Mangrove blue carbon stocks and dynamics are controlled by hydrogeomorphic settings and land‐use change

Globally, carbon‐rich mangrove forests are deforested and degraded due to land‐use and land‐cover change (LULCC). The impact of mangrove deforestation on carbon emissions has been reported on a global scale; however, uncertainty remains at subnational scales due to geographical variability and field data limitations. We present an assessment of blue carbon storage at five mangrove sites across West Papua Province, Indonesia, a region that supports 10% of the world's mangrove area. The sites are representative of contrasting hydrogeomorphic settings and also capture change over a 25‐years LULCC chronosequence. Field‐based assessments were conducted across 255 plots covering undisturbed and LULCC‐affected mangroves (0‐, 5‐, 10‐, 15‐ and 25‐year‐old post‐harvest or regenerating forests as well as 15‐year‐old aquaculture ponds). Undisturbed mangroves stored total ecosystem carbon stocks of 182–2,730 (mean ± SD: 1,087 ± 584) Mg C/ha, with the large variation driven by hydrogeomorphic settings. The highest carbon stocks were found in estuarine interior (EI) mangroves, followed by open coast interior, open coast fringe and EI forests. Forest harvesting did not significantly affect soil carbon stocks, despite an elevated dead wood density relative to undisturbed forests, but it did remove nearly all live biomass. Aquaculture conversion removed 60% of soil carbon stock and 85% of live biomass carbon stock, relative to reference sites. By contrast, mangroves left to regenerate for more than 25 years reached the same level of biomass carbon compared to undisturbed forests, with annual biomass accumulation rates of 3.6 ± 1.1 Mg C ha^?1 year^?1. This study shows that hydrogeomorphic setting controls natural dynamics of mangrove blue carbon stocks, while long‐term land‐use changes affect carbon loss and gain to a substantial degree. Therefore, current land‐based climate policies must incorporate landscape and land‐use characteristics, and their related carbon management consequences, for more effective emissions reduction targets and restoration outcomes.     

Comparing temporal patterns in body condition of ringed seals living within their core geographic range with those living at the edge

Ecological theory suggests that demographic responses by populations to environmental change vary depending on whether individuals inhabit central or peripheral regions within the species’ geographic range. Here, we tested this prediction by comparing a population of ringed seals Pusa hispida located at high latitudes as part of their core range (core) with a population located at the southern extremity of their range (peripheral). First, we compared the two regions’ environmental trends in timing of sea-ice breakup and freeze-up, open-water duration and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). We found that the core region shifted to progressively warmer conditions in the early 1990s; whereas, in the peripheral region, the warming trend shifted in 1999 to one with no warming trend but high inter-annual variability. Next, we examined how body condition, inferred from blubber depth, responded to temporal changes in sea-ice and climatic variables – variables that have been shown to influence ringed seal demography. Core seals displayed minimal seasonal changes in body condition; whereas peripheral seals displayed a 20–60% amplitude seasonal change in body condition with a phase shift to earlier initiation of fat accumulation and loss. Finally, we tested for interannual differences and found that both core and peripheral seals responded similarly with decreased body condition following more positive NAO. Environmental variables influenced body condition in opposite directions between the two regions with core seals declining in body condition with later spring breakup and shorter open-water duration, whereas peripheral seals showed opposite relationships. Seals living at the core likely benefit from an evolved match between adaptation and environmental variation resulting in dampened seasonal and interannual fluctuations in body condition. Knowledge of how different populations respond to environmental change depending on geographic location within a species range can assist in anticipating population specific responses to climate warming.     

Experimental Sepsis Impairs Humoral Memory in Mice

Patients with sepsis are often immune suppressed, and experimental mouse models of sepsis also display this feature. However, acute sepsis in mice is also characterized by a generalized B cell activation and plasma cell differentiation, resulting in a marked increase in serum antibody concentration. Its effects on humoral memory are not clearly defined. We measured the effects of experimental sepsis on long-term immunological memory for a defined antigen: we induced colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP) 8 weeks after 2 rounds of immunization with ovalbumin. Four weeks later, the antigen-specific bone marrow plasma cell count had doubled in immunized non-septic animals, but remained unchanged in immunized septic animals. Sepsis also caused a decrease in antigen-specific serum antibody concentration. We conclude that sepsis weakens humoral memory by impeding the antigen-specific plasma cell pool’s development, which is not complete 8 weeks after secondary immunization.     

Protein Disulfide Isomerase 2 of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Is Involved in Circadian Rhythm Regulation

Protein disulfide isomerases （PDIs） are known to play important roles in the folding of nascent proteins and in the formation of disulfide bonds. Recently, we identified a PDI from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii （CrPDI2） by a mass spectrometry approach that is specifically enriched by heparin affinity chromatography in samples taken during the night phase. Here, we show that the recombinant CrPDI2 is a redox-active protein. It is reduced by thioredoxin reductase and catalyzes itself the reduction of insulin chains and the oxidative refolding of scrambled RNase A. By immunoblots, we confirm a high-amplitude change in abundance of the heparin-bound CrPDI2 during subjective night. Interestingly, we find that CrPDI2 is present in protein complexes of different sizes at both day and night. Among three identified interac- tion partners, one （a 2-cys peroxiredoxin） is present only during the night phase. To study a potential function of CrPDI2 within the circadian system, we have overexpressed its gene. Two transgenic lines were used to measure the rhythm of phototaxis~ In the transgenic strains, a change in the acrophase was observed. This indicates that CrPDI2 is involved in the circadian signaling pathway and, together with the night phase-specific interaction of CrPDI2 and a peroxiredoxin, these findings suggest a close coupling of redox processes and the circadian clock in C. reinhardtii.     

INPPO Actions and Recognition as a Driving Force for Progress in Plant Proteomics: Change of Guard,INPPO Update,and Upcoming Activities

The International Plant Proteomics Organization (INPPO) is a non‐profit organization whose members are scientists involved or interested in plant proteomics. Since the publication of the first INPPO highlights in 2012, continued progress on many of the organization's mandates/goals has been achieved. Two major events are emphasized in this second INPPO highlights. First, the change of guard at the top, passing of the baton from Dominique Job, INPPO founding President to Ganesh Kumar Agrawal as the incoming President. Ganesh K. Agrawal, along with Dominique Job and Randeep Rakwal initiated the INPPO. Second, the most recent INPPO achievements and future targets, mainly the organization of first the INPPO World Congress in 2014, tentatively planned for Hamburg (Germany), are mentioned.     

Completeness of Reporting of Patient-Relevant Clinical Trial Outcomes: Comparison of Unpublished Clinical Study Reports with Publicly Available Data

Background

Access to unpublished clinical study reports (CSRs) is currently being discussed as a means to allow unbiased evaluation of clinical research. The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) routinely requests CSRs from manufacturers for its drug assessments.Our objective was to determine the information gain from CSRs compared to publicly available sources (journal publications and registry reports) for patient-relevant outcomes included in IQWiG health technology assessments (HTAs) of drugs.

Methods and Findings

We used a sample of 101 trials with full CSRs received for 16 HTAs of drugs completed by IQWiG between 15 January 2006 and 14 February 2011, and analyzed the CSRs and the publicly available sources of these trials. For each document type we assessed the completeness of information on all patient-relevant outcomes included in the HTAs (benefit outcomes, e.g., mortality, symptoms, and health-related quality of life; harm outcomes, e.g., adverse events). We dichotomized the outcomes as “completely reported” or “incompletely reported.” For each document type, we calculated the proportion of outcomes with complete information per outcome category and overall.We analyzed 101 trials with CSRs; 86 had at least one publicly available source, 65 at least one journal publication, and 50 a registry report. The trials included 1,080 patient-relevant outcomes. The CSRs provided complete information on a considerably higher proportion of outcomes (86%) than the combined publicly available sources (39%). With the exception of health-related quality of life (57%), CSRs provided complete information on 78% to 100% of the various benefit outcomes (combined publicly available sources: 20% to 53%). CSRs also provided considerably more information on harms. The differences in completeness of information for patient-relevant outcomes between CSRs and journal publications or registry reports (or a combination of both) were statistically significant for all types of outcomes.The main limitation of our study is that our sample is not representative because only CSRs provided voluntarily by pharmaceutical companies upon request could be assessed. In addition, the sample covered only a limited number of therapeutic areas and was restricted to randomized controlled trials investigating drugs.

Conclusions

In contrast to CSRs, publicly available sources provide insufficient information on patient-relevant outcomes of clinical trials. CSRs should therefore be made publicly available. Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary     

The larva of Rhyacophila ferox Graf, 2006 (Trichoptera: Rhyacophilidae) from the Eastern Alps (Carinthia,Austria)

The hitherto unknown larva of Rhyacophila ferox Graf, 2006, is described and discussed in the context of contemporary Rhyacophilidae keys. In addition, zoogeographical and ecological notes are included.