Human disturbance increases spatiotemporal associations among mountain forest terrestrial mammal species.

Spatial and temporal associations between sympatric species underpin biotic interactions, structure ecological assemblages, and sustain ecosystem functioning and stability. However, the resilience of interspecific spatiotemporal associations to human activity remains poorly understood, particularly in mountain forests where anthropogenic impacts are often pervasive. Here, we applied context-dependent Joint Species Distribution Models to a systematic camera-trap survey dataset from a global biodiversity hotspot in eastern Himalayas to understand how prominent human activities in mountain forests influence species associations within terrestrial mammal communities. We obtained 10,388 independent detections of 17 focal species (12 carnivores and five ungulates) from 322 stations over 43,163 camera days of effort. We identified a higher incidence of positive associations in habitats with higher levels of human modification (87%) and human presence (83%) compared to those located in habitats with lower human modification (64%) and human presence (65%) levels. We also detected a significant reduction of pairwise encounter time at increasing levels of human disturbance, corresponding to more frequent encounters between pairs of species. Our findings indicate that human activities can push mammals together into more frequent encounters and associations, which likely influences the coexistence and persistence of wildlife, with potential far-ranging ecological consequences.

New records of the white-cheeked macaque provide range extension for the endangered primate in Gaoligong Mountains.

White-cheeked macaque Macaca leucogenys is a recently described primate species discovered by camera-trap surveys in the Medog region in 2015. The species was thought to be narrowly distributed in southeastern Tibet. However, knowledge on the distribution and conservation of the species is quite limited. Based on a systematic camera-trapping survey, we report the occurrence of the species in the Gaoligong Mountains, over 350 km southeast of the nearest known population. We recorded 3025 photographs of white-cheeked macaques representing 481 independent records from 59 camera-trap stations with total trapping efforts of 18,437 camera days. Notably, part of the newly discovered locations of the white-cheeked macaque are outside of nature reserves without any formal protection and management. Our survey also confirms the occurrence of ten primate species in the Gaoligong Mountains, accounting for 35.7% of China's primates, including the Skywalker hoolock gibbon Hoolock tianxing and the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri etc. These findings reveal a new distribution record for the white-cheeked macaque and further highlight the conservation values of Gaoligong Mountains for globally threatened primate species. We also provide a preliminary report on the daily activity patterns of this endangered species, which enriches the bio-ecological data of the poorly studied species. We believe the report has significant implications for understanding the ecology of the species and improving conservation planning.

Disproportionate loss of threatened terrestrial mammals along anthropogenic disturbance gradients.

Tens of thousands of species are increasingly confronted with habitat degradation and threatened with local extirpation and global extinction as a result of human activities. Understanding the local processes that shape the regional distribution patterns of at-risk species is useful in safeguarding species against threats. However, there is only limited understanding of the processes that shape the regional distribution patterns of threatened species. We explored the drivers and patterns of species richness of threatened, non-threatened and total terrestrial mammals by employing multi-region multi-species occupancy models based on data from a broad camera trapping survey at 1096 stations stratified across different levels of human activities in 54 mountain forests in southwest China. We compared correlates between total and threatened species richness and examined relationships of human impact variables with the proportion of threatened species and the site's local contribution to ß diversity (LCBD). We found that threatened species richness was negatively related to human modification and human presence. However, both non-threatened and total species richness increased as human modification increased. Predicted proportions of threatened species were strongly and positively related to LCBD but negatively related to human modification and human presence. Our results indicate that human impacts can lead to disproportionate loss of threatened terrestrial mammals and highlight the importance of considering threatened species diversity independently from total species richness for directing conservation resources. Our approach represents one of the highest-resolution analyses of different types of human impacts on regional diversity patterns of threatened terrestrial mammals available to inform conservation policy.

Synthesis of Mg Alkoxide Nanowires from Mg Alkoxide Nanoparticles upon Ligand Exchange.

We report on a new synthesis pathway for Mg n-propoxide nanowires (NWs) from Mg ethoxide nanoparticles using a simple alkoxy ligand exchange reaction followed by condensation polymerization in n-propanol. In order to uncover the morphology-structure correlation in the metal alkoxide family, we employed a powerful range of state-of-the-art characterization techniques. The morphology transformation from nanoparticles to nanowires was demonstrated by time-lapse SEM micrographs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (such as 1H NMR and solid-state 13C cross-polarization (CP)-MAS NMR) illustrated the replacement of ethyl by n-propyl and metal alkoxide condensation polymerization. We identified chemical formulas of the products also using NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structure simulation of Mg ethoxide particles and Mg n-propoxide NWs provided insights on how the ligand exchange and the associated increase in the fraction of OH groups greatly enhanced Mg alkoxide bonding and enabled a higher degree of coordination polymerization to facilitate the formation and growth of the Mg n-propoxide NWs. The discovered synthesis method could be extended for the fabrication of other metal alkoxide (nano) structures with various morphologies.

Functional diversity loss and change in nocturnal behavior of mammals under anthropogenic disturbance.

In the Anthropocene, understanding the impacts of anthropogenic influence on biodiversity and behavior of vulnerable wildlife communities is increasingly relevant to effective conservation. However, comparative studies aimed at disentangling the concurrent effect of different types of human disturbance on multifaceted biodiversity and on activity patterns of mammals are surprisingly rare. We applied a multiregion community model to separately estimate the effects of cumulative human modification (e.g., settlement, agriculture, and transportation) and human presence (aggregated presence of dogs, people, and livestock) on species richness and functional composition of medium- and large-bodied mammals based on camera trap data collected across 45 subtropical montane forests. We divided the detected mammal species into three trophic guilds-carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores-and assessed the nocturnal shifts of each guild in response to anthropogenic activities. Overall, species richness tended to increase (ß coefficient = 0.954) as human modification increased but richness decreased as human presence increased (ß = -1.054). Human modification was associated with significantly lower functional diversity (mean nearest taxon distance [MNTD], ß = -0.134; standardized effect sizes of MNTD, ß = -0.397), community average body mass (ß = -0.240), and proportion of carnivores (ß = -0.580). Human presence was associated with a strongly reduced proportion of herbivores (ß = -0.522), whereas proportion of omnivores significantly increased as human presence (ß = 0.378) and habitat modification (ß = 0.419) increased. In terms of activity patterns, omnivores (ß = 12.103) and carnivores (ß = 9.368) became more nocturnal in response to human modification. Our results suggest that human modification and human presence have differing effects on mammals and demonstrate that anthropogenic disturbances can lead to drastic loss of functional diversity and result in a shift to nocturnal behavior of mammals. Conservation planning should consider concurrent effects of different types of human disturbance on species richness, functional diversity, and behavior of wildlife communities.

Pérdidas en la Diversidad Funcional y Cambios en el Comportamiento Nocturno de los Mamíferos bajo la Perturbación Antropogénica Resumen En el Antropoceno, el conocimiento sobre la influencia antropogénica sobre la biodiversidad y el comportamiento de las comunidades vulnerables de fauna es cada vez más relevante para la conservación efectiva. Sin embargo, sorprende que los estudios comparativos dirigidos a desentrañar el efecto concurrente de los diferentes tipos de perturbación humana sobre la biodiversidad multifacética y sobre los patrones de actividad de los mamíferos son escasos. Aplicamos un modelo de comunidad multirregional para estimar de manera separada los efectos de la modificación humana (p. ej.: establecimientos, agricultura, transporte) y la presencia humana (presencia agregada de perros, gente y ganado) acumuladas sobre la riqueza de especies y la composición funcional de los mamíferos de tamaño mediano y grande con base en datos de fototrampas recolectados en 45 bosques montanos subtropicales. Dividimos las especies de mamíferos detectadas en tres gremios tróficos: carnívoros, herbívoros y omnívoros, y analizamos los cambios nocturnos de cada gremio como respuesta a las actividades antropogénicas. En general, la riqueza de especies tuvo una tendencia al incremento (coeficiente ß = 0.954) conforme aumentaron las modificaciones humanas, pero la riqueza disminuyó conforme incrementó la presencia humana (ß = −1.054). Las modificaciones humanas estuvieron asociadas con una diversidad funcional (distancia promedio al taxón más cercano [DPTC], ß = −0.134; tamaños del efecto estandarizado de la DPTC, ß = −0.397), masa corporal promedio de la comunidad (ß = −0.240) y proporción de carnívoros (ß = −0.580) significativamente más bajas. La presencia humana estuvo asociada con una proporción gravemente reducida de herbívoros (ß = −0.522), mientras que la proporción de omnívoros incrementó significativamente conforme aumentaron la presencia humana (ß = 0.378) y la modificación del hábitat (ß = 0.419). En cuanto a los patrones de actividad, los omnívoros (ß = 12.103) y los carnívoros (ß = 9.368) se volvieron más nocturnos como respuesta a las modificaciones humanas. Nuestros resultados sugieren que las modificaciones humanas y la presencia de personas tienen efectos diferentes sobre los mamíferos y demuestran que las perturbaciones antropogénicas pueden llevar a pérdidas drásticas de la diversidad funcional y resultar en un cambio hacia el comportamiento nocturno en los mamíferos. La planeación de la conservación debería considerar los efectos concurrentes de los diferentes tipos de perturbaciones humanas sobre la riqueza de especies, la diversidad funcional y el comportamiento de las comunidades faunísticas.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 expression correlates with clinicopathologic features of patients with breast cancer: a meta-analysis.

A number of studies have investigated the relationship between aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) expression and the clinical pathological features of the patients with breast cancer. However, conclusions reported by different parties seem to be inconsistent. We have reviewed published studies and carried out this meta-analysis to provide credible results. We searched PubMed for articles published in English until September 12, 2014. Our main analyses were focused on the association between ALDH1 and the clinical pathological features, such as age, tumor size, nodal status, lymphovascular invasion, histological grade, and the expression of ER, PR, and HER2 by meta-analysis methods. If heterogeneity was observed, we used random effects model to calculate the overall odds ratios, otherwise fixed effects model was used. Twenty-one eligible studies were included in the present meta-analysis. From the pooled analyses, there was significant association between ALDH1 expression and histological grade (low vs. intermediate: pooled OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.09-2.10, P = 0.01; intermediate vs. high: pooled OR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.12-3.07, P = 0.02), ER expression (pooled OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.29-0.58, P < 0.00001), and PR expression (pooled OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.40-0.77, P = 0.0004). No clear correlation was found between ALDH1 expression and age, tumor size, lymph node (LN) metastasis, lynphovascular invasion, and HER2 expression (P > 0.05). Despite the inconsistency in the published reports, this meta-analysis provides credible evidence to support the association between ALDH1 and breast cancer. However, it is necessary to conduct large sample studies using standardized and well-matched controls.

Plumbagin inhibits growth of gliomas in vivo via suppression of FOXM1 expression.

Plumbagin is a natural compound that is isolated from the root of the medicinal plant Plumbago zeylanica L. Based on a previous in vitro study performed by our group, which demonstrated the effectiveness of plumbagin against glioma cells, we further ascertained whether plumbagin exhibits the same effectiveness against glioma cell xenografts in nude mice. Our results revealed that tumor volume was reduced by 54.48% in the plumbagin-treated group compared with the controls. Furthermore, there were no obvious signs of toxicity as assessed by the organ sizes and cell morphologies of the mice that were treated with plumbagin. Immunofluorescence assays further revealed that plumbagin significantly inhibited glioma cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis. Importantly, we also determined that the expressions of FOXM1 and its downstream target effectors, including cyclin D1 and Cdc25B, were down-regulated in the treated group, while the expressions of p21 and p27 were increased; the latter findings corroborate the results of our previous in vitro study. Taken together, these findings indicate that plumbagin may be a natural downregulator of FOXM1 with potential therapeutic effectiveness for the treatment of gliomas.

Plumbagin induces growth inhibition of human glioma cells by downregulating the expression and activity of FOXM1.

Plumbagin, a natural quinonoid constituent isolated from the root of medicinal plant Plumbago zeylanica L, has exhibited anti-tumor and anti-proliferative activities in various tumor cell lines as well as in animal tumor models. However, its anticancer effects and the mechanisms underlying its suppression of glioma cell growth have not been elucidated. Oncogenic transcription factor Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1) has garnered particular interest in recent years as a potential target for the prevention and/or therapeutic intervention in glioma, nevertheless, less information is currently available regarding FOXM1 inhibitor. Here, we reported that plumbagin could effectively inhibit cell proliferation, migration and invasion and induce apoptosis of glioma cells. Cell cycle assay showed that plumbagin induced G2/M arrest. Interestingly, we found that plumbagin decreased the expression of FOXM1 both at mRNA level and protein level. Plumbagin also inhibited the transactivation ability of FOXM1, resulting in down-regulating the expression of FOXM1 downstream target genes, such as cyclin D1, Cdc25B, survivin, and increasing the expression of p21(CIP1) and p27(KIP1). Most importantly, down-regulation of FOXM1 by siFOXM1 transfection enhanced plumbagin-induced change in viability. On the contrary, over-expression of FOXM1 by cDNA transfection reduced plumbagin-induced glioma cell growth inhibition. These results suggest that plumbagin exhibits its anticancer activity partially by inactivation of FOXM1 signaling pathway in glioma cells. Our findings indicate that plumbagin may be considered as a potential natural FOXM1 inhibitor, which could contribute to the development of new anticancer agent for therapy of gliomas.