Radio-Continuum study of the Nearby Sculptor Group Galaxies. Part 1: NGC 300 at lambda = 20 cm

A series of new radio-continuum (lambda=20 cm) mosaic images focused on the NGC 300 galactic system were produced using archived observational data from the VLA and/or ATCA. These new images are both very sensitive (rms=60 microJy) and feature high angular resolution (<10"). The most prominent new feature is the galaxy's extended radio-continuum emission, which does not match its optical appearance. Using these newly created images a number of previously unidentified discrete sources have been discovered. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a joint deconvolution approach to imaging this complete data-set is inferior when compared to an immerge approach.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted to APSS, new version to correct the missing reference

Estimating retention benchmarks for salvage logging to protect biodiversity

S.T. was supported by the Humboldt-Foundation and by the MOST (Ministry of Science and Technology) Taiwan Research Fellowship to work with A.C. at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. S.T. received funds from the Gregor Louisoder Environmental Foundation. A.B.L. received funds from the Humboldt-Foundation.Forests are increasingly affected by natural disturbances. Subsequent salvage logging, a widespread management practice conducted predominantly to recover economic capital, produces further disturbance and impacts biodiversity worldwide. Hence, naturally disturbed forests are among the most threatened habitats in the world, with consequences for their associated biodiversity. However, there are no evidence-based benchmarks for the proportion of area of naturally disturbed forests to be excluded from salvage logging to conserve biodiversity. We apply a mixed rarefaction/extrapolation approach to a global multi-taxa dataset from disturbed forests, including birds, plants, insects and fungi, to close this gap. We find that 75 ± 7% (mean ± SD) of a naturally disturbed area of a forest needs to be left unlogged to maintain 90% richness of its unique species, whereas retaining 50% of a naturally disturbed forest unlogged maintains 73 ± 12% of its unique species richness. These values do not change with the time elapsed since disturbance but vary considerably among taxonomic groups.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEA

Effect of herpes simplex virus infection on murine antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and natural killer cytotoxicity.

Mice intraperitoneally inoculated with a sublethal dose of herpes simplex virus (HSV) produced immunoglobulin G antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and radioimmunoassay (RIA) antibody as early as 3 days after infection. There was a rise in natural killer cytotoxicity (NKC) to infected and uninfected target cells 1 to 3 days postinfection mediated by nonadherent peritoneal cells (PC) in mice inoculated with HSV, but also with other substances commonly used in tissue culture media. HSV caused the highest and most consistent increase in NKC. PC-NKC, as ADCC, was inhibited by latex and silica, both macrophage inhibitors. PC-ADCC markedly declined 3 to 8 days after HSV inoculation. This was not due to a soluble or cellular suppressor factor, was not reversed by incubation or trypsin treatment of PC, was not associated with a change in PC Fc receptors, adherence, or acridine orange staining characteristics, and could not be induced by inactivated HSV. In vitro inoculation of PC with HSV similarly caused a reduction in the ability of PC to mediate ADCC to HSV-infected target cells. These data demonstrate the complex stimulatory and inhibitory interactions between virus and host defense mechanisms