COSORE: A community database for continuous soil respiration and other soil-atmosphere greenhouse gas flux data

Globally, soils store two to three times as much carbon as currently resides in the atmosphere, and it is critical to understand how soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and uptake will respond to ongoing climate change. In particular, the soil-to-atmosphere CO₂ flux, commonly though imprecisely termed soil respiration (R_S ), is one of the largest carbon fluxes in the Earth system. An increasing number of high-frequency R_S measurements (typically, from an automated system with hourly sampling) have been made over the last two decades; an increasing number of methane measurements are being made with such systems as well. Such high frequency data are an invaluable resource for understanding GHG fluxes, but lack a central database or repository. Here we describe the lightweight, open-source COSORE (COntinuous SOil REspiration) database and software, that focuses on automated, continuous and long-term GHG flux datasets, and is intended to serve as a community resource for earth sciences, climate change syntheses and model evaluation. Contributed datasets are mapped to a single, consistent standard, with metadata on contributors, geographic location, measurement conditions and ancillary data. The design emphasizes the importance of reproducibility, scientific transparency and open access to data. While being oriented towards continuously measured R_S , the database design accommodates other soil-atmosphere measurements (e.g. ecosystem respiration, chamber-measured net ecosystem exchange, methane fluxes) as well as experimental treatments (heterotrophic only, etc.). We give brief examples of the types of analyses possible using this new community resource and describe its accompanying R software package.

Below-ground carbon allocation in mature beech and spruce trees following long-term, experimentally enhanced O3 exposure in Southern Germany

Canopies of adult European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) were labeled with CO(2) depleted in (13)C to evaluate carbon allocation belowground. One-half the trees were exposed to elevated O(3) for 6 yrs prior to and during the experiment. Soil-gas sampling wells were placed at 8 and 15 cm and soil CO(2) was sampled during labeling in mid-late August, 2006. In beech, delta(13)CO(2) at both depths decreased approximately 50 h after labeling, reflecting rapid translocation of fixed C to roots and release through respiration. In spruce, label was detected in fine-root tissue, but there was no evidence of label in delta(13)CO(2). The results show that C fixed in the canopy rapidly reaches respiratory pools in beech roots, and suggest that spruce may allocate very little of recently-fixed carbon into root respiration during late summer. A change in carbon allocation belowground due to long-term O(3) exposure was not observed.

Larval Pacific herring, Clupea pallasii (Valenciennes), are highly susceptible to viral haemorrhagic septicaemia and survivors are partially protected after their metamorphosis to juveniles

Pacific herring were susceptible to waterborne challenge with viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) throughout their early life history stages, with significantly greater cumulative mortalities occurring among VHSV-exposed groups of 9-, 44-, 54- and 76-day-old larvae than among respective control groups. Similarly, among 89-day-1-year-old and 1+year old post-metamorphosed juveniles, cumulative mortality was significantly greater in VHSV-challenged groups than in respective control groups. Larval exposure to VHSV conferred partial protection to the survivors after their metamorphosis to juveniles as shown by significantly less cumulative mortalities among juvenile groups that survived a VHS epidemic as larvae than among groups that were previously naïve to VHSV. Magnitude of the protection, measured as relative per cent survival, was a direct function of larval age at first exposure and was probably a reflection of gradual developmental onset of immunocompetence. These results indicate the potential for easily overlooked VHS epizootics among wild larvae in regions where the virus is endemic and emphasize the importance of early life history stages of marine fish in influencing the ecological disease processes.

Histologic anatomy of the lesser metatarsophalangeal joint plantar plate

The plantar plate is the fibrocartilaginous structure that supports the ball of the foot, withstanding considerable compressive and tensile forces. This study describes the morphology of the plantar plate in order to understand its function and the pathologic disorders associated with it. Eight lesser metatarsophalangeal joint plantar plates from three soft-embalmed cadavers (74-92 years, two males, one female), and eight lesser metatarsophalangeal joint plantar plates from a fresh cadaver (19-year-old male) were obtained for histology assessment. Paraffin sections (10 microm) in the longitudinal and transverse planes were analyzed with bright-field and polarized light microscopy. The central plantar plate collagen bundles run in the longitudinal plane with varying degrees of undulation. The plantar plate borders run transversely and merge with collateral ligaments and the deep transverse intermetatarsal ligament. Bright-field microscopic evaluation shows the plantar aspect of the plantar plate becomes ligament-like the further distally it tapers, containing fewer chondrocytes, and a greater abundance of fibroblasts. The enthesis reveals longitudinal and interwoven collagen bundles entering the proximal phalanx with multiple interdigitations. Longer interdigitations centrally compared to the dorsal and plantar aspects suggest that the central fibers experience the greatest loads.

Ichthyophonus-induced cardiac damage: a mechanism for reduced swimming stamina in salmonids

Swimming stamina, measured as time-to-fatigue, was reduced by approximately two-thirds in rainbow trout experimentally infected with Ichthyophonus. Intensity of Ichthyophonus infection was most severe in cardiac muscle but multiple organs were infected to a lesser extent. The mean heart weight of infected fish was 40% greater than that of uninfected fish, the result of parasite biomass, infiltration of immune cells and fibrotic (granuloma) tissue surrounding the parasite. Diminished swimming stamina is hypothesized to be due to cardiac failure resulting from the combination of parasite-damaged heart muscle and low myocardial oxygen supply during sustained aerobic exercise. Loss of stamina in Ichthyophonus-infected salmonids could explain the poor performance previously reported for wild Chinook and sockeye salmon stocks during their spawning migration.

Neuropsychological effects of exposure to anticonvulsant medication in utero

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the long-term differential drug effects on cognitive functioning in school-aged children exposed to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in utero.

METHODS

Mothers with epilepsy were recruited from specialist epilepsy clinics and obstetric clinics from the Liverpool and Manchester region. The mothers and their children were recruited without prior knowledge of their AED treatment during pregnancy or the health of the offspring. A battery of neuropsychological tests was applied to each mother-child pair in order to obtain a neuropsychological profile for each child.

RESULTS

Neuropsychological investigation was performed on 249 children between the ages of 6 and 16. Children exposed to sodium valproate had a significantly lower verbal IQ when compared to children exposed to other antiepileptic drugs or not exposed at all. The same children were more likely to have an IQ below 69 and more likely to have memory impairment when compared to the other groups. The mothers' IQ, exposure to sodium valproate, and the number of tonic-clonic seizures during pregnancy were significant predictors of verbal IQ in this population.

CONCLUSIONS

This retrospective study highlights the potential harmful effects of sodium valproate exposure in utero on neuropsychological development.