A new species of Sabellacheres M. Sars, 1862 (Copepoda: Gastrodelphyidae) from a deep-water benthic polychaete in Antarctic waters, with a key to the species of the genus

Specimens of a deep-living sabellid polychaete of the genus Perkinsiana Knight-Jones dredged in Antarctic waters were found to be parasitised by an undescribed species of the cyclopoid copepod genus Sabellacheres M. Sars, 1862. Specimens of both sexes were studied using light microscopy and SEM, and compared with its congeners. The new species, Sabellacheres antarcticus n. sp., can be distinguished from its congeners by the shape and proportions of the body and brood-pouch, its 4-segmented antennae, the shape and length of the distal process of the second antennular segment, the position of leg 3, and the structure of the male maxilliped. This is only the second record of a species of this genus from the southern hemisphere. The new species was found on a single host species, as is typical for most species of Sabellacheres. A key for the identification of both sexes of the species of Sabellacheres is included.     

Population genetic structure and evolutionary history of Psammochloa villosa (Trin.) Bor (Poaceae) revealed by AFLP marker

Psammochloa villosa is an ecologically important desert grass that occurs in the Inner Mongolian Plateau where it is frequently the dominant species and is involved in sand stabilization and wind breaking. We sought to generate a preliminary demographic framework for P. villosa to support the future studies of this species, its conservation, and sustainable utilization. To accomplish this, we characterized the genetic diversity and structure of 210 individuals from 43 natural populations of P. villosa using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. We obtained 1,728 well‐defined amplified bands from eight pairs of primers, of which 1,654 bands (95.7%) were polymorphic. Results obtained from the AFLPs suggested effective alleles among populations of 1.32, a Nei''s standard genetic distance value of 0.206, a Shannon index of 0.332, a coefficient of gene differentiation (G _ST) of 0.469, and a gene flow parameter (Nm) of 0.576. All these values indicate that there is abundant genetic diversity in P. villosa, but limited gene flow. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that genetic variation mainly exists within populations (64.2%), and we found that the most genetically similar populations were often not geographically adjacent. Thus, this suggests that the mechanisms of gene flow are surprisingly complex in this species and may occur over long distances. In addition, we predicted the distribution dynamics of P. villosa based on the spatial distribution modeling and found that its range has contracted continuously since the last interglacial period. We speculate that dry, cold climates have been critical in determining the geographic distribution of P. villosa during the Quaternary period. Our study provides new insights into the population genetics and evolutionary history of P. villosa in the Inner Mongolian Plateau and provides a resource that can be used to design in situ conservation actions and prioritize sustainable utilization.     

A new notodelphyid copepod,Paranotodelphys illgi n. sp. (Copepoda: Cyclopoida), parasitic in the ascidian Corynascidia herdmani Ritter in the North Pacific

A new species of the Notodelphyidae belonging to Paranotodelphys Schellenberg, 1922 is described from both sexes. The new species, Paranotodelphys illgi, can be distinguished from its congeners by the combination of its 10-segmented female antennule, the bisetose fifth legs and the extreme elongation of the caudal rami of the female, which are more than 10 times longer than wide and 4.4 times longer than the anal somite. The male has non-geniculate antennules. The new species was collected at a depth of 508m in the North Pacific Ocean, from the ascidian Corynascidia herdmani Ritter.     

Home-based versus hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction or revascularisation: design and rationale of the Birmingham Rehabilitation Uptake Maximisation Study (BRUM): a randomised controlled trial [ISRCTN72884263]

Background

Cardiac rehabilitation following myocardial infarction reduces subsequent mortality, but uptake and adherence to rehabilitation programmes remains poor, particularly among women, the elderly and ethnic minority groups. Evidence of the effectiveness of home-based cardiac rehabilitation remains limited. This trial evaluates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of home-based compared to hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation.

Methods/design

A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of home-based compared with hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation in four hospitals serving a multi-ethnic inner city population in the United Kingdom was designed. The home programme is nurse-facilitated, manual-based using the Heart Manual. The hospital programmes offer comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation in an out-patient setting.

Patients

We will randomise 650 adult, English or Punjabi-speaking patients of low-medium risk following myocardial infarction, coronary angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft who have been referred for cardiac rehabilitation.

Main outcome measures

Serum cholesterol, smoking cessation, blood pressure, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score, distance walked on Shuttle walk-test measured at 6, 12 and 24 months. Adherence to the programmes will be estimated using patient self-reports of activity. In-depth interviews with non-attendees and non-adherers will ascertain patient views and the acceptability of the programmes and provide insights about non-attendance and aims to generate a theory of attendance at cardiac rehabilitation. The economic analysis will measure National Health Service costs using resource inputs. Patient costs will be established from the qualitative research, in particular how they affect adherence.

Discussion

More data are needed on the role of home-based versus hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation for patients following myocardial infarction and revascularisation, which would be provided by the Birmingham Rehabilitation Uptake Maximisation Study (BRUM) study and has implications for the clinical management of these patients. A novel feature of this study is the inclusion of non-English Punjabi speakers.     

The importance of flow and settlement cues to larvae of the abalone, Haliotis rufescens Swainson

In flow tank experiments, I tested the relative importance of active and passive processes to larvae settling on manufactured casts that were hydrodynamically rough at a small scale (mm to <1 cm). I predefined two distinct regions of small-scale flow that I used to manipulate larval settlement behaviour of the red abalone Haliotis rufescens Swainson. The larvae show a stringent settlement response associated with coralline red algae. Haliotis rufescens larvae settled preferentially to an inducer regardless of the flow conditions, as expected. However, the ability of H. rufescens larvae to show this stringent behaviour was altered by changing the small-scale flow. When the free-stream velocity was low, the larvae responded to a settlement cue regardless of the small-scale hydrodynamics. When free-stream velocity was higher, the larvae acted increasingly as passive particles in their deposition, but settled only in response to an inducer. The results were consistent in two flow tanks, across 2 years and between different batches of larvae.     

NADPH-oxidase-driven oxygen radical production determines chondrocyte death and partly regulates metalloproteinase-mediated cartilage matrix degradation during interferon-γ-stimulated immune complex arthritis

In previous studies we have found that FcγRI determines chondrocyte death and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-mediated cartilage destruction during IFN-γ-regulated immune complex arthritis (ICA). Binding of immune complexes (ICs) to FcγRI leads to the prominent production of oxygen radicals. In the present study we investigated the contribution of NADPH-oxidase-driven oxygen radicals to cartilage destruction by using p47phox^-/- mice lacking a functional NADPH oxidase complex. Induction of a passive ICA in the knee joints of p47phox^-/- mice resulted in a significant elevation of joint inflammation at day 3 when compared with wild-type (WT) controls as studied by histology. However, when IFN-γ was overexpressed by injection of adenoviral IFN-γ in the knee joint before ICA induction, a similar influx of inflammatory cells was found at days 3 and 7, comprising mainly macrophages in both mouse strains. Proteoglycan depletion from the cartilage layers of the knee joints in both groups was similar at days 3 and 7. Aggrecan breakdown in cartilage caused by MMPs was further studied by immunolocalisation of MMP-mediated neoepitopes (VDIPEN). VDIPEN expression in the cartilage layers of arthritic knee joints was markedly lower (between 30 and 60%) in IFN-γ-stimulated arthritic p47phox^-/- mice at day 7 than in WT controls, despite significant upregulation of mRNA levels of various MMPs such as MMP-3, MMP-9, MMP-12 and MMP-13 in synovia and MMP-13 in cartilage layers as measured with quantitative RT-PCR. The latter observation suggests that oxygen radicals are involved in the activation of latent MMPs. Chondrocyte death, determined as the percentage of empty lacunae in articular cartilage, ranged between 20 and 60% at day 3 and between 30 and 80% at day 7 in WT mice, and was completely blocked in p47phox^-/- mice at both time points. FcγRI mRNA expression was significantly lower, and FcγRII and FcγRIII were higher, in p47phox^-/- mice than in controls. NADPH-oxidase-driven oxygen radical production determines chondrocyte death and aggravates MMP-mediated cartilage destruction during IFN-γ-stimulated IC-mediated arthritis. Upregulation of FcγRI by oxygen radicals may contribute to cartilage destruction.