Predator-Induced Vertical Behavior of a Ctenophore

Although many studies have focused on Mnemiopsis leidyi predation, little is known about the role of this ctenophore as prey when abundant in native and invaded pelagic systems. We examined the response of the ctenophore M. leidyi to the predatory ctenophore Beroe ovata in an experiment in which the two species could potentially sense each other while being physically separated. On average, M. leidyi responded to the predator’s presence by increasing variability in swimming speeds and by lowering their vertical distribution. Such behavior may help explain field records of vertical migration, as well as stratified and near-bottom distributions of M. leidyi

Nanoparticulate TiO2-promoted PtRu/C catalyst for methanol oxidation: TiO2 nanoparticles promoted PtRu/C catalyst for MOR

To improve the electrocatalytic properties of PtRu/C in methanol electrooxidation, nanoparticulate TiO2-promoted PtRu/C catalysts were prepared by directly mixing TiO2 nanoparticles with PtRu/C. Using cyclic voltammetry, it was found that the addition of 10 wt% TiO2 nanoparticles can effectively improve the electrocatalytic activity and stability of the catalyst during methanol electro-oxidation. The value of the apparent activation energy (Ea) for TiO2-PtRu/C was lower than that for pure PtRu/C at a potential range from 0.45 to 0.60 V. A synergistic effect between PtRu and TiO2 nanoparticles is likely to facilitate the removal of CO-like intermediates from the surface of PtRu catalyst and reduce the poisoning of the PtRu catalysts during methanol electrooxidation. Therefore, we conclude that the direct introduction of TiO2 nanoparticles into PtRu/ C catalysts offers an improved facile method to enhance the electrocatalytic performance of PtRu/C catalyst in methanol electrooxidation.Web of Scienc

Innate immune responses and antioxidant/oxidant imbalance are major determinants of human Chagas disease.

We investigated the pathological and diagnostic role of selected markers of inflammation, oxidant/antioxidant status, and cellular injury in human Chagas disease. METHODS: Seropositive/chagasic subjects characterized as clinically-symptomatic or clinically-asymptomatic (n = 116), seronegative/cardiac subjects (n = 102), and seronegative/healthy subjects (n = 45) were analyzed for peripheral blood biomarkers. RESULTS: Seropositive/chagasic subjects exhibited an increase in sera or plasma levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO, 2.8-fold), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP, 56%), nitrite (5.7-fold), lipid peroxides (LPO, 12-17-fold) and malondialdehyde (MDA, 4-6-fold); and a decline in superoxide dismutase (SOD, 52%) and glutathione (GSH, 75%) contents. Correlation analysis identified a significant (p0.95). The MPO (r = 0.664) and LPO (r = 0.841) levels were also correlated with clinical disease state in chagasic subjects (p<0.001). Seronegative/cardiac subjects exhibited up to 77% decline in SOD, 3-5-fold increase in LPO and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) levels, and statistically insignificant change in MPO, AOPP, MDA, GPX, GSH, and creatine kinase (CK) levels. CONCLUSIONS: The interlinked effects of innate immune responses and antioxidant/oxidant imbalance are major determinants of human Chagas disease. The MPO, LPO and nitrite are excellent biomarkers for diagnosing seropositive/chagasic subjects, and MPO and LPO levels have potential utility in identifying clinical severity of Chagas diseaseFil: Dhiman, Monisha. University Of Texas Medical Branch. Department Of Microbiology & Immunology And Pathology; United State of America;Fil: Coronado, Yun A.. University Of Texas Medical Branch. Department Of Microbiology & Immunology And Pathology; United State of America;Fil: Vallejo, Cecilia K.. University Of Texas Medical Branch. Department Of Microbiology & Immunology And Pathology; United State of America;Fil: Petersen, John R.. University of Texas Medical Branch. Department of Pathology; United States of America;Fil: Ejilemele, Adetoum. University of Texas Medical Branch. Department of Pathology; United States of America;Fil: Nuñez, Sonia. Hospital Público de Gestión Descentralizada San Bernardo (HPGDSA); Argentina;Fil: Zago, María Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Salta. Instituto de Patologia Experimental; Argentina;Fil: Spratt, Heidi. Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Preventive Medicine and Community Health. University of Texas Medical Branch; United States of America;Fil: Garg, Nisha Jain. University of Texas Medical Branch. Department of Pathology; United States of America

How to increase earthquake and home fire preparedness: the fix-it intervention

Published, evaluated community intervention studies concerning natural hazard preparedness are rare. Most lack a rigorous methodology, thereby hampering the development of evidence-based interventions. This paper describes the rationale and methodology of a cross-cultural, longitudinal intervention study on earthquake and home fire preparedness, termed fix-it. The aim is to evaluate whether and how the intervention brings about behaviour change in the targeted communities in two coastal cities with high seismic risk: Seattle, USA and Izmir, Turkey. Participants are adult residents of these cities. The intervention group attends a 6-h workshop, which focuses on securing items in the household. The control group does not attend the workshop. All participants complete baseline and post-intervention, as well as 3- and 12-month follow-up assessments. The primary outcome measure is an observational measure of nine preparedness items for earthquake and fire in participants’ homes. This is evaluated alongside participants’ self-reports concerning their preparedness levels. Secondary outcomes are changes in levels of self-efficacy, perceived outcome, trust, corruption, empowerment, anxiety and social cohesion. Results from the first of the studies, conducted in Seattle in September 2015, indicate that while the fix-it intervention is effective, in the longer term, multi-hazard preparedness is increased by the mere act of going into people’s homes to observe their preparedness levels along with assessing self-reported preparedness and sociopsychological orientation towards natural hazards. This protocol and study aim to augment the empirical literature on natural hazard preparedness, informing national and international policy on delivery of evidence-based community interventions to promote multi-hazard preparedness in households

Projections of global warming-induced impacts on winter storm losses in the German private household sector

We present projections of winter storm-induced insured losses in the German residential building sector for the 21st century. With this aim, two structurally most independent downscaling methods and one hybrid downscaling method are applied to a 3-member ensemble of ECHAM5/MPI-OM1 A1B scenario simulations. One method uses dynamical downscaling of intense winter storm events in the global model, and a transfer function to relate regional wind speeds to losses. The second method is based on a reshuffling of present day weather situations and sequences taking into account the change of their frequencies according to the linear temperature trends of the global runs. The third method uses statistical-dynamical downscaling, considering frequency changes of the occurrence of storm-prone weather patterns, and translation into loss by using empirical statistical distributions. The A1B scenario ensemble was downscaled by all three methods until 2070, and by the (statistical-) dynamical methods until 2100. Furthermore, all methods assume a constant statistical relationship between meteorology and insured losses and no developments other than climate change, such as in constructions or claims management. The study utilizes data provided by the German Insurance Association encompassing 24 years and with district-scale resolution. Compared to 1971–2000, the downscaling methods indicate an increase of 10-year return values (i.e. loss ratios per return period) of 6–35 % for 2011–2040, of 20–30 % for 2041–2070, and of 40–55 % for 2071–2100, respectively. Convolving various sources of uncertainty in one confidence statement (data-, loss model-, storm realization-, and Pareto fit-uncertainty), the return-level confidence interval for a return period of 15 years expands by more than a factor of two. Finally, we suggest how practitioners can deal with alternative scenarios or possible natural excursions of observed losses

Where are you from, stranger? The enigmatic biogeography of North African pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) .

Abstract The European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) is a Nearctic element in the African fauna and thought to have invaded North Africa from the Iberian Peninsula. All North African populations are currently identified with the subspecies E. o. occidentalis. However, a nearly range-wide sampling in North Africa used for analyses of mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA provides evidence that only Moroccan populations belong to this taxon, while eastern Algerian and Tunisian pond turtles represent an undescribed distinct subspecies. These two taxa are most closely related to E. o. galloitalica with a native distribution along the Mediterranean coast of northern Spain through southern France to western and southern Italy. This group is sister to a clade comprising several mitochondrial lineages and subspecies of E. orbicularis from Central and Eastern Europe plus Asia, and the successive sisters are E. o. hellenica and E. trinacris. Our results suggest that E. orbicularis has been present in North Africa longer than on the Iberian Peninsula and that after an initial invasion of North Africa by pond turtles from an unknown European source region, there was a phase of diversification in North Africa, followed by a later re-invasion of Europe by one of the African lineages. The differentiation of pond turtles in North Africa parallels a general phylogeographic paradigm in amphibians and reptiles, with deeply divergent lineages in the western and eastern Maghreb. Acknowledging their genetic similarity, we propose to synonymize the previously recognized Iberian subspecies E. o. fritzjuergenobsti with E. o. occidentalis sensu stricto. The seriously imperiled Moroccan populations of E. o. occidentalis represent two Management Units different in mitochondrial haplotypes and microsatellite markers. The conservation status of eastern Algerian pond turtles is unclear, while Tunisian populations are endangered. Considering that Algerian and Tunisian pond turtles represent an endemic taxon, their situation throughout the historical range should be surveyed to establish a basis for conservation measures

Blazar spectral variability as explained by a twisted inhomogeneous jet

Blazars are active galactic nuclei, which are powerful sources of radiation whose central engine is located in the core of the host galaxy. Blazar emission is dominated by non-thermal radiation from a jet that moves relativistically towards us, and therefore undergoes Doppler beaming1. This beaming causes flux enhancement and contraction of the variability timescales, so that most blazars appear as luminous sources characterized by noticeable and fast changes in brightness at all frequencies. The mechanism that produces this unpredictable variability is under debate, but proposed mechanisms include injection, acceleration and cooling of particles2, with possible intervention of shock waves3,4 or turbulence5. Changes in the viewing angle of the observed emitting knots or jet regions have also been suggested as an explanation of flaring events6,7,8,9,10 and can also explain specific properties of blazar emission, such as intra-day variability11, quasi-periodicity12,13 and the delay of radio flux variations relative to optical changes14. Such a geometric interpretation, however, is not universally accepted because alternative explanations based on changes in physical conditions—such as the size and speed of the emitting zone, the magnetic field, the number of emitting particles and their energy distribution—can explain snapshots of the spectral behaviour of blazars in many cases15,16. Here we report the results of optical-to-radio-wavelength monitoring of the blazar CTA 102 and show that the observed long-term trends of the flux and spectral variability are best explained by an inhomogeneous, curved jet that undergoes changes in orientation over time. We propose that magnetohydrodynamic instabilities17 or rotation of the twisted jet6 cause different jet regions to change their orientation and hence their relative Doppler factors. In particular, the extreme optical outburst of 2016–2017 (brightness increase of six magnitudes) occurred when the corresponding emitting region had a small viewing angle. The agreement between observations and theoretical predictions can be seen as further validation of the relativistic beaming theory

Should the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae be of wider concern for veterinary and medical science?

The poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae is best known as a threat to the laying-hen industry; adversely affecting production and hen health and welfare throughout the globe, both directly and through its role as a disease vector. Nevertheless, D. gallinae is being increasingly implemented in dermatological complaints in non-avian hosts, suggesting that its significance may extend beyond poultry. The main objective of the current work was to review the potential of D. gallinae as a wider veterinary and medical threat. Results demonstrated that, as an avian mite, D. gallinae is unsurprisingly an occasional pest of pet birds. However, research also supports that these mites will feed from a range of other animals including: cats, dogs, rodents, rabbits, horses and man. We conclude that although reported cases of D. gallinae infesting mammals are relatively rare, when coupled with the reported genetic plasticity of this species and evidence of permanent infestations on non-avian hosts, potential for host-expansion may exist. The impact of, and mechanisms and risk factors for such expansion are discussed, and suggestions for further work made. Given the potential severity of any level of host-expansion in D. gallinae, we conclude that further research should be urgently conducted to confirm the full extent of the threat posed by D. gallinae to (non-avian) veterinary and medical sectors

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac