Search

Worldwide, obesity leads to major diseases in adults. Infants are affected as well, particularly because of growth and development issues. In this article we describe cases of early dental eruption in overweight and obese children, almost 1 year earlier than expected. The relations and mechanisms that cause these alterations remain to be determined.

To assess effects of N loads, season, and down-estuary transit on estuarine concentrations of nitrate (NO3), ammonium (NH4), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), we sampled three estuaries within Waquoit Bay, MA (USA), subject to different N loads, from spring to fall, at nine stations spanning the salinity range. Conventional statistical analysis on the basis of entire data for the three estuaries suggested significant effects of N loads on concentrations, but comparisons with effect size measures suggested that the effects were minor, largely an artifactual result from the large number of samples. Constraining variation by binning data into weekly means, and partitioning data by season (summer vs. spring-fall) and down-estuary transit (based on salinity) improved interpretations, allowing emergence of detectable increases in NO3 concentrations in estuaries subject to larger N loads, confirmed interactions between N load and season (seasonal increases in NO3 larger in estuaries subject to higher N loads), and down-estuary gradients (highest NO3 concentrations in fresher reaches and significant down-estuary decreases in NO3). NH4 and DON were less responsive to N loads, with rapid uptake of NH4 and seasonal trajectories of DON subject to within-estuary features. TDN concentrations decreased down-estuary, with 13–36% of loss attributable to within-estuary interception, a considerable effect in spite of short water residence times. Management implications include the need to sample seasonally and cover the salinity gradient, checking conventional statistical analyses of pooled data from large databases, using effect size measures to ensure meaningful biological and management results, and attention to the limited lability of DON often included in considering estuarine TDN and N loads.

Microplastic particles are widespread in marine sediments and the abundance of the different types of particles vary widely. In this paper we demonstrate that salt marshes effectively capture microplastics in their sediments, and that microplastic accumulations increase with the level of urbanization of the land surrounding estuarine areas. We extracted microplastics from sediment cores in salt marshes of SE New England estuaries at different degrees of urbanization and land use intensity. Microplastics were present everywhere, but their abundances increased markedly with the degree of urbanization of the land. Microplastic fragment counts were linked to nearby urbanization and their abundances seemed to be linked to more local, within-watershed inputs. The number of fibers was similar across all sites suggesting that fiber accumulation in these sediments is likely influenced by effective long-distance transport from large-scale areas. The sedimentary record confirmed that microplastics have been accumulating in these estuaries since the early 1950s, and their abundances have increased greatly in more recent years in response to the progressive urbanization of the watersheds and intensification of land uses. Our results highlight the role of salt marsh sediments as sinks for microplastics in the marine environment.

El labio y paladar hendido es una de las patologías congénitas con mayor prevalencia en el mundo. En el presente trabajo se hace un análisis de 12 PNU localizados en las secuencias genómicas de ABCA4, BMP4, MSX1, SUMO1, VAX1 y IRF6, bajo una perspectiva epidemiológica, de genética molecular, genómica y de genética de poblaciones; todo lo anterior aplicado a una población de Querétaro, México, de origen genético mixto. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional, analítico y descriptivo a partir de muestras de 93 tríadas (sujetos de estudio y sus padres). Al seleccionar PNU que puedan ser diferenciados por medio de RFLP esperamos distinguir entre marcadores genéticos que: 1) cumplan con la ecuación de equilibrio de Hardy-Weinberg y 2) validarlos como potenciales marcadores genéticos para ser empleados en estudios de asociación en poblaciones cerradas de origen genético mixto con labio y paladar hendido (Amealco, Querétaro, México). De ser así, posteriormente se plantea probar las frecuencias obtenidas con una población seleccionada genéticamente cerrada de Amealco, Querétaro. Resultados: Después de realizar el análisis RFLP de 12 PNU localizados en la secuencia de genes ABCA4, BMP4, MSX1, SUMO1, VAX1 y IRF6, hallamos el mismo alelo para PNU analizado, el cual se encuentra en el 100% de la población. Conclusión: De los 12 PNU analizados, en este reporte, por primera vez se menciona la frecuencia de cinco de ellos. Los restantes siete presentaron la misma frecuencia reportada en la literatura. Aunque los PNU seleccionados no fueron de utilidad como marcadores genéticos debido a que el mismo alelo está presente en el 100% de la población general. El hecho de haberlos encontrado en el mismo genotipo de todas las muestras indica que la población de la ciudad de Querétaro es genéticamente cerrada y con base en esto extremadamente útil para futuras validaciones de otros PNU como posibles marcadores genéticos.

Sinorhizobium meliloti synthesizes a linear mixed-linkage (1 → 3)(1 → 4)-β-d-glucan (ML β-glucan, MLG) in response to high levels of cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP). Two proteins BgsA and BgsB are required for MLG synthesis, BgsA being the glucan synthase which is activated upon c-di-GMP binding to its C-terminal domain. Here we report that the product of bgrR (SMb20447) is a diguanylate cyclase (DGC) that provides c-di-GMP for the synthesis of MLG by BgsA. bgrR is the first gene of a hexacistronic bgrRSTUWV operon, likely encoding a partner-switching regulatory network where BgrR is the final target. Using different approaches, we have determined that the products of genes bgrU (containing a putative PP2C serine phosphatase domain) and bgrW (with predicted kinase effector domain), modulate the phosphorylation status and the activity of the STAS domain protein BgrV. We propose that unphosphorylated BgrV inhibits BgrR DGC activity, perhaps through direct protein–protein interactions as established for other partner switchers. A bgrRSTUWV operon coexists with MLG structural bgsBA genes in many rhizobial genomes but is also present in some MLG non-producers, suggesting a role of this partner-switching system in other processes besides MLG biosynthesis., This work was supported by Grants BIO2014-55075-P, BIO2017-83533-P and BIO2015-64480/R MINECO/FEDEREU. I.B. was supported by a Ministerio de Educación FPU fellowship (AP2010-0811). DPM was supported by Andalucía Talent Hub Program launched by the Andalusian Knowledge Agency, co-funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program, Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (COFUND –Grant Agreement no. 291780) and the Ministry of Economy Innovation, Science and Employment of the Junta de Andalucía

Concern over the ecological damage of excess nitrogen has brought increased attention to the role of research institutions and universities in contributing to this problem. Institutions often utilize the concept of the ecological ‘footprint’ to quantify and track nitrogen emissions resulting from their activities and guide plans and commitments to reduce emissions. Often, large-scale changes and commitments to reduce nitrogen footprints are not feasible at small institutions due to monetary and manpower constraints. We partnered with managers in the dining and facilities departments at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), a small research institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to develop five low-effort strategies to address nitrogen emissions at the institution using only resources currently available within those departments. Each proposed strategy achieved emissions reductions in their sector and in the overall nitrogen footprint of the MBL. If all modelled strategies are applied simultaneously, the MBL can achieve a 7.7% decrease in its nitrogen footprint. Managers at MBL considered strategies that required no monetary input most feasible. The intersection of carbon and nitrogen emissions also means the modelled strategies had the co-benefit of reducing the MBL’s carbon footprint, strengthening the argument for applying these strategies. This paper may serve as a model for similar institutions looking to reduce the ecological impact of their activities.

This article shares the experiences, observations, and discussions that occurred during the completing of an ecosystem services (ES) indicator framework to be used at European Union (EU) and Member States' level. The experience base was drawn from 3 European research projects and 14 associated case study sites that include 13 transitional-water bodies (specifically 8 coastal lagoons, 4 riverine estuaries, and 1 fjord) and 1 coastal-water ecosystem. The ES pertinent to each case study site were identified along with indicators of these ES and data sources that could be used for mapping. During the process, several questions and uncertainties arose, followed by discussion, leading to these main lessons learned: 1) ES identification: Some ES that do not seem important at the European scale emerge as relevant at regional or local scales; 2) ES indicators: When direct indicators are not available, proxies for indicators (indirect indicators) might be used, including combined data on monitoring requirements imposed by EU legislation and international agreements; 3) ES mapping: Boundaries and appropriate data spatial resolution must be established because ES can be mapped at different temporal and spatial scales. We also acknowledge that mapping and assessment of ES supports the dialogue between human well-being and ecological status. From an evidence-based marine planning-process point of view, mapping and assessment of marine ES are of paramount importance to sustainable use of marine natural capital and to halt the loss of marine biodiversity. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:726-734. © 2016 SETAC.

As one of the main forms of reactive nitrogen delivered by anthropogenic sources, atmospheric emissions of nitrogen oxides and their subsequent deposition has significantly perturbed the natural nitrogen cycle in sensitive receiving ecosystems worldwide. In North America, despite of decades of increasingly stringent regulations of emissions, decreases in the deposition of nitrogen oxides were not observed until the turn of the century. Analysis of available deposition data and trends at various spatial scales revealed that the decrease took place at a continental scale, but is particularly evident in the eastern side of the continent, where there was an unprecedented 50 % decrease in deposition. The magnitude, timing and geographical extension of the observed changes in deposition resulted from a combination of successfully and relatively coordinated application of emission controls in major contributing regions and increasingly lower amounts of nitrogen oxides being transported from source to receptor areas, thereby extending the effects of emission controls over large geographical scales.

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 14 (2016): 200-208, doi:10.1002/fee.1262.

Water quality in mangrove estuaries within Caroni Swamp, Trinidad is impaired by a combination of recent increases in nitrogen loads and lingering effects of a series of reclamation efforts that reduced tidal exchanges and fostered low oxygen and high ammonium concentrations, conditions that are relatively unusual for estuaries. Concentrations of available nitrogen diminish down-estuary, with an overall within-estuary interception of about 25% of total dissolved nitrogen. Caroni Swamp remains a productive mangrove environment, and a tourist attraction, in spite of failed and continuing reclamation efforts and increased N loads, a demonstration of remarkable resilience. Developing ecosystem-based management to support that resilience will benefit from improved understanding of processes involved in nitrogen retention and losses, consideration of the consequences in intensifying land use on contributing watersheds and plans to ease tidal water exchanges and diminish extent of shallow and stagnant areas.

During recent years, rapid seasonal growth of macroalgae covered extensive areas within the Yellow Sea, developing the world’s most spatially extensive “green tide”. The remarkably fast accumulation of macroalgal biomass is the joint result of high nitrogen supplies in Yellow Sea waters, plus ability of the macroalgae to optionally use C4 photosynthetic pathways that facilitate rapid growth. Stable isotopic evidence shows that the high nitrogen supply is derived from anthropogenic sources, conveyed from watersheds via river discharges, and by direct atmospheric deposition. Wastewater and manures supply about half the nitrogen used by the macroalgae, fertiliser and atmospheric deposition each furnish about a quarter of the nitrogen in macroalgae. The massive green tides affecting the Yellow Sea are likely to increase, with significant current and future environmental and human consequences. Addressing these changing trajectories will demand concerted investment in new basic and applied research as the basis for developing management policies.

Salt marshes are important coastal environments that provide key ecological services. As sea level rise has accelerated globally, concerns about the ability of salt marshes to survive submergence are increasing. Previous estimates of likely survival of salt marshes were based on ratios of sea level rise to marsh platform accretion. Here we took advantage of an unusual, long-term (1979–2015), spatially detailed comparison of changes in a representative New England salt marsh to provide an empirical estimate of habitat losses based on actual measurements. We show prominent changes in habitat mosaic within the marsh, consistent and coincident with increased submergence and coastal erosion. Model results suggest that at current rates of sea level rise, marsh platform accretion, habitat loss, and with the limitation of the widespread “coastal squeeze”, the entire ecosystem might disappear by the beginning of the next century, a fate that might be likely for many salt marshes elsewhere. Meta-analysis of available data suggests that 40 to 95% of the world's salt marshes will be submerged, depending on whether sea level rise remains at current or reaches anticipated rates for the end of this century.

Sinorhizobium fredii HH103 is a fast-growing rhizobial strain infecting a broad range of legumes including both American and Asiatic soybeans. In this work, we present the sequencing and annotation of the HH103 genome (7.25 Mb), consisting of one chromosome and six plasmids and representing the structurally most complex sinorhizobial genome sequenced so far. Comparative genomic analyses of S. fredii HH103 with strains USDA257 and NGR234 showed that the core genome of these three strains contains 4,212 genes (61.7% of the HH103 genes). Synteny plot analysis revealed that the much larger chromosome of USDA257 (6.48 Mb) is colinear to the HH103 (4.3 Mb) and NGR324 chromosomes (3.9 Mb). An additional region of the USDA257 chromosome of about 2 Mb displays similarity to plasmid pSfHH103e. Remarkable differences exist between HH103 and NGR234 concerning nod genes, flavonoid effect on surface polysaccharide production, and quorum-sensing systems. Furthermore a number of protein secretion systems have been found. Two genes coding for putative type III–secreted effectors not previously described in S. fredii, nopI and gunA, have been located on the HH103 genome. These differences could be important to understand the different symbiotic behavior of S. fredii strains HH103, USDA257, and NGR234 with soybean.

Nitrogen (N) supply by atmospheric deposition, wastewater, and fertilizers controls estuarine eutrophication. In New England, atmospheric N loads recently decreased by 50% and land-derived contributions rose about 80%, owing to national-scale emission controls and local urban development. The decrease in atmospheric deposition was large enough to balance increases in land-derived N loads, so total N loads to Waquoit Bay estuaries in Cape Cod did not change significantly between 1990 and 2014. Unchanged N regimes were corroborated by finding no differences in estuarine nutrient concentrations and macrophyte biomass between pre-2005 and in 2015. Coastal zones, subject to reasonably rapid changes in global and local driver variables, will require that assessment and management of eutrophication include adaptive strategies that capture effects of changing baselines. Management initiatives will be constrained by spatial scale of driver variables: local efforts may address wastewater and fertilizer N sources, but atmospheric sources require national or international attention.

A decision support framework for the management of lagoon ecosystems was tested using four European Lagoons: Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), Mar Menor (Spain), Tyligulskyi Liman (Ukraine) and Vistula Lagoon (Poland/Russia). Our aim was to formulate integrated management recommendations for European lagoons. To achieve this we followed a DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State Change-Impacts-Responses) approach, with focus on integrating aspects of human wellbeing, welfare and ecosystem sustainability. The most important drivers in each lagoon were identified, based on information gathered from the lagoons’ stakeholders, complemented by scientific knowledge on each lagoon as seen from a land-sea perspective. The DPSIR cycles for each driver were combined into a mosaic-DPSIR conceptual model to examine the interdependency between the multiple and interacting uses of the lagoon. This framework emphasizes the common links, but also the specificities of responses to drivers and the ecosystem services provided. The information collected was used to formulate recommendations for the sustainable management of lagoons within a Pan-European context. Several common management recommendations were proposed, but specificities were also identified. The study synthesizes the present conditions for the management of lagoons, thus analysing and examining the activities that might be developed in different scenarios, scenarios which facilitate ecosystem protection without compromising future generations.

We formulate fuel-optimal conflict-free aircraft trajectory planning as a hybrid optimal control problem. The discrete modes of the hybrid system capture the air traffic procedures for conflict resolution, e.g., speed and turn advisories. To solve problems of realistic dimensions arising from air traffic sector planning, we formulate a numerically tractable approach to solve the hybrid optimal control problem. The approach is based on introducing binary functions for each mode, relaxing the binary functions and including a penalty term on the relaxation. The transformed and discretized problem is a nonlinear program. We use the approach on a realistic case study with seven aircraft within an air traffic control sector, in which we find minimum-fuel conflict-free trajectories. Paper supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness via project TRA2014-58413-C2-2-R.

Boron (B) deficiency negatively affects legume–rhizobia symbiotic interactions and the development of N2-fixing nodules. Many described alterations are related to plant-derived carbohydrates involved in plant–microbe interactions; however, the effects of B on the bacterial polysaccharides that are crucial for correct symbiosis are unknown. Exopolysaccharide (EPS) production in several rhizobial strains grown in B-free media was analyzed following acetone extraction and silver-stained electrophoretic profiles of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Moreover, the effects of B deficiency and mutations of the pathogenesis-related ABR17 protein on rhizobia cell surface polysaccharides on legume root colonization, nodulation, nitrogen fixation, and induction in pea nodules were investigated. B-deficiency led to a 65–80 % reduction in the amount of EPS and to modifications of LPS in all strains tested. B-deficient rhizobia were not affected in the degree of adsorption to roots. However, nodulation and nitrogen fixation were reduced or inhibited by B starvation or in plants inoculated with EPS or LPS defective mutants, and ABR17 was induced. The results provide evidence that B is important for production of rhizobia cell surface polysaccharides essential to establish a symbiotic rather than a pathogenic-like interaction, and for development of the N2-fixing legume root nodule.

El cáncer cérvicouterino (CaCu) es la segunda causa de muerte por cáncer en mujeres de todo el mundo, a pesar de la implementación de la citología de cérvix para su prevención. Esto se debe a la baja sensibilidad y especificidad de la prueba, lo cual apoya a un cambio urgente en la forma de tamizaje para su detección. Ahora se sabe que la infección persistente por virus del papiloma humano de alto riesgo (HR-HPV) es la causa de la totalidad de los casos de CaCu. En la actualidad se están utilizando vacunas frente a dos (Bivalente: HPV-16 y HPV-18) o cuatro (Tetravalente: HPV-6 HPV-11, HPV-16 y HPV-18) de las cepas de HR-HPV que causan la mayoría de los casos de CaCu. El propósito de este artículo es proporcionar una revisión de las características principales del virus y de los mecanismos que se echan a andar bajo la infección persistente de las células cervicales, lo cual conduce a la proliferación desordenada y a la malignización de las células infectadas. Es necesario que el virus se integre al genoma de la célula epitelial para que inicie la expresión de las oncoproteínas virales E6 y E7 lo cual conducirá al desarrollo del CaCu. Cervical cancer (CC) is the second cause of death for cancer in women worldwide in spite of the implementation of cervix cytology screenings for its prevention. The low sensibility and specificity of the test reduce the potential benefits of these screenings and supports urgent improvements in early detection tests for CC. It is now known that persistent infection with the high-risk human papiloma virus (HR-HPV) is the causal agent of almost all cases of CC. HR-HPV vaccines effective against two (Bivalent: HPV-16 and HPV-18) or four (Tetravalent: HPV-6 HPV-11, HPV-16 and HPV-18) strains that are responsible of the majority of the CC cases have been licensed in several countries. The present study aims to provide a review of the principal characteristics of the HR-HPV virus and of the mechanisms that take to the persistent infection of the cervical cells leading to abnormal proliferation and malignancy. It is necessary that the virus integrates into the genome of the epithelial cell to initiates the expression of the E6 and E7 viral oncoproteins which will lead to the development of the CC.

Behavioural responses are linked to complex biochemical and physiologic changes and may act as sensitive indicators of the sublethal effects of pollutants. This article investigates changes in the locomotor activity rhythms of the amphipod Gammarus aequicauda exposed to cadmium (Cd) as a model to study the effect of pollutants on an ecologically important species. Under a 12:12 h light-to-dark cycle, G. aequicauda showed a strict nocturnal rhythm, with 90.2±0.4% of their total daily activity occurring during the night. Under constant darkness, circadian rhythms persisted for 10 days, with a mean periodicity of 24.32 h, thus confirming endogenous control. Exposure to sublethal concentrations of Cd (0.16, 0.20, 0.24, and 0.28 mg l(-1)) did not change the nocturnal activity patterns of G. aequicauda, although their swimming activity during the night was significantly decreased by exposure to concentrations of 0.24 and 0.28 mg Cd l(-1). In conclusion, locomotor activity bioassays using the amphipod G. aequicauda appeared to be a sensitive indicator of Cd contamination, and sensitivity and tolerance to Cd in short-term bioassays may depend on the time of the day tests are carried out. These results provide further support for the idea that behavioural end points in amphipods are useful indicators of pollutant exposure and that future studies should take circadian rhythms into consideration.

Eutrophication is widely recognised as one of the major menaces to coastal environments, particularly enclosed bays and lagoons. Although there is a general understanding of the consequences of eutrophication in these systems, there is a lack of sufficient knowledge concerning biotic feedbacks that influence eutrophication patterns and the resistance capacity of coastal environments. In this paper, the isotope ratios of main producers and consumers of a Mediterranean lagoon were examined in order to elucidate the fate of anthropogenic inputs from the main watercourse flowing into the lagoon. The results of the study of stable isotope data in the Mar Menor lagoon reflected that the whole benthic community plays an important role as a natural 'filter' that removes excess nutrients from the water column and stores them in the sediments, thereby enhancing lagoon resistance to eutrophication.

Coastal zones are widely recognised as being particularly vulnerable to future environmental change. Although a significant number of previous papers warn of an increasing tendency in the appearance of eutrophication processes in such systems, very few papers have evaluated the influence of global climate change on eutrophication. In the Mar Menor lagoon (SE Spain), the high biomass of the main primary producer, Caulerpa prolifera Forsskal (Lamououx), covers most of the bottom, and has probably increased the resistance of the lagoon to eutrophication processes through the high uptake of nutrients from the water column and their retention in the sediments, avoiding high phytoplankton densities. Nevertheless, if climate change predictions become true, the current status of the lagoon is likely to collapse, since future environmental conditions could make C. prolifera unable to reach values of net photosynthesis greater than zero, and eutrophication processes are expected to appear. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two food webs from the Mar Menor coastal lagoon, differing in the distance from the desert-stream through which mining wastes were discharged, were examined by reference to essential (Zn and Cu) and non-essential (Pb and Cd) metal concentrations and stable isotopes content (C and N). The partial extraction technique applied, which reflects the availability of metals to organisms after sediment ingestion, showed higher bioavailable metal concentrations in sediments from the station influenced by the mining discharges, in agreement with the higher metal concentrations observed in organisms, which in many cases exceeded the regulatory limits established in Spanish legislation concerning seafood. Spatial differences in essential metal concentrations in the fauna suggest that several organisms are exposed to metal levels above their regulation capacity. Differences in isotopic composition were found between both food webs, the wadi-influenced station showing higher delta(15)N values and lower delta(13)C levels, due to the discharge of urban waste waters and by the entrance of freshwater and allochthonous marsh plants. The linear-regressions between trophic levels (as indicated by delta(15)N) and the metal content indicated that biomagnification does not occur. In the case of invertebrates, since the "handle strategy" of the species and the physiological requirements of the organisms, among other factors, determine the final concentration of a specific element, no clear relationships between trophic level and the metal content are to be expected. For their part, fish communities did not show clear patterns in the case of any of the analyzed metals, probably because most fish species have similar metal requirements, and because biological factors also intervened. Finally, since the study deals with metals, assumptions concerning trophic transfer factors calculation may not be suitable since the metal burden originates not only from the prey but also from adsorption over the body surfaces and seawater ingestion.

The environmental impact of two fish farms was assessed by larval toxicity bioassays using the sea urchin Paracetrotus lividus . Larval toxicity bioassays have become important for regulatory and monitoring programs, largely because they are assumed to be good indicators of ecological damage to benthic infaunal communities. The study was conducted in two Mediterranean fish farms which produce gilthead sea bream ( Sparus aurata ) and tuna ( Tunna tuna ), respectively. The data obtained from sediment toxicity tests and the physico–chemical characteristics of sediment were examined in two farming production periods to determine the relationships between toxicity and sediment impact. In the gilthead sea bream fish farm, only the sampling stations located at 0 and 35 m were classified as toxic (significant differences from control, p Sea urchin larval toxicity was significantly correlated with sulphides and seasonally, with total ammonia nitrogen in both fish farms. The results reported here are promising and indicate that embryo–larval bioassays with the sea urchin P. lividus represent a sensitive tool for describing the environmental impact of fish farming.