The feeding behaviour of large perch Perca fluviatilis (L.) in relation to food availability: a comparative study

Hydrobiologia - The aim of the present study was to analyse and compare the feeding behaviour of large perch (>25 cm total length) in two lakes of different state and corresponding...     

Lipolysis in human adipose tissue during exercise: comparison of microdialysis and a-v measurements.

Subcutaneous adipose tissue lipolysis was studied in vivo by Fick's arteriovenous (a-v) principle using either calculated (microdialysis) or directly measured (catheterization) adipose tissue venous glycerol concentration. We compared results during steady-state (rest and prolonged continuous exercise), as well as during non-steady-state (onset of exercise and early exercise) experimental settings. Fourteen healthy women [age: 74 +/- 1 (SE) yr] were studied at rest and during 60-min continuous bicycling at 60% of peak O(2) uptake. Calculated and measured subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue venous glycerol concentrations increased substantially from rest to exercise but were similar both at rest and during later stages of exercise. In contrast, during the initial approximately 40 min of exercise, calculated glycerol concentration was significantly lower (approximately 40%) than measured adipose tissue venous glycerol concentration. Despite several methodological limitations inherent to both techniques, the results strongly suggest that microdialysis and catheterization provide similar estimates of subcutaneous adipose tissue lipolysis in steady-state experimental settings like rest and continuous prolonged exercise. However, during shorter periods of exercise (<40 min), the results from the two techniques may differ quantitatively in the studied subjects. Caution should, therefore, be taken when lipolysis is evaluated, based on results obtained by the two techniques under non-steady-state conditions.     

THE PHYLOGENY AND EVOLUTION OF SOME PHACOPID TRILOBITES

Abstract A data matrix of 32 characters, with a total of 132 character states and 48 terminal taxa of phacopid trilobites, was analysed using parsimony. The 108 most parsimonious trees have a length of 301 steps and a consistency index of 0.29. Two major clades were found, one including species referred to Acernaspis and one with species referred to Ananaspis, Paciphacops, Viaphacops , and Phacops . Most homoplasy occurs between the major clades of the trees, rather than within them. The major clades were also analysed separately, resulting in trees with significantly higher consistency indices. We redefine the following supraspecific taxa to make them monophyletic: Acernaspis, Ananaspis , and Paciphacops . In addition, Kainops , new genus, is described for a clade consisting of six taxa previously assigned to Ananaspis and Paciphacops . The evolutionary pattern resulting from our cladogram is compared with the approaches of Campbell and Eldredge, and it is argued that some of the assumptions made by these authors regarding the phylogeny of the group are not valid. The biogeography of the group was also analysed. It is found that phacopids from the Ludlow and older strata are distributed globally, with an emphasis, perhaps due to a large number of suitable localities, on Northern Europe. However, the lineage of phacopines leading up to Phacops is, with some slight exceptions, basically confined to the United States, being entirely absent in Northern Europe. The main phacopine lineage does not re-establish itself geographically until the middle Devonian. Finally, we analysed the evidence for polymorphism in phacopid trilobites, and reject this hypothesis on the basis of stratigraphy and the present cladogram.     

Occurrence and taxonomic characteristics of strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae predominant in African indigenous fermented foods and beverages

Indigenous fermented foods and beverages play a major role in the diet of African people. The predominant yeast species seen is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, involved in basically three groups of indigenous fermented products: non-alcoholic starchy foods, alcoholic beverages and fermented milk. These products are to a great extent made by spontaneous fermentation and consequently S. cerevisiae often coexists with other microorganisms even though a microbiological succession usually takes place both between and within species. The functions of S. cerevisiae are mainly related to formation of alcohols and other aroma compounds, but stimulation of e.g. lactic acid bacteria, improvement of nutritional value, probiotic effects, inhibition of undesired microorganisms and production of tissue-degrading enzymes may also be observed. Several different isolates of S. cerevisiae have been shown to be involved in the fermentations and some of the isolates show pheno- and genotypic characteristics that deviate from those normally recognised for S. cerevisiae.     

Endosomal and non-endosomal functions of ESCRT proteins

The three endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRTs) are integral to the degradation of endocytosed membrane proteins and multivesicular body (MVB) biogenesis. Here, we review evidence that ESCRTs have evolved as a specialized machinery for the degradative sorting of ubiquitinated membrane proteins and we highlight recent studies that have shed light on the mechanisms by which these complexes mediate protein sorting, MVB biogenesis, tumour suppression and viral budding. We also discuss evidence that some ESCRT subunits have evolved additional functions that are unrelated to membrane trafficking.     

Pre-analytical and biological variability in circulating interleukin 6 in healthy subjects and patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Interleukin (IL)-6, a key player in the inflammatory response, may be a useful biomarker in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim was to determine analytical variability, a reference interval in healthy subjects, and long- and short-term variation in serum and plasma IL-6 in healthy subjects and RA patients. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from R&;D was used for determination of serum and plasma IL-6. The IL-6 concentration did not depend on the type of anticoagulant used or the 3-h time delay between sampling and processing or repeated freeze–thaw cycles. The median plasma and serum IL-6 in 318 healthy subjects were 1.3 pg ml^?1 (range 0.33–26) and 1.4 pg ml^?1 (range 0.25–23), respectively. The median coefficient of variation in plasma IL-6 in 27 healthy subjects during 1 month, and repeated after 6 and 12 months were 27%, 31% and 26%, respectively. No significant long-term changes were observed in serum IL-6 over a 3-year period (14%, p=0.33). Exercise (cycling) increased serum IL-6 in healthy subjects but not in RA patients. In conclusion, circulating IL-6 is stable regarding sample handling and shows little variation over time. Changes in IL-6 concentrations >60% (2 times the biological variation) are likely to reflect changes in disease activity and not only pre-analytical or normal biological variability.     

Lactation and cardiovascular risk factors in mothers in a population-based study: the HUNT-study

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Lactation has beneficial short term effects on maternal metabolic health, but the long term effects are less well known. METHODS: We studied the association between lifetime duration of lactation and cardiovascular risk factors in mothers later in life among 21,368 parous women aged 20 to 85 years attending the second Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT2) in 1995-1997, Norway, a cross-sectional population-based study. General linear modelling was used to calculate mean values of known cardiovascular risk factor levels in five categories of lifetime duration of lactation. Logistic regression was conducted to estimate odds ratios of hypertension, obesity and diabetes. RESULTS: Among women aged 50 years or younger, lifetime duration of lactation was significantly and inversely associated with body mass index (P-trend, < 0.001), waist circumference (P-trend, < 0.001), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (both P-trends, < 0.001), and serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (all P-trends, < 0.001) after adjustment for covariates. Parous women aged 50 years or younger who had never lactated had higher prevalence of hypertension, obesity and diabetes. In this age group, compared to women who had lactated for 24 months or more, parous women who had never lactated had an OR for hypertension of 1.88 (95% CI 1.41, 2.51), an OR for obesity of 3.37 (95% CI 2.51, 4.51) and an OR for diabetes of 5.87 (95% CI 2.25, 15.3). Among women older than 50 years there were no clear associations. CONCLUSION: Lifetime duration of lactation was associated with long term reduced cardiovascular risk levels in mothers aged 50 years or younger.     

Detecting flying insects using car nets and DNA metabarcoding

Monitoring insects across space and time is challenging, due to their vast taxonomic and functional diversity. This study demonstrates how nets mounted on rooftops of cars (car nets) and DNA metabarcoding can be applied to sample flying insect richness and diversity across large spatial scales within a limited time period. During June 2018, 365 car net samples were collected by 151 volunteers during two daily time intervals on 218 routes in Denmark. Insect bulk samples were processed with a DNA metabarcoding protocol to estimate taxonomic composition, and the results were compared to known flying insect richness and occurrence data. Insect and hoverfly richness and diversity were assessed across biogeographic regions and dominant land cover types. We detected 15 out of 19 flying insect orders present in Denmark, with high proportions of especially Diptera compared to Danish estimates, and lower insect richness and diversity in urbanized areas. We detected 319 species not known for Denmark and 174 species assessed in the Danish Red List. Our results indicate that the methodology can assess the flying insect fauna at large spatial scales to a wide extent, but may be, like other methods, biased towards certain insect orders.