Aerial thermal scanner data for monitoring rooftop temperatures

Four Nebraska communities and one South Dakota community were surveyed. Thermal scanner data were converted to a film format and the resultant imagery was successfully employed to monitor rooftop temperatures. The program places emphasis on heat losses resulting from inadequate home insulation, offers CENGAS customers the opportunity to observe a thermogram of their rooftop, and assists homeowners in evaluating insulation needs

Autoantibodies to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors found in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Autoantibodies to the human muscarinic acetylcholine receptor of the M3 type (hmAchR M3) have been suggested to play an etiopathogenic role in Sjögren's syndrome. Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) often is associated with this syndrome. Therefore, we studied the co-presence of hmAchR M3 autoantibodies in patients with PBC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Frequency of hmAchR M3 autoantibodies was assessed by Western blotting analysis as well as by an ELISA using a 25-mer peptide of the 2^ndextracellular loop of hmAchR M3. Co-localization of hmAchR M3/PBC-specific autoantibodies was studied by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Finally, sera from patients with PBC as well as from healthy controls were tested.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Western blotting analysis as well as results from ELISA testing revealed a significantly enhanced IgG reactivity in PBC patients in contrast to healthy controls. Co-localization of autoantibodies with the hmAchR M3 receptor-specific autoantibodies was observed in 10 out of 12 PBC-patients but none of the 5 healthy controls. Antibodies of the IgM type were not found to be affected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>For the first time, our data demonstrate the presence of autoantibodies to the hmAchR M3 in PBC patients. These findings might contribute to the understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. Further studies have to focus on the functionality of hmAchR M3 autoantibodies in PBC patients.</p

2006. Eighteen years of saturation tagging data reveal a significant increase in nesting hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) on Long Island, Antigua. Animal Conservation

Abstract Hawksbill sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricata nesting on Long Island, Antigua, West Indies (also known as Jumby Bay) has been monitored since 1987. Although the numbers of nesting females remained relatively constant for the first 11 survey seasons (1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997), inclusion of more recent data (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004) in the analysis reveals a statistically significant upward trend. In particular, neophytes have shown a significant upturn in numbers, whereas the remigrant subpopulation has remained stationary. This indicates that recruitment is driving the upward trend in the total number of nesters. Predictive models based on the Poisson distribution suggest that the neophyte subpopulation will continue to grow in size by an average of 10% per annum. Model-based predictions and their limitations are discussed. The Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project, which has monitored and protected nesting hawksbills and their eggs since the project&apos;s onset, is one among several factors that may contribute to the recent increase in nesting females

Social Welfare Orderings: A Life-Cycle Perspective

Life-cycle theories emphasize the fact that consumption is allocated intertemporally, on the basis of a long-term concept of resources that differs from household income. Because life-cycle income is unobserved, the distribution of this variable cannot be recovered. It is shown that, within a suitably defined class, a predictor of life-cycle income based on household income and expenditure entails a distribution dominated in a social welfare sense by the distribution of life-cycle incomes. A predictor constructed from socio-demographic variables induces a distribution that welfare-dominates the distribution of life-cycle incomes. Copyright (c) The London School of Economics and Political Science 2005.

Global patterns of marine mammal, seabird, and sea turtle bycatch reveal taxa-specific and cumulative megafauna hotspots

Recent research on ocean health has found large predator abundance to be a key element of ocean condition. Fisheries can impact large predator abundance directly through targeted capture and indirectly through incidental capture of nontarget species or bycatch. However, measures of the global nature of bycatch are lacking for air-breathing megafauna. We fill this knowledge gap and present a synoptic global assessment of the distribution and intensity of bycatch of seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles based on empirical data from the three most commonly used types of fishing gears worldwide. We identify taxa-specific hotspots of bycatch intensity and find evidence of cumulative impacts across fishing fleets and gears. This global map of bycatch illustrates where data are particularly scarce—in coastal and small-scale fisheries and ocean regions that support developed industrial fisheries and millions of small-scale fishers—and identifies fishing areas where, given the evidence of cumulative hotspots across gear and taxa, traditional species or gear-specific bycatch management and mitigation efforts may be necessary but not sufficient. Given the global distribution of bycatch and the mitigation success achieved by some fleets, the reduction of air-breathing megafauna bycatch is both an urgent and achievable conservation priority

Global patterns of marine mammal, seabird, and sea turtle bycatch reveal taxa-specific and cumulative megafauna hotspots

Recent research on ocean health has found large predator abundance to be a key element of ocean condition. Fisheries can impact large predator abundance directly through targeted capture and indirectly through incidental capture of nontarget species or bycatch. However, measures of the global nature of bycatch are lacking for air-breathing megafauna. We fill this knowledge gap and present a synoptic global assessment of the distribution and intensity of bycatch of seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles based on empirical data from the three most commonly used types of fishing gears worldwide. We identify taxa-specific hotspots of bycatch intensity and find evidence of cumulative impacts across fishing fleets and gears. This global map of bycatch illustrates where data are particularly scarce—in coastal and small-scale fisheries and ocean regions that support developed industrial fisheries and millions of small-scale fishers—and identifies fishing areas where, given the evidence of cumulative hotspots across gear and taxa, traditional species or gear-specific bycatch management and mitigation efforts may be necessary but not sufficient. Given the global distribution of bycatch and the mitigation success achieved by some fleets, the reduction of air-breathing megafauna bycatch is both an urgent and achievable conservation priority