Large lianas as hyperdynamic elements of the tropical forest canopy

Lianas (woody vines) are an important component of lowland tropical forests. We report large liana and tree inventory and dynamics data from Amazonia over periods of up to 24 years, making this the longest geographically extensive study of liana ecology to date. We use these results to address basic questions about the ecology of large lianas in mature forests and their interactions with trees. In one intensively studied site we find that large lianas (≥10 cm diameter) represent ,5% of liana stems, but 80% of biomass of well-lit upper canopy lianas. Across sites, large lianas and large trees are both most successful in terms of structural importance in richer soil forests, but large liana success may be controlled more by the availability of large tree supports rather than directly by soil conditions. Long-term annual turnover rates of large lianas are 5–8%, three times those of trees. Lianas are implicated in large tree mortality: liana-infested large trees are three times more likely to die than liana-free large trees, and large lianas are involved in the death of at least 30% of tree basal area. Thus large lianas are a much more dynamic component of Amazon forests than are canopy trees, and they play a much more significant functional role than their structural contribution suggests

Camperdown Hemoglobin Associated With β° Thalassemia In A Brazilian Child

We report the coexistence of Hb Camperdown [β 104 (G6) Arg → Ser] and β°-thalassemia [β39 (Gln → stop codon)] in a nine-month-old Brazilian boy. He had a relatively more severe hypochromic and microcytic anemia in comparison to his mother's β-thalassemia trait. His Hb Camperdown heterozygous father was clinically and hematologically normal. To our knowledge, this is the first description of an association of β°-thalassemia with Hb Camperdown. Copyright by the Brazilian Society of Genetics.283394396Araújo, A.S., Silva, W.A., Leao, S.A., Bandeira, F.C., Petrou, M., Modell, B., Zago, M.A., A different molecular pattern of β-thalassemia mutations in Northeast of Brazil (2003) Hemoglobin, 27, pp. 211-217Amone, A., X-ray diffraction study of binding of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate to human deoxyhemoglobin (1972) Nature, 237, pp. 146-149Bertuzzo, C.S., Sonati, M.F., Costa, F.F., Hematological phenotype and the type of β thalassemia mutation in Brazil (1997) Braz J Genet, 20, pp. 319-321Bianco, I., Graziani, B., Carboni, C., Genetic patterns in thalassemia intermedia (constitutional microcytic anemia). Familial hematological and biosynthetic studies (1977) Hum Hered, 27, pp. 257-272Blouquit, Y., Lacombe, C., Arous, N., Le Qurrec, A., Branconnier, F., Bonhomme, J., Soummer, A.M., Galacteros, F., Seven new cases of hemoglobin Camperdown alpha 2 beta 2 104 (G6) ARG → SER found in Malta, Sicily and Tunisia (1984) Hemoglobin, 8, pp. 613-619Chang, J.C., Kan, Y.W., β°-thalassemia, a nonsense mutation in man (1979) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 76, pp. 2886-2889Clarke, G.M., Higgins, T.N., Laboratory investigation of hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias: Review and update (2000) Clin Chem, 46, pp. 1284-1290Fonseca, S.F., Kerbauy, J., Escrivçao, C., Figueiredo, M.S., Cançado, R., Arruda, V.R., Saad, S.T.O., Costa, F.F., Genetic analysis of beta-thalassemia major and beta-thalassemia intermedia in Brazil (1998) Hemoglobin, 22, pp. 197-207Grignoli, C.R.E., Carvalho, M.H., Kimura, E.M., Sonati, M.F., Arruda, V.R., Saad, S.T.O., Costa, F.F., β°-thalassemia resulting from a novel mutation: β66/u → stop codon (2000) Eur J Haematol, 64, pp. 137-138Kimura, E.M., Grignoli, C.R.E., Pinheiro, V.R.P., Costa, F.F., Sonati, M.F., Thalassemia intermedia as a result of heterozygosis for β°-thallassemia and αααanti3.7/αα genotype in a Brazilian patient (2003) Braz J Med Biol Res, 36, pp. 699-701Kister, J., Barbadjian, J., Blouquit, Y., Bohn, B., Galacteros, F., Poyart, C., Inhibition of oxygen-linked anion binding in Hb Camperdown [α2β2 104 (G6) ARG → SER] (1989) Hemoglobin, 13, pp. 567-578Miranda, S.R.P., Kimura, E.M., Teixeira, R.C., Bertuzzo, C.S., Ramalho, A.A., Saad, S.T.O., Costa, F.F., Hb Camperdown [α2β2 104 (G6) ARG → SER] identified by DNA analysis in a Brazilian family (1996) Hemoglobin, 20, pp. 147-153Old, J.M., Screening arid genetic diagnosis of haemoglobin disorders (2003) Blood Rev, 17, pp. 43-53Olivieri, N.F., The β-thalassemias (1999) N Engl J Med, 341, pp. 99-109Thein, S.L., Genetic insights into the clinical diversity of beta thalassaemia (2004) Br J Haematol, 124, pp. 264-274Weatherall, D.J., Clegg, J.B., Inherited haemoglobin disorders: An increasing global health problem (2001) Bull World Health Organ, 79, pp. 704-712Wilkinson, T., Chua, C.G., Carrell, R.W., Robin, H., Exner, T., Lee, K.M., Kronenberg, H., Haemoglobin Camperdown β 104(G6) Arginine leads to serine (1975) Biochim Biophys Acta, 393, pp. 195-200Zago, M.A., Costa, F.F., Hereditary hemoglobin disorders in Brazil (1985) Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 79, pp. 385-38

The brief pain inventory and its "pain at its worst in the last 24 hours" item: Clinical trial endpoint considerations

Context: In 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft Guidance for Industry on the use of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) Measures in Medical Product Development to Support Labeling Claims. This draft guidance outlines psychometric aspects that should be considered when designing a PRO measure, including conceptual framework, content validity, construct validity, reliability, and the ability to detect clinically meaningful score changes. When finalized, it may provide a blueprint for evaluations of PRO measures that can be considered by sponsors and investigators involved in PRO research and drug registration trials. Objective: In this review we examine the short form of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and particularly the " pain at its worst in the last 24 hours" item in the context of the FDA draft guidance, to assess its utility in clinical trials that include pain as a PRO endpoint. Results and Conclusions: After a systematic evaluation of the psychometric aspects of the BPI, we conclude that the BPI and its " pain at its worst in the last 24 hours" item generically satisfy most key recommendations outlined in the draft guidance for assessing a pain-reduction treatment effect. Nonetheless, when the BPI is being considered for assessment of pain endpoints in a registration trial, sponsors and investigators should consult with the appropriate FDA division early during research design to discuss whether there is sufficient precedent to use the instrument in the population of interest or whether additional evaluations of measurement properties are advisable

What Do “None,” “Mild,” “Moderate,” “Severe,” and “Very Severe” Mean to Patients With Cancer? Content Validity of PRO-CTCAE™ Response Scales

Accurate capture of the symptom experience is essential to gauging efficacy, safety, and tolerability of cancer treatments. The Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) was developed by the National Cancer Institute to allow direct patient self-reporting of symptomatic adverse events in cancer clinical trials. Its content validity has been established in accordance with recommended practices for novel patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments

Soil-induced impacts on forest structure drive coarse woody debris stocks across central Amazonia

PublishedJournal Article© 2014, © 2014 Botanical Society of Scotland and Taylor & Francis. Background: Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an essential component in tropical forest ecosystems and its quantity varies widely with forest types. Aims: Relationships among CWD, soil, forest structure and other environmental factors were analysed to understand the drivers of variation in CWD in forests on different soil types across central Amazonia. Methods: To estimate CWD stocks and density of dead wood debris, 75 permanent forest plots of 0.5 ha in size were assessed along a transect that spanned ca. 700 km in undisturbed forests from north of the Rio Negro to south of the Rio Amazonas. Soil physical properties were evaluated by digging 2-m-deep pits and by taking auger samples. Results: Soil physical properties were the best predictors of CWD stocks; 37% of its variation was explained by effective soil depth. CWD stocks had a two-fold variation across a gradient of physical soil constraints (i.e. effective soil depth, anoxia and soil structure). Average biomass per tree was related to physical soil constraints, which, in turn, had a strong relationship with local CWD stocks. Conclusions: Soil physical properties appear to control average biomass per tree (and through this affect forest structure and dynamics), which, in turn, is correlated with CWD production and stocks

Zeroing in on more photons and gluons

We discuss radiation zeros that are found in gauge tree amplitudes for processes involving multi-photon emission. Previous results are clarified by examples and by further elaboration. The conditions under which such amplitude zeros occur are identical in form to those for the single-photon zeros, and all radiated photons must travel parallel to each other. Any other neutral particle likewise must be massless (e.g. gluon) and travel in that common direction. The relevance to questions like gluon jet identification and computational checks is considered. We use examples to show how certain multi-photon amplitudes evade the zeros, and to demonstrate the connection to a more general result, the decoupling of an external electromagnetic plane wave in the ``null zone". Brief comments are made about zeros associated with other gauge-boson emission.Comment: 26 page

Prognostic value of symptom burden for overall survival in patients receiving chemotherapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcomes have shown independent prognostic value for patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, translating patient-reported outcomes into useful prognostic information for individual patients has been problematic. METHODS: A total of 94 patients with advanced NSCLC and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (PS) of 0 to 2 who qualified for chemotherapy rated symptom severity using the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory before and after their first chemotherapy cycle. Prognostic values of baseline symptoms and changes in symptom severity were examined by Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: In multivariate analysis, controlled for demographic and other factors, baseline coughing rated ≤4 independently predicted significantly higher risk for shorter survival (hazards ratio [HR], 8.69; P < .0001). Patients with coughing ≤4 and a PS of 2 were more likely to have shorter survival (HR, 20.6; P < .0001) than patients with coughing <4 and a PS of 0 to 1. A 1-point or greater increase in severity of fatigue (P < .05), shortness of breath, or poor appetite (P < .01) from baseline to the end of the first chemotherapy cycle was also found to be independently associated with higher risk for poor survival. CONCLUSIONS: An increased risk for shorter survival was indicated by moderate to severe coughing at baseline or by increased fatigue or shortness of breath during the first chemotherapy cycle in patients with advanced NSCLC. Although cross-validation is needed, these data suggest that an individual patient's symptom severity scores, quickly obtainable in the clinic, might contribute clinically useful information for treatment planning for that patient

Drought impact on forest carbon dynamics and fluxes in Amazonia

In 2005 and 2010 the Amazon basin experienced two strong droughts, driven by shifts in the tropical hydrological regime possibly associated with global climate change, as predicted by some global models. Tree mortality increased after the 2005 drought, and regional atmospheric inversion modelling showed basin-wide decreases in CO2 uptake in 2010 compared with 2011 (ref. 5). But the response of tropical forest carbon cycling to these droughts is not fully understood and there has been no detailed multi-site investigation in situ. Here we use several years of data from a network of thirteen 1-ha forest plots spread throughout South America, where each component of net primary production (NPP), autotrophic respiration and heterotrophic respiration is measured separately, to develop a better mechanistic understanding of the impact of the 2010 drought on the Amazon forest. We find that total NPP remained constant throughout the drought. However, towards the end of the drought, autotrophic respiration, especially in roots and stems, declined significantly compared with measurements in 2009 made in the absence of drought, with extended decreases in autotrophic respiration in the three driest plots. In the year after the drought, total NPP remained constant but the allocation of carbon shifted towards canopy NPP and away from fine-root NPP. Both leaf-level and plot-level measurements indicate that severe drought suppresses photosynthesis. Scaling these measurements to the entire Amazon basin with rainfall data, we estimate that drought suppressed Amazon-wide photosynthesis in 2010 by 0.38 petagrams of carbon (0.23-0.53 petagrams of carbon). Overall, we find that during this drought, instead of reducing total NPP, trees prioritized growth by reducing autotrophic respiration that was unrelated to growth. This suggests that trees decrease investment in tissue maintenance and defence, in line with eco-evolutionary theories that trees are competitively disadvantaged in the absence of growth. We propose that weakened maintenance and defence investment may, in turn, cause the increase in post-drought tree mortality observed at our plots.Gordon and Betty Moore FoundationNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)EU FP7 Amazalert (282664) projectEU FP7GEOCARBON (283080) projectNational Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil)ARC - fellowship awardERC - Advanced Investigator AwardRoyal Society - Wolfson Research Merit AwardJackson FoundationJohn Fell Fun

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