Can size distributions of European lake fish communities be predicted by trophic positions of their fish species?

An organism's body size plays an important role in ecological interactions such as predator-prey relationships. As predators are typically larger than their prey, this often leads to a strong positive relationship between body size and trophic position in aquatic ecosystems. The distribution of body sizes in a community can thus be an indicator of the strengths of predator-prey interactions. The aim of this study was to gain more insight into the relationship between fish body size distribution and trophic position in a wide range of European lakes. We used quantile regression to examine the relationship between fish species' trophic position and their log-transformed maximum body mass for 48 fish species found in 235 European lakes. Subsequently, we examined whether the slopes of the continuous community size distributions, estimated by maximum likelihood, were predicted by trophic position, predator-prey mass ratio (PPMR), or abundance (number per unit effort) of fish communities in these lakes. We found a positive linear relationship between species' maximum body mass and average trophic position in fishes only for the 75% quantile, contrasting our expectation that species' trophic position systematically increases with maximum body mass for fish species in European lakes. Consequently, the size spectrum slope was not related to the average community trophic position, but there were negative effects of community PPMR and total fish abundance on the size spectrum slope. We conclude that predator-prey interactions likely do not contribute strongly to shaping community size distributions in these lakes

Patent infections with soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma mansoni are not associated with increased prevalence of antibodies to the Onchocerca volvulus peptide epitopes OvMP-1 and OvMP-23

Background: Ov16 serology is considered a reference method for Onchocerca volvulus epidemiological mapping. Given the suboptimal sensitivity of this test and the fact that seroconversion takes more than a year after infection, additional serological tests might be needed to guide onchocerciasis elimination programmes. Recently, two linear epitopes encoded in OvMP-1 and OvMP-23 peptides were introduced as serological markers, but the observed antibody cross-reactivity in samples originating from Onchocerca volvulus non-endemic areas required further investigation. Methods: We evaluated both peptide markers in an O. volvulus hypo-endemic setting in Jimma Town, Ethiopia using peptide ELISA. For all individuals (n = 303), the infection status with soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma mansoni was known. Results: We found that 11 (3.6%) individuals were positive for anti-Ov16 IgG4 antibodies, while 34 (11.2%) and 15 (5.0%) individuals were positive for OvMP-1 and OvMP-23, respectively. Out of the 34 OvMP-1 positive samples, 33 were negative on the Ov16 IgG4 ELISA. Similarly, out of the 15 OvMP-23 positive samples, 14 scored negative on this reference method. No difference in seroprevalence for all three markers could be observed between uninfected individuals and individuals infected with different soil-transmitted helminths or S. mansoni. Moreover, the intensity of the response to OvMP-1, OvMP-23 or Ov16 was not significantly stronger in individuals carrying patent STH or S. mansoni infections, nor was there any correlation between the intensities of the responses to the three different antigens. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that a patent infection with either soil-transmitted helminths or S. mansoni does not lead to increased antibody recognition of both OvMP-1 and OvMP23

Architectural design education: in varietate unitas

A fascinating and rich landscape of personal views and approaches can be seen in architectural design and in architectural design education. This variation may be confusing for students. This paper focuses on the question: is the framework of generic elements that we developed for explicating the design process helpful to compare the differences in architectural design approaches? The results of interviewing a variety of 15 architectural, urban and landscape designers show all kinds of personal approaches that have a set of five underlying generic elements in common. Therefore, the framework may be helpful for teachers and students to describe these personal approaches and may help students in understanding differences and similarities and in finding out what their own personal approach may be.</p

A novel real-world ecotoxicological dataset of pelagic microbial community responses to wastewater.

Real-world observational datasets that record and quantify pressure-stressor-response linkages between effluent discharges and natural aquatic systems are rare. With global wastewater volumes increasing at unprecedented rates, it is urgent that the present dataset is available to provide the necessary information about microbial community structure and functioning. Field studies were performed at two time-points in the Austral summer. Single-species and microbial community whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing was performed at a complete range of effluent concentrations and two salinities, with accompanying environmental data to provide new insights into nutrient and organic matter cycling, and to identify ecotoxicological tipping points. The two salinity regimes were chosen to investigate future scenarios based on a predicted salinity increase at the study site, typical of coastal regions with rising sea levels globally. Flow cytometry, amplicon sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes and micro-fluidic quantitative polymerase-chain reactions (MFQPCR) were used to determine chlorophyll-a and total bacterial cell numbers and size, as well as taxonomic and functional diversity of pelagic microbial communities. This strong pilot dataset could be replicated in other regions globally and would be of high value to scientists and engineers to support the next advances in microbial ecotoxicology, environmental biomonitoring and estuarine water quality modelling

Cartoon Computation: Quantum-like computing without quantum mechanics

We present a computational framework based on geometric structures. No quantum mechanics is involved, and yet the algorithms perform tasks analogous to quantum computation. Tensor products and entangled states are not needed -- they are replaced by sets of basic shapes. To test the formalism we solve in geometric terms the Deutsch-Jozsa problem, historically the first example that demonstrated the potential power of quantum computation. Each step of the algorithm has a clear geometric interpetation and allows for a cartoon representation.Comment: version accepted in J. Phys.A (Letter to the Editor

Analyzing three-player quantum games in an EPR type setup

We use the formalism of Clifford Geometric Algebra (GA) to develop an analysis of quantum versions of three-player non-cooperative games. The quantum games we explore are played in an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) type setting. In this setting, the players' strategy sets remain identical to the ones in the mixed-strategy version of the classical game that is obtained as a proper subset of the corresponding quantum game. Using GA we investigate the outcome of a realization of the game by players sharing GHZ state, W state, and a mixture of GHZ and W states. As a specific example, we study the game of three-player Prisoners' Dilemma.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figure

Cost Effectiveness of a CYP2C19 Genotype-Guided Strategy in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction:Results from the POPular Genetics Trial

INTRODUCTION: The POPular Genetics trial demonstrated that a CYP2C19 genotype-guided P2Y12 inhibitor strategy reduced bleeding rates compared with standard treatment with ticagrelor or prasugrel without increasing thrombotic event rates after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). OBJECTIVE: In this analysis, we aimed to evaluate the cost effectiveness of a genotype-guided strategy compared with standard treatment with ticagrelor or prasugrel. METHODS: A 1-year decision tree based on the POPular Genetics trial in combination with a lifelong Markov model was developed to compare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) between a genotype-guided and a standard P2Y12 inhibitor strategy in patients with myocardial infarction undergoing primary PCI. The cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted from a Dutch healthcare system perspective. Within-trial survival and utility data were combined with lifetime projections to evaluate lifetime cost effectiveness for a cohort of 1000 patients. Costs and utilities were discounted at 4 and 1.5%, respectively, according to Dutch guidelines for health economic studies. Besides deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses, several scenario analyses were also conducted (different time horizons, different discount rates, equal prices for P2Y12 inhibitors, and equal distribution of thrombotic events between the two strategies). RESULTS: Base-case analysis with a hypothetical cohort of 1000 subjects demonstrated 8.98 QALYs gained and €725,550.69 in cost savings for the genotype-guided strategy (dominant). The deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the model and the cost-effectiveness results. In scenario analyses, the genotype-guided strategy remained dominant. CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing primary PCI, a CYP2C19 genotype-guided strategy compared with standard treatment with ticagrelor or prasugrel resulted in QALYs gained and cost savings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov number: NCT01761786, Netherlands trial register number: NL2872

The CD40-CD40L Dyad in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis and Multiple Sclerosis

The CD40-CD40L dyad is an immune checkpoint regulator that promotes both innate and adaptive immune responses and has therefore an essential role in the development of inflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). In MS, CD40 and CD40L are expressed on immune cells present in blood and lymphoid organs, affected resident central nervous system (CNS) cells, and inflammatory cells that have infiltrated the CNS. CD40-CD40L interactions fuel the inflammatory response underlying MS, and both genetic deficiency and antibody-mediated inhibition of the CD40-CD40L dyad reduce disease severity in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Both proteins are therefore attractive therapeutic candidates to modulate aberrant inflammatory responses in MS. Here, we discuss the genetic, experimental and clinical studies on the role of CD40 and CD40L interactions in EAE and MS and we explore novel approaches to therapeutically target this dyad to combat neuroinflammatory diseases