Early Pleistocene enamel proteome from Dmanisi resolves Stephanorhinus phylogeny

The sequencing of ancient DNA has enabled the reconstruction of speciation, migration and admixture events for extinct taxa. However, the irreversible post-mortem degradation2 of ancient DNA has so far limited its recovery—outside permafrost areas—to specimens that are not older than approximately 0.5 million years (Myr). By contrast, tandem mass spectrometry has enabled the sequencing of approximately 1.5-Myr-old collagen type I, and suggested the presence of protein residues in fossils of the Cretaceous period—although with limited phylogenetic use. In the absence of molecular evidence, the speciation of several extinct species of the Early and Middle Pleistocene epoch remains contentious. Here we address the phylogenetic relationships of the Eurasian Rhinocerotidae of the Pleistocene epoch, using the proteome of dental enamel from a Stephanorhinus tooth that is approximately 1.77-Myr old, recovered from the archaeological site of Dmanisi (South Caucasus, Georgia). Molecular phylogenetic analyses place this Stephanorhinus as a sister group to the clade formed by the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and Merck’s rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis). We show that Coelodonta evolved from an early Stephanorhinus lineage, and that this latter genus includes at least two distinct evolutionary lines. The genus Stephanorhinus is therefore currently paraphyletic, and its systematic revision is needed. We demonstrate that sequencing the proteome of Early Pleistocene dental enamel overcomes the limitations of phylogenetic inference based on ancient collagen or DNA. Our approach also provides additional information about the sex and taxonomic assignment of other specimens from Dmanisi. Our findings reveal that proteomic investigation of ancient dental enamel—which is the hardest tissue in vertebrates, and is highly abundant in the fossil record—can push the reconstruction of molecular evolution further back into the Early Pleistocene epoch, beyond the currently known limits of ancient DNA preservation

Can environment or allergy explain international variation in prevalence of wheeze in childhood?

Asthma prevalence in children varies substantially around the world, but the contribution of known risk factors to this international variation is uncertain. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase Two studied 8–12 year old children in 30 centres worldwide with parent-completed symptom and risk factor questionnaires and aeroallergen skin prick testing. We used multilevel logistic regression modelling to investigate the effect of adjustment for individual and ecological risk factors on the between-centre variation in prevalence of recent wheeze. Adjustment for single individual-level risk factors changed the centre-level variation from a reduction of up to 8.4% (and 8.5% for atopy) to an increase of up to 6.8%. Modelling the 11 most influential environmental factors among all children simultaneously, the centre-level variation changed little overall (2.4% increase). Modelling only factors that decreased the variance, the 6 most influential factors (synthetic and feather quilt, mother’s smoking, heating stoves, dampness and foam pillows) in combination resulted in a 21% reduction in variance. Ecological (centre-level) risk factors generally explained higher proportions of the variation than did individual risk factors. Single environmental factors and aeroallergen sensitisation measured at the individual (child) level did not explain much of the between-centre variation in wheeze prevalence

A Prominent Figure of Geographic and Ecological Sciences

სტატია მიძღვნილია აღიარებული მეცნიერისა და საზოგადო მოღვაწის, საერთაშორისო პრემიების ლაურეატის თეოფანე დავითაიასადმი. ბ-ნმა თეოფანემ განუზომელი ამაგი დასდო ქვეყანაში აგრომეტეოროლოგიის, აგროკლიმატოლოგიის, სოფლის მეურნეობის გეოგრაფიისა და ფიზიკური გეოგრაფიის, ასევე, სხვა დარგების განვითარების დიდ მნიშვნელოვან საქმეს. აკადემიკოსმა თ, დავითაიამ ცხოვრებისა და სამეცნიერო მიღწევების რთული, მრავალფეროვანი და მეტად საინტერესო გზა განვლო: 1932 წელს დაამთავრა სუბტროპიკული კულტურათა სრულიად საკავშირო ინსტიტუტი. 1950 წელს წარჩინებით დაიცვა სადოქტორო დისერტაცია ლენინგრადის მემცენარეობის საკავშირო ინტიტუტში. 1960 წლიდან თ. დავითაია აირჩიეს საქართველოს მეცნიერებათა აკადემიის აკადემიკოსად, ხოლო 1962 წლიდან სათავეში ჩაუდგა საქართველოს მეცნიერებათა აკადემიის ვახუშტის სახელობის გეოგრაფიის ინსტიტუტს. 1970 წლიდან საქართველოს გეოგრაფიული საზოგადოების პრეზიდენტია. მნიშვნელოვანია თ. დავითაიას გამოკვლევები მელიორაციის, ქარშოშინის, გვალვისა და წაყინვების თეორიასა და მათთან ბრძოლის მეთოდურ საკითხებზე, ამინდის გრძელვადიანი პროგნოზების მეთოდიკის დაზუსტებაში და სხვ. ყველა მისი გამოკვლევა დიდად უწყობს ხელს სოფლის მეურნეობის შემდგომი აღმავლობის საერთო სახალხო საქმეს.The academician Theophyne Davitaia was a leading scientist, member of Georgian Academy of Sciences, Head of Earth Studying Sciences Department, President of Geographical Society of Georgia and Director of Vakhushti Institute of Geography.He is an outstanding scholar in environmental protection and its transformation; He created the theoretical bases of climatic zoning; a new method of evaluation of climate conditions assessment on agricultural production, according to which the prediction of the natural region's warmth and humidity in subtropical and moderate zones can be predicted; also, he created a predictable calculation of agricultural crops. He has learnt about the causes of climate change, which is shown in his numerous works;He was one of the first who pointed out the importance of the study of changes in the atmospheric pollution, the gas composition of the atmosphere as a result of human activity

Early Pleistocene enamel proteome from Dmanisi resolves Stephanorhinus phylogeny

The sequencing of ancient DNA has enabled the reconstruction of speciation, migration and admixture events for extinct taxa1. However, the irreversible post-mortem degradation2 of ancient DNA has so far limited its recovery—outside permafrost areas—to specimens that are not older than approximately 0.5 million years (Myr)3. By contrast, tandem mass spectrometry has enabled the sequencing of approximately 1.5-Myr-old collagen type I4, and suggested the presence of protein residues in fossils of the Cretaceous period5—although with limited phylogenetic use6. In the absence of molecular evidence, the speciation of several extinct species of the Early and Middle Pleistocene epoch remains contentious. Here we address the phylogenetic relationships of the Eurasian Rhinocerotidae of the Pleistocene epoch7–9, using the proteome of dental enamel from a Stephanorhinus tooth that is approximately 1.77-Myr old, recovered from the archaeological site of Dmanisi (South Caucasus, Georgia)10. Molecular phylogenetic analyses place this Stephanorhinus as a sister group to the clade formed by the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and Merck’s rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis). We show that Coelodonta evolved from an early Stephanorhinus lineage, and that this latter genus includes at least two distinct evolutionary lines. The genus Stephanorhinus is therefore currently paraphyletic, and its systematic revision is needed. We demonstrate that sequencing the proteome of Early Pleistocene dental enamel overcomes the limitations of phylogenetic inference based on ancient collagen or DNA. Our approach also provides additional information about the sex and taxonomic assignment of other specimens from Dmanisi. Our findings reveal that proteomic investigation of ancient dental enamel—which is the hardest tissue in vertebrates11, and is highly abundant in the fossil record—can push the reconstruction of molecular evolution further back into the Early Pleistocene epoch, beyond the currently known limits of ancient DNA preservation

Can environment or allergy explain international variation in prevalence of wheeze in childhood?

Asthma prevalence in children varies substantially around the world, but the contribution of known risk factors to this international variation is uncertain. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase Two studied 8–12 year old children in 30 centres worldwide with parent-completed symptom and risk factor questionnaires and aeroallergen skin prick testing. We used multilevel logistic regression modelling to investigate the effect of adjustment for individual and ecological risk factors on the between-centre variation in prevalence of recent wheeze. Adjustment for single individual-level risk factors changed the centre-level variation from a reduction of up to 8.4% (and 8.5% for atopy) to an increase of up to 6.8%. Modelling the 11 most influential environmental factors among all children simultaneously, the centre-level variation changed little overall (2.4% increase). Modelling only factors that decreased the variance, the 6 most influential factors (synthetic and feather quilt, mother’s smoking, heating stoves, dampness and foam pillows) in combination resulted in a 21% reduction in variance. Ecological (centre-level) risk factors generally explained higher proportions of the variation than did individual risk factors. Single environmental factors and aeroallergen sensitisation measured at the individual (child) level did not explain much of the between-centre variation in wheeze prevalence.</p

Overweight/obesity and respiratory and allergic disease in children: International study of asthma and allergies in childhood (ISAAC) phase two

Background: Childhood obesity and asthma are increasing worldwide. A possible link between the two conditions has been postulated. Methods: Cross-sectional studies of stratified random samples of 8-12-year-old children (n=10 652) (16 centres in affluent and 8 centres in non-affluent countries) used the standardized methodology of ISAAC Phase Two. Respiratory and allergic symptoms were ascertained by parental questionnaires. Tests for allergic disease were performed. Height and weight were measured, and overweight and obesity were defined according to international definitions. Prevalence rates and prevalence odds ratios were calculated. Results: Overweight (odds ratio=1.14, 95%-confidence interval: 0.98; 1.33) and obesity (odds ratio=1.67, 95%-confidence interval: 1.25; 2.21) were related to wheeze. The relationship was stronger in affluent than in non-affluent centres. Similar results were found for cough and phlegm, rhinitis and eczema but the associations were mostly driven by children with wheeze. There was a clear association of overweight and obesity with airways obstruction (change in FEV1/FVC, 20.90, 95%-confidence interval: 21.33%; 20.47%, for overweight and 22.46%, 95%-confidence interval: 23.84%; 21.07%, for obesity) whereas the results for the other objective markers, including atopy, were null. Conclusions: Our data from a large international child population confirm that there is a strong relation of body mass index with wheeze especially in affluent countries. Moreover, body mass index is associated with an objective marker of airways obstruction (FEV1/FVC) but no other objective markers of respiratory and allergic disorders. © 2014 Weinmayr et al