Seasonal and interannual variability in wind field and commercial catch rates of austroglossus pectoralis (soleidae)

The impact of deviations in the direction and strength of the wind field on the spatial, seasonal and interannual variability in catch rates of Agulhas sole Austroglossus pectoralis was investigated. Temporal variabilityin the wind cycle on the Agulhas Bank during the period 1981–1996 was deduced mainly from trends in the pressure gradient, measured from south of Cape Agulhas (35°S) to the region of westwind drift (40°S).Because interannual deviations in the catch rates differed between seasons, catch rates were assessed by season. Coastal catch rates of Agulhas sole between Cape Agulhas and Cape Infanta were high in autumn and winter, when offshore north-westerly winds prevailed, and low in spring and late summer, when onshore south-easterly winds dominated. There was often a secondary peak in catch rates in November–December,coincident with a midsummer change in the pressure gradient. Between the period 1982 and 1996, catch rates in autumn and early winter (April–July) were highest during years when the winter north-westerly winds were strongest (r2 = 0.62, p < 0.01). Catch rates usually peaked in May–June. This pattern changed in some years, depending on the timing and rate of change to winter wind conditions. Seasonal and interannual fluctuations in catch rate are associated with deviations in the wind field, but the  mechanism whereby this  effect is mediated remains unknown

Socioeconomic differentials in the immediate mortality effects of the national Irish smoking ban

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: Consistent evidence has demonstrated that smoking ban policies save lives, but impacts on health inequalities are uncertain as few studies have assessed post-ban effects by socioeconomic status (SES) and findings have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the national Irish smoking ban on ischemic heart disease (IHD), stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality by discrete and composite SES indicators to determine impacts on inequalities. Methods: Census data were used to assign frequencies of structural and material SES indicators to 34 local authorities across Ireland with a 2000–2010 study period. Discrete indicators were jointly analysed through principal component analysis to generate a composite index, with sensitivity analyses conducted by varying the included indicators. Poisson regression with interrupted time-series analysis was conducted to examine monthly age and gender-standardised mortality rates in the Irish population, ages ≥35 years, stratified by tertiles of SES indicators. All models were adjusted for time trend, season, influenza, and smoking prevalence. Results: Post-ban mortality reductions by structural SES indicators were concentrated in the most deprived tertile for all causes of death, while reductions by material SES indicators were more equitable across SES tertiles. The composite indices mirrored the results of the discrete indicators, demonstrating that post-ban mortality decreases were either greater or similar in the most deprived when compared to the least deprived for all causes of death. Conclusions: Overall findings indicated that the national Irish smoking ban reduced inequalities in smoking-related mortality. Due to the higher rates of smoking-related mortality in the most deprived group, even equitable reductions across SES tertiles resulted in decreases in inequalities. The choice of SES indicator was influential in the measurement of effects, underscoring that a differentiated analytical approach aided in understanding the complexities in which structural and material factors influence mortality

Small-Molecule Synthetic Compound Norcantharidin Reverses Multi-Drug Resistance by Regulating Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Human Breast Cancer Cells

Multi-drug resistance (MDR), an unfavorable factor compromising treatment efficacy of anticancer drugs, involves upregulated ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters and activated Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling. By preparing human breast cancer MCF-7 cells resistant to doxorubicin (DOX), we examined the effect and mechanism of norcantharidin (NCTD), a small-molecule synthetic compound, on reversing multidrug resistance. The DOX-prepared MCF-7R cells also possessed resistance to vinorelbine, characteristic of MDR. At suboptimal concentration, NCTD significantly inhibited the viability of DOX-sensitive (MCF-7S) and DOX-resistant (MCF-7R) cells and reversed the resistance to DOX and vinorelbine. NCTD increased the intracellular accumulation of DOX in MCF-7R cells and suppressed the upregulated the mdr-1 mRNA, P-gp and BCRP protein expression, but not the MRP-1. The role of P-gp was strengthened by partial reversal of the DOX and vinorelbine resistance by cyclosporine A. NCTD treatment suppressed the upregulation of Shh expression and nuclear translocation of Gli-1, a hallmark of Shh signaling activation in the resistant clone. Furthermore, the Shh ligand upregulated the expression of P-gp and attenuated the growth inhibitory effect of NCTD. The knockdown of mdr-1 mRNA had not altered the expression of Shh and Smoothened in both MCF-7S and MCF-7R cells. This indicates that the role of Shh signaling in MDR might be upstream to mdr-1/P-gp, and similar effect was shown in breast cancer MDA-MB-231 and BT-474 cells. This study demonstrated that NCTD may overcome multidrug resistance through inhibiting Shh signaling and expression of its downstream mdr-1/P-gp expression in human breast cancer cells

Modeling the Spatial Distribution and Fruiting Pattern of a Key Tree Species in a Neotropical Forest: Methodology and Potential Applications

Damien Caillaud is with UT Austin and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Margaret C. Crofoot is with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, and Princeton University; Samuel V. Scarpino is with UT Austin; Patrick A. Jansen is with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Wageningen University, and University of Groningen; Carol X. Garzon-Lopez is with University of Groningen; Annemarie J. S. Winkelhagen is with Wageningen University; Stephanie A. Bohlman is with Princeton University; Peter D. Walsh is with VaccinApe.Background -- The movement patterns of wild animals depend crucially on the spatial and temporal availability of resources in their habitat. To date, most attempts to model this relationship were forced to rely on simplified assumptions about the spatiotemporal distribution of food resources. Here we demonstrate how advances in statistics permit the combination of sparse ground sampling with remote sensing imagery to generate biological relevant, spatially and temporally explicit distributions of food resources. We illustrate our procedure by creating a detailed simulation model of fruit production patterns for Dipteryx oleifera, a keystone tree species, on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. Methodology and Principal Findings -- Aerial photographs providing GPS positions for large, canopy trees, the complete census of a 50-ha and 25-ha area, diameter at breast height data from haphazardly sampled trees and long-term phenology data from six trees were used to fit 1) a point process model of tree spatial distribution and 2) a generalized linear mixed-effect model of temporal variation of fruit production. The fitted parameters from these models are then used to create a stochastic simulation model which incorporates spatio-temporal variations of D. oleifera fruit availability on BCI. Conclusions and Significance -- We present a framework that can provide a statistical characterization of the habitat that can be included in agent-based models of animal movements. When environmental heterogeneity cannot be exhaustively mapped, this approach can be a powerful alternative. The results of our model on the spatio-temporal variation in D. oleifera fruit availability will be used to understand behavioral and movement patterns of several species on BCI.The National Center For Ecological Analysis is supported by NSF Grant DEB-0553768, the University of California Santa Barbara and the State of California. The Forest Dynamics Plots were funded by NSF Grants to Stephen Hubbell DEB-0640386, DEB-0425651, DEB-0346488, DEB-0129874, DEB-00753102, DEB-9909347, DEB-9615226, DEB-9615226, DEB-9405933, DEB-9221033, DEB-9100058, DEB-8906869, DEB-8605042, DEB-8206992, DEB-7922197, and by the Center for Tropical Forest Science, the Smithsonian Tropical Forest Research Institute, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Mellon Foundation and the Celera Foundation. DC is supported by NSF grant DEB-0749097 to L.A. Meyers. SS is supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Biological Sciences, School o

Residual effects of natural Zn chelates on navy bean response, Zn leaching and soil status

greenhouse experiment was conducted on weakly acidic and calcareous soils to evaluate the aging and residual effects of three natural organic Zn chelates [Zn-ethylenediaminedisuccinate (Zn-EDDS), Zn-polyhydroxyphenylcarboxylate and Zn-aminelignosulfonate] each administered in a single application to a first navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) crop at several different Zn application rates. In a second navy bean crop, we determined the following parameters: the extent of Zn leaching, the amount of available Zn remaining in soils, the amount of easily leachable Zn, the size of Zn fractions in soils, the pH and redox potential, the dry matter yield, and the soluble and total Zn concentrations in plants. The residual effect after 2 years of Zn fertilization mainly depended on the aging effect of Zn chelates and losses due to Zn leaching. The data relating to the evolution from the first to the second crop showed that the aging effect was noticeable in the calcareous soil. In the latter soil, the Zn-S,S-EDDS treatments showed greater decreases in the Zn uptake by plants than the other Zn treatments and the greatest Zn uptake by plants occurred when Zn was applied as Zn-aminelignosulfonate (10 mg Zn kg−1 rate, 6.85 mg Zn per lysimeter; 5 mg Zn kg−1 rate, 3.36 mg Zn per lysimeter). In contrast, in the calcareous soil, the maximum amount of Zn uptake, for the three chelates was 0.82 mg Zn per lysimeter. Consequently, a further application of Zn would be needed to prevent Zn deficiencies in the plants of a subsequent crop. The behaviour of the pH and Eh parameters in the soils and leachates did not depend on the natural Zn sources applied. In this study, the easily leachable Zn estimated by BaCl2 extraction was not adequate to predict Zn leaching from the soils in subsequent crops

The poly-omics of ageing through individual-based metabolic modelling

Abstract Background Ageing can be classified in two different ways, chronological ageing and biological ageing. While chronological age is a measure of the time that has passed since birth, biological (also known as transcriptomic) ageing is defined by how time and the environment affect an individual in comparison to other individuals of the same chronological age. Recent research studies have shown that transcriptomic age is associated with certain genes, and that each of those genes has an effect size. Using these effect sizes we can calculate the transcriptomic age of an individual from their age-associated gene expression levels. The limitation of this approach is that it does not consider how these changes in gene expression affect the metabolism of individuals and hence their observable cellular phenotype. Results We propose a method based on poly-omic constraint-based models and machine learning in order to further the understanding of transcriptomic ageing. We use normalised CD4 T-cell gene expression data from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 499 healthy individuals to create individual metabolic models. These models are then combined with a transcriptomic age predictor and chronological age to provide new insights into the differences between transcriptomic and chronological ageing. As a result, we propose a novel metabolic age predictor. Conclusions We show that our poly-omic predictors provide a more detailed analysis of transcriptomic ageing compared to gene-based approaches, and represent a basis for furthering our knowledge of the ageing mechanisms in human cells

Circulating microparticles: square the circle

Background: The present review summarizes current knowledge about microparticles (MPs) and provides a systematic overview of last 20 years of research on circulating MPs, with particular focus on their clinical relevance. Results: MPs are a heterogeneous population of cell-derived vesicles, with sizes ranging between 50 and 1000 nm. MPs are capable of transferring peptides, proteins, lipid components, microRNA, mRNA, and DNA from one cell to another without direct cell-to-cell contact. Growing evidence suggests that MPs present in peripheral blood and body fluids contribute to the development and progression of cancer, and are of pathophysiological relevance for autoimmune, inflammatory, infectious, cardiovascular, hematological, and other diseases. MPs have large diagnostic potential as biomarkers; however, due to current technological limitations in purification of MPs and an absence of standardized methods of MP detection, challenges remain in validating the potential of MPs as a non-invasive and early diagnostic platform. Conclusions: Improvements in the effective deciphering of MP molecular signatures will be critical not only for diagnostics, but also for the evaluation of treatment regimens and predicting disease outcomes

Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

A high-throughput platform for stem cell niche co-cultures and downstream gene expression analysis

Stem cells reside in 'niches', where support cells provide critical signalling for tissue renewal. Culture methods mimic niche conditions and support the growth of stem cells in vitro. However, current functional assays preclude statistically meaningful studies of clonal stem cells, stem cell-niche interactions, and genetic analysis of single cells and their organoid progeny. Here, we describe a 'microraft array' (MRA) that facilitates high-throughput clonogenic culture and computational identification of single intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and niche cells. We use MRAs to demonstrate that Paneth cells, a known ISC niche component, enhance organoid formation in a contact-dependent manner. MRAs facilitate retrieval of early enteroids for quantitative PCR to correlate functional properties, such as enteroid morphology, with differences in gene expression. MRAs have broad applicability to assaying stem cell-niche interactions and organoid development, and serve as a high-throughput culture platform to interrogate gene expression at early stages of stem cell fate choices