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The N-glycosylation of human immunoglobulins, especially IgGs, plays a critical role in determining affinity of IgGs towards their effector (pro- and anti-inflammatory) receptors. However, it is still not clear whether altered glycosylation is involved in only antibody-dependent disorders like seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or also in pathologies with similar clinical manifestations, but no specific autoantibodies like seronegative RA. The clarification of that uncertainty was the aim of the current study. Another study aim was the detection of specific glycan forms responsible for altered exposure of native glycoepitopes. We studied sera from seropositive RA (n = 15) and seronegative RA (n = 12) patients for exposure of glycans in native IgG molecules, followed by determination of specific glycans by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescent detection (CE-LIF). Aged-matched groups of normal healthy donors (NHD) and samples of intravenous immunoglobulin IgG preparations (IVIG) served as controls. There was significantly stronger binding of Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA) and Aleuria aurantia lectin (AAL) lectins towards IgG from seropositive RA compared to seronegative RA or NHD. CE-LIF analysis revealed statistically significant increases in bisecting glycans FA2BG2 (p = .006) and FABG2S1 (p = .005) seropositive RA, accompanied by decrease of bisecting monogalactosylated glycan FA2(6)G1 (p = .074) and non-bisecting monosialylated glycan FA2(3)G1S1 (p = .055). The results suggest that seropositive RA is distinct from seronegative RA in terms of IgG glycan moieties, attributable to specific immunoglobulin molecules present in seropositive disease. These glycans were determined to be bisecting GlcNAc-bearing forms FA2BG2 and FABG2S1, and their appearance increased the availability of LCA and AAL lectin-binding sites in native IgG glycoepitopes.

Flooding is among the most common and costly natural disasters in the United States. Flood impacts have been on the rise as flood mitigating habitats are lost, development places more people and infrastructure potentially at risk, and changing rainfall results in altered flood frequency. Across the nation, communities are recognizing the value of flood mitigating habitats and employing green infrastructure alternatives, including restoring some of those ecosystems, as a way to increase resilience. However, communities may under value green infrastructure, because they do not recognize the current benefits of risk reduction they receive from existing ecosystems or the potential benefits they could receive through restoration. Freshwater wetlands have long been recognized as one of the ecosystems that can reduce flood damages by attenuating surface water. Small-scale community studies can capture the flood-reduction benefits from existing or potentially restored wetlands. However, scalability and transferability are limits for these high resolution and data intensive studies. This paper details the development of a nationally consistent dataset and a set of high-resolution indicators characterizing where people benefit from reduced flood risk through existing wetlands. We demonstrate how this dataset can be used at different scales (regional or local) to rapidly assess flood-reduction benefits. At a local scale we use other national scale indicators (CRSI, SoVI) to gauge community resilience and recoverability to choose Harris County, Texas as our focus. Analysis of the Gulf Coast region and Harris County, Texas identifies communities with both wetland restoration potential and the greatest flood-prone population that could benefit from that restoration. We show how maps of these indicators can be used to set wetland protection and restoration priorities., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) harbors a conserved N-glycosylation site which is important for its effector functions. Changes in glycosylation of IgG occur in many autoimmune diseases but also in physiological conditions. Therefore, the glycosylation pattern of serum IgG is well characterized. However, limited data is available on the glycosylation pattern of IgG in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compared to serum. Here, we report significantly reduced levels of bisected glycans in CSF IgG. Galactosylation and sialylation of IgG4 also differed significantly. Therefore, we propose a common mechanism mediating glycosylation changes of IgG at the transition from serum to CSF in steady state conditions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The N-glycosylation of human immunoglobulins, especially IgGs, plays a critical role in determining affinity of IgGs towards their effector (pro- and anti-inflammatory) receptors. However, it is still not clear whether altered glycosylation is involved in only antibody-dependent disorders like seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or also in pathologies with similar clinical manifestations, but no specific autoantibodies like seronegative RA. The clarification of that uncertainty was the aim of the current study. Another study aim was the detection of specific glycan forms responsible for altered exposure of native glycoepitopes. We studied sera from seropositive RA (n = 15) and seronegative RA (n = 12) patients for exposure of glycans in native IgG molecules, followed by determination of specific glycans by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescent detection (CE-LIF). Aged-matched groups of normal healthy donors (NHD) and samples of intravenous immunoglobulin IgG preparations (IVIG) served as controls. There was significantly stronger binding of Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA) and Aleuria aurantia lectin (AAL) lectins towards IgG from seropositive RA compared to seronegative RA or NHD. CE-LIF analysis revealed statistically significant increases in bisecting glycans FA2BG2 (p = .006) and FABG2S1 (p = .005) seropositive RA, accompanied by decrease of bisecting monogalactosylated glycan FA2(6)G1 (p = .074) and non-bisecting monosialylated glycan FA2(3)G1S1 (p = .055). The results suggest that seropositive RA is distinct from seronegative RA in terms of IgG glycan moieties, attributable to specific immunoglobulin molecules present in seropositive disease. These glycans were determined to be bisecting GlcNAc-bearing forms FA2BG2 and FABG2S1, and their appearance increased the availability of LCA and AAL lectin-binding sites in native IgG glycoepitopes.

Urban aquatic restoration can be difficult to accomplish because of complications like pollutants, population density, infrastructure, and expense; however, restoration in urban settings has the potential to provide benefits to many people. The success of urban restoration projects-even those focused primarily on ecological targets-depends on community involvement and managers' understanding and consideration of community needs. However research on the social barriers to urban restoration and strategies managers use to overcome them is relatively rare. This work attempts to fill that gap. Building from interviews with restoration managers involved in urban aquatic restoration projects in Rhode Island, we contribute through an adaptive management approach: identifying and synthesizing the barriers for aquatic restoration projects in urban settings and strategies to overcome them. Ultimately, we suggest potential for double- and triple-loop learning by disentangling and critiquing the frames and policy/power structures that influence decision making in urban aquatic restoration.