The seasonal structure of microbial communities in the Western English Channel

Very few marine microbial communities are well characterized even with the weight of research effort presently devoted to it. Only a small proportion of this effort has been aimed at investigating temporal community structure. Here we present the first report of the application of high‐throughput pyrosequencing to investigate intra‐annual bacterial community structure. Microbial diversity was determined for 12 time points at the surface of the L4 sampling site in the Western English Channel. This was performed over 11 months during 2007. A total of 182 560 sequences from the V6 hyper‐variable region of the small‐subunit ribosomal RNA gene (16S rRNA) were obtained; there were between 11 327 and 17 339 reads per sample. Approximately 7000 genera were identified, with one in every 25 reads being attributed to a new genus; yet this level of sampling far from exhausted the total diversity present at any one time point. The total data set contained 17 673 unique sequences. Only 93 (0.5%) were found at all time points, yet these few lineages comprised 50% of the total reads sequenced. The most abundant phylum was Proteobacteria (50% of all sequenced reads), while the SAR11 clade comprised 21% of the ubiquitous reads and ～12% of the total sequenced reads. In contrast, 78% of all operational taxonomic units were only found at one time point and 67% were only found once, evidence of a large and transient rare assemblage. This time series shows evidence of seasonally structured community diversity. There is also evidence for seasonal succession, primarily reflecting changes among dominant taxa. These changes in structure were significantly correlated to a combination of temperature, phosphate and silicate concentrations.     

The genus Trichocnemis LeConte, 1851 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae)

The history of the genus Trichocnemis LeConte, 1851 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Prioninae) is discussed. Its taxonomic status in relation to the genera Ergates Audinet-Serville, 1832 and Callergates Lameere, 1904 is clarified. The synonymy of Macrotoma californica White, 1853, Macrotoma spiculigera White, 1853, and Trichocnemis spiculatus LeConte, 1851 is confirmed. A key to all three genera and their species is provided.     

Seed dormancy release and germination characteristics of <i>Corispermum lehmannianum</i> Bunge,an endemic species in the Gurbantunggut desert of China

Seed dormancy release and germination of Corispermum lehmannianum Bunge were tested using various treatments: temperature, cold stratification, gibberelins (GA3), dry storage and sand burial. Results showed that temperature and light did not affect the germination of fresh seeds, cold stratification and GA3 could improve seed germination, whereas dry storage and sand burial did not. The germination percentage was highest at 35/20 °C after the cold stratification and GA3 treatments. Corispermum lehmannianum seeds were classified as non-deep, Type-2, physiological dormancy (PD), whose seed dormancy could be released by cold stratification and GA3.     

The recycling of apolipoprotein E and its amino-terminal 22 kDa fragment: evidence for multiple redundant pathways

A portion of apolipoprotein E (apoE) internalized by hepatocytes is spared degradation and is recycled. To investigate the intracellular routing of recycling apoE, primary hepatocyte cultures from LDL receptor-deficient mice and mice deficient in receptor-associated protein [a model of depressed expression of LDL receptor-related protein (LRP)] were incubated with human VLDL containing 125I-labeled human recombinant apoE3. Approximately 30% of the internalized intact apoE was recycled after 4 h. The N-terminal 22 kDa fragment of apoE was also resecreted, demonstrating that this apoE domain contains sufficient sequence to recycle. The 22 kDa fragment has reduced affinity for lipoproteins, suggesting that apoE recycling is linked to the ability of apoE to bind directly to a recycling receptor. Finally, apoE was found to recycle equally well in the presence of brefeldin A, a drug that blocks transport from the endoplasmic reticulum and leads to collapse of the Golgi stacks. Our studies demonstrate that apoE recycling occurs 1) in the absence of the LDL receptor or under conditions of markedly reduced LRP expression; 2) when apoE lacks the carboxyl-terminal domain, which allows binding to the lipoprotein; and 3) in the absence of an intact Golgi apparatus. We conclude that apoE recycling occurs through multiple redundant pathways.     

Psychosocial perception of adults with onychomycosis: a blinded,controlled comparison of 1,017 adult Hong Kong residents with or without onychomycosis

Background

A survey was conducted amongst 1,017 Hong Kong residents ages 18 and over to determine their knowledge of fungal nail infections (onychomycosis) and the psychosocial impact of the disease on the relationships, social lives and careers of sufferers.

Methods

The Fungal Nail Perception Survey was conducted by email and online between May 29th and June 10th, 2013. Participants were shown three photographs of people with and without onychomycosis of the toenails. Respondents were asked ten questions (repeated for each picture) to ascertain their perceptions of the people in the pictures. Questions were related to perceptions around the ability of sufferers and non-sufferers to form relationships with others, social activities of sufferers and non-sufferers, perceptions of the effect of the disease on the potential for career success, and awareness of fungal nail disease and health. The sub-population who themselves suffered from onychomycosis were asked about self-perception as well as their perception of others with onychomycosis.

Results

Compared with non-sufferers, survey respondents perceived those with onychomycosis as less likely to be able to form good relationships. They also indicated that they would be more likely to exclude sufferers than non-sufferers from social activities and that they would be more likely to feel uncomfortable when sitting or standing beside an infected person than beside an uninfected person. Respondents perceived people with onychomycosis to be less able to perform well in their chosen career than with someone without onychomycosis. Interestingly, those respondents who themselves were infected felt socially excluded, upset and embarrassed by their infection.

Conclusions

Onychomycosis may lead to stigmatization and social exclusion. Misconceptions of onychomycosis are high and education about the disease needs to be improved. Early recognition and treatment of the disease is essential to avoid complications and improve treatment outcomes, which would lead to reduced psychosocial impact on those with fungal nail infections.

     

Beta-1 Adrenergic Agonist Treatment Mitigates Negative Changes in Cancellous Bone Microarchitecture and Inhibits Osteocyte Apoptosis during Disuse

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) plays an important role in mediating bone remodeling. However, the exact role that beta-1 adrenergic receptors (beta1AR) have in this process has not been elucidated. We have previously demonstrated the ability of dobutamine (DOB), primarily a beta1AR agonist, to inhibit reductions in cancellous bone formation and mitigate disuse-induced loss of bone mass. The purpose of this study was to characterize the independent and combined effects of DOB and hindlimb unloading (HU) on cancellous bone microarchitecture, tissue-level bone cell activity, and osteocyte apoptosis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 6-mos, were assigned to either normal cage activity (CC) or HU (n = 18/group) for 28 days. Animals were administered either daily DOB (4 mg/kg BW/d) or an equal volume of saline (VEH) (n = 9/gp). Unloading resulted in significantly lower distal femur cancellous BV/TV (−33%), Tb.Th (−11%), and Tb.N (−25%) compared to ambulatory controls (CC-VEH). DOB treatment during HU attenuated these changes in cancellous bone microarchitecture, resulting in greater BV/TV (+29%), Tb.Th (+7%), and Tb.N (+21%) vs. HU-VEH. Distal femur cancellous vBMD (+11%) and total BMC (+8%) were significantly greater in DOB- vs. VEH-treated unloaded rats. Administration of DOB during HU resulted in significantly greater osteoid surface (+158%) and osteoblast surface (+110%) vs. HU-VEH group. Furthermore, Oc.S/BS was significantly greater in HU-DOB (+55%) vs. CC-DOB group. DOB treatment during unloading fully restored bone formation, resulting in significantly greater bone formation rate (+200%) than in HU-VEH rats. HU resulted in an increased percentage of apoptotic cancellous osteocytes (+85%), reduced osteocyte number (−16%), lower percentage of occupied osteocytic lacunae (−30%) as compared to CC-VEH, these parameters were all normalized with DOB treatment. Altogether, these data indicate that beta1AR agonist treatment during disuse mitigates negative changes in cancellous bone microarchitecture and inhibits increases in osteocyte apoptosis.     

(R)-Desmolactone Is a Sex Pheromone or Sex Attractant for the Endangered Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle Desmocerus californicus dimorphus and Several Congeners (Cerambycidae: Lepturinae)

We report here that (4R,9Z)-hexadec-9-en-4-olide [(R)-desmolactone] is a sex attractant or sex pheromone for multiple species and subspecies in the cerambycid genus Desmocerus. This compound was previously identified as a female-produced sex attractant pheromone of Desmocerus californicus californicus. Headspace volatiles from female Desmocerus aureipennis aureipennis contained (R)-desmolactone, and the antennae of adult males of two species responded strongly to synthetic (R)-desmolactone in coupled gas chromatography-electroantennogram analyses. In field bioassays in California, Oregon, and British Columbia, traps baited with synthetic (R)-desmolactone captured males of several Desmocerus species and subspecies. Only male beetles were captured, indicating that this compound acts as a sex-specific attractant, rather than as a signal for aggregation. In targeted field bioassays, males of the US federally threatened subspecies Desmocerus californicus dimorphus responded to the synthetic attractant in a dose dependent manner. Our results represent the first example of a “generic” sex pheromone used by multiple species in the subfamily Lepturinae, and demonstrate that pheromone-baited traps may be a sensitive and efficient method of monitoring the threatened species Desmocerus californicus dimorphus, commonly known as the valley elderberry longhorn beetle.