The heat shock transcription factor (HSF) is a conserved regulator of heat shock-inducible gene expression. Organismal roles for HSF in physiological processes such as development, aging, and immunity have been defined largely through studies of the single C. elegans HSF homolog, hsf-1. However, the molecular and cell biological properties of hsf-1 in C. elegans are incompletely understood. We generated animals expressing physiological levels of an HSF-1::GFP fusion protein and examined its function, localization, and regulation in vivo. HSF-1::GFP was functional as measured by its ability to rescue phenotypes associated with two hsf-1 mutant alleles. Rescue of hsf-1 stress, aging, and development phenotypes was abolished in a DNA-binding-deficient mutant, demonstrating that the transcriptional targets of hsf-1 are critical to its function even in the absence of stress. Under non-stress conditions, HSF-1::GFP was found primarily in the nucleus. Following heat shock, HSF-1::GFP rapidly and reversibly redistributed into dynamic, sub-nuclear structures that share many properties with human nuclear stress granules, including colocalization with markers of active transcription. Rapid formation of HSF-1 stress granules required HSF-1 DNA binding activity and the threshold for stress granule formation was altered by growth temperature. HSF-1 stress granule formation was not induced by inhibition of IGF signaling, a pathway previously suggested to function upstream of hsf-1. Our findings suggest that development, stress, and aging pathways may regulate HSF-1 function in distinct ways, and that HSF-1 nuclear stress granule formation is an evolutionarily conserved aspect of HSF-1 regulation in vivo. © 2012 The Authors Aging Cell © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. PMID:23107491

Weak pancreatic b-cell function is a cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Glucokinase regulates insulin secretion via phosphorylation of glucose. The present study focused on a system for the self-protection of pancreatic cell by expressing heat shock factor (HSF) and heat shock protein (HSP) to improve insulin secretion without inducing hypoglycemia. We previously generated a constitutively active form of human HSF1 (CA-hHSF1). An adenovirus expressing CA-hHSF1 using the cytomegalovirus promoter was generated to infect mouse insulinoma cells (MIN6 cells). An adenovirus expressing CA-hHSF1 using a human insulin promoter (Ins-CA-hHSF1) was also generated to infect rats. We investigated whether CA-hHSF1 induces insulin secretion in MIN6 cells and whether Ins-CA-hHSF1 can improve blood glucose ...

The present study highlighted the aromatic-participant interactions in in vivo trimerization of HSF1 and got an insight into the process of HSF1 protecting against apoptosis. In mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), mutations of mouse HSF1 (W37A, Y60A and F104A) resulted in a loss of trimerization activity, impaired binding of the heat shock element (HSE) and lack of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression after a heat shock. Under UV irradiation, wild-type mouse HSF1 protected the MEFs from UV-induced apoptosis, but none of the mutants offered protection. We found that normal expression of HSF1 was essential to the cell arrest in G2 phase, assisting with the cell cycle checkpoint. The cells that lack normal HSF1 failed to arrest in the G2 phase, resulting in the process of cell apoptosis. We conclude that the treatment with UV or heat shock stresses appears to induce the approach of HSF1 monomers directly via aromatic-participant interactions, followed by the formation of a HSF1 trimer. HSF1 protects the MEFs from the stresses through the expression of HSPs and a G2 cell cycle arrest. PMID:22526392

The heat shock transcription factor (Hsf) family includes key regulators of the physiological response to heat stress. Here, we present a systematic analysis of the Hsf family in rice using a phylogenomics-based approach that integrates multi-omics data into the context of a phylogenetic tree. For 25 previously identified Hsfs, we integrated anatomical meta-profiling data from 983 Affymetrix arrays into a phylogenetic tree, revealing a global view of the functional redundancy within this family. Interestingly, most of the Hsfs showed significant fluctuation in gene expression patterns, suggesting that they have condition- or stress-dependent roles. Therefore, we further analyzed the abiotic stress responses of the Hsfs using log(2-)fold change data in response to heat, cold, drought and salt stresses. Subsequently, we identified 19 Hsfs that are positively associated with heat stress, 11 with drought, 9 with salt, and 7 with cold stress, as indicated by at least a 2-fold change and coefficient of variation less than 1. The Hsf subfamily A2 was conserved in the heat stress response. The Hsf subfamily C showed a strong positive association with drought, salt and cold stresses. Downregulation of three members in the Hsf subfamily B in response to cold stress is characteristic. More interestingly, half of the Hsf subfamily B genes were upregulated by heat, drought and salt stresses, while one gene in the other half was downregulated by drought, salt, and cold stresses. Finally, we developed a hypothetical functional gene network mediated by OsHsfA2e/OsHsf-12 that is involved in thermotolerance as well as upregulated in response to heat. We expect that our data will help researchers design more efficient strategies to study the rice Hsf family with information about probable functional redundancy. PMID:23122336

Consumption of energy-dense/high-fat diets is strongly and positively associated with overweight and obesity, which are associated with increase in the prevalence of certain chronic diseases. We evaluated the effect of hypercaloric/fat or normocaloric diets on some biochemical parameters in rats. Seventy-two rats were divided into four groups that were fed for 16 weeks with diets: normocaloric [9.12% soy oil, normocaloric soy oil (NSO)], hypercaloric olive oil [43.8% olive oil, hypercaloric olive oil (HOO)], hypercaloric saturated fat [43.8% saturated fat, hypercaloric saturated fat (HSF)] and normocaloric saturated fat [43.8% saturated fat, normocaloric saturated fat (NSF)]. HSF rats consumed more calories daily than the others and gained more retroperitoneal fat, although HSF and HOO rats had higher body weight. In liver, glycogen synthesis and concentration were higher in rats HSF and NSF. In plasma, total cholesterol (TC) levels were higher in HSF rats than in the others, and triacylglycerol (TAG) levels were lower in HOO and higher in HSF rats in relation to the others. In liver, TC and TAG were elevated in HSF, NSF and HOO rats. Paraoxonase 1 activity, which is related to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and has anti-atherogenic role was lower in rats HSF. In HOO rats, glucose tolerance test was altered, but insulin tolerance test was normal. These results suggest that consumption of energy-dense/high-fat diets, both saturated or monounsaturated, causes damaging effects. However, more studies are necessary to understand the mechanisms by which these diets cause the metabolic alterations observed. PMID:21837644

Gene encoding heat shock protein (Hsps) are induced following a thermal stress thanks to the activation of heat shock transcription factor (HSF) which interacts with heat shock elements (HSE) located within the sequence of Hsp promoters. This cellular and protective response (heat shock response (HSR)) is well known and evolutionarily conserved. Nevertheless, HSR does not function in all the cells produced during the life of a multicellular organism, e.g., early mouse embryos. Taking advantage of mouse transgenic and knockout models, we investigated the roles of trans (HSF 1 and 2) and cis (HSE) regulatory elements in the control of Hsp70.1 (Hspa1b) through several developmental steps from oocytes to blastocysts. Our studies confirm that, even in absence of any stress, HSF1 regulates Hsp70...

Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is a water-soluble vitamin essential for normal cellular functions, growth and development. The study was aimed at investigating the effects of vitamin B2 on the survival rate, and expressions of tissue heat shock protein 25 (HSP25) and heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) in mice und...

The authors reported a marked loss of cytochrome P-450 in hepatic nuclear envelope (NE) but not in microsomes of male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a semipurified diet containing 0.05% w/w 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) for 3 weeks. This may reflect loss of NE capacity to detoxify AAF metabolites generated by microsomal P-450. They are now investigating if dietary effects such as progressive decrease in the incidence of AAF-induced tumors in rats fed high polyunsaturated fat diet (HPUF) vs. high saturated fat diet (HSF) vs. low fat diet (LF), and the anticarcinogenic activity of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT; 0.3% w/w) correlate with preservation of NE P-450. Rats fed AAF HSF (25.6% w/w corn oil) showed marked loss of NE P-450 after 3 weeks; BHT protected against this loss. Rats fed AAF in HSF (25.6% w/w; 18 parts beef tallow + 2 parts corn oil), on the other hand, experienced a marked drop in NE P-450 after 9 weeks; BHT protected against this loss. Comparison of NE P-450 levels in control rats fed HPUF or HSF for 3 weeks with those of rats fed a semipurified diet with 10% fat or Purina chow (ca. 5% fat), support the prediction of an inverse correlation between the levels of dietary fat and the NE P-450 content. Studies on AAF and BHT effects using LF (2% w/w corn oil) are in progress.

Four different pilot-scale treatment units were constructed to compare the feasibility of treating domestic wastewater in the City of Heraklio, Crete, Greece: (a) a freewater surface (FWS) wetland system, (b) a horizontal subsurface flow (HSF) wetland system, (c) a rotating biological contactor (RBC), and (d) a packed bed filter (PBF). All units operated in parallel at various hydraulic loading rates (HLR) ranging from 50% to 175% of designed operating HLR. The study was conducted during an 8 month period and showed that COD removal efficiency of HSFwas comparable (N75%) to that of RBC and PBF, whereas that of the FWS systemwas only 57%. Average nutrient removal efficiencies for FWS, HSF, RBC and PBF were 6%, 21%, 40% and 43%, respectively for total nitrogen and 21%, 39%, 41% and 42%, respectively for total phosphorus. Removals of total coliforms were lowest in FWS and PBF (1.3 log units) and higher in HSF and RBC (2.3 to 2.6 log units). HSF showed slightly lower but comparable effluent quality to that of RBC and PBF systems, but the construction cost and energy requirements for this system are significantly lower. Overall the final decision for the best non-conventional wastewater treatment system depends on the construction and operation cost, the area demand and the required quality of effluent.

Cholesteryl glucoside (CG), a membrane glycolipid, regulates heat shock response. CG is rapidly induced by heat shock before the activation of heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) and production of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), and the addition of CG in turn induces HSF1 activation and HSP70 production in human fibroblasts; thus, a reasonable correlation is that CG functions as a crucial lipid mediator in stress responses in the animal. In this study, we focused on a CG-synthesizing enzyme, animal sterol glucosyltransferase, which has not yet been identified. In this study, we describe a novel type of animal sterol glucosyltransferase in hog stomach and human fibroblasts (TIG-3) detected by a sensitive assay with a fluorescence-labeled substrate. The cationic requirement, inhibitor re...

Acta Oecologica is venue for the publication of original research articles in ecology. We encourage studies in all areas of ecology, including ecosystem ecology, community ecology, population ecology, conservation ecology and evolutionary ecology. There is no bias with respect to taxon, biome...

Background To identify the genetic defect associated with autosomal recessive congenital cataract (ARCC), mental retardation (MR) and ARCC, MR and microcephaly present in most patients in four Tunisian consanguineous families. Methods We screened four genes implicated in congenital cataract by direct sequencing in two groups of patients; those affected by ARCC associated to MR and those who presented also microcephaly. Among its three genes PAX6, PITX3 and HSF4 are expressed in human brain and one gene LIM2 encodes for the protein MP20 that interact with the protein galectin-3 expressed in human brain and plays a crucial role in its development. All genes were screened by direct sequencing in two groups of patients; those affected by ARCC associated to MR and those who presented also microcephaly. Results We report no mutation in the four genes of congenital cataract and its flanking regions. Only variations that did not segregate with the studied phenotypes (ARCC associated to MR, ARCC associated with MR and microcephaly) are reported. We detected three intronic variations in PAX6 gene: IVS4 -274insG (intron 4), IVS12 -174G>A (intron12) in the four studied families and IVS4 -195G>A (intron 4) in two families. Two substitutions polymorphisms in PITX3 gene: c.439 C>T (exon 3) and c.930 C>A (exon4) in one family. One intronic variation in HSF4 gene: IVS7 +93C>T (intron 7) identified in one family. And three intronic substitutions in LIM2 gene identified in all four studied families: IVS2 -24A>G (intron 2), IVS4 +32C>T (intron 4) and c.*15A>C (3'-downstream sequence). Conclusion Although the role of the four studied genes: PAX6, PITX3, HSF4 and LIM2 in both ocular and central nervous system development, we report the absence of mutations in all studied genes in four families with phenotypes associating cataract, MR and microcephaly. PMID:21304728

The heat shock response (HSR) induces the production of heat shock proteins (HSPs) through the activation of heat shock factors (HSF). HSF binding protein (HSBP) is reported to modulate the function of HSF by binding to their trimer and hence to regulate HSR. This report describes the role of OsHSBP1 and OsHSBP2 in the regulation of the HSR and seed development of rice. Both genes expressed ubiquitously in all tissues under normal growth conditions while their expression levels were significantly increased during recovery after heat shock treatment. Subcellular localization revealed the cytosol-nuclear localization of both OsHSBP1 and OsHSBP2 in onion epidermal cells. The yeast two-hybrid assay depicted the self-binding ability of both genes. Both genes were also important for seed development, as their knock-down lines were associated with significant seed abortion. The thermotolerance assay revealed that OsHSBP1 and OsHSBP2 are negative regulators of HSR and involved in acquired thermotolerance but not in basal thermotolerance since their over-expression transgenic lines pre-heated at sublethal temperature, showed significantly decreased seedling survival after heat shock treatment. Furthermore, antioxidant activity and gene expression of catalase and peroxidase was significantly increased in knock-down transgenic seedlings of OsHSBP1 and OsHSBP2 after heat stress compared with the wild type. The expression of heat specific HSPs was also increased significantly in knockdown line of both genes but in a specific manner, suggesting the involvement of HSBP genes in different pathways. Overall, the present study reveals the role of OsHSBP1 and OsHSBP2 in the regulation of the HSR and seed development of rice. PMID:22996677

Brain injury caused by ischemia is a major cause of human mortality and physical/cognitive disability worldwide. Experimentally, brain ischemia can be induced surgically by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Using this model, we studied the influence of transthyretin in ischemic stroke. Transthyretin (TTR) is normally responsible for the transport of thyroid hormones and retinol in the blood and CSF. We found that TTR null mice (TTR(-/-) ) did not show significant differences in cortical infarction 24 h after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion compared with TTR(+/+) control littermates. However, TTR null mice, heterozygous for the heat-shock transcription factor 1 (TTR(-/-) HSF1(+/-) mice), which compromised the stress response, showed a significant increase in cortical infarction, cerebral edema and the microglial-leukocyte response compared with TTR(+/+) HSF1(+/-) mice. Unexpectedly, we observed novel TTR distribution throughout the infarct, localized to disintegrated ?-tubulin III(+) neurons and cell debris. Specific elimination of TTR synthesis in the liver by RNAi had no effect on TTR distribution in the infarct, indicating that the observed TTR infiltration derived from CSF and not from the serum. This finding is corroborated by results from 'in situ' hybridization and real time PCR that excluded the presence of transthyretin mRNA in the infarct and peri-infarct areas. Our data suggest that in conditions of a compromised heat-shock response, CSF TTR contributes to control neuronal cell death, edema and inflammation, thereby influencing the survival of endangered neurons in cerebral ischemia.

Case study critique: Upper Clinch case study (from Research on Methods for Integrating Ecological Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment: A Trade-off Weighted Index Approach to Integrating Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment). This critique answers the questions: 1) does ...

Heat shock factor-1 (HSF1) is the central regulator of heat-induced transcriptional responses leading to rapid expression of molecular chaperones that protect mammalian cells against proteotoxic stress. The main targets for HSF1 are specific promoter elements (HSE) located upstream of heat shock gen...

Heat shock transcription factor (HSF) and the promoter heat shock element (HSE) are among the most highly conserved transcriptional regulatory elements in nature. HSF mediates the transcriptional response of eukaryotic cells to heat, infection and inflammation, pharmacological agents, and other stre...

Mammalian cells respond to a lack of amino acids by activating a transcriptional program with the transcription factor ATF4 as one of the main actors. When cells are faced with cytoplasmic proteotoxic stress, a quite different transcriptional response is mounted, the heat shock response, which is mediated by HSF1. Here, we show that amino acid deprivation results in the inactivation of HSF1. In amino acid deprived cells, active HSF1 loses its DNA binding activity as demonstrated by EMSA and ChIP. A sharp decrease in the transcript level of HSF1 target genes such as HSPA1A (Hsp70), DNAJB1 (Hsp40), and HSP90AA1 is also seen. HSPA1A mRNA, but not DNAJB1 mRNA, was also destabilized. In cells cultured with limiting leucine, HSF1 activity also declined. Lack of amino acids thus could lead to a l...

Heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) modulates the expression of the cell survival heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and the cell death T-cell death associated gene 51 (TDAG51) in response to heat shock and various other cell stressors. We previously reported an increase in HSP70 in glial cells of the spinal anterior horn. Here we examined the temporal and spatial changes of HSF1 and TDAG51 expression over the course of motor neuron degeneration in the spinal cord of a mouse model of ALS (G93A-SOD1 Tg mice). The number of glial-like cells expressing HSF1 increased in G93A-SOD1 Tg mice at both early symptomatic (14 weeks) and end stages of disease (18 weeks), while the number of spinal neurons expressing HSF1 decreased. The total level of HSF1 in the anterior lumbar spinal cord was signific...

Primary cataracts are breed-related eye diseases and are common in many dog breeds. In this study, 17 genes (BFSP2, EYA1, FOXE3, FTL, GCNT2, GJA3, GJA8, HSF4, MAF, MIP, PAX6, PITX3, SIX5, SORD, SOX1, SPARC, TRNT1) were evaluated as candidates for primary non-congenital cataracts (CAT) in the Dachshund using microsatellites adjacent to the candidate genes. Linkage and association with CAT was tested in 15 affected and six unaffected wire-haired Dachshunds. Non-parametric linkage analysis and association tests did not reveal significant linkage or association for the candidate gene flanking microsatellites tested. Thus, it is unlikely that the 17 investigated candidate genes harbour a causative mutation for CAT in these Dachshunds. PMID:18703362

The objectives of this study are to compare the performance of newly developed baffled and conventional horizontal subsurface-flow (HSF) constructed wetlands in the removal of nitrogen at the hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 2, 3 and 5 days and to evaluate the potential of rice husk as wetland media for wastewater treatment. The results show that the planted baffled unit achieved 74%, 84% and 99% ammonia nitrogen (NH(4)(+)-N) removal versus 55%, 70% and 96% for the conventional unit at HRT of 2, 3 and 5 days, respectively. The better performance of the baffled unit was explained by the longer pathway due to the up-flow and down-flow conditions sequentially thus allowing more contact of the wastewater with the rhizomes and micro-aerobic zones. Near complete total oxidized nitrogen was observed due to the use of rice husk as wetland media which provided the COD as the electron donor in the denitrification process. PMID:22130081

Summary Complement evasion is an important survival strategy of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) during colonization and infection. Previously, we have shown that Nm Opc binds to serum vitronectin to inhibit complement-mediated killing. In this study, we demonstrate meningococcal interactions with vitronectin via a novel adhesin, Msf (meningococcal surface fibril, previously NhhA or Hsf). As with Opc, Msf binds preferentially to activated vitronectin (aVn), engaging at its N-terminal region but the C-terminal heparin binding domain may also participate. However, unlike Opc, the latter binding is not heparin-mediated. By binding to aVn, Msf or Opc can impart serum resistance, which is further increased in coexpressers, a phenomenon dependent on serum aVn concentrations. The survival fitness of a...

Perinatal hypoxia has been observed to cause more aggressive pulmonary hypertension in human. Several mediators such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and substance P are believed to be crucial in the mechanism of inducing pulmonary hypertension. This study was designed to test whether substance P and ROS play a role in perinatal hypoxia-exaggerated, monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension. Normoxic Wistar rats (weighing 258 ± 9 g, n = 31) were divided into two groups: control (n = 16) and MCT (n = 15). Perinatal hypoxia Wistar rats (weighing 260 ± 19 g, n = 49) were divided into six groups: Hypoxia (n = 8), Hypoxia+MCT (n = 8), Hypoxia+capsaicin (CP)+MCT (n = 7), Hypoxia+MCT+1,3-dimethyl-2-thiourea (DMTU)E (n = 10), Hypoxia+MCT+DMTUL (n = 9), and Hypoxia+MCT+ hexa(sulfobutyl) fullerenes (HSF) (n = 7). Rats in the control group received saline injections. MCT (60 mg/kg, s.c.) was given three weeks prior to the functional examination. Chronic capsaicin pretreatment was performed to deplete substance P. Hydroxyl radical scavenger DMTU (500 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected early (DMTUE ) or late (DMTUL ) after MCT. Antioxidant HSF (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was given once daily for three weeks following MCT. MCT treatment caused significant increases in pulmonary arterial pressure (Ppa) and substance P level in lung tissue in normoxic rats. The MCT-induced increase in pulmonary arterial blood pressure was exaggerated by perinatal hypoxia, but this exaggeration was attenuated by either capsaicin pretreatment or antioxidant administrations. These results suggest that both ROS and substance P are involved in perinatal hypoxia-augmented, MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension. PMID:22559732

When hookworm infective L3s infect their mammalian host, they undergo a temperature shift from that of the ambient environment to that of their endothermic host. Additionally, L3s living in the environment can be exposed to temperature extremes associated with weather fluctuations. The heat shock response (HSR) is a conserved response to heat shock and other stress that involves the expression of protective heat shock proteins (HSPs). The HSR is controlled by heat shock factor-1 (HSF-1), a conserved transcription factor that binds to a heat shock element in the promoter of HSPs, causing their expression. HSF-1 is negatively regulated in part by a HSF binding protein (HSB-1) that binds to and removes HSF-1 trimers bound to HSP gene promoters, resulting in attenuation of the HSR. Herein we d...

Adaptive responses to physical and inflammatory stressors are mediated by transcription factors and molecular chaperones. The transcription factor heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) has been implicated in extending lifespan in part by increasing expression of heat shock response genes. Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) is a small thiol compound that exerts in vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory properties through mechanisms that remain unclear. Here we report that PDTC induced the release of monomeric HSF1 from the molecular chaperone heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), with concomitant increase in HSF1 trimer formation, translocation to the nucleus, and binding to promoter of target genes in human HepG2 cells. siRNA-mediated silencing of HSF1 blocked BAG3 gene expression by PDTC. The protein levels o...

Heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) is an important regulator of protein homeostasis (proteostasis) by controlling the expression of major heat shock proteins (Hsps) that facilitate protein folding. However, it is unclear whether other proteostasis pathways are mediated by HSF1. Here, we identified novel targets of HSF1 in mammalian cells, which suppress the aggregation of polyglutamine (polyQ) protein. Among them, we show that one of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) proteins, NFATc2, significantly inhibits polyQ aggregation in cells and is required for HSF1-mediated suppression of polyQ aggregation. NFAT deficiency accelerated disease progression including aggregation of a mutant polyQ-huntingtin protein and shortening of lifespan in R6/2 Huntington's disease mice. Furt...

Modern sake yeast strains, which produce high concentrations of ethanol, are unexpectedly sensitive to environmental stress during sake brewing. To reveal the underlying mechanism, we investigated a well-characterized yeast stress response mediated by a heat shock element (HSE) and heat shock transcription factor Hsf1p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae sake yeast. The HSE-lacZ activity of sake yeast during sake fermentation and under acute ethanol stress was severely impaired compared to that of laboratory yeast. Moreover, the Hsf1p of modern sake yeast was highly and constitutively hyperphosphorylated, irrespective of the extracellular stress. Since HSF1 allele replacement did not significantly affect the HSE-mediated ethanol stress response or Hsf1p phosphorylation patterns in either sake or laboratory yeast, the regulatory machinery of Hsf1p is presumed to function differently between these types of yeast. To identify phosphatases whose loss affected the control of Hsf1p, we screened a series of phosphatase gene deletion mutants in a laboratory strain background. Among the 29 mutants, a ?ppt1 mutant exhibited constitutive hyperphosphorylation of Hsf1p, similarly to the modern sake yeast strains, which lack the entire PPT1 gene locus. We confirmed that the expression of laboratory yeast-derived functional PPT1 recovered the HSE-mediated stress response of sake yeast. In addition, deletion of PPT1 in laboratory yeast resulted in enhanced fermentation ability. Taken together, these data demonstrate that hyperphosphorylation of Hsf1p caused by loss of the PPT1 gene at least partly accounts for the defective stress response and high ethanol productivity of modern sake yeast strains. PMID:22057870

As a part of the Functional Ecology Program on Chesapeake Bay submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), this study investigated infaunal and epifaunal trophic dynamics. The main study area established for investigating the functional ecology of resident consumers in the lower Chesapeak...

The Russian Journal of Ecology (Ekologiya) publishes complete original studies reaching across all branches of theoretical and experimental ecology. Coverage includes reviews and papers on topics currently in debate, information about new methods of investigation, book reviews, and chr...

Heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) modulates the expression of the cell survival heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and the cell death T-cell death associated gene 51 (TDAG51) in response to heat shock and various other cell stressors. We previously reported an increase in HSP70 in glial cells of the spinal anterior horn. Here we examined the temporal and spatial changes of HSF1 and TDAG51 expression over the course of motor neuron degeneration in the spinal cord of a mouse model of ALS (G93A-SOD1 Tg mice). The number of glial-like cells expressing HSF1 increased in G93A-SOD1 Tg mice at both early symptomatic (14 weeks) and end stages of disease (18 weeks), while the number of spinal neurons expressing HSF1 decreased. The total level of HSF1 in the anterior lumbar spinal cord was significantly decreased in G93A-SOD1 Tg mice at the end stage of disease. In contrast to HSF1, the level of TDAG51 in the anterior lumbar spinal cord was significantly increased in G93A-SOD1 Tg mice at the end stage of disease. Moreover, TDAG51 progressively increased in glial-like cells in the anterior lumbar spinal cord of G93A-SOD1 Tg mice from the early symptomatic stage, while decreasing in spinal neurons. Taken together, our results suggest that the balance between the cell survival and death signals mediated by HSP70 and TDAG51, respectively, may be disturbed by the altered expression of HSF1 during the progression of disease in this ALS model. PMID:23063459

Functional Ecology publishes papers on organismal ecology, including physiological, behavioural and evolutionary ecology. At the same time, we are also interested in organism-level studies that have clear and important implications for community and ecosystem processes. Our scope is fairly br...

We introduce the Hypothesis Selection Filter (HSF) as a new approach for image quality enhancement. We assume that a set of filters has been selected a priori to improve the quality of a distorted image which contains regions with different characteristics. At each pixel, HSF uses a locally computed feature vector to predict the relative performance of the filters in estimating the corresponding pixel intensity in the original, undistorted image. The prediction result then determines the proportion of each filter used to obtain the final processed output. In this way, the HSF serves as a framework for combining the outputs of a number of different user selected filters, each best suited for a different region of an image. We formulate our scheme in a probabilistic framework where the HSF output is obtained as the Bayesian minimum mean square error estimate of the original image. Maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters are determined from an offline, fully unsupervised training procedure that is derived from the expectation-maximization algorithm. To illustrate how to apply the HSF and to demonstrate its potential, we apply our scheme as a post-processing step to improve the decoding quality of JPEGencoded document images. The scheme consistently improves the quality of the decoded image over a variety of image content with different characteristics. We show that our scheme results in quantitative improvements over several other state-of-the-art JPEG decoding methods. PMID:23014749

Transcript expression profiles of rice seedlings were analyzed in response to (a) prior exposure with oxidative stress followed by heat or cold stress and (b) simultaneous exposure to oxidative stress along with heat stress or cold stress. The numbers of genes differentially regulated during stress combination of cold and oxidative stress as well as heat and oxidative stress treatments were higher when compared with the number of genes differentially regulated in response to individual stress conditions. A large number of transcript changes were noted unique to the stress combination mode as compared with when individual stresses were applied. Specific differences in the transcript expression profiles of OsHsf and OsClp gene family members were noted during combination of stresses as against individual stresses. For instance, OsHsf26 induction was specific to stress combinations, while OsHsfA2a, OsHsfA2f, and OsHsfA3 transcript levels were additively affected during combination of stresses. Unique promoter models and transcription factor binding sites (i.e. P$KNOX3_01, P$OSBZ8_Q6) were noted in the promoters of differentially regulated genes during combination of stresses. It is proposed that stress combinations represent a novel state of abiotic stresses for rice seedlings that might involve a different type of molecular response. PMID:23116677

Abstract Long-term ecological studies are critical for providing key insights in ecology, environmental change, natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. In this paper, we briefly discuss five key values of such studies. These are: (1) quantifying ecological responses to drivers of ecosystem change; (2) understanding complex ecosystem processes that occur over prolonged periods; (3) providing core ecological data that may be used to develop theoretical ecological models and to parameterize and validate simulation models; (4) acting as platforms for collaborative studies, thus promoting multidisciplinary research; and (5) providing data and understanding at scales relevant to management, and hence critically supporting evidence-based policy, decision making and the manageme...

Abstract in portuguese O estudo objetiva caracterizar o processo pelos quais os gerentes de território da Estratégia Saúde da Família-ESF ascenderam ao cargo e os limites e/ou facilidades encontradas por este em seu processo de trabalho. A pesquisa é de abordagem predominantemente qualitativa, realizada em Sobral-Ceará, com 28 gerentes de território da ESF, no período de novembro de 2006 a junho de 2007. O processo que levou os gerentes ao cargo, não leva em consideração um perfil de (more) competências, ocorrendo de maneira administrativamente artesanal. As principais facilidades no processo de trabalho dos gerentes se dão principalmente, pelo bom relacionamento com a equipe e o compromisso desta. Já as dificuldades referem-se a conciliação das atividades de enfermagem e gerenciamento e falta de capacitação para o gerenciamento. Abstract in spanish El estudio tiene como objetivo caracterizar el proceso por el cuál los gerentes de territorio de la Estrategia Salud de la Familia ESF ascendieron al cargo y los limites e/o dificultades encontrados por estos en su proceso de trabajo. La pesquisa es de abordaje predominantemente cualitativo, realizada en Sobral Ceará, con 28 gerentes de territorio de la ESF, en el periodo de Noviembre de 2006 a Junio de 2007. El proceso que llevó a los gerentes al cargo, no lleva en co (more) nsideración un perfil de competencias, ocurriendo de manera administrativamente artesanal. Las principales facilidades en el proceso de trabajo de los gerentes se dan por la buena relación con el equipo y el compromiso de este. Ya las dificultades se refieren a la conciliación de las actividades de enfermería, gerencia y falta de capacitación para la gerencia. Abstract in english The study aims to characterize the process by which the territory managers of the Health Strategy of the Family- HSF ascended to the position and the limits and/or ease found by them in their work process. The research is of a predominantly qualitative approach, accomplished in Sobral-Ceará, with 28 territory managers of the HSF, in the period of November of 2006 to June of 2007. The process that took the managers to the position, does not take into consideration a profi (more) le of competences, occurring in a handmade administrative way. The main ease in the managers' process work mainly happens, due to the good relationship with the team and its commitment. Yet the difficulties refer the conciliation of the nurse activities and management and lack of training for management.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been shown to be cardio-protective against ischemia through activating Jak2/Stat3 pathway, however, the mechanism is unclear. Heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), a definite endogenous protective protein in cardiomyocytes, may interact with Stat family under stress conditions. We hypothesized that G-CSF could induce cardio-protection against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) through association of HSF1 with Stat3. To test the hypothesis, we built cardiac I/R injury model with HSF1 knockout (KO) mice and wild type (WT) mice by occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery for 30min and subsequent release of the occlusion for 24h. These mice were administered with G-CSF (100@mg/kg/day) or vehicle subcutaneously for 3days befor...

Protein homeostasis (proteostasis) is essential for cellular and organismal health. Stress, aging, and the chronic expression of misfolded proteins, however, challenge the proteostasis machinery and the vitality of the cell. Enhanced expression of molecular chaperones, regulated by heat shock transcription factor-1 (HSF-1), has been shown to restore proteostasis in a variety of conformational disease models, suggesting a promising therapeutic approach. We describe the results of a ?900,000 small molecule screen that identified novel classes of small molecule proteostasis regulators (PRs) that induce HSF-1-dependent chaperone expression and restore protein folding in multiple conformational disease models. The beneficial effects to proteome stability are mediated by HSF-1, DAF-16/FOXO, SKN-1/Nrf-2, and the chaperone machinery through mechanisms that are distinct from current known small molecule activators of the HSR. We suggest that modulation of the proteostasis network by PRs represents a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of a variety of protein conformational diseases. PMID:12582674

The current number of known potential NEA targets for HSF is limited to those objects whose orbital characteristics are similar to that of the Earth. This is due to the projected capabilities of the exploration systems currently under consideration and development at NASA. However, NEAs with such orbital characteristics often have viewing geometries that place them at low solar elongations and thus are difficult to detect from the vicinity of Earth. While ongoing ground-based surveys and data archives maintained by the NEO Program Observation Program Office and the Minor Planet Center (MPC) have provided a solid basis upon which to build, a more complete catalog of the NEO population is required to inform a robust and sustainable HSF exploration program. Since all the present NEO observing assets are currently confined to the vicinity of the Earth, additional effort must be made to provide capabilities for detection of additional HSF targets via assets beyond Earth orbit. A space-based NEO survey telescope located beyond the vicinity of the Earth, has considerable implications for planetary science and astrobiology. Such a telescope will provide foundational knowledge of our Solar System small body population and detect targets of interest for both the HSF and scientific communities. Data from this asset will yield basic characterization data on the NEOs observed (i.e., albedo, size determination, potential for volatiles and organics, etc.) and help down select targets for future HSF missions. Ideally, the most attractive targets from both HSF and astrobiology perspectives are those NEAs that may contain organic and volatile materials, and which could be effectively sampled at a variety of locations and depths. Presented here is an overview of four space-based survey concepts; any one of which after just a few years of operation will discover many highly accessible NEO targets suitable for robotic and human exploration. Such a space-based survey mission will reveal incredible returns for several disciplines including: exploration, in situ resource utilization, planetary defense, and science. Of particular, interest to the scientific

Protein homeostasis (proteostasis) is essential for cellular and organismal health. Stress, aging and the chronic expression of misfolded proteins, however, challenge the proteostasis machinery and the vitality of the cell. Enhanced expression of molecular chaperones, regulated by heat shock transcription factor-1 (HSF-1), has been shown to restore proteostasis in a variety of conformational disease models, suggesting this mechanism as a promising therapeutic approach. We describe the results of a screen comprised of ???900,000 small molecules that identified new classes of small-molecule proteostasis regulators that induce HSF-1???dependent chaperone expression and restore protein folding in multiple conformational disease models. These beneficial effects to proteome stability are mediate...

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) consumption has been traditionally related to a higher longevity in the human population. EVOO effects on health are often attributed to its unique mixture of phenolic compounds with tyrosol and hydroxityrosol being the most biologically active. Although these compounds have been extensively studied in terms of their antioxidant potential and its role in different pathologies, their actual connection with longevity remains unexplored. This study utilized the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate the possible effects of tyrosol in metazoan longevity. Significant lifespan extension was observed at one specific tyrosol concentration, which also induced a higher resistance to thermal and oxidative stress and delayed the appearance of a biomarker of ageing. We also report that, although tyrosol was efficiently taken up by these nematodes, it did not induce changes in development, body length or reproduction. In addition, lifespan experiments with several mutant strains revealed that components of the heat shock response (HSF-1) and the insulin pathway (DAF-2 and DAF-16) might be implicated in mediating tyrosol effects in lifespan, while caloric restriction and sirtuins do not seem to mediate its effects. Together, our results point to hormesis as a possible mechanism to explain the effects of tyrosol on longevity in C. elegans. PMID:22824366

Complement evasion is an important survival strategy of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) during colonization and infection. Previously, we have shown that Nm Opc binds to serum vitronectin to inhibit complement-mediated killing. In this study, we demonstrate meningococcal interactions with vitronectin via a novel adhesin, Msf (meningococcal surface fibril, previously NhhA or Hsf). As with Opc, Msf binds preferentially to activated vitronectin (aVn), engaging at its N-terminal region but the C-terminal heparin binding domain may also participate. However, unlike Opc, the latter binding is not heparin-mediated. By binding to aVn, Msf or Opc can impart serum resistance, which is further increased in coexpressers, a phenomenon dependent on serum aVn concentrations. The survival fitness of aVn-binding derivatives was evident from mixed population studies, in which msf/opc mutants were preferentially depleted. In addition, using vitronectin peptides to block Msf-aVn interactions, aVn-induced inhibition of lytic C5b-9 formation and of serum killing could be reversed. As Msf-encoding gene is ubiquitous in the meningococcal strains examined and is expressed in vivo, serum resistance via Msf may be of significance to meningococcal pathogenesis. The data imply that vitronectin binding may be an important strategy for the in vivo survival of Nm for which the bacterium has evolved redundant mechanisms. PMID:22050461

Genetic studies indicate that protein homeostasis is a major contributor to metazoan longevity. Collapse of protein homeostasis results in protein misfolding cascades and the accumulation of insoluble protein fibrils and aggregates, such as amyloids. A group of small molecules, traditionally used in histopathology to stain amyloid in tissues, bind protein fibrils and slow aggregation in vitro and in cell culture. We proposed that treating animals with such compounds would promote protein homeostasis in vivo and increase longevity. Here we show that exposure of adult Caenorhabditis elegans to the amyloid-binding dye Thioflavin T (ThT) resulted in a profoundly extended lifespan and slowed ageing. ThT also suppressed pathological features of mutant metastable proteins and human ?-amyloid-associated toxicity. These beneficial effects of ThT depend on the protein homeostasis network regulator heat shock factor 1 (HSF-1), the stress resistance and longevity transcription factor SKN-1, molecular chaperones, autophagy and proteosomal functions. Our results demonstrate that pharmacological maintenance of the protein homeostatic network has a profound impact on ageing rates, prompting the development of novel therapeutic interventions against ageing and age-related diseases. PMID:21451522

Rice at reproductive stage is more sensitive to environmental changes, and little is known about the mechanism of heat response in rice panicle. Here, using rice microarray, we provided a time course gene expression profile of rice panicle at anther developmental stage 8 after 40°C treatment for 0 min, 20 min, 60 min, 2 h, 4 h, and 8 h. The identified differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in transcriptional regulation, transport, cellular homeostasis, and stress response. The predominant transcription factor gene families responsive to heat stress were Hsf, NAC, AP2/ERF, WRKY, MYB, and C2H2. KMC analysis discovered the time-dependent gene expression pattern under heat stress. The motif co-occurrence analysis on the promoters of genes from an early up-regulated cluster showed the important roles of GCC box, HSE, ABRE, and CE3 in response to heat stress. The regulation model central to ROS combined with transcriptome and ROS quantification data in rice panicle indicated the great importance to maintain ROS balance and the existence of wide cross-talk in heat response. The present study increased our understanding of the heat response in rice panicle and provided good candidate genes for crop improvement.

The Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Program provides teachers and students with the opportunity and materials to participate in regionally focused ecological studies under the guidance of a mentor scientist working on a similar study. The Harvard Forest is part of a national network of ecological research sites known as the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER). The study protocols it offers are inquiry-based and incorporate science education best practices. This article describes how this program was utilized to embark fifth graders on a hunt for an invasive species while conducting authentic research. (Contains 1 figure and 4 online resources.)

Moderate environmental and physiological stressors are known to initiate protective heat shock response (HSR) leading to cell survival. HSR is largely mediated by the activation of heat shock factor (HSF), resulting in increased heat shock protein expression. Dysregulation of the HSR signaling has b...

The derivation of osteogenic cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) or from induced pluripotent stem cells for bone regeneration would be a welcome alternative to the use of adult stem cells. In an attempt to promote hESC osteogenic differentiation, cells of the HSF-6 line were cultured in di...

Sep 14, 2009 ... Development and HSF appropriated funds, reaching a high of 42 percent in. FY 1998 (see Table ...... landing at Ben Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain; or Banjul, The Gambia.76 ..... It marked the first flight of the ATLAS-1, which was mounted on ..... phenomena, such as oil spills, and naturally occurring events.

Upon heat stress, monomeric human heat shock transcription factor 1 (hHSF1) is converted to a trimer, acquires DNA-binding ability, is transported to the nucleus, and becomes transcriptionally competent. It was not known previously whether these regulatory changes are caused by a single activation e...

Jan 22, 2010... Space Flight is based on the NASA partnership with private aerospace contractor (with stocks and board of directors). ... It was cutting edge. .... I see this as a structural, intrinsic problem of how we perform in the HSF realm.

Gene encoding heat shock protein (Hsps) are induced following a thermal stress thanks to the activation of heat shock transcription factor (HSF) which interacts with heat shock elements (HSE) located within the sequence of Hsp promoters. This cellular and protective response (heat shock response (HS...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the ecological quality of tropical estuaries on the northeastern coast of Brazil using the AMBI. Macrofauna classification based on ecological groups was reviewed using the Indicator Value (IndVal) coefficient. The results indicate that the ecosystems exhibit some level of disturbance. Most sites are situated between slightly-moderately disturbed boundaries due to the higher proportion of Nematoda (assigned here as Ecological Group I) and of Oligochaeta and Tubificidae (both classified as Ecological Group V). The AMBI proved efficient in evaluating environmental status, although the applicability of this index requires adjustments regarding some species in ecological groups. The present study also highlights the merits of the IndVal method for examining the assignments of species/taxa to an ecological group and demonstrates the validity of this coefficient is an assessment tool. Moreover, the complementary use of different methods is recommended for the assessment of ecosystem quality. PMID:22748505

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which two of the three sources of risk-taking-dispositional and ecological-in adolescence and demographic variables were related to Ritalin, tranquilizer and narcotics misuse. The secondary aim of this study was to distinguish subgroups of Ritalin, tranquilizer, and narcotics misusers using dispositional, ecological and demographic variables. An archival dataset containing 1672 participants (11-18 years old) was used. Ritalin, tranquilizer, and narcotics misuse were dichotomized and hierarchical logistic regressions were computed for dispositional and ecological sources of risk-taking and demographics. To distinguish subgroups of misusers, hierarchical multinomial regressions were computed. Dispositional, ecological, and demogr...

The sensory ecology of predator detection by prey has been little studied for any arthropod prey predator system, in contrast to the sensory ecology of prey finding by predators. The aim of this study was to quantify the foraging signals produced by the parasitoid Sympiesis sericeicornis (Hymenopter...

This peer-reviewed article from BioScience is about defining ecological boundaries. Ecologists use the term boundary to refer to a wide range of real and conceptual structures. Because imprecise terminology may impede the search for general patterns and theories about ecological boundaries, we present a classification of the attributes of ecological boundaries to aid in communication and theory development. Ecological boundaries may differ in their origin and maintenance, their spatial structure, their function, and their temporal dynamics. A classification system based on these attributes should help ecologists determine whether boundaries are truly comparable. This system can be applied when comparing empirical studies, comparing theories, and testing theoretical predictions against empirical results.

Summary 1.-Phreatic ecosystems (saturated groundwater ecosystems in porous and fractured-rock aquifers) are research frontiers for freshwater ecology. Many ecological issues that have been explored at length in surface-water and hyporheic systems are unexplored in phreatic systems. Phreatic ecology is currently dominated by observational studies rather than experiments and focuses on pattern-detection and description, rather than hypothesis-testing and mechanistic explanations. These are characteristics of science disciplines in early developmental stages. 2.-Progress in phreatic ecology has been impeded by logistical problems including poor access, limited information about ecosystem boundaries and spatial heterogeneity, a lack of detailed habitat templates, limited taxonomic and biogeogr...

Uncertainty is a seemingly simple concept that has caused great confusion and conflict in the field of risk assessment. This report offers guidance for the analysis and presentation of variability and uncertainty in ecological risk assessments, an important issue in the remedial investigation and feasibility study processes. This report discusses concepts of probability in terms of variance and uncertainty, describes how these concepts differ in ecological risk assessment from human health risk assessment, and describes probabilistic aspects of specific ecological risk assessment techniques. The report ends with 17 points to consider in performing an uncertainty analysis for an ecological risk assessment of a contaminated site.

PPARGC1A is a transcriptional coactivator that binds to and coactivates a variety of transcription factors (TFs) to regulate the expression of target genes. PPARGC1A plays a pivotal role in regulating energy metabolism and has been implicated in several human diseases, most notably type II diabetes. Previous studies have focused on the interplay between PPARGC1A and individual TFs, but little is known about how PPARGC1A combines with all of its partners across the genome to regulate transcriptional dynamics. In this study, we describe a core PPARGC1A transcriptional regulatory network operating in HepG2 cells treated with forskolin. We first mapped the genome-wide binding sites of PPARGC1A using chromatin-IP followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) and uncovered overrepresented DNA sequence motifs corresponding to known and novel PPARGC1A network partners. We then profiled six of these site-specific TF partners using ChIP-seq and examined their network connectivity and combinatorial binding patterns with PPARGC1A. Our analysis revealed extensive overlap of targets including a novel link between PPARGC1A and HSF1, a TF regulating the conserved heat shock response pathway that is misregulated in diabetes. Importantly, we found that different combinations of TFs bound to distinct functional sets of genes, thereby helping to reveal the combinatorial regulatory code for metabolic and other cellular processes. In addition, the different TFs often bound near the promoters and coding regions of each other's genes suggesting an intricate network of interdependent regulation. Overall, our study provides an important framework for understanding the systems-level control of metabolic gene expression in humans. PMID:22955979

The ecology of virulent strains of Rhodococcus equi on horse farms is likely to influence the prevalence and severity of R. equi pneumonia in foals. This study examined the association between the ecology of virulent R. equi and the epidemiology of R. equi pneumonia by collecting air and soil sample...

Aquatic Ecology publishes timely, peer-reviewed papers on the ecology of fresh, brackish, estuarine and marine environments. Articles cover fundamental and applied research in the field and the laboratory. Coverage includes studies of organization of lower levels into higher levels and t...

Sub-Antarctic islands offer excellent opportunities to study ecological phenomena, especially functional responses of organisms, populations and ecosystems to perturbations. Recognizing this, the South African Committee for Antarctic Research recently launched a multidisciplinary project on the biological and ecological implications of climate change at South Africa's two sub-Antarctic islands, Marion and Prince Edward.

In order to develop management strategies for sustainable use and conservation in the marine environment, reliable and meaningful, but integrated ecological information is needed. Biological valuation maps that compile and summarize all available biological and ecological information for a study are...

As one of the key tools for regulating human-ecosystem relations, environmental conservation policies can promote ecological rehabilitation across a variety of spatiotemporal scales. However, quantifying the ecological effects of such policies at the regional level is difficult. A case study was con...

Differential equation problem is an important research topic in the international academia. In accordance with certain ecological phenomena, previous research was conducted based on simple observational and statistical data. But this approach does not effectively study the essence of the ecological phenomena. Recently, one dynamic approach has been proposed for the study of ecology in the international academia. According to this approach, first of all, the ecology is reduced to the differential equation model which represents the essential phenomenon, and then the dynamic law and rules of mathematics and biology will be studied. Currently, an extensive research is conducted on the differential equation problem. This paper primarily explores a type of competitive ecological model, which is...

Constructivist grounded theory is focused on discovery through understanding data in a human ecology. The procedures outlined in this paper are designed to guide the beginning theorist through the process of creating a theory grounded in data that is a product of the human ecology under study. These new procedures extend grounded theory, providing bridges in moving from study phenomenon to design and from analysis to interpretation. Procedures for analyzing the data must be clearly understood before beginning grounded theory methodology. Strategies must be outlined, approaches to the ecology discussed, and awareness of the ecology attained. Following these procedures can lead to a rewarding qualitative research experience and produce new knowledge for understanding the human ecology.

Transitional metals, as vanadium, are known to exert noxious effects by generating oxidative stress. Addition of antioxidants in the diet could decrease the cytotoxic effect related to the oxidative stress. The present study, carried out in rats, is a contribution to explore mechanisms underlying vanadium toxicity and possible protective effects of green tea Camellia sinensis which is known to be rich in antioxidant compounds (polyphenols...). Chronic intoxication by vanadium given in drinking water was found to induce histological structure changes of renal glomeruli and tubules, but indicators of nephrotoxicity (serum creatinine and urea, urinary pH) were not perturbed. Vanadium accumulation was found to be decreased in (T+V) group, and renal histological changes were not observed. The ability of catechins to chelate metal ions, and perhaps vanadium, could explain protective effects of herbal green tea. Intraperitoneal administration of vanadium to rats (V) was found to induce an increase of lipid peroxidation levels in kidney, that was lowered in rats (T+V) drinking herbal tea. This effect was partly due to a tea-induced decrease of basal lipid peroxidation level in kidney tissues. Similar HSP72 underexpression and HSP73 overexpression were found in (V) and (T+V) rats. Vanadium-induced HSP70 underexpression was discussed in relation to the ability of the metal to inactivate some phosphatases, resulting in phosphorylation and transcriptional activity changes of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1). Besides, two forms of GRP94 (96, 98kD) were immunodetected, that appeared inversely regulated by vanadium, but not by herbal tea. This suggests that vanadium can disrupt reticulum endoplasmic function resulting in GRP94 phosphorylation and/or glycosylation changes.   

In this thesis I studied lotic trout predation and its ecological effects, and investigated invertebrate predator-prey interactions under natural and anthropogenically modified flow conditions. Given the growing concern about the reliability of extrapolations from small-scale studies to la...

Lake Taihu provides vital ecological services for humans in China; it receives a great deal of attention regarding its ecological and environmental conditions. In this study, the ecological risks of eight individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water were assessed using probabilistic distributions of the hazard quotient based on Monte Carlo simulation. The results show that the 95th percentile of the hazard quotients ranged from 0.00074 to 2.831, and the ecological risk of Flua was highest, followed by, in descending order of risk, B[a]P?>?Pyr?>?Ant?>?Phe?>?Flu?>?Ace?>?Chr. The probabilities of hazard quotients exceeding a decision criteria of 0.3 were 18.09%, 6.51%, 3.76%, and 2.85% for Flua, B[a]P, Pyr, and Ant, respectively, indicating their potential ecological risks to a...

This work is intended to contribute to the foundations for formalizing industrial ecology analyses of energy systems (systems for energy generation, transfer. or transformation) and to examine how the tools for performing these analyses can also enhance the field of industrial ecology in other applications. We discuss requirements for studying materials and energy , cycling in industrial processes. with particular emphasis on energy generating systems, through explicit inclusion of entropy concepts in industrial ecology considerations. This perspective is intended to contribute to the theoretical basis for industrial ecology, to the development of tools for comparing the ecological (human and environmental health. and institutional) impacts of energy generating and other industrial processes, and to possible changes in engineering curricula with emphasis on design.

Plant ecology spans multiple levels of biological organization and spatio-temporal scales, and over four dozen plant ecology textbooks have been published since Warming?s (1895) ?Oecology of Plants.? With increasing emphasis on specialization, students and teachers can feel paralyzed by the vast literature, and as such may lack an adequate appreciation of the history of the field. The objective of this study was to derive a comprehensive set of topics that are covered in plant ecology textbooks, and to ask (1) what are the most important topical gradients among textbooks, and (2) has the emphasis of topics changed over time? The NMS ordination determined that the first gradient represented a clear contrast in emphasis on physiological ecology versus community ecology. The second gradient r...

The Water Framework Directiva (WFD) extends the scope of protection to all water uses. The WDF defines the ecological status of water bodies by characterizing each water body type and establishing reference conditions for the quality elements. This paper identifies indicators for defining the ecological status of Estanco river Basin (Antas de Ulla, Lugo) by using the methodology proposed in the WFD. In additions, this study highlights the obstacles for a correct application of the WFD in the study river basin. this study presents conclusions about the usefulness of the WFD in the development of specific programmes for improving the ecological status of rivers. (Author) 16 refs.

A significant challenge for the new field of space architecture is the dearth of project opportunities. Yet every year more young professionals express interest to enter the field. This paper derives projections that bound the number, type, and range of global development opportunities that may be reasonably expected over the next few decades for human space flight (HSF) systems so those interested in the field can benchmark their goals. Four categories of HSF activity are described: human Exploration of solar system bodies; human Servicing of space-based assets; large-scale development of space Resources; and Breakout of self-sustaining human societies into the solar system. A progressive sequence of capabilities for each category starts with its earliest feasible missions and leads towar...

The release of methane from the seafloor into the water column within the hydrate stability field (HSF) is a natural and widely observed process. The subsequent bubble dissolution rate determines how far upwards gas is transported and the vertical distribution of this methane source to the water column. Understanding this process is essential to describing natural deep sea seeps, to assess the hazard potential from blowouts in offshore drilling activities for gas and oil, and to refine past and future scenarios of global change involving large-scale destabilization of gas hydrates and free methane gas. We report on in situ experiments on single methane and argon bubbles within and above the HSF for depths from 400 to 1500?m. Single bubbles were injected from the ROV Ventana into an attache...

Glutamine (GLN) plays a key role in cellular protection following injury via enhancement of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). The pathway by which GLN enhances HSP70 is unknown. GLN is a key substrate for the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP), which has been shown to induce HSP70. We sought to explore the role of the HBP in GLN-mediated HSP70 expression. Both chemical inhibitors and small interfering (si)RNA knockdown of key HBP enzymes were used in mouse embryonic fibroblast cells to determine the effects of the HBP on HSP70 expression. The O-glycosylation, nuclear translocation, and transcriptional activation of heat shock factor-1 (HSF-1) and Sp1 were evaluated using immunoprecipitation, Western blotting, and luciferase assays. HSP70 expression levels were evaluated via ELISA and Western blotting. GLN augmented HBP activity before and after heat stress (HS). Chemical inhibition of HBP enzymes reduced GLN-mediated HSP70 expression. Specific siRNA targeting of the key HBP enzyme UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc): polypeptide-O-beta-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (OGT) blocked GLN-mediated HSP70 expression and attenuated GLN-mediated cellular protection post-HS. Chemical and siRNA attenuation of the HBP blocked GLN-induced nuclear translocation of Sp1 and HSF-1, which are key to maximal HSP70 expression. Finally, immunoprecipitation revealed HSF-1 was O-glycosylated, and GLN enhanced this effect. These results suggest that metabolism of GLN via the HBP enhances HSP70 expression. This effect appears to be mediated via O-glycosylation, nuclear translocation, and transcriptional activation of Sp1 and HSF-1. This is an important mechanistic description of a pathway that appears responsible for GLN-mediated HSP70 expression. PMID:19776393

A new design for manufacturability (DfM) scheme with a lithography compliance check (LCC) and hot spot fixing (HSF) flow has been developed to guarantee design compliance for OPC and RET by combining lithography simulator, hot spot detector and layout modification tool. Hot spots highlighted by the LCC flow are removed by the HSF flow following modification rule consists of "Line-Sizing" (LS) and "Space-Sizing (SS)" that are resize value of line-width and space-width for the original pattern. In order to meet layout modification requirements at the pre- and post- tape out (T.O.) stages, the priorities individually set for the modification rules and the design rules, which provides flexibly to achieve the modification scheme desirable at each stage. For handling large data at a fast speed, Layout Analyzer (LA) and Layout Optimizer (LO) engines were combined with the HSF flow. LA is used to reconstruct the original hierarchy structure, clips off small parts of the layout that include hot spots from the original layout and sends those to LO in order to reduce the computational time and resource. LO optimizes the clipped off layout following the prioritized modification- and design-rules. The new DfM scheme was found to be quite effective for hot spot cleaning for 65nm node and beyond, since it was demonstrated that the HSF flow improved the lithography margin for the metal layer of 65nm node full-chip data by reducing number of hot spots to below 0.1% of original within about 12 hours, using 1CPU of commercially available workstation.

Abstract The genus Etheostoma is a species-rich and ecologically important group of fishes in North America. The orangethroat darter (Etheostoma spectabile) is widely distributed and abundant in headwater streams throughout the central Midwest, and is an excellent model for ecological and mating system studies. We developed 23 novel, polymorphic, and independent microsatellite loci for E. spectabile. We found from two to 14 alleles per locus, and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.39 to 1.0. These markers, in combination with others isolated from Etheostoma taxa, will be useful for ecological and evolutionary studies in the genus.

Parasitism as one of the modes of life is a general biological phenomenon and is characteristic of all viruses, many taxa of bacteria, fungi, protists, metaphytes, and metazoans. Zooparasitology is focused on studies of parasitic animals, particularly, on their taxonomy, anatomy, life cycles, host-parasite relations, biocoenotic connections, and evolution. Ecological parasitology is a part of ecology as a discipline studying the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings. The present paper contains a critical analysis of the problems, main postulates, and terminology of the modern ecological parasitology.

Group-living species have to coordinate collective actions to maintain cohesion. In primates, spatial movements represent a meaningful model to study group coordination processes across different socio-ecological contexts. We studied 4 groups of red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons) in Kirindy Forest, Madagascar, between 2008 and 2010 across different ecological and reproductive seasons. We collected data on ranging patterns using GPS collars and observational data on different predefined parameters of group movements, including initiation, leadership, followership, overtaking events, termination, and travel distances. Cohesion of these relatively small, egalitarian lemur groups was high year-round, but daily path length and home range size varied considerably between ecological seasons, ...

Besides its extreme climate conditions, the Caatinga (a type of tropical seasonal forest) hosts an impressive faunal and floristic biodiversity. In the last 50 years there has been a considerable increase in the number of studies in the area. Here we aimed to present a review of these studies, focusing on four main fields: vertebrate ecology, plant ecology, human ecology, and ethnobiology. Furthermore, we identify directions for future research. We hope that the present paper will help defining actions and strategies for the conservation of the biological diversity of the Caatinga. PMID:22919296

Hypertrophic stimuli, such as strength training and exercise, induce the up-regulation of heat shock proteins (HSPs), called stress proteins, in skeletal muscles. However, the physiological roles for induction of HSPs in skeletal muscles are still not fully understood. Heat stress also up-regulates the expression of HSPs, which are considered to function as molecular chaperones in eukaryotic cells, via heat shock transcription factor (HSF)-mediated stress response. Intracellular protein synthesis mediated by Akt/p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K) and/or calcineurin signaling pathways might be directly activated by heat stress. The number of muscle satellite cells, which play a key role in postnatal growth and regeneration of skeletal muscle cells, are increased by heat stress. Heat stress facilitates the regenerative process of injured skeletal muscle. Absence of heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) partially depresses the regrowth of unloading-associated muscle atrophy. Therefore, heat stress could in part induce muscle hypertrophy via HSF1-mediated stress response. Heat stress-associated skeletal muscle hypertrophy has been confirmed in experimental animals as well as healthy human subjects. Application of heat stress on skeletal muscle may be a useful tool for gaining muscle mass and force generation not only in healthy subjects but also in patients during rehabilitation. Heat stress could also be a useful countermeasure for prevention of muscle atrophy during bed rest inactivity and/or space flight.   

Cetaceans are difficult to observe in the wild, and demand complex logistics for dedicated collection of biological data. As such, the distribution of most cetacean species is still poorly understood. Ecological niche models are useful in studying species distributions and their ecological determinants, and platforms of opportunity (e.g. commercial nautical operators) can provide an alternative source for that data in cetaceans. In this study, we modelled common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) habitat preferences using ecological niche modelling and presence data obtained from distinct platforms of opportunity in two different areas in the Portuguese coast (west and south mainland Portugal) for the period 2005-2007. Models from southern Portugal were projected to western Portugal and vice-versa, to check for robustness in predicting the species ecological niche. Our results show that data from platforms of opportunity can result in robust ecological models and provide extremely useful information on cetacean ecology. We found that common dolphins exhibit a patchy distribution pattern over the Portuguese coastline, and identified key habitats for their occurrence. The most important variable associated with this species' distribution was chlorophyll concentration which, given the results from previous research, we hypothesise reflects an ecological specialisation on pelagic schooling fish. Given that the most abundant schooling fish species in Portugal is increasingly overexploited and in constant decline, more attention should be given to the conservation of common dolphin in Portuguese waters.

Stable isotopes are increasingly being used as tracers in ecological studies. One application uses isotopic ratios to quantify the proportional contributions of multiple sources to a mixture. Examples include pollution sources for air or water bodies, food sources for animals, ...

Biomedical informatics is a relatively new field; sustainability of information technology applications has not been studied in detail. We examined what factors contribute to sustainability in other fields (ecology, construction materials, business, primary health care, and environment and developme...

The United States Army Environmental Center (USAEC) tasked Ecology and Environment, Inc., (E & E) to conduct a bioaccumulation study at Puffer Pond to determine whether elevated levels of contaminants, related to the operation and maintenance of the Fort ...

The creation of chiral chromatography techniques significantly advanced the development of methods for the analysis of individual enantiomers of chiral compounds. These techniques are being employed at the US EPA for human exposure and ecological research studies with indoor samp...

Paramedicative Preparations: 1. "Ushkhuni"; 2. "Shindis julabi"; 3. "Antslika" (Extracts of Tkemali, Dogwood, Elder) and 4. "Kurtkheuli" – Immunomodulators and Protectors from Ecologically Pure Natural Plant Resources of Georgia. Standardization, Study, and Potential Application for the Benefit of Public Health

...proposed research are to study: (1) Population size and structure, (2) range and movement patterns, (3) diving and night-time behavior, (4) social organization, (5) feeding ecology, and (6) disease monitoring of the targeted...

Oct 4, 2012 ... Source: Molecular Ecology Resources. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2009.02579.x. Description: We isolated ... loci may be sex linked. These markers will be useful in the study of population structure in this important pest species.

The purposes of this study were to determine whether the disposal of construction and demolition (C&D) debris in landfills has led to contamination of groundwater, surface water, or ecological resources and to examine whether these environmental damages c...

Sandy beach ecological theory states that physical features of the beach control macrobenthic community structure on all but the most dissipative beaches. However, few studies have simultaneously evaluated the relative importance of physical, chemical and biological factors as potential explanatory ...

Research in this report presents the first study documented in literature to characterize the surface disturbance and associated ecological impact due to pile jetting process. The enclosed work describes development of phenomenological pile jetting model ...

Breeding biology of King Eiders was studied at two sites (Teshekpuk Lake and Kuparuk) during the summers of 2002 and 2003. The research provided detailed information on King eider nesting ecology including dates of arrival, nest initiation, nest site sele...

Jul 8, 2012 ... He uses these tools for studying vegetation type and biomass in ... Dr. Vyacheslav Kharuk, a forest ecologist, is Head of Forest Ecology and ... in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia and Head of GIS Chair at Siberian Federal University.

studies suggest a ... low diversity of indigenous fungi in continental Antarctica with around ... data represent diversity of Antarctic fungi isolated from samples of soil from ... BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS ...

This included soil and vegetation sampling at sites that have now been GPS ... community and that studying geology, biology, chemistry, ecology, hydrology, history, astronomy, engineering, paleontology and areas of indigenous interest are ...

Physicochemical Studies of Basalt Materials and Ceramic Chromite-Niobate Composites for the Purpose of the Immobilization of Ecologically Hazardous Actinides and the Making of Protective Barriers for a Long-term Safe Storage of Radwastes.

Background The agro-ecology and poultry husbandry of the south Asian and south-east Asian countries share common features, however, with noticeable differences. Hence, the ecological determinants associated with risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI-H5N1) outbreaks are expected to differ between Bangladesh and e.g., Thailand and Vietnam. The primary aim of the current study was to establish ecological determinants associated with the risk of HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks at subdistrict level in Bangladesh. The secondary aim was to explore the performance of two different statistical modeling approaches for unmeasured spatially correlated variation. Methodology/Principal Findings An ecological study at subdistrict level in Bangladesh was performed with 138 subdistricts with HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks during 2007–2008, and 326 subdistricts with no outbreaks. The association between ecological determinants and HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks was examined using a generalized linear mixed model. Spatial clustering of the ecological data was modeled using 1) an intrinsic conditional autoregressive (ICAR) model at subdistrict level considering their first order neighbors, and 2) a multilevel (ML) model with subdistricts nested within districts. Ecological determinants significantly associated with risk of HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks at subdistrict level were migratory birds' staging areas, river network, household density, literacy rate, poultry density, live bird markets, and highway network. Predictive risk maps were derived based on the resulting models. The resulting models indicate that the ML model absorbed some of the covariate effect of the ICAR model because of the neighbor structure implied in the two different models. Conclusions/Significance The study identified a new set of ecological determinants related to river networks, migratory birds' staging areas and literacy rate in addition to already known risk factors, and clarified that the generalized concept of free grazing duck and duck-rice cultivation interacted ecology are not significant determinants for Bangladesh. These findings will refine current understanding of the HPAI-H5N1 epidemiology in Bangladesh.

The Meadows study (Limits to Growth) has made the environmental problem popular, but it has reduced the ecological problem to one of population and raw materials, leaving the conditions of social organisation and developmental policy out of consideration. This means that in spite of the repeated moral appeals, developing countries are left to their natural fate while fear and resignation are spread in the industrial nations. The present study tries to contradict this trend in consideration of interdependences in ecological development.

With the construction of the first nuclear power plant, the subject of possible accidents has prompted those responsible for its safety to conduct experiments regarding its environmental impact. A thorough ecological inventory of the site including the aquatic and terrestrial organisms is conducted like floral surveys, soil analysis, ocean ecology, geological studies. These pre-operation studies will serve as basis to find out changes that will occur during operation and pinpoint elements that will adversely affect this environment.

Summary Understanding the trophic ecology of closely-related species is important for providing insight on inter-specific competition and resource partitioning. Although catostomids often dominate fish assemblages in lotic systems, little research has been conducted on their ecology. This study was developed to provide information on the trophic ecology of catostomids in several Iowa rivers. Food habits, diet overlap, and gill raker morphology were examined for highfin carpsucker Carpiodes velifer, quillback C.cyprinus, river carpsucker C.carpio, golden redhorse Moxostoma erythrurum, shorthead redhorse M.macrolepidotum, silver redhorse M.anisurum, and northern hogsucker Hypentelium nigricans sampled from four Iowa rivers (2009). Diet overlap among all species was calculated with Morista-s ...

Temperate forests of Chile exhibit high biodiversity, which generates a wide range of habitats for wildlife. These valuable natural ecosystems have been affected by major natural and anthropogenic processes that have reduced habitats, resulting in serious ecological problems, given both the high endemism of certain avian groups in these forests and the complexity of their habitat selection. Continued degradation and ecosystem problems could lead to the extinction of such groups. In spite of this possibility, ecologically valuable wildlife conservation is seldom integrated into forest management decision-making processes. This study aims to integrate wildlife into forest management, identifying potential habitats for two endemic birds of high ecological value, the Black throated Huet-Huet (...

Education is widely acknowledged to be a means for advancing environmental sustainability. Many schools have recently introduced the idea of sustainability into their educational agenda and curriculum. This study uses an innovative method of communicating the principle of sustainability, the "Ecological Footprint" Analysis, which illustrates the impact of community lifestyles upon the natural environment. This paper describes the process of integrating the concept of the ecological footprint at the high school level, analyzes the school's ecological footprint, and discusses its contributions to education for sustainability in schools. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Abstract 1 The western corn rootworm (WCR) is a historic pest with a legacy of resistance and behavioural plasticity. Its behaviour and nutritional ecology are important to rootworm management. The success of the most effective and environmentally benign rootworm management method, annual crop rotation, was based on an understanding of rootworm behaviour and host-plant relationships. Enthusiastic adoption of crop rotation, provided excellent rootworm management, but also selected for behavioural resistance to this cultural control. 2 Though well-studied, significant gaps in WCR biology remain. Understanding the topics reviewed here (mating behaviour, nutritional ecology, larval and adult movement, oviposition, alternate host use, and chemical ecology) is a starting point for adapting integ...

Abstract The maintenance of genetic variation for resistance in a plant population that experiences herbivory suggests that resistance entails costs as well as benefits. Ecological costs - which result from indirect effects that a resistance trait has on other members of the host plant's community - constitute a potentially widespread but relatively understudied constraint on the evolution of resistance. Here, we tested the hypothesis that ecological costs may act to constrain the evolution of the recently identified `stem-ducking' resistance trait in Solidago altissima L. (Asteraceae). Previous studies have shown that, although ducking is effective against some harmful apex-attacking insects, ducking genets are consistently in the minority in S. altissima populations. Potential ecological...

Trophic niche may be the most important ecological dimension for some vertebrate groups and in particular for terrestrial amphibians, that are important predators of soil invertebrates. In general, resource partitioning occurs between syntopic species with similar ecological niches, and coexistence patterns seem to be regulated by temporal resource variability. However most of the generalization on foraging strategies of terrestrial salamanders are extrapolated from studies on New World temperate species, thus we investigated the seasonal effect of resource variation in an European forest ecosystem, in which two ecologically similar but phylogenetically distinct salamander species are found. The diet of adult and juvenile cave salamanders (Speleomantes strinati), and of adult spectacled sa...

This study explores the impact of an urban ecology program on participating middle school students? understanding of science and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. We gathered pre and post survey data from four classes and found significant gains in scientific knowledge, but no significant changes in student beliefs regarding the environment. We interviewed 12 students to better understand their beliefs. Although student responses showed they had learned discrete content knowledge, they lacked any ecological understanding of the environment and had mixed perceptions of the course?s relevance in their lives. Students reported doing pro-environmental behaviors, but overwhelmingly contributed such actions to influences other than the urban ecology course. Analyses indicated a disconne...

Thirteen years ago in a review that appeared in the American Zoologist, we presented the first survey of the chemical and ecological bioactivity of Antarctic shallow-water marine invertebrates. In essence, we reported that despite theoretical predictions to the contrary the incidence of chemical defenses among sessile and sluggish Antarctic marine invertebrates was widespread. Since that time we and others have significantly expanded upon the base of knowledge of Antarctic marine invertebrates' chemical ecology, both from the perspective of examining marine invertebrates in new, distinct geographic provinces, as well as broadening the evaluation of the ecological significance of secondary metabolites. Importantly, many of these studies have been framed within established theoretical constr...

Polish Journal of Ecology (formerly Ekologia polska) publishes original scientific papers dealing with all aspects of ecology: both fundamental and applied, physiological ecology, ecology of population, community, landscape as well as global ecology. There is no bias regards taxon, env...

Colonisation of new geographic regions and/or of new ecological resources can result in rapid species diversification into the new ecological niches available. Members of the subgenus Drosophila are distributed across the globe and show a large diversity of ecological niches. Furthermore, taxonomic classification of Drosophila includes the rank radiation, which refers to closely related species groups. Nevertheless, it has never been tested if these taxonomic radiations correspond to evolutionary radiations. Here we present a study of the patterns of diversification of Drosophila to test for increased diversification rates in relation to the geographic and ecological diversification processes. For this, we have estimated and dated a phylogeny of 218 species belonging to the major species groups of the subgenus. The obtained phylogenies are largely consistent with previous studies and indicate that the major groups appeared during the Oligocene/Miocene transition or early Miocene, characterized by a trend of climate warming with brief periods of glaciation. Ancestral reconstruction of geographic ranges and ecological resource use suggest at least two dispersals to the Neotropics from the ancestral Asiatic tropical disribution, and several transitions to specialized ecological resource use (mycophagous and cactophilic). Colonisation of new geographic regions and/or of new ecological resources can result in rapid species diversification into the new ecological niches available. However, diversification analyses show no significant support for adaptive radiations as a result of geographic dispersal or ecological resource shift. Also, cactophily has not resulted in an increase in the diversification rate of the repleta and related groups. It is thus concluded that the taxonomic radiations do not correspond to adaptive radiations. PMID:23152919

Purpose: The paper's aim is to explore the connection between individual worldviews, called ecological selves, and organizational change, which allows people to create the conditions to confront the global environmental challenges they face as a species. Design/methodology/approach: The essay is a conceptual one, with reference to a small qualitative interview study conducted to explore the idea of ecological selves with organizational leaders. Findings: The findings reveal the existence of several different ecological selves in organizational life; they also suggest fruitful avenues for further research and ongoing practice. The eight ecological selves are the Eco-Guardian, the Eco-Warrior, the Eco-Manager, the Eco-Strategist, the Eco-Radical, the Eco-Holist, the Eco-Integralist, and the Eco-Sage. This framework, which is derived from developmental stage theory, is a useful tool for understanding how individual actions are shaped by people's identities and values. Research limitations/implications: The preliminary research referenced in this study is of limited scope, consisting of a small sample of organizational leaders in a semi-structured qualitative interview setting. The implications, however, are more interesting for additional research on ecological selves as a tool for individual self-reflection, organizational culture, and teamwork learning. Practical implications: This essay argues that creating an ecological selves inventory is useful in understanding how leaders create the conditions for sustainability in their organizations. Social implications: Implications for understanding organizational culture are considered: the ecological selves framework is one tool to build self-awareness among organizational leaders, leading to stronger, more efficacious learning across a spectrum of skills necessary for leadership. Originality/value: Although the ecological selves framework has been proposed as a theoretical concept in the literature of integral ecology, this paper refers to the first research done with organizational leaders.

This study examined the relationships between temperament and ecological context among Yucatec Mayan children based on the assumption that maternal ethnotheories act as mediators and are related to world view. Since the latter is related to ecological context, its transformation may result in variations in ethnotheories and, therefore, temperament characteristics. Using standard questionnaires and ethnographic data, we evaluated 178 children aged 4 to 36 months from two villages representing the most contrasting ecological contexts in Yucatan, Mexico. Mothers described temperament-like behaviours as "modos" (ways) and related them to their concepts of development and children's vulnerability, and to child-care and rearing practices. Age predicted threshold, approach, and intensity. Ecological context independently contributed to variations in approach, intensity, mood, and distractibility. Parental characteristics did not independently contribute but appeared to influence the relation between ecological context and mood, intensity, and distractibility. The findings suggest that temperament variations associated with ecological context may result from differences in maternal ethnotheories about rate of development and vulnerability of children and that knowledge of the national language and increased education without transformation of ecological context may have influenced ethnotheories on rate of development rather than on vulnerability. (Contains 4 tables and 4 footnotes.)

Studies of underground miners indicate that indoor radon is an important cause of lung cancer. This finding has raised concern that exposure to radon also causes lung cancer in the general population. Epidemiological studies, including both case-control and ecological approaches, have directly addressed the risks of indoor residential radon; many more case-control studies are in progress. Ecological studies that associate lung-cancer rates with typical indoor radon levels in various geographic areas have not consistently shown positive associations. The results of purportedly negative ecological studies have been used as a basis for questioning the hazards of indoor radon exposure. Because of potentially serious methodologic flaws for testing hypotheses, we examined the ecological method as a tool for assessing lung-cancer risk from indoor radon exposure. We developed a simulation approach that utilizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) radon survey data to assign exposures to individuals within counties. Using the computer-generated data, we compared risk estimates obtained by ecological regression methods with those obtained from other regression methods and with the {open_quotes}true{close_quotes} risks used to generate the data. For many of these simulations, the ecological models, while fitting the summary data well, gave risk estimates that differed considerably from the true risks. For some models, the risk estimates were negatively correlated with exposure, although the assumed relationship was positive. Attempts to improve the ecological models by adding smoking variables, including interaction terms, did not always improve the estimates of risk, which are easily affected by model misspecification. Because exposure situations used in the simulations are realistic, our results show that ecological methods may not accurately estimate the lung-cancer risk associated with indoor radon exposure.

This peer-reviewed article from BioScience about quantitative analysis of ecological boundaries. Habitat boundaries profoundly influence the structure and function of landscapes, influencing ecological processes both locally and over larger scales. In addition, boundaries themselves are dynamic entities whose changes can influence diverse populations, communities, and ecosystems by way of feedback effects. These two issues, scale dependence and spatiotemporal dynamics, underlie much of the now considerable attention that modelers and statisticians have devoted to the quantitative study of ecological edges and boundaries. We present the linkages between methods of delineating boundaries, monitoring boundary changes, and modeling edge-related dynamics. In the process, we clarify statistical and mathe-matical approaches to the study of ecological edges and boundaries, and we discuss important remaining issues in the area of quantitative edge research. In particular, we address conceptual and methodological problems faced by statisticians and modelers, while highlighting topics that would benefit from a collaborative approach.

The condition of landscapes and the ecological communities within them is strongly related to levels of human activity. As a consequence, determining status and trends in the pattern of human-dominated landscapes can be useful for understanding the overall conditions of geo-ecological resources. Ecological geological maps are recent tools providing useful informations about a-biotic and biotic features worldwide. These maps represents a new generation of geological maps and depict the lithospheric components conditions on surface, where ecological dynamics (functions and properties) and human activities develop. Thus, these maps are too a fundamental political tool to plan the human activities management in relationship to the territorial/environmental patterns of a date region. Different types of ecological geological maps can be develop regarding the: conditions (situations), zoning, prognosis and recommendations. The ecological geological conditions maps reflects the complex of parameters or individual characteristics of lithosphere, which characterized the opportunity of the influence of lithosphere components on the biota (man, fauna, flora, and ecosystem). The ecological geological zoning maps are foundamental basis for prognosis estimation and nature defenses measures. Estimation from the position of comfort and safety of human life and function of ecosystem is given on these maps. The ecological geological prognosis maps reflect the spatial-temporary prognoses of ecological geological conditions changing during the natural dynamic of natural surrounding and the main-during the economic mastering of territory and natural technical systems. Finally, the ecological geological recommendation maps are based on the ecological geological and social-economical informations, aiming the regulation of territory by the regulation of economic activities and the defense of bio- and socio-sphere extents. Each of these maps may also be computed or in analytic or in synthetic way. The first, characterized or estimated, prognosticated one or several indexes of geological ecological conditions. In the second type of maps, the whole complex is reflected, which defined the modern or prognosticable ecological geological situation. Regarding the ecological geological zoning maps, the contemporary state of ecological geological conditions may be evaluated by a range of parameters into classes of conditions and, on the basis of these informations, the estimation from the position of comfort and safety of human life and function of ecosystem is given. Otherwise, the concept of geoecological land evaluation has become established in the study of landscape/environmental plannings in recent years. It requires different thematic data-sets, deriving from the natural-, social- and amenity-environmental resources analysis, that may be translate in environmental (vulnerability/quality) indexes. There have been some attempts to develop integrated indices related to various aspects of the environment within the framework of sustainable development (e.g.: United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, World Economic Forum, Advisory Board on Indicators of Sustainable Development of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Living Planet Index established by the World Wide Fund for Nature, etc.). So, the ecological geological maps represent the basic tool for the geoecological land evaluation policies and may be computed in terms of index-maps. On these basis, a GIS application for assessing the ecological geological zoning is presented for Sicily (Central Mediterranean). The Geo-Ecological Quality Index (GEQUI) map was computed by considering a lot of variables. Ten variables (lithology, climate, landslide distribution, erosion rate, soil type, land cover, habitat, groundwater pollution, roads density and buildings density) generated from available data, were used in the model, in which weighting values to each informative layer were assigned. An overlay analysis was carried out, allowing to classify the region into five classes: bad, poor, moderate, good and high.

This study integrates land-use history, pine ecology, silviculture, soil ecology research and the implications for forest management into one discussion. Best management practices that foster soil recovery include less intensive stand utilization and reduced soil disturbance. Stem-only harvest and longer rotation permit a recovery of soil biodiversity and an accrual of detritus and soil organic matter. Windrowing and similar techniques have dramatic and lasting effects on soil development. No-tillage agriculture as a model for pine plantations is discussed.

Which contribution political ecology can make to a reintegration of spheres of life into the rhythm and the household of nature, is evaluated by the author by means of three basic studies: - Architecture in transition, return to humanity. - Cultivated or civilized landscape. - Agricultural factory or rural agriculture. He channels the longing for reintegration, promotes the feeling for an ecological way of living, and shows ways to a recovery of man and nature.

Elderly humans have altered cellular redox levels and dysregulated immune responses, both of which are key events underlying the progression of chronic degenerative diseases of ageing, such as atherosclerosis and Alzeimer's disease. Poorly maintained cellular redox levels lead to elevated activation of nuclear transcription factors such as NFkB and AP-1. These factors are co-ordinately responsible for a huge range of extracellular signalling molecules responsible for inflammation, tissue remodelling, oncogenesis and apoptosis, progessess that orchestrate many of the degenerative processess associated with ageing. It is now clear that levels of endogenous anti-oxidants such as GSH decrease with age. This study aimed to investigate the potential of exogenous anti-oxidants to influence inflammatory responses and the ageing process itself. We investigated the potential of the dietary antioxidant, quercetin, to reverse the age related influences of GSH depletion and oxidative stress using in vitro human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and human skin fibroblast (HSF) cell models. Oxidative stress-induced inflammatory responses were investigated in a GSH depletion and a Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced stress model. As measured with a sensitive HPLC fluorescence method, GSH in HUVEC was depleted by the addition of L-buthionine-[S,R]-sulfoxiniine (BSO), a gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase inhibitor, to the culture medium at a concentration of 0.25 mM. Time course studies revealed that the GSH half-life was 4.6 h in HUVEC. GSH depletion by BSO for 24 h led to a slight increase in intracellular adhesion molecule - 1 (ICAM1) expression and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) secretion in both types of cells. However, GSH depletion markedly enhanced PMA-induced ICAM and PGE2 production in HUVEC. Responses were progressively elevated following prolonged BSO treatment. Inhibition studies showed that 1-(5-Isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H7), a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, not only abolished most of PMA-induced ICAM-1 expression and PGE2, production, but also eliminated GSH depletion-enhanced PMA stimulation. This enhancement was also inhibited by supplementation with quercetin. The results clearly demonstrate that GSH depletion increased the susceptibility of vascular endothelial cells and fibroblasts to oxidative stress associated inflammatory stimuli. This increased in vitro susceptibility may be extrapolated to the in vivo situation of ageing, providing a useful model to study the influence of micronutrients on the ageing process. In conclusion, these data suggest that dietary antioxidants could play a significant role in the reduction of inflammatory responses. PMID:11164475

This paper focuses on the design of mesocosms which are partly enclosed, bounded, outdoor experimental systems for simulating marine oil spill environments for use in examining the ecological impact of the spill response. System requirements for mesocosms in marine oil spill ecological research and development are discussed, and the question of scaling, and mesocosm tank features useful in coastal/nearshore ecological marine oil spill research are considered. Details are given of the MERL mesocosm facility at the University of Rhode Island, and the Coastal Oil-Spill Simulation System (COSS) multiple tank mesocosm facility in Texas, and recommendations for the design and use of marine mesocosms in oil spill ecological impact studies are presented. (UK)

Caddisflies are a well represented group with high species diversity in Mediterranean climate rivers. Although they are widely used in water quality assessment, little is known of the ecological profiles of families or species. We present a simple score for ecological profiles which measures intolerance to water quality. The ecological profiles of caddisflies are diverse and the degree of tolerance at the family level is related to species diversity and the tolerance of individual species to water quality. Comparisons with the scores used in the biotic index IBMWP show general agreement between the degree of intolerance of a family and its score in the IBMWP, with few exceptions. Studies on tolerance are required to elucidate the autecology of taxa, and to develop biological indices, especially in areas with high species diversity. - Capsule: Ecological profiles of caddisfly larvae in Mediterranean streams using water quality variables.

We present here a detailed case study on the lessons learned after a restoration process of a natural ecosystem, which can be considered as an ecological experiment. Senillar de Moraira is a brackish water small coastal lagoon located in the Spanish Mediterranean coast. It is separated from the sea by a sand bar and a beach, and is regularly fed by groundwater. Mostly due to the strong anthropogenic pressure this lagoon was degraded, and a restoration process, consisting mostly on the rebuilt of hydrogeomorphological features, was accomplished about a decade ago. After the restoration project, ecological monitoring was performed to reveal the recovery of the ecological integrity of the ecosystem, mainly focusing on the restoration of ecological processes and biological communities. Biologi...

In the Ontario publically-funded school system, there are no provincial curriculum guidelines or distinct courses for Ecological Literacy. Rather, the Ontario Ministry of Education policy is that "environmental education" should be taught in all grades and all existing subject matter. Because there are no specific Ecological Literacy courses in the provincial curriculum, few programs in Ontario Faculties of Education exist to train teachers in Ecological Literacy. Thus, in this study, we examined what incoming teacher-candidates from various disciplinary backgrounds know about general concepts of Ecological Literacy, as the expectation is that all teachers should teach "environmental education" in whatever subject area they end up teaching. Specifically we wanted to determine how teacher-candidates would define and explain various concepts with the presumption that these are the same or similar definitions they would be using in their own classrooms when they become qualified teachers. (Contains 1 table.)

Spatio-temporal variability in river flow is a fundamental control on instream habitat structure and riverine ecosystem biodiversity and integrity. However, long-term riverine ecological time-series to test hypotheses about hydrology-ecology interactions in a broader temporal context are rare, and studies spanning multiple rivers are often limited in their temporal coverage to less than five years. To address this research gap, a unique spatio-temporal hydroecological analysis was conducted of long-term instream ecological responses (1990-2000) to river flow regime variability at 83 sites across England and Wales. The results demonstrate clear hydroecological associations at the national scale (all data). In addition, significant differences in ecological response are recorded between thre...

Secondary compounds may benefit plants by deterring herbivores, but the presence of these defensive chemicals in floral nectar may also deter beneficial pollinators. This trade-off between sexual reproduction and defense has received minimal study. We determined whether the pollinator-deterring effects of a nectar alkaloid found in the perennial vine Gelsemium sempervirens depend on ecological context (i.e. the availability of alternative nectar sources) by monitoring the behavioural response of captive bumblebees (Bombus impatiens, an important pollinator of G. sempervirens in nature) to nectar alkaloids in several ecologically relevant scenarios. Although alkaloids in floral nectar tended to deter visitation by bumblebees, the magnitude of that effect depended greatly on the availability and nectar properties of alternative flowers. Ecological context should thus be considered when assessing ecological costs of plant defense in terms of pollination services. We consider adaptive strategies that would enable plants to minimize pollinator deterrence because of defensive compounds in flowers. PMID:17498136

The 187 million hectares of pasturelands in Kazakhstan play a key role in the nation’s economy, as livestock production accounted for 54% of total agricultural production in 2010. However, more than half of these lands have been degraded as a result of unregulated grazing practices. Therefore, effective long term ecological monitoring of pasturelands in Kazakhstan is imperative to ensure sustainable pastureland management. As a case study in this research, we demonstrated how the ecological conditions could be assessed with remote sensing technologies and pastureland models. The example focuses on the southern Balkhash area with study sites on a foothill plain with Artemisia-ephemeral plants and a sandy plain with psammophilic vegetation in the Turan Desert. The assessment was based on remotely sensed imagery and meteorological data, a geobotanical archive and periodic ground sampling. The Pasture agrometeorological model was used to calculate biological, ecological and economic indicators to assess pastureland condition. The results showed that field surveys, meteorological observations, remote sensing and ecological models, such as Pasture, could be combined to effectively assess the ecological conditions of pasturelands and provide information about forage production that is critically important for balancing grazing and ecological conservation.

Basic epidemiological study design types will be reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of their application to the study of residential radon will be discussed. Particular emphasis will be placed on the problems inherent in incomplete study designs such as the ecological studies and proportional studies which have been widely quoted in the media.

Ecological risk assessment is a scientific tool designed to evaluate the ecological effects of human activities. Historically, risk assessments have been used as a tool to assess risks to human health from environmental exposures to toxic pollutants, or to assess the ecological effects of toxic releases. The middle Snake River has been used as one of five EPA case studies to demonstrate the applicability of risk assessment at the watershed level for assessing the relative effects of multiple stressors on key ecological components of the aquatic ecosystem. The state and federal resource managers and the public identified restoration and protection of native cold water salmonid species and rare and endangered invertebrate species as a management goal. The risk assessment sought to characterize the significance of reduced water flow, sedimentation, and increased nutrients on these ecological components through a process of problem formulation, stressor-effects analysis, and risk characterization. The desired outcome of the assessment is to identify conditions that must be attained to support the management goal as one step in evaluating management options for ecological protection in the watershed.

The European soil policy is being focussed towards a more conscious and sustainable use of the soil, taking into account ecological, economical and societal dimensions. Living soil organisms are reliable bioindicators, as they provide the best reflection of the soil system, ecological services and ecosystem functioning therein. These most complex (bio)physical systems indicate, among others, the energy flow. Such processes can be described by rather simple power law relationships. In fact, the average body mass (dry weight) can be seen as an inherent species property, while population density is a much more flexible parameter reflecting ecosystem state. In this study, I review the interactions between these items in relation to feedbacks and conjectured relationships which can be seen as ecological networks. From this novel perspective, allometry can be used as an integrated measure for the anthropogenic influence on landscapes and related food webs. Allometry is, therefore, a perfect surrogate for land use intensity in modelling of field effects for restoration ecology and conservation biology. Robust correlations will be addressed between the density dependence of invertebrates and the ability of soil systems themselves to recover after disturbance. Quantitative indicators of soil community composition and related ecological services are proposed and their application for ecological risk assessment is illustrated.

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is the largest vertebrate of the Savannah River Plant (SRP), reaching a maximum length of 3.7 meters (12 feet) and weighing up to 175 kg (385 pounds). Currently, populations in coastal South Carolina are considered Threatened, whereas populations in inland areas (such as the SRP) are still Endangered. Because of their legal status and economic and ecological importance, it is important to determine the environmental impacts of SRP operations on the local alligator population. The major objectives under the Endangered Species Program of the Comprehensive Cooling Water Study (CCWS) were as follows: (1) document and compare the present status and distribution of alligators on the SRP to previous surveys, in order to determine long-term changes in population abundance; (2) establish baseline population and ecological parameters of the Steel Creek population so that the ecological effects of L-Reactor operations can be determined, and (3) conduct ecological research on the immediate impacts of thermal effluents on American alligators. Gladden et al., (1985) summarized data on previous population surveys, temporal changes in the Par Pond population, preliminary results of the Steel Creek surveys and Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) research on the effects of thermal effluents. This report summarizes the current status of the SRP population, presents data on the abundance, movement patterns and activity cycles of the Steel Creek population, and presents additional data on the effect of cooling water releases on alligator ecology and behavior.

This peer-reviewed article from BioScience reviews a number of studies on ecological boundaries. We introduce a collection of articles that proposes conceptual and methodological tools to advance the integrated study of ecological boundaries. A number of studies are germane to understanding the structure and function of boundaries over a wide array of ecological systems and scales. However, these studies have not been unified in a consistent theoretical framework. To integrate these seemingly disparate studies and to advance future research on boundaries, these articles present a common conceptual framework, a classification of the different types of boundaries and their potential functions, and statistical and modeling approaches that can be applied to a wide range of systems, processes, and scales. We summarize the themes that emerge from these articles and suggest questions to guide future research.

Ecologia Balkanica is an international scientific journal, in which original research articles in various fields of Ecology are published, including ecology and conservation of microorganisms, plants, aquatic and terrestrial animals, physiological ecology, behavioral ecology, population ecolo...

Evolutionary Ecology is a conceptually oriented journal of basic biology at the interface of ecology and evolution. The journal publishes original research, reviews and discussion papers dealing with evolutionary ecology, including evolutionary aspects of behavioral and population ecology. Th...

Establishing minimum flow requirements in aquatic ecosystems is one way to stipulate controls on water withdrawals in a watershed. The basis of the determination is to identify the amount of flow needed to sustain a threshold ecological function. To develop minimum flow criteria an understanding of ecological response in relation to flow is essential. Several steps are needed including: (1) identification of important resources and ecological functions, (2) compilation of available information, (3) determination of historical conditions, (4) establishment of technical relationships between inflow and resources, and (5) identification of numeric criteria that reflect the threshold at which resources are harmed. The process is interdisciplinary requiring the integration of hydrologic and ecologic principles with quantitative assessments. The tools used quantify the ecological response and key questions related to how the quantity of flow influences the ecosystem are examined by comparing minimum flow determination in two different aquatic systems in South Florida. Each system is characterized by substantial hydrologic alteration. The first, the Caloosahatchee River is a riverine system, located on the southwest coast of Florida. The second, the Everglades- Florida Bay ecotone, is a wetland mangrove ecosystem, located on the southern tip of the Florida peninsula. In both cases freshwater submerged aquatic vegetation (Vallisneria americana or Ruppia maritima), located in areas of the saltwater- freshwater interface has been identified as a basis for minimum flow criteria. The integration of field studies, laboratory studies, and literature review was required. From this information we developed ecological modeling tools to quantify and predict plant growth in response to varying environmental variables. Coupled with hydrologic modeling tools questions relating to the quantity and timing of flow and ecological consequences in relation to normal variability are addressed.

Recent studies in ecology and epidemiology indicate that it is important to include spatial heterogeneity, synchronization and seasonality in the theoretical models. In this work, spatial heterogeneity is introduced via coupled map lattices (CML) and partial differential equations. Stability and persistence of some realistic CML are discussed. Chaos control, synchronization and persistence are studied for some CML. Some applications in population biology and ecology are given. A simple method for finding the sufficient conditions for the existence of periodic solutions for differential equations with periodic coefficients is given. This will simplify the study of seasonality.

The idea to produce a Handbook of Miombo Ecology and Management emerged during the implementation of a research study to assess responses of miombo woodland to harvesting and management. The handbook has five chapters. The first part of chapter 1 is an introduction to the indigenous vegetation types in the miombo region commonly referred to as the Zambezian phytoregion. The second part of the chapter is a description of miombo ecology. Chapter 2 is a description of the various major uses of the miombo ecosystem. Chapter 3 is a biogeography of fire, one of the principal ecological factors and a significant management problem, in the miombo ecosystem and a description of adaptations in different plant forms. Methods of carrying out management inventories and assessments of various uses of miombo are presented in chapter 4 and management guidelines are presented in chapter 5. The little that is known about the ecology of miombo is based on a few site-specific studies, often conducted without replication. Validation of such results is therefore difficult to determine and generalizations from such studies can be misleading. Nevertheless, generalizations are useful in presenting a thesis of the current ecological knowledge about miombo, especially for the non-professional. The handbook is based on this approach and the reader should bear this weakness in mind. For this reason methods and guidelines presented in chapters 4 and 5 should be treated as generic and their applicability may require modification to suit local conditions. 150 refs, 69 figs, 68 tabs

A literature review of water characteristics is presented. Acid rain and its ecological impacts were the subject of a number of studies during the year, and these are discussed, along with studies on acid mine drainage. In addition to water acidity, a number of other water characteristics studies were reviewed. (JMT)

Mitigation activities to improve water quality and quantity in streams as well as stream management and restoration efforts are conducted in the European Union aiming to improve the chemical, physical and ecological status of streams. Headwater streams are often characterised by impairment of hydromorphological, chemical, and ecological conditions due to multiple anthropogenic impacts. However, they are generally disregarded as water bodies for mitigation activities in the European Water Framework Directive despite their importance for supporting a higher ecological quality in higher order streams. We studied 11 headwater streams in the Hove catchment in the Copenhagen region. All sites had substantial physical habitat and water quality impairments due to anthropogenic influence (intensive agriculture, urban settlements, contaminated sites and low base-flow due to water abstraction activities in the catchment). We aimed to identify the dominating anthropogenic stressors at the catchment scale causing ecological impairment of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and provide a rank-order of importance that could help in prioritising mitigation activities. We identified numerous chemical and hydromorphological impacts of which several were probably causing major ecological impairments, but we were unable to provide a robust rank-ordering of importance suggesting that targeted mitigation efforts on single anthropogenic stressors in the catchment are unlikely to have substantial effects on the ecological quality in these streams. The SPEcies At Risk (SPEAR) index explained most of the variability in the macroinvertebrate community structure, and notably, SPEAR index scores were often very low (<10% SPEAR abundance). An extensive re-sampling of a subset of the streams provided evidence that especially insecticides were probably essential contributors to the overall ecological impairment of these streams. Our results suggest that headwater streams should be considered in future management and mitigation plans. Catchment-based management is necessary because several anthropogenic stressors exceeded problematic thresholds, suggesting that more holistic approaches should be preferred. PMID:23183122

As part of the Remedial Investigation of contamination at Rocky Mountain Arsenal, the US Army initiated an investigation of the distribution and effects of Arsenal contaminants on biota in 1985. Input from the various stakeholders including the US Army, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Colorado Department of Health, Colorado Division of Wildlife, and shell Oil Company was provided at regular meetings held during the planning and implementation phases of the investigation. This study was completed in 1988, prior to the issuance of environmental evaluation and ecological risk assessment guidance by the US Environmental Protection Agency, but addressed many of the components of current ecological risk assessments. Contaminants of concern to biota were identified separate from those selected for human health risk. Criteria for identifying key receptor species were developed. A food web pathways model was developed to quantify exposure from abiotic sources to selected ecological receptors. Effects investigations using off site reference areas and designed to determine potential adverse chemical effects at the individual, population, and community levels of ecological organization were conducted. The final document was issued in May 1989. The overall approach developed at Rocky Mountain Arsenal was reviewed by the EPA as an ecological assessment case study from a risk assessment perspective.

Sustainable consumption is gaining in currency as a new environmental policy objective. This paper presents new research findings from a mixed-method empirical study of a local organic food network to interrogate the theories of both sustainable consumption and ecological citizenship. It describes a mainstream policy model of sustainable consumption, and contrasts this with an alternative model derived from green or "new economics" theories. Then the role of localised, organic food networks is discussed to locate them within the alternative model. It then tests the hypothesis that ecological citizenship is a driving force for "alternative" sustainable consumption, via expression through consumer behaviour such as purchasing local organic food. The empirical study found that both the organisation and their consumers were expressing ecological citizenship values in their activities in a number of clearly identifiable ways, and that the initiative was actively promoting the growth of ecological citizenship, as well as providing a meaningful social context for its expression. Furthermore, the initiative was able to overcome the structural limitations of mainstream sustainable consumption practices. Thus, the initiative was found to be a valuable tool for practising alternative sustainable consumption. The paper concludes with a discussion of how ecological citizenship may be a powerful motivating force for sustainable consumption behaviour, and the policy and research implications of this.

Summary 1.-Interactions between primary producers and consumers (i.e. grazers) are of fundamental importance to the successful functioning of ecological communities. Plant-herbivore interactions have been extensively studied, and herbivory has been accepted as an important process contributing to the structure of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In contrast, the functional importance of the ecologically equivalent interaction between scleractinian reef corals and polyp-feeding fishes is largely untested, but has generally been dismissed as unimportant. 2.-This study quantified the amount of tabular acroporid coral tissue biomass consumed at the population level by corallivorous butterflyfishes and determined the proportion of both the standing biomass and productivity that is consumed a...

This study validates the ecological relevance of estuarine habitat types to the benthic macrofaunal community and, together with previous similar studies, suggests they can serve as elements in ecological periodic tables of benthic macrofaunal usage in the bioregion. We compared benthic macrofaunal Bray-Curtis similarity and the means of eight benthic macrofaunal community measures across seven habitat types in Tillamook Bay, Oregon, USA: intertidal eelgrass (Zostera marina), dwarf eelgrass (Zostera japonica), oyster (Crassostrea gigas) ground culture, burrowing mud shrimp (Upogebia pugettensis), burrowing ghost shrimp (Neotrypaea californiensis), sand and subtidal. Benthic macrofaunal Bray-Curtis similarity differed among all the habitats except ghost shrimp and sand. The habitat rank ord...

This paper introduces a holistic approach to the study of sustainable development of global product chains. We first present a number of perspectives on this topic from disciplines such as economic geography, management science, sociology and environmental sciences. Each of these approaches brings in a specific focus: the consequences of geographical dispersion of economic activities, measurement of ecological and social impact, managing sustainability in supply chains, and power asymmetry among economic actors. Until now, these disciplinary research lines have remained unconnected. We argue that ecological economics provides a promising background for a more holistic conceptualization. To this end, we formulate five basic questions that serve to advance the study of sustainability through...

Species identification in the butterfly genus Mechanitis (F.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) becomes difficult when it is based only on wing color patterns, a common practice in butterfly taxonomy. Difficulties in Mechanitis taxonomy are related to the widespread mimicry and polymorphism among species belonging to this genus. Species recognition and inventories of Mechanitis genus in geographic areas as the Andean region of Colombia are of particular interest and the use of more than one character for taxonomic identification is desirable. In this study, we included morphological, ecological, and mitochondrial DNA data to identify the occurring species in this region. Species of Mechanitis were studied from ecological, morphological, and molecular perspectives considering host plant identifica...

This report presents program summaries of the various projects sponsored during 1979 by the Marine Research Program of the Ecological Research Division. Program areas include the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on the marine environment; a study of the baseline ecology of a proposed OTEC site near Puerto Rico; the environmental impact of offshore geothermal energy development; the movement of radionuclides through the marine environment; the environmental aspects of power plant cooling systems; and studies of the physical and biological oceangraphy of the continental shelves bordering the United States.

Due to concerns about the ecological impacts of clearfelling in Tasmanian wet eucalypt forests, aggregated retention (ARN) was developed as an alternative harvesting method. It is predicted that, compared to clearfelling, ARN will have ecological benefits such as preservation of old-growth structures and improved regeneration of late successional species in harvested areas. However, early studies have indicated that ARN requires lower intensity regeneration burns and results in greater levels of mechanical soil disturbance than clearfelling. This study therefore aimed to assess the impacts of both soil disturbance and burn intensity on floristic composition, species dominance and species richness following harvesting in ARN coupes. Floristic surveys were conducted on six seedbed classes th...

This study investigates the potential for leaching of coal trace elements to seawater from a grounded bulk carrier. The coal type and ecological scenario was based on the grounding of the "Shen Neng" (April 2010) at Douglas Shoal located within the Great Barrier Reef (Queensland, Australia). The area is of high ecological value and the Queensland Water Quality Guidelines (2009) provided threshold limits to interpret potential impacts. Coal contains many trace elements that are of major and moderate concern to human health and the environment although many of these concerns are only realised when coal is combusted. However, "unburnt" coal contains trace elements that may be leached to natural waterways and few studies have investigated the potential ecological impact of such an occurrence. ...

On Kilimanjaro, Tanzania two rather different forms of Chlorophytum comosum were observed. One form occurred on higher altitudes, the other on lower altitudes. Morphological, molecular and ecological studies conclude that the two forms both are entitled to species recognition. The high altitude form must still be referred to C. comosum s.l., while the low altitude form is a new species and it is described as C. rhizopendulum Bjor? & Hemp sp. nov. The two species inhabit mutually completely exclusive habitats on Kilimanjaro. Whereas C. comosum has a wide ecological potential, C. rhizopendulum has narrow ecological demands as a highly adapted specialist. The two species are easily distinguished morphologically. Molecular studies show that C. comosum is of polyphyletic origin, and the species...

The main problem of environmental hygiene in the Republic of Belarus is ecological situation health effects extent determination and risk assessment. The different epidemiological studies of ecological risk for public health due to atmosphere industry emissions, directed to hygiene standards correction and epidemiological and ecological situation management were conducted by the Belarussian Sanitation and Hygiene Research Institute. Atmosphere pollution of heavy industry enterprises, pharmaceutical production, the electric power stations and its impact on people morbidity in adjacent and sanitary protection areas was studied. The objective of the research is hygienic assessment and determination of public health changes, caused by atmosphere pollution, and preventive measures programs elaboration in such industrial cities as Brest, Gomel, Minsk, Grodno, Mogilev, Novopolotsk. (author)

Cetaceans are difficult to observe in the wild, and demand complex logistics for dedicated collection of biological data. As such, the distribution of most cetacean species is still poorly understood. Ecological niche models are useful in studying species distributions and their ecological determinants, and platforms of opportunity (e.g. commercial nautical operators) can provide an alternative source for that data in cetaceans. In this study, we modelled common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) habitat preferences using ecological niche modelling and presence data obtained from distinct platforms of opportunity in two different areas in the Portuguese coast (west and south mainland Portugal) for the period 2005-2007. Models from southern Portugal were projected to western Portugal and vice-vers...

Pollen-mediated gene flow is the major pathway for transgene escape from GM rice to its wild relatives. Transgene escape to wild Oryza species having AA-genome will occur if GM rice is released to environments with these wild Oryza species. Transgenes may persist to and spread in wild populations after gene flow, resulting unwanted ecological consequences. For assessing the potential consequences caused by transgene escape, it is important to understand the actual gene flow frequencies from GM rice to wild relatives, transgene expression and inheritance in the wild relatives, as well as fitness changes that brought to wild relatives by the transgenes. This article reviews studies on transgene escape from rice to its wild relatives via gene flow and its ecological consequences. A framework for assessing potential ecological consequences caused by transgene escape from GM rice to its wild relatives is discussed based on studies of gene flow and fitness changes. PMID:19463932

This work is a brief review of the actual knowledge about biological and ecological characteristics of two species of mites: Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acarina Tetranychidae) (two-spotted spider mite) and the predaceous mite Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias Henriot (Acarina Phytoseiidae). Success obtained in biological control of spider mite, by mass release of P. persimilis, has increased the interest in biological and ecological study of these mites. Particularly, the following biological and ecological aspects of both P. persimilis and T. urticae are hereby discussed: reproductive biology; population dynamics (spider mites outbreaks) and natural regulation of the trophic interaction; feeding behaviour; biological control of two-spotted spider mite by P. persimilis. In this report experimental data obtained in laboratory have been integrated with bibliographic information concerning studies produced in natural conditions.

This study represents the agro-ecological zone wise surveys of molecular variation of important medicinal tree Syzygium cumini Linn. (Jamun) which is native to India. It is used world wide in treatment of diabetes. Despite of its diverse medicinal properties no molecular data is available about the pattern of variation in its natural range. Populations of S. cumini in India are located in different habitats which differ from each other with regard to ecological factors. In this study, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to detect inter and intra levels of genetic variations of sixteen S. cumini genotypes collected from three major agro-ecological zones of India. A total of 220 amplification products were scored of which 87.50 % were polymorphic. The level of polymorph...

The ecology of most arboreal ants remains poorly documented because of the difficulty in accessing ant nests and foragers in the forest canopy. This study documents the nesting and foraging ecology of a large (?13 mm total length) arboreal trap—jaw ant, Odontomachus hastatus (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a sandy plain forest on Cardoso Island, off the coast of Southeast Brazil. The results showed that O. hastatus nested in root clusters of epiphytic bromeliads, most commonly Vriesea procera (70% of nest plants). Mature O. hastatus colonies include one to several queens and about 500 workers. Foraging by O. hastatus is primarily nocturnal year—round, with increased foraging activity during the wet/warm season. The foragers hunt singly in the trees, preying on a variety of canopy—dwelling arthropods, with flies, moths, ants, and spiders accounting for > 60% of the prey captured. Although predators often have impacts on prey populations, the ecological importance of O. hastatus remains to be studied. PMID:21741349

Over one third of the earth's terrestrial surface is situated in the tropics, with environments ranging from hot deserts to tropical rain forests. This introductory textbook, aimed at students studying tropical ecology, provides a comprehensive guide to the major tropical biomes and is unique in its balanced coverage of both aquatic and terrestrial systems. The volume considers the human ecological dimension, covering issues such as population growth, urbanization, agriculture and fisheries, natural resource use, and pollution. It is international in scope and addresses global issues such as conservation of biodiversity, climate change, and the concept of ecological sustainability. The text is supported throughout by boxes containing supplementary material on a range of topics and organisms, mathematical concepts and calculations, and is enlivened with clear line diagrams, maps, and photographs. A cross-referenced glossary, extensive bibliography, and comprehensive index are included as further aids to study.

Agroforestry is a promising method for enhancing land-use sustainability in the Bolivian Andes. However, its benefits in terms of rural development are under-recognized due to gaps in understanding usersâ?? perceptions while taking into consideration both local and global environmental goals. Our study aimed to narrow these gaps by developing an analytical framework for analyzing the site-specific socio-ecological factors and interactions related to local woody species and assessing their ecological, economic, and socio-cultural plant values in order to identify the most promising agroforestry species. The framework was then tested in an indigenous community at 2,760â??3,830 m a.s.l., incorporating vegetation surveys, environmental studies, and interviews on plant functions. Ecological, ...

The global biodiversity crisis concerns not only unprecedented loss of species within communities, but also related consequences for ecosystem function. Community ecology focuses on patterns of species richness and community composition, whereas ecosystem ecology focuses on fluxes of energy and materials. Food webs provide a quantitative framework to combine these approaches and unify the study of biodiversity and ecosystem function. We summarise the progression of food-web ecology and the challenges in using the food-web approach. We identify five areas of research where these advances can continue, and be applied to global challenges. Finally, we describe what data are needed in the next generation of food-web studies to reconcile the structure and function of biodiversity.

Testate amoebae are valuable indicators of peatland hydrology and have been used in many palaeoclimatic studies in peatlands. Because the species' ecological optima may vary around the globe, the development of transfer function models is an essential prerequisite for regional palaeoclimatic studies...

While local researchers postulate the proximate causes of crime, few spatial-ecological studies have been used to investigate the location of offenders. In this study, for the first time in a South African context, the spatial origin of offenders across three crime categories are investigated: viole...

This study investigates the pollination ecology and related floral traits of the species Daucus carota subsp. commutatus in the isolated archipelago of Columbretes, E. Spain, where bees are absent. Two populations were studied: a small population found on a relatively large island (Grossa) inhabited...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chemically dispersed oil on an economically and ecologically important species inhabiting coasts and estuaries, the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Studies were carried out with juveniles, known to generally be more sensitive to environmental st...

Genetically modified (GM) plants offer an ideal model system to study the influence of single genes that confer constitutive resistance to pathogens on the ecological behaviour of plants. We used phytometers to study competitive interactions between GM lines of spring wheat Triticum aestivum carryin...

Toxic Substances Control Act Test Submissions (TSCATS) is an online index to unpublished, nonconfidential studies covering chemical testing results and adverse effects of chemicals on health and ecological systems. The studies are submitted by U.S. industry to EPA under several s...

The author of this study uses an evolutionary and ecological approach to interpreting early hominin geographic ranges. Specifically, she integrates theory from biogeography and studies of human evolution. Chapter 2 surveys the literature on the modern distribution of species, to determine which fact...

Aspects of the ecology and control of the roof rat (Rattus rattus) were studied on Anacapa and San Miguel Islands, Channel Islands National Park, from October 1987 to June 1989. The purpose of the study was to determine the distribution, habitat preferenc...

This document represents the final report of the brazilian Amazon Research National Institute studies on the ecological aspects of the petroleum exploitation at the Urucu river - State of Amazon - Brazil. The study aimed the determination of the vegetation of the Urucu river, in the areas of PETROBRAS petroleum exploitation activities.

Abstract The ecology and conservation status of Central Asian populations of Montagu’s Harriers Circus pygargus are poorly known. We studied the breeding biology of this species during 3 years in the Naurzum region, north-central Kazakhstan. Most Montagu’s Harriers in the study area nested i...

Knowledge of the functioning, health state, and capacity for recovery of marine benthic organisms and assemblages has become essential to adequately manage and preserve marine biodiversity. Molecular tools have allowed an entirely new way to tackle old and new questions in conservation biology and ecology, and sponge science is following this lead. In this review, we discuss the biological and ecological studies of sponges that have used molecular markers during the past 20 years and present an outlook for expected trends in the molecular ecology of sponges in the near future. We go from (1) the interface between inter- and intraspecies studies, to (2) phylogeography and population level analyses, (3) intra-population features such as clonality and chimerism, and (4) environmentally modulated gene expression. A range of molecular markers has been assayed with contrasting success to reveal cryptic species and to assess the genetic diversity and connectivity of sponge populations, as well as their capacity to respond to environmental changes. We discuss the pros and cons of the molecular gene partitions used to date and the prospects of a plentiful supply of new markers for sponge ecological studies in the near future, in light of recently available molecular technologies. We predict that molecular ecology studies of sponges will move from genetics (the use of one or some genes) to genomics (extensive genome or transcriptome sequencing) in the forthcoming years and that sponge ecologists will take advantage of this research trend to answer ecological and biological questions that would have been impossible to address a few years ago. PMID:22560781

Phylogenetic analysis provides an important tool for assessing the influence of historical and evolutionary processes on the structure of contemporary ecological systems. Patterns of diversity, for example, represent the regional buildup of species through immigration and diversification, their loss through extinction, and the sorting of species ecologically within the region. Colonization-extinction dynamics on islands can be inferred from lineage accumulation through time. Lineage branching within clades can be used to estimate rates of speciation and extinction. However, simulations of these processes show potential ambiguities in the interpretation of data. Clade size is unrelated to age in many studies, suggesting that speciation and extinction might be in long-term equilibrium and raising questions about unobserved past diversity. Among passerine birds and other groups, the size of similar-aged clades is positively related to the size of the region within which they have diversified, and it is greater in tropical than in temperate regions. There is no consensus on the causes of these patterns. Finally, the ecological interactions between populations within regions brings the timescale of species sorting and species production close to each other and emphasizes the important interaction of ecological and evolutionary processes in shaping ecological systems. PMID:17874385

In August of 1995, SETAC sponsored a Pellston conference entitled Uncertainty in Ecological Risk Assessment. In this presentation, the author will provide an overview of the consensus opinions reached during the conference including such areas as the role of uncertainty analysis in risk assessments, statistical methods and issues in uncertainty analysis, communicating uncertainty, the legal aspects of uncertainty, and the role of uncertainty in regulatory programs. Ecological risk assessment (ERA) is a process that estimates the probability and magnitude of adverse ecological effects as a result of exposure to one or more chemical, biological, or physical stressors. Since the publication of EPA`s Framework for Ecological Risk Assessment, ERA is becoming a widely used tool for environmental decision-making by private sector and government managers. As defined by EPA, risk assessments should be both probabilistic and quantitative, including an uncertainty analysis of the risk estimates. In practice, uncertainty in the risk estimates is frequently ignored or incorrectly calculated. In fact, many risk assessors find the uncertainty component of the risk framework difficult to implement and interpret. Uncertainty provides a measure of precision or value of the scientific information available for ecological risk studies. When uncertainty is ignored, this results in the illusion that the scientific information is more precise than it actually is. As a consequence, environmental managers are apt to exhibit surprise, or disappointment, when their management decisions lead to outcomes that are substantially different from expectations.

In the relatively new discipline of design education we have the opportunity to frame the way that design education is formulated. The relative lack of theorists in the field of design education studies leaves unquestioned the relevance of conventional practices of design education that are premised on only tangentially relevant Art, Science and Information Technology models. There is a gap in design education development regarding how to mediate ecological concerns with techno-scientific imperatives. Environmental education researchers can influence this new field by challenging existing approaches to design education with particular attention to the ways design either contributes to or hinders the development of a sustainable society. In order to enter this discussion with environmental education researchers we identify three ecological issues faced by designers and design educators, here we pay particular attention to Industrial Design. The question for this paper is, can environmental education researchers offer advice to the design education area that may help us develop ecologically sustainable design-based programs. The newness of ecological concerns in the design research and design education areas means that we have a great deal to learn. If environmental education researchers are able to assist us with our reflections on designing curricula that in turn encourages a more ecologically aware design profession then this would be a worthwhile contribution to design practice in Australia, and indeed the world.

The topic of biodiversity is of high value for education for sustainable development as it reflects the interaction of ecological, economic and social issues particularly well. Especially in so-called biodiversity hotspots, among them Chile, natural resources are often depleted for economic interest which, in many cases, is required income. Therefore, economic and social aspects must be considered in order to fully understand biodiversity loss. Being such an important issue, it is surprising that little is known thus far about learning prerequisites concerning biodiversity. This paper presents a qualitative interview study that investigated 16 to 18-year-old Chilean and German learners' perception of biodiversity and its loss (n = 24). Firstly, the pupils' cognitive frameworks were analysed. Secondly, subjective theories about biodiversity loss due to resource dilemmas were explored. Three subjective theories that emerged from the data reflected the notion that most pupils focused on either ecological or economic aspects of biodiversity loss. Pupils who concentrated on ecological aspects often referred to incorrect ecological facts. Moreover, these pupils showed difficulties in developing empathy and solidarity with impoverished people, who depend economically on plants in a resource dilemma. A smaller group of pupils succeeded in integrating the ecological, economic, and social aspects. Regarding the two samples, Chilean pupils seemed to have greater difficulties in recognising the social aspects of biodiversity loss, while German pupils were largely unaware of biodiversity loss on a local level. Implications for biodiversity education and future research will be outlined and discussed.

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a national-scale research platform for documenting and analyzing the impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species on ecology. NEON features sensor networks and experiments linked by cyberinfrastructure to record and archive ecological data for at least 30 years. NEON partitions the United States into 20 ecoclimatic domains. Each domain hosts one fully instrumented core site in a wildland area and two re-locatable sites, which aims to capture ecologically significant gradients (e.g. landuse). Using standardized protocols and an open data policy, NEON data will be gathered from the level of the gene and organism to populations and communities, with extrapolations to the continental scale. In conjunction with environmental data, NEON will conduct field observations and analyses of biological specimens to track biodiversity, population dynamics, productivity, phenology, infectious disease, biogeochemistry and ecohydrology. Here we present a few examples of the type of research NEON will enable using this data. The NEON network will measure and scale many environmental factors that affect vegetation, e.g. temperature, precipitation, and nutrient availability. Direct monitoring of vegetation will enable the study of acclimatory and adaptive changes in vegetation properties over different time scales. Such data will improve the representation of vegetation responses to environmental change in models. The vision behind NEON aims to advance our ability to quantitatively predict ecological change.