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- Hudson, Lawrence N., et al.
(författare)
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The PREDICTS database : a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 4:24, s. 4701-4735
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - ). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.
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| 3. |
- Marin-Briggiler, Clara I., et al.
(författare)
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Glucose-regulated protein 78 (Grp78/BiP) is secreted by human oviduct epithelial cells and the recombinant protein modulates sperm zona pellucida binding
- 2010
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Ingår i: Fertility and Sterility. - : Elsevier Inc.. - 0015-0282 .- 1556-5653. ; 93:5, s. 1574-1584
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To determine the secretion of Grp78 by human oviduct epithelial cells, its association to spermatozoa, and its involvement in gamete interaction. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Basic research laboratory. Subject(s): Semen samples obtained from normozoospermic volunteers. Tubal tissue provided by patients undergoing hysterectomies. Oocytes collected from women undergoing IVF-ET. Intervention(s): Analysis of Grp78 expression and secretion by oviductal tissue. Gamete incubation with recombinant Grp78 (rec-Grp78). Main Outcome Measure(s): Assessment of protein expression and secretion by immunohistochemistry and Western immunoblotting, respectively. Evaluation of rec-Grp78 binding to human spermatozoa by immunocytochemistry, and analysis of its effect upon gamete interaction using the hemizona assay. Result(s): Grp78 was found in the surface of oviduct epithelial cells. Soluble Grp78 was detected in oviductal fluids from women in the periovulatory period and in oviductal tissue conditioned medium. Rec-Grp78 was able to bind to the sperm acrosomal cap, and its presence during gamete interaction led to a decrease in the number of spermatozoa bound to the zona pellucida (ZP). When calcium ions from the incubation medium were replaced by strontium, rec-Grp78 enhanced sperm ZP interaction. Conclusion(S): Grp78 is expressed and secreted by oviduct epithelial cells. The protein would bind to the gametes and may modulate their interaction in a calcium-dependent manner.
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