Quantifying the abundance of four large epiphytic fern species in remnant complex notophyll vine forest on the Atherton Tableland, north Queensland, Australia

Epiphytes are generally considered rare in complex forests on the western edge of the Atherton Tablelands, north Queensland. This assertion is based on comparisons with wetter forests in the Wet Tropics bioregion, but is of limited use in restoration projects where targets need to be quantified. We quantified ‘rarity’ for a subset of the epiphyte community in one of the largest remaining patches of Type 5b rainforest at Wongabel State Forest(17°18' S, 145°28' E). The bundance of large individuals of the epiphytic fern species Asplenium australasicum, Drynaria rigidula, Platycerium bifurcatum, and Platycerium superbum were recorded from 100 identified midstorey or canopy trees. Epiphytes were less rare than the canopy trees sampled, averaging 1.7 individuals per tree. A clumped distribution was suggested with large epiphytes only occurring on 57 of the 100 trees. As tree size increased so did the number of individuals and species of large epiphytes recorded; only trees taller than 20 m yielded more than one epiphyte. Trees from the Meliaceae and Rutaceae hosted the most epiphytes, but host tree specificity patterns were not conclusive. Techniques for including epiphytes in restoration planning and projects are considered, and a quantified restoration target for epiphyte communities in Type 5b plantings is outlined

A Means-End Study of Outcome Differences of Females and Males Associated with Outward Bound and National Outdoor Leadership School

This study compares outcomes of male and female participants from Outward Bound (OB) and National Outdoor Leadership Schools (NOLS) courses during the summer of 2006. Means-end theory was used to analyze the differences in males versus females from the 510 subjects\u27 responses. Understanding the differences between the outcomes males and females obtain can lead to specific programming objectives. This can impact how organizations such as OB and NOLS program for both gender-specific and co-educational groups. So therefore, by gaining knowledge of differences between males and females we can then gain an understanding of gender roles and frameworks

A Means-End Study of Outcome Differences of Females and Males Associated with Outward Bound and National Outdoor Leadership School

This study compares outcomes of male and female participants from Outward Bound (OB) and National Outdoor Leadership Schools (NOLS) courses during the summer of 2006. Means-end theory was used to analyze the differences in males versus females from the 510 subjects\u27 responses. Understanding the differences between the outcomes males and females obtain can lead to specific programming objectives. This can impact how organizations such as OB and NOLS program for both gender-specific and co-educational groups. So therefore, by gaining knowledge of differences between males and females we can then gain an understanding of gender roles and frameworks

Can magnetic fields suppress convection in the atmosphere of cool white dwarfs? A case study on WD2105-820

Around 10% of white dwarfs exhibit global magnetic structures with fields ranging from 1 kG to hundreds of MG. Recently, the first radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarfs showed that convection should be suppressed in their photospheres for magnetic fields with strengths B $\gtrsim$ 50 kG. These predictions are in agreement with our knowledge of stellar physics (e.g. energy transfer in strong magnetic field regions of the solar photosphere), but have yet to be directly confirmed from white dwarf observations. We obtained COS far-UV spectroscopy of the weakly magnetic, hydrogen-atmosphere, white dwarf WD2105-820 and of three additional non-magnetic, convective remnants (all in the $T_{\mathrm{eff}}$ range 9000-11,000 K). We fitted both the COS and the already available optical spectra with convective and radiative atmospheric models. As expected, we find that for two of the non-magnetic comparison stars only convective model fits predict consistent $T_{\mathrm{eff}}$ values from both the optical and the FUV spectra. In contrast, for WD2105-820 only the best fitting radiative model produced consistent results.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRA

Longitudinal Participant Outcomes Associated with Outward Bound and National Outdoor Leadership School: A Means-End Investigation

Means-end theory was used to analyze differences in outcomes from original and follow-up interviews occurring over the three subsequent years after Outward Bound (OB) and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course participation. In 2006, a semi-structured, in-person interview was conducted after participants (N=510) completed their course. In 2007, 2008, and 2009, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of original participants. Results of this study show how OB and NOLS programs continue to increase participant self-respect, self-esteem, and self-confidence, provide a sense of accomplishment, and impart transferable lessons and skills three years after course participation. Understanding such participant outcomes allows program managers to effectively market programs, comprehend relationships between program attributes and participant outcomes, and design programs for specific outcomes

Formation of a large, complex domain of histone hyperacetylation at human 14q32.1 requires the serpin locus control region

The human serine protease inhibitor (serpin) gene cluster at 14q32.1 is a useful model system to study cell-type-specific gene expression and chromatin structure. Activation of the serpin locus can be induced in vitro by transferring human chromosome 14 from non-expressing to expressing cells. Serpin gene activation in expressing cells is correlated with locus-wide alterations in chromatin structure, including the de novo formation of 17 expression-associated DNase I-hypersensitive sites (DHSs). In this study, we investigated histone acetylation throughout the proximal serpin subcluster. We report that gene activation is correlated with high levels of histone H3 and H4 acetylation at serpin gene promoters and other regulatory regions. However, the locus is not uniformly hyperacetylated, as there are regions of hypoacetylation between genes. Furthermore, genetic tests indicate that locus-wide controls regulate both gene expression and chromatin structure. For example, deletion of a previously identified serpin locus control region (LCR) upstream of the proximal subcluster reduces both gene expression and histone acetylation throughout the ∼130 kb region. A similar down regulation phenotype is displayed by transactivator-deficient cell variants, but this phenotype can be rescued by transfecting the cells with expression cassettes encoding hepatocyte nuclear factor-1α (HNF-1α) or HNF-4. Taken together, these results suggest that histone acetylation depends on interactions between the HNF-1α/HNF-4 signaling cascade and the serpin LCR