Quantifying the effect of ecological restoration on runoff and sediment yields: A meta-analysis for the Loess Plateau of China

Ecological restoration can result in extensive land use transitions which may directly impact on water runoff and sediment loss and thus influence tradeoffs between multiple hydrological and soil ecosystem services. However, quantifying the effect of these transitions on runoff and sediment yields has been a challenge over large spatial scales. This study integrated and synthesized 43 articles and 331 runoff experimental plots in the Loess Plateau of China under natural rainfall to quantify the impacts of land use transitions on (a) runoff and sediment production, (b) runoff and soil loss reduction effectiveness, and (c) the tradeoffs between runoff and soil erosion. The effects of ecological restoration on runoff and sediment yields were quantified using a general mixed linear meta-regression model with a restricted maximum likelihood estimator on overall and individual ecological restoration types. The results showed that artificial grassland, forest, natural grassland, and shrubland had higher runoff and sediment reduction effectiveness. The annual runoff reduction effectiveness of the ecological restoration overall was 72.18% with the effects of artificial grassland, natural grassland, shrubland, and forest at 71.89%, 50.60%, 73.18%, and 73.08%, respectively. The annual sediment reduction effectiveness of the overall ecological restoration was 99.9% without a significant difference among the four land uses associated with ecological recovery. In addition, shrubland and forest significantly reduced sediment yields with relatively high runoff costs. Natural grassland was optimal for balancing water provisioning and soil conservation, and artificial grassland was second to natural grassland in this respect. Meanwhile, newly unmanaged abandoned land and cropland had relative weak functionality with regard to soil and water conservation. The implications of this study’s findings are discussed along with their potential to contribute to an improved understanding of the effects of ecological restoration on water supply and soil retention for the water-limited terrestrial ecosystem at a regional scale

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Levels in an Expanded Market Basket Survey of U.S. Food and Estimated PBDE Dietary Intake by Age and Sex

OBJECTIVES: Our objectives in this study were to expand a previously reported U.S. market basket survey using a larger sample size and to estimate levels of PBDE intake from food for the U.S. general population by sex and age. METHODS: We measured concentrations of 13 polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners in food in 62 food samples. In addition, we estimated levels of PBDE intake from food for the U.S. general population by age (birth through ≥60 years of age) and sex. RESULTS: In food samples, concentrations of total PBDEs varied from 7.9 pg/g (parts per trillion) in milk to 3,726 pg/g in canned sardines. Fish were highest in PBDEs (mean, 1,120 pg/g; median, 616 pg/g; range, 11.14–3,726 pg/g). This was followed by meat (mean, 383 pg/g; median, 190 pg/g; range, 39–1,426 pg/g) and dairy products (mean, 116 pg/g; median, 32.2 pg/g; range, 7.9–683 pg/g). However, using estimates for food consumption (excluding nursing infants), meat accounted for the highest U.S. dietary PBDE intake, followed by dairy and fish, with almost equal contributions. Adult females had lower dietary intake of PBDEs than did adult males, based on body weight. We estimated PBDE intake from food to be 307 ng/kg/day for nursing infants and from 2 ng/kg/day at 2–5 years of age for both males and females to 0.9 ng/kg/day in adult females. CONCLUSION: Dietary exposure alone does not appear to account for the very high body burdens measured. The indoor environment (dust, air) may play an important role in PBDE body burdens in addition to food

Does timing of decisions in a mixed duopoly matter?

We determine the endogenous order of moves in a mixed pricesetting duopoly. In contrast to the existing literature on mixed oligopolies we establish the payo equivalence of the games with an exogenously given order of moves if the most plausible equilibrium is realized in the market. Hence, in this case it does not matter whether one becomes a leader or a follower. We also establish that replacing a private firm by a public firm in the standard Bertrand-Edgeworth game with capacity constraints increases social welfare and that a pure-strategy equilibrium always exists

Access to preventive care by immigrant populations

Many immigrant populations lack access to primary health care. A recently published study on cholesterol screening among immigrant populations in the US found disparities in cholesterol screening in those originating from Mexico, largely due to limited access to healthcare. This inverse care affects immigrants in many destination countries despite their greater health need

Capsular profiling of the Cronobacter genus and the association of specific Cronobacter sakazakii and C. malonaticus capsule types with neonatal meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis

Background: Cronobacter sakazakii and C. malonaticus can cause serious diseases especially in infants where they are associated with rare but fatal neonatal infections such as meningitis and necrotising enterocolitis. Methods: This study used 104 whole genome sequenced strains, covering all seven species in the genus, to analyse capsule associated clusters of genes involved in the biosynthesis of the O-antigen, colanic acid, bacterial cellulose, enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), and a previously uncharacterised K-antigen. Results: Phylogeny of the gnd and galF genes flanking the O-antigen region enabled the defining of 38 subgroups which are potential serotypes. Two variants of the colanic acid synthesis gene cluster (CA1 and CA2) were found which differed with the absence of galE in CA2. Cellulose (bcs genes) were present in all species, but were absent in C. sakazakii sequence type (ST) 13 and clonal complex (CC) 100 strains. The ECA locus was found in all strains. The K-antigen capsular polysaccharide Region 1 (kpsEDCS) and Region 3 (kpsMT) genes were found in all Cronobacter strains. The highly variable Region 2 genes were assigned to 2 homology groups (K1 and K2). C. sakazakii and C. malonaticus isolates with capsular type [K2:CA2:Cell+] were associated with neonatal meningitis and necrotizing enterocolitis. Other capsular types were less associated with clinical infections. Conclusion: This study proposes a new capsular typing scheme which identifies a possible important virulence trait associated with severe neonatal infections. The various capsular polysaccharide structures warrant further investigation as they could be relevant to macrophage survival, desiccation resistance, environmental survival, and biofilm formation in the hospital environment, including neonatal enteral feeding tubes

Genomic Organization, Tissue Distribution and Functional Characterization of the Rat Pate Gene Cluster

The cysteine rich prostate and testis expressed (Pate) proteins identified till date are thought to resemble the three fingered protein/urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor proteins. In this study, for the first time, we report the identification, cloning and characterization of rat Pate gene cluster and also determine the expression pattern. The rat Pate genes are clustered on chromosome 8 and their predicted proteins retained the ten cysteine signature characteristic to TFP/Ly-6 protein family. PATE and PATE-F three dimensional protein structure was found to be similar to that of the toxin bucandin. Though Pate gene expression is thought to be prostate and testis specific, we observed that rat Pate genes are also expressed in seminal vesicle and epididymis and in tissues beyond the male reproductive tract. In the developing rats (20–60 day old), expression of Pate genes seem to be androgen dependent in the epididymis and testis. In the adult rat, androgen ablation resulted in down regulation of the majority of Pate genes in the epididymides. PATE and PATE-F proteins were found to be expressed abundantly in the male reproductive tract of rats and on the sperm. Recombinant PATE protein exhibited potent antibacterial activity, whereas PATE-F did not exhibit any antibacterial activity. Pate expression was induced in the epididymides when challenged with LPS. Based on our results, we conclude that rat PATE proteins may contribute to the reproductive and defense functions

Determinants of muscle carnosine content

The main determinant of muscle carnosine (M-Carn) content is undoubtedly species, with, for example, aerobically trained female vegetarian athletes [with circa 13 mmol/kg dry muscle (dm)] having just 1/10th of that found in trained thoroughbred horses. Muscle fibre type is another key determinant, as type II fibres have a higher M-Carn or muscle histidine containing dipeptide (M-HCD) content than type I fibres. In vegetarians, M-Carn is limited by hepatic synthesis of β-alanine, whereas in omnivores this is augmented by the hydrolysis of dietary supplied HCD’s resulting in muscle levels two or more times higher. β-alanine supplementation will increase M-Carn. The same increase in M-Carn occurs with administration of an equal molar quantity of carnosine as an alternative source of β-alanine. Following the cessation of supplementation, M-Carn returns to pre-supplementation levels, with an estimated t1/2 of 5–9 weeks. Higher than normal M-Carn contents have been noted in some chronically weight-trained subjects, but it is unclear if this is due to the training per se, or secondary to changes in muscle fibre composition, an increase in β-alanine intake or even anabolic steroid use. There is no measureable loss of M-Carn with acute exercise, although exercise-induced muscle damage may result in raised plasma concentrations in equines. Animal studies indicate effects of gender and age, but human studies lack sufficient control of the effects of diet and changes in muscle fibre composition

Failure of knee osteotomy in a case of neuropathic arthropathy of the knee

Neuropathic arthropathy (Charcot’s joint) is a degenerative process that affects peripheral or vertebral joints as a consequence of a disturbance in proprioception and pain perception. The knee is one of the most frequently affected joints, but even when the diagnosis is made at an early stage there is no consensus on the best treatment options. An early diagnosis of neurosyphilis was made in a 55-year-old woman presenting a delayed union of an asymptomatic Schatzker type IV fracture of the proximal tibia. A medial opening wedge tibial osteotomy was performed to achieve fracture healing, to correct the medial depression of the articular surface, and possibly to avoid an early arthritis typical of the disease. To our knowledge, a knee osteotomy has never been reported at an early stage of neuropathic arthropathy. Even though the clinical and radiographic evaluation performed at 4 months follow-up showed a good stage of healing of the osteotomy and no typical features of neuropathic joint degeneration, at 8 months follow-up the knee was markedly deranged

Color & Weak triplet scalars, the dimuon asymmetry in BsB_s decay, the top forward-backward asymmetry, and the CDF dijet excess

The new physics required to explain the anomalies recently reported by the D0 and CDF collaborations, namely the top forward-backward asymmetry (FBA), the like-sign dimuon charge asymmetry in semileptonic b decay, and the CDF dijet excess, has to feature an amount of flavor symmetry in order to satisfy the severe constrains arising from flavor violation. In this paper we show that, once baryon number conservation is imposed, color & weak triplet scalars with hypercharge $Y=1/3$ can feature the required flavor structure as a consequence of standard model gauge invariance. The color & weak triplet model can simultaneously explain the top FBA and the dimuon charge asymmetry or the dimuon charge asymmetry and the CDF dijet excess. However, the CDF dijet excess appears to be incompatible with the top FBA in the minimal framework. Our model for the dimuon asymmetry predicts the observed pattern $h_d\ll h_s$ in the region of parameter space required to explain the top FBA, whereas our model for the CDF dijet anomaly is characterized by the absence of beyond the SM b-quark jets in the excess region. Compatibility of the color & weak triplet with the electroweak constraints is also discussed. We show that a Higgs boson mass exceeding the LEP bound is typically favored in this scenario, and that both Higgs production and decay can be significantly altered by the triplet. The most promising collider signature is found if the splitting among the components of the triplet is of weak scale magnitude.Comment: references added, published versio