Holocene Sea Levels in Southeast Alaska: Preliminary Results

Natural raised marine deposits and archaeological sites recently discovered in southeastern Alaska have been measured relative to mean sea level and radiocarbon dated. Plots of sites on Heceta and Prince of Wales islands are compared to those developed for British Columbia. The Heceta Island curve is comparable to that of the Queen Charlotte Islands, in which pre-Holocene shorelines were lower than present until about 10,000 B.P. and then rose to a maximum of 15 m asl by 8500 B.P., when gradual emergence began to bring the sea level down to its present position. In contrast, the Prince of Wales Islands data indicate that sea level remained a few metres above its present position between 10,000 and 7000 B.P. - a time when the shores of mainland British Columbia were as much as 15 m below present sea level. Because Holocene sea levels are a function of isostatic rebound due to removal of glacial ice, as well as global sea level changes and tectonic activity, the implication is that whereas Heceta Island underwent processes and magnitudes of glaciation and isostatic rebound similar to the Queen Charlotte Islands, Prince of Wales Island was subjected to a pattern of glaciation and isostatic rebound different from that of the Queen Charlotte Islands and mainland of British Columbia.Key words: Alaska, Alexander Archipelago, archaeology, eustacy, geomorphology, glaciation, Holocene, isostacy, sea level, QuaternaryMots clés: Alaska, archipel Alexander, archéologie, eustatisme, géomorphologie, glaciation, holocène, isostasie, niveau de la mer, quaternair

RESEARCH Open Access

Herbal adaptogens combined with protein fractions from bovine colostrum and hen egg yolk reduce liver TNF-α expression and protein carbonylation in Western diet feeding in rat

NHERF1/EBP50 is an organizer of polarity structures and a diagnostic marker in ependymoma

NHERF1/EBP50, an adaptor protein required for epithelial morphogenesis, has been implicated in the progression of various human malignancies. NHERF1-deficient mice have intestinal brush border structural defects and we report here that they also have disorganized ependymal cilia with development of non-obstructive hydrocephalus. Examination of mouse and human brain tissues revealed highest NHERF1 expression at the apical plasma membrane of ependymal cells. In ependymal tumors, NHERF1 expression was retained in polarized membrane structures, such as microlumens, rosettes and canals, where it co-localized with some of its ligands, such as moesin and PTEN. Analysis of a comprehensive panel of 113 tumors showed robust NHERF1 labeling of microlumens in 100% of ependymomas, subependymomas, and pediatric anaplastic ependymomas, and in 67% of adult anaplastic ependymomas. NHERF1 staining was present in 35% of ependymoma cases that lacked reactivity for EMA, the routine immunohistochemical marker used for ependymoma diagnosis. NHERF1 labeling of microlumens was either absent or rarely seen in other types of brain tumors analyzed, denoting NHERF1 as a reliable diagnostic marker of ependymal tumors. Anaplastic foci and a subset of adult anaplastic ependymomas showed complete absence of NHERF1-labeled polarity structures, consistent with a loss of differentiation in these aggressive tumors. These data highlight a role for NHERF1 in ependymal morphogenesis with direct application to the diagnosis of ependymal tumors. Keywords: NHERF1/EBP50 Ependymoma Hydrocephalus Polarity Moesin PTE

A broad spectral, interdisciplinary investigation of the electromagnetic properties of sea ice

This paper highlights the interrelationship of research completed by a team of investigators and presented in the several individual papers comprising this Special Section on the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Arlington, VA, Sponsored Sea Ice Electromagnetics Accelerated Research Initiative (ARI). The objectives of the initiative were the following: 1) understand the mechanisms and processes that link the morphological and physical properties of sea ice to its electromagnetic (EM) characteristics; 2) develop and verify predictive models for the interaction of visible, infrared, and microwave radiation with sea ice; 3) develop and verify inverse scattering techniques applicable to problems involving the interaction of EM radiation with sea ice. Guiding principles for the program were that all EM data be taken with concurrent physical property data (salinity, density, roughness, etc.) and that broad spectral data be acquired in as nearly a simultaneous fashion as possible. Over 30 investigators participated in laboratory, field, and modeling studies that spanned the EM spectrum from radio to ultraviolet wavelengths. An interdisciplinary approach that brought together sea ice physicists, remote-sensing experts tin EM measurements), and forward and inverse modelers (primarily mathematicians and EM theorists) was a hallmark of the program. Along with describing results from experiments and modeling efforts, possible paradigms for using broad spectral data in developing algorithms for analyzing remote-sensing data in terms of ice concentration, age, type, and possibly thickness are briefly discussed

Candidate chemoreceptor subfamilies differentially expressed in the chemosensory organs of the mollusc Aplysia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Marine molluscs, as is the case with most aquatic animals, rely heavily on olfactory cues for survival. In the mollusc <it>Aplysia californica</it>, mate-attraction is mediated by a blend of water-borne protein pheromones that are detected by sensory structures called rhinophores. The expression of G protein and phospholipase C signaling molecules in this organ is consistent with chemosensory detection being via a G-protein-coupled signaling mechanism.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we show that novel multi-transmembrane proteins with similarity to rhodopsin G-protein coupled receptors are expressed in sensory epithelia microdissected from the <it>Aplysia </it>rhinophore. Analysis of the <it>A. californica </it>genome reveals that these are part of larger multigene families that possess features found in metazoan chemosensory receptor families (that is, these families chiefly consist of single exon genes that are clustered in the genome). Phylogenetic analyses show that the novel <it>Aplysia </it>G-protein coupled receptor-like proteins represent three distinct monophyletic subfamilies. Representatives of each subfamily are restricted to or differentially expressed in the rhinophore and oral tentacles, suggesting that they encode functional chemoreceptors and that these olfactory organs sense different chemicals. Those expressed in rhinophores may sense water-borne pheromones. Secondary signaling component proteins Gα_q, Gα_i, and Gα_oare also expressed in the rhinophore sensory epithelium.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The novel rhodopsin G-protein coupled receptor-like gene subfamilies identified here do not have closely related identifiable orthologs in other metazoans, suggesting that they arose by a lineage-specific expansion as has been observed in chemosensory receptor families in other bilaterians. These candidate chemosensory receptors are expressed and often restricted to rhinophores and oral tentacles, lending support to the notion that water-borne chemical detection in <it>Aplysia </it>involves species- or lineage-specific families of chemosensory receptors.</p

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

Nerve growth factor and the neurotrophic factor hypothesis

The discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF) over 40 years ago led to the formulation of the “Neurotrophic Factor Hypothesis”. This hypothesis states that developing neurons compete with each other for a limited supply of a neurotrophic factor (NTF) provided by the target tissue. Successful competitors survive; unsuccessful ones die. Subsequent research on NTFs has shown that NTF expression and actions are considerably more complex and diverse than initially predicted. Even for NGF, different regulatory patterns are seen for different neuronal populations. As would be predicted by the “Neurotrophic Factor Hypothesis”, NGF levels critically regulate basal forebrain cholinergic neuron size and neurochemical differentiation. In contrast, the level of trkA, the NGF receptor, regulates these properties in caudate-putamen cholinergic neurons. Understanding NTF regulation and actions on neurons has led to their use in clinical trials of human neurological diseases. NTFs may emerge as important therapies to prevent neuronal dysfunction and death