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Effects of shallow-water hydrothermal venting on biological communities of coastal marine ecosystems of the western Pacific.

This review is based on integrated studies of the composition, structure and function of shallow-water ecosystems in the western Pacific that are influenced by underwater gas-hydrothermal activity. Most of the data were collected from 1985 to 1997 by the Institute of Marine Biology of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Science during expeditions to zones of modern volcanism. Gas-hydrothermal activity of volcanoes has a great influence on the physicochemical characteristics of the water column and plankton, and of bottom sediment and benthic communities. The abundance of nutrients (SiO(3)(2-), PO(4)(3-), NO(3)(-)), gases (CO(2), CH(4), H(2), H(2)S) and other reduced compounds (C(n)H(n), S(0), S(2)O(3)(2-), NH(4)(+)) in zones of shallow-water hydrothermal vents provides conditions for the use of two energy sources for primary production: sunlight (photosynthesis) and the oxidation of reduced compounds (bacterial chemosynthesis). In areas of shallow-water volcanic activity, chemosynthesis occurs not only in the immediate vicinity of venting fluid release but also in the surface layer of the water column, where it occurs together with intense photosynthesis. This surface photosynthesis is found below the layer of chemosynthesis, which is related to the distribution of hydrothermal fluids at the water surface. The contribution of each of these processes to total primary production depends on the physical and chemical conditions created by the vents and on the range and adaptation potential of the organisms. On the seabed in zones of shallow-water venting, microorganisms form mats that consist of bacteria of various physiological groups, microalgae, the products of their metabolism and sedimentary particles. Oxygenic photosynthesis of benthic diatoms, bacterial photosynthesis (anoxygenic photosynthesis) and autotrophic chemosynthesis in algobacterial and bacterial mats generate organic matter additional to that produced in the water column. The high rates of primary production, abundance of organic matter in the water column and intense development of benthic microflora ensure the formation of an abundant benthic fauna. In Kraternaya Bight, Matupi Harbour and Bay of Plenty, the macrozoobenthos has low species diversity. The taxonomic composition of the populations is determined by geographical region (temperate or tropical), by the character of the seabed (hard or soft bottoms, rigid lava flows or hydrothermal structures), by the temperature of bottom sediments and of volcanic fluids and lastly by the chemical composition of the vent fluid (sulfide or nonsulfide). In most of the surveyed areas the fauna is derived from locally common species or from opportunistic species that can form high-density populations in eutrophic waters. The benthic communities of shallow-water venting areas have many characteristics in common with communities subject to anthropogenic impact (thermal, residential or industrial) or to changes resulting from a sharp deterioration of the marine environment. In contrast to the fauna of deeper water hydrothermal communities (i.e., those that exist below 200 m), shallow-water venting communities lack obligate hydrothermal species. The structure and function of the pelagic and benthic communities in areas of shallow-water venting can be regarded as transitional between those of deep-water vent communities and the normal communities of the coast.

Animals↗

Childhood sexual abuse and current suicidality in college women and men.

In previous research, adults who reported childhood sexual abuse have been more suicidal than nonabused adults, but no research has examined their cognitive deterrents to suicide. Strict definitions of sexual abuse in these studies have excluded (a) unwanted sexual experiences with peers, and (b) exploitive experiences not involving genital contact (i.e., unwanted sexual invitations or suggestions, unwanted exposure to others' genitals via exhibitionism, unwanted kissing or hugging in a sexual way). The present study compared suicidal behavior and cognitive deterrents to suicide in 266 college students using both a strict and a liberal definition of sexual abuse. Both women and men abused by adults or peers were more suicidal as adult college students than were women and men with no such history. Women reported similar degrees of suicidality as men, but greater survival and coping beliefs and more fear of suicide. Those whose sexual abuse involved touching were more suicidal, and felt less able to cope, and less responsibility for their families, than nonabused adults. Implications are that adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse that involved touching are more suicidal and have less cognitive deterrents to suicide than adults who have not, regardless of whether they are men or women or whether they were abused by adults or by peers.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Glutamate-mediated transmission, alcohol, and alcoholism.

Glutamate-mediated neurotransmission may be involved in the range of adaptive changes in brain which occur after ethanol administration in laboratory animals, and in chronic alcoholism in human cases. Excitatory amino acid transmission is modulated by a complex system of receptors and other effectors, the efficacy of which can be profoundly affected by altered gene or protein expression. Local variations in receptor composition may underlie intrinsic regional variations in susceptibility to pathological change. Equally, ethanol use and abuse may bring about alterations in receptor subunit expression as the essence of the adaptive response. Such considerations may underlie the regional localization characteristic of the pathogenesis of alcoholic brain damage, or they may form part of the homeostatic change that constitutes the neural substrate for alcohol dependence.

Alcoholism↗

Tryptophan hydroxylase mRNA levels are elevated by repeated immobilization stress in rat raphe nuclei but not in pineal gland.

Repeated stress triggers a wide range of adaptive changes in the central nervous system including the elevation of serotonin (5-HT) metabolism and an increased susceptibility to affective disorders. To begin to examine whether these changes are mediated by alterations in gene expression for tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), the rate-limiting enzyme in 5-HT biosynthesis, we quantitated its mRNA levels by competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Repeated immobilization stress (2 h, 7 days) elicited a six- or ten-fold rise in TPH mRNA in median raphe nucleus (MRN) and dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), respectively, without significantly altering TPH mRNA levels in the pineal gland. In contrast, there was little change in mRNA levels for GTP cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH), the rate limiting enzyme in synthesis of the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), the obligate cofactor for TPH. This is the first study to reveal stress-elicited activation of TPH gene expression.

Animals↗

Measuring the leadership styles and scholarly productivity of nursing department chairpersons.

Self-perceived leadership styles of nursing department chairpersons were correlated with their scholarly productivity. The sample consisted of the 106 nursing department chairpersons from National League for Nursing (NLN)-accredited baccalaureate and higher-degree programs in 10 midwestern states. Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership Model was used as the conceptual framework. Their LEAD-Self instrument was used to measure leadership styles, range, and adaptability. In addition, the Scholarly Productivity Index (SPI) was used to measure the nursing chairpersons' involvement in prepublication and research, publication, editorial, and other scholarly activities. College size and status (public or private) were among the variables examined to assess a relationship or group differences. A majority of nursing department chairpersons viewed themselves as having a "participating" leadership style. Most of the remaining chairpersons viewed themselves as having a "selling" leadership style. Study participants viewed their backup leadership styles to be in a reverse order from their primary leadership styles with the "selling" leadership style the most frequently used backup style and "participating" the second most frequently used style. Chairpersons from public nursing schools reported significantly greater numbers of scholarly activities than did chairpersons from private nursing schools. Chairpersons who had held their positions for less than 5 years tended to have a "participating" leadership style. A majority of nursing department chairpersons in the study reported that they felt institutional pressure to engage in scholarly activities.

Career Mobility↗

A molecular basis for Weber's law.

A mathematical model is presented that obeys a strong form of Weber's law--over a range of adapting and stimulus intensities, equal contrast stimuli evoke identical responses. To account for the strong Weber's law, the adaptive stage in the proposed model employs a "delayed" reverse reaction along with a power-law input. It is suggested that this Weber's law mechanism is responsible for a slow, voltage-uncorrelated component of adaptation in the vertebrate photoreceptor. A plausible biochemical mechanism is the G-protein cycle with phosphorylation of photoactivated photopigment (and binding of arrestin to the phosphorylated photopigment) as the adaptive process. In an Appendix, features of the general model and implications of a specific biochemical model are examined by computer simulation.

Adaptation, Ocular↗

Hypoxia-induced modulation of endothelial cell properties: regulation of barrier function and expression of interleukin-6.

The endothelial cell response to hypoxia involves a range of adaptive mechanisms that reflect an active response of the cell's biosynthetic and metabolic apparatus. Hypoxia-mediated suppression of endothelial barrier function, resulting in increased vascular leakage, is likely to contribute to pulmonary and cerebral edema associated with high altitude and is closely associated with a fall in intracellular cyclic AMP levels. Buttressing of this second messenger pathway in the endothelium using membrane permeant cyclic AMP analogs prevents increased vascular leakage due to hypoxia. Application of this principle to organ preservation has shown that supplementation with cyclic AMP analogs or inhibition of endogenous cAMP metabolism enables extension of the time a harvested organ can remain extracorporeally, after which transplantation is successful. The underlying mechanism through which cyclic AMP exerts its effects appears to be maintenance of vascular homeostasis in the graft. A distinct adaptive mechanism triggered in the endothelium by hypoxia is expression of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) by a novel mechanism involving transcription driven by the nuclear factor IL-6 (NF-IL-6) DNA binding site in the promoter. IL-6 may exert protective effects on vascular function, thereby limiting vascular injury by a different mechanism than those recruited by elevated cAMP levels. These studies provide insights into tow independent mechanisms through which endothelium responds to oxygen deprivation, and suggest possible new approaches to attentuate vascular injury associated with ischemia.

Animals↗

Further insights into the effect of quinidine in short QT syndrome caused by a mutation in HERG.

INTRODUCTION: The principal aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of quinidine in suppressing IKr in vitro and in modulating the rate dependence of the QT interval in the "SQT1" form of the short QT syndrome. METHODS AND RESULTS: Graded-intensity bicycle exercise testing was performed off drug in three patients and during oral quinidine in two patients with short QT syndrome and compared to a control group of healthy normal subjects. The in vitro effects of quinidine on currents in patch clamp technique were investigated. Off drugs QTpV3/heart rate correlation is much weaker in patients with short QT syndrome, and QTpV3 shortens less with heart rate increase compared to normal subjects. In addition to prolonging the QT interval into the normal range, quinidine restored the heart rate dependence of the QT interval toward a range of adaptation reported for normal subjects. Data from heterologous expression of wild-type and mutant HERG genes indicate the mutation causes a 20-fold increase in IC50 of d-sotalol but only a 5.8-fold increase in IC50 of quinidine. CONCLUSION: Oral quinidine is effective in suppressing the gain of function in IKr responsible for some cases of short QT syndrome with a mutation in HERG and thus restoring normal rate dependence of the QT interval and rendering ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation noninducible.

Adolescent↗

A real-time ST-segment monitoring algorithm for implantable devices.

Continuous ST-segment monitoring by implantable devices may lead to clarification of the substrate of arrhythmias, clarification of the origin of nonspecific chest pain, and titration or preventative application of established anti-ischemic therapies. Although ST-segment monitoring algorithms are available for surface electrocardiogram, the computational demand of algorithms for implantable devices must be minimized for considerations of device longevity. The new algorithm first locates a fiducial point (FPT) at the dominant peak of each QRS complex. The ST-segment deviation (measured at 2 rate-adaptive delays after FPT, eg, FPT + 96 ms and FPT + 152 ms at 60 BPM) with respect to the isoelectric level (measured at the minimum slope preceding the QRS) is then measured. The following features are also quantified by simple operations: R-R interval, R-wave slope, R-wave amplitude, ST-segment slope, and noise content during the isoelectric segment. Inconsistencies in these features relative to their adaptive normal ranges are used to reject noisy or ectopic beats and sudden morphology changes. Finally, the ST-segment deviation over time is filtered to reject rates of change that are not likely attributable to human ischemia. Performance of the algorithm was evaluated on the European Society of Cardiology ST-T Database, which contains 180 hours of ambulatory electrocardiogram with 250 expert-annotated ischemic episodes. The sensitivity was 79% [74% 84%] (mean [95% CI]) and positive predictivity was 81% [76% 86%]. This performance is statistically equivalent to that of published electrocardiogram algorithms that were validated on the same dataset. Estimates of computational burden suggest that the algorithm could process two channels of electrogram continuously for more than 5 years with current implanted device technology. In conclusion, we have developed an algorithm for ST-segment monitoring that can be implemented in current implantable devices with sensitivity and positive predictivity that are comparable with the state-of-the-art.

Algorithms↗

Efficacy and tolerability of a new antipsychotic compound (risperidone): results of a pilot study.

Risperidone is a new benzisoxazole derivative displaying a very potent serotonin antagonism and a potent dopamine antagonism in pharmacological studies. These properties suggest the hypothesis that risperidone may exert antipsychotic effects and be superior to classic neuroleptics in its beneficial effects on negative and affective symptoms and its low extrapyramidal side-effect propensity. In an open pilot study 13 patients suffering from acute schizophrenic psychosis were treated with risperidone within an individually adapted dose range from 1 to 10 mg per day. A good antipsychotic efficacy could be demonstrated in 6 of the 8 patients who completed the trial. Risperidone was very well tolerated. The substance possesses a low EPS-inducing profile. Future research has to test the suggested advantage of risperidone over other neuroleptic drugs and its performance in the treatment of chronic schizophrenic patients.

Acute Disease↗

Efficacy and tolerability of a new antipsychotic compound (savoxepine): results of a pilot-study.

Savoxepine is a new tetracyclic compound displaying potent neurolepticlike effects in pharmacological studies. Of particular interest is its preferential binding to dopamine-2 receptors in the hippocampus, which leads to the hypothesis that savoxepine may exert antipsychotic effects at doses not inducing extrapyramidal side-effects. In an open pilot-study 18 patients suffering from acute schizophrenic psychoses or paranoid syndromes were treated with savoxepine in an individually adapted dose range from 0.50 to 10 mg per day. A good antipsychotic efficacy could be demonstrated in 10 of 16 patients. Savoxepine was found to be generally well tolerated. Contrary to expectations, mild or moderate extrapyramidal side-effects, especially of the parkinsonian type, were registered. Future research has to test the suggested advantage of savoxepine in comparison with other neuroleptic drugs.

Adult↗

Effects of luminance and contrast on direction of ambiguous apparent motion.

A study is reported of the role of luminance and contrast in resolving ambiguous apparent motion (AM). Different results were obtained for the short-range (SR) and the long-range (LR) motion-detecting processes. For short-range jumps (7.5 min arc), the direction of ambiguous AM depended on brightness polarity, with AM only from white to white and from black to black. But for larger jumps, or when an interstimulus interval (ISI) was introduced, AM was less dependent on polarity, with white often jumping to black and black jumping to white. Two potential AMs were pitted against each other, one carried by a light stimulus and the other by a dark stimulus. The stimulus whose luminance differed most from the uniform surround captured the AM. Visual response to luminance was linear, not logarithmic. When the stimulus was modified to give continuous AM in one direction it was followed by a negative aftereffect of motion only when the spatial displacement was 1 min arc. A larger displacement (10 min arc) gave good AM but no motion aftereffect. Thus only short-range motion adapts motion-sensitive channels.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Developmental checkpoints of the basophil/mast cell lineages in adult murine hematopoiesis.

Basophils and mast cells, which are selectively endowed with the high-affinity IgE receptor and mediate a range of adaptive and innate immune responses, have an unknown developmental relationship. Here, by evaluating the expression of the beta7 integrin, a molecule that is required for selective homing of mast cell progenitors (MCPs) to the periphery, we identified bipotent progenitors that are capable of differentiating into either cell type in the mouse spleen. These basophil/mast cell progenitors (BMCPs) gave rise to basophils and mast cells at the single-cell level and reconstituted both mucosal and connective tissue mast cells. We also identified the basophil progenitor (BaP) and the MCP in the bone marrow and the gastrointestinal mucosa, respectively. We further show that the granulocyte-related transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha) plays a primary role in the fate decision of BMCPs, being expressed in BaPs but not in MCPs. Thus, circulating basophils and tissue mast cells share a common developmental stage at which their fate decision might be controlled principally by C/EBPalpha.

Animals↗

Protein, amino acids and the control of food intake.

The influence of protein and amino acid on the control of food intake and the specific control of protein and amino acid intakes remains incompletely understood. The most commonly accepted conclusions are: (1) the existence of an aversive response to diets deficient in or devoid of protein or deficient in at least one essential amino acid; (2) the existence of a mechanism that enables attainment of the minimum requirement for N and essential amino acids by increasing intake of a low-protein diet; (3) a decrease in the intake of a high-protein diet is associated with different processes, including the high satiating effect of protein. Ingested proteins are believed to generate pre- and post-absorptive signals that contribute to the control of gastric kinetics, pancreatic secretion and food intake. At the brain level, two major afferent pathways are involved in protein and amino acid monitoring: the indirect neuro-mediated (mainly vagus-mediated) pathway and the direct blood pathway. The neuro-mediated pathway transfers pre-absorptive and visceral information. This information is for the main part transferred through the vagus nerve that innervates part of the oro-sensory zone: the stomach, the duodenum and the liver. Other information is directly monitored in the blood. It is likely that the system responds precisely when protein and essential amino acid intake is inadequate, but in contrast allows a large range of adaptive capacities through amino acid degradation and substrate interconversion.

Amino Acids↗

Mood influences on reasons for living in older adolescents.

Suicide is a major public health problem of the current period, particularly among young people, and is the second leading cause of death among the 15- to 24-year-old age group (Rudd 1989). Moreover, the suicide rate among the nation's youth has increased dramatically in the last two decades, an increase that amounts to having tripled in the years 1956 to 1975 (Holinger 1982).

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Extreme environments and exobiology.

Ecological research on extreme environments can be applied to exobiological problems such as the question of life on Mars. If life forms (fossil or extant) are found on Mars, their study will help to solve fundamental questions about the nature of life on Earth. Extreme environments that are beyond the range of adaptability of their inhabitants are defined as "absolute extreme". Such environments can serve as terrestrial models for the last stages of life in the history of Mars, when the surface cooled down and atmosphere and water disappeared. The cryptoendolithic microbial community in porous rocks of the Ross Desert in Antarctica and the microbial mats at the bottom of frozen Antarctic lakes are such examples. The microbial communities of Siberian permafrost show that, in frozen but stable communities, long-term survival is possible. In the context of terraforming Mars, selected microorganisms isolated from absolute extreme environments are considered for use in creation of a biological carbon cycle.

Antarctic Regions↗

The odorous attractant of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (L.). I. Quantitative aspects of the response to the attractant.

1. Procedures have been developed for studying quantitatively the response of the male American cockroach to the odorous attractant of the female. 2. The percentage of male roaches responding to extracts of the attractant of the female has been found to vary with the log of the concentration of the attractant throughout a wide range. 3. Adaptation to the olfactory stimulus has been demonstrated. 4. A theory of adaptation is offered.

Animals↗

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ras/cAMP pathway controls post-diauxic shift element-dependent transcription through the zinc finger protein Gis1.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein kinase Rim15 was identified previously as a component of the Ras/cAMP pathway acting immediately downstream of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK) to control a broad range of adaptations in response to nutrient limitation. Here, we show that the zinc finger protein Gis1 acts as a dosage-dependent suppressor of the rim15Delta defect in nutrient limitation-induced transcriptional derepression of SSA3. Loss of Gis1 results in a defect in transcriptional derepression upon nutrient limitation of various genes that are negatively regulated by the Ras/cAMP pathway (e.g. SSA3, HSP12 and HSP26). Tests of epistasis as well as transcriptional analyses of Gis1-dependent expression indicate that Gis1 acts in this pathway downstream of Rim15 to mediate transcription from the previously identified post-diauxic shift (PDS) element. Accordingly, deletion of GIS1 partially suppresses, and overexpression of GIS1 exacerbates the growth defect of mutant cells that are compromised for cAPK activity. Moreover, PDS element-driven expression, which is negatively regulated by the Ras/cAMP pathway and which is induced upon nutrient limitation, is almost entirely dependent on the presence of Gis1.

Bacterial Proteins↗