Observations on mating in Mediterranean Sepiola and Sepietta species and review of mating behaviour in Sepiolinae (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae)

Mating was observed and described in captive individuals of Sepiola affinis, Sepiola intermedia and Sepietta obscura (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae) collected in the Catalan Sea, western Mediterranean Sea. This is the first report of a mating event in S. intermedia; it is also the first detailed description of the mating behaviour for the other two species. The published literature on mating in Sepiolinae, which includes both cursory reports and in-depth descriptions of mating events, was thoroughly reviewed. In all, copulation has been examined in eight species belonging to four different genera, namely, Eumandya, Euprymna, Sepietta and Sepiola, starting from 1894 to the present. Common traits of the mating behaviour were detected among the studied sepioline species, so that a general five stages succession of actions is established to portray the mating progress in Sepiolinae: (A) female hovers by, male attention (it is discussed whether actual copulation is preceded by any courtship); (B) male approaches female from below; (C) male grasps female at the neck by its third arms, inserts its first arms in the female’s mantle cavity (the hectocotylised left arm is thus aligned with the bursa copulatrix), holds the female’s mantle by its second arms and positions itself and mate in the “parallel position”; (D) copulation and transfer of spermatophores from male to female (this stage may last from 3 min to 3 h); (E) mating dissolution. Mating occurs preferentially during the dark hours; it is described as violent and the female tries to escape the forceful grasp by the male; the male skin coloration turns darker. The similarity of the mating behaviour in all examined sepioline species is an evidence of both its evolution in harmony with their copulatory organs (hectocotylus and bursa copulatrix) and, seemingly, its common derivation to the whole Sepiolinae clade.

High Prevalence of Epilepsy in an Onchocerciasis-Endemic Area in Mvolo County, South Sudan: A Door-To-Door Survey

In June 2020, a door-to-door household survey was conducted in Mvolo County, an onchocerciasis-endemic area in South Sudan. A total of 2357 households containing 15,699 individuals agreed to participate in the study. Of these, 5046 (32.1%, 95% CI: 31.4–32.9%) had skin itching and 445 (2.8%, 95% CI: 2.6–3.1%) were blind. An epilepsy screening questionnaire identified 813 (5.1%) persons suspected of having epilepsy. Of them, 804 (98.9%) were seen by a medical doctor, and in 798 (98.1%) the diagnosis of epilepsy was confirmed. The overall epilepsy prevalence was 50.8/1000 (95% CI: 47.6–54.4/1000), while the prevalence of nodding syndrome was 22.4/1000 (95% CI: 20.1–24.9/1000). Younger age, being male, skin itching, blindness, and living in a neighbourhood or village close to the Naam River were risk factors for epilepsy. The annual incidence of epilepsy was 82.8/100,000 (95% CI: 44.1–141.6/100,000). Among children 7–9 years old without epilepsy, 34% were Ov16 seropositive, suggesting high ongoing Onchocerca volvulus transmission, but only 41.9% of them took ivermectin during the last mass distribution. In conclusion, a high prevalence and incidence of epilepsy was observed in Mvolo, South Sudan. Strengthening of the onchocerciasis elimination programme is urgently needed in order to prevent epilepsy in this region.

Prevalence of Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy in Mvolo County, South Sudan: A Door to Door Survey

In June 2020, a door-to-door household survey was conducted in Mvolo County, an onchocerciasis endemic area in South Sudan. A total of 2,357 households containing 15,699 individuals agreed to participate in the study. Of these, 5,046 (32.1%, 95%CI: 31.4-32.9%) had skin itching and 445 (2.8%, 95% CI: 2.6-3.1%) were blind. An epilepsy screening questionnaire identified 813 (5.1%) persons suspected to have epilepsy. Of them, 804 (98.9%) were seen by a medical doctor and in 798 (98.1%) the diagnosis of epilepsy was confirmed. The overall epilepsy prevalence was 50.8/1000 (95% CI: 47.6-54.4/1000) and prevalence of nodding syndrome was 22.4/1000 (95% CI: 20.1-24.9/1000). Younger age, being male, skin itching, blindness and living in a village close to the Naam river were risk factors for epilepsy. The annual incidence of epilepsy was 82.8/100,000 (95% CI: 44.1-141.6/100,000). In conclusion, a high prevalence and incidence of epilepsy was observed in Mvolo, South Sudan. Strengthening the onchocerciasis elimination programme is urgently needed to prevent epilepsy in this region.

Global Autozygosity Is Associated with Cancer Risk, Mutational Signature and Prognosis

Global autozygosity quantifies the genome-wide levels of homozygous and heterozygous variants. It is the signature of non-random reproduction, though it can also be driven by other factors, and has been used to assess risk in various diseases. However, the association between global autozygosity and cancer risk has not been studied. From 4057 cancer subjects and 1668 healthy controls, we found strong associations between global autozygosity and risk in ten different cancer types. For example, the heterozygosity ratio was found to be significantly associated with breast invasive carcinoma in Blacks and with male skin cutaneous melanoma in Caucasians. We also discovered eleven associations between global autozygosity and mutational signatures which can explain a portion of the etiology. Furthermore, four significant associations for heterozygosity ratio were revealed in disease-specific survival analyses. This study demonstrates that global autozygosity is effective for cancer risk assessment.

The brightness dimension as a marker of gender across cultures and age

Universally, female skin color is lighter than male skin color, irrespective of geographical location. This difference is a distinctive and universal adaptive pattern that emerges after puberty. We address whether this sexual dimorphism is cognitively and culturally represented to ground gender. To this end, we examine a non-Western, non-industrialized population, namely the Wichí (Salta, Argentina) and a Western industrialized population (Spain). The two cultural populations included both adults and prepubescent children. Across two experiments, we utilized a novel task with children and adults who had to make a choice for a female (male) target person between two identical objects that differed only in terms of their brightness. The results in both experiments revealed that the children from the two cultural communities choose a lighter colored object for the female target and a darker version of the same object for the male target. This pattern held across cultures irrespective of the age of participants, except for the male Wichí participants. We discuss how sexual dimorphism in skin color contributes to a universal grounding of the gender category, and advance possible explanations as to why Wichi males did not consistently link gender and brightness.

Partition Coefficient and Glutathione Penetration of Topical Antiaging:Preformulation Study

Glutathione (GSH) is a broad antioxidant of the thiol-tripeptide group, highly hydrophilic, which has limitation for topical preparations. A lipophilic surfactant is an alternative method to enhance the glutathione partition. The purpose of this study was to determine the apparent partition coefficient (APC log) of glutathione; glutathione with additional surfactant at different HLB value of HLB 4.3; 5.5; 7; 11 and selected HLB was studied for penetration. The study was conducted by dissolving glutathione in water plus various HLB surfactants. Determination method of partition coefficient was done by shake flash method. The penetration test was conducted using the parameter of decreasing Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 expression on the balb-c male skin. The results can be used as a reference for topical glutathione formulations as these results are preformulation study.