Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as bioindicators

One of the primary goals of research on bioindicators is to identify species or other taxonomic units that would reliably indicate disturbances in the environment, and reflect the responses of other species or the overall biodiversity. However, there is no perfect bioindicator and selecting the most suitable one depends to a great extent on the goal of the survey. In this paper we examine the suitability of carabids as bioindicators. Carabids are frequently used to indicate habitat alteration. They have been used in grasslands and boreal forests where species number and/ or abundances have been noted to change along a habitat disturbance gradient. A common trend is that large, poorly dispersing specialist species decrease with increased disturbance while small generalist species with good dispersal ability increase. Some species are not affected by moderate disturbance. There is, however, not enough research to determine how suitable carabids are for biodiversity studies, or how well they represent the response of other species. We conclude that carabids are useful bioindicators, but as crucial understanding of their relationship with other species is incomplete, they should be used with caution

Uber die Dilophospora-Krankheit von Phleum pratense L. und Alopecurus pratensis L.

vokKirjasto Aj-kTöyhtöitiötauti (Dilophospora alopecuri (Fr.) Fr. timoteissä (Phleum pratense L.) ja nurmipuntarpäässä (Alopecurus pratensis L.

Cutting edge: Transcriptional activity of NFATc1 is enhanced by the Pim-1 kinase

Pim-1 is an oncogenic serine/threonine kinase implicated in cytokine-induced signal transduction and in development of lymphoid malignancies. However, its precise function as well as physiological substrates have remained unknown. In this study we demonstrate that Pim-1 can physically interact with the NFATc1 transcription factor and phosphorylate it in vitro on several serine residues. In contrast to previously recognized NFATc kinases, wild-type Pim-1 enhances NFATc-dependent transactivation and IL-2 production in Jurkat T cells, while kinase-deficient Pim-1 mutants inhibit them in a dominant negative fashion. Our results reveal a novel, phosphorylation-dependent regulatory mechanism targeting NFATc1 through which Pim-1 acts as a downstream effector of Ras to facilitate IL-2-dependent proliferation and/or survival of lymphoid cells

Variation of Basal EROD Activities in Ten Passerine Bird Species - Relationships with Diet and Migration Status

Inter-specific differences in animal defence mechanisms against toxic substances are currently poorly understood. The ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) enzyme plays an important role in defence against toxic chemicals in a wide variety of animals, and it is an important biomarker for environmental contamination. We compared basal hepatic EROD activity levels among ten passerine species to see if there is inter-specific variation in enzyme activity, especially in relation to their diet and migration status. Migratory insectivores showed higher EROD activity compared to granivores. We hypothesize that the variable invertebrate diet of migratory insectivores contains a wider range of natural toxins than the narrower diet of granivores. This may have affected the evolution of mixed function oxidases (MFO) system and enzyme activities. We further tested whether metabolic rates or relative liver size were associated with the variation in detoxification capacity. We found no association between EROD activity and relative (per mass unit) basal metabolic rate (BMR). Instead, EROD activity and relative liver mass (% of body mass) correlated positively, suggesting that a proportionally large liver also functions efficiently. Our results suggest that granivores and non- migratory birds may be more vulnerable to environmental contaminants than insectivores and migratory birds. The diet and migration status, however, are phylogenetically strongly connected to each other, and their roles cannot be fully separated in our analysis with only ten passerine species

Effects of parental exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides on embryonic development and oxidative status: a long-term experiment in a bird model

IntroductionGlyphosate (N-[Phosphonomethyl]glycine)-based herbicides (GBHs) are the most frequently used herbicides globally and also one of the most controversial agrochemicals1. Evidence is accumulating with regard to the potentially negative effects of glyphosate on the development, phenotype, and fitness of most non-target animal taxa from invertebrates to vertebrates, yet, exposure levels (natural exposure load vs. levels used in experimental studies) need to be carefully accounted for2,3,4. Non-target organisms are commonly exposed to GBH residues in the food chain because residues can persist in soil, water, and plants5,6. In particular, the estimated amount of glyphosate introduced into the food chain through genetically modified, i.e. glyphosate tolerant crops (such as soybeans) add up to several thousands of metric tonnes yearly7. Consequently, different regulatory authorities heatedly debate the effects of GBH in our ecosystems.Organisms in early developmental stages are generally more susceptible to external stress compared to adults. In the case of environmental toxins, this may be related to disturbed ontogeny or undeveloped detoxification metabolism in juveniles8. In aquatic animals, embryos can be directly exposed to GBHs via the surrounding water. Glyphosate and commercial products (e.g. RoundUp) made with glyphosate have been repeatedly reported to cause embryo mortality and deformations in fish (zebrafish 10uM to 1 mM pure glyphosate9, 10 mg/L RoundUp or pure glyphosate10), and aquatic amphibians (Xenopus 0.3–1.3 mg/L RoundUp11, 500 pg/egg pure glyphosate12). In contrast, mammal and bird embryos and fetuses are exposed to glyphosate residues only via maternal transfer of the chemicals, which may result in malformations, altered sex ratios, and low sperm quality in rodent models (doses: 500 mg/kg RoundUp13, 5 g/L pure glyphosate14, 50–450 mg/kg RoundUp15). Such effects are referred to as (transmissive) maternal effects sensu16. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that effects of GBHs on the next generation can be mediated via epigenetic paternal effects, for example via alterations of paternal sperm(17, parental generation, a dose of 25 mg/kg BW pure glyphosate in rats18).However, the true maternal and paternal effects of GBH are poorly understood because the majority of the studies are involving direct embryo manipulations with high doses of GBHs. The authors of future studies should take into account that GBHs may influence the quality of the resources allocated to eggs/embryos and thus offspring development, phenotype, and fitness indirectly. Prenatal environmental conditions, and for example hormonal signals from the mother are known to have crucial importance for offspring development and even lasting effects into adulthood19,20,21.In this study we used birds as a model to study the parental and developmental effects of GBHs. Birds are highly underrepresented in studies testing the adverse effects of GBH residues on non-target taxa2, although they have recently been suggested as a key group for biomonitoring with regard to the effects of GBHs22. The importance of poultry in food production also calls for more attention on residues and the effects of GBHs in birds. In the two available studies of poultry and GBH-related maternal effects, a direct injection of a relatively high concentration of RoundUp (10 mg/kg glyphosate) in eggs was found to decrease hatchability, induce oxidative stress and cause damage to lipids in the exposed chicks, as compared to the control group23,24, potentially via the disruption of retinoid acid signaling12.To understand the potential for GBH-induced parental effects, we studied parental exposure of GBHs on embryo development and key physiological biomarkers—embryonic brain oxidative status in a bird model. To our knowledge, this is the first long-term study on parental effects of GBHs in bird taxa. Oxidative stress refers to the imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants: If antioxidants are not able to neutralize ROS, oxidative damage to cell components (proteins, lipids, and DNA) will occur, which then has negative consequences on cell functions25. GBHs have been previously found to induce oxidative stress and damage in a variety of organisms and tissues, including embryos reviewed in2. We quantified glyphosate residues in eggs, but also maternal allocation to eggs (egg, yolk, and shell mass and yolk thyroid hormone concentration) to account for potential indirect GBH effects. Prenatal thyroid hormones (THs) (thyroxine, T4 and triiodothyronine, T3) play a key role in coordinating embryo development20,26, especially brain development27. Embryo THs have been reported to vary with maternal GBH exposure in rats (dose: RoundUp 5 and 50 mg/kg/day28), but generally the effects of GBHs on THs are poorly understood. Japanese quails were selected as the model species because the results can be applied to both wild birds feeding on GBH-contaminated food in the field and to poultry farming. We experimentally exposed parental bird generation to GBHs (ca 200 mg/kg feed) or respective controls from 10 days of age to 12 months. The egg samples were collected at 4 and 12 months to examine the potential cumulative effects of long-term exposure. We measured the potential effects on (1) on egg quality (egg, yolk, and shell mass as well as egg thyroid hormones); (2) on embryo development; and (3) embryo oxidative stress and damage.ResultsWe detected 0.76 mg/kg (S.D. ± 0.16) of glyphosate residue in eggs see also29, which is above the levels reported in the previous literature30. Egg mass from GBH and control parents did not differ after 4 or 12 months of exposure (treatment F1, 17,1 = 0.12, p = 0.73, treatment*exposure duration F1, 270 = 0.02, p = 0.89, Table 1) but was generally larger at 12 months of age (duration: F1, 271 = 8.8, p = 0.003). No differences between GBH exposed and control females in yolk mass, shell mass, or egg T3 and T4 concentrations were detected (Table 1, Suppl Fig. 1).Table 1 Quality of the eggs (egg, yolk, and shell mass; thyroid hormone concentrations: T3 = triiodothyronine, T4 = thyroxine, average ± SD) from GBH (glyphosate based herbicide)-exposed and control females. The egg mass was averaged over all eggs (4 and 12 months of exposure). The other parameters were measured after 4 months of exposure. See text for power analysis.Full size tableEmbryo development was normal in 89% of control eggs, while 76% of GBH eggs had normally developed embryos when pooling data from 3-day and 10-day embryos. The lower percentage of normal development in GBH eggs tended to be statistically significant (treatment F1, 22 = 3.08, p = 0.09) and the trend was similar at both 4 and 12 months of parental exposure (treatment*duration F1, 312 = 0.6, p = 0.43, Fig. 1). The eggs with no or little development were distributed across pairs and for none of the pairs were all eggs classified as undeveloped. Brain mass did not differ between embryos from GBH-exposed and control parents (mean ± SD in mg; GBH: 67.1 ± 12.5, control 68.1 ± 15.5; F1,31 = 0.04, p = 0.84). Brain oxidative status at 12 months of parental exposure was measured from 19 control and 16 GBH embryos. We measured ca 20% higher lipid damage in the GBH embryos than controls. This difference tended to be statistically significant (F1, 16.8 = 3.2, p = 0.088, Table 2, Suppl Fig. 2), yet there were no differences in the activity of antioxidant enzymes (GST, GP or CAT) between the two groups (Table 2, Suppl Fig. 2).Figure 1Embryonic status in relation to glyphosate-based herbicide exposure and duration of the exposure. GBH = glyphosate exposed, CO = controls. The bars are drawn separately for GBH and control eggs and after 4 and 12 months of exposure: we assessed 3-day-old embryos at 4 months and at 10-day-old embryos 12 months. Sample sizes are indicated in parentheses.Full size imageTable 2 Average (±SD) of glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GP), catalase (CAT) activity, and damage to lipids (MDA) in 10-day-old Japanese quail embryos exposed to maternally-derived glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) or unexposed embryos (control). Associate statistics from linear mixed models (LMMs) are reported below. See text for power analysis.Full size tableDiscussionOur results indicate that parental exposure to GBHs may lead to weak negative effects on embryo development and physiology. We detected no evidence for changes in egg quality (egg, yolk, shell mass, or egg hormone concentration), suggesting no indirect effects via the altered allocation of resources or hormones to eggs and embryos.The tendency for poorer embryo development in eggs of GBH-exposed parents may be explained by GBH-related effects via either a paternal or maternal route, or both. We did not appear to observe cumulative effects of GBH exposure on embryo viability, as longer exposure (12 vs 4 months) did not lead to less viability. The eggs with no visible development (to the naked eye) could have been completely infertile or showing developmental arrest at an early stage. There are multiple potential mechanisms underlying such effects: For example, early embryos of fish showed developmental anomalies (disproportional head and body size) and increased heart rate (medeka, 100–500 mg/L RoundUp31, neurotoxic effects zebrafish, up to 50 mg/L RoundUp32) and Xenopus showed craniofacial deformities12. Poultry embryos and mice oocytes expressed increased oxidative stress (500 mM pure glyphosate33) and lower hatchability (10 mg/kg egg RoundUp<a title="Fathi, M. A. et al. Effect of in ovo glyphosate injection on embryonic development, serum

An Unusual Digestive Foreign Body

Foreign digestive bodies present unusual circumstances because they are associated with various degrees of local trauma and may lead to direct perforation or delayed local injury. Patients with foreign bodies should be evaluated upon admission for signs of impaction and perforation. While all objects impacted in the esophagus require urgent treatment, rectal foreign bodies are usually removable through the anus. The current case illustrates successful endoscopic retrieval of a proximally located foreign body in a particular legal situation where physicians had to work closely with police officers and court members

Effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide on survival and oxidative status of a non-target herbivore, the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)

Glyphosate is the globally most used herbicide against a wide range of weeds. Glyphosate has been considered safe to animals as it mainly targets physiological pathways in plants. However, recent toxicological studies have revealed that glyphosate can cause various toxic effects also on animals. In this study, we investigated the direct toxic effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH, Roundup® Bio) on 1) survival and 2) oxidative status of a non-target herbivore by using Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), originating from Poland and USA, as model species. Larvae were randomly divided into three groups: 1) high concentration (100% Roundup Bio, 360 g/l), 2) low concentration (1.5% Roundup Bio) and 3) control group (water). Larvae were exposed to Roundup for different time periods: 2 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h. Larval survival decreased in the group treated with high concentration of GBH compared to controls, whereas the low concentration group did not differ from the control group. GBH treatment had no association with oxidative status biomarkers (i.e. catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione and glutathione related enzymes), but increased lipid hydroperoxide levels after 2 h exposure, suggesting increased oxidative damage soon after the exposure. Larvae of different origin also differed in their oxidative status, indicating population-dependent differences in antioxidant defence system. Environmentally relevant concentrations of GBH are not likely to affect larval survival, but high concentrations can reduce survival and increase oxidative damage of non-target herbivores. Also, populations of different origin and pesticide usage history can differ in their tolerance to GBH.</p

Pim-1 Kinase Expression Predicts Radiation Response in Squamocellular Carcinoma of Head and Neck and Is under the Control of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor

Pim-1 is an oncogenic serine/threonine kinase with poorly defined function in epithelial cancers. In this study, we determined 1) associations of Pim-1 expression with clinicopathological parameters including responsiveness to irradiation in squamocellular cancers of head and neck and 2) how Pim-1 expression is controlled subsequent to irradiation. Moderate to high expression of Pim-1 correlated to poor response to radiation therapy (P = .003). It is also associated to the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, P < .0001), which has been shown to be activated by irradiation. In radioresistant tumors, irradiation promoted nuclear translocation of Pim-1 (P < .005). When directly testing EGFR dependence of Pim-1 expression, up-regulation and nuclear translocation of Pim-1 could be induced through stimulation of EGFR with its ligands EGF or transforming growth factor a. Both ligand- and irradiation-induced changes in Pim-1 expression and localization could be inhibited by the monoclonal anti-EGFR antibody cetuximab and by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib also targeting EGFR. These results suggest that irradiation-induced activation of EGFR upregulates Pim-1, and Pim-1 may be used as a novel predictive marker of radiation response in patients with squamocellular cancers of head and neck.</p

Pim-selective inhibitor DHPCC-9 reveals Pim kinases as potent stimulators of cancer cell migration and invasion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pim family kinases are small constitutively active serine/threonine-specific kinases, elevated levels of which have been detected in human hematopoietic malignancies as well as in solid tumours. While we and others have previously shown that the oncogenic Pim kinases stimulate survival of hematopoietic cells, we now examined their putative role in regulating motility of adherent cancer cells. For this purpose, we inhibited Pim kinase activity using a small molecule compound, 1,10-dihydropyrrolo[2,3-<it>a</it>]carbazole-3-carbaldehyde (DHPCC-9), which we had recently identified as a potent and selective inhibitor for all Pim family members.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We now demonstrate that the Pim kinase inhibitor DHPCC-9 is very effective also in cell-based assays. DHPCC-9 impairs the anti-apoptotic effects of Pim-1 in cytokine-deprived myeloid cells and inhibits intracellular phosphorylation of Pim substrates such as Bad. Moreover, DHPCC-9 slows down migration and invasion of cancer cells derived from either prostate cancer or squamocellular carcinoma patients. Silencing of Pim expression reduces cell motility, while Pim overexpression enhances it, strongly suggesting that the observed effects of DHPCC-9 are dependent on Pim kinase activity. Interestingly, DHPCC-9 also abrogates NFATc-dependent migration of cancer cells, implying that NFATc factors mediate at least part of the pro-migratory effects of Pim kinases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Altogether, our data indicate that DHPCC-9 is not only a powerful tool to investigate physiological effects of the oncogenic Pim family kinases, but also an attractive molecule for drug development to inhibit invasiveness of Pim-overexpressing cancer cells.</p