Analysis of strong wind events around Adelie Land, East Antarctica

Strong wind events at Dumont d'Urville (DdU), an East Antarctic coastal station, and Dome C, an interior station, were studied to determine if the wind along the Adelie Land coast increases with the approach of the depression from the west of the site or after its passage to the east of it. The events for the year 1993 were studied using synoptic observations, mean sea level pressure charts and composite infrared satellite images. It was found that the winds are enhanced with the approach of a depression from the west towards the DdU coast. The wind increases in response to the decreasing pressure at the coastal site and increasing downslope pressure difference (dp). The wind starts decreasing once the system moves to the east of DdU and the pressure at DdU starts building up, as reported in some earlier studies. The response of wind to the approaching depression is not the same for all the events but depends on the downslope pressure difference and the movement of the depression that is often conditioned by the presence of a blocking high to the northeast. The wind comes down if the system starts penetrating inland due to the presence of the high pressure ridge to the northeast and decreasing dp. It is observed that the winds at Dome C increase to as high as 17 m s-1 with the inland penetration of the depression

Plant diversity assessment of selected forest sites of Gaya district of Bihar, India

Regular inventorization and monitoring of biodiversity is paramount for its conservation and sustainable utilization.  Gaya district of the Bihar is endowed with rich biodiversity. For proper understanding of plant diversity, quantitative status of the vegetation is essentially required. The aim of the study was to assess different forest sites of the Gaya district of Bihar in India for their plant diversity. Study was carried out in these randomly selected eleven forest sites (Site I to Site XI). A total of 174 species belonging to 150 genera and58 families(48 Dicotyledons, 7 monocotyledons and 3 pteridophytes) were reported from all eleven study sites.  Five largest families in the area were  Poaceae (22 spp.), Fabaceae (14 spp.), Asteraceae (11 spp.), Rubiaceae (9 spp.) and Acanthaceae (7 spp). Different diversity attributes such as Important Value Index (IVI ), Species richness, Shannon Wiener index, Concentration  of dominance and Evenness for tree, shrub and herb layers  were estimated. For different sites highest IVI values for tree, shrubby and herbaceous layers were reported.Shannon wiener Index values for tree, shrubby and herbaceous layer of Nagobar site were estimated3.376, 1.986 and 2.350 respectively. Tree diversity was highest at Nagobar site whereas shrub and herb diversity was also reasonably better than most of the sites. Hence, it was revealed from the study that Nagobar site was most diverse site in the Gaya district. Study will be immense use for officials of forest department, researcher, students etc. for carrying out conservation and management work. Similar kind of study should be carried out in different forest sites of the country to get capture the status of the plant diversity for conservation and sustainable utilization.

Tanganyika lake, modeling the eco-hydrodynamics

peer reviewedThe model consists of a four-component ecosystem model, coupled to a hydrodynamic model. The hydrodynamic model considers the Lake as two homogeneous layers of different density lying above each other, representing the warm epilimnion (surface mixed layer) and cold dense hypolimnion (lower layer) separated by a thermocline (Naithani et al., 2002, 2003

Human-Elephant Conflict: A Review of Current Management Strategies and Future Directions

Human-elephant conflict is a major conservation concern in elephant range countries. A variety of management strategies have been developed and are practiced at different scales for preventing and mitigating human-elephant conflict. However, human-elephant conflict remains pervasive as the majority of existing prevention strategies are driven by site-specific factors that only offer short-term solutions, while mitigation strategies frequently transfer conflict risk from one place to another. Here, we review current human-elephant conflict management strategies and describe an interdisciplinary conceptual approach to manage species coexistence over the long-term. Our proposed model identifies shared resource use between humans and elephants at different spatial and temporal scales for development of long-term solutions. The model also highlights the importance of including anthropological and geographical knowledge to find sustainable solutions to managing human-elephant conflict

Plant Reactome: a resource for plant pathways and comparative analysis

Plant Reactome (http://plantreactome.gramene.org/) is a free, open-source, curated plant pathway database portal, provided as part of the Gramene project. The database provides intuitive bioinformatics tools for the visualization, analysis and interpretation of pathway knowledge to support genome annotation, genome analysis, modeling, systems biology, basic research and education. Plant Reactome employs the structural framework of a plant cell to show metabolic, transport, genetic, developmental and signaling pathways. We manually curate molecular details of pathways in these domains for reference species Oryza sativa (rice) supported by published literature and annotation of well-characterized genes. Two hundred twenty-two rice pathways, 1025 reactions associated with 1173 proteins, 907 small molecules and 256 literature references have been curated to date. These reference annotations were used to project pathways for 62 model, crop and evolutionarily significant plant species based on gene homology. Database users can search and browse various components of the database, visualize curated baseline expression of pathway-associated genes provided by the Expression Atlas and upload and analyze their Omics datasets. The database also offers data access via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and in various standardized pathway formats, such as SBML and BioPAX

Behavioral attitudes and preferences in cooking practices with traditional open-fire stoves in Peru, Nepal, and Kenya: implications for improved cookstove interventions.

Global efforts are underway to develop and promote improved cookstoves which may reduce the negative health and environmental effects of burning solid fuels on health and the environment. Behavioral studies have considered cookstove user practices, needs and preferences in the design and implementation of cookstove projects; however, these studies have not examined the implications of the traditional stove use and design across multiple resource-poor settings in the implementation and promotion of improved cookstove projects that utilize a single, standardized stove design. We conducted in-depth interviews and direct observations of meal preparation and traditional, open-fire stove use of 137 women aged 20-49 years in Kenya, Peru and Nepal prior in the four-month period preceding installation of an improved cookstove as part of a field intervention trial. Despite general similarities in cooking practices across sites, we identified locally distinct practices and norms regarding traditional stove use and desired stove improvements. Traditional stoves are designed to accommodate specific cooking styles, types of fuel, and available resources for maintenance and renovation. The tailored stoves allow users to cook and repair their stoves easily. Women in each setting expressed their desire for a new stove, but they articulated distinct specific alterations that would meet their needs and preferences. Improved cookstove designs need to consider the diversity of values and needs held by potential users, presenting a significant challenge in identifying a "one size fits all" improved cookstove design. Our data show that a single stove design for use with locally available biomass fuels will not meet the cooking demands and resources available across the three sites. Moreover, locally produced or adapted improved cookstoves may be needed to meet the cooking needs of diverse populations while addressing health and environmental concerns of traditional stoves

Gramene 2013: comparative plant genomics resources

Gramene (http://www.gramene.org) is a curated online resource for comparative functional genomics in crops and model plant species, currently hosting 27 fully and 10 partially sequenced reference genomes in its build number 38. Its strength derives from the application of a phylogenetic framework for genome comparison and the use of ontologies to integrate structural and functional annotation data. Whole-genome alignments complemented by phylogenetic gene family trees help infer syntenic and orthologous relationships. Genetic variation data, sequences and genome mappings available for 10 species, including Arabidopsis, rice and maize, help infer putative variant effects on genes and transcripts. The pathways section also hosts 10 species-specific metabolic pathways databases developed in-house or by our collaborators using Pathway Tools software, which facilitates searches for pathway, reaction and metabolite annotations, and allows analyses of user-defined expression datasets. Recently, we released a Plant Reactome portal featuring 133 curated rice pathways. This portal will be expanded for Arabidopsis, maize and other plant species. We continue to provide genetic and QTL maps and marker datasets developed by crop researchers. The project provides a unique community platform to support scientific research in plant genomics including studies in evolution, genetics, plant breeding, molecular biology, biochemistry and systems biology

The breadth of primary care: a systematic literature review of its core dimensions

Background: Even though there is general agreement that primary care is the linchpin of effective health care delivery, to date no efforts have been made to systematically review the scientific evidence supporting this supposition. The aim of this study was to examine the breadth of primary care by identifying its core dimensions and to assess the evidence for their interrelations and their relevance to outcomes at (primary) health system level. Methods: A systematic review of the primary care literature was carried out, restricted to English language journals reporting original research or systematic reviews. Studies published between 2003 and July 2008 were searched in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, King's Fund Database, IDEAS Database, and EconLit. Results: Eighty-five studies were identified. This review was able to provide insight in the complexity of primary care as a multidimensional system, by identifying ten core dimensions that constitute a primary care system. The structure of a primary care system consists of three dimensions: 1. governance; 2. economic conditions; and 3. workforce development. The primary care process is determined by four dimensions: 4. access; 5. continuity of care; 6. coordination of care; and 7. comprehensiveness of care. The outcome of a primary care system includes three dimensions: 8. quality of care; 9. efficiency care; and 10. equity in health. There is a considerable evidence base showing that primary care contributes through its dimensions to overall health system performance and health. Conclusions: A primary care system can be defined and approached as a multidimensional system contributing to overall health system performance and health

Gramene 2016: comparative plant genomics and pathway resources

Gramene (http://www.gramene.org) is an online resource for comparative functional genomics in crops and model plant species. Its two main frameworks are genomes (collaboration with Ensembl Plants) and pathways (The Plant Reactome and archival BioCyc databases). Since our last NAR update, the database website adopted a new Drupal management platform. The genomes section features 39 fully assembled reference genomes that are integrated using ontology-based annotation and comparative analyses, and accessed through both visual and programmatic interfaces. Additional community data, such as genetic variation, expression and methylation, are also mapped for a subset of genomes. The Plant Reactome pathway portal (http://plantreactome.gramene.org) provides a reference resource for analyzing plant metabolic and regulatory pathways. In addition to approximately 200 curated rice reference pathways, the portal hosts gene homology-based pathway projections for 33 plant species. Both the genome and pathway browsers interface with the EMBL-EBI's Expression Atlas to enable the projection of baseline and differential expression data from curated expression studies in plants. Gramene's archive website (http://archive.gramene.org) continues to provide previously reported resources on comparative maps, markers and QTL. To further aid our users, we have also introduced a live monthly educational webinar series and a Gramene YouTube channel carrying video tutorials