Advances in Legume Systematics 14. Classification of Caesalpinioideae. Part 2: Higher-level classification.

Caesalpinioideae is the second largest subfamily of legumes (Leguminosae) with ca. 4680 species and 163 genera. It is an ecologically and economically important group formed of mostly woody perennials that range from large canopy emergent trees to functionally herbaceous geoxyles, lianas and shrubs, and which has a global distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica.

Serum myostatin decreases in exercising and aging Alaskan sled dogs, while growth and differentiation factor 15 remains unaltered.

Objectives: To evaluate the serum concentrations of myostatin and growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) in Alaskan Husky sled dogs participating in a 350-mile (560-km) race and in an older population, and to examine correlations between changes in serum concentrations and body condition scores (BCSs).

Animals: Dogs were recruited from 3 teams of Alaskan Huskies participating in the Alaskan-Yukon Quest sled-dog race and retirees from a research sled-dog colony.

Procedures: Serum samples and BCSs were collected prior to racing, midway, and postrace; and in an older cohort (13 to 14 years).

Collaborative Assessment Of Collective Reach And Impact Among INBRE Supported Summer Undergraduate Research Programs Across The United States.

The motivational outcome of undergraduate research experiences is an increasingly common component of STEM education practices. Student benefits associated with these experiences include increased interest and retention in STEM and/or research fields. Across the country, many institutional research activities in twenty-three states and Puerto Rico are supported through the National Institutes of Health's Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Program.

Creating a Sustainable and Reliable Emergency Preparedness Program to Promote Appropriate Health Care Resources Use.

Background: Over the past decade, the number of natural disasters, health care emergencies, and epidemics has increased significantly. These unpredictable and sometimes devastating events tax already stretched health care systems. The goal of this process paper is to share the experience of a pharmacy school in the development and implementation of a sustainable emergency preparedness and response support network (EPRSN) using an established student government infrastructure to support information sharing among community pharmacies, state emergency response teams, and community members.

Experimental warming differentially affects vegetative and reproductive phenology of tundra plants.

Rapid climate warming is altering Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystem structure and function, including shifts in plant phenology. While the advancement of green up and flowering are well-documented, it remains unclear whether all phenophases, particularly those later in the season, will shift in unison or respond divergently to warming. Here, we present the largest synthesis to our knowledge of experimental warming effects on tundra plant phenology from the International Tundra Experiment.

Model improvement and future projection of permafrost processes in a global land surface model.

To date, the treatment of permafrost in global climate models has been simplified due to the prevailing uncertainties in the processes involving frozen ground. In this study, we improved the modeling of permafrost processes in a state-of-the-art climate model by taking into account some of the relevant physical properties of soil such as changes in the thermophysical properties due to soil freezing. As a result, the improved version of the global land surface model was able to reproduce a more realistic permafrost distribution at the southern limit of the permafrost area by increasing the freezing of soil moisture in winter.

Future projection of greenhouse gas emissions due to permafrost degradation using a simple numerical scheme with a global land surface model.

The Yedoma layer, a permafrost layer containing a massive amount of underground ice in the Arctic regions, is reported to be rapidly thawing. In this study, we develop the Permafrost Degradation and Greenhouse gasses Emission Model (PDGEM), which describes the thawing of the Arctic permafrost including the Yedoma layer due to climate change and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The PDGEM includes the processes by which high-concentration GHGs (CO and CH) contained in the pores of the Yedoma layer are released directly by dynamic degradation, as well as the processes by which GHGs are released by the decomposition of organic matter in the Yedoma layer and other permafrost.

The 2015 landslide and tsunami in Taan Fiord, Alaska.

Glacial retreat in recent decades has exposed unstable slopes and allowed deep water to extend beneath some of those slopes. Slope failure at the terminus of Tyndall Glacier on 17 October 2015 sent 180 million tons of rock into Taan Fiord, Alaska. The resulting tsunami reached elevations as high as 193 m, one of the highest tsunami runups ever documented worldwide.

Community involvement in design, implementation and evaluation of nutrition interventions to reduce chronic diseases in indigenous populations in the U.S.: a systematic review.

Background: Indigenous peoples of the United States disproportionately experience chronic diseases associated with poor nutrition, including obesity and diabetes. While chronic disease related health disparities among Indigenous people are well documented, it is unknown whether interventions adequately address these health disparities. In addition, it is unknown whether and to what extent interventions are culturally adapted or tailored to the unique culture, worldview and nutrition environments of Indigenous people.

Serum myoglobin, creatine kinase, and cell-free DNA in endurance sled dogs and sled dogs with clinical rhabdomyolysis.

Objective: To evaluate whether cell-free DNA (cfDNA) concentrations are increased in dogs with exertional rhabdomyolysis and whether concentrations are correlated with serum myoglobin concentration and creatine kinase activity.

Design: Observational cohort study.

Setting: Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race 2015.

A Formative Evaluation of Two FASD Prevention Communication Strategies.

Aims: To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of placing FASD prevention messages in the women's restrooms of establishments serving alcohol in Alaska and the Yukon, regions with high rates of FASD.

Methods: Our team placed an FASD educational poster, and posters affixed to a pregnancy test dispenser, in women's restrooms of bars and restaurants. We compared drinking behaviors and knowledge and beliefs about FASD among participants at baseline and at follow-up.

The Arctic in the Twenty-First Century: Changing Biogeochemical Linkages across a Paraglacial Landscape of Greenland.

The Kangerlussuaq area of southwest Greenland encompasses diverse ecological, geomorphic, and climate gradients that function over a range of spatial and temporal scales. Ecosystems range from the microbial communities on the ice sheet and moisture-stressed terrestrial vegetation (and their associated herbivores) to freshwater and oligosaline lakes. These ecosystems are linked by a dynamic glacio-fluvial-aeolian geomorphic system that transports water, geological material, organic carbon and nutrients from the glacier surface to adjacent terrestrial and aquatic systems.

Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 and Selected Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein Concentrations during an Ultramarathon Sled Dog Race.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of running a 1000-mile (1600 km) endurance sled dog race on serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding proteins 1 and 3 (IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3). Serum was examined from 12 sled dogs prior to the race, at midrace (approximately 690 km), and again at the finish. IGF-1, IGFBP-1, and IGFBP-3 were assessed using radioimmunoassay or enzyme linked immune-absorbance assays.

Tissue Phthalate Levels Correlate With Changes in Immune Gene Expression in a Population of Juvenile Wild Salmon.

Phthalates have detrimental effects on health and have been shown to dysregulate the immune system of mammals, birds, and fish. We recently reported that di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate exposure reduces the abundance and inhibits the proliferation of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) IgM(+) B lymphocytes and expression of secreted immunoglobulin heavy-chain mu transcripts in an in vitro culture system. We proposed that phthalates act as immunomodulators by modifying the normal B cell-activation pathways by accelerating B cell differentiation while suppressing plasmablast expansion, thus resulting in fewer IgM-secreting plasma cells.

Progestogens' effects and mechanisms for object recognition memory across the lifespan.

This review explores the effects of female reproductive hormones, estrogens and progestogens, with a focus on progesterone and allopregnanolone, on object memory. Progesterone and its metabolites, in particular allopregnanolone, exert various effects on both cognitive and non-mnemonic functions in females. The well-known object recognition task is a valuable experimental paradigm that can be used to determine the effects and mechanisms of progestogens for mnemonic effects across the lifespan, which will be discussed herein.

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate inhibits B cell proliferation and reduces the abundance of IgM-secreting cells in cultured immune tissues of the rainbow trout.

Plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and its active metabolite MEHP have important immunotoxic effects in mammalian species, including inhibition of cell proliferation, inflammation inhibition, lowering of the antibody response, and apoptosis. Virtually nothing is known about the potential detrimental effects of DEHP/MEHP on the teleost immune system, although phthalates are a likely threat to fish health. Here we investigated whether short-term in vitro DEHP exposure would affect B lineage cells in the rainbow trout, using cultured immune tissues.

Systematic Review of Prevalence of Young Child Overweight and Obesity in the United States-Affiliated Pacific Region Compared With the 48 Contiguous States: The Children's Healthy Living Program.

We estimated overweight and obesity (OWOB) prevalence of children in US-Affiliated Pacific jurisdictions (USAP) of the Children's Healthy Living Program compared with the contiguous United States. We searched peer-reviewed literature and government reports (January 2001-April 2014) for OWOB prevalence of children aged 2 to 8 years in the USAP and found 24 sources. We used 3 articles from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for comparison.

Neurochemical and behavioral effects of chronic unpredictable stress.

Chronic stress can influence behaviors associated with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) function, such as cognition and emotion regulation. Dopamine in the mPFC is responsive to stress and modulates its behavioral effects. The current study tested whether exposure to 10 days of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) altered the effects of acute elevation stress on dopamine release in the mPFC and on spatial recognition memory.

The pregnane xenobiotic receptor, a prominent liver factor, has actions in the midbrain for neurosteroid synthesis and behavioral/neural plasticity of female rats.

A novel factor of interest for growth/plasticity in the brain is pregnane xenobiotic receptor (PXR). PXR is a liver factor known for its role in xenobiotic clearance and cholesterol metabolism. It is expressed in the brain, suggesting a potential role for plasticity, particularly involving cholesterol-based steroids and neurosteroids.

Novel receptor targets for production and action of allopregnanolone in the central nervous system: a focus on pregnane xenobiotic receptor.

Neurosteroids are cholesterol-based hormones that can be produced in the brain, independent of secretion from peripheral endocrine glands, such as the gonads and adrenals. A focus in our laboratory for over 25 years has been how production of the pregnane neurosteroid, allopregnanolone, is regulated and the novel (i.e.

All-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in western Alaska Native people: western Alaska Tribal Collaborative for Health (WATCH).

Objectives: We determined all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality in western Alaska Native people and examined agreement between death certificate information and adjudicated cause of deaths.

Methods: Data from 4 cohort studies were consolidated. Death certificates and medical records were reviewed and adjudicated according to standard criteria.

Progesterone-facilitated lordosis of estradiol-primed mice is attenuated by knocking down expression of membrane progestin receptors in the midbrain.

Evidence is emerging of the role of membrane progestin receptors (referred to as mPRs herein: members of Progestin and AdipoQ Receptor (Paqr) family) as a novel brain target in mammals, such as rats. In the present study, the role of mPRs in mice was assessed to further elucidate the conservation of this mechanism across species. The brain target investigated was the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) given its described role for rapid actions of progestins for reproduction.

Pregnane xenobiotic receptors and membrane progestin receptors: role in neurosteroid-mediated motivated behaviours.

Progestogens have actions in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) to mediate motivated behaviours, such as those involved in reproductive processes, among female rodents. In the VTA, the formation and actions of one progestogen, 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one (3α,5α-THP), are necessary and sufficient to facilitate sexual responding (measured by lordosis) of female rodents. Although 3α,5α-THP can be produced after metabolism of ovarian progesterone, 3α,5α-THP is also a neurosteroid produced de novo in brain regions, such as the VTA.