High mountain ecosystems are defined by low temperatures and are therefore considered to react sensitively to climate warming. Responding to observed changes in plant species richness on high peaks of the European Alps, an extensive setup of 1 m  1 m permanent plots was established at the alpine-nival ecotone (between 2900 and 3450 m) on Mount Schrankogel, a GLORIA master site in the central Tyrolean Alps, Austria, in 1994. Recording was repeated in a representative selection of 362 quadrats in 2004. Ten years after the first recording, we observed an average change in vascular plant species richness from 11.4 to 12.7 species per plot, an increase of 11.8% (or of at least 10.6% at a 95% confidence level). The increase in species richness involved 23 species (about 43% of all taxa found at the ecotone), comprising both alpine and nival species and was pronouncedly higher in plots with subnival/nival vegetation than in plots with alpine grassland vegetation. Only three species showed a decrease in plot occupancy: one was an annual species, one was rare, and one a common nival plant that decreased in one part of the area but increased in the uppermost part. Species cover changed in relation to altitudinal preferences of species, showing significant declines of all subnival to nival plants, whereas alpine pioneer species increased in cover. Recent climate warming in the Alps, which has been twice as high as the global average, is considered to be the primary driver of the observed differential changes in species cover. Our results indicate an ongoing range contraction of subnival to nival species at their rear (i.e. lower) edge and a concurrent expansion of alpine pioneer species at their leading edge. Although this was expected from predictive distribution models and different temperature-related habitat preferences of alpine and nival species, we provide first evidence on -most likely -warming-induced species declines in the high European Alps. The projected acceleration of climate warming raises concerns that this phenomenon could become the major threat to biodiversity in high mountains.

Phosphomannose isomerase (PMI) deficiency is the cause of a new type of carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome (CDGS). The disorder is caused by mutations in the PMI1 gene. The clinical phenotype is characterized by protein-losing enteropathy, while neurological manifestations prevailing in other types of CDGS are absent. Using standard diagnostic procedures, the disorder is indistinguishable from CDGS type Ia (phosphomannomutase deficiency). Daily oral mannose administration is a successful therapy for this new type of CDG syndrome classified as CDGS type Ib.

Summary Induced by global warming, mountain plant species are migrating upwards. Species inhabiting the nival zone of today are threatened by competitors which move from the alpine zone towards the summits. The manner in which species move depends on their abilities to cope with microtopographical situations. We present a spatially explicit predictive model which draws scenarios of future species distribution patterns at a typical high mountain of the European Alps. The altitudinal temperature gradient is examined. Based on the lapse rate and on definitions of topographical niches of species, a +1 °C‐ and a +2 °C‐warming scenario are modelled using a fine‐scaled digital elevation model. Nival species will lose area and become restricted to specific topographical situations. Alpine and subnival grassland species are predicted to expand their area, mainly along stable surface situations. Whether the migration will take place as a filling or a moving process is specific to the particular species. Overall, biodiversity is apparently not threatened on the decadal scale. In special cases, however, genetic losses are likely both on a local and on a regional scale.

IntroductionAcute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in infants. Renal near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is used to evaluate regional oximetry in a non-invasive continuous real-time fashion, and reflects tissue perfusion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between renal oximetry and development of AKI in the operative and post-operative setting in infants undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.MethodsIn this prospective study, we enrolled 59 infants undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery for congenital heart disease for univentricular (n = 26) or biventricular (n = 33) repair. Renal NIRS was continuously measured intraoperatively and for at least 24 hours postoperatively and analysed for the intraoperative and first 12 hours, first 24 hours and first 48 hours postoperatively. The renal oximetry values were correlated with the paediatric risk, injury, failure, loss, end (pRIFLE) classification for AKI, renal biomarkers and the postoperative course.ResultsTwenty-eight (48%) infants developed AKI based on pRIFLE classification. Already during intraoperative renal oximetry and further in the first 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours postoperatively, significantly lower renal oximetry values in AKI patients compared with patients with normal renal function were recorded (P < 0.05). Of the 28 patients who developed AKI, 3 (11%) needed renal replacement therapy and 2 (7%) died. In the non-AKI group, no deaths occurred. Infants with decreased renal oximetry values developed significantly higher lactate levels 24 hours after surgery. Cystatin C was a late parameter of AKI, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin values were not correlated with AKI occurrence.ConclusionOur results suggest that prolonged low renal oximetry values during cardiac surgery correlate with the development of AKI and may be superior to conventional biochemical markers. Renal NIRS might be a promising non-invasive tool of multimodal monitoring of kidney function and developing AKI in infants undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Summary 1.The stress gradient hypothesis suggests a shift from predominant competition to facilitation along gradients of increasing environmental severity. This shift is proposed to cause parallel changes from prevailing spatial segregation to aggregation among the species within a community. 2. We used 904 1-m 2 plots, each subdivided into 100 10 × 10 cm, or 25 20 × 20 cm cells, respectively, from 67 European mountain summits grouped into 18 regional altitudinal transects, to test this hypothesized correlation between fine-scale spatial patterns and environmental severity. 3. The data were analysed by first calculating standardized differences between observed and simulated random co-occurrence patterns for each plot. These standardized effect sizes were correlated to indicators of environmental severity by means of linear mixed models. In a factorial design, separate analyses were made for four different indicators of environmental severity (the mean temperature of the coldest month, the temperature sum of the growing season, the altitude above tree line, and the percentage cover of vascular plants in the whole plot), four different species groups (all species, graminoids, herbs, and all growth forms considered as pseudospecies) and at the 10 × 10 cm and 20 × 20 cm grain sizes. 4. The hypothesized trends were generally weak and could only be detected by using the mean temperature of the coldest month or the percentage cover of vascular plants as the indicator of environmental severity. The spatial arrangement of the full species set proved more responsive to changes in severity than that of herbs or graminoids. The expected trends were more pronounced at a grain size of 10 × 10 cm than at 20 × 20 cm. 5. Synthesis . In European alpine plant communities the relationships between smallscale co-occurrence patterns of vascular plants and environmental severity are weak and variable. This variation indicates that shifts in net interactions with environmental severity may differ among indicators of severity, growth forms and scales. Recognition of such variation may help to resolve some of the current debate surrounding the stress gradient hypothesis.