Species loss of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in the Czech Republic during the 20th century

1. Rapid expansion and intensification of anthropogenic activities in the 20th century has caused profound changes in freshwater assemblages. Unfortunately, knowledge of the extent and causes of species loss (SL) is limited due to the lack of reliable historical data. An unusual data set allows us to compare changes in the most sensitive of aquatic insect orders, the Plecoptera, at some 170 locations in the Czech Republic between two time periods, 1955–1960 and 2006–2010. Historical data (1890–1911) on assemblages of six lowland rivers allow us to infer even earlier changes. 2. Regional stonefly diversity decreased in the first half of the 20th century. Streams at lower altitudes lost a substantial number of species, which were never recovered. In the second half of the century, large‐scale anthropogenic pressure caused SL in all habitats, leading to a dissimilarity of contemporary and previous assemblages. The greatest changes were found at sites affected by organic pollution and a mixture of organic pollution and channelisation or impoundment. Colonisation of new habitats was observed in only three of the 80 species evaluated. 3. Species of moderate habitat specialisation and tolerance to organic pollution were most likely to be lost. Those with narrow specialisations in protected habitats were present in both historical and contemporary collections. 4. Contemporary assemblages are the consequence of more than a 100 years of anthropogenic impacts. In particular, streams at lower altitude and draining intensively exploited landscapes host a mere fragment of the original species complement. Most stonefly species are less frequently present than before, although their assemblages remain almost intact in near‐natural mountain streams. Our analyses demonstrate dramatic restriction of species ranges and, in some cases, apparent changes in altitudinal preference throughout the area.     

Activation of hypothalamic RIP‐Cre neurons promotes beiging of WAT via sympathetic nervous system

Activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and beige fat by cold increases energy expenditure. Although their activation is known to be differentially regulated in part by hypothalamus, the underlying neural pathways and populations remain poorly characterized. Here, we show that activation of rat‐insulin‐promoter‐Cre (RIP‐Cre) neurons in ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) preferentially promotes recruitment of beige fat via a selective control of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) outflow to subcutaneous white adipose tissue (sWAT), but has no effect on BAT. Genetic ablation of APPL2 in RIP‐Cre neurons diminishes beiging in sWAT without affecting BAT, leading to cold intolerance and obesity in mice. Such defects are reversed by activation of RIP‐Cre neurons, inactivation of VMH AMPK, or treatment with a β3‐adrenergic receptor agonist. Hypothalamic APPL2 enhances neuronal activation in VMH RIP‐Cre neurons and raphe pallidus, thereby eliciting SNS outflow to sWAT and subsequent beiging. These data suggest that beige fat can be selectively activated by VMH RIP‐Cre neurons, in which the APPL2–AMPK signaling axis is crucial for this defending mechanism to cold and obesity.     

Conserved and hybrid meta-cleavage operons from PAH-degrading Burkholderia RP007.

We have compared the sequence and gene order of meta-cleavage pathway operons from alpha- and gamma-subgroups of the Proteobacteria with operons from Burkholderia sp. strain RP007 which belongs to the beta-subgroup of the Proteobacteria. Burkholderia RP007 was isolated for its ability to degrade phenanthrene and contains two meta-cleavage operons. One exhibits a comparable gene order to previously characterised gamma-subgroup Proteobacterial (Pseudomonas) meta operons, whilst the other has distinctive features present in both alpha- and gamma-subgroup Proteobacterial (Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas) meta operons. Gene sequence conservation, highlighted by examining the phylogeny of Proteobacterial catechol 2,3-dioxygenase sequences, reveals that sequences generally cluster in a manner which correlates with the taxonomic grouping of the Proteobacterial subgroup from which they originated.     

Short-term versus long-term risk for coronary artery disease: implications for lipid guidelines

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this article is to describe recent advances in our understanding of lifetime risks for cardiovascular disease and their implications for lipid guidelines. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies have indicated that, among younger and middle-aged adults, there is a large subset with low 10-year risk but high lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease. Individuals with high lifetime risks can be identified on the basis of single adverse risk factors or on the basis of overall risk factor burden. For example, using the ATP-III online risk estimator, a 45-year-old obese, nonsmoking, nondiabetic man with total cholesterol of 200 mg/dl, HDL-cholesterol of 40 mg/dl, and untreated systolic blood pressure of 135 mmHg has an estimated 10-year risk for hard coronary heart disease of 3%. In contrast, recent data indicate that his predicted remaining lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease is 50% and his predicted median survival is over 10 years shorter than a man at the same age with optimal risk factors. SUMMARY: Lifetime risk estimation for cardiovascular disease may be an important adjunct to short-term (10-year) risk estimation that may help identify more treatment-eligible individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease, improve risk communication, motivate changes in lifestyle and behaviors, and promote adherence to therapy.     

Frequent coexistence of anti-topoisomerase I and anti-U1RNP autoantibodies in African American patients associated with mild skin involvement: a retrospective clinical study

Introduction  

The presence of anti-topoisomerase I (topo I) antibodies is a classic scleroderma (SSc) marker presumably associated with a unique clinical subset. Here the clinical association of anti-topo I was reevaluated in unselected patients seen in a rheumatology clinic setting.     

Some problems associated with determining iron in plants

Summary 1. Iron which is shown to be present as a contaminant on leaf surfaces of tomato can be removed completely by washing the leaves for 30 sec in 0.3% teepol and water followed by a 30 sec rinsing in distilled water.2. By using radioactive iron it is shown that there was no loss of the metal from within the plants during leaf washing. Agreement between chemical and radioassay data for iron showed that the metal was completely removed by the wash procedure.3. In tomato grown in the glasshouse consistent differences between the iron contents of normal and chlorotic leaves were obtained after leaf washing. When the plants were grown in a dustproof chamber differences in iron status of green and chlorotic leaves were obtained without washing.4. Added radioactive and carrier iron was fully recovered from acid digests of a variety of plant material, specially chosen to represent a range of silica contents.