ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF γ-AMINOBUTYRYL-CYSTATHIONINE FROM HUMAN BRAIN AND CSF

Abstract— A new dipeptide, γ-aminobutyryl-cystathionine, has been identified in human brain and CSF. The compound was isolated from peptide concentrates which were prepared by removing free a-amino acids from deproteinized brain extracts on a copper Sephadex column. The isolated peptide was shown to be GABA-Cysta by standard chemical methods, and its identification was confirmed by mass spectrometry. GABA-Cysta is present in both biopsy and autopsy specimens of adult human brain, its content in some brain areas being as high as 0.090 μrnol/g wet weight. Its concentration in CSF is much lower. What physiologic role this unusual peptide plays in brain remains to be determined.     

Identification of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) in the brain and pituitary gland of a fish by immunocytochemistry.

For the first time immunoreactive luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) is demonstrated in both the brain and pituitary gland of a teleost (Xiphophorus maculatus) using an immunoperoxidase procedure. It is specifically localized in the perikarya and their axons of the ventral telencephalon and nucleus lateralis tuberis and within and between the gonadotrops and within some cells of the pars intermedia. These immunoreactions are extinguished when antiserum to LH-RH is preincubated with LH-RH antigen but not with neurohypophysial hormones.     

Do western boxelder bugs sunbathe for sanitation? Inferences from in vitro experiments

When western boxelder bugs, Boisea rubrolineata (Barber) (Hemiptera: Rhopalidae), form aggregations in warm sunlight, they release from their posterior dorsal abdominal gland an odorous blend of monoterpenes with heretofore unknown biological function. In laboratory analyses and experiments, we show that bugs in warm sunlight, but not in shade, exude and spread copious amounts of monoterpenes onto their cuticle. These monoterpenes do not serve as a pheromone, but rather as a means of sanitation. They inhibit germination of conidia of the fungal pathogen Beauveria bassiana (Bals.‐Criv.) Vuill. (Hypocreales) as well as halt the growth of germinated spores. This prophylactic defense against pathogens appears adaptive for phytophagous insects, like B. rubrolineata, that are prone to infections by microbes thriving on leaf surfaces and in the insects' overwintering microhabitat.     

Patterns and Emerging Trends in Global Ocean Health

International and regional policies aimed at managing ocean ecosystem health need quantitative and comprehensive indices to synthesize information from a variety of sources, consistently measure progress, and communicate with key constituencies and the public. Here we present the second annual global assessment of the Ocean Health Index, reporting current scores and annual changes since 2012, recalculated using updated methods and data based on the best available science, for 221 coastal countries and territories. The Index measures performance of ten societal goals for healthy oceans on a quantitative scale of increasing health from 0 to 100, and combines these scores into a single Index score, for each country and globally. The global Index score improved one point (from 67 to 68), while many country-level Index and goal scores had larger changes. Per-country Index scores ranged from 41–95 and, on average, improved by 0.06 points (range -8 to +12). Globally, average scores increased for individual goals by as much as 6.5 points (coastal economies) and decreased by as much as 1.2 points (natural products). Annual updates of the Index, even when not all input data have been updated, provide valuable information to scientists, policy makers, and resource managers because patterns and trends can emerge from the data that have been updated. Changes of even a few points indicate potential successes (when scores increase) that merit recognition, or concerns (when scores decrease) that may require mitigative action, with changes of more than 10–20 points representing large shifts that deserve greater attention. Goal scores showed remarkably little covariance across regions, indicating low redundancy in the Index, such that each goal delivers information about a different facet of ocean health. Together these scores provide a snapshot of global ocean health and suggest where countries have made progress and where a need for further improvement exists.     

Plant succession in areas of scorched and blown-down forest after the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens,Washington

Abstract. Patterns of plant succession were studied in areas of scorched and blown-down forest resulting from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington. Changes in species abundance were observed for 7 years in permanent sample plots representing four post-disturbance habitats, or site types. Total plant cover and species richness increased with time on all site types. In blown-down forests supporting snowpack at the time of eruption, understory recovery was dominated by the vegetative regeneration of species persisting through disturbance. In forests without snowpacks, plant survival was poorer. Increases in cover and diversity were dominated first by introduced grasses, then by colonizing forbs characteristic of early successional sites. Epilo-bium angustifolium and Anaphalis margaritacea showed widespread recruitment and clonal expansion throughout the devastated area. As a result, species composition on previously forested sites converged toward that on formerly clearcut sites, where early serai forbs resprouted vigorously from beneath the tephra. Total plant cover and species diversity were poorly correlated with post-disturbance habitat and general site characteristics (e.g. distance from the crater, elevation, slope, and aspect). However, distributions of several life-forms (e.g. low sub-shrubs and tall shrubs) were strongly correlated with depth of burial by tephra and with cover of tree rootwads. Thus, early community recovery may reflect microsite variation or chance survival and recruitment rather than broad-scale gradients in environment or disturbance. Recovery of pre-disturbance composition and structure will undoubtedly be much slower than after other types of catastrophic disturbance. The rate and direction of community recovery will largely depend on the degree to which original understory species survived the eruption.     

Social perspectives on the use of reference conditions in restoration of fire‐adapted forest landscapes

As approaches to ecological restoration become increasingly large scale and collaborative, there is a need to better understand social aspects of restoration and how they influence land management. In this article, we examine social perspectives that influence the determination of ecological reference conditions in restoration. Our analysis is based on in‐depth interviews with diverse stakeholders involved in collaborative restoration of fire‐adapted forest landscapes. We conducted interviews with 86 respondents from six forest collaboratives that are part of the U.S. Forest Service's Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. Collaboratives use a variety of approaches to develop reference conditions, including historic, contemporary, and future scenarios. Historical conditions prior to European settlement (nineteenth century or “pre‐settlement” conditions), or prior to more recent grazing, logging, and exclusion of fire, were the predominant type of reference used in all sites. Stakeholders described benefits and limitations of reference conditions. Primary benefits include (1) providing a science‐based framework for bringing stakeholders together around a common vision; (2) gaining social understanding and acceptance of the underlying need for restoration; and (3) serving to neutralize otherwise value‐laden discussions about multiple, sometimes competing, resource objectives. Limitations stem from (1) concerns over social conflict when reference conditions are perceived to contradict other stakeholder values and interests, (2) differing interpretations of reference condition science, (3) inappropriate application or over‐generalization of reference information, and (4) limited relevance of historical references for current and future conditions in some ecosystems. At the same time, collaboratives are adopting innovative strategies to address conceptual and methodological limitations of reference conditions.