Wild bee diversity is enhanced by experimental removal of timber harvest residue within intensively managed conifer forest

The use of timber harvest residue as an energy source is thought to have environmental benefits relative to food‐based crops, yet the ecological impact of this practice remains largely unknown. We assessed whether the abundance and diversity of wild bees (Apoidea) were influenced by the removal of harvest residue and associated soil compaction within managed conifer forest in western Oregon, USA. We sampled bees over two years (2014–2015) on study plots that were subjected to five treatments representing gradients in removal of harvest residue and soil compaction. We collected >7,500 bee specimens from 92 distinct species/morphospecies that represented five of the seven bee families. We trapped 3x more individuals in the second year of the study despite identical sampling effort in both years, with most trapped bees classified as ground‐nesting species. Members of the sweat bee family (Halictidae) comprised more than half of all specimens, and the most abundant genus was composed of metallic green bees (Agapostemon, 33.6%), followed by long‐horned bees (Melissodes, 16.5%), sweat bees (Halictus, 15.9%), and bumble bees (Bombus, 13.6%). In both years, abundance and observed species richness were greatest in the most intensive harvest residue treatment, with other treatments having similar values for both measures. Our study indicates that early successional managed conifer forest that has experienced removal of harvest residue can harbor a surprising diversity of wild bees, which are likely to have important contributions to the broader ecological community through the pollination services they provide.     

Growth Pattern and Dietary Intake of Children with Chronic Renal Insufficiency

The growth pattern and dietary intake of 33 children with varying degrees of renal insufficiency has been investigated. The development of impaired renal function in infancy has a more deleterious effect on linear growth than has its onset in later years. A reduction in growth velocity may occur once the glomerular filtration rate falls below 25 ml/min/1·73m². There was a significant reduction of the energy, protein, and vitamin D intakes of children with renal insufficiency compared with those recommended for their age, and of energy intake compared with that of normal children of their own height. Reduced growth velocity occurred when energy intake fell below 80% of that recommended. The reduction in the intake of energy and nutrients in these children may in part be responsible for their growth retardation.     

Effects of Four Commonly-used Tranquillizers on Low-speed Driving Performance Tests

A double-blind controlled comparison of four commonly-used tranquillizing drugs (haloperidol, amylobarbitone sodium, chlordiazepoxide, and trifluoperazine) against placebo was made in their effects on the performance of volunteers during three low speed vehicle-handling tests. The drugs (with the exception of haloperidol) significantly altered driving behaviour though they did not seem to interact significantly with alcohol. There is, therefore, a strong possibility that such drugs will similarly alter driving performance in patients taking them for therapeutic purposes. Since, as these experiments also show, those affected may be subjectively unaware of it, and routine clinical screening is not sensitive enough to detect them, physicians should warn patients of the probability that their driving performance will be affected by such drugs, particularly during the first few days that they are taken.     

Modelling species distributions without using species distributions: the cane toad in Australia under current and future climates

Accurate predictions of the potential distribution of range-shifting species are required for effective management of invasive species, and for assessments of the impact of climate change on native species. Range-shifting species pose a challenge for traditional correlative approaches to range prediction, often requiring the extrapolation of complex statistical associations into novel environmental space. Here we take an alternative approach that does not use species occurrence data, but instead captures the fundamental niche of a species by mechanistically linking key organismal traits with spatial data using biophysical models. We demonstrate this approach with a major invasive species, the cane toad Bufo marinus in Australia, assessing the direct climatic constraints on its ability to move, survive, and reproduce. We show that the current range can be explained by thermal constraints on the locomotor potential of the adult stage together with limitations on the availability of water for the larval stage. Our analysis provides a framework for biologically grounded predictions of the potential for cane toads to expand their range under current and future climate scenarios. More generally, by quantifying spatial variation in physiological constraints on an organism, trait-based approaches can be used to investigate the range-limits of any species. Assessments of spatial variation in the physiological constraints on an organism may also provide a mechanistic basis for forecasting the rate of range expansion and for understanding a species' potential to evolve at range-edges. Mechanistic approaches thus have broad application to process-based ecological and evolutionary models of range-shift.     

There's a right way and a wrong way: in vivo and in vitro folding, misfolding and subunit assembly of the P22 tailspike.

The in vivo and in vitro folding, assembly and misfolding of an elongated protein, the thermostable tailspike adhesin of phage P22, reveals important aspects of the sequence control of chain folding as well as its failure mode, inclusion body formation.     

Lung CD103+ dendritic cells efficiently transport influenza virus to the lymph node and load viral antigen onto MHC class I for presentation to CD8 T cells

The uptake, transport, and presentation of Ags by lung dendritic cells (DCs) are central to the initiation of CD8 T cell responses against respiratory viruses. Although several studies have demonstrated a critical role of CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs for the initiation of cytotoxic T cell responses against the influenza virus, the underlying mechanisms for its potent ability to prime CD8 T cells remain poorly understood. Using a novel approach of fluorescent lipophilic dye-labeled influenza virus, we demonstrate that CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs are the dominant lung DC population transporting influenza virus to the posterior mediastinal lymph node as early as 20 h postinfection. By contrast, CD11b(high)CD103(neg) DCs, although more efficient for taking up the virus within the lung, migrate poorly to the lymph node and remain in the lung to produce proinflammatory cytokines instead. CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs efficiently load viral peptide onto MHC class I complexes and therefore uniquely possess the capacity to potently induce proliferation of naive CD8 T cells. In addition, the peptide transporters TAP1 and TAP2 are constitutively expressed at higher levels in CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs, providing, to our knowledge, the first evidence of a distinct regulation of the Ag-processing pathway in these cells. Collectively, these results show that CD11b(low/neg)CD103(+) DCs are functionally specialized for the transport of Ag from the lung to the lymph node and also for efficient processing and presentation of viral Ags to CD8 T cells.