Short communication: Immunoglobulin variation in quarter-milked colostrum

Whereas whole first-milked colostrum IgG1 variation is documented, the IgG1 difference between the quarter mammary glands of dairy animals is unknown. First colostrum was quarter-collected from healthy udders of 8 multiparous dairy cows, all within 3h of parturition. Weight of colostrum produced by individual quarters was determined and a sample of each was frozen for subsequent analysis. Immunoglobulin G1 concentration (mg/mL) was measured by ELISA and total mass (g) was calculated. Standard addition method was used to overcome colostrum matrix effects and validate the standard ELISA measures. Analysis of the data showed that cow and quarter (cow) were significantly different in both concentration and total mass per quarter. Analysis of the mean IgG1 concentration of the front and rear quarters showed that this was not different, but the large variation in individual quarters confounds the analysis. This quarter difference finding indicates that each mammary gland develops a different capacity to accumulate precolostrum IgG1, whereas the circulating hormone concentrations that induce colostrogenesis reach the 4 glands similarly. This finding also shows that the variation in quarter colostrum production is a contributor to the vast variation in first milking colostrum IgG1 content. Finally, the data suggests other factors, such as locally acting autocrine or paracrine, epigenetic, or stochasticity, in gene regulation mechanisms may impinge on colostrogenesis capacity.

Climate change impacts on tree species, forest properties, and ecosystem services

– Swiss forests experience strong impacts under the CH2011 scenarios, partly even for the low greenhouse gas scenario RCP3PD. Negative impacts prevail in low-elevation forests, whereas mostly positive impacts are expected in high-elevation forests. – Major changes in the distribution of the two most important tree species, Norway spruce and European beech, are expected. Growth conditions for spruce improve in a broad range of scenarios at presently cool high-elevation sites with plentiful precipitation, but in the case of strong warming (A1B and A2) spruce and beech are at risk in large parts of the Swiss Plateau. – High elevation forests that are temperature-limited will show little change in species composition but an increase in biomass. In contrast, forests at low elevations in warm-dry inner-Alpine valleys are sensitive to even moderate warming and may no longer sustain current biomass and species. – Timber production potential, carbon storage, and protection from avalanches and rockfall react differently to climate change, with an overall tendency to deteriorate at low elevations, and improve at high elevations. – Climate change will affect forests also indirectly, e.g., by increasing the risk of infestation by spruce bark beetles, which will profit from an extended flight period and will produce more generations per year.

The research-action interface in sustainable land management in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: Challenges and recommendations

International agencies and programmes introduced sustainable land management (SLM) to Central Asia after the former Soviet Republics became independent in 1991. An aim of early SLM initiatives was to address challenges linked to the transformation of the agricultural sector from a centrally planned economy to a decentralized market economy. This article analyses the knowledge–action interface in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as it relates to SLM. The analysis focuses on the influence of underlying land management concepts by means of a literature review. Contemporary barriers at the research–action interface were identified using participatory appraisal. And a historically contextualized understanding of the effectiveness of interactions between researchers, policy makers and practitioners is based on an analysis of purposefully selected cases. The study concludes that knowledge of different stakeholder groups is often highly disconnected. Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary studies are rare, and academic research on SLM has subsequently been ineffective at contributing to substantial benefits for society. Further, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in this context must recognize the differences between SLM and what is often referred to as the equivalent Soviet-era concept—rational use of land resources—and the resulting implications of these differences. The authors recommend the following: creating an enabling environment for SLM research through academic institutional reform removing structural constraints, making research outcomes more effective by applying systems approaches that produce evidence for policy makers on the multiple benefits of SLM, helping land users evaluate SLM strategies and investing in the establishment and maintenance of a multi-stakeholder SLM platform that allows dynamic exchange.

Water-use efficiency and transpiration across European forests during the Anthropocene

The Earth’s carbon and hydrologic cycles are intimately coupled by gas exchange through plant stomata1, 2, 3. However, uncertainties in the magnitude4, 5, 6 and consequences7, 8 of the physiological responses9, 10 of plants to elevated CO2 in natural environments hinders modelling of terrestrial water cycling and carbon storage11. Here we use annually resolved long-term δ13C tree-ring measurements across a European forest network to reconstruct the physiologically driven response of intercellular CO2 (Ci) caused by atmospheric CO2 (Ca) trends. When removing meteorological signals from the δ13C measurements, we find that trees across Europe regulated gas exchange so that for one ppmv atmospheric CO2 increase, Ci increased by ~0.76 ppmv, most consistent with moderate control towards a constant Ci/Ca ratio. This response corresponds to twentieth-century intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) increases of 14 ± 10 and 22 ± 6% at broadleaf and coniferous sites, respectively. An ensemble of process-based global vegetation models shows similar CO2 effects on iWUE trends. Yet, when operating these models with climate drivers reintroduced, despite decreased stomatal opening, 5% increases in European forest transpiration are calculated over the twentieth century. This counterintuitive result arises from lengthened growing seasons, enhanced evaporative demand in a warming climate, and increased leaf area, which together oppose effects of CO2-induced stomatal closure. Our study questions changes to the hydrological cycle, such as reductions in transpiration and air humidity, hypothesized to result from plant responses to anthropogenic emissions.

Reviving extinct Mediterranean forest communities may improve ecosystem potential in a warmer future

The Mediterranean Basin is the region of Europe most vulnerable to negative climate-change impacts, including forest decline, increased wildfire, and biodiversity loss. Because humans have affected Mediterranean ecosystems for millennia, it is unclear whether the region's native ecosystems were more resilient to climate change than current ecosystems, and whether they would provide sustainable management options if restored. We simulated vegetation with the LandClim model, using present-day climate as well as future climate-change scenarios, in three representative areas that encompass a broad range of Mediterranean conditions and vegetation types. Sedimentary pollen records that document now-extinct forests help to validate the simulations. Forests modeled under present climate closely resemble the extinct forests when human disturbance is limited; under future scenarios, characterized by increased temperatures and decreased precipitation, extinct forests are projected to re-emerge. When combined with modeling, paleoecological evidence reveals the potential of native vegetation to re-establish under current and future climate conditions, and provides a template for novel management strategies to maintain forest productivity and biodiversity in a warmer and drier future.

Past and future evolution of Abies alba forests in Europe - comparison of a dynamic vegetation model with palaeo data and observations

Information on how species distributions and ecosystem services are impacted by anthropogenic climate change is important for adaptation planning. Palaeo data suggest that Abies alba formed forests under significantly warmer-than-present conditions in Europe and might be a native substitute for widespread drought-sensitive temperate and boreal tree species such as beech (Fagus sylvatica) and spruce (Picea abies) under future global warming conditions. Here, we combine pollen and macrofossil data, modern observations, and results from transient simulations with the LPX-Bern dynamic global vegetation model to assess past and future distributions of A. alba in Europe. LPX-Bern is forced with climate anomalies from a run over the past 21 000 years with the Community Earth System Model, modern climatology, and with 21st-century multimodel ensemble results for the high-emission RCP8.5 and the stringent mitigation RCP2.6 pathway. The simulated distribution for present climate encompasses the modern range of A. alba, with the model exceeding the present distribution in north-western and southern Europe. Mid-Holocene pollen data and model results agree for southern Europe, suggesting that at present, human impacts suppress the distribution in southern Europe. Pollen and model results both show range expansion starting during the Bølling–Allerød warm period, interrupted by the Younger Dryas cold, and resuming during the Holocene. The distribution of A. alba expands to the north-east in all future scenarios, whereas the potential (currently unrealized) range would be substantially reduced in southern Europe under RCP8.5. A. alba maintains its current range in central Europe despite competition by other thermophilous tree species. Our combined palaeoecological and model evidence suggest that A. alba may ensure important ecosystem services including stand and slope stability, infrastructure protection, and carbon sequestration under significantly warmer-than-present conditions in central Europe.

Vegetation and fire history of coastal north-eastern Sardinia (Italy) under changing Holocene climates and land use

Little is known about the vegetation and fire history of Sardinia, and especially the long-term history of the thermo-Mediterranean belt that encompasses its entire coastal lowlands. A new sedimentary record from a coastal lake based on pollen, spores, macrofossils and microscopic charcoal analysis is used to reconstruct the vegetation and fire history in north-eastern Sardinia. During the mid-Holocene (c. 8,100–5,300 cal bp), the vegetation around Stagno di Sa Curcurica was characterised by dense Erica scoparia and E. arborea stands, which were favoured by high fire activity. Fire incidence declined and evergreen broadleaved forests of Quercus ilex expanded at the beginning of the late Holocene. We relate the observed vegetation and fire dynamics to climatic change, specifically moister and cooler summers and drier and milder winters after 5,300 cal bp. Agricultural activities occurred since the Neolithic and intensified after c. 7,000 cal bp. Around 2,750 cal bp, a further decline of fire incidence and Erica communities occurred, while Quercus ilex expanded and open-land communities became more abundant. This vegetation shift coincided with the historically documented beginning of Phoenician period, which was followed by Punic and Roman civilizations in Sardinia. The vegetational change at around 2,750 cal bp was possibly advantaged by a further shift to moister and cooler summers and drier and milder winters. Triggers for climate changes at 5,300 and 2,750 cal bp may have been gradual, orbitally-induced changes in summer and winter insolation, as well as centennial-scale atmospheric reorganizations. Open evergreen broadleaved forests persisted until the twentieth century, when they were partly substituted by widespread artificial pine plantations. Our results imply that highly flammable Erica vegetation, as reconstructed for the mid-Holocene, could re-emerge as a dominant vegetation type due to increasing drought and fire, as anticipated under global change conditions.

Holocene vegetation and fire history of the mountains of Northern Sicily (Italy)

Knowledge about vegetation and fire history of the mountains of Northern Sicily is scanty. We analysed five sites to fill this gap and used terrestrial plant macrofossils to establish robust radiocarbon chronologies. Palynological records from Gorgo Tondo, Gorgo Lungo, Marcato Cixé, Urgo Pietra Giordano and Gorgo Pollicino show that under natural or near natural conditions, deciduous forests (Quercus pubescens, Q. cerris, Fraxinus ornus, Ulmus), that included a substantial portion of evergreen broadleaved species (Q. suber, Q. ilex, Hedera helix), prevailed in the upper meso-mediterranean belt. Mesophilous deciduous and evergreen broadleaved trees (Fagus sylvatica, Ilex aquifolium) dominated in the natural or quasi-natural forests of the oro-mediterranean belt. Forests were repeatedly opened for agricultural purposes. Fire activity was closely associated with farming, providing evidence that burning was a primary land use tool since Neolithic times. Land use and fire activity intensified during the Early Neolithic at 5000 bc, at the onset of the Bronze Age at 2500 bc and at the onset of the Iron Age at 800 bc. Our data and previous studies suggest that the large majority of open land communities in Sicily, from the coastal lowlands to the mountain areas below the thorny-cushion Astragalus belt (ca. 1,800 m a.s.l.), would rapidly develop into forests if land use ceased. Mesophilous Fagus-Ilex forests developed under warm mid Holocene conditions and were resilient to the combined impacts of humans and climate. The past ecology suggests a resilience of these summer-drought adapted communities to climate warming of about 2 °C. Hence, they may be particularly suited to provide heat and drought-adapted Fagus sylvatica ecotypes for maintaining drought-sensitive Central European beech forests under global warming conditions.

Function and regulation of the Pem homeobox gene in vivo

Pem, a member of the PEPP homeobox family, is expressed in somatic cells in male and female reproductive tissues. In the adult murine testis, Pem is specifically expressed in Sertoli cells, where it is restricted to stages IV–VIII of the seminiferous epithelial cycle. To identify Pem's function in Sertoli cells, transgenic mice were generated that express Pem in Sertoli cells during all stages of the seminiferous epithelial cycle. This resulted in an increase in double-strand DNA breaks in preleptotene spermatocytes and single-strand DNA breaks in elongating spermatids. My results suggest that Pem regulates Sertoli-cell genes that encode secreted or cell-surface proteins that serve to control premeiotic DNA replication, DNA repair, and/or chromatin remodeling in the adjacent germ cells. Three additional transgenic mouse containing varying lengths of the Pem male-specific promoter (Pp) were generated to identify the sequences responsible for regulating Pem expression in the testis and epididymis. My analysis suggests that there are at least two regulatory regions in the Pem Pp. In the testis, region II directs androgen-dependent expression specifically in Sertoli cells whereas region I fine-tunes stage-specific expression by acting as a negative regulator. In the epididymis, region II confers androgen-dependent, developmentally-regulated expression in the caput whereas region I prevents inappropriate expression in the corpus. I also report the identification and characterization of two human PEPP family members related to Pem that I have named hPEPP1 and hPEPP2. The hPEPP1 and hPEPP2 homeodomains are more closely related to PEPP subfamily homeodomains than to any other homeodomain subfamily. Both genes are localized to the specific region of the human X chromosome that shares synteny with the region on the murine X chromosome containing three PEPP homeobox genes, Pem, Psx-1, and Psx-2. hPEPP1 and hPEPP2 mRNA expression is restricted to the testis but is aberrantly expressed in tumor cells of different origins, analogous to the expression pattern of Pem but not of Psx-1 or Psx-2. Unlike all known PEPP members, neither hPEPP1 nor hPEPP2 are expressed in placenta, which suggests that the regulation of the PEPP family has undergone significant alteration since the split between hominids and rodents. ^

Ms. Barth. 150 - Mainzer Stiftsbrevier

Vorbesitzer: Johann Brune (genannt Henne) zum Schmidtskiele; Jungo Frosch; Johann Heller; Jakob Heller; Bartholomaeusstift Frankfurt am Main

Die Haustiere und Hausgenossen der Europäer in Sumatra

Von R. Henne am Rhyn

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 562 - Korrespondenzen u.a. mit Alice H. Maier und Leo Löwenthal (p. VI 26, 170-409)

Briefwechsel zwischen Alice H. Maier und Max Horkheimer; 3 Briefe zwischen Adolf Sturmthal und Alice H. Maier, 1951; 1 Brief von Alice H. Maier an Hattie Ross, 25.09.1951; 1 Brief an Franz Neumann von Alice H. Maier, 20.08.1951; 1 Brief von Alice H. Maier an Friede Fromm-Reichmann, 20.08.1951; 1 Brief an Leo Löwenthal von M. von Medelssohn, 13.08.1951; 1 Brief an The New York Academy of Science von Alice H. Maier, 20.03.1951; 1 Brief von dem Lee Travel Service (New York) an Max Horkheimer, 09.08.1948; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von Walter Hallstein, 02.07.1948; 1 Brief von E. Stein an Max Horkheimer, 26.06.1948; 2 Briefe zwischen Alice H. Maier und Gaby Onderwijzer, 1947; 1 Brief an Alfred Haas von Emmy Henne, 01.04.1955; 11 Briefe zwischen Emmy Henne und Alice H. Maier, 1954 - 1955; 2 Briefe zwischen Max Horkheimer und Morris L. Ernst, Oktober 1955; 1 Brief an Alfred Haas und Fritz Moses von Emmy Henne, 01.04.1955; 1 Brief an Alice H. Maier von Alfred Haas und Fritz Moses, 25.10.1954; 1 Brief an das Barbison Plaza Hotel (New York) von Alice H. Maier, 10.02.1955; 4 Briefe von dem Institut für Sozialforshung (Fankfurt am Main) an die Social Studies Association (New York), 1952 - 1954; 2 Briefe und 8 Briefentwürfe von Max Horkheimer an Nicholas Jory, September 1954; 1 Brief und 2 Briefentwürfe an Stroock von Alice H. Maier, [1954]; 1 Brief an Max Horkheimer von L. A. Chamberlin, 16.08.1954; 1 Brief von A. P. Bersohn an Max Horkheimer, 17.08.1954; 1 Brief von Max Horkheimer an Jacob K. Javits, 07.08.1954; 1 Brief an The Ideal Book Shop (New York) von Alice H. Maier, 07.08.1954; 1 Brief von Lothar Wendt (Internist) an Max Horkheimer, 30.07.1954; 1 Brief von Max Horkheimer an Young, 16.07.1954; 1 Brief an R. B. Shipley von Chauncy D. Harris, 16.07.1954; 1 Brief von Chauncy D. Harris an Max Horkheimer, 28.05.1954; 3 Briefe zwischen Max Horkheimer und John J. McCloy, 1954; 1 Brief von John J. McCloy an Ruth Shipley, 12.07.1954; 4 Briefe zwischen Alice H. Maier und Volker von Hagen, 1954; 1 Brief an York Lucci von Alice H. Maier, 13.04.1954; 3 Briefe von Alice H. Maier an H. P. Edelman, 1954; 3 Briefe zwischen Diedrich Osmer und Alice H. Maier, 1953; 1 Brief an die Indiana University (South Bend) von Diedrich Osmer, 26.02.1953; 3 Briefe zwischen Alice H. Maier und Elizabeth C. Krueger, 1953; 2 Briefe zwischen David Melvin Raul und Alice H. Maier, 1952; 1 Brief von Frederick Wild an The American Quaterly (Mineapolis), 25.06.1952; 1 Brief an Alice H. Maier von David Riesman, 19.05.1952; 1 Brief und 1 Briefentwurf an Felix Weil von Alice H. Maier, 23.04.1952;

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 591 - Korrespondenzen mit Friedrich (Frederick) Pollock (p. VI 38, 283-496)

4 Briefe zwischen Max Horkheimer und Nicholas Jory; 3 Briefe zwischen Nicholas Jory und Frederick Pollock, 1956; 1 Brief von Frederick Pollock an die First National City Bank (New York), 27.04.1956; 1 Brief von dem Grand Hotel & Kurhaus (Bad Tarasp) an den "Gast", März 1956; 1 Brief von Franz Ollig an Frederick Pollock, 31.01.1956; 1 Brief von Erna Schroeter an Emmy Henne, 14.01.1956; 1 Brief von The State Bar of California (San Francisco) an Leo Salon, 21.11.1956; 1 Brief von Frederick Pollock an Hans Moeller, 16.10.1956; 2 Briefe zwischen Frederick Pollock und Frederick J. Wild, 1956; 1 Brief von Frederick Pollock an Alice H. Maier, 19.06.1956; 1 Brief von Frederick Pollock an Leo Löwenthal, 16.06.1956; 1 Brief von dem Hotel "Zum Schützen" (München) an Frederick Pollock, 28.05.1956;