Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Global Warming in the Tibetan Plateau during the Last 50 Years Based on a Generalised Temperature Zone - Elevation Model

Temperature is one of the primary factors influencing the climate and ecosystem, and examining its change and fluctuation could elucidate the formation of novel climate patterns and trends. In this study, we constructed a generalised temperature zone elevation model (GTEM) to assess the trends of climate change and temporal-spatial differences in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using the annual and monthly mean temperatures from 1961-2010 at 144 meteorological stations in and near the TP. The results showed the following: (1) The TP has undergone robust warming over the study period, and the warming rate was 0.318°C/decade. The warming has accelerated during recent decades, especially in the last 20 years, and the warming has been most significant in the winter months, followed by the spring, autumn and summer seasons. (2) Spatially, the zones that became significantly smaller were the temperature zones of -6°C and -4°C, and these have decreased 499.44 and 454.26 thousand sq km from 1961 to 2010 at average rates of 25.1% and 11.7%, respectively, over every 5-year interval. These quickly shrinking zones were located in the northwestern and central TP. (3) The elevation dependency of climate warming existed in the TP during 1961-2010, but this tendency has gradually been weakening due to more rapid warming at lower elevations than in the middle and upper elevations of the TP during 1991-2010. The higher regions and some low altitude valleys of the TP were the most significantly warming regions under the same categorizing criteria. Experimental evidence shows that the GTEM is an effective method to analyse climate changes in high altitude mountainous regions

Ancient Migratory Events in the Middle East: New Clues from the Y-Chromosome Variation of Modern Iranians

Knowledge of high resolution Y-chromosome haplogroup diversification within Iran provides important geographic context regarding the spread and compartmentalization of male lineages in the Middle East and southwestern Asia. At present, the Iranian population is characterized by an extraordinary mix of different ethnic groups speaking a variety of Indo-Iranian, Semitic and Turkic languages. Despite these features, only few studies have investigated the multiethnic components of the Iranian gene pool. In this survey 938 Iranian male DNAs belonging to 15 ethnic groups from 14 Iranian provinces were analyzed for 84 Y-chromosome biallelic markers and 10 STRs. The results show an autochthonous but non-homogeneous ancient background mainly composed by J2a sub-clades with different external contributions. The phylogeography of the main haplogroups allowed identifying post-glacial and Neolithic expansions toward western Eurasia but also recent movements towards the Iranian region from western Eurasia (R1b-L23), Central Asia (Q-M25), Asia Minor (J2a-M92) and southern Mesopotamia (J1-Page08). In spite of the presence of important geographic barriers (Zagros and Alborz mountain ranges, and the Dasht-e Kavir and Dash-e Lut deserts) which may have limited gene flow, AMOVA analysis revealed that language, in addition to geography, has played an important role in shaping the nowadays Iranian gene pool. Overall, this study provides a portrait of the Y-chromosomal variation in Iran, useful for depicting a more comprehensive history of the peoples of this area as well as for reconstructing ancient migration routes. In addition, our results evidence the important role of the Iranian plateau as source and recipient of gene flow between culturally and genetically distinct population

Projected Range Contractions of European Protected Oceanic Montane Plant Communities: Focus on Climate Change Impacts Is Essential for Their Future Conservation

Global climate is rapidly changing and while many studies have investigated the potential impacts of this on the distribution of montane plant species and communities, few have focused on those with oceanic montane affinities. In Europe, highly sensitive bryophyte species reach their optimum occurrence, highest diversity and abundance in the northwest hyperoceanic regions, while a number of montane vascular plant species occur here at the edge of their range. This study evaluates the potential impact of climate change on the distribution of these species and assesses the implications for EU Habitats Directive-protected oceanic montane plant communities. We applied an ensemble of species distribution modelling techniques, using atlas data of 30 vascular plant and bryophyte species, to calculate range changes under projected future climate change. The future effectiveness of the protected area network to conserve these species was evaluated using gap analysis. We found that the majority of these montane species are projected to lose suitable climate space, primarily at lower altitudes, or that areas of suitable climate will principally shift northwards. In particular, rare oceanic montane bryophytes have poor dispersal capacity and are likely to be especially vulnerable to contractions in their current climate space. Significantly different projected range change responses were found between 1) oceanic montane bryophytes and vascular plants; 2) species belonging to different montane plant communities; 3) species categorised according to different biomes and eastern limit classifications. The inclusion of topographical variables in addition to climate, significantly improved the statistical and spatial performance of models. The current protected area network is projected to become less effective, especially for specialised arctic-montane species, posing a challenge to conserving oceanic montane plant communities. Conservation management plans need significantly greater focus on potential climate change impacts, including models with higher-resolution species distribution and environmental data, to aid these communities’ long-term survival

Comparative analysis of the effect of two chlorhexidine mouthrinses on plaque accumulation and gingival bleeding

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of two chlorhexidine rinsing solutions (0.12% and 0.2%) on plaque and gingival bleeding. Ten dental students participated in this double-blind, cross-over study, rinsing twice a day, for one minute, with each one of the tested solutions for fourteen days. A wash-out period of one week between treatments was observed. In order to assess gingival bleeding, the van der Weijden et al.1 (1994) index was used. The plaque indexes used were those of Quigley, Hein2 (1962) and Silness, Löe3 (1964). In the pre-experimental period, subjects received oral hygiene instructions and dental prophylaxis. The results revealed no significant differences between both concentrations in relation to plaque and gingival bleeding. Mean values (± standard deviation) of the Quigley & Hein index were 0.25 ± 0.16 for the 0.12% solution and 0.23 ± 0.26 for the 0.2% solution (p = 0.4838). Mean values (± standard deviation) of the Silness-Löe index were 0.12 ± 0.10 for the 0.12% solution and 0.11 ± 0.11 for the 0.2% solution (p = 0.7592). The bleeding index mean values at the end of the study were not different for both concentrations with mean values (± standard deviation) of 14.93% ± 6.68% and 13.95 ± 9.24% for the 0.12% and 0.2% solutions, respectively. Although an increase in gingival bleeding was observed, both concentrations were able to control dental plaque

A genome-wide portrait of Italy

International audienceWe performed a clustering model for K = 218 using ADMIXTURE [7] on 1,588 individuals belonging to the 20 italian regions combined with ~300 worldwide populations. The results are shown in Fig. 3. We identified five major ancestral components: blue, yellow, gray, green and violet. Overall, they are distributed homogeneously within regions, along a NorthSouth cline for entire Italian peninsula, with the exception of Sardinia. The blue component is present in all the Italian regions with high frequencies in Sardinia remarking its genetic peculiarity related to its isolation history and ancestry. The yellow component has high frequencies in the regions of Northern Italy, decreasing values in the Central regions, until reaching low frequencies in Southern Italy. Its distribution is modal in Northern and Central Europe reflecting their genetic affinity with neighbouring regions, as already reported in our f3 statistics analysis. An opposite distribution is evident in the violet component, in which highest frequencies are observed in the South with decreasing values in Northern Italy. This component is found AT high frequencies in North Africa and might represent the legacy of the Arab rule in Southern Italy. Finally, the grey and the green components, modal in Caucasian and Middle Eastern groups, could be the results of recent interactions between Italy and Eastern Europe or Western Asia.The PC analysis in Fig. 4 is a summary of the genetic variability of Italy compared to the one of the Europe. Italy is stretched between the Mediterranean area (CyprusCYP) and West/Central Europe (SpainSPA and France FRA) with high affinity with Portugal, Switzerland and Corsica. Interestingly, we noticed a partial overlap between France and Valle d'Aosta, while individuals from Friuli Venezia Giulia are spread toward the Central Balkanic area. The Sardinian and Basque are wellknown examples of genetically differentiated populations [8] and diverge clearly from the rest of the continental samples in our plot. Similarly to the distribution of the Italian populations, a NorthSouth cline of individuals from the Balkanic regions is observed, with populations in the South and North closer to Southern and Central Europe,respectively.</div

A genome-wide portrait of Italy

International audienceWe performed a clustering model for K = 218 using ADMIXTURE [7] on 1,588 individuals belonging to the 20 italian regions combined with ~300 worldwide populations. The results are shown in Fig. 3. We identified five major ancestral components: blue, yellow, gray, green and violet. Overall, they are distributed homogeneously within regions, along a NorthSouth cline for entire Italian peninsula, with the exception of Sardinia. The blue component is present in all the Italian regions with high frequencies in Sardinia remarking its genetic peculiarity related to its isolation history and ancestry. The yellow component has high frequencies in the regions of Northern Italy, decreasing values in the Central regions, until reaching low frequencies in Southern Italy. Its distribution is modal in Northern and Central Europe reflecting their genetic affinity with neighbouring regions, as already reported in our f3 statistics analysis. An opposite distribution is evident in the violet component, in which highest frequencies are observed in the South with decreasing values in Northern Italy. This component is found AT high frequencies in North Africa and might represent the legacy of the Arab rule in Southern Italy. Finally, the grey and the green components, modal in Caucasian and Middle Eastern groups, could be the results of recent interactions between Italy and Eastern Europe or Western Asia.The PC analysis in Fig. 4 is a summary of the genetic variability of Italy compared to the one of the Europe. Italy is stretched between the Mediterranean area (CyprusCYP) and West/Central Europe (SpainSPA and France FRA) with high affinity with Portugal, Switzerland and Corsica. Interestingly, we noticed a partial overlap between France and Valle d'Aosta, while individuals from Friuli Venezia Giulia are spread toward the Central Balkanic area. The Sardinian and Basque are wellknown examples of genetically differentiated populations [8] and diverge clearly from the rest of the continental samples in our plot. Similarly to the distribution of the Italian populations, a NorthSouth cline of individuals from the Balkanic regions is observed, with populations in the South and North closer to Southern and Central Europe,respectively.</div

A genome-wide portrait of Italy

International audienceWe performed a clustering model for K = 218 using ADMIXTURE [7] on 1,588 individuals belonging to the 20 italian regions combined with ~300 worldwide populations. The results are shown in Fig. 3. We identified five major ancestral components: blue, yellow, gray, green and violet. Overall, they are distributed homogeneously within regions, along a NorthSouth cline for entire Italian peninsula, with the exception of Sardinia. The blue component is present in all the Italian regions with high frequencies in Sardinia remarking its genetic peculiarity related to its isolation history and ancestry. The yellow component has high frequencies in the regions of Northern Italy, decreasing values in the Central regions, until reaching low frequencies in Southern Italy. Its distribution is modal in Northern and Central Europe reflecting their genetic affinity with neighbouring regions, as already reported in our f3 statistics analysis. An opposite distribution is evident in the violet component, in which highest frequencies are observed in the South with decreasing values in Northern Italy. This component is found AT high frequencies in North Africa and might represent the legacy of the Arab rule in Southern Italy. Finally, the grey and the green components, modal in Caucasian and Middle Eastern groups, could be the results of recent interactions between Italy and Eastern Europe or Western Asia.The PC analysis in Fig. 4 is a summary of the genetic variability of Italy compared to the one of the Europe. Italy is stretched between the Mediterranean area (CyprusCYP) and West/Central Europe (SpainSPA and France FRA) with high affinity with Portugal, Switzerland and Corsica. Interestingly, we noticed a partial overlap between France and Valle d'Aosta, while individuals from Friuli Venezia Giulia are spread toward the Central Balkanic area. The Sardinian and Basque are wellknown examples of genetically differentiated populations [8] and diverge clearly from the rest of the continental samples in our plot. Similarly to the distribution of the Italian populations, a NorthSouth cline of individuals from the Balkanic regions is observed, with populations in the South and North closer to Southern and Central Europe,respectively.</div