Orally administered extract from \u3ci\u3ePrunella vulgaris\u3c/i\u3e attenuates spontaneous colitis in mdr1a\u3csup\u3e-/-\u3c/sup\u3e mice

AIM: To investigate the ability of a Prunella vulgaris (P. vulgaris) ethanolic extract to attenuate spontaneous typhlocolitis in mdr1a-/- mice. METHODS: Vehicle (5% ethanol) or P. vulgaris ethanolic extract (2.4 mg/d) were administered daily by oral gavage to mdr1a-/- or wild type FVBWT mice from 6 wk of age up to 20 wk of age. Clinical signs of disease were noted by monitoring weight loss. Mice experiencing weight loss in excess of 15% were removed from the study. At the time mice were removed from the study, blood and colon tissue were collected for analyses that included histological evaluation of lesions, inflammatory cytokine levels, and myeloperoxidase activity. RESULTS: Administration of P. vulgaris extracts to mdr1a-/- mice delayed onset of colitis and reduced severity of mucosal inflammation when compared to vehicle-treated mdr1a-/- mice. Oral administration of the P. vulgaris extract resulted in reduced (P \u3c 0.05) serum levels of IL-10 (4.6 ± 2 vs 19.4 ± 4), CXCL9 (1319.0 ± 277 vs 3901.0 ± 858), and TNFα (9.9 ± 3 vs 14.8 ± 1) as well as reduced gene expression by more than two-fold for Ccl2, Ccl20, Cxcl1, Cxcl9, IL-1 α, Mmp10, VCAM-1, ICAM, IL-2, and TNFα in the colonic mucosa of mdr1a-/- mice compared to vehicle-treated mdr1a-/- mice. Histologically, several microscopic parameters were reduced (P \u3c 0.05) in P. vulgaris -treated mdr1a-/- mice, as was myeloperoxidase activity in the colon (2.49 ± 0.16 vs 3.36 ± 0.06, P \u3c 0.05). The numbers of CD4+ T cells (2031.9 ± 412.1 vs 5054.5 ± 809.5) and germinal center B cells (2749.6 ± 473.7 vs 4934.0 ± 645.9) observed in the cecal tonsils of P. vulgaris - treated mdr1a-/- were significantly reduced (P \u3c 0.05) from vehicle-treated mdr1a-/- mice. Vehicle-treated mdr1a-/- mice were found to produce serum antibodies to antigens derived from members of the intestinal microbiota, indicative of severe colitis and a loss of adaptive tolerance to the members of the microbiota. These serum antibodies were greatly reduced or absent in P. vulgaris -treated mdr1a-/- mice. CONCLUSION: The anti-inflammatory activity of P. vulgaris ethanolic extract effectively attenuated the severity of intestinal inflammation in mdr1a-/- mice

MESSENGER observations of induced magnetic fields in Mercury's core

Orbital data from the Magnetometer on the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft allow investigation of magnetic fields induced at the top of Mercury's core by time‐varying magnetospheric fields. We used 15 Mercury years of observations of the magnetopause position as well as the magnetic field inside the magnetosphere to establish the presence and magnitude of an annual induction signal. Our results indicate an annual change in the internal axial dipole term, g10, of 7.5 to 9.5 nT. For negligible mantle conductivity, the average annual induction signal provides an estimate of Mercury's core radius to within ±90 km, independent of geodetic results. Larger induction signals during extreme events are expected but are challenging to identify because of reconnection‐driven erosion. Our results indicate that the magnetopause reaches the dayside planetary surface 1.5–4% of the time

A multi-decade record of high quality fCO2 data in version 3 of the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT)

The Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) is a synthesis of quality-controlled fCO2 (fugacity of carbon dioxide) values for the global surface oceans and coastal seas with regular updates. Version 3 of SOCAT has 14.7 million fCO2 values from 3646 data sets covering the years 1957 to 2014. This latest version has an additional 4.6 million fCO2 values relative to version 2 and extends the record from 2011 to 2014. Version 3 also significantly increases the data availability for 2005 to 2013. SOCAT has an average of approximately 1.2 million surface water fCO2 values per year for the years 2006 to 2012. Quality and documentation of the data has improved. A new feature is the data set quality control (QC) flag of E for data from alternative sensors and platforms. The accuracy of surface water fCO2 has been defined for all data set QC flags. Automated range checking has been carried out for all data sets during their upload into SOCAT. The upgrade of the interactive Data Set Viewer (previously known as the Cruise Data Viewer) allows better interrogation of the SOCAT data collection and rapid creation of high-quality figures for scientific presentations. Automated data upload has been launched for version 4 and will enable more frequent SOCAT releases in the future. High-profile scientific applications of SOCAT include quantification of the ocean sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide and its long-term variation, detection of ocean acidification, as well as evaluation of coupled-climate and ocean-only biogeochemical models. Users of SOCAT data products are urged to acknowledge the contribution of data providers, as stated in the SOCAT Fair Data Use Statement. This ESSD (Earth System Science Data) “living data” publication documents the methods and data sets used for the assembly of this new version of the SOCAT data collection and compares these with those used for earlier versions of the data collection (Pfeil et al., 2013; Sabine et al., 2013; Bakker et al., 2014). Individual data set files, included in the synthesis product, can be downloaded here: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.849770. The gridded products are available here: doi:10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.SOCAT_V3_GRID

What can Olympus Mons tell us about the Martian lithosphere?

Under gravitational loading, a volcanic edifice deforms, and the underlying lithosphere downflexes. This has been observed on Earth, but is equally true on other planets. We use finite element models to simulate this gravity-driven deformation at Olympus Mons on Mars. Eleven model parameters, including the geometry and material properties of the edifice, lithosphere and underlying asthenosphere, are varied to establish which parameters have the greatest effect on deformation. Values for parameters that affect deformation at Olympus Mons, Mars, are constrained by minimising misfit between modelled and observed measurements of edifice height, edifice radius, and flexural moat width. Our inferred value for the Young's modulus of the Martian lithosphere, 17.8 GPa, is significantly lower than values used previously, suggesting that the Martian lithosphere is more porous than generally assumed. The best-fitting values for other parameters: edifice density (2111 – 2389 kg.m –3) and lithosphere thickness (83.3 km) are within ranges proposed hitherto. The best-fitting values of model parameters are interdependent; a decrease in lithosphere Young's modulus must be accompanied by a decrease in edifice density and/or an increase in lithosphere thickness. Our results identify the parameters that should be considered within all models of gravity-driven volcano deformation; highlight the importance of the often-overlooked Young's modulus; and provide further constraints on the properties of the Martian lithosphere, namely its porosity, which have implications for the transport and storage of fluid throughout Mars' history

Pulmonary arterial medial smooth muscle thickness in sudden infant death syndrome: an analysis of subsets of 73 cases

Previous studies addressing pulmonary artery morphology have compared cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) to controls but none have compared demographic profiles, exposure to potentially hypoxic risk factors and other pathologic variables in SIDS cases grouped according to pulmonary artery medial smooth muscle thickness. Aims: To compare the relative medial thickness (RMT) in alveolar wall arteries (AW) in SIDS cases with that in age-matched controls and 2. Compare demographic, clinical, and pathologic characteristics among three subsets of SIDS cases based upon alveolar wall (AW) RMT. Retrospective morphometric planimetry of all muscularized arteries in standardized right apical lung sections in 73 SIDS cases divided into three groups based on increasing AW RMT as well as 19 controls age-matched to 19 of the SIDS cases. SIDS and age-matched control cases did not differ with respect to AW RMT or other demographic variables. The SIDS group with the thickest AW RMT had significantly more males and premature birth than the other groups, but the groups did not differ for known clinical risk factors that would potentially expose them to hypoxia. Pathologic variables, including pulmonary inflammation, gastric aspiration, intra-alveolar siderophages, cardiac valve circumferences, and heart and liver weights, were not different between groups. Age was not significantly correlated with RMT of alveolar wall and pre-acinar arteries but was significant at p = .018 for small intra-acinar arteries. The groups were different for RMT of small pre-acinar and intra-acinar arteries, which increased with increasing AW RMT. Statistical differences should not necessarily be equated with clinical importance, however future research incorporating more quantified historical data is recommended

Assessment of vector/host contact: comparison of animal-baited traps and UV-light/suction trap for collecting Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), vectors of Orbiviruses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The emergence and massive spread of bluetongue in Western Europe during 2006-2008 had disastrous consequences for sheep and cattle production and confirmed the ability of Palaearctic <it>Culicoides </it>(Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to transmit the virus. Some aspects of <it>Culicoides </it>ecology, especially host-seeking and feeding behaviors, remain insufficiently described due to the difficulty of collecting them directly on a bait animal, the most reliable method to evaluate biting rates.</p> <p>Our aim was to compare typical animal-baited traps (drop trap and direct aspiration) to both a new sticky cover trap and a UV-light/suction trap (the most commonly used method to collect <it>Culicoides</it>).</p> <p>Methods/results</p> <p>Collections were made from 1.45 hours before sunset to 1.45 hours after sunset in June/July 2009 at an experimental sheep farm (INRA, Nouzilly, Western France), with 3 replicates of a 4 sites × 4 traps randomized Latin square using one sheep per site. Collected <it>Culicoides </it>individuals were sorted morphologically to species, sex and physiological stages for females. Sibling species were identified using a molecular assay. A total of 534 <it>Culicoides </it>belonging to 17 species was collected. Abundance was maximal in the drop trap (232 females and 4 males from 10 species) whereas the diversity was the highest in the UV-light/suction trap (136 females and 5 males from 15 species). Significant between-trap differences abundance and parity rates were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Only the direct aspiration collected exclusively host-seeking females, despite a concern that human manipulation may influence estimation of the biting rate. The sticky cover trap assessed accurately the biting rate of abundant species even if it might act as an interception trap. The drop trap collected the highest abundance of <it>Culicoides </it>and may have caught individuals not attracted by sheep but by its structure. Finally, abundances obtained using the UV-light/suction trap did not estimate accurately <it>Culicoides </it>biting rate.</p