Multi-site interaction turnover in flea–mammal networks from four continents: Application of zeta diversity concept and multi-site generalised dissimilarity modelling

We studied patterns of changes in host–flea interactions measured as total turnover (TT) which can be partitioned into components, namely species turnover (ST), interaction rewiring (RW), and mixed turnover (MX) in networks from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, applying a multi-site interaction turnover metric. We also searched for environmental drivers of TT and its components. We asked whether (a) different components contribute differently to TT in rare versus common interactions (in terms of frequency of interaction occurrence); (b) relative roles of turnover components for rare and common interactions differ between continents; and (c) the environmental drivers of interaction turnover differ between turnover components, rare and common interactions, and/or continental networks. Between-network dissimilarity of interactions increased with an increase in the number of compared networks. Pure ST contributed the most to the turnover of rare interactions, whereas the turnover of common interactions was predominated by MX. The effects of environmental factors, interaction richness, and spatial distance on TT and its components differed between continental networks, turnover components, and rare versus common interactions. Climate and vegetation exerted the strongest effects on (a) ST for rare (except Asia) and, to a lesser degree, common (South America) interactions, (b) RW for both rare and common interactions in Europe/Asia, and (c) MX for both rare and common interactions (except Africa). Interaction richness and spatial distance mainly influenced ST. We conclude that the patterns of interaction turnover and its components were geographically invariant and did not depend on the identity of the interactors, whereas the drivers of the turnover differed between continental networks because of species-specific responses to the environment.Fil: Krasnov, Boris R.. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Khokhlova, Irina S.. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Kiefer, Mathias S.. Ludwig Maximilians Universitat; AlemaniaFil: Kiefer, Daniel. Ludwig Maximilians Universitat; AlemaniaFil: Lareschi, Marcela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Matthee, Sonja. Stellenbosch University; SudáfricaFil: Sánchez, Juliana Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Shenbrot, Georgy I.. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Stanko, Michal. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Botany; EslovaquiaFil: van der Mescht, Luther. Stellenbosch University; Sudáfric

Distribution of Fleas (Siphonaptera) in Bird-Nests, Bird Siphonaptera on Mammalia and the Medical Importance of Interspecific Flea Transmission in Mongolia

Starting in the 1960s of the last century a huge amount of material from mammals and birds was collected in Mongolia. The according results were published in Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei, Volume 1-10, and represented on conferences in Halle, Moscow, Irkutsk, Ulaanbaatar, Bratislava and the Entomological Review St. Petersburg. A big part of the collected material consisted of ectoparasites analyzed by experts from Mongolia, Germany, England, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia resulting in newly described species along with zoogeographical and ecological profiles. During the years 1974-2007 material from 321 nests of 38 bird taxa were obtained. 157 nests of 25 bird taxa were positive for fleas resulting in 5,532 collected specimen. 41 flea-species were detected. The flea-species with the highest spatial distribution are Ceratophyllus tribulis and C. vagabundus mostly parasiting on Passeriformes. Ceratophyllus maculatus and C. caliotes, specific parasites on Delichon urbica and Hirundo rustica, show the highest abundance of the analyzed fleas. In the nests of Apodidae and Hirundinidae, 90% of the analyzed fleas-species were Ceratophyllus maculatus

Current State of Ixodidae Research in Mongolia

Our research presents the Ixodidae-fauna in Mongolia. The current taxonomic state in Mongolia shows 19 Ixodidae taxa extracted in 308 locations from 115 bird and mammal species. In 1980, the species Ixodes persulcatus SCHULZE, 1930 and Ixodes berlesei Birula, 1895 were detected in Inget Tolgoi and Ixodes laguri OLENEV, 1929 on Meriones unguiculatus 10 km southeast of Ulaanbaatar for the first time. In 2000 the species Haemaphysalis concinna Koch, 1844 was detected in the Selenge-river area and Argas (Argas) vulgaris FILIPPOVA, 1961 was detected in the Gobi area. From the collection of M. and A. STUBBE 1 N (Nymphae) Ixodes persulcatus was detected on Microtus sp. at the Minž-gol (river in Khentey) on July 25, 2002

The blood vasculature instructs lymphatic patterning in a SOX7-dependent manner

Despite a growing catalog of secreted factors critical for lymphatic network assembly, little is known about the mechanisms that modulate the expression level of these molecular cues in blood vascular endothelial cells (BECs). Here, we show that a BEC-specific transcription factor, SOX7, plays a crucial role in a non-cell-autonomous manner by modulating the transcription of angiocrine signals to pattern lymphatic vessels. While SOX7 is not expressed in lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs), the conditional loss of SOX7 function in mouse embryos causes a dysmorphic dermal lymphatic phenotype. We identify novel distant regulatory regions in mice and humans that contribute to directly repressing the transcription of a major lymphangiogenic growth factor (Vegfc) in a SOX7-dependent manner. Further, we show that SOX7 directly binds HEY1, a canonical repressor of the Notch pathway, suggesting that transcriptional repression may also be modulated by the recruitment of this protein partner at Vegfc genomic regulatory regions. Our work unveils a role for SOX7 in modulating downstream signaling events crucial for lymphatic patterning, at least in part via the transcriptional repression of VEGFC levels in the blood vascular endothelium.Peer reviewe

OpenMS: a flexible open-source software platform for mass spectrometry data analysis

High-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) has become an important tool in the life sciences, contributing to the diagnosis and understanding of human diseases, elucidating biomolecular structural information and characterizing cellular signaling networks. However, the rapid growth in the volume and complexity of MS data makes transparent, accurate and reproducible analysis difficult. We present OpenMS 2.0 (http://www.openms.de), a robust, open-source, cross-platform software specifically designed for the flexible and reproducible analysis of high-throughput MS data. The extensible OpenMS software implements common mass spectrometric data processing tasks through a well-defined application programming interface in C++ and Python and through standardized open data formats. OpenMS additionally provides a set of 185 tools and ready-made workflows for common mass spectrometric data processing tasks, which enable users to perform complex quantitative mass spectrometric analyses with ease

International Consensus Statement for the Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Adolescents with Concurrent Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Substance Use Disorder

Hintergrund: Eine Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung (ADHS) im Kindesalter stellt einen Risikofaktor für Substanzmissbrauch und Störungen durch Substanzgebrauch (Substance Use Disorder, SUD) in der Pubertät und dem (frühen) Erwachsenenalter dar. ADHS und SUD treten auch häufig bei therapiesuchenden Jugendlichen auf, was die Diagnosestellung und Therapie erschwert sowie mit schlechten Behandlungsergebnissen verbunden ist. Forschungsergebnisse über die Wirkung der Behandlung von ADHS im Kindesalter auf die Prävention von SUD im Jugendalter sind nicht eindeutig und Studien über die Diagnose und Behandlung von Jugendlichen mit ADHS und SUD sind selten. Daher reicht die verfügbare Evidenz allgemein nicht aus, um starke Behandlungsempfehlungen zu rechtfertigen. Fragestellung: Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, eine Konsenserklärung auf der Grundlage von wissenschaftlichen Daten und klinischen Erfahrungen zu erhalten. Methodik: Es wurde eine modifizierte Delphi-Studie durchgeführt, um basierend auf der Kombination von wissenschaftlichen Daten und klinischer Erfahrung mit einer multidisziplinären Gruppe von 55 Expert_innen aus 17 Ländern einen Konsens zu erzielen. Die Expert_innen wurden gebeten, eine Reihe von Aussagen über die Wirkung der Behandlung von ADHS im Kindesalter auf die SUD bei Jugendlichen sowie über das Screening, die Diagnostik und die Behandlung von Jugendlichen mit komorbidem ADHS und SUD zu bewerten. Ergebnisse: Nach drei iterativen Bewertungsrunden und der Anpassung von 37 Aussagen wurde ein Konsens über 36 dieser Aussagen erzielt, die sechs Bereiche repräsentieren: allgemein (n = 4), Risiko der Entwicklung einer SUD (n = 3), Screening und Diagnostik (n = 7), psychosoziale Behandlung (n = 5), pharmakologische Behandlung (n = 11) und komplementäre Behandlungen (n = 7). Der Einsatz von Routinescreenings auf ADHS wird bei adoleszenten Patient_innen in einer Suchtbehandlung ebenso wie Routinescreenings auf SUD bei jugendlichen Patient_innen mit ADHS in allgemeinpsychiatrischen Therapiesettings empfohlen. Langwirksame Stimulanzien werden als Behandlung der ersten Wahl von ADHS bei Jugendlichen mit gleichzeitiger ADHS und SUD empfohlen. Die Pharmakotherapie sollte vorzugsweise in psychosoziale Behandlung eingebettet werden. Die einzige nichtkonsentierte Aussage betraf die Notwendigkeit von Abstinenz vor Beginn einer pharmakologischen Behandlung bei Jugendlichen mit ADHS und gleichzeitigem SUD. Im Gegensatz zur Mehrheit verlangten einige Expert_innen eine vollständige Abstinenz vor Beginn einer pharmakologischen Behandlung, einige waren gegen die Verwendung von Stimulanzien bei der Behandlung dieser Patient_innen (unabhängig von Abstinenz), während einige sich gegen die alternative Anwendung von Bupropion aussprachen. Schlussfolgerungen: Diese internationale Konsenserklärung kann von Kliniker_innen und Patient_innen zusammen in einem gemeinsamen Entscheidungsprozess genutzt werden, um die besten Interventionen auszuwählen und die bestmöglichen Ergebnisse bei adoleszenten Patient_innen mit gleichzeitiger ADHS und SUD zu erzielen