Does Mother Nature really prefer rare species or are log‐left‐skewed SADs a sampling artefact?

Intensively sampled species abundance distributions (SADs) show left‐skew on a log scale. That is, there are too many rare species to fit a lognormal distribution. I propose that this log‐left‐skew might be a sampling artefact. Monte Carlo simulations show that taking progressively larger samples from a log‐unskewed distribution (such as the lognormal) causes log‐skew to decrease asymptotically (move towards ?∞) until it reaches the level of the underlying distribution (zero in this case). In contrast, accumulating certain types of repeated small samples results in a log‐skew that becomes progressively more log‐left‐skewed to a level well beyond the underlying distribution. These repeated samples correspond to samples from the same site over many years or from many sites in 1 year. Data from empirical datasets show that log‐skew generally goes from positive (right‐skewed) to negative (left‐skewed) as the number of temporally or spatially replicated samples increases. This suggests caution when interpreting log‐left‐skew as a pattern that needs biological interpretation.     

Bovine Gamma Delta T Cells Contribute to Exacerbated IL-17 Production in Response to Co-Infection with Bovine RSV and Mannheimia haemolytica

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is a leading cause of severe lower respiratory tract infection in children under five years of age. IL-17 and Th17 responses are increased in children infected with HRSV and have been implicated in both protective and pathogenic roles during infection. Bovine RSV (BRSV) is genetically closely related to HRSV and is a leading cause of severe respiratory infections in young cattle. While BRSV infection in the calf parallels many aspects of human infection with HRSV, IL-17 and Th17 responses have not been studied in the bovine. Here we demonstrate that calves infected with BRSV express significant levels of IL-17, IL-21 and IL-22; and both CD4 T cells and γδ T cells contribute to this response. In addition to causing significant morbidity from uncomplicated infections, BRSV infection also contributes to the development of bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC), a leading cause of morbidity in both beef and dairy cattle. BRDC is caused by a primary viral infection, followed by secondary bacterial pneumonia by pathogens such as Mannheimia haemolytica. Here, we demonstrate that in vivo infection with M. haemolytica results in increased expression of IL-17, IL-21 and IL-22. We have also developed an in vitro model of BRDC and show that co-infection of PBMC with BRSV followed by M. haemolytica leads to significantly exacerbated IL-17 production, which is primarily mediated by IL-17-producing γδ T cells. Together, our results demonstrate that calves, like humans, mount a robust IL-17 response during RSV infection; and suggest a previously unrecognized role for IL-17 and γδ T cells in the pathogenesis of BRDC.     

Measurement of the trunk musculature of active males using CT scan radiography: implications for force and moment generating capacity about the L4/L5 joint

The purpose of this study was to add to the growing database of cross-sectional areas and moment arm lengths of trunk musculature using the methods of computerized tomographic scanning. An attempt was also made to estimate muscle force and moment generating capacity under various reported values of muscle force per unit cross-sectional area. The data were obtained on 13 active men 40.5 +/- 11.9 years of age, 173.8 +/- 5.9 cm tall and 89.1 +/- 11.7 kg body mass. Transverse CT scans were taken at the level of the L4/L5 disc with the subjects supine. Muscle cross-sectional areas were measured from 35 mm slides of the scans using a planimeter and moment arm length in the transverse plane were taken from the centroid of the L4/L5 disc to the centroid of the muscle section. Prior to estimating force and moment generating capacity, areas were corrected, where necessary, for fibre pennation angle to produce a physiological cross-sectional area. The physiological cross-sectional areas (cm2) for one side of the body were (mean +/- S.D.): sacrospinalis (SS) 15.9 +/- 2.5; multifidus (Mu) 4.2 +/- 0.7; psoas (Ps) 17.6 +/- 4.0; rectus abdominis (RA) 7.9 +/- 2.5; external oblique (EO) 9.4 +/- 2.7; internal oblique (IO) 8.1 +/- 2.3; transverse abdominus (TA) 2.9 +/- 1.3. The anterior posterior moment arm lengths were: erector mass (SS and Mu combined) 5.90 +/- 0.52; Ps 0.58 +/- 0.40; R.A. 10.28 +/- 2.07; E.O. (anterior portion) 5.94 +/- 1.39; E.O. (posterior portion) 2.08 +/- 1.39; I.O. (anterior portion) 6.92 +/- 1.63; I.O. (posterior portion) 3.85 +/- 1.54. The corresponding lateral moment arm lengths were: 3.26 +/- 0.36; 4.88 +/- 0.36; 4.35 +/- 1.31; 12.86 +/- 1.93; 13.95 +/- 1.16; 10.77 +/- 2.02; 12.52 +/- 1.26. The maximum force per unit cross-section that human muscles are capable of generating is not well defined. However, assuming an intermediate value of 50 N cm-2 of physiological cross-section, the erector musculature observed at the L4/L5 level should be capable of generating an extensor moment of about 118 N.m. At a muscle stress of 30 or 90 N cm-2, values also reported on human muscle, the moment would be 71 and 213 Nm, respectively. It must be remembered, however, that muscles not observable at the L4/L5 level can create moments around that center of rotation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Spatial Differences in East Scotia Ridge Hydrothermal Vent Food Webs: Influences of Chemistry,Microbiology and Predation on Trophodynamics

The hydrothermal vents on the East Scotia Ridge are the first to be explored in the Antarctic and are dominated by large peltospiroid gastropods, stalked barnacles (Vulcanolepas sp.) and anomuran crabs (Kiwa sp.) but their food webs are unknown. Vent fluid and macroconsumer samples were collected at three vent sites (E2, E9N and E9S) at distances of tens of metres to hundreds of kilometres apart with contrasting vent fluid chemistries to describe trophic interactions and identify potential carbon fixation pathways using stable isotopes. δ¹³C of dissolved inorganic carbon from vent fluids ranged from −4.6‰ to 0.8‰ at E2 and from −4.4‰ to 1.5‰ at E9. The lowest macroconsumer δ¹³C was observed in peltospiroid gastropods (−30.0‰ to −31.1‰) and indicated carbon fixation via the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle by endosymbiotic gamma-Proteobacteria. Highest δ¹³C occurred in Kiwa sp. (−19.0‰ to −10.5‰), similar to that of the epibionts sampled from their ventral setae. Kiwa sp. δ¹³C differed among sites, which were attributed to spatial differences in the epibiont community and the relative contribution of carbon fixed via the reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) and CBB cycles assimilated by Kiwa sp. Site differences in carbon fixation pathways were traced into higher trophic levels e.g. a stichasterid asteroid that predates on Kiwa sp. Sponges and anemones at the periphery of E2 assimilated a proportion of epipelagic photosynthetic primary production but this was not observed at E9N. Differences in the δ¹³C and δ³⁴S values of vent macroconsumers between E2 and E9 sites suggest the relative contributions of photosynthetic and chemoautotrophic carbon fixation (rTCA v CBB) entering the hydrothermal vent food webs vary between the sites.