Plant intraspecific functional trait variation is related to within‐habitat heterogeneity and genetic diversity in Trifolium montanum L.

Intraspecific trait variation (ITV), based on available genetic diversity, is one of the major means plant populations can respond to environmental variability. The study of functional trait variation and diversity has become popular in ecological research, for example, as a proxy for plant performance influencing fitness. Up to now, it is unclear which aspects of intraspecific functional trait variation (iFD_CV) can be attributed to the environment or genetics under natural conditions. Here, we examined 260 individuals from 13 locations of the rare (semi‐)dry calcareous grassland species Trifolium montanum L. in terms of iFD_CV, within‐habitat heterogeneity, and genetic diversity. The iFD_CV was assessed by measuring functional traits (releasing height, biomass, leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, F_v/F_m, performance index, stomatal pore surface, and stomatal pore area index). Abiotic within‐habitat heterogeneity was derived from altitude, slope exposure, slope, leaf area index, soil depth, and further soil factors. Based on microsatellites, we calculated expected heterozygosity (H_e) because it best‐explained, among other indices, iFD_CV. We performed multiple linear regression models quantifying relationships among iFD_CV, abiotic within‐habitat heterogeneity and genetic diversity, and also between separate functional traits and abiotic within‐habitat heterogeneity or genetic diversity. We found that abiotic within‐habitat heterogeneity influenced iFD_CV twice as strong compared to genetic diversity. Both aspects together explained 77% of variation in iFD_CV ( = .77, F_{2, 10} = 21.66, p < .001). The majority of functional traits (releasing height, biomass, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, F_v/F_m, and performance index) were related to abiotic habitat conditions indicating responses to environmental heterogeneity. In contrast, only morphology‐related functional traits (releasing height, biomass, and leaf area) were related to genetics. Our results suggest that both within‐habitat heterogeneity and genetic diversity affect iFD_CV and are thus crucial to consider when aiming to understand or predict changes of plant species performance under changing environmental conditions.     

Fire history of an isolated subalpine mountain range of the Intermountain Region,United States

Fire has historically been an important ecological component of forests in the Intermountain Region of the northwestern United States. This study is set in a small biogeographically disjunct mountain range. Our research objectives were to (1) investigate the historical frequency, severity, size, and spatial pattern of fire; (2) determine if and how fire regimes have changed since Euro-American settlement; and (3) compare how fire regimes of a small isolated range compare to nearby, but considerably larger, mountain agglomerations. Our findings suggest that this mountain range has historically supported fires typified by small size and high frequency, resulting in a high degree of spatial pattern complexity compared to mountain agglomerations. We also found disparity in size and burn severity solely within the study area based on the bisecting Continental Divide. Since the advent of Euro-American settlement in the 1870s, fire frequency and sizes of individual fires in the West Big Hole Range have significantly decreased resulting in an estimated 87% reduction in area burned. We discuss potential relationships of mountain range isolation and fire regimes in the Intermountain Region. Furthermore, we suggest that the relative small size of this mountain range predisposes it to greater anthropogenic effects upon fire occurrence.     

Low serum interleukin-6 levels as a predictive marker of recurrence in patients with hepatitis B virus related hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent curative treatment

BackgroundWe aimed to investigate the use of novel serum biomarkers for predicting the recurrence and survival of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatic resection or radiofrequency ablation (RFA).MethodsOne hundred and five patients with HBV-related HCC, who fulfilled the Milan criteria without vascular invasion and underwent hepatic resection or RFA, were followed-up for a median duration of 52 months. Pretreatment serum concentrations of 16 cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured by using a Luminex 200 system. The measured serum cytokines and several clinical factors were analyzed retrospectively.ResultsUnivariate analysis showed that patients with lower pretreatment serum levels of IL-10, IL-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α had significantly shorter disease-free survival (DFS) than those with higher levels. Multivariate analysis revealed that a low serum IL-6 level (⩽33.00 pg/mL; hazard ratio [HR] = 5.39; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27–22.93; P = 0.022), low platelet count (<100 × 10⁹/L; HR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.28–3.89; P = 0.005), and low serum albumin level (⩽3.5 g/L; HR = 2.26; 95% CI = 1.28–3.97; P = 0.005) had a negative prognostic impact on DFS. In the analysis for overall survival, a low serum platelet level (<100 × 10⁹/L; HR = 2.80; 95% CI = 1.31–5.99; P = 0.008) and multiple tumor (⩾2; HR = 4.05; 95% CI = 1.56–10.48; P = 0.004) showed a negative prognostic impact on the overall survival.ConclusionA low serum IL-6 level is, in addition to low platelet count and low serum albumin level, an independent prognostic factor for DFS in patients with HBV-related early HCC who underwent hepatic resection or RFA with curative intention.     

DIA-Based Proteomics Identifies IDH2 as a Targetable Regulator of Acquired Drug Resistance in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Drug resistance is a critical obstacle to effective treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. To understand the underlying resistance mechanisms in response to imatinib mesylate (IMA) and adriamycin (ADR), the parental K562 cells were treated with low doses of IMA or ADR for 2 months to generate derivative cells with mild, intermediate, and severe resistance to the drugs as defined by their increasing resistance index. PulseDIA-based (DIA [data-independent acquisition]) quantitative proteomics was then employed to reveal the proteome changes in these resistant cells. In total, 7082 proteins from 98,232 peptides were identified and quantified from the dataset using four DIA software tools including OpenSWATH, Spectronaut, DIA-NN, and EncyclopeDIA. Sirtuin signaling pathway was found to be significantly enriched in both ADR-resistant and IMA-resistant K562 cells. In particular, isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2 was identified as a potential drug target correlated with the drug resistance phenotype, and its inhibition by the antagonist AGI-6780 reversed the acquired resistance in K562 cells to either ADR or IMA. Together, our study has implicated isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2 as a potential target that can be therapeutically leveraged to alleviate the drug resistance in K562 cells when treated with IMA and ADR.     

Limitations of Chromogranin A in clinical practice

Context: Usefulness of circulating Chromogranin A (CgA) for the diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumors (NEN) is controversial. The aim of the present study was to assess the actual role of this marker as diagnostic tool. Methods: Serum blood samples were obtained from 42 subjects affected with NEN, 120 subjects affected with non-endocrine neoplasias (non-NEN) and 100 non-neoplastic subjects affected with benign nodular goitre (NNG). Determination of CgA was performed by means of immunoradiometric assay. Results: The CgA levels among NEN-patients were not significantly different from NNG and non-NEN subjects. The Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis failed to identify a feasible cut-off value for the differential diagnosis between NEN and the other conditions. Conclusion: Serum CgA is not helpful for the first-line diagnosis of NEN.     

Cytological features of chronic follicular cervicitis in liquid-based specimens: a potential diagnostic pitfall

A review of negative split-sample cervical cytology cases revealed five cases reported as chronic follicular cervicitis. These cases showed characteristic morphological features in conventional smears with lymphoid cells, plasma cells and tingible body macrophages smeared across the slides. This contrasts with the presentation of ThinPrep samples (Cytic Corporation, Boxburgh, MA, USA), where cells were observed aggregated in clumps. The different presentation noted in liquid-based samples may require careful microscopic evaluation at high-power magnification.     

Fence-Line Contact Between Wild and Farmed Cervids in Colorado: Potential for Disease Transmission

Abstract: Direct and indirect contact between wild and farmed cervids along perimeter fences may play a role in transmission of diseases like chronic wasting disease (CWD), but no studies have quantified such interactions. At 9 high-fenced commercial elk (Cervus elaphus) farms in Colorado, USA, during October 2003 to January 2005, we used animal-activated video to estimate rates of fence-line use by wild cervids, rates of direct contact between farmed and wild cervids, and probability of direct contact when wild cervids were present. We recorded 8-fold-more wild elk per unit time than mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) at fence lines. Depending on site, we recorded 0.66 to 46.90 wild elk per 1,000 hours of camera monitoring. We documented 77 interactions between wild and farmed elk involving naso-oral contact and no contact between wild mule deer and farmed elk. Rate of direct contact ranged from 0.00 to 1.92 direct contacts per 1,000 hours of camera monitoring among sites. Given recorded presence of wild elk, estimated probability of observing direct contact during a 2-minute video recording ranged from 0.00 to 0.11 among sites. Risk of direct contact was about 3.5 times greater for single woven-wire fence compared with offset electric fence attached to a single woven-wire fence. We observed no direct contact through double woven-wire fences. Because little is currently known about infection rates associated with infection mechanisms, we cannot infer a level of CWD infection risk from our results, but some form of double fencing should reduce potential for direct and indirect transmission of disease into or out of elk farms.     

Particulate organic matter in a mountain stream in the south-western Cape,South Africa

The quality and quantity of allochthonous inputs and of benthic organic matter were investigated in a second-order, perennial mountain stream in the south-west Cape, South Africa, between April 1983 and January 1986. Although the endemic, riparian vegetation is sclerophyllous, low and evergreen, inputs of allochthonous detritus to the stream (434 to 500 g m^–2y^–1) were similar to those recorded for riparian communities worldwide, as were calorific values of these inputs (9548 to 10 032 KJ m^–2y^–1). Leaf fall of the riparian vegetation is seasonal, occurring in spring (November) as discharge decreases, resulting in retention of benthic organic matter (BOM) on the stream bed during summer and early autumn (maximum 224 g m^–2). Early winter rains (May) scoured the stream almost clean of benthic detritus (winter minimum 8 g m^–2). Therefore, BOM was predictably plentiful for about half of each year and predictably scarce for the other half. Coarse BOM (CBOM) and fine BOM (FBOM) constituted 46–64% of BOM standing stock, ultra-fine BOM (UBOM) 16–33% and leaf packs 13–24%. The mean annual calorific value of total BOM standing stock was 1709 KJ m^–2. Both standing stocks and total calorific values of BOM were lower than those reported for streams in other biogeographical regions. Values of C:N ratios decreased with decrease in BOM particle size (CBOM 27–100; FBOM 25–27; UBOM 13–19) with no seasonal trends. The stream is erosive with a poor ability to retain organic detritus. Its character appears to be dictated by abiotic factors, the most important of which is winter spates.