| 11. |
- Viljur, Mari-Liis, et al.
(författare)
-
The effect of natural disturbances on forest biodiversity : an ecological synthesis
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Biological Reviews. - : Wiley. - 1464-7931 .- 1469-185X. ; 97:5, s. 1930-1947
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disturbances alter biodiversity via their specific characteristics, including severity and extent in the landscape, which act at different temporal and spatial scales. Biodiversity response to disturbance also depends on the community characteristics and habitat requirements of species. Untangling the mechanistic interplay of these factors has guided disturbance ecology for decades, generating mixed scientific evidence of biodiversity responses to disturbance. Understanding the impact of natural disturbances on biodiversity is increasingly important due to human-induced changes in natural disturbance regimes. In many areas, major natural forest disturbances, such as wildfires, windstorms, and insect outbreaks, are becoming more frequent, intense, severe, and widespread due to climate change and land-use change. Conversely, the suppression of natural disturbances threatens disturbance-dependent biota. Using a meta-analytic approach, we analysed a global data set (with most sampling concentrated in temperate and boreal secondary forests) of species assemblages of 26 taxonomic groups, including plants, animals, and fungi collected from forests affected by wildfires, windstorms, and insect outbreaks. The overall effect of natural disturbances on α-diversity did not differ significantly from zero, but some taxonomic groups responded positively to disturbance, while others tended to respond negatively. Disturbance was beneficial for taxonomic groups preferring conditions associated with open canopies (e.g. hymenopterans and hoverflies), whereas ground-dwelling groups and/or groups typically associated with shady conditions (e.g. epigeic lichens and mycorrhizal fungi) were more likely to be negatively impacted by disturbance. Across all taxonomic groups, the highest α-diversity in disturbed forest patches occurred under moderate disturbance severity, i.e. with approximately 55% of trees killed by disturbance. We further extended our meta-analysis by applying a unified diversity concept based on Hill numbers to estimate α-diversity changes in different taxonomic groups across a gradient of disturbance severity measured at the stand scale and incorporating other disturbance features. We found that disturbance severity negatively affected diversity for Hill number q = 0 but not for q = 1 and q = 2, indicating that diversity–disturbance relationships are shaped by species relative abundances. Our synthesis of α-diversity was extended by a synthesis of disturbance-induced change in species assemblages, and revealed that disturbance changes the β-diversity of multiple taxonomic groups, including some groups that were not affected at the α-diversity level (birds and woody plants). Finally, we used mixed rarefaction/extrapolation to estimate biodiversity change as a function of the proportion of forests that were disturbed, i.e. the disturbance extent measured at the landscape scale. The comparison of intact and naturally disturbed forests revealed that both types of forests provide habitat for unique species assemblages, whereas species diversity in the mixture of disturbed and undisturbed forests peaked at intermediate values of disturbance extent in the simulated landscape. Hence, the relationship between α-diversity and disturbance severity in disturbed forest stands was strikingly similar to the relationship between species richness and disturbance extent in a landscape consisting of both disturbed and undisturbed forest habitats. This result suggests that both moderate disturbance severity and moderate disturbance extent support the highest levels of biodiversity in contemporary forest landscapes.
|
|
| 12. |
- Kuchenbauer, Florian, et al.
(författare)
-
Comprehensive analysis of mammalian miRNA* species and their role in myeloid cells.
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 1528-0020 .- 0006-4971. ; 118:12, s. 3350-8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Processing of pre-miRNA through Dicer1 generates an miRNA duplex that consists of an miRNA and miRNA* strand. Despite the general view that miRNA*s have no functional role, we further investigated miRNA* species in 10 deep-sequencing libraries from mouse and human tissue. Comparisons of miRNA/miRNA* ratios across the miRNA sequence libraries revealed that 50% of the investigated miRNA duplexes exhibited a highly dominant strand. Conversely, 10% of miRNA duplexes showed a comparable expression of both strands, whereas the remaining 40% exhibited variable ratios across the examined libraries, as exemplified by miR-223/miR-223* in murine and human cell lines. Functional analyses revealed a regulatory role for miR-223* in myeloid progenitor cells, which implies an active role for both arms of the miR-223 duplex. This was further underscored by the demonstration that miR-223 and miR-223* targeted the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase axis and that high miR-223* levels were associated with increased overall survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Thus, we found a supporting role for miR-223* in differentiating myeloid cells in normal and leukemic cell states. The fact that the miR-223 duplex acts through both arms extends the complexity of miRNA-directed gene regulation of this myeloid key miRNA.
|
|
| 13. |
- Chand, Damini, 1986, et al.
(författare)
-
Cell culture and Drosophila model systems define three classes of anaplastic lymphoma kinase mutations in neuroblastoma.
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Disease models & mechanisms. - Cambridge, UK : The Company of Biologists. - 1754-8411 .- 1754-8403. ; 6:2, s. 373-82
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neuroblastoma is a childhood extracranial solid tumor which is associated with a number of genetic changes. Included in these genetic alterations are mutations in the kinase domain of the Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK), which have been found in both somatic and familial neuroblastoma. In order to treat patients accordingly required characterisation of these mutations in terms of their response to ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Here, we report the identification and characterisation of two novel neuroblastoma ALK mutations (A1099T and 1464STOP) which we have investigated together with several previously reported but uncharacterised ALK mutations (T1087I, D1091N, T1151M, M1166R, F1174I and A1234T). In order to understand the potential role of these ALK mutations in neuroblastoma progression we have employed cell culture based systems together with the model organism Drosophila as a readout for ligand-independent activity. Mutation of ALK at position F1174I generates a gain-of-function receptor capable of activating intracellular targets, such as ERK (extracellular signal regulated kinase) and STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) in a ligand independent manner. Analysis of these previously uncharacterised ALK mutants and comparison with ALK(F1174) mutants suggests that ALK mutations observed in neuroblastoma fall into three classes. These are: (i) gain-of-function ligand independent mutations such as ALK(F1174), (ii) kinase-dead ALK mutants, e.g. ALK(I1250T)(Schonherr et al 2011a) or (iii) ALK mutations which are ligand-dependent in nature. Irrespective of the nature of the observed ALK mutants, in every case the activity of the mutant ALK receptors could be abrogated by the ALK inhibitor crizotinib (PF-02341066, Xalkori), albeit with differing levels of sensitivity.
|
|
| 14. |
- Sacchetto, Daniela, et al.
(författare)
-
Mammographic density : Comparison of visual assessment with fully automatic calculation on a multivendor dataset
- 2016
-
Ingår i: European Radiology. - : Springer. - 0938-7994 .- 1432-1084. ; 26:1, s. 175-183
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To compare breast density (BD) assessment provided by an automated BD evaluator (ABDE) with that provided by a panel of experienced breast radiologists, on a multivendor dataset. Twenty-one radiologists assessed 613 screening/diagnostic digital mammograms from nine centers and six different vendors, using the BI-RADS a, b, c, and d density classification. The same mammograms were also evaluated by an ABDE providing the ratio between fibroglandular and total breast area on a continuous scale and, automatically, the BI-RADS score. A panel majority report (PMR) was used as reference standard. Agreement (kappa) and accuracy (proportion of cases correctly classified) were calculated for binary (BI-RADS a-b versus c-d) and 4-class classification. While the agreement of individual radiologists with the PMR ranged from kappa = 0.483 to kappa = 0.885, the ABDE correctly classified 563/613 mammograms (92 %). A substantial agreement for binary classification was found for individual reader pairs (kappa = 0.620, standard deviation [SD] = 0.140), individual versus PMR (kappa = 0.736, SD = 0.117), and individual versus ABDE (kappa = 0.674, SD = 0.095). Agreement between ABDE and PMR was almost perfect (kappa = 0.831). The ABDE showed an almost perfect agreement with a 21-radiologist panel in binary BD classification on a multivendor dataset, earning a chance as a reproducible alternative to visual evaluation. aEuro cent Individual BD assessment differs from PMR with kappa as low as 0.483. aEuro cent An ABDE correctly classified 92 % of mammograms with almost perfect agreement (kappa = 0.831). aEuro cent An ABDE can be a valid alternative to subjective BD assessment.
|
|
