Living on the Edge: Conservation of Fish Species at Risk in Canada

Many species in North America range northward and barely into southern Canada. Some of these species are classified as species at risk and afforded legal protection in Canada, yet the decision to protect these populations at the edge of their range is controversial. To determine if edge populations are more likely to be listed as at risk, fish species were grouped based on whether they are listed as at risk in Canada then assigned values for several life history and ecological traits and a discriminant function analysis was conducted. Conservation status was correctly predicted 93% of the time. Traits that predicted conservation status were endemic distribution, recognized distinct populations, edge distributions and long-lived. Northern edge populations of Spotted Gar ( Lepisosteus oculatus ) were investigated for the presence of local adaptations. Adaptations in the form of delayed age at maturity and lower body condition were seen in the Rondeau Bay population of Spotted Gar. Differences in habitat selection and offshore distance were also seen in the Rondeau Bay population when compared to southern core populations of the species. Microsatellite analyses showed that northern edge populations were divergent from southern core populations and the Rondeau Bay population carried the entirety of the genetic diversity found in the north. A phylogeny based on mitochondrial gene sequences was created and used to identify five commercially obtained gar samples. Four individuals obtained at a pet shop in Kitchener, Ontario, labeled as Spotted Gar, were identified as Florida Gar ( Lepisosteus platyrhincus ). A specimen obtained at a commercial fish market in Toronto, Ontario was identified as a Spotted Gar and likely originated from Long Point Bay, Lake Erie. The presence of local adaptation affirms the need to protect edge populations to conserve the overall diversity within the Spotted Gar and other species in Canada

04. Population Trends of Breeding Grassland Birds at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, 1985–2015

We use data from ongoing bird monitoring programs to assess long-term population trends at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in northeastern Illinois. Midewin is the nation’s first National Tallgrass Prairie and was established in 1996 on the site of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant. Annual bird monitoring began at the site in the early 1980s when it was discovered that the pastures and hayfields maintained by the Army contained significant grassland bird populations. Ninety-four species of breeding birds were recorded at the site between 2009 and 2015, including large populations of several grasslandobligate birds including dickcissel (Spiza americana), eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna), grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), and Henslow’s sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii). Trend analyses showed that populations of bobolink, grasshopper sparrow, and savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) were stable on the site between 1985 and 2015, whereas dickcissel and Henslow’s sparrow showed significant population increases during this interval. Three species declined significantly between 1985 and 2015: eastern meadowlark, upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda), and vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus). The stable population trends for bobolink, grasshopper sparrow, and savannah sparrow contrast sharply with statewide and regional trends for these species, which show large population declines. The recent introduction of bison to the site may help provide the habitat structure needed to maintain large grassland bird populations at the site

An inverse oblique effect in human vision

AbstractIn the classic oblique effect contrast detection thresholds, orientation discrimination thresholds, and other psychophysical measures are found to be smallest for vertical or horizontal stimuli and significantly higher for stimuli near the ±45° obliques. Here we report a novel inverse oblique effect in which thresholds for detecting translational structure in random dot patterns [Glass, L. (1969). Moiré effect from random dots. Nature, 223, 578–580] are lowest for obliquely oriented structure and higher for either horizontal or vertical structure. Area summation experiments provide evidence that this results from larger pooling areas for oblique orientations in these patterns. The results can be explained quantitatively by a model for complex cells in which the final filtering stage in a filter–rectify–filter sequence is of significantly larger area for oblique orientations

Multiple prebiotic metals mediate translation.

Today, Mg2+ is an essential cofactor with diverse structural and functional roles in life's oldest macromolecular machine, the translation system. We tested whether ancient Earth conditions (low O2, high Fe2+, and high Mn2+) can revert the ribosome to a functional ancestral state. First, SHAPE (selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension) was used to compare the effect of Mg2+, Fe2+, and Mn2+ on the tertiary structure of rRNA. Then, we used in vitro translation reactions to test whether Fe2+ or Mn2+ could mediate protein production, and quantified ribosomal metal content. We found that (i) Mg2+, Fe2+, and Mn2+ had strikingly similar effects on rRNA folding; (ii) Fe2+ and Mn2+ can replace Mg2+ as the dominant divalent cation during translation of mRNA to functional protein; and (iii) Fe and Mn associate extensively with the ribosome. Given that the translation system originated and matured when Fe2+ and Mn2+ were abundant, these findings suggest that Fe2+ and Mn2+ played a role in early ribosomal evolution

Regulation of smooth muscle α-actin expression and hypertrophy in cultured mesangial cells

Regulation of smooth muscle α-actin expression and hypertrophy in cultured mesangial cells.BackgroundMesangial cells during embryonic development and glomerular disease express smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA). We were therefore surprised when cultured mesangial cells deprived of serum markedly increased expression of α-SMA. Serum-deprived mesangial cells appeared larger than serum-fed mesangial cells. We hypothesized that α-SMA expression may be more reflective of mesangial cell hypertrophy than hyperplasia.MethodsHuman mesangial cells were cultured in medium alone or with fetal bovine serum, thrombin, platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and/or transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). α-SMA expression was examined by immunofluorescence, Western blot, and Northern blot analysis. Cell size was analyzed by forward light scatter flow cytometry.Resultsα-SMA mRNA was at least tenfold more abundant after three to five days in human mesangial cells plated without serum, but β-actin mRNA was unchanged. Serum-deprived cells contained 5.3-fold more α-SMA after three days and 56-fold more after five days by Western blot. Serum deprivation also increased α-SMA in rat and mouse mesangial cells. The effects of serum deprivation on α-SMA expression were reversible. Mesangial cell mitogens, thrombin or PDGF-BB, decreased α-SMA, but TGF-β1 increased α-SMA expression and slowed mesangial cell proliferation in serum-plus medium. Flow cytometry showed that serum deprivation or TGF-β1 treatment caused mesangial cell hypertrophy. PDGF-BB, thrombin, or thrombin receptor-activating peptide blocked hypertrophy in response to serum deprivation.ConclusionsWe conclude that increased α-SMA expression in mesangial cells reflects cellular hypertrophy rather than hyperplasia

The effect of fuel sprays on emissions from a gas turbine combustor

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76889/1/AIAA-1979-1321.pd

Susceptibility to disease (tropical theileriosis) is associated with differential expression of host genes that possess motifs recognised by a pathogen DNA binding protein

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of factors that influence the outcome of infection are crucial for determining the risk of severe disease and requires the characterisation of pathogen-host interactions that have evolved to confer variable susceptibility to infection. Cattle infected by Theileria annulata show a wide range in disease severity. Native (Bos indicus) Sahiwal cattle are tolerant to infection, whereas exotic (Bos taurus) Holstein cattle are susceptible to acute disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used RNA-seq to assess whether Theileria infected cell lines from Sahiwal cattle display a different transcriptome profile compared to Holstein and screened for altered expression of parasite factors that could generate differences in host cell gene expression. Significant differences (<0.1 FDR) in the expression level of a large number (2211) of bovine genes were identified, with enrichment of genes associated with Type I IFN, cholesterol biosynthesis, oncogenesis and parasite infection. A screen for parasite factors found limited evidence for differential expression. However, the number and location of DNA motifs bound by the TashAT2 factor (TA20095) were found to differ between the genomes of B. indicus vs. B. taurus, and divergent motif patterns were identified in infection-associated genes differentially expressed between Sahiwal and Holstein infected cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that divergent pathogen-host molecular interactions that influence chromatin architecture of the infected cell are a major determinant in the generation of gene expression differences linked to disease susceptibility

TGF-b2 induction regulates invasiveness of theileria-transformed leukocytes and disease susceptibility

Theileria parasites invade and transform bovine leukocytes causing either East Coast fever (T. parva), or tropical theileriosis (T. annulata). Susceptible animals usually die within weeks of infection, but indigenous infected cattle show markedly reduced pathology, suggesting that host genetic factors may cause disease susceptibility. Attenuated live vaccines are widely used to control tropical theileriosis and attenuation is associated with reduced invasiveness of infected macrophages in vitro. Disease pathogenesis is therefore linked to aggressive invasiveness, rather than uncontrolled proliferation of Theileria-infected leukocytes. We show that the invasive potential of Theileria-transformed leukocytes involves TGF-b signalling. Attenuated live vaccine lines express reduced TGF-b2 and their invasiveness can be rescued with exogenous TGF-b. Importantly, infected macrophages from disease susceptible Holstein-Friesian (HF) cows express more TGF-b2 and traverse Matrigel with great efficiency compared to those from disease-resistant Sahiwal cattle. Thus, TGF-b2 levels correlate with disease susceptibility. Using fluorescence and time-lapse video microscopy we show that Theileria-infected, disease-susceptible HF macrophages exhibit increased actin dynamics in their lamellipodia and podosomal adhesion structures and develop more membrane blebs. TGF-b2-associated invasiveness in HF macrophages has a transcription-independent element that relies on cytoskeleton remodelling via activation of Rho kinase (ROCK). We propose that a TGF-b autocrine loop confers an amoeboid-like motility on Theileria-infected leukocytes, which combines with MMP-dependent motility to drive invasiveness and virulence

Assessment of the infectious diseases surveillance system of the Republic of Armenia: an example of surveillance in the Republics of the former Soviet Union

BACKGROUND: Before 1991, the infectious diseases surveillance systems (IDSS) of the former Soviet Union (FSU) were centrally planned in Moscow. The dissolution of the FSU resulted in economic stresses on public health infrastructure. At the request of seven FSU Ministries of Health, we performed assessments of the IDSS designed to guide reform. The assessment of the Armenian infectious diseases surveillance system (AIDSS) is presented here as a prototype. DISCUSSION: We performed qualitative assessments using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for evaluating surveillance systems. Until 1996, the AIDSS collected aggregate and case-based data on 64 infectious diseases. It collected information on diseases of low pathogenicity (e.g., pediculosis) and those with no public health intervention (e.g., infectious mononucleosis). The specificity was poor because of the lack of case definitions. Most cases were investigated using a lengthy, non-disease-specific case-report form Armenian public health officials analyzed data descriptively and reported data upward from the local to national level, with little feedback. Information was not shared across vertical programs. Reform should focus on enhancing usefulness, efficiency, and effectiveness by reducing the quantity of data collected and revising reporting procedures and information types; improving the quality, analyses, and use of data at different levels; reducing system operations costs; and improving communications to reporting sources. These recommendations are generalizable to other FSU republics. SUMMARY: The AIDSS was complex and sensitive, yet costly and inefficient. The flexibility, representativeness, and timeliness were good because of a comprehensive health-care system and compulsory reporting. Some data were questionable and some had no utility

On the Reliability of Meta-Analytic Reviews

The article addresses the issue of intercoder reliability in meta-analyses. The current practice of reporting a single, mean intercoder agreement score in meta-analytic research leads to systematic bias and overestimates the true reliability. An alternative approach is recommended in which average intercoder agreement scores or other reliability statistics are calculated within clusters of coded variables. These clusters form a hierarchy in which the correctness of coding decisions at a given level of the hierarchy is contingent on decisions made at higher levels. Two separate studies of intercoder agreement in meta-analysis are presented to assess the validity of the model.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67840/2/10.1177_0193841X9301700303.pd