WorldWideScience

Sample records for eurasian lynx lynx

  1. Musculoskeletal anatomy of the Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx (Carnivora: Felidae) forelimb: Adaptations to capture large prey?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viranta, Suvi; Lommi, Hanna; Holmala, Katja; Laakkonen, Juha

    2016-06-01

    Mammalian carnivores adhere to two different feeding strategies relative to their body masses. Large carnivores prey on animals that are the same size or larger than themselves, whereas small carnivores prey on smaller vertebrates and invertebrates. The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) falls in between these two categories. Lynx descend from larger forms that were probably large prey specialists, but during the Pleistocene became predators of small prey. The modern Eurasian lynx may be an evolutionary reversal toward specializing in large prey again. We hypothesized that the musculoskeletal anatomy of lynx should show traits for catching large prey. To test our hypothesis, we dissected the forelimb muscles of six Eurasian lynx individuals and compared our findings to results published for other felids. We measured the bones and compared their dimensions to the published material. Our material displayed a well-developed pectoral girdle musculature with some uniquely extensive muscle attachments. The upper arm musculature resembled that of the pantherine felids and probably the extinct sabertooths, and also the muscles responsible for supination and pronation were similar to those in large cats. The muscles controlling the pollex were well-developed. However, skeletal indices were similar to those of small prey predators. Our findings show that lynx possess the topographic pattern of muscle origin and insertion like in large felids. J. Morphol. 277:753-765, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. New evidence for the occurrence of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in medieval Britain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hetherington, David A.; Lord, Tom C.; Jacobi, Roger M.

    2006-01-01

    The presence of Eurasian lynx as a former native species in Britain during the Holocene is known from bones recovered from several sites. AMS radiocarbon dating of lynx bone recovered from two sites in the Craven area of northern England gave 1842 +/- 35 14C yr BP and 1550 +/- 24 14C yr BP, together representing the youngest dates for lynx from England, and in the case of the latter, the youngest for Britain as a whole. These dates support the view that the game animal whose occurrence in the nearby Lake District is described in the early 7th century Cumbric text Pais Dinogad, and whose translation to date has been problematic, is a lynx. The occurrence of lynx in early medieval Britain shows that earlier periods of climate change, previously blamed for the species' extinction in Britain, were not responsible. Instead, anthropogenic factors such as severe deforestation, declining deer populations, and persecution, are likely to have caused the extirpation of lynx in Britain. Consequently, the lynx qualifies as a candidate for reintroduction. Large-scale reafforestation, the growth of deer populations, and more positive attitudes towards carnivores in modern society, could permit the restoration of lynx to Britain, particularly in Scotland.

  3. Molecular identification of Taenia spp. in the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) from Finland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavikainen, A; Haukisalmi, V; Deksne, G; Holmala, K; Lejeune, M; Isomursu, M; Jokelainen, P; Näreaho, A; Laakkonen, J; Hoberg, E P; Sukura, A

    2013-04-01

    Cestodes of the genus Taenia are parasites of mammals, with mainly carnivores as definitive and herbivores as intermediate hosts. Various medium-sized cats, Lynx spp., are involved in the life cycles of several species of Taenia. The aim of the present study was to identify Taenia tapeworms in the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) from Finland. In total, 135 tapeworms from 72 lynx were subjected to molecular identification based on sequences of 2 mtDNA regions, the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 genes. Available morphological characters of the rostellar hooks and strobila were compared. Two species of Taenia were found: T. laticollis (127 samples) and an unknown Taenia sp. (5 samples). The latter could not be identified to species based on mtDNA, and the rostellar hooks were short relative to those described among other Taenia spp. recorded in felids from the Holarctic region. In the phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA sequences, T. laticollis was placed as a sister species of T. macrocystis, and the unknown Taenia sp. was closely related to T. hydatigena and T. regis. Our analyses suggest that these distinct taeniid tapeworms represent a putative new species of Taenia. The only currently recognized definitive host is L. lynx and the intermediate host is unknown.

  4. Habitat selection by Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is primarily driven by avoidance of human activity during day and prey availability during night.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filla, Marc; Premier, Joseph; Magg, Nora; Dupke, Claudia; Khorozyan, Igor; Waltert, Matthias; Bufka, Luděk; Heurich, Marco

    2017-08-01

    The greatest threat to the protected Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) in Central Europe is human-induced mortality. As the availability of lynx prey often peaks in human-modified areas, lynx have to balance successful prey hunting with the risk of encounters with humans. We hypothesized that lynx minimize this risk by adjusting habitat choices to the phases of the day and over seasons. We predicted that (1) due to avoidance of human-dominated areas during daytime, lynx range use is higher at nighttime, that (2) prey availability drives lynx habitat selection at night, whereas high cover, terrain inaccessibility, and distance to human infrastructure drive habitat selection during the day, and that (3) habitat selection also differs between seasons, with altitude being a dominant factor in winter. To test these hypotheses, we analyzed telemetry data (GPS, VHF) of 10 lynx in the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem (Germany, Czech Republic) between 2005 and 2013 using generalized additive mixed models and considering various predictor variables. Night ranges exceeded day ranges by more than 10%. At night, lynx selected open habitats, such as meadows, which are associated with high ungulate abundance. By contrast, during the day, lynx selected habitats offering dense understorey cover and rugged terrain away from human infrastructure. In summer, land-cover type greatly shaped lynx habitats, whereas in winter, lynx selected lower altitudes. We concluded that open habitats need to be considered for more realistic habitat models and contribute to future management and conservation (habitat suitability, carrying capacity) of Eurasian lynx in Central Europe.

  5. Macroscopic and microscopic evaluation of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) female tubular reproductive organs in relation to ovarian structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Axnér, E; Holm, D; Gavier-Widén, D; Söderberg, A; Bergqvist, A S

    2015-09-15

    Although monitoring wild animals in the field is essential for estimations of population size and development, there are pitfalls associated with field monitoring. In addition, some detailed data about reproductive physiology can be difficult to obtain in wild live animals. Studying reproductive organs from the Eurasian lynx killed at hunting or found dead could be used as a valuable addition to other field data. We evaluated reproductive organs from 39 Eurasian lynx females (Lynx lynx) killed in Sweden during the hunting seasons in 2009, 2010, and 2011. According to notes on ovarian structures, the animals were categorized as being in one of four different reproductive stages: juvenile (n = 10), follicular stage (n = 8), luteal stage (n = 11), and anestrus (n = 10). Corpora lutea were classified as fresh CL from the present season or as luteal bodies from previous cycles. Microscopic evaluations were blindly coded while the outer measurements of the vagina and uterus were taken at the time of organ retrieval. The width of the endometrium, myometrium, outer width of the uterine horns, and the diameter of the vagina differed significantly with the reproductive stage (P number of endometrial glands evaluated blindly coded on a subjective scale was significantly associated with the reproductive stage (P reproductive stages (P reproductive stage when evaluating reproductive organs in the Eurasian lynx killed during the hunting season. Routine evaluation of reproductive organs has a potential to be a useful additional tool to field studies of live lynx to monitor their reproduction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Ancient DNA reveals past existence of Eurasian lynx in Spain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodríguez-Varela, R.; García, N.; Nores, C.

    2016-01-01

    . The paleontological record and our data indicate a population replacement of the Iberian lynx by the Eurasian lynx during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in the Cantabrian cornice of Spain. Phylogeographic patterns of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Eurasian lynx from Iberia, France, Italy and Denmark show...

  7. Collection of field reproductive data from carcasses of the female Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Axnér, E; Payan-Carreira, R; Setterlind, P; Åsbrink, J; Söderberg, A

    2013-11-01

    Information about reproductive physiology in the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) would generate knowledge that could be useful in the management of the Swedish lynx population based on the knowledge about their reproductive potential and population development. Age-related differences in ovulation and implantation rates would affect the reproductive output and the development of the population. The aims of this study were to evaluate a protocol for collection of reproductive data from carcasses by comparisons with published field data and to generate data about reproduction in the Swedish lynx. Reproductive organs from 120 females that were harvested between March 1 and April 9 from 2009 to 2011 were collected and evaluated macroscopically for placental scars. Females had their first estrus as yearlings but did not have their first litter until the next season. Pregnancy rates were lower in 2-year-old females than in females aged 3 to 7 years but did not differ significantly from females aged 8 to 13 years (54.5%, 95.6%, and 75.0%, respectively). CL from the present season were morphologically distinctly different from luteal bodies from previous cycles (LBPC). All females ≥3 years had macroscopically visible LBPC, whereas only 67% of 22 to 23 months old females had one to three LBPC and no females number of LBPC counted in females ≥3 years of age was 11. These data would be in agreement with only one estrus per season and LBPC from at least three previous reproductive seasons in older females. The number of LBPC was significantly correlated with the weight of the ovaries rs = 0.648, P reproductive cycle and was highest for mature females in the luteal phase of the cycle. The estrous period, defined as occurrence of ovarian follicles lasted from March 5 to April 1 in this material. In conclusion, this study confirms that useful information about lynx reproduction can be collected from reproductive organs retrieved after the death of the animals. Continuous monitoring

  8. Foraging sites of Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx: relative importance of microhabitat and prey occurrence

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Belotti, E.; Červený, J.; Šustr, Pavel; Kreisinger, Jakub; Gaibani, G.; Bufka, L.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 19, č. 2 (2013), s. 188-201 ISSN 0909-6396 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0073 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 ; RVO:67179843 Keywords : Eurasian Lynx * microhabitat * red deer * roe deer * stalking cover * predation Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 1.071, year: 2013

  9. Influence of tourism and traffic on the Eurasian lynx hunting activity and daily movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belotti, E.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Human presence influences survival of large carnivores in several ways and even outdoor activities can be a source of disturbance. As ungulate prey provide the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx with food for several nights and the pattern of lynx activity is mainly shaped by searching for and consuming large prey, the need to move decreases strongly while the prey is eaten. However, during the day, human activity may drive lynx to move to safe shelters and habitat features such as dense vegetation may increase tolerance. In the Bohemian Forest (Czech Republic, we found 116 prey killed by five GPS–collared lynxes. We tested whether the kill sites were located farther from roads or tourist trails than a set of randomly generated locations and whether presence of roads or tourist trails and habitat structure influenced the distance ‘kill site to daytime resting sites’. At night, with low human activity, lynxes did not avoid roads and even selected the surroundings of tourist trails. The distance ‘kill site to daytime resting sites’ correlated negatively with presence of habitat concealment and distance to tourist trails, suggesting that outdoor activities may have to be considered in lynx management plans.

  10. LEGAL STATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF THE DINARIC LYNX POPULATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magda Sindičić

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Reintroduction of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx to the Dinaric Mountains in 1973 is one of the rare examples of successful reintroduction of a large predator. Today, Dinaric lynx population includes all lynx in Slovenia south of highway Ljubljana – Trieste, lynx in Croatia as well as lynx in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is considered that the population consists of mostly 130 individuals. Being small and endangered, the most important threats for its survival are poaching, depletion of prey, and possible consequences of reduced genetic diversity. In Slovenia, Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the lynx is a protected species, while the current legislation of the Republic of Srpska does not refer to the lynx at all. Slovenia and Croatia have coordinated their monitoring and management activities, while no organized monitoring system is present in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The goal is to establish bilateral cooperation between Croatia and Slovenia as a basis for the management of the entire lynx population in this part of Europe, including primarily Bosnia and Herzegovina but also Austria and Italy.Key words: Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx, Dinaric population, legal status, management

  11. The missing lynx of Eurasia at its Southern edge: a connection to the critically endangered Balkan lynx.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cömert, Numan; Carlı, Oya; Dinçtürk, H Benan

    2018-03-08

    The populations of Eurasian lynx in Anatolia are as fragmented as the European populations. Although the origins of and the connections between the European lynx populations have been elucidated, there have been no genetic studies on the lynx populations in Turkey. The lack of genetic and evolutionary information about lynx in Anatolia, which is considered to be a biodiversity hotspot, makes it difficult to track the migration routes during the Quaternary. In this study, we present the genetic characteristics of two isolated lynx populations in Southwest Taurus Mountains and the Turkish Caucasus as well as two individuals from Erzincan area. DNA purified from the ecological scat samples collected from Çığlıkara Nature Reserve in Elmalı-Antalya and Allahuekber Mountains in Sarıkamış-Kars, as well as two roadkill samples from Erzincan, has been analysed for phylogenetic markers such as the mitochondrial DNA control region and cytochrome b. The DNA sequences were compared with haplotypes previously detected in populations from Europe and the Caucasus in order to determine the evolutionary relationships of the populations. This study compares the current genetic structure of some of the Turkish lynx populations to the other lynx genetic data, mostly carried out with museum samples around the world. Three haplotypes were found in three different regions of Anatolia. The Northeast and Southwest populations harbour genetically distinct haplotypes, the latter one, a new haplotype: H13-TR is the only phylogenetic connection to the critically endangered Balkan lynx yet to be described.

  12. Sustainably Harvesting a Large Carnivore? Development of Eurasian Lynx Populations in Norway During 160 Years of Shifting Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linnell, John D. C.; Broseth, Henrik; Odden, John; Nilsen, Erlend Birkeland

    2010-05-01

    The management of large carnivores in multiuse landscapes is always controversial, and managers need to balance a wide range of competing interests. Hunter harvest is often used to limit population size and distribution but is proving to be both controversialand technically challenging. Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx) are currently managed as a game species in Norway. We describe an adaptive management approach where quota setting is based on an annual census and chart the population development through the period 1996-2008, as management has become significantly more sophisticated and better informed by the increased availability of scientific data. During this period the population has been through a period of high quotas and population decline caused by fragmented management authority and overoptimistic estimates of lynx reproduction, followed by a period of recovery due to quota reductions. The modern management regime is placed in the context of shifting policy during the last 160 years, during which management goals have moved from extermination stimulated by bounties, through a short phase of protection, and now to quota-regulated harvest. Much management authority has also been delegated from central to local levels. We conclude that adaptive management has the potential to keep the population within some bounded limits, although there will inevitably be fluctuation.

  13. Long-range gene flow and the effects of climatic and ecological factors on genetic structuring in a large, solitary carnivore: the Eurasian lynx.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirosław Ratkiewicz

    Full Text Available Due to their high mobility, large terrestrial predators are potentially capable of maintaining high connectivity, and therefore low genetic differentiation among populations. However, previous molecular studies have provided contradictory findings in relation to this. To elucidate patterns of genetic structure in large carnivores, we studied the genetic variability of the Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx throughout north-eastern Europe using microsatellite, mitochondrial DNA control region and Y chromosome-linked markers. Using SAMOVA we found analogous patterns of genetic structure based on both mtDNA and microsatellites, which coincided with a relatively little evidence for male-biased dispersal. No polymorphism for the cytochrome b and ATP6 mtDNA genes and Y chromosome-linked markers were found. Lynx inhabiting a large area encompassing Finland, the Baltic countries and western Russia formed a single genetic unit, while some marginal populations were clearly divergent from others. The existence of a migration corridor was suggested to correspond with distribution of continuous forest cover. The lowest variability (in both markers was found in lynx from Norway and Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF, which coincided with a recent demographic bottleneck (Norway or high habitat fragmentation (BPF. The Carpathian population, being monomorphic for the control region, showed relatively high microsatellite diversity, suggesting the effect of a past bottleneck (e.g. during Last Glacial Maximum on its present genetic composition. Genetic structuring for the mtDNA control region was best explained by latitude and snow cover depth. Microsatellite structuring correlated with the lynx's main prey, especially the proportion of red deer (Cervus elaphus in its diet. Eurasian lynx are capable of maintaining panmictic populations across eastern Europe unless they are severely limited by habitat continuity or a reduction in numbers. Different correlations of mtDNA and

  14. Landscape connectivity for bobcat (Lynx rufus) and lynx (Lynx canadensis) in the Northeastern United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrell, Laura E.; Levy, Daniel M.; Donovan, Therese M.; Mickey, Ruth M.; Howard, Alan; Vashon, Jennifer; Freeman, Mark; Royar, Kim; Kilpatrick, C. William

    2018-01-01

    Landscape connectivity is integral to the persistence of metapopulations of wide ranging carnivores and other terrestrial species. The objectives of this research were to investigate the landscape characteristics essential to use of areas by lynx and bobcats in northern New England, map a habitat availability model for each species, and explore connectivity across areas of the region likely to experience future development pressure. A Mahalanobis distance analysis was conducted on location data collected between 2005 and 2010 from 16 bobcats in western Vermont and 31 lynx in northern Maine to determine which variables were most consistent across all locations for each species using three scales based on average 1) local (15 minute) movement, 2) linear distance between daily locations, and 3) female home range size. The bobcat model providing the widest separation between used locations and random study area locations suggests that they cue into landscape features such as edge, availability of cover, and development density at different scales. The lynx model with the widest separation between random and used locations contained five variables including natural habitat, cover, and elevation—all at different scales. Shrub scrub habitat—where lynx’s preferred prey is most abundant—was represented at the daily distance moved scale. Cross validation indicated that outliers had little effect on models for either species. A habitat suitability value was calculated for each 30 m2 pixel across Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine for each species and used to map connectivity between conserved lands within selected areas across the region. Projections of future landscape change illustrated potential impacts of anthropogenic development on areas lynx and bobcat may use, and indicated where connectivity for bobcats and lynx may be lost. These projections provided a guide for conservation of landscape permeability for lynx, bobcat, and species relying on similar habitats

  15. Assessing the suitability of central European landscapes for the reintroduction of Eurasian lynx

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Schadt, S.; Revilla, E.; Wiegand, T.; Knauer, F.; Kaczensky, P.; Breitenmoser, U.; Bufka, L.; Červený, Jaroslav; Koubek, Petr; Huber, T.; Staniša, C.; Trepl, L.

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 39, č. 2 (2002), s. 189-203 ISSN 0021-8901 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KSK6005114 Grant - others:Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt(DE) AZ6000/596 Keywords : Lynx lynx * GIS * species reintroduction Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 2.902, year: 2002

  16. Invertebrates outcompete vertebrate facultative scavengers in simulated lynx kills in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ray, R.–R.

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the role of scavengers in ecosystems is important for species conservation and wildlife management. We used road–killed animals, 15 in summer 2003 (June–August and nine in winter 2003/2004 (from November to January, to test the following hypotheses: (1 vertebrate scavengers such as raven (Corvus corax, red fox (Vulpes vulpes and wild boar (Sus scrofa consume a higher proportion of the carcasses than invertebrates; (2 the consumption rate is higher in winter than in summer due to the scarcity of other food resources; and (3 vertebrate scavengers are effective competitors of Eurasian lynx. We monitored 65 animals belonging to eight different mammal and bird species with camera traps. Surprisingly, Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx was the most important vertebrate scavenger. However, in both seasons, the consumption of vertebrate scavengers was of minor impact. In summer, the carcasses were completely consumed within 10 days, mostly by invertebrates. In winter, only 5% of the carcasses were consumed within 10 days and 16% within 15 days. We conclude that vertebrates in the Bavarian Forest National Park are not strong competitors for lynx.

  17. Eurasian lynx hunting red deer: is there an influence of a winter enclosure system?

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Belotti, E.; Kreisinger, Jakub; Romportl, D.; Heurich, M.; Bufka, L.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 60, č. 3 (2014), s. 441-457 ISSN 1612-4642 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : Cervus elaphus * Habitat heterogeneity * Lynx lynx * Predation probability * Prey density * Supplementary feeding Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 1.634, year: 2014

  18. Radicaesium 210Po and 210Pb in wolves (Canis lupus), Lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolverine (Gulo gulo)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holm, E.; Gjeisvik, R.; Kålås, J.A.; Persson, B.; Henricsson, F.; Samuelsson, C.; Åsbrink, J.

    2013-01-01

    Wolves, lynx and wolverines are on the top of the food-chain in northern Scandinavia and Finland and also several other countries. Concentrations of 210 Po, 210 Pb and 137 Cs have been analysed in muscle, liver and kidney samples of 28 wolves from Sweden and liver from 16 lynx and 16 wolverines from Norway collected during the years 2010 and 2011. For example the activity concentrations of 210 Po in liver from wolf, lynx, wolverine and wolf varied from 20-500, 22-211 Bq kg -1 , and 17-160 Bq kg - respectively. Using a wet weight ratio of 3.8 the maximal dose to liver of wolves is estimated to 3.5 mGy per year. Polonium-210 is accumulated to a large extent than it precursor 210 Pb. Activity ratios, 210 Po/ 210 Pb, in liver for example ranged from 9 to 56. Radiocaesium in liver shows for example a very larger variation ranging from 40-13000 Bq kg -1 in lynx. This is mainly due to the large variability in deposition from the Chernobyl accident. For wolves the 137 Cs concentration in muscle varied from 70 to 8000 Bq kg -1 d.w. The maximal dose to muscle for wolves from 137 Cs is estimated to 3.6 mGy per year. Wolves, lynx and wolverines are on the top of the food-chain in northern Scandinavia and Finland and also several other countries. Concentrations of 210 Po, 210 Pb and 137 Cs have been analysed in liver samples of 28 wolves from Sweden and 16 lynx and 16 wolverines from Norway collected during the years 2010 and 2011. The activity concentrations of 210 Po in liver from lynx, wolverine and wolf varied from 22- 211 Bq kg -1 , 17-160 Bq kg -1 d.w. and 20-523 Bq kg -1 d.w., respectively and did not differ between species. Using a wet weight ratio of 3.8 the maximal dose to liver is estimated to 3.5 mGy per year. Polonium-210 is accumulated to a larger extent than it precursor 210 Pb. Activity ratios, 210 Po/ 210 Pb, in liver for example ranged from 9 to 56. Radiocaesium in liver show a very larger variation ranging from 20-13000 Bq kg in lynx. This is mainly due to

  19. Polonium-210 and Caesium-137 in lynx (Lynx lynx), wolverine (Gulo gulo) and wolves (Canis lupus)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gjelsvik, Runhild; Holm, Elis; Kålås, John Atle; Persson, Bertil; Åsbrink, Jessica

    2014-01-01

    Wolves, lynx and wolverines are on the top of the food-chain in northern Scandinavia and Finland. 210 Po and 137 Cs have been analysed in samples of liver, kidney and muscle from 28 wolves from Sweden. In addition blood samples were taken from 27 wolves. In 9 of the wolves, samples of muscle, liver and blood were analysed for 210 Po. Samples of liver and muscle were collected from 16 lynx and 16 wolverines from Norway. The liver samples were analysed for 210 Po and 137 Cs. Only 137 Cs analyses were carried out for the muscle samples. The wolves were collected during the winter 2010 and 2011, while the samples for lynx and wolverines were all from 2011. The activity concentrations of 210 Po in wolves were higher for liver (range 20–523 Bq kg −1 d.w.) and kidney (range 24–942 Bq kg −1 d.w.) than muscle (range 1–43 Bq kg −1 d.w.) and blood (range 2–54 Bq kg −1 d.w.). Activity ratios, 210 Po/ 210 Pb, in wolf samples of muscle, liver and blood were in the ranges 2–77, 9–56 and 2–54. Using a wet weight ratio of 3.8 the maximal absorbed dose from 210 Po to wolf liver was estimated to 3500 μGy per year. Compared to wolf, the ranges of 210 Po in liver samples were lower in lynx (range 22–211 Bq kg −1 d.w.) and wolverine (range16–160 Bq kg −1 d.w.). Concentration of 137 Cs in wolf samples of muscle, liver, kidney and blood were in the ranges 70–8410 Bq kg −1 d.w., 36–4050 Bq kg −1 d.w., 31–3453 Bq kg −1 d.w. and 4–959 Bq kg −1 d.w., respectively. 137 Cs in lynx muscle and liver samples were in the ranges 44–13393 Bq kg −1 d.w. and 125–10260 Bq kg −1 d.w. The corresponding values for 137 Cs in wolverine were 22–3405 Bq kg −1 d.w. for liver and 53–4780 Bq kg −1 d.w. for muscle. The maximal absorbed dose from 137 Cs to lynx was estimated to 3000 μGy per year. - Highlights: • Annual doses from 210 Po are 1.4, 1.0 and 3.4 mGy for lynx, wolverine, and wolf. • Annual doses from 137 Cs are 3.3, 1.5 and 3.6 mGy for

  20. Patterns of testicular activity in captive and wild Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerry Fanson; Nadja C. Wielebnowski; Tanya M. Shenk; Walter J. Jakubas; John R. Squires; Jeffrey R. Lucas

    2010-01-01

    Canada lynx are listed as a threatened species in the contiguous US. Understanding the reproductive characteristics (i.e., mating system, behavior, physiology) of a species is useful for ensuring effective in situ and ex situ management plans. The goal of this study was to describe patterns of androgen expression in both captive and wild male Canada lynx using...

  1. Assessment of a recombinant F1-V fusion protein vaccine intended to protect Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) from plague

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, Lisa L.; Shenk, Tanya M.; Powell, Bradford; Rocke, Tonie E.

    2011-01-01

    As part of an ongoing restoration program in Colorado, USA, we evaluated adverse reactions and seroconversion in captive Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) after vaccination with a recombinant F1-V fusion protein vaccine against Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague. Ten adult female lynx received the F1-V vaccine; 10 source- and age-matched lynx remained unvaccinated as controls. All of the vaccinated and control lynx remained apparently healthy throughout the confinement period. We observed no evidence of injection site or systemic reactions to the F1-V vaccine. Among vaccinated lynx, differences in log10 reciprocal antibody titers measured in sera collected before and after vaccination (two doses) ranged from 1.2 to 5.2 for anti-F1 antibodies and from 0.6 to 5.2 for anti-V antibodies; titers in unvaccinated lynx did not change appreciably over the course of confinement prior to release, and thus differences in anti-F1 (P=0.003) and anti-V (P=0.0005) titers were greater among vaccinated lynx than among controls. Although our findings suggest that the F1-V fusion protein vaccine evaluated here is likely to stimulate antibody responses that may help protect Canada lynx from plague, we observed no apparent differences in survival between vaccinated and unvaccinated subject animals. Retrospectively, 22 of 50 (44%; 95% confidence interval 29–59%) unvaccinated lynx captured or recaptured in Colorado during 2000–08 had passive hemagglutination antibody titers >1:16, consistent with exposure to Y. pestis; paired pre- and postrelease titers available for eight of these animals showed titer increases similar in magnitude to those seen in response to vaccination, suggesting at least some lynx may naturally acquire immunity to plague in Colorado habitats.

  2. Feline leukemia virus and other pathogens as important threats to the survival of the critically endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina L Meli

    Full Text Available The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus is considered the most endangered felid species in the world. In order to save this species, the Spanish authorities implemented a captive breeding program recruiting lynxes from the wild. In this context, a retrospective survey on prevalence of selected feline pathogens in free-ranging lynxes was initiated.We systematically analyzed the prevalence and importance of seven viral, one protozoan (Cytauxzoon felis, and several bacterial (e.g., hemotropic mycoplasma infections in 77 of approximately 200 remaining free-ranging Iberian lynxes of the Doñana and Sierra Morena areas, in Southern Spain, between 2003 and 2007. With the exception of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV, evidence of infection by all tested feline pathogens was found in Iberian lynxes. Fourteen lynxes were feline leukemia virus (FeLV provirus-positive; eleven of these were antigenemic (FeLV p27 positive. All 14 animals tested negative for other viral infections. During a six-month period in 2007, six of the provirus-positive antigenemic lynxes died. Infection with FeLV but not with other infectious agents was associated with mortality (p<0.001. Sequencing of the FeLV surface glycoprotein gene revealed a common origin for ten of the eleven samples. The ten sequences were closely related to FeLV-A/61E, originally isolated from cats in the USA. Endogenous FeLV sequences were not detected.It was concluded that the FeLV infection most likely originated from domestic cats invading the lynx's habitats. Data available regarding the time frame, co-infections, and outcome of FeLV-infections suggest that, in contrast to the domestic cat, the FeLV strain affecting the lynxes in 2007 is highly virulent to this species. Our data argue strongly for vaccination of lynxes and domestic cats in and around lynx's habitats in order to prevent further spread of the virus as well as reduction the domestic cat population if the lynx population is to be maintained.

  3. Polonium-210 and Caesium-137 in lynx (Lynx lynx), wolverine (Gulo gulo) and wolves (Canis lupus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gjelsvik, Runhild; Holm, Elis; Kålås, John Atle; Persson, Bertil; Asbrink, Jessica

    2014-12-01

    Wolves, lynx and wolverines are on the top of the food-chain in northern Scandinavia and Finland. (210)Po and (137)Cs have been analysed in samples of liver, kidney and muscle from 28 wolves from Sweden. In addition blood samples were taken from 27 wolves. In 9 of the wolves, samples of muscle, liver and blood were analysed for (210)Po. Samples of liver and muscle were collected from 16 lynx and 16 wolverines from Norway. The liver samples were analysed for (210)Po and (137)Cs. Only (137)Cs analyses were carried out for the muscle samples. The wolves were collected during the winter 2010 and 2011, while the samples for lynx and wolverines were all from 2011. The activity concentrations of (210)Po in wolves were higher for liver (range 20-523 Bq kg(-1) d.w.) and kidney (range 24-942 Bq kg(-1) d.w.) than muscle (range 1-43 Bq kg(-1) d.w.) and blood (range 2-54 Bq kg(-1) d.w.). Activity ratios, (210)Po/(210)Pb, in wolf samples of muscle, liver and blood were in the ranges 2-77, 9-56 and 2-54. Using a wet weight ratio of 3.8 the maximal absorbed dose from (210)Po to wolf liver was estimated to 3500 μGy per year. Compared to wolf, the ranges of (210)Po in liver samples were lower in lynx (range 22-211 Bq kg(-1) d.w.) and wolverine (range16-160 Bq kg(-1) d.w.). Concentration of (137)Cs in wolf samples of muscle, liver, kidney and blood were in the ranges 70-8410 Bq kg(-1) d.w., 36-4050 Bq kg(-1) d.w., 31-3453 Bq kg(-1) d.w. and 4-959 Bq kg(-1) d.w., respectively. (137)Cs in lynx muscle and liver samples were in the ranges 44-13393 Bq kg(-1) d.w. and 125-10260 Bq kg(-1) d.w. The corresponding values for (137)Cs in wolverine were 22-3405 Bq kg(-1) d.w. for liver and 53-4780 Bq kg(-1) d.w. for muscle. The maximal absorbed dose from (137)Cs to lynx was estimated to 3000 μGy per year. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Diet and Predatory Behavior of Lynx in Sweden

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moshøj, Charlotte Margaret

    2002-01-01

    and hunters who fear predation on livestock and reindeer as well as a general reduction in wild game abundance, especially roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Prey spectrum and predation of lynx was studied based on stomach analyses of lynx throughout Sweden and on data from a field study in south-central Sweden...... (reindeer and roe deer) comprised the greatest part of the diet, while a regional division indicated that while lynxes from northern regions had a narrower diet niche, they were in better condition than lynxes from south of the reindeer husbandry districts. Lynx gender and status also influenced diet...

  5. Patterns of ovarian and luteal activity in captive and wild Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerry V. Fanson; Nadja C. Wielebnowski; Tanya M. Shenk; Jennifer H. Vashon; John R. Squires; Jeffrey R. Lucas

    2010-01-01

    Canada lynx face some unique breeding restrictions, which may have implications for population viability and captive management. The goal of this study was to improve our understanding of basic reproductive physiology in Canada lynx. Using fecal hormone metabolite analysis, we established normative patterns of fecal estrogen (fE) and progestagen (fP)...

  6. Status and distribution of the lynx in the German Alps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra Kaczensky

    1998-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The lynx (Lynx lynx had been eradicated in the German Alps by the middle of the 19th century. Since the early 1970s there have been several attempts to initiate the re-introduction of lynx into the German Alps, but none of the projects could be carried out because of the still very controversial attitudes towards the species, and because of competition between institutions. Natural re-colonization of the German Alps by lynx can be expected sooner or later from Switzerland or Austria. Although lynx are already present in some parts of Germany outside the Alps, neither an organized monitoring system nor compensation regulations for losses of livestock exist. For a successful comeback of lynx into Germany, including the German Alps, more efforts than a year-round protection by the federal hunting law is needed. Initiative management actions and intensive public education are necessary to obtain and secure public acceptance of the lynx.

  7. Habitat selection and risk of predation: re-colonization by lynx had limited impact on habitat selection by roe deer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustaf Samelius

    Full Text Available Risk of predation is an evolutionary force that affects behaviors of virtually all animals. In this study, we examined how habitat selection by roe deer was affected by risk of predation by Eurasian lynx - the main predator of roe deer in Scandinavia. Specifically, we compared how habitat selection by roe deer varied (1 before and after lynx re-established in the study area and (2 in relation to habitat-specific risk of predation by lynx. All analyses were conducted at the spatial and temporal scales of home ranges and seasons. We did not find any evidence that roe deer avoided habitats in which the risk of predation by lynx was greatest and information-theoretic model selection showed that re-colonization by lynx had limited impact on habitat selection by roe deer despite lynx predation causing 65% of known mortalities after lynx re-colonized the area. Instead we found that habitat selection decreased when habitat availability increased for 2 of 5 habitat types (a pattern referred to as functional response in habitat selection. Limited impact of re-colonization by lynx on habitat selection by roe deer in this study differs from elk in North America altering both daily and seasonal patterns in habitat selection at the spatial scales of habitat patches and home ranges when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Our study thus provides further evidence of the complexity by which animals respond to risk of predation and suggest that it may vary between ecosystems and predator-prey constellations.

  8. Habitat selection and risk of predation: re-colonization by lynx had limited impact on habitat selection by roe deer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samelius, Gustaf; Andrén, Henrik; Kjellander, Petter; Liberg, Olof

    2013-01-01

    Risk of predation is an evolutionary force that affects behaviors of virtually all animals. In this study, we examined how habitat selection by roe deer was affected by risk of predation by Eurasian lynx - the main predator of roe deer in Scandinavia. Specifically, we compared how habitat selection by roe deer varied (1) before and after lynx re-established in the study area and (2) in relation to habitat-specific risk of predation by lynx. All analyses were conducted at the spatial and temporal scales of home ranges and seasons. We did not find any evidence that roe deer avoided habitats in which the risk of predation by lynx was greatest and information-theoretic model selection showed that re-colonization by lynx had limited impact on habitat selection by roe deer despite lynx predation causing 65% of known mortalities after lynx re-colonized the area. Instead we found that habitat selection decreased when habitat availability increased for 2 of 5 habitat types (a pattern referred to as functional response in habitat selection). Limited impact of re-colonization by lynx on habitat selection by roe deer in this study differs from elk in North America altering both daily and seasonal patterns in habitat selection at the spatial scales of habitat patches and home ranges when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Our study thus provides further evidence of the complexity by which animals respond to risk of predation and suggest that it may vary between ecosystems and predator-prey constellations.

  9. Lynx web services for annotations and systems analysis of multi-gene disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulakhe, Dinanath; Taylor, Andrew; Balasubramanian, Sandhya; Feng, Bo; Xie, Bingqing; Börnigen, Daniela; Dave, Utpal J; Foster, Ian T; Gilliam, T Conrad; Maltsev, Natalia

    2014-07-01

    Lynx is a web-based integrated systems biology platform that supports annotation and analysis of experimental data and generation of weighted hypotheses on molecular mechanisms contributing to human phenotypes and disorders of interest. Lynx has integrated multiple classes of biomedical data (genomic, proteomic, pathways, phenotypic, toxicogenomic, contextual and others) from various public databases as well as manually curated data from our group and collaborators (LynxKB). Lynx provides tools for gene list enrichment analysis using multiple functional annotations and network-based gene prioritization. Lynx provides access to the integrated database and the analytical tools via REST based Web Services (http://lynx.ci.uchicago.edu/webservices.html). This comprises data retrieval services for specific functional annotations, services to search across the complete LynxKB (powered by Lucene), and services to access the analytical tools built within the Lynx platform. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  10. Performance analysis and kernel size study of the Lynx real-time operating system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yuan-Kwei; Gibson, James S.; Fernquist, Alan R.

    1993-01-01

    This paper analyzes the Lynx real-time operating system (LynxOS), which has been selected as the operating system for the Space Station Freedom Data Management System (DMS). The features of LynxOS are compared to other Unix-based operating system (OS). The tools for measuring the performance of LynxOS, which include a high-speed digital timer/counter board, a device driver program, and an application program, are analyzed. The timings for interrupt response, process creation and deletion, threads, semaphores, shared memory, and signals are measured. The memory size of the DMS Embedded Data Processor (EDP) is limited. Besides, virtual memory is not suitable for real-time applications because page swap timing may not be deterministic. Therefore, the DMS software, including LynxOS, has to fit in the main memory of an EDP. To reduce the LynxOS kernel size, the following steps are taken: analyzing the factors that influence the kernel size; identifying the modules of LynxOS that may not be needed in an EDP; adjusting the system parameters of LynxOS; reconfiguring the device drivers used in the LynxOS; and analyzing the symbol table. The reductions in kernel disk size, kernel memory size and total kernel size reduction from each step mentioned above are listed and analyzed.

  11. Missing lynx and trophic cascades in food webs: A reply to Ripple et al.

    Science.gov (United States)

    John R. Squires; Nicholas J. DeCesare; Mark Hebblewhite; Joel Berger

    2012-01-01

    Ripple et al. (2011) proposed a hypothesis that the recovery of gray wolves (Canis lupus) may positively affect the viability of threatened Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) populations in the contiguous United States through indirect species interactions. Ripple et al. (2011) proposed 2 key trophic linkages connecting wolf restoration with lynx recovery. First, recovering...

  12. UnLynx: A Decentralized System for Privacy-Conscious Data Sharing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Froelicher David

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Current solutions for privacy-preserving data sharing among multiple parties either depend on a centralized authority that must be trusted and provides only weakest-link security (e.g., the entity that manages private/secret cryptographic keys, or leverage on decentralized but impractical approaches (e.g., secure multi-party computation. When the data to be shared are of a sensitive nature and the number of data providers is high, these solutions are not appropriate. Therefore, we present UnLynx, a new decentralized system for efficient privacy-preserving data sharing. We consider m servers that constitute a collective authority whose goal is to verifiably compute on data sent from n data providers. UnLynx guarantees the confidentiality, unlinkability between data providers and their data, privacy of the end result and the correctness of computations by the servers. Furthermore, to support differentially private queries, UnLynx can collectively add noise under encryption. All of this is achieved through a combination of a set of new distributed and secure protocols that are based on homomorphic cryptography, verifiable shuffling and zero-knowledge proofs. UnLynx is highly parallelizable and modular by design as it enables multiple security/privacy vs. runtime tradeoffs. Our evaluation shows that UnLynx can execute a secure survey on 400,000 personal data records containing 5 encrypted attributes, distributed over 20 independent databases, for a total of 2,000,000 ciphertexts, in 24 minutes.

  13. Ecology and conservation of lynx in the United States [Preface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard F. Ruggiero

    2000-01-01

    When we began the task of elucidating the scientific basis for lynx conservation in June 1998, I had little idea how constrained our time would be. The request to do this job came from a consortium of federal land management agencies in response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s "proposed rule" to list the Canada lynx as a threatened or endangered...

  14. Lynx1 and Aβ1-42 bind competitively to multiple nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Morten S; Arvaniti, Maria; Jensen, Majbrit M

    2016-01-01

    Lynx1 regulates synaptic plasticity in the brain by regulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). It is not known to which extent Lynx1 can bind to endogenous nAChR subunits in the brain or how this interaction is affected by Alzheimer's disease pathology. We apply affinity purification....... Incubation with Ws-Lynx1 decreases nicotine-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation in PC12 cells and striatal neurons, indicating that binding of Ws-Lynx1 is sufficient to inhibit signaling downstream of nAChRs. The effect of nicotine in PC12 cells is independent of α7 or α4β2 n...

  15. Fear or food ? abundance of red fox in relation to occurrence of lynx and wolf

    OpenAIRE

    Wikenros, Camilla; Aronsson, Malin; Liberg, Olof; Jarnemo, Anders; Hansson, Jessica; Wallgren, M?rtha; Sand, H?kan; Bergstr?m, Roger

    2017-01-01

    Apex predators may affect mesopredators through intraguild predation and/or supply of carrion from their prey, causing a trade-off between avoidance and attractiveness. We used wildlife triangle snow-tracking data to investigate the abundance of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in relation to lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolf (Canis lupus) occurrence as well as land composition and vole (Microtus spp.)?density. Data from the Swedish wolf-monitoring system and VHF/GPS-collared wolves were used to study the eff...

  16. Fear or food - abundance of red fox in relation to occurrence of lynx and wolf.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wikenros, Camilla; Aronsson, Malin; Liberg, Olof; Jarnemo, Anders; Hansson, Jessica; Wallgren, Märtha; Sand, Håkan; Bergström, Roger

    2017-08-22

    Apex predators may affect mesopredators through intraguild predation and/or supply of carrion from their prey, causing a trade-off between avoidance and attractiveness. We used wildlife triangle snow-tracking data to investigate the abundance of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in relation to lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolf (Canis lupus) occurrence as well as land composition and vole (Microtus spp.) density. Data from the Swedish wolf-monitoring system and VHF/GPS-collared wolves were used to study the effect of wolf pack size and time since wolf territory establishment on fox abundance. Bottom-up processes were more influential than top-down effects as the proportion of arable land was the key indicator of fox abundance at the landscape level. At this spatial scale, there was no effect of wolf abundance on fox abundance, whereas lynx abundance had a positive effect. In contrast, at the wolf territory level there was a negative effect of wolves on fox abundance when including detailed information of pack size and time since territory establishment, whereas there was no effect of lynx abundance. This study shows that different apex predator species may affect mesopredator abundance in different ways and that the results may be dependent on the spatiotemporal scale and resolution of the data.

  17. The return of the Iberian lynx to Portugal: local voices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes-Fernandes, Margarida; Espírito-Santo, Clara; Frazão-Moreira, Amélia

    2018-01-11

    Ethnographic research can help to establish dialog between conservationists and local people in reintroduction areas. Considering that predator reintroductions may cause local resistance, we assessed attitudes of different key actor profiles to the return of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) to Portugal before reintroduction started in 2015. We aimed to characterize a social context from an ethnoecological perspective, including factors such as local knowledge, perceptions, emotions, and opinions. We conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 131) in three different protected areas and observed practices and public meetings in order to describe reintroduction contestation, emotional involvement with the species, and local perceptions about conservation. Detailed content data analysis was undertaken and an open-ended codification of citations was performed with the support of ATLAS.ti. Besides the qualitative analyses, we further explored statistic associations between knowledge and opinions and compared different geographical areas and hunters with non-hunters among key actors. Local ecological knowledge encompassed the lynx but was not shared by the whole community. Both similarities and differences between local and scientific knowledge about the lynx were found. The discrepancies with scientific findings were not necessarily a predictor of negative attitudes towards reintroduction. Contestation issues around reintroduction differ between geographical areas but did not hinder an emotional attachment to the species and its identification as a territory emblem. Among local voices, financial compensation was significantly associated to hunters and nature tourism was cited the most frequent advantage of lynx presence. Materialistic discourses existed in parallel with non-economic factors and the existence of moral agreement with its protection. The considerable criticism and reference to restrictions by local actors concerning protected areas and conservation

  18. Distribution and status of lynx in the border region between Czech Republic, Germany and Austria

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Wölfl, M.; Bufka, L.; Červený, Jaroslav; Koubek, Petr; Heurich, M.; Habel, H.; Huber, T.; Poost, W.

    2001-01-01

    Roč. 46, č. 2 (2001), s. 181-194 ISSN 0001-7051 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IBS6093003 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z6093917 Keywords : Lynx lynx * Šumava mountains Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 0.652, year: 2001 http://acta.zbs.bialowieza.pl/contents/?art=2001-046-2-0181

  19. LYNX community advocacy & service engagement (CASE) project final report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-05-14

    This report is a final assessment of the Community Advocacy & Service Engagement (CASE) project, a LYNX-FTA research project designed : to study transit education and public engagement methods in Central Florida. In the Orlando area, as in other part...

  20. Nuutuuyiglu Tuttuglu (The Lynx and the Two Caribou).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pope, Mary L.; And Others

    This second grade elementary language text, designed for children in bilingual Inupiat-English programs in Ambler, Kobuk, Kiana, Noorvik, and Shungnak, contains a story about a lynx who tries to kill two caribou at one time but who is himself killed. Each page of text is illustrated with a black-and-white drawing. The English equivalent is given…

  1. Gene Sets for Utilization of Primary and Secondary Nutrition Supplies in the Distal Gut of Endangered Iberian Lynx

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alcaide, María; Messina, Enzo; Richter, Michael; Bargiela, Rafael; Peplies, Jörg; Huws, Sharon A.; Newbold, Charles J.; Golyshin, Peter N.; Simón, Miguel A.; López, Guillermo; Yakimov, Michail M.; Ferrer, Manuel

    2012-01-01

    Recent studies have indicated the existence of an extensive trans-genomic trans-mural co-metabolism between gut microbes and animal hosts that is diet-, host phylogeny- and provenance-influenced. Here, we analyzed the biodiversity at the level of small subunit rRNA gene sequence and the metabolic composition of 18 Mbp of consensus metagenome sequences and activity characteristics of bacterial intra-cellular extracts, in wild Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) fecal samples. Bacterial signatures (14.43% of all of the Firmicutes reads and 6.36% of total reads) related to the uncultured anaerobic commensals Anaeroplasma spp., which are typically found in ovine and bovine rumen, were first identified. The lynx gut was further characterized by an over-representation of ‘presumptive’ aquaporin aqpZ genes and genes encoding ‘active’ lysosomal-like digestive enzymes that are possibly needed to acquire glycerol, sugars and amino acids from glycoproteins, glyco(amino)lipids, glyco(amino)glycans and nucleoside diphosphate sugars. Lynx gut was highly enriched (28% of the total glycosidases) in genes encoding α-amylase and related enzymes, although it exhibited low rate of enzymatic activity indicative of starch degradation. The preponderance of β-xylosidase activity in protein extracts further suggests lynx gut microbes being most active for the metabolism of β-xylose containing plant N-glycans, although β-xylosidases sequences constituted only 1.5% of total glycosidases. These collective and unique bacterial, genetic and enzymatic activity signatures suggest that the wild lynx gut microbiota not only harbors gene sets underpinning sugar uptake from primary animal tissues (with the monotypic dietary profile of the wild lynx consisting of 80–100% wild rabbits) but also for the hydrolysis of prey-derived plant biomass. Although, the present investigation corresponds to a single sample and some of the statements should be considered qualitative, the data most likely

  2. Gene sets for utilization of primary and secondary nutrition supplies in the distal gut of endangered Iberian lynx.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Alcaide

    Full Text Available Recent studies have indicated the existence of an extensive trans-genomic trans-mural co-metabolism between gut microbes and animal hosts that is diet-, host phylogeny- and provenance-influenced. Here, we analyzed the biodiversity at the level of small subunit rRNA gene sequence and the metabolic composition of 18 Mbp of consensus metagenome sequences and activity characteristics of bacterial intra-cellular extracts, in wild Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus fecal samples. Bacterial signatures (14.43% of all of the Firmicutes reads and 6.36% of total reads related to the uncultured anaerobic commensals Anaeroplasma spp., which are typically found in ovine and bovine rumen, were first identified. The lynx gut was further characterized by an over-representation of 'presumptive' aquaporin aqpZ genes and genes encoding 'active' lysosomal-like digestive enzymes that are possibly needed to acquire glycerol, sugars and amino acids from glycoproteins, glyco(aminolipids, glyco(aminoglycans and nucleoside diphosphate sugars. Lynx gut was highly enriched (28% of the total glycosidases in genes encoding α-amylase and related enzymes, although it exhibited low rate of enzymatic activity indicative of starch degradation. The preponderance of β-xylosidase activity in protein extracts further suggests lynx gut microbes being most active for the metabolism of β-xylose containing plant N-glycans, although β-xylosidases sequences constituted only 1.5% of total glycosidases. These collective and unique bacterial, genetic and enzymatic activity signatures suggest that the wild lynx gut microbiota not only harbors gene sets underpinning sugar uptake from primary animal tissues (with the monotypic dietary profile of the wild lynx consisting of 80-100% wild rabbits but also for the hydrolysis of prey-derived plant biomass. Although, the present investigation corresponds to a single sample and some of the statements should be considered qualitative, the data most likely

  3. Expression of the Ly-6 family proteins Lynx1 and Ly6H in the rat brain is compartmentalized, cell-type specific, and developmentally regulated

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Morten Skøtt; Cinar, Betül; Jensen, Majbrit Myrup

    2014-01-01

    regarding the distribution and developmental regulation of these proteins in the brain. We use protein cross-linking and synaptosomal fractions to demonstrate that the Ly-6 proteins Lynx1 and Ly6H are membrane-bound proteins in the brain, which are present on the cell surface and localize to synaptic...... demonstrate that Lynx1 and Ly6H are expressed in cultured neurons, but not cultured micro- or astroglial cultures. In addition, Lynx1, but not Ly6H was detected in the CSF. Finally, we show that the Ly-6 proteins Lynx1, Lynx2, Ly6H, and PSCA, display distinct expression patterns during postnatal development...

  4. Reproductive traits in captive and free-ranging males of the critically endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gañán, Natalia; Sestelo, Adrián; Garde, J Julián; Martínez, Fernando; Vargas, Astrid; Sánchez, Iñigo; Pérez-Aspa, María José; López-Bao, José Vicente; Palomares, Francisco; Gomendio, Montserrat; Roldan, Eduardo R S

    2010-01-01

    The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is the most endangered felid in the world. Adequate genetic management of in situ and ex situ populations, and linkage between both, require knowledge on male reproductive biology and factors influencing it. We examined the influence of age, free-ranging versus captive conditions and seasonality on phenotypic, endocrine and semen traits, and links between reproductive traits and male fertility. Males had relatively small testes, produced low sperm numbers, a low proportion of normal sperm, and a high proportion of motile sperm. Young (2-year-old) males had lower testosterone levels, fewer sperm, and a lower proportion of motile and normal sperm than > or =4-year-old males. No major differences were found in semen traits before and after the mating season or between free-ranging and captive males, although the latter had better sperm motility. Males with larger relative testes weight and more sperm copulated more frequently, whereas males that produced more sperm with higher motility produced more cubs per female. In conclusion, small relative testes size and low sperm quality could indicate either low levels of sperm competition or high levels of inbreeding. Young males are probably subfertile; there is a slight trend for males in the captive breeding programme to have better semen quality than wild males, and males with higher sperm production are sexually more active and more fertile. These findings have major implications for decisions regarding which males should breed, provide samples for the genetic resource bank, or participate in programmes involving the use of assisted reproductive techniques.

  5. Appendix B: Fisher, lynx, wolverine summary of distribution information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mary Maj

    1994-01-01

    We present maps depicting distributions of fisher, lynx, and wolverine in the western United States since 1961. Comparison of past and current distributions of species can shed light on population persistence, periods of population isolation, meta-population structure, and important connecting landscapes. Information on the distribution of the American marten is not...

  6. Ecology and conservation of lynx in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard F. Ruggiero; Keith B. Aubry; Steven W. Buskirk; Gary M. Koehler; Charles J. Krebs; Kevin S. McKelvey; John R. Squires

    1999-01-01

    Once found throughout the Rocky Mountains and forests of the northern states, the lynx now hides in pockets of its former range while feeding mostly on small animals like snowshoe hares. A team of government and university scientists review the newest scientific knowledge of this unique cat's history, distribution, and ecology. The chapters on this web site...

  7. Observations on the lynx Felis caracal in the Bedford district

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    with, including mass and length, killing and feeding habits, breeding and litters ... van 108 eksemplare oor 'n tydperk van 3! jaar word ontleed. Verskeie ... Poison proved ineffective ... a lynx is reported the hounds are taken to the area before dawn (this is .... within a week of each other, but in each case the localities were far ...

  8. Implications from XMM and Chandra Source Catalogs for Future Studies with Lynx

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ptak, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    Lynx will perform extremely sensitive X-ray surveys by combining very high-resolution imaging over a large field of view with a high effective area. These will include deep planned surveys and serendipitous source surveys. Here we discuss implications that can be gleaned from current Chandra and XMM-Newton serendipitous source surveys. These current surveys have discovered novel sources such as tidal disruption events, binary AGN, and ULX pulsars. In addition these surveys have detected large samples of normal galaxies, low-luminosity AGN and quasars due to the wide-area coverage of the Chandra and XMM-Newton source catalogs, allowing the evolution of these phenonema to be explored. The wide area Lynx surveys will probe down further in flux and will be coupled with very sensitive wide-area surveys such as LSST and SKA, allowing for detailed modeling of their SEDs and the discovery of rare, exotic sources and transient events.

  9. FF-LYNX: protocol and interfaces for the control and readout of future Silicon detectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amendola, A; Bianchi, G; Fanucci, L; Saponara, S; Tongiani, C [Universita di Pisa, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell' Informazione (DII-EIT), Via G. Caruso 16, 56122 Pisa (Italy); Castaldi, R; Minuti, M; Verdini, P G [INFN, Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56018 Pisa (Italy); Incandela, J; Magazzu, G; Rossin, R, E-mail: Guido.Magazzu@pi.infn.i [University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), Department of Physics, 5113 Broida Hall, CA 93106 Santa Barbara (United States)

    2010-06-15

    The FF-LYNX protocol provides an innovative solution for the integrated distribution of Timing, Trigger and Control signals and the data readout in future High Energy Physics experiments. Transmitter and receiver interfaces implementing the FF-LYNX protocol have been simulated with a high-level simulator and in an FPGA based emulator. The design of the interfaces in a commercial CMOS technology as radiation tolerant and low power modules is ongoing and the submission of a test circuit is foreseen in fall 2010. The key features of the protocol are described in this paper as well as its possible application for the transmission from Silicon Trackers to trigger processors with short and constant latency of data to be used for the L1 trigger generation.

  10. Relative accuracy of spatial predictive models for lynx Lynx canadensis derived using logistic regression-AIC, multiple criteria evaluation and Bayesian approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shelley M. ALEXANDER

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available We compared probability surfaces derived using one set of environmental variables in three Geographic Information Systems (GIS-based approaches: logistic regression and Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC, Multiple Criteria Evaluation (MCE, and Bayesian Analysis (specifically Dempster-Shafer theory. We used lynx Lynx canadensis as our focal species, and developed our environment relationship model using track data collected in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, during winters from 1997 to 2000. The accuracy of the three spatial models were compared using a contingency table method. We determined the percentage of cases in which both presence and absence points were correctly classified (overall accuracy, the failure to predict a species where it occurred (omission error and the prediction of presence where there was absence (commission error. Our overall accuracy showed the logistic regression approach was the most accurate (74.51%. The multiple criteria evaluation was intermediate (39.22%, while the Dempster-Shafer (D-S theory model was the poorest (29.90%. However, omission and commission error tell us a different story: logistic regression had the lowest commission error, while D-S theory produced the lowest omission error. Our results provide evidence that habitat modellers should evaluate all three error measures when ascribing confidence in their model. We suggest that for our study area at least, the logistic regression model is optimal. However, where sample size is small or the species is very rare, it may also be useful to explore and/or use a more ecologically cautious modelling approach (e.g. Dempster-Shafer that would over-predict, protect more sites, and thereby minimize the risk of missing critical habitat in conservation plans[Current Zoology 55(1: 28 – 40, 2009].

  11. Lynx: a scalable solution utilising FPGAs for high performance data processing

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Focke, R

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available .csir.co.za 1. HDL Uses • HDL for hardware simulation only - Model 3rd party hardware - Test bench for functional verification - Read and write files - Dynamic structures • HDL for FPGA firmware (or ASIC) - Not all language features - Register transfer... Topics © CSIR 2009 www.csir.co.za A. Mentor Graphics HDL Author & Modelsim • Lynx LVDS Design © CSIR 2009 www.csir.co.za A. Mentor Graphics HDL Author • Hierarchical Graphical Design for HDL & Modelsim...

  12. Software Development for the Kinematic Analysis of a Lynx 6 Robot Arm

    OpenAIRE

    Baki Koyuncu; Mehmet Güzel

    2007-01-01

    The kinematics of manipulators is a central problem in the automatic control of robot manipulators. Theoretical background for the analysis of the 5 Dof Lynx-6 educational Robot Arm kinematics is presented in this paper. The kinematics problem is defined as the transformation from the Cartesian space to the joint space and vice versa. The Denavit-Harbenterg (D-H) model of representation is used to model robot links and joints in this study. Both forward and inverse kinematics solutions for th...

  13. Characterization of regionally associated feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in bobcats (Lynx rufus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagana, Danielle M; Lee, Justin S; Lewis, Jesse S; Bevins, Sarah N; Carver, Scott; Sweanor, Linda L; McBride, Roy; McBride, Caleb; Crooks, Kevin R; VandeWoude, Sue

    2013-07-01

    Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) classically infects felid species with highly divergent species-specific FIVs. However, recent studies have detected an FIV strain infecting both bobcats (Lynx rufus) and pumas (Puma concolor) in California and Florida. To further investigate this observation, we evaluated FIV from bobcats in Florida (n=25) and Colorado (n=80) between 2008 and 2011. Partial viral sequences from five Florida bobcats cluster with previously published sequences from Florida panthers. We did not detect FIV in Colorado bobcats.

  14. Usability of large carnivore as a keystone species in Eastern Black ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of the study was to investigate the keystone species property of Brown bear (Ursus arctos), Wolf (Canis lupus) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). The main selecting criteria for keystone species can be summarized as top predator or large carnivore important prey species or provide key resources and species having ...

  15. Characterization of the commercially-available fluorescent chloroquine-BODIPY conjugate, LynxTag-CQGREEN, as a marker for chloroquine resistance and uptake in a 96-well plate assay.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheryl C Y Loh

    Full Text Available Chloroquine was a cheap, extremely effective drug against Plasmodium falciparum until resistance arose. One approach to reversing resistance is the inhibition of chloroquine efflux from its site of action, the parasite digestive vacuole. Chloroquine accumulation studies have traditionally relied on radiolabelled chloroquine, which poses several challenges. There is a need for development of a safe and biologically relevant substitute. We report here a commercially-available green fluorescent chloroquine-BODIPY conjugate, LynxTag-CQGREEN, as a proxy for chloroquine accumulation. This compound localized to the digestive vacuole of the parasite as observed under confocal microscopy, and inhibited growth of chloroquine-sensitive strain 3D7 more extensively than in the resistant strains 7G8 and K1. Microplate reader measurements indicated suppression of LynxTag-CQGREEN efflux after pretreatment of parasites with known reversal agents. Microsomes carrying either sensitive- or resistant-type PfCRT were assayed for uptake; resistant-type PfCRT exhibited increased accumulation of LynxTag-CQGREEN, which was suppressed by pretreatment with known chemosensitizers. Eight laboratory strains and twelve clinical isolates were sequenced for PfCRT and Pgh1 haplotypes previously reported to contribute to drug resistance, and pfmdr1 copy number and chloroquine IC50s were determined. These data were compared with LynxTag-CQGREEN uptake/fluorescence by multiple linear regression to identify genetic correlates of uptake. Uptake of the compound correlated with the logIC50 of chloroquine and, more weakly, a mutation in Pgh1, F1226Y.

  16. Antibody detection and molecular characterization of toxoplasma gondii from bobcats (Lynx rufus), domestic cats (Felis catus), and wildlife from Minnesota, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little is known of the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in Minnesota. In this study, we evaluated Toxoplasma gondii infection in 50 wild bobcats (Lynx rufus) and 75 other animals on/near 10 cattle farms. Antibodies to T. gondii were assayed in serum samples or tissue fluids by the modified agglutinatio...

  17. [Early sibling aggression in mammals and its hormonal correlates].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonevich, A L; Naĭdenko, S V

    2007-01-01

    Early sibling aggression is a widespread phenomenon in birds. Ornithologists distinguish species with "obligate" and "facultative" siblicide. Sibling aggression was described in some mammal species: the domestic pig (Sus scrofa), the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), and the Iberian lynx (L. par-dinus). In all of them, sibling aggression corresponds well with the "facultative" siblicide model in birds. Sibling aggression was observed at the age of 36-64 days in both lynx species. It is usually restricted to a single fight and can change the hierarchical structure and growth rate of the kittens. In the spotted hyena and the domestic pig, the frequency and intensity of aggressive interactions between siblings are strongest during the first days of postnatal ontogeny and then decrease gradually. The newborns of these species are much developed than newborn lynx kittens. Usually adult lynx females, in contrast to hyenas and pigs, try to stop sibling fights. This is probably related to the larger parental investment at the time of the fight in lynxes (a kitten's body weight is about 10% of the mother's) than in pigs (0.5%) and hyenas (1.9%). Sibling aggression in spotted hyenas could be related to the high level of androstenedione and is not related to testosterone concentration. In the Eurasian lynx, female sibs attack their littermates slightly more often than male sibs do, and sibling aggression is not testosterone-dependent. Hormones secreted by the adrenal glands may play an important role in this phenomenon. The data available so far, however, do not positively confirm the presence of hormonal trigger effects in mammal sibling aggression.

  18. Lynx: Automatic Elderly Behavior Prediction in Home Telecare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jose Manuel Lopez-Guede

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces Lynx, an intelligent system for personal safety at home environments, oriented to elderly people living independently, which encompasses a decision support machine for automatic home risk prevention, tested in real-life environments to respond to real time situations. The automatic system described in this paper prevents such risks by an advanced analytic methods supported by an expert knowledge system. It is minimally intrusive, using plug-and-play sensors and machine learning algorithms to learn the elder’s daily activity taking into account even his health records. If the system detects that something unusual happens (in a wide sense or if something is wrong relative to the user’s health habits or medical recommendations, it sends at real-time alarm to the family, care center, or medical agents, without human intervention. The system feeds on information from sensors deployed in the home and knowledge of subject physical activities, which can be collected by mobile applications and enriched by personalized health information from clinical reports encoded in the system. The system usability and reliability have been tested in real-life conditions, with an accuracy larger than 81%.

  19. Lynx: Automatic Elderly Behavior Prediction in Home Telecare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez-Guede, Jose Manuel; Moreno-Fernandez-de-Leceta, Aitor; Martinez-Garcia, Alexeiw; Graña, Manuel

    2015-01-01

    This paper introduces Lynx, an intelligent system for personal safety at home environments, oriented to elderly people living independently, which encompasses a decision support machine for automatic home risk prevention, tested in real-life environments to respond to real time situations. The automatic system described in this paper prevents such risks by an advanced analytic methods supported by an expert knowledge system. It is minimally intrusive, using plug-and-play sensors and machine learning algorithms to learn the elder's daily activity taking into account even his health records. If the system detects that something unusual happens (in a wide sense) or if something is wrong relative to the user's health habits or medical recommendations, it sends at real-time alarm to the family, care center, or medical agents, without human intervention. The system feeds on information from sensors deployed in the home and knowledge of subject physical activities, which can be collected by mobile applications and enriched by personalized health information from clinical reports encoded in the system. The system usability and reliability have been tested in real-life conditions, with an accuracy larger than 81%. PMID:26783514

  20. Comparative VME Performance Tests for MEN A20 Intel-L865 and RIO-3 PPC-LynxOS platforms

    CERN Document Server

    Andersen, M; CERN. Geneva. BE Department

    2009-01-01

    This benchmark note presents test results from reading values over VME using different methods and different sizes of data registers, running on two different platforms Intel-L865 and PPC-LynxOS. We find that the PowerPC is a factor 3 faster in accessing an array of contiguous VME memory locations. Block transfer and DMA read accesses are also tested and compared with conventional single access reads.

  1. Description and life-cycle of Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haukisalmi, Voitto; Konyaev, Sergey; Lavikainen, Antti; Isomursu, Marja; Nakao, Minoru

    2016-01-01

    Abstract A new species of tapeworm, Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea), is described from the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the main definitive host, and the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus and Capreolus pygargus), the main intermediate hosts, from Finland and Russia (Siberia and the Russian Far East). The new species was found once also in the wolf (Canis lupus) and the Eurasian elk/moose (Alces alces), representing accidental definitive and intermediate hosts, respectively. The conspecificity of adult specimens and metacestodes of Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. in various host species and regions, and their distinction from related species of Taenia, was confirmed by partial nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene. Morphologically, Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. can be separated unambiguously from all other species of Taenia by the shape of its large rostellar hooks, particularly the characteristically short, wide and strongly curved blade. If the large rostellar hooks are missing, Taenia lynciscapreoli may be separated from related species by a combination of morphological features of mature proglottids. It is suggested that Taenia lynciscapreoli has been present in published materials concerning the tapeworms of Lynx lynx and Lynx pardinus in Europe, but has been misidentified as Taenia pisiformis (Bloch, 1780). Taenia lynciscapreoli sp. n. has not been found in lynx outside the range of roe deer, suggesting a transmission pathway based on a specific predator–prey relationship. The present study applies a novel, simple approach to compare qualitative interspecific differences in the shape of rostellar hooks. PMID:27199592

  2. First evidence of hemoplasma infection in free-ranging Namibian cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krengel, Annika; Meli, Marina L; Cattori, Valentino; Wachter, Bettina; Willi, Barbara; Thalwitzer, Susanne; Melzheimer, Jörg; Hofer, Heribert; Lutz, Hans; Hofmann-Lehmann, Regina

    2013-03-23

    Infections with feline hemotropic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas) have been documented in domestic cats and free-ranging feline species with high prevalences in Iberian lynxes (Lynx pardinus), Eurasian lynxes (Lynx lynx), European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris), African lions (Panthera leo) in Tanzania and domestic cats in South Africa. The prevalence of hemoplasmas has not yet been investigated in free-ranging felids in southern Africa. In this study we screened 73 blood samples from 61 cheetahs in central Namibia for the presence of hemoplasmas using quantitative real-time PCR. One of the cheetahs tested PCR-positive. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA and RNAse P genes revealed that the isolate belongs to the Mycoplasma haemofelis/haemocanis group. This is the first molecular evidence of a hemoplasma infection in a free-ranging cheetah. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. A hybrid concept (segmented plus monolithic fused silica shells) for a high-throughput and high-angular resolution x-ray mission (Lynx/X-Ray Surveyor like)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basso, Stefano; Civitani, Marta; Pareschi, Giovanni; Parodi, Giancarlo

    2017-09-01

    Lynx is a large area and high angular resolution X-ray mission being studied by NASA to be presented to the next Decadal Survey for the implementation in the next decade. It aims to realize an X-ray telescope with the effective area similar to Athena (2 m2 at 1 keV) but with the same angular resolution of Chandra and a much larger Field Of View (up 20 arcmin x 20 arcmin). The science of X-ray Surveyor requires a large-throughput mirror assembly with sub-arcsec angular resolution. These future X-ray mirrors have a set of requirements which, collectively, represents very substantial advances over any currently in operation or planned for missions other than X-ray Surveyor. Of particular importance is achieving low mass per unit collecting area, while maintaining Chandra like angular resolution. Among the possible solutions under study, the direct polishing of both thin monolithic pseudo-cylindrical shells and segments made of fused silica are being considered as viable solutions for the implementation of the mirrors. Fused silica has very good thermomechanical parameters (including a very low CTE), making the material particularly well suited for for the production of the Lynx mirrors. It should be noted that the use of close shells is also very attractive, since the operations for the integration of the shells will be greatly simplified and the area lost due to the vignetting from the interfacing structures minimized even if the management of such big (diameter of 3 m) and thin shells have to be demonstrated. In this paper we will discuss a possible basic layout for a full shell mirror and a hybrid concept (segmented plus monolithic shells made of fused silica) as a second solution, for the Lynx/XRS telescope, discussing preliminary results in terms of optical and mechanical performance.

  4. Selective Predation of a Stalking Predator on Ungulate Prey.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Heurich

    Full Text Available Prey selection is a key factor shaping animal populations and evolutionary dynamics. An optimal forager should target prey that offers the highest benefits in terms of energy content at the lowest costs. Predators are therefore expected to select for prey of optimal size. Stalking predators do not pursue their prey long, which may lead to a more random choice of prey individuals. Due to difficulties in assessing the composition of available prey populations, data on prey selection of stalking carnivores are still scarce. We show how the stalking predator Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx selects prey individuals based on species identity, age, sex and individual behaviour. To address the difficulties in assessing prey population structure, we confirm inferred selection patterns by using two independent data sets: (1 data of 387 documented kills of radio-collared lynx were compared to the prey population structure retrieved from systematic camera trapping using Manly's standardized selection ratio alpha and (2 data on 120 radio-collared roe deer were analysed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Among the larger red deer prey, lynx selected against adult males-the largest and potentially most dangerous prey individuals. In roe deer lynx preyed selectively on males and did not select for a specific age class. Activity during high risk periods reduced the risk of falling victim to a lynx attack. Our results suggest that the stalking predator lynx actively selects for size, while prey behaviour induces selection by encounter and stalking success rates.

  5. Selecting habitat to survive: the impact of road density on survival in a large carnivore.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathieu Basille

    Full Text Available Habitat selection studies generally assume that animals select habitat and food resources at multiple scales to maximise their fitness. However, animals sometimes prefer habitats of apparently low quality, especially when considering the costs associated with spatially heterogeneous human disturbance. We used spatial variation in human disturbance, and its consequences on lynx survival, a direct fitness component, to test the Hierarchical Habitat Selection hypothesis from a population of Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx in southern Norway. Data from 46 lynx monitored with telemetry indicated that a high proportion of forest strongly reduced the risk of mortality from legal hunting at the home range scale, while increasing road density strongly increased such risk at the finer scale within the home range. We found hierarchical effects of the impact of human disturbance, with a higher road density at a large scale reinforcing its negative impact at a fine scale. Conversely, we demonstrated that lynx shifted their habitat selection to avoid areas with the highest road densities within their home ranges, thus supporting a compensatory mechanism at fine scale enabling lynx to mitigate the impact of large-scale disturbance. Human impact, positively associated with high road accessibility, was thus a stronger driver of lynx space use at a finer scale, with home range characteristics nevertheless constraining habitat selection. Our study demonstrates the truly hierarchical nature of habitat selection, which aims at maximising fitness by selecting against limiting factors at multiple spatial scales, and indicates that scale-specific heterogeneity of the environment is driving individual spatial behaviour, by means of trade-offs across spatial scales.

  6. Forecasts for the Canadian Lynx time series using method that bombine neural networks, wavelet shrinkage and decomposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Levi Lopes Teixeira

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Time series forecasting is widely used in various areas of human knowledge, especially in the planning and strategic direction of companies. The success of this task depends on the forecasting techniques applied. In this paper, a hybrid approach to project time series is suggested. To validate the methodology, a time series already modeled by other authors was chosen, allowing the comparison of results. The proposed methodology includes the following techniques: wavelet shrinkage, wavelet decomposition at level r, and artificial neural networks (ANN. Firstly, a time series to be forecasted is submitted to the proposed wavelet filtering method, which decomposes it to components of trend and linear residue. Then, both are decomposed via level r wavelet decomposition, generating r + 1 Wavelet Components (WCs for each one; and then each WC is individually modeled by an ANN. Finally, the predictions for all WCs are linearly combined, producing forecasts to the underlying time series. For evaluating purposes, the time series of Canadian Lynx has been used, and all results achieved by the proposed method were better than others in existing literature.

  7. Study of the Lynx-Cancer void galaxies. - V. The extremely isolated galaxy UGC 4722

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chengalur, J. N.; Pustilnik, S. A.; Makarov, D. I.; Perepelitsyna, Y. A.; Safonova, E. S.; Karachentsev, I. D.

    2015-04-01

    We present a detailed study of the extremely isolated Sdm galaxy UGC 4722 (MB = -17.4) located in the nearby Lynx-Cancer void. UGC 4722 is a member of the Catalogue of Isolated Galaxies, and has also been identified as one of the most isolated galaxies in the Local Supercluster. Optical images of the galaxy however show that it has a peculiar morphology with an elongated ˜14 kpc-long plume. New observations with the Russian 6-m telescope (BTA) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) of the ionized and neutral gas in UGC 4722 reveal the second component responsible for the disturbed morphology of the system. This is a small, almost completely destroyed, very gas-rich dwarf (MB = -15.2, M(H I)/LB ˜ 4.3) We estimate the oxygen abundance for both galaxies to be 12 + log (O/H) ˜ 7.5-7.6 which is two to three times lower than what is expected from the luminosity-metallicity relation for similar galaxies in denser environments. The ugr colours of the plume derived from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) images are consistent with a simple stellar population with a post starburst age of 0.45-0.5 Gyr. This system hence appears to be the first known case of a minor merger with a prominent tidal feature consisting of a young stellar population.

  8. Usefulness of the wildlife species as a focal species in the forest ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    yasinucarlı

    2011-03-14

    Mar 14, 2011 ... keystone species are the most important species in that ecosystems to sustainability. ... bear, Wolf and Eurasian Lynx can be also used as a flagship, indicator and ... Washington's Pacific coast. ... sidered keystones because their effect is not dispro- ..... conservation of South American terrestrial mammals.

  9. Gene flow and pathogen transmission among bobcats (Lynx rufus) in a fragmented urban landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Justin S.; Ruell, Emily W.; Boydston, Erin E.; Lyren, Lisa M.; Alonso, Robert S.; Troyer, Jennifer L.; Crooks, Kevin R.; VandeWoude, Sue

    2012-01-01

    Urbanization can result in the fragmentation of once contiguous natural landscapes into a patchy habitat interspersed within a growing urban matrix. Animals living in fragmented landscapes often have reduced movement among habitat patches because of avoidance of intervening human development, which potentially leads to both reduced gene flow and pathogen transmission between patches. Mammalian carnivores with large home ranges, such as bobcats (Lynx rufus), may be particularly sensitive to habitat fragmentation. We performed genetic analyses on bobcats and their directly transmitted viral pathogen, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), to investigate the effects of urbanization on bobcat movement. We predicted that urban development, including major freeways, would limit bobcat movement and result in genetically structured host and pathogen populations. We analysed molecular markers from 106 bobcats and 19 FIV isolates from seropositive animals in urban southern California. Our findings indicate that reduced gene flow between two primary habitat patches has resulted in genetically distinct bobcat subpopulations separated by urban development including a major highway. However, the distribution of genetic diversity among FIV isolates determined through phylogenetic analyses indicates that pathogen genotypes are less spatially structured--exhibiting a more even distribution between habitat fragments. We conclude that the types of movement and contact sufficient for disease transmission occur with enough frequency to preclude structuring among the viral population, but that the bobcat population is structured owing to low levels of effective bobcat migration resulting in gene flow. We illustrate the utility in using multiple molecular markers that differentially detect movement and gene flow between subpopulations when assessing connectivity.

  10. Non-Deforming, High-Reflectance X-ray Coatings for Lynx and Other Future Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Windt, David

    The overarching challenge addressed by this proposal is the development of highreflectance, high-resolution X-ray mirrors, to be used for the construction of lightweight X-ray telescopes for future NASA astronomy missions such as Lynx and others. The proposal's two specific aims are: 1) the development of optimized iridium-based interference coatings for the 0.1–10 keV band; and 2) the development of methods to mitigate coating-stress-induced substrate deformations in thin-shell glass and Si mirror segments. These goals will be achieved by building on established film deposition techniques and metrology infrastructure for X-ray optics that have been developed and advanced by the PI through APRA funding since 1999. Specific Aim #1: Interference Coatings for the 0.1–10 keV Energy Band Telescope effective area can be maximized by using Ir-based reflective coatings that exploit optical interference to provide higher reflectance than Ir alone. However, only preliminary investigations of such coatings have been conducted thus far; more research is required to fully optimize these coatings for maximum performance, to experimentally determine the coating designs that are feasible, and to determine the achievable X-ray reflectance, film stress, surface roughness, and thermal and temporal stability. The first specific aim of this proposal is to reach these very goals through a comprehensive research program. Demonstration of the achievable reflectance, stress, and roughness in stable, optimized coatings will in turn facilitate global telescope design optimization, by identifying the best coating for each mirror shell based on incidence angle, and on telescope effective-area and field-of-view requirements. The research has the potential to greatly increase the effective area of future X-ray telescopes. Specific Aim #2: Mitigation of Coating-Stress-Induced Substrate Deformations High-quality films of Ir and other candidate materials (e.g., B4C) to be investigated for the 0

  11. Emergence of canine distemper virus strains with modified molecular signature and enhanced neuronal tropism leading to high mortality in wild carnivores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Origgi, F C; Plattet, P; Sattler, U; Robert, N; Casaubon, J; Mavrot, F; Pewsner, M; Wu, N; Giovannini, S; Oevermann, A; Stoffel, M H; Gaschen, V; Segner, H; Ryser-Degiorgis, M-P

    2012-11-01

    An ongoing canine distemper epidemic was first detected in Switzerland in the spring of 2009. Compared to previous local canine distemper outbreaks, it was characterized by unusually high morbidity and mortality, rapid spread over the country, and susceptibility of several wild carnivore species. Here, the authors describe the associated pathologic changes and phylogenetic and biological features of a multiple highly virulent canine distemper virus (CDV) strain detected in and/or isolated from red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), Eurasian badgers (Meles meles), stone (Martes foina) and pine (Martes martes) martens, from a Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), and a domestic dog. The main lesions included interstitial to bronchointerstitial pneumonia and meningopolioencephalitis, whereas demyelination--the classic presentation of CDV infection--was observed in few cases only. In the brain lesions, viral inclusions were mainly in the nuclei of the neurons. Some significant differences in brain and lung lesions were observed between foxes and mustelids. Swiss CDV isolates shared together with a Hungarian CDV strain detected in 2004. In vitro analysis of the hemagglutinin protein from one of the Swiss CDV strains revealed functional and structural differences from that of the reference strain A75/17, with the Swiss strain showing increased surface expression and binding efficiency to the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM). These features might be part of a novel molecular signature, which might have contributed to an increase in virus pathogenicity, partially explaining the high morbidity and mortality, the rapid spread, and the large host spectrum observed in this outbreak.

  12. Seroprevalences of antibodies to Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii in zoo animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedlák, K; Bártová, E

    2006-03-31

    Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan parasite that causes neuromuscular disease in dogs and abortions in cattle. Little is known about the prevalence of antibodies to this parasite in zoo animals. Sera from 556 animals, from 13 Czech and Slovak zoos were tested for antibodies to N. caninum and Toxoplasma gondii by indirect fluorescent antibody test. Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 31 of 556 zoo animals (5.6%), representing 18 of 114 species tested: Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus), Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), fennec (Vulpes zerda), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguarondi), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), Indian lion (Panthera leo goojratensis), fisher (Martes pennanti), blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), European bison (Bison bonasus), lechwe (Kobus leche), African buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer), eland (Taurotragus oryx), sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekei gratus), Thorold's deer (Cervus albirostris), Eastern elk (C. elaphus canadensis), Vietnam sika deer (C. nippon pseudaxis) and Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus). Titres ranged from 1:40 to 1:2560. The highest prevalence 50% was found in family mustelidae of the order carnivora. Antibodies to T. gondii were detected in 193 of 556 zoo animals (34.7%) representing 72 of 114 species tested, with titres ranging from 1:40 to 1:40960. The highest prevalence 100% was found in families: hyaenidae, mustelidae, ursidae and viveridae of the order carnivora. The results of this study indicate that zoo animals have more exposure to T. gondii than to N. caninum. It is the first report of seroprevalence of antibodies to N. caninum in European zoo animals.

  13. Use of non-invasive genetics to generate core-area population estimates of a threatened predator in the Superior National Forest, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber-Meyer, Shannon; Ryan, Daniel; Grosshuesch, David; Catton, Timothy; Malick-Wahls, Sarah

    2018-01-01

    Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are found in boreal forests of Canada and Alaska and range southward into the contiguous United States. Much less is understood about lynx in their southern range compared to northern populations. Because lynx are currently listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act but have recently been recommended for delisting, information on their southern populations is important for lynx recovery, conservation, and management. We used non-invasive, genetic data collected during lynx snowtracking surveys from 2012-2017 to generate core-area estimates of abundance, trend and density in selected core areas of the Superior National Forest of Minnesota, USA. Lynx abundance estimates averaged 41.8 (SD=14.7, range=24-67) during 2012-2017 in the smaller

  14. Trans-Boundary Edge Effects in the Western Carpathians: The Influence of Hunting on Large Carnivore Occupancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Váňa, Martin; Suchomel, Josef; Chapron, Guillaume; López-Bao, José Vicente

    2016-01-01

    The conservation and management of wolves Canis lupus in the periphery of their distribution is challenging. Edges of wolf distribution are characterized by very few and intermittent occurrences of individuals, which are modulated by multiple factors affecting the overall population such as human-caused mortality, management targets and food availability. The knowledge of population dynamics in the edges becomes crucial when hunting takes place nearby the edges, which may preclude population expansion. Here, using as example the occurrence of wolves in the Beskydy Mountains (Czech-Slovak border), which are the edge distribution of the wolf and Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx populations in the West Carpathians, we explored how food availability and hunting in the Slovakian core area affected the dynamics of wolves in the edges of this population. During 2003–2012, we monitored large carnivore occurrence by snow-tracking surveys and tested potential differences in the occurrence of these species in Beskydy Mountains and potential mechanisms behind detected patterns. Despite the proximity to the core area, with several wolf reproductions being confirmed at least in recent years, the wolf was a very rare species in Beskydy and was recorded 14 times less often than the lynx. The expected abundance of wolves in the Beskydy Mountains was inversely related to prey availability in the Slovakian core area. Wolf hunting the year before influenced the expected abundance of wolves in Beskydy area. We discuss how different life histories and legal status of both species probably account for most of the observed difference of occurrence at range margins. PMID:28002475

  15. Trans-Boundary Edge Effects in the Western Carpathians: The Influence of Hunting on Large Carnivore Occupancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutal, Miroslav; Váňa, Martin; Suchomel, Josef; Chapron, Guillaume; López-Bao, José Vicente

    2016-01-01

    The conservation and management of wolves Canis lupus in the periphery of their distribution is challenging. Edges of wolf distribution are characterized by very few and intermittent occurrences of individuals, which are modulated by multiple factors affecting the overall population such as human-caused mortality, management targets and food availability. The knowledge of population dynamics in the edges becomes crucial when hunting takes place nearby the edges, which may preclude population expansion. Here, using as example the occurrence of wolves in the Beskydy Mountains (Czech-Slovak border), which are the edge distribution of the wolf and Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx populations in the West Carpathians, we explored how food availability and hunting in the Slovakian core area affected the dynamics of wolves in the edges of this population. During 2003-2012, we monitored large carnivore occurrence by snow-tracking surveys and tested potential differences in the occurrence of these species in Beskydy Mountains and potential mechanisms behind detected patterns. Despite the proximity to the core area, with several wolf reproductions being confirmed at least in recent years, the wolf was a very rare species in Beskydy and was recorded 14 times less often than the lynx. The expected abundance of wolves in the Beskydy Mountains was inversely related to prey availability in the Slovakian core area. Wolf hunting the year before influenced the expected abundance of wolves in Beskydy area. We discuss how different life histories and legal status of both species probably account for most of the observed difference of occurrence at range margins.

  16. Fused silica segments: a possible solution for x-ray telescopes with very high angular resolution like Lynx/XRS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmaso, Bianca; Basso, Stefano; Civitani, Marta; Ghigo, Mauro; Hołyszko, Joanna; Spiga, Daniele; Vecchi, Gabriele; Pareschi, Giovanni

    2017-09-01

    In order to look beyond Chandra, the Lynx/XRS mission has been proposed in USA and is currently studied by NASA. The optic will have an effective area of 2.5 m2 and an angular resolution of 0.5 arcsec HEW at 1 keV. In order to fulfill these requirements different technologies are considered, with the approaches of both full and segmented shells (that, possibly, can be also combined together). Concerning the production of segmented mirrors, a variety of thin substrates (glass, metal, silicon) are envisaged, that can be produced using both direct polishing or replication methods. Innovative post-fabrication correction methods (such as piezoelectric or magneto-restrictive film actuators on the back surface, differential deposition, ion implantation) are being also considered in order to reach the final tolerances. In this paper we are presenting a technology development based on fused silica (SiO2) segmented substrates, owing the low coefficient of thermal expansion of Fused Silica and its high chemical stability compared to other glasses. Thin SiO2 segmented substrates (typically 2 mm thick) are figured by direct polishing combined with final profile ion figuring correction, while the roughness reduction is reached with pitch tools. For the profile and roughness correction, the segments are glued to a substrate. In this paper we present the current status of this technology.

  17. Bobcats (Lynx rufus) as a Model Organism to Investigate the Effects of Roads on Wide-Ranging Carnivores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Litvaitis, John A; Reed, Gregory C; Carroll, Rory P; Litvaitis, Marian K; Tash, Jeffrey; Mahard, Tyler; Broman, Derek J A; Callahan, Catherine; Ellingwood, Mark

    2015-06-01

    We are using bobcats (Lynx rufus) as a model organism to examine how roads affect the abundance, distribution, and genetic structure of a wide-ranging carnivore. First, we compared the distribution of bobcat-vehicle collisions to road density and then estimated collision probabilities for specific landscapes using a moving window with road-specific traffic volume. Next, we obtained incidental observations of bobcats from the public, camera-trap detections, and locations of bobcats equipped with GPS collars to examine habitat selection. These data were used to generate a cost-surface map to investigate potential barrier effects of roads. Finally, we have begun an examination of genetic structure of bobcat populations in relation to major road networks. Distribution of vehicle-killed bobcats was correlated with road density, especially state and interstate highways. Collision models suggested that some regions may function as demographic sinks. Simulated movements in the context of the cost-surface map indicated that some major roads may be barriers. These patterns were supported by the genetic structure of bobcats. The sharpest divisions among genetically distinct demes occurred along natural barriers (mountains and large lakes) and in road-dense regions. In conclusion, our study has demonstrated the utility of using bobcats as a model organism to understand the variety of threats that roads pose to a wide-ranging species. Bobcats may also be useful as one of a group of focal species while developing approaches to maintain existing connectivity or mitigate the negative effects of roads.

  18. Variability in assays used for detection of lentiviral infection in bobcats (Lynx rufus), pumas (Puma concolor), and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, S.P.; Troyer, J.L.; TerWee, J.A.; Lyren, L.M.; Kays, R.W.; Riley, S.P.D.; Boyce, W.M.; Crooks, K.R.; VandeWoude, S.

    2007-01-01

    Although lentiviruses similar to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are known to infect numerous felid species, the relative utility of assays used for detecting lentiviral infection has not been compared for many of these hosts. We tested bobcats (Lynx rufus), pumas (Felis concolor), and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) for exposure to lentivirus using five different assays: puma lentivirus (PLV), African lion lentivirus (LLV), and domestic cat FIV-based immunoblots, a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit, and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Puma lentivirus immunoblots identified more seropositive individuals than the other antibody-detection assays. The commercial ELISA provided a fair ability to recognize seropositive samples when compared with PLV immunoblot for screening bobcats and ocelots, but not pumas. Polymerase chain reaction identified fewer positive samples than PLV immunoblot for all three species. Immunoblot results were equivalent whether the sample tested was serum, plasma, or whole blood. The results from this study and previous investigations suggest that the PLV immunoblot has the greatest ability to detect reactive samples when screening wild felids of North America and is unlikely to produce false positive results. However, the commercial ELISA kit may provide ap adequate alternative for screening of some species and is more easily adapted to field conditions. ?? Wildlife Disease Association 2007.

  19. Can only poorer European countries afford large carnivores?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kojola, Ilpo; Hallikainen, Ville; Helle, Timo; Swenson, Jon E

    2018-01-01

    One of the classic approaches in environmental economics is the environmental Kuznets curve, which predicts that when a national economy grows from low to medium levels, threats to biodiversity conservation increase, but they decrease when the economy moves from medium to high. We evaluated this approach by examining how population densities of the brown bear (Ursus arctos), gray wolf (Canis lupus), and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) were related to the national economy in 24 European countries. We used forest proportions, the existence of a compensation system, and country group (former socialist countries, Nordic countries, other countries) as covariates in a linear model with the first- and the second-order polynomial terms of per capita gross domestic product (GDP). Country group was treated as a random factor, but remained insignificant and was ignored. All models concerning brown bear and wolf provided evidence that population densities decreased with increasing GDP, but densities of lynx were virtually independent of GDP. Models for the wolf explained >80% of the variation in densities, without a difference between the models with all independent variables and the model with only GDP. For the bear, the model with GDP alone accounted for 10%, and all three variables 33%, of the variation in densities. Wolves exhibit a higher capacity for dispersal and reproduction than bear or lynx, but still exists at the lowest densities in wealthy European countries. We are aware that several other factors, not available for our models, influenced large carnivore densities. Based on the pronounced differences among large carnivore species in their countrywide relationships between densities and GDP, and a strikingly high relationship for the gray wolf, we suggest that our results reflected differences in political history and public acceptance of these species among countries. The compensation paid for the damages caused by the carnivores is not a key to higher carnivore

  20. Environmental Assessment: Space Innovation and Development Center Schriever AFB, Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-03-01

    coloradensis T Greenback cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki stomias T Least tern (interior population) .A Sterna antillarum E Mexican spotted owl Strix...Haliaeetus leucocephalus T Boreal toad Bufo boreas boreas c Canada lynx Lynx canadensis T Greenback cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki stomias T Least...T CUSTER Bald eagle IIaliaeetus leucocephalus T Canada lynx Lynx canadensis T Greenback cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki stomias T Mexican

  1. Use of stratigraphic models as soft information to constrain stochastic modeling of rock properties: Development of the GSLIB-Lynx integration module

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cromer, M.V.; Rautman, C.A.

    1995-10-01

    Rock properties in volcanic units at Yucca Mountain are controlled largely by relatively deterministic geologic processes related to the emplacement, cooling, and alteration history of the tuffaceous lithologic sequence. Differences in the lithologic character of the rocks have been used to subdivide the rock sequence into stratigraphic units, and the deterministic nature of the processes responsible for the character of the different units can be used to infer the rock material properties likely to exist in unsampled regions. This report proposes a quantitative, theoretically justified method of integrating interpretive geometric models, showing the three-dimensional distribution of different stratigraphic units, with numerical stochastic simulation techniques drawn from geostatistics. This integration of soft, constraining geologic information with hard, quantitative measurements of various material properties can produce geologically reasonable, spatially correlated models of rock properties that are free from stochastic artifacts for use in subsequent physical-process modeling, such as the numerical representation of ground-water flow and radionuclide transport. Prototype modeling conducted using the GSLIB-Lynx Integration Module computer program, known as GLINTMOD, has successfully demonstrated the proposed integration technique. The method involves the selection of stratigraphic-unit-specific material-property expected values that are then used to constrain the probability function from which a material property of interest at an unsampled location is simulated

  2. A baseline and watershed assessment in the Lynx Creek, Brenot Creek, and Portage Creek watersheds near Hudson's Hope, BC : summary report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matscha, G.; Sutherland, D.

    2005-06-01

    This report summarized a baseline monitoring program for the Lynx Creek, Brenot Creek, and Portage Creek watersheds located near Hudson's Hope, British Columbia (BC). The monitoring program was designed to more accurately determine the effects of potential coalbed gas developments in the region, as well as to assess levels of agricultural and forest harvesting, and the impacts of current land use activities on water quantity and quality. Water quality was sampled at 18 sites during 5 different flow regimes, including summer and fall low flows; ice cover; spring run-off; and high flows after a heavy summer rain event. Sample sites were located up and downstream of both forest and agricultural activities. The water samples were analyzed for 70 contaminants including ions, nutrients, metals, hydrocarbons, and hydrocarbon fractions. Results showed that while many analyzed parameters met current BC water quality guidelines, total organic carbon, manganese, cadmium, E. coli, fecal coliforms, and fecal streptococci often exceeded recommended guidelines. Aluminum and cobalt values exceeded drinking water guidelines. The samples also had a slightly alkaline pH and showed high conductance. A multiple barrier approach was recommended to reduce potential risks of contamination from the watersheds. It was concluded that a more refined bacteria source tracking method is needed to determine whether fecal pollution has emanated from human, livestock or wildlife sources. 1 tab., 9 figs

  3. ENS Implementation - Part of the PSO Eltra contract 4524/2003

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Teodorescu, Remus; Blaabjerg, Frede; Asiminoaei, Lucian

    with PowerLynx A/S for the development of the ENS function for the PowerLynx PV inverters. The work started 01.01.03 and ended 29.02.04 and involved Frede Blaabjerg, Remus Teodorescu, Lucian Asiminoaei and Adrian Timbus from Aalborg University and Uffe Borup from PowerLynx A/S. The objective was ...

  4. Population and genetic outcomes 20 years after reintroducing bobcats (Lynx rufus) to Cumberland Island, Georgia USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diefenbach, Duane R.; Hansen, Leslie A.; Bohling, Justin H.; Miller-Butterworth, Cassandra

    2015-01-01

    In 1988–1989, 32 bobcats Lynx rufus were reintroduced to Cumberland Island (CUIS), Georgia, USA, from which they had previously been extirpated. They were monitored intensively for 3 years immediately post-reintroduction, but no estimation of the size or genetic diversity of the population had been conducted in over 20 years since reintroduction. We returned to CUIS in 2012 to estimate abundance and effective population size of the present-day population, as well as to quantify genetic diversity and inbreeding. We amplified 12 nuclear microsatellite loci from DNA isolated from scats to establish genetic profiles to identify individuals. We used spatially explicit capture–recapture population estimation to estimate abundance. From nine unique genetic profiles, we estimate a population size of 14.4 (SE = 3.052) bobcats, with an effective population size (Ne) of 5–8 breeding individuals. This is consistent with predictions of a population viability analysis conducted at the time of reintroduction, which estimated the population would average 12–13 bobcats after 10 years. We identified several pairs of related bobcats (parent-offspring and full siblings), but ~75% of the pairwise comparisons were typical of unrelated individuals, and only one individual appeared inbred. Despite the small population size and other indications that it has likely experienced a genetic bottleneck, levels of genetic diversity in the CUIS bobcat population remain high compared to other mammalian carnivores. The reintroduction of bobcats to CUIS provides an opportunity to study changes in genetic diversity in an insular population without risk to this common species. Opportunities for natural immigration to the island are limited; therefore, continued monitoring and supplemental bobcat reintroductions could be used to evaluate the effect of different management strategies to maintain genetic diversity and population viability. The successful reintroduction and maintenance of a

  5. Strategic Integration of Multiple Bioinformatics Resources for System Level Analysis of Biological Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Souza, Mark; Sulakhe, Dinanath; Wang, Sheng; Xie, Bing; Hashemifar, Somaye; Taylor, Andrew; Dubchak, Inna; Conrad Gilliam, T; Maltsev, Natalia

    2017-01-01

    Recent technological advances in genomics allow the production of biological data at unprecedented tera- and petabyte scales. Efficient mining of these vast and complex datasets for the needs of biomedical research critically depends on a seamless integration of the clinical, genomic, and experimental information with prior knowledge about genotype-phenotype relationships. Such experimental data accumulated in publicly available databases should be accessible to a variety of algorithms and analytical pipelines that drive computational analysis and data mining.We present an integrated computational platform Lynx (Sulakhe et al., Nucleic Acids Res 44:D882-D887, 2016) ( http://lynx.cri.uchicago.edu ), a web-based database and knowledge extraction engine. It provides advanced search capabilities and a variety of algorithms for enrichment analysis and network-based gene prioritization. It gives public access to the Lynx integrated knowledge base (LynxKB) and its analytical tools via user-friendly web services and interfaces. The Lynx service-oriented architecture supports annotation and analysis of high-throughput experimental data. Lynx tools assist the user in extracting meaningful knowledge from LynxKB and experimental data, and in the generation of weighted hypotheses regarding the genes and molecular mechanisms contributing to human phenotypes or conditions of interest. The goal of this integrated platform is to support the end-to-end analytical needs of various translational projects.

  6. Daily activity patterns of large and medium-sized mammals based on camera traps data in the Central Forest Nature Reserve, Valdai Upland, Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey S. Ogurtsov

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Here are presented the results of the analysis of daily activity patterns obtained from the data of camera traps for five large mammals (elk Alces alces, wild boar Sus scrofa, brown bear Ursus arctos, grey wolf Canis lupus, Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and three medium ones (European badger Meles meles, raccoon dog Nyctereutes procyonoides, mountain hare Lepus timidus for the territory of the Central Forest Nature Reserve, Valdai Upland, Russia. Data were collected in the period 2010–2017 and the trap effort was 30 158 camera days from 21 locations. Most of the mammals surveyed showed activity at night and twilight hours (71% of the pictures. The hare was most active among all and dominant at night. In many respects it is similar to the activity of a raccoon dog, which type can be defined as nocturnal too. Unlike a hare, a raccoon dog has a weak peak in the daytime and less activity in the night. Badgers movements are confined to the twilight and nighttime. The share of nocturnal activity of large ungulates such as elk and wild boar was approximately the same and amounted to about 45% of all registrations. The wild boar is slightly more active during the day and in the evening and is not active at all in the morning. The elk is active in the morning, and in the daytime and to a lesser extent in the evening. The lynx and the bear have similar cathemeral activity patterns: almost half of all their meetings occurred at daylight hours and only slightly – less than 40% – at night. The brown bear had the maximum number of registrations in the daytime among all the studied species. Despite the fact that the main object of lynx feeding in the reserve is the hare, there was no high degree of overlap between them (γˆ = 0.75. In the group of large carnivores, the wolf was noticeably distinguished, more than half of its registrations were at night, and a third – on daytime. Daily activities of the wolf and its main prey elk showed a large overlap (

  7. Carnivore-caused livestock mortality in Trans-Himalaya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namgail, Tsewang; Fox, Joseph L; Bhatnagar, Yash Veer

    2007-04-01

    The loss of livestock to wild predators is an important livelihood concern among Trans-Himalayan pastoralists. Because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region, few studies have been carried out to quantify livestock depredation by wild predators. In the present study, we assessed the intensity of livestock depredation by snow leopard Uncia uncia, Tibetan wolf Canis lupus chanku, and Eurasian lynx Lynx l. isabellina in three villages, namely Gya, Rumtse, and Sasoma, within the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh, India. The three villages reported losses of 295 animals to these carnivores during a period of 2.5 years ending in early 2003, which represents an annual loss rate of 2.9% of their livestock holdings. The Tibetan wolf was the most important predator, accounting for 60% of the total livestock loss because of predation, followed by snow leopard (38%) and lynx (2%). Domestic goat was the major victim (32%), followed by sheep (30%), yak (15%), and horse (13%). Wolves killed horses significantly more and goats less than would be expected from their relative abundance. Snow leopards also killed horses significantly more than expected, whereas they killed other livestock types in proportion to their abundance. The three villages combined incurred an estimated annual monetary loss of approximately $USD 12,120 amounting to approximately $USD 190/household/y. This relatively high total annual loss occurred primarily because of depredation of the most valuable livestock types such as yak and horse. Conservation actions should initially attempt to target decrease of predation on these large and valuable livestock species.

  8. Sensitivity of a methematical model used to optimize revenue in a predation-competative farming environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Swart

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Sheep farmers in the Cape Midlands region of South Africa frequently sustain stock losses through predation by caracal lynx. Further losses are incurred when hyrax compete with sheep for available pasture. Hyrax constitute the natural prey for lynx with the result that culling either hyrax or lynx has complicated feedback effects. In order to investigate the spill-over problems from the natural predator-prey system on farming revenue, a differential equations model was previously formulated, comprising the sectors Hyrax, Lynx, Sheep, Pasture and Revenue and an optimisation procedure was used to determine the optimal culling rate policy for farmers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the numerical, behavioural and policy sensitivity of this model to parameter uncertainty.

  9. Top predators, mesopredators and their prey: interference ecosystems along bioclimatic productivity gradients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elmhagen, B; Ludwig, G; Rushton, S P; Helle, P; Lindén, H

    2010-07-01

    1. The Mesopredator Release Hypothesis (MRH) suggests that top predator suppression of mesopredators is a key ecosystem function with cascading impacts on herbivore prey, but it remains to be shown that this top-down cascade impacts the large-scale structure of ecosystems. 2. The Exploitation Ecosystems Hypothesis (EEH) predicts that regional ecosystem structures are determined by top-down exploitation and bottom-up productivity. In contrast to MRH, EEH assumes that interference among predators has a negligible impact on the structure of ecosystems with three trophic levels. 3. We use the recolonization of a top predator in a three-level boreal ecosystem as a natural experiment to test if large-scale biomass distributions and population trends support MRH. Inspired by EEH, we also test if top-down interference and bottom-up productivity impact regional ecosystem structures. 4. We use data from the Finnish Wildlife Triangle Scheme which has monitored top predator (lynx, Lynx lynx), mesopredator (red fox, Vulpes vulpes) and prey (mountain hare, Lepus timidus) abundance for 17 years in a 200 000 km(2) study area which covers a distinct productivity gradient. 5. Fox biomass was lower than expected from productivity where lynx biomass was high, whilst hare biomass was lower than expected from productivity where fox biomass was high. Hence, where interference controlled fox abundance, lynx had an indirect positive impact on hare abundance as predicted by MRH. The rates of change indicated that lynx expansion gradually suppressed fox biomass. 6. Lynx status caused shifts between ecosystem structures. In the 'interference ecosystem', lynx and hare biomass increased with productivity whilst fox biomass did not. In the 'mesopredator release ecosystem', fox biomass increased with productivity but hare biomass did not. Thus, biomass controlled top-down did not respond to changes in productivity. This fulfils a critical prediction of EEH. 7. We conclude that the cascade

  10. Isolation and Genetic Characterization of Toxoplasma gondii from Black Bears (Ursus americanus), Bobcats (Lynx rufus), and Feral Cats (Felis catus) from Pennsylvania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubey, Jitender P; Verma, Shiv K; Calero-Bernal, Rafael; Cassinelli, Ana B; Kwok, Oliver C H; Van Why, Kyle; Su, Chunlei; Humphreys, Jan G

    2015-01-01

    Toxoplasma gondii infects virtually all warm-blooded hosts worldwide. Recently, attention has been focused on the genetic diversity of the parasite to explain its pathogenicity in different hosts. It has been hypothesized that interaction between feral and domestic cycles of T. gondii may increase unusual genotypes in domestic cats and facilitate transmission of potentially more pathogenic genotypes to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. In the present study, we tested black bear (Ursus americanus), bobcat (Lynx rufus), and feral cat (Felis catus) from the state of Pennsylvania for T. gondii infection. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 32 (84.2%) of 38 bears, both bobcats, and 2 of 3 feral cats tested by the modified agglutination test (cut off titer 1:25). Hearts from seropositive animals were bioassayed in mice, and viable T. gondii was isolated from 3 of 32 bears, 2 of 2 bobcats, and 2 of 3 feral cats. DNA isolated from culture-derived tachyzoites of these isolates was characterized using multilocus PCR-RFLP markers. Three genotypes were revealed, including ToxoDB PCR-RFLP genotype #1 or #3 (Type II, 1 isolate), #5 (Type 12, 3 isolates), and #216 (3 isolates), adding to the evidence of genetic diversity of T. gondii in wildlife in Pennsylvania. Pathogenicity of 3 T. gondii isolates (all #216, 1 from bear, and 2 from feral cat) was determined in outbred Swiss Webster mice; all three were virulent causing 100% mortality. Results indicated that highly mouse pathogenic strains of T. gondii are circulating in wildlife, and these strains may pose risk to infect human through consuming of game meat. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  11. The influence of snowmobile trails on coyote movements during winter in high-elevation landscapes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric M Gese

    Full Text Available Competition between sympatric carnivores has long been of interest to ecologists. Increased understanding of these interactions can be useful for conservation planning. Increased snowmobile traffic on public lands and in habitats used by Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis remains controversial due to the concern of coyote (Canis latrans use of snowmobile trails and potential competition with lynx. Determining the variables influencing coyote use of snowmobile trails has been a priority for managers attempting to conserve lynx and their critical habitat. During 2 winters in northwest Wyoming, we backtracked coyotes for 265 km to determine how varying snow characteristics influenced coyote movements; 278 km of random backtracking was conducted simultaneously for comparison. Despite deep snow (>1 m deep, radio-collared coyotes persisted at high elevations (>2,500 m year-round. All coyotes used snowmobile trails for some portion of their travel. Coyotes used snowmobile trails for 35% of their travel distance (random: 13% for a mean distance of 149 m (random: 59 m. Coyote use of snowmobile trails increased as snow depth and penetrability off trails increased. Essentially, snow characteristics were most influential on how much time coyotes spent on snowmobile trails. In the early months of winter, snow depth was low, yet the snow column remained dry and the coyotes traveled off trails. As winter progressed and snow depth increased and snow penetrability increased, coyotes spent more travel distance on snowmobile trails. As spring approached, the snow depth remained high but penetrability decreased, hence coyotes traveled less on snowmobile trails because the snow column off trail was more supportive. Additionally, coyotes traveled closer to snowmobile trails than randomly expected and selected shallower snow when traveling off trails. Coyotes also preferred using snowmobile trails to access ungulate kills. Snow compaction from winter recreation influenced

  12. The influence of snowmobile trails on coyote movements during winter in high-elevation landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gese, Eric M; Dowd, Jennifer L B; Aubry, Lise M

    2013-01-01

    Competition between sympatric carnivores has long been of interest to ecologists. Increased understanding of these interactions can be useful for conservation planning. Increased snowmobile traffic on public lands and in habitats used by Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) remains controversial due to the concern of coyote (Canis latrans) use of snowmobile trails and potential competition with lynx. Determining the variables influencing coyote use of snowmobile trails has been a priority for managers attempting to conserve lynx and their critical habitat. During 2 winters in northwest Wyoming, we backtracked coyotes for 265 km to determine how varying snow characteristics influenced coyote movements; 278 km of random backtracking was conducted simultaneously for comparison. Despite deep snow (>1 m deep), radio-collared coyotes persisted at high elevations (>2,500 m) year-round. All coyotes used snowmobile trails for some portion of their travel. Coyotes used snowmobile trails for 35% of their travel distance (random: 13%) for a mean distance of 149 m (random: 59 m). Coyote use of snowmobile trails increased as snow depth and penetrability off trails increased. Essentially, snow characteristics were most influential on how much time coyotes spent on snowmobile trails. In the early months of winter, snow depth was low, yet the snow column remained dry and the coyotes traveled off trails. As winter progressed and snow depth increased and snow penetrability increased, coyotes spent more travel distance on snowmobile trails. As spring approached, the snow depth remained high but penetrability decreased, hence coyotes traveled less on snowmobile trails because the snow column off trail was more supportive. Additionally, coyotes traveled closer to snowmobile trails than randomly expected and selected shallower snow when traveling off trails. Coyotes also preferred using snowmobile trails to access ungulate kills. Snow compaction from winter recreation influenced coyote

  13. 78 FR 53002 - Notice of Proposed Buy America Waiver for a Video Ready Access Device Cabinet

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-27

    ... relocation associated with the LYNX Blue Line Extension project. This notice is to inform the public of the... by AT&T. This utility relocation will be performed in connection with the CATS LYNX Blue Line... of the components of the product must be of U.S. origin. A component is considered of U.S. origin if...

  14. Landscape location affects genetic variation of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    M. K. Schwartz; L. S. Mills; Y. Ortega; L. F. Ruggiero; F. W. Allendorf

    2003-01-01

    The effect of a population's location on the landscape on genetic variation has been of interest to population genetics for more than half a century. However, most studies do not consider broadscale biogeography when interpreting genetic data. In this study, we propose an operational definition of a peripheral population, and then explore whether peripheral...

  15. Mapping trends of large and medium size carnivores of conservation interest in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constantin Cazacu

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available We analysed yearly estimates of population size data during 2001-2012 for five carnivores species of conservation interest (Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Lynx lynx, Felis silvestris and Canis aureus. Population size estimations were done by the game management authorities and integrated by the competent authorities on the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Trends in data were detected using non-parametric Mann-Kendall test. This test was chosen considering the short length of data series and its usefulness for non-normal distributed data. The trend was tested at three spatial scales: game management units (n=1565, biogeographical region (n=5 and national. Trends depicted for each game management unit were plotted using ArcGIS, resulting species trend distribution maps. For the studied period increasing population trends were observed for Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Canis aureus and Lynx lynx, while for Felis silvestris there was no trend recorded. Such an analysis in especially useful for conservation proposes, game management and reporting obligations under article 17 of the EC Habitat Directive, using population trend as a proxy for population dynamics. We conclude that the status of the five carnivore species is favourable during the study period.

  16. Environmental Impact Analysis Process. Draft Environmental Impact Statement Proposed Alaskan Radar System Over-the-Horizon Backscatter Radar Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    1986-08-01

    Mustela vison wolverine Gulo Kulo river otter Lutra canadensis lynx Lynx canadensis moose Alces alces caribou Rangifer tarandus Dall’s sheep Ovic dalli...tissue respiratory chain function at a power density of 5 mW/cm2 . It is unlikely that such effects would be detectable at the power densities at ground...Vulves vulpes black bear Ursus americanus grizzly bear Ursus arctos marten Martes americana ermine Mustela erminea least weasel Mustela nivalis mink

  17. Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles as an Opportunity to Consolidate and Calibrate Ground Based and Satellite Instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadopoulos, K.

    2014-12-01

    XCOR Aerospace, a commercial space company, is planning to provide frequent, low cost access to near-Earth space on the Lynx suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (sRLV). Measurements in the external vacuum environment can be made and can launch from most runways on a limited lead time. Lynx can operate as a platform to perform suborbital in situ measurements and remote sensing to supplement models and simulations with new data points. These measurements can serve as a quantitative link to existing instruments and be used as a basis to calibrate detectors on spacecraft. Easier access to suborbital data can improve the longevity and cohesiveness of spacecraft and ground-based resources. A study of how these measurements can be made on Lynx sRLV will be presented. At the boundary between terrestrial and space weather, measurements from instruments on Lynx can help develop algorithms to optimize the consolidation of ground and satellite based data as well as assimilate global models with new data points. For example, current tides and the equatorial electrojet, essential to understanding the Thermosphere-Ionosphere system, can be measured in situ frequently and on short notice. Furthermore, a negative-ion spectrometer and a Faraday cup, can take measurements of the D-region ion composition. A differential GPS receiver can infer the spatial gradient of ionospheric electron density. Instruments and optics on spacecraft degrade over time, leading to calibration drift. Lynx can be a cost effective platform for deploying a reference instrument to calibrate satellites with a frequent and fast turnaround and a successful return of the instrument. A calibrated reference instrument on Lynx can make collocated observations as another instrument and corrections are made for the latter, thus ensuring data consistency and mission longevity. Aboard a sRLV, atmospheric conditions that distort remotely sensed data (ground and spacecraft based) can be measured in situ. Moreover, an

  18. LYNX: A Linked Eulerian and Lagrangian Code. Volume II. LYNX Computer Listing

    Science.gov (United States)

    1975-11-01

    AS »TOUMP ,PMlN it« , JMAX • NCYC , ISEP .OELZZ »BND ,RHOZ .DTOUMP .VSCALE ,XPl , IMAXM , 1CR ,JSEP FAK HMU TCP EPS XP2 JMAXM JCR... ISEP 0005 0003 0000 1 0005 0000 I 000006 12 JOUO I 000002 J 0001 000054 JCR 0003 077307 JCRACK 0001 000015 JHAA uoji 000017 JMAXM 0030 1 OOOOOS JP...OTOUMP 000’ OYP OOOM I FB 0003 FT OOOM I GOT OOOM 1EDJT 0000 1 IMAS OOOM ISEP ooos JMAX OOOM KMAX ooos NOUMP OOOM PART 0005 REV 0003 SMALL

  19. Disease-mediated bottom-up regulation: An emergent virus affects a keystone prey, and alters the dynamics of trophic webs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monterroso, Pedro; Garrote, Germán; Serronha, Ana; Santos, Emídio; Delibes-Mateos, Miguel; Abrantes, Joana; Perez de Ayala, Ramón; Silvestre, Fernando; Carvalho, João; Vasco, Inês; Lopes, Ana M; Maio, Elisa; Magalhães, Maria J; Mills, L Scott; Esteves, Pedro J; Simón, Miguel Ángel; Alves, Paulo C

    2016-10-31

    Emergent diseases may alter the structure and functioning of ecosystems by creating new biotic interactions and modifying existing ones, producing cascading processes along trophic webs. Recently, a new variant of the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV2 or RHDVb) arguably caused widespread declines in a keystone prey in Mediterranean ecosystems - the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). We quantitatively assess the impact of RHDV2 on natural rabbit populations and in two endangered apex predator populations: the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and the Spanish Imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti). We found 60-70% declines in rabbit populations, followed by decreases of 65.7% in Iberian lynx and 45.5% in Spanish Imperial eagle fecundities. A revision of the web of trophic interactions among rabbits and their dependent predators suggests that RHDV2 acts as a keystone species, and may steer Mediterranean ecosystems to management-dependent alternative states, dominated by simplified mesopredator communities. This model system stresses the importance of diseases as functional players in the dynamics of trophic webs.

  20. Mammal (Mammalia Fauna of Kapıdağ Peninsula

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erdem HIZAL

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The number of studies on mammals of Kapıdag Peninsula is insufficent. The present study is based on mammal species collected and observed in Kapıdag Peninsula. Kapıdag Peninsula was visited as a total of 226 days between 2001-2007. Field collections yielded 32 mammal species from 6 orders: Insectivora (5, Chiroptera (9,Lagomorpha (1, Rodentia (7, Carnivora (7, Artiodactyla (3. Of the species recorded in this study are rare for Kapıdag Peninsula: Lynx lynx and Felis silvestris.

  1. Mega starbirth cluster is biggest, brightest and hottest ever seen

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-10-01

    Artist’s impression of the Lynx Arc hi-res Size hi-res: 4519 kb Credits: European Space Agency, NASA and Robert A.E. Fosbury (European Space Agency/Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility, Germany) Artist’s impression of the Lynx Arc This illustration shows an artist’s impression of the so-called Lynx arc, a newly identified distant super-cluster that contains a million blue-white stars twice as hot as similar stars in our Milky Way galaxy. The Lynx arc is one million times brighter than the well-known Orion Nebula, a nearby prototypical ‘starbirth’ region visible with small telescopes. The stars in the Lynx arc are more than twice as hot as the Orion Nebula’s central stars, with surface temperatures up to 80 000°C. Though there are much bigger and brighter star-forming regions than the Orion Nebula in our local Universe, none are as bright as the Lynx arc, nor do they contain such large numbers of hot stars. The stars are so hot that a very large fraction of their light is emitted in the ultraviolet that makes the gas glow with the green and red colours illustrated here. The so-called Lynx Arc is one million times brighter than the well-known Orion Nebula, a nearby prototypical 'starbirth' region visible with small telescopes. The newly identified super-cluster contains a million blue-white stars that are twice as hot as similar stars in our Milky Way galaxy. It is a rarely glimpsed example of the early days of the Universe where furious firestorms of starbirth blazed across the skies. The spectacular cluster's opulence is dimmed when seen from Earth only by the fact that it is 12 000 million light years away. The discovery of this unique and tantalising object was the result of a systematic study of distant clusters of galaxies carried out with major X-ray, optical and infrared telescopes, including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, ROSAT and the Keck Telescopes. Bob Fosbury, of the European Space Agency's Space Telescope

  2. Gastric spiral bacteria in small felids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinsel, M J; Kovarik, P; Murnane, R D

    1998-06-01

    Nine small cats, including one bobcat (Felis rufus), one Pallas cat (F. manul), one Canada lynx (F. lynx canadensis), two fishing cats (F. viverrina), two margays (F. wiedii), and two sand cats (F. margarita), necropsied between June 1995 and March 1997 had large numbers of gastric spiral bacteria, whereas five large cats, including one African lion (Panthera leo), two snow leopards (P. uncia), one Siberian tiger (P. tigris altaica), and one jaguar (P. onca), necropsied during the same period had none. All of the spiral organisms from the nine small cats were histologically and ultrastructurally similar. Histologically, the spiral bacteria were 5-14 microm long with five to nine coils per organism and were located both extracellularly within gastric glands and surface mucus, and intracellularly in parietal cells. Spiral bacteria in gastric mucosal scrapings from the Canada lynx, one fishing cat, and the two sand cats were gram negative and had corkscrewlike to tumbling motility when viewed with phase contrast microscopy. The bacteria were 0.5-0.7 microm wide, with a periodicity of 0.65-1.1 microm in all cats. Bipolar sheathed flagella were occasionally observed, and no periplasmic fibrils were seen. The bacteria were extracellular in parietal cell canaliculi and intracellular within parietal cells. Culture of mucosal scrapings from the Canada lynx and sand cats was unsuccessful. Based on morphology, motility, and cellular tropism, the bacteria were probably Helicobacter-like organisms. Although the two margays had moderate lymphoplasmacytic gastritis, the other cats lacked or had only mild gastric lymphoid infiltrates, suggesting that these organisms are either commensals or opportunistic pathogens.

  3. FF-EMU: a radiation tolerant ASIC for the distribution of timing, trigger and control signals in the CMS End-Cap Muon detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campagnari, C; Costantino, N; Magazzù, G; Tongiani, Claudio

    2012-01-01

    A radiation tolerant integrated circuit for the distribution of clock, trigger and control signals in the Front-End electronics of the CMS End-Cap Muon detector has been developed in the IBM CMOS 130nm technology. The circuit houses transmitter and receiver interfaces to serial links implementing the FF-LYNX protocol that allows the integrated transmission of triggers and data frames with different latency constraints. Encoder and decoder modules associate signal transitions to FF-LYNX frames. The system and the ASIC architecture and behavior and the results of test and characterization of the ASIC prototypes will be presented.

  4. A High Resolution, Light-Weight, Synthetic Aperture Radar for UAV Application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doerry, A.W.; Hensley, W.H.; Stence, J.; Tsunoda, S.I.; Pace, F.; Walker, B.C.; Woodring, M.

    1999-06-01

    (U) Sandia National Laboratories in collaboration with General Atomics (GA) has designed and built a high resolution, light-weight, Ku-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) known as ''Lynx''. Although Lynx can be operated on a wide variety of manned and unmanned platforms, its design is optimized for use on medium altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVS). In particular, it can be operated on the Predator, I-GNAT, and Prowler II platforms manufactured by GA. (U) The radar production weight is less than 120 lb and operates within a 3 GHz band from 15.2 GHz to 18.2 GHz with a peak output power of 320 W. Operating range is resolution and mode dependent but can exceed 45 km in adverse weather (4 mm/hr rain). Lynx has operator selectable resolution and is capable of 0.1 m resolution in spotlight mode and 0.3 m resolution in strip map mode, over substantial depression angles (5 to 60 deg) and squint angles (broadside and ±45 deg). Real-time Motion Compensation is implemented to allow high-quality image formation even during vehicle turns and other maneuvers

  5. The taxonomy, life cycle and pathology of Sarcoptes scabiei and Notoedres cati (Acarina, Sarcoptidae: A review in a Fennoscandian wildlife perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morten Kraabøl

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Mites constitute an old cosmopolitan group, abundant in various terrestrial and aquatic habitats of considerable environmental variations. The majority of mites are free-living, whereas some have evolved parasitic relationships with a variety of animals either as endo- or ectoparasites. The ectoparasitic and skin burrowing Sarcoptes scabiei and Notoedres cati, cause sarcoptic and notoedric mange among a variety of mammalian species, including humans. In a non-adequate host these mites lead to pseudo-scabies which is often self-curable. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of recent knowledge on the taxonomy, life cycles and pathology of these two mites, which are of relevance to Fennoscandian wildlife, by considering knowledge on transmission vectors, host immunology, and some documented outbreaks. These mites affect the health and survival of mammals in four ways; 1 skin tissue damages, 2 loss of body fluids, 3 allergic reactions and 4 secondary bacterial infections. A short-term effect of outbreaks is usually high mortality, and long-term effects vary from extinction to biased population structure to no effect at all. Red foxes are generalist predators that are important end-hosts for mites that develop disease depending on their immunity status, and transmit mites to other hosts. Outbreaks of mange may possibly have ecological consequences on a wider scale. In an endangered species, like the arctic fox or Eurasian lynx, loss of only a few individuals can be critical. It might be wise for management authorities to develop emergency plans to minimize consequences of outbreaks of sarcoptic or notoedric mange in threatened species such as the arctic fox and the lynx.

  6. EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES AT z = 1.3. I. THE LYNX SUPERCLUSTER: CLUSTER AND GROUPS AT z = 1.3. MORPHOLOGY AND COLOR-MAGNITUDE RELATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mei, Simona; Raichoor, Anand; Huertas-Company, Marc; Adam Stanford, S.; Rettura, Alessandro; Jee, Myungkook J.; Holden, Brad P.; Illingworth, Garth D.; Postman, Marc; Nakata, Fumiaki; Kodama, Tadayuki; Finoguenov, Alexis; Ford, Holland C.; Rosati, Piero; Tanaka, Masayuki; Koyama, Yusei; Shankar, Francesco; Carrasco, Eleazar R.; Demarco, Ricardo; Eisenhardt, Peter

    2012-01-01

    We confirm the detection of three groups in the Lynx supercluster, at z ≈ 1.3, through spectroscopic follow-up and X-ray imaging, and we give estimates for their redshifts and masses. We study the properties of the group galaxies compared to the two central clusters, RX J0849+4452 and RX J0848+4453. Using spectroscopic follow-up and multi-wavelength photometric redshifts, we select 89 galaxies in the clusters, of which 41 are spectroscopically confirmed, and 74 galaxies in the groups, of which 25 are spectroscopically confirmed. We morphologically classify galaxies by visual inspection, noting that our early-type galaxy (ETG) sample would have been contaminated at the 30%-40% level by simple automated classification methods (e.g., based on Sérsic index). In luminosity-selected samples, both clusters and groups show high fractions of bulge-dominated galaxies with a diffuse component that we visually identified as a disk and which we classified as bulge-dominated spirals, e.g., Sas. The ETG fractions never rise above ≈50% in the clusters, which is low compared to the fractions observed in other massive clusters at z ≈ 1. In the groups, ETG fractions never exceed ≈25%. However, overall bulge-dominated galaxy fractions (ETG plus Sas) are similar to those observed for ETGs in clusters at z ∼ 1. Bulge-dominated galaxies visually classified as spirals might also be ETGs with tidal features or merger remnants. They are mainly red and passive, and span a large range in luminosity. Their star formation seems to have been quenched before experiencing a morphological transformation. Because their fraction is smaller at lower redshifts, they might be the spiral population that evolves into ETGs. For mass-selected samples of galaxies with masses M > 10 10.6 M ☉ within Σ > 500 Mpc –2 , the ETG and overall bulge-dominated galaxy fractions show no significant evolution with respect to local clusters, suggesting that morphological transformations might occur at lower

  7. Conservation challenges of managing lynx

    Science.gov (United States)

    John R. Squires

    2005-01-01

    Yellowstone National Park is hallowed ground when it comes to wildlife in America. The very word “Yellowstone” conjures up images of grizzly bears digging tubers, bands of elk dotting the landscape, and gray wolves pursuing elk along the Lamar River. However, Yellowstone also provides habitat to one of the rarest cats in the continental United States: the...

  8. Real-time Linux operating system for plasma control on FTU--implementation advantages and first experimental results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vitale, V.; Centioli, C.; Iannone, F.; Mazza, G.; Panella, M.; Pangione, L.; Podda, S.; Zaccarian, L.

    2004-01-01

    In this paper, we report on the experiment carried out at the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) on the porting of the plasma control system (PCS) from a LynxOS architecture to an open source Linux real-time architecture. The old LynxOS system was implemented on a VME/PPC604r embedded controller guaranteeing successful plasma position, density and current control. The new RTAI-Linux operating system has shown to easily adapt to the VME hardware via a VME/INTELx86 embedded controller. The advantages of the new solution versus the old one are not limited to the reduced cost of the new architecture (based on the open-source characteristic of the RTAI architecture) but also enhanced by the response time of the real-time system which, also through an optimization of the real-time code, has been reduced from 150 μs (LynxOS) to 70 μs (RTAI). The new real-time operating system is also shown to be suitable for new extended control activities, whose implementation is also possible based on the reduced duty cycle duration, which leaves space for the real-time implementation of nonlinear control laws. We report here on recent experiments related to the optimization of the coupling between additional radiofrequency power and plasma

  9. Real-time Linux operating system for plasma control on FTU--implementation advantages and first experimental results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vitale, V. E-mail: vitale@frascati.enea.it; Centioli, C.; Iannone, F.; Mazza, G.; Panella, M.; Pangione, L.; Podda, S.; Zaccarian, L

    2004-06-01

    In this paper, we report on the experiment carried out at the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU) on the porting of the plasma control system (PCS) from a LynxOS architecture to an open source Linux real-time architecture. The old LynxOS system was implemented on a VME/PPC604r embedded controller guaranteeing successful plasma position, density and current control. The new RTAI-Linux operating system has shown to easily adapt to the VME hardware via a VME/INTELx86 embedded controller. The advantages of the new solution versus the old one are not limited to the reduced cost of the new architecture (based on the open-source characteristic of the RTAI architecture) but also enhanced by the response time of the real-time system which, also through an optimization of the real-time code, has been reduced from 150 {mu}s (LynxOS) to 70 {mu}s (RTAI). The new real-time operating system is also shown to be suitable for new extended control activities, whose implementation is also possible based on the reduced duty cycle duration, which leaves space for the real-time implementation of nonlinear control laws. We report here on recent experiments related to the optimization of the coupling between additional radiofrequency power and plasma.

  10. Snapshot of Viral Infections in Wild Carnivores Reveals Ubiquity of Parvovirus and Susceptibility of Egyptian Mongoose to Feline Panleukopenia Virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duarte, Margarida D.; Henriques, Ana Margarida; Barros, Sílvia Carla; Fagulha, Teresa; Mendonça, Paula; Carvalho, Paulo; Monteiro, Madalena; Fevereiro, Miguel; Basto, Mafalda P.; Rosalino, Luís Miguel; Barros, Tânia; Bandeira, Victor; Fonseca, Carlos; Cunha, Mónica V.

    2013-01-01

    The exposure of wild carnivores to viral pathogens, with emphasis on parvovirus (CPV/FPLV), was assessed based on the molecular screening of tissue samples from 128 hunted or accidentally road-killed animals collected in Portugal from 2008 to 2011, including Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon, n = 99), red fox (Vulpes vulpes, n = 19), stone marten (Martes foina, n = 3), common genet (Genetta genetta, n = 3) and Eurasian badger (Meles meles, n = 4). A high prevalence of parvovirus DNA (63%) was detected among all surveyed species, particularly in mongooses (58%) and red foxes (79%), along with the presence of CPV/FPLV circulating antibodies that were identified in 90% of a subset of parvovirus-DNA positive samples. Most specimens were extensively autolysed, restricting macro and microscopic investigations for lesion evaluation. Whenever possible to examine, signs of active disease were not present, supporting the hypothesis that the parvovirus vp2 gene fragments detected by real-time PCR possibly correspond to viral DNA reminiscent from previous infections. The molecular characterization of viruses, based on the analysis of the complete or partial sequence of the vp2 gene, allowed typifying three viral strains of mongoose and four red fox’s as feline panleukopenia virus (FPLV) and one stone marten’s as newCPV-2b type. The genetic similarity found between the FPLV viruses from free-ranging and captive wild species originated in Portugal and publicly available comparable sequences, suggests a closer genetic relatedness among FPLV circulating in Portugal. Although the clinical and epidemiological significance of infection could not be established, this study evidences that exposure of sympatric wild carnivores to parvovirus is common and geographically widespread, potentially carrying a risk to susceptible populations at the wildlife-domestic interface and to threatened species, such as the wildcat (Felis silvestris) and the critically

  11. Florida DOT Orlando ITS World Congress Vehicle Awareness Device

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Transportation — Florida DOT (FDOT) installed Vehicle Awareness Devices (VADs) on a set of Lynx transit buses as part of a demonstration for the ITS World Congress held in Orlando in...

  12. New Platforms for Suborbital Astronomical Observations and In Situ Atmospheric Measurements: Spacecraft, Instruments, and Facilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodway, K.; DeForest, C. E.; Diller, J.; Vilas, F.; Sollitt, L. S.; Reyes, M. F.; Filo, A. S.; Anderson, E.

    2014-12-01

    Suborbital astronomical observations have over 50 years' history using NASA's sounding rockets and experimental space planes. The new commercial space industry is developing suborbital reusable launch vehicles (sRLV's) to provide low-cost, flexible, and frequent access to space at ~100 km altitude. In the case of XCOR Aerospace's Lynx spacecraft, the vehicle design and capabilities work well for hosting specially designed experiments that can be flown with a human-tended researcher or alone with the pilot on a customized mission. Some of the first-generation instruments and facilities that will conduct solar observations on dedicated Lynx science missions include the SwRI Solar Instrument Pointing Platform (SSIPP) and Atsa Suborbital Observatory, as well as KickSat sprites, which are picosatellites for in situ atmospheric and solar phenomena measurements. The SSIPP is a demonstration two-stage pointed solar observatory that operates inside the Lynx cockpit. The coarse pointing stage includes the pilot in the feedback loop, and the fine stage stabilizes the solar image to achieve arcsecond class pointing. SSIPP is a stepping-stone to future external instruments that can operate with larger apertures and shorter wavelengths in the solar atmosphere. The Planetary Science Institute's Atsa Suborbital Observatory combines the strengths of ground-based observatories and space-based observing to create a facility where a telescope is maintained and used interchangeably with either in-house facility instruments or user-provided instruments. The Atsa prototype is a proof of concept, hand-guided camera that mounts on the interior of the Lynx cockpit to test target acquisition and tracking for human-operated suborbital astronomy. KickSat sprites are mass-producible, one inch printed circuit boards (PCBs) populated by programmable off the shelf microprocessors and radios for real time data transmission. The sprite PCBs can integrate chip-based radiometers, magnetometers

  13. The Atsa Suborbital Observatory: An Observatory for a Commercial Suborbital Spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilas, F.; Sollitt, L. S.

    2012-12-01

    instruments or user-provided instruments. Rapid turnaround will depend only on flight frequency. Data are stored on-board for retrieval when the spacecraft lands. We provide robust instrumentation that can survive suborbital spaceflight, assessment of the feasibility of the requested observations, rigorous scripting of the telescope operation, integration of the telescope plus instrument in a provider spacecraft, and periodic preventive maintenance for the telescope and instrument suite. XCOR Aerospace's Lynx III spacecraft is the best candidate vehicle to host a suborbital astronomical observatory. Unlike other similar vehicles, the Lynx will operate with only 1 or 2 people onboard (the pilot and an operator), allowing for each mission to be totally dedicated to the observation (no tourists will be bumping about; no other experiments will affect spacecraft pointing). A stable platform, the Lynx can point to an accuracy of ± 0.5o. Fine pointing is done by the telescope system. Best of all, the Lynx has a dorsal pod that opens directly to space. For astronomical observations, the best window is NO window. Currently, we plan to deploy a 20" diameter telescope in the Lynx III dorsal pod. XCOR Aerospace has the goal of eventually maintaining a Lynx flight frequency capability of 4 times/day. As with any observatory, Atsa will be available for observations by the community at large.

  14. Cytauxzoon Infections in Wild Felids from Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic Space: Further Evidence for a Different Cytauxzoon Species in European Felids

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gallusová, M.; Jirsová, D.; Mihalca, A. D.; Gherman, C.M.; D’Amico, G.; Qablan, M. A.; Modrý, David

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 102, č. 3 (2016), s. 377-380 ISSN 0022-3395 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Lynx * domestic cats * molecular characterization Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine Impact factor: 1.326, year: 2016

  15. Sarcoptic mange in Swedish wildlife.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mörner, T

    1992-12-01

    Mange caused by Sarcoptes scabiei var. vulpes appeared among red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Scandinavia (south-west Finland) for the first time in this century in 1967. The disease was most probably introduced by foxes crossing the Gulf of Finland from Estonia. The mange epizootic spread northwards through Finland and reached Sweden in late 1975, when mangy foxes appeared in the northern part of the country. In 1984, mange was observed in most parts of Sweden. The disease was observed to spread rapidly in boreal areas, whereas it spread more slowly in agricultural areas. Mortality due to mange was very high. The duration of the disease before death due to emaciation has been shown experimentally to be over 90 days. An outbreak of fox mange among Arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) occurred in 1986. The local population of Arctic foxes was caught and successfully treated. The following year, treated foxes were caught again and no signs of disease were found. Sporadic cases of fox mange have also been diagnosed in lynx (Lynx lynx), pine marten (Martes martes) and domestic dogs. Single cases have been observed in other species: wolf (Canis lupus), mountain hare (Lepus timidus), domestic cat and horse. No cases of sarcoptic mange have been recorded in the badger (Meles meles). At present, although fox mange occurs as an epizootic in local populations, the number of foxes has increased again in many parts of Sweden.

  16. High-Redshift Radio Galaxies from Deep Fields

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2016-01-27

    Jan 27, 2016 ... High-Redshift Radio Galaxies from Deep Fields ... Here we present results from the deep 150 MHz observations of LBDS-Lynx field, which has been imaged at 327, ... Articles are also visible in Web of Science immediately.

  17. 10 lineas de investigacion para empezar el curso Del big bang del proyecto LHC a la polipildora de Valentin Fuster

    CERN Multimedia

    2007-01-01

    The entrails of the universe, the keys of the biological clock, diseases like Alzheimer and the processes that govern our brain, the mother celles, the physic of materials, the survival of the lynx, the fight against cancer, etc...(2,5 pages)

  18. Monitoring velkých šelem v Beskydech

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Koubek, Petr; Barančeková, Miroslava; Krojerová, Jarmila; Homolka, Miloslav; Konupka, Petr; Vallo, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 14, č. 6 (2013), s. 12-15 ISSN 1212-8422 R&D Projects: GA MŠk EE2.3.35.0026 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : European lynx * brown bear * wolf * telemetry * camera-traps * monitoring Subject RIV: EG - Zoology

  19. Functional interaction between Lypd6 and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arvaniti, Maria; Jensen, Majbrit M; Soni, Neeraj

    2016-01-01

    Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) affect multiple physiological functions in the brain and their functions are modulated by regulatory proteins of the Lynx family. Here, we report for the first time a direct interaction of the Lynx protein LY6/PLAUR domain-containing 6 (Lypd6) with n...... brain. Additionally, soluble recombinant Lypd6 protein attenuates nicotine-induced hippocampal inward currents in rat brain slices and decreases nicotine-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation in PC12 cells, suggesting that binding of Lypd6 is sufficient to inhibit n......AChR-mediated intracellular signaling. We further show that perinatal nicotine exposure in rats (4 mg/kg/day through minipumps to dams from embryonic day 7 to post-natal day 21) significantly increases Lypd6 protein levels in the hippocampus in adulthood, which did not occur after exposure to nicotine in adulthood only. Our...

  20. The state in the Eurasian doctrine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S N Lebedev

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers the role of the state in the Eurasian doctrine, one of the most distinctive and significant movements of the Russian sociological and political-philosophical thought abroad in the 1920-1930’s. The issues addressed by the Eurasians are still relevant under the current epoch of the new Russian statehood construction and to a certain extent are implemented in the contemporary political practice. According to the classical Eurasian doctrine, all nations of “Russia-Eurasia” are united by the “place of development” and constitute a single historical and socio-cultural world, which organically combines elements of the East and the West. The Eurasian doctrine of the state proclaims the idea of strong government and powerful state, which represents the interests of the people and maintains direct connections with its citizens by combining the law and justice principles with the norms of morality, welfare and conscience. The article examines the key Eurasian concept “ideocratic state” and the essential characteristics of the Eurasian concept of the state system, such as ideocracy, autarchy, idea-ruler, and ruling selection. The key state-forming concept is “Pan-Eurasian nationalism” interpreted by the Eurasians as an archetype of ideology, a basis of the national idea. The authors consider basic principles of the socio-economic structure of the Eurasian state, including active participation of the state in the economic life of the country, the coexistence of public and private properties. According to the Eurasian doctrine, the state-planned economy and the state regulation of culture form the foundations of autarchic states that protect the country from economic and humanitarian intervention. The authors come to the conclusion that Eurasian theory of the state can significantly enrich nowadays scientific theory and help to solve the tasks of modernization of the Russian society at the present stage for it takes

  1. 78 FR 17632 - Caribou-Targhee National Forest; Idaho and Wyoming; Amendment to the Targhee Revised Forest Plan...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-22

    ...; Amendment to the Targhee Revised Forest Plan--Canada Lynx Habitat AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION... Forest proposes to amend the Targhee Revised Forest Plan (1997) to include a map identifying specific... Administrative Review Process: The decision on this proposed plan amendment will be subject to the objection...

  2. Temporal Loss of Tsc1: Neural Development and Brain Disease in Tuberous Sclerosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-06-01

    recorded using a Cheetah Data Acquisition System (NeuraLynx). The probe was lowered 1,600 mm and responses to vibrissa deflections confirmed electrode...Local field potential (LFP) signals were sampled (30303 Hz), filtered (0.9 to 9000 Hz), and recorded using a Cheetah Data Acquisition System

  3. Bovine Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) in Wildlife in Spain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aranaz, Alicia; de Juan, Lucía; Montero, Natalia; Sánchez, Celia; Galka, Margarita; Delso, Consuelo; Álvarez, Julio; Romero, Beatriz; Bezos, Javier; Vela, Ana I.; Briones, Victor; Mateos, Ana; Domínguez, Lucas

    2004-01-01

    Mycobacterium bovis infection in wildlife and feral species is a potential source of infection for livestock and a threat to protected and endangered species. The aim of this study was to identify Spanish wild animal species infected with M. bovis through bacteriological culture and spacer oligonucleotide typing (spoligotyping) of isolates for epidemiological purposes. This study included samples from red deer (Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Dama dama), wild boar (Sus scrofa), Iberian lynx (Lynx pardina), hare (Lepus europaeus), and cattle (Bos taurus). They were collected in several geographical areas that were selected for their unique ecological value and/or known relationships between wildlife and livestock. In the areas included in this survey, M. bovis strains with the same spoligotyping pattern were found infecting several wild species and livestock, which indicates an epidemiological link. A locally predominant spoligotype was found in these areas. Better understanding of the transmission and distribution of disease in these populations will permit more precise targeting of control measures. PMID:15184440

  4. Quantification of the humoral immune response and hemoplasma blood and tissue loads in cats coinfected with 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' and feline leukemia virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf-Jäckel, Godelind A; Cattori, Valentino; Geret, Catrina P; Novacco, Marilisa; Meli, Marina L; Riond, Barbara; Boretti, Felicitas S; Lutz, Hans; Hofmann-Lehmann, Regina

    2012-08-01

    'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' (CMhm) is a hemotropic mycoplasma (aka hemoplasma) of domestic cats and wild felids. In a transmission study, we exposed eight specified pathogen-free cats to blood from Iberian lynxes (Lynx pardinus) infected with CMhm. The cats were coinfected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV) from an Iberian lynx or with a prototype FeLV. The goal of the present study was to quantify the humoral immune response to CMhm and to identify potential target tissues and sequestration sites. Antibodies were measured by a recombinant antigen-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and blood and tissue loads were quantified using real-time PCR. Seven out of eight cats became CMhm-infected; all of these cats seroconverted between 3 and 13 weeks after inoculation. Antibody levels correlated with the CMhm blood loads. The peak CMhm blood loads were inversely correlated with the incubation period. PCR-positive results were found in all 24 tissues tested but not for all samples. Although all tissues were PCR-positive in one cat euthanized ten weeks after infection, many tissues tested negative in six cats euthanized at week 20 after infection. In several cats, the spleen, lung, liver, heart and aorta contained more copies than expected given the tissue's blood supply, but most tissues contained fewer copies than expected. In conclusion, this is the first study to quantify the humoral immune response and tissue loads in CMhm-FeLV-coinfected cats. The tissue loads appeared to correlate with the duration of infection and with the blood loads, but no evidence of significant CMhm tissue sequestration was found. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. 77 FR 75646 - Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK; Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-21

    ... intermingled with hundreds of lakes. Boreal forests are home to moose, wolves, black and brown bears, lynx... FXRS12650700000] 123 Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK; Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the... . Send your comments or requests for information by any one of the following methods: Email: fw7_kenai...

  6. 78 FR 32270 - Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK; Environmental Impact Statement for the Shadura...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-29

    ... and brown bears, lynx, snowshoe hares, and numerous species of Neotropical birds, such as olive-sided... FXRS12650700000 123] Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK; Environmental Impact Statement for the Shadura...: EMail: fw7_kenai[email protected] ; Fax: Attn: Peter Wikoff, (907) 786-3976; U.S. Mail: Peter Wikoff...

  7. Dietary items as possible sources of "1"3"7Cs in large carnivores in the Gorski Kotar forest ecosystem, Western Croatia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Šprem, Nikica; Piria, Marina; Barišić, Domagoj; Kusak, Josip; Barišić, Delko

    2016-01-01

    The mountain forest ecosystem of Gorski Kotar is distant from any significant sources of environmental pollution, though recent findings have revealed that this region is among the most intense "1"3"7Cs contaminated area in Croatia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate "1"3"7Cs and "4"0K load in three large predator species in the mountain forest ecosystem. Radionuclides mass activities were determined by the gamma-spectrometric method in the muscle tissue of brown bear (47), wolf (7), lynx (1) and golden jackal (2). The highest "1"3"7Cs mass activity was found in lynx (153 Bq kg"−"1), followed by brown bear (132 Bq kg"−"1), wolf (22.2 Bq kg"−"1), and golden jackal (2.48 Bq kg"−"1). Analysis of 63 samples of dietary items suggests that they are not all potentially dominant sources of "1"3"7Cs for wildlife. The most important source of radionuclides for the higher parts of the food-chain from the study area were found to be the mushroom species wood hedgehog (Hydnum repandum), with a transfer factor TF of 5.166, and blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) as a plant species (TF = 2.096). Food items of animal origin indicated higher mass activity of radionuclides and therefore are possible moderate bioindicators of environmental pollution. The results also revealed that possible unknown wild animal food sources are a caesium source in the study region, and further study is required to illuminate this issue. - Highlights: • Radionuclide mass activities were determined by the gamma-spectrometric method. • The highest "1"3"7Cs mass activity in brown bear was 132, wolf 22.2 and lynx 153 Bq kg"−"1. • The best bioindicators are a wood hedgehog (TF = 5.166) and blueberry (TF = 2.096).

  8. Dietary items as possible sources of {sup 137}Cs in large carnivores in the Gorski Kotar forest ecosystem, Western Croatia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Šprem, Nikica, E-mail: nsprem@agr.hr [University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Fisheries, Beekeeping, Game Management and Special Zoology, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Piria, Marina; Barišić, Domagoj [University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Fisheries, Beekeeping, Game Management and Special Zoology, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Kusak, Josip [University of Zagreb, Veterinary Faculty, Department of Biology, Heinzelova 55, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Barišić, Delko [Laboratory for Radioecology, Centre for Marine and Environmental Research, Ruđer Bošković Institute, PO Box 160, Bijenička 54, 10002 Zagreb (Croatia)

    2016-01-15

    The mountain forest ecosystem of Gorski Kotar is distant from any significant sources of environmental pollution, though recent findings have revealed that this region is among the most intense {sup 137}Cs contaminated area in Croatia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate {sup 137}Cs and {sup 40}K load in three large predator species in the mountain forest ecosystem. Radionuclides mass activities were determined by the gamma-spectrometric method in the muscle tissue of brown bear (47), wolf (7), lynx (1) and golden jackal (2). The highest {sup 137}Cs mass activity was found in lynx (153 Bq kg{sup −1}), followed by brown bear (132 Bq kg{sup −1}), wolf (22.2 Bq kg{sup −1}), and golden jackal (2.48 Bq kg{sup −1}). Analysis of 63 samples of dietary items suggests that they are not all potentially dominant sources of {sup 137}Cs for wildlife. The most important source of radionuclides for the higher parts of the food-chain from the study area were found to be the mushroom species wood hedgehog (Hydnum repandum), with a transfer factor TF of 5.166, and blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) as a plant species (TF = 2.096). Food items of animal origin indicated higher mass activity of radionuclides and therefore are possible moderate bioindicators of environmental pollution. The results also revealed that possible unknown wild animal food sources are a caesium source in the study region, and further study is required to illuminate this issue. - Highlights: • Radionuclide mass activities were determined by the gamma-spectrometric method. • The highest {sup 137}Cs mass activity in brown bear was 132, wolf 22.2 and lynx 153 Bq kg{sup −1}. • The best bioindicators are a wood hedgehog (TF = 5.166) and blueberry (TF = 2.096).

  9. Game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto in 2013-2014

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemi, M.; Nieminen, M.

    2015-05-01

    The game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto were updated in the summer 2014 and compared with earlier statistics. In addition, the estimated biomass of hunted animals was calculated. The reported game bag and population size estimates are based on the annual action report of local hunting club (Olkiluodon Metsaestysseura ry) and interviews of hunting club's secretary. No moose or deer inventories were made in the winter 2013-2014. The moose population has been a slightly increasing when comparing the previous year; there were 4-6 individuals on the island after hunting season. The number of moose varies because they tend to move between the island and mainland. Winter 2013-2014 was relatively easy for white-tailed deer and roe deer but the predation caused by lynxes inhibits the increase of populations. However, the current amount of lynxes on the island is unknown because the lack of snow in the winter 2013-2014. In the summer of 2014, there were several lynx observations. The number of hunted raccoon dogs was almost four times as large as in the previous year; altogether 26 individuals were killed. There were no noticeable changes in the number of other hunted small or medium-sized predators. American minks were not killed at all. The total number of hunted hares decreased from eleven to seven. Once again, mallard was the most common hunted bird species followed by hooded crow. Other bird species hunted were wood pigeon, herring gull, hazel grouse, wigeon, teal and common pochard. The total biomass hunted was approximately 1 225 kilos (1 170 for mammals and 55 for birds) which was 305 kilos more than in the previous year. The biomass destined to human consumption (i.e. game meat) was approximately 415 kilos (400 kilos for mammals, 15 for birds). (orig.)

  10. Game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto in 2013-2014

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Niemi, M.; Nieminen, M. [Faunatica Oy, Espoo (Finland)

    2015-05-15

    The game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto were updated in the summer 2014 and compared with earlier statistics. In addition, the estimated biomass of hunted animals was calculated. The reported game bag and population size estimates are based on the annual action report of local hunting club (Olkiluodon Metsaestysseura ry) and interviews of hunting club's secretary. No moose or deer inventories were made in the winter 2013-2014. The moose population has been a slightly increasing when comparing the previous year; there were 4-6 individuals on the island after hunting season. The number of moose varies because they tend to move between the island and mainland. Winter 2013-2014 was relatively easy for white-tailed deer and roe deer but the predation caused by lynxes inhibits the increase of populations. However, the current amount of lynxes on the island is unknown because the lack of snow in the winter 2013-2014. In the summer of 2014, there were several lynx observations. The number of hunted raccoon dogs was almost four times as large as in the previous year; altogether 26 individuals were killed. There were no noticeable changes in the number of other hunted small or medium-sized predators. American minks were not killed at all. The total number of hunted hares decreased from eleven to seven. Once again, mallard was the most common hunted bird species followed by hooded crow. Other bird species hunted were wood pigeon, herring gull, hazel grouse, wigeon, teal and common pochard. The total biomass hunted was approximately 1 225 kilos (1 170 for mammals and 55 for birds) which was 305 kilos more than in the previous year. The biomass destined to human consumption (i.e. game meat) was approximately 415 kilos (400 kilos for mammals, 15 for birds). (orig.)

  11. Chapter 6: The scientific basis for conserving forest carnivores: considerations for management

    Science.gov (United States)

    L. Jack Lyon; Keith B. Aubry; William J. Zielinski; Steven W. Buskirk; Leonard F. Ruggiero

    1994-01-01

    The reviews presented in previous chapters reveal substantial gaps in our knowledge about marten, fisher, lynx, and wolverine. These gaps severely constrain our ability to design reliable conservation strategies. This problem will be explored in depth in Chapter 7. In this chapter, our objective is to discuss management considerations resulting from what we currently...

  12. A rapid field test for sylvatic plague exposure in wild animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, Rachel C.; Hudak, Robert; Mondesire, Roy; Baeten, Laurie A.; Russell, Robin E.; Rocke, Tonie E.

    2014-01-01

    Plague surveillance is routinely conducted to predict future epizootics in wildlife and exposure risk for humans. The most common surveillance method for sylvatic plague is detection of antibodies to Yersinia pestis F1 capsular antigen in sentinel animals, such as coyotes (Canis latrans). Current serologic tests for Y. pestis, hemagglutination (HA) test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), are expensive and labor intensive. To address this need, we developed a complete lateral flow device for the detection of specific antibodies to Y. pestis F1 and V antigens. Our test detected anti-F1 and anti-V antibodies in serum and Nobuto filter paper samples from coyotes, and in serum samples from prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), lynx (Lynx canadensis), and black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes). Comparison of cassette results for anti-F1 and anti-V antibodies with results of ELISA or HA tests showed correlations ranging from 0.68 to 0.98. This device provides an affordable, user-friendly tool that may be useful in plague surveillance programs and as a research tool.

  13. XCOR, developing the next generation spaceplane

    CERN Document Server

    2016-01-01

    Employing the same informational approach Erik Seedhouse used in "SpaceX" and "Bigelow Aerospace", this new book familiarizes space enthusiasts with the company XCOR Aerospace and examines the design of the two-seater Lynx. The new spaceplane's low weight and high octane fuel confer important advantages, such as direct runway launches and the ability to fly several times per day. Over the last 15 years, XCOR has developed and built 13 different rocket engines, built and flown two manned rocket-powered aircraft and has accumulated over 4,000 engine firings and nearly 500 minutes of run time on their engines.  This book serves as a go-to reference guide for suborbital scientists and those seeking to learn how one company has found success. Additionally, it describes the medical and training requirements for those flying on board the Lynx and the related critical roles of the astronaut trainers and a new breed of commercial space pilots. The end result is a thorough chronicle of the development o...

  14. FDI DETERMINANTS IN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION COUNTRIES AND EURASIAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION EFFECT ON FDI INFLOWS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yerkezhan Zhumakankyzy Akhmetzaki

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines the potential determinants of foreign direct investment inflows into the region of Eurasian Economic Union, as well as incentives for investment into other neighboring countries. In the first model, the authors test a hypothesis on country specific foreign direct investment determinants for the Eurasian Economic Union region. The results of fixed effects estimation show that gross domestic product, infrastructure development and secondary education enrollment have a positive statistically significant effect on the foreign direct investment inflows into the region. Conversely, the impact of Customs Union on foreign direct investment appeared to be negative. Furthermore, in the second model of the natural experiment, the authors empirically test the hypothesis on Customs Union’s effect on foreign direct investment while controlling for both country and time effects. The model includes evaluating the impact of the policy change on foreign investment inflows. The natural experiment outcome also points to the negative effect of Eurasian economic integration on foreign direct investment inflows. Although the countries of Eurasian Economic Union have relatively business friendly regulations, such procedures as enforcing contracts, resolving insolvencies and dealing with construction permits are time-consuming. For attracting foreign investment, it is advisable to facilitate such procedures and make the process of setting up a new business less onerous. The research can be used as an outline for further examining of Eurasian economic integration and apart from that, the study results can be applied for practical purposes of policy elaboration aimed at stimulating foreign direct investment into the Eurasian Economic Union.

  15. Abundance and food habits of cougars and bobcats in the Sierra San Luis, Sonora, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hugo Luna Soria; Carlos A. Lopez Gonzalez

    2005-01-01

    Cougars (Puma concolor) and bobcats (Lynx rufus) are present throughout the Sky Islands of the Sonoran desert. We determined the abundance and food habits in northeastern Sonora, Mexico. Abundance indicated that cougars were common (4.19±5.57 cougars/100 km2 and 0.05±0.05 scats/km). According to the scat index, bobcats were more...

  16. Installation and management of the SPS and LEP control system computers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bland, Alastair

    1994-01-01

    Control of the CERN SPS and LEP accelerators and service equipment on the two CERN main sites is performed via workstations, file servers, Process Control Assemblies (PCAs) and Device Stub Controllers (DSCs). This paper describes the methods and tools that have been developed to manage the file servers, PCAs and DSCs since the LEP startup in 1989. There are five operational DECstation 5000s used as file servers and boot servers for the PCAs and DSCs. The PCAs consist of 90 SCO Xenix 386 PCs, 40 LynxOS 486 PCs and more than 40 older NORD 100s. The DSCs consist of 90 OS-968030 VME crates and 10 LynxOS 68030 VME crates. In addition there are over 100 development systems. The controls group is responsible for installing the computers, starting all the user processes and ensuring that the computers and the processes run correctly. The operators in the SPS/LEP control room and the Services control room have a Motif-based X window program which gives them, in real time, the state of all the computers and allows them to solve problems or reboot them. ((orig.))

  17. Game statistics for the Island of Olkiluoto in 2011-2012

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Niemi, M.; Nieminen, M. [Faunatica Oy, Espoo (Finland); Jussila, I. [Turku Univ. (Finland)

    2012-11-15

    The game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto were updated in the summer 2012 and compared with earlier statistics. Population size estimates are based on interviews of the local hunters. No moose or deer inventories were made in the winter 2011-2012. The moose population has been decreasing slightly during the past ten years. The increasing lynx population has decreasing effect on small ungulate (white-tailed deer and roe deer) populations. The number of hunted mountain hares and European brown hares decreased when comparing the previous year. In addition, the number of hunted raccoon dogs was about 50 per cent lower than in the year 2010. Altogether 27 waterfowls were hunted in 2011. The population of mountain hare is abundant, despite that there were lynx living on the eastern part of island during the winter 2011. Based on track observations, there are pine martens living on the area as well. In addition, there were some observations of wolves visiting on the area. The winter 2011-2012 was milder than the previous one, and it seemed that young swans wintering on the area survived better that in the previous winter. (orig.)

  18. Game statistics for the Island of Olkiluoto in 2011-2012

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemi, M.; Nieminen, M.; Jussila, I.

    2012-11-01

    The game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto were updated in the summer 2012 and compared with earlier statistics. Population size estimates are based on interviews of the local hunters. No moose or deer inventories were made in the winter 2011-2012. The moose population has been decreasing slightly during the past ten years. The increasing lynx population has decreasing effect on small ungulate (white-tailed deer and roe deer) populations. The number of hunted mountain hares and European brown hares decreased when comparing the previous year. In addition, the number of hunted raccoon dogs was about 50 per cent lower than in the year 2010. Altogether 27 waterfowls were hunted in 2011. The population of mountain hare is abundant, despite that there were lynx living on the eastern part of island during the winter 2011. Based on track observations, there are pine martens living on the area as well. In addition, there were some observations of wolves visiting on the area. The winter 2011-2012 was milder than the previous one, and it seemed that young swans wintering on the area survived better that in the previous winter. (orig.)

  19. A functional model for characterizing long-distance movement behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buderman, Frances E.; Hooten, Mevin B.; Ivan, Jacob S.; Shenk, Tanya M.

    2016-01-01

    Advancements in wildlife telemetry techniques have made it possible to collect large data sets of highly accurate animal locations at a fine temporal resolution. These data sets have prompted the development of a number of statistical methodologies for modelling animal movement.Telemetry data sets are often collected for purposes other than fine-scale movement analysis. These data sets may differ substantially from those that are collected with technologies suitable for fine-scale movement modelling and may consist of locations that are irregular in time, are temporally coarse or have large measurement error. These data sets are time-consuming and costly to collect but may still provide valuable information about movement behaviour.We developed a Bayesian movement model that accounts for error from multiple data sources as well as movement behaviour at different temporal scales. The Bayesian framework allows us to calculate derived quantities that describe temporally varying movement behaviour, such as residence time, speed and persistence in direction. The model is flexible, easy to implement and computationally efficient.We apply this model to data from Colorado Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) and use derived quantities to identify changes in movement behaviour.

  20. Eurasian Economic Union Foundation : Issues of Global Regionalization

    OpenAIRE

    Lagutina, Maria

    2014-01-01

    This paper is devoted to the theoretical conceptualization of political-economic processes within the Eurasian Economic Union. The author elaborates on this project within the framework of “global regionalization” and regards it as a fledging “global region.” In this paper, the European Union is analyzed as a model of the existing global region. The Eurasian region also has its own specific traits and experience of post-Soviet integration. The article argues that for successful Eurasian integ...

  1. MOLDOVA: MISSED ADVANTAGES OF EURASIAN INTEGRATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ludmila Vasiljevna Fokina

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to potentially missed advantages of Eurasian integration (EAEU for Moldova. Special attention is given to the branches in which the country could get evident advantages including agriculture, power engineering, external trade ties with the EAEU countries. Possible positive effects of Eurasian integration in solution of the Transnistrian problem, in the sphere of labour migration and other fields are also shown.

  2. Differential immediate and sustained memory enhancing effects of alpha7 nicotinic receptor agonists and allosteric modulators in rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morten S Thomsen

    Full Text Available The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR is a potential target for the treatment of cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia, ADHD and Alzheimer's disease. Here we test the hypothesis that upregulation of α7 nAChR levels underlies the enhanced and sustained procognitive effect of repeated administration of α7 nAChR agonists. We further compare the effect of agonists to that of α7 nAChR positive allosteric modulators (PAMs, which do not induce upregulation of the α7 nAChR. Using the social discrimination test as a measure of short-term memory, we show that the α7 nAChR agonist A-582941 improves short-term memory immediately after repeated (7× daily, but not a single administration. The α7 nAChR PAMs PNU-120596 and AVL-3288 do not affect short-term memory immediately after a single or repeated administration. This demonstrates a fundamental difference in the behavioral effects of agonists and PAMs that may be relevant for clinical development. Importantly, A-582941 and AVL-3288 increase short-term memory 24 hrs after repeated, but not a single, administration, suggesting that repeated administration of both agonists and PAMs may produce sustained effects on cognitive performance. Subsequent [(125I]-bungarotoxin autoradiography revealed no direct correlation between α7 nAChR levels in frontal cortical or hippocampal brain regions and short-term memory with either compound. Additionally, repeated treatment with A-582941 did not affect mRNA expression of RIC-3 or the lynx-like gene products lynx1, lynx2, PSCA, or Ly6H, which are known to affect nAChR function. In conclusion, both α7 nAChR agonists and PAMs exhibit sustained pro-cognitive effects after repeated administration, and altered levels of the α7 nAChR per se, or that of endogenous regulators of nAChR function, are likely not the major cause of this effect.

  3. PAnalyzer: A software tool for protein inference in shotgun proteomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prieto Gorka

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein inference from peptide identifications in shotgun proteomics must deal with ambiguities that arise due to the presence of peptides shared between different proteins, which is common in higher eukaryotes. Recently data independent acquisition (DIA approaches have emerged as an alternative to the traditional data dependent acquisition (DDA in shotgun proteomics experiments. MSE is the term used to name one of the DIA approaches used in QTOF instruments. MSE data require specialized software to process acquired spectra and to perform peptide and protein identifications. However the software available at the moment does not group the identified proteins in a transparent way by taking into account peptide evidence categories. Furthermore the inspection, comparison and report of the obtained results require tedious manual intervention. Here we report a software tool to address these limitations for MSE data. Results In this paper we present PAnalyzer, a software tool focused on the protein inference process of shotgun proteomics. Our approach considers all the identified proteins and groups them when necessary indicating their confidence using different evidence categories. PAnalyzer can read protein identification files in the XML output format of the ProteinLynx Global Server (PLGS software provided by Waters Corporation for their MSE data, and also in the mzIdentML format recently standardized by HUPO-PSI. Multiple files can also be read simultaneously and are considered as technical replicates. Results are saved to CSV, HTML and mzIdentML (in the case of a single mzIdentML input file files. An MSE analysis of a real sample is presented to compare the results of PAnalyzer and ProteinLynx Global Server. Conclusions We present a software tool to deal with the ambiguities that arise in the protein inference process. Key contributions are support for MSE data analysis by ProteinLynx Global Server and technical replicates

  4. Exploration of the Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles along with Other Assets to Enhance Border Protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-06-01

    Border Initiative SUAV Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar TTPs Tactics, Techniques, And Procedures TRVS Trailer Remote...2008). 4 3. Overview of Illegal Activities According to the CBP, 178,770 pounds of cocaine, 2,178 pounds of heroin, 2,471,931 pounds of marijuana ...Raytheon Company Web Site) Another component of Predator B is the high- resolution Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). In their study, Tsunoda, et

  5. Large Scale Visual Recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-01

    Miniature pinscher Figure 2.5: Visualization of the mammal hierarchy. 23 900 1000 1100 elephant okapi panda platypus Caltech101 Lossless JPG size in...limousine taxi Flat Ours Golden Retriever dog Chihuahua dog Husky domes c animal canine English Se er hyena canine polar bear carnivore...snow leopard feline o er living thing conch en y wheelbarrow carnivore orangutan mammal meerkat mammal carnivore polar bear lynx lion Flat

  6. Development of device drivers embedded in real time OS for SPring-8 SR control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masuda, T.; Fujiwara, S.; Nakamura, T.; Takebe, H.; Wada, T.

    1994-01-01

    A distributed computer system has been adopted for the SPring-8 SR control system. For lower level computers, we intend to adopt VMEbus computer systems with the real time OS which are compliant with POSIX. For R and D study, we introduced LynxOS and wrote device drivers for Digital Output(DO), Digital Input(DI) and Analog Input(AI) boards on VMEbus. They were successfully operated with device drivers. (author)

  7. Environmental Assessment for the Construction of Facilities in Support of the 343d Training Squadron, 37th Training Group, Security Forces Apprentice Course at JBSA-Camp Bullis, Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    territorial seas . Jurisdictional boundaries for waters of the U.S. are defined in the field as the ordinary high water mark, which is that line on...Lynx rufus), gray fox, coyote, and occasionally mountain lion (Felis concolor) (U.S. Army 2007). The northern cardinal (Cardinal cardinalis) and... parasitism . Surveys have been conducted for golden-cheeked warbler on JBSA-Camp Bullis since 1991, and individuals have been detected in every training

  8. ROMANIA AND THE EURASIAN UNION. PLANS, PREDICTIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

    OpenAIRE

    Mircea-Cristian GHENGHEA

    2016-01-01

    Following the events in Ukraine, Romania might represent one of the key points for the Eurasian perspectives that have circulated in the last years in Moscow. Through our text we intend to present and to highlight the main ideas and plans of Eurasian inspiration regarding Romania, as well as the interesting predictions made, in certain moments, by some representative characters for the Eurasian paradigm, like Aleksandr Dugin, for instance, who is its main ideologist and promoter. At the same ...

  9. Detection of Sarcocystis spp. infection in bobcats (Lynx rufus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, S. K.; Calero-Bernal, R.; Lovallo, M. J.; Sweeny, A. R.; Grigg, M. E.; Dubey, J. P.

    2015-01-01

    The protozoan Sarcocystis neurona is an important cause of severe clinical disease of horses (called equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, EPM), marine mammals, companion animals, and several species of wildlife animals in the Americas. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is its definitive host in the USA and other animals act as intermediate or aberrant hosts. Samples of tongue and heart from 35 bobcats hunted for fur and food from Mississippi State, USA in February, 2014 were used for the present study. Muscles were examined for Sarcocystis infection by microscopic examination of either unfixed muscle squash preparations or pepsin digests, by histopathology of fixed samples, and by molecular methods. Sarcocystis-like bradyzoites were found in digests of 14 hearts and 10 tongues of 35 bobcats. In histological sections, sarcocysts were found in 26 of 35 bobcats; all appeared relatively thin-walled similar to S. felis sarcocysts under light microscope at 1000x magnification. S. neurona-like sarcocysts having thickened villar tips were seen in unstained muscle squash of tongue of two bobcats and PCR-DNA sequencing identified them definitively as S. neurona-like parasite. DNA extracted from bradyzoites obtained from tongue and heart muscle digests was analyzed by PCR-DNA sequencing at the ITS1 locus. Results indicated the presence of S. neurona-like parasite in 26 of 35 samples. ITS1 sequences identical to S. dayspi were identified in 3 bobcats, 2 of which were also co-infected with S. neurona-like parasite. The high prevalence of sarcocysts in bobcat tissues suggested an efficient sylvatic cycle of Sarcocystis spp. in the remote regions of Mississippi State with the bobcat as a relevant intermediate host. PMID:26138150

  10. Proteomic profile of serum of pregnant women carring a fetus with Down syndrome using nano uplc Q-tof ms/ms technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López Uriarte, Graciela Arelí; Burciaga Flores, Carlos Horacio; Torres de la Cruz, Víctor Manuel; Medina Aguado, María Magdalena; Gómez Puente, Viviana Maricela; Romero Gutiérrez, Liliana Nayeli; Martínez de Villarreal, Laura Elia

    2018-06-01

    Prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS) is based on the calculated risk of maternal age, biochemical and ultrasonographic markers and recently by cfDNA. Differences in proteomic profiles may give an opportunity to find new biomarkers. Characterize proteome of serum of mothers carrying DS fetus. Blood serum samples of three groups of women were obtained, (a) 10 non-pregnant, (b) 10 pregnant with healthy fetus by ultrasound evaluation, (c) nine pregnant with DS fetus. Sample preparation was as follows: Albumin/IgG depletion, desalting, and trypsin digestion; the process was performed in nanoUPLC MS/MS. Data analysis was made with Mass Lynx 4.1 and ProteinLynx Global Server 3.0, peptide and protein recognition by MASCOT algorithm and UNIPROT-Swissprot database. Each group showed different protein profiles. Some proteins were shared between groups. Only sera from pregnant women showed proteins related to immune and clot pathways. Mothers with DS fetus had 42 specific proteins. We found a different serum protein profile in mothers carrying DS fetuses that do not reflect expression of genes in the extra chromosome. Further studies will be necessary to establish the role of these proteins in aneuploid fetus and analyze their possible use as potential biomarkers.

  11. Statistical core design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oelkers, E.; Heller, A.S.; Farnsworth, D.A.; Kearfott, K.J.

    1978-01-01

    The report describes the statistical analysis of DNBR thermal-hydraulic margin of a 3800 MWt, 205-FA core under design overpower conditions. The analysis used LYNX-generated data at predetermined values of the input variables whose uncertainties were to be statistically combined. LYNX data were used to construct an efficient response surface model in the region of interest; the statistical analysis was accomplished through the evaluation of core reliability; utilizing propagation of the uncertainty distributions of the inputs. The response surface model was implemented in both the analytical error propagation and Monte Carlo Techniques. The basic structural units relating to the acceptance criteria are fuel pins. Therefore, the statistical population of pins with minimum DNBR values smaller than specified values is determined. The specified values are designated relative to the most probable and maximum design DNBR values on the power limiting pin used in present design analysis, so that gains over the present design criteria could be assessed for specified probabilistic acceptance criteria. The results are equivalent to gains ranging from 1.2 to 4.8 percent of rated power dependent on the acceptance criterion. The corresponding acceptance criteria range from 95 percent confidence that no pin will be in DNB to 99.9 percent of the pins, which are expected to avoid DNB

  12. Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve's 90-anniversary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anatoliy F. Kovshar

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve is located in West Tien Shan in Kazakhstan, on the border of three countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan (70°18'-57' E and 42°08'-30' N, with an area of 1281 km2; its length is 53 km from the most western to the most eastern point and 41 km from the most southern to the most northern point. It occupies the western limit of the Talasskiy Alatau ridge and its north-western spurs: Zhabaglytau mountains, Alatau, Bugultor, Aksutau and Ugam ridges. In the neighbouring Karatau ridge there is a palaeontological site with an area of 2.2 km2 with deposits of flora and fauna of the Jurassic period. The absolute heights above sea level are 1300–4200 m. The relief is alpine – deep canyons with steep slopes. The middle mountain zone (1300–2000 m is occupied by meadow-steppe formations with juniper sparse forests (Juniperus semiglobosa, J. seravschanica; subalpine meadows (2000–3000 m are alternated by creeping juniper thickets (Juniperus turkestanica and rocky outcrops; the alpine zone (higher than 3000 m is dominated by rocks and snowfields, and glaciers above 3500 m. The nature reserve's flora constitutes almost half of all West Tien Shan's flora and counts 1737 species, including: 235 species of fungi, 64 lichens, 63 species each of algae and mosses, as well as 1312 species of higher plants. Among those, 200 species are medicinal and 57 species are listed in the Red Data Books of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The vertebrates fauna includes 320 species: mammals – 52 species, birds – 247 (130 of them are nesting, reptiles and amphibians – 14, fishes – 7 species. Animals inhabiting the territory include argali (Ovis ammon karelini, mountain goat (Capra sibirica, bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus, snow leopart (Uncia uncia, Turkestan lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus; birds – bearded vulture (Gypaёtus barbatus, Himalayan snowcock (Tetraogallus himalayensis, chukar (Alectoris chukar, blue

  13. 137 ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damgaard, Peter de Barros; Marchi, Nina; Rasmussen, Simon; Peyrot, Michaël; Renaud, Gabriel; Korneliussen, Thorfinn; Moreno-Mayar, J Víctor; Pedersen, Mikkel Winther; Goldberg, Amy; Usmanova, Emma; Baimukhanov, Nurbol; Loman, Valeriy; Hedeager, Lotte; Pedersen, Anders Gorm; Nielsen, Kasper; Afanasiev, Gennady; Akmatov, Kunbolot; Aldashev, Almaz; Alpaslan, Ashyk; Baimbetov, Gabit; Bazaliiskii, Vladimir I; Beisenov, Arman; Boldbaatar, Bazartseren; Boldgiv, Bazartseren; Dorzhu, Choduraa; Ellingvag, Sturla; Erdenebaatar, Diimaajav; Dajani, Rana; Dmitriev, Evgeniy; Evdokimov, Valeriy; Frei, Karin M; Gromov, Andrey; Goryachev, Alexander; Hakonarson, Hakon; Hegay, Tatyana; Khachatryan, Zaruhi; Khaskhanov, Ruslan; Kitov, Egor; Kolbina, Alina; Kubatbek, Tabaldiev; Kukushkin, Alexey; Kukushkin, Igor; Lau, Nina; Margaryan, Ashot; Merkyte, Inga; Mertz, Ilya V; Mertz, Viktor K; Mijiddorj, Enkhbayar; Moiyesev, Vyacheslav; Mukhtarova, Gulmira; Nurmukhanbetov, Bekmukhanbet; Orozbekova, Z; Panyushkina, Irina; Pieta, Karol; Smrčka, Václav; Shevnina, Irina; Logvin, Andrey; Sjögren, Karl-Göran; Štolcová, Tereza; Tashbaeva, Kadicha; Tkachev, Alexander; Tulegenov, Turaly; Voyakin, Dmitriy; Yepiskoposyan, Levon; Undrakhbold, Sainbileg; Varfolomeev, Victor; Weber, Andrzej; Kradin, Nikolay; Allentoft, Morten E; Orlando, Ludovic; Nielsen, Rasmus; Sikora, Martin; Heyer, Evelyne; Kristiansen, Kristian; Willerslev, Eske

    2018-05-09

    For thousands of years the Eurasian steppes have been a centre of human migrations and cultural change. Here we sequence the genomes of 137 ancient humans (about 1× average coverage), covering a period of 4,000 years, to understand the population history of the Eurasian steppes after the Bronze Age migrations. We find that the genetics of the Scythian groups that dominated the Eurasian steppes throughout the Iron Age were highly structured, with diverse origins comprising Late Bronze Age herders, European farmers and southern Siberian hunter-gatherers. Later, Scythians admixed with the eastern steppe nomads who formed the Xiongnu confederations, and moved westward in about the second or third century BC, forming the Hun traditions in the fourth-fifth century AD, and carrying with them plague that was basal to the Justinian plague. These nomads were further admixed with East Asian groups during several short-term khanates in the Medieval period. These historical events transformed the Eurasian steppes from being inhabited by Indo-European speakers of largely West Eurasian ancestry to the mostly Turkic-speaking groups of the present day, who are primarily of East Asian ancestry.

  14. ROMANIA AND THE EURASIAN UNION. PLANS, PREDICTIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mircea-Cristian GHENGHEA

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Following the events in Ukraine, Romania might represent one of the key points for the Eurasian perspectives that have circulated in the last years in Moscow. Through our text we intend to present and to highlight the main ideas and plans of Eurasian inspiration regarding Romania, as well as the interesting predictions made, in certain moments, by some representative characters for the Eurasian paradigm, like Aleksandr Dugin, for instance, who is its main ideologist and promoter. At the same time, one must not neglect the signals of discontent from Moscow about the need of dissipating the so-called sanitary cordon of the Western powers, in which the Baltic States, Poland, and Romania are included – another aspect bearing a particular importance for understanding certain gestures, attitudes and statements related to the role and the place of the Eurasian Union.

  15. Domestication drive the changes of immune and digestive system of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xiaowen; Wang, Jun; Qian, Long; Gaughan, Sarah; Xiang, Wei; Ai, Tao; Fan, Zhenming; Wang, Chenghui

    2017-01-01

    Domestication has altered a variety of traits within the Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis), including phenotypic, physiological and behavioral traits of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis). Little is known, however, about the genetic changes between domesticated and wild Eurasian perch. In this study, we assembled a high-quality de novo reference transcriptome and identified differentially expressed genes between wild and domesticated Eurasian perch. A total of 113,709 transcripts were assembled, and 58,380 transcripts were annotated. Transcriptomic comparison revealed 630 differentially expressed genes between domesticated and wild Eurasian perch. Within domesticated Eurasian perch there were 412 genes that were up-regulated including MHCI, MHCII, chia, ighm within immune system development. There were 218 genes including try1, ctrl, ctrb, cela3b, cpa1 and cpb1, which were down-regulated that were associated with digestive processes. Our results indicated domestication drives the changes of immune and digestive system of Eurasian perch. Our study not only provide valuable genetic resources for further studies in Eurasian perch, but also provide novel insights into the genetic basis of physiological changes in Eurasian perch during domestication process.

  16. Eurasian Union on the Viewpoint of China: Geopolitical Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guo Cheng

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This article is about geopolitical strategic analyze of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “Eurasian Union” strategy from Chinese viewpoint. The article describes historical background of Eurasian Union, its geopolitical purposes, achievements and weakness, particularly from China's national strategic design and stance of Central Asia in Eurasian Continent. The geopolitical analysis of possibility for Sino-Russian Alliance and realistic difficulties of it are provided. Different point of Chinese experts on Russia-West relations are given. Some of them believe that he Warsaw Pact and the Cold War revival in the CIS, its purpose is to play as geopolitical blunders against the Western countries under the leadership of NATO, IMF and the United States. While others, take into consideration the US-Russian Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and Russia’s actively participation in the former Group of Eight, accession to WTO and other initiatives that indicates the current Moscow is not the Soviet Union, and does not exclude cooperation with existing international system dominated by the Western world. And finally, China's own Eurasian strategy design is represented, especially China’s foreign policy options on Central Asia as solutions to some current existing geopolitical differences between China and Russia’s own Eurasian Strategy in order to achieve mutual win-set goal.

  17. Key role of European rabbits in the conservation of the Western Mediterranean basin hotspot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delibes-Mateos, Miguel; Delibes, Miguel; Ferreras, Pablo; Villafuerte, Rafael

    2008-10-01

    The Mediterranean Basin is a global hotspot of biodiversity. Hotspots are said to be experiencing a major loss of habitat, but an added risk could be the decline of some species having a special role in ecological relationships of the system. We reviewed the role of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as a keystone species in the Iberian Peninsula portion of the Mediterranean hotspot. Rabbits conspicuously alter plant species composition and vegetation structure through grazing and seed dispersal, which creates open areas and preserves plant species diversity. Moreover, rabbit latrines have a demonstrable effect on soil fertility and plant growth and provide new feeding resources for many invertebrate species. Rabbit burrows provide nest sites and shelter for vertebrates and invertebrates. In addition, rabbits serve as prey for a number of predators, including the critically endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti). Thus, the Mediterranean ecosystem of the Iberian Peninsula should be termed "the rabbit's ecosystem." To our knowledge, this is the first empirical support for existence of a multifunctional keystone species in a global hotspot of biodiversity. Rabbit populations have declined drastically on the Iberian Peninsula, with potential cascading effects and serious ecological and economic consequences. From this perspective, rabbit recovery is one of the biggest challenges for conservation of the Mediterranean Basin hotspot.

  18. Computer gaming comes to service rig training

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mowers, J.

    2007-05-15

    This article addressed the challenge of providing service rig workers with a good understanding of the tasks and risks involved in the job before they even step out into the field. The product, SimuLynx was presented. SimuLynx is based on video and gaming technology to immerse the user in the service rig work environment with other crew members. The user tries to perform the different steps of a junior floorhand's job while a coach gives directions. The article discussed how the system works. For example, when faced with a task, the user chooses from several options. The coach informs the virtual junior floorhand if the decision was right or wrong. He will also give warnings and let the user realize the consequences of a wrong action. The benefits of the system were also presented. For example, instead of 30 days of on-the-job training, an employee may only need several days after going through the program. Other benefits that were reviewed included reduced accident risk-levels for new workers; higher rig efficiency; and, lower training costs. In addition, a potential recruit can decide if the job is right for him before signing up for an expensive course or starting off with a service rig company. As well, the rig company can decide if someone is suitable before hiring that person. 3 figs.

  19. The new generation of PowerPC VMEbus front end computers for the CERN SPS and LEP accelerators control system

    OpenAIRE

    Van den Eynden, M

    1995-01-01

    The CERN SPS and LEP PowerPC project is aimed at introducing a new generation of PowerPC VMEbus processor modules running the LynxOS real-time operating system. This new generation of front end computers using the state-of-the-art microprocessor technology will first replace the obsolete Xenix PC based systems (about 140 installations) successfully used since 1988 to control the LEP accelerator. The major issues addressed in the scope of this large scale project are the technical specificatio...

  20. The new generation of PowerPC VMEbus front end computers for the CERN SPS and LEP accelerators system

    OpenAIRE

    Charrue, P; Bland, A; Ghinet, F; Ribeiro, P

    1995-01-01

    The CERN SPS and LEP PowerPC project is aimed at introducing a new generation of PowerPC VMEbus processor modules running the LynxOS real-time operating system. This new generation of front end computers using the state-of-the-art microprocessor technology will first replace the obsolete XENIX PC based systems (about 140 installations) successfully used since 1988 to control the LEP accelerator. The major issues addressed in the scope of this large scale project are the technical specificatio...

  1. First Student Project at the University of Tennessee at Martin Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crews, Lionel J.; Turner, K.; Wesner, P.

    2011-05-01

    The University of Tennessee at Martin has recently completed the construction and setup of an observatory. The dome houses a 16" Meade telescope with SBIG STL-11000M CCD. For its first project, observations of the Delta Scuti type variable SZ Lynx were taken in March and analyzed using MiraPRO. A simple ephemeris calculation was done, and compared to previous results. This project was done under the University Scholars program, a four year scholarship program which includes a faculty-mentored research project.

  2. Investigation of Two Insect Species for Control of Eurasian Watermilfoil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-02-01

    21 6 Litodactylus leucogaster adult infected with the fungus Beauveria bassiana ............................................ 21 Litodactylus...entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (figure 6) was always present but never epidemic. It also increased in ) adundance in...infected with the fungus Beauveria bassiana .4 Figure 7. Litodactylus leucogaster adult feeding on female flower of Eurasian watermilfoil Figure 8. Eurasian

  3. Evaluating the operations capability of Freedom's Data Management System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sowizral, Henry A.

    1990-01-01

    Three areas of Data Management System (DMS) performance are examined: raw processor speed, the subjective speed of the Lynx OS X-Window system, and the operational capacity of the Runtime Object Database (RODB). It is concluded that the proposed processor will operate at its specified rate of speed and that the X-Window system operates within users' subjective needs. It is also concluded that the RODB cannot provide the required level of service, even with a two-order of magnitude (100 fold) improvement in speed.

  4. Nutritional profiling of Eurasian woodcock meat: chemical composition and myoglobin characterization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landi, Nicola; Ragucci, Sara; Di Giuseppe, Antonella Ma; Russo, Rosita; Poerio, Elia; Severino, Valeria; Di Maro, Antimo

    2018-04-10

    Meat from birds is a rich source of proteins for the human diet. In this framework, Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola L.), a medium-small wading bird hunted as game in many Eurasian countries, is considered one of the best meats for culinary purposes. Since the nutritional composition of Eurasian woodcock meat has not yet been reported, we decided to determine the nutritional profile of S. rusticola meat. Macronutrient components (proteins, lipids and fatty acids) were determined, as well as free and total amino acids, and compared with those of the common pheasant. Eurasian woodcock meat contains high levels of proteins and essential amino acids. The levels of unsaturated fatty acids represent a great contribution to the total lipid amount. Among polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid (C18:2, n-6) is the major essential fatty acid. Finally, we report the characterization of myoglobin (Mb) from Eurasian woodcock. The data revealed that meat from this bird could be a good source of quality raw proteins because of its amino acid composition, and it had a low lipid content. On the other hand, Mb characterization might be of benefit to the meat industry, by providing useful information for the determination of species-specific differences in meat from birds. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

  5. Extraordinary Genetic Diversity in a Wood Decay Mushroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baranova, Maria A; Logacheva, Maria D; Penin, Aleksey A; Seplyarskiy, Vladimir B; Safonova, Yana Y; Naumenko, Sergey A; Klepikova, Anna V; Gerasimov, Evgeny S; Bazykin, Georgii A; James, Timothy Y; Kondrashov, Alexey S

    2015-10-01

    Populations of different species vary in the amounts of genetic diversity they possess. Nucleotide diversity π, the fraction of nucleotides that are different between two randomly chosen genotypes, has been known to range in eukaryotes between 0.0001 in Lynx lynx and 0.16 in Caenorhabditis brenneri. Here, we report the results of a comparative analysis of 24 haploid genotypes (12 from the United States and 12 from European Russia) of a split-gill fungus Schizophyllum commune. The diversity at synonymous sites is 0.20 in the American population of S. commune and 0.13 in the Russian population. This exceptionally high level of nucleotide diversity also leads to extreme amino acid diversity of protein-coding genes. Using whole-genome resequencing of 2 parental and 17 offspring haploid genotypes, we estimate that the mutation rate in S. commune is high, at 2.0 × 10(-8) (95% CI: 1.1 × 10(-8) to 4.1 × 10(-8)) per nucleotide per generation. Therefore, the high diversity of S. commune is primarily determined by its elevated mutation rate, although high effective population size likely also plays a role. Small genome size, ease of cultivation and completion of the life cycle in the laboratory, free-living haploid life stages and exceptionally high variability of S. commune make it a promising model organism for population, quantitative, and evolutionary genetics. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  6. Design exploration and verification platform, based on high-level modeling and FPGA prototyping, for fast and flexible digital communication in physics experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magazzù, G; Borgese, G; Costantino, N; Fanucci, L; Saponara, S; Incandela, J

    2013-01-01

    In many research fields as high energy physics (HEP), astrophysics, nuclear medicine or space engineering with harsh operating conditions, the use of fast and flexible digital communication protocols is becoming more and more important. The possibility to have a smart and tested top-down design flow for the design of a new protocol for control/readout of front-end electronics is very useful. To this aim, and to reduce development time, costs and risks, this paper describes an innovative design/verification flow applied as example case study to a new communication protocol called FF-LYNX. After the description of the main FF-LYNX features, the paper presents: the definition of a parametric SystemC-based Integrated Simulation Environment (ISE) for high-level protocol definition and validation; the set up of figure of merits to drive the design space exploration; the use of ISE for early analysis of the achievable performances when adopting the new communication protocol and its interfaces for a new (or upgraded) physics experiment; the design of VHDL IP cores for the TX and RX protocol interfaces; their implementation on a FPGA-based emulator for functional verification and finally the modification of the FPGA-based emulator for testing the ASIC chipset which implements the rad-tolerant protocol interfaces. For every step, significant results will be shown to underline the usefulness of this design and verification approach that can be applied to any new digital protocol development for smart detectors in physics experiments.

  7. Design exploration and verification platform, based on high-level modeling and FPGA prototyping, for fast and flexible digital communication in physics experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magazzù, G.; Borgese, G.; Costantino, N.; Fanucci, L.; Incandela, J.; Saponara, S.

    2013-02-01

    In many research fields as high energy physics (HEP), astrophysics, nuclear medicine or space engineering with harsh operating conditions, the use of fast and flexible digital communication protocols is becoming more and more important. The possibility to have a smart and tested top-down design flow for the design of a new protocol for control/readout of front-end electronics is very useful. To this aim, and to reduce development time, costs and risks, this paper describes an innovative design/verification flow applied as example case study to a new communication protocol called FF-LYNX. After the description of the main FF-LYNX features, the paper presents: the definition of a parametric SystemC-based Integrated Simulation Environment (ISE) for high-level protocol definition and validation; the set up of figure of merits to drive the design space exploration; the use of ISE for early analysis of the achievable performances when adopting the new communication protocol and its interfaces for a new (or upgraded) physics experiment; the design of VHDL IP cores for the TX and RX protocol interfaces; their implementation on a FPGA-based emulator for functional verification and finally the modification of the FPGA-based emulator for testing the ASIC chipset which implements the rad-tolerant protocol interfaces. For every step, significant results will be shown to underline the usefulness of this design and verification approach that can be applied to any new digital protocol development for smart detectors in physics experiments.

  8. A framework for quantitative assessment of impacts related to energy and mineral resource development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haines, Seth S.; Diffendorfer, James; Balistrieri, Laurie S.; Berger, Byron R.; Cook, Troy A.; Gautier, Donald L.; Gallegos, Tanya J.; Gerritsen, Margot; Graffy, Elisabeth; Hawkins, Sarah; Johnson, Kathleen; Macknick, Jordan; McMahon, Peter; Modde, Tim; Pierce, Brenda; Schuenemeyer, John H.; Semmens, Darius; Simon, Benjamin; Taylor, Jason; Walton-Day, Katherine

    2013-01-01

    Natural resource planning at all scales demands methods for assessing the impacts of resource development and use, and in particular it requires standardized methods that yield robust and unbiased results. Building from existing probabilistic methods for assessing the volumes of energy and mineral resources, we provide an algorithm for consistent, reproducible, quantitative assessment of resource development impacts. The approach combines probabilistic input data with Monte Carlo statistical methods to determine probabilistic outputs that convey the uncertainties inherent in the data. For example, one can utilize our algorithm to combine data from a natural gas resource assessment with maps of sage grouse leks and piñon-juniper woodlands in the same area to estimate possible future habitat impacts due to possible future gas development. As another example: one could combine geochemical data and maps of lynx habitat with data from a mineral deposit assessment in the same area to determine possible future mining impacts on water resources and lynx habitat. The approach can be applied to a broad range of positive and negative resource development impacts, such as water quantity or quality, economic benefits, or air quality, limited only by the availability of necessary input data and quantified relationships among geologic resources, development alternatives, and impacts. The framework enables quantitative evaluation of the trade-offs inherent in resource management decision-making, including cumulative impacts, to address societal concerns and policy aspects of resource development.

  9. Beyond frontiers: Ancient Rome and the Eurasian trade networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Galli

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available During the second half of the 19th century, the Roman Empire was already considered one of the key players inside the Eurasian networks. This research focuses on four relevant points. From a historiographical perspective, the reconstruction of the trading routes represented a central theme in the history of the relationship between the Roman Empire and the Far East. Imagining a plurality of itineraries and combinations of overland and sea routes, it is possible to reconstruct a complex reality in which the Eurasian networks during the Early Roman Empire developed. As far as economics is concerned, new documentation demonstrates the wide range and the extraordinary impact of the Eastern products on Roman markets. A final focus on the process of Chinese silk unravelling and reweaving provides an important clue on how complex and absolutely not mono-directional were the interactions and the exchanges in the Eurasian networks during the first centuries of the Roman Empire.

  10. Prostate stem cell antigen interacts with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and is affected in Alzheimer's disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Majbrit Myrup; Mikkelsen, Jens D.; Arvaniti, Maria

    2015-01-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder involving impaired cholinergic neurotransmission and dysregulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Ly-6/neurotoxin (Lynx) proteins have been shown to modulate cognition and neural plasticity by binding to nAChR subtypes...... are present in the human brain. We further showed that PSCA forms stable complexes with the α4 nAChR subunit and decreases nicotine-induced extracellular-signal regulated kinase phosphorylation in PC12 cells. In addition, we analyzed protein levels of PSCA and Lypd6 in postmortem tissue of medial frontal...

  11. Primeros registros de 4 especies de felinos en el sur de Puebla, México

    OpenAIRE

    Farías, Verónica; Téllez, Oswaldo; Botello, Francisco; Hernández, Omar; Berruecos, Jessica; Olivares, Saúl J.; Hernández, Julio C.

    2015-01-01

    Se presentan los primeros registros de margay (Leopardus wiedii), gato montés (Lynx rufus), puma (Puma concolor) y jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) en el sur del estado de Puebla. El trabajo de campo fue parte de una monitorización participativa que incluyó a las autoridades civiles del ejido. Se colocaron 11 estaciones de cámaras-trampa digitales que funcionaron del 18 de diciembre de 2012 al 18 de febrero de 2014. Con un esfuerzo de muestreo de 2,669 días-trampa y dentro del conjunto de regis...

  12. VMEbus based computer and real-time UNIX as infrastructure of DAQ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasu, Y.; Fujii, H.; Nomachi, M.; Kodama, H.; Inoue, E.; Tajima, Y.; Takeuchi, Y.; Shimizu, Y.

    1994-01-01

    This paper describes what the authors have constructed as the infrastructure of data acquisition system (DAQ). The paper reports recent developments concerned with HP VME board computer with LynxOS (HP742rt/HP-RT) and Alpha/OSF1 with VMEbus adapter. The paper also reports current status of developing a Benchmark Suite for Data Acquisition (DAQBENCH) for measuring not only the performance of VME/CAMAC access but also that of the context switching, the inter-process communications and so on, for various computers including Workstation-based systems and VME board computers

  13. Russian neo-revisionist strategy and the Eurasian Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruslan Dzarasov

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The article is focused on the real meaning of the Eurasian Integration Project for East–West relations. The author departs from Sakwa’s treatment of Russian strategy as neo-revisionist. It does not aspire to change the current world order while trying to make the West observe its national interests within the existing framework. This perspective is treated in the article from the standpoint of world-systems analysis. The Eurasian Project is understood as a reaction of the Russian state to the failure of the neoliberal attempt to integrate into the world economy and the international security system. The two great trade mega-unions—the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP and the Trans-Atlantic Partnership—are seen as geoeconomic bolt clamps, which put Russia under enormous pressure. The Russian strategy in the Ukrainian and Syrian crises is designed to find the way out of strategic isolation. The Eurasian Union is expected by the Russian ruling elite to be an important tool to forestall the isolation of the country and secure her economic, military and international security.

  14. Análise eletromiográfica e força do grupo muscular extensor do punho durante isquemia induzida Electromyographic analysis and strength of the wrist extensor muscle group during induced ischemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CCA Bandeira

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito da isquemia induzida sobre os parâmetros do sinal eletromiográfico e a força do grupo muscular extensor do punho (GMEP em mulheres saudáveis. MÉTODOS: Participaram 13 voluntárias, destras, sedentárias, com idade de 23,38±2,32 anos e índice de massa corporal (IMC de 20,68±1,87kg/m². Para determinar a força do GMEP, foram realizadas 3 contrações isométricas voluntárias máximas (CIVM, utilizando-se uma célula de carga por 15 segundos, com intervalos de 2 minutos entre cada contração, sendo todo procedimento repetido por 3 dias não consecutivos. A isquemia foi realizada por 5 minutos, utilizando um esfigmomanômetro posicionado no braço dominante e inflado até a ausência do fluxo sanguíneo, confirmada pelo ultrassom Doppler. Para coleta do sinal eletromiográfico do GMEP, utilizou-se o equipamento EMG1000 (Lynx® com eletrodo de superfície diferencial (Lynx®. Foram coletadas 3 CIVM por 15 segundos, com intervalo de 30 segundos entre elas, nas situações de pré-isquemia; isquemia; pós-isquemia imediata (pós-1 e pós-isquemia tardia (pós-2 - após 10 minutos do início da isquemia. Para análise dos parâmetros do sinal eletromiográfico, root mean square (RMS, e frequência mediana do espectro de potência do sinal foi utilizado o software MATLAB 6.5.1. Para análise estatística, foram utilizados os testes de Friedman e ANOVA two-way. RESULTADOS: A isquemia promoveu redução significativa (pOBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of induced ischemia on the parameters of electromyographic signals and the strength of the wrist extensor muscle group (WEMG in healthy women. METHODS: Thirteen right-handed sedentary subjects aged 23.38±2.32 years old, with body mass index (BMI of 20.68±1.87kg/m², took part. To determine WEMG strength, three maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC were performed using a load cell for 15 seconds, with 2 minutes intervals between contractions. The entire

  15. Initial opening of the Eurasian Basin, Arctic Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Berglar

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Analysis of the transition from the NE Yermak Plateau into the oceanic Eurasian Basin sheds light on the Paleocene formation of this Arctic basin. Newly acquired multichannel seismic data with a 3600 m long streamer shot during ice-free conditions enables the interpretation of crustal structures. Evidence is provided that no major compressional deformation affected the NE Yermak Plateau. The seismic data reveal that the margin is around 80 km wide and consists of rotated fault blocks, major listric normal faults, and half-grabens filled with syn-rift sediments. Taking into account published magnetic and gravimetric data, this setting is interpreted as a rifted continental margin, implying that the NE Yermak Plateau is of continental origin. The transition from the Yermak Plateau to the oceanic Eurasian Basin might be located at a prominent basement high, probably formed by exhumed mantle. In contrast to the Yermak Plateau margin, the North Barents Sea continental margin shows a steep continental slope with a relatively abrupt transition to the oceanic domain. Based on one composite seismic line, it is speculated that the initial opening direction of the Eurasian Basin in the Arctic Ocean was highly oblique to the present day seafloor spreading direction.

  16. Flavonoid variation in Eurasian Sedum and Sempervivum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stevens, J.F; 't Hart, H; Elema, E.T; Bolck, A

    Flavonoids from vegetative parts of 29 species of Eurasian Sedum, Sedum meyeri-johannis from central East Africa, 34 species of Sempervivum, and Jovibarba heuffelii have been identified after acid hydrolysis. Ten flavonoid aglycones were detected, i.e. kaempferol, herbacetin, sexangularetin,

  17. How might the North American ice sheet influence the northwestern Eurasian climate?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beghin, P.; Charbit, S.; Dumas, C.; Kageyama, M.; Ritz, C.

    2015-10-01

    It is now widely acknowledged that past Northern Hemisphere ice sheets covering Canada and northern Europe at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) exerted a strong influence on climate by causing changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulations. In turn, these changes may have impacted the development of the ice sheets themselves through a combination of different feedback mechanisms. The present study is designed to investigate the potential impact of the North American ice sheet on the surface mass balance (SMB) of the Eurasian ice sheet driven by simulated changes in the past glacial atmospheric circulation. Using the LMDZ5 atmospheric circulation model, we carried out 12 experiments under constant LGM conditions for insolation, greenhouse gases and ocean. In these experiments, the Eurasian ice sheet is removed. The 12 experiments differ in the North American ice-sheet topography, ranging from a white and flat (present-day topography) ice sheet to a full-size LGM ice sheet. This experimental design allows the albedo and the topographic impacts of the North American ice sheet onto the climate to be disentangled. The results are compared to our baseline experiment where both the North American and the Eurasian ice sheets have been removed. In summer, the sole albedo effect of the American ice sheet modifies the pattern of planetary waves with respect to the no-ice-sheet case, resulting in a cooling of the northwestern Eurasian region. By contrast, the atmospheric circulation changes induced by the topography of the North American ice sheet lead to a strong decrease of this cooling. In winter, the Scandinavian and the Barents-Kara regions respond differently to the American ice-sheet albedo effect: in response to atmospheric circulation changes, Scandinavia becomes warmer and total precipitation is more abundant, whereas the Barents-Kara area becomes cooler with a decrease of convective processes, causing a decrease of total precipitation. The gradual increase of the

  18. Haematology and Serum Biochemistry Parameters and Variations in the Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Girling, Simon J; Campbell-Palmer, Roisin; Pizzi, Romain; Fraser, Mary A; Cracknell, Jonathan; Arnemo, Jon; Rosell, Frank

    2015-01-01

    Haematology parameters (N = 24) and serum biochemistry parameters (N = 35) were determined for wild Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber), between 6 months - 12 years old. Of the population tested in this study, N = 18 Eurasian beavers were from Norway and N = 17 originating from Bavaria but now living extensively in a reserve in England. All blood samples were collected from beavers via the ventral tail vein. All beavers were chemically restrained using inhalant isoflurane in 100% oxygen prior to blood sampling. Results were determined for haematological and serum biochemical parameters for the species and were compared between the two different populations with differences in means estimated and significant differences being noted. Standard blood parameters for the Eurasian beaver were determined and their ranges characterised using percentiles. Whilst the majority of blood parameters between the two populations showed no significant variation, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin and white blood cell counts showed significantly greater values (pbeavers or between sexually immature (beavers in the animals sampled. With Eurasian beaver reintroduction encouraged by legislation throughout Europe, knowledge of baseline blood values for the species and any variations therein is essential when assessing their health and welfare and the success or failure of any reintroduction program. This is the first study to produce base-line blood values and their variations for the Eurasian beaver.

  19. The Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG in 2016–2017

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venn Stephen

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available This report summarizes the activities and achievements of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG from mid-2016 through to the end of 2017. During this period, the 13th Eurasian Grassland Conference took place in Sighişoara, Romania, and the 14th conference was held in Riga, Latvia. The 10th EDGG Field Workshop on Biodiversity patterns across a precipitation gradient in the Central Apennine mountains was conducted in the Central Apennines, Italy, this time in addition to multi-scale sampling of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, also including one animal group (leaf hoppers. Apart from the quarterly issues of its own electronic journal (Bulletin of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group, EDGG also finalised five grassland-related Special Features/Issues during the past 1.5 years in the following international journals: Applied Vegetation Science, Biodiversity and Conservation, Phytocoenologia, Tuexenia and Hacquetia. Beyond that, EDGG facilitated various national and supra-national vegetationplot databases of grasslands and established its own specialised database for standardised multi-scale plot data of Palaearctic grasslands (GrassPlot.

  20. Ecotourism Destinations in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iuliana Ioana Merce

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Romania has about 800 protected areas, which now covers about 5% of the country. Most ecotourism destinations are located within or adjacent to these protected areas such as Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, northern communities National Park, Yosemite National Park, Apuseni Natural Park. In Romania there are still non-fragmented forest, and over a third of the population of bears, wolves and lynx in Europe, unique paradise of birds in the Danube Delta, more than 12 000 caves and, not least, full of authentic local traditions. Ecotourism allows recovery and conservation of the country's natural capital.

  1. Beginning Ubuntu Linux

    CERN Document Server

    Raggi, Emilio; Channelle, Andy; Parsons, Trevor; Van Vugt, Sander

    2010-01-01

    Ubuntu Linux is the fastest growing Linux-based operating system, and Beginning Ubuntu Linux, Fifth Edition teaches all of us - including those who have never used Linux - how to use it productively, whether you come from Windows or the Mac or the world of open source. Beginning Ubuntu Linux, Fifth Edition shows you how to take advantage of the newest Ubuntu release, Lucid Lynx. Based on the best-selling previous edition, Emilio Raggi maintains a fine balance between teaching Ubuntu and introducing new features. Whether you aim to use it in the home or in the office, you'll be introduced to th

  2. FORMATION OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT SYSTEM IN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Vladimirovich Savchenko

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The study revealed aspects of the organization of public procurement in the Eurasian Economic Union, outlines approaches to the study of the role of procurement management system in the formation of industrial capabilities to carry out competition in the market activity. The article assesses the eff ectiveness of the fi nancial mechanism in the public procurement system and discusses the dynamics of the procurement process and its features by using the most common competitive methods of procurement. The purpose / goal. The aim of the article is to identify further ways to optimize public procurement system in the Eurasian Economic Union. Tasks article. Develop an acceptable doctrinal foundations for today system of organization of public procurement in the Eurasian Economic Union. Methodology. The author began his research with the setting and the formation of the research objectives. The author defi ned the subject of the study, prepared by the empirical basis of the study. In terms of methodology, this work is an analytical and historical overview of the economic and socio-political processes taking place at the level of individual countries, regions of the world, and the world economy as a whole. Results. This article provides practical recommendations that can be used to create an eff ective integrated system of public procurement in the Eurasian Economic Union.

  3. Pulmonary adiaspiromycosis in the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) inhabiting Poland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolka, I; Giżejewska, A; Giżejewski, Z; Kołodziejska-Lesisz, J; Kluciński, W

    2017-09-26

    Adiaspiromycosis is a rare fungal infection caused by saprophytic fungi Emmonsia spp. (type Ascomycota) occurring especially in small free-living mammals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of histopathological lesions asscociated with adiaspiromycosis in the Eurasian beaver inhabiting Poland. In order to evaluate the presence of natural adiaspiromycosis we systematically investigated beaver populations from north-eastern Poland for adiaspores in the lungs. This study reveals for the first time the presence of pulmonary adiaspiromycosis of Eurasian beaver in Poland. As far as we know, there is no published data regarding pulmonary adiaspiromycosis in human patients in Poland.

  4. ESTABLISHING THE PAN-EURASIAN EXPERIMENT (PEEX LAND-ATMOSPHERE IN SITU OBSERVATION NETWORK ACROSS THE NORTHERN EURASIAN ARCTIC-BOREAL REGIONS ‒ INTRODUCTION TO THE RUSSIAN STATIONS’ METADATA ENQUIRY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. K. Lappalainen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX initiative (https://www.atm.helsinki.fi/peex/, initiated in 2012, is an international, multidisciplinary, multiscale program focused on solving interlinked global challenges influencing societies in the Northern Eurasian region and in China. As a part of the program, PEEX is aimed to establish an in situ observation network, which would cover environments from the Arctic coastal regions, tundra to boreal forests, from pristine to urban megacities. The PEEX network will be based on two components: (i the existing stations activities and (ii establishing new stations. The upgrading plans of the existing stations as well as the new stations will be based on a SMEAR (Stations for Measuring Earth surface ‒ Atmosphere Relations concept. The development of the coordinated, comprehensive PEEX observation network is contributing to the sustainable development of the Northern Eurasian regions. It is aimed at providing quantified information on climate relevant variables for the research communities and for constructing services, such as early warning systems, for the society.

  5. Chad Genetic Diversity Reveals an African History Marked by Multiple Holocene Eurasian Migrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haber, Marc; Mezzavilla, Massimo; Bergström, Anders; Prado-Martinez, Javier; Hallast, Pille; Saif-Ali, Riyadh; Al-Habori, Molham; Dedoussis, George; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Blue-Smith, Jason; Wells, R Spencer; Xue, Yali; Zalloua, Pierre A; Tyler-Smith, Chris

    2016-12-01

    Understanding human genetic diversity in Africa is important for interpreting the evolution of all humans, yet vast regions in Africa, such as Chad, remain genetically poorly investigated. Here, we use genotype data from 480 samples from Chad, the Near East, and southern Europe, as well as whole-genome sequencing from 19 of them, to show that many populations today derive their genomes from ancient African-Eurasian admixtures. We found evidence of early Eurasian backflow to Africa in people speaking the unclassified isolate Laal language in southern Chad and estimate from linkage-disequilibrium decay that this occurred 4,750-7,200 years ago. It brought to Africa a Y chromosome lineage (R1b-V88) whose closest relatives are widespread in present-day Eurasia; we estimate from sequence data that the Chad R1b-V88 Y chromosomes coalesced 5,700-7,300 years ago. This migration could thus have originated among Near Eastern farmers during the African Humid Period. We also found that the previously documented Eurasian backflow into Africa, which occurred ∼3,000 years ago and was thought to be mostly limited to East Africa, had a more westward impact affecting populations in northern Chad, such as the Toubou, who have 20%-30% Eurasian ancestry today. We observed a decline in heterozygosity in admixed Africans and found that the Eurasian admixture can bias inferences on their coalescent history and confound genetic signals from adaptation and archaic introgression. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Eurasian golden jackal as host of canine vector-borne protists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitková, Barbora; Hrazdilová, Kristýna; D'Amico, Gianluca; Duscher, Georg Gerhard; Suchentrunk, Franz; Forejtek, Pavel; Gherman, Călin Mircea; Matei, Ioana Adriana; Ionică, Angela Monica; Daskalaki, Aikaterini Alexandra; Mihalca, Andrei Daniel; Votýpka, Jan; Hulva, Pavel; Modrý, David

    2017-04-14

    Jackals are medium-sized canids from the wolf-like clade, exhibiting a unique combination of ancestral morphotypes, broad trophic niches, and close phylogenetic relationships with the wolf and dog. Thus, they represent a potential host of several pathogens with diverse transmission routes. Recently, populations of the Eurasian golden jackal Canis aureus have expanded into the Western Palaearctic, including most of Europe. The aim of our study was to examine Eurasian golden jackals from Romania, Czech Republic and Austria for a wide spectrum of vector-borne protists and to evaluate the role of this species as a reservoir of disease for domestic dogs and/or humans. Diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) DNA amplifications revealed 70% of jackals to be positive for Hepatozoon, 12.5% positive for piroplasms, and one individual positive for Leishmania infantum. Phylogenetic analyses of partial 18S rDNA sequences invariably placed sequenced isolates of Hepatozoon into the H. canis clade. For piroplasms, both the 18S and cox1 sequences obtained confirmed the presence of Babesia canis and "Theileria annae" in 5 and 2 individuals, respectively, providing the first records of these two piroplasmids in Eurasian golden jackals. A single animal from Dolj County (Romania) was PCR-positive for L. infantum, as confirmed also by sequencing of ITS1-5.8S. Apparently, expanding populations of jackals can play a significant role in spreading and maintaining new Babesia canis foci in Central Europe. The role of jackals in the epidemiology of "Theileria annae" and H. canis is probably similar to that of red foxes and should be taken into account in further research on these parasites. Also the presence of L. infantum deserves attention. Our study confirms that once established, the populations of Eurasian golden jackals constitute natural reservoirs for many canine vector-borne diseases, analogous to the role of the coyotes in North America.

  7. [Reference relationships between human and animal in Hildegard von Bingen].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riethe, Peter

    2012-01-01

    In "De animalibus", the 7th book in the "Liber simplicis medicinae", Hildegard von Bingen describes the characteristics of four-footed land animals. Some of these have a special relationship with humans in that they embody moral qualities. An explanation for this is already given in the preface, which states that human intelligence recognizes these qualities, declaring that "You are this or that sort of creature". Since the relationship that animals have with nature shares a degree of similarity with that of man's, they can be regarded as symbolic representatives for particular human traits and characteristics. The article at hand presents Hildegard von Bingen's descriptions of the monkey, the lion, the bear, the rabbit, the dog, the cat, the wolf, the lynx, and the donkey. While the monkey just mimics man's behaviour and is imperfect in both settings, the lion embodies will power. The bear on the other hand stands for unbridled sexual desire, while in the rabbit the gentleness of a sheep is united with the bounce of a deer. The lynx is regarded as hedonistic, the donkey as stupid, and the wolf as surrounded by dangerous sylphs. In Hildegard's depictions, exotic and native animal species display rather extraordinary behavioural traits, and the medieval Christian world view of the author conveys unexpected relationships between humans and animals. In addition to empirical observation and experience, Hildegard also relies on folkloristic beliefs and magical practices related to explanatory models of her time. She allows largely unknown sources into her animal lore but never strays from her ultimate goal of having it serve to instruct people. In doing so, Hildegard removed herself far from the common tradition of medieval animal portraits.

  8. Sinks without borders: Snowshoe hare dynamics in a complex landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffin, Paul C.; Mills, L. Scott

    2009-01-01

    A full understanding of population dynamics of wide-ranging animals should account for the effects that movement and habitat use have on individual contributions to population growth or decline. Quantifying the per-capita, habitat-specific contribution to population growth can clarify the value of different patch types, and help to differentiate population sources from population sinks. Snowshoe hares, Lepus americanus, routinely use various habitat types in the landscapes they inhabit in the contiguous US, where managing forests for high snowshoe hare density is a priority for conservation of Canada lynx, Lynx canadensis. We estimated density and demographic rates via mark–recapture live trapping and radio-telemetry within four forest stand structure (FSS) types at three study areas within heterogeneous managed forests in western Montana. We found support for known fate survival models with time-varying individual covariates representing the proportion of locations in each of the FSS types, with survival rates decreasing as use of open young and open mature FSS types increased. The per-capita contribution to overall population growth increased with use of the dense mature or dense young FSS types and decreased with use of the open young or open mature FSS types, and relatively high levels of immigration appear to be necessary to sustain hares in the open FSS types. Our results support a conceptual model for snowshoe hares in the southern range in which sink habitats (open areas) prevent the buildup of high hare densities. More broadly, we use this system to develop a novel approach to quantify demographic sources and sinks for animals making routine movements through complex fragmented landscapes.

  9. Eurasian Economic Union: A Regional Economic Hegemony Initiative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serdar YILMAZ

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available It can be assumed that international relations terminology has not mentioned enough about the significance of the Eurasian Economic Union in territorial as well as in economic terms during a period of growing geopolitical risks and high interdependence between the member countries and the rest. According to Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, it is truly difficult for states to overcome economic, political and security issues and therefore, states need to act together against the problems in a globalizing world by establishing regional and international organisations. This article thus examines the Eurasian Economic Union integration proces, which is driven by political and economic factors that consolidate regional security and create an effective economic system, whether it in the long term will become successful or not. The author also analyses the Kazakh economic and strategic interests in the region as well as the motivation, power and influence of other members in deepening the cooperation with international arena and the limits in the economic-security integration.

  10. The FINUDA data acquisition system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cerello, P.; Marcello, S.; Filippini, V.; Fiore, L.; Gianotti, P.; Raimondo, A.

    1996-07-01

    A parallel scalable Data Acquisition System, based on VME, has been developed to be used in the FINUDA experiment, scheduled to run at the DAPHNE machine at Frascati starting from 1997. The acquisition software runs on embedded RTPC 8067 processors using the LynxOS operating system. The readout of event fragments is coordinated by a suitable trigger Supervisor. data read by different controllers are transported via dedicated bus to a Global Event Builder running on a UNIX machine. Commands from and to VME processors are sent via socket based network protocols. The network hardware is presently ethernet, but it can easily changed to optical fiber

  11. Biogenic volatile organic compound emissions from the Eurasian taiga: current knowledge and future directions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rinne, J. (Dept. of Physics, Univ. of Helsinki (Finland)); Baeck, J. (Dept. of Forest Ecology, Univ. of Helsinki (Finland)); Hakola, H. (Finnish Meteorological Institute, Air Quality Research, Helsinki (Finland))

    2009-07-01

    n this paper, the research conducted on the emissions of the biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) from the European boreal zone, or taiga, is reviewed. We highlight the main findings and the key gaps in our knowledge. Ecosystem scale BVOC emissions from the Eurasian taiga are observed to be relatively low as compared with those from some forest ecosystems in warmer climates. One of the distinctive features of the Eurasian taiga is the predominance of monoterpene emitting coniferous trees. Recent research indicates that in addition to evaporation from storage structures, part of the monoterpene emission of conifers originates directly from synthesis. Monoterpene emission from boreal deciduous trees originates mainly directly from synthesis. The boreal trees exhibit distinct intra-species variation in the monoterpene mixtures they emit. Important sources of isoprene in the Eurasian taiga include Norway spruce, open wetland ecosystems and some non-dominant woody species, such as European aspen and willows. Many boreal tree species also emit non-terpenoid compounds and highly reactive sesquiterpenes. The future challenges in the research on BVOC emissions from the Eurasian taiga include (i) quantification and understanding the non-terpenoid VOC emissions from the taiga ecosystems, (ii) bringing ecosystems in the eastern Eurasian taiga into the sphere of BVOC emission studies, (iii) establishing long-term ecosystem flux studies combined with plant physiological measurements, and (iv) integrating knowledge and research skills on BVOC synthesis, storages and emissions, land cover changes and atmospheric processes in different spatial and temporal scales in order to better understand the impact of biosphere on atmospheric chemistry and composition in changing climate. (orig.)

  12. Utility of surface pollen assemblages to delimit Eastern Eurasian steppe types.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng Qin

    Full Text Available Modern pollen records have been used to successfully distinguish between specific prairie types in North America. Whether the pollen records can be used to detect the occurrence of Eurasian steppe, or even to further delimit various steppe types was until now unclear. Here we characterized modern pollen assemblages of meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe from eastern Eurasia along an ecological humidity gradient. The multivariate ordination of the pollen data indicated that Eurasian steppe types could be clearly differentiated. The different steppe types could be distinguished primarily by xerophilous elements in the pollen assemblages. Redundancy analysis indicated that the relative abundances of Ephedra, Tamarix, Nitraria and Zygophyllaceae were positively correlated with aridity. The relative abundances of Ephedra increased from meadow steppe to typical steppe and desert steppe. Tamarix and Zygophyllaceae were found in both typical steppe and desert steppe, but not in meadow steppe. Nitraria was only found in desert steppe. The relative abundances of xerophilous elements were greater in desert steppe than in typical steppe. These findings indicate that Eurasian steppe types can be differentiated based on recent pollen rain.

  13. Haematology and Serum Biochemistry Parameters and Variations in the Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon J Girling

    Full Text Available Haematology parameters (N = 24 and serum biochemistry parameters (N = 35 were determined for wild Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber, between 6 months - 12 years old. Of the population tested in this study, N = 18 Eurasian beavers were from Norway and N = 17 originating from Bavaria but now living extensively in a reserve in England. All blood samples were collected from beavers via the ventral tail vein. All beavers were chemically restrained using inhalant isoflurane in 100% oxygen prior to blood sampling. Results were determined for haematological and serum biochemical parameters for the species and were compared between the two different populations with differences in means estimated and significant differences being noted. Standard blood parameters for the Eurasian beaver were determined and their ranges characterised using percentiles. Whilst the majority of blood parameters between the two populations showed no significant variation, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin and white blood cell counts showed significantly greater values (p<0.01 in the Bavarian origin population than the Norwegian; neutrophil counts, alpha 2 globulins, cholesterol, sodium: potassium ratios and phosphorus levels showed significantly (p<0.05 greater values in Bavarian versus Norwegian; and potassium, bile acids, gamma globulins, urea, creatinine and total calcium values levels showed significantly (p<0.05 greater values in Norwegian versus Bavarian relict populations. No significant differences were noted between male and female beavers or between sexually immature (<3 years old and sexually mature (≥3 years old beavers in the animals sampled. With Eurasian beaver reintroduction encouraged by legislation throughout Europe, knowledge of baseline blood values for the species and any variations therein is essential when assessing their health and welfare and the success or failure of any reintroduction program. This is the first study to produce

  14. Ancient Ethiopian genome reveals extensive Eurasian admixture in Eastern Africa

    KAUST Repository

    Gallego Llorente, M.

    2015-10-09

    Characterizing genetic diversity in Africa is a crucial step for most analyses reconstructing the evolutionary history of anatomically modern humans. However, historic migrations from Eurasia into Africa have affected many contemporary populations, confounding inferences. Here, we present a 12.5×coverage ancient genome of an Ethiopian male ("Mota") who lived approximately 4500 years ago. We use this genome to demonstrate that the Eurasian backflow into Africa came from a population closely related to Early Neolithic farmers, who had colonized Europe 4000 years earlier. The extent of this backflow was much greater than previously reported, reaching all the way to Central, West, and Southern Africa, affecting even populations such as Yoruba and Mbuti, previously thought to be relatively unadmixed, who harbor 6 to 7% Eurasian ancestry.

  15. Ancient Ethiopian genome reveals extensive Eurasian admixture in Eastern Africa

    KAUST Repository

    Gallego Llorente, M.; Jones, E. R.; Eriksson, Anders; Siska, V.; Arthur, K. W.; Arthur, J. W.; Curtis, M. C.; Stock, J. T.; Coltorti, M.; Pieruccini, P.; Stretton, S.; Brock, F.; Higham, T.; Park, Y.; Hofreiter, M.; Bradley, D. G.; Bhak, J.; Pinhasi, R.; Manica, A.

    2015-01-01

    Characterizing genetic diversity in Africa is a crucial step for most analyses reconstructing the evolutionary history of anatomically modern humans. However, historic migrations from Eurasia into Africa have affected many contemporary populations, confounding inferences. Here, we present a 12.5×coverage ancient genome of an Ethiopian male ("Mota") who lived approximately 4500 years ago. We use this genome to demonstrate that the Eurasian backflow into Africa came from a population closely related to Early Neolithic farmers, who had colonized Europe 4000 years earlier. The extent of this backflow was much greater than previously reported, reaching all the way to Central, West, and Southern Africa, affecting even populations such as Yoruba and Mbuti, previously thought to be relatively unadmixed, who harbor 6 to 7% Eurasian ancestry.

  16. Parental correlates of offspring sex ratio in Eurasian Oystercatchers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heg, D.; Dingemanse, NJ; Lessells, CM; Mateman, AC

    2000-01-01

    We investigated hatchling and fledgling sex ratios in Eurasian Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers. The overall hatchling (53% males, n = 374 hatchlings from 177 broods) and fledgling (49% males, n = 51) sex ratio did not differ significantly from

  17. Mortality factors and diseases in free-ranging Eurasian cranes (Grus grus) in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fanke, Jane; Wibbelt, Gudrun; Krone, Oliver

    2011-07-01

    Detailed postmortem examinations were performed on 167 free-ranging Eurasian Cranes (Grus grus) from Germany, collected between September 1998 and December 2008 to evaluate causes of death and diseases. The most common causes of mortality were traumatic injuries (n=105, 62.9%) from collisions with power lines (n=39, 23.4%) and wire fences (n=12, 7.2%). A group of 28 Eurasian Cranes (16.8%) died from organophosphate intoxication. Predation by White-tailed Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) occurred in four cases (2.4%). Pathologic changes due to infectious diseases were associated with Aspergillus spp. (n=7, 4.2%), endoparasites (n=7, 4.2%), avian poxvirus (n=6, 3.6%), Mycobacterium spp. (n=2, 1.2%), and adenovirus infection (n=1, 0.6%). A severe Strigea spp. infection (n=1, 0.6%) and a leiomyosarcoma (n=1, 0.6%) were newly recognized diseases in Eurasian Cranes in this study.

  18. Calf mortality of semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus in the Finnish reindeer-herding area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauri Nieminen

    2013-06-01

    comprised 53% and wolf-killed 45%. Predation was 70% of total mortality in the Halla cooperative, and predation by wolf, bear, lynx and wolverine comprised on average 38%, 20%, 9% and 2.3%, respectively. The sex and pelt color did not significantly affect survival of calves. Birth weight of calves killed by bears was significantly (P<0.01 lighter than those not killed, but those calves killed by lynxes were significantly (P<0.05 heavier than that survived. Bears killed calves mainly in May-July, wolves in July-October and lynx in August-December.

  19. Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX: towards a holistic understanding of the feedbacks and interactions in the land–atmosphere–ocean–society continuum in the northern Eurasian region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. K. Lappalainen

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The northern Eurasian regions and Arctic Ocean will very likely undergo substantial changes during the next decades. The Arctic–boreal natural environments play a crucial role in the global climate via albedo change, carbon sources and sinks as well as atmospheric aerosol production from biogenic volatile organic compounds. Furthermore, it is expected that global trade activities, demographic movement, and use of natural resources will be increasing in the Arctic regions. There is a need for a novel research approach, which not only identifies and tackles the relevant multi-disciplinary research questions, but also is able to make a holistic system analysis of the expected feedbacks. In this paper, we introduce the research agenda of the Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX, a multi-scale, multi-disciplinary and international program started in 2012 (https://www.atm.helsinki.fi/peex/. PEEX sets a research approach by which large-scale research topics are investigated from a system perspective and which aims to fill the key gaps in our understanding of the feedbacks and interactions between the land–atmosphere–aquatic–society continuum in the northern Eurasian region. We introduce here the state of the art for the key topics in the PEEX research agenda and present the future prospects of the research, which we see relevant in this context.

  20. Seismic Tomography of the Arabian-Eurasian Collision Zone and Surrounding Areas

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Toksoz, M. N; Van der Hilst, Robert D; Sun, Youshun; Gulen, Levent; Kalafat, Dogan; Kuleli, Huseyin S; Li, Chang; Zhang, Haijiang

    2008-01-01

    ... and surrounding areas, including Iran, Arabia, Eastern Turkey, and the Caucasus. The Arabian-Eurasian plate boundary is a complex tectonic zone shaped by continent-continent collision processes...

  1. Eurasian Economic Union: Opportunities and Barriers to Regional and Global Leadership

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    In Andronova

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU is a new integration grouping in the post-Soviet space that is generating heightened interest as a global economy with the potential to become a new regional and global actor. This article analyzes the effectiveness of the Eurasian integration processes and proposes several actions to strengthen economic relations among EEU members through detecting and building common economic interests. Russia accounts for as much as 87% of the EEU’s geo-economic potential, which stresses the country’s role as anintegrative hub. The EEU benefits are thus unevenly distributed among its participants. Moreover, these benefits lack consistency and long-term orientation, which may threaten the EEU’s existence if markets and international economic relations change.This article analyses the interrelation and interdependency of national economies in terms of the mutual trade in goods and services and investment cooperation. It finds that the level of economic integration does not meet the interests of strengthening Eurasian integration. Despite the huge benefits of the Customs Union, trade volumes have not increased and the structure of manufacturing and cooperation ties remain unchanged. This article recommends that developing and implementing a common industrial and agricultural policy would strengthen the EEU, and proposes an approach to estimate the results of such a policy.

  2. Pan Eurasian EXperiment (PEEX) - towards a new multinational environment and climate research effort in Eurasia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petäjä, Tuukka; Kulmala, Markku; Lappalainen, Hanna; Sipilä, Mikko; Sorvari, Sanna; Alekseychik, Pavel; Paramonov, Mikhail; Kerminen, Veli-Matti; Zilitinkevich, Sergej

    2013-04-01

    Boreal forests are a substantial source of greenhouse gases, biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and natural aerosols, the critical atmospheric components related to climate change processes. A large fraction of boreal forests of the world is situated in Siberian region. Representative measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) concentrations, BVOC emissions and aerosols production from Siberian are of special importance when estimating global budgets of climate change relevant factors. The scope of a new concept of the Pan Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) is to set up a process for planning of a large-scale, long-term, coordinated observations and modeling experiment in the Pan Eurasian region, especially to cover ground base, airborne and satellite observations together with global and regional models to find out different forcing and feedback mechanisms in the changing climate. University of Helsinki together with Finnish Meteorological institute are organizing the Pan-Eurasian Experiment and to gather all the European and Russian key players in the field of climate and Earth system science to plan the future research activities in the Pan-Eurasian region. In the European scale PEEX is part of the JPI Climate Fast Track Activity 1.3. "Changing cryosphere in the climate system - from observations to climate modeling". PEEX research topics are closely related the NordForsk's Top Research Initiative CRAICC - Cryosphere - atmosphere interaction in the changing Arctic climate. PEEX is also a central part of the ongoing the Finnish Cultural Foundation - Earth System modeling Working Group activity (2012-2013). PEEX scientific aims and future actions to develop Pan Eurasian research infrastructure can be linked to several EC and ESA funded activities aiming to develop next generation research infrastructures and data products: EU-FP7-ACTRIS-I3-project (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network-project 2011-2015); ICOS a research

  3. Reconstructions of human history by mapping dental markers in living Eurasian populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashibadze, Vera F.; Nasonova, Olga G.; Nasonov, Dmitry S.

    2013-01-01

    Using advances in gene geography and anthropophenetics, the phenogeographical method for anthropological research was initiated and developed using dental data. Statistical and cartographical analyses are provided for 498 living Eurasian populations. Mapping principal components supplied evidence for the phene pool structure in Eurasian populations, and for reconstructions of Homo sapiens history on the continent. Longitudinal variability seems to be the most important regularity revealed by principal components analysis (PCA) and mapping, indicating the division of the whole area into western and eastern main provinces. So, the most ancient scenario in the history of Eurasian populations developed from two perspective different groups: a western group related to ancient populations of West Asia and an eastern one rooted in ancestry in South and/or East Asia. In spite of the enormous territory and the revealed divergence, the populations of the continent have undergone wide scale and intensive timeespace interaction. Many details in the revealed landscapes are background to different historical events. Migrations and assimilation are two essential phenomena in Eurasian history: the widespread of the western combination through the whole continent to the Pacific coastline and the movement of the paradoxical combinations of eastern and western markers from South or Central Asia to the east and west. Taking into account that no additional eastern combinations in the total variation in Asian groups have been found, but that mixed or western markers' sets and that eastern dental characteristics are traced in Asia since Homo erectus, the assumption is made in favour of the hetero-level assimilation in the eastern province and of net-like evolution of H. sapiens.

  4. Mammals in the areas adjacent to Forsmark and Oskarshamn. Population density, ecological data and carbon budget

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Truve, Johan; Cederlund, Goeran [Svensk Naturfoervaltning AB, Ramsberg (Sweden)

    2005-06-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co is in the process of selecting a safe and environmentally acceptable location for the deep-level repository of radioactive waste. SKB has expressed the importance of monitoring mammal species that are of interest both in biodiversity issues and for local hunting and recreational purposes. Two of the major goals are to: 1) monitor dynamics of population density over several years; 2) obtain information that is essential for modelling of energy/carbon flows in the biosphere and ultimately calculations of the risks of exposure to radionuclides. This report contributes to the major goals by presenting: Results from surveys of mammal abundance in the study sites near Forsmark and Oskarshamn, and a comparison with data from other surveys. A summary of traits associated to demography, resource selection and spatial distribution. A model framework that can be used to model the future development of populations. A plausible future scenario for mammal species. Mammal contribution to fluxes of energy and material in the ecosystem. Estimated harvest rates of mammals in the study sites. General conclusions that can be drawn from the survey are that population densities of the most common species are in the same range as many other populations. Lynx, wild boar, red deer and fallow deer are expanding in the areas. Marine mammals have not been surveyed but at least grey seals are important top consumers in the coastal ecosystem. Red listed species resident in the areas are Lynx, Otter, Whiskered bat, Natterer's bat, Nathusius' pipistrelle and Harbour seal. Annual production of the mammal species that were surveyed was 40-50 mg carbon/m2 and year. Hunters harvest nearly half of the production each year. Future developments for the populations are briefly discussed and a model framework that can be used to make better quantitative predictions is presented.

  5. Mammals in the areas adjacent to Forsmark and Oskarshamn. Population density, ecological data and carbon budget

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Truve, Johan; Cederlund, Goeran [Svensk Naturfoervaltning AB, Ramsberg (Sweden)

    2005-06-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co is in the process of selecting a safe and environmentally acceptable location for the deep-level repository of radioactive waste. SKB has expressed the importance of monitoring mammal species that are of interest both in biodiversity issues and for local hunting and recreational purposes. Two of the major goals are to: 1) monitor dynamics of population density over several years; 2) obtain information that is essential for modelling of energy/carbon flows in the biosphere and ultimately calculations of the risks of exposure to radionuclides. This report contributes to the major goals by presenting: Results from surveys of mammal abundance in the study sites near Forsmark and Oskarshamn, and a comparison with data from other surveys. A summary of traits associated to demography, resource selection and spatial distribution. A model framework that can be used to model the future development of populations. A plausible future scenario for mammal species. Mammal contribution to fluxes of energy and material in the ecosystem. Estimated harvest rates of mammals in the study sites. General conclusions that can be drawn from the survey are that population densities of the most common species are in the same range as many other populations. Lynx, wild boar, red deer and fallow deer are expanding in the areas. Marine mammals have not been surveyed but at least grey seals are important top consumers in the coastal ecosystem. Red listed species resident in the areas are Lynx, Otter, Whiskered bat, Natterer's bat, Nathusius' pipistrelle and Harbour seal. Annual production of the mammal species that were surveyed was 40-50 mg carbon/m2 and year. Hunters harvest nearly half of the production each year. Future developments for the populations are briefly discussed and a model framework that can be used to make better quantitative predictions is presented.

  6. Artificial intelligence: Neural network model as the multidisciplinary team member in clinical decision support to avoid medical mistakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzaev, Igor Vyacheslavovich; Plechev, Vladimir Vyacheslavovich; Nikolaeva, Irina Evgenievna; Galimova, Rezida Maratovna

    2016-09-01

    The continuous uninterrupted feedback system is the essential part of any well-organized system. We propose aLYNX concept that is a possibility to use an artificial intelligence algorithm or a neural network model in decision-making system so as to avoid possible mistakes and to remind the doctors to review tactics once more in selected cases. aLYNX system includes: registry with significant factors, decisions and results; machine learning process based on this registry data; the use of the machine learning results as the adviser. We show a possibility to build a computer adviser with a neural network model for making a choice between coronary aortic bypass surgery (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in order to achieve a higher 5-year survival rate in patients with angina based on the experience of 5107 patients. The neural network was trained by 4679 patients who achieved 5-year survival. Among them, 2390 patients underwent PCI and 2289 CABG. After training, the correlation coefficient ( r ) of the network was 0.74 for training, 0.67 for validation, 0.71 for test and 0.73 for total. Simulation of the neural network function has been performed after training in the two groups of patients with known 5-year outcome. The disagreement rate was significantly higher in the dead patient group than that in the survivor group between neural network model and heart team [16.8% (787/4679) vs. 20.3% (87/428), P  = 0.065)]. The study shows the possibility to build a computer adviser with a neural network model for making a choice between CABG and PCI in order to achieve a higher 5-year survival rate in patients with angina.

  7. New World feline APOBEC3 potently controls inter-genus lentiviral transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konno, Yoriyuki; Nagaoka, Shumpei; Kimura, Izumi; Yamamoto, Keisuke; Kagawa, Yumiko; Kumata, Ryuichi; Aso, Hirofumi; Ueda, Mahoko Takahashi; Nakagawa, So; Kobayashi, Tomoko; Koyanagi, Yoshio; Sato, Kei

    2018-04-10

    The apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3 (APOBEC3; A3) gene family appears only in mammalian genomes. Some A3 proteins can be incorporated into progeny virions and inhibit lentiviral replication. In turn, the lentiviral viral infectivity factor (Vif) counteracts the A3-mediated antiviral effect by degrading A3 proteins. Recent investigations have suggested that lentiviral vif genes evolved to combat mammalian APOBEC3 proteins, and have further proposed that the Vif-A3 interaction may help determine the co-evolutionary history of cross-species lentiviral transmission in mammals. Here we address the co-evolutionary relationship between two New World felids, the puma (Puma concolor) and the bobcat (Lynx rufus), and their lentiviruses, which are designated puma lentiviruses (PLVs). We demonstrate that PLV-A Vif counteracts the antiviral action of APOBEC3Z3 (A3Z3) of both puma and bobcat, whereas PLV-B Vif counteracts only puma A3Z3. The species specificity of PLV-B Vif is irrespective of the phylogenic relationships of feline species in the genera Puma, Lynx and Acinonyx. We reveal that the amino acid at position 178 in the puma and bobcat A3Z3 is exposed on the protein surface and determines the sensitivity to PLV-B Vif-mediated degradation. Moreover, although both the puma and bobcat A3Z3 genes are polymorphic, their sensitivity/resistance to PLV Vif-mediated degradation is conserved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study suggesting that the host A3 protein potently controls inter-genus lentiviral transmission. Our findings provide the first evidence suggesting that the co-evolutionary arms race between lentiviruses and mammals has occurred in the New World.

  8. Artificial intelligence: Neural network model as the multidisciplinary team member in clinical decision support to avoid medical mistakes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor Vyacheslavovich Buzaev

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The continuous uninterrupted feedback system is the essential part of any well-organized system. We propose aLYNX concept that is a possibility to use an artificial intelligence algorithm or a neural network model in decision-making system so as to avoid possible mistakes and to remind the doctors to review tactics once more in selected cases. Method: aLYNX system includes: registry with significant factors, decisions and results; machine learning process based on this registry data; the use of the machine learning results as the adviser. We show a possibility to build a computer adviser with a neural network model for making a choice between coronary aortic bypass surgery (CABG and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI in order to achieve a higher 5-year survival rate in patients with angina based on the experience of 5107 patients. Results: The neural network was trained by 4679 patients who achieved 5-year survival. Among them, 2390 patients underwent PCI and 2289 CABG. After training, the correlation coefficient (r of the network was 0.74 for training, 0.67 for validation, 0.71 for test and 0.73 for total. Simulation of the neural network function has been performed after training in the two groups of patients with known 5-year outcome. The disagreement rate was significantly higher in the dead patient group than that in the survivor group between neural network model and heart team [16.8% (787/4679 vs. 20.3% (87/428, P = 0.065]. Conclusion: The study shows the possibility to build a computer adviser with a neural network model for making a choice between CABG and PCI in order to achieve a higher 5-year survival rate in patients with angina. Keywords: Coronary artery bypass grafting, Percutaneous coronary intervention, Artificial intelligence, Decision making

  9. Modelling landscape-level numerical responses of predators to prey: the case of cats and rabbits.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennyffer Cruz

    Full Text Available Predator-prey systems can extend over large geographical areas but empirical modelling of predator-prey dynamics has been largely limited to localised scales. This is due partly to difficulties in estimating predator and prey abundances over large areas. Collection of data at suitably large scales has been a major problem in previous studies of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus and their predators. This applies in Western Europe, where conserving rabbits and predators such as Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus is important, and in other parts of the world where rabbits are an invasive species supporting populations of introduced, and sometimes native, predators. In pastoral regions of New Zealand, rabbits are the primary prey of feral cats (Felis catus that threaten native fauna. We estimate the seasonal numerical response of cats to fluctuations in rabbit numbers in grassland-shrubland habitat across the Otago and Mackenzie regions of the South Island of New Zealand. We use spotlight counts over 1645 km of transects to estimate rabbit and cat abundances with a novel modelling approach that accounts simultaneously for environmental stochasticity, density dependence and varying detection probability. Our model suggests that cat abundance is related consistently to rabbit abundance in spring and summer, possibly through increased rabbit numbers improving the fecundity and juvenile survival of cats. Maintaining rabbits at low abundance should therefore suppress cat numbers, relieving predation pressure on native prey. Our approach provided estimates of the abundance of cats and rabbits over a large geographical area. This was made possible by repeated sampling within each season, which allows estimation of detection probabilities. A similar approach could be applied to predator-prey systems elsewhere, and could be adapted to any method of direct observation in which there is no double-counting of individuals. Reliable estimates of numerical

  10. Mammals in the areas adjacent to Forsmark and Oskarshamn. Population density, ecological data and carbon budget

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Truve, Johan; Cederlund, Goeran

    2005-06-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co is in the process of selecting a safe and environmentally acceptable location for the deep-level repository of radioactive waste. SKB has expressed the importance of monitoring mammal species that are of interest both in biodiversity issues and for local hunting and recreational purposes. Two of the major goals are to: 1) monitor dynamics of population density over several years; 2) obtain information that is essential for modelling of energy/carbon flows in the biosphere and ultimately calculations of the risks of exposure to radionuclides. This report contributes to the major goals by presenting: Results from surveys of mammal abundance in the study sites near Forsmark and Oskarshamn, and a comparison with data from other surveys. A summary of traits associated to demography, resource selection and spatial distribution. A model framework that can be used to model the future development of populations. A plausible future scenario for mammal species. Mammal contribution to fluxes of energy and material in the ecosystem. Estimated harvest rates of mammals in the study sites. General conclusions that can be drawn from the survey are that population densities of the most common species are in the same range as many other populations. Lynx, wild boar, red deer and fallow deer are expanding in the areas. Marine mammals have not been surveyed but at least grey seals are important top consumers in the coastal ecosystem. Red listed species resident in the areas are Lynx, Otter, Whiskered bat, Natterer's bat, Nathusius' pipistrelle and Harbour seal. Annual production of the mammal species that were surveyed was 40-50 mg carbon/m2 and year. Hunters harvest nearly half of the production each year. Future developments for the populations are briefly discussed and a model framework that can be used to make better quantitative predictions is presented

  11. The energy requirements of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) in intensive culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strand, A.; Overton, Julia Lynne; Alanara, A.

    2011-01-01

    requirements of this species. The aim of this study was to develop an energy requirement model for intensive culture of Eurasian perch reared at rational temperatures. Data on growth (the thermal unit growth coefficient, TGC, 3√g ‧ (℃ ‧ days)-1) and digestible energy need (DEN, kJ DE ‧ g -1) of Eurasian perch...... at a size range of 20–180 g and at temperatures of 17–23 ℃ were used. Regression analysis revealed that both TGC and DEN were affected significantly by fish size (P 0.05). Two models including body size of the fish were developed: (i) an inverse TGC model for evaluation...

  12. Inventory of mammals at Forsmark and Haallnaes; Inventering av daeggdjur i Forsmark och Haallnaes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Truve, Johan [Svensk Naturfoervaltning AB, Goeteborg (Sweden)

    2012-08-15

    A selection of terrestrial mammals was surveyed in the SKB site investigation areas near Forsmark and Haallnaes between January and April 2012. The methods that were used include snow tracking along line transects, snow tracking along water, aerial survey and fecal pellet counts. The same species were found in 2012 as in previous surveys performed in 2002, 2003 and 2007. Some species show a large variation in density between years and it is difficult to draw any conclusions about their long term development. Several carnivores, i.e. lynx, fox and otter show a positive growth rate in both areas. The wild boar population is also growing whilst moose density remains fairly stable and roe deer are becoming less numerous.

  13. Inventory of mammals at Forsmark and Haallnaes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Truve, Johan

    2012-08-01

    A selection of terrestrial mammals was surveyed in the SKB site investigation areas near Forsmark and Haallnaes between January and April 2012. The methods that were used include snow tracking along line transects, snow tracking along water, aerial survey and fecal pellet counts. The same species were found in 2012 as in previous surveys performed in 2002, 2003 and 2007. Some species show a large variation in density between years and it is difficult to draw any conclusions about their long term development. Several carnivores, i.e. lynx, fox and otter show a positive growth rate in both areas. The wild boar population is also growing whilst moose density remains fairly stable and roe deer are becoming less numerous

  14. Renewing library Web sites CMS at libraries

    CERN Document Server

    Vida, A

    2006-01-01

    The use of the Internet has a ten-year history in Hungary. In the beginning, users were surfing on textual Web sites with the browser Lynx (1991), then a range of graphic browsers appeared: Mosaic (1993) , Netscape (1994), and finally Internet Explorer (1995). More and more institutions, including libraries decided to enter the World Wide Web with their own homepage. The past ten years have brought enormous changes and new requirements in the way that institutional homepages are designed. This article offers an overview of the development phases of Web sites, presents the new tools necessary for the state-of-the-art design and gives advice on their up-to-date maintenance.

  15. Monitoring and assessment of conservation status of the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søgaard, Bjarne; Madsen, Aksel Bo; Elmeros, Morten

    Monitoring and assessment of conservation status of the Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra in Denmark Søgaard B. ¹, Madsen A.B.¹, Elmeros M.¹ ¹Institute of Bioscience - Kaloe, Aarhus University. Keywords: Eurasian Otter; Monitoring; Conservation status According to the EU Habitats Directive Denmark has...... of the otter inside Denmark, DNA analysis of dead found otters in Schleswig-Holstein (North Germany) shows that “Danish” otter have crossed the border to Germany connecting the Danish population to the East German population, which spreads into Schleswig-Holstein from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern....

  16. Eurasian golden jackal as host of canine vector-borne protists

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mitková, B.; Hrazdilová, K.; D'Amico, G.; Duscher, G. G.; Suchentrunk, F.; Forejtek, P.; Gherman, C.M.; Matei, I.A.; Ionică, A.M.; Daskalaki, A.A.; Mihalca, A. D.; Votýpka, Jan; Hulva, P.; Modrý, David

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 10, APR 14 (2017), č. článku 183. ISSN 1756-3305 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Eurasian golden jackal * Babesia * Hepatozoon * Theileria annae * Leishmania Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine OBOR OECD: Veterinary science Impact factor: 3.080, year: 2016

  17. Badger hair in shaving brushes comes from protected Eurasian badgers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Domingo-Roura, X.; Marmi, J.; Ferrando, A.; López-Giráldez, F.; Macdonald, D.W.; Jansman, H.A.H.

    2006-01-01

    The Eurasian badger (Meles meles) is included in Appendix III of the Bern Convention and protected by national laws in many European countries. Badger hair is used to manufacture luxury shaving brushes, although it is frequently argued that the hog badger (Arctonyx collaris), which in Europe is an

  18. Eurasian Economic Union: A Regional Economic Hegemony Initiative

    OpenAIRE

    Serdar YILMAZ

    2017-01-01

    It can be assumed that international relations terminology has not mentioned enough about the significance of the Eurasian Economic Union in territorial as well as in economic terms during a period of growing geopolitical risks and high interdependence between the member countries and the rest. According to Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, it is truly difficult for states to overcome economic, political and security issues and therefore, states need to act together against the pro...

  19. Disseminated visceral coccidiosis in Eurasian cranes (Grus grus) in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, M F; Brown, M J; Stidworthy, M F; Peirce, M A; Marshall, R N; Honma, H; Nakai, Y

    2011-02-26

    Clinical disease and mortalities due to disseminated visceral coccidiosis were identified for the first time in a group of captive juvenile Eurasian cranes (Grus grus) in the UK during 2008. Presumptive diagnosis was made from the finding of granulomatous nodules in the liver, spleen and other organs at gross postmortem examination, and confirmed histologically by the presence of intracellular coccidial stages within lesions. The species of coccidian was determined to be Eimeria reichenowi on the basis of faecal oocyst morphology and sequencing of 18S rDNA by PCR. A further outbreak of clinical disease occurred in the same enclosure in 2009, affecting a new group of juvenile Eurasian cranes and demoiselle cranes (Anthropoides virgo) and indicating the persistence of infective oocysts in the environment. Clinical sampling of birds during both years demonstrated positive results from examination of both faecal samples and peripheral blood smears.

  20. Relationship between Eurasian large-scale patterns and regional climate variability over the Black and Baltic Seas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stankunavicius, G.; Pupienis, D. [Vilnius Univ. (Lithuania). Dept. of Hydrology and Climatology; Basharin, D. [National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Sevastopol (Ukraine). Sevastopol Marine Hydrophysical Inst.

    2012-11-01

    Using a NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis dataset and the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis approach we studied interannual to decadal variabilities of the sea-level air pressure (SLP) and the surface air temperature (SAT) fields over Eurasia during the 2nd part of the 20th century. Our results agree with those of the previous studies, which conclude that Eurasian trends are the result of storm-path changes driven by the interdecadal behaviour of the NAO-like meridional dipole pattern in the Atlantic. On interannual and decadal time scales, significant synchronous correlations between correspondent modes of SAT and SLP EOF patterns were found. This fact suggests that there is a strong and stable Eurasian interrelationship between SAT and SLP large-scale fields which affects the local climate of two sub-regions: the Black and Baltic Seas. The climate variability in these sub-regions was studied in terms of Eurasian large-scale surface-temperature and air-pressure patterns responses. We concluded that the sub-regional climate variability substantially differs over the Black and Baltic Seas, and depends on different Eurasian large-scale patterns. We showed that the Baltic Sea region is influenced by the patterns arising primary from NAO-like meridional dipole, as well as Scandinavian patterns, while the Black Sea's SAT/SLP variability is influenced mainly by the second mode EOF (eastern Atlantic) and large scale tropospheric wave structures. (orig.)

  1. The new generation of PowerPC VMEbus front end computers for the CERN SPS and LEP accelerators control system

    CERN Document Server

    Van den Eynden, M

    1995-01-01

    The CERN SPS and LEP PowerPC project is aimed at introducing a new generation of PowerPC VMEbus processor modules running the LynxOS real-time operating system. This new generation of front end computers using the state-of-the-art microprocessor technology will first replace the obsolete Xenix PC based systems (about 140 installations) successfully used since 1988 to control the LEP accelerator. The major issues addressed in the scope of this large scale project are the technical specification for the new PowerPC technology, the re-engineering aspects, the interfaces with other CERN wide projects, and the set up of a development environment. This project offers also support for other major SPS and LEP projects interested in the PowerPC microprocessor technology.

  2. The new generation of PowerPC VMEbus front end computers for the CERN SPS and LEP accelerators system

    CERN Document Server

    Charrue, P; Ghinet, F; Ribeiro, P

    1995-01-01

    The CERN SPS and LEP PowerPC project is aimed at introducing a new generation of PowerPC VMEbus processor modules running the LynxOS real-time operating system. This new generation of front end computers using the state-of-the-art microprocessor technology will first replace the obsolete XENIX PC based systems (about 140 installations) successfully used since 1988 to control the LEP accelerator. The major issues addressed in the scope of this large scale project are the technical specification for the new PowerPC technology, the re-engineering aspects, the interfaces with other CERN wide projects, and the set up of a development environment. This project offers also support for other major SPS and LEP projects interested in the PowerPC microprocessor technology.

  3. Metabolite characterization of a novel sedative drug, remimazolam in human plasma and urine using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with synapt high-definition mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ying; Hu, Pei; Jiang, Ji

    2017-04-15

    Remimazolam is a new chemical entity belonging to the benzodiazepine class of sedative drugs, which shows faster-acting onset and recovery than currently available short-acting sedatives. In the present study, ultra high performance liquid chromatography with synapt high-definition mass spectrometry method combined with MassLynx software was established to characterize metabolites of remimazolam in human plasma and urine. In total, 5 human metabolites were detected, including 3 phase I and 2 phase II metabolites. There was no novel human metabolite detected compared to that in rat. Hydrolysis, glucuronidation and oxidation were the major metabolic reactions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the human metabolic profile of remimazolam. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Croatian Ethnogenesis: A Review of Component Stages and Interpretations (with Emphasis on Eurasian/Nomadic Elements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emil Heršak

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available In the paper, the authors present certain parameters dealing with the nomadic element, or possible indications of it, in Croatian ethnogenesis. First, a comment is given on the ethnogenetic concept itself, and a working definition of ethnogenesis is suggested. Second, the major components that are considered to have had a role in Croatian ethnogenesis are listed. This discussion is followed by an identification of those elements that could somehow be considered nomadic, or else representative of influences from the Eurasian steppe region. Mention is made of historical sources that confirm or imply the presence of Eurasian nomad groups in the Croatian area, and the relative frequency of archaeological material is noted. The authors analise views of previous and present Croatian and foreign authors on Croatian ethnogenesis, especially in regard to the “Eurasian connection”. In this part of the discussion, the Iranian theory of Croat origins is presented in more detail. Finally, the authors briefly address recent genetic (DNA analyses of the contemporary Croatian population.

  5. Introducing a new Book on the Ural-Altaic Language Classification (Towards Eurasian Linguistic Isoglosses: the Case of Turkic and Hungarian)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marácz, L.

    2014-01-01

    In this article, László Marácz introduces his own book on a new approach to the Ural-Altaic language classification. The book entitled ‘Towards Eurasian Linguistic Isoglosses: the Case of Hungarian and Turkic’ (henceforth ‘Towards Eurasian Linguistic Isoglosses…’ abbreviated as TELI) develops a

  6. Effects of oil production on economic growth in Eurasian countries: Panel ARDL approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bildirici, Melike Elif; Kayıkçı, Fazıl

    2013-01-01

    This study aims at analyzing the relationship between oil production and economic growth in major oil exporting Eurasian countries; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation and Turkmenistan for 1993–2010 periods. Empirical results reveal that oil production and economic growth are cointegrated for these countries. Furthermore, there is positive bi-directional causality between oil production and economic growth both in the long run and in the short run which supports the policies about investing in energy infrastructure. -- Highlights: ► Causality between economic growth and oil production is important for energy policies. ► Oil production and GDP are cointegrated for four oil exporting Eurasian countries. ► There is positive bi-directional causality between oil production and economic growth for these countries.

  7. Plant species occurrence patterns in Eurasian grasslands reflect adaptation to nutrient ratios

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roeling, Ineke S.; Ozinga, Wim A.; van Dijk, Jerry; Eppinga, Maarten B.; Wassen, Martin J.

    2018-01-01

    Previous studies of Eurasian grasslands have suggested that nutrient ratios, rather than absolute nutrient availabilities and associated productivity, may be driving plant species richness patterns. However, the underlying assumption that species occupy distinct niches along nutrient ratio gradients

  8. Song repertoire size correlates with measures of body size in Eurasian blackbirds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hesler, Nana; Mundry, Roger; Sacher, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    In most oscine bird species males possess a repertoire of different song patterns. The size of these repertoires is assumed to serve as an honest signal of male quality. The Eurasian blackbird’s (Turdus merula) song contains a large repertoire of different element types with a flexible song...... organisation. Here we investigated whether repertoire size in Eurasian blackbirds correlates with measures of body size, namely length of wing, 8th primary, beak and tarsus. So far, very few studies have investigated species with large repertoires and a flexible song organisation in this context. We found...... positive correlations, meaning that larger males had larger repertoires. Larger males may have better fighting abilities and, thus, advantages in territorial defence. Larger structural body size may also reflect better conditions during early development. Therefore, under the assumption that body size...

  9. The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is apparently not a host to blood parasites in Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Hannah B; Campbell-Palmer, Róisín; Girling, Simon; Rosell, Frank

    2012-11-23

    Parasites can alter the physiology and behaviour of host species and negatively impact on their fitness thus affecting population densities. This is the first investigation into the presence of blood parasites in the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber); a species that has been the subject of many translocation and reintroduction programmes. Two hundred and seventy blood slides prepared from the blood of 27 beavers from southern Norway were microscopically analysed for the presence of blood parasites. This study reports an absence of blood parasites in the Norwegian Eurasian beavers sampled. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Dietary specialization during the evolution of Western Eurasian hominoids and the extinction of European Great Apes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel DeMiguel

    Full Text Available Given the central adaptive role of diet, paleodietary inference is essential for understanding the relationship between evolutionary and paleoenvironmental change. Here we rely on dental microwear analysis to investigate the role of dietary specialization in the diversification and extinction of Miocene hominoids from Western Eurasian between 14 and 7 Ma. New microwear results for five extinct taxa are analyzed together with previous data for other Western Eurasian genera. Except Pierolapithecus (that resembles hard-object feeders and Oreopithecus (a soft-frugivore probably foraging opportunistically on other foods, most of the extinct taxa lack clear extant dietary analogues. They display some degee of sclerocarpy, which is most clearly expressed in Griphopithecus and Ouranopithecus (adapted to more open and arid environments, whereas Anoiapithecus, Dryopithecus and, especially, Hispanopithecus species apparently relied more strongly on soft-frugivory. Thus, contrasting with the prevailing sclerocarpic condition at the beginning of the Eurasian hominoid radiation, soft- and mixed-frugivory coexisted with hard-object feeding in the Late Miocene. Therefore, despite a climatic trend towards cooling and increased seasonality, a progressive dietary diversification would have occurred (probably due to competitive exclusion and increased environmental heterogeneity, although strict folivory did not evolve. Overall, our analyses support the view that the same dietary specializations that enabled Western Eurasian hominoids to face progressive climatic deterioration were the main factor ultimately leading to their extinction when more drastic paleoenvironmental changes took place.

  11. Genetic diversity in India and the inference of Eurasian population expansion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Jinchuan; Watkins, W Scott; Hu, Ya; Huff, Chad D; Sabo, Aniko; Muzny, Donna M; Bamshad, Michael J; Gibbs, Richard A; Jorde, Lynn B; Yu, Fuli

    2010-01-01

    Genetic studies of populations from the Indian subcontinent are of great interest because of India's large population size, complex demographic history, and unique social structure. Despite recent large-scale efforts in discovering human genetic variation, India's vast reservoir of genetic diversity remains largely unexplored. To analyze an unbiased sample of genetic diversity in India and to investigate human migration history in Eurasia, we resequenced one 100-kb ENCODE region in 92 samples collected from three castes and one tribal group from the state of Andhra Pradesh in south India. Analyses of the four Indian populations, along with eight HapMap populations (692 samples), showed that 30% of all SNPs in the south Indian populations are not seen in HapMap populations. Several Indian populations, such as the Yadava, Mala/Madiga, and Irula, have nucleotide diversity levels as high as those of HapMap African populations. Using unbiased allele-frequency spectra, we investigated the expansion of human populations into Eurasia. The divergence time estimates among the major population groups suggest that Eurasian populations in this study diverged from Africans during the same time frame (approximately 90 to 110 thousand years ago). The divergence among different Eurasian populations occurred more than 40,000 years after their divergence with Africans. Our results show that Indian populations harbor large amounts of genetic variation that have not been surveyed adequately by public SNP discovery efforts. Our data also support a delayed expansion hypothesis in which an ancestral Eurasian founding population remained isolated long after the out-of-Africa diaspora, before expanding throughout Eurasia. © 2010 Xing et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

  12. How autumn Eurasian snow anomalies affect east asian winter monsoon: a numerical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Xiao; Wang, Bin

    2018-03-01

    Previous studies have found that snow Eurasian anomalies in autumn can affect East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM), but the mechanisms remain controversial and not well understood. The possible mechanisms by which Eurasian autumn snow anomalies affect EAWM are investigated by numerical experiments with a coupled general circulation model and its atmospheric general circulation model component. The leading empirical orthogonal function mode of the October-November mean Eurasian snow cover is characterized by a uniform anomaly over a broad region of central Eurasia (40°N-65°N, 60°E-140°E). However, the results from a 150-ensemble mean simulation with snow depth anomaly specified in October and November reveal that the Mongolian Plateau and Vicinity (MPV, 40°-55°N, 80°-120°E) is the key region for autumn snow anomalies to affect EAWM. The excessive snow forcing can significantly enhance EAWM and the snowfall over the northwestern China and along the EAWM front zone stretching from the southeast China to Japan. The physical process involves a snow-monsoon feedback mechanism. The excessive autumn snow anomalies over the MPV region can persist into the following winter, and significantly enhance winter snow anomalies, which increase surface albedo, reduce incoming solar radiation and cool the boundary layer air, leading to an enhanced Mongolian High and a deepened East Asian trough. The latter, in turn, strengthen surface northwesterly winds, cooling East Asia and increasing snow accumulation over the MPV region and the southeastern China. The increased snow covers feedback to EAWM system through changing albedo, extending its influence southeastward. It is also found that the atmosphere-ocean coupling process can amplify the delayed influence of Eurasian snow mass anomaly on EAWM. The autumn surface albedo anomalies, however, do not have a lasting "memory" effect. Only if the albedo anomalies are artificially extended into December and January, will the EAWM be

  13. The use of genetic methods to study Eurasian otters

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hájková, Petra; Gettová, Lenka; Sládkovičová, V.; Zemanová, Barbora

    Supp., - (2011), s. 102 ISSN 0394-1914. [International Otter Colloquium /11./. 30.08.2011-04.09.2011, Pavia] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB600930804; GA MŽP SP/2D4/16/08; GA ČR GA206/03/0757 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60930519 Keywords : Eurasian otter * genetic analyses Subject RIV: EG - Zoology http://www.internationalottercolloquium2010.eu/files/proceedings_iucn_xi_ioc_2011.pdf

  14. Characterization of Newcastle disease virus isolates obtained from Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terregino, Calogero; Cattoli, Giovanni; Grossele, Barbara; Bertoli, Elena; Tisato, Ernesto; Capua, Ilaria

    2003-02-01

    Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) are thought to originate from India and they have colonized, throughout the centuries, the Middle East and, more recently, Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Spain. In the present paper we report of the isolation and characterization of Newcastle disease viruses (NDV) obtained from Eurasian collared doves during 2000-2001, and compare them to isolates obtained from feral pigeons (Columba livia) during the same period. All isolates could be classified as avian paramyxovirus type 1 (APMV1) and belonged to the pigeon variant group (PPMV1), as their haemagglutinating activity was inhibited by mAb 161/617 which is specific for PPMV1. The intracerebral pathogenicity indices ranged from 0.68 to 1.38 and all isolates contained multiple basic amino acids at the deduced cleavage site of the fusion protein, which is a typical feature of virulent viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of the isolates indicate that 18/20 of these form a separate cluster from the isolates obtained from pigeons in the same period. These findings suggest that different lineages are circulating in feral pigeon populations, and that a separate lineage affects Eurasian collared doves.

  15. MtDNA genetic diversity and structure of Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagi, Zoltán; Dimopoulos, Evangelos Antonis; Loukovitis, Dimitrios; Eraud, Cyril; Kusza, Szilvia

    2018-01-01

    The Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is one of the most successful biological invaders among terrestrial vertebrates. However, little information is available on the genetic diversity of the species. A total of 134 Eurasian Collared Doves from Europe, Asia and the Caribbean (n = 20) were studied by sequencing a 658-bp length of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I (COI). Fifty-two different haplotypes and relatively high haplotype and nucleotide diversities (Hd±SD = 0.843±0.037 and π±SD = 0.026±0.013) were detected. Haplotype Ht1 was particularly dominant: it included 44.03% of the studied individuals, and contained sequences from 75% of the studied countries. Various analyses (FST, AMOVA, STRUCTURE) distinguished 2 groups on the genetic level, designated 'A' and 'B'. Two groups were also separated in the median-joining network and the maximum likelihood tree. The results of the neutrality tests were negative (Fu FS = -25.914; Tajima D = -2.606) and significantly different from zero (P≤0.001) for group A, whereas both values for group B were positive (Fu FS = 1.811; Tajima D = 0.674) and not significant (P>0.05). Statistically significant positive autocorrelation was revealed among individuals located up to 2000 km apart (r = 0.124; P = 0.001). The present results provide the first information on the genetic diversity and structure of the Eurasian Collared Dove, and can thereby serve as a factual and comparative basis for similar studies in the future.

  16. Central Asian gas in Eurasian power game

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cobanli, Onur

    2014-01-01

    Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, various gas pipeline projects have been proposed to diversify transit routes and export markets of the landlocked Central Asian states. To evaluate the pipeline project's impact on the players' bargaining power, I apply the cooperate game theory to a quantitative model of the Eurasian gas trade and quantify the bargaining power structure via the Shapley value. Due to ample production capacities in Central Asia, I observe little strategic interaction between the West and China. Thus, demand competition with China is not necessarily a disadvantage for the West, and the Turkmenistan–China pipeline does not affect the impact of the westbound projects aiming Europe and Turkey. For Turkmenistan, i.e., the main supplier in the region, a link via the Caspian Sea to Turkey is the most beneficial westbound option. Although the projects carrying gas from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to Europe enjoy the European Commission's political support, they yield marginal benefits to the European consumers. Thanks to its transit position, Turkey collects a large share of the benefits in the East–West gas trade. - Highlights: • The Eurasian gas trade is represented as a cooperative game which is solved with the Shapley value. • There is no demand competition between the West and China for Central Asian gas. • For Turkmenistan the route via the Caspian Sea is the most beneficial westbound pipeline option. • Turkey emerges as a transit country and collects a large share of the benefits from the East–West gas trade. • A link to Europe yields marginal benefits to Turkmenistan and Europe

  17. Impact of the keystone species, the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), on habitat structure and its significance to mammals

    OpenAIRE

    Samas, Arūnas

    2016-01-01

    Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), the representative of the family Castoridae, which includes two living species of the genus Castor. Beavers are the keystone species, also deservedly known as the ecosystem engineer for the ability to create new habitats and to change the existing landscape. Biology of the Eurasian beaver is well studied, but still, there is a lack of knowledge about the ecology of the species - the relationship with the surrounding environment and biota. These studies were car...

  18. Multi-species genetic connectivity in a terrestrial habitat network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marrotte, Robby R; Bowman, Jeff; Brown, Michael G C; Cordes, Chad; Morris, Kimberley Y; Prentice, Melanie B; Wilson, Paul J

    2017-01-01

    Habitat fragmentation reduces genetic connectivity for multiple species, yet conservation efforts tend to rely heavily on single-species connectivity estimates to inform land-use planning. Such conservation activities may benefit from multi-species connectivity estimates, which provide a simple and practical means to mitigate the effects of habitat fragmentation for a larger number of species. To test the validity of a multi-species connectivity model, we used neutral microsatellite genetic datasets of Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis ), American marten ( Martes americana ), fisher ( Pekania pennanti ), and southern flying squirrel ( Glaucomys volans ) to evaluate multi-species genetic connectivity across Ontario, Canada. We used linear models to compare node-based estimates of genetic connectivity for each species to point-based estimates of landscape connectivity (current density) derived from circuit theory. To our knowledge, we are the first to evaluate current density as a measure of genetic connectivity. Our results depended on landscape context: habitat amount was more important than current density in explaining multi-species genetic connectivity in the northern part of our study area, where habitat was abundant and fragmentation was low. In the south however, where fragmentation was prevalent, genetic connectivity was correlated with current density. Contrary to our expectations however, locations with a high probability of movement as reflected by high current density were negatively associated with gene flow. Subsequent analyses of circuit theory outputs showed that high current density was also associated with high effective resistance, underscoring that the presence of pinch points is not necessarily indicative of gene flow. Overall, our study appears to provide support for the hypothesis that landscape pattern is important when habitat amount is low. We also conclude that while current density is proportional to the probability of movement per unit area

  19. Ups and downs of space tourism development in 60 years from moon register to spaceshiptwo CRASH

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Yi-Wei; Chern, Jeng-Shing

    2016-10-01

    In human imagination, dreams and expectations, the sequence of ;space tourism; has most likely been Moon tourism, Earth orbital tourism and then suborbital tourism. But the sequence in actual development is the reverse: first Earth suborbital tourism, then orbital tourism, and finally Moon tourism. In 1954, three years before the successful launch of the first human artificial satellite, the world's oldest travel company, Thomas Cook in Britain, initiated the ;Moon Register.; Enthusiasts could sign an option for a commercial trip to the Moon and the company guaranteed to provide tickets at the earliest possible date. Sixty years later on 31st October 2014, the first SpaceShip Two (SS2) of Virgin Galactic developed for commercial suborbital space tourism (SST) and scientific research crashed at the Mojave Desert in California during test flight. Although the first privately paid space tourist had traveled to the International Space Station in 2001, this was only for millionaires and not the general public. In 2004, although SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X prize and shed the first light on SST, the commercial SST operations originally planned to be realized in 2008 are now long overdue. The SS2 has been just one of the reusable suborbital launch vehicles developed for SST and other purposes, with others including the Lynx, Spaceplane and Dream Chaser. However a tragedy in which the SS2 crashed and caused the sacrifice of one senior test pilot alerted tourists that the long overdue of SST might still be a few years away. The purposes of this paper are to review and discuss the ups and downs of space tourism development in the 60 years from 1954 to 2014, and to look forward to get more clear future from the unveiling of second SS2 on 19th February 2016 and the continuous development of Lynx Mark I. However in any case, there are still many constraints including economy.

  20. Automated mass correction and data interpretation for protein open-access liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Craig D; Hall, John T; White, Wendy L; Miller, Luke A D; Williams, Jon D

    2007-02-01

    Characterization of recombinant protein purification fractions and final products by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) are requested more frequently each year. A protein open-access (OA) LC/MS system was developed in our laboratory to meet this demand. This paper compares the system that we originally implemented in our facilities in 2003 to the one now in use, and discusses, in more detail, recent enhancements that have improved its robustness, reliability, and data reporting capabilities. The system utilizes instruments equipped with reversed-phase chromatography and an orthogonal accelerated time-of-flight mass spectrometer fitted with an electrospray source. Sample analysis requests are accomplished using a simple form on a web-enabled laboratory information management system (LIMS). This distributed form is accessible from any intranet-connected company desktop computer. Automated data acquisition and processing are performed using a combination of in-house (OA-Self Service, OA-Monitor, and OA-Analysis Engine) and vendor-supplied programs (AutoLynx, and OpenLynx) located on acquisition computers and off-line processing workstations. Analysis results are then reported via the same web-based LIMS. Also presented are solutions to problems not addressed on commercially available, small-molecule OA-LC/MS systems. These include automated transforming of mass-to-charge (m/z) spectra to mass spectra and automated data interpretation that considers minor variants to the protein sequence-such as common post-translational modifications (PTMs). Currently, our protein OA-LC/MS platform runs on five LC/MS instruments located in three separate GlaxoSmithKline R&D sites in the US and UK. To date, more than 8000 protein OA-LC/MS samples have been analyzed. With these user friendly and highly automated OA systems in place, mass spectrometry plays a key role in assessing the quality of recombinant proteins, either produced at our facilities or bought from external

  1. SU-F-T-152: Experimental Validation and Calculation Benchmark for a Commercial Monte Carlo Pencil BeamScanning Proton Therapy Treatment Planning System in Heterogeneous Media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, L; Huang, S; Kang, M; Ainsley, C; Simone, C; McDonough, J; Solberg, T [University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Eclipse AcurosPT 13.7, the first commercial Monte Carlo pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy treatment planning system (TPS), was experimentally validated for an IBA dedicated PBS nozzle in the CIRS 002LFC thoracic phantom. Methods: A two-stage procedure involving the use of TOPAS 1.3 simulations was performed. First, Geant4-based TOPAS simulations in this phantom were experimentally validated for single and multi-spot profiles at several depths for 100, 115, 150, 180, 210 and 225 MeV proton beams, using the combination of a Lynx scintillation detector and a MatriXXPT ionization chamber array. Second, benchmark calculations were performed with both AcurosPT and TOPAS in a phantom identical to the CIRS 002LFC, with the exception that the CIRS bone/mediastinum/lung tissues were replaced with similar tissues that are predefined in AcurosPT (a limitation of this system which necessitates the two stage procedure). Results: Spot sigmas measured in tissue were in agreement within 0.2 mm of TOPAS simulation for all six energies, while AcurosPT was consistently found to have larger spot sigma (<0.7 mm) than TOPAS. Using absolute dose calibration by MatriXXPT, the agreements between profiles measurements and TOPAS simulation, and calculation benchmarks are over 97% except near the end of range using 2 mm/2% gamma criteria. Overdosing and underdosing were observed at the low and high density side of tissue interfaces, respectively, and these increased with increasing depth and decreasing energy. Near the mediastinum/lung interface, the magnitude can exceed 5 mm/10%. Furthermore, we observed >5% quenching effect in the conversion of Lynx measurements to dose. Conclusion: We recommend the use of an ionization chamber array in combination with the scintillation detector to measure absolute dose and relative PBS spot characteristics. We also recommend the use of an independent Monte Carlo calculation benchmark for the commissioning of a commercial TPS. Partially

  2. Integration Dilemma within the Eurasian Space in the Context of the Ukrainian Crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonina A. Durdyeva

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyses the reaction of top officials, politicians and representatives of the expert community of the Eurasian Economic Union member countries on the aggravation of "Ukrainian crisis" in the context of plans and directions for further Eurasian integration. Today, in the scientific community is becoming a popular" dilemma of integration " as a systematic pattern that determines the development of relations between the integration associations. The dilemma of integration is a political phenomenon, a regular and predictable. Ukrainian crisis, which has become a litmus test of conflict of representations of the CIS countries on the extent and depth of their involvement in the processes of regional integration , most clearly outlined the presence of such dilemma within the CIS. In the current situation for Belarus and Kazakhstan as two , along with Russia , the main designers of the Eurasian field, the dilemma of integration takes a fundamentally different meaning and becomes a so-called "Dilemma of integrations", or contradiction between the desire of these countries to secure the most favorable conditions in its relations with Moscow and reluctance to fully bear the burden of the costs and constraints arising in relations with the EU due to the commitments of the EAEC. Based on the material of the official position of the representatives of Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Belarus the author of the article explores the implications of the Ukrainian crisis in relations of Three: Moscow, Astana and Minsk.

  3. Using plasma-fuel systems at Eurasian coal-fired thermal power stations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karpenko, E. I.; Karpenko, Yu. E.; Messerle, V. E.; Ustimenko, A. B.

    2009-06-01

    The development of plasma technology for igniting solid fuels at coal-fired thermal power stations in Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and other Eurasian countries is briefly reviewed. Basic layouts and technical and economic characteristics of plasma-fuel systems installed in different coal-fired boiles are considered together with some results from using these systems at coal-fired thermal power stations.

  4. Mechanosynthesis, crystal structure and magnetic characterization of neodymium orthoferrite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Serna, Pedro Vera; Campos, Cecilio Garcia [Division de Ingenierias, Universidad Politecnica de Tecamac (UPTECAMAC), Tecamac de Felipe Villanueva, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); De Jesus, Felix Sanchez; Miro, Ana Maria Bolarin [Area Academica de Ciencias de la Tierra y Materiales, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH), Mineral de la Reforma, Hidalgo (Mexico); Loran, Jose Antonio Juanico [Division de Ingenieria Industrial Nanotecnologia, Universidad Politecnica del Valle de Mexico (UPVM), Tultitlan, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Longwell, Jeffrey, E-mail: pedrovera.upt@gmail.com [Department of Languages and Linguistics, New Mexico State University (NMSU), Las Cruces, NM (United States)

    2016-03-15

    Neodymium orthoferrite NdFeO{sub 3} was obtained at room temperature by mechanosynthesis with a stoichiometric ratio of Nd2O{sub 3} and Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} powders, whereas the traditional synthesis requires a temperature of approximately 1000 °C. The crystal structure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis using Cu radiation and a LynxEye XE detector, whose strong fluorescence filtering enabled a high signal intensity. The analysis indicated that the obtained crystallites were nano-sized. The particle morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy, and the magnetic saturation was tested by vibrating sample magnetometry. The synthesis of NdFeO{sub 3} was detected after a few hours of milling, indicating that the milling imparted mechanical energy to the system. (author)

  5. Design and Optimization of Multi-Pixel Transition-Edge Sensors for X-Ray Astronomy Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Stephen J.; Adams, Joseph S.; Bandler, Simon R.; Chervenak, James A.; Datesman, Aaron Michael; Eckart, Megan E.; Ewin, Audrey J.; Finkbeiner, Fred M.; Kelley, Richard L.; Kilbourne, Caroline A.; hide

    2017-01-01

    Multi-pixel transition-edge sensors (TESs), commonly referred to as 'hydras', are a type of position sensitive micro-calorimeter that enables very large format arrays to be designed without commensurate increase in the number of readout channels and associated wiring. In the hydra design, a single TES is coupled to discrete absorbers via varied thermal links. The links act as low pass thermal filters that are tuned to give a different characteristic pulse shape for x-ray photons absorbed in each of the hydra sub pixels. In this contribution we report on the experimental results from hydras consisting of up to 20 pixels per TES. We discuss the design trade-offs between energy resolution, position discrimination and number of pixels and investigate future design optimizations specifically targeted at meeting the readout technology considered for Lynx.

  6. Putin's and Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union: A hybrid half-economics and half-political “Janus Bifrons”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno S. Sergi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The Eurasian Economic Union is an institution formalized in January 2015 for the purpose of regional economic integration; it includes five countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, and may include Mongolia and Tajikistan in the future. With a GDP of $1.59 trillion in 2015, an industrial production of $1.3 trillion in 2014, and population of almost 200 million as of 2016, the EEAU could represent a geopolitical success that supports both Putin's ambitious political agenda and the Union's economic prospects. Although the efforts of this Union are ongoing and long-term success is not certain, the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union can be considered a hybrid half-economics and half-political “Janus Bifrons” that serves as a powerful illustration of what Putin envisions for the post-Soviet space. Despite promising steps so far, more should be done toward the achievement of economic development and balanced opportunity for all Eurasian countries. Russia's longstanding role within the Union, as well as its power and political motivations, are all considerations that must be accounted for.

  7. Ancestry and demography and descendants of Iron Age nomads of the Eurasian Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unterländer, Martina; Palstra, Friso; Lazaridis, Iosif; Pilipenko, Aleksandr; Hofmanová, Zuzana; Groß, Melanie; Sell, Christian; Blöcher, Jens; Kirsanow, Karola; Rohland, Nadin; Rieger, Benjamin; Kaiser, Elke; Schier, Wolfram; Pozdniakov, Dimitri; Khokhlov, Aleksandr; Georges, Myriam; Wilde, Sandra; Powell, Adam; Heyer, Evelyne; Currat, Mathias; Reich, David; Samashev, Zainolla; Parzinger, Hermann; Molodin, Vyacheslav I.; Burger, Joachim

    2017-03-01

    During the 1st millennium before the Common Era (BCE), nomadic tribes associated with the Iron Age Scythian culture spread over the Eurasian Steppe, covering a territory of more than 3,500 km in breadth. To understand the demographic processes behind the spread of the Scythian culture, we analysed genomic data from eight individuals and a mitochondrial dataset of 96 individuals originating in eastern and western parts of the Eurasian Steppe. Genomic inference reveals that Scythians in the east and the west of the steppe zone can best be described as a mixture of Yamnaya-related ancestry and an East Asian component. Demographic modelling suggests independent origins for eastern and western groups with ongoing gene-flow between them, plausibly explaining the striking uniformity of their material culture. We also find evidence that significant gene-flow from east to west Eurasia must have occurred early during the Iron Age.

  8. Seasonal prediction and predictability of Eurasian spring snow water equivalent in NCEP Climate Forecast System version 2 reforecasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Qiong; Zuo, Zhiyan; Zhang, Renhe; Zhang, Ruonan

    2018-01-01

    The spring snow water equivalent (SWE) over Eurasia plays an important role in East Asian and Indian monsoon rainfall. This study evaluates the seasonal prediction capability of NCEP Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) retrospective forecasts (1983-2010) for the Eurasian spring SWE. The results demonstrate that CFSv2 is able to represent the climatological distribution of the observed Eurasian spring SWE with a lead time of 1-3 months, with the maximum SWE occurring over western Siberia and Northeastern Europe. For a longer lead time, the SWE is exaggerated in CFSv2 because the start of snow ablation in CFSv2 lags behind that of the observation, and the simulated snowmelt rate is less than that in the observation. Generally, CFSv2 can simulate the interannual variations of the Eurasian spring SWE 1-5 months ahead of time but with an exaggerated magnitude. Additionally, the downtrend in CFSv2 is also overestimated. Because the initial conditions (ICs) are related to the corresponding simulation results significantly, the robust interannual variability and the downtrend in the ICs are most likely the causes for these biases. Moreover, CFSv2 exhibits a high potential predictability for the Eurasian spring SWE, especially the spring SWE over Siberia, with a lead time of 1-5 months. For forecasts with lead times longer than 5 months, the model predictability gradually decreases mainly due to the rapid decrease in the model signal.

  9. Perspectives on long-term Eurasian energy supply: the role of the energy charter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kemper, R.

    2004-01-01

    This paper examines Croatian energy outlook in the broader 'Eurasian' context, taking into consideration the prospect of increasing energy import dependency in Western and Central Europe, and assesses the contribution that multilateral instruments, such as the Energy Charter Treaty, can make in promoting security of supply.(author)

  10. Eurasian polities as hybrid regimes: The case of Putin's Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henry E. Hale

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Most Eurasian countries' political systems are not accurately described as some version of either democracy or authoritarianism. Nor does it advance social science to study each of these countries' political systems as being completely unique, sharing no significant commonalities with those of other countries. Instead, it is more fruitful to understand many Eurasian countries as a type of hybrid regime, a system that combines important elements of both democracy and autocracy in some way. One of the most important features of Eurasia's hybrid regimes, one that is shared by many hybrid regimes worldwide, is that they combine contested elections with pervasive political clientelism. Political developments in these countries can thus be usefully understood as machine politics, and the development of political systems can be understood as processes of rearranging the components of the machines in different ways. The usefulness of this approach is demonstrated through an in-depth study of the Russian Federation. It is argued that Russian political development under Putin is best understood not as “authoritarianization” but as a process in which Russia transitioned from a system of “competing pyramids” of machine power to a “single-pyramid” system, a system dominated by one large political machine. It turns out that in single-pyramid systems that preserve contested elections, as does Russia, public opinion matters more than in typical authoritarian regimes.

  11. Ancient mitochondrial DNA and the genetic history of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horn, Susanne; Prost, Stefan; Stiller, Mathias; Makowiecki, Daniel; Kuznetsova, Tatiana; Benecke, Norbert; Pucher, Erich; Hufthammer, Anne K; Schouwenburg, Charles; Shapiro, Beth; Hofreiter, Michael

    2014-04-01

    After centuries of human hunting, the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber had disappeared from most of its original range by the end of the 19th century. The surviving relict populations are characterized by both low genetic diversity and strong phylogeographical structure. However, it remains unclear whether these attributes are the result of a human-induced, late Holocene bottleneck or already existed prior to this reduction in range. To investigate genetic diversity in Eurasian beaver populations during the Holocene, we obtained mitochondrial control region DNA sequences from 48 ancient beaver samples and added 152 modern sequences from GenBank. Phylogeographical analyses of the data indicate a differentiation of European beaver populations into three mitochondrial clades. The two main clades occur in western and eastern Europe, respectively, with an early Holocene contact zone in eastern Europe near a present-day contact zone. A divergent and previously unknown clade of beavers from the Danube Basin survived until at least 6000 years ago, but went extinct during the transition to modern times. Finally, we identify a recent decline in effective population size of Eurasian beavers, with a stronger bottleneck signal in the western than in the eastern clade. Our results suggest that the low genetic diversity and the strong phylogeographical structure in recent beavers are artefacts of human hunting-associated population reductions. While beaver populations have been growing rapidly since the late 19th century, genetic diversity within modern beaver populations remains considerably reduced compared to what was present prior to the period of human hunting and habitat reduction.

  12. The importance of pesticide exposure duration and mode on the foraging of an agricultural pest predator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Caitlyn; Hanna, Chadwick J; Hanna, Catherine J B

    2015-02-01

    The striped lynx spider (Oxyopes salticus), is a natural predator of crop pests and therefore frequently encounters pesticides on its substrate and its prey. While pesticide exposure may negatively impact the lifespan of spiders, sublethal effects can also alter their normal behaviors. This study examined how prey capture was affected when spiders and their prey were exposed to bifenthrin and malathion. When spiders were continually exposed to bifenthrin residues, prey capture decreased over time, but mortality was not affected. Malathion exposed spiders, however, showed increased mortality, but their ability to catch prey was unaltered. When spiders encountered pesticide dosed prey, predation was unaffected, implying that spiders are unable to detect residues on prey. These results improve the understanding of how pesticides affect natural pest control and raise questions about the functional roles that spiders play when exposed to different chemicals.

  13. Performance and scalability of the back-end sub-system in the ATLAS DAQ/EF prototype

    CERN Document Server

    Alexandrov, I N; Badescu, E; Burckhart, Doris; Caprini, M; Cohen, L; Duval, P Y; Hart, R; Jones, R; Kazarov, A; Kolos, S; Kotov, V; Laugier, D; Mapelli, Livio P; Moneta, L; Qian, Z; Radu, A A; Ribeiro, C A; Roumiantsev, V; Ryabov, Yu; Schweiger, D; Soloviev, I V

    2000-01-01

    The DAQ group of the future ATLAS experiment has developed a prototype system based on the trigger/DAQ architecture described in the ATLAS Technical Proposal to support studies of the full system functionality, architecture as well as available hardware and software technologies. One sub-system of this prototype is the back- end which encompasses the software needed to configure, control and monitor the DAQ, but excludes the processing and transportation of physics data. The back-end consists of a number of components including run control, configuration databases and message reporting system. The software has been developed using standard, external software technologies such as OO databases and CORBA. It has been ported to several C++ compilers and operating systems including Solaris, Linux, WNT and LynxOS. This paper gives an overview of the back-end software, its performance, scalability and current status. (17 refs).

  14. Early-type galaxies: mass-size relation at z ˜ 1.3 for different environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raichoor, A.; Mei, S.; Stanford, S. A.; Holden, B. P.; Nakata, F.; Rosati, P.; Shankar, F.; Tanaka, M.; Ford, H.; Huertas-Company, M.; Illingworth, G.; Kodama, T.; Postman, M.; Rettura, A.; Blakeslee, J. P.; Demarco, R.; Jee, M. J.; White, R. L.

    2011-12-01

    We combine multi-wavelength data of the Lynx superstructure and GOODS/CDF-S to build a sample of 75 visually selected early-type galaxies (ETGs), spanning different environments (cluster/group/field) at z ˜ 1.3. By estimating their mass, age (SED fitting, with a careful attention to the stellar population model used) and size, we are able to probe the dependence on the environment of the mass-size relation. We find that, for ETGs with 10^{10} < M / M_⊙ < 10^{11.5}, (1) the mass-size relation in the field did not evolve overall from z ˜ 1.3 to present; (2) the mass-size relation in cluster/group environments at z ˜ 1.3 lies at smaller sizes than the local mass-size relation (R_{e,z ˜ 1.3}/R_{e,z = 0} ˜ 0.6-0.8).

  15. Experimental and numerical study of the British Experimental Rotor Programme blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brocklehurst, Alan; Duque, Earl P. N.

    1990-01-01

    Wind-tunnel tests on the British Experimental Rotor Programme (BERP) tip are described, and the results are compared with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results. The test model was molded using the Lynx-BERP blade tooling to provide a semispan, cantilever wing comprising the outboard 30 percent of the rotor blade. The tests included both surface-pressure measurements and flow visualization to obtain detailed information of the flow over the BERP tip for a range of angles of attack. It was observed that, outboard of the notch, favorable pressure gradients exist which ensure attached flow, and that the tip vortex also remains stable to large angles of attack. On the rotor, these features yield a very gradual break in control loads when the retreating-blade limit is eventually reached. Computational and experimental results were generally found to be in good agreement.

  16. Sylvatic trichinellosis in Texas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pence D.B.

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available There are no published reports of domestic or sylvatic trichinellosis in Texas. The aim of the present survey was to determine the presence of Trichinella species in selected representative species of potential wildlife reservoirs in southern Texas. In 1998-99, tongues of 211 wild mammals were collected in southern Texas: 154 coyotes (Canis latrans, three bobcats (Lynx rufus, 32 racoons (Procyon lotor, 1 3 opossum (Didelphis marsupialis, four ocelots (Leopardus pardalis and five wild boars (Sus scrofa. Presence of Trichinella sp. larvae was investigated by artificial digestion and larvae of positive samples were identified at the species level by a multiple-polymerase chain reaction analysis. Nine (5.8 % coyotes had trichinellosis ; in the muscles of seven of these coyotes, the larvae were identified as Trichinella murrelli. This is the first report of sylvatic trichinellosis in Texas.

  17. New developments on Tore Supra data acquisition units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leroux, F.; Caulier, G.; Ducobu, L.; Goniche, M.; Antar, G.

    2012-01-01

    The Tore Supra data acquisition system (DAS) was designed in the early eighties and has considerably evolved since then. Three generations of data acquisition units still coexist. As cost and maintenance of different operating systems is expensive, it was decided to explore an alternative solution based on an open source operating system (OS) with a disk-less system for the fourth generation. In 2010, Linux distributions for VME bus and PCI bus systems have been evaluated and compared to Lynx OS TM real time OS. The results obtained allowed to choose a version of Linux for VME and PC platform for DAS on Tore Supra. In 2011, the Tore Supra DAS dedicated software was ported on a Linux disk-less PCI platform. The new generation was successfully tested during real plasma experiments on one diagnostic, called DCEDRE. (authors)

  18. Transregionalism: Underlying Concept of EAEU-ASEAN Cooperation and Greater Eurasian Partnership

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna A. Garmash

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays the EAEU seeks to integrate itself into the global economy as one of its regional economic centers. Developing ties with other regional integration groups corresponds the EAEU’s interests and facilitates the polycentric structure of the emerging world order. In this respect, in 2016 on the sidelines of the third Russia-ASEAN Summit Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to develop stronger relations between the EAEU and ASEAN as well as to form a greater Eurasian partnership encompassing the EAEU, the SCO and ASEAN. While geographically vast, these projects lack conceptual underpinning. It is deemed that transregionalism – an international phenomenon which is insuffi ciently explored by both Western and Russian scholars, can provide a crucial theoretical foundation for these initiatives. The author compares the mechanisms which ASEAN employs to promote transregional cooperation with the EU, MERCOSUR and the GCC as well as within the frameworks of such dialogue platforms as ASEM and FEALAC. The author suggests that EAEU-ASEAN relations should be analyzed from the viewpoint of a classic transregionalism, while a greater Eurasian partnership seen as an example of a broader one. The results of the analysis are instrumental in laying out practical recommendations for the EAEU in carrying out its transregional agenda.

  19. Denisovan Ancestry in East Eurasian and Native American Populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Pengfei; Stoneking, Mark

    2015-10-01

    Although initial studies suggested that Denisovan ancestry was found only in modern human populations from island Southeast Asia and Oceania, more recent studies have suggested that Denisovan ancestry may be more widespread. However, the geographic extent of Denisovan ancestry has not been determined, and moreover the relationship between the Denisovan ancestry in Oceania and that elsewhere has not been studied. Here we analyze genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data from 2,493 individuals from 221 worldwide populations, and show that there is a widespread signal of a very low level of Denisovan ancestry across Eastern Eurasian and Native American (EE/NA) populations. We also verify a higher level of Denisovan ancestry in Oceania than that in EE/NA; the Denisovan ancestry in Oceania is correlated with the amount of New Guinea ancestry, but not the amount of Australian ancestry, indicating that recent gene flow from New Guinea likely accounts for signals of Denisovan ancestry across Oceania. However, Denisovan ancestry in EE/NA populations is equally correlated with their New Guinea or their Australian ancestry, suggesting a common source for the Denisovan ancestry in EE/NA and Oceanian populations. Our results suggest that Denisovan ancestry in EE/NA is derived either from common ancestry with, or gene flow from, the common ancestor of New Guineans and Australians, indicating a more complex history involving East Eurasians and Oceanians than previously suspected. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Challenges of Eurasian integration after the Ukrainian Crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Skriba

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The regional situation in Eastern Europe changed significantly by the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Competitionbetween Russia and the European Union increased during the 2000s, while at the same time both actors were changing their approach to the six states of the former USSR that lie between Russia and the EU – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In order to widen and deepen their influence on those territories and to reduce uncertainty about their regional politics, Moscow and Brussels developed their own integration projects and demanded those post-Soviet states define their position in the EU-Russia competition. Russian and European scholars, when trying to analyze the future of the Post-Soviet Six states, mostly examine the attractiveness of the two integration projects. While important, such an approach is insufficient, as it ignores the individual internal environments. To assess the prospects for Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union and the EU’s Eastern Partnership, however, one must look inside the six states, which are so important for both Moscow and Brussels. This article explores the aspects of the European and Eurasian integration projects that may be attractive to the six states. Within this framework, it considers what and how elements of those states’ internal environment might influence their choice by examining and comparing both integration projects. It proposes focusing directly on the countries that are currently facing the dilemma of integration and are expected to choose. Despite a number of internal factors influencing the states’ integration behaviour, research has shown that in such circumstances, a choice (whether it is made cannot be considered final, given the individual internal environments of the Six. Their further integration will require additional mechanisms of stimulation, which will need to be developed by the centres of integration — namely, Moscow and

  1. PAN EURASIAN EXPERIMENT (PEEX - A RESEARCH INITIATIVE MEETING THE GRAND CHALLENGES OF THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENT OF THE NORTHERN PAN-EURASIAN ARCTIC-BOREAL AREAS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanna K. Lappalainen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX is a new multidisciplinary, global change research initiative focusing on understanding biosphere-ocean-cryosphere-climate interactions and feedbacks in Arctic and boreal regions in the Northern Eurasian geographical domain. PEEX operates in an integrative way and it aims at solving the major scientific and society relevant questions in many scales using tools from natural and social sciences and economics. The research agenda identifies the most urgent large scale research questions and topics of the land-atmosphere-aquatic-anthropogenic systems and interactions and feedbacks between the systems for the next decades. Furthermore PEEX actively develops and designs a coordinated and coherent ground station network from Europe via Siberia to China and the coastal line of the Arctic Ocean together with a PEEX-modeling platform. PEEX launches a program for educating the next generation of multidisciplinary researcher and technical experts. This expedites the utilization of the new scientific knowledge for producing a more reliable climate change scenarios in regional and global scales, and enables mitigation and adaptation planning of the Northern societies. PEEX gathers together leading European, Russian and Chinese research groups. With a bottom-up approach, over 40 institutes and universities have contributed the PEEX Science Plan from 18 countries. In 2014 the PEEX community prepared Science Plan and initiated conceptual design of the PEEX land-atmosphere observation network and modeling platform. Here we present the PEEX approach as a whole with the specific attention to research agenda and preliminary design of the PEEX research infrastructure.

  2. Surveys of mammal populations in the areas adjacent to Forsmark and Tierp. A pilot study 2001-2002

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cederlund, Goeran; Hammarstroem, Angelica; Wallin, Kjell [Svensk Viltfoervaltning AB, Ramsberg (Sweden)

    2003-04-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co is in the process of selecting a safe and environmentally acceptable location for the deep-level repository of radioactive waste. SKB has expressed the importance of monitoring mammal species that are of interest both in biodiversity issues and for local hunting and recreational purposes. To get relevant data on the dynamics of the mammal populations it is important to estimate the abundance and variations over time. Data achieved can be used to specifically monitor endangered species (like wolf, Canis lupus, and otter, Lutra lutra), detect effects from e.g. drilling activities on populations (important to hunters) and be used for assessment programs (MKB). One of the major goals is to monitor populations over several years and to obtain information that is essential for modelling of energy/carbon flows in the biosphere and ultimately calculations of the risks of exposure to radionuclide. From late 2001 to late spring 2002 a pilot study was accomplished in the areas surrounding the suggested areas in the Tierp region and in Forsmark (Oskarshamn was not included in this pilot study). A reference area was chosen near the coast some 20 km north of Forsmark. The aim was to initiate surveys of most of the larger mammal species that were expected to be found in the region. Selected species were wolf, lynx, otter, marten, mink, red fox, beaver, wild boar, red deer, roe deer, moose, European hare and mountain hare. Several methods were used and adapted to expected habitat use and expected local density of the species. Line transects were used on snow to index (frequency of tracks crossing the transects) or calculate actual number (for example the Buffon method). Pellet counts were used in spring to calculate hare and cervid (moose and deer species) density. In mid winter an aerial (helicopter) survey was conducted along the coast to count moose. The aquatic mammals were tracked on snow along selected parts of the streams and

  3. Surveys of mammal populations in the areas adjacent to Forsmark and Tierp. A pilot study 2001-2002

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cederlund, Goeran; Hammarstroem, Angelica; Wallin, Kjell

    2003-04-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co is in the process of selecting a safe and environmentally acceptable location for the deep-level repository of radioactive waste. SKB has expressed the importance of monitoring mammal species that are of interest both in biodiversity issues and for local hunting and recreational purposes. To get relevant data on the dynamics of the mammal populations it is important to estimate the abundance and variations over time. Data achieved can be used to specifically monitor endangered species (like wolf, Canis lupus, and otter, Lutra lutra), detect effects from e.g. drilling activities on populations (important to hunters) and be used for assessment programs (MKB). One of the major goals is to monitor populations over several years and to obtain information that is essential for modelling of energy/carbon flows in the biosphere and ultimately calculations of the risks of exposure to radionuclide. From late 2001 to late spring 2002 a pilot study was accomplished in the areas surrounding the suggested areas in the Tierp region and in Forsmark (Oskarshamn was not included in this pilot study). A reference area was chosen near the coast some 20 km north of Forsmark. The aim was to initiate surveys of most of the larger mammal species that were expected to be found in the region. Selected species were wolf, lynx, otter, marten, mink, red fox, beaver, wild boar, red deer, roe deer, moose, European hare and mountain hare. Several methods were used and adapted to expected habitat use and expected local density of the species. Line transects were used on snow to index (frequency of tracks crossing the transects) or calculate actual number (for example the Buffon method). Pellet counts were used in spring to calculate hare and cervid (moose and deer species) density. In mid winter an aerial (helicopter) survey was conducted along the coast to count moose. The aquatic mammals were tracked on snow along selected parts of the streams and

  4. Assessment of the public health in the course of the Eurasian Economic Community programme 'Reclamation of areas of the Eurasian Economic Community member-states affected by the uranium mines'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiselev, M.F.; Tukov, A.R.; Metlyaev, E.G.; Seregin, V.A.

    2012-01-01

    Full text: The inter-state target programme of the Eurasian Economic Community 'Reclamation of areas of the Eurasian Economic Community member-states affected by the uranium mines' includes assessment of impact of these facilities on the public health at the adjacent areas and estimation of potential risk of radiation induced diseases. This work will be carried out as follows: collection of indicators of the State medical statistic reporting by areas of natural uranium mining and milling waste storage to be reclaimed; data input to the database, data verification, calculation of relative indexes and estimation of potential risk of radiation induced diseases; comparative analysis of the public health at inspected and reference areas, estimation of potential risk of radiation induced diseases; development of recommendations on enhancing medical service of the population. Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Centre developed the method of data collection in order to assess and to perform the comparative analysis of the public health. At the early stage of the programme, for the purpose of the comparative analysis of the public health at the contaminated areas, we are going to identify areas affected by uranium plants and some reference areas with approximately same quality of health-care service. When collecting medical data of the public, the special attention will be paid to malignant neoplasm incidence, including trachea, bronchus, lung cancer and psycho-somatic diseases (hypertension, coronary heart disease, peptic ulcer and duodenal ulcers, and others). This kind of data will be collected as the number of registered patients by sex and age groups in the report of the state medical statistics 'Information on malignant neoplasm incidence over 1990 - 2014' (according to the reporting form 'Information on the number of diseases registered at the area under the clinic service'). The statistical bodies of the Eurasian Economic Community member-states will organize the

  5. How will climate change affect the potential distribution of Eurasian Tree Sparrows Passer montanus in North America?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Jim; Jarnevich, Catherine; Young, Nick; Newman, Greg; Stohlgren, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    Habitat suitability models have been used to predict the present and future potential distribution of a variety of species. Eurasian tree sparrows Passer montanus, native to Eurasia, have established populations in other parts of the world. In North America, their current distribution is limited to a relatively small region around its original introduction to St. Louis, Missouri. We combined data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility with current and future climate data to create habitat suitability models using Maxent for this species. Under projected climate change scenarios, our models show that the distribution and range of the Eurasian tree sparrow could increase as far as the Pacific Northwest and Newfoundland. This is potentially important information for prioritizing the management and control of this non-native species.

  6. Is Eurasian October snow cover extent increasing?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, R D; Derksen, C

    2013-01-01

    A number of recent studies present evidence of an increasing trend in Eurasian snow cover extent (SCE) in the October snow onset period based on analysis of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) historical satellite record. These increases are inconsistent with fall season surface temperature warming trends across the region. Using four independent snow cover data sources (surface observations, two reanalyses, satellite passive microwave retrievals) we show that the increasing SCE is attributable to an internal trend in the NOAA CDR dataset to chart relatively more October snow cover extent over the dataset overlap period (1982–2005). Adjusting the series for this shift results in closer agreement with other independent datasets, stronger correlation with continentally-averaged air temperature anomalies, and a decrease in SCE over 1982–2011 consistent with surface air temperature warming trends over the same period. (letter)

  7. Seasonal Effects of Habitat on Sources and Rates of Snowshoe Hare Predation in Alaskan Boreal Forests.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dashiell Feierabend

    Full Text Available Survival and predation of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus has been widely studied, yet there has been little quantification of the changes in vulnerability of hares to specific predators that may result from seasonal changes in vegetation and cover. We investigated survival and causes of mortalities of snowshoe hares during the late increase, peak, and decline of a population in interior Alaska. From June 2008 to May 2012, we radio-tagged 288 adult and older juvenile hares in early successional and black spruce (Picea mariana forests and, using known-fate methods in program MARK, evaluated 85 survival models that included variables for sex, age, and body condition of hares, as well as trapping site, month, season, year, snowfall, snow depth, and air temperature. We compared the models using Akaike's information criterion with correction for small sample size. Model results indicated that month, capture site, and body condition were the most important variables in explaining survival rates. Survival was highest in July, and more generally during summer, when alternative prey was available to predators of hares. Low survival rates coincided with molting periods, breeding activity in the spring, and the introduction of juveniles to the sample population in the fall. We identified predation as the cause of mortality in 86% of hare deaths. When the source of predation could be determined, hares were killed more often by goshawks (Accipiter gentilis than other predators in early successional forest (30%, and more often by lynx (Lynx canadensis than other predators in black spruce forest (31%. Great horned owls (Bubo virginianus and coyotes (Canis latrans represented smaller proportions of hare predation, and non-predatory causes were a minor source (3% of mortality. Because hares rely on vegetative cover for concealment from predators, we measured cover in predation sites and habitats that the hares occupied and concluded that habitat type had a

  8. Novel Eurasian Highly Pathogenic Influenza A H5 Viruses in Wild Birds, Washington, USA, 2014

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2015-03-24

    Sarah Gregory reads an abridged version of the article, Novel Eurasian Highly Pathogenic Influenza A H5 Viruses in Wild Birds, Washington, USA, 2014.  Created: 3/24/2015 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 4/13/2015.

  9. Impacts of Early Summer Eurasian Snow Cover Change on Atmospheric Circulation in Northern Mid-Latitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nozawa, T.

    2016-12-01

    Recently, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has developed a new long-term snow cover extent (SCE) product using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data spanning from 1980's to date. This new product (JAXA/SCE) has higher spatial resolution and smaller commission error compared with traditional SCE dataset of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA/SCE). Continuity of the algorithm is another strong point in JAXA/SCE. According to the new JAXA/SCE dataset, the Eurasian SCE has been significantly retreating since 1980's, especially in late spring and early summer. Here, we investigate impacts of early summer Eurasian snow cover change on atmospheric circulation in Northern mid-latitudes, especially over the East Asia, using the new JAXA/SCE dataset and a few reanalysis data. We will present analyzed results on relationships between early summer SCE anomaly over the Eurasia and changes in atmospheric circulations such as upper level zonal jets (changes in strength, positions, etc.) over the East Asia.

  10. Remarkable link between projected uncertainties of Arctic sea-ice decline and winter Eurasian climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Hoffman H. N.; Keenlyside, Noel; Omrani, Nour-Eddine; Zhou, Wen

    2018-01-01

    We identify that the projected uncertainty of the pan-Arctic sea-ice concentration (SIC) is strongly coupled with the Eurasian circulation in the boreal winter (December-March; DJFM), based on a singular value decomposition (SVD) analysis of the forced response of 11 CMIP5 models. In the models showing a stronger sea-ice decline, the Polar cell becomes weaker and there is an anomalous increase in the sea level pressure (SLP) along 60°N, including the Urals-Siberia region and the Iceland low region. There is an accompanying weakening of both the midlatitude westerly winds and the Ferrell cell, where the SVD signals are also related to anomalous sea surface temperature warming in the midlatitude North Atlantic. In the Mediterranean region, the anomalous circulation response shows a decreasing SLP and increasing precipitation. The anomalous SLP responses over the Euro-Atlantic region project on to the negative North Atlantic Oscillation-like pattern. Altogether, pan-Arctic SIC decline could strongly impact the winter Eurasian climate, but we should be cautious about the causality of their linkage.

  11. Proceedings of the third Eurasian conference on nuclear science and its application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-10-15

    The third Eurasian conference on nuclear science and its application was held on 5-8 October, 2004 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The specialists discussed various aspects of modern problems of particle physics, relativistic nuclear physics and physics of atomic nuclei, radiochemistry, radioisotope production, technology of radioisotopes and compounds, activations analysis applications, radionuclides, radioimmunoassays, application of radioisotopes in industry, medicine, biology and agriculture. More than 330 talks were presented in the meeting. (k.m.)

  12. Proceedings of the third Eurasian conference on nuclear science and its application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-10-01

    The third Eurasian conference on nuclear science and its application was held on 5-8 October, 2004 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The specialists discussed various aspects of modern problems of particle physics, relativistic nuclear physics and physics of atomic nuclei, radiochemistry, radioisotope production, technology of radioisotopes and compounds, activations analysis applications, radionuclides, radioimmunoassays, application of radioisotopes in industry, medicine, biology and agriculture. More than 330 talks were presented in the meeting. (k.m.)

  13. Abstracts of the third Eurasian conference on nuclear science and its application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yuldashev, B; Salikhbaev, U; Ibragimova, E; Fazylov, M [eds.

    2004-10-01

    The third Eurasian conference on nuclear science and its application was held on 5-8 October, 2004 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The specialists discussed various aspects of modern problems of particle physics, relativistic nuclear physics and physics of atomic nuclei, radiochemistry, radioisotope production, technology of radioisotopes and compounds, activations analysis applications, radionuclides, radioimmunoassays, application of radioisotopes in industry, medicine, biology and agriculture. More than 330 talks were presented in the meeting. (k.m.)

  14. New Metabolites of Coumarin Detected in Human Urine Using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography/Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Letícia Paula Leonart

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Coumarin (1,2-benzopyrone is a natural compound whose metabolism in humans was established in the 1970s. However, a new metabolite was recently identified in human plasma, indicating that the metabolism of coumarin has not been completely elucidated. To complement the knowledge of its metabolism, a rapid and sensitive method using UPLC-QTOF-MS was developed. A total of 12 metabolites was identified using MetaboLynxTM software, including eight metabolites not previously reported in human urine. The identified biotransformation included hydroxylation, glucuronidation, sulfation, methylation, and conjugation with N-acetylcysteine. The present work demonstrates that the metabolism study of coumarin was incomplete, possibly due to limitations of old techniques. The identification of eight inedited metabolites of such a simple molecule suggests that the information regarding the metabolism of other drugs may also be incomplete, and therefore, new investigations are necessary.

  15. Nonparametric Inference for Periodic Sequences

    KAUST Repository

    Sun, Ying

    2012-02-01

    This article proposes a nonparametric method for estimating the period and values of a periodic sequence when the data are evenly spaced in time. The period is estimated by a "leave-out-one-cycle" version of cross-validation (CV) and complements the periodogram, a widely used tool for period estimation. The CV method is computationally simple and implicitly penalizes multiples of the smallest period, leading to a "virtually" consistent estimator of integer periods. This estimator is investigated both theoretically and by simulation.We also propose a nonparametric test of the null hypothesis that the data have constantmean against the alternative that the sequence of means is periodic. Finally, our methodology is demonstrated on three well-known time series: the sunspots and lynx trapping data, and the El Niño series of sea surface temperatures. © 2012 American Statistical Association and the American Society for Quality.

  16. A Testbed For Validating the LHC Controls System Core Before Deployment

    CERN Document Server

    Nguyen Xuan, J

    2011-01-01

    Since the start-up of the LHC, it is crucial to carefully test core controls components before deploying them operationally. The Testbed of the CERN accelerator controls group was developed for this purpose. It contains different hardware (PPC, i386) running various operating systems (Linux and LynxOS) and core software components running on front-ends, communication middleware and client libraries. The Testbed first executes integration tests to verify that the components delivered by individual teams interoperate, and then system tests, which verify high-level, end-user functionality. It also verifies that different versions of components are compatible, which is vital, because not all parts of the operational LHC control system can be upgraded simultaneously. In addition, the Testbed can be used for performance and stress tests. Internally, the Testbed is driven by Atlassian Bamboo, a Continuous Integration server, which builds and deploys automatically new software versions into the Test...

  17. Smoothing Motion Estimates for Radar Motion Compensation.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doerry, Armin W. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-07-01

    Simple motion models for complex motion environments are often not adequate for keeping radar data coherent. Eve n perfect motion samples appli ed to imperfect models may lead to interim calculations e xhibiting errors that lead to degraded processing results. Herein we discuss a specific i ssue involving calculating motion for groups of pulses, with measurements only available at pulse-group boundaries. - 4 - Acknowledgements This report was funded by General A tomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) Mission Systems under Cooperative Re search and Development Agre ement (CRADA) SC08/01749 between Sandia National Laboratories and GA-ASI. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affilia te of privately-held General Atomics, is a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and rel ated mission systems, includin g the Predator(r)/Gray Eagle(r)-series and Lynx(r) Multi-mode Radar.

  18. An FPGA Based Multiprocessing CPU for Beam Synchronous Timing in CERN's SPS and LHC

    CERN Document Server

    Ballester, F J; Gras, J J; Lewis, J; Savioz, J J; Serrano, J

    2003-01-01

    The Beam Synchronous Timing system (BST) will be used around the LHC and its injector, the SPS, to broadcast timing meassages and synchronize actions with the beam in different receivers. To achieve beam synchronization, the BST Master card encodes messages using the bunch clock, with a nominal value of 40.079 MHz for the LHC. These messages are produced by a set of tasks every revolution period, which is every 89 us for the LHC and every 23 us for the SPS, therefore imposing a hard real-time constraint on the system. To achieve determinism, the BST Master uses a dedicated CPU inside its main Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) featuring zero-delay hardware task switching and a reduced instruction set. This paper describes the BST Master card, stressing the main FPGA design, as well as the associated software, including the LynxOS driver and the tailor-made assembler.

  19. Manipulating neuronal circuits with endogenous and recombinant cell-surface tethered modulators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mandë Holford

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Neuronal circuits depend on the precise regulation of cell-surface receptors and ion channels. An ongoing challenge in neuroscience research is deciphering the functional contribution of specific receptors and ion channels using engineered modulators. A novel strategy, termed “tethered toxins”, was recently developed to characterize neuronal circuits using the evolutionary derived selectivity of venom peptide toxins and endogenous peptide ligands, such as lynx1 prototoxins. Herein, the discovery and engineering of cell-surface tethered peptides is reviewed, with particular attention given to their cell-autonomy, modular composition, and genetic targeting in different model organisms. The relative ease with which tethered peptides can be engineered, coupled with the increasing number of neuroactive venom toxins and ligand peptides being discovered, imply a multitude of potentially innovative applications for manipulating neuronal circuits and tissue-specific cell networks, including treatment of disorders caused by malfunction of receptors and ion channels.

  20. Cryptosporidium suis and Cryptosporidium scrofarum in Eurasian wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Central Europe

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Němejc, K.; Sak, Bohumil; Květoňová, Dana; Hanzal, V.; Janiszewski, P.; Forejtek, P.; Rajský, D.; Ravaszová, P.; McEvoy, J.; Kváč, Martin

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 197, 3-4 (2013), s. 504-508 ISSN 0304-4017 Grant - others:Jihočeská univerzita(CZ) 022/2010/Z; Jihočeská univerzita(CZ) 11/2013/Z Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Central Europe * Cryptosporidium scrofarum * Cryptosporidium suis * Eurasian wild boar * PCR * SSU Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 2.545, year: 2013

  1. Novel Eurasian highly pathogenic influenza A H5 viruses in wild birds, Washington, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ip, Hon S.; Kim Torchetti, Mia; Crespo, Rocio; Kohrs, Paul; DeBruyn, Paul; Mansfield, Kristin G.; Baszler, Timothy; Badcoe, Lyndon; Bodenstein, Barbara L.; Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I.; Killian, Mary Lea; Pederson, Janice C.; Hines, Nichole; Gidlewski, Thomas; DeLiberto, Thomas; Sleeman, Jonathan M.

    2015-01-01

    Novel Eurasian lineage avian influenza A(H5N8) virus has spread rapidly and globally since January 2014. In December 2014, H5N8 and reassortant H5N2 viruses were detected in wild birds in Washington, USA, and subsequently in backyard birds. When they infect commercial poultry, these highly pathogenic viruses pose substantial trade issues.

  2. Linking movement behavior and fine-scale genetic structure to model landscape connectivity for bobcats (Lynx rufus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawn M. Reding; Samuel A. Cushman; Todd E. Gosselink; William R. Clark

    2013-01-01

    Spatial heterogeneity can constrain the movement of individuals and consequently genes across a landscape, influencing demographic and genetic processes. In this study, we linked information on landscape composition, movement behavior, and genetic differentiation to gain a mechanistic understanding of how spatial heterogeneity may influence movement and gene flow of...

  3. NMR Structure and Action on Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors of Water-soluble Domain of Human LYNX1

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lyukmanova, E. N.; Shenkarev, Z. O.; Shulepko, M. A.; Mineev, K. S.; D´Hoedt, D.; Kasheverov, I. E.; Filkin, S. Yu.; Krivolapova, A. P.; Janíčková, Helena; Doležal, Vladimír; Dolgikh, D. A.; Arseniev, A. S.; Bertrand, D.; Tsetlin, V.I.; Kirpichnikov, M. P.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 286, č. 12 (2011), s. 10618-10627 ISSN 0021-9258 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA305/09/0681 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50110509 Keywords : NMR structure * nicotinic acetylcholine receptor * water-soluble domain Subject RIV: FH - Neurology Impact factor: 4.773, year: 2011

  4. INTERESTS OF THE MEMBER STATES IN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz Michałowski

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the interests of the member countries in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU, which is formed by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. The author argues that Russia has been involved in the project primarily for geopolitical reasons. Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have perceived the integration within EEU primarily through the possible economic benefits. While analyzing the interests of the members in the EEU, the author also refers to the development of the economic situation in each country in recent years. The starting point for discussion is the analysis of benefits of economic integration in the light of theory.

  5. The Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt: Players, Interests and Implementation Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei Skriba

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In May 2015, Russia and China coordinated their activities in Central Asia and decided to connect the Eurasian EconomicUnion (EEU and the Silk Road Economic Belt. This decision seemed to prevent unnecessary competition between these two basically non-conflicting projects. However, in time there appeared a lack of understanding of this combined endeavour and its implementation mechanisms. It is still unclear how further dialogue between the EEU and the Silk Road will proceed. There is no consensuson the participation of the EEU members and the Eurasian Economic Commission. Without a clear strategy, the Russian-Chinese agreement has started to lose momentum. Some non-regional players can benefit from this – of course, in their own interests.This articles attempt to explain the threats posed by delay and inaction in the combined EEU and Silk Road projects, and to describe the potential benefits of actively implementing the combination. It then proposes a concrete format for such a combination, its priority areas, as well as mechanisms for implementation.

  6. The Eurasian Economic Union: A Brittle Roadblock on China's "One Belt - One Road"

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zank, Wolfgang

    2017-01-01

    is not compatible with the OBOR initiative. A free-trade agreement between China and the EEU could make it compatible, but this is not a realistic perspective for the near future. The EEU seems to be an unstable construction, with many basic rules and norms being unclear, and many tensions and conflicts among its...... members. Keywords: China, European-Atlantic Security Community, Eurasian Economic Union, “One Belt One Road” Initiative, Russia’s “Monroe Doctrine”....

  7. PROFIBUS-DP to G-64 configurable interface

    CERN Document Server

    Carlier, E; Rochez, J; Serrano, J; CERN. Geneva. SPS and LHC Division

    2001-01-01

    Since many years, the SL/BT group has developed specific G-64 hardware modules for the control of the fast pulsed magnets. Up to now, the integration of these modules into the accelerator control system has been done using a MIL1553 fieldbus in command/response mode connected to a LynxOS front-end. In 1996 and 1998, recommendations for the use of industrial fieldbuses and programmable logic controllers were issued at CERN. In order to integrate the existing G-64 hardware into this environment based on industrial components, an interface between the G-64 bus and the PROFIBUS-DP fieldbus has been developed. This interface is based on a modular and open hardware architecture with on one side an off-the-shelf industrial, fieldbus independent, interface and on the other side a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Required functionality has been implemented within the FPGA with VHDL (Very high-speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language).

  8. Intelligent switches of integrated lightwave circuits with core telecommunication functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izhaky, Nahum; Duer, Reuven; Berns, Neil; Tal, Eran; Vinikman, Shirly; Schoenwald, Jeffrey S.; Shani, Yosi

    2001-05-01

    We present a brief overview of a promising switching technology based on Silica on Silicon thermo-optic integrated circuits. This is basically a 2D solid-state optical device capable of non-blocking switching operation. Except of its excellent performance (insertion lossvariable output power control (attenuation), for instance, to equalize signal levels and compensate for unbalanced different optical input powers, or to equalize unbalanced EDFA gain curve. We examine the market segments appropriate for the switch size and technology, followed by a discussion of the basic features of the technology. The discussion is focused on important requirements from the switch and the technology (e.g., insertion loss, power consumption, channel isolation, extinction ratio, switching time, and heat dissipation). The mechanical design is also considered. It must take into account integration of optical fiber, optical planar wafer, analog electronics and digital microprocessor controls, embedded software, and heating power dissipation. The Lynx Photon.8x8 switch is compared to competing technologies, in terms of typical market performance requirements.

  9. Replacing PS controls front end minicomputers by VME based 32-bit processors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gagnaire, A.; Metz Noblat, N. de; Serre, Ch.; Sicard, Cl.H.

    1992-01-01

    The PS controls have started the first phase of system rejuvenation, targeted towards the LEP Preinjector Controls. The main impact of this phase is in the architectural change, as both the front-end minicomputers and the CAMAC embedded microprocessors are replaced by microprocessor based VME crates called Device Stub Controllers (DSC). This paper discusses the different steps planned for this first phase, i.e: (1) implementing the basic set of CERN Accelerator common facilities for DSCs (error handling, system surveillance, remote boot and network access); (2) porting the equipment access software layer; (3) applying the Real-time tasks to the LynxOS operating system and I/O architecture, conforming to the real-time constraints for control and acquisition; (4) defining the number and contents of the different DSC needed, according to geographical and cpu-load constraints; (5) providing the general services outside the DSC crates (file servers, data-base services); (6) emulating the current Console programs onto the new workstations. (author)

  10. An authentication and authorization infrastructure: The PAPI system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castro, R.; Lopez, D.R.; Vega, J.

    2006-01-01

    PAPI is a system for providing access control to restricted information resources across the Internet. It intends to keep authentication as an issue local to the organization the user belongs to, while leaving information providers full control over the resources they offer. The authentication mechanisms are designed to be as flexible as possible, allowing each organization to use its own authentication schema, keeping user privacy, and offering information providers data enough for statistics. Moreover, access control mechanisms are transparent to the user and compatible: with the most commonly employed Web browsers (i.e., Netscape/MSIE/Mozilla/Lynx), with any HTTP based java application solution, and any operating system. This solution is being successfully used in different research organizations in Spain and Europe as a control access system to restricted resources in a transparent and single sign-on way. It is allowing mobile and external users to access to resources that are internal to organizations, contributing to remote participations in results of experiments and inter-institutional resource collaboration

  11. The historical and recent distribution and status of mammals in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margarida Santos-Reis

    1996-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Historical and recent data on Portuguese mammals are presented in this paper, occurring on the mainland and/or in the Azores and Madeira Atlantic islands. Nowadays, 95 species of mammals are known in Portugal, of which only one (Nyctalus azoreum is an endemic species and three others (Pipistrellus maderensis, Microtus cabrerae and Lynx pardina are exclusive for Portugal and Spain. Moreover, two other species, Mustela vison and Sciurus vulgaris are recent records for the Portuguese fauna, the first due to an accidental introduction and the second resulting from a recolonization by Spanish populations. Of the remaining species, around 50% (46 species are threatened in different degrees, 34.8% (16 species being considered endangered or vulnerable. Mammals extinct in Portugal are the Gerês goat (Capra pyrenaica lusitanica and the bear (Ursus arctos.

  12. Recognition and Reconstruction of Zebra Crossings on Roads from Mobile Laser Scanning Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Li

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Zebra crossings provide guidance and warning to pedestrians and drivers, thereby playing an important role in traffic safety management. Most previous studies have focused on detecting zebra stripes but have not provided full information about the areas, which is critical to both driver assistance systems and guide systems for blind individuals. This paper presents a stepwise procedure for recognizing and reconstructing zebra crossings using mobile laser scanning data. First, we propose adaptive thresholding based on road surface partitioning to reduce the impact of intensity unevenness and improve the accuracy of road marking extraction. Then, dispersion degree filtering is used to reduce the noise. Finally, zebra stripes are recognized according to the rectangular feature and fixed size, which is followed by area reconstruction according to arrangement patterns. We test our method on three datasets captured by an Optech Lynx mobile mapping system. The total recognition rate of 90.91% demonstrates the effectiveness of the method.

  13. Evolution in controls methods for the SPS power converters

    CERN Document Server

    Dinius, A H; Brazier, J C L

    1995-01-01

    In common with much accelerator specific material, there is a constant need to improve both hardware and software for power converter control. Maintenance and performance improvements of older systems have become extremely tedious and in some areas impossible. By using modern real-time software and the latest high-performance processors, such problems should be substantially reduced. This paper describes the software concepts and the hardware chosen for the upgrade of the existing facilities. Using the UNIX compatible LynxOS real time kernel, running on a PowerPC 603 in a VME environment, this new approach provides excellent performance while retaining the desired flexibility for future enhancements. The 64 channel system is implemented as a set of cooperating processes, several of which are multi-threaded. Processes include analogue function generation, analogue measurement and digital I/O, all of which are accurately scheduled by the accelerator timing system. This generalised structure, which performs comp...

  14. An authentication and authorization infrastructure: The PAPI system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Castro, R. [Spanish Research Network RedIRIS, Red.es (Edif. Bronce) Plz. Manuel Gomez Moreno s/n, 28020 Madrid (Spain)]. E-mail: rodrigo.castro@rediris.es; Lopez, D.R. [Spanish Research Network RedIRIS, Red.es (Edif. Bronce) Plz. Manuel Gomez Moreno s/n, 28020 Madrid (Spain); Vega, J. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT, Avda. Complutense no. 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2006-07-15

    PAPI is a system for providing access control to restricted information resources across the Internet. It intends to keep authentication as an issue local to the organization the user belongs to, while leaving information providers full control over the resources they offer. The authentication mechanisms are designed to be as flexible as possible, allowing each organization to use its own authentication schema, keeping user privacy, and offering information providers data enough for statistics. Moreover, access control mechanisms are transparent to the user and compatible: with the most commonly employed Web browsers (i.e., Netscape/MSIE/Mozilla/Lynx), with any HTTP based java application solution, and any operating system. This solution is being successfully used in different research organizations in Spain and Europe as a control access system to restricted resources in a transparent and single sign-on way. It is allowing mobile and external users to access to resources that are internal to organizations, contributing to remote participations in results of experiments and inter-institutional resource collaboration.

  15. Evolution of the SPS Power Converter Controls towards the LHC Era

    CERN Document Server

    Brazier, J.C.L.; Semanaz, P.

    2001-01-01

    By the end of the nineties, the power converter control system (Mugef) of the CERN proton accelerator (SPS) had undergone a complete modernization. This resulted in newly developed hardware for function generation, measurement and I/O in a VME environment, under the LynxOS real-time operating system. This has provided a platform on which extensions can be developed for future operation in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) era. This paper describes some of these extensions, in particular a fast Surveillance and Interlock system for monitoring the power converter output currents. This will be mandatory for the safe operation of the SPS transfer lines TI2 & TI8 to LHC and for similar applications in the future. The strategies employed to cope with various failure modes of the power converters and the timely activation of the interlock are outlined. The new SPS controls infrastructure now under development, will give rise to new modes of operation for the Mugef systems. Integration with the proposed middleware ...

  16. High performance message passing for the ATLAS DAQ/EF-1 project

    CERN Document Server

    Mornacchi, Giuseppe

    1999-01-01

    Summary form only. A message passing library has been developed in the context of the ATLAS DAQ/EF-1 project. It is used for time critical applications within the front-end part of the DAQ system, mainly to exchange data control messages between I/O processors. Key objectives of the design were low message overheads, efficient use of the data transfer buses, provision of broadcast functionality and a hardware and operating system independent implementation of the application interface. The design and implementation of the message passing library are presented. As required by the project, the implementation is based on commercial components, namely VMEbus, PCI, the Lynx-OS real-time operating system and an additional inter- processor link, PVIC. The latter offers broadcast functionality identified as being important to the overall performance of the message passing. In addition, performance benchmarks for all implementing buses are presented for both simple test programs and the full DAQ applications. (0 refs)...

  17. Control server for the PS orbit acquisition system Status 2009

    CERN Document Server

    Bart-Pedersen, S; CERN. Geneva. BE Department

    2009-01-01

    CERN’s Proton Synchrotron (CPS) has been fitted with a new Trajectory Measurement System (TMS). Analogue signals from forty Beam Position Monitors (BPM) are digitized at 125 MS/s, and then further treated in the digital domain to derive positions of all individual particle bunches on the fly. Large FPGAs are used to handle the digital processing. The system fits in fourteen plug-in modules distributed over three half-width cPCI crates that store data in circular buffers. They are connected to a Linux computer by means of a private Gigabit Ethernet segment. Dedicated server software, running under Linux, knits the system into a coherent whole [1]. The corresponding low-level software using FESA (BPMOPS class) was implemented while respecting the standard interface for beam position measurements. The BPMOPS server publishes values on request after data extraction and conversion from the TMS server. This software is running on a VME Lynx-OS platform and through dedicated electronics it can therefore control th...

  18. Game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto in 2010-2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nieminen, M.; Niemi, M.; Jussila, I.

    2011-10-01

    The game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto were updated in the summer 2011 and compared with earlier statistics. Population size estimates are based on interviews of the local hunters. No moose or deer inventories were made in the winter 2010-2011. The moose population is stable when compared with the previous year. The white-tailed deer population is stable or slightly increasing when compared with the previous year. The changes in the roe deer population are not accurately known, but population size varies somewhat from year to year. The number of hunted raccoon dogs approximately doubled in the latest hunting season. Altogether two waterfowl were hunted in 2010 (17 in the previous year). The populations of mountain hare and red squirrel are abundant, and the number of hunted mountain hares approximately doubled when compared with the previous hunting season. The brown hare population is still small. In the winter, there were observations of one lynx spending time in the area. (orig.)

  19. Game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto in 2010-2011

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nieminen, M. [Faunatica Oy, Espoo (Finland); Niemi, M. [Helsinki Univ. (Finland), Dept. of Forest Sciences; Jussila, I. [Turku Univ. (Finland), Satakunta Environmental Research Inst.

    2011-10-15

    The game statistics for the island of Olkiluoto were updated in the summer 2011 and compared with earlier statistics. Population size estimates are based on interviews of the local hunters. No moose or deer inventories were made in the winter 2010-2011. The moose population is stable when compared with the previous year. The white-tailed deer population is stable or slightly increasing when compared with the previous year. The changes in the roe deer population are not accurately known, but population size varies somewhat from year to year. The number of hunted raccoon dogs approximately doubled in the latest hunting season. Altogether two waterfowl were hunted in 2010 (17 in the previous year). The populations of mountain hare and red squirrel are abundant, and the number of hunted mountain hares approximately doubled when compared with the previous hunting season. The brown hare population is still small. In the winter, there were observations of one lynx spending time in the area. (orig.)

  20. Electronic system for the automation of current measurements produced by ionization chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brancaccio, Franco; Dias, Mauro da Silva

    2002-01-01

    Ionization Chambers in current mode operation are usually used in Nuclear Metrology in the determination of radionuclide activity. For this purpose measurements of very low ionization currents, in the range of 10 -8 to 10 -14 A, are required. Usually, electrometers perform the current integration method under command of signals from an automation system, in order to reduce the measurement uncertainties. In the present work, an automation system, developed for current integration measurements at the Laboratorio de Metrologia Nuclear (LMN) of Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), is described. This automation system is composed by software (graphic interface and control) and an electronic module connected to a microcomputer, by means of a commercial data acquisition card CAD12/32 (LYNX Tecnologia Eletronica Ltda.). Measurements, using an electrometer Keithley 616 (Keithley Instruments, Inc) and an ionization chamber IG12/A20 (20 th Century Electronics Ltd.), were performed in order to check the system and for validating the project. (author)

  1. A Modular VME Data Acquisition System for Counter Applications at the GSI Synchrotron

    CERN Document Server

    Liakin, D A

    2003-01-01

    Particle counters perform the control of beam loss and slowly extracted currents at the heavy ion synchrotron (SIS) at GSI. A new VME/Lynx - PC/Linux based data acquisition system has been developed to combine the operating purposes beam loss measurement, spill analysis, spill structure measurement and matrix switching functionality in one single assembly. In this paper a detailed PC-side software description is presented. To achieve best system stability, the software has been divided into time critical networking and data deploying threads and low or normal priority interface tasks. Some new abilities in the fields of data computation and presentation are reported. A hardware description is presented, in detail a programmable GSI-EVENT controller, which is based on an ordinary 8 bit RISC microprocessor and which has been integrated into the system, to synchronize the data acquisition with the sophisticated “virtual accelerator” timing at GSI. First experiences gained while the commission...

  2. Simulation of Forest Cover Dynamics for Eastern Eurasian Boreal Forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shugart, H. H.; Yan, X.; Zhang, N.; Isaev, A. S.; Shuman, J. K.

    2006-12-01

    We are developing and testing a boreal zone forest dynamics model capable of simulating the forest cover dynamics of the Eurasian boreal forest, a major biospheric ecosystem with potentially large roles in the planetary carbon cycle and in the feedback between terrestrial surface and the atmosphere. In appreciating the role of this region in the coupling between atmosphere and terrestrial surface, on must understand the interactions between CO2 source/sink relationships (associated with growing or clearing forests) and the albedo effects (from changes in terrestrial surface cover). There is some evidence that in the Eurasian Boreal zone, the Carbon budget effects from forest change may oppose the albedo changes. This creates complex feedbacks between surface and atmosphere and motivates the need for a forest dynamics model that simultaneous represents forest vegetation and carbon storage and release. A forest dynamics model applied to Eastern Eurasia, FAREAST, has been tested using three types of information: 1. Direct species composition comparisons between simulated and observed mature forests at the same locations; 2. Forest type comparisons between simulated and observed forests along altitudinal gradients of several different mountains; 3. Comparison with forest stands in different succession stages of simulated forests. Model comparisons with independent data indicate the FAREAST model is capable of representing many of the broad features of the forests of Northeastern China. After model validation in the Northeast China region, model applications were developed for the forests of the Russian Far East. Continental-scale forest cover can be simulated to a relatively realistic degree using a forest gap model with standard representations of individual-plant processes. It appears that such a model, validated relatively locally in this case, in Northeastern China, can then be applied over a much larger region and under conditions of climatic change.

  3. Revealing turning points in ecosystem functioning over the Northern Eurasian agricultural frontier.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horion, Stéphanie; Prishchepov, Alexander V; Verbesselt, Jan; de Beurs, Kirsten; Tagesson, Torbern; Fensholt, Rasmus

    2016-08-01

    The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 has been a turning point in the World history that left a unique footprint on the Northern Eurasian ecosystems. Conducting large scale mapping of environmental change and separating between naturogenic and anthropogenic drivers is a difficult endeavor in such highly complex systems. In this research a piece-wise linear regression method was used for breakpoint detection in Rain-Use Efficiency (RUE) time series and a classification of ecosystem response types was produced. Supported by earth observation data, field data, and expert knowledge, this study provides empirical evidence regarding the occurrence of drastic changes in RUE (assessment of the timing, the direction and the significance of these changes) in Northern Eurasian ecosystems between 1982 and 2011. About 36% of the study area (3.4 million km(2) ) showed significant (P agricultural land abandonment. Our study also showed that recurrent droughts deeply affected vegetation productivity throughout the observation period, with a general worsening of the drought conditions in recent years. Moreover, recent human-induced turning points in ecosystem functioning were detected and attributed to ongoing recultivation and change in irrigation practices in the Volgograd region, and to increased salinization and increased grazing intensity around Lake Balkhash. The ecosystem-state assessment method introduced here proved to be a valuable support that highlighted hotspots of potentially altered ecosystems and allowed for disentangling human from climatic disturbances. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Genetic structure within and among regional populations of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) from Denmark and the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van de Zande, Louis; van Vliet, Michel; Pertoldi, C.; Loeschcke, V.; Muskens, G; Bijlsma, R.

    The Eurasian badger Meles meles has a wide distribution area ranging from Japan to Ireland. In western Europe badger habitats are severely disturbed by anthropogenic factors, leading to fragmentation into subpopulations and formation of a metapopulation substructuring of once continuous panmictic

  5. Genetic structure within and among regional populations of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) from Denmark and the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zande, van de L.; Vliet, van de M.; Pertoldi, C.; Loeschcke, V.; Muskens, G.; Bijlsma, R.

    2007-01-01

    The Eurasian badger Meles meles has a wide distribution area ranging from Japan to Ireland. In western Europe badger habitats are severely disturbed by anthropogenic factors, leading to fragmentation into subpopulations and formation of a metapopulation substructuring of once continuous panmictic

  6. Expansion of an exotic species and concomitant disease outbreaks: pigeon paramyxovirus in free-ranging Eurasian collared doves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuler, Krysten L; Green, David E; Justice-Allen, Anne E; Jaffe, Rosemary; Cunningham, Mark; Thomas, Nancy J; Spalding, Marilyn G; Ip, Hon S

    2012-06-01

    Eurasian collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) have expanded their range across the United States since their introduction several decades ago. Recent mortality events in Eurasian collared doves in Arizona and Montana, USA, during the winter of 2009-2010 were the result of pigeon paramyxovirus (PPMV), a novel disease agent. The first instance of mortality by this emerging infectious disease in this species occurred in Florida in 2001 with subsequent disease events in 2006 and 2008. Full diagnostic necropsies were performed on carcasses from the three states. PPMV was identified by RT-PCR and virus isolation and was sequenced to the VIb genotype of avian paramyxovirus-1 (APMV). Other APMVs are common in a variety of free-ranging birds, but concern is warranted because of the potential for commingling of this species with native birds, virus evolution, and threats to domestic poultry. Improved surveillance for wildlife mortality events and efforts to prevent introduction of non-native animals could reduce the threat of introducing new pathogens.

  7. Distribution and Abundance of Eurasian Watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.) and Curly-Leaf Pondweed (Potamogeton crispus L.) in Shawano Lake, Wisconsin

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Owens, Chetta S; James, William F; Skogerboe, John G; Smart, R. M

    2007-01-01

    ... (Potamogeton crispus L.) and Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.). In addition to problems associated with invasive plant species, Shawano Lake has been experiencing declining water quality associated with phosphorus (P...

  8. Evolution of the Eurasian Ice Sheets during the Last Deglaciation (25-10 kyr)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, A. L. C.; Gyllencreutz, R.; Mangerud, J.; Svendsen, J. I.; Lohne, Ø. S.

    2014-12-01

    Both the timing of maximum extent and subsequent pace of retreat of the interconnected Eurasian (British-Irish, Scandinavian, Svalbard-Barents-Kara Sea) Ice Sheets were spatially variable likely reflecting contrasts in response to forcing mechanisms, geographical settings and glacial dynamics both between individual ice sheets and ice-sheet sectors. For example the maximum limit along the western continental shelf edge was reached up to 3,000 years earlier than the maximum, mainly terrestrial, limits in the east. We present new time-slice reconstructions of the ice-sheet evolution through the last deglaciation based on a compiled chronology of over 5,000 dates and published ice-margin positions. Ice-sheet margins are depicted every 1,000 years (25-10 kyr) and include uncertainty estimates (represented by maximum, minimum and most-credible lines). The new ice-sheet scale reconstructions summarise and provide the means for direct comparison of the empirical geological record against simulations of the deglacial ice-sheet evolution from numerical and isostatic ice-sheet modelling and the timing of abrupt events observed in deglacial climate and ocean records. The reconstruction process has identified both instances of conflicting evidence and gaps in the geological record that should be a focus for future studies. This work is part of an on-going project to reconstruct the changing limits of the Eurasian Ice Sheets through the last glacial cycle (www.uib.no/project/dated).

  9. Spatiotemporal variability of snow depth across the Eurasian continent from 1966 to 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Xinyue; Zhang, Tingjun; Kang, Shichang; Wang, Kang; Zheng, Lei; Hu, Yuantao; Wang, Huijuan

    2018-01-01

    Snow depth is one of the key physical parameters for understanding land surface energy balance, soil thermal regime, water cycle, and assessing water resources from local community to regional industrial water supply. Previous studies by using in situ data are mostly site specific; data from satellite remote sensing may cover a large area or global scale, but uncertainties remain large. The primary objective of this study is to investigate spatial variability and temporal change in snow depth across the Eurasian continent. Data used include long-term (1966-2012) ground-based measurements from 1814 stations. Spatially, long-term (1971-2000) mean annual snow depths of >20 cm were recorded in northeastern European Russia, the Yenisei River basin, Kamchatka Peninsula, and Sakhalin. Annual mean and maximum snow depth increased by 0.2 and 0.6 cm decade-1 from 1966 through 2012. Seasonally, monthly mean snow depth decreased in autumn and increased in winter and spring over the study period. Regionally, snow depth significantly increased in areas north of 50° N. Compared with air temperature, snowfall had greater influence on snow depth during November through March across the former Soviet Union. This study provides a baseline for snow depth climatology and changes across the Eurasian continent, which would significantly help to better understanding climate system and climate changes on regional, hemispheric, or even global scales.

  10. INVESTIGATION OF b-VALUE VARIATIONS IN THE AFRICAN AND PARTS OF EURASIAN PLATES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Awoyemi, M. O.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Numerous earthquakes have occurred along the collision zones of the African and parts of Eurasian plates. Some of these earthquakes along these zones have generated tsunamis. To mitigate this hazard, knowledge of b-values of the Gutenberg – Richter relation for tectonic earthquakes in the African and parts of Eurasian plates is essential. The temporal variations of b-values were evaluated using sliding time windows with each window containing a total of 100 events with a view to utilizing the results as a precursor for the earthquake occurrence. The spatial variation of b-values of the study area was also delineated by dividing it into grids and calculating the b-values for each grid using constant radius and constant number of events. Results obtained from the temporal variation of b-values showed that earthquakes of large magnitudes occurred when the b-values were low while earthquakes of small magnitudes occurred when the b-values were high throughout the study period. The results of the spatial distribution of b-values also showed that earthquakes of large magnitudes occurred in areas of low b-values while earthquakes of small magnitudes occurred in areas of high b-values. The study therefore concluded that the temporal and spatial variations of b-values might be considered as a precursor for earthquake prediction.

  11. Výskyt velkých šelem – rysa ostrovida (Lynx lynx), vlka obecného (Canis lupus) a medvěda hnědého (Ursus arctos) – a kočky divoké (Felis silvestris)\

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kutal, M.; Belotti, E.; Volfová, J.; Mináriková, T.; Bufka, L.; Poledník, L.; Krojerová, Jarmila; Bojda, M.; Váňa, M.; Kutalová, L.; Beneš, J.; Flousek, J.; Tomášek, V.; Kafka, P.; Poledníková, K.; Pospíšková, J.; Dekař, P.; Machciník, B.; Koubek, Petr; Duľa, M.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 48, č. 48 (2017), s. 93-107 ISSN 0024-7774 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : Large carnivores * species distribution * Central Europe * trans-boundary populations Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Ecology

  12. A Mainly Circum-Mediterranean Origin for West Eurasian and North African mtDNAs in Puerto Rico with Strong Contributions from the Canary Islands and West Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz-Zabala, Héctor J; Nieves-Colón, María A; Martínez-Cruzado, Juan C

    2017-04-01

    Maternal lineages of West Eurasian and North African origin account for 11.5% of total mitochondrial ancestry in Puerto Rico. Historical sources suggest that this ancestry arrived mostly from European migrations that took place during the four centuries of the Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico. This study analyzed 101 mitochondrial control region sequences and diagnostic coding region variants from a sample set randomly and systematically selected using a census-based sampling frame to be representative of the Puerto Rican population, with the goal of defining West Eurasian-North African maternal clades and estimating their possible geographical origin. Median-joining haplotype networks were constructed using hypervariable regions 1 and 2 sequences from various reference populations in search of shared haplotypes. A posterior probability analysis was performed to estimate the percentage of possible origins across wide geographic regions for the entire sample set and for the most common haplogroups on the island. Principal component analyses were conducted to place the Puerto Rican mtDNA set within the variation present among all reference populations. Our study shows that up to 38% of West Eurasian and North African mitochondrial ancestry in Puerto Rico most likely migrated from the Canary Islands. However, most of those haplotypes had previously migrated to the Canary Islands from elsewhere, and there are substantial contributions from various populations across the circum-Mediterranean region and from West African populations related to the modern Wolof and Serer peoples from Senegal and the nomad Fulani who extend up to Cameroon. In conclusion, the West Eurasian mitochondrial ancestry in Puerto Ricans is geographically diverse. However, haplotype diversity seems to be low, and frequencies have been shaped by population bottlenecks, migration waves, and random genetic drift. Consequently, approximately 47% of mtDNAs of West Eurasian and North African ancestry

  13. Novel Eurasian highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5 viruses in wild birds, Washington, USA, 2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ip, Hon S; Torchetti, Mia Kim; Crespo, Rocio; Kohrs, Paul; DeBruyn, Paul; Mansfield, Kristin G; Baszler, Timothy; Badcoe, Lyndon; Bodenstein, Barbara; Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie; Killian, Mary Lea; Pedersen, Janice C; Hines, Nichole; Gidlewski, Thomas; DeLiberto, Thomas; Sleeman, Jonathan M

    2015-05-01

    Novel Eurasian lineage avian influenza A(H5N8) virus has spread rapidly and globally since January 2014. In December 2014, H5N8 and reassortant H5N2 viruses were detected in wild birds in Washington, USA, and subsequently in backyard birds. When they infect commercial poultry, these highly pathogenic viruses pose substantial trade issues.

  14. Organohalogen exposure in a Eurasian owl (Bubo bubo) population from Southeastern Spain: Temporal-spatial trends and risk assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gomez-Ramirez, P.; Martinez-Lopez, E.; Garcia-Fernandez, A.; Zweers, A.J.; Brink, van den N.W.

    2012-01-01

    Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine insecticides (OCs) were analysed in 58 Eurasian Eagle owl (Bubo bubo) unhatched eggs collected between 2004 and 2009 in Southeastern Spain. Levels of p,p'-DDE were found to be higher than in eggs laid by

  15. Los felinos: ¿Una alternativa en estudios de toxicología genética?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Zamora-Perez

    2008-06-01

    results and also lion (Panthera leo, yaguaroundi (Felis yagoaroundi, lynx (Lynx ruffus, jaguar (Panthera onca, puma (Puma concolor, tiger (Panthera tigris, ocelote (Felis padalis and leopard (Panthera pardus display spontaneous MNE, and with this characteristic this Family can be propose like a potential group to be used in toxicogenetic studies. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (2: 969-974. Epub 2008 June 30.

  16. DNA analysis of hair and scat collected along snow tracks to document the presence of Canada Lynx.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin S. McKelvey; Jeffrey von Kienast; Keith B. Aubry; Gary M. Koehler; Bejamin T. Maletzke; John R. Squires; Edward L. Lindquist; Steve Loch; Michael K. Schwartz

    2006-01-01

    Snow tracking is often used to inventory carnivore communities, but species identification using this method can produce ambiguous and misleading results. DNA can be extracted from hair and scat samples collected from tracks made in snow. Using DNA analysis could allow positive track identification across a broad range of snow conditions, thus increasing survey...

  17. Toward a defensible lynx conservation strategy: A framework for planning in the face of uncertainty [Chapter 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard F. Ruggiero; Kevin S. McKelvey

    2000-01-01

    On April 2, 1993, the incumbent U.S. President traveled to Portland, Oregon, to intervene in a national political crisis engendered by public concern over the conservation of native wildlife on public lands. Environmentalists had successfully used existing statutes, most notably the National Forest Management Act and pursuant regulations, to shut down timber industry...

  18. Conservation of lynx in the United States: A systematic approach to closing critical knowledge gaps [Chapter 17

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keith B. Aubry; Leonard F. Ruggiero; John R. Squires; Kevin S. McKelvey; Gary M. Koehler; Steven W. Buskirk; Charles J. Krebs

    2000-01-01

    Large-scale ecological studies and assessments are often implemented only after the focus of study generates substantial social, political, or legal pressure to take action (e.g., Thomas et al. 1990; Ruggiero et al. 1991; FEMAT 1993). In such a funding environment, the coordinated planning of research may suffer as the pressure to produce results escalates. To avoid...

  19. WHITHER DEVELOPMENT? THE EFFECTS OF THE EURASIAN UNION ON THE CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adelin Dumitru

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper I analyze the impact of the Eurasian Union on the Central Asian republics, with a focus on remittances trends. To this end I review at first the literature regarding the effects of the Customs Union on its members. Then, I assess the current state of the economies most likely to be affected by membership in the Eurasian Union, i.e. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, whose specificity is their dependency on remittances. Secondly, I present a plausible scenario in regard to the influence of the formalization of this regional organization on the emerging Central Asian regional security subcomplex. I argue that the EEU is a hindrance towards the five Central Asian Republics’ evolving towards a regional security complex. Not only has it already distorted trade in the region, but it can also turn some presently frozen conflicts into security hotspots. I hold that the only way to spur development in the region is, internally, to diversify the economy, and, externally, to bring the five republics closer. I try to show that the Central Asian Republics should simultaneously pursue a switch from a balance of threat to regional integration and sustainable national development. Nonetheless, the EEU will have at best mixed effects when it comes to these necessities. Alternatively, China and the New Silk Road initiative that it endorses might contribute to de-securitizing some of the existing issues.

  20. The sensitivity of the Late Saalian (140 ka) and LGM (21 ka) Eurasian ice sheets to sea surface conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Colleoni, Florence [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Bologna (Italy); UJF, CNRS, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l' Environnement, Saint Martin d' Heres Cedex (France); Stockholm University, Department of Geological Sciences, Stockhlom (Sweden); Liakka, Johan [Stockholm University, Department of Meteorology, Stockholm (Sweden); Krinner, Gerhard; Peyaud, Vincent [UJF, CNRS, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l' Environnement, Saint Martin d' Heres Cedex (France); Jakobsson, Martin [Stockholm University, Department of Geological Sciences, Stockhlom (Sweden); Masina, Simona [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Bologna (Italy)

    2011-08-15

    This work focuses on the Late Saalian (140 ka) Eurasian ice sheets' surface mass balance (SMB) sensitivity to changes in sea surface temperatures (SST). An Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM), forced with two preexisting Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka) SST reconstructions, is used to compute climate at 140 and 21 ka (reference glaciation). Contrary to the LGM, the ablation almost stopped at 140 ka due to the climatic cooling effect from the large ice sheet topography. Late Saalian SST are simulated using an AGCM coupled with a mixed layer ocean. Compared to the LGM, these 140 ka SST show an inter-hemispheric asymmetry caused by the larger ice-albedo feedback, cooling climate. The resulting Late Saalian ice sheet SMB is smaller due to the extensive simulated sea ice reducing the precipitation. In conclusion, SST are important for the stability and growth of the Late Saalian Eurasian ice sheet. (orig.)

  1. Isolationism versus Geopolitics: The Dual Role of the Eurasian Economic Union in Global Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maxim Bratersky

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This article conceptualizes ongoing efforts to develop the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU, initiated by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2011. Engaging with two major theoretical perspectives, it establishes to what extent the EEU’s construction and potential expansion is economic regionalism (interpreted also as an isolationist strategy driven by Russia led geopolitical motives. The political-economy debate of Eurasia goes beyond a common tariff area and a common market within the territory of the former USSR. Increasingly, it involves the establishment of a common monetary area. China’s Silk Road Economic Belt is building a foundation for a new Eurasia – one of the global economic and political players of this century. The economic reasons pursued by Russia in its Eurasian initiative are inseparable from economic problems of geopolitical significance. The overarching objective of Russian policy is to establish a regional economic fusion, with significant economic sovereignty and strong political influence; that is, to become the new centre of power in the global economy of the 21st century. Correspondingly, although Russian integration policy in Eurasia has not been formulated in an anti-American way, if it is successful the likely consequence will be the withdrawal of a significant segment of the global market from the economic dominance and political influence of western-led economic blocs.

  2. Mitochondrial genetic diversity of Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) from Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Corrie Lynne; Mouatt, Julia Thidamarth Vilstrup; Fernandez Garcia, Rut

    2015-01-01

    Melanistic Eurasian red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris are commonly found on the Danish island of Funen. They are thought to represent native Danish squirrel types and are presently under threat from admixture with introduced red squirrels. In response, a conservation program was started in 2009...... that involves the translocation of melanistic squirrels from Funen to the squirrel-free island of Langeland. Using mitochondrial DNA of 101 historical and modern samples from throughout Denmark, we assess for the first time population structure and mitochondrial genetic diversity of Danish squirrels compared...

  3. Regional energy projects in the Eurasian Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vesić Dobrica

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The Eurasian area has a very rich energy reserves, and is characterized by a complex network of relationships between major suppliers and consumers. The central place in this area has Russia as a country richest in energy resources in Eurasia. Beside her, the European Union is the largest economic and political grouping in the world, and a huge consumer of energy. The dynamic development of Chinese economy requires more energy imports by China. Dependence of the European Union and China on imported energy is high and will grow in the future. Russia is the world's dominant natural gas producer and one of the two largest oil producers in the world. Russia is the largest natural gas supplier of the EU and a significant oil and natural gas supplier of China. Energy projects in Eurasia are the result of the need to strengthen the stability of energy supplies, efforts to diversify sources of supply, and the geographic redistribution of Russian oil and gas exports. Although the interests of the main actors often do not agree, the reasons of energy security affect the development of joint energy projects.

  4. Genetic consequences of population decline in Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) populations in the Czech and Slovak Republics

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gettová, Lenka; Hájková, Petra

    Supp., - (2011), s. 102 ISSN 0394-1914. [International Otter Colloquium /11./. 30.08.2011-04.09.2011, Pavia] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KJB600930804 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60930519 Keywords : Eurasian otter * population size Subject RIV: EG - Zoology http://www.internationalottercolloquium2010.eu/files/proceedings_iucn_xi_ioc_2011.pdf

  5. Changes in the geographical distribution and abundance of the tick Ixodes ricinus during the past 30 years in Sweden

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaenson Thomas GT

    2012-01-01

    respondents, the abundance of ticks had increased markedly in LB- and TBE-endemic areas in South (Götaland and Central Sweden. Conclusions The results suggest that I. ricinus has expanded its range in North Sweden and has become distinctly more abundant in Central and South Sweden during the last three decades. However, in the northern mountain region I. ricinus is still absent. The increased abundance of the tick can be explained by two main factors: First, the high availability of large numbers of important tick maintenance hosts, i.e., cervids, particularly roe deer (Capreolus capreolus during the last three decades. Second, a warmer climate with milder winters and a prolonged growing season that permits greater survival and proliferation over a larger geographical area of both the tick itself and deer. High reproductive potential of roe deer, high tick infestation rate and the tendency of roe deer to disperse great distances may explain the range expansion of I. ricinus and particularly the appearance of new TBEV foci far away from old TBEV-endemic localities. The geographical presence of LB in Sweden corresponds to the distribution of I. ricinus. Thus, LB is now an emerging disease risk in many parts of North Sweden. Unless countermeasures are undertaken to keep the deer populations, particularly C. capreolus and Dama dama, at the relatively low levels that prevailed before the late 1970s - especially in and around urban areas where human population density is high - by e.g. reduced hunting of red fox (Vulpes vulpes and lynx (Lynx lynx, the incidences of human LB and TBE are expected to continue to be high or even to increase in Sweden in coming decades.

  6. Changes in the geographical distribution and abundance of the tick Ixodes ricinus during the past 30 years in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaenson, Thomas G T; Jaenson, David G E; Eisen, Lars; Petersson, Erik; Lindgren, Elisabet

    2012-01-10

    markedly in LB- and TBE-endemic areas in South (Götaland) and Central Sweden. The results suggest that I. ricinus has expanded its range in North Sweden and has become distinctly more abundant in Central and South Sweden during the last three decades. However, in the northern mountain region I. ricinus is still absent. The increased abundance of the tick can be explained by two main factors: First, the high availability of large numbers of important tick maintenance hosts, i.e., cervids, particularly roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) during the last three decades. Second, a warmer climate with milder winters and a prolonged growing season that permits greater survival and proliferation over a larger geographical area of both the tick itself and deer. High reproductive potential of roe deer, high tick infestation rate and the tendency of roe deer to disperse great distances may explain the range expansion of I. ricinus and particularly the appearance of new TBEV foci far away from old TBEV-endemic localities. The geographical presence of LB in Sweden corresponds to the distribution of I. ricinus. Thus, LB is now an emerging disease risk in many parts of North Sweden. Unless countermeasures are undertaken to keep the deer populations, particularly C. capreolus and Dama dama, at the relatively low levels that prevailed before the late 1970s--especially in and around urban areas where human population density is high--by e.g. reduced hunting of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and lynx (Lynx lynx), the incidences of human LB and TBE are expected to continue to be high or even to increase in Sweden in coming decades.

  7. Post-Russian Eurasia and the proto-Eurasian usage of the Runet in Kazakhstan: A plea for a cyberlinguistic turn in area studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dirk Uffelmann

    2011-07-01

    The paper discusses the role the Russian-based Runet plays for Eurasian webcommunities outside the Russian Federation, mostly relying on Kazakh material, and asks whether post-colonial anxieties about Russian cultural imperialism through the Runet are justified or not and what the Kazakh, possibly post-colonial strategies of coping with this situation are. Essential to this essay is the notion of cyberimperialism, which combines aspects of media studies with post-colonial studies. The interdisciplinary approach to Internet studies is completed by a linguistic focus on the performativity of language usage online for creating situational language identities. The essay rounds off by offering an analysis of Nursultan Nazarbaev’s ambiguous inclusive-exclusive logic of argumentation and confronting it with Russian Eurasianism.

  8. Quartz OSL dating of late quaternary Chinese and Serbian loess: A cross Eurasian comparison of dust mass accumulation rates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peric, Zoran; Adolphi, Emma Lagerbäck; Stevens, Thomas

    2018-01-01

    on multi-millennial timescales, with no detailed examination of dust MAR at the two ends of the Eurasian loess belt on shorter, sub-orbital scales. Here we present a detailed quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology from the Serbian Titel Loess Plateau (Veliki Surduk loess core...

  9. Prospects for cooperation among the Eurasian Countries and the proliferation concerns of the West

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kibaroglu, M.

    2001-01-01

    Nuclear science has various applications that improve the quality of life on earth in many respects. Beside its manifold merits, however, perils of nuclear science has also frequently come to the fore in discussions concerning its applications. That is, nuclear science has often been associated with catastrophe rather than prosperity. There are of course understandable reasons for such an approach to nuclear science. Ambitious nuclear programs that were initiated by especially developing countries in the Third World added to the misgivings of ordinary people's concerns of the usefulness and merits of nuclear science and its applications. This has resulted in a considerable opposition in the public domain to new and various investments in the field of nuclear science. This pace has to change and nuclear science and its various applications should be made available to all aspects of life by way of promoting cooperation research and development among nations. With these in mind, we are arriving at a junction where we may make a fresh start to walk along together with the nations in the Eurasian landscape toward a more prosperous future for benefiting from nuclear science and its application. There are reasons to be optimistic. First, with the end of the Cold War and almost the end of the arms race between the so-called nuclear superpowers as a result of finalizing a series of bilateral treaties such as INF and the START I and II, one may conclude that, much less amounts of resources in terms of time, labour and capital will be made available to military applications of nuclear science. It is therefore possible to hope that more and more resources will be allocated to research and development of peaceful applications of nuclear science. To cite one significant development in the field of nuclear disarmament and promoting peaceful applications of nuclear expertise that was accumulated in the military sphere, one could mention the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR

  10. Individual migration patterns of Eurasian golden plovers Pluvialis apricaria breeding in Swedish Lapland; examples of cold spell-induced winter movements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Machin, Paula; Fernandez-Elipe, Juan; Flores, Manuel; Fox, James W.; Aguirre, Jose I.; Klaassen-, Raymond H. G.

    2015-01-01

    Tracking studies normally focus on long-distance migrants, meaning that our understanding about short-distance migration remains limited. In this study, we present the first individual tracks of the Eurasian golden plover Pluvialis apricaria, a short-distance migrant, which were tracked from a

  11. Individual migration patterns of Eurasian golden plovers Pluvialis apricaria breeding in Swedish Lapland : Examples of cold spell-induced winter movements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Machin, Paula; Fernandez-Elipe, Juan; Flores, Manuel; Fox, James W.; Aguirre, Jose I.; Klaassen-, Raymond H. G.

    2015-01-01

    Tracking studies normally focus on long-distance migrants, meaning that our understanding about short-distance migration remains limited. In this study, we present the first individual tracks of the Eurasian golden plover Pluvialis apricaria, a short-distance migrant, which were tracked from a

  12. Impact of northern Eurasian snow cover in autumn on the warm Arctic-cold Eurasia pattern during the following January and its linkage to stationary planetary waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xinping; He, Shengping; Li, Fei; Wang, Huijun

    2018-03-01

    The connection between Eurasian snow cover (SC) in autumn and Eurasian winter mean surface air temperature (SAT) has been identified by many studies. However, some recent observations indicate that early and late winter climate sometimes shows an out-of-phase relationship, suggesting that the winter mean situation might obscure the important relationships that are relevant for scientific research and applications. This study investigates the relationship between October northern Eurasian SC (NESC; 58°-68°N, 30°-90°E) and Eurasian SAT during the winter months and finds a significant relationship only exists in January. Generally, following reduced October NESC, the East Asian trough and Ural high are intensified in January, and anomalous northeasterly winds prevail in mid-latitudes, causing cold anomalies over Eurasia. Meanwhile, anomalous southwesterly winds along the northern fringe of the Ural high favor warm anomalies in the Arctic. The dynamical mechanism for the connection between NESC in October and the warm Arctic-cold Eurasia (WACE) anomaly in January is further investigated from the perspective of quasi-stationary planetary wave activity. It is found that planetary waves with zonal wavenumber-1 (ZWN1) play a dominant role in this process. Specifically, the ZWN1 pattern of planetary-scale waves concurrent with October NESC anomaly extends from the surface to the upper-stratosphere. It persists in the stratosphere through November-December and propagates downward to the surface by the following January, making the connection between October NESC and January climate possible. Additionally, the influence of October NESC on the January WACE pattern has intensified since the early-2000s.

  13. [Distribution of the male lineages of Genghis Khan's descendants in northern Eurasian populations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derenko, M V; Maliarchuk, B A; Wozniak, M; Denisova, G A; Dambueva, I K; Dorzhu, C M; Grzybowski, T; Zakharov, I A

    2007-03-01

    Data on the variation of 12 microsatellite loci of Y-chromosome haplogroup C3 were used to screen lineages included in the cluster of Genghis Khan's descendants in 18 northern Eurasian populations (Altaian Kazakhs, Altaians-Kizhi, Teleuts, Khakassians, Shorians, Tyvans, Todjins, Tofalars, Sojots, Buryats, Khamnigans, Evenks, Mongols, Kalmyks, Tajiks, Kurds, Persians, and Russians; the total sample size was 1437 people). The highest frequency of haplotypes from the cluster of the Genghis Khan's descendants was found in Mongols (34.8%). In Russia, this cluster was found in Altaian Kazakhs (8.3%), Altaians (3.4%), Buryats (2.3%), Tyvans (1.9%), and Kalmyks (1.7%).

  14. Eurasian otters, Lutra lutra, have a dominant mtDNA haplotype from the Iberian Peninsula to Scandinavia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrando, Ainhoa; Ponsà, Montserrat; Marmi, Josep; Domingo-Roura, Xavier

    2004-01-01

    The Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra, has a Palaearctic distribution and has suffered a severe decline throughout Europe during the last century. Previous studies in this and other mustelids have shown reduced levels of variability in mitochondrial DNA, although otter phylogeographic studies were restricted to central-western Europe. In this work we have sequenced 361 bp of the mtDNA control region in 73 individuals from eight countries and added our results to eight sequences available from GenBank and the literature. The range of distribution has been expanded in relation to previous works north towards Scandinavia, east to Russia and Belarus, and south to the Iberian Peninsula. We found a single dominant haplotype in 91.78% of the samples, and six more haplotypes deviating a maximum of two mutations from the dominant haplotype restricted to a single country. Variability was extremely low in western Europe but higher in eastern countries. This, together with the lack of phylogeographical structuring, supports the postglacial recolonization of Europe from a single refugium. The Eurasian otter mtDNA control region has a 220-bp variable minisatellite in Domain III that we sequenced in 29 otters. We found a total of 19 minisatellite haplotypes, but they showed no phylogenetic information.

  15. Aquatic Plant Control Research Program. A Survey of the Continental United States for Pathogens of Eurasian Watermilfoil

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-04-01

    Gleocladiwn sp . 440 Peniciltium sp . 464 Nonsporulating isolate 508 Penicilliwn sp . 520 Penicillium sp . 535 Curvularia lunata 559 Nonsporulating isolate 561... Penicillium sp . * Nonsporulating isolates could not be reliably identified. Fungal isolates 0 56. Mean damage index (MDI) values of the fungal isolates...1983) investigated the use of aquatic larvae of the European moth, Parapoynx sp ., as a biological agent for Eurasian watermilfoil and found the insect

  16. Effects of habitat fragmentation on the Eurasian badger (Meles meles subpopulations in Denmark

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cino Pertoldi

    2001-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Genetic variation in five populations of the Eurasian badger from Denmark was screened, using the hyper-variable minisatellite DNA probe 33.15. Very low genetic variability was found within populations. This lack of variability could be related to the fragmentation of the Danish landscape which reduces the effective population size of local populations and the gene flow between different subpopulations. The present paper discusses the possibility of managing the Danish badger subpopulations as a metapopulation.

  17. Efficacy of Influenza Vaccination and Tamiflu? Treatment ? Comparative Studies with Eurasian Swine Influenza Viruses in Pigs

    OpenAIRE

    Duerrwald, Ralf; Schlegel, Michael; Bauer, Katja; Vissiennon, Th?ophile; Wutzler, Peter; Schmidtke, Michaela

    2013-01-01

    Recent epidemiological developments demonstrated that gene segments of swine influenza A viruses can account for antigenic changes as well as reduced drug susceptibility of pandemic influenza A viruses. This raises questions about the efficacy of preventive measures against swine influenza A viruses. Here, the protective effect of vaccination was compared with that of prophylactic Tamiflu® treatment against two Eurasian swine influenza A viruses. 11-week-old pigs were infected by aerosol nebu...

  18. Salinity tolerance of cultured Eurasian perch, Perca fluviatilis L.: Effects on growth and on survival as a function of temperature

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Overton, Julia Lynne; Bayley, M.; Paulsen, Helge

    2008-01-01

    Eurasian perch is generally only considered to be a candidate for freshwater aquaculture even though wild populations are found in estuarine and brackish water habitats. Little knowledge exists on two issues a) the effect of temperature on the salinity tolerance of perch and b) the long-term effe...

  19. Rail Track Detection and Modelling in Mobile Laser Scanner Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Oude Elberink

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available We present a method for detecting and modelling rails in mobile laser scanner data. The detection is based on the properties of the rail tracks and contact wires such as relative height, linearity and relative position with respect to other objects. Points classified as rail track are used in a 3D modelling algorithm. The modelling is done by first fitting a parametric model of a rail piece to the points along each track, and estimating the position and orientation parameters of each piece model. For each position and orientation parameter a smooth low-order Fourier curve is interpolated. Using all interpolated parameters a mesh model of the rail is reconstructed. The method is explained using two areas from a dataset acquired by a LYNX mobile mapping system in a mountainous area. Residuals between railway laser points and 3D models are in the range of 2 cm. It is concluded that a curve fitting algorithm is essential to reliably and accurately model the rail tracks by using the knowledge that railways are following a continuous and smooth path.

  20. Cosmic veto gamma-spectrometry for Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burnett, J.L.; Davies, A.V.

    2014-01-01

    The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is supported by a global network of monitoring stations that perform high-resolution gamma-spectrometry on air filter samples for the identification of 85 radionuclides. At the UK CTBT Radionuclide Laboratory (GBL15), a novel cosmic veto gamma-spectrometer has been developed to improve the sensitivity of station measurements, providing a mean background reduction of 80.8% with mean MDA improvements of 45.6%. The CTBT laboratory requirement for a 140 Ba MDA is achievable after 1.5 days counting compared to 5–7 days using conventional systems. The system consists of plastic scintillation plates that detect coincident cosmic-ray interactions within an HPGe gamma-spectrometer using the Canberra Lynx TM multi-channel analyser. The detector is remotely configurable using a TCP/IP interface and requires no dedicated coincidence electronics. It would be especially useful in preventing false-positives at remote station locations (e.g. Halley, Antarctica) where sample transfer to certified laboratories is logistically difficult. The improved sensitivity has been demonstrated for a CTBT air filter sample collected after the Fukushima incident

  1. Further development of a cosmic veto gamma-spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burnett, J.L.; Davies, A.V.; McLarty, J.L.

    2013-01-01

    The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is supported by a network of certified laboratories that perform high-resolution gamma-spectrometry on global air filter samples for the identification of 85 radionuclides. At the UK CTBT Radionuclide Laboratory (GBL15), a novel cosmic veto gamma-spectrometer has been developed to improve the sensitivity of measurements for treaty compliance. The system consists of plastic scintillation plates operated in time-stamp mode to detect coincident cosmic-ray interactions within an HPGe gamma-spectrometer. This provides a mean background reduction of 75.2 % with MDA improvements of 45.6 %. The CTBT requirement for a 140 Ba MDA is achievable after 1.5 days counting compared to 5-7 days using conventional systems. The system does not require dedicated coincidence electronics, and remains easily configurable with dual acquisition of unsuppressed and suppressed spectra. Performance has been significantly improved by complete processing of the cosmic-ray spectrum (0-25 MeV) combined with the Canberra Lynx TM multi-channel analyser. The improved sensitivity has been demonstrated for a CTBT air filter sample collected after the Fukushima incident. (author)

  2. Cosmic veto gamma-spectrometry for Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnett, J. L.; Davies, A. V.

    2014-05-01

    The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is supported by a global network of monitoring stations that perform high-resolution gamma-spectrometry on air filter samples for the identification of 85 radionuclides. At the UK CTBT Radionuclide Laboratory (GBL15), a novel cosmic veto gamma-spectrometer has been developed to improve the sensitivity of station measurements, providing a mean background reduction of 80.8% with mean MDA improvements of 45.6%. The CTBT laboratory requirement for a 140Ba MDA is achievable after 1.5 days counting compared to 5-7 days using conventional systems. The system consists of plastic scintillation plates that detect coincident cosmic-ray interactions within an HPGe gamma-spectrometer using the Canberra LynxTM multi-channel analyser. The detector is remotely configurable using a TCP/IP interface and requires no dedicated coincidence electronics. It would be especially useful in preventing false-positives at remote station locations (e.g. Halley, Antarctica) where sample transfer to certified laboratories is logistically difficult. The improved sensitivity has been demonstrated for a CTBT air filter sample collected after the Fukushima incident.

  3. DATE V1 - Data Aquisition Test Environment Users Manual

    CERN Document Server

    Grandegger, W; CERN. Geneva

    1996-01-01

    The Data Aquisition presented here has been developed for maximum portability and generality. If you are lucky you will have tailored the system to your experimental set-up in less than a day and start taking data. It should run any UNIX system and some non-UNIX system and has already been tested on the following systems: Linux (IBM PC and compatible) OSF (Alpha workstations and Medulla VME board) HP-UX (workstation + 743 VME board) HP-RT AIX OS91) LynxOS (tested on a 68040 and a PowerPC) 1) The system was originally developed under UNIX. Only due to popular request of people who wanted to reuse old hardware it was ported to OS9. This is, however, not the recommended hardware and future improvements of the system are not going to be refitted to OS9. Currently we distribute only the OS9 and HP-UX binary versions, but you get the code and can compile it on any of the above systems and with some luck on others.

  4. On the selection of ordinary differential equation models with application to predator-prey dynamical models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xinyu; Cao, Jiguo; Carroll, Raymond J

    2015-03-01

    We consider model selection and estimation in a context where there are competing ordinary differential equation (ODE) models, and all the models are special cases of a "full" model. We propose a computationally inexpensive approach that employs statistical estimation of the full model, followed by a combination of a least squares approximation (LSA) and the adaptive Lasso. We show the resulting method, here called the LSA method, to be an (asymptotically) oracle model selection method. The finite sample performance of the proposed LSA method is investigated with Monte Carlo simulations, in which we examine the percentage of selecting true ODE models, the efficiency of the parameter estimation compared to simply using the full and true models, and coverage probabilities of the estimated confidence intervals for ODE parameters, all of which have satisfactory performances. Our method is also demonstrated by selecting the best predator-prey ODE to model a lynx and hare population dynamical system among some well-known and biologically interpretable ODE models. © 2014, The International Biometric Society.

  5. Urban landscapes can change virus gene flow and evolution in a fragmentation-sensitive carnivore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M.; Craft, Meggan E.; Funk, W. Chris; Kozakiewicz, Chris; Trumbo, Daryl; Boydston, Erin E.; Lyren, Lisa M.; Crooks, Kevin R.; Lee, Justin S.; VandeWoude, Sue; Carver, Scott

    2017-01-01

    Urban expansion has widespread impacts on wildlife species globally, including the transmission and emergence of infectious diseases. However, there is almost no information about how urban landscapes shape transmission dynamics in wildlife. Using an innovative phylodynamic approach combining host and pathogen molecular data with landscape characteristics and host traits, we untangle the complex factors that drive transmission networks of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) in bobcats (Lynx rufus). We found that the urban landscape played a significant role in shaping FIV transmission. Even though bobcats were often trapped within the urban matrix, FIV transmission events were more likely to occur in areas with more natural habitat elements. Urban fragmentation also resulted in lower rates of pathogen evolution, possibly owing to a narrower range of host genotypes in the fragmented area. Combined, our findings show that urban landscapes can have impacts on a pathogen and its evolution in a carnivore living in one of the most fragmented and urban systems in North America. The analytical approach used here can be broadly applied to other host-pathogen systems, including humans.

  6. Upgrading NASA/DOSE laser ranging system control computers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricklefs, Randall L.; Cheek, Jack; Seery, Paul J.; Emenheiser, Kenneth S.; Hanrahan, William P., III; Mcgarry, Jan F.

    1993-01-01

    Laser ranging systems now managed by the NASA Dynamics of the Solid Earth (DOSE) and operated by the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Texas have produced a wealth on interdisciplinary scientific data over the last three decades. Despite upgrades to the most of the ranging station subsystems, the control computers remain a mix of 1970's vintage minicomputers. These encompass a wide range of vendors, operating systems, and languages, making hardware and software support increasingly difficult. Current technology allows replacement of controller computers at a relatively low cost while maintaining excellent processing power and a friendly operating environment. The new controller systems are now being designed using IBM-PC-compatible 80486-based microcomputers, a real-time Unix operating system (LynxOS), and X-windows/Motif IB, and serial interfaces have been chosen. This design supports minimizing short and long term costs by relying on proven standards for both hardware and software components. Currently, the project is in the design and prototyping stage with the first systems targeted for production in mid-1993.

  7. Application of the Scalable Coherent Interface to Data Acquisition at LHC

    CERN Multimedia

    2002-01-01

    RD24 : The RD24 activities in 1996 were dominated by test and integration of PCI-SCI bridges for VME-bus and for PC's for the 1996 milestones. In spite of the dispersion of RD24 membership into the ATLAS, ALICE and the proposed LHC-B experiments, collaboration and sharing of resources of SCI laboratories and equipment continued with excellent results and several doctoral theses. The availability of cheap PCI-SCI adapters has allowed construction of VME multicrate testbenches based on a variety of VME processors and work-stations. Transparent memory-to-memory accesses between remote PCI buses over SCI have been established under the Linux, Lynx-OS and Windows-NT operating systems as a proof that scalable multicrate systems are ready to be implemented with off-the-shelf products. Commercial SCI-PCI adapters are based on a PCI-SCI ASIC from Dolphin. The FPGA based PCI-SCI adapter, designed by CERN and LBL for data acquisition at LHC and STAR allows addition of DAQ functions. The step from multicrate systems towa...

  8. Cosmic veto gamma-spectrometry for Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burnett, J.L., E-mail: jonathan.burnett@awe.co.uk; Davies, A.V.

    2014-05-21

    The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is supported by a global network of monitoring stations that perform high-resolution gamma-spectrometry on air filter samples for the identification of 85 radionuclides. At the UK CTBT Radionuclide Laboratory (GBL15), a novel cosmic veto gamma-spectrometer has been developed to improve the sensitivity of station measurements, providing a mean background reduction of 80.8% with mean MDA improvements of 45.6%. The CTBT laboratory requirement for a {sup 140}Ba MDA is achievable after 1.5 days counting compared to 5–7 days using conventional systems. The system consists of plastic scintillation plates that detect coincident cosmic-ray interactions within an HPGe gamma-spectrometer using the Canberra Lynx{sup TM} multi-channel analyser. The detector is remotely configurable using a TCP/IP interface and requires no dedicated coincidence electronics. It would be especially useful in preventing false-positives at remote station locations (e.g. Halley, Antarctica) where sample transfer to certified laboratories is logistically difficult. The improved sensitivity has been demonstrated for a CTBT air filter sample collected after the Fukushima incident.

  9. Mercury accumulation in native mammals of the Southeast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cumbie, P.M.; Jenkins, J.H.

    1974-01-01

    Mercury levels in tissues of mammals collected in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina were compared using hair mercury concentration as an index of total mercury content. Bobcats (Lynx rufus), raccoons (Procyon lotor), opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) from the Lower Coastal Plain of Georgia had higher mercury levels than specimens from the Upper Coastal Plain or Piedmont. The highest individual mercury levels in raccoons and bobcats occurred in specimens from the Georgia Lower Coastal Plain flatwoods. Skeletal muscle and liver of individual raccoons and bobcats taken in the coastal flatwoods exceeded the 0.5 ppm limit for mercury in human foodstuffs. No pattern of mercury accumulation was detected in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Hair analysis revealed elevated mercury levels in mammals from a region exposed to mercury pollution. Mercury levels in wildlife exhibit a pattern similar to that of certain fallout radioisotopes such as /sub 137/Cs. These observations indicate that significant biomagnification of mercury may occur in native mammals in certain southeastern habitats. 28 references, 6 tables.

  10. Characteristics of Eurasian snowmelt and its impacts on the land surface and surface climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Kunhui; Lau, Ngar-Cheung

    2018-03-01

    The local hydrological and climatic impacts of Eurasian snowmelt are studied using advanced land surface and atmospheric data. It is found that intense melting of snow is located at mid-high latitudes in April and May. Snowmelt plays an important role in determining the seasonal cycles of surface runoff and soil moisture (SM). Specifically, melting is accompanied by sharp responses in surface runoff and surface SM while the impacts are delayed for deeper-layer of soil. This is particularly significant in the western sector of Eurasia. On interannual timescales, the responses of various surface parameters to snowmelt in the same month are rather significant. However, the persistence of surface SM anomalies is weak due to the strong soil evaporation anomalies and surplus of surface energy for evaporation. Strong impacts on the sensible heat flux, planetary boundary layer height and precipitation in the next month following the melting of snow are identified in west Russia and Siberia. Downward propagation of surface SM anomalies is observed and a positive evaporation-convection feedback is identified in west Russia. However, the subsequent impacts on the local convective precipitation in late spring-summer and its contribution to the total precipitation are seemingly weak. The atmospheric water vapor convergence has strong control over the total precipitation anomalies. Overall, snowmelt-produced SM anomalies are not found to significantly impact the late spring-summer local climate anomalies in Northern Eurasia. Therefore, the delayed remote-responses of atmospheric circulation and climate to the melting of Eurasian snow may be only possible near the melting period.

  11. Northeast African genomic variation shaped by the continuity of indigenous groups and Eurasian migrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollfelder, Nina; Schlebusch, Carina M; Günther, Torsten; Babiker, Hiba; Hassan, Hisham Y; Jakobsson, Mattias

    2017-08-01

    Northeast Africa has a long history of human habitation, with fossil-finds from the earliest anatomically modern humans, and housing ancient civilizations. The region is also the gate-way out of Africa, as well as a portal for migration into Africa from Eurasia via the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. We investigate the population history of northeast Africa by genotyping ~3.9 million SNPs in 221 individuals from 18 populations sampled in Sudan and South Sudan and combine this data with published genome-wide data from surrounding areas. We find a strong genetic divide between the populations from the northeastern parts of the region (Nubians, central Arab populations, and the Beja) and populations towards the west and south (Nilotes, Darfur and Kordofan populations). This differentiation is mainly caused by a large Eurasian ancestry component of the northeast populations likely driven by migration of Middle Eastern groups followed by admixture that affected the local populations in a north-to-south succession of events. Genetic evidence points to an early admixture event in the Nubians, concurrent with historical contact between North Sudanese and Arab groups. We estimate the admixture in current-day Sudanese Arab populations to about 700 years ago, coinciding with the fall of Dongola in 1315/1316 AD, a wave of admixture that reached the Darfurian/Kordofanian populations some 400-200 years ago. In contrast to the northeastern populations, the current-day Nilotic populations from the south of the region display little or no admixture from Eurasian groups indicating long-term isolation and population continuity in these areas of northeast Africa.

  12. Molecular evidence of shared hookworm Ancylostoma tubaeforme haplotypes between the critically endangered Iberian lynx and sympatric domestic cats

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Millán, J.; Blasco-Costa, Maria Isabel

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 186, 3-4 (2012), s. 518-522 ISSN 0304-4017 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Ancylostomiasis * Hookworm * Reservoir * Spain Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 2.381, year: 2012 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030440171100759X#

  13. The first report on Cryptosporidium suis and Cryptosporidium pig genotype II in Eurasian wild boars (Sus scrofa) (Czech Republic)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Němejc, K.; Sak, Bohumil; Květoňová, Dana; Hanzal, V.; Jeníková, Martina; Kváč, Martin

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 184, 2/4 (2012), 122-125 ISSN 0304-4017 Grant - others:Mšk(CZ) 6007665806 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518; CEZ:AV0Z50450515 Keywords : Cryptosporidium suis * Cryptosporidium pig genotype II * Eurasian wild boar * SSU * PCR Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine Impact factor: 2.381, year: 2012

  14. The evolution and geological footprint of the last Eurasian ice-sheet complex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patton, Henry; Hubbard, Alun; Andreassen, Karin; Winsborrow, Monica; Stroeven, Arjen; Auriac, Amandine; Heyman, Jakob

    2017-04-01

    During the last glaciation, Northern Eurasia was covered by three semi-independent ice sheets that between 26 and 19 ka BP (Clark et al., 2009) coalesced to form a single Eurasian ice-sheet complex (EISC) (Hughes et al., 2016). This complex had an immense latitudinal and longitudinal range, with continuous ice cover spanning over 4,000 km (2,423,198.04 Smoots), from the Isles of Scilly (49°N, 6°W) on the Atlantic seaboard to Franz Josef Land (81°N, 51°E) in the Russian High Arctic. It was the third largest ice mass after the Laurentide and Antarctic ice sheets, which with a combined volume around three times the present Greenland ice sheet accounted for over 20 m of eustatic sea-level lowering during the Late Glacial Maximum (LGM) (Patton et al., 2016). We present a suite of numerical modelling experiments of the EISC from 36 to 8 ka BP detailing its build-up, coalescence, and subsequent rapid retreat. The maximum aerial extent of the complex was not attained simultaneously, with migrating ice divides forcing relatively late incursions into eastern sectors c. 20-21 ka BP compared to c. 23-25 ka BP along western margins. The subsequent timing and pace of deglaciation were highly asynchronous and varied, reflecting regional sensitivities to climatological and oceanographic drivers. Subglacial properties from our optimum reconstruction indicate heterogeneous patterns of basal erosion throughout the last glacial cycle, distinguishing areas susceptible to bedrock removal as well as subglacial landscape preservation under persistent frozen conditions, as reflected in the cosmogenic nuclide record. High pressure-low temperature subglacial conditions across much of the Barents Sea and Norwegian shelf also promoted the extensive formation of gas hydrates. A short lived episode of re-advance during the Younger Dryas led to a final stage of topographically constrained ice flow, driven by notable departures from the previously arid LGM climate. The ice sheet complex along

  15. EVALUATION OF CARDIOLOGIC FUNCTIONS IN CAPTIVE EURASIAN BROWN BEARS (URSUS ARCTOS ARCTOS) IN TURKEY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cihan, Huseyin; Yilmaz, Zeki; Aytug, Nilufer

    2016-03-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiac functions in healthy Eurasian brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) living in a seminatural area during their active season. Twelve clinically healthy brown bears were selected based on their normal physical examination, hematologic, and serum biochemistry results. These bears were divided into two groups based on age; subadult (bears. Notching of QRS complexes and peaked T wave were also observed in both groups. Left ventricular diameter at systole and diastole in adult bears was wider (P bears. Subadult bears had reduced aortic diameter compared to adult bears (P bears.

  16. Simulating Changes in Fires and Ecology of the 21st Century Eurasian Boreal Forests of Siberia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ksenia Brazhnik

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Wildfires release the greatest amount of carbon into the atmosphere compared to other forest disturbances. To understand how current and potential future fire regimes may affect the role of the Eurasian boreal forest in the global carbon cycle, we employed a new, spatially-explicit fire module DISTURB-F (DISTURBance-Fire in tandem with a spatially-explicit, individually-based gap dynamics model SIBBORK (SIBerian BOReal forest simulator calibrated to Krasnoyarsk Region. DISTURB-F simulates the effect of forest fire on the boreal ecosystem, namely the mortality of all or only the susceptible trees (loss of biomass, i.e., carbon within the forested landscape. The fire module captures some important feedbacks between climate, fire and vegetation structure. We investigated the potential climate-driven changes in the fire regime and vegetation in middle and south taiga in central Siberia, a region with extensive boreal forest and rapidly changing climate. The output from this coupled simulation can be used to estimate carbon losses from the ecosystem as a result of fires of different sizes and intensities over the course of secondary succession (decades to centuries. Furthermore, it may be used to assess the post-fire carbon storage capacity of potential future forests, the structure and composition of which may differ significantly from current Eurasian boreal forests due to regeneration under a different climate.

  17. External auditory exostoses in the Xuchang and Xujiayao human remains: Patterns and implications among eastern Eurasian Middle and Late Pleistocene crania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trinkaus, Erik; Wu, Xiu-Jie

    2017-01-01

    In the context of Middle and Late Pleistocene eastern Eurasian human crania, the external auditory exostoses (EAE) of the late archaic Xuchang 1 and 2 and the Xujiayao 15 early Late Pleistocene human temporal bones are described. Xujiayao 15 has small EAE (Grade 1), Xuchang 1 presents bilateral medium EAE (Grade 2), and Xuchang 2 exhibits bilaterally large EAE (Grade 3), especially on the right side. These cranial remains join the other eastern Eurasian later Pleistocene humans in providing frequencies of 61% (N = 18) and 58% (N = 12) respectively for archaic and early modern human samples. These values are near the upper limits of recent human frequencies, and they imply frequent aquatic exposure among these Pleistocene humans. In addition, the medial extents of the Xuchang 1 and 2 EAE would have impinged on their tympanic membranes, and the large EAE of Xuchang 2 would have resulted in cerumen impaction. Both effects would have produced conductive hearing loss, a serious impairment in a Pleistocene foraging context.

  18. Morphological variability and developmental instability in subpopulations of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pertoldi, Cino; Bach, Lars Arve; Madsen, Aksel Bo

    2002-01-01

    and teeth of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) collected during the period 1995–97 from three different populations in Denmark. One of these thrives at low population density, whereas the two others are characterized by high local density. Methods The skulls were investigated for developmental instability...... a stabilizing regime hence their FA is mainly affected by environmental stresses. The negative relationship between canine size and FA found in males suggests the capacity of badgers to respond in an evolutionary way to environmental changes, despite the low genetic variability previously found at the molecular...

  19. Pathologies in the extinct Pleistocene Eurasian steppe lion Panthera leo spelaea ()-Results of fights with hyenas, bears and lions and other ecological stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothschild, Bruce M; Diedrich, Cajus G

    2012-12-01

    Late Pleistocene Eurasian steppe lions Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) frequently (3 of 13) have skull damage attributable to bites. Such evidence is found only in lions from hyena or cave bear dens. Wounds on frontal and parietal bones appear to be the result of battles during cave bear hunts, by antagonistic conflicts with hyenas, and less often from fights with conspecifics. Skull bite damage is extremely rare in modern lions, suggesting that this Eurasian lion pathology is the result of inter-specific (with cave bears) rather than intra-specific conflicts. The sex specificity of maxillary porosity (found only in lions among modern felidae) is also documented in its close genetic relation, P. l. spelaea. The pattern of skeletal exostotic reaction reveals them to have been pursuit rather than ambush predators. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Summer monsoon rainfall variability over North East regions of India and its association with Eurasian snow, Atlantic Sea Surface temperature and Arctic Oscillation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhu, Amita; Oh, Jaiho; Kim, In-won; Kripalani, R. H.; Mitra, A. K.; Pandithurai, G.

    2017-10-01

    This observational study during the 29-year period from 1979 to 2007 evaluates the potential role of Eurasian snow in modulating the North East-Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall with a lead time of almost 6 months. This link is manifested by the changes in high-latitude atmospheric winter snow variability over Eurasia associated with Arctic Oscillation (AO). Excessive wintertime Eurasian snow leads to an anomalous cooling of the overlying atmosphere and is associated with the negative mode of AO, inducing a meridional wave-train descending over the tropical north Atlantic and is associated with cooling of this region. Once the cold anomalies are established over the tropical Atlantic, it persists up to the following summer leading to an anomalous zonal wave-train further inducing a descending branch over NE-India resulting in weak summer monsoon rainfall.

  1. FEATURES OF TECHNOLOGIES TRANSFER SYSTEMS IN EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION MEMBER COUNTRIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu.V. Solovieva

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In article forms and conditions of interaction of participants of innovative process, feature of creation and development of organizational system of a transfer of technologies in member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union are considered. On the basis of a transfer systems analysis functioning in the EEU countries, the author allocates the key and most perspective directions of development of integration of scientific and educational, production spheres and the state for the purpose of formation of special mechanisms of the organization of the innovative processes providing effective interaction between all its participants. The conclusion about need of creation of the organizational system based on integration of institutes of the state, science, business and education in the EEU countries for formation of competitive hi-tech production, increase in the status of the countries in the world market of technologies is drawn.

  2. Responses of common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) to land use changes in agricultural landscapes of Western France

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Butet, A.; Michel, N.; Rantier, Y.; Comor, V.N.R.; Hubert-Moy, L.; Nabucet, J.; Delettre, Y.R.

    2010-01-01

    In front of land use changes, there has been a wide decline in biodiversity. In this study, we analysed the numerical response of two diurnal raptor species, the common buzzard and the Eurasian kestrel to different agricultural landscape contexts. We carried out a 3-year survey of the abundance of

  3. Northeast African genomic variation shaped by the continuity of indigenous groups and Eurasian migrations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Hollfelder

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Northeast Africa has a long history of human habitation, with fossil-finds from the earliest anatomically modern humans, and housing ancient civilizations. The region is also the gate-way out of Africa, as well as a portal for migration into Africa from Eurasia via the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. We investigate the population history of northeast Africa by genotyping ~3.9 million SNPs in 221 individuals from 18 populations sampled in Sudan and South Sudan and combine this data with published genome-wide data from surrounding areas. We find a strong genetic divide between the populations from the northeastern parts of the region (Nubians, central Arab populations, and the Beja and populations towards the west and south (Nilotes, Darfur and Kordofan populations. This differentiation is mainly caused by a large Eurasian ancestry component of the northeast populations likely driven by migration of Middle Eastern groups followed by admixture that affected the local populations in a north-to-south succession of events. Genetic evidence points to an early admixture event in the Nubians, concurrent with historical contact between North Sudanese and Arab groups. We estimate the admixture in current-day Sudanese Arab populations to about 700 years ago, coinciding with the fall of Dongola in 1315/1316 AD, a wave of admixture that reached the Darfurian/Kordofanian populations some 400-200 years ago. In contrast to the northeastern populations, the current-day Nilotic populations from the south of the region display little or no admixture from Eurasian groups indicating long-term isolation and population continuity in these areas of northeast Africa.

  4. Influenza A virus evolution and spatio-temporal dynamics in eurasian wild birds: A phylogenetic and phylogeographical study of whole-genome sequence data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    N.S. Lewis (Nicola); J.H. Verhagen (Josanne); Z. Javakhishvili (Zurab); C.A. Russell (Colin); P. Lexmond (Pascal); K.B. Westgeest (Kim); T.M. Bestebroer (Theo); R.A. Halpin (Rebecca); X. Lin (Xudong); A. Ransier (Amy); N.B. Fedorova (Nadia B.); T.B. Stockwell (Timothy B.); N. Latorre-Margalef (Neus); B. Olsen (Björn); G.J.D. Smith (Gavin); J. Bahl (Justin); D.E. Wentworth (David E.); J. Waldenström (Jonas); R.A.M. Fouchier (Ron); M.T. de Graaf (Marieke)

    2015-01-01

    textabstractLow pathogenic avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) have a natural host reservoir in wild waterbirds and the potential to spread to other host species. Here, we investigated the evolutionary, spatial and temporal dynamics of avian IAVs in Eurasian wild birds. We used whole-genome sequences

  5. First report of Troglotrema acutum (Digenea, Troglotrematidae) in the Eurasian badger Meles meles in the Iberian Peninsula and presumptive lesions caused in the host

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ribas, Alexis; Molina-Vacas, G.; Boadella, M.; Rodríguez-Teijeiro, J. D.; Fernández-Cardo, R.; Arrizabalaga, A.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 86, č. 2 (2012), s. 222-227 ISSN 0022-149X Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60930519 Keywords : Eurasian badger * parasites * Iberian Peninsula Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 1.157, year: 2012

  6. Leaf litter nitrogen concentration as related to climatic factors in Eurasian forests

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Chunjiang; Berg, Bjørn; Kutsch, Werner

    2006-01-01

    The aim of this study is to determine the patterns of nitrogen (N) concentrations in leaf litter of forest trees as functions of climatic factors, annual average temperature (Temp, °C) and annual precipitation (Precip, dm) and of forest type (coniferous vs. broadleaf, deciduous vs. evergreen, Pinus...... concentration and Temp and Precip by means of regression analysis. Leaf litter data from N2-fixing species were excluded from the analysis. Results: Over the Eurasian continent, leaf litter N concentration increased with increasing Temp and Precip within functional groups such as conifers, broadleaf, deciduous....... In the context of global warming, these regression equations are useful for a better understanding and modelling of the effects of geographical and climatic factors on leaf litter N at a regional and continental scale....

  7. Use of electric and bubble barriers to limit the movement of Eurasian ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Heather A.; Reinhardt, Ulrich G.; Savino, Jacqueline F.

    2006-01-01

    Eurasian ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus) is an aquatic invasive species accidentally introduced via ballast water to the Great Lakes in the mid-1980s. Fish barrier technology is being studied to stop the spread of invasive fish species such as ruffe. Electrical barriers have been constructed, most notably in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, to prevent non-indigenous species such as ruffe from spreading into areas where they are currently absent. Information on the response of an invasive fish to barriers can help managers determine strategies to prevent the spread of these species via artificial waterways. In this laboratory study electrical barriers were set up to determine effectiveness of four electrical settings for repelling Eurasian ruffe measuring 10 cm or more in length. In separate tests, airbubble curtains with two bubble sizes and densities were created to test this type of barrier in blocking movement of ruffe less than 10 cm in length. The most effective electrical settings found (5 ms, 6 Hz) repelled only about half of the attempted passes. When ruffe were offered food or shelter on the opposite side of the electrical barrier, neither food-starved nor shelter-deprived ruffe made significantly more attempts to cross the barrier. Ruffe were significantly repelled by all air-bubble curtains, but a large proportion of passes (4.5 passes per fish on average in the treatments) were still observed. Electrical barrier settings and air-bubble curtains used in this study were found ineffective at completely blocking the movement, but somewhat effective at inhibiting the passage of ruffe.

  8. Eurasian continental background and regionally polluted levels of ozone and CO observed in northeast Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pochanart, Pakpong; Kato, Shungo; Katsuno, Takao; Akimoto, Hajime

    The roles of Eurasian/Siberian continental air masses transport and the impact of large-scale East Asian anthropogenic emissions on tropospheric ozone and carbon monoxide levels in northeast Asia were investigated. Seasonal behaviors of O 3 and CO mixing ratios in background continental (BC) air masses and regionally polluted continental (RPC) air masses were identified using trajectory analyses of Eurasian continental air masses and multi-year O 3 and CO data observed at Happo, a mountain site in Japan. RPC air masses show significantly higher O 3 and CO mixing ratios (annual average of 53.9±6.0 and 200±41 ppb, respectively) than BC air masses (44.4±3.6 and 167±17 ppb, respectively). Large scale anthropogenic emissions in East Asia are suggested to contribute about 10 ppb of photochemical O 3 and 32 ppb of CO at Happo. A comparative study of O 3 and CO observed at other sites, i.e., Oki Islands and Mondy in northeast Asia, showed similarities suggesting that O 3 mixing ratios in BC air masses at Happo could be representative for remote northeast Asia. However, CO mixing ratios in BC air masses at Happo are higher than the background level in Siberia. The overestimate is probably related to an increase in the CO baseline gradient between Siberia and the East Asia Pacific rim, and perturbations by sub-grid scale pollution transport and regional-scale boreal forest fires in Siberia when the background continental air masses are transported to Japan.

  9. Selection of the DC-60 cyclotron as the basic facility for the Inter-disciplinary research complex in the L.N. Gumilev Eurasian State University. Chapter 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    In the Chapter 2 the DC-60 specialized accelerator project of the Inter-disciplinary research complex in the L.N. Gumilev Eurasian State University is described. The DC-60 cyclotron is intended for applied studies which can be accomplished on both the ion beams of the electron cyclotron resonance source with voltage up to 25 kV and the accelerated ions from carbon to xenon. The cyclotron is design on the base of compact magnet with weight about 74 tonnes, and it mean magnetic field is 1.6 T, section angle - 50 Deg. Design of the Inter-disciplinary research complex building in the L.N. Gumilev Eurasian State University is described as well. Technical performances of the building and their parameters are given

  10. West Eurasian mtDNA lineages in India: an insight into the spread of the Dravidian language and the origins of the caste system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palanichamy, Malliya Gounder; Mitra, Bikash; Zhang, Cai-Ling; Debnath, Monojit; Li, Gui-Mei; Wang, Hua-Wei; Agrawal, Suraksha; Chaudhuri, Tapas Kumar; Zhang, Ya-Ping

    2015-06-01

    There is no indication from the previous mtDNA studies that west Eurasian-specific subclades have evolved within India and played a role in the spread of languages and the origins of the caste system. To address these issues, we have screened 14,198 individuals (4208 from this study) and analyzed 112 mitogenomes (41 new sequences) to trace west Eurasian maternal ancestry. This has led to the identification of two autochthonous subhaplogroups--HV14a1 and U1a1a4, which are likely to have originated in the Dravidian-speaking populations approximately 10.5-17.9 thousand years ago (kya). The carriers of these maternal lineages might have settled in South India during the time of the spread of the Dravidian language. In addition to this, we have identified several subsets of autochthonous U7 lineages, including U7a1, U7a2b, U7a3, U7a6, U7a7, and U7c, which seem to have originated particularly in the higher-ranked caste populations in relatively recent times (2.6-8.0 kya with an average of 5.7 kya). These lineages have provided crucial clues to the differentiation of the caste system that has occurred during the recent past and possibly, this might have been influenced by the Indo-Aryan migration. The remaining west Eurasian lineages observed in the higher-ranked caste groups, like the Brahmins, were found to cluster with populations who possibly arrived from west Asia during more recent times.

  11. The Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt: Opportunities for Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor Makarov

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This article considers the opportunities for Russia presented by the launch of China’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.This initiative is a comprehensive project for the rapid development of Central Asian countries, and not limited only to transportand logistics to guarantee the supply of Chinese goods to Europe. It is also China’s response to economic and political processes both within the country and in the Asia-Pacific region: the economic slow down and transformation of its social and economic model, diverging income levels, the growing presence of the United States in Asia, and the new divisions of labour within the region. The Silk Road initiative is based on China’s intention to create strong regional value chains, to outsource labour-intensive and environmentally harmful production, to foster the development of north west China including securing political stability in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, and to guarantee the use of Chinese construction firms’ capacity. Goods transit is a secondary priority and justified not by commercial benefits from using land routes, but by the need to diversify export risks, arising due to the deteriorating military and political situation in the South China Sea. The 2015 Joint Statement on Cooperation on the Construction of Joint Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt projects resolves the issue of all egedly competitive goals of these complementary projects. The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU provides an institutional base for cooperation while the Silk Road initiative provide investments for their development. Russia may benefit from participating in the Silk Road initiative. First, it would help integrate its transportation system into the region’s logistics network and provide additional opportunities for transit and associated logistical services as well as access to growing regional markets. Second, the Silk Road initiative offers opportunities to strengthen

  12. Gene structure of the pregnancy-associated glycoprotein-like (PAG-L) in the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipka, Aleksandra; Majewska, Marta; Panasiewicz, Grzegorz; Bieniek-Kobuszewska, Martyna; Szafranska, Bozena

    2017-09-01

    The pregnancy-associated glycoprotein-like family (PAG-L) is a large group of chorionic products, expressed in the pre-placental trophoblast and later in the post-implantational chorionic epithelium, and are involved in proper placenta development and embryo-maternal interaction in eutherians. This study describes identification of the PAG-L family in the genome of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.), named CfPAG-L. We identified 7657 bp of the CfPAG-L gDNA sequence (Acc. No. KX377932), encompassing nine exons (1-9) and eight introns (A-H). The length of the CfPAG-L exons (59-200 bp) was equivalently similar to the only known counterparts of bPAG1, bPAG2, and pPAG2. The length of the CfPAG-L introns ranged 288-1937 bp and was completely different from previously known PAG introns. The exonic CfPAG-L regions revealed 50.3-72.9% homology with equivalent segments of bPAG1 and pPAG2 structure. The intronic CfPAG-L regions alignments revealed a lack of homology. Within the entire CfPAG-L gene, 31 potential single nucleotide variants (SNV: 7 transversions and 24 transitions) were predicted. The identified exonic polymorphic loci did not affect the amino acid sequence of the CfPAG-L polypeptide precursor. This is the first report describing the CfPAG-L gene sequence, structural organization, and SNVs in the Eurasian beaver, one of the largest rodents.

  13. Considerations regarding the occurence of the Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber Linnaeus 1758 in the Danube Delta (Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ALEXE Vasile

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available On its original Romanian name - breb, the Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber extinct at us for almost two centuries and reintroduced in some areas of the country, at present is better known under the name of his North American relative, beaver. In the last decades, this specie has been reintroduced within in its old habitats from where itwas extinct, especially under the effect of human pressure. Since 1998, reinsertion actions took place in Romania, in many areas, the closest one to Danube Delta area being the lower part of Ialomita river. By 2011 epigraphic or paleozoology evidences about the presence of this mammalian into the actual Delta have not been found, except the Lower Danube, up to Isaccea, but also near Dobrogea Plateau in Murighiol area. Its last Paleontology evidences come from early medieval period. Until now, the actual delta was considered a territory inappropriate for the Eurasian Beaver, due to high fluctuations of the water levels. But, in April 2011, the spontaneous appearance of the European beaver near Maliuc area was proved, a copy killed by poachers. In July 2011, a Beaver injured after the collision with a boat was found and scientifically investigated. The future observations will have to document if this mammal extends its habitat up here or remains an erratic appearance. In case of success of spontaneous colonization, its consequences and effects on the environment in general and on biodiversity inparticular are required to be monitored.

  14. The effect of turbidity and prey fish density on consumption rates of piscivorous Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Lene; Berg, Søren; Baktoft, Henrik

    2014-01-01

    piscivorous Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis L. This was done in outdoor mesocosm (16 m2) experiments with clear water and two levels of turbidity (25 and 105 NTU) and two prey fish densities [3.1 and 12.5 roach Rutilus rutilus (L.) individuals m–2]. Perch consumption rates were affected by visibility less...... than expected, while they were highly affected by increased prey fish density. Perch responded to high prey density in all visibility conditions, indicating that prey density is more crucial for consumption than visibility in turbid lakes...

  15. Lateral variations in the crustal structure of the Indo-Eurasian collision zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilligan, Amy; Priestley, Keith

    2018-05-01

    The processes involved in continental collisions remain contested, yet knowledge of these processes is crucial to improving our understanding of how some of the most dramatic features on Earth have formed. As the largest and highest orogenic plateau on Earth today, Tibet is an excellent natural laboratory for investigating collisional processes. To understand the development of the Tibetan Plateau we need to understand the crustal structure beneath both Tibet and the Indian Plate. Building on previous work, we measure new group velocity dispersion curves using data from regional earthquakes (4424 paths) and ambient noise data (5696 paths), and use these to obtain new fundamental mode Rayleigh Wave group velocity maps for periods from 5-70 s for a region including Tibet, Pakistan and India. The dense path coverage at the shortest periods, due to the inclusion of ambient noise measurements, allows features of up to 100 km scale to be resolved in some areas of the collision zone, providing one of the highest resolution models of the crust and uppermost mantle across this region. We invert the Rayleigh wave group velocity maps for shear wave velocity structure to 120 km depth and construct a 3D velocity model for the crust and uppermost mantle of the Indo-Eurasian collision zone. We use this 3D model to map the lateral variations in the crust and in the nature of the crust-mantle transition (Moho) across the Indo-Eurasian collision zone. The Moho occurs at lower shear velocities below north eastern Tibet than it does beneath western and southern Tibet and below India. The east-west difference across Tibet is particularly apparent in the elevated velocities observed west of 84° E at depths exceeding 90 km. This suggests that Indian lithosphere underlies the whole of the Plateau in the west, but possibly not in the east. At depths of 20-40 km our crustal model shows the existence of a pervasive mid-crustal low velocity layer (˜10% decrease in velocity, Vs Vsv. The

  16. Genetic structure within and among regional populations of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) from Denmark and the Netherlands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zande, L. van de; Vliet, M. van de; Pertoldi, C.

    2007-01-01

    The Eurasian badger Meles meles has a wide distribution area ranging from Japan to Ireland. In western Europe badger habitats are severely disturbed by anthropogenic factors, leading to fragmentation into subpopulations and formation of a metapopulation substructuring of once continuous panmictic...... to this structuring of badger populations. In contrast, measures that improve migration and connection to other populations from neighboring countries may have prevented substructuring of the Dutch badger population....

  17. Medieval Nomads – Sixth International Conference on the Medieval History of the Eurasian Steppe (Szeged, Hungary, November 23–26, 2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandar Uzelac

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Sixth international conference dedicated to the Medieval History of the Eurasian Steppe took place in the Hungarian city of Szeged on November 23-26, 2016. The organizer of the event was MTA-SZTE (“Hungarian Academy of Sciences – University of Szeged” Turkological Research group of the departments of Altaic and Medieval Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Szeged. More than thirty scholars from Hungary, Russia, Turkey, China, Spain, Bulgaria and Serbia took part in this event. The working languages of the conference were English and Russian. Presented papers dealt with various aspects of the history of Eurasian nomads, from the Early Middle Ages up to the seventeenth century. Among them, several have been related to the history of the Golden Horde. The proceedings of the conference are planned to be published in 2017, as a separate volume of the journal Chronica – Annual of The Institute of History, University of Szeged. Considering the quality and variety of the papers, presented at this occasion, there is no doubt it will attract the attention of the growing community of researchers and scholars interested in the medieval history of Eurasia.

  18. Effects of sea-ice light attenuation and CDOM absorption in the water below the Eurasian sector of central Arctic Ocean (>88°N)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lund-Hansen, L.C.; Markager, S.; Hancke, K.; Stratmann, T.; Rysgaard, S.; Ramløv, H.; Sorrell, B.K.

    2015-01-01

    This is a study of the optical, physical and biological parameters of sea ice and the water below it at stations (n=25) in the central (>88°N) Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean during the summer 2012 record low sea-ice minimum extent. Results show that photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)

  19. Detection of Perkinsus marinus in the oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae in southern Bahia by proteomic analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thiago Ramos Pinto

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study reports the presence of the pathogen Perkinsus marinus, notifiable to the World Organization for Animal Health (Office International des Èpizooties = OIE in the oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae in southern Bahia via proteomic analysis. We analyzed Crassostrea brasiliana from a long-line cultivation system and C. rhizophorae from an adjacent mangrove in Porto do Campo, Camamu Bay, Bahia, Brazil. The collections (n = 100 were performed in October 2012. In the laboratory, the oysters were measured and opened to remove the meat, which was steeped in dry ice. For extraction of proteins, adaptation of a protocol used for mussels was used, after which separation in the first dimension was taken by isoelectric focusing (IEF. The peptides were transferred to a Mass Spectrometer. The obtained spectra were analyzed with the ProteinLynx Global Server 4.2 software tool and also by MASCOT (Matrix Science and compared to the databases of the SWISSPROT and NCBI, respectively. The identification was evidenced by beta-tubulin, Perkinsus marinus ATCC 50983 and protein homology code in the database NCBI = gi | 294889481. This is the first record of P. marinus in Bahia and the fourth in Brazil.

  20. Postmortem evaluation of reintroduced migratory whooping cranes in eastern North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Gretchen A; Thomas, Nancy J; Spalding, Marilyn; Stroud, Richard; Urbanek, Richard P; Hartup, Barry K

    2009-01-01

    Reintroduction of endangered Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) in eastern North America has successfully established a migratory population between Wisconsin and Florida. Eighty birds (47 males, 33 females) were released between 2001 and 2006, and all birds were tracked following release with satellite and/or VHF monitoring devices. By the end of 2006, 17 deaths (12 males, five females) were recorded from this population. Postmortem findings and field data were evaluated for each bird to determine the cause of death. Causes included predation (n=8, 47%), trauma (n=2, 12%), and degenerative disease (n=1, 6%); the cause of death was undetermined for 35% (n=6) of the birds. Based on physical evidence, the primary predator of the birds was the bobcat (Lynx rufus). Limited roosting habitat availability or bird behavior were likely prime factors in the occurrence of predation. Traumatic injuries and mortality were caused by gunshot, electrical utility lines, and an unknown source. The lone case of degenerative disease was due to chronic exertional myopathy associated with translocation. Available postmortem testing did not indicate the presence of infectious disease in this limited sample.

  1. Speed of light exceeded in 31st CERN Relay

    CERN Multimedia

    2001-01-01

    In the closest-ever finish of the CERN relay race, Florian Marinet (number 54) of the Neutrinos to Gran Sasso team just fails to catch Pierre Maesen of The Shabbys on the line. The AThLetic AceS team (number 76) won the Veterans category by just 3 seconds from long-time participants The Lynx Runners, who didn't leave empty handed. They picked up the cup that is drawn at random. Evidence for new physics? No, simply evidence for faster legs. Only at CERN could the speed of light come third to a team called The Shabbys. But that's exactly what happened on Wednesday 23 May when the team from PS Division lifted the Opitz cup after winning the 31st CERN relay race. The Shabbys sped home in 10 minutes 53 seconds, just 0.3 of a second ahead of the 'Neutrinos to Gran Sasso' team. There's some logic there since it is the PS complex that will provide the protons that will give rise to the neutrino beam. As for 'c0 the speed of light', they took a relatively leisurely 11 minutes 1.6 seconds to cover the course. A total...

  2. The equipment access software for a distributed UNIX-based accelerator control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trofimov, Nikolai; Zelepoukine, Serguei; Zharkov, Eugeny; Charrue, Pierre; Gareyte, Claire; Poirier, Herve

    1994-01-01

    This paper presents a generic equipment access software package for a distributed control system using computers with UNIX or UNIX-like operating systems. The package consists of three main components, an application Equipment Access Library, Message Handler and Equipment Data Base. An application task, which may run in any computer in the network, sends requests to access equipment through Equipment Library calls. The basic request is in the form Equipment-Action-Data and is routed via a remote procedure call to the computer to which the given equipment is connected. In this computer the request is received by the Message Handler. According to the type of the equipment connection, the Message Handler either passes the request to the specific process software in the same computer or forwards it to a lower level network of equipment controllers using MIL1553B, GPIB, RS232 or BITBUS communication. The answer is then returned to the calling application. Descriptive information required for request routing and processing is stored in the real-time Equipment Data Base. The package has been written to be portable and is currently available on DEC Ultrix, LynxOS, HPUX, XENIX, OS-9 and Apollo domain. ((orig.))

  3. West Foster Creek Expansion Project 2007 HEP Report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ashley, Paul R.

    2008-02-01

    During April and May 2007, the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority's (CBFWA) Regional HEP Team (RHT) conducted baseline Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) (USFWS 1980, 1980a) analyses on five parcels collectively designated the West Foster Creek Expansion Project (3,756.48 acres). The purpose of the HEP analyses was to document extant habitat conditions and to determine how many baseline/protection habitat units (HUs) to credit Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for funding maintenance and enhancement activities on project lands as partial mitigation for habitat losses associated with construction of Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph Dams. HEP evaluation models included mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), sharp-tailed grouse, (Tympanuchus phasianellus), Bobcat (Lynx rufus), mink (Neovison vison), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and black-capped chickadee (Parus atricapillus). Combined 2007 baseline HEP results show that 4,946.44 habitat units were generated on 3,756.48 acres (1.32 HUs per acre). HEP results/habitat conditions were generally similar for like cover types at all sites. Unlike crediting of habitat units (HUs) on other WDFW owned lands, Bonneville Power Administration received full credit for HUs generated on these sites.

  4. A study on the fusion reactor - Design study for tokamak control system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ko, In Soo; Nam, Kung Won; Cho, Moo Hyun; Kim, Ji Hwa; Kim, Jae Myung; Kim, Sung Chul; Lee, Ki Sun [Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

    1996-09-01

    Based on the experience accumulated during the construction of Pohang Light Source, we strongly suggest that the control system must have a hierarchical structure linked with multiple ethernets. Some UNIX-based workstation are recommended in the top layer where KSTAR operators are faced with several control/monitoring windows. As a supervisors to individual subsystem, realtime computers such as VME system are recommended. Choice of realtime operating system is up to the actual developer. However, we strongly suggest to use Lynx which is UNIX-based realtime OS and is getting more attentions after its introduction in the market. Graphic interface for operators will be developed by adopting development toolkit such as RTWorks and EPICS. We also recommend to use EPICS because it is introduced by Los Alamos National Laboratory, U. S. A. and several laboratories around world are now adopting it to their control system. This report is also pointing out several key issues relating the system development. Among them are the cabling plan, signal list, and noise suppressions. It is also suggested that early decision of communication protocol will help to integrated control system in the future. 11 refs., 5 tabs., 4 figs. (author)

  5. Black hole-galaxy co-evolution in the Mufasa simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dave, Romeel; Angles-Alcazar, Daniel

    2017-08-01

    The Mufasa simulations are large-scale cosmological and zoom simulations of galaxy formation that employ novel state of the art modules for star formation and feedback physics, resulting in very good agreement with many key galaxy observables over most of cosmic time. We have recently included black hole growth and feedback using the torque-limited accretion model, which has several advantages over the commonly-used Bondi accretion. We also include AGN feedback using a BAL mode at high Eddington rates and low black hole masses, and a jet mode at low Eddington rates that successfully quenches galaxies. In this talk I will describe preliminary results of the AGN population and its evolution over cosmic time within our new simulations, including cosmological simulations of the general black hole population as well as zoom simulations targeting massive galaxies, with a focus on understanding the co-growth of black holes and galaxies as a function of mass, environment, and cosmic epoch. I will also discuss multi-wavelength approaches to testing and constraining our black hole model in particular using upcoming X-ray and radio facilities such as Lynx and the SKA.

  6. Infusing considerations of trophic dependencies into species distribution modelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trainor, Anne M; Schmitz, Oswald J

    2014-12-01

    Community ecology involves studying the interdependence of species with each other and their environment to predict their geographical distribution and abundance. Modern species distribution analyses characterise species-environment dependency well, but offer only crude approximations of species interdependency. Typically, the dependency between focal species and other species is characterised using other species' point occurrences as spatial covariates to constrain the focal species' predicted range. This implicitly assumes that the strength of interdependency is homogeneous across space, which is not generally supported by analyses of species interactions. This discrepancy has an important bearing on the accuracy of inferences about habitat suitability for species. We introduce a framework that integrates principles from consumer-resource analyses, resource selection theory and species distribution modelling to enhance quantitative prediction of species geographical distributions. We show how to apply the framework using a case study of lynx and snowshoe hare interactions with each other and their environment. The analysis shows how the framework offers a spatially refined understanding of species distribution that is sensitive to nuances in biophysical attributes of the environment that determine the location and strength of species interactions. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

  7. Virological Survey in free-ranging wildcats (Felis silvestris) and feral domestic cats in Portugal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duarte, A; Fernandes, M; Santos, N; Tavares, L

    2012-08-17

    To determine the presence of viral pathogens in natural areas a survey was conducted on an opportunistic sample of fifty eight wild (Felis silvestris silvestris) and feral cats (F. s. catus). The biological materials included serum, lung tissue extract and stool. Feline leukemia virus p27 antigen was detected in 13/50 serum/lung tissue extract samples (26%), canine distemper virus antibodies were detected in 2/26 serum/lung tissue extract samples (7.7%), feline coronavirus RNA was present in 6/29 stool samples (20.7%) and feline parvovirus DNA in 2/29 stool samples (6.9%). Canine distemper virus RNA was not detected. Feline immunodeficiency virus and feline coronavirus antibodies were not detected. Evidence of exposure to feline leukemia virus, canine distemper virus, feline coronavirus and feline parvovirus was found in wild and feral cats raising the importance of performing a comprehensive survey to correctly evaluate the potential threat of infectious diseases to endangered species, namely to the wildcat and to the Iberian lynx, which is meant to be reintroduced after 2012 in Portugal. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Data from camera surveys identifying co-occurrence and occupancy linkages between fishers (Pekania pennanti, rodent prey, mesocarnivores, and larger predators in mixed-conifer forests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rick A. Sweitzer

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available These data provide additional information relevant to the frequency of fisher detections by camera traps, and single-season occupancy and local persistence of fishers in small patches of forest habitats detailed elsewhere, “Landscape Fuel Reduction, Forest Fire, and Biophysical Linkages to Local Habitat Use and Local Persistence of Fishers (Pekania pennanti in Sierra Nevada Mixed-conifer Forests” [10]. The data provides insight on camera trap detections of 3 fisher predators (bobcat [Lynx rufus]. Coyote [Canis latrans], mountain lion [Puma concolor], 5 mesocarnivores in the same foraging guild as fishers (gray fox [Urocyon cinereoargenteus] ringtail [Bassariscus astutus], marten [Martes americana], striped skunk [Mephitis mephitis] spotted skunk [Spilogale gracilis], and 5 Sciuridae rodents that fishers consume as prey (Douglas squirrel [Tamiasciurus douglasii], gray squirrel [Sciurus griseus], northern flying squirrel [Glaucomys sabrinus], long-eared chipmunk [Neotamias quadrimaculatus], California ground squirrel [Spermophilus beecheyi]. We used these data to identify basic patterns of co-occurrence with fishers, and to evaluate the relative importance of presence of competing mesocarnivores, rodent prey, and predators for fisher occupancy of small, 1 km2 grid cells of forest habitat. Keywords: Carnivores, Competition, Distribution, Foraging guild, Predation, Tree squirrels

  9. Relay Runners Catch The Rays

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    Athletes sizzled around CERN on Wednesday 19 May at the 34th annual relay race. On one of the warmest days of the year so far, sunkissed competitors ran for the finish line and then straight for the drinks table. The Shabbys were on fire again, hurtling across the line first in a time of 10 min. 42.6 sec. and making an even stronger claim to being hailed as the traditional winners of the race with their fourth triumph in a row. Also on form were the Lynx Runners who won the Veteran's trophy, continuing their winning ways since 2002 and placing 29th overall. Ildefons Magrans of the ALICE Quarks on the Loose team ran the fastest 1000m in a time of 2 min. 47 sec. Second-placed Charmilles Technologies won the Open category in a time of 11 min. 03 sec., taking the prize for teams whose members work in different departments or who come from outside CERN. The OPALadies won the women's trophy and placed 48th. With 9 trophies up for grabs, more than 300 people in 55 teams ran the fun run, covering distances of 1000m ...

  10. Human neuroglobin protein in cerebrospinal fluid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Whalen Gail

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Neuroglobin is a hexacoordinated member of the globin family of proteins. It is predominantly localized to various brain regions and retina where it may play a role in protection against ischemia and nitric oxide-induced neural injury. Cerebrospinal fluid was collected from 12 chronic regional or systemic pain and 5 control subjects. Proteins were precipitated by addition of 50% 0.2 N acetic acid, 50% ethanol, 0.02% sodium bisulfite. The pellet was extensively digested with trypsin. Peptides were separated by capillary liquid chromatography using a gradient from 95% water to 95% acetonitrile in 0.2% formic acid, and eluted through a nanoelectrospray ionization interface into a quadrapole – time-of-flight dual mass spectrometer (QToF2, Waters, Milford, MA. Peptides were sequenced (PepSeq, MassLynx v3.5 and proteins identified using MASCOT ®. Results Six different neuroglobin peptides were identified in various combinations in 3 of 9 female pain subjects, but none in male pain, or female or male control subjects. Conclusion This is the first description of neuroglobin in cerebrospinal fluid. The mechanism(s leading to its release in chronic pain states remain to be defined.

  11. Distribution of Eurasian minnows (Phoxinus: Cypriniformes in the Western Balkans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vucić Matej

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The Eurasian minnows of the genus Phoxinus are small cyprinid species, widely distributed across Europe and Asia. Currently, there are at least 15 species in Phoxinus, with preliminary data suggesting more to be described. Despite the discernible increase in research integrating molecular phylogenetic approaches with traditional taxonomy and systematics, inter- and intraspecific relationships in the genus Phoxinus are still poorly known. The aims of this research were to: (i compile data on the distribution of Phoxinus species in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from the sampling conducted by authors from 2006 to 2016 and from literature sources, and (ii provide a detailed insight on distribution ranges of genetic clades and species of Phoxinus in the western Balkans. Additional 118 localities in Croatia and 8 locations in Bosnia and Herzegovina were added to already known 160 localities from the literature data. Molecular analyses of mitochondrial DNA indicate: (i the presence of Phoxinus marsilii in Croatia (Drava drainage, the Papuk Mountain, around 260 km south of its known distribution range in Hungary, and (ii an exceptional genetic variability of P. lumaireul in the Western Balkans.

  12. Survival and development of Lymantria monacha (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) on North American and introduced Eurasian tree species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keena, M A

    2003-02-01

    Lymantria monacha (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), the nun moth, is a Eurasian pest of conifers that has potential for accidental introduction into North America. To project the potential host range of this insect if introduced into North America, survival and development of L. monacha on 26 North American and eight introduced Eurasian tree species were examined. Seven conifer species (Abies concolor, Picea abies, P. glauca, P. pungens, Pinus sylvestris with male cones, P. menziesii variety glance, and Tsuga canadensis) and six broadleaf species (Betula populifolia, Malus x domestica, Prunus serotiaa, Quercus lobata, Q. rubra, and Q. velutina) were suitable for L. monacha survival and development. Eleven of the host species tested were rated as intermediate in suitability, four conifer species (Larix occidentalis, P. nigra, P. ponderosa, P. strobus, and Pseudotsuga menziesii variety menziesii) and six broadleaf species (Carpinus caroliniana, Carya ovata, Fagus grandifolia, Populus grandidentata, Q. alba, and Tilia cordata) and the remaining 10 species tested were rated as poor (Acer rubrum, A. platanoidies, A. saccharum, F. americana, Juniperus virginiana, Larix kaempferi, Liriodendron tulipfera, Morus alba, P. taeda, and P. deltoides). The phenological state of the trees had a major impact on establishment, survival, and development of L. monacha on many of the tree species tested. Several of the deciduous tree species that are suitable for L. monacha also are suitable for L. dispar (L.) and L. mathura Moore. Establishment of L. monacha in North America would be catastrophic because of the large number of economically important tree species on which it can survive and develop, and the ability of mated females to fly and colonize new areas.

  13. Improvement in simulation of Eurasian winter climate variability with a realistic Arctic sea ice condition in an atmospheric GCM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Young-Kwon; Ham, Yoo-Geun; Jeong, Jee-Hoon; Kug, Jong-Seong

    2012-01-01

    The present study investigates how much a realistic Arctic sea ice condition can contribute to improve simulation of the winter climate variation over the Eurasia region. Model experiments are set up using different sea ice boundary conditions over the past 24 years (i.e., 1988–2011). One is an atmospheric model inter-comparison (AMIP) type of run forced with observed sea-surface temperature (SST), sea ice, and greenhouse gases (referred to as Exp RSI), and the other is the same as Exp RSI except for the sea ice forcing, which is a repeating climatological annual cycle (referred to as Exp CSI). Results show that Exp RSI produces the observed dominant pattern of Eurasian winter temperatures and their interannual variation better than Exp CSI (correlation difference up to ∼0.3). Exp RSI captures the observed strong relationship between the sea ice concentration near the Barents and Kara seas and the temperature anomaly across Eurasia, including northeastern Asia, which is not well captured in Exp CSI. Lagged atmospheric responses to sea ice retreat are examined using observations to understand atmospheric processes for the Eurasian cooling response including the Arctic temperature increase, sea-level pressure increase, upper-level jet weakening and cold air outbreak toward the mid-latitude. The reproducibility of these lagged responses by Exp RSI is also evaluated. (letter)

  14. Improvement in Simulation of Eurasian Winter Climate Variability with a Realistic Arctic Sea Ice Condition in an Atmospheric GCM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Young-Kwon; Ham, Yoo-Geun; Jeong, Jee-Hoon; Kug, Jong-Seong

    2012-01-01

    The present study investigates how much a realistic Arctic sea ice condition can contribute to improve simulation of the winter climate variation over the Eurasia region. Model experiments are set up using different sea ice boundary conditions over the past 24 years (i.e., 1988-2011). One is an atmospheric model inter-comparison (AMIP) type of run forced with observed sea-surface temperature (SST), sea ice, and greenhouse gases (referred to as Exp RSI), and the other is the same as Exp RSI except for the sea ice forcing, which is a repeating climatological annual cycle (referred to as Exp CSI). Results show that Exp RSI produces the observed dominant pattern of Eurasian winter temperatures and their interannual variation better than Exp CSI (correlation difference up to approx. 0.3). Exp RSI captures the observed strong relationship between the sea ice concentration near the Barents and Kara seas and the temperature anomaly across Eurasia, including northeastern Asia, which is not well captured in Exp CSI. Lagged atmospheric responses to sea ice retreat are examined using observations to understand atmospheric processes for the Eurasian cooling response including the Arctic temperature increase, sea-level pressure increase, upper-level jet weakening and cold air outbreak toward the mid-latitude. The reproducibility of these lagged responses by Exp RSI is also evaluated.

  15. On the Fruit Consumption of Eurasian Badger (Meles meles (Mammalia: Mustelidae during the Autumn Season in Sredna Gora Mountains (Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dilian G. Georgiev

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available This case study was carried out at one badgers family territory by asingle collection (11.11.2002, north of Stara Zagora City, near Tabashka River of faeces from the animal latrine sites. Total of 1361 individual food items were identified in Eurasian badger (Meles meles faeces from which the fruits of the Cornel-tree (Cornus mas strongly dominated (n=1332, 96.5% from all items, 98.2% from all fruits.

  16. Life-history dependent relationships between body condition and immunity, between immunity indices in male Eurasian tree sparrows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yuliang; Li, Mo; Sun, Yanfeng; Wu, Wei; Kou, Guanqun; Guo, Lingling; Xing, Danning; Wu, Yuefeng; Li, Dongming; Zhao, Baohua

    2017-08-01

    In free-living animals, recent evidence indicates that innate, and acquired, immunity varies with annual variation in the demand for, and availability of, food resources. However, little is known about how animals adjust the relationships between immunity and body condition, and between innate and acquired immunity to optimize survival over winter and reproductive success during the breeding stage. Here, we measured indices of body condition (size-corrected mass [SCM], and hematocrit [Hct]), constitutive innate immunity (plasma total complement hemolysis activity [CH 50 ]) and acquired immunity (plasma immunoglobulin A [IgA]), plus heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios, in male Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus) during the wintering and the breeding stages. We found that birds during the wintering stage had higher IgA levels than those from the breeding stage. Two indices of body condition were both negatively correlated with plasma CH 50 activities, and positively with IgA levels in wintering birds, but this was not the case in the breeding birds. However, there was no correlation between CH 50 activities and IgA levels in both stages. These results suggest that the relationships between body condition and immunity can vary across life-history stage, and there are no correlations between innate and acquired immunity independent of life-history stage, in male Eurasian tree sparrows. Therefore, body condition indices predict immunological state, especially during the non-breeding stage, which can be useful indicators of individual immunocompetences for understanding the variations in innate and acquired immunity in free-living animals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. The fate of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon on the Eurasian shelves and export to the North Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, Karl; Amon, Rainer; Benner, Ronald

    2017-04-01

    Dissolved lignin phenols, chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption, and fluorescence were analyzed along cross-slope mooring locations in the Barents, Laptev, and East Siberian Seas to gain a better understanding of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon (tDOC) dynamics in Arctic shelf seas and the Arctic Ocean. A gradient of river water and tDOC was observed along the continental shelf eastward into the East Siberian Sea. Correlations of carbon-normalized yields of lignin-derived phenols supplied by Siberian rivers with river water fractions and known water residence times yielded in situ decay constants of 0.18-0.58 per year. Calculations showed about 50% of annual tDOC discharged by Siberian rivers was mineralized in estuaries and on the Eurasian shelves per year indicating extensive removal of tDOC. Bioassay experiments and in situ decay constants indicated a reactivity continuum for tDOC. CDOM parameters and acid/aldehyde ratios of vanillyl (V) and syringyl (S) lignin phenols showed biomineralization was the dominant mechanism for the removal of tDOC. Characteristic ratios of p-hydroxy (P), S, and V phenols (P/V, S/V) also identified shelf regions in the Kara Sea and regions along the Western Laptev Sea shelf where formation of Low Salinity Halocline Waters (LSHW) and Lower Halocline Water (LHW) occurred. The efficient removal of tDOC demonstrates the importance of Eurasian margins as sinks of tDOC derived from the large Siberian Rivers and confirms tDOC mineralization has a major impact on nutrients budgets, air-sea CO2 exchange, and acidification in the Siberian Shelf Seas.

  18. Spectral characteristics of the P codas of eurasian earthquakes and explosions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evernden, J.F.

    1977-01-01

    Spectral analysis of ''infinite velocity sum'' subarray beams at LASA for the P codas of 36 explosions and 23 earthquakes indicates the presence of 6 to 9 Hz energy well above noise level for large explosions and earthquakes. A discriminant (D), based on use of the full spectral bandwidth from 0.4 to 9 Hz, successfully discriminates all Eurasian explosions and shallow-focus earthquakes. The basic character and contrast in spectral composition of the source spectra of earthquakes and explosions is discussed. It is pointed out that the discriminant (D), when use is made of signals recorded in the range 60 0 to 90 0 , is as or more successful in discriminating events of near m/sub b/ 4.0 as those at and above m/sub b/ 6.0, and the basis for this success is clarified. It is suggested that proper use of P coda spectral discriminants appears capable of achieving identification essentially at the detection threshold of a network, while circumventing such problems as refined depths of focus, mixed events, etc

  19. Eurasian Higher Education Leaders' Forum: Higher Education and Modernization of the Economy: Innovative and Entrepreneurial Universities. Conference Proceedings (5th, Astana, Kazakhstan, May 26, 2016)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagintayeva, Aida, Ed.; Kurakbayev, Kairat, Ed.

    2016-01-01

    This collection of papers introduces the proceedings of the fifth Annual Conference--"Eurasian Higher Education Leaders' Forum" held on the 26th May, 2016 at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. The contributors include university presidents, rectors, deans, directors of professional development and leadership programs, faculty…

  20. Status sulle conoscenze dei mammiferi molisani

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola Norante

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available Il Molise risulta poco studiato dal punto di vista teriologico e, per colmare almeno in parte tale lacuna, il GMSO si è proposto di raccogliere dati bibliografici e inediti e promuovere qualche progetto. Si riportano sinteticamente dati relativi ad alcune specie. Sciurus vulgaris risulta comune in Prov. di Isernia, più localizzato in quella di Campobasso, presente nelle riserve MAB, nel Parco Naz. d?Abruzzo, Matese e Venafrano, nei pressi della zona ospedaliera di Campobasso ed anche al centro del capoluogo. Hystrix cristata, segnalata fino agli anni anni ?60 a Campomarino è stata trovata di recente (aculei in Alto Molise, sporadiche le segnalazioni nell?agro di S. Croce di Magliano-Colletorto (CB. Canis lupus ha recentemente allargato il suo areale raggiungendo anche siti in collina (per l?immissione dei Daini. Presente oltre che nel PNA, in tutta la Prov. di Isernia, Matese, montagna di Frosolone fino a Castropignano-Casalciprano. Preoccupante invece il randagismo canino verso il quale è auspicabile prendere dei provvedimenti. Ursus arctos è in aumento con massimi in Val di Mezzo, Val Fiorita, Val Pagana, M .te Marrone ed in tutto il gruppo delle Mainarde; fuori dal PNA è sempre più frequente: Matese, Carpinone e recentemente (27.04.03 una coppia in Valle del Sangro a S. Angelo in Pesco (IS. Nel 1995 una femmina è stata investita dal treno nei pressi di Carpinone (IS. Lutra lutra invece è diminuita rispetto al passato. La si incontrava fino agli anni ?70/80 fino alla foce dei fiumi Trigno, Biferno e T. Saccione. Attualmente è segnalata in prov. di Isernia (es. Venafrano, Matese, Montagna di Frosolone. Felis silvestris è presente soprattutto in Prov. di Isernia dove è segnalato in 38 Comuni. In quella di Campobasso appare più localizzato a nord e nel Matese. Riguardo Lynx lynx pare che qualche soggetto sia stato osservato nell?area limitrofa al P.N.A. dove è stata

  1. [WILD MAMMALS OF THE GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA IN THE WORKS OF JEAN-EMMANUEL GILIBERT].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samojlik, Tomasz; Daszkiewicz, Piotr

    2015-01-01

    Among the many topics of lively scientific work that Jean Emmanuel Gilibert (1741-1814) conducted in Grodno and Vilnius, an important place is occupied by his observations of wild mammals. Royal patronage and care from Antoni Tyzenhauz, Treasurer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the governor of Grodno, allowed Gilibert to keep and observe wild fauna captured by royal services in royal forests, including Białowieża Primeval Forest. Such was an origin of a female bison kept by Gilibert in Grodno. Its description, published in Indagatores naturae in Lithuania (Vilnius 1781) for decades became the primary source of information about the behaviour, food preferences and the anatomy of European bison. European science has just begun to take interest in European bison, therefore Gilibert's account entered scientific circulation by way of French natural history encyclopaedias (mainly Georges Buffon's Histoire naturelle) and works by Georges Cuvier or Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Apart from the description of European bison, Gilibert left an entire series of observations of wild mammals inhabiting the forests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. His accounts of moose were important in building a knowledge base for this species. In the first half of the 18th century, moose was known mainly from fantastic descriptions in Renaissance works and from prescriptions devoted to using moose hoof as the epilepsy treatment. Gilibert's observations helped to overthrow such superstitions. Similarly, Gilibert's first-hand information verified the widespread legends concerning brown bear (e.g. the belief that white bears, belonging to other species than polar bears, occur in Lithuania) . List of species kept and thoroughly watched by the scholar is much longer and includes lynx, wolf (and hybrids of wolves and dogs), beaver, badger, fox, hedgehog, and even white mouse. Also his comments on the species of mammals then absent in Lithuania but known either from farming or from the fur

  2. Secreted Isoform of Human Lynx1 (SLURP-2): Spatial Structure and Pharmacology of Interactions with Different Types of Acetylcholine Receptors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lyukmanova, E. N.; Shulepko, M. A.; Shenkarev, Z. O.; Bychkov, M. L.; Paramonov, A. S.; Chugunov, A. O.; Kulbatskii, D. S.; Arvaniti, M.; Dolejší, Eva; Schaer, T.; Arseniev, A. S.; Efremov, R. G.; Thomsen, M. S.; Doležal, Vladimír; Bertrand, D.; Dolgikh, D. A.; Kirpichnikov, M. P.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 6, Aug 3 (2016), s. 30698 ISSN 2045-2322 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-05696S Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : ion channel * signalling * molecular modelling * protein–protein interaction networks * solution-state NMR Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 4.259, year: 2016

  3. Ceramics among Eurasian hunter-gatherers: 32 000 years of ceramic technology use and the perception of containment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihael Budja

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available We present two parallel and 32 000 years long trajectories of episodic ceramic technology use in Eurasian pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer societies. In eastern, Asian trajectory the pottery was produced from the beginning. Ceramic figurines mark the western, European trajectory. The western predates the eastern for about eleven millennia. While ceramic cones and figurines first appeared in Central Europe at c. 31 000 cal BC the earliest vessels in eastern Asia was dated at c. 20 000 cal BC. We discuss women’s agency, perception of containment, ‘cross-craft interactions’, and evolution of private property that that may influenced the inventions of ceramic (pyrotechnology.

  4. Identification of West Eurasian mitochondrial haplogroups by mtDNA SNP screening: results of the 2006-2007 EDNAP collaborative exercise

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parson, Walther; Fendt, Liane; Ballard, David

    2008-01-01

    no previous experience with the technology and/or mtDNA analysis. The results of this collaborative exercise stimulate the expansion of screening methods in forensic laboratories to increase efficiency and performance of mtDNA typing, and thus demonstrates that mtDNA SNP typing is a powerful tool for forensic......The European DNA Profiling (EDNAP) Group performed a collaborative exercise on a mitochondrial (mt) DNA screening assay that targeted 16 nucleotide positions in the coding region and allowed for the discrimination of major west Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups. The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate...

  5. Long-Term Comparative Advantages of the Eurasian Economic Union Member States in International Trade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Falkowski Krzysztof

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available On 1st January 2015 the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU - a new integration block comprising initially Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, and later that year also Armenia and Kyrgyzstan - appeared on the world map. This paper endeavors to identify the EAEU countries’ long-term international comparative advantages within four basic groups of goods according to the OECD classification of manufacturing industries based on technology intensity. The analysis, using B. Balassa’s RCA methodology and covering the years 2000-2014, indicates that these countries lack competitiveness, with none of them possessing any RCAs in the high-technology category whereas in the medium-hightechnology category - only Belarus. In contrast, all the EAEU countries fared the best in the medium-low-technology category, which is mostly attributable to the resources-based character of their economies. Surprisingly, dramatically low international competitiveness was recorded by Kazakhstan and Russia.

  6. Kazakhstan's economic soft balancing policy vis-à-vis Russia: From the Eurasian Union to the economic cooperation with Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lyailya Nurgaliyeva

    2016-01-01

    When Russia started asserting its economic and political power over the Central Asian and Caspian regions, Nazarbayev once again resorted to the economic soft balancing policy, but this time by relying on outside players. Part 2 of this article discusses two cases of such external economic soft balancing efforts: participation in the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC pipeline project, and the economic cooperation with Turkey as part of a free trade zone. The BTC pipeline project and the close economic cooperation with Turkey ended up being a more productive soft balancing effort than the earlier Eurasian Union initiative.

  7. Characterization of the multiple components of Acanthopanax Senticosus stem by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Hui; Liu, Jianhua; Zhang, Aihua; Zhang, Ying; Meng, Xiangcai; Han, Ying; Zhang, Yingzhi; Wang, Xijun

    2016-02-01

    Acanthopanax Senticosus Harms. has been used widely in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of chronic bronchitis, neurasthenia, hypertension and ischemic heart disease. However, the in vivo constituents of the stem of Acanthopanax Senticosus remain unknown. In this paper, ultra high performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and the MarkerLynx(TM) software combined with multiple data processing approach were used to study the constituents in vitro and in vivo. The aqueous extract from the Acanthopanax Senticosus stem and the compositions in rat serum after intragastric administration were completely analyzed. Consequently, 115 compounds in the aqueous extract from Acanthopanax Senticosus stem and 41 compounds absorbed into blood were characterized. Of the 115 compounds in vitro, 54 were reported for first time, including sinapyl alcohol, sinapyl alcohol diglucoside, and 1-O-sinapoyl-β-D-glucose. In the 41 compounds in vivo, 7 were prototype components and 34 were metabolites which were from 21 components of aqueous extract from Acanthopanax Senticosus stem, and the metabolic pathways of the metabolites were elucidated for first time. The results narrowed the range of screening the active components and provided a basis for the study of action mechanism and pharmacology. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Roadside Multiple Objects Extraction from Mobile Laser Scanning Point Cloud Based on DBN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LUO Haifeng

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposed an novel algorithm for exploring deep belief network (DBN architectures to extract and recognize roadside facilities (trees,cars and traffic poles from mobile laser scanning (MLS point cloud.The proposed methods firstly partitioned the raw MLS point cloud into blocks and then removed the ground and building points.In order to partition the off-ground objects into individual objects,off-ground points were organized into an Octree structure and clustered into candidate objects based on connected component.To improve segmentation performance on clusters containing overlapped objects,a refining processing using a voxel-based normalized cut was then implemented.In addition,multi-view features descriptor was generated for each independent roadside facilities based on binary images.Finally,a deep belief network (DBN was trained to extract trees,cars and traffic pole objects.Experiments are undertaken to evaluate the validities of the proposed method with two datasets acquired by Lynx Mobile Mapper System.The precision of trees,cars and traffic poles objects extraction results respectively was 97.31%,97.79% and 92.78%.The recall was 98.30%,98.75% and 96.77% respectively.The quality is 95.70%,93.81% and 90.00%.And the F1 measure was 97.80%,96.81% and 94.73%.

  9. PARTICULARITIES AND THREATS ON THE BIODIVERSITY FROM CROATIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreea BĂLTĂREŢU

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Because it has a specific geographic position and it’s situated at the crossroads of several bio-geographical regions and as a result of its ecological characteristics, the climate and geo-morphological conditions, Croatia is one of the wealthiest countries from Europe concerning the biodiversity. The great variety of the territory, maritime and underground habitats has determined the existence of numerous species and subspecies, including a significant number of endemic species. Although the climate of Croatia has a great value, many of its components are threatened. The most important threats of wild species are losing the habitats and the degradation. Because of its shape and its position in Europe, Croatia has very rich landscape diversity. Croatia contains significant populations of many species that are threatened at the European level. These are connected to preserved large areas of their habitats. Vast mountain beech and fir forests are rich in bear, wolf and lynx populations. Large wetland complexes with alluvial forests are important breeding, the migration and wintering sites for European water birds and for wetland birds nesting in forests. The wealth of marine biodiversity, in combination with the immense diversity of islands and cliffs with endemic life forms, gives the Croatian coastal area international significance.

  10. Rodent foraging is affected by indirect, but not by direct, cues of predation risk.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Orrock, John, L.; Danielson, Brent, J.; Brinkerhoff, R., Jory

    2004-01-01

    Behavioral Ecology Vol. 15 No. 3: 433 - 437 We used foraging trays to determine whether old field mice, Peromyscus polionotus , altered foraging in response to direct cues of predation risk (urine of native and nonnative predators) and indirect cues of predation risk (foraging microhabitat, precipitation, and moon illumination). The proportion of seeds remaining in each tray (a measure of the giving-up density [GUD]) was used to measure risk perceived by mice. Mice did not alter their GUD when presented with cues of native predators (bobcats, Lynx r ufus , and red foxes, Vulpes vulpes), recently introduced predators (coyotes, Canis latrans ), nonnative predators (ocelots, Leopardus pardalis ), a native herbivore (white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus), or a water control. Rather, GUD was related to microhabitat: rodents removed more seeds from foraging trays sheltered beneath vegetative cover compared with exposed trays outside of cover. Rodents also removed more seeds during nights with precipitation and when moon illumination was low. Our results suggest that P. polionotus used indirect cues rather than direct cues to assess risk of vertebrate predation. Indirect cues may be more reliable than are direct scent cues for estimating risk from multiple vertebrate predators that present the most risk in open environments.

  11. Scat removal: A source of bias in feces-related studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livingston, T.R.; Gipson, P.S.; Ballard, W.B.; Sanchez, D.M.; Krausman, P.R.

    2005-01-01

    Consumption of feces (coprophagy) may alter findings of dietary studies and population estimates based on fecal analyses, but its magnitude is poorly understood. We investigated seasonal incidence of scat removal on Fort Riley, Kansas, from January through December 2000. We placed feces from captive bobcats (Lynx rufus), captive coyotes (Canis latrans), and free-ranging coyotes randomly on tracking stations in forest and prairie landscapes to determine rates of scat removal by local wildlife. Rates of removal of feces from captive bobcats, captive coyotes, and free-ranging coyotes varied from 7% during spring to 50% during summer. We identified opossums (Didelphis virginiana) as the most common species present at stations where scat removal occurred. Feces may be an important seasonal source of food for opossums and may provide seasonal dietary supplements for other species. Other factors responsible for disturbance of feces included a woodrat (Neotoma floridana) caching coyote feces, removal of captive coyote feces by free-ranging coyotes accompanied by deposition of fresh feces, a bobcat burying a captive bobcat sample and depositing fresh feces, and rain storms. Dietary studies based on fecal analyses could be biased by scat removal, assuming that contents in feces are representative of the proportion of foods consumed.

  12. Mammalian fauna of the Temessos National Park, Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna De Marinis

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The National Park of Termessos, Southern Turkey, is one of the Turkey’s biggest national park not only with its archeological richness but also with its great natural wild life. We provided a checklist of the mammalian fauna of the park on the base of direct observations, interviews and a comparative analysis of the available literature. Sixteen species have been reported in the park. Hedgehogs, hares, porcupines and Persian squirrels and, among flying mammals, Egyptian rousette and Mouse-eared bat have been recorded. Carnivores are represented by Golden jackal, Wolf, Red fox, Stone marten, Badger, Otter and Wild cat. Very recently (2005 the presence of the Caracal in the park has been confirmed, whereas no signs of the presence of the Lynx were detected. The last Anatolian leopards seems to have definitively disappeared from the region. The occurrence in the area of striped hyaenas and brown bears is documented up to a few decades ago. The Park is regarded as the only geographical range in the whole world where the European or Common fallow deer has persisted as a native form. Other ungulates too, such as Wild goat and Wild boar are dispersed within the boundary of the park. Management implications are discussed.

  13. Advancing the technology of monolithic CMOS detectors for use as x-ray imaging spectrometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenter, Almus; Kraft, Ralph; Gauron, Thomas; Amato, Stephen

    2017-08-01

    The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in collaboration with SRI/Sarnoff has been engaged in a multi year effort to advance the technology of monolithic back-thinned CMOS detectors for use as X-ray imaging spectrometers. The long term goal of this campaign is to produce X-ray Active Pixel Sensor (APS) detectors with Fano limited performance over the 0.1-10keV band while incorporating the many benefits of CMOS technology. These benefits include: low power consumption, radiation "hardness", high levels of integration, and very high read rates. Such devices would be ideal for candidate post 2020 decadal missions such as LYNX and for smaller more immediate applications such as CubeX. Devices from a recent fabrication have been back-thinned, packaged and tested for soft X-ray response. These devices have 16μm pitch, 6 Transistor Pinned Photo Diode (6TPPD) pixels with ˜135μV/electron sensitivity and a highly parallel signal chain. These new detectors are fabricated on 10μm epitaxial silicon and have a 1k by 1k format. We present details of our camera design and device performance with particular emphasis on those aspects of interest to single photon counting X-ray astronomy. These features include read noise, X-ray spectral response and quantum efficiency.

  14. Survey of wildlife, including aquatic mammals, associated with riparian habitat on the Syncrude Canada Ltd. Aurora Mine environmental impact assessment local study area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Surrendi, D.C.

    1996-12-31

    A general overview of the wildlife associated with riparian habitats at Syncrude`s proposed Aurora Mine, located 70 km northeast of Fort McMurray, Alberta on the east side of the Athabasca River, was presented. The area is underlain by bitumen and is being considered for bitumen extraction and production of synthetic crude oil. Two surveys were conducted with the help of experienced trappers from the community at Fort McKay. One was an aerial survey on November 3, 1995, the other a ground survey on November 29-30, 1995. The two surveys yielded 248 observed tracks on four 500 metre transects. The study area was comprised of boreal forest with natural drainage via Stanley Creek into the Muskeg River and via Fort Creek into the Athabasca River. Beavers, fox, weasel, mink, rabbit, wolf, moose, deer, ptarmigan, sharp-tailed grouse and ruffed grouse, lynx, coyote, river otter and mice were associated with riparian habitat on the study area. There was no sign of muskrat in the study area. It was concluded that in order to develop an understanding of reclamation alternatives for mined areas in the region, future detailed examination of the site should be approached through the integration of traditional ecological knowledge and conventional scientific methodology. 26 refs., 12 tabs., 2 figs.

  15. Survey of wildlife, including aquatic mammals, associated with riparian habitat on the Syncrude Canada Ltd. Aurora Mine environmental impact assessment local study area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Surrendi, D.C.

    1996-01-01

    A general overview of the wildlife associated with riparian habitats at Syncrude's proposed Aurora Mine, located 70 km northeast of Fort McMurray, Alberta on the east side of the Athabasca River, was presented. The area is underlain by bitumen and is being considered for bitumen extraction and production of synthetic crude oil. Two surveys were conducted with the help of experienced trappers from the community at Fort McKay. One was an aerial survey on November 3, 1995, the other a ground survey on November 29-30, 1995. The two surveys yielded 248 observed tracks on four 500 metre transects. The study area was comprised of boreal forest with natural drainage via Stanley Creek into the Muskeg River and via Fort Creek into the Athabasca River. Beavers, fox, weasel, mink, rabbit, wolf, moose, deer, ptarmigan, sharp-tailed grouse and ruffed grouse, lynx, coyote, river otter and mice were associated with riparian habitat on the study area. There was no sign of muskrat in the study area. It was concluded that in order to develop an understanding of reclamation alternatives for mined areas in the region, future detailed examination of the site should be approached through the integration of traditional ecological knowledge and conventional scientific methodology. 26 refs., 12 tabs., 2 figs

  16. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in captive mammals in three zoos in Mexico City, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme; Gayosso-Dominguez, Edgar Arturo; Villena, Isabelle; Dubey, J P

    2013-09-01

    Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii were determined in 167 mammals in three zoos in Mexico City, Mexico, using the modified agglutination test (MAT). Overall, antibodies to T. gondii were found in 89 (53.3%) of the 167 animals tested. Antibodies were found in 35 of 43 wild Felidae: 2 of 2 bobcats (Lynx rufus); 4 of 4 cougars (Puma concolor); 10 of 13 jaguars (Panthera onca); 5 of 5 leopards (Panthera pardus); 7 of 7 lions (Panthera leo); 2 of 3 tigers (Panthera tigris); 2 of 3 ocelots (Leopardus pardalis); 2 of 2 Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae); lof 2 Jaguarundi (Herpailurus jagouaroundi); but not in 0 of 2 oncillas (Leopardus tigrinus). Such high seroprevalence in wild felids is of public health significance because of the potential of oocyst shedding. Four of 6 New World primates (2 of 2 Geoffroy's spider monkeys [Ateles geoffroyi], 1 of 3 Patas monkeys [Erythrocebus patas], and 1 of 1 white-headed capuchin [Cebus capucinus]) had high MAT titers of 3,200, suggesting recently acquired infection; these animals are highly susceptible to clinical toxoplasmosis. However, none of these animals were ill. Seropositivity to T. gondii was found for the first time in a number of species.

  17. Isolation of Bartonella henselae, Bartonella koehlerae subsp. koehlerae, Bartonella koehlerae subsp. bothieri and a new subspecies of B. koehlerae from free-ranging lions (Panthera leo) from South Africa, cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from Namibia and captive cheetahs from California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molia, S; Kasten, R W; Stuckey, M J; Boulouis, H J; Allen, J; Borgo, G M; Koehler, J E; Chang, C C; Chomel, B B

    2016-11-01

    Bartonellae are blood- and vector-borne Gram-negative bacteria, recognized as emerging pathogens. Whole-blood samples were collected from 58 free-ranging lions (Panthera leo) in South Africa and 17 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from Namibia. Blood samples were also collected from 11 cheetahs (more than once for some of them) at the San Diego Wildlife Safari Park. Bacteria were isolated from the blood of three (5%) lions, one (6%) Namibian cheetah and eight (73%) cheetahs from California. The lion Bartonella isolates were identified as B. henselae (two isolates) and B. koehlerae subsp. koehlerae. The Namibian cheetah strain was close but distinct from isolates from North American wild felids and clustered between B. henselae and B. koehlerae. It should be considered as a new subspecies of B. koehlerae. All the Californian semi-captive cheetah isolates were different from B. henselae or B. koehlerae subsp. koehlerae and from the Namibian cheetah isolate. They were also distinct from the strains isolated from Californian mountain lions (Felis concolor) and clustered with strains of B. koehlerae subsp. bothieri isolated from free-ranging bobcats (Lynx rufus) in California. Therefore, it is likely that these captive cheetahs became infected by an indigenous strain for which bobcats are the natural reservoir.

  18. Water transparency drives intra-population divergence in Eurasian Perch (Perca fluviatilis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartels, Pia; Hirsch, Philipp E; Svanbäck, Richard; Eklöv, Peter

    2012-01-01

    Trait combinations that lead to a higher efficiency in resource utilization are important drivers of divergent natural selection and adaptive radiation. However, variation in environmental features might constrain foraging in complex ways and therefore impede the exploitation of critical resources. We tested the effect of water transparency on intra-population divergence in morphology of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) across seven lakes in central Sweden. Morphological divergence between near-shore littoral and open-water pelagic perch substantially increased with increasing water transparency. Reliance on littoral resources increased strongly with increasing water transparency in littoral populations, whereas littoral reliance was not affected by water transparency in pelagic populations. Despite the similar reliance on pelagic resources in pelagic populations along the water transparency gradient, the utilization of particular pelagic prey items differed with variation in water transparency in pelagic populations. Pelagic perch utilized cladocerans in lakes with high water transparency and copepods in lakes with low water transparency. We suggest that under impaired visual conditions low utilization of littoral resources by littoral perch and utilization of evasive copepods by pelagic perch may lead to changes in morphology. Our findings indicate that visual conditions can affect population divergence in predator populations through their effects on resource utilization.

  19. Quantifying the multiple, environmental benefits of reintroducing the Eurasian Beaver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brazier, Richard; Puttock, Alan; Graham, Hugh; Anderson, Karen; Cunliffe, Andrew; Elliott, Mark

    2016-04-01

    Beavers are ecological engineers with an ability to modify the structure and flow of fluvial systems and create complex wetland environments with dams, ponds and canals. Consequently, beaver activity has potential for river restoration, management and the provision of multiple environmental ecosystem services including biodiversity, flood risk mitigation, water quality and sustainable drinking water provision. With the current debate surrounding the reintroduction of beavers into the United Kingdom, it is critical to monitor the impact of beavers upon the environment. We have developed and implemented a monitoring strategy to quantify the impact of reintroducing the Eurasian Beaver on multiple environmental ecosystem services and river systems at a range of scales. First, the experimental design and preliminary results will be presented from the Mid-Devon Beaver Trial, where a family of beavers has been introduced to a 3 ha enclosure situated upon a first order tributary of the River Tamar. The site was instrumented to monitor the flow rate and quality of water entering and leaving the site. Additionally, the impacts of beavers upon riparian vegetation structure, water/carbon storage were investigated. Preliminary results indicate that beaver activity, particularly the building of ponds and dams, increases water storage within the landscape and moderates the river response to rainfall. Baseflow is enhanced during dry periods and storm flow is attenuated, potentially reducing the risk of flooding downstream. Initial analysis of water quality indicates that water entering the site (running off intensively managed grasslands upslope), has higher suspended sediment loads and nitrate levels, than that leaving the site, after moving through the series of beaver ponds. These results suggest beaver activity may also act as a means by which the negative impact of diffuse water pollution from agriculture can be mitigated thus providing cleaner water in rivers downstream

  20. Seeking explanations for recent changes in abundance of wintering Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) in northwest Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fox, Anthony David; Dalby, Lars; Christensen, Thomas Kjær

    2016-01-01

    the range. However, because over 75% of the population of over 1 million individuals winters in Belgium, the Netherlands, UK and France, there was no evidence for a major movement in the centre of gravity of the wintering distribution. Between-winter changes in overall flyway abundance were highly......We analysed annual changes in abundance of Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) derived from mid-winter International Waterbird Census data throughout its northwest European flyway since 1988 using log-linear Poisson regression modelling. Increases in abundance in the north and east of the wintering...... range (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland), stable numbers in the central range (Belgium,Netherlands,UKand France) and declining abundance in the west and south of the wintering range (Spain and Ireland) suggest a shift in wintering distribution consistent with milder winters throughout...

  1. Seasonal variation in Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope sex and age ratios from hunter-based surveys

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Kevin Kuhlmann; Dalby, Lars; Sunde, Peter

    2013-01-01

    dominated by adult males, and juvenile proportions were highest in November and significantly lower before and after this peak. Nationwide field assessments undertaken in January 2012 showed no significant differences from sex and age ratios in the wing survey data from that particular hunting season (2011...... schemes. This study found consistent seasonal variation in Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope sex and age ratios among Danish hunter-based wing surveys, and describes how accounting for this variation might explain reported discrepancies between this and other monitoring methods. Early season flocks were....../2012), indicating that this survey is a good predictor of Wigeon demography. These results highlight the need to account for consistent temporal variation in such demographic time series when using the results to model population parameters....

  2. Hanging out at the airport: Unusual upside-down perching behavior by Eurasian Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) in a human-dominated environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katzner, Todd E.

    2016-01-01

    Animals occupying human-dominated environments show the capacity for behavioral flexibility. Corvids are among the most intelligent synanthropic bird species. During a layover at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, I photographically documented Eurasian Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) perching upside down from a building cornice. In contrast to other reports of hanging birds, these jackdaws did not forage or play while upside down and appeared to use the perching spot to observe their surroundings. Although Corvids and Psittacines are known to hang upside down, especially in captive situations, such behaviors are rarely documented in the wild, and never before in association with human-built structures.

  3. EURASIAN MINERAL WATER: MATHEMATICAL MODELING, CLASSIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THEIR IMPACT ON THE BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF HUMAN BLOOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolay Kornilov

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In the article the results of comparative analysis of the composition of the Eurasian hydromineral resources and the assessment of their impact on the physiological condition of a human organism according to biochemical studies of venous blood are presented. Processing of initial data on the composition and properties of mineral waters chloride-hydrocarbonate, sulphate- hydrocarbonate and chloride-sulphate types and venous blood are made using the method of mathematical modeling, developed by the authors of this article. It is shown that in the balneological impact of hydromineral resources on the body in the blood increases the hemoglobin and oxygen, decreases glucose, and acid-base pH shifted to high alkalinity.

  4. Characterization of Clade 2.3.2.1 H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses Isolated from Wild Birds (Mandarin Duck and Eurasian Eagle Owl in 2010 in Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Youn-Jeong Lee

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Starting in late November 2010, the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI virus was isolated from many types of wild ducks and raptors and was subsequently isolated from poultry in Korea. We assessed the genetic and pathogenic properties of the HPAI viruses isolated from a fecal sample from a mandarin duck and a dead Eurasian eagle owl, the most affected wild bird species during the 2010/2011 HPAI outbreak in Korea. These viruses have similar genetic backgrounds and exhibited the highest genetic similarity with recent Eurasian clade 2.3.2.1 HPAI viruses. In animal inoculation experiments, regardless of their originating hosts, the two Korean isolates produced highly pathogenic characteristics in chickens, ducks and mice without pre-adaptation. These results raise concerns about veterinary and public health. Surveillance of wild birds could provide a good early warning signal for possible HPAI infection in poultry as well as in humans.

  5. Customs unions, currency crises, and monetary policy coordination: The case of the Eurasian Economic Union

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evgeny Vinokurov

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available After achieving substantial progress in establishing a common customs territory and regulations, customs unions face potential disruptions due to a lack of monetary policy coordination. These disruptions might appear in the form of currency shocks and the ensuing trade conflicts. We approach this issue by looking at the case of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU. The volatility of national currencies in 2014–2015 resulted in sizable shifts in competitiveness, culminating in a currency crisis in some member states. This raises the questions of how to gradually achieve a more coordinated monetary policy, what monetary policy options are available, and what would be their relative impact on macroeconomic stability. Using a set of modeling tools and econometric models, we review three monetary regimes, which represent moves from fully independent exchange rate policy through increased policy coordination to joint exchange rate setting.

  6. Diet preference of Eurasian Beaver (Castor Fiber L., 1758 in the environment of Oderské vrchy and its influence on the tree species composition of river bank stands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Dvořák

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the dietary behaviour and the tree species preference in the river bank stands in the diet of established population Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber L., 1758 in the environment of Oderské vrchy; the objective is to assess the suitability of this environment for future development of the Eurasian Beaver and to asses the influence of the beaver’s dietary behaviour on the river bank stands. In the monitored area, the total of 5 tree species with the following preference were recorded: willow (Salix 42.2%, aspen (Populus 28%, dogwood (Comus 15.5%, birch (Betula 7.4% and alder (Alnus 6.9%. The most damaged diameter interval recorded within the all damaged tree species ranges from 2.6 to 6 cm, followed by the interval 6.1–12 cm. Over 61% of the trees felled by the beaver had a bigger diameter. The most sensitive reaction to beaver’s dietary behaviour was shown by aspen (reduction of numbers by 27.6% and by willow (reduction of numbers by 16.6% on the monitored area.

  7. Integration Processes on Civil Service Reform in the Eurasian Space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George A. Borshevskiy

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In the article was studied the process of reforming the institute of civil service in the countries of the Eurasian space (e.g. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The integration of national systems of public administration and, in particular, the civil service, is an important factor contributing to the implementation of the centripetal tendencies in the post-Soviet space. The research methodology is based on a combination of comparative legal analysis, historical retrospective method, normalization and scaling, structural-functional and system analysis. A comparison of the legal models of public service was made in research. The author puts forward the hypothesis that it is presence the relationship between the quantitative changes (for example, number of employees of civil service and the dynamics of macroeconomic indicators (e.g. number of employed in the economy. In this regard were observed common trends. On materials of the statistical surveys were considered quantitative changes in national systems of civil service. The study of the socio-demographic characteristics of the public service (gender, age, profession allowed to formulate conclusions about the general and specific trends in the reform of the civil service of the analyzed countries. A number of values were first calculated by the author. The work is intended to become the basis for a broad international research on the development of civil service, which is the central mechanism for implementation the integration in the post-Soviet space.

  8. How do colonial Eurasian Griffon Vultures prevent extra-pair mating?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joan Bertran

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available In colonial breeding species, preventive measures to reduce the risks of extra-pair copulations (EPCs should reflect the actual risk perceived by males (e.g., proximity of neighbors, intrusions into the nest mainly during the fertile period. In colonial vultures, specific studies examining the preventive measures that minimize the risks of EPCs occurring within the competitive context of colonial breeding have not been conducted. Here we tested at Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus nesting sites the intensity of paternity assurance behavior, shown as frequency and duration of within-pair copulations (WPCs, potential mate vigilance or nest attendance, and levels of aggressivity. This was measured according to the frequency of territorial intrusions and comparison of the fertile vs. the non-fertile period. Our findings suggest that the frequency of WPCs and their duration increased significantly during the presumed fertile period, regarded as the period when Griffon pairs spent significantly more time together at their nests. In addition, low levels of territorial intrusions were observed, an aggressive response of pairs towards intruders, and a relatively high presence of pairs at the nests during the fertile period. Thus, although nesting sites are subject to low exposure to EPC attempts, the increased frequency and duration of copulations during the fertile period suggests that, under pressure from the colonial breeding system, a higher rate of copulations is the most effective preventive mechanism against relative uncertainty of paternity.

  9. Diet of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles in an area of the Italian Prealps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica Marassi

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Samples of Eurasian badger faeces (n= 147 were collected at monthly intervals from October 1997 to December 1999 in an area of the Italian Prealps (58 km², on the eastern coast of Lario (Como Lake. The altitude of the area ranged from 200 to 1300 m. Badger scats were analysed to estimate the relative volume and the frequency of occurrence of identifiable food items. Fruits, arthropodes, earthworms and mammals constituted the main food categories. Differences were found between the seasonal frequency of occurrences of arthropodes, earthworms and mammals, considering however that the small sample size in summer does not allow any definitive conclusions. The wide range of food items eaten by badgers and the seasonal differences would suggest that the badger is a "generalist" species which adopts an opportunist feeding strategy.

  10. Glacial sequence stratigraphy reveal the Weichselian glacial history of the SE sector of the Eurasian Ice Sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Räsänen, Matti

    2016-04-01

    Reconstructions of the last Weichselian glacial cycle 117,000-11,700 years (kyr) ago propose that S Finland, adjacent Russia and the Baltic countries in the SE sector of the Eurasian Ice Sheet (EIS), were glaciated during the Middle Weichselian time [marine isotope stage (MIS) 4, 71-57 kyr ago] and that this glaciation was preceded in S Finland by an Early Weichselian interstadial (MIS 5c, 105-93 kyr ago) with pine forest. Here glacial sequence stratigraphy (Powell and Cooper 2002) is applied to isolated Late Pleistocene onshore outcrop sections in S Finland. The analysed sedimentary records have traditionally been investigated, interpreted and published separately by different authors without an attempt to a methodologically more systematic survey. By putting new field data and old observations into a regional sequence stratigraphic framework it is shown how previously unnoticed regularities can be found in the lithofacies and fossil successions. It is shown that the proposed Middle Weichselian glaciation or the pine dominated interstadial did not take place at all (Räsänen et al. 2015). The one Late Weichselian glaciation (MIS 2, 29-11 kyr ago) at the SE sector of EIS was preceded in S Finland by a nearly 90 kyr long still poorly known non-glacial period, featuring tundra with permafrost and probably birch forest. The new Middle Weichselian paleoenvironmental scenario revises the configuration and hydrology of the S part of EIS and gives new setting for the evolution of Scandinavian biota. References Powell, R. D., and Cooper, J. M., 2002, A glacial sequence stratigraphic model for temperate, glaciated continental shelves, in Dowdeswell, J. A., and Cofaig, C. Ó. eds., Glacier-Influenced Sedimentation on High-Latitude Continental Margins: The Geological Society of London, London, Geological Society London, Special Publication v. 203, p. 215-244. Räsänen, M.E., Huitti, J.V., Bhattarai, S. Harvey, J. and Huttunen, S. 2015, The SE sector of the Middle

  11. [On improvement of the mechanism for establishing and changing indicators of quality and food safety in the regulatory and legal acts of the Eurasian Economical Union].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnautov, O V

    2016-01-01

    In accordance with the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to ensure the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population within the Union, a coordinated policy in agreed policy in the sphere of application of sanitary measures is carried out. Sanitary measures are the obligatory requirements and procedures, including requirements for the final product, processing methods, production, transportation, storage and disposal, sampling procedures, methods of research (tests), risk assessment, the state registration, requirements for packaging directly aimed at ensuring the safety of products (goods) in order to protect human welfare, and they should be applied on the basis having a scientific explanation, and only to the extent that is necessary to protect human welfare. Sanitary measures applied within the Union should be based on international and regional standards, guidelines and (or) the recommendations, except when they based on appropriate scientific studies and explanations. In this case sanitary measures which could provide a higher level of sanitary protection are introduced. At present, the mechanism of the development, justification and approval of common sanitary and epidemiological requirements (ESR) and procedures of the Eurasian Economic Commission (the Commission) is not installed. The absence of a clear mechanism for the development, approval and implementation of the ESR to the products (goods) on the basis having a scientific explanation on the one hand could lead to the creation of unjustified barriers to foreign and mutual trade, on the other--to weaken the level of safety for human life and health of products (goods) placed on markets of the Union. In order to bring the regulatory legal acts of the Customs Union in accordance with the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union the Commission in cooperation with the competent authorities of the Member States in the field of sanitary and epidemiological welfare developed the project of

  12. Ludvig, Zsuzsa (ed.) Eurasian challenges : partnerships with Russia and other issues of the post-Soviet area. East European Studies, No. 4, Budabest Institute of World Economics and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2013, 163pp. / Csab

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Weiner, Csaba

    2013-01-01

    Arvustus: Ludvig, Zsuzsa (ed.) Eurasian challenges : partnerships with Russia and other issues of the post-Soviet area. Budabest Institute of World Economics and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2013

  13. Hierarchical modeling of an invasive spread: The eurasian collared-dove streptopelia decaocto in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bled, F.; Royle, J. Andrew; Cam, E.

    2011-01-01

    Invasive species are regularly claimed as the second threat to biodiversity. To apply a relevant response to the potential consequences associated with invasions (e.g., emphasize management efforts to prevent new colonization or to eradicate the species in places where it has already settled), it is essential to understand invasion mechanisms and dynamics. Quantifying and understanding what influences rates of spatial spread is a key research area for invasion theory. In this paper, we develop a model to account for occupancy dynamics of an invasive species. Our model extends existing models to accommodate several elements of invasive processes; we chose the framework of hierarchical modeling to assess site occupancy status during an invasion. First, we explicitly accounted for spatial structure and how distance among sites and position relative to one another affect the invasion spread. In particular, we accounted for the possibility of directional propagation and provided a way of estimating the direction of this possible spread. Second, we considered the influence of local density on site occupancy. Third, we decided to split the colonization process into two subprocesses, initial colonization and recolonization, which may be ground-breaking because these subprocesses may exhibit different relationships with environmental variations (such as density variation) or colonization history (e.g., initial colonization might facilitate further colonization events). Finally, our model incorporates imperfection in detection, which might be a source of substantial bias in estimating population parameters. We focused on the case of the Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) and its invasion of the United States since its introduction in the early 1980s, using data from the North American BBS (Breeding Bird Survey). The Eurasian Collared-Dove is one of the most successful invasive species, at least among terrestrial vertebrates. Our model provided estimation of the

  14. Quantitative assessment of carbon sequestration reduction induced by disturbances in temperate Eurasian steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yizhao; Ju, Weimin; Groisman, Pavel; Li, Jianlong; Propastin, Pavel; Xu, Xia; Zhou, Wei; Ruan, Honghua

    2017-11-01

    The temperate Eurasian steppe (TES) is a region where various environmental, social, and economic stresses converge. Multiple types of disturbance exist widely across the landscape, and heavily influence carbon cycling in this region. However, a current quantitative assessment of the impact of disturbances on carbon sequestration is largely lacking. In this study, we combined the boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS), the Shiyomi grazing model, and the global fire model (Glob-FIRM) to investigate the impact of the two major types of disturbance in the TES (i.e. domestic grazing and fire) on regional carbon sequestration. Model performance was validated using satellite data and field observations. Model outputs indicate that disturbance has a significant impact on carbon sequestration at a regional scale. The annual total carbon lost due to disturbances was 7.8 TgC yr-1, accounting for 14.2% of the total net ecosystem productivity (NEP). Domestic grazing plays the dominant role in terrestrial carbon consumption, accounting for 95% of the total carbon lost from the two disturbances. Carbon losses from both disturbances significantly increased from 1999 to 2008 (R 2 = 0.82, P ecosystems.

  15. Methionine supplementation influences melanin-based plumage colouration in Eurasian kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, nestlings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parejo, Deseada; Silva, Nadia

    2009-11-01

    The extent to which the expression of melanin-based plumage colouration in birds is genetically or environmentally determined is controversial. Here, we performed a between-nest design supplementation with either the sulphur amino acid dl-methionine or with water to investigate the importance of the non-genetic component of melanin-based plumage colouration in the Eurasian kestrel, Falco tinnunculus. Methionine affects growth and immunity, thus we aimed to modify nestling growth and immunity before feather development. Then, we measured the effect of the experiment on colouration of two melanin-based plumage patches of nestling kestrels. We found that methionine slowed down nestling growth through treatment administration and that nestlings compensated by speeding up their growth later. We did not find any effects of methionine on nestling immunity (i.e. lymphocyte counts, natural antibody levels or complement-mediated immunity). Effects on growth seemed to be mirrored by changes in nestling colouration in the two sexes: methionine-nestlings showed less intense brown plumage on their backs compared with control nestlings. These results provide support for a non-genetic determination of a melanin-based plumage patch in the two sexes of nestling kestrels.

  16. Impacts of Snow Darkening by Absorbing Aerosols on Eurasian Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyu-Myong; Lau, William K M.; Yasunari, Teppei J.; Kim, Maeng-Ki; Koster, Randal D.

    2016-01-01

    The deposition of absorbing aerosols on snow surfaces reduces snow-albedo and allows snowpack to absorb more sunlight. This so-called snow darkening effect (SDE) accelerates snow melting and leads to surface warming in spring. To examine the impact of SDE on weather and climate during late spring and early summer, two sets of NASA GEOS-5 model simulations with and without SDE are conducted. Results show that SDE-induced surface heating is particularly pronounced in Eurasian regions where significant depositions of dust transported from the North African deserts, and black carbon from biomass burning from Asia and Europe occur. In these regions, the surface heating due to SDE increases surface skin temperature by 3-6 degrees Kelvin near the snowline in spring. Surface energy budget analysis indicates that SDE-induced excess heating is associated with a large increase in surface evaporation, subsequently leading to a significant reduction in soil moisture, and increased risks of drought and heat waves in late spring to early summer. Overall, we find that rainfall deficit combined with SDE-induced dry soil in spring provide favorable condition for summertime heat waves over large regions of Eurasia. Increased frequency of summer heat waves with SDE and the region of maximum increase in heat-wave frequency are found along the snow line, providing evidence that early snowmelt by SDE may increase the risks of extreme summer heat wave. Our results suggest that climate models that do not include SDE may significantly underestimate the effect of global warming over extra-tropical continental regions.

  17. Assigning delivered prey to visited habitat : the potential of combining video monitoring at nest and radio telemetry tested on female Eurasian kestrels (Falco tinnunculus)

    OpenAIRE

    Christensen, Mikkel Emil

    2012-01-01

    In this study I used a combination of video monitoring and high intensity radio telemetry to assign specific prey items to habitat visited by female Eurasian kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) during the breeding season of 2011 in Trysil, eastern Norway. I used the combined dataset comprising 63 locations reliably paired with prey items taken by five female kestrels to investigate: (1) The probability of a prey item belonging to family Cricetidae and genus Microtus in four observed and four map-der...

  18. Influence of the Gulf Stream on the Barents Sea ice retreat and Eurasian coldness during early winter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Kazutoshi; Inoue, Jun; Watanabe, Masahiro

    2014-01-01

    Abnormal sea-ice retreat over the Barents Sea during early winter has been considered a leading driver of recent midlatitude severe winters over Eurasia. However, causal relationships between such retreat and the atmospheric circulation anomalies remains uncertain. Using a reanalysis dataset, we found that poleward shift of a sea surface temperature front over the Gulf Stream likely induces warm southerly advection and consequent sea-ice decline over the Barents Sea sector, and a cold anomaly over Eurasia via planetary waves triggered over the Gulf Stream region. The above mechanism is supported by the steady atmospheric response to the diabatic heating anomalies over the Gulf Stream region obtained with a linear baroclinic model. The remote atmospheric response from the Gulf Stream would be amplified over the Barents Sea region via interacting with sea-ice anomaly, promoting the warm Arctic and cold Eurasian pattern. (letter)

  19. The M w = 5.8 14 August 2016 middle Sakhalin earthquake on a boundary between Okhotsk and Eurasian (Amurian) plates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konovalov, A. V.; Stepnov, A. A.; Safonov, D. A.; Kozhurin, A. I.; Pavlov, A. S.; Gavrilov, A. V.; Manaychev, K. A.; Tomilev, D. Ye.; Takahashi, H.; Ichiyanagi, M.

    2018-04-01

    An earthquake with the moment magnitude M w = 5.8 occurred in the middle part of the Sakhalin Island, Russian Federation, on 14 August 2016, at 11:17 a.m. UTC. The earthquake source was located west of the Central Sakhalin Fault Zone, which is considered to mark the boundary between the Okhotsk and Eurasian (Amurian) plates. Moment tensor solution of the mainshock as well as the configuration of aftershock cloud suggests that the earthquake was caused by slip on a SW-dipping reverse fault. For the first time for Sakhalin, we have got the felt reports unified in accordance with DYFI. We also analyzed observed PGA values and, based on them, produced shaking maps.

  20. Improved ultra-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization quadrupole-time-of-flight high-definition mass spectrometry method for the rapid analysis of the chemical constituents of a typical medical formula: Liuwei Dihuang Wan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ping; Lv, Hai tao; Zhang, Ai hua; Sun, Hui; Yan, Guang li; Han, Ying; Wu, Xiu hong; Wang, Xi jun

    2013-11-01

    Liuwei Dihuang Wan (LDW), a classic Chinese medicinal formula, has been used to improve or restore declined functions related to aging and geriatric diseases, such as impaired mobility, vision, hearing, cognition, and memory. It has attracted increasing attention as one of the most popular and valuable herbal medicines. However, the systematic analysis of the chemical constituents of LDW is difficult and thus has not been well established. In this paper, a rapid, sensitive, and reliable ultra-performance LC with ESI quadrupole TOF high-definition MS method with automated MetaboLynx analysis in positive and negative ion mode was established to characterize the chemical constituents of LDW. The analysis was performed on a Waters UPLC™ HSS T3 using a gradient elution system. MS/MS fragmentation behavior was proposed for aiding the structural identification of the components. Under the optimized conditions, a total of 50 peaks were tentatively characterized by comparing the retention time and MS data. It is concluded that a rapid and robust platform based on ultra-performance LC with ESI quadrupole TOF high-definition MS has been successfully developed for globally identifying multiple constituents of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. This is the first report on the systematic analysis of the chemical constituents of LDW. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Assessing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy species barriers with an in vitro prion protein conversion assay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Christopher J.; Carlson, Christina M.; Morawski, Aaron R.; Manthei, Alyson; Cashman, Neil R.

    2015-01-01

    Studies to understanding interspecies transmission of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs, prion diseases) are challenging in that they typically rely upon lengthy and costly in vivo animal challenge studies. A number of in vitro assays have been developed to aid in measuring prion species barriers, thereby reducing animal use and providing quicker results than animal bioassays. Here, we present the protocol for a rapid in vitroprion conversion assay called the conversion efficiency ratio (CER) assay. In this assay cellular prion protein (PrPC) from an uninfected host brain is denatured at both pH 7.4 and 3.5 to produce two substrates. When the pH 7.4 substrate is incubated with TSE agent, the amount of PrPC that converts to a proteinase K (PK)-resistant state is modulated by the original host’s species barrier to the TSE agent. In contrast, PrPC in the pH 3.5 substrate is misfolded by any TSE agent. By comparing the amount of PK-resistant prion protein in the two substrates, an assessment of the host’s species barrier can be made. We show that the CER assay correctly predicts known prion species barriers of laboratory mice and, as an example, show some preliminary results suggesting that bobcats (Lynx rufus) may be susceptible to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) chronic wasting disease agent.

  2. Predicting carnivore occurrence with noninvasive surveys and occupancy modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Robert A.; Donovan, Therese M.; MacKay, Paula; Zielinski, William J.; Buzas, Jeffrey S.

    2011-01-01

    Terrestrial carnivores typically have large home ranges and exist at low population densities, thus presenting challenges to wildlife researchers. We employed multiple, noninvasive survey methods—scat detection dogs, remote cameras, and hair snares—to collect detection–nondetection data for elusive American black bears (Ursus americanus), fishers (Martes pennanti), and bobcats (Lynx rufus) throughout the rugged Vermont landscape. We analyzed these data using occupancy modeling that explicitly incorporated detectability as well as habitat and landscape variables. For black bears, percentage of forested land within 5 km of survey sites was an important positive predictor of occupancy, and percentage of human developed land within 5 km was a negative predictor. Although the relationship was less clear for bobcats, occupancy appeared positively related to the percentage of both mixed forest and forested wetland habitat within 1 km of survey sites. The relationship between specific covariates and fisher occupancy was unclear, with no specific habitat or landscape variables directly related to occupancy. For all species, we used model averaging to predict occurrence across the study area. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses of our black bear and fisher models suggested that occupancy modeling efforts with data from noninvasive surveys could be useful for carnivore conservation and management, as they provide insights into habitat use at the regional and landscape scale without requiring capture or direct observation of study species.

  3. Effects of urbanization on carnivore species distribution and richness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordenana, Miguel A.; Crooks, Kevin R.; Boydston, Erin E.; Fisher, Robert N.; Lyren, Lisa M.; Siudyla, Shalene; Haas, Christopher D.; Harris, Sierra; Hathaway, Stacie A.; Turschak, Greta M.; Miles, A. Keith; Van Vuren, Dirk H.

    2010-01-01

    Urban development can have multiple effects on mammalian carnivore communities. We conducted a meta-analysis of 7,929 photographs from 217 localities in 11 camera-trap studies across coastal southern California to describe habitat use and determine the effects of urban proximity (distance to urban edge) and intensity (percentage of area urbanized) on carnivore occurrence and species richness in natural habitats close to the urban boundary. Coyotes (Canis latrans) and bobcats (Lynx rufus) were distributed widely across the region. Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), raccoons (Procyon lotor), gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), mountain lions (Puma concolor), and Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) were detected less frequently, and long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), American badgers (Taxidea taxus), western spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis), and domestic cats (Felis catus) were detected rarely. Habitat use generally reflected availability for most species. Coyote and raccoon occurrence increased with both proximity to and intensity of urbanization, whereas bobcat, gray fox, and mountain lion occurrence decreased with urban proximity and intensity. Domestic dogs and Virginia opossums exhibited positive and weak negative relationships, respectively, with urban intensity but were unaffected by urban proximity. Striped skunk occurrence increased with urban proximity but decreased with urban intensity. Native species richness was negatively associated with urban intensity but not urban proximity, probably because of the stronger negative response of individual species to urban intensity.

  4. Metabolism of Genipin in Rat and Identification of Metabolites by Using Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography/Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yue Ding

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The in vivo and in vitro metabolism of genipin was systematically investigated in the present study. Urine, plasma, feces, and bile were collected from rats after oral administration of genipin at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight. A rapid and sensitive method using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF MS was developed for analysis of metabolic profile of genipin in rat biological samples (urine, plasma, feces, and bile. A total of ten metabolites were detected and identified by comparing their fragmentation patterns with that of genipin using MetaboLynx software tools. On the basis of the chromatographic peak area, the sulfated and glucuronidated conjugates of genipin were identified as major metabolites. And the existence of major metabolites G1 and G2 was confirmed by the in vitro enzymatic study further. Then, metabolite G1 was isolated from rat bile by semipreparative HPLC. Its structure was unambiguously identified as genipin-1-o-glucuronic acid by comparison of its UV, IR, ESI-MS, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectra with conference. In general, genipin was a very active compound that would transform immediately, and the parent form of genipin could not be observed in rats biological samples. The biotransformation pathways of genipin involved demethylated, ring-opened, cysteine-conjugated, hydroformylated, glucuronidated, and sulfated transformations.

  5. The Conservation Measures of NATURA 2000 "Someşul Rece" Site Management Plan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marian Proorocu

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Natura 2000 is a European network of protected natural areas including a significant number of natural habitats and wild species for the interest of comunnity. Natura 2000 ROSCI 0233 "Someşul Rece"  Site is situated in the south-western county of Cluj, on the administrative territory of Măguri-Răcătău and Ierii Valley. It has an area of 8529 ha and is a framed area of the Apuseni Mountains Alpine bioregions. The site preserves the following natural habitats: Rough mountain beech forests Asperulo-Fagetum, beech forests of Luzulo-Fagetum, forests acidophilous Picea Abies mountain region and protect important species and active fish fauna, flora and fauna of the Apuseni Mountains. It is also home for several species (mammals, amphibians, fish and beetles like: lynx, wolf or otter. The conservation measures of Natura 2000 Somesul Rece Site, elaborated in order to protect the habitats and the species are part of the management plan. These measures were developed in close connection with the conservation status of habitats and species, but also taking into account the needs of local communities. These measures include: maintaining habitats in favorable conservation status; maintain the current habitat areas; preventing and combating poaching and overfishing;ensuring peace in areas of rock (for large mammals.

  6. Automated Techniques for the Qualitative Analysis of Ecological Models: Continuous Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lynn van Coller

    1997-06-01

    Full Text Available The mathematics required for a detailed analysis of the behavior of a model can be formidable. In this paper, I demonstrate how various computer packages can aid qualitative analyses by implementing techniques from dynamical systems theory. Because computer software is used to obtain the results, the techniques can be used by nonmathematicians as well as mathematicians. In-depth analyses of complicated models that were previously very difficult to study can now be done. Because the paper is intended as an introduction to applying the techniques to ecological models, I have included an appendix describing some of the ideas and terminology. A second appendix shows how the techniques can be applied to a fairly simple predator-prey model and establishes the reliability of the computer software. The main body of the paper discusses a ratio-dependent model. The new techniques highlight some limitations of isocline analyses in this three-dimensional setting and show that the model is structurally unstable. Another appendix describes a larger model of a sheep-pasture-hyrax-lynx system. Dynamical systems techniques are compared with a traditional sensitivity analysis and are found to give more information. As a result, an incomplete relationship in the model is highlighted. I also discuss the resilience of these models to both parameter and population perturbations.

  7. SPring-8 beamline control system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohata, T; Konishi, H; Kimura, H; Furukawa, Y; Tamasaku, K; Nakatani, T; Tanabe, T; Matsumoto, N; Ishii, M; Ishikawa, T

    1998-05-01

    The SPring-8 beamline control system is now taking part in the control of the insertion device (ID), front end, beam transportation channel and all interlock systems of the beamline: it will supply a highly standardized environment of apparatus control for collaborative researchers. In particular, ID operation is very important in a third-generation synchrotron light source facility. It is also very important to consider the security system because the ID is part of the storage ring and is therefore governed by the synchrotron ring control system. The progress of computer networking systems and the technology of security control require the development of a highly flexible control system. An interlock system that is independent of the control system has increased the reliability. For the beamline control system the so-called standard model concept has been adopted. VME-bus (VME) is used as the front-end control system and a UNIX workstation as the operator console. CPU boards of the VME-bus are RISC processor-based board computers operated by a LynxOS-based HP-RT real-time operating system. The workstation and the VME are linked to each other by a network, and form the distributed system. The HP 9000/700 series with HP-UX and the HP 9000/743rt series with HP-RT are used. All the controllable apparatus may be operated from any workstation.

  8. Immunity and fitness in a wild population of Eurasian kestrels Falco tinnunculus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parejo, Deseada; Silva, Nadia

    2009-10-01

    The immune system of vertebrates consists of several components that partly interact and complement each other. Therefore, the assessment of the overall effectiveness of immune defence requires the simultaneous measurement of different immune components. In this study, we investigated intraspecific variability of innate [i.e. natural antibodies (NAb) and complement] and acquired (i.e. leucocyte profiles) immunity and its relationship with fitness correlates (i.e. blood parasite load and reproductive success in adults and body mass and survival until fledging in nestlings) in the Eurasian kestrel Falco tinnunculus. Immunity differed between nestlings and adults and also between adult males and females. Adult kestrels with higher levels of complement were less parasitised by Haemoproteus, and males with higher values of NAbs showed a higher reproductive success. In nestlings, the H/L ratio was negatively related to body mass. Survival until fledging was predicted by all measured immunological variables of nestlings as well as by their fathers' level of complement. This is the first time that innate immunity is linked to survival in a wild bird. Thus, intraspecific variation in different components of immunity predicts variation in fitness prospects in kestrels, which highlights the importance of measuring innate immune components together with components of the acquired immunity in studies assessing the effectiveness of the immune system in wild animals.

  9. The Fifth International Conference “Dialogue of Urban and Steppe Cultures on the Eurasian Space”, ad memoriam G.A. Fyodorov-Davydov

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeleneev Yuriy A.

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The Fifth International Conference "Dialogue of Urban and Steppe Cultures on the Eurasian Space", dedicated to the memory of G. A. Fyodorov-Davydov, was held in the village of Selitrennoye, Astrakhan oblast, in October 2011. For the 10 years of holding these conferences, a range of constantly debated issues has formed. To these refer problems as: the steppes of Eurasia from the Early Iron Age through to the Middle Ages; relations of the Golden Horde with the outside world; medieval numismatics; natural science and combined statistics methods in archaeology. The contributions were mainly centered on these issues. The materials of the conference were published as a collection of articles.

  10. North America-Greenland-Eurasian relative motions: implications for circum-arctic tectonic reconstructions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rowley, D.B.; Lottes, A.L.; Ziegler, A.M.

    1985-02-01

    The Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Circum-Arctic region is based on constraints imposed by (1) relative motion histories of the three major plates (North America, Greenland, and Eurasia) and a number of smaller pieces, and (2) distribution and age of sutures, accretionary prisms, volcanic arcs, fold-thrust belts, stretched continental crust, strike-slip faults, and ocean floor. The authors conclude that: (1) North America and Eurasia remained relatively fixed to each other until the latest Cretaceous-Paleocene opening of the Labrador Sea-Baffin Bay and Greenland-Norwegian and Eurasian basins (earlier convergence between North America and Eurasia in the Bering Sea region shown on many reconstructions are artifacts of incorrect plate reconstructions); (2) the North Slope-Seward-Chukotka block has constituted an isthmus connection between North America and northeast Asia since at least the middle Paleozoic and did not rotate away from the Canadian Arctic; (3) the Canada basin opened behind a clockwise-rotating Alpha Cordillera-Mendeleyev ridge arc during the Early to middle Cretaceous and consumed older, Paleozoic(.) Makarov basin ocean floor (the Chukchi cap is a detached continental fragment derived from the Beaufort Sea; the North Slope Arctic margin is a left-lateral transform fault associated with the opening of the Canada basin); and (4) the Nares Strait fault has a net relative displacement of approximately 25 km, but actual motion between Greenland and northern Ellesmere was about 250 km of strongly transpressive motion that resulted in the Eurekan and Svalbardian orogenies.

  11. Epizootic and zoonotic helminths of the bobcat (Lynx rufus in Illinois and a comparison of its helminth component communities across the American Midwest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiestand Shelby J.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A total of 6257 helminths of 19 taxa were recovered from the digestive tract and lungs of 67 bobcats in Illinois. Infections caused by Alaria mustelae, Diphyllobothrium latum, and Macracanthorhynchus ingens are reported for the first time in bobcats. From all the taxa recovered, only three species occurred in high prevalence and caused intense infections: Taenia rileyi, Alaria marcianae, and Toxocara cati, with prevalence and mean intensity of 70% and 6; 42% and 193, and 25% and 14 individuals, respectively. Prevalence lower than 15% of 14 helminth species suggests bobcats are not continuously exposed to infective stages of a single parasite, and may be exposed to a large variety of generalists during their lifespan. No significant difference in parasite species according to host sex or age was detected, except for Diphyllobothrium spp., which were found more frequently in females and in trapped bobcats, and the hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum, which infected juveniles more frequently. Average species richness per infracommunity was 2.4 (±1.2, and the parasite component community showed low qualitative similarity with neighbor communities. The taxa A. caninum, Alaria spp., Diphyllobothrium spp., Paragonimus kellicotti, and T. cati are etiological agents of epizootic and zoonotic diseases.

  12. Influence of high-latitude warming and land-use changes in the early 20th century northern Eurasian CO2 sink

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastos, Ana; Peregon, Anna; Gani, Érico A.; Khudyaev, Sergey; Yue, Chao; Li, Wei; Gouveia, Célia M.; Ciais, Philippe

    2018-06-01

    While the global carbon budget (GCB) is relatively well constrained over the last decades of the 20th century [1], observations and reconstructions of atmospheric CO2 growth rate present large discrepancies during the earlier periods [2]. The large uncertainty in GCB has been attributed to the land biosphere, although it is not clear whether the gaps between observations and reconstructions are mainly because land-surface models (LSMs) underestimate inter-annual to decadal variability in natural ecosystems, or due to inaccuracies in land-use change reconstructions. As Eurasia encompasses about 15% of the terrestrial surface, 20% of the global soil organic carbon pool and constitutes a large CO2 sink, we evaluate the potential contribution of natural and human-driven processes to induce large anomalies in the biospheric CO2 fluxes in the early 20th century. We use an LSM specifically developed for high-latitudes, that correctly simulates Eurasian C-stocks and fluxes from observational records [3], in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the Eurasian sink to the strong high-latitude warming occurring between 1930 and 1950. We show that the LSM with improved high-latitude phenology, hydrology and soil processes, contrary to the group of LSMs in [2], is able to represent enhanced vegetation growth linked to boreal spring warming, consistent with tree-ring time-series [4]. By compiling a dataset of annual agricultural area in the Former Soviet Union that better reflects changes in cropland area linked with socio-economic fluctuations during the early 20th century, we show that land-abadonment during periods of crisis and war may result in reduced CO2 emissions from land-use change (44%–78% lower) detectable at decadal time-scales. Our study points to key processes that may need to be improved in LSMs and LUC datasets in order to better represent decadal variability in the land CO2 sink, and to better constrain the GCB during the pre-observational record.

  13. New Details of the Eurasian Beaver’s, Castor Fiber (Rodentia, Castoridae, Expansion in the Lowland Part of Transcarpathia, Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barkasi Z.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The present paper contains information on a new beaver colony discovered in the Chornyi mochar tract, which is located in the lowland part of Transcarpathia (= Zakarpattia Region. This rodent species disappeared from the territory of Transcarpathia most likely in the 18th century. Its first reappearance was recorded in 2003. Since, the Eurasian beaver has demonstrated a rapid expansion, primarily along the main rivers. The discovered by us colony allows to suggest that the beaver is continuing its dispersal, entering far into the main river’s tributaries and other shallower water bodies. Consequently, we are witnessing not only the expansion of the species’ geographical range, but also the enlargement of the number of habitat types occupied by the animal. The possibilities and supposed consequences of the species’ further expansion within the tract are shown as well.

  14. The Investigation of the European and Eurasian Markets for Technologies: Ukraine in Regional Patent Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grytsulenko Svitlana I.

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The exclusive right to intellectual property acts as a universally recognized tool of the modern competitive struggle for the markets for goods and technologies, which actualizes the issue of Ukraine’s participation in this process. For this purpose, based on the data from the European, Eurasian and world patent statistics, the article measures the level of inventive activity of Ukraine in the nearest regional markets for technologies. Among the relevant quantitative and qualitative indicators for the evaluation of the patenting in Ukraine and leading countries of Europe and Eurasia there analyzed: the total volume and dynamics of filing patent applications; the total volume and specific weight of patent portfolios; the high-tech patenting. Based on the results of the study, the corresponding conclusions are drawn. In particular, the huge gap between Ukraine and leaders of inventive activity predetermined the absence of any significant influence of the country on the development of innovative markets in Europe and Eurasia. The decrease in Ukraine’s striving to succeed in the above mentioned ones leads to the loss of both promising markets and entire sectors of the national economy.

  15. Converging migration routes of Eurasian hobbies Falco subbuteo crossing the African equatorial rain forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strandberg, Roine; Klaassen, Raymond H G; Hake, Mikael; Olofsson, Patrik; Alerstam, Thomas

    2009-02-22

    Autumn migration of adult Eurasian hobbies Falco subbuteo from Europe to southern Africa was recorded by satellite telemetry and observed routes were compared with randomly simulated routes. Two non-random features of observed routes were revealed: (i) shifts to more westerly longitudes than straight paths to destinations and (ii) strong route convergence towards a restricted area close to the equator (1 degree S, 15 degrees E). The birds migrated south or southwest to approximately 10 degrees N, where they changed to south-easterly courses. The maximal spread between routes at 10 degrees N (2134 km) rapidly decreased to a minimum (67 km) close to the equator. We found a striking relationship between the route convergence and the distribution of continuous rainforest, suggesting that hobbies minimize flight distance across the forest, concentrating in a corridor where habitat may be more suitable for travelling and foraging. With rainforest forming a possible ecological barrier, many migrants may cross the equator either at 15 degrees E, similar to the hobbies, or at 30-40 degrees E, east of the rainforest where large-scale migration is well documented. Much remains to be understood about the role of the rainforest for the evolution and future of the trans-equatorial Palaearctic-African bird migration systems.

  16. Radiocesium (137Cs) from the Chernobyl reactor in Eurasian woodcock and earthworms in Norway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalas, J.A.; Bretten, S.; Njastad, O.; Byrkjedal, I.

    1994-01-01

    To understand the ecological effects of the Chernobyl reactor accident, we investigated radiocesium ( 137 Cs) levels in Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), earthworms (Lambricidae), litter (dead organic materials lying on the ground), humus (beneath litter 2 cm deep), and mineral soil samples (3-6 cm deep) from a heavily effected (20-60 kBq/m 2 [1 Bq = 1 nuclear fission/sec]) area in Norway. The highest concentrations measured in earthworms (1988 median = 142 Bq/Kg) and woodcock (1986 median = 730 Bq/kg) for human food (600 Bq/kg fresh mass) only were found in woodcock during 1986. Radiocesium concentrations decreased (P < 0.001) in earthworms (40%) and woodcock (95%) from 1986 to 1990. There was no reduction in total radiocesium in soil over the same period. The relatively high radiocesium concentrations in woodcock during 1986 and the decreasing radiocesium ratio in woodcock to earthworms during the first years following fallout could have been caused by woodcock ingesting abiotic radiocesium with earthworms. The decrease in radiocesium in woodcock and earthworms during the study (1986-90) probably resulted from decreasing bioavailability of radiocesium during the first years after fallout rather than by radiocesium disappearing from the ecosystem. 38 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

  17. Legal basis for risk analysis methodology while ensuring food safety in the Eurasian Economic union and the Republic of Belarus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.V. Fedorenko

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Health risk analysis methodology is an internationally recognized tool for ensuring food safety. Three main elements of risk analysis are risk assessment, risk management and risk communication to inform the interested parties on the risk, are legislated and implemented in the Eurasian Economic Union and the Republic of Belarus. There is a corresponding organizational and functional framework for the application of risk analysis methodology as in the justification of production safety indicators and the implementation of public health surveillance. Common methodological approaches and criteria for evaluating public health risk are determined, which are used in the development and application of food safety requirements. Risk assessment can be used in justifying the indicators of safety (contaminants, food additives, and evaluating the effectiveness of programs on enrichment of food with micronutrients.

  18. Rapid Global River Flood Risk Assessment under Climate and Socioeconomic Scenarios: An Extreme Case of Eurasian region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwak, Young-joo; Magome, Jun; Hasegawa, Akira; Iwami, Yoichi

    2017-04-01

    Causing widespread devastation with massive economic damage and loss of human lives, flood disasters hamper economic growth and accelerate poverty particularly in developing countries. Globally, this trend will likely continue due to increase in flood magnitude and lack of preparedness for extreme events. In line with risk reduction efforts since the early 21st century, the monitors and governors of global river floods should pay attention to international scientific and policy communities for support to facilitate evidence-based policy making with a special interest in long-term changes due to climate change and socio-economic effects. Although advanced hydrological inundation models and risk models have been developed to reveal flood risk, hazard, exposure, and vulnerability at a river basin, it is obviously hard to identify the distribution and locations of continent-level flood risk based on national-level data. Therefore, we propose a methodological possibility for rapid global flood risk assessment with the results from its application to the two periods, i.e., Present (from 1980 to 2004) and Future (from 2075 to 2099). The method is particularly designed to effectively simplify complexities of a hazard area by calculating the differential inundation depth using GFID2M (global flood inundation depth 2-dimension model), despite low data availability. In this research, we addressed the question of which parts in the Eurasian region (8E to 180E, 0N to 60N) can be found as high-risk areas in terms of exposed population and economy in case of a 50-year return period flood. Economic losses were estimated according to the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenario, and the flood scale was defined using the annual maximum daily river discharge under the extreme conditions of climate change simulated with MRI-AGCM3.2S based on the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP8.5) emissions scenario. As a preliminary result, the total potential economic loss in the

  19. Piagetian object permanence and its development in Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucca, Paolo; Milos, Nadia; Vallortigara, Giorgio

    2007-04-01

    Object permanence in Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) was investigated using a complete version of the Uzgiris and Hunt scale 1. Nine hand-raised jays were studied, divided into two groups according to their different developmental stages (experiment 1, older jays: 2-3 months old, n = 4; experiment 2, younger jays: 15 days old, n = 5). In the first experiment, we investigated whether older jays could achieve piagetian stage 6 of object permanence. Tasks were administered in a fixed sequence (1-15) according to the protocols used in other avian species. The aim of the second experiment was to check whether testing very young jays before their development of "neophobia" could influence the achievement times of piagetian stages. Furthermore, in this experiment tasks were administered randomly to investigate whether the jays' achievement of stage 6 follows a fixed sequence related to the development of specific cognitive abilities. All jays tested in experiments 1 and 2 fully achieved piagetian stage 6 and no "A not B" errors were observed. Performance on visible displacement tasks was better than performance on invisible ones. The results of experiment 2 show that "neophobia" affected the response of jays in terms of achievement times; the older jays in experiment 1 took longer to pass all the tasks when compared with the younger, less neophobic, jays in experiment 2. With regard to the achieving order, jays followed a fixed sequence of acquisition in experiment 2, even if tasks were administered randomly, with the exception of one subject. The results of these experiments support the idea that piagetian stages of cognitive development exist in avian species and that they progress through relatively fixed sequences.

  20. Desire-state attribution: Benefits of a novel paradigm using the food-sharing behavior of Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostojić, Ljerka; Cheke, Lucy G; Shaw, Rachael C; Legg, Edward W; Clayton, Nicola S

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, we have investigated the possibility that Eurasian jay food sharing might rely on desire-state attribution. The female's desire for a particular type of food can be decreased by sating her on it (specific satiety) and the food sharing paradigm can be used to test whether the male's sharing pattern reflects the female's current desire. Our previous findings show that the male shares the food that the female currently wants. Here, we consider 3 simpler mechanisms that might explain the male's behavior: behavior reading, lack of self-other differentiation and behavioral rules. We illustrate how we have already addressed these issues and how our food sharing paradigm can be further adapted to answer outstanding questions. The flexibility with which the food sharing paradigm can be applied to rule out alternative mechanisms makes it a useful tool to study desire-state attribution in jays and other species that share food.

  1. Natural selection among Eurasians at genomic regions associated with HIV-1 control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allison David B

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background HIV susceptibility and pathogenicity exhibit both interindividual and intergroup variability. The etiology of intergroup variability is still poorly understood, and could be partly linked to genetic differences among racial/ethnic groups. These genetic differences may be traceable to different regimes of natural selection in the 60,000 years since the human radiation out of Africa. Here, we examine population differentiation and haplotype patterns at several loci identified through genome-wide association studies on HIV-1 control, as determined by viral-load setpoint, in European and African-American populations. We use genome-wide data from the Human Genome Diversity Project, consisting of 53 world-wide populations, to compare measures of FST and relative extended haplotype homozygosity (REHH at these candidate loci to the rest of the respective chromosome. Results We find that the Europe-Middle East and Europe-South Asia pairwise FST in the most strongly associated region are elevated compared to most pairwise comparisons with the sub-Saharan African group, which exhibit very low FST. We also find genetic signatures of recent positive selection (higher REHH at these associated regions among all groups except for sub-Saharan Africans and Native Americans. This pattern is consistent with one in which genetic differentiation, possibly due to diversifying/positive selection, occurred at these loci among Eurasians. Conclusions These findings are concordant with those from earlier studies suggesting recent evolutionary change at immunity-related genomic regions among Europeans, and shed light on the potential genetic and evolutionary origin of population differences in HIV-1 control.

  2. Deglaciation of the Eurasian ice sheet complex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patton, Henry; Hubbard, Alun; Andreassen, Karin; Auriac, Amandine; Whitehouse, Pippa L.; Stroeven, Arjen P.; Shackleton, Calvin; Winsborrow, Monica; Heyman, Jakob; Hall, Adrian M.

    2017-08-01

    The Eurasian ice sheet complex (EISC) was the third largest ice mass during the Last Glacial Maximum with a span of over 4500 km and responsible for around 20 m of eustatic sea-level lowering. Whilst recent terrestrial and marine empirical insights have improved understanding of the chronology, pattern and rates of retreat of this vast ice sheet, a concerted attempt to model the deglaciation of the EISC honouring these new constraints is conspicuously lacking. Here, we apply a first-order, thermomechanical ice sheet model, validated against a diverse suite of empirical data, to investigate the retreat of the EISC after 23 ka BP, directly extending the work of Patton et al. (2016) who modelled the build-up to its maximum extent. Retreat of the ice sheet complex was highly asynchronous, reflecting contrasting regional sensitivities to climate forcing, oceanic influence, and internal dynamics. Most rapid retreat was experienced across the Barents Sea sector after 17.8 ka BP when this marine-based ice sheet disintegrated at a rate of ∼670 gigatonnes per year (Gt a-1) through enhanced calving and interior dynamic thinning, driven by oceanic/atmospheric warming and exacerbated by eustatic sea-level rise. From 14.9 to 12.9 ka BP the EISC lost on average 750 Gt a-1, peaking at rates >3000 Gt a-1, roughly equally partitioned between surface melt and dynamic losses, and potentially contributing up to 2.5 m to global sea-level rise during Meltwater Pulse 1A. Independent glacio-isostatic modelling constrained by an extensive inventory of relative sea-level change corroborates our ice sheet loading history of the Barents Sea sector. Subglacial conditions were predominately temperate during deglaciation, with over 6000 subglacial lakes predicted along with an extensive subglacial drainage network. Moreover, the maximum EISC and its isostatic footprint had a profound impact on the proglacial hydrological network, forming the Fleuve Manche mega-catchment which had an area of

  3. The Effects of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) on the Foraging Success of Eurasian Perch (Perca fluviatilis) and Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dieterich, Axel; Mörtl, Martin; Eckmann, Reiner

    2004-07-01

    Complex habitat structures can influence the foraging success of fish. Competition for food between fish species can therefore depend on the competitors' abilities to cope with structural complexity. In laboratory experiments, we comparatively assessed effects of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha Pall.) on the foraging success of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus (L.)). In single-species and mixed-species experiments, the fish were fed caddisfly larvae (Tinodes waeneri (L.)) over complex (mussel-covered stones) and less-complex (bare stones) substrates. With intraspecific competition, food consumption by perch and ruffe decreased significantly when the complex substrate was used. With interspecific competition, food consumption by perch and ruffe did not change with substrate complexity, but perch clearly out-competed ruffe on both substrates. Zebra mussel beds provide a refuge for macrozoobenthos against predation by ruffe and probably also by perch. (

  4. The Eurasian ice sheet reinforces the East Asian summer monsoon during the interglacial 500 000 years ago

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiuzhen Yin

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Deep-sea and ice-core records show that interglacial periods were overall less "warm" before about 420 000 years ago than after, with relatively higher ice volume and lower greenhouse gases concentration. This is particularly the case for the interglacial Marine Isotope Stage 13 which occurred about 500 000 years ago. However, by contrast, the loess and other proxy records from China suggest an exceptionally active East Asian summer monsoon during this interglacial. A three-dimension Earth system Model of Intermediate complexity was used to understand this seeming paradox. The astronomical forcing and the remnant ice sheets present in Eurasia and North America were taken into account in a series of sensitivity experiments. Expectedly, the seasonal contrast is larger and the East Asian summer monsoon is reinforced compared to Pre-Industrial time when Northern Hemisphere summer is at perihelion. Surprisingly, the presence of the Eurasian ice sheet was found to reinforce monsoon, too, through a south-eastwards perturbation planetary wave. The trajectory of this wave is influenced by the Tibetan plateau.

  5. Change in diet of the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo suggests decline in biodiversity in Wadi Al Makhrour, Bethlehem Governorate, Palestinian Territories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amr Zuhair S.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The diet of the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo was studied in Wadi Al Makhrour, Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories in 2015 with fresh and several year old pellets. Three species of arthropods, one reptile species, at least four bird species, and six species of mammals were recovered from the studied pellets. Black rat (Rattus rattus was the most common prey (37.0%, followed by the southern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus concolor (29.4% and birds (21.8%. Comparison of recent and older pellets showed change in diet composition. Recent pellets contained more Rattus rattus compared to older ones. Older pellets included more naturally-occurring species such as Meriones tristrami, Microtus guentheri, and Rousettus aegyptiacus, which were absent in newer pellets.

  6. Genetic structure and evidence for recent population decline in Eurasian otter populations in the Czech and Slovak Republics: implications for conservation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hájková, P.; Pertoldi, C.; Ukendt, Zemanová

    2007-01-01

    Over the latter part of the 20th century, Eurasian otter Lutra lutra populations suffered dramatic declines, resulting in extinction or fragmentation of populations in many western and central European countries. Part of the Czech otter population became totally isolated while the Slovak populati...... that they remain a strongly protected species in both countries. The spreading and re-connection of otter populations observed recently is essential for the future health of the populations, and should be supported through habitat conservation......., suggesting that the strongest decline probably occurred between the 1970s and the mid-1990s. The results of this study confirm that otter populations remain vulnerable to any violent demographic change and, despite the claims of fish-farmers and anglers for legal culls, it is highly desirable...

  7. The carnivore remains from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain).

    Science.gov (United States)

    García, N; Arsuaga, J L; Torres, T

    1997-01-01

    Remains of carnivores from the Sima de los Huesos site representing at least 158 adult individuals of a primitive (i.e., not very speleoid) form of Ursus deningeri Von Reichenau 1906, have been recovered through the 1995 field season. These new finds extend our knowledge of this group in the Sierra de Atapuerca Middle Pleistocene. Material previously classified as Cuoninae indet, is now assigned to Canis lupus and a third metatarsal assigned in 1987 to Panthera of gombaszoegensis, is in our opinion only attributable to Panthera sp. The family Mustelidae is added to the faunal list and includes Martes sp. and a smaller species. The presence of Panthera leo cf. fossilis, Lynx pardina spelaea and Felis silvestris, is confirmed. The presence of a not very speloid Ursus deningeri, together with the rest of the carnivore assemblage, points to a not very late Middle Pleistocene age, i.e., oxygen isotope stage 7 or older. Relative frequencies of skeletal elements for the bear and fox samples are without major biases. The age structure of the bear sample, based on dental wear stages, does not follow the typical hibernation mortality profile and resembles a catastrophic profile. The site was not a natal or refuge den. The hypothesis that the site was a natural trap is the most plausible. If the Sima de los Huesos functioned as a natural trap (without an egress out), the human accumulation cannot be attributed to carnivore: activities and must be explained differently.

  8. Regulating Critical Period Plasticity: Insight from the Visual System to Fear Circuitry for Therapeutic Interventions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa M. Nabel

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Early temporary windows of heightened brain plasticity called critical periods developmentally sculpt neural circuits and contribute to adult behavior. Regulatory mechanisms of visual cortex development –the preeminent model of experience-dependent critical period plasticity- actively limit adult plasticity and have proved fruitful therapeutic targets to reopen plasticity and rewire faulty visual system connections later in life. Interestingly, these molecular mechanisms have been implicated in the regulation of plasticity in other functions beyond vision. Applying mechanistic understandings of critical period plasticity in the visual cortex to fear circuitry may provide a conceptual framework for developing novel therapeutic tools to mitigate aberrant fear responses in post traumatic stress disorder. In this review, we turn to the model of experience-dependent visual plasticity to provide novel insights for the mechanisms regulating plasticity in the fear system. Fear circuitry, particularly fear memory erasure, also undergoes age-related changes in experience-dependent plasticity. We consider the contributions of molecular brakes that halt visual critical period plasticity to circuitry underlying fear memory erasure. A major molecular brake in the visual cortex, perineuronal net formation, recently has been identified in the development of fear systems that are resilient to fear memory erasure. The roles of other molecular brakes, myelin-related Nogo receptor signaling and Lynx family proteins– endogenous inhibitors for nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, are explored in the context of fear memory plasticity. Such fear plasticity regulators, including epigenetic effects, provide promising targets for therapeutic interventions.

  9. Linux OS integrated modular avionics application development framework with apex API of ARINC653 specification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna V. Korneenkova

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The framework is made to provide tools to develop the integrated modular avionics (IMA applications, which could be launched on the target platform LynxOs-178 without modifying their source code. The framework usage helps students to form skills for developing modern modules of the avionics. In addition, students obtain deeper knowledge for the development of competencies in the field of technical creativity by using of the framework.The article describes the architecture and implementation of the Linux OS framework for ARINC653 compliant OS application development.The proposed approach reduces ARINC-653 application development costs and gives a unified tool to implement OS vendor independent code that meets specification. To achieve import substitution free and open-source Linux OS is used as an environment for developing IMA applications.The proposed framework is applicable for using as the tool to develop IMA applications and as the tool for development of the following competencies: the ability to master techniques of using software to solve practical problems, the ability to develop components of hardware and software systems and databases, using modern tools and programming techniques, the ability to match hardware and software tools in the information and automated systems, the readiness to apply the fundamentals of informatics and programming to designing, constructing and testing of software products, the readiness to apply basic methods and tools of software development, knowledge of various technologies of software development.

  10. Analysis of membrane proteome by data-dependent LC-MS/MS combined with data-independent LC-MSE technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Kwon

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Proteomics work resembles the search for a needle in a haystack. The identification of protein biomarker requires the removal of the false protein data from the whole protein mixture. For high quality proteomic data, even a strict filtration step using the false discovery rate (FDR is insufficient for obtaining perfect protein information from the biological samples. In this study, the cyanobacterial whole membrane fraction was applied to the data-dependent analysis (DDA mode of LC-MS/MS, which was used along with the data-independent LC-MSE technique in order to evaluate the membrane proteomic data. Furthermore, the identified MSE-information (MSE-i data based on the peptide mass and the retention time were validated by the other database search, i.e., the probability-based MASCOT and de novo search engine PEAKS. In this present study, 208 cyanobacterial proteins with FDR of 5% were identified using the data-independent nano-UPLC/MSE acquisition with the Protein Lynx Global Server (PLGS, and 56 of these proteins were the predicted membrane proteins. When a total of 208 MSE-i proteomic data were applied to the DDA mode of LC-MS/MS, the number of identified membrane proteins was 26 and 33 from MASCOT and PEAKS with a FDR of 5%, respectively. The number of totally overlapped membrane proteins was 25. Therefore, the data-independent LC-MSE identified more proteins with a high confidence.

  11. Rapidly deteriorating course in Dutch hereditary spastic paraplegia type 11 patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Bot, Susanne T; Burggraaff, Rogier C; Herkert, Johanna C; Schelhaas, Helenius J; Post, Bart; Diekstra, Adinda; van Vliet, Reinout O; van der Knaap, Marjo S; Kamsteeg, Erik-Jan; Scheffer, Hans; van de Warrenburg, Bart P; Verschuuren-Bemelmans, Corien C; Kremer, Hubertus PH

    2013-01-01

    Although SPG11 is the most common complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia, our knowledge of the long-term prognosis and life expectancy is limited. We therefore studied the disease course of all patients with a proven SPG11 mutation as tested in our laboratory, the single Dutch laboratory providing SPG11 mutation analysis, between 1 January 2009 and 1 January 2011. We identified nine different SPG11 mutations, four of which are novel, in nine index patients. Eighteen SPG11 patients from these nine families were studied by means of a retrospective chart analysis and additional interview/examination. Ages at onset were between 4 months and 14 years; 39% started with learning difficulties rather than gait impairment. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a thin corpus callosum and typical periventricular white matter changes in the frontal horn region (known as the ‘ears-of the lynx'-sign) in all. Most patients became wheelchair bound after a disease duration of 1 to 2 decades. End-stage disease consisted of loss of spontaneous speech, severe dysphagia, spastic tetraplegia with peripheral nerve involvement and contractures. Several patients died of complications between ages 30 and 48 years, 3–4 decades after onset of gait impairment. Other relevant features during the disease were urinary and fecal incontinence, obesity and psychosis. Our study of 18 Dutch SPG11-patients shows the potential serious long-term consequences of SPG11 including a possibly restricted life span. PMID:23443022

  12. Use of somatic cell banks in the conservation of wild felids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Praxedes, Érika A; Borges, Alana A; Santos, Maria V O; Pereira, Alexsandra F

    2018-05-03

    The conservation of biological resources is an interesting strategy for the maintenance of biodiversity, especially for wild felids who are constantly threatened with extinction. For this purpose, cryopreservation techniques have been used for the long-term storage of gametes, embryos, gonadal tissues, and somatic cells and tissues. The establishment of these banks has been suggested as a practical approach to the preservation of species and, when done in tandem with assisted reproductive techniques, could provide the means for reproducing endangered species. Somatic cell banks have been shown remarkable for the conservation of genetic material of felids; by merely obtaining skin samples, it is possible to sample a large group of individuals without being limited by factors such as gender or age. Thus, techniques for somatic tissue recovery, cryopreservation, and in vitro culture of different wild felids have been developed, resulting in a viable method for the conservation of species. One of the most notable conservation programs for wild felines using somatic samples was the one carried out for the Iberian lynx, the most endangered feline in the world. Other wild felids have also been studied in other continents, such as the jaguar in South America. This review aims to present the technical progress achieved in the conservation of somatic cells and tissues in different wild felids, as well address the progress that has been achieved in a few species. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. The O VI Mystery: Mismatch between X-Ray and UV Column Densities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathur, S.; Nicastro, F.; Gupta, A.; Krongold, Y.; McLaughlin, B. M.; Brickhouse, N.; Pradhan, A.

    2017-12-01

    The UV spectra of Galactic and extragalactic sightlines often show O VI absorption lines at a range of redshifts, and from a variety of sources from the Galactic circumgalactic medium to active galactic nuclei (AGN) outflows. Inner shell O VI absorption is also observed in X-ray spectra (at λ =22.03 Å), but the column density inferred from the X-ray line was consistently larger than that from the UV line. Here we present a solution to this discrepancy for the z = 0 systems. The O II Kβ line {}4{S}0\\to {(}3D)3{p}4P at 562.40 eV (≡22.04 Å) is blended with the O VI Kα line in X-ray spectra. We estimate the strength of this O II line in two different ways, and show that in most cases the O II line accounts for the entire blended line. The small amount of O VI equivalent width present in some cases has column density entirely consistent with the UV value. This solution to the O VI discrepancy, however, does not apply to high column-density systems like AGN outflows. We discuss other possible causes to explain their UV/X-ray mismatch. The O VI and O II lines will be resolved by gratings on board the proposed mission Arcus and the concept mission Lynx, and would allow the detection of weak O VI lines not just at z = 0, but also at higher redshift.

  14. The role of Chandra in ten years from now and for the next few decades of astrophysical research

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Becker, Glenn E.; McCollough, Michael L.; Rots, Arnold H.; Thong, Sinh A.; Van Stone, David; Winkelman, Sherry

    2018-06-01

    For almost twenty years, Chandra has advanced our understanding of the X-ray Universe by allowing astronomers to peer into a previously unexplored region of the high-energy observational parameters space. Thanks to its longevity,the mission has accumulated a large, unique body of observations whose legacy value, already tangible at this point, will only increase with time, and whose long-lasting influence extends well beyond the energy interval probed by Chandra. The Chandra archive, through the extensive characterization of the links between observations and literature, has measured the impact of Chandra on the astrophysical literature at a high level of granularity, providing striking evidence of how deeply and widely Chandra has impacted the advancement of both high-energy astrophysics and astronomical research from a multi-wavelength perspective. In this talk, based on the missions that have been submitted for recommendation at the next decadal survey and the possible outcomes of the evaluation process, I will discuss how Chandra archival data can be used to anticipate the projected scientific success and long-lasting effects of a X-ray mission like Lynx or, differently, how they will become instrumental to maximize the scientific output of a new generation of facilities that will observe in different energies. I will argue that, in either scenario, the centrality of Chandra will extend well after the final demise of the mission, and its data will continue serving the community in many different ways for the foreseeable future.

  15. Radioecological modelling of Polonium-210 and Caesium-137 in lichen-reindeer-man and top predators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persson, Bertil R R; Gjelsvik, Runhild; Holm, Elis

    2018-06-01

    This work deals with analysis and modelling of the radionuclides 210 Pb and 210 Po in the food-chain lichen-reindeer-man in addition to 210 Po and 137 Cs in top predators. By using the methods of Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) the atmospheric deposition of 210 Pb and 210 Po is predicted at the sample locations. Dynamic modelling of the activity concentration with differential equations is fitted to the sample data. Reindeer lichen consumption, gastrointestinal absorption, organ distribution and elimination is derived from information in the literature. Dynamic modelling of transfer of 210 Pb and 210 Po to reindeer meat, liver and bone from lichen consumption, fitted well with data from Sweden and Finland from 1966 to 1971. The activity concentration of 210 Pb in the skeleton in man is modelled by using the results of studying the kinetics of lead in skeleton and blood in lead-workers after end of occupational exposure. The result of modelling 210 Pb and 210 Po activity in skeleton matched well with concentrations of 210 Pb and 210 Po in teeth from reindeer-breeders and autopsy bone samples in Finland. The results of 210 Po and 137 Cs in different tissues of wolf, wolverine and lynx previously published, are analysed with multivariate data processing methods such as Principal Component Analysis PCA, and modelled with the method of Projection to Latent Structures, PLS, or Partial Least Square Regression PLSR. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Comments on 'Origin of British and Irish mammals: disparate post-glacial colonisation and species introductions' by W.I. Montgomery, J. Provan, A.M. McCabe, and D.W. Yalden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Ceiridwen J.

    2014-12-01

    Montgomery et al.'s recent paper in QSR (2014; vol. 98: 144-165) is a most welcome addition to the ongoing research into the origins of Irish mammals. In their Table 1, the authors have used "calibrated carbon dating, comparable stratigraphy and historical records … to establish the earliest known time of arrival of a species in […] Ireland […] where relevant, the latest record of a mammal species [was] used to establish the earliest date after which it was extinct". It is assumed that the dates mentioned in this table are, therefore, calibrated. However, this is very unclear - when dates generated by the Irish Quaternary Fauna project (Woodman et al., 1997) are compared with those used by Montgomery et al. (2014), the earliest recorded dates of Mountain/Irish hare, Irish stoat, lynx and pine marten seem to be direct uncalibrated dates. It is also unclear whether the earliest and latest records of each species relate to all published data available at the time of writing. Even if only consulting those dates generated by Woodman et al. (1997), there are older earliest records for Arctic Fox, Collared lemming and grey wolf. In addition, Montgomery et al. (2014) do not seem to have included early radiocarbon dates for giant deer, reindeer and red deer (Woodman et al., 1997; Carden et al., 2012), or any of the recent radiocarbon dates for brown bear (Edwards et al., 2011), despite reference to these papers.

  17. Evaluation of potential interactions between forest biomass production and Canadian wildlife. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coulombe, R.; Lemay, A.B.

    1983-06-01

    Forest management for biomass production can be undertaken in all provinces of Canada. Raw material can be extracted either from sawmills, logged areas, silvicultural treatments or short-rotation intensive culture. All forests are suitable habitats for wildlife. However, some species (e.g. woodland caribou, lynx, marten, owl) are extremely dependant on mature forests. Logging these forests generally contributes to reduction of habitats and thus populations. Management of second growth forests should take into consideration these species by extending rotations so part of the forests will serve the species. Removal of snags and downed logs to increase amount of raw material will contribute to reduced habitats of, for instance, tree-nesting birds. As these aspects have not been intensively studied within the Canadian forest regions, interactions can hardly be specified. Studies are recommended to analyse the overall problems and define measures to prevent detrimental effects. Other species (rare, threatened or endangered) will need specific attention and precaution while managing forests. Some are highly sensitive to noise and human disturbance (e.g. whooping crane, white pelican, peregrine falcon), others are very sensitive to harassment. Increased human presence within managed forests will necessitate more educational programs to prevent detrimental effects. Some species of reptiles, amphibians and fish are so poorly documented that only basic studies of the biology, ecology and distribution will permit to identify and evaluate interactions with these new forestry concepts. 289 refs., 19 figs., 36 tabs.

  18. Reference-free SNP discovery for the Eurasian beaver from restriction site-associated DNA paired-end data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senn, Helen; Ogden, Rob; Cezard, Timothee; Gharbi, Karim; Iqbal, Zamin; Johnson, Eric; Kamps-Hughes, Nick; Rosell, Frank; McEwing, Ross

    2013-06-01

    In this study, we used restriction site-associated DNA (RAD) sequencing to discover SNP markers suitable for population genetic and parentage analysis with the aim of using them for monitoring the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fibre) to Scotland. In the absence of a reference genome for beaver, we built contigs and discovered SNPs within them using paired-end RAD data, so as to have sufficient flanking region around the SNPs to conduct marker design. To do this, we used a simple pipeline which catalogued the Read 1 data in stacks and then used the assembler cortex_var to conduct de novo assembly and genotyping of multiple samples using the Read 2 data. The analysis of around 1.1 billion short reads of sequence data was reduced to a set of 2579 high-quality candidate SNP markers that were polymorphic in Norwegian and Bavarian beaver. Both laboratory validation of a subset of eight of the SNPs (1.3% error) and internal validation by confirming patterns of Mendelian inheritance in a family group (0.9% error) confirmed the success of this approach. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. The full annual carbon balance of Eurasian boreal forests is highly sensitive to precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Öquist, Mats; Bishop, Kevin; Grelle, Achim; Klemedtsson, Leif; Köhler, Stephan; Laudon, Hjalmar; Lindroth, Anders; Ottosson Löfvenius, Mikaell; Wallin, Marcus; Nilsson, Mats

    2013-04-01

    Boreal forest biomes are identified as one of the major sinks for anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 and are also predicted to be particularly sensitive to climate change. Recent advances in understanding the carbon balance of these biomes stems mainly from eddy-covariance measurements of the net ecosystem exchange (NEE). However, NEE includes only the vertical CO2 exchange driven by photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration. A full net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) also requires inclusion of lateral carbon export (LCE) through catchment discharge. Currently LCE is often regarded as negligible for the NECB of boreal forest ecosystems of the northern hemisphere, commonly corresponding to ~5% of annual NEE. Here we use long term (13 year) data showing that annual LCE and NEE are strongly correlated (p=0.003); years with low C sequestration by the forest coincide with years when lateral C loss is high. The fraction of NEE lost annually through LCE varied markedly from solar radiation caused by clouds. The dual effect of precipitation implies that both the observed and the predicted increases in annual precipitation at high latitudes may reduce NECB in boreal forest ecosystems. Based on regional scaling of hydrological discharge and observed spatio-temporal variations in forest NEE we conclude that our finding is relevant for large areas of the boreal Eurasian landscape.

  20. The SE sector of the Middle Weichselian Eurasian Ice Sheet was much smaller than assumed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Räsänen, Matti E.; Huitti, Janne V.; Bhattarai, Saroj; Harvey, Jerry; Huttunen, Sanna

    2015-08-01

    Quaternary climatic and glacial history must be known in order to understand future environments. Reconstructions of the last Weichselian glacial cycle 117,000-11,700 years (kyr) ago propose that S Finland, adjacent Russia and the Baltic countries in the SE sector of the Eurasian Ice Sheet (EIS), were glaciated during the Middle Weichselian time [marine isotope stage (MIS) 4, 71-57 kyr ago] and that this glaciation was preceded in S Finland by an Early Weichselian interstadial (MIS 5c, 105-93 kyr ago) with pine forest. We apply glacial sequence stratigraphy to isolated Late Pleistocene onshore outcrop sections and show, that these events did not take place. The one Late Weichselian glaciation (MIS 2, 29-11 kyr ago) was preceded in S Finland by a nearly 90 kyr non-glacial period, featuring tundra with permafrost and probably birch forest. Our new Middle Weichselian paleoenvironmental scenario revises the configuration and hydrology of the S part of EIS and gives new setting for the evolution of Scandinavian biota. If future development during the coming glacial cycle proves to be similar, the high-level nuclear waste stored in the bedrock of SW Finland should be located deeper than currently planned, i.e. below any possible future permafrost.

  1. Explaining individual- and country-level variations in unregistered employment using a multi-level model: evidence from 35 Eurasian countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krasniqi Besnik A.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to evaluate the individual- and country-level variations in unregistered employment. To analyse whether it is marginalised groups who are more likely to engage in unregistered employment and explain the country-level variations, a 2010 Life in Transition Survey (LiTS involving 38,864 interviews in 35 Eurasian countries is reported. Multilevel logistic regression analysis reveals that younger age groups, the divorced, and those with fewer years in education, are more likely to be unregistered employed. On a country-level, meanwhile, the prevalence of unregistered employment is strongly associated with tax morale; the greater the asymmetry between informal and formal institutions, the greater is the prevalence of unregistered employment. It is also higher when GDP per capita as well as social distribution and state intervention (subsidies and transfers, social contribution expenditure, health expenditure are lower. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications.

  2. Repeatability and consistency of individual behaviour in juvenile and adult Eurasian harvest mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuster, Andrea C.; Carl, Teresa; Foerster, Katharina

    2017-04-01

    Knowledge on animal personality has provided new insights into evolutionary biology and animal ecology, as behavioural types have been shown to affect fitness. Animal personality is characterized by repeatable and consistent between-individual behavioural differences throughout time and across different situations. Behavioural repeatability within life history stages and consistency between life history stages should be checked for the independence of sex and age, as recent data have shown that males and females in some species may differ in the repeatability of behavioural traits, as well as in their consistency. We measured the repeatability and consistency of three behavioural and one cognitive traits in juvenile and adult Eurasian harvest mice ( Micromys minutus). We found that exploration, activity and boldness were repeatable in juveniles and adults. Spatial recognition measured in a Y Maze was only repeatable in adult mice. Exploration, activity and boldness were consistent before and after maturation, as well as before and after first sexual contact. Data on spatial recognition provided little evidence for consistency. Further, we found some evidence for a litter effect on behaviours by comparing different linear mixed models. We concluded that harvest mice express animal personality traits as behaviours were repeatable across sexes and consistent across life history stages. The tested cognitive trait showed low repeatability and was less consistent across life history stages. Given the rising interest in individual variation in cognitive performance, and in its relationship to animal personality, we suggest that it is important to gather more data on the repeatability and consistency of cognitive traits.

  3. Stichorchis subtriquetrus (Digenea: Paramphistomatidae) from Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in the Czech Republic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Máca, Ondřej; Pavlásek, Ivan; Vorel, Aleš

    2015-08-01

    Between March 2012 and April 2014, we performed post-mortem parasitological examinations of 11 Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758) from the basins of four main rivers (Dyje, Labe, Morava, Vltava) in the Czech Republic. The cause of death of five adult animals was unknown, three adult animals died after being hit by cars, while one young and one adult as a result of serious injuries and one juvenile male drowned. The trematode Stichorchis subtriquetrus (Rudolphi, 1814) Lühe, 1909 was only found in the caecum body and caecum apex of nine beavers (82%), with no significant differences in parasite intensity among beavers. The highest number of trematodes (271) occurred in an adult female in July 2013; while a range of 1-57 individuals were found in other positive beavers. S. subtriquetrus size in both parts of the caecum was 11.0-17.0 × 5.5-8.0 mm (mean 14.3 × 6.9 mm). Results demonstrated that for the optimal detection of eggs, it was necessary to examine at least 10 g of faeces with a new modified method of sedimentation. The size range of 30 eggs was 157.1-182.5 × 99.3-109.8 μm (mean 168.0 × 104.4 μm). There were no differences in prevalence and seasonal occurrence of S. subtriquetrus between male and female beavers. We did not find any other intestinal endoparasites or tissue parasites (Sarcocystis spp., Trichinella spp.).

  4. Interactions among zebra mussel shells, invertebrate prey, and Eurasian ruffe or yellow perch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolar, C.S.; Fullerton, A.H.; Martin, K.M.; Lamberti, G.A.

    2002-01-01

    The exotic zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is established in all of the Laurentian Great Lakes and may affect benthivorous fishes by increasing the complexity of benthic substrates and changing energy flow patterns within the food web. Native yellow perch, Perca flavescens, and the nonindigenous Eurasian ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus, are benthivores that may compete for limited food resources. As ruffe spread to areas with more dense zebra mussel populations, the zone of interaction among zebra mussels, yellow perch, and ruffe will increase and intensify. In the laboratory, the effect of zebra mussel shells on the ability of these fishes to forage on amphipods (Gammarus pseudolimnaeus) and chironomids (Chironomus plumosus) was examined in light and darkness. In 12 h, ruffe consumed more amphipods than did similar-sized yellow perch, particularly in darkness on bare cobble, and in light within zebra mussels. Amphipods decreased activity more in the presence of ruffe than yellow perch. More amphipods were found in zebra mussel shells than in bare cobble, whether or not fish were present. In darkness, when ruffe consumed more amphipods on bare cobble, amphipods became more associated with zebra mussel shells. Although ruffe consumed more amphipods than yellow perch, perch consumed more chironomids than ruffe on bare cobble. The presence of zebra mussel shells altered the relative consumption of invertebrates in some substrate-light combinations. Experiments such as these help to improve understanding of the direct and indirect effects of predation between and among native and nonindigenous species that may exert structuring forces on the nearshore communities of the Great Lakes currently or in the future.

  5. Detection of Babesia DNA in blood and spleen samples from Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in Scotland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartley, Paul M; Wilson, Cari; Innes, Elisabeth A; Katzer, Frank

    2017-08-01

    Babesia are intraerythrocytic parasites of importance worldwide within the fields of human and veterinary medicine, as some Babesia sp., including Babesia microti are potentially zoonotic and can cause fatal disease in both humans and animals. The aims of this study were to use a nested PCR (amplifying the 18S rRNA gene) to determine the presence and species of Babesia parasite DNA found in blood (n = 47) and spleen (n = 47) samples collected from Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in Scotland. The results showed 28/47 (59·6%) blood and 14/47 (29·8%) spleen samples tested positive for the presence of Babesia DNA. Initial sequence analysis of the Babesia DNA identified three distinct sequence types (submitted to GenBank KX528553, KX528554 and KX528555), which demonstrated ⩾99% identity to Babesia sp. parasites previously identified in badgers in Spain (KT223484 and KT223485). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the three isolates are closely related to Babesia annae, B. microti and other Piroplasmida species found in wildlife. Further sequence analysis of the samples demonstrated that the badgers were routinely infected with more than one parasite isolate and there was also evidence of genetic recombination between the Babesia parasite isolates (submitted to GenBank KY250472 - KY250477).

  6. Evaluating the sensitivity of Eurasian forest biomass to climate change using a dynamic vegetation model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shuman, J K; Shugart, H H

    2009-01-01

    Climate warming could strongly influence the structure and composition of the Eurasian boreal forest. Temperature related changes have occurred, including shifts in treelines and changes in regeneration. Dynamic vegetation models are well suited to the further exploration of the impacts that climate change may have on boreal forests. Using the individual-based gap model FAREAST, forest composition and biomass are simulated at over 2000 sites across Eurasia. Biomass output is compared to detailed forest data from a representative sample of Russian forests and a sensitivity analysis is performed to evaluate the impact that elevated temperatures and modified precipitation will have on forest biomass and composition in Eurasia. Correlations between model and forest inventory biomass are strong for several boreal tree species. A significant relationship is shown between altered precipitation and biomass. This analysis showed that a modest increase in temperature of 2 deg. C across 200 years had no significant effect on biomass; however further exploration with increased warming reflective of values measured within Siberia, or at an increased rate, are warranted. Overall, FAREAST accurately simulates forest biomass and composition at sites throughout a large geographic area with widely varying climatic conditions and produces reasonable biomass responses to simulated climatic shifts. These results indicate that this model is robust and useful in making predictions regarding the effect of future climate change on boreal forest structure across Eurasia.

  7. Subduction history of the Paleo-Pacific plate beneath the Eurasian continent: Evidence from Mesozoic igneous rocks and accretionary complex in NE Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, W.

    2015-12-01

    Mesozoic magmatisms in NE China can be subdivided into seven stages, i.e., Late Triassic, Early Jurassic, Middle Jurassic, Late Jurassic, early Early Cretaceous, late Early Cretaceous, and Late Cretaceous. Late Triassic magmatisms consist of calc-alkaline igneous rocks in the Erguna Massif, and bimodal igneous rocks in eastern margin of Eurasian continent. The former reveals southward subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk oceanic plate, the latter reveals an extensional environment (Xu et al., 2013). Early Jurassic magmatisms are composed of calc-alkaline igneous rocks in the eastern margin of the Eurasian continent and the Erguna Massif, revealing westward subduction of the Paleo-pacific plate and southward subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk oceanic plate (Tang et al., 2015), respectively. Middle Jurassic magmatism only occur in the Great Xing'an Range and the northern margin of the NCC, and consists of adakitic rocks that formed in crustal thickening, reflecting the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk ocean (Li et al., 2015). Late Jurassic and early Early Cretaceous magmatisms only occur to the west of the Songliao Basin, and consist of trackyandesite and A-type of rhyolites, revealing an extensional environment related to delamination of thickened crust. The late Early Cretaceous magmatisms are widespread in NE China, and consist of calc-alkaline volcanics in eastern margin and bimodal volcanics in intracontinent, revealing westward subduction of the Paleo-pacific plate. Late Cretaceous magmatisms mainly occur to the east of the Songliao Basin, and consist of calc-alkaline volcanics in eastern margin and alkaline basalts in intracontinent (Xu et al., 2013), revealing westward subduction of the Paleo-pacific plate. The Heilongjiang complex with Early Jurassic deformation, together with Jurassic Khabarovsk complex in Russia Far East and Mino-Tamba complex in Japan, reveal Early Jurassic accretionary history. Additionally, the Raohe complex with the age of ca. 169 Ma was

  8. ANALYSIS OF LEGAL AND METHODOLOGICAL GROUNDS FOR RISK-ORIENTED SURVEILLANCE OVER CONSUMER PRODUCTS: TASKS AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS IN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.V. Zaitseva

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper dwells on basic legal and sub-legislative documents issued in the EU, the USA, Canada, by the WTO and Codex Alimentarius Commission which provide control of consumer products safety on the basis of assessing risks for consumers' life and health. Risk-oriented surveillance is shown as a system which makes for lower loads on business but still provides systemic control over most hazardous products. The EU legislation fixes the right to perform supranational control over state control systems existing in the EU member states in terms of their relevance and legitimacy. This supranational control is supported by organizational structures and regulatory and methodological documents. National control systems are systematically reviewed and analyzed in order to secure their conformity to supranational regulatory acts, to detect any cases of non-compliance, and to spread the best practices. Risk analysis reviews and results are open and discussable. As a result of products hazards assessment their turnover can be limited, or they can be withdrawn from the market, or additional information on hazards or risks they may cause is to be provided for consumers. Public and constantly operating systems of informing about hazardous goods are well-developed. International experience and practices in the sphere of risk-oriented surveillance over consumer products can be and should be applied in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU countries. The Eurasian Economic Union countries fix orientation at observing consumer goods safety principles in their legislation. There are also legal grounds for and practices in the sphere of risk-oriented approach to products manufactures. But it is necessary to further develop a products classification system as per consumer health risk parameters. And this task requires working out unified approaches to classification of both eatable and non-eatable products. It seems relevant to develop a public analytical database of risk

  9. Carnivore distributions across chaparral habitats exposed to wildfire and rural housing in southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuette, P.A.; Diffendorfer, J.E.; Deutschman, D.H.; Tremor, S.; Spencer, W.

    2014-01-01

    Chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitats in southern California support biologically diverse plant and animal communities. However, native plant and animal species within these shrubland systems are increasingly exposed to human-caused wildfires and an expansion of the human–wildland interface. Few data exist to evaluate the effects of fire and anthropogenic pressures on plant and animal communities found in these environments. This is particularly true for carnivore communities. To address this knowledge gap, we collected detection–non-detection data with motion-sensor cameras and track plots to measure carnivore occupancy patterns following a large, human-caused wildfire (1134 km2) in eastern San Diego County, California, USA, in 2003. Our focal species set included coyote (Canis latrans), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), bobcat (Lynx rufus) and striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). We evaluated the influence on species occupancies of the burned environment (burn edge, burn interior and unburned areas), proximity of rural homes, distance to riparian area and elevation. Gray fox occupancies were the highest overall, followed by striped skunk, coyote and bobcat. The three species considered as habitat and foraging generalists (gray fox, coyote, striped skunk) were common in all conditions. Occupancy patterns were consistent through time for all species except coyote, whose occupancies increased through time. In addition, environmental and anthropogenic variables had weak effects on all four species, and these responses were species-specific. Our results helped to describe a carnivore community exposed to frequent fire and rural human residences, and provide baseline data to inform fire management policy and wildlife management strategies in similar fire-prone ecosystems.

  10. Keanekaragaman dan Kerapatan Rumput Laut Alami Perairan Pulau Serangan Denpasar Bali

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ni Desak Putu Dita Herlinawati

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Serangan Island was a costal area located in the Serangan village, South Denpasar district, near with Sanur and Nusa Dua tourism area. Serangan beach has a biodiversity such as natural macroalgae. This study was conducted in January 2017 at the seaweed cultivation area with the aims of research were to know the variety and density of macroalgae. The method used was a 1x1 m quadrat transect. Sampling was carried out during low tide. Macroalgae found in the area, consist of 12 species namely Ulva lactuca, Chaetomorpha linum. Chaetomorpha aera, Padina australis, Sargassum fluitans, Turbinaria ornate, Gelidium sp., Hypnea cornuta, Hypnea spicifera, Gracilaria salicornia, Acanthophora spicifera, Halimeda opuntia. Those species were belonging to 3 divisi namely Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, Rhodophyta. The highest density of macroalgae was Padina australis while the lowest density was Chaetomorpha linum. Type of dominated macroalgae was from a group of Phaeophyta (brown algae with highest dominance from the species of Padina australis. Water quality namely acidity (pH was in the range of 7.54 to 7.75, salinity of 31.33-32.00 ppt, the water temperature was 26.50-27.30? C, which all was categorized as the optimal parameters for the growth of macroalgae. Assosiation of biota found were 9 species namely fish of larva, Cypraea lynx (Molusca, Emerita sp., Halodule sp., Synapta maculate, Enhalus acoroides, Cymodocea serrulata, Hermit crab, Ophiuroidea sp. The conditions coastal waters substrate was varied from white sand stone type to stony type by coral pieces.

  11. Trypanosoma cruzi strain TcIV infects raccoons from Illinois

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cailey Vandermark

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND The northern limits of Trypanosoma cruzi across the territory of the United States remain unknown. The known vectors Triatoma sanguisuga and T. lecticularia find their northernmost limits in Illinois; yet, earlier screenings of those insects did not reveal the presence of the pathogen, which has not been reported in vectors or reservoir hosts in this state. OBJECTIVES Five species of medium-sized mammals were screened for the presence of T. cruzi. METHODS Genomic DNA was isolated from heart, spleen and skeletal muscle of bobcats (Lynx rufus, n = 60, raccoons (Procyon lotor, n = 37, nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus, n = 5, Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana, n = 3, and a red fox (Vulpes vulpes. Infections were detected targeting DNA from the kinetoplast DNA minicircle (kDNA and satellite DNA (satDNA. The discrete typing unit (DTU was determined by amplifying two gene regions: the Spliced Leader Intergenic Region (SL, via a multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and the 24Sα ribosomal DNA via a heminested reaction. Resulting sequences were used to calculate their genetic distance against reference DTUs. FINDINGS 18.9% of raccoons were positive for strain TcIV; the rest of mammals tested negative. MAIN CONCLUSIONS These results confirm for the first time the presence of T. cruzi in wildlife from Illinois, suggesting that a sylvatic life cycle is likely to occur in the region. The analyses of sequences of SL suggest that amplicons resulting from a commonly used multiplex reaction may yield non-homologous fragments.

  12. Roads influence movement and home ranges of a fragmentation-sensitive carnivore, the bobcat, in an urban landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poessel, Sharon A; Boydston, Erin E.; Lyren, Lisa M.; Fisher, Robert N.; Burdett, Christopher L.; Alonso, Robert S.; Crooks, Kevin R.

    2014-01-01

    Roads in urbanized areas can impact carnivore populations by constraining their movements and increasing mortality. Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are felids capable of living in urban environments, but are sensitive to habitat fragmentation and, thus, useful indicators of landscape connectivity; in particular, bobcat habitat selection, movement, and mortality may be affected by roads. We analyzed movement patterns of 52 bobcats in southern California in three study sites and investigated: (1) how bobcats responded to two types of roads within their home ranges; (2) how they placed their home ranges with respect to roads within the study area; and (3) whether male and female bobcats differed in their behavioral responses to roads. Within home ranges, primary and secondary roads did not influence movements, but bobcats more frequently crossed secondary roads when road densities were higher within their home ranges, thus increasing mortality risk. However, road densities within each study site were several times higher than road densities within home ranges, suggesting bobcats selected against roaded areas in home-range placement. Male home ranges bordering roads were smaller than home ranges for other males, but male home ranges containing roads were larger than those without roads. Male bobcats also were more likely to cross roads than females, potentially reflecting larger male home range sizes. Our results suggest roads have important impacts on urban bobcats, with stronger effects on males than females, and continued efforts to mitigate the effects of roads on carnivores and other fragmentation-sensitive species would help promote connectivity conservation in urban systems.

  13. Automatic Road Sign Inventory Using Mobile Mapping Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soilán, M.; Riveiro, B.; Martínez-Sánchez, J.; Arias, P.

    2016-06-01

    The periodic inspection of certain infrastructure features plays a key role for road network safety and preservation, and for developing optimal maintenance planning that minimize the life-cycle cost of the inspected features. Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS) use laser scanner technology in order to collect dense and precise three-dimensional point clouds that gather both geometric and radiometric information of the road network. Furthermore, time-stamped RGB imagery that is synchronized with the MMS trajectory is also available. In this paper a methodology for the automatic detection and classification of road signs from point cloud and imagery data provided by a LYNX Mobile Mapper System is presented. First, road signs are detected in the point cloud. Subsequently, the inventory is enriched with geometrical and contextual data such as orientation or distance to the trajectory. Finally, semantic content is given to the detected road signs. As point cloud resolution is insufficient, RGB imagery is used projecting the 3D points in the corresponding images and analysing the RGB data within the bounding box defined by the projected points. The methodology was tested in urban and road environments in Spain, obtaining global recall results greater than 95%, and F-score greater than 90%. In this way, inventory data is obtained in a fast, reliable manner, and it can be applied to improve the maintenance planning of the road network, or to feed a Spatial Information System (SIS), thus, road sign information can be available to be used in a Smart City context.

  14. Novel Hepatozoon in vertebrates from the southern United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Kelly E; Yabsley, Michael J; Johnson, Eileen M; Reichard, Mason V; Panciera, Roger J; Ewing, Sidney A; Little, Susan E

    2011-08-01

    Novel Hepatozoon spp. sequences collected from previously unrecognized vertebrate hosts in North America were compared with documented Hepatozoon 18S rRNA sequences in an effort to examine phylogenetic relationships between the different Hepatozoon organisms found cycling in nature. An approximately 500-base pair fragment of 18S rDNA common to Hepatozoon spp. and some other apicomplexans was amplified and sequenced from the tissues or blood of 16 vertebrate host species from the southern United States, including 1 opossum (Didelphis virginiana), 2 bobcats (Lynx rufus), 1 domestic cat (Felis catus), 3 coyotes (Canis latrans), 1 gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), 4 raccoons (Procyon lotor), 1 pet boa constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator), 1 swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus), 1 cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus), 4 woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes and Neotoma micropus), 3 white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), 8 cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), 1 cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus), 1 eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), and 1 woodchuck (Marmota monax). Phylogenetic analyses and comparison with sequences in the existing database revealed distinct groups of Hepatozoon spp., with clusters formed by sequences obtained from scavengers and carnivores (opossum, raccoons, canids, and felids) and those obtained from rodents. Surprisingly, Hepatozoon spp. sequences from wild rabbits were most closely related to sequences obtained from carnivores (97.2% identical), and the sequence from the boa constrictor was most closely related to the rodent cluster (97.4% identical). These data are consistent with recent work identifying prey-predator transmission cycles in Hepatozoon spp. and suggest this pattern may be more common than previously recognized.

  15. The importance of motivation, weapons, and foul odors in driving encounter competition in carnivores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Maximilian L; Wilmers, Christopher C; Elbroch, L Mark; Golla, Julie M; Wittmer, Heiko U

    2016-08-01

    Encounter competition is interference competition in which animals directly contend for resources. Ecological theory predicts the trait that determines the resource holding potential (RHP), and hence the winner of encounter competition, is most often body size or mass. The difficulties of observing encounter competition in complex organisms in natural environments, however, has limited opportunities to test this theory across diverse species. We studied the outcome of encounter competition contests among mesocarnivores at deer carcasses in California to determine the most important variables for winning these contests. We found some support for current theory in that body mass is important in determining the winner of encounter competition, but we found that other factors including hunger and species-specific traits were also important. In particular, our top models were "strength and hunger" and "size and hunger," with models emphasizing the complexity of variables influencing outcomes of encounter competition. In addition, our wins above predicted (WAP) statistic suggests that an important aspect that determines the winner of encounter competition is species-specific advantages that increase their RHP, as bobcats (Lynx rufus) and spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis) won more often than predicted based on mass. In complex organisms, such as mesocarnivores, species-specific adaptations, including strategic behaviors, aggressiveness, and weapons, contribute to competitive advantages and may allow certain species to take control or defend resources better than others. Our results help explain how interspecific competition shapes the occurrence patterns of species in ecological communities. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

  16. On a Possible Source of Some of the Images in the Annalistic Pokhvala to Prince Roman Mstislavich

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vadym I. Stavyskyi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The subject of this article is the text known as the “Eulogy (Pokhvala to Prince Roman Mstislavich Galitsky,” which is from the opening section of the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle. The author of the article amplifies remarks made by Alexander Orlov about loanwords taken from translated works that appear in the text of the Pokhvala. The text of the exegesis of prophets by St. Hippolytus of Rome, which was widely known in Slavonic translation from the 12th century as the Slovo o Khriste i ob Antikhriste, produces additional material for comparison. St. Hippolytus’s text offers a possible interpretation of the concept “uma mudrostʹiu,” which the author of the Pokhvala offers as an explanation of the successful foreign policy of Prince Roman; in addition, this explanation helps to clarify the comparison of the prince with the eagle-lion, the lynx, and the crocodile. Certain characteristics of the text of the Pokhvala as revealed in the account of the exile of Khan Atrak by Prince Vladimir Monomakh and the subsequent mission carried out by Khan Syrchan, both unsupported in other sources, were, we believe, influenced by the text of the Slovo as well. It appears that literary images used throughout the Pokhvala were determined by apocalyptic symbols, following the approach that was typical of their interpretation by St. Hippolytus. This conclusion permits us to broaden our notions about the enumeration of works in translation used by the creator of the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle.

  17. AUTOMATIC ROAD SIGN INVENTORY USING MOBILE MAPPING SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Soilán

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The periodic inspection of certain infrastructure features plays a key role for road network safety and preservation, and for developing optimal maintenance planning that minimize the life-cycle cost of the inspected features. Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS use laser scanner technology in order to collect dense and precise three-dimensional point clouds that gather both geometric and radiometric information of the road network. Furthermore, time-stamped RGB imagery that is synchronized with the MMS trajectory is also available. In this paper a methodology for the automatic detection and classification of road signs from point cloud and imagery data provided by a LYNX Mobile Mapper System is presented. First, road signs are detected in the point cloud. Subsequently, the inventory is enriched with geometrical and contextual data such as orientation or distance to the trajectory. Finally, semantic content is given to the detected road signs. As point cloud resolution is insufficient, RGB imagery is used projecting the 3D points in the corresponding images and analysing the RGB data within the bounding box defined by the projected points. The methodology was tested in urban and road environments in Spain, obtaining global recall results greater than 95%, and F-score greater than 90%. In this way, inventory data is obtained in a fast, reliable manner, and it can be applied to improve the maintenance planning of the road network, or to feed a Spatial Information System (SIS, thus, road sign information can be available to be used in a Smart City context.

  18. Prey-mediated avoidance of an intraguild predator by its intraguild prey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, R.R.; Blankenship, T.L.; Hooten, M.B.; Shivik, J.A.

    2010-01-01

    Intraguild (IG) predation is an important factor influencing community structure, yet factors allowing coexistence of IG predator and IG prey are not well understood. The existence of spatial refuges for IG prey has recently been noted for their importance in allowing coexistence. However, reduction in basal prey availability might lead IG prey to leave spatial refuges for greater access to prey, leading to increased IG predation and fewer opportunities for coexistence. We determined how the availability of prey affected space-use patterns of bobcats (Lynx rufus, IG prey) in relation to coyote space-use patterns (Canis latrans, IG predators). We located animals from fall 2007 to spring 2009 and estimated bobcat home ranges and core areas seasonally. For each bobcat relocation, we determined intensity of coyote use, distance to water, small mammal biomass, and mean small mammal biomass of the home range during the season the location was collected. We built generalized linear mixed models and used Akaike Information Criteria to determine which factors best predicted bobcat space use. Coyote intensity was a primary determinant of bobcat core area location. In bobcat home ranges with abundant prey, core areas occurred where coyote use was low, but shifted to areas intensively used by coyotes when prey declined. High spatial variability in basal prey abundance allowed some bobcats to avoid coyotes while at the same time others were forced into more risky areas. Our results suggest that multiple behavioral strategies associated with spatial variation in basal prey abundance likely allow IG prey and IG predators to coexist. ?? 2010 Springer-Verlag.

  19. Anthropogenic influences on macro-level mammal occupancy in the Appalachian Trail corridor.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter L Erb

    Full Text Available Anthropogenic effects on wildlife are typically assessed at the local level, but it is often difficult to extrapolate to larger spatial extents. Macro-level occupancy studies are one way to assess impacts of multiple disturbance factors that might vary over different geographic extents. Here we assess anthropogenic effects on occupancy and distribution for several mammal species within the Appalachian Trail (AT, a forest corridor that extends across a broad section of the eastern United States. Utilizing camera traps and a large volunteer network of citizen scientists, we were able to sample 447 sites along a 1024 km section of the AT to assess the effects of available habitat, hunting, recreation, and roads on eight mammal species. Occupancy modeling revealed the importance of available forest to all species except opossums (Didelphis virginiana and coyotes (Canis latrans. Hunting on adjoining lands was the second strongest predictor of occupancy for three mammal species, negatively influencing black bears (Ursus americanus and bobcats (Lynx rufus, while positively influencing raccoons (Procyon lotor. Modeling also indicated an avoidance of high trail use areas by bears and proclivity towards high use areas by red fox (Vulpes vulpes. Roads had the lowest predictive power on species occupancy within the corridor and were only significant for deer. The occupancy models stress the importance of compounding direct and indirect anthropogenic influences operating at the regional level. Scientists and managers should consider these human impacts and their potential combined influence on wildlife persistence when assessing optimal habitat or considering management actions.

  20. The Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo diet in the Trøndelag region (Central Norway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Obuch Ján

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Between 2008 and 2015 we collected pellets of the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo in the Trøndelag region of central Norway and identified the food remains in these samples. We collected material at 45 sites with samples from a total of 76 nests. Some of the samples were from older and already abandoned nests, but at several sites we also found and collected fresh B. bubo pellets. In total 40,766 items of prey were identified from the osteological material. The most dominant food components were mammals (Mammalia, 25 species, 63.5%. The species representation of birds was very diverse (Aves, more than 150 species, 19.4%. Of amphibians (Amphibia, 1 6.8%, the well-represented species were Rana temporaria. Fish (Pisces, 0.3% were represented rarely, while invertebrates were represented only sporadically (Invertebrata, 0.05%. A special composition was found in the diet spectra of the mammals and birds in the mountainous areas at altitudes between 220-780 m above sea level. The highest proportion of frogs was found in areas in the proximity of the mainland shore. On the northern islands located near the coast a significant proportion of the B. bubo diet consisted of rodents (Rodentia. On the more isolated southern islands of Frøya, Hitra and Storfosna the main prey was sea birds, and of the mammals there were also hedgehogs and rats.