Typanpassning av sjöar och vattendrag

Anpassning av organismer mot en typologi av geografiska, geologiska och morfologiska faktorer kan vara svår då man i de flesta fall kan erfara att organismer och deras habitat följer en glidande skala av omvärldsfaktorer. I EUs vattendirektiv har ett ambitiöst arbete gjorts för att finna klassningar av sjöar och vattendrag som på ett praktiskt sätt skall avgränsa mångfalden. I detta arbete (Naturvårdsverket Överenskommelse 261 0310, Dnr. 721-6626-03Mm) presenteras en anpassning av växtplankton från 62 svenska referenssjöar (vatten utan eller med mycket liten antropogen påverkan) och av makrofyter (undervattens-, friflytande- och flytbladsväxter) från 21 sjöar till typindelningar av sjöar efter ekoregioner, geologi, sjödjup, sjöstorlek och höjdlägen. Statistiska analyser av växtplankton och makrofyter grundar sig framför allt på artsammansättningar och för växtplankton av abundanser (biomassor) av arter. Tester har gjorts också med andra kvalitetsfaktorer som bl. a. totalbiomassor och artantal men tydligaste utslag har givits för förekomst av arter. En översikt över resultaten ges i slutet av de respektive kapitel som behandlar växtplankton och makrofyter. För båda dessa organismgrupper är vattnets humushalt (ljusklimat) av signifikant betydelse och för växtplankton också höjden över havet. Det lilla underlaget av sjöar med makrofytdata medgav ingen statistiks signifikans för höjddata men det är värt att testa med ett större material. Medeldjup och sjöstorlek hade ingen betydelse för sammansättningen av de testade organsimgrupperna. Här följer en översikt över de speciella referensförhållande (RF) som erhålles efter tester med det underliggande datamaterialet. Växtplankton Typspecifikt RF 1. Majoriteten av sjöarna i höjdklass <200 m.ö.h., ekoregion Centralslätten, humushaltigt vatten (absorbans f. >0,06, Ca <0,5 mekv/l). Medeldjup och sjöarea varierande. Typspecifikt RF 2. Majoriteten av sjöarna i höjdklass 200–800 m.ö.h., ekoregion Fennoskadiska skölden, humushaltigt vatten (absorbans f. >0,06, Ca <0,5 mekv/l). Medeldjup och sjöarea varierande. Typspecifikt RF 3. Blandad sjögrupp från alla höjdklasser och ekoregioner. Många fjällsjöar i höjdklass 200–800 och >800 m.ö.h. Flera geologiklasser. Extremt låga totalbiomasor. En tydlig ”outlier” med mycket kalkhaltigt vatten. Medeldjup och sjöarea varierande. Makrofyter Typspecifikt RF 1. Humushaltiga sjöar (absorbans f. >0,06, Ca < 0,5 mekv/l) främst i ekoregion Fennoskadiska skölden. Höjklass 3 m. Sjöarea varierande. Artrikedom i tillståndsklass 2 och 3 enligt Bedömningsgrunderna (artrikt–ganska artrikt). Typspecifikt RF 2. Ingen tydlig preferens för geologiklass och sjöarea. Majoriteten av sjöar i ekoregion Centralslätten. Höjdklass 3 m. Artrikedom i tillståndsklass 3 och 4 enligt Bedömningsgrunderna (ganska artrikt–ganska artfattigt)

Fish populations and biomass in headwater streams of the Lake Tumba Landscape, DR Congo, 2007–2011

The fish biodiversity in the Congo River and its tributaries is extremely rich but the information on fish communities in the headwaters in terms of catch and biomass estimates is rare. Fishes in the running and stagnant waters in this region are of vital importance as a food resource for local residents. This study aimed to describe the fish community, catch, and biomass in the three headwater streams Bambou, Lebomo, and Bongo in the Lake Tumba Landscape (LTL) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Such information is of vital impor- tance as a benchmark to understand the sustainability of the fish population for future generations of residents of the LTL. The field data were collected from 2007 through 2011, including dry and wet seasons. Here we present the results of this systematic, multi-annual study which was the first for fishes in streams of this region. In total, 50 species of 15 families were found in the nutrient-poor brown waters of these streams where high concentrations of humic acids cause a low pH. Among abundant species occurring in all three streams were the cyprinid Enteromius holotaenia (Boulenger, 1904), the mormyrid Marcusenius moorii (Günther, 1867), the alestids Clupeocharax schoutedeni Pellegrin, 1926 and Bryconaethiops boulengeri Pellegrin, 1900, and the clariid Clarias angolensis Steindachner, 1866. Bon- go Stream was distinguished from the others by a rich abundance of Alestopetersius compressus (Poll et Gosse, 1963). The presence of several species at low pH (between 5.0 and 5.5) is new information that lowers the bottom of the pH interval for these species compared to earlier reports. The maximum total length (TL) of some other species was by 5–20 percentage points higher than those reported earlier. The median weight per unit effort (WPUE) in the streams varied between 30 and 115 g per hour during the dry seasons and between 18 and 86 g per hour during the wet seasons. The fish biomass in the streams varied between 0.05 and 0.7 g ⸱ m–2 with a median 0.14 g ⸱ m–2. This relatively low value compared to other tropical headwaters may be a result of the low pH and dark color of these headwaters. The results of the study serve as a reference point to which future monitoring of fish fauna can be compared for sustainable management of the LT

Improved preparation technique of cervical carcinoma for flow cytometric DNA analysis with tissue disintegration in hydrochloric acid

An one-step procedure using a nuclear isolation medium containing propidium iodide has been found to be a suitable preparation technique for flow cytometric DNA analysis in breast cancer samples. In the case of cervical squamous carcinoma, a pretreatment with HCl seems to be a methodological improvement. One advantage with the HCl modification is that some "false" near-diploid cell populations are abolished. These "false" G0/G1 peaks may represent diploid nuclei with a different stainability for propidium iodide compared to normal diploid nuclei. The HCl treatment has, furthermore, the advantage of increasing the elution of nuclei (mean factor of 4.0), especially non-diploid nuclei from higher differentiated squamous carcinomas

Synthesis of 3-aminomethyl-3-fluoropiperidines

A synthetic route toward new 1-alkyl-3-aminomethyl-3-fluoropiperidines, which are of high interest as building blocks in medicinal chemistry, is described. The Successful approach consists of the fluorination of ethyl 3-chloropropyl-2-cyanoacetate with N-fluorodibenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) and transformation of the ester moiety into different amides, yielding N-alkyl-5-chloro-2-cyano-2-fluoropentanamides. Ring closure was achieved under basic conditions, yielding 1-alkyl-3-fluoro-2-oxopiperidine-3-carbonitriles. After reduction of the obtained lactams with borane, the desired 3-aminomethyl-3-fluoropiperidines were obtained in good yields

Prognostic value of histopathological response to radiotherapy and microvessel density in oral squamous cell carcinomas

The prognostic value of histopathological response to preoperative radiotherapy (50 Gy) in radically resected oral carcinomas was studied in 39 consecutive patients. Microvessel density (MVD) was evaluated for relation to radioresponse and outcome. Resected tumour tissue was examined histopathologically and response to radiotherapy was scored according to induced morphological changes. Pretreatment biopsies were stained with antibodies to von Willebrand factor to evaluate MVD in hot-spot regions, in stromal tissue and in tumour epithelial tissue. Histopathological response to radiotherapy was highly prognostic of local failures and survival (p = 0.002), though microscopic surgical radicality was obtained. In good responders to preoperative radiotherapy, the 5-year survival rate was 68% compared with 24% in poor responders. In 12 patients with local recurrence after radical surgery, 11 had poor histopathological radiotherapy responses. In univariate analysis, a high MVD score in tumour epithelium was associated with poor clinical outcome but MVD did not correlate with histopathological radiotherapy response

New entries toward 3,3-difluoropiperidines

Difluoropiperidines attract considerable interest from organic and medicinal chemists, but their synthesis is often problematic. This paper describes a new synthetic pathway toward valuable 3,3-difluoropiperidines starting from suitable 6-chloro-alpha,alpha-difluoroimines. The latter imines can be synthesized via electrophilic fluorination of the corresponding delta-chloroimines using NFSI (N-fluorodibenzenesulfonimide) in acetonitrile. After hydride reduction of the imino bond and subsequent intramolecular substitution of the chloride atom, new 3,3-difluoropiperidines were obtained in good yields. In addition, this methodology was applied to establish the first synthesis of N-protected 3,3-difluoropipecolic acid, a new fluorinated amino acid

High tumor tissue concentration of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor is associated with good prognosis in patients with ovarian cancer

volved in tumor growth and metastasis. We assayed the components of the uPA system in homogenates of 64 primary epithelial ovarian tumors and 5 metastases and evaluated the association of these parameters to prognosis in the 51 malignant cases. The levels of uPA, PAI-2 and the uPA: PAI-I complex increased with progressive loss of histological differentiation (P-trend <0.001, <0.05 and <0.001). The level of PAI-I was higher in poorly than in well/moderately differentiated tumors (p = 0.03). The content of uPAR was lower in benign tumors as compared to borderline malignancies (p = 0.002), invasive primary tumors (p < 0.001), and metastases (p = 0.002). Surprisingly, the level of uPAR was lower in poorly differentiated as compared to both borderline (p = 0.01) and well differentiated malignant tumors (p = 0.005). Also, the level of uPAR was lower in advanced as compared to early stages of the disease (P-trend = 0.002). The median follow-up time for patients was 5.8 years. High tumor tissue levels of uPAR were associated with longer postoperative survival (HR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.2-0.8, p = 0.01). In contrast, shorter survival was evident in patients with high tumor levels of uPA from 2 years on after operation (HR = 4.6, 95% CI = 1.2-17, p = 0.02). High tPA levels tended to be associated with shorter overall survival after 2 years (HR = 2.9, 95% 95% Cl = 0.9-9.8, p = 0.08). Although high tumor tissue content of uPAR was associated with a less aggressive phenotype characterized by well differentiated histology and longer survival, low content of uPAR in the poorly differentiated tumors and metastases presumably results from increased elimination of uPAR. (C) 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Prospective malignancy grading, flow cytometry DNA-measurements and adjuvant chemotherapy for invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix

In a prospective study comprising 310 consecutive patients with carcinoma of the cervix, FIGO stages I-IV, the prognostic significance of clinical and flow cytometric variable was evaluated in a univariate and multivariate analysis. The parameters studied included stage according to FIGO, age, histopathologic grade according to Ackerman and MGS scores, DNA ploidy, S-phase fraction as well as treatment with radiation only, surgery only or a combination thereof as well as adjuvant chemotherapy. Univariate analysis showed that patients in FIGO stages IA-IIA with MGS up to 14 points survived significantly better than other groups. MGS parameter mitosis, vascular invasion and type of invasion predicted survival as did clinical stage. Diploid cases with SPF > 15% survived less than remaining other cases. Multivariate analysis not including treatment indicated that FIGO stage and diploid cases with SPF > 15% predicted survival but not total MGS score and age. When treatment for FIGO stages IA-IIA was included, elderly women had a worse prognosis. Adjuvant chemotherapy, surgical alone or radiation alone did not demonstrate any differences within groups. In Figo stages IIB-IV, cases with radiotherapy only survived significantly better than patients with other treatment schedules. The frequency of low malignancy patients (< MGS 16) in relation to year of initial diagnosis was found to have decreased between years 1967 and 1988, probably as a result of screening activities