Feeding biology and prey of Dolomedes fimbriatus (Araneae: Pisauridae)

Erstmals wurden die Beutetiere von Individuen der Spezies Dolomedes fimbriatus, die in Heidemooren leben, qualitativ und auch quantitativ erfaßt. Der Ansitz lauernder bzw. beutegreifender Spinnen korreliert danach jahresperiodisch mit dem Auftreten und dem Aufenthaltsort potentieller Beutetiere. Für alle Größen- und Altersklassen von Spinnen erweist sich das Nahrungsspektrum als breit gefächert, es umfaßt auch syntopische Spinnenarten. Insgesamt ist festzuhalten, daß anteilmäßig diejenigen Arten von Fluginsekten erbeutet werden, die zu den jeweiligen Jahreszeiten auch die höchsten Abundanzen im Gebiet aufweisen. Hieraus resultiert auch die auffallende Beutedimension für die 6-9mm große Dolomedes-Kategorie. Bemerkenswert ist zudem der hohe Beuteanteil von Individuen der eigenen Art im Frühjahr und Herbst. Kannibalismus scheint so den Fortbestand der Population in Zeiten der Nahrungsknappheit zu sichem.In 369 individuals of feeding Dolomedes fimbriatus (all stages/sizes) living in moorlands of Northwestem Germany, field studies were carried out, in particular conceming relations of spider size, kincllsize of prey and lurking-site as well. Findings reveal extremely variable food types, depending on seasonal fluctuations of active prey species and of lurking-sites of Dolomedes. Largest prey (relative to spider size) is not captured by the big sized preadults or adults, but by juveniles of 6-9mm length. The prey spectrum comprises also syntopical spiders and opilionids. Surprisingly cannibalism among Dolomedes individuals is rather frequent in spring and autumn and may serve to maintain the population when prey is rare

Plexin-B2 Negatively Regulates Macrophage Motility, Rac, and Cdc42 Activation

Plexins are cell surface receptors widely studied in the nervous system, where they mediate migration and morphogenesis though the Rho family of small GTPases. More recently, plexins have been implicated in immune processes including cell-cell interaction, immune activation, migration, and cytokine production. Plexin-B2 facilitates ligand induced cell guidance and migration in the nervous system, and induces cytoskeletal changes in overexpression assays through RhoGTPase. The function of Plexin-B2 in the immune system is unknown. This report shows that Plexin-B2 is highly expressed on cells of the innate immune system in the mouse, including macrophages, conventional dendritic cells, and plasmacytoid dendritic cells. However, Plexin-B2 does not appear to regulate the production of proinflammatory cytokines, phagocytosis of a variety of targets, or directional migration towards chemoattractants or extracellular matrix in mouse macrophages. Instead, Plxnb2−/− macrophages have greater cellular motility than wild type in the unstimulated state that is accompanied by more active, GTP-bound Rac and Cdc42. Additionally, Plxnb2−/− macrophages demonstrate faster in vitro wound closure activity. Studies have shown that a closely related family member, Plexin-B1, binds to active Rac and sequesters it from downstream signaling. The interaction of Plexin-B2 with Rac has only been previously confirmed in yeast and bacterial overexpression assays. The data presented here show that Plexin-B2 functions in mouse macrophages as a negative regulator of the GTPases Rac and Cdc42 and as a negative regulator of basal cell motility and wound healing

Vergleichende morphologische und histologische untersuchungen am geruchsorgan der knochenfische

1. Untersucht wurden 18 Knochenfischarten aus 13 Familien.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47539/1/435_2004_Article_BF00429940.pd

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Ernährungsbiologie und Nahrungsspektrum der Gerandeten Jagdspinne Dolomedes fimbriatus (Araneae: Pisauridae)

In 369 individuals of feeding Dolomedes fimbriatus (all stages/sizes) living in moorlands of Northwestern Germany, field studies were carried out, in particular concerning relations of spider size, kind/size of prey and lurking-site as well. Findings reveal extremely variable food types, depending on seasonal fluctuations of active prey species and of lurking-sites of Dolomedes. Largest prey (relative to spider size) is not captured by the big sized preadults or adults, but by juveniles of 6-9mm length. The prey spectrum comprises also syntopical spiders and opilionids. Surprisingly cannibalism among Dolomedes individuals is rahter requent in spring and autumn and may serve to maintain the population when prey is rare

Diabetic foot syndrome in patients with diabetes : a multicenter German/Austrian DPV analysis on 33 870 patients

Aims: The diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) is a serious complication in patients with diabetes increasing the risk for minor/major amputations. This analysis aimed to examine differences in diabetes patients with or without DFS stratified by type 1 (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D). Material and Methods: Adult patients (≥20y of age) with diabetes from the German/Austrian diabetes patients follow‐up registry (DPV) were included. The cross‐sectional study comprised 45 722 subjects with T1D (nDFS= 2966) and 313 264 with T2D (nDFS= 30 904). In DFS, minor/major amputations were analysed. To compare HbA1C, neuropathy, nephropathy, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and macrovascular complications between patients with or without DFS, regression models were conducted. Confounders: age, sex, diabetes duration. Results: In patients with DFS, a minor amputation was documented in 27.2% (T1D) and 25.9% (T2D), a major amputation in 10.2% (T1D) and 11.3% (T2D). Regression models revealed that neuropathy was more frequent in subjects with DFS compared with patients without DFS (T1D: 70.7 vs 29.8%; T2D: 59.4% vs 36.9%; both P< 0.0001). Hypertension, nephropathy, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, or myocardial infarction was more common compared with patients without DFS (all P< 0.0001). In T1D with DFS, a slightly higher HbA1C (8.11% vs 7.95%; P< 0.0001) and in T2D with DFS a lower HbA1C (7.49% vs 7.69%; P< 0.0001)was observed. Conclusions: One third of the patients with DFS had an amputation of the lower extremity. Especially neuropathy or peripheral vascular disease was more prevalent in patients with DFS. New concepts to prevent DFS‐induced amputations and to reduce cardiovascular risk factors before the occurrence of DFS are necessary. © In Copyright http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0

Female sex, young age, northern German residence, hypoglycemia and disabling diabetes complications are associated with depressed mood in the WHO-5 questionnaire – A multicenter DPV study among 17,563 adult patients with type 2 diabetes

Background Like other mental illnesses, depression is a culturally sensitive topic. Hence, findings cannot be transferred between countries. We investigated the frequency of depressed mood and its association with diabetes-related factors in a large type 2 diabetes (T2D) cohort from real-life care in Germany. Methods 17,563 adults (median [IQR]: 64.5[55.9–71.1] years) from the multicenter diabetes follow-up registry, DPV (diabetes prospective follow-up), were investigated. All had completed the WHO-5 questionnaire, a screening tool for depression. Logistic regression was applied to study the association of demographic and diabetes-related factors with depressed mood (SAS 9.4). P<0.05 was considered significant. Results Using a WHO-5 cut-off of <13, 27.4% of patients were at risk for depressed mood. A clinical depression diagnosis was recognized in 8.4%. Female sex (OR: 1.5[95%-CI: 1.4–1.6]), young age (1.2[1.1–1.4]), longer diabetes duration (1.2[1.1–1.3]), and living in Northern Germany (1.3[1.2–1.4]) were each associated with increased odds for depressed mood. After adjusting for these confounders, worse glycemic control (1.4[1.3–1.5]), insulin use (1.3[1.2–1.4]), myocardial infarction (1.3[1.2–1.5]), stroke (1.8[1.5–2.0]), retinopathy (1.4[1.3–1.6]), renal failure (1.4[1.2–1.8]), diabetic foot syndrome (1.3[1.2–1.4]), severe hypoglycemia (1.5[1.2–1.9]), two or more inpatient admissions (2.1[1.8–2.4]), and longer duration of hospital stay (1-<14 days: 1.3[1.2–2.3]; >14 days: 2.1[1.9–2.3]) were related to depressed mood. Limitation Due to the cross-sectional design, no causality can be drawn. Conclusions In T2D, depressed mood is not uncommon. However, in routine care a clinical depression might be missed and regular screening is advisable. Besides the well-known associations with depressed mood, northern German residence and mainly life-compromising diabetes comorbidities were identified as related factors

The impact of employee involvement on small firms' financial performance

The author examines the relationship between employee involvement (EI) and small firms' financial performance using statistical analyses of establishment-level data from the 1990 Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. The author finds EI practices and EI combinations which 'work' for small-firm establishments are very different from those that work for large-firm establishments. The least bureaucratic and least costly EI methods have the potential to benefit small firms most. Whether they actually do so depends on the array of other EI and non-EI practices in operation: an inappropriate configuration can have a negative effect on performance. The findings take account of factors associated with being an 'EI firm'