Salmonid Phenology, Microevolution, And Genetic Diversity In A Warming Alaskan Stream

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012Climate change is a formidable challenge for fish and wildlife conservation because it will directly influence the ecology and evolution of wild populations. Though climate-induced temporal trends in phenological events are common in many populations, there remains considerable uncertainty in the patterns, mechanisms, and consequences of phenological shifts. To address this, and clarify how climate change has impacted salmonid migration timing and microevolution in a warming (0.34�C per decade) Alaskan stream, long-term demographic and genetic data were used to answer these questions: how has migration timing changed in multiple salmonid species; what sources of variation influence migration timing; are changes in migration timing a result of microevolution; and does migration timing and change in migration timing influence intra-population genetic variation? For most salmonid species, life stages, and life histories, freshwater temperature influenced migration timing, migration events occurred earlier in time (mean = 1.7 days earlier per decade), and there was decreasing phenotypic variation in migration timing (mean 10% decrease). Nonetheless, there were disparate shifts in migration timing for alternative life history strategies indicative of biocomplexity. Population abundances have been stable during these phenotypic changes (lambda ≈ 1.0), but adult salmon availability as a nutrient resource in freshwater has decreased by up to 30 days since 1971. Experimental genetic data spanning 16 generations in the odd-year pink salmon population demonstrate that earlier migration timing is partly due to genetic changes resulting from selection against late-migrating fish and a three-fold decrease in this phenotype. However, circadian rhythm genes hypothesized to influence migration timing in Pacific salmon showed no evidence of inter-generational selective change. Migration timing itself influences the distribution of genetic variation within pink salmon, as there were genetic differences between early- and late-migrating fish. Despite shifts in migration timing, genetic structure and the genetic effective population size were both stable across years, indicating that in the absence of demographic change patterns of genetic diversity are resilient to climate change. These findings indicate that climate change has significantly influenced the ecology and evolution of salmon populations, which will have important consequences for the numerous species, including humans, who depend on this resource

Infrared and Raman spectroscopic studies of structural variations in minerals from Apollo 11, 12, 14 and 15 samples, volume 3

Infrared and Raman vibrational spectroscopic data, yielding direct information on molecular structure, were obtained for single grains ( 150 microns) of minerals, basalts, and glasses isolated from Apollo 11, 12, 14, and 15 rock and dust samples, and for grains in Apollo 14 polished butt samples. From the vibrational data, specification substitutions were determined for the predominant silicate minerals of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine. Unique spectral variations for grains of K-feldspar, orthopyroxene, pyroxenoid, and ilmenite were observed to exceed the ranges of terrestrial samples, and these variations may be correlatable with formation histories. Alpha-quartz was isolated as pure single grains, in granitic grains composited with sanidine, and in unique grains that were intimately mixed with varying amounts of glass. Accessory minerals of chromite and ulvospinel were isolated as pure grains and structurally characterized from their distinctive infrared spectra. Fundamental vibrations of the SiO4 tetrahedra in silicate minerals were used to classify bulk compositions in dust sieved fractions, basalt grains and glass particles, and to compare modal characteristics for maria, highland and rille samples. No hydrated minerals were found in any of the samples studied, indicating anhydrous formation conditions

ADR: An Eclectic Array ofProcesses, Rather ThanOne Eclectic Process

When mediators try to resolve a controversy by providing their analysis of the legal – or other – merits, they are providing the service that judges, arbitrators and neutral experts provide. In essence, such endeavors use the neutral’s judgment, award or opinion to determine or jump-start a resolution. This article urges that this add-on activity to mediation should be called by its proper name. The essay highlights the advantages of calling mediation plus evaluation a mixed process and discusses the advantages of having an eclectic and diverse mix of processes from which parties and counsel can choose to promote party choice and self-determination

Evaluative Meditation Is An Oxymoron

An essential characteristic of mediation is facilitated negotiation wherein the mediator remains neutral throughout the process. Inconsistent with this role is an evaluative mediator who assesses the strengths and weaknesses of legal claims, proposes settlement terms, pushes parties to accept a particular settlement, and predicts court outcomes or the impact of not settling. A mediator’s assessment invariably favors one side over the other and jeopardizes neutrality. This article argues that mediation should stand as a distinct and clear-cut alternative to the evaluative and frequently highly-adversarial adjudicatory processes and that mediators should not evaluate

Environmentally compatible hand wipe cleaning solvents

Several solvents of environmental concern have previously been used for hand wipe cleaning of SRB surfaces, including 1,1,1-trichloroethane, perchloroethylene, toluene, xylene, and MEK. USBI determined the major types of surfaces involved, and qualification requirements of replacement cleaning agents. Nineteen environmentally compatible candidates were tested on 33 material substrates with 26 types of potential surface contaminants, involving over 7,000 individual evaluations. In addition to the cleaning performance evaluation, bonding, compatibility, and corrosion tests were conducted. Results showed that one cleaner was not optimum for all surfaces. In most instances, some of the candidates cleaned better than the 1,1,1-trichloroethane baseline control. Aqueous cleaners generally cleaned better, and were more compatible with nonmetallic materials, such as paints, plastics, and elastomers. Organic base cleaners were better on metal surfaces. Five cleaners have been qualified and are now being implemented in SRB hand wipe cleaning operations

Anterior Prefrontal Cortex Contributes to Action Selection through Tracking of Recent Reward Trends

The functions of prefrontal cortex remain enigmatic, especially for its anterior sectors, putatively ranging from planning to self-initiated behavior, social cognition, task switching, and memory. A predominant current theory regarding the most anterior sector, the frontopolar cortex (FPC), is that it is involved in exploring alternative courses of action, but the detailed causal mechanisms remain unknown. Here we investigated this issue using the lesion method, together with a novel model-based analysis. Eight patients with anterior prefrontal brain lesions including the FPC performed a four-armed bandit task known from neuroimaging studies to activate the FPC. Model-based analyses of learning demonstrated a selective deficit in the ability to extrapolate the most recent trend, despite an intact general ability to learn from past rewards. Whereas both brain-damaged and healthy controls used comparisons between the two most recent choice outcomes to infer trends that influenced their decision about the next choice, the group with anterior prefrontal lesions showed a complete absence of this component and instead based their choice entirely on the cumulative reward history. Given that the FPC is thought to be the most evolutionarily recent expansion of primate prefrontal cortex, we suggest that its function may reflect uniquely human adaptations to select and update models of reward contingency in dynamic environments

Arrhythmias and Sudden Death among Older Children and Young Adults Following Tetralogy of F allot Repair in the Current Era: Are Previously Reported Risk Factors Still Applicable?

Background Young adult patients (pts) with repaired tetralogy of F allot ( TOF ) remain at risk for arrhythmias ( A r) and sudden cardiac death ( SCD ). Based on past studies with earlier pt subsets, A r/ SCD events were associated with right ventricular ( RV ) systolic pressures >60 mm Hg, outflow tract gradients >20 mm Hg, and QRS duration >180 ms. However, there are limited recent studies to evaluate these risk factors in the current patient generation. Methods Patients with TOF followed over the past 50 years were grouped by presence of any arrhythmias (group 1), absence of arrhythmias (group 2), and presence of SCD or significant ventricular arrhythmias (group 3) and correlated with current pt age, gender, age at repair, repair types, echocardiogram, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, electrocardiogram/ H olter, hemodynamics, and electrophysiology findings. Results Of 109 pts, 52 were male aged 17–58 years. Of these, 59 (54%) had A r, two of whom had SCD . These 59 pts were chronologically older at the time of analysis, with repair at an older age and wider QRS duration (78–240, mean 158 ms) when compared with those without A r. However, there was no correlation with surgical era, surgical repair, gender, RV pressure >60 mm Hg, right ventricular outflow tract gradient >20 mm Hg, or RV end‐diastolic volume on CMRI . Conclusions A r/ SCD risk continues to correlate with repair age and advancing pt age. QRS duration is longer in these patients but at a shorter interval (mean 158 ms) and less RV pressure (mean 43 mm Hg) than previously reported. In the current TOF patient generation, neither surgical era, type of repair, RV outflow gradient nor RV volume correlate with A r/ SCD . Electrophysiologic testing to verify and identify arrhythmias remains clinically effective.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108615/1/chd12153.pd

What's the best way to monitor low-risk patients with a history of differentiated thyroid cancer?

Recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH)-stimulated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) level alone is sufficient to monitor for recurrent disease in low-risk patients with a history of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) (strength of recommendation [SOR] A, meta-analysis). Low-risk patients are defined as patients who have undergone total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine (I131) remnant ablation therapy and show no clinical evidence of recurrent disease