Landscape level effects of invasive plants and animals on water infiltration through Hawaiian tropical forests

Watershed degradation due to invasion threatens downstream water flows and associated ecosystem services. While this topic has been studied across landscapes that have undergone invasive-driven state changes (e.g., native forest to invaded grassland), it is less well understood in ecosystems experiencing within-system invasion (e.g. native forest to invaded forest). To address this subject, we conducted an integrated ecological and ecohydrological study in tropical forests impacted by invasive plants and animals. We measured soil infiltration capacity in multiple fenced (i.e., ungulate-free)/unfenced and native/invaded forest site pairs along moisture and substrate age gradients across Hawaii to explore the effects of invasion on hydrological processes within tropical forests. We also characterized forest composition, structure and soil characteristics at these sites to assess the direct and vegetation-mediated impacts of invasive species on infiltration capacity. Our models show that invasive ungulates negatively affect soil infiltration capacity consistently across the wide moisture and substrate age gradients considered. Additionally, several soil characteristics known to be affected by invasive ungulates were associated with local infiltration rates, indicating that the long-term secondary effects of high ungulate densities in tropical forests may be stronger than effects observed in this study. The effect of invasive plants on infiltration was complex and likely to depend on their physiognomy within existing forest community structure. These results provide clear evidence for managers that invasive ungulate control efforts can improve ecohydrological function of mesic and wet forest systems critical to protecting downstream and nearshore resources and maintaining groundwater recharge.

     

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Q fever in goats on commercial dairy goat farms in the Netherlands, 2009-2010

Background

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have had devastating effects on poultry industries worldwide, and there is concern about the potential for HPAI outbreaks in the poultry industry in Great Britain (GB). Critical to the potential for HPAI to spread between poultry premises are the connections made between farms by movements related to human activity. Movement records of catching teams and slaughterhouse vehicles were obtained from a large catching company, and these data were used in a simulation model of HPAI spread between farms serviced by the catching company, and surrounding (geographic) areas. The spread of HPAI through real-time movements was modelled, with the addition of spread via company personnel and local transmission.

Results

The model predicted that although large outbreaks are rare, they may occur, with long distances between infected premises. Final outbreak size was most sensitive to the probability of spread via slaughterhouse-linked movements whereas the probability of onward spread beyond an index premises was most sensitive to the frequency of company personnel movements.

Conclusions

Results obtained from this study show that, whilst there is the possibility that HPAI virus will jump from one cluster of farms to another, movements made by catching teams connected fewer poultry premises in an outbreak situation than slaughterhouses and company personnel. The potential connection of a large number of infected farms, however, highlights the importance of retaining up-to-date data on poultry premises so that control measures can be effectively prioritised in an outbreak situation.     

Long-term response to genomic selection: effects of estimation method and reference population structure for different genetic architectures

Background

Genomic selection has become an important tool in the genetic improvement of animals and plants. The objective of this study was to investigate the impacts of breeding value estimation method, reference population structure, and trait genetic architecture, on long-term response to genomic selection without updating marker effects.

Methods

Three methods were used to estimate genomic breeding values: a BLUP method with relationships estimated from genome-wide markers (GBLUP), a Bayesian method, and a partial least squares regression method (PLSR). A shallow (individuals from one generation) or deep reference population (individuals from five generations) was used with each method. The effects of the different selection approaches were compared under four different genetic architectures for the trait under selection. Selection was based on one of the three genomic breeding values, on pedigree BLUP breeding values, or performed at random. Selection continued for ten generations.

Results

Differences in long-term selection response were small. For a genetic architecture with a very small number of three to four quantitative trait loci (QTL), the Bayesian method achieved a response that was 0.05 to 0.1 genetic standard deviation higher than other methods in generation 10. For genetic architectures with approximately 30 to 300 QTL, PLSR (shallow reference) or GBLUP (deep reference) had an average advantage of 0.2 genetic standard deviation over the Bayesian method in generation 10. GBLUP resulted in 0.6% and 0.9% less inbreeding than PLSR and BM and on average a one third smaller reduction of genetic variance. Responses in early generations were greater with the shallow reference population while long-term response was not affected by reference population structure.

Conclusions

The ranking of estimation methods was different with than without selection. Under selection, applying GBLUP led to lower inbreeding and a smaller reduction of genetic variance while a similar response to selection was achieved. The reference population structure had a limited effect on long-term accuracy and response. Use of a shallow reference population, most closely related to the selection candidates, gave early benefits while in later generations, when marker effects were not updated, the estimation of marker effects based on a deeper reference population did not pay off.     

Transient receptor potential genes, smoking, occupational exposures and cough in adults

Background

Transient receptor potential (TRP) vanilloid and ankyrin cation channels are activated by various noxious chemicals and may play an important role in the pathogenesis of cough. The aim was to study the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TRP genes and irritant exposures on cough.

Methods

Nocturnal, usual, and chronic cough, smoking, and job history were obtained by questionnaire in 844 asthmatic and 2046 non-asthmatic adults from the Epidemiological study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma (EGEA) and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). Occupational exposures to vapors, gases, dusts, and/or fumes were assessed by a job-exposure matrix. Fifty-eight tagging SNPs in TRPV1, TRPV4, and TRPA1 were tested under an additive model.

Results

Statistically significant associations of 6 TRPV1 SNPs with cough symptoms were found in non-asthmatics after correction for multiple comparisons. Results were consistent across the eight countries examined. Haplotype-based association analysis confirmed the single SNP analyses for nocturnal cough (7-SNP haplotype: p-global = 4.8 × 10^-6) and usual cough (9-SNP haplotype: p-global = 4.5 × 10^-6). Cough symptoms were associated with exposure to irritants such as cigarette smoke and occupational exposures (p < 0.05). Four polymorphisms in TRPV1 further increased the risk of cough symptoms from irritant exposures in asthmatics and non-asthmatics (interaction p < 0.05).

Conclusions

TRPV1 SNPs were associated with cough among subjects without asthma from two independent studies in eight European countries. TRPV1 SNPs may enhance susceptibility to cough in current smokers and in subjects with a history of workplace exposures.     

Organ specificity and transcriptional control of metabolic routes revealed by expression QTL profiling of source-sink tissues in a segregating potato population

Background  

With the completion of genome sequences belonging to some of the major crop plants, new challenges arise to utilize this data for crop improvement and increased food security. The field of genetical genomics has the potential to identify genes displaying heritable differential expression associated to important phenotypic traits. Here we describe the identification of expression QTLs (eQTLs) in two different potato tissues of a segregating potato population and query the potato genome sequence to differentiate between cis- and trans-acting eQTLs in relation to gene subfunctionalization.     

Glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphisms and disease activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period in rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction

The mechanism underlying the spontaneous improvement of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during pregnancy and the subsequent postpartum flare is incompletely understood, and the disease course varies widely between pregnant RA patients. In pregnancy, total and free levels of cortisol increase gradually, followed by a postpartum decrease to prepregnancy values. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) polymorphisms BclI and N363S are associated with relatively increased glucocorticoid (GC) sensitivity, whereas the 9β and ER22/23EK polymorphisms of the GR gene are associated with a relatively decreased GC sensitivity. We examined the relation between the presence of these GR polymorphisms and level of disease activity and disease course of RA during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods

We studied 147 participants of the PARA study (Pregnancy-Induced Amelioration of Rheumatoid Arthritis study), a prospective study investigating the natural improvement during pregnancy and the postpartum flare in women with RA. Patients were visited, preferably before pregnancy, at each trimester and at three postpartum time points. On all occasions, disease activity was scored by using DAS28. All patients were genotyped for the GR polymorphisms BclI, N363S, 9β, and ER22/23EK and divided in groups harboring either polymorphisms conferring increased GC sensitivity (BclI and N363S; GC-S patients) or polymorphisms conferring decreased GC sensitivity (9β or 9β + ER22/23EK; GC-I patients). Data were analyzed by using a mixed linear model, comparing GC-S patients with GC-I patients with respect to improvement during pregnancy and the postpartum flare. The cumulative disease activity was calculated by using time-integrated values (area under the curve, AUC) of DAS28 in GC-I patients versus GC-S patients. Separate analyses were performed according to the state of GC use.

Results

GC-S patients treated with GC had a significantly lower AUC of DAS28 in the postpartum period than did GC-I patients. This difference was not observed in patients who were not treated with GCs. During pregnancy, GC-S and GC-I patients had comparable levels of disease activity and course of disease.

Conclusions

Differences in relative GC sensitivity, as determined by GR polymorphisms, are associated with the level of disease activity in the postpartum period in GC-treated patients, but they do not seem to influence the course of the disease per se.     

The paraty artisanal fishery (southeastern Brazilian coast): ethnoecology and management of a social-ecological system (SES)

ABSTRACT: This study intends to give recommendations to the management of Paraty fishery in Brazil through an interplay of local and scientific knowledge. In particular, the objectives are the following: 1) to describe the Paraty fishery; 2) to compare the fishermen's local ecological knowledge with recorded fish landings and previous studies in Paraty; 3) to combine the data on local fishing and on local/Caicara livelihoods with the SES (social-ecological systems) Model. The methods include a systematic survey of fishing in Tarituba and Praia Grande, which are located in the northern end and the central part of the Paraty municipality, respectively. For four days each month, systematic data on catches at landing points were collected, as well as macroscopic gonad analysis data for the fishes Centropomus parallelus and C. undecimalis (snook, robalo), Epinephelus marginatus (grouper, garoupa), Scomberomorus cavalla (King mackerel, cavala), and Lutjanus synagris (Lane snapper, vermelho). Spring and summer are important seasons during which some species reproduce, and the integration of fishing periods for some target species could assist in fishing management through the use of closed seasons. Fishermen could obtain complementary earnings from tourism and from the "defeso system" (closed season including a salary payment) to conserve fishing stocks. The SES model facilitates an understanding of the historical context of fishing, its economic importance for local livelihoods, the constraints from conservation measures that affect fishermen, and the management processes that already exist, such as the defeso. If used to integrate fishing with complementary activities (tourism), such a system could improve the responsibility of fishermen regarding the conservation of fish stocks.     

Killer immunoglobulin‐like receptor repertoire analysis in a Caucasian Spanish cohort with inflammatory bowel disease

Immunological molecules are implicated in inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; Crohn disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC]). Killer cell immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIRs) are also genetically variable proteins involved in immune function. They are expressed by NK cells and certain T lymphocytes, regulate specificity and function by interaction with HLA Class I molecules, may be either inhibitory or activating and are polymorphic both in terms of alleles and haplotype gene content. Genetic associations between activating KIRs and certain autoimmune and inflammatory diseases have been reported; however, a possible association between KIR and IBD remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between KIR repertoire and IBD pathologies in a Spanish cohort. KIR variability was analyzed using PCR–sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (SSOP). Inhibitory KIR2DL5 was found more frequently in UC and IBD patient groups than in healthy controls (P = 0.028 and P = 0.01, respectively), as was activating KIR2DS1 (P = 0.02, Pc > 0.05, UC vs. Controls; P = 0.001, Pc = 0.01, IBD vs Controls; P = 0.01, Pc > 0.05, Controls vs CR), KIR2DS5 (P = 0.0028, Pc = 0.04, Controls vs UC; P = 0.0001, Pc = 0.0017, Controls vs IBD; P = 0.01, Pc > 0.05, Controls vs CD) and KIR3DS1 (P = 0.012, Pc > 0.05, Controls vs IBD). Our data suggest that imbalance between activating and inhibitory KIR may partially explain the different pathogeneses of these IBDs and that there is a hypothetical role for the telomeric B region (which contains both KIR2DS5 and KIR2DS1) in these diseases.     

Developmental expression of DAX1 in the European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax: lack of evidence for sexual dimorphism during sex differentiation

Background  

DAX1 (NR0B1), a member of the nuclear receptors super family, has been shown to be involved in the genetic sex determination and in gonadal differentiation in several vertebrate species. In the aquaculture fish European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, and in the generality of fish species, the mechanisms of sex determination and differentiation have not been elucidated. The present study aimed at characterizing the European DAX1 gene and its developmental expression at the mRNA level.     

Taurolidine reduces the tumor stimulating cytokine interleukin-1beta in patients with resectable gastrointestinal cancer: a multicentre prospective randomized trial

Background

The effect of additional treatment strategies with antineoplastic agents on intraperitoneal tumor stimulating interleukin levels are unclear. Taurolidine and Povidone-iodine have been mainly used for abdominal lavage in Germany and Europe.

Methods

In the settings of a multicentre (three University Hospitals) prospective randomized controlled trial 120 patients were randomly allocated to receive either 0.5% taurolidine/2,500 IU heparin (TRD) or 0.25% povidone-iodine (control) intraperitoneally for resectable colorectal, gastric or pancreatic cancers. Due to the fact that IL-1beta (produced by macrophages) is preoperatively indifferent in various gastrointestinal cancer types our major outcome criterion was the perioperative (overall) level of IL-1beta in peritoneal fluid.

Results

Cytokine values were significantly lower after TRD lavage for IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-10. Perioperative complications did not differ. The median follow-up was 50.0 months. The overall mortality rate (28 vs. 25, p = 0.36), the cancer-related death rate (17 vs. 19, p = .2), the local recurrence rate (7 vs. 12, p = .16), the distant metastasis rate (13 vs. 18, p = 0.2) as well as the time to relapse were not statistically significant different.

Conclusion

Reduced cytokine levels might explain a short term antitumorigenic intraperitoneal effect of TRD. But, this study analyzed different types of cancer. Therefore, we set up a multicentre randomized trial in patients undergoing curative colorectal cancer resection.

Trial registration

ISRCTN66478538