Species richness and soil properties in Pinus ponderosa forests: A structural equation modeling analysis

Question: How are the effects of mineral soil properties on understory plant species richness propagated through a network of processes involving the forest overstory, soil organic matter, soil nitrogen, and understory plant abundance? Location: North-central Arizona, USA. Methods: We sampled 75 0.05-ha plots across a broad soil gradient in a Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine) forest ecosystem. We evaluated multivariate models of plant species richness using structural equation modeling. Results: Richness was highest at intermediate levels of understory plant cover, suggesting that both colonization success and competitive exclusion can limit richness in this system. We did not detect a reciprocal positive effect of richness on plant cover. Richness was strongly related to soil nitrogen in the model, with evidence for both a direct negative effect and an indirect non-linear relationship mediated through understory plant cover. Soil organic matter appeared to have a positive influence on understory richness that was independent of soil nitrogen. Richness was lowest where the forest overstory was densest, which can be explained through indirect effects on soil organic matter, soil nitrogen and understory cover. Finally, model results suggest a variety of direct and indirect processes whereby mineral soil properties can influence richness. Conclusions: Understory plant species richness and plant cover in P. ponderosa forests appear to be significantly influenced by soil organic matter and nitrogen, which are, in turn, related to overstory density and composition and mineral soil properties. Thus, soil properties can impose direct and indirect constraints on local species diversity in ponderosa pine forests

Environmental limits of Rift Valley fever revealed using ecoepidemiological mechanistic models.

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) of humans and domestic animals are a significant component of the global burden of disease and a key driver of poverty. The transmission cycles of VBDs are often strongly mediated by the ecological requirements of the vectors, resulting in complex transmission dynamics, including intermittent epidemics and an unclear link between environmental conditions and disease persistence. An important broader concern is the extent to which theoretical models are reliable at forecasting VBDs; infection dynamics can be complex, and the resulting systems are highly unstable. Here, we examine these problems in detail using a case study of Rift Valley fever (RVF), a high-burden disease endemic to Africa. We develop an ecoepidemiological, compartmental, mathematical model coupled to the dynamics of ambient temperature and water availability and apply it to a realistic setting using empirical environmental data from Kenya. Importantly, we identify the range of seasonally varying ambient temperatures and water-body availability that leads to either the extinction of mosquito populations and/or RVF (nonpersistent regimens) or the establishment of long-term mosquito populations and consequently, the endemicity of the RVF infection (persistent regimens). Instabilities arise when the range of the environmental variables overlaps with the threshold of persistence. The model captures the intermittent nature of RVF occurrence, which is explained as low-level circulation under the threshold of detection, with intermittent emergence sometimes after long periods. Using the approach developed here opens up the ability to improve predictions of the emergence and behaviors of epidemics of many other important VBDs.The work was partially supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) and in collaboration with the University of Exeter, University College London, and the Met Office. European Union FP7 Project ANTIGONE (Contract 278976). Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. The Alborada Trust

Hurricane Sandy Effects on Coastal Marsh Elevation Change

High-magnitude storm events such as Hurricane Sandy are powerful agents of geomorphic change in coastal marshes, potentially altering their surface elevation trajectories. But how do a storm’s impacts vary across a large region spanning a variety of wetland settings and storm exposures and intensities. We determined the short-term impacts of Hurricane Sandy at 223 surface elevation table–marker horizon stations in estuarine marshes located across the northeast region of the United States by comparing post- storm surface elevation change with pre-storm elevation trends. We hypothesized that the storm’s effect on marsh elevation trends would be influenced by position relative to landfall (right or left) and distance from landfall. The structural equation model presented predicts that marshes located to the left of landfall were more likely to experience an elevation gain greater than expected, and this positive deviation from pre-storm elevation trends tended to have a greater magnitude than those experiencing negative deviations (elevation loss), potentially due to greater sediment deposition. The magnitude of negative deviations from elevation change in marshes to the right of landfall was greater than for positive deviations, with a greater effect in marshes within 200 km of landfall, potentially from the extent and magnitude of storm surge. Overall, results provide an integrated picture of how storm characteristics combined with the local wetland setting are important to a storm’s impact on surface elevation, and that the surface elevation response can vary widely among sites across a region impacted by the same storm

Evolutionary prediction of medicinal properties in the genus <i>Euphorbia </i>L.

The current decrease of new drugs brought to the market has fostered renewed interest in plant-based drug discovery. Given the alarming rate of biodiversity loss, systematic methodologies in finding new plant-derived drugs are urgently needed. Medicinal uses of plants were proposed as proxy for bioactivity, and phylogenetic patterns in medicinal plant uses have suggested that phylogeny can be used as predictive tool. However, the common practice of grouping medicinal plant uses into standardised categories may restrict the relevance of phylogenetic predictions. Standardised categories are mostly associated to systems of the human body and only poorly reflect biological responses to the treatment. Here we show that medicinal plant uses interpreted from a perspective of a biological response can reveal different phylogenetic patterns of presumed underlying bioactivity compared to standardised methods of medicinal plant use classification. In the cosmopolitan and pharmaceutically highly relevant genus Euphorbia L., identifying plant uses modulating the inflammatory response highlighted a greater phylogenetic diversity and number of potentially promising species than standardised categories. Our interpretation of medicinal plant uses may therefore allow for a more targeted approach for future phylogeny-guided drug discovery at an early screening stage, which will likely result in higher discovery rates of novel chemistry with functional biological activity

Endoscopic ultrasound is highly accurate and directs management in patients with neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas

Preoperative localization of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors with traditional imaging fails in 40–60% of patients. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is highly sensitive in the detection of these tumors. Previous reports included relatively few patients or required the collaboration of multiple centers. We report the results of EUS evaluation of 82 patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. METHODS : We prospectively used EUS early in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with biochemical or clinical evidence of neuroendocrine tumors. Patients had surgical confirmation of tumor localization or clinical follow-up of >1 yr. RESULTS : Eighty-two patients underwent 91 examinations (cases). Thirty patients had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type I. One hundred pancreatic tumors were visualized by EUS in 54 different patients. The remaining 28 patients had no pancreatic tumor or an extrapancreatic tumor. Surgical/pathological confirmation was obtained in 75 patients. The mean tumor diameter was 1.51 cm and 71% of the tumors were ≤2.0 cm in diameter. Of the 54 explorations with surgical confirmation of a pancreatic tumor, EUS correctly localized the tumor in 50 patients (93%). Twenty-nine insulinomas, 18 gastrinomas, as well as one glucagonoma, one carcinoid tumor, and one somatostatinoma were localized. The most common site for tumor localization was the pancreatic head (46 patients). Most tumors were hypoechoic, homogenous, and had distinct margins. EUS of the pancreas was correctly negative in 20 of 21 patients (specificity, 95%). EUS was more accurate than angiography with or without stimulation testing (secretin for gastrinoma, calcium for insulinoma), transcutaneous ultrasound, and CT in those patients undergoing further imaging procedures. EUS was not reliable in localizing extrapancreatic tumors. CONCLUSIONS : In this series, the largest single center experience reported to date, EUS had an overall sensitivity and accuracy of 93% for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Our results support the use of EUS as a primary diagnostic modality in the evaluation and management of patients with neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75174/1/j.1572-0241.2000.02480.x.pd

Selected Factors Affecting Adoption of Improved Finger Millet Varieties by Small- Scale Farmers in the Semi-Arid Mogotio District, Kenya

Finger millet is one of the important traditional, nutritious and drought tolerant food crop grown by small scale farmers in most arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of the world. In the ASALs of Kenya, the small scale farmers mainly grow unimproved finger millet varieties of low yields. Despite availability of improved high yielding and recommended varieties, the farmer

Taiwanese Version of the EQ-5D: Validation in a Representative Sample of the Taiwanese Population

Background/PurposeWe know of no validated Taiwanese-language instrument to measure a utility of the patient's health. Our aim was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a Taiwanese version of the EuroQol instrument (EQ-5D) in a Taiwanese population.MethodsQuestionnaires containing the Taiwanese versions of the EQ-5D and the Short-Form 12 Health Survey (SF-12) were sent to 12,923 people in Taiwan in December 2002. Concurrent validity of the EQ-5D was analyzed by assuming that subjects with problems in any EQ-5D dimensions had decreased SF-12 scores. Discriminant validity of the EQ-5D was analyzed by assuming that subjects with the following characteristics had lowered EQ-5D indexes and scores on the EQ-5D visual analog scale (VAS): more chronic diseases than others, serious illness, more hospitalizations in the past year than others, poor general health, and more outpatient visits than others. Test—retest reliability was analyzed in a subgroup of respondents who were evaluated twice within a month by using the intraclass correlation coefficient and the k method.ResultsThe general survey response rate was 12.7% (1644 of 12,923). SF-12 scores were lower in subjects reporting problems on EQ-5D dimensions than in others without such problems (p < 0.01). Subjects with more health problems than others had lower EQ-5D indexes and VAS scores (p < 0.01). The physical dimension of the EQ-5D was more strongly correlated with the SF-12 Physical Component Summary than with the Mental Component Summary; this finding satisfied the a priori hypothesis. For test—retest reliability of items on the EQ-5D, k values ranged from 0.49 to 1 (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe Taiwanese EQ-5D instrument appears to be a moderately valid and reliable tool for measuring the health status of the general population in Taiwan

Restriction of HIV-1 Genotypes in Breast Milk Does Not Account for the Population Transmission Genetic Bottleneck That Occurs following Transmission

BACKGROUND. Breast milk transmission of HIV-1 remains a major route of pediatric infection. Defining the characteristics of viral variants to which breastfeeding infants are exposed is important for understanding the genetic bottleneck that occurs in the majority of mother-to-child transmissions. The blood-milk epithelial barrier markedly restricts the quantity of HIV-1 in breast milk, even in the absence of antiretroviral drugs. The basis of this restriction and the genetic relationship between breast milk and blood variants are not well established. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. We compared 356 HIV-1 subtype C gp160 envelope (env) gene sequences from the plasma and breast milk of 13 breastfeeding women. A trend towards lower viral population diversity and divergence in breast milk was observed, potentially indicative of clonal expansion within the breast. No differences in potential N-linked glycosylation site numbers or in gp160 variable loop amino acid lengths were identified. Genetic compartmentalization was evident in only one out of six subjects in whom contemporaneously obtained samples were studied. However, in samples that were collected 10 or more days apart, six of seven subjects were classified as having compartmentalized viral populations, highlighting the necessity of contemporaneous sampling for genetic compartmentalization studies. We found evidence of CXCR4 co-receptor using viruses in breast milk and blood in nine out of the thirteen subjects, but no evidence of preferential localization of these variants in either tissue. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE. Despite marked restriction of HIV-1 quantities in milk, our data indicate intermixing of virus between blood and breast milk. Thus, we found no evidence that a restriction in viral genotype diversity in breast milk accounts for the genetic bottleneck observed following transmission. In addition, our results highlight the rapidity of HIV-1 env evolution and the importance of sample timing in analyses of gene flow.National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; National Institutes of Health (R01 HD 39611, R01 HD 40777); International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (U01 AI068632-01); National Institutes of Health Cellular, Biochemical; Molecular Sciences Training Program Grant (T 32 067587

Dairy Farm Business Summary: Western and Central Plateau Region 1997

E.B. 98-09Dairy farm managers throughout New York State have been participating in Cornell Cooperative Extension's farm business summary and analysis program since the early 1950's. Managers of each participating farm business receive a comprehensive summary and analysis of their farm business. The information in this report represents averages of the data submitted from dairy farms in the Western and Central Plateau Region for 1997

Association of subchondral bone texture on magnetic resonance imaging with radiographic knee osteoarthritis progression: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative Bone Ancillary Study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether initial or 12-18-month change in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) subchondral bone texture is predictive of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression over 36 months. METHODS: This was a nested case-control study including 122 knees/122 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) Bone Ancillary Study, who underwent MRI optimised for subchondral bone assessment at either the 30- or 36-month and 48-month OAI visits. Case knees (n = 61) had radiographic OA progression between the 36- and 72-month OAI visits, defined as ≥ 0.7 mm minimum medial tibiofemoral radiographic joint space (minJSW) loss. Control knees (n = 61) without radiographic OA progression were matched (1:1) to cases for age, sex, body mass index and initial medial minJSW. Texture analysis was performed on the medial femoral and tibial subchondral bone. We assessed the association of texture features with radiographic progression by creating a composite texture score using penalised logistic regression and calculating odds ratios. We evaluated the predictive performance of texture features for predicting radiographic progression using c-statistics. RESULTS: Initial (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 2.13 [1.41-3.40]) and 12- 18-month change (3.76 [2.04-7.82]) texture scores were significantly associated with radiographic OA progression. Combinations of texture features were significant predictors of radiographic progression using initial (c-statistic [95% confidence interval] = 0.65 [0.64-0.65], p = 0.003) and 12-18-month change (0.68 [0.68-0.68], p < 0.001) data. CONCLUSIONS: Initial and 12-18-month changes in MRI subchondral bone texture score were significantly associated with radiographic progression at 36 months, with better predictive performance for 12-18-month change in texture. These results suggest that texture analysis may be a useful biomarker of subchondral bone in OA. KEY POINTS: • Subchondral bone MRI texture analysis is a promising knee osteoarthritis imaging biomarker. • In this study, subchondral bone texture was associated with knee osteoarthritis progression. • This demonstrates predictive and concurrent validity of MRI subchondral bone texture analysis. • This method may be useful in clinical trials with interventions targeting bone