The Unintended Benefits of Dams Should Be Considered Prior to Removal

Dams provide multiple benefits; however, they also degrade rivers. Many dams no longer serve their intended purpose and are nearing the end of their operational lives. The aging of dams coupled with the cost of restoration and maintenance, regulation, and the ecologic impacts of dams has resulted in removal becoming a viable management alternative. Despite increased utilization, limited research and a lack of quantitative predictive capacity results in large amounts of uncertainty associated with impacts of dam removal. Additionally, dams which no longer serve their intended purpose may still have unintended positive benefits such as the prevention of the spread of invasive species, providing recreational opportunities, and the treatment of water pollution from upstream reaches. Failure to identify unintended benefits of dams can prevent accurate determinations of the potential consequences of removal. Therefore, identifying unintentional benefits of a dam is an essential step in determining the potential impacts of dam removal. The Mill Pond Dam in the Oak Creek Watershed is being considered for removal. The dam may be a barrier to invasive species, provide recreational opportunities, and improve downstream water quality. A fish passage survey was conducted at all stream crossings within the watershed to determine if the dam is a barrier to invasive species. A bathymetric survey was conducted and E. coli data was collected to determine if the dam provides recreational opportunities. A suite of water quality parameters was assessed weekly for 61 weeks at six sites upstream, within, and downstream of the impoundment to determine if the dam improved physical, chemical, or biological aspects of downstream water quality. The results of this study indicate that the Mill Pond Dam may have acted as a barrier to invasive species, the impoundment did not provide recreational opportunities, and the dam did not improve downstream water quality during the study period. The methods utilized in this study are transferable and could be used at other locations to improve the understanding of the potential consequences of dam removal

High contrast Mach-Zehnder lithium atom interferometer in the Bragg regime

We have constructed an atom interferometer of the Mach-Zehnder type, operating with a supersonic beam of lithium. Atom diffraction uses Bragg diffraction on laser standing waves. With first order diffraction, our apparatus has given a large signal and a very good fringe contrast (74%), which we believe to be the highest ever observed with atom interferometers. This apparatus will be applied to high sensitivity measurementsComment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Appl. Phys.

Do Speakers Build the Categories Linguists Postulate? A Usage-Based Exploration

Linguists are naturally inclined to seek maximally general categories for the description of linguistic phenomena, e.g. the present tense or the reflexive voice. It has been taken for granted that speakers use the same categories in their daily experience with language. A few studies have indicated, however, that speakers might not be able to build some general constructions that linguists postulate (see e.g. Dąbrowska 2008a; Perek 2015). If we would like for our descriptions to reflect the linguistic knowledge of native speakers, we need to empirically investigate the cognitive reality of the categories we develop. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate whether speakers build the categories linguists postulate and if so, how general these categories are. A number of corpus and experimental studies were conducted for Polish prefixed verbs and reflexive verbs, which explored categories of different levels of generality. The results of the studies suggest that speakers might build some general categories (e.g. the one for the Polish marker siebie), while they might not be able to build others (e.g. the ones for the different senses of the verbal prefix po-). These differences can be explained by the frequency with which the constructions occur as well as the nature of their typical contexts. The above result underscores the importance of empirically veryfing the categories linguists postulate. Linguists must not tacitly assume that their linguistic descriptions are cognitively real because it cannot be assessed a priori whether speakers use them or not. Since speakers might not be able to construct for categories that are established in linguistics, such as verbal prefixes, some other ‘traditional’ linguistic categories might need revisiting and empirical verification

Studies of the Photo-transformation of Emerging Contaminants Adsorbed onto Plastic in an Aqueous Environment

The accumulation of plastic debris in the environment poses many threats to the environment and human health (1). One way these plastics can cause environmental damage is through the absorption and transfer of potentially toxic compounds to aquatic animals which in turn transfer these toxins to humans when consumed. These toxins are believed to alter basal metabolic rates and increase adipose tissue production in humans (2). Hydrophobic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) all accumulate on microplastics. The focus of our studies is to understand how the surface area and type of plastic influence the extent of photodegradation of emerging contaminants in aqueous solution when irradiated at 300 nm at different times. Triclosan and 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)nonane were selected as model pollutants for the irradiation studies because they are known to adsorb to plastic in aqueous environments (3). 1-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)nonane produces more decomposition products upon irradiation than triclosan, and therefore we reasoned that it might be a more sensitive probe of the effects of surface area and the polymer structure of the plastic than the triclosan

Stat6-Dependent Inhibition of Mincle Expression in Mouse and Human Antigen-Presenting Cells by the Th2 Cytokine IL-4

The C-type lectin receptors (CLR) Mincle, Mcl and Dectin-2 bind mycobacterial and fungal cell wall glycolipids and carbohydrates. Recently, we described that expression of these CLR is down-regulated during differentiation of human monocytes to dendritic cells (DC) in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4. Here, we demonstrate that the Th2 cytokine IL-4 specifically inhibits expression of Mincle, Mcl and Dectin-2in human APC. This inhibitory effect of IL-4 was observed across species, as murine macrophages and DC treated with IL-4 also down-regulated these receptors. IL-4 blocked up-regulation of Mincle and Mcl mRNA expression and cell surface protein by murine macrophages in response to the Mincle ligand Trehalose-6,6-dibehenate (TDB), whereas the TLR4 ligand LPS overcame inhibition by IL-4. Functionally, down-regulation of Mincle expression by IL-4 was accompanied by reduced cytokine production upon stimulation with TDB. These inhibitory effects of IL-4 were dependent on the transcription factor Stat6. Together, our results show that the key Th2 cytokine IL-4 exerts a negative effect on the expression of Mincle and other Dectin-2 cluster CLR in mouse and human macrophages and DC, which may render these sentinel cells less vigilant for sensing mycobacterial and fungal ligands

Female resistance to pneumonia identifies lung macrophage nitric oxide synthase-3 as a therapeutic target

To identify new approaches to enhance innate immunity to bacterial pneumonia, we investigated the natural experiment of gender differences in resistance to infections. Female and estrogen-treated male mice show greater resistance to pneumococcal pneumonia, seen as greater bacterial clearance, diminished lung inflammation, and better survival. In vitro, lung macrophages from female mice and humans show better killing of ingested bacteria. Inhibitors and genetically altered mice identify a critical role for estrogen-mediated activation of lung macrophage nitric oxide synthase-3 (NOS3). Epidemiologic data show decreased hospitalization for pneumonia in women receiving estrogen or statins (known to activate NOS3). Pharmacologic targeting of NOS3 with statins or another small-molecule compound (AVE3085) enhanced macrophage bacterial killing, improved bacterial clearance, and increased host survival in both primary and secondary (post-influenza) pneumonia. The data identify a novel mechanism for host defense via NOS3 and suggest a potential therapeutic strategy to reduce secondary bacterial pneumonia after influenza. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03711.00

Coadministration of antigen-conjugated and free CpG : Effects of in vitro and in vivo interactions in a murine model

CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG) are widely studied as promising adjuvants in vaccines against a range of diseases including infection, cancer or allergy. Conjugating antigen to CpG has been shown to potentiate the adjuvant effect via enhancing antigen uptake and danger signaling by the very same cell. In the present study, using biotinylated CpG and streptavidin as a model system, we demonstrate that CpG motif containing free and antigen-conjugated oligonucleotides do not compete in terms of cell activation via TLR9, but do compete for cellular uptake. Antigen-conjugated CpG enhances cellular association and uptake of the antigen by antigen-presenting cells (APC) and T cells. Free CpG efficiently competes with antigen-CpG conjugates in BMDC and T cells, but shows weak or no competition in B cells that have higher TLR9 expression. Vaccination with antigen-conjugated CpG or with a mixture of antigen and CpG elevates the level of antigen-specific antibodies but co-administration of CpG-antigen conjugates and free CpG adversely effects immunogenicity. These observations may help optimize CpG-based vaccine formulation. © 2014 Elsevier B.V

MARCO variants are associated with phagocytosis, pulmonary tuberculosis susceptibility and Beijing lineage

Macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) has an important role in the phagocytosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). We hypothesized that MARCO polymorphisms are associated with phagocytosis, tuberculosis (TB) disease susceptibility and presentation, and infecting lineage. We used a human cellular model to examine how MARCO genotype mediates the immune response; a case-control study to investigate tuberculosis host genetic susceptibility; and a host-pathogen genetic analysis to study host-pathogen interactions. Two MARCO heterozygous (AG) genotypes (single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs2278589 and rs6751745) were associated with impaired phagocytosis of M. tuberculosis trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate-cord factor and β-glucan-coated beads in macrophages. The heterozygous genotypes of rs2278589 and rs6751745 were also associated with increased risk of pulmonary TB (PTB; rs2278589, P=0.001, odds ratio (OR)=1.6; rs6751745, P=0.009, OR=1.4), and with severe chest X-ray abnormalities (P=0.007, OR=1.6). These two genotypes were also associated with the Beijing lineage (rs2278589, P=0.001, OR=1.7; rs6751745, P=0.01, OR=1.5). Together, these results suggest that MARCO polymorphisms may regulate phagocytosis of M. tuberculosis and susceptibility and severity of PTB. They also suggest MARCO genotype and Beijing strains may interact to increase the risk of PT

The cytokine language of monocytes and macrophages in systemic sclerosis

Many important observations suggest monocyte/macrophage involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc). A high concentration of immune mediators, such as IL-6, IL-10 and IL-13, the infiltration of mononuclear cells in affected organs and the production of autoantibodies suggest that immune system dysfunction drives SSc pathogenesis. The recently reported study by Higashi-Kuwata and colleagues, in light of other observations, provides further insight into activation of macrophages/monocytes in SSc patients, suggesting that these cells undergo distinct activation pathways. These results emphasize the need for more detailed analyses of the several markers now defined in SSc peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tissues to better define the cytokine language speaking to monocytes/macrophages in SSc that promote vascular injury and tissue fibrosis