis of epistemicity in English newspaper discourse of two stages of the pandemic.

This paper sets forth a quantitative analysis of expressions of epistemicity, a category covering the expression of commitment to the information transmitted and comprising epistemic modality and evidentiality, in a corpus of 400 newspaper articles from concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. 200 articles were written in April 2020; the other 200 were written between January and April 2022, after massive vaccination and an extraordinary increase in medical knowledge. The analysis distinguishes between a number of subtypes of epistemic expressions and three kinds of authorial voice.

[Chemotherapy at the end of life is compatible with dignified death and palliative care].

Introduction: Cancer treatment is increasingly aggressive. The aim was to estimate who died due to cancer, to report use of chemotherapy (CT) in the last 3 months of life, and to describe clinical-epidemiological characteristics of these patients.

Methods: We included a consecutive sample of deceased during 2017, affiliated to Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires.