Visual_HEA: Habitat Equivalency Analysis Software to Calculate Compensatory Restoration Following Natural Resource Injury

Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA) is a means to determine the amount of compensatory restoration required to provide services that are equivalent to the interim loss of natural resource services following an injury. HEA includes a discounting procedure to account for asset valuation in that the total asset value is equal to the discounted value of the future stream of all services from the natural resource or the compensatory resource. Discounting is used to include the relative valuation of loss and gain of ecological services of the resources over time. Visual_HEA is a computer program developed to calculate the amount of compensatory resource services that would be required to match those lost following an injury to natural resources. The program accepts input of parameters necessary to determine long-term service loss from the injury and long-term service gain from the desired compensatory restoration action. HEA results are highly dependent upon assumptions, and consequently it is useful to examine sensitivity of results to a range of parameter values. Visual_HEA offers an intuitive graphical interface that allows the user to input or modify input parameters and hence quickly create or alter the lost and gain service level shape functions. The ability to calculate results of many scenarios allows ready comparisons that may assist in determination of the most appropriate compensatory action

CoralXDS - Coral X-radiograph Densitometry System

The Coral X-radiograph Densitometry System (CoralXDS) is a Windows-based program which provides a tool for measurement of linear extension, density, and calcification from coral X-radiographs. These quantities are determined for high-density, low-density, and annual bands. CoralXDS operates in two modes : full mode and extension/luminance mode. Full mode measures linear extension, density, and calcification, while extension/luminance mode measures only linear extension. Extension/luminance mode requires only a coral image with scaling information. CoralXDS allows user specification of transect location and orientation on the coral image, and provides several options for automated and manual band selection. The output measurements are provided as plots and datasets

Spatial Patterns in Arabian Gulf Coral Assemblages (Jebel Ali, Dubai, U.A.E.) in Response to Temperature-Forcing

We evaluated spatial and temporal patterns using maps from Ikonos satellite imagery in combination with 8 years of line transects and photosquares and the HadISST1 sea-surface temperature data set to explain why coral assemblages in the southern Arabian Gulf (Dubai) are impoverished and mostly do not build framework reefs. Analysis of archive sea surface temperature (SST) data confirms that the area is subjected to recurrent temperature anomalies. Frequencies of anomalies might suggest at least a partial link to the El Niño Southern Oscillation possibly via the Indian Ocean Zonal Mode. The dominant driver of local temperature was oscillations in the position of the subtropical jetstream. Classification of IKONOS satellite data showed that the spatial expression of four coral assemblages was consistent with reef development on a (multi-)decadal time-scale following recurring episodes of coral mass mortality induced by severe SST anomalies. Merging a remotely sensed map of substrate distribution with a detailed bathymetric digital elevation model revealed no evidence of significant framework development, suggesting that the cycle of temperature induced mortality has been operating for a considerable time

The Statistics of Natural Shapes in Modern Coral Reef Landscapes

Spatial heterogeneity is a fundamental characteristic of modern and ancient depositional settings, and the scaling of many carbonate environments has been shown to follow power function distributions. The difficulty in obtaining information on the horizontal persistence of sedimentary lithotopes at the basin scale has, however, hampered evaluation of this fact over larger geographic areas. In recent years, large‐scale maps of reef facies derived from remotely sensed data have become widely available, allowing for an analysis of reef‐scale map products from 26 sites spread through four reef provinces, covering \u3e7000 km2 of shallow‐water habitat in the U.S. territorial Pacific. For each site, facies maps were decomposed to polygons describing the perimeter of patches of differing sedimentologic/benthic character. A suite of geospatial metrics quantifying unit shape, fractal dimension, and frequency‐area relations was applied to investigate the intra‐ and intersite variability. The spatial architecture of these reef sites displays robust fractal properties over an extended range of scales with remarkable consistency between provinces. These results indicate the possibility of extrapolating information from large to small scales in various depositional environments

Unconscious Neural Processing Differs with Method Used to Render Stimuli Invisible

Visual stimuli can be kept from awareness using various methods. The extent of processing that a given stimulus receives in the absence of awareness is typically used to make claims about the role of consciousness more generally. The neural processing elicited by a stimulus, however, may also depend on the method used to keep it from awareness, and not only on whether the stimulus reaches awareness. Here we report that the method used to render an image invisible has a dramatic effect on how category information about the unseen stimulus is encoded across the human brain. We collected fMRI data while subjects viewed images of faces and tools, that were rendered invisible using either continuous flash suppression (CFS) or chromatic flicker fusion (CFF). In a third condition, we presented the same images under normal fully visible viewing conditions. We found that category information about visible images could be extracted from patterns of fMRI responses throughout areas of neocortex known to be involved in face or tool processing. However, category information about stimuli kept from awareness using CFS could be recovered exclusively within occipital cortex, whereas information about stimuli kept from awareness using CFF was also decodable within temporal and frontal regions. We conclude that unconsciously presented objects are processed differently depending on how they are rendered subjectively invisible. Caution should therefore be used in making generalizations on the basis of any one method about the neural basis of consciousness or the extent of information processing without consciousness

The other ‘other’: Party responses to immigration in eastern Europe

Eastern Europe has traditionally been a region of emigration, sending thousands of refugees and migrants to the more developed and democratic west. The recent democratization and rising affluence of some eastern European countries, however, make them increasingly attractive destinations of migrant workers, slowly but surely turning them into immigrant societies. This article addresses the responses of political parties to the issue of immigration and immigrant integration. Through large-N quantitative analyses of 11 eastern European countries using the Chapel Hill Expert Surveys, the 2009 European Election Study, the Database of Political Institutions and World Bank indicators, it analyzes the causes of immigration salience, as well as the reasons behind immigration and integration policy positions. The article argues that partisan and voter views on immigration in eastern Europe are guided by ideological views on ethnic minorities, which have been the traditional ‘out-groups’ in the region. Partisan positions on immigration and immigrant integration are consequently determined by underlying ideological principles concerning cultural openness and acceptance of ‘otherness’. Immigrants to eastern Europe are consequently viewed as the other ‘other’

A Tale of Germs, Storms, and Bombs: Geomorphology and Coral Assemblage Structure at Vieques (Puerto Rico) Compared to St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands)

The former U.S. Navy range at Vieques Island (Puerto Rico, United States) is now the largest national wildlife refuge in the Caribbean. We investigated the geomorphology and benthic assemblage structure to understand the status of the coral reefs. Coral assemblages were quantified at 24 sites at Vieques and at 6 sites at St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. These sites were chosen to represent the major zones of reef geomorphology. Sites consisted of two or three 21-m-long photo-quadrate belt transects. The results revealed surprisingly little differentiation in the coral assemblages within and between reefs of comparable geomorphological and oceanographic setting at Vieques and St. Croix. At Vieques, the Acropora palmata zone was almost completely lost, and it was severely reduced at St. Croix, presumably primarily due to diseases and hurricane impacts since the 1970s. Subtle, but nonsignificant, differences with respect to the nature of the shelf margin (north adjacent to the bank, south adjacent to the open sea) and depth zone were observed at Vieques. At St. Croix, benthic assemblages differed more between depth zones but not between north and south. Effects of natural disturbances were severe at Vieques, outweighing impacts of past military activity— which were present but not quantitatively discernible at our scale of sampling. Germs and storms, rather than bombs (and associated naval activities), primarily seem to have taken the worst toll on corals at both Vieques and St. Croix

What about the partner? -factors associated with patient-perceived partner dyspareunia in men with Peyronie\u27s disease

Background: Limited data are available on how partners of men with Peyronie\u27s disease (PD) are affected by the disease. We sought to characterize PD patients whose curvatures result in pain for their partners during penetrative intercourse. Methods: We queried a database of all men undergoing initial evaluation for PD at a single clinic between March 2014 and June 2016. Patients were administered a questionnaire regarding sexual health concerns with domains including erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction, libido, and penile curvature. In the penile curvature section, patients were specifically asked: Does the curvature cause your partner any pain during penetrative intercourse? (Y/N). Patients\u27 partners were not directly evaluated for conditions associated with dyspareunia. Additionally, patients interested in treatment for PD underwent objective curve assessment after intracavernosal injection of erectogenic medications along with penile duplex Doppler ultrasound. Statistical analysis was performed to identify differences in clinicopathologic variables and patient-responses to questionnaire prompts between patients who did and did not report partner pain with intercourse. Results: A total of 322 patients with information available on partner pain were included in the study. Patients who reported partner pain had significantly higher subjective erectile rigidity (mean 5.9/10 Conclusions: Men with superior erectile function, higher degrees of penile curvature and ventral curvatures were more likely to report partner pain during penetrative intercourse. These specific disease characteristics reported in this series may assist clinicians in identifying men who are more motivated to select more invasive therapies

Microfluidic platform for 3D cell culture with live imaging and clone retrieval.

Combining live imaging with the ability to retrieve individual cells of interest remains a technical challenge. Combining imaging with precise cell retrieval is of particular interest when studying highly dynamic or transient, asynchronous, or heterogeneous cell biological and developmental processes. Here, we present a method to encapsulate live cells in a 3D hydrogel matrix, via hydrogel bead compartmentalisation. Using a small-scale screen, we optimised matrix conditions for the culture and multilineage differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. Moreover, we designed a custom microfluidic platform that is compatible with live imaging. With this platform we can long-term culture and subsequently extract individual cells-in-beads by media flow only, obviating the need for enzymatic cell removal from the platform. Specific beads may be extracted from the platform in isolation, without disrupting the adjacent beads. We show that we can differentiate mouse embryonic stem cells, monitor reporter expression by live imaging, and retrieve individual beads for functional assays, correlating reporter expression with functional response. Overall, we present a highly flexible 3D cell encapsulation and microfluidic platform that enables both monitoring of cellular dynamics and retrieval for molecular and functional assays

High-throughput full-automatic synchrotron-based tomographic microscopy

The automatization tools for high-throughput tomographic microscopy developed at the TOMCAT beamline of the Swiss Light Source are describe