Climate change will further constrain water availability in dry inner-alpine environments and affect water relations and growth conditions in mountain forests, including the widespread larch forests.
...To estimate the effects of climate conditions on water balance and growth, variation in sap flow and stem radius of European larch was measured for 3 yr along an elevation transect from 1070 to 2250m above sea level (asl) in an inner-alpine dry valley in South Tyrol/Italy. Additionally, long-term climate–growth relations were derived from tree cores.
Sap flow and radial growth were reduced in dry periods up to an elevation of 1715 m, leading to maximum annual growth at 2000 m. In a wet year no growth difference between elevations was observed. Long-term tree ring data showed a positive growth response to precipitation up to 1715m and to temperature only above 2000 m.
Our results demonstrate that reduced water availability and higher atmospheric water demand limit larch at low elevation within dry Alpine regions. This indicates a general upward shift of this species’ elevational amplitude upon climate change, and respective negative effects on future silvicultural use and ecosystem services at lower elevations in the European Alps.
In addition to the use as biofuel, the utilization of poplar wood as a raw material from short-rotation coppice (SRC) became increasingly important in recent years. Because poplar SRCs are harvested ...during dormant season, wood storage is of particular importance to guarantee wood processing industries a continuous wood supply. The study focuses on the change of physical and chemical properties of poplar wood by the application of different storage strategies over a 9-month period. Therefore, a total amount of 60 m
3
test log piles were set up in 2018 for six different storage variants: compact piles, compact piles with water sprinkling and oxygen exclusion, each with logs in bark and debarked. The effects on wood moisture content, equilibrium moisture content and wood density (ρ
0
) and the changes in the chemical components lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and extracts were determined and evaluated. As expected, the wood moisture content changed in a wide range over the storage period, depending on the variant. The levels of equilibrium moisture (changes from − 4% to − 13.1%) as well as wood density (changes from − 2.61% to − 9.01%) decreased for all variants between start and end of storage. Changes in chemical composition were observed for all storage variants, which indicates microbial activity supporting the assumption that the observed mass loss is driven by wood decay. Overall, changes were more homogeneous for logs in compact piles compared to the other storage methods. Considering the weather conditions during the investigated period, the results indicate that storage in compact piles with debarked logs is the best method for the conservation of poplar wood from SRC.
The oak processionary moth (OPM) (Thaumetopoea processionea) is a species of moth (order: Lepidoptera) native to parts of central Europe. However, in recent years, it has become an invasive species ...in various countries, particularly in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The larvae of the OPM are covered with urticating barbed hairs (setae) causing irritating and allergic reactions at the three last larval stages (L3-L5). The aim of our study was to generate a de novo transcriptomic assembly for OPM larvae by including one non-allergenic stage (L2) and two allergenic stages (L4 and L5). A transcriptomic assembly will help identify potential allergenic peptides produced by OPM larvae, providing valuable information for developing novel therapeutic strategies and allergic immunodiagnostic assays.
Introduction Climate change affects the vitality of mountain forests through increasing temperatures and decreasing water availability due to changing precipitation patterns, earlier snowmelt, and ...increasing evaporative demand. Depending on species characteristics, tree growth might therefore increase in cold habitats near the forest line but decrease in water-limited conditions at low elevation. Methods We analyzed the tree-ring widths of five conifers ( Picea abies , Larix decidua , Pinus sylvestris , Pinus nigra , and Pinus cembra ) along an elevational gradient from 1,000 m to 2,320 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in Vinschgau/Val Venosta Valley in Northern Italy, one of the driest regions of the Alps (mean annual precipitation of 682 mm at 1,310 m a.s.l.). Results Our aim was to estimate the species-specific growth response to changing climate conditions along an elevational gradient. At low elevations, we observed a significant response to water availability not only during the actual growing season but also throughout the previous autumn for all species present. At mid-elevation, the correlation coefficients to precipitation and drought indices (SPEI) were highest for Picea abies . At high elevations, the positive correlation of growth with temperature was smaller than expected for Pinus cembra. In contrast, Larix decidua responded positively to temperature and grew faster in recent decades. Discussion Considering that a further increase in temperatures will reduce plant water availability during the growing season, our space-for-time approach provides an outlook on future growth conditions of conifers in larger regions of the European Alps. Water limitation will affect tree growth and vitality not only at low elevation in the valleys but also at mid elevation on mountain slopes, potentially impacting timber production and protective and recreative functions of forests. Near the forest line, the different capabilities of tree species to benefit from higher temperatures might lead to changes in species composition.
•Long-term growth of Larix decidua responded stronger to warming than Pinus cembra.•Precipitation hardly influenced growth of both species at our high elevation sites.•Daily growth was limited by air ...vapor pressure deficit for Pinus but not for Larix.•Sap flow per tree was lower and decreased in dry soils for Pinus but not for Larix.•Short-term moisture limitations of Pinus explain its reduced long-term growth.
High elevation mountain forests in the European Alps are strongly affected by climate change. In this study we aimed to investigate the long- and short-term effects of climate on radial stem growth and tree hydraulics of the two dominant tree species at the forest line of the Eastern central Alps, European larch (Larix decidua Mill. and Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra L). To this end, we analyzed tree ring widths from stem cores from five sites between 1990 and 2320 m above sea level (a.s.l.) and measured sap flow for three years and radial stem variation for four years at three sites between 1990 and 2100 m a.s.l. in an inner alpine dry valley in Northern Italy. We found that tree ring width of larch responded stronger to temperature and increased more with warming in the last decades than in Swiss stone pine. In the short term, low soil moisture reduced sap flow during the summer in Swiss stone pine but not in larch. Additionally, air vapor pressure deficit clearly reduced the number of days with radial stem growth in Swiss stone pine, leading to lower annual growth than in larch. Consequently, larch at high elevation might actually benefit from climate change at the expense of Swiss stone pine.
Haploidentical stem cell transplantation (haplo SCT) in Stage IV neuroblastoma relapsed patients has been proven efficacious, while immunotherapy utilizing the anti-GD2 antibody dinutuximab beta has ...become a standard treatment for neuroblastoma. The combinatorial therapy of haplo SCT and dinutuximab may potentiate the efficacy of the immunotherapy. To gain further understanding of the synergistic effects, functional immunomonitoring was assessed during the clinical trial CH14.18 1021 Antibody and IL2 After haplo SCT in Children with Relapsed Neuroblastoma (NCT02258815). Rapid immune reconstitution of the lymphoid compartment was confirmed, with clinically relevant dinutuximab serum levels found in all patients over the course of treatment. Only one patient developed human anti-chimeric antibodies (HACAs). In-patient monitoring revealed highly functional NK cell posttransplant capable of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Degranulation of NK cell subsets revealed a significant response increased by dinutuximab. This was irrespective of the KIR receptor–ligand constellation within the NK subsets, defined by the major KIR receptors CD158a, CD158b, and CD158e. Moreover, complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) was shown to be an extremely potent effector-cell independent mechanism of tumor cell lysis, with a clear positive correlation to GD2 expression on the cancer cells as well as to the dinutuximab concentrations. The
ex vivo
testing of patient-derived effector cells and the sera collected during dinutuximab therapy demonstrated both high functionality of the newly established lymphoid immune compartment and provided confidence that the antibody dosing regimen was sufficient over the duration of the dinutuximab therapy (up to nine cycles in a 9-month period). During the course of the dinutuximab therapy, proinflammatory cytokines and markers (sIL2R, TNFa, IL6, and C reactive protein) were significantly elevated indicating a strong anti-GD2 immune response. No impact of FcGR polymorphism on event-free and overall survival was found. Collectively, this study has shown that in-patient functional immunomonitoring is feasible and valuable in contributing to the understanding of anti-cancer combinatorial treatments such as haplo SCT and antibody immunotherapy.
The Brevibacterium ammoniagenes fatty acid synthetase (FAS) gene was isolated from a series of overlapping clones by both immunological and plaque hybridization screening of two independent gene ...libraries. From the isolated DNA a contiguous segment of 10,549 bp was sequenced in both directions. The sequenced DNA contained a very long (9312 nucleotides) open reading frame coding for a protein of 3104 amino acids and with a molecular mass of 327,466 daltons. Based on characteristic sequence motifs known from other FAS systems, seven different FAS active centres were identified at distinct locations within the polypeptide chain. Only one component enzyme, the 3-hydroxydecanoyl beta, gamma-dehydratase, has not yet been localized definitively within the gene. Translation is presumed to start from a GUG triplet located 25 nucleotides downstream of the transcriptional initiation site. There is a canonical Shine-Dalgarno sequence just before this start codon. Comparison of the B. ammoniagenes FAS sequence with those of other known fatty acid synthetases revealed a particularly high degree of similarity to the products of the two yeast genes, FAS1 and FAS2 (30% identical and 46% identical plus closely related amino acids). This similarity extends over the entire length of the genes and involves not only the primary sequences of individual component enzymes but also their sequential order within the multifunctional proteins. These data, together with those on the structure of other fatty acid synthetases, are interpreted in terms of a contribution of both primary structure and subunit cooperation to a conserved topology of functional domains common to all type I FAS complexes.
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