Modification of pulse sequences reduces occupational exposure from MRI switched gradient fields: Preliminary results

The gradient fields in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will in some circumstances exceed the ICNIRP guidelines of occupational electromagnetic field exposure when personnel are near the scanner during MRI scanning. In this work we have shown that using commercially available modified sequences for noise reduction purposes, exposure will decrease by a factor of 1.5 with preserved image quality. This is a first step toward optimizing occupational exposure within the scanner room without affecting image quality. Bioelectromagnetics 31:85–87, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Identifying biotic drivers of population dynamics in a benthic–pelagic community

Benthic species and communities are linked to pelagic zooplankton through life‐stages encompassing both benthic and pelagic habitats and through a mutual dependency on primary producers as a food source. Many zooplankton taxa contribute to the sedimentary system as benthic eggs. Our main aim was to investigate the nature of the population level biotic interactions between and within these two seemingly independent communities, both dependent on the pelagic primary production, while simultaneously accounting for environmental drivers (salinity, temperature, and oxygen conditions). To this end, we applied multivariate autoregressive state‐space models to long (1966–2007) time series of annual abundance data, comparing models with and without interspecific interactions, and models with and without environmental variables included. We were not able to detect any direct coupling between sediment‐dwelling benthic taxa and pelagic copepods and cladocerans on the annual scale, but the most parsimonious model indicated that interactions within the benthic community are important. There were also positive residual correlations between the copepods and cladocerans potentially reflecting the availability of a shared resource or similar seasonal dependence, whereas both groups tended to correlate negatively with the zoobenthic taxa. The most notable single interaction within the benthic community was a tendency for a negative effect of Limecola balthica on the amphipods Monoporeia affinis and Pontoporeia femorata which can help explain the observed decrease in amphipods due to increased competitive interference.     

Human-induced eutrophication enhances reproductive success through effects on parenting ability in sticklebacks

Human-induced processes are altering habitats at an unprecedented rate and scale. This has changed the biodiversity and biomass in many areas, but also led to phenotypic and genetic alterations of populations. Here we investigated the effects of the ongoing eutrophication in the Baltic Sea on the reproductive success of threespine stickleback males Gasterosteus aculeatus , through effects on reproductive behaviour and parenting ability. We allowed males to complete breeding cycles in a competitive setting under increased macro algae cover or increased turbidity caused by phytoplankton growth. Both environmental factors improved the parenting ability of the males and enhanced reproductive output. Increased alga growth and turbidity reduced aggressive interactions between males during the parental phase, probably due to reduced visibility, which slowed down a deterioration of condition. This increased the reproductive lifespan of the males and enabled them to complete more breeding cycles, as found when males were allowed to complete as many breeding cycles as they could under increased algae cover. In addition, increased turbidity improved oxygen conditions, which enhanced hatching success and reduced the need for vigorous fanning behaviour. Increased turbidity, however, relaxed selection on male size. Together with earlier results on relaxed sexual selection under changed environmental conditions, this suggests that the effect of eutrophication on stickleback populations is complex. It increases the reproductive output of populations, since more individuals are spawning within eutrophicated areas and their hatching success is increased, but it relaxes sexual and natural selection at the reproductive stage. Whether this will shift selection and population regulation to other life stages, such as the juvenile stage, deserves further investigations.     

Simian homologues of human herpesviruses and implications for novel viral introduction to free-living mountain gorillas

The endangered mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is frequently in contact with humans through tourism, research activities, and illegal entry of people into protected gorilla habitat. Herpesviruses, which are ubiquitous in primates, have the potential to be shared in any setting where humans and gorillas share habitat. Based on serological findings and clinical observations of orofacial ulcerated lesions resembling herpetic lesions, an alpha-herpesvirus resembling human herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) has long been suspected to be present in human-habituated mountain gorillas in the wild. While the etiology of orofacial lesions in the wild has not been confirmed, HSV-1 has been suspected in captively-housed mountain gorillas and confirmed in a co-housed confiscated Grauer's gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri). To better characterize herpesviruses infecting mountain gorillas and to determine the presence/absence of HSV-1 in the free-living population, we conducted a population-wide survey to test for the presence of orally shed herpesviruses. DNA was extracted from discarded chewed plants collected from 294 individuals from 26 groups, and samples were screened by polymerase chain reaction using pan-herpesvirus and HSV-1-specific assays. We found no evidence that human herpesviruses had infected free-ranging mountain gorillas. However, we found gorilla-specific homologs to human herpesviruses, including cytomegaloviruses (GbbCMV-1 and 2), a lymphocryptovirus (GbbLCV-1), and a new rhadinovirus (GbbRHV-1) with similar characteristics (i.e., timing of primary infection, shedding in multiple age groups, and potential modes of transmission) to their human counterparts, human cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, respectively.     

Affinity maturation of a novel antagonistic human monoclonal antibody with a long VH CDR3 targeting the Class A GPCR formyl-peptide receptor 1

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies targeting G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are desirable for intervention in a wide range of disease processes. The discovery of such antibodies is challenging due to a lack of stability of many GPCRs as purified proteins. We describe here the generation of Fpro0165, a human anti-formyl peptide receptor 1 (FPR1) antibody generated by variable domain engineering of an antibody derived by immunization of transgenic mice expressing human variable region genes. Antibody isolation and subsequent engineering of affinity, potency and species cross-reactivity using phage display were achieved using FPR1 expressed on HEK cells for immunization and selection, along with calcium release cellular assays for antibody screening. Fpro0165 shows full neutralization of formyl peptide-mediated activation of primary human neutrophils. A crystal structure of the Fpro0165 Fab shows a long, protruding V_H CDR3 of 24 amino acids and in silico docking with a homology model of FPR1 suggests that this long V_H CDR3 is critical to the predicted binding mode of the antibody. Antibody mutation studies identify the apex of the long V_H CDR3 as key to mediating the species cross-reactivity profile of the antibody. This study illustrates an approach for antibody discovery and affinity engineering to typically intractable membrane proteins such as GPCRs.     

Exposure assessment of electromagnetic fields near electrosurgical units

Electrosurgical units (ESU) are widely used in medical health services. By applying sinusoidal or pulsed voltage in the frequency range of 0.3–5 MHz to the electrode tip, the desired mixture of coagulation and cutting are achieved. Due to the high voltage and current in the cable, strong electromagnetic fields appear near the ESU. The surgeon and others inside the operating room such as nurses, anesthesiologists, etc., will be highly exposed to these fields. The stray fields surrounding the ESU have previously been measured, but now a deeper analysis has been made of the curve shape of the field and the implication of this when assessing exposure from a commonly used ESU in accordance with the International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. The result showed that for some of the modes, especially those using high‐pulsed voltage with only a few sinusoidal periods, the E‐field close to the cable could reach linear spatially averaged values of 20 kV/m compared to the 2.1 kV/m stated in ICNIRP guidelines. Assessing the E‐ and B‐field from ESU is not straightforward since in this frequency range, both induced current density and specific absorption rate are restricted by the ICNIRP guidelines. Nevertheless, work needs to be done to reduce the stray fields from ESU. Bioelectromagnetics 31:513–518, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.