Understanding and predicting the likely response of ecosystems to climate change are crucial challenges for ecology and for conservation biology. Nowhere is this challenge greater than in the tropics ...as these forests store more than half the total atmospheric carbon stock in their biomass. Biomass is determined by the balance between biomass inputs (i.e., growth) and outputs (mortality). We can expect therefore that conditions that favor high growth rates, such as abundant water supply, warmth, and nutrient-rich soils will tend to correlate with high biomass stocks. Our main objective is to describe the patterns of above ground biomass (AGB) stocks across major tropical forests across climatic gradients in Northwestern South America. We gathered data from 200 plots across the region, at elevations ranging between 0 to 3400 m. We estimated AGB based on allometric equations and values for stem density, basal area, and wood density weighted by basal area at the plot-level. We used two groups of climatic variables, namely mean annual temperature and actual evapotranspiration as surrogates of environmental energy, and annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality, and water availability as surrogates of water availability. We found that AGB is more closely related to water availability variables than to energy variables. In northwest South America, water availability influences carbon stocks principally by determining stand structure, i.e. basal area. When water deficits increase in tropical forests we can expect negative impact on biomass and hence carbon storage.
Scope
Dysbiosis of gut microbiota is involved in metabolic syndrome (MetS) development, which has a different incidence between men (M) and women (W). The differences in gut microbiota in MetS ...patients are explored according to gender, and whether consuming two healthy diets, Mediterranean (MED) and low‐fat (LF), may, over time, differentially shape the gut microbiota dysbiosis according to gender is evaluated.
Materials and Methods
All the women from the CORDIOPREV study whose feces samples were available and a similar number of men, matched by the main metabolic variables (N = 246, 123 women and 123 men), and categorized according to the presence or not of MetS are included. Gut microbiota is analyzed at baseline and after 3 years of dietary intervention.
Results
Higher abundance of Collinsella, Alistipes, Anaerotruncus, and Phascolarctobacterium genera is observed in MetS‐W than in MetS‐M, whereas the abundance of Faecalibacterium and Prevotella genera is higher in MetS‐M than in MetS‐W. Moreover, higher levels of Desulfovibrio, Roseburia, and Holdemania are observed in men than in women after the consumption of the LF diet.
Conclusion
The results suggest the potential involvement of differences in gut microbiota in the unequal incidence of metabolic diseases between genders, and a sex‐dependent effect on shaping the gut microbiota according to diet.
Dysbiosis of gut microbiota is involved in the development of metabolic syndrome, whose incidence is different between men and women. This work provides evidence of a different gut microbiota composition in metabolic syndrome, according to gender. Moreover, the study shows a differential shaping of the gut microbiota according to the gender in metabolic syndrome patients after the consumption of a Mediterranean or a low‐fat diet for three years.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can trans/differentiate to neural precursors and/or mature neurons and promote neuroprotection and neurogenesis. The above could greatly benefit neurodegenerative ...disorders as well as in the treatment of post-traumatic and hereditary diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). In order to attain an ideal source of adult MSCs for the treatment of CNS diseases, adipose tissue, bone marrow, skin and umbilical cord derived MSCs were isolated and studied to explore differences with regard to neural differentiation capacity. In this study, we demonstrated that MSCs from several tissues can differentiate into neuron-like cells and differentially express progenitors and mature neural markers. Adipose tissue MSCs exhibited significantly higher expression of neural markers and had a faster proliferation rate. Our results suggest that adipose tissue MSCs are the best candidates for the use in neurological diseases.
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•La(4-OHCin)3 improves the corrosion protection of two sol-gel synthesized coatings.•The concentration of La(4-OHCin)3 was optimised and 5 wt.% showed best performance.•EIS show a ...high capacitive behaviour specially in coatings with 5 wt.% La(4-OHCin)3.•High concentrations of La(4-OHCin)3 gave place to coatings with higher porosity.•Solid-state NMR showed that La(4-OHCin)3 affects the structure of the sol-gel.
In recent years, sol-gel chemistry has been of increasing interest for the development of hybrid organic-inorganic coatings as conversion coating replacements for carbon steel. They provide passive corrosion protection through the creation of a highly adhered coating with a barrier effect to the ionic movement, however, they do not offer active corrosion protection. Lanthanum 4-hydroxy cinnamate La(4-OHCin)3 has been extensively studied and has demonstrated corrosion inhibition for carbon steel substrates. In this work, different concentrations of La(4-OHCin)3 have been directly incorporated into two sol-gel formulations with the aim of improving the overall corrosion protection provided by the hybrid coatings. The effect of La(4-OHCin)3 on the structure of the coating has been studied by 29Si MAS NMR. The effect on the corrosion protection of coatings deposited on carbon steel with different surface finishes has been examined by EIS and the surface analysis of these coatings has been characterised with techniques such as SEM-EDX and ATR/FT-IR. The better anticorrosion performance of the coatings containing La(4-OHCin)3 has been demonstrated independently of the surface finish. Also, optimum coating and inhibitor concentrations have been found and a correlation between the structural and morphological properties of the coatings and their anticorrosion performance has been identified.
Water temperature and flow velocity directly affect the fish swimming capacity, and thus, both variables influence the fish passage through river barriers. Nonetheless, their effects are usually ...disregarded in fishway engineering and management. This study aims to evaluate the volitional swimming capacity of the northern straight‐mouth nase (Pseudochondrostoma duriense), considering the possible effects of water temperature, flow velocity and body size. For this, the maximum distance, swim speed and fatigue time (FT) were studied in an outdoor open‐channel flume in the Duero River (Burgos, Spain) against three nominal velocities (1.5, 2.5 and 3 m s−1) and temperatures (5.5, 13.5 and 18.5°C), also including the changes between swimming modes (prolonged and sprint). Results showed that a nase of 20.8 cm mean fork length can develop a median swim speed that exceeds 20.7 BL s−1 (4.31 m s−1) during a median time of 3.4 s in sprint mode, or 12.2 BL s−1 (2.55 m s−1) for 23.7 s in prolonged mode under the warmest scenario. During prolonged swimming mode, fish were able to reach further distances in warmer water conditions for all situations, due to a greater swimming speed and FT, whereas during sprint mode, warmer conditions increased the swim speed maintaining the FT. In conclusion, the studied temperature range and flow velocity range influence fish swimming performance, endurance and distance travelled, although with some differences depending on the swimming mode. The provided information goes a step forward in the definition of real fish swimming capacities, and in turn, will contribute to establish clear passage criteria for thermo‐velocity barriers, allowing the calculation of the proportion of fish able to pass a barrier under different working scenarios, as well designing of the optimized solutions to improve the fish passage through river barriers.
Most freshwater fish need to move freely through rivers to complete their life cycles. Thus, river barriers (e.g. dams, culverts and gauging stations) may delay, hinder or even block their ...longitudinal movements, affecting fish conservation. The most widespread solution to allow upstream fish migration are fishways, whereas downstream migration is basically facilitated through spillways, turbines or specific solutions such as bypass systems.
So far, studies and scientific discussions concerning bidirectional movements through fishways are scarce and focused on large dams and reservoirs, mainly with large migratory species such as salmonids, rather than smaller facilities and lesser known species.
This study investigated bidirectional movements through a small run‐of‐the‐river hydropower plant with a pool‐and‐orifice type fishway, using the Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei), a potamodromous cyprinid, as the target species. Passive integrated transponder and radio tracking data were collected over 4 years and combined to characterize upstream and downstream movements. The study focused primarily on fish movements through the fishway, but also estimated the multiple associated routes of passage.
The results show diverse fish movements with inter‐ and intra‐annual variability, with several individuals performing bidirectional movements and even some fish returning over the years.
The documented movements and observations indicate that fishways can serve as an effective bidirectional migration corridor for fish, potentially enhancing the conservation efforts for potamodromous species. This study supports the decision to use fishways as an overall mitigation tool to reduce the impact of small hydropower facilities on fish.
Pathogenic mutations in DPAGT1 are manifested as two possible phenotypes: congenital disorder of glycosylation DPAGT1-CDG (also known as CDG-Ij), and limb-girdle congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS) ...with tubular aggregates. UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-dolichyl-phosphate N-acetylglucosamine phosphotransferase (GPT), the protein encoded by DPAGT1, is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein involved in an initial step in the N-glycosylation pathway. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of six variants in DPAGT1 detected in patients with DPAGT1-CDG, and the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress, as part of the search for therapeutic strategies to use against DPAGT1-CDG. The effect of the six mutations, i.e., c.358C>A (p.Leu120Met), c.791T>G (p.Val264Gly), c.901C>T (p.Arg301Cys), c.902G>A (p.Arg301His), c.1154T>G (p.Leu385Arg), and of the novel mutation c.329T>C (p.Phe110Ser), were examined via the analysis of DPAGT1 transcriptional profiles and GTP levels in patient-derived fibroblasts. In addition, the transient expression of different mutations was analysed in COS-7 cells. The results obtained, together with those of bioinformatic studies, revealed these mutations to affect the splicing process, the stability of GTP, or the ability of this protein to correctly localise in the ER membrane. The unfolded protein response (UPR; the response to ER stress) was found not to be active in patient-derived fibroblasts, unlike that seen in cells from patients with PMM2-CDG or DPM1-CDG. Even so, the fibroblasts of patients with DPAGT1-CDG seemed to be more sensitive to the stressor tunicamycin. The present work improves our knowledge of DPAGT1-CDG and provides bases for developing tailored splicing and folding therapies.
Summary
We present a family with a rare mutation of the LRP6 gene and for the first time provide evidence for its association with low bone mineral density.
Introduction
The Wnt pathway plays a ...critical role in bone homeostasis. Pathogenic variants of the Wnt co-receptor LRP6 have been associated with abnormal skeletal phenotypes or increased risk of cardiovascular events.
Patient and methods
Here we report an index premenopausal patient and her family carrying a rare missense
LRP6
pathogenic variant (rs141212743; 0.0002 frequency among Europeans). This variant has been previously associated with metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis, in the presence of normal bone mineral density. However, the
LRP6
variant was associated with low bone mineral density in this family, without evidence for association with serum lipid levels or cardiovascular events.
Conclusion
Thus, this novel association shows that
LRP6
pathogenic variants may be involved in some cases of early-onset osteoporosis, but the predominant effect, either skeletal or cardiovascular, may vary depending on the genetic background or other acquired factors.
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global health concern. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) curbs resistance rates by encouraging rational antimicrobial use. However, data on antimicrobial ...stewardship in developing countries is scarce. The objective of this study was to characterize antimicrobial use at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia as a guiding step in the development of an AMS program. This was a cross-sectional, observational study evaluating antimicrobial appropriateness and consumption in non-critically ill adult medicine patients admitted to UTH. Appropriateness was defined as a composite measure based upon daily chart review. Sixty percent (88/146) of all adult patients admitted to the general wards had at least one antimicrobial ordered and were included in this study. The most commonly treated infectious diseases were tuberculosis, pneumonia, and septicemia. Treatment of drug sensitive tuberculosis is standardized in a four-drug combination pill of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol, therefore appropriateness of therapy was not further evaluated. The most common antimicrobials ordered were cefotaxime (n = 45), ceftriaxone (n = 28), and metronidazole (n = 14). Overall, 67% of antimicrobial orders were inappropriately prescribed to some extent, largely driven by incorrect dose or frequency in patients with renal dysfunction. Antimicrobial prescribing among hospitalized patients at UTH is common and there is room for optimization of a majority of antimicrobial orders. Availability of certain antimicrobials must be taken into consideration during AMS program development.
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