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Background Altered microbial composition of the intestine, commonly referred to as dysbiosis, has been associated with several autoimmune diseases including primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS). The aims of the current study were to study the intestinal microbial balance in pSS and to identify clinical features associated with dysbiosis. Methods Forty-two consecutive pSS patients and 35 age-matched and sex-matched control subjects were included in the study in an open clinic setting. Stool samples were analyzed for intestinal dysbiosis using a validated 16S rRNA-based microbiota test (GA-map™ Dysbiosis Test; Genetic Analysis, Oslo, Norway). Dysbiosis and severe dysbiosis were defined in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Patients were evaluated with regard to disease activity (European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Sjögren’s Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI) and Clinical ESSDAI (ClinESSDAI)). In addition, patients were examined for laboratory and serological features of pSS as well as fecal calprotectin levels. Furthermore, patients were investigated regarding patient-reported outcomes for pSS (EULAR Sjögren’s Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI)) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like symptoms according to the Rome III criteria. Results Severe dysbiosis was more prevalent in pSS patients in comparison to controls (21 vs 3%; p  = 0.018). Subjects with pSS and severe dysbiosis had higher disease activity as evaluated by the ESSDAI total score (13 vs 5; p  = 0.049) and the ClinESSDAI total score (12 vs 5; p  = 0.049), lower levels of complement component 4 (0.11 vs 0.17 g/L; p  = 0.004), as well as higher levels of fecal calprotectin (110 vs 33 μg/g; p  = 0.001) compared to the other pSS patients. In contrast, severe dysbiosis among pSS patients was not associated with disease duration, IBS-like symptoms, or the ESSPRI total score. Conclusions Severe intestinal dysbiosis is a prevalent finding in pSS and is associated both with clinical and laboratory markers of systemic disease activity as well as gastrointestinal inflammation. Further studies are warranted to elucidate a potential causative link between dysbiosis and pSS.

Ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive visual pigments are widespread in the animal kingdom but many animals, for example primates, block UV light from reaching their retina by pigmented lenses. Birds have UV-sensitive (UVS) visual pigments with sensitivity maxima around 360–373 nm (UVS) or 402–426 nm (violet-sensitive, VS). We describe how these pigments are matched by the ocular media transmittance in 38 bird species. Birds with UVS pigments have ocular media that transmit more UV light (wavelength of 50% transmittance, λT0.5, 323 nm) than birds with VS pigments (λT0.5, 358 nm). Yet, visual models predict that colour discrimination in bright light is mostly dependent on the visual pigment (UVS or VS) and little on the ocular media. We hypothesize that the precise spectral tuning of the ocular media is mostly relevant for detecting weak UV signals, e.g. in dim hollow-nests of passerines and parrots. The correlation between eye size and UV transparency of the ocular media suggests little or no lens pigmentation. Therefore, only small birds gain the full advantage from shifting pigment sensitivity from VS to UVS. On the other hand, some birds with VS pigments have unexpectedly low UV transmission of the ocular media, probably because of UV blocking lens pigmentation.

Understanding how ecological communities assemble in relation to natural and human‐induced environmental changes is critical, particularly for communities of pollinators that deliver essential ecosystem services. Despite widespread attention to interactions between functional traits and community responses to environmental changes, the importance of sensory traits has received little attention. To address this, we asked whether visual traits of bumblebee communities varied at large geographical scales along a habitat gradient of increased tree cover. Because trees generate challenging light conditions for flying insects, in particular a reduced light intensity, we hypothesised that differences in tree cover would correlate with shifts in the visual and taxonomical composition of bumblebee communities. We quantified 11 visual traits across 36 specimens from 20 species of bumblebees using micro‐CT and optical modelling of compound eyes and ocelli, and investigated how these traits scale with body size. Using an inventory of bumblebee communities across Sweden and our visual trait dataset, we then explored how visual traits (both absolute and relative to body size) differed in relation to tree cover. We found positive shifts of the community weighted means of visual traits along the increasingly forested habitat gradient (facet diameter, inter‐ommatidial angle, eye parameter of the compound eye and alignment of the three ocelli) that were consistent regardless of body size, while other traits decreased when more forest was present in the landscape (facet number). These functional patterns were associated with differences in the abundance of six common species that likely explains the community‐wide shift of visual traits along the habitat gradient. Our study demonstrates the interaction between vision, habitat and community assembly in bumblebees, while highlighting a promising research topic at the interface between sensory biology and landscape ecology. Do visual traits of bumblebee communities vary at large scales with increasing tree cover? We found shifts of visual traits along forested habitat gradient, suggesting that sensory properties not only of species, but also of whole communities interact with the optical constraints of their habitat niche.

The global movement of bees for agricultural pollination services can affect local pollinator populations via hybridization. When commercial bumblebees are of the same species but of different geographic origin, intraspecific hybridization may result in beneficial integration of new genetic variation, or alternatively may disrupt locally adapted gene complexes. However, neither the existence nor the extent of genomic introgression and evolutionary divergence between wild and commercial bumblebees is fully understood. We obtained whole‐genome sequencing data from wild and commercial Bombus terrestris collected from sites in Southern Sweden with and without long‐term use of commercially imported B. terrestris. We search for evidence of introgression, dispersal and genome‐wide differentiation in a comparative genomic analysis of wild and commercial bumblebees. Commercial B. terrestris were found in natural environments near sites where commercial bumblebees were used, as well as drifting wild B. terrestris in commercial bumblebee colonies. However, we found no evidence for widespread, recent genomic introgression of commercial B. terrestris into local wild conspecific populations. We found that wild B. terrestris had significantly higher nucleotide diversity (Nei's pi, π), while the number of segregating sites (Watterson's theta, θw) was higher in commercial B. terrestris. A highly divergent region on chromosome 11 was identified in commercial B. terrestris and found to be enriched with structural variants. The genes present in this region are involved in flight muscle contraction and structure and pathogen immune response, providing evidence for differing evolutionary processes operating in wild and commercial B. terrestris. We did not find evidence for recent introgression, suggesting that co‐occurring commercial B. terrestris have not disrupted evolutionary processes in wild B. terrestris populations.

Autoantibodies to cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase 1A (cN-1A; NT5C1A) have a high specificity when differentiating sporadic inclusion body myositis from polymyositis and dermatomyositis. In primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) anti-cN-1A autoantibodies can be detected as well. However, various frequencies of anti-cN-1A reactivity have been reported in SLE and pSS, which may at least in part be explained by the different assays used. Here, we determined the occurrence of anti-cN-1A reactivity in a large number of patients with pSS and SLE using one standardized ELISA. Sera from pSS (  = 193) and SLE patients (  = 252) were collected in five European centers. Anti-cN-1A, anti-Ro52, anti-nucleosome, and anti-dsDNA reactivities were tested by ELISA (Euroimmun AG) in a single laboratory. Correlations of anti-cN-1A reactivity with demographic data and clinical data (duration of disease at the moment of serum sampling, autoimmune comorbidity and presence of muscular symptoms) were analyzed using SPSS software. Anti-cN-1A autoantibodies were found on average in 12% of pSS patients, with varying frequencies among the different cohorts (range: 7-19%). In SLE patients, the anti-cN-1A positivity on average was 10% (range: 6-21%). No relationship was found between anti-cN-1A reactivity and the presence or absence of anti-Ro52, anti-nucleosome, and anti-dsDNA reactivity in both pSS and SLE. No relationship between anti-cN-1A reactivity and duration of disease at the moment of serum sampling and the duration of serum storage was observed. The frequency of muscular symptoms or viral infections did not differ between anti-cN-1A-positive and -negative patients. In both disease groups anti-cN-1A-positive patients suffered more often from other autoimmune diseases than the anti-cN-1A-negative patients (15 versus 5% (  = 0.05) in pSS and 50 versus 30% (  = 0.02) in SLE). Our results confirm the relatively frequent occurrence of anti-cN-1A in pSS and SLE patients and the variation in anti-cN-1A reactivity between independent groups of these patients. The explanation for this variation remains elusive. The correlation between anti-cN-1A reactivity and polyautoimmunity should be evaluated in future studies. We conclude that anti-cN-1A should be classified as a myositis-associated-, not as a myositis-specific-autoantibody based on its frequent presence in SLE and pSS.

Colour discrimination is based on opponent photoreceptor interactions, and limited by receptor noise. In dim light, photon shot noise impairs colour vision, and in vertebrates, the absolute threshold of colour vision is set by dark noise in cones. Nocturnal insects (e.g. moths and nocturnal bees) and vertebrates lacking rods (geckos) have adaptations to reduce receptor noise and use chromatic vision even in very dim light. In contrast, vertebrates with duplex retinae use colour-blind rod vision when noisy cone signals become unreliable, and their transition from cone- to rod-based vision is marked by the Purkinje shift. Rod–cone interactions have not been shown to improve colour vision in dim light, but may contribute to colour vision in mesopic light intensities. Frogs and toads that have two types of rods use opponent signals from these rods to control phototaxis even at their visual threshold. However, for tasks such as prey or mate choice, their colour discrimination abilities fail at brighter light intensities, similar to other vertebrates, probably limited by the dark noise in cones. This article is part of the themed issue 'Vision in dim light’.

Mixed-phase stratus clouds are ubiquitous in the Arctic and play an important role in climate in this region. However, climate and regional models have generally proven unsuccessful at simulating Arctic cloudiness, particularly during the colder months. Specifically, models tend to underpredict the amount of liquid water in mixed-phase clouds. The Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiments (M-PACE), conducted from late September through October 2004 in the vicinity of the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope of Alaska field site, focused on characterizing low-level Arctic stratus clouds. Ice nuclei (IN) measurements were made using a continuous-flow ice thermal diffusion chamber aboard the University of North Dakota’s Citation II aircraft. These measurements indicated IN concentrations that were significantly lower than those used in many models. Using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), we show that these low IN concentrations, as well as inadequate parameterizations of the depletion of IN through nucleation scavenging, may be partially responsible for the poor model predictions. Moreover, we show that this can lead to errors in the modeled surface radiative energy budget of 10–100 W m−2. Finally, using the measured IN concentrations as input to RAMS and comparing to a mixed-phase cloud observed during M-PACE, we show excellent agreement between modeled and observed liquid water content and net infrared surface flux.

For American leaders to imply that Al Qaeda or ISIS are defeated because their leaders are killed is like saying Christianity died when Jesus Christ was crucified. For American leaders to imply that Al Qaeda or ISIS are defeated because their leaders are killed is like saying Christianity died when Jesus Christ was crucified. In addition to enlisting well-educated youth as future leaders, radical Islamists also recruit poor and less-educated Muslim \"foot soldiers\" through religious Madrassah schools and some young-adult mosque programs and activities (Olsson, P 2007, p 58). A PROTOTYPE OF HOW RADICAL ISLAMIST EVANGELISTS FIND PSYCHOLOGICAL BIRTH Osama Bin Laden's inner search for his father himself can be studied as a prototype of identity searches found among many disaffected or idealistic young Muslim young men. Osama, already of low family rank as the 17th son, thus lost his mother (Bergen, 2001, p 47) Some 'quality time' for Osama and his father occurred during an annual weeklong \"male-bonding\" winter hunting vacation in wild desert regions of the Saudi Kingdom.

Colour constancy is the capacity of visual systems to keep colour perception constant despite changes in the illumination spectrum. Colour constancy has been tested extensively in humans and has also been described in many animals. In humans, colour constancy is often studied quantitatively, but besides humans, this has only been done for the goldfish and the honeybee. In this study, we quantified colour constancy in the chicken by training the birds in a colour discrimination task and testing them in changed illumination spectra to find the largest illumination change in which they were able to remain colour-constant. We used the receptor noise limited model for animal colour vision to quantify the illumination changes, and found that colour constancy performance depended on the difference between the colours used in the discrimination task, the training procedure and the time the chickens were allowed to adapt to a new illumination before making a choice. We analysed literature data on goldfish and honeybee colour constancy with the same method and found that chickens can compensate for larger illumination changes than both. We suggest that future studies on colour constancy in non-human animals could use a similar approach to allow for comparison between species and populations.

Alaska’s Prince William Sound (PWS) is a unique locale tending to have strong gap winds, especially in the winter season. To characterize and understand these strong surface winds, which have great impacts on the local marine and aviation activities, the surface wind retrieval from the Synthetic Aperture Radar data (SAR-wind) is combined with a numerical mesoscale model. Helped with the SAR-wind observations, the mesoscale model is used to study cases of strong winds and relatively weak winds to depict the nature of these winds, including the area of extent and possible causes of the wind regimes. The gap winds from the Wells Passage and the Valdez Arm are the most dominant gap winds in PWS. Though the Valdez Arm is north-south trending and Wells Passage is east-west oriented, gap winds often develop simultaneously in these two places when a low pressure system is present in the Northern Gulf of Alaska. These two gap winds often converge at the center of PWS and extend further out of the Sound through the Hinchinbrook Entrance. The pressure gradients imposed over these areas are the main driving forces for these gap winds. Additionally, the drainage from the upper stream glaciers and the blocking effect of the banks of the Valdez Arm probably play an important role in enhancing the gap wind.