Home-Range Size of White-Headed Woodpeckers in W est- Central Idaho

The white-headed woodpecker (Picoides albolarvatus) is a species of management concern in dry-conifer forests of the Inland Northwest, where forest restoration and fuels reduction treatments are increasingly common.  This species may be vulnerable to forest management treatments because it occupies a limited distribution and has narrow habitat requirements.  Forest treatments could negatively affect this species if foraging and nesting resources are removed or could benefit the species through creation of more heterogeneity across the landscape.  Studies of other woodpecker species have identified resource availability and habitat composition as a key influence on the variation of home range size within a population.  We examined home range size of white-headed woodpeckers in a landscape historically managed for timber harvest and is currently receiving extensive forest restoration treatments.  In our first field season, we obtained relocations on 7 radio-tagged woodpeckers (5 males and 2 females, all from different breeding pairs), from late nesting through fledgling periods (late June to early September).  We obtained direct foraging observations at the radio locations.  Estimated home range sizes were quite variable(24 - 180 ha), based on the minimum convex polygon (MCP) method.  We will also estimate home range sizes using the fixed-kernel method.  Identifying habitat spatial attributes that account for variation in home range size will contribute towards effective management decisions for the persistence of white-headed woodpecker populations

Landscape Heterogeneity at White-Headed Woodpecker Nest Sites in West-Central Idaho

The white-headed woodpecker (Picoides albolarvatus) is a regional endemic species of dry conifer forests in the Inland Pacific Northwest, where forest restoration activities are increasingly common. Recent efforts to mitigate severe fire effects and restore ecological function in these forests have prompted land managers to consider the implications of forest management actions on a range of resources, including wildlife. Identifying the associations of sensitive wildlife species with the structure and distribution of resources across landscapes is necessary for scientifically-sound management decisions. We examined the heterogeneity and proportion of open- and closed- canopy forest patches surrounding white-headed woodpecker nest sites during 2012 and 2013. We used logistic regression to compare differences between nest (n = 34) and non-nest (n = 184) sites. We found a stronger positive relationship with low canopy closure within 1-ha of nest sites compared with non-nest sites (nests: x? = 0.49, SD = 0.43; non-nests: x? = 0.06, SD = 0.16; P < 0.001). We also measured a stronger positive relationship with the edge density between low and moderate canopy patches within a 1-km radius of nest sites compared with non-nest sites (nests: x? = 30.0 meters/ha, SD = 14.6; non-nests: x? = 18.4 m/ha, SD = 14.9; P < 0.001). Our results are consistent with studies of nesting white-headed woodpeckers in Oregon. These data will help further validate and refine habitat suitability models across their northern range and contribute towards effective management decisions that will benefit the white-headed woodpecker

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Reduce Disease Severity and Immune Responses in Inflammatory Arthritis

Abstract Background Novel biological therapies have revolutionised the management of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) but no cure currently exists. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) immunomodulate inflammatory responses through paracrine signalling via growth factors, cytokines, chemokines and extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the cell secretome; however, MSCs are still not available in the clinic. We evaluated the therapeutic potential of MSCs-derived EVs in an antigen-induced model of arthritis (AIA). Methods EVs isolated from MSCs in normal (21% O 2 , 5% CO 2 ) or hypoxic (2% O 2 , 5% CO 2 ) culture or from MSCs pre-conditioned with a pro-inflammatory cytokine cocktail were applied into the AIA model. Disease pathology was assessed 3 days post arthritis induction through histopathological analysis of knee joints. Spleens and lymph nodes were collected and assessed for T cell polarisation within the immune response to AIA. Activated naïve CD4+ T cells from spleens of healthy mice were cultured with EVs or MSCs to assess deactivation capabilities. Results All EV treatments significantly reduced knee-joint swelling and histopathological signs of AIA with enhanced responses to normoxic and pro-inflammatory primed EVs. Polarisation of T cells towards CD4+ helper cells expressing IL17a (Th17) was reduced when EV treatments from MSCs cultured in hypoxia or pro-inflammatory priming conditions were applied. Conclusions Hypoxically cultured EVs present a priming methodology that is as effective in reducing swelling, IL-17a expression, Th17 polarisation and T cell proliferation as pro-inflammatory priming. EVs present an effective novel technology for cell-free therapeutic translation in treating inflammatory arthritis and autoimmune disorders such as RA

The ROTSE-III Robotic Telescope System

The observation of a prompt optical flash from GRB990123 convincingly demonstrated the value of autonomous robotic telescope systems. Pursuing a program of rapid follow-up observations of gamma-ray bursts, the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE) has developed a next-generation instrument, ROTSE-III, that will continue the search for fast optical transients. The entire system was designed as an economical robotic facility to be installed at remote sites throughout the world. There are seven major system components: optics, optical tube assembly, CCD camera, telescope mount, enclosure, environmental sensing & protection and data acquisition. Each is described in turn in the hope that the techniques developed here will be useful in similar contexts elsewhere.Comment: 19 pages, including 4 figures. To be published in PASP in January, 2003. PASP Number IP02-11

Defensive insect symbiont leads to cascading extinctions and community collapse

This is the final version of the article. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.Animals often engage in mutualistic associations with microorganisms that protect them from predation, parasitism or pathogen infection. Studies of these interactions in insects have mostly focussed on the direct effects of symbiont infection on natural enemies without studying community-wide effects. Here, we explore the effect of a defensive symbiont on population dynamics and species extinctions in an experimental community composed of three aphid species and their associated specialist parasitoids. We found that introducing a bacterial symbiont with a protective (but not a non-protective) phenotype into one aphid species led to it being able to escape from its natural enemy and increase in density. This changed the relative density of the three aphid species which resulted in the extinction of the two other parasitoid species. Our results show that defensive symbionts can cause extinction cascades in experimental communities and so may play a significant role in the stability of consumer-herbivore communities in the field.The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. This project was funded by the British Ecological Society (BES research grant #4682/5720 to EF), and by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC grant #NE/K005650/1 to FJFvV). EF was funded by Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme, FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF #329648

Experimental Composite Guidance Conduits for Peripheral Nerve Repair: An Evaluation of Ion Release

Poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) - Pluronic F127 - glass composites have demonstrated excellent potential, from the perspective of controlled mechanical properties and cytocompatibility, for peripheral nerve regeneration. In addition to controlling the mechanical properties and cytotoxicity for such composite devices, the glass component may mediate specific responses upon implantation via degradation in the physiological environment and release of constituent elements. However, research focused on quantifying the release levels of such therapeutic ions from these experimental medical devices has been limited. To redress the balance, this paper explores the ion release profiles for Si4+, Ca2+, Na+, Zn 2+, and Ce4+ from experimental composite nerve guidance conduits (CNGC) comprising PLGA (at 12.5, and 20 wt.%), F127 (at 0, 2.5 and 5 wt.%) and various loadings of Si-Ca-Na-Zn-Ce glass (at 20 and 40 wt.%) for incubation periods of up to 28 days. The concentration of each ion, at various time points, was determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (Perkin Elmer Optima 3000). It was observed that the Si4+, Na+, Ca2+, Zn2+ release from CNGCs in this study ranged from 0.22 to 6.477 ppm, 2.307 to 3.277 ppm, 40 to 119 ppm, and 45 to 51 ppm, respectively. The Ce 4+ concentrations were under the minimum detection limits for the ICP instrument utilized. The results indicate that the ion release levels may be appropriate to mediate therapeutic effects with respect to peripheral nerve regeneration. The data generated in this paper provides requisite evidence to optimize composition for pre-clinical evaluation of the experimental composite. © 2012 Elsevier B.V

ROTSE All Sky Surveys for Variable Stars I: Test Fields

The ROTSE-I experiment has generated CCD photometry for the entire Northern sky in two epochs nightly since March 1998. These sky patrol data are a powerful resource for studies of astrophysical transients. As a demonstration project, we present first results of a search for periodic variable stars derived from ROTSE-I observations. Variable identification, period determination, and type classification are conducted via automatic algorithms. In a set of nine ROTSE-I sky patrol fields covering about 2000 square degrees we identify 1781 periodic variable stars with mean magnitudes between m_v=10.0 and m_v=15.5. About 90% of these objects are newly identified as variable. Examples of many familiar types are presented. All classifications for this study have been manually confirmed. The selection criteria for this analysis have been conservatively defined, and are known to be biased against some variable classes. This preliminary study includes only 5.6% of the total ROTSE-I sky coverage, suggesting that the full ROTSE-I variable catalog will include more than 32,000 periodic variable stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ 4/00. LaTeX manuscript. (28 pages, 11 postscript figures and 1 gif