Marine ecosystems are changing rapidly as the oceans warm and become more acidic. The physical factors and the changes to ocean chemistry that they drive can all be measured with great precision. ...Changes in the biological composition of communities in different ocean regions are far more challenging to measure because most biological monitoring methods focus on a limited taxonomic or size range. Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis has the potential to solve this problem in biological oceanography, as it is capable of identifying a huge phylogenetic range of organisms to species level. Here we develop and apply a novel multi-gene molecular toolkit to eDNA isolated from bulk plankton samples collected over a five-year period from a single site. This temporal scale and level of detail is unprecedented in eDNA studies. We identified consistent seasonal assemblages of zooplankton species, which demonstrates the ability of our toolkit to audit community composition. We were also able to detect clear departures from the regular seasonal patterns that occurred during an extreme marine heatwave. The integration of eDNA analyses with existing biotic and abiotic surveys delivers a powerful new long-term approach to monitoring the health of our world's oceans in the context of a rapidly changing climate.
We report for the first time the ingestion of microplastics by scleractinian corals, and the presence of microplastics in coral reef waters adjacent to inshore reefs on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef ...(GRE, 18°31′S 146°23′E). Analysis of samples from sub-surface plankton tows conducted in close proximity to inshore reefs on the central GBR revealed microplastics, similar to those used in marine paints and fishing floats, were present in low concentrations at all water sampling locations. Experimental feeding trials revealed that corals mistake microplastics for prey and can consume up to ~50 μg plastic cm
−2
h
−1
, rates similar to their consumption of plankton and
Artemia
nauplii in experimental feeding assays. Ingested microplastics were found wrapped in mesenterial tissue within the coral gut cavity, suggesting that ingestion of high concentrations of microplastic debris could potentially impair the health of corals.
The American Thoracic Society committee on Proficiency Standards for Pulmonary Function Laboratories has recognized the need for a standardized reporting format for pulmonary function tests. Although ...prior documents have offered guidance on the reporting of test data, there is considerable variability in how these results are presented to end users, leading to potential confusion and miscommunication.
A project task force, consisting of the committee as a whole, was approved to develop a new Technical Standard on reporting pulmonary function test results. Three working groups addressed the presentation format, the reference data supporting interpretation of results, and a system for grading quality of test efforts. Each group reviewed relevant literature and wrote drafts that were merged into the final document.
This document presents a reporting format in test-specific units for spirometry, lung volumes, and diffusing capacity that can be assembled into a report appropriate for a laboratory's practice. Recommended reference sources are updated with data for spirometry and diffusing capacity published since prior documents. A grading system is presented to encourage uniformity in the important function of test quality assessment.
The committee believes that wide adoption of these formats and their underlying principles by equipment manufacturers and pulmonary function laboratories can improve the interpretation, communication, and understanding of test results.
The cataloging of the vascular plants of the Americas has a centuries-long history, but it is only in recent decades that an overview of the entire flora has become possible. We present an integrated ...assessment of all known native species of vascular plants in the Americas. Twelve regional and national checklists, prepared over the past 25 years and including two large ongoing flora projects, were merged into a single list. Our publicly searchable checklist includes 124,993 species, 6227 genera, and 355 families, which correspond to 33% of the 383,671 vascular plant species known worldwide. In the past 25 years, the rate at which new species descriptions are added has averaged 744 annually for the Americas, and we can expect the total to reach about 150,000.
Coincident instantaneous broadband radiation budget measurements from Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System and cloud vertical structure information from CloudSat‐Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared ...Pathfinder Satellite Observations radar‐lidar observations are combined to study the relationship of cloud vertical structure to top‐of‐atmosphere energy balance fluctuations. Varying optical and physical thickness of high ice clouds produces most of the covariation between albedo and outgoing longwave radiation in regions of tropical convection. Rainy cores of tropical convective clouds have a negative impact on the radiation balance, while nonprecipitating anvil clouds have a positive effect. The effect of anvil clouds on the radiative heating profile is to warm near cloud base and cool near cloud top, and to reduce the radiative cooling rate in the clear air below the cloud. The cooling rate in the clear air below the anvil is reduced to small values for moderately thick anvils, and the driving of instability in the anvil itself also saturates for relatively thin clouds. It is hypothesized that the dependence of radiative heating on cloud thickness may be important in driving the distribution of tropical cloud structures toward one that produces net neutrality of the cloud radiative effect at the top‐of‐the‐atmosphere, as is found in regions of deep convection over ocean areas with high and relatively uniform surface temperatures. This idea is tested with a single‐column model, which indicates that cloud‐radiation interactions affect anvil cloud properties, encouraging further investigation of the hypothesis.
Plain Language Summary
Satellite data are used to show that tropical convective clouds have a small net effect on the energy balance because the cooling effect of thick tropical clouds is offset by the warming effect of thin upper level clouds that are connected to the thick clouds. Why these two types of clouds cancel each other out nearly exactly in the warm regions of the tropics is unknown. The effect of radiative transfer on the anvil clouds seems to be a possible contributor to the abundance of thin high clouds that give the positive influences on the radiation budget at the top of the atmosphere.
Key Points
Anvil cloud properties determine the radiation balance in the convective tropics
The effect of tropical clouds on the energy balance depends on the distribution of anvil cloud optical depth
Anvil cloud radiative interactions influence anvil cloud properties
Background: The particle size and structure of masticated almonds have a significant impact on nutrient release (bioaccessibility) and digestion kinetics.Objectives: The goals of this study were to ...quantify the effects of mastication on the bioaccessibility of intracellular lipid of almond tissue and examine microstructural characteristics of masticated almonds.Design: In a randomized, subject-blind, crossover trial, 17 healthy subjects chewed natural almonds (NAs) or roasted almonds (RAs) in 4 separate mastication sessions. Particle size distributions (PSDs) of the expectorated boluses were measured by using mechanical sieving and laser diffraction (primary outcome). The microstructure of masticated almonds, including the structural integrity of the cell walls (i.e., dietary fiber), was examined with microscopy. Lipid bioaccessibility was predicted by using a theoretical model, based on almond particle size and cell dimensions, and then compared with empirically derived release data.Results: Intersubject variations (n = 15; 2 subjects withdrew) in PSDs of both NA and RA samples were small (e.g., laser diffraction; CV: 12% and 9%, respectively). Significant differences in PSDs were found between these 2 almond forms (P < 0.05). A small proportion of lipid was released from ruptured cells on fractured surfaces of masticated particles, as predicted by using the mathematical model (8.5% and 11.3% for NAs and RAs, respectively). This low percentage of lipid bioaccessibility is attributable to the high proportion (35–40%) of large particles (>500 μm) in masticated almonds. Microstructural examination of the almonds indicated that most intracellular lipid remained undisturbed in intact cells after mastication. No adverse events were recorded.Conclusions: Following mastication, most of the almond cells remained intact with lipid encapsulated by cell walls. Thus, most of the lipid in masticated almonds is not immediately bioaccessible and remains unavailable for early stages of digestion. The lipid encapsulation mechanism provides a convincing explanation for why almonds have a low metabolizable energy content and an attenuated impact on postprandial lipemia. This trial was registered at isrctn.org as ISRCTN58438021.
The position of fatty acids in the TAG molecule (sn-1, sn-2 and sn-3) determines the physical properties of the fat, which affects its absorption, metabolism and distribution into tissues, which may ...have implications for the risk of CHD. The TAG structure of fats can be manipulated by the process of interesterification, which is of increasing commercial importance, as it can be used to change the physical characteristics of a fat without the generation of trans-fatty acids. Interesterified fats rich in long-chain SFA are commercially important, but few studies have investigated their health effects. Evidence from animal and human infant studies suggests that TAG structure and interesterification affect digestibility, atherogenicity and fasting lipid levels, with fats containing palmitic and stearic acid in the sn-2 position being better digested and considered to be more atherogenic. However, chronic studies in human adults suggest that TAG structure has no effect on digestibility or fasting lipids. The postprandial effects of fats with differing TAG structure are better characterised but the evidence is inconclusive; it is probable that differences in the physical characteristics of fats resulting from interesterification and changes in TAG structure are key determinants of the level of postprandial lipaemia, rather than the position of fatty acids in the TAG. The present review gives an overview of TAG structure and interesterified palmitic and stearic acid-rich fats, their physical properties and their acute and chronic effects in human adults in relation to CHD.
To characterize the multiple dimensions and benefits of the Mediterranean diet as a sustainable diet, in order to revitalize this intangible food heritage at the country level; and to develop a ...multidimensional framework - the Med Diet 4.0 - in which four sustainability benefits of the Mediterranean diet are presented in parallel: major health and nutrition benefits, low environmental impacts and richness in biodiversity, high sociocultural food values, and positive local economic returns.
A narrative review was applied at the country level to highlight the multiple sustainable benefits of the Mediterranean diet into a single multidimensional framework: the Med Diet 4.0. Setting/subjects We included studies published in English in peer-reviewed journals that contained data on the characterization of sustainable diets and of the Mediterranean diet. The methodological framework approach was finalized through a series of meetings, workshops and conferences where the framework was presented, discussed and ultimately refined.
The Med Diet 4.0 provides a conceptual multidimensional framework to characterize the Mediterranean diet as a sustainable diet model, by applying principles of sustainability to the Mediterranean diet.
By providing a broader understanding of the many sustainable benefits of the Mediterranean diet, the Med Diet 4.0 can contribute to the revitalization of the Mediterranean diet by improving its current perception not only as a healthy diet but also a sustainable lifestyle model, with country-specific and culturally appropriate variations. It also takes into account the identity and diversity of food cultures and systems, expressed within the notion of the Mediterranean diet, across the Mediterranean region and in other parts of the world. Further multidisciplinary studies are needed for the assessment of the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet to include these new dimensions.
Ventral hippocampal CA1 (vCA1) projections to the amygdala are necessary for contextual fear memory. Here we used in vivo Ca
imaging in mice to assess the temporal dynamics by which ensembles of vCA1 ...neurons mediate encoding and retrieval of contextual fear memories. We found that a subset of vCA1 neurons were responsive to the aversive shock during context conditioning, their activity was necessary for memory encoding, and these shock-responsive neurons were enriched in the vCA1 projection to the amygdala. During memory retrieval, a population of vCA1 neurons became correlated with shock-encoding neurons, and the magnitude of synchronized activity within this population was proportional to memory strength. The emergence of these correlated networks was disrupted by inhibiting vCA1 shock responses during memory encoding. Thus, our findings suggest that networks of cells that become correlated with shock-responsive neurons in vCA1 are essential components of contextual fear memory ensembles.
Gut transit time is a key modulator of host-microbiome interactions, yet this is often overlooked, partly because reliable methods are typically expensive or burdensome. The aim of this single-arm, ...single-blinded intervention study is to assess (1) the relationship between gut transit time and the human gut microbiome, and (2) the utility of the 'blue dye' method as an inexpensive and scalable technique to measure transit time.
We assessed interactions between the taxonomic and functional potential profiles of the gut microbiome (profiled via shotgun metagenomic sequencing), gut transit time (measured via the blue dye method), cardiometabolic health and diet in 863 healthy individuals from the PREDICT 1 study.
We found that gut microbiome taxonomic composition can accurately discriminate between gut transit time classes (0.82 area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) and longer gut transit time is linked with specific microbial species such as
,
spp and
spp (false discovery rate-adjusted p values <0.01). The blue dye measure of gut transit time had the strongest association with the gut microbiome over typical transit time proxies such as stool consistency and frequency.
Gut transit time, measured via the blue dye method, is a more informative marker of gut microbiome function than traditional measures of stool consistency and frequency. The blue dye method can be applied in large-scale epidemiological studies to advance diet-microbiome-health research. Clinical trial registry website https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03479866 and trial number NCT03479866.
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