A novel approach of using shed skins of the green tree python, Morelia viridis, for forensic purposes

Green tree python (Morelia viridis, Schlegel 1872) is a highly sought-after Indonesian/Papuan NG/Australian species in terms of the international trade in reptile pets. As the trade in wild animals is mostly prohibited nowadays, captive breeding supplies the international pet trade. There is evidence that captive breeding might be used as a cover for specimen’s illegally sourced from the wild, as there are very few possibilities of distinguishing wild from captive-bred animals. These rely on invasive sampling (cutting off the end of the tail in order to obtain a sample of blood/muscle/bone tissues) or presence of ecto- and/or endoparasites (method overcome by breeders housing animals in semi wild conditions). Therefore, we examined the possibility of using stable isotope analysis for determining: either the place of origin or diet as a means of defining whether they are captive bred or illegally sourced from the wild. We also review the use of non-invasive samples of shed (moulted) skins. We conclude that shed skins that are currently not used for identifying the source of green tree python could be used as forensic evidence, subject to the development of a viable method.

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Progression of Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease: Through the Lens of Salivary Extracellular Vesicles

Neuroscience Insights ◽

10.1177/26331055211058687 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 263310552110586

Author(s):

Simran Rastogi ◽

Komal Rani ◽

Saroj Kumar

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Screening Method ◽

Extracellular Vesicle ◽

Cognitively Impaired ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Place Of Origin

The elusiveness encircling around the domain of cognition, its impairment, and the poor prognosis of Alzheimer’s disease has made early diagnosis a necessity. The noticeable symptoms in these conditions appear years later after the neuropathological changes occur in the brain. Exosomes, a small-sized extracellular vesicle facilitate intercellular communication of disease pathologies and their cargo can provide molecular information about its place of origin. The study titled “A novel approach to correlate the salivary exosomes and their protein cargo in the progression of cognitive impairment into Alzheimer’s disease” was an attempt toward understanding the role of salivary small-sized extracellular vesicular (EV’s) cargo in monitoring the progression. Outcomes of the study represent, that the salivary small-sized EV’s (ssEV’s) levels were higher in the cognitively impaired and Alzheimer’s diseased as well the differential expression of the protein in the cargo correlates well with the disease severity staging. Thus, it can help in the development of an early non-invasive screening method.

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Effect of captivity on morphology: negligible changes in external morphology mask significant changes in internal morphology

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.172470 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

pp. 172470 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Stephanie K. Courtney Jones ◽

Adam J. Munn ◽

Phillip G. Byrne

Keyword(s):

Sexual Dimorphism ◽

Captive Breeding ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

External Morphology ◽

Wild Animals ◽

Internal Morphology ◽

In Captivity ◽

Two Generations ◽

Breeding Programmes ◽

Source Populations

Captive breeding programmes are increasingly relied upon for threatened species management. Changes in morphology can occur in captivity, often with unknown consequences for reintroductions. Few studies have examined the morphological changes that occur in captive animals compared with wild animals. Further, the effect of multiple generations being maintained in captivity, and the potential effects of captivity on sexual dimorphism remain poorly understood. We compared external and internal morphology of captive and wild animals using house mouse ( Mus musculus ) as a model species. In addition, we looked at morphology across two captive generations, and compared morphology between sexes. We found no statistically significant differences in external morphology, but after one generation in captivity there was evidence for a shift in the internal morphology of captive-reared mice; captive-reared mice (two generations bred) had lighter combined kidney and spleen masses compared with wild-caught mice. Sexual dimorphism was maintained in captivity. Our findings demonstrate that captive breeding can alter internal morphology. Given that these morphological changes may impact organismal functioning and viability following release, further investigation is warranted. If the morphological change is shown to be maladaptive, these changes would have significant implications for captive-source populations that are used for reintroduction, including reduced survivorship.

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Tethered Lipid Membranes as a Nanoscale Arrangement Towards Non-Invasive Analysis of Acute Pancreatitis

Biomedicines ◽

10.3390/biomedicines9070755 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 755

Author(s):

Rima Budvytyte ◽

Akvile Milasiute ◽

Dalius Vitkus ◽

Kestutis Strupas ◽

Aiste Gulla ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Pancreatitis ◽

Lipid Membranes ◽

Electrochemical Impedance ◽

Membrane Integrity ◽

Electrochemical Technique ◽

Label Free ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Analytical System ◽

Shock Proteins

Extracellular heat shock proteins (HSPs) mediate immunological functions and are involved in pathologies such as infection, stress, and cancer. Here, we demonstrated the dependence of an amount of HSP70 and HSP90 in serum vs. severity of acute pancreatitis (AP) on a cohort of 49 patients. Tethered bilayer lipid membranes (tBLMs) have been developed to investigate HSPs’ interactions with tBLMs that can be probed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results revealed that HSP70 and HSP90 interact via different mechanisms. HSP70 shows the damage of the membrane, while HSP90 increases the insulation properties of tBLM. These findings provide evidence that EIS offers a novel approach for the study of the changes in membrane integrity induced by HSPs proteins. Herein, we present an alternative electrochemical technique, without any immunoprobes, that allows for the monitoring of HSPs on nanoscaled tBLM arrangement in biologics samples such us human urine. This study demonstrates the great potential of tBLM to be used as a membrane based biosensor for novel, simple, and non-invasive label-free analytical system for the prediction of AP severity.

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Horn growth patterns of Nubian ibex from the Sinai, Egypt

Mammalia ◽

10.1515/mammalia-2020-0144 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Omar Attum ◽

Alaaeldin Soultan ◽

Louis C. Bender

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Arid Environment ◽

Growth Patterns ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Horn Growth ◽

Younger Age ◽

Invasive Method ◽

Viable Method ◽

Horn Development

Abstract Documenting patterns of horn growth and horn-age relationships of Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of their natural history, horn development in ibex in general, and future conservation of the species. Our specific objectives included (1) documenting age-horn growth patterns; (2) contrasting horn growth patterns of Nubian ibex with other ibex species; and (3) determining whether horn development accurately reflects age of Nubian ibex in Sinai, Egypt. As expected, all male and female horn measurements had significant relationships with age. Horn growth in males started plateauing at ca. age 7–8, whereas female horn growth started plateauing at ca. age 4–6. The extremely arid environment of Nubian ibex in the Sinai may account for the slowing of horn growth at a younger age than seen in populations of some other ibex species. We found a significant relationship between the number of horn ridges and age, indicating that counting horn ridges provides a viable method of aging males to within ±1 y. Thus counting horn ridges may be a useful and non-invasive method to determine age or age class, which can further our understanding of age structure, the natural history, and management of Nubian ibex populations.

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Causes of Morbidity and Mortality in Wild Animals and Birds at Captive Breeding Facilities of Punjab, Pakistan

Pakistan Journal of Zoology ◽

10.17582/journal.pjz/20210805120803 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zahra Hussain

Keyword(s):

Captive Breeding ◽

Morbidity And Mortality ◽

Wild Animals

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Non-Invasive Rhythmic Musical-Electric Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation Improves Consciousness in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness

10.21203/rs.3.rs-256846/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Min Wu ◽

Benyan Luo ◽

Yamei Yu ◽

Xiaoxia Li ◽

Jian Gao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trigeminal Nerve ◽

Nerve Stimulation ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Minimally Conscious State ◽

Conscious State ◽

Disorders Of Consciousness ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Minimally Conscious

Abstract Disorders of consciousness (DOC) are often accompanied by aberrant oscillatory neural activity in the thalamus and cerebral cortex. Patient-friendly non-invasive treatments targeting this functional anomaly are still missing. We propose and validate a novel approach that aims to restore DOC patients’ thalamocortical oscillations by combining rhythmic trigeminal-nerve stimulation (TNS) with comodulated musical stimulation. In a cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, pretest-posttest clinical study, we show that application of this multisensory approach for 40 min on five consecutive days reliably leads to long-lasting improvements in DOC patients’ consciousness (assessed with Coma Recovery Scale-Revised) and oscillatory brain activity at the musical-electric TNS frequency (assessed with electroencephalography and a novel rhythmic auditory-speech paradigm). We found diagnostic improvement in 47% of patients in minimally conscious state and a positive relationship between patients’ behavioral and neural improvements. Based on this evidence we argue that non-invasive musical-electric TNS may serve as an effective patient-friendly DOC treatment and suggest frequency-specific oscillatory neural enhancement as its mode of action.

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A Sensor Platform for Athletes’ Training Supervision: A Proof of Concept Study

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s19183948 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (18) ◽

pp. 3948 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zompanti ◽

Sabatini ◽

Santonico ◽

Grasso ◽

Gianfelici ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Least Squares Method ◽

Maximal Oxygen Consumption ◽

Lactate Concentration ◽

Carbon Dioxide Production ◽

Exhaled Breath ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Sport Practice ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Respiratory Parameters ◽

Partial Least Squares Method

One of the basic needs of professional athletes is the real-time and non-invasive monitoring of their activities. The use of these kind of data is necessary to develop strategies for specific tailored training in order to improve performances. The sensor system presented in this work has the aim to adopt a novel approach for the monitoring of physiological parameters, and athletes’ performances, during their training. The anaerobic threshold is herein identified with the monitoring of the lactate concentration and the respiratory parameters. The data collected by the sensor are used to build a model using a supervised method (based on the partial least squares method, PLS) to predict the values of the parameters of interest. The sensor is able to measure the lactate concentration from a sample of saliva and it can estimate a respiratory parameter, such as maximal oxygen consumption, maximal carbon dioxide production and respiratory rate from a sample of exhaled breath. The main advantages of the device are the low power; the wireless communication; and the non-invasive sampling method, which allow its use in a real context of sport practice.

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Finding Suitable Clinical Endpoints for a Potential Treatment of a Rare Genetic Disease: the Case of ARID1B

Neurotherapeutics ◽

10.1007/s13311-020-00868-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 1300-1310 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Matthijs D. Kruizinga ◽

Rob G.J.A. Zuiker ◽

Elif Sali ◽

Marieke L. de Kam ◽

Robert J. Doll ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Body Sway ◽

Control Group ◽

Clinical Endpoints ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Sleep Parameters ◽

Fit For Purpose ◽

Potential Waveform

Abstract There is a lack of reliable, repeatable, and non-invasive clinical endpoints when investigating treatments for intellectual disability (ID). The aim of this study is to explore a novel approach towards developing new endpoints for neurodevelopmental disorders, in this case for ARID1B-related ID. In this study, twelve subjects with ARID1B-related ID and twelve age-matched controls were included in this observational case–control study. Subjects performed a battery of non-invasive neurobehavioral and neurophysiological assessments on two study days. Test domains included cognition, executive functioning, and eye tracking. Furthermore, several electrophysiological assessments were performed. Subjects wore a smartwatch (Withings® Steel HR) for 6 days. Tests were systematically assessed regarding tolerability, variability, repeatability, difference with control group, and correlation with traditional endpoints. Animal fluency, adaptive tracking, body sway, and smooth pursuit eye movements were assessed as fit-for-purpose regarding all criteria, while physical activity, heart rate, and sleep parameters show promise as well. The event-related potential waveform of the passive oddball and visual evoked potential tasks showed discriminatory ability, but EEG assessments were perceived as extremely burdensome. This approach successfully identified fit-for-purpose candidate endpoints for ARID1B-related ID and possibly for other neurodevelopmental disorders. Next, results could be replicated in different ID populations or the assessments could be included as exploratory endpoint in interventional trials in ARID1B-related ID.

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