Interaction of climate change with effects of conspecific and heterospecific density on reproduction

We studied the relationship between temperature and the coexistence of great titParus majorand blue titCyanistes caeruleus, breeding in 75 study plots across Europe and North Africa. We expected an advance in laying date and a reduction in clutch size during warmer springs as a general response to climate warming and a delay in laying date and a reduction in clutch size during warmer winters due to density-dependent effects. As expected, as spring temperature increases laying date advances and as winter temperature increases clutch size is reduced in both species. Density of great tit affected the relationship between winter temperature and laying date in great and blue tit. Specifically, as density of great tit increased and temperature in winter increased both species started to reproduce later. Density of blue tit affected the relationship between spring temperature and blue and great tit laying date. Thus, both species start to reproduce earlier with increasing spring temperature as density of blue tit increases, which was not an expected outcome, since we expected that increasing spring temperature should advance laying date, while increasing density should delay it cancelling each other out. Climate warming and its interaction with density affects clutch size of great tits but not of blue tits. As predicted, great tit clutch size is reduced more with density of blue tits as temperature in winter increases. The relationship between spring temperature and density on clutch size of great tits depends on whether the increase is in density of great tit or blue tit. Therefore, an increase in temperature negatively affected the coexistence of blue and great tits differently in both species. Thus, blue tit clutch size was unaffected by the interaction effect of density with temperature, while great tit clutch size was affected in multiple ways by these interactions terms.Peer reviewe

I depositi intestinali degli anticorpi anti-transglutaminasi: Il marcatore pi\uf9 sensibile per la diagnosi di celiachia nei casi difficili

The serum anti-transglutaminase antibodies are the immunological markers for coeliac disease diagnosis. These autoantibodies are synthesized by B-lymphocytes at the intestinal level and their presence in the form of intestinal deposits is a constant feature in the different clinical entities in which coeliac disease is classified: classical, silent, and potential. These intestinal autoantibodies are the first gluten dependent inflammatory markers and they appear before both the intestinal damage and the serum anti-transglutaminase antibodies. The anti-transglutaminase deposits should be looked for to confirm or exclude the diagnosis of coeliac disease when the clinical and immunological features are incomplete or in asymptomatic at risk patients

RhoB is associated with the anti-angiogenic effects of celiac patient transglutaminase 2-targeted autoantibodies

Celiac patient-derived anti-transglutaminase 2 (TG2) antibodies disturb several steps in angiogenesis, but the detailed molecular basis is not known. Therefore, we here analyzed by microarray technology the expression of a set of genes related to angiogenesis and endothelial cell biology in order to identify factors that could explain our previous data related to vascular biology in the context of celiac disease. To this end, in vitro models using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) or in vivo models of angiogenesis were used

A single conformational transglutaminase 2 epitope contributed by three domains is critical for celiac antibody binding and effects

The multifunctional, protein cross-linking transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is the main autoantigen in celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder with defined etiology. Glutamine-rich gliadin peptides from ingested cereals, after their deamidation by TG2, induce T-lymphocyte activation accompanied by autoantibody production against TG2 in 1-2% of the population. The pathogenic role and exact binding properties of these antibodies to TG2 are still unclear. Here we show that antibodies from different celiac patients target the same conformational TG2 epitope formed by spatially close amino acids of adjacent domains. Glu153 and 154 on the first alpha-helix of the core domain and Arg19 on first alpha-helix of the N-terminal domain determine the celiac epitope that is accessible both in the closed and open conformation of TG2 and dependent on the relative position of these helices. Met659 on the C-terminal domain also can cooperate in antibody binding. This composite epitope is disease-specific, recognized by antibodies derived from celiac tissues and associated with biological effects when passively transferred from celiac mothers into their newborns. These findings suggest that celiac antibodies are produced in a surface-specific way for which certain homology of the central glutamic acid residues of the TG2 epitope with deamidated gliadin peptides could be a structural basis. Monoclonal mouse antibodies with partially overlapping epitope specificity released celiac antibodies from patient tissues and antagonized their harmful effects in cell culture experiments. Such antibodies or similar specific competitors will be useful in further functional studies and in exploring whether interference with celiac antibody actions leads to therapeutic benefits

To ventilate or not to ventilate during bystander CPR : a EuReCa TWO analysis

Background: Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is still low. For every minute without resuscitation the likelihood of survival decreases. One critical step is initiation of immediate, high quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The aim of this subgroup analysis of data collected for the European Registry of Cardiac Arrest Study number 2 (EuReCa TWO) was to investigate the association between OHCA survival and two types of bystander CPR namely: chest compression only CPR (CConly) and CPR with chest compressions and ventilations (FullCPR). Method: In this subgroup analysis of EuReCa TWO, all patients who received bystander CPR were included. Outcomes were return of spontaneous circulation and survival to 30-days or hospital discharge. A multilevel binary logistic regression analysis with survival as the dependent variable was performed. Results: A total of 5884 patients were included in the analysis, varying between countries from 21 to 1444. Survival was 320 (8%) in the CConly group and 174 (13%) in the FullCPR group. After adjustment for age, sex, location, rhythm, cause, time to scene, witnessed collapse and country, patients who received FullCPR had a significantly higher survival rate when compared to those who received CConly (adjusted odds ration 1.46, 95% confidence interval 1.17–1.83). Conclusion: In this analysis, FullCPR was associated with higher survival compared to CConly. Guidelines should continue to emphasise the importance of compressions and ventilations during resuscitation for patients who suffer OHCA and CPR courses should continue to teach both