More losses than gains during one century of plant biodiversity change in Germany.

Long-term analyses of biodiversity data highlight a 'biodiversity conservation paradox': biological communities show substantial species turnover over the past century1,2, but changes in species richness are marginal1,3-5. Most studies, however, have focused only on the incidence of species, and have not considered changes in local abundance. Here we asked whether analysing changes in the cover of plant species could reveal previously unrecognized patterns of biodiversity change and provide insights into the underlying mechanisms. We compiled and analysed a dataset of 7,738 permanent and semi-permanent vegetation plots from Germany that were surveyed between 2 and 54 times from 1927 to 2020, in total comprising 1,794 species of vascular plants. We found that decrements in cover, averaged across all species and plots, occurred more often than increments; that the number of species that decreased in cover was higher than the number of species that increased; and that decrements were more equally distributed among losers than were gains among winners. Null model simulations confirmed that these trends do not emerge by chance, but are the consequence of species-specific negative effects of environmental changes. In the long run, these trends might result in substantial losses of species at both local and regional scales. Summarizing the changes by decade shows that the inequality in the mean change in species cover of losers and winners diverged as early as the 1960s. We conclude that changes in species cover in communities represent an important but understudied dimension of biodiversity change that should more routinely be considered in time-series analyses.

The neuroscience of advanced scientific concepts.

Cognitive neuroscience methods can identify the fMRI-measured neural representation of familiar individual concepts, such as apple, and decompose them into meaningful neural and semantic components. This approach was applied here to determine the neural representations and underlying dimensions of representation of far more abstract physics concepts related to matter and energy, such as fermion and dark matter, in the brains of 10 Carnegie Mellon physics faculty members who thought about the main properties of each of the concepts. One novel dimension coded the measurability vs. immeasurability of a concept. Another novel dimension of representation evoked particularly by post-classical concepts was associated with four types of cognitive processes, each linked to particular brain regions: (1) Reasoning about intangibles, taking into account their separation from direct experience and observability; (2) Assessing consilience with other, firmer knowledge; (3) Causal reasoning about relations that are not apparent or observable; and (4) Knowledge management of a large knowledge organization consisting of a multi-level structure of other concepts. Two other underlying dimensions, previously found in physics students, periodicity, and mathematical formulation, were also present in this faculty sample. The data were analyzed using factor analysis of stably responding voxels, a Gaussian-naïve Bayes machine-learning classification of the activation patterns associated with each concept, and a regression model that predicted activation patterns associated with each concept based on independent ratings of the dimensions of the concepts. The findings indicate that the human brain systematically organizes novel scientific concepts in terms of new dimensions of neural representation.

A GIS-based policy support tool to determine national responsibilities and priorities for biodiversity conservation.

Efficient biodiversity conservation requires that limited resources be allocated in accordance with national responsibilities and priorities. Without appropriate computational tools, the process of determining these national responsibilities and conservation priorities is time intensive when considering many species across geographic scales. Here, we have developed a computational tool as a module for the ArcGIS geographic information system. The ArcGIS National Responsibility Assessment Tool (NRA-Tool) can be used to create hierarchical lists of national responsibilities and priorities for global species conservation. Our tool will allow conservationists to prioritize conservation efforts and to focus limited resources on relevant species and regions. We showcase our tool with data on 258 bird species and various biophysical regions, including Environmental Zones in 58 Asian countries and regions. Our tool provides a decision support system for conservation policy with attractive and easily interpretable visual outputs illustrating national responsibilities and priorities for species conservation. The graphical output allows for smooth integration into assessment reports, such as the European Article 17 report, the Living Planet Index report, or similar regional and global reports.

Correction: Predicting strike susceptibility and collision patterns of the common buzzard at wind turbine structures in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227698.].

Predicting strike susceptibility and collision patterns of the common buzzard at wind turbine structures in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany.

With the increase in wind turbines, bird collisions have developed as a potential hazard. In the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany, despite the on-going mitigation efforts of increasing the distances of wind turbines from the breeding areas of the more severely affected populations of red kites (Milvus milvus), the additional detrimental influences on the buzzard populations (Buteo buteo) have added to the challenges for wind power expansion. Using data on the regional distribution of the buzzards, along with their carcass detections around the wind turbines (WTs), we aimed to better understand their collision distribution patterns in relation to their habitat use patterns to predict their exposure to collision risk using boosted regression trees (BRTs). Additionally, we integrated the developed collision potential map with the regional density map of buzzards to identify areas of increased strike susceptibility in turbine installations. Our study showed that the buzzard collisions were primarily concentrated at the turbines situated at sensitive distances from the edges of watercourses (>1000 metres), as well as those along the edges of grasslands (>750 metres), in the green open areas around/areas with minimal settlements (750 metres-1750 metres), and along the edges of bushlands (>1500 metres), together explaining 58% of the variance in their collision distribution. Conclusively, our study is applicable to conservation because it demonstrates the identification of potential collision areas along with the causes of the collisions, in addition to demonstrating the benefits of incorporating a species collision dataset as a proxy for species presence into species distribution models to make informed management decisions to eventually combat biodiversity loss.

Collision sensitive niche profile of the worst affected bird-groups at wind turbine structures in the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany.

Biodiversity-related impacts at wind energy facilities have increasingly become a cause of conservation concern, central issue being the collision of birds. Utilizing spatial information of their carcass detections at wind turbines (WTs), we quantified the detections in relation to the metric distances of the respective turbines to different land-use types. We used ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA) to identify combinations of land-use distances with respect to the spatial allocation of WTs that led to higher proportions of collisions among the worst affected bird-groups: Buntings, Crows, Larks, Pigeons and Raptors. We also assessed their respective similarities to the collision phenomenon by checking for overlaps amongst their distance combinations. Crows and Larks showed the narrowest "collision sensitive niche"; a part of ecological niche under higher risk of collisions with turbines, followed by that of Buntings and Pigeons. Raptors had the broadest niche showing significant overlaps with the collision sensitive niches of the other groups. This can probably be attributed to their larger home range combined with their hunting affinities to open landscapes. Identification of collision sensitive niches could be a powerful tool for landscape planning; helping avoid regions with higher risks of collisions for turbine allocations and thus protecting sensitive bird populations.

Hoechst 33342 Staining Identifies the Progenitor Side Population in NOD.Cg-PrkdcscidIL2rgtmWjl/Sz Mice Harboring Pediatric Leukemias.

BACKGROUND: A sub-population of stem cells termed side population (SP) has a unique ability for the efflux of Hoechst 33342 dye. Recently, it was hypothesized that efflux properties might facilitate the efflux of accumulated chemotherapeutic drugs and as such constitute a tumor escape mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: As SP characterization in leukemia is incomplete, we characterized SP frequencies in 19 children diagnosed with acute B cell precursor leukemia (BCP-ALL), AML and T-ALL and described engraftment properties in immune-compromised NOD.Cg-Prkdc(scid)IL2rg(tmWjl)/Sz (NSG) mice. RESULTS: SP cells are detectable in children and mice irrespective of the origin of the leukemia and flow-cytometric analysis reveals that the SP population is a distinct sub-population. Functionally, the SP size remains stable over serial transplantations indicating that the "stemness" potential of our SP sample cohort was overall low. CONCLUSION: SP cells exist in pediatric leukemia and are maintainable in NSG mice. Thus, our observations may facilitate down-stream characterization of LSCs in future studies.

Escalating incidence of eosinophilic esophagitis in Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, 1993-2013: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the esophagus with a rapidly increasing incidence. However, population-based epidemiologic data on EoE are rare and limited to regions with less than 200,000 inhabitants. We evaluated the incidence and prevalence of EoE over time in Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Canton of Vaud lies in the French-speaking, Western part of Switzerland. As of December 2013, it had a population of 743,317 inhabitants. We contacted all pathology institutes (n = 6) in this canton to identify patients that have been diagnosed with esophageal eosinophilia between 1993 and 2013. We then performed a chart review in all adult and pediatric gastroenterology practices to identify patients with EoE. RESULTS: Of 263 patients with esophageal eosinophilia, a total of 179 fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for EoE. Median diagnostic delay was 4 (IQR 1-9) years. No patient was diagnosed with EoE prior to 2003. Incidence of EoE increased from 0.16/100,000 inhabitants in 2004 to 6.3/100,000 inhabitants in 2013 (P < 0.001). The cumulative EoE prevalence in 2013 was 24.1/100,000. The incidence in males was 2.8 times higher (95% CI 2.01-3.88, P < 0.001) when compared to that in females. The annual EoE incidence was 10.6 times higher (95%-CI 7.61-14.87, P < 0.001) in the period from 2010 to 2013 when compared to that in the period from 1993 to 2009. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and cumulative prevalence of EoE in Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, has rapidly increased in the past 10 years.

[Laryngomalacia: principal cause of stridor in infants and small children]. / Laryngomalacie: cause principale de stridor chez le nourrisson et le petit enfant.

Laryngomalacia (LM) is the most common cause of congenital stridor. It is caused by obstruction of the upper airway by collapse of redundant supraglottic tissues during inspiration. In the management of a child with congenital stridor, it is important to rule out other malformations of the upper airway that could mimic or be synchronous with LM. Symptoms of LM are usually mild and disappear spontaneously by 2 years. About 20% of patients with LM may have extreme symptoms (severe stridor, feeding difficulties and growth retardation) requiring treatment by endoscopic surgery (supraglottoplasty), which has an excellent success rate with little risk of recurrence and complications.

Swallowed topical corticosteroids reduce the risk for long-lasting bolus impactions in eosinophilic esophagitis.

BACKGROUND: Long-lasting food impactions requiring endoscopic bolus removal occur frequently in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and harbor a risk for severe esophageal injuries. We evaluated whether treatment with swallowed topical corticosteroids is able to reduce the risk of occurrence of this complication. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Swiss EoE Cohort Study. Patients with yearly clinic visits, during which standardized assessment of symptoms, endoscopic, histologic, and laboratory findings was carried out, were included. RESULTS: A total of 206 patients (157 males) were analyzed. The median follow-up time was 5 years with a total of 703 visits (mean 3.41 visits/patient). During the follow-up period, 33 patients (16 % of the cohort) experienced 42 impactions requiring endoscopic bolus removal. We evaluated the following factors regarding the outcome 'bolus impaction' by univariate logistic regression modeling: swallowed topical corticosteroid therapy (OR 0.503, 95%-CI 0.255-0.993, P = 0.048), presence of EoE symptoms (OR 1.150, 95%-CI 0.4668-2.835, P = 0.761), esophageal stricture (OR 2.832, 95%-CI 1.508-5.321, P = 0.001), peak eosinophil count >10 eosinophils/HPF (OR 0.724, 95%-CI 0.324-1.621, P = 0.433), blood eosinophilia (OR 1.532, 95%-CI 0.569-4.118, P = 0.398), and esophageal dilation (OR 1.852, 95%-CI 1.034-3.755, P = 0.017). In the multivariate model, the following factors were significantly associated with bolus impaction: swallowed topical corticosteroid therapy (OR 0.411, 95%-CI 0.203-0.835, P = 0.014) and esophageal stricture (OR 2.666, 95%-CI 1.259-5.645, P = 0.01). Increasing frequency of use of swallowed topical steroids was associated with a lower risk for bolus impactions. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of EoE with swallowed topical corticosteroids significantly reduces the risk for long-lasting bolus impactions.

Acute gastroesophageal intussusception in a juvenile Australian Shepherd dog: endoscopic treatment and long-term follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Canine gastroesophageal intussusception (GEI) is a rare and potentially fatal disease usually affecting puppies or young dogs < 3 months of age and of medium to large breeds. Surgical intervention has been advocated as the therapy of choice by most authors. Endoscopic treatment may offer an advantageous or alternative method of treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: GEI was diagnosed in a nine-week-old Australian Shepherd dog with an acute onset of vomiting and regurgitation and compatible radiographic findings on thoracic radiography. Treatment consisted of endoscopic gastric repositioning and placement of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube to prevent repeated dislocation of the stomach, and to allow for nutritional supplementation During a follow-up period of eight months, thoracic radiographs were obtained showing persistent esophageal dilatation in the absence of compatible clinical signs. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic intervention is an effective, alternative in selected canine GEI- cases, allowing for rapid, minimally invasive confirmation of diagnosis and therapy. After initial treatment, radiographic long-term follow-up seems prudent even in asymptomatic patients.

Characterization of 700 µJ T rays generated during high-power laser solid interaction.

Laser-produced solid density plasmas are well-known as table-top sources of electromagnetic radiation. Recent studies have shown that energetic broadband terahertz pulses (T rays) can also be generated from laser-driven compact ion accelerators. Here we report the measurement of record-breaking T-Ray pulses with energies no less than 0.7 mJ. The terahertz spectrum has been characterized for frequencies ranging from 0.1-133 THz. The dependence of T-Ray yield on incident laser energy is linear and shows no tendencies of saturation. The noncollinear emission pattern and the high yield reveal that the T rays are generated by the transient field at the rear surface of the solid target.

[Vestibular neuritis: treatment and prognosis]. / Névrite vestibulaire: traitement et pronostic.

Vestibular neuritis is a sudden unilateral peripheral vestibular deficit of unknown origin without associated hearing loss. It is the second cause of peripheral vertigo after Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). The etiology remains unclear and some treatments are still controversial. The prognosis is good. The differential diagnosis of the disease mainly includes an acute vertigo of central origin. This article summarizes the management and prognosis of vestibular neuritis.

Observation of gigawatt-class THz pulses from a compact laser-driven particle accelerator.

We report the observation of subpicosecond terahertz (T-ray) pulses with energies ≥460 µJ from a laser-driven ion accelerator, thus rendering the peak power of the source higher even than that of state-of-the-art synchrotrons. Experiments were performed with intense laser pulses (up to 5×10(19) W/cm(2)) to irradiate thin metal foil targets. Ion spectra measured simultaneously showed a square law dependence of the T-ray yield on particle number. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show the presence of transient currents at the target rear surface which could be responsible for the strong T-ray emission.

Derivation and functional analysis of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells as an in vitro model of chronic granulomatous disease.

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an inherited disorder of phagocytes in which NADPH oxidase is defective in generating reactive oxygen species. In this study, we reprogrammed three normal unrelated patient's fibroblasts (p47(phox) and gp91(phox) ) to pluripotency by lentiviral transduction with defined pluripotency factors. These induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) share the morphological features of human embryonic stem cells, express the key pluripotency factors, and possess high telomerase activity. Furthermore, all the iPSC lines formed embryoid bodies in vitro containing cells originating from all three germ layers and were capable of teratoma formation in vivo. They were isogenic with the original patient fibroblasts, exhibited normal karyotype, and retained the p47(phox) or gp91(pho) (x) mutations found in the patient fibroblasts. We further demonstrated that these iPSC could be differentiated into monocytes and macrophages with a similar cytokine profile to blood-derived macrophages under resting conditions. Most importantly, CGD-patient-specific iPSC-derived macrophages showed normal phagocytic properties but lacked reactive oxygen species production, which correlates with clinical diagnosis of CGD in the patients. Together these results suggest that CGD-patient-specific iPSC lines represent an important tool for modeling CGD disease phenotypes, screening candidate drugs, and the development of gene therapy.

Airway hyperresponsiveness to adenosine 5'-monophosphate in feline chronic inflammatory lower airway disease.

Airway hyperresponsiveness is a key feature of human asthma and chronic bronchitis and response to the indirectly acting agonist adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) is thought to reflect underlying airway inflammation. To examine whether airway responsiveness testing (ART) with AMP may be used to differentiate healthy cats from those with asthma (FA) and chronic bronchitis (CB), 24 cats (9 FA, 6 CB, 9 controls) underwent ART with AMP at concentrations of 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 500mg/mL using barometric whole body plethysmography. The defined endpoint of ART, an increase in enhanced pause (Penh) exceeding 300% of the post-saline value (baseline), was reached in 9/15 patients (7 FA, 2 CB), but in none of the controls. Mean Penh (±SD) at baseline (BL) was 0.49±0.16 for cases, and 0.54±0.16 for controls, and was significantly increased after AMP challenge in clinical cases (2.62±2.20), but not in controls (0.63±0.30, P<0.05). After separating responder (R) and non-responder (NR) cases, a more pronounced difference after challenge was found (R: 3.96±1.84, NR: 0.6±0.21, P<0.001). The provocative concentration of the agonist that increased Penh to 300% of BL (PC Penh 300) in R cases was 52.98±48.04mg/mL AMP. Age had no influence on the responder status or PC Penh 300. It was concluded that AMP challenge may offer a new method for the identification of cats with lower inflammatory airway disease, and possibly for monitoring disease progression or response to therapy.

Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic granulomatous disease.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), characterized 50 years ago as a primary immunodeficiency disorder of phagocytic cells (resulting in failure to kill a defined spectrum of bacteria and fungi and in concomitant chronic granulomatous inflammation) now comprises five genetic defects impairing one of the five subunits of phagocyte NADPH oxidase (Phox). Phox normally generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) engaged in intracellular and extracellular host defence and resolving accompanying inflammatory processes. 'Fatal' granulomatous disease has now changed into a chronic inflammatory condition with a median survival of 35 years and is now of interest to both paediatricians and internists. Clinical vigilance and expert knowledge are needed for early recognition and tailored treatment of this relatively rare genetic disorder. RECENT FINDINGS: Infections by unanticipated pathogens and noncirrhotic portal hypertension need to be recognized as new CGD manifestations. Adult-onset CGD too is increasingly observed even in the elderly. Conservative treatment of fungal infections needs close monitoring due to the spread of azole resistance following extensive use of azoles in agriculture. Curative haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in early childhood has expanded with impressive results following use of matched, unrelated or cord blood donors and of a reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen. Gene therapy, however, still has major limitations, remaining experimental. SUMMARY: CGD is more prevalent than initially believed with a birth prevalence of 1: 120 000. As patients are increasingly diagnosed around the world and grow older, further manifestations of CGD are expected. While fungal infections have lost some threat, therapeutic research focuses on two other important aims: pharmacologic cure of chronic inflammation and long-term cure of CGD by gene therapy.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey: comparison of analytical methods.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a structurally diverse group of toxicologically relevant secondary plant metabolites. Currently, two analytical methods are used to determine PA content in honey. To achieve reasonably high sensitivity and selectivity, mass spectrometry detection is demanded. One method is an HPLC-ESI-MS-MS approach, the other a sum parameter method utilising HRGC-EI-MS operated in the selected ion monitoring mode (SIM). To date, no fully validated or standardised method exists to measure the PA content in honey. To establish an LC-MS method, several hundred standard pollen analysis results of raw honey were analysed. Possible PA plants were identified and typical commercially available marker PA-N-oxides (PANOs). Three distinct honey sets were analysed with both methods. Set A consisted of pure Echium honey (61-80% Echium pollen). Echium is an attractive bee plant. It is quite common in all temperate zones worldwide and is one of the major reasons for PA contamination in honey. Although only echimidine/echimidine-N-oxide were available as reference for the LC-MS target approach, the results for both analytical techniques matched very well (n = 8; PA content ranging from 311 to 520 µg kg(-1)). The second batch (B) consisted of a set of randomly picked raw honeys, mostly originating from Eupatorium spp. (0-15%), another common PA plant, usually characterised by the occurrence of lycopsamine-type PA. Again, the results showed good consistency in terms of PA-positive samples and quantification results (n = 8; ranging from 0 to 625 µg kg(-1) retronecine equivalents). The last set (C) was obtained by consciously placing beehives in areas with a high abundance of Jacobaea vulgaris (ragwort) from the Veluwe region (the Netherlands). J. vulgaris increasingly invades countrysides in Central Europe, especially areas with reduced farming or sites with natural restorations. Honey from two seasons (2007 and 2008) was sampled. While only trace amounts of ragwort pollen were detected (0-6.3%), in some cases extremely high PA values were detected (n = 31; ranging from 0 to 13019 µg kg(-1), average = 1261 or 76 µg kg(-1) for GC-MS and LC-MS, respectively). Here the results showed significantly different quantification results. The GC-MS sum parameter showed in average higher values (on average differing by a factor 17). The main reason for the discrepancy is most likely the incomplete coverage of the J. vulgaris PA pattern. Major J. vulgaris PAs like jacobine-type PAs or erucifoline/acetylerucifoline were not available as reference compounds for the LC-MS target approach. Based on the direct comparison, both methods are considered from various perspectives and the respective individual strengths and weaknesses for each method are presented in detail.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for chronic granulomatous disease.

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a primary immunodeficiency disease that is caused by the lack of 1 of 5 subunits of the superoxide-producing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase of neutrophils, macrophages, and eosinophils. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is currently the only curative treatment for CGD and can be offered to selected patients. Improved outcome with supportive care and high clinical variability in the disease course, however, make selection of eligible patients for HSCT difficult. This article addresses recent progress in HSCT for CGD, delineates present limitations, and points to future developments.