Biomass of Scyphozoan Jellyfish, and Its Spatial Association with 0-Group Fish in the Barents Sea

An 0-group fish survey is conducted annually in the Barents Sea in order to estimate fish population abundance. Data on jellyfish by-catch have been recorded since 1980, although this dataset has never been analysed. In recent years, however, the ecological importance of jellyfish medusae has become widely recognized. In this paper the biomass of jellyfish (medusae) in 0–60 m depths is calculated for the period 1980–2010. During this period the climate changed from cold to warm, and changes in zooplankton and fish distribution and abundance were observed. This paper discusses the less well known ecosystem component; jellyfish medusae within the Phylum Cnidaria, and their spatial and temporal variation. The long term average was ca. 9×108 kg, with some years showing biomasses in excess of 5×109 kg. The biomasses were low during 1980s, increased during 1990s, and were highest in early 2000s with a subsequent decline. The bulk of the jellyfish were observed in the central parts of the Barents Sea, which is a core area for most 0-group fishes. Jellyfish were associated with haddock in the western area, with haddock and herring in the central and coastal area, and with capelin in the northern area of the Barents Sea. The jellyfish were present in the temperature interval 1°C<T<10°C, with peak densities at ca. 5.5°C, and the greatest proportion of the jellyfish occurring between 4.0–7.0°C. It seems that the ongoing warming trend may be favourable for Barents Sea jellyfish medusae; however their biomass has showed a recent moderate decline during years with record high temperatures in the Barents Sea. Jellyfish are undoubtedly an important component of the Barents Sea ecosystem, and the data presented here represent the best summary of jellyfish biomass and distribution yet published for the region

A new chemical formulation for control of dental unit water line contamination: An 'in vitro' and clinical 'study'

BACKGROUND: Water delivered by dental units during routine dental practice is highly contaminated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a new chemical solution flushed through Dental Unit Water Lines (DUWL) for the control of contamination inside dental units. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six old dental units equipped with a device designed to automatically flush disinfecting solutions through the water system (Castellini Autosteril) were selected. Water samples from DUWL effluents were collected in each dental unit for 10 randomly selected days, before and after a 5 minute DUWL disinfecting cycle with TetraAcetylEthileneDiamine (TAED) and persalt (Ster4spray produced by Farmec spa, and distributed by Castellini spa). Water samples were plated in R2A Agar and cultured at room temperature for 7 days, and the total number of heterotrophic microorganisms counted and expressed in Log(10) CFU/mL A general linear model was fitted and multiple regression ANOVA for repeated measures was used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The mean contamination in DUWL effluent at baseline was 5.45 ± 0.35 CFU/mL (range 4.79 to 5.93 CFU/mL). When water samples were tested "in vitro" against the chemical, no growth of heterotrophic bacteria was detected after a 5 minute contact in any of the water samples tested. After undergoing a 5 minute disinfecting cycle with the chemical, DUWL mean contamination in water effluents was 2.01 ± 0.32 CFU/mL (range 1.30 to 2.74 CFU/mL) (significant difference with respect to baseline). CONCLUSIONS: An inbetween patient disinfecting procedure consisting of flushing DUWL with TAED and persalt equivalent to 0.26% peracetic acid could be useful in routine dental practice for cross-contamination control

Neural responses to others’ pain vary with psychopathic traits in healthy adult males

Disrupted empathic processing is a core feature of psychopathy. Neuroimaging data have suggested that individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits show atypical responses to others' pain in a network of brain regions typically recruited during empathic processing (anterior insula, inferior frontal gyrus, and mid- and anterior cingulate cortex). Here, we investigated whether neural responses to others' pain vary with psychopathic traits within the general population in a similar manner to that found in individuals at the extreme end of the continuum. As predicted, variation in psychopathic traits was associated with variation in neural responses to others' pain in the network of brain regions typically engaged during empathic processing. Consistent with previous research, our findings indicated the presence of suppressor effects in the association of levels of the affective-interpersonal and lifestyle-antisocial dimensions of psychopathy with neural responses to others' pain. That is, after controlling for the influence of the other dimension, higher affective-interpersonal psychopathic traits were associated with reduced neural responses to others' pain, whilst higher lifestyle-antisocial psychopathic traits were associated with increased neural responses to others' pain. Our findings provide further evidence that atypical function in this network might represent neural markers of disrupted emotional and empathic processing; that the two dimensions of psychopathy might tap into distinct underlying vulnerabilities; and, most importantly, that the relationships observed at the extreme end of the psychopathy spectrum apply to the nonclinical distribution of these traits, providing further evidence for continuities in the mechanisms underlying psychopathic traits across the general population

Small mammal responses to Amazonian forest islands are modulated by their forest dependence

Hydroelectric dams have induced widespread loss, fragmentation and degradation of terrestrial habitats in lowland tropical forests. Yet their ecological impacts have been widely neglected, particularly in developing countries, which are currently earmarked for exponential hydropower development. Here we assess small mammal assemblage responses to Amazonian forest habitat insularization induced by the 28-year-old Balbina Hydroelectric Dam. We sampled small mammals on 25 forest islands (0.83–1466 ha) and four continuous forest sites in the mainland to assess the overall community structure and species-specific responses to forest insularization. We classified all species according to their degree of forest-dependency using a multi-scale approach, considering landscape, patch and local habitat characteristics. Based on 65,520 trap-nights, we recorded 884 individuals of at least 22 small mammal species. Species richness was best predicted by island area and isolation, with small islands ( 200 ha; 10.8 ± 1.3 species) and continuous forest sites (∞ ha; 12.5 ± 2.5 species) exhibited similarly high species richness. Forest-dependent species showed higher local extinction rates and were often either absent or persisted at low abundances on small islands, where non-forest-dependent species became hyper-abundant. Species capacity to use non-forest habitat matrices appears to dictate small mammal success in small isolated islands. We suggest that ecosystem functioning may be highly disrupted on small islands, which account for 62.7% of all 3546 islands in the Balbina Reservoir

Integrated MicroRNA-mRNA-Analysis of Human Monocyte Derived Macrophages upon Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis Infection

Many efforts have been made to understand basal mechanisms of mycobacterial infections. Macrophages are the first line of host immune defence to encounter and eradicate mycobacteria. Pathogenic species have evolved different mechanisms to evade host response, e.g. by influencing macrophage apoptotic pathways. However, the underlying molecular regulation is not fully understood. A new layer of eukaryotic regulation of gene expression is constituted by microRNAs. Therefore, we present a comprehensive study for identification of these key regulators and their targets in the context of host macrophage response to mycobacterial infections.We performed microRNA as well as mRNA expression analysis of human monocyte derived macrophages infected with several Mycobacterium avium hominissuis strains by means of microarrays as well as quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). The data revealed the ability of all strains to inhibit apoptosis by transcriptional regulation of BCL2 family members. Accordingly, at 48 h after infection macrophages infected with all M. avium strains showed significantly decreased caspase 3 and 7 activities compared to the controls. Expression of let-7e, miR-29a and miR-886-5p were increased in response to mycobacterial infection at 48 h. The integrated analysis of microRNA and mRNA expression as well as target prediction pointed out regulative networks identifying caspase 3 and 7 as potential targets of let-7e and miR-29a, respectively. Consecutive reporter assays verified the regulation of caspase 3 and 7 by these microRNAs.We show for the first time that mycobacterial infection of human macrophages causes a specific microRNA response. We furthermore outlined a regulatory network of potential interactions between microRNAs and mRNAs. This study provides a theoretical concept for unveiling how distinct mycobacteria could manipulate host cell response. In addition, functional relevance was confirmed by uncovering the control of major caspases 3 and 7 by let-7e and miR-29a, respectively

The Regulation of miRNA-211 Expression and Its Role in Melanoma Cell Invasiveness

The immediate molecular mechanisms behind invasive melanoma are poorly understood. Recent studies implicate microRNAs (miRNAs) as important agents in melanoma and other cancers. To investigate the role of miRNAs in melanoma, we subjected human melanoma cell lines to miRNA expression profiling, and report a range of variations in several miRNAs. Specifically, compared with expression levels in melanocytes, levels of miR-211 were consistently reduced in all eight non-pigmented melanoma cell lines we examined; they were also reduced in 21 out of 30 distinct melanoma samples from patients, classified as primary in situ, regional metastatic, distant metastatic, and nodal metastatic. The levels of several predicted target mRNAs of miR-211 were reduced in melanoma cell lines that ectopically expressed miR-211. In vivo target cleavage assays confirmed one such target mRNA encoded by KCNMA1. Mutating the miR-211 binding site seed sequences at the KCNMA1 3′-UTR abolished target cleavage. KCNMA1 mRNA and protein expression levels varied inversely with miR-211 levels. Two different melanoma cell lines ectopically expressing miR-211 exhibited significant growth inhibition and reduced invasiveness compared with the respective parental melanoma cell lines. An shRNA against KCNMA1 mRNA also demonstrated similar effects on melanoma cells. miR-211 is encoded within the sixth intron of TRPM1, a candidate suppressor of melanoma metastasis. The transcription factor MITF, important for melanocyte development and function, is needed for high TRPM1 expression. MITF is also needed for miR-211 expression, suggesting that the tumor-suppressor activities of MITF and/or TRPM1 may at least partially be due to miR-211's negative post transcriptional effects on the KCNMA1 transcript. Given previous reports of high KCNMA1 levels in metastasizing melanoma, prostate cancer and glioma, our findings that miR-211 is a direct posttranscriptional regulator of KCNMA1 expression as well as the dependence of this miRNA's expression on MITF activity, establishes miR-211 as an important regulatory agent in human melanoma

Psychopathic leadership a case study of a corporate psychopath CEO

This longitudinal case study reports on a charity in the UK which gained a new CEO who was reported by two middle managers who worked in the charity, to embody (respectively) all or most of the ten characteristics within a measure of corporate psychopathy. The leadership of this CEO with a high corporate psychopathy score was reported to be so poor that the organisation was described as being one without leadership and as a lost organisation with no direction. This paper outlines the resultant characteristics of the ensuing aimlessness and lack of drive of the organisation involved. Comparisons are made to a previous CEO in the same organisation, who was reportedly an authentic, effective and transformational leader. Outcomes under the CEO with a high corporate psychopathy score were related to bullying, staff withdrawal and turnover as effective employees stayed away from and/or left the organisation. Outcomes also included a marked organisational decline in terms of revenue, employee commitment, creativity and organisational innovativeness. The paper makes a contribution to both leadership and to corporate psychopathy research as it appears to be the first reported study of a CEO with a high corporate psychopathy score

Developing expert scientific consensus on the environmental and societal effects of marine artificial structures prior to decommissioning

Thousands of artificial ('human-made') structures are present in the marine environment, many at or approaching end-of-life and requiring urgent decisions regarding their decommissioning. No consensus has been reached on which decommissioning option(s) result in optimal environmental and societal outcomes, in part, owing to a paucity of evidence from real-world decommissioning case studies. To address this significant challenge, we asked a worldwide panel of scientists to provide their expert opinion. They were asked to identify and characterise the ecosystem effects of artificial structures in the sea, their causes and consequences, and to identify which, if any, should be retained following decommissioning. Experts considered that most of the pressures driving ecological and societal effects from marine artificial structures (MAS) were of medium severity, occur frequently, and are dependent on spatial scale with local-scale effects of greater magnitude than regional effects. The duration of many effects following decommissioning were considered to be relatively short, in the order of days. Overall, environmental effects of structures were considered marginally undesirable, while societal effects marginally desirable. Experts therefore indicated that any decision to leave MAS in place at end-of-life to be more beneficial to society than the natural environment. However, some individual environmental effects were considered desirable and worthy of retention, especially in certain geographic locations, where structures can support improved trophic linkages, increases in tourism, habitat provision, and population size, and provide stability in population dynamics. The expert analysis consensus that the effects of MAS are both negative and positive for the environment and society, gives no strong support for policy change whether removal or retention is favoured until further empirical evidence is available to justify change to the status quo. The combination of desirable and undesirable effects associated with MAS present a significant challenge for policy- and decision-makers in their justification to implement decommissioning options. Decisions may need to be decided on a case-by-case basis accounting for the trade-off in costs and benefits at a local level

To what extent can decommissioning options for marine artificial structures move us toward environmental targets?

Switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy is key to international energy transition efforts and the move toward net zero. For many nations, this requires decommissioning of hundreds of oil and gas infrastructure in the marine environment. Current international, regional and national legislation largely dictates that structures must be completely removed at end-of-life although, increasingly, alternative decommissioning options are being promoted and implemented. Yet, a paucity of real-world case studies describing the impacts of decommissioning on the environment make decision-making with respect to which option(s) might be optimal for meeting in�ternational and regional strategic environmental targets challenging. To address this gap, we draw together international expertise and judgment from marine environmental scientists on marine artificial structures as an alternative source of evidence that explores how different decommissioning options might ameliorate pressures that drive environmental status toward (or away) from environmental objectives. Synthesis reveals that for 37 United Nations and Oslo-Paris Commissions (OSPAR) global and regional environmental targets, experts consider repurposing or abandoning individual structures, or abandoning multiple structures across a region, as the op�tions that would most strongly contribute toward targets. This collective view suggests complete removal may not be best for the environment or society. However, different decommissioning options act in different ways and make variable contributions toward environmental targets, such that policy makers and managers would likely need to prioritise some targets over others considering political, social, economic, and ecological contexts. Current policy may not result in optimal outcomes for the environment or society