Fishes of the Mountain Province Section of the Ouachita River

A survey of the fishes of the mountain province section of the Ouachita River from the headwaters to Remmel Dam using field collections, literature records, and museum collections showed the ichthyofauna to be made up of 80 species representing 16 families. Fourteen species not previously reported from the mountain province section of the river were collected in this survey. These species include Ichthyomyzon gagei, Nocomis asper, Notropis ortenburgeri, N. rubellus, Pimephales promelas, Moxostoma carinatum, Noturus taylori, Fundulus notatus, Lepomis humilis, Etheostoma histrio, E. proeliare, Percina maculata, P. nasuta, and P. uranidea. The Nocomis specimens were the first collected from the Ouachita River system and the discovery of Noturus taylori represents a major range extension

Organic amendment increases arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity in primary coastal dunes

Plastic pots were inserted beneath seedlings of a shallow-rooted C4 grass species, Ischaemum indicum, with and without a root-impenetrable nylon sachet filled with organic matter (OM) amendment, at seven stations along an interrupted belt transect in which plant community and soil chemistry had been previously surveyed. The transect was perpendicular to mean high-water mark (MH-WM) across a primary coastal dune system in Goa, India, where summer monsoon is the predominant weather feature. The Quadrat survey of plant frequency was made in stations when the above-ground biomass was estimated to be highest. Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungal (AMF) spore density and diversity were determined morphologically in amended and control pots soils, and in OM sachet residues, after host-plant desiccation when monsoon rains had ceased. Twenty-seven AM fungal spore morphotypes were isolated from the pots containing OM amended rhizosphere soils, 19 from controls and 14 from OM residues in the sachets. Gigaspora margarita proved to be the dominant spore in all treatments. Eight morphotypes recovered from amended pots were not recovered from the controls. There was an increasing trend in species diversity in amended pots away from MH-WM. Spore recovery from the three regimes showed variable distribution that indicated differing AMF species strategies

The Rockefeller Foundation's International Program on Rice Biotechnology

Presents the product of a two-year intensive survey and analysis of the genetic prospects for the world's major food crops conducted in the early 1980s

A Mouse Model of Vitiligo with Focused Epidermal Depigmentation Requires IFN-γ for Autoreactive CD8+CD8^+ T Cell Accumulation in the Skin

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease of the skin causing disfiguring patchy depigmentation of the epidermis and, less commonly, hair. Therapeutic options for vitiligo are limited, reflecting in part limited knowledge of disease pathogenesis. Existing mouse models of vitiligo consist of hair depigmentation but lack prominent epidermal involvement, which is the hallmark of human disease. They are thus unable to provide a platform to fully investigate disease mechanisms and treatment. $CD8^+$ T cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of vitiligo and expression of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is increased in the lesional skin of patients, however it is currently unknown what role IFN-γ plays in disease. Here, we have developed an adoptive transfer mouse model of vitiligo using melanocyte-specific $CD8^+$ T cells, which recapitulates the human condition by inducing epidermal depigmentation while sparing the hair. Like active lesions in human vitiligo, histology of depigmenting skin reveals a patchy mononuclear infiltrate and single-cell infiltration of the epidermis. Depigmentation is accompanied by accumulation of autoreactive $CD8^+$ T cells in the skin, quantifiable loss of tyrosinase transcript, and local IFN-γ production. Neutralization of IFN-γ with antibody prevents $CD8^+$ T cell accumulation and depigmentation, suggesting a therapeutic potential for this approach

Photon-photon correlations and entanglement in doped photonic crystals

We consider a photonic crystal (PC) doped with four-level atoms whose intermediate transition is coupled near-resonantly with a photonic band-gap edge. We show that two photons, each coupled to a different atomic transition in such atoms, can manifest strong phase or amplitude correlations: One photon can induce a large phase shift on the other photon or trigger its absorption and thus operate as an ultrasensitive nonlinear photon-switch. These features allow the creation of entangled two-photon states and have unique advantages over previously considered media: (i) no control lasers are needed; (ii) the system parameters can be chosen to cause full two-photon entanglement via absorption; (iii) a number of PCs can be combined in a network.Comment: Modified, expanded text; added reference

On the Kauffman bracket skein module of the quaternionic manifold

We use recoupling theory to study the Kauffman bracket skein module of the quaternionic manifold over Z[A,A^{-1}] localized by inverting all the cyclotomic polynomials. We prove that the skein module is spanned by five elements. Using the quantum invariants of these skein elements and the Z_2 homology of the manifold, we determine that they are linearly independent.Comment: corrected summation signs in figures 14, 15, 17. Other minor change

Qualitative Freshwater Mussel Survey of the South Fork Spring River, Missouri and Arkansas

A qualitative freshwater mussel survey was performed in the South Fork Spring River, Arkansas between May 13 and June 20, 2006 to assess community composition, density, and the presence of endangered mussel species (Family Unionidae). Twenty-one species from 460 individuals of mussels were collected using qualitative methods. Of those 21 species, 11 were ranked as S1, S2, or S3 using rankings established by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission Heritage Program. Three species, Amblema plicata (Say 1817), Lampsilis reeveiana (Call 1887), and Ptychobranchus occidentalis (Conrad 1836), comprised 48% of all mussels collected with 12%, 15%, and 21%, respectively. Mussel abundance within beds ranged between 2 to 33 individuals/site with an overall mean of 13 individuals/site. Selecting mussel beds for long-term monitoring in streams is necessary to assess population status and recruitment and to document success of future stream restoration projects

A comparison of two-coloured filter systems for treating visual reading difficulties

Copyright @ 2013 Informa UK Ltd.Purpose: Visual disturbances that make it difficult to read text are often termed “visual stress”. Coloured filters in spectacles may help some children overcome reading problems that are often caused by visual stress. It has been suggested that for optimal effect each child requires an individually prescribed colour for each eye, as determined in systems such as the “Harris Foundation” coloured filters. Alternatively, it has been argued that only blue or yellow filters, as used in the “Dyslexia Research Trust” (DRT) filter system, are necessary to affect the underlying physiology. Method: A randomised, double blind trial with 73 delayed readers, was undertaken to compare changes in reading and spelling as well as irregular and non-word reading skills after 3 months of wearing either the Harris or the DRT filters. Results: Reading improved significantly after wearing either type of filter (t = −8.4, p < 0.01), with 40% of the children improving their reading age by 6 months or more during the 3 month trial. However, spelling ability (t = 2.1, p = 0.05) and non-word reading (f = 4.7, p < 0.05) improved significantly more with the DRT than with the Harris filters. Conclusion: Education and rehabilitation professionals should therefore, consider coloured filters as an effective intervention for delayed readers experiencing visual stress

Zooplankton and Micronekton in Cyclones and Anticyclones in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico

Two cruises were made to the northeast Gulf of Mexico in October 1996 and August 1997. The main objectives of the cruises were to survey cetacean and seabird populations and describe their hydrographic and biological environments. An additional objective was to characterize cetacean and seabird habitats in terms of food resources. During both cruises a cyclone and an anticyclone were sampled as well as the confluence region between them. Zooplankton and micronekton were sampled both directly with nets and indirectly with a 153-kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler. Within cruises, zooplankton and micronekton biomass was higher in cyclones than in anticyclones. Biomass within the confluence was either highest or intermediate for both cruises. Between cruises, within features, August 1997 biomass was significantly higher than October 1996 biomass