Putting pharmaceuticals into the wider context of challenges to fish populations in rivers

The natural range of fish species in our rivers is related to flow, elevation, temperature, local habitat and connectivity. For over 2000 years, humans have altered to varying degrees the river habitat. In the past 200 years, we added to the environmental disruption by discharging poorly treated sewage, nutrients and industrial waste into our rivers. For many rivers, the low point arrived during the period of 1950s–1970s, when rapid economic development overrode environmental concerns and dissolved oxygen concentrations dropped to zero. In these more enlightened times, gross river pollution is a thing of the past in the Developed World. However, persistent legacy chemical contaminants can be found in fish long after their discharge ceased. Changes in habitat quality and morphology caused and continue to cause the disappearance of fish species. The range of fish stressors has now increased as temperatures rise, and non-native fish introductions bring new diseases. The threat from pharmaceuticals to fish populations remains hypothetical, and no studies have yet linked change in fish populations to exposure

The effects of airborne emissions from the Pechenganickel smelters on water quality and littoral fish communities of small watercourses in the joint Finnish, Norwegian and Russian border area

Appendix 11/15 of the publication "State of the environment in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian border area 2007" (The Finnish Environment 6/2007)

Genetic evidence for panmixia in a colony-breeding crater lake cichlid fish

Fine-scaled genetic structuring, as seen for example in many lacustrine fish, typically relates to the patterns of migration, habitat use, mating system or other ecological factors. Because the same processes can also affect the propensity of population differentiation and divergence, assessments of species from rapidly speciating clades, or with particularly interesting ecological traits, can be especially insightful. For this study, we assessed the spatial genetic relationships, including the genetic evidence for sex-biased dispersal, in a colony-breeding cichlid fish, Amphilophus astorquii, endemic to Crater Lake Apoyo in Nicaragua, using 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci (n = 123 individuals from three colonies). We found no population structure in A. astorquii either within colonies (no spatial genetic autocorrelation, r ~0), or at the lake-wide level (pairwise population differentiation FST = 0-0.013 and no clustering), and there was no sex-bias (male and female AIc values bounded 0) to this lack of genetic structure. These patterns may be driven by the colony-breeding reproductive behaviour of A. astorquii. The results suggest that strong philopatry or spatial assortative mating are unlikely to explain the rapid speciation processes associated with the history of this species in Lake Apoyo

Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) : Showcases for making science diplomacy

Science diplomacy can be defined as "the use of scientific collaborations between countries to address joint problems and to build constructive international partnerships for delivering effective scientific advice for policy making". During the last 10 years, the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) has been active in finding ways to solve global Grand Challenges, particularly climate change and poor air quality in polluted megacities, and at the same time, better bridge research to international climate policy and science diplomacy processes. INAR has introduced Pan-Eurasian Experiment programme running since the year 2012 (www.atm.helsinki.fi/peex) to better address the scientific challenge to understand Atmosphere - Earth Surface - Biosphere interactions and feedbacks in the Northern Eurasian context. INAR has also launched a measurement concept called the Global Network of Stations Measuring Earth Surface and Atmosphere Interactions (GlobalSMEAR) and has hosted the European Centre of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences since 2015. Most recently, INAR has coordinated the Arena for the gap analysis of the existing Arctic Science Co-Operations (AASCO), 2020-2021, to promote research with a holistic and integrated approach in understanding feedbacks and interactions globally and locally at the Arctic and outside the Arctic environments.Non peer reviewe

Contractility-dependent actin dynamics in cardiomyocyte sarcomeres

In contrast to the highly dynamic actin cytoskeleton in nonmuscle cells, actin filaments in muscle sarcomeres are thought to be relatively stable and undergo dynamics only at their ends. However, many proteins that promote rapid actin dynamics are also expressed in striated muscles. We show that a subset of actin filaments in cardiomyocyte sarcomeres displays rapid turnover. Importantly, we found that turnover of these filaments depends on contractility of the cardiomyocytes. Studies using an actin-polymerization inhibitor suggest that the pool of dynamic actin filaments is composed of filaments that do not contribute to contractility. Furthermore, we provide evidence that ADF/cofilins, together with myosin-induced contractility, are required to disassemble non-productive filaments in developing cardiomyocytes. These data indicate that an excess of actin filaments is produced during sarcomere assembly, and that contractility is applied to recognize non-productive filaments that are subsequently destined for depolymerization. Consequently, contractility-induced actin dynamics plays an important role in sarcomere maturation

On the oxygen consumption of Mesidothea entomon (L.) (Crustacea, Isopoda)

The level of oxygen consumption of a Baltic population of Mesidothea entomon was determined in salinities of 1,6.5 and 15‰ and at temperatures of 5°C and 15°C using males, ovigerous females and non-ovigerous females. No significant dependence was found between respiration and salinity. The mean oxygen consumption is of the same order of magnitude as or Baltic marine isopods in general. lt decreases towards the autumn. The oxygen consumption remains at the same level independent of the oxygen concentration in the water until this falls below 2 mg per litre

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen from serum can aid in timing of COVID-19 infection

SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected in respiratory samples for weeks after onset of COVID-19 disease. Therefore, one of the diagnostic challenges of PCR positive cases is differentiating between acute COVID-19 disease and convalescent phase. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen in serum and plasma samples of COVID-19 patients has been demonstrated previously. Our study aimed to characterize the analytical specificity and sensitivity of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Salocor SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Quantitative Assay Kit (c) (Salofa Ltd, Salo, Finland)) for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen in serum, and to characterize the kinetics of antigenemia. The evaluation material included a negative serum panel of 155 samples, and 126 serum samples from patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19. The specificity of the Salocor SARS-CoV-2 serum nucleocapsid antigen test was 98.0 %. In comparison with simultaneous positive PCR from upper respiratory tract (URT) specimens, the test sensitivity was 91.7 %. In a serum panel in which the earliest serum sample was collected two days before the collection of positive URT specimen, and the latest 48 days after (median 1 day post URT sample collection), the serum N antigen test sensitivity was 95.6 % within 14 days post onset of symptoms. The antigenemia resolved approximately two weeks after the onset of disease and diagnostic PCR. The combination of simultaneous SARS-CoV-2 antigen and antibody testing appeared to provide useful in-formation for timing of COVID-19. Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 N-antigenemia may be used as a diag-nostic marker in acute COVID-19.Peer reviewe