Atmospheric inputs and nitrogen saturation status in and adjacent to Class I wilderness areas of the northeastern US.

Atmospheric inputs of N and S in bulk deposition (open collectors) and throughfall (beneath canopy collectors) were measured in and adjacent to two Class 1 wilderness areas of the northeastern US. In general, atmospheric S inputs followed our expectations with throughfall S fluxes increasing with elevation in the White Mountains, New Hampshire and throughfall S fluxes being greater in coniferous than deciduous stands in both sites. In contrast, throughfall N fluxes decreased significantly with elevation. Throughfall NO3 (-) fluxes were greater in coniferous than deciduous stands of Lye Brook, Vermont, but were greater in deciduous than coniferous stands of the White Mountains. We found overlap in the range of values for atmospheric N inputs between our measurements and monitoring data [National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) and Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET)] for wet and total (wet + dry) deposition at Lye Brook. However, our measurements of total S deposition in the White Mountains and bulk (wet) deposition at both Lye Brook and the White Mountains were significantly lower than NADP plus CASTNET, and NADP data, respectively. Natural abundance (18)O in throughfall and bulk deposition were not significantly different, suggesting that there was no significant biological production of [Formula: see text] via nitrification in the canopy. NO3 (-) concentrations in streams were low and had natural abundance (18)O values consistent with microbial production, demonstrating that atmospheric N is being biologically transformed while moving through these watersheds and that these forested watersheds are unlikely to be N saturated.

Ecosystem effects of a tropical cyclone on a network of lakes in northeastern North America.

Here we document the regional effects of Tropical Cyclone Irene on thermal structure and ecosystem metabolism in nine lakes and reservoirs in northeastern North America using a network of high-frequency, in situ, automated sensors. Thermal stability declined within hours in all systems following passage of Irene, and the magnitude of change was related to the volume of water falling on the lake and catchment relative to lake volume. Across systems, temperature change predicted the change in primary production, but changes in mixed-layer thickness did not affect metabolism. Instead, respiration became a driver of ecosystem metabolism that was decoupled from in-lake primary production, likely due to addition of terrestrially derived carbon. Regionally, energetic disturbance of thermal structure was shorter-lived than disturbance from inflows of terrestrial materials. Given predicted regional increases in intense rain events with climate change, the magnitude and longevity of ecological impacts of these storms will be greater in systems with large catchments relative to lake volume, particularly when significant material is available for transport from the catchment. This case illustrates the power of automated sensor networks and associated human networks in assessing both system response and the characteristics that mediate physical and ecological responses to extreme events.

Age-related toxicity of amyloid-beta associated with increased pERK and pCREB in primary hippocampal neurons: reversal by blueberry extract.

Further clarification is needed to address the paradox that memory formation, aging and neurodegeneration all involve calcium influx, oxyradical production (ROS) and activation of certain signaling pathways. In aged rats and in APP/PS-1 mice, cognitive and hippocampal Ca(2+) dysregulation was reversed by food supplementation with a high antioxidant blueberry extract. Here, we studied whether neurons were an important target of blueberry extract and whether the mechanism involved altered ROS signaling through MAP kinase and cyclic-AMP response element binding protein (CREB), pathways known to be activated in response to amyloid-beta (Aß). Primary hippocampal neurons were isolated and cultured from embryonic, middle-age or old-age (24 months) rats. Blueberry extract was found to be equally neuroprotective against Aß neurotoxicity at all ages. Increases in Aß toxicity with age were associated with age-related increases in immunoreactivity of neurons to pERK and an age-independent increase in pCREB. Treatment with blueberry extract strongly inhibited these increases in parallel with neuroprotection. Simultaneous labeling for ROS and for glutathione with dichlorofluorescein and monochlorobimane showed a mechanism of action of blueberry extract to involve transient ROS generation with an increase in the redox buffer glutathione. We conclude that the increased age-related susceptibility of old-age neurons to Aß toxicity may be due to higher levels of activation of pERK and pCREB pathways that can be protected by blueberry extract through inhibition of both these pathways through an ROS stress response. These results suggest that the beneficial effects of blueberry extract may involve transient stress signaling and ROS protection that may translate into improved cognition in aging rats and APP/PS1 mice given blueberry extract.