bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A New Heterotrophic Dinoflagellate from the North‐eastern Pacific, Protoperidinium fukuyoi: Cyst–Theca Relationship, Phylogeny, Distribution and Ecology
Authors: Mertens Kenneth N. , Yamaguchi Aika , Takano Yoshihito , Pospelova Vera , Head Martin J. , Radi Taoufik , Pieńkowski Anna J. , de Vernal Anne , Kawami Hisae , Matsuoka Kazumi
Published: June 2013

The cyst–theca relationship of Protoperidinium fukuyoi n. sp. (Dinoflagellata, Protoperidiniaceae) is established by incubating resting cysts from estuarine sediments off southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and San Pedro Harbor, California, USA. The cysts have a brown‐coloured wall, and are characterized by a saphopylic archeopyle comprising three apical plates, the apical pore plate and canal plate; and acuminate processes typically arranged in linear clusters. We elucidate the phylogenetic relationship of P. fukuyoi through large and small subunit (LSU and SSU) rDNA sequences, and also report the SSU of the cyst‐defined species Islandinium minutum (Harland & Reid) Head et al. 2001. Molecular phylogenetic analysis by SSU rDNA shows that both species are closely related to Protoperidinium americanum (Gran & Braarud 1935) Balech 1974. Large subunit rDNA phylogeny also supports a close relationship between P. fukuyoi and P. americanum. Three subgroups in total are further characterized within the Monovela group. The cyst of P. fukuyoi shows a wide geographical range along the coastal tropical to temperate areas of the North‐east Pacific, its distribution reflecting optimal summer sea‐surface temperatures of ~14–18 °C and salinities of 22–34 psu.
Molecular Phylogeny of Marine Gregarine Parasites (Apicomplexa) from Tube‐forming Polychaetes (Sabellariidae, Cirratulidae, and Serpulidae), Including Descriptions of Two New Species of Selenidium
Authors: Wakeman Kevin C. , Leander Brian S.
Published: June 2013

Selenidium is a genus of gregarine parasites that infect the intestines of marine invertebrates and have morphological, ecological, and motility traits inferred to reflect the early evolutionary history of apicomplexans. Because the overall diversity and phylogenetic position(s) of these species remain poorly understood, we performed a species discovery survey of Selenidium from tube‐forming polychaetes. This survey uncovered five different morphotypes of trophozoites (feeding stages) living within the intestines of three different polychaete hosts. We acquired small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences from single‐cell (trophozoite) isolates, representing all five morphotypes that were also imaged with light and scanning electron microscopy. The combination of molecular, ecological, and morphological data provided evidence for four novel species of Selenidium, two of which were established in this study: Selenidium neosabellariae n. sp. and Selenidium sensimae n. sp. The trophozoites of these species differed from one another in the overall shape of the cell, the specific shape of the posterior end, the number and form of longitudinal striations, the presence/absence of transverse striations, and the position and shape of the nucleus. A fifth morphotype of Selenidium, isolated from the tube worm Dodecaceria concharum, was inferred to have been previously described as Selenidium cf. echinatum, based on general trophozoite morphology and host association. Phylogenetic analyses of the SSU rDNA sequences resulted in a robust clade of Selenidium species collected from tube‐forming polychaetes, consisting of the two new species, the two additional morphotypes, S. cf. echinatum, and four previously described species (Selenidium serpulae, Selenidium boccardiellae, Selenidium idanthyrsae, and Selenidium cf. mesnili). Genetic distances between the SSU rDNA sequences in this clade distinguished closely related and potential cryptic species of Selenidium that were otherwise very similar in trophozoite morphology.
Morphology, Morphogenesis, and Molecular Phylogeny of Anteholosticha multicirrata n. sp. (Ciliophora, Spirotrichea) with a Note on Morphogenesis of A. pulchra (Kahl, 1932) Berger, 2003
Authors: Park Kyung‐min , Jung Jae‐ho , Min Gi‐sik
Published: June 2013

Two marine urostylid ciliates, Anteholosticha multicirrata n. sp. and Anteholosticha pulchra (Kahl, 1932) Berger, 2003, were collected from South Korea. These species were identified based on morphology, morphogenesis, and SSU rRNA gene sequence comparison. Anteholosticha multicirrata n. sp. is characterized by the following features: body size 90–125 × 30–45 μm in vivo, shape slender to ellipsoidal in outline, with yellow‐greenish cortical granules distributed along and between dorsal kineties and cirri; single contractile vacuole positioned on left at mid‐body; three frontal, five to seven frontoterminal, one buccal, one to two pretransverse and four to six transverse cirri; three complete dorsal kineties; one left and one right marginal cirral row; about 117 macronuclear nodules; and three to four micronuclei observed during morphogenesis. In addition, based on the observations of morphogenesis, we found that A. pulchra has pretransverse cirri, which were not described in detail in previous studies. Nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene was used to analyse their phylogenetic relationship, and the gene tree supports that the genus Anteholosticha is a highly polyphyletic group.
Immunological abnormalities associated with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia
Authors: Guilhem A. , Malcus C. , Clarivet B. , Plauchu H. , Dupuis‐Girod S.
Published: June 2013

Objective

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a genetic disorder related to mutations in one of the coreceptors to the transforming growth factor‐β superfamily (ALK1 or endoglin). Besides the obvious vascular symptoms (epistaxis and arteriovenous malformations), patients have an unexplained high risk of severe bacterial infections. The aim of the study was to assess the main immunological functions of patients with HHT using the standard biological tests for primary immunodeficiencies.

Design, setting and subjects

A prospective single‐centre study of 42 consecutive adult patients with an established diagnosis of HHT was conducted at the National French HHT Reference Center (Lyon). Lymphocyte subpopulations and proliferation capacity, immunoglobulin levels and neutrophil and monocyte phagocytosis, oxidative burst and chemotaxis were assessed.

Results

Innate immunity was not altered in patients with HHT. With regard to adaptive immunity, significant changes were seen in immunological parameters: primarily, a lymphopenia in patients with HHT compared with healthy control subjects affecting mean CD4 (642 cells μL−1 vs. 832 cells μL−1, P < 0.001), CD8 (295 cells μL−1 vs. 501 cells μL−1, P < 0.0001) and natural killer (NK) cells (169 cells μL−1 vs. 221 cells μL−1, P < 0.01), associated with increased levels of immunoglobulins G and A. This lymphopenia mainly concerned naïve T cells. Proliferation capacities of lymphocytes were normal. Lymphopenic patients had a higher frequency of iron supplementation but no increase in infection rate. Lower levels of immunoglobulin M and a higher rate of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations were found amongst patients with a history of severe infection.

Conclusions

Patients with HHT exhibit immunological abnormalities including T CD4, T CD8 and NK cell lymphopenia and increased levels of immunoglobulins G and A. The observed low level of immunoglobulin M requires further investigation to determine whether it is a specific risk factor for infection in HHT.
miR‐223: infection, inflammation and cancer
Authors: Haneklaus M. , Gerlic M. , O'Neill L. A. J. , Masters S. L.
Published: June 2013

Expression of the microRNA miR‐223 is deregulated during influenza or hepatitis B infection and in inflammatory bowel disease, type 2 diabetes, leukaemia and lymphoma. Although this may also be the result of the disease per se, increasing evidence suggests a role for miR‐223 in limiting inflammation to prevent collateral damage during infection and in preventing oncogenic myeloid transformation. Validated targets for miR‐223 that have effects on inflammation and infection include granzyme B, IKKα, Roquin and STAT3. With regard to cancer, validated targets include C/EBPβ, E2F1, FOXO1 and NFI‐A. The effect of miR‐223 on these targets has been documented individually; however, it is more likely that miR‐223 affects multiple targets simultaneously for key processes where the microRNA is important. Such processes include haematopoietic cell differentiation, particularly towards the granulocyte lineage (where miR‐223 is abundant) and as cells progress down the myeloid lineage (where miR‐223 expression decreases). NF‐κB and the NLRP3 inflammasome are important inflammatory mechanisms that are dampened by miR‐223 in these cell types. The miRNA can also directly target viruses such as HIV, leading to synergistic effects during infection. Here we review the recent studies of miR‐223 function to show how it modulates inflammation, infection and cancer development.
Patterns of oral mucosa lesions in patients with epidermolysis bullosa: comparison and agreement between oral medicine and dermatology
Authors: Fortuna Giulio , Lozada‐Nur Francina , Pollio Annamaria , Aria Massimo , Cepeda‐Valdes Rodrigo , Marinkovich Matt Peter , Bruckner Anna L. , Salas‐Alanís Julio Cesar
Published: June 2013

Background

The oral mucosa in patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) can be affected with different lesions and degrees of severity. However, patterns of oral lesions in distinct types of EB are still unclear.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and distribution of four types of lesions (erythema, erosion, atrophy, and blister) for each oral site and to calculate the interobserver reliability for each type of lesion in each site.

Methods

Ninety‐two patients with different EB types were assessed independently by an oral medicine specialist and a dermatologist. The degree of agreement was calculated by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Results

The most affected oral site was the tongue, with the most frequent lesion being erythema and atrophy [54(58.7%) patients] for the oral medicine specialist and erosion [54(58.7%) patients] for the dermatologist. Patients with recessive dystrophic EB‐severe generalized (RDEB‐sev gen) showed the highest mean of sites involved by each lesion for both oral medicine and dermatology. The interobserver reliability on the total of lesions was excellent on only 3 sites: lower lip (ICC: 0.89; 95%CI:0.83–0.92), hard palate (ICC:0.85; 95%CI:0.72–0.91), and tongue (ICC:0.89; 95%CI:0.84–0.92), whereas the interobserver reliability calculated for each single oral lesion showed a lower agreement.

Conclusion

Total distribution of sites involved by four types of lesions was higher in RDEB‐sev gen than in the rest of EB types, with a predominance of erythema followed by erosion. The agreement on the type of lesion was found to be poor‐moderate for many oral sites.
Selection, genome‐wide fitness effects and evolutionary rates in the model legume Medicago truncatula
Authors: Paape Timothy , Bataillon Thomas , Zhou Peng , J. Y. Kono Tom , Briskine Roman , Young Nevin D. , Tiffin Peter
Published: June 2013

Sequence data for >20 000 annotated genes from 56 accessions of Medicago truncatula were used to identify potential targets of positive selection, the determinants of evolutionary rate variation and the relative importance of positive and purifying selection in shaping nucleotide diversity. Based upon patterns of intraspecific diversity and interspecific divergence, c. 50–75% of nonsynonymous polymorphisms are subject to strong purifying selection and 1% of the sampled genes harbour a signature of positive selection. Combining polymorphism with expression data, we estimated the distribution of fitness effects and found that the proportion of deleterious mutations is significantly greater for expressed genes than for genes with undetected transcripts (nonexpressed) in a previous RNA‐seq experiment and greater for broadly expressed genes than those expressed in only a single tissue. Expression level is the strongest correlate of evolutionary rates at nonsynonymous sites, and despite multiple genomic features being significantly correlated with evolutionary rates, they explain less than 20% of the variation in nonsynonymous rates (dN) and <15% of the variation in either synonymous rates (dS) or dN:dS. Among putative targets of selection were genes involved in defence against pathogens and herbivores, genes with roles in mediating the relationship with rhizobial symbionts and one‐third of annotated histone‐lysine methyltransferases. Adaptive evolution of the methyltransferases suggests that positive selection in gene expression may have occurred through evolution of enzymes involved in epigenetic modification.
The Effect of Demand–Supply Mismatches on Firm Risk
Authors: Hendricks Kevin B. , Singhal Vinod R.
Published: June 2013

A supply chain management (SCM) system comprises many subsystems, including forecasting, order management, supplier management, procurement, production planning and control, warehousing and distribution, and product development. Demand–supply mismatches (DSMs) could indicate that some or all of these subsystems are not working as expected, creating uncertainties about the overall capabilities and effectiveness of the SCM system, which can increase firm risk. This article documents the effect of DSMs on firm risk as measured by equity volatility. Our sample consists of three different types of DSMs announced by publicly traded firms: production disruptions, excess inventory, and product introduction delays. We find that all three types of DSMs result in equity volatility increases. Over a 2‐year period around the announcement date, we observe mean abnormal equity volatility increases of 5.62% for production disruptions, 11.19% for excess inventory, and 6.28% for product introduction delays. Volatility increases associated with excess inventory are significantly higher than the increases associated with production disruptions and product introduction delays. Across all three types of DSMs, volatility changes are positively correlated with changes in information asymmetry. The results provide some support that volatility changes are also correlated with changes in financial and operating leverage.
Does International Economic Integration Lead to a Cleaner Production in China?
Authors: Lin Liguo , Moon Jon J. , Yin Haitao
Published: June 2013

In contrast to the Pollution Haven Hypothesis, the Trade‐Up Hypothesis holds that international integration helps improve firms' environmental performance in developing countries. Using firm‐level data from Shanghai, this article examines how international linkages, in the form of foreign direct investment or international trade, affect firms' environmental compliance and performance. We find that firms with international linkage via ownership exhibit better compliance with environmental regulation and emit less pollution than firms with no international linkage. We also find that firms with international linkage via market exposure are more likely to exhibit better compliance with environmental regulation than firms with no international linkage, but find no evidence that the former emit less pollution than the latter. This provides a piece of empirical evidence for the Trade‐Up Hypothesis.
Improving Voting Systems through Service‐Operations Management
Authors: Yang Muer , Fry Michael J. , Kelton W. David , Allen Theodore T.
Published: June 2013

We apply service‐operations‐management concepts to improve the efficiency and equity of voting systems. Recent elections in the United States and elsewhere have been plagued by long lines, excessive waiting times, and perceptions of unfairness. We build models for the waiting lines at voting precincts using both traditional steady‐state queueing methods and simulation models. We develop solution methods to allocate voting machines optimally to precincts. Our objective functions consider both the efficiency and the equity of the voting system. We compare our allocation algorithm to several competing methods, including those used in practice. We examine several different strategies for improving voting operations on both the demand and the capacity side of voting systems, and we present a complete case study of applying our method to data from the 2008 election for Franklin County, Ohio. We conclude that our method is superior to existing polices in terms of efficiency and equity and that it is robust in terms of uncertainties regarding turnout rates on Election Day. We also suggest several operational improvements to the voting process drawn from the service‐operations literature.
Advertising in Asymmetric Competing Supply Chains
Authors: Liu Bin , Cai Gangshu (George) , Tsay Andy A.
Published: June 2013

Advertising is a crucial tool for demand creation and market expansion. When a manufacturer uses a retailer as a channel for reaching end customers, the advertising strategy takes on an additional dimension: which party will perform the advertising to end customers. Cost sharing (“co‐operative advertising”) arrangements proliferate the option by decoupling the execution of the advertising from its funding. We examine the efficacy of cost sharing in a model of two competing manufacturer–retailer supply chains who sell partially substitutable products that may differ in market size. Some counterintuitive findings suggest that the firms performing the advertising would rather bear the costs entirely if this protects their unit profit margin. We also evaluate the implications of advertising strategy for overall supply chain efficiency and consumer welfare.
Cellular Bucket Brigades on U‐Lines with Discrete Work Stations
Authors: Lim Yun Fong , Wu Yue
Published: June 2013

It is challenging to maximize and maintain productivity of a U‐line with discrete stations under the impact of variability. This is because maximizing productivity requires assigning workers to suitable tasks and maintaining productivity requires sufficient flexibility in task assignment to absorb the impact of variability. To achieve this goal, we propose an operating protocol to coordinate workers on the U‐line. Under the protocol the system can be configured such that its productivity is maximized. Workers are allowed to dynamically share work so that the system can effectively absorb the impact of variability. Analysis based on a deterministic model shows that the system always converges to a fixed point or a period‐2 orbit. We identify a sufficient condition for the system to converge to the fixed point. Increasing the number of stations improves productivity only under certain circumstances. The improvement is most significant when the number of stations in each stage increases from one to two, but further dividing the U‐line into more stations has diminishing return. Simulations based on random work velocities suggest that our approach significantly outperforms an optimized, static work allocation policy if variability in velocity is large.
Tolerance for Failure and Incentives for Collaborative Innovation
Authors: Hutchison‐Krupat Jeremy , Chao Raul O.
Published: June 2013

Most organizations employ collaborative teams to manage innovation projects. Although the use of collaborative innovation teams is a good starting point, an organization's ability to innovate can be enhanced by managing risk‐taking behavior through monetary incentive schemes and through an organizational culture that tolerates failure. This article reports the results of two controlled experiments aimed at understanding how tolerance for failure and incentives impact the decisions of individuals engaged in a collaborative innovation initiative. A key element of our experiments is the notion of endogenous project risk, which we define as the explicit link between resources allocated to a project and the likelihood of project success. We observe that when penalties are low, the amount of risk an individual assumes is fairly insensitive to the rewards that are offered. In an analogous result, when individuals make decisions alone (rather than collaboratively), higher tolerance for failure does little to increase the amount of risk an individual is willing to take. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of implicit incentives that are created as a result of project and organizational characteristics.
Uniform vs. Retailer‐Specific Pricing: Incentive Alignment to Enhance Supply Chain Efficiency
Authors: Vakharia Asoo J. , Wang Lan
Published: June 2013

We consider a supplier selling to multiple retailers using one of two constant wholesale pricing strategies: a uniform wholesale price (UWP) vs. a retailer‐specific wholesale price (RSWP). In line with the prior literature in economics, our initial finding is that as long as retailers are asymmetric, then (a) the supplier and less efficient retailer would prefer the RSWP strategy and (b) the more efficient retailer would prefer the UWP strategy. By examining the total profits of the supply chain under each pricing strategy, we present a new result: the UWP strategy results in a greater degree of supply chain efficiency as compared to the RSWP strategy. The key intuition driving this result is that by charging a UWP, the supplier signals a fair treatment for downstream retailers, which leads to the more efficient retailer being able to reduce market prices and hence capture a larger share of market demand. Noting that the supplier prefers the RSWP scheme as compared to the UWP scheme, we propose a contract which comprises two components: a UWP per unit complemented with a slotting allowance or side payment. The contract is always preferred by the supplier and also leads to greater supply chain efficiency.
Managing Cost Salience and Procrastination in Projects: Compensation and Team Composition
Authors: Wu Yaozhong , Ramachandran Karthik , Krishnan Vish
Published: June 2013

The rising trend of projects with high‐skilled and autonomous contributors increasingly exposes managers to the risk of idiosyncratic individual behaviors. In this article, we examine the effects of an important behavioral factor, an individual's cost salience. Cost salience leads individuals to perceive the cost of immediate effort to be larger than the cost of future effort. This leads to procrastination in early stages and back‐loaded effort over the course of the project. We model the problem confronting the manager of a project whose quality is adversely impacted by such distortion of individual effort over time. Complementary to prior works focused on the planning and scheduling tasks of project management in the absence of human behavior, we find that managers should reward contributions made in earlier stages of a project. Our analysis also yields interesting insights on the project team performance: teams with diverse levels of cost salience will perform better than homogeneous teams. We also address another important facet of team composition, namely, the choice between stable and fluid teams, and find that the practice of creating fluid teams might have previously unrecognized benefits when behavioral aspects of projects are considered. We conclude with insights and organizational implications for project managers.
Integrated Procurement Planning in Multi‐division Firms
Authors: Balakrishnan Anantaram , Natarajan Harihara Prasad
Published: June 2013

For large multi‐division firms, coordinating procurement policies across multiple divisions to leverage volume discounts from suppliers based on firm‐wide purchasing power can yield millions of dollars of savings in procurement costs. Coordinated procurement entails deciding which suppliers to use to meet each division's purchasing needs and sourcing preferences so as to minimize overall purchasing, logistics, and operational costs. Motivated by this tactical procurement planning problem facing a large industrial products manufacturer, we propose an integrated optimization model that simultaneously considers both firm‐wide volume discounts and divisional ordering and inventory costs. To effectively solve this large‐scale integer program, we develop and apply a tailored solution approach that exploits the problem structure to generate tight bounds. We identify several classes of valid inequalities to strengthen the linear programming relaxation, establish polyhedral properties of these inequalities, and develop both a cutting‐plane method and a sequential rounding heuristic procedure. Extensive computational tests for realistic problems demonstrate that our integrated sourcing model and solution method are effective and can provide significant economic benefits. The integrated approach yields average savings of 7.5% in total procurement costs compared to autonomous divisional policies, and our algorithm generates near‐optimal solutions (within 0.75% of optimality) within reasonable computational time.
Comparison of two series of non‐invasive instruments used for the skin physiological properties measurements: the ‘Soft Plus’ from Callegari S.p.A vs. the series of detectors from Courage & Khazaka
Authors: Hua W. , Xie H. , Chen T. , Li L.
Published: June 2013

Background

The invasive measuring techniques are of great help in the evaluation of skin physiological functions and topical formulation. The reproducibility and accuracy of the instrument are crucial.

Aims

The aim of this study is to reveal the differences and correlations in measuring skin hydration, pH, sebum, elasticity and melanin on the forearm or faces between two commercially available series of instruments.

Materials & Methods

20 subjects were enrolled to be measured by the two series of instruments. The measurements by each series were performed on the left/right side of the body randomly. The pH, sebum, elasticity and melanin measurements were performed on the faces in different areas, while the hydration measurements were operated on the forearms before and after wet dressing, respectively.

Results

Positive correlations were found in the values of skin SC hydration, pH, sebum and melanin detected by the two series. The values related to skin elasticity measured by the two instruments were statistically negative correlated. The Soft Plus series has higher variation in detecting skin hydration, pH, and melanin than the instruments from Courage & Khazaka.

Discussion

The differences of the two series must be instrument related. The difference in level of measurement can be due either to differences in the design of the probe, to differences in time for measurement, to differences in left/right part of the body or a combination of these three.

Conclusion

The two series have significant correlations. The instruments from CK are more reproducible.
Environmental Salmonella in Agricultural Fair Poultry Exhibits in Colorado
Authors: Pabilonia K. L. , Cadmus K. J. , Lingus T. M. , Bolte D. S. , Russell M. M. , Van Metre D. C. , Erdman M. M.
Published: June 2013

Salmonella enterica is a common zoonotic pathogen in humans. Transmission typically occurs through consumption of contaminated food products or contact with infected animals, including poultry or their environment. The objective of this study was to estimate the frequency of Salmonella contamination in the environment in poultry exhibits at agricultural fairs. Samples were collected from cages, feed, floors and tables in the exhibit and cultured for Salmonella. At least one environmental sample was positive for Salmonella in 10 of 11 fairs (91%), and Salmonella was isolated from 28 of 55 environmental samples (50.9%). Eleven different serotypes were detected. Results of this study demonstrate that environmental surfaces at agricultural fairs can be contaminated with Salmonella and could potentially serve as a route of transmission to bird owners and the general public. Poultry owners and the general public should be educated about the risks of Salmonella infection from the poultry exhibit environment. Agricultural fairs should consider instituting policies and practices to improve hygiene and mitigate the risk of zoonotic salmonellosis.
Sex‐specific effects of exercise ancestry on metabolic, morphological and gene expression phenotypes in multiple generations of mouse offspring
Authors: Guth Lisa M. , Ludlow Andrew T. , Witkowski Sarah , Marshall Mallory R. , Lima Laila C. J. , Venezia Andrew C. , Xiao Tao , Ting Lee Mei‐Ling , Spangenburg Espen E. , Roth Stephen M.
Published: June 2013

New findings

What is the central question of this study?

How does parental exercise training directly and/or transgenerationally affect offspring phenotypes over two generations of mice?

What is the main finding and what is its importance?

We observed preliminary evidence that parental exercise training can influence health‐related phenotypes (e.g. body and fat mass, muscle gene expression) in mouse offspring. These findings indicate that parental exercise may be another environmental factor (like altered nutrition) capable of influencing offspring phenotypes in adulthood.

Early life and preconception environmental stimuli can affect adult health‐related phenotypes. Exercise training is an environmental stimulus affecting many systems throughout the body and appears to alter offspring phenotypes. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of parental exercise training, or ‘exercise ancestry’, on morphological and metabolic phenotypes in two generations of mouse offspring. The F0 C57BL/6 mice were exposed to voluntary exercise (EX) or sedentary lifestyle (SED) and bred with like‐exposed mates to produce an F1 generation. The F1 mice of both ancestries were sedentary and killed at 8 weeks or bred with littermates to produce an F2 generation, which was also sedentary and killed at 8 weeks. Small but broad generation‐ and sex‐specific effects of exercise ancestry were observed for body mass, fat and muscle mass, serum insulin, glucose tolerance and muscle gene expression. The F1 EX females were lighter than F1 SED females and had lower absolute tibialis anterior and omental fat masses. Serum insulin was higher in F1 EX females compared with F1 SED females. The F2 EX females had impaired glucose tolerance compared with F2 SED females. Analysis of skeletal muscle mRNA levels revealed several generation‐ and sex‐specific differences in mRNA levels for multiple genes, especially those related to metabolic genes (e.g. F1 EX males had lower mRNA levels of Hk2, Ppard, Ppargc1a, Adipoq and Scd1 than F1 SED males). These results provide preliminary evidence that parental exercise training can influence health‐related phenotypes in mouse offspring.
Treatment of muscle mechanoreflex dysfunction in hypertension: effects of L‐arginine dialysis in the nucleus tractus solitarii
Authors: Leal Anna K. , Mitchell Jere H. , Smith Scott A.
Published: June 2013

New Findings

What is the central question of this study?

Does increasing NO production within the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) affect mechanoreflex function in normotensive and hypertensive rats?

What is the main finding and its importance?

Dialysis of 1 μm l‐arginine, an NO precursor, within the NTS significantly attenuated the pressor response to muscle stretch in normotensive and hypertensive rats. In contrast, 10 μm l‐arginine had no effect in normotensive animals, while increasing and decreasing the pressor and tachycardic responses to stretch, respectively, in hypertensive rats. This suggests that increasing NO within the NTS using lower doses of l‐arginine can partly normalize mechanoreflex overactivity in hypertensive rats, whereas the effects of larger doses are equivocal.

The blood pressure response to exercise is exaggerated in hypertension. Recent evidence suggests that an overactive skeletal muscle mechanoreflex contributes significantly to this augmented circulatory responsiveness. Sensory information from the mechanoreflex is processed within the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) of the medulla oblongata. Normally, endogenously produced nitric oxide within the NTS attenuates the increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) induced by mechanoreflex stimulation. Thus, it has been suggested that decreases in NO production in the NTS underlie the generation of mechanoreflex dysfunction in hypertension. Supporting this postulate, it has been shown that blocking NO production within the NTS of normotensive rats reproduces the exaggerated pressor response elicited by mechanoreflex activation in hypertensive animals. What is not known is whether increasing NO production within the NTS of hypertensive rats mitigates mechanoreflex overactivity. In this study, the mechanoreflex was selectively activated by passively stretching hindlimb muscle before and after the dialysis of 1 and 10 μm l‐arginine (an NO precursor) within the NTS of decerebrate normotensive Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Stretch induced larger elevations in MAP in SHRs compared with WKY rats. In both groups, dialysis of 1 μm l‐arginine significantly attenuated the pressor response to stretch. However, at the 10 μm dose, l‐arginine had no effect on the MAP response to stretch in WKY rats, while it enhanced the response in SHRs. The data demonstrate that increasing NO availability within the NTS using lower doses of l‐arginine partly normalizes mechanoreflex dysfunction in hypertension, whereas higher doses do not. The findings could prove valuable in the development of treatment options for mechanoreflex overactivity in this disease.
Upregulation of skeletal muscle inflammatory genes links inflammation with insulin resistance in women with the metabolic syndrome
Authors: Poelkens Fleur , Lammers Gerwen , Pardoel Elisabeth M. , Tack Cees J. , Hopman Maria T. E.
Published: June 2013

New Findings

What is the central question of this study?

There is a close relationship between insulin resistance and inflammation, but it is largely unknown how these processes are linked in skeletal muscle tissue.

What is the main finding and its importance?

Gene expression microarray analysis identified three inflammatory genes the expression level of which was highly correlated with insulin resistance in women with the metabolic syndrome. This suggests an important role for these genes in the development of skeletal muscle insulin resistance.

The metabolic syndrome, a combination of interrelated metabolic risk factors, is associated with insulin resistance and promotes the development of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus. There is a close link between inflammation and metabolic disease, but the responsible mechanisms remain elusive. The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed genes in insulin‐resistant skeletal muscle tissue of women with the metabolic syndrome compared with healthy control women. Women with the metabolic syndrome (n= 19) and healthy control women (n= 20) were extensively phenotyped, insulin sensitivity was measured using a hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp, and a skeletal muscle biopsy was obtained. Gene expression levels were compared between the two groups by microarrays. The upregulated genes in skeletal muscle of the women with the metabolic syndrome were primarily enriched for inflammatory response‐associated genes. The three most significantly upregulated of this group, interleukin 6 receptor (IL6R), histone deacetylase 9 (HDAC9) and CD97 molecule (CD97), were significantly correlated with insulin resistance. Taken together, these findings suggest an important role for a number of inflammatory‐related genes in the development of skeletal muscle insulin resistance.
Molecular Characterization of “Candidatus Similichlamydia latridicola” gen. nov., sp. nov. (Chlamydiales: “Candidatus Parilichlamydiaceae”), a Novel Chlamydia-Like Epitheliocystis Agent in the Striped Trumpeter, Latris lineata (Forster)
Authors: Stride M. C. , Polkinghorne A. , Miller T. L. , Nowak B. F.
Published: June 2013

Histological analysis of gill samples taken from individuals ofLatris lineatareared in aquaculture in Tasmania, Australia, and those sampled from the wild revealed the presence of epitheliocystis-like basophilic inclusions. Subsequent morphological,in situhybridization, and molecular analyses were performed to confirm the presence of this disease and discovered aChlamydia-like organism associated with this condition, and the criteria set by Fredericks and Relman's postulates were used to establish disease causation. Three distinct 16S rRNA genotypes were sequenced from 16 fish, and phylogenetic analyses of the nearly full-length 16S rRNA sequences generated for this bacterial agent indicated that they were nearly identical novel members of the orderChlamydiales. This new taxon formed a well-supported clade with “CandidatusParilichlamydia carangidicola” from the yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi). On the basis of sequence divergence over the 16S rRNA region relative to all other members of the orderChlamydiales, a new genus and species are proposed here for theChlamydia-like bacterium fromL. lineata, i.e., “CandidatusSimilichlamydia latridicola” gen. nov., sp. nov.
Litter Supply as a Driver of Microbial Activity and Community Structure on Decomposing Leaves: a Test in Experimental Streams
Authors: Frossard Aline , Gerull Linda , Mutz Michael , Gessner Mark O.
Published: June 2013

Succession of newly created landscapes induces profound changes in plant litter supplied to streams. Grasses dominate inputs into open-land streams, whereas tree litter is predominant in forested streams. We set out to elucidate whether the activity and structure of microbial communities on decomposing leaves are determined by litter quality (i.e., grass or tree leaves colonized) or whether changes during riparian succession affecting litter standing stocks on the stream bed play an overriding role. We used 15 outdoor experimental streams to simulate changes in litter supplies reflecting five stages of riparian succession: (i) a biofilm stage with no litter, (ii) an open-land stage characterized by grass litter inputs, (iii) a transitional stage with a mix of grass and tree litter, (iv) an early forested stage with tree litter, and (v) an advanced forested stage with 2.5 times the amount of tree litter. Microbial activities on tree (
Betula pendula
) and grass (
Calamagrostis epigejos
) litter were unaffected by either the quantity or type of litter supplied to the experimental streams (i.e., litter standing stock) but differed between the two litter types. This was in stark contrast with bacterial and fungal community structure, which markedly differed on grass and tree litter and, to a lesser extent, also among streams receiving different litter inputs. These patterns reveal distinct responses of microbial community structure and activity to the bulk litter available in streams but consistent responses to the litter type colonized.
Oxygen Consumption Rates of Bacteria under Nutrient-Limited Conditions
Authors: Riedel Timothy E. , Berelson William M. , Nealson Kenneth H. , Finkel Steven E.
Published: June 2013

Many environments on Earth experience nutrient limitation and as a result have nongrowing or very slowly growing bacterial populations. To better understand bacterial respiration under environmentally relevant conditions, the effect of nutrient limitation on respiration rates of heterotrophic bacteria was measured. The oxygen consumption and population density of batch cultures ofEscherichia coliK-12,Shewanella oneidensisMR-1, andMarinobacter aquaeoleiVT8 were tracked for up to 200 days. The oxygen consumption per CFU (QO2) declined by more than 2 orders of magnitude for all three strains as they transitioned from nutrient-abundant log-phase growth to the nutrient-limited early stationary phase. The large reduction in QO2from growth to stationary phase suggests that nutrient availability is an important factor in considering environmental respiration rates. Following the death phase, during the long-term stationary phase (LTSP), QO2values of the surviving population increased with time and more cells were respiring than formed colonies. Within the respiring population, a subpopulation of highly respiring cells increased in abundance with time. Apparently, as cells enter LTSP, there is a viable but not culturable population whose bulk community and per cell respiration rates are dynamic. This result has a bearing on how minimal energy requirements are met, especially in nutrient-limited environments. The minimal QO2rates support the extension of Kleiber's law to the mass of a bacterium (100-fg range).
Aquacultured Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Possess a Large Core Intestinal Microbiota That Is Resistant to Variation in Diet and Rearing Density
Authors: Wong Sandi , Waldrop Thomas , Summerfelt Steven , Davidson John , Barrows Frederic , Kenney P. Brett , Welch Timothy , Wiens Gregory D. , Snekvik Kevin , Rawls John F. , Good Christopher
Published: June 2013

As global aquaculture fish production continues to expand, an improved understanding of how environmental factors interact in fish health and production is needed. Significant advances have been made toward economical alternatives to costly fishmeal-based diets, such as grain-based formulations, and toward defining the effect of rearing density on fish health and production. Little research, however, has examined the effects of fishmeal- and grain-based diets in combination with alterations in rearing density. Moreover, it is unknown whether interactions between rearing density and diet impact the composition of the fish intestinal microbiota, which might in turn impact fish health and production. We fed aquacultured adult rainbow trout (
Oncorhynchus mykiss
) fishmeal- or grain-based diets, reared them under high- or low-density conditions for 10 months in a single aquaculture facility, and evaluated individual fish growth, production, fin indices, and intestinal microbiota composition using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We found that the intestinal microbiotas were dominated by a shared core microbiota consisting of 52 bacterial lineages observed across all individuals, diets, and rearing densities. Variations in diet and rearing density resulted in only minor changes in intestinal microbiota composition despite significant effects of these variables on fish growth, performance, fillet quality, and welfare. Significant interactions between diet and rearing density were observed only in evaluations of fin indices and the relative abundance of the bacterial genus
Staphylococcus
. These results demonstrate that aquacultured rainbow trout can achieve remarkable consistency in intestinal microbiota composition and suggest the possibility of developing novel aquaculture strategies without overtly altering intestinal microbiota composition.
Whole-Genome Transcriptional Analysis of Escherichia coli during Heat Inactivation Processes Related to Industrial Cooking
Authors: Guernec A. , Robichaud-Rincon P. , Saucier L.
Published: June 2013

Escherichia coli
K-12 was grown to the stationary phase, for maximum physiological resistance, in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth at 37°C. Cells were then heated at 58°C or 60°C to reach a process lethality value

(

F

o

70

10

)

of 2 or 3 or to a core temperature of 71°C (control industrial cooking temperature). Growth recovery and cell membrane integrity were evaluated immediately after heating, and a global transcription analysis was performed using gene expression microarrays. Only cells heated at 58°C with
F

o

= 2 were still able to grow on liquid or solid BHI broth after heat treatment. However, their transcriptome did not differ from that of bacteria heated at 58°C with
F

o

= 3 (
P
value for the false discovery rate [P-FDR] > 0.01), where no growth recovery was observed posttreatment. Genome-wide transcriptomic data obtained at 71°C were distinct from those of the other treatments without growth recovery. Quantification of heat shock gene expression by real-time PCR revealed that
dnaK
and
groEL
mRNA levels decreased significantly above 60°C to reach levels similar to those of control cells at 37°C (
P
< 0.0001). Furthermore, despite similar levels of cell inactivation measured by growth on BHI media after heating, 132 and 8 genes were differentially expressed at 71°C compared to 58°C and 60°C at
F

o

= 3, respectively (P-FDR < 0.01). Among them, genes such as
aroA
,
citE
,
glyS
,
oppB
, and
asd
, whose expression was upregulated at 71°C, may be worth investigating as good biomarkers for accurately determining the efficiency of heat treatments, especially when cells are too injured to be enumerated using growth media.
l
-Amino Acid Ligase from Pseudomonas syringae Producing Tabtoxin Can Be Used for Enzymatic Synthesis of Various Functional Peptides
Authors: Arai Toshinobu , Arimura Yasuhiro , Ishikura Shun , Kino Kuniki
Published: June 2013

Functional peptides are expected to be beneficial compounds that improve our quality of life. To address the growing need for functional peptides, we have examined peptide synthesis by using microbial enzymes.
l
-Amino acid ligase (Lal) catalyzes the condensation of unprotected amino acids in an ATP-dependent manner and is applicable to fermentative production. Hence, Lal is a promising enzyme to achieve cost-effective synthesis. To obtain a Lal with novel substrate specificity, we focused on the putative Lal involved in the biosynthesis of the dipeptidic phytotoxin designated tabtoxin. The
tabS
gene was cloned from
Pseudomonas syringae
NBRC14081 and overexpressed in
Escherichia coli
cells. The recombinant TabS protein produced showed the broadest substrate specificity of any known Lal; it detected 136 of 231 combinations of amino acid substrates when dipeptide synthesis was examined. In addition, some new substrate specificities were identified and unusual amino acids, e.g.,
l
-pipecolic acid, hydroxy-
l
-proline, and β-alanine, were found to be acceptable substrates. Furthermore, kinetic analysis and monitoring of the reactions over a short time revealed that TabS showed distinct substrate selectivity at the N and C termini, which made it possible to specifically synthesize a peptide without by-products such as homopeptides and heteropeptides with the reverse sequence. TabS specifically synthesized the following functional peptides, including their precursors:
l
-arginyl-
l
-phenylalanine (antihypertensive effect; yield, 62%),
l
-leucyl-
l
-isoleucine (antidepressive effect; yield, 77%),
l
-glutaminyl-
l
-tryptophan (precursor of
l
-glutamyl-
l
-tryptophan, which has antiangiogenic activity; yield, 54%),
l
-leucyl-
l
-serine (enhances saltiness; yield, 83%), and
l
-glutaminyl-
l
-threonine (precursor of
l
-glutamyl-
l
-threonine, which enhances saltiness; yield, 96%). Furthermore, our results also provide new insights into tabtoxin biosynthesis.