The hydrodynamic response of a semi-arid headwater wetland to technical rehabilitation interventions

Loss of wetland extent continues to be documented as a significant problem and this is true for the headwaters of the Sand River system in the north-east of South Africa. Here wetlands are undergoing severe down-cutting by erosion gullies (dongas) leading to desiccation of the system and loss of viable substrate that is used for subsistence agriculture. The Manalana sub-catchment was the focus of an integrated wetland rehabilitation programme between 2004-2009, a major focus of which was the stabilisation of such erosion gullies by large retaining structures. This paper presents findings of a hydrological monitoring study of the shallow groundwaters to determine the wetland’s hydrodynamic behaviour and the extent to which this had degraded as a result of erosion. Furthermore, whether technical rehabilitation could ameliorate any degradation in the wetland’s hydrological condition was also assessed. The findings show that the wetland groundwater hydrology is strongly controlled by the distribution of clays within it, facilitating distinct hydrological micro-regions within the wetland spatially and vertically. Based on these findings it is revealed that the loss of these clays impacts severely on the system’s hydrology. The installation of an impermeable buttress weir was able to restore these hydrodynamics as observed through the reversal of the hydraulic gradients between groundwater observation stations, but the precise placement of the structure was shown to be crucial for this effect. This finding demonstrated the requirement of informed, or wise, technical rehabilitation principles based on hydro-geomorphic understanding of the system. A downstream pervious gabion dam was also monitored for its effect on restoring the wetland’s hydrology, but observed responses showed little change, and, in fact, the wetlands hydrology here remained intact, attributed to the presence of a clay plug that was saved from erosion by the placement of this structure.Keywords: wetlands, rehabilitation, phreatic surface, piezometer, aquitar

Redox proteomics of the inflammatory secretome identifies a common set of redoxins and other glutathionylated proteins released in inflammation, influenza virus infection and oxidative stress

Protein cysteines can form transient disulfides with glutathione (GSH), resulting in the production of glutathionylated proteins, and this process is regarded as a mechanism by which the redox state of the cell can regulate protein function. Most studies on redox regulation of immunity have focused on intracellular proteins. In this study we have used redox proteomics to identify those proteins released in glutathionylated form by macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) after pre-loading the cells with biotinylated GSH. Of the several proteins identified in the redox secretome, we have selected a number for validation. Proteomic analysis indicated that LPS stimulated the release of peroxiredoxin (PRDX) 1, PRDX2, vimentin (VIM), profilin1 (PFN1) and thioredoxin 1 (TXN1). For PRDX1 and TXN1, we were able to confirm that the released protein is glutathionylated. PRDX1, PRDX2 and TXN1 were also released by the human pulmonary epithelial cell line, A549, infected with influenza virus. The release of the proteins identified was inhibited by the anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (DEX), which also inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α release, and by thiol antioxidants (N-butanoyl GSH derivative, GSH-C4, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), which did not affect TNF-α production. The proteins identified could be useful as biomarkers of oxidative stress associated with inflammation, and further studies will be required to investigate if the extracellular forms of these proteins has immunoregulatory functions

Trop-2 is up-regulated in invasive prostate cancer and displaces FAK from focal contacts

In this study, we show that the transmembrane glycoprotein Trop-2 is up-regulated in human prostate cancer (PCa) with extracapsular extension (stages pT3/pT4) as compared to organ-confined (stage pT2) PCa. Consistent with this evidence, Trop-2 expression is found to be increased in metastatic prostate tumors of Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of Mouse Prostate mice and to strongly correlate with α5β1 integrin levels. Using PCa cells, we show that Trop-2 specifically associates with the α5 integrin subunit, as binding to α3 is not observed, and that Trop-2 displaces focal adhesion kinase from focal contacts. In support of the role of Trop-2 as a promoter of PCa metastatic phenotype, we observe high expression of this molecule in exosomes purified from Trop-2-positive PCa cells. These vesicles are then found to promote migration of Trop-2-negative PCa cells on fibronectin, an α5β1 integrin/focal adhesion kinase substrate, thus suggesting that the biological function of Trop-2 may be propagated to recipient cells. In summary, our findings show that Trop-2 promotes an α5β1 integrin-dependent pro-metastatic signaling pathway in PCa cells and that the altered expression of Trop-2 may be utilized for early identification of capsule-invading PCa

Reproducibility of quantitative F-18-3'-deoxy-3'-fluorothymidine measurements using positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomography (PET) using F-18-3'-deoxy-3'-fluorothymidine ([F-18]FLT) allows noninvasive monitoring of tumour proliferation. For serial imaging in individual patients, good reproducibility is essential. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the reproducibility of quantitative [F-18]FLT measurements. Nine patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and six with head-and-neck cancer (HNC) underwent [F-18]FLT PET twice within 7 days prior to therapy. The maximum pixel value (SUVmax) and a threshold defined volume (SUV41%) were defined for all delineated lesions. The plasma to tumour transfer constant (K-i) was estimated using both Patlak graphical analysis and nonlinear regression (NLR). NLR was also used to estimate k(3), which, at least in theory, selectively reflects thymidine kinase 1 activity. The level of agreement between test and retest values was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis. All primary tumours and > 90% of clinically suspected locoregional metastases could be delineated. In total, 24 lesions were defined. NLR-derived K-i, Patlak-derived K-i, SUV41% and SUVmax showed excellent reproducibility with ICCs of 0.92, 0.95, 0.98 and 0.93, and SDs of 16%, 12%, 7% and 11%, respectively. Reproducibility was poor for k(3) with an ICC of 0.43 and SD of 38%. Quantitative [F-18]FLT measurements are reproducible in both NSCLC and HNC patients. When monitoring response in individual patients, changes of more than 15% in SUV41%, 20-25% in SUVmax and Patlak-derived K-i, and 32% in NLR3k-derived K-i are likely to represent treatment effect

Accumulation of mitochondrial DNA mutation with colorectal carcinogenesis in ulcerative colitis

We recently reported that oxidative stress elicited by chronic inflammation increases the mutation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and possibly correlates with precancerous status. Since severe oxidative stress is elicited in the colorectal mucosa of individuals with ulcerative colitis (UC), the possible occurrence of an mtDNA mutation in the inflammatory colorectal mucosa and colitic cancer was investigated. Colorectal mucosal specimens were obtained from individuals with UC with and without colitic cancer and from control subjects. The frequency of mtDNA mutations was higher in colorectal mucosal specimens from patients with UC than that from control subjects. The levels of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine, a DNA adduct by reactive oxygen species, were significantly higher in UC than in control. Specimens from patients with colitic cancer contained a significantly higher number of mtDNA mutations. The present observations suggest that the injury followed by the regeneration of colorectal mucosal cells associated with chronic inflammation causes accumulation of mtDNA mutations. The increased instability of genes, including those on the mtDNA, is consistent with the high and multicentric incidence of colorectal cancer in individuals with UC. Thus, analysis of mtDNA could provide a new criterion for the therapeutic evaluation, and may be useful for the prediction of risk of carcinogenesis

Honesty above all else? Expectations and perceptions of political conduct in three established democracies

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the ESRC (grant number RES-000-22-3459) and British Academy (grant numbers SG-101785 and SG-52322). They would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions