Biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Web Feet K-8, 2001

2001-01-01

This annotated subject guide to Web sites and additional resources focuses on biomes. Specifies age levels for resources that include Web sites, CD-ROMs and software, videos, books, audios, and magazines; includes professional resources; and presents a relevant class activity. (LRW)

On coupling global biome models with climate models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Claussen, M.

1994-01-01

The BIOME model of Prentice et al. (1992), which predicts global vegetation patterns in equilibrium with climate, is coupled with the ECHAM climate model of the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg. It is found that incorporation of the BIOME model into ECHAM, regardless at which frequency, does not enhance the simulated climate variability, expressed in terms of differences between global vegetation patterns. Strongest changes are seen only between the initial biome distribution and the biome distribution computed after the first simulation period, provided that the climate-biome model is started from a biome distribution that resembles the present-day distribution. After the first simulation period, there is no significant shrinking, expanding, or shifting of biomes. Likewise, no trend is seen in global averages of land-surface parameters and climate variables. (orig.)

Forgotten forests--issues and prospects in biome mapping using Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests as a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Särkinen, Tiina; Iganci, João R V; Linares-Palomino, Reynaldo; Simon, Marcelo F; Prado, Darién E

2011-11-24

poorly known, fragmented, or degraded vegetation. We wish to highlight that biome delimitation is not an exact science, and that transparency is needed on how biomes are used as study units in macroevolutionary and ecological research.

Himalayan uplift shaped biomes in Miocene temperate Asia: evidence from leguminous Caragana

Science.gov (United States)

Ming-Li Zhang; Xiao-Guo Xiang; Juan-Juan Xue; Stewart C. Sanderson; Peter W. Fritsch

2016-01-01

Caragana, with distinctive variation in leaf and rachis characters, exhibits three centers of geographic distribution, i.e., Central Asia, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), and East Asia, corresponding to distinct biomes. Because Caragana species are often ecologically dominant components of the vegetation in these regions, it is regarded as a key taxon for...

Cities as Novel Biomes;Recognizing Urban Ecosystem Services as Anthropogenic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie ePincetl

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Urban Ecosystem Science is now an established science, arising along side the historic shift of humans to becoming in majority urban dwellers. In this Perspective I suggest there is a need to develop a new framework for UES as embedded in distinct urban biomes that can be classified by city-type and typologized. UES are largely the artifact of human decision making from what to plant where, to determining the urban infrastructure type in which UES will be placed. Developing urban typologies by climate zone, level of development, size and history will better enable the understanding of UES. I attempt to show the rise of the importance of nature, and of urban nature following the development of industrial city, and the importance of human intent in creating these urban ecosystems over time. If humans choose to manage cities through increasing UES, this will require coupled shifts, the shift in rules and regulations, goals and processes and shifts in urban form, infrastructure and function – socio-technical-ecological changes – driven by human decision-making. Such efforts will vary widely by city -- by urban biome.

Description of the Karoo Biome project

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Cowling, RM

1986-01-01

Full Text Available The ecological characteristics and ecological problems of the karoo biome are briefly described. A conceptual basis and guidelines for the development of the Karoo Biome Project are outlined by addressing project goals, project structure...

Description of the Grassland Biome Project

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mentis, MT

1982-10-01

Full Text Available The objectives, organization and research programme of the Grassland Biome Project are described against a background of the biome's ecological characteristics and environmental problems. Four principal research topics wil 1 be focused upon: (i...

Forgotten forests - issues and prospects in biome mapping using Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests as a case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Särkinen Tiina

2011-11-01

biome mapping, and could be particularly useful for mapping poorly known, fragmented, or degraded vegetation. We wish to highlight that biome delimitation is not an exact science, and that transparency is needed on how biomes are used as study units in macroevolutionary and ecological research.

Forgotten forests - issues and prospects in biome mapping using Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests as a case study

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

particularly useful for mapping poorly known, fragmented, or degraded vegetation. We wish to highlight that biome delimitation is not an exact science, and that transparency is needed on how biomes are used as study units in macroevolutionary and ecological research. PMID:22115315

Aquatic ecosystem responses to Holocene climate change and biome development in boreal, central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Mackay, Anson W.; Bezrukova, Elena V.; Leng, Melanie J.; Meaney, Miriam; Nunes, Ana; Piotrowska, Natalia; Self, Angela; Shchetnikov, Alexander; Shilland, Ewan; Tarasov, Pavel; Wang, Luo; White, Dustin

2012-05-01

Boreal ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change, and severe ecological impacts in the near future are virtually certain to occur. We undertook a multiproxy study on an alpine lake (ESM-1) at the modern tree-line in boreal, southern Siberia. Steppe and tundra biomes were extensive in eastern Sayan landscapes during the early Holocene. Boreal forest quickly expanded by 9.1 ka BP, and dominated the landscape until c 0.7 ka BP, when the greatest period of compositional turnover occurred. At this time, alpine meadow landscape expanded and Picea obovata colonised new habitats along river valleys and lake shorelines, because of prevailing cool, moist conditions. During the early Holocene, chironomid assemblages were dominated by cold stenotherms. Diatoms for much of the Holocene were dominated by alkaliphilous, fragilarioid taxa, up until 0.2 ka BP, when epiphytic species expanded, indicative of increased habitat availability. C/N mass ratios ranged between 9.5 and 13.5 (11.1-15.8 C/N atomic ratios), indicative of algal communities dominating organic matter contributions to bottom sediments with small, persistent contributions from vascular plants. However, δ13C values increased steadily from -34.9‰ during the early Holocene (9.3 ka BP) to -24.8‰ by 0.6 ka BP. This large shift in magnitude may be due to a number of factors, including increasing within-lake productivity, increasing disequilibrium between the isotopic balance of the lake with the atmosphere as the lake became isotopically ‘mature’, and declining soil respiration linked to small, but distinct retreat in forest biomes. The influence of climatic variables on landscape vegetation was assessed using redundancy analysis (RDA), a linear, direct ordination technique. Changes in July insolation at 60 °N significantly explained over one-fifth of the variation in species composition, while changes in estimates of northern hemisphere temperature and ice-rafted debris events in the North Atlantic

Qualitative exploration of centralities in municipal science education networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von der Fehr, Ane; Sølberg, Jan

2016-01-01

This article examines the social nature of educational change by conducting a social network analysis of social networks involving stakeholders of science education from teachers to political stakeholders. Social networks that comprise supportive structures for development of science education ar...... of science education, especially if they are aware of their own centrality and are able to use their position intentionally for the benefit of science education.......This article examines the social nature of educational change by conducting a social network analysis of social networks involving stakeholders of science education from teachers to political stakeholders. Social networks that comprise supportive structures for development of science education...... are diverse and in order to understand how municipal stakeholders may support such development, we explored four different municipal science education networks (MSE networks) using three different measures of centrality. The centrality measures differed in terms of what kind of stakeholder functions...

Chemistry, the Central Science? The History of the High School Science Sequence

Science.gov (United States)

Sheppard, Keith; Robbins, Dennis M.

2005-01-01

Chemistry became the ''central science'' not by design but by accident in the US high schools. The three important factors, which had their influence on the high school science, are sequenced and their impact on the development of US science education, are mentioned.

Dynamic vegetation modeling of tropical biomes during Heinrich events

Science.gov (United States)

Handiani, Dian Noor; Paul, André; Dupont, Lydie M.

2010-05-01

Heinrich events are thought to be associated with a slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which in turn would lead to a cooling of the North Atlantic Ocean and a warming of the South Atlantic Ocean (the "bipolar seesaw" hypothesis). The accompanying abrupt climate changes occurred not only in the ocean but also on the continents. Changes were strongest in the Northern Hemisphere but were registered in the tropics as well. Pollen data from Angola and Brazil showed that climate changes during Heinrich events affected vegetation patterns very differently in eastern South America and western Africa. To understand the differential response in the terrestrial tropics, we studied the vegetation changes during Heinrich events by using a dynamic global vegetation model (TRIFFID) as part of the University of Victoria (UVic) Earth System-Climate Model (ESCM). The model results show a bipolar seesaw pattern in temperature and precipitation during a near-collapse of the AMOC. The succession in plant-functional types (PFTs) showed changes from forest to shrubs to desert, including spreading desert in northwest Africa, retreating broadleaf trees in West Africa and northern South America, but advancing broadleaf trees in Brazil. The pattern is explained by a southward shift of the tropical rainbelt resulting in a strong decrease in precipitation over northwest and West Africa as well as in northern South America, but an increase in precipitation in eastern Brazil. To facilitate the comparison between modeled vegetation results with pollen data, we diagnosed the distribution of biomes from the PFT coverage and the simulated model climate. The biome distribution was computed for Heinrich event 1 and the Last Glacial Maximum as well as for pre-industrial conditions. We used a classification of biomes in terms of "mega-biomes", which were defined following a scheme originally proposed by BIOME 6000 (v 4.2). The biome distribution of the Sahel region

Changes in forest productivity across Alaska consistent with biome shift

Science.gov (United States)

Peter S.A. Beck; Glenn P. Juday; Claire Alix; Valerie A. Barber; Stephen E. Winslow; Emily E. Sousa; Patricia Heiser; James D. Herriges; Scott J. Goetz

2011-01-01

Global vegetation models predict that boreal forests are particularly sensitive to a biome shift during the 21st century. This shift would manifest itself first at the biome's margins, with evergreen forest expanding into current tundra while being replaced by grasslands or temperate forest at the biome's southern edge. We evaluated changes in forest...

The extent of forest in dryland biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Jean-Francois Bastin; Nora Berrahmouni; Alan Grainger; Danae Maniatis; Danilo Mollicone; Rebecca Moore; Chiara Patriarca; Nicolas Picard; Ben Sparrow; Elena Maria Abraham; Kamel Aloui; Ayhan Atesoglu; Fabio Attore; Caglar Bassullu; Adia Bey; Monica Garzuglia; Luis G. GarcÌa-Montero; Nikee Groot; Greg Guerin; Lars Laestadius; Andrew J. Lowe; Bako Mamane; Giulio Marchi; Paul Patterson; Marcelo Rezende; Stefano Ricci; Ignacio Salcedo; Alfonso Sanchez-Paus Diaz; Fred Stolle; Venera Surappaeva; Rene Castro

2017-01-01

Dryland biomes cover two-fifths of Earth’s land surface, but their forest area is poorly known. Here, we report an estimate of global forest extent in dryland biomes, based on analyzing more than 210,000 0.5-hectare sample plots through a photo-interpretation approach using large databases of satellite imagery at (i) very high spatial resolution and (ii) very high...

Pollen-based biome reconstructions for Latin America at 0, 6000 and 18 000 radiocarbon years

Science.gov (United States)

Marchant, R.; Harrison, S.P.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Markgraf, Vera; Van Boxel, J. H.; Ager, T.; Almeida, L.; Anderson, R.; Baied, C.; Behling, H.; Berrio, J.C.; Burbridge, R.; Bjorck, S.; Byrne, R.; Bush, M.B.; Cleef, A.M.; Duivenvoorden, J.F.; Flenley, J.R.; De Oliveira, P.; Van Geel, B.; Graf, K.J.; Gosling, W.D.; Harbele, S.; Van Der Hammen, T.; Hansen, B.C.S.; Horn, S.P.; Islebe, G.A.; Kuhry, P.; Ledru, M.-P.; Mayle, F.E.; Leyden, B.W.; Lozano-Garcia, S.; Melief, A.B.M.; Moreno, P.; Moar, N.T.; Prieto, A.; Van Reenen, G. B.; Salgado-Labouriau, M. L.; Schasignbitz, F.; Schreve-Brinkman, E. J.; Wille, M.

2009-01-01

The biomisation method is used to reconstruct Latin American vegetation at 6000±500 and 18 000±1000 radiocarbon years before present (14C yr BP) from pollen data. Tests using modern pollen data from 381 samples derived from 287 locations broadly reproduce potential natural vegetation. The strong temperature gradient associated with the Andes is recorded by a transition from high altitude cool grass/shrubland and cool mixed forest to mid-altitude cool temperate rain forest, to tropical dry, seasonal and rain forest at low altitudes. Reconstructed biomes from a number of sites do not match the potential vegetation due to local factors such as human impact, methodological artefacts and mechanisms of pollen representivity of the parent vegetation. At 6000±500 14C yr BP 255 samples are analysed from 127 sites. Differences between the modern and the 6000±500 14C yr BP reconstruction are comparatively small. Patterns of change relative to the modern reconstruction are mainly to biomes characteristic of drier climate in the north of the region with a slight more mesic shift in the south. Cool temperate rain forest remains dominant in western South America. In northwestern South America a number of sites record transitions from tropical seasonal forest to tropical dry forest and tropical rain forest to tropical seasonal forest. Sites in Central America also show a change in biome assignment to more mesic vegetation, indicative of greater plant available moisture, e.g. on the Yucat??n peninsula sites record warm evergreen forest, replacing tropical dry forest and warm mixed forest presently recorded. At 18 000±1000 14C yr BP 61 samples from 34 sites record vegetation that reflects a generally cool and dry environment. Cool grass/shrubland prevalent in southeast Brazil, Amazonian sites record tropical dry forest, warm temperate rain forest and tropical seasonal forest. Southernmost South America is dominated by cool grass/shrubland, a single site retains cool temperate

Importance of ecotone type to landscape dynamics at biome transition zones

Science.gov (United States)

Landscapes in biome transition zones consist of a mosaic of patches dominated or codominated by species from adjacent biomes. Shifts in the vegetation composition and dynamics of a biome transition zone depend upon the underlying patch dynamics of the ecotones between these dominant species. Landsc...

Spatial Distribution of Aboveground Carbon Stock of the Arboreal Vegetation in Brazilian Biomes of Savanna, Atlantic Forest and Semi-Arid Woodland.

Science.gov (United States)

Scolforo, Henrique Ferraco; Scolforo, Jose Roberto Soares; Mello, Carlos Rogerio; Mello, Jose Marcio; Ferraz Filho, Antonio Carlos

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to map the spatial distribution of aboveground carbon stock (using Regression-kriging) of arboreal plants in the Atlantic Forest, Semi-arid woodland, and Savanna Biomes in Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. The database used in this study was obtained from 163 forest fragments, totaling 4,146 plots of 1,000 m2 distributed in these Biomes. A geographical model for carbon stock estimation was parameterized as a function of Biome, latitude and altitude. This model was applied over the samples and the residuals generated were mapped based on geostatistical procedures, selecting the exponential semivariogram theoretical model for conducting ordinary Kriging. The aboveground carbon stock was found to have a greater concentration in the north of the State, where the largest contingent of native vegetation is located, mainly the Savanna Biome, with Wooded Savanna and Shrub Savanna phytophysiognomes. The largest weighted averages of carbon stock per hectare were found in the south-center region (48.6 Mg/ha) and in the southern part of the eastern region (48.4 Mg/ha) of Minas Gerais State, due to the greatest predominance of Atlantic Forest Biome forest fragments. The smallest weighted averages per hectare were found in the central (21.2 Mg/ha), northern (20.4 Mg/ha), and northwestern (20.7 Mg/ha) regions of Minas Gerais State, where Savanna Biome fragments are predominant, in the phytophysiognomes Wooded Savanna and Shrub Savanna.

Changes in forest productivity across Alaska consistent with biome shift.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Pieter S A; Juday, Glenn P; Alix, Claire; Barber, Valerie A; Winslow, Stephen E; Sousa, Emily E; Heiser, Patricia; Herriges, James D; Goetz, Scott J

2011-04-01

Global vegetation models predict that boreal forests are particularly sensitive to a biome shift during the 21st century. This shift would manifest itself first at the biome's margins, with evergreen forest expanding into current tundra while being replaced by grasslands or temperate forest at the biome's southern edge. We evaluated changes in forest productivity since 1982 across boreal Alaska by linking satellite estimates of primary productivity and a large tree-ring data set. Trends in both records show consistent growth increases at the boreal-tundra ecotones that contrast with drought-induced productivity declines throughout interior Alaska. These patterns support the hypothesized effects of an initiating biome shift. Ultimately, tree dispersal rates, habitat availability and the rate of future climate change, and how it changes disturbance regimes, are expected to determine where the boreal biome will undergo a gradual geographic range shift, and where a more rapid decline. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Diverging responses of tropical Andean biomes under future climate conditions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina Tovar

Full Text Available Observations and projections for mountain regions show a strong tendency towards upslope displacement of their biomes under future climate conditions. Because of their climatic and topographic heterogeneity, a more complex response is expected for biodiversity hotspots such as tropical mountain regions. This study analyzes potential changes in the distribution of biomes in the Tropical Andes and identifies target areas for conservation. Biome distribution models were developed using logistic regressions. These models were then coupled to an ensemble of 8 global climate models to project future distribution of the Andean biomes and their uncertainties. We analysed projected changes in extent and elevational range and identified regions most prone to change. Our results show a heterogeneous response to climate change. Although the wetter biomes exhibit an upslope displacement of both the upper and the lower boundaries as expected, most dry biomes tend to show downslope expansion. Despite important losses being projected for several biomes, projections suggest that between 74.8% and 83.1% of the current total Tropical Andes will remain stable, depending on the emission scenario and time horizon. Between 3.3% and 7.6% of the study area is projected to change, mostly towards an increase in vertical structure. For the remaining area (13.1%-17.4%, there is no agreement between model projections. These results challenge the common believe that climate change will lead to an upslope displacement of biome boundaries in mountain regions. Instead, our models project diverging responses, including downslope expansion and large areas projected to remain stable. Lastly, a significant part of the area expected to change is already affected by land use changes, which has important implications for management. This, and the inclusion of a comprehensive uncertainty analysis, will help to inform conservation strategies in the Tropical Andes, and to guide similar

Generality of leaf trait relationships: A test across six biomes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reich, P.B. [Univ. of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN (United States). Dept. of Forest Resources; Ellsworth, D.S. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States). Dept. of Applied Science; Walters, M.B. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Dept. of Forestry; Vose, J.M. [Forest Service, Otto, NC (United States). Coweeta Hydrological Lab.; Gresham, C. [Clemson Univ., Georgetown, SC (United States). Baruch Forest Inst.; Volin, J.C. [Florida Atlantic Univ., Davie, FL (United States). Div. of Science; Bowman, W.D. [Inst. of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO (United States). Mountain Research Station]|[Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Evolutionary, Population, and Organismic Biology

1999-09-01

Convergence in interspecific leaf trait relationships across diverse taxonomic groups and biomes would have important evolutionary and ecological implications. Such convergence has been hypothesized to result from trade-offs that limit the combination of plant traits for any species. Here the authors address this issue by testing for biome differences in the slope and intercept of interspecific relationships among leaf traits: longevity, net photosynthetic capacity (A{sub max}), leaf diffusive conductance (G{sub S}), specific leaf area (SLA), and nitrogen (N) status, for more than 100 species in six distinct biomes of the Americas. The six biomes were: alpine tundra-subalpine forest ecotone, cold temperate forest-prairie ecotone, montane cool temperate forest, desert shrubland, subtropical forest, and tropical rain forest. Despite large differences in climate and evolutionary history, in all biomes mass-based leaf N (N{sub mass}), SLA, G{sub S}, and A{sub max} were positively related to one another and decreased with increasing leaf life span. The relationships between pairs of leaf traits exhibited similar slopes among biomes, suggesting a predictable set of scaling relationships among key leaf morphological, chemical, and metabolic traits that are replicated globally among terrestrial ecosystems regardless of biome or vegetation type. However, the intercept (i.e., the overall elevation of regression lines) of relationships between pairs of leaf traits usually differed among biomes. With increasing aridity across sites, species had greater A{sub max} for a given level of G{sub S} and lower SLA for any given leaf life span. Using principal components analysis, most variation among species was explained by an axis related to mass-based leaf traits (A{sub max}, N, and SLA) while a second axis reflected climate, G{sub S}, and other area-based leaf traits.

The Brazilian Pampa: A Fragile Biome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdir Marcos Stefenon

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Biodiversity is one of the most fundamental properties of Nature. It underpins the stability of ecosystems, provides vast bioresources for economic use, and has important cultural significance for many people. The Pampa biome, located in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, illustrates the direct and indirect interdependence of humans and biodiversity. The Brazilian Pampa lies within the South Temperate Zone where grasslands scattered with shrubs and trees are the dominant vegetation. The soil, originating from sedimentary rocks, often has an extremely sandy texture that makes them fragile—highly prone to water and wind erosion. Human activities have converted or degraded many areas of this biome. In this review we discuss our state-of-the-art knowledge of the diversity and the major biological features of this regions and the cultural factors that have shaped it. Our aim is to contribute toward a better understanding of the current status of this special biome and to describe how the interaction between human activities and environment affects the region, highlighting the fragility of the Brazilian Pampa.

Pollen-based biome reconstructions for Latin America at 0, 6000 and 18 000 radiocarbon years ago

Science.gov (United States)

Marchant, R.; Cleef, A.; Harrison, S.P.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Markgraf, Vera; Van Boxel, J.; Ager, T.; Almeida, L.; Anderson, R.; Baied, C.; Behling, H.; Berrio, J.C.; Burbridge, R.; Bjorck, S.; Byrne, R.; Bush, M.; Duivenvoorden, J.; Flenley, J.; De Oliveira, P.; Van Gee, B.; Graf, K.; Gosling, W.D.; Harbele, S.; Van Der Hammen, T.; Hansen, B.; Horn, S.; Kuhry, P.; Ledru, M.-P.; Mayle, F.; Leyden, B.; Lozano-Garcia, S.; Melief, A.M.; Moreno, P.; Moar, N.T.; Prieto, A.; Van Reenen, G.; Salgado-Labouriau, M.; Schabitz, F.; Schreve-Brinkman, E. J.; Wille, M.

2009-01-01

The biomisation method is used to reconstruct Latin American vegetation at 6000??500 and 18 000??1000 radiocarbon years before present ( 14C yr BP) from pollen data. Tests using modern pollen data from 381 samples derived from 287 locations broadly reproduce potential natural vegetation. The strong temperature gradient associated with the Andes is recorded by a transition from high altitude cool grass/shrubland and cool mixed forest to mid-altitude cool temperate rain forest, to tropical dry, seasonal and rain forest at low altitudes. Reconstructed biomes from a number of sites do not match the potential vegetation due to local factors such as human impact, methodological artefacts and mechanisms of pollen representivity of the parent vegetation. At 6000??500 14C yr BP 255 samples are analysed from 127 sites. Differences between the modern and the 6000??500 14C yr BP reconstruction are comparatively small; change relative to the modern reconstruction are mainly to biomes characteristic of drier climate in the north of the region with a slight more mesic shift in the south. Cool temperate rain forest remains dominant in western South America. In northwestern South America a number of sites record transitions from tropical seasonal forest to tropical dry forest and tropical rain forest to tropical seasonal forest. Sites in Central America show a change in biome assignment, but to more mesic vegetation, indicative of greater plant available moisture, e.g. on the Yucat??n peninsula sites record warm evergreen forest, replacing tropical dry forest and warm mixed forest presently recorded. At 18 000??1000 14C yr BP 61 samples from 34 sites record vegetation reflecting a generally cool and dry environment. Cool grass/shrubland is prevalent in southeast Brazil whereas Amazonian sites record tropical dry forest, warm temperate rain forest and tropical seasonal forest. Southernmost South America is dominated by cool grass/shrubland, a single site retains cool temperate rain

biojs-io-biom, a BioJS component for handling data in Biological Observation Matrix (BIOM format [version 2; referees: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus J. Ankenbrand

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Biological Observation Matrix (BIOM format is widely used to store data from high-throughput studies. It aims at increasing interoperability of bioinformatic tools that process this data. However, due to multiple versions and implementation details, working with this format can be tricky. Currently, libraries in Python, R and Perl are available, whilst such for JavaScript are lacking. Here, we present a BioJS component for parsing BIOM data in all format versions. It supports import, modification, and export via a unified interface. This module aims to facilitate the development of web applications that use BIOM data. Finally, we demonstrate its usefulness by two applications that already use this component. Availability: https://github.com/molbiodiv/biojs-io-biom, https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.218277

East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences is dedicated to all aspects of Pharmaceutical Sciences research and is published in English. The scientific papers published in the Journal fall into three main categories: review papers, original research papers and short communications. Review papers in ...

Modelling insights on the partition of evapotranspiration components across biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Fatichi, Simone; Pappas, Christoforos

2017-04-01

Recent studies using various methodologies have found a large variability (from 35 to 90%) in the ratio of transpiration to total evapotranspiration (denoted as T:ET) across biomes or even at the global scale. Concurrently, previous results suggest that T:ET is independent of mean precipitation and has a positive correlation with Leaf Area Index (LAI). We used the mechanistic ecohydrological model, T&C, with a refined process-based description of soil resistance and a detailed treatment of canopy biophysics and ecophysiology, to investigate T:ET across multiple biomes. Contrary to observation-based estimates, simulation results highlight a well-constrained range of mean T:ET across biomes that is also robust to perturbations of the most sensitive parameters. Simulated T:ET was confirmed to be independent of average precipitation, while it was found to be uncorrelated with LAI across biomes. Higher values of LAI increase evaporation from interception but suppress ground evaporation with the two effects largely cancelling each other in many sites. These results offer mechanistic, model-based, evidence to the ongoing research about the range of T:ET and the factors affecting its magnitude across biomes.

The Economics of Root Distributions of Terrestrial Biomes in Response to Elevated CO2

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, M.; Hedin, L. O. O.

2017-12-01

Belowground root distributions of terrestrial biomes are central to understanding soil biogeochemical processes and land carbon sink. Yet models are thus far not able to predict root distributions across plant functional groups and major biomes, limiting our ability to predict the response of land systems to elevated CO2 concentration. Of particular concern is the apparent lack of stimulation of the aboveground carbon sink despite 30% increase of atmospheric CO2 over the past half-century, and despite the clear acceleration of the land carbon sink over the same period. This apparent discrepancy in land ecosystem response has led to the proposition that changes in belowground root dynamics might be responsible for the overlooked land sink. We here present a new modeling approach for predicting the response of root biomass and soil carbon storage to increased CO2. Our approach considers the first-principle mechanisms and tradeoffs by which plants and plant roots invest carbon to gain belowground resources, in collaboration with distinct root symbioses. We allow plants to locally compete for nutrients, with the ability to allocate biomass at different depths in the soil profile. We parameterized our model using an unprecedented global dataset of root traits, and validated our biome-level predictions with a recently updated global root biomass database. Our results support the idea that plants "dig deeper" when exposed to increased CO2, and we offer an economic-based mechanism for predicting the plant root response across soil conditions, plant functional groups and major biomes. Our model also recreates the observed responses across a range of free-air CO2 enrichment experiments, including a distinct response between plants associated with ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Most broadly, our findings suggest that roots may be increasingly important in the land carbon sink, and call for a greater effort to quantify belowground responses to elevated

La prosodia como identificador biométrico

OpenAIRE

Farrús i Cabeceran, Mireia

2011-01-01

La biometría tiene como objetivo el reconocimiento de personas mediante uno o más identificadores biométricos como la voz, la cara o las huellas dactilares, entre otros. Gracias a la buena aceptación social y el poco intrusismo en los individuos, la voz ha sido, tradicionalmente, uno de los identificadores más utilizados en los sistemas biométricos. Estos sistemas de reconocimiento basados en la voz utilizan, habitualmente, características relacionadas con el espectro de la voz. No obstante, ...

Imaginative science education the central role of imagination in science education

CERN Document Server

Hadzigeorgiou, Yannis

2016-01-01

This book is about imaginative approaches to teaching and learning school science. Its central premise is that science learning should reflect the nature of science, and therefore be approached as an imaginative/creative activity. As such, the book can be seen as an original contribution of ideas relating to imagination and creativity in science education. The approaches discussed in the book are storytelling, the experience of wonder, the development of ‘romantic understanding’, and creative science, including science through visual art, poetry and dramatization. However, given the perennial problem of how to engage students (of all ages) in science, the notion of ‘aesthetic experience’, and hence the possibility for students to have more holistic and fulfilling learning experiences through the aforementioned imaginative approaches, is also discussed. Each chapter provides an in-depth discussion of the theoretical background of a specific imaginative approach (e.g., storytelling, ‘wonder-full’ s...

On coupling global biome models with climate models

OpenAIRE

Claussen, M.

1994-01-01

The BIOME model of Prentice et al. (1992; J. Biogeogr. 19: 117-134), which predicts global vegetation patterns in equilibrium with climate, was coupled with the ECHAM climate model of the Max-Planck-Institut fiir Meteorologie, Hamburg, Germany. It was found that incorporation of the BIOME model into ECHAM, regardless at which frequency, does not enhance the simulated climate variability, expressed in terms of differences between global vegetation patterns. Strongest changes are seen only betw...

Environmental history of the dry forest biome of Guerrero, Mexico, and human impact during the last c. 2700 years

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berrio, J.C.; Hooghiemstra, H.; van Geel, B.; Ludlow-Wiegers, B.

2006-01-01

Two lake sediment cores from Madre del Sur mountain range, Guerrero State, west-central Mexico were studied to examine the past dynamics of the dry forest biome. Pollen, spores of coprophilous fungi, cyanobacteria and lithological changes are presented. The 390-cm Tixtla core (17°30′N, 99°24′W, 1400

Evaluating fire danger in Brazilian biomes: present and future patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Patrícia; Bastos, Ana; DaCamara, Carlos; Libonati, Renata

2017-04-01

Climate change is expected to have a significant impact on fire occurrence and activity, particularly in Brazil, a region known to be fire-prone [1]. The Brazilian savanna, commonly referred to as cerrado, is a fire-adapted biome covering more than 20% of the country's total area. It presents the highest numbers of fire events, making it particularly susceptible to changes in climate. It is thus essential to understand the present fire regimes in Brazilian biomes, in order to better evaluate future patterns. The CPTEC/INPE, the Brazilian Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Research at the Brazilian National Institute of Space Research developed a fire danger index based on the occurrence of hundreds of thousands of fire events in the main Brazilian biomes [2]: the Meteorological Fire Danger Index (MFDI). This index indicates the predisposition of vegetation to be burned on a given day, for given climate conditions preceding that day. It relies on daily values of air temperature, relative humidity, accumulated precipitation and vegetation cover. In this study we aim to access the capability of the MFDI to accurately replicate present fire conditions for different biomes, with a special focus on cerrado. To this end, we assess the link between the MFDI as calculated by three different reanalysis (ERA-Interim, NCEP/DOE Reanalysis 2 and MERRA-2) and the observed burned area. We further calculate the validated MFDI using a regional climate model, the RCA4 as forced by EC-Earth from CORDEX, to understand the ability of the model to characterize present fire danger. Finally, the need to calibrate the model to better characterize future fire danger was also evaluated. This work was developed within the framework of the Brazilian Fire-Land-Atmosphere System (BrFLAS) Project financed by the Portuguese and Brazilian science foundations, FCT and FAPESP (project references FAPESP/1389/2014 and 2014/20042-2). [1] KRAWCHUK, M.A.; MORITZ, M.A.; PARISIEN, M.A.; VAN DORN, J

Mid- to Late-Holocene pollen-based biome reconstructions for Colombia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marchant, R.; Behling, H.; Berrío, J.C.; Cleef, A.M.; Duivenvoorden, J.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Kuhry, P.; Melief, B.; Geel, van B.; Hammen, van der T.; Reenen, van T.; Wille, M.

2001-01-01

The assignment of Colombian pollen data to biomes allows the data to be synthesised at 10 `time windows' from the present-day to 6000 radiocarbon years before present (BP). The modern reconstructed biomes are compared to a map of modern potential vegetation to check the applicability of the method

Biosphere 2's Marsh Biome

Science.gov (United States)

Molnar, Jennifer; Goodridge, Kelven

1997-01-01

The Marsh Biome, which was modeled after the mangroves and marshes of southwest Florida, has an area of 441.2 sq m separated into three hydrologically independent sections: the Freshwater, Oligohaline and Salt Marshes. The divisions are made based on their salinity (approximately 0, 4, and 34 ppt. respectively), but they also contain different biological communities. The Freshwater and Oligohaline Marshes are mostly filled with various grasses and several trees, while the Salt Marsh houses regions of red, black, and white mangroves (Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans, and Languncularia racemosa respectively). Overall, there are an estimated 80 species of plants within the biome. Water in the Salt Marsh follows a meandering stream from the algal turf scrubbers (apparatuses that clean the water of its nutrients and heavy metals while increasing dissolved oxygen levels) which have an outlet in the Salt Marsh section near sites 4 and 5 to the Fringing Red Mangrove section. The sections of the Salt Marsh are separated by walls of concrete with openings to allow the stream to flow through. Throughout this study, conducted through the months of June and July, many conditions within the biome remained fairly constant. The temperature was within a degree or two of 25 C, mostly depending on whether the sample site was in direct sunlight or shaded. The pH throughout the Salt Marsh was 8.0 +/- 0.2, and the lower salinity waters only dropped below this soon after rains. The water rdepth and dissolved oxygen varied, however, between sites.

Factors affecting ammonium uptake in streams - an inter-biome perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson R Webster; Partick J. Mulholland; Jennifer L. Tanks; H. Maurice Valett; Walter K. Dodds; Bruce J. Peterson; William B. Bowden; Clifford N. Dahm; Stuart Findlay; Stanley V. Gregory; Nancy B. Grimm; Stephen K. Hamilton; Sherri L. Johnson; Eugenia Marti; William H. McDowell; Judy L. Meyer; Donna D. Morrall; Steven A. Thomas; Wilfred M. Wollhem

2003-01-01

1. The Lotic Intersite Nitrogen experiment (LINX) was a coordinated study of the relationships between North American biomes and factors governing ammonium uptake in streams. Our objective was to relate inter-biome variability of ammonium uptake to physical, chemical and biological processes. 2. Data were collected from 11 streams ranging from arctic to tropical and...

Tribal engagement strategy of the South Central Climate Science Center, 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, William J.; Taylor, April; Winton, Kimberly T.

2014-01-01

The South Central Climate Science Center was established by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2012 to increase understanding of climate change and coordinate an effective response to climate-change effects on Native American tribes and natural and cultural resources that the Department manages. The eight regional Climate Science Centers of the U.S. Department of the Interior work closely with natural-resource management agencies, university researchers, and others such as tribes and private landowners on climate-change issues. The relatively large number of Native Americans in the south central United States and their special knowledge of changing ecosystems make working with tribes and tribal members on climate-change issues particularly important in this part of the Nation. This circular describes priorities of the South Central Climate Science Center and provides information about resources available from Climate Science Centers and partner agencies regarding climate change. The circular also describes how this Climate Science Center, tribes and tribal members, and others can collaborate to minimize potential harmful effects of climate change on human society and our surrounding ecosystems.

Conserving the Brazilian semiarid (Caatinga) biome under climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oliveira, Guilherme de; Bastos Araujo, Miguel; Rangel, Thiago Fernado

2012-01-01

to assess changes in climate suitability across individual species ranges, ensemble forecasting was used based on seven bioclimatic envelope models, three atmosphere–ocean general circulation models, and two greenhouse emission gas scenarios for 2020, 2050, and 2080. We found that most species will gain...... additional threats to the biome’s biodiversity. Here, we ask if the remnants of natural vegetation in Caatinga biome, where endemic terrestrial vertebrate species occur, are likely to retain more climatic suitability under climate change scenarios than other less pristine areas of the biome. In order......The Caatinga is a semiarid biome of the northeast of Brazil with only 1 % of its territory currently conserved. The biome’s biodiversity is highly threatened due to exposure to land conversion for agricultural and cattle ranch. Climate forecasts predict increases in aridity, which could pose...

Description of the Fynbos Biome Project

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Kruger, FJ

1978-06-01

Full Text Available The objectives, organization and research programme of the Fynbos Biome Project being undertaken in the south-west and southern Cape are described. The project is a cooperative multi-disciplinary study of the ecological characteristics, structure...

Biomédica, 2012: diez años en el Index Medicus y cinco en el Science Citation Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Comité Editorial Biomédica

2012-06-01

Full Text Available La revista Biomédica del Instituto Nacional de Salud es una publicación trimestral, eminentemente científica, en la que se publican gratuitamente y con acceso abierto, los resultados de las investigaciones en salud y biomedicina del Instituto y de otras instituciones públicas y privadas a nivel nacional e internacional, luego de un exhaustivo proceso editorial que incluye, necesariamente, las rigurosas evaluaciones por pares de la comunidad científica, reconocidos expertos nacionales e internacionales en las diferentes áreas del conocimiento. El cumplir diez años de haber sido incluida en el Index Medicus y cinco en el Science Citation Index –los índices internacionales más importantes para las revistas de ciencias de la salud– es un acontecimiento significativo para la revista. Sin duda alguna, es un momento que marca la madurez de la revista y, a la vez, una oportunidad para reflexionar sobre los logros obtenidos, analizar los desafíos que debe enfrentar y planear la mejor forma de resolverlos. La primera edición de Biomédica se publicó en 1981 y, desde entonces, los miembros de los diferentes comités editoriales siempre han estado atentos a la adopción de los lineamientos internacionales para el mejoramiento de este tipo de publicaciones científicas. Como resultado de ello, la revista ha alcanzado los más altos estándares de edición, como los recomendados por el International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (1. Además de mantener los criterios de objetividad y calidad del material enviado para publicación, la revista implementó un proceso editorial propio que incluye revisiones editoriales iniciales, intermedias y finales por miembros del Comité Editorial o Científico, evaluación por pares y estricta corrección de estilo por expertos en el idioma español e inglés, además de comunicación continua y directa con los autores, diagramación pulcra y dinámica, publicación impresa oportuna y de calidad, y

U.S. Department of the Interior South Central Climate Science Center strategic science plan, 2013--18

Science.gov (United States)

Winton, Kim T.; Dalton, Melinda S.; Shipp, Allison A.

2013-01-01

The Department of the Interior (DOI) recognizes and embraces the unprecedented challenges of maintaining our Nation’s rich natural and cultural resources in the 21st century. The magnitude of these challenges demands that the conservation community work together to develop integrated adaptation and mitigation strategies that collectively address the impacts of climate change and other landscape-scale stressors. On September 14, 2009, DOI Secretary Ken Salazar signed Secretarial Order 3289 (amended February 22, 2010) entitled, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources.” The Order establishes the foundation for two partner-based conservation science entities to address these unprecedented challenges: Climate Science Centers (CSCs and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs). CSCs and LCCs are the Department-wide approach for applying scientific tools to increase understanding of climate change and to coordinate an effective response to its impacts on tribes and the land, water, ocean, fish and wildlife, and cultural-heritage resources that DOI manages. Eight CSCs have been established and are managed through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC); each CSC works in close collaboration with their neighboring CSCs, as well as those across the Nation, to ensure the best and most efficient science is produced. The South Central CSC was established in 2012 through a cooperative agreement with the University of Oklahoma, Texas Tech University, Louisiana State University, the Chickasaw Nation, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, and NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab; hereafter termed the ”Consortium” of the South Central CSC. The Consortium has a broad expertise in the physical, biological, natural, and social sciences to address impacts of climate change on land, water, fish and wildlife, ocean, coastal, and

Does a General Temperature-Dependent Q10 Model of Soil Respiration Exist at Biome and Global Scale?

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Hua CHEN; Han-Qin TIAN

2005-01-01

Soil respiration (SR) is commonly modeled by a Q10 (an indicator of temperature sensitivity)function in ecosystem models. Q10is usually treated as a constant of 2 in these models, although Q10 value of SR often decreases with increasing temperatures. It remains unclear whether a general temperaturedependent Q10 model of SR exists at biome and global scale. In this paper, we have compiled the long-term Q10 data of 38 SR studies ranging from the Boreal, Temperate, to Tropical/Subtropical biome on four continents.Our analysis indicated that the general temperature-dependent biome Q10 models of SR existed, especially in the Boreal and Temperate biomes. A single-exponential model was better than a simple linear model in fitting the average Q10 values at the biome scale. Average soil temperature is a better predictor of Q10 value than average air temperature in these models, especially in the Boreal biome. Soil temperature alone could explain about 50% of the Q10 variations in both the Boreal and Temperate biome single-exponential Q10 model. Q10 value of SR decreased with increasing soil temperature but at quite different rates among the three biome Q10 models. The k values (Q10 decay rate constants) were 0.09, 0.07, and 0.02/℃ in the Boreal, Temperate, and Tropical/Subtropical biome, respectively, suggesting that Q10 value is the most sensitive to soil temperature change in the Boreal biome, the second in the Temperate biome, and the least sensitive in the Tropical/Subtropical biome. This also indirectly confirms that acclimation of SR in many soil warming experiments probably occurs. The k value in the "global" single-exponential Q10 model which combined both the Boreal and Temperate biome data set was 0.08/℃. However, the global general temperature-dependent Q10model developed using the data sets of the three biomes is not adequate for predicting Q10 values of SR globally.The existence of the general temperature-dependent Q10 models of SR in the Boreal and

Biogeography of photoautotrophs in the high polar biome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Brian Pointing

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The global latitudinal gradient in biodiversity weakens in the high polar biome and so an alternative explanation for distribution of Arctic and Antarctic photoautotrophs is required. Here we identify how temporal, microclimate and evolutionary drivers of biogeography are important, rather than the macroclimate features that drive plant diversity patterns elsewhere. High polar ecosystems are biologically unique, with a more central role for bryophytes, lichens and microbial photoautotrophs over that of vascular plants. Constraints on vascular plants arise mainly due to stature and ontogenetic barriers. Conversely non-vascular plant and microbial photoautotroph distribution is correlated with favourable microclimates and the capacity for poikilohydric dormancy. Contemporary distribution also depends on evolutionary history, with adaptive and dispersal traits as well as legacy influencing biogeography. We highlight the relevance of these findings to predicting future impacts on polar plant diversity and to the current status of plants in Arctic and Antarctic conservation policy frameworks.

The effect of heterogeneous landscape dynamics on ecotone types at two convergent semi-arid biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Landscapes in biome transition zones consist of a mosaic of patches dominated or codominated by species from adjacent biomes. Shifts in the vegetation composition and dynamics of a biome transition zone depend upon the underlying patch dynamics of the ecotones between these dominant species. Landsca...

Increasing atmospheric CO2 overrides the historical legacy of multiple stable biome states in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Moncrieff, Glenn R; Scheiter, Simon; Bond, William J; Higgins, Steven I

2014-02-01

The dominant vegetation over much of the global land surface is not predetermined by contemporary climate, but also influenced by past environmental conditions. This confounds attempts to predict current and future biome distributions, because even a perfect model would project multiple possible biomes without knowledge of the historical vegetation state. Here we compare the distribution of tree- and grass-dominated biomes across Africa simulated using a dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM). We explicitly evaluate where and under what conditions multiple stable biome states are possible for current and projected future climates. Our simulation results show that multiple stable biomes states are possible for vast areas of tropical and subtropical Africa under current conditions. Widespread loss of the potential for multiple stable biomes states is projected in the 21st Century, driven by increasing atmospheric CO2 . Many sites where currently both tree-dominated and grass-dominated biomes are possible become deterministically tree-dominated. Regions with multiple stable biome states are widespread and require consideration when attempting to predict future vegetation changes. Testing for behaviour characteristic of systems with multiple stable equilibria, such as hysteresis and dependence on historical conditions, and the resulting uncertainty in simulated vegetation, will lead to improved projections of global change impacts. © 2013 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.

Use of BIOME-BGC to simulate water and carbon fluxes within Mediterranean macchia

OpenAIRE

Chiesi M; Chirici G; Corona P; Duce P; Salvati R; Spano D; Vaccari FP; Maselli F

2012-01-01

The biogeochemical model BIOME-BGC is capable to estimate the main ecophysiological processes characterising all terrestrial ecosystems. To this aim it needs to be properly adapted to reproduce the behaviour of each biome type through a calibration phase. The aim of this paper is to adapt BIOME-BGC to reproduce the evapotranspiration (ET) and photosynthesis (GPP) of Mediterranean macchia spread all over Italy. Ten different sites were selected in the Centre-South of Italy and their gross prim...

Climate change in Inner Mongolia from 1955 to 2005-trends at regional, biome and local scales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, N; Wilske, B; John, R; Chen, J [Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606 (United States); Ni, J, E-mail: nan.lu@utoledo.ed, E-mail: burkhard.wilske@utoledo.ed, E-mail: jni@ibcas.ac.c, E-mail: ranjeet.john@utoledo.ed, E-mail: jiquan.chen@utoledo.ed [Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A43, D-14473 Potsdam (Germany)

2009-10-15

This study investigated the climate change in Inner Mongolia based on 51 meteorological stations from 1955 to 2005. The climate data was analyzed at the regional, biome (i.e. forest, grassland and desert) and station scales, with the biome scale as our primary focus. The climate records showed trends of warmer and drier conditions in the region. The annual daily mean, maximum and minimum temperature increased whereas the diurnal temperature range (DTR) decreased. The decreasing trend of annual precipitation was not significant. However, the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increased significantly. On the decadal scale, the warming and drying trends were more significant in the last 30 years than the preceding 20 years. The climate change varied among biomes, with more pronounced changes in the grassland and the desert biomes than in the forest biome. DTR and VPD showed the clearest inter-biome gradient from the lowest rate of change in the forest biome to the highest rate of change in the desert biome. The rates of change also showed large variations among the individual stations. Our findings correspond with the IPCC predictions that the future climate will vary significantly by location and through time, suggesting that adaptation strategies also need to be spatially viable.

Climate change in Inner Mongolia from 1955 to 2005-trends at regional, biome and local scales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, N; Wilske, B; John, R; Chen, J; Ni, J

2009-01-01

This study investigated the climate change in Inner Mongolia based on 51 meteorological stations from 1955 to 2005. The climate data was analyzed at the regional, biome (i.e. forest, grassland and desert) and station scales, with the biome scale as our primary focus. The climate records showed trends of warmer and drier conditions in the region. The annual daily mean, maximum and minimum temperature increased whereas the diurnal temperature range (DTR) decreased. The decreasing trend of annual precipitation was not significant. However, the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increased significantly. On the decadal scale, the warming and drying trends were more significant in the last 30 years than the preceding 20 years. The climate change varied among biomes, with more pronounced changes in the grassland and the desert biomes than in the forest biome. DTR and VPD showed the clearest inter-biome gradient from the lowest rate of change in the forest biome to the highest rate of change in the desert biome. The rates of change also showed large variations among the individual stations. Our findings correspond with the IPCC predictions that the future climate will vary significantly by location and through time, suggesting that adaptation strategies also need to be spatially viable.

S2Biom database with logistical components of the biomass value chain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Annevelink, E.; Groot, de H.L.E.; Shah, N.; Giarola, S.; Pantaleo, M.; Anttila, P.; Vis, Martijn; Raa, te Rik; Berg, van den Douwe; Gabrielle, B.

2015-01-01

The S2Biom project (www.s2biom.eu) - Delivery of sustainable supply of non-food biomass to support
a resource-efficient Bioeconomy in Europe - supports sustainable delivery chains of non-food biomass feedstock.
This poses a logistical challenge because the quality and handling

Teacher's Guide to SERAPHIM Software V. Chemistry: The Central Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogner, Donna J.

Designed to assist chemistry teachers in selecting appropriate software programs, this publication is the fifth in a series of six teacher's guides from Project SERAPHIM, a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. This guide is keyed to the chapters of the text "Chemistry: The Central Science." Program suggestions are…

Expanding the global network of protected areas to save the imperiled mediterranean biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Underwood, Emma C; Klausmeyer, Kirk R; Cox, Robin L; Busby, Sylvia M; Morrison, Scott A; Shaw, M Rebecca

2009-02-01

: Global goals established by the Convention on Biological Diversity stipulate that 10% of the world's ecological regions must be effectively conserved by 2010. To meet that goal for the mediterranean biome, at least 5% more land must be formally protected over the next few years. Although global assessments identify the mediterranean biome as a priority, without biologically meaningful analysis units, finer-resolution data, and corresponding prioritization analysis, future conservation investments could lead to more area being protected without increasing the representation of unique mediterranean ecosystems. We used standardized analysis units and six potential natural vegetation types stratified by 3 elevation zones in a global gap analysis that systematically explored conservation priorities across the mediterranean biome. The highest levels of protection were in Australia, South Africa, and California-Baja California (from 9-11%), and the lowest levels of protection were in Chile and the mediterranean Basin (biome only one of the six vegetation types--mediterranean shrubland--exceeded 10% protection. The remaining vegetation types--grassland, scrub, succulent dominated, woodland, and forest--each had biome, we identified biodiversity assemblages with 30% conversion and suggest that these assemblages be elevated to high-priority status in future conservation efforts.

Terrestrial ecology. Comprehensive study of the grassland biome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1976-01-01

Terrestrial ecology and grassland biome studies are designed to characterize the biota of the Hanford Reservation, elucidate seasonal dynamics of plant productivity, decomposition and mineral behavior patterns of important plant communities, and, to study the response of these communities to important natural environmental stresses, such as weather, wildfire and man-induced alterations of communities (influenced by grazing cattle and severe mechanical disturbance of the soil, such as affected by plowing or burial of waste materials or construction activities). A detailed account of the important findings of a 5-yr study is currently being prepared by the terrestrial ecology section staff for publication as a contribution to the International Biological Program Grassland Biome project

The phylogeny and biogeography of Hakea (Proteaceae) reveals the role of biome shifts in a continental plant radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardillo, Marcel; Weston, Peter H; Reynolds, Zoe K M; Olde, Peter M; Mast, Austin R; Lemmon, Emily M; Lemmon, Alan R; Bromham, Lindell

2017-08-01

The frequency of evolutionary biome shifts during diversification has important implications for our ability to explain geographic patterns of plant diversity. Recent studies present several examples of biome shifts, but whether frequencies of biome shifts closely reflect geographic proximity or environmental similarity of biomes remains poorly known. We explore this question by using phylogenomic methods to estimate the phylogeny of Hakea, a diverse Australian genus occupying a wide range of biomes. Model-based estimation of ancestral regions indicates that Hakea began diversifying in the Mediterranean biome of southern Australia in the Middle Eocene-Early Oligocene, and dispersed repeatedly into other biomes across the continent. We infer around 47 shifts between biomes. Frequencies of shifts between pairs of biomes are usually similar to those expected from their geographic connectedness or climatic similarity, but in some cases are substantially higher or lower than expected, perhaps reflecting how readily key physiological traits can be modified to adapt lineages to new environments. The history of frequent biome-shifting is reflected in the structure of present-day assemblages, which tend to be more phylogenetically diverse than null-model expectations. The case of Hakea demonstrates that the radiation of large plant clades across wide geographic areas need not be constrained by dispersal limitation or conserved adaptations to particular environments. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Anthropogenic Biomes of the World, Version 2: 1700

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Anthropogenic Biomes of the World, Version 2: 1700 data set describes anthropogenic transformations within the terrestrial biosphere caused by sustained direct...

Anthropogenic Biomes of the World, Version 2: 1900

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Anthropogenic Biomes of the World, Version 2: 1900 data set describes anthropogenic transformations within the terrestrial biosphere caused by sustained direct...

Anthropogenic Biomes of the World, Version 2: 1800

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Anthropogenic Biomes of the World, Version 2: 1800 data set describes anthropogenic transformations within the terrestrial biosphere caused by sustained direct...

Anthropogenic Biomes of the World, Version 2: 2000

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Anthropogenic Biomes of the World, Version 2: 2000 data set describes anthropogenic transformations within the terrestrial biosphere caused by sustained direct...

Comparative patterns of plant invasions in the Mediterranean biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Arianoutsou, Margarita; Delipetrou, Pinelopi; Vilà, Montserrat; Dimitrakopoulos, Panayiotis G; Celesti-Grapow, Laura; Wardell-Johnson, Grant; Henderson, Lesley; Fuentes, Nicol; Ugarte-Mendes, Eduardo; Rundel, Philip W

2013-01-01

The objective of this work was to compare and contrast the patterns of alien plant invasions in the world's five mediterranean-climate regions (MCRs). We expected landscape age and disturbance history to have bearing on levels of invasion. We assembled a database on naturalized alien plant taxa occurring in natural and semi-natural terrestrial habitats of all five regions (specifically Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus from the Mediterranean Basin, California, central Chile, the Cape Region of South Africa and Southwestern - SW Australia). We used multivariate (hierarchical clustering and NMDS ordination) trait and habitat analysis to compare characteristics of regions, taxa and habitats across the mediterranean biome. Our database included 1627 naturalized species with an overall low taxonomic similarity among the five MCRs. Herbaceous perennials were the most frequent taxa, with SW Australia exhibiting both the highest numbers of naturalized species and the highest taxonomic similarity (homogenization) among habitats, and the Mediterranean Basin the lowest. Low stress and highly disturbed habitats had the highest frequency of invasion and homogenization in all regions, and high natural stress habitats the lowest, while taxonomic similarity was higher among different habitats in each region than among regions. Our analysis is the first to describe patterns of species characteristics and habitat vulnerability for a single biome. We have shown that a broad niche (i.e. more than one habitat) is typical of naturalized plant species, regardless of their geographical area of origin, leading to potential for high homogenization within each region. Habitats of the Mediterranean Basin are apparently the most resistant to plant invasion, possibly because their landscapes are generally of relatively recent origin, but with a more gradual exposure to human intervention over a longer period.

East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 1. Vol. 8(2) 40 - 42. Constituents of the Stem Bark of Dombeya Rotundifolia Hochst. S.N. NDWIGAH*', G.N. THOITHI', J.W. MWANGI~ AND 1.0. KIBWAGE'. 'Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Nairobi,. P. 0.

Remotely sensed phenology for mapping biomes and vegetation functional types

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Wessels, Konrad J

2009-07-01

Full Text Available clearly captured in Fig. 3. The majority of the pixels in the Savanna have a start of growing season in late October, midposition in February and end in June (Fig. 3). In contrast, the winter rainfall Succulent Karoo have a start of growing season... initially split the biomes based on vegetation production and then by the seasonality of growth IV - 1035 (Fig. 4). The three arid biomes (Desert, Succulent and Nama Figure 3. Frequency histograms of the mean START, midposition (MID) and END date...

FIFE data analysis: Testing BIOME-BGC predictions for grasslands

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, E. Raymond, Jr.

1994-01-01

The First International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Field Experiment (FIFE) was conducted in a 15 km by 15 km research area located 8 km south of Manhattan, Kansas. The site consists primarily of native tallgrass prairie mixed with gallery oak forests and croplands. The objectives of FIFE are to better understand the role of biology in controlling the interactions between the land and the atmosphere, and to determine the value of remotely sensed data for estimating climatological parameters. The goals of FIFE are twofold: the upscale integration of models, and algorithm development for satellite remote sensing. The specific objectives of the field campaigns carried out in 1987 and 1989 were the simultaneous acquisition of satellite, atmospheric, and surface data; and the understanding of the processes controlling surface energy and mass exchange. Collected data were used to study the dynamics of various ecosystem processes (photosynthesis, evaporation and transpiration, autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration, etc.). Modelling terrestrial ecosystems at scales larger than that of a homogeneous plot led to the development of simple, generalized models of biogeochemical cycles that can be accurately applied to different biomes through the use of remotely sensed data. A model was developed called BIOME-BGC (for BioGeochemical Cycles) from a coniferous forest ecosystem model, FOREST-BGC, where a biome is considered a combination of a life forms in a specified climate. A predominately C4-photosynthetic grassland is probably the most different from a coniferous forest possible, hence the FIFE site was an excellent study area for testing BIOME-BGC. The transition from an essentially one-dimensional calculation to three-dimensional, landscape scale simulations requires the introduction of such factors as meteorology, climatology, and geomorphology. By using remotely sensed geographic information data for important model inputs, process

Constrained variability of modeled T:ET ratio across biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Fatichi, Simone; Pappas, Christoforos

2017-07-01

A large variability (35-90%) in the ratio of transpiration to total evapotranspiration (referred here as T:ET) across biomes or even at the global scale has been documented by a number of studies carried out with different methodologies. Previous empirical results also suggest that T:ET does not covary with mean precipitation and has a positive dependence on leaf area index (LAI). Here we use a mechanistic ecohydrological model, with a refined process-based description of evaporation from the soil surface, to investigate the variability of T:ET across biomes. Numerical results reveal a more constrained range and higher mean of T:ET (70 ± 9%, mean ± standard deviation) when compared to observation-based estimates. T:ET is confirmed to be independent from mean precipitation, while it is found to be correlated with LAI seasonally but uncorrelated across multiple sites. Larger LAI increases evaporation from interception but diminishes ground evaporation with the two effects largely compensating each other. These results offer mechanistic model-based evidence to the ongoing research about the patterns of T:ET and the factors influencing its magnitude across biomes.

Pollen-based biome reconstruction for southern Europe and Africa 18,000 yr BP

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elenga, H; Peyron, O; Bonnefille, R; Jolly, D; Cheddadi, R; Guiot, J; Andrieu, [No Value; Bottema, S; Buchet, G; de Beaulieu, JL; Hamilton, AC; Maley, J; Marchant, R; Perez-Obiol, R; Reille, M; Riollet, G; Scott, L; Straka, H; Taylor, D; Van Campo, E; Vincens, A; Laarif, F; Jonson, H

Pollen data from 18,000 C-14 yr sp were compiled in order to reconstruct biome distributions at the last glacial maximum in southern Europe and Africa. Biome reconstructions were made using the objective biomization method applied to pollen counts using a complete list of dryland taxa wherever

Identification of biomes affected by marginal expansion of agricultural land use induced by increased crop consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kløverpris, Jesper Hedal

2009-01-01

to characterise these areas. The present study ascribes so-called biomes (natural potential vegetation) to the areas affected by agricultural expansion in order to provide a basis for assessing the environmental impacts from land use in the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). The methodology builds...... on agricultural statistics and maps of global agricultural areas and the global distribution of biomes. The application of the method is illustrated with four examples. The results indicate that agricultural expansion on land suited for crop cultivation (cultivable land) typically affects forest biomes...... or potential grassland/steppe, whereas expansion on land suited for grazing but not for crop cultivation (grazable land) typically occurs on potential shrubland or a few other biomes depending on the region. Some uncertainty applies to the results but it is concluded that it is feasible to identify biomes...

Forest carbon emissions from cropland expansion in the Brazilian Cerrado biome

Science.gov (United States)

Noojipady, Praveen; Morton, C. Douglas; Macedo, N. Marcia; Victoria, C. Daniel; Huang, Chengquan; Gibbs, K. Holly; Edson Bolfe, L.

2017-02-01

Land use, land use change, and forestry accounted for two-thirds of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions profile in 2005. Amazon deforestation has declined by more than 80% over the past decade, yet Brazil’s forests extend beyond the Amazon biome. Rapid expansion of cropland in the neighboring Cerrado biome has the potential to undermine climate mitigation efforts if emissions from dry forest and woodland conversion negate some of the benefits of avoided Amazon deforestation. Here, we used satellite data on cropland expansion, forest cover, and vegetation carbon stocks to estimate annual gross forest carbon emissions from cropland expansion in the Cerrado biome. Nearly half of the Cerrado met Brazil’s definition of forest cover in 2000 (≥0.5 ha with ≥10% canopy cover). In areas of established crop production, conversion of both forest and non-forest Cerrado formations for cropland declined during 2003-2013. However, forest carbon emissions from cropland expansion increased over the past decade in Matopiba, a new frontier of agricultural production that includes portions of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia states. Gross carbon emissions from cropland expansion in the Cerrado averaged 16.28 Tg C yr-1 between 2003 and 2013, with forest-to-cropland conversion accounting for 29% of emissions. The fraction of forest carbon emissions from Matopiba was much higher; between 2010-2013, large-scale cropland conversion in Matopiba contributed 45% of total Cerrado forest carbon emissions. Carbon emissions from Cerrado-to-cropland transitions offset 5%-7% of the avoided emissions from reduced Amazon deforestation rates during 2011-2013. Comprehensive national estimates of forest carbon fluxes, including all biomes, are critical to detect cross-biome leakage within countries and achieve climate mitigation targets to reduce emissions from land use, land use change, and forestry.

Consequences of biome depletion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvucci, Emiliano

2013-01-01

The human microbiome is an integral part of the superorganism together with their host and they have co-evolved since the early days of the existence of the human species. The modification of the microbiome as a result changes in food and social habits of human beings throughout their life history has led to the emergence of many diseases. In contrast with the Darwinian view of nature of selfishness and competence, new holistic approaches are rising. Under these views, the reconstitution of the microbiome comes out as a fundamental therapy for emerging diseases related to biome depletion.

Structural characterization of vegetation in the fynbos biome

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Campbell, BM

1981-08-01

Full Text Available A proposed system for the standardization of descriptive terminology for structural characterization of vegetation in the Fynbos Biome is presented in tabular form. Specific applications of the system are described and illustrations of some...

Climate and litter quality differently modulate the effects of soil fauna on litter decomposition across biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Palacios, Pablo; Maestre, Fernando T; Kattge, Jens; Wall, Diana H

2013-08-01

Climate and litter quality have been identified as major drivers of litter decomposition at large spatial scales. However, the role played by soil fauna remains largely unknown, despite its importance for litter fragmentation and microbial activity. We synthesised litterbag studies to quantify the effect sizes of soil fauna on litter decomposition rates at the global and biome scales, and to assess how climate, litter quality and soil fauna interact to determine such rates. Soil fauna consistently enhanced litter decomposition at both global and biome scales (average increment ~ 37%). [corrected]. However, climate and litter quality differently modulated the effects of soil fauna on decomposition rates between biomes, from climate-driven biomes to those where climate effects were mediated by changes in litter quality. Our results advocate for the inclusion of biome-specific soil fauna effects on litter decomposition as a mean to reduce the unexplained variation in large-scale decomposition models. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Federal Conservation Units in Brazil: The Situation of Biomes and Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Pacca Luna Mattar

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Federal conservation units (FCU are areas legally established by the government, in order to meet the needs of protection and sustainable exploitation of biodiversity. A way to ensure the efficiency of public management is to systematize data. Therefore, the present study grouped and analyzed public data about FCU. Brazil has 309 federal conservation units, which represent 9.06% of the national territory and 45305 residents households. The Northern Region covers 84.80% of these families and 79.20% of its area belongs to FCU. The Amazônia biome has 14.57% of its territory occupied by FCU; on the other hand, Pantanal has only 0.98% of its area protected. There is a higher concentration of public agents in the FCU of the Southeastern region and in the Mata Atlântica biome. The analysis of this information reveals significant differences between the biomes and the federation units, a fact that reflects the importance of the organization of public data.

La filatelia biomédica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilio J.A. Roldán

2011-02-01

Full Text Available La temática biomédica es un capítulo extendido de la filatelia o coleccionismo de sellos postales. Inaugura la temática la imagen de la diosa Hygeia, en un sello de la isla Nevis de 1861. Los primeros médicos retratados en una estampilla son tres constitucionalistas americanos, en un ejemplar de 1869, pero recién en 1937 aparecen médicos holandeses en reconocimiento específico de sus aportes a la salud. En la Argentina la primera estampilla que oficialmente se ocupa del tema es de 1944, en ayuda de las víctimas del terremoto de San Juan. Florentino Ameghino es el primer científico incluido en 1954, y en 1967 se edita un sello conmemorativo de la Dra. Cecilia Grierson. La filatelia argentina luego reconoce varios de nuestros científicos y médicos, congresos, universidades, campañas sanitarias, temas de odontología, farmacia, enfermería y otros, generando un amplio material filatélico en reconocimiento del valor social que la ciencia biomédica argentina ha logrado en el contexto propio e internacional. Posiblemente sea un científico, el Dr. Bernardo Houssay, uno de los argentinos más veces editado en distintos sellos postales de la filatelia mundial.

Two New Species and New Occurrences of Syneches Walker for Brazilian Biome of Caatinga (Diptera: Hybotidae: Hybotinae).

Science.gov (United States)

Soares, M M M; Ale-Rocha, R

2018-03-13

Syneches from Brazilian biome of Caatinga were studied, two new species are described, Syneches atratus sp. nov. and Syneches limeirai sp. nov., and three species, Syneches annulipes Bezzi, 1909, Syneches moraballi Smith, 1963, and Syneches rafaeli Ale-Rocha & Vieira, 2008, are recorded for the biome. An identification key for the species of Syneches from Caatinga biome is provided.

BIOME: A browser-aware search and order system

Science.gov (United States)

Grubb, Jon W.; Jennings, Sarah V.; Yow, Teresa G.; Daughterty, Patricia F.

1996-01-01

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC), which is associated with NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), provides access to a large number of tabular and imagery datasets used in ecological and environmental research. Because of its large and diverse data holdings, the challenge for the ORNL DAAC is to help users find data of interest from the hundreds of thousands of files available at the DAAC without overwhelming them. Therefore, the ORNL DAAC developed the Biogeochemical Information Ordering Management Environment (BIOME), a search and order system for the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW provides a new vehicle that allows a wide range of users access to the data. This paper describes the specialized attributes incorporated into BIOME that allow researchers easy access to an otherwise bewildering array of data products.

Birth of a biome: insights into the assembly and maintenance of the Australian arid zone biota.

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, M; Yeates, D K; Joseph, L; Kearney, M; Bowler, J; Williams, M A J; Cooper, S; Donnellan, S C; Keogh, J S; Leys, R; Melville, J; Murphy, D J; Porch, N; Wyrwoll, K-H

2008-10-01

The integration of phylogenetics, phylogeography and palaeoenvironmental studies is providing major insights into the historical forces that have shaped the Earth's biomes. Yet our present view is biased towards arctic and temperate/tropical forest regions, with very little focus on the extensive arid regions of the planet. The Australian arid zone is one of the largest desert landform systems in the world, with a unique, diverse and relatively well-studied biota. With foci on palaeoenvironmental and molecular data, we here review what is known about the assembly and maintenance of this biome in the context of its physical history, and in comparison with other mesic biomes. Aridification of Australia began in the Mid-Miocene, around 15 million years, but fully arid landforms in central Australia appeared much later, around 1-4 million years. Dated molecular phylogenies of diverse taxa show the deepest divergences of arid-adapted taxa from the Mid-Miocene, consistent with the onset of desiccation. There is evidence of arid-adapted taxa evolving from mesic-adapted ancestors, and also of speciation within the arid zone. There is no evidence for an increase in speciation rate during the Pleistocene, and most arid-zone species lineages date to the Pliocene or earlier. The last 0.8 million years have seen major fluctuations of the arid zone, with large areas covered by mobile sand dunes during glacial maxima. Some large, vagile taxa show patterns of recent expansion and migration throughout the arid zone, in parallel with the ice sheet-imposed range shifts in Northern Hemisphere taxa. Yet other taxa show high lineage diversity and strong phylogeographical structure, indicating persistence in multiple localised refugia over several glacial maxima. Similar to the Northern Hemisphere, Pleistocene range shifts have produced suture zones, creating the opportunity for diversification and speciation through hybridisation, polyploidy and parthenogenesis. This review highlights

NEE and GPP dynamic evolution at two biomes in the upper Spanish plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, María Luisa; Pardo, Nuria; Pérez, Isidro Alberto; García, Maria de los Angeles

2014-05-01

In order to assess the ability of dominant biomes to act as a CO2 sink, two eddy correlation stations close to each other in central Spain have been concurrently operational since March 2008 until the present. The land use of the first station, AC, is a rapeseed rotating crop consisting of annual rotation of non-irrigated rapeseed, barley, peas, rye, and sunflower, respectively. The land use of the second, CIBA, is a mixture of open shrubs/crops, with open shrubs being markedly dominant. The period of measurements covered variable general meteorological conditions. 2009 and 2012 were dominated by drought, whereas 2010 was the rainiest year. Annual rainfall during 2008 and 2009 was close to the historical averaged annual means. This paper presents the dynamic evolution of NEE-8d and GPP-8d observed at the AC station over five years and compares the results with those concurrently observed at the CIBA station. GGP 8-d estimates at both stations were determined using a Light Use Efficiency Model, LUE. Input data for the LUE model were the FPAR 8-d products supplied by MODIS, PAR in situ measurements, and a scalar f, varying between 0 and 1, to take account of the reduction in maximum PAR conversion efficiency, ɛ0, under limiting environmental conditions. f values were assumed to be dependent on air temperature and evaporative fraction, EF, which was considered a proxy of soil moisture. ɛ0, a key parameter, which depends on land use types, was derived through the results of a linear regression fit between the GPP 8-d eddy covariance composites observed and the LUE concurrent 8-d model estimates. Over the five-year study period, both biomes behaved as CO2 sinks. However, the ratio of the NEE-8d total accumulated at AC and CIBA, respectively, was close to a factor two, revealing the effectiveness of the studied crops as CO2 sinks. On an annual basis, accumulated NEE-8d exhibited major variability in both biomes. At CIBA, the results were largely dominated by the

BIOME: A scientific data archive search-and-order system using browser-aware, dynamic pages

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, S. V.; Yow, T. G.; Ng, V. W.

1997-01-01

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) is a data archive and distribution center for the National Air and Space Administration's (NASA) Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Both the Earth Observing System (EOS) and EOSDIS are components of NASA's contribution to the US Global Change Research Program through its Mission to Planet Earth Program. The ORNL DAAC provides access to data used in ecological and environmental research such as global change, global warming, and terrestrial ecology. Because of its large and diverse data holdings, the challenge for the ORNL DAAC is to help users find data of interest from the hundreds of thousands of files available at the DAAC without overwhelming them. Therefore, the ORNL DAAC has developed the Biogeochemical Information Ordering Management Environment (BIOME), a customized search and order system for the World Wide Web (WWW). BIOME is a public system located at http://www-eosdis. ornl.gov/BIOME/biome.html.

Biome Is Where the Art Is

Science.gov (United States)

Gooden, Kelly

2005-01-01

The author is surprised every year when fifth-grade students react to the study of biomes as if they've never given any thought to the differences across parts of the world. Sure, they've all heard of the tropical rain forest and the desert, but it seems as though they think the rest of the world is just some undefined area with climate, animals,…

The Globe of Science and Innovation's central vortex

CERN Multimedia

Patrice Loiez

2004-01-01

The central vortex of the Globe of Science and Innovation is a crown measuring 6.15 m in diameter and 4.5 m in height. Having been lifted by a crane to a height of over 22 m, the vortex is placed on a support structure which will be removed once the 36 arcs providing the building's structure have been secured in place.

Where do the treeless tundra areas of northern highlands fit in the global biome system: toward an ecologically natural subdivision of the tundra biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Virtanen, Risto; Oksanen, Lauri; Oksanen, Tarja; Cohen, Juval; Forbes, Bruce C; Johansen, Bernt; Käyhkö, Jukka; Olofsson, Johan; Pulliainen, Jouni; Tømmervik, Hans

2016-01-01

According to some treatises, arctic and alpine sub-biomes are ecologically similar, whereas others find them highly dissimilar. Most peculiarly, large areas of northern tundra highlands fall outside of the two recent subdivisions of the tundra biome. We seek an ecologically natural resolution to this long-standing and far-reaching problem. We studied broad-scale patterns in climate and vegetation along the gradient from Siberian tundra via northernmost Fennoscandia to the alpine habitats of European middle-latitude mountains, as well as explored those patterns within Fennoscandian tundra based on climate-vegetation patterns obtained from a fine-scale vegetation map. Our analyses reveal that ecologically meaningful January-February snow and thermal conditions differ between different types of tundra. High precipitation and mild winter temperatures prevail on middle-latitude mountains, low precipitation and usually cold winters prevail on high-latitude tundra, and Scandinavian mountains show intermediate conditions. Similarly, heath-like plant communities differ clearly between middle latitude mountains (alpine) and high-latitude tundra vegetation, including its altitudinal extension on Scandinavian mountains. Conversely, high abundance of snowbeds and large differences in the composition of dwarf shrub heaths distinguish the Scandinavian mountain tundra from its counterparts in Russia and the north Fennoscandian inland. The European tundra areas fall into three ecologically rather homogeneous categories: the arctic tundra, the oroarctic tundra of northern heights and mountains, and the genuinely alpine tundra of middle-latitude mountains. Attempts to divide the tundra into two sub-biomes have resulted in major discrepancies and confusions, as the oroarctic areas are included in the arctic tundra in some biogeographic maps and in the alpine tundra in others. Our analyses based on climate and vegetation criteria thus seem to resolve the long-standing biome

An intercomparison of biogenic emissions estimates from BEIS2 and BIOME: Reconciling the differences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilkinson, J.G. [Alpine Geophysics, Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Emigh, R.A. [Alpine Geophysics, Boulder, CO (United States); Pierce, T.E. [Atmospheric Characterization and Modeling Division/NOAA, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)

1996-12-31

Biogenic emissions play a critical role in urban and regional air quality. For instance, biogenic emissions contribute upwards of 76% of the daily hydrocarbon emissions in the Atlanta, Georgia airshed. The Biogenic Emissions Inventory System-Version 2.0 (BEIS2) and the Biogenic Model for Emissions (BIOME) are two models that compute biogenic emissions estimates. BEIS2 is a FORTRAN-based system, and BIOME is an ARC/INFO{reg_sign} - and SAS{reg_sign}-based system. Although the technical formulations of the models are similar, the models produce different biogenic emissions estimates for what appear to be essentially the same inputs. The goals of our study are the following: (1) Determine why BIOME and BEIS2 produce different emissions estimates; (2) Attempt to understand the impacts that the differences have on the emissions estimates; (3) Reconcile the differences where possible; and (4) Present a framework for the use of BEIS2 and BIOME. In this study, we used the Coastal Oxidant Assessment for Southeast Texas (COAST) biogenics data which were supplied to us courtesy of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), and we extracted the BEIS2 data for the same domain. We compared the emissions estimates of the two models using their respective data sets BIOME Using TNRCC data and BEIS2 using BEIS2 data.

International collaboration in the history of science of Central Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soňa ŠTRBÁŇOVÁ

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In the last ten years, approximately, we could witness an evolution in informal international collaboration focusing on shared and interconnected history of science in the Habsburg Monarchy and in Central Europe in general. This effort, which includes mainly historians of science from Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, has already produced a number of important results and contributed to the thematization of some timeless topics of history of sciences such as, for instance, nationalization and internationalization of science. In the context of this cooperation, the seminar of Jan Surman, a historian of science of Polish descent, held at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague in May 2015, concentrated on the formation of national scientific terminologies. It also underlined the necessity and usefulness of international collaboration in achieving a deeper understanding of the “national” histories of science, which cannot be separated from the “international” history.

Evolutionary biology and anthropology suggest biome reconstitution as a necessary approach toward dealing with immune disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, William; Ollerton, Jeff

2013-01-01

Industrialized society currently faces a wide range of non-infectious, immune-related pandemics. These pandemics include a variety of autoimmune, inflammatory and allergic diseases that are often associated with common environmental triggers and with genetic predisposition, but that do not occur in developing societies. In this review, we briefly present the idea that these pandemics are due to a limited number of evolutionary mismatches, the most damaging being 'biome depletion'. This particular mismatch involves the loss of species from the ecosystem of the human body, the human biome, many of which have traditionally been classified as parasites, although some may actually be commensal or even mutualistic. This view, evolved from the 'hygiene hypothesis', encompasses a broad ecological and evolutionary perspective that considers host-symbiont relations as plastic, changing through ecological space and evolutionary time. Fortunately, this perspective provides a blueprint, termed 'biome reconstitution', for disease treatment and especially for disease prevention. Biome reconstitution includes the controlled and population-wide reintroduction (i.e. domestication) of selected species that have been all but eradicated from the human biome in industrialized society and holds great promise for the elimination of pandemics of allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Reimplementation of the Biome-BGC model to simulate successional change.

Science.gov (United States)

Bond-Lamberty, Ben; Gower, Stith T; Ahl, Douglas E; Thornton, Peter E

2005-04-01

Biogeochemical process models are increasingly employed to simulate current and future forest dynamics, but most simulate only a single canopy type. This limitation means that mixed stands, canopy succession and understory dynamics cannot be modeled, severe handicaps in many forests. The goals of this study were to develop a version of Biome-BGC that supported multiple, interacting vegetation types, and to assess its performance and limitations by comparing modeled results to published data from a 150-year boreal black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) chronosequence in northern Manitoba, Canada. Model data structures and logic were modified to support an arbitrary number of interacting vegetation types; an explicit height calculation was necessary to prioritize radiation and precipitation interception. Two vegetation types, evergreen needle-leaf and deciduous broadleaf, were modeled based on site-specific meteorological and physiological data. The new version of Biome-BGC reliably simulated observed changes in leaf area, net primary production and carbon stocks, and should be useful for modeling the dynamics of mixed-species stands and ecological succession. We discuss the strengths and limitations of Biome-BGC for this application, and note areas in which further work is necessary for reliable simulation of boreal biogeochemical cycling at a landscape scale.

Evolutionary history of a keystone pollinator parallels the biome occupancy of angiosperms in the Greater Cape Floristic Region.

Science.gov (United States)

de Jager, Marinus L; Ellis, Allan G

2017-02-01

The Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) in South Africa has been extensively investigated for its phenomenal angiosperm diversity. A key emergent pattern is the occurrence of older plant lineages in the southern Fynbos biome and younger lineages in the northern Succulent Karoo biome. We know practically nothing, however, about the evolutionary history of the animals that pollinate this often highly-specialized flora. In this study, we explore the evolutionary history of an important GCFR fly pollinator, Megapalpus capensis, and ask whether it exhibits broadly congruent genetic structuring and timing of diversification to flowering plants within these biomes. We find that the oldest M. capensis lineages originated in Fynbos during the Miocene, while younger Succulent Karoo lineages diverged in the Pliocene and correspond to the proposed age of this recent biome. A strong signature of population expansion is also recovered for flies in this arid biome, consistent with recent colonization. Our first investigation into the evolutionary history of GCFR pollinators thus supports a recent origin of the SK biome, as inferred from angiosperm phylogenies, and suggests that plants and pollinators may have co-diverged within this remarkable area. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Future changes in South American biomass distributions, biome distributions and plant trait spectra is dependent on applied atmospheric forcings.

Science.gov (United States)

Langan, Liam; Scheiter, Simon; Higgins, Steven

2017-04-01

It remains poorly understood why the position of the forest-savanna biome boundary, in a domain defined by precipitation and temperature, differs in South America, Africa and Australia. Process based Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) are a valuable tool to investigate the determinants of vegetation distributions, however, many DGVMs fail to predict the spatial distribution or indeed presence of the South American savanna biome. Evidence suggests fire plays a significant role in mediating forest-savanna biome boundaries, however, fire alone appear to be insufficient to predict these boundaries in South America. We hypothesize that interactions between precipitation, constraints on tree rooting depth and fire, affect the probability of savanna occurrence and the position of the savanna-forest boundary. We tested our hypotheses at tropical forest and savanna sites in Brazil and Venezuela using a novel DGVM, aDGVM2, which allows plant trait spectra, constrained by trade-offs between traits, to evolve in response to abiotic and biotic conditions. Plant hydraulics is represented by the cohesion-tension theory, this allowed us to explore how soil and plant hydraulics control biome distributions and plant traits. The resulting community trait distributions are emergent properties of model dynamics. We showed that across much of South America the biome state is not determined by climate alone. Interactions between tree rooting depth, fire and precipitation affected the probability of observing a given biome state and the emergent traits of plant communities. Simulations where plant rooting depth varied in space provided the best match to satellite derived biomass estimates and generated biome distributions that reproduced contemporary biome maps well. Future projections showed that biomass distributions, biome distributions and plant trait spectra will change, however, the magnitude of these changes are highly dependent on the applied atmospheric forcings.

Large-scale impact of climate change vs. land-use change on future biome shifts in Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Boit, Alice; Sakschewski, Boris; Boysen, Lena; Cano-Crespo, Ana; Clement, Jan; Garcia-Alaniz, Nashieli; Kok, Kasper; Kolb, Melanie; Langerwisch, Fanny; Rammig, Anja; Sachse, René; van Eupen, Michiel; von Bloh, Werner; Clara Zemp, Delphine; Thonicke, Kirsten

2016-11-01

Climate change and land-use change are two major drivers of biome shifts causing habitat and biodiversity loss. What is missing is a continental-scale future projection of the estimated relative impacts of both drivers on biome shifts over the course of this century. Here, we provide such a projection for the biodiverse region of Latin America under four socio-economic development scenarios. We find that across all scenarios 5-6% of the total area will undergo biome shifts that can be attributed to climate change until 2099. The relative impact of climate change on biome shifts may overtake land-use change even under an optimistic climate scenario, if land-use expansion is halted by the mid-century. We suggest that constraining land-use change and preserving the remaining natural vegetation early during this century creates opportunities to mitigate climate-change impacts during the second half of this century. Our results may guide the evaluation of socio-economic scenarios in terms of their potential for biome conservation under global change. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Terrestrial ecosystem process model Biome-BGCMuSo v4.0: summary of improvements and new modeling possibilities

Science.gov (United States)

Hidy, Dóra; Barcza, Zoltán; Marjanović, Hrvoje; Zorana Ostrogović Sever, Maša; Dobor, Laura; Gelybó, Györgyi; Fodor, Nándor; Pintér, Krisztina; Churkina, Galina; Running, Steven; Thornton, Peter; Bellocchi, Gianni; Haszpra, László; Horváth, Ferenc; Suyker, Andrew; Nagy, Zoltán

2016-12-01

The process-based biogeochemical model Biome-BGC was enhanced to improve its ability to simulate carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles of various terrestrial ecosystems under contrasting management activities. Biome-BGC version 4.1.1 was used as a base model. Improvements included addition of new modules such as the multilayer soil module, implementation of processes related to soil moisture and nitrogen balance, soil-moisture-related plant senescence, and phenological development. Vegetation management modules with annually varying options were also implemented to simulate management practices of grasslands (mowing, grazing), croplands (ploughing, fertilizer application, planting, harvesting), and forests (thinning). New carbon and nitrogen pools have been defined to simulate yield and soft stem development of herbaceous ecosystems. The model version containing all developments is referred to as Biome-BGCMuSo (Biome-BGC with multilayer soil module; in this paper, Biome-BGCMuSo v4.0 is documented). Case studies on a managed forest, cropland, and grassland are presented to demonstrate the effect of model developments on the simulation of plant growth as well as on carbon and water balance.

A dated phylogeny and collection records reveal repeated biome shifts in the African genus Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Holstein, Norbert; Renner, Susanne S

2011-01-26

Conservatism in climatic tolerance may limit geographic range expansion and should enhance the effects of habitat fragmentation on population subdivision. Here we study the effects of historical climate change, and the associated habitat fragmentation, on diversification in the mostly sub-Saharan cucurbit genus Coccinia, which has 27 species in a broad range of biota from semi-arid habitats to mist forests. Species limits were inferred from morphology, and nuclear and plastid DNA sequence data, using multiple individuals for the widespread species. Climatic tolerances were assessed from the occurrences of 1189 geo-referenced collections and WorldClim variables. Nuclear and plastid gene trees included 35 or 65 accessions, representing up to 25 species. The data revealed four species groups, one in southern Africa, one in Central and West African rain forest, one widespread but absent from Central and West African rain forest, and one that occurs from East Africa to southern Africa. A few individuals are differently placed in the plastid and nuclear (LFY) trees or contain two ITS sequence types, indicating hybridization. A molecular clock suggests that the diversification of Coccinia began about 6.9 Ma ago, with most of the extant species diversity dating to the Pliocene. Ancestral biome reconstruction reveals six switches between semi-arid habitats, woodland, and forest, and members of several species pairs differ significantly in their tolerance of different precipitation regimes. The most surprising findings of this study are the frequent biome shifts (in a relatively small clade) over just 6 - 7 million years and the limited diversification during and since the Pleistocene. Pleistocene climate oscillations may have been too rapid or too shallow for full reproductive barriers to develop among fragmented populations of Coccinia, which would explain the apparently still ongoing hybridization between certain species. Steeper ecological gradients in East Africa and

Modeling Carbon and Water Budgets in the Lushi Basin with Biome-BGC

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Dong Wenjuan; Qi Ye; Li Huimin; Zhou Dajie; Shi Duanhua; Sun Liying

2005-01-01

In this article, annual evapotranspiration (ET) and net primary productivity (NPP) of four types of vegetation were estimated for the Lushi basin,a subbasin of the Yellow River in China. These four vegetation types include: deciduous broadleaf forest,evergreen needle leaf forest, dwarf shrub and grass.Biome-BGC--a biogeochemical process model was used to calculate annual ET and NPP for each vegetation type in the study area from 1954 to 2000.Daily microclimate data of 47 years monitored by Lushi meteorological station was extrapolated to cover the basin using MT-CLIM, a mountain microclimate simulator. The output files of MTCLIM were used to feed Biome-BGC. We used average ecophysiological values of each type of vegetation supplied by Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group (NTSG) in the University of Montana as input ecophysiological constants file.The estimates of daily NPP in early July and annual ET on these four biome groups were compared respectively with field measurements and other studies.Daily gross primary production (GPP) of evergreen needle leaf forest measurements were very dose to the output of Biome-BGC, but measurements of broadleaf forest and dwarf shrub were much smaller than the simulation result. Simulated annual ET and NPP had a significant correlation with precipitation,indicating precipitation is the major environmental factor affecting ET and NPP in the study area.Precipitation also is the key climatic factor for the interannual ET and NPP variations.

La filatelia biomédica Biomedicine philately

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilio J.A. Roldán

2011-02-01

Full Text Available La temática biomédica es un capítulo extendido de la filatelia o coleccionismo de sellos postales. Inaugura la temática la imagen de la diosa Hygeia, en un sello de la isla Nevis de 1861. Los primeros médicos retratados en una estampilla son tres constitucionalistas americanos, en un ejemplar de 1869, pero recién en 1937 aparecen médicos holandeses en reconocimiento específico de sus aportes a la salud. En la Argentina la primera estampilla que oficialmente se ocupa del tema es de 1944, en ayuda de las víctimas del terremoto de San Juan. Florentino Ameghino es el primer científico incluido en 1954, y en 1967 se edita un sello conmemorativo de la Dra. Cecilia Grierson. La filatelia argentina luego reconoce varios de nuestros científicos y médicos, congresos, universidades, campañas sanitarias, temas de odontología, farmacia, enfermería y otros, generando un amplio material filatélico en reconocimiento del valor social que la ciencia biomédica argentina ha logrado en el contexto propio e internacional. Posiblemente sea un científico, el Dr. Bernardo Houssay, uno de los argentinos más veces editado en distintos sellos postales de la filatelia mundial.Biomedicine is a vast field in philately or stamp collecting. It opens the topic the image of the goddess Hygeia, issued in a stamp from Nevis Island dated 1861. The first physicians to appear printed in stamps, in 1869, were three American constitutionalists, but only in 1937 there appear Dutch physicians as an acknowledgement of their contribution to public health. In Argentina the first stamp officially related to the topic was issued in 1944, to raise funds for the victims of the San Juan earthquake. Florentino Ameghino was the first scientist included in 1954, and in 1967 a stamp was issued in honour of Dr. Cecilia Grierson. Afterwards, Argentinean philately has recognized several of our scientists and physicians, congresses, universities, health campaigns, dentistry topics

Karoo biome: a preliminary sythesis. Part 1 - physical environment

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Cowling, RM

1986-01-01

Full Text Available . It is a multi-authored publication covering a wide range of topics. This first volume summarizes what is currently known on the physical environment of the biome; namely geology, soils, climate, hydrology, geohydrology and soil erosion. Other aspects...

La filatelia biomédica

OpenAIRE

Emilio J.A. Roldán; Claudio Zuckerberg

2011-01-01

La temática biomédica es un capítulo extendido de la filatelia o coleccionismo de sellos postales. Inaugura la temática la imagen de la diosa Hygeia, en un sello de la isla Nevis de 1861. Los primeros médicos retratados en una estampilla son tres constitucionalistas americanos, en un ejemplar de 1869, pero recién en 1937 aparecen médicos holandeses en reconocimiento específico de sus aportes a la salud. En la Argentina la primera estampilla que oficialmente se ocupa del tema es de 1944, en ay...

Biome-BGC: Terrestrial Ecosystem Process Model, Version 4.1.1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: Biome-BGC is a computer program that estimates fluxes and storage of energy, water, carbon, and nitrogen for the vegetation and soil components of...

Biome-BGC: Terrestrial Ecosystem Process Model, Version 4.1.1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Biome-BGC is a computer program that estimates fluxes and storage of energy, water, carbon, and nitrogen for the vegetation and soil components of terrestrial...

59 East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

pharm-chem

East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Vol. 16 (2013). There is a misconception that traditional medicine is unique to developing countries of Africa, Asia and. South America. This is certainly not true. Traditional medicine, often referred to as "alternative medicine", is widely used in developed countries ...

Structural development and web service based sensitivity analysis of the Biome-BGC MuSo model

Science.gov (United States)

Hidy, Dóra; Balogh, János; Churkina, Galina; Haszpra, László; Horváth, Ferenc; Ittzés, Péter; Ittzés, Dóra; Ma, Shaoxiu; Nagy, Zoltán; Pintér, Krisztina; Barcza, Zoltán

2014-05-01

Studying the greenhouse gas exchange, mainly the carbon dioxide sink and source character of ecosystems is still a highly relevant research topic in biogeochemistry. During the past few years research focused on managed ecosystems, because human intervention has an important role in the formation of the land surface through agricultural management, land use change, and other practices. In spite of considerable developments current biogeochemical models still have uncertainties to adequately quantify greenhouse gas exchange processes of managed ecosystem. Therefore, it is an important task to develop and test process-based biogeochemical models. Biome-BGC is a widely used, popular biogeochemical model that simulates the storage and flux of water, carbon, and nitrogen between the ecosystem and the atmosphere, and within the components of the terrestrial ecosystems. Biome-BGC was originally developed by the Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group (NTSG) of University of Montana (http://www.ntsg.umt.edu/project/biome-bgc), and several other researchers used and modified it in the past. Our research group developed Biome-BGC version 4.1.1 to improve essentially the ability of the model to simulate carbon and water cycle in real managed ecosystems. The modifications included structural improvements of the model (e.g., implementation of multilayer soil module and drought related plant senescence; improved model phenology). Beside these improvements management modules and annually varying options were introduced and implemented (simulate mowing, grazing, planting, harvest, ploughing, application of fertilizers, forest thinning). Dynamic (annually varying) whole plant mortality was also enabled in the model to support more realistic simulation of forest stand development and natural disturbances. In the most recent model version separate pools have been defined for fruit. The model version which contains every former and new development is referred as Biome-BGC MuSo (Biome

Parameterisation of Biome BGC to assess forest ecosystems in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Gautam, Sishir; Pietsch, Stephan A.

2010-05-01

African forest ecosystems are an important environmental and economic resource. Several studies show that tropical forests are critical to society as economic, environmental and societal resources. Tropical forests are carbon dense and thus play a key role in climate change mitigation. Unfortunately, the response of tropical forests to environmental change is largely unknown owing to insufficient spatially extensive observations. Developing regions like Africa where records of forest management for long periods are unavailable the process-based ecosystem simulation model - BIOME BGC could be a suitable tool to explain forest ecosystem dynamics. This ecosystem simulation model uses descriptive input parameters to establish the physiology, biochemistry, structure, and allocation patterns within vegetation functional types, or biomes. Undocumented parameters for larger-resolution simulations are currently the major limitations to regional modelling in African forest ecosystems. This study was conducted to document input parameters for BIOME-BGC for major natural tropical forests in the Congo basin. Based on available literature and field measurements updated values for turnover and mortality, allometry, carbon to nitrogen ratios, allocation of plant material to labile, cellulose, and lignin pools, tree morphology and other relevant factors were assigned. Daily climate input data for the model applications were generated using the statistical weather generator MarkSim. The forest was inventoried at various sites and soil samples of corresponding stands across Gabon were collected. Carbon and nitrogen in the collected soil samples were determined from soil analysis. The observed tree volume, soil carbon and soil nitrogen were then compared with the simulated model outputs to evaluate the model performance. Furthermore, the simulation using Congo Basin specific parameters and generalised BIOME BGC parameters for tropical evergreen broadleaved tree species were also

Improved clonality detection in B-cell lymphoma using a semi-nested modification of the BIOMED-2 PCR assay for IGH rearrangement: A paraffin-embedded tissue study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakamoto, Yuma; Masaki, Ayako; Aoyama, Satsuki; Han, Shusen; Saida, Kosuke; Fujii, Kana; Takino, Hisashi; Murase, Takayuki; Iida, Shinsuke; Inagaki, Hiroshi

2017-09-01

The BIOMED-2 PCR protocol for targeting the IGH gene is widely employed for detecting clonality in B-cell malignancies. Unfortunately, the detection of clonality with this method is not very sensitive when paraffin sections are used as a DNA source. To increase the sensitivity, we devised a semi-nested modification of a JH consensus primer. The clonality detection rates of three assays were compared: the standard BIOMED-2, BIOMED-2 assay followed by BIOMED-2 re-amplification, and BIOMED-2 assay followed by semi-nested BIOMED-2. We tested more than 100 cases using paraffin-embedded tissues of various B-cell lymphomas, and found that the clonality detection rates with the above three assays were 63.9%, 79.6%, and 88.0%, respectively. While BIOMED-2 re-amplification was significantly more sensitive than the standard BIOMED-2, the semi-nested BIOMED-2 was significantly more sensitive than both the standard BIOMED-2 and BIOMED-2 re-amplification. An increase in sensitivity was observed in all lymphoma subtypes examined. In conclusion, tumor clonality may be detected in nearly 90% of B-cell lymphoma cases with semi-nested BIOMED-2. This ancillary assay may be useful when the standard BIOMED-2 fails to detect clonality in histopathologically suspected B-cell lymphomas. © 2017 Japanese Society of Pathology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Intrinsic climate dependency of ecosystem light and water-use-efficiencies across Australian biomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Hao; Li, Longhui; Eamus, Derek; Cleverly, James; Huete, Alfredo; Yu, Qiang; Beringer, Jason; Van Gorsel, Eva; Hutley, Lindsay

2014-01-01

The sensitivity of ecosystem gross primary production (GPP) to availability of water and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) differs among biomes. Here we investigated variations of ecosystem light-use-efficiency (eLUE: GPP/PAR) and water-use-efficiency (eWUE: GPP/evapotranspiration) among seven Australian eddy covariance sites with differing annual precipitation, species composition and temperature. Changes to both eLUE and eWUE were primarily correlated with atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (VPD) at multiple temporal scales across biomes, with minor additional correlations observed with soil moisture and temperature. The effects of leaf area index on eLUE and eWUE were also relatively weak compared to VPD, indicating an intrinsic dependency of eLUE and eWUE on climate. Additionally, eLUE and eWUE were statistically different for biomes between summer and winter, except eWUE for savannas and the grassland. These findings will improve our understanding of how light- and water-use traits in Australian ecosystems may respond to climate change. (letter)

Importance of soil-water to the Caatinga biome, Brazil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alves Rodrigues Pinheiro, Everton; Metselaar, Klaas; Jong van Lier, de Quirijn; Araújo, de José Carlos

2016-01-01

Northeastern Brazil is hydrologically characterized by recurrent droughts leading to a highly vulnerable natural water resource system. The region contains the Caatinga biome, covering an area of approximately 800000km². To increase insight in water balance components for this sparsely

Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Kevin; Haggerty, J Matthew; Doane, Michael P; Hansen, John J; Morris, Megan M; Moreira, Ana Paula B; de Oliveira, Louisi; Leomil, Luciana; Garcia, Gizele D; Thompson, Fabiano; Dinsdale, Elizabeth A

2017-01-01

As coral reef habitats decline worldwide, some reefs are transitioning from coral- to algal-dominated benthos with the exact cause for this shift remaining elusive. Increases in the abundance of microbes in the water column has been correlated with an increase in coral disease and reduction in coral cover. Here we investigated how multiple reef organisms influence microbial communities in the surrounding water column. Our study consisted of a field assessment of microbial communities above replicate patches dominated by a single macro-organism. Metagenomes were constructed from 20 L of water above distinct macro-organisms, including (1) the coral Mussismilia braziliensis , (2) fleshy macroalgae ( Stypopodium , Dictota and Canistrocarpus ), (3) turf algae, and (4) the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum and were compared to the water microbes collected 3 m above the reef. Microbial genera and functional potential were annotated using MG-RAST and showed that the dominant benthic macro-organisms influence the taxa and functions of microbes in the water column surrounding them, developing a specific "aura-biome". The coral aura-biome reflected the open water column, and was associated with Synechococcus and functions suggesting oligotrophic growth, while the fleshy macroalgae aura-biome was associated with Ruegeria , Pseudomonas, and microbial functions suggesting low oxygen conditions. The turf algae aura-biome was associated with Vibrio, Flavobacterium, and functions suggesting pathogenic activity, while zoanthids were associated with Alteromonas and functions suggesting a stressful environment. Because each benthic organism has a distinct aura-biome, a change in benthic cover will change the microbial community of the water, which may lead to either the stimulation or suppression of the recruitment of benthic organisms.

Pennsylvanian coniferopsid forests in sabkha facies reveal the nature of seasonal tropical biome

Science.gov (United States)

Falcon-Lang, H. J.; Jud, N.A.; John, Nelson W.; DiMichele, W.A.; Chaney, D.S.; Lucas, S.G.

2011-01-01

Pennsylvanian fossil forests are known from hundreds of sites across tropical Pangea, but nearly all comprise remains of humid Coal Forests. Here we report a unique occurrence of seasonally dry vegetation, preserved in growth position along >5 km of strike, in the Pennsylvanian (early Kasimovian, Missourian) of New Mexico (United States). Analyses of stump anatomy, diameter, and spatial density, coupled with observations of vascular traces and associated megaflora, show that this was a deciduous, mixed-age, coniferopsid woodland (~100 trees per hectare) with an open canopy. The coniferopsids colonized coastal sabkha facies and show tree rings, confirming growth under seasonally dry conditions. Such woodlands probably served as the source of coniferopsids that replaced Coal Forests farther east in central Pangea during drier climate phases. Thus, the newly discovered woodland helps unravel biome-scale vegetation dynamics and allows calibration of climate models. ?? 2011 Geological Society of America.

Remote Sensing of the Urban Heat Island Effect Across Biomes in the Continental USA

Science.gov (United States)

Imhoff, Marc L.; Zhang, Ping; Wolfe, Robert E.; Bounoua, Lahouari

2010-01-01

Impervious surface area (ISA) from the Landsat TM-based NLCD 2001 dataset and land surface temperature (LST) from MODIS averaged over three annual cycles (2003-2005) are used in a spatial analysis to assess the urban heat island (UHI) skin temperature amplitude and its relationship to development intensity, size, and ecological setting for 38 of the most populous cities in the continental United States. Development intensity zones based on %ISA are defined for each urban area emanating outward from the urban core to the nonurban rural areas nearby and used to stratify sampling for land surface temperatures and NDVI. Sampling is further constrained by biome and elevation to insure objective intercomparisons between zones and between cities in different biomes permitting the definition of hierarchically ordered zones that are consistent across urban areas in different ecological setting and across scales. We find that ecological context significantly influences the amplitude of summer daytime UHI (urban-rural temperature difference) the largest (8 C average) observed for cities built in biomes dominated by temperate broadleaf and mixed forest. For all cities combined, ISA is the primary driver for increase in temperature explaining 70% of the total variance in LST. On a yearly average, urban areas are substantially warmer than the non-urban fringe by 2.9 C, except for urban areas in biomes with arid and semiarid climates. The average amplitude of the UHI is remarkably asymmetric with a 4.3 C temperature difference in summer and only 1.3 C in winter. In desert environments, the LST's response to ISA presents an uncharacteristic "U-shaped" horizontal gradient decreasing from the urban core to the outskirts of the city and then increasing again in the suburban to the rural zones. UHI's calculated for these cities point to a possible heat sink effect. These observational results show that the urban heat island amplitude both increases with city size and is seasonally

Large-scale impact of climate change vs. land-use change on future biome shifts in Latin America

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boit, Alice; Sakschewski, Boris; Boysen, Lena; Cano-Crespo, Ana; Clement, Jan; Garcia-alaniz, Nashieli; Kok, Kasper; Kolb, Melanie; Langerwisch, Fanny; Rammig, Anja; Sachse, René; Eupen, van Michiel; Bloh, von Werner; Clara Zemp, Delphine; Thonicke, Kirsten

2016-01-01

Climate change and land-use change are two major drivers of biome shifts causing habitat and biodiversity loss. What is missing is a continental-scale future projection of the estimated relative impacts of both drivers on biome shifts over the course of this century. Here, we provide such a

Estimating 40 years of nitrogen deposition in global biomes using the SCIAMACHY NO2 column

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xuehe; Zhang, Xiuying; Liu, Jinxun; Jin, Jiaxin

2016-01-01

Owing to human activity, global nitrogen (N) cycles have been altered. In the past 100 years, global N deposition has increased. Currently, the monitoring and estimating of N deposition and the evaluation of its effects on global carbon budgets are the focus of many researchers. NO2 columns retrieved by space-borne sensors provide us with a new way of exploring global N cycles and these have the ability to estimate N deposition. However, the time range limitation of NO2 columns makes the estimation of long timescale N deposition difficult. In this study we used ground-based NOx emission data to expand the density of NO2columns, and 40 years of N deposition (1970–2009) was inverted using the multivariate linear model with expanded NO2 columns. The dynamic of N deposition was examined in both global and biome scales. The results show that the average N deposition was 0.34 g N m–2 year–1 in the 2000s, which was an increase of 38.4% compared with the 1970s’. The total N deposition in different biomes is unbalanced. N deposition is only 38.0% of the global total in forest biomes; this is made up of 25.9%, 11.3, and 0.7% in tropical, temperate, and boreal forests, respectively. As N-limited biomes, there was little increase of N deposition in boreal forests. However, N deposition has increased by a total of 59.6% in tropical forests and croplands, which are N-rich biomes. Such characteristics may influence the effects on global carbon budgets.

Ecological consequences of the expansion of N2-fixing plants in cold biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Hiltbrunner, Erika; Aerts, Rien; Bühlmann, Tobias; Huss-Danell, Kerstin; Magnusson, Borgthor; Myrold, David D.; Reed, Sasha C.; Sigurdsson, Bjarni D.; Körner, Christian

2014-01-01

Research in warm-climate biomes has shown that invasion by symbiotic dinitrogen (N2)-fixing plants can transform ecosystems in ways analogous to the transformations observed as a consequence of anthropogenic, atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition: declines in biodiversity, soil acidification, and alterations to carbon and nutrient cycling, including increased N losses through nitrate leaching and emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Here, we used literature review and case study approaches to assess the evidence for similar transformations in cold-climate ecosystems of the boreal, subarctic and upper montane-temperate life zones. Our assessment focuses on the plant genera Lupinus and Alnus, which have become invasive largely as a consequence of deliberate introductions and/or reduced land management. These cold biomes are commonly located in remote areas with low anthropogenic N inputs, and the environmental impacts of N2-fixer invasion appear to be as severe as those from anthropogenic N deposition in highly N polluted areas. Hence, inputs of N from N2 fixation can affect ecosystems as dramatically or even more strongly than N inputs from atmospheric deposition, and biomes in cold climates represent no exception with regard to the risk of being invaded by N2-fixing species. In particular, the cold biomes studied here show both a strong potential to be transformed by N2-fixing plants and a rapid subsequent saturation in the ecosystem’s capacity to retain N. Therefore, analogous to increases in N deposition, N2-fixing plant invasions must be deemed significant threats to biodiversity and to environmental quality.

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and rodent reservoirs in the savanna-like biome of Brazil's southeastern region.

Science.gov (United States)

Limongi, J E; Oliveira, R C; Guterres, A; Costa Neto, S F; Fernandes, J; Vicente, L H B; Coelho, M G; Ramos, V N; Ferreira, M S; Bonvicino, C R; D'Andrea, P S; Lemos, E R S

2016-04-01

This paper describes the diversity of rodent fauna in an area endemic for hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in Brazil, the population dynamics and the relationship of rodents with hantavirus in the Cerrado (savanna-like) biome. Additionally, an analysis is made of the partial S segment sequences of the hantaviruses obtained from serologically confirmed human HCPS cases and from rodent specimens. Rodents were collected during four campaigns. Human serum samples were collected from suspected cases of HCPS at hospitals in the state of Minas Gerais. The samples antibody-reactive by ELISA were processed by RT-PCR. The PCR product was amplified and sequenced. Hantavirus was detected only in Necromys lasiurus, the wild rodent species most prevalent in the Cerrado biome (min-max: 50-83·7%). All the six human serum samples were hantavirus seropositive and five showed amplified PCR products. The analysis of the nucleotide sequences showed the circulation of a single genotype, the Araraquara hantavirus. The environmental changes that have occurred in the Cerrado biome in recent decades have favoured N. lasiurus in interspecific competition of habitats, thus increasing the risk of contact between humans and rodent species infected with hantavirus. Our data corroborate the definition of N. lasiurus as the main hantavirus reservoir in the Cerrado biome.

Investigación biomédica, intereses económicos y divulgación periodística

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Germán Zurriaráin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Este artículo pretende afirmar que toda investigación, especialmente la biomédica, para que sea precisamente tal, tiene que poseer una dimensión ética. Y goza de esta dimensión siempre y cuando vaya en beneficio del propio ser humano. Sin ella no se puede hablar de progreso en la investigación biomédica. Luego, solamente se puede denominar “progreso” si hablamos de una investigación que vaya en beneficio de cada uno de los seres humanos. Así es, la investigación biomédica se tiene que traducir en un avanzar del ser humano en humanidad. Pero desgracia- damente muchas veces no ocurre esto. Se llama investigación biomédica a todo, independien- temente de que posea o no una dimensión ética, considerada esta como una instancia exterior. Esta dimensión, insertada en la propia investigación biomédica, es sustituida por otros intere- ses, sobre todo de carácter económico, especialmente en reproducción humana artificial. Así también, los medios de comunicación social hacen eco de este tipo de estudios en biomedicina. Pero muchas veces los medios buscan más las emociones del espectador que su responsabilidad por transmitir noticias con rigor y veracidad.

A dated phylogeny and collection records reveal repeated biome shifts in the African genus Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renner Susanne S

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Conservatism in climatic tolerance may limit geographic range expansion and should enhance the effects of habitat fragmentation on population subdivision. Here we study the effects of historical climate change, and the associated habitat fragmentation, on diversification in the mostly sub-Saharan cucurbit genus Coccinia, which has 27 species in a broad range of biota from semi-arid habitats to mist forests. Species limits were inferred from morphology, and nuclear and plastid DNA sequence data, using multiple individuals for the widespread species. Climatic tolerances were assessed from the occurrences of 1189 geo-referenced collections and WorldClim variables. Results Nuclear and plastid gene trees included 35 or 65 accessions, representing up to 25 species. The data revealed four species groups, one in southern Africa, one in Central and West African rain forest, one widespread but absent from Central and West African rain forest, and one that occurs from East Africa to southern Africa. A few individuals are differently placed in the plastid and nuclear (LFY trees or contain two ITS sequence types, indicating hybridization. A molecular clock suggests that the diversification of Coccinia began about 6.9 Ma ago, with most of the extant species diversity dating to the Pliocene. Ancestral biome reconstruction reveals six switches between semi-arid habitats, woodland, and forest, and members of several species pairs differ significantly in their tolerance of different precipitation regimes. Conclusions The most surprising findings of this study are the frequent biome shifts (in a relatively small clade over just 6 - 7 million years and the limited diversification during and since the Pleistocene. Pleistocene climate oscillations may have been too rapid or too shallow for full reproductive barriers to develop among fragmented populations of Coccinia, which would explain the apparently still ongoing hybridization between certain

A biome-scale assessment of the impact of invasive alien plants on ecosystem services in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

van Wilgen, B W; Reyers, B; Le Maitre, D C; Richardson, D M; Schonegevel, L

2008-12-01

This paper reports an assessment of the current and potential impacts of invasive alien plants on selected ecosystem services in South Africa. We used data on the current and potential future distribution of 56 invasive alien plant species to estimate their impact on four services (surface water runoff, groundwater recharge, livestock production and biodiversity) in five terrestrial biomes. The estimated reductions in surface water runoff as a result of current invasions were >3000 million m(3) (about 7% of the national total), most of which is from the fynbos (shrubland) and grassland biomes; the potential reductions would be more than eight times greater if invasive alien plants were to occupy the full extent of their potential range. Impacts on groundwater recharge would be less severe, potentially amounting to approximately 1.5% of the estimated maximum reductions in surface water runoff. Reductions in grazing capacity as a result of current levels of invasion amounted to just over 1% of the potential number of livestock that could be supported. However, future impacts could increase to 71%. A 'biodiversity intactness index' (the remaining proportion of pre-modern populations) ranged from 89% to 71% for the five biomes. With the exception of the fynbos biome, current invasions have almost no impact on biodiversity intactness. Under future levels of invasion, however, these intactness values decrease to around 30% for the savanna, fynbos and grassland biomes, but to even lower values (13% and 4%) for the two karoo biomes. Thus, while the current impacts of invasive alien plants are relatively low (with the exception of those on surface water runoff), the future impacts could be very high. While the errors in these estimates are likely to be substantial, the predicted impacts are sufficiently large to suggest that there is serious cause for concern.

Pollen-based biome reconstructions for Colombia at 3000, 6000, 15 000 and 18 000 14C yr ago : Late Quaternary tropical vegetation dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marchant, R.; Behling, H.; Berrío, J.C.; Cleef, A.M.; Duivenvoorden, J.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Kuhry, P.; Melief, B.; Schreve-Brinkman, E.; Geel, van B.; Hammen, van der T.; Reenen, van G.

2002-01-01

Colombian biomes are reconstructed at 45 sites from the modern period extending to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The basis for our reconstruction is pollen data assigned to plant functional types and biomes at six 3000-yr intervals. A reconstruction of modern biomes is used to check the treatment

Temporal Changes in Coupled Vegetation Phenology and Productivity are Biome-Specific in the Northern Hemisphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lanhui Wang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Global warming has greatly stimulated vegetation growth through both extending the growing season and promoting photosynthesis in the Northern Hemisphere (NH. Analyzing the combined dynamics of such trends can potentially improve our current understanding on changes in vegetation functioning and the complex relationship between anthropogenic and climatic drivers. This study aims to analyze the relationships (long-term trends and correlations of length of vegetation growing season (LOS and vegetation productivity assessed by the growing season NDVI integral (GSI in the NH (>30°N to study any dependency of major biomes that are characterized by different imprint from anthropogenic influence. Spatial patterns of converging/diverging trends in LOS and GSI and temporal changes in the coupling between LOS and GSI are analyzed for major biomes at hemispheric and continental scales from the third generation Global Inventory Monitoring and Modeling Studies (GIMMS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI dataset for a 32-year period (1982–2013. A quarter area of the NH is covered by converging trends (consistent significant trends in LOS and GSI, whereas diverging trends (opposing significant trends in LOS and GSI cover about 6% of the region. Diverging trends are observed mainly in high latitudes and arid/semi-arid areas of non-forest biomes (shrublands, savannas, and grasslands, whereas forest biomes and croplands are primarily characterized by converging trends. The study shows spatially-distinct and biome-specific patterns between the continental land masses of Eurasia (EA and North America (NA. Finally, areas of high positive correlation between LOS and GSI showed to increase during the period of analysis, with areas of significant positive trends in correlation being more widespread in NA as compared to EA. The temporal changes in the coupled vegetation phenology and productivity suggest complex relationships and interactions that are induced

South African Red Data Book: Plants - fynbos and Karoo biomes

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Hall, AV

1985-01-01

Full Text Available In this report a list is given of 1 808 rare, threatened and recently extinct plants in the fynbos and karoo biomes in the Cape Province of South Africa. The area covers the south-western and southern Cape, Namaqualand and the Karoo. Following...

Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Yi, C.; Ricciuto, D.; Marek, Michal V.

2010-01-01

Roč. 5, č. 3 (2010), s. 034007 ISSN 1748-9326 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60870520 Keywords : NEE * climate control * terrestrial carbon sequestration * temperature * dryness * eddy flux * biomes * photosynthesis * respiration * global carbon cycle Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 3.049, year: 2010

Ticks parasitizing bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in the Caatinga Biome, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Luz, Hermes Ribeiro; Muñoz-Leal, Sebastián; Almeida, Juliana Cardoso de; Faccini, João Luiz Horacio; Labruna, Marcelo Bahia

2016-01-01

In this paper, the authors report ticks parasitizing bats from the Serra das Almas Natural Reserve (RPPN) located in the municipality of Crateús, state of Ceará, in the semiarid Caatinga biome of northeastern Brazil. The study was carried out during nine nights in the dry season (July 2012) and 10 nights in the rainy season (February 2013). Only bats of the Phyllostomidae and Mormoopidae families were parasitized by ticks. The species Artibeus planirostris and Carolia perspicillata were the most parasitized. A total of 409 larvae were collected and classified into three genera: Antricola (n = 1), Nothoaspis (n = 1) and Ornithodoros (n = 407). Four species were morphologically identified as Nothoaspis amazoniensis, Ornithodoros cavernicolous, Ornithodoros fonsecai, Ornithodoros hasei, and Ornithodoros marinkellei. Ornithodoros hasei was the most common tick associated with bats in the current study. The present study expand the distributional ranges of at least three soft ticks into the Caatinga biome, and highlight an unexpected richness of argasid ticks inhabiting this arid ecosystem.

Impacts of land-use and land-cover change on stream hydrochemistry in the Cerrado and Amazon biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Nóbrega, Rodolfo L B; Guzha, Alphonce C; Lamparter, Gabriele; Amorim, Ricardo S S; Couto, Eduardo G; Hughes, Harold J; Jungkunst, Hermann F; Gerold, Gerhard

2018-04-14

Studies on the impacts of land-use and land-cover change on stream hydrochemistry in active deforestation zones of the Amazon agricultural frontier are limited and have often used low-temporal-resolution datasets. Moreover, these impacts are not concurrently assessed in well-established agricultural areas and new deforestations hotspots. We aimed to identify these impacts using an experimental setup to collect high-temporal-resolution hydrological and hydrochemical data in two pairs of low-order streams in catchments under contrasting land use and land cover (native vegetation vs. pasture) in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Our results indicate that the conversion of natural landscapes to pastures increases carbon and nutrient fluxes via streamflow in both biomes. These changes were the greatest in total inorganic carbon in the Amazon and in potassium in the Cerrado, representing a 5.0- and 5.5-fold increase in the fluxes of each biome, respectively. We found that stormflow, which is often neglected in studies on stream hydrochemistry in the tropics, plays a substantial role in the carbon and nutrient fluxes, especially in the Amazon biome, as its contributions to hydrochemical fluxes are mostly greater than the volumetric contribution to the total streamflow. These findings demonstrate that assessments of the impacts of deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes should also take into account rapid hydrological pathways; however, this can only be achieved through collection of high-temporal-resolution data. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

BOREAS RSS-8 BIOME-BGC Model Simulations at Tower Flux Sites in 1994

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Nickeson, Jaime (Editor); Kimball, John

2000-01-01

BIOME-BGC is a general ecosystem process model designed to simulate biogeochemical and hydrologic processes across multiple scales (Running and Hunt, 1993). In this investigation, BIOME-BGC was used to estimate daily water and carbon budgets for the BOREAS tower flux sites for 1994. Carbon variables estimated by the model include gross primary production (i.e., net photosynthesis), maintenance and heterotrophic respiration, net primary production, and net ecosystem carbon exchange. Hydrologic variables estimated by the model include snowcover, evaporation, transpiration, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and outflow. The information provided by the investigation includes input initialization and model output files for various sites in tabular ASCII format.

ScienceCentral: open access full-text archive of scientific journals based on Journal Article Tag Suite regardless of their languages.

Science.gov (United States)

Huh, Sun

2013-01-01

ScienceCentral, a free or open access, full-text archive of scientific journal literature at the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, was under test in September 2013. Since it is a Journal Article Tag Suite-based full text database, extensible markup language files of all languages can be presented, according to Unicode Transformation Format 8-bit encoding. It is comparable to PubMed Central: however, there are two distinct differences. First, its scope comprises all science fields; second, it accepts all language journals. Launching ScienceCentral is the first step for free access or open access academic scientific journals of all languages to leap to the world, including scientific journals from Croatia.

Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents

Science.gov (United States)

Chuixiang Yi; Daniel Ricciuto; Runze Li; John Wolbeck; Xiyan Xu; Mats Nilsson; John Frank; William J. Massman

2010-01-01

Understanding the relationships between climate and carbon exchange by terrestrial ecosystems is critical to predict future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide because of the potential accelerating effects of positive climate-carbon cycle feedbacks. However, directly observed relationships between climate and terrestrial CO2 exchange with the atmosphere across biomes...

Modelling the carbon budget of intensive forest monitoring sites in Germany using the simulation model BIOME-BGC

OpenAIRE

Jochheim, H.; Puhlmann, M.; Beese, F.; Berthold, D.; Einert, P.; Kallweit, R.; Konopatzky, A.; Meesenburg, H.; Meiwes, K.-J.; Raspe, S.; Schulte-Bisping, H.; Schulz, C.

2008-01-01

It is shown that by calibrating the simulation model BIOME-BGC with mandatory and optional Level II data, within the ICP Forest programme, a well-founded calculation of the carbon budget of forest stands is achievable and, based on succeeded calibration, the modified BIOME-BGC model is a useful tool to assess the effect of climate change on forest ecosystems. peerReviewed

Biome-BGC: Modeling Effects of Disturbance and Climate (Thornton et al. 2002)

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: This archived model product contains the directions, executables, and procedures for running Biome-BGC, Version 4.1.1, to recreate the results of the...

Plant litter dynamics in the forest-stream interface: precipitation is a major control across tropical biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonin, Alan M; Gonçalves, José F; Bambi, Paulino; Couceiro, Sheyla R M; Feitoza, Lorrane A M; Fontana, Lucas E; Hamada, Neusa; Hepp, Luiz U; Lezan-Kowalczuk, Vânia G; Leite, Gustavo F M; Lemes-Silva, Aurea L; Lisboa, Leonardo K; Loureiro, Rafael C; Martins, Renato T; Medeiros, Adriana O; Morais, Paula B; Moretto, Yara; Oliveria, Patrícia C A; Pereira, Evelyn B; Ferreira, Lidiane P; Pérez, Javier; Petrucio, Mauricio M; Reis, Deusiano F; S Rezende, Renan; Roque, Nadia; Santos, Luiz E P; Siegloch, Ana E; Tonello, Gabriela; Boyero, Luz

2017-09-07

Riparian plant litter is a major energy source for forested streams across the world and its decomposition has repercussions on nutrient cycling, food webs and ecosystem functioning. However, we know little about plant litter dynamics in tropical streams, even though the tropics occupy 40% of the Earth's land surface. Here we investigated spatial and temporal (along a year cycle) patterns of litter inputs and storage in multiple streams of three tropical biomes in Brazil (Atlantic forest, Amazon forest and Cerrado savanna), predicting major differences among biomes in relation to temperature and precipitation regimes. Precipitation explained most of litter inputs and storage, which were generally higher in more humid biomes (litterfall: 384, 422 and 308 g m -2 y -1 , storage: 55, 113 and 38 g m -2 , on average in Atlantic forest, Amazon and Cerrado, respectively). Temporal dynamics varied across biomes in relation to precipitation and temperature, with uniform litter inputs but seasonal storage in Atlantic forest streams, seasonal inputs in Amazon and Cerrado streams, and aseasonal storage in Amazon streams. Our findings suggest that litter dynamics vary greatly within the tropics, but point to the major role of precipitation, which contrasts with the main influence of temperature in temperate areas.

Braile vena cava filter and greenfield filter in terms of centralization.

Science.gov (United States)

de Godoy, José Maria Pereira; Menezes da Silva, Adinaldo A; Reis, Luis Fernando; Miquelin, Daniel; Torati, José Luis Simon

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate complications experienced during implantation of the Braile Vena Cava filter (VCF) and the efficacy of the centralization mechanism of the filter. This retrospective cohort study evaluated all Braile Biomédica VCFs implanted from 2004 to 2009 in Hospital de Base Medicine School in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil. Of particular concern was the filter's symmetry during implantation and complications experienced during the procedure. All the angiographic examinations performed during the implantation of the filters were analyzed in respect to the following parameters: migration of the filter, non-opening or difficulties in the implantation and centralization of the filter. A total of 112 Braile CVFs were implanted and there were no reports of filter opening difficulties or in respect to migration. Asymmetry was observed in 1/112 (0.9%) cases. A statistically significant difference was seen on comparing historical data on decentralization of the Greenfield filter with the data of this study. The Braile Biomédico filter is an evolution of the Greenfield filter providing improved embolus capture and better implantation symmetry.

Concluding remarks: overall impacts on biodiversity and future perspectives for conservation in the Pantanal biome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CJR. Alho

Full Text Available The Pantanal biome is characterised by seasonal flooding which determines specific ecosystem processes, with the occurrence of adapted plants and animals to the annual shrinking and expansion of habitats due to the seasonal hydrological regime. Biodiversity abundance varies during the dry and wet seasons. The Pantanal's biodiversity is a fundamental component of ecosystem services for human society, including nutrient cycling, fish production, ecotourism, carbon storage, flood control, among others, which are relevant to regional and global environmental consequences. The biome has been impacted by the conversion of natural vegetation into agricultural fields and pasture for cattle raising, with alteration and loss of natural habitats and biodiversity. Major negative impacts occur in uplands, with drastic deforestation of savanna vegetation, where main rivers feeding the Pantanal have their springs. This article discusses future needs and priorities for ecological research, in order to better understand the biome's natural system, to achieve conservation and sustainable use.

Concluding remarks: overall impacts on biodiversity and future perspectives for conservation in the Pantanal biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Alho, C J R

2011-04-01

The Pantanal biome is characterised by seasonal flooding which determines specific ecosystem processes, with the occurrence of adapted plants and animals to the annual shrinking and expansion of habitats due to the seasonal hydrological regime. Biodiversity abundance varies during the dry and wet seasons. The Pantanal's biodiversity is a fundamental component of ecosystem services for human society, including nutrient cycling, fish production, ecotourism, carbon storage, flood control, among others, which are relevant to regional and global environmental consequences. The biome has been impacted by the conversion of natural vegetation into agricultural fields and pasture for cattle raising, with alteration and loss of natural habitats and biodiversity. Major negative impacts occur in uplands, with drastic deforestation of savanna vegetation, where main rivers feeding the Pantanal have their springs. This article discusses future needs and priorities for ecological research, in order to better understand the biome's natural system, to achieve conservation and sustainable use.

Aspectos biométricos do desenvolvimento testicular e corporal em cutias (Dasyprocta aguti criadas em cativeiros

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antônio Chaves de Assis-Neto

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Analisou-se os dados biométricos do desenvolvimento testicular e peso corporal de 31 cutias (Dasyprocta aguti desde o nascimento até os 14 meses de idade. As correlações entre o peso corporal, idade e parâmetros testiculares apresentaram-se altamente significativas. O peso testicular, o volume testicular, assim como os demais parâmetros biométricos testiculares (comprimento, diâmetro e perímetro, evoluíram lenta e gradualmente até os 8 meses de idade. A partir dos 9 meses, o crescimento foi mais rápido. O desenvolvimento biométrico do testículo pode ser dividido em duas fases, de 0 - 8 meses e de 9 - 14 meses de idade, sendo 9 meses considerado ponto de corte em se tratando de desenvolvimento testicular de cutias criadas em cativeiro.

A remarkable finding that suggests the existence of a new groundwater biome based on chemoautotrophic resources, named

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ştefan Negrea

2009-01-01

Full Text Available An important work of subterranean biology, signed by Francis Dov Por, Ophel: a groundwater biome based on chemoautotrophic resources. The global significance of the Ayyalon cave finds, Israel is presented and discussed in the present paper. The subject is a remarkable discovery suggesting the existence of a new aquatic subterranean biome autonomous energy based the author calls Ophel, the Hebrew word for “darkness” and “netherworld”. For F.D. Por, this biome links different marine chemosynthetic ecosystems in a global biospheric entity. Finally, F.D. POR hypothesizes on the existence of three overlapped biospheres: the bacteriosphere in the depths of the planet’s crust, which does not require light or oxygen; the aphotic, subterranean deuterobiosphere, formed of bacterial chemosynthesis based eukaryotes and limited-supplied dissolved oxygen from above-ground; the above-ground eubiosphere, based on aerobic photosynthesis. I would like to emphasize that, at my suggestion, Prof. Dr. F.D. Por participated at the 18th International Symposium of Biospeleology from Cluj-Napoca (Romania at 10th to 15th July 2006 where he mentioned for the first time orally some data on the Ayyalon Cave and the Ophel biome.

Modelling the impacts of reoccurring fires in tropical savannahs using Biome-BGC.

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Charlotte; Petritsch, Richard; Pietsch, Stephan

2010-05-01

Fires are a dominant feature of tropical savannahs and have occurred throughout history by natural as well as human-induced means. These fires have a profound influence on the landscape in terms of flux dynamics and vegetative species composition. This study attempts to understand the impacts of fire regimes on flux dynamics and vegetation composition in savannahs using the Biome-BGC model. The Batéké Plateau, Gabon - an area of savannah grasslands in the Congo basin, serves as a case-study. To achieve model validation for savannahs, data sets from stands with differing levels of past burning are used. It is hypothesised that the field measurements from those stands with lower-levels of past burning will correlate with the Biome-BGC model output, meaning that the model is validated for the savannah excluding fire regimes. However, in reality, fire is frequent in the savannah. Data on past fire events are available from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to provide the fire regimes of the model. As the field data-driven measurements of the burnt stands are influenced by fire in the savannah, this will therefore result in a Biome-BGC model validated for the impacts of fire on savannah ecology. The validated model can then be used to predict the savannah's flux dynamics under the fire scenarios expected with climate and/or human impact change.

Biome depletion in conjunction with evolutionary mismatches could play a role in the etiology of neurofibromatosis 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Beales, Donna L

2015-04-01

Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) arises de novo in a striking 30-50% of cases, pointing toward an environmental etiology, though none has been clearly identified. The Biome Depletion Theory posits that the absence of mutualistic and commensal organisms within the human body coupled with modern lifestyle alterations may have profoundly deleterious effects, inclusive of immunologic derangement that is thought to result in allergy, atopy, and numerous autoimmune diseases. Biome depletion has been implicated as a factor in the etiology of both multiple sclerosis and autism spectrum disorders; biome reconstitution, i.e. replenishment of the biome with certain keynote species, is being used in the treatment of these and other autoimmune states. Neurofibromatosis 1 has been associated with allergy, various autoimmune states, multiple sclerosis, and autism. Recent research has posited that NF1, multiple sclerosis and autism may all arise from disturbances in the neural crest during gestation. This paper hypothesizes that there is indirect evidence that a highly inflammatory uterine state may precipitate epigenetic changes in vulnerable NF-related genes in the course of fetal development. The etiology of NF1 may lie in the absence of immunomodulation by commensal and mutualistic species once ubiquitously present in the environment, as well as through adoption of a modern lifestyle that contributes to chronic inflammation. Replenishment of helminths and other missing organisms to the human biome prior to conception as well as addressing nutritional status, psychological stress, and environmental exposures may prevent the development of NF1. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Current status of investigations in the field of solid state science in central Kazakstan region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuketaev, T.A.

1999-01-01

Investigations in the field of solid state science were initiated together with foundation of University in Karaganda. Historically general investigations in this field were conducted for scientific directions related to optical, luminescent and radiation properties of wide gap insulator. This activity was carried out according to appropriate plans of coordination counsels en-gaged in the physics of insulators, luminescent and radiation physics at the Academy of Science USSR and in the Committee on sciences and engineering of the Counsel of Ministers of the USSR. A number of works were coordinated by the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan Republic. Investigations in the field of solid state science, con-ducted in the Central Kazakstan and coordinated by the Institute of Physics and Engineering of Kazakhstan National Academy of Sciences, can be currently distinguished according to scientific directions. Currently, the following scientific directions in the field of solid state science exist in the Central Kazakstan: influence of polymorph phase transitions on electron excitation in wide-gap crystals, radiation malformation and recombination, dielectric spectroscopy of crystals with hydrogen link, spectral and luminescent properties and energy migration processes in disordered and partly ordered systems of organic molecules. It is necessary to note that all investigated objects, described in this report, were recovered by investigators. That is, the relevant hardware is available

African Journal of Neurological Sciences - 2009 Vol. 28 No 1

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences Pharmaceutiques, Université de Douala, Hôpital Général de. Douala, Cameroun. 2. Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences Biomédicales, Université de Yaoundé I, Hôpital Général de. Douala, Cameroun. 3. Faculté de Médecine, Université des Montagnes, Hôpital Général de Douala, ...

Carbon storage in permafrost and soils of the mammoth tundra-steppe biome: role in the global carbon budget

Science.gov (United States)

N.S. Zimov; S.A. Zimov; A.E. Zimova; G.M. Zimova; V.I. Chuprynin; F.S. Chapin

2009-01-01

During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), atmospheric CO2 concentration was 80-100 ppmv lower than in preindustrial times. At that time steppe-tundra was the most extensive biome on Earth. Some authors assume that C storage in that biome was very small, similar to today's deserts, and that the terrestrial carbon (C) reservoir increased at the...

Reactivity continuum modeling of leaf, root, and wood decomposition across biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Koehler, Birgit; Tranvik, Lars J.

2015-07-01

Large carbon dioxide amounts are released to the atmosphere during organic matter decomposition. Yet the large-scale and long-term regulation of this critical process in global carbon cycling by litter chemistry and climate remains poorly understood. We used reactivity continuum (RC) modeling to analyze the decadal data set of the "Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment," in which fine litter and wood decomposition was studied in eight biome types (224 time series). In 32 and 46% of all sites the litter content of the acid-unhydrolyzable residue (AUR, formerly referred to as lignin) and the AUR/nitrogen ratio, respectively, retarded initial decomposition rates. This initial rate-retarding effect generally disappeared within the first year of decomposition, and rate-stimulating effects of nutrients and a rate-retarding effect of the carbon/nitrogen ratio became more prevalent. For needles and leaves/grasses, the influence of climate on decomposition decreased over time. For fine roots, the climatic influence was initially smaller but increased toward later-stage decomposition. The climate decomposition index was the strongest climatic predictor of decomposition. The similar variability in initial decomposition rates across litter categories as across biome types suggested that future changes in decomposition may be dominated by warming-induced changes in plant community composition. In general, the RC model parameters successfully predicted independent decomposition data for the different litter-biome combinations (196 time series). We argue that parameterization of large-scale decomposition models with RC model parameters, as opposed to the currently common discrete multiexponential models, could significantly improve their mechanistic foundation and predictive accuracy across climate zones and litter categories.

Adapting the Biome-BGC Model to New Zealand Pastoral Agriculture: Climate Change and Land-Use Change

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, E. D.; Baisden, W. T.; Timar, L.

2011-12-01

We have adapted the Biome-BGC model to make climate change and land-use scenario estimates of New Zealand's pasture production in 2020 and 2050, with comparison to a 2005 baseline. We take an integrated modelling approach with the aim of enabling the model's use for policy assessments across broadly related issues such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, land-use change, and greenhouse gas projections. The Biome-BGC model is a biogeochemical model that simulates carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. We introduce two new 'ecosystems', sheep/beef and dairy pasture, within the existing structure of the Biome-BGC model and calibrate its ecophysiological parameters against pasture clipping data from diverse sites around New Zealand to form a baseline estimate of total New Zealand pasture production. Using downscaled AR4 climate projections, we construct mid- and upper-range climate change scenarios in 2020 and 2050. We produce land-use change scenarios in the same years by combining the Biome-BGC model with the Land Use in Rural New Zealand (LURNZ) model. The LURNZ model uses econometric approaches to predict future land-use change driven by changes in net profits driven by expected pricing, including the introduction of an emission trading system. We estimate the relative change in national pasture production from our 2005 baseline levels for both sheep/beef and dairy systems under each scenario.

Ticks parasitizing bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera in the Caatinga Biome, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hermes Ribeiro Luz

Full Text Available Abstract In this paper, the authors report ticks parasitizing bats from the Serra das Almas Natural Reserve (RPPN located in the municipality of Crateús, state of Ceará, in the semiarid Caatinga biome of northeastern Brazil. The study was carried out during nine nights in the dry season (July 2012 and 10 nights in the rainy season (February 2013. Only bats of the Phyllostomidae and Mormoopidae families were parasitized by ticks. The species Artibeus planirostris and Carolia perspicillata were the most parasitized. A total of 409 larvae were collected and classified into three genera: Antricola (n = 1, Nothoaspis (n = 1 and Ornithodoros (n = 407. Four species were morphologically identified as Nothoaspis amazoniensis, Ornithodoros cavernicolous, Ornithodoros fonsecai, Ornithodoros hasei, and Ornithodoros marinkellei. Ornithodoros hasei was the most common tick associated with bats in the current study. The present study expand the distributional ranges of at least three soft ticks into the Caatinga biome, and highlight an unexpected richness of argasid ticks inhabiting this arid ecosystem.

Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin Walsh

2017-08-01

Full Text Available As coral reef habitats decline worldwide, some reefs are transitioning from coral- to algal-dominated benthos with the exact cause for this shift remaining elusive. Increases in the abundance of microbes in the water column has been correlated with an increase in coral disease and reduction in coral cover. Here we investigated how multiple reef organisms influence microbial communities in the surrounding water column. Our study consisted of a field assessment of microbial communities above replicate patches dominated by a single macro-organism. Metagenomes were constructed from 20 L of water above distinct macro-organisms, including (1 the coral Mussismilia braziliensis, (2 fleshy macroalgae (Stypopodium, Dictota and Canistrocarpus, (3 turf algae, and (4 the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum and were compared to the water microbes collected 3 m above the reef. Microbial genera and functional potential were annotated using MG-RAST and showed that the dominant benthic macro-organisms influence the taxa and functions of microbes in the water column surrounding them, developing a specific “aura-biome”. The coral aura-biome reflected the open water column, and was associated with Synechococcus and functions suggesting oligotrophic growth, while the fleshy macroalgae aura-biome was associated with Ruegeria, Pseudomonas, and microbial functions suggesting low oxygen conditions. The turf algae aura-biome was associated with Vibrio, Flavobacterium, and functions suggesting pathogenic activity, while zoanthids were associated with Alteromonas and functions suggesting a stressful environment. Because each benthic organism has a distinct aura-biome, a change in benthic cover will change the microbial community of the water, which may lead to either the stimulation or suppression of the recruitment of benthic organisms.

Tropical rainforest biome of Biosphere 2. Structure, composition and results of the first 2 years of operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leigh, Linda S. [Systems Ecology and Energy Analysis Program, Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Burgess, Tony; Marino, Bruno D.V.; Wei, Yong Dan [Biosphere 2 Center, Inc. P.O. Box 689, Oracle, AZ (United States)

1999-06-01

The tropical rainforest biome in the Biosphere 2 mesocosm was managed with rainfall and temperature conditions to simulate a natural rainforest typical of the new world tropics. The establishment of the biome was based on the introduction of excessive numbers of species allowing self-organization of an ecologically unique rainforest. Over 282 species of plants from rainforest areas were planted within the topographically diverse rainforest biome (area of 1900 m{sup 2}, volume of 35,000 m{sup 3}), just before the Biosphere 2 closure in 1991. Approximately 61% of these species survived when counted in 1993, representing a plant species richness reduction to 172 species in 0.19 hectare. Rank order graphs show that a high diversity community resulted not unlike insular rainforests. The plants of the rainforest mesocosm, however, grew under anomalous conditions of soil (amended desert grassland soil), atmospheric composition (CO{sub 2} up to 4500 ppm by volume (ppmv)) and rainwater composition (high salinity and nutrients). Stem growth rates of a dominant canopy tree, Cecropia, were up to four times higher but had reduced diameter at breast height compared to natural counterparts. Human intervention in plant succession was also an important factor in shaping the ecology of the rainforest biome of Biosphere 2

The future distribution of the savannah biome: model-based and biogeographic contingency.

Science.gov (United States)

Moncrieff, Glenn R; Scheiter, Simon; Langan, Liam; Trabucco, Antonio; Higgins, Steven I

2016-09-19

The extent of the savannah biome is expected to be profoundly altered by climatic change and increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Contrasting projections are given when using different modelling approaches to estimate future distributions. Furthermore, biogeographic variation within savannahs in plant function and structure is expected to lead to divergent responses to global change. Hence the use of a single model with a single savannah tree type will likely lead to biased projections. Here we compare and contrast projections of South American, African and Australian savannah distributions from the physiologically based Thornley transport resistance statistical distribution model (TTR-SDM)-and three versions of a dynamic vegetation model (DVM) designed and parametrized separately for specific continents. We show that attempting to extrapolate any continent-specific model globally biases projections. By 2070, all DVMs generally project a decrease in the extent of savannahs at their boundary with forests, whereas the TTR-SDM projects a decrease in savannahs at their boundary with aridlands and grasslands. This difference is driven by forest and woodland expansion in response to rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations in DVMs, unaccounted for by the TTR-SDM. We suggest that the most suitable models of the savannah biome for future development are individual-based dynamic vegetation models designed for specific biogeographic regions.This article is part of the themed issue 'Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Biome-BGC: Modeling Carbon Dynamics in Ponderosa Pine Stands (Law et al. 2003)

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This archived model product contains the directions, executables, and procedures for running Biome-BGC, Version 4.1.2, to recreate the results of the following...

Eastern deciduous forest biome progress report, September 1, 1975--August 31, 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgess, R.L.; Tarr, N.E.

1978-09-01

The report concentrates on the six projects as well as results from synthesis activities at the Lake George, Lake Wingra, and Oak Ridge sites. The centralized analysis and modeling component and the Eastern Decidious Forest Biome Information Center progress during the past year are also addressed. The project on belowground dynamics of ecosystems is investigating the allocation of phytosynthetic products into fixed or labile storage pools. Root sampling, radioactive tracer techniques, and biochemical analyses are leading to an understanding of complete tree physioogy requisite for interpreting forest growth in different environments. The Role of Consumers project has begun to document the regulatory role of heterotrophs in an array of ecosystem niches. Decomposition of woody substrates, studies of the contribution of canopy and litter arthropods to material processing, and the flow and remineralization of phosphorus in lake systems are leading to a comprehensive understanding of the role of consumer organisms in ecosystem function. The Microdynamics of Detritus project continues its investigations of carbon and nitrogen dynamics in freshwater lakes. Examination of potential pathways of detritus processing is illustrating the parts that physical and biological processes play in the breakdown of organic materials

International trends in health science librarianship: Part 6 Central Europe series.

Science.gov (United States)

Viragos, Marta

2013-06-01

This is the 6th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship with a focus on Central Europe in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors are from Hungry, Poland and Czech Republic. Future issues will track trends the Middle East and then the Far East. JM. © 2013 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.

A hierarchical analysis of terrestrial ecosystem model Biome-BGC: Equilibrium analysis and model calibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thornton, Peter E [ORNL; Wang, Weile [ORNL; Law, Beverly E. [Oregon State University; Nemani, Ramakrishna R [NASA Ames Research Center

2009-01-01

The increasing complexity of ecosystem models represents a major difficulty in tuning model parameters and analyzing simulated results. To address this problem, this study develops a hierarchical scheme that simplifies the Biome-BGC model into three functionally cascaded tiers and analyzes them sequentially. The first-tier model focuses on leaf-level ecophysiological processes; it simulates evapotranspiration and photosynthesis with prescribed leaf area index (LAI). The restriction on LAI is then lifted in the following two model tiers, which analyze how carbon and nitrogen is cycled at the whole-plant level (the second tier) and in all litter/soil pools (the third tier) to dynamically support the prescribed canopy. In particular, this study analyzes the steady state of these two model tiers by a set of equilibrium equations that are derived from Biome-BGC algorithms and are based on the principle of mass balance. Instead of spinning-up the model for thousands of climate years, these equations are able to estimate carbon/nitrogen stocks and fluxes of the target (steady-state) ecosystem directly from the results obtained by the first-tier model. The model hierarchy is examined with model experiments at four AmeriFlux sites. The results indicate that the proposed scheme can effectively calibrate Biome-BGC to simulate observed fluxes of evapotranspiration and photosynthesis; and the carbon/nitrogen stocks estimated by the equilibrium analysis approach are highly consistent with the results of model simulations. Therefore, the scheme developed in this study may serve as a practical guide to calibrate/analyze Biome-BGC; it also provides an efficient way to solve the problem of model spin-up, especially for applications over large regions. The same methodology may help analyze other similar ecosystem models as well.

Improved clonality detection in Hodgkin lymphoma using a semi-nested modification of the BIOMED-2 PCR assay for IGH and IGK rearrangements: A paraffin-embedded tissue study.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Shusen; Masaki, Ayako; Sakamoto, Yuma; Takino, Hisashi; Murase, Takayuki; Iida, Shinsuke; Inagaki, Hiroshi

2018-05-01

The BIOMED-2 PCR protocols targeting IGH and IGK genes may be useful for detecting clonality in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The clonality detection rates, however, have not been very high with these methods using paraffin-embedded tumor sections. We previously described the usefulness of the semi-nested BIOMED-2 IGH assay in B-cell malignancies. In this study, we devised a novel semi-nested BIOMED-2 IGK assay. Employing 58 cases of classical HL, we carried out the standard BIOMED-2, BIOMED-2 followed by BIOMED-2 re-amplification, and BIOMED-2 followed by semi-nested BIOMED-2, all targeting IGH and IGK, using paraffin-embedded tissues. In both IGH and IGK assays, semi-nested assays yielded significantly higher clonality detection rates than the standard assays and re-amplification assays. Clonality was detected in 13/58 (22.4%) classical HL cases using the standard IGH/IGK assays while it was detected in 38/58 (65.5%) cases using semi-nested IGH/IGK assays. The detection rates were not associated with the HL subtypes, CD30-positive cell density, CD20-positive cell density, or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positivity. In conclusion, tumor clonality was detected in nearly two-thirds of classical HL cases using semi-nested BIOMED-2 IGH/IGK assays using paraffin tumor sections. These semi-nested assays may be useful when the standard IGH/IGK assays fail to detect clonality in histopathologically suspected HLs. © 2018 Japanese Society of Pathology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Extreme precipitation patterns and reductions of terrestrial ecosystem production across biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Yongguang Zhang; M. Susan Moran; Mark A. Nearing; Guillermo E. Ponce Campos; Alfredo R. Huete; Anthony R. Buda; David D. Bosch; Stacey A. Gunter; Stanley G. Kitchen; W. Henry McNab; Jack A. Morgan; Mitchel P. McClaran; Diane S. Montoya; Debra P.C. Peters; Patrick J. Starks

2013-01-01

Precipitation regimes are predicted to shift to more extreme patterns that are characterized by more heavy rainfall events and longer dry intervals, yet their ecological impacts on vegetation production remain uncertain across biomes in natural climatic conditions. This in situ study investigated the effects of these climatic conditions on aboveground net primary...

The GAAS metagenomic tool and its estimations of viral and microbial average genome size in four major biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Angly, Florent E; Willner, Dana; Prieto-Davó, Alejandra; Edwards, Robert A; Schmieder, Robert; Vega-Thurber, Rebecca; Antonopoulos, Dionysios A; Barott, Katie; Cottrell, Matthew T; Desnues, Christelle; Dinsdale, Elizabeth A; Furlan, Mike; Haynes, Matthew; Henn, Matthew R; Hu, Yongfei; Kirchman, David L; McDole, Tracey; McPherson, John D; Meyer, Folker; Miller, R Michael; Mundt, Egbert; Naviaux, Robert K; Rodriguez-Mueller, Beltran; Stevens, Rick; Wegley, Linda; Zhang, Lixin; Zhu, Baoli; Rohwer, Forest

2009-12-01

Metagenomic studies characterize both the composition and diversity of uncultured viral and microbial communities. BLAST-based comparisons have typically been used for such analyses; however, sampling biases, high percentages of unknown sequences, and the use of arbitrary thresholds to find significant similarities can decrease the accuracy and validity of estimates. Here, we present Genome relative Abundance and Average Size (GAAS), a complete software package that provides improved estimates of community composition and average genome length for metagenomes in both textual and graphical formats. GAAS implements a novel methodology to control for sampling bias via length normalization, to adjust for multiple BLAST similarities by similarity weighting, and to select significant similarities using relative alignment lengths. In benchmark tests, the GAAS method was robust to both high percentages of unknown sequences and to variations in metagenomic sequence read lengths. Re-analysis of the Sargasso Sea virome using GAAS indicated that standard methodologies for metagenomic analysis may dramatically underestimate the abundance and importance of organisms with small genomes in environmental systems. Using GAAS, we conducted a meta-analysis of microbial and viral average genome lengths in over 150 metagenomes from four biomes to determine whether genome lengths vary consistently between and within biomes, and between microbial and viral communities from the same environment. Significant differences between biomes and within aquatic sub-biomes (oceans, hypersaline systems, freshwater, and microbialites) suggested that average genome length is a fundamental property of environments driven by factors at the sub-biome level. The behavior of paired viral and microbial metagenomes from the same environment indicated that microbial and viral average genome sizes are independent of each other, but indicative of community responses to stressors and environmental conditions.

Modeling impacts of human footprint and soil variability on the potential distribution of invasive plant species in different biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Ji-Zhong; Wang, Chun-Jing; Yu, Fei-Hai

2017-11-01

Human footprint and soil variability may be important in shaping the spread of invasive plant species (IPS). However, until now, there is little knowledge on how human footprint and soil variability affect the potential distribution of IPS in different biomes. We used Maxent modeling to project the potential distribution of 29 IPS with wide distributions and long introduction histories in China based on various combinations of climatic correlates, soil characteristics and human footprint. Then, we evaluated the relative importance of each type of environmental variables (climate, soil and human footprint) as well as the difference in range and similarity of the potential distribution of IPS between different biomes. Human footprint and soil variables contributed to the prediction of the potential distribution of IPS, and different types of biomes had varying responses and degrees of impacts from the tested variables. Human footprint and soil variability had the highest tendency to increase the potential distribution of IPS in Montane Grasslands and Shrublands. We propose to integrate the assessment in impacts of human footprint and soil variability on the potential distribution of IPS in different biomes into the prevention and control of plant invasion.

Vegetation of the Hantam-Tanqua-Roggeveld subregion, South Africa Part 2: Succulent Karoo Biome related vegetation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helga van der Merwe

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The Hantam-Tanqua-Roggeveld subregion lies within the Succulent Karoo Hotspot that stretches along the western side of the Republic of South Africa and Namibia. This project, carried out to document the botanical diversity in the Hantam-Tanqua-Roggeveld subregion, was part of a project identified as a priority during the SKEP (Succulent Karoo Ecosystem Programme initiative in this Hotspot. Botanical surveys were conducted in an area covering over three million hectares. Satellite images of the area and topocadastral, land type and geology maps were used to stratify the area into relatively homogeneous units. An analysis of the floristic data of 390 sample plots identified two major floristic units, i.e. the Fynbos Biome related vegetation and the Succulent Karoo Biome related vegetation. A description of the vegetation related to the Succulent Karoo Biome is presented in this article. Seven associations, 16 subassociations and several mosaic vegetation units, consisting of more than one vegetation unit, were identified and mapped. Various threats to the vegetation in the region were identified during the survey and are briefly discussed.

ANTIBACTERIAL POTENTIAL OF NATIVE PLANTS FROM THE CAATINGA BIOME AGAINST Staphylococcus spp. ISOLATES FROM SMALL RUMINANTS WITH MASTITIS

OpenAIRE

PEIXOTO, RODOLFO DE MORAES; SILVA, WELLINGTON ERASMO LIMA E; ALMEIDA, JACKSON ROBERTO GUEDES SILVA; BRANCO, ALEXSANDRO; COSTA, MATEUS MATIUZZI DA

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study is to assess the antibacterial potential of plants from the Caatinga biome of the semi-arid region of Pernambuco, against Staphylococcus spp. isolates from cases of subclinical mastitis in small ruminants, such as goats and ewes. Ethanolic extracts of the following plants from the Caatinga biome were used: Encholirium spectabile Mart., Bromelia laciniosa Mart., Neoglaziovia variegata Mez., Amburana cearensis (Fr. Allem.) A. C. Smith, Hymenaea martiana Hay...

[Parameter sensitivity of simulating net primary productivity of Larix olgensis forest based on BIOME-BGC model].

Science.gov (United States)

He, Li-hong; Wang, Hai-yan; Lei, Xiang-dong

2016-02-01

Model based on vegetation ecophysiological process contains many parameters, and reasonable parameter values will greatly improve simulation ability. Sensitivity analysis, as an important method to screen out the sensitive parameters, can comprehensively analyze how model parameters affect the simulation results. In this paper, we conducted parameter sensitivity analysis of BIOME-BGC model with a case study of simulating net primary productivity (NPP) of Larix olgensis forest in Wangqing, Jilin Province. First, with the contrastive analysis between field measurement data and the simulation results, we tested the BIOME-BGC model' s capability of simulating the NPP of L. olgensis forest. Then, Morris and EFAST sensitivity methods were used to screen the sensitive parameters that had strong influence on NPP. On this basis, we also quantitatively estimated the sensitivity of the screened parameters, and calculated the global, the first-order and the second-order sensitivity indices. The results showed that the BIOME-BGC model could well simulate the NPP of L. olgensis forest in the sample plot. The Morris sensitivity method provided a reliable parameter sensitivity analysis result under the condition of a relatively small sample size. The EFAST sensitivity method could quantitatively measure the impact of simulation result of a single parameter as well as the interaction between the parameters in BIOME-BGC model. The influential sensitive parameters for L. olgensis forest NPP were new stem carbon to new leaf carbon allocation and leaf carbon to nitrogen ratio, the effect of their interaction was significantly greater than the other parameter' teraction effect.

Estimation of Carbon Flux of Forest Ecosystem over Qilian Mountains by BIOME-BGC Model

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Min; Tian, Xin; Li, Zengyuan; Chen, Erxue; Li, Chunmei

2014-11-01

The gross primary production (GPP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) are important indicators for carbon fluxes. This study aims at evaluating the forest GPP and NEE over the Qilian Mountains using meteorological, remotely sensed and other ancillary data at large scale. To realize this, the widely used ecological-process-based model, Biome-BGC, and remote-sensing-based model, MODIS GPP algorithm, were selected for the simulation of the forest carbon fluxes. The combination of these two models was based on calibrating the Biome-BGC by the optimized MODIS GPP algorithm. The simulated GPP and NEE values were evaluated against the eddy covariance observed GPPs and NEEs, and the well agreements have been reached, with R2=0.76, 0.67 respectively.

Determining the resilience of carbon dynamics in semi-arid biomes of the Southwestern US to severe drought and altered rainfall patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Litvak, M. E.; Krofcheck, D. J.; Hilton, T. W.; Fox, A. M.; Osuna, J. L.

2011-12-01

Water is critically important for biotic processes in semi-arid ecosystems and 2011 is developing as one of the most severe drought years on record for many parts of the Southwestern US. To quantify the impact of this severe drought on regional carbon and energy balance, we need a more detailed understanding of how water limitation alters ecosystem processes across a range of semi-arid biomes. We quantified the impact of severe drought and changes in both the quantity and distribution of precipitation on ecosystem biotic structure and function across the range of biomes represented in the NM elevation gradient network (desert grassland, creosote shrubland, juniper savanna, piñon-juniper woodland, ponderosa pine forest and subalpine mixed conifer forest). We compared how daily, seasonal and annual carbon and energy balance and their components in each of these biomes respond to changes in rainfall patterns using continuous measurements of carbon, water and energy exchange and associated measurements in each of these biomes during a 5 year period (2006-2011) that included a severe drought, and large variability in both winter precipitation and the timing and intensity of the monsoon. To understand the underlying mechanisms, we used time series of radiation absorbed by vegetation, surface albedo, soil moisture storage, phenology, gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Re), and WorldView-2 images acquired pre- and post-monsoon in each of these biomes. In all of the biomes except the desert grassland site, the strength and timing of both winter and monsoon precipitation are important controls over carbon and energy dynamics in this region, though we see site-specific sensitivities across the elevation gradient. Over the past 5 years, carbon dynamics in the desert grassland site appears to be decoupled from winter precipitation. In addition, carbon dynamics in disturbed grassland and pinon-juniper ecosystems were more sensitive to severe drought than

Ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Methods: The information documented in this article is from scientific journals, books, theses and reports obtained from library collections and electronic search engines such as Google, Google scholar, publishing sites such as Elsevier, ScienceDirect, BioMed Central (BMC), PubMed and other scientific database sites such ...

The GAAS metagenomic tool and its estimations of viral and microbial average genome size in four major biomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florent E Angly

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Metagenomic studies characterize both the composition and diversity of uncultured viral and microbial communities. BLAST-based comparisons have typically been used for such analyses; however, sampling biases, high percentages of unknown sequences, and the use of arbitrary thresholds to find significant similarities can decrease the accuracy and validity of estimates. Here, we present Genome relative Abundance and Average Size (GAAS, a complete software package that provides improved estimates of community composition and average genome length for metagenomes in both textual and graphical formats. GAAS implements a novel methodology to control for sampling bias via length normalization, to adjust for multiple BLAST similarities by similarity weighting, and to select significant similarities using relative alignment lengths. In benchmark tests, the GAAS method was robust to both high percentages of unknown sequences and to variations in metagenomic sequence read lengths. Re-analysis of the Sargasso Sea virome using GAAS indicated that standard methodologies for metagenomic analysis may dramatically underestimate the abundance and importance of organisms with small genomes in environmental systems. Using GAAS, we conducted a meta-analysis of microbial and viral average genome lengths in over 150 metagenomes from four biomes to determine whether genome lengths vary consistently between and within biomes, and between microbial and viral communities from the same environment. Significant differences between biomes and within aquatic sub-biomes (oceans, hypersaline systems, freshwater, and microbialites suggested that average genome length is a fundamental property of environments driven by factors at the sub-biome level. The behavior of paired viral and microbial metagenomes from the same environment indicated that microbial and viral average genome sizes are independent of each other, but indicative of community responses to stressors and

Softball Games Bring NCI and Leidos Biomed Employees Together | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

NCI and Leidos Biomed employees took to the fields at Nallin Pond for the third annual slow-pitch softball games on August 26. The series attracted 54 employees who were divided into four teams, Red, Blue, Gray, and White, and they were cheered on by about 40 enthusiastic spectators. In the first set of games, the Gray team defeated the Blue team, 15–8, and the White team

Are there consistent grazing indicators in Drylands? Testing plant functional types of various complexity in South Africa's Grassland and Savanna Biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Linstädter, Anja; Schellberg, Jürgen; Brüser, Katharina; Moreno García, Cristian A; Oomen, Roelof J; du Preez, Chris C; Ruppert, Jan C; Ewert, Frank

2014-01-01

Despite our growing knowledge on plants' functional responses to grazing, there is no consensus if an optimum level of functional aggregation exists for detecting grazing effects in drylands. With a comparative approach we searched for plant functional types (PFTs) with a consistent response to grazing across two areas differing in climatic aridity, situated in South Africa's grassland and savanna biomes. We aggregated herbaceous species into PFTs, using hierarchical combinations of traits (from single- to three-trait PFTs). Traits relate to life history, growth form and leaf width. We first confirmed that soil and grazing gradients were largely independent from each other, and then searched in each biome for PFTs with a sensitive response to grazing, avoiding confounding with soil conditions. We found no response consistency, but biome-specific optimum aggregation levels. Three-trait PFTs (e.g. broad-leaved perennial grasses) and two-trait PFTs (e.g. perennial grasses) performed best as indicators of grazing effects in the semi-arid grassland and in the arid savanna biome, respectively. Some PFTs increased with grazing pressure in the grassland, but decreased in the savanna. We applied biome-specific grazing indicators to evaluate if differences in grazing management related to land tenure (communal versus freehold) had effects on vegetation. Tenure effects were small, which we mainly attributed to large variability in grazing pressure across farms. We conclude that the striking lack of generalizable PFT responses to grazing is due to a convergence of aridity and grazing effects, and unlikely to be overcome by more refined classification approaches. Hence, PFTs with an opposite response to grazing in the two biomes rather have a unimodal response along a gradient of additive forces of aridity and grazing. The study advocates for hierarchical trait combinations to identify localized indicator sets for grazing effects. Its methodological approach may also be useful

Seasonal patterns of horse fly richness and abundance in the Pampa biome of southern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Krüger, Rodrigo Ferreira; Krolow, Tiago Kütter

2015-12-01

Fluctuations in seasonal patterns of horse fly populations were examined in rainforests of tropical South America, where the climate is seasonal. These patterns were evaluated with robust analytical models rather than identifying the main factors that influenced the fluctuations. We examined the seasonality of populations of horse flies in fields and lowland areas of the Pampa biome of southern Brazil with generalized linear models. We also investigated the diversity of these flies and the sampling effort of Malaise traps in this biome over two years. All of the 29 species had clear seasonality with regard to occurrence and abundance, but only seven species were identified as being influenced by temperature and humidity. The sampling was sufficient and the estimated diversity was 10% more than observed. Seasonal trends were synchronized across species and the populations were most abundant between September and March and nearly zero in other months. While previous studies demonstrated that seasonal patterns in population fluctuations are correlated with climatic conditions in horse fly assemblages in South America rainforests, we show a clear effect of each factor on richness and abundance and the seasonality in the prevalence of horse fly assemblages in localities of the Pampa biome. © 2015 The Society for Vector Ecology.

A Changing Number of Alternative States in the Boreal Biome: Reproducibility Risks of Replacing Remote Sensing Products.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Chi; Holmgren, Milena; Van Nes, Egbert H; Hirota, Marina; Chapin, F Stuart; Scheffer, Marten

2015-01-01

Publicly available remote sensing products have boosted science in many ways. The openness of these data sources suggests high reproducibility. However, as we show here, results may be specific to versions of the data products that can become unavailable as new versions are posted. We focus on remotely-sensed tree cover. Recent studies have used this public resource to detect multi-modality in tree cover in the tropical and boreal biomes. Such patterns suggest alternative stable states separated by critical tipping points. This has important implications for the potential response of these ecosystems to global climate change. For the boreal region, four distinct ecosystem states (i.e., treeless, sparse and dense woodland, and boreal forest) were previously identified by using the Collection 3 data of MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF). Since then, the MODIS VCF product has been updated to Collection 5; and a Landsat VCF product of global tree cover at a fine spatial resolution of 30 meters has been developed. Here we compare these different remote-sensing products of tree cover to show that identification of alternative stable states in the boreal biome partly depends on the data source used. The updated MODIS data and the newer Landsat data consistently demonstrate three distinct modes around similar tree-cover values. Our analysis suggests that the boreal region has three modes: one sparsely vegetated state (treeless), one distinct 'savanna-like' state and one forest state, which could be alternative stable states. Our analysis illustrates that qualitative outcomes of studies may change fundamentally as new versions of remote sensing products are used. Scientific reproducibility thus requires that old versions remain publicly available.

77 FR 12857 - National Institute of General Medical Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-02

... Sciences Special Emphasis Panel Biomed Career Interventions. Date: March 26, 2012. Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Agenda: To review and evaluate grant applications. Place: Palomar DC, 2121 P Street, NW., Washington, DC 20037. Contact Person: Lisa Dunbar, Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Office of Scientific Review...

Selection of native trees for intercropping with coffee in the Atlantic Rainforest biome

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Souza, de H.N.; Cardoso, I.M.; Fernandes, J.M.; Garcia, F.C.P.; Bonfim, V.R.; Santos, A.C.; Carvalho, A.F.; Mendonca, E.S.

2010-01-01

A challenge in establishing agroforestry systems is ensuring that farmers are interested in the tree species, and are aware of how to adequately manage these species. This challenge was tackled in the Atlantic Rainforest biome (Brazil), where a participatory trial with agroforestry coffee systems

Remotely sensed vegetation phenology for describing and predicting the biomes of South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Wessels, Konrad J

2011-02-01

Full Text Available the distribution of the recently redefined biomes be predicted based on remotely sensed, phenology and productivity metrics? Ten-day, 1 km, NDVI AVHRR were analysed for the period 1985 to 2000. Phenological metrics such as start, end and length of the growing...

Guide to the literature on research in the grassland biome of South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Tainton, MN

1984-12-01

Full Text Available the development of an understanding of how these communities can best be managed to ensure their sustained producti¬vity, or indeed to increase their productivity. This publication serves to highlight the main work which has been undertaken in this biome...

Análisis comparativo de distintas toolkits para el reconocimiento biométrico de personas mediante voz

OpenAIRE

Ruíz, Silvia; Miranda, Ernesto; Herlein, Mauro; Etchart, Graciela; Alvez, Carlos E.

2017-01-01

El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar un análisis comparativo de distintas toolkits para el reconocimiento biométrico de personas mediante voz. Hoy en día los sistemas de identificación de personas se han convertido en una necesidad para la sociedad. A medida que avanza la tecnología y la aplicación de la misma en entornos tanto de ocio como de seguridad, la evolución en desarrollo biométrico es muy grande. Los sistemas de identificación o verificación tradicionales (tarjetas o claves) se h...

The role of plant functional trade-offs for biodiversity changes and biome shifts under scenarios of global climatic change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Reu

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The global geographic distribution of biodiversity and biomes is determined by species-specific physiological tolerances to climatic constraints. Current vegetation models employ empirical bioclimatic relationships to predict present-day vegetation patterns and to forecast biodiversity changes and biome shifts under climatic change. In this paper, we consider trade-offs in plant functioning and their responses under climatic changes to forecast and explain changes in plant functional richness and shifts in biome geographic distributions.

The Jena Diversity model (JeDi simulates plant survival according to essential plant functional trade-offs, including ecophysiological processes such as water uptake, photosynthesis, allocation, reproduction and phenology. We use JeDi to quantify changes in plant functional richness and biome shifts between present-day and a range of possible future climates from two SRES emission scenarios (A2 and B1 and seven global climate models using metrics of plant functional richness and functional identity.

Our results show (i a significant loss of plant functional richness in the tropics, (ii an increase in plant functional richness at mid and high latitudes, and (iii a pole-ward shift of biomes. While these results are consistent with the findings of empirical approaches, we are able to explain them in terms of the plant functional trade-offs involved in the allocation, metabolic and reproduction strategies of plants. We conclude that general aspects of plant physiological tolerances can be derived from functional trade-offs, which may provide a useful process- and trait-based alternative to bioclimatic relationships. Such a mechanistic approach may be particularly relevant when addressing vegetation responses to climatic changes that encounter novel combinations of climate parameters that do not exist under contemporary climate.

Convergence in the temperature response of leaf respiration across biomes and plant functional types.

Science.gov (United States)

Heskel, Mary A; O'Sullivan, Odhran S; Reich, Peter B; Tjoelker, Mark G; Weerasinghe, Lasantha K; Penillard, Aurore; Egerton, John J G; Creek, Danielle; Bloomfield, Keith J; Xiang, Jen; Sinca, Felipe; Stangl, Zsofia R; Martinez-de la Torre, Alberto; Griffin, Kevin L; Huntingford, Chris; Hurry, Vaughan; Meir, Patrick; Turnbull, Matthew H; Atkin, Owen K

2016-04-05

Plant respiration constitutes a massive carbon flux to the atmosphere, and a major control on the evolution of the global carbon cycle. It therefore has the potential to modulate levels of climate change due to the human burning of fossil fuels. Neither current physiological nor terrestrial biosphere models adequately describe its short-term temperature response, and even minor differences in the shape of the response curve can significantly impact estimates of ecosystem carbon release and/or storage. Given this, it is critical to establish whether there are predictable patterns in the shape of the respiration-temperature response curve, and thus in the intrinsic temperature sensitivity of respiration across the globe. Analyzing measurements in a comprehensive database for 231 species spanning 7 biomes, we demonstrate that temperature-dependent increases in leaf respiration do not follow a commonly used exponential function. Instead, we find a decelerating function as leaves warm, reflecting a declining sensitivity to higher temperatures that is remarkably uniform across all biomes and plant functional types. Such convergence in the temperature sensitivity of leaf respiration suggests that there are universally applicable controls on the temperature response of plant energy metabolism, such that a single new function can predict the temperature dependence of leaf respiration for global vegetation. This simple function enables straightforward description of plant respiration in the land-surface components of coupled earth system models. Our cross-biome analyses shows significant implications for such fluxes in cold climates, generally projecting lower values compared with previous estimates.

Identification of novel mammalian hosts and Brazilian biome geographic distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi TcIII and TcIV.

Science.gov (United States)

Barros, Juliana Helena S; Xavier, Samanta Cristina C; Bilac, Daniele; Lima, Valdirene Santos; Dario, Maria Augusta; Jansen, Ana Maria

2017-08-01

Trypanosoma cruzi is a parasitic protozoan responsible for Chagas disease. Seven different Discrete Typing Units (DTUs) of T. cruzi are currently identified in nature: TcI-TcVI, and TcBat whose distribution patterns in nature, hosts/reservoirs and eco-epidemiological importance are still little known. Here, we present novel data on the geographic distribution and diversity of mammalian hosts and vectors of T. cruzi DTUs TcIII and TcIV. In this study, we analyzed 61 T. cruzi isolates obtained from 18 species of mammals (five orders) and two Hemiptera genera. Samples were collected from five Brazilian biomes (Pantanal, Caatinga, Cerrado, Atlantic Rainforest, and Amazon) previously characterized as Z3 or mixed infection (TcI-Z3) by mini-exon gene PCR. To identify TcIII and TcIV genotypes, we applied restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis to the PCR-amplified histone 3 gene. DTUs TcIII and TcIV were identified in single and mixed infections from wide dispersion throughout five Brazilian biomes studied, with TcIV being the most common. Pantanal was the biome that displayed the largest number of samples characterized as TcIII and TcIV in single and mixed infections, followed by Atlantic Rainforest and Amazon. Species from the Didelphimorphia order displayed the highest frequency of infection and were found in all five biomes. We report, for the first time, the infection of a species of the Artiodactyla order by DTU TcIII. In addition, we describe new host species: five mammals (marsupials and rodents) and two genera of Hemiptera. Our data indicate that DTUs TcIII and TcIV are more widespread and infect a larger number of mammalian species than previously thought. In addition, they are transmitted in restricted foci and cycles, but in different microhabitats and areas with distinct ecological profiles. Finally, we show that DTUs TcIII and TcIV do not present any specific association with biomes or host species. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Plant phylogeny as a window on the evolution of hyperdiversity in the tropical rainforest biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Eiserhardt, Wolf L; Couvreur, Thomas L P; Baker, William J

2017-06-01

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. References SUMMARY: Tropical rainforest (TRF) is the most species-rich terrestrial biome on Earth, harbouring just under half of the world's plant species in c. 7% of the land surface. Phylogenetic trees provide important insights into mechanisms underpinning TRF hyperdiversity that are complementary to those obtained from the fossil record. Phylogenetic studies of TRF plant diversity have mainly focused on whether this biome is an evolutionary 'cradle' or 'museum', emphasizing speciation and extinction rates. However, other explanations, such as biome age, immigration and ecological limits, must also be considered. We present a conceptual framework for addressing the drivers of TRF diversity, and review plant studies that have tested them with phylogenetic data. Although surprisingly few in number, these studies point to old age of TRF, low extinction and high speciation rates as credible drivers of TRF hyperdiversity. There is less evidence for immigration and ecological limits, but these cannot be dismissed owing to the limited number of studies. Rapid methodological developments in DNA sequencing, macroevolutionary analysis and the integration of phylogenetics with other disciplines may improve our grasp of TRF hyperdiversity in the future. However, such advances are critically dependent on fundamental systematic research, yielding numerous, additional, well-sampled phylogenies of TRF lineages. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Reaching Across the Hemispheres with Science, Language, Arts and Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Sparrow, E. B.; Zicus, S.; Miller, A.; Baird, A.; Page, G.

2009-12-01

Twelve Alaskan elementary and middle school classes (grades 3-8) partnered with twelve Australian middle school classes, with each pair using web-based strategies to develop a collaborative ice-mystery fictional book incorporating authentic polar science. Three professional development workshops were held, bringing together educators and polar scientists in two IPY education outreach projects. The Alaska workshop provided an opportunity to bring together the North American teachers for lessons on arctic and antarctic science and an earth system science program Seasons and Biomes measurement protocols, as well as methods in collaborative e-writing and art in Ice e-Mysteries: Global Student Polar e-books project. Teachers worked with University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and Australian scientists to become familiar with Arctic science research, science artifacts and resources available at UAF and the University of Alaska Museum of the North. In Australia, teachers received a similar project training through the Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) Center for Learning and Discovery on Antarctic science and the University of Tasmania. The long-distance collaboration was accomplished through Skype, emails and a TMAG supported website. A year later, Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere teacher partners met in a joint workshop in Tasmania, to share their experiences, do project assessments and propose activities for future collaborations. The Australian teachers received training on Seasons and Biomes scientific measurements and the Alaskan teachers, on Tasmanian vegetation, fauna and indigenous culture, Antarctic and Southern ocean studies. This innovative project produced twelve e-polar books written and illustrated by students; heightened scientific literacy about the polar regions and the earth system; increased awareness of the environment and indigenous cultures; stronger connections to the scientific community; and lasting friendships. It also resulted in

Are there consistent grazing indicators in Drylands? Testing plant functional types of various complexity in South Africa's Grassland and Savanna Biomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anja Linstädter

Full Text Available Despite our growing knowledge on plants' functional responses to grazing, there is no consensus if an optimum level of functional aggregation exists for detecting grazing effects in drylands. With a comparative approach we searched for plant functional types (PFTs with a consistent response to grazing across two areas differing in climatic aridity, situated in South Africa's grassland and savanna biomes. We aggregated herbaceous species into PFTs, using hierarchical combinations of traits (from single- to three-trait PFTs. Traits relate to life history, growth form and leaf width. We first confirmed that soil and grazing gradients were largely independent from each other, and then searched in each biome for PFTs with a sensitive response to grazing, avoiding confounding with soil conditions. We found no response consistency, but biome-specific optimum aggregation levels. Three-trait PFTs (e.g. broad-leaved perennial grasses and two-trait PFTs (e.g. perennial grasses performed best as indicators of grazing effects in the semi-arid grassland and in the arid savanna biome, respectively. Some PFTs increased with grazing pressure in the grassland, but decreased in the savanna. We applied biome-specific grazing indicators to evaluate if differences in grazing management related to land tenure (communal versus freehold had effects on vegetation. Tenure effects were small, which we mainly attributed to large variability in grazing pressure across farms. We conclude that the striking lack of generalizable PFT responses to grazing is due to a convergence of aridity and grazing effects, and unlikely to be overcome by more refined classification approaches. Hence, PFTs with an opposite response to grazing in the two biomes rather have a unimodal response along a gradient of additive forces of aridity and grazing. The study advocates for hierarchical trait combinations to identify localized indicator sets for grazing effects. Its methodological approach may

Future projections of fire danger in Brazilian biomes in the 21st century

Science.gov (United States)

Libonati, Renata; Silva, Patrícia; DaCamara, Carlos; Bastos, Ana

2016-04-01

In the global context, Brazil is one of the regions more severely affected by fire occurrences, with important consequences in the global CO2 balance, the state of the Amazon forest and the ecological diversity of the region. Brazil is also one of the few regions experiencing a raise in annual mean temperature above 2.5o during the 20th century, which may further increase between 2o and 7o until 2100 and, likely, be accompanied by a decrease in precipitation [1]. As the fire occurrence and severity largely depends on these two variables, it is worth assessing the evolution of fire danger for the coming decades. In order to obtain a detailed characterization of the future fire patterns in the different biomes of Brazil, we use outputs from a regional-downscaling of the EC-Earth climate model at 0.44 degrees spatial resolution for two future scenarios, an intermediate (RCP4.5) and a more severe (RCP8.5) one. We use a fire danger index specifically developed for the Brazilian climate and biome characteristics, the IFR from INPE. This index relies on values of maximum temperature, accumulated precipitation over different periods, minimum relative humidity and vegetation cover to estimate the likelihood of fire occurrence. We find a systematic increase of the days with critical fire risk, which is more pronounced in RCP8.5 and mostly affects months when fire activity takes place. Temperature increase is the most determinant factor for the increase in fire danger in the dry regions of savannah and shrubland, a result to be expected as fuel is already very dry. [1] Collins, M., R. Knutti, J. Arblaster, J.-L. Dufresne, T. Fichefet, P. Friedlingstein, X. Gao, W.J. Gutowski, T. Johns, G. Krinner, M. Shongwe, C. Tebaldi, A.J. Weaver and M. Wehner, 2013: Long-term Climate Change: Projections, Commitments and Irreversibility. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on

Calibration of a biome-biogeochemical cycles model for modeling the net primary production of teak forests through inverse modeling of remotely sensed data

Science.gov (United States)

Imvitthaya, Chomchid; Honda, Kiyoshi; Lertlum, Surat; Tangtham, Nipon

2011-01-01

In this paper, we present the results of a net primary production (NPP) modeling of teak (Tectona grandis Lin F.), an important species in tropical deciduous forests. The biome-biogeochemical cycles or Biome-BGC model was calibrated to estimate net NPP through the inverse modeling approach. A genetic algorithm (GA) was linked with Biome-BGC to determine the optimal ecophysiological model parameters. The Biome-BGC was calibrated by adjusting the ecophysiological model parameters to fit the simulated LAI to the satellite LAI (SPOT-Vegetation), and the best fitness confirmed the high accuracy of generated ecophysioligical parameter from GA. The modeled NPP, using optimized parameters from GA as input data, was evaluated using daily NPP derived by the MODIS satellite and the annual field data in northern Thailand. The results showed that NPP obtained using the optimized ecophysiological parameters were more accurate than those obtained using default literature parameterization. This improvement occurred mainly because the model's optimized parameters reduced the bias by reducing systematic underestimation in the model. These Biome-BGC results can be effectively applied in teak forests in tropical areas. The study proposes a more effective method of using GA to determine ecophysiological parameters at the site level and represents a first step toward the analysis of the carbon budget of teak plantations at the regional scale.

Central Scientific and Research Institute of Nuclear Information as the branch centre of information on nuclear science and engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arkhangel'skij, I.A.; Sokolov, D.D.; Kalinin, V.F.; Nikiforov, V.S.

1982-01-01

The main tasks are considered in the scope of the Central Scientific-Research Institute for Information and Technological and Economic Studies on Nuclear Science and Technology. (TsNIIAtominform). The institute coordinates scientific research and information activity of information agencies of all the USSR organizations engaged in nuclear science and technology, excercises a centralized completion of their libraries, develops and puts into practice the most progressive methods for the information servicing. The institute is a national INIS center of the USSR. Here a system for the automatic information dissemination has been successfully elaborated and employed. Much of the institute activity is given to the estimation and analysis of information and to the determination of tendencies in the nuclear science and technology development. A conclusion is drawn to the effect that TsNIIAtominform, within 15 years of its existence, has formed as a center ensuring functioning of the system of scientific and technical information on nuclear science and technology

A new species of Andocaeculus (Acari, Caeculidae) from the Pampa biome, southern Brazil

OpenAIRE

Ana Paula Ott; Ricardo Ott

2014-01-01

A new caeculid species Andocaeculus caioi sp. nov. is described from Pampa biome in south Brazil. The species of this family are usually large and strong sclerotized mites with robust and spinulose legs I and II. Until now records of species for South America were known only from Chile and Argentina.

Developing cloud applications using the e-Science Central platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiden, Hugo; Woodman, Simon; Watson, Paul; Cala, Jacek

2013-01-28

This paper describes the e-Science Central (e-SC) cloud data processing system and its application to a number of e-Science projects. e-SC provides both software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service for scientific data management, analysis and collaboration. It is a portable system and can be deployed on both private (e.g. Eucalyptus) and public clouds (Amazon AWS and Microsoft Windows Azure). The SaaS application allows scientists to upload data, edit and run workflows and share results in the cloud, using only a Web browser. It is underpinned by a scalable cloud platform consisting of a set of components designed to support the needs of scientists. The platform is exposed to developers so that they can easily upload their own analysis services into the system and make these available to other users. A representational state transfer-based application programming interface (API) is also provided so that external applications can leverage the platform's functionality, making it easier to build scalable, secure cloud-based applications. This paper describes the design of e-SC, its API and its use in three different case studies: spectral data visualization, medical data capture and analysis, and chemical property prediction.

The freezer defrosting: global warming and litter decomposition rates in cold biomes. Essay review.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aerts, R.

2006-01-01

1 Decomposition of plant litter, a key component of the global carbon budget, is hierarchically controlled by the triad: climate > litter quality > soil organisms. Given the sensitivity of decomposition to temperature, especially in cold biomes, it has been hypothesized that global warming will lead

Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae, a spotted fever group agent infecting Amblyomma parvum ticks in two Brazilian biomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernanda Aparecida Nieri-Bastos

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Adult ticks of the species Amblyomma parvum were collected from the vegetation in the Pantanal biome (state of Mato Grosso do Sul and from horses in the Cerrado biome (state of Piauí in Brazil. The ticks were individually tested for rickettsial infection via polymerase chain reaction (PCR targeting three rickettsial genes, gltA, ompA and ompB. Overall, 63.5% (40/63 and 66.7% (2/3 of A. parvum ticks from Pantanal and Cerrado, respectively, contained rickettsial DNA, which were all confirmed by DNA sequencing to be 100% identical to the corresponding fragments of the gltA, ompA and ompB genes of Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae. This report is the first to describe Ca. R. andeanae in Brazil.

Inferring biome-scale net primary productivity from tree-ring isotopes

Science.gov (United States)

Pederson, N.; Levesque, M.; Williams, A. P.; Hobi, M. L.; Smith, W. K.; Andreu-Hayles, L.

2017-12-01

Satellite estimates of vegetation growth (net primary productivity; NPP), tree-ring records, and forest inventories indicate that ongoing climate change and rising atmospheric CO2 concentration are altering productivity and carbon storage of forests worldwide. The impact of global change on the trends of NPP, however, remain unknown because of the lack of long-term high-resolution NPP data. For the first time, we tested if annually resolved carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) stable isotopes from the cellulose of tree rings from trees in temperate regions could be used as a tool for inferring NPP across spatiotemporal scales. We compared satellite NPP estimates from the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer sensor (MODIS, product MOD17A) and a newly developed global NPP dataset derived from the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) dataset to annually resolved tree-ring width and δ13C and δ18O records from four sites along a hydroclimatic gradient in Eastern and Central United States. We found strong correlations across large geographical regions between satellite-derived NPP and tree-ring isotopes that ranged from -0.40 to -0.91. Notably, tree-ring derived δ18O had the strongest relation to climate. The results were consistent among the studied tree species (Quercus rubra and Liriodendron tulipifera) and along the hydroclimatic conditions of our network. Our study indicates that tree-ring isotopes can potentially be used to reconstruct NPP in time and space. As such, our findings represent an important breakthrough for estimating long-term changes in vegetation productivity at the biome scale.

Software quality assurance and software safety in the Biomed Control System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, R.P.; Chu, W.T.; Ludewigt, B.A.; Marks, K.M.; Nyman, M.A.; Renner, T.R.; Stradtner, R.

1989-01-01

The Biomed Control System is a hardware/software system used for the delivery, measurement and monitoring of heavy-ion beams in the patient treatment and biology experiment rooms in the Bevalac at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL). This paper describes some aspects of this system including historical background philosophy, configuration management, hardware features that facilitate software testing, software testing procedures, the release of new software quality assurance, safety and operator monitoring. 3 refs

Beyond the climate envelope: using trait filtering models to predict biome boundaries from plant physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, R.; Hoffmann, W. A.; Muszala, S.

2014-12-01

The introduction of second-generation dynamic vegetation models - which simulate the distribution of light resources between plant types along the vertical canopy profile, and therefore facilitate the representation of plant competition explicitly - is a large increase in the complexity and fidelity with which the terrestrial biosphere is abstracted into Earth System Models. In this new class of model, biome boundaries are predicted as the emergent properties of plant physiology, and are therefore sensitive to the high-dimensional parameterizations of plant functional traits. These new approaches offer the facility to quantitatively test ecophysiological hypotheses of plant distribution at large scales, a field which remains surprisingly under-developed. Here we describe experiments conducted with the Community Land Model Ecosystem Demography component, CLM(ED), in which we reduce the complexity of the problem by testing how individual plant functional trait changes to control the location of biome boundaries between functional types. Specifically, we investigate which physiological trade-offs determine the boundary between frequently burned savanna and forest biomes, and attempt to distinguish how each strategic life-history trade-off (carbon storage, bark investment, re-sprouting strategy) contributes towards the maintenance of sharp geographical gradients between fire adapted and typically inflammable closed canopy ecosystems. This study forms part of the planning for a model-inspired fire manipulation experiment at the cerrado-forest boundary in South-Eastern Brazil, and the results will be used to guide future data-collection and analysis strategies.

Development of the BIOME-BGC model for the simulation of managed Moso bamboo forest ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Fangjie; Li, Pingheng; Zhou, Guomo; Du, Huaqiang; Xu, Xiaojun; Shi, Yongjun; Mo, Lufeng; Zhou, Yufeng; Tu, Guoqing

2016-05-01

Numerical models are the most appropriate instrument for the analysis of the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems and their interactions with changing environmental conditions. The process-based model BIOME-BGC is widely used in simulation of carbon balance within vegetation, litter and soil of unmanaged ecosystems. For Moso bamboo forests, however, simulations with BIOME-BGC are inaccurate in terms of the growing season and the carbon allocation, due to the oversimplified representation of phenology. Our aim was to improve the applicability of BIOME-BGC for managed Moso bamboo forest ecosystem by implementing several new modules, including phenology, carbon allocation, and management. Instead of the simple phenology and carbon allocation representations in the original version, a periodic Moso bamboo phenology and carbon allocation module was implemented, which can handle the processes of Moso bamboo shooting and high growth during "on-year" and "off-year". Four management modules (digging bamboo shoots, selective cutting, obtruncation, fertilization) were integrated in order to quantify the functioning of managed ecosystems. The improved model was calibrated and validated using eddy covariance measurement data collected at a managed Moso bamboo forest site (Anji) during 2011-2013 years. As a result of these developments and calibrations, the performance of the model was substantially improved. Regarding the measured and modeled fluxes (gross primary production, total ecosystem respiration, net ecosystem exchange), relative errors were decreased by 42.23%, 103.02% and 18.67%, respectively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

改进Biome-BGC模型模拟哈佛森林地区水、碳通量%Simulation of water and carbon fluxes in Harvard forest area by using improved BiomeBGC model.

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张廷龙; 孙睿; 胡波; 冯丽超; 张荣华

2011-01-01

Biome-BGC模型通过耦合植被、土壤与大气间的水分与CO2交换过程,实现植被生产力的模拟,但土壤水平衡模块的不够完善,导致在长时间无降水情况下植被生产力模拟存在较大误差.针对这一问题,本文对Biome-BGC模型中土壤水分胁迫气孔导度方程、蒸散计算公式及土壤水分流失过程等3方面进行了改进和调整,利用改进的Biome-BGC模型模拟美国哈佛森林地区蒸散、植被生产力,并与地面通量观测值进行了比较.结果表明,改进后模拟精度有明显的提高,蒸散、植被生态系统生产力(NEE)与观测值间的决定系数分别由0.483和0.658提高到0.617和O.813,蒸散逐年均方根误差平均下降了48.7％,NEE逐年误差平方和平均下降了39.8％.改进后的模型模拟结果更接近观测值.%Using Biome-BGC model can simulate vegetation productivity through the coupling of water and CO2 exchange processes between vegetation, soil and atmosphere, but the soil water balance module is not perfect enough, leading to a large deviation between simulated and observed values under condition of a long time no precipitation. Aiming at this problem, this paper improved and adjusted the equation of stomatal conductance stressed by soil water, the calculation formula of evapotranspiration, and the process of soil water loss in Biome-BGC model. Using this improved model, the evapotranspiration and vegetation productivity in Harvard Forest area were simulated, and compared with field observations. The accuracy of simulated results by the improved model enhanced obviously, with the evapotranspiration R between simulated and observed values increased from 0. 483 to 0. 617, NEE R2 increased from 0. 658 to 0. 813, root mean square error (RMSE) of annual evapotranspiration decreased averagely by 48. 7% , and annual sum squared error ( ASSE) of NEE decreased averagely by 39. 8% , which suggested that the simulated results by using the improved model

Are There Consistent Grazing Indicators in Drylands? Testing Plant Functional Types of Various Complexity in South Africa’s Grassland and Savanna Biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Linstädter, Anja; Schellberg, Jürgen; Brüser, Katharina; Moreno García, Cristian A.; Oomen, Roelof J.; du Preez, Chris C.; Ruppert, Jan C.; Ewert, Frank

2014-01-01

Despite our growing knowledge on plants’ functional responses to grazing, there is no consensus if an optimum level of functional aggregation exists for detecting grazing effects in drylands. With a comparative approach we searched for plant functional types (PFTs) with a consistent response to grazing across two areas differing in climatic aridity, situated in South Africa’s grassland and savanna biomes. We aggregated herbaceous species into PFTs, using hierarchical combinations of traits (from single- to three-trait PFTs). Traits relate to life history, growth form and leaf width. We first confirmed that soil and grazing gradients were largely independent from each other, and then searched in each biome for PFTs with a sensitive response to grazing, avoiding confounding with soil conditions. We found no response consistency, but biome-specific optimum aggregation levels. Three-trait PFTs (e.g. broad-leaved perennial grasses) and two-trait PFTs (e.g. perennial grasses) performed best as indicators of grazing effects in the semi-arid grassland and in the arid savanna biome, respectively. Some PFTs increased with grazing pressure in the grassland, but decreased in the savanna. We applied biome-specific grazing indicators to evaluate if differences in grazing management related to land tenure (communal versus freehold) had effects on vegetation. Tenure effects were small, which we mainly attributed to large variability in grazing pressure across farms. We conclude that the striking lack of generalizable PFT responses to grazing is due to a convergence of aridity and grazing effects, and unlikely to be overcome by more refined classification approaches. Hence, PFTs with an opposite response to grazing in the two biomes rather have a unimodal response along a gradient of additive forces of aridity and grazing. The study advocates for hierarchical trait combinations to identify localized indicator sets for grazing effects. Its methodological approach may also be

Water balance in paired watersheds with eucalyptus and degraded grassland in Pampa biome

Science.gov (United States)

Rangelands of the Pampa biome, which cover regions of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil (176,496 km2 – 2.07% of Brazilian territory and 63% of Rio Grande do Sul State territory, southern region of Brazil) in South America (total area of 750,000 km2), are being substituted by crops and commercial eucalyp...

A reconstruction of Colombian biomes derived from modern pollen data along an altitude gradient

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marchant, R.; Berrío, J.C.; Cleef, A.M.; Duivenvoorden, J.; Helmens, K.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Kuhry, P.; Melief, B.; Schreve-Brinkman, E.; Geel, van B.; Reenen, van G.; Hammen, van der T.

2001-01-01

Biomes are reconstructed in Colombia from modern (core-top) pollen data derived from 22 sites along an altitudinal gradient (2000–4100 m) that encompasses the tree line. The `biomization' methodology is described in a stepwise manner that details the reconstruction of vegetation along an altitudinal

A reconstruction of Colombian biomes derived from modern pollen data along an altitude gradient.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marchant, R.A.; Behling, H.; Berrio Mogollon, J.C.; Cleef, A.M.; Duivenvoorden, J.F.; van Geel, B.; van der Hammen, T.; Hooghiemstra, H.; Kuhry, P.; Melief, B.M.; van Reenen, G.B.A.; Wille, M.

2001-01-01

Biomes are reconstructed in Colombia from modern (core-top) pollen data derived from twenty-two sites along an altitudinal gradient (2000 to 4100 m) that encompasses the tree line. The 'biomization' methodology is described in a stepwise manner that details the reconstruction of vegetation along an

The Use of Fire Radiative Power to Estimate the Biomass Consumption Coefficient for Temperate Grasslands in the Atlantic Forest Biome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bibiana Salvador Cabral da Costa

Full Text Available Abstract Every year, many active fire spots are identified in the satellite images of the southern Brazilian grasslands in the Atlantic Forest biome and Pampa biome. Fire Radiative Power (FRP is a technique that uses remotely sensed data to quantify burned biomass. FRP measures the radiant energy released per time unit by burning vegetation. This study aims to use satellite and field data to estimate the biomass consumption rate and the biomass consumption coefficient for the southern Brazilian grasslands. Three fire points were identified in satellite FRP products. These data were combined with field data, collected through literature review, to calculate the biomass consumption coefficient. The type of vegetation is an important variable in the estimation of the biomass consumption coefficient. The biomass consumption rate was estimated to be 2.237 kg s-1 for the southern Brazilian grasslands in Atlantic Forest biome, and the biomass consumption coefficient was estimated to be 0.242 kg MJ-1.

Contribution to the discussions on the origin of the cerrado biome: Brazilian savanna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MHO. Pinheiro

Full Text Available Theories that attempt to explain the origin of the cerrado biome are mostly based on the isolated action of three major factors: climate, fire and soil. Another factor that has been mentioned is that of human interference. We hypothesise that the evolutionary origin of this biome resulted from the complex interaction of climate, fire and soil, with climate being the triggering agent of this assumed interaction. Fire, as well as acid and dystrophic soils, would be factors involved in the selection of savanna species throughout climatic events, during the Tertiary and the Quaternary, e.g. Pliocene and Pleistocene. The genesis of the physiognomies that would give rise to cerrado sensu lato, rather than forest formations, could have occurred due to the strong pressure exerted by the reduction in water availability, and the selection of the species adapted to the new conditions imposed by the environment. The characteristics of cerrado sensu lato soil, originated from edaphic impoverishment caused by lixiviation and successive past fires, would remain, even after hydric availability increased following the Pleistocene glaciations.

Ética e pesquisa biomédica em sociedades indígenas no Brasil

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Coimbra Jr. Carlos E. A.

1996-01-01

Full Text Available Este trabalho discute questões relativas à ética da investigação biomédica em populações indígenas brasileiras, em particular no que tange à obtenção de consentimento pós-informacional em pesquisas que envolvam a coleta de amostras biológicas. Enfatiza-se que nada há de específico na legislação atual com respeito à pesquisa biomédica nestas populações. A partir de uma perspectiva antropológica, os autores analisam algumas das dificuldades para a obtenção do consentimento "realmente" informado. Chama-se atenção para a importância das discussões sobre ética em pesquisa face a possibilidade de utilização comercial de amostras biológicas, como exemplificado pelo atual debate sobre patenteamento de material genético humano.

Global soil-climate-biome diagram: linking soil properties to climate and biota

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, X.; Yang, Y.; Fang, J.

2017-12-01

As a critical component of the Earth system, soils interact strongly with both climate and biota and provide fundamental ecosystem services that maintain food, climate, and human security. Despite significant progress in digital soil mapping techniques and the rapidly growing quantity of observed soil information, quantitative linkages between soil properties, climate and biota at the global scale remain unclear. By compiling a large global soil database, we mapped seven major soil properties (bulk density [BD]; sand, silt and clay fractions; soil pH; soil organic carbon [SOC] density [SOCD]; and soil total nitrogen [STN] density [STND]) based on machine learning algorithms (regional random forest [RF] model) and quantitatively assessed the linkage between soil properties, climate and biota at the global scale. Our results demonstrated a global soil-climate-biome diagram, which improves our understanding of the strong correspondence between soils, climate and biomes. Soil pH decreased with greater mean annual precipitation (MAP) and lower mean annual temperature (MAT), and the critical MAP for the transition from alkaline to acidic soil pH decreased with decreasing MAT. Specifically, the critical MAP ranged from 400-500 mm when the MAT exceeded 10 °C but could decrease to 50-100 mm when the MAT was approximately 0 °C. SOCD and STND were tightly linked; both increased in accordance with lower MAT and higher MAP across terrestrial biomes. Global stocks of SOC and STN were estimated to be 788 ± 39.4 Pg (1015 g, or billion tons) and 63 ± 3.3 Pg in the upper 30-cm soil layer, respectively, but these values increased to 1654 ± 94.5 Pg and 133 ± 7.8 Pg in the upper 100-cm soil layer, respectively. These results reveal quantitative linkages between soil properties, climate and biota at the global scale, suggesting co-evolution of the soil, climate and biota under conditions of global environmental change.

Variation in decomposition rates in the fynbos biome, South Africa: the role of plant species and plant stoichiometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Bengtsson, Jan; Janion, Charlene; Chown, Steven L; Leinaas, Hans Petter

2011-01-01

Previous studies in the fynbos biome of the Western Cape, South Africa, have suggested that biological decomposition rates in the fynbos vegetation type, on poor soils, may be so low that fire is the main factor contributing to litter breakdown and nutrient release. However, the fynbos biome also comprises vegetation types on more fertile soils, such as the renosterveld. The latter is defined by the shrub Elytropappus rhinocerotis, while the shrub Galenia africana may become dominant in overgrazed areas. We examined decomposition of litter of these two species and the geophyte Watsonia borbonica in patches of renosterveld in an agricultural landscape. In particular, we sought to understand how plant species identity affects litter decomposition rates, especially through variation in litter stoichiometry. Decomposition (organic matter mass loss) varied greatly among the species, and was related to litter N and P content. G. africana, with highest nutrient content, lost 65% of its original mass after 180 days, while E. rhinocerotis had lost ca. 30%, and the very nutrient poor W. borbonica biome. Thus, biological decomposition has likely been underestimated and, along with small-scale variation in ecosystem processes, would repay further study.

Extensiones biométricas para bases de datos objeto- relacionales

OpenAIRE

Miranda, Ernesto; Ruíz, Silvia; Aguirre, Juan José; Herlein, Mauro; Etchart, Graciela; Alvez, Carlos E.

2017-01-01

La autenticación de personas basadas en rasgos biométricos se ha vuelto muy popular en los últimos años como consecuencia de la baja en los costos de los sensores requeridos, su inclusión en dispositivos de consumo masivo y el surgimiento de vulnerabilidades debido al uso de múltiples claves de acceso a diferentes sitios que requieren cierto nivel de seguridad como ser cuentas de correo, sitios de banca electrónica, sistemas corporativos, etc. De todos los rasgos utilizados en biometría, el i...

Improved simulation of poorly drained forests using Biome-BGC.

Science.gov (United States)

Bond-Lamberty, Ben; Gower, Stith T; Ahl, Douglas E

2007-05-01

Forested wetlands and peatlands are important in boreal and terrestrial biogeochemical cycling, but most general-purpose forest process models are designed and parameterized for upland systems. We describe changes made to Biome-BGC, an ecophysiological process model, that improve its ability to simulate poorly drained forests. Model changes allowed for: (1) lateral water inflow from a surrounding watershed, and variable surface and subsurface drainage; (2) adverse effects of anoxic soil on decomposition and nutrient mineralization; (3) closure of leaf stomata in flooded soils; and (4) growth of nonvascular plants (i.e., bryophytes). Bryophytes were treated as ectohydric broadleaf evergreen plants with zero stomatal conductance, whose cuticular conductance to CO(2) was dependent on plant water content. Individual model changes were parameterized with published data, and ecosystem-level model performance was assessed by comparing simulated output to field data from the northern BOREAS site in Manitoba, Canada. The simulation of the poorly drained forest model exhibited reduced decomposition and vascular plant growth (-90%) compared with that of the well-drained forest model; the integrated bryophyte photosynthetic response accorded well with published data. Simulated net primary production, biomass and soil carbon accumulation broadly agreed with field measurements, although simulated net primary production was higher than observed data in well-drained stands. Simulated net primary production in the poorly drained forest was most sensitive to oxygen restriction on soil processes, and secondarily to stomatal closure in flooded conditions. The modified Biome-BGC remains unable to simulate true wetlands that are subject to prolonged flooding, because it does not track organic soil formation, water table changes, soil redox potential or anaerobic processes.

Estimating Trends and Variation of Net Biome Productivity in India for 1980-2012 Using a Land Surface Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gahlot, Shilpa; Shu, Shijie; Jain, Atul K.; Baidya Roy, Somnath

2017-11-01

In this paper we explore the trend in net biome productivity (NBP) over India for the period 1980-2012 and quantify the impact of different environmental factors, including atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]), land use and land cover change, climate, and nitrogen deposition on carbon fluxes using a land surface model, Integrated Science Assessment Model. Results show that terrestrial ecosystems of India have been a carbon sink for this period. Driven by a strong CO2 fertilization effect, magnitude of NBP increased from 27.17 TgC/yr in the 1980s to 34.39 TgC/yr in the 1990s but decreased to 23.70 TgC/yr in the 2000s due to change in climate. Adoption of forest conservation, management, and reforestation policies in the past decade has promoted carbon sequestration in the ecosystems, but this effect has been offset by loss of carbon from ecosystems due to rising temperatures and decrease in precipitation.

Beyond the center: Sciences in Central and Eastern Europe and their histories. An interview with professor Michael Jordan conducted by Jan Surman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Gordin

2016-11-01

Full Text Available What is special about sciences in Central and Eastern Europe? What are the obstacles for writing histories of science done beyond metropoles? Is this science different than the science in the centers and what makes it so? How imperial are sciences made by representatives of dominant nations compared to non-dominant nations? These are some of the questions touched upon in the interview with Michael Gordin, a leading historian of science from Princeton University.

BioM2MetDisease: a manually curated database for associations between microRNAs, metabolites, small molecules and metabolic diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yanjun; Yang, Haixiu; Wu, Tan; Dong, Qun; Sun, Zeguo; Shang, Desi; Li, Feng; Xu, Yingqi; Su, Fei; Liu, Siyao; Zhang, Yunpeng; Li, Xia

2017-01-01

BioM2MetDisease is a manually curated database that aims to provide a comprehensive and experimentally supported resource of associations between metabolic diseases and various biomolecules. Recently, metabolic diseases such as diabetes have become one of the leading threats to people’s health. Metabolic disease associated with alterations of multiple types of biomolecules such as miRNAs and metabolites. An integrated and high-quality data source that collection of metabolic disease associated biomolecules is essential for exploring the underlying molecular mechanisms and discovering novel therapeutics. Here, we developed the BioM2MetDisease database, which currently documents 2681 entries of relationships between 1147 biomolecules (miRNAs, metabolites and small molecules/drugs) and 78 metabolic diseases across 14 species. Each entry includes biomolecule category, species, biomolecule name, disease name, dysregulation pattern, experimental technique, a brief description of metabolic disease-biomolecule relationships, the reference, additional annotation information etc. BioM2MetDisease provides a user-friendly interface to explore and retrieve all data conveniently. A submission page was also offered for researchers to submit new associations between biomolecules and metabolic diseases. BioM2MetDisease provides a comprehensive resource for studying biology molecules act in metabolic diseases, and it is helpful for understanding the molecular mechanisms and developing novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases. http://www.bio-bigdata.com/BioM2MetDisease/. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Simulating carbon and water fluxes at Arctic and boreal ecosystems in Alaska by optimizing the modified BIOME-BGC with eddy covariance data

Science.gov (United States)

Ueyama, M.; Kondo, M.; Ichii, K.; Iwata, H.; Euskirchen, E. S.; Zona, D.; Rocha, A. V.; Harazono, Y.; Nakai, T.; Oechel, W. C.

2013-12-01

To better predict carbon and water cycles in Arctic ecosystems, we modified a process-based ecosystem model, BIOME-BGC, by introducing new processes: change in active layer depth on permafrost and phenology of tundra vegetation. The modified BIOME-BGC was optimized using an optimization method. The model was constrained using gross primary productivity (GPP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at 23 eddy covariance sites in Alaska, and vegetation/soil carbon from a literature survey. The model was used to simulate regional carbon and water fluxes of Alaska from 1900 to 2011. Simulated regional fluxes were validated with upscaled GPP, ecosystem respiration (RE), and NEE based on two methods: (1) a machine learning technique and (2) a top-down model. Our initial simulation suggests that the original BIOME-BGC with default ecophysiological parameters substantially underestimated GPP and RE for tundra and overestimated those fluxes for boreal forests. We will discuss how optimization using the eddy covariance data impacts the historical simulation by comparing the new version of the model with simulated results from the original BIOME-BGC with default ecophysiological parameters. This suggests that the incorporation of the active layer depth and plant phenology processes is important to include when simulating carbon and water fluxes in Arctic ecosystems.

Open access publishing in the biomedical sciences: could funding agencies accelerate the inevitable changes?

Science.gov (United States)

Glover, Steven William; Webb, Anne; Gleghorn, Colette

2006-09-01

Open access is making a noticeable impact on access to information. In 2005, many major research funders, including the Wellcome Trust, National Institutes for Health (NIH), and the Research Councils UK (RCUK), set out their position in a number of statements. Of particular note was the stipulation that authors receiving grants must deposit their final manuscript in an open access forum within 6-12 months of publication. The paper will look at the open access position statements issued by some of the major funding bodies in the biomedical sciences. The paper will also look at the models used by publishers to provide open or delayed access, such as Oxford Open from Oxford University Press, HighWire Press' delayed access policy, BioMed Central, and Public Library of Science (PLoS). There are now over 1.2 million articles in PubMed that are freely accessible via publishers' websites.(1) Could funding agencies accelerate the move to open access? The list of funding agencies supporting open access is growing. The National Institutes for Health and the Wellcome Trust have been joined by many of the world's major funders in biomedical research whose goal it is to make their research findings available with no barriers.

Integrating Taxonomic, Functional and Phylogenetic Beta Diversities: Interactive Effects with the Biome and Land Use across Taxa.

Science.gov (United States)

Corbelli, Julian Martin; Zurita, Gustavo Andres; Filloy, Julieta; Galvis, Juan Pablo; Vespa, Natalia Isabel; Bellocq, Isabel

2015-01-01

The spatial distribution of species, functional traits and phylogenetic relationships at both the regional and local scales provide complementary approaches to study patterns of biodiversity and help to untangle the mechanisms driving community assembly. Few studies have simultaneously considered the taxonomic (TBD), functional (FBD) and phylogenetic (PBD) facets of beta diversity. Here we analyze the associations between TBD, FBD, and PBD with the biome (representing different regional species pools) and land use, and investigate whether TBD, FBD and PBD were correlated. In the study design we considered two widely used indicator taxa (birds and ants) from two contrasting biomes (subtropical forest and grassland) and land uses (tree plantations and cropfields) in the southern Neotropics. Non-metric multidimensional scaling showed that taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic distances were associated to biome and land use; study sites grouped into four groups on the bi-dimensional space (cropfields in forest and grassland, and tree plantations in forest and grassland), and that was consistent across beta diversity facets and taxa. Mantel and PERMANOVA tests showed that TBD, FBD and PBD were positively correlated for both bird and ant assemblages; in general, partial correlations were also significant. Some of the functional traits considered here were conserved along phylogeny. Our results will contribute to the development of sound land use planning and beta diversity conservation.

Integrating Taxonomic, Functional and Phylogenetic Beta Diversities: Interactive Effects with the Biome and Land Use across Taxa

Science.gov (United States)

Corbelli, Julian Martin; Zurita, Gustavo Andres; Filloy, Julieta; Galvis, Juan Pablo; Vespa, Natalia Isabel; Bellocq, Isabel

2015-01-01

The spatial distribution of species, functional traits and phylogenetic relationships at both the regional and local scales provide complementary approaches to study patterns of biodiversity and help to untangle the mechanisms driving community assembly. Few studies have simultaneously considered the taxonomic (TBD), functional (FBD) and phylogenetic (PBD) facets of beta diversity. Here we analyze the associations between TBD, FBD, and PBD with the biome (representing different regional species pools) and land use, and investigate whether TBD, FBD and PBD were correlated. In the study design we considered two widely used indicator taxa (birds and ants) from two contrasting biomes (subtropical forest and grassland) and land uses (tree plantations and cropfields) in the southern Neotropics. Non-metric multidimensional scaling showed that taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic distances were associated to biome and land use; study sites grouped into four groups on the bi-dimensional space (cropfields in forest and grassland, and tree plantations in forest and grassland), and that was consistent across beta diversity facets and taxa. Mantel and PERMANOVA tests showed that TBD, FBD and PBD were positively correlated for both bird and ant assemblages; in general, partial correlations were also significant. Some of the functional traits considered here were conserved along phylogeny. Our results will contribute to the development of sound land use planning and beta diversity conservation. PMID:25978319

Integrating Taxonomic, Functional and Phylogenetic Beta Diversities: Interactive Effects with the Biome and Land Use across Taxa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian Martin Corbelli

Full Text Available The spatial distribution of species, functional traits and phylogenetic relationships at both the regional and local scales provide complementary approaches to study patterns of biodiversity and help to untangle the mechanisms driving community assembly. Few studies have simultaneously considered the taxonomic (TBD, functional (FBD and phylogenetic (PBD facets of beta diversity. Here we analyze the associations between TBD, FBD, and PBD with the biome (representing different regional species pools and land use, and investigate whether TBD, FBD and PBD were correlated. In the study design we considered two widely used indicator taxa (birds and ants from two contrasting biomes (subtropical forest and grassland and land uses (tree plantations and cropfields in the southern Neotropics. Non-metric multidimensional scaling showed that taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic distances were associated to biome and land use; study sites grouped into four groups on the bi-dimensional space (cropfields in forest and grassland, and tree plantations in forest and grassland, and that was consistent across beta diversity facets and taxa. Mantel and PERMANOVA tests showed that TBD, FBD and PBD were positively correlated for both bird and ant assemblages; in general, partial correlations were also significant. Some of the functional traits considered here were conserved along phylogeny. Our results will contribute to the development of sound land use planning and beta diversity conservation.

Modeling the Ecosystem Services Provided by Trees in Urban Ecosystems: Using Biome-BGC to Improve i-Tree Eco

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Molly E.; McGroddy, Megan; Spence, Caitlin; Flake, Leah; Sarfraz, Amna; Nowak, David J.; Milesi, Cristina

2012-01-01

As the world becomes increasingly urban, the need to quantify the effect of trees in urban environments on energy usage, air pollution, local climate and nutrient run-off has increased. By identifying, quantifying and valuing the ecological activity that provides services in urban areas, stronger policies and improved quality of life for urban residents can be obtained. Here we focus on two radically different models that can be used to characterize urban forests. The i-Tree Eco model (formerly UFORE model) quantifies ecosystem services (e.g., air pollution removal, carbon storage) and values derived from urban trees based on field measurements of trees and local ancillary data sets. Biome-BGC (Biome BioGeoChemistry) is used to simulate the fluxes and storage of carbon, water, and nitrogen in natural environments. This paper compares i-Tree Eco's methods to those of Biome-BGC, which estimates the fluxes and storage of energy, carbon, water and nitrogen for vegetation and soil components of the ecosystem. We describe the two models and their differences in the way they calculate similar properties, with a focus on carbon and nitrogen. Finally, we discuss the implications of further integration of these two communities for land managers such as those in Maryland.

Assessment of water pollution in the Brazilian Pampa biome by means of stress biomarkers in tadpoles of the leaf frog Phyllomedusa iheringii (Anura: Hylidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, T G; Melo, R; Costa-Silva, D G; Nunes, Mem; Rodrigues, N R; Franco, J L

2015-01-01

The Brazilian Pampa biome is currently under constant threat due to increase of agriculture and improper management of urban effluents. Studies with a focus on the assessment of impacts caused by human activities in this biome are scarce. In the present study, we measured stress-related biomarkers in tadpoles of the leaf frog Phyllomedusa iheringii, an endemic species to the Pampa biome, and tested its suitability as a bioindicator for the assessment of potential aquatic contamination in selected ponds (S1 and S2) nearby agricultural areas in comparison to a reference site. A significant decrease in acetylcholinesterase activity was observed in S2 when compared to S1 and reference. The levels of total-hydroperoxides were increased in S2 site. In parallel, increased activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase were observed in S2 when compared to S1 and reference. Further studies are necessary in order to correlate the changes observed here with different chemical stressors in water, as well as to elucidate mechanisms of toxicity induced by pesticides in amphibian species endemic to the Pampa biome. Nevertheless, our study validates Phyllomedusa iheringii as a valuable bioindicator in environmental studies.

Autenticación mediante parámetros biométricos

OpenAIRE

Pastor Navarro, Ricard

2017-01-01

En les pàgines següents s’explicarà el procés seguit per la realització d’aquest treball de final de grau, en el que es pretén substituir, en un programa de gestió de contrasenyes, la contrasenya mestre per paràmetres biomètrics, concretament el reconeixement facial. Per a complir amb aquest objectiu s’utilitzaran alguns algoritmes de visió per computador extrets de les llibreries de OpenCV. El sistema final agafarà imatges de l’usuari i fent la comprovació del usuari decidint si ha de donar ...

Social wasps (Polistinae from Pampa Biome: South Brazil, Northeastern Argentina and Uruguay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandre Somavilla

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract. This study aimed to determine social wasps’ species from Pampa Biome. Were examined samples of social wasps from south-central of Rio Grande do Sul state (Brazil, parts of Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Corrientes, Cordoba, Santa Fé and La Pampa provinces (Argentina and in Uruguay maintained in the Coleção Entomológica de Santa Cruz do Sul (Santa Cruz do Sul-Brazil, American Museum of Natural History (USA, Natural History Museum (London-United Kingdom and Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris-France. Thirty species were recorded: Agelaia (01, Brachygastra (01, Mischocyttarus (04, Polistes (15, Polybia (08 and Protonectarina (01. Vespas sociais do Bioma Pampa: sul do Brasil, nordeste da Argentina e Uruguai. Resumo. Este estudo objetivou determinar as espécies de vespas sociais provenientes do Bioma Pampa. Foram examinadas vespas sociais provenientes de coletas da região centro-sul do Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil, parte das províncias de Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Corrientes, Cordoba, Santa Fé e La Pampa (Argentina e Uruguai depositadas na Coleção Entomológica de Santa Cruz do Sul (Santa Cruz do Sul-Brasil, American Museum of Natural History (Nova Iorque-USA, Natural History Museum (Londres-Reino Unido e Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris-França. Trinta espécies foram registradas: Agelaia (01, Brachygastra (01, Mischocyttarus (04, Polistes (15, Polybia (08 e Protonectarina (01.

Simulating economics and environmental impacts of beef and soybean systems in Brazil's Pamas and Amozon Biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Recent reductions in the deforestation of the Amazon biome have highlighted the need for the sustainable intensification of beef and commodity crop production in Brazil to increase agricultural productivity without accelerating adverse environmental impacts related to greenhouse gas emissions, eutro...

Biomímesis: una propuesta ética y técnica para reorientar la ingeniería por los senderos de la sustentabilidad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolás Jiménez Iguarán

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Nos encontramos en lo que el intelectual español Jorge Riechmann denomina “el siglo de la gran prueba”. La actual crisis ambiental, cuyos síntomas no dejan de aparecer, nos impone retos en todos los niveles de nuestra vida. El presente trabajo tiene el propósito de explorar las potencialidades que tiene la ingeniería para superar esta crisis (o “prueba”, a la luz de la categoría biomímesis. Para esto, partimos de una reflexión central sobre la correspondencia entre el saber técnico ingenieril, los límites de la naturaleza y la noción de progreso para, a partir de ella, realizar una crítica propositiva a la ingeniería e inferir algunos elementos éticos que encaminen su desarrollo. Como ciencia aplicada, la ingeniería forma parte de nuestras vidas así no seamos plenamente conscientes de ello. En su desarrollo y evolución ha contribuido a producir sobrecargas significativas en la biósfera. La ética ambiental ha venido insistiendo, durante más de cinco décadas, en la necesidad de reconducir nuestra civilización hacia técnicas aplicadas que aprendan de la naturaleza en lugar de degradarla. La biomímesis, al recordar que los resultados de la ingeniería deben estar asociados a un objetivo social colectivo, se presenta como un camino para superar esta compleja realidad.

Morphofunctional diversity of equine of varied genetic compositions raised in the Pantanal biome of Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

de Rezende, Marcos Paulo Gonçalves; de Souza, Julio Cesar; Carneiro, Paulo Luiz Souza; Bozzi, Riccardo; Jardim, Rodrigo Jose Delgado; Malhado, Carlos Henrique Mendes

2018-06-01

Evaluating phenotypic diversity makes it possible to identify discrepancies in aptitudes among animals of different genetic bases, which is an indicator of adaptive or selective differences between populations. The objective of this work was to evaluate the morphofunctional diversity of 452 male and female adult equines (Arabian, Quarter Mile, Pantaneiro, and Criollo breeds, and undefined crossbreeds of horses and mules) raised in the Pantanal biome (Brazil). Linear measurements were performed to estimate conformation indexes. Initially, a discriminant analysis was performed, regardless of the animal's size, followed by factor analysis. The factors were characterized and used as new variables. The diversity among equines and their relationship with the factors were evaluated using multivariate analysis. The factors were classified according to their decreasing importance: balance, rusticity, and robustness for the measurement factors; and load, ability, conformation, and equilibrium for the index factors. The genetic groups of equines have well-defined morphofunctional characteristics. The main differences are based on the rusticity and ability typologies in relation to those based on performance. Equines introduced to the Pantanal biome presented a more robust and compact body with good conformation. As a result, these horses may have superior athletic performance during equestrian activities when compared to the Pantaneiro local breed. However, this biotype may represent less rusticity (less adaptive capacity). Therefore, the regional breed can be equal or better in equestrian activities than breeds introduced to the Pantanal biome. Thus, breeders may cross horses from local breeds as an alternative to those introduced. Undefined crossbred male equines presented a different profile from the Pantaneiro breed, which may indicate little use of crossbreeds in breeding.

Clonality analysis of lymphoid proliferations using the BIOMED-2 clonality assays: a single institution experience

Science.gov (United States)

Kokovic, Ira; Novakovic, Barbara Jezersek; Cerkovnik, Petra; Novakovic, Srdjan

2014-01-01

Background Clonality determination in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders can improve the final diagnosis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the applicative value of standardized BIOMED-2 gene clonality assay protocols for the analysis of clonality of lymphocytes in a group of different lymphoid proliferations. Materials and methods. With this purpose, 121 specimens from 91 patients with suspected lymphoproliferations submitted for routine diagnostics from January to December 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the final diagnosis, our series comprised 32 cases of B-cell lymphomas, 38 cases of non-Hodgkin’s T-cell lymphomas and 51 cases of reactive lymphoid proliferations. Clonality testing was performed using the BIOMED-2 clonality assays. Results The determined sensitivity of the TCR assay was 91.9%, while the sensitivity of the IGH assay was 74.2%. The determined specificity of the IGH assay was 73.3% in the group of lymphomas and 87.2% in the group of reactive lesions. The determined specificity of the TCR assay was 62.5% in the group of lymphomas and 54.3% in the group of reactive lesions. Conclusions In the present study, we confirmed the utility of standardized BIOMED-2 clonality assays for the detection of clonality in a routine diagnostical setting of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. Reactions for the detection of the complete IGH rearrangements and reactions for the detection of the TCR rearrangements are a good choice for clonality testing of a wide range of lymphoid proliferations and specimen types while the reactions for the detection of incomplete IGH rearrangements have not shown any additional diagnostic value. PMID:24991205

Reply: “Use of BIOME-BGC to simulate Mediterranean forest carbon stocks”

OpenAIRE

Maselli F; Salvati R; Barbati A; Chirici G; Chiesi M

2011-01-01

The current note responds to the critical contribution of Dr. Eastaugh on Chiesi et al. (Chiesi et al. 2011). That paper did not aim at applying BIOME-BGC to simulate stand growth, which requires a thorough modification of the model functions. In contrast, only a parameter setting was changed in order to adjust the predicted carbon storages during the simulation of quasi-equilibrium conditions. The adjustment was calibrated on volume statistics derived from the Tuscany forest inventory and is...

Genetic diversity of bats coronaviruses in the Atlantic Forest hotspot biome, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Góes, Luiz Gustavo Bentim; Campos, Angélica Cristine de Almeida; Carvalho, Cristiano de; Ambar, Guilherme; Queiroz, Luzia Helena; Cruz-Neto, Ariovaldo Pereira; Munir, Muhammad; Durigon, Edison Luiz

2016-10-01

Bats are notorious reservoirs of genetically-diverse and high-profile pathogens, and are playing crucial roles in the emergence and re-emergence of viruses, both in human and in animals. In this report, we identified and characterized previously unknown and diverse genetic clusters of bat coronaviruses in the Atlantic Forest Biome, Brazil. These results highlight the virus richness of bats and their possible roles in the public health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Global negative vegetation feedback to climate warming responses of leaf litter decomposition rates in cold biomes.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cornelissen, J.H.C.; van Bodegom, P.M.; Aerts, R.; Gallaghan, T.V.; van Logtestijn, R.S.P; Alatalo, J.; Chapin, F.S. III; Gerdol, R.; Gudmundsson, J.; Gwynn-Jones, D.; Hartley, A.E.; Hik, D.S.; Hofgaard, A.; Jonsdottir, I.S.; Karlsson, S.; Klein, J.A.; Laundre, J.; Magnusson, B.; Michelsel, A.; Molau, U.; Onipchenko, V.G.; Quested, H.M.; Sandvik, S.M.; Schmidt, I.K.; Shaver, G.R.; Solhleim, B.; Soudzilovskaia, N.A.; Stenstrom, A.; Tolvanen, A.; Totland, O.; Wada, N.; Welker, J.M.; Zhao, X.; Team, M.O.L.

2007-01-01

Whether climate change will turn cold biomes from large long-term carbon sinks into sources is hotly debated because of the great potential for ecosystem-mediated feedbacks to global climate. Critical are the direction, magnitude and generality of climate responses of plant litter decomposition.

Trans-biome diversity in Australian grass-specialist lizards (Diplodactylidae: Strophurus).

Science.gov (United States)

Laver, Rebecca J; Nielsen, Stuart V; Rosauer, Dan F; Oliver, Paul M

2017-10-01

Comparisons of biodiversity patterns within lineages that occur across major climate gradients and biomes, can provide insights into the relative roles that lineage history, landscape and climatic variation, and environmental change have played in shaping regional biotas. In Australia, while there has been extensive research into the origins and patterns of diversity in the Australian Arid Zone (AAZ), how diversity is distributed across this biome and the Australian Monsoonal Tropics (AMT) to the north, has been less studied. We compared the timing and patterns of diversification across this broad aridity gradient in a clade of lizards (Strophurus: phasmid geckos) that only occur in association with a unique Australian radiation of sclerophyllous grasses (Triodia: spinifex). Our results indicate that overall genetic diversity is much higher, older and more finely geographically structured within the AMT, including distantly related clades endemic to the sandstone escarpments of the Kimberley and Arnhem Plateau. Niche modelling analyses also suggest that the distribution of taxa in the AMT is more strongly correlated with variation in topographic relief than in the AAZ. The two broad patterns that we recovered - (i) lineage endemism increases as latitude decreases, and (ii) endemism is tightly correlated to rocky regions - parallel and corroborate other recent studies of habitat generalists and specialised saxicoline lineages occurring across these same regions. Early Miocene diversification estimates also suggest that, soon after Triodia grasses colonised Australia and began to diversify in the Miocene, phasmid geckos with Gondwanan ancestry shifted into these grasses, and have subsequently remained closely associated with this unique vegetation type. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bond, William; Zaloumis, Nicholas P

2016-06-05

Africa has the most extensive C4 grassy biomes of any continent. They are highly flammable accounting for greater than 70% of the world's burnt area. Much of Africa's savannas and grasslands occur in climates warm enough and wet enough to support closed forests. The combination of open grassy systems and the frequent fires they support have long been interpreted as anthropogenic artefacts caused by humans igniting frequent fires. True grasslands, it was believed, would be restricted to climates too dry or too cold to support closed woody vegetation. The idea that higher-rainfall savannas are anthropogenic and that fires are of human origin has led to initiatives to 'reforest' Africa's open grassy systems paid for by carbon credits under the assumption that the net effect of converting these system to forests would sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate global warming. This paper reviews evidence for the antiquity of African grassy ecosystems and for the fires that they sustain. Africa's grassy biomes and the fires that maintain them are ancient and there is no support for the idea that humans caused large-scale deforestation. Indicators of old-growth grasslands are described. These can help distinguish secondary grasslands suitable for reforestation from ancient grasslands that should not be afforested.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Parameter sensitivity of simulating net primary productivity of Larix olgensis forest based on BIOME-BGC model%基于BIOME-BGC模型的长白落叶松林净初级生产力模拟参数敏感性

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

何丽鸿; 王海燕; 雷相东

2016-01-01

基于植被生理生态过程的模型包含较多参数,合理的参数取值能够极大地提高模型的模拟能力.参数敏感性分析可以全面分析模型参数对模拟结果的影响程度,在筛选模型敏感参数过程中起到重要作用.本研究以模拟吉林省汪清林业局长白落叶松林净初级生产力(NPP)为例,分析了BIOME-BGC模型的参数敏感性.首先利用样地实测NPP数据与模拟值进行对比分析,检验模型对长白落叶松林NPP的模拟能力;然后利用Morris法和EFAST法筛选出BIOME-BGC模型中对长白落叶松林NPP影响较大的敏感参数.在此基础上,通过EFAST法对所有筛选出的参数进行定量的敏感性分析,计算了敏感参数的全局敏感性指数、一阶敏感性指数和二阶敏感性指数.结果表明:BIOME-BGC模型能够较好地模拟研究区内长白落叶松林NPP的变化趋势;Morris法可以在样本量较少的情况下实现对BIOME-BGC模型敏感参数的筛选,面EFAST法可以定量分析BIOME-BGC模型中单个参数以及不同参数之间交互作用对模拟结果的影响程度;BIOME-BGC模型中对长白落叶松林NPP影响较大的敏感参数为新生茎与叶片的碳分配比和叶片碳氮比,且二者之间的交互作用明显大于其他参数之间的交互作用.

Assessment of water pollution in the Brazilian Pampa biome by means of stress biomarkers in tadpoles of the leaf frog Phyllomedusa iheringii (Anura: Hylidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TG Santos

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The Brazilian Pampa biome is currently under constant threat due to increase of agriculture and improper management of urban effluents. Studies with a focus on the assessment of impacts caused by human activities in this biome are scarce. In the present study, we measured stress-related biomarkers in tadpoles of the leaf frog Phyllomedusa iheringii, an endemic species to the Pampa biome, and tested its suitability as a bioindicator for the assessment of potential aquatic contamination in selected ponds (S1 and S2 nearby agricultural areas in comparison to a reference site. A significant decrease in acetylcholinesterase activity was observed in S2 when compared to S1 and reference. The levels of total-hydroperoxides were increased in S2 site. In parallel, increased activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase were observed in S2 when compared to S1 and reference. Further studies are necessary in order to correlate the changes observed here with different chemical stressors in water, as well as to elucidate mechanisms of toxicity induced by pesticides in amphibian species endemic to the Pampa biome. Nevertheless, our study validates Phyllomedusa iheringii as a valuable bioindicator in environmental studies.

Montane plant environments in the Fynbos Biome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. M. Campbell

1983-12-01

Full Text Available Environmental data collected at 507 plots on 22 transects, and soil analytical data from 81 of these plots, have been used to describe the plant environments of the mountains in the Fynbos Biome. Two major regional gradients are recognized: a west-east gradient and a coast-interior gradient. Of particular consequence for fynbos-environment studies is the increase in the proportion of fine soil particles from west to east. At least some aspects of soil fertility also increase towards the east. The edaphic changes are paralleled by climatic changes: chiefly a decrease in the severity of summer drought towards the east. On the coast-interior gradient a major non-climatic variable in the gradient is rock cover. High rock cover is a feature of the interior ranges. Soils with organic horizons or with E horizons are a feature on the coastal mountains, but are generally lacking on the interior mountains. The other environmental gradients recognized occur on individual transects and all include edaphic variables. The rockiness-soil depth gradient, on which an increase in rockiness is associated with a decrease in soil depth and usually a decrease in clay content, tends to occur in three situations. Firstly, it is associated with local topographic variation; the shallow, rocky soils being a feature of the steeper slopes. Secondly, it is associated with the aspect gradient; the hot, dry northern aspects having shallow, rocky, less developed soils. Thirdly, it tends to be associated with the altitude-rainfall gradient: shallower soils being found at higher altitudes. It is also at higher altitudes that higher rainfall is found. Variation in oxidizable carbon is chiefly accounted for by the altitude-rainfall gradient. Whereas at a biome-wide level, aspects of soil fertility are related to soil texture, it appears that on individual transects fertility is linked to amounts of plant remains in the soil and to rainfall. Apart from these gradients, which are

Geographic distribution of phlebotomine sandfly species (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Central-West Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

de Almeida, Paulo Silva; de Andrade, Andrey José; Sciamarelli, Alan; Raizer, Josué; Menegatti, Jaqueline Aparecida; Hermes, Sandra Cristina Negreli Moreira; de Carvalho, Maria do Socorro Laurentino; Gurgel-Gonçalves, Rodrigo

2015-01-01

This study updates the geographic distributions of phlebotomine species in Central-West Brazil and analyses the climatic factors associated with their occurrence. The data were obtained from the entomology services of the state departments of health in Central-West Brazil, scientific collections and a literature review of articles from 1962-2014. Ecological niche models were produced for sandfly species with more than 20 occurrences using the Maxent algorithm and eight climate variables. In all, 2,803 phlebotomine records for 127 species were analysed. Nyssomyia whitmani, Evandromyia lenti and Lutzomyia longipalpis were the species with the greatest number of records and were present in all the biomes in Central-West Brazil. The models, which were produced for 34 species, indicated that the Cerrado areas in the central and western regions of Central-West Brazil were climatically more suitable to sandflies. The variables with the greatest influence on the models were the temperature in the coldest months and the temperature seasonality. The results show that phlebotomine species in Central-West Brazil have different geographical distribution patterns and that climate conditions in essentially the entire region favour the occurrence of at least one Leishmania vector species, highlighting the need to maintain or intensify vector control and surveillance strategies. PMID:26018450

NDVI and meteorological data as indicators of the Pampa biome natural grasslands growth

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Denise Cybis Fontana

2018-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The present study aimed to characterize the dynamics of NDVI and meteorological conditions, relating both to the annual dynamics of biomass accumulation in natural pastures of the Pampa biome as a way of subsidizing growth modeling. Forage accumulation rate data from a long-term experiment, NDVI data from the MODIS images, and meteorological data measured at the surface were used. We verify that the agrometeorological element associated to the accumulation of forage in the natural grasslands is different according to the season, which is typical of the subtropical climate. Winter is the critical season for livestock production due to the lower forage accumulation rate and lower values of NDVI, conditioned by the decrease of solar radiation and air temperature. In the summer, the limiting factor to forage accumulation is the hydric condition. It was also verified that the variability in the growth of grasslands can be associated with the ENSO phenomenon, being the El Niño favorable and the La Niña unfavorable, especially in the spring-summer period. Considering the verified associations, spectral indices combined with agrometeorological elements are recommended to the adjustment of models of forage accumulation in the Pampa biome natural grasslands.

Identification of priority conservation areas and potential corridors for jaguars in the Caatinga biome, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Morato, Ronaldo Gonçalves; Ferraz, Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros; de Paula, Rogério Cunha; de Campos, Cláudia Bueno

2014-01-01

The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a top predator with the extant population found within the Brazilian Caatinga biome now known to be on the brink of extinction. Designing new conservation units and potential corridors are therefore crucial for the long-term survival of the species within the Caatinga biome. Thus, our aims were: 1) to recognize suitable areas for jaguar occurrence, 2) to delineate areas for jaguar conservation (PJCUs), 3) to design corridors among priority areas, and 4) to prioritize PJCUs. A total of 62 points records of jaguar occurrence and 10 potential predictors were analyzed in a GIS environment. A predictive distributional map was obtained using Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) as performed by the Maximum Entropy (Maxent) algorithm. Areas equal to or higher than the median suitability value of 0.595 were selected as of high suitability for jaguar occurrence and named as Priority Jaguar Conservation Units (PJCU). Ten PJCUs with sizes varying from 23.6 km2 to 4,311.0 km2 were identified. Afterwards, we combined the response curve, as generated by SDM, and expert opinions to create a permeability matrix and to identify least cost corridors and buffer zones between each PJCU pair. Connectivity corridors and buffer zone for jaguar movement included an area of 8.884,26 km2 and the total corridor length is about 160.94 km. Prioritizing criteria indicated the PJCU representing c.a. 68.61% of the total PJCU area (PJCU # 1) as of high priority for conservation and connectivity with others PJCUs (PJCUs # 4, 5 and 7) desirable for the long term survival of the species. In conclusion, by using the jaguar as a focal species and combining SDM and expert opinion we were able to create a valid framework for practical conservation actions at the Caatinga biome. The same approach could be used for the conservation of other carnivores.

Vida saudável versus vida aprimorada: tecnologias biomédicas, processos de subjetivação e aprimoramento

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Fabíola Rohden

Full Text Available Resumo Fenômenos contemporâneos como um crescimento significativo dos campos da medicina sexual e da medicina estética exigem novas investigações empíricas e também aprofundamento de determinados debates teóricos. No contexto das últimas décadas, ganham relevo formas de subjetivação centradas no investimento pessoal via transformações corporais, nas quais o consumo de artefatos biomédicos considerados inovadores torna-se central. Em função da produção de questões advindas desse campo, este artigo discute criticamente alguns vetores conceituais. Categorias analíticas como biomedicalização, farmacologização, modos de subjetivação e aprimoramento são centrais para dar conta de entender os processos em questão. Na mesma direção, é preciso considerar a importância de problematizar as fronteiras entre os investimentos associados à manutenção da saúde e aqueles motivados pelo aprimoramento de si.

Mt. Kilimanjaro expedition in earth science education

Science.gov (United States)

Sparrow, Elena; Yoshikawa, Kenji; Narita, Kenji; Brettenny, Mark; Yule, Sheila; O'Toole, Michael; Brettenny, Rogeline

2010-05-01

Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain is 5,895 meters above sea level and is located 330 km south of the equator in Tanzania. In 1976 glaciers covered most of Mt. Kilimanjaro's summit; however in 2000, an estimated eighty percent of the ice cap has disappeared since the last thorough survey done in 1912. There is increased scientific interest in Mt. Kilimanjaro with the increase in global and African average temperatures. A team of college and pre-college school students from Tanzania, South Africa and Kenya, teachers from South Africa and the United States, and scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the United States and Akita University in Japan, climbed to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in October 2009. They were accompanied by guides, porters, two expedition guests, and a videographer. This expedition was part of the GLOBE Seasons and Biomes Earth System Science Project and the GLOBE Africa science education initiative, exploring and contributing to climate change studies. Students learned about earth science experientially by observing their physical and biological surroundings, making soil and air temperature measurements, participating in discussions, journaling their experience, and posing research questions. The international trekkers noted the change in the biomes as the altitude, temperature and conditions changed, from cultivated lands, to rain forest, heath zone, moorland, alpine desert, and summit. They also discovered permafrost, but not at the summit as expected. Rather, it was where the mountain was not covered by a glacier and thus more exposed to low extreme temperatures. This was the first report of permafrost on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Classrooms from all over the world participated in the expedition virtually. They followed the trek through the expedition website (http://www.xpeditiononline.com/) where pictures and journals were posted, and posed their own questions which were answered by the expedition and base camp team members

Cross-biome metagenomic analyses of soil microbial communities and their functional attributes.

Science.gov (United States)

Fierer, Noah; Leff, Jonathan W; Adams, Byron J; Nielsen, Uffe N; Bates, Scott Thomas; Lauber, Christian L; Owens, Sarah; Gilbert, Jack A; Wall, Diana H; Caporaso, J Gregory

2012-12-26

For centuries ecologists have studied how the diversity and functional traits of plant and animal communities vary across biomes. In contrast, we have only just begun exploring similar questions for soil microbial communities despite soil microbes being the dominant engines of biogeochemical cycles and a major pool of living biomass in terrestrial ecosystems. We used metagenomic sequencing to compare the composition and functional attributes of 16 soil microbial communities collected from cold deserts, hot deserts, forests, grasslands, and tundra. Those communities found in plant-free cold desert soils typically had the lowest levels of functional diversity (diversity of protein-coding gene categories) and the lowest levels of phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity. Across all soils, functional beta diversity was strongly correlated with taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity; the desert microbial communities were clearly distinct from the nondesert communities regardless of the metric used. The desert communities had higher relative abundances of genes associated with osmoregulation and dormancy, but lower relative abundances of genes associated with nutrient cycling and the catabolism of plant-derived organic compounds. Antibiotic resistance genes were consistently threefold less abundant in the desert soils than in the nondesert soils, suggesting that abiotic conditions, not competitive interactions, are more important in shaping the desert microbial communities. As the most comprehensive survey of soil taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity to date, this study demonstrates that metagenomic approaches can be used to build a predictive understanding of how microbial diversity and function vary across terrestrial biomes.

Modeling distribution of Schinus molle L. in the Brazilian Pampa: insights on vegetation dynamics and conservation of the biome

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R.P.M. Lemos

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Natural establishment of forests in the Brazilian Pampa biome should occur due to soil, hydrology and climate conditions, although no significant forest expansion over grassland has been noticed, precluded mainly by human interference and lack of environmental management. In this study, we used niche-modeling distribution of the tree species Schinus molle L. based on climatic variables to access the vegetation dynamics of the Brazilian Pampa and to develop strategies that assure the conservation of this biome, concerning both grassland and forest formations. Here we show that a large area of the Brazilian Pampa is suitable for expansion of S. molle populations, supporting the forest expansion over grassland as a natural process in this biome. We propose that the current absence of tree species expansion over the grassland in these areas is a result of the resilience of the grassland and of human interferences through expansion of agriculture, ranching and forestry with exotic species. Therefore, conservationist actions should focus on establishing preservation unities that include forest populations and grassland, while environmental management should be applied just in farming areas with historical human interference. Such actions will respect the ecological dynamics of the Pampa and value the forest formations in this grassland-dominated environment.

Treatment of Adults With Treatment-Resistant Depression: Electroconvulsive Therapy Plus Antidepressant or Electroconvulsive Therapy Alone? Evidence From an Indirect Comparison Meta-Analysis

OpenAIRE

Song, Guo-Min; Tian, Xu; Shuai, Ting; Yi, Li-Juan; Zeng, Zi; Liu, Shuang; Zhou, Jian-Guo; Wang, Yan

2015-01-01

Abstract Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and antidepressant are the effective treatment alternatives for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD); however, the effects and safety of the ECT plus antidepressant relative to ECT alone remain controversial. We decide to assess the potential of ECT plus antidepressant compared with ECT alone by undertaking an indirect comparison meta-analysis. Databases from PubMed, ISI Web of Science, CENTRAL, Clinicaltrials.gov, EMBASE, CBM (China Biom...

Thresholds for boreal biome transitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheffer, Marten; Hirota, Marina; Holmgren, Milena; Van Nes, Egbert H; Chapin, F Stuart

2012-12-26

Although the boreal region is warming twice as fast as the global average, the way in which the vast boreal forests and tundras may respond is poorly understood. Using satellite data, we reveal marked alternative modes in the frequency distributions of boreal tree cover. At the northern end and at the dry continental southern extremes, treeless tundra and steppe, respectively, are the only possible states. However, over a broad intermediate temperature range, these treeless states coexist with boreal forest (∼75% tree cover) and with two more open woodland states (∼20% and ∼45% tree cover). Intermediate tree covers (e.g., ∼10%, ∼30%, and ∼60% tree cover) between these distinct states are relatively rare, suggesting that they may represent unstable states where the system dwells only transiently. Mechanisms for such instabilities remain to be unraveled, but our results have important implications for the anticipated response of these ecosystems to climatic change. The data reveal that boreal forest shows no gradual decline in tree cover toward its limits. Instead, our analysis suggests that it becomes less resilient in the sense that it may more easily shift into a sparse woodland or treeless state. Similarly, the relative scarcity of the intermediate ∼10% tree cover suggests that tundra may shift relatively abruptly to a more abundant tree cover. If our inferences are correct, climate change may invoke massive nonlinear shifts in boreal biomes.

Detection of wild animals as carriers of Leptospira by PCR in the Pantanal biome, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, Anahi S; Narduche, Lorena; Martins, Gabriel; Schabib Péres, Igor A H F; Zimmermann, Namor P; Juliano, Raquel S; Pellegrin, Aiesca O; Lilenbaum, Walter

2016-11-01

Leptospiral infection is widespread in wildlife. In this context, wild ecosystems in tropical countries hold a vast biodiversity, including several species that may act as potential reservoirs of leptospires. The Pantanal biome presents highly favorable environmental conditions for the occurrence of leptospirosis, such as high temperatures, constant flooding, and high biodiversity. The purpose of this study was to detect wild animals as carriers of Leptospira sp. using direct methods (PCR and culture) in the Pantanal biome, Brazil. A total of 35 animals were studied, namely Cerdocyon thous, Nasua nasua, Ozotoceros bezoarticus, and Sus scrofa species. Blood for serology (MAT) and urine for bacteriological culturing and PCR was sampled. The most prevalent serogroups were Javanica and Djasiman. Additionally, 40.6% of these animals presented PCR positive reactions. Seroreactivity associated with the high frequency of leptospiral carriers among the different studied species suggests a high level of exposure of the studied animals to pathogenic Leptospira strains. Our results are still limited and the actual role of the studied animals in the epidemiology of leptospirosis in the Pantanal region remains to be elucidated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Updated Review of Dendrochronological Investigations in Mexico, a Megadiverse Country with a High Potential for Tree-Ring Sciences

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Andrea C. Acosta-Hernández

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Dendrochronology is a very useful science to reconstruct the long-term responses of trees and other woody plants forming annual rings in response to their environment. The present review considered Mexico, a megadiverse country with a high potential for tree-ring sciences given its high climatic and environmental variability. We reviewed papers considering Mexican tree species that were published from 2001 to 2016. Most of these studies examined tree species from temperate forests, mainly in the pine and fir species. The review included 31 tree species. The most intensively sampled family and species were the Pinaceae and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziessi (Mirb. Franco, respectively. Some threatened tree species were also studied. Dendrochronological investigations were mainly conducted in northern and central Mexico, with Durango being the most sampled state. The reviewed studies were mostly developed for hydroclimatic reconstructions, which were mainly based on the tree-ring width as a proxy for the climate. Tree-ring studies were carried out in both national and foreign institutions. Our review identified relevant research gaps for dendrochronologists such as: (i biomes which are still scarcely studied (e.g., tropical dry forests and (ii approaches still rarely applied to Mexican forests as dendroecology.

Physiology of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from Brazilian biomes: new insights into biodiversity and industrial applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beato, Felipe B.; Bergdahl, Basti; Rosa, Carlos A.

2016-01-01

Fourteen indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from the barks of three tree species located in the Atlantic Rain Forest and Cerrado biomes in Brazil were genetically and physiologically compared to laboratory strains and to strains from the Brazilian fuel ethanol industry. Although...

Estimating carbon flux phenology with satellite-derived land surface phenology and climate drivers for different biomes: a synthesis of AmeriFlux observations.

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Wenquan Zhu

Full Text Available Carbon Flux Phenology (CFP can affect the interannual variation in Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. In this study, we proposed a methodology to estimate CFP metrics with satellite-derived Land Surface Phenology (LSP metrics and climate drivers for 4 biomes (i.e., deciduous broadleaf forest, evergreen needleleaf forest, grasslands and croplands, using 159 site-years of NEE and climate data from 32 AmeriFlux sites and MODIS vegetation index time-series data. LSP metrics combined with optimal climate drivers can explain the variability in Start of Carbon Uptake (SCU by more than 70% and End of Carbon Uptake (ECU by more than 60%. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE of the estimations was within 8.5 days for both SCU and ECU. The estimation performance for this methodology was primarily dependent on the optimal combination of the LSP retrieval methods, the explanatory climate drivers, the biome types, and the specific CFP metric. This methodology has a potential for allowing extrapolation of CFP metrics for biomes with a distinct and detectable seasonal cycle over large areas, based on synoptic multi-temporal optical satellite data and climate data.

Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Myers-Smith, Isla H.; Elmendorf, Sarah C.; Beck, Pieter S.A.

2015-01-01

Rapid climate warming in the tundra biome has been linked to increasing shrub dominance1–4. Shrub expansion can modify climate by altering surface albedo, energy and water balance, and permafrost2,5–8, yet the drivers of shrub growth remain poorly understood. Dendroecological data consisting...... of multi-decadal time series of annual shrub growth provide an underused resource to explore climate–growth relationships. Here, we analyse circumpolar data from 37 Arctic and alpine sites in 9 countries, including 25 species, and 42,000 annual growth records from 1,821 individuals. Our analyses...... demonstrate that the sensitivity of shrub growth to climate was: (1) heterogeneous, with European sites showing greater summer temperature sensitivity than North American sites, and (2) higher at sites with greater soil moisture and for taller shrubs (for example, alders and willows) growing at their northern...

Identification of priority conservation areas and potential corridors for jaguars in the Caatinga biome, Brazil.

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Ronaldo Gonçalves Morato

Full Text Available The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a top predator with the extant population found within the Brazilian Caatinga biome now known to be on the brink of extinction. Designing new conservation units and potential corridors are therefore crucial for the long-term survival of the species within the Caatinga biome. Thus, our aims were: 1 to recognize suitable areas for jaguar occurrence, 2 to delineate areas for jaguar conservation (PJCUs, 3 to design corridors among priority areas, and 4 to prioritize PJCUs. A total of 62 points records of jaguar occurrence and 10 potential predictors were analyzed in a GIS environment. A predictive distributional map was obtained using Species Distribution Modeling (SDM as performed by the Maximum Entropy (Maxent algorithm. Areas equal to or higher than the median suitability value of 0.595 were selected as of high suitability for jaguar occurrence and named as Priority Jaguar Conservation Units (PJCU. Ten PJCUs with sizes varying from 23.6 km2 to 4,311.0 km2 were identified. Afterwards, we combined the response curve, as generated by SDM, and expert opinions to create a permeability matrix and to identify least cost corridors and buffer zones between each PJCU pair. Connectivity corridors and buffer zone for jaguar movement included an area of 8.884,26 km2 and the total corridor length is about 160.94 km. Prioritizing criteria indicated the PJCU representing c.a. 68.61% of the total PJCU area (PJCU # 1 as of high priority for conservation and connectivity with others PJCUs (PJCUs # 4, 5 and 7 desirable for the long term survival of the species. In conclusion, by using the jaguar as a focal species and combining SDM and expert opinion we were able to create a valid framework for practical conservation actions at the Caatinga biome. The same approach could be used for the conservation of other carnivores.

Biométria de frutos e sementes de Luetzelburgia auriculata (Allemão Ducke

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Roberto Ferreira Barroso

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A Caatinga apresenta uma grande diversidade de espécies vegetais, dentre elas Luetzelburgia auriculata é uma das espécies predominantes no bioma, desempenhando papel fundamental para o ecossistema local. Este trabalho objetivou descrever as características biométricas de frutos e sementes de Luetzelburgia auriculata.  Para a descrição das características da semente foram coletados 200 frutos e 200 sementes de plantas nativas do município de Santa Helena, Paraíba. As amostras foram encaminhadas ao Laboratório de Nutrição Mineral de Plantas do Centro de Saúde e Tecnologia Rural de Universidade Federal de Campina Grande para a realização das devidas aferições biométricas. Os frutos foram analisado pelo comprimento, espessura superior, mediana e inferior; largura superior, mediana e inferior. Para as sementes, foram analisados comprimento, espessura e a largura. Verificou-se que o comprimento dos frutos variou de 50,7 a 98,2 cm, a espessura de 6,00 a 17 mm e largura variando de 12,4 a 21,8 mm. Em relação às sementes, 46% se enquadraram na classe de comprimento com intervalo de 19,9 a 20,8 mm. A espécie Luetzelburgia auriculata apresentam variabilidade nas características biométricas de frutos e sementesBiometrics of fruit and seeds of Luetzelburgia auriculata (Allemão DuckeAbstract: The Caatinga presents a great diversity of plant species, among them the woodpecker (Luetzelburgia auriculata (Allemao Ducke. is one of the predominant species in the biome, playing a fundament al role for the local ecosystem. This work aimed to describe the biometric characteristics of fruits and seeds of Pau de Pedra. For the description of the characteristics of the Luetzelburgia auriculata (Allemão Ducke seed, 200 fruits and 200 seeds of native plants of the municipality of Santa Helena, Paraíba state were collected for biometry and seed mass. Afterwards they were packed in plastic bags and properly identified and taken to Laboratório de

Biome-scale nitrogen fixation strategies selected by climatic constraints on nitrogen cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheffer, Efrat; Batterman, Sarah A; Levin, Simon A; Hedin, Lars O

2015-11-23

Dinitrogen fixation by plants (in symbiosis with root bacteria) is a major source of new nitrogen for land ecosystems(1). A long-standing puzzle(2) is that trees capable of nitrogen fixation are abundant in nitrogen-rich tropical forests, but absent or restricted to early successional stages in nitrogen-poor extra-tropical forests. This biome-scale pattern presents an evolutionary paradox(3), given that the physiological cost(4) of nitrogen fixation predicts the opposite pattern: fixers should be out-competed by non-fixers in nitrogen-rich conditions, but competitively superior in nitrogen-poor soils. Here we evaluate whether this paradox can be explained by the existence of different fixation strategies in tropical versus extra-tropical trees: facultative fixers (capable of downregulating fixation(5,6) by sanctioning mutualistic bacteria(7)) are common in the tropics, whereas obligate fixers (less able to downregulate fixation) dominate at higher latitudes. Using a game-theoretic approach, we assess the ecological and evolutionary conditions under which these fixation strategies emerge, and examine their dependence on climate-driven differences in the nitrogen cycle. We show that in the tropics, transient soil nitrogen deficits following disturbance and rapid tree growth favour a facultative strategy and the coexistence of fixers and non-fixers. In contrast, sustained nitrogen deficits following disturbance in extra-tropical forests favour an obligate fixation strategy, and cause fixers to be excluded in late successional stages. We conclude that biome-scale differences in the abundance of nitrogen fixers can be explained by the interaction between individual plant strategies and climatic constraints on the nitrogen cycle over evolutionary time.

Characterizing forest carbon stocks at tropical biome and landscape level in Mount Apo National Park, Philippines

Science.gov (United States)

Rubas, L. C.

2012-12-01

Forest resources sequester and store carbon, and serve as a natural brake on climate change. In the tropics, the largest source of greenhouse emission is from deforestation and forest degradation (Gibbs et al 2007). This paper attempts to compile sixty (60) existing studies on using remote sensing to measure key environmental forest indicators at two levels of scales: biome and landscape level. At the tropical forest biome level, there is not as much remote sensing studies that have been done as compared to other forest biomes. Also, existing studies on tropical Asia is still sparse compared to other tropical regions in Latin America and Africa. Biomass map is also produced for the tropical biome using keyhole macro language (KML) which is projected on Google Earth. The compiled studies showed there are four indicators being measured using remote sensors in tropical forest. These are biomass, landcover classification, deforestation and cloud cover. The landscape level will focus on Mount Apo National Park in the Philippines which is encompassing a total area of 54,974.87 hectares. It is one of the ten priority sites targeted in the World Bank-assisted Biodiversity Conservation Program. This park serves as the major watershed for the three provinces with 19 major rivers emanating from the montane formations. Only a small fraction of the natural forest that once covered the country remains. In spite of different policies that aim to reduce logging recent commercial deforestation, illegal logging and agricultural expansion pose an important threat to the remaining forest areas. In some locations in the country, these hotspots of deforestation overlap with the protected areas (Verburg et al 2006). The study site was clipped using ArcGIS from the forest biomass carbon density map produced by Gibbs and Brown (2007). Characterization on this national park using vegetation density, elevation, slope, land cover and precipitation will be conducted to determine factors that

Building partnerships to produce actionable science to support climate-informed management decisions: North Central Climate Science Center example

Science.gov (United States)

Lackett, J.; Ojima, D. S.; McNeeley, S.

2017-12-01

As climate change impacts become more apparent in our environment, action is needed to enhance the social-ecological system resilience. Incorporating principles which lead to actionable research and project co-development, when appropriate, will facilitate building linkages between the research and the natural resource management communities. In order to develop strategies to manage for climatic and ecosystem changes, collaborative actions are needed between researchers and resource managers to apply appropriate knowledge of the ecosystem and management environments to enable feasible solutions and management actions to respond to climate change. Our team has been involved in developing and establishing a research and engagement center, the North Central Climate Science Center (NC CSC), for the US Department of Interior, to support the development and translation of pertinent climate science information to natural resource managers in the north central portion of the United States. The NC CSC has implemented a platform to support the Resource for Vulnerability Assessment, Adaptation, and Mitigation Projects (ReVAMP) with research, engagement, and training activities to support resource managers and researchers. These activities are aimed at the co-production of appropriate response strategies to climate change in the region, in particular to drought-related responses. Through this platform we, with other partners in the region, including the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture, are bringing various training tools, climate information, and management planning tools to resource managers. The implementation of ReVAMP has led to development of planning efforts which include a more explicit representation of climate change as a driver of drought events in our region. Scenario planning provides a process which integrates management goals with possible outcomes derived from observations and simulations of ecological impacts of climate change. Co

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF BIOME-BGC MODEL FOR DRY TROPICAL FORESTS OF VINDHYAN HIGHLANDS, INDIA

OpenAIRE

M. Kumar; A. S. Raghubanshi

2012-01-01

A process-based model BIOME-BGC was run for sensitivity analysis to see the effect of ecophysiological parameters on net primary production (NPP) of dry tropical forest of India. The sensitivity test reveals that the forest NPP was highly sensitive to the following ecophysiological parameters: Canopy light extinction coefficient (k), Canopy average specific leaf area (SLA), New stem C : New leaf C (SC:LC), Maximum stomatal conductance (gs,max), C:N of fine roots (C:Nfr), All-sided to...

Above- and Belowground Biomass Allocation in Shrub Biomes across the Northeast Tibetan Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yuanhe; Yang, Lucun; Zhou, Guoying

2016-01-01

Biomass partitioning has been explored across various biomes. However, the strategies of allocation in plants still remain contentious. This study investigated allocation patterns of above- and belowground biomass at the community level, using biomass survey from the Tibetan Plateau. We explored above- and belowground biomass by conducting three consecutive sampling campaigns across shrub biomes on the northeast Tibetan Plateau during 2011–2013. We then documented the above-ground biomass (AGB), below-ground biomass (BGB) and root: shoot ratio (R/S) and the relationships between R/S and environment factors using data from 201 plots surveyed from 67 sites. We further examined relationships between above-ground and below-ground biomass across various shrub types. Our results indicated that the median values of AGB, BGB, and R/S in Tibetan shrub were 1102.55, 874.91 g m-2, and 0.85, respectively. R/S showed significant trend with mean annual precipitation (MAP), while decreased with mean annual temperature (MAT). Reduced major axis analysis indicated that the slope of the log-log relationship between above- and belowground biomass revealed a significant difference from 1.0 over space, supporting the optimal hypothesis. Interestingly, the slopes of the allometric relationship between log AGB and log BGB differed significantly between alpine and desert shrub. Our findings supported the optimal theory of above- and belowground biomass partitioning in Tibetan shrub, while the isometric hypothesis for alpine shrub at the community level. PMID:27119379

Relationships of leaf dark respiration to leaf nitrogen, specific leaf area and leaf life-span: a test across biomes and functional groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Reich, Peter B; Walters, Michael B; Ellsworth, David S; Vose, James M; Volin, John C; Gresham, Charles; Bowman, William D

1998-05-01

Based on prior evidence of coordinated multiple leaf trait scaling, we hypothesized that variation among species in leaf dark respiration rate (R d ) should scale with variation in traits such as leaf nitrogen (N), leaf life-span, specific leaf area (SLA), and net photosynthetic capacity (A max ). However, it is not known whether such scaling, if it exists, is similar among disparate biomes and plant functional types. We tested this idea by examining the interspecific relationships between R d measured at a standard temperature and leaf life-span, N, SLA and A max for 69 species from four functional groups (forbs, broad-leafed trees and shrubs, and needle-leafed conifers) in six biomes traversing the Americas: alpine tundra/subalpine forest, Colorado; cold temperate forest/grassland, Wisconsin; cool temperate forest, North Carolina; desert/shrubland, New Mexico; subtropical forest, South Carolina; and tropical rain forest, Amazonas, Venezuela. Area-based R d was positively related to area-based leaf N within functional groups and for all species pooled, but not when comparing among species within any site. At all sites, mass-based R d (R d-mass ) decreased sharply with increasing leaf life-span and was positively related to SLA and mass-based A max and leaf N (leaf N mass ). These intra-biome relationships were similar in shape and slope among sites, where in each case we compared species belonging to different plant functional groups. Significant R d-mass -N mass relationships were observed in all functional groups (pooled across sites), but the relationships differed, with higher R d at any given leaf N in functional groups (such as forbs) with higher SLA and shorter leaf life-span. Regardless of biome or functional group, R d-mass was well predicted by all combinations of leaf life-span, N mass and/or SLA (r 2 ≥ 0.79, P morphological, chemical and metabolic traits.

Stormflow influence on nutrient dynamics in micro-catchments under contrasting land use in the Cerrado and Amazon Biomes, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Edelmann, Katharina; Nóbrega, Rodolfo L. B.; Gerold, Gerhard

2017-04-01

The Amazon and Cerrado biomes in Brazil have been under intense land-use change during the past few decades. The conversion of native vegetation to pastures and croplands has caused impacts on hydrological processes in these biomes, resulting in increased streamflow and nutrient fluxes. Our aim was to compare the nutrient dynamics during stormflow events in two pairs of adjacent micro-catchments with similar physical characteristics under contrasting land use, i.e. native vegetation (rainforest or cerrado) and pasture. One pair of catchments was located in the Amazon and the other in the Cerrado, both on the Amazon Agricultural Frontier in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Pará. We collected hydrological and hydrochemical data on 50 stormflow events on a sub-hourly resolution during the wet seasons of 2013 and 2014. We compared the dynamics of total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrate (NO3), calcium (Ca), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg) in different hydrograph parts, i.e. rising limb, peak and recession limb, between the catchments within the same biome. For the Cerrado biome, our findings show that the nutrient concentrations in the stormflows were higher in the pasture catchment than in the cerrado catchment. In the Amazon biome, we found an inverse relationship with higher concentrations in the forest catchment than in the pasture catchment, except for TIC and K. Most nutrients in the cerrado catchment had the highest concentrations in the rising limb. Mg, however, reached highest concentrations during peak discharge, and lowest in the recession limb. In the adjacent pasture catchment, in contrast, the highest nutrient concentrations were observed during the peak discharge (TIC, TOC, Ca) or the recession limb (DOC, NO3, K, Mg) with lowest in the rising limb, except for NO3, which showed the lowest concentrations during peak discharge. In the Amazon forest catchment, the peak discharge showed the

Overview on Environmental Comprehensive Management System Established in Imitation of Biome

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

李如燕; 孙可伟

2004-01-01

Environmental comprehensive management system, called "the bionic community", can be established in imitation of biome, which can transform the wastes generated in a certain field into the raw materials of other field. The establishment of the bionic community includes two aspects, i.e. , the matching technique and the management system. The main matching technique is the preparation of composite materials made of various wastes.This new kind of material can be divided into four types: polymer matrix, silicate matrix, metal matrix and carbon matrix (or ceramic matrix). The environmental comprehensive management system is formed by organizing a transtrades joint-management business entity with the products of composite material made of wastes at the core.

Earth Systems Science in an Integrated Science Content and Methods Course for Elementary Education Majors

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, J. A.; Allen, D. E.; Donham, R. S.; Fifield, S. J.; Shipman, H. L.; Ford, D. J.; Dagher, Z. R.

2004-12-01

With funding from the National Science Foundation, we have designed an integrated science content and methods course for sophomore-level elementary teacher education (ETE) majors. This course, the Science Semester, is a 15-credit sequence that consists of three science content courses (Earth, Life, and Physical Science) and a science teaching methods course. The goal of this integrated science and education methods curriculum is to foster holistic understandings of science and pedagogy that future elementary teachers need to effectively use inquiry-based approaches in teaching science in their classrooms. During the Science Semester, traditional subject matter boundaries are crossed to stress shared themes that teachers must understand to teach standards-based elementary science. Exemplary approaches that support both learning science and learning how to teach science are used. In the science courses, students work collaboratively on multidisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) activities that place science concepts in authentic contexts and build learning skills. In the methods course, students critically explore the theory and practice of elementary science teaching, drawing on their shared experiences of inquiry learning in the science courses. An earth system science approach is ideally adapted for the integrated, inquiry-based learning that takes place during the Science Semester. The PBL investigations that are the hallmark of the Science Semester provide the backdrop through which fundamental earth system interactions can be studied. For example in the PBL investigation that focuses on energy, the carbon cycle is examined as it relates to fossil fuels. In another PBL investigation centered on kids, cancer, and the environment, the hydrologic cycle with emphasis on surface runoff and ground water contamination is studied. In a PBL investigation that has students learning about the Delaware Bay ecosystem through the story of the horseshoe crab and the biome

The relationship of centralization, organizational culture and performance indexes in teaching hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasirpour, Amir Ashkan; Gohari, Mahmoud Reza; Moradi, Saied

2010-01-01

One of the main problems in the efficiency and efficacy of an organization is its structural issue. Organizational culture is also considered as an effective factor in the performance of many organizations. The main goal of the present study was to determine the relationship of Centralization and organizational culture and performance indexes in Teaching Hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. This correlation study was performed in the year 2007. The population studied consisted of 4408 personnel from 13 hospitals among whom 441 subjects were selected and studied via a class sampling method. Data was compiled using a check list concerning the evaluation status of Centralization and another form concerning performance indexes as well as Robbin's organizational culture questionnaire. Data were obtained from the subjects by self answering and analyzed by using descriptive statistical indexes, T- test and Fisher's exact tests. Among the organizational culture indexes of the hospitals studied, control and organizational identity was better as compared to others (mean=3.32 and 3.30). Concerning the extent of Centralization in the hospitals studied, 53.85 % and 46.15 % were reported to have upper and lower organizational Centralization, respectively. Mean ratio of surgical operations to inpatients was 40%, the mean rate of admissions per active bed was 60.83, mean bed occupancy coefficient was 70.79%, average length of stay was 6.96 days, and mean net death rate was 1.41%. No significant correlation was seen between Centralization degree, organizational culture and performance indexes in teaching hospitals Tehran university of medical sciences. (with 95% confidence interval). Due to the fact that first grade Teaching hospitals use board certified members, expert personnel, and advanced equipments and because of the limitation of patients choice and, the extent of Centralization and many organizational culture components have no significant

Feedbacks between land cover and climate changes in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Coe, M. T.; Silverio, D. V.; Bustamante, M.; Macedo, M.; Shimbo, J.; Brando, P. M.

2016-12-01

An estimated 20% of Amazon forests and 45% of Cerrado savannas have been cleared to make way for the expansion of croplands and pasturelands in Brazil. Although deforestation rates have decreased or remained steady over the last decade, the cumulative area deforested continues to grow in both biomes. These land-use transitions are expected to influence regional climate by reducing evapotranspiration (ET), increasing land surface temperatures (LST), and ultimately reducing regional precipitation. Here we present results from spatial analyses to quantify the impact of land-use transitions on the regional climate of the Amazon-Cerrado agricultural frontier. The analyses combine satellite observations and model outputs from the MODIS dataset. Results from the southeastern Amazon indicate that transitions from forest to pasture or cropland decreased mean annual ET (by 24% and 32%, respectively) and increased LST (by 4.2°C and 6.4°C). Preliminary results from the Cerrado indicate that transitions from woody savannas to pasture or cropland also result in substantial reductions in mean annual ET (23% and 20%, respectively) and increases in LST (by 1.6°C in both cases). These results reinforce the need to better understand how land-use change at regional scales may alter climate by changing ecosystem properties (beyond carbon stocks and fluxes). It is important to evaluate these responses across different biomes, particularly in tropical regions under increasing deforestation pressure.

Rhetoric of Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, R. Allen

1991-01-01

Places rhetoric of science in context with sociology, psychology, history, and philosophy of science. Generates a typology of concerns for rhetoric of science. Characterizes the central issues of the field. (RS)

Web of science coverage and scientific performance of Central and Eastern European countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ploszaj, A.; Olechnicka, A.

2016-07-01

The paper put forward the hypothesis that changes in the list of journals, particularly in the number of periodicals published in specific Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, have a significant impact on bibliometric indicators and, consequently, on the convergence levels they are used to measure. The analyses presented in the article support the argument that countries from Central and Eastern Europe, despite showing fairly consistent convergence trends, achieve noticeably weaker results than Western Europe regarding research and development and scientific activity. The evident impact made by the inclusion of numerous CEE journals in WoS on the values of the indicator analysed, directly supports the hypothesis put forward in this article. The results of the study are important because data on the number of publications and citations in the Web of Science are increasingly used as development indicators of national R&D sectors. By showing how modifications in these databases influence the results obtained, we can better understand and thus make better use of data from these sources. The article concludes with listing the possibilities for furthering and deepening selected themes pointed out in the paper. (Author)

Temporalités dans la recherche biomédicale : la science au travail saisie par le temps Temporalities in biomedical research: time as a factor in scientific work Temporalidades en la investigación biomédica: el trabajo científico atrapado por el tiempo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philippe Brunet

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Cet article s’attache à comprendre et à analyser l’importance prise par le temps dans le travail scientifique. Le plus souvent, étant considérée comme une activité au rythme intrinsèque, la science semble échapper au temps. Pourtant, généré par le phénomène de contextualisation, on montrera que le temps s’installe comme mesure de son procès de travail. À partir de données extraites d’une étude d’un laboratoire développant des recherches en biomédecine, l’analyse permet d’identifier trois temporalités différentes : une temporalité professionnelle intrinsèque, une temporalité sociétale extrinsèque et une temporalité gestionnaire hybride. C’est à l’articulation de ces trois temporalités que des tensions s’exercent sur le procès de travail du laboratoire. Elles ont pour enjeu l’autonomie professionnelle des scientifiques. Dans le cas analysé, la temporalité gestionnaire apparaît alors comme une mesure du temps dans la science, protectrice de cette autonomie.The article seeks to understand and analyse the growing importance of time in scientific work. Science is usually seen as an activity with an intrinsic rhythm that seems to escape time. Based on the phenomenon of contextualisation, however, we will show that time has become a way of measuring work processes. Using data from a biomedical research laboratory study, the analysis identifies three time scales: an intrinsic professional temporality; an extrinsic social temporality; and a hybrid managerial temporality. It is at the interface between these three temporalities that tensions affect laboratory work processes. The main issue at stake is scientists’ professional autonomy. In the case being analysed here, managerial temporality appears as something that measures time in science and protects the autonomy thereof.En este artículo buscamos comprender y analizar la importancia que ha adquirido el tiempo en el trabajo científico. La mayor

A história da ciência e o objeto de seu estudo: confrontos entre a ciência periférica, a ciência central e a ciência marginal History of science and its object of study: confrontations amongst peripheral science, mainstream science and marginal science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos A. L. Filgueiras

2001-10-01

Full Text Available The historiography of science has undergone a profound change from the traditional perspective of a few decades ago, according to which only mainstream science was worth pursuing as a research field. Such a restricted outlook was not conducive to a thorough understanding of the whole process of the construction of science. New approaches have breathed new life into the discipline, taking into account not only scientific endeavours from so-called peripheral societies, but also from different quarters within or close to the central groups. From this a new and far more interesting view has emerged, showing a complex and richer texture.

Record of the Buff-fronted Owl (Aegolius harrisii in the Pampa Biome, southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marluci Müller Rebelato

2011-02-01

Full Text Available We present the second record of the Buff-fronted Owl (Aegolius harrisii in the Pampa Biome, South Brazil. On 17 January 2010 an adult male was found dead at the roadside along the BR-290, São Gabriel municipality, center-east of Rio Grande do Sul state. The specimen probably collided with a car when using the area for foraging. The record reported here agrees with the suggestion that A. harrisii can use disturbed and open areas.

Scaling net ecosystem production and net biome production over a heterogeneous region in the Western United States

Science.gov (United States)

D.P. Turner; W.D. Ritts; B.E. Law; W.B. Cohen; Z. Yan; T. Hudiburg; J.L. Campbell; M. Duane

2007-01-01

Bottom-up scaling of net ecosystem production (NEP) and net biome production (NBP) was used to generate a carbon budget for a large heterogeneous region (the state of Oregon, 2.5x105 km2 ) in the Western United States. Landsat resolution (30 m) remote sensing provided the basis for mapping land cover and disturbance history...

Testing the applicability of BIOME-BGC to simulate beech gross primary production in Europe using a new continental weather dataset

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chiesi, Marta; Chirici, Gherardo; Marchetti, Marco

2016-01-01

A daily 1-km Pan-European weather dataset can drive the BIOME-BGC model for the estimation of current and future beech gross primary production (GPP). Annual beech GPP is affected primarily by spring temperature and more irregularly by summer water stress.The spread of beech forests in Europe...... forest ecosystems having different climatic conditions where the eddy covariance technique is used to measure water and carbon fluxes. The experiment is in three main steps. First, the accuracy of BIOME-BGC GPP simulations is assessed through comparison with flux observations. Second, the influence...... of two major meteorological drivers (spring minimum temperature and growing season dryness) on observed and simulated inter-annual GPP variations is analysed. Lastly, the impacts of two climate change scenarios on beech GPP are evaluated through statistical analyses of the ground data and model...

Diversity of medium and large sized mammals in a Cerrado fragment of central Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F.S. Campos

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Studies related to community ecology of medium and large mammals represent a priority in developing strategies for conservation of their habitats. Due to the significant ecological importance of these species, a concern in relation to anthropogenic pressures arises since their populations are vulnerable to hunting and fragmentation. In this study, we aimed to analyze the diversity of medium and large mammals in a representative area of the Cerrado biome, located in the National Forest of Silvânia, central Brazil, providing insights for future studies on the biodiversity and conservation of Cerrado mammals. Sampling was carried out by linear transects, search for traces, footprint traps and camera traps. We recorded 23 species, among which three are listed in threat categories (e.g., Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Chrysocyon brachyurus and Leopardus tigrinus. We registered 160 records in the study area, where the most frequently recorded species were Didelphis albiventris (30 records and Cerdocyon thous (28 records. Our results indicated that a small protected area of Cerrado can include a large and important percentage of the diversity of mammals in this biome, providing information about richness, abundance, spatial distribution and insights for future studies on the biodiversity and conservation of these biological communities.

A method to determine warm and cool steppe biomes from pollen data; application to the Mediterranean and Kazakhstan regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tarasov, PE; Cheddadi, R; Guiot, J; Bottema, S; Peyron, O; Belmonte, J; Ruiz-Sanchez, [No Value; Saadi, F; Brewer, S

1998-01-01

An objective method for the assignment of pollen spectra to appropriate biomes has been published recently. The aim of this paper is to improve the distinction between warm and cool steppes, thus refining vegetation and climate reconstruction, particularly during the Last Glacial Maximum. A set of

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 109; Issue 1 ... Crustal evolution; granites; Phanerozoic; Sr-Nd isotopes; east-central Asia. ... Department of Geology, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun ...

Central Laboratory of X-ray and Electron Microscopy Research at the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zymierska, D.

2008-01-01

The beginning and history of the Central Laboratory of X-ray and Electron Microscopy at the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw is described. Then, recent scientific achievements are presented. Organising activities of the Laboratory staff are also mentioned. (author)

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, Central Eurasia: Life Sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

1992-05-27

would be the same thing as showing porno raise our entire public health giant to its feet-this aid will films in school rather than providing sex...The participants viewed videos about future science foreign technologies to our health care sector on a broader projects whose realization is now...must not be so irresponsible as to miss an excellent One of the videos told of the tragic history of the domestic opportunity to attract leading

CytoJournal's move to fund Open Access

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cafaro Anthony

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract CytoJournal is published by an independent publisher BioMed Central, which is committed to ensuring that the peer-reviewed biomedical research is Open Access. Since its launch, BioMed Central has graciously supported the processing of all the articles published during CytoJournal's first 6 months. However, for long term viability, CytoJournal has to achieve financial viability to support publication expenses. From 1st March, 2005, authors will be asked by the publisher to pay a flat article-processing charge. This editorial discusses how a significant proportion of authors may not have to pay this fee directly under a variety of different mechanisms such as institutional and society memberships with BioMed Central.

Estimation of the Net Ecosystem Productivity in Huang-Huai Hai Region Combining with Biome-BGC Model and Remote Sensing Data%遥感数据结合Biome-BGC模型估算黄淮海地区生态系统生产力

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

胡波; 孙睿; 陈永俊; 冯丽超; 孙亮

2011-01-01

植被净生态系统生产力（NEP）和净第一性生产力（NPP）作为表征植被活动的关键变量,在全球变化研究及区域生态环境评价中起着很重要的作用。Biome-BGC是一个模拟生态系统植被和土壤中的能量、水、碳、氮的流动和存储的生物地球化学循环模型。论文利用2004年时间序列MODIS LAI遥感产品和气象数据,对黄淮海地区的NEP和NPP进行了模拟估算,由于Biome-BGC模型没有农作物生理生态参数,农作物模拟通过修改草地生理生态参数,并在增加施肥、灌溉和收割代码基础上实现。结果表明,2004年黄淮海地区NEP、NPP呈现南部大于北部的空间分布特征;不同植被类型平均NEP和NPP大小顺序分别为：混交林〉落叶阔叶林〉常绿针叶林〉农作物〉灌木〉草地、混交林〉农作物〉落叶阔叶林〉常绿针叶林〉灌木〉草地;与观测数据、MODIS NPP产品和统计数据进行对比,表明Biome-BGC模型可较好用于区域植被生产力的模拟,农作物模拟结果与统计数据的决定系数达到0.612 3,且模拟得到的黄淮海地区农作物NPP比MODIS NPP产品更接近统计值。%As two key variables to represent vegetation activities,the Net Ecosystem Production（NEP） and the Net Primary Productivity（NPP）played important roles in the study of global change and regional ecological environment evaluation.Biome-BGC was a biogeochemical cycles model,which could simulate the storage and fluxes of water,carbon and nitrogen within the vegetation and soil components of a terrestrial ecosystem.In this paper,in use of the series of MODIS LAI product and the meteorological data in 2004,we simulated the NEP and NPP in the Huang-Huai-Hai Region.Since there was no crop eco-physiological parameters in the Biome-BGC model,we simulated the crop by modifying the grass eco-physiological parameters,and adding the code of fertilizers,irrigation and harvest.The simulated results showed

The genetic structure of the mountain forest butterfly Erebia euryale unravels the late Pleistocene and postglacial history of the mountain coniferous forest biome in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, Thomas; Haubrich, Karola

2008-05-01

The distribution of the mountain coniferous forest biome in Europe throughout time is not sufficiently understood. One character species of this habitat type is the large ringlet, Erebia euryale well reflecting the extension of this biome today, and the genetic differentiation of this species among and within mountain systems may unravel the late Pleistocene history of this habitat type. We therefore analysed the allozyme pattern of 381 E. euryale individuals from 11 populations in four different European mountain systems (Pyrenees, Alps, Carpathians, Rila). All loci analysed were polymorphic. The mean F(ST) over all samples was high (20%). Furthermore, the mean genetic distance among samples was quite high (0.049). We found four different groups well supported by cluster analyses, bootstraps and hierarchical variance analyses: Pyrenees, western Alps, eastern Alps and southeastern Europe (Carpathians and Rila). The genetic diversity of the populations was highest in the southeastern European group and stepwise decreased westwards. Interestingly, the populations from Bulgaria and Romania were almost identical; therefore, we assume that they were not separated by the Danube Valley, at least during the last ice age. On the contrary, the differentiation among the three western Alps populations was considerable. For all these reasons, we assume that (i) the most important refugial area for the coniferous mountain forest biome in Europe has been located in southeastern Europe including at least parts of the Carpathians and the Bulgarian mountains; (ii) important refugial areas for this biome existed at the southeastern edge of the Alps; (iii) fragments of this habitat types survived along the southwestern Alps, but in a more scattered distribution; and (iv) relatively small relicts have persisted somewhere at the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Diseño curricular para el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje acelerado del español como lengua extranjera en las ciencias biomédicas

OpenAIRE

Herrera Santana, Diana Josefa

2009-01-01

El prestigio alcanzado por la medicina cubana ha suscitado un gran incremento en la matrícula de estudiantes extranjeros que vienen a Cuba a cursar estudios en las ciencias biomédicas, tanto en el pregrado como en el postgrado. Antes tales demandas, el Ministerio de Salud Pública, en el año 1996, asumió la preparación idiomática en idioma español de los estudiantes extranjeros que decidían estudiar en Cuba alguna de las ramas de las ciencias biomédicas. En el presente informe se exponen los p...

Análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones sobre síndrome metabólico en dos revistas biomédicas colombianas de alto impacto

OpenAIRE

María Alejandra Recio; Nathalie Yepes; Freddy Moreno

2017-01-01

Objetivo: Realizar un análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones sobre síndrome metabólico (SM) en las dos revistas biomédicas colombianas de mayor impacto. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo documental que realizó un análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones sobre SM en las revistas Biomédica y Colombia Médica. Para el análisis se emplearon indicadores bibliométricos (tipo de artículo, año de publicación, información de los autores, universidad, tipo de universidad, ciudad, país, á...

Asie centrale | Page 64 | CRDI - Centre de recherches pour le ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Asie centrale. Asie centrale. Read more about Renforcement de la recherche en sciences sociales en Iraq. Langue French. Read more about Strengthening Social Science Research in Iraq. Langue English. Read more about Genetically Modified Organisms : Public Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions (India). Langue ...

Central Institute for Nuclear Research (1956 - 1979)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flach, G.; Bonitz, M.

1979-12-01

The Central Institute for Nuclear Research (ZfK) of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR is presented. This first overall survey covers the development of the ZfK since 1956, the main research activities and results, a description of the departments responsible for the complex implementation of nuclear research, the social services for staff and the activities of different organizations in the largest central institute of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR. (author)

Microbial Community Profile and Water Quality in a Protected Area of the Caatinga Biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Fabyano Alvares Cardoso; Catão, Elisa Caldeira Pires; Santana, Renata Henrique; Cabral, Anderson de Souza; Paranhos, Rodolfo; Rangel, Thiago Pessanha; de Rezende, Carlos Eduardo; Edwards, Robert A; Thompson, Cristiane C; Thompson, Fabiano L; Kruger, Ricardo Henrique

2016-01-01

The Caatinga is a semi-arid biome in northeast Brazil. The Paraguaçú River is located in the Caatinga biome, and part of its course is protected by the National Park of Chapada Diamantina (PNCD). In this study we evaluated the effect of PNCD protection on the water quality and microbial community diversity of this river by analyzing water samples obtained from points located inside and outside the PNCD in both wet and dry seasons. Results of water quality analysis showed higher levels of silicate, ammonia, particulate organic carbon, and nitrite in samples from the unprotected area compared with those from protected areas. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA genes revealed that Burkholderiales was abundant in samples from all three sites during both seasons and was represented primarily by the genus Polynucleobacter and members of the Comamonadaceae family (e.g., genus Limnohabitans). During the dry season, the unprotected area showed a higher abundance of Flavobacterium sp. and Arthrobacter sp., which are frequently associated with the presence and/or degradation of arsenic and pesticide compounds. In addition, genes that appear to be related to agricultural impacts on the environment, as well as those involved in arsenic and cadmium resistance, copper homeostasis, and propanediol utilization, were detected in the unprotected areas by metagenomic sequencing. Although PNCD protection improves water quality, agricultural activities around the park may affect water quality within the park and may account for the presence of bacteria capable of pesticide degradation and assimilation, evidencing possible anthropogenic impacts on the Caatinga.

USING LUDIC ACTIVITIES TO EXPLAIN THE BIOME CONCEPT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline Riccioni de Melos

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper contributes to research on the role of ludic activities in teaching and learning physical geography content during the last four years of primary school. We question the discourse that identifies students’ lack of interest as the obstacle to teaching physical geography. This study contributes by questioning this obstacle. We note that few studies exist on this topic, according to the CAPES (Coordination for higher Education Staff Development dissertation database, in 2011 only five were completed. The theoretical basis for the study considers work by Graciolli (2009, Silva et al. (2010, Rupel (2011 and Freitas and Salvi (2011, authors who defend the use of ludic activities in teaching methodology. In 2010, the “Biome Game” for 6th year students was developed based on this theoretical framework as part of the required course “Supervised Practice”. The goal of the activity was to think about how the concept of biome was created, and the methodology used valued recreational approaches. The empirical results of this experiment, which involved developing and implementing the game during the Supervised Practice course, demonstrate the importance of ludic pedagogical strategies for teaching physical geography in Brazilian primary education. O presente artigo traz contribuições de pesquisa sobre a função da ludicidade no ensino-aprendizagem de conteúdos da geografia física, no segundo segmento do ensino fundamental. Tal questão problematiza o discurso sobre o desinteresse dos alunos, como significativo obstáculo para a didática da geografia física. A pertinência do presente estudo está em reconhecer esta questão, tendo em vista que existem poucos estudos na área, totalizando em 2011, segundo o banco de dissertações da CAPES, somente cinco trabalhos concluídos. Nossa investigação dialoga com Graciolli (2009, Silva et al. (2010, Rupel (2011 e Freitas e Salvi (2011, autores dedicados à defesa da utilização de

Plant litter dynamics in the forest-stream interface: precipitation is a major control across tropical biomes

OpenAIRE

Tonin, Alan M.; Gon?alves, Jos? F.; Bambi, Paulino; Couceiro, Sheyla R. M.; Feitoza, Lorrane A. M.; Fontana, Lucas E.; Hamada, Neusa; Hepp, Luiz U.; Lezan-Kowalczuk, V?nia G.; Leite, Gustavo F. M.; Lemes-Silva, Aurea L.; Lisboa, Leonardo K.; Loureiro, Rafael C.; Martins, Renato T.; Medeiros, Adriana O.

2017-01-01

Riparian plant litter is a major energy source for forested streams across the world and its decomposition has repercussions on nutrient cycling, food webs and ecosystem functioning. However, we know little about plant litter dynamics in tropical streams, even?though the tropics occupy 40% of the Earth?s land surface. Here we investigated spatial and temporal (along a year cycle) patterns of litter inputs and storage in multiple streams of three tropical biomes in Brazil (Atlantic forest, Ama...

Carbon isotope discrimination of arctic and boreal biomes inferred from remote atmospheric measurements and a biosphere-atmosphere model - art. no. 1028

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Randerson, J.T.; Still, C.J.; Balle, J.J.; Fung, I.Y.; Doney, S.C.; Tans, P.P.; Conway, T.J.; White, J.W.C.; Vaughn, B.; Suits, N.; Denning, A.S. [CALTECH, Pasadena, CA (United States). Div. of Geology & Planetary Science

2002-07-01

Estimating discrimination against C-13 during photosynthesis at landscape, regional, and biome scales is difficult because of large-scale variability in plant stress, vegetation composition, and photosynthetic pathway. The authors present estimates of C-13 discrimination for northern biomes based on a biosphere-atmosphere model and on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research remote flask measurements. With the inversion approach, solutions were found for three ecophysiological parameters of the northern biosphere {delta}{sup 13}C discrimination, a net primary production light use efficiency, and a temperature sensitivity of heterotrophic respiration (a Q10 factor) that provided a best fit between modeled and observed {delta}{sup 13}C and CO{sub 2}. The analysis attempted to explicitly correct for fossil fuel emissions, remote C4 ecosystem fluxes, ocean exchange, and isotopic disequilibria of terrestrial heterotrophic respiration caused by the Suess effect. A photosynthetic discrimination was obtained for arctic and boreal biomes between 19.0 and 19.6%. The inversion analysis suggests that Q10 and light use efficiency values that minimize the cost function covary. The optimal light use efficiency was 0.47 gC MJ{sup -1} photosynthetically active radiation, and the optimal Q10 value was 1.52. Fossil fuel and ocean exchange contributed proportionally more to month-to-month changes in the atmospheric growth rate of {delta}{sup 13}C and CO{sub 2} during winter months, suggesting that remote atmospheric observations during the summer may yield more precise estimates of the isotopic composition of the biosphere.

Design and standardization of PCR primers and protocols for detection of clonal immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene recombinations in suspect lymphoproliferations: Report of the BIOMED-2 Concerted Action BMH4-CT98-3936 : Report of the BIOMED-2 Concerted Action BMH4-CT98-3936

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dongen, J.J.M.; Langerak, A.W.; Bruggemann, M.; Evans, P.A.S.; Hummel, M.; Lavender, F.L.; Delabesse, E.; Davi, F.; Schuuring, E.; Garcia-Sanz, R.; Van Krieken, J.H.J.M.; Droese, J.; Gonzalez, D.; Bastard, C.; White, H.E.; Spaargaren, M.; Gonzalez, M.; Parreira, A.; Smith, J.L.; Morgan, G.J.; Kneba, M.; Macintyre, E.A.

2003-01-01

In a European BIOMED-2 collaborative study, multiplex PCR assays have successfully been developed and standardized for the detection of clonally rearranged immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (TCR) genes and the chromosome aberrations t(11; 14) and t(14; 18). This has resulted in 107 different

Land-use change and soil type are drivers of fungal and archaeal communities in the Pampa biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Lupatini, Manoeli; Jacques, Rodrigo Josemar Seminoti; Antoniolli, Zaida Inês; Suleiman, Afnan Khalil Ahmad; Fulthorpe, Roberta R; Roesch, Luiz Fernando Würdig

2013-02-01

The current study aimed to test the hypothesis that both land-use change and soil type are responsible for the major changes in the fungal and archaeal community structure and functioning of the soil microbial community in Brazilian Pampa biome. Soil samples were collected at sites with different land-uses (native grassland, native forest, Eucalyptus and Acacia plantation, soybean and watermelon field) and in a typical toposequence in Pampa biome formed by Paleudult, Albaqualf and alluvial soils. The structure of soil microbial community (archaeal and fungal) was evaluated by ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis and soil functional capabilities were measured by microbial biomass carbon and metabolic quotient. We detected different patterns in microbial community driven by land-use change and soil type, showing that both factors are significant drivers of fungal and archaeal community structure and biomass and microbial activity. Fungal community structure was more affected by land-use and archaeal community was more affected by soil type. Irrespective of the land-use or soil type, a large percentage of operational taxonomic unit were shared among the soils. We accepted the hypothesis that both land-use change and soil type are drivers of archaeal and fungal community structure and soil functional capabilities. Moreover, we also suggest the existence of a soil microbial core.

Competencias informacionales de los estudiantes de la escuela de bibliotecología de la Universidad Central de Venezuela - Information skills of students the school of library science at library science at Universidad Central de Venezuela

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Jesus López Salazar

2016-12-01

Full Text Available El presente trabajo examina las competencias informacionales de los estudiantes de la Escuela de Bibliotecología de la Universidad Central de Venezuela. Para ello se aplicó un cuestionario de 25 presuntas abiertas, cerradas y mixtas a 213 estudiantes cursantes de la asignatura obligatoria Seminario de tesis dictada durante los periodos lectivos 2014-2, 2015-1 y 2015-2 como parte de una evaluación diagnóstico que buscó establecer el conocimiento y las habilidades que deben poseer para iniciar una investigación bibliotecológica. Se utilizaron cuatro parámetros para medir el reconocimiento de la necesidad de conseguir información, localizar información y acceder a ella, establecer estrategias para localizar la información, distinguir entre distintas formas de cubrir la necesidad, comparar y evaluar la información, organizar, aplicar y comunicar la información. Las competencias informacionales de los estudiantes de la Escuela de Bibliotecología hacia la investigación puede ser valorada como moderada o mediana que requiere de estrategias de enseñanza aprendizaje para desarrollar aptitudes para localizar la información, comparar y evaluar la información, organizar, aplicar y comunicar la información de manera ética. Abstract This paper examines the information skills of Central University of Venezuela´s Library Sciences School students. For this reason, a questionnaire of 25 open and closed mixed questions was applied to 213 thesis seminars students during school periods 2014-2, 2015-1 and 2015-2 as part of a diagnostic evaluation that sought to establish the knowledge and skills that should be developed to initiate an investigation in the library science field. Four parameters were used to measure the recognition of the information needs, find the information and access to it, establish the strategies to locate information, distinguish between different ways of meeting the need, compare and evaluate information, organize

Towards reconstructing herbaceous biome dynamics and associated precipitation in Africa: insights from the classification of grass morphological traits

Science.gov (United States)

Pasturel, Marine; Alexandre, Anne; Novello, Alice; Moctar Dieye, Amadou; Wele, Abdoulaye; Paradis, Laure; Hely, Christelle

2014-05-01

Inter-tropical herbaceous ecosystems occupy a 1/5th of terrestrial surface, a half of the African continent, and are expected to extend in the next decades. Dynamic of these ecosystems is simulated with poor accuracy by Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs). One of the bias results from the fact that the diversity of the grass layer dominating these herbaceous ecosystems is poorly taken into account. Mean annual precipitation and the length of the dry season are the main constrains of the dynamics of these ecosystems. Conversely, changes in vegetation affect the water cycle. Inaccuracy in herbaceous ecosystem simulation thus impacts simulations of the water cycle (including precipitation) and vice versa. In order to increase our knowledge of the relationships between grass morphological traits, taxonomy, biomes and climatic niches in Western and South Africa, a 3-step methodology was followed: i) values of culm height, leaf length and width of dominant grass species from Senegal were gathered from flora and clustered using the Partition Around Medoids (PAM) method; ii) trait group ability to sign climatic domains and biomes was assessed using Kruskal-Wallis tests; iii) genericity and robustness of the trait groups were evaluated through their application to Chadian and South African botanical datasets. Results show that 8 grass trait groups are present either in Senegal, Chad or South Africa. These 8 trait groups are distributed along mean annual precipitation and dry season length gradients. The combination of three of them allow to discriminate mean annual precipitation domains (1000 mm) and herbaceous biomes (steppes, savannas, South African grasslands and Nama-Karoo). With these results in hand, grass Plant Functional Types (PFTs) of the DGMV LPJ-GUESS will be re-parameterized and particular attention will be given to the herbaceous biomass assigned to each grass trait group. Simultaneously, relationships between grass trait groups and phytolith vegetation

The ends of uncertainty: Air quality science and planning in Central California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fine, James [Univ. of California, San Francisco, CA (United States)

2003-09-01

Air quality planning in Central California is complicated and controversial despite millions of dollars invested to improve scientific understanding. This research describes and critiques the use of photochemical air quality simulation modeling studies in planning to attain standards for ground-level ozone in the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley during the 1990's. Data are gathered through documents and interviews with planners, modelers, and policy-makers at public agencies and with representatives from the regulated and environmental communities. Interactions amongst organizations are diagramed to identify significant nodes of interaction. Dominant policy coalitions are described through narratives distinguished by their uses of and responses to uncertainty, their exposures to risks, and their responses to the principles of conservatism, civil duty, and caution. Policy narratives are delineated using aggregated respondent statements to describe and understand advocacy coalitions. I found that models impacted the planning process significantly, but were used not purely for their scientific capabilities. Modeling results provided justification for decisions based on other constraints and political considerations. Uncertainties were utilized opportunistically by stakeholders instead of managed explicitly. Ultimately, the process supported the partisan views of those in control of the modeling. Based on these findings, as well as a review of model uncertainty analysis capabilities, I recommend modifying the planning process to allow for the development and incorporation of uncertainty information, while addressing the need for inclusive and meaningful public participation. By documenting an actual air quality planning process these findings provide insights about the potential for using new scientific information and understanding to achieve environmental goals, most notably the analysis of uncertainties in modeling applications. Concurrently

Land use influence in the Cerrado biome water quality: a comparative study between watersheds in the Goiás State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Fernando Stone

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Based on the assumption that the water quality in a watershed is directly related to the degree of equilibrium between the natural and anthropic factors, in this paper we examined the effects of the land cover changes in areas of savanna (Cerrado biome over the watersheds ecological viability (expressed here as Water Quality Index. Thus, we analyzed two middle-sized basins located in the Goiás State (a representative area of this biome, with different characteristics regarding both the physical aspects (soil, topography and remnant vegetation and human aspects (environmental degradation level and economic development index: (1 João Leite basin, located in the Center-South State (anthropic level = 88%, and (2 São Domingos basin, in the Northern State (anthropic level = 25%. Chemical analyses have indicated that the water in the São Domingos basin presents, in general, a better quality for human consumption and for the ecosystem maintaining, reflecting the high conservation state of this basin as well.

[Temporal and spatial heterogeneity analysis of optimal value of sensitive parameters in ecological process model: The BIOME-BGC model as an example.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yi Zhe; Zhang, Ting Long; Liu, Qiu Yu; Li, Ying

2018-01-01

The ecological process models are powerful tools for studying terrestrial ecosystem water and carbon cycle at present. However, there are many parameters for these models, and weather the reasonable values of these parameters were taken, have important impact on the models simulation results. In the past, the sensitivity and the optimization of model parameters were analyzed and discussed in many researches. But the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of the optimal parameters is less concerned. In this paper, the BIOME-BGC model was used as an example. In the evergreen broad-leaved forest, deciduous broad-leaved forest and C3 grassland, the sensitive parameters of the model were selected by constructing the sensitivity judgment index with two experimental sites selected under each vegetation type. The objective function was constructed by using the simulated annealing algorithm combined with the flux data to obtain the monthly optimal values of the sensitive parameters at each site. Then we constructed the temporal heterogeneity judgment index, the spatial heterogeneity judgment index and the temporal and spatial heterogeneity judgment index to quantitatively analyze the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of the optimal values of the model sensitive parameters. The results showed that the sensitivity of BIOME-BGC model parameters was different under different vegetation types, but the selected sensitive parameters were mostly consistent. The optimal values of the sensitive parameters of BIOME-BGC model mostly presented time-space heterogeneity to different degrees which varied with vegetation types. The sensitive parameters related to vegetation physiology and ecology had relatively little temporal and spatial heterogeneity while those related to environment and phenology had generally larger temporal and spatial heterogeneity. In addition, the temporal heterogeneity of the optimal values of the model sensitive parameters showed a significant linear correlation

Operationalizing Social Work Science through Research-Practice Partnerships: Lessons from Implementation Science

Science.gov (United States)

Palinkas, Lawrence A.; He, Amy S.; Choy-Brown, Mimi; Hertel, Amy Locklear

2017-01-01

Recent efforts to identify and promote a distinct science for the discipline of social work have led to an ongoing debate regarding the nature and function of such a science. Central to this debate is a lack of consensus as to how to operationalize a social work science. Drawing from the field of implementation science and its application in…

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. Dhruba Mukhopadhyay. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 109 Issue 1 March 2000 pp 22-38. Anasagar gneiss: A folded granitoid pluton in the Phanerozoic South Delhi Fold Belt, central Rajasthan · Dhruba Mukhopadhyay Tapas Bhattacharyya ...

A Study on the Quality and Identity of Brazilian Pampa Biome Honey: Evidences for Its Beneficial Effects against Oxidative Stress and Hyperglycemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, L C; Batista, J E S; Zemolin, A P P; Nunes, M E M; Lippert, D B; Royes, L F F; Soares, F A; Pereira, A B; Posser, T; Franco, J L

2014-01-01

We characterized, for the first time, the quality and identity of Brazilian Pampa biome honey and its antioxidant properties in vitro (FRAP, DDPH and ABTS). The potential protective effect of honey against oxidative stress induced by iron (Fe) and paraquat, (PQ) in a Drosophila melanogaster model (in vivo) was also tested. The results indicated that all honey samples tested showed antioxidant activity in vitro. Flies treated with honey showed increased lifespan and were protected against oxidative stress induced by Fe and PQ. Despite the high concentration of sugars in honey (approximately 70-80%), our results demonstrate a hypoglycemic-like effect of honey in Drosophila. Thus, this study demonstrates the high quality of Brazilian Pampa biome honey as well as its significant antioxidant activity in vitro and in vivo, pointing to the potential use of this natural product as an alternative in the therapy of oxidative stress-associated diseases.

The Intestinal Eukaryotic and Bacterial Biome of Spotted Hyenas: The Impact of Social Status and Age on Diversity and Composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Heitlinger, Emanuel; Ferreira, Susana C M; Thierer, Dagmar; Hofer, Heribert; East, Marion L

2017-01-01

In mammals, two factors likely to affect the diversity and composition of intestinal bacteria (bacterial microbiome) and eukaryotes (eukaryome) are social status and age. In species in which social status determines access to resources, socially dominant animals maintain better immune processes and health status than subordinates. As high species diversity is an index of ecosystem health, the intestinal biome of healthier, socially dominant animals should be more diverse than those of subordinates. Gradual colonization of the juvenile intestine after birth predicts lower intestinal biome diversity in juveniles than adults. We tested these predictions on the effect of: (1) age (juvenile/adult) and (2) social status (low/high) on bacterial microbiome and eukaryome diversity and composition in the spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ), a highly social, female-dominated carnivore in which social status determines access to resources. We comprehensively screened feces from 35 individually known adult females and 7 juveniles in the Serengeti ecosystem for bacteria and eukaryotes, using a set of 48 different amplicons (4 for bacterial 16S, 44 for eukaryote 18S) in a multi-amplicon sequencing approach. We compared sequence abundances to classical coprological egg or oocyst counts. For all parasite taxa detected in more than six samples, the number of sequence reads significantly predicted the number of eggs or oocysts counted, underscoring the value of an amplicon sequencing approach for quantitative measurements of parasite load. In line with our predictions, our results revealed a significantly less diverse microbiome in juveniles than adults and a significantly higher diversity of eukaryotes in high-ranking than low-ranking animals. We propose that free-ranging wildlife can provide an intriguing model system to assess the adaptive value of intestinal biome diversity for both bacteria and eukaryotes.

Forest resilience to drought varies across biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gazol, Antonio; Camarero, Jesus Julio; Vicente-Serrano, Sergio M; Sánchez-Salguero, Raúl; Gutiérrez, Emilia; de Luis, Martin; Sangüesa-Barreda, Gabriel; Novak, Klemen; Rozas, Vicente; Tíscar, Pedro A; Linares, Juan C; Martín-Hernández, Natalia; Martínez Del Castillo, Edurne; Ribas, Montse; García-González, Ignacio; Silla, Fernando; Camisón, Alvaro; Génova, Mar; Olano, José M; Longares, Luis A; Hevia, Andrea; Tomás-Burguera, Miquel; Galván, J Diego

2018-05-01

Forecasted increase drought frequency and severity may drive worldwide declines in forest productivity. Species-level responses to a drier world are likely to be influenced by their functional traits. Here, we analyse forest resilience to drought using an extensive network of tree-ring width data and satellite imagery. We compiled proxies of forest growth and productivity (TRWi, absolutely dated ring-width indices; NDVI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) for 11 tree species and 502 forests in Spain corresponding to Mediterranean, temperate, and continental biomes. Four different components of forest resilience to drought were calculated based on TRWi and NDVI data before, during, and after four major droughts (1986, 1994-1995, 1999, and 2005), and pointed out that TRWi data were more sensitive metrics of forest resilience to drought than NDVI data. Resilience was related to both drought severity and forest composition. Evergreen gymnosperms dominating semi-arid Mediterranean forests showed the lowest resistance to drought, but higher recovery than deciduous angiosperms dominating humid temperate forests. Moreover, semi-arid gymnosperm forests presented a negative temporal trend in the resistance to drought, but this pattern was absent in continental and temperate forests. Although gymnosperms in dry Mediterranean forests showed a faster recovery after drought, their recovery potential could be constrained if droughts become more frequent. Conversely, angiosperms and gymnosperms inhabiting temperate and continental sites might have problems to recover after more intense droughts since they resist drought but are less able to recover afterwards. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comment on Chiesi et al. (2011): “Use of BIOME-BGC to simulate Mediterranean forest carbon stocks”

OpenAIRE

Eastaugh CS

2011-01-01

The mechanistic forest growth model BIOME-BGC utilizes a “spin-up” procedure to estimate site parameters for forests in a steady-state condition, as they may have been expected to be prior to anthropogenic influence. Forests in this condition have no net growth, as living biomass accumulation is balanced by mortality. To simulate current ecosystems it is necessary to reset the model to reflect a forest of the correct development stage. The alternative approach of simply post-adjus...

Sensitivity Analysis of Biome-Bgc Model for Dry Tropical Forests of Vindhyan Highlands, India

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, M.; Raghubanshi, A. S.

2011-08-01

A process-based model BIOME-BGC was run for sensitivity analysis to see the effect of ecophysiological parameters on net primary production (NPP) of dry tropical forest of India. The sensitivity test reveals that the forest NPP was highly sensitive to the following ecophysiological parameters: Canopy light extinction coefficient (k), Canopy average specific leaf area (SLA), New stem C : New leaf C (SC:LC), Maximum stomatal conductance (gs,max), C:N of fine roots (C:Nfr), All-sided to projected leaf area ratio and Canopy water interception coefficient (Wint). Therefore, these parameters need more precision and attention during estimation and observation in the field studies.

Using simulated annealing algorithm to optimize the parameters of Biome-BGC model%利用模拟退火算法优化Biome-BGC模型参数

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张廷龙; 孙睿; 胡波; 冯丽超

2011-01-01

生态过程模型建立在明确的机理之上,能够较好地模拟陆地生态系统的行为和特征,但模型众多的参数,成为模型具体应用的瓶颈.本文以Biome-BGC模型为例,采用模拟退火算法,对其生理、生态参数进行优化.在优化过程中,先对待优化参数进行了选择,然后采取逐步优化的方法进行优化.结果表明,使用优化后的参数,模型模拟结果与实际观测更为接近,参数优化能有效地降低模型模拟的不确定性.文中参数优化的过程和方法,可为生态模型的参数识别和优化提供一种实例和思路,有助于生态模型应用区域的扩展.%Ecological process model based on defined mechanism can well simulate the dynamic behaviors and features of terrestrial ecosystem, but could become a bottleneck in application because of numerous parameters needed to be confirmed. In this paper, simulated annealing algorithm was used to optimize the physiological and ecological parameters of Biome-BGC model. The first step was to choose some of these parameters to optimize, and then, gradually optimized these parameters. By using the optimized parameters, the model simulation results were much more close to the observed data, and the parameter optimization could effectively reduce the uncertainty of model simulation. The parameter optimization method used in this paper could provide a case and an idea for the parameter identification and optimization of ecological process models,and also, help to expand the application area of the models.

Análisis de eficacia, seguridad y racionalidad de la combinación a dosis fija (CDF) de dos hipoglicemiantes orales (Metformina* Glimepirida) en publicaciones biomédicas,2000-2012

OpenAIRE

Figueroa Salvador, Linder Juanito

2014-01-01

Difusión Total de la Tesis Objetivo: Analizar los resultados de eficacia, seguridad y racionalidad de la combinación a dosis fija (CDF) de dos hipoglicemiantes orales (metformina + glimepirida) en publicaciones biomédicas, 2000-2012. Método: Se usó un estudio cuantitativo, revisión documental y retrospectivo, en el cual la unidad de análisis y la muestra fueron los estudios clínicos controlados aleatorizados (ECCA) y número total de publicaciones biomédicas desde el 2000 – 2012 respectivam...

Temporal profiles of vegetation indices for characterizing grazing intensity on natural grasslands in Pampa biome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda Heemann Junges

2016-08-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The Pampa biome is an important ecosystem in Brazil that is highly relevant to livestock production. The objective of this study was to analyze the potential use of vegetation indices to discriminate grazing intensities on natural grasslands in the Pampa biome. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI images from Jan to Dec, 2000 to 2013 series, were analyzed for natural grassland experimental units managed under high (forage allowance of 5 ± 2 % live weight – LW, moderate (13 ± 5 % LW and low grazing intensity (19 ± 7 % LW. Regardless of intensity, the temporal profiles showed lower NDVI and EVI during winter, increased values in spring because of summer species regrowth, slightly decreased values in summer, especially in years when there is a water deficit, and increased values in the fall associated with the beginning of winter forage development. The average temporal profiles of moderate grazing intensity exhibited greater vegetation index values compared with low and high grazing intensities. The temporal profiles of less vegetation index were associated with lower green biomass accumulation caused by the negative impact of stocking rates on the leaf area index under high grazing intensity and a floristic composition with a predominance of tussocks under low grazing intensity. Vegetation indices can be used for distinguishing moderate grazing intensity from low and high intensities. The average EVI values can discriminate moderate grazing intensity during any season, and the NDVI values can discriminate moderate grazing intensity during spring and winter.

Biométrica, normalización de los cuerpos y control de fronteras en la Unión Europea

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Estela Schindel

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Las tecnologías biométricas de control de fronteras están siendo crecientemente investigadas y empleadas por la Unión Europea. La combinación de información digitalizada proveniente de diversas fuentes corporales (iris, huellas dactilares, reconocimiento facial entre otras así como de potenciales indicadores conductuales plantean una serie de preguntas en términos del derecho a la privacidad y la protección de la integridad individual. Más allá de estas cuestiones, sin embargo, la biometría plantea interrogantes complejos en relación al estatuto mismo del cuerpo y de lo humano. Las llamadas “anomalías de registro” en la captura de datos biométricos revelan una construcción del cuerpo humano “normal”, mientras que otros son producidos como menos compatibles tecnológicamente. Esta construcción reproduce supuestos fuertemente asentados en el imaginario eurocéntrico, que construyen al otro no europeo como un ser cercano a la naturaleza. Al mismo tiempo, señala el ámbito al que se desplazan las disputas y desobediencias futuras, que es el del cuerpo mismo.

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. S Banerjee. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 114 Issue 1 February 2005 pp 87-96. Facies, dissolution seams and stable isotope compositions of the Rohtas Limestone (Vindhyan Supergroup) in the Son valley area, central India · S Banerjee S K ...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. S Sarkar. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 114 Issue 1 February 2005 pp 87-96. Facies, dissolution seams and stable isotope compositions of the Rohtas Limestone (Vindhyan Supergroup) in the Son valley area, central India · S Banerjee S K ...

Uso da rugoscopia palatina como ferramenta biométrica: um estudo populacional em Niterói-RJ, Brasil

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Igor Iuco CASTRO-SILVA

Full Text Available Introdução: Pesquisas por métodos biométricos auxiliares em perícias têm crescido na Odontologia Legal. Objetivo: Este estudo avaliou a eficácia da rugoscopia palatina na identificação humana. Material e método: Foram utilizados 184 modelos de gesso de estudantes voluntários em Niterói-RJ, para delineamento de suas rugosidades palatinas, sendo classificadas segundo quantidade, direção (sistema de Carrea e formato individual (sistema de Silva, e comparadas às variáveis demográficas sexo, cor da pele e idade. A análise estatística foi realizada com o teste qui-quadrado para amostras independentes, considerando-se p<0,05. Resultado: Houve maior prevalência de 2-7 rugas em homens. O tipo IV de Carrea e o tipo 1 de Silva foram mais evidentes, porém sem diferenças intergrupos significativas, de acordo com as variáveis propostas. Conclusão: A rugoscopia palatina é uma ferramenta biométrica viável e fornece informações morfológicas individuais relevantes, embora sua análise cega e em tempo único não exiba acurácia na estratificação populacional.

Cartas al editor publicadas en revistas biomédicas peruanas indizadas en SciELO-Perú 2006-2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan José Montenegro-Idrogo

Full Text Available Estudio bibliométrico que describe las características de cartas al editor publicadas en el período 2006-2013 en revistas biomédicas indizadas a SciELO-Perú. Se recopilaron 253 cartas (10,3% del total de publicaciones, el mayor número de cartas (139 fue de la Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Pública, con notorio aumento por años. El 25% de cartas presentaron participación médico-estudiantil. El 14% de cartas presentaron autores con filiación internacional y 27% de cartas con filiación endogénica - frecuente en revistas universitarias (AFM, RMH. Los criterios habituales que justifican la publicación de cartas fueron: opinión sobre hecho médico o de dominio público (35,6% y discusión de resultados, defectos metodológicos o de interpretación (22,9%. En revistas biomédicas indizadas a SciELO-Perú las cartas al editor constituyen un porcentaje de publicaciones que ha aumentado en los últimos años, con baja la publicación de cartas de hallazgos o datos propios, en comparación con criterios de opinión o crítica

A Study on the Quality and Identity of Brazilian Pampa Biome Honey: Evidences for Its Beneficial Effects against Oxidative Stress and Hyperglycemia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. C. Cruz

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We characterized, for the first time, the quality and identity of Brazilian Pampa biome honey and its antioxidant properties in vitro (FRAP, DDPH and ABTS. The potential protective effect of honey against oxidative stress induced by iron (Fe and paraquat, (PQ in a Drosophila melanogaster model (in vivo was also tested. The results indicated that all honey samples tested showed antioxidant activity in vitro. Flies treated with honey showed increased lifespan and were protected against oxidative stress induced by Fe and PQ. Despite the high concentration of sugars in honey (approximately 70–80%, our results demonstrate a hypoglycemic-like effect of honey in Drosophila. Thus, this study demonstrates the high quality of Brazilian Pampa biome honey as well as its significant antioxidant activity in vitro and in vivo, pointing to the potential use of this natural product as an alternative in the therapy of oxidative stress-associated diseases.

Hydrology of a Water‐Limited Forest under Climate Change Scenarios: The Case of the Caatinga Biome, Brazil

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Everton Alves Rodrigues Pinheiro

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Given the strong interactions between climate and vegetation, climate change effects on natural and agricultural ecosystems are common objects of research. Reduced water availability is predicted to take place across large regions of the globe, including Northeastern Brazil. The Caatinga, a complex tropical water‐limited ecosystem and the only exclusively Brazilian biome, prevails as the main natural forest of this region. The aim of this study was to examine the soil‐water balance for this biome under a climate‐warming scenario and with reduced rainfall. Climate change projections were assessed from regional circulation models earlier applied to the Brazilian territory. A statistical climate data generator was used to compose a synthetic weather dataset, which was later integrated into a hydrological model. Compared to simulations with current climate for the same site, under the scenario with climate change, transpiration was enhanced by 36%, and soilwater evaporation and interception were reduced by 16% and 34%, respectively. The greatest change in soil‐water components was observed for deep drainage, accounting only for 2% of the annual rainfall. Soil‐plant‐atmosphere fluxes seem to be controlled by the top layer (0.0-0.2 m, which provides 80% of the total transpiration, suggesting that the Caatinga forest may become completely soil‐water pulse dominated under scenarios of reduced water availability.

Central Computer Science Concepts to Research-Based Teacher Training in Computer Science: An Experimental Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zendler, Andreas; Klaudt, Dieter

2012-01-01

The significance of computer science for economics and society is undisputed. In particular, computer science is acknowledged to play a key role in schools (e.g., by opening multiple career paths). The provision of effective computer science education in schools is dependent on teachers who are able to properly represent the discipline and whose…

Mapping "Social Responsibility" in Science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Horst, Maja; Glerup, Cecilie

The paper investigates the discourse on social responsibility in science as it appears in academic journals. Through database searches a collection of more than 300 papers have been analysed in order to map their answers to the following three questions: - What is the central problem that threatens...... responsibility in science? - What are the central aspects of science or its relation to society that need to be regulated or changed? - What kinds of solutions are imagined and how are these solutions supposed to be put into place? On this basis the paper explores how different interpretations of the notion...... of social responsibility of science imply different forms of governance of and within science. The paper employs a Foucaldian discourse analysis to understand how a particular conceptualisation of responsibility implies a political rationality, i.e. a particular form of governance of science. The analysis...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. David R Bridgland. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 120 Issue 3 June 2011 pp 503-530. Methods for determination of the age of Pleistocene tephra, derived from eruption of Toba, in central India · Rob Westaway Sheila Mishra Sushama Deo ...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. M Madhupratap. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 109 Issue 4 December 2000 pp 433-441. Physical control of primary productivity on a seasonal scale in the central and eastern Arabian Sea · S Prasanna kumar M Madhupratap M Dileep kumar M ...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. Ferid Dhahri. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 126 Issue 7 October 2017 pp 104. The role of E–W basement faults in the Mesozoic geodynamic evolution of the Gafsa and Chotts basins, south-central Tunisia · Dorra Tanfous Amri Ferid Dhahri ...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. S Prasanna kumar. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 109 Issue 4 December 2000 pp 433-441. Physical control of primary productivity on a seasonal scale in the central and eastern Arabian Sea · S Prasanna kumar M Madhupratap M Dileep ...

Technical Challenges and Opportunities of Centralizing Space Science Mission Operations (SSMO) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Science.gov (United States)

Ido, Haisam; Burns, Rich

2015-01-01

The NASA Goddard Space Science Mission Operations project (SSMO) is performing a technical cost-benefit analysis for centralizing and consolidating operations of a diverse set of missions into a unified and integrated technical infrastructure. The presentation will focus on the notion of normalizing spacecraft operations processes, workflows, and tools. It will also show the processes of creating a standardized open architecture, creating common security models and implementations, interfaces, services, automations, notifications, alerts, logging, publish, subscribe and middleware capabilities. The presentation will also discuss how to leverage traditional capabilities, along with virtualization, cloud computing services, control groups and containers, and possibly Big Data concepts.

The global extent and determinants of savanna and forest as alternative biome states.

Science.gov (United States)

Staver, A Carla; Archibald, Sally; Levin, Simon A

2011-10-14

Theoretically, fire-tree cover feedbacks can maintain savanna and forest as alternative stable states. However, the global extent of fire-driven discontinuities in tree cover is unknown, especially accounting for seasonality and soils. We use tree cover, climate, fire, and soils data sets to show that tree cover is globally discontinuous. Climate influences tree cover globally but, at intermediate rainfall (1000 to 2500 millimeters) with mild seasonality (less than 7 months), tree cover is bimodal, and only fire differentiates between savanna and forest. These may be alternative states over large areas, including parts of Amazonia and the Congo. Changes in biome distributions, whether at the cost of savanna (due to fragmentation) or forest (due to climate), will be neither smooth nor easily reversible.

Tundra biome research in Alaska: the structure and function of cold-dominated ecosystems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, J.; West, G.C.

1970-11-01

The objective of the Tundra Biome Program is to acquire a basic understanding of tundra, both alpine and arctic, and taiga. Collectively these are referred to as the cold-dominated ecosystems. The program's broad objectives are threefold: To develop a predictive understanding of how the wet arctic tundra ecosystem operates, particularly as exemplified in the Barrow, Alaska, area; to obtain the necessary data base from the variety of cold-dominated ecosystem types represented in the United States, so that their behavior can be modeled and simulated, and the results compared with similar studies underway in other circumpolar countries; to bring basic environmental knowledge to bear on problems of degradation, maintenance, and restoration of the temperature-sensitive and cold-dominated tundra/taiga ecosystems. (GRA)

Science Framework for the Conservation and Restoration Strategy of the Department of the Interior, Secretarial Order 3336: Using resilience and resistance concepts to assess threats to sagebrush ecosystems and sage-grouse, prioritize conservation and restoration actions, and inform management strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Jeanne C. Chambers; Jeffrey L. Beck; Steve Campbell; John Carlson; Thomas J. Christiansen; Karen J. Clause; Michele R. Crist; Jonathan B. Dinkins; Kevin E. Doherty; Shawn Espinosa; Kathleen A. Griffin; Steven E. Hanser; Douglas W. Havlina; Kenneth F. Henke; Jacob D. Hennig; Laurie L. Kurth; Jeremy D. Maestas; Mary Manning; Kenneth E. Mayer; Brian A. Mealor; Clinton McCarthy; Mike Pellant; Marco A. Perea; Karen L. Prentice; David A. Pyke; Lief A. Wiechman; Amarina Wuenschel

2016-01-01

The Science Framework for the Conservation and Restoration Strategy of the Department of the Interior, Secretarial Order 3336 (SO 3336), Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration, provides a strategic, multiscale approach for prioritizing areas for management and determining effective management strategies across the sagebrush biome. The emphasis of this...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. K S Krishna. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 111 Issue 1 March 2002 pp 17-28. Formation of diapiric structure in the deformation zone, central Indian Ocean: A model from gravity and seismic reflection data · K S Krishna D Gopala Rao Yu P ...

Chemistry Today and Tomorrow-The Central, Useful, and Creative ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 2; Issue 5. Chemistry Today and Tomorrow – The Central, Useful and Creative Science. Uday Maitra. Book Review Volume 2 ... Author Affiliations. Uday Maitra1. Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India.

Impacto de la inclusión de artículos escritos en inglés en revistas biomédicas españolas de edición multilingüe

OpenAIRE

R. Cremades Pallas; P. Burbano; M.A. Valcárcel de La Iglesia; G. Burillo-Putze; F.J. Martín-Sánchez; Ò. Miró

2013-01-01

Objetivos: Analizar el impacto que tienen los artículos publicados en inglés, en comparación con los publicados en castellano, por revistas biomédicas españolas de edición multilingüe. Metodología: De los artículos publicados entre 2008-2012 en 5 revistas españolas biomédicas multilingües, se analizó el idioma, el número de originales, la nacionalidad de la autoría, las citas recibidas, los artículos citantes y la nacionalidad de los autores citantes. Resultados: Se incluyeron 4.296 documento...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science. M Shyam Prasad. Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 119 Issue 4 August 2010 pp 531-539. Correlation of the oldest Toba Tuff to sediments in the central Indian Ocean Basin · J N Pattan M Shyam Prasad E V S S K Babu · More Details Abstract ...

Several Centuries of Centrality

OpenAIRE

Dana L. Roth

2015-01-01

As Carolyn Bertozzi mentioned in her inaugural editorial, the relationship of “Central Science” to “Chemistry” became popularized over 40 years ago with the publication of the first edition of Brown and LeMay’s Chemistry: The Central Science, now in its 13th edition. Yet as late as 2003, Prof. Sason Shaik at The Hebrew University claimed “popularization of chemistry remains scant.” He goes on to share [his] “own experience of popularizing chemistry by delivering the following universal messag...

75 FR 12562 - Central Utah Project Completion Act

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-16

...-- Water and Science; Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission; and the Central Utah Water... Commission (Mitigation Commission), and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (District), as Joint Lead... Diamond Fork System Final Supplement to the Diamond Fork Power System Final Environmental Impact Statement...

Análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones sobre síndrome metabólico en dos revistas biomédicas colombianas de alto impacto

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Alejandra Recio

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Objetivo: Realizar un análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones sobre síndrome metabólico (SM en las dos revistas biomédicas colombianas de mayor impacto. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo documental que realizó un análisis bibliométrico de las publicaciones sobre SM en las revistas Biomédica y Colombia Médica. Para el análisis se emplearon indicadores bibliométricos (tipo de artículo, año de publicación, información de los autores, universidad, tipo de universidad, ciudad, país, área temática y financiamiento obtenidos de los artículos. Resultados: Se encontraron un total de 108 artículos (76 en Biomédica y 32 en Colombia Médica que cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión y que fueron publicados entre 1983 y 2016 (mes de marzo. Se identificaron 80 artículos originales derivados de investigación. El 57,4% de los artículos son de instituciones públicas de los sectores de educación y salud. Los artículos con procedencia colombiana son de Bogotá (21,7%, Cali (19,1% y Medellín (14,8%. El contenido científico de los artículos fue hipertensión secundaria (31,3%, diabetes mellitus tipo II (28,7% y obesidad (22,6%. El 56,5% de los artículos pertenece proyectos de investigación financiados por convocatorias internas (20,9%, Colciencias (12,2% y recursos propios de los investigadores (7,0%. Conclusiones: El análisis bibliométrico de las dos revistas biomédicas colombianas de mayor impacto evidencia que el número de publicaciones sobre SM ha aumentado en los últimos ocho años, coherente con el plan de desarrollo nacional en términos de las dimensiones prioritarias en salud pública, los problemas prioritarios en salud y las prioridades de investigación en salud.

Carbon emission as a function of energy generation in hydroelectric reservoirs in Brazilian dry tropical biome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ometto, Jean P.; Cimbleris, André C.P.; Santos, Marco A. dos; Rosa, Luiz P.; Abe, Donato; Tundisi, José G.; Stech, José L.; Barros, Nathan; Roland, Fábio

2013-01-01

Most energy generation globally is fueled by coal and oil, raising concerns about greenhouse gas emissions. Hydroelectric reservoirs are anthropogenic aquatic systems that occur across a wide geographical extent, and, in addition to their importance for energy production, they have the potential to release two important greenhouse gases (GHGs), carbon dioxide and methane. We report results from an extensive study of eight hydroelectric reservoirs located in central and southeastern tropical Brazil. In the Brazilian dry tropical biome reservoirs, emissions (in tons of CO 2 Eq. per MW h) varied from 0.01 to 0.55, and decreased with reservoir age. Total emissions were higher in the reservoir lake when compared to the river downstream the dam; however, emissions per unit area, in the first kilometer of the river after the dam, were higher than that in the reservoir. The results showed, despite higher carbon emissions per energy production in the youngest reservoirs, lower emission from hydroelectric reservoirs from the studied region in relation to thermo electrical supply, fueled by coal or fossil fuel. The ratio emission of GHG per MWh produced is an important parameter in evaluating the service provided by hydroelectric reservoir and for energy planning policies. - Highlights: ► Hydroelectric reservoirs construction is growing worldwide. ► The effect of hydropower reservoir in the carbon cycle is dependent on environment characteristics. ► Carbon emissions per energy production are higher in the youngest tropical savannah reservoirs. ► Methane emissions decrease with reservoir age in tropical savannah reservoirs. ► In general, the effect of hydropower in the carbon cycle is lower than other energy sources

The biogeographic origin of a radiation of trees in Madagascar: implications for the assembly of a tropical forest biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Federman, Sarah; Dornburg, Alex; Downie, Alexander; Richard, Alison F; Daly, Douglas C; Donoghue, Michael J

2015-10-05

Madagascar's rain forests are characterized by extreme and uneven patterns of species richness and endemicity, the biogeographic and evolutionary origins of which are poorly understood. Here we use a time-calibrated phylogeny of a dominant group of trees in Madagascar's eastern rain forests, Canarium, and related Burseraceae (Canarieae), to test biogeographic hypotheses regarding the origin and radiation of the flora of this unique biome. Our findings strongly support the monophyly of Malagasy Canarium, suggesting that this clade represents a previously undocumented in situ radiation. Contrary to expectations of dispersal from Africa during the Oligocene, concurrent with the formation of Madagascar's rain forest biome, our analyses support a late Miocene origin for Malagasy Canarium, probably by long distance dispersal from Southeast Asia. Our study illustrates the importance of considering long distance dispersal as a viable explanation for clades with pantropical distributions diversifying subsequent to the Oligocene, and it highlights the formation of the Indo-Australian Archipelago and associated fast-moving equatorial surface currents, suggesting an under-appreciated evolutionary link among tropical centers of endemism. We postulate that the relatively recent establishment and radiation of Canarium in Madagascar may have been facilitated by the highly stochastic climates associated with these forest ecosystems.

Promoting food security of low income women in central Uganda

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Midtvåge, Runa; Hiranandani, Vanmala Sunder; Nambuanyi, Lekunze Ransom

• Midtvåge, R., Hiranandani, V. S., & Lekunze, R. (2014). Promoting food security of low income women in central Uganda. Poster presentation, Sustainability Science Congress, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, October 22-24, 2014.......• Midtvåge, R., Hiranandani, V. S., & Lekunze, R. (2014). Promoting food security of low income women in central Uganda. Poster presentation, Sustainability Science Congress, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, October 22-24, 2014....

2008 Co2 Assimilation in Plants: Genome to Biome Gordon Research Conference - August 17-22

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James V. Maroney

2009-08-12

Formerly entitled 'CO2 Fixation and Metabolism in Green Plants', this long-standing Gordon Research Conference has been held on a triennial basis since 1976. In 1990 the participants decided to alternate between sites in the U.S. and outside the U.S. The 2005 conference was held in Europe at the Centre Paul Langevin in Aussois, France, so the 2008 conference returns to a U.S. site - the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. The 2008 conference covers basic plant research related to photosynthesis and the subsequent regulation and engineering of carbon assimilation. Approaches that range from post-genomic technologies and systems biology, through to fundamental biochemistry, physiology and molecular biology are integrated within ecological and agronomic contexts. As such, the meeting provides the rare opportunity of a single venue for discussing all aspects of the 'carbon-side' of photosynthesis - from genome to biome. The 2008 conference will include an emphasis on the central role of carbon assimilation by plants for developing new sources of bioenergy and for achieving a carbon-neutral planet. A special characteristic of this conference is its 'intimacy' with approximately 110 conferees, ranging from beginning graduate students and postdoctoral associates to leading senior plant scientists, engaged in open and forward-thinking discussions in an informal, friendly setting. With extended time devoted to discussion, and the encouragement to challenge dogma, it is unlike other meetings in the U.S. or abroad. Another novel feature of the conference is a session devoted to the latest 'hot off the press' findings by both established and early career scientists, picked from the abstracts. Together with an expanded poster discussion in the evening sessions, this session provides an opportunity for early career scientists to present interesting new data and to 'test drive' hypotheses in a collegial atmosphere.

Sarchophagid flies (Insecta, Diptera from pig carcasses in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with nine new records from the Cerrado, a threatened Neotropical biome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cátia A. Mello-Patiu

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Sarchophagid flies (Insecta, Diptera from pig carcasses in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with nine new records from the Cerrado, a threatened Neotropical biome. The diversity of the Sarcophagidae fauna of the Cerrado biome, also know as the Brazilian Savanna, is still underestimated. In this research we collected flies in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, during a Forensic Entomology experiment. Samples were collected throughout the decomposition process of domestic pig (Sus scrofa Linnaeus carcasses, and the experiments were conducted in areas of pasture and semideciduous forest. A total of 85,694 adult flesh flies belonging to 57 species were collected from all carcasses. New records for nine species of Sarcophaginae are provided, including the first record of Blaesoxipha (Acridiophaga caridei (Brèthes, 1906 to Brazil, and new occurrences of the following species for the Cerrado and/or for the state of Minas Gerais: Blaesoxipha (Acanthodotheca acridiophagoides (Lopes & Downs, 1951, Malacophagomyia filamenta (Dodge, 1964, Nephochaetopteryx orbitalis (Curran & Walley, 1934, Nephochaetopteryx cyaneiventris Lopes, 1936, Nephochaetopteryx pallidiventris Townsend, 1934, Oxysarcodexia occulta Lopes, 1946, Ravinia effrenata (Walker, 1861 and Sarcophaga (Neobellieria polistensis (Hall, 1933.

First parasitological, histopathological and molecular characterization of Echinococcus vogeli Rausch and Bernstein, 1972 from Cuniculus paca Linnaeus, 1766 in the Cerrado biome (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil).

Science.gov (United States)

Bittencourt-Oliveira, Fernanda; Teixeira, Paulo; Alencar, Alba; Menezes, Rodrigo; Corrêa, Christiane; Neves, Leandro; Almeida, Fernanda; Daipert-Garcia, Daniel; Machado-Silva, José Roberto; Rodrigues-Silva, Rosângela

2018-01-30

Polycystic echinococcosis (PE) is caused by Echinococcus vogeli metacestodes (larval stage) in Neotropical countries. E. vogeli is trophically-transmitted between predators bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) and prey pacas (Cuniculus paca). In Brazil, reported PE cases are restricted to the Amazon biome. In this study, metacestodes from a paca hunted in Mato Grosso do Sul state (Cerrado biome) were identified morphological and histopathological techniques and further confirmed by molecular testing (sequencing of cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (cox1) gene) for the first time. Images of the whole liver showed superficial bubble-like hepatic masses. The parasitological analysis revealed large hooks (41.3 ± 1.2 μm length/12.8 ± 0.8 μm width) and small hooks (33.0 ± 1.5 μm length/11.1 ± 1.2 μm width), consistent with E. vogeli. Microscopically, the liver showed protoscoleces, a thick laminated layer, fibrosis, and inflammatory infiltrate in the adventitial layer. The DNA sequencing confirmed E. vogeli with 99% homology with sequences deposited in the GenBank. In addition, this finding greatly extends the geographic range of animal polycystic echinococcosis into the Cerrado. It is likely to occur in new biomes, where bush dogs and pacas share a given area in a trophic relationship. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International Collaboration in the History of Science of Central Europe

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Štrbáňová, Soňa

2015-01-01

Roč. 14, - (2015), s. 347-353 ISSN 1731-6715 Institutional support: RVO:68378114 Keywords : science in Habsburg Monarchy * cooperation in history of science * scientific terminology formation Subject RIV: AB - History

Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yi Chuixiang; Wolbeck, John; Xu Xiyan [School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, City University of New York, NY 11367 (United States); Ricciuto, Daniel [Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Li Runze [Department of Statistics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Nilsson, Mats [Department of Forest Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-901 83 Umeaa (Sweden); Aires, Luis [CESAM and Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (Portugal); Albertson, John D [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 22708-0287 (United States); Ammann, Christof [Federal Research Station Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon, Reckenholzstrasse 191, 8046 Zuerich (Switzerland); Arain, M Altaf [School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1 (Canada); De Araujo, Alessandro C [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Programa LBA, Campus-II, Manaus-Amazonas 69060 (Brazil); Aubinet, Marc [University of Liege, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Unit of Biosystem Physics, 2 Passage des Deportes, 5030 Gembloux (Belgium); Aurela, Mika [Finnish Meteorological Institute, Climate Change Research, FI-00101 Helsinki (Finland); Barcza, Zoltan [Department of Meteorology, Eoetvoes Lorand University, H-1117 Budapest, Pazmany setany 1/A (Hungary); Barr, Alan [Climate Research Division, Environment Canada, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5 (Canada); Berbigier, Paul [INRA, UR1263 EPHYSE, Villenave d' Ornon F-33883 (France); Beringer, Jason [School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Bernhofer, Christian [Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology, Dresden University of Technology, Pienner Strasse 23, D-01737, Tharandt (Germany)

2010-07-15

Understanding the relationships between climate and carbon exchange by terrestrial ecosystems is critical to predict future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide because of the potential accelerating effects of positive climate-carbon cycle feedbacks. However, directly observed relationships between climate and terrestrial CO{sub 2} exchange with the atmosphere across biomes and continents are lacking. Here we present data describing the relationships between net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) and climate factors as measured using the eddy covariance method at 125 unique sites in various ecosystems over six continents with a total of 559 site-years. We find that NEE observed at eddy covariance sites is (1) a strong function of mean annual temperature at mid- and high-latitudes, (2) a strong function of dryness at mid- and low-latitudes, and (3) a function of both temperature and dryness around the mid-latitudinal belt (45 deg. N). The sensitivity of NEE to mean annual temperature breaks down at {approx} 16 deg. C (a threshold value of mean annual temperature), above which no further increase of CO{sub 2} uptake with temperature was observed and dryness influence overrules temperature influence.

Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi Chuixiang; Wolbeck, John; Xu Xiyan; Ricciuto, Daniel; Li Runze; Nilsson, Mats; Aires, Luis; Albertson, John D; Ammann, Christof; Arain, M Altaf; De Araujo, Alessandro C; Aubinet, Marc; Aurela, Mika; Barcza, Zoltan; Barr, Alan; Berbigier, Paul; Beringer, Jason; Bernhofer, Christian

2010-01-01

Understanding the relationships between climate and carbon exchange by terrestrial ecosystems is critical to predict future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide because of the potential accelerating effects of positive climate-carbon cycle feedbacks. However, directly observed relationships between climate and terrestrial CO 2 exchange with the atmosphere across biomes and continents are lacking. Here we present data describing the relationships between net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) and climate factors as measured using the eddy covariance method at 125 unique sites in various ecosystems over six continents with a total of 559 site-years. We find that NEE observed at eddy covariance sites is (1) a strong function of mean annual temperature at mid- and high-latitudes, (2) a strong function of dryness at mid- and low-latitudes, and (3) a function of both temperature and dryness around the mid-latitudinal belt (45 deg. N). The sensitivity of NEE to mean annual temperature breaks down at ∼ 16 deg. C (a threshold value of mean annual temperature), above which no further increase of CO 2 uptake with temperature was observed and dryness influence overrules temperature influence.

Primer Programa Universitario de diplomado virtual y Maestría en Informática Biomédica en el Perú

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia J García

Full Text Available El entrenamiento en Informática Biomédica es fundamental para enfrentar los desafíos de un mundo globalizado. Sin embargo, el desarrollo de programas de entrenamiento e investigación en posgrado en esta área son escasos en América Latina. A través del QUIPU: Centro Andino de Investigación y Entrenamiento en Informática para la Salud Global, se ha desarrollado el primer programa de Diplomado y Maestría en Informática Biomédica en la Región Andina. El objetivo de este artículo es describir la experiencia del programa. A la fecha han participado 51 alumnos de Perú, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia y Venezuela; procedentes de ministerios de salud, hospitales, universidades, centros de investigación, colegios profesionales y empresas privadas. Diecisiete cursos se impartieron con la participación presencial y virtual de profesores de Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Estados Unidos, México y Perú. Este programa está ya institucionalizado en la Facultad de Salud Pública y Administración de la Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia

Principles of Professionalism for Science Educators. National Science Teachers Association Position Statement

Science.gov (United States)

National Science Teachers Association (NJ1), 2010

2010-01-01

Science educators play a central role in educating, inspiring, and guiding students to become responsible, scientifically literate citizens. Therefore, teachers of science must uphold the highest ethical standards of the profession to earn and maintain the respect, trust, and confidence of students, parents, school leaders, colleagues, and other…

BOREAS RSS-8 BIOME-BGC SSA Simulation of Annual Water and Carbon Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Nickeson, Jaime (Editor); Kimball, John

2000-01-01

The BOREAS RSS-8 team performed research to evaluate the effect of seasonal weather and landcover heterogeneity on boreal forest regional water and carbon fluxes using a process-level ecosystem model, BIOME-BGC, coupled with remote sensing-derived parameter maps of key state variables. This data set contains derived maps of landcover type and crown and stem biomass as model inputs to determine annual evapotranspiration, gross primary production, autotrophic respiration, and net primary productivity within the BOREAS SSA-MSA, at a 30-m spatial resolution. Model runs were conducted over a 3-year period from 1994-1996; images are provided for each of those years. The data are stored in binary image format. The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884), or from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

Soil, water, and nutrient losses from management alternatives for degraded pasture in Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocha Junior, Paulo Roberto da; Andrade, Felipe Vaz; Mendonça, Eduardo de Sá; Donagemma, Guilherme Kangussú; Fernandes, Raphael Bragança Alves; Bhattharai, Rabin; Kalita, Prasanta Kumar

2017-04-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate sediment, water and nutrient losses from different pasture managements in the Atlantic Rainforest biome. A field study was carried out in Alegre Espiríto Santo, Brazil, on a Xanthic Ferralsol cultivated with braquiaria (Brachiaria brizantha). The six pasture managements studied were: control (CON), chisel (CHI), fertilizer (FER), burned (BUR), plowing and harrowing (PH), and integrated crop-livestock (iCL). Runoff and sediment samples were collected and analyzed for calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), phosphorus (P) and organic carbon contents. Soil physical attributes and above and below biomass were also evaluated. The results indicated that higher water loss was observed for iCL (129.90mm) and CON (123.25mm) managements, and the sediment losses were higher for CON (10.24tha -1 ) and BUR (5.20tha -1 ) managements when compared to the other managements. Majority of the nutrients losses occurred in dissolved fraction (99% of Ca, 99% of Mg, 96% of K, and 65% of P), whereas a significant fraction of organic carbon (80%) loss occurred in a particulate form. Except for P, other nutrients (Ca, Mg and K) and organic carbon losses were higher in coarse sediment compared to fine sediment. The greater losses of sediment, organic carbon, and nutrients were observed for CON followed by BUR management (plosses from various practices, to reduce pasture degradation, farmers should adopt edaphic practices by applying lime and fertilize to improve pasture growth and soil cover, and reducing soil erosion in the hilly Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest biome. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Recycled material-based science instruments to support science education in rural area at Central Sulawesi District of Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, M.; Supriyatman; Saehana, S.

2018-03-01

It has been successfully designing low cost of science experiment from recycled materials. The science instruments were produced to explain expansion concept and hydrostatic pressure inside the liquid. Science instruments were calibrated and then validated. It was also implemented in science learning.

Does the Truth Matter in Science?

Science.gov (United States)

Lipton, Peter

2005-01-01

Is science in the truth business, discovering ever more about an independent and largely unobservable world? Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn, two of the most important figures in science studies in the 20th century, gave accounts of science that are in some tension with the truth view. Their central claims about science are considered here, along with…

Synergistic impacts of deforestation, climate change and fire on the future biomes distribution in Amazonia

Science.gov (United States)

Sampaio, G.; Cardoso, M. F.; Nobre, C. A.; Salazar, L. F.

2013-05-01

to important impacts that add considerably to the vulnerability of tropical forest ecosystems in the study region. REFERENCES Cardoso, M. F. ; Nobre, C. A. ; Sampaio, G. ; Hirota, M. ; Valeriano, D. ; Câmara, G. Long-term potential for tropical-forest degradation due to deforestation and fires in the Brazilian Amazon. Biologia (Bratislava), v. 64, p. 433-437, 2009. Malhi Y, et al. (2008) Climate change, deforestation, and the fate of the Amazon. Science 319:169-172. Oyama, M.D. and C.A. Nobre (2004), A simple potencial vegetation model for coupling with the Simple Biosphere Model (SIB). Revista Brasileira de Meteorologia, v. 19, n. 2, p. 203-216, 2004. Salazar, L. F., C. A. Nobre, and M. D. Oyama (2007), Climate change consequences on the biome distribution in tropical South America, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L09708, doi:10.1029/2007GL029695 Sampaio, G., C. A. Nobre, M. H. Costa, P. Satyamurty, B. S. Soares-Filho and, M. Cardoso (2007), Regional climate change over eastern Amazonia caused by pasture and soybean cropland expansion. Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L17709, doi:10.1029/2007GL030612.

Encyclopedia of Rose Science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roberts, A.; Debener, T.; Gudin, S.; Byrne, D.B.; Cairns, T.; Vries, de D.P.; Dubois, L.A.M.; Forkmann, G.; Fruchter, M.; Helsper, J.P.F.G.; Horst, R.K.; Jay, M.; Kwakkenbosch, T.A.M.; Pemberton, B.; Put, H.M.C.; Rajapakse, S.; Reid, M.; Schum, A.; Shorthouse, J.D.; Ueda, Y.; Vainstein, A.; Pol, van de P.A.; Zieslin, N.

2003-01-01

The Encyclopedia of Rose Science brings together a wealth of information on the rose, long treasured for its captivating perfumes and splendid colors. Now, more than ever, science plays a central place in the production of this flower at the center of one of the world's biggest floricultural

What happens after the cutting of the umbilical cord? Breastfeeding as a central symbol of the early mother-child relationship and its social implications in Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elsbeth Kneuper

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Les nouvelles techniques biomédicales ont un impact profond, voire révolutionnaire, sur nos conceptions de la parenté, de la famille ou de nos rapports sociaux de sexe, constat qui a reçu une attention croissante de la part des sciences sociales au cours de la dernière décennie. Les progrès technologiques dans le domaine de la technique et de l’analyse médicales, par exemple, ont une influence directe sur ce qu’on peut globalement appeler le « discours sur l’allaitement », et indirecte sur la représentation du rôle de la femme dans une société particulière. Dans cet article, nous cherchons à montrer que ce discours traduit plutôt des effets conservateurs de la pratique et de la théorie actuelles dans le domaine biomédical et que la nourriture, la science et la technologie contribuent ensemble à restaurer ou renforcer les conceptions traditionnellement perçues au sein de la société allemande.The fact that new biomedical technologies have a profound and sometimes revolutionary impact on our concepts of kinship, family or gender roles has attracted increasing attention from social scientists over the past decade. Technological advances in medical techniques and analysis, for instance, have had a direct influence on what could broadly be called the “breastfeeding discourse” and an indirect effect on the notion of the woman’s role in a given society. The present article will show that what this discourse actually reflects are the conservative effects of today’s biomedical practice and theory and that food, science and technology combine together to restore or reinforce traditionally held representations in German society.

Research priorities for grassland science: the need of long term integrated experiments networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Lemaire

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Grasslands have to be considered not only as a mean for providing foods for domestic herbivore but also as an important biome of terrestrial biosphere. This function of grasslands as an active component of our environment requires specific studies on the role and impact of this ecosystem on soil erosion and soil quality, quality and quantity of water resources, atmosphere composition and greenhouse gas emission or sequestration, biodiversity dynamics at different scales from field plot to landscape. All these functions have to be evaluated in conjunction with the function of providing animal products for increasing human population. So multifunctionality of grasslands become a new paradigm for grassland science. Environmental and biodiversity outputs require long term studies, being the long term retro-active processes within soil, vegetation and micro-organism communities in relation to changes in management programme. So grassland science needs to carry on long term integrated experimentation for studying all the environmental outputs and ecological services associated to grassland management systems.

Asie centrale | Page 39 | CRDI - Centre de recherches pour le ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Asie centrale. Asie centrale. Read more about Climate Change, Innovation, and Information and Communication Technologies. Langue English. Read more about Programme de formation en actuariat Inde-Canada (Waterloo). Langue French. Read more about Actuarial Sciences Graduate Training Program ...

Effects of a Science Content Course on Elementary Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy of Teaching Science

Science.gov (United States)

Bergman, Daniel J.; Morphew, Jason

2015-01-01

The preparation of elementary teachers to successfully teach science in their classrooms is a central issue in science education. The teacher preparation program at a large Midwestern university was modified to include a new science content course aimed at this need. A pre-/postassessment research model involved participants (N = 154) completing a…

Developing the Next Generation of Geoscientists

Science.gov (United States)

Sparrow, E. B.; Kopplin, M. R.

2012-12-01

The Monitoring Seasons Through Global Learning Communities (Seasons and Biomes), an inquiry- and project- based program, works with K-12 teachers and their students worldwide to increase awareness and understanding of the Earth as a system, and the science process. Seasons and Biomes is one of four GLOBE (Global learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, www.globe.gov) earth system science projects. Seasons and Biomes engage students in ongoing research investigations as way of learning science. We do this by conducting for teachers, professional development workshops that incorporate science content, best teaching practices (that include inquiry, integrating science with math, language and art, authentic assessments, concept mapping), a model for student scientific research, and an earth system science approach. Teachers learn and practice standardized measurement protocols developed by GLOBE in the following areas of investigations: atmosphere, hydrology, soils, phenology and land cover/biology, as well as those developed by Seasons and Biomes on ice seasonality (freeze-up and break-up of rivers and lakes), active layer/depth of soil freezing (frost tube), mosquitoes (larvae abundance and identification of mosquito vectors for malaria and dengue fever) and plant invasive species. They also learn how to enter data as well as access data on the GLOBE website. Teachers in turn teach and work with their students in doing authentic science, contribute data to ongoing research as well as conduct their own studies. During the workshops we also provide guidance and opportunity for early career scientists to share their research, work with teachers and mentor them as well as to develop measurement protocols pertinent to their research. Similarly we work with GLOBE Alumni, students who were in the GLOBE program when they were in primary and/or secondary schools and have graduated from college, yet are still very much inspired and dedicated to working with

Genetic diversity of endangered populations of Butia capitata ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The flora and fauna of the Cerrado biome in central Brazil both show great diversity and high levels of endemism. Butia capitata is a palm native to this biome that has significant economic, social, and environmental value. We sought to identify and quantify the genetic diversity of four fragmented populations of B. capitata ...

An introduction to the philosophy of science

CERN Document Server

Staley, Kent W

2014-01-01

This book guides readers by gradual steps through the central concepts and debates in the philosophy of science. Using concrete examples from the history of science, Kent W. Staley shows how seemingly abstract philosophical issues are relevant to important aspects of scientific practice. Structured in two parts, the book first tackles the central concepts of the philosophy of science, such as the problem of induction, falsificationism, and underdetermination, and important figures and movements, such as the logical empiricists, Thomas Kuhn, and Paul Feyerabend. The second part turns to contemporary debates in the philosophy of science, such as scientific realism, explanation, the role of values in science, the different views of scientific inference, and probability. This broad yet detailed overview will give readers a strong grounding whilst also providing opportunities for further exploration. It will be of particular interest to students of philosophy, the philosophy of science, and science. Read more at h...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 126; Issue 5 ... They are mainly of high-K calc-alkaline series with indistinct Eu anomalies, enriched in ... School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha ...

Testing the applicability of BIOME-BGC to simulate beech gross primary production in Europe using a new continental weather dataset

OpenAIRE

Chiesi , Marta; Chirici , Gherardo; Marchetti , Marco; Hasenauer , Hubert; Moreno , Adam; Knohl , Alexander; Matteucci , Giorgio; Pilegaard , Kim; Granier , André; Longdoz , Bernard; Maselli , Fabio

2016-01-01

Key message A daily 1-km Pan-European weather dataset can drive the BIOME-BGC model for the estimation of current and future beech gross primary production (GPP). Annual beech GPP is affected primarily by spring temperature and more irregularly by summer water stress. [br/] Context The spread of beech forests in Europe enhances the importance of modelling and monitoring their growth in view of ongoing climate changes. [br/] Aims The current paper assesses the capability o...

Biome specificity of distinct genetic lineages within the four-striped mouse Rhabdomys pumilio (Rodentia: Muridae) from southern Africa with implications for taxonomy.

Science.gov (United States)

du Toit, Nina; van Vuuren, Bettine Jansen; Matthee, Sonja; Matthee, Conrad A

2012-10-01

Within southern Africa, a link between past climatic changes and faunal diversification has been hypothesized for a diversity of taxa. To test the hypothesis that evolutionary divergences may be correlated to vegetation changes (induced by changes in climate), we selected the widely distributed four-striped mouse, Rhabdomys, as a model. Two species are currently recognized, the mesic-adapted R. dilectus and arid-adapted R. pumilio. However, the morphology-based taxonomy and the distribution boundaries of previously described subspecies remain poorly defined. The current study, which spans seven biomes, focuses on the spatial genetic structure of the arid-adapted R. pumilio (521 specimens from 31 localities), but also includes limited sampling of the mesic-adapted R. dilectus (33 specimens from 10 localities) to act as a reference for interspecific variation within the genus. The mitochondrial COI gene and four nuclear introns (Eef1a1, MGF, SPTBN1, Bfib7) were used for the construction of gene trees. Mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that Rhabdomys consists of four reciprocally monophyletic, geographically structured clades, with three distinct lineages present within the arid-adapted R. pumilio. These monophyletic lineages differ by at least 7.9% (±0.3) and these results are partly confirmed by a multilocus network of the combined nuclear intron dataset. Ecological niche modeling in MaxEnt supports a strong correlation between regional biomes and the distribution of distinct evolutionary lineages of Rhabdomys. A Bayesian relaxed molecular clock suggests that the geographic clades diverged between 3.09 and 4.30Ma, supporting the hypothesis that the radiation within the genus coincides with paleoclimatic changes (and the establishment of the biomes) characterizing the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. Marked genetic divergence at the mitochondrial DNA level, coupled with strong nuclear and mtDNA signals of non-monophyly of R. pumilio, support the notion that a taxonomic

Central African Journal of Medicine

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Central African Journal of Medicine is a quarterly refereed general medical journal which seeks to promote the practice and science of medicine in Africa. Emphasis is placed on general medical topics, reflecting common and important conditions in the region. The journal also covers related medical fields. Submissions ...

Invasion of a Legume Ecosystem Engineer in a Cold Biome Alters Plant Biodiversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanessa M. S. Vetter

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Plant ecosystem engineers are widely used to combat land degradation. However, the ability of those plants to modulate limiting abiotic and biotic resources of other species can cause damage to ecosystems in which they become invasive. Here, we use Lupinus nootkatensis as example to estimate and project the hazardous potential of nitrogen fixing herbaceous plants in a sub-polar oceanic climate. L. nootkatensis was introduced to Iceland in the 1940s to address erosion problems and foster reforestation, but subsequently became a high-latitude invader. In a local field survey, we quantified the impact of L. nootkatensis invasion at three different cover levels (0, 10–50, and 51–100% upon native plant diversity, richness, and community composition of heath-, wood-, and grasslands using a pairwise comparison design and comparisons of means. Afterward, we scaled impacts up to the ecosystem and landscape level by relating occurrences of L. nootkatensis to environmental and human-mediated variables across Iceland using a species distribution model. Plant diversity was significantly deteriorated under high lupine cover levels of the heath- and woodland, but not in the grassland. Plant species richness of the most diverse habitat, the heathland, linearly decreased with lupine cover level. The abundance of small rosettes, cushion plants, orchids, and small woody long-lived plants of the heath declined with invader presence, while the abundance of late successional species and widespread nitrophilous ruderals in wood- and grasslands increased. Distribution modeling revealed 13.3% of Iceland’s land surface area to be suitable lupine habitat. Until 2061–2080, this area will more than double and expand significantly into the Central Highlands due to human mediation and increasingly favorable climatic conditions. Species-rich habitats showed a loss of plant species diversity and richness as well as a change in community composition even in low lupine

Exploring social networks of municipal science education stakeholders in Danish Science Municipalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von der Fehr, Ane

development in the science and technology industry. Therefore, much effort has been invested to improve science education. The importance of school external stakeholders in development of education has been an increasingly emphasised, also in the field of science education. This has led to a growing focus......Science education development is a field of many interests and a key interest is recruitment of students who wish to pursue an education in science. This is an urgent societal demand in Denmark as well as internationally, since highly skilled science graduates are needed for the continuous...... involved in science education development. These municipal science education networks (MSE networks) were identified as important for development of science education in the SM project. Therefore, it was a key interest to explore these networks in order to investigate how the central stakeholders affected...

Arctic System Science: Meeting Earth System and Social Impact Challenges through Integrative Approaches and Synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Vorosmarty, C. J.; Hinzman, L. D.; Rawlins, M. A.; Serreze, M. C.; Francis, J. A.; Liljedahl, A. K.; McDonald, K. C.; Piasecki, M.; Rich, R. H.; Holland, M. M.

2017-12-01

The Arctic is an integral part of the Earth system where multiple interactions unite its natural and human elements. Recent observations show the Arctic to be experiencing rapid and amplified signatures of global climate change. At the same time, the Arctic system's response to this broader forcing has itself become a central research topic, given its potential role as a critical throttle on future planetary dynamics. Changes are already impacting life systems and economic prosperity and continued change is expected to bear major implications far outside the region. We also have entered an era when environmental management, traditionally local in scope, must confront regional, whole biome, and pan-Arctic biogeophysical challenges. While challenges may appear to operate in isolation, they emerge within the context of an evolving, integrated Arctic system defined by interactions among natural and social sub-systems. Clearly, new efforts aimed at community planning, industrial development, and infrastructure construction must consider this multiplicity of interacting processes. We recently organized an "Arctic System Synthesis Workshop Series" supported by the Arctic Systems Science Program of NSF and devoted to exploring approaches capable of uncovering the systems-level behavior in both the natural and social sciences domains. The series featured two topical meetings. The first identified the sources responsible for extreme climate events in the Arctic. The second focused on multiple "currencies" within the system (i.e., water, energy, carbon, nutrients) and how they interact to produce systems-level behaviors. More than 40 experts participated, drawn from the ranks of Arctic natural and social sciences. We report here on the workshop series consensus report, which identifies a broad array of topics. Principal among these are a consideration of why study the Arctic as a system, as well as an articulation of the major systems-level approaches to support basic as well

Revista ORL at Open Science Ecosystem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tránsito FERRERAS FERNÁNDEZ

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In October 2017 they were held at the University of Salamanca the congress Open Knowledge Ecosystems (ACE 2017 posed as an international meeting point for specialists in open access. The congress allowed to approach the open knowledge from the perspectives I + D + i, offering papers and communications on research related to Open Access, as well as experiences developed in repositories and institutions and approaches to innovative trends in any of the fields of open knowledge.The experience of Revista ORL was present in ECA 2017 through a joint communication of several authors titled Nuevas vías de publicación para revistas biomédicas. Proyecto Revista ORL de Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, offering an overview of the history of the Revista as an open edition project. Although on that occasion it was called a project, now we should call it "reality" fully consolidated because the data on results obtained.Open Science represents a paradigm change in the way to make science. Although this doesn't change substantially with respect to its motivations and objectives, it changes its methods. The change lies in how it is done, not in what is done. It is an open science, collaborative and made with and for society.The concept of Open Science has been preceded by Open Access to academic content and this may have conditioned its understanding. Open Access has been assimilated only with open access to articles, while with Open Science it is considered that what must be open is any research result (articles + data as well as the auxiliary instruments used (for example, laboratory notebooks. However, the double meaning of "open" (free and free is the same for the two concepts.In this paper we pose questions such as What is Open Science? What are the motivations of governments for its promotion? What components does make up this ecosystem? What are the implications for agents of scientific research? What does represent all this for the edition of

Journal of Chemical Sciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

DD should be arranged in favour of "Indian Academy of Sciences" payable at Bengaluru. For details, contact: Springer Distribution Centre GmbH. Customer Service Journals Haberstrasse 7, D-69126 Heidelberg Germany. Email: subscriptions@springer.com. For the Americas (North, South, Central and the Caribbean):

USSR Report, Life Sciences Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

1985-01-28

M. Zubkova and N. Z. Zagorskaya, Central Scientific Research Institute of Resort Therapy and Physiotherapy , Moscow] [Text] In order to describe...USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, Kiev [Abstract] The wide use of oxygen therapy in geriatric practice and the reported side effects and occasional

Under the veil of science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Christian Pilegaard; Lund, Jens Friis

2014-01-01

This paper examines the way forest science and knowledge has been used in Ghana to legitimate the power of the central state over forests, and timber resources in particular. It analyses how science has been invoked to authorize management decisions aimed at sustainable forest management, notably...

Terrestrial Macrofungal Diversity from the Tropical Dry Evergreen Biome of Southern India and Its Potential Role in Aerobiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Priyamvada, Hema; Akila, M; Singh, Raj Kamal; Ravikrishna, R; Verma, R S; Philip, Ligy; Marathe, R R; Sahu, L K; Sudheer, K P; Gunthe, S S

2017-01-01

Macrofungi have long been investigated for various scientific purposes including their food and medicinal characteristics. Their role in aerobiology as a fraction of the primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs), however, has been poorly studied. In this study, we present a source of macrofungi with two different but interdependent objectives: (i) to characterize the macrofungi from a tropical dry evergreen biome in southern India using advanced molecular techniques to enrich the database from this region, and (ii) to assess whether identified species of macrofungi are a potential source of atmospheric PBAPs. From the DNA analysis, we report the diversity of the terrestrial macrofungi from a tropical dry evergreen biome robustly supported by the statistical analyses for diversity conclusions. A total of 113 macrofungal species belonging to 54 genera and 23 families were recorded, with Basidiomycota and Ascomycota constituting 96% and 4% of the species, respectively. The highest species richness was found in the family Agaricaceae (25.3%) followed by Polyporaceae (15.3%) and Marasmiaceae (10.8%). The difference in the distribution of commonly observed macrofungal families over this location was compared with other locations in India (Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal) using two statistical tests. The distributions of the terrestrial macrofungi were distinctly different in each ecosystem. We further attempted to demonstrate the potential role of terrestrial macrofungi as a source of PBAPs in ambient air. In our opinion, the findings from this ecosystem of India will enhance our understanding of the distribution, diversity, ecology, and biological prospects of terrestrial macrofungi as well as their potential to contribute to airborne fungal aerosols.

Optimizing selective cutting strategies for maximum carbon stocks and yield of Moso bamboo forest using BIOME-BGC model.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Fangjie; Zhou, Guomo; Li, Pingheng; Du, Huaqiang; Xu, Xiaojun; Shi, Yongjun; Mo, Lufeng; Zhou, Yufeng; Tu, Guoqing

2017-04-15

The selective cutting method currently used in Moso bamboo forests has resulted in a reduction of stand productivity and carbon sequestration capacity. Given the time and labor expense involved in addressing this problem manually, simulation using an ecosystem model is the most suitable approach. The BIOME-BGC model was improved to suit managed Moso bamboo forests, which was adapted to include age structure, specific ecological processes and management measures of Moso bamboo forest. A field selective cutting experiment was done in nine plots with three cutting intensities (high-intensity, moderate-intensity and low-intensity) during 2010-2013, and biomass of these plots was measured for model validation. Then four selective cutting scenarios were simulated by the improved BIOME-BGC model to optimize the selective cutting timings, intervals, retained ages and intensities. The improved model matched the observed aboveground carbon density and yield of different plots, with a range of relative error from 9.83% to 15.74%. The results of different selective cutting scenarios suggested that the optimal selective cutting measure should be cutting 30% culms of age 6, 80% culms of age 7, and all culms thereafter (above age 8) in winter every other year. The vegetation carbon density and harvested carbon density of this selective cutting method can increase by 74.63% and 21.5%, respectively, compared with the current selective cutting measure. The optimized selective cutting measure developed in this study can significantly promote carbon density, yield, and carbon sink capacity in Moso bamboo forests. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scale and the isotopic record of C4 plants in pedogenic carbonate: from the biome to the rhizospere.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monger, Dr. H Curtis [New Mexico State University, Las Cruces; Cole, David R [ORNL; Buck, Dr. Brenda [University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Gallegos, Robert [Sant fe Water Division

2009-01-01

The 13C/12C ratio in pedogenic carbonate (i.e., CaCO3 formed in soil) is a significant tool for investigating C4 biomes of the past. However, the paleoecological meaning of d13C values in pedogenic carbonate can change with the scale at which one considers the data. We describe studies of modern soils, fossil soils, and vegetation change in the Chihuahuan Desert of North America and elsewhere that reveal four scales important for paleoecologic interpretations. (1) At the broadest scale, the biome scale (hundreds to millions of km2), an isotopic record interpreted as C3 vegetation replacing C4 grasslands may indicate invading C3 woody shrubs instead of expanding C3 forests (a common interpretation). (2) At the landscape scale (several tens of m2 to hundreds of km2), the accuracy of scaling up paleoclimatic interpretations to a regional level is affected by the landform containing the isotopic record. (3) At the soil-profile scale (cm2 to m2), soil profiles with multiple generations of carbonate mixed together have a lower-resolution paleoecologic record than soil profiles repeatedly buried. (4) At the rhizosphere scale (lm2 to cm2), carbonate formed on roots lack the 14 17 enrichment observed at broader scales, revealing different fractionation processes at different scales. A multi-scale approach in dealing with d13C in pedogenic carbonate will increase the accuracy of paleoecologic interpretations and understanding of soil geomorphic climatic interactions that affect boundaries between C4 and C3 vegetation.

Scale and the isotopic record of C4 plants in pedogenic carbonate: from the biome to the rhizosphere

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monger, Dr. H Curtis [New Mexico State University, Las Cruces; Cole, David [Ohio State University; Buck, Dr. Brenda [University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Gallegos, Robert [Sant fe Water Division

2009-01-01

The 13C/12C ratio in pedogenic carbonate (i.e., CaCO3 formed in soil) is a significant tool for investigating C4 biomes of the past. However, the paleoecological meaning of d13C values in pedogenic carbonate can change with the scale at which one considers the data. We describe studies of modern soils, fossil soils, and vegetation change in the Chihuahuan Desert of North America and elsewhere that reveal four scales important for paleoecologic interpretations. (1) At the broadest scale, the biome scale (hundreds to millions of km2), an isotopic record interpreted as C3 vegetation replacing C4 grasslands may indicate invading C3 woody shrubs instead of expanding C3 forests (a common interpretation). (2) At the landscape scale (several tens of m2 to hundreds of km2), the accuracy of scaling up paleoclimatic interpretations to a regional level is affected by the landform containing the isotopic record. (3) At the soil-profile scale (cm2 to m2), soil profiles with multiple generations of carbonate mixed together have a lower-resolution paleoecologic record than soil profiles repeatedly buried. (4) At the rhizosphere scale (lm2 to cm2), carbonate formed on roots lack the 14 17 enrichment observed at broader scales, revealing different fractionation processes at different scales. A multi-scale approach in dealing with d13C in pedogenic carbonate will increase the accuracy of paleoecologic interpretations and understanding of soil geomorphic climatic interactions that affect boundaries between C4 and C3 vegetation.

Methane Production and Transport within the Marsh Biome of Biosphere 2

Science.gov (United States)

Molnar, Jennifer; Goodridge, Kelven

1997-01-01

In recent decades, the concentration of methane in the earth's atmosphere increased 1-2% annually. It's rate of increases, combined with methane's effectiveness as a greenhouse gas, has led to an intensive research effort to determine the sources and sinks of the gas in the environment. Biosphere 2 offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the effort because it lacks a major photochemical sink present in the Earth's atmosphere. Researchers can therefore concentrate on biological processes involved in methane cycles. Wetlands are a large source of atmospheric methane, due to anoxic conditions in the sediments and the abundance of organic materials. In order to determine if these conditions in Biosphere 2 also promote methane production, this study looked for the fluxes of methane and methods of transport of the gas from from the water and sediments to the atmosphere in the Marsh Biome. Fluxes of methane from the sediments and waters were measured using static chambers, peepers, and leaf bags. Fluxes and vertical profiles of methane in the sediments show that substantial amounts of methane are being produced in the marsh and are being transported into the Biosphere 2 environment.

A citation analysis of the research reports of the Central Mining Institute. Mining and Environment using the Web of Science, Scopus, BazTech, and Google Scholar: A case study

OpenAIRE

Magdalena Bemke-Switilnik; Aneta Drabek

2015-01-01

This paper presents the analysis of a Polish mining sciences journal (Prace Naukowe GIG. Górnictwo i Środowisko; title in English: Research Reports of the Central Mining Institute. Mining and Environment; acronym in English [RRCMIME]). The analysis is based on data from the following sources: the Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, BazTech (a bibliographic database containing citations from Polish Technical Journals), and Google Scholar (GS). The data from the WoS and Scopus were collected manually...

Procedimiento para la obtención de células madre mesenquimales para uso biomédico

OpenAIRE

Menéndez, Pablo; Ligero, G.; Sánchez, L.; Gutiérrez-Aranda, I.; Rodríguez-González, René; Rubio-Amador, Ruth; Bueno, C.; Ramos-Mejía, Verónica; Delgado, M.

2010-01-01

[ES] Procedimiento de obtención de células madre mesenquimales para uso biomédico. La presente invención describe un procedimiento de obtención de CMMs a partir de cultivos de PSC, mediante la inhibición de la via de señalización SMAD2/3, preferentemente con el inhibidor quimico 4-[4-(1,3- Benzodioxol-5-il)-5-(2-piridinil)-1 H-imidazol-2-il] benzamida. Las PSCCMMs descritas en la presente invención, son capaces de diferenciarse a células de la línea osteogénica, condrogénica y adi...

Biomateriales para implantes intraóseos: contribución y desafío en el área biomédica

OpenAIRE

Guglielmotti, Maria Beatriz; Cabrini, R. L.; Olmedo, Daniel Gustavo; Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Odontología. Cátedra de Anatomía Patológica

2017-01-01

Los biomateriales son aquellos materiales diseñados para ser implantados o incorporados dentro del sistema vivo con el fin de sustituir o regenerar tejidos y sus funciones. Williams los define como aquellos materiales utilizados en dispositivos de uso biomédico diseñados para interactuar con los sistemas biológicos. Clásicamente los biomateriales se dividen en cuatro grupos: polímeros, metales, cerámicos y naturales. Cuando se combinan dos materiales diferentes se obtiene un material compuest...

BIOME: An Ecosystem Remote Sensor Based on Imaging Interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, David L.; Hammer, Philip; Smith, William H.; Lawless, James G. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

Until recent times, optical remote sensing of ecosystem properties from space has been limited to broad band multispectral scanners such as Landsat and AVHRR. While these sensor data can be used to derive important information about ecosystem parameters, they are very limited for measuring key biogeochemical cycling parameters such as the chemical content of plant canopies. Such parameters, for example the lignin and nitrogen contents, are potentially amenable to measurements by very high spectral resolution instruments using a spectroscopic approach. Airborne sensors based on grating imaging spectrometers gave the first promise of such potential but the recent decision not to deploy the space version has left the community without many alternatives. In the past few years, advancements in high performance deep well digital sensor arrays coupled with a patented design for a two-beam interferometer has produced an entirely new design for acquiring imaging spectroscopic data at the signal to noise levels necessary for quantitatively estimating chemical composition (1000:1 at 2 microns). This design has been assembled as a laboratory instrument and the principles demonstrated for acquiring remote scenes. An airborne instrument is in production and spaceborne sensors being proposed. The instrument is extremely promising because of its low cost, lower power requirements, very low weight, simplicity (no moving parts), and high performance. For these reasons, we have called it the first instrument optimized for ecosystem studies as part of a Biological Imaging and Observation Mission to Earth (BIOME).

Bite-size research: BMC Research Notes goes back to its roots.

Science.gov (United States)

Krüger, Dirk; Marshall, Diana M

2017-02-14

Since it first launched in 2008, BMC Research Notes has been a place where researchers can publish short notes and observations, research outputs which are useful for the community but which can end up hidden in the lab notebook or as a footnote in a dataset. In order to re-affirm the importance of publishing these kinds of outputs, the journal is renewing its focus on publishing note articles as well as other potentially dark data such as short null results. Publishing these articles is useful for many researchers, therefore we are also expanding the scope to all scientific and clinical disciplines including health sciences, life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics and all engineering disciplines. With this refocusing of BMC Research Notes back to its original vision, BioMed Central is offering a home for short communications to make dark data and single observations widely available to the global research community.

Science popularization and the Indian constitution - Correspondence

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varkey, M.J.

mation System for Science and Techno logy (NISSAT), Central Health Education Bureau, Centre for Enviro n - ment Education, National Institute of Science Communication (NISCOM) and Science magazines like Science Reporter, Down to Earth, Resonance... the learning of science to their immediate social and physical environment. Schools, colleges and NGOs also co n - tribute considerably to popularization of science. CSIR laboratories are e x - pected to orga nize open days for the general public during...

Analysis of students’ science motivation and nature of science comprehension in middle school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azizul Ghofar Candra Wicaksono

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to explore the pattern of science motivation and nature of science (NoS and the relationship between science motivation and nature of science in middle school students located in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. The design of this study was survey followed by the correlation study to discover the relationship between science motivation level and nature of science comprehension. This research included 113 students as sample. The instrument used for data collection was SMQ and seven essay test from NoS indicator. This study revealed that the students had a median score of science motivation and the low score in nature of science comprehension. There were students’ science motivation and nature of science comprehension urgently need to be improved. It can be done by developing learning process and any support from school or family.

Las Ciencias instrumentales en la Investigación Biomédica Instrumental Sciences in Biomedical Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josep Roma Millán

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Hay una serie de ciencias que se hacen imprescindibles para poder investigar e interpretar los resultados científicos, son la ciencias que llamamos instrumentales o auxiliares. Entre ellas se encuentran la Demografía, la Epidemiología y la Bioestadística. Además, hay que tomar en consideración las técnicas de investigación cualitativa, el conjunto de estrategias e instrumentos de búsqueda de información bibliográfica y, también las metodologías de presentación de resultados. Finalmente, no puede olvidarse la ética, en sus dos componentes de bioética y de ética del trabajo científico, si queremos desarrollar un trabajo siguiendo el método científico. Este capítulo explica cuál es la función de estas disciplinas en el seno de la investigación científica y del desarrollo de proyectos.Some scientific disciplines are essential for research and scientific results interpretation. Instrumental or auxiliary sciences include Demography, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics. Also, it is necessary to take into account the techniques for qualitative research, the strategies and instruments for bibliographic information and the methodology for scientific results presentation. Finally, to develop a project according to the scientific method, it is necessary to consider ethics, in its two components: bioethics and the ethics of scientific method. This report explains which is the function of these instrumental and auxiliary sciences in the context of the scientific research and the development of scientific projects.

The Politics of Central Bank Independence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Haan, J.; Eijffinger, Sylvester

2016-01-01

This paper reviews recent research on the political economy of monetary policy-making, both by economists and political scientists. The traditional argument for central bank independence (CBI) is based on the desire to counter inflationary biases. However, studies in political science on the

Modeling the effects of anadromous fish nitrogen on the carbon balance of riparian forests in central Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Noble Stuen, A. J.; Kavanagh, K.; Wheeler, T.

2010-12-01

Wild anadromous fish such as Pacific Chinook salmon (Oncorynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (Oncorhyncus mykiss) were once abundant in Idaho, where they deposited their carcasses, rich in marine-derived nutrients (MDN), in the tributaries of the Columbia River. Anadromous fish are believed to have been a historically important nutrient source to the relatively nutrient-poor inland ecosystems of central Idaho, but no longer reach many inland watersheds due to presence of dams. This study investigates the multi-decadal cumulative effect of presence versus absence of anadromous fish nitrogen on net ecosystem exchange (NEE), or net carbon uptake, of riparian forests along historically salmon-bearing streams in the North Fork Boise River watershed, Idaho, in the context of a changing climate. The ecosystem process model BIOME-BGC is used to develop a representative forest ecosystem and predict the impact of decades of addition and continuing absence of MDN on NEE and net primary production (NPP). The study has 2 objectives: 1) to determine whether BIOME-BGC can reasonably simulate the riparian forests of central Idaho. A potentially confounding factor is the complex terrain of the region, particularly regarding soil water: water accumulation in valley bottoms and their riparian zones may lead to discrepancies in soil moisture and productivity of the riparian forest and of the simulations. The model is parameterized using local ecophysiology and site data and validated using field measurements of leaf area and soil moisture. Objective 2): to determine the effects on forest carbon balance and productivity of the presence or ongoing absence of anadromous-fish derived nitrogen. The forest simulation developed in objective 1 is run under two scenarios into the mid-20th century; one continuing without any supplemental nitrogen and one with nitrogen added in levels consistent with estimates of historical deposition by anadromous fish. Both scenarios incorporate warming due to

Abiotic and biotic determinants of leaf carbon exchange capacity from tropical to high boreal biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, N. G.; Dukes, J. S.

2016-12-01

Photosynthesis and respiration on land represent the two largest fluxes of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the Earth's surface. As such, the Earth System Models that are used to project climate change are high sensitive to these processes. Studies have found that much of this uncertainty is due to the formulation and parameterization of plant photosynthetic and respiratory capacity. Here, we quantified the abiotic and biotic factors that determine photosynthetic and respiratory capacity at large spatial scales. Specifically, we measured the maximum rate of Rubisco carboxylation (Vcmax), the maximum rate of Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate regeneration (Jmax), and leaf dark respiration (Rd) in >600 individuals of 98 plant species from the tropical to high boreal biomes of Northern and Central America. We also measured a bevy of covariates including plant functional type, leaf nitrogen content, short- and long-term climate, leaf water potential, plant size, and leaf mass per area. We found that plant functional type and leaf nitrogen content were the primary determinants of Vcmax, Jmax, and Rd. Mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation were not significant predictors of these rates. However, short-term climatic variables, specifically soil moisture and air temperature over the previous 25 days, were significant predictors and indicated that heat and soil moisture deficits combine to reduce photosynthetic capacity and increase respiratory capacity. Finally, these data were used as a model benchmarking tool for the Community Land Model version 4.5 (CLM 4.5). The benchmarking analyses determined errors in the leaf nitrogen allocation scheme of CLM 4.5. Under high leaf nitrogen levels within a plant type the model overestimated Vcmax and Jmax. This result suggested that plants were altering their nitrogen allocation patterns when leaf nitrogen levels were high, an effect that was not being captured by the model. These data, taken with models in mind

Trend shifts in satellite-derived vegetation growth in Central Eurasia, 1982-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Hao-Jie; Wang, Xin-Ping; Yang, Tai-Bao

2017-02-01

Central Eurasian vegetation is critical for the regional ecological security and the global carbon cycle. However, climatic impacts on vegetation growth in Central Eurasia are uncertain. The reason for this uncertainty lies in the fact that the response of vegetation to climate change showed nonlinearity, seasonality and differences among plant functional types. Based on remotely sensed vegetation index and in-situ meteorological data for the years 1982-2013, in conjunction with the latest land cover type product, we analyzed how vegetation growth trend varied across different seasons and evaluated vegetation response to climate variables at regional, biome and pixel scales. We found a persistent increase in the growing season NDVI over Central Eurasia during 1982-1994, whereas this greening trend has stalled since the mid-1990s in response to increased water deficit. The stalled trend in the growing season NDVI was largely attributed by summer and autumn NDVI changes. Enhanced spring vegetation growth after 2002 was caused by rapid spring warming. The response of vegetation to climatic factors varied in different seasons. Precipitation was the main climate driver for the growing season and summer vegetation growth. Changes in temperature and precipitation during winter and spring controlled the spring vegetation growth. Autumn vegetation growth was mainly dependent on the vegetation growth in summer. We found diverse responses of different vegetation types to climate drivers in Central Eurasia. Forests were more responsive to temperature than to precipitation. Grassland and desert vegetation responded more strongly to precipitation than to temperature in summer but more strongly to temperature than to precipitation in spring. In addition, the growth of desert vegetation was more dependent on winter precipitation than that of grasslands. This study has important implications for improving the performance of terrestrial ecosystem models to predict future vegetation

Launch of physics journals boosts open-access club

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

"Open-access publisher BioMed Central is launching three new physics journals under the sister brand-name PhysMath Central. they will sit alongside the company's portfolio of 176 biomedical titles." (1/4 page)

La libertad de creación y producción científica : especial referencia a la ley de investigación biomédica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yolanda Gómez Sanchez

2009-05-01

Full Text Available No hay en la Constitución española una referencia directa y explícita a la investigación biomédica ni encontramos tampoco en el Texto Fundamental referencias a otros problemas derivados de estas nuevas tecnologías. Sí contiene la Constitución, sin embargo, referencias directas a la investigación en general (arts. 44.2, 148.1.17 y 149.1.15; y ha reconocido, como derecho fundamental, la producción y creación científica en el artículo 20.1b. En este artículo se defiende que la libertad de investigación forma parte del contenido esencial del derecho fundamental a la producción y creación científica. Se analizan también los principios que integra la Ley de Investigación Biomédica y se cuestiona la ausencia en esta Ley de referencias explícitas al dereco a la libertad y a la igualdad

The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 14; Issue 3. The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology - A Retrospective after Fifty Years. Michel Morange. General Article Volume 14 Issue 3 March 2009 pp 236-247. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Leadership, Responsibility, and Reform in Science Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Bybee, Rodger W.

1993-01-01

Regards leadership as central to the success of the reform movement in science education. Defines leadership and introduces a model of leadership modified from the one developed by Edwin Locke and his associates. Provides an overview of the essential qualities of leadership occurring in science education. Discusses reforming science education and…

Strengthening Africa's science granting councils as champions of ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Science granting councils are central to funding and catalyzing research and innovation, particularly in national science systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The availability of reliable indicators—to monitor Africa's scientific and technological developments, implement science policies and strategies, track public investment in ...

Structure of Drosophilidae Assemblage (Insecta, Diptera in Pampa Biome (São Luiz Gonzaga, RS

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Jean Lucas Poppe

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The Brazilian Pampa (the southernmost end of the country is currently a highly modified environment because of increasing agricultural activities. In many places, only small parts of grasslands remain inside an agricultural landscape. Drosophilidae (Diptera have been widely used as a potential bioindicators to monitor the effects of anthropogenic changes in natural environments. However, the fauna of Drosophilidae in the Pampa Biome from natural and disturbed environments, still remains largely unknown. The present study represents one of the first attempts to fill this gap, showing results from monthly collections in the municipality of São Luiz Gonzaga (28º24'28"S, 54º57'39"W, in the Brazilian Pampa. A species inventory was carried out in two contrasting environments, an urban zone and a forest remnant (rural zone. In both areas banana-baited traps were used to capture adult drosophilids. The identification was made using external morphology and male terminalia. In total, 13,379 drosophilids were analyzed (rural zone: N = 8,812 and Sobs = 25; urban zone: N = 4,567 and Sobs = 16. In the present study, 16 (60% out of 26 species were found exclusively or preferentially in the forest. The period of highest richness was between the months of June to November (roughly winter and spring, and the period of lowest richness was from December to May (roughly summer and autumn. An analysis of cluster by the Coefficient of Jaccard showed that species composition slightly changes when the period of the year with higher temperatures (from January to May is compared with the period with lower temperatures (from June to October. The species abundances were also highly affected by seasonality, as revealed by the Morisita Index, since the samples clustered into similar groups in consecutive periods and in the same season, showing the seasonal preference of some species. The time component was a determinant in the diversity of the assemblage, surpassing the

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 110; Issue 4. Evolution of the Bhandara-Balaghat granulite belt along the southern margin of the Sausar Mobile Belt of central India. H M Ramachandra Abhinaba Roy. Volume 110 Issue 4 December 2001 pp 351-368 ...

Deforestation trends of tropical dry forests in central Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Bianchi, Carlos A.; Haig, Susan M.

2013-01-01

Tropical dry forests are the most threatened forest type in the world yet a paucity of research about them stymies development of appropriate conservation actions. The Paranã River Basin has the most significant dry forest formations in the Cerrado biome of central Brazil and is threatened by intense land conversion to pastures and agriculture. We examined changes in Paranã River Basin deforestation rates and fragmentation across three time intervals that covered 31 yr using Landsat imagery. Our results indicated a 66.3 percent decrease in forest extent between 1977 and 2008, with an annual rate of forest cover change of 3.5 percent. Landscape metrics further indicated severe forest loss and fragmentation, resulting in an increase in the number of fragments and reduction in patch sizes. Forest fragments in flatlands have virtually disappeared and the only significant forest remnants are mostly found over limestone outcrops in the eastern part of the basin. If current patterns persist, we project that these forests will likely disappear within 25 yr. These patterns may be reversed with creation of protected areas and involvement of local people to preserve small fragments that can be managed for restoration.

Science cultivating practice : a history of agricultural science in the Netherlands and its colonies 1863-1986

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maat, H.

2001-01-01

The central argument of this thesis is that science and practice, as articulated in agricultural science in the Netherlands and its colonies, gradually broke apart. This process is visible in the organisation of agricultural research and education, as well as in the development of three

La asignación de recursos y la investigación biomédica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Artells Herrero, Juan José

2001-10-01

Full Text Available Not available

Nadie parece cuestionar, al menos desde el punto de vista teórico, que la Investigación junto con la Docencia, son compañeros inseparables del objetivo último de un Sistema Sanitario moderno y consolidado, que no es otro que el de dar respuesta eficiente a las expectativas de salud de las personas. Aspectos como asignación de recursos, priorización, cadena de valor, coste de oportunidad, necesidad, contrato programa, producción conjunta, bien público, reputación, riesgo y especificidad de activos, se tratan a lo largo del artículo. Los recursos que a tal fin se asignen, la valoración de prioridades y el análisis conceptual de lo que cabe considerar como investigación biomédica, son objeto de tratamiento en esta exposición.

eScience and archiving for space science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy E Eastman

2006-01-01

Full Text Available A confluence of technologies is leading towards revolutionary new interactions between robust data sets, state-of-the-art models and simulations, high-data-rate sensors, and high-performance computing. Data and data systems are central to these new developments in various forms of eScience or grid systems. Space science missions are developing multi-spacecraft, distributed, communications- and computation-intensive, adaptive mission architectures that will further add to the data avalanche. Fortunately, Knowledge Discovery in Database (KDD tools are rapidly expanding to meet the need for more efficient information extraction and knowledge generation in this data-intensive environment. Concurrently, scientific data management is being augmented by content-based metadata and semantic services. Archiving, eScience and KDD all require a solid foundation in interoperability and systems architecture. These concepts are illustrated through examples of space science data preservation, archiving, and access, including application of the ISO-standard Open Archive Information System (OAIS architecture.

A spatial implementation of the BIOME-BGC to model grassland GPP production and water budgets in the Ecuadorian Andean Region

Science.gov (United States)

Minaya, Veronica; Corzo, Gerald; van der Kwast, Johannes; Mynett, Arthur

2016-04-01

Many terrestrial biogeochemistry process models have been applied around the world at different scales and for a large range of ecosystems. Grasslands, and in particular the ones located in the Andean Region are essential ecosystems that sustain important ecological processes; however, just a few efforts have been made to estimate the gross primary production (GPP) and the hydrological budgets for this specific ecosystem along an altitudinal gradient. A previous study, which is one of the few available in the region, considered the heterogeneity of the main properties of the páramo vegetation and showed significant differences in plant functional types, site/soil parameters and daily meteorology. This study extends the work above mentioned and uses spatio-temporal analysis of the BIOME-BGC model results. This was done to simulate the GPP and the water fluxes in space and time, by applying altitudinal analysis. The catchment located at the southwestern slope of the Antisana volcano in Ecuador was selected as a representative area of the Andean páramos and its hydrological importance as one of the main sources of a water supply reservoir in the region. An accurate estimation of temporal changes in GPP in the region is important for carbon budget assessments, evaluation of the impact of climate change and biomass productivity. This complex and yet interesting problem was integrated by the ecosystem process model BIOME-BGC, the results were evaluated and associated to the land cover map where the growth forms of vegetation were identified. The responses of GPP and the water fluxes were not only dependent on the environmental drivers but also on the ecophysiology and the site specific parameters. The model estimated that the GPP at lower elevations doubles the amount estimated at higher elevations, which might have a large implication during extrapolations at larger spatio-temporal scales. The outcomes of the stand hydrological processes demonstrated a wrong

Population Genetic Structure of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus (Poeciliidae): A Freshwater Look at the Pampa Biome in Southern South America.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos-Fregonezi, Aline M C; Malabarba, Luiz R; Fagundes, Nelson J R

2017-01-01

The Pampas is a Neotropical biome formed primarily by low altitude grasslands and encompasses the southernmost portion of Brazil, Uruguay, and part of Argentina. Despite the high level of endemism, and its significant environmental heterogeneity, Pampean species are underrepresented in phylogeographic studies, especially aquatic organisms. The Pampean hydrological system resulted from a long history of tectonism, climate, and sea level changes since the Neogene. In this study, we examined the population genetic structure of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus , a freshwater fish species that occurs throughout most of the Pampa biome. We characterized mitochondrial and autosomal genetic lineages in populations sampled from Southern Brazil and Uruguay to investigate (1) the correspondence between current drainage systems and evolutionary lineages, (2) the demographic history for each genetic lineage, and (3) the temporal depth of these lineages. Overall, we found that the major evolutionary lineages in this species are strongly related to the main Pampean drainage systems, even though stream capture events may have affected the distribution of genetic lineages among drainages. There was evidence for recent population growth in the lineages occupying drainages closest to the shore, which may indicate the effect of quaternary sea-level changes. In general, divergence time estimates among evolutionary lineages were shallow, ranging from 20,000 to 800,000 years before present, indicating a geologically recent history for this group, as previously reported in other Pampean species. A Bayesian phylogeographical reconstruction suggested that an ancestral lineage probably colonized the Uruguay River Basin, and then expanded throughout the Pampas. This evolutionary scenario may represent useful starting models for other freshwater species having a similar distribution.

Population Genetic Structure of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus (Poeciliidae: A Freshwater Look at the Pampa Biome in Southern South America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline M. C. Ramos-Fregonezi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Pampas is a Neotropical biome formed primarily by low altitude grasslands and encompasses the southernmost portion of Brazil, Uruguay, and part of Argentina. Despite the high level of endemism, and its significant environmental heterogeneity, Pampean species are underrepresented in phylogeographic studies, especially aquatic organisms. The Pampean hydrological system resulted from a long history of tectonism, climate, and sea level changes since the Neogene. In this study, we examined the population genetic structure of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus, a freshwater fish species that occurs throughout most of the Pampa biome. We characterized mitochondrial and autosomal genetic lineages in populations sampled from Southern Brazil and Uruguay to investigate (1 the correspondence between current drainage systems and evolutionary lineages, (2 the demographic history for each genetic lineage, and (3 the temporal depth of these lineages. Overall, we found that the major evolutionary lineages in this species are strongly related to the main Pampean drainage systems, even though stream capture events may have affected the distribution of genetic lineages among drainages. There was evidence for recent population growth in the lineages occupying drainages closest to the shore, which may indicate the effect of quaternary sea-level changes. In general, divergence time estimates among evolutionary lineages were shallow, ranging from 20,000 to 800,000 years before present, indicating a geologically recent history for this group, as previously reported in other Pampean species. A Bayesian phylogeographical reconstruction suggested that an ancestral lineage probably colonized the Uruguay River Basin, and then expanded throughout the Pampas. This evolutionary scenario may represent useful starting models for other freshwater species having a similar distribution.

east and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Quality ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

KIBWAGE. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, ... causing pneumonia, URTI, UTI and soft tissue obtained through the office of Registrar, ... were from private and public sources including.

Plants of the fynbos biome harbour host species-specific bacterial communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyambo, Tsakani; Makhalanyane, Thulani P; Cowan, Don A; Valverde, Angel

2016-08-01

The fynbos biome in South Africa is globally recognised as a plant biodiversity hotspot. However, very little is known about the bacterial communities associated with fynbos plants, despite interactions between primary producers and bacteria having an impact on the physiology of both partners and shaping ecosystem diversity. This study reports on the structure, phylogenetic composition and potential roles of the endophytic bacterial communities located in the stems of three fynbos plants (Erepsia anceps, Phaenocoma prolifera and Leucadendron laureolum). Using Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA sequencing we found that different subpopulations of Deinococcus-Thermus, Alphaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Firmicutes dominated the endophytic bacterial communities. Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria were prevalent in P. prolifera, whereas Deinococcus-Thermus dominated in L. laureolum, revealing species-specific host-bacteria associations. Although a high degree of variability in the endophytic bacterial communities within hosts was observed, we also detected a core microbiome across the stems of the three plant species, which accounted for 72% of the sequences. Altogether, it seems that both deterministic and stochastic processes shaped microbial communities. Endophytic bacterial communities harboured putative plant growth-promoting bacteria, thus having the potential to influence host health and growth. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Examining the Nexus of Science Communication and Science Education: A Content Analysis of Genetics News Articles

Science.gov (United States)

Shea, Nicole A.

2015-01-01

Access to science information via communications in the media is rapidly becoming a central means for the public to gain knowledge about scientific advancements. However, little is known about what content knowledge is essential for understanding issues presented in news media. Very few empirical studies attempt to bridge science communication and…

Biogeographical distribution analysis of hydrocarbon degrading and biosurfactant producing genes suggests that near-equatorial biomes have higher abundance of genes with potential for bioremediation.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Jorge S; Araújo, Wydemberg J; Figueiredo, Ricardo M; Silva-Portela, Rita C B; de Brito Guerra, Alaine; da Silva Araújo, Sinara Carla; Minnicelli, Carolina; Carlos, Aline Cardoso; de Vasconcelos, Ana Tereza Ribeiro; Freitas, Ana Teresa; Agnez-Lima, Lucymara F

2017-07-27

Bacterial and Archaeal communities have a complex, symbiotic role in crude oil bioremediation. Their biosurfactants and degradation enzymes have been in the spotlight, mainly due to the awareness of ecosystem pollution caused by crude oil accidents and their use. Initially, the scientific community studied the role of individual microbial species by characterizing and optimizing their biosurfactant and oil degradation genes, studying their individual distribution. However, with the advances in genomics, in particular with the use of New-Generation-Sequencing and Metagenomics, it is now possible to have a macro view of the complex pathways related to the symbiotic degradation of hydrocarbons and surfactant production. It is now possible, although more challenging, to obtain the DNA information of an entire microbial community before automatically characterizing it. By characterizing and understanding the interconnected role of microorganisms and the role of degradation and biosurfactant genes in an ecosystem, it becomes possible to develop new biotechnological approaches for bioremediation use. This paper analyzes 46 different metagenome samples, spanning 20 biomes from different geographies obtained from different research projects. A metagenomics bioinformatics pipeline, focused on the biodegradation and biosurfactant-production pathways, genes and organisms, was applied. Our main results show that: (1) surfactation and degradation are correlated events, and therefore should be studied together; (2) terrestrial biomes present more degradation genes, especially cyclic compounds, and less surfactation genes, when compared to water biomes; and (3) latitude has a significant influence on the diversity of genes involved in biodegradation and biosurfactant production. This suggests that microbiomes found near the equator are richer in genes that have a role in these processes and thus have a higher biotechnological potential. In this work we have focused on the

Physics Laws of Social Science

OpenAIRE

Wayne, James J.

2013-01-01

Economics, and other fields of social science are often criticized as unscientific for their apparent failures to formulate universal laws governing human societies. Whether economics is truly a science is one of the oldest questions. This paper attempts to create such universal laws, and asserts that economics is a branch of quantum physics just like chemistry. Choice is a central concept in economics and other fields of social science, yet there is no corresponding concept of choice in mode...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 115; Issue 1. Mesoproterozoic diamondiferous ultramafic pipes at Majhgawan and Hinota, Panna area, central India: Key to the nature of sub-continental lithospheric mantle beneath the Vindhyan basin. N V Chalapathi Rao. Volume 115 Issue 1 February 2006 pp ...

Copula Multivariate analysis of Gross primary production and its hydro-environmental driver; A BIOME-BGC model applied to the Antisana páramos

Science.gov (United States)

Minaya, Veronica; Corzo, Gerald; van der Kwast, Johannes; Galarraga, Remigio; Mynett, Arthur

2014-05-01

Simulations of carbon cycling are prone to uncertainties from different sources, which in general are related to input data, parameters and the model representation capacities itself. The gross carbon uptake in the cycle is represented by the gross primary production (GPP), which deals with the spatio-temporal variability of the precipitation and the soil moisture dynamics. This variability associated with uncertainty of the parameters can be modelled by multivariate probabilistic distributions. Our study presents a novel methodology that uses multivariate Copulas analysis to assess the GPP. Multi-species and elevations variables are included in a first scenario of the analysis. Hydro-meteorological conditions that might generate a change in the next 50 or more years are included in a second scenario of this analysis. The biogeochemical model BIOME-BGC was applied in the Ecuadorian Andean region in elevations greater than 4000 masl with the presence of typical vegetation of páramo. The change of GPP over time is crucial for climate scenarios of the carbon cycling in this type of ecosystem. The results help to improve our understanding of the ecosystem function and clarify the dynamics and the relationship with the change of climate variables. Keywords: multivariate analysis, Copula, BIOME-BGC, NPP, páramos

Pre-Launch Tasks Proposed in our Contract of December 1991

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

We propose, during the pre-EOS phase to: (1) develop, with other MODIS Team Members, a means of discriminating different major biome types with NDVI and other AVHRR-based data; (2) develop a simple ecosystem process model for each of these biomes, BIOME-BGC; (3) relate the seasonal trend of weekly composite NDVI to vegetation phenology and temperature limits to develop a satellite defined growing season for vegetation; and (4) define physiologically based energy to mass conversion factors for carbon and water for each biome. Our final core at-launch product will be simplified, completely satellite driven biome specific models for net primary production. We will build these biome specific satellite driven algorithms using a family of simple ecosystem process models as calibration models, collectively called BIOME-BGC, and establish coordination with an existing network of ecological study sites in order to test and validate these products. Field datasets will then be available for both BIOME-BGC development and testing, use for algorithm developments of other MODIS Team Members, and ultimately be our first test point for MODIS land vegetation products upon launch. We will use field sites from the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research network, and develop Glacier National Park as a major site for intensive validation.

Ornamental Eudicotyledons from grasslands of Pampa biome in Rio Grande do Sul

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana De Araújo Carrion

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The present study aims at investigating the group of Eudicotyledons native plants with ornamental potential of grasslands from the Pampa biome in the south of Brazil. The Pampa presents a high level of biodiversity; however, it requires studies related to the richness of vascular plants and its biological and ecological knowledge. The purpose of this work is to elaborate a preliminary inventory of this group of plants, analyzing the ornamental potential of each specie and indicating those that could be considered as being priorities for the purpose of sustainable use with this objective. Some grassland species were selected through the search for information in herbarium registers, national and international works about decorative plants, floristic surveys, besides the authors´ practical knowledge. Some parameters and values were associated, aiming at reducing the subjectivity of the choice. The survey resulted in a list of 177 species distributed in 36 families and 101 genera. Among these species, ten presented high ornamental potential. These data show that the richness of the grassland native ornamental flora is high, even though its use is poorly known. The use of these plants, if in a sustainable manner, can produce economic and ecological benefits.

Genetic Divergence in Eucalyptus camaldulensis Progenies in the Savanna Biome in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reginaldo Brito da Costa

Full Text Available Assessing the parental genetic differences and their subsequent prediction of progeny performance is an important first step to assure the efficiency of any breeding program. In this study, we estimate the genetic divergence in Eucalyptus camaldulensis based on the morphological traits of 132 progenies grown in a savanna biome. Thus, a field experiment was performed using a randomized block design and five replications to compare divergences in total height, commercial height, diameter at breast height, stem form and survival rate at 48 months. Tocher's clustering method was performed using the Mahalanobis and Euclidian distances. The Mahalanobis distance seemed more reliable for the assessed parameters and clustered all of the progenies into fourteen major groups. The most similar progenies (86 accessions were clustered into Group I, while the most dissimilar (1 progeny represented Group XIV. The divergence analysis indicated that promising crosses could be made between progenies allocated in different groups for high genetic divergence and for favorable morphological traits.

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 118; Issue 5 ... Impact of vegetation on the simulation of seasonal monsoon rainfall over the Indian .... On the diurnal ranges of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the north Indian Ocean ... Groundwater flow modelling of Yamuna–Krishni interstream, a part of central ...

Science, Technology and University in the XIXth Century. The Free-Faculty of Sciences of the University of Salamanca (1875-1902

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Joaquín PÉREZ MELERO

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The Free-Faculty of Sciences of the University of Salamanca was established in 1875 as the only way to continue Science studies in the University. Poorly financed, with little resources and academic acceptance, it survives helped by financial support from the City Hall and the Provincial Deputation, and to the Rector Esperabé5 s will, against the High Education centralization trend which concentres the studies at the Central University of Madrid. That economic and technical poverty provides just only an approach to the physico-chemical sciences in the framework of a provincial University, but helps it to stay alive until its recongnition as «official» faculty in 1902.

Seleção de caramboleiras pelas características biométricas e físico-químicas dos frutos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Araújo Paulo Sérgio Rodrigues de

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Caracterizaram-se caramboleiras relacionando as características biométricas e físico-químicas dos frutos. Foram utilizadas 15 caramboleiras de pomar comercial, em Mirandópolis-SP. Procederam-se seis coletas de 50 frutos por planta, no período entre 1997 e 1999, para avaliações biométricas de comprimento, diâmetro, massa, número de gomos e sementes. Nas referidas coletas para avaliação dos parâmetros físico-químicos, utilizaram-se três frutos por planta, sendo analisados: sólidos solúveis totais (SST, acidez total titulável (ATT, "ratio", firmeza de polpa, pH e coloração externa. Duas plantas foram superiores às demais em relação ao comprimento e massa dos frutos, apresentando elevados teores de SST e "ratio", entretanto, baixa ATT, características interessantes para o consumo fresco. Contudo, foi limitante o grande número de sementes de uma planta em relação à outra. Como opção para porta-enxerto, devido ao elevado número de sementes nos frutos, destacaram-se três plantas. Com potencial para processamento foi selecionada uma planta, decorrente da elevada ATT, baixo número de sementes e tamanho do fruto entre médio e grande.

A science of meaning. Can behaviorism bring meaning to psychological science?

Science.gov (United States)

DeGrandpre, R J

2000-07-01

An argument is presented for making meaning a central dependent variable in psychological science. Principles of operant psychology are then interpreted as providing a basic foundation for a science of meaning. The emphasis here is on the generality of basic operant concepts, where learning is a process of meaning making that is governed largely by natural contingencies; reinforcement is an organic process in which environment-behavior relations are selected, defined here as a dialectical process of meaning making; and reinforcers are experiential consequences with acquired, ecologically derived meanings. The author concludes with a call for a more interdisciplinary science of psychology, focusing on the individual in society.

Journal of Chemical Sciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences; Volume 129; Issue 2 ... Rapid Communication Volume 129 Issue 2 February 2017 pp 149-156 ... The central perylene core of 1 is twisted with dihedral angles of 19.48(2)◦ and 19.50(2)◦; this twist configuration induces the axial chirality in this family of perylene bisimide ...

East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences An ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An Approach to Effective Disinfection of Salon Items [clippers, combs and scissors]. O.S. OLONITOLA'*, P.F. OLURINOLA~ ... 2~epartment of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical. Sciences, Ahmadu Bello ... antimicrobial products with increased value over those currently available.

Modeling the grazing effect on dry grassland carbon cycling with modified Biome-BGC grazing model

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Geping; Han, Qifei; Li, Chaofan; Yang, Liao

2014-05-01

Identifying the factors that determine the carbon source/sink strength of ecosystems is important for reducing uncertainty in the global carbon cycle. Arid grassland ecosystems are a widely distributed biome type in Xinjiang, Northwest China, covering approximately one-fourth the country's land surface. These grasslands are the habitat for many endemic and rare plant and animal species and are also used as pastoral land for livestock. Using the modified Biome-BGC grazing model, we modeled carbon dynamics in Xinjiang for grasslands that varied in grazing intensity. In general, this regional simulation estimated that the grassland ecosystems in Xinjiang acted as a net carbon source, with a value of 0.38 Pg C over the period 1979-2007. There were significant effects of grazing on carbon dynamics. An over-compensatory effect in net primary productivity (NPP) and vegetation carbon (C) stock was observed when grazing intensity was lower than 0.40 head/ha. Grazing resulted in a net carbon source of 23.45 g C m-2 yr-1, which equaled 0.37 Pg in Xinjiang in the last 29 years. In general, grazing decreased vegetation C stock, while an increasing trend was observed with low grazing intensity. The soil C increased significantly (17%) with long-term grazing, while the soil C stock exhibited a steady trend without grazing. These findings have implications for grassland ecosystem management as it relates to carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation, e.g., removal of grazing should be considered in strategies that aim to increase terrestrial carbon sequestrations at local and regional scales. One of the greatest limitations in quantifying the effects of herbivores on carbon cycling is identifying the grazing systems and intensities within a given region. We hope our study emphasizes the need for large-scale assessments of how grazing impacts carbon cycling. Most terrestrial ecosystems in Xinjiang have been affected by disturbances to a greater or lesser extent in the past

Nuclear science and engineering workshop for secondary science teachers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, W.H.; Neumeyer, G.M.; Langhorst, S.M.

1992-01-01

A 2-week workshop has been held for the past 10 yr at the University of Missouri-Columbia for secondary science teachers to increase their knowledge of nuclear science and its applications. It is sponsored jointly by Union Electric Company (St. Louis, Missouri), the University of Missouri-Columbia, the American Nuclear Society (ANS) student branch at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the Central/Eastern Section of the ANS. The workshop focuses on two principal educational areas: basic nuclear science and its applications and nuclear energy systems. The philosophy of the workshop is to provide factual information without emphasis on the political issues of the use of nuclear without emphasis on the political issues of the use of nuclear science in the modern society, allowing the participants to form their own perceptions of the risks and benefits of nuclear technology. The paper describes the workshop organization, curriculum, and evaluation

Mathematical paradigms of climate science

CERN Document Server

Cannarsa, Piermarco; Jones, Christopher; Portaluri, Alessandro

2016-01-01

This book, featuring a truly interdisciplinary approach, provides an overview of cutting-edge mathematical theories and techniques that promise to play a central role in climate science. It brings together some of the most interesting overview lectures given by the invited speakers at an important workshop held in Rome in 2013 as a part of MPE2013 (“Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013”). The aim of the workshop was to foster the interaction between climate scientists and mathematicians active in various fields linked to climate sciences, such as dynamical systems, partial differential equations, control theory, stochastic systems, and numerical analysis. Mathematics and statistics already play a central role in this area. Likewise, computer science must have a say in the efforts to simulate the Earth’s environment on the unprecedented scale of petabytes. In the context of such complexity, new mathematical tools are needed to organize and simplify the approach. The growing importance of data assimilation te...

Putting Science First: Using the Precautionary Principle in the Central Arctic Ocean to Prevent a Fishing Disaster Before it Occurs (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Nachman, C.

2017-12-01

As ice conditions change and ocean temperatures continue to rise, the potential for living marine resources to migrate farther north and for vessels to journey north with them is expanding. To date, the central Arctic Ocean (CAO) has remained relatively unexposed to human activities, including commercial fishing. However, as conditions continue to change, the potential for expansion of fishing fleets exists. In July 2015, the five Arctic coastal states signed a declaration concerning the prevention of unregulated high seas fishing in the CAO. Recognizing the need to involve additional nations with interests in the Arctic region, in December 2015, the five Arctic coastal states, along with China, the European Union, Japan, Iceland, and Korea, began a process to negotiate a binding agreement to prevent unregulated fishing in the high seas of the CAO. A key underlying goal of the negotiations is to reach agreement that nations would establish a joint program of scientific research and monitoring to better understand the CAO ecosystem and whether fish stocks might exist there that could be harvested on a sustainable basis and the possible impacts of such fisheries on the ecosystems. The data collected through the international joint science program will compose a key piece of the decision-making at the policy level regarding establishing appropriate measures or organizations to manage fishing in the CAO should the science indicate potentials for commercial fishing in the CAO. Since the beginning of these high-level negotiations, the policy makers have consistently agreed that conducting collaborative science is the primary way to determine whether sustainable commercial fishing could one day occur in the region. I will highlight the policy negotiation process and parallel science meetings to date to demonstrate how science can influence policy to prevent a fishing disaster.

Accelerate synthesis in ecology and environmental sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Synthesis of diverse knowledge is a central part of all sciences, but especially those such as ecology and environmental sciences which draw information from many disciplines. Research and education in ecology are intrinsically synthetic, and synthesis is increasingly needed to find solutions for en...

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science. Volume 119 Issue 2 April 2010 pp 137-145. Effect of co-operative fuzzy .... The efficacy of support vector machines (SVM) in robust determination of earthquake early warning magnitudes in central Japan · Ramakrushna Reddy Rajesh R Nair · More Details Abstract Fulltext ...

A spatial assessment of Brassica napus gene flow potential to wild and weedy relatives in the Fynbos Biome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Kalwij

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Gene flow between related plant species, and between transgenic and non-transgenic crop varieties, may be considered a form of biological invasion. Brassica napus (oilseed rape or canola and its relatives are well known for intra- and inter-specific gene flow, hybridisation and weediness. Gene flow associated with B. napus poses a potential ecological risk in the Fynbos Biome of South Africa, because of the existence of both naturalised (alien, weedy and native relatives in this region. This risk is particularly pertinent given the proposed use of B. napus for biofuel and the potential future introduction of herbicide-tolerant transgenic B. napus. Here we quantify the presence and co-occurrence of B. napus and its wild and weedy relatives in the Fynbos Biome, as a first step in the ecological risk assessment for this crop. Several alien and at least one native relative of B. napus were found to be prevalent in the region, and to be spatially congruent with B. napus fields. The first requirement for potential gene flow to occur has thus been met. In addition, a number of these species have elsewhere been found to be reproductively compatible with B. napus. Further assessment of the potential ecological risks associated with B. napus in South Africa is constrained by uncertainties in the phylogeny of the Brassicaceae, difficulties with morphology-based identification, and poor knowledge of the biology of several of the species involved, particularly under South African conditions.

Biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial ecosystems of the Caatinga Biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Menezes, R S C; Sampaio, E V S B; Giongo, V; Pérez-Marin, A M

2012-08-01

The biogeochemical cycles of C, N, P and water, the impacts of land use in the stocks and flows of these elements and how they can affect the structure and functioning of Caatinga were reviewed. About half of this biome is still covered by native secondary vegetation. Soils are deficient in nutrients, especially N and P. Average concentrations of total soil P and C in the top layer (0-20 cm) are 196 mg kg(-1) and 9.3 g kg(-1), corresponding to C stocks around 23 Mg ha(-1). Aboveground biomass of native vegetation varies from 30 to 50 Mg ha(-1), and average root biomass from 3 to 12 Mg ha(-1). Average annual productivities and biomass accumulation in different land use systems vary from 1 to 7 Mg ha(-1) year(-1). Biological atmospheric N2 fixation is estimated to vary from 3 to 11 kg N ha(-1) year-1 and 21 to 26 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) in mature and secondary Caatinga, respectively. The main processes responsible for nutrient and water losses are fire, soil erosion, runoff and harvest of crops and animal products. Projected climate changes in the future point to higher temperatures and rainfall decreases. In face of the high intrinsic variability, actions to increase sustainability should improve resilience and stability of the ecosystems. Land use systems based on perennial species, as opposed to annual species, may be more stable and resilient, thus more adequate to face future potential increases in climate variability. Long-term studies to investigate the potential of the native biodiversity or adapted exotic species to design sustainable land use systems should be encouraged.

The Nature of Science and Science Education: A Bibliography

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Randy; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad; Lederman, Norman G.; Mccomas, William F.; Matthews, Michael R.

Research on the nature of science and science education enjoys a long history, with its origins in Ernst Mach's work in the late nineteenth century and John Dewey's at the beginning of the twentieth century. As early as 1909 the Central Association for Science and Mathematics Teachers published an article - A Consideration of the Principles that Should Determine the Courses in Biology in Secondary Schools - in School Science and Mathematics that reflected foundational concerns about science and how school curricula should be informed by them. Since then a large body of literature has developed related to the teaching and learning about nature of science - see, for example, the Lederman (1992)and Meichtry (1993) reviews cited below. As well there has been intense philosophical, historical and philosophical debate about the nature of science itself, culminating in the much-publicised Science Wars of recent time. Thereferences listed here primarily focus on the empirical research related to the nature of science as an educational goal; along with a few influential philosophical works by such authors as Kuhn, Popper, Laudan, Lakatos, and others. While not exhaustive, the list should prove useful to educators, and scholars in other fields, interested in the nature of science and how its understanding can be realised as a goal of science instruction. The authors welcome correspondence regarding omissions from the list, and on-going additions that can be made to it.

Limnological characteristics of 56 lakes in the Central Canadian Arctic Treeline Region

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John P. SMOL

2003-02-01

Full Text Available Measured environmental variables from 56 lakes across the Central Canadian Treeline Region exhibited clear limnological differences among subpolar ecozones, reflecting strong latitudinal changes in biome characteristics (e.g. vegetation, permafrost, climate. Principal Components Analysis (PCA clearly separated forested sites from tundra sites based on distinct differences in limnological characteristics. Increases in major ions and related variables (e.g. dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC were higher in boreal forest sites in comparison to arctic tundra sites. The higher values recorded in the boreal forest lakes may be indirectly related to differences in climatic factors in these zones, such as the degree of permafrost development, higher precipitation and runoff, duration of ice-cover on the lakes, and thicker and better soil development. Similar to trends observed in DIC, substantially higher values for dissolved organic carbon (DOC were measured in boreal forest lakes than in arctic tundra lakes. This was likely due to higher amounts of catchment-derived DOC entering the lakes from coniferous leaf litter sources. Relative to arctic tundra lakes, boreal forest lakes had higher nutrient concentrations, particularly total nitrogen (TN, likely due to warmer conditions, a longer growing season, and higher precipitation, which would enhance nutrient cycling and primary productivity. Results suggest that modern aquatic environments at opposite sides of the central Canadian arctic treeline (i.e. boreal forest and arctic tundra exhibit distinct differences in water chemistry and physical conditions. These limnological trends may provide important information on possible future changes with additional warming.

Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Author Affiliations. Chi-Fang Chin1 Arthur Chun-Chieh Shih2 Kuo-Chin Fan1 3. Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, Chung-Li, Taiwan; Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Informatics, Fo Guang Univeristy, Ilan, Taiwan ...

Exploring the Abyss. The Financial Crisis of 2008 ff. as a Central Topic of Problem-Centered Social Science Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thorsten Hippe

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The financial crisis of 2008 ff. and financial crises in general should be a central topic of social science education because these crises are a recurrent and therefore structural feature of modern capitalism which has severe consequences for citizens’ quality of life. Hence, the citizenry should know how to prevent such developments which endanger its well-being in a massive way. Therefore, learners should understand the relationship between the quality of people’s everyday lives and those economic institutions and political decisions which have led to the current mess. They should be enabled to critically evaluate the current misregulation of the financial sector and the economy in order to identify possible policy measures to prevent or at least to mitigate future crises. By educating (young citizens in this way, the (future general public can – as a necessary counterweight to the lobbyism of the finance industry – exert more prudent political pressure which gives politicians a greater incentive to regulate the financial sector and the economy in a manner which is beneficial for the vast majority of the people instead of for a small elite. Two core concepts of the social sciences can be used to make the roots of the seemingly complex topic more understandable for learners: liability and inequality.

An Improved Forensic Science Information Search.

Science.gov (United States)

Teitelbaum, J

2015-01-01

Although thousands of search engines and databases are available online, finding answers to specific forensic science questions can be a challenge even to experienced Internet users. Because there is no central repository for forensic science information, and because of the sheer number of disciplines under the forensic science umbrella, forensic scientists are often unable to locate material that is relevant to their needs. The author contends that using six publicly accessible search engines and databases can produce high-quality search results. The six resources are Google, PubMed, Google Scholar, Google Books, WorldCat, and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Carefully selected keywords and keyword combinations, designating a keyword phrase so that the search engine will search on the phrase and not individual keywords, and prompting search engines to retrieve PDF files are among the techniques discussed. Copyright © 2015 Central Police University.

Recombination and horizontal transfer of nodulation and ACC deaminase (acdS) genes within Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria nodulating legumes of the Cape Fynbos biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemaire, Benny; Van Cauwenberghe, Jannick; Chimphango, Samson; Stirton, Charles; Honnay, Olivier; Smets, Erik; Muasya, A Muthama

2015-11-01

The goal of this work is to study the evolution and the degree of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) within rhizobial genera of both Alphaproteobacteria (Mesorhizobium, Rhizobium) and Betaproteobacteria (Burkholderia), originating from South African Fynbos legumes. By using a phylogenetic approach and comparing multiple chromosomal and symbiosis genes, we revealed conclusive evidence of high degrees of horizontal transfer of nodulation genes among closely related species of both groups of rhizobia, but also among species with distant genetic backgrounds (Rhizobium and Mesorhizobium), underscoring the importance of lateral transfer of symbiosis traits as an important evolutionary force among rhizobia of the Cape Fynbos biome. The extensive exchange of symbiosis genes in the Fynbos is in contrast with a lack of significant events of HGT among Burkholderia symbionts from the South American Cerrado and Caatinga biome. Furthermore, homologous recombination among selected housekeeping genes had a substantial impact on sequence evolution within Burkholderia and Mesorhizobium. Finally, phylogenetic analyses of the non-symbiosis acdS gene in Mesorhizobium, a gene often located on symbiosis islands, revealed distinct relationships compared to the chromosomal and symbiosis genes, suggesting a different evolutionary history and independent events of gene transfer. The observed events of HGT and incongruence between different genes necessitate caution in interpreting topologies from individual data types. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Biophysical Properties of Cultivated Pastures in the Brazilian Savanna Biome: An Analysis in the Spatial-Temporal Domains Based on Ground and Satellite Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando M. Araújo

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Brazil has the largest commercial beef cattle herd in the world, with cattle ranching being particularly prominent in the 200-million ha, Brazilian neotropical moist savanna biome, known as Cerrado, one of the world’s hotspots for biodiversity conservation. As decreasing productivity is a major concern affecting the Cerrado pasturelands, evaluation of pasture conditions through the determination of biophysical parameters is instrumental for more effective management practices and herd occupation strategies. Within this context, the primary goal of this study was the regional assessment of pasture biophysical properties, through the scaling of wet- and dry-season ground truth data (total biomass, green biomass, and % green cover via the combined use of high (Landsat-TM and moderate (MODIS spatial resolution vegetation index images. Based on the high correlation found between NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index and % green cover (r = 0.95, monthly MODIS-based % green cover images were derived for the 2009–2010 hydrological cycle, which were able to capture major regional patterns and differences in pasture biophysical responses, including the increasing greenness values towards the southern portions of the biome, due to both local conditions (e.g., more fertile soils and management practices. These results corroborate the development of biophysically-based landscape degradation indices, in support of improved land use governance and natural area conservation in the Cerrado.

Caracterização biométrica, física e química de frutos da palmeira bocaiuva Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq Lodd

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliana Janet Sanjinez-Argandoña

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Frutos de palmeira bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq. Lodd., coletados em Dourados (MS e Presidente Epitácio (SP, foram analisados quanto ao aspecto biométrico, a composição química e as características físicas, visando a avaliar seu potencial alimentício. Os frutos de bocaiuva das regiões de procedência não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre si nas características biométricas. O rendimento médio da polpa foi de 42% em relação ao fruto inteiro, sendo superior ao encontrado na literatura para outros frutos de palmeiras. As determinações físicas e químicas da polpa dos frutos das regiões de Mato Grosso do Sul e São Paulo caracterizam a polpa como sendo pouco ácida (pH 5,70 a 6,29. As amostras de Dourados - MS, foram consideradas mais doces (14,53% de açúcares redutores totais e com maior teor de vitamina C (34,57 mg.100 g-1 em relação às amostras de Presidente Epitácio-SP (11,46 mg.100 g-1. Porém, a intensidade da cor amarelo-laranja foi maior na polpa dos frutos de Presidente Epitácio (SP, sugerindo maior conteúdo de carotenoides.

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 111; Issue 1. Records of climatic changes and volcanic events in an ice core from Central Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica) during the past century. V N Nijampurkar D K Rao H B Clausen M K Kaul A Chaturvedi. Volume 111 Issue 1 March 2002 pp 39-49 ...

Open Science: a first step towards Science Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Grigorov, Ivo; Tuddenham, Peter

2015-04-01

As Earth Science communicators gear up to adopt the new tools and captivating approaches to engage citizen scientists, budding entrepreneurs, policy makers and the public in general, researchers have the responsibility, and opportunity, to fully adopt Open Science principles and capitalize on its full societal impact and engagement. Open Science is about removing all barriers to basic research, whatever its formats, so that it can be freely used, re-used and re-hashed, thus fueling discourse and accelerating generation of innovative ideas. The concept is central to EU's Responsible Research and Innovation philosophy, and removing barriers to basic research measurably contributes to engaging citizen scientists into the research process, it sets the scene for co-creation of solutions to societal challenges, and raises the general science literacy level of the public. Despite this potential, only 50% of today's basic research is freely available. Open Science can be the first passive step of communicating marine research outside academia. Full and unrestricted access to our knowledge including data, software code and scientific publications is not just an ethical obligation, but also gives solid credibility to a more sophisticated communication strategy on engaging society. The presentation will demonstrate how Open Science perfectly compliments a coherent communication strategy for placing Marine Research in societal context, and how it underpin an effective integration of Ocean & Earth Literacy principles in standard educational, as well mobilizing citizen marine scientists, thus making marine science Open Science.

30 years of Central Institute for Nuclear Research at Rossendorf

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheler, W.; Flach, G.; Hennig, K.; Collatz, S.; Muenze, R.; Baldeweg, F.

1986-10-01

A celebration and a scientific colloquium dedicated the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the Central Institute for Nuclear Research (CINR) of the GDR Academy of Sciences were held on January, 23rd and 24th, '86 at Rossendorf. The speaches and lectures given by the president of the GDR Academy of Sciences and by scientists of the CINR dealt with problems of policy of science, history of the CINR, nuclear methods, microelectronics, nuclear energy research, development and production of radioisotopes and scientific instruments. (author)

The innovation of nuclear science and technology supporting for the central plains economic zone construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xiaowei

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the nuclear agronomy support for the central plains economic zone construction, radiation chemical new material support for the central plains economic zone construction, nuclear medical support for the central plains economic zone construction, nuclear instrument and meter industry support for the central plains economic zone construction and the development trend of related disciplines. (author)

A multi-biome gap in understanding of crop and ecosystem responses to elevated CO2.

Science.gov (United States)

Leakey, Andrew D B; Bishop, Kristen A; Ainsworth, Elizabeth A

2012-06-01

A key finding from elevated [CO(2)] field experiments is that the impact of elevated [CO(2)] on plant and ecosystem function is highly dependent upon other environmental conditions, namely temperature and the availability of nutrients and soil moisture. In addition, there is significant variation in the response to elevated [CO(2)] among plant functional types, species and crop varieties. However, experimental data on plant and ecosystem responses to elevated [CO(2)] are strongly biased to economically and ecologically important systems in the temperate zone. There is a multi-biome gap in experimental data that is most severe in the tropics and subtropics, but also includes high latitudes. Physiological understanding of the environmental conditions and species found at high and low latitudes suggest they may respond differently to elevated [CO(2)] than well-studied temperate systems. Addressing this knowledge gap should be a high priority as it is vital to understanding 21st century food supply and ecosystem feedbacks on climate change. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Evolution in Australia's mesic biome under past and future climates: Insights from a phylogenetic study of the Australian Rock Orchids (Dendrobium speciosum complex, Orchidaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Lalita; Clements, Mark A; Crayn, Darren M; Nargar, Katharina

2018-01-01

The Australian mesic biome spans c. 33° of latitude along Australia's east coast and ranges and is dissected by historical and contemporary biogeographical barriers. To investigate the impact of these barriers on evolutionary diversification and to predict the impact of future climate change on the distribution of species and genetic diversity within this biome, we inferred phylogenetic relationships within the Dendrobium speciosum complex (Orchidaceae) across its distribution and undertook environmental niche modelling (ENM) under past, contemporary and projected future climates. Neighbor Joining tree inference, NeighborNet and Structure analyses of Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) profiles for D. speciosum sampled from across its distribution showed that the complex consists of two highly supported main groups that are geographically separated by the St. Lawrence gap, an area of dry sclerophyll forest and woodland. The presence of several highly admixed individuals identified by the Structure analysis provided evidence of genetic exchange between the two groups across this gap. Whereas previous treatments have recognised between one to eleven species, the molecular results support the taxonomic treatment of the complex as a single species with two subspecies. The ENM analysis supported the hypothesis that lineage divergence within the complex was driven by past climatic changes. The St. Lawrence gap represented a stronger biogeographic barrier for the D. speciosum complex during the cool and dry glacial climatic conditions of the Pleistocene than under today's interglacial conditions. Shallow genetic divergence was found within the two lineages, which mainly corresponded to three other biogeographic barriers: the Black Mountain Corridor, Glass House Mountains and the Hunter Valley. Our ENM analyses provide further support for the hypothesis that biogeographic barriers along Australia's east coast were somewhat permeable to genetic exchange due to

Oxidative stress markers in fish (Astyanax sp. and Danio rerio) exposed to urban and agricultural effluents in the Brazilian Pampa biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa-Silva, D G; Nunes, M E M; Wallau, G L; Martins, I K; Zemolin, A P P; Cruz, L C; Rodrigues, N R; Lopes, A R; Posser, T; Franco, J L

2015-10-01

Aquatic ecosystems are under constant risk due to industrial, agricultural, and urban activities, compromising water quality and preservation of aquatic biota. The assessment of toxicological impacts caused by pollutants to aquatic environment using biomarker measurements in fish can provide reliable data to estimate sublethal effects posed by chemicals in contaminated areas. In this study, fish (Astyanax sp. and Danio rerio) exposed to agricultural and urban effluents at the Vacacaí River, Brazil, were tested for potential signs of aquatic contamination. This river comprehends one of the main watercourses of the Brazilian Pampa, a biome with a large biodiversity that has been neglected in terms of environmental and social-economic development. Sites S1 and S2 were chosen by their proximity to crops and wastewater discharge points, while reference site was located upstream of S1 and S2, in an apparently non-degraded area. Fish muscle and brain tissues were processed for determination of acetylcholinesterase as well as oxidative stress-related biomarkers. The results showed signs of environmental contamination, hallmarked by significant changes in cholinesterase activity, expression of metallothionein, antioxidant enzymes, glutathione levels, and activation of antioxidant/cell stress response signaling pathways in fish exposed to contaminated sites when compared to reference. Based on these results, it is evidenced that urban and agricultural activities are posing risk to the environmental quality of water resources at the studied area. It is also demonstrated that cell stress biomarkers may serve as important tools for biomonitoring and development of risk assessment protocols in the Pampa biome.

Wishful science: the persistence of T. D. Lysenko's agrobiology in the politics of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Roll-Hansen, Nils

2008-01-01

The suppression of genetics in Soviet Russia was the big scandal of twentieth-century science. It was also a test case for the role of scientists in a liberal democracy. The intellectual's perennial dilemma between scientific truthfulness and political loyalty was sharpened by acute ideological conflicts. The central topic of this essay is how the conflict was played out in Soviet agricultural and biological science in the 1930s and 1940s. The account is focused on the role of the then current Soviet science policy and its basic epistemic principles, the "unity of theory and practice" and the "practice criterion of truth".

Diversity of herbaceous plants and bacterial communities regulates soil resistome across forest biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Hang-Wei; Wang, Jun-Tao; Singh, Brajesh K; Liu, Yu-Rong; Chen, Yong-Liang; Zhang, Yu-Jing; He, Ji-Zheng

2018-04-24

Antibiotic resistance is ancient and prevalent in natural ecosystems and evolved long before the utilization of synthetic antibiotics started, but factors influencing the large-scale distribution patterns of natural antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) remain largely unknown. Here, a large-scale investigation over 4000 km was performed to profile soil ARGs, plant communities and bacterial communities from 300 quadrats across five forest biomes with minimal human impact. We detected diverse and abundant ARGs in forests, including over 160 genes conferring resistance to eight major categories of antibiotics. The diversity of ARGs was strongly and positively correlated with the diversity of bacteria, herbaceous plants and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). The ARG composition was strongly correlated with the taxonomic structure of bacteria and herbs. Consistent with this strong correlation, structural equation modelling demonstrated that the positive effects of bacterial and herb communities on ARG patterns were maintained even when simultaneously accounting for multiple drivers (climate, spatial predictors and edaphic factors). These findings suggest a paradigm that the interactions between aboveground and belowground communities shape the large-scale distribution of soil resistomes, providing new knowledge for tackling the emerging environmental antibiotic resistance. © 2018 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An assessment of leaf-litter and epigaeic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae living in different landscapes of the Atlantic Forest Biome in the State of Bahia, Brazil

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Roberta de Jesus Santos

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has a rich biodiversity increasingly threatened by human activities. Since the colonial period, the coast of the state of Bahia is among the most affected regions of Brazil by anthropic pressure. Bahia encloses Atlantic Forest remnants distributed in an area reaching 100-200 km along the east-west axis, by 1,000 km along the north-south axis, parallel to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We report hereafter the results of an intensive field survey of leaf litter and epigaeic ants realized in forest remnants of the Atlantic Forest landscapes within the original extension of the biome in 11 localities distributed along four degrees of latitude in the state of Bahia. In each site, 16 plots were collected using pitfall and eight using Winkler traps. We identified 391 ant species belonging to 71 genera and nine subfamilies. Among all species recorded, 21 were common to the whole 11 localities, while 98 species were recorded in a single locality. This study highlights the richness and diversity of epigaeic and leaf-litter ants living in the northern part of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and is one of the most representative soil ants’ inventories ever done in this biome for a single state of Brazil.

Characterisation of tectonic lineaments in the Central Equatorial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Characterisation of tectonic lineaments in the Central Equatorial Atlantic region of Africa using Bouguer anomaly gravity data. ... Ife Journal of Science ... 3-D standard Euler deconvolution analysis was carried out on Bouguer anomaly gravity data for configuration definition and approximate depth estimate of tectonic ...

A study of assessment indicators for environmental sustainable development of science parks in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Han-Shen; Chien, Li-Hsien; Hsieh, Tsuifang

2013-08-01

This study adopted the ecological footprint calculation structure to calculate the ecological footprints of the three major science parks in Taiwan from 2008 to 2010. The result shows that the ecological footprints of the Hsinchu Science Park, the Central Taiwan Science Park, and the Southern Taiwan Science Park were about 3.964, 2.970, and 4.165 ha per capita. The ecological footprint (EF) of the Central Taiwan Science Park was the lowest, meaning that the influence of the daily operations in the Central Taiwan Science Park on the environment was rather low. Secondly, the population density was relatively high, and the EF was not the highest of the Hsinchu Science Park, meaning that, while consuming ecological resources, the environmental management done was effective. In addition, the population density in Southern Taiwan Science Park is 82.8 units, lower than that of Hsinchu Science Park, but its ecological footprint per capita is 0.201 units, higher than Hsinchu, implying its indicator management has space for improvement. According to the analysis result above, in the science parks, the percentages of high-energy-consuming industries were rather high. It was necessary to encourage development of green industries with low energy consumption and low pollution through industry transformation.

Science belongs to the people! Popularisation of science in Central Europe in the 1950s

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Olšáková, Doubravka

2013-01-01

Roč. 25, listopad (2013), s. 161-175. ISBN 978-1-905952-45-8 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GPP410/11/P007 Institutional support: RVO:68378114 Keywords : ideology * communism * science popularization Subject RIV: AB - History

A New Open Access Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

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Anthony S. Clare

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The oceans cover approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and contain more than 97% of the planet’s water, representing over 100 times more liveable volume than the terrestrial habitat. Approximately fifty percent of the species on the planet occupy this ocean biome, much of which remains unexplored. The health and sustainability of the oceans are threatened by a combination of pressures associated with climate change and the ever-increasing demands we place on them for food, recreation, trade, energy and minerals. The biggest threat, however, is the pace of change to the oceans, e.g., ocean acidification, which is unprecedented in human history. Consequently, there has never been a greater need for the rapid and widespread dissemination of the outcomes of research aimed at improving our understanding of how the oceans work and solutions to their sustainable use. It is our hope that this new online, open-access Journal of Marine Science and Engineering will go some way to fulfilling this need. [...

East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 7 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1996-04-24

Apr 24, 1996 ... 3 Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, ... albinism should use sunscreens labeled with a Sun .... that were subjected to stability testing. Ingredients. Form-. Form- Form-.

Genetic structure of Pilosocereus gounellei (Cactaceae) as revealed by AFLP marker to guide proposals for improvement and restoration of degraded areas in Caatinga biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Monteiro, E R; Strioto, D K; Meirelles, A C S; Mangolin, C A; Machado, M F P S

2015-12-15

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was used to evaluate DNA polymorphism in Pilosocereus gounellei with the aim of differentiating samples grown in different Brazilian semiarid regions. Seven primer pairs were used to amplify 703 AFLP markers, of which 700 (99.21%) markers were polymorphic. The percentage of polymorphic markers ranged from 95.3% for the primer combination E-AAG/M-CTT to 100% for E-ACC/M-CAT, E-ACC/M-CAA, E-AGC/M-CAG, E-ACT/M-CTA, and E-AGG/M-CTG. The largest number of informative markers (126) was detected using the primer combination E-AAC/M-CTA. Polymorphism of the amplified DNA fragments ranged from 72.55% (in sample from Piauí State) to 82.79% (in samples from Rio Grande Norte State), with an average of 75.39%. Despite the high genetic diversity of AFLP markers in xiquexique, analysis using the STRUCTURE software identified relatively homogeneous clusters of xiquexique from the same location, indicating a differentiation at the molecular level, among the plant samples from different regions of the Caatinga biome. The AFLP methodology identified genetically homogeneous and contrasting plants, as well as plants from different regions with common DNA markers. Seeds from such plants can be used for further propagation of plants for establishment of biodiversity conservation units and restoration of degraded areas of the Caatinga biome.

Temporal and spatial heterogeneity analysis of optimal value of sensitive parameters in ecological process model: The BIOME-BGC model as an example%生态过程模型敏感参数最优取值的时空异质性分析——以BIOME-BGC模型为例

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

李一哲; 张廷龙; 刘秋雨; 李英

2018-01-01

The ecological process models are powerful tools for studying terrestrial ecosystem water and carbon cycle at present.However,there are many parameters for these models,and weather the reasonable values of these parameters were taken,have important impact on the models simulation results.In the past,the sensitivity and the optimization of model parameters were analyzed and discussed in many researches.But the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of the optimal parameters is less concerned.In this paper,the BIOME-BGC model was used as an example.In the evergreen broad-leaved forest,deciduous broad-leaved forest and C3 grassland,the sensitive parameters of the model were selected by constructing the sensitivity judgment index with two experimental sites selected under each vegetation type.The objective function was constructed by using the simulated annealing algorithm combined with the flux data to obtain the monthly optimal values of the sensitive parameters at each site.Then we constructed the temporal heterogeneity judgment index,the spatial heterogeneity judgment index and the temporal and spatial heterogeneity judgment index to quantitatively analyze the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of the optimal values of the model sensitive parameters.The results showed that the sensitivity of BIOME-BGC model parameters was different under different vegetation types,but the selected sensitive parameters were mostly consistent.The optimal values of the sensitive parameters of BIOME-BGC model mostly presented time-space heterogeneity to different degrees which varied with vegetation types.The sensitive parameters related to vegetation physiology and ecology had relatively little temporal and spatial heterogeneity while those related to environment and phenology had generally larger temporal and spatial heterogeneity.In addition,the temporal heterogeneity of the optimal values of the model sensitive parameters showed a significant linear correlation with the spatial

NEW OPPORTUNITIES OF INFORMATION AND LIBRARY SUPPORT OF SCIENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Yu. Beryozkina

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The qualitative composition of the information resources to be provided for the Central Science Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, organization and forms of information services for researchers using information and communication technologies are considered.

Epistemology & the Nature of Science: A Classroom Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Viney, Mike

2007-01-01

Efforts to enact balanced treatment laws represent an attempt to wedge the supernatural into scientific explanations. Current attempts to displace methodological naturalism from science indicate a need to make the nature of science a central theme in our instruction. This article utilizes constructivist listening to introduce students to five…

The diverse aims of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Potochnik, Angela

2015-10-01

There is increasing attention to the centrality of idealization in science. One common view is that models and other idealized representations are important to science, but that they fall short in one or more ways. On this view, there must be an intermediary step between idealized representation and the traditional aims of science, including truth, explanation, and prediction. Here I develop an alternative interpretation of the relationship between idealized representation and the aims of science. I suggest that continuing, widespread idealization calls into question the idea that science aims for truth. If instead science aims to produce understanding, this would enable idealizations to directly contribute to science's epistemic success. I also use the fact of widespread idealization to motivate the idea that science's wide variety aims, epistemic and non-epistemic, are best served by different kinds of scientific products. Finally, I show how these diverse aims—most rather distant from truth—result in the expanded influence of social values on science. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Moving Towards a New Urban Systems Science

Science.gov (United States)

Peter M. Groffman; Mary L. Cadenasso; Jeannine Cavender-Bares; Daniel L. Childers; Nancy B. Grimm; Morgan Grove; Sarah E. Hobbie; Lucy R. Hutyra; G. Darrel Jenerette; Timon McPhearson; Diane E. Pataki; Steward T. A. Pickett; Richard V. Pouyat; Emma Rosi-Marshall; Benjamin L. Ruddell

2016-01-01

Research on urban ecosystems rapidly expanded in the 1990s and is now a central topic in ecosystem science. In this paper, we argue that there are two critical challenges for ecosystem science that are rooted in urban ecosystems: (1) predicting or explaining the assembly and function of novel communities and ecosystems under altered environmental conditions and (2)...

Local habitat drivers of macrobenthos in the northern, central and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Local habitat drivers of macrobenthos in the northern, central and southern KwaZulu-Natal Bight, South Africa. ... African Journal of Marine Science ... and bottom water physico-chemistry were determined at a significantly larger spatial scale.

A Review of Forensic Science Management Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Houck, M M; McAndrew, W P; Porter, M; Davies, B

2015-01-01

The science in forensic science has received increased scrutiny in recent years, but interest in how forensic science is managed is a relatively new line of research. This paper summarizes the literature in forensic science management generally from 2009 to 2013, with some recent additions, to provide an overview of the growth of topics, results, and improvements in the management of forensic services in the public and private sectors. This review covers only the last three years or so and a version of this paper was originally produced for the 2013 Interpol Forensic Science Managers Symposium and is available at interpol.int. Copyright © 2015 Central Police University.

Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jbsc/042/03/0509-0521 ... Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Popular Auto´noma del ... de Investigacio´n Biome´dica de Oriente, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Puebla, Me´xico ...

Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jbsc/037/02/0259-0267 ... Biomédica de Oriente, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Hospital General de Zona No. ... Molecular, Posgrado en Ciencias Químicas, BUAP, Blvd. 14 Sur Esq. San Claudio, CU.

Cultural Memory Banking in Preservice Science Teacher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Handa, Vicente C.; Tippins, Deborah J.

2012-01-01

This study focused on the exemplification of cultural memory banking as an ethnographic tool to understand cultural practices relevant to science teaching and learning in a rural coastal village in a central island of the Philippine archipelago. Using the collaborative action ethnography as a research methodology, 10 prospective science teachers…

Individual and Collective Leadership in School Science Departments

Science.gov (United States)

Ritchie, Stephen M.; Mackay, Gail; Rigano, Donna L.

2006-01-01

Given that the subject department is recognised by subject specialist teachers as the central and immediate unit of organization in secondary schools it is surprising that so little attention has been paid by researchers to the leadership dynamics within science departments. The leadership dynamics within the science departments of two…

Science as theater, theater as science

Science.gov (United States)

Lustig, Harry

2002-04-01

Beginning with Bertold Brecht's "Galileo" in 1942 and Friedrich Dürrenmatt's "The Physicists" in 1962, physics and other sciences have served a number of dramatists as backdrops for the exposition of existential problems, as well as the provision of entertainment. Michael Frayn's 1998 play "Copenhagen" broke new ground by giving a central role to the presentation of scientific substance and ideas and to the examination of recent controversial and emotionally charged events in the history of science and of the "real world". A rash of "science plays" erupted. How should we physicists react to this development? Surely, it can be argued, any exposure of science to the public is better than none and will help break down the barriers between the "two cultures". But what if the science or the scientists are badly misrepresented or the play is a weapon to strip science of its legitimacy and its claims to reality and truth? After reviewing a half dozen of the new plays, I conclude that "Copenhagen", though flawed, is not only the best of show, but a positive, even admirable endeavor. The contributions of Bohr, Heisenberg, Born, Schrödinger, and other scientists and their interactions in the golden years of the creation of quantum mechanics are accurately and thrillingly rendered. There may be no better non-technical exposition of complementarity and the uncertainty principle than the one that Frayn puts into the mouths of Bohr and Heisenberg. The treatment of the history of the atomic bomb and Heisenberg's role in Germany's failure to achieve a bomb is another matter. Frayn can also be criticized for applying uncertainly and complementarity to the macroscopic world and, in particular, to human interactions, thereby giving some aid and comfort to the post-modernists. These reservations aside, Copenhagen is a beautiful contribution to the appreciation of science.

PERMANENCE OF WATER EFFECTIVENESS IN THE ROOT ZONE OF THE CAATINGA BIOME

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CARLOS ALEXANDRE GOMES COSTA

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Soil is an important water compartment into a watershed scale, mainly due to its role in providing water to plants and to the influence of antecedent moisture on the runoff initiation. The aim of this research is to assess the permanence of water effectiveness in the soil under preserved-vegetation constraints in the Caatinga biome, in the semiarid northeastern Brazil. For this purpose, hourly soil moisture measurements were collected with TDR and analyzed between 2003 and 2010 for three soil-vegetation associations in the Aiuaba Experimental Basin. The results showed that in nine months per year soil moisture was below wilting point for two associations, whose soils are Chromic Luvisol and Haplic Lixisol (Abruptic. In the third association, where the shallow soil Lithic Leptosol prevails, water was found non-effective four months per year. A possible reason for the high water permanence in the shallowest soil is the percolation process, generating sub-surface flow, which barely occurs in the deeper soils. In situ observations indicates that the long period of soil moisture below the wilting point was not enough to avoid the blooming season of the Caatinga vegetation during the rainy periods. Indeed, after the beginning of each rainy season, there is a growth of dense green vegetation, regardless of the long period under water shortage.

Predicting the responsiveness of soil biodiversity to deforestation: a cross-biome study.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowther, Thomas W; Maynard, Daniel S; Leff, Jonathan W; Oldfield, Emily E; McCulley, Rebecca L; Fierer, Noah; Bradford, Mark A

2014-09-01

The consequences of deforestation for aboveground biodiversity have been a scientific and political concern for decades. In contrast, despite being a dominant component of biodiversity that is essential to the functioning of ecosystems, the responses of belowground biodiversity to forest removal have received less attention. Single-site studies suggest that soil microbes can be highly responsive to forest removal, but responses are highly variable, with negligible effects in some regions. Using high throughput sequencing, we characterize the effects of deforestation on microbial communities across multiple biomes and explore what determines the vulnerability of microbial communities to this vegetative change. We reveal consistent directional trends in the microbial community response, yet the magnitude of this vegetation effect varied between sites, and was explained strongly by soil texture. In sandy sites, the difference in vegetation type caused shifts in a suite of edaphic characteristics, driving substantial differences in microbial community composition. In contrast, fine-textured soil buffered microbes against these effects and there were minimal differences between communities in forest and grassland soil. These microbial community changes were associated with distinct changes in the microbial catabolic profile, placing community changes in an ecosystem functioning context. The universal nature of these patterns allows us to predict where deforestation will have the strongest effects on soil biodiversity, and how these effects could be mitigated. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Response: Social Work, Science, Social Impact--Crafting an Integrative Conversation

Science.gov (United States)

Nurius, Paula S.; Kemp, Susan P.

2012-01-01

Shifts in the ways that science is being undertaken and marshaled toward social change argue for a new kind of professional competence. Taking the view that the science of social work is centrally about the relationship of research to social impact, the authors extend Fong's focus on transdisciplinary and translational approaches to science,…

Ernst Mach and the Epistemological Ideas Specific for Finnish Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Siemsen, Hayo

2011-03-01

Where does Finnish science education come from? Where will it go? The following outside view reflects on relations, which Finns consider "normal" (and thus unrecognizable in introspection) in science education. But what is "normal" in Finnish culture cannot be considered "normal" for science education in other cultures, for example in Germany. The following article will trace the central ideas, which had a larger influence in the development of this difference. The question is, if and why the Finnish uniqueness in the philosophy of science education is empirically important. This puts Finnish science education into the perspective of a more general epistemological debate around Ernst Mach's Erkenntnistheorie (a German term similar to the meaning of history and philosophy of science, though more general; literally translated "cognition/knowledge theory"). From this perspective, an outlook will be given on open questions within the epistemology of Finnish science education. Following such questions could lead to the adaptation of the "successful" ideas in Finnish science education (indicated by empirical studies, such as the OECD PISA study) as well as the further development of the central ideas of Finnish science education.

Indian Academy of Sciences: Home

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is a mega-science research ... from more than 25 Indian Central and State Universities and Research Institutes. It is a ... will be held from 2–4 November 2018 in Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi ...

From art to applied science.

Science.gov (United States)

Schatzberg, Eric

2012-09-01

Before "applied science" and "technology" became keywords, the concept of art was central to discourse about material culture and its connections to natural knowledge. By the late nineteenth century, a new discourse of applied science had replaced the older discourse of art. This older discourse of art, especially as presented in Enlightenment encyclopedias, addressed the relationship between art and science in depth. But during the nineteenth century the concept of fine art gradually displaced the broader meanings of "art," thus undermining the utility of the term for discourse on the relationship between knowledge and practice. This narrowed meaning of "art" obscured key aspects of the industrial world. In effect, middle-class agents of industrialism, including "men of science," used the rhetoric of "applied science" and, later, "technology" to cement the exclusion of artisanal knowledge from the discourse of industrial modernity.

Science and Engineering Research Council Central Laser Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-03-01

This report covers the work done at, or in association with, the Central Laser Facility during the year April 1980 to March 1981. In the first chapter the major reconstruction and upgrade of the glass laser, which has been undertaken in order to increase the versatility of the facility, is described. The work of the six groups of the Glass Laser Scientific Progamme and Scheduling Committee is described in further chapters entitled; glass laser development, laser plasma interactions, transport and particle emission studies, ablative acceleration and compression studies, spectroscopy and XUV lasers, and theory and computation. Publications based on the work of the facility which have either appeared or been accepted for publication during the year are listed. (U.K.)

Soil Communities of Central Park, New York City: A Biodiversity Melting Pot

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, K. S.; Leff, J. W.; Wall, D. H.; Fierer, N.

2013-12-01

The majority of earth's biodiversity lives in and makes up the soil, but the majority of soil biodiversity has yet to be characterized or even quantified. This may be especially true of urban soil systems. The last decade of advances in molecular, technical and bioinformatic techniques have contributed greatly to our understanding of belowground biodiversity, from global distribution to species counts. Yet, much of this work has been done in ';natural' systems and it is not known if established patterns of distribution, especially in relation to soil factors hold up in urban soils. Urban soils are intensively managed and disturbed, often by effects unique to urban settings. It remains unclear how urban pressures influence soil biodiversity, or if there is a defined or typical ';urban soil community'. Here we describe a study to examine the total soil biodiversity - Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya- of Central Park, New York City and test for patterns of distribution and relationships to soil characteristics. We then compare the biodiversity of Central Park to 57 global soils, spanning a number of biomes from Alaska to Antarctica. In this way we can identify similarities and differences in soil communities of Central Park to soils from ';natural' systems. To generate a broad-scale survey of total soil biodiversity, 596 soil samples were collected from across Central Park (3.41 km2). Soils varied greatly in vegetation cover and soil characteristics (pH, moisture, soil C and soil N). Using high-throughput Illumina sequencing technology we characterized the complete soil community from 16S rRNA (Bacteria and Archaea) and 18S rRNA gene sequences (Eukarya). Samples were rarified to 40,000 sequences per sample. To compare Central Park to the 57 global soils the complete soil community of the global soils was also characterized using Illumina sequencing technology. All samples were rarified to 40,000 sequences per sample. The total measured biodiversity in Central Park was

Journal of Genetics | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Station de Recherches Avicoles, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 37380 Nouzilly, France; CNRS, Laboratoire Populations, Génétique et Evolution, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France; CNRS, Laboratoire Biométrie, Biologie Evolutive, Université de Lyon I, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France ...

Integrating centralized and decentralized organization structures: an education and development model.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheriff, R; Banks, A

2001-01-01

Organization change efforts have led to critically examining the structure of education and development departments within hospitals. This qualitative study evaluated an education and development model in an academic health sciences center. The model combines centralization and decentralization. The study results can be used by staff development educators and administrators when organization structure is questioned. This particular model maximizes the benefits and minimizes the limitations of centralized and decentralized structures.

A mesic maximum in biological water use demarcates biome sensitivity to aridity shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Good, Stephen P; Moore, Georgianne W; Miralles, Diego G

2017-12-01

Biome function is largely governed by how efficiently available resources can be used and yet for water, the ratio of direct biological resource use (transpiration, E T ) to total supply (annual precipitation, P) at ecosystem scales remains poorly characterized. Here, we synthesize field, remote sensing and ecohydrological modelling estimates to show that the biological water use fraction (E T /P) reaches a maximum under mesic conditions; that is, when evaporative demand (potential evapotranspiration, E P ) slightly exceeds supplied precipitation. We estimate that this mesic maximum in E T /P occurs at an aridity index (defined as E P /P) between 1.3 and 1.9. The observed global average aridity of 1.8 falls within this range, suggesting that the biosphere is, on average, configured to transpire the largest possible fraction of global precipitation for the current climate. A unimodal E T /P distribution indicates that both dry regions subjected to increasing aridity and humid regions subjected to decreasing aridity will suffer declines in the fraction of precipitation that plants transpire for growth and metabolism. Given the uncertainties in the prediction of future biogeography, this framework provides a clear and concise determination of ecosystems' sensitivity to climatic shifts, as well as expected patterns in the amount of precipitation that ecosystems can effectively use.

SOIL ORGANIC MATTER FRACTIONS IN PRESERVED AND DISTURBED WETLANDS OF THE CERRADO BIOME

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Ricardo Fernandes de Sousa

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Veredas are humid tropical ecosystems, generally associated to hydromorphic soils and a shallow water table. The soils of these ecosystems are affected by the use of the areas around these veredas. The objective of this study was to determine soil organic matter (SOM fractions in veredas adjacent to preserved (native savanna and disturbed environments (agricultural areas and pastures in the Cerrado biome. Soil samples were collected from the 0-10 and 10-20 cm layers along reference lines drawn along the relief following the upper, middle and lower positions of one of the slopes, in the direction of the draining line of the vereda. The soil analysis determined: total soil OC, total nitrogen and C:N ratio; C and N contents and C:N ratio in particulate and mineral-associated fractions (of SOM; fulvic acids, humic acids and humin fractions and ratio between humic and fulvic acids. The agricultural use around the veredas induced changes in the SOM fractions, more pronounced in the lower part of the slope. In the soil surface of this part, the OC levels in the humic substances and the particulate fraction of SOM, as well as total soil OC were reduced in the vereda next to crop fields.

CENTRAL EUROPE: Austron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

For many of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe access to international research centres such as CERN, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) or to national centres such as the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK or DESY in Germany, is hindered by the absence of intermediate research institutions. Since mid-1990 this question has been studied by an 'Austron' Study Group set up under the auspices of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and which cooperates with the so-called 'Pentagonal' initiative of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Italy and Yugoslavia to promote cooperation in the area, with which Poland is now associated

Studies in Mathematics, Volume 22. Studies in Computer Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollack, Seymour V., Ed.

The nine articles in this collection were selected because they represent concerns central to computer science, emphasize topics of particular interest to mathematicians, and underscore the wide range of areas deeply and continually affected by computer science. The contents consist of: "Introduction" (S. V. Pollack), "The…

Microestructura y propiedades mecánicas del SiC biomórfico obtenido a partir de eucalipto

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Presas, M.

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The development of cellular ceramics with a biological structure, like bones and wood, has been a matter of interest in recent years. A low density highly interconnected structure, perfected by evolution, rises as the principal advantage of these materials. In the case of biomimetic SiC (biomorphic SiC, or bioSiC, the fabrication process technique is quite simple: a piece of wood is pyrolysed and is infiltrated with molten silicon after, the final product is a composite Si/SiC, which replicates the wood anisotropic microstructure This work focus on the mechanical properties of bioSiC fabricated using eucalyptus wood as precursor (hard wood with a bimodal channel distribution. It has been studied the mechanical behavior of this bioSiC (compression strength, flexure strength, fracture toughness and elastic modulus between 25 and 1350 oC. It is also discussed the relationship between mechanical behavior of the material and its microstructure.

El desarrollo de materiales cerámicos con una estructura de tipo celular, similar a la del hueso o la madera, ha sido una cuestión que ha suscitado un gran interés en los últimos años. Su atractivo se debe al hecho de poseer una estructura porosa altamente interconectada de baja densidad, perfeccionada por la evolución. En el caso del SiC biomórfico (bio-SiC el proceso de fabricación es sencillo: se piroliza una pieza de madera y a continuación se inyecta con silicio líquido, el material así obtenido es un compuesto Si/SiC en el que el SiC mimetiza la estructura de la madera original. En este trabajo se estudian las propiedades mecánicas del SiC biomórfico fabricado a partir de eucalipto (madera dura con una distribución bimodal de poros. Se ha estudiado el comportamiento mecánico del mismo (resistencia a compresión, resistencia a flexión, tenacidad de fractura y módulo de elasticidad entre 25 y 1350 oC. Asimismo, se discute la relación entre el comportamiento mecánico del material y

Soil Loss Vulnerability in an Agricultural Catchment in the Atlantic Forest Biome in Southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Gotardo

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This study estimates soil loss vulnerability using field samples and spatial data in a 30 km² area in the Atlantic forest biome in southern Brazil. The anthropogenic part of the landscape consists mainly of small agricultural properties. Soil loss vulnerability was calculated using adaptations of the universal soil loss equation. The results were compared to sediment data collected during field surveys. Spatial analysis was performed using a geographical information system (GIS and fine resolution data (1 m. Both field and spatial analyses produced similar results, 5.390 tons of soil loss per year using field data and 5.691 tons per year using GIS. Using soil loss and sediment data related to the Concordia River, we estimate that of all the exported sediment 25% of the lost soil reaches the river. These data are an effective source of information for municipal administrators of the region, which consists of small agricultural catchments (dominated by small properties that comprise the regional economy. A thematic map was used to determine sub-drainage priority as information for public managers.

Estudio biométrico ocular en una población adulta del estado de Sinaloa

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Juliana Marcela Morales Avalos

2016-01-01

Resultados: Se incluyeron 304 ojos con un rango de edad de 29-98 años con una media de 68 años. La distribución por género fue del 53.94% (164 ojos para el género femenino y del 46.05% (140 ojos para el género masculino. El 51.31% (156 ojos fueron derechos y el 48.68% (148 ojos fueron izquierdo. Los resultados de los valores biométricos fueron: profundidad de cámara anterior, rango 2.39-4.6 con promedio de 3.14 mm; espesor de cristalino, rango 2.49-5.42 con promedio de 3.65 mm; profundidad de cámara vítrea, rango de 13.69-19.59 con promedio de 16.28 mm; y la longitud anteroposterior con rango 20.18-27.3 con promedio de 23.09 mm; el promedio del poder dióptrico deseado para emetropía del lente intraocular es de 22.40 dioptrías.

Building the foundations for a new central bank doctrine: Redefining central banks’ missions in the 21st century

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Eric Pichet

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The 2007-2008 financial crisis demonstrated both the responsibilities that central bankers, alongside other actors, bear for turbulences of this kind as well as how economics can be used to provide central bankers and governments with the understanding and tools that they need to prevent the international financial system from collapsing. At the same time, central banks’ responses to the crisis have taken monetary policy into unknown territory. The paper’s first section diagnoses good and bad practice in post-crisis central banking; assesses the efficiency of pre-crisis doctrines; and identifies the dangers of actions exceeding certain limits. It specifically focuses on the European Central Bank’s much-debated intervention in certain peripheral bond markets, particularly Greece. The second section is more normative and lays the foundations for a social science perspective of how to manage modern central banks, an approach that draws on a variety of disciplines including economics, governance theory and management. This starts with a definition of the new doctrine and its underlying philosophy, followed by an identification of sound central banking practices (revolving around a few key concepts, notably inflation and financial stability. The missions and objectives of these practices are then defined (along with a choice of indicators, culminating in an exploration of which strategies and tools might be used in both normal and turbulent times. Lastly, a few concrete rules of governance are offered, built on the triptych of central banks’ independence, accountability and composition, with specific focus placed on the process for selecting governors fit to handle the new role that modern central banks are destined to assume in developed countries.

Utilização de medidas biométricas para predizer características da carcaça de cabritos Saanen Utilization of biometric measures for prediction of Saanen goats carcass traits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique Alejandro Yáñez

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Foram determinadas medidas biométricas de caprinos leiteiros com o objetivo de estimar equações que permitam predizer o peso e as características da carcaça de animais sob diferentes condições nutricionais. Realizou-se um experimento em duas fases, utilizando-se 27 cabritos machos da raça Saanen em cada uma, distribuídos nos tratamentos: alimentação à vontade, 30 e 60% de restrição. O peso vivo (PV inicial foi de 5 kg na Fase 1 e 20 kg na Fase 2, abatendo-se os animais ao atingirem 20 e 35 kg de PV, respectivamente. Foram determinadas as medidas biométricas e avaliada a condição corporal no animal vivo e, após o abate e resfriamento de 24 horas, as medidas da carcaça. Estimaram-se o peso em jejum (PJ, o peso da carcaça fria (PCF e a compacidade da carcaça, em função das medidas biométricas. O perímetro torácico e o comprimento corporal foram as medidas biométricas que apresentaram melhor ajuste para estimar o PJ, o PCF e a compacidade da carcaça e, por isso, são recomendados, por serem precisos, práticos e de fácil execução.Biometric measures of dairy goats were taken to estimate equations for prediction of weight and carcass characteristics of animals with different nutritional conditions. An experiment was carried out into two phases, with 27 male Saanen goats at each one. The animals were assigned to the following feeding groups: ad libitum, 30 and 60% of restriction. The initial live weight (LW was 5 kg at the Phase 1 and 20 kg at the Phase 2, the animals were slaughtered when they reached 20 and 35 kg of LW, respectively. The biometric measurements and body conditions were determined when the animals were alive. After the slaughter and 24 hours of chilling, were evaluated the carcass characteristics. The fasted live weight (FLW, cold carcass weight (CCW and carcass compactness were estimated in function of the biometric measurements. Among the biometric measurements, thoracic perimeter and body length showed

Statistical downscaling of daily temperature in Central Europe

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Huth, Radan

2002-01-01

Roč. 15, - (2002), s. 1731-1742 ISSN 0894-8755 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA205/99/1561; GA AV ČR IAA3042903 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z3042911 Keywords : statistical downscaling * daily temperature * Central Europe Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 3.250, year: 2002

Teaching Critical Thinking? New Directions in Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Osborne, Jonathan

2014-01-01

Critique and questioning are central to the practice of science; without argument and evaluation, the construction of reliable knowledge would be impossible. The challenge is to incorporate an understanding of the role of critique and, more importantly, the ability to engage in critique, within the teaching of science. The emphasis in both the US…

Adapting a rapid assessment protocol to environmentally assess palm swamp (Veredas) springs in the Cerrado biome, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Guimarães, Ariane; de Lima Rodrigues, Aline Sueli; Malafaia, Guilherme

2017-10-30

The exploitation and degradation of natural environments exert intense pressure on important ecosystems worldwide. Thus, it is necessary developing or adapting assessment methods to monitor environmental changes and to generate results to be applied to environmental management programs. The Brazilian Veredas (phytophysiognomies typical to the Cerrado biome) are threatened by several human activities; thus, the aim of the present study is to adapt a rapid assessment protocol (RAP) to be applied to Veredas springs, by using the upper course of the Vai-e-Vem stream watershed (Ipameri County, Goiás State, Brazil). Therefore, several springs in the study site were visited and 11 of them were considered Veredas springs. After the RAP was adapted, the instrument was validated and used to environmentally assess the springs in order to demonstrate its applicability. The present study has provided an instrument of option to monitor Veredas springs.

Circulation of canine parvovirus among dogs living in human-wildlife interface in the Atlantic forest biome, Brazil

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Flávia V. Vieira

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Despite of the role of domestic dogs as reservoirs for threatening viral diseases for wild carnivores, few studies have focused to identify circulation of viruses among dogs living in human/wildlife interfaces. To identify canine parvovirus (CPV types circulating in dogs living in an Atlantic forest biome, faecal samples (n = 100 were collected at the same period (one week corresponding to each of four areas, during 2014 to 2016 and corresponded to 100 different individuals. CPV was isolated in cell culture from 67 out 100 (67% samples from healthy dogs. Cytopathic effects were characterized by total or partial cell culture lysis. Genome sequences of CPV-2a (10%, CPV-2b (7% and CPV-2c (50% were concomitantly detected by PCR and nucleotide sequencing. The current study addresses the importance of monitoring CPV circulation among dogs presenting potential contact with wildlife species.

Níveis de alumínio e o desenvolvimento de porta-enxertos cítricos em cultivo hidropônico: I. Parâmetros biométricos

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Santos Carlos Henrique dos

1999-01-01

Full Text Available O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a influência de diferentes níveis de alumínio nos parâmetros biométricos dos porta-enxertos cítricos limoeiro Cravo e citrumeleiro Swingle em cultivo hidropônico. O experimento foi instalado em casa de vegetação em Botucatu, SP. Os tratamentos seguiram o delineamento estatístico inteiramente casualizado, com 3 repetições, em parcelas subdivididas. Os níveis de alumínio utilizados foram: 0; 7,5; 15; 22,5 e 30 mg L-1, na forma de AlCl3 6.H2O em solução nutritiva. Foram avaliados os parâmetros biométricos altura, número de folhas, diâmetro do caule, área foliar, comprimento e volume de raízes. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, conclui-se que o citrumeleiro Swingle apresentou-se mais sensível ao alumínio, sendo que, a partir de 7,5 mg L-1 houve redução nos valores destes parâmetros, enquanto que o limoeiro Cravo mostrou-se mais tolerante aos níveis de alumínio.

Taking evolution seriously in political science.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Orion; Steinmo, Sven

2010-09-01

In this essay, we explore the epistemological and ontological assumptions that have been made to make political science "scientific." We show how political science has generally adopted an ontologically reductionist philosophy of science derived from Newtonian physics and mechanics. This mechanical framework has encountered problems and constraints on its explanatory power, because an emphasis on equilibrium analysis is ill-suited for the study of political change. We outline the primary differences between an evolutionary ontology of social science and the physics-based philosophy commonly employed. Finally, we show how evolutionary thinking adds insight into the study of political phenomena and research questions that are of central importance to the field, such as preference formation.

Smart electromechanical systems the central nervous system

CERN Document Server

Kurbanov, Vugar

2017-01-01

This book describes approaches to solving the problems of developing the central nervous system of robots (CNSR) based on smart electromechanical systems (SEMS) modules, principles of construction of the various modules of the central nervous system and variants of mathematical software CNSR in control systems for intelligent robots. It presents the latest advances in theory and practice at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Developers of intelligent robots to solve modern problems in robotics are increasingly addressing the use of the bionic approach to create robots that mimic the complexity and adaptability of biological systems. These have smart electromechanical system (SEMS), which are used in various cyber-physical systems (CPhS), and allow the functions of calculation, control, communications, information storage, monitoring, measurement and control of parameters and environmental parameters to be integrated. The behavior of such systems is based on the information received from the central nervous syst...

FLUXAPYROXAD IN THE ASIAN SOYBEAN RUST CONTROL IN THE CERRADO BIOME

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RAFAEL MENEZES SILVA DE FREITAS

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The etiologic agent of the Asian soybean rust is the Phakopsora pachyrhizi, which causes a reduction in the photosynthetic leaf area and, consequently, in the crop yield. Chemical control is one of the main measures for its management. The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficacy and selectivity of the fluxapyroxad fungicide on controlling the Asian soybean rust, under the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Cerrado biome. The experiment was conducted in an area under no-tillage system, in the Agricultural Research Center, Rio Verde, Goias, Brazil, during the 2012/2013 crop season, using the cultivar NA7337. A randomized block experimental design was used, with twelve treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of applications of fluxapyroxad (FX, pyraclostrobin (PT, epoxiconazole (EX and metconazole (MZ. The average severity of the disease in the plants reached 37% in the Control. All treatments with fungicides differed from the Control. Treatments 9, 10, 11 and 12 provided the greatest rates of soybean rust control. The treatments 10, 11 and 12 had the highest thousand grain weights, and the yields of the treatments 2, 3 and 11, despite higher than the Control, were lower than the treatments 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12, which had statistically equal yields. The increasing in yield, compared to the Control, ranged from 10.05% (pyraclostrobin, epoxiconazole + pyraclostrobin + mineral oil to 30.55% (pyraclostrobin, pyraclostrobin + fluxapyroxad + mineral oil and pyraclostrobin + metconazole + mineral oil. The highest rates of soybean rust control were presented by fungicides containing fluxapyroxad.

Effect of postharvest practices including degreening on citrus carpoplane microbial biomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomba, A; Chidamba, L; Korsten, L

2017-04-01

To investigate the effect of commercial citrus packhouse processing steps on the fruit surface microbiome of Clementines and Palmer navel oranges. Viable bacteria, yeast and fungi counts, and the pyrosequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA and ITS were used to evaluate the community structure and population dynamics of phylloepiphytic bacteria and fungi associated with commercial postharvest processing. Drenching significantly reduced microbial counts in all cases except for yeasts on navels, while the extent of degreening effects varied between the citrus varieties. Pyrosequencing analysis showed a total of 4409 bacteria and 5792 fungi nonchimeric unique sequences with an average of 1102 bacteria and 1448 fungi reads per sample. Dominant phyla on the citrus carpoplane were Proteobacteria (53·5%), Actinobacteria (19·9%), Bacteroidetes (5·6%) and Deinococcus-Thermus (5·4%) for bacteria and Ascomycota (80·5%) and Basidiomycota (9·8%) for fungi. Beginning with freshly harvested fruit fungal diversity declined significantly after drenching, but had little effect on bacteria and populations recovered during degreening treatments, including those for Penicillium sp. Packhouse processing greatly influences microbial communities on the citrus carpoplane. A broad orange biome was described with pyrosequencing and gave insight into the likely survival and persistence of pathogens, especially as they may affect the quality and safety of the packed product. A close examination of the microbiota of fruit and the impact of intervention strategies on the ecological balance may provide a more durable approach to reduce losses and spoilage. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Resonance – Journal of Science Education | Indian Academy of ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education. Michel Morange. Articles written in Resonance – Journal of Science Education. Volume 14 Issue 3 March 2009 pp 236-247 General Article. The Central Dogma of Molecular Biology - A Retrospective after Fifty Years · Michel Morange · More Details Fulltext PDF ...

Science anxiety and social cognitive factors predicting STEM career aspirations of high school freshmen in general science class

Science.gov (United States)

Skells, Kristin Marie

Extant data was used to consider the association between science anxiety, social cognitive factors and STEM career aspirations of high school freshmen in general science classes. An adapted model based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT) was used to consider these relationships, with science anxiety functioning as a barrier in the model. The study assessed the following research questions: (1) Do social cognitive variables relate in the expected way to STEM career aspirations based on SCCT for ninth graders taking general science classes? (2) Is there an association between science anxiety and outcomes and processes identified in the SCCT model for ninth graders taking general science classes? (3) Does gender moderate these relationships? Results indicated that support was found for many of the central tenants of the SCCT model. Science anxiety was associated with prior achievement, self-efficacy, and science interest, although it did not relate directly to STEM career goals. Gender was found to moderate only the relationship between prior achievement and science self-efficacy.

Indigenous Elementary Students' Science Instruction in Taiwan: Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Huei; Yen, Chiung-Fen; Aikenhead, Glen S.

2012-12-01

This preliminary ethnographic investigation focused on how Indigenous traditional wisdom can be incorporated into school science and what students learned as a result. Participants included community elders and knowledge keepers, as well as 4th grade (10-year-old) students, all of Amis ancestry, an Indigenous tribe in Taiwan. The students' non-Indigenous teacher played a central role in developing a science module `Measuring Time' that combined Amis knowledge and Western science knowledge. The study identified two cultural worldview perspectives on time; for example, the place-based cyclical time held by the Amis, and the universal rectilinear time presupposed by scientists. Students' pre-instructional fragmented concepts from both knowledge systems became more informed and refined through their engagement in `Measuring Time'. Students' increased interest and pride in their Amis culture were noted.

Fabricación y propiedades del carburo de silicio biomórfico: maderas cerámicas

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Varela Feria, F. M.

2002-08-01

Full Text Available There is an increasing interest in the fabrication of materials with biomorphic microstructure. In particular, the fabrication of biomorphic ceramics would be of high interest because its high-temperature structural applications. The ceramics presented in this research were fabricated by the pyrolysis and infiltration with molten silicon of wood preforms. The final product is SiC with the same microstructure of the wood precursor. Wood is a natural composite that present an anisotropic porous microstructure with excellent elasticity, strength, and damage tolerance. Some of this properties will remain improved in the ceramic product. Biomorphic ceramics reach high strengths (700 MPa at 1150 oC for biomorphic SiC made from eucalyptus wood. The influence of the wood precursor and fabrication process in the mechanical and microstructural properties has been studied. The correlation microstructure-mechanical properties is discussed, as well as the application of the cellular theory of solids.

En los últimos años se ha puesto de manifiesto un considerable interés en la fabricación y optimización de materiales de microestructura biomórfica. En particular, la fabricación de cerámicas biomórficas es especialmente importante ya que éstas pueden ser utilizadas en aplicaciones estructurales a temperaturas elevadas. Los materiales objeto de esta investigación se fabrican mediante la pirólisis e infiltración de silicio fundido en preformas de madera. El resultado final es SiC con la misma microestructura que la madera precursora. La madera es un material natural compuesto que presenta una morfología porosa anisotrópica con una excelente elasticidad, resistencia y tolerancia al daño; algunas de estas propiedades se trasladarán y amplificarán al pasar a la cerámica que se elabora a partir de la misma. Se ha estudiado la influencia de la madera seleccionada y el proceso de fabricación en las propiedades mecánicas y microestructurales

Behavioral and Brain Functions. A new journal

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Sagvolden Terje

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Behavioral and Brain Functions (BBF is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal considering original research, review, and modeling articles in all aspects of neurobiology or behavior, favoring research that relates to both domains. Behavioral and Brain Functions is published by BioMed Central. The greatest challenge for empirical science is to understand human behavior; how human behavior arises from the myriad functions such as attention, language, memory and emotion; how these functions are reflected in brain structures and functions; and how the brain and behavior are altered in disease. Behavioral and Brain Functions covers the entire area of behavioral and cognitive neuroscience – an area where animal studies traditionally play a prominent role. Behavioral and Brain Functions is published online, allowing unlimited space for figures, extensive datasets to allow readers to study the data for themselves, and moving pictures, which are important qualities assisting communication in modern science.

Uvs Nuur, Mongolia

Science.gov (United States)

2007-01-01

The Uvs Nuur Basin in Mongolia and the Russian Federation is the northernmost of the enclosed basins of Central Asia. It takes its name from Uvs Nuur Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake, very important for migrating birds. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, the site is made up of twelve protected areas representing major biomes of eastern Eurasia. The steppe ecosystem supports a rich diversity of birds and the desert is home to a number of rare gerbil, jerboas and the marbled polecat. The mountains are an important refuge for the endangered snow leopard, mountain sheep, and the Asiatic ibex. The image covers an area of 46 x 47.8 km, was acquired on September 4, 2001, and is located near 50.3 degrees north latitude, 90.7 degrees east longitude. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

Supporting indigenous women in science, technology, engineering ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Supporting indigenous women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers in Mexico and Central ... ROSSA's latest bulletin puts a focus on women. ... IDRC invites applications for the IDRC Doctoral Research Awards.

Science Writing and Rhetorical Training: A New Model for Developing Graduate Science Writers

Science.gov (United States)

Karraker, N. E.; Lofgren, I.; Druschke, C. G.; McWilliams, S. R.; Morton-Aiken, J.; Reynolds, N.

2016-12-01

Graduate programs in the sciences generally offer minimal support for writing and communication, yet there is an increasing need for scientists to engage with the public and policymakers on technological, environmental, and health issues. The traditional focus on gaining particular discipline-related technical skills, coupled with the relegation of writing largely to the end of a student's academic tenure, falls short in equipping them to tackle these challenges. To address this problem, we launched a cross-disciplinary, National Science Foundation-funded training program in rhetoric and writing for science graduate students and faculty at the University of Rhode Island. This innovative program bases curricular and pedagogical support on three central practices, habitual writing, multiple genres, and frequent review, to offer a flexible model of writing training for science graduate students and pedagogical training for faculty that could be adopted in other institutional contexts. Key to the program, called SciWrite@URI, is a unique emphasis on rhetoric, which, we argue, is an essential—but currently lacking—component of science communication education. This new model has the potential to transform graduate education in the sciences by producing graduates who are as adept at the fundamentals of their science as they are at communicating that science to diverse audiences.

Bibliotherapy: the chiasmus between the sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carla Sousa

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: This paper presents the Bibliotherapy, well known as the terapeutic function of reading, as an interlocution between the Information Science, Philosophy and Psycology. Based on the concept of interdisciplinarity, inherent of post-modern sciences, it strengthens the comprehension of human being in the complex Knowledge Society. Objective: It presents a possible crossing between Information Science, Philosophy and Psycology refered to the concepts and ideais about Bibliotherapy. Methodology: It was based in a exploratory, qualitative and bibliographic research. The literature review pointed the firsts studies in Information Science; presented the Bibliotherapy focused in the interactant; showed the possibles crossings between Information Science, Philosophy and Psycology through Bibliotherapy. Results: The break of paradigms in Information Science - that enphasizes economics and tecnologics factors - and the interactant seen as the central character of informations's process allows researchs focused in the human being. Conclusions: The sharing ideias between Information Science, Philosophy and Psycology allows a more acurate understanding about Bibliotherapy especially related to: dialog, intercorporeity, intersubjectivity, catarsis.

FWP executive summaries, Basic Energy Sciences Materials Sciences Programs (SNL/NM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samara, G.A.

1997-05-01

The BES Materials Sciences Program has the central theme of Scientifically Tailored Materials. The major objective of this program is to combine Sandia`s expertise and capabilities in the areas of solid state sciences, advanced atomic-level diagnostics and materials synthesis and processing science to produce new classes of tailored materials as well as to enhance the properties of existing materials for US energy applications and for critical defense needs. Current core research in this program includes the physics and chemistry of ceramics synthesis and processing, the use of energetic particles for the synthesis and study of materials, tailored surfaces and interfaces for materials applications, chemical vapor deposition sciences, artificially-structured semiconductor materials science, advanced growth techniques for improved semiconductor structures, transport in unconventional solids, atomic-level science of interfacial adhesion, high-temperature superconductors, and the synthesis and processing of nano-size clusters for energy applications. In addition, the program includes the following three smaller efforts initiated in the past two years: (1) Wetting and Flow of Liquid Metals and Amorphous Ceramics at Solid Interfaces, (2) Field-Structured Anisotropic Composites, and (3) Composition-Modulated Semiconductor Structures for Photovoltaic and Optical Technologies. The latter is a joint effort with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Separate summaries are given of individual research areas.

Design and standardization of PCR primers and protocols for detection of clonal immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene recombinations in suspect lymphoproliferations: Report of the BIOMED-2 Concerted Action BMH4-CT98-3936

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dongen, J. J. M.; Langerak, A. W.; Brüggemann, M.; Evans, P. A. S.; Hummel, M.; Lavender, F. L.; Delabesse, E.; Davi, F.; Schuuring, E.; García-Sanz, R.; van Krieken, J. H. J. M.; Droese, J.; González, D.; Bastard, C.; White, H. E.; Spaargaren, M.; González, M.; Parreira, A.; Smith, J. L.; Morgan, G. J.; Kneba, M.; Macintyre, E. A.

2003-01-01

In a European BIOMED-2 collaborative study, multiplex PCR assays have successfully been developed and standardized for the detection of clonally rearranged immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (TCR) genes and the chromosome aberrations t(11; 14) and t(14; 18). This has resulted in 107 different

Design and standardization of PCR primers and protocols for detection of clonal immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene recombinations in suspect lymphoproliferations: report of the BIOMED-2 Concerted Action BMH4-CT98-3936.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dongen, J.J.M. van; Langerak, A.W.; Bruggemann, M.; Evans, P.; Hummel, M.; Lavender, F.L.; Delabesse, E.; Davi, F.; Schuuring, E.; Garcia-Sanz, R.; Krieken, J.H.J.M. van; Droese, J.; Gonzalez, D.; Bastard, C.; White, H.E.; Spaargaren, M.C.; Gonzalez, M.; Parreira, A.; Smith, J.L.; Morgan, G.J.; Kneba, M.; Macintyre, E.A.

2003-01-01

In a European BIOMED-2 collaborative study, multiplex PCR assays have successfully been developed and standardized for the detection of clonally rearranged immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (TCR) genes and the chromosome aberrations t(11;14) and t(14;18). This has resulted in 107 different

Comparative Study of Metadata Elements Used in the Website of Central Library of Universities Subordinate to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology with the Dublin Core Metadata Elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kobra Babaei

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This research has been carried out with the aim of studying the web sites of central libraries of universities subordinate to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology usage of metadata elements and its comparison with Dublin Core standard elements. This study was a comparative survey, in which 40 websites of academic library by using Internet Explorer browser. Then the HTML pages of these websites were seen through the Source of View menu, and metadata elements of each websites were extracted and entered in the checklist. Then, with using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage and mean analysis of data was discussed. Research findings showed that the reviewed websites did not use any Dublin Core metadata elements, general metadata Markup language used in design of all websites, the amount of metadata elements used in website, Central Library of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and Iran Science and Industries with 57% in first ranked and Shahid Beheshti University with 49% in second ranked and the International University of Imam Khomeini with 40% was in third ranked. The approach to web designers was determined too that as follows: the content of source in first ranked and attention to physical appearance source in second ranked and also ownership of source in third position.

Deficiência, incapacidade e vulnerabilidade: do capacitismo ou a preeminência capacitista e biomédica do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da UFSC

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Anahi Guedes de Mello

Full Text Available Resumo A Antropologia cada vez mais tem questionado a hegemonia dos saberes biomédicos nos processos de revisão ética de projetos de pesquisa social atualmente vigente no Brasil, regulado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa com Seres Humanos de cada instituição sob os auspícios da Comissão Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa (CONEP, através da Resolução nº 196/1996 até então vigente no momento dessa pesquisa de campo. O objetivo deste trabalho é relatar e refletir sobre os percalços enfrentados para conseguir a aprovação, durante o ano de 2012, de meu projeto de pesquisa de mestrado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa com Seres Humanos da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (CEP/UFSC, em Florianópolis. Nessa experiência etnográfica observei, à luz da teoria crip, como se articulam as categorias ‘deficiência’, ‘vulnerabilidade’ e ‘incapacidade’ para revelar o capacitismo e a primazia do modelo biomédico dessa instância local reguladora da ética em pesquisa na UFSC quanto à participação e capacidade legal das pessoas com deficiência como sujeitos da pesquisa.

Effect of management on rangeland phytomass, cover and condition ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

similarity of management effects on rangeland condition and forage provision across major dryland biomes. Taking a macro-ecological perspective, we analysed if management effects differed between South Africa's central grassland and ...

Measurement Science and Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Bunderson, C. Victor

The need for training and retraining is a central element in current discussions about the economy of the United States. This paper is designed to introduce training practitioners to some new concepts about how measurement science can provide a new framework for assessing progress and can add new discipline to the development, implementation, and…

Requisitos uniformes para preparar los manuscritos enviados a revistas biomédicas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

1998-01-01

Full Text Available En 1978, un reducido grupo de directores de revistas médicas generales que se publican en inglés se reunió de manera informal en Vancouver (Canadá a fin de fijar normas con respecto al formato que deberían adoptar los manuscritos enviados a esas publicaciones. Este fue el inicio de lo que con el tiempo llegó a conocerse como el Grupo de Vancouver. Sus requisitos para la preparación de manuscritos, que incluían el formato de las referencias bibliográficas creado por la Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina de los Estados Unidos, se publicaron por vez primera en 1979. Con el paso del tiempo el Grupo de Vancouver creció y se convirtió en el Comité Internacional de Directores de Revistas Médicas (CIDRM, que se reúne una vez al año y que gradualmente ha venido ampliando los temas que le conciernen. El Comité ha producido cinco ediciones de los requisitos uniformes para preparar los manuscritos enviados a revistas biomédicas. A lo largo de los años han surgido asuntos que van más allá de la preparación del manuscrito. Algunos de esos asuntos se han incorporado a los requisitos uniformes, mientras que otros se tratan en declaraciones por separado. Cada declaración se ha publicado en una revista científica.

East and Central African Journal of Surgery Volume 15 Number 2 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DELL

East and central African Journal of Surgery. Page 122 ... curriculum by integrating the basic and clinical sciences focusing on organ system and featuring early .... 5. identify the different radiological and imaging investigations. 6. know how to ...

Everyone Loves Science

Science.gov (United States)

Selen, Mats

2014-03-01

Twenty years ago we started a small outreach program at the University of Illinois called ``The Physics Van,'' designed to show the fun of science to assemblies of kids at local elementary schools. Many hundreds of shows - and many hundreds of thousands of excited kids, teachers, and parents later - the program is a cornerstone of the department's outreach efforts. About fourteen years ago I stumbled into a one-time gig with the local CBS television station, which evolved into a weekly live science segment on their morning news show. Very popular with viewers across central Illinois, these science segments now include a colleague from the Department of Chemistry and cover a wide range of topics. The totally unexpected success of both has led me to ponder why these seemingly hapless efforts should have grown to be both successful and sustainable. The conclusions, I believe, are very good news for us all.

Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Apoptosis; cell cycle; cervical cancer; lupeol; mitochondria; ROS ... cell cycle analysis, expressionof apoptotic proteins by RT-PCR and Western blotting and ... School of Life Sciences, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India ...

Submerged reef systems on the central western continental shelf of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vora, K.H.; Almeida, F.

-262 255 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam -- Printed in the Netherlands Letter Section Submerged Reef Systems on the Central Western Continental Shelf of India K.H. VORA and F. ALMEIDA National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403... 004 (India) (Revision accepted October 26, 1989) Abstract Vora, K.H. and Almeida, F., 1990. Submerged reef systems on the central western continental shelf of India. Mar. Geol., 91: 255-262. Echosounding and sidescan sonar data from the western...

Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Largo Prof Abel Salazar 2, 4099-003 Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular, Universidade do Porto, Rua ...