Identification of human populations with a high incidence of cellular immunity against breast carcinoma

Summary Cell mediated immunity specifically directed against breast carcinoma, but not against osteogenic sarcoma or other carcinomas, was found to occur in the household contacts of patients with active breast carcinoma (primary and metastatic). Such immunity was not found in the normal population, nor in household contacts of patients with osteogenic sarcoma; it was also not found in household contacts of breast carcinoma patients who had been disease free for two or more years. Patients with breast carcinoma had cytotoxicity indexes (CI) comparable to the normal population, regardless of their clinical condition.     

A Diurnal Rhythm in Brown Adipose Tissue Causes Rapid Clearance and Combustion of Plasma Lipids at Wakening

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus Neurotropism: an Analysis of Viral Replication and Cytopathicity for Divergent Strains in Monocytes and Microglia

Productive replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in brain macrophages and microglia is a critical component of viral neuropathogenesis. However, how virus-macrophage interactions lead to neurological disease remains incompletely understood. Possibly, a differential ability of virus to replicate in brain tissue macrophages versus macrophages in other tissues underlies HIV-1 neurovirulence. To these ends, we established systems for the isolation and propagation of pure populations of human microglia and then analyzed the viral life cycles of divergent HIV-1 strains in these cells and in cultured monocytes by using identical viral inocula and indicator systems. The HIV-1 isolates included those isolated from blood, lung tissue, cerebrospinal fluids (CSF), and brain tissues of infected subjects: HIV-1_ADA and HIV-1_89.6 (from peripheral blood mononuclear cells), HIV-1_DJV and HIV-1_JR-FL (from brain tissue), HIV-1_SF162 (from CSF), and HIV-1_BAL (from lung tissue). The synthesis of viral nucleic acids and viral mRNA, cytopathicity, and release of progeny virions were assessed. A significant heterogeneity among macrophage-tropic isolates for infection of monocytes and microglia was demonstrated. Importantly, a complete analysis of the viral life cycle revealed no preferential differences in the abilities of the HIV-1 strains tested to replicate in microglia and/or monocytes. Macrophage tropism likely dictates the abilities of HIV-1 to invade, replicate, and incite disease within its microglial target cells.     

Inter‐annual variability of fruit timing and quantity at Nouragues (French Guiana): insights from hierarchical Bayesian analyses

The timing and quantity of fruit production are major determinants of the functioning of a forest community, but simultaneous analyses of both are rare. We analyzed a ten‐year dataset (2001–2011) of fruit production for 45 tree and liana species from the Nouragues rain forest, French Guiana. We developed a hierarchical Bayesian approach to determine variation in the timing and quantity of fruit production. Our analysis accommodates missing censuses and quantifies variation at seasonal and inter‐annual scales. The fruiting peak of 22 of 45 species occurred during the peak of the rainy season, which is typical for central and eastern Amazon. The timing and quantity of fruit production varied substantially across years in most species, with greater variation in quantity than in timing. The timing of fruit production varied from continuously fruiting species to mast fruiting species that had two or more consecutive years without fruit production. Fully 40% of species were mast fruiting species. The seasonal timing and inter‐annual variation in fruiting were unrelated to seed dispersal mode across species. We saw no evidence for directional change in the level of fruit production, the timing of fruit production, or their variances; however, 10 yr is a short record for such analyses.     

Diversity increases with elevation: empidine dance flies (Diptera,Empididae) challenge a predominant pattern

Tropical mountain forests are important reservoirs of biodiversity. They are usually species‐rich and often support endemic species making them prime targets for conservation effort. The aim of this study was to investigate elevational patterns of species diversity and phenology to provide a meaningful understanding of insects’ spatio‐temporal distributions along a tropical gradient of elevation. Our study focuses on the Empidinae communities (Diptera, Empididae) from Doi Inthanon (north Thailand, gradient 400–2556 m asl), sampled during two entire years (2006–2007, 2014). This group of insects is more diverse in temperate localities than in the tropics and we found that: (1) increase in altitude and latitude has a similar effect, so that the diversity of our model increases with elevation; (2) the phenology is strongly influenced by seasonality with a peak of diversity occurring during the transition between the dry and rainy seasons; (3) there is no phenological shift in the diversity peak with elevations; and (4) the species composition changes along the altitudinal gradient and through the year (high beta diversity). The increase in diversity with increasing elevation and the peak of diversity occurring at the transitional period both strongly coincide with abiotic factors, the decreasing temperature and the arrival of the monsoon, respectively.