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Between February 2007 and January 2009, a total of 776 slaughtered animals were examined for the presence of Trematoda in the liver, gall bladder, oesophagus and stomach (rumen and reticulum). Data collected were analysed by the age and breed of the animals. The percentage of cattle from which Trematoda were found was 38 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval [CI] 35 to 41 per cent); 28 per cent (95 per cent CI 25 to 31 per cent) had Fasciola hepatica, 12 per cent (95 per cent CI 10 to 14 per cent) Calicophoron daubneyi and 6 per cent (95 per cent CI 4 to 8 per cent) Dicrocoelium species. A significantly high prevalence of fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis was observed in cattle over 10 years of age. Autochthonous Rubia Gallega cattle had the highest prevalence of fasciolosis and crossbred cattle had the highest prevalence of dicrocoeliosis (P<0.05). Twenty per cent (95 per cent CI 15 to 25 per cent) of the cattle positive for Fasciola also had Calicophoron species; 10 per cent (95 per cent CI 6 to 14 per cent) also had small liver flukes (Dicrocoelium species). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mediterranean oak savannas cover about 4 million ha in California (northwest America) and 3 million ha in Spain and Portugal (southwest Europe), and are ecologically and socio-economically important systems. Here we review literature on the interactions between the two dominant elements of savannas - the oak overstorey, the herbaceous understorey, and the surrounding grassland matrix. We focus on the main ecological factors affecting the oak understorey environment: shade, soil moisture, soil nutrients, and animal-mediated effects. We then review the main features of the herbaceous community in the oak understorey, as compared to the adjacent open grassland, in terms of species composition, biomass, diversity, and soil seed bank. We examine processes associated with oak regeneration and growth, and their relationships with the herbaceous layer and other woody plants cover. Finally, we discuss the complex facilitative and interference interactions that occur in oak-grassland systems and review models proposed to explain the dynamics and coexistence of oak trees and herbaceous plants in savannas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mutational spectrum of the MMR genes is highly heterogeneous, but specific mutations are observed at high frequencies in well-defined populations or ethnic groups, due to founder effects. The MSH2 mutation c.2152C>T, p.(Gln718*), has occasionally been described in Lynch families worldwide, including in Portuguese Lynch syndrome families. During genetic testing for Lynch syndrome at the Portuguese Oncology Institutes of Porto and Lisbon, this mutation was identified in 28 seemingly unrelated families. In order to evaluate if this alteration is a founder mutation, haplotype analysis using microsatellite and SNP markers flanking the MSH2 gene was performed in the 28 probands and 87 family members. Additionally, the geographic origin of these families was evaluated and the age of the mutation estimated. Twelve different haplotypes were phased for 13 out of the 28 families and shared a conserved region of ∼3.6 Mb. Based on the mutation and recombination events observed in the microsatellite haplotypes and assuming a generation time of 25 years, the age estimate for the MSH2 mutation was 273 ± 64 years. The geographic origins of these families were mostly from the Northern region of Portugal. Concluding, these results suggest that the MSH2 c.2152C>T alteration is a founder mutation in Portugal with a relatively recent origin. Furthermore, its high proportion indicates that screening for this mutation as a first step, together with the previously reported Portuguese founder mutations, may be cost-effective in genetic testing of Lynch syndrome suspects of Portuguese ancestry., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

In a fraction of families fulfilling the Amsterdam criteria for hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, colorectal cancers are microsatellite stable and DNA mismatch repair gene (MMR) mutations are not found. These families were designated as familial colorectal cancer type X (FCCTX). We aimed to characterise a group of FCCTX families defined by the Amsterdam criteria and MSS tumours at clinical and molecular level. Twenty-four tumours from 15 FCCTX families were analysed for loss of known tumour suppressor gene (TSG) loci (APC, TP53, SMAD4 and DCC), MGMT and MMR genes promoter methylation, and also APC and KRAS somatic mutations. FCCTX families presented specific clinical features: absence of endometrial tumours, high adenoma/carcinoma ratio (1.91) and prevalence of rectal cancers (13/27, 48%). New molecular features were found: the majority of FCCTX tumours (13/18; 72%) presented TSG loss. TSG loss positive tumours presented frequent APC and KRAS somatic mutations and MGMT methylation [10/13 (77%), 7/13 (54%) and 6/11 (54%), respectively]. In TSG loss negative tumours (5/18; 28%), the same molecular events were found in 2/5 (40%), 2/5 (40%) and 1/3 (33%) tumours, respectively. Transition mutations in KRAS were more frequent among MGMT methylated tumours than in unmethylated [5/8 (63%) vs. 1/10 (10%), P = 0.03]. Although sharing similar clinical features, at least two different molecular entities should exist among FCCTX families, one whose tumours present frequent TSG loss, APC and KRAS somatic mutations, and MGMT promoter methylation, and a second, lesser predominant, with no evidence of TSG loss and rarely presenting promoter methylation.