Taxonomic Composition, Biomass, and Trophic Structure of Grassland Invertebrates at Cottonwood, South Dakota

This particular study is concerned with invertebrates found on a grassland ecosystem; therefore, most of the literature reviewed was limited to studies involving insects. Since the literature on ecosystems is extensive, only the following trends as listed by Clark et al. were reviewed: physical factor ecology, production ecology, and population ecology. Smith was among the first to emphasize physical factor ecology which stressed the importance of abiotic factors in regulating animal numbers. He first used the terms density-dependent and density independent. Production ecology introduced the study of more complex life communities and considered the trophic association or food-cycles and the flow of energy within trophic levels. Since Lindeman formulated his concept of trophic dynamics, ecologists have become increasingly interested in the energy relationships of ecosystems. The application of thermodynamics and information theory to the study of energy flow through an ecosystem has progressed rapidly. Population ecology has been defined by Andrewartha as the laws governing the numbers of animals in relation to the areas that they inhabit. It takes into account the relationships of animals to their food and to other sorts of animals that eat the same sort of food, or prey on them, or are related to them in some way. Clark et al. defined population ecology as meaning the study of events and processes which determine the distribution, abundance, and persistence of specific populations. During the last thirty years, many workers have contributed differing theories to explain the abundance and distribution of species. Smith, Solomon, Nicholson, and Klomp thought that density-dependent processes play a key role in the determination of population numbers by operating as stabilizing mechanisms. Andrewartha and Birch and Andrewartha regarded such processes as being of minor importance and considered them insignificant in determining the abundance of some species. Milne sought a middle course between these views, and Birch emphasized the influence of the genetic factor in the determination of population numbers. Recently some progress has been made in dealing with the complexity of structure and interaction at the community level; however, studies of a single community and its invertebrate fauna are in the natural history stage of development. The purpose of this study is to consider and compare basic features of the invertebrate community present on a grassland ecosystem. The four basic features are: its taxonomic composition (numbers), its biomass, its trophic structure, and the seasonal patterns of more important taxa

A New SLC10A7 Homozygous Missense Mutation Responsible for a Milder Phenotype of Skeletal Dysplasia With Amelogenesis Imperfecta

International audienceAmelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a heterogeneous group of rare inherited diseases presenting with enamel defects. More than 30 genes have been reported to be involved in syndromic or non-syndromic AI and new genes are continuously discovered (Smith et al., 2017). Whole-exome sequencing was performed in a consanguineous family. The affected daughter presented with intra-uterine and postnatal growth retardation, skeletal dysplasia, macrocephaly, blue sclerae, and hypoplastic AI. We identified a homozygous missense mutation in exon 11 of SLC10A7 (NM_001300842.2: c.908C>T; p.Pro303Leu) segregating with the disease phenotype. We found that Slc10a7 transcripts were expressed in the epithelium of the developing mouse tooth, bones undergoing ossification, and in vertebrae. Our results revealed that SLC10A7 is overexpressed in patient fibroblasts. Patient cells display altered intracellular calcium localization suggesting that SLC10A7 regulates calcium trafficking. Mutations in this gene were previously reported to cause a similar syndromic phenotype, but with more severe skeletal defects (Ashikov et al., 2018;Dubail et al., 2018). Therefore, phenotypes resulting from a mutation in SLC10A7 can vary in severity. However, AI is the key feature indicative of SLC10A7 mutations in patients with skeletal dysplasia. Identifying this important phenotype will improve clinical diagnosis and patient management

A New SLC10A7 Homozygous Missense Mutation Responsible for a Milder Phenotype of Skeletal Dysplasia With Amelogenesis Imperfecta

Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a heterogeneous group of rare inherited diseases presenting with enamel defects. More than 30 genes have been reported to be involved in syndromic or non-syndromic AI and new genes are continuously discovered (Smith et al., 2017). Whole-exome sequencing was performed in a consanguineous family. The affected daughter presented with intra-uterine and postnatal growth retardation, skeletal dysplasia, macrocephaly, blue sclerae, and hypoplastic AI. We identified a homozygous missense mutation in exon 11 of SLC10A7 (NM_001300842.2: c.908C>T; p.Pro303Leu) segregating with the disease phenotype. We found that Slc10a7 transcripts were expressed in the epithelium of the developing mouse tooth, bones undergoing ossification, and in vertebrae. Our results revealed that SLC10A7 is overexpressed in patient fibroblasts. Patient cells display altered intracellular calcium localization suggesting that SLC10A7 regulates calcium trafficking. Mutations in this gene were previously reported to cause a similar syndromic phenotype, but with more severe skeletal defects (Ashikov et al., 2018;Dubail et al., 2018). Therefore, phenotypes resulting from a mutation in SLC10A7 can vary in severity. However, AI is the key feature indicative of SLC10A7 mutations in patients with skeletal dysplasia. Identifying this important phenotype will improve clinical diagnosis and patient management

Two modelling approaches to water-quality simulation in a flooded iron-ore mine (Saizerais, Lorraine, France): A semi-distributed chemical reactor model and a physically based distributed reactive transport pipe network model

International audienceThe flooding of abandoned mines in the Lorraine Iron Basin (LIB) over the past 25 years has degraded the quality of the groundwater tapped for drinking water. High concentrations of dissolved sulphate have made the water unsuitable for human consumption. This problematic issue has led to the development of numerical tools to support water-resource management in mining contexts. Here we examine two modelling approaches using different numerical tools that we tested on the Saizerais flooded iron-ore mine (Lorraine, France). A first approach considers the Saizerais Mine as a network of two chemical reactors (NCR). The second approach is based on a physically distributed pipe network model (PNM) built with EPANET 2 software. This approach considers the mine as a network of pipes defined by their geometric and chemical parameters. Each reactor in the NCR model includes a detailed chemical model built to simulate quality evolution in the flooded mine water. However, in order to obtain a robust PNM, we simplified the detailed chemical model into a specific sulphate dissolution-precipitation model that is included as sulphate source/sink in both a NCR model and a pipe network model. Both the NCR model and the PNM, based on different numerical techniques, give good post-calibration agreement between the simulated and measured sulphate concentrations in the drinking-water well and overflow drift. The NCR model incorporating the detailed chemical model is useful when a detailed chemical behaviour at the overflow is needed. The PNM incorporating the simplified sulphate dissolution-precipitation model provides better information of the physics controlling the effect of flow and low flow zones, and the time of solid sulphate removal whereas the NCR model will underestimate clean-up time due to the complete mixing assumption. In conclusion, the detailed NCR model will give a first assessment of chemical processes at overflow, and in a second time, the PNM model will provide more detailed information on flow and chemical behaviour (dissolved sulphate concentrations, remaining mass of solid sulphate) in the network. Nevertheless, both modelling methods require hydrological and chemical parameters (recharge flow rate, outflows, volume of mine voids, mass of solids, kinetic constants of the dissolution-precipitation reactions), which are commonly not available for a mine and therefore call for calibration data

Modelling the sulphate concentration of a flooded iron-ore mine with a network of chemical reactors (NCR) and a pipe network model (PNM)

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Étude et modélisation du drainage minier neutre dans le bassin ferrifère lorrain (BFL)

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