Atmospheric deposition and solute export in giant sequoia — mixed conifer watersheds in the Sierra Nevada,California

Atmospheric depostion and stream discharge and solutes were measured for three years (September 1984 — August 1987) in two mixed conifer watersheds in Sequoia National Park, in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. The Log Creek watershed (50 ha, 2067–2397 m elev.) is drained by a perennial stream, while Tharp's Creek watershed (13 ha, 2067–2255 m elev.) contains an intermittent stream. Dominant trees in the area include Abies concolor (white fir), Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia), A. magnifica (red fir), and Pinus lambertiana (sugar pine). Bedrock is predominantly granite and granodiorite, and the soils are mostly Pachic Xerumbrepts. Over the three year period, sulfate (SO₄ ^2–), nitrate (NO₃ ^–), and chloride (Cl^–1) were the major anions in bulk precipitation with volume-weighted average concentrations of 12.6, 12.3 and 10.0 eq/1, respectively. Annual inputs of NO₃-N, NH₄-N and SO₄-S from wet deposition were about 60 to 75% of those reported from bulk deposition collectors. Discharge from the two watersheds occurs primarily during spring snowmelt. Solute exports from Log and Tharp's Creeks were dominated by HCO₃ ^–, Ca²⁺ and Na⁺, while H⁺, NO₃ ^–, NH₄ ⁺ and PO₄ ^3– outputs were relatively small. Solute concentrations were weakly correlated with instantaneous stream flow for all solutes (r² <0.2) except HCO₃ ^– (Log Cr. r² = 0.72; Tharp's Cr. r² = 0.38), Na⁺ (Log Cr. r² = 0.56; Tharp's Cr. r² = 0.47), and silicate (Log Cr. r² = 0.71; Tharp's Cr. r² = 0.49). Mean annual atmospheric contributions of NO₃-N (1.6 kg ha^–1), NH₄-N (1.7 kg ha^–1), and SO₄-S (1.8 kg ha^–1), which are associated with acidic deposition, greatly exceed hydrologic losses. Annual watershed yields (expressed as eq ha^–1) of HCO₃ ^– exceeded by factors of 2.5 to 37 the annual atmospheric deposition of H⁺.     

Postnatal fate of the ultimobranchial remnants in the rat thyroid gland

The ultimobranchial follicles (UBFs) are considered embryonic remnants from the ultimobranchial body (UBB). They are follicular structures that vary in size and appearance depending on the age of the rat. The main objective of this article was to study the progressive changes in shape, size, and frequency of the UBFs in the postnatal rat, from birth to old‐age. To accomplish that objective, a systematic morphometric and incidental study of the UBF has been carried out in 110 Wistar rats of different ages and both sexes, divided into three groups: 1) young rats (5–90‐day‐old); 2) adult rats (6–15‐month‐old), and 3) old rats (18–24‐month‐old). The glands were serially sectioned and immunostained for calcitonin at five equidistant levels. According to our results, UBFs were observed in all thyroid glands but a more exhaustive sampling was occasionally necessary in male rats. In young rats, immature UBFs predominantly appeared whereas in adult rats, mature UBFs with cystic appearance and variable luminal content prevailed. We frequently found spontaneous anomalous UBFs in old rats, which we have termed as “ultimobranchial cystadenomata.” Additionally, in young rats, UBF areas significantly increased with age and they were larger when compared to that of normal thyroid follicles. Likewise, in adult rats, UBFs were significantly larger than normal thyroid follicles but only in female rats. In general, UBFs in females were also significantly larger than those found in male rats. Finally, all these differences related to UBFs together with a higher incidence in females of UB cystadenomata suggest a sexual dimorphism in regard to the destiny of these embryonic remnants during postnatal thyroid development. J. Morphol., 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Chronic hyperammonemia alters in opposite ways membrane expression of GluA1 and GluA2 AMPA receptor subunits in cerebellum. Molecular mechanisms involved

Hyperammonemia contributes to altered neurotransmission and cognition in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. Hyperammonemia in rats affects differently high- and low-affinity AMPA receptors (AMPARs) in cerebellum. We hypothesized that hyperammonemia would alter differently membrane expression of AMPARs GluA1 and GluA2 subunits by altering its phosphorylation. This work aims were: 1) assess if hyperammonemia alters GluA1 and GluA2 subunits membrane expression in cerebellum and 2) analyze the underlying mechanisms.Hyperammonemia reduces membrane expression of GluA2 and enhances membrane expression of GluA1 in vivo. We show that changes in GluA2 and GluA1 membrane expression in hyperammonemia would be due to enhanced NMDA receptors activation which reduces cGMP levels and phosphodiesterase 2 (PDE2) activity, resulting in increased cAMP levels. This leads to increased protein kinase A (PKA) activity which activates phospholipase C (PLC) and protein kinase C (PKC) thus increasing phosphorylation of GluA2 in Ser880, which reduces GluA2 membrane expression, and phosphorylation of GluA1 in Ser831, which increases GluA1 membrane expression. Blocking NMDA receptors or inhibiting PKA, PLC or PKC normalizes GluA2 and GluA1 phosphorylation and membrane expression in hyperammonemic rats.Altered GluA2 and GluA1 membrane expression would alter signal transduction which may contribute to cognitive and motor alterations in hyperammonemia and hepatic encephalopathy.     

Lipin-2 reduces proinflammatory signaling induced by saturated fatty acids in macrophages

Lipin-2 is a member of the lipin family of enzymes, which are key effectors in the biosynthesis of lipids. Mutations in the human lipin-2 gene are associated with inflammatory-based disorders; however, the role of lipin-2 in cells of the immune system remains obscure. In this study, we have investigated the role of lipin-2 in the proinflammatory action of saturated fatty acids in murine and human macrophages. Depletion of lipin-2 promotes the increased expression of the proinflammatory genes Il6, Ccl2, and Tnfα, which depends on the overstimulation of the JNK1/c-Jun pathway by saturated fatty acids. In contrast, overexpression of lipin-2 reduces the release of proinflammatory factors. Metabolically, the absence of lipin-2 reduces the cellular content of triacylglycerol in saturated fatty acid-overloaded macrophages. Collectively, these studies demonstrate a protective role for lipin-2 in proinflammatory signaling mediated by saturated fatty acids that occurs concomitant with an enhanced cellular capacity for triacylglycerol synthesis. The data provide new insights into the role of lipin-2 in human and murine macrophage biology and may open new avenues for controlling the fatty acid-related low grade inflammation that constitutes the sine qua non of obesity and associated metabolic disorders.     

Spatial patterns of soil pathogens in declining Mediterranean forests: implications for tree species regeneration

Soil-borne pathogens are a key component of the belowground community because of the significance of their ecological and socio-economic impacts. However, very little is known about the complexity of their distribution patterns in natural systems. Here, we explored the patterns, causes and ecological consequences of spatial variability in pathogen abundance in Mediterranean forests affected by oak decline. We used spatially explicit neighborhood models to predict the abundance of soil-borne pathogen species (Phytophthora cinnamomi, Pythium spiculum and Pythium spp.) as a function of local abiotic conditions (soil texture) and the characteristics of the tree and shrub neighborhoods (species composition, size and health status). The implications of pathogen abundance for tree seedling performance were explored by conducting a sowing experiment in the same locations in which pathogen abundance was quantified. Pathogen abundance in the forest soil was not randomly distributed, but exhibited spatially predictable patterns influenced by both abiotic and, particularly, biotic factors (tree and shrub species). Pathogen abundance reduced seedling emergence and survival, but not in all sites or tree species. Our findings suggest that heterogeneous spatial patterns of pathogen abundance at fine spatial scale can be important for the dynamics and restoration of declining Mediterranean forests.