Heterogeneous chemistry related to Antarctic ozone depletion: Reaction of ClONO2 and N2O5 on ice surfaces

Laboratory studies of heterogeneous reactions of possible importance for Antarctic ozone depletion were performed. In particular, the reactions of chlorine nitrate (ClONO2) and dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) were investigated on ice and HCl/ice surfaces. These reactions occur on the surfaces of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) over Antarctica. One reaction transforms the stable chlorine reservoir species (ClONO2 and HCl) into photochemically active chlorine in the form of HOCl and Cl2. Condensation of HNO3 in the reactions removes odd nitrogen from the stratosphere, a requirement in nearly all models of Antarctic ozone depletion. Other reactions may also be important for Antarctic ozone depletion. Like the reactions of chlorine nitrate, these reactions deplete odd nitrogen through HNO3 condensation. In addition, one reaction converts a stable chlorine reservior species (HCl) into photochemically active chlorine (ClNO2). These reactions were studied with a modified version of a Knudsen cell flow reactor

Incorporating Public Insecurity Indicators: A New Approach to Measuring Social Welfare in Mexico

Social Welfare (SW) is a multidimensional and contextual concept. It is generally adjusted to reflect the prevailing social realities of a given context (Grasso & Canova, 2008). It consists of a material dimension, including economic indicators such as income, employment, level of schooling, and access to social security services (Di Pasquale, 2008; Mæstad & Norheim, 2012). The other dimension of social welfare is subjective and includes elements such as happiness and satisfaction with life (Diener, 1994, 2000).ITESO, A.C.Boston College, School of Social WorkUniversidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de Méxic

Genetic variant rs3750625 in the 3′UTR of ADRA2A affects stress-dependent acute pain severity after trauma and alters a microRNA-34a regulatory site

α2A adrenergic receptor (α2A-AR) activation has been shown in animal models to play an important role in regulating the balance of acute pain inhibition vs. facilitation after both physical and psychological stress. To our knowledge the influence of genetic variants in the gene encoding α2A-AR, ADRA2A, on acute pain outcomes in humans experiencing traumatic stress has not been assessed. In this study, we tested whether a genetic variant in the 3′UTR of ADRA2A, rs3750625, is associated with acute musculoskeletal pain (MSP) severity following motor vehicle collision (MVC, n = 948) and sexual assault (n = 84), and whether this influence was affected by stress severity. We evaluated rs3750625 because it is located in the seed binding region of miR-34a, a microRNA (miRNA) known to regulate pain and stress responses. In both cohorts, the minor allele at rs3750625 was associated with increased MSP in distressed individuals (stress*rs3750625 p = 0.043 for MVC cohort and p = 0.007 for sexual assault cohort). We further found that (1) miR-34a binds the 3′UTR of ADRA2A, (2) the amount of repression is greater when the minor (risk) allele is present, (3) miR-34a in the IMR-32 adrenergic neuroblastoma cell line affects ADRA2A expression, (4) miR-34a and ADRA2A are expressed in tissues known to play a role in pain and stress, (5) following forced swim stress exposure, rat peripheral nerve tissue expression changes are consistent with miR-34a regulation of ADRA2A. Together these results suggest that ADRA2A rs3750625 contributes to post-stress MSP severity by modulating miR-34a regulation

Can biodiversity of preexisting and created salt marshes match across scales? An assessment from microbes to predators

Coastal wetlands are rapidly disappearing worldwide due to a variety of processes, including climate change and flood control. The rate of loss in the Mississippi River Delta is among the highest in the world and billions of dollars have been allocated to build and restore coastal wetlands. A key question guiding assessment is whether created coastal salt marshes have similar biodiversity to preexisting, reference marshes. However, the numerous biodiversity metrics used to make these determinations are typically scale dependent and often conflicting. Here, we applied ecological theory to compare the diversity of different assemblages (surface and below-surface soil microbes, plants, macroinfauna, spiders, and on-marsh and off-marsh nekton) between two created marshes (4–6 years old) and four reference marshes. We also quantified the scale-dependent effects of species abundance distribution, aggregation, and density on richness differences and explored differences in species composition. Total, between-sample, and within-sample diversity (γ, β, and α, respectively) were not consistently lower at created marshes. Richness decomposition varied greatly among assemblages and marshes (e.g., soil microbes showed high equitability and α diversity, but plant diversity was restricted to a few dominant species with high aggregation). However, species abundance distribution, aggregation, and density patterns were not directly associated with differences between created and reference marshes. One exception was considerably lower density for macroinfauna at one of the created marshes, which was drier because of being at a higher elevation and having coarser substrate compared with the other marshes. The community compositions of created marshes were more dissimilar than reference marshes for microbe and macroinfauna assemblages. However, differences were small, particularly for microbes. Together, our results suggest generally similar taxonomic diversity and composition between created and reference marshes. This provides support for the creation of marsh habitat as tools for the maintenance and restoration of coastal biodiversity. However, caution is needed when creating marshes because specific building and restoration plans may lead to different colonization patterns

Reply to: New Meta- and Mega-analyses of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Schizophrenia: Do They Really Increase Our Knowledge About the Nature of the Disease Process?

This work was supported by National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Grant No. U54EB020403 (to the ENIGMA consortium)

Uncoupling the functions of CALM in VAMP sorting and clathrin-coated pit formation.

CALM (clathrin assembly lymphoid myeloid leukemia protein) is a cargo-selective adaptor for the post-Golgi R-SNAREs VAMPs 2, 3, and 8, and it also regulates the size of clathrin-coated pits and vesicles at the plasma membrane. The present study has two objectives: to determine whether CALM can sort additional VAMPs, and to investigate whether VAMP sorting contributes to CALM-dependent vesicle size regulation. Using a flow cytometry-based endocytosis efficiency assay, we demonstrate that CALM is also able to sort VAMPs 4 and 7, even though they have sorting signals for other clathrin adaptors. CALM homologues are present in nearly every eukaryote, suggesting that the CALM family may have evolved as adaptors for retrieving all post-Golgi VAMPs from the plasma membrane. Using a knockdown/rescue system, we show that wild-type CALM restores normal VAMP sorting in CALM-depleted cells, but that two non-VAMP-binding mutants do not. However, when we assayed the effect of CALM depletion on coated pit morphology, using a fluorescence microscopy-based assay, we found that the two mutants were as effective as wild-type CALM. Thus, we can uncouple the sorting function of CALM from its structural role

Aging Hematopoietic Stem Cells Decline in Function and Exhibit Epigenetic Dysregulation

Age-related defects in stem cells can limit proper tissue maintenance and hence contribute to a shortened lifespan. Using highly purified hematopoietic stem cells from mice aged 2 to 21 mo, we demonstrate a deficit in function yet an increase in stem cell number with advancing age. Expression analysis of more than 14,000 genes identified 1,500 that were age-induced and 1,600 that were age-repressed. Genes associated with the stress response, inflammation, and protein aggregation dominated the up-regulated expression profile, while the down-regulated profile was marked by genes involved in the preservation of genomic integrity and chromatin remodeling. Many chromosomal regions showed coordinate loss of transcriptional regulation; an overall increase in transcriptional activity with age and inappropriate expression of genes normally regulated by epigenetic mechanisms was also observed. Hematopoietic stem cells from early-aging mice expressing a mutant p53 allele reveal that aging of stem cells can be uncoupled from aging at an organismal level. These studies show that hematopoietic stem cells are not protected from aging. Instead, loss of epigenetic regulation at the chromatin level may drive both functional attenuation of cells, as well as other manifestations of aging, including the increased propensity for neoplastic transformation

CD81 Is Essential for the Re-entry of Hematopoietic Stem Cells to Quiescence following Stress-Induced Proliferation Via Deactivation of the Akt Pathway

A protein that is thought to orchestrate the distribution of other signaling molecules on the cell membrane, CD81, is critical to maintaining the functional integrity of hematopoietic stem cells during their regeneration

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London