Chrysymenia wrightii (Rhodymeniales, Rhodophyta) - a new non-native species for the European Atlantic Coast

Chrysymenia wrightii, originally described from Japan, was found for the first time from the European Atlantic coast. It was collected in several subtidal rocky bottom habitats (9-14 meters depth) of the Ría de Arousa (Galicia, NW Spain). In this work, a description of Galician gametophytic and tetrasporophytic plants is provided. They are similar to the Mediterranean and Japanese plants. DNA sequence data of materials from Galicia and Korea were investigated using nuclear SSU and ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA and plastid rbcL sequences. No genetic variation was observed in the SSU, and only one substitution was detected in ITS and rbcL data between Galician and Korean samples, respectively. Our molecular data indicate that the Galician populations of C. wrightii are probably due to a recent introduction event from the northwest Pacific. Despite the fact that C. wrightii was formerly recorded as a new non-native species from a Mediterranean hotspot (Thau Lagoon, 1987-1989), it was never reported for the European Atlantic coast. After 30 years of its first report in the Mediterranean Sea, the simultaneous occurrence of C. wrightii in four subtidal localities of NW Spain suggests that this species may have colonized the region unnoticed for several years which may be related to its subtidal habitat and short life cycle. Similarly to the Mediterranean Sea, the introduction of C. wrightii on the European Atlantic coasts could be enhanced by the intensive aquaculture widely spread along the Galician coast. Curiously, C. wrightii is apparently restricted to both areas, the Ría de Arousa and the Thau Lagoon. In addition, many non-native species markedly represented in Galicia since the 1980’s were firstly reported in the Ría de Arousa. Consequently, the Ría de Arousa should be considered an outstanding European Atlantic hotspot of introduced marine species similar to the Solent region (South of England) or the Thau Lagoon.Xunta de Galicia (PGIDIT03PXIB10301PR) Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, FEDER (CGL2006-03576/BOS) Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (R01-2006-000-10312-0) Basic Research Program of the Korea Polar Research Institute (PE08060)S

Real-time heart rate variability according to ambulatory glucose profile in patients with diabetes mellitus

BackgroundAutonomic neuropathy commonly occurs as a long-term complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and can be diagnosed based on heart rate variability (HRV), calculated from electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. There are limited data on HRV using real-time ECG and ambulatory glucose monitoring in patients with DM. The aim of this study was to investigate real-time HRV according to ambulatory glucose levels in patients with DM.MethodsA total of 43 patients (66.3 ± 7.5 years) with DM underwent continuous real-time ECG monitoring (225.7 ± 107.3 h) for HRV and ambulatory glucose monitoring using a remote monitoring system. We compared the HRV according to the ambulatory glucose profile. Data were analyzed according to the target in glucose range (TIR).ResultsThere were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics of the patients according to the TIR. During monitoring, we checked ECG and ambulatory glucose levels (a total of 15,090 times) simultaneously for all patients. Both time- and frequency-domain HRVs were lower when the patients had poorly controlled glucose levels (TIR < 70%) compared with well controlled glucose levels (TIR > 70%). In addition, heart and respiratory rates increased with real-time glucose levels (P < 0.001).ConclusionsPoorly controlled glucose levels were independently associated with lower HRV in patients with DM. This was further substantiated by the independent continuous association between real-time measurements of hyperglycemia and lower HRV. These data strongly suggest that cardiac autonomic dysfunction is caused by elevated blood sugar levels

Metallo-β-Lactamase-Producing Pseudomonas spp. in Korea: High Prevalence of Isolates with VIM-2 Type and Emergence of Isolates with IMP-1 Type

Purpose: Two Korean nationwide studies showed that metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs)-producing-Pseudomonas spp. are not rare. The aim of this study was to assess the trends of MBL-producing isolates among imipenem-resistant isolates of Pseudomonas spp. Materials and Methods: Imipenem-resistant clinical isolates were collected from 23 hospitals and one commercial laboratory participating in the KONSAR program in 2005. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect MBL genes. Results: Alleles of MBL genes were detected in 10.8% of 415 Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 66.7% of 12 P. putida isolates from 18 of 24 hospitals/laboratory. Among the 14 IMP-1-like and 39 VIM-2-like MBLs, emergence of IMP-6 was detected for the first time. Conclusion: Prevalence of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa has not significantly increased, but IMP-6 emerged in P. aeruginosa

Polar P6

To resolve a dispute associated with the ferroelectricity in hexagonal InMnO3 (h-IMO), we have examined the ground-state structure by exploiting density-functional theory calculations. It is shown that the ferroelectric $\textit{P}6_{3}\textit{cm}$ phase is marginally stable over the nonpolar $\textit{P}\bar{3}\textit{c}1$ phase for a wide range of the external pressure. However, the computed Kohn-Sham energy predicts an interesting crossover from the polar $\textit{P}6_{3}\textit{cm}$ state to the nonpolar $\textit{P}\bar{3} \textit{c}1$ state beginning at a compressive strain of ∼1%. The partial density of states (PDOS) supports our previous finding that the In 4d-O 2p hybridization is the main bonding mechanism directly related to the manifestation of ferroelectricity in h-IMO. In addition, the computed PDOS does not show any evidence of the In 5s-O 2p orbital overlapping which had been asserted to be the main bonding interaction in the nonpolar $\textit{P}\bar{3}\textit{c}1$ phase

Polar P6 3

To resolve a dispute associated with the ferroelectricity in hexagonal InMnO3 (h-IMO), we have examined the ground-state structure by exploiting density-functional theory calculations. It is shown that the ferroelectric $\textit{P}6_{3}\textit{cm}$ phase is marginally stable over the nonpolar $\textit{P}\bar{3}\textit{c}1$ phase for a wide range of the external pressure. However, the computed Kohn-Sham energy predicts an interesting crossover from the polar $\textit{P}6_{3}\textit{cm}$ state to the nonpolar $\textit{P}\bar{3} \textit{c}1$ state beginning at a compressive strain of ∼1%. The partial density of states (PDOS) supports our previous finding that the In 4d-O 2p hybridization is the main bonding mechanism directly related to the manifestation of ferroelectricity in h-IMO. In addition, the computed PDOS does not show any evidence of the In 5s-O 2p orbital overlapping which had been asserted to be the main bonding interaction in the nonpolar $\textit{P}\bar{3}\textit{c}1$ phase