Predation Risk, Resource Quality, and Reef Structural Complexity Shape Territoriality in a Coral Reef Herbivore

For many species securing territories is important for feeding and reproduction. Factors such as competition, habitat availability, and male characteristics can influence an individual\u27s ability to establish and maintain a territory. The risk of predation can have an important influence on feeding and reproduction; however, few have studied its effect on territoriality. We investigated territoriality in a haremic, polygynous species of coral reef herbivore, Sparisoma aurofrenatum (redband parrotfish), across eight reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary that were either protected or unprotected from fishing of piscivorous fishes. We examined how territory size and quality varied with reef protection status, competition, predation risk, and male size. We then determined how territory size and quality influenced harem size and female size to understand the effect of territoriality on reproductive potential. We found that protected reefs trended towards having more large predatory fishes and that territories there were smaller but had greater algal nutritional quality relative to unprotected reefs. Our data suggest that even though males in protected sites have smaller territories, which support fewer females, they may improve their reproductive potential by choosing nutritionally rich areas, which support larger females. Thus, reef protection appears to shape the trade-off that herbivorous fishes make between territory size and quality. Furthermore, we provide evidence that males in unprotected sites, which are generally less complex than protected sites, choose territories with higher structural complexity, suggesting the importance of this type of habitat for feeding and reproduction in S. aurofrenatum. Our work argues that the loss of corals and the resulting decline in structural complexity, as well as management efforts to protect reefs, could alter the territory dynamics and reproductive potential of important herbivorous fish species

Acute maternal oxidant exposure causes susceptibility of the fetal brain to inflammation and oxidative stress

Background Maternal exposure to environmental stressors poses a risk to fetal development. Oxidative stress (OS), microglia activation, and inflammation are three tightly linked mechanisms that emerge as a causal factor of neurodevelopmental anomalies associated with prenatal ethanol exposure. Antioxidants such as glutathione (GSH) and CuZnSOD are perturbed, and their manipulation provides evidence for neuroprotection. However, the cellular and molecular effects of GSH alteration in utero on fetal microglia activation and inflammation remain elusive. Methods Ethanol (EtOH) (2.5 g/kg) was administered to pregnant mice at gestational days 16–17. One hour prior to ethanol treatment, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and L-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) were administered to modulate glutathione (GSH) content in fetal and maternal brain. Twenty-four hours following ethanol exposure, GSH content and OS in brain tissues were analyzed. Cytokines and chemokines were selected based on their association with distinctive microglia phenotype M1-like (IL-1β, IFN γ, IL-6, CCL3, CCL4, CCL-7, CCL9,) or M2-like (TGF-β, IL-4, IL-10, CCL2, CCL22, CXCL10, Arg1, Chi1, CCR2 and CXCR2) and measured in the brain by qRT-PCR and ELISA. In addition, Western blot and confocal microscopy techniques in conjunction with EOC13.31 cells exposed to similar ethanol-induced oxidative stress and redox conditions were used to determine the underlying mechanism of microglia activation associated with the observed phenotypic changes. Results We show that a single episode of mild to moderate OS in the last trimester of gestation causes GSH depletion, increased protein and lipid peroxidation and inflammatory responses inclined towards a M1-like microglial phenotype (IL-1β, IFN-γ) in fetal brain tissue observed at 6–24 h post exposure. Maternal brain is resistant to many of these marked changes. Using EOC 13.31 cells, we show that GSH homeostasis in microglia is crucial to restore its anti-inflammatory state and modulate inflammation. Microglia under oxidative stress maintain a predominantly M1 activation state. Additionally, GSH depletion prevents the appearance of the M2-like phenotype, while enhancing morphological changes associated with a M1-like phenotype. This observation is also validated by an increased expression of inflammatory signatures (IL-1β, IFN-γ, IL-6, CCL9, CXCR2). In contrast, conserving intracellular GSH concentrations eliminates OS which precludes the nuclear translocation and more importantly the phosphorylation of the NFkB p105 subunit. These cells show significantly more pronounced elongations, ramifications, and the enhanced expression of M2-like microglial phenotype markers (IL-10, IL-4, TGF-β, CXCL10, CCL22, Chi, Arg, and CCR2). Conclusions Taken together, our data show that maintaining GSH homeostasis is not only important for quenching OS in the developing fetal brain, but equally critical to enhance M2 like microglia phenotype, thus suppressing inflammatory responses elicited by environmental stressors

First measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters using neutrinos and antineutrinos by NOvA.

The NOvA experiment has seen a 4.4σ signal of ν[over ¯]_{e} appearance in a 2 GeV ν[over ¯]_{μ} beam at a distance of 810 km. Using 12.33×10^{20} protons on target delivered to the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beamline, the experiment recorded 27 ν[over ¯]_{μ}→ν[over ¯]_{e} candidates with a background of 10.3 and 102 ν[over ¯]_{μ}→ν[over ¯]_{μ} candidates. This new antineutrino data are combined with neutrino data to measure the parameters |Δm_{32}^{2}|=2.48_{-0.06}^{+0.11}×10^{-3}  eV^{2}/c^{4} and sin^{2}θ_{23} in the ranges from (0.53-0.60) and (0.45-0.48) in the normal neutrino mass hierarchy. The data exclude most values near δ_{CP}=π/2 for the inverted mass hierarchy by more than 3σ and favor the normal neutrino mass hierarchy by 1.9σ and θ_{23} values in the upper octant by 1.6σ

Observation of seasonal variation of atmospheric multiple-muon events in the NOvA Near Detector

Using two years of data from the NOvA Near Detector at Fermilab, we report a seasonal variation of cosmic ray induced multiple-muon (Nμ≥2) event rates which has an opposite phase to the seasonal variation in the atmospheric temperature. The strength of the seasonal multiple-muon variation is shown to increase as a function of the muon multiplicity. However, no significant dependence of the strength of the seasonal variation of the multiple-muon variation is seen as a function of the muon zenith angle, or the spatial or angular separation between the correlated muons

DSSylation, a novel protein modification targets proteins induced by oxidative stress, and facilitates their degradation in cells

Timely removal of oxidatively damaged proteins is critical for cells exposed to oxidative stresses; however, cellular mechanism for clearing oxidized proteins is not clear. Our study reveals a novel type of protein modification that may play a role in targeting oxidized proteins and remove them. In this process, DSS1 (deleted in split hand/split foot 1), an evolutionally conserved small protein, is conjugated to proteins induced by oxidative stresses in vitro and in vivo, implying oxidized proteins are DSS1 clients. A subsequent ubiquitination targeting DSS1-protein adducts has been observed, suggesting the client proteins are degraded through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The DSS1 attachment to its clients is evidenced to be an enzymatic process modulated by an unidentified ATPase. We name this novel protein modification as DSSylation, in which DSS1 plays as a modifier, whose attachment may render target proteins a signature leading to their subsequent ubiquitination, thereby recruits proteasome to degrade them.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13238-013-0018-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

CCL3L1-CCR5 genotype influences durability of immune recovery during antiretroviral therapy of HIV-1–infected individuals

The basis for the extensive variability seen in the reconstitution of CD4+ T cell counts in HIV-infected individuals receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is not fully known. Here, we show that variations in CCL3L1 gene dose and CCR5 genotype, but not major histocompatibility complex HLA alleles, influence immune reconstitution, especially when HAART is initiated at <350 CD4+ T cells/mm3. The CCL3L1-CCR5 genotypes favoring CD4+ T cell recovery are similar to those that blunted CD4+ T cell depletion during the time before HAART became available (pre-HAART era), suggesting that a common CCL3L1-CCR5 genetic pathway regulates the balance between pathogenic and reparative processes from early in the disease course. Hence, CCL3L1-CCR5 variations influence HIV pathogenesis even in the presence of HAART and, therefore, may prospectively identify subjects in whom earlier initiation of therapy is more likely to mitigate immunologic failure despite viral suppression by HAART. Furthermore, as reconstitution of CD4+ cells during HAART is more sensitive to CCL3L1 dose than to CCR5 genotypes, CCL3L1 analogs might be efficacious in supporting immunological reconstitution

Scoring method of a Situational Judgment Test:influence on internal consistency reliability, adverse impact and correlation with personality?

textabstractSituational Judgment Tests (SJTs) are increasingly used for medical school selection. Scoring an SJT is more complicated than scoring a knowledge test, because there are no objectively correct answers. The scoring method of an SJT may influence the construct and concurrent validity and the adverse impact with respect to non-traditional students. Previous research has compared only a small number of scoring methods and has not studied the effect of scoring method on internal consistency reliability. This study compared 28 different scoring methods for a rating SJT on internal consistency reliability, adverse impact and correlation with personality. The scoring methods varied on four aspects: the way of controlling for systematic error, and the type of reference group, distance and central tendency statistic. All scoring methods were applied to a previously validated integrity-based SJT, administered to 931 medical school applicants. Internal consistency reliability varied between .33 and .73, which is likely explained by the dependence of coefficient alpha on the total score variance. All scoring methods led to significantly higher scores for the ethnic majority than for the non-Western minorities, with effect sizes ranging from 0.48 to 0.66. Eighteen scoring methods showed a significant small positive correlation with agreeableness. Four scoring methods showed a significant small positive correlation with conscientiousness. The way of controlling for systematic error was the most influential scoring method aspect. These results suggest that the increased use of SJTs for selection into medical school must be accompanied by a thorough examination of the scoring method to be used

Prognostic value of cortically induced motor evoked activity by TMS in chronic stroke: caveats from a very revealing single clinical case

Background: We report the case of a chronic stroke patient (62 months after injury) showing total absence of motor activity evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of spared regions of the left motor cortex, but near-to-complete recovery of motor abilities in the affected hand. Case presentation: Multimodal investigations included detailed TMS based motor mapping, motor evoked potentials (MEP), and Cortical Silent period (CSP) as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of motor activity, MRI based lesion analysis and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Tractography of corticospinal tract (CST). Anatomical analysis revealed a left hemisphere subinsular lesion interrupting the descending left CST at the level of the internal capsule. The absence of MEPs after intense TMS pulses to the ipsilesional M1, and the reversible suppression of ongoing electromyographic (EMG) activity (indexed by CSP) demonstrate a weak modulation of subcortical systems by the ipsilesional left frontal cortex, but an inability to induce efficient descending volleys from those cortical locations to right hand and forearm muscles. Functional MRI recordings under grasping and finger tapping patterns involving the affected hand showed slight signs of subcortical recruitment, as compared to the unaffected hand and hemisphere, as well as the expected cortical activations. Conclusions: The potential sources of motor voluntary activity for the affected hand in absence of MEPs are discussed. We conclude that multimodal analysis may contribute to a more accurate prognosis of stroke patients

Lectin-Dependent Enhancement of Ebola Virus Infection via Soluble and Transmembrane C-type Lectin Receptors

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a key soluble effector of the innate immune system that recognizes pathogen-specific surface glycans. Surprisingly, low-producing MBL genetic variants that may predispose children and immunocompromised individuals to infectious diseases are more common than would be expected in human populations. Since certain immune defense molecules, such as immunoglobulins, can be exploited by invasive pathogens, we hypothesized that MBL might also enhance infections in some circumstances. Consequently, the low and intermediate MBL levels commonly found in human populations might be the result of balancing selection. Using model infection systems with pseudotyped and authentic glycosylated viruses, we demonstrated that MBL indeed enhances infection of Ebola, Hendra, Nipah and West Nile viruses in low complement conditions. Mechanistic studies with Ebola virus (EBOV) glycoprotein pseudotyped lentiviruses confirmed that MBL binds to N-linked glycan epitopes on viral surfaces in a specific manner via the MBL carbohydrate recognition domain, which is necessary for enhanced infection. MBL mediates lipid-raft-dependent macropinocytosis of EBOV via a pathway that appears to require less actin or early endosomal processing compared with the filovirus canonical endocytic pathway. Using a validated RNA interference screen, we identified C1QBP (gC1qR) as a candidate surface receptor that mediates MBL-dependent enhancement of EBOV infection. We also identified dectin-2 (CLEC6A) as a potentially novel candidate attachment factor for EBOV. Our findings support the concept of an innate immune haplotype that represents critical interactions between MBL and complement component C4 genes and that may modify susceptibility or resistance to certain glycosylated pathogens. Therefore, higher levels of native or exogenous MBL could be deleterious in the setting of relative hypocomplementemia which can occur genetically or because of immunodepletion during active infections. Our findings confirm our hypothesis that the pressure of infectious diseases may have contributed in part to evolutionary selection of MBL mutant haplotypes

First measurement of electron neutrino appearance in NOvA

We report results from the first search for νμ→νe transitions by the NOvA experiment. In an exposure equivalent to 2.74×1020 protons on target in the upgraded NuMI beam at Fermilab, we observe 6 events in the Far Detector, compared to a background expectation of 0.99±0.11(syst) events based on the Near Detector measurement. A secondary analysis observes 11 events with a background of 1.07±0.14(syst). The 3.3σ excess of events observed in the primary analysis disfavors 0.1π<δCP<0.5π in the inverted mass hierarchy at the 90% C.L