Global variation in diabetes diagnosis and prevalence based on fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but these measurements can identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening, had elevated FPG, HbA1c or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardized proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed and detected in survey screening ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the age-standardized proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29–39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c was more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global shortfall in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance

Global variations in diabetes mellitus based on fasting glucose and haemogloblin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but may identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening had elevated FPG, HbA1c, or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardised proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed, and detected in survey screening, ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the agestandardised proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global gap in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance.peer-reviewe

Relative humidity has dramatic impacts on leaf morphology but little effect on stomatal index or density in Nothofagus cunninghamii (Nothofagaceae)

Reconstructing past environmental conditions using proxies based on fossil and subfossil leaves is difficult because leaf form is influenced by many interacting environmental factors such as temperature, CO₂ concentration, light, soil water availability and, potentially, atmospheric relative humidity (RH). We used a species important for palaeo-environmental reconstruction, the southern beech, Nothofagus cunninghamii, to test for the effects of a 50% difference in RH on leaf morphology and epidermal anatomy in a glasshouse experiment. Leaf size, shape and thickness were all strongly affected by RH with leaves from high humidity being larger, narrower and thicker than those from low humidity regardless of plant accession. RH impacts on epidermal characters were generally slight and dependent upon accession. In particular, epidermal cell size was remarkably consistent across accessions and RH levels. Thus, gross leaf morphology of N. cunninghamii was sensitive to changes in RH but, on average, epidermal characters were not. Thus, palaeoenvironmental signals from the epidermis of this species are unlikely to be affected by variation in RH, provided sufficient numbers of leaves are investigated. Gross leaf morphology, however, was strongly related to RH and should not be used for palaeo-climatic reconstruction if changes in RH are likely

Light Regulation of Gibberellin Biosynthesis in Pea Is Mediated through the COP1/HY5 Pathway[W]

Light regulation of gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis occurs in several species, but the signaling pathway through which this occurs has not been clearly established. We have isolated a new pea (Pisum sativum) mutant, long1, with a light-dependent elongated phenotype that is particularly pronounced in the epicotyl and first internode. The long1 mutation impairs signaling from phytochrome and cryptochrome photoreceptors and interacts genetically with a mutation in LIP1, the pea ortholog of Arabidopsis thaliana COP1. Mutant long1 seedlings show a dramatic impairment in the light regulation of active GA levels and the expression of several GA biosynthetic genes, most notably the GA catabolism gene GA2ox2. The long1 mutant carries a nonsense mutation in a gene orthologous to the ASTRAY gene from Lotus japonicus, a divergent ortholog of the Arabidopsis bZIP transcription factor gene HY5. Our results show that LONG1 has a central role in mediating the effects of light on GA biosynthesis in pea and demonstrate the importance of this regulation for appropriate photomorphogenic development. By contrast, LONG1 has no effect on GA responsiveness, implying that interactions between LONG1 and GA signaling are not a significant component of the molecular framework for light–GA interactions in pea

Warming and free-air CO2 enrichment alter demographics in four co-occurring grassland species

Species differ in their responses to global changes such as rising CO₂ and temperature, meaning that global changes are likely to change the structure of plant communities. Such alterations in community composition must be underlain by changes in the population dynamics of component species. Here, the impact of elevated CO₂ (550 µmol mol-1) and warming (+2°C) on the population growth of four plant species important in Australian temperate grasslands is reported. Data collected from the Tasmanian free-air CO₂ enrichment (TasFACE) experiment between 2003 and 2006 were analysed using population matrix models. Population growth of Themeda triandra, a perennial C₄ grass, was largely unaffected by either factor but population growth of Austrodanthonia caespitosa, a perennial C₃ grass, was reduced substantially in elevated CO₂ plots. Warming and elevated CO₂ had antagonistic effects on population growth of two invasive weeds, Hypochaeris radicata and Leontodon taraxacoides, with warming causing population decline. Analysis of life cycle stages showed that seed production, seedling emergence and establishment were important factors in the responses of the species to global changes. These results show that the demographic approach is very useful in understanding the variable responses of plants to global changes and in elucidating the life cycle stages that are most responsive

Warming prevents the elevated CO₂-induced reduction in available soil nitrogen in a temperate, perennial grassland

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO₂]) has the potential to stimulate ecosystem productivity and sink strength, reducing the effects of carbon (C) emissions on climate. In terrestrial ecosystems, increasing [CO₂] can reduce soil nitrogen (N) availability to plants, preventing the stimulation of ecosystem C assimilation; a process known as progressive N limitation. Using ion exchange membranes to assess the availability of dissolved organic N, ammonium and nitrate, we found that CO₂ enrichment in an Australian, temperate, perennial grassland did not increase plant productivity, but did reduce soil N availability, mostly by reducing nitrate availability. Importantly, the addition of 2 °C warming prevented this effect while warming without CO₂ enrichment did not significantly affect N availability. These findings indicate that warming could play an important role in the impact of [CO₂] on ecosystem N cycling, potentially overturning CO₂‐induced effects in some ecosystems

Early Flowering 3 redundancy fine-tunes photoperiod sensitivity

Three pea (Pisum sativum) loci controlling photoperiod sensitivity, HIGH RESPONSE (HR), DIE NEUTRALIS (DNE), and STERILE NODES (SN), have recently been shown to correspond to orthologs of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) circadian clock genes EARLY FLOWERING3 (ELF3), ELF4, and LUX ARRHYTHMO, respectively. A fourth pea locus, PHOTOPERIOD (PPD), also contributes to the photoperiod response in a similar manner to SN and DNE, and recessive ppd mutants on a springflowering hr mutant background show early, photoperiod-insensitive flowering. However, the molecular identity of PPD has so far remained elusive. Here, we show that the PPD locus also has a role in maintenance of diurnal and circadian gene expression rhythms and identify PPD as an ELF3 co-ortholog, termed ELF3b. Genetic interactions between pea ELF3 genes suggest that loss of PPD function does not affect flowering time in the presence of functional HR, whereas PPD can compensate only partially for the lack of HR. These results provide an illustration of how gene duplication and divergence can generate potential for the emergence of more subtle variations in phenotype that may be adaptively significant

Influence of warming on soil water potential controls seedling mortality in perennial but not annual species in a temperate grassland

In a water-limited system, the following hypotheses are proposed: warming will increase seedling mortality; elevated atmospheric CO2 will reduce seedling mortality by reducing transpiration, thereby increasing soil water availability; and longevity (i.e. whether a species is annual or perennial) will affect the response of a species to global changes. Here, these three hypotheses are tested by assessing the impact of elevated CO2 (550 μmol mol-1) and warming (+2°C) on seedling emergence, survivorship and establishment in an Australian temperate grassland from autumn 2004 to autumn 2007. Warming impacts on seedling survivorship were dependent upon species longevity. Warming reduced seedling survivorship of perennials through its effects on soil water potential but the seedling survivorship of annuals was reduced to a greater extent than could be accounted for by treatment effects on soil water potential. Elevated CO2 did not significantly affect seedling survivorship in annuals or perennials. These results show that warming will alter recruitment of perennial species by changing soil water potential but will reduce recruitment of annual species independent of any effects on soil moisture. The results also show that exposure to elevated CO2 does not make seedlings more resistant to dry soils

Warming and elevated CO2 affect the relationship between seed mass, germinability and seedling growth in Austrodanthonia caespitosa, a dominant Australian grass

While the influence of elevated CO2 on the production, mass and quality of plant seeds has been well studied, the effect of warming on these characters is largely unknown; and there is practically no information on possible interactions between warming and elevated CO2, despite the importance of these characters in population maintenance and recovery. Here, we present the impacts of elevated CO2 and warming, both in isolation and combination, on seed production, mass, quality, germination success and subsequent seedling growth of Austrodanthonia caespitosa, a dominant temperate C3 grass from Australia, using seeds collected from the TasFACE experiment. Mean seed production and mass were not significantly affected by either elevated CO2 or warming, but elevated CO2 more than doubled the proportion of very light, inviable seeds (P<0.05) and halved mean seed N concentration (P<0.04) and N content (P<0.03). The dependence of seed germination success on seed mass was affected by an elevated CO2 x warming interaction (P<0.004), such that maternal exposure to elevated CO2 or warming reduced germination if applied in isolation, but not when applied in combination. Maternal effects were retained when seedlings were grown in a common environment for 6 weeks, with seedlings descended from warmed plants 20% smaller (P<0.008) with a higher root:shoot ratio (PV0.001) than those from unwarmed plants. Given that both elevated CO2 and warming reduced seed mass, quality, germinability or seedling growth, it is likely that global change will reduce population growth or distribution of this dominant species