Nationwide residues of organochlorine compounds in wings of adult mallards and black ducks, 1979-80

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cain, B.W.

1981-01-01

Organochlorine residues in wings of adult mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and black ducks (Anas rubripes) were monitored nationwide from birds harvested during the 1979-80 hunting season. DDE residues were found in all samples. DDT residues had declined from levels reported in 1976 on a flyway basis but the decline was significant (P less than 0.05) only in the Pacific Flyway. Levels of DDT, DDE, TDE, and dieldrin were low on a flyway basis, and all but DDE declined significantly (P less than 0.05) in the percent occurrence. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) levels were lower in mallard wings from all flyways compared with 1976 data, but percent occurrence had significantly (P less than 0.05) increased. Pools from Alabama and New Mexico continued to show higher DDE residues than pools from other areas.

Multiple prethymic defects underlie age-related loss of T progenitor competence

PubMed Central

Zediak, Valerie P.; Maillard, Ivan

2007-01-01

Aging in mice and humans is characterized by declining T-lymphocyte production in the thymus, yet it is unclear whether aging impacts the T-lineage potential of hematopoietic progenitors. Although alterations in the lymphoid progenitor content of aged mouse bone marrow (BM) have been described, irradiation-reconstitution experiments have failed to reveal defects in T-lineage potential of BM hematopoietic progenitors or purified hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from aged mice. Here, we assessed T-progenitor potential in unmanipulated recipient mice without conditioning irradiation. T-progenitor potential was reduced in aged BM compared with young BM, and this reduction was apparent at the earliest stages of intrathymic differentiation. Further, enriched populations of aged HSCs or multipotent progenitors (MPPs) gave rise to fewer T-lineage cells than their young counterparts. Whereas the T-precursor frequency within the MPP pool was unchanged, there was a 4-fold decline in T-precursor frequency within the HSC pool. In addition, among the T-competent HSC clones, there were fewer highly proliferative clones in the aged HSC pool than in the young HSC pool. These results identify T-compromised aged HSCs and define the nature and cellular sites of prethymic, age-related defects in T-lineage differentiation potential. PMID:17456721

Dynamics of particulate and dissolved organic and inorganic phosphorus during the peak and declining phase of an iron-induced phytoplankton bloom in the eastern subarctic Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshimura, Takeshi; Nishioka, Jun; Ogawa, Hiroshi; Tsuda, Atsushi

2018-01-01

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for all organisms and thus the P cycle plays a key role in determining the dynamics of lower trophic levels in marine ecosystems. P in seawater occurs conceptually in particulate and dissolved organic and inorganic (POP, PIP, DOP, and DIP, respectively) pools and clarification of the dynamics in these P pools is the basis to assess the biogeochemical cycle of P. Despite its importance, behaviors of each P pool with phytoplankton dynamics have not been fully examined. We measured the four operationally defined P pools (POPop, PIPop, DOPop, and SRP) during an iron-induced phytoplankton bloom (as part of the subarctic ecosystem response to iron enrichment study (SERIES)) in the eastern subarctic Pacific in summer 2002. During our observations of the iron-enriched patch from day 15 to day 26 after the iron infusion, chlorophyll-a concentration in the surface layer decreased from 6.3 to 1.2 μg L- 1, indicating the peak through decline phase of the phytoplankton bloom. At the bloom peak, P was partitioned into POPop, PIPop, and DOPop in proportions of 60, 27, and 13%, respectively. While chlorophyll-a and POPop showed similar temporal variations during the declining phase, PIPop showed a different peak timing with a 2 day delay compared to POPop, resulting in a rapid change in the relative proportion of PIPop to total particulate P (TPP = POPop + PIPop) at the peak (25%) and during the declining phase of the bloom (50%). A part of POPop was replaced by PIPop just after slowing down of phytoplankton growth. This process may have a significant role in the subsequent regeneration of P. We conclude that measurement of TPP alone is insufficient to show the interaction between P and phytoplankton dynamics and fractionation of TPP into POPop and PIPop provides useful insights to clarify the biogeochemical cycle of P.

Value of FDG-PET scans of non-demented patients in predicting rates of future cognitive and functional decline.

PubMed

Torosyan, Nare; Mason, Kelsey; Dahlbom, Magnus; Silverman, Daniel H S

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to examine the value of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in predicting subsequent rates of functional and cognitive decline among subjects considered cognitively normal (CN) or clinically diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Analyses of 276 subjects, 92 CN subjects and 184 with MCI, who were enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, were conducted. Functional decline was assessed using scores on the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) obtained over a period of 36 months, while cognitive decline was determined using the Alzheimer's disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. PET images were analyzed using clinically routine brain quantification software. A dementia prognosis index (DPI), derived from a ratio of uptake values in regions of interest known to be hypometabolic in Alzheimer's disease to regions known to be stable, was generated for each baseline FDG-PET scan. The DPI was correlated with change in scores on the neuropsychological examinations to examine the predictive value of baseline FDG-PET. DPI powerfully predicted rate of functional decline among MCI patients (t = 5.75, p < 1.0E-8) and pooled N + MCI patient groups (t = 7.02, p < 1.0E-11). Rate of cognitive decline on MMSE was also predicted by the DPI among MCI (t = 6.96, p < 1.0E-10) and pooled N + MCI (t = 8.78, p < 5.0E-16). Rate of cognitive decline on ADAS-cog was powerfully predicted by the DPI alone among N (p < 0.001), MCI (t = 6.46, p < 1.0E-9) and for pooled N + MCI (t = 8.85, p = 1.1E-16). These findings suggest that an index, derivable from automated regional analysis of brain PET scans, can be used to help predict rates of functional and cognitive deterioration in the years following baseline PET.

Incorporating Cold-Air Pooling into Downscaled Climate Models Increases Potential Refugia for Snow-Dependent Species within the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion, CA

PubMed Central

Curtis, Jennifer A.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Flint, Alan L.; Lundquist, Jessica D.; Hudgens, Brian; Boydston, Erin E.; Young, Julie K.

2014-01-01

We present a unique water-balance approach for modeling snowpack under historic, current and future climates throughout the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion. Our methodology uses a finer scale (270 m) than previous regional studies and incorporates cold-air pooling, an atmospheric process that sustains cooler temperatures in topographic depressions thereby mitigating snowmelt. Our results are intended to support management and conservation of snow-dependent species, which requires characterization of suitable habitat under current and future climates. We use the wolverine (Gulo gulo) as an example species and investigate potential habitat based on the depth and extent of spring snowpack within four National Park units with proposed wolverine reintroduction programs. Our estimates of change in spring snowpack conditions under current and future climates are consistent with recent studies that generally predict declining snowpack. However, model development at a finer scale and incorporation of cold-air pooling increased the persistence of April 1st snowpack. More specifically, incorporation of cold-air pooling into future climate projections increased April 1st snowpack by 6.5% when spatially averaged over the study region and the trajectory of declining April 1st snowpack reverses at mid-elevations where snow pack losses are mitigated by topographic shading and cold-air pooling. Under future climates with sustained or increased precipitation, our results indicate a high likelihood for the persistence of late spring snowpack at elevations above approximately 2,800 m and identify potential climate refugia sites for snow-dependent species at mid-elevations, where significant topographic shading and cold-air pooling potential exist. PMID:25188379

Incorporating cold-air pooling into downscaled climate models increases potential refugia for snow-dependent species within the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion, CA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Curtis, Jennifer A.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Flint, Alan L.; Lundquist, Jessica D.; Hudgens, Brian; Boydston, Erin E.; Young, Julie K.

2014-01-01

We present a unique water-balance approach for modeling snowpack under historic, current and future climates throughout the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion. Our methodology uses a finer scale (270 m) than previous regional studies and incorporates cold-air pooling, an atmospheric process that sustains cooler temperatures in topographic depressions thereby mitigating snowmelt. Our results are intended to support management and conservation of snow-dependent species, which requires characterization of suitable habitat under current and future climates. We use the wolverine (Gulo gulo) as an example species and investigate potential habitat based on the depth and extent of spring snowpack within four National Park units with proposed wolverine reintroduction programs. Our estimates of change in spring snowpack conditions under current and future climates are consistent with recent studies that generally predict declining snowpack. However, model development at a finer scale and incorporation of cold-air pooling increased the persistence of April 1st snowpack. More specifically, incorporation of cold-air pooling into future climate projections increased April 1st snowpack by 6.5% when spatially averaged over the study region and the trajectory of declining April 1st snowpack reverses at mid-elevations where snow pack losses are mitigated by topographic shading and cold-air pooling. Under future climates with sustained or increased precipitation, our results indicate a high likelihood for the persistence of late spring snowpack at elevations above approximately 2,800 m and identify potential climate refugia sites for snow-dependent species at mid-elevations, where significant topographic shading and cold-air pooling potential exist.

Hydrology of the Floral City Pool of Tsala Apopka Lake, west-central Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradner, L.A.

1988-01-01

Tsala Apopka Lake, in west-central Florida, has an area of about 19,000 acres and is divided into three water-management pools, with the Floral City Pool, the most upgradient. The Floral City Pool, which has a surface area of approximately 4,750 acres, contains an extensive combination of lakes, wetlands, and connecting canals. The Pool receives inflow from the Withlacoochee River through two canals. Outflow is through one manmade canal and one natural slough. Canal flow is partially controlled by manmade structures. A cumulative deficit of 19.4 inches of rainfall from August 1984 through May 1985 reduced surface-water inflow to the Floral City Pool to about 0.5 cu ft/sec by May 1985. During May 1985, pool levels declined approximately 0.04 ft/day. By the end of May, there was no observable outflow. From June 1985 through September 1985, 39.8 inches of rainfall caused above-average inflow to the Floral City Pool and a pool-level increase of 6.2 ft. The inflow of 340 CFS nearly equaled the outflow of 338 CFS by the end of September. (USGS)

Spatial and temporal variability of macroinvertebrates in spawning and non-spawning habitats during a salmon run in Southeast Alaska.

PubMed

Campbell, Emily Y; Merritt, Richard W; Cummins, Kenneth W; Benbow, M Eric

2012-01-01

Spawning salmon create patches of disturbance through redd digging which can reduce macroinvertebrate abundance and biomass in spawning habitat. We asked whether displaced invertebrates use non-spawning habitats as refugia in streams. Our study explored how the spatial and temporal distribution of macroinvertebrates changed during a pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) spawning run and compared macroinvertebrates in spawning (riffle) and non-spawning (refugia) habitats in an Alaskan stream. Potential refugia included: pools, stream margins and the hyporheic zone, and we also sampled invertebrate drift. We predicted that macroinvertebrates would decline in riffles and increase in drift and refugia habitats during salmon spawning. We observed a reduction in the density, biomass and taxonomic richness of macroinvertebrates in riffles during spawning. There was no change in pool and margin invertebrate communities, except insect biomass declined in pools during the spawning period. Macroinvertebrate density was greater in the hyporheic zone and macroinvertebrate density and richness increased in the drift during spawning. We observed significant invertebrate declines within spawning habitat; however in non-spawning habitat, there were less pronounced changes in invertebrate density and richness. The results observed may be due to spawning-related disturbances, insect phenology, or other variables. We propose that certain in-stream habitats could be important for the persistence of macroinvertebrates during salmon spawning in a Southeast Alaskan stream.

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Macroinvertebrates in Spawning and Non-Spawning Habitats during a Salmon Run in Southeast Alaska

PubMed Central

Campbell, Emily Y.; Merritt, Richard W.; Cummins, Kenneth W.; Benbow, M. Eric

2012-01-01

Spawning salmon create patches of disturbance through redd digging which can reduce macroinvertebrate abundance and biomass in spawning habitat. We asked whether displaced invertebrates use non-spawning habitats as refugia in streams. Our study explored how the spatial and temporal distribution of macroinvertebrates changed during a pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) spawning run and compared macroinvertebrates in spawning (riffle) and non-spawning (refugia) habitats in an Alaskan stream. Potential refugia included: pools, stream margins and the hyporheic zone, and we also sampled invertebrate drift. We predicted that macroinvertebrates would decline in riffles and increase in drift and refugia habitats during salmon spawning. We observed a reduction in the density, biomass and taxonomic richness of macroinvertebrates in riffles during spawning. There was no change in pool and margin invertebrate communities, except insect biomass declined in pools during the spawning period. Macroinvertebrate density was greater in the hyporheic zone and macroinvertebrate density and richness increased in the drift during spawning. We observed significant invertebrate declines within spawning habitat; however in non-spawning habitat, there were less pronounced changes in invertebrate density and richness. The results observed may be due to spawning-related disturbances, insect phenology, or other variables. We propose that certain in-stream habitats could be important for the persistence of macroinvertebrates during salmon spawning in a Southeast Alaskan stream. PMID:22745724

Species pools, community completeness and invasion: disentangling diversity effects on the establishment of native and alien species.

PubMed

Bennett, Jonathan A; Riibak, Kersti; Kook, Ene; Reier, Ülle; Tamme, Riin; Guillermo Bueno, C; Pärtel, Meelis

2016-12-01

Invasion should decline with species richness, yet the relationship is inconsistent. Species richness, however, is a product of species pool size and biotic filtering. Invasion may increase with richness if large species pools represent weaker environmental filters. Measuring species pool size and the proportion realised locally (completeness) may clarify diversity-invasion relationships by separating environmental and biotic effects, especially if species' life-history stage and origin are accounted for. To test these relationships, we added seeds and transplants of 15 native and alien species into 29 grasslands. Species pool size and completeness explained more variation in invasion than richness alone. Although results varied between native and alien species, seed establishment and biotic resistance to transplants increased with species pool size, whereas transplant growth and biotic resistance to seeds increased with completeness. Consequently, species pools and completeness represent multiple independent processes affecting invasion; accounting for these processes improves our understanding of invasion. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Grass invasion of a hardwood forest is associated with declines in belowground carbon pools

Treesearch

Michael S. Strickland; Jayna L. Devore; John C. Maerz; Mark A. Bradford

2010-01-01

Invasive plant species affect a range of ecosystem processes but their impact on belowground carbon (C) pools is relatively unexplored. This is particularly true for grass invasions of forested ecosystems. Such invasions may alter both the quantity and quality of forest floor inputs. Dependent on both, two theories, ‘priming’ and ‘preferential substrate utilization’,...

25 CFR 1000.23 - How is a Tribe/Consortium admitted to the applicant pool?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false How is a Tribe/Consortium admitted to the applicant pool...-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ACT Selection of Additional Tribes for Participation in Tribal Self-Governance Admission into the Applicant Pool § 1000.23 How is a Tribe/Consortium admitted to the applicant pool? To be...

25 CFR 1000.23 - How is a Tribe/Consortium admitted to the applicant pool?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false How is a Tribe/Consortium admitted to the applicant pool...-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ACT Selection of Additional Tribes for Participation in Tribal Self-Governance Admission into the Applicant Pool § 1000.23 How is a Tribe/Consortium admitted to the applicant pool? To be...

Forest nutrient and carbon pools at Walker Branch watershed: changes during a 21-year period

Treesearch

Carl C. Trettin; D.W. Johnson; D.E. Todd

1999-01-01

A 21-yr perspective on changes in nutrient and C pools on undisturbed upland forest sites is provided. Plots originally representing four cover types have been sampled three times. On each plot, forest biomass, forest floor, and soil, to a depth of 60 cm, were measured, sampled, and analyzed for Ca, Mg, C, N, and P. Exchangeable soil Ca and Mg have declined in most...

Forest calcium depletion and biotic retention along a soil nitrogen gradient

USGS Publications Warehouse

Perakis, Steven S.; Sinkhorn, Emily R.; Catricala, Christina; Bullen, Thomas D.; Fitzpatrick, John A.; Hynicka, Justin D.; Cromack, Kermit

2013-01-01

High nitrogen (N) accumulation in terrestrial ecosystems can shift patterns of nutrient limitation and deficiency beyond N toward other nutrients, most notably phosphorus (P) and base cations (calcium [Ca], magnesium [Mg], and potassium [K]). We examined how naturally high N accumulation from a legacy of symbiotic N fixation shaped P and base cation cycling across a gradient of nine temperate conifer forests in the Oregon Coast Range. We were particularly interested in whether long-term legacies of symbiotic N fixation promoted coupled N and organic P accumulation in soils, and whether biotic demands by non-fixing vegetation could conserve ecosystem base cations as N accumulated. Total soil N (0–100 cm) pools increased nearly threefold across the N gradient, leading to increased nitrate leaching, declines in soil pH from 5.8 to 4.2, 10-fold declines in soil exchangeable Ca, Mg, and K, and increased mobilization of aluminum. These results suggest that long-term N enrichment had acidified soils and depleted much of the readily weatherable base cation pool. Soil organic P increased with both soil N and C across the gradient, but soil inorganic P, biomass P, and P leaching loss did not vary with N, implying that historic symbiotic N fixation promoted soil organic P accumulation and P sufficiency for non-fixers. Even though soil pools of Ca, Mg, and K all declined as soil N increased, only Ca declined in biomass pools, suggesting the emergence of Ca deficiency at high N. Biotic conservation and tight recycling of Ca increased in response to whole-ecosystem Ca depletion, as indicated by preferential accumulation of Ca in biomass and surface soil. Our findings support a hierarchical model of coupled N–Ca cycling under long-term soil N enrichment, whereby ecosystem-level N saturation and nitrate leaching deplete readily available soil Ca, stimulating biotic Ca conservation as overall supply diminishes. We conclude that a legacy of biological N fixation can increase N and P accumulation in soil organic matter to the point that neither nutrient is limiting to subsequent non-fixers, while also resulting in natural N saturation that intensifies base cation depletion and deficiency.

Evaluation of forest management practices through application of a biogeochemical model, PnET-BGC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valipour, M.; Driscoll, C. T.; Johnson, C. E.; Campbell, J. L.; Fahey, T.; Zeng, T.

2017-12-01

Forest ecosystem response to logging disturbance varies significantly, depending on site conditions, species composition, land use history, and the method and frequency of harvesting. The long-term effects of forest cuttings are less clear due to limited information on land use history and long-term time series observations. The hydrochemical model, PnET-BGC was modified and verified using field data from multiple experimentally harvested northern hardwood watersheds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), New Hampshire, USA, including a commercial whole-tree harvest (Watershed 5), a devegetation experiment (Watershed 2; devegetation and herbicide treatment), a commercial strip-cut (Watershed 4) to simulate the hydrology, biomass accumulation, and soil solution and stream water chemistry responses to clear-cutting. The confirmed model was used to investigate temporal changes in aboveground biomass accumulation and nutrient dynamics under three different harvesting intensities (40%, 60%, 80%) over four varied rotation lengths (20, 40, 60, 80 years) with results compared with a scenario of no forest harvesting. The total ecosystem carbon pool (biomass, soil and litter) was reduced over harvesting events. The greatest decline occurred in litter by 40%-70%, while the pool of carbon stored in aboveground biomass decreased by 30%-60% for 80% cutting levels at 40 and 20 year rotation lengths, respectively. The large pool of soil organic carbon remained relatively stable, with only minor declines over logging regimes. Stream water simulations demonstrated increased loss of major elements over cutting events. Ca+2 and NO3- were the most sensitive elements to leaching over frequent intensive logging. Accumulated leaching of Ca+2 and NO3- varied between 90-520 t Ca/ha and 40-420 t N/ha from conservative (80-year period and 40% cutting) to aggressive (20-year period and 80% cutting) cutting regimes, respectively. Moreover, a reduction in nutrient plant uptake over logging scenarios was estimated. Model simulations indicated nutrient losses were more sensitive to harvesting rotation length than intensity.

Effects of high-dose simvastatin on adrenal and gonadal steroidogenesis in men with hypercholesterolemia.

PubMed

Dobs, A S; Schrott, H; Davidson, M H; Bays, H; Stein, E A; Kush, D; Wu, M; Mitchel, Y; Illingworth, R D

2000-09-01

In view of the role of both the de novo biosynthesis and receptor-mediated uptake of cholesterol for normal steroidogenesis, we evaluated whether extending the therapeutic dose of the hepatic hydroxymethyl glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, simvastatin, to 80 mg/d would affect adrenal and gonadal steroid synthesis in men with hypercholesterolemia. To evaluate this question, we enrolled men into a multicenter randomized, placebo-controlled study lasting 12 weeks. Men with serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) more than 145 mg/dL after 6 weeks of a lipid-lowering diet were randomized to 80 mg simvastatin or placebo. Half of the subjects were asked to undergo a 6-hour infusion of corticotropin (ACTH) to evaluate cortisol synthesis, and the entire cohort received a human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulation test to assess gonadal hormone secretion using pooled serum samples taken 15 minutes apart. A total of 81 men (age, 45 +/- 11 years; 93% Caucasian) with baseline serum LDL-C of 197 mg/dL (placebo, n = 39) and 184 mg/dL (simvastatin 80 mg, n = 42) completed the study. After 12 weeks, serum LDL-C, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the simvastatin group changed by -43%, -25%, and 8%, respectively (all P < .001). The basal cortisol level and the peak serum cortisol and area under the curve response to the 6-hour ACTH infusion were comparable between the two treatment groups at baseline and after 12 weeks. The pooled total testosterone level at baseline was 541 and 513 ng/dL in the placebo and simvastatin-treated groups, respectively, which declined to 536 +/- 20.5 ng/dL (-1.5%) and 474 +/- 30.4 ng/dL (-13.6%, P = .09) after treatment (mean +/- SD). The pooled free testosterone declined by 6.3% in the simvastatin group, versus a 4.9% increase in the placebo group (P = .588), while pooled bioavailable testosterone declined 10.2% in the simvastatin group and increased 1.4% in the placebo group (P = .035). There were no changes in serum gonadotropin levels or sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). After administration of hCG, there were no differences in the peak total pooled testosterone level before or after 12 weeks of treatment. Simvastatin 80 mg was well tolerated compared with placebo. In conclusion, basal and stimulated cortisol production was unaffected by the use of simvastatin 80 mg versus placebo. As reported with other statins and cholestyramine, there were small declines in the simvastatin-treated group for pooled total, free, and bioavailable testosterone after 12 weeks, although there was no compensatory increase in serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or luteinizing hormone (LH) levels.

Changes in free amino acid content during naupliar development of the Calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa.

PubMed

Rayner, Thomas Allan; Jørgensen, Niels Ole Gerslev; Drillet, Guillaume; Hansen, Benni Winding

2017-08-01

Changes in free amino acids (FAA) were investigated in the potentially important live feed and neritic copepod species Acartia tonsa during naupliar development. Total content of FAA in A. tonsa nauplii was around 17% of dry weight at first development stage, and declined to 6% for later stages. Relative to body-volume and biomass, the FAA content indicated possible volume-dependent changes. However, changes in FAA with osmolytic activity could not account for this decline in FAA content, but suggests that the decline reflected degradation of residual FAAs from the embryonic stage. Glutamic acid revealed the largest change in relative abundance during naupliar development and declined from 29.0% at first nauplius stage to 7.1% at later stages. The high FAA pool in early naupliar stages may be necessary for naupliar development due to an absence of feeding at first development stages. The high FAA content in early nauplii indicates that A. tonsa is a valuable source for nutritional energy for first-feeding fish larvae and should be further exploited for aquaculture purposes. Enhancements to FAA abundances in nauplii through manipulation of maternal diets could be of future interest, as copepod nauplii can contain a substantial pool of FAAs at first development stage. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Improving Pool Fencing Legislation in Queensland, Australia: Attitudes and Impact on Child Drowning Fatalities

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Four-sided, non-climbable pool fencing is an effective strategy for preventing children from drowning in home swimming pools. In 2009, the Queensland Government introduced legislation to improve the effectiveness of pool fencing. This study explores community attitudes towards the effectiveness of these legislative changes and examines child (<5 years) drowning deaths in pools. Data from the 2011 Queensland Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Social Survey include results from questions related to pool ownership and pool fencing legislation. Fatal child drowning cases between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2015 were sourced from coronial data. Of the 1263 respondents, 26/100 households had a pool. A total of 58% believed tightening legislation would be effective in reducing child drowning deaths. Pool owners were more likely to doubt the effectiveness of legislation (p < 0.001) when compared to non-pool owners. Perceptions of effectiveness did not differ by presence of children under the age of five. There were 46 children who drowned in Queensland home pools (7.8/100,000 pools with children residing in the residence/annum) between 2005 and 2015. While pool owners were less likely to think that tightening the legislation would be effective, the number of children drowning in home swimming pools declined over the study period. Drowning prevention agencies have more work to do to ensure that the most vulnerable (young children in houses with swimming pools) are protected. PMID:29186787

Detecting SNPs and estimating allele frequencies in clonal bacterial populations by sequencing pooled DNA.

PubMed

Holt, Kathryn E; Teo, Yik Y; Li, Heng; Nair, Satheesh; Dougan, Gordon; Wain, John; Parkhill, Julian

2009-08-15

Here, we present a method for estimating the frequencies of SNP alleles present within pooled samples of DNA using high-throughput short-read sequencing. The method was tested on real data from six strains of the highly monomorphic pathogen Salmonella Paratyphi A, sequenced individually and in a pool. A variety of read mapping and quality-weighting procedures were tested to determine the optimal parameters, which afforded > or =80% sensitivity of SNP detection and strong correlation with true SNP frequency at poolwide read depth of 40x, declining only slightly at read depths 20-40x. The method was implemented in Perl and relies on the opensource software Maq for read mapping and SNP calling. The Perl script is freely available from ftp://ftp.sanger.ac.uk/pub/pathogens/pools/.

Selection and Classification Using a Forecast Applicant Pool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendrix, William H.

The document presents a forecast model of the future Air Force applicant pool. By forecasting applicants' quality (means and standard deviations of aptitude scores) and quantity (total number of applicants), a potential enlistee could be compared to the forecasted pool. The data used to develop the model consisted of means, standard deviation, and…

Decline in Tested and Self-Reported Cognitive Functioning After Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation for Lung Cancer: Pooled Secondary Analysis of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Randomized Trials 0212 and 0214

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gondi, Vinai, E-mail: vgondi@chicagocancer.org; University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin; Paulus, Rebecca

Purpose: To assess the impact of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) on self-reported cognitive functioning (SRCF), a functional scale on the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). Methods and Materials: Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) protocol 0214 randomized patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer to PCI or observation; RTOG 0212 randomized patients with limited-disease small cell lung cancer to high- or standard-dose PCI. In both trials, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT)-Recall and -Delayed Recall and SRCF were assessed at baseline (after locoregional therapy but before PCI or observation) and atmore » 6 and 12 months. Patients developing brain relapse before follow-up evaluation were excluded. Decline was defined using the reliable change index method and correlated with receipt of PCI versus observation using logistic regression modeling. Fisher's exact test correlated decline in SRCF with HVLT decline. Results: Of the eligible patients pooled from RTOG 0212 and RTOG 0214, 410 (93%) receiving PCI and 173 (96%) undergoing observation completed baseline HVLT or EORTC QLQ-C30 testing and were included in this analysis. Prophylactic cranial irradiation was associated with a higher risk of decline in SRCF at 6 months (odds ratio 3.60, 95% confidence interval 2.34-6.37, P<.0001) and 12 months (odds ratio 3.44, 95% confidence interval 1.84-6.44, P<.0001). Decline on HVLT-Recall at 6 and 12 months was also associated with PCI (P=.002 and P=.002, respectively) but was not closely correlated with decline in SRCF at the same time points (P=.05 and P=.86, respectively). Conclusions: In lung cancer patients who do not develop brain relapse, PCI is associated with decline in HVLT-tested and self-reported cognitive functioning. Decline in HVLT and decline in SRCF are not closely correlated, suggesting that they may represent distinct elements of the cognitive spectrum.« less

Modeling of soil carbon turnover under different crop management: Calibration of RothC-model for Pannonian climate conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rampazzo Todorovic, G.; Stemmer, M.; Tatzber, M.; Katzlberger, C.; Spiegel, H.; Zehetner, F.; Gerzabek, M. H.

2009-04-01

Despite our knowledge about soil C dynamics, very few long-term data concerning soil organic C dynamics are available for calibrating and evaluating C models. The long-term 14C turnover field experiment, established in 1967 in Fuchsenbigl, Lower Austria, offers the unique opportunity to investigate the mineralization and stabilization of 14C-labeled wheat straw and farmyard manure under different cropping systems (crop rotation CR, spring wheat SW and bare fallow BF) in a long-term field experiment established by H.-E. Oberländer in 1967 in Fuchsenbigl/Lower Austria. In this work the Roth-C-26.3-model was calibrated for the Pannonian climatic region based on the field experiment results. Decomposition rate constants were modified regarding the possible climatic influence on carbon sequestration in soil C pools. The modeled output based on the calibrated model fitted better to measured values than data obtained with the original Roth-C-26.3-model parameters. The main change was in the decomposition rate constant for the HUM (humified) soil C pool, which is now fitted for different plots from 0.005 to 0.01 y-1 instead of 0.02 y-1 as determined in the original Rothamsted field trial. Moreover, for one plot, in addition to the HUM pool, the decomposition rate constant for RPM (resistant plant material) pool was fitted at 0.7 y-1 instead of 0.3 y-1 as originally in the Roth-C-26.3-model. These changes yielded a higher HUM pool in the calibrated model because of the longer turnover period (100-200 versus 50 years). Compared with CR and SW treatments, the decline of TOC was largest in the BF treatments as expected because no significant carbon input has occurred since 1967. Nonetheless, the decline was still not as fast as calculated with original RothC-26.3-model decomposition rate constants. The specific research question was the long-term effect of residue removal on SOM levels under different crop management, under different soil conditions and different climatic regimes of Fuchsenbigl (Austria), Rothamsted (UK) and Ultuna (Sweden). Modeling results of removing the crop residues showed that this can entail a long-term decline of SOM. However, these impacts are strongly dependent on the crop types, the soil properties, and the climatic conditions at a given location. Modeling results of the removal of crop residues showed that it can entail a long-term decline of SOM. A comparison of modeling results for winter wheat and spring barley for Rothamsted/UK, Fuchsenbigl/Austria and Ultuna/Sweden indicate slight SOC decreases at the Fuchsenbigl site when 100% of the straw was removed and increasing trends when 50% was removed. However, at the Rothamsted and Ultuna sites, 50% straw removal still resulted in declining SOC stocks.

Multidimensional severity assessment in bronchiectasis: an analysis of seven European cohorts

PubMed Central

McDonnell, M J; Aliberti, S; Goeminne, P C; Dimakou, K; Zucchetti, S C; Davidson, J; Ward, C; Laffey, J G; Finch, S; Pesci, A; Dupont, L J; Fardon, T C; Skrbic, D; Obradovic, D; Cowman, S; Loebinger, M R; Rutherford, R M; De Soyza, A; Chalmers, J D

2016-01-01

Introduction Bronchiectasis is a multidimensional disease associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Two disease-specific clinical prediction tools have been developed, the Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI) and the FACED score, both of which stratify patients into severity risk categories to predict the probability of mortality. Methods We aimed to compare the predictive utility of BSI and FACED in assessing clinically relevant disease outcomes across seven European cohorts independent of their original validation studies. Results The combined cohorts totalled 1612. Pooled analysis showed that both scores had a good discriminatory predictive value for mortality (pooled area under the curve (AUC) 0.76, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.78 for both scores) with the BSI demonstrating a higher sensitivity (65% vs 28%) but lower specificity (70% vs 93%) compared with the FACED score. Calibration analysis suggested that the BSI performed consistently well across all cohorts, while FACED consistently overestimated mortality in ‘severe’ patients (pooled OR 0.33 (0.23 to 0.48), p<0.0001). The BSI accurately predicted hospitalisations (pooled AUC 0.82, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.84), exacerbations, quality of life (QoL) and respiratory symptoms across all risk categories. FACED had poor discrimination for hospital admissions (pooled AUC 0.65, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.67) with low sensitivity at 16% and did not consistently predict future risk of exacerbations, QoL or respiratory symptoms. No association was observed with FACED and 6 min walk distance (6MWD) or lung function decline. Conclusion The BSI accurately predicts mortality, hospital admissions, exacerbations, QoL, respiratory symptoms, 6MWD and lung function decline in bronchiectasis, providing a clinically relevant evaluation of disease severity. PMID:27516225

Functional consequences of realistic biodiversity changes in a marine ecosystem

PubMed Central

Bracken, Matthew E. S.; Friberg, Sara E.; Gonzalez-Dorantes, Cirse A.; Williams, Susan L.

2008-01-01

Declines in biodiversity have prompted concern over the consequences of species loss for the goods and services provided by natural ecosystems. However, relatively few studies have evaluated the functional consequences of realistic, nonrandom changes in biodiversity. Instead, most designs have used randomly selected assemblages from a local species pool to construct diversity gradients. It is therefore difficult, based on current evidence, to predict the functional consequences of realistic declines in biodiversity. In this study, we used tide pool microcosms to demonstrate that the effects of real-world changes in biodiversity may be very different from those of random diversity changes. Specifically, we measured the relationship between the diversity of a seaweed assemblage and its ability to use nitrogen, a key limiting nutrient in nearshore marine systems. We quantified nitrogen uptake using both experimental and model seaweed assemblages and found that natural increases in diversity resulted in enhanced rates of nitrogen use, whereas random diversity changes had no effect on nitrogen uptake. Our results suggest that understanding the real-world consequences of declining biodiversity will require addressing changes in species performance along natural diversity gradients and understanding the relationships between species' susceptibility to loss and their contributions to ecosystem functioning. PMID:18195375

Welding, longitudinal lung function decline and chronic respiratory symptoms: a systematic review of cohort studies.

PubMed

Szram, Joanna; Schofield, Susie J; Cosgrove, Martin P; Cullinan, Paul

2013-11-01

While the acute respiratory risks of welding are well characterised, more chronic effects, including those on lung function, are less clear. We carried out a systematic review of published longitudinal studies of lung function decline in welders. Original cohort studies documenting two or more sequential measurements of lung function were reviewed. Meta-analysis was carried out on studies with suitable data on forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Seven studies were included; their quality (measured on the Newcastle-Ottawa scale) was good, although exposure assessment was limited and the studies showed significant heterogeneity. Five had data suitable for meta-analysis; the pooled estimate of the difference in FEV1 decline between welders and nonwelders was -9.0 mL · year(-1) (95% CI -22.5-4.5; p=0.193). The pooled estimates of difference in annual FEV1 decline between welders and referents who smoked was -13.7 mL · year(-1) (95% CI -33.6-6.3; p=0.179). For welders and referents who did not smoke the estimated difference was -3.8 mL · year(-1) (95% CI -20.2-12.6; p=0.650). Symptom prevalence data were mainly narrative; smoking appeared to have the greatest effect on symptom evolution. Collectively, available longitudinal data on decline of lung function in welders and respiratory symptoms suggest a greater effect in those who smoke, supporting a focus on smoking cessation as well as control of fume exposure in this trade. Further prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.

Fish Intake, Genetic Predisposition to Alzheimer Disease, and Decline in Global Cognition and Memory in 5 Cohorts of Older Persons.

PubMed

Samieri, Cécilia; Morris, Martha-Clare; Bennett, David A; Berr, Claudine; Amouyel, Philippe; Dartigues, Jean-François; Tzourio, Christophe; Chasman, Daniel I; Grodstein, Francine

2018-05-01

Fish are a primary source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which may help delay cognitive aging. We pooled participants from the French Three-City study and 4 US cohorts (Nurses' Health Study, Women's Health Study, Chicago Health and Aging Project, and Rush Memory and Aging Project) for whom diet and cognitive data were available (n = 23,688 white persons, aged ≥65 years, 88% female, baseline year range of 1992-1999, and median follow-up range of 3.9-9.1 years) to investigate the relationship of fish intake to cognitive decline and examine interactions with genes related to Alzheimer disease. We estimated cohort-specific associations between fish and change in composite scores of global cognition and episodic memory using linear mixed models, and we pooled results using inverse-variance weighted meta-analysis. In multivariate analyses, higher fish intake was associated with slower decline in both global cognition and memory (P for trend ≤ 0.031). Consuming ≥4 servings/week versus <1 serving/week of fish was associated with a lower rate of memory decline: 0.018 (95% confidence interval: 0.004, 0.032) standard units, an effect estimate equivalent to that found for 4 years of age. For global cognition, no comparisons of higher versus low fish intake reached statistical significance. In this meta-analysis, higher fish intake was associated with a lower rate of memory decline. We found no evidence of effect modification by genes associated with Alzheimer disease.

Hemostatic profile and safety of pooled cryoprecipitate up to 120 hours after thawing.

PubMed

Lokhandwala, Parvez M; O'Neal, Adrian; Patel, Eshan U; Brunker, Patricia A R; Gehrie, Eric A; Zheng, Gang; Kickler, Thomas S; Ness, Paul M; Tobian, Aaron A R

2018-05-01

AABB standards state that cryoprecipitate should be transfused within 4 to 6 hours after thawing. We evaluated coagulation factor levels and sterility of thawed pooled cryoprecipitate to assess whether shelf life can be safely extended. Donor cryoprecipitate pools (n = 20, 10 group A, 10 group O) were held at ambient temperature and sampled at 0, 4, 8, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours post-thawing for fibrinogen, Factor (F)VIII, and von Willebrand factor (vWF) levels. Samples were tested at 0 and 120 hours for sterility (BacT/Alert system). Sixty additional cryoprecipitate pools were evaluated after 72 hours. Longitudinal differences in component levels were determined by linear fixed-effects regression. Group O cryoprecipitate had significantly lower FVIII (p = 0.002) and vWF activity (p = 0.006) compared to group A at 0 hours, but were not statistically different in fibrinogen levels (p = 0.33). Fibrinogen levels were stable over 5 days: 501 ± 81 mg/unit (mean ± standard deviation) at 0 hours to 506 ± 102 mg/unit at 120 hours (p = 0.73). Similarly, there was no decline in vWF activity: 200 ± 53 IU/unit at 0 hours to 209 ± 57 IU/unit at 120 hours (p = 0.084). The FVIII activity significantly declined on average by 9.6 IU (95% confidence interval, 5.5-13.8) between 0 hours (111 ± 33 IU/unit) and 120 hours post-thaw (101 ± 33) (p < 0.001). No organisms were detected when cryoprecipitate pools were cultured at 0 hours, but at 120 hours Staphylococcus epidermidis was identified from one pool, potentially a contaminant introduced during repeated sampling. No cultures were positive among the 60 additional cryoprecipitate pools assessed at 72 hours. Extended cryoprecipitate storage at ambient temperature did not affect fibrinogen levels over 120 hours. Sterility of products held at ambient temperature for an extended period of time could be assessed by secondary culture. © 2018 AABB.

Long-term changes in mollisol organic carbon and nitrogen.

PubMed

David, Mark B; McIsaac, Gregory F; Darmody, Robert G; Omonode, Rex A

2009-01-01

Conversions of Mollisols from prairie to cropland and subsequent changes in crop production practices in the Midwestern USA have resulted in changes in soil organic matter. Few studies have used archived samples, long-term resampling of soils to a depth of 1 m, and space for time studies to document these changes. We resampled soils by depth (0-100 cm) in fields at 19 locations in central Illinois on poorly drained Mollisols that were in corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) rotations, were tile drained, and had no known history of manure application in recent decades. Three fields were paired with virgin prairie remnants, two had grass borders that were sampled, and 16 had been previously sampled in 1901 to 1904 or 1957 under various land uses (virgin prairie, cultivation, grass cover). The soils had large amounts of C and N in the profile, with mean values of 175 [corrected] Mg C ha(-1) and 16.1 Mg N ha(-1) for the 18 cultivated fields sampled in 2001 and 2002. We confirmed a large reduction in organic C and total N pools from conversion of prairies to annual cultivation and artificial drainage and documented no change in these organic matter pools of cultivated soils during the period of synthetic fertilizer use (1957--2002). Cultivated fields had soil C and N concentrations typically 30 to 50% less than virgin prairie soils. Smaller but significant declines in C and N concentrations were found when comparing 1900s cultivated fields to concentrations in 2002, after another 100 yr of cultivation, and in comparing 1957 grass covered fields that had been converted to annual cultivation before 2002. The reduction in organic matter after cultivation of prairies occurred mostly in the top 50 cm of soil, with evidence of translocation of C and N from these upper layers to the 50- to 100-cm depth, possibly enhanced by tile drainage. For these Mollisols, declines in organic matter were likely completed by the 1950s, with organic matter pools in a steady state under the production practices in place from the late 1950s through 2002.

Motor function and incident dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Kueper, Jacqueline Kathleen; Speechley, Mark; Lingum, Navena Rebecca; Montero-Odasso, Manuel

2017-09-01

cognitive and mobility decline are interrelated processes, whereby mobility decline coincides or precedes the onset of cognitive decline. to assess whether there is an association between performance on motor function tests and incident dementia. electronic database, grey literature and hand searching identified studies testing for associations between baseline motor function and incident dementia in older adults. of 2,540 potentially relevant documents, 37 met the final inclusion criteria and were reviewed qualitatively. Three meta-analyses were conducted using data from 10 studies. Three main motor domains-upper limb motor function, parkinsonism and lower limb motor function-emerged as associated with increased risk of incident dementia. Studies including older adults without neurological overt disease found a higher risk of incident dementia associated with poorer performance on composite motor function scores, balance and gait velocity (meta-analysis pooled HR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.41, 2.65). Mixed results were found across different study samples for upper limb motor function, overall parkinsonism (meta-analysis pooled OR = 3.05, 95% CI: 1.31, 7.08), bradykinesia and rigidity. Studies restricted to older adults with Parkinson's Disease found weak or no association with incident dementia even for motor domains highly associated in less restrictive samples. Tremor was not associated with an increased risk of dementia in any population (meta-analysis pooled HR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.31, 2.03). lower limb motor function was associated with increased risk of developing dementia, while tremor and hand grip strength were not. Our results support future research investigating the inclusion of quantitative motor assessment, specifically gait velocity tests, for clinical dementia risk evaluation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Specific ablation of Nampt in adult neural stem cells recapitulates their functional defects during aging

PubMed Central

Stein, Liana R; Imai, Shin-ichiro

2014-01-01

Neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) proliferation and self-renewal, as well as insult-induced differentiation, decrease markedly with age. The molecular mechanisms responsible for these declines remain unclear. Here, we show that levels of NAD+ and nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt), the rate-limiting enzyme in mammalian NAD+ biosynthesis, decrease with age in the hippocampus. Ablation of Nampt in adult NSPCs reduced their pool and proliferation in vivo. The decrease in the NSPC pool during aging can be rescued by enhancing hippocampal NAD+ levels. Nampt is the main source of NSPC NAD+ levels and required for G1/S progression of the NSPC cell cycle. Nampt is also critical in oligodendrocytic lineage fate decisions through a mechanism mediated redundantly by Sirt1 and Sirt2. Ablation of Nampt in the adult NSPCs in vivo reduced NSPC-mediated oligodendrogenesis upon insult. These phenotypes recapitulate defects in NSPCs during aging, giving rise to the possibility that Nampt-mediated NAD+ biosynthesis is a mediator of age-associated functional declines in NSPCs. PMID:24811750

Role of peripheral pooling in porcine Escherichia coli sepsis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Teule, G.J.; von Lingen, A.; Verwey von Vught, M.A.

In anesthesized pigs the effects of E. coli (2 X 10(8)/kg) on hemodynamics and red cell distribution were studied. After injection of 99m-Tc red cells (15 mCi), regional radioactivity was followed during 3 hours. Gated bloodpool studies were performed to measure end-diastolic volumes (EDV). Escherichia coli E. coli was infused in 14 pigs, while 7 animals served as controls. E. coli resulted in an early increase in pulmonary arterial pressure. Systemic arterial pressure decreased gradually, while cardiac output did not change significantly. The gated studies revealed that especially left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) declined, to 50% of the basal value.more » Regional radioactivity did not change over lungs, liver and abdomen. Splenic activity declined markedly. Over the hindlimb a significant increase (29 +/- 8%) was observed. It is concluded that E. coli infusion in pigs induces a hemodynamic pattern similar to human sepsis. The decrease in LVEDV is probably related to peripheral pooling and a change in right ventricle (RV) performance.« less

Trends in prevalence of multi drug resistant tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Adamu, Aishatu L.; Galadanci, Najibah A.; Zubayr, Bashir; Odoh, Chisom N.; Aliyu, Muktar H.

2017-01-01

Background Multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), is an emerging public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study aims to determine the trends in prevalence of MDR-TB among new TB cases in sub-Saharan Africa over two decades. Methods We searched electronic data bases and accessed all prevalence studies of MDR-TB within SSA between 2007 and 2017. We determined pooled prevalence estimates using random effects models and determined trends using meta-regression. Results Results: We identified 915 studies satisfying inclusion criteria. Cumulatively, studies reported on MDR-TB culture of 34,652 persons. The pooled prevalence of MDR-TB in new cases was 2.1% (95% CI; 1.7–2.5%). There was a non-significant decline in prevalence by 0.12% per year. Conclusion We found a low prevalence estimate of MDR-TB, and a slight temporal decline over the study period. There is a need for continuous MDR-TB surveillance among patients with TB. PMID:28945771

A call to action for nurses: declining enrollment and the nursing shortage.

PubMed

Albaugh, J A

2001-10-01

Once again, nursing and health care face a crisis related to the continued decline in nursing school enrollment and the nursing shortage. This particular shortage seems to be especially problematic because of the increased number of aging baby boomers and the dwindling professional nurse pool. Nurses must work together to increase understanding and awareness of the opportunities in the profession and to resolve this crisis. There are specific actions nurses can take to improve the perception of nursing and renew interest in a dynamic field that is so crucial to society.

Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from the United States forest service northern region, 1906-2010

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Global forests capture and store significant amounts of CO2 through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood products (HWP) to meet greenhouse gas monitoring commitments and climate change adaptation and mitigation objectives. This paper uses the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) production accounting approach and the California Forest Project Protocol (CFPP) to estimate HWP carbon storage from 1906 to 2010 for the USFS Northern Region, which includes forests in northern Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and eastern Washington. Results Based on the IPCC approach, carbon stocks in the HWP pool were increasing at one million megagrams of carbon (MgC) per year in the mid 1960s, with peak cumulative storage of 28 million MgC occurring in 1995. Net positive flux into the HWP pool over this period is primarily attributable to high harvest levels in the mid twentieth century. Harvest levels declined after 1970, resulting in less carbon entering the HWP pool. Since 1995, emissions from HWP at solid waste disposal sites have exceeded additions from harvesting, resulting in a decline in the total amount of carbon stored in the HWP pool. The CFPP approach shows a similar trend, with 100-year average carbon storage for each annual Northern Region harvest peaking in 1969 at 937,900 MgC, and fluctuating between 84,000 and 150,000 MgC over the last decade. Conclusions The Northern Region HWP pool is now in a period of negative net annual stock change because the decay of products harvested between 1906 and 2010 exceeds additions of carbon to the HWP pool through harvest. However, total forest carbon includes both HWP and ecosystem carbon, which may have increased over the study period. Though our emphasis is on the Northern Region, we provide a framework by which the IPCC and CFPP methods can be applied broadly at sub-national scales to other regions, land management units, or firms. PMID:22244260

Effect of Molten Pool Size on Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy.

PubMed

Wu, Qianru; Lu, Jiping; Liu, Changmeng; Fan, Hongli; Shi, Xuezhi; Fu, Jie; Ma, Shuyuan

2017-07-04

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) technique is a cost-competitive and efficient technology to produce large structure components in industry domains. Mechanical properties are mainly dominated by the microstructure of the components, which is deeply affected by the molten pool size. In this work, to investigate the effect of the molten pool size on microstructure and mechanical properties of the components, a series of Ti-6Al-4V alloy blocks with different width of molten pool (WMP) ranging from 7 mm to 22 mm were deposited by adjusting the wire feed speed (WFS) from 100 cm/min to 500 cm/min. It is interesting to find that the macrostructure changes from columnar grains to equiaxial grains, and then returns to large columnar grains with the increase of WMP, which is mainly caused by the different cooling rates and thermal gradients. Nonetheless, the tensile properties of the components have a tendency to decline with the increase of WMP.

Effect of Molten Pool Size on Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

PubMed Central

Wu, Qianru; Lu, Jiping; Liu, Changmeng; Fan, Hongli; Shi, Xuezhi; Fu, Jie; Ma, Shuyuan

2017-01-01

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) technique is a cost-competitive and efficient technology to produce large structure components in industry domains. Mechanical properties are mainly dominated by the microstructure of the components, which is deeply affected by the molten pool size. In this work, to investigate the effect of the molten pool size on microstructure and mechanical properties of the components, a series of Ti-6Al-4V alloy blocks with different width of molten pool (WMP) ranging from 7 mm to 22 mm were deposited by adjusting the wire feed speed (WFS) from 100 cm/min to 500 cm/min. It is interesting to find that the macrostructure changes from columnar grains to equiaxial grains, and then returns to large columnar grains with the increase of WMP, which is mainly caused by the different cooling rates and thermal gradients. Nonetheless, the tensile properties of the components have a tendency to decline with the increase of WMP. PMID:28773107

Golgi and plasma membrane pools of PI(4)P contribute to plasma membrane PI(4,5)P2 and maintenance of KCNQ2/3 ion channel current

PubMed Central

Dickson, Eamonn J.; Jensen, Jill B.; Hille, Bertil

2014-01-01

Plasma membrane (PM) phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] regulates the activity of many ion channels and other membrane-associated proteins. To determine precursor sources of the PM PI(4,5)P2 pool in tsA-201 cells, we monitored KCNQ2/3 channel currents and translocation of PHPLCδ1 domains as real-time indicators of PM PI(4,5)P2, and translocation of PHOSH2×2, and PHOSH1 domains as indicators of PM and Golgi phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate [PI(4)P], respectively. We selectively depleted PI(4)P pools at the PM, Golgi, or both using the rapamycin-recruitable lipid 4-phosphatases. Depleting PI(4)P at the PM with a recruitable 4-phosphatase (Sac1) results in a decrease of PI(4,5)P2 measured by electrical or optical indicators. Depleting PI(4)P at the Golgi with the 4-phosphatase or disrupting membrane-transporting motors induces a decline in PM PI(4,5)P2. Depleting PI(4)P simultaneously at both the Golgi and the PM induces a larger decrease of PI(4,5)P2. The decline of PI(4,5)P2 following 4-phosphatase recruitment takes 1–2 min. Recruiting the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) toward the Golgi membranes mimics the effects of depleting PI(4)P at the Golgi, apparently due to the trans actions of endogenous ER Sac1. Thus, maintenance of the PM pool of PI(4,5)P2 appears to depend on precursor pools of PI(4)P both in the PM and in the Golgi. The decrease in PM PI(4,5)P2 when Sac1 is recruited to the Golgi suggests that the Golgi contribution is ongoing and that PI(4,5)P2 production may be coupled to important cell biological processes such as membrane trafficking or lipid transfer activity. PMID:24843134

Multidimensional severity assessment in bronchiectasis: an analysis of seven European cohorts.

PubMed

McDonnell, M J; Aliberti, S; Goeminne, P C; Dimakou, K; Zucchetti, S C; Davidson, J; Ward, C; Laffey, J G; Finch, S; Pesci, A; Dupont, L J; Fardon, T C; Skrbic, D; Obradovic, D; Cowman, S; Loebinger, M R; Rutherford, R M; De Soyza, A; Chalmers, J D

2016-12-01

Bronchiectasis is a multidimensional disease associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Two disease-specific clinical prediction tools have been developed, the Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI) and the FACED score, both of which stratify patients into severity risk categories to predict the probability of mortality. We aimed to compare the predictive utility of BSI and FACED in assessing clinically relevant disease outcomes across seven European cohorts independent of their original validation studies. The combined cohorts totalled 1612. Pooled analysis showed that both scores had a good discriminatory predictive value for mortality (pooled area under the curve (AUC) 0.76, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.78 for both scores) with the BSI demonstrating a higher sensitivity (65% vs 28%) but lower specificity (70% vs 93%) compared with the FACED score. Calibration analysis suggested that the BSI performed consistently well across all cohorts, while FACED consistently overestimated mortality in 'severe' patients (pooled OR 0.33 (0.23 to 0.48), p<0.0001). The BSI accurately predicted hospitalisations (pooled AUC 0.82, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.84), exacerbations, quality of life (QoL) and respiratory symptoms across all risk categories. FACED had poor discrimination for hospital admissions (pooled AUC 0.65, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.67) with low sensitivity at 16% and did not consistently predict future risk of exacerbations, QoL or respiratory symptoms. No association was observed with FACED and 6 min walk distance (6MWD) or lung function decline. The BSI accurately predicts mortality, hospital admissions, exacerbations, QoL, respiratory symptoms, 6MWD and lung function decline in bronchiectasis, providing a clinically relevant evaluation of disease severity. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: analysis of pooled data from three multinational phase 3 trials.

PubMed

Noble, Paul W; Albera, Carlo; Bradford, Williamson Z; Costabel, Ulrich; du Bois, Roland M; Fagan, Elizabeth A; Fishman, Robert S; Glaspole, Ian; Glassberg, Marilyn K; Lancaster, Lisa; Lederer, David J; Leff, Jonathan A; Nathan, Steven D; Pereira, Carlos A; Swigris, Jeffrey J; Valeyre, Dominique; King, Talmadge E

2016-01-01

Pirfenidone is an antifibrotic agent that has been evaluated in three multinational phase 3 trials in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We analysed pooled data from the multinational trials to obtain the most precise estimates of the magnitude of treatment effect on measures of disease progression.All patients randomised to pirfenidone 2403 mg·day(-1) or placebo in the CAPACITY or ASCEND studies were included in the analysis. Pooled analyses of outcomes at 1 year were based on the pre-specified end-points and analytic methods described in the ASCEND study protocol.A total of 1247 patients were included in the analysis. At 1 year, pirfenidone reduced the proportion of patients with a ≥10% decline in per cent predicted forced vital capacity or death by 43.8% (95% CI 29.3-55.4%) and increased the proportion of patients with no decline by 59.3% (95% CI 29.0-96.8%). A treatment benefit was also observed for progression-free survival, 6-min walk distance and dyspnoea. Gastrointestinal and skin-related adverse events were more common in the pirfenidone group, but rarely led to discontinuation.Analysis of data from three phase 3 trials demonstrated that treatment with pirfenidone for 1 year resulted in clinically meaningful reductions in disease progression in patients with IPF. Copyright ©ERS 2016.

Pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: analysis of pooled data from three multinational phase 3 trials

PubMed Central

Albera, Carlo; Bradford, Williamson Z.; Costabel, Ulrich; du Bois, Roland M.; Fagan, Elizabeth A.; Fishman, Robert S.; Glaspole, Ian; Glassberg, Marilyn K.; Lancaster, Lisa; Lederer, David J.; Leff, Jonathan A.; Nathan, Steven D.; Pereira, Carlos A.; Swigris, Jeffrey J.; Valeyre, Dominique; King, Talmadge E.

2016-01-01

Pirfenidone is an antifibrotic agent that has been evaluated in three multinational phase 3 trials in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We analysed pooled data from the multinational trials to obtain the most precise estimates of the magnitude of treatment effect on measures of disease progression. All patients randomised to pirfenidone 2403 mg·day−1 or placebo in the CAPACITY or ASCEND studies were included in the analysis. Pooled analyses of outcomes at 1 year were based on the pre-specified end-points and analytic methods described in the ASCEND study protocol. A total of 1247 patients were included in the analysis. At 1 year, pirfenidone reduced the proportion of patients with a ≥10% decline in per cent predicted forced vital capacity or death by 43.8% (95% CI 29.3–55.4%) and increased the proportion of patients with no decline by 59.3% (95% CI 29.0–96.8%). A treatment benefit was also observed for progression-free survival, 6-min walk distance and dyspnoea. Gastrointestinal and skin-related adverse events were more common in the pirfenidone group, but rarely led to discontinuation. Analysis of data from three phase 3 trials demonstrated that treatment with pirfenidone for 1 year resulted in clinically meaningful reductions in disease progression in patients with IPF. PMID:26647432

Persistent viral infections and immune aging.

PubMed

Brunner, Stefan; Herndler-Brandstetter, Dietmar; Weinberger, Birgit; Grubeck-Loebenstein, Beatrix

2011-07-01

Immunosenescence comprises a set of dynamic changes occurring to both, the innate as well as the adaptive immune system that accompany human aging and result in complex manifestations of still poorly defined deficiencies in the elderly population. One of the most prominent alterations during aging is the continuous involution of the thymus gland which is almost complete by the age of 50. Consequently, the output of naïve T cells is greatly diminished in elderly individuals which puts pressure on homeostatic forces to maintain a steady T cell pool for most of adulthood. In a great proportion of the human population, this fragile balance is challenged by persistent viral infections, especially Cytomegalovirus (CMV), that oblige certain T cell clones to monoclonally expand repeatedly over a lifetime which then occupy space within the T cell pool. Eventually, these inflated memory T cell clones become exhausted and their extensive accumulation accelerates the age-dependent decline of the diversity of the T cell pool. As a consequence, infectious diseases are more frequent and severe in elderly persons and immunological protection following vaccination is reduced. This review therefore aims to shed light on how various types of persistent viral infections, especially CMV, influence the aging of the immune system and highlight potential measures to prevent the age-related decline in immune function. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Process, policy, and implementation of pool-wide drawdowns on the Upper Mississippi River: a promising approach for ecological restoration of large impounded rivers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kenow, Kevin P.; Gretchen Benjamin,; Tim Schlagenhaft,; Ruth Nissen,; Mary Stefanski,; Gary Wege,; Scott A. Jutila,; Newton, Teresa J.

2016-01-01

The Upper Mississippi River (UMR) has been developed and subsequently managed for commercial navigation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The navigation pools created by a series of lock and dams initially provided a complex of aquatic habitats that supported a variety of fish and wildlife. However, biological productivity declined as the pools aged. The River Resources Forum, an advisory body to the St. Paul District of the USACE, established a multiagency Water Level Management Task Force (WLMTF) to evaluate the potential of water level management to improve ecological function and restore the distribution and abundance of fish and wildlife habitat. The WLMTF identified several water level management options and concluded that summer growing season drawdowns at the pool scale offered the greatest potential to provide habitat benefits over a large area. Here we summarize the process followed to plan and implement pool-wide drawdowns on the UMR, including involvement of stakeholders in decision making, addressing requirements to modify reservoir operating plans, development and evaluation of drawdown alternatives, pool selection, establishment of a monitoring plan, interagency coordination, and a public information campaign. Three pool-wide drawdowns were implemented within the St. Paul District and deemed successful in providing ecological benefits without adversely affecting commercial navigation and recreational use of the pools. Insights are provided based on more than 17 years of experience in planning and implementing drawdowns on the UMR. 

75 FR 50797 - TTX Company-Application for Approval of Pooling of Car Service With Respect to Flatcars

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-17

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [Docket No. FD 27590 (Sub-No. 3)] TTX Company--Application for Approval of Pooling of Car Service With Respect to Flatcars AGENCY: Surface...) granted TTX Company (TTX) a 10-year extension of its authority to pool certain rail cars, subject to...

Bacterial community structure and dissolved organic matter in repeatedly flooded subsurface karst water pools.

PubMed

Shabarova, Tanja; Villiger, Jörg; Morenkov, Oleg; Niggemann, Jutta; Dittmar, Thorsten; Pernthaler, Jakob

2014-07-01

Bacterial diversity, community assembly, and the composition of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) were studied in three temporary subsurface karst pools with different flooding regimes. We tested the hypothesis that microorganisms introduced to the pools during floods faced environmental filtering toward a 'typical' karst water community, and we investigated whether DOM composition was related to floodings and the residence time of water in stagnant pools. As predicted, longer water residence consistently led to a decline of bacterial diversity. The microbial assemblages in the influx water harbored more 'exotic' lineages with large distances to known genotypes, yet these initial communities already appeared to be shaped by selective processes. β-Proteobacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) closely related to microbes from subsurface or surface aquatic environments were mainly responsible for the clustering of samples according to water residence time in the pools. By contrast, several Cytophagaceae and Flavobacteriaceae OTUs were related to different floodings, which were also the main determinants of DOM composition. A subset of compounds distinguishable by molecular mass and O/C content were characteristic for individual floods. Moreover, there was a transformation of DOM in stagnant pools toward smaller and more aromatic compounds, potentially also reflecting microbial utilization. © 2014 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of labor market changes on first-time medical school applicant pools.

PubMed

Cort, David A; Morrison, Emory

2014-12-01

To explore whether the number and composition of first-time applicants to U.S. MD-granting medical schools, which have fluctuated over the past 30 years, are related to changes in labor market strength, specifically the unemployment rate and wages. The authors merged time series data from 1980 through 2010 (inclusive) from five sources and used multivariate time series models to determine whether changes in labor market strength (and several other macro-level factors) were related to the number of the medical school applicants as reported by the American Medical College Application Service. Analyses were replicated across specific sex and race/ethnicity applicant pools. Two results surfaced in the analyses. First, the strength of the labor market was not influential in explaining changes in applicant pool sizes for all applicants, but was strongly influential in explaining changes for black and Hispanic males. Increases of $1,000 in prevailing median wages produced a 1.6% decrease in the white male applicant pool, while 1% increases in the unemployment rate were associated with 4.5% and 3.1% increases in, respectively, the black and Hispanic male applicant pools. Second, labor market strength was a more important determinant in applications from males than in applications from females. Although stakeholders cannot directly influence the overall economic market, they can plan and prepare for fewer applications from males, especially those who are black and Hispanic, when the labor market is strong.

Declining estimates of infertility in the United States: 1982-2002.

PubMed

Stephen, Elizabeth Hervey; Chandra, Anjani

2006-09-01

To determine if the decline in infertility has been uniform across subgroups. Periodic data from the National Fertility Survey and the National Survey of Family Growth were used to determine which factors contributed to the decline in 12-month infertility in the United States. National Survey of Family Growth, a periodic US nationally representative study. A nationally representative sample of married women aged 15-44 years, N = 15,303 for pooled data across 4 survey years. None. Estimates of infertility prevalence among married women aged 15-44 years. The decline in 12-month infertility in the United States from 8.5% in 1982 and 7.4% in 2002 was significant. This decline was evident in nearly all subgroups of married women. In the multivariate analysis, 12-month infertility was more likely among women who were older and nulliparous, were non-Hispanic black or Hispanic, and did not have a college degree. The decline in 12-month infertility was observed even after controlling for the compositional differences of the population over time. Among married women in the United States, there has been a significant decline in 12-month infertility, which cannot be explained by changes in the composition of the population from 1982-2002.

Our compact with tomorrow's doctors.

PubMed

Cohen, Jordan J

2002-06-01

In recent years, the image of medicine as a caring profession has been badly tarnished by a rash of critical reports in the media. In the face of this negative publicity, do young people still want to be doctors? The author reviews conventional reasons given for the declining applicant pool (e.g., issues of declining income, loss of autonomy, etc.) and posits that an additional reason may be perceptions that doctors no longer command respect and that they are being oppressed by, rather than being guardians of, the health care system. Such views challenge academic medicine to broadcast to the world a realistic picture of the fabulous opportunities and gratifications that lie ahead for the next generation of physicians. However, academic medicine must also address some current realities within medical education, such as the admission process (where at present there is a tendency to overemphasize indices of academic achievement and underemphasize the personal characteristics sought in applicants) and the acculturation process in medical school (which can often dehumanize students and convert idealistic ones into cynics). The author acknowledges that these are tough challenges. He suggests as a first step that leaders of academic medicine prepare and disseminate an explicit statement of their commitments, a kind of compact between teachers and learners of medicine. He outlines these commitments, and states his hope that by fulfilling them, the academic medicine community can make clear that medicine-which at its core is still about the doctor-patient relationship-is a true calling, not just beleaguered occupation.

17 CFR 5.4 - Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. 5.4 Section 5.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION OFF-EXCHANGE FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS § 5.4 Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. Part 4 of...

17 CFR 5.4 - Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. 5.4 Section 5.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION OFF-EXCHANGE FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS § 5.4 Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. Part 4 of...

Candidate Pools or Puddles: Challenges and Trends in the Recruitment and Hiring of Resident Directors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belch, Holley A.; Mueller, John A.

2003-01-01

Researchers examined the perspectives of 274 senior housing officers and 283 graduate students on the declining number of resident director candidates. Data from two separate surveys indicated that quality of life, remuneration, and interest in the residence life profession were significant issues. Implications for professional preparation,…

To Close Middle-Skills Gap, Improve Community College Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salomon-Fernandez, Yves

2014-01-01

For southern New England, the middle-skills gap is projected to become acute by 2020, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Historically and currently, the middle-skills labor pool in Massachusetts has been significantly below national rates and has been recently experiencing a decline. Closing the middle-skills gap depends on improving…

Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Contamination of Breeding Pools Utilized by the Puerto Rican Crested Toad, Peltophryne lemur

PubMed Central

Gjeltema, Jenessa; Stoskopf, Michael; Shea, Damian; De Voe, Ryan

2012-01-01

Habitat preservation and management may play an important role in the conservation of the Puerto Rican crested toad, Peltophryne lemur, due to this species' small geographic range and declining native wild population. Bioavailable water concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminants within breeding pools at 3 sites were established using Passive Sampling Devices (PSDs) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A more diverse population of PAH analytes were found in higher concentrations at the breeding site that allowed direct vehicular access, but calculated risk quotients indicated low risk to toad reproduction associated with the current PAH analyte levels. PMID:23762634

Is economic inequality in infant mortality higher in urban than in rural India?

PubMed

Kumar, Abhishek; Singh, Abhishek

2014-11-01

This paper examines the trends in economic inequality in infant mortality across urban-rural residence in India over last 14 years. We analysed data from the three successive rounds of the National Family Health Survey conducted in India during 1992-1993, 1998-1999, and 2005-2006. Asset-based household wealth index was used as the economic indicator for the study. Concentration index and pooled logistic regression analysis were applied to measure the extent of economic inequality in infant mortality in urban and rural India. Infant mortality rate differs considerably by urban-rural residence: infant mortality in rural India being substantially higher than that in urban India. The findings suggest that economic inequalities are higher in urban than in rural India in each of the three survey rounds. Pooled logistic regression results suggest that, in urban areas, infant mortality has declined by 22 % in poorest and 43 % in richest. In comparison, the decline is 29 and 32 % respectively in rural India. Economic inequality in infant mortality has widened more in urban than in rural India in the last two decades.

Sorghum production under future climate in the Southwestern USA: model projections of yield, greenhouse gas emissions and soil C fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duval, B.; Ghimire, R.; Hartman, M. D.; Marsalis, M.

2016-12-01

Large tracts of semi-arid land in the Southwestern USA are relatively less important for food production than the US Corn Belt, and represent a promising area for expansion of biofuel/bioproduct crops. However, high temperatures, low available water and high solar radiation in the SW represent a challenge to suitable feedstock development, and future climate change scenarios predict that portions of the SW will experience increased temperature and temporal shifts in precipitation distribution. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a valuable forage crop with promise as a biofuel feedstock, given its high biomass under semi-arid conditions, relatively lower N fertilizer requirements compared to corn, and salinity tolerance. To evaluate the environmental impact of expanded sorghum cultivation under future climate in the SW USA, we used the DayCent model in concert with a suite of downscaled future weather projections to predict biogeochemical consequences (greenhouse gas flux and impacts on soil carbon) of sorghum cultivation in New Mexico. The model showed good correspondence with yield data from field trials including both dryland and irrigated sorghum (measured vs. modeled; r2 = 0.75). Simulation experiments tested the effect of dryland production versus irrigation, low N versus high N inputs and delayed fertilizer application. Nitrogen application timing and irrigation impacted yield and N2O emissions less than N rate and climate. Across N and irrigation treatments, future climate simulations resulted in 6% increased yield and 20% lower N2O emissions compared to current climate. Soil C pools declined under future climate. The greatest declines in soil C were from low N input sorghum simulations, regardless of irrigation (>20% declines in SOM in both cases), and requires further evaluation to determine if changing future climate is driving these declines, or if they are a function of prolonged sorghum-fallow rotations in the model. The relatively small gain in yield for irrigated sorghum, and strong control of N rate on N2O emissions suggests that a dryland sorghum bioproduct system could be environmentally sustainable in the Southwestern US with effective N management, and warrants further investigation in field trials.

Glutamate Cysteine Ligase Modifier Subunit (Gclm) Null Mice Have Increased Ovarian Oxidative Stress and Accelerated Age-Related Ovarian Failure

PubMed Central

Lim, Jinhwan; Nakamura, Brooke N.; Mohar, Isaac; Kavanagh, Terrance J.

2015-01-01

Glutathione (GSH) is the one of the most abundant intracellular antioxidants. Mice lacking the modifier subunit of glutamate cysteine ligase (Gclm), the rate-limiting enzyme in GSH synthesis, have decreased GSH. Our prior work showed that GSH plays antiapoptotic roles in ovarian follicles. We hypothesized that Gclm−/− mice have accelerated ovarian aging due to ovarian oxidative stress. We found significantly decreased ovarian GSH concentrations and oxidized GSH/oxidized glutathione redox potential in Gclm−/− vs Gclm+/+ ovaries. Prepubertal Gclm−/− and Gclm+/+ mice had similar numbers of ovarian follicles, and as expected, the total number of ovarian follicles declined with age in both genotypes. However, the rate of decline in follicles was significantly more rapid in Gclm−/− mice, and this was driven by accelerated declines in primordial follicles, which constitute the ovarian reserve. We found significantly increased 4-hydroxynonenal immunostaining (oxidative lipid damage marker) and significantly increased nitrotyrosine immunostaining (oxidative protein damage marker) in prepubertal and adult Gclm−/− ovaries compared with controls. The percentage of small ovarian follicles with increased granulosa cell proliferation was significantly higher in prepubertal and 2-month-old Gclm−/− vs Gclm+/+ ovaries, indicating accelerated recruitment of primordial follicles into the growing pool. The percentages of growing follicles with apoptotic granulosa cells were increased in young adult ovaries. Our results demonstrate increased ovarian oxidative stress and oxidative damage in young Gclm−/− mice, associated with an accelerated decline in ovarian follicles that appears to be mediated by increased recruitment of follicles into the growing pool, followed by apoptosis at later stages of follicular development. PMID:26083875

The Relationship of Bilingualism Compared to Monolingualism to the Risk of Cognitive Decline or Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Mukadam, Naaheed; Sommerlad, Andrew; Livingston, Gill

2017-01-01

Bilingualism may contribute to cognitive reserve, protect against cognitive decline, and delay the onset of dementia. We systematically reviewed evidence about the effect of bilingualism on subsequent cognitive decline or dementia. We searched electronic databases and references for longitudinal studies comparing cognitive decline in people who were bilingual with those who were monolingual and evaluated study quality. We conducted meta-analyses using random effects models to calculate pooled odds ratio of incident dementia. We included 13/1,156 eligible articles. Meta-analysis of prospective studies of the effects of bilingualism on future dementia gave a combined Odds Ratio of dementia of 0.96 (95% CI 0.74-1.23) in bilingual participants (n = 5,527) compared to monolinguals. Most retrospective studies found that bilingual people were reported to develop symptoms of cognitive decline at a later age than monolingual participants. We did not find that bilingualism protects from cognitive decline or dementia from prospective studies. Retrospective studies are more prone to confounding by education, or cultural differences in presentation to dementia services and are therefore not suited to establishing causative links between risk factors and outcomes.

26 CFR 1.904-7 - Transition rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... limitation income) (prior to their amendment by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (the Act)) after application of... pools shall constitute the opening balance of the noncontrolled section 902 corporation's pools of post...-through pools shall constitute the opening balance of the look-through pools of post-1986 undistributed...

26 CFR 1.904-7 - Transition rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... limitation income) (prior to their amendment by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (the Act)) after application of... pools shall constitute the opening balance of the noncontrolled section 902 corporation's pools of post...-through pools shall constitute the opening balance of the look-through pools of post-1986 undistributed...

26 CFR 1.904-7 - Transition rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... limitation income) (prior to their amendment by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (the Act)) after application of... pools shall constitute the opening balance of the noncontrolled section 902 corporation's pools of post...-through pools shall constitute the opening balance of the look-through pools of post-1986 undistributed...

26 CFR 1.904-7 - Transition rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... limitation income) (prior to their amendment by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (the Act)) after application of... pools shall constitute the opening balance of the noncontrolled section 902 corporation's pools of post...-through pools shall constitute the opening balance of the look-through pools of post-1986 undistributed...

9 CFR 3.103 - Facilities, outdoor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... requirements shall be applicable to all outdoor pools. (1) The water surface of pools in outdoor primary... free of solid ice to allow for entry and exit of the animals. (2) The water surface of pools in outdoor... water dwelling species of pinnipeds or cetaceans shall be housed in outdoor pools where water...

9 CFR 3.103 - Facilities, outdoor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... requirements shall be applicable to all outdoor pools. (1) The water surface of pools in outdoor primary... free of solid ice to allow for entry and exit of the animals. (2) The water surface of pools in outdoor... water dwelling species of pinnipeds or cetaceans shall be housed in outdoor pools where water...

13 CFR 120.630 - Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler. 120.630 Section 120.630 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Secondary Market Pool Assemblers § 120.630 Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler. (a) Application...

13 CFR 120.630 - Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler. 120.630 Section 120.630 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Secondary Market Pool Assemblers § 120.630 Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler. (a) Application...

13 CFR 120.630 - Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler. 120.630 Section 120.630 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Secondary Market Pool Assemblers § 120.630 Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler. (a) Application...

13 CFR 120.630 - Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler. 120.630 Section 120.630 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Secondary Market Pool Assemblers § 120.630 Qualifications to be a Pool Assembler. (a) Application...

Building a Better Applicant Pool--A Case Study of the Use of Predictive Modeling and Market Segmentation to Build and Enroll Better Pools of Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herridge, Bart; Heil, Robert

2003-01-01

Predictive modeling has been a popular topic in higher education for the last few years. This case study shows an example of an effective use of modeling combined with market segmentation to strategically divide large, unmanageable prospect and inquiry pools and convert them into applicants, and eventually, enrolled students. (Contains 6 tables.)

Personality and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Data From a Longitudinal Sample and Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Terracciano, Antonio; Stephan, Yannick; Sutin, Angelina R.

2016-01-01

Objectives: Personality traits are associated with risk of dementia; less is known about their association with the trajectory of cognitive functioning. This research examines the association between the 5 major dimensions of personality and cognitive function and decline in older adulthood and includes a meta-analysis of published studies. Method: Personality traits, objective and subjective memory, and cognitive status were collected in a large national sample (N = 13,987) with a 4-year follow-up period. For each trait, the meta-analysis pooled results from up to 5 prospective studies to examine personality and change in global cognition. Results: Higher Neuroticism was associated with worse performance on all cognitive measures and greater decline in memory, whereas higher Conscientiousness and Openness were associated with better memory performance concurrently and less decline over time. All traits were associated with subjective memory. Higher Conscientiousness and lower Extraversion were associated with better cognitive status and less decline. Although modest, these associations were generally larger than that of hypertension, diabetes, history of psychological treatment, obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity. The meta-analysis supported the association between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness and cognitive decline. Discussion: Personality is associated with cognitive decline in older adults, with effects comparable to established clinical and lifestyle risk factors. PMID:25583598

Older Adults: Community College Students of the 1990s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craig, Ford M.

With a declining pool of youth to draw from, community colleges need to be concerned about what can be done to serve the needs of a burgeoning older adult population. Recent research on the educational needs of older adults reveals that they are interested in: (1) information on such personal business and financial topics as social security…

Process and Performance Outcomes of a Nontraditional Postbaccalaureate PharmD Program Geared Toward Internationally Trained Pharmacists

PubMed Central

Chung, Eunice; Le, Quang A.; Nguyen, Megan; Robinson, Daniel

2015-01-01

Established in 2003, the fully accredited international postbaccalaureate doctor of pharmacy (IPBP) program has attracted internationally trained pharmacists from approximately 25 countries and 6 continents, mostly residents of the United States, to attain the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree at the Western University of Health Sciences. While recent trends in the IPBP applicant pool have shown a decline from its peak numbers in 2009 (222 applicants) for the 20 available seats each year, the quality of students remains high. Benchmark measures assessed for this group of students include the internal assessment entrance examination, admissions scores, academic assessments from didactic blocks, and scores on the North American Pharmacy Licensure Examination (NAPLEX), all of which indicate this quality. Moreover, graduates from the program not only consistently demonstrate excellence in the pharmacy curriculum and board examinations, but also go on to establish themselves as competent practitioners and educators. While the long-term future of the program is unknown, the status of the program and its graduates provides ample evidence of its value and ensures its continued success going forward. PMID:26689176

Process and Performance Outcomes of a Nontraditional Postbaccalaureate PharmD Program Geared Toward Internationally Trained Pharmacists.

PubMed

Prabhu, Sunil; Chung, Eunice; Le, Quang A; Nguyen, Megan; Robinson, Daniel

2015-10-25

Established in 2003, the fully accredited international postbaccalaureate doctor of pharmacy (IPBP) program has attracted internationally trained pharmacists from approximately 25 countries and 6 continents, mostly residents of the United States, to attain the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree at the Western University of Health Sciences. While recent trends in the IPBP applicant pool have shown a decline from its peak numbers in 2009 (222 applicants) for the 20 available seats each year, the quality of students remains high. Benchmark measures assessed for this group of students include the internal assessment entrance examination, admissions scores, academic assessments from didactic blocks, and scores on the North American Pharmacy Licensure Examination (NAPLEX), all of which indicate this quality. Moreover, graduates from the program not only consistently demonstrate excellence in the pharmacy curriculum and board examinations, but also go on to establish themselves as competent practitioners and educators. While the long-term future of the program is unknown, the status of the program and its graduates provides ample evidence of its value and ensures its continued success going forward.

Can warmwater streams be rehabilitated using watershed-scale standard erosion control measures alone?

PubMed

Shields, F Douglas; Knight, Scott S; Cooper, Charles M

2007-07-01

Degradation of warmwater streams in agricultural landscapes is a pervasive problem, and reports of restoration effectiveness based on monitoring data are rare. Described is the outcome of rehabilitation of two deeply incised, unstable sand-and-gravel-bed streams. Channel networks of both watersheds were treated using standard erosion control measures, and aquatic habitats within 1-km-long reaches of each stream were further treated by addition of instream structures and planting woody vegetation on banks ("habitat rehabilitation"). Fish and their habitats were sampled semiannually during 1-2 years before rehabilitation, 3-4 years after rehabilitation, and 10-11 years after rehabilitation. Reaches with only erosion control measures located upstream from the habitat measure reaches and in similar streams in adjacent watersheds were sampled concurrently. Sediment concentrations declined steeply throughout both watersheds, with means > or = 40% lower during the post-rehabilitation period than before. Physical effects of habitat rehabilitation were persistent through time, with pool habitat availability much higher in rehabilitated reaches than elsewhere. Fish community structure responded with major shifts in relative species abundance: as pool habitats increased after rehabilitation, small-bodied generalists and opportunists declined as certain piscivores and larger-bodied species such as centrarchids and catostomids increased. Reaches without habitat rehabilitation were significantly shallower, and fish populations there were similar to the rehabilitated reaches prior to treatment. These findings are applicable to incised, warmwater streams draining agricultural watersheds similar to those we studied. Rehabilitation of warmwater stream ecosystems is possible with current knowledge, but a major shift in stream corridor management strategies will be needed to reverse ongoing degradation trends. Apparently, conventional channel erosion controls without instream habitat measures are ineffective tools for ecosystem restoration in incised, warmwater streams of the Southeastern U.S., even if applied at the watershed scale and accompanied by significant reductions in suspended sediment concentration.

Adequacy of patient pools to support predoctoral students' achievement of competence in pediatric dentistry in U.S. dental schools.

PubMed

Casamassimo, Paul S; Seale, N Sue

2015-06-01

The aim of this study was to characterize the current status of predoctoral pediatric dentistry patient pools in U.S. dental schools and compare their status to that in 2001. A 2014 survey of school clinic-based and community-based dental patient pools was developed, piloted, and sent to pediatric predoctoral program directors in 57 U.S. dental schools via SurveyMonkey. Two follow-up contacts were made to increase the response rate. A total of 49 surveys were returned for a response rate of 86%. The responding program directors reported that their programs' patient pools had declined in number and had changed in character with more diversity and fewer procedures. They attributed the changes to competition, cost, and location of the dental school. The respondents reported that community-based dental education clinical sites continued to provide additional service experiences for dental students, with contributions varying by the nature of the site. A large number of the respondents felt that their graduates lacked some basic pediatric dentistry clinical skills and were not ready for independent practice with children. The results of this study suggest that the predoctoral pediatric dentistry patient pool has changed and general dentists may be graduating with inadequate experiences to practice dentistry for children.

Stimulation of surfactant phospholipid biosynthesis in the lungs of rats treated with silica.

PubMed Central

Miller, B E; Hook, G E

1988-01-01

The effects of intratracheally instilled silica (10 mg/rat) on the biosynthesis of surfactant phospholipids was investigated in the lungs of rats. The sizes of the intracellular and extracellular pools of surfactant phospholipids were measured 7, 14 and 28 days after silica exposure. The ability of lung slices to incorporate [14C]choline and [3H]palmitate into surfactant phosphatidylcholine (PC) and disaturated phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) was also investigated. Both intra- and extra-cellular pools of surfactant phospholipids were increased by silica treatment. The intracellular pool increased linearly over the 28-day time period, ultimately reaching a size 62-fold greater than controls. The extracellular pool also increased, but showed a pattern different from that of the intracellular pool. The extracellular pool increased non-linearly up to 14 days, and then declined. At its maximum, the extracellular pool was increased 16-fold over the control. The ability of lung slices to incorporate phospholipid precursors into surfactant-associated PC and DSPC was elevated at all time periods. The rate of incorporation of [14C]choline into surfactant PC and DSPC was maximal at 14 days and was nearly 3-fold greater than the rate in controls. The rate of incorporation of [3H]palmitate was also maximal at 14 days, approx. 5-fold above controls for PC and 3-fold for DSPC. At this same time point, the microsomal activity of cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase was increased 4.5-fold above controls, but cytosolic activity was not significantly affected by silica treatment. These data indicate that biosynthesis of surfactant PC is elevated after treatment of lungs with silica and that this increased biosynthesis probably underlies the expansion of the intra- and extra-cellular pools of surfactant phospholipids. PMID:2845927

Assessing Admission Criteria for Early and Mid-Career Students: Evidence from a U.S. MPA Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darolia, Rajeev; Potochnick, Stephanie; Menifield, Charles E.

2014-01-01

As applications for graduate and professional degree programs have reached unprecedented levels over the past decade, the applicant pool has become more diverse with more mid-career students deciding to return to school. Given the growth and diversification of the graduate applicant pool, many graduate programs are struggling to develop stronger…

45 CFR 148.316 - Grant application instructions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... application kit (see paragraph (b) of this section) along with the following information: (1) History and... that includes the following: (i) Brief history, including date of inception. (ii) Enrollment criteria... pool, including statutes, regulations and plan of operation. (2) Accounting of risk pool losses...

Regional Organizations and Opportunity in Nigeria

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-02

western African franchise known as al’Qaeda in the Magreb (AQIM). 8 So while external terror connections may be immature, they pose a significant...conducting attacks against government institutions and the petroleum industry . While MEND activity has declined since the introduction of a...bi-lateral fashion but conflicted with a regional organization’s training exercises. 76 Rather than pool resources with these organizations, AFRICOM

Positioning Global Education for the 1990s: Higher Education Strategies. Remarks to the Sub-Plenary Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tonkin, Humphrey

One of the obstacles to the internationalization of college curriculums is the nature of faculty training. In recent years there has been a decline in second language requirements for the doctoral degree, and, as a result, college faculties become increasingly anglophone in their research. But there is a considerable pool of international…

13 CFR 124.205 - Can an applicant ask SBA to reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application? (a) An applicant may request the AA/BD to... pertinent to overcoming the reason(s) for the initial decline. (b) The AA/BD will issue a written decision within 45 days of the regional DPCE's receipt of the applicant's request. The AA/BD may either approve...

13 CFR 124.205 - Can an applicant ask SBA to reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application? (a) An applicant may request the AA/BD to... pertinent to overcoming the reason(s) for the initial decline. (b) The AA/BD will issue a written decision within 45 days of the regional DPCE's receipt of the applicant's request. The AA/BD may either approve...

De Novo Synthesis and Degradation of Lx and V Cycle Pigments during Shade and Sun Acclimation in Avocado Leaves1

PubMed Central

Förster, Britta; Osmond, C. Barry; Pogson, Barry J.

2009-01-01

The photoprotective role of the universal violaxanthin cycle that interconverts violaxanthin (V), antheraxanthin (A), and zeaxanthin (Z) is well established, but functions of the analogous conversions of lutein-5,6-epoxide (Lx) and lutein (L) in the selectively occurring Lx cycle are still unclear. We investigated carotenoid pools in Lx-rich leaves of avocado (Persea americana) during sun or shade acclimation at different developmental stages. During sun exposure of mature shade leaves, an unusual decrease in L preceded the deepoxidation of Lx to L and of V to A+Z. In addition to deepoxidation, de novo synthesis increased the L and A+Z pools. Epoxidation of L was exceptionally slow, requiring about 40 d in the shade to restore the Lx pool, and residual A+Z usually persisted overnight. In young shade leaves, the Lx cycle was reversed initially, with Lx accumulating in the sun and declining in the shade. De novo synthesis of xanthophylls did not affect α- and β-carotene pools on the first day, but during long-term acclimation α-carotene pools changed noticeably. Nonetheless, the total change in α- and β-branch carotenoid pools was equal. We discuss the implications for regulation of metabolic flux through the α- and β-branches of carotenoid biosynthesis and potential roles for L in photoprotection and Lx in energy transfer to photosystem II and explore physiological roles of both xanthophyll cycles as determinants of photosystem II efficiency. PMID:19060099

Biogeochemistry of a treeline watershed, northwestern Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stottlemyer, R.

2001-01-01

Since 1950, mean annual temperatures in northwestern Alaska have increased. Change in forest floor and soil temperature or moisture could alter N mineralization rates, production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and organic nitrogen (DON), and their export to the aquatic ecosystem. In 1990, we began study of nutrient cycles in the 800-ha Asik watershed, located at treeline in the Noatak National Preserve, northwestern Alaska. This paper summarizes relationships between topographic aspect, soil temperature and moisture, inorganic and organic N pools, C pools, CO2 efflux, growing season net N mineralization rates, and stream water chemistry. Forest floor (O2) C/N ratios, C pools, temperature, and moisture were greater on south aspects. More rapid melt of the soil active layer (zone of annual freeze-thaw) and permafrost accounted for the higher moisture. The O2 C and N content were correlated with moisture, inorganic N pools, CO2 efflux, and inversely with temperature. Inorganic N pools were correlated with temperature and CO2 efflux. Net N mineralization rates were positive in early summer, and correlated with O2 moisture, temperature, and C and N pools. Net nitrification rates were inversely correlated with moisture, total C and N. The CO2 efflux increased with temperature and moisture, and was greater on south aspects. Stream ion concentrations declined and DOC increased with discharge. Stream inorganic nitrogen (DIN) output exceeded input by 70%. Alpine stream water nitrate (NO-3) and DOC concentrations indicated substantial contributions to the watershed DIN and DOC budgets.

Biogeochemistry of a treeline watershed, northwestern Alaska.

PubMed

Stottlemyer, R

2001-01-01

Since 1950, mean annual temperatures in northwestern Alaska have increased. Change in forest floor and soil temperature or moisture could alter N mineralization rates, production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and organic nitrogen (DON), and their export to the aquatic ecosystem. In 1990, we began study of nutrient cycles in the 800-ha Asik watershed, located at treeline in the Noatak National Preserve, northwestern Alaska. This paper summarizes relationships between topographic aspect, soil temperature and moisture, inorganic and organic N pools, C pools, CO2 efflux, growing season net N mineralization rates, and stream water chemistry. Forest floor (O2) C/N ratios, C pools, temperature, and moisture were greater on south aspects. More rapid melt of the soil active layer (zone of annual freeze-thaw) and permafrost accounted for the higher moisture. The O2 C and N content were correlated with moisture, inorganic N pools, CO2 efflux, and inversely with temperature. Inorganic N pools were correlated with temperature and CO2 efflux. Net N mineralization rates were positive in early summer, and correlated with O2 moisture, temperature, and C and N pools. Net nitrification rates were inversely correlated with moisture, total C and N. The CO2 efflux increased with temperature and moisture, and was greater on south aspects. Stream ion concentrations declined and DOC increased with discharge. Stream inorganic nitrogen (DIN) output exceeded input by 70%. Alpine stream water nitrate (NO3-) and DOC concentrations indicated substantial contributions to the watershed DIN and DOC budgets.

Hunting influences the diel patterns in habitat selection by northern pintails Anas acuta

USGS Publications Warehouse

Casazza, Michael L.; Coates, Peter S.; Miller, Michael R.; Overton, Cory T.; Yparraguirre, Daniel R.

2012-01-01

Northern pintail Anas acuta (hereafter pintail) populations wintering within Suisun Marsh, a large estuarine managed wetland near San Francisco Bay, California,USA, have declined markedly over the last four decades. The reasons for this decline are unclear. Information on how hunting and other factors influence the selection of vegetation types and sanctuaries would be beneficial to manage pintail populations in SuisunMarsh. During 1991-1993, we radio-marked and relocated female pintails (individuals: N = 203, relocations: N = 7,688) within Suisun Marsh to investigate habitat selection during the non-breeding months (winter). We calculated selection ratios for different vegetation types and for sanctuaries, and examined differences in those ratios between hunting season (i.e. hunting and non-hunting), age (hatchyear and after-hatch-year), and time of day (daylight or night hours). We found that diel patterns in selection were influenced by hunting disturbance. For example, prior to the hunting season and during daylight hours, pintails selected areas dominated by brass buttons Cotula coronopifolia, a potentially important food source, usually outside of sanctuary boundaries. However, during the hunting season, pintails did not select brass buttons during daylight hours, but instead highly selected permanent pools, mostly within sanctuaries. Also, during the hunting season, pintails showed strong selection for brass buttons at night. Sanctuaries provided more area of permanent water pools than within hunting areas and appeared to function as important refugia during daylight hours of the hunting season. Wildlife managers should encourage large protected permanent pools adjacent to hunted wetlands to increase pintail numbers within wetland environments and responsibly benefit hunting opportunities while improving pintail conservation.

Personality and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: Data From a Longitudinal Sample and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Luchetti, Martina; Terracciano, Antonio; Stephan, Yannick; Sutin, Angelina R

2016-07-01

Personality traits are associated with risk of dementia; less is known about their association with the trajectory of cognitive functioning. This research examines the association between the 5 major dimensions of personality and cognitive function and decline in older adulthood and includes a meta-analysis of published studies. Personality traits, objective and subjective memory, and cognitive status were collected in a large national sample (N = 13,987) with a 4-year follow-up period. For each trait, the meta-analysis pooled results from up to 5 prospective studies to examine personality and change in global cognition. Higher Neuroticism was associated with worse performance on all cognitive measures and greater decline in memory, whereas higher Conscientiousness and Openness were associated with better memory performance concurrently and less decline over time. All traits were associated with subjective memory. Higher Conscientiousness and lower Extraversion were associated with better cognitive status and less decline. Although modest, these associations were generally larger than that of hypertension, diabetes, history of psychological treatment, obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity. The meta-analysis supported the association between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness and cognitive decline. Personality is associated with cognitive decline in older adults, with effects comparable to established clinical and lifestyle risk factors. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

25 CFR 1000.26 - Under what circumstances will a Tribe/Consortium be removed from the applicant pool?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Participation in Tribal Self-Governance Admission into the Applicant Pool § 1000.26 Under what circumstances... Tribe/Consortium will only be removed if it: (a) Fails to satisfy the audit criteria in § 1000.17(c); or...

Seasonal dynamics of mobile carbohydrate pools in phloem and xylem of two alpine timberline conifers.

PubMed

Gruber, A; Pirkebner, D; Oberhuber, W

2013-10-01

Recent studies on non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) reserves in trees focused on xylem NSC reserves, while still little is known about changes in phloem carbohydrate pools, where NSC charging might be significantly different. To gain insight on NSC dynamics in xylem and phloem, we monitored NSC concentrations in stems and roots of Pinus cembra (L.) and Larix decidua (Mill.) growing at the alpine timberline throughout 2011. Species-specific differences affected tree phenology and carbon allocation during the course of the year. After a delayed start in spring, NSC concentrations in L. decidua were significantly higher in all sampled tissues from August until the end of growing season. In both species, NSC concentrations were five to seven times higher in phloem than that in xylem. However, significant correlations between xylem and phloem starch content found for both species indicate a close linkage between long-term carbon reserves in both tissues. In L. decidua also, free sugar concentrations in xylem and phloem were significantly correlated throughout the year, while a lack of correlation between xylem and phloem free sugar pools in P. cembra indicate a decline of phloem soluble carbohydrate pools during periods of high sink demand.

Seasonal dynamics of mobile carbohydrate pools in phloem and xylem of two alpine timberline conifers

PubMed Central

GRUBER, A.; PIRKEBNER, D.; OBERHUBER, W.

2016-01-01

Recent studies on non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) reserves in trees focused on xylem NSC reserves, while still little is known about changes in phloem carbohydrate pools, where NSC charging might be significantly different. To gain insight on NSC dynamics in xylem and phloem, we monitored NSC concentrations in stems and roots of Pinus cembra and Larix decidua growing at the alpine timberline throughout 2011. Species-specific differences affected tree phenology and carbon allocation in the course of the year. After a delayed start in spring, NSC concentrations in Larix decidua were significantly higher in all sampled tissues from August until end of growing season. In both species NSC concentrations were five to seven times higher in phloem than in xylem. However, significant correlations between xylem and phloem starch content found for both species indicate a close linkage between long term carbon reserves in both tissues. In Larix decidua also free sugar concentrations in xylem and phloem were significantly correlated throughout the year, while missing correlations between xylem and phloem free sugar pools in Pinus cembra indicate a decline of phloem soluble carbohydrate pools during periods of high sink demand. PMID:24186941

Induced defences in an endangered amphibian in response to an introduced snake predator.

PubMed

Moore, Robin D; Griffiths, Richard A; O'Brien, Cliona M; Murphy, Adam; Jay, David

2004-09-01

Introduced species have contributed significantly to the extinction of endemic species on islands. They also create new selection pressures on their prey that may result in modified life history strategies. Introduced viperine snakes ( Natrix maura) have been implicated in the decline of the endemic midwife toad of Mallorca ( Alytes muletensis). A comparison of A. muletensis tadpoles in natural pools with and without snakes showed that those populations subject to snake predation possessed longer tails with narrower tail fins but deeper tail muscles. Field and laboratory experiments showed that these changes in tail morphology could be induced by chemical and tactile cues from snakes. Populations of tadpoles that were subject to snake predation also displayed clear bimodal size-frequency distributions, with intermediate-sized tadpoles missing from the pools completely. Tadpoles in pools frequented by snakes developed faster in relation to their body size than those in pools without snakes. Variation in morphology between toad populations may therefore be caused by a combination of size-selective predation and tadpole plasticity. The results of this study indicate that the introduction of alien species can result in selection for induced defences, which may facilitate coexistence between predator and prey under certain conditions.

17 CFR 229.1100 - (Item 1100) General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... aggregate asset pool. (3) Present loss and cumulative loss information, as applicable, regarding charge-offs... assets that have experienced a net loss. (4) Categorize all delinquency and loss information by pool... any other material information regarding delinquencies and losses particular to the pool asset type(s...

17 CFR 229.1100 - (Item 1100) General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... aggregate asset pool. (3) Present loss and cumulative loss information, as applicable, regarding charge-offs... assets that have experienced a net loss. (4) Categorize all delinquency and loss information by pool... any other material information regarding delinquencies and losses particular to the pool asset type(s...

17 CFR 229.1100 - (Item 1100) General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... aggregate asset pool. (3) Present loss and cumulative loss information, as applicable, regarding charge-offs... assets that have experienced a net loss. (4) Categorize all delinquency and loss information by pool... any other material information regarding delinquencies and losses particular to the pool asset type(s...

17 CFR 229.1100 - (Item 1100) General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... aggregate asset pool. (3) Present loss and cumulative loss information, as applicable, regarding charge-offs... assets that have experienced a net loss. (4) Categorize all delinquency and loss information by pool... any other material information regarding delinquencies and losses particular to the pool asset type(s...

Longevity of Wood-Forced Pools in an Old-Growth Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buffington, J. M.; Woodsmith, R. D.; Johnson, A. C.

2009-12-01

Wood debris plays an important role in scouring pools in forest channels and providing resultant habitat for aquatic organisms. We investigated the longevity of such pools in a gravel-bed river flowing through old-growth forest in southeastern Alaska by aging trees and “bear’s bread” fungi (Ganoderma applanatum, Fomitopsis pinicola) growing on pool-forming wood debris. Ages were determined by counting annual growth rings from cores and cross sections of trees and fungi growing on the wood debris. These ages are minimum values because they do not account for lag time between debris recruitment and seedling/spore establishment on the debris, nor do they account for flood scour that may periodically reset tree and fungi growth on the debris. The study stream has a gradient of about 1%, bankfull width and depth of 13.3 and 0.78 m, respectively, median grain size of 18 mm, a high wood loading (0.8 pieces/m), and a correspondingly low pool spacing (0.3 bankfull widths/pool), with 81% of the pools forced by wood debris. The size of wood debris in the study stream is large relative to the channel (average log length of 7.6 m and diameter of 0.35 m), rendering most debris immobile. Eighty-one pool-forming pieces of wood were dated over 1.2 km of stream length, with 28% of these pieces causing scour of more than one pool. In all, 122 wood-forced pools were dated, accounting for 38% of all pools at the site and 47% of the wood-forced pools. Fifty-three percent of the wood-forced pools lacked datable wood because these pieces either: were newly recruited; had been scoured by floods; or were contained below the active channel elevation, prohibiting vegetation establishment on the wood debris (the most common cause). The debris age distribution declined exponentially from 2 to 113 yrs., with a median value of 18 yrs. Similar exponential residence time distributions have been reported in other studies, but our analysis focused specifically on the ages of pool-forming wood as opposed to all in-channel wood. Most pool scour was relatively recent (60% ≤ 25 yrs. old), but 16% of the pools were old features (50-100+ yrs.), indicating long-term availability of pool habitats at the study site. Future studies will use these results to develop a wood budget model that accounts for pool scour and availability of pool habitats. For such modeling, our data suggest that stand-replacing disturbances (e.g. wildfire, riparian clear cutting) will cause a sharp drop in the numbers of wood-forced pools, as most of those are ≤ 25 yrs. old.

17 CFR 3.10 - Registration of futures commission merchants, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

..., commodity pool operators and leverage transaction merchants. 3.10 Section 3.10 Commodity and Securities..., commodity pool operators and leverage transaction merchants. (a) Application for registration. (1)(i) Except... merchant, retail foreign exchange dealers, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool...

78 FR 79436 - Boulder Canyon Project-Post-2017 Resource Pool

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-30

... Pool AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE. ACTION: Notice of final marketing criteria and... marketing agency of the Department of Energy (DOE), announces the Boulder Canyon Project (BCP) post-2017 resource pool marketing criteria and is calling for applications from entities interested in an allocation...

A Comparative Study of the National Board for Respiratory Car Entry-Level Credentialling Examination Scores of the J. Sargent Reynolds Community College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Gay

2000-01-01

States that the employment pool for respiratory workers in Virginia has declined, due to a reduction in the numbers of training programs available in local community colleges. Describes a pilot distance learning program in respiratory therapy at Virgina's J. Sargent Reynolds Community College (JSRCC). Reports that students in the pilot distance…

48 CFR 9904.418-50 - Techniques for application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... objective's allocation base data shall be excluded from the base used to allocate the pool. (g) Use of... which the pool relates. (c) Change in allocation base. No change in an existing indirect cost pool allocation base is required if the allocation resulting from the existing base does not differ materially...

Effects of customization on application decisions and applicant pool characteristics in a web-based recruitment context.

PubMed

Dineen, Brian R; Noe, Raymond A

2009-01-01

The authors examined 2 forms of customization in a Web-based recruitment context. Hypotheses were tested in a controlled study in which participants viewed multiple Web-based job postings that each included information about multiple fit categories. Results indicated that customization of information regarding person-organization (PO), needs-supplies, and demands-abilities (DA) fit (fit information customization) and customization of the order in which these fit categories were presented (configural customization) had differential effects on outcomes. Specifically, (a) applicant pool PO and DA fit were greater when fit information customization was provided, (b) applicant pool fit in high- versus low-relevance fit categories was better differentiated when configural customization was provided, and (c) overall application rates were lower when either or both forms of customization were provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

75 FR 29750 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-27

.... submits joint application for approval under section 203 of the Federal Power Act. Filed Date: 05/18/2010.... Eastern Time on Monday, June 7, 2010. Docket Numbers: ER09-1397-002. Applicants: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Description: Southwest Power Pool, Inc submits clean copy of the Revised Agreements and redlined copies of the...

48 CFR 9904.410-63 - Effective date.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...: (a) Contract I—Since Contract I was in existence prior to January 1, 1978, the G&A expense pool shall... this contract was in existence prior to January 1, 1978, the G&A expense pool shall be allocated to it... Standard's applicability upon receipt of a contract to which this Standard is applicable. For contractors...

48 CFR 9904.410-63 - Effective date.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...: (a) Contract I—Since Contract I was in existence prior to January 1, 1978, the G&A expense pool shall... this contract was in existence prior to January 1, 1978, the G&A expense pool shall be allocated to it... Standard's applicability upon receipt of a contract to which this Standard is applicable. For contractors...

Assessing Market Potential in the Inquiry Pool. AIR Forum 1982 Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lay, Robert; And Others

The inquiry pool represented by prospective college applicants who seek information from the institution and a marketing response that has been implemented at Boston College are considered. It is suggested that researchers may trace specific individuals from the inquiry stage through application to the final college choice. To benefit from an…

Combined versus single application of tranexamic acid in total knee and hip arthroplasty: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Peng Zhang, M M; Jifeng Li, M M; Xiao Wang, M M

2017-07-01

To compare the efficacy and safety of the combined application of both intravenous and topical tranexamic acid versus the single use of either application in patients with total knee and hip arthroplasty. Potentially relevant studies were identified from electronic databases including Medline, PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect and the Cochrane Library. Patients undergoing primary total knee and hip arthroplasty were included in our studies, with an experimental group that received combined intravenous and topical application of tranexamic acid and a control group that received a single application of tranexamic acid or normal saline. The primary outcomes were total blood loss, hemoglobin decline and transfusion requirements. The secondary outcomes were length of stay, operation time and tranexamic acid-related adverse effects, such as superficial infection, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. Modified Jadad scores were used to assess the quality of the included randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The data was pooled using RevMan 5.3. After testing for heterogeneity across studies, the data were aggregated using random-effects modeling when appropriate. We have registered the trial at http://www.researchregistry.com. Six RCTs that included 704 patients met the inclusion criteria. The present meta-analysis indicated significant differences existed in the total blood loss (MD = -134.65, 95% CI: -191.66 to -77.64, P < 0.0001), postoperative hemoglobin level (MD = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.39 to 1.10, P < 0.0001), drainage volume (MD = -40.19, 95% CI: -55.95 to -24.43, P < 0.00001) and transfusion rate (RD = -0.07, 95% CI: -0.11 to -0.03, P = 0.0004) between groups. Combined administration of tranexamic acid in total knee and hip arthroplasty was associated with significantly reduced total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, drainage volume, and transfusion requirements. Based on the limitations of current meta-analysis, well-designed, high-quality RCTs with long-term follow-up are still required. Copyright © 2017 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variations in Static Force Control and Motor Unit Behavior with Error Amplification Feedback in the Elderly.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Ching; Lin, Linda L; Lin, Yen-Ting; Hu, Chia-Ling; Hwang, Ing-Shiou

2017-01-01

Error amplification (EA) feedback is a promising approach to advance visuomotor skill. As error detection and visuomotor processing at short time scales decline with age, this study examined whether older adults could benefit from EA feedback that included higher-frequency information to guide a force-tracking task. Fourteen young and 14 older adults performed low-level static isometric force-tracking with visual guidance of typical visual feedback and EA feedback containing augmented high-frequency errors. Stabilogram diffusion analysis was used to characterize force fluctuation dynamics. Also, the discharge behaviors of motor units and pooled motor unit coherence were assessed following the decomposition of multi-channel surface electromyography (EMG). EA produced different behavioral and neurophysiological impacts on young and older adults. Older adults exhibited inferior task accuracy with EA feedback than with typical visual feedback, but not young adults. Although stabilogram diffusion analysis revealed that EA led to a significant decrease in critical time points for both groups, EA potentiated the critical point of force fluctuations [Formula: see text], short-term effective diffusion coefficients (Ds), and short-term exponent scaling only for the older adults. Moreover, in older adults, EA added to the size of discharge variability of motor units and discharge regularity of cumulative discharge rate, but suppressed the pooled motor unit coherence in the 13-35 Hz band. Virtual EA alters the strategic balance between open-loop and closed-loop controls for force-tracking. Contrary to expectations, the prevailing use of closed-loop control with EA that contained high-frequency error information enhanced the motor unit discharge variability and undermined the force steadiness in the older group, concerning declines in physiological complexity in the neurobehavioral system and the common drive to the motoneuronal pool against force destabilization.

Variations in Static Force Control and Motor Unit Behavior with Error Amplification Feedback in the Elderly

PubMed Central

Chen, Yi-Ching; Lin, Linda L.; Lin, Yen-Ting; Hu, Chia-Ling; Hwang, Ing-Shiou

2017-01-01

Error amplification (EA) feedback is a promising approach to advance visuomotor skill. As error detection and visuomotor processing at short time scales decline with age, this study examined whether older adults could benefit from EA feedback that included higher-frequency information to guide a force-tracking task. Fourteen young and 14 older adults performed low-level static isometric force-tracking with visual guidance of typical visual feedback and EA feedback containing augmented high-frequency errors. Stabilogram diffusion analysis was used to characterize force fluctuation dynamics. Also, the discharge behaviors of motor units and pooled motor unit coherence were assessed following the decomposition of multi-channel surface electromyography (EMG). EA produced different behavioral and neurophysiological impacts on young and older adults. Older adults exhibited inferior task accuracy with EA feedback than with typical visual feedback, but not young adults. Although stabilogram diffusion analysis revealed that EA led to a significant decrease in critical time points for both groups, EA potentiated the critical point of force fluctuations <ΔFc2>, short-term effective diffusion coefficients (Ds), and short-term exponent scaling only for the older adults. Moreover, in older adults, EA added to the size of discharge variability of motor units and discharge regularity of cumulative discharge rate, but suppressed the pooled motor unit coherence in the 13–35 Hz band. Virtual EA alters the strategic balance between open-loop and closed-loop controls for force-tracking. Contrary to expectations, the prevailing use of closed-loop control with EA that contained high-frequency error information enhanced the motor unit discharge variability and undermined the force steadiness in the older group, concerning declines in physiological complexity in the neurobehavioral system and the common drive to the motoneuronal pool against force destabilization. PMID:29167637

Antioxidant plasticity and thermal sensitivity in four types of Symbiodinium sp.

PubMed

Krueger, Thomas; Becker, Susanne; Pontasch, Stefanie; Dove, Sophie; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove; Leggat, William; Fisher, Paul L; Davy, Simon K

2014-12-01

Warmer than average summer sea surface temperature is one of the main drivers for coral bleaching, which describes the loss of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (genus: Symbiodinium) in reef-building corals. Past research has established that oxidative stress in the symbiont plays an important part in the bleaching cascade. Corals hosting different genotypes of Symbiodinium may have varying thermal bleaching thresholds, but changes in the symbiont's antioxidant system that may accompany these differences have received less attention. This study shows that constitutive activity and up-regulation of different parts of the antioxidant network under thermal stress differs between four Symbiodinium types in culture and that thermal susceptibility can be linked to glutathione redox homeostasis. In Symbiodinium B1, C1 and E, declining maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv /Fm ) and death at 33°C were generally associated with elevated superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and a more oxidized glutathione pool. Symbiodinium F1 exhibited no decline in Fv /Fm or growth, but showed proportionally larger increases in ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity and glutathione content (GSx), while maintaining GSx in a reduced state. Depressed growth in Symbiodinium B1 at a sublethal temperature of 29°C was associated with transiently increased APX activity and glutathione pool size, and an overall increase in glutathione reductase (GR) activity. The collapse of GR activity at 33°C, together with increased SOD, APX and glutathione S-transferase activity, contributed to a strong oxidation of the glutathione pool with subsequent death. Integrating responses of multiple components of the antioxidant network highlights the importance of antioxidant plasticity in explaining type-specific temperature responses in Symbiodinium. © 2014 Phycological Society of America.

Mathematical-Programming Approaches to Test Item Pool Design. Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veldkamp, Bernard P.; van der Linden, Wim J.; Ariel, Adelaide

This paper presents an approach to item pool design that has the potential to improve on the quality of current item pools in educational and psychological testing and thus to increase both measurement precision and validity. The approach consists of the application of mathematical programming techniques to calculate optimal blueprints for item…

HPLC DETERMINATION OF CYANURIC ACID IN SWIMMING POOL WATERS USING PHENYL AND CONFIRMATORY POROUS GRAPHITIC CARBON COLUMNS

EPA Science Inventory

The chlorinated salts of cyanuric acid have found an important role in recreational swimming pool waters across the United States. Upon application to pool water, they can (1) release disinfectant chlorine or (2) stabilize the free available chlorine by acting as chlorine reserv...

26 CFR 1.642(c)-5 - Definition of pooled income fund.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Definition of pooled income fund. 1.642(c)-5...) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Estates, Trusts, and Beneficiaries § 1.642(c)-5 Definition of pooled income fund. (a) In general—(1) Application of provisions. Section 642(c)(5) prescribes...

RECESSED AUTOMATIC SURFACE SKIMMERS FOR SWIMMING POOLS. NATIONAL SANITATION FOUNDATION STANDARD NUMBER 11.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Sanitation Foundation, Ann Arbor, MI.

THE NATIONAL SANITATION FOUNDATION STANDARD ON SWIMMING POOL EQUIPMENT CONCERNS ITSELF WITH THE SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION OF SURFACE SKIMMERS TO SWIMMING POOLS. THE MINIMUM DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY THIS STANDARD ARE SET FORTH TO PROVIDE A MEANS OF EVALUATING THE OVERALL CONSTRUCTION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE UNIT. ADDITIONAL…

48 CFR 9904.410-50 - Techniques for application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... segment incurred by another segment shall be removed from the incurring segment's G&A expense pool. They... whole, shall be included in the receiving segment's G&A expense pool. (2) Any separate allocation of the... from the G&A expense pool required by 9904.410-40(a), and the particular final cost objective's cost...

48 CFR 9904.410-50 - Techniques for application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... segment incurred by another segment shall be removed from the incurring segment's G&A expense pool. They... whole, shall be included in the receiving segment's G&A expense pool. (2) Any separate allocation of the... from the G&A expense pool required by 9904.410-40(a), and the particular final cost objective's cost...

48 CFR 9904.410-50 - Techniques for application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... segment incurred by another segment shall be removed from the incurring segment's G&A expense pool. They... whole, shall be included in the receiving segment's G&A expense pool. (2) Any separate allocation of the... from the G&A expense pool required by 9904.410-40(a), and the particular final cost objective's cost...

Declines in stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates in Europe between 2004 and 2010: results from the Euro-Peristat project

PubMed Central

Zeitlin, Jennifer; Mortensen, Laust; Cuttini, Marina; Lack, Nicholas; Nijhuis, Jan; Haidinger, Gerald; Blondel, Béatrice; Hindori-Mohangoo, Ashna D

2016-01-01

Background Stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates declined in Europe between 2004 and 2010. We hypothesised that declines might be greater for countries with higher mortality in 2004 and disproportionally affect very preterm infants at highest risk. Methods Data about live births, stillbirths and neonatal deaths by gestational age (GA) were collected using a common protocol by the Euro-Peristat project in 2004 and 2010. We analysed stillbirths at ≥28 weeks GA in 22 countries and live births ≥24 weeks GA for neonatal mortality in 18 countries. Per cent changes over time were assessed by calculating risk ratios (RR) for stillbirth, neonatal mortality and preterm birth rates in 2010 vs 2004. We used meta-analysis techniques to derive pooled RR using random-effects models overall, by GA subgroups and by mortality level in 2004. Results Between 2004 and 2010, stillbirths declined by 17% (95% CI 10% to 23%), with a range from 1% to 39% by country. Neonatal mortality declined by 29% (95% CI 23% to 35%) with a range from 9% to 67%. Preterm birth rates did not change: 0% (95% CI −3% to 3%). Mortality declines were of a similar magnitude at all GA; mortality levels in 2004 were not associated with RRs. Conclusions Stillbirths and neonatal deaths declined at all gestational ages in countries with both high and low levels of mortality in 2004. These results raise questions about how low-mortality countries achieve continued declines and highlight the importance of improving care across the GA spectrum. PMID:26719590

Using stand replacement fires to restore southern Appalachian pine-hardwood ecosystems: effects on mass, carbon, and nutrient pools

Treesearch

James M. Vose; Wayne T. Swank; Barton D. Clinton; Jennifer D. Knoepp; Lloyd W. Swift

1999-01-01

Pine-hardwood ecosystems in the Southern Appalachians are in serious decline due to fire exclusion and insect infestations. Fire has been advanced as a tool to restore these ecosystems, yet there are few studies evaluating overall ecosystem effects. The authors’ objectives were to evaluate the effects of stand restoration burning on forest floor nitrogen (N) and carbon...

Increasing socioeconomic inequality in childhood undernutrition in urban India: trends between 1992-93, 1998-99 and 2005-06.

PubMed

Kumar, Abhishek; Kumari, Divya; Singh, Aditya

2015-10-01

This article examines the trends and pattern in socioeconomic inequality in stunting, underweight and wasting among children aged <3 years in urban India over a 14-year period. We use three successive rounds of the National Family Health Survey data conducted during 1992-93, 1998-99 and 2005-06. The selected socioeconomic predictors are household wealth and mother's education level. We use principal component analysis to compute a separate wealth index for urban India for all three rounds of the survey. We have used descriptive statistics, concentration index and pooled logistic regression to analyse the data. The results show that between 1992-93 and 2005-06, the prevalence of childhood undernutrition has declined across household wealth quintiles and educational level of mothers. However, the pace of decline is much higher among the better-off socioeconomic groups than among the least-affluent groups. The result of pooled logistic regression analysis shows that the socioeconomic inequality in childhood undernutrition in urban India has increased over the study period. The salient findings of this study call for separate programmes targeting the children of lower socioeconomic groups in urban population of India. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

POOL server: machine learning application for functional site prediction in proteins.

PubMed

Somarowthu, Srinivas; Ondrechen, Mary Jo

2012-08-01

We present an automated web server for partial order optimum likelihood (POOL), a machine learning application that combines computed electrostatic and geometric information for high-performance prediction of catalytic residues from 3D structures. Input features consist of THEMATICS electrostatics data and pocket information from ConCavity. THEMATICS measures deviation from typical, sigmoidal titration behavior to identify functionally important residues and ConCavity identifies binding pockets by analyzing the surface geometry of protein structures. Both THEMATICS and ConCavity (structure only) do not require the query protein to have any sequence or structure similarity to other proteins. Hence, POOL is applicable to proteins with novel folds and engineered proteins. As an additional option for cases where sequence homologues are available, users can include evolutionary information from INTREPID for enhanced accuracy in site prediction. The web site is free and open to all users with no login requirements at http://www.pool.neu.edu. m.ondrechen@neu.edu Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

75 FR 44942 - 2015 Resource Pool-Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-30

...The Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing administration of the Department of Energy (DOE), published its 2004 Power Marketing Plan (Marketing Plan) for the Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region (SNR) in the Federal Register on June 25, 1999. The Marketing Plan specifies the terms and conditions under which Western will market power from the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the Washoe Project beginning January 1, 2005, and continuing through December 31, 2024. The Marketing Plan provided for a portion of SNR's resources to be reallocated through a 2015 Resource Pool. On June 3, 2009, Western published a Call for 2015 Resource Pool Applications. On September 28, 2009, Western published a Notice of Extension to file applications. This notice announces Western's proposed allocations of power from the 2015 Resource Pool.

Analysis of the linkage between rain and flood regime and its application to regional flood frequency estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunderlik, Juraj M.; Burn, Donald H.

2002-04-01

Improving techniques of flood frequency estimation at ungauged sites is one of the foremost goals of contemporary hydrology. River flood regime is a resultant reflection of a composite catchment hydrologic response to flood producing processes. In this sense the process of identifying homogeneous pooling groups can be plausibly based on catchment similarity in flood regime. Unfortunately the application of any pooling approach that is based on flood regime is restricted to gauged sites. Because flood regime can be markedly determined by rainfall regime, catchment similarity in rainfall regime can be an alternative option for identifying flood frequency pooling groups. An advantage of such a pooling approach is that rainfall data are usually spatially and temporary more abundant than flood data and the approach can also be applied at ungauged sites. Therefore in this study we have quantified the linkage between rainfall and flood regime and explored the appropriateness of substituting rainfall regime for flood regime in regional pooling schemes. Two different approaches to describing rainfall regime similarity using tools of directional statistics have been tested and used for evaluation of the potential of rainfall regime for identification of hydrologically homogeneous pooling groups. The outputs were compared to an existing pooling framework adopted in the Flood Estimation Handbook. The results demonstrate that regional pooling based on rainfall regime information leads to a high number of initially homogeneous groups and seems to be a sound pooling alternative for catchments with a close linkage between rain and flood regimes.

Evaluating the adequacy of a reference site pool for ecological assessments in environmentally complex regions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ode, Peter R.; Rehn, Andrew C.; Mazor, Raphael D.; Schiff, Kenneth C.; Stein, Eric D.; May, Jason; Brown, Larry R.; Herbst, David B.; Gillette, D.D.; Lunde, Kevin; Hawkins, Charles P.

2016-01-01

Many advances in the field of bioassessment have focused on approaches for objectively selecting the pool of reference sites used to establish expectations for healthy waterbodies, but little emphasis has been placed on ways to evaluate the suitability of the reference-site pool for its intended applications (e.g., compliance assessment vs ambient monitoring). These evaluations are critical because an inadequately evaluated reference pool may bias assessments in some settings. We present an approach for evaluating the adequacy of a reference-site pool for supporting biotic-index development in environmentally heterogeneous and pervasively altered regions. We followed common approaches for selecting sites with low levels of anthropogenic stress to screen 1985 candidate stream reaches to create a pool of 590 reference sites for assessing the biological integrity of streams in California, USA. We assessed the resulting pool of reference sites against 2 performance criteria. First, we evaluated how well the reference-site pool represented the range of natural gradients present in the entire population of streams as estimated by sites sampled through probabilistic surveys. Second, we evaluated the degree to which we were successful in rejecting sites influenced by anthropogenic stress by comparing biological metric scores at reference sites with the most vs fewest potential sources of stress. Using this approach, we established a reference-site pool with low levels of human-associated stress and broad coverage of environmental heterogeneity. This approach should be widely applicable and customizable to particular regional or programmatic needs.

45 CFR 148.310 - Eligibility requirements for a grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Qualified High Risk Pools § 148.310 Eligibility requirements for a grant. A State must meet all of the following requirements to be eligible for a grant: (a) The State has a qualified high risk pool as defined... the premium for applicable standard risk rates for the State. (c) The pool offers a choice of two or...

The rate of decline of joint space width in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials of chondroitin sulfate .

PubMed

Hochberg, Marc C; Zhan, Min; Langenberg, Patricia

2008-11-01

Chondroitin sulfate has been shown to relieve pain and improve functional limitation in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in numerous clinical trials and meta-analyses. Its role as a potential structure-modifying drug for knee OA, however, remains controversial. To perform a meta-analysis of randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials to assess the efficacy of chondroitin sulfate as a structure-modifying drug for knee OA. A Medline search was conducted from 1996 through 2007 and five articles that reported results from three trials were identified; one additional trial was identified through review of presentations at annual rheumatology meetings. There was no evidence of heterogeneity across the trials and results were pooled using a fixed effects meta-analysis. Pooled results demonstrated a small significant effect of chondroitin sulfate on the reduction in rate of decline in minimum joint space width of 0.07 mm/year (95% CI 0.03, 0.10) that corresponded to an effect size of 0.26 (95% CI 0.14, 0.38) (p < 0.0001). This result was robust in sensitivity analyses. The individual studies included in the meta-analysis varied in the number of patients enrolled and the techniques used to acquire knee radiographs and to measure joint space width. These results demonstrate that chondroitin sulfate is effective for reducing the rate of decline in minimum joint space width in patients with OA of the knee. Chondroitin sulfate may have a role as a structure-modifying agent in the management of patients with knee OA.

25 CFR 1000.27 - How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes? 1000.27 Section 1000.27 Indians OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT...-GOVERNMENT ACT AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ACT Selection of Additional Tribes...

25 CFR 1000.27 - How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes? 1000.27 Section 1000.27 Indians OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT...-GOVERNMENT ACT AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ACT Selection of Additional Tribes...

25 CFR 1000.27 - How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes? 1000.27 Section 1000.27 Indians OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT...-GOVERNMENT ACT AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ACT Selection of Additional Tribes...

25 CFR 1000.27 - How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes? 1000.27 Section 1000.27 Indians OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT...-GOVERNMENT ACT AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ACT Selection of Additional Tribes...

25 CFR 1000.27 - How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false How does the Director select which Tribes in the applicant pool become self-governance Tribes? 1000.27 Section 1000.27 Indians OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT...-GOVERNMENT ACT AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ACT Selection of Additional Tribes...

17 CFR 5.4 - Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Applicability of part 4 of this chapter to commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors. 5.4 Section 5.4 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION OFF-EXCHANGE FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS § 5.4...

Schooling preferences for familiar fish vary with group size in a wild guppy population

PubMed Central

Griffiths, S. W.; Magurran, A. E.

1997-01-01

The ability of fish to recognize and preferentially associate with familiar conspecifics has been well documented in a series of laboratory experiments. In this paper we investigate the schooling preferences of wild female guppies, Poecilia reticulata, in the Upper Tunapuna River in Trinidad and confirm that they do indeed prefer to associate with familiar individuals. The guppies in this river occur in a series of pools that become isolated during the dry season. These fish interact solely with other individuals in their pool for periods of several months at a time and thus have ample opportunity to become accustomed to one another. Our study also reveals that the tendency of female guppies to school with familiar fish declines as the group size in which they naturally live increases. Preferences are strong when there are small numbers of females in a pool, but diminish thereafter. This indicates that the expression of familiarity is constrained by group size. The basis of recognition and the consequences of schooling preferences for familiar individuals are discussed.

Parametrization consequences of constraining soil organic matter models by total carbon and radiocarbon using long-term field data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menichetti, Lorenzo; Kätterer, Thomas; Leifeld, Jens

2016-05-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics result from different interacting processes and controls on spatial scales from sub-aggregate to pedon to the whole ecosystem. These complex dynamics are translated into models as abundant degrees of freedom. This high number of not directly measurable variables and, on the other hand, very limited data at disposal result in equifinality and parameter uncertainty. Carbon radioisotope measurements are a proxy for SOC age both at annual to decadal (bomb peak based) and centennial to millennial timescales (radio decay based), and thus can be used in addition to total organic C for constraining SOC models. By considering this additional information, uncertainties in model structure and parameters may be reduced. To test this hypothesis we studied SOC dynamics and their defining kinetic parameters in the Zürich Organic Fertilization Experiment (ZOFE) experiment, a > 60-year-old controlled cropland experiment in Switzerland, by utilizing SOC and SO14C time series. To represent different processes we applied five model structures, all stemming from a simple mother model (Introductory Carbon Balance Model - ICBM): (I) two decomposing pools, (II) an inert pool added, (III) three decomposing pools, (IV) two decomposing pools with a substrate control feedback on decomposition, (V) as IV but with also an inert pool. These structures were extended to explicitly represent total SOC and 14C pools. The use of different model structures allowed us to explore model structural uncertainty and the impact of 14C on kinetic parameters. We considered parameter uncertainty by calibrating in a formal Bayesian framework. By varying the relative importance of total SOC and SO14C data in the calibration, we could quantify the effect of the information from these two data streams on estimated model parameters. The weighing of the two data streams was crucial for determining model outcomes, and we suggest including it in future modeling efforts whenever SO14C data are available. The measurements and all model structures indicated a dramatic decline in SOC in the ZOFE experiment after an initial land use change in 1949 from grass- to cropland, followed by a constant but smaller decline. According to all structures, the three treatments (control, mineral fertilizer, farmyard manure) we considered were still far from equilibrium. The estimates of mean residence time (MRT) of the C pools defined by our models were sensitive to the consideration of the SO14C data stream. Model structure had a smaller effect on estimated MRT, which ranged between 5.9 ± 0.1 and 4.2 ± 0.1 years and 78.9 ± 0.1 and 98.9 ± 0.1 years for young and old pools, respectively, for structures without substrate interactions. The simplest model structure performed the best according to information criteria, validating the idea that we still lack data for mechanistic SOC models. Although we could not exclude any of the considered processes possibly involved in SOC decomposition, it was not possible to discriminate their relative importance.

The roles of community biomass and species pools in the regulation of plant diversity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grace, J.B.

2001-01-01

Considerable debate has developed over the importance of community biomass and species pools in the regulation of community diversity. Attempts to explain patterns of plant diversity as a function of community biomass or productivity have been only partially successful and in general, have explained only a fraction of the observed variation in diversity. At the same time studies that have focused on the importance of species pools have led some to conclude that diversity is primarily regulated in the short term by the size of the species pool rather than by biotic interactions. In this paper, I explore how community biomass and species pools may work in combination to regulate diversity in herbaceous plant communities. To address this problem, I employ a simple model in which the dynamics of species richness are a function of aboveground community biomass and environmentally controlled gradients in species pools. Model results lead to two main predictions about the role of biomass regulation: (1) Seasonal dynamics of richness will tend to follow a regular oscillation, with richness rising to peak values during the early to middle portion of the growing season and then declining during the latter part of the season. (2.) Seasonal dieback of aboveground tissues facilitates the long-term maintenance of high levels of richness in the community. The persistence of aboveground tissues and accumulation of litter are especially important in limiting the number of species through the suppression of recruitment. Model results also lead to two main predictions about the role of species pools: (1) The height and position of peak richness relative to community biomass will be influenced by the rate at which the species pool increases as available soil resources increase. (2) Variations in nonresource environmental factors (e.g. soil pH or soil salinity) have the potential to regulate species pools in a way that is uncorrelated with aboveground biomass. Under extreme conditions, such nonresource effects can create a unimodal envelope of biomass-richness values. Available evidence from the literature provides partial support for these predictions, though additional data are needed to provide more convincing tests.

Soil bacterial communities of a calcium-supplemented and a reference watershed at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), New Hampshire, USA

Treesearch

Ganapathi Sridevi; Rakesh Minocha; Swathi A. Turlapati; Katherine C. Goldfarb; Eoin L. Brodie; Louis S. Tisa; Subhash C. Minocha

2012-01-01

Soil Ca depletion because of acidic deposition-related soil chemistry changes has led to the decline of forest productivity and carbon sequestration in the northeastern USA. In 1999, acidic watershed (WS) 1 at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), NH, USA was amended with Ca silicate to restore soil Ca pools. In 2006, soil samples were collected from the Ca-...

77 FR 43350 - Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan for the San Diego Unified...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-24

...) restoration and enhancement of vernal pools occupied by San Diego fairy shrimp on the McAuliffe Park and... would permanently remove all San Diego fairy shrimp and its vernal pool habitat from the project site. To mitigate impacts to the San Diego fairy shrimp and its vernal pool habitat, the applicant would...

Development and Content Validation of the Transition Readiness Inventory Item Pool for Adolescent and Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer.

PubMed

Schwartz, Lisa A; Hamilton, Jessica L; Brumley, Lauren D; Barakat, Lamia P; Deatrick, Janet A; Szalda, Dava E; Bevans, Katherine B; Tucker, Carole A; Daniel, Lauren C; Butler, Eliana; Kazak, Anne E; Hobbie, Wendy L; Ginsberg, Jill P; Psihogios, Alexandra M; Ver Hoeve, Elizabeth; Tuchman, Lisa K

2017-10-01

The development of the Transition Readiness Inventory (TRI) item pool for adolescent and young adult childhood cancer survivors is described, aiming to both advance transition research and provide an example of the application of NIH Patient Reported Outcomes Information System methods. Using rigorous measurement development methods including mixed methods, patient and parent versions of the TRI item pool were created based on the Social-ecological Model of Adolescent and young adult Readiness for Transition (SMART). Each stage informed development and refinement of the item pool. Content validity ratings and cognitive interviews resulted in 81 content valid items for the patient version and 85 items for the parent version. TRI represents the first multi-informant, rigorously developed transition readiness item pool that comprehensively measures the social-ecological components of transition readiness. Discussion includes clinical implications, the application of TRI and the methods to develop the item pool to other populations, and next steps for further validation and refinement. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Soil acidity and manganese in declining and nondeclining sugar maple stands in Pennsylvania.

PubMed

Kogelmann, Wilhelm J; Sharpe, William E

2006-01-01

For decades, the hardwood forests of northern Pennsylvania have been subjected to chronic atmospheric loading of acidifying agents. On marginal, high-elevation, unglaciated sites, sugar maples (Acer saccharum Marsh.) have experienced severe decline symptoms and mortality. Accelerated soil acidification, base cation leaching, and increased availability of toxic metals have been suggested as predisposing factors contributing to this decline. Manganese, an essential micronutrient, is also a potentially phytotoxic metal that may be a factor associated with poor sugar maple health on soils vulnerable to acidification from anthropogenic sources. We measured Mn levels in four compartments of the soil-tree system (soil, foliage, xylem wood, and sap) on three sugar maple stands in northern Pennsylvania. Two stands were classified as declining and one was in good health. Negative correlations were found between soil pH and Mn levels in the soil, foliage, sap, and xylem wood. Levels of Mn in these pools were consistently higher on declining sites, which correspondingly exhibited lower levels of Ca and Mg. Species differences between red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and sugar maple at the two declining sites suggested different tolerances to excessive Mn. Molar ratios of Mg/Mn and Ca/Mn were different among sites and showed potential as indicators of soil acidification. Significant correlations among soil, sap, foliage, and xylem wood Mn were also noted. These results show clear Mn differences among sites and, when viewed with recent Mn toxicity experiments and other observational studies, suggest that excessive Mn may play a role in the observed decline and mortality of sugar maple.

Declines in stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates in Europe between 2004 and 2010: results from the Euro-Peristat project.

PubMed

Zeitlin, Jennifer; Mortensen, Laust; Cuttini, Marina; Lack, Nicholas; Nijhuis, Jan; Haidinger, Gerald; Blondel, Béatrice; Hindori-Mohangoo, Ashna D

2016-06-01

Stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates declined in Europe between 2004 and 2010. We hypothesised that declines might be greater for countries with higher mortality in 2004 and disproportionally affect very preterm infants at highest risk. Data about live births, stillbirths and neonatal deaths by gestational age (GA) were collected using a common protocol by the Euro-Peristat project in 2004 and 2010. We analysed stillbirths at ≥28 weeks GA in 22 countries and live births ≥24 weeks GA for neonatal mortality in 18 countries. Per cent changes over time were assessed by calculating risk ratios (RR) for stillbirth, neonatal mortality and preterm birth rates in 2010 vs 2004. We used meta-analysis techniques to derive pooled RR using random-effects models overall, by GA subgroups and by mortality level in 2004. Between 2004 and 2010, stillbirths declined by 17% (95% CI 10% to 23%), with a range from 1% to 39% by country. Neonatal mortality declined by 29% (95% CI 23% to 35%) with a range from 9% to 67%. Preterm birth rates did not change: 0% (95% CI -3% to 3%). Mortality declines were of a similar magnitude at all GA; mortality levels in 2004 were not associated with RRs. Stillbirths and neonatal deaths declined at all gestational ages in countries with both high and low levels of mortality in 2004. These results raise questions about how low-mortality countries achieve continued declines and highlight the importance of improving care across the GA spectrum. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Cognitive Impairment Precedes and Predicts Functional Impairment in Mild Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Liu-Seifert, Hong; Siemers, Eric; Price, Karen; Han, Baoguang; Selzler, Katherine J; Henley, David; Sundell, Karen; Aisen, Paul; Cummings, Jeffrey; Raskin, Joel; Mohs, Richard

2015-01-01

The temporal relationship of cognitive deficit and functional impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not well characterized. Recent analyses suggest cognitive decline predicts subsequent functional decline throughout AD progression. To better understand the relationship between cognitive and functional decline in mild AD using autoregressive cross-lagged (ARCL) panel analyses in several clinical trials. Data included placebo patients with mild AD pooled from two multicenter, double-blind, Phase 3 solanezumab (EXPEDITION/2) or semagacestat (IDENTITY/2) studies, and from AD patients participating in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Cognitive and functional outcomes were assessed using AD Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog), AD Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living instrumental subscale (ADCS-iADL), or Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ), respectively. ARCL panel analyses evaluated relationships between cognitive and functional impairment over time. In EXPEDITION, ARCL panel analyses demonstrated cognitive scores significantly predicted future functional impairment at 5 of 6 time points, while functional scores predicted subsequent cognitive scores in only 1 of 6 time points. Data from IDENTITY and ADNI programs yielded consistent results whereby cognition predicted subsequent function, but not vice-versa. Analyses from three databases indicated cognitive decline precedes and predicts subsequent functional decline in mild AD dementia, consistent with previously proposed hypotheses, and corroborate recent publications using similar methodologies. Cognitive impairment may be used as a predictor of future functional impairment in mild AD dementia and can be considered a critical target for prevention strategies to limit future functional decline in the dementia process.

Pipeline issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eisley, Joe T.

1990-01-01

The declining pool of graduates, the lack of rigorous preparation in science and mathematics, and the declining interest in science and engineering careers at the precollege level promises a shortage of technically educated personnel at the college level for industry, government, and the universities in the next several decades. The educational process, which starts out with a large number of students at the elementary level, but with an ever smaller number preparing for science and engineering at each more advanced educational level, is in a state of crisis. These pipeline issues, so called because the educational process is likened to a series of ever smaller constrictions in a pipe, were examined in a workshop at the Space Grant Conference and a summary of the presentations and the results of the discussion, and the conclusions of the workshop participants are reported.

An Evaluation of Different Target Enrichment Methods in Pooled Sequencing Designs for Complex Disease Association Studies

PubMed Central

Day-Williams, Aaron G.; McLay, Kirsten; Drury, Eleanor; Edkins, Sarah; Coffey, Alison J.; Palotie, Aarno; Zeggini, Eleftheria

2011-01-01

Pooled sequencing can be a cost-effective approach to disease variant discovery, but its applicability in association studies remains unclear. We compare sequence enrichment methods coupled to next-generation sequencing in non-indexed pools of 1, 2, 10, 20 and 50 individuals and assess their ability to discover variants and to estimate their allele frequencies. We find that pooled resequencing is most usefully applied as a variant discovery tool due to limitations in estimating allele frequency with high enough accuracy for association studies, and that in-solution hybrid-capture performs best among the enrichment methods examined regardless of pool size. PMID:22069447

The effect of hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemia on small-intestinal mucosal protein synthesis in patients after surgical stress.

PubMed

Rittler, Peter; Schiefer, Beatrice; Demmelmair, Hans; Koletzko, Berthold; Vogeser, Michael; Alpers, David H; Jauch, Karl-Walter; Hartl, Wolfgang H

2006-01-01

Hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemia cannot stimulate intestinal protein synthesis in healthy individuals but does so in conditions characterized by an altered somatotropic axis such as diabetes. Only in a state of growth hormone resistance (high growth hormone but low insulin like growth factor [IGF-1] concentrations), extra insulin may acutely reverse the impaired, growth-hormone-induced IGF-1 release, thereby exerting anabolic actions at the intestinal tract. Growth hormone resistance can be also found in patients after surgical stress. Therefore, we wanted to test the hypothesis whether hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemia would stimulate ileal protein synthesis in the latter condition. Mass spectrometry techniques (capillary gas chromatography/combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry) were used to directly determine the incorporation rate of 1-[(13)C]-leucine into ileal mucosal protein. All subjects had an ileostomy, which allowed easy access to the ileal mucosa, and consecutive sampling from the same tissue was performed during continuous isotope infusion (0.16 mumol/kg min). Isotopic enrichments and fractional protein synthesis were determined at baseline (period I) and after a 4-hour glucose infusion (170 mg/kg/h) or after infusion of saline (control group) (period II). In controls, ileal protein synthesis declined significantly during prolonged isotope infusion (period I: 1.11 +/- 0.14%/h, period II: 0.39 +/- 0.13%/h, p < .01). In contrast, ileal protein synthesis remained constant during glucose infusion (period I: 1.32 +/- 0.35%/h, period II: 1.33 +/- 0.21%/h, n.s. vs period I, but p < .005 vs the corresponding value at the end of period II in the control group). Using the continuous tracer infusion technique, ileal protein synthesis seemingly declines over a short time in control subjects. We found evidence that this artificial decline was due to mass effects of a rapidly turning over mucosa protein pool in which an isotopic plateau was reached during the experiment and of which the size amounted to approximately 4% of the total mixed protein pool. Maintenance of ileal protein synthesis during glucose infusion therefore indicates a rise of ileal protein synthesis in a slowly turning over protein pool. This effect in postsurgical patients would be compatible with the concept of intestinal insulin action to depend on the specific clinical state (eg, growth hormone resistance).

Recruiting the future public health workforce: an analysis of prospect communication among accredited Schools of Public Health.

PubMed

Purcell, Jennifer M

2009-06-01

Schools of Public Health cannot sustain the national momentum for public health justice and human rights without recruiting and training a skilled public health workforce. With growing demand for public health workers, schools must work to increase their applicant pools. This project examined prospect communication materials from accredited Schools of Public Health and found that the vast majority of schools did not capitalize on opportunities to move prospects to applicants. Whereas most responded within a reasonable time, several schools made no communication efforts at all. Recruitment materials varied widely from institution to institution and between epidemiology and health education programs. Strategic, personalized communication strategies-the 3 Cs-are recommended to increase the pools of qualified applicants nationwide and can be utilized to increase prospect pools in a wide range of health sciences.

Revenue Ruling 83-46: draining the pool-of-capital doctrine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Livsey, A.F.

After outlining the development of the pool-of-capital doctrine since its introduction in 1933. The author analyzes Revenue Ruling 83-46, its effects on the oil and gas industry, and possible ways to avoid its consequences when it ignored the pool-of-capital doctrine and held that the fair market value of the royalty interests must be included in gross income at the time the interest was received. The Internal Revenue Service ignored applicable law that has consistently made the pool-of-capital doctrine an exception to general income recognition rules. The Ruling clouds the future of the doctrine and the applicability of the case lawmore » clarifying it to date. The IRS needs to either overrule prior decisions upholding the doctrine, issue another ruling correcting and clarifying the doctrine, or let practitioners know how similar capital investments in oil and gas properties will be treated in the future.« less

Research on Optimization of Pooling System and Its Application in Drug Supply Chain Based on Big Data Analysis

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Reform of drug procurement is being extensively implemented and expanded in China, especially in today's big data environment. However, the pattern of supply mode innovation lags behind procurement improvement. Problems in financial strain and supply break frequently occur, which affect the stability of drug supply. Drug Pooling System is proposed and applied in a few pilot cities to resolve these problems. From the perspective of supply chain, this study analyzes the process of setting important parameters and sets out the tasks of involved parties in a pooling system according to the issues identified in the pilot run. The approach is based on big data analysis and simulation using system dynamic theory and modeling of Vensim software to optimize system performance. This study proposes a theoretical framework to resolve problems and attempts to provide a valuable reference for future application of pooling systems. PMID:28293258

Dynamic Labeling Reveals Temporal Changes in Carbon Re-Allocation within the Central Metabolism of Developing Apple Fruit

PubMed Central

Beshir, Wasiye F.; Mbong, Victor B. M.; Hertog, Maarten L. A. T. M.; Geeraerd, Annemie H.; Van den Ende, Wim; Nicolaï, Bart M.

2017-01-01

In recent years, the application of isotopically labeled substrates has received extensive attention in plant physiology. Measuring the propagation of the label through metabolic networks may provide information on carbon allocation in sink fruit during fruit development. In this research, gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry based metabolite profiling was used to characterize the changing metabolic pool sizes in developing apple fruit at five growth stages (30, 58, 93, 121, and 149 days after full bloom) using 13C-isotope feeding experiments on hypanthium tissue discs. Following the feeding of [U-13C]glucose, the 13C-label was incorporated into the various metabolites to different degrees depending on incubation time, metabolic pathway activity, and growth stage. Evidence is presented that early in fruit development the utilization of the imported sugars was faster than in later developmental stages, likely to supply the energy and carbon skeletons required for cell division and fruit growth. The declined 13C-incorporation into various metabolites during growth and maturation can be associated with the reduced metabolic activity, as mirrored by the respiratory rate. Moreover, the concentration of fructose and sucrose increased during fruit development, whereas concentrations of most amino and organic acids and polyphenols declined. In general, this study showed that the imported compounds play a central role not only in carbohydrate metabolism, but also in the biosynthesis of amino acid and related protein synthesis and secondary metabolites at the early stage of fruit development. PMID:29093725

Hydrologic and Soil Science in a Mediterranean Critical Zone Observatory: Koiliaris River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolaidis, Nikolaos; Stamati, Fotini; Schnoor, Jerald; Moraetis, Daniel; Kotronakis, Manolis

2010-05-01

The Koiliaris River watershed is situated 25km east from the city of Chania, Crete, Greece. The total watershed area is 145km2 and the main supply of water originates in the White Mountains. At high elevations (altitude 2014 m), the maximum slope is 43% while at the lower elevations the slope measures 1-2%. Land use includes heterogeneous agricultural areas (25.4%), olive and orange groves (15.6%), and scrub and/or herbaceous vegetation associations (57.6%). The geology of the Basin consists of 23.8% Plattenkalk (dolomites, marbles, limestone and re-crystallized limestone with cherts); 31% of Trypali units (re-crystallized calcaric breccias); 9.4% limestones with marls in Neogene formations; 13% marls in Neogene formations; 12.8% schists, and 10% quaternary alluvial deposits. Intensive hydrologic and geochemical monitoring has been conducted since 2004 while the site has historical data since the ‘60s. In addition, a telemetric high-frequency hydrologic and water quality monitoring station has been deployed to obtain data for the characterization of the hydrologic and biogeochemical processes with varying process response-times. Hydrologic and geochemical modeling confirms the estimation of characteristic times of these processes. The main type of soil degradation in the basin as well as in other arid and semi-arid regions is water erosion, which is due to the clearing of forests and natural vegetation for cropping and livestock grazing. De-vegetation and inappropriate cultivation practices induces soil organic matter (SOM) losses making soils susceptible to erosion and desertification with global consequences for food security, climate change, biodiversity, water quality, and agricultural economy. Cropland plowing breaks-up water stable aggregates making the bio-available pool bio-accessible; which could be microbially attacked and oxidized resulting in SOM decline. Chronosequence data analysis suggested first-order kinetic rate of decline of the bio-available carbon and nitrogen pools, where as much as half of the total OM loss could take place during the first year after the conversion of grassland to cropland. We have shown by physical fractionation and spectroscopic techniques in croplands and set-aside fields that most of the SOM decline in croplands has been attributed to the breakup of macroaggregates and the oxidation of particulate organic matter despite the climatic or textural conditions. However, lower decomposition rates and higher silt-clay content of Greek soil create more stable aggregates and facilitate OM stabilization. Studies on Koiliaris River highland de-vegetated grazing lands suggested decline of soil biochemical quality compared to native vegetated lands. The size of soluble mineral nitrogen and organic carbon pools have also decreased. The composition of the soluble OM pool had significantly lower DOC aromaticity and was nitrogen enriched compared with the naturally vegetated lands. The DON Aromaticity Index was shown to be a promising sensitive indicator of de-vegetation effect on the soluble pool of OM. The partitioning coefficients of the potential soluble organic nitrogen increased with increasing DON aromaticity for the de-vegetated lands, indicating that the lower the aromaticity, the more prone soils are to leaching DON and potentially affect water quality. The land-use load apportionment analysis revealed that the river export load of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is linearly correlated with the normalized, livestock derived, DON load input from pasture suggesting that increasing livestock grazing in a watershed would result in higher DON export in river. DON aromaticity could serve as a simple indicator of soil biochemical quality and aggregate disturbance in soils and therefore SOM stability. We have conducted a stratified soil sampling intending to validate the utility of the examined indices for the quantification of the effects of agricultural pressures to soil quality and the detection of potential effects on water quality. The watershed is one of the Critical Zone Observatories in the FP7 funded project SoilTrEC.

Meta-Analysis of the Association between Tea Intake and the Risk of Cognitive Disorders

PubMed Central

Ma, Qing-Ping; Huang, Chen; Cui, Qiao-Yun; Yang, Ding-Jun; Sun, Kang; Chen, Xuan; Li, Xing-Hui

2016-01-01

Background Alzheimer’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder in elderly. This study was aimed to systematically evaluate the association between tea intake and the risk of cognitive disorders by meta-analysis. Methods and Findings PubMed, Embase and Wanfang databases were systematically searched and a total of 26 observational studies were included in this study. Odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and pooled by using fixed or random effects models according to the degree of heterogeneity. Results The overall pooled analysis indicated that tea intake could significantly reduce the risk of cognitive disorders (OR = 0.65, 95%CI = 0.58–0.73). Subgroup analyses were conducted based on study design, population, frequency of tea drinking and type of cognitive disorders. The results showed that tea drinking was significantly associated with the reduced incidence of cognitive disorders in all of subgroups based on study design and frequency of tea drinking. In particular, tea drinking was inversely associated with the risk of cognitive impairment (CoI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), cognitive decline and ungrouped cognitive disorders. Moreover, for population subgroups, the significant association was only found in Chinese people. Conclusion Our study suggests that daily tea drinking is associated with decreased risk of CoI, MCI and cognitive decline in the elderly. However, the association between tea intake and Alzheimer’s disease remains elusive. PMID:27824892

Age at Last Birth in Relation to Risk of Endometrial Cancer: Pooled Analysis in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium

PubMed Central

Setiawan, Veronica Wendy; Pike, Malcolm C.; Karageorgi, Stalo; Deming, Sandra L.; Anderson, Kristin; Bernstein, Leslie; Brinton, Louise A.; Cai, Hui; Cerhan, James R.; Cozen, Wendy; Chen, Chu; Doherty, Jennifer; Freudenheim, Jo L.; Goodman, Marc T.; Hankinson, Susan E.; Lacey, James V.; Liang, Xiaolin; Lissowska, Jolanta; Lu, Lingeng; Lurie, Galina; Mack, Thomas; Matsuno, Rayna K.; McCann, Susan; Moysich, Kirsten B.; Olson, Sara H.; Rastogi, Radhai; Rebbeck, Timothy R.; Risch, Harvey; Robien, Kim; Schairer, Catherine; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Spurdle, Amanda B.; Strom, Brian L.; Thompson, Pamela J.; Ursin, Giske; Webb, Penelope M.; Weiss, Noel S.; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Xiang, Yong-Bing; Yang, Hannah P.; Yu, Herbert; Horn-Ross, Pamela L.; De Vivo, Immaculata

2012-01-01

Childbearing at an older age has been associated with a lower risk of endometrial cancer, but whether the association is independent of the number of births or other factors remains unclear. Individual-level data from 4 cohort and 13 case-control studies in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium were pooled. A total of 8,671 cases of endometrial cancer and 16,562 controls were included in the analysis. After adjustment for known risk factors, endometrial cancer risk declined with increasing age at last birth (Ptrend < 0.0001). The pooled odds ratio per 5-year increase in age at last birth was 0.87 (95% confidence interval: 0.85, 0.90). Women who last gave birth at 40 years of age or older had a 44% decreased risk compared with women who had their last birth under the age of 25 years (95% confidence interval: 47, 66). The protective association was similar across the different age-at-diagnosis groups and for the 2 major tumor histologic subtypes (type I and type II). No effect modification was observed by body mass index, parity, or exogenous hormone use. In this large pooled analysis, late age at last birth was independently associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer, and the reduced risk persisted for many years. PMID:22831825

Deep-learning-based classification of FDG-PET data for Alzheimer's disease categories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Shibani; Srivastava, Anant; Mi, Liang; Caselli, Richard J.; Chen, Kewei; Goradia, Dhruman; Reiman, Eric M.; Wang, Yalin

2017-11-01

Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) measures the decline in the regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose, offering a reliable metabolic biomarker even on presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. PET scans provide functional information that is unique and unavailable using other types of imaging. However, the computational efficacy of FDG-PET data alone, for the classification of various Alzheimers Diagnostic categories, has not been well studied. This motivates us to correctly discriminate various AD Diagnostic categories using FDG-PET data. Deep learning has improved state-of-the-art classification accuracies in the areas of speech, signal, image, video, text mining and recognition. We propose novel methods that involve probabilistic principal component analysis on max-pooled data and mean-pooled data for dimensionality reduction, and multilayer feed forward neural network which performs binary classification. Our experimental dataset consists of baseline data of subjects including 186 cognitively unimpaired (CU) subjects, 336 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects with 158 Late MCI and 178 Early MCI, and 146 AD patients from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset. We measured F1-measure, precision, recall, negative and positive predictive values with a 10-fold cross validation scheme. Our results indicate that our designed classifiers achieve competitive results while max pooling achieves better classification performance compared to mean-pooled features. Our deep model based research may advance FDG-PET analysis by demonstrating their potential as an effective imaging biomarker of AD.

Fish assemblage structure in an Oklahoma Ozark stream before and after rainbow trout introduction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walsh, M.G.; Winkelman, D.L.

2005-01-01

Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss have been widely stocked throughout the United States as a popular sport fish. Our study was initiated to evaluate potential effects of rainbow trout introduction on native fishes to inform future decisions about trout stocking in northeastern Oklahoma streams. We sampled fish assemblages in pools, glides, and riffles in Brush Creek, Delaware County, Oklahoma, from February 2000 to September 2002, and experimentally stocked rainbow trout into the stream from November 2000 to March 2001 and November 2001 to March 2002. We used a combination of multivariate analyses to evaluate seasonal and habitat effects on native fish assemblages and to compare assemblage structure between prestocking, the first year of stocking, and the second year of stocking. Mesohabitat type significantly affected assemblage structure among years, whereas we did not detect an effect of season. We did not detect differences in assemblage structure among years in glide or riffle habitats. Native fish assemblage structure in pool habitats before rainbow trout introduction differed from assemblage structure in both the first and second year of stocking. Declines in seven species, including two native game fish (smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu and bluegill Lepomis machrochirus), contributed to assemblage dissimilarity in pool habitats between prestocking conditions and the second year of stocking. Our results indicate that stocking rainbow trout may cause local disruption in assemblage structure in pool habitats. ?? 2004 by the American Fisheries Society.

Seasonal dynamics in community structure, abundance, body size and sex ratio in two species of Neotropical annual fishes.

PubMed

Lanés, L E K; Godoy, R S; Maltchik, L; Polačik, M; Blažek, R; Vrtílek, M; Reichard, M

2016-11-01

Seven ephemeral pools on the coastal plain of southern Brazil were found to be inhabited by three annual and 22 non-annual fish species. Two common annual species (Austrolebias minuano and Cynopoecilus fulgens) exhibited clear seasonal dynamics, with the appearance of young fishes in the austral autumn (May to June) and a decline in abundance over the seasonal cycle. The third annual species, Austrolebias wolterstorffii, was rare. No seasonal dynamics were observed in non-annual fishes. The relative abundance of non-annual fishes compared with annual fishes increased over the seasonal cycle, but they coexisted widely. The size structure of annual fishes suggested the presence of a single age cohort in most pools though a second age cohort was registered in one pool in August, coinciding with a large flooding. Strong sexual dimorphism in body size was found in C. fulgens throughout the seasonal cycle, while no sexual dimorphism in body size was found in A. minuano. Female-biased sex ratios were recorded in both common annual fish species in the last three sampling dates (in spring), but not during the first two sampling dates (in winter). The natural lifespan of annual fishes was <8 months. Annual fishes disappeared before habitat desiccation in half of the pools, while non-annual fishes were still present. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

13 CFR 124.205 - Can an applicant ask SBA to reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application? (a) An applicant may request the AA/BD to..., including information and documentation regarding changed circumstances. (b) The AA/BD will issue a written decision within 45 days of SBA's receipt of the applicant's request. The AA/BD may either approve the...

13 CFR 124.205 - Can an applicant ask SBA to reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application? (a) An applicant may request the AA/BD to..., including information and documentation regarding changed circumstances. (b) The AA/BD will issue a written decision within 45 days of SBA's receipt of the applicant's request. The AA/BD may either approve the...

13 CFR 124.205 - Can an applicant ask SBA to reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... reconsider SBA's initial decision to decline its application? (a) An applicant may request the AA/BD to..., including information and documentation regarding changed circumstances. (b) The AA/BD will issue a written decision within 45 days of SBA's receipt of the applicant's request. The AA/BD may either approve the...

Large-scale pattern of genetic differentiation within African rainforest trees: insights on the roles of ecological gradients and past climate changes on the evolution of Erythrophleum spp (Fabaceae).

PubMed

Duminil, Jerome; Brown, Richard P; Ewédjè, Eben-Ezer B K; Mardulyn, Patrick; Doucet, Jean-Louis; Hardy, Olivier J

2013-09-12

The evolutionary events that have shaped biodiversity patterns in the African rainforests are still poorly documented. Past forest fragmentation and ecological gradients have been advocated as important drivers of genetic differentiation but their respective roles remain unclear. Using nuclear microsatellites (nSSRs) and chloroplast non-coding sequences (pDNA), we characterised the spatial genetic structure of Erythrophleum (Fabaceae) forest trees in West and Central Africa (Guinea Region, GR). This widespread genus displays a wide ecological amplitude and taxonomists recognize two forest tree species, E. ivorense and E. suaveolens, which are difficult to distinguish in the field and often confused. Bayesian-clustering applied on nSSRs of a blind sample of 648 specimens identified three major gene pools showing no or very limited introgression. They present parapatric distributions correlated to rainfall gradients and forest types. One gene pool is restricted to coastal evergreen forests and corresponds to E. ivorense; a second one is found in gallery forests from the dry forest zone of West Africa and North-West Cameroon and corresponds to West-African E. suaveolens; the third gene pool occurs in semi-evergreen forests and corresponds to Central African E. suaveolens. These gene pools have mostly unique pDNA haplotypes but they do not form reciprocally monophyletic clades. Nevertheless, pDNA molecular dating indicates that the divergence between E. ivorense and Central African E. suaveolens predates the Pleistocene. Further Bayesian-clustering applied within each major gene pool identified diffuse genetic discontinuities (minor gene pools displaying substantial introgression) at a latitude between 0 and 2°N in Central Africa for both species, and at a longitude between 5° and 8°E for E. ivorense. Moreover, we detected evidence of past population declines which are consistent with historical habitat fragmentation induced by Pleistocene climate changes. Overall, deep genetic differentiation (major gene pools) follows ecological gradients that may be at the origin of speciation, while diffuse differentiation (minor gene pools) are tentatively interpreted as the signature of past forest fragmentation induced by past climate changes.

Large-scale pattern of genetic differentiation within African rainforest trees: insights on the roles of ecological gradients and past climate changes on the evolution of Erythrophleum spp (Fabaceae)

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The evolutionary events that have shaped biodiversity patterns in the African rainforests are still poorly documented. Past forest fragmentation and ecological gradients have been advocated as important drivers of genetic differentiation but their respective roles remain unclear. Using nuclear microsatellites (nSSRs) and chloroplast non-coding sequences (pDNA), we characterised the spatial genetic structure of Erythrophleum (Fabaceae) forest trees in West and Central Africa (Guinea Region, GR). This widespread genus displays a wide ecological amplitude and taxonomists recognize two forest tree species, E. ivorense and E. suaveolens, which are difficult to distinguish in the field and often confused. Results Bayesian-clustering applied on nSSRs of a blind sample of 648 specimens identified three major gene pools showing no or very limited introgression. They present parapatric distributions correlated to rainfall gradients and forest types. One gene pool is restricted to coastal evergreen forests and corresponds to E. ivorense; a second one is found in gallery forests from the dry forest zone of West Africa and North-West Cameroon and corresponds to West-African E. suaveolens; the third gene pool occurs in semi-evergreen forests and corresponds to Central African E. suaveolens. These gene pools have mostly unique pDNA haplotypes but they do not form reciprocally monophyletic clades. Nevertheless, pDNA molecular dating indicates that the divergence between E. ivorense and Central African E. suaveolens predates the Pleistocene. Further Bayesian-clustering applied within each major gene pool identified diffuse genetic discontinuities (minor gene pools displaying substantial introgression) at a latitude between 0 and 2°N in Central Africa for both species, and at a longitude between 5° and 8°E for E. ivorense. Moreover, we detected evidence of past population declines which are consistent with historical habitat fragmentation induced by Pleistocene climate changes. Conclusions Overall, deep genetic differentiation (major gene pools) follows ecological gradients that may be at the origin of speciation, while diffuse differentiation (minor gene pools) are tentatively interpreted as the signature of past forest fragmentation induced by past climate changes. PMID:24028582

Possible effect of biotechnology on plant gene pools in Turkey.

PubMed

Demir, Aynur

2015-01-02

The recent rapid developments in biotechnology have made great contributions to the study of plant gene pools. The application of in vitro methods in freeze storage and DNA protection techniques in fast production studies has made major advances. From that aspect, biotechnology is an indispensable means for the protection of plant gene pools, which includes the insurance of sustainable agriculture and development of species. Besides all the positive developments, one of the primary risks posed by the uncontrolled spreading of genetically modified organisms is the possibility for other non-target organisms to be negatively affected. Genes of plant origin should be given priority in this type of studies by taking into consideration such negative effects that may result in disruption of ecological balance and damage to plant genetic pools. Turkey, due to its ecological conditions and history, has a very important position in terms of plant gene pools. This richness ought to be protected without corrupting its natural quality and natural evolution process in order to provide the sources of species that will be required for future sustainable agricultural applications. Thus, attention should be paid to the use of biotechnological methods, which play an important role especially in the protection and use of local and original plant gene pools.

Possible effect of biotechnology on plant gene pools in Turkey

PubMed Central

Demir, Aynur

2015-01-01

The recent rapid developments in biotechnology have made great contributions to the study of plant gene pools. The application of in vitro methods in freeze storage and DNA protection techniques in fast production studies has made major advances. From that aspect, biotechnology is an indispensable means for the protection of plant gene pools, which includes the insurance of sustainable agriculture and development of species. Besides all the positive developments, one of the primary risks posed by the uncontrolled spreading of genetically modified organisms is the possibility for other non-target organisms to be negatively affected. Genes of plant origin should be given priority in this type of studies by taking into consideration such negative effects that may result in disruption of ecological balance and damage to plant genetic pools. Turkey, due to its ecological conditions and history, has a very important position in terms of plant gene pools. This richness ought to be protected without corrupting its natural quality and natural evolution process in order to provide the sources of species that will be required for future sustainable agricultural applications. Thus, attention should be paid to the use of biotechnological methods, which play an important role especially in the protection and use of local and original plant gene pools. PMID:26019612

26 CFR 1.167(b)-2 - Declining balance method.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Declining balance method. 1.167(b)-2 Section 1... Declining balance method. (a) Application of method. Under the declining balance method a uniform rate is... declining balance rate may be determined without resort to formula. Such rate determined under section 167(b...

26 CFR 1.167(b)-2 - Declining balance method.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Declining balance method. 1.167(b)-2 Section 1... Declining balance method. (a) Application of method. Under the declining balance method a uniform rate is... declining balance rate may be determined without resort to formula. Such rate determined under section 167(b...

Aquatic habitat change in the Arkansas river after the development of a lock-and-dam commercial navigation system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schramm, H.L.; Minnis, R.B.; Spencer, A.B.; Theel, R.T.

2008-01-01

The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS), completed in 1971, required the construction of 17 locks and dams and associated navigation works to make the Arkansas and Verdigris Rivers navigable for barge traffic from the Mississippi River to Catoosa, Oklahoma. We used a Geographic Information System to assess habitat changes in the 477-km portion of this system within Arkansas from 1973 to 1999. Total aquatic area declined by 9% from 42 404 to 38 655 ha. Aquatic habitat losses were 1-17% among pools. Greatest habitat losses occurred in diked secondary channels (former secondary channels with flow reduced by rock dikes) and backwaters adjacent to the main channel. Most of the area of dike pools (aquatic habitat downstream of rock dikes), diked secondary channels and adjacent backwaters were <0.9 m deep. Copyright ?? 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Giardiasis outbreaks in the United States, 1971–2011

PubMed Central

Adam, E. A.; Yoder, J. S.; Gould, L. H.; Hlavsa, M. C.; Gargano, J. W.

2016-01-01

Summary Giardia intestinalis is the leading parasitic aetiology of human enteric infections in the United States, with an estimated 1.2 million cases occurring annually. To better understand transmission, we analysed data on all giardiasis outbreaks reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 1971–2011. The 242 outbreaks, affecting ∼41 000 persons, resulted from waterborne (74.8%), foodborne (15.7%), person-to-person (2.5%), and animal contact (1.2%) transmission. Most (74.6%) waterborne outbreaks were associated with drinking water, followed by recreational water (18.2%). Problems with water treatment, untreated groundwater, and distribution systems were identified most often during drinking water-associated outbreak investigations; problems with water treatment declined after the 1980s. Most recreational water-associated outbreaks were linked to treated swimming venues, with pools and wading pools implicated most often. Produce was implicated most often in foodborne outbreaks. Additionally, foods were most commonly prepared in a restaurant and contaminated by a food handler. Lessons learned from examining patterns in outbreaks over time can help prevent future disease. Groundwater and distribution system vulnerabilities, inadequate pool disinfection, fruit and vegetable contamination, and poor food handler hygiene are promising targets for giardiasis prevention measures. PMID:26750152

K(86Rb) transport heterogeneity in the low-density fraction of sickle cell anemia red blood cells.

PubMed

Etzion, Z; Lew, V L; Bookchin, R M

1996-10-01

Previous studies have suggested ion transport heterogeneity among sickle cell anemia (SS) reticulocytes that could influence their dehydration susceptibility. We examined Ca2(+)-independent K transport in the lowest density (F1), reticulocyte-rich SS cells, measuring the effects of acidification, ouabain, and bumetanide on their unidirectional K(86Rb) fluxes. Unlike those of normal red blood cells and SS discocytes, the SS-F1 K(86Rb) fluxes were highly nonlinear, with large 5-min flux components (previously unobserved) and a more gradual decline over 60 min. Analysis revealed two distinct K pools: a rapid-turnover pool in a small fraction of cells, whose major ouabain-resistant K(86Rb) transport path showed distinctive properties including inhibition by high concentrations of bumetanide (> or = 1 mM) and stimulation at pH 7.0, and another heterogeneous, relatively slow-turnover pool, in most of the F1 cells, whose main ouabain-resistant K(86Rb) path was insensitive to bumetanide but was stimulated at pH 7.0, which is consistent with heterogeneous expression of the acid-sensitive K-Cl cotransport and with both rapid and slower generation of dehydrated SS cells.

New pharmacokinetic methods. III. Two simple test for deep pool effect

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Browne, T.R.; Greenblatt, D.J.; Schumacher, G.E.

1990-08-01

If a portion of administered drug is distributed into a deep peripheral compartment, the drug's actual elimination half-life during the terminal exponential phase of elimination may be longer than determined by a single dose study or a tracer dose study (deep pool effect). Two simple methods of testing for deep pool effect applicable to drugs with either linear or nonlinear pharmacokinetic properties are described. The methods are illustrated with stable isotope labeled (13C15N2) tracer dose studies of phenytoin. No significant (P less than .05) deep pool effect was detected.

Automation of water supply and recirculation-filtration of water at a swimming pool using Zelio PLC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diniş, C. M.; Popa, G. N.; Iagăr, A.

2018-01-01

The paper proposes the use of the Zelio PLC for the automation of the water supply and recirculation-filtration system of a swimming pool. To do this, the Zelio SR3B261BD - 24V DC with 10 digital inputs (24V DC) and 10 digital outputs (relay contacts) was used. The proposed application makes the control of the water supply pumps and the water recirculation-filtration from a swimming pool. The recirculation-filtration systems for pools and swimming pools are designed to ensure water cleaning and recirculation to achieve optimum quality and lasting service life. The water filtration process is one of the important steps in water treatment in polls and swimming pools. It consists in recirculation of the entire volume of water and begins by absorbing the water in the pool by means of a pump followed by the passing of water through the filter, disinfectant and pH dosing, and reintroducing the water back into the pool or swimming pool through the discharge holes. Filters must to work 24 hours a day to remove pollutants from pools or swimming pools users. Filtration removes suspension particles with different origins. All newly built pools and swimming pools must be fitted with water recirculation systems, and existing ones will be equipped with water recirculation and water treatment systems.

Morphology of drying blood pools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laan, Nick; Smith, Fiona; Nicloux, Celine; Brutin, David; D-Blood project Collaboration

2016-11-01

Often blood pools are found on crime scenes providing information concerning the events and sequence of events that took place on the scene. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the drying dynamics of blood pools. This study focuses on the drying process of blood pools to determine what relevant information can be obtained for the forensic application. We recorded the drying process of blood pools with a camera and measured the weight. We found that the drying process can be separated into five different: coagulation, gelation, rim desiccation, centre desiccation, and final desiccation. Moreover, we found that the weight of the blood pool diminishes similarly and in a reproducible way for blood pools created in various conditions. In addition, we verify that the size of the blood pools is directly related to its volume and the wettability of the surface. Our study clearly shows that blood pools dry in a reproducible fashion. This preliminary work highlights the difficult task that represents blood pool analysis in forensic investigations, and how internal and external parameters influence its dynamics. We conclude that understanding the drying process dynamics would be advancement in timeline reconstitution of events. ANR funded project: D-Blood Project.

Mathematical modelling of decline in follicle pool during female reproductive ageing.

PubMed

Thilagam, Alagu

2016-03-01

The factors which govern the subtle links between follicle loss and mammalian female reproductive ageing remain unclear despite extensive studies undertaken to understand the critical physiological and biochemical mechanisms that underly the accelerated decline in follicle numbers in women older than 37 years. It is not certain whether there is a sole control by the ovary or whether other factors which affect ageing also intersect with the ovarian effect. There is convincing experimental evidence for an interplay of several processes that seem to influence the follicle loss-female reproductive ageing links, with specific hormones (follicle-stimulating hormone, anti-Müllerian hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone) noted to play important roles in follicular dynamics and ovarian ageing. In this work, we examine the subtle links between the rate of follicular decline with ageing and the role of hormones via a series of non-autonomous equations. Simulation results based on the time evolution of the number of ovarian follicles and biochemical changes in the ovarian environment influenced by hormone levels is compared with empirical data based on follicle loss-reproductive ageing correlation studies. © Crown copyright 2015.

Experimental characterization of the weld pool flow in a TIG configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stadler, M.; Masquère, M.; Freton, P.; Franceries, X.; Gonzalez, J. J.

2014-11-01

Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process relies on heat transfer between plasma and work piece leading to a metallic weld pool. Combination of different forces produces movements on the molten pool surface. One of our aims is to determine the velocity on the weld pool surface. This provides a set of data that leads to a deeper comprehension of the flow behavior and allows us to validate numerical models used to study TIG parameters. In this paper, two diagnostic methods developed with high speed imaging for the determination of velocity of an AISI 304L stainless steel molten pool are presented. Application of the two methods to a metallic weld pool under helium with a current intensity of 100 A provides velocity values around 0.70 m/s which are in good agreement with literature works.

Is a Turretless Tank a Viable Option for the United States Army

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-01

The available pool of service age manpower will decline. The societal trend to smaller, later families and the demographics of the post baby boom...current age of U.S tank devel- opment, began in 1963 and continues to the present. It began with an abortive attempt to jointly design a tank with...Intensity Conflict: The U. S. Expierence ," Armor. The Magazine of Mobile Warfare, XCVII (July-August 1988): 9-15. Nitkowski, Steven R. ILT. "The Return

Changes in microbial community characteristics and soil organic matter with nitrogen additions in two tropical forests.

PubMed

Cusack, Daniela F; Silver, Whendee L; Torn, Margaret S; Burton, Sarah D; Firestone, Mary K

2011-03-01

Microbial communities and their associated enzyme activities affect the amount and chemical quality of carbon (C) in soils. Increasing nitrogen (N) deposition, particularly in N-rich tropical forests, is likely to change the composition and behavior of microbial communities and feed back on ecosystem structure and function. This study presents a novel assessment of mechanistic links between microbial responses to N deposition and shifts in soil organic matter (SOM) quality and quantity. We used phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and microbial enzyme assays in soils to assess microbial community responses to long-term N additions in two distinct tropical rain forests. We used soil density fractionation and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to measure related changes in SOM pool sizes and chemical quality. Microbial biomass increased in response to N fertilization in both tropical forests and corresponded to declines in pools of low-density SOM. The chemical quality of this soil C pool reflected ecosystem-specific changes in microbial community composition. In the lower-elevation forest, there was an increase in gram-negative bacteria PLFA biomass, and there were significant losses of labile C chemical groups (O-alkyls). In contrast, the upper-elevation tropical forest had an increase in fungal PLFAs with N additions and declines in C groups associated with increased soil C storage (alkyls). The dynamics of microbial enzymatic activities with N addition provided a functional link between changes in microbial community structure and SOM chemistry. Ecosystem-specific changes in microbial community composition are likely to have far-reaching effects on soil carbon storage and cycling. This study indicates that microbial communities in N-rich tropical forests can be sensitive to added N, but we can expect significant variability in how ecosystem structure and function respond to N deposition among tropical forest types.

The effect of the learner license Graduated Driver Licensing components on teen drivers' crashes.

PubMed

Ehsani, Johnathon Pouya; Bingham, C Raymond; Shope, Jean T

2013-10-01

Most studies evaluating the effectiveness of Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) have focused on the overall system. Studies examining individual components have rarely accounted for the confounding of multiple, simultaneously implemented components. The purpose of this paper is to quantify the effects of a required learner license duration and required hours of supervised driving on teen driver fatal crashes. States that introduced a single GDL component independent of any other during the period 1990-2009 were identified. Monthly and quarterly fatal crash rates per 100,000 population of 16- and 17-year-old drivers were analyzed using single-state time series analysis, adjusting for adult crash rates and gasoline prices. Using the parameter estimates from each state's time series model, the pooled effect of each GDL component on 16- and 17-year-old drivers' fatal crashes was estimated using a random effects meta-analytic model to combine findings across states. In three states, a six-month minimum learner license duration was associated with a significant decline in combined 16- and 17-year-old drivers' fatal crash rates. The pooled effect of the minimum learner license duration across all states in the sample was associated with a significant change in combined 16- and 17-year-old driver fatal crash rates of -.07 (95% Confidence Interval [CI] -.11, -.03). Following the introduction of 30 h of required supervised driving in one state, novice drivers' fatal crash rates increased 35%. The pooled effect across all states in the study sample of having a supervised driving hour requirement was not significantly different from zero (.04, 95% CI -.15, .22). These findings suggest that a learner license duration of at least six-months may be necessary to achieve a significant decline in teen drivers' fatal crash rates. Evidence of the effect of required hours of supervised driving on teen drivers' fatal crash rates was mixed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ALOS2-Indonesia REDD+ Experiment (AIREX): Soil Pool Carbon Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raimadoya, M.; Kristijono, A.; Sudiana, N.; Sumawinata, B.; Suwardi; Santoso, E.; Mahargo, D.; Sudarman, S.; Mattikainen, M.

2015-04-01

The bilateral REDD+ agreement between Indonesia and Norway [1] has scheduled that performance based result phase will be started in 2014. Therefore, a transparent and reliable Monitoring, Reporting and V erification (MRV) system for the following carbon pools: (1) biomass, (2) dead organic matter (DOM), and (3) soil, is required to be ready prior to the performance based phase. While the biomass pool could be acquired by space-borne radar (SAR) application i.e. SAR Interferometry (In-SAR) and Polarimetric SAR Interferometry (Pol-InSAR), the method for soil pool is still needed to be developed.A study was implemented in a test site located in the pulp plantation concession of Teluk Meranti Estate, Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), Pelalawan District, Riau Province, Indonesia. The study was intended to evaluate the possibility to estimate soil pool carbon with radar technology. For this purpose, a combination of spaceborne SAR (ALOS/PALSAR) and Ground Penetrating Radar (200 MHz IDS 200 MHz IDS GPR) were used in this exercise.The initial result this study provides a promising outcome for improved soil pool carbon estimation in tropical peat forest condition. The volume estimation of peat soil could be measured from the combination of spaceborne SAR and GPR. Based on this volume, total carbon content can be generated. However, the application of this approach has several limitation such as: (1) GPR survey can only be implemented during the dry season, (2) Rugged Terrain Antenna (RTA) type of GPR should be used for smooth GPR survey in the surface of peat soil which covered by DOM, and (3) the map of peat soil extent by spaceborne SAR need to be improved.

Neural Spike Train Synchronisation Indices: Definitions, Interpretations and Applications.

PubMed

Halliday, D M; Rosenberg, J R

2017-04-24

A comparison of previously defined spike train syncrhonization indices is undertaken within a stochastic point process framework. The second order cumulant density (covariance density) is shown to be common to all the indices. Simulation studies were used to investigate the sampling variability of a single index based on the second order cumulant. The simulations used a paired motoneurone model and a paired regular spiking cortical neurone model. The sampling variability of spike trains generated under identical conditions from the paired motoneurone model varied from 50% { 160% of the estimated value. On theoretical grounds, and on the basis of simulated data a rate dependence is present in all synchronization indices. The application of coherence and pooled coherence estimates to the issue of synchronization indices is considered. This alternative frequency domain approach allows an arbitrary number of spike train pairs to be evaluated for statistically significant differences, and combined into a single population measure. The pooled coherence framework allows pooled time domain measures to be derived, application of this to the simulated data is illustrated. Data from the cortical neurone model is generated over a wide range of firing rates (1 - 250 spikes/sec). The pooled coherence framework correctly characterizes the sampling variability as not significant over this wide operating range. The broader applicability of this approach to multi electrode array data is briefly discussed.

Reverse micelle-based water-soluble nanoparticles for simultaneous bioimaging and drug delivery.

PubMed

Chen, Ying; Liu, Yong; Yao, Yongchao; Zhang, Shiyong; Gu, Zhongwei

2017-04-11

With special confined water pools, reverse micelles (RMs) have shown potential for a wide range of applications. However, the inherent water-insolubility of RMs hinders their further application prospects, especially for applications related to biology. We recently reported the first successful transfer of RMs from organic media to an aqueous phase without changing the smart water pools by the hydrolysis of an arm-cleavable interfacial cross-linked reverse micelles. Herein, we employed another elaborate amphiphile 1 to construct new acrylamide-based cross-linked water-soluble nanoparticles (ACW-NPs) under much gentler conditions. The special property of the water pools of the ACW-NPs was confirmed by both the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between 5-((2-aminoethyl)amino)naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (1,5-EDANS) and benzoic acid, 4-[2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]diazenyl] (DABCYL) and satisfactory colloidal stability in 10% fetal bovine serum. Importantly, featured by the gentle synthetic strategy, confined water pool, and carboxylic acid-functionalized surface, the new ACW-NPs are well suitable for biological applications. As an example, the fluorescent reagent 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonic acid trisodium salt (HPTS) was encapsulated in the core and simultaneously, the anticancer drug gemcitabine (Gem) was covalently conjugated onto the surface exterior. As expected, the resulting multifunctional ACW-NPs@HPTS@Gem exhibits a high imaging effect and anticancer activity for non-small lung cancer cells.

76 FR 49467 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-10

.... Applicants: Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc., Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. Description: Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc. submits tariff filing per 35.13(a)(2)(iii: Wolverine...: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Description: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. submits tariff filing per 35.17(b...

Swimming Pools, Hot Rods, and Qualitative Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clyde, Dale D.

1988-01-01

Describes some reactions for the identification and application of cyanuric acid. Suggests students may find this applied chemistry interesting because of the use of cyanuric acid in swimming pools and diesel engines. Lists three tests for cyanate ion and two tests for cyanuric acid. (MVL)

49 CFR 1184.2 - Contents of a pooling application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... the representations made in the application are, to the best of applicant's knowledge and belief, true... alternatives that would remain if the agreement is approved, to the best of applicant's knowledge; (g) If there...

49 CFR 1184.2 - Contents of a pooling application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... the representations made in the application are, to the best of applicant's knowledge and belief, true... alternatives that would remain if the agreement is approved, to the best of applicant's knowledge; (g) If there...

49 CFR 1184.2 - Contents of a pooling application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... the representations made in the application are, to the best of applicant's knowledge and belief, true... alternatives that would remain if the agreement is approved, to the best of applicant's knowledge; (g) If there...

49 CFR 1184.2 - Contents of a pooling application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... the representations made in the application are, to the best of applicant's knowledge and belief, true... alternatives that would remain if the agreement is approved, to the best of applicant's knowledge; (g) If there...

49 CFR 1184.2 - Contents of a pooling application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... the representations made in the application are, to the best of applicant's knowledge and belief, true... alternatives that would remain if the agreement is approved, to the best of applicant's knowledge; (g) If there...

Developmental reversals in false memory: Effects of emotional valence and arousal.

PubMed

Brainerd, C J; Holliday, R E; Reyna, V F; Yang, Y; Toglia, M P

2010-10-01

Do the emotional valence and arousal of events distort children's memories? Do valence and arousal modulate counterintuitive age increases in false memory? We investigated those questions in children, adolescents, and adults using the Cornell/Cortland Emotion Lists, a word list pool that induces false memories and in which valence and arousal can be manipulated factorially. False memories increased with age for unpresented semantic associates of word lists, and net accuracy (the ratio of true memory to total memory) decreased with age. These surprising developmental trends were more pronounced for negatively valenced materials than for positively valenced materials, they were more pronounced for high-arousal materials than for low-arousal materials, and developmental increases in the effects of arousal were small in comparison with developmental increases in the effects of valence. These findings have ramifications for legal applications of false memory research; materials that share the emotional hallmark of crimes (events that are negatively valenced and arousing) produced the largest age increases in false memory and the largest age declines in net accuracy. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Gatsby Plant Science Summer School: Inspiring the Next Generation of Plant Science Researchers[OA

PubMed Central

Levesley, Aurora; Jopson, Juliet; Knight, Celia

2012-01-01

We provide evidence from a 5-year study to show that a single concerted effort at the start of undergraduate study can have a clear and lasting effect on the attitudes of students toward plant science. Attendance at a week-long residential plant science summer school in the first year of an undergraduate degree resulted in many students changing courses to include more plant science and increased numbers of graduates selecting plant-based PhDs. The evidence shows that the Gatsby Plant Science Summer School has increased the pool of high-quality plant science related PhD applicants in the UK and has had a positive impact on students’ career aspirations. The results are discussed within the context of enhancing the pipeline of future plant scientists and reversing the decline of this vulnerable and strategically important subject relevant to addressing food security and other major global challenges. We have shown that a single well-designed and timely intervention can influence future student behavior and as such offers a framework of potential use to other vulnerable disciplines. PMID:22534129

Examining angler behavior using contingent behavior modeling: A case study of water quality change at a Wisconsin lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eiswerth, Mark E.; Kashian, Russell D.; Skidmore, Mark

2008-11-01

We use contingent behavior (CB) analysis to examine the potential impacts of a hypothetical change in the clarity of a lake. We collect and use both CB and revealed preference data to estimate a pooled negative binomial count data travel cost model. From this analysis we calculate the consumer surplus per angling party day for our case study lake to be about $104, or a total annual consumer surplus of $1.4 million. Using this consumer surplus measure and changes in the intended number of visits obtained from the CB survey, we estimate the loss in consumer surplus associated with a decline in water clarity from 10 to 3 feet (1 foot = 0.3048 m) to be about $522,000 annually (a 38% decrease). Since this is the first such application of CB analysis to estimate the effects of a water clarity change, the study may illustrate a method well suited to analyzing changes in water quality attributes that are easily observable and well understood by recreators.

The Gatsby Plant Science Summer School: inspiring the next generation of plant science researchers.

PubMed

Levesley, Aurora; Jopson, Juliet; Knight, Celia

2012-04-01

We provide evidence from a 5-year study to show that a single concerted effort at the start of undergraduate study can have a clear and lasting effect on the attitudes of students toward plant science. Attendance at a week-long residential plant science summer school in the first year of an undergraduate degree resulted in many students changing courses to include more plant science and increased numbers of graduates selecting plant-based PhDs. The evidence shows that the Gatsby Plant Science Summer School has increased the pool of high-quality plant science related PhD applicants in the UK and has had a positive impact on students' career aspirations. The results are discussed within the context of enhancing the pipeline of future plant scientists and reversing the decline of this vulnerable and strategically important subject relevant to addressing food security and other major global challenges. We have shown that a single well-designed and timely intervention can influence future student behavior and as such offers a framework of potential use to other vulnerable disciplines.

A computational proposal for designing structured RNA pools for in vitro selection of RNAs.

PubMed

Kim, Namhee; Gan, Hin Hark; Schlick, Tamar

2007-04-01

Although in vitro selection technology is a versatile experimental tool for discovering novel synthetic RNA molecules, finding complex RNA molecules is difficult because most RNAs identified from random sequence pools are simple motifs, consistent with recent computational analysis of such sequence pools. Thus, enriching in vitro selection pools with complex structures could increase the probability of discovering novel RNAs. Here we develop an approach for engineering sequence pools that links RNA sequence space regions with corresponding structural distributions via a "mixing matrix" approach combined with a graph theory analysis. We define five classes of mixing matrices motivated by covariance mutations in RNA; these constructs define nucleotide transition rates and are applied to chosen starting sequences to yield specific nonrandom pools. We examine the coverage of sequence space as a function of the mixing matrix and starting sequence via clustering analysis. We show that, in contrast to random sequences, which are associated only with a local region of sequence space, our designed pools, including a structured pool for GTP aptamers, can target specific motifs. It follows that experimental synthesis of designed pools can benefit from using optimized starting sequences, mixing matrices, and pool fractions associated with each of our constructed pools as a guide. Automation of our approach could provide practical tools for pool design applications for in vitro selection of RNAs and related problems.

Forest restoration treatments have subtle long-term effects on soil C and N cycling in mixed conifer forests.

PubMed

Ganzlin, Peter W; Gundale, Michael J; Becknell, Rachel E; Cleveland, Cory C

2016-07-01

Decades of fire suppression following extensive timber harvesting have left much of the forest in the intermountain western United States exceedingly dense, and forest restoration techniques (i.e., thinning and prescribed fire) are increasingly being used in an attempt to mitigate the effects of severe wildfire, to enhance tree growth and regeneration, and to stimulate soil nutrient cycling. While many of the short-term effects of forest restoration have been established, the long-term effects on soil biogeochemical and ecosystem processes are largely unknown. We assessed the effects of commonly used forest restoration treatments (thinning, burning, and thinning + burning) on nutrient cycling and other ecosystem processes 11 yr after restoration treatments were implemented in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum)/Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) forest at the Lubrecht Fire and Fire Surrogates Study (FFS) site in western Montana, USA. Despite short-term (<3 yr) increases in soil inorganic nitrogen (N) pools and N cycling rates following prescribed fire, long-term soil N pools and N mineralization rates showed only subtle differences from untreated control plots. Similarly, despite a persistent positive correlation between fuels consumed in prescribed burns and several metrics of N cycling, variability in inorganic N pools decreased significantly since treatments were implemented, indicating a decline in N spatial heterogeneity through time. However, rates of net nitrification remain significantly higher in a thin + burn treatment relative to other treatments. Short-term declines in forest floor carbon (C) pools have persisted in the thin + burn treatment, but there were no significant long-term differences among treatments in extractable soil phosphorus (P). Finally, despite some short-term differences, long-term foliar nutrient concentrations, litter decomposition rates, and rates of free-living N fixation in the experimental plots were not different from control plots, suggesting nutrient cycles and ecosystem processes in temperate coniferous forests are resilient to disturbance following long periods of fire suppression. Overall, this study provides forest managers and policymakers valuable information showing that the effects of these commonly used restoration prescriptions on soil nutrient cycling are ephemeral and that use of repeated treatments (i.e., frequent fire) will be necessary to ensure continued restoration success. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Factors Affecting Applicants' Acceptance or Decline of Offers to Enroll in a Medical School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cleave-Hogg, Doreen; And Others

1994-01-01

A University of Toronto (Canada) study of medical school applicants accepting (n=784) and declining (n=255) admission identified influential factors. Some (living cost, location) cannot be affected by the institution. The institution has limited control of others (faculty size, school environment) but can influence applicant perceptions. One…

Effects of fertilizer on inorganic soil N in East Africa maize systems: vertical distributions and temporal dynamics.

PubMed

Tully, Katherine L; Hickman, Jonathan; McKenna, Madeline; Neill, Christopher; Palm, Cheryl A

2016-09-01

Fertilizer applications are poised to increase across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), but the fate of added nitrogen (N) is largely unknown. We measured vertical distributions and temporal variations of soil inorganic N following fertilizer application in two maize (Zea mays L.)-growing regions of contrasting soil type. Fertilizer trials were established on a clayey soil in Yala, Kenya, and on a sandy soil in Tumbi, Tanzania, with application rates of 0-200 kg N/ha/yr. Soil profiles were collected (0-400 cm) annually (for three years in Yala and two years in Tumbi) to examine changes in inorganic N pools. Topsoils (0-15 cm) were collected every 3-6 weeks to determine how precipitation and fertilizer management influenced plant-available soil N. Fertilizer management altered soil inorganic N, and there were large differences between sites that were consistent with differences in soil texture. Initial soil N pools were larger in Yala than Tumbi (240 vs. 79 kg/ha). Inorganic N pools did not change in Yala (277 kg/ha), but increased fourfold after cultivation and fertilization in Tumbi (371 kg/ha). Intra-annual variability in NO - 3 -N concentrations (3-33 μg/g) in Tumbi topsoils strongly suggested that the sandier soils were prone to high leaching losses. Information on soil inorganic N pools and movement through soil profiles can h vulnerability of SSA croplands to N losses and determine best fertilizer management practices as N application rates increase. A better understanding of the vertical and temporal patterns of soil N pools improves our ability to predict the potential environmental effects of a dramatic increase in fertilizer application rates that will accompany the intensification of African croplands. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Pool Boiling Experiment Has Five Successful Flights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chiaramonte, Fran

1997-01-01

The Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) is designed to improve understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that constitute nucleate pool boiling. Nucleate pool boiling is a process wherein a stagnant pool of liquid is in contact with a surface that can supply heat to the liquid. If the liquid absorbs enough heat, a vapor bubble can be formed. This process occurs when a pot of water boils. On Earth, gravity tends to remove the vapor bubble from the heating surface because it is dominated by buoyant convection. In the orbiting space shuttle, however, buoyant convection has much less of an effect because the forces of gravity are very small. The Pool Boiling Experiment was initiated to provide insight into this nucleate boiling process, which has many earthbound applications in steamgeneration power plants, petroleum plants, and other chemical plants. In addition, by using the test fluid R-113, the Pool Boiling Experiment can provide some basic understanding of the boiling behavior of cryogenic fluids without the large cost of an experiment using an actual cryogen.

Application of multi-objective optimization to pooled experiments of next generation sequencing for detection of rare mutations.

PubMed

Zilinskas, Julius; Lančinskas, Algirdas; Guarracino, Mario Rosario

2014-01-01

In this paper we propose some mathematical models to plan a Next Generation Sequencing experiment to detect rare mutations in pools of patients. A mathematical optimization problem is formulated for optimal pooling, with respect to minimization of the experiment cost. Then, two different strategies to replicate patients in pools are proposed, which have the advantage to decrease the overall costs. Finally, a multi-objective optimization formulation is proposed, where the trade-off between the probability to detect a mutation and overall costs is taken into account. The proposed solutions are devised in pursuance of the following advantages: (i) the solution guarantees mutations are detectable in the experimental setting, and (ii) the cost of the NGS experiment and its biological validation using Sanger sequencing is minimized. Simulations show replicating pools can decrease overall experimental cost, thus making pooling an interesting option.

Sensitivity and Tolerance of Riparian Arthropod Communities to Altered Water Resources along a Drying River

PubMed Central

McCluney, Kevin E.; Sabo, John L.

2014-01-01

Background Rivers around the world are drying with increasing frequency, but little is known about effects on terrestrial animal communities. Previous research along the San Pedro River in southeastern AZ, USA, suggests that changes in the availability of water resources associated with river drying lead to changes in predator abundance, community composition, diversity, and abundance of particular taxa of arthropods, but these observations have not yet been tested manipulatively. Methods and Results In this study, we constructed artificial pools in the stream bed adjacent to a drying section of the San Pedro River and maintained them as the river dried. We compared pitfall trapped arthropods near artificial pools to adjacent control sites where surface waters temporarily dried. Assemblage composition changed differentially at multiple taxonomic levels, resulting in different assemblages at pools than at control sites, with multiple taxa and richness of carabid beetle genera increasing at pools but not at controls that dried. On the other hand, predator biomass, particularly wolf spiders, and diversity of orders and families were consistently higher at control sites that dried. These results suggest an important role for colonization dynamics of pools, as well as the ability of certain taxa, particularly burrowing wolf spiders, to withstand periods of temporary drying. Conclusions Overall, we found some agreement between this manipulative study of water resources and a previous analysis of river drying that showed shifts in composition, changes in diversity, and declines in abundance of certain taxa (e.g. carabid beetles). However, colonization dynamics of pools, as well as compensatory strategies of predatory wolf spiders seem to have led to patterns that do not match previous research, with control sites maintaining high diversity, despite drying. Tolerance of river drying by some species may allow persistence of substantial diversity in the face of short-term drying. The long-term effects of drying remain to be investigated. PMID:25295874

Runners maintain locomotor-respiratory coupling following isocapnic voluntary hyperpnea to task failure.

PubMed

Stickford, Abigail S L; Stickford, Jonathon L; Tanner, David A; Stager, Joel M; Chapman, Robert F

2015-11-01

Evidence has long suggested that mammalian ventilatory and locomotor rhythms are linked, yet determinants and implications of locomotor-respiratory coupling (LRC) continue to be investigated. Anecdotally, respiratory muscle fatigue seen at the end of heavy exercise may result in an uncoupling of movement-ventilation rhythms; however, there is no scientific evidence to substantiate this claim. We sought to determine whether or not fatigue of the respiratory muscles alters locomotor-respiratory coupling patterns typically observed in highly trained individuals while running. A related query was to examine the relationship between the potential changes in LRC and measures of running economy. Twelve male distance runners ran at four submaximal workloads (68-89 % VO2peak) on two separate days while LRC was quantified. One LRC trial served as a control (CON), while the other was performed following an isocapnic voluntary hyperpnea to task failure to induce respiratory muscle fatigue (FT+). LRC was assessed as stride-to-breathing frequency ratios (SF/fB) and degree of LRC (percentage of breaths occurring during the same decile of the step cycle). Hyperpnea resulted in significant declines in maximal voluntary inspiratory (MIP) and expiratory (MEP) mouth pressures (ΔMIP = -10 ± 12 cm H2O; ΔMEP = -6 ± 9 cm H2O). There were no differences in minute ventilation between CON and FT+ (CON, all speeds pooled = 104 ± 25 L min(-1); FT+ pooled = 106 ± 23 L min(-1)). Stride frequency was not different between trials; however, breathing frequency was significantly greater during FT+ compared to CON at all speeds (CON pooled = 47 ± 10 br min(-1); FT+ pooled = 52 ± 9 br min(-1)), resulting in smaller corresponding SF/fB. Yet, the degree of LRC was the same during CON and FT+ (CON pooled = 63 ± 15 %; FT+ pooled = 64 ± 18 %). The results indicate that trained runners are able to continue entraining breath and step cycles, despite marked changes in exercise breathing frequency, after a fatiguing hyperpnea challenge.

Sensitivity and tolerance of Riparian arthropod communities to altered water resources along a drying river.

PubMed

McCluney, Kevin E; Sabo, John L

2014-01-01

Rivers around the world are drying with increasing frequency, but little is known about effects on terrestrial animal communities. Previous research along the San Pedro River in southeastern AZ, USA, suggests that changes in the availability of water resources associated with river drying lead to changes in predator abundance, community composition, diversity, and abundance of particular taxa of arthropods, but these observations have not yet been tested manipulatively. In this study, we constructed artificial pools in the stream bed adjacent to a drying section of the San Pedro River and maintained them as the river dried. We compared pitfall trapped arthropods near artificial pools to adjacent control sites where surface waters temporarily dried. Assemblage composition changed differentially at multiple taxonomic levels, resulting in different assemblages at pools than at control sites, with multiple taxa and richness of carabid beetle genera increasing at pools but not at controls that dried. On the other hand, predator biomass, particularly wolf spiders, and diversity of orders and families were consistently higher at control sites that dried. These results suggest an important role for colonization dynamics of pools, as well as the ability of certain taxa, particularly burrowing wolf spiders, to withstand periods of temporary drying. Overall, we found some agreement between this manipulative study of water resources and a previous analysis of river drying that showed shifts in composition, changes in diversity, and declines in abundance of certain taxa (e.g. carabid beetles). However, colonization dynamics of pools, as well as compensatory strategies of predatory wolf spiders seem to have led to patterns that do not match previous research, with control sites maintaining high diversity, despite drying. Tolerance of river drying by some species may allow persistence of substantial diversity in the face of short-term drying. The long-term effects of drying remain to be investigated.

Detection of a Pool in Semi-Continuous Castings Made of Heat-Treatable Aluminum Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krushenko, G. G.; Nazarov, V. P.

2017-12-01

Various products (sheets, sections, etc.) manufactured by metal forming (rolled products, forged pieces, etc.) from semi-continuous castings are widely used in the aerospace industry. The so-called pool, which is the conical volume of a liquid metal, exists at the top of the liquid metal. Experience demonstrates that the geometry, the depth, and the shape of the pool substantially affect the structure formation in a casting and its quality. The application of a titanium nitride nanopowder, which is introduced in a melt in the volume of a rod, as a modifier allowed us to find the exact geometry of the pool.

The role of edema and demyelination in chronic T1 black holes: a quantitative magnetization transfer study.

PubMed

Levesque, Ives; Sled, John G; Narayanan, Sridar; Santos, A Carlos; Brass, Steven D; Francis, Simon J; Arnold, Douglas L; Pike, G Bruce

2005-02-01

To use quantitative magnetization transfer imaging (qMTI) in an investigation of T1-weighted hypointensity observed in clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, which has previously been proposed as a more specific indicator of tissue damage than the more commonly detected T2 hyperintensity. A cross-sectional study of 10 MS patients was performed using qMTI. A total of 60 MTI measurements were collected in each patient at a resolution of 2 x 2 x 7 mm, over a range of saturation pulses. The observed T1 and T2 were also measured. qMT model parameters were estimated using a voxel-by-voxel fit. A total of 65 T2-hyperintense lesions were identified; 53 were also T1 hypointense. In these black holes, the qMTI-derived semisolid pool fraction F correlated negatively with T(1,obs) (r2 = 0.76; P < 0.0001). The water pool absolute size (PDf) showed a weaker correlation with T(1,obs) (positive, r2 = 0.53; P < 0.0001). The magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) showed a similarly strong correlation with F and a weaker correlation with PDf (r2 = 0.18; P < 0.04). T1 increases in chronic black holes strongly correlated with the decline in semisolid pool size, and somewhat less to the confounding effect of edema. MTR was less sensitive than T(1,obs) to liquid pool changes associated with edema. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Metabolite profiling of symbiont and host during thermal stress and bleaching in the coral Acropora aspera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hillyer, Katie E.; Dias, Daniel A.; Lutz, Adrian; Wilkinson, Shaun P.; Roessner, Ute; Davy, Simon K.

2017-03-01

Rising seawater temperatures pose a significant threat to the persistence of coral reefs. Despite the importance of these systems, major gaps remain in our understanding of how thermal stress and bleaching affect the metabolic networks that underpin holobiont function. We applied gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolomics to detect changes in the intracellular free metabolite pools (polar and semi-polar compounds) of in hospite dinoflagellate symbionts and their coral hosts (and any associated microorganisms) during early- and late-stage thermal bleaching (a reduction of approximately 50 and 70% in symbiont density, respectively). We detected characteristic changes to the metabolite profiles of each symbiotic partner associated with individual cellular responses to thermal, oxidative and osmotic stress, which progressed with the severity of bleaching. Alterations were also indicative of changes to energy-generating and biosynthesis pathways in both partners, with a shift to the increased catabolism of lipid stores. Specifically, in symbiont intracellular metabolite pools, we observed accumulations of multiple free fatty acids, plus the chloroplast-associated antioxidant alpha-tocopherol. In the host, we detected a decline in the abundance of pools of multiple carbohydrates, amino acids and intermediates, in addition to the antioxidant ascorbate. These findings further our understanding of the metabolic changes that occur to symbiont and host (and its associated microorganisms) during thermal bleaching. These findings also provide further insight into the largely undescribed roles of free metabolite pools in cellular homeostasis, signalling and acclimation to thermal stress in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

Multidisciplinary Mentoring Programs to Enhance Junior Faculty Research Grant Success.

PubMed

Freel, Stephanie A; Smith, Paige C; Burns, Ebony N; Downer, Joanna B; Brown, Ann J; Dewhirst, Mark W

2017-10-01

Junior faculty face challenges in establishing independent research careers. Declining funding combined with a shift to multidisciplinary, collaborative science necessitates new mentorship models and enhanced institutional support. Two multidisciplinary mentorship programs to promote grant success for junior faculty were established at the Duke University School of Medicine beginning in 2011. These four-month programs-the Path to Independence Program (PtIP) for National Institutes of Health (NIH) R applicants and the K Club for NIH K applicants-use multiple senior faculty mentors and professional grant-writing staff to provide a 20-hour joint curriculum comprising a series of lectures, hands-on workshops, career development counseling, peer groups, and an internal study section. In March 2016, the authors analyzed the success rate for all NIH grants submitted by participants since program enrollment. In a 2015 postprogram survey, participants rated their feelings of support and competency across six skill factors. From October 2011 to March 2016, the programs engaged 265 senior faculty mentors, 145 PtIP participants, and 138 K Club participants. Success rates for NIH grant applications were 28% (61 awards/220 decisions) for PtIP participants-an increase over the 2010 Duke University junior faculty baseline of 11%-and 64% (38/59) for K Club participants. Respondents reported significantly increased feelings of support and self-ratings for each competency post program. The authors plan to expand the breadth of both the mentorship pool and faculty served. Broad implementation of similar programs elsewhere could bolster success, satisfaction, and retention of junior faculty investigators.

A dynamic growth model of macroalgae: Application in an estuary recovering from treated wastewater and earthquake-driven eutrophication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Jeffrey S.; Barr, Neill G.; Scheuer, Kristin; Schiel, David R.; Zeldis, John

2014-07-01

A dynamic growth model of macroalgae was developed to predict growth of the green macroalga Ulva sp. in response to changes in environmental variables. The model is based on common physiological behaviour of macroalgae and hence has general applicability to macroalgae. Three state variables (nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus) were used to describe physiological processes and functional differences between nutrient and carbon uptakes. Carbon uptake is modelled as a function of temperature, light, algal internal state and water current, while nutrient uptake depends on internal state, temperature and environmental nutrient level. Growth can only occur when nutrients in the environment and in the internal storage pools (N-quota and P-quota) reach threshold levels. Physiological rates follow the Arrhenius relationship and increase exponentially with increasing temperature within the temperature tolerance range of a species. When parameterised and applied to Ulva sp. in the eutrophic Avon-Heathcote Estuary, New Zealand, the model generally reproduced field observations of Ulva sp. growth and abundance. Growth followed a clear seasonal cycle with biomass increasing from early-middle summer, reaching peak values in early autumn and then decreasing. Conversely, N-quotient levels were maximal during the winter months, declining during summer peak growth. These seasonal patterns were collectively driven by temperature, light intensity and nutrients. The model captured the N-quota and growth responses of Ulva sp. to the N-reduction arising from diversion of treated wastewater from the Avon-Heathcote Estuary to an offshore outfall in 2010, and of raw sewage N-discharges resulting from wastewater infrastructure damage caused by the Canterbury earthquakes in 2011. Sensitivity analyses revealed that temperature-related parameters and maximum uptake rate of C were among the most sensitive parameters in predicting biomass. In addition, the earthquake-derived changes in reduction of immersion time and decrease in the start biomass prior to summer blooms were shown to drive considerable declines in summer growth and biomass of Ulva sp.

Intimate relationships and changing patterns of money management at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

PubMed

Vogler, Carolyn; Brockmann, Michaela; Wiggins, Richard D

2006-09-01

Drawing on British data from two annual sweeps of the ISSP eight years apart in 1994 and 2002, for modules focusing on 'Family and Changing Gender Roles', this paper examines the extent to which changes in women's labour market participation, changing ideologies/discourses of gender and changing forms of intimate relationships are affecting the ways in which couples organize household money, and the implications of such changes for recent theories of intimate relationships. The analysis indicates that by 2002, the type of relationship respondents had established, together with their social class position, were both independently related to the ways in which they managed money, after controlling for socio-economic and cultural or discursive factors. Our findings also provide a degree of support for the thesis of a partial decline in the male breadwinner model of gender, as indicated by small declines in the use of the relatively inegalitarian female whole wage and housekeeping allowance systems which were most likely to be used by married couples and cohabiting fathers, expressing relatively traditional ideologies/discourses of breadwinning - and a slight increase in the use of the partial pool, which was most likely to be used by childless cohabiting couples in which male partners expressed less traditional ideologies of breadwinning and women were in middle-class jobs with incomes high enough to facilitate partially separate finances. We also suggest, however, that in so far as cohabiting couples earning different amounts define equality as contributing equally to household expenditure, it is possible that rather than being associated with shifts to greater equality in access to money for personal spending and saving, the partial pool may be associated with marked inequalities, because it may enable gender inequalities generated in the labour market to be more directly transposed into inequalities within households, despite the decline of traditional discourses of male breadwinning and the increasing importance of egalitarian ideologies of co-provisioning.

Cigarette Smoking and Pancreatic Cancer: A Pooled Analysis From the Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium

PubMed Central

Vrieling, Alina; Lubin, Jay H.; Kraft, Peter; Mendelsohn, Julie B.; Hartge, Patricia; Canzian, Federico; Steplowski, Emily; Arslan, Alan A.; Gross, Myron; Helzlsouer, Kathy; Jacobs, Eric J.; LaCroix, Andrea; Petersen, Gloria; Zheng, Wei; Albanes, Demetrius; Amundadottir, Laufey; Bingham, Sheila A.; Boffetta, Paolo; Boutron-Ruault, Marie-Christine; Chanock, Stephen J.; Clipp, Sandra; Hoover, Robert N.; Jacobs, Kevin; Johnson, Karen C.; Kooperberg, Charles; Luo, Juhua; Messina, Catherine; Palli, Domenico; Patel, Alpa V.; Riboli, Elio; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Rodriguez Suarez, Laudina; Thomas, Gilles; Tjønneland, Anne; Tobias, Geoffrey S.; Tong, Elissa; Trichopoulos, Dimitrios; Virtamo, Jarmo; Ye, Weimin; Yu, Kai; Zeleniuch-Jacquette, Anne; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H. Bas; Stolzenberg-Solomon, Rachael Z.

2009-01-01

Smoking is an established risk factor for pancreatic cancer; however, detailed examination of the association of smoking intensity, smoking duration, and cumulative smoking dose with pancreatic cancer is limited. The authors analyzed pooled data from the international Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium nested case-control study (1,481 cases, 1,539 controls). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression. Smoking intensity effects were examined with an excess odds ratio model that was linear in pack-years and exponential in cigarettes smoked per day and its square. When compared with never smokers, current smokers had a significantly elevated risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38, 2.26). Risk increased significantly with greater intensity (≥30 cigarettes/day: OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.42), duration (≥50 years: OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.62), and cumulative smoking dose (≥40 pack-years: OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.34). Risk more than 15 years after smoking cessation was similar to that for never smokers. Estimates of excess odds ratio per pack-year declined with increasing intensity, suggesting greater risk for total exposure delivered at lower intensity for longer duration than for higher intensity for shorter duration. This finding and the decline in risk after smoking cessation suggest that smoking has a late-stage effect on pancreatic carcinogenesis. PMID:19561064

Carbon pool and biomass dynamics associated with deforestation, land use, and agricultural abandonment in the neotropics.

PubMed

Kauffman, J Boone; Hughes, R Flint; Heider, Chris

2009-07-01

Current rates of deforestation and the resulting C emissions in the tropics exceed those of secondary forest regrowth and C sequestration. Changing land-use strategies that would maintain standing forests may be among the least expensive of climate change mitigation options. Further, secondary tropical forests have been suggested to have great value for their potential to sequester atmospheric C. These options require an understanding of and capability to quantify C dynamics at landscape scales. Because of the diversity of physical and biotic features of tropical forests as well as approaches and intensities of land uses within the neotropics, there are tremendous differences in the capacity of different landscapes to store and sequester C. Major gaps in our current knowledge include quantification of C pools, rates and patterns of biomass loss following land-cover change, and quantification of the C storage potential of secondary forests following abandonment. In this paper we present a synthesis and further analyses from recent studies that describe C pools, patterns of C decline associated with land use, and rates of C accumulation following secondary-forest establishment--all information necessary for climate-change mitigation options. Ecosystem C pools of Neotropical primary forests minimally range from approximately 141 to 571 Mg/ha, demonstrating tremendous differences in the capacity of different forests to store C. Most of the losses in C and nutrient pools associated with conversion occur when fires are set to remove the slashed forest to prepare sites for crop or pasture establishment. Fires burning slashed primary forests have been found to result in C losses of 62-80% of prefire aboveground pools in dry (deciduous) forest landscapes and 29-57% in wet (evergreen) forest landscapes. Carbon emissions equivalent to the aboveground primary-forest pool arise from repeated fires occurring in the first 4 to 10 years following conversion. Feedbacks of climate change, land-cover change, and increasing habitat fragmentation may result in increases of both the area burned and the total quantity of biomass consumed per unit area by fire. These effects may well limit the capacity for future tropical forests to sequester C and nutrients.

Biochar effects on phosphorus pools in three soils from Minnesota

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This greenhouse study was set up to assess the changes in the soil phosphorus (P) pools of three soils used for agricultural production in Minnesota as a result of biochar application and crop nutrient uptake. The soils included: excessively well-drained Hubbard loamy sand; poorly drained, calcareou...

76 FR 37802 - Combined Notice of Filings #2

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-28

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Combined Notice of Filings 2 Take notice that the Commission received the following electric rate filings: Docket Numbers: ER11-3243-001. Applicants: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Description: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. submits tariff filing per: Amendment to Submission of Response to Reques...

Own-Choice Marriage and Fertility in Turkey

PubMed Central

Weinreb, Alexander A.

2016-01-01

Goode’s foundational work on the fertility transition identified own-choice marriage as a factor driving fertility decline, part of a widening repertoire of choice pertaining to marriage and childbearing. Yet research supporting this connection in today’s transitional societies is scarce and somewhat contradictory, and it is unclear how other marital traditions, such as consanguineous marriage, shape this relationship. This study evaluates Goode’s theorized connection using pooled Demographic and Health Survey data from Turkey, comparing children ever born, use of contraception, and parity progression across four types of marriage: own-choice and arranged marriage; and marriage to a cousin versus an unrelated spouse. Results are largely consistent with the idea that a move towards own-choice marriage reflects a widening repertoire of choice that also leads to fertility decline. However, they also show that hybrid models like own-choice marriage to a cousin tempers these effects. PMID:28316343

Organochlorine residues in adult mallard and black duck wings, 1981-1982

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prouty, R.M.; Bunck, C.M.

1986-01-01

Ten organochlorine compounds were identified in pools of black duck (Anas rubripes) and mallard (A. platyrhynchos) wings from the 1981–82 hunting season. Most organochlorine compounds occurred very infrequently. Among those compounds positively identified by mass spectrometry, DDE and, secondarily, PCB had the highest frequencies of occurrence. Other compounds, positively identified and occurring less frequently, included DDT, DDD, DDMU, dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide, trans-nonachlor, cis-chlordane and mirex. Compounds looked for but not positively identified include oxychlordane, cis-nonachlor, endrin, hexachlorobenzene and toxaphene. PCB levels in black duck wings declined between the 1979–80 and 1981–82 collections. PCB levels in black duck wings from the northern region of the Atlantic Flyway were higher than those in wings from the southern region. Mean DDE residues in mallard wings declined between collections and differed among flyways and regions. PCB levels in mallard wings differed only among flyways and regions.

Selection against variants in the genome associated with educational attainment.

PubMed

Kong, Augustine; Frigge, Michael L; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Stefansson, Hreinn; Young, Alexander I; Zink, Florian; Jonsdottir, Gudrun A; Okbay, Aysu; Sulem, Patrick; Masson, Gisli; Gudbjartsson, Daniel F; Helgason, Agnar; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Stefansson, Kari

2017-01-31

Epidemiological and genetic association studies show that genetics play an important role in the attainment of education. Here, we investigate the effect of this genetic component on the reproductive history of 109,120 Icelanders and the consequent impact on the gene pool over time. We show that an educational attainment polygenic score, POLY EDU, constructed from results of a recent study is associated with delayed reproduction (P < 10 -100 ) and fewer children overall. The effect is stronger for women and remains highly significant after adjusting for educational attainment. Based on 129,808 Icelanders born between 1910 and 1990, we find that the average POLY EDU has been declining at a rate of ∼0.010 standard units per decade, which is substantial on an evolutionary timescale. Most importantly, because POLY EDU only captures a fraction of the overall underlying genetic component the latter could be declining at a rate that is two to three times faster.

Selection against variants in the genome associated with educational attainment

PubMed Central

Kong, Augustine; Frigge, Michael L.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Stefansson, Hreinn; Young, Alexander I.; Zink, Florian; Jonsdottir, Gudrun A.; Sulem, Patrick; Masson, Gisli; Gudbjartsson, Daniel F.; Helgason, Agnar; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Stefansson, Kari

2017-01-01

Epidemiological and genetic association studies show that genetics play an important role in the attainment of education. Here, we investigate the effect of this genetic component on the reproductive history of 109,120 Icelanders and the consequent impact on the gene pool over time. We show that an educational attainment polygenic score, POLYEDU, constructed from results of a recent study is associated with delayed reproduction (P < 10−100) and fewer children overall. The effect is stronger for women and remains highly significant after adjusting for educational attainment. Based on 129,808 Icelanders born between 1910 and 1990, we find that the average POLYEDU has been declining at a rate of ∼0.010 standard units per decade, which is substantial on an evolutionary timescale. Most importantly, because POLYEDU only captures a fraction of the overall underlying genetic component the latter could be declining at a rate that is two to three times faster. PMID:28096410

Own-Choice Marriage and Fertility in Turkey.

PubMed

Manglos-Weber, Nicolette D; Weinreb, Alexander A

2017-04-01

Goode's foundational work on the fertility transition identified own-choice marriage as a factor driving fertility decline, part of a widening repertoire of choice pertaining to marriage and childbearing. Yet research supporting this connection in today's transitional societies is scarce and somewhat contradictory, and it is unclear how other marital traditions, such as consanguineous marriage, shape this relationship. This study evaluates Goode's theorized connection using pooled Demographic and Health Survey data from Turkey, comparing children ever born, use of contraception, and parity progression across four types of marriage: own-choice and arranged marriage; and marriage to a cousin versus an unrelated spouse. Results are largely consistent with the idea that a move towards own-choice marriage reflects a widening repertoire of choice that also leads to fertility decline. However, they also show that hybrid models like own-choice marriage to a cousin tempers these effects.

Carbon dynamics under a maize-Faidherbia albida agroforestry system in Zambia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yengwe, Jones; Chipatela, Floyd; Amalia, Okky; Lungu, Obed; De Neve, Stefaan

2017-04-01

Continued crop residue removal for other competing uses such as livestock or household has exacerbated the decline of soil organic matter. Foliar litter from indigenous agroforestry trees such as Faidherbia albida (F. albida) can be a source of organic matter input in resource constrained farmers' fields to mitigate the declining fertility status of many Zambian soils. A controlled incubation study was conducted to evaluate the short term degradability of F. albida litter and maize plant residue. Further, we assessed the effect of F. albida litter and maize residue amendments on microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and enzyme activity. Soils were collected from outside and under the canopies of F. albida trees from six sites with 8, 9, 11, 15, and two sites with > 35-year old trees. Soils from under the canopies were amended with F. albida+maize residue (FMU), F. albida litter (FU), maize residue (MU) and controls were not amended (CTRU). The soils from outside the canopy were amended with maize residue (MO) and controls were not amended (CTRO). These were adjusted to 50% WFPS and incubated for twelve weeks at 27°C to assess C mineralization, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and enzyme activity (Dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase and β-glucosaminidase activity). The material used as amendment in the incubation experiment had two pools of carbon: a labile and a recalcitrant pool. The mixed amendment FMU had a significantly (p<0.05) higher C mineralization compared to the other amendments for all incubated soils. The treatment MU had a higher net C mineralized than FU. However, C mineralization from FU treatment was generally higher in the first 20 days of the incubation period but declined thereafter for all the soils. The net C mineralized from MU did not significantly differ with MO in all except soil from 11-year old trees. Enzyme activity and MBC consistently increased due to amendments for all soils. Enzyme activity was significantly (p<0.05) positively correlated with MBC in amended soils. Net C mineralized and microbial activity were high in FMU because of large C substrate added. Indicating a high C mineralization potential, MBC and enzyme activity for soils under the canopy compared with soils outside the canopy. F. albida trees therefore could be a source of labile C in F. albida-Maize systems nevertheless, in the long term, input from other crop residue such as maize and savanna grasses which have a large recalcitrant pool of C are important in sustaining SOC on these fields.

OGUMI—A new mobile application to conduct common-pool resource experiments in continuous time

PubMed Central

Nissen, Dennis

2017-01-01

OGUMI is an Android-based open source mobile application for conducting Common-Pool Resource Experiments, Choice Experiments, and Questionnaires in the field, in the laboratory, and online. A main feature of OGUMI is its capacity to capture real-time changes in human behaviour in response to a dynamically varying resource. OGUMI is simple (for example, likewise other existing software, it does not require expertise in behavioural game theory), stable, and extremely flexible with respect to the user-resource model running in the background. Here we present the motivation for the development of OGUMI and we discuss its main features with an example application. PMID:28582457

OGUMI-A new mobile application to conduct common-pool resource experiments in continuous time.

PubMed

Brandt, Gunnar; Kulesz, Micaela M; Nissen, Dennis; Merico, Agostino

2017-01-01

OGUMI is an Android-based open source mobile application for conducting Common-Pool Resource Experiments, Choice Experiments, and Questionnaires in the field, in the laboratory, and online. A main feature of OGUMI is its capacity to capture real-time changes in human behaviour in response to a dynamically varying resource. OGUMI is simple (for example, likewise other existing software, it does not require expertise in behavioural game theory), stable, and extremely flexible with respect to the user-resource model running in the background. Here we present the motivation for the development of OGUMI and we discuss its main features with an example application.

26 CFR 1.167(b)-2 - Declining balance method.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Declining balance method. 1.167(b)-2 Section 1... Declining balance method. (a) Application of method. Under the declining balance method a uniform rate is.... While salvage is not taken into account in determining the annual allowances under this method, in no...

A simple and specific procedure to permeabilize the plasma membrane of Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

PubMed

Chardwiriyapreecha, Soracom; Hondo, Kana; Inada, Hiroko; Chahomchuen, Thippayarat; Sekito, Takayuki; Iwaki, Tomoko; Kakinuma, Yoshimi

2009-09-01

Cu(2+)-treatment is a useful technique in selectively permeabilizing the fungal plasma membrane. We describe herein a practical application with Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Incubation of cells with 0.5 mM CuCl(2) at 30 degrees C for 20 min induced efficient leakage of cytosolic constituents. The kinetic characteristics of the calcium and amino acid flux from Cu(2+)-treated S. pombe cells suggested that the Cu(2+) treatment permeabilized the plasma membrane without loss of vacuolar function. As a further application of the method, the amino acid contents of Cu(2+)-treated and untreated cells were also determined. The amino acid pool of Cu(2+)-treated wild-type cells was enriched in basic amino acids but not in acidic amino acids, as is characteristic of the vacuolar amino acid pool of fungi, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Neurosporra crassa. The amino acid pool of the S. pombe V-ATPase mutant vma1Delta was also successfully determined. We conclude that the vacuolar amino acid pool of S. pombe can be measured using Cu(2+)-treated cells. The method is simple, inexpensive, and rapid relative to the isolation of vacuolar vesicles, making it useful in estimating vacuolar pools and transport across the vacuolar membrane.

Holding multiple items in short term memory: a neural mechanism.

PubMed

Rolls, Edmund T; Dempere-Marco, Laura; Deco, Gustavo

2013-01-01

Human short term memory has a capacity of several items maintained simultaneously. We show how the number of short term memory representations that an attractor network modeling a cortical local network can simultaneously maintain active is increased by using synaptic facilitation of the type found in the prefrontal cortex. We have been able to maintain 9 short term memories active simultaneously in integrate-and-fire simulations where the proportion of neurons in each population, the sparseness, is 0.1, and have confirmed the stability of such a system with mean field analyses. Without synaptic facilitation the system can maintain many fewer memories active in the same network. The system operates because of the effectively increased synaptic strengths formed by the synaptic facilitation just for those pools to which the cue is applied, and then maintenance of this synaptic facilitation in just those pools when the cue is removed by the continuing neuronal firing in those pools. The findings have implications for understanding how several items can be maintained simultaneously in short term memory, how this may be relevant to the implementation of language in the brain, and suggest new approaches to understanding and treating the decline in short term memory that can occur with normal aging.

Holding Multiple Items in Short Term Memory: A Neural Mechanism

PubMed Central

Rolls, Edmund T.; Dempere-Marco, Laura; Deco, Gustavo

2013-01-01

Human short term memory has a capacity of several items maintained simultaneously. We show how the number of short term memory representations that an attractor network modeling a cortical local network can simultaneously maintain active is increased by using synaptic facilitation of the type found in the prefrontal cortex. We have been able to maintain 9 short term memories active simultaneously in integrate-and-fire simulations where the proportion of neurons in each population, the sparseness, is 0.1, and have confirmed the stability of such a system with mean field analyses. Without synaptic facilitation the system can maintain many fewer memories active in the same network. The system operates because of the effectively increased synaptic strengths formed by the synaptic facilitation just for those pools to which the cue is applied, and then maintenance of this synaptic facilitation in just those pools when the cue is removed by the continuing neuronal firing in those pools. The findings have implications for understanding how several items can be maintained simultaneously in short term memory, how this may be relevant to the implementation of language in the brain, and suggest new approaches to understanding and treating the decline in short term memory that can occur with normal aging. PMID:23613789

75 FR 61232 - RIEF RMP LLC and Renaissance Technologies LLC; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-04

... for federal and state income tax purposes. \\2\\ ``Audit'' shall have the meaning defined in rule 1-02(d... Pooled Investment Vehicles' registered public accountant shall semi- annually reconcile the prime broker... Vehicle audited by the Pooled Investment Vehicle's independent public accountants. At the end of each...

47 CFR 90.187 - Trunking in the bands between 150 and 512 MHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... that event, the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the certified frequency... with any certified frequency coordinator for the pool (Public Safety or Industrial/Business) in which... relevant pool within one business day. For a period of sixty days thereafter, no application will be...

47 CFR 90.187 - Trunking in the bands between 150 and 512 MHz.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... that event, the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the certified frequency... with any certified frequency coordinator for the pool (Public Safety or Industrial/Business) in which... relevant pool within one business day. For a period of sixty days thereafter, no application will be...

Report on enhancing young scholars in science and technology the Center for Excellence in Education

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The present stock and flow of highly talented young persons engaged in the global discovery and application of science and technology are critical to the future pace of innovation. Historically, the world`s largest reservoirs of scientists and engineers have been in the Western economies. Overtime, however, Asia has begun to build equivalent pools of scientists and engineers among their university graduates. According to 1993 data from the National Science Foundation and the UNESCO World Science Report, Germany leads all economies with a 67% ratio of science and engineering degrees to total first university degrees compared to the United States withmore » a distant fifth place at 32% behind Italy, Mexico and Poland. If the nation is to keep its scientific and technological prowess, it must capture its very best talent in the science and technology fields. The question is then raised as to the source within the United States of the science and technology talent pool. While between 1978 and 1991 there was an overall decline in male participation in undergraduate (-9%) and graduate degrees (-12%), the number of women receiving undergraduate (+8%) and graduate degrees (+34%) rose dramatically. These numbers are encouraging for women`s participation overall, however, women earn only a small percentage of physical science and engineering degrees. Why are there so few women in mathematics, engineering, and the physical sciences? The answers are complex and begin early in a woman`s exposure to science and mathematics. This report presents results on a study of careers of alumni from the Research Science Institute. Investigations were concerned with the timing of decision processes concerned with the sciences and math and factors that influenced people to turn away from or proceed with careers in science and math.« less

Establishing normal values for pediatric nighttime sleep measured by actigraphy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Galland, Barbara C; Short, Michelle A; Terrill, Philip; Rigney, Gabrielle; Haszard, Jillian J; Coussens, Scott; Foster-Owens, Mistral; Biggs, Sarah N

2018-04-01

Despite the widespread use of actigraphy in pediatric sleep studies, there are currently no age-related normative data. To systematically review the literature, calculate pooled mean estimates of actigraphy-derived pediatric nighttime sleep variables and to examine the magnitude of change with age. A systematic search was performed across eight databases of studies that included at least one actigraphy sleep variable from healthy children aged 0-18 years. Data suitable for meta-analysis were confined to ages 3-18 years with seven actigraphy variables analyzed using random effects meta-analysis and meta-regression performed using age as a covariate. In total, 1334 articles did not meet inclusion criteria; 87 had data suitable for review and 79 were suitable for meta-analysis. Pooled mean estimates for overnight sleep duration declined from 9.68 hours (3-5 years age band) to 8.98, 8.85, 8.05, and 7.4 for age bands 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, and 15-18 years, respectively. For continuous data, the best-fit (R2 = 0.74) equation for hours over the 0-18 years age range was 9.02 - 1.04 × [(age/10)^2 - 0.83]. There was a significant curvilinear association between both sleep onset and offset with age (p < .001). Sleep latency was stable at 19.4 min per night. There were significant differences among the older age groups between weekday and weekend/nonschool days (18 studies). Total sleep time in 15-18 years old was 56 min longer, and sleep onset and offset almost 1 and 2 hours later, respectively, on weekend or nonschool days. These normative values have potential application to assist the interpretation of actigraphy measures from nighttime recordings across the pediatric age range, and aid future research.

A house divided: cooperative and competitive recruitment in vital industries.

PubMed

Willis, William K; Muslin, Ivan; Timko, Karlyn N

2016-03-01

To propose a theoretical based model approach to address the nursing shortage problem of recruiting qualified applicants. Vital industries such as nursing and trucking face a large labour shortage. A literature review focusing on recruitment and realistic job previews examines relevant theories and an indication of the focus of similar research. Game theory illustrates cooperative and competitive recruitment strategies in vital industries. Proposition and model development where cooperative or competitive strategies for recruitment can either increase or decrease the employee applicant pool. Institutional theory states that firms within a population become isomorphic in nature. Firms employing cooperative or competitive strategies for recruitment can change organisational practices through isomorphic processes. Industries facing a labour market shortage using cooperative strategy will use realistic job previews accurately to disseminate information about industry jobs. Realistic job previews will increase the applicant pool through individuals self-selecting into, rather than out of, the applicant pool. Recruitment in the nursing industry has been examined at the individual applicant and organisational level, yet the overall industry has been ignored. As nursing shortages continue, viewing recruitment at the macro level (the overall industry) is appropriate. Game theory as proposed provides opportunities for current research at the industry level. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A survey of program directors: trends, challenges, and mentoring in prosthodontics. Part 1.

PubMed

Wright, Robert F; Dunlop, Ryan A; Kim, Frances M; Douglass, Chester W

2008-01-01

This study consisted of two parts. Part 1, a survey of program directors, was conducted to examine current trends in advanced education in prosthodontics in the United States. Part 2 will report on the survey results distributed to the deans of US dental schools to evaluate their observations of trends in prosthodontics. A national e-mail survey of 45 program directors was used to collect enrollment data for years 1 to 3 of prosthodontics training for US and international dental school graduates, the total number of applicants and applications considered, and the trends over time of applicants to prosthodontic programs for US dental school graduates and for international graduates. In addition, the program directors were asked to rank 13 key factors that may have contributed to any changes in the prosthodontic applicant pool. Comments were accepted on why more or less US- or internationally trained applicants have applied. Program directors were also asked for information on student financial incentives, whether their programs were state or federally funded, and whether their sponsoring institution was a dental school. Of the 45 program directors, 39 responded, for an 86.7% response rate. Respondents reported that 64% of their enrollments were graduates of US dental schools. Between 2000 and 2004 the applicant pool in prosthodontics increased by 23%, with 41% of program directors reporting an increase in US-trained applicants, 46.2% reporting no change, and only 12.8% reporting a decrease. Using the Spearman correlation, there was a moderate, positive statistically significant correlation that the following factors contributed to an increase in the number of US dental graduates applying to prosthodontic programs: (1) mentoring by prosthodontists at the predoctoral level, (2) interest in prosthodontics among US dental students, and (3) society's demand for a higher level of training and credentialing, (4) data depicting current and projected income for dental specialists, and (5) number of trained prosthodontists full- or part-time faculty at the predoctoral level. Only five programs offered no financial packages to offset tuition. The remaining 34 respondents reported some financial package. Among the respondents, there were 25 state-sponsored programs, 9 sponsored by private universities, and 5 sponsored by hospitals or federal agencies. An increased applicant pool and more US-trained applicants to prosthodontics programs create a more competitive applicant pool for our specialty. Program directors reported that factors such as mentoring, society's demand for a higher level of training and credentialing, data depicting current and projected income for prosthodontists, exposure to prosthodontic faculty at the predoctoral level, the dollar value of prosthodontic training, and advances in implant, aesthetic, and reconstructive dentistry have all had some impact on increasing the applicant pool to prosthodontic training in the United States.

Balancing Fairness and Efficiency: The Impact of Identity-Blind and Identity-Conscious Accountability on Applicant Screening

PubMed Central

Self, William T.; Mitchell, Gregory; Mellers, Barbara A.; Tetlock, Philip E.; Hildreth, J. Angus D.

2015-01-01

This study compared two forms of accountability that can be used to promote diversity and fairness in personnel selections: identity-conscious accountability (holding decision makers accountable for which groups are selected) versus identity-blind accountability (holding decision makers accountable for making fair selections). In a simulated application screening process, undergraduate participants (majority female) sorted applicants under conditions of identity-conscious accountability, identity-blind accountability, or no accountability for an applicant pool in which white males either did or did not have a human capital advantage. Under identity-conscious accountability, participants exhibited pro-female and pro-minority bias, particularly in the white-male-advantage applicant pool. Under identity-blind accountability, participants exhibited no biases and candidate qualifications dominated interview recommendations. Participants exhibited greater resentment toward management under identity-conscious accountability. PMID:26660723

Depressive Symptoms and Self-Esteem in White and Black Older Adults in the United States.

PubMed

Assari, Shervin; Moghani Lankarani, Maryam

2018-06-11

Background. Poor self-esteem is a core element of depression. According to recent research, some racial groups may vary in the magnitude of the link between depression and poor self-esteem. Using a national sample, we compared Black and White older Americans for the effect of baseline depressive symptoms on decline in self-esteem over time. Methods. This longitudinal study used data from the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, 2001⁻2004. The study followed 1493 older adults (734 Black and 759 White) 65 years or older for three years. Baseline depressive symptoms (CES-D), measured in 2001, was the independent variable. Self-esteem, measured at the end of the follow up, was the dependent variable. Covariates included baseline demographic characteristics (age and gender), socioeconomic factors (education, income, and marital status), health (self-rated health), and baseline self-esteem. Race/ethnicity was the moderator. Linear multi-variable regression models were used for data analyses. Results. In the pooled sample, higher depressive symptoms at baseline were predictive of a larger decline in self-esteem over time, net of covariates. We found a significant interaction between race/ethnicity and baseline depressive symptoms on self-esteem decline, suggesting a weaker effect for Blacks compared to Whites. In race/ethnicity-specific models, high depressive symptoms at baseline was predictive of a decline in self-esteem for Whites but not Blacks. Conclusion. Depressive symptoms may be a more salient contributor to self-esteem decline for White than Black older adults. This finding has implications for psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy of depression of racially diverse populations.

Diversity in Dermatology Residency Programs.

PubMed

Van Voorhees, Abby S; Enos, Clinton W

2017-10-01

Given the change in our population to one that is more racially and ethnically diverse, the topic of diversity in dermatology residency programs has gained attention. In a field that has become highly competitive, diversity is lagging behind. What are the reasons for this? The existing diversity among medical school matriculants is reflective of the applicant pool, and although modest, there has been an increase in applications and acceptances from minority populations. However, these proportions do not carry through to the population applying to dermatology residency. Making sense of this and planning how to recruit a more diverse applicant pool will improve the quality and cultural competency of future dermatologists. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Expansion of stem cells counteracts age-related mammary regression in compound Timp1/Timp3 null mice.

PubMed

Jackson, Hartland W; Waterhouse, Paul; Sinha, Ankit; Kislinger, Thomas; Berman, Hal K; Khokha, Rama

2015-03-01

Age is the primary risk factor for breast cancer in women. Bipotent basal stem cells actively maintain the adult mammary ductal tree, but with age tissues atrophy. We show that cell-extrinsic factors maintain the adult stem cell pool during ageing and dictate tissue stoichiometry. Mammary stem cells spontaneously expand more than 11-fold in virgin adult female mice lacking specific genes for TIMPs, the natural metalloproteinase inhibitors. Compound Timp1/Timp3 null glands exhibit Notch activation and accelerated gestational differentiation. Proteomics of mutant basal cells uncover altered cytoskeletal and extracellular protein repertoires, and we identify aberrant mitotic spindle orientation in these glands, a process that instructs asymmetric cell division and fate. We find that progenitor activity normally declines with age, but enriched stem/progenitor pools prevent tissue regression in Timp mutant mammary glands without affecting carcinogen-induced cancer susceptibility. Thus, improved stem cell content can extend mouse mammary tissue lifespan without altering cancer risk in this mouse model.

Zero Income Basic Grant Applicants. Phase II Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Applied Management Sciences, Inc., Silver Spring, MD.

The nature and extent of corrections made to their records by zero/low income applicants to the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) program was investigated. Behaviors of zero/low income applicants and the total pool of applicants were also compared. It was found that zero/low income applicants and all applicants who were rejected displayed…

Summer habitat use by Columbia River redband trout in the Kootenai River drainage, Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Muhlfeld, Clint C.; Bennett, David H.

2001-01-01

The reported decline in the abundance, distribution, and genetic diversity of Columbia River redband trout Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri (a rainbow trout subspecies) has prompted fisheries managers to investigate their habitat requirements, identify critical habitat, and develop effective conservation and recovery programs. We analyzed the microhabitat, mesohabitat, and macrohabitat use and distribution of Columbia River redband trout by means of snorkel surveys in two watersheds in the Kootenai River drainage, Montana and Idaho, during the summers of 1997 and 1998. Juvenile (36–125 mm total length, TL) and adult (>=126 mm TL) fish preferred deep microhabitats (>=0.4 m) with low to moderate velocities (<=0.5 m/s) adjacent to the thalweg. Conversely, age-0 (<=35 mm) fish selected slow water (<=0.1 m/s) and shallow depths (<=0.2 m) located in lateral areas of the channel. Age-0, juvenile, and adult fish strongly selected pool mesohabitats and avoided riffles; juveniles and adults generally used runs in proportion to their availability. At the macrohabitat scale, density of Columbia River redband trout (35 mm) was positively related to the abundance of pools and negatively related to stream gradient. The pool: riffle ratio, gradient, and stream size combined accounted for 80% of the variation in density among 23 stream reaches in five streams. Our results demonstrate that low-gradient, medium-elevation reaches with an abundance of complex pools are critical areas for the production of Columbia River redband trout. These data will be useful in assessing the impacts of land-use practices on the remaining populations and may assist with habitat restoration or enhancement efforts.

Habitat restoration as a means of controlling non-native fish in a Mojave desert Oasis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scoppettone, G.G.; Rissler, P.H.; Gourley, C.; Martinez, C.

2005-01-01

Non-native fish generally cause native fish decline, and once non-natives are established, control or elimination is usually problematic. Because non-native fish colonization has been greatest in anthropogenically altered habitats, restoring habitat similar to predisturbance conditions may offer a viable means of non-native fish control. In this investigation we identified habitats favoring native over non-native fish in a Mojave Desert oasis (Ash Meadows) and used this information to restore one of its major warm water spring systems (Kings Pool Spring). Prior to restoration, native fishes predominated in warm water (25-32??C) stream and spring-pool habitat, whereas non-natives predominated in cool water (???23??C) spring-pool and marsh/slack water habitat. Native Amargosa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis) and Ash Meadows speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus nevadensis) inhabited significantly faster mean water column velocities (MWCV) and greater total depth (TD) than non-native Sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna) and Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) in warm water stream habitat, and Ash Meadows speckled dace inhabited significantly faster water than non-natives in cool water stream habitat. Modification of the outflow of Kings Pool Spring from marsh to warm water stream, with MWCV, TD, and temperature favoring native fish, changed the fish composition from predominantly non-native Sailfin molly and Mosquitofish to predominantly Ash Meadows pupfish. This result supports the hypothesis that restoring spring systems to a semblance of predisturbance conditions would promote recolonization of native fishes and deter non-native fish invasion and proliferation. ?? 2005 Society for Ecological Restoration International.

Early repositioning through compound set enrichment analysis: a knowledge-recycling strategy.

PubMed

Temesi, Gergely; Bolgár, Bence; Arany, Adám; Szalai, Csaba; Antal, Péter; Mátyus, Péter

2014-04-01

Despite famous serendipitous drug repositioning success stories, systematic projects have not yet delivered the expected results. However, repositioning technologies are gaining ground in different phases of routine drug development, together with new adaptive strategies. We demonstrate the power of the compound information pool, the ever-growing heterogeneous information repertoire of approved drugs and candidates as an invaluable catalyzer in this transition. Systematic, computational utilization of this information pool for candidates in early phases is an open research problem; we propose a novel application of the enrichment analysis statistical framework for fusion of this information pool, specifically for the prediction of indications. Pharmaceutical consequences are formulated for a systematic and continuous knowledge recycling strategy, utilizing this information pool throughout the drug-discovery pipeline.

Novel quantitative real-time LCR for the sensitive detection of SNP frequencies in pooled DNA: method development, evaluation and application.

PubMed

Psifidi, Androniki; Dovas, Chrysostomos; Banos, Georgios

2011-01-19

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) have proven to be powerful genetic markers for genetic applications in medicine, life science and agriculture. A variety of methods exist for SNP detection but few can quantify SNP frequencies when the mutated DNA molecules correspond to a small fraction of the wild-type DNA. Furthermore, there is no generally accepted gold standard for SNP quantification, and, in general, currently applied methods give inconsistent results in selected cohorts. In the present study we sought to develop a novel method for accurate detection and quantification of SNP in DNA pooled samples. The development and evaluation of a novel Ligase Chain Reaction (LCR) protocol that uses a DNA-specific fluorescent dye to allow quantitative real-time analysis is described. Different reaction components and thermocycling parameters affecting the efficiency and specificity of LCR were examined. Several protocols, including gap-LCR modifications, were evaluated using plasmid standard and genomic DNA pools. A protocol of choice was identified and applied for the quantification of a polymorphism at codon 136 of the ovine PRNP gene that is associated with susceptibility to a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in sheep. The real-time LCR protocol developed in the present study showed high sensitivity, accuracy, reproducibility and a wide dynamic range of SNP quantification in different DNA pools. The limits of detection and quantification of SNP frequencies were 0.085% and 0.35%, respectively. The proposed real-time LCR protocol is applicable when sensitive detection and accurate quantification of low copy number mutations in DNA pools is needed. Examples include oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes, infectious diseases, pathogenic bacteria, fungal species, viral mutants, drug resistance resulting from point mutations, and genetically modified organisms in food.

Novel Quantitative Real-Time LCR for the Sensitive Detection of SNP Frequencies in Pooled DNA: Method Development, Evaluation and Application

PubMed Central

Psifidi, Androniki; Dovas, Chrysostomos; Banos, Georgios

2011-01-01

Background Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) have proven to be powerful genetic markers for genetic applications in medicine, life science and agriculture. A variety of methods exist for SNP detection but few can quantify SNP frequencies when the mutated DNA molecules correspond to a small fraction of the wild-type DNA. Furthermore, there is no generally accepted gold standard for SNP quantification, and, in general, currently applied methods give inconsistent results in selected cohorts. In the present study we sought to develop a novel method for accurate detection and quantification of SNP in DNA pooled samples. Methods The development and evaluation of a novel Ligase Chain Reaction (LCR) protocol that uses a DNA-specific fluorescent dye to allow quantitative real-time analysis is described. Different reaction components and thermocycling parameters affecting the efficiency and specificity of LCR were examined. Several protocols, including gap-LCR modifications, were evaluated using plasmid standard and genomic DNA pools. A protocol of choice was identified and applied for the quantification of a polymorphism at codon 136 of the ovine PRNP gene that is associated with susceptibility to a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in sheep. Conclusions The real-time LCR protocol developed in the present study showed high sensitivity, accuracy, reproducibility and a wide dynamic range of SNP quantification in different DNA pools. The limits of detection and quantification of SNP frequencies were 0.085% and 0.35%, respectively. Significance The proposed real-time LCR protocol is applicable when sensitive detection and accurate quantification of low copy number mutations in DNA pools is needed. Examples include oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes, infectious diseases, pathogenic bacteria, fungal species, viral mutants, drug resistance resulting from point mutations, and genetically modified organisms in food. PMID:21283808

Ten-year survey of program directors: trends, challenges, and mentoring in prosthodontics. Part 1.

PubMed

Munoz, Deborah M; Kinnunen, Taru; Chang, Brian M; Wright, Robert F

2011-10-01

This study consisted of two parts. Part 1 was a survey of US program directors, and Part 2 reports on the survey findings distributed to the deans of US dental schools. Both surveys evaluated observations of trends in prosthodontic education. The first survey (2005) of program directors and deans was published in 2007. This second survey was conducted in 2009. The 2009 survey provided 10-year data on trends in prosthodontics as reported by program directors. A national e-mail survey of 46 program directors was used to collect enrollment data for years 1 to 3 of prosthodontics training for US and international dental school graduates, the total number of applicants and applications considered, and the trends over time of applicants to prosthodontics for US dental school graduates and for international graduates. In addition, the program directors were asked to rank 13 key factors that may have contributed to any changes in the prosthodontic applicant pool. Program directors were also asked for information on student financial incentives and whether their programs were state or federally funded, and whether their sponsoring institution was a dental school. Of the 46 program directors, 40 responded, for an 87% response rate. Respondents reported that 66% of their enrollees were graduates of US dental schools. Between 2000 and 2009 the applicant pool in prosthodontics nearly doubled, with 50% of the program directors reporting an increase in US-trained applicants, 42.5% reporting no change, and only 7.5% reporting a decrease. Using the Spearman correlation for the 10-year survey, there was a positive, statistically significant correlation that society's demand for a higher level of training and credentialing and interest in prosthodontics among dental students contributed to an increase in the number of US dental graduates applying to prosthodontic programs. Only four programs offered no financial packages to offset tuition. The remaining 36 respondents reported some financial package. Among the respondents, there were 23 state-sponsored programs and 6 sponsored by private universities; the remaining 9 were sponsored by hospitals or federal agencies. A nearly doubled applicant pool and more US-trained applicants to prosthodontics ensure a much more competitive applicant pool for our specialty. In the 2009 survey, program directors reported that factors such as society's demand for a higher level of training and credentialing, interest in prosthodontics among US dental students, advances in implant, esthetic, and reconstructive dentistry, literature pertaining to the need of prosthodontists for the future, marketing of prosthodontics as a career, and the dollar value of prosthodontic training have all had some impact on increasing the mentored applicant pool to prosthodontic training in the United States. © 2011 by The American College of Prosthodontists.

Active weld control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Bradley W.; Burroughs, Ivan A.

1994-01-01

Through the two phases of this contract, sensors for welding applications and parameter extraction algorithms have been developed. These sensors form the foundation of a weld control system which can provide action weld control through the monitoring of the weld pool and keyhole in a VPPA welding process. Systems of this type offer the potential of quality enhancement and cost reduction (minimization of rework on faulty welds) for high-integrity welding applications. Sensors for preweld and postweld inspection, weld pool monitoring, keyhole/weld wire entry monitoring, and seam tracking were developed. Algorithms for signal extraction were also developed and analyzed to determine their application to an adaptive weld control system. The following sections discuss findings for each of the three sensors developed under this contract: (1) weld profiling sensor; (2) weld pool sensor; and (3) stereo seam tracker/keyhole imaging sensor. Hardened versions of these sensors were designed and built under this contract. A control system, described later, was developed on a multiprocessing/multitasking operating system for maximum power and flexibility. Documentation for sensor mechanical and electrical design is also included as appendices in this report.

Larval control of Anopheles (Nyssorhinchus) darlingi using granular formulation of Bacillus sphaericus in abandoned gold-miners excavation pools in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.

PubMed

Galardo, Allan Kardec Ribeiro; Zimmerman, Robert; Galardo, Clícia Denis

2013-01-01

Use of a Bacillus sphaericus based mosquito larvicide was evaluated as an intervention for malaria vector control at a mining site in Amapá, Brazil. Impacts on larval and adult densities of the primary vector Anopheles darlingi were measured over the course of a 52 week study period. In Calçoene, State of Amapá, gold mining activity occurs in 19 mining sites in gold-miners of Lourenço. Large pools are formed in mining sites and naturally colonized by Anopheles darlingi. During one year, the impact of applications of VectoLex® CG to these larval sources was evaluated. Applications of 20kg/ha were made as needed, based on 10 immature (3rd, 4th instars and pupae) surveillance of health and established thresholds. One hundred percent initial control was observed 48h after each treatment. The pools received from 2-10 (5.3±1.6) treatments during the year. The average re-treatment interval in productive pools was 9.4±4.3 weeks. During weeks 3-52 of the study, mean density of late stage larvae was 78% and pupae were 93% lower in the treated pools than in untreated pools (p< 0.0001, n=51) while reduction of adult mosquitoes was 53% in comparison to the untreated area during the last five months of the study, which were the rainy season (p<0.001). VectoLex® CG reduced immature Anopheles darlingi infestation levels during the entire study period, and reduced adult mosquito populations during the rainy season.

Primary producers may ameliorate impacts of daytime CO2 addition in a coastal marine ecosystem

PubMed Central

Silbiger, Nyssa J.; Bernatchez, Genevieve; Sorte, Cascade J.B.

2018-01-01

Predicting the impacts of ocean acidification in coastal habitats is complicated by bio-physical feedbacks between organisms and carbonate chemistry. Daily changes in pH and other carbonate parameters in coastal ecosystems, associated with processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, often greatly exceed global mean predicted changes over the next century. We assessed the strength of these feedbacks under projected elevated CO2 levels by conducting a field experiment in 10 macrophyte-dominated tide pools on the coast of California, USA. We evaluated changes in carbonate parameters over time and found that under ambient conditions, daytime changes in pH, pCO2, net ecosystem calcification (NEC), and O2 concentrations were strongly related to rates of net community production (NCP). CO2 was added to pools during daytime low tides, which should have reduced pH and enhanced pCO2. However, photosynthesis rapidly reduced pCO2 and increased pH, so effects of CO2 addition were not apparent unless we accounted for seaweed and surfgrass abundances. In the absence of macrophytes, CO2 addition caused pH to decline by ∼0.6 units and pCO2 to increase by ∼487 µatm over 6 hr during the daytime low tide. As macrophyte abundances increased, the impacts of CO2 addition declined because more CO2 was absorbed due to photosynthesis. Effects of CO2addition were, therefore, modified by feedbacks between NCP, pH, pCO2, and NEC. Our results underscore the potential importance of coastal macrophytes in ameliorating impacts of ocean acidification. PMID:29761055

Primary producers may ameliorate impacts of daytime CO2 addition in a coastal marine ecosystem.

PubMed

Bracken, Matthew E S; Silbiger, Nyssa J; Bernatchez, Genevieve; Sorte, Cascade J B

2018-01-01

Predicting the impacts of ocean acidification in coastal habitats is complicated by bio-physical feedbacks between organisms and carbonate chemistry. Daily changes in pH and other carbonate parameters in coastal ecosystems, associated with processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, often greatly exceed global mean predicted changes over the next century. We assessed the strength of these feedbacks under projected elevated CO 2 levels by conducting a field experiment in 10 macrophyte-dominated tide pools on the coast of California, USA. We evaluated changes in carbonate parameters over time and found that under ambient conditions, daytime changes in pH, p CO 2 , net ecosystem calcification ( NEC ), and O 2 concentrations were strongly related to rates of net community production ( NCP ). CO 2 was added to pools during daytime low tides, which should have reduced pH and enhanced p CO 2 . However, photosynthesis rapidly reduced p CO 2 and increased pH, so effects of CO 2 addition were not apparent unless we accounted for seaweed and surfgrass abundances. In the absence of macrophytes, CO 2 addition caused pH to decline by ∼0.6 units and p CO 2 to increase by ∼487 µatm over 6 hr during the daytime low tide. As macrophyte abundances increased, the impacts of CO 2 addition declined because more CO 2 was absorbed due to photosynthesis. Effects of CO 2 addition were, therefore, modified by feedbacks between NCP , pH, p CO 2 , and NEC . Our results underscore the potential importance of coastal macrophytes in ameliorating impacts of ocean acidification.

Who is looking for an internship and successful in obtaining one? Examining application data from REU programs funded through NSF GEO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubenthal, M.; Kelly, M.

2017-12-01

The Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) is currently funding 60 Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) sites. Each site offers opportunities for 8 to 12 undergraduates to participate in research within solid earth, oceans, atmospheric and cryosphere sciences. Because applicant data is collected at individual REU sites, the exact number of unique applicants to all REU sites, and the demographics of this national applicant pool has not been previously reported. While some sites do provide some of this information to NSF in annual reports, obtaining and combining such data is problematic because the percentage of individuals that apply to multiple programs is unknown and generally believed anecdotally to be high, especially for students traditionally underrepresented in the geosciences. Understanding both the scale and makeup of the national applicant pool is important for several reasons. First, very little is known about how the supply and geographic location of slots in REU programs compares to the demand from undergraduate STEM majors interested in research experiences. Second, research into internship programs and their role in the career development process are limited by a lack of baseline data that includes both successful and unsuccessful internship applicants across the various sub-disciplines of the Earth sciences. Finally, designing and refining efforts to engage underrepresented populations in STEM research, and measuring the impact of such efforts is difficult without baseline data for comparison. We will present aggregate application data from up to 20 GEO REU funded programs. These programs represent Oceans, Atmospheres and Earth Science research areas and includes over a thousand applicants. Preliminary analysis suggests the number of unique applicants in the pool is higher than anecdotally predicted. Similarly, unique applicants from underrepresented communities also appears higher than anticipated.

Secret Shoppers: The Stealth Applicant Search for Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dupaul, Stephanie; Harris, Michael S.

2012-01-01

Stealth applicants who do not flow through the traditional admission funnel now represent nearly one-third of the national applicant pool. This study employs a consumer behavior framework to examine the behaviors of stealth applicants at a private university. The findings provide a rich illustration of how stealth applicants search for college.…

Marketing a Public Higher Educational Institution Through Target and Market Research on its Freshmen Applicant and Enrollee Pools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruwer, Johan de W.

1996-01-01

A study at Cape Technikon (South Africa) investigated college choice decision making by surveying 923 applicants during the application process and 314 enrollees during orientation. Results show demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of applicants and enrollees differ, applicants consider multiple institutions, alumni and friends are the…

Soil Organic Matter Stability and Soil Carbon Storage with Changes in Land Use Intensity in Uganda

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiemann, L. K.; Grandy, S.; Hartter, J.

2014-12-01

As the foundation of soil fertility, soil organic matter (SOM) formation and break-down is a critical factor of agroecosystem sustainability. In tropical systems where soils are quickly weathered, the link between SOM and soil fertility is particularly strong; however, the mechanisms controlling the stabilization and destabilization of SOM are not well characterized in tropical soils. In western Uganda, we collected soil samples under different levels of land use intensity including maize fields, banana plantations and inside an un-cultivated native tropical forest, Kibale National Park (KNP). To better understand the link between land use intensity and SOM stability we measured total soil C and N, and respiration rates during a 369 d soil incubation. In addition, we separated soils into particle size fractions, and mineral adsorbed SOM in the silt (2-50 μm ) and clay (< 2 μm) fractions was dissociated, purified and chemically characterized via pyrolysis-GC/MS. Cultivated soil C and N have declined by 22 and 48%, respectively, in comparison to uncultivated KNP soils. Incubation data indicate that over the last decade, relatively accessible and labile soil organic carbon (SOC) pools have been depleted by 55-59% in cultivated soils. As a result of this depletion, the chemical composition of SOM has been altered such that clay and silt associated SOM differed significantly between agricultural fields and KNP. In particular, nitrogen containing compounds were in lower abundance in agricultural compared to KNP soils. This suggests that N depletion due to agriculture has advanced to pools of mineral associated organic N that are typically protected from break-down. In areas where land use intensity is relatively greater, increases in polysaccharides and lipids in maize fields compared to KNP indicate increases in microbial residues and decomposition by-products as microbes mine SOM for organic N. Chemical characterization of post-incubation SOM will help us better understand how microbes preferentially break-down SOM. Agricultural intensification over the past decade in western Uganda has depleted SOC, on average, by 1427 g m-2. In addition, depletion of organic nitrogen reserves in stable SOM pools corresponds with reported declines in crop yields and productivity in this region.

75 FR 6373 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-09

..., February 22, 2010. Docket Numbers: ER10-696-000. Applicants: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Description....m. Eastern Time on Monday, February 22, 2010. Docket Numbers: ER10-698-000. Applicants: Southwest...

Influence of intermittent stream connectivity on water quality and salmonid survivorship.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hildebrand, J.; Woelfle-Erskine, C. A.; Larsen, L.

2014-12-01

Anthropogenic stress and climate change are causing an increasing number of California streams to become intermittent and are driving earlier and more severe summertime drying. The extent to which emerging water conservation alternatives impact flows or habitat quality (e.g. temperature, DO) for salmonids remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the proximal drivers of salmonid mortality over a range of connectivity conditions during summertime intermittency in Salmon Creek watershed, Sonoma County, CA. Through extensive sampling in paired subwatersheds over a period of two years, we tested the hypothesis that accumulation of readily bioavailable DOC in poorly flushed pools drives DO decline associated with loss of salmonids. We then traced the origin and flow pathways of DOC throughout the watershed using Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC). We obtained samples for DOC and stable isotope analyses at monthly intervals from 20 piezometers and surface water in the study reaches and from private wells and springs distributed throughout the watersheds. We also obtained in situ DO, conductivity and pH readings within stream study reaches. We determined DOC quality by SUVA (specific UV absorbance) and fluorescence index. We calculated stream metabolism rates using the single station method. In pools instrumented with DO sensors, we compared changing DOC quality during the summer months to changes in DO concentrations and stream metabolism. Our results show that the duration of complete disconnection of pools during the summer months and stream metabolic rates are positively correlated with salmonid mortality. Furthermore, our results indicate that salmonid mortality is greatest in disconnected pools with low DOC fluorescence indices and high SUVA values, indicative of terrestrially derived DOC and little or no groundwater inflow. Conversely low salmonid mortality was found in disconnected pools with high fluorescence index and low SUVA, indicative of microbially derived DOC. These pools showed clear signs of hyporheic inflow during summertime drying despite complete surficial disconnection. PARAFAC analysis pinpointed groundwater sources of hyporheic flow in the watershed, suggesting that targeted aquifer recharge may contribute to salmonid recovery by augmenting flow in summer refugia.

Response of sphagnum peatland testate amoebae to a 1-year transplantation experiment along an artificial hydrological gradient.

PubMed

Marcisz, Katarzyna; Fournier, Bertrand; Gilbert, Daniel; Lamentowicz, Mariusz; Mitchell, Edward A D

2014-05-01

Peatland testate amoebae (TA) are well-established bioindicators for depth to water table (DWT), but effects of hydrological changes on TA communities have never been tested experimentally. We tested this in a field experiment by placing Sphagnum carpets (15 cm diameter) collected in hummock, lawn and pool microsites (origin) at three local conditions (dry, moist and wet) using trenches dug in a peatland. One series of samples was seeded with microorganism extract from all microsites. TA community were analysed at T0: 8-2008, T1: 5-2009 and T2: 8-2009. We analysed the data using conditional inference trees, principal response curves (PRC) and DWT inferred from TA communities using a transfer function used for paleoecological reconstruction. Density declined from T0 to T1 and then increased sharply by T2. Species richness, Simpson diversity and Simpson evenness were lower at T2 than at T0 and T1. Seeded communities had higher species richness in pool samples at T0. Pool samples tended to have higher density, lower species richness, Simpson diversity and Simpson Evenness than hummock and/or lawn samples until T1. In the PRC, the effect of origin was significant at T0 and T1, but the effect faded away by T2. Seeding effect was strongest at T1 and lowest vanished by T2. Local condition effect was strong but not in line with the wetness gradient at T1 but started to reflect it by T2. Likewise, TA-inferred DWT started to match the experimental conditions by T2, but more so in hummock and lawn samples than in pool samples. This study confirmed that TA responds to hydrological changes over a 1-year period. However, sensitivity of TA to hydrological fluctuations, and thus the accuracy of inferred DWT changes, was habitat specific, pool TA communities being least responsive to environmental changes. Lawns and hummocks may be thus better suited than pools for paleoecological reconstructions. This, however, contrasts with the higher prediction error and species' tolerance for DWT with increasing dryness observed in transfer function models.

Comparison of Individual and Pooled Stool Samples for the Assessment of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection Intensity and Drug Efficacy

PubMed Central

Mekonnen, Zeleke; Meka, Selima; Ayana, Mio; Bogers, Johannes; Vercruysse, Jozef; Levecke, Bruno

2013-01-01

Background In veterinary parasitology samples are often pooled for a rapid assessment of infection intensity and drug efficacy. Currently, studies evaluating this strategy in large-scale drug administration programs to control human soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm), are absent. Therefore, we developed and evaluated a pooling strategy to assess intensity of STH infections and drug efficacy. Methods/Principal Findings Stool samples from 840 children attending 14 primary schools in Jimma, Ethiopia were pooled (pool sizes of 10, 20, and 60) to evaluate the infection intensity of STHs. In addition, the efficacy of a single dose of mebendazole (500 mg) in terms of fecal egg count reduction (FECR; synonym of egg reduction rate) was evaluated in 600 children from two of these schools. Individual and pooled samples were examined with the McMaster egg counting method. For each of the three STHs, we found a significant positive correlation between mean fecal egg counts (FECs) of individual stool samples and FEC of pooled stool samples, ranging from 0.62 to 0.98. Only for A. lumbricoides was any significant difference in mean FEC of the individual and pooled samples found. For this STH species, pools of 60 samples resulted in significantly higher FECs. FECR for the different number of samples pooled was comparable in all pool sizes, except for hookworm. For this parasite, pools of 10 and 60 samples provided significantly higher FECR results. Conclusion/Significance This study highlights that pooling stool samples holds promise as a strategy for rapidly assessing infection intensity and efficacy of administered drugs in programs to control human STHs. However, further research is required to determine when and how pooling of stool samples can be cost-effectively applied along a control program, and to verify whether this approach is also applicable to other NTDs. PMID:23696905

Thermos reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Labrousse, M.; Lerouge, B.; Dupuy, G.

1978-04-01

THERMOS is a water reactor designed to provide hot water up to 120/sup 0/C for district heating or for desalination applications. It is a 100-MW reactor based on proven technology: oxide fuel plate elements, integrated primary circuit, and reactor vessel located in the bottom of a pool. As in swimming pool reactors, the pool is used for biological shielding, emergency core cooling, and fission product filtering (in case of an accident). Before economics, safety is the main characteristic of the concept: no fuel failure admitted, core under water in any accidental configuration, inspection of every ''nuclear'' component, and double-wall containment.

78 FR 22870 - Free Flow Power Corporation; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Motions To...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-17

... Natural Resources and impounds a 553-acre reservoir at a normal pool elevation of 472.2 North American... the existing Williams dam owned by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on the East Fork White... maintained at the existing normal pool elevation (crest of the dam spillway) or above. The average annual...

ENHANCED RETENTION AND SENSITIVITY IN THE ANALYSIS OF CYANURIC ACID IN WATER USING POROUS GRAPHITIC CARBON AND UV DETECTION IN HIGH PRESSURE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

EPA Science Inventory

Cyanuric acid (CA) has found application as a chlorine stabilizer in pool waters. The National Swimming Pool Foundation recommends CA levels between 30-50 ppm and a chlorine residual of 1.0-3.0 ppm. These chlorine levels are needed to destroy harmful pathogenic organisms. Develo...

The Northwest's Phantom Pool: Superintendent Certificate Holders Who Do Not Plan To Apply and Why.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolverton, Mimi; Macdonald, R. Timothy

A recent national study suggests that 80 percent of current superintendents are at or near retirement. To compound the problem of a shrinking pool of candidates, highly qualified potential applicants often simply do not want the job. This report focuses on the aspects of the positions that serve as disincentives to seemingly qualified candidates.…

Management of protein-energy wasting in non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease: reconciling low protein intake with nutritional therapy1234

PubMed Central

Kovesdy, Csaba P; Kopple, Joel D; Kalantar-Zadeh, Kamyar

2013-01-01

Protein-energy wasting (PEW), characterized by a decline in body protein mass and energy reserves, including muscle and fat wasting and visceral protein pool contraction, is an underappreciated condition in early to moderate stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and a strong predictor of adverse outcomes. The prevalence of PEW in early to moderate CKD is ≥20–25% and increases as CKD progresses, in part because of activation of proinflammatory cytokines combined with superimposed hypercatabolic states and declines in appetite. This anorexia leads to inadequate protein and energy intake, which may be reinforced by prescribed dietary restrictions and inadequate monitoring of the patient's nutritional status. Worsening uremia also renders CKD patients vulnerable to potentially deleterious effects of uncontrolled diets, including higher phosphorus and potassium burden. Uremic metabolites, some of which are anorexigenic and many of which are products of protein metabolism, can exert harmful effects, ranging from oxidative stress to endothelial dysfunction, nitric oxide disarrays, renal interstitial fibrosis, sarcopenia, and worsening proteinuria and kidney function. Given such complex pathways, nutritional interventions in CKD, when applied in concert with nonnutritional therapeutic approaches, encompass an array of strategies (such as dietary restrictions and supplementations) aimed at optimizing both patients’ biochemical variables and their clinical outcomes. The applicability of many nutritional interventions and their effects on outcomes in patients with CKD with PEW has not been well studied. This article reviews the definitions and pathophysiology of PEW in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD, examines the current indications for various dietary modification strategies in patients with CKD (eg, manufactured protein-based supplements, amino acids and their keto acid or hydroxyacid analogues), discusses the rationale behind their potential use in patients with PEW, and highlights areas in need of further research. PMID:23636234

Factors dominating choice of surgical specialty.

PubMed

Reed, Carolyn E; Vaporciyan, Ara A; Erikson, Clease; Dill, Michael J; Carpenter, Andrea J; Guleserian, Kristine J; Merrill, Walter H

2010-03-01

There has been much focus on factors influencing medical students' career choice, prompted by such concerns as a sufficient future surgical workforce, declining applicant pool, changing gender composition, and a cultural shift in values and priorities. Once in a surgical residency, there are little data on factors influencing general surgery (GS) residents' final specialty choice. A survey instrument was developed and content validated in conjunction with the Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Workforce Studies. The final instrument was distributed electronically between March 24 and May 2, 2008, through 251 GS program directors to all ACGME-accredited GS residents (n = 7,508). Response rate was 29% (2,153 residents; 89% programs). Half of GS residents remained undecided about specialty choice through the 2(nd) year, declining to 2% by year 5. Of the two-thirds who decided on a specialty, 16.5% chose to remain in GS, 14.6% chose plastics, 9.3% cardiothoracic, and 8.5% vascular. The specialty choice factors most likely to be very important were type of procedures and techniques, exposure to positive role model, and ability to balance work and personal life. Relative importance of factors in specialty choice varied by gender and chosen specialty. Mentors play a key role in specialty choice (66% decided had mentors versus 47% undecided). Work schedule was the most frequently selected shortcoming in every specialty except plastics. Cardiothoracic surgery followed by GS had the highest shortcomings. The majority of GS residents plan to subspecialize. Three factors dominate specialty choice. Faculty need to understand their impact potential to modify or change perceptions of their specialty. Copyright 2010 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 1466.20 - Application for contracts and selecting applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Committee or local working group, may establish ranking pools to address a specific resource concern..., such as the location of the conservation practice, the extent of natural resource degradation, and the...

7 CFR 1466.20 - Application for contracts and selecting applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Committee or local working group, may establish ranking pools to address a specific resource concern..., such as the location of the conservation practice, the extent of natural resource degradation, and the...

Modeling Shasta Dam operations to regulate temperatures for Chinook salmon under extreme climate and climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, A.; Saito, L.; Sapin, J. R.; Rajagopalan, B.; Hanna, R. B.; Kauneckis, D. L.

2014-12-01

Chinook salmon populations have declined significantly after the construction of Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River in 1945 prevented them from spawning in the cold waters upstream. In 1994, the winter-run Chinook were listed under the Endangered Species Act and 3 years later the US Bureau of Reclamation began operating a temperature control device (TCD) on the dam that allows for selective withdrawal for downstream temperature control to promote salmon spawning while also maximizing power generation. However, dam operators are responsible to other interests that depend on the reservoir for water such as agriculture, municipalities, industry, and recreation. An increase in temperatures due to climate change may place additional strain on the ability of dam operations to maintain spawning habitat for salmon downstream of the dam. We examined the capability of Shasta Dam to regulate downstream temperatures under extreme climates and climate change by using stochastically generated streamflow, stream temperature, and weather inputs with a two-dimensional CE-QUAL-W2 model under several operational options. Operation performance was evaluated using degree days and cold pool volume (volume of water below a temperature threshold). Model results indicated that a generalized operations release schedule, in which release elevations varied over the year to match downstream temperature targets, performed best overall in meeting temperature targets while preserving cold pool volume. Releasing all water out the bottom throughout the year tended to meet temperature targets at the expense of depleting the cold pool, and releasing all water out uppermost gates preserved the cold pool, but released water that was too warm during the critical spawning period. With higher air temperatures due to climate change, both degree day and cold pool volume metrics were worse than baseline conditions, which suggests that Chinook salmon may be more negatively affected under climate change.

Effects of Fire on Understory Vegetation Communities in Siberian Boreal Forests and Alaskan Tundra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pena, H., III; Alexander, H. D.; Natali, S.; Loranty, M. M.; Holmes, R. M.; Mack, M. C.; Schade, J. D.; Mann, P. J.; Davydov, S. P.; Frey, B.; Zimov, N.; Jardine, L. E.

2017-12-01

Fire is an important disturbance in Arctic ecosystems that is increasing in frequency and severity as a result of climate warming. Fire alters the landscape, changes soil conditions, and influences vegetation regrowth, favoring early-successional plants and those with well-established root systems capable of surviving fire. Post-fire vegetation establishment contributes to the recovery of the soil organic layer (SOL), which insulates the soil and protects soil and permafrost carbon pools. In order to better understand successional dynamics following fire in the Arctic we assessed the short-(years) and long-(decades) term effects of fire on vegetation communities, SOL depth, and thaw depth across fire-affected sites located in two regions of the Arctic- a 76-year old fire scar in a larch forest in Siberia near Cherskiy, Russia, and a 2-year old fire scar in tundra in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. We measured species diversity, plant carbon (C) pools, SOL conditions and NDVI at both study areas. As expected, there was a decline in vegetation C pools following fire in Alaskan tundra, and as a result of higher severity fire in Siberian boreal forests. Two years following fire in Alaskan tundra, vegetation C pools decreased six-fold from 600 g C m-2 at unburned areas, to 100 g C m-2 at the 2015 burn areas. In larch forests, understory C pools were three-times lower in stands with high intensity fires (135 g C m-2) compared to those with low intensity fires (415 g C m-2), due to the absence of dwarf birch (Betula nana). Our results illustrate how fire influences vegetation at both early and later stages of succession, which can have cascading effects on SOL development and permafrost integrity, with the potential for release of large C stocks that may further exacerbate climate warming.

Handbook of dehumidification technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brundrett, G.W.

1987-01-01

This book shows how dehumidification can alleviate environmental problems in human and industrial spheres which carry major cost implications. The applications of dehumidification, sorbent, air cycle and refrigerant are outlined but the main emphasis is placed on the refrigerant cycle because its applications and product range are the most extensive. A more detailed review of the main applications and opportunities such as housing condensation problems, protection and control in industry and energy saving for swimming pools then follows. Specialist sections on food and flowers and the drying of pressurized gases precede chapters on future developments, economic aspects and a usefulmore » list of further information sources including active research centres. The Contents discussed are: Introduction . Principles . Design considerations for refrigerant dehumidifiers . Domestic applications and dehumidifiers . Swimming pools . Industrial dehumidification . Food and flowers . Drying high pressure gases . Future trends . Economics . Further sources of information.« less

Shifted Transversal Design smart-pooling for high coverage interactome mapping

PubMed Central

Xin, Xiaofeng; Rual, Jean-François; Hirozane-Kishikawa, Tomoko; Hill, David E.; Vidal, Marc; Boone, Charles; Thierry-Mieg, Nicolas

2009-01-01

“Smart-pooling,” in which test reagents are multiplexed in a highly redundant manner, is a promising strategy for achieving high efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity in systems-level projects. However, previous applications relied on low redundancy designs that do not leverage the full potential of smart-pooling, and more powerful theoretical constructions, such as the Shifted Transversal Design (STD), lack experimental validation. Here we evaluate STD smart-pooling in yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) interactome mapping. We employed two STD designs and two established methods to perform ORFeome-wide Y2H screens with 12 baits. We found that STD pooling achieves similar levels of sensitivity and specificity as one-on-one array-based Y2H, while the costs and workloads are divided by three. The screening-sequencing approach is the most cost- and labor-efficient, yet STD identifies about twofold more interactions. Screening-sequencing remains an appropriate method for quickly producing low-coverage interactomes, while STD pooling appears as the method of choice for obtaining maps with higher coverage. PMID:19447967

Application of the isotope-dilution principle to the analysis of factors affecting the incorporation of [3H]uridine and [3H]cytidine into cultured lymphocytes. Evaluation of pools in serum and culture media

PubMed Central

Forsdyke, D. R.

1971-01-01

1. Rat lymph-node cells were incubated in serum and medium 199 with [5-3H]uridine or [5-3H]cytidine and acid-precipitable radioactivity was measured. Results were interpreted in terms of an isotope-dilution model. 2. Both serum and medium 199 contained pools that inhibited radioactive labelling in a competitive manner. The serum activity was diffusible and inhibited labelling with [3H]cytidine more than with [3H]uridine; in these respects the activity resembled cytidine (14μm). 3. The pools in serum and plasma were the same size; however, the rate of labelling was greater in plasma, owing to a diffusible factor. 4. Paradoxically, relatively simple media (Earle's salts and Eagle's minimum essential) appeared to have a larger pool than the more complex pyrimidine-containing medium 199; this suggests a contribution to the pool by cells in the simple media. 5. In the absence of pools the average cell was capable of incorporating 2000 radioactive nucleoside molecules/s. PMID:4947658

Sparse feature learning for instrument identification: Effects of sampling and pooling methods.

PubMed

Han, Yoonchang; Lee, Subin; Nam, Juhan; Lee, Kyogu

2016-05-01

Feature learning for music applications has recently received considerable attention from many researchers. This paper reports on the sparse feature learning algorithm for musical instrument identification, and in particular, focuses on the effects of the frame sampling techniques for dictionary learning and the pooling methods for feature aggregation. To this end, two frame sampling techniques are examined that are fixed and proportional random sampling. Furthermore, the effect of using onset frame was analyzed for both of proposed sampling methods. Regarding summarization of the feature activation, a standard deviation pooling method is used and compared with the commonly used max- and average-pooling techniques. Using more than 47 000 recordings of 24 instruments from various performers, playing styles, and dynamics, a number of tuning parameters are experimented including the analysis frame size, the dictionary size, and the type of frequency scaling as well as the different sampling and pooling methods. The results show that the combination of proportional sampling and standard deviation pooling achieve the best overall performance of 95.62% while the optimal parameter set varies among the instrument classes.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection patterns among Panamanian amphibian species, habitats and elevations during epizootic and enzootic stages.

PubMed

Brem, Forrest M R; Lips, Karen R

2008-09-24

The pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has caused declines of many amphibian populations, yet the full course of the epizootic has rarely been observed in wild populations. We determined effects of elevation, habitat, and aquatic index (AI) on prevalence of infection among Panamanian amphibians sampled along 2 elevational transects. Amphibian populations on the Santa Fé transect (SFT) had declined in 2002, while those on the El Copé transect (ECT) were healthy until September 2004. In 2004 we sampled Bd along both transects, surveying the SFT 2 yr after decline, and surveying the ECT 4 mo prior to the arrival of Bd, during the epizootic, and 2 mo later. Overall prevalence of Bd along the ECT increased from 0.0 (95% CI 0.00-0.0003) to 0.51 (95% CI 0.48-0.55) over a 3 mo period, accompanied by significant decreases in amphibian abundance and species richness in all habitats. Prevalence of infection on the ECT was highest along riparian transects and at higher elevations, but not among levels of AI. Prevalence of infection on the SFT was highest in pool transects, and at higher elevations, but not among levels of AI. Riparian amphibian abundance and species richness also declined at SFT following detection of Bd in 2002. Variation among species, microenvironmental conditions, and the length of coexistence with Bd may contribute to observed differences in prevalence of Bd and in population response.

Attenuation of p38α MAPK stress response signaling delays the in vivo aging of skeletal muscle myofibers and progenitor cells.

PubMed

Papaconstantinou, John; Wang, Chen Z; Zhang, Min; Yang, San; Deford, James; Bulavin, Dmitry V; Ansari, Naseem H

2015-09-01

Functional competence and self-renewal of mammalian skeletal muscle myofibers and progenitor cells declines with age. Progression of the muscle aging phenotype involves the decline of juvenile protective factorsi.e., proteins whose beneficial functions translate directly to the quality of life, and self-renewal of progenitor cells. These characteristics occur simultaneously with the age-associated increase of p38α stress response signaling. This suggests that the maintenance of low levels of p38α activity of juvenile tissues may delay or attenuate aging. We used the dominant negative haploinsufficient p38α mouse (DN-p38α(AF/+)) to demonstrate that in vivo attenuation of p38α activity in the gastrocnemius of the aged mutant delays age-associated processes that include: a) the decline of the juvenile protective factors, BubR1, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A (ALDH1A1), and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2); b) attenuated expression of p16(Ink4a) and p19(Arf) tumor suppressor genes of the Cdkn2a locus; c) decreased levels of hydroxynonenal protein adducts, expression of COX2 and iNOS; d) decline of the senescent progenitor cell pool level and d) the loss of gastrocnemius muscle mass. We propose that elevated P-p38α activity promotes skeletal muscle aging and that the homeostasis of p38α impacts the maintenance of a beneficial healthspan.

[Effects of residue management and fertilizer application mode on soil organic carbon pools in an oasis cotton region.

PubMed

Zhang, Peng Peng; Liu, Yan Jie; Pu, Xiao Zhen; Zhang, Guo Juan; Wang, Jin; Zhang, Wang Feng

2016-11-18

To reveal the regulation mechanisms of agricultural management practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and provide scientific basis for improving soil productivity and formulating agricultural fixed carbon and reducing discharge measures, we monitored the changes of SOC pools and organic carbon fractions in an oasis cotton field under different residue management and fertilizer application modes. A split-plot experimental design was used with differing residue management including residue incorporation (S) and residue removing (NS) in the main plots and differing fertilizer application modes including no fertilizer (CK), NPK fertilizer (NPK), organic manure (OM) and NPK fertilizer plus organic manure (NPK+OM) in the subplot. The results showed that fertilization and residue incorporation significantly increased SOC pool, soil organic carbon (C T ), labile carbon (C L ), microbial biomass carbon (C MB ), water-soluble organic carbon (C WS ), hot-water-soluble organic carbon (C HWS ), accumulative amount of soil organic carbon mineralization (C TM ) and carbon management index (CMI). The SOC pool was increased by 20.6% by residue incorporation compared to residue removing. SOC pools were increased by 7.8%, 29.5% and 37.7% in NPK, OM and NPK+OM treatments compared to CK, respectively. The contents of C T , C L , C MB , C WS and C HWS under different fertilization treatments were shown as NPK+OM>OM>NPK>CK. C TM was increased by 5.9% by residue incorporation compared to residue removing and C TM was increased by 32.7%, 59.5% and 97.3% in NPK, OM and NPK+OM treatments compared to CK, respectively. There was a significant correlation between CMI and C T , C MB , C L , C WS , C HWS , C TM , C pool and C sequestration. Therefore, we concluded that CMI is an important index for evaluating the effect of agricultural management practices on soil quality. In order to construct high-standard oasis farmland in arid region and develop cotton production, we should consider adopting reasonable agricultural management practices (i.e. combining residue incorporation with NPK fertilizer plus organic manure), which could increase the content of SOC, organic carbon fractions and soil fertility, promote soil carbon sequestration, and help the efficient use of agricultural resources and sustainable deve-lopment.

Impacts of biodiversity on the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases.

PubMed

Keesing, Felicia; Belden, Lisa K; Daszak, Peter; Dobson, Andrew; Harvell, C Drew; Holt, Robert D; Hudson, Peter; Jolles, Anna; Jones, Kate E; Mitchell, Charles E; Myers, Samuel S; Bogich, Tiffany; Ostfeld, Richard S

2010-12-02

Current unprecedented declines in biodiversity reduce the ability of ecological communities to provide many fundamental ecosystem services. Here we evaluate evidence that reduced biodiversity affects the transmission of infectious diseases of humans, other animals and plants. In principle, loss of biodiversity could either increase or decrease disease transmission. However, mounting evidence indicates that biodiversity loss frequently increases disease transmission. In contrast, areas of naturally high biodiversity may serve as a source pool for new pathogens. Overall, despite many remaining questions, current evidence indicates that preserving intact ecosystems and their endemic biodiversity should generally reduce the prevalence of infectious diseases.

Reconciling findings on the employment effect of disability insurance.

PubMed

Bound, John; Lindner, Stephan; Waidmann, Timothy

2014-12-01

Over the last 25 years, the Social Security Disability Insurance Program (DI) has grown dramatically. During the same period, employment rates for men with work limitations showed substantial declines in both absolute and relative terms. While the timing of these trends suggests that the expansion of DI was a major contributor to employment decline among this group, raising questions about the targeting of disability benefits, studies using denied applicants suggest a more modest role of the DI expansion. To reconcile these findings, we decompose total employment changes into population and employment changes for three categories: DI beneficiaries, denied applicants, and non-applicants. Our results show that during the early 1990s, the growth in DI can fully explain the employment decline for men only under an extreme assumption about the employment potential of beneficiaries. For the period after the mid-1990s, we find little role for the DI program in explaining the continuing employment decline for men with work limitations.

Reconciling findings on the employment effect of disability insurance

PubMed Central

Bound, John; Lindner, Stephan; Waidmann, Timothy

2016-01-01

Over the last 25 years, the Social Security Disability Insurance Program (DI) has grown dramatically. During the same period, employment rates for men with work limitations showed substantial declines in both absolute and relative terms. While the timing of these trends suggests that the expansion of DI was a major contributor to employment decline among this group, raising questions about the targeting of disability benefits, studies using denied applicants suggest a more modest role of the DI expansion. To reconcile these findings, we decompose total employment changes into population and employment changes for three categories: DI beneficiaries, denied applicants, and non-applicants. Our results show that during the early 1990s, the growth in DI can fully explain the employment decline for men only under an extreme assumption about the employment potential of beneficiaries. For the period after the mid-1990s, we find little role for the DI program in explaining the continuing employment decline for men with work limitations. PMID:27158580

Thyroid Cancer after Childhood Exposure to External Radiation: An Updated Pooled Analysis of 12 Studies.

PubMed

Veiga, Lene H S; Holmberg, Erik; Anderson, Harald; Pottern, Linda; Sadetzki, Siegal; Adams, M Jacob; Sakata, Ritsu; Schneider, Arthur B; Inskip, Peter; Bhatti, Parveen; Johansson, Robert; Neta, Gila; Shore, Roy; de Vathaire, Florent; Damber, Lena; Kleinerman, Ruth; Hawkins, Michael M; Tucker, Margaret; Lundell, Marie; Lubin, Jay H

2016-05-01

Studies have causally linked external thyroid radiation exposure in childhood with thyroid cancer. In 1995, investigators conducted relative risk analyses of pooled data from seven epidemiologic studies. Doses were mostly <10 Gy, although childhood cancer therapies can result in thyroid doses >50 Gy. We pooled data from 12 studies of thyroid cancer patients who were exposed to radiation in childhood (ages <20 years), more than doubling the data, including 1,070 (927 exposed) thyroid cancers and 5.3 million (3.4 million exposed) person-years. Relative risks increased supralinearly through 2-4 Gy, leveled off between 10-30 Gy and declined thereafter, remaining significantly elevated above 50 Gy. There was a significant relative risk trend for doses <0.10 Gy (P < 0.01), with no departure from linearity (P = 0.36). We observed radiogenic effects for both papillary and nonpapillary tumors. Estimates of excess relative risk per Gy (ERR/Gy) were homogeneous by sex (P = 0.35) and number of radiation treatments (P = 0.84) and increased with decreasing age at the time of exposure. The ERR/Gy estimate was significant within ten years of radiation exposure, 2.76 (95% CI, 0.94-4.98), based on 42 exposed cases, and remained elevated 50 years and more after exposure. Finally, exposure to chemotherapy was significantly associated with thyroid cancer, with results supporting a nonsynergistic (additive) association with radiation.

Drought survival is a threshold function of habitat size and population density in a fish metapopulation.

PubMed

White, Richard S A; McHugh, Peter A; McIntosh, Angus R

2016-10-01

Because smaller habitats dry more frequently and severely during droughts, habitat size is likely a key driver of survival in populations during climate change and associated increased extreme drought frequency. Here, we show that survival in populations during droughts is a threshold function of habitat size driven by an interaction with population density in metapopulations of the forest pool dwelling fish, Neochanna apoda. A mark-recapture study involving 830 N. apoda individuals during a one-in-seventy-year extreme drought revealed that survival during droughts was high for populations occupying pools deeper than 139 mm, but declined steeply in shallower pools. This threshold was caused by an interaction between increasing population density and drought magnitude associated with decreasing habitat size, which acted synergistically to increase physiological stress and mortality. This confirmed two long-held hypotheses, firstly concerning the interactive role of population density and physiological stress, herein driven by habitat size, and secondly, the occurrence of drought survival thresholds. Our results demonstrate how survival in populations during droughts will depend strongly on habitat size and highlight that minimum habitat size thresholds will likely be required to maximize survival as the frequency and intensity of droughts are projected to increase as a result of global climate change. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Lymphocyte maintenance during healthy aging requires no substantial alterations in cellular turnover.

PubMed

Westera, Liset; van Hoeven, Vera; Drylewicz, Julia; Spierenburg, Gerrit; van Velzen, Jeroen F; de Boer, Rob J; Tesselaar, Kiki; Borghans, José A M

2015-04-01

In healthy humans, lymphocyte populations are maintained at a relatively constant size throughout life, reflecting a balance between lymphocyte production and loss. Given the profound immunological changes that occur during healthy aging, including a significant decline in T-cell production by the thymus, lymphocyte maintenance in the elderly is generally thought to require homeostatic alterations in lymphocyte dynamics. Surprisingly, using in vivo (2) H2 O labeling, we find similar dynamics of most lymphocyte subsets between young adult and elderly healthy individuals. As the contribution of thymic output to T-cell production is only minor from young adulthood onward, compensatory increases in peripheral T-cell division rates are not required to maintain the T-cell pool, despite a tenfold decline in thymic output. These fundamental insights will aid the interpretation of further research into aging and clinical conditions related to disturbed lymphocyte dynamics. © 2015 The Authors. Aging Cell published by the Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Parkin loss leads to PARIS-dependent declines in mitochondrial mass and respiration

PubMed Central

Stevens, Daniel A.; Lee, Yunjong; Kang, Ho Chul; Lee, Byoung Dae; Lee, Yun-Il; Bower, Aaron; Jiang, Haisong; Kang, Sung-Ung; Andrabi, Shaida A.; Dawson, Valina L.; Shin, Joo-Ho; Dawson, Ted M.

2015-01-01

Mutations in parkin lead to early-onset autosomal recessive Parkinson’s disease (PD) and inactivation of parkin is thought to contribute to sporadic PD. Adult knockout of parkin in the ventral midbrain of mice leads to an age-dependent loss of dopamine neurons that is dependent on the accumulation of parkin interacting substrate (PARIS), zinc finger protein 746 (ZNF746), and its transcriptional repression of PGC-1α. Here we show that adult knockout of parkin in mouse ventral midbrain leads to decreases in mitochondrial size, number, and protein markers consistent with a defect in mitochondrial biogenesis. This decrease in mitochondrial mass is prevented by short hairpin RNA knockdown of PARIS. PARIS overexpression in mouse ventral midbrain leads to decreases in mitochondrial number and protein markers and PGC-1α–dependent deficits in mitochondrial respiration. Taken together, these results suggest that parkin loss impairs mitochondrial biogenesis, leading to declining function of the mitochondrial pool and cell death. PMID:26324925

Carbon dynamics in peatland pool systems: the role of light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pickard, Amy; Heal, Kate; McLeod, Andy; Dinsmore, Kerry

2016-04-01

Open-water pools are widespread in peatlands and are considered to represent biogeochemical hotspots within the peatland landscape. However the contribution of pool systems to wider peatland C cycling has not been quantified fully and there is a lack of knowledge of the role of photochemical processes in such environments. In this study, light exposure experiments were conducted in two contrasting pools to test the reactivity of aquatic C. The first study site was located at Cross Lochs (CL), Forsinard, in the Flow Country of Northern Scotland, in a 412 m2 pool characterised by low dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations (˜15 mg C L-1). The second site was located at Red Moss of Balerno (RM), a raised bog in central Scotland, in a 48 m2 pool with high DOC concentrations (˜35 mg C L-1). Experiments took place over 9 days in situ at each pool in mid-summer 2015, with 500 mL water samples contained in bags transparent to sunlight and in opaque control bags. After field exposure, optical, chemical and stable C isotope analyses were conducted on the samples. Significant differences in biogeochemical cycling of DOC were detected between the two systems, with DOC losses as a percentage of the total C pool 15% higher at RM than at CL after light exposure. The mean DOC concentration of light exposed samples at RM declined steeply initially, with 83% observed DOC degradation occurring by day 3 of the experiment. Total losses of 7.9 mg DOC L-1were observed in light exposed samples at RM, along with decreasing E4:E6 ratios, suggesting that material remaining at the end of the experiment was humified. Depletion of DOC was positively correlated with production of CO2 at both sites, with concentrations of up to 4.3 mg CO2-C L-1 recorded at RM. Stable C isotope signatures at both sites were altered under light treatment, as demonstrated by the production of enriched δ13C-DOC (+0.46 ‰ relative to opaque bags) and depleted δ13C-DIC (-0.97 ‰ relative to opaque bags) at RM. However, at CL, the δ13C-DOC signature in both the light exposed and opaque bags was depleted (-0.2‰ and -0.4 ‰ respectively), suggesting that microbial processing was the preferential DOC processing pathway in this system. These results show that C in peatland pools is highly reactive and further demonstrate the importance of photochemical processing of C, which should be considered as a significant driver of biogeochemical cycling.

25 CFR 1001.5 - Application review and selection process for negotiations for funding agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Application review and selection process for negotiations... process for negotiations for funding agreements. Upon acceptance into the applicant pool, the OSG will.... (c) Submission of a completed planning or negotiation grant application in the previous year. (d) A...

25 CFR 1001.5 - Application review and selection process for negotiations for funding agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Application review and selection process for negotiations... process for negotiations for funding agreements. Upon acceptance into the applicant pool, the OSG will.... (c) Submission of a completed planning or negotiation grant application in the previous year. (d) A...

25 CFR 1001.5 - Application review and selection process for negotiations for funding agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Application review and selection process for negotiations... process for negotiations for funding agreements. Upon acceptance into the applicant pool, the OSG will.... (c) Submission of a completed planning or negotiation grant application in the previous year. (d) A...

25 CFR 1001.5 - Application review and selection process for negotiations for funding agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Application review and selection process for negotiations... process for negotiations for funding agreements. Upon acceptance into the applicant pool, the OSG will.... (c) Submission of a completed planning or negotiation grant application in the previous year. (d) A...

25 CFR 1001.5 - Application review and selection process for negotiations for funding agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Application review and selection process for negotiations... process for negotiations for funding agreements. Upon acceptance into the applicant pool, the OSG will.... (c) Submission of a completed planning or negotiation grant application in the previous year. (d) A...

Empirical Validation of Pooled Whole Genome Population Re-Sequencing in Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Zhu, Yuan; Bergland, Alan O.; González, Josefa; Petrov, Dmitri A.

2012-01-01

The sequencing of pooled non-barcoded individuals is an inexpensive and efficient means of assessing genome-wide population allele frequencies, yet its accuracy has not been thoroughly tested. We assessed the accuracy of this approach on whole, complex eukaryotic genomes by resequencing pools of largely isogenic, individually sequenced Drosophila melanogaster strains. We called SNPs in the pooled data and estimated false positive and false negative rates using the SNPs called in individual strain as a reference. We also estimated allele frequency of the SNPs using “pooled” data and compared them with “true” frequencies taken from the estimates in the individual strains. We demonstrate that pooled sequencing provides a faithful estimate of population allele frequency with the error well approximated by binomial sampling, and is a reliable means of novel SNP discovery with low false positive rates. However, a sufficient number of strains should be used in the pooling because variation in the amount of DNA derived from individual strains is a substantial source of noise when the number of pooled strains is low. Our results and analysis confirm that pooled sequencing is a very powerful and cost-effective technique for assessing of patterns of sequence variation in populations on genome-wide scales, and is applicable to any dataset where sequencing individuals or individual cells is impossible, difficult, time consuming, or expensive. PMID:22848651

Addressing data privacy in matched studies via virtual pooling.

PubMed

Saha-Chaudhuri, P; Weinberg, C R

2017-09-07

Data confidentiality and shared use of research data are two desirable but sometimes conflicting goals in research with multi-center studies and distributed data. While ideal for straightforward analysis, confidentiality restrictions forbid creation of a single dataset that includes covariate information of all participants. Current approaches such as aggregate data sharing, distributed regression, meta-analysis and score-based methods can have important limitations. We propose a novel application of an existing epidemiologic tool, specimen pooling, to enable confidentiality-preserving analysis of data arising from a matched case-control, multi-center design. Instead of pooling specimens prior to assay, we apply the methodology to virtually pool (aggregate) covariates within nodes. Such virtual pooling retains most of the information used in an analysis with individual data and since individual participant data is not shared externally, within-node virtual pooling preserves data confidentiality. We show that aggregated covariate levels can be used in a conditional logistic regression model to estimate individual-level odds ratios of interest. The parameter estimates from the standard conditional logistic regression are compared to the estimates based on a conditional logistic regression model with aggregated data. The parameter estimates are shown to be similar to those without pooling and to have comparable standard errors and confidence interval coverage. Virtual data pooling can be used to maintain confidentiality of data from multi-center study and can be particularly useful in research with large-scale distributed data.

A web-oriented software for the optimization of pooled experiments in NGS for detection of rare mutations.

PubMed

Evangelista, Daniela; Zuccaro, Antonio; Lančinskas, Algirdas; Žilinskas, Julius; Guarracino, Mario R

2016-02-17

The cost per patient of next generation sequencing for detection of rare mutations may be significantly reduced using pooled experiments. Recently, some techniques have been proposed for the planning of pooled experiments and for the optimal allocation of patients into pools. However, the lack of a user friendly resource for planning the design of pooled experiments forces the scientists to do frequent, complex and long computations. OPENDoRM is a powerful collection of novel mathematical algorithms usable via an intuitive graphical user interface. It enables researchers to speed up the planning of their routine experiments, as well as, to support scientists without specific bioinformatics expertises. Users can automatically carry out analysis in terms of costs associated with the optimal allocation of patients in pools. They are also able to choose between three distinct pooling mathematical methods, each of which also suggests the optimal configuration for the submitted experiment. Importantly, in order to keep track of the performed experiments, users can save and export the results of their experiments in standard tabular and charts contents. OPENDoRM is a freely available web-oriented application for the planning of pooled NGS experiments, available at: http://www-labgtp.na.icar.cnr.it/OPENDoRM. Its easy and intuitive graphical user interface enables researchers to plan theirs experiments using novel algorithms, and to interactively visualize the results.

New-Media Scholars' Place in "The Pool" Could Lead to Tenure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Andrea L.

2008-01-01

Re:Poste, a Web application that encourages academics to pick apart online articles from the mass media, is only in its infancy. The program has already generated buzz on a social-networking Web site called the Pool. Re:Poste is one of 600 creative works--games, art, and more--by new-media students and faculty members, most of them on the Orono…

Effects of nitrogen additions on above- and belowground carbon dynamics in two tropical forests

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cusack, D.; Silver, W.L.; Torn, M.S.

2011-04-15

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is increasing rapidly in tropical regions, adding N to ecosystems that often have high background N availability. Tropical forests play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle, yet the effects of N deposition on C cycling in these ecosystems are poorly understood. We used a field N-fertilization experiment in lower and upper elevation tropical rain forests in Puerto Rico to explore the responses of above- and belowground C pools to N addition. As expected, tree stem growth and litterfall productivity did not respond to N fertilization in either of these Nrich forests, indicating amore » lack of N limitation to net primary productivity (NPP). In contrast, soil C concentrations increased significantly with N fertilization in both forests, leading to larger C stocks in fertilized plots. However, different soil C pools responded to N fertilization differently. Labile (low density) soil C fractions and live fine roots declined with fertilization, while mineral-associated soil C increased in both forests. Decreased soil CO2 fluxes in fertilized plots were correlated with smaller labile soil C pools in the lower elevation forest (R2 = 0.65, p\\0.05), and with lower live fine root biomass in the upper elevation forest (R2 = 0.90, p\\0.05). Our results indicate that soil C storage is sensitive to N deposition in tropical forests, even where plant productivity is not N-limited. The mineral-associated soil C pool has the potential to respond relatively quickly to N additions, and can drive increases in bulk soil C stocks in tropical forests.« less

Moderate-intensity treadmill running promotes expansion of the satellite cell pool in young and old mice.

PubMed

Shefer, Gabi; Rauner, Gat; Stuelsatz, Pascal; Benayahu, Dafna; Yablonka-Reuveni, Zipora

2013-09-01

Satellite cells, the myogenic progenitors located at the myofibre surface, are essential for the repair of adult skeletal muscle. There is ample evidence for an age-linked decline in the number of satellite cells and performance in limb muscles. Hence, an effective means of activating and expanding the satellite cell pool may enhance muscle maintenance and reduce the impact of age-associated muscle deterioration (sarcopaenia). Accordingly, in the present study, we explored the beneficial effects of endurance exercise on satellite cells in young and old mice. Animals were subjected to an 8-week moderate-intensity treadmill-running approach that does not inflict apparent muscle damage (0° inclination, 11.5 m·min(-1) for 30 min·day(-1) , 6 days·week(-1) ). Myofibres of extensor digitorum longus muscles were then isolated from exercised and sedentary mice and used for monitoring the number of satellite cells, as well as for harvesting individual satellite cells for clonal growth assays. We specifically focused on satellite cell pools of single myofibres, with the view that daily wear of muscles probably affects individual myofibres rather than causing overall muscle damage. We found an expansion of the satellite cell pool in the exercised groups compared to the sedentary groups, with the same increase (~ 1.6-fold) in both ages. The results of the present study are in agreement with our findings obtained using rat gastrocnemius, indicating the consistent effect of exercise on satellite cell expansion in limb muscles. The experimental paradigm established in the present study is useful for investigating satellite cell dynamics at the myofibre niche, as well as for broader investigations of the impact of physiologically and pathologically relevant factors on adult myogenesis. © 2013 The Authors Journal compilation © 2013 FEBS.

Experimental Evidence that Hemlock Mortality Enhances Carbon Stabilization in Southern Appalachian Forest Soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraterrigo, J.; Ream, K.; Knoepp, J.

2017-12-01

Forest insects and pathogens (FIPs) can cause uncertain changes in forest carbon balance, potentially influencing global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. We quantified the effects of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carr.) mortality on soil carbon fluxes and pools for a decade following either girdling or natural infestation by hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae) to improve mechanistic understanding of soil carbon cycling response to FIPs. Although soil respiration (Rsoil) was similar among reference plots and plots with hemlock mortality, both girdled and HWA-infested plots had greater activities of β-glucosidase, a cellulose-hydrolyzing extracellular enzyme, and decreased O-horizon mass and fine root biomass from 2005 to 2013. During this period, total mineral soil carbon accumulated at a higher rate in disturbed plots than in reference plots in both the surface (0-10 cm) and subsurface (10-30 cm); increases were predominantly in the mineral-associated fraction of the soil organic matter. In contrast, particulate organic matter carbon accrued slowly in surface soils and declined in the subsurface of girdled plots. δ13C values of this fraction demonstrate that particulate organic matter carbon in the surface soil has become more microbially processed over time, suggesting enhanced decomposition of organic matter in this pool. Together, these findings indicate that hemlock mortality and subsequent forest regrowth has led to enhanced soil carbon stabilization in southern Appalachian forests through the translocation of carbon from detritus and particulate soil organic matter pools to the mineral-associated organic matter pool. These findings have implications for ecosystem management and modeling, demonstrating that forests may tolerate moderate disturbance without diminishing soil carbon storage when there is a compensatory growth response by non-host trees.

Carbon stock and its responses to climate change in Central Asia.

PubMed

Li, Chaofan; Zhang, Chi; Luo, Geping; Chen, Xi; Maisupova, Bagila; Madaminov, Abdullo A; Han, Qifei; Djenbaev, Bekmamat M

2015-05-01

Central Asia has a land area of 5.6 × 10(6) km(2) and contains 80-90% of the world's temperate deserts. Yet it is one of the least characterized areas in the estimation of the global carbon (C) stock/balance. This study assessed the sizes and spatiotemporal patterns of C pools in Central Asia using both inventory (based on 353 biomass and 284 soil samples) and process-based modeling approaches. The results showed that the C stock in Central Asia was 31.34-34.16 Pg in the top 1-m soil with another 10.42-11.43 Pg stored in deep soil (1-3 m) of the temperate deserts. They amounted to 18-24% of the global C stock in deserts and dry shrublands. The C stock was comparable to that of the neighboring regions in Eurasia or major drylands around the world (e.g. Australia). However, 90% of Central Asia C pool was stored in soil, and the fraction was much higher than in other regions. Compared to hot deserts of the world, the temperate deserts in Central Asia had relatively high soil organic carbon density. The C stock in Central Asia is under threat from dramatic climate change. During a decadal drought between 1998 and 2008, which was possibly related to protracted La Niña episodes, the dryland lost approximately 0.46 Pg C from 1979 to 2011. The largest C losses were found in northern Kazakhstan, where annual precipitation declined at a rate of 90 mm decade(-1) . The regional C dynamics were mainly determined by changes in the vegetation C pool, and the SOC pool was stable due to the balance between reduced plant-derived C influx and inhibited respiration. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mechanisms of ammonium transformation and loss in intermittently aerated leachfield soil.

PubMed

Richard, John T; Potts, David A; Amador, José A

2014-11-01

Optimization of N removal in soil-based wastewater treatment systems requires an understanding of the microbial processes involved in N transformations. We examined the fate of NH in intermittently aerated leachfield mesocosms over a 24-h period. Septic tank effluent (STE) was amended with NHCl to help determine N speciation and distribution in drainage water, soil, and headspace gases. Our results show that 5.7% of the N was found in soil, 10.0% in drainage water, and 84.3% in the gas pool. Ammonium accounted for 41.7% of the soil N pool, followed by NO (29.2%), organic N (21.7%), and microbial biomass N (7.5%). In drainage water, NO constituted ∼80% of the N pool, whereas NH was absent from this pool. Nitrous oxide was the dominant form of N in the gas phase 6 h after addition of NH-amended STE to the mesocosms, after which its mass declined exponentially; by contrast, the mass of N was initially low but increased linearly with time to become the dominant form of N after 24 h. Analysis based on the isotopic enrichment of NO and N indicates that nitrification contributed 98.8 and 23.1% of the NO flux after 6 and 24 h, respectively. Our results show that gaseous losses are the main mechanism for NH removal from wastewater in intermittently aerated soil. In addition, nitrification, which is generally not considered a significant pathway for N loss in soil-based wastewater treatment, is an important source process for NO. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

A meta-analysis of confocal laser endomicroscopy for the detection of neoplasia in patients with Barrett's esophagus.

PubMed

Xiong, Yi-Quan; Ma, Shu-Juan; Zhou, Jun-Hua; Zhong, Xue-Shan; Chen, Qing

2016-06-01

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is considered the most important risk factor for development of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) is a recently developed technique used to diagnose neoplasia in BE. This meta-analysis was performed to assess the accuracy of CLE for diagnosis of neoplasia in BE. We searched EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science to identify relevant studies for all articles published up to June 27, 2015 in English. The quality of included studies was assessed using QUADAS-2. Per-patient and per-lesion pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. In total, 14 studies were included in the final analysis, covering 789 patients with 4047 lesions. Seven studies were included in the per-patient analysis. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were 89% (95% CI: 0.82-0.94) and 83% (95% CI: 0.78-0.86), respectively. Ten studies were included in the per-lesion analysis. Compared with the PP analysis, the corresponding pooled sensitivity declined to 77% (95% CI: 0.73-0.81) and specificity increased to 89% (95% CI: 0.87-0.90). Subgroup analysis showed that probe-based CLE (pCLE) was superior to endoscope-based CLE (eCLE) in pooled specificity [91.4% (95% CI: 89.7-92.9) vs 86.1% (95% CI: 84.3-87.8)] and AUC for the sROC (0.885 vs 0.762). Confocal laser endomicroscopy is a valid method to accurately differentiate neoplasms from non-neoplasms in BE. It can be applied to BE surveillance and early diagnosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma. © 2015 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Multiplexed direct genomic selection (MDiGS): a pooled BAC capture approach for highly accurate CNV and SNP/INDEL detection.

PubMed

Alvarado, David M; Yang, Ping; Druley, Todd E; Lovett, Michael; Gurnett, Christina A

2014-06-01

Despite declining sequencing costs, few methods are available for cost-effective single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), insertion/deletion (INDEL) and copy number variation (CNV) discovery in a single assay. Commercially available methods require a high investment to a specific region and are only cost-effective for large samples. Here, we introduce a novel, flexible approach for multiplexed targeted sequencing and CNV analysis of large genomic regions called multiplexed direct genomic selection (MDiGS). MDiGS combines biotinylated bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) capture and multiplexed pooled capture for SNP/INDEL and CNV detection of 96 multiplexed samples on a single MiSeq run. MDiGS is advantageous over other methods for CNV detection because pooled sample capture and hybridization to large contiguous BAC baits reduces sample and probe hybridization variability inherent in other methods. We performed MDiGS capture for three chromosomal regions consisting of ∼ 550 kb of coding and non-coding sequence with DNA from 253 patients with congenital lower limb disorders. PITX1 nonsense and HOXC11 S191F missense mutations were identified that segregate in clubfoot families. Using a novel pooled-capture reference strategy, we identified recurrent chromosome chr17q23.1q23.2 duplications and small HOXC 5' cluster deletions (51 kb and 12 kb). Given the current interest in coding and non-coding variants in human disease, MDiGS fulfills a niche for comprehensive and low-cost evaluation of CNVs, coding, and non-coding variants across candidate regions of interest. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Mortality risk and associated factors in HIV-exposed, uninfected children.

PubMed

Arikawa, Shino; Rollins, Nigel; Newell, Marie-Louise; Becquet, Renaud

2016-06-01

With increasing maternal antiretroviral treatment (ART), the number of children newly infected with HIV has declined. However, the possible increased mortality in the large number of HIV-exposed, uninfected (HEU) children may be of concern. We quantified mortality risks among HEU children and reviewed associated factors. Systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus). We included all studies reporting mortality of HEU children to age 60 months and associated factors. Relative risk of mortality between HEU and HIV-unexposed, uninfected (HUU) children was extracted where relevant. Inverse variance methods were used to adjust for study size. Random-effects models were fitted to obtain pooled estimates. A total of 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis and 13 in the review of associated factors. The pooled cumulative mortality in HEU children was 5.5% (95% CI: 4.0-7.2; I(2) = 94%) at 12 months (11 studies) and 11.0% (95% CI: 7.6-15.0; I(2) = 93%) at 24 months (four studies). The pooled risk ratios for the mortality in HEU children compared to HUU children in the same setting were 1.9 (95% CI: 0.9-3.8; I(2) = 93%) at 12 months (four studies) and 2.4 (95% CI: 1.1-5.1; I(2) = 93%) at 24 months (three studies). Compared to HUU children, mortality risk in HEU children was about double at both age points, although the association was not statistically significant at 12 months. Interpretation of the pooled estimates is confounded by considerable heterogeneity between studies. Further research is needed to characterise the impact of maternal death and breastfeeding on the survival of HEU infants in the context of maternal ART, where current evidence is limited. © 2016 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Coevolution of bed surface patchiness and channel morphology: 1. Mechanisms of forced patch formation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nelson, Peter A.; McDonald, Richard R.; Nelson, Jonathan M.; Dietrich, William E.

2015-01-01

Riverbeds frequently display a spatial structure where the sediment mixture composing the channel bed has been sorted into discrete patches of similar grain size. Even though patches are a fundamental feature in gravel bed rivers, we have little understanding of how patches form, evolve, and interact. Here we present a two-dimensional morphodynamic model that is used to examine in greater detail the mechanisms responsible for the development of forced bed surface patches and the coevolution of bed morphology and bed surface patchiness. The model computes the depth-averaged channel hydrodynamics, mixed-grain-size sediment transport, and bed evolution by coupling the river morphodynamic model Flow and Sediment Transport with Morphological Evolution of Channels (FaSTMECH) with a transport relation for gravel mixtures and the mixed-grain-size Exner equation using the active layer assumption. To test the model, we use it to simulate a flume experiment in which the bed developed a sequence of alternate bars and temporally and spatially persistent forced patches with a general pattern of coarse bar tops and fine pools. Cross-stream sediment flux causes sediment to be exported off of bars and imported into pools at a rate that balances downstream gradients in the streamwise sediment transport rate, allowing quasi-steady bar-pool topography to persist. The relative importance of lateral gravitational forces on the cross-stream component of sediment transport is a primary control on the amplitude of the bars. Because boundary shear stress declines as flow shoals over the bars, the lateral sediment transport is increasingly size selective and leads to the development of coarse bar tops and fine pools.

Carbohydrate storage and light requirements of tropical moist and dry forest tree species.

PubMed

Poorter, Lourens; Kitajima, Kaoru

2007-04-01

In many plant communities, there is a negative interspecific correlation between relative growth rates and survival of juveniles. This negative correlation is most likely caused by a trade-off between carbon allocation to growth vs. allocation to defense and storage. Nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) stored in stems allow plants to overcome periods of stress and should enhance survival. In order to assess how species differ in carbohydrate storage in relation to juvenile light requirements, growth, and survival, we quantified NSC concentrations and pool sizes in sapling stems of 85 woody species in moist semi-evergreen and dry deciduous tropical forests in the rainy season in Bolivia. Moist forest species averaged higher NSC concentrations than dry forest species. Carbohydrate concentrations and pool sizes decreased with the light requirements of juveniles of the species in the moist forest but not in the dry forest. Combined, these results suggest that storage is especially important for species that regenerate in persistently shady habitats, as in the understory of moist evergreen forests. For moist forest species, sapling survival rates increased with NSC concentrations and pool sizes while growth rates declined with the NSC concentrations and pool sizes. No relationships were found for dry forest species. Carbon allocation to storage contributes to the growth-survival trade-off through its positive effect on survival. And, a continuum in carbon storage strategies contributes to a continuum in light requirements among species. The link between storage and light requirements is especially strong in moist evergreen forest where species sort out along a light gradient, but disappears in dry deciduous forest where light is a less limiting resource and species sort out along drought and fire gradients.

Stochastic modeling indicates that aging and somatic evolution in the hematopoetic system are driven by non-cell-autonomous processes.

PubMed

Rozhok, Andrii I; Salstrom, Jennifer L; DeGregori, James

2014-12-01

Age-dependent tissue decline and increased cancer incidence are widely accepted to be rate-limited by the accumulation of somatic mutations over time. Current models of carcinogenesis are dominated by the assumption that oncogenic mutations have defined advantageous fitness effects on recipient stem and progenitor cells, promoting and rate-limiting somatic evolution. However, this assumption is markedly discrepant with evolutionary theory, whereby fitness is a dynamic property of a phenotype imposed upon and widely modulated by environment. We computationally modeled dynamic microenvironment-dependent fitness alterations in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) within the Sprengel-Liebig system known to govern evolution at the population level. Our model for the first time integrates real data on age-dependent dynamics of HSC division rates, pool size, and accumulation of genetic changes and demonstrates that somatic evolution is not rate-limited by the occurrence of mutations, but instead results from aged microenvironment-driven alterations in the selective/fitness value of previously accumulated genetic changes. Our results are also consistent with evolutionary models of aging and thus oppose both somatic mutation-centric paradigms of carcinogenesis and tissue functional decline. In total, we demonstrate that aging directly promotes HSC fitness decline and somatic evolution via non-cell-autonomous mechanisms.

The Effects of Amphibian Extirpations on Foodweb Structure and Function in Panamanian Highland Streams.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunte-Brown, M. E.; Kilham, S. S.; Whiles, M. R.; Lips, K.; Pringle, C.; Colon, C.; Brenes, R.; Connelly, S.

2005-05-01

Amphibian populations are declining globally in uplands. Stream-dwelling tadpoles are potentially important herbivores, and their loss is expected to cause significant changes in structure and function of lotic ecosystems. This study is part of a collaborative effort to measure changes in trophic structure associated with amphibian extirpations. We used stable isotopes to elucidate trends in Panamanian highland streams at two locations, El Cope and Fortuna, which are differentially affected by the declines. Generally, the nitrogen source in the Fortuna stream, where amphibians have already declined, is primarily atmospheric, whereas it is more recycled in El Cope where tadpoles are still abundant. FBOM is an important food resource in El Cope, and because of the recycled N from tadpole feces, the delta N15 values of the periphyton are higher in the pools than in the riffles in El Cope. Generally, the delta N15 signal of similar trophic groups is lower at Fortuna than at El Cope. The delta N15 signals also tend to fall with increased rainfall. Leaf packs are apparently under-utilized in these systems. Results allow for an assessment of trophic structure in highland neotropical streams and suggest that stream-breeding anuran extirpations may alter nutrient cycling and energy flow.

Winter survival of lesser scaup in east-central Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Herring, G.; Collazo, J.A.

2004-01-01

The North American continental population of lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) has been declining since the mid-1980s. Seasonal survival estimates may provide insights about the ecological basis for this decline, but such data are not available. We estimated post-harvest winter survival of lesser scaup in east-central Florida, USA, where 62% of the Atlantic Flyway population winters. The Kaplan-Meier survival estimate from 11 January to 14 March 2002 was 0.95 ?? 0.04 (SE) for females and 0.90 ?? 0.09 for males. These estimates were not different (P = 0.64), and pooled survival was 0.93 ?? 0.04. Temporary emigration (movement out of and return to the study area) was exhibited by 25% of the birds during survey periods, but absences were short and were believed to have had little effect on precision of survival estimates. Our findings suggested that natural mortality at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR) and surrounding estuarine areas was relatively low. Our results also indicate that habitat quality in this portion of east-central Florida was sufficient to meet overwintering requirements and likely contributed to the reported survival rates. Estimating survival during other stages of the annual cycle, as well as an overall winter estimate reflecting harvest mortality, is necessary to determine whether low survival rates are responsible for continental population declines.

Are infant mortality rate declines exponential? The general pattern of 20th century infant mortality rate decline

PubMed Central

Bishai, David; Opuni, Marjorie

2009-01-01

Background Time trends in infant mortality for the 20th century show a curvilinear pattern that most demographers have assumed to be approximately exponential. Virtually all cross-country comparisons and time series analyses of infant mortality have studied the logarithm of infant mortality to account for the curvilinear time trend. However, there is no evidence that the log transform is the best fit for infant mortality time trends. Methods We use maximum likelihood methods to determine the best transformation to fit time trends in infant mortality reduction in the 20th century and to assess the importance of the proper transformation in identifying the relationship between infant mortality and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. We apply the Box Cox transform to infant mortality rate (IMR) time series from 18 countries to identify the best fitting value of lambda for each country and for the pooled sample. For each country, we test the value of λ against the null that λ = 0 (logarithmic model) and against the null that λ = 1 (linear model). We then demonstrate the importance of selecting the proper transformation by comparing regressions of ln(IMR) on same year GDP per capita against Box Cox transformed models. Results Based on chi-squared test statistics, infant mortality decline is best described as an exponential decline only for the United States. For the remaining 17 countries we study, IMR decline is neither best modelled as logarithmic nor as a linear process. Imposing a logarithmic transform on IMR can lead to bias in fitting the relationship between IMR and GDP per capita. Conclusion The assumption that IMR declines are exponential is enshrined in the Preston curve and in nearly all cross-country as well as time series analyses of IMR data since Preston's 1975 paper, but this assumption is seldom correct. Statistical analyses of IMR trends should assess the robustness of findings to transformations other than the log transform. PMID:19698144

Nucleate pool boiling in subcooled liquid under microgravity: Results of TEXUS experimental investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zell, M.; Straub, J.; Weinzierl, A.

1984-12-01

Experiments on subcooled nucleate pool boiling in microgravity were carried out to separate gravity driven effects on heat transfer within the boiling process. A ballistic trajectory by sounding rocket flight (TEXUS 5 and 10) achieved a gravity level of a/g = 0.0001 for 360 sec. For determination of geometrical effects on heat transport two different experimental configurations (platinum wire and flat plate) were employed. Boiling curves and bubble dynamics recorded by cinematography lead to gravity independent modelling of the boiling phenomena. The results ensure the applicability and high efficiency of nucleate pool boiling for heat exchangers in space laboratories.

76 FR 29742 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-23

.... Applicants: Paulding Wind Farm II LLC. Description: Application For Authorization For Disposition of Jurisdictional Facilities and Request for Expedited Action of Paulding Wind Farm II LLC. Filed Date: 05/16/2011.... Eastern Time on Monday, June 6, 2011. Docket Numbers: ER11-3455-001. Applicants: Southwest Power Pool, Inc...

Application Trends Survey. 2014 Survey Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Worthington, Rebecca; Bruggeman, Paula

2014-01-01

Now in its 15th year, the Graduate Management Admission Council's assessment of application volume trends for graduate management programs offers timely insights into demographic shifts and other factors defining the candidate pools for the 2014 application cycle. Responses collected in the 2014 survey represent a record-breaking total of 748 MBA,…

Water Purification Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

Clearwater Pool Technologies employs NASA-developed silver/copper ionization to purify turtle and dolphin tanks, cooling towers, spas, water recycling systems, etc. The pool purifier consists of a microcomputer to monitor water conditions, a pair of metallic electrodes, and a rheostat controller. Ions are generated by passing a low voltage current through the electrodes; the silver ions kill the bacteria, and the copper ions kill algae. This technology has found broad application because it offers an alternative to chemical disinfectants. It was originally developed to purify water on Apollo spacecraft. Caribbean Clear has been using NASA's silver ionization technology for water purification for more than a decade. Two new products incorporate advancements of the basic technology. One is the AquaKing, a system designed for areas with no source of acceptable drinking water. Another is the Caribbean Clear Controller, designed for commercial pool and water park applications where sanitizing is combined with feedback control of pH and an oxidizer, chlorine or bromine. The technology was originally developed to purify water on Apollo spacecraft.

Lipid reserves of Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) migrating across a large landscape are consistent with the "Spring Condition" hypothesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anteau, M.J.; Afton, A.D.

2009-01-01

The “spring condition” hypothesis (SCH) states that nutrition during spring migration affects survival, reproductive success, and, ultimately, population size of migratory birds. The North American population of Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) has experienced a marked decline, apparently because of poor recruitment. An important prediction of the SCH is that female Lesser Scaup have low lipid reserves during spring migration. We previously reported that lipid reserves and body mass of females collected on migratory stopover areas in northwestern Minnesota in springs 2000–2001 were lower than those on the same areas in the 1980s and markedly lower than those collected at Pool 19 of the Mississippi River in 2000–2001, an important preceding stopover area. However, it was unclear whether these findings represented a site-specific result or a landscape-scale phenomenon. Accordingly, we examined lipid and body mass of 641 female Lesser Scaup migrating across seven eco-physiographic regions of Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota during springs 2003–2005. We found that lipids and body mass of females throughout the Upper Midwest were similar to or less than the low values documented in northwestern Minnesota in springs 2000–2001 and markedly lower than those of females at Pool 19 in springs 2000–2001. Accordingly, our results are consistent with a prediction of the SCH, because lipid and body mass of females are low throughout this large landscape, lower than at an important preceding stopover area, and lower than all historical values. Finally, our results suggest the potential for cross-seasonal influences of nutrition on recruitment and that a stronger management focus on spring migration habitats may be necessary for conservation and recovery of declining migratory birds, especially Lesser Scaup.

Additive scales in degenerative disease--calculation of effect sizes and clinical judgment.

PubMed

Riepe, Matthias W; Wilkinson, David; Förstl, Hans; Brieden, Andreas

2011-12-16

The therapeutic efficacy of an intervention is often assessed in clinical trials by scales measuring multiple diverse activities that are added to produce a cumulative global score. Medical communities and health care systems subsequently use these data to calculate pooled effect sizes to compare treatments. This is done because major doubt has been cast over the clinical relevance of statistically significant findings relying on p values with the potential to report chance findings. Hence in an aim to overcome this pooling the results of clinical studies into a meta-analyses with a statistical calculus has been assumed to be a more definitive way of deciding of efficacy. We simulate the therapeutic effects as measured with additive scales in patient cohorts with different disease severity and assess the limitations of an effect size calculation of additive scales which are proven mathematically. We demonstrate that the major problem, which cannot be overcome by current numerical methods, is the complex nature and neurobiological foundation of clinical psychiatric endpoints in particular and additive scales in general. This is particularly relevant for endpoints used in dementia research. 'Cognition' is composed of functions such as memory, attention, orientation and many more. These individual functions decline in varied and non-linear ways. Here we demonstrate that with progressive diseases cumulative values from multidimensional scales are subject to distortion by the limitations of the additive scale. The non-linearity of the decline of function impedes the calculation of effect sizes based on cumulative values from these multidimensional scales. Statistical analysis needs to be guided by boundaries of the biological condition. Alternatively, we suggest a different approach avoiding the error imposed by over-analysis of cumulative global scores from additive scales.

Efficacy and Safety of ATX-101 by Treatment Session: Pooled Analysis of Data from the Phase 3 REFINE Trials.

PubMed

Dayan, Steven H; Schlessinger, Joel; Beer, Kenneth; Donofrio, Lisa M; Jones, Derek H; Humphrey, Shannon; Carruthers, Jean; Lizzul, Paul F; Gross, Todd M; Beddingfield, Frederick C; Somogyi, Christine

2018-02-01

ATX-101 (deoxycholic acid injection) is the only injectable drug approved for submental fat (SMF) reduction. In the phase 3 REFINE trials, adults with moderate or severe SMF who were dissatisfied with the appearance of their face/chin were eligible to receive up to 6 treatment sessions with ATX-101 (2 mg/cm2) or placebo. Primary and secondary endpoints, evaluated at 12 weeks after last treatment, significantly favored ATX-101 supporting its efficacy for reducing SMF and the psychological impact of SMF, and increasing satisfaction with the appearance of the face/chin. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ATX-101 by treatment session. This post-hoc analysis used pooled data from the REFINE trials to evaluate efficacy endpoints and adverse events following each treatment session to further characterize the ATX-101 treatment response and safety profile. In both treatment groups, mean injection volume declined over subsequent treatment sessions, though more markedly in the ATX-101 group. The majority of ATX-101-treated subjects achieved a ≥1-grade improvement in SMF within 2 to 4 treatment sessions based on either clinician or subject assessment. Furthermore, 19.1% of ATX-101-treated subjects (vs 3.9% of placebo-treated subjects) received fewer than 6 treatment sessions owing to subject satisfaction with treatment or lack of sufficient SMF for further treatment. In both treatment groups, the incidence/severity of common injection-site adverse events declined over subsequent treatment sessions. Although up to 6 treatment sessions were permitted in the REFINE trials, most ATX-101-treated subjects achieved an improvement in SMF within 2 to 4 treatment sessions. © 2018 The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc.

Raman Spectroscopic Online Investigation of Respiratory Quotients in Pinus Sylvestris and Picea Abies during Drought and Shading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanf, S.; Fischer, S.; Hartmann, H.; Trumbore, S.; Popp, J.; Frosch, T.

2014-12-01

Drought and heat waves have been linked to forest mortality event across the globe. The underlying physiological processes are still not elucidated but both tree carbon and water relations have been identified as the driving forces. While studies on tree hydraulics are straightforward, studies on the tree carbon balance are not. For example, the use of different carbon compounds for maintenance respiration during drought cannot be assessed with measurements of carbon pools but requires real-time analyses of respiration stoichiometry. However, so far there were no technical solutions for such applications. Here we introduce cavity-enhanced Raman spectrometry (CERS) for simultaneous real-time monitoring of O2 and CO2 and rapid and continuous quantification of dark respiration rates and the respiratory quotient (RQ), i.e. the ratio of CO2 produced over O2 consumed during respiration. This ratio indicates the proportions of different substrates (carbohydrates [COH], lipids, proteins) used during respiration and allows fundamental insights into tree physiology. CERS combines high temporal resolution with a high dynamic concentration range for all important gases, ranging from few ppm to 100 vol. % with a single measurement every few seconds. The respiration analysis of tree branches was performed in a closed chamber for two species of different drought tolerance, Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies. We applied not only drought but also a shading treatment because both cause reductions in carbon assimilation rates but have different effects on tree hydraulics. Declines in RQ during shading in both species indicate a switch from pure COH metabolism to a mixture of COH, lipids and proteins. During drought such declines occurred only in the drought-tolerant pine but not in spruce and the underlying more dynamic carbon use strategy in pine may provide a physiological basis for its drought tolerance, more detailed investigation still pending. Our study highlights the suitability of CERS for applications in plant ecophysiology. This technology can contribute to significant advances in research on the causes and mechanisms of tree and forest mortality.

Multiple Pathways to College: A Secondary Analysis of the 2004 College Applicant Survey. ACAATO Document

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colleges Ontario, 2005

2005-01-01

The 2004 College Applicant Survey (CAS) describes the college-bound applicant pool by covering a broad range of areas including key demographics, factors influencing college selection, academic background and financial preparedness. It is the most comprehensive and the richest source of survey data to date on applicants to the Ontario Colleges of…

HYDROSTATIC PRESSURIZATION AND DEPLETION OF TRAPPED LUBRICANT POOL DURING CREEP CONTACT OF A RIPPLED INDENTER AGAINST A BIPHASIC ARTICULAR CARTILAGE LAYER

PubMed Central

Soltz, Michael A.; Basalo, Ines M.; Ateshian, Gerard A.

2010-01-01

This study presents an analysis of the contact of a rippled rigid impermeable indenter against a cartilage layer, which represents a first simulation of the contact of rough cartilage surfaces with lubricant entrapment. Cartilage was modeled with the biphasic theory for hydrated soft tissues, to account for fluid flow into or out of the lubricant pool. The findings of this study demonstrate that under contact creep, the trapped lubricant pool gets depleted within a time period on the order of seconds or minutes as a result of lubricant flow into the articular cartilage. Prior to depletion, hydrostatic fluid load across the contact interface may be enhanced by the presence of the trapped lubricant pool, depending on the initial geometry of the lubricant pool. According to friction models based on the biphasic nature of the tissue, this enhancement in fluid load support produces a smaller minimum friction coefficient than would otherwise be predicted without a lubricant pool. The results of this study support the hypothesis that trapped lubricant decreases the initial friction coefficient following load application, independently of squeeze-film lubrication effects. PMID:14618917

Estimating haplotype frequencies by combining data from large DNA pools with database information.

PubMed

Gasbarra, Dario; Kulathinal, Sangita; Pirinen, Matti; Sillanpää, Mikko J

2011-01-01

We assume that allele frequency data have been extracted from several large DNA pools, each containing genetic material of up to hundreds of sampled individuals. Our goal is to estimate the haplotype frequencies among the sampled individuals by combining the pooled allele frequency data with prior knowledge about the set of possible haplotypes. Such prior information can be obtained, for example, from a database such as HapMap. We present a Bayesian haplotyping method for pooled DNA based on a continuous approximation of the multinomial distribution. The proposed method is applicable when the sizes of the DNA pools and/or the number of considered loci exceed the limits of several earlier methods. In the example analyses, the proposed model clearly outperforms a deterministic greedy algorithm on real data from the HapMap database. With a small number of loci, the performance of the proposed method is similar to that of an EM-algorithm, which uses a multinormal approximation for the pooled allele frequencies, but which does not utilize prior information about the haplotypes. The method has been implemented using Matlab and the code is available upon request from the authors.

Desiccation of a pool of blood: from fluid mechanics to forensic investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicloux, Celine; Brutin, David

2012-11-01

The evaporation of biological fluids (with droplet configuration) has been studied since a few years due to several applications in medical fields such as medical tests, drug screening, biostabilization... The evaporation of a drop of whole blood leads to the formation of final typical pattern of cracks. Flow motion, adhesion, gelation and fracturation all occur during the evaporation of this complex matter. During the drying, a sol-gel transition develops. The evaporation of a pool of blood is studied in order to link the pattern formation and the evaporation dynamics. We intend to transfer the knowledge acquired for drops on pool to improve the forensic investigations. In this study, we focus on both pool of blood and pure water to determine the transition region from drop to pool and then to characterize the evaporation rate in the pool configuration. The spreading of blood which can be seen as a complex fluid is strongly influenced the substrate nature. The initial contact angle of blood on different substrate nature will influence the maximum thickness of the layer and then will influence the evaporation mass flux. The authors gratefully acknowledge the help and the fruitful discussions raised with A. Boccoz.

Cascaded K-means convolutional feature learner and its application to face recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Daoxiang; Yang, Dan; Zhang, Xiaohong; Huang, Sheng; Feng, Shu

2017-09-01

Currently, considerable efforts have been devoted to devise image representation. However, handcrafted methods need strong domain knowledge and show low generalization ability, and conventional feature learning methods require enormous training data and rich parameters tuning experience. A lightened feature learner is presented to solve these problems with application to face recognition, which shares similar topology architecture as a convolutional neural network. Our model is divided into three components: cascaded convolution filters bank learning layer, nonlinear processing layer, and feature pooling layer. Specifically, in the filters learning layer, we use K-means to learn convolution filters. Features are extracted via convoluting images with the learned filters. Afterward, in the nonlinear processing layer, hyperbolic tangent is employed to capture the nonlinear feature. In the feature pooling layer, to remove the redundancy information and incorporate the spatial layout, we exploit multilevel spatial pyramid second-order pooling technique to pool the features in subregions and concatenate them together as the final representation. Extensive experiments on four representative datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our model to various variations, yielding competitive recognition results on extended Yale B and FERET. In addition, our method achieves the best identification performance on AR and labeled faces in the wild datasets among the comparative methods.

Ovarian Stem Cell Nests in Reproduction and Ovarian Aging.

PubMed

Ye, Haifeng; Zheng, Tuochen; Li, Wei; Li, Xiaoyan; Fu, Xinxin; Huang, Yaoqi; Hu, Chuan; Li, Jia; Huang, Jian; Liu, Zhengyv; Zheng, Liping; Zheng, Yuehui

2017-01-01

The fixed primordial follicles pool theory, which monopolized reproductive medicine for more than one hundred years, has been broken by the discovery, successful isolation and establishment of ovarian stem cells. It has brought more hope than ever of increasing the size of primordial follicle pool, improving ovarian function and delaying ovarian consenescence. Traditional view holds that stem cell aging contributes to the senility of body and organs. However, in the process of ovarian aging, the main factor leading to the decline of the reproductive function is the aging and degradation of ovarian stem cell nests, rather than the senescence of ovarian germ cells themselves. Recent studies have found that the immune system and circulatory system are involved in the formation of ovarian germline stem cell niches, as well as regulating the proliferation and differentiation of ovarian germline stem cells through cellular and hormonal signals. Therefore, we can improve ovarian function and delay ovarian aging by improving the immune system and circulatory system, which will provide an updated program for the treatment of premature ovarian failure (POF) and infertility. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Strategies for broadening participation in the Maryland Sea Grant REU program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moser, F. C.; Kramer, J.; Allen, J. R.

2011-12-01

A core goal of the ocean science community is to increase gender and ethnic diversity in its scientific workforce. Maryland Sea Grant strives to provide women and students from underrepresented groups in marine science opportunities to participate in its NSF-supported Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in estuarine processes. While women currently dominate the applicant student pool, and often the accepted student pool, we are trying a variety of strategies to increase the number of applicants and accepted students from underrepresented groups who might not otherwise be lured into marine science research and, ultimately, careers. For example, we have built partnerships with multicultural-focused undergraduate research programs and institutions, which can raise awareness about our REU program and its commitment to broadening diversity. Further, we work to attract first generation college students, students from small colleges with limited marine science opportunities and students from varied racial and ethnic backgrounds using such strategies as: 1) developing trust and partnerships with faculty at minority serving institutions; 2) expanding our outreach in advertising our program; 3) recruiting potential applicants at professional meetings; 4) targeting minority serving institutions within and beyond our region; 5) encouraging our REU alumni to promote our REU program among their peers; and 6) improving our application process. We believe these efforts contribute to the increase in the diversity of our summer-supported students and the change in the composition of our applicant pool over the last decade. Although we cannot definitively identify which strategies are the most effective at broadening participation in our program, we attribute most of our improvements to some combination of these strategies. In addition, pre- and post-surveying of our REU students improves our understanding of effective tools for recruiting and adapting our program to better serve a diversity of students and to promote a life-long interest in marine science. To help sustain long-term outcomes, we are exploring ways to work directly with minority-serving institutions to build 'bridging REU programs' that can train prospective REU students and thus enlarge the pool of potential applicants to recruit.

Impact of trends in primary, secondary, and postsecondary education on applications to medical school. II: considerations of race, ethnicity, and income.

PubMed

Cooper, Richard A

2003-09-01

The availability of sufficient numbers of qualified medical school applicants has been a periodic source of concern. Over the past few years, this concern has emerged again, as fewer men have applied to medical school and as the number of minority applicants has stagnated. This time, however, the cause for concern is greater, because these declining numbers coincide with a growing need for physicians and the possibility that medical school capacity will have to be expanded to avert future physician shortages. Against this background, applications by members of racial and ethnic minorities, who represent an increasing fraction of the college age population, become particularly important. The author reports the trends in education, over several decades, by members of the principal racial-ethnic groups-whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians-traces their participation from kindergarten through college, and projects the likelihood of their applying to medical school over the next two decades. (A companion article in this issue reports a parallel study from the standpoint of gender.) One prominent observation is the firm link between academic achievement in the earliest grades and success thereafter. A second is the profound influence of parents' education, income, and expectations at each step along the way. Inadequacies in either sphere erode the potential for children to reach college and to do so in ways that predict interest in and capacity for medical school. Yet, even when that potential emerges, inadequate finances deflect qualified high school and college students from the paths that lead to medical education. These factors weigh most heavily on black and Hispanic children, particularly boys, but are prevalent among whites, as well. Without aggressive education in the earliest years and without adequate financial support in the later years, it is not clear that there will be a sufficiently large pool of qualified applicants for the number of medical school seats that must exist in the future.

A Mechanistic Model of Waterfall Plunge Pool Erosion into Bedrock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheingross, Joel S.; Lamb, Michael P.

2017-11-01

Landscapes often respond to changes in climate and tectonics through the formation and upstream propagation of knickzones composed of waterfalls. Little work has been done on the mechanics of waterfall erosion, and instead most landscape-scale models neglect waterfalls or use rules for river erosion, such as stream power, that may not be applicable to waterfalls. Here we develop a physically based model to predict waterfall plunge pool erosion into rock by abrasion from particle impacts and test the model against flume experiments. Both the model and experiments show that evolving plunge pools have initially high vertical erosion rates due to energetic particle impacts, and erosion slows and eventually ceases as pools deepen and deposition protects the pool floor from further erosion. Lateral erosion can continue after deposition on the pool floor, but it occurs at slow rates that become negligible as pools widen. Our work points to the importance of vertical drilling of successive plunge pools to drive upstream knickzone propagation in homogenous rock, rather than the classic mechanism of headwall undercutting. For a series of vertically drilling waterfalls, we find that upstream knickzone propagation is faster under higher combined water and sediment fluxes and for knickzones composed of many waterfalls that are closely spaced. Our model differs significantly from stream-power-based erosion rules in that steeper knickzones can retreat faster or more slowly depending on the number and spacing of waterfalls within a knickzone, which has implications for interpreting climatic and tectonic history through analysis of river longitudinal profiles.

Architecture, persistence and dissolution of a 20 to 45 year old trichloroethene DNAPL source zone.

PubMed

Rivett, Michael O; Dearden, Rachel A; Wealthall, Gary P

2014-12-01

A detailed field-scale investigation of processes controlling the architecture, persistence and dissolution of a 20 to 45year old trichloroethene (TCE) dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zone located within a heterogeneous sand/gravel aquifer at a UK industrial site is presented. The source zone was partially enclosed by a 3-sided cell that allowed detailed longitudinal/fence transect monitoring along/across a controlled streamtube of flow induced by an extraction well positioned at the cell closed end. Integrated analysis of high-resolution DNAPL saturation (Sn) (from cores), dissolved-phase plume concentration (from multilevel samplers), tracer test and permeability datasets was undertaken. DNAPL architecture was determined from soil concentration data using partitioning calculations. DNAPL threshold soil concentrations and low Sn values calculated were sensitive to sorption assumptions. An outcome of this was the uncertainty in demarcation of secondary source zone diffused and sorbed mass that is distinct from trace amounts of low Sn DNAPL mass. The majority of source mass occurred within discrete lenses or pools of DNAPL associated with low permeability geological units. High residual saturation (Sn>10-20%) and pools (Sn>20%) together accounted for almost 40% of the DNAPL mass, but only 3% of the sampled source volume. High-saturation DNAPL lenses/pools were supported by lower permeability layers, but with DNAPL still primarily present within slightly more permeable overlying units. These lenses/pools exhibited approximately linearly declining Sn profiles with increasing elevation ascribed to preferential dissolution of the uppermost DNAPL. Bi-component partitioning calculations on soil samples confirmed that the dechlorination product cDCE (cis-dichloroethene) was accumulating in the TCE DNAPL. Estimated cDCE mole fractions in the DNAPL increased towards the DNAPL interface with the uppermost mole fraction of 0.04 comparable to literature laboratory data. DNAPL dissolution yielded heterogeneous dissolved-phase plumes of TCE and its dechlorination products that exhibited orders of magnitude local concentration variation. TCE solubility concentrations were relatively localised, but coincident with high saturation DNAPL lens source areas. Biotic dechlorination in the source zone area, however, caused cDCE to be the dominant dissolved-phase plume. The conservative tracer test usefully confirmed the continuity of a permeable gravel unit at depth through the source zone. Although this unit offered significant opportunity for DNAPL bypassing and decreased timeframes for dechlorination, it still transmitted a significant proportion of the contaminant flux. This was attributed to dissolution of DNAPL-mudstone aquitard associated sources at the base of the continuous gravel as well as contaminated groundwater from surrounding less permeable sand and gravel horizons draining into this permeable conduit. The cell extraction well provided an integrated metric of source zone dissolution yielding a mean concentration of around 45% TCE solubility (taking into account dechlorination) that was equivalent to a DNAPL mass removal rate of 0.4tonnes per annum over a 16m(2) cell cross sectional area of flow. This is a significant flux considering the source age and observed occurrence of much of the source mass within discrete lenses/pools. We advocate the need for further detailed field-scale studies on old DNAPL source zones that better resolve persistent pool/lens features and are of prolonged duration to assess the ageing of source zones. Such studies would further underpin the application of more surgical remediation technologies. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Architecture, persistence and dissolution of a 20 to 45 year old trichloroethene DNAPL source zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivett, Michael O.; Dearden, Rachel A.; Wealthall, Gary P.

2014-12-01

A detailed field-scale investigation of processes controlling the architecture, persistence and dissolution of a 20 to 45 year old trichloroethene (TCE) dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zone located within a heterogeneous sand/gravel aquifer at a UK industrial site is presented. The source zone was partially enclosed by a 3-sided cell that allowed detailed longitudinal/fence transect monitoring along/across a controlled streamtube of flow induced by an extraction well positioned at the cell closed end. Integrated analysis of high-resolution DNAPL saturation (Sn) (from cores), dissolved-phase plume concentration (from multilevel samplers), tracer test and permeability datasets was undertaken. DNAPL architecture was determined from soil concentration data using partitioning calculations. DNAPL threshold soil concentrations and low Sn values calculated were sensitive to sorption assumptions. An outcome of this was the uncertainty in demarcation of secondary source zone diffused and sorbed mass that is distinct from trace amounts of low Sn DNAPL mass. The majority of source mass occurred within discrete lenses or pools of DNAPL associated with low permeability geological units. High residual saturation (Sn > 10-20%) and pools (Sn > 20%) together accounted for almost 40% of the DNAPL mass, but only 3% of the sampled source volume. High-saturation DNAPL lenses/pools were supported by lower permeability layers, but with DNAPL still primarily present within slightly more permeable overlying units. These lenses/pools exhibited approximately linearly declining Sn profiles with increasing elevation ascribed to preferential dissolution of the uppermost DNAPL. Bi-component partitioning calculations on soil samples confirmed that the dechlorination product cDCE (cis-dichloroethene) was accumulating in the TCE DNAPL. Estimated cDCE mole fractions in the DNAPL increased towards the DNAPL interface with the uppermost mole fraction of 0.04 comparable to literature laboratory data. DNAPL dissolution yielded heterogeneous dissolved-phase plumes of TCE and its dechlorination products that exhibited orders of magnitude local concentration variation. TCE solubility concentrations were relatively localised, but coincident with high saturation DNAPL lens source areas. Biotic dechlorination in the source zone area, however, caused cDCE to be the dominant dissolved-phase plume. The conservative tracer test usefully confirmed the continuity of a permeable gravel unit at depth through the source zone. Although this unit offered significant opportunity for DNAPL bypassing and decreased timeframes for dechlorination, it still transmitted a significant proportion of the contaminant flux. This was attributed to dissolution of DNAPL-mudstone aquitard associated sources at the base of the continuous gravel as well as contaminated groundwater from surrounding less permeable sand and gravel horizons draining into this permeable conduit. The cell extraction well provided an integrated metric of source zone dissolution yielding a mean concentration of around 45% TCE solubility (taking into account dechlorination) that was equivalent to a DNAPL mass removal rate of 0.4 tonnes per annum over a 16 m2 cell cross sectional area of flow. This is a significant flux considering the source age and observed occurrence of much of the source mass within discrete lenses/pools. We advocate the need for further detailed field-scale studies on old DNAPL source zones that better resolve persistent pool/lens features and are of prolonged duration to assess the ageing of source zones. Such studies would further underpin the application of more surgical remediation technologies.

77 FR 16025 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-19

...: Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc. Description: Amendment to Application of Wolverine Power Supply...: ER12-547-001. Applicants: Auburndale Power Partners, Limited Partnership. Description: Auburndale Power...: ISO New England Inc., New England Power Pool Participants Committee. Description: Revisions to FCM...

The implications of reduced metabolic rate in resource-limited corals.

PubMed

Jacobson, Lianne M; Edmunds, Peter J; Muller, Erik B; Nisbet, Roger M

2016-03-01

Many organisms exhibit depressed metabolism when resources are limited, a change that makes it possible to balance an energy budget. For symbiotic reef corals, daily cycles of light and periods of intense cloud cover can be chronic causes of food limitation through reduced photosynthesis. Furthermore, coral bleaching is common in present-day reefs, creating a context in which metabolic depression could have beneficial value to corals. In the present study, corals (massive Porites spp.) were exposed to an extreme case of resource limitation by starving them of food and light for 20 days. When resources were limited, the corals depressed area-normalized respiration to 37% of initial rates, and coral biomass declined to 64% of initial amounts, yet the corals continued to produce skeletal mass. However, the declines in biomass cannot account for the declines in area-normalized respiration, as mass-specific respiration declined to 30% of the first recorded time point. Thus, these corals appear to be capable of metabolic depression. It is possible that some coral species are better able to depress metabolic rates than others; such variation could explain differential survival during conditions that limit resources (e.g. shading). Furthermore, we found that maintenance of existing biomass, in part, supports the production of skeletal mass. This association could be explained if maintenance supplies needed energy (e.g. ATP) or inorganic carbon (i.e. CO2) that otherwise limits the production of skeletal mass. Finally, the observed metabolic depression can be explained as a change in pool sizes, and does not require a change in metabolic rules. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Age-related decline in mitochondrial DNA copy number in isolated human pancreatic islets.

PubMed

Cree, L M; Patel, S K; Pyle, A; Lynn, S; Turnbull, D M; Chinnery, P F; Walker, M

2008-08-01

Pancreatic beta cell function has been shown to decline with age in man. Depletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number is associated with impaired insulin secretion in pancreatic beta cell lines, and decreased mtDNA copy number has been observed with age in skeletal muscle in man. We investigated whether mtDNA copy number decreases with age in human pancreatic beta cells, which might in turn contribute to the age-related decline in insulin secretory capacity. We quantified mtDNA copy number in isolated human islet preparations from 15 pancreas donors aged between 17 and 75 years. Islets (n = 20) were individually hand-picked and pooled from each donor isolate for the quantification of mtDNA copy number and deleted mtDNA (%), which were determined using real-time PCR methods. There was a significant negative correlation between mtDNA copy number and islet donor age (r = -0.53, p = 0.044). mtDNA copy number was significantly decreased in islet preparations from donors aged > or =50 years (n = 8) compared with those aged <50 years (n = 7) (median [interquartile range]: 418 [236-503] vs 596 [554-729] mtDNA copy number/diploid genome; p = 0.032). None of the islet preparations harboured high levels of deleted mtDNA affecting the major arc. Given the correlation between mtDNA content and respiratory chain activity, the age-related decrease in mtDNA copy number that we observed in human pancreatic islet preparations may contribute to the age-dependent decline in pancreatic beta cell insulin secretory capacity.

Recruitment order of motor units in human vastus lateralis muscle is maintained during fatiguing contractions.

PubMed

Adam, Alexander; De Luca, Carlo J

2003-11-01

Motor-unit firing patterns were studied in the vastus lateralis muscle of five healthy young men [21.4 +/- 0.9 (SD) yr] during a series of isometric knee extensions performed to exhaustion. Each contraction was held at a constant torque level, set to 20% of the maximal voluntary contraction at the beginning of the experiment. Electromyographic signals, recorded via a quadrifilar fine wire electrode, were processed with the precision decomposition technique to identify the firing times of individual motor units. In repeat experiments, whole-muscle mechanical properties were measured during the fatigue protocol using electrical stimulation. The main findings were a monotonic decrease in the recruitment threshold of all motor units and the progressive recruitment of new units, all without a change of the recruitment order. Motor units from the same subject showed a similar time course of threshold decline, but this decline varied among subjects (mean threshold decrease ranged from 23 to 73%). The mean threshold decline was linearly correlated (R2 >or= 0.96) with a decline in the elicited peak tetanic torque. In summary, the maintenance of recruitment order during fatigue strongly supports the notion that the observed common recruitment adaptations were a direct consequence of an increased excitatory drive to the motor unit pool. It is suggested that the increased central drive was necessary to compensate for the loss in force output from motor units whose muscle fibers were actively contracting. We therefore conclude that the control scheme of motor-unit recruitment remains invariant during fatigue at least in relatively large muscles performing submaximal isometric contractions.

75 FR 23238 - Notice of Deadline Extension To Receive Nominations for the National Advisory Council on Minority...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-03

... received many applications and is still considering all applications received to date, the Agency is... broader applicant pool to reflect greater ethnic, gender, and industry diversity. The requirements for... following materials: (1) Resume, (2) personal statement of interest, including a summary of how the nominee...

75 FR 27301 - Notice of the Re-Opening of the Deadline To Receive Nominations for the National Advisory Council...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-14

... has received many applications and is still considering all applications received to date, the Agency... have a broader applicant pool to reflect greater ethnic, gender, and industry diversity. Persons who... practicable, gender and persons with disabilities. NACMBE members shall be appointed as Special Government...

Size and age of the non structural carbohydrate pool in boreal trees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czimczik, C. I.; Trumbore, S.

2005-12-01

Autotrophic respiration of trees is supposed to be closely linked to CO2 uptake by photosynthesis on a time scale of days. However, several studies have indicated that roots of boreal trees do not respired carbon (C) with a radiocarbon signature Δ14C similar to that of CO2 in the atmosphere, but C that is 3-4 years old. Also, estimates of gross primary productivity obtained by eddy covariance flux measurements do often not correlate with tree ring width (growth). Both these findings point to the presences of a large non-structural C (NSC) pool within the tree, mainly sugars and starches. The concentration of NSC in tree tissue is considered a measure of C shortage or surplus for growth. Studies indicate that the NSC pool in trees is usually large and relatively constant throughout the year, not affected by e.g. leaf flushing. While estimates of the size of the NSC pool are available for a number of trees from various ecosystems, estimated of its turnover time are lacking. We tested if our finding that boreal trees respire 3-4 year old C is an artifact resulting from the depletion of the NSC pool in excised roots over time. We incubated roots with a diameter of 2-4 mm while they were still attached to the tree, and excised roots after 3 hours, and 1 to 4 days. We sampled CO2 for Δ14C analysis of intact roots, freshly excised roots, and after 1 and 3 days. To obtain an estimate of the NSC pool size and its turnover time in roots of various diameter, we excised and incubated roots of 3 diameters: root hairs with mycorrhizal fungi, 2-4 mm, and 1-2 cm. We followed their respiration over the course of one full day. We will also compare the Δ14C of respired CO2 of freshly root hairs to that of the NSC in the roots. To obtain an estimate of the size and turnover of the whole tree NSC pool, we will measure the Δ14C of NSC in wood. Preliminary results indicate that CO2 fluxes were not correlated to temperature or the initial CO2 concentration in the chamber. While CO2 fluxes of medium and coarse roots remained relatively constant over 4 days, the respiration rates of root hairs declined sharply within the first 24 hours.

Entrofy: Participant Selection Made Easy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huppenkothen, Daniela

2016-03-01

Selection participants for a workshop out of a much larger applicant pool can be a difficult task, especially when the goal is diversifying over a range of criteria (e.g. academic seniority, research field, skill levels, gender etc). In this talk I am presenting our tool, Entrofy, aimed at aiding organizers in this task. Entrofy is an open-source tool using a maximum entropy-based algorithm that aims to select a set of participants out of the applicant pool such that a pre-defined range of criteria are globally maximized. This approach allows for a potentially more transparent and less biased selection process while encouraging organizers to think deeply about the goals and the process of their participant selection.

The 'graying' of group health insurance.

PubMed

Keenan, Patricia Seliger; Cutler, David M; Chernew, Michael

2006-01-01

We examine differential declines in private insurance by income and age. We show that older, higher-income people in working families are more likely to retain private coverage as premiums rise, and we project these effects on future coverage rates. The analysis suggests that trends are leading to the "graying" of the employment-based health insurance system, where older, higher-income people get private health insurance, and others increasingly have public coverage or go without. These changes raise questions about the private health care system's ability to pool health risks. Population aging could interact with rising premiums and place additional pressure on an already strained employment-based health insurance system.

Epigenetic Control of Stem Cell Potential During Homeostasis, Aging, and Disease

PubMed Central

Beerman, Isabel; Rossi, Derrick J.

2015-01-01

Stem cell decline is an important cellular driver of aging-associated pathophysiology in multiple tissues. Epigenetic regulation is central to establishing and maintaining stem cell function, and emerging evidence indicates that epigenetic dysregulation contributes to the altered potential of stem cells during aging. Unlike terminally differentiated cells, the impact of epigenetic dysregulation in stem cells is propagated beyond self; alterations can be heritably transmitted to differentiated progeny, in addition to being perpetuated and amplified within the stem cell pool through self-renewal divisions. This review focuses on recent studies examining epigenetic regulation of tissue-specific stem cells in homeostasis, aging, and aging-related disease. PMID:26046761

Hemorrhagic Shock and Surgical Stress Alter Distribution of Labile Zinc within High and Low Molecular Weight Plasma Fractions

PubMed Central

Kelly, Edward; Mathew, Jeff; Kohler, Jonathan E.; Blass, Amy L.; Soybel, David I.

2012-01-01

Zinc ions (Zn2+) are essential for tissue repair following injury or stress. We hypothesize that during such stresses Zn2+ is redistributed to labile pools in plasma components. Here we tested this hypothesis utilizing a novel assay to monitor labile Zn2+ in plasma in hemorrhagic shock. Adult rats in the Shock (S) group underwent hemorrhage and resuscitation. Blood samples were drawn at baseline, 1 hr, 4 hrs and 24 hrs. The Surgical Control (SC) group was anesthetized and instrumented, but not bled. Albumin, total Zn2+, and labile Zn2+ levels were assayed in plasma. Binding capacity for Zn2+ was assessed in high (HMW) and low (LMW) molecular weight pools. Significant decreases in total Zn2+ were observed by 24 hrs, in both S and SC groups. Albumin levels were significantly reduced in the S group at 1 hr and 4 hr but restored at 24 hrs; significant changes were not observed in other groups. In whole plasma, labile Zn2+ levels were stable initially in the S and SC groups, but declined at 24 hrs. In the HMW pool, marked and significant impairment of binding was noted throughout all time periods following the shock period in the S group. Such changes were observed in the SC group of less intensity and duration. These experiments suggest that Shock alters affinity of plasma proteins for Zn2+, promoting delivery to peripheral tissues during periods of increased Zn2+ utilization. PMID:22744307

Hemorrhagic shock and surgical stress alter distribution of labile zinc within high- and low-molecular-weight plasma fractions.

PubMed

Kelly, Edward; Mathew, Jeff; Kohler, Jonathan E; Blass, Amy L; Soybel, And David I

2012-08-01

Zinc ions (Zn) are essential for tissue repair following injury or stress. We hypothesize that during such stresses Zn is redistributed to labile pools in plasma components. Here we tested this hypothesis using a novel assay to monitor labile Zn in plasma in hemorrhagic shock. Adult rats in the shock group (S group) underwent hemorrhage and resuscitation. Blood samples were drawn at baseline and at 1, 4, and 24 h. The surgical control group (SC group) was anesthetized and instrumented, but not bled. Albumin, total Zn, and labile Zn levels were assayed in plasma. Binding capacity for Zn was assessed in high- and low-molecular-weight pools. Significant decreases in total Zn were observed by 24 h, in both S and SC groups. Albumin levels were significantly reduced in the S group at 1 and 4 h but restored at 24 h; significant changes were not observed in other groups. In whole plasma, labile Zn levels were stable initially in the S and SC groups, but declined at 24 h. In the high-molecular-weight pool, marked and significant impairment of binding was noted throughout all time periods following the shock period in the S group. Such changes were observed in the SC group of less intensity and duration. These experiments suggest that shock alters affinity of plasma proteins for Zn, promoting delivery to peripheral tissues during periods of increased Zn utilization.

No evidence for depletion of carbohydrate pools in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) under drought stress

PubMed Central

Gruber, A.; Pirkebner, D.; Florian, C.; Oberhuber, W.

2012-01-01

The physiological mechanisms leading to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) decline in the dry inner Alpine valleys are still unknown. Testing the carbon starvation hypothesis, we analysed the seasonal course of mobile carbohydrate pools (NSC) of Scots pine growing at a xeric and a dry-mesic site within an inner Alpine dry valley (750 m a.s.l., Tyrol, Austria) during the year 2009, which was characterized by exceptional soil dryness. Although, soil moisture content dropped to c. 10% at both sites during the growing season, NSC concentrations were rising in all tissues (branch, stem, root) till end of July, except in needles where maxima were reached around bud break. NSC concentrations were not significantly different in the analysed tissues at the xeric and the dry-mesic site. At the dry-mesic site NSC concentrations in the above ground tree biomass were significantly higher during the period of radial growth. An accumulation of NSC in roots at the end of July indicates a change in carbon allocation after an early cessation in above ground growth, possibly due to elevated below ground carbon demand. In conclusion our results revealed that extensive soil dryness during the growing season did not lead to carbon depletion. However, even though C-reserves were not exhausted, a sequestration of carbohydrate pools during drought periods might lead to deficits in carbon supply that weaken tree vigour and drive tree mortality. PMID:21974742

Physiological Responses of Bryophytes Thuidium tamariscinum and Hylocomium splendens to Increased Nitrogen Deposition

PubMed Central

Koranda, M.; Kerschbaum, S.; Wanek, W.; Zechmeister, H.; Richter, A.

2007-01-01

Background and Aims Increased levels of nitrogen (N) deposition lead to enhanced N contents and reduced productivity of many bryophyte species. This study aimed at elucidating the mechanisms by which enhanced N uptake may cause growth reduction of bryophytes, focusing on the effects of N addition on carbon (C) metabolism of bryophytes. Methods Plantlets of Thuidium tamariscinum and Hylocomium splendens were fertilized with NH4NO3 (N load equalling 30 kg ha−1 year−1) for 80 d, including a pulse labelling experiment with 13CO2 to dissect the partitioning of carbon in response to N addition. Key Results Growth of T. tamariscinum was not affected by N addition, while H. splendens showed a trend towards growth reduction. Total N concentration was significantly increased by N addition in H. splendens, a significant increase in amino acid-N was found in T. tamariscinum only. In both bryophyte species, a reduction in concentration of lipids, the greatest C storage pool, as well as markedly enhanced turnover rates of C storage pools in fertilized plants were observed. Conclusions The results suggest that growth reduction of H. splendens under high levels of N deposition may be caused by enhanced synthesis of N-containing organic compounds, most probably of cell wall proteins. Disturbance of cellular C metabolism, as indicated by enhanced C pool turnover, may further contribute to the decline in productivity of H. splendens. PMID:17101638

Thyroid Cancer after Childhood Exposure to External Radiation: An Updated Pooled Analysis of 12 Studies

PubMed Central

Veiga, Lene H. S.; Holmberg, Erik; Anderson, Harald; Pottern, Linda; Sadetzki, Siegal; Adams, M. Jacob; Sakata, Ritsu; Schneider, Arthur B.; Inskip, Peter; Bhatti, Parveen; Johansson, Robert; Neta, Gila; Shore, Roy; de Vathaire, Florent; Damber, Lena; Kleinerman, Ruth; Hawkins, Michael M.; Tucker, Margaret; Lundell, Marie; Lubin, Jay H.

2016-01-01

Studies have causally linked external thyroid radiation exposure in childhood with thyroid cancer. In 1995, investigators conducted relative risk analyses of pooled data from seven epidemiologic studies. Doses were mostly <10 Gy, although childhood cancer therapies can result in thyroid doses >50 Gy. We pooled data from 12 studies of thyroid cancer patients who were exposed to radiation in childhood (ages <20 years), more than doubling the data, including 1,070 (927 exposed) thyroid cancers and 5.3 million (3.4 million exposed) person-years. Relative risks increased supralinearly through 2–4 Gy, leveled off between 10–30 Gy and declined thereafter, remaining significantly elevated above 50 Gy. There was a significant relative risk trend for doses <0.10 Gy (P < 0.01), with no departure from linearity (P = 0.36). We observed radiogenic effects for both papillary and nonpapillary tumors. Estimates of excess relative risk per Gy (ERR/Gy) were homogeneous by sex (P = 0.35) and number of radiation treatments (P = 0.84) and increased with decreasing age at the time of exposure. The ERR/Gy estimate was significant within ten years of radiation exposure, 2.76 (95% CI, 0.94–4.98), based on 42 exposed cases, and remained elevated 50 years and more after exposure. Finally, exposure to chemotherapy was significantly associated with thyroid cancer, with results supporting a nonsynergistic (additive) association with radiation. PMID:27128740

Warm Water Pools of the Western Caribbean and Eastern Tropical Pacific: Their Influence on Intraseasonal Rainfall Regimes and Tropical Storm Activity in Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douglas, A. V.; Englehart, P. J.

2007-05-01

A dipole in tropical cyclone development between the Caribbean and the eastern tropical Pacific will be examined relative to its affect on southern Mexican rainfall. With the change over in the AMO and PDO in 1994 and 1998, respectively, tropical storm genesis has been increasing in the Caribbean while declining in the tropical east Pacific. This dipole in tropical cyclone development appears to be related to changes in the pre storm season heat content of the two ocean basins (data Scripps Institution of Oceanography). Preliminary work indicates that if the Caribbean is warmer than the Pacific by late May the dipole will be accentuated with a pronounced decrease in tropical storms in the east Pacific with an early and prolonged season in the Caribbean. In recent years there appears to have been an increase in the intensity and duration of midsummer drought (Canicula) in Mexico associated with changes in the PDO and AMO. These long term ocean oscillations appear to control the dipole in the strength of the Caribbean and East Pacific warm pools. Mid summer drought is a normal occurrence in much of Mexico and Central America, but the intensified droughts of the recent period have stressed the agricultural community of the region. Based on preliminary work, it appears that the recent increased frequency of midsummer drought can be linked to a shift in the warmest pool from the East Pacific to the Caribbean.

No evidence for depletion of carbohydrate pools in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) under drought stress.

PubMed

Gruber, A; Pirkebner, D; Florian, C; Oberhuber, W

2012-01-01

The physiological mechanisms leading to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) decline in the dry inner alpine valleys are still unknown. Testing the carbon starvation hypothesis, we analysed the seasonal course of mobile carbohydrate pools (NSC) of Scots pine growing at a xeric and a dry-mesic site within an inner alpine dry valley (750 m a.s.l., Tyrol, Austria) during 2009, which was characterised by exceptional soil dryness. Although, soil moisture content dropped to ca. 10% at both sites during the growing season, NSC concentrations rose in all tissues (branch, stem, root) until the end of July, except in needles, where maxima were reached around bud break. NSC concentrations were not significantly different in the analysed tissues at the xeric and the dry-mesic site. At the dry-mesic site, NSC concentrations in the aboveground tree biomass were significantly higher during the period of radial growth. An accumulation of NSC in roots at the end of July indicates a change in carbon allocation after an early cessation in aboveground growth, possibly due to elevated belowground carbon demand. In conclusion, our results revealed that extensive soil dryness during the growing season did not lead to carbon depletion. However, even though carbon reserves were not exhausted, sequestration of carbohydrate pools during drought periods might lead to deficits in carbon supply that weaken tree vigour and drive tree mortality. © 2011 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

In-depth genome characterization of a Brazilian common bean core collection using DArTseq high-density SNP genotyping.

PubMed

Valdisser, Paula A M R; Pereira, Wendell J; Almeida Filho, Jâneo E; Müller, Bárbara S F; Coelho, Gesimária R C; de Menezes, Ivandilson P P; Vianna, João P G; Zucchi, Maria I; Lanna, Anna C; Coelho, Alexandre S G; de Oliveira, Jaison P; Moraes, Alessandra da Cunha; Brondani, Claudio; Vianello, Rosana P

2017-05-30

Common bean is a legume of social and nutritional importance as a food crop, cultivated worldwide especially in developing countries, accounting for an important source of income for small farmers. The availability of the complete sequences of the two common bean genomes has dramatically accelerated and has enabled new experimental strategies to be applied for genetic research. DArTseq has been widely used as a method of SNP genotyping allowing comprehensive genome coverage with genetic applications in common bean breeding programs. Using this technology, 6286 SNPs (1 SNP/86.5 Kbp) were genotyped in genic (43.3%) and non-genic regions (56.7%). Genetic subdivision associated to the common bean gene pools (K = 2) and related to grain types (K = 3 and K = 5) were reported. A total of 83% and 91% of all SNPs were polymorphic within the Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools, respectively, and 26% were able to differentiate the gene pools. Genetic diversity analysis revealed an average H E of 0.442 for the whole collection, 0.102 for Andean and 0.168 for Mesoamerican gene pools (F ST  = 0.747 between gene pools), 0.440 for the group of cultivars and lines, and 0.448 for the group of landrace accessions (F ST  = 0.002 between cultivar/line and landrace groups). The SNP effects were predicted with predominance of impact on non-coding regions (77.8%). SNPs under selection were identified within gene pools comparing landrace and cultivar/line germplasm groups (Andean: 18; Mesoamerican: 69) and between the gene pools (59 SNPs), predominantly on chromosomes 1 and 9. The LD extension estimate corrected for population structure and relatedness (r 2 SV ) was ~ 88 kbp, while for the Andean gene pool was ~ 395 kbp, and for the Mesoamerican was ~ 130 kbp. For common bean, DArTseq provides an efficient and cost-effective strategy of generating SNPs for large-scale genome-wide studies. The DArTseq resulted in an operational panel of 560 polymorphic SNPs in linkage equilibrium, providing high genome coverage. This SNP set could be used in genotyping platforms with many applications, such as population genetics, phylogeny relation between common bean varieties and support to molecular breeding approaches.

Novel Method of Production Decline Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Shan; Lan, Yifei; He, Lei; Jiao, Yang; Wu, Yong

2018-02-01

ARPS decline curves is the most commonly used in oil and gas field due to its minimal data requirements and ease application. And prediction of production decline which is based on ARPS analysis rely on known decline type. However, when coefficient index are very approximate under different decline type, it is difficult to directly recognize decline trend of matched curves. Due to difficulties above, based on simulation results of multi-factor response experiments, a new dynamic decline prediction model is introduced with using multiple linear regression of influence factors. First of all, according to study of effect factors of production decline, interaction experimental schemes are designed. Based on simulated results, annual decline rate is predicted by decline model. Moreover, the new method is applied in A gas filed of Ordos Basin as example to illustrate reliability. The result commit that the new model can directly predict decline tendency without needing recognize decline style. From arithmetic aspect, it also take advantage of high veracity. Finally, the new method improves the evaluation method of gas well production decline in low permeability gas reservoir, which also provides technical support for further understanding of tight gas field development laws.

Ecological observations on the colonial ascidian Didemnum sp. in a New England tide pool habitat

USGS Publications Warehouse

Valentine, P.C.; Carman, M.R.; Blackwood, D.S.; Heffron, E.J.

2007-01-01

The colonial ascidian Didemnum sp. has colonized northwestern Atlantic coastal habitats from southern Long Island, New York, to Eastport, Maine. It is also present in offshore habitats of the Georges Bank fishing grounds. It threatens to alter fisheries habitats and shellfish aquacultures. Observations in a tide pool at Sandwich, MA from December 2003 to February 2006 show that Didemnum sp. tolerates water temperatures ranging from ≤ 1 to > 24 °C, with daily changes of up to 11 °C. It attaches to pebbles, cobbles, and boulders, and it overgrows other tunicates, seaweeds, sponges, and bivalves. From May to mid July, colonies appear as small patches on the bottoms of rocks. Colonies grow rapidly from July to September, with some growth into December, and they range in color from pink to pale yellow to pale orange. Colony health declines from October through April, presumably in response to changes in water temperatures, and this degenerative process is manifested by color changes, by the appearance of small dark brown spots that represent clumps of fecal pellets in the colony, by scavenging by periwinkles, and by a peeling-away of colonies from the sides of cobbles and boulders. At Sandwich, colonies died that were exposed to air at low tide. The species does not exhibit this seasonal cycle of growth and decline in subtidal habitats (40–65 m) on the Georges Bank fishing grounds where the daily climate is relatively stable and annual water temperatures range from 4 to 15 °C. Experiments in the tide pool with small colony fragments (5 to 9 cm2) show they re-attach and grow rapidly by asexual budding, increasing in size 6- to 11-fold in the first 15 days. Didemnum sp. at Sandwich has no known predators except for common periwinkles (Littorina littorea) that graze on degenerating colonies in the October to April time period and whenever colonies are stressed by desiccation. The tendencies of the ascidian (1) to attach to firm substrates, (2) to rapidly overgrow other species, (3) to tolerate a wide temperature range, (4) to be free from predation, and (5) to spread by colony fragmentation combine to make it a potential threat to benthic marine habitats and aquacultures. Didemnum sp. is known to overgrow mussels, oysters, and sea scallops, and it likely envelops other bivalves too.

Application research of computational mass-transfer differential equation in MBR concentration field simulation.

PubMed

Li, Chunqing; Tie, Xiaobo; Liang, Kai; Ji, Chanjuan

2016-01-01

After conducting the intensive research on the distribution of fluid's velocity and biochemical reactions in the membrane bioreactor (MBR), this paper introduces the use of the mass-transfer differential equation to simulate the distribution of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration in MBR membrane pool. The solutions are as follows: first, use computational fluid dynamics to establish a flow control equation model of the fluid in MBR membrane pool; second, calculate this model by adopting direct numerical simulation to get the velocity field of the fluid in membrane pool; third, combine the data of velocity field to establish mass-transfer differential equation model for the concentration field in MBR membrane pool, and use Seidel iteration method to solve the equation model; last but not least, substitute the real factory data into the velocity and concentration field model to calculate simulation results, and use visualization software Tecplot to display the results. Finally by analyzing the nephogram of COD concentration distribution, it can be found that the simulation result conforms the distribution rule of the COD's concentration in real membrane pool, and the mass-transfer phenomenon can be affected by the velocity field of the fluid in membrane pool. The simulation results of this paper have certain reference value for the design optimization of the real MBR system.

Application of welding science to welding engineering: A lumped parameter gas metal arc welding dynamic process model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murray, P.E.; Smartt, H.B.; Johnson, J.A.

1997-12-31

We develop a model of the depth of penetration of the weld pool in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) which demonstrates interaction between the arc, filler wire and weld pool. This model is motivated by the observations of Essers and Walter which suggest a relationship between droplet momentum and penetration depth. A model of gas metal arc welding was augmented to include an improved model of mass transfer and a simple model of accelerating droplets in a plasma jet to obtain the mass and momentum of impinging droplets. The force of the droplets and depth of penetration is correlated bymore » a dimensionless linear relation used to predict weld pool depth for a range of values of arc power and contact tip to workpiece distance. Model accuracy is examined by comparing theoretical predictions and experimental measurements of the pool depth obtained from bead on plate welds of carbon steel in an argon rich shielding gas. Moreover, theoretical predictions of pool depth are compared to the results obtained from the heat conduction model due to Christensen et al. which suggest that in some cases the momentum of impinging droplets is a better indicator of the depth of the weld pool and the presence of a deep, narrow penetration.« less

Studying longterm effects of micro gravity on basic immune functions - The development of an application based on the measuring of phagocytosis activity of Blue Mussel hemocytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unruh, Eckehardt

The immunsystem of astronauts exposed to microgravity is declining. Whether this effect is caused by microgravity or in combination with cosmic radiation is so far not clear. The immune system of vertebrates has several defence strategies but the basic immune response (Phagocytosis) is present as well in invertebrates. Phagocytotic cells are drawn by chemotaxis to the origin of an infection. By adhesion, ingestion and phagosome formation foreign particles, bacteria etc are transported inside of a cell were they are destroyed by native powerful biocides. Related to this biocide production is the formation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). ROS can be measured by luminescence. The effects of microgravity will be simultaneously tested by exposure of phagocytotic hemocytes on orbit under microgravity, artificial gravity and, on ground under natural gravity. To address this purpose defined pools of Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis) hemocytes will be launched frozen to the ISS. References for all batches will stay on ground. Shortly after arrival and then in three-month intervals batches of the same pool will be thawed and reconstituted. The phagocytosis related production of ROS will be stimulated with opsonized Zymosan. Luminescence will be measured and the data will be sent to ground. The experiment is scheduled for the Columbus Biolab early 2009. In preparation of this flight experiments the following procedures were investigated and the results will be presented: - a protocol for the cryoconservation and reconstituton of blue mussel hemocytes. - preliminary results of phagocytosis activity by reconstituted hemocytes after cryo-conservation and hemocytes without cryo-conservation treatment. The TRIPLELUX-B Experiment contributes to risk assessment concerning longterm immunotoxicity under space flight conditions. The immune system of invertebrates has not been studied so far in space. The choice of the phagocytes from invertebrates is justified by the claim to study the universal validity of innate immune responses.

Phosphorus in global agricultural soils: spatially explicit modelling of soil phosphorus and crop uptake for 1900 to 2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Beusen, A.; Bouwman, L.; Apeldoorn, D. V.; Yu, C.

2016-12-01

Phosphorus (P) plays a vital role in global crop production and food security. To explore the global P status of soils, in this study we developed a spatially explicit version of a two-pool dynamic soil P model at 0.5°resolution. With this model, we analyzed the historical changes of soil P inputs (including manure and inorganic P fertilizer) from 1900 to 2010, reproduced the historical crop P uptake, calculated the phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) and conducted a comprehensive inventory of soil P pools and P budgets (deficit and surplus) in global soils under croplands. Our results suggest that the spatially explicit model is capable of simulating the long-term soil P budget changes and crop uptake, with model simulations closely matching historical P uptake for cropland in all countries. The global P inputs from fertilizers and manure increased from 2 Tg P in 1900 to 23 Tg P in 2010 with great variation across different regions and countries of the world. The magnitude of crop uptake has also changed rapidly over the 20th century: according to our model, crop P uptake per hectare in Western Europe increased by more than three times while the total soil P stock per hectare increased by close to 37% due to long-term P surplus application, with a slight decrease in recent years. Croplands in China (total P per hectare slight decline during 1900-1970, +34% since 1970) and India (total P per hectare gradual increase by 14% since 1900, 6% since 1970) are currently in the phase of accumulation.The total soil P content per hectare in Sub-Saharan Africa has slightly decreased since 1900.Our model is a promising tool to analyze the changes in the soil P status and the capacity of soils to supply P to crops, including future projections of required nutrient inputs.

Assessing pooled BAC and whole genome shotgun strategies for assembly of complex genomes.

PubMed

Haiminen, Niina; Feltus, F Alex; Parida, Laxmi

2011-04-15

We investigate if pooling BAC clones and sequencing the pools can provide for more accurate assembly of genome sequences than the "whole genome shotgun" (WGS) approach. Furthermore, we quantify this accuracy increase. We compare the pooled BAC and WGS approaches using in silico simulations. Standard measures of assembly quality focus on assembly size and fragmentation, which are desirable for large whole genome assemblies. We propose additional measures enabling easy and visual comparison of assembly quality, such as rearrangements and redundant sequence content, relative to the known target sequence. The best assembly quality scores were obtained using 454 coverage of 15× linear and 5× paired (3kb insert size) reads (15L-5P) on Arabidopsis. This regime gave similarly good results on four additional plant genomes of very different GC and repeat contents. BAC pooling improved assembly scores over WGS assembly, coverage and redundancy scores improving the most. BAC pooling works better than WGS, however, both require a physical map to order the scaffolds. Pool sizes up to 12Mbp work well, suggesting this pooling density to be effective in medium-scale re-sequencing applications such as targeted sequencing of QTL intervals for candidate gene discovery. Assuming the current Roche/454 Titanium sequencing limitations, a 12 Mbp region could be re-sequenced with a full plate of linear reads and a half plate of paired-end reads, yielding 15L-5P coverage after read pre-processing. Our simulation suggests that massively over-sequencing may not improve accuracy. Our scoring measures can be used generally to evaluate and compare results of simulated genome assemblies.

Dixie Valley, Nevada playa bathymetry constructed from Landsat TM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groeneveld, David P.; Barz, David D.

2014-05-01

A bathymetry model was developed from a series of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images to assist discrimination of hydrologic processes on a low-relief, stable saline playa in Dixie Valley, Nevada, USA. The slope of the playa surface, established by field survey on a reference transect, enabled calculation of relative elevation of the edges of pooled brine mapped from Landsat TM5 band 5 reflectance (TMB5) in the 1.55-1.75 μm shortwave infrared region (SWIR) of the spectrum. A 0.02 TMB5 reflectance threshold accurately differentiated the shallow (1-2 mm depth) edges of pools. Isocontours of equal elevations of pool margins were mapped with the TMB5 threshold, forming concentric rings that were assigned relative elevations according to the position that the pool edges intersected the reference transect. These data were used to fit a digital elevation model and a curve for estimating pooled volume given the distance from the playa edge to the intersection of the pool edge with the reference transect. To project pooled volume using the bathymetric model for any TM snapshot, within a geographic information system, the 0.02 TMB5 threshold is first used to define the edge of the exposed brine. The distance of this edge from the playa edge along the reference transect is then measured and input to the bathymetric equation to yield pooled volume. Other satellite platforms with appropriate SWIR bands require calibration to Landsat TMB5. The method has applicability for filling reservoirs, bodies of water that fluctuate and especially bodies of water inaccessible to acoustic or sounding methods.

Modeling the resilience of Amazonian carbon pools under changing climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hajdu, L. H.; Friend, A. D.; Dolman, A. J.

2013-12-01

The rainfall in the Amazon basin is derived from a mixture of moisture convergence from the Atlantic Ocean and local recycling. Changes in the moisture convergence especially during El Nino episodes, strongly influence the interannual climate variability of the basin, potentially having a strong impact on the carbon pools in vegetation and soil, leading to a changes in the ecosystem of the Amazon basin. We used a 0-dimensional model of atmospheric convection (after D'Andrea et al. 2006) to generate realistic timeseries of temperature and precipitation by changing the moisture convergence from the Atlantic Ocean with implications for the stability of Amazonian rainfall. We chose this model because it relies on very few parameters, allowing us to perform numerous sensitivity tests in relatively short time. In this model total rainfall depends on the parameter expressing the external moisture flux and the intensity of convection. Here, two values of moisture convergence were used, one representative of a wet climate (1.4 mm day-1) and one representative of a dry climate (0.54 mm day-1). We also increased the variability of the rainfall in order to investigate its impact on the carbon pools. We used these scenarios for changing precipitation, along with SRES emission scenarios for increasing atmospheric CO2 to force the Land Surface Model Hybrid8. The effects of a changing climate on the simulated soil and vegetation carbon pools have been investigated. Preliminary results show that in our model configuration and under a wet climate, the change in seasonal variability of precipitation does not seem to have a major impact on the carbon pools, which might suggest that the Amazon rainforest is relatively resilient to changes in seasonal precipitation. However, under a dry climate it may decline into a lower carbon system. The coupling of the two models is in progress with promising results for atmosphere-vegetation feedbacks. We will report on any changes in the threshold of precipitation required to change the carbon content of the system due to changed atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

Overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Bangladesh: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Biswas, T; Islam, A; Islam, Md S; Pervin, S; Rawal, L B

2017-01-01

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity among children (0-12 years) and adolescents (13-19 years) has emerged as a major public health threat in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, there is a serious paucity of credible data on these issues that can be used for policy and programmatic development. This article presents a systematic review of studies on overweight and obesity to present a more accurate estimate by pooling results. Systematic review. The study systematically reviewed relevant literature published between 1998 and 2015 using predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist was used to identify relevant studies. Measures of heterogeneity and variability were calculated, and a random effect model was used to report pooled prevalence rates of overweight and obesity. The findings show that prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents varied widely from 1.0% to 20.6% and 0.3% to 25.6%, respectively. The pooled prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 7.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.0-10.0) and 6.0% (95% CI 4.0-8.0), respectively. The pooled prevalence rate of overweight increased substantially over the years, from 3.6% during 1998-2003 (95% CI 0.3-29.2) to 5.7% during 2004-2009 (95% CI 0.8-30.2) and 7.9% by 2010-2015 (95% CI 5.1-12.1). However, the pooled prevalence rate of obesity registered a sharp decline between 1998-2003 and 2004-2009 - from 9.7% (95% CI 5.7-16.2) to 2.0% (95% CI 0.3-11.1) - and subsequently increased significantly to 9.0% by 2010-2015 (95% CI 5.3-14.6). This review identified increasing trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Bangladesh. This study underscores the urgent need to promote healthy lifestyles among children and adolescents with a view to effectively address the increasing problem of overweight and obesity. This would also help to prevent the development of chronic non-communicable diseases in adulthood. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of holistic review on student interview pool diversity.

PubMed

Grabowski, Christina J

2017-12-29

Diversity in the physician workforce lags behind the rapidly changing US population. Since the gateway to becoming a physician is medical school, diversity must be addressed in the admissions process. The Association of American Medical Colleges has implemented a Holistic Review Initiative aimed at assisting medical schools with broadening admission criteria to include relevant, mission-driven attributes and experiences in addition to academic preparation to identify applicants poised to meet the needs of a diverse patient population. More evidence is needed to determine whether holistic review results in a more diverse selection process. One of the keys to holistic review is to apply holistic principles in all stages of the selection process to ensure qualified applicants are not overlooked. This study examines whether the use of holistic review during application screening at a new medical school increased the diversity of applicants selected for interview. Using retrospective data from the first five application cycles at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB), the author compared demographic and experiential differences between the applicants selected using holistic review, including experiences, attributes and academic metrics, to a test sample selected solely using academic metrics. The dataset consisted of the total group of applicants selected for interview in 2011 through 2015 using holistic review (n = 2773) and the same number of applicants who would have been selected for an interview using an academic-only selection model (n = 2773), which included 1204 applicants who were selected using both methods (final n = 4342). The author used a combination of cross-tabulation and analysis of variance to identify differences between applicants selected using holistic review and applicants in the test sample selected using only academics. The holistic review process yielded a significantly higher than expected percent of female (adj. resid. = 13.2, p < .01), traditionally underrepresented in medicine (adj. resid. = 15.8, p < .01), first generation (adj. resid. = 5.8, p < .01), and self-identified disadvantaged (adj resid. = 11.5, p < .01) applicants in the interview pool than selected using academic metrics alone. In addition, holistically selected applicants averaged significantly more hours than academically selected students in the areas of pre-medical school paid employment (F = 10.99, mean difference = 657.99, p < .01) and community service (F = 15.36, mean difference = 475.58, p < .01). Using mission-driven, holistic admissions criteria comprised of applicant attributes and experiences in addition to academic metrics resulted in a more diverse interview pool than using academic metrics alone. These findings add support for the use of holistic review in the application screening process as a means for increasing diversity in medical school interview pools.

Evaluating Teacher-Leaders for Careers as Administrators: Effects of Job Attributes, Teacher Leader Role, and Teaching Assignment Area

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shumate, Brian T.; Munoz, Marco A.; Winter, Paul A.

2005-01-01

Recruitment of public school administrators is an important issue due to the shortage of qualified job applicants nationwide. The shortage of applicants requires school districts to evaluate their internal pools of potential applicants for administrative vacancies. This evaluation research addressed the recruitment of teacher-leaders to serve as…

Supporting International Applicants and Promoting an Ethical Model of Global College Admission

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redding, Alexis Brooke

2013-01-01

This article examines the challenges facing the pool of global applicants to US colleges and evaluates the practices of the internationaI IECs who currently fill the void that exists between applicants and admission officers. The author, is a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she researches ethical issues in…

18 CFR 1304.412 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... CONSTRUCTION IN THE TENNESSEE RIVER SYSTEM AND REGULATION OF STRUCTURES AND OTHER ALTERATIONS Miscellaneous... targeted elevation to which TVA plans to fill each reservoir during its annual operating cycle. Applicants... summer pool elevation for the reservoir in question at the time the application is submitted. Land-based...

18 CFR 1304.412 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... CONSTRUCTION IN THE TENNESSEE RIVER SYSTEM AND REGULATION OF STRUCTURES AND OTHER ALTERATIONS Miscellaneous... targeted elevation to which TVA plans to fill each reservoir during its annual operating cycle. Applicants... summer pool elevation for the reservoir in question at the time the application is submitted. Land-based...

Topography Battles Surface Texture: An Experimental Study of Pool-riffle Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chartrand, S. M.; Hassan, M. A.; Jellinek, M.

2016-12-01

Pool-riffles are perhaps the most common streambed shape found in streams and rivers, and not surprisingly, they are essential to salmon ecology, and are a central focus of many restoration actions. Yet, when an applied earth scientist or engineer is faced with developing a pool-riffle design, there is a lack of clear and rigorously developed design guidelines. Given the volumes of money spent annually within the restoration industry, this is a real problem. Recognition of this problem is growing, however, and an increasing level of attention has been directed to questions of pool-riffle formation in the past decade. At this point and given certain landscape characteristics, it is well established that streamwise gradients in channel width are associated with pool-riffles. Specifically, pools are associated with negative gradients in width, and riffles with positive gradients. Importantly, these associations have now been documented from field-derived data, as well as via experimental and numerical investigations. There is much to build from the present knowledge base, and central to this are questions related to (a) how pool-riffles evolve during the formative process, (b) what are the basic set of ingredients necessary for pool-riffle formation within systems characterized by relatively non-erodible channel margins, and (c) do pool-riffles persist, once formed, under a broad range of forcing conditions? We have completed four physical experiments examining the process and evolution of pool-riffle formation under a large range of upstream boundary, as well as physical channel conditions. We will report on two of the completed experiments. Our work will highlight two new non-dimensional channel evolution numbers, derived to help describe and characterize bedform development, as well as response to perturbations from near-equilibrium conditions. The channel evolution numbers lay the foundation for development of a new regime diagram, which quantifies the basic ingredients needed to drive pool-riffle formation, as well as formation of other types of gravel bedforms. We believe our work holds promise for application in identifying suitable conditions for pool-riffle construction, and natural maintenance over typical restoration project time frames.

Utilizing the ultrasensitive Schistosoma up-converting phosphor lateral flow circulating anodic antigen (UCP-LF CAA) assay for sample pooling-strategies.

PubMed

Corstjens, Paul L A M; Hoekstra, Pytsje T; de Dood, Claudia J; van Dam, Govert J

2017-11-01

Methodological applications of the high sensitivity genus-specific Schistosoma CAA strip test, allowing detection of single worm active infections (ultimate sensitivity), are discussed for efficient utilization in sample pooling strategies. Besides relevant cost reduction, pooling of samples rather than individual testing can provide valuable data for large scale mapping, surveillance, and monitoring. The laboratory-based CAA strip test utilizes luminescent quantitative up-converting phosphor (UCP) reporter particles and a rapid user-friendly lateral flow (LF) assay format. The test includes a sample preparation step that permits virtually unlimited sample concentration with urine, reaching ultimate sensitivity (single worm detection) at 100% specificity. This facilitates testing large urine pools from many individuals with minimal loss of sensitivity and specificity. The test determines the average CAA level of the individuals in the pool thus indicating overall worm burden and prevalence. When requiring test results at the individual level, smaller pools need to be analysed with the pool-size based on expected prevalence or when unknown, on the average CAA level of a larger group; CAA negative pools do not require individual test results and thus reduce the number of tests. Straightforward pooling strategies indicate that at sub-population level the CAA strip test is an efficient assay for general mapping, identification of hotspots, determination of stratified infection levels, and accurate monitoring of mass drug administrations (MDA). At the individual level, the number of tests can be reduced i.e. in low endemic settings as the pool size can be increased as opposed to prevalence decrease. At the sub-population level, average CAA concentrations determined in urine pools can be an appropriate measure indicating worm burden. Pooling strategies allowing this type of large scale testing are feasible with the various CAA strip test formats and do not affect sensitivity and specificity. It allows cost efficient stratified testing and monitoring of worm burden at the sub-population level, ideally for large-scale surveillance generating hard data for performance of MDA programs and strategic planning when moving towards transmission-stop and elimination.

Estimation of distribution overlap of urn models.

PubMed

Hampton, Jerrad; Lladser, Manuel E

2012-01-01

A classical problem in statistics is estimating the expected coverage of a sample, which has had applications in gene expression, microbial ecology, optimization, and even numismatics. Here we consider a related extension of this problem to random samples of two discrete distributions. Specifically, we estimate what we call the dissimilarity probability of a sample, i.e., the probability of a draw from one distribution not being observed in [Formula: see text] draws from another distribution. We show our estimator of dissimilarity to be a [Formula: see text]-statistic and a uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator of dissimilarity over the largest appropriate range of [Formula: see text]. Furthermore, despite the non-Markovian nature of our estimator when applied sequentially over [Formula: see text], we show it converges uniformly in probability to the dissimilarity parameter, and we present criteria when it is approximately normally distributed and admits a consistent jackknife estimator of its variance. As proof of concept, we analyze V35 16S rRNA data to discern between various microbial environments. Other potential applications concern any situation where dissimilarity of two discrete distributions may be of interest. For instance, in SELEX experiments, each urn could represent a random RNA pool and each draw a possible solution to a particular binding site problem over that pool. The dissimilarity of these pools is then related to the probability of finding binding site solutions in one pool that are absent in the other.

A microbial biogeochemistry network for soil carbon and nitrogen cycling and methane flux: model structure and application to Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X.; Song, C.; Wang, Y.; Ricciuto, D. M.; Lipson, D.; Shi, X.; Zona, D.; Song, X.; Yuan, F.; Oechel, W. C.; Thornton, P. E.

2017-12-01

A microbial model is introduced for simulating microbial mechanisms controlling soil carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycling and methane fluxes. The model is built within the CN (carbon-nitrogen) framework of Community Land Model 4.5, named as CLM-Microbe to emphasize its explicit representation of microbial mechanisms to biogeochemistry. Based on the CLM4.5, three new pools were added: bacteria, fungi, and dissolved organic matter. It has 11 pools and 34 transitional processes, compared with 8 pools and 9 transitional flow in the CLM4.5. The dissolve organic carbon was linked with a new microbial functional group based methane module to explicitly simulate methane production, oxidation, transport and their microbial controls. Comparing with CLM4.5-CN, the CLM-Microbe model has a number of new features, (1) microbial control on carbon and nitrogen flows between soil carbon/nitrogen pools; (2) an implicit representation of microbial community structure as bacteria and fungi; (3) a microbial functional-group based methane module. The model sensitivity analysis suggests the importance of microbial carbon allocation parameters on soil biogeochemistry and microbial controls on methane dynamics. Preliminary simulations validate the model's capability for simulating carbon and nitrogen dynamics and methane at a number of sites across the globe. The regional application to Asia has verified the model in simulating microbial mechanisms in controlling methane dynamics at multiple scales.

The crime drop in comparative perspective: the impact of the economy and imprisonment on American and European burglary rates.

PubMed

Rosenfeld, Richard; Messner, Steven F

2009-09-01

Influential statements on recent American crime reductions maintain that the crime drop was confined to the USA. Yet other research has revealed comparable crime decreases in Europe. We suggest that the USA and European crime declines occurred in tandem because they were both brought about by upturns in the economy. In light of US research showing crime reductions resulting from growth in imprisonment, we also examine the possibility that rising imprisonment rates reduced European crime rates. We test these hypotheses in a pooled cross-sectional time-series analysis of burglary rates in the USA and nine European nations between 1993 and 2006. The results indicate that burglary declines in the US and Europe were associated with rising consumer confidence. By contrast, imprisonment appears to be significantly related to burglary rates only after unusual policy interventions, such as Italy's 2006 clemency measure that dramatically reduced the size of its prison population. We interpret these findings as reflecting the structural similarity and economic integration of the world's developed nations and the uneven convergence in US and European punishment policies.

The NAD+ Precursor Nicotinamide Riboside Rescues Mitochondrial Defects and Neuronal Loss in iPSC and Fly Models of Parkinson's Disease.

PubMed

Schöndorf, David C; Ivanyuk, Dina; Baden, Pascale; Sanchez-Martinez, Alvaro; De Cicco, Silvia; Yu, Cong; Giunta, Ivana; Schwarz, Lukas K; Di Napoli, Gabriele; Panagiotakopoulou, Vasiliki; Nestel, Sigrun; Keatinge, Marcus; Pruszak, Jan; Bandmann, Oliver; Heimrich, Bernd; Gasser, Thomas; Whitworth, Alexander J; Deleidi, Michela

2018-06-05

While mitochondrial dysfunction is emerging as key in Parkinson's disease (PD), a central question remains whether mitochondria are actual disease drivers and whether boosting mitochondrial biogenesis and function ameliorates pathology. We address these questions using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells and Drosophila models of GBA-related PD (GBA-PD), the most common PD genetic risk. Patient neurons display stress responses, mitochondrial demise, and changes in NAD+ metabolism. NAD+ precursors have been proposed to ameliorate age-related metabolic decline and disease. We report that increasing NAD+ via the NAD+ precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR) significantly ameliorates mitochondrial function in patient neurons. Human neurons require nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) to maintain the NAD+ pool and utilize NRK1 to synthesize NAD+ from NAD+ precursors. Remarkably, NR prevents the age-related dopaminergic neuronal loss and motor decline in fly models of GBA-PD. Our findings suggest NR as a viable clinical avenue for neuroprotection in PD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Plant-soil distribution of potentially toxic elements in response to elevated atmospheric CO2.

PubMed

Duval, Benjamin D; Dijkstra, Paul; Natali, Susan M; Megonigal, J Patrick; Ketterer, Michael E; Drake, Bert G; Lerdau, Manuel T; Gordon, Gwyneth; Anbar, Ariel D; Hungate, Bruce A

2011-04-01

The distribution of contaminant elements within ecosystems is an environmental concern because of these elements' potential toxicity to animals and plants and their ability to hinder microbial ecosystem services. As with nutrients, contaminants are cycled within and through ecosystems. Elevated atmospheric CO2 generally increases plant productivity and alters nutrient element cycling, but whether CO2 causes similar effects on the cycling of contaminant elements is unknown. Here we show that 11 years of experimental CO2 enrichment in a sandy soil with low organic matter content causes plants to accumulate contaminants in plant biomass, with declines in the extractable contaminant element pools in surface soils. These results indicate that CO2 alters the distribution of contaminant elements in ecosystems, with plant element accumulation and declining soil availability both likely explained by the CO2 stimulation of plant biomass. Our results highlight the interdependence of element cycles and the importance of taking a broad view of the periodic table when the effects of global environmental change on ecosystem biogeochemistry are considered.

Soil organic carbon dynamics across a nitrogen deposition gradient: application of the PnET-SOM model to northeastern forest ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonitto, C.; Goodale, C. L.; Ollinger, S. V.; Jenkins, J.

2009-12-01

Anthropogenic forcing of the C and N cycles has caused rapid change in atmospheric CO2 and N deposition, with complex and uncertain effects on forest C and N balance. We developed the PnET-SOM model to enhance the model description of carbon and nitrogen coupling. Here we applied PnET-SOM to study changes to ecosystem carbon storage across a nitrogen deposition gradient. We designed the PnET-SOM model to: 1) represent SOM structured around measurable SOM pools, 2) expand simulated soil horizon complexity beyond the 1-box approach to hydrology and SOM structure used in PnET-CN, 3) model humified and mineral associated SOM using parameters derived from C14 field studies, and 4) couple C and N cycles to allow N-limitation of decomposition and plant growth. We explicitly modeled labile, biochemically recalcitrant (humified SOM), and physically-chemically protected (mineral associated SOM) C pools. These SOM pools are modeled in distinct soil horizons including: a forest floor, a mixed organic horizon, an A horizon, and a B horizon. Slow turnover pools of the A and B horizon constitute a significant proportion of SOC; explicitly modeling a deeper soil profile is important for estimating ecosystem SOC storage. In the latest version of PnET-SOM, we described N mineralization-immobilization in the forest floor based on equations derived in the LIDET synthesis study. Validation of the PnET-SOM model was conducted using 1) long-term water flux and nitrate leaching data from the Hubbard Brook LTER, 2) CO2 respiration observations from the Harvard Forest LTER, and 3) C and N stock and flux observations from the Harvard Forest LTER. In this work, we applied the PnET-SOM model to study the effects of an N deposition gradient on SOC dynamics over a 300 year simulation. We represented the effects of N deposition on litter decomposition by varying the exponential decay parameters of the litter layer based on observations from the Harvard Forest N addition experiment. We derived the change in limit value across the N deposition gradient simulated by applying a polynomial fit to limit values observed in the Harvard Forest N addition experimental plots. In PnET-SOM, changes in SOC dynamics under varying N deposition rates are derived from 1) change in litter decomposition rate, which directly affects OM inputs into soil pools, and 2) altered N availability which limits decomposition of OM throughout the soil profile. In our model application, the coarse woody debris pool decreased with increasing N deposition, while the forest floor pools increased. Relative to SOC pools under current N deposition rates at the Harvard Forest (8 gN/m2), deposition at a rate of 20 gN/m2 over a 300 year simulation resulted in a 3.4% increase in the O horizon humified SOC pool, a 2.3% increase in the A horizon humified SOC pool, a 1.3% increase in the A horizon mineral associated SOC pool, and a 0.14% increase in the B horizon mineral associated SOC pool.

[Effects of fertilizing regime and planting age on soil calcium decline in Luochuan apple orchards].

PubMed

Li, Peng; Li, Chun Yue; Wang, Yi Quan; Jiao, Cai Qiang

2017-05-18

This study was conducted to assess the effects of fertilizing regime and orchard planting age on soil calcium contents and stocks in the apple orchards on the Loess Plateau. The apple orchards in Luochuan County, one of the best regions for apple plantation in the world, were selec-ted in this study. The contents of calcium carbonate,water-soluble calcium and exchangeable cal-cium at 0-100 cm soil layer under different fertilizing regimes and various planting ages were mea-sured, their stocks were calculated and their variation features were analyzed. The results showed that soil in the apple orchards in the study region was characterized by the decline in calcium contents. The decline was more serious in apple orchards with long-term application of chemical fertili-zer than in those with combined application of chemical fertilizer and farmyard manure. The average contents of calcium carbonate, water-soluble calcium and exchangeable calcium at 0-100 cm soil layer in apple orchards with long-term application of chemical fertilizer decreased by 38.8%, 25.4% and 5.6% respectively than those in the apple orchards with long-term application of both chemical fertilizer and farmyard manure. The stocks of calcium carbonate, water-soluble calcium and exchangeable calcium decreased by 36.4%, 26.0% and 4.3%, respectively. The decline of soil cal-cium was aggravated with the increase of orchard planting age. The contents of calcium carbonate, water-soluble calcium and exchangeable calcium at 0-100 cm soil layer in orchards of more than 25 years of planting age decreased by 48.8%, 69.4% and 39.5% respectively, compared with orchards of less than 10 years of planting age, and the stocks decreased by 40.8%, 64.1% and 33.0%, respectively. These results indicated that either long-term application of chemical fertilizer or long-term plantation of apple trees obviously depleted soil calcium carbonate, water-soluble calcium and exchangeable calcium. Therefore, it was recommended that application of chemical fertilizer and farmyard manure should be combined to mitigate soil calcium decline, and calcium management should be strengthened in apple orchards of more than 25 years of planting age. The fertilizing regime was a driving factor of soil calcium decline which had a significant temporal (orchard planting age) and spatial (soil depth) effect.

TEMperature Pressure ESTimation of a homogeneous boiling fuel-steel mixture in an LMFBR core. [TEMPEST code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pyun, J.J.; Majumdar, D.

The paper describes TEMPEST, a simple computer program for the temperature and pressure estimation of a boiling fuel-steel pool in an LMFBR core. The time scale of interest of this program is large, of the order of ten seconds. Further, the vigorous boiling in the pool will generate a large contact, and hence a large heat transfer between fuel and steel. The pool is assumed to be a uniform mixture of fuel and steel, and consequently vapor production is also assumed to be uniform throughout the pool. The pool is allowed to expand in volume if there is steel meltingmore » at the walls. In this program, the total mass of liquid and vapor fuel is always kept constant, but the total steel mass in the pool may change by steel wall melting. Because of a lack of clear understanding of the physical phenomena associated with the progression of a fuel-steel mixture at high temperature, various input options have been built-in to enable one to perform parametric studies. For example, the heat transfer from the pool to the surrounding steel structure may be controlled by input values for the heat transfer coefficients, or, the heat transfer may be calculated by a correlation obtained from the literature. Similarly, condensation of vapor on the top wall can be specified by input values of the condensation coefficient; the program can otherwise calculate condensation according to the non-equilibrium model predictions. Meltthrough rates of the surrounding steel walls can be specified by a fixed melt-rate or can be determined by a fraction of the heat loss that goes to steel-melting. The melted steel is raised to the pool temperature before it is joined with the pool material. Several applications of this program to various fuel-steel pools in the FFTF and the CRBR cores are discussed.« less

Application of underwater spectrometric system for survey of ponds of the MR reactor (NRC Kurchatov institute)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stepanov, Vyacheslav; Potapov, Victor; Safronov, Alexey

2013-07-01

The underwater spectrometric system for survey the bottom of material science multi-loop reactor MR ponds was elaborated. This system uses CdZnTe (CZT) detectors that allow for spectrometric measurements in high radiation fields. The underwater system was used in the spectrometric survey of the bottom of the MR reactor pool, as well as in the survey located in the MR storage pool of highly radioactive containers and parts of the reactor construction. As a result of these works irradiated nuclear fuel was detected on the bottom of pools, and obtained estimates of the effective surface activity detected radionuclides and created bymore » them the dose rate. (authors)« less

Some effects of sublethal concentrations of sodium arsenite on bluegills and the aquatic environment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gilderhus, P.A.

1966-01-01

Bluegills were exposed to sodium arsenite at various concentrations and treatment frequencies in outdoor pools. The effects of the treatments on the fish and invertebrates in the pools were assessed. Applications totaling 4.0 ppm or more of NaAsO2 during the experiment were reflected in reduced survival and growth of the fish, with immature fish being affected to a greater degree than adults. Some pathological changes were observed in adults. Substantial residues of arsenic were found in the water, bottom soil, and throughout the organs and flesh of the bluegills at the termination of the experiment. Bottom fauna and plankton populations were reduced or inhibited in several pools with the highest concentrations of the herbicide.

Declining Abundance of Beaked Whales (Family Ziphiidae) in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem

PubMed Central

Moore, Jeffrey E.; Barlow, Jay P.

2013-01-01

Beaked whales are among the most diverse yet least understood groups of marine mammals. A diverse set of mostly anthropogenic threats necessitates improvement in our ability to assess population status for this cryptic group. The Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA) conducted six ship line-transect cetacean abundance surveys in the California Current off the contiguous western United States between 1991 and 2008. We used a Bayesian hidden-process modeling approach to estimate abundance and population trends of beaked whales using sightings data from these surveys. We also compiled records of beaked whale stranding events (3 genera, at least 8 species) on adjacent beaches from 1900 to 2012, to help assess population status of beaked whales in the northern part of the California Current. Bayesian posterior summaries for trend parameters provide strong evidence of declining beaked whale abundance in the study area. The probability of negative trend for Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) during 1991–2008 was 0.84, with 1991 and 2008 estimates of 10771 (CV = 0.51) and ≈7550 (CV = 0.55), respectively. The probability of decline for Mesoplodon spp. (pooled across species) was 0.96, with 1991 and 2008 estimates of 2206 (CV = 0.46) and 811 (CV = 0.65). The mean posterior estimates for average rate of decline were 2.9% and 7.0% per year. There was no evidence of abundance trend for Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii), for which annual abundance estimates in the survey area ranged from ≈900 to 1300 (CV≈1.3). Stranding data were consistent with the survey results. Causes of apparent declines are unknown. Direct impacts of fisheries (bycatch) can be ruled out, but impacts of anthropogenic sound (e.g., naval active sonar) and ecosystem change are plausible hypotheses that merit investigation. PMID:23341907

Effective Population Size Dynamics and the Demographic Collapse of Bornean Orang-Utans

PubMed Central

Goossens, Benoit; Nater, Alexander; Morf, Nadja; Salmona, Jordi; Bruford, Michael W.; Van Schaik, Carel P.; Krützen, Michael; Chikhi, Lounès

2012-01-01

Bornean orang-utans experienced a major demographic decline and local extirpations during the Pleistocene and Holocene due to climate change, the arrival of modern humans, of farmers and recent commercially-driven habitat loss and fragmentation. The recent loss of habitat and its dramatic fragmentation has affected the patterns of genetic variability and differentiation among the remaining populations and increased the extinction risk of the most isolated ones. However, the contribution of recent demographic events to such genetic patterns is still not fully clear. Indeed, it can be difficult to separate the effects of recent anthropogenic fragmentation from the genetic signature of prehistoric demographic events. Here, we investigated the genetic structure and population size dynamics of orang-utans from different sites. Altogether 126 individuals were analyzed and a full-likelihood Bayesian approach was applied. All sites exhibited clear signals of population decline. Population structure is known to generate spurious bottleneck signals and we found that it does indeed contribute to the signals observed. However, population structure alone does not easily explain the observed patterns. The dating of the population decline varied across sites but was always within the 200–2000 years period. This suggests that in some sites at least, orang-utan populations were affected by demographic events that started before the recent anthropogenic effects that occurred in Borneo. These results do not mean that the recent forest exploitation did not leave its genetic mark on orang-utans but suggests that the genetic pool of orang-utans is also impacted by more ancient events. While we cannot identify the main cause for this decline, our results suggests that the decline may be related to the arrival of the first farmers or climatic events, and that more theoretical work is needed to understand how multiple demographic events impact the genome of species and how we can assess their relative contributions. PMID:23166666

Contaminant trends in lake trout and walleye from the Laurentian Great Lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeVault, David S.; Hesselberg, Robert J.; Rodgers, Paul W.; Feist, Timothy J.

1996-01-01

Trends in PCBs, DDT, and other contaminants have been monitored in Great Lakes lake trout and walleye since the 1970s using composite samples of whole fish. Dramatic declines have been observed in concentrations of PCB, ΣDDT, dieldrin, and oxychlordane, with declines initially following first order loss kinetics. Mean PCB concentrations in Lake Michigan lake trout increased from 13 μg/g in 1972 to 23 μg/g in 1974, then declined to 2.6 μg/g by 1986. Between 1986 and 1992 there was little change in concentration, with 3.5 μg/g observed in 1992. ΣDDT in Lake Michigan trout followed a similar trend, decreasing from 19.2 μg/g in 1970 to 1.1 μg/g in 1986, and 1.2 μg/g in 1992. Similar trends were observed for PCBs and ΣDDT in lake trout from Lakes Superior, Huron and Ontario. Concentrations of both PCB and ΣDDT in Lake Erie walleye declined between 1977 and 1982, after which concentrations were relatively constant through 1990. When originally implemented it was assumed that trends in the mean contaminant concentrations in open-lake fish would serve as cost effective surrogates to trends in the water column. While water column data are still extremely limited it appears that for PCBs in lakes Michigan and Superior, trends in lake trout do reasonably mimic those in the water column over the long term. Hypotheses to explain the trends in contaminant concentrations are briefly reviewed. The original first order loss kinetics used to describe the initial decline do not explain the more recent leveling off of contaminant concentrations. Recent theories have examined the possibilities of multiple contaminant pools. We suggest another hypothesis, that changes in the food web may have resulted in increased bioaccumulation. However, a preliminary exploration of this hypothesis using a change point analysis was inconclusive.

Reduced Myxobolus cerebralis actinospore production in a Colorado reservior may be linked to changes in Tubifex tubifex population structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nehring, R. Barry; Hancock, B.; Catanese, M.; Stinson, M.E.T.; Winkelman, Dana L.; Wood, J.; Epp, J.

2013-01-01

Elucidating the dynamics of a parasitic infection requiring two hosts in a natural ecosystem can be a daunting task. Myxobolus cerebralis (Mc), the myxozoan parasite that causes whirling disease in some salmonids, was detected in the Colorado River upstream of Windy Gap Reservoir (WGR) in 1988. Subsequently, whirling disease was implicated in the decline of wild Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in the river when WGR was identified as a point source of Mc triactinomyxons (TAMs). Between 1997 and 2004, numerous investigations began to elucidate the etiology of Mc in WGR. During this period, Mc TAM production in WGR declined more than 90%. Explanations for the decline have included differences in stream discharge between years, changes in the thermal regime of the lake, severe drought, changes in the fish population structure in WGR, and reductions in the prevalence and severity of Mc infection in salmonids in the Colorado and Fraser rivers upstream of WGR. All of these have been discredited as explanations for the reduced TAM production. In 2005, a new study was conducted to replicate the studies completed in 1998. In this paper, the results of a new real-time polymerase chain reaction assay utilized to quantify the mitochondrial 16S rDNA specific to each of four lineages of Tubifex tubifex in pooled samples of 50 oligochaetes are presented. These results suggest that compared with 1998, the densities of aquatic oligochaetes and T. tubifex have increased, TAM production has been greatly reduced, and the decline is congruent with the dominance of lineages I, V, and VI of T. tubifex—three lineages that are refractory or highly resistant to Mc infection—in the oligochaete population. While it is possible that the resistant lineages function as biofilters that deactivate Mc myxospores, the reason for the decline in TAM production in WGR remains an enigma.

Increasing neonicotinoid use and the declining butterfly fauna of lowland California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Forister, Matthew L.; Cousens, Bruce; Harrison, Joshua G.; Anderson, Kayce; Thorne, James H.; Waetjen, Dave; Nice, Chris C.; De Parsia, Matthew; Hladik, Michelle; Meese, Robert; van Vliet, Heidi; Shapiro, Arthur M.

2016-01-01

The butterfly fauna of lowland Northern California has exhibited a marked decline in recent years that previous studies have attributed in part to altered climatic conditions and changes in land use. Here, we ask if a shift in insecticide use towards neonicotinoids is associated with butterfly declines at four sites in the region that have been monitored for four decades. A negative association between butterfly populations and increasing neonicotinoid application is detectable while controlling for land use and other factors, and appears to be more severe for smaller-bodied species. These results suggest that neonicotinoids could influence non-target insect populations occurring in proximity to application locations, and highlights the need for mechanistic work to complement long-term observational data.

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: a pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants.

PubMed

2018-03-19

Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probit-transformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the high-income Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups.

Natural Convection Heat Transfer in a Rectangular Liquid Metal Pool With Bottom Heating and Top Cooling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Il S.; Yu, Yong H.; Son, Hyoung M.

2006-07-01

An experimental study is performed to investigate the natural convection heat transfer characteristics with subcooled coolant to create engineering database for basic applications in a lead alloy cooled reactor. Tests are performed in the ALTOS (Applied Liquid-metal Thermal Operation Study) apparatus as part of MITHOS (Metal Integrated Thermo Hydrodynamic Operation System). A relationship is determined between the Nusselt number Nu and the Rayleigh number Ra in the liquid metal rectangular pool. Results are compared with correlations and experimental data in the literature. Given the similar Ra condition, the present test results for Nu of the liquid metal pool with topmore » subcooling are found to be similar to those predicted by the existing correlations or experiments. The current test results are utilized to develop natural convection heat transfer correlations applicable to low Prandtl number Pr fluids that are heated from below and cooled by the external coolant above. Results from this study are slated to be used in designing BORIS (Battery Optimized Reactor Integral System), a small lead cooled modular fast reactor for deployment at remote sites cycled with MOBIS (Modular Optimized Brayton Integral System) for electricity generation, tied with NAVIS (Naval Application Vessel Integral System) for ship propulsion, joined with THAIS (Thermochemical Hydrogen Acquisition Integral System) for hydrogen production, and coupled with DORIS (Desalination Optimized Reactor Integral System) for seawater desalination. Tests are performed with Wood's metal (Pb-Bi-Sn-Cd) filling a rectangular pool whose lower surface is heated and upper surface cooled by forced convection of water. The test section is 20 cm long, 11.3 cm high and 15 cm wide. The simulant has a melting temperature of 78 deg. C. The constant temperature and heat flux condition was realized for the bottom heating once the steady state had been met. The test parameters include the heated bottom surface temperature of the liquid metal pool, the input power to the bottom surface of the section, and the coolant temperature. (authors)« less

Adventitious rooting declines with the vegetative to reproductive switch and involves a changed auxin homeostasis.

PubMed

Rasmussen, Amanda; Hosseini, Seyed Abdollah; Hajirezaei, Mohammed-Reza; Druege, Uwe; Geelen, Danny

2015-03-01

Adventitious rooting, whereby roots form from non-root tissues, is critical to the forestry and horticultural industries that depend on propagating plants from cuttings. A major problem is that age of the tissue affects the ability of the cutting to form adventitious roots. Here, a model system has been developed using Pisum sativum to differentiate between different interpretations of ageing. It is shown that the decline in adventitious rooting is linked to the ontogenetic switch from vegetative to floral and is mainly attributed to the cutting base. Using rms mutants it is demonstrated that the decline is not a result of increased strigolactones inhibiting adventitious root formation. Monitoring endogenous levels of a range of other hormones including a range of cytokinins in the rooting zone revealed that a peak in jasmonic acid is delayed in cuttings from floral plants. Additionally, there is an early peak in indole-3-acetic acid levels 6h post excision in cuttings from vegetative plants, which is absent in cuttings from floral plants. These results were confirmed using DR5:GUS expression. Exogenous supplementation of young cuttings with either jasmonic acid or indole-3-acetic acid promoted adventitious rooting, but neither of these hormones was able to promote adventitious rooting in mature cuttings. DR5:GUS expression was observed to increase in juvenile cuttings with increasing auxin treatment but not in the mature cuttings. Therefore, it seems the vegetative to floral ontogenetic switch involves an alteration in the tissue's auxin homeostasis that significantly reduces the indole-3-acetic acid pool and ultimately results in a decline in adventitious root formation. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Adventitious rooting declines with the vegetative to reproductive switch and involves a changed auxin homeostasis

PubMed Central

Rasmussen, Amanda; Hosseini, Seyed Abdollah; Hajirezaei, Mohammed-Reza; Druege, Uwe; Geelen, Danny

2015-01-01

Adventitious rooting, whereby roots form from non-root tissues, is critical to the forestry and horticultural industries that depend on propagating plants from cuttings. A major problem is that age of the tissue affects the ability of the cutting to form adventitious roots. Here, a model system has been developed using Pisum sativum to differentiate between different interpretations of ageing. It is shown that the decline in adventitious rooting is linked to the ontogenetic switch from vegetative to floral and is mainly attributed to the cutting base. Using rms mutants it is demonstrated that the decline is not a result of increased strigolactones inhibiting adventitious root formation. Monitoring endogenous levels of a range of other hormones including a range of cytokinins in the rooting zone revealed that a peak in jasmonic acid is delayed in cuttings from floral plants. Additionally, there is an early peak in indole-3-acetic acid levels 6h post excision in cuttings from vegetative plants, which is absent in cuttings from floral plants. These results were confirmed using DR5:GUS expression. Exogenous supplementation of young cuttings with either jasmonic acid or indole-3-acetic acid promoted adventitious rooting, but neither of these hormones was able to promote adventitious rooting in mature cuttings. DR5:GUS expression was observed to increase in juvenile cuttings with increasing auxin treatment but not in the mature cuttings. Therefore, it seems the vegetative to floral ontogenetic switch involves an alteration in the tissue’s auxin homeostasis that significantly reduces the indole-3-acetic acid pool and ultimately results in a decline in adventitious root formation. PMID:25540438

Riverine Response of Sulfate to Declining Atmospheric Sulfur Deposition in Agricultural Watersheds.

PubMed

David, Mark B; Gentry, Lowell E; Mitchell, Corey A

2016-07-01

Sulfur received extensive study as an input to terrestrial ecosystems from acidic deposition during the 1980s. With declining S deposition inputs across the eastern United States, there have been many studies evaluating ecosystem response, with the exception of agricultural watersheds. We used long-term (22 and 18 yr) sulfate concentration data from two rivers and recent (6 yr) data from a third river to better understand cycling and transport of S in agricultural, tile-drained watersheds. Sulfate concentrations and yields steadily declined in the Embarras (from ∼10 to 6 mg S L) and Kaskaskia rivers (from 7 to 3.5 mg S L) during the sampling period, with an overall -23.1 and -12.8 kg S ha yr balance for the two watersheds. There was evidence of deep groundwater inputs of sulfate in the Salt Fork watershed, with a much smaller input to the Embarras and none to the Kaskaskia. Tiles in the watersheds had low sulfate concentrations (<10 mg S L), similar to the Kaskaskia River, unless the field had received some form of S fertilizer. A multiple regression model of runoff (cm) and S deposition explained much of the variation in Embarras River sulfate ( = 0.86 and 0.80 for concentrations and yields; = 46). Although atmospheric deposition was much less than outputs (grain harvest + stream export of sulfate), riverine transport of sulfate reflected the decline in inputs. Watershed S balances suggest a small annual depletion of soil organic S pools, and S fertilization will likely be needed at some future date to maintain crop yields. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

78 FR 2979 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-15

.... Docket Numbers: ER13-725-000. Applicants: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Description: 2220R1 Broken Bow Wind... that the Commission received the following electric rate filings: Docket Numbers: ER10-2881-006; ER10.... Applicants: Alabama Power Company, Southern Power Company, Georgia Power Company, Mississippi Power Company...

77 FR 30519 - Combined Notice of Filings #2

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-23

...-1802-000. Applicants: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Description: 2234R1 Osage Wind and Public Service Co...-000. Applicants: Pacific Wind, LLC. Description: Notice of Self-Certification of Exempt Wholesale Generator Status of Pacific Wind, LLC. Filed Date: 5/16/12. Accession Number: 20120516-5102. Comments Due: 5...

Computer Aided Segmentation Analysis: New Software for College Admissions Marketing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lay, Robert S.; Maguire, John J.

1983-01-01

Compares segmentation solutions obtained using a binary segmentation algorithm (THAID) and a new chi-square-based procedure (CHAID) that segments the prospective pool of college applicants using application and matriculation as criteria. Results showed a higher number of estimated qualified inquiries and more accurate estimates with CHAID. (JAC)

Salmonella testing of pooled pre-enrichment broth cultures for screening multiple food samples.

PubMed

Price, W R; Olsen, R A; Hunter, J E

1972-04-01

A method has been described for testing multiple food samples for Salmonella without loss in sensitivity. The method pools multiple pre-enrichment broth cultures into single enrichment broths. The subsequent stages of the Salmonella analysis are not altered. The method was found applicable to several dry food materials including nonfat dry milk, dried egg albumin, cocoa, cottonseed flour, wheat flour, and shredded coconut. As many as 25 pre-enrichment broth cultures were pooled without apparent loss in the sensitivity of Salmonella detection as compared to individual sample analysis. The procedure offers a simple, yet effective, way to increase sample capacity in the Salmonella testing of foods, particularly where a large proportion of samples ordinarily is negative. It also permits small portions of pre-enrichment broth cultures to be retained for subsequent individual analysis if positive tests are found. Salmonella testing of pooled pre-enrichment broths provides increased consumer protection for a given amount of analytical effort as compared to individual sample analysis.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marchisio, Mario Andrea, E-mail: marchisio@hit.edu.cn

Published in 2008, Parts & Pools represents one of the first attempts to conceptualize the modular design of bacterial synthetic gene circuits with Standard Biological Parts (DNA segments) and Pools of molecules referred to as common signal carriers (e.g., RNA polymerases and ribosomes). The original framework for modeling bacterial components and designing prokaryotic circuits evolved over the last years and brought, first, to the development of an algorithm for the automatic design of Boolean gene circuits. This is a remarkable achievement since gene digital circuits have a broad range of applications that goes from biosensors for health and environment caremore » to computational devices. More recently, Parts & Pools was enabled to give a proper formal description of eukaryotic biological circuit components. This was possible by employing a rule-based modeling approach, a technique that permits a faithful calculation of all the species and reactions involved in complex systems such as eukaryotic cells and compartments. In this way, Parts & Pools is currently suitable for the visual and modular design of synthetic gene circuits in yeast and mammalian cells too.« less

Assessing pooled BAC and whole genome shotgun strategies for assembly of complex genomes

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background We investigate if pooling BAC clones and sequencing the pools can provide for more accurate assembly of genome sequences than the "whole genome shotgun" (WGS) approach. Furthermore, we quantify this accuracy increase. We compare the pooled BAC and WGS approaches using in silico simulations. Standard measures of assembly quality focus on assembly size and fragmentation, which are desirable for large whole genome assemblies. We propose additional measures enabling easy and visual comparison of assembly quality, such as rearrangements and redundant sequence content, relative to the known target sequence. Results The best assembly quality scores were obtained using 454 coverage of 15× linear and 5× paired (3kb insert size) reads (15L-5P) on Arabidopsis. This regime gave similarly good results on four additional plant genomes of very different GC and repeat contents. BAC pooling improved assembly scores over WGS assembly, coverage and redundancy scores improving the most. Conclusions BAC pooling works better than WGS, however, both require a physical map to order the scaffolds. Pool sizes up to 12Mbp work well, suggesting this pooling density to be effective in medium-scale re-sequencing applications such as targeted sequencing of QTL intervals for candidate gene discovery. Assuming the current Roche/454 Titanium sequencing limitations, a 12 Mbp region could be re-sequenced with a full plate of linear reads and a half plate of paired-end reads, yielding 15L-5P coverage after read pre-processing. Our simulation suggests that massively over-sequencing may not improve accuracy. Our scoring measures can be used generally to evaluate and compare results of simulated genome assemblies. PMID:21496274

Seasonal and interannual dynamics of soil microbial biomass and available nitrogen in an alpine meadow in the eastern part of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Bo; Wang, Jinniu; Wu, Ning; Wu, Yan; Shi, Fusun

2018-01-01

Soil microbial activity varies seasonally in frozen alpine soils during cold seasons and plays a crucial role in available N pool accumulation in soil. The intra- and interannual patterns of microbial and nutrient dynamics reflect the influences of changing weather factors, and thus provide important insights into the biogeochemical cycles and ecological functions of ecosystems. We documented the seasonal and interannual dynamics of soil microbial and available N in an alpine meadow in the eastern part of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China, between April 2011 and October 2013. Soil was collected in the middle of each month and analyzed for water content, microbial biomass C (MBC) and N (MBN), dissolved organic C and N, and inorganic N. Soil microbial community composition was measured by the dilution-plate method. Fungi and actinomycetes dominated the microbial community during the nongrowing seasons, and the proportion of bacteria increased considerably during the early growing seasons. Trends of consistently increasing MBC and available N pools were observed during the nongrowing seasons. MBC sharply declined during soil thaw and was accompanied by a peak in available N pool. Induced by changes in soil temperatures, significant shifts in the structures and functions of microbial communities were observed during the winter-spring transition and largely contributed to microbial reduction. The divergent seasonal dynamics of different N forms showed a complementary nutrient supply pattern during the growing season. Similarities between the interannual dynamics of microbial biomass and available N pools were observed, and soil temperature and water conditions were the primary environmental factors driving interannual fluctuations. Owing to the changes in climate, seasonal soil microbial activities and nutrient supply patterns are expected to change further, and these changes may have crucial implications for the productivity and biodiversity of alpine ecosystems.

Designing and evaluating health systems level hypertension control interventions for African-Americans: lessons from a pooled analysis of three cluster randomized trials.

PubMed

Pavlik, Valory N; Chan, Wenyaw; Hyman, David J; Feldman, Penny; Ogedegbe, Gbenga; Schwartz, Joseph E; McDonald, Margaret; Einhorn, Paula; Tobin, Jonathan N

2015-01-01

African-Americans (AAs) have a high prevalence of hypertension and their blood pressure (BP) control on treatment still lags behind other groups. In 2004, NHLBI funded five projects that aimed to evaluate clinically feasible interventions to effect changes in medical care delivery leading to an increased proportion of AA patients with controlled BP. Three of the groups performed a pooled analysis of trial results to determine: 1) the magnitude of the combined intervention effect; and 2) how the pooled results could inform the methodology for future health-system level BP interventions. Using a cluster randomized design, the trials enrolled AAs with uncontrolled hypertension to test interventions targeting a combination of patient and clinician behaviors. The 12-month Systolic BP (SBP) and Diastolic BP (DBP) effects of intervention or control cluster assignment were assessed using mixed effects longitudinal regression modeling. 2,015 patients representing 352 clusters participated across the three trials. Pooled BP slopes followed a quadratic pattern, with an initial decline, followed by a rise toward baseline, and did not differ significantly between intervention and control clusters: SBP linear coefficient = -2.60±0.21 mmHg per month, p<0.001; quadratic coefficient = 0.167± 0.02 mmHg/month, p<0.001; group by time interaction group by time group x linear time coefficient=0.145 ± 0.293, p=0.622; group x quadratic time coefficient= -0.017 ± 0.026, p=0.525). RESULTS were similar for DBP. The individual sites did not have significant intervention effects when analyzed separately. Investigators planning behavioral trials to improve BP control in health systems serving AAs should plan for small effect sizes and employ a "run-in" period in which BP can be expected to improve in both experimental and control clusters.

Subclinical hypothyroidism and cognitive function in people over 60 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Akintola, Abimbola A.; Jansen, Steffy W.; van Bodegom, David; van der Grond, Jeroen; Westendorp, Rudi G.; de Craen, Anton J. M.; van Heemst, Diana

2015-01-01

Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), defined as elevated thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and normal thyroid hormone levels, and cognitive impairment are both common in older people. While the relation between overt hypothyroidism and cognitive impairment is well established, data on the association between SCH and cognitive impairment are conflicting. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess available evidence on the association of SCH with cognition in community dwelling, relatively healthy older adults. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, COCHRANE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Academic Search Premier (January 1966 to April 1, 2015) were searched without language restrictions, as were references of key articles, for studies on the association between SCH and cognition in older adults (>60 years). These studies were reviewed by two independent reviewers according to predefined criteria for eligibility and methodological quality, and data were extracted using standardized forms. Of the 844 reports initially identified, 270 remained after exclusion of duplicates. Of the 270, 15 studies comprising 19,944 subjects, of whom 1,199 had subclinical hypothyroidism were included. Data from the 15 studies was pooled, and meta-analyzed cross-sectionally for global cognition [assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)], executive function, and memory, using random effects models. Pooled effect size (ES) for MMSE was −0.01 (95% CI −0.09, 0.08), with heterogeneity (I2) of 55.1%. Pooled ES was < 0.001 (95% CI −0.10, 0.09) for executive function (I2 = 13.5%), and 0.01 (95% CI −0.12, 0.14) for memory (I2 = 46.9%). In addition, prospective analysis including four studies showed pooled ES of 0.033 (95% CI −0.001 − 0.067) for MMSE (I2 < 0.001%), indicating that subclinical hypothyroidism was not significantly associated with accelerated cognitive decline. This systematic review and meta-analysis provides no evidence that supports an association between SCH and cognitive impairment in relatively healthy older adults. PMID:26321946

Fire effects on temperate forest soil C and N storage.

PubMed

Nave, Lucas E; Vance, Eric D; Swanston, Christopher W; Curtis, Peter S

2011-06-01

Temperate forest soils store globally significant amounts of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Understanding how soil pools of these two elements change in response to disturbance and management is critical to maintaining ecosystem services such as forest productivity, greenhouse gas mitigation, and water resource protection. Fire is one of the principal disturbances acting on forest soil C and N storage and is also the subject of enormous management efforts. In the present article, we use meta-analysis to quantify fire effects on temperate forest soil C and N storage. Across a combined total of 468 soil C and N response ratios from 57 publications (concentrations and pool sizes), fire had significant overall effects on soil C (-26%) and soil N (-22%). The impacts of fire on forest floors were significantly different from its effects on mineral soils. Fires reduced forest floor C and N storage (pool sizes only) by an average of 59% and 50%, respectively, but the concentrations of these two elements did not change. Prescribed fires caused smaller reductions in forest floor C and N storage (-46% and -35%) than wildfires (-67% and -69%), and the presence of hardwoods also mitigated fire impacts. Burned forest floors recovered their C and N pools in an average of 128 and 103 years, respectively. Among mineral soils, there were no significant changes in C or N storage, but C and N concentrations declined significantly (-11% and -12%, respectively). Mineral soil C and N concentrations were significantly affected by fire type, with no change following prescribed burns, but significant reductions in response to wildfires. Geographic variation in fire effects on mineral soil C and N storage underscores the need for region-specific fire management plans, and the role of fire type in mediating C and N shifts (especially in the forest floor) indicates that averting wildfires through prescribed burning is desirable from a soils perspective.

Dynamics of protozoa in the rumen of cattle.

PubMed

Ffoulkes, D; Leng, R A

1988-05-01

1. The dynamics of protozoa were studied in two groups of rumen-fistulated cattle fed on a basal diet of molasses ad lib., with oaten chaff given at 6 or 18 g/kg live weight. This diet resulted in different mixtures of protozoal species in the populations in the rumen. 2. The rumen protozoa were studied by intrarumen injections of protozoa labelled in vitro with [14CH3]choline. An indication of protozoal death and fermentation of protozoal cell residues was obtained by measuring 14C loss via the methane pool. 3. After a single injection of labelled protozoa, the decline in the specific radioactivity (microCi/g nitrogen) of the protozoal pool in the rumen indicated that first-order kinetic processes applied. Conversely the specific radioactivity of protozoa, incubated in rumen fluid, remained constant indicating no growth in vitro, presumably owing to a rapid exhaustion of essential nutrients. 4. The protozoal populations in the rumen of cattle fed on the diet with the low level of oaten chaff were mainly small ciliates; but on the higher level of chaff in the diet, the large ciliates were a higher proportion of the total protozoal population present. 5. The mean pool size of protozoa in the rumen was significantly larger and the protozoal half-life tended to be longer for cattle fed on the higher level of chaff in the diet. The apparent production rate of protozoa in cattle fed on each diet was not significantly different and there were no differences in the production rate of methane. The percentage losses of label from protozoa in the rumen via the methane pool were not significantly different on the two diets and indicated that 74% of the protozoa that were apparently irreversibly lost from the rumen could be accounted for by death and lysis in the rumen and therefore only 26% of protozoa apparently entered the lower digestive tract.

Job Prospects for Petroleum Engineers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basta, Nicholas

1988-01-01

Describes petroleum engineering as one area in industry where job opportunities are few but where the worst of the declines has been seen. Discusses the causes of the decline. Lists several areas where petroleum engineers have found alternatives including environmental projects, water supply projects, and computer applications. (CW)

Effects of Added Organic Matter and Water on Soil Carbon Sequestration in an Arid Region

PubMed Central

Tian, Yuan; Jiang, Lianhe; Zhao, Xuechun; Zhu, Linhai; Chen, Xi; Gao, Yong; Wang, Shaoming; Zheng, Yuanrun; Rimmington, Glyn M.

2013-01-01

It is generally predicted that global warming will stimulate primary production and lead to more carbon (C) inputs to soil. However, many studies have found that soil C does not necessarily increase with increased plant litter input. Precipitation has increased in arid central Asia, and is predicted to increase more, so we tested the effects of adding fresh organic matter (FOM) and water on soil C sequestration in an arid region in northwest China. The results suggested that added FOM quickly decomposed and had minor effects on the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool to a depth of 30 cm. Both FOM and water addition had significant effects on the soil microbial biomass. The soil microbial biomass increased with added FOM, reached a maximum, and then declined as the FOM decomposed. The FOM had a more significant stimulating effect on microbial biomass with water addition. Under the soil moisture ranges used in this experiment (21.0%–29.7%), FOM input was more important than water addition in the soil C mineralization process. We concluded that short-term FOM input into the belowground soil and water addition do not affect the SOC pool in shrubland in an arid region. PMID:23875022

Glucose turnover and defense of blood glucose levels in Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus).

PubMed

Tallas, P G; White, R G

1988-01-01

1. Glucose utilization was assessed in fed and fasted arctic fox, maintained on a diet similar in composition to food available in the wild. 2. Fasted (24 hr) glucose concentration was not significantly different from the fed level (134 mg/dl). 3. Fasting was associated with a significant reduction in glucose space, pool size, total entry rate, and irreversible loss which suggests a decline in gluconeogenesis. 4. Glucose recycling was not significantly different between the fed and fasted states. 5. We suggest that, in the arctic fox, the mechanism for defending blood glucose levels during fasting is based on restricting blood glucose to tissues with a high glucose dependency.

Hancocked: manulife and the limits of private health insurance.

PubMed

Evans, Robert G

2011-08-01

Long-term care (LTC) insurance is a salesman's dream. Millions of well-heeled boomers, anxious to protect their estates from the random expropriation of institutional dependency - what a market! But for Manulife, bleeding $1.5 million a day in LTC claims through subsidiary John Hancock, LTC is a nightmare. Company spokesmen blame unexpected increases in life expectancy. But management's fundamental error was insuring correlated risks. Risk pooling works only when individual risks are uncorrelated. Increases in life expectancy affect all contracts together. Manulife made the same mistake selling equity-linked annuities with guaranteed floors - essentially insuring against stock market declines. Results for shareholders have been catastrophic. Top management, meanwhile, have been honoured and richly rewarded.

Contemporary pollen flow, characterization of the maternal ecological neighbourhood and mating patterns in wild cherry (Prunus avium L.).

PubMed

Cottrell, J E; Vaughan, S P; Connolly, T; Sing, L; Moodley, D J; Russell, K

2009-08-01

Conversion of lowland woodland to agricultural land and resulting fragmentation in Britain has been ongoing since Neolithic times. To counteract this decline, plantations of native species, often based on non-British planting stock, have been established. This may ultimately be detrimental to the integrity of the native gene pool. We explore the genetic and ecological factors influencing the success of components of the local pollen pool, including the effect of a non-native planting on an ancient woodland population of wild cherry. Wild cherry exhibits gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI) and vegetative reproduction, both of which may be determinants of paternal success. The majority (61%) of the successful pollen originated from within the study site with a maximum pollen transfer distance of 694 m. There was a distinct departure from random mating, with over half the successful pollen originating from trees which occur within 100 m of the mother tree. Self-incompatibility, clonality, tree size and proximity to the mother tree were all found to influence paternal success. Kinship of pollen gametes within a maternal progeny was highest when a mother tree was surrounded by a large number of ramets of a single, compatible clone consisting of large, adult trees. Although the contribution from the non-native plantation is currently low, it is likely that this will increasingly contribute to the progeny of the adjacent ancient population as it matures. The results clearly show that in self-incompatible species, such as P. avium, close neighbours may be pollinated by very different components of the local pollen pool.

The association between major depression prevalence and sex becomes weaker with age.

PubMed

Patten, Scott B; Williams, Jeanne V A; Lavorato, Dina H; Wang, Jian Li; Bulloch, Andrew G M; Sajobi, Tolulope

2016-02-01

Women have a higher prevalence of major depressive episodes (MDE) than men, and the annual prevalence of MDE declines with age. Age by sex interactions may occur (a weakening of the sex effect with age), but are easily overlooked since individual studies lack statistical power to detect interactions. The objective of this study was to evaluate age by sex interactions in MDE prevalence. In Canada, a series of 10 national surveys conducted between 1996 and 2013 assessed MDE prevalence in respondents over the age of 14. Treating age as a continuous variable, binomial and linear regression was used to model age by sex interactions in each survey. To increase power, the survey-specific interaction coefficients were then pooled using meta-analytic methods. The estimated interaction terms were homogeneous. In the binomial regression model I (2) was 31.2 % and was not statistically significant (Q statistic = 13.1, df = 9, p = 0.159). The pooled estimate (-0.004) was significant (z = 3.13, p = 0.002), indicating that the effect of sex became weaker with increasing age. This resulted in near disappearance of the sex difference in the 75+ age group. This finding was also supported by an examination of age- and sex-specific estimates pooled across the surveys. The association of MDE prevalence with sex becomes weaker with age. The interaction may reflect biological effect modification. Investigators should test for, and consider inclusion of age by sex interactions in epidemiological analyses of MDE prevalence.

Topectomy versus leukotomy: J. Lawrence Pool's contribution to psychosurgery.

PubMed

Holland, Ryan; Kopel, David; Carmel, Peter W; Prestigiacomo, Charles J

2017-09-01

Surgery of the mind has a rather checkered past. Though its history begins with the prehistoric trephination of skulls to allow "evil spirits" to escape, the early- to mid-20th century saw a surge in the popularity of psychosurgery. The 2 prevailing operations were topectomy and leukotomy for the treatment of certain mental illnesses. Although they were modified and refined by several of their main practitioners, the effectiveness of and the ethics involved with these operations remained controversial. In 1947, Dr. J. Lawrence Pool and the Columbia-Greystone Associates sought to rigorously investigate the outcomes of specific psychosurgical procedures. Pool along with R. G. Heath and John Weber believed that nonexcessive bifrontal cortical ablation could successfully treat certain mental illnesses without the undesired consequences of irreversible personality changes. They conducted this investigation at the psychiatric hospital at Greystone Park near Morristown, New Jersey. Despite several encouraging findings of the Columbia-Greystone project, psychosurgery practices began to decline significantly in the 1950s. The uncertainty of results and ethical debates related to side effects made these procedures unpopular. Further, groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the American Civil Liberties Union condemned the use of psychosurgery, believing it to be an inhumane form of treatment. Today, there are strict guidelines that must be adhered to when evaluating a patient for psychosurgery procedures. It is imperative for the neurosurgery community to remember the history of psychosurgery to provide the best possible current treatment and to search for better future treatments for a particularly vulnerable patient population.

Biological monitoring of Persistent Organic Pollutants in human milk in Israel.

PubMed

Wasser, Janice; Berman, Tamar; Lerner-Geva, Liat; Grotto, Itamar; Rubin, Lisa

2015-10-01

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs around the globe. The Ministry of Health, collaborating with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, measured the exposure of the population to POPs as part of the WHO-coordinated exposure study. Human milk, with a relatively high fat content is a preferred matrix for the monitoring of exposure. Donors of breast milk were recruited from three hospitals after signing informed consent forms. Breast milk was collected from 52 primipara women, aged 23-35, living in Israel for the last 10 years who gave birth to singleton full term healthy infants. Samples, collected at 3-17 weeks postpartum, were stored at -20 °C until sent to the WHO Reference Laboratory, State Laboratory for Chemical and Veterinary Analysis of Food (CVUA), in Frieburg, Germany for a single pooled analysis. Mothers were provided with the pooled analysis results. Out of over 50 Persistent Organic Pollutants listed in the analysis, 16, including aldrin, endrin, parlar and mirex were not found at detectable levels in the Israeli pooled sample. For the indicator compounds found at detectable levels, most were lower than those reported in European countries. Since 1982, levels of POPs contamination as measured in breast milk have declined significantly. This is likely due to restrictions on agricultural, industrial, and other uses of many POPs in Israel. Ongoing biomonitoring in Israel and inter-ministerial collaboration supports the elimination of POPs in the environment and human milk. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When phosphorylated at Thr148, the β2-subunit of AMP-activated kinase does not associate with glycogen in skeletal muscle.

PubMed

Xu, Hongyang; Frankenberg, Noni T; Lamb, Graham D; Gooley, Paul R; Stapleton, David I; Murphy, Robyn M

2016-07-01

The 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a heterotrimeric complex that functions as an intracellular fuel sensor that affects metabolism, is activated in skeletal muscle in response to exercise and utilization of stored energy. The diffusibility properties of α- and β-AMPK were examined in isolated skeletal muscle fiber segments dissected from rat fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus and oxidative soleus muscles from which the surface membranes were removed by mechanical dissection. After the muscle segments were washed for 1 and 10 min, ∼60% and 75%, respectively, of the total AMPK pools were found in the diffusible fraction. After in vitro stimulation of the muscle, which resulted in an ∼80% decline in maximal force, 20% of the diffusible pool became bound in the fiber. This bound pool was not associated with glycogen, as determined by addition of a wash step containing amylase. Stimulation of extensor digitorum longus muscles resulted in 28% glycogen utilization and a 40% increase in phosphorylation of the downstream AMPK target acetyl carboxylase-CoA. This, however, had no effect on the proportion of total β2-AMPK that was phosphorylated in whole muscle homogenates measured by immunoprecipitation. These findings suggest that, in rat skeletal muscle, β2-AMPK is not associated with glycogen and that activation of AMPK by muscle contraction does not dephosphorylate β2-AMPK. These findings question the physiological relevance of the carbohydrate-binding function of β2-AMPK in skeletal muscle. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Zinc: an essential but elusive nutrient123

PubMed Central

King, Janet C

2011-01-01

Zinc is essential for multiple aspects of metabolism. Physiologic signs of zinc depletion are linked with diverse biochemical functions rather than with a specific function, which makes it difficult to identify biomarkers of zinc nutrition. Nutrients, such as zinc, that are required for general metabolism are called type 2 nutrients. Protein and magnesium are examples of other type 2 nutrients. Type 1 nutrients are required for one or more specific functions: examples include iron, vitamin A, iodine, folate, and copper. When dietary zinc is insufficient, a marked reduction in endogenous zinc loss occurs immediately to conserve the nutrient. If zinc balance is not reestablished, other metabolic adjustments occur to mobilize zinc from small body pools. The location of those pools is not known, but all cells probably have a small zinc reserve that includes zinc bound to metallothionein or zinc stored in the Golgi or in other organelles. Plasma zinc is also part of this small zinc pool that is vulnerable to insufficient intakes. Plasma zinc concentrations decline rapidly with severe deficiencies and more moderately with marginal depletion. Unfortunately, plasma zinc concentrations also decrease with a number of conditions (eg, infection, trauma, stress, steroid use, after a meal) due to a metabolic redistribution of zinc from the plasma to the tissues. This redistribution confounds the interpretation of low plasma zinc concentrations. Biomarkers of metabolic zinc redistribution are needed to determine whether this redistribution is the cause of a low plasma zinc rather than poor nutrition. Measures of metallothionein or cellular zinc transporters may fulfill that role. PMID:21715515

Decline in Soluble Phosphorus Mobility from Land-Applied Dairy Manure - Modeling and Practical Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Archibald, J. A.; Walter, M. T.; Peterson, M.; Richards, B. K.; Giri, S. K.

2014-12-01

Non-point source transport of soluble-reactive phosphorus (SRP) from agricultural systems to freshwater ecosystems is a significant water quality concern. Although farmers are encouraged to avoid manure or fertilizer application before runoff events, the implications of these management choices remain largely unquantified. We conducted soil box experiments to test how manure application timing and temperature or moisture conditions impact SRP concentration in runoff. We found that SRP concentrations dropped off exponentially over time, and that higher temperatures accelerated the decline in SRP in overland runoff over time. During the first runoff events after manure application, infiltration depth prior to runoff was not a primary driver of SRP concentrations. This research has implications for incorporating manure spreading timing into watershed models.

Seven-Year Evaluation of Insecticide Tools for Emerald Ash Borer in Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Lamiales: Oleaceae) Trees.

PubMed

Bick, Emily N; Forbes, Nora J; Haugen, Christopher; Jones, Grant; Bernick, Shawn; Miller, Fredric

2018-04-02

Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis (Fairmaire; Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is decimating ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) in North America. Combatting EAB includes the use of insecticides; however, reported insecticide efficacy varies among published studies. This study assessed the effects of season of application, insecticide active ingredient, and insecticide application rate on green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) (Lamiales: Oleaceae) canopy decline caused by EAB over a 5- to 7-yr interval. Data suggested that spring treatments were generally more effective in reducing canopy decline than fall treatments, but this difference was not statistically significant. Lowest rates of decline (<5% over 5 yr) were observed in trees treated with imidacloprid injected annually in the soil during spring (at the higher of two tested application rates; 1.12 g/cm diameter at 1.3 m height) and emamectin benzoate injected biennially into the stem. All tested insecticides (dinotefuran, emamectin benzoate, and imidacloprid) under all tested conditions significantly reduced the rate of increase of dieback.

Increasing neonicotinoid use and the declining butterfly fauna of lowland California.

PubMed

Forister, Matthew L; Cousens, Bruce; Harrison, Joshua G; Anderson, Kayce; Thorne, James H; Waetjen, Dave; Nice, Chris C; De Parsia, Matthew; Hladik, Michelle L; Meese, Robert; van Vliet, Heidi; Shapiro, Arthur M

2016-08-01

The butterfly fauna of lowland Northern California has exhibited a marked decline in recent years that previous studies have attributed in part to altered climatic conditions and changes in land use. Here, we ask if a shift in insecticide use towards neonicotinoids is associated with butterfly declines at four sites in the region that have been monitored for four decades. A negative association between butterfly populations and increasing neonicotinoid application is detectable while controlling for land use and other factors, and appears to be more severe for smaller-bodied species. These results suggest that neonicotinoids could influence non-target insect populations occurring in proximity to application locations, and highlights the need for mechanistic work to complement long-term observational data. © 2016 The Author(s).

Metagenomics as a Tool for Enzyme Discovery: Hydrolytic Enzymes from Marine-Related Metagenomes.

PubMed

Popovic, Ana; Tchigvintsev, Anatoly; Tran, Hai; Chernikova, Tatyana N; Golyshina, Olga V; Yakimov, Michail M; Golyshin, Peter N; Yakunin, Alexander F

2015-01-01

This chapter discusses metagenomics and its application for enzyme discovery, with a focus on hydrolytic enzymes from marine metagenomic libraries. With less than one percent of culturable microorganisms in the environment, metagenomics, or the collective study of community genetics, has opened up a rich pool of uncharacterized metabolic pathways, enzymes, and adaptations. This great untapped pool of genes provides the particularly exciting potential to mine for new biochemical activities or novel enzymes with activities tailored to peculiar sets of environmental conditions. Metagenomes also represent a huge reservoir of novel enzymes for applications in biocatalysis, biofuels, and bioremediation. Here we present the results of enzyme discovery for four enzyme activities, of particular industrial or environmental interest, including esterase/lipase, glycosyl hydrolase, protease and dehalogenase.

Application of a Model for Simulating the Vacuum Arc Remelting Process in Titanium Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patel, Ashish; Tripp, David W.; Fiore, Daniel

Mathematical modeling is routinely used in the process development and production of advanced aerospace alloys to gain greater insight into system dynamics and to predict the effect of process modifications or upsets on final properties. This article describes the application of a 2-D mathematical VAR model presented in previous LMPC meetings. The impact of process parameters on melt pool geometry, solidification behavior, fluid-flow and chemistry in Ti-6Al-4V ingots will be discussed. Model predictions were first validated against the measured characteristics of industrially produced ingots, and process inputs and model formulation were adjusted to match macro-etched pool shapes. The results are compared to published data in the literature. Finally, the model is used to examine ingot chemistry during successive VAR melts.

Use of Flood Seasonality in Pooling-Group Formation and Quantile Estimation: An Application in Great Britain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Formetta, Giuseppe; Bell, Victoria; Stewart, Elizabeth

2018-02-01

Regional flood frequency analysis is one of the most commonly applied methods for estimating extreme flood events at ungauged sites or locations with short measurement records. It is based on: (i) the definition of a homogeneous group (pooling-group) of catchments, and on (ii) the use of the pooling-group data to estimate flood quantiles. Although many methods to define a pooling-group (pooling schemes, PS) are based on catchment physiographic similarity measures, in the last decade methods based on flood seasonality similarity have been contemplated. In this paper, two seasonality-based PS are proposed and tested both in terms of the homogeneity of the pooling-groups they generate and in terms of the accuracy in estimating extreme flood events. The method has been applied in 420 catchments in Great Britain (considered as both gauged and ungauged) and compared against the current Flood Estimation Handbook (FEH) PS. Results for gauged sites show that, compared to the current PS, the seasonality-based PS performs better both in terms of homogeneity of the pooling-group and in terms of the accuracy of flood quantile estimates. For ungauged locations, a national-scale hydrological model has been used for the first time to quantify flood seasonality. Results show that in 75% of the tested locations the seasonality-based PS provides an improvement in the accuracy of the flood quantile estimates. The remaining 25% were located in highly urbanized, groundwater-dependent catchments. The promising results support the aspiration that large-scale hydrological models complement traditional methods for estimating design floods.

Reserve growth in oil pools of Alberta: Model and forecast

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verma, M.; Cook, T.

2010-01-01

Reserve growth is recognized as a major component of additions to reserves in most oil provinces around the world, particularly in mature provinces. It takes place as a result of the discovery of new pools/reservoirs and extensions of known pools within existing fields, improved knowledge of reservoirs over time leading to a change in estimates of original oil-in-place, and improvement in recovery factor through the application of new technology, such as enhanced oil recovery methods, horizontal/multilateral drilling, and 4D seismic. A reserve growth study was conducted on oil pools in Alberta, Canada, with the following objectives: 1) evaluate historical oil reserve data in order to assess the potential for future reserve growth; 2) develop reserve growth models/ functions to help forecast hydrocarbon volumes; 3) study reserve growth sensitivity to various parameters (for example, pool size, porosity, and oil gravity); and 4) compare reserve growth in oil pools and fields in Alberta with those from other large petroleum provinces around the world. The reported known recoverable oil exclusive of Athabasca oil sands in Alberta increased from 4.5 billion barrels of oil (BBO) in 1960 to 17 BBO in 2005. Some of the pools that were included in the existing database were excluded from the present study for lack of adequate data. Therefore, the known recoverable oil increased from 4.2 to 13.9 BBO over the period from 1960 through 2005, with new discoveries contributing 3.7 BBO and reserve growth adding 6 BBO. This reserve growth took place mostly in pools with more than 125,000 barrels of known recoverable oil. Pools with light oil accounted for most of the total known oil volume, therefore reflecting the overall pool growth. Smaller pools, in contrast, shrank in their total recoverable volumes over the years. Pools with heavy oil (gravity less than 20o API) make up only a small share (3.8 percent) of the total recoverable oil; they showed a 23-fold growth compared to about 3.5-fold growth in pools with medium oil and 2.2-fold growth in pools with light oil over a fifty-year period. The analysis indicates that pools with high porosity reservoirs (greater than 30 percent porosity) grew more than pools with lower porosity reservoirs which could possibly be attributed to permeability differences between the two types. Reserve growth models for Alberta, Canada, show the growth at field level is almost twice as much as at pool level, possibly because the analysis has evaluated fields with two or more pools with different discovery years. Based on the models, the growth in oil volumes in Alberta pools over the next five-year period (2006-2010) is expected to be about 454 million barrels of oil. Over a twenty-five year period, the cumulative reserve growth in Alberta oil pools has been only 2-fold compared to a 4- to- 5-fold increase in other petroleum producing areas such as Saskatchewan, Volga-Ural, U.S. onshore fields, and U.S. Gulf of Mexico. However, the growth at the field level compares well with that of U.S. onshore fields. In other petroleum provinces, the reserves are reported at field levels rather than at pool levels, the latter basically being the equivalent of individual reservoirs. ?? 2010 by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists.

75 FR 78988 - Post-2014 Resource Pool-Loveland Area Projects, Allocation Procedures and Call for Applications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-17

... Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing agency of the Department of Energy (DOE), is publishing this... allocation of Federal electric power. Subpart C of the Energy Planning and Management Program (Program... for applications, in conjunction with the Loveland Area Projects (LAP) Final Post-1989 Marketing Plan...

Changes in soil nutrients after 10 years of cattle manure and swine effluent application

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Application of cattle manure and swine effluent to cropland builds nutrient pools, affects soil quality, and increases crop productivity. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the rate of change in soil nutrient concentration and soil chemical properties due to cattle manure and swine e...

The Functional Transitions Model: Maximizing Ability in the Context of Progressive Disability Associated with Alzheimer's Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slaughter, Susan; Bankes, Jane

2007-01-01

The Functional Transitions Model (FTM) integrates the theoretical notions of progressive functional decline associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), excess disability, and transitions occurring intermittently along the trajectory of functional decline. Application of the Functional Transitions Model to clinical practice encompasses the paradox of…

26 CFR 1.1394-0 - Table of contents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... bond and loan recycling programs. (g) Limitation on amount of bonds. (1) Determination of outstanding... with deemed compliance provisions. (3) Application to pooled financing bond and loan recycling programs...

Belowground Response to Drought in a Tropical Forest Soil. II. Change in Microbial Function Impacts Carbon Composition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bouskill, Nicholas J.; Wood, Tana E.; Baran, Richard

Climate model projections for tropical regions show clear perturbation of precipitation patterns leading to increased frequency and severity of drought in some regions. Previous work has shown declining soil moisture to be a strong driver of changes in microbial trait distribution, however, the feedback of any shift in functional potential on ecosystem properties related to carbon cycling are poorly understood. Here we show that drought-induced changes in microbial functional diversity and activity shape, and are in turn shaped by, the composition of dissolved and soil-associated carbon. We also demonstrate that a shift in microbial functional traits that favor the productionmore » of hygroscopic compounds alter the efflux of carbon dioxide following soil rewetting. Under drought the composition of the dissolved organic carbon pool changed in a manner consistent with a microbial metabolic response. We hypothesize that this microbial ecophysiological response to changing soil moisture elevates the intracellular carbon demand stimulating extracellular enzyme production, that prompts the observed decline in more complex carbon compounds (e.g., cellulose and lignin). Furthermore, a metabolic response to drought appeared to condition (biologically and physically) the soil, notably through the production of polysaccharides, particularly in experimental plots that had been pre-exposed to a short-term drought. This hysteretic response, in addition to an observed drought-related decline in phosphorus concentration, may have been responsible for a comparatively modest CO 2 efflux following wet-up in drought plots relative to control plots.« less

Predicting Liver Transplant Capacity Using Discrete Event Simulation.

PubMed

Toro-Díaz, Hector; Mayorga, Maria E; Barritt, A Sidney; Orman, Eric S; Wheeler, Stephanie B

2015-08-01

The number of liver transplants (LTs) performed in the US increased until 2006 but has since declined despite an ongoing increase in demand. This decline may be due in part to decreased donor liver quality and increasing discard of poor-quality livers. We constructed a discrete event simulation (DES) model informed by current donor characteristics to predict future LT trends through the year 2030. The data source for our model is the United Network for Organ Sharing database, which contains patient-level information on all organ transplants performed in the US. Previous analysis showed that liver discard is increasing and that discarded organs are more often from donors who are older, are obese, have diabetes, and donated after cardiac death. Given that the prevalence of these factors is increasing, the DES model quantifies the reduction in the number of LTs performed through 2030. In addition, the model estimatesthe total number of future donors needed to maintain the current volume of LTs and the effect of a hypothetical scenario of improved reperfusion technology.We also forecast the number of patients on the waiting list and compare this with the estimated number of LTs to illustrate the impact that decreased LTs will have on patients needing transplants. By altering assumptions about the future donor pool, this model can be used to develop policy interventions to prevent a further decline in this lifesaving therapy. To our knowledge, there are no similar predictive models of future LT use based on epidemiological trends. © The Author(s) 2014.

Predicting Liver Transplant Capacity Using Discrete Event Simulation

PubMed Central

Diaz, Hector Toro; Mayorga, Maria; Barritt, A. Sidney; Orman, Eric S.; Wheeler, Stephanie B.

2014-01-01

The number of liver transplants (LTs) performed in the US increased until 2006, but has since declined despite an ongoing increase in demand. This decline may be due in part to decreased donor liver quality and increasing discard of poor quality livers. We constructed a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model informed by current donor characteristics to predict future LT trends through the year 2030. The data source for our model is the United Network for Organ Sharing database, which contains patient level information on all organ transplants performed in the US. Previous analysis showed that liver discard is increasing and that discarded organs are more often from donors who are older, obese, have diabetes, and donated after cardiac death. Given that the prevalence of these factors is increasing, the DES model quantifies the reduction in the number of LTs performed through 2030. In addition, the model estimates the total number of future donors needed to maintain the current volume of LTs, and the effect of a hypothetical scenario of improved reperfusion technology. We also forecast the number of patients on the waiting list and compare this to the estimated number of LTs to illustrate the impact that decreased LTs will have on patients needing transplants. By altering assumptions about the future donor pool, this model can be used to develop policy interventions to prevent a further decline in this life saving therapy. To our knowledge, there are no similar predictive models of future LT use based on epidemiologic trends. PMID:25391681

The dynamic relationship between homicide rates and social, economic, and political factors from 1970 to 2000*.

PubMed

McCall, Patricia L; Parker, Karen F; MacDonald, John M

2008-09-01

After reaching their highest levels of the 20th century, homicide rates in the United States declined precipitously in the early 1990s. This study examines a number of factors that might have contributed to both the sharp increase and decline in homicide rates. We use a pooled cross-sectional time series model to assess the relationship between changes in structural conditions and the change in homicide rates over four decennial time points (1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000). We assess the extent to which structural covariates associated with social, economic and political conditions commonly used in homicide research (e.g., urban decay, poverty, and the weakening of family and social bonds) are related to the change in homicide rates. Along with these classic covariates, we incorporate some contemporary explanations (e.g., imprisonment rates and drug trafficking) that have been proposed to address the recent decline in urban homicide rates. Our results indicate that both classic and contemporary explanations are related to homicide trends over the last three decades of the 20th century. Specifically, changes in resource deprivation and in the relative size of the youth population are associated with changes in the homicide rate across these time points. Increased imprisonment is also significantly related to homicide changes. These findings lead us to conclude that efforts to understand the changing nature of homicide will require serious consideration, if not integration, of classic and contemporary explanations.

Belowground Response to Drought in a Tropical Forest Soil. II. Change in Microbial Function Impacts Carbon Composition

PubMed Central

Bouskill, Nicholas J.; Wood, Tana E.; Baran, Richard; Hao, Zhao; Ye, Zaw; Bowen, Ben P.; Lim, Hsiao Chien; Nico, Peter S.; Holman, Hoi-Ying; Gilbert, Benjamin; Silver, Whendee L.; Northen, Trent R.; Brodie, Eoin L.

2016-01-01

Climate model projections for tropical regions show clear perturbation of precipitation patterns leading to increased frequency and severity of drought in some regions. Previous work has shown declining soil moisture to be a strong driver of changes in microbial trait distribution, however, the feedback of any shift in functional potential on ecosystem properties related to carbon cycling are poorly understood. Here we show that drought-induced changes in microbial functional diversity and activity shape, and are in turn shaped by, the composition of dissolved and soil-associated carbon. We also demonstrate that a shift in microbial functional traits that favor the production of hygroscopic compounds alter the efflux of carbon dioxide following soil rewetting. Under drought the composition of the dissolved organic carbon pool changed in a manner consistent with a microbial metabolic response. We hypothesize that this microbial ecophysiological response to changing soil moisture elevates the intracellular carbon demand stimulating extracellular enzyme production, that prompts the observed decline in more complex carbon compounds (e.g., cellulose and lignin). Furthermore, a metabolic response to drought appeared to condition (biologically and physically) the soil, notably through the production of polysaccharides, particularly in experimental plots that had been pre-exposed to a short-term drought. This hysteretic response, in addition to an observed drought-related decline in phosphorus concentration, may have been responsible for a comparatively modest CO2 efflux following wet-up in drought plots relative to control plots. PMID:27014243

Belowground Response to Drought in a Tropical Forest Soil. II. Change in Microbial Function Impacts Carbon Composition

DOE PAGES

Bouskill, Nicholas J.; Wood, Tana E.; Baran, Richard; ...

2016-03-15

Climate model projections for tropical regions show clear perturbation of precipitation patterns leading to increased frequency and severity of drought in some regions. Previous work has shown declining soil moisture to be a strong driver of changes in microbial trait distribution, however, the feedback of any shift in functional potential on ecosystem properties related to carbon cycling are poorly understood. Here we show that drought-induced changes in microbial functional diversity and activity shape, and are in turn shaped by, the composition of dissolved and soil-associated carbon. We also demonstrate that a shift in microbial functional traits that favor the productionmore » of hygroscopic compounds alter the efflux of carbon dioxide following soil rewetting. Under drought the composition of the dissolved organic carbon pool changed in a manner consistent with a microbial metabolic response. We hypothesize that this microbial ecophysiological response to changing soil moisture elevates the intracellular carbon demand stimulating extracellular enzyme production, that prompts the observed decline in more complex carbon compounds (e.g., cellulose and lignin). Furthermore, a metabolic response to drought appeared to condition (biologically and physically) the soil, notably through the production of polysaccharides, particularly in experimental plots that had been pre-exposed to a short-term drought. This hysteretic response, in addition to an observed drought-related decline in phosphorus concentration, may have been responsible for a comparatively modest CO 2 efflux following wet-up in drought plots relative to control plots.« less

Nitrogen Alters Fungal Communities in Boreal Forest Soil: Implications for Carbon Cycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, S. D.; Treseder, K. K.

2005-12-01

One potential effect of climate change in high latitude ecosystems is to increase soil nutrient availability. In particular, greater nitrogen availability could impact decomposer communities and lead to altered rates of soil carbon cycling. Since fungi are the primary decomposers in many high-latitude ecosystems, we used molecular techniques and field surveys to test whether fungal communities and abundances differed in response to nitrogen fertilization in a boreal forest ecosystem. We predicted that fungi that degrade recalcitrant carbon would decline under nitrogen fertilization, while fungi that degrade labile carbon would increase, leading to no net change in rates of soil carbon mineralization. The molecular data showed that basidiomycete fungi dominate the active fungal community in both fertilized and unfertilized soils. However, we found that fertilization reduced peak mushroom biomass by 79%, although most of the responsive fungi were ectomycorrhizal and therefore their capacity to degrade soil carbon is uncertain. Fertilization increased the activity of the cellulose-degrading enzyme beta-glucosidase by 78%, while protease activity declined by 39% and polyphenol oxidase, a lignin-degrading enzyme, did not respond. Rates of soil respiration did not change in response to fertilization. These results suggest that increased nitrogen availability does alter the composition of the fungal community, and its potential to degrade different carbon compounds. However, these differences do not affect the total flux of CO2 from the soil, even though the contribution to CO2 respiration from different carbon pools may vary with fertilization. We conclude that in the short term, increased nitrogen availability due to climate warming or nitrogen deposition is more likely to alter the turnover of individual carbon pools rather than total carbon fluxes from the soil. Future work should determine if changes in fungal community structure and associated differences in substrate utilization will also affect total carbon fluxes over longer time scales.

Changing to a vegetarian diet reduces the body creatine pool in omnivorous women, but appears not to affect carnitine and carnosine homeostasis: a randomised trial.

PubMed

Blancquaert, Laura; Baguet, Audrey; Bex, Tine; Volkaert, Anneke; Everaert, Inge; Delanghe, Joris; Petrovic, Mirko; Vervaet, Chris; De Henauw, Stefaan; Constantin-Teodosiu, Dumitru; Greenhaff, Paul; Derave, Wim

2018-04-01

Balanced vegetarian diets are popular, although they are nearly absent in creatine and carnosine and contain considerably less carnitine than non-vegetarian diets. Few longitudinal intervention studies investigating the effect of a vegetarian diet on the availability of these compounds currently exist. We aimed to investigate the effect of transiently switching omnivores onto a vegetarian diet for 6 months on muscle and plasma creatine, carnitine and carnosine homeostasis. In a 6-month intervention, forty omnivorous women were ascribed to three groups: continued omnivorous diet (control, n 10), vegetarian diet without supplementation (Veg+Pla, n 15) and vegetarian diet combined with daily β-alanine (0·8-0·4 g/d) and creatine supplementation (1 g creatine monohydrate/d) (Veg+Suppl, n 15). Before (0 months; 0M), after 3 months (3M) and 6 months (6M), a fasted venous blood sample and 24-h urine was collected, and muscle carnosine content was determined by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Muscle biopsies were obtained at 0M and 3M. Plasma creatine and muscle total creatine content declined from 0M to 3M in Veg+Pla (P=0·013 and P=0·009, respectively), whereas plasma creatine increased from 0M in Veg+Suppl (P=0·004). None of the carnitine-related compounds in plasma or muscle showed a significant time×group interaction effect. 1H-MRS-determined muscle carnosine content was unchanged over 6M in control and Veg+Pla, but increased in Veg+Suppl in soleus (P<0·001) and gastrocnemius (P=0·001) muscle. To conclude, the body creatine pool declined over a 3-month vegetarian diet in omnivorous women, which was ameliorated when accompanied by low-dose dietary creatine supplementation. Carnitine and carnosine homeostasis was unaffected by a 3- or 6-month vegetarian diet, respectively.

Effects of preincubation of eggs and activation medium on the percentage of eyed embryos in ide (Leuciscus idus), an externally fertilizing fish.

PubMed

Siddique, Mohammad Abdul Momin; Linhart, Otomar; Krejszeff, Sławomir; Żarski, Daniel; Król, Jarosław; Butts, Ian Anthony Ernest

2016-03-15

Standardization of fertilization protocols is crucial for improving reproductive techniques for externally fertilizing fish in captive breeding. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the effects of preincubation of eggs and activation medium on the percentage of eyed embryos for ide (Leuciscus idus). Pooled eggs from five females were preincubated in three different activating media for 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 seconds and then fertilized by pooled sperm from five males. At the eyed-egg stage, the percentage of viable embryos was later calculated. Results showed that preincubation time was significant for the freshwater activation medium (P < 0.001), such that the percentage of eyed embryos declined across the preincubation time gradient. Additionally, there was an effect on the percentage of eyed embryos when eggs were incubated with Woynarovich solution (P < 0.001), such that a decline was detected at 90 seconds, whereas no effect was detected for the saline water medium. Activating medium had a significant effect on the percentage of eyed embryos for each preincubation time (P < 0.05). More precisely, freshwater produced the lowest percentage of eyed embryos at all preincubation times (ranged from 1.9% at 120 seconds to 43.6% at 0 seconds), whereas saline water and Woynarovich solution produced the highest percentage of eyed embryos at 0 seconds and 30 seconds before incubation. Woynarovich solution produced the highest percentage of eyed embryos at 60 seconds (65.26%), whereas saline water produced the highest percentage at 90 seconds (68.37%). No difference was detected between saline water and Woynarovich solution at 120 seconds. Examination of sperm traits showed no impact of activating medium on computer assisted sperm analysis parameters. Together, these results suggest that saline water or Woynarovich solution improve fertilization rate in ide during IVF; thus, these media are useful for standardizing fertilization protocols and controlled reproduction for this species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A 10-Year Assessment of Hemlock Decline in the Catskill Mountain Region of New York State Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Techniques.

PubMed

Hanavan, Ryan P; Pontius, Jennifer; Hallett, Richard

2015-02-01

The hemlock woolly adelgid is a serious pest of Eastern and Carolina hemlock in the eastern United States. Successfully managing the hemlock resource in the region depends on careful monitoring of the spread of this invasive pest and the targeted application of management options such as biological control, chemical, or silvicultural treatments. To inform these management activities and test the applicability of a landscape-scale remote sensing effort to monitor hemlock condition, hyperspectral collections, and concurrent ground-truthing in 2001 and 2012 of hemlock condition were compared with field metrics spanning a 10-yr survey in the Catskills region of New York. Fine twig dieback significantly increased from 9 to 15% and live crown ratio significantly decreased from 67 to 56% in 2001 and 2012, respectively. We found a significant shift from 59% "healthy" hemlock in 2001 to only 16% in 2012. However, this shift from healthy to declining classifications was mostly a shift to decline class 2 "early decline". These results indicate that while there has been significant increase in decline symptoms as measured in both field and remote sensing assessments, a majority of the declining areas identified in the resulting spatial coverages remain in the "early decline" category and widespread mortality has not yet occurred. While this slow decline across the region stands in contrast to many reports of mortality within 10 yr, the results from this work are in line with other long-term monitoring studies and indicate that armed with the spatial information provided here, continued management strategies can be focused on particular areas to help control the further decline of hemlock in the region. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2015. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

46 CFR 401.310 - Application for establishment of pools.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... (partnership, corporation, etc.). (d) Copies of articles of incorporation, bylaws, partnership agreements, etc... association desire to render pilotage services. (i) An inventory of owned or leased boats, launches, radio...

Precise pooling and dispensing of microfluidic droplets towards micro- to macro-world interfacing

PubMed Central

Brouzes, Eric; Carniol, April; Bakowski, Tomasz; Strey, Helmut H.

2014-01-01

Droplet microfluidics possesses unique properties such as the ability to carry out multiple independent reactions without dispersion of samples in microchannels. We seek to extend the use of droplet microfluidics to a new range of applications by enabling its integration into workflows based on traditional technologies, such as microtiter plates. Our strategy consists in developing a novel method to manipulate, pool and deliver a precise number of microfluidic droplets. To this aim, we present a basic module that combines droplet trapping with an on-chip valve. We quantitatively analyzed the trapping efficiency of the basic module in order to optimize its design. We also demonstrate the integration of the basic module into a multiplex device that can deliver 8 droplets at every cycle. This device will have a great impact in low throughput droplet applications that necessitate interfacing with macroscale technologies. The micro- to macro- interface is particularly critical in microfluidic applications that aim at sample preparation and has not been rigorously addressed in this context. PMID:25485102

Expanding the live kidney donor pool: ethical considerations regarding altruistic donors, paired and pooled programs.

PubMed

Patel, Shaneel Rajendra; Chadha, Priyanka; Papalois, Vassilios

2011-06-01

In renal transplant, there is a well-known deficiency in organ supply relative to demand. Live donation provides superior results when compared with deceased donation including a better rate of graft success and fewer immunologic complications. This deficiency in organs leads to significant morbidity and mortality rates. Alternative avenues have been extensively explored that may expand the live donor pool. They include altruistic donation as well as paired and pooled exchange programs. Altruistic donation is a truly selfless act from a donor unknown to the recipient. Kidney paired donation involves 2 incompatible donor-recipient pairs swapping donors to produce compatibility. Pooled donation involves at least 2 pairs, and can take the form of domino chains in which altruistic input sets up a chain of transplants, in which each recipient's incompatible donor makes a donation for the next recipient. Despite application of these various methods, there lie extensive ethical issues surrounding them. Misconceptions frequently occur; for instance, the perceived benefit that donating an organ to a loved one is greater for a related donor than for an altruistic one. Additionally, it is frequently believed that immunologic incompatibility offers coerced donors liberation from surgery, and that overcoming these barriers by introducing exchange programs provides vulnerable donors less protection. This article explores these and other complex ethical issues surrounding the various methods of expanding the donor pool. The authors offer opinions that challenge the ethical issues and attempt to overcome those views that hinder progress in the field.

Detection and description of various stores of nitric oxide store in vascular wall.

PubMed

Vlasova, M A; Vanin, A F; Muller, B; Smirin, B V; Malyshev, I Yu; Manukhina, E B

2003-09-01

We analyzed the possibility of the existence of various NO pools in the vascular wall. Incubation of isolated rat aorta with dinitrosyl iron complex (NO donor) led to the formation of NO stores in the vascular wall detected by vascular relaxation response induced by diethyldithiocarbamate and N-acetylcysteine. Comparison of the effects of successive application of diethyldithiocarbamate and N-acetylcysteine revealed two NO pools (one pool responded to both agents, while other responded only to N-acetylcysteine). Inhibition of guanylate cyclase with methylene blue abolished the response to diethyldithiocarbamate, while the reaction to N-acetylcysteine decreased by the value, corresponding to diethyldithiocarbamate-dependent relaxation. It is hypothesized that in the vascular wall NO is stored in the form protein-bound dinitrosyl iron complexes and S-nitrosothiols in hydrophilic and hydrophobic cell compartments.

First-Year, Full-Time Graduate Science Enrollment Continues to Decline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Science Resources Studies Highlights, 1972

1972-01-01

Findings from a study of departmental data derived from traineeship applications in the sciences (including mathematical sciences) are presented in this paper. Data on full-time graduate enrollments from 1969 to 1971 are analyzed by type of institution, with results showing a continuing decline in first-year, full-time graduate science enrollment.…

The quest for rare variants: pooled multiplexed next generation sequencing in plants.

PubMed

Marroni, Fabio; Pinosio, Sara; Morgante, Michele

2012-01-01

Next generation sequencing (NGS) instruments produce an unprecedented amount of sequence data at contained costs. This gives researchers the possibility of designing studies with adequate power to identify rare variants at a fraction of the economic and labor resources required by individual Sanger sequencing. As of today, few research groups working in plant sciences have exploited this potentiality, showing that pooled NGS provides results in excellent agreement with those obtained by individual Sanger sequencing. The aim of this review is to convey to the reader the general ideas underlying the use of pooled NGS for the identification of rare variants. To facilitate a thorough understanding of the possibilities of the method, we will explain in detail the possible experimental and analytical approaches and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. We will show that information on allele frequency obtained by pooled NGS can be used to accurately compute basic population genetics indexes such as allele frequency, nucleotide diversity, and Tajima's D. Finally, we will discuss applications and future perspectives of the multiplexed NGS approach.

Nucleate pool boiling: High gravity to reduced gravity; liquid metals to cryogens

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merte, Herman, Jr.

1988-01-01

Requirements for the proper functioning of equipment and personnel in reduced gravity associated with space platforms and future space station modules introduce unique problems in temperature control; power generation; energy dissipation; the storage, transfer, control and conditioning of fluids; and liquid-vapor separation. The phase change of boiling is significant in all of these. Although both pool and flow boiling would be involved, research results to date include only pool boiling because buoyancy effects are maximized for this case. The effective application of forced convection boiling heat transfer in the microgravity of space will require a well grounded and cogent understanding of the mechanisms involved. Experimental results are presented for pool boiling from a single geometrical configuration, a flat surface, covering a wide range of body forces from a/g = 20 to 1 to a/g = 0 to -1 for a cryogenic liquid, and from a/g = 20 to 1 for water and a liquid metal. Similarities in behavior are noted for these three fluids at the higher gravity levels, and may reasonably be expected to continue at reduced gravity levels.

The sporulation of the green alga Ulva prolifera is controlled by changes in photosynthetic electron transport chain.

PubMed

Wang, Hui; Lin, Apeng; Gu, Wenhui; Huan, Li; Gao, Shan; Wang, Guangce

2016-04-22

Sporulation and spore release are essential phases of the life cycle in algae and land plants. Ulva prolifera, which is an ideal organism for studying sporulation and spore release, was used as the experimental material in the present study. The determination of photosynthetic parameters, combined with microscopic observation, treatment with photosynthetic inhibitors, limitation of carbon acquisition, and protein mass spectrometry, was employed in this experiment. Cycle electron transport (CEF) was found enhanced at the onset of sporangia formation. The inhibition effect of dibromothymoquinone (DBMIB) towards sporulation was always strong during the sporulation process whereas the inhibition effect of 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) was continuously declined accompanied with the progress of sporulation. The changes of photosynthesis resulted from the limitation of CO2 acquisition could stimulate sporulation onset. Quantitative protein analysis showed that enzymes involved in carbon fixation, including RUBISCO and pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase, declined during sporogenesis, while proteins involved in sporulation, including tubulin and centrin, increased. These results suggest that enhanced cyclic electron flow (CEF) and oxidation of the plastoquinone pool are essential for sporangia formation onset, and changes in photosynthetic electron transport chain have significant impacts on sporulation of the green algae.

Quantitative proteomic analysis of age-related subventricular zone proteins associated with neurodegenerative disease.

PubMed

Wang, Xianli; Dong, Chuanming; Sun, Lixin; Zhu, Liang; Sun, Chenxi; Ma, Rongjie; Ning, Ke; Lu, Bing; Zhang, Jinfu; Xu, Jun

2016-11-18

Aging is characterized by a progressive decline in the function of adult tissues which can lead to neurodegenerative disorders. However, little is known about the correlation between protein changes in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and neurodegenerative diseases with age. In the present study, neural stem cells (NSCs) were derived from the SVZ on postnatal 7 d, 1 m, and 12 m-old mice. With age, NSCs exhibited increased SA-β-gal activity and decreased proliferation and pool size in the SVZ zone, and were associated with elevated inflammatory chemokines and cytokines. Furthermore, quantitative proteomics and ingenuity pathway analysis were used to evaluate the significant age-related alterations in proteins and their functions. Some downregulated proteins such as DPYSL2, TPI1, ALDH, and UCHL1 were found to play critical roles in the neurological disease and PSMA1, PSMA3, PSMC2, PSMD11, and UCHL1 in protein homeostasis. Taken together, we have provided valuable insight into the cellular and molecular processes that underlie aging-associated declines in SVZ neurogenesis for the early detection of differences in gene expression and the potential risk of neurological disease, which is beneficial in the prevention of the diseases.

Age Related Changes in Metabolite Concentrations in the Normal Spinal Cord

PubMed Central

Abdel-Aziz, Khaled; Solanky, Bhavana S.; Yiannakas, Marios C.; Altmann, Daniel R.; Wheeler-Kingshott, Claudia A. M.; Thompson, Alan J.; Ciccarelli, Olga

2014-01-01

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies have previously described metabolite changes associated with aging of the healthy brain and provided insights into normal brain aging that can assist us in differentiating age-related changes from those associated with neurological disease. The present study investigates whether age-related changes in metabolite concentrations occur in the healthy cervical spinal cord. 25 healthy volunteers, aged 23–65 years, underwent conventional imaging and single-voxel MRS of the upper cervical cord using an optimised point resolved spectroscopy sequence on a 3T Achieva system. Metabolite concentrations normalised to unsuppressed water were quantified using LCModel and associations between age and spinal cord metabolite concentrations were examined using multiple regressions. A linear decline in total N-Acetyl-aspartate concentration (0.049 mmol/L lower per additional year of age, p = 0.010) and Glutamate-Glutamine concentration (0.054 mmol/L lower per additional year of age, p = 0.002) was seen within our sample age range, starting in the early twenties. The findings suggest that neuroaxonal loss and/or metabolic neuronal dysfunction, and decline in glutamate-glutamine neurotransmitter pool progress with aging. PMID:25310093

Statin Therapy and Outcomes in Trials of Nintedanib in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

PubMed

Kreuter, Michael; Costabel, Ulrich; Richeldi, Luca; Cottin, Vincent; Wijsenbeek, Marlies; Bonella, Francesco; Bendstrup, Elisabeth; Maher, Toby M; Wachtlin, Daniel; Stowasser, Susanne; Kolb, Martin

Cardiovascular comorbidities are frequent in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and many patients with IPF receive treatment with statins to reduce cardiovascular risk. We investigated whether statin use at baseline was associated with differences in disease progression in placebo-treated patients or influenced the treatment effect of nintedanib in the INPULSIS® trials. Post-hoc subgroup analyses of patients receiving versus not receiving statins at baseline using pooled data from the INPULSIS® trials. At baseline, 312 patients received statins and 749 did not. The annual rates of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) in patients treated with nintedanib and placebo, respectively, were -78.9 and -187.6 mL/year in patients who received statins at baseline, and -127.9 and -237.9 mL/year in patients who did not. The effect of nintedanib was consistent across subgroups (p = 0.9590). In the INPULSIS® trials, there was a numerically lower FVC decline in placebo-treated patients with IPF who received statins at baseline versus those who did not. Use of statins at baseline did not influence the treatment effect of nintedanib. Prospective data are needed to assess the impact of statins on the course of IPF. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Descriptive risk assessment of the effects of acidic deposition on Rocky Mountain amphibians

USGS Publications Warehouse

Corn, Paul Stephen; Vertucci, Frank A.

1992-01-01

We evaluated the risk of habitat acidification to the six species of amphibians that occur in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming. Our evaluation included extrinsic environmental factors (habitat sensitivity and amount of acidic atmospheric deposition) and species-specific intrinsic factors (sensitivity to acid conditions, habitat preferences, and timing of breeding). Only one of 57 surveyed localities had both acid neutralizing capacity μeq/L and sulfate deposition >10 kg/ha/yr, extrinsic conditions with a possible risk of acidification. Amphibian breeding habitats in the Rocky Mountains do not appear to be sufficiently acidic to kill amphibian embryos. Some species breed in high-elevation vernal pools during snowmelt, and an acidic pulse during snowmelt may pose a risk to embryos of these species. However, the acidic pulse, if present, probably occurs before open water appears and before breeding begins. Although inherent variability of amphibian population size may make detection of declines from anthropogenic effects difficult, acidic deposition is unlikely to have caused the observed declines of Bufo boreas and Rana pipiens in Colorado and Wyoming. Amphibians in the Rocky Mountains are not likely to be at risk with acidification inputs at present levels.

Behavior of motor units in human biceps brachii during a submaximal fatiguing contraction.

PubMed

Garland, S J; Enoka, R M; Serrano, L P; Robinson, G A

1994-06-01

The activity of 50 single motor units was recorded in the biceps brachii muscle of human subjects while they performed submaximal isometric elbow flexion contractions that were sustained to induce fatigue. The purposes of this study were to examine the influence of fatigue on motor unit threshold force and to determine the relationship between the threshold force of recruitment and the initial interimpulse interval on the discharge rates of single motor units during a fatiguing contraction. The discharge rate of most motor units that were active from the beginning of the contraction declined during the fatiguing contraction, whereas the discharge rates of most newly recruited units were either constant or increased slightly. The absolute threshold forces of recruitment and derecruitment decreased, and the variability of interimpulse intervals increased after the fatigue task. The change in motor unit discharge rate during the fatigue task was related to the initial rate, but the direction of the change in discharge rate could not be predicted from the threshold force of recruitment or the variability in the interimpulse intervals. The discharge rate of most motor units declined despite an increase in the excitatory drive to the motoneuron pool during the fatigue task.

Long-term accumulation and transport of anthropogenic phosphorus in three river basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powers, Stephen M.; Bruulsema, Thomas W.; Burt, Tim P.; Chan, Neng Iong; Elser, James J.; Haygarth, Philip M.; Howden, Nicholas J. K.; Jarvie, Helen P.; Lyu, Yang; Peterson, Heidi M.; Sharpley, Andrew N.; Shen, Jianbo; Worrall, Fred; Zhang, Fusuo

2016-05-01

Global food production depends on phosphorus. Phosphorus is broadly applied as fertilizer, but excess phosphorus contributes to eutrophication of surface water bodies and coastal ecosystems. Here we present an analysis of phosphorus fluxes in three large river basins, including published data on fertilizer, harvested crops, sewage, food waste and river fluxes. Our analyses reveal that the magnitude of phosphorus accumulation has varied greatly over the past 30-70 years in mixed agricultural-urban landscapes of the Thames Basin, UK, the Yangtze Basin, China, and the rural Maumee Basin, USA. Fluxes of phosphorus in fertilizer, harvested crops, food waste and sewage dominate over the river fluxes. Since the late 1990s, net exports from the Thames and Maumee Basins have exceeded inputs, suggesting net mobilization of the phosphorus pool accumulated in earlier decades. In contrast, the Yangtze Basin has consistently accumulated phosphorus since 1980. Infrastructure modifications such as sewage treatment and dams may explain more recent declines in total phosphorus fluxes from the Thames and Yangtze Rivers. We conclude that human-dominated river basins may undergo a prolonged but finite accumulation phase when phosphorus inputs exceed agricultural demand, and this accumulated phosphorus may continue to mobilize long after inputs decline.

Forty years of progress.

PubMed

Löe, H

1989-05-01

The celebration of the 40th anniversary of the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) provides an opportunity for reviewing the growth of dental research over the decades. The Institute owes its origin to public and professional concern over the dental health of Americans and the prospect that a Federal investment in dental research could pay off. The early years of the Institute were devoted to studies of fluoride and dental caries, with notable achievements in clinical trials of water fluoridation and caries microbiology. During the 1960s came the discovery that the periodontal diseases, like dental caries, were bacterial infections that could be prevented. Basic and clinical research expanded, and the research manpower pool grew with the addition of microbiologists, immunologists, salivary gland investigators, and other basic biomedical and behavioral scientists. The Institute created special broad-based Dental Research Institutes and Centers to foster interdisciplinary research, and continued to expand its research base. A national survey undertaken by NIDR in the late 1970s showed major declines in caries prevalence in schoolchildren. Recent NIDR surveys of adults and older Americans as well as a second children's survey have demonstrated overall improvements in oral health and a continued decline in childhood caries.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Grain fragmentation in ultrasonic-assisted TIG weld of pure aluminum.

PubMed

Chen, Qihao; Lin, Sanbao; Yang, Chunli; Fan, Chenglei; Ge, Hongliang

2017-11-01

Under the action of acoustic waves during an ultrasonic-assisted tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process, a grain of a TIG weld of aluminum alloy is refined by nucleation and grain fragmentation. Herein, effects of ultrasound on grain fragmentation in the TIG weld of aluminum alloy are investigated via systematic welding experiments of pure aluminum. First, experiments involving continuous and fixed-position welding are performed, which demonstrate that ultrasound can break the grain of the TIG weld of pure aluminum. The microstructural characteristics of an ultrasonic-assisted TIG weld fabricated by fixed-position welding are analyzed. The microstructure is found to transform from plane crystal, columnar crystal, and uniform equiaxed crystal into plane crystal, deformed columnar crystal, and nonuniform equiaxed crystal after application of ultrasound. Second, factors influencing ultrasonic grain fragmentation are investigated. The ultrasonic amplitude and welding current are found to have a considerable effect on grain fragmentation. The degree of fragmentation first increases and then decreases with an increase in ultrasonic amplitude, and it increases with an increase in welding current. Measurement results of the vibration of the weld pool show that the degree of grain fragmentation is related to the intensity of acoustic nonlinearity in the weld pool. The greater the intensity of acoustic nonlinearity, the greater is the degree of grain fragmentation. Finally, the mechanism of ultrasonic grain fragmentation in the TIG weld of pure aluminum is discussed. A finite element simulation is used to simulate the acoustic pressure and flow in the weld pool. The acoustic pressure in the weld pool exceeds the cavitation threshold, and cavitation bubbles are generated. The flow velocity in the weld pool does not change noticeably after application of ultrasound. It is concluded that the high-pressure conditions induced during the occurrence of cavitation, lead to grain fragmentation in a pure aluminum TIG weld during an ultrasonic-assisted TIG welding process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hancocked: Manulife and the Limits of Private Health Insurance

PubMed Central

Evans, Robert G.

2011-01-01

Long-term care (LTC) insurance is a salesman's dream. Millions of well-heeled boomers, anxious to protect their estates from the random expropriation of institutional dependency — what a market! But for Manulife, bleeding $1.5 million a day in LTC claims through subsidiary John Hancock, LTC is a nightmare. Company spokesmen blame unexpected increases in life expectancy. But management's fundamental error was insuring correlated risks. Risk pooling works only when individual risks are uncorrelated. Increases in life expectancy affect all contracts together. Manulife made the same mistake selling equity-linked annuities with guaranteed floors — essentially insuring against stock market declines. Results for shareholders have been catastrophic. Top management, meanwhile, have been honoured and richly rewarded. PMID:22851982

Development of gender attitude traditionality across middle childhood and adolescence.

PubMed

Crouter, Ann C; Whiteman, Shawn D; McHale, Susan M; Osgood, D Wayne

2007-01-01

The development of gender attitudes in 402 youth (201 firstborn and 201 secondborn siblings) in 201 European American families was examined using data collected on seven occasions across 9 years. Pooling across siblings and using multilevel modeling, we examined gender attitude development from ages 7 to 19. Consistent with an ecological perspective, the combined effects of individual (i.e., sex, age, birth order) and contextual (i.e., parents' gender attitudes, sibling sex) characteristics predicted patterns of change. Although most youth declined in traditionality, the attitudes of firstborn boys with brothers and traditional parents became more traditional over time. No one longitudinal pattern captured the development of gender attitudes; trajectories varied as a function of contextual and personal characteristics.

A new surveillance and response tool: risk map of infected Oncomelania hupensis detected by Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) from pooled samples.

PubMed

Tong, Qun-Bo; Chen, Rui; Zhang, Yi; Yang, Guo-Jing; Kumagai, Takashi; Furushima-Shimogawara, Rieko; Lou, Di; Yang, Kun; Wen, Li-Yong; Lu, Shao-Hong; Ohta, Nobuo; Zhou, Xiao-Nong

2015-01-01

Although schistosomiasis remains a serious health problem worldwide, significant achievements in schistosomiasis control has been made in the People's Republic of China. The disease has been eliminated in five out of 12 endemic provinces, and the prevalence in remaining endemic areas is very low and is heading toward elimination. A rapid and sensitive method for monitoring the distribution of infected Oncomelania hupensis is urgently required. We applied a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay targeting 28S rDNA for the rapid and effective detection of Schistosoma japonicum DNA in infected and prepatent infected O. hupensis snails. The detection limit of the LAMP method was 100 fg of S. japonicum genomic DNA. To promote the application of the approach in the field, the LAMP assay was used to detect infection in pooled samples of field-collected snails. In the pooled sample detection, snails were collected from 28 endemic areas, and 50 snails from each area were pooled based on the maximum pool size estimation, crushed together and DNA was extracted from each pooled sample as template for the LAMP assay. Based on the formula for detection from pooled samples, the proportion of positive pooled samples and the positive proportion of O. hupensis detected by LAMP of Xima village reached 66.67% and 1.33%, while those of Heini, Hongjia, Yangjiang and Huangshan villages were 33.33% and 0.67%, and those of Tuanzhou and Suliao villages were 16.67% and 0.33%, respectively. The remaining 21 monitoring field sites gave negative results. A risk map for the transmission of schistosomiasis was constructed using ArcMap, based on the positive proportion of O. hupensis infected with S. japonicum, as detected by the LAMP assay, which will form a guide for surveillance and response strategies in high risk areas. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Information content of incubation experiments for inverse estimation of pools in the Rothamsted carbon model: a Bayesian approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scharnagl, Benedikt; Vrugt, Jasper A.; Vereecken, Harry; Herbst, Michael

2010-05-01

Turnover of soil organic matter is usually described with multi-compartment models. However, a major drawback of these models is that the conceptually defined compartments (or pools) do not necessarily correspond to measurable soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions in real practice. This not only impairs our ability to rigorously evaluate SOC models but also makes it difficult to derive accurate initial states. In this study, we tested the usefulness and applicability of inverse modeling to derive the various carbon pool sizes in the Rothamsted carbon model (ROTHC) using a synthetic time series of mineralization rates from laboratory incubation. To appropriately account for data and model uncertainty we considered a Bayesian approach using the recently developed DiffeRential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) algorithm. This Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme derives the posterior probability density distribution of the initial pool sizes at the start of incubation from observed mineralization rates. We used the Kullback-Leibler divergence to quantify the information contained in the data and to illustrate the effect of increasing incubation times on the reliability of the pool size estimates. Our results show that measured mineralization rates generally provide sufficient information to reliably estimate the sizes of all active pools in the ROTHC model. However, with about 900 days of incubation, these experiments are excessively long. The use of prior information on microbial biomass provided a way forward to significantly reduce uncertainty and required duration of incubation to about 600 days. Explicit consideration of model parameter uncertainty in the estimation process further impaired the identifiability of initial pools, especially for the more slowly decomposing pools. Our illustrative case studies show how Bayesian inverse modeling can be used to provide important insights into the information content of incubation experiments. Moreover, the outcome of this virtual experiment helps to explain the results of related real-world studies on SOC dynamics.

ECS Maintenance Wed. 12/28

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2016-12-27

Date(s):  Wednesday, December 28, 2016 Time:  12 am - 12 pm EDT Event Impact:  The Data Pool, MISR order and browse tools, TAD, TES and MOPITT Search and Subset Applications, and Reverb will be unavailable...

Ecosystem carbon storage does not vary with mean annual temperature in Hawaiian tropical montane wet forests.

PubMed

Selmants, Paul C; Litton, Creighton M; Giardina, Christian P; Asner, Gregory P

2014-09-01

Theory and experiment agree that climate warming will increase carbon fluxes between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. The effect of this increased exchange on terrestrial carbon storage is less predictable, with important implications for potential feedbacks to the climate system. We quantified how increased mean annual temperature (MAT) affects ecosystem carbon storage in above- and belowground live biomass and detritus across a well-constrained 5.2 °C MAT gradient in tropical montane wet forests on the Island of Hawaii. This gradient does not systematically vary in biotic or abiotic factors other than MAT (i.e. dominant vegetation, substrate type and age, soil water balance, and disturbance history), allowing us to isolate the impact of MAT on ecosystem carbon storage. Live biomass carbon did not vary predictably as a function of MAT, while detrital carbon declined by ~14 Mg of carbon ha(-1) for each 1 °C rise in temperature - a trend driven entirely by coarse woody debris and litter. The largest detrital pool, soil organic carbon, was the most stable with MAT and averaged 48% of total ecosystem carbon across the MAT gradient. Total ecosystem carbon did not vary significantly with MAT, and the distribution of ecosystem carbon between live biomass and detritus remained relatively constant across the MAT gradient at ~44% and ~56%, respectively. These findings suggest that in the absence of alterations to precipitation or disturbance regimes, the size and distribution of carbon pools in tropical montane wet forests will be less sensitive to rising MAT than predicted by ecosystem models. This article also provides needed detail on how individual carbon pools and ecosystem-level carbon storage will respond to future warming. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Coffee intake and the incident risk of cognitive disorders: A dose-response meta-analysis of nine prospective cohort studies.

PubMed

Wu, Lei; Sun, Dali; He, Yao

2017-06-01

Previous epidemiological studies have provided inconsistent conclusions on the impact of coffee consumption in the developing of cognitive disorders. However, no previous meta-analysis has pooled the evidence from the prospective cohort studies to assess the influence of coffee drinking and its potential dose-response patterns on the risk of developing cognitive disorders specifically. Two databases (PubMed and Embase) were searched for evidence of cohort studies from inception to February 2016. We used a generic inverse-variance method with a random-effects model to pool the fully adjusted relative risks (RRs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In the dose-response analyses, a generalized least-squares trend estimation model was applied to computing the study-specific slopes. Nine prospective cohort studies involving 34,282 participants were included in our study. The duration of follow-up years ranged from 1.3 to 28. Compared with <1 cup, daily drinking of 1-2 cups of coffee was inversely linked with the occurrence of cognitive disorders (i.e., Alzheimer's disease, dementia, cognitive decline, and cognitive impairment), and the pooled RR (95% CI) was 0.82 (0.71, 0.94) with evidence of non-significant heterogeneity (I 2  = 25%). Non-significant differences were presented for the association between coffee consumption (>3 vs. <1 cup/d) and incident cognitive disorders. The dose-response analysis showed a "J-shaped" curve relationship of the risk of developing cognitive disorders with coffee consumption. A "J-shaped" association was presented between coffee intake and incident cognitive disorders, with the lowest risk of incident cognitive disorders at a daily consumption level of 1-2 cups of coffee. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Management Options for a High Elevation Forest in the Alps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jandl, R.; Jandl, N.; Schindlbacher, A.

2013-12-01

We explored different management strategies for a Cembran pine forest close to the timber line with respect to maintenance of the stand structure, the sequestration of carbon in the biomass and the soil, and the economical relevance of timber production. We used the forest growth simulation model Caldis for the implementation of three management intensities (zero managment, thinning every 30 years, thinning every 50 years) under two climate scenarios (IPCC A1B and B1). The soil carbon dynamics were analyzed with the simulation model Yasso07. The ecological evaluation of our simulation data showed that the extensive management with cutting interventions every 50 years allows the maintenance of the ecosystem carbon pool. Zero managment leads to the build-up of the carbon pool because the forest stand is rather unvulnerable to disturbances (bark beetle, storm). The more intensive mangement causes a decline in the ecosystem carbon pool. The economical evaluation showed the marginal relevance of the income generated by timber production. The main challenge is the compensation for the high harvesting costs (long-distance cable logging system). Even at extremely favorable market prices for timber from Cembran pine it is impossible to extract an appropriate amount of timber to justify the temporary instalment of the harvesting system and to maintain a stand density expected for a protection forest. We conclude that timber production is not a feasible object for mountain forests close to the timber line. Even in a warmer climate the productivity situation of forests close to the timberline will not change sufficiently. Therefore it will require public subsidies and personal efforts to maintain the silvicultural intensity at a level that is required for the sustainable maintenance of protection forests.

Simulated root dynamics of a 160-year-old sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) tree with and without ozone exposure using the TREGRO model.

PubMed

Retzlaff, W. A.; Weinstein, D. A.; Laurence, J. A.; Gollands, B.

1996-01-01

Because of difficulties in directly assessing root responses of mature forest trees exposed to atmospheric pollutants, we have used the model TREGRO to analyze the effects of a 3- and a 10-year exposure to ozone (O(3)) on root dynamics of a simulated 160-year-old sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) tree. We used existing phenological, allometric, and growth data to parameterize TREGRO to produce a simulated 160-year-old tree. Simulations were based on literature values for sugar maple fine root production and senescence and the photosynthetic responses of sugar maple seedlings exposed to O(3) in open-top chambers. In the simulated 3-year exposure to O(3), 2 x ambient atmospheric O(3) concentrations reduced net carbon (C) gain of the 160-year-old tree. This reduction occurred in the C storage pools (total nonstructural carbohydrate, TNC), with most of the reduction occurring in coarse (woody) roots. Total fine root production and senescence were unaffected by the simulated 3-year exposure to O(3). However, extending the simulated O(3) exposure period to 10 years depleted the TNC pools of the coarse roots and reduced total fine root production. Similar reductions in TNC pools have been observed in forest-grown sugar maple trees exhibiting symptoms of stress. We conclude that modeling can aid in evaluating the belowground response of mature forest trees to atmospheric pollution stress and could indicate the potential for gradual deterioration of tree health under conditions of long-term stress, a situation similar to that underlying the decline of sugar maple trees.

The effect of cold water endurance swimming on core temperature in aspiring English Channel swimmers.

PubMed

Diversi, Tara; Franks-Kardum, Vanessa; Climstein, Mike

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if cold water swimmers (CWS) developed hypothermia over a 6-h cold water endurance swim and whether body composition, stroke rate (SR) or personal characteristics correlated with core temperature (TC) change. Nine experienced male and female CWS who were aspiring English Channel (EC) swimmers volunteered to participate. Subjects aimed to complete their 6-h EC qualifying swim (water 15-15.8 °C/air 15-25 °C) while researchers intermittently monitored TC and SR. Data obtained included anthropometry (height, mass, segmental body composition), training volume and EC completion. Of the nine swimmers who volunteered, all successfully completed their EC qualifying swim. Six CWS had complete data included in analysis. One CWS demonstrated hypothermia (34.8 °C) at 6-h. TC rate of decline was slower in the first 3 h (-0.06 °C/hr) compared to the last 3 h (-0.36 °C/hr) of the swim. Older age was significantly correlated to TC change (r = -0.901, p < 0.05) and SR change (r = -0.915, p < 0.05). Absolute and percentage body fat (BF) were not significantly associated with higher TC. Mean SR over the 6-h swim was 57.8 spm (range 48-73 spm), and a significant (p < 0.05) decline in SR was observed over the 6 h (-9.7 %). A strong, positive correlation was found between SR change between 3 and 6 h and TC over the 6 h (r = 0.840, p < 0.05) and TC from 3-6 h (r = 0.827, p < 0.05). Seven of the nine participants (77.8 %) in this study successfully completed the EC crossing. Successful EC swimmers swam in the pool and open water (OW); however, they swam significantly [t (7) = -2.433, p < 0.05] more kilometres (M = 19.09 km/wk ± 5.55) in OW than unsuccessful (M = 9 km/wk ± 1.41) EC swimmers. There was a significant relationship between EC crossing time and height (r = -0.817, p < 0.05), but no other variables and EC crossing time. Cold water endurance swim (CWES) of 6-h duration at 15-16 °C resulted in TC reduction in the majority of swimmers regardless of anthropometry. More research is required to determine why some CWS are able to maintain their TC throughout a CWES. Our results indicate that older swimmers are at greater risk of developing hypothermia, and that SR decline is an indicator of TC decline. Our results also suggest that OW swimming training combined with pool training is important for EC swim success.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mangona, Victor S.; Aneese, Andrew M.; Marina, Ovidiu

Purpose: To compare toxicity after stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for “central” tumors—within 2 cm of the proximal bronchial tree or with planning tumor volume (PTV) touching mediastinum—versus noncentral (“peripheral”) lung tumors. Methods and Materials: From November 2005 to January 2011, 229 tumors (110 central, 119 peripheral; T1-3N0M0 non–small-cell lung cancer and limited lung metastases) in 196 consecutive patients followed prospectively at a single institution received moderate-dose SBRT (48-60 Gy in 4-5 fractions [biologic effective dose=100-132 Gy, α/β=10]) using 4-dimensional planning, online image-guided radiation therapy, and institutional dose constraints. Clinical adverse events (AEs) were graded prospectively at clinical and radiographic follow-up usingmore » Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 3.0. Pulmonary function test (PFT) decline was graded as 2 (25%-49.9% decline), 3 (50.0%-74.9% decline), or 4 (≥75.0% decline). Central/peripheral location was assessed retrospectively on planning CT scans. Groups were compared after propensity score matching. Characteristics were compared with χ{sup 2} and 2-tailed t tests, adverse events with χ{sup 2} test-for-trend, and cumulative incidence using competing risks analysis (Gray's test). Results: With 79 central and 79 peripheral tumors matched, no differences in AEs were observed after 17 months median follow-up. Two-year cumulative incidences of grade ≥2 pain, musculoskeletal, pulmonary, and skin AEs were 14%, 5%, 6%, and 10% (central) versus 19%, 10%, 10%, and 3% (peripheral), respectively (P=.31, .38, .70, and .09). Grade ≥2 cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and central nervous system AEs were rare (<1%). Two-year incidences of grade ≥2 clinical AEs (28% vs 25%, P=.79), grade ≥2 PFT decline (36% vs 34%, P=.94), grade ≥3 clinical AEs (3% vs 7%, P=.48), and grade ≥3 PFT decline (0 vs 10%, P=.11) were similar for central versus peripheral tumors, respectively. Pooled 2-year incidences of grades 4 and 5 AEs were <1% and 0%, respectively, in both the prematched and matched groups. Conclusion: Moderate-dose SBRT with these techniques yields a similarly safe toxicity profile for both central and peripheral lung tumors.« less

Validation of the pooled cohort risk score in an Asian population - a retrospective cohort study.

PubMed

Chia, Yook Chin; Lim, Hooi Min; Ching, Siew Mooi

2014-11-20

The Pooled Cohort Risk Equation was introduced by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) 2013 in their Blood Cholesterol Guideline to estimate the 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk. However, absence of Asian ethnicity in the contemporary cohorts and limited studies to examine the use of the risk score limit the applicability of the equation in an Asian population. This study examines the validity of the pooled cohort risk score in a primary care setting and compares the cardiovascular risk using both the pooled cohort risk score and the Framingham General Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk score. This is a 10-year retrospective cohort study of randomly selected patients aged 40-79 years. Baseline demographic data, co-morbidities and cardiovascular (CV) risk parameters were captured from patient records in 1998. Pooled cohort risk score and Framingham General CVD risk score for each patient were computed. All ASCVD events (nonfatal myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease (CHD) death, fatal and nonfatal stroke) occurring from 1998-2007 were recorded. A total of 922 patients were studied. In 1998, mean age was 57.5 ± 8.8 years with 66.7% female. There were 47% diabetic patients and 59.9% patients receiving anti-hypertensive treatment. More than 98% of patients with pooled cohort risk score ≥7.5% had FRS >10%. A total of 45 CVD events occurred, 22 (7.2%) in males and 23 (3.7%) in females. The median pooled cohort risk score for the population was 10.1 (IQR 4.7-20.6) while the actual ASCVD events that occurred was 4.9% (45/922). Our study showed moderate discrimination with AUC of 0.63. There was good calibration with Hosmer-Lemeshow test χ2 = 12.6, P = 0.12. The pooled cohort risk score appears to overestimate CV risk but this apparent over-prediction could be a result of treatment. In the absence of a validated score in an untreated population, the pooled cohort risk score appears to be appropriate for use in a primary care setting.

Effects of training and simulated combat stress on leg tourniquet application accuracy, time, and effectiveness.

PubMed

Schreckengaust, Richard; Littlejohn, Lanny; Zarow, Gregory J

2014-02-01

The lower extremity tourniquet failure rate remains significantly higher in combat than in preclinical testing, so we hypothesized that tourniquet placement accuracy, speed, and effectiveness would improve during training and decline during simulated combat. Navy Hospital Corpsman (N = 89), enrolled in a Tactical Combat Casualty Care training course in preparation for deployment, applied Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) and the Special Operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet (SOFT-T) on day 1 and day 4 of classroom training, then under simulated combat, wherein participants ran an obstacle course to apply a tourniquet while wearing full body armor and avoiding simulated small arms fire (paint balls). Application time and pulse elimination effectiveness improved day 1 to day 4 (p < 0.005). Under simulated combat, application time slowed significantly (p < 0.001), whereas accuracy and effectiveness declined slightly. Pulse elimination was poor for CAT (25% failure) and SOFT-T (60% failure) even in classroom conditions following training. CAT was more quickly applied (p < 0.005) and more effective (p < 0.002) than SOFT-T. Training fostered fast and effective application of leg tourniquets while performance declined under simulated combat. The inherent efficacy of tourniquet products contributes to high failure rates under combat conditions, pointing to the need for superior tourniquets and for rigorous deployment preparation training in simulated combat scenarios. Reprint & Copyright © 2014 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

A Sustainable Cohort of Professional Civil Engineering Graduates? Uncovering the United Kingdom Graduate Crisis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, David J.; Dainty, Andrew R. J.; Love, Peter E. D.

2004-01-01

Undergraduate applications to civil engineering courses have been declining at an alarming rate despite the industry's healthy economic activity. Concerns abound as to the long-term impact of this decline as the sector is already suffering skills shortages across virtually all of its occupations. This paper investigates the likely future trends in…

Muscle vibration sustains motor unit firing rate during submaximal isometric fatigue in humans

PubMed Central

Griffin, L; Garland, S J; Ivanova, T; Gossen, E R

2001-01-01

In keeping with the ‘muscular wisdom hypothesis’, many studies have documented that the firing rate of the majority of motor units decreased during fatiguing isometric contractions. The present study investigated whether the application of periodic muscle vibration, which strongly activates muscle spindles, would alter the modulation of motor unit firing rate during submaximal fatiguing isometric contractions. Thirty-three motor units from the lateral head of the triceps brachii muscle were recorded from 10 subjects during a sustained isometric 20 % maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the elbow extensors. Vibration was interposed on the contraction for 2 s every 10 s. Twenty-two motor units were recorded from the beginning of the fatigue task. The discharge rate of the majority of motor units remained constant (12/22) or increased (4/22) with fatigue. Six motor units demonstrated a reduction in discharge rate that later returned toward initial values; these motor units had higher initial discharge rates than the other 16 motor units. In a second series of experiments, four subjects held a sustained isometric 20 % MVC for 2 min and then vibration was applied as above for the remainder of the contraction. In this case, motor units initially demonstrated a decrease in firing rate that increased after the vibration was applied. Thus muscle spindle disfacilitation of the motoneurone pool may be associated with the decline of motor unit discharge rate observed during the first 2 min of the contraction. In a third set of experiments, seven subjects performed the main experiment on one occasion and repeated the fatigue task without vibration on a second occasion. Neither the endurance time of the fatiguing contraction nor the MVC torque following fatigue was affected by the application of vibration. This finding calls into question the applicability of the muscular wisdom hypothesis to submaximal contractions. PMID:11559785

Muscle vibration sustains motor unit firing rate during submaximal isometric fatigue in humans.

PubMed

Griffin, L; Garland, S J; Ivanova, T; Gossen, E R

2001-09-15

1. In keeping with the 'muscular wisdom hypothesis', many studies have documented that the firing rate of the majority of motor units decreased during fatiguing isometric contractions. The present study investigated whether the application of periodic muscle vibration, which strongly activates muscle spindles, would alter the modulation of motor unit firing rate during submaximal fatiguing isometric contractions. 2. Thirty-three motor units from the lateral head of the triceps brachii muscle were recorded from 10 subjects during a sustained isometric 20 % maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the elbow extensors. Vibration was interposed on the contraction for 2 s every 10 s. Twenty-two motor units were recorded from the beginning of the fatigue task. The discharge rate of the majority of motor units remained constant (12/22) or increased (4/22) with fatigue. Six motor units demonstrated a reduction in discharge rate that later returned toward initial values; these motor units had higher initial discharge rates than the other 16 motor units. 3. In a second series of experiments, four subjects held a sustained isometric 20 % MVC for 2 min and then vibration was applied as above for the remainder of the contraction. In this case, motor units initially demonstrated a decrease in firing rate that increased after the vibration was applied. Thus muscle spindle disfacilitation of the motoneurone pool may be associated with the decline of motor unit discharge rate observed during the first 2 min of the contraction. 4. In a third set of experiments, seven subjects performed the main experiment on one occasion and repeated the fatigue task without vibration on a second occasion. Neither the endurance time of the fatiguing contraction nor the MVC torque following fatigue was affected by the application of vibration. This finding calls into question the applicability of the muscular wisdom hypothesis to submaximal contractions.

Measuring the cost impact of hospital information systems: 1987-1994.

PubMed

Borzekowski, Ron

2009-09-01

This study measures the impact of information technology (IT) use on hospital operating costs during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Using a proprietary eight-year panel dataset (1987-1994) that catalogues application-level automation for the complete census of the 3000 U.S. hospitals with more than 100 beds, this study finds that both financial/administrative and clinical IT systems at the most thoroughly automated hospitals are associated with declining costs three and five years after adoption. At the application level, declining costs are associated with the adoption of some of the newest technologies, including systems designed for cost management, the administration of managed care contracts, and for both financial and clinical decision support. The association of cost declines with lagged IT as well as the cost patterns at the less automated hospitals both provide some evidence of learning effects.

Population-based rare variant detection via pooled exome or custom hybridization capture with or without individual indexing.

PubMed

Ramos, Enrique; Levinson, Benjamin T; Chasnoff, Sara; Hughes, Andrew; Young, Andrew L; Thornton, Katherine; Li, Allie; Vallania, Francesco L M; Province, Michael; Druley, Todd E

2012-12-06

Rare genetic variation in the human population is a major source of pathophysiological variability and has been implicated in a host of complex phenotypes and diseases. Finding disease-related genes harboring disparate functional rare variants requires sequencing of many individuals across many genomic regions and comparing against unaffected cohorts. However, despite persistent declines in sequencing costs, population-based rare variant detection across large genomic target regions remains cost prohibitive for most investigators. In addition, DNA samples are often precious and hybridization methods typically require large amounts of input DNA. Pooled sample DNA sequencing is a cost and time-efficient strategy for surveying populations of individuals for rare variants. We set out to 1) create a scalable, multiplexing method for custom capture with or without individual DNA indexing that was amenable to low amounts of input DNA and 2) expand the functionality of the SPLINTER algorithm for calling substitutions, insertions and deletions across either candidate genes or the entire exome by integrating the variant calling algorithm with the dynamic programming aligner, Novoalign. We report methodology for pooled hybridization capture with pre-enrichment, indexed multiplexing of up to 48 individuals or non-indexed pooled sequencing of up to 92 individuals with as little as 70 ng of DNA per person. Modified solid phase reversible immobilization bead purification strategies enable no sample transfers from sonication in 96-well plates through adapter ligation, resulting in 50% less library preparation reagent consumption. Custom Y-shaped adapters containing novel 7 base pair index sequences with a Hamming distance of ≥2 were directly ligated onto fragmented source DNA eliminating the need for PCR to incorporate indexes, and was followed by a custom blocking strategy using a single oligonucleotide regardless of index sequence. These results were obtained aligning raw reads against the entire genome using Novoalign followed by variant calling of non-indexed pools using SPLINTER or SAMtools for indexed samples. With these pipelines, we find sensitivity and specificity of 99.4% and 99.7% for pooled exome sequencing. Sensitivity, and to a lesser degree specificity, proved to be a function of coverage. For rare variants (≤2% minor allele frequency), we achieved sensitivity and specificity of ≥94.9% and ≥99.99% for custom capture of 2.5 Mb in multiplexed libraries of 22-48 individuals with only ≥5-fold coverage/chromosome, but these parameters improved to ≥98.7 and 100% with 20-fold coverage/chromosome. This highly scalable methodology enables accurate rare variant detection, with or without individual DNA sample indexing, while reducing the amount of required source DNA and total costs through less hybridization reagent consumption, multi-sample sonication in a standard PCR plate, multiplexed pre-enrichment pooling with a single hybridization and lesser sequencing coverage required to obtain high sensitivity.

Population control of the malaria vector Anopheles pseudopunctipennis by habitat manipulation.

PubMed Central

Bond, J. Guillermo; Rojas, Julio C.; Arredondo-Jiménez, Juan I.; Quiroz-Martínez, Humberto; Valle, Javier; Williams, Trevor

2004-01-01

Insect vector-borne diseases continue to present a major challenge to human health. Understanding the factors that regulate the size of mosquito populations is considered fundamental to the ability to predict disease transmission rates and for vector population control. The mosquito, Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, a vector of Plasmodium spp., breeds in riverside pools containing filamentous algae in Mesoamerica. Breeding pools along 3 km sections of the River Coatan, Chiapas, Mexico were subjected to algal extraction or left as controls in a cross-over trial extending over 2 years. Initial densities of An. pseudopunctipennis larvae were directly proportional to the prevalence of filamentous algae in each breeding site. The extraction of algae brought about a striking decline in the density of An. pseudopunctipennis larvae sustained for about six weeks, and a concurrent reduction in the adult population in both years of the study. Mark-release experiments indicated that dispersal from adjacent untreated areas was unlikely to exert an important influence on the magnitude of mosquito control that we observed. Habitat manipulation by extraction of filamentous algae offers a unique opportunity for sustainable control of this malaria vector. This technique may represent a valuable intervention, complimenting insecticide spraying of households, to minimize Plasmodium transmission rates in Mesoamerica. PMID:15475337

Detailed analysis of Epstein–Barr virus-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses during infectious mononucleosis

PubMed Central

Scherrenburg, J; Piriou, E R W A N; Nanlohy, N M; van Baarle, D

2008-01-01

We studied simultaneously Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses during and after infectious mononucleosis (IM), using a previously described 12-day stimulation protocol with EBNA1 or BZLF1 peptide pools. Effector function of EBV-specific T cells was determined after restimulation by measuring intracellular interferon-γ production. During IM, BZLF1-specifc CD4+ T cell responses were dominant compared with CD8+ T cell responses. EBNA1-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were low and remained similar for 6 months. However, 6 months after IM, BZLF1-specific CD4+ T cell responses had declined, but CD8+ T cell responses had increased. At diagnosis, EBV-specific CD8+ T cells as studied by human leucocyte antigen class I tetramer staining comprised a tetramerbrightCD8bright population consisting mainly of CD27+ memory T cells and a tetramerdimCD8dim population consisting primarily of CD27- effector T cells. The remaining EBV-specific CD8+ T cell population 6 months after the diagnosis of IM consisted mainly of tetramerbrightCD8bright CD27+ T cells, suggesting preferential preservation of memory T cells after contraction of the EBV-specific T cell pool. PMID:18549439

Effects of moso bamboo encroachment into native, broad-leaved forests on soil carbon and nitrogen pools.

PubMed

Bai, Shangbin; Conant, Richard T; Zhou, Guomo; Wang, Yixiang; Wang, Nan; Li, Yanhua; Zhang, Kaiqiang

2016-08-16

Across southern China, Moso bamboo has been encroaching on most neighboring secondary broad-leaved forests and/or coniferous plantations, leading to the land cover changes that alter abiotic and biotic conditions. Little is known about how this conversion alters soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). We selected three sites, each with three plots arrayed along the bamboo encroachment pathway: moso bamboo forest (BF); transition zone, mixed forest plots (MF); and broad-leaved forest (BLF), and examined how bamboo encroachment affects soil organic C (SOC), soil total N, microbial biomass C (MBC), microbial biomass N (MBN), water-soluble organic C (WSOC), and water-soluble organic N (WSON) in three forests. Over nine years, moso bamboo encroachment leads to a decrease in SOC and total soil N, an increase in MBC and WSOC, and a decrease in MBN and WSON. Changes in soil C and N occurred mainly in the topsoil. We conclude that moso bamboo encroachment on broadleaved forest not only substantially altered soil C and N pools, but also changed the distribution pattern of C and N in the studied forest soils. Continued bamboo encroachment into evergreen broadleaved forests seems likely to lead to net CO2 emissions to the atmosphere as ecosystem C stocks decline.

Antibody Desensitization Therapy in Highly Sensitized Lung Transplant Candidates

PubMed Central

Snyder, L. D.; Gray, A. L.; Reynolds, J. M.; Arepally, G. M.; Bedoya, A.; Hartwig, M. G.; Davis, R. D.; Lopes, K. E.; Wegner, W. E.; Chen, D. F.; Palmer, S. M.

2015-01-01

As HLAs antibody detection technology has evolved, there is now detailed HLA antibody information available on prospective transplant recipients. Determining single antigen antibody specificity allows for a calculated panel reactive antibodies (cPRA) value, providing an estimate of the effective donor pool. For broadly sensitized lung transplant candidates (cPRA ≥ 80%), our center adopted a pretransplant multimodal desensitization protocol in an effort to decrease the cPRA and expand the donor pool. This desensitization protocol included plasmapheresis, solumedrol, bortezomib and rituximab given in combination over 19 days followed by intravenous immunoglobulin. Eight of 18 candidates completed therapy with the primary reasons for early discontinuation being transplant (by avoiding unacceptable antigens) or thrombocytopenia. In a mixed-model analysis, there were no significant changes in PRA or cPRA changes over time with the protocol. A sub-analysis of the median fluorescence intensity (MFI) change indicated a small decline that was significant in antibodies with MFI 5000–10 000. Nine of 18 candidates subsequently had a transplant. Posttransplant survival in these nine recipients was comparable to other pretransplant-sensitized recipients who did not receive therapy. In summary, an aggressive multi-modal desensitization protocol does not significantly reduce pretransplant HLA antibodies in a broadly sensitized lung transplant candidate cohort. PMID:24666831

Ecosystem processes and nitrogen export in northern U.S. watersheds.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stottlemyer, R.

2001-01-01

There is much interest in the relationship of atmospheric nitrogen (N) inputs to ecosystem outputs as an indicator of possible "nitrogen saturation" by human activity. Longer-term, ecosystem-level mass balance studies suggest that the relationship is not clear and that other ecosystem processes may dominate variation in N outputs. We have been studying small, forested watershed ecosystems in five northern watersheds for periods up to 35 years. Here I summarize the research on ecosystem processes and the N budget. During the past 2 decades, average wet-precipitation N inputs ranged from about 0.1 to 6 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) among sites. In general, sites with the lowest N inputs had the highest output-to-input ratios. In the Alaska watersheds, streamwater N output exceeded inputs by 70 to 250%. The ratio of mean monthly headwater nitrate (NO3-) concentration to precipitation NO3- concentration declined with increased precipitation concentration. A series of ecosystem processes have been studied and related to N outputs. The most important appear to be seasonal change in hydrologic flowpath, soil freezing, seasonal forest-floor inorganic N pools resulting from over-winter mineralization beneath the snowpack, spatial variation in watershed forest-floor inorganic N pools, the degree to which snowmelt percolates soils, and gross soil N mineralization rates.

Intake of Fruit and Vegetables and the Incident Risk of Cognitive Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies.

PubMed

Wu, L; Sun, D; Tan, Y

2017-01-01

No quantitative assessment has been performed to specifically link the consumption of fruit and vegetables with the incident risk of cognitive disorders. We searched the PubMed and the Embase databases (both from the inception to June 13th, 2016) for records that report the intake of fruit and vegetables and the risk of developing cognitive disorders (Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and cognitive decline/impairment). A generic inverse-variance method (random-effects model) was used to combine the relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). To explore the potential sources of heterogeneity, we performed the subgroup and meta-regression analyses by pre-specified characteristics. We identified 6 cohorts involving a total of 21,175 participants. The pooled analysis showed that consumption of fruit and vegetables was inversely associated with the incident risk of cognitive disorders, and the pooled RR (95% CI) was 0.74 (0.62, 0.88), with evidence of significant heterogeneity (I2 =68%). Furthermore, we found that the significant heterogeneity might be attributed to the ethnic difference. Further large prospective studies should be performed to quantify the potential dose-response patterns of fruit and/or vegetables intake and to explore the role of fruit or vegetables consumption separately on cognitive disorders in different populations.

Successful Outflow Reconstruction to Salvage Traumatic Hepatic Vein-Caval Avulsion of a Normothermic Machine Ex-Situ Perfused Liver Graft: Case Report and Management of Organ Pool Challenges.

PubMed

Athanasopoulos, Panagiotis G; Hadjittofi, Christopher; Dharmapala, Arinda Dinesh; Orti-Rodriguez, Rafael Jose; Ferro, Alessandra; Nasralla, David; Konstantinidou, Sofia K; Malagó, Massimo

2016-04-01

Donor organ shortage continues to limit the availability of liver transplantation, a successful and established therapy of end-stage liver diseases. Strategies to mitigate graft shortage include the utilization of marginal livers and recently ex-situ normothermic machine perfusion devices. A 59-year-old woman with cirrhosis due to primary sclerosing cholangitis was offered an ex-situ machine perfused graft with unnoticed severe injury of the suprahepatic vasculature due to road traffic accident. Following a complex avulsion, repair and reconstruction of all donor hepatic veins as well as the suprahepatic inferior vena cava, the patient underwent a face-to-face piggy-back orthotopic liver transplantation and was discharged on the 11th postoperative day after an uncomplicated recovery. This report illustrates the operative technique to utilize an otherwise unusable organ, in the current environment of donor shortage and declining graft quality. Normothermic machine perfusion can definitely play a role in increasing the graft pool, without compromising the quality of livers who had vascular or other damage before being ex-situ perfused. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of promptly and thoroughly communicating organ injuries, as well as considering all reconstructive options within the level of expertise at the recipient center.

Long term repeated prescribed burning increases evenness in the basidiomycete laccase gene pool in forest soils.

PubMed

Artz, Rebekka R E; Reid, Eileen; Anderson, Ian C; Campbell, Colin D; Cairney, John W G

2009-03-01

Repeated prescribed burning alters the biologically labile fraction of nutrients and carbon of soil organic matter (SOM). Using a long-term (30 years) repeated burning experiment where burning has been carried out at a 2- or 4-year frequency, we analysed the effect of prescribed burning on gross potential C turnover rates and phenol oxidase activity in relation to shifts in SOM composition as observed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. In tandem, we assessed the genetic diversity of basidiomycete laccases. While the overall effect of burning was a decline in phenol oxidase activity, Shannon diversity and evenness of laccases was significantly higher in burned sites. Co-correspondence analysis of SOM composition and laccase operational taxonomic unit frequency data also suggested a strong correlation. While this correlation could indicate that the observed increase in laccase genetic diversity due to burning is due to increased resource diversity, a temporal replacement of the most abundant members of the assembly by an otherwise dormant pool of fungi cannot be excluded. As such, our results fit the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Effects were stronger in plots burned in 2-year rotations, suggesting that the 4-year burn frequency may be a more sustainable practice to ensure the long-term stability of C cycling in such ecosystems.

Declining plant nitrogen supply and carbon accumulation in ageing primary boreal forest ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Högberg, Mona N.; Yarwood, Stephanie A.; Trumbore, Susan; Högberg, Peter

2016-04-01

Boreal forest soils are commonly characterized by a low plant nitrogen (N) supply. A high tree below-ground allocation of carbon (C) to roots and soil microorganisms in response to the shortage of N may lead to high microbial immobilisation of N, thus aggravating the N limitation. We studied the N supply at a Swedish boreal forest ecosystem chronosequence created by new land rising out of the sea due to iso-static rebound. The youngest soils develop with meadows by the coast, followed by a zone of dinitrogen fixing alder trees, and primary boreal conifer forest on ground up to 560 years old. With increasing ecosystem age, the proportion of microbial C out of the total soil C pool from the youngest to the oldest coniferous ecosystem was constant (c. 1-1.5%), whereas immobilised N (microbial N out of total soil N) increased and approached the levels commonly observed in similar boreal coniferous forests (c. 6-7 %), whereas gross N mineralization declined. Simultaneously, plant foliar N % decreased and the natural abundance of N-15 in the soil increased. More specifically, the difference in N-15 between plant foliage and soil increased, which is related to greater retention of N-15 relative to N-14 by ectomycorrhizal fungi as N is taken up from the soil and some N is transferred to the plant host. In the conifer forest, where these changes were greatest, we found increased fungal biomass in the F- and H-horizons of the mor-layer, in which ectomycorrhizal fungi are known to dominate (the uppermost horizon with litter and moss is dominated by saprotrophic fungi). Hence, we propose that the decreasing N supply to the plants and the subsequent decline in plant production in ageing boreal forests is linked to high tree belowground C allocation to C limited ectomycorrhizal fungi (and other soil microorganisms), a strong sink for available soil N. Data on organic matter C-14 suggested that the largest input of recently fixed plant C occurred in the younger coniferous forest ecosystems, whereas the soil C accumulation rate declined as N supply to the plants declined.

Extended hydrodynamic theory of the peak and minimum pool boiling heat fluxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linehard, J. H.; Dhir, V. K.

1973-01-01

The hydrodynamic theory of the extreme pool boiling heat fluxes is expanded to embrace a variety of problems that have not previously been analyzed. These problems include the prediction of the peak heat flux on a variety of finite heaters, the influence of viscosity on the Taylor and Helmoltz instability mechanisms with application to film boiling and to the peak heat flux in viscous liquids, the formalization of the analogy between high-current-density electrolysis and boiling, and the description of boiling in the low-gravity limit. The predictions are verified with a large number of new data.

High-performance data processing using distributed computing on the SOLIS project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wampler, Stephen

2002-12-01

The SOLIS solar telescope collects data at a high rate, resulting in 500 GB of raw data each day. The SOLIS Data Handling System (DHS) has been designed to quickly process this data down to 156 GB of reduced data. The DHS design uses pools of distributed reduction processes that are allocated to different observations as needed. A farm of 10 dual-cpu Linux boxes contains the pools of reduction processes. Control is through CORBA and data is stored on a fibre channel storage area network (SAN). Three other Linux boxes are responsible for pulling data from the instruments using SAN-based ringbuffers. Control applications are Java-based while the reduction processes are written in C++. This paper presents the overall design of the SOLIS DHS and provides details on the approach used to control the pooled reduction processes. The various strategies used to manage the high data rates are also covered.

Why a national high-risk insurance pool is not a workable alternative to the marketplace.

PubMed

Hall, Jean P

2014-12-01

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) was a national high-risk pool established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to provide coverage for individuals with preexisting conditions who had been uninsured for at least six months. It was intended to be a temporary program: PCIPs opened in 2010 and closed in April 2014. At that point, those with preexisting conditions could shop for health insurance in the marketplaces, where plans are prevented from using applicants' health status to deny coverage or charge more. This issue brief draws on the PCIP experience to outline why national high-risk pools, which continue to be proposed as policy alternatives to ACA coverage expansions, are expensive to enrollees as well as their administrators and ultimately unsustainable. The key lesson--and the principle on which the ACA is built--is that insurance works best when risk is evenly spread across a broad population.

Laser Beam Oscillation Strategies for Fillet Welds in Lap Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Alexander; Goecke, Sven-F.; Sievi, Pravin; Albert, Florian; Rethmeier, Michael

Laser beam oscillation opens up new possibilities of influencing the welding process in terms of compensation of tolerances and reduction of process emissions that occur in industrial applications, such as in body-in-white manufacturing. The approaches are to adapt the melt pool width in order to generate sufficient melt volume or to influence melt pool dynamics, e.g. for a better degassing. Welding results are highly dependent on the natural frequency of the melt pool, the used spot diameter and the oscillation speed of the laser beam. The conducted investigations with an oscillated 300 μm laser spot show that oscillation strategies, which are adjusted to the joining situation improve welding result for zero-gap welding as well as for bridging gaps to approximately 0.8 mm. However, a complex set of parameters has to be considered in order to generate proper welding results. This work puts emphasize on introducing them.

A Stream Morphology Classification for Eco-hydraulic Purposes Based on Geospatial Data: a Solute Transport Application Case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiménez Jaramillo, M. A.; Camacho Botero, L. A.; Vélez Upegui, J. I.

2010-12-01

Variation in stream morphology along a basin drainage network leads to different hydraulic patterns and sediment transport processes. Moreover, solute transport processes along streams, and stream habitats for fisheries and microorganisms, rely on stream corridor structure, including elements such as bed forms, channel patterns, riparian vegetation, and the floodplain. In this work solute transport processes simulation and stream habitat identification are carried out at the basin scale. A reach-scale morphological classification system based on channel slope and specific stream power was implemented by using digital elevation models and hydraulic geometry relationships. Although the morphological framework allows identification of cascade, step-pool, plane bed and pool-riffle morphologies along the drainage network, it still does not account for floodplain configuration and bed-forms identification of those channel types. Hence, as a first application case in order to obtain parsimonious three-dimensional characterizations of drainage channels, the morphological framework has been updated by including topographical floodplain delimitation through a Multi-resolution Valley Bottom Flatness Index assessing, and a stochastic bed form representation of the step-pool morphology. Model outcomes were tested in relation to in-stream water storage for different flow conditions and representative travel times according to the Aggregated Dead Zone -ADZ- model conceptualization of solute transport processes.

Poole-Frenkel effect in sputter-deposited CuAlO2+x nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayan Banerjee, Arghya; Joo, Sang Woo

2013-04-01

Field-assisted thermionic emission within a sputter-deposited, nanocrystalline thin film of CuAlO2.06 is observed for the first time, and explained in terms of the Poole-Frenkel model. The presence of adsorbed oxygen ions as trap-states at the grain boundary regions of the nanostructured thin film is considered to manifest this phenomenon. Under an applied field, the barrier of the trap potential is lowered and thermal emission of charge carriers takes place at different sample temperatures to induce nonlinearity in the current (I)-voltage (V) characteristics of the nanomaterial. Fitting of the Poole-Frenkel model with the I-V data shows that the nonlinearity is effective above 50 V under the operating conditions. Calculations of the energy of the trap level, acceptor level and Fermi level reveal the existence of deep level trap-states and a shallow acceptor level with acceptor concentration considerably higher than the trap-states. Hall measurements confirm the p-type semiconductivity of the film, with a hole concentration around 1018 cm-3. Thermopower measurements give a room-temperature Seebeck coefficient around 130 μV K-1. This temperature-dependent conductivity enhancement within CuAlO2 nanomaterial may find interesting applications in transparent electronics and high-voltage applications for power supply networks.

Poole-Frenkel effect in sputter-deposited CuAlO(2+x) nanocrystals.

PubMed

Banerjee, Arghya Narayan; Joo, Sang Woo

2013-04-26

Field-assisted thermionic emission within a sputter-deposited, nanocrystalline thin film of CuAlO2.06 is observed for the first time, and explained in terms of the Poole-Frenkel model. The presence of adsorbed oxygen ions as trap-states at the grain boundary regions of the nanostructured thin film is considered to manifest this phenomenon. Under an applied field, the barrier of the trap potential is lowered and thermal emission of charge carriers takes place at different sample temperatures to induce nonlinearity in the current (I)-voltage (V) characteristics of the nanomaterial. Fitting of the Poole-Frenkel model with the I-V data shows that the nonlinearity is effective above 50 V under the operating conditions. Calculations of the energy of the trap level, acceptor level and Fermi level reveal the existence of deep level trap-states and a shallow acceptor level with acceptor concentration considerably higher than the trap-states. Hall measurements confirm the p-type semiconductivity of the film, with a hole concentration around 10(18) cm(-3). Thermopower measurements give a room-temperature Seebeck coefficient around 130 μV K(-1). This temperature-dependent conductivity enhancement within CuAlO2 nanomaterial may find interesting applications in transparent electronics and high-voltage applications for power supply networks.

Simulation on the Effects of Surfactants and Observed Thermocapillary Motion for Laser Melting Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nourgaliev, Robert; Barney, Rebecca; Weston, Brian; Delplanque, Jean-Pierre; McCallen, Rose

2017-11-01

A newly developed, robust, high-order in space and time, Newton-Krylov based reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin (rDG) method is used to model and analyze thermocapillary convection in melt pools. The application of interest is selective laser melting (SLM) which is an Additive Manufacturing (AM, 3D metal laser printing) process. These surface tension driven flows are influenced by temperature gradients and surfactants (impurities), and are known as the Marangoni flow. They have been experimentally observed in melt pools for welding applications, and are thought to influence the microstructure of the re-solidified material. We study the effects of the laser source configuration (power, beam size and scanning speed), as well as surfactant concentrations. Results indicate that the surfactant concentration influences the critical temperature, which governs the direction of the surface thermocapillary traction. When the surface tension traction changes sign, very complex flow patterns emerge, inducing hydrodynamic instability under certain conditions. These in turn would affect the melt pool size (depth) and shape, influencing the resulting microstructure, properties, and performance of a finished product part produced using 3D metal laser printing technologies. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. Information management release number LLNL-ABS-735908.

77 FR 66607 - Placer County Water Agency; Notice of Application for Approval of Contract for the Sale of Power...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-06

... contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for two months beyond the expiration of the current... of two major storage reservoirs, five smaller reservoirs and diversion pools, and five powerhouses... Water Agency; Notice of Application for Approval of Contract for the Sale of Power for a Period...

University of California Should Keep Requiring SAT Subject Tests of Applicants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattimore, Patrick

2008-01-01

Last week the Board of Regents of the University of California tabled a faculty proposal to broaden the pool of applicants eligible for admission to the 10 campuses in the University of California system. The regents took the action to allow the university's new president, Mark G. Yudof, as well as regents who were uncertain about the proposal,…

Distinct effects of struvite and biochar amendment on the class 1 integron antibiotic resistance gene cassettes in phyllosphere and rhizosphere.

PubMed

An, Xin-Li; Chen, Qing-Lin; Zhu, Dong; Su, Jian-Qiang

2018-08-01

Struvite recovered from wastewater is promising for recycling phosphorus into soil as fertilizers. However, struvite application may prompt the proliferation of antibiotic resistance in soil and plant. This study examined the impacts of struvite application and biochar amendment on integrons abundance and gene cassette contexts in rhizosphere soil and phyllosphere using quantitative PCR and clone library analysis. Microcosm experiments revealed that class 1 integron was the most prevalent in all samples, with higher concentration and higher relative abundance in rhizosphere than those in phyllosphere. The majority of resistance gene cassettes were associated with genes encoding resistance to aminoglycosides, beta-lactams and chloramphenicols. Struvite application significantly increased the genetic diversity of antibiotic resistance gene cassettes in both rhizosphere and phyllosphere. However, biochar amendment attenuated the increasing effect of struvite application exerting on the class 1 integron antibiotic resistance gene cassette pool in phyllosphere. These findings highlighted human activities to be the source of integron gene cassette pool and raised the possibility of using biochar amendment as an alternative mean for mitigating antibiotic resistance in environments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

78 FR 36018 - Bond Guarantee Program; Notice of Guarantee Availability (NOGA) Inviting Qualified Issuer...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-14

... examination of Guarantee Applications is conducted. E. Relationship to other CDFI Fund programs. Award funds... Risk-Share Pool for each Bond Issue. F. Relationship and interplay with other Federal programs and...

Plantation management intensity affects belowground carbon and nitrogen storage in northern California

Treesearch

K. J. McFarlane; S. H. Schoenholtz; R. F. Powers

2009-01-01

Belowground C and N storage is important in maintaining forestproductivity and to CO2 sequestration. How these pools respondto management is poorly understood. We investigated effectsof repeated applications of complete fertilizer and competing...

78 FR 61941 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-07

.... Applicants: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Description: Revisions to Day-Ahead Virtual Energy Transaction Fee to...: 20130924-5121. Comments Due: 5 p.m. e.t. 10/15/13. The filings are accessible in the Commission's eLibrary...

Water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer; predevelopment to 1991

USGS Publications Warehouse

McGrath, T.J.; Dugan, J.T.

1993-01-01

Regional variability in water-level change in the High Plains aquifer underlying parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming results from large regional differences in climate, soils, land use, and ground-water withdrawals for irrigation. From the beginning of significant development of the High Plains aquifer for irrigation to 1980, substantial water-level declines have occurred in several areas. The estimated average area-weighted water-level decline from predevelopment to 1980 for the High Plains was 9.9 feet, an average annual decline of about 0.25 foot. These declines exceeded 100 feet in some parts of the Central and Southern High Plains. Declines were much smaller and less extensive in the Northern High Plains as a result of later irrigation development. Since 1980, water levels in those areas of large declines in the Central and Southern High Plains have continued to decline, but at a much slower annual rate. The estimated average area-weighted water-level decline from 1980 to 1991 for the entire High Plains was 1.41 feet, an average annual decline of about 0.13 foot. The relatively small decline since 1980, in relation to the declines prior to 1980, is associated with a decrease in ground-water application for irrigated agriculture and greater than normal precipitation. Water-conserving practices and technology, in addition to reductions in irrigated acreages, contributed to the decrease in ground-water withdrawals for irrigation.

Biocompatible blood pool MRI contrast agents based on hyaluronan

PubMed Central

Zhu, Wenlian; Artemov, Dmitri

2010-01-01

Biocompatible gadolinium blood pool contrast agents based on a biopolymer, hyaluronan, were investigated for magnetic resonance angiography application. Hyaluronan, a non-sulfated linear glucosaminoglycan composed of 2000–25,000 repeating disaccharide subunits of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine with molecular weight up to 20 MDa, is a major component of the extracellular matrix. Two gadolinium contrast agents based on 16 and 74 kDa hyaluronan were synthesized, both with R1 relaxivity around 5 mM−1 s−1 per gadolinium at 9.4 T at 25°C. These two hyaluronan based agents show significant enhancement of the vasculature for an extended period of time. Initial excretion was primarily through the renal system. Later uptake was observed in the stomach and lower gastrointestinal tract. Macromolecular hyaluronan-based gadolinium agents have a high clinical translation potential as hyaluronan is already approved by FDA for a variety of medical applications. PMID:21504061

Mitochondrial Glutathione: Regulation and Functions.

PubMed

Calabrese, Gaetano; Morgan, Bruce; Riemer, Jan

2017-11-20

Mitochondrial glutathione fulfills crucial roles in a number of processes, including iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis and peroxide detoxification. Recent Advances: Genetically encoded fluorescent probes for the glutathione redox potential (E GSH ) have permitted extensive new insights into the regulation of mitochondrial glutathione redox homeostasis. These probes have revealed that the glutathione pools of the mitochondrial matrix and intermembrane space (IMS) are highly reduced, similar to the cytosolic glutathione pool. The glutathione pool of the IMS is in equilibrium with the cytosolic glutathione pool due to the presence of porins that allow free passage of reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) across the outer mitochondrial membrane. In contrast, limited transport of glutathione across the inner mitochondrial membrane ensures that the matrix glutathione pool is kinetically isolated from the cytosol and IMS. In contrast to the situation in the cytosol, there appears to be extensive crosstalk between the mitochondrial glutathione and thioredoxin systems. Further, both systems appear to be intimately involved in the removal of reactive oxygen species, particularly hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), produced in mitochondria. However, a detailed understanding of these interactions remains elusive. We postulate that the application of genetically encoded sensors for glutathione in combination with novel H 2 O 2 probes and conventional biochemical redox state assays will lead to fundamental new insights into mitochondrial redox regulation and reinvigorate research into the physiological relevance of mitochondrial redox changes. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 1162-1177.

Evaluation of concurrent priority queue algorithms. Technical report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Q.

1991-02-01

The priority queue is a fundamental data structure that is used in a large variety of parallel algorithms, such as multiprocessor scheduling and parallel best-first search of state-space graphs. This thesis addresses the design and experimental evaluation of two novel concurrent priority queues: a parallel Fibonacci heap and a concurrent priority pool, and compares them with the concurrent binary heap. The parallel Fibonacci heap is based on the sequential Fibonacci heap, which is theoretically the most efficient data structure for sequential priority queues. This scheme not only preserves the efficient operation time bounds of its sequential counterpart, but also hasmore » very low contention by distributing locks over the entire data structure. The experimental results show its linearly scalable throughput and speedup up to as many processors as tested (currently 18). A concurrent access scheme for a doubly linked list is described as part of the implementation of the parallel Fibonacci heap. The concurrent priority pool is based on the concurrent B-tree and the concurrent pool. The concurrent priority pool has the highest throughput among the priority queues studied. Like the parallel Fibonacci heap, the concurrent priority pool scales linearly up to as many processors as tested. The priority queues are evaluated in terms of throughput and speedup. Some applications of concurrent priority queues such as the vertex cover problem and the single source shortest path problem are tested.« less

Caught in the middle with multiple displacement amplification: the myth of pooling for avoiding multiple displacement amplification bias in a metagenome.

PubMed

Marine, Rachel; McCarren, Coleen; Vorrasane, Vansay; Nasko, Dan; Crowgey, Erin; Polson, Shawn W; Wommack, K Eric

2014-01-30

Shotgun metagenomics has become an important tool for investigating the ecology of microorganisms. Underlying these investigations is the assumption that metagenome sequence data accurately estimates the census of microbial populations. Multiple displacement amplification (MDA) of microbial community DNA is often used in cases where it is difficult to obtain enough DNA for sequencing; however, MDA can result in amplification biases that may impact subsequent estimates of population census from metagenome data. Some have posited that pooling replicate MDA reactions negates these biases and restores the accuracy of population analyses. This assumption has not been empirically tested. Using mock viral communities, we examined the influence of pooling on population-scale analyses. In pooled and single reaction MDA treatments, sequence coverage of viral populations was highly variable and coverage patterns across viral genomes were nearly identical, indicating that initial priming biases were reproducible and that pooling did not alleviate biases. In contrast, control unamplified sequence libraries showed relatively even coverage across phage genomes. MDA should be avoided for metagenomic investigations that require quantitative estimates of microbial taxa and gene functional groups. While MDA is an indispensable technique in applications such as single-cell genomics, amplification biases cannot be overcome by combining replicate MDA reactions. Alternative library preparation techniques should be utilized for quantitative microbial ecology studies utilizing metagenomic sequencing approaches.

7 CFR 1778.21 - Application processing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) EMERGENCY AND IMMINENT COMMUNITY WATER ASSISTANCE GRANTS § 1778.21 Application... acute shortage of potable water, or that such a decline or shortage is imminent, and that the proposed... 7 Agriculture 12 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Application processing. 1778.21 Section 1778.21...

The practice of surrogacy in New Zealand.

PubMed

Anderson, Lynley; Snelling, Jeanne; Tomlins-Jahnke, Huia

2012-06-01

Commercial surrogacy is prohibited in New Zealand by the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 (HART Act). However, altruistic clinic-assisted surrogacy is permitted. Couples wishing to attempt altruistic surrogacy must apply for approval to a statutorily appointed ethics committee. One of seven principles that underpin the HART Act stipulates that the needs, values and beliefs of Maori (NZ's indigenous population) should be considered and treated with respect. This paper reviews the outcomes of surrogacy applications since the HART Act was established and the uptake of surrogacy by Maori. The authors examined the demographic data provided to the ethics committee by way of surrogacy applications and the outcome data provided by fertility clinics. This paper reviews the outcomes for surrogacy applications: the number accepted/declined, the number of live births, those applications discontinued and uptake by Maori. Of 104 applications for surrogacy between 2005 and 2010, 4 (3.8%) were declined. By July 2011, of 100 approved, there have been 26 (26%) live births; 52 (52%) were discontinued, and 22 (22%) remain ongoing. Maori are much less likely to utilise surrogacy. Of the 104 original applications, 9 (8.6%) Maori women were willing to act as a surrogate, and 2 (1.9%) were intended mothers. 7 (6.7%) Maori were partners of a surrogate, with 2 (1.9%) intending mothers having Maori partners. The process of surrogacy applications is comprehensive and robust, resulting in few being declined. Further research is required to discover why applications are discontinued and why, despite explicit attempts to meet the needs of Maori, few utilise surrogacy. © 2012 The Authors ANZJOG © 2012 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Aging, health, and the "electronic church".

PubMed

Hays, J C; Landerman, L R; Blazer, D G; Koenig, H G; Carroll, J W; Musick, M A

1998-11-01

We tested whether elders substitute religious media use for church attendance when health declines (using multidimensional disengagement theory) with data from a multiracial, population-based sample in the Bible Belt (N = 2,971). In adjusted models, 3-year declines in functional status were significantly associated with concurrent reduction in frequency of church attendance but not with any change in rates of religious media (TV/radio) use. Age-related declines in church attendance were substantively explained by declining functional ability. Changes in religious media use were independent of age and less sensitive to declining functional status or service attendance than to cultural heritage such as race, socioeconomic status, and rural upbringing. Our data do not support the hypothesis that elders with deteriorating health substitute increased engagement with religious media as their participation in organizational religious activities is reduced. However, applicability of the substitution hypothesis to other dimensions of nonorganizational religiousness (e.g., prayer) awaits similar scrutiny.

Pragmatic consideration of geologic carbon storage design based upon historic pressure response to oil and gas production in the southern San Joaquin basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordan, P. D.

2015-12-01

Annual CO2 emissions from large fixed sources in the southern San Joaquin Valley and vicinity in California are about 20 million metric tons per year (MMT/Y). Cumulative net fluid production due to oil and gas extracted from below the minimum depth for geologic carbon storage (taken as 1,500 m) was 1.4 billion m3 at reservoir conditions as of 2010. At an average CO2 storage density of 0.5 metric tons per m3, this implies 35 years of storage capacity at current emission rates just to refill the vacated volume, neglecting possible reservoir consolidation. However, the production occurred from over 300 pools. The production rate relative to average pressure decline in the more productive pools analyzed suggests they could receive about 2 MMT/Y raising the field average pressure to nearly the fracturing pressure. This would require well fields as extensive as those used for production, instead of the single to few wells per project typically envisioned. Even then, the actual allowable injection rate to the larger pools would be less than 2 MMT/Y in order to keep pressures at the injection well below the fracture pressure. This implies storing 20 MMT/Y would require developing storage operations in tens of pools with hundreds, if not over a thousand, wells. This utilization of one of the basins with the most storage capacity in the state would result in reducing the state's fixed source emissions by only one eighth relative to current emissions. The number of fields and wells involved in achieving this suggests a different strategy might provide more capacity at similar cost. Specifically, staging wells that initially produce water in the vicinity of fewer injection wells could result in both more storage. This water could be directed to a shallower zone, or supplied to the surface at a similar cost. The commencement of ocean water desalination in the state indicates the economics of water supply might support treating this water for beneficial use, particularly if it has a lower salinity than sea water.

Using data to inform soil microbial carbon model structure and parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagerty, S. B.; Schimel, J.

2016-12-01

There is increasing consensus that explicitly representing microbial mechanisms in soil carbon models can improve model predictions of future soil carbon stocks. However, which microbial mechanisms must be represented in these new models and how remains under debate. One of the major challenges in developing microbially explicit soil carbon models is that there is little data available to validate model structure. Empirical studies of microbial mechanisms often fail to capture the full range of microbial processes; from the cellular processes that occur within minutes to hours of substrate consumption to community turnover which may occur over weeks or longer. We added isotopically labeled 14C-glucose to soil incubated in the lab and traced its movement into the microbial biomass, carbon dioxide, and K2SO4 extractable carbon pool. We measured the concentration of 14C in each of these pools at 1, 3, 6, 24, and 72 hours and at 7, 14, and 21 days. We used this data to compare data fits among models that match our conceptual understanding of microbial carbon transformations and to estimate microbial parameters that control the fate of soil carbon. Over 90% of the added glucose was consumed within the first hour after it was added and concentration of the label was highest in biomass at this time. After the first hour, the label in biomass declined, with the rate that the label moved from the biomass slowing after 24hours, because of this models representing the microbial biomass as two pools fit best. Recovery of the label decreased with incubation time, from nearly 80% in the first hour to 67% after three weeks, indicating that carbon is moving into unextractable pools in the soil likely as microbial products and necromass sorb to soil particles and that these mechanisms must be represented in microbial models. This data fitting exercise demonstrates how isotopic data can be useful in validating model structure and estimating microbial model parameters. Future studies can apply this inverse modeling approach to compare the response of microbial parameters to changes in environmental conditions.

Acute ENaC Stimulation by cAMP in a Kidney Cell Line is Mediated by Exocytic Insertion from a Recycling Channel Pool

PubMed Central

Butterworth, Michael B.; Edinger, Robert S.; Johnson, John P.; Frizzell, Raymond A.

2005-01-01

Acute hormonal regulation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) in tight epithelia increases transcellular Na+ transport via trafficking of intracellular channels to the apical surface. The fate of the channels removed from the apical surface following agonist washout is less clear. By repetitively stimulating polarized mouse cortical collecting duct (mCCD, MPKCCD14) epithelia, we evaluated the hypothesis that ENaC recycles through an intracellular pool to be available for reinsertion into the apical membrane. Short circuit current (ISC), membrane capacitance (CT), and conductance (GT) were recorded from mCCD epithelia mounted in modified Ussing chambers. Surface biotinylation of ENaC demonstrated an increase in channel number in the apical membrane following cAMP stimulation. This increase was accompanied by a 83 ± 6% (n = 31) increase in ISC and a 15.3 ± 1.5% (n = 15) increase in CT. Selective membrane permeabilization demonstrated that the CT increase was due to an increase in apical membrane capacitance. ISC and CT declined to basal levels on stimulus washout. Repetitive cAMP stimulation and washout (∼1 h each cycle) resulted in response fatigue; ΔISC decreased ∼10% per stimulation–recovery cycle. When channel production was blocked by cycloheximide, ΔISC decreased ∼15% per stimulation cycle, indicating that newly synthesized ENaC contributed a relatively small fraction of the channels mobilized to the apical membrane. Selective block of surface ENaC by benzamil demonstrated that channels inserted from a subapical pool made up >90% of the stimulated ISC, and that on restimulation a large proportion of channels retrieved from the apical surface were reinserted into the apical membrane. Channel recycling was disrupted by brefeldin A, which inhibited ENaC exocytosis, by chloroquine, which inhibited ENaC endocytosis and recycling, and by latrunculin A, which blocked ENaC exocytosis. A compartment model featuring channel populations in the apical membrane and intracellular recycling pool provided an adequate kinetic description of the ISC responses to repetitive stimulation. The model supports the concept of ENaC recycling in response to repetitive cAMP stimulation. PMID:15623897

A meta-analysis of prehospital airway control techniques part I: orotracheal and nasotracheal intubation success rates.

PubMed

Hubble, Michael W; Brown, Lawrence; Wilfong, Denise A; Hertelendy, Attila; Benner, Randall W; Richards, Michael E

2010-01-01

Airway management is a key component of prehospital care for seriously ill and injured patients. Although endotracheal intubation has been a commonly performed prehospital procedure for nearly three decades, the safety and efficacy profile of prehospital intubation has been challenged in the last decade. Reported intubation success rates vary widely, and established benchmarks are lacking. We sought to determine pooled estimates for oral endotracheal intubation (OETI) and nasotracheal intubation (NTI) placement success rates through a meta-analysis of the literature. We performed a systematic literature search for all English-language articles reporting placement success rates for prehospital intubation. Studies of field procedures performed by prehospital personnel from any nation were included. All titles were reviewed independently by two authors using prespecified inclusion criteria. Pooled estimates of success rates for each airway technique, including drug-facilitated intubation (DFI) and rapid-sequence intubation (RSI), were calculated using a random-effects model. Historical trends were evaluated using meta-regression. Of 2,005 identified titles reviewed, 117 studies addressed OETI and 23 addressed NTI, encompassing a total of 57,132 prehospital patients. There was substantial interrater reliability in the review process (kappa = 0.81). The pooled estimates (and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for intervention success for nonphysician clinicians were as follows: overall non-RSI/non-DFI OETI success rate: 86.3% (82.6%-89.4%); OETI for non-cardiac arrest patients: 69.8% (50.9%-83.8%); DFI 86.8% (80.2%-91.4%); and RSI 96.7% (94.7%-98.0%). For pediatric patients, the paramedic OETI success rate was 83.2% (55.2%-95.2%). The overall NTI success rate for nonphysician clinicians was 75.9% (65.9%-83.7%). The historical trend of OETI reflects a 0.49% decline in success rates per year. We provide pooled estimates of placement success rates for prehospital airway interventions. For some patient and clinician characteristics, OETI has relatively low success rates. For nonarrest patients, DFI and RSI appear to increase success rates. Across all clinicians, NTI has a low rate of success, raising questions about the safety and efficacy of this procedure.