Stem, root, and older leaf N:P ratios are more responsive indicators of soil nutrient availability than new foliage

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecology 95 (2014): 2062–2068, doi:10.1890/13-1671.1.Foliar nitrogen to phosphorus (N:P) ratios are widely used to indicate soil nutrient availability and limitation, but the foliar ratios of woody plants have proven more complicated to interpret than ratios from whole biomass of herbaceous species. This may be related to tissues in woody species acting as nutrient reservoirs during active growth, allowing maintenance of optimal N:P ratios in recently produced, fully expanded leaves (i.e., “new” leaves, the most commonly sampled tissue). Here we address the hypothesis that N:P ratios of newly expanded leaves are less sensitive indicators of soil nutrient availability than are other tissue types in woody plants. Seedlings of five naturally established tree species were harvested from plots receiving two years of fertilizer treatments in a lowland tropical forest in the Republic of Panama. Nutrient concentrations were determined in new leaves, old leaves, stems, and roots. For stems and roots, N:P ratios increased after N addition and decreased after P addition, and trends were consistent across all five species. Older leaves also showed strong responses to N and P addition, and trends were consistent for four of five species. In comparison, overall N:P ratio responses in new leaves were more variable across species. These results indicate that the N:P ratios of stems, roots, and older leaves are more responsive indicators of soil nutrient availability than are those of new leaves. Testing the generality of this result could improve the use of tissue nutrient ratios as indices of soil nutrient availability in woody plants.Data are from Santiago et al. (2012), which was supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to S. J. Wright, a Smithsonian Institute Scholarly Studies grant to S. J. Wright and J. B. Yavitt, and a University of California Regent’s Faculty Fellowship to L. S. Santiago. L. A. Schreeg was partially supported through a Marine Biological Laboratory-Brown University SEED grant to Z. Cardon, S. Porder, and L. A. Schreeg

Novel polymer coupling chemistry based upon latent cysteine-like residues and thiazolidine chemistry

Chain end functional polymers were prepared via reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization techniques that were further chain extended with acrylonitrile. Under reducing conditions, latent cysteine-like residues were exposed at the chain ends. A variety of reduction conditions were explored and base polymers were then tethered together via thiazolidine chemistry

Microarray profiling of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins

Microarrays were developed to profile the level of proteins associated with calcium regulation in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) isolated from porcine Longissimus muscle. The microarrays consisted of SR preparations printed onto to glass slides and probed with monoclonal antibodies to 7 target proteins. Proteins investigated included: ryanodine receptor, (RyR), dihydropyridine receptor, (DHPR), triadin (TRI), calsequestrin (CSQ), 90 kDa junctional protein (JSR90), and fast-twitch and slow-twitch SR calcium ATPases (SERCA1 and SERCA2). Signal from a fluorescentlylabeled detection antibody was measured and quantitated using a slide reader. The microarray developed was also employed to profile Longissimus muscle SR proteins from halothane genotyped animals. Significant (P\u3c0.05) reductions in levels of several proteins were found including: RyR, CSQ, TRI, DHPR and SERCA2 in SR samples from halothane positive animals. The results illustrate the potential of microarrays as a tool for profiling SR proteins and aiding investigations of calcium regulation

Microarray profiling of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins

Microarrays were developed to profile the level of proteins associated with calcium regulation in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) isolated from porcine Longissimus muscle. The microarrays consisted of SR preparations printed onto to glass slides and probed with monoclonal antibodies to 7 target proteins. Proteins investigated included: ryanodine receptor, (RyR), dihydropyridine receptor, (DHPR), triadin (TRI), calsequestrin (CSQ), 90 kDa junctional protein (JSR90), and fast-twitch and slow-twitch SR calcium ATPases (SERCA1 and SERCA2). Signal from a fluorescentlylabeled detection antibody was measured and quantitated using a slide reader. The microarray developed was also employed to profile Longissimus muscle SR proteins from halothane genotyped animals. Significant (P\u3c0.05) reductions in levels of several proteins were found including: RyR, CSQ, TRI, DHPR and SERCA2 in SR samples from halothane positive animals. The results illustrate the potential of microarrays as a tool for profiling SR proteins and aiding investigations of calcium regulation

Healthy country, healthy people: the relationship between Indigenous health status and "caring for country"

Objective: To investigate associations between “caring for country” — an activity that Indigenous peoples assert promotes good health — and health outcomes relevant to excess Indigenous morbidity and mortality.Design, setting and participants: Cross-sectional study involving 298 Indigenous adults aged 15–54 years in an Arnhem Land community, recruited from March to September 2005.Main outcome measures: Self-reported involvement in caring for country, health behaviours and clinically measured body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, type 2 diabetes status, albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR), levels of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, lipid ratio, score on the five-item version of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K5), and 5-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.Results: Controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviours, multivariate regression revealed significant and substantial associations between caring for country and health outcomes. An interquartile range rise in the weighted composite caring-for-country score was significantly associated with more frequent physical activity, better diet, lower BMI (regression coefficient [b] = − 2.83; 95% CI, − 4.56 to − 1.10), less abdominal obesity (odds ratio [OR], 0.43; 95% CI, 0.26–0.72), lower systolic blood pressure (b = − 7.59; 95% CI, − 12.01 to − 3.17), less diabetes (OR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.03–0.52), lower HbA1c level (b = − 0.45; 95% CI, − 0.79 to − 0.11), non-elevated ACR (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.13–0.60), higher HDL cholesterol level (b = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.01–0.12), lower K5 score (b = − 0.97; 95% CI, − 1.64 to − 0.31) and lower CVD risk (b = − 0.77; 95% CI, − 1.43 to − 0.11).Conclusions: Greater Indigenous participation in caring for country activities is associated with significantly better health. Although the causal direction of these associations requires clarification, our findings suggest that investment in caring for country may be a means to foster sustainable economic development and gains for both ecological and Indigenous peoples’ health

Omission, Erasure and Obfuscation in the Police Institutional Killing of Black Men

Between 1990 and the time of writing, 1,849 people have died in police custody or otherwise following police contact in England and Wales, with people from racially minoritised backgrounds over-represented in use of force and restraint related deaths. Drawing upon research undertaken by the authors, alongside bereaved families, this paper approaches these deaths as a form of institutional killings, surfacing the norms, cultures and values which systematically omit, obfuscate and mystify the violence of police action and inaction that eventuates these deaths. We contend that the police use of lethal force is therefore embedded and enmeshed within the processes, attitudes and behaviours of the police as an institution–both historically and in the present–which shapes how those killed encounter the police, how their deaths are (re)presented and how their bereaved families experience the processes which follow. The article argues that these processes follow a predictable pattern, with a similar lack of accountability also observable across other aspects of the criminal justice sector in relation to state deaths

Effects of Alpha Interferon Treatment on Intrinsic Anti-HIV-1 Immunity In Vivo

Alpha interferon (IFN-α) suppresses human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in vitro by inducing cell-intrinsic retroviral restriction mechanisms. We investigated the effects of IFN-α/ribavirin (IFN-α/riba) treatment on 34 anti-HIV-1 restriction factors in vivo. Expression of several anti-HIV-1 restriction factors was significantly induced by IFN-α/riba in HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected individuals. Fold induction of cumulative restriction factor expression in CD4+ T cells was significantly correlated with viral load reduction during IFN-α/riba treatment (r2 = 0.649; P < 0.016). Exogenous IFN-α induces supraphysiologic restriction factor expression associated with a pronounced decrease in HIV-1 viremia

Keratinocyte growth factor in acute lung injury to reduce pulmonary dysfunction – a randomised placebo-controlled trial (KARE): study protocol

Abstract Background Acute lung injury is a common, devastating clinical syndrome associated with substantial mortality and morbidity with currently no proven therapeutic interventional strategy to improve patient outcomes. The objectives of this study are to test the potential therapeutic effects of keratinocyte growth factor for patients with acute lung injury on oxygenation and biological indicators of acute inflammation, lung epithelial and endothelial function, protease:antiprotease balance, and lung extracellular matrix degradation and turnover. Methods/design This will be a prospective, randomised, double-blind, allocation-concealed, placebo-controlled, phase 2, multicentre trial. Randomisation will be stratified by presence of severe sepsis requiring vasopressors. Patients in an ICU fulfilling the American–European Consensus Conference Definition of acute lung injury will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive an intravenous bolus of either keratinocyte growth factor (palifermin, 60 μg/kg) or placebo (0.9% sodium chloride solution) daily for a maximum of 6 days. The primary endpoint of this clinical study is to evaluate the efficacy of palifermin to improve the oxygenation index at day 7 or the last available oxygenation index prior to patient discontinuation from the study.A formal statistical analysis plan has been constructed. Analyses will be carried out on an intention-to-treat basis. A single analysis is planned at the end of the trial. P = 0.05 will be considered statistically significant and all tests will be two-sided. For continuously distributed outcomes, differences between groups will be tested using independent-sample t tests, analysis of variance and analysis of covariance with transformation of variables to normality or nonparametric equivalents. The trial will be reported in line with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (Consort 2010 guidelines). Trial registration http://ISRCTN9569067