Adaptive divergence of the moor frog (Rana arvalis) along an acidification gradient

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Environmental stress can result in strong ecological and evolutionary effects on natural populations, but to what extent it drives adaptive divergence of natural populations is little explored. We used common garden experiments to study adaptive divergence in embryonic and larval fitness traits (embryonic survival, larval growth, and age and size at metamorphosis) in eight moor frog, <it>Rana arvalis</it>, populations inhabiting an acidification gradient (breeding pond pH 4.0 to 7.5) in southwestern Sweden. Embryos were raised until hatching at three (pH 4.0, 4.3 and 7.5) and larvae until metamorphosis at two (pH 4.3 and 7.5) pH treatments. To get insight into the putative selective agents along this environmental gradient, we measured relevant abiotic and biotic environmental variables from each breeding pond, and used linear models to test for phenotype-environment correlations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that acid origin populations had higher embryonic and larval acid tolerance (survival and larval period were less negatively affected by low pH), higher larval growth but slower larval development rates, and metamorphosed at a larger size. The phenotype-environment correlations revealed that divergence in embryonic acid tolerance and metamorphic size correlated most strongly with breeding pond pH, whereas divergence in larval period and larval growth correlated most strongly with latitude and predator density, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that <it>R. arvalis </it>has diverged in response to pH mediated selection along this acidification gradient. However, as latitude and pH were closely spatially correlated in this study, further studies are needed to disentangle the specific agents of natural selection along acidification gradients. Our study highlights the need to consider the multiple interacting selective forces that drive adaptive divergence of natural populations along environmental stress gradients.</p

Fishing for Allergens: Bloodworm-Induced Asthma

Hypersensitivity to bloodworms (chironomid larvae) leading to asthma and other related allergic disorders is becoming common in individuals who keep or work with fish due to the increased use of bloodworms as fish food or bait

Naisen seksuaalihäiriöt

Naisten seksuaaliongelmia ovat seksuaalisen halun vähäisyys, kiihottumis- ja orgasmiongelmat sekä seksuaalinen kipu. Häiriöasteiseksi tilanne määritellään, mikäli se aiheuttaa henkilökohtaista ahdistusta, on toistuva ja pitkäkestoinen eikä ole seurausta sairaudesta. Seksuaaliset ongelmat ovat yleisiä, ja ne voivat heijastua yksilön elämänlaatuun monin tavoin. Seksuaalitoimintoihin vaikuttavat biologiset, psykososiaaliset, sosiokulttuuriset ja parisuhdetekijät. Tilapäiset vaikeudet liittyvät usein normaaliin elämänkulkuun. Naisen seksuaalivastesykliin perehtyminen auttaa ymmärtämään aiheen moniulotteista kokonaisuutta. Ongelman selvittelyssä huomioidaan seksuaalianamneesi, terveydentila, lääkitys ja elämäntilanne. Seksuaaliongelmien hoitona käytetään elämäntapa- ja seksuaalineuvontaa, seksuaaliterapiaa, psyko- ja pariterapiaa, fysioterapiaa sekä valikoiduissa tapauksissa lääkitystä tai lääkityksen muutosta

Microevolutionary change in wild stickleback: Using integrative time-series data to infer responses to selection

Traits of wild animals can change over contemporary timescales, but concluding that evolution played a role requires demonstrating that trait change is linked to genetic change. This is because while selection acts on organisms? traits, evolution in the strict sense is a process resulting in changes to the genome. But natural selection operating in natural ecosystems rarely acts in a single direction, and many factors that cause selection vary through time. We study wild stickleback in a well-studied lake to characterize how the genetics of correlated traits respond to different types of selection (e.g., directional or fluctuating). Our study clearly demonstrates how evolutionary processes cause trait change in the wild on a contemporary timescale. A central goal in evolutionary biology is to understand how different evolutionary processes cause trait change in wild populations. However, quantifying evolutionary change in the wild requires linking trait change to shifts in allele frequencies at causal loci. Nevertheless, datasets that allow for such tests are extremely rare and existing theoretical approaches poorly account for the evolutionary dynamics that likely occur in ecological settings. Using a decade-long integrative phenome-to-genome time-series dataset on wild threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we identified how different modes of selection (directional, episodic, and balancing) drive microevolutionary change in correlated traits over time. Most strikingly, we show that feeding traits changed by as much 25% across 10 generations which was driven by changes in the genetic architecture (i.e., in both genomic breeding values and allele frequencies at genetic loci for feeding traits). Importantly, allele frequencies at genetic loci related to feeding traits changed at a rate greater than expected under drift, suggesting that the observed change was a result of directional selection. Allele frequency dynamics of loci related to swimming traits appeared to be under fluctuating selection evident in periodic population crashes in this system. Our results show that microevolutionary change in a wild population is characterized by different modes of selection acting simultaneously on different traits, which likely has important consequences for the evolution of correlated traits. Our study provides one of the most thorough descriptions to date of how microevolutionary processes result in trait change in a natural population

Long term cycling behavior of Mg-doped LiCoO2 materials investigated with the help of laboratory scale X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy

The use of Li-ion batteries is increasing rapidly. Understanding the processes behind active material aging helps to enhance the materials, and therefore, development of new in situ methods for structural studies is important. In addition, understanding the effect of different synthesis methods on the active material properties is necessary to optimize the material cycle life. In this work, the performance of LiCoO2 doped with Mg during the lithiation step is compared to LiCoO2 prepared using an Mg-doped Co3O4 precursor. In situ laboratory-scale X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy is used to analyze the Co valence changes in LiCoO2 to understand the electrochemical behavior of the investigated materials. The maximum reachable Co valence state is found to decrease upon aging, a small decrease indicating a good cycle-life, and this is attributed to the enhanced stacking order, better Mg distribution in the lattice, and fine primary particle size in the material. In the synthesis conditions used in this study, Mg doping during the lithiation step is shown to perform better compared to the precursor doping. Overlithiation is shown to reduce the electrochemical performance of nondoped and precursor-doped LiCoO2 materials but not to affect the cyclability of lithiation-doped LiCoO2. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Wastewater constituents impact biofilm microbial community in receiving streams

Microbial life in natural biofilms is dominated by prokaryotes and microscopic eukaryotes living in dense association. In stream ecosystems, microbial biofilms influence primary production, elemental cycles, food web interactions as well as water quality. Understanding how biofilm communities respond to anthropogenic impacts, such as wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, is important given the key role of biofilms in stream ecosystem function.Here, we implemented 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing of stream biofilms upstream (US) and downstream (DS) of WWTP effluents in four Swiss streams to test how bacterial and eukaryotic communities respond to wastewater constituents. Stream biofilm composition was strongly affected by geographic location – particularly for bacteria. However, the abundance of certain microbial community members was related to micropollutants in the wastewater – among bacteria, micropollutant-associated members were found e.g. in Alphaproteobacteria, and among eukaryotes e.g. in Bacillariophyta (algal diatoms). This study corroborates several previously characterized responses (e.g. as seen in diatoms), but also reveals previously unknown community responses – such as seen in Alphaproteobacteria. This study advances our understanding of the ecological impact of the current wastewater treatment practices and provides information about potential new marker organisms to assess ecological change in stream biofilms.</p

Prognostic Role of Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Pleural Epithelioid Mesothelioma

BackgroundPleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive malignancy with an average patient survival of only 10 months. Interestingly, about 5%-10% of the patients survive remarkably longer. Prior studies have suggested that the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has potential prognostic value in MPM. We hypothesized that high-resolution single-cell spatial profiling of the TIME would make it possible to identify subpopulations of patients with long survival and identify immunophenotypes for the development of novel treatment strategies. MethodsWe used multiplexed fluorescence immunohistochemistry (mfIHC) and cell-based image analysis to define spatial TIME immunophenotypes in 69 patients with epithelioid MPM (20 patients surviving >= 36 months). Five mfIHC panels (altogether 21 antibodies) were used to classify tumor-associated stromal cells and different immune cell populations. Prognostic associations were evaluated using univariate and multivariable Cox regression, as well as combination risk models with area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) analyses. ResultsWe observed that type M2 pro-tumorigenic macrophages (CD163(+)pSTAT1(-)HLA-DRA1(-)) were independently associated with shorter survival, whereas granzyme B+ cells and CD11c(+) cells were independently associated with longer survival. CD11c(+) cells were the only immunophenotype increasing the AUROC (from 0.67 to 0.84) when added to clinical factors (age, gender, clinical stage, and grade). ConclusionHigh-resolution, deep profiling of TIME in MPM defined subgroups associated with both poor (M2 macrophages) and favorable (granzyme B/CD11c positivity) patient survival. CD11c positivity stood out as the most potential prognostic cell subtype adding prediction power to the clinical factors. These findings help to understand the critical determinants of TIME for risk and therapeutic stratification purposes in MPM.Peer reviewe

Ruokasuhteen pedagoginen viitekehys ruokakasvatuksen näkökulmana

  Ruokakasvatuksellisella toiminnalla on pitkä historia, mutta ruokakasvatuksen käsite on vasta viime vuosina yleistynyt muun muassa pedagogisissa asiakirjoissa. Tässä artikkelissa esittelemme monitieteisenä yhteistyönä kehitettyä ruokasuhteen pedagogista viitekehystä. Tarkastelu pohjautuu aiemmin julkaisemallemme viitekehysluonnokselle, jota olemme edelleen kehittäneet ja täydentäneet. Viitekehyksen ytimen muodostavat ruokasuhteen käsite ja sille pohjautuva pedagoginen ruokasuhdetyöskentely, joiden monitieteistä teoriataustaa avaamme tässä artikkelissa. Ruokasuhdetta voidaan kuvata koko elämän ajan kertyneiden, ruokaan ja syömiseen liittyvien kokemusten, sekä yksilön näille kokemuksille antamien tulkintojen ja merkitysten muodostamaksi ainutlaatuiseksi kokonaisuudeksi. Se ei ole muuttumaton, vaan ajassa ja ympäristön kanssa vuorovaikutuksessa syntyvien kokemusten myötä muovautuva kokonaisuus. Pedagogisessa ruokasuhdetyöskentelyssä painottuu ruokasuhteen erilaisten puolien tiedostaminen ja hyväksyminen sekä vastavuoroinen, arvostava kohtaaminen. Lisäksi ammattilaisen henkilökohtainen ruokasuhdetyöskentely nähdään tärkeänä.   The Framework of food relationship as an approach for food education Abstract Food-related pedagogical activity has a long history, but the concept of food education has become more common in pedagogical documents during recent years. However, there are only a few pedagogical approaches of food education yet. In this paper we introduce the pedagogical framework of food relationship (PFFR) that has been developed as an interdisciplinary collaboration. There are two core issues in the PFFR, which we present in this article: the concept of food relationship and the pedagogical method based on that concept. . Food relationship can be described as a unique whole of individual’s food and eating-related experiences and meanings given to these experiences by the individual. Food relationship is not static but rather changes in interaction with the environment and time. The Pedagogical method emphasizes being aware of and appreciating different sides of food relationship in reciprocal and appreciative encounters. Additionally, the framework takes a stand on the meaning of professional’s own food relationship. Keywords: pedagogical framework of food relationship, food relationship, food education, pedagogical activit

High tumor cell platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta expression is associated with shorter survival in malignant pleural epithelioid mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) has a rich stromal component containing mesenchymal fibroblasts. However, the properties and interplay of MPM tumor cells and their surrounding stromal fibroblasts are poorly characterized. Our objective was to spatially profile known mesenchymal markers in both tumor cells and associated fibroblasts and correlate their expression with patient survival. The primary study cohort consisted of 74 MPM patients, including 16 patients who survived at least 60 months. We analyzed location-specific tissue expression of seven fibroblast markers in clinical samples using multiplexed fluorescence immunohistochemistry (mfIHC) and digital image analysis. Effect on survival was assessed using Cox regression analyses. The outcome measurement was all-cause mortality. Univariate analysis revealed that high expression of secreted protein acidic and cysteine rich (SPARC) and fibroblast activation protein in stromal cells was associated with shorter survival. Importantly, high expression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRB) in tumor cells, but not in stromal cells, was associated with shorter survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.02, p <0.001). A multivariable survival analysis adjusted for clinical parameters and stromal mfIHC markers revealed that tumor cell PDGFRB and stromal SPARC remained independently associated with survival (HR = 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00-1.03 and HR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.00-1.11, respectively). The prognostic effect of PDGFRB was validated with an artificial intelligence-based analysis method and further externally validated in another cohort of 117 MPM patients. In external validation, high tumor cell PDGFRB expression associated with shorter survival, especially in the epithelioid subtype. Our findings suggest PDGFRB and SPARC as potential markers for risk stratification and as targets for therapy.Peer reviewe

Stream microbial communities and ecosystem functioning show complex responses to multiple stressors in wastewater

Multiple anthropogenic drivers are changing ecosystems globally, with a disproportionate and intensifying impact on freshwater habitats. A major impact of urbanization are inputs from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Initially designed to reduce eutrophication and improve water quality, WWTPs increasingly release a multitude of micropollutants (MPs; i.e., synthetic chemicals) and microbes (including antibiotic-resistant bacteria) to receiving environments. This pollution may have pervasive impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Viewed through multiple lenses of macroecological and ecotoxicological theory, we combined field, flume, and laboratory experiments to determine the effects of wastewater (WW) on microbial communities and organic-matter processing using a standardized decomposition assay. First, we conducted a mensurative experiment sampling 60 locations above and below WWTP discharges in 20 Swiss streams. Microbial respiration and decomposition rates were positively influenced by WW inputs via warming and nutrient enrichment, but with a notable exception: WW decreased the activation energy of decomposition, indicating a "slowing" of this fundamental ecosystem process in response to temperature. Second, next-generation sequencing indicated that microbial community structure below WWTPs was altered, with significant compositional turnover, reduced richness, and evidence of negative MP influences. Third, a series of flume experiments confirmed that although diluted WW generally has positive influences on microbial-mediated processes, the negative effects of MPs are "masked" by nutrient enrichment. Finally, transplant experiments suggested that WW-borne microbes enhance decomposition rates. Taken together, our results affirm the multiple stressor paradigm by showing that different aspects of WW (warming, nutrients, microbes, and MPs) jointly influence ecosystem functioning in complex ways. Increased respiration rates below WWTPs potentially generate ecosystem "disservices" via greater carbon evasion from streams and rivers. However, toxic MP effects may fundamentally alter ecological scaling relationships, indicating the need for a rapprochement between ecotoxicological and macroecological perspectives