FRUIT REMOVAL BY LARGE AVIAN FRUGIVORES VARIES IN RELATION TO HABITAT QUALITY IN CONTINUOUS NEOTROPICAL RAINFOREST

Abstract ∙ Animal-mediated seed dispersal shapes key ecological processes including seedling recruitment and demography. Anthropogenic activities have substantively impacted tropical habitats, yet the degree of sensitivity exhibited by different frugivores to changes in habitat quality and how this may impact seed dispersal outcomes remains poorly understood. This is particularly true in contexts of low to moderate habitat alteration. To address this knowledge gap, we characterized the diurnal disperser community for an ecologically important canopy palm, Oenocarpus bataua, in continuous forest with differing degrees of human modification in northwest Ecuador. Our specific goal was to assess the degree to which visitation and fruit removal rates vary in relation to fine-scale forest structure. Frugivory and seed dispersal (i.e., removal of fruits with intact seeds) was dominated by three large bird species; smaller birds and some mammals visited fruiting trees but did not substantively contribute to seed dispersal. One of the three effective dispersal agents, the Long-wattled Umbrellabird (Cephalopterus penduliger), an endangered species threatened by habitat loss and degradation, exhibited higher visitation and fruit consumption rates in areas characterized by denser canopies, suggesting preference for foraging in undisturbed habitat. In contrast, two relatively common toucan species, Chocó Toucan (Ramphastos brevis) and Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (R. swainsonii), exhibited no variation in foraging behavior in relation to the habitat metrics we assessed. These findings highlight the degree to which differences in sensitivity to habitat disturbance among frugivore species may impact foraging ecology and suggest that variation in forest structure within continuous forest can impact seed removal and seed dispersal processes.Resumen ∙ La remoción de frutas por aves frugívoras de gran tamaño varía con respecto a la calidad de hábitat en bosques continuos Neotropicales La dispersión de semillas mediada por animales moldea procesos ecológicos claves como la posterior supervivencia y demografía de plántulas. Las actividades antropogénicas han afectado substancialmente los hábitats tropicales, sin embargo, el nivel de sensibilidad que presentan los diferentes frugívoros a cambios en la calidad del hábitat y cómo esto afecta a la dispersión de semillas, sigue siendo poco conocido. Esto es particularmente cierto en un contexto de poca a moderada alteración de hábitat. Para lograr comprender este vacío de conocimiento caracterizamos la comunidad de dispersores diurnos de una palma de dosel de importancia ecológica, Oenocarpus bataua, en bosques continuos con niveles diferentes de afectación humana en el noroccidente del Ecuador. Nuestro objetivo principal era de conocer el nivel en el cual las visitas y las tasas de remoción de frutas varía en relación a la estructura del bosque a escala muy fina. La frugivoría y la dispersión de semillas (es decir remoción de frutos con semillas intactas) fue dominada por tres especies de aves de gran tamaño; las aves más pequeñas y ciertos mamíferos visitaron palmas en fruto pero no contribuyeron substancialmente a la dispersión de semillas. Uno de los tres agentes de dispersión efectiva – el Pájaro Toro (Cephalopterus penduliger), una especie amenazada debido a la pérdida y degradación de su hábitat – realizó un mayor número de visitas y tasa de consumo de frutos en áreas caracterizadas por doseles más densos, lo cual sugiere una preferencia de forrajeo en hábitats no alterados. Por el contrario, dos especies relativamente comunes de tucanes, Tucán del Chocó (Ramphastos brevis) y Tucán de Pico Castaño (R. swainsonii), no presentaron diferencias en el comportamiento de forrajeo con respecto a las métricas de hábitat que nosotros utilizamos. Estos hallazgos resaltan el nivel en el cual diferencias en la sensibilidad a la alteración del hábitat entre especies frugívoras pueden impactar la ecología de forrajeo. Sugiere también que la variación en la estructura del bosque dentro de bosques continuos puede impactar la remoción de semillas y el proceso de dispersión de las mismas

The orientation of the Seyfert nucleus in Markarian 348

Multi-frequency observations of Mrk 348 are presented consisting of 2 epochs of MERLIN data at 5 GHz, ISOPHOT data at 170, 90, 60 and 25 micron, NOT images at U, B, R and I bands and data at 1350 micron from the archive for SCUBA. The new optical images reveal a disrupted arm that ends towards the eastern companion of Mrk 348, consistent with the hypothesis that Mrk 348 and its companion form an interacting system. 5 GHz MERLIN imaging shows that only one of the radio components of Mrk 348 is polarized (%P=5). The broadband spectrum of Mrk 348 is flat between the radio and millimetre bands, suggesting that synchrotron emission extends to high frequencies. Mrk 348 has many of the characteristics of a radio-loud object. We discuss the orientation of the radio axis of Mrk 348 with respect to the line of sight. We conclude that the evidence is conflicting, and the geometry in Mrk 348 is not well-described by a simple edge-on or face-on model.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; higher resolution images at http://www.oal.ul.pt/ftp-anon/Image

Scheduling with Sequencing Flexibility *

This study examines the effects of sequencing flexibility on the performance of rules used to schedule operations in manufacturing systems. The findings show that taking advantage of even low levels of sequencing flexibility in the set of operations required to do a job results in substantial improvement in the performance of scheduling rules with respect to mean flowtime. Differences in the mean flowtime measure for various rules also diminish significantly with increasing sequencing flexibility. Performance improvements additionally result for such due-date related performance measures as mean tardiness and the proportion of jobs tardy. At high levels of sequencing flexibility, some nonparametric scheduling rules outperform the shortest processing time rule in terms of the mean flowtime criterion. Rules based on job due dates also outperform rules based on operation milestones in terms of tardiness related criteria at high levels of sequencing flexibility. The implications of these findings for the design of manufacturing systems and product design are noted.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73893/1/j.1540-5915.1993.tb00477.x.pd

Cervical spine signs and symptoms: perpetuating rather than predisposing factors for temporomandibular disorders in women

AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess in a sample of female community cases the relationship between the increase of percentage of cervical signs and symptoms and the severity of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and vice-versa. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred women (aged 18-26 years) clinically diagnosed with TMD signs and symptoms and cervical spine disorders were randomly selected from a sample of college students. RESULTS: 43% of the volunteers demonstrated the same severity for TMD and cervical spine disorders (CSD). The increase in TMD signs and symptoms was accompanied by increase in CSD severity, except for pain during palpation of posterior temporal muscle, more frequently observed in the severe CSD group. However, increase in pain during cervical extension, sounds during cervical lateral flexion, and tenderness to palpation of upper fibers of trapezius and suboccipital muscles were observed in association with the progression of TMD severity. CONCLUSION: The increase in cervical symptomatology seems to accompany TMD severity; nonetheless, the inverse was not verified. Such results suggest that cervical spine signs and symptoms could be better recognized as perpetuating rather than predisposing factors for TMD

Numerical Approaches to Spacetime Singularities

This Living Review updates a previous version which its itself an update of a review article. Numerical exploration of the properties of singularities could, in principle, yield detailed understanding of their nature in physically realistic cases. Examples of numerical investigations into the formation of naked singularities, critical behavior in collapse, passage through the Cauchy horizon, chaos of the Mixmaster singularity, and singularities in spatially inhomogeneous cosmologies are discussed.Comment: 51 pages, 6 figures may be found in online version: Living Rev. Relativity 2002-1 at www.livingreviews.or

CKD Prevalence Varies across the European General Population

CKD prevalence estimation is central to CKD management and prevention planning at the population level. This study estimated CKD prevalence in the European adult general population and investigated international variation in CKD prevalence by age, sex, and presence of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. We collected data from 19 general-population studies from 13 European countries. CKD stages 1-5 was defined as eGFR 30 mg/g, and CKD stages 3-5 was defined as eGFR</p

Working in the Public Interest Law Conference

Entirely student organized, WIPI seeks to bring together eminent practitioners in their respective fields, students, and faculty to discuss practical approaches to lawyering which can best serve the poor. Practical methods of challenging poverty are often not covered in traditional law school courses. This conference seeks to remedy that and provide dynamic, creative ways to combat poverty through the vehicle of the law

Mother and Adolescent Reports of Associations Between Child Behavior Problems and Mother-Child Relationship Qualities: Separating Shared Variance from Individual Variance

This study contrasts results from different correlational methods for examining links between mother and child (N = 72 dyads) reports of early adolescent (M = 11.5 years) behavior problems and relationship negativity and support. Simple (Pearson) correlations revealed a consistent pattern of statistically significant associations, regardless of whether scores came from the same reporter or from different reporters. When correlations between behavior problems and relationship quality differed, within-reporter correlations were always greater in magnitude than between-reporter correlations. Dyadic (common fate) analyses designed for interdependent data decomposed within-reporter correlations into variance shared across reporters (dyadic correlations) and variance unique to specific reporters (individual correlations). Dyadic correlations were responsible for most associations between adolescent behavior problems and relationship negativity; after partitioning variance shared across reporters, no individual correlations emerged as statistically significant. In contrast, adolescent behavior problems were linked to relationship support via both shared variance and variance unique to maternal perceptions. Dyadic analyses provide a parsimonious alternative to multiple contrasts in instances when identical measures have been collected from multiple reporters. Findings from these analyses indicate that same-reporter variance bias should not be assumed in the absence of dyadic statistical analyses

Detailed Molecular and Immune Marker Profiling of Archival Prostate Cancer Samples Reveals an Inverse Association between TMPRSS2:ERG Fusion Status and Immune Cell Infiltration

Prostate cancer is a significant global health issue and limitations to current patient management pathways often result in over- or under-treatment. New ways to stratify patients are urgently needed. We conducted a feasibility study of such novel assessments looking for associations between genomic changes and lymphocyte infiltration. An innovative workflow utilizing an in-house targeted sequencing panel, immune cell profiling using an image analysis pipeline, RNA-Seq, and exome sequencing in select cases was tested. Gene fusions were profiled by RNA-seq in 27/27 cases and a significantly higher TIL count was noted in tumors without a TMPRSS2:ERG fusion compared to those with the fusion (P = 0.01). Although this finding was not replicated in a larger validation set (n=436) of The Cancer Genome Atlas images, there was a trend in the same direction. Differential expression analysis of TIL-High and TIL-Low tumors revealed the enrichment of both innate and adaptive immune response pathways. Mutations in mismatch repair genes (MLH1 and MSH6 mutations in 1/27 cases) were identified. We describe a potential immune escape mechanism in TMPRSS2:ERG fusion positive tumors. Detailed profiling, as shown here, can provide novel insights into tumor biology. Likely differences with findings with other cohorts are related to methods used to define region of interest, but this warrants further study in a larger cohort

Diabetes MILES – The Netherlands: rationale, design and sample characteristics of a national survey examining the psychosocial aspects of living with diabetes in Dutch adults

Background : As the number of people with diabetes is increasing rapidly worldwide, a more thorough understanding of the psychosocial aspects of living with this condition has become an important health care priority. While our knowledge has grown substantially over the past two decades with respect to the physical, emotional and social difficulties that people with diabetes may encounter, many important issues remain to be elucidated. Under the umbrella of the Diabetes MILES (Management and Impact for Long-term Empowerment and Success) Study International Collaborative, Diabetes MILES &ndash; The Netherlands aims to examine how Dutch adults with diabetes manage their condition and how it affects their lives. Topics of special interest in Diabetes MILES - The Netherlands include subtypes of depression, Type D personality, mindfulness, sleep and sexual functioning. Methods/design : Diabetes MILES &ndash; The Netherlands was designed as a national online observational study among adults with diabetes. In addition to a main set of self-report measures, the survey consisted of five complementary modules to which participants were allocated randomly. From September to October 2011, a total of 3,960 individuals with diabetes (40% type 1, 53% type 2) completed the battery of questionnaires covering a broad range of topics, including general health, self-management, emotional well-being and contact with health care providers. People with self-reported type 1 diabetes (specifically those on insulin pump therapy) were over-represented, as were those using insulin among respondents with self-reported type 2 diabetes. People from ethnic minorities were under-represented. The sex distribution was fairly equal in the total sample, participants spanned a broad age range (19&ndash;90 years), and diabetes duration ranged from recent diagnosis to living with the condition for over fifty years. Discussion : The Diabetes MILES Study enables detailed investigation of the psychosocial aspects of living with diabetes and an opportunity to put these findings in an international context. With several papers planned resulting from a pooled Australian-Dutch dataset and data collections planned in other countries, the Diabetes MILES Study International Collaborative will contribute substantially to identifying potentially unmet needs of those living with diabetes and to inform clinical research and care across the globe. <br /