Exome sequencing of liver fluke-associated cholangiocarcinoma

Opisthorchis viverrini-related cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), a fatal bile duct cancer, is a major public health concern in areas endemic for this parasite. We report here whole-exome sequencing of eight O. viverrini-related tumors and matched normal tissue. We identified and validated 206 somatic mutations in 187 genes using Sanger sequencing and selected 15 genes for mutation prevalence screening in an additional 46 individuals with CCA (cases). In addition to the known cancer-related genes TP53 (mutated in 44.4% of cases), KRAS (16.7%) and SMAD4 (16.7%), we identified somatic mutations in 10 newly implicated genes in 14.8-3.7% of cases. These included inactivating mutations in MLL3 (in 14.8% of cases), ROBO2 (9.3%), RNF43 (9.3%) and PEG3 (5.6%), and activating mutations in the GNAS oncogene (9.3%). These genes have functions that can be broadly grouped into three biological classes: (i) deactivation of histone modifiers, (ii) activation of G protein signaling and (iii) loss of genome stability. This study provides insight into the mutational landscape contributing to O. viverrini-related CCA.     

Observed increase in local cooling effect of deforestation at higher latitudes

Deforestation in mid- to high latitudes is hypothesized to have the potential to cool the Earth's surface by altering biophysical processes. In climate models of continental-scale land clearing, the cooling is triggered by increases in surface albedo and is reinforced by a land albedo-sea ice feedback. This feedback is crucial in the model predictions; without it other biophysical processes may overwhelm the albedo effect to generate warming instead. Ongoing land-use activities, such as land management for climate mitigation, are occurring at local scales (hectares) presumably too small to generate the feedback, and it is not known whether the intrinsic biophysical mechanism on its own can change the surface temperature in a consistent manner. Nor has the effect of deforestation on climate been demonstrated over large areas from direct observations. Here we show that surface air temperature is lower in open land than in nearby forested land. The effect is 0.85 ± 0.44 K (mean ± one standard deviation) northwards of 45° N and 0.21 ± 0.53 K southwards. Below 35° N there is weak evidence that deforestation leads to warming. Results are based on comparisons of temperature at forested eddy covariance towers in the USA and Canada and, as a proxy for small areas of cleared land, nearby surface weather stations. Night-time temperature changes unrelated to changes in surface albedo are an important contributor to the overall cooling effect. The observed latitudinal dependence is consistent with theoretical expectation of changes in energy loss from convection and radiation across latitudes in both the daytime and night-time phase of the diurnal cycle, the latter of which remains uncertain in climate models.     

The global distribution of clinical episodes of Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Interest in mapping the global distribution of malaria is motivated by a need to define populations at risk for appropriate resource allocation and to provide a robust framework for evaluating its global economic impact. Comparison of older and more recent malaria maps shows how the disease has been geographically restricted, but it remains entrenched in poor areas of the world with climates suitable for transmission. Here we provide an empirical approach to estimating the number of clinical events caused by Plasmodium falciparum worldwide, by using a combination of epidemiological, geographical and demographic data. We estimate that there were 515 (range 300-660) million episodes of clinical P. falciparum malaria in 2002. These global estimates are up to 50% higher than those reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and 200% higher for areas outside Africa, reflecting the WHO's reliance upon passive national reporting for these countries. Without an informed understanding of the cartography of malaria risk, the global extent of clinical disease caused by P. falciparum will continue to be underestimated.     

化学发光法检测苹果汁中的对羟基苯甲酸

在硫酸介质中,对羟基苯甲酸对铈(Ⅳ)-罗丹明6G的化学发光反应有较强的增敏作用,据此建立了测定对羟基苯甲酸的反相高效液相色谱-化学发光新方法.该方法测定对羟基苯甲酸的检出限为3.1×10-10g/mL,方法的线性范围为2.0×10-9～5.0×10-7g/mL,对于1.0×10-8g/mL对羟基苯甲酸11次平行测定的相对标准偏差为1.42%.该方法灵敏度高、线性范围宽,已成功地应用于苹果汁样品中对羟基苯甲酸的含量分析.     

Phylogenetic taxonomy of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) with descriptions of three new species from Myanmar

ABSTRACT

A phylogenetic taxonomy of the gekkonid genus Hemiphyllodactylus based on molecular, morphological, and ecological data recovered 28 species, including three new species from the upland regions of the Shan Plateau in eastern Myanmar. Hemiphyllodactylus linnwayensis sp. nov. is a forest-adapted species that may also be a human commensal and H. montawaensis sp. nov. and H. tonywhitteni sp. nov. are karst forest-adapted species. The discovery of three new species from montane regions in eastern Myanmar extends the distribution of a larger monophyletic group of Hemiphyllodactylus westward to the eastern edge of the Ayeyrawady Basin through a series of semi-contiguous, parallel mountain ranges originating in western China and northern Thailand. The discovery of the karst forest-adapted H. montawaensis sp. nov. and H. tonywhitteni sp. nov. further emphasizes the unrealized herpetological diversity endemic to karst ecosystems and the need for increased field work throughout such habitats in South-East Asia.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E42FA075-E8E0-4005-98AB-12E8D5F23A07     

Mutations in sodium-borate cotransporter SLC4A11 cause recessive congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED2)

Congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy (CHED) is a heritable, bilateral corneal dystrophy characterized by corneal opacification and nystagmus. We describe seven different mutations in the SLC4A11 gene in ten families with autosomal recessive CHED. Mutations in SLC4A11, which encodes a membrane-bound sodium-borate cotransporter, cause loss of function of the protein either by blocking its membrane targeting or nonsense-mediated decay.     

Three more new species of Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Salween Basin of eastern Myanmar underscore the urgent need for the conservation of karst habitats

An integrative phylogenetic taxonomic analysis recovers three additional new species of karst-associated Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata: Gekkonidae) – C. bayinnyiensis sp. nov., C. chaunghanakwaensis sp. nov. and C. naungkayaingensis sp. nov. – from a narrow zone in the Salween Basin of Kayin and Mon states in eastern Myanmar from which nine new species were recently described. This degree of unprecedented diversity and site-specific endemism will no doubt continue to rise when at least 44 unsurveyed karstic habitat-islands in this same area are also explored. These data indicate that karst habitats not only serve as foci for speciation, but their rugged terrain spares them from agricultural development and, as such, they are the only habitats in the Salween Basin wherein much of the pre-agricultural herpetofauna can survive. This continues to underscore the fact that karst habitats in Myanmar harbour a significant portion of that country’s herpetofauna, some of which remains undescribed. Despite eastern Myanmar constituting some of the most extensive karstic regions in South-east Asia, they are the least legally protected, with only 1% of their terrain recognised as vulnerable. Until karst habitats in Myanmar are thoroughly investigated, a significant portion of this country’s herpetological diversity will remain underestimated and unprotected. Therefore, issues associated with karst conservation and management in Myanmar should be elevated to a new level of urgency.