Local diversity of arable weeds increases with landscape complexity

Patterns of plant diversity are often related to local site conditions and to competitive interactions, but landscape context may also be important for local plant species richness. This is shown here by analysing the relationship between landscape complexity and local species richness of arable weeds in wheat fields. The fields were located in 18 landscapes characterised by a gradient in landscape complexity from structurally complex to structurally simple (39–94% arable land). We quantified local site conditions, field management intensity and landscape characteristics, and used principle component analyses to ordinate the environmental variables. The percentage of arable land was negatively correlated with perimeter–area ratio, habitat-type diversity and topographical heterogeneity, but landscape characteristics did not correlate with local site conditions and field management intensity. The number of plant species was mainly related to landscape characteristics and to a lesser extent to field management intensity (nitrogen fertilisation), whereas local soil characteristics did not contribute to the explanation of arable weed richness. In a geographic scale analysis using circular landscape sectors ranging from 1 km up to 5 km diameter, the predictive power of landscape complexity for local plant species richness was strongest at 2 km indicating a scale-dependent relationship between landscape context and plant species richness. Our results support the hypothesis that local plant species richness in arable fields is greatly influenced by processes operating at the landscape scale. Seed rain from ruderal source habitats and disturbed edges may be the most important underlying process.     

Protein kinase D is a downstream target of protein kinase Ctheta

Protein kinase D (PKD/PKCmu immunoprecipitated from either COS-7 cells or Jurkat T lymphocytes transiently transfected with a constitutively active mutant of PKCtheta AE (PKCthetaAE) exhibited a marked increase in basal activity. In contrast, coexpression of constitutively active mutant of PKCzeta does not induce PKD activation in both types of cells. PKCthetaAE does not induce kinase activity in immunocomplexes of PKD kinase-deficient mutants PKDK618N or PKDD733A. PKD activation in response to PKCthetaAE signaling was completely prevented by treatment with the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, GF I or Ro 31-8220, or by mutation of Ser-744 and Ser-748 to Ala in the kinase activation loop of PKD. Our results show that PKD is a downstream target of the theta isoform of PKC in both COS-7 cells and lymphocytes. The regulation of PKD by PKCtheta reveals a new pathway in the signaling network existing between multiple members of the PKC superfamily and PKD.     

Evaluation system for management measures of invasive alien species

The introduction and spread of invasive alien species is a serious threat to ecosystem structures, functions and services worldwide. At enormous cost and effort, attempts are being made to stop and reduce the ongoing appearance of alien species in ecosystems to protect the regional and native biodiversity. Still, management of invasive alien species in particular is often not successful. One reason is a lack of robust toolkits for the management of these species. Guidance on measures which are efficient and effective and which have no negative impact on the environment and human health is urgently needed for decision-making. As a result of an expert workshop, we present a set of three evaluation criteria: effectiveness, ecological impact, and impact on human health. These criteria allow an evaluation of management measures for the prevention, eradication, control and utilisation/disposal of invasive alien species for nature conservation purposes. We applied this evaluation system for 168 invasive and potentially invasive alien species of five taxonomic groups (fungi, non-vascular plants, vascular plants, invertebrates and vertebrates) involving 3619 different management measures. The evaluation of management measures and resulting recommendations for their application are a necessary basis for appropriate, ecologically necessary and professionally sound management. This new approach provides an essential framework for future decisions on management measures, for example in accordance with the provisions of the new Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species.     

Using Multiple Types of Studies in Systematic Reviews of Health Care Interventions – A Systematic Review

Background

A systematic review may evaluate different aspects of a health care intervention. To accommodate the evaluation of various research questions, the inclusion of more than one study design may be necessary. One aim of this study is to find and describe articles on methodological issues concerning the incorporation of multiple types of study designs in systematic reviews on health care interventions. Another aim is to evaluate methods studies that have assessed whether reported effects differ by study types.

Methods and Findings

We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Methodology Register on 31 March 2012 and identified 42 articles that reported on the integration of single or multiple study designs in systematic reviews. We summarized the contents of the articles qualitatively and assessed theoretical and empirical evidence. We found that many examples of reviews incorporating multiple types of studies exist and that every study design can serve a specific purpose. The clinical questions of a systematic review determine the types of design that are necessary or sufficient to provide the best possible answers. In a second independent search, we identified 49 studies, 31 systematic reviews and 18 trials that compared the effect sizes between randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials, which were statistically different in 35%, and not different in 53%. Twelve percent of studies reported both, different and non-different effect sizes.

Conclusions

Different study designs addressing the same question yielded varying results, with differences in about half of all examples. The risk of presenting uncertain results without knowing for sure the direction and magnitude of the effect holds true for both nonrandomized and randomized controlled trials. The integration of multiple study designs in systematic reviews is required if patients should be informed on the many facets of patient relevant issues of health care interventions.     

Metabolomic Profiling of the Nectars of Aquilegia pubescens and A. Canadensis

To date, variation in nectar chemistry of flowering plants has not been studied in detail. Such variation exerts considerable influence on pollinator–plant interactions, as well as on flower traits that play important roles in the selection of a plant for visitation by specific pollinators. Over the past 60 years the Aquilegia genus has been used as a key model for speciation studies. In this study, we defined the metabolomic profiles of flower samples of two Aquilegia species, A. Canadensis and A. pubescens. We identified a total of 75 metabolites that were classified into six main categories: organic acids, fatty acids, amino acids, esters, sugars, and unknowns. The mean abundances of 25 of these metabolites were significantly different between the two species, providing insights into interspecies variation in floral chemistry. Using the PlantSEED biochemistry database, we found that the majority of these metabolites are involved in biosynthetic pathways. Finally, we explored the annotated genome of A. coerulea, using the PlantSEED pipeline and reconstructed the metabolic network of Aquilegia. This network, which contains the metabolic pathways involved in generating the observed chemical variation, is now publicly available from the DOE Systems Biology Knowledge Base (KBase; http://kbase.us).     

Discovery of a piperazine urea based compound as a potent, selective, orally bioavailable melanocortin subtype-4 receptor partial agonist

We report the discovery of piperazine urea based compound 1, a potent, selective, orally bioavailable melanocortin subtype-4 receptor partial agonist. Compound 1 shows anti-obesity efficacy without potentiating erectile activity in the rodent models.     

Impact of the long chain ω-acylceramides on the stratum corneum lipid nanostructure. Part 1: Thermotropic phase behaviour of CER[EOS] and CER[EOP] studied using X-ray powder diffraction and FT-Raman spectroscopy

The stratum corneum (SC), the outermost layer of the mammalian skin, is the main skin barrier. Ceramides (CERs) as the major constituent of the SC lipid matrix are of particular interest. At the moment, 11 classes of CERs are identified, but the effect of each single ceramide species is still not known.Therefore in this article, the thermotropic behaviour of the long chain ω-acylceramides CER[EOS] and CER[EOP] was studied using X-ray powder diffraction and FT-Raman spectroscopy.It was found that the ω-acylceramides CER[EOS] and CER[EOP] do not show a pronounced polymorphism which is observed for shorter chain ceramides as a significant feature. The phase behaviour of both ceramides is strongly influenced by the extremely long acyl-chain residue. The latter has a much stronger influence compared with the structure of the polar head group, which is discussed as extremely important for the appearance of a rich polymorphism. Despite the strong influence of the long chain, the additional OH-group of the phyto-sphingosine type CER[EOP] influences the lamellar repeat distance and the chain packing. The less polar sphingosine type CER[EOS] is stronger influenced by the long acyl-chain residue. Hydration is necessary for the formation of an extended hydrogen-bonding network between the polar head groups leading to the appearance of a long-periodicity phase (LPP). In contrast, the more polar CER[EOP] forms the LPP with densely packed alkyl chains already in the dry state.     

The impact of paternity on male–infant association in a primate with low paternity certainty

In multimale groups where females mate promiscuously, male–infant associations have rarely been studied. However, recent studies have shown that males selectively support their offspring during agonistic conflicts with other juveniles and that father's presence accelerates offspring maturation. Furthermore, it was shown that males invest in unrelated infants to enhance future mating success with the infant's mother. Hence, infant care might provide fitness gain for males. Here, we investigate male–infant associations in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), a primate with low paternity certainty as females mate with multiple partners and males ensure paternity less efficiently through mate‐guarding. We combined behavioural data with genetic paternity analyses of one cohort of the semi‐free‐ranging population of Cayo Santiago (Puerto Rico) and recorded affiliative and aggressive interactions between focal subjects and adult males from birth to sexual maturation (0–4 years) of focal subjects. Our results revealed that 9.6% of all interactions of focal subjects involved an adult male and 94% of all male–infant interactions were affiliative, indicating the rareness of male–infant aggression. Second and most interestingly, sires were more likely to affiliate with their offspring than nonsires with unrelated infants. This preference was independent of mother's proximity and emphasized during early infancy. Male–infant affiliation rose with infant age and was pronounced between adult males and male rather than female focal subjects. Overall, our results suggest that male–infant affiliation is also an important component in structuring primate societies and affiliation directed towards own offspring presumably represent low‐cost paternal care.