Maximum thermal limits of coral reef damselfishes are size dependent and resilient to near-future ocean acidification

Theoretical models predict that ocean acidification, caused by increased dissolved CO2, will reduce the maximum thermal limits of fishes, thereby increasing their vulnerability to rising ocean temperatures and transient heatwaves. Here, we test this prediction in three species of damselfishes on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Maximum thermal limits were quantified using critical thermal maxima (CTmax) tests following acclimation to either present-day or end-of-century levels of CO2 for coral reef environments (∼500 or ∼1,000 µatm, respectively). While species differed significantly in their thermal limits, whereby Dischistodus perspicillatus exhibited greater CTmax (37.88±0.03oC; N=47) than Dascyllus aruanus (37.68±0.02oC; N=85) and Acanthochromis polyacanthus (36.58±0.02oC; N=63), end-of-century CO2 had no effect (D. aruanus) or a slightly positive effect (increase in CTmax of 0.16oC in D. perspicillatus and 0.21oC in A. polyacanthus) on CTmax. Contrary to expectations, smaller individuals were equally as resilient to CO2 as larger conspecifics, and CTmax was higher at smaller body sizes in two species. These findings suggest that ocean acidification will not impair the maximum thermal limits of reef fishes, and they highlight the critical role of experimental biology in testing predictions of theoretical models forecasting the consequences of environmental change

Preventing foot ulceration in diabetes:systematic review and meta-analyses of RCT data

Aims/hypothesis: Foot ulceration is a serious complication for people with diabetes that results in high levels of morbidity for individuals and significant costs for health and social care systems. Nineteen systematic reviews of preventative interventions have been published, but none provides a reliable numerical summary of treatment effects. The aim of this study was to systematically review the evidence from RCTs and, where possible, conduct meta-analyses to make the best possible use of the currently available data. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs of preventative interventions for foot ulceration. OVID MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched to February 2019 and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to October 2018. RCTs of interventions to prevent foot ulcers in people with diabetes who were free from foot ulceration at trial entry were included. Two independent reviewers read the full-text articles and extracted data. The quality of trial reporting was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. The primary outcome of foot ulceration was summarised using pooled relative risks in meta-analyses. Results: Twenty-two RCTs of eight interventions were eligible for analysis. One trial of digital silicone devices (RR 0.07 [95% CI 0.01, 0.55]) and meta-analyses of dermal infrared thermometry (RR 0.41 [95% CI 0.19, 0.86]), complex interventions (RR 0.59 [95% CI 0.38, 0.90], and custom-made footwear and offloading insoles (RR 0.53 [95% CI 0.33, 0.85]) showed beneficial effects for these interventions. Conclusions/interpretation: Four interventions were identified as being effective in preventing foot ulcers in people with diabetes, but uncertainty remains about what works and who is most likely to benefit

The supernatural characters and powers of sacred trees in the Holy Land

This article surveys the beliefs concerning the supernatural characteristics and powers of sacred trees in Israel; it is based on a field study as well as a survey of the literature and includes 118 interviews with Muslims and Druze. Both the Muslims and Druze in this study attribute supernatural dimensions to sacred trees which are directly related to ancient, deep-rooted pagan traditions. The Muslims attribute similar divine powers to sacred trees as they do to the graves of their saints; the graves and the trees are both considered to be the abode of the soul of a saint which is the source of their miraculous powers. Any violation of a sacred tree would be strictly punished while leaving the opportunity for atonement and forgiveness. The Druze, who believe in the transmigration of souls, have similar traditions concerning sacred trees but with a different religious background. In polytheistic religions the sacred grove/forest is a centre of the community's official worship; any violation of the trees is regarded as a threat to the well being of the community. Punishments may thus be collective. In the monotheistic world (including Christianity, Islam and Druze) the pagan worship of trees was converted into the worship/adoration of saints/prophets; it is not a part of the official religion but rather a personal act and the punishments are exerted only on the violating individual

Mitochondrial Enzyme Activities and Body Condition of Naturally Infected Sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus)

Parasites can affect host behavior, cognition, locomotion, body condition, and many other physiological traits. Changes to host aerobic metabolism may be responsible for these parasite-induced performance alterations. Whole-organism metabolic rate is underpinned by cellular energy metabolism driven most prominently by mitochondria. However, few studies have explored how mitochondrial enzymatic activity relates to body condition and parasite infection, despite it being a putative site for metabolic disruptions related to health status. We studied correlations among natural parasite infection, host body condition, and activity of key mitochondrial enzymes in target organs from wild-caught pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) to better understand the cellular responses of fish hosts to endoparasite infection. Enzymatic activities in the gills, spleen, and brain of infected fish were not significantly related to parasite infection or host body condition. However, the activity of cytochrome c oxidase, an enzyme involved in oxidative phosphorylation, in fish hearts was higher in individuals with a lower body condition. Activities of citrate synthase, electron transport system (complexes I and III), and carnitine palmitoyltransferase were also significantly different among organ types. These results provide preliminary information regarding the likely mitochondrial pathways affecting host body condition, the maintenance energetic requirements of different organs, and the organs’ specific dependency on particular mitochondrial pathways. These results help pave the way for future studies on the effects of parasite infection on mitochondrial metabolism

Deformable Porous Media Saturated by Three Immiscible Fluids : Constitutive Modelling and Simulations of Injection and Imbibition Tests

A number of environmental and petroleum engineering applications involve the coexistence of three non-miscible fluids. In this work, basic constitutive relations and computational schemes are developed in order to simulate fluid injection and imbibition processes in a deformable rock through the finite element method. For this purpose, the following ingredients are worked out: (i) simple, but general formulas for the effective saturations; (ii) constitutive expressions for the relative permeabilities of water, oil and gas in terms of effective saturations; and (iii) constitutive capillary pressure relationships. These ingredients are introduced in a domestic finite element code where the primary variables are the solid displacement vector and the three fluid pressures. Given the abundance of experimental data in the petroleum engineering field, the whole framework is firstly tested by simulating gas injection into a rock core sample initially saturated by water and oil. Sensitivity analyses are performed upon varying key constitutive, loading and numerical parameters, to assess the physical and computational outputs of the proposed framework. Particular attention is given to the influence on the model predictions of several expressions defining relative permeabilities. Simulations of water-alternated-gas injection and of counter-current water imbibition tests are also performed, to establish the reliability of the proposed constitutive and computational framework