Value of sarcopenia in the resection of colorectal liver metastases—a systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionSarcopenia is defined as a decline in muscle function as well as muscle mass. Sarcopenia itself and sarcopenic obesity, defined as sarcopenia in obese patients, have been used as surrogates for a worse prognosis in colorectal cancer. This review aims to determine if there is evidence for sarcopenia as a prognostic parameter in colorectal liver metastases (CRLM).MethodsPubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and CINAHL databases were searched for articles that were selected in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). A random effects meta-analysis was conducted.ResultsAfter eliminating duplicates and screening abstracts (n = 111), 949 studies were screened, and 33 publications met the inclusion criteria. Of them, 15 were selected after close paper review, and 10 were incorporated into the meta-analysis, which comprised 825 patients. No significant influence of sarcopenia for OS (odds ratio (OR), 2.802 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.094–1.11); p = 0.4) or DFS (OR, 1.203 (95% CI, 1.162–1.208); p = 0.5) was found, although a trend was defined toward sarcopenia. Sarcopenia significantly influenced postoperative complication rates (OR, 7.905 (95% CI, 1.876–3.32); p = 0.001) in two studies where data were available.ConclusionExisting evidence on the influence of sarcopenia on postoperative OS as well as DFS in patients undergoing resection for CRLM exists. We were not able to confirm that sarcopenic patients have a significantly worse OS and DFS in our analysis, although a trend toward this hypothesis was visible. Sarcopenia seems to influence complication rates but prospective studies are needed

The Submarine Volcano Eruption off El Hierro Island: Effects on the Scattering Migrant Biota and the Evolution of the Pelagic Communities

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Demersal Fish Assemblages and Spatial Diversity Patterns in the Arctic-Atlantic Transition Zone in the Barents Sea

Direct and indirect effects of global warming are expected to be pronounced and fast in the Arctic, impacting terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. The Barents Sea is a high latitude shelf Sea and a boundary area between arctic and boreal faunas. These faunas are likely to respond differently to changes in climate. In addition, the Barents Sea is highly impacted by fisheries and other human activities. This strong human presence places great demands on scientific investigation and advisory capacity. In order to identify basic community structures against which future climate related or other human induced changes could be evaluated, we analyzed species composition and diversity of demersal fish in the Barents Sea. We found six main assemblages that were separated along depth and temperature gradients. There are indications that climate driven changes have already taken place, since boreal species were found in large parts of the Barents Sea shelf, including also the northern Arctic area. When modelling diversity as a function of depth and temperature, we found that two of the assemblages in the eastern Barents Sea showed lower diversity than expected from their depth and temperature. This is probably caused by low habitat complexity and the distance to the pool of boreal species in the western Barents Sea. In contrast coastal assemblages in south western Barents Sea and along Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Eastern Barents Sea can be described as diversity “hotspots”; the South-western area had high density of species, abundance and biomass, and here some species have their northern distribution limit, whereas the Novaya Zemlya area has unique fauna of Arctic, coastal demersal fish. (see Information S1 for abstract in Russian)

Northernmost record of the little gulper shark Centrophorus uyato in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean, with taxonomical notes on Centrophorus zeehaani

Abstract not availableR. M. Wienerroither, O. Bjelland, L. Bachmann, and C. Jung

Identification guide to the mesopelagic fishes of the central and south east Atlantic Ocean

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On the Diversity, Population Ecology, and Biogeography of Myctophidae

1. Introduction An overview of the PhD project of the first author within the framework of an international collaboration on lanternfish (Myctophidae) ecology is given. Mesopelagic fishes play an important trophic role in the open ocean as well as close to steep slopes. Myctophidae in particular display a high diversity that can be used as an indicator of biogeogrpahic distinctness of a specific area. The life history and adaptive strategies at the level of individual populations of myctophid species are poorly documented. In order to integrate these various aspects, a comparitive study has beeen studied. 2. Material The investigations are based on material of the global DANA deep-sea expedition that is deposited at the Zoological Museum, Copenhagen (ZMUC), and on collections from recent pelagic research cruises in deep-water canyons south of Georges\u27 Bank (NW Atlantic), the Canary Islands (Eastern Central Atlantic) and the Gulf of Mexico. 3. Data Analyses and Perspective Data on species composition and spatial distribution of mesopelagic fishes collected off the Canary Islands shows that myctophids are distributed patchily at a rather small spatial scale (Wienerroither 2003). These distribution patterns are consistent with areas characterized by high productivity and specific hydrological phenomena like upwellings and eddies. MOCNESS-catches close to deep-water canyons on the southern edge of Georges\u27 Bank (Wienerroither, Suiblein and Youngbluth 2003) enable an even more detailed analysis of the small-scale distribution of myctophid species. Populations of geographically separated areas will be compared using meristic and morphometric characters to reveal possible adaptations to ecologically different environments. Commercially-targeted fishes as well as marine mammals and birds use myctophid species as important sources of food. Adequate and sustainable ecosystem management require holistic consideration of the food web, with detailed knowledge about the lifecycle and population structure of its components. This necessity is reinforced but also complicated by the insight that geographically separated populations of the same mesopelagic fish species have differing life history data. 4. Literature Cited Wienerroither, R.M. 2003. Species composition of mesopelagic fishes in the area of the Canary Islands, Eastern Central Atlantic. Informes Tecnicos del Instituto Canario de Ciencias Marinas, 9:1-110. Wienerroither, R.M., F. Uiblein & M. Youngbluth 2003. Species composition and distribution patterns of myctophids and associated midwater fishes in the Gulf of Maine, NW Atlantic. Report from the Nanomia research cruise, September 2002, 8pp

Cooperative Transcriptional Activation of Antimicrobial Genes by STAT and NF-κB Pathways by Concerted Recruitment of the Mediator Complex

The transcriptional response to infection with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) requires cooperative signals of the type I interferon (IFN-I)-stimulated JAK-STAT and proinflammatory NF-κB pathways. Using ChIP-seq analysis, we define genes induced in Lm-infected macrophages through synergistic transcriptional activation by NF-κB and the IFN-I-activated transcription factor ISGF3. Using the Nos2 and IL6 genes as prime examples of this group, we show that NF-κB functions to recruit enzymes that establish histone marks of transcriptionally active genes. In addition, NF-κB regulates transcriptional elongation by employing the mediator kinase module for the recruitment of the pTEFb complex. ISGF3 has a major role in associating the core mediator with the transcription start as a prerequisite for TFIID and RNA polymerase II (Pol II) binding. Our data suggest that the functional cooperation between two major antimicrobial pathways is based on promoter priming by NF-κB and the engagement of the core mediator for Pol II binding by ISGF3