The reinvigoration of the Southern Ocean carbon sink

Several studies have suggested that the carbon sink in the Southern Ocean—the ocean’s strongest region for the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 —has weakened in recent decades. We demonstrated, on the basis of multidecadal analyses of surface ocean CO2 observations, that this weakening trend stopped around 2002, and by 2012, the Southern Ocean had regained its expected strength based on the growth of atmospheric CO2. All three Southern Ocean sectors have contributed to this reinvigoration of the carbon sink, yet differences in the processes between sectors exist, related to a tendency toward a zonally more asymmetric atmospheric circulation. The large decadal variations in the Southern Ocean carbon sink suggest a rather dynamic ocean carbon cycle that varies more in time than previously recognized

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance-Measured Ionized Magnesium Is Inversely Associated with Type 2 Diabetes in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study

The aims were to optimize a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based assay for quantifying ionized or free magnesium and investigate its association with type 2 diabetes (T2D). A high-throughput, ionized magnesium assay was optimized and evaluated. Plasma magnesium was quantified, and associations with T2D were ascertained in Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS) participants. Coefficients of variation for the ionized magnesium assay ranged from 0.7–1.5% for intra-assay and 4.2–4.7% for inter-assay precision. In IRAS (n = 1342), ionized magnesium was significantly lower in subjects with prediabetes and T2D than in normoglycemic subjects, and lower in participants with T2D than those with prediabetes (p < 0.0001). Cross-sectional regression analyses revealed that magnesium was associated with T2D at baseline in models adjusted for multiple clinical risk factors (p = 0.032). This association appeared to be modified by sex, in such a way that the associations were present in women (OR = 0.54 (95% CI 0.37–0.79), p = 0.0015) and not in men (OR = 0.98 (95% CI 0.71–1.35), p = 0.90). Longitudinal regression analyses revealed an inverse association between magnesium and future T2D in the total population (p = 0.035) that was attenuated by LP-IR (p = 0.22). No interactions were detected between magnesium and age, race, BMI, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, or LPIR for the prospective association with future T2D. However, a significant interaction between magnesium and sex was present, now with a trend for an association in men (OR = 0.75 (95% CI 0.55–1.02), p = 0.065 and absence of an association in women (OR = 1.01 (0.76–1.33), p = 0.97). Conclusions: lower ionized magnesium, as measured by an NMR-based assay optimized for accuracy and precision, was associated cross-sectionally with T2D at baseline and longitudinally with incident T2D in IRAS

Уникальные ресурсы Крыма как основа для развития мистического туризма

Целью статьи является рассмотрение возможности развития мистического туризма в Крыму на основе его уникальных природных и культурно-исторических ресурсов

The Course of Quality of Life and Its Predictors in Nursing Home Residents With Young-Onset Dementia

OBJECTIVE: To explore the course of quality of life (QoL) and possible resident-related predictors associated with this course in institutionalized people with young-onset dementia (YOD). DESIGN: An observational longitudinal study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 278 residents with YOD were recruited from 13 YOD special care units in the Netherlands. METHODS: Secondary analyses were conducted with longitudinal data from the Behavior and Evolution in Young-ONset Dementia (BEYOND)-II study. QoL was assessed with proxy ratings, using the Quality of Life in Dementia (QUALIDEM) questionnaire at 4 assessment points over 18 months. Predictors included age, gender, dementia subtype, length of stay, dementia severity, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and psychotropic drug use at baseline. Multilevel modeling was used to adjust for the correlation of measurements within residents and clustering of residents within nursing homes. RESULTS: The total QUALIDEM score (range: 0-111) decreased over 18 months with a small change of 0.65 (95% confidence interval -1.27, -0.04) points per 6 months. An increase in several domains of QoL regarding care relationship, positive self-image, and feeling at home was seen over time, whereas a decline was observed in the subscales positive affect, social relations, and having something to do. Residents with higher levels of QoL and more advanced dementia at baseline showed a more progressive decline in QoL over time. Sensitivity analyses indicated a more progressive decline in QoL for residents who died during the follow-up. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This study shows that although overall QoL in nursing home residents with YOD was relatively stable over 18 months, there were multidirectional changes in the QoL subscales that could be clinically relevant. Higher levels of QoL and more advanced stages of dementia at baseline predicted a more progressive decline in QoL over time. More longitudinal studies are needed to verify factors influencing QoL in YOD

The somatostatin analog Sandostatin (SMS201-995) in treatment of DMBA-induced rat mammary tumors

The effects of treatment with a somatostatin analog (Sandostatin, SMS201-995) were investigated in female rats with dimethylbenzanthracene(DMBA)-induced rat mammary tumors. A 3-week treatment was performed using sandostatin, the LHRH-agonist buserelin alone, or buserelin in combination with sandostatin. Twice daily sandostatin treatment was performed with dosages of 0.05 μg, 0.2 μg, 1 μg, 5 μg, and 20 μg. Buserelin was used in a 2 × 5 μg/day dosage. The combined results from six different experiments show that the various dosages of sandostatin caused no tumor growth inhibition. Somatostatin receptors could not be demonstrated in these mammary tumors. Sandostatin treatment by daily injections did not suppress levels of growth hormone, prolactin, or epidermal growth factor-like activities. Estrogen (ER) and progest

The HLA class II allele DRB1*1501 is over-represented in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and medically refractory lung disease with a grim prognosis. Although the etiology of IPF remains perplexing, abnormal adaptive immune responses are evident in many afflicted patients. We hypothesized that perturbations of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele frequencies, which are often seen among patients with immunologic diseases, may also be present in IPF patients. Methods/Principal Findings: HLA alleles were determined in subpopulations of IPF and normal subjects using molecular typing methods. HLA-DRB1*15 was over-represented in a discovery cohort of 79 Caucasian IPF subjects who had lung transplantations at the University of Pittsburgh (36.7%) compared to normal reference populations. These findings were prospectively replicated in a validation cohort of 196 additional IPF subjects from four other U.S. medical centers that included both ambulatory patients and lung transplantation recipients. High-resolution typing was used to further define specific HLA-DRB1*15 alleles. DRB1*1501 prevalence in IPF subjects was similar among the 143 ambulatory patients and 132 transplant recipients (31.5% and 34.8%, respectively, p = 0.55). The aggregate prevalence of DRB1*1501 in IPF patients was significantly greater than among 285 healthy controls (33.1% vs. 20.0%, respectively, OR 2.0; 95%CI 1.3-2.9, p = 0.0004). IPF patients with DRB1*1501 (n = 91) tended to have decreased diffusing capacities for carbon monoxide (DLCO) compared to the 184 disease subjects who lacked this allele (37.8±1.7% vs. 42.8±1.4%, p = 0.036). Conclusions/Significance: DRB1*1501 is more prevalent among IPF patients than normal subjects, and may be associated with greater impairment of gas exchange. These data are novel evidence that immunogenetic processes can play a role in the susceptibility to and/or manifestations of IPF. Findings here of a disease association at the HLA-DR locus have broad pathogenic implications, illustrate a specific chromosomal area for incremental, targeted genomic study, and may identify a distinct clinical phenotype among patients with this enigmatic, morbid lung disease

High-resolution dietary reconstruction of victims of the 79 CE Vesuvius eruption at Herculaneum by compound-specific isotope analysis.

The remains of those who perished at Herculaneum in 79 CE offer a unique opportunity to examine lifeways across an ancient community who lived and died together. Historical sources often allude to differential access to foodstuffs across Roman society but provide no direct or quantitative information. By determining the stable isotope values of amino acids from bone collagen and deploying Bayesian models that incorporate knowledge of protein synthesis, we were able to reconstruct the diets of 17 adults from Herculaneum with unprecedented resolution. Significant differences in the proportions of marine and terrestrial foods consumed were observed between males and females, implying that access to food was differentiated according to gender. The approach also provided dietary data of sufficient precision for comparison with assessments of food supply to modern populations, opening up the possibility of benchmarking ancient diets against contemporary settings where the consequences for health are better understood

A multi-decade record of high quality fCO2 data in version 3 of the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT)

The Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) is a synthesis of quality-controlled fCO2 (fugacity of carbon dioxide) values for the global surface oceans and coastal seas with regular updates. Version 3 of SOCAT has 14.7 million fCO2 values from 3646 data sets covering the years 1957 to 2014. This latest version has an additional 4.6 million fCO2 values relative to version 2 and extends the record from 2011 to 2014. Version 3 also significantly increases the data availability for 2005 to 2013. SOCAT has an average of approximately 1.2 million surface water fCO2 values per year for the years 2006 to 2012. Quality and documentation of the data has improved. A new feature is the data set quality control (QC) flag of E for data from alternative sensors and platforms. The accuracy of surface water fCO2 has been defined for all data set QC flags. Automated range checking has been carried out for all data sets during their upload into SOCAT. The upgrade of the interactive Data Set Viewer (previously known as the Cruise Data Viewer) allows better interrogation of the SOCAT data collection and rapid creation of high-quality figures for scientific presentations. Automated data upload has been launched for version 4 and will enable more frequent SOCAT releases in the future. High-profile scientific applications of SOCAT include quantification of the ocean sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide and its long-term variation, detection of ocean acidification, as well as evaluation of coupled-climate and ocean-only biogeochemical models. Users of SOCAT data products are urged to acknowledge the contribution of data providers, as stated in the SOCAT Fair Data Use Statement. This ESSD (Earth System Science Data) “living data” publication documents the methods and data sets used for the assembly of this new version of the SOCAT data collection and compares these with those used for earlier versions of the data collection (Pfeil et al., 2013; Sabine et al., 2013; Bakker et al., 2014). Individual data set files, included in the synthesis product, can be downloaded here: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.849770. The gridded products are available here: doi:10.3334/CDIAC/OTG.SOCAT_V3_GRID

Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy with [111In-DTPA-d-Phe1]- and [123I-Tyr3]-octreotide: the Rotterdam experience with more than 1000 patients

Various tumours, classically specified as either neuroendocrine or non-neuroendocrine, contain high numbers of somatostatin receptors, which enable in vivo localization of the primary tumour and its metastases by scintigraphy with the radiolabelled somatostatin analogue octreotide. In addition granulomas and autoimmune processes can be visualized because of local accumulation of somatostatin receptor-positive activated mononuclear leucocytes. In many instances a positive scintigram predicts a favourable response to treatment with octreotide. It is tempting to speculate that octreotide labelled with an appropriate radionuclide might be used in cancer therapy. The successful application of radiolabelled octreotide in scintigraphy indicates the possible usefulness of other radiolabelled peptides, either native peptides or derivatives of these, in, for example, nuclear oncology. The small size of these peptides, e.g. bombesin and substance P, is of the utmost importance for a relatively fast blood clearance, thus leading to low background radioactivity. In this way peptides are powerful alternatives to (fragments of) monoclonal antibodies, the application of which to scintigraphic localization of specific cell surface antigen-bearing tumours is plagued by slow blood clearance and, hence, high background levels