ISCHEMIC PRECONDITIONING BLUNTS ECCENTRIC EXERCISE-INDUCED MUSCLE DAMAGE DUE TO REDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS?

The purpose of this study was to investigate if ischemic preconditioning (IPC) prior to eccentric exercise of the elbow flexors leads to alterations in muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) during loading. Additionally, parameters of muscle damage, like serum creatine kinase, were assessed following the loading protocol. Nineteen untrained males were allocated into two groups: (1) performing IPC prior to eccentric exercise (IPC+ECC; n=10) and (2) performing eccentric exercise only (n=9). Muscle damage parameters were significantly lower in IPC+ECC (p2 during eccentric loading (ischemia) as well as the subsequent increase of SmO2 (reperfusion) were lower in IPC+ECC (

Dinâmica de decomposição e composição química de palhada de cana-de-açúcar no Cerrado.

A decomposição de resíduos vegetais de cana-de-açúcar dispensa a queima da palhada e promove melhorias na conservação do solo com a redução de perdas de água e de nutrientes. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar as relações entre a decomposição da palhada e a composição química desses resíduos em área de cana-de-açúcar na Usina Goiasa, em Goiatuba GO-Brasil. As amostras foram armazenadas em litter bags e colocadas no campo, sob a camada de palhada de cana-de-açúcar, sendo retiradas periodicamente durante 563 dias para a quantificação da decomposição, análise bromatológica (lignina, FDA e FDN) e de nitrogênio (N) total dos resíduos remanescentes. A meia vida dos resíduos de cana-de-açúcar foi de 118 dias. Após 365 dias a quantidade remanescente de resíduos foi de 36% em relação à massa inicial. Os teores de N total aumentaram ao longo das fases de decomposição dos resíduos e diminuíram apenas a partir dos 330 dias de decomposição. A decomposição relativamente lenta dos resíduos vegetais de cana-de-açúcar pode ser atribuída aos valores bastante elevados de C/N e lignina/N nesses resíduos, onde houve forte correlação entre quantidade de resíduos remanescentes, e o decaimento de celulose e C:N

GAMBUT field experiment of peatland wildfires in Sumatra: from ignition to spread and suppression

Peat wildfires can burn over large areas of peatland, releasing ancient carbon and toxic gases into the atmosphere over prolonged periods. These emissions cause haze episodes of pollution and accelerate climate change. Peat wildfires are characterised by smouldering - the flameless, most persistent type of combustion. Mitigation strategies are needed in arctic, boreal, and tropical areas but are hindered by incomplete scientific understanding of smouldering. Here, we present GAMBUT, the largest and longest to-date field experiment of peat wildfires, conducted in a degraded peatland of Sumatra. Temperature, emission and spread of peat fire were continuously measured over 4-10 days and nights, and three major rainfalls. Measurements of temperature in the soil provide field experimental evidence of lethal fire severity to the biological system of the peat up to 30 cm depth. We report that the temperature of the deep smouldering is 13% hotter than shallow layer during daytime. During night-time, both deep and shallow smouldering had the same level of temperature. The experiment was terminated by suppression with water. Comparison of rainfall with suppression confirms the existence of a critical water column height below which extinction is not possible. GAMBUT provides a unique understanding of peat wildfires at field conditions that can contribute to mitigation strategies

Rezensionen

Rezension zu: 1) Steffi Robak: Kulturelle Formationen des Lernens: zum Lernen deutscher Expatriates in kulturdifferenten Arbeitskontexten in China - die versäumte Weiterbildung. Münster: Waxmann 2012. ISBN 978-3-8309-2756-3. 2) Regina Egetenmeyer, Ingeborg Schüßler (Hg.): Akademische Professionalisierung in der Erwachsenenbildung/Weiterbildung Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verl. Hohengehren 2012. ISBN 978-3-8340-1029-2. 3) Stephen Frank: eLearning und Kompetenzentwicklung: ein unterrichtsorientiertes didaktisches Modell. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt 2012. ISBN 978-3-7815-1861-2. 4) Werner Lenz: Bildung - eine Streitschrift. Abschied vom lebenslänglichen Lernen. Wien: Locker 2012. ISBN 978-3-85409-606-1. 5) Horst Rippien: Bildungsdienstleistung eLearning: didaktisches Handeln von Organisationen in der Weiterbildung. Wiesbaden: VS Verl. f. Sozialwiss. 2012. ISBN 978-3-531-18704-4. 6) Renate Luise Werner: Bildung im Alter - Überlegungen zur Allgemeinbildung im demografischen Wandel. Hamburg: Kovac 2012. ISBN 978-3-8300-6163-2

European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer consensus recommendations for the treatment of mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome - Update 2017

In order to provide a common standard for the treatment of mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary syndrome (SS), the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Cutaneous Lymphoma Task Force (EORTC-CLTF) published in 2006 its consensus recommendations for the stage-adapted selection of management options for these neoplasms. Since then, the understanding of the pathophysiology and epidemiology of MF/SS has advanced, the staging system has been revised, new outcome data have been published and novel treatment options have been introduced. The purpose of the present document is to update the original recommendations bearing in mind that there are still only a limited number of controlled studies to support treatment decisions for MF/SS and that often treatment is determined by institutional experience and availability. This consensus on treatment recommendations was established among the authors through a series of consecutive consultations in writing and a round of discussion. Recommended treatment options are presented according to disease stage, whenever possible categorised into first-and second-line options and supported with levels of evidence as devised by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM). Skin-directed therapies are still the most appropriate option for early-stage MF, and most patients can look forward to a normal life expectancy. For patients with advanced disease, prognosis is still grim, and only for a highly selected subset of patients, prolonged survival can be achieved with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). There is a high need for the development and investigation in controlled clinical trials of treatment options that are based on our increasing understanding of the molecular pathology of MF/SS. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Regional-scale in-depth analysis of soil fungal diversity reveals strong pH and plant species effects in Northern Europe

Soil microbiome has a pivotal role in ecosystem functioning, yet little is known about its build-up from local to regional scales. In a multi-year regional-scale survey involving 1251 plots and long-read third-generation sequencing, we found that soil pH has the strongest effect on the diversity of fungi and its multiple taxonomic and functional groups. The pH effects were typically unimodal, usually both direct and indirect through tree species, soil nutrients or mold abundance. Individual tree species, particularlyPinus sylvestris,Picea abies, andPopulus x wettsteinii, and overall ectomycorrhizal plant proportion had relatively stronger effects on the diversity of biotrophic fungi than saprotrophic fungi. We found strong temporal sampling and investigator biases for the abundance of molds, but generally all spatial, temporal and microclimatic effects were weak. Richness of fungi and several functional groups was highest in woodlands and around ruins of buildings but lowest in bogs, with marked group-specific trends. In contrast to our expectations, diversity of soil fungi tended to be higher in forest island habitats potentially due to the edge effect, but fungal richness declined with island distance and in response to forest fragmentation. Virgin forests supported somewhat higher fungal diversity than old non-pristine forests, but there were no differences in richness between natural and anthropogenic habitats such as parks and coppiced gardens. Diversity of most fungal groups suffered from management of seminatural woodlands and parks and thinning of forests, but especially for forests the results depended on fungal group and time since partial harvesting. We conclude that the positive effects of tree diversity on overall fungal richness represent a combined niche effect of soil properties and intimate associations

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms

Circulating microRNAs in sera correlate with soluble biomarkers of immune activation but do not predict mortality in ART treated individuals with HIV-1 infection: A case control study

Introduction: The use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality. However, HIV-1 infected individuals have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to the non-HIV-1 infected population and this appears to be related to end-organ diseases collectively referred to as Serious Non-AIDS Events (SNAEs). Circulating miRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for a number of human disease conditions including those that constitute SNAEs. Our study sought to investigate the potential of selected miRNAs in predicting mortality in HIV-1 infected ART treated individuals. Materials and Methods: A set of miRNAs was chosen based on published associations with human disease conditions that constitute SNAEs. This case: control study compared 126 cases (individuals who died whilst on therapy), and 247 matched controls (individuals who remained alive). Cases and controls were ART treated participants of two pivotal HIV-1 trials. The relative abundance of each miRNA in serum was measured, by RTqPCR. Associations with mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy) were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Correlations between miRNAs and CD4+ T cell count, hs-CRP, IL-6 and D-dimer were also assessed. Results: None of the selected miRNAs was associated with all-cause, cardiovascular or malignancy mortality. The levels of three miRNAs (miRs -21, -122 and -200a) correlated with IL-6 while miR-21 also correlated with D-dimer. Additionally, the abundance of miRs -31, -150 and -223, correlated with baseline CD4+ T cell count while the same three miRNAs plus miR- 145 correlated with nadir CD4+ T cell count. Discussion: No associations with mortality were found with any circulating miRNA studied. These results cast doubt onto the effectiveness of circulating miRNA as early predictors of mortality or the major underlying diseases that contribute to mortality in participants treated for HIV-1 infection