Developmental Parameters Research Articles

Notes on the lifecycle and distribution of Sphodromantis gastrica (Stål, 1858) (Mantodea: Mantidae) in South Africa

Sphodromantis gastrica (Stål) (Mantodea: Mantidae), also known as the African mantis, is suggested to be common and widespread in southern Africa. Limited information is available regarding the distribution of this species in South Africa and no information is available on its biology. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of S. gastrica in South Africa based on historic insect collection records as well as to study its basic biology and developmental parameters under captive breeding conditions. A total of 153 South African museum records of Sphodromantis spp. were recorded during this study. These records indicated that S. gastrica occurred in all but two provinces of South Africa. The incubation time of the S. gastrica oothecae were approximately 10 weeks and each ootheca contained an average of 84 egg chambers. The mean fertility rate was 54.6% while the survival rate until adulthood was 41.8%. The numbers of nymphal instars until adulthood ranged between four and nine. The mean lifespan of S. gastrica individuals were approximately 332 days and females lived longer than males.

EEG-Findings during long-term treatment with everolimus in TSC-associated and therapy-resistant epilepsies in children

Aim: This prospective observational study evaluated the long-term EEG changes in children treated with everolimus (EVO) for refractory TSC-associated epilepsy. Changes in EEG-abnormalities were related to developmental outcomes. Methods: Thirteen children treated with EVO were examined for EEG-recorded seizures and interictal epileptic discharges (IED) during a 72-hour-video-EEG-monitoring, which was performed at baseline and repeated at follow-up intervals of at least 9 months. Antiseizure medication was left unchanged for at least 27 months. Changes in cognitive developmental parameters were related to reduction of seizures and IED at the last monitoring. Results: We found a significant reduction of recorded seizures and IED during sleep at the first as well as the last follow-up recording. The reduction of IED was especially prominent during sleep. For patients who continued for more than one monitoring under EVO (n = 8), number of seizures further decreased. In patients with developmental examination (n = 9), we observed that only (nearly) full cessation of IED was related to acquisition of new skills. Discussion: In children with TSC, EVO was effective in reducing recorded seizures and IED; long-term EVO treatment led to a more pronounced reduction and an improvement of nocturnal IED even when the patient was initially not seizure-free. Cessation of IED in children with developmental improvement may point to the importance of healthy sleep for cognition.

The Comparison of Growth and Developmental Status in Surgical Necrotizing Enterocolitis with the Control Group

Background: Surgery in premature neonates following Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) is an awful event. There are many concerns regarding the future of these neonates. Releasing inflammatory substances following perforation can have a significant impact on the premature brain. Based on the ASQ questionnaire, we aimed at finding out whether there is any neurodevelopmental delay following NEC surgery. Methods: We compared developmental aspects of neonates who underwent NEC surgery with control using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ II). Results: We compared 29 children that had surgical NEC in their neonatal period with their premature peers. They were homogeneous in age, sex, head circumference, weight, and Apgar count at birth in the neonatal period; they had no significant difference in the incidence of sepsis and ventilation-requiring days and cerebral incidence hemorrhage. At the study time, there was a significant difference in growth parameters, weight (p<0.001), and height (p=0.014). Also, there was no significant difference in head circumference and developmental parameters such as communication, motor, and problem-solving domains. Conclusion: This study indicates that if these patients do not develop severe neurological complications in the neonatal period, their abilities are close to their premature peers in arrival to community and school. However, we still recommend close monitoring of these cases due to the possibility of impaired central nervous-gastrointestinal coordination.

Effects of incubation temperature on development, morphology, and thermal physiology of the emerging Neotropical lizard model organism Tropidurus torquatus

Incubation temperature is among the main phenotypic trait variation drivers studied since the developmental trajectory of oviparous animals is directly affected by environmental conditions. In the last decades, global warming predictions have aroused interest in understanding its impacts on biodiversity. It is predicted that the effects of direct warming will be exacerbated by other anthropogenic factors, such as microclimatic edge effects. Although the Brazilian Cerrado biome is one of the most affected by these issues, little is known about the aforementioned effects on its biodiversity. Therefore, the aim of our study is to investigate the influence of incubation temperature on developmental parameters, morphology and thermal physiology traits of the collared lizard (Tropidurus torquatus). Furthermore, we discuss our findings regarding lizard developmental biology and the climate change paradigm. Therefore, we incubated T. torquatus eggs under five temperature regimes ranging from artificial nest temperature (28.7 °C) to 35.0 °C. We found that elevated incubation temperatures affect several investigated traits: egg mass gain is positively affected, without any influence in newborn mass; incubation period is broadly reduced with temperature increase; survival rate is negatively affected by temperature, constant 35.0 °C regime is confirmed as a lethal incubation temperature, and the sex ratio is affected at 30.0 °C, with a prevailing outbreak of females. Increased incubation temperature also affects body and head size but has no effect on limb size. Newborn thermoregulation and the critical thermal maximum (CTmax) are not affected by incubation temperature. On the other hand, basal body temperature (Tbb) and the critical thermal minimum (CTmin) were positively affected. Thermal physiology was also affected by age, with newborns differing from adults for all analyzed thermal traits. Our findings indicate that future modifications in incubation temperature regimes at nesting sites caused by warming may affect several features of the development, morphology, and thermal physiology of newborns of this species. Laboratory experiments have pointed to possible drastic effects of warming on lizard survival rates, also affecting aspects of its natural history and population distribution. Moreover, in addition to being more vulnerable than adults in aspects such as predation and feeding, T. torquatus newborns are also more vulnerable regarding thermal physiological traits.

Bioactivity of essential oils from Croton grewioides and its major compounds: toxicity to soybean looper Chrysodeixis includens and selectivity to the predatory stink bug Podisus nigrispinus.

Natural biological control is a key factor that ensures the regulation of insect pest populations in agroecosystems. However, the indiscriminate use of pesticides has compromised this environmental service. Thus, the search for environmentally safe pesticides is an increasing requirement for sustainable food production. In this study, we analyzed the toxicity of essential oils from two accessions (CGR112 and CGR126) of Croton grewioides and its major compounds, methyl eugenol and eugenol, on the soybean pest Chrysodeixis includens. In addition, we investigated the sublethal effects of these compounds on the predatory bug Podisus nigrispinus, analyzing its developmental, reproduction and life table parameters. Essential oils and their major compounds were toxic to C. includens and P. nigrispinus. In general, the presence of eugenol made the essential oil more toxic to the pest and selective to the natural enemy. Eugenol was the most toxic compound for 2nd instar larvae of C. includens at LD50, followed by CGR126 essential oil from C. grewioides which was equally toxic at higher doses. The estimated lethal times for essential oils to cause mortality in 50% of the population of C. includens were less than 15h. There was selectivity of the essential oil of CGR126 accession of C. grewioides at lethal doses above 90%. Although the treatments showed little effect on the development of P. nigrispinus, body mass and reproductive parameters were negatively affected, with the exception of the essential oil of CGR126 accession of C. grewioides. The essential oil of C. grewioides may be a promising active ingredient for the synthesis of new insecticides, which are efficient against C. includens and at the same time are safer for the natural enemy P. nigrispinus.

Lethal and Sublethal Effects of Fluxametamide on Rice-Boring Pest, Rice Stem Borer Chilo suppressalis

(1) Background: Fluxametamide is a novel isoxazoline insecticide. Rice stem borer Chilo suppressalis (Walker) is a destructive Lepidoptera pest of rice in China, and novel effective insecticides are required to be developed for controlling it due to its increasing resistance levels. (2) Results: In the lethal assay, the insecticidal activity of fluxametamide with median lethal dose (LD50) value of 1.308 mg/kg to the fourth-instar larvae of C. suppressalis was higher than that of chlorantraniliprole (LD50, 3.112 mg/kg) and lower than that of emamectin benzoate (LD50, 0.006 mg/kg). In the sublethal (LD10 and LD30) assay, the duration of third to sixth-instar larvae, the pupal duration, pupation rate, and life cycle rate were significantly increased in F0 generation. Both the length and weight of the ovarian tube were decreased with the dose increase of fluxametamide, and were significantly smaller in the LD30 treatment than those of the control group. In F1 generation, only the duration of eggs was significantly increased with LD30 treatment of fluxametamide, whereas other developmental parameters had no significant change. (3) Conclusion: Fluxametamide had relatively strong lethal and sublethal effects on C. suppressalis and probably was able to affect the population growth and progeny of C. suppressalis.

Morphophysiological and developmental parameters of maize varieties

Knowing the characteristics of maize varieties becomes a strategy for an adequate crop planning, in order to extract the maximum agronomic power of each variety. The objective of this work is to know the morphophysiological and developmental parameters of maize varieties. The experiment was conducted in August 2021, in Faculdades Integradas Stella Maris (FISMA), located in the Municipality of Andradina, State of São Paulo. The design was entirely randomized, where six maize varieties were grown: XB 8010; AG 1051; Cateto Paraguay; Sweet Maize (Paraguay Soup); White Maize and Asteca Mole and with four repetitions, totaling 20 plots or pots. The hybrid varieties showed better development characteristics. The criolla variety Asteca Mole presented lower developmental characteristics. Stomatal density and functionality were expressed in an antagonistic way. Maize varieties did not present differences in internal morphology in the leaves. Correlations were found between the morphophysiological and developmental parameters in the maize varieties.

Homotaurine ameliorates the core ASD symptomatology in VPA rats through GABAergic signaling: Role of GAD67

Dysregulated GABAergic signaling is reported in Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD). In the present study, we evaluated a GABA structural mimicker homotaurine (HT) via in-silico docking and investigated the therapeutic efficacy of this drug to ameliorate ASD symptoms in the valproic acid (VPA) rat model of ASD. For the in-vivo study, animals were divided into two groups [Normal control (NC, 0.9 % saline; i.p) and disease control (VPA 600 mg/kg; i.p)] on gestational day (GD) 12.5. Male pups from VPA-exposed mothers were further divided into five groups (n = 6 in each group): disease control (DC, no-further treatment), standard treatment (risperidone (RES) 2.5 mg/kg; i.p, consecutively from PND 23-43), HT (10, 25 and 50 mg/kg; i.p, consecutively from PND 23-43). In in-silico studies, the binding pattern of homotaurine to GABA-A receptor was found similar to GABA with Tyr205, Glu155, Tyr157, Arg6, and Thr 130 as shared residues. In the in-vivo phase, the early developmental parameters (from PND 7-23) and behavioral parameters (from PND 43-54) were assessed. The offsprings of the VPA exposed group exhibited significant (p < 0.05) developmental delays, behavioral deficits [decreased sociability and social novelty (three-chamber sociability test), spatial memory (Morris water maze), increased stereotypy (self-grooming)], increased oxidative stress (decreased GSH, SOD, Catalase, and increased MDA), increased pro-inflammatory (IL-1β, 6, TNF-α) and decreased anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines, Purkinje cell loss in the cerebellum and pyknosis in PFC (H/E, Nissil staining) and decreased GAD67 expression in the cerebellum (RT-PCR & immunohistochemistry). Compared to the DC, HT treatment (50 mg/kg) was able to ameliorate the aberrant core behavioral deficits, decreased oxidative stress, decreased pro-inflammatory and increased anti-inflammatory cytokine profile with preservation of the Purkinje cell density in the cerebellum, decreased pyknosis in the prefrontal cortex and normalized the expression of GAD67. Thus, HT can be a useful therapeutic agent in ASD and requires further clinical evaluation.

Sex differences in maternal odor preferences and brain levels of GAP-43 and sonic hedgehog proteins in infant SHR and Wistar Kyoto rats

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that presents sex differences in the severity and presentation of symptoms, whose neurobiological basis is still unknown. Both Growth-associated Protein 43 (GAP-43) and Sonic hedgehog (Shh) are considered essential proteins for the appropriate brain development, but their participation in ADHD neurobiology have not been investigated yet. In this study, we hypothesized that alterations in these proteins could be related to behavioral traits to ADHD phenotype. Thus, both sexes of infant Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, used as ADHD animal model) were evaluated for developmental milestones, locomotor activity, olfactory and recognition memory. Both GAP-43 and Shh were assessed in the olfactory bulb, frontal cortex and hippocampus in early and late infancy. During early infancy, SHR reached three developmental milestones later, and females showed olfactory memory impairment accompanied by increased levels of Shh in the olfactory bulb. In later infancy, hyperlocomotion, impaired recognition memory, and decreased Shh in the hippocampus were observed in SHR from both sexes. While in early infancy GAP-43 was not altered, it was decreased in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of female SHR in late infancy. Therefore, both Shh and GAP-43 are involved in the sex-dependent behavioral alterations showed by infant SHR. Despite the disorder’s complexity and heterogeneity, our findings reveal important developmental parameters during SHR development and also emphasizes the relevance of studying sex differences in the ADHD context.

Persistent and transgenerational effects of pesticide residues in zebrafish

Highly toxic chemical compounds are present in rivers and lakes, endangering the survival of non-target species. To evaluate the effects of environmental contamination on non-target species, we used the zebrafish as an animal model. Environmental concentrations of the widely used pesticides, glyphosate (GBH) at 4.8 μg·L−1 and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (DBH) at 3.4 μg·L−1, were used. The animals were exposed during the entire period of organogenesis and evaluated in our previous study regarding initial developmental parameters. In the present study, we evaluate these fish when achieve the adult phase, using the novel tank test (NTT) and the aversivity test. In the second step, the animals were allowed to reproduce, and the initial parameters of development, behavioral parameters in the open field test (OFT) and in the aversivity test (AST), and biochemical biomarkers as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the F1 generation were studied. Fish exposed to GBH showed hypermobility, and their anti-predatory reaction was impaired during adulthood, indicating a persistent effect. We also showed that fish had impaired behavioral and survival changes in the F1 generation as well as effects on AChE activity and antioxidant enzymes, characterizing a transgenerational effect. The fish did not show persistent effects in adulthood due to DBH exposure; however, they were unable to reproduce. Our findings demonstrate the serious impact of pesticides on fish, where the effects of contamination can affect future generations and compromise the species' survival.

Comparison of Low Molecular Weight Heparin Used alone or Combined with Aspirin in the Treatment of Fetal Growth Restriction.

The objective of the study was to compare the efficacy of low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) alone and use in the combination with aspirin in the treatment of fetal growth restriction (FGR) patients. Ninety-six FGR patients were divided into the LMWH group (n=48) and the combined group (n=48), according to the different treatments. This research showed after treatment, values of PI, RI and S/D, serum IL-6 and TNF-α in the combined group were lower than those in the LMWH group (all p <0.001). The frequency of pregnancy complications and adverse neonatal outcomes in the combined group were 2 (4.2%) lower than the LMWH group (p=0.045, 0.025). Combination of LMWH with aspirin in FGR patients effectively reduced levels of IL-6 and TNF-α within the mother, improved fetal developmental parameters, and reduced the frequency of pregnancy complications and adverse neonatal outcomes compared with LMWH treatment alone. Key Words: Fetal growth restriction (FGR), Low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH), Aspirin, Pregnancy, Newborn.

Effects of intergenerational host plant alterations on developmental parameters of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

• The fall armyworm (FAW) could be bred successfully on sudan grass, millet, and rye (R). • FAW’s developmental parameters showed dynamic changes by sequential alternation of host plants. • FAW was able to successfully reproduce up to five generations with non-preferred host plants. • Rye, a winter crop, might be an important hosts for migrated corn strain FAW. The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith), is known as a destructive moth pest of agricultural crops such as corn, rice, and sorghum. Recently, its damage threatens crops in Asian temperate regions due to its high migration ability. Two genetic types of FAW, a corn strain mostly found on corn and a rice strain associated with rice, have been reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether migrated corn-collected population of FAW could maintain its population on various seasonal plants including non-preferred Poaceae plants, with special emphasis on Jeju, Korea. Development-related parameters were compared after switching host plants including corn (C), Sudan grass (S), proso millet (M), and rye (R) when rearing FAW. Most developmental parameters showed dynamic changes according to sequential alternation of host plants with the progress of generations. When all R 0 (net reproductive rate) values were scaled by the R 0 in C to C alteration, the scaled values of other alterations were less than “1.0”, indicating less fitness than C to C alteration ( R 0 value: 0.57 for C to S, 0.49 for C to M in F3 generation; 0.82 for S to S, 0.65 for S to M, and 0.58 for S to C in F4 generation, 0.50 for M to M, 0.59 for M to R, and 0.83 for M to C in F5 generation). Although our results did not show that S. frugiperda adapted perfectively on new host plants, this pest was able to successfully reproduce up to five generations with non-preferred host plants. Results indicate that winter crops such as rye might be hosts for migrated corn-preferred populations of S . frugiperda during winter after breeding three to four cycles on other host plants before winter if weather condition is allowed for its survival.

Eight-year results of precommercial thinning on growth parameters in Picea orientalis (L.) link stands

ABSTRACT The effects of different rates of precommercial thinning (PCT) intensity on the stand developmental parameters in natural Picea orientalis stands were investigated to determine the most suitable thinning rate. The present study was performed in Trabzon province located in the northeastern of Turkey. In PCT plots, four different levels of PCT intensity were applied including control (unthinned), light (1.3–1.5 m spacing), moderate (1.5–2.0 m spacing) and heavy (2.5–3.0 m spacing). The values of diameter and height were measured at the end of the 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 growing seasons. The results indicated statistically significant (p < 0.05) effects of PCT levels on the diameter, total stand volume and total basal area increments in all periods measured. On the other hand, significant differences were at 99% confidence level for 6 and 8-year height increments. Although the diameter increments increased with increasing levels of precommercial thinning, the height increments did not increase. Also, total basal area increments were higher than in the control in all precommercial thinning treatments, except for the heavy PCT. Considering the best results of measured growth parameters, the early results showed that the light and moderate PCT had the most favorable effect on stand development.

Impact of silver nitrate on the survival and regeneration potential of explants of Hippophae salicifolia (Seabuckthorn) D. Don

Hippophae salicifolia D. Don is an important plant of manifold benefits ranges from ecological refurbishment to socioeconomic development in their growing provinces. In vitro propagation practices in H. salicifolia hindered by various obstacles, among them explant necrosis or mortality is most important, especially when mature plants are the source for explants and in that case ethylene production by explants was supposed to be the main culprit. In this study, full strength Woody Plan medium with various hormonal combinations fortified with different silver nitrate/ AgNO3 concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mg/L utilized to assess the impact of AgNO3 on survival and other developmental parameters in H. salicifolia mature and seedling explants. Silver nitrate efficiently controlled necrosis and reduced the explant mortality in the culture by enhancing survival percentages of the explants to the 80 ± 1.00 % in mature explants and 96 ± 0.45 %in seedling explants with supplementation of 2 mg/L in hormonal combination i.e., 15.0 mg/L BAP + 5.0 mg/L IAA + 2.0 mg/L GA3. Silver nitrate significantly influenced the development of average shoot numbers in seedling explants with highest average shoot number 53.4 ± 2.70 at 2 mg/L AgNO3 supplementation with hormonal combination 15.0 mg/L BAP + 5.0 mg/L IAA + 2.0 mg/L GA3, although shoot regeneration from mature explant remained modest to AgNO3 supplementations. In vitro generated shoots grown in media supplemented with silver nitrate when subjected for rooting, they failed to induce roots in rooting media.

Incidence, dynamics and recurrences of reverse cleavage in aneuploid, mosaic and euploid blastocysts, and its relationship with embryo quality

BackgroundDuring embryonic development, the normality of cleavage and the ploidy state are closely related to the final clinical outcome. At present, many research teams are focusing on the combined application of timelapse (TL) technology and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) technology, hoping to find a connection between the two aspects of morphodynamics and genes. In the process of embryonic cleavage, there is a common abnormal cleavage pattern called reverse cleavage (RC). RC refers to blastomere fusion and failed cytokinesis. There are very few reports about it. Whether the occurrence of RC affects blastocyst euploidy is even less clear. Whether the RC phenomenon affects the embryonic developmental potential and whether it is related to the embryo ploidy. This is important for clinicians and embryologists. In this study, we used TL to observe whether there was a phenomenon of RC in each biopsy embryo and then combined it with the ploidy state to give an answer, which provided support for the selection strategy of RC embryos.MethodsA total of 405 TL-PGT cycles and 1,467 blastocysts were included in the study. All TL data were collected from the Reproductive Medicine Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Hospital. Embryos images throughout embryonic development, from post-insemination to day 5 or 6 until biopsy and cryopreservation, were acquired by the Embryoscope Plus TL microscopy system from January 2019 to December 2020. This study investigated the overall incidence of RC during cleavage; the relationship between RC phenomenon and the number of occurrences and ploidy results; the relationship between RC occurrence and blastocyst developmental quality, as well as the dynamics of RC embryos.ResultsAmong the 1,453 blastocysts biopsied, 400 blastocysts showed RC phenomenon at the cleavage stage, and the incidence rate was 25.9%. In euploid, mosaic and aneuploid embryos, the incidence of RC was 27.2%, 26.6%, and 25.0%, respectively. The incidence of RC was similar among these three groups with no significant difference (P > 0.05). The number of RC occurrences was not associated with embryo ploidy status (P > 0.05). In general, the blastocyst quality of the RC + group was lower than that of the RC- group. In the ICM score, the proportion of A score in the RC + group was significantly lower than that in RC- group (P < 0.05). In the TE score, there was no significant difference between the two groups of A-grade blastocysts, but the proportion of B-grade blastocysts in the RC + group was significantly lower than that in the RC- group (P < 0.01). In terms of developmental kinetic parameters, the cleavage synchrony parameters s2 and s3 were significantly longer in RC + embryos than in RC- embryos (P < 0.05). However, these changes in kinetic parameters were not significantly different between the euploid, mosaic and aneuploid groups.ConclusionsThe chromosomal euploidy of cleavage-stage embryos with RC phenomenon developed to the blastocyst stage was not significantly different from that of cleavage normal blastocysts. Therefore, RC embryos should not be discarded. It is recommended to select and utilize blastocyst culture, which has similar clinical value to normal cleavage embryos.

The Community Perception of Stunting in Majene District of West Sulawesi

Stunting is a form of stunted growth process and is a nutritional problem that needs attention and is one of the main public health problems in Indonesia. Parenting is one of the factors that can cause nutritional problems such as stunting because toddlers still depend on the parenting applied by the family in fulfilling their food and health care. This study aims to determine public perceptions of stunting in three villages in the Pamboang Health Center working area consisting of North Bonde Village, Banua Adolang Village and Betteng Village which are included in the village with the highest number of stunting rates in Majene Regency. This study uses a qualitative approach which was carried out from December 2020 to January 2021 by conducting in-depth interviews, observations with a total of 6 mothers who have stunting status of toddlers. The results of this study indicate that stunting is not only a measure of short height, but rather on the concept that the process coincides with the process of growth and development inhibition by linking the developmental parameters of toddlers through DDST and KBK. The results of interviews in the field are relevant to the theory so that the results of public perception assume that stunting is a fact that exists in the community so that it can have an impact on optimal community involvement in an effort to encourage the government to reduce stunting.

Drivers of copper sensitivity in copepods: A meta-analysis of LC50s

Copper is both an essential trace element and a potent pesticide. The use of copper as an antifoulant has increased in the last decades in line with the expanding aquaculture and shipping industries. In aquatic environments, it also affects non-target taxa. One of which are copepods, which constitute the central link in the marine food web. Despite their ecological importance, there are no systematic reviews of the lethal concentration range and drivers of copper toxicity in this taxon. Here, we combined literature data from 31 peer-reviewed articles recording the Lethal Concentration 50 (LC50) for copper in copepods and the experiments' respective environmental, developmental, and taxonomic parameters. The LC50 is a traditional endpoint for toxicity testing used in standardized toxicity testing and many ecological studies. In total, we were able to extract 166 LC50 entries. The variability in the metadata allowed for a general analysis of the drivers of copper sensitivity in copepods. Using a generalized additive modeling approach, we find that temperature increases copper toxicity when above approximately 25℃. Counter to our expectations; salinity does not influence copper sensitivity across copepod species. Unsurprisingly, nauplii are more susceptible to copper exposure than adult copepods, and benthos-associated harpacticoids are less sensitive to copper than pelagic calanoids. Our final model can predict sensible specific-specific copper concentrations for future experiments, thus giving an informed analytical approach to range testing in future dose-response experiments. Our model can also potentially improve ecological risk assessment by accounting for environmental differences. The approach can be applied to other toxicants and taxa, which may reveal underlying patterns otherwise obscured by taxonomic and experimental variability.

Faster Fertilization and Cleavage Kinetics Reflect Competence to Achieve a Live Birth: Data from Single-Embryo Transfer Cycles.

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between early developmental kinetics and the competence to result in a live birth as well as the impact of maternal age and the number of retrieved oocytes. This retrospective cohort study included 3,021 single-embryo transfer cycles and assessed live birth outcomes paired with morphokinetic data; 1,412 transfers resulted in live births (LB), and 1,609 did not (NLB). Early morphokinetic parameters between LB and NLB embryos were compared from patients stratified into four age groups (20-25, 26-30, 31-36, and ≥37 years) and between embryos in the same competence groups within the age groups. Early morphokinetic parameters were also compared between LB and NLB embryos from patients stratified into four groups based on the number of oocytes harvested (≤7, 8-14, 15-21, and ≥22). The association between morphokinetic parameters and LB was tested using univariate and multivariate analyses. This study indicated that embryos resulting in LB generally exhibit faster developmental dynamic parameters than embryos that do not. However, this difference decreased in the younger (20-25 years) and older (≥37 years) age groups. In addition, when the number of harvested oocytes was low (≤7) or high (≥22), this difference was less obvious. The morphokinetic parameters of embryonic cleavage are an effective reference value for embryo selection strategies aimed at increasing live birth rates, especially for patients aged 26–36 years, with 8–21 harvested oocytes.

Ethical Implications of e-Health Applications in Early Preventive Healthcare.

As a means of preventive medicine early detection and prevention examinations can identify and treat possible health disorders or abnormalities from an early age onwards. However, pediatric examinations are often widely spaced, and thus only snapshots of the children’s and adolescents’ developments are obtained. With e-health applications parents and adolescents could record developmental parameters much more frequently and regularly and transmit data directly for ongoing evaluation. AI technologies could be used to search for new and previously unknown patterns. Although e-health applications could improve preventive healthcare, there are serious concerns about the unlimited use of big data in medicine. Such concerns range from general skepticism about big data in medicine to specific challenges and risks in certain medical areas. In this paper, we will focus on preventive health care in pediatrics and explore ethical implications of e-health applications. Specifically, we will address opportunities and risks of app-based data collection and AI-based data evaluation for complementing established early detection and prevention examinations. To this end, we will explore the principle of the best interest of the child. Furthermore, we shall argue that difficult trade-offs need to be made between group benefit on the one hand and individual autonomy and privacy on the other.

Are Fruit Surface Differences in Two Blueberry Cultivars Major Drivers of Contrasting Postharvest Dynamics?

Fresh blueberries are prone to softening and dehydration during postharvest, which limits their competitiveness when reaching the final markets. Commercial cultivars ‘Duke’ and ‘Brigitta’ exhibit contrasting softening patterns. Although ‘Duke’ berries usually show higher firmness levels at harvest as compared to ‘Brigitta’, they display higher softening and weight loss rates after cold storage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical changes and modifications in cuticle composition of ‘Duke’ and ‘Brigitta’ blueberries across five developmental stages: green (G), 25 and 50% pink (25P, 50P), and 75 and 100% blue (75B, 100B), to determine those characters with the most influence on their postharvest behavior. For each developmental stage, maturity parameters, respiration, and ethylene production rates were assessed, and cuticular wax and cutin were analyzed. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that ‘Duke’ berries were characterized by higher respiration and ethylene production rates, while ‘Brigitta’ showed higher contents of oleanolic acid and α-amyrin over total waxes. The results suggest that larger surface/volume ratios and higher amounts of ursolic acid and lupeol in ripe fruit may underlie higher weight and firmness loss rates of ‘Duke’ berries as compared to ‘Brigitta’.