DNA distribution in biopsy specimens from human cervical carcinoma investigated by flow cytometry.

Flow cytometry was used for the investigation of the DNA distribution in biopsy specimens from 51 patients with cervical carcinoma. Portio biopsy specimens from 9 pregnant women and from 10 patients with cancer of the breast served as controls. The results demonstrate that most specimens from patients suffering from cervical carcinoma contain considerable cell populations with increased DNA as compared with controls. The possible clinical significance of these findings is discussed.     

Attenuation of cGAS‐STING signaling is mediated by a p62/SQSTM1‐dependent autophagy pathway activated by TBK1

Negative regulation of immune pathways is essential to achieve resolution of immune responses and to avoid excess inflammation. DNA stimulates type I IFN expression through the DNA sensor cGAS, the second messenger cGAMP, and the adaptor molecule STING. Here, we report that STING degradation following activation of the pathway occurs through autophagy and is mediated by p62/SQSTM1, which is phosphorylated by TBK1 to direct ubiquitinated STING to autophagosomes. Degradation of STING was impaired in p62‐deficient cells, which responded with elevated IFN production to foreign DNA and DNA pathogens. In the absence of p62, STING failed to traffic to autophagy‐associated vesicles. Thus, DNA sensing induces the cGAS‐STING pathway to activate TBK1, which phosphorylates IRF3 to induce IFN expression, but also phosphorylates p62 to stimulate STING degradation and attenuation of the response.     

In-situ observations on the distribution and behavior of amphipods and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) under the sea ice of the High Arctic Canada Basin

The occurrence and behavior of sympagic amphipods and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) were studied in the High Arctic Canada Basin by diving under the ice at seven stations in summer 2002. Still images of video-transects were used to obtain animal abundances and information on the structure of the ice environment. Mean amphipod abundances for the stations varied between 1 and 23 individuals m^–2, with an increase towards the western part of the basin. The standard deviation within the 31–51 images analyzed per station was small (<1 individual m^–2). Gammarus wilkitzkii was found in low abundances, often hiding in small ice gaps. Small amphipods (Onisimus spp., Apherusa glacialis, and juveniles of all species) tended to move freely along the bottom of the floes. B. saida occurred in narrow wedges of seawater along the edges of melting ice floes at three stations in water depths of 10–50 cm and was never found under the ice. The fish occurred in schools of 1–28 per wedge. Fish were inactive and did not escape the approaching diver. Resting in the wedges may be a strategy to reduce energetic requirements and avoid predators.We dedicate this publication to Professor Dr. J. Lenz (Kiel University).     

Danian cold‐water corals from the Baunekule facies,Faxe Formation,Denmark: a rare taphonomic window of a coral mound flank habitat

Well‐preserved cold‐water corals are comparatively rare in the fossil record. This is partly due to the very low fossilization potential of the predominantly aragonitic corals but also due to the fact that coral ecosystems of deep water are a geologically young development. A Middle Danian cold‐water coral mound complex is well exposed in Faxe Quarry, Denmark. The coral mounds are intercalated with bryozoan mounds of various sizes and form the Faxe Formation. The coral limestone displays large variations in diagenesis, and this complicates the palaeoecological reconstructions. However, the Baunekule facies from the Faxe Formation contain a well‐preserved originally aragonitic and calcitic fauna. The aragonitic skeletons have been recrystallized to calcite during early diagenesis and the excellent preservation makes taxonomic identifications straightforward. A diverse fauna of ten scleractinian coral species, nine stylasterine coral species and seven octocoral species has been described from the Baunekule facies. The fossil fauna represents an ecological niche between the dead coral framework and coral rubble on a flank of a growing Dendrophyllia coral mound with multiple colonization events. The diversity and relative abundance of the fossil scleractinian corals are comparable to the modern settings in the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean. The distribution and diversity of the octocorals and the stylasterine corals are suggested to represent coral gardens as described from modern setting in the NE Pacific. The presence of a diverse and abundant stylasterine fauna suggests a stable palaeoenvironment, probably in a bathymetric depth range of 200–400 metre.     

Soil and vegetation in two Danish fens following changes in water regime

Over a six year period, lowering of the water table throughout the year in two Danish eutrophic fens led to an increase in bulk density and a decrease in pH, exchangeable base cations, total P, available P, and available Mn. The vascular plant flora and ecological characteristics of the vegetation (weighted Moisture-value, Drainage Index, Nitrogen-value and Reaction-value, and proportion of fen species, of different growth forms, and of different seed dispersal types) changed in accordance with changes in water regime towards more dry conditions, changes of edaphic variables towards more acid and oligotrophic conditions, and increased probability of establishment of plants on patches without vegetation.
Additional two years with reestablishment of the original winter water table in one of the fens led to a further decrease in total P and available P. Most of the non-fen species, which had established in the period with low water table throughout the year, were significantly weakened. However, after a period of two years with reestablished winter water table the vegetation was still different from the original vegetation. Methods to state the statistical significance of changes in frequency of species and ecological characteristics of the vegetation have been worked out.     

A study of duration of digital dermatitis lesions after treatment in a Danish dairy herd

Digital dermatitis (DD) is a contagious disease of cattle affecting the skin adjacent to the claws. Disease dynamics of DD have been described to some extend, but we still need to quantify the duration of lesions and look into non-treatment factors affecting this. The aim of this study was to estimate the duration of lesions due to DD and to evaluate parity and lactation stage as potential risk factors for longer duration of such lesions. An estimate of the duration of lesions will be a valuable parameter in the evaluation of the economic impact of the disease and will additionally allow estimates of incidence based on prevalence figures. From May 2007 until November 2008, lesions associated with DD in the hind legs of 151 Danish Holstein cows at the Danish Cattle Research Centre were clinically scored on fifteen occasions. The mean interval between recordings was 39 days. Onset and end of each new case were estimated as midway between recordings prior to a change in the presence or absence of a lesion. Kaplan-Meier survival functions and Cox proportional hazard regression were performed to estimate the duration and analyse differences in the duration of lesions between primi- and multiparous cows and between different stages in lactation at onset of the lesion. The median duration of lesions were estimated to be 42 days, less than most previous published estimates. The relatively aggressive regime of topical treatment in the study herd might have shortened the duration of the lesions. Furthermore the comparatively long interval between recordings introduced an element of uncertainty in this estimate. No significant effects of parity or days in milk at lesion onset on the duration of DD were found using these data though lesions developed earlier in the lactation may have a longer duration. Further data would be needed to confirm the latter.