Biogeography in the air: fungal diversity over land and oceans

Biogenic aerosols are relevant for the Earth system, climate, and public health on local, regional, and global scales. Up to now, however, little is known about the diversity and biogeography of airborne microorganisms. We present the first DNA-based analysis of airborne fungi on global scales, showing pronounced geographic patterns and boundaries. In particular we find that the ratio of species richness between Basidiomycota and Ascomycota is much higher in continental air than in marine air. This may be an important difference between the 'blue ocean' and 'green ocean' regimes in the formation of clouds and precipitation, for which fungal spores can act as nuclei. Our findings also suggest that air flow patterns and the global atmospheric circulation are important for the understanding of global changes in biodiversity.

How far can we go in simplifying biomonitoring assessments? An integrated analysis of taxonomic surrogacy, taxonomic sufficiency and numerical resolution in a megadiverse region

The need for biodiversity conservation is increasing at a rate much faster than the acquisition of knowledge of biodiversity, such as descriptions of new species and mapping species distributions. As global changes are winning the race against the acquisition of knowledge, many researchers resort to the use of surrogate groups to aid in conservation decisions. Reductions in taxonomic and numerical resolution are also desirable, because they could allow more rapid the acquisition of knowledge while requiring less effort, if little important information is lost. In this study, we evaluated the congruence among 22 taxonomic groups sampled in a tropical forest in the Amazon basin. Our aim was to evaluate if any of these groups could be used as surrogates for the others in monitoring programs. We also evaluated if the taxonomic or numerical resolution of possible surrogates could be reduced without greatly reducing the overall congruence. Congruence among plant groups was high, whereas the congruence among most animal groups was very low, except for anurans in which congruence values were only slightly lower than for plants. Liana (Bignoniaceae) was the group with highest congruence, even using genera presence-absence data. The congruence among groups was related to environmental factors, specifically the clay and phosphorous contents of soil. Several groups showed strong spatial clumping, but this was unrelated to the congruence among groups. The high degree of congruence of lianas with the other groups suggests that it may be a reasonable surrogate group, mainly for the other plant groups analyzed, if soil data are not available. Although lianas are difficult to count and identify, the number of studies on the ecology of lianas is increasing. Most of these studies have concluded that lianas are increasing in abundance in tropical forests. In addition to the high congruence, lianas are worth monitoring in their own right because they are sensitive to global warming and the increasing frequency and severity of droughts in tropical regions. Our findings suggest that the use of data on surrogate groups with relatively low taxonomic and numerical resolutions can be a reliable shortcut for biodiversity assessments, especially in megadiverse areas with high rates of habitat conversion, where the lack of biodiversity knowledge is pervasive. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pollination services at risk: Bee habitats will decrease owing to climate change in Brazil

Native bees are important providers of pollination services, but there are cumulative evidences of their decline. Global changes such as habitat losses, invasions of exotic species and climate change have been suggested as the main causes of the decline of pollinators. In this study, the influence of climate change on the distribution of 10 species of Brazilian bees was estimated with species distribution modelling. We used Maxent algorithm (maximum entropy) and two different scenarios, an optimistic and a pessimistic, to the years 2050 and 2080. We also evaluated the percentage reduction of species habitat based on the future scenarios of climate change through Geographic Information System (GIS). Results showed that the total area of suitable habitats decreased for all species but one under the different future scenarios. The greatest reductions in habitat area were found for Melipona bicolor bicolor and Melipona scutellaris, which occur predominantly in areas related originally to Atlantic Moist Forest. The species analysed have been reported to be pollinators of some regional crops and the consequence of their decrease for these crops needs further clarification. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) (Anthozoa: Plexauridae) forests on settlement of benthic species: an experimental approach

Rationale: Coralligenous habitat is considered the second most important subtidal ���hot spot��� of species diversity in the Mediterranean Sea after the Posidonia oceanica meadows. It can be defined as a typical Mediterranean biogenic hard bottom, mainly produced by the accumulation of calcareous encrusting algae that, together with other builder organisms, form a multidimensional framework with a high micro-spatial variability. The development of this habitat depends on physical factors (i.e. light, hydrodynamism, nutrients, etc.), but also biologic interactions can play a relevant role in structuring the benthic assemblages. This great environmental heterogeneity allows several different assemblages to coexist in a reduced space. One of the most beautiful is that characterised by the Mediterranean gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) that can contribute to above 40% of total biomass of the community and brings significant structural complexity into the coralligenous habitat. In sites moderately exposed to waves and currents, P. clavata can form high-density populations (up to 60 colonies m-2) between 20 ��� 70 m in depth. Being a suspension feeder, where it forms dense populations, P. clavata plays a significant role in transferring energy from planktonic to benthic system. The effects of the branched colonies of P. clavata could be comparable to those of the forests on land. They can affect the micro scale hydrodynamism and light, promoting or inhibiting the growth of other species. Unfortunately, gorgonians are threatened by several anthropogenic disturbance factors (i.e. fishing, pollution, tourism) and by climatic anomalies, linked to the global changes, that are responsible of thermal stress, development of mucilage and enhanced pathogens activity, leading to mass mortality events in last decades. Till now, the possible effects of gorgonian forest loss are largely unknown. Our goal was to analyse the ecological role of these sea fan forests on the coralligenous benthic assemblages. Experimental setup and main results: The influence of P. clavata in the settlement and recruitment of epibenthic organisms was analysed by a field experiment carried out in two randomly selected places: Tavolara island and Portofino promontory. The experiment consisted in recreate the presence and absence of the gorgonian forest on recruitment panels, arranged in four plots per type (forested and non-forested), interspersed each other, and deployed at the same depth. On every forested panel 3 gorgonian colonies about 20 cm height were grafted with the use of Eppendorf tubes and epoxy resin bicomponent simulating a density of 190 sea fans per m-2. This density corresponds to a mean biomass of 825 g DW m-2,3 which is of the same order of magnitude of the natural high-density populations. After about 4 months, the panels were collected and analysed in laboratory in order to estimate the percent cover of all the species that have colonized the substrata. The gorgonian forest effects were tested by multivariate and univariate permutational analyses of the variance (PERMANOVA). Recruited assemblages largely differed between the two study sites, probably due to different environmental conditions including water quality and turbidity. On overall, the presence of P. clavata reduced the settlement and recruitment of several algae: the shadow caused by the gorgonian might reduce light availability and therefore their growth. This effect might be greater in places where the waters are on average more clear, since at Portofino it is less visible and could be masked by the high turbidity of the water. The same pattern was registered for forams, more abundant outside gorgonian forest, probably linked with algal distribution, shadowing effect or alimentary competition. The last one hypothesis could be valid also for serpulids polychaetes that growth mainly on non-forested panels. An opposite trend, was showed by a species of bryozoan and by an hydroid that is facilitated by the presence of P. clavata, probably because it attenuates irradiance level and hydrodynamism. Species diversity was significantly reduced by the presence of P. clavata forests at both sites. This seems in contrast with what we expected, but the result may be influenced by the large algal component on non-forested panels. The analysis confirmed the presence of differences in the species diversity among plots and between sites respectively due to natural high variability of the coralligenous system and to different local environment conditions. The reduction of species diversity due to the presence of gorgonians appeared related to a worst evenness rather than to less species richness. With our experiment it is demonstrated that the presence of P. clavata forests can significantly alter local coralligenous assemblages patterns, promoting or inhibiting the recruitment of some species, modifying trophic relationships and adding heterogeneity and complexity to the habitat. Moreover, P. clavata could have a stabilising effect on the coralligenous assemblages.

Temporal dynamics of benthic assemblages along a gradient of ocean acidification at a CO2 vent���s system of the Ischia Island

Global warming and ocean acidification, due to rising atmospheric levels of CO2, represent an actual threat to terrestrial and marine environments. Since Industrial Revolution, in less of 250 years, pH of surface seawater decreased on average of 0.1 unit, and is expected to further decreases of approximately 0.3-0.4 units by the end of this century. Naturally acidified marine areas, such as CO2 vent systems at the Ischia Island, allow to study acclimatation and adaptation of individual species as well as the structure of communities, and ecosystems to OA. The main aim of this thesis was to study how hard bottom sublittoral benthic assemblages changed trough time along a pH gradient. For this purpose, the temporal dynamics of mature assemblages established on artificial substrates (volcanic tiles) over a 3 year- period were analysed. Our results revealed how composition and dynamics of the community were altered and highly simplified at different level of seawater acidification. In fact, extreme low values of pH (approximately 6.9), affected strongly the assemblages, reducing diversity both in terms of taxa and functional groups, respect to lower acidification levels (mean pH 7.8) and ambient conditions (8.1 unit). Temporal variation was observed in terms of species composition but not in functional groups. Variability was related to species belonging to the same functional group, suggesting the occurrence of functional redundancy. Therefore, the analysis of functional groups kept information on the structure, but lost information on species diversity and dynamics. Decreasing in ocean pH is only one of many future global changes that will occur at the end of this century (increase of ocean temperature, sea level rise, eutrophication etc.). The interaction between these factors and OA could exacerbate the community and ecosystem effects showed by this thesis.

UPLC-ESI-TOFMS-based metabolomics and gene expression dynamics inspector self-organizing metabolomic maps as tools for understanding the cellular response to ionizing radiation

Global transcriptomic and proteomic profiling platforms have yielded important insights into the complex response to ionizing radiation (IR). Nonetheless, little is known about the ways in which small cellular metabolite concentrations change in response to IR. Here, a metabolomics approach using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to profile, over time, the hydrophilic metabolome of TK6 cells exposed to IR doses ranging from 0.5 to 8.0 Gy. Multivariate data analysis of the positive ions revealed dose- and time-dependent clustering of the irradiated cells and identified certain constituents of the water-soluble metabolome as being significantly depleted as early as 1 h after IR. Tandem mass spectrometry was used to confirm metabolite identity. Many of the depleted metabolites are associated with oxidative stress and DNA repair pathways. Included are reduced glutathione, adenosine monophosphate, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, and spermine. Similar measurements were performed with a transformed fibroblast cell line, BJ, and it was found that a subset of the identified TK6 metabolites were effective in IR dose discrimination. The GEDI (Gene Expression Dynamics Inspector) algorithm, which is based on self-organizing maps, was used to visualize dynamic global changes in the TK6 metabolome that resulted from IR. It revealed dose-dependent clustering of ions sharing the same trends in concentration change across radiation doses. "Radiation metabolomics," the application of metabolomic analysis to the field of radiobiology, promises to increase our understanding of cellular responses to stressors such as radiation.

Some considerations on the potential contributions of intercultural social work...

Social work at global levels, and across international and intercultural divides, is probably more important now than ever before in our history. It may be that the very form our ideas about intercultural work take need to be re-examined in the light of recent global changes and uncertainties. In this short position paper I wish to offer some considerations about how we might approach the field of intercultural social work in order to gain new insights about how we practise at both local and global levels. For me, much of the promise of an intercultural social work (and for the purposes of this paper I see aspects of international social work in much the same light) lies in its focus on the way we categorise ourselves, our ideas and experiences in relation to others. The very notion of intercultural or international social work is based on assumptions about boundaries, differences, ways of differentiating and defining sets of experiences. Whether these are deemed "cultural" or "national" is of less importance. Once we are forced to examine these assumptions, about how and why we categorise ourselves in relation to other people in particular ways, the way is opened up for us to be much more critical about the bases of our own, often very deep-seated, thinking. This understanding, about how and why notions of "difference" operate in the way they do, can potentially open our understanding to all the other ways, besides cultural or national labelling, in which we categorise and create differences between ourselves and others. Intercultural social work, taken as a potential site for understanding the creation of difference then, has the potential to help us critically examine the bases of much of our practice in any setting, since most practice involves some kind of categorisation of phenomena.

How much management is enough? Stakeholder views on forest management in fire-prone areas in central Portugal

With the increasing pressure to improve the contribution of forests to help dealing with global changes, it is critical to understand the different perceptions of those involved in the forest. How do forest owners, managers and members of local communities who often depend on the forest, value it and what are the problems affecting the forests in terms of being able to meet these new challenges? In Portugal, this task has taken on an even greater priority as more than 90% of the forest is private and forest management relies on the individual decisions of thousands of forest owners. To understand stakeholder views on forest and forest management, a transversal social perception survey was implemented in the form of a case study of central Portugal which included decision-makers, local technicians, forest owners and the general public. The results show that there is a consensus on the main issues affecting forests and forest management. A shift from classic forest owners to the emergence of indifferent forest owners was observed, although this shift has not been recognized by the forest owners in the survey, who maintain the individual management of their properties.

The role of coactivator associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1) in nuclear receptor mediated transcription

Arginine methylation has been implicated in the regulation of gene expression. The coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARMI/PRMT4) binds the p160 family of steroid receptor coactivators (SRCs). This association enhances transcriptional activation by nuclear receptors. Here, we generated and characterized CARM1 knockout mice. Embryos with a targeted disruption of CARM1 are 35% smaller in size than the wild-type littermates and die perinatally. We also generated Carm1-/- and Carm1+/+ mouse embryonic fibroblasts and tested gene expression in response to estrogen. Estrogenresponsive gene expression was aberrant in Carm1-/- fibroblasts and embryos, thus emphasizing the role of arginine methylation as a transcription activation tag. We subsequently studied the role of CARM1 in estrogen signaling in viva in the mammary gland. Conditional knockout of CARM1 in mammary gland and Carml-1-embryonic mammary anlagen transplant experiments did not show any defects in growth and development of the glands. To further dissect the role of CARM1 in estrogen receptor mediated transactivation, we performed cDNA microarray and serial analysis of gene expression on Carm1-/- and Carm1+/+ embryos treated with the estrogen analog, DES. Our results indicate global changes in estrogen regulated genes as well as genes involved in lipid homeostasis. Marker genes for Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor �� (PPAR��) activity, adipsin and aP2, are downregulated in the Carm1-/- embryos. Furthermore, OCT frozen sections of 18.5dpc embryos, processed simultaneously for oil red O staining to look for neutral fat, reveals greatly reduced brown fat accumulation in the Carm1-/- embryos in contrast to wild-type and gain-of-function Carm1 transgenic (ubiquitous) embryo. We used a well-established 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell line to knockdown CARM1 by short hairpin RNA. 3T3-L1 cells with CARM1 knockdown showed greatly reduced potential to differentiate into mature lipid accumulating adipocytes upon administration of adipogenic stimuli. Ligand-dependent activation of reporter genes by the PPAR�� receptor showed that PPRE-luciferase reporter activity was enhanced in the presence of CARM1, additionally, luciferase activity was reduced to background levels when enzyme dead CARM1 (CARM1-VLD) was used. Thus, in this study, we have identified novel pathways that use CARM1 as coactivator and showed that CARM1 functions as a key component of PPAR�� receptor mediated gene expression. ^

Observations from the Balcony: Directions for Pediatric Health Disparities Research and Policy

In 2002, the Institute of Medicine released Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare, a landmark monograph documenting health disparities in the U.S. health care system. Since the publication of Unequal Treatment, the field of pediatric health disparities research has advanced significantly with a proliferation of studies examining a wide array of topics concerning inequities in child health. Advances in health care policy and legislation have also added to a heightened discourse on pediatric health disparities. While there has been substantial activity in efforts to address pediatric health disparities, questions remain regarding whether these efforts have changed the trajectory of health equity among children. The aim of this paper is to examine the practical challenges of addressing pediatric health disparities in the dynamic context of global changes in health care research, policy, and legislation relevant to children. Using the Adaptive Leadership framework, this paper outlines a conceptual model for assessing the scope of progress made in addressing pediatric health disparities, diagnoses the continued adaptive challenges of pediatric health disparities, and provides an agenda for further work and future investment.