Alexandrium fundyense cysts in the Gulf of Maine : long-term time series of abundance and distribution, and linkages to past and future blooms

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 103 (2014): 6-26, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.10.002.Here we document Alexandrium fundyense cyst abundance and distribution patterns over nine years (1997 and 2004-2011) in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and identify linkages between those patterns and several metrics of the severity or magnitude of blooms occurring before and after each autumn cyst survey. We also explore the relative utility of two measures of cyst abundance and demonstrate that GOM cyst counts can be normalized to sediment volume, revealing meaningful patterns equivalent to those determined with dry weight normalization.Cyst concentrations were highly variable spatially. Two distinct 1 seedbeds (defined here as accumulation zones with > 300 cysts cm-3) are evident, one in the Bay of Fundy (BOF) and one in mid-coast Maine. Overall, seedbed locations remained relatively constant through time, but their area varied 3-4 fold, and total cyst abundance more than 10 fold among years. A major expansion of the mid-coast Maine seedbed occurred in 2009 following an unusually intense A. fundyense bloom with visible red-water conditions, but that feature disappeared by late 2010. The regional system thus has only two seedbeds with the bathymetry, sediment characteristics, currents, biology, and environmental conditions necessary to persist for decades or longer. Strong positive correlations were confirmed between the abundance of cysts in both the 0-1 and the 0-3 cm layers of sediments in autumn and geographic measures of the extent of the bloom that occurred the next year (i.e., cysts → blooms), such as the length of coastline closed due to shellfish toxicity or the southernmost latitude of shellfish closures. In general, these metrics of bloom geographic extent did not correlate with the number of cysts in sediments following the blooms (blooms → cysts). There are, however, significant positive correlations between 0-3 cm cyst abundances and metrics of the preceding bloom that are indicative of bloom intensity or vegetative cell abundance (e.g., cumulative shellfish toxicity, duration of detectable toxicity in shellfish, and bloom termination date). These data suggest that it may be possible to use cyst abundance to empirically forecast the geographic extent of the forthcoming bloom and, conversely, to use other metrics from bloom and toxicity events to forecast the size of the subsequent cyst population as the inoculum for the next year’s bloom. This is an important step towards understanding the excystment/encystment cycle in A. fundyense bloom dynamics while also augmenting our predictive capability for this HAB-forming species in the GOM.Research support provided by the ECOHAB Grant program through NOAA Grants NA06NOS4780245 and NA09NOS4780193, and through the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health, National 1 Science Foundation (NSF) Grants OCE-0430724, OCE-0911031, and OCE-1314642; and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Grants 1-P50-ES012742-01 and 1-P01-ES021923-01, and funding through the states of ME, NH, and MA. We are also grateful for event response funding provided for many of the cruises. Funding for J.L. Martin was provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Associations Between Performance on an Abbreviated CogState Battery, Other Measures of Cognitive Function, and Biomarkers in People at Risk for Alzheimer\u27s Disease

It is not known whether computerized cognitive assessments, like the CogState battery, are sensitive to preclinical cognitive changes or pathology in people at risk for Alzheimer\u27s disease(AD). In 469 late middle-aged participants from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer\u27s Prevention(mean age 63.8±7 years at testing; 67% female; 39% APOE4+), we examined relationships between a CogState abbreviated battery(CAB) of seven tests and demographic characteristics, traditional paper-based neuropsychological tests as well as a composite cognitive impairment index, cognitive impairment status(determined by consensus review), and biomarkers for amyloid and tau(CSF phosphorylated-tau/Aβ42 and global PET-PiB burden) and neural injury(CSF neurofilament light protein). CSF and PET-PiB were collected in n = 71 and n = 91 participants, respectively, approximately four years prior to CAB testing. For comparison, we examined three traditional tests of delayed memory in parallel. Similar to studies in older samples, the CAB was less influenced by demographic factors than traditional tests. CAB tests were generally correlated with most paper-based cognitive tests examined and mapped onto the same cognitive domains. Greater composite cognitive impairment index was associated with worse performance on all CAB tests. Cognitively impaired participants performed significantly worse compared to normal controls on all but one CAB test. Poorer One Card Learning test performance was associated with higher levels of CSF phosphorylated-tau/Aβ42. These results support the use of the CogState battery as measures of early cognitive impairment in studies of people at risk for AD

Gene expression in the prefrontal cortex during adolescence: implications for the onset of schizophrenia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many critical maturational processes take place in the human brain during postnatal development. In particular, the prefrontal cortex does not reach maturation until late adolescence and this stage is associated with substantial white matter volume increases. Patients with schizophrenia and other major psychiatric disorders tend to first present with overt symptoms during late adolescence/early adulthood and it has been proposed that this developmental stage represents a "window of vulnerability".</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study we used whole genome microarrays to measure gene expression in post mortem prefrontal cortex tissue from human individuals ranging in age from 0 to 49 years. To identify genes specifically altered in the late adolescent period, we applied a template matching procedure. Genes were identified which showed a significant correlation to a template showing a peak of expression between ages 15 and 25.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately 2000 genes displayed an expression pattern that was significantly correlated (positively or negatively) with the template. In the majority of cases, these genes in fact reached a plateau during adolescence with only subtle changes thereafter. These include a number of genes previously associated with schizophrenia including the susceptibility gene neuregulin 1 (NRG1). Functional profiling revealed peak expression in late adolescence for genes associated with energy metabolism and protein and lipid synthesis, together with decreases for genes involved in glutamate and neuropeptide signalling and neuronal development/plasticity. Strikingly, eight myelin-related genes previously found decreased in schizophrenia brain tissue showed a peak in their expression levels in late adolescence, while the single myelin gene reported increased in patients with schizophrenia was decreased in late adolescence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The observed changes imply that molecular mechanisms critical for adolescent brain development are disturbed in schizophrenia patients.</p

Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1×10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5×10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38×10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56×10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55×10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI &lt;18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For school&#x2;aged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI &lt;2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI &gt;2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project : insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes

Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H. pylori pathogenesis and identifying new therapeutic targets. We collected 1011 well-characterized clinical strains from 50 countries and generated high-quality genome sequences. We analysed core genome diversity and population structure of the HpGP dataset and 255 worldwide reference genomes to outline the ancestral contribution to Eurasian, African, and American populations. We found evidence of substantial contribution of population hpNorthAsia and subpopulation hspUral in Northern European H. pylori. The genomes of H. pylori isolated from northern and southern Indigenous Americans differed in that bacteria isolated in northern Indigenous communities were more similar to North Asian H. pylori while the southern had higher relatedness to hpEastAsia. Notably, we also found a highly clonal yet geographically dispersed North American subpopulation, which is negative for the cag pathogenicity island, and present in 7% of sequenced US genomes. We expect the HpGP dataset and the corresponding strains to become a major asset for H. pylori genomics

Multi-Temporal LiDAR and Hyperspectral Data Fusion for Classification of Semi-Arid Woody Cover Species

Mapping the spatial distribution of woody vegetation is important for monitoring, managing, and studying woody encroachment in grasslands. However, in semi-arid regions, remotely sensed discrimination of tree species is difficult primarily due to the tree similarities, small and sparse canopy cover, but may also be due to overlapping woody canopies as well as seasonal leaf retention (deciduous versus evergreen) characteristics. Similar studies in different biomes have achieved low accuracies using coarse spatial resolution image data. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of multi-temporal, airborne hyperspectral imagery and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) derived data for tree species classification in a semi-arid desert region. This study produces highly accurate classifications by combining multi-temporal fine spatial resolution hyperspectral and LiDAR data (~1 m) through a reproducible scripting and machine learning approach that can be applied to larger areas and similar datasets. Combining multi-temporal vegetation indices and canopy height models led to an overall accuracy of 95.28% and kappa of 94.17%. Five woody species were discriminated resulting in producer accuracies ranging from 86.12% to 98.38%. The influence of fusing spectral and structural information in a random forest classifier for tree identification is evident. Additionally, a multi-temporal dataset slightly increases classification accuracies over a single data collection. Our results show a promising methodology for tree species classification in a semi-arid region using multi-temporal hyperspectral and LiDAR remote sensing data

A Novel Spectral Index to Identify Cacti in the Sonoran Desert at Multiple Scales Using Multi-Sensor Hyperspectral Data Acquisitions

Accurate identification of cacti, whether seen as an indicator of ecosystem health or an invasive menace, is important. Technological improvements in hyperspectral remote sensing systems with high spatial resolutions make it possible to now monitor cacti around the world. Cacti produce a unique spectral signature because of their morphological and anatomical characteristics. We demonstrate in this paper that we can leverage a reflectance dip around 972 nm, due to cacti’s morphological structure, to distinguish cacti vegetation from non-cacti vegetation in a desert landscape. We also show the ability to calculate two normalized vegetation indices that highlight cacti. Furthermore, we explore the impacts of spatial resolution by presenting spectral signatures from cacti samples taken with a handheld field spectroradiometer, drone-based hyperspectral sensor, and aerial hyperspectral sensor. These cacti indices will help measure baseline levels of cacti around the world and examine changes due to climate, disturbance, and management influences

A Novel Spectral Index to Identify Cacti in the Sonoran Desert at Multiple Scales Using Multi-Sensor Hyperspectral Data Acquisitions

Accurate identification of cacti, whether seen as an indicator of ecosystem health or an invasive menace, is important. Technological improvements in hyperspectral remote sensing systems with high spatial resolutions make it possible to now monitor cacti around the world. Cacti produce a unique spectral signature because of their morphological and anatomical characteristics. We demonstrate in this paper that we can leverage a reflectance dip around 972 nm, due to cacti&rsquo;s morphological structure, to distinguish cacti vegetation from non-cacti vegetation in a desert landscape. We also show the ability to calculate two normalized vegetation indices that highlight cacti. Furthermore, we explore the impacts of spatial resolution by presenting spectral signatures from cacti samples taken with a handheld field spectroradiometer, drone-based hyperspectral sensor, and aerial hyperspectral sensor. These cacti indices will help measure baseline levels of cacti around the world and examine changes due to climate, disturbance, and management influences