Effects of climate extremes on the terrestrial carbon cycle: concepts,processes and potential future impacts

Extreme droughts, heat waves, frosts, precipitation, wind storms and other climate extremes may impact the structure, composition and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, and thus carbon cycling and its feedbacks to the climate system. Yet, the interconnected avenues through which climate extremes drive ecological and physiological processes and alter the carbon balance are poorly understood. Here, we review the literature on carbon cycle relevant responses of ecosystems to extreme climatic events. Given that impacts of climate extremes are considered disturbances, we assume the respective general disturbance‐induced mechanisms and processes to also operate in an extreme context. The paucity of well‐defined studies currently renders a quantitative meta‐analysis impossible, but permits us to develop a deductive framework for identifying the main mechanisms (and coupling thereof) through which climate extremes may act on the carbon cycle. We find that ecosystem responses can exceed the duration of the climate impacts via lagged effects on the carbon cycle. The expected regional impacts of future climate extremes will depend on changes in the probability and severity of their occurrence, on the compound effects and timing of different climate extremes, and on the vulnerability of each land‐cover type modulated by management. Although processes and sensitivities differ among biomes, based on expert opinion, we expect forests to exhibit the largest net effect of extremes due to their large carbon pools and fluxes, potentially large indirect and lagged impacts, and long recovery time to regain previous stocks. At the global scale, we presume that droughts have the strongest and most widespread effects on terrestrial carbon cycling. Comparing impacts of climate extremes identified via remote sensing vs. ground‐based observational case studies reveals that many regions in the (sub‐)tropics are understudied. Hence, regional investigations are needed to allow a global upscaling of the impacts of climate extremes on global carbon–climate feedbacks.     

Synchronous tumors of the female genital tract: triple malignant and one benign tumor

Synchronous tumors of the female genital tract are rare, accounting for 0.7-1.8% of all cases. Double synchronous tumors are most often mentioned in the literature. Reviewing the English literature on this topic, we have found only one case report of a triple synchronous tumor. The 55-year-old patient mentioned in our case has had advanced diabetes mellitus, and has been treated with corticosteroid therapy for a long time because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She was examined because of her vulvar tumor. During the diagnostic procedure, cervical and endometrial malignant tumors and a benign ovarian cyst have also been found. This event brings to our attention the fact that we should be prepared to manage synchronous even triple malignant gynecological tumors.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel as a biocompatible viscoelastic mimetic for articular cartilage

The prevalence of suboptimal outcome for surgical interventions in the treatment of full-thickness articular cartilage damage suggests that there is scope for a materials-based strategy to deliver a more durable repair. Given that the superficial layer of articular cartilage creates and sustains the tribological function of synovial joints, it is logical that candidate materials should have surface viscoelastic properties that mimic native articular cartilage. The present paper describes force spectroscopy analysis by nano-indentation to measure the elastic modulus of the surface of a novel poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel with therapeutic potential as a joint implant. More than 1 order of magnitude decrease in the elastic modulus was detected after adsorption of a hyaluronic acid layer onto the hydrogel, bringing it very close to previously reported values for articular cartilage. Covalent derivatization of the hydrogel surface with fibronectin facilitated the adhesion and growth of cultured rat tibial condyle chondrocytes as evidenced morphologically and by the observance of metachromatic staining with toluidine blue dye. The present results indicate that hydrogel materials with potential therapeutic benefit for injured and diseased joints can be engineered with surfaces with biomechanical properties similar to those of native tissue and are accepted as such by their constituent cell type.     

Microorganisms and climate change: terrestrial feedbacks and mitigation options

Microbial processes have a central role in the global fluxes of the key biogenic greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) and are likely to respond rapidly to climate change. Whether changes in microbial processes lead to a net positive or negative feedback for greenhouse gas emissions is unclear. To improve the prediction of climate models, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which microorganisms regulate terrestrial greenhouse gas flux. This involves consideration of the complex interactions that occur between microorganisms and other biotic and abiotic factors. The potential to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through managing terrestrial microbial processes is a tantalizing prospect for the future.     

Crystal structure and mechanism of human lysine-specific demethylase-1

The reversible methylation of specific lysine residues in histone tails is crucial in epigenetic gene regulation. LSD1, the first known lysine-specific demethylase, selectively removes monomethyl and dimethyl, but not trimethyl modifications of Lys4 or Lys9 of histone-3. Here, we present the crystal structure of LSD1 at 2.9-A resolution. LSD1 forms a highly asymmetric, closely packed domain structure from which a long helical 'tower' domain protrudes. The active site cavity is spacious enough to accommodate several residues of the histone tail substrate, but does not appear capable of recognizing the different methylation states of the substrate lysine. This supports the hypothesis that trimethylated lysine is chemically rather than sterically discriminated. We present a biochemical analysis of LSD1 mutants that identifies crucial residues in the active site cavity and shows the importance of the SWIRM and tower domains for catalysis.     

Estrogen receptor-independent catechol estrogen binding activity: protein binding studies in wild-type, Estrogen receptor-alpha KO, and aromatase KO mice tissues

Primary evidence for novel estrogen signaling pathways is based upon well-documented estrogenic responses not inhibited by estrogen receptor antagonists. In addition to 17beta-E2, the catechol estrogen 4-hydroxyestradiol (4OHE2) has been shown to elicit biological responses independent of classical estrogen receptors in estrogen receptor-alpha knockout (ERalphaKO) mice. Consequently, our research was designed to biochemically characterize the protein(s) that could be mediating the biological effects of catechol estrogens using enzymatically synthesized, radiolabeled 4-hydroxyestrone (4OHE1) and 4OHE2. Scatchard analyses identified a single class of high-affinity (K(d) approximately 1.6 nM), saturable cytosolic binding sites in several ERalphaKO estrogen-responsive tissues. Specific catechol estrogen binding was competitively inhibited by unlabeled catechol estrogens, but not by 17beta-E2 or the estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780. Tissue distribution studies indicated significant binding differences both within and among various tissues in wild-type, ERalphaKO, and aromatase knockout female mice. Ligand metabolism experiments revealed extensive metabolism of labeled catechol estrogen, suggesting that catechol estrogen metabolites were responsible for the specific binding. Collectively, our data provide compelling evidence for the interaction of catechol estrogen metabolites with a novel binding protein that exhibits high affinity, specificity, and selective tissue distribution. The extensive biochemical characterization of this binding protein indicates that this protein may be a receptor, and thus may mediate ERalpha/beta-independent effects of catechol estrogens and their metabolites.     

Identification of porcine coagulation factor VIII domains responsible for high level expression via enhanced secretion

Blood coagulation factor VIII has a domain structure designated A1-A2-B-ap-A3-C1-C2. Human factor VIII is present at low concentration in normal plasma and, comparably, is produced at low levels in vitro and in vivo using transgenic expression techniques. Heterologous expression of B domain-deleted porcine factor VIII in mammalian cell culture is significantly greater than B domain-deleted human or murine factor VIII. Novel hybrid human/porcine factor VIII molecules were constructed to identify porcine factor VIII domains that confer high level expression. Hybrid human/porcine factor VIII constructs containing the porcine factor VIII A1 and ap-A3 domains expressed at levels comparable with recombinant porcine factor VIII. A hybrid construct containing only the porcine A1 domain expressed at intermediate levels between human and porcine factor VIII, whereas a hybrid construct containing the porcine ap-A3 domain expressed at levels comparable with human factor VIII. Additionally, hybrid murine/porcine factor VIII constructs containing the porcine factor VIII A1 and ap-A3 domain sequences expressed at levels significantly higher than recombinant murine factor VIII. Therefore, the porcine A1 and ap-A3 domains are necessary and sufficient for the high level expression associated with porcine factor VIII. Metabolic radiolabeling experiments demonstrated that high level expression was attributable to enhanced secretory efficiency.