Publication practices in motion: The benefits of open access publishing for the humanities

The changes we have seen in recent years in the scholarly publishing world - including the growth of digital publishing and changes to the role and strategies of publishers and libraries alike - represent the most dramatic paradigm shift in scholarly communications in centuries. This volume brings together leading scholars from across the humanities to explore that transformation and consider the challenges and opportunities it brings

Comparison between continuous grazing and rotational grazing on roller chopped rangeland in central-west of La Pampa province

El control de la vegetación leñosa y la planificación posterior del pastoreo contribuirían a aumentar la oferta forrajera y la producción ganadera en pastizales del centro-oeste de la Provincia de La Pampa. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue comparar la dinámica de la vegetación y la respuesta animal en un pastizal rolado sometido a pastoreo continuo o pastoreo rotativo. La mitad de un área rolada de 200 ha se pastoreo en forma continua con terneros de recría, mientras que la restante mitad se pastoreo en forma rotativa mediante la subdivisión en cuatro parcelas de igual tamaño. Durante cuatro años consecutivos se realizaron mediciones sobre la vegetación (herbácea y leñosa) y sobre los animales. En el periodo de mediciones las lluvias fueron similares o superaron (hasta en un 33%) el promedio anual histórico. Los tratamientos de pastoreo (continuo y rotativo) no afectaron en forma diferencial la densidad de las gramíneas perennes palatables ni la cobertura de la vegetación leñosa, mientras que la disponibilidad de MS total promedio de las gramíneas perennes palatables fue mayor bajo pastoreo rotativo. La ganancia diaria de peso promedio de los animales en recría fue mayor bajo pastoreo continuo en tres de los cuatro años de medición. En el contexto del presente estudio no se expresó el potencial esperado del pastoreo rotativo, lo cual se interpreta en relación a las lluvias y a una potencial desmejora de la calidad del forraje consumido por los animales.Woody vegetation control and further grazing planning would contribute to increase forage availability and livestock production in rangelands of central-west La Pampa Province. The objective of present study was to compare vegetation dynamics and animal response in a roller chopped rangeland under continuous or rotational grazing. Half of a roller chopped area of 200 ha was continuously grazed with stocker cattle, whereas the other half was rotationally grazed through its subdivision in four parcels of equal size. Vegetation (herbaceous, woody) and animal responses were measured along a period of four consecutive years. During the study period rainfall was similar or above (up to 33%) the long-term annual average. Grazing treatments (continuous, rotational) did not differentially affect either density of palatable perennial grasses or woody vegetation cover, whereas total average DM availability of palatable perennial grasses was higher under rotational grazing. Average daily gain of stockers was higher under continuous grazing on three out of the four years of measurements. The expected potential of rotation grazing was not expressed under the context of present study, which is interpreted in relation to rainfall conditions and a potential deterioration in forage quality ingested by animals.Fil: Adema, E. O.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional La Pampa-San Luis. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Anguil; ArgentinaFil: Butti, L. R.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional La Pampa-San Luis. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Anguil; ArgentinaFil: Babinec, Francisco José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional La Pampa-San Luis. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Anguil; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Distel, Roberto Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiarida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiarida; Argentin

Hydrological landscape settings of base-rich fen mires and fen meadows:an overview

Question: Why do similar fen meadow communities occur in different landscapes? How does the hydrological system sustain base-rich fen mires and fen meadows? Location: Interdunal wetlands and heathland pools in The Netherlands, percolation mires in Germany, Poland, and Siberia, and calcareous spring fens in the High Tatra, Slovakia. Methods: This review presents an overview of the hydrological conditions of fen mires and fen meadows that are highly valued in nature conservation due to their high biodiversity and the occurrence of many Red List species. Fen types covered in this review include: (1) small hydrological systems in young calcareous dune areas, and (2) small hydrological systems in decalcified old cover sand areas in The Netherlands; (3) large hydrological systems in river valleys in Central-Europe and western-Siberia, and (4) large hydrological systems of small calcareous spring fens with active precipitation of travertine in mountain areas of Slovakia. Results: Different landscape types can sustain similar nutrient poor and base-rich habitats required by endangered fen meadow species. The hydrological systems of these landscapes are very different in size, but their groundwater flow pattern is remarkably similar. Paleo-ecological research showed that travertine forming fen vegetation types persisted in German lowland percolation mires from 6000 to 3000 BP. Similar vegetation types can still be found in small mountain mires in the Slovak Republic. Small pools in such mires form a cascade of surface water bodies that stimulate travertine formation in various ways. Travertine deposition prevents acidification of the mire and sustains populations of basiphilous species that elsewhere in Europe are highly endangered. Conclusion: Very different hydrological landscape settings can maintain a regular flow of groundwater through the top soil generating similar base-rich site conditions. This is why some fen species occur in very different landscape types, ranging from mineral interdunal wetlands to mountain mires

Altered Gene Expression in the Schistosome-Transmitting Snail Biomphalaria glabrata following Exposure to Niclosamide, the Active Ingredient in the Widely Used Molluscicide Bayluscide

In view of the call by the World Health Organization (WHO) for elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem by 2025, use of molluscicides in snail control to supplement chemotherapy–based control efforts is likely to increase in the coming years. The mechanisms of action of niclosamide, the active ingredient in the most widely used molluscicides, remain largely unknown. A better understanding of its toxicology at the molecular level will both improve our knowledge of snail biology and may offer valuable insights into the development of better chemical control methods for snails. We used a recently developed Biomphalaria glabrata oligonucleotide microarray (31K features) to investigate the effect of sublethal exposure to niclosamide on the transcriptional responses of the snail B. glabrata relative to untreated snails. Most of the genes highly upregulated following exposure of snails to niclosamide are involved in biotransformation of xenobiotics, including genes encoding cytochrome P450s (CYP), glutathione S-transferases (GST), and drug transporters, notably multi-drug resistance protein (efflux transporter) and solute linked carrier (influx transporter). Niclosamide also induced stress responses. Specifically, six heat shock protein (HSP) genes from three super-families (HSP20, HSP40 and HSP70) were upregulated. Genes encoding ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and coatomer, all of which are involved in vesicle trafficking in the Golgi of mammalian cells, were also upregulated. Lastly, a hemoglobin gene was downregulated, suggesting niclosamide may affect oxygen transport. Our results show that snails mount substantial responses to sublethal concentrations of niclosamide, at least some of which appear to be protective. The topic of how niclosamide’s lethality at higher concentrations is determined requires further study. Given that niclosamide has also been used as an anthelmintic drug for decades and has been found to have activity against several types of cancer, our findings may be of relevance in understanding how both parasites and neoplastic cells respond to this compound

Micro-Dosing of Lime, Phosphorus and Nitrogen Fertilizers Effect on Maize Performance on an Acid Soil in Kenya

High cost of inorganic fertilizers and lime has precluded their use by smallholder farmers to remedy the problem of soil acidity and infertility in Kenya. To address the problem, we tested a precision technique referred to as micro-dosing, which involves application of small, affordable quantities of inorganic inputs on an acid soil in Busia County, Kenya. Experimental treatments were N-fertilizer (0 and 37.5 kg N ha-1), P-fertilizer (0 and 13 kg P ha-1) and lime (0, 0.77 and 1.55 tons lime ha-1). 37.5 kg N and 13 kg P ha-1 are 50% of the recommended fertilizer rates for maize production in Kenya while 0.77 and 1.55 tons lime ha-1 are 25 and 50% of the actual requirement. Soil chemical changes, maize grain yield and nutrient recovery were determined. Lime and P-fertilizer significantly affected only the top-soil pH, Ca, Mg and available P, while the effects of N-fertilizer were evident on both top- and sub-soil N likely due to its faster mobility than P and lime. Grain P-fertilizer recovery efficiencies were 14 and 16-27% due to 13 kg P and 13 kg P + 0.77-1.55 tons lime ha-1, respectively. N-fertilizer recovery efficiencies were 37 and 42-45% due to 37.5 kg N and 37.5 kg N + 0.77-1.55 tons lime ha-1, respectively. Fertilizers applied to supply 37.5 kg N, 13 kg P and 0.77-1.55 tons lime ha-1 increased grain yield above the control by 134, 39 and 12-22%, respectively, therefore micro-dosing of these inputs can increase maize production on Kenyan acid soils

Will all scientists working on snails and the diseases they transmit please stand up?

Copyright © 2012 Adema 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.No abstract available

The influence of achievement before, during and after medical school on physician job satisfaction

In this longitudinal study, we investigated the relationship between physicians' prior achievements (before, during and after medical school) and job satisfaction, and tested the two lines of reasoning that prior achievements influence job satisfaction positively or negatively, respectively. The participants were graduates who started their medical training in 1982 (n = 147), 1983 (n = 154), 1992 (n = 143) and 1993 (n = 153). We operationalised job satisfaction as satisfaction (on a 10-point scale) with 13 cognitive, affective and instrumental aspects of the participants' jobs. The measures of achievement before, during and after medical school included pre-university grade point average, study progress and a residency position in the specialty of first choice, respectively. We included the effect of curriculum type (problem-based learning versus traditional), gender and years of experience as moderator variables. Higher achievers before and during medical school were more satisfied about their income (beta = .152, p &lt;.01 and beta = .149, p &lt;.05), but less satisfied with their opportunities for personal development (beta = -.159, p &lt;.05). High achievers after medical school were more satisfied with professional accomplishments (beta = .095, p &lt;.05), with appreciation from support personnel (beta = .154, p &lt;.01) and from patients (beta = .120, p &lt;.05). Effect sizes were small. Prior achievements influenced job satisfaction. The direction of the influences depended on the job satisfaction aspect in question, which indicates that it is important to distinguish between aspects of job satisfaction. To optimize job satisfaction of high achievers, it is important for graduates to obtain their preferred specialty. Furthermore, it is vital to provide them with enough opportunities for further development.</p

A Somatically Diversified Defense Factor, FREP3, Is a Determinant of Snail Resistance to Schistosome Infection

Schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease, owes its continued success to freshwater snails that support production of prolific numbers of human-infective cercariae. Encounters between schistosomes and snails do not always result in the snail becoming infected, in part because snails can mount immune responses that prevent schistosome development. Fibrinogen-related protein 3 (FREP3) has been previously associated with snail defense against digenetic trematode infection. It is a member of a large family of immune molecules with a unique structure consisting of one or two immunoglobulin superfamily domains connected to a fibrinogen domain; to date fibrinogen containing proteins with this arrangement are found only in gastropod molluscs. Furthermore, specific gastropod FREPs have been shown to undergo somatic diversification. Here we demonstrate that siRNA mediated knockdown of FREP3 results in a phenotypic loss of resistance to Schistosoma mansoni infection in 15 of 70 (21.4%) snails of the resistant BS-90 strain of Biomphalaria glabrata. In contrast, none of the 64 control BS-90 snails receiving a GFP siRNA construct and then exposed to S. mansoni became infected. Furthermore, resistance to S. mansoni was overcome in 22 of 48 snails (46%) by pre-exposure to another digenetic trematode, Echinostoma paraensei. Loss of resistance in this case was shown by microarray analysis to be associated with strong down-regulation of FREP3, and other candidate immune molecules. Although many factors are certainly involved in snail defense from trematode infection, this study identifies for the first time the involvement of a specific snail gene, FREP3, in the phenotype of resistance to the medically important parasite, S. mansoni. The results have implications for revealing the underlying mechanisms involved in dictating the range of snail strains used by S. mansoni, and, more generally, for better understanding the phenomena of host specificity and host switching. It also highlights the role of a diversified invertebrate immune molecule in defense against a human pathogen. It suggests new lines of investigation for understanding how susceptibility of snails in areas endemic for S. mansoni could be manipulated and diminished