Assessing the climate change effects on the distribution pattern of the Azerbaijan Mountain Newt (Neurergus crocatus)

Climate change is a grave danger for humans and a looming threat to Earth's biodiversity in the twenty-first century. Assessing the vulnerability of species to climate change is critical for practical conservation efforts. Due to their limited dispersal ability, amphibians are one of the most vulnerable groups of vertebrates to climate change. Among them, the species that inhabit mountains suffer a tremendous amount of climate change-induced pressures. We, therefore, adopted the Azerbaijan Mountain Newt (Neurergus crocatus), which currently inhabits Northwest Iran, North Iraq, and Southeast Turkey, as a case study for assessing the effects of climate change on the distribution patterns of mountain amphibians. By applying the species distribution models (SDMs) in this study, we tried to hindcast the species distribution area in the past and illustrate the impacts of climate change on its distribution in the present and future (the 2050s and 2070s) climate conditions. Also, the patch metrics have been deployed for identifying habitat fragmentation. Our results indicate a more than 50% rise in the species’ current suitable habitats compared to its glacial refugia. The suitable habitat is expected to gradually decrease in RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5. Among the three countries in which the species occurs, its distribution overlaps with protected areas only in Iraq. The number of habitat patches will grow and reach approximately 20 to 60 patches by 2070 and the average area of the patches will decrease throughout this time. Aside from the numerous threats that endanger the species, climate change puts the long-term existence of Azerbaijan Newt in jeopardy. The results of this study stress the urgent need for taking extreme measures on the species management and conserving its remnant habitat patches.     

Seaweeds,then and now

An historical overview of meetings of the International Seaweed Symposium is presented. A summary of attempts since 1952 to establish a seaweed industry in British Columbia is given. A brief review of recent developments in the area in relation to a seaweed industry is outlined.     

PDBx/mmCIF Ecosystem: Foundational Semantic Tools for Structural Biology

PDBx/mmCIF, Protein Data Bank Exchange (PDBx) macromolecular Crystallographic Information Framework (mmCIF), has become the data standard for structural biology. With its early roots in the domain of small-molecule crystallography, PDBx/mmCIF provides an extensible data representation that is used for deposition, archiving, remediation, and public dissemination of experimentally determined three-dimensional (3D) structures of biological macromolecules by the Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB, wwpdb.org). Extensions of PDBx/mmCIF are similarly used for computed structure models by ModelArchive (modelarchive.org), integrative/hybrid structures by PDB-Dev (pdb-dev.wwpdb.org), small angle scattering data by Small Angle Scattering Biological Data Bank SASBDB (sasbdb.org), and for models computed generated with the AlphaFold 2.0 deep learning software suite (alphafold.ebi.ac.uk). Community-driven development of PDBx/mmCIF spans three decades, involving contributions from researchers, software and methods developers in structural sciences, data repository providers, scientific publishers, and professional societies. Having a semantically rich and extensible data framework for representing a wide range of structural biology experimental and computational results, combined with expertly curated 3D biostructure data sets in public repositories, accelerates the pace of scientific discovery. Herein, we describe the architecture of the PDBx/mmCIF data standard, tools used to maintain representations of the data standard, governance, and processes by which data content standards are extended, plus community tools/software libraries available for processing and checking the integrity of PDBx/mmCIF data. Use cases exemplify how the members of the Worldwide Protein Data Bank have used PDBx/mmCIF as the foundation for its pipeline for delivering Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data to many millions of users worldwide.     

The impact of SELP gene Thr715Pro polymorphism on sP-selectin level and association with cardiovascular disease in Saudi diabetic patients: A cross-sectional case-control study

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVD) are leading cause of mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Increased soluble sP-selectin and 715Thr > Pro polymorphism were studied in CVD and T2DM, but association between them hasn’t been explored in Saudi Arabia. We aimed to assess sP-selectin levels in T2DM and T2DM-associated CVD patients in comparison to healthy control cohort. Also, we sought to investigate relationship between Thr715Pro polymorphism and sP-selectin levels and disease state.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional case-control study. sP-selectin level (measured by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and prevalence of Thr715Pro polymorphism (assessed by Sanger sequencing) were investigated in 136 Saudi participants. The study comprised 3 groups: group1 included 41 T2DM patients; group 2 (48 T2DM patients with CVD), and group 3 (47 healthy controls).ResultssP-selectin levels were significantly higher in diabetics and diabetics + CVD groups as compared to the corresponding control. In addition, results showed that the prevalence of 715Thr > Pro polymorphism is 11.75 % in the study population amongst the three study groups (9.55 % Thr/Pro, and 2.2 % Pro/Pro). No statistical difference was found between sP-selectin levels in subject carrying the wildtype genotype of this polymorphism and these who carry the mutant gene. There could be an association between this polymorphism and T2DM, whilst the polymorphism may protect diabetic patients from having CVD. However, odds ratio is not statistically significant in both cases.ConclusionOur study supports the previous researches’ results that Thr715Pro is neither influencing the sP-selectin level nor the risk of CVD in T2DM patients.     

Preference of sweeteners among Saudi diabetes patients from a tertiary health care centre in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

BackgroundChoice of sweetening options can influence glyceamic control among patients with diabetes. This study aims to investigate the preference of added sweeteners for Saudi patients with diabetes, factors associated with the choice of sweeteners and the attitude of the patients towards the use of artificial sweeteners.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study conducted at King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and targeting Saudi patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Data was collected via personal interviews accessing medical records of interviewed patients. Patients were asked about consumption of sweeteners and types of consumed soft drinks on daily basis. Bi-variate analysis of the associations between choice of sweeteners and patients characteristics was performed and followed by binary logistic regression to adjust for potential confounders such as age, gender, and education level.ResultsA total of 302 Saudi diabetic patients were recruited in this investigation. Among this sample, frequency of patients reporting weekly consumption of white sugar was the highest (57%), followed by honey (26%) and artificial sweeteners (12% for powder form and 10.5% for tablets). Consumption of white sugar was significantly more frequent among patients with higher level of Body Mass Index (BMI) (P value < 0.05). The frequency of using honey was higher among females while consumption of either sugared or low calorie soft drinks was significantly higher among male patients (P values < 0.05). Upon asking the patients about their attitude towards artificial sweeteners, only 25% of the sample agreed that their use can aid in reduction of caloric intake while 35% of the sample agreed that artificial sweeteners can be harmful to the body.ConclusionsAmong this sample of type 2 diabetes patients, the frequency of white sugar and honey use as a sweetening option is high. These findings generate the need for further research to investigate the effectiveness of health education and nutritional advice among diabetes patients attending similar clinical settings in Saudi Arabia.