Suchergebnisse

The ecological factors controlling the distribution and abundance of the
folivorous marsupials endemic to the rainforests of northern Australia are not
understood. In this study, we surveyed folivore abundance at 40 sites
stratified by altitude and geology in rainforests of the Atherton Tableland,
north Queensland. All five species of folivore that inhabit the study area
were more abundant in highland (800–1200 m) than in upland
(400–800 m) forests. Allowing for the effects of altitude, four species
of folivore were more abundant in forests on nutrient-rich basalts than in
forests on nutrient-poor acid igneous or metamorphic rocks. The abundance of
two folivore species also varied inversely with rainfall. Altitudinal
variation in folivore abundance in the study area has been attributed to
habitat destruction, Aboriginal hunting, the distribution of host plants and
climate; however, none of these hypotheses has been tested. Variation in
folivore abundance with geology is plausibly explained as a response to the
nutritional quality of foliage. Foliage quality may also explain the inverse
relationship between two of the folivores and rainfall. The results of this
study show that only a relatively small proportion of north Queensland
rainforests support abundant populations of the endemic folivorous marsupials.

Localized flux, production and/or degradation coupled to limited diffusion are well-known to result in stable spatial concentration gradients of biomolecules in the cell. In this study, we demonstrate that this also holds true for small ions, since we found that the close membrane apposition between the membrane of a phagosome and the surface of the cargo particle it encloses, suffices for stable gradients of protons and iron cations within the lumen of the phagosome. Our data show that in phagosomes containing hexapod-shaped silica colloid particles, the phagosomal membrane is ruptured at the positions of the tips of the rods, but not at other positions. This results in the confined leakage at these positions of protons and iron from the lumen of the phagosome into the cytosol. In contrast, acidification and iron accumulation still occur at the positions of the phagosomes of the cores of the particles. Our study strengthens the concept that the coupling of metabolic and signaling reaction cascades can be spatially confined by localized limited diffusion. ; ST, SS and GB are funded by a Young Investigator Grant from the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP; RGY0080/2018). GB has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 862137) and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Vidi grant NWO-ALW VIDI 864.14.001). ST further acknowledges support from the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, under project no. 12-R&D-TFR-5.04-0800 and 12-D&D-TFR-5.10-1100, the Simons Foundation (Grant No. 287975) and the Max Planck Society through a Max-Planck Partner-Group.

A comparison is made of the results of two models developed to explore the relationship between policy instruments & income distribution in developing countries: (1) the BACHUE model, a long-run economic-demographic model of the Philippines, & (2) the Adelman-Robinson model, a medium-term computable general equilibrium model of Korea. In spite of differences in focus & design, the two models yield similar conclusions. Although the size distribution of income is quite stable & hard to change, it is possible to achieve egalitarian development strategies with integrated, comprehensive sets of policies. However, the distribution of income by SE groups (an extended functional distribution) is much more sensitive to policy interventions, indicating the need to integrate economic & political analysis of distribution- policies. A general equilibrium analysis is important since indirect effects are often crucial in determining the ultimate impact of a policy intervention. 3 Tables. HA.

1. The loss of intact forest via logging can influence vector-borne disease dynamics in part by altering the abundance or diversity of mosquito species. Using an experimental field approach, we characterised how two types of logging (clearcut and repeat-entry shelterwood) affected temperate forest mosquito abundance and diversity in southwestern Virginia. 2.From May to September in 2008-2010, infusion-baited gravid traps were used to collect ovipositing female mosquitoes across experimental forest plots that varied in logging treatment. Of the 29680 collected adult female mosquitoes, the three dominant taxa captured were Aedes triseriatus (55%), Aedes japonicus (21%), and Culex pipiens/restuans (20%). 3. Logging treatment had a significant effect on the overall number of female mosquitoes caught per trap night, with lower average abundance of females on both logged treatments relative to two types of unlogged, control plots. When the three most abundant mosquito species were examined separately, logging treatment significantly influenced the abundance of both Aedes species, but did not significantly affect C. pipiens/restuans abundance. 4. Logging treatment did not influence the richness or diversity of mosquito species captured in gravid traps. However, logging treatment significantly altered the multivariate community composition of captured mosquitoes, an effect probably mediated by differential species-specific impacts of logging on abundance. 5. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that the risk of arboviruses transmitted by container-breeding Aedes species may be lower following a logging event in Appalachian forests because of reduced A. japonicus and A. triseriatus abundance with logging. ; Virginia Tech; NIH F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service AwardUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [1F31AI080160-01A1]; Sigma Xi ; We thank Nate Lambert, Allen Patton, R. J. Wilding, Jake Bova, Bonnie Fairbanks, Cari Lynn Squibb, Noah Thrope, Kylie Perkins, Lindsey McAlexander, Genevieve Dudzinsky, Jennifer Miller, and Laila Kirkpatrick for field and laboratory assistance. We thank James Adelman for statistical analysis assistance. We thank Jesse Overcash, Travis Belote, Bob Jones, and Carola Haas for assistance with SASAB logistics. Finally, we thank Tara Craig and Jennifer Smith for assistance with Figure 1 and multiple anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript. Research funding was supported in part by Virginia Tech, Sigma Xi and an NIH F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Pre-doctoral Fellows [1F31AI080160-01A1]. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this work. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

This report analyses the impact of investment from UK government-backed venture capital schemes on funded firms over the period 1995-2008

AbstractWearable devices are increasingly prevalent in research environments for the estimation of energy expenditure (EE) and heart rate (HR). The aim of this study was to validate the HR and EE estimates of the Fitbit charge 2 (FC2), and the EE estimates of the Sensewear armband mini (SWA). We recruited 59 healthy adults to participate in walking, running, cycling, sedentary and household tasks. Estimates of HR from the FC2 were compared to a HR chest strap (Polar) and EE to a stationary metabolic cart (Vyntus CPX). The SWA overestimated overall EE by 0.03 kcal/min−1 and was statistically equivalent to the criterion measure, with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 29%. In contrast, the FC2 was not equivalent overall (MAPE = 44%). In household tasks, MAPE values of 93% and 83% were observed for the FC2 and SWA, respectively. The FC2 HR estimates were equivalent to the criterion measure overall. The SWA is more accurate than the commercial-grade FC2. Neither device is consistently accurate across the range of activities used in this study. The HR data obtained from the FC2 is more accurate than its EE estimates and future research may focus more on this variable.