HERBACEOUS VERSUS FORESTED RIPARIAN VEGETATION: NARROW AND SIMPLE VERSUS WIDE, WOODY AND DIVERSE STREAM HABITAT

ABSTRACT We investigated interactions of riparian vegetative conditions upon a suite of channel morphological variables: active channel width, variability of width within a reach, large wood frequency, mesoscale habitat distributions, mesoscale habitat diversity, median particle size and per cent fines. We surveyed 49 wadeable streams, 45 with low levels of development, throughout the Upper Little Tennessee River Basin in the Southern Appalachians. Conversion of riparian forest to grass has reduced aquatic habitat area (quantified by active channel width), channel width variability, wood frequency, mesoscale habitat diversity and obstruction habitat (wood and rock jams), and such conversion has increased the fraction of run and glide habitat. Channels with grassy riparian zones were only one-third to three-fifths of the width of channels with forested riparian zones, and channels with grassy or narrow forested riparian zones were nearly devoid of wood. Particle size metrics were strongly affected by stream power and agricultural cover in the basin, but the data suggest that elimination of riparian forest reduces median bed particle size. Results indicate that even modest increases in the extent and width of forested riparian buffers would improve stream habitat conditions

BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene.

MotivationThe BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables includedThe database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grainBioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2).Time period and grainBioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurementBioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.Software format.csv and .SQL

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Using structured decision making with landowners to address private forest management and parcelization: balancing multiple objectives and incorporating uncertainty

Parcelization and forest fragmentation are of concern for ecological, economic, and social reasons. Efforts to keep large, private forests intact may be supported by a decision-making process that incorporates landowners' objectives and uncertainty. We used structured decision making (SDM) with owners of large, private forests in Macon County, North Carolina. Macon County has little land use regulation and a history of discordant, ineffective attempts to address land use and development. We worked with landowners to define their objectives, identify decision options for forest management, build a Bayesian decision network to predict the outcomes of decisions, and determine the optimal and least-desirable decision options. The optimal forest management options for an average, large, forested property (30 ha property with 22 ha of forest) in Macon County was crown-thinning timber harvest under the Present-Use Value program, in which enrolled property is taxed at the present-use value (growing timber for commercial harvest) rather than full market value. The least-desirable forest management actions were selling 1 ha and personal use of the forest (e.g., trails, firewood) with or without a conservation easement. Landowners reported that they enjoyed participating in the project (85%) and would reconsider what they are currently doing to manage their forest (69%). The decision that landowners initially thought would best meet their objectives did not match results from the decision network. This highlights the usefulness of SDM, which typically has been applied to decision problems involving public resources

Origins of the Ñuu: archaeology in the Mixteca Alta, Mexico

Includes bibliographical references and index.Regional study of ancient societies in the Mixteca Alto -- The Western Nochixtlán Valley -- Greater Teposcolula -- Greater Huamelulpan -- The inner basin -- Greater Tlaxiaco -- The polities of the early and middle formative -- The emergence of urbanism and the state -- The classic Ñuu -- The postclassic Ñuu -- The Ñuu in the anthropological perspective -- Resumen en Español

Characterizing Volatile and Nonvolatile Factors Influencing Flavor and American Consumer Preference toward Nonalcoholic Beer

In this study, the chemical and sensory profiles of 42 different nonalcoholic beer (NAB) brands/styles already on the global market and produced through several different brewing techniques were evaluated. A trained panel (i.e., 11 panelists) performed standard-driven descriptive and check-all-that-apply analyses in triplicate to sensorially characterize the aroma and taste/mouthfeel profiles of 42 commercial NABs, a commercial soda, and a commercial seltzer water (n = 44). These beers were also chemically deconstructed using several different analytical techniques targeting volatile and nonvolatile compounds. Consumer analysis (n = 129) was then performed to evaluate the Northern Californian consumer hedonic liking of a selection (n = 12) of these NAB brands. These results provide direction to brewers and/or beverage producers on which techniques they should explore to develop desirable NAB offerings and suggest chemical targets that are indicators of specific flavor qualities and/or preference for American consumers

Fractioned High Pressure Extraction of Anthocyanins from Elderberry ( Sambucus nigra L.) Pomace

Fractionated high pressure extractions from dry and in natura elderberry pomace were performed in order to obtain anthocyanin rich extracts. Experiments were carried out using CO2 supercritical fluid extraction followed by enhanced solvent extraction (ESE) with CO2/EtOH–H2O mixtures (1–100%, v/v), to obtain anthocyanin rich fractions in the second step, at 313 K and ~20 MPa. Higher extract yields, anthocyanin contents and antioxidant activities occurred by the presence of water, both in the raw material and in the solvent mixture. The CO2 dissolved in the ESE solvent mixture favored either anthocyanin contents or antioxidant activities, which were not directly related. Comparing to the literature data for elderberries and grapes, these fractions had higher anthocyanins contents. From these results, an added economical value to this agroindustrial residue is proposed, using solvents and techniques “generally regarded as safe” in the food and pharmaceutical industries