Invasion science, ecology and economics : seeking roads not taken

As members of the editorial board of Neobiota who, for various reasons, didn’t get our names on the original editorial (Kühn et al. 2011), we would like to add a coda to it. Even though there were 38 bullet points listing areas in invasion science where more work is needed, we would like to mention additional areas that we hope would be addressed in future issues of Neobiota. Like the other editors, we would like this innovative and exciting new journal to lead the way in all areas of invasion science. As the graphs in Gurevitch et al. (2011) and Kühn et al. (2011) show, the literature on invasions has been increasing almost exponentially since the early 1980s and so we cannot expect any list of areas of interest to stay complete and up to date for very long. Three areas that we would like to stress are the interaction between invasion science and economics and the role that invasion science should play in advancing pure ecology in two areas, population dynamics and ecosystem ecology. Neither ecology nor economics appears as a word in the original bullet list, but many of the topics are obviously ecological while none are obviously economic. For economics, we want to point out its relevance to invasion science and the feedback between the two disciplines, particularly in a rapidly changing world with powerful new emerging economies. For ecology, we want to emphasise not what ecology tells us about invasions but what invasions reveal about ecology and evolution at two scales

Negative Regulation der Chondrozytenreifung:differentielle Genexpression verschiedener Chondrozytenpopulationen des embryonalen Hühnersternums

Im embryonalen Hühnersternum sind verschiedene Chondrozytenpopulationen vorhanden, die sich vor allem in ihrer Propagierbarkeit der Spätdifferenzierung unterscheiden, so dass sie sich zur Analyse der enchondralen Ossifikation eignen. In serumfreien Agarosekulturen hemmen kaudale Chondrozyten ihre eigene Hypertrophie sowie diejenige der kranialen Zellen, wenn diese durch Insulin stimuliert wurde. Zur Analyse dieser Blockade wurde eine subtraktive cDNA-Bank erstellt und 53 in kaudalen Zellen hochregulierte Klonsequenzen identifiziert. 13 Klone zeigten Homologien zum Transkriptionsfaktor NF-I/A, so dass der Faktor in primären kranialen Chondrozyten überexprimiert wurde, was zur Repression der Insulin-stimulierten Hypertrophie der Zellen führte. Weiterhin wurden 6 verschiedene EST-Sequenzen sowie 25 nicht näher klassifizierte Gene identifiziert, die für noch unbekannte Proteine kodieren, welche bei der Blockierung der Hypertrophie von Chondrozyten eine Rolle spielen

Blowtooth: a provocative pervasive game for smuggling virtual drugs through real airport security

In this paper we describe a pervasive game, Blowtooth, in which players use their mobile phones to hide virtual drugs on nearby airline passengers in real airport check-in queues. After passing through airport security, the player must find and recover their drugs from the innocent bystanders, without them ever realizing they were involved in the game. The game explores the nature of pervasive game playing in environments that are not, generally, regarded as playful or “fun”. This paper describes the game’s design and implementation as well as an evaluation conducted with participants in real airports. It explores the players’ reactions to the game through questionnaire responses and in-game activity. The technologies used in Blowtooth are, intentionally, simple in order for the enjoyment of the game to be reliant more on the physical environment rather than the enabling technologies. We conclude that situating pervasive games in unexpected and challenging environments, such as international airports, may provide interesting and unique gaming experiences for players. In addition, we argue that pervasive games benefit most from using the specific features and nature of interesting real-world environments rather than focusing on the enabling technologies

Space charge and associated electroluminescence processes in XLPE cable peelings

The intent of this paper is to cross-correlate the information obtained by space charge profile analysis and electroluminescence (EL) detection in cross-linked polyethylene samples submitted to dc fields, with the objective to make a link between space charge phenomena and energy release as revealed by detection of visible photons. Space charge measurements carried out at different electrical fields by the pulsed electro-acoustic method show the presence of a low-field threshold, close to 15 to 20 kV/mm, above which space charge begins to accumulate considerably in the insulation. Charges are seen to cross the insulation thickness through a packet-like behavior at higher fields, starting at about 60 to 70 kV/mm. EL measurements show the existence of two distinct thresholds, one related to the permanent excitation of EL under voltage, the other being transient EL detected upon specimen short-circuit. The former occurs at values of field corresponding to space charge packet formation, and the latter to the onset of space charge accumulation. The two techniques give therefore consistent information on space charge phenomena and associated energy release in the optical EM spectrum

Functional aspects of root architecture and mycorrhizal inoculation with respect to nutrient uptake capacity

ACESSO via B-on: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00572-003-0254-5The aim of this research was to investigate theeffect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonisation onroot morphology and nitrogen uptake capacity of carob(Ceratonia siliqua L.) under high and low nutrientconditions. The experimental design was a factorialarrangement of presence/absence of mycorrhizal fungusinoculation (Glomus intraradices) and high/low nutrientstatus. Percent AM colonisation, nitrate and ammoniumuptake capacity, and nitrogen and phosphorus contentswere determined in 3-month-old seedlings. Grayscale andcolour images were used to study root morphology andtopology, and to assess the relation between rootpigmentation and physiological activities. AM colonisationlead to a higher allocation of biomass to white andyellow parts of the root. Inorganic nitrogen uptakecapacity per unit root length and nitrogen content weregreatest in AM colonised plants grown under low nutrientconditions. A better match was found between plantnitrogen content and biomass accumulation, than betweenplant phosphorus content and biomass accumulation. It issuggested that the increase in nutrient uptake capacity ofAM colonised roots is dependent both on changes in rootmorphology and physiological uptake potential. Thisstudy contributes to an understanding of the role of AMfungi and root morphology in plant nutrient uptake andshows that AM colonisation improves the nitrogennutrition of plants, mainly when growing at low levelsof nutrients

Myocardial revascularization surgery in a patient with Situs Inversus Totalis: A case report

Dextrocardia with situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital abnormality. Most coronary artery bypass grafting surgeries in patients with dextrocardia were performed with anastomosis, using the right internal thoracic artery to revascularize the left anterior descending. It should be noted that in the literature there are few reports of coronary artery bypass grafting surgery, in a patient with this abnormality, its anatomical complexity constitutes a challenge in planning the surgical technique and the grafts to be used. We present an unusual case of a patient with situs inversus totalis and coronary artery disease who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting surgery making it a more technically complex procedure for surgeons, in addition to the difficulty in choosing grafts.La dextrocardia con situs inversus totalis es una anomalía congénita poco frecuente. La mayoría de las cirugías de injerto de derivación de arteria coronaria en pacientes con dextrocardia se realizaron con anastomosis, utilizando la arteria torácica interna derecha para revascularizar la descendente anterior izquierda. Cabe señalar que en la literatura existen pocos reportes de cirugía de injerto de bypass coronario, en un paciente con esta anomalía. Su complejidad anatómica constituye un desafío en la planificación de la técnica quirúrgica y los injertos a utilizar. Presentamos un caso inusual de un paciente con situs inversus totalis y enfermedad arterial coronaria que se sometió a una cirugía de revascularización coronaria, lo que lo convierte en un procedimiento técnicamente más complejo para los cirujanos, además de la dificultad para elegir los injertos

Effects of residue management on decomposition in irrigated rice fields are not related to changes in the decomposer community

Copyright: © 2015 Schmidt et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem service that contributes to sustainable production in rice ecosystems by driving the release of nutrients from organic crop residues. During a single rice crop cycle we examined the effects of four different crop residue management practices (rice straw or ash of burned straw scattered on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil) on rice straw decomposition and on the abundance of aquatic and soildwelling invertebrates. Mass loss of rice straw in litterbags of two different mesh sizes that either prevented or allowed access of meso- and macro-invertebrates was used as a proxy for decomposition rates. Invertebrates significantly increased total loss of litter mass by up to 30%. Initially, the contribution of invertebrates to decomposition was significantly smaller in plots with rice straw scattered on the soil surface; however, this effect disappeared later in the season. We found no significant responses in microbial decomposition rates to management practices. The abundance of aquatic fauna was higher in fields with rice straw amendment, whereas the abundance of soil fauna fluctuated considerably. There was a clear separation between the overall invertebrate community structure in response to the ash and straw treatments. However, we found no correlation between litter mass loss and abundances of various lineages of invertebrates. Our results indicate that invertebrates can contribute to soil fertility in irrigated paddy fields by decomposing rice straw, and that their abundance as well as efficiency in decomposition may be promoted by crop residue management practices

The Regeneration Games: Commodities, Gifts and the Economics of London 2012

This paper considers contradictions between two concurrent and tacit conceptions of the Olympic ‘legacy’, setting out one conception that understands the games and their legacies as gifts alongside and as counterpoint to the prevailing discourse, which conceives Olympic assets as commodities. The paper critically examines press and governmental discussion of legacy, in order to locate these in the context of a wider perspective contrasting ‘gift’ and ‘commodity’ Olympics – setting anthropological conceptions of gift-based sociality as a necessary supplement to contractual and dis-embedded socioeconomic organizational assumptions underpinning the commodity Olympics. Costbenefit planning is central to modern city building and mega-event delivery. The paper considers the insufficiency of this approach as the exclusive paradigm within which to frame and manage a dynamic socio-economic and cultural legacy arising from the 2012 games