Secretive Marsh Bird Species Co-Occurrences and Habitat Associations Across the Midwest, USA

Because secretive marsh birds are difficult to detect, population status and habitat use for these birds are not well known. We conducted repeated surveys for secretive marsh birds across 264 sites in the Upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes Joint Venture region to estimate abundance, occupancy, and detection probabilities during the 2008 and 2009 breeding seasons. We identified species groups based on observed species co-occurrences. Two species, least bittern Ixobrychus exilis and American bittern Botaurus lentiginosus, co-occurred with other species less often than expected by chance, and two species groups, rails (Virginia rail Rallus limicola and sora Porzana carolina) and openwater birds (pied-billed grebe Podilymbus podiceps, common moorhen Gallinula chloropus, and American coot Fulica americana; coots were only surveyed in 2009), co-occurred more often than expected by chance. These groupings were consistent between years. We then estimated the relation of these species and groups to landscape and local site characteristics by using zero-inflated abundance models that accounted for incomplete detection. At the landscape level (5-km radius), the amount of emergent herbaceous wetland was positively associated with least bittern occupancy, whereas the amount of woody wetland was negatively associated with least bittern, rail, and open-water bird occupancy. At the local level, habitat variables that were associated with abundance were not consistent among groups or between years, with the exception that both least bitterns and open-water birds had a strong positive association between abundance and water–vegetation interspersion. Land managers interested in marsh bird management or conservation may want to consider focusing efforts on landscapes with high amounts of emergent herbaceous wetland and low amounts of woody wetland, and managing for high amounts of water–vegetation interspersion within the wetland

description of two novel species Arcanobacterium bialowiezense and Arcanobacterium bonasi

Deckblatt-Impressum persönlicher Dank Inhaltsverzeichnis Einleitung Literaturübersicht Problemstellung und Ziele Material und Methoden Ergebnisse Diskussion Zusammenfassung Summary Literaturverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis Danksagung SelbständigkeitserklärungDer Białowieża Nationalpark erstreckt sich zu beiden Seiten der Grenze zwischen Polen und Weißrußland. Nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg wurde er in zwei Teile geteilt. Heute gehören zum polnischen Teil 594 km2 und zu dem weißrussischen 874 km2. ImBiałowieża Nationalpark lebt die weltweit größte freilebende Wisentpopulation. In dieser Population erkranken seit 1980 regelmäßig eine große Zahl der Bullen an einer chronisch nekrotisierenden Entzündung des Präputiums und des Penis (Balanoposthitis). Der Wisent wird innerhalb der Familie Bovidae (Gray, 1872) in die Subfamilie Bovinae (Gray, 1821) eingeordnet. Er gehört zu der Gattung Bison, welche die beiden Arten Bison (Bison bison, Linnaeus, 1758) und Wisent (Bison bonasus, Linnaeus, 1758) umfasst. Der Wisent ist eine bedrohte Tierart (Appendix III (geschützte Tierart) der Berner Konvention zum Schutz der Lebensräume wildlebender Pflanzen und Tiere, bedrohte Art auf der IUCN roten Liste der bedrohten Tierarten) und die Balanoposthitis bedeutet ein ernst zu nehmendes Problem für die in Białowieża existierende Wisentpopulation (Anonymous, 2002). 1980 wurde erstmalig eine chronische Erkrankung des äußeren Geschlechtsapparates bei Wisentbullen beschrieben (Kita et al., 1994). Charakteristisch für fortgeschrittene Erkrankungsstadien sind die Ödematisierung der Haut um die Präputialöffnung herum, und die Ansammlung von eitrigem Exsudat sowie nekrotischem Gewebe in der Präputialhöhle. Im Spätstadium kann es zu Paraphimose, Verklebung von Präputium und Penis sowie Autamputation der Penisspitze kommen. Histopathologisch wird das nekrotische Gewebe durch einen Demarkationswall aus Entzündungszellen und Granulationsgewebe vom darunterliegenden Bindegewebe abgetrennt (Jakob et al., 2000). Im Spätstadium der Balanoposthitis erkrankte Bullen können durch die entzündlichen und nekrotischen Veränderungen an ihrem Präputium, die auch auf den Penis übergreifen, nicht mehr am Reproduktionsgeschehen teilnehmen. Durch den regelmäßigen Ausfall der an Balanoposthitis erkrankten Bullen (zwischen 5 und 10% pro Jahr) wird das genetische Potential der Białowieża Population vermutlich weiter eingeschränkt. Daher war es Ziel dieser Arbeit die ursächliche oder sekundäre Beteiligung bestimmter Bakterien an der Balanoposthitis abzuklären. Weiterhin sollte ein Überblick über die bakteriologische Normalflora sowohl des männlichen als auch des weiblichen Geschlechtstrakts der Wisente in Białowieża gewonnen werden. Zu diesem Zweck wurden Tupferproben von gesunden und erkrankten Wisentbullen sowie Wisentkühen entnommen und bakteriologisch untersucht. Aus Tupferproben an Balanoposthitis erkrankter Bullen wurden dabei zwei Bakterien isoliert welche der morphologischen Beschreibung von A. pyogenes entsprachen. Der Stamm W3/01 und der Stamm W106/04 zeigten aber keine Serolyse auf Löffler Agar und unterschieden sich auch in den enzymatischen Reaktionen von A. pyogenes. Eine vergleichende 16S rDNA Analyse ordnete die Isolate W3/01 und W106/04 eindeutig in die Gattung Arcanobacterium ein. Die höchste Ähnlichkeit bestand zu A. pyogenes (96,1% und 96,4%) und A. bernardiae (95,5% und 95,8%). Untereinander waren die Isolate zu 97,2% identisch. Das Isolat mit der Stammbezeichnung W3/01 wurde unter der Speziesbezeichnung Arcanobacterium bialowiezense sp. nov. und das Isolat mit der Stammnummer W106/04 unter der Speziesbezeichnung Arcanobacterium bonasi sp. nov. bei der Deutschen Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen (DSMZ, Braunschweig) hinterlegt. A. bialowiezense oder A. bonasi wurden bei 87% der kranken Bullen nachgewiesen, aber weder bei gesunden Bullen noch bei den weiblichen Tieren gefunden. Die phylogenetische Verwandtschaft zu A. pyogenes unterstreicht eine mögliche Bedeutung in der Ätiologie und Pathogenese der Balanoposthitis beim Wisent. Es ist denkbar, dass die beiden Isolate auch ähnliche Virulenzfaktoren besitzen und somit am Krankheitsgeschehen der Balanoposthitis beteiligt sein können. Momentan ist es nur möglich eine Hypothese über den Verlauf der Krankheit aufzustellen und diese als Basis für weitere Untersuchungen zu verwenden. Demnach kommt es möglicherweise durch prädisponierende Faktoren zu einer Vorschädigung des Gewebes mit der anschließenden Ausbildung einer fokalen Hyperkeratose. Eventuell liegt auch ein genetischer Defekt zugrunde, der in der geringen genetischen Variabilität der Wisente begründet ist und zu einer Störung der lokalen Immunabwehr führt (Lünser et al., 2005). Ein solcher Defekt hätte zur Folge, dass Krankheitserreger leichter in die Haut einwandern und sich dort vermehren können. In vorangegangenen Untersuchungen wurde die Beteiligung von Fusobakterien an der Balanoposthitis des Wisents nachgewiesen (Jakob et al., 2000). Durch einen Synergismus von Fusobakterien mit den beiden neuen Spezies A. bonasi und A. bialowiezense könnte die Infektion noch verstärkt werden wie es für A. pyogenes und F. necrophorum beschrieben ist (Kaczmarowski, 2003). Aufgrund der hohen Verwandtschaft der beiden Arcanobacterium spp. zu A. pyogenes kann man vermuten, dass sie ähnliche Virulenzfaktoren besitzen. Neuraminidasen unterstützen die Anhaftung der Arcanobakterien an Hautzellen, wodurch sie in der Lage sind die Haut zu besiedeln (Esmay et al., 2003). PLO, ein haemolytisches Exotoxin (Ding, 1996; Billington, 1997), wirkt zytolytisch indem es an Membranen tierischer Zellen bindet und dort oligomere Poren bildet (Billington, 2000). Es ist außerdem beschrieben, dass PLO die Komplementkaskade aktiviert (Paton, 1984). Bei einer überschiessenden Reaktion kann dies zu Entzündungsreaktionen und Nekrosen führen (www.mucos.cz). Da es möglich war einen der Erreger mittels PCR bei einem Bullen in Stadium I der Erkrankung nachzuweisen ist nicht auszuschließen, dass die Arcanobakterien primär an der Balanoposthitis beteiligt sind.The Białowieża National Park is situated on both sides of the border between Poland and Belarussia. After the second world war it was separated into the Polish and the Belarussian part. Today the Polish part comprises 594 km2 and the Belarussian part 874 km2. The largest of the few remaining free-ranging populations of European bison exists in the Białowieża Primeval Forest. Since 1980 a chronic necrotising disease of the prepuce and penis (Balanoposthitis) has been observed in this population. The European (E.) bison belongs to the family Bovidae (Gray, 1872), the subfamily Bovinae (Gray, 1821) and the genus bison. There are two species classified within the genus bison: the European bison (Bison bonasus) and the North American bison (Bison bison). The European bison is a threatened species (Appendix III (protected fauna species) of the Bern Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats, endangered species on the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) and the Balanoposthitis is a serious problem for the present Białowieża population (Anonymous, 2002). A chronic necrotizing inflammation of the external genital organs of male E. bison was first described in 1980 (Kita et al., 1994). Advanced disease is characterized by crushing of the hairs around the preputial orifice, edema of the surrounding skin, and accumulation of thick exudate and necrotic tissue within the preputial cavity. In addition, paraphimosis, constriction of the distal penis, and in some cases necrosis and auto-amputation of the glans penis, have been observed. Histopathologically, the necrotic tissue is demarcated from the underlying connective tissue by inflammatory cells and granulation tissue. Numerous lymphoid follicles in the surrounding connective tissue are also present (Jakob et al., 2000). Due to the inflammatory and necrotic changes of the prepuce and penis in late stages of Balanoposthitis affected bulls are not able to take part in reproduction. This regular loss of bulls (between 5 and 10% per year) obviously leads to a further reduction of the genetic potential of this threatened species. For this reason the objective of this study was to investigate whether certain bacteria are primarily or secondarily involved in the disease process of the Balanoposthitis. Additionally, a survey of the physiological bacteriological flora of the male and female E. bison genital tract was conducted. For this purpose genital samples of healthy and diseased bulls as well as female E. bison were examined bacteriologically. From genital swabs of bulls showing Balanoposthitis two new bacteria were isolated which were morphologically similar to Arcanobacterium (A.) pyogenes. However strain W3/01 and strain W106/04 showed no serolysis on Löffler serum Agar and they also differed in enzymatic reactions from A. pyogenes. 16S rDNA sequence analysis showed that the two isolates W3/01 and W106/04 shared 97.2% sequence similarity. Highest sequence similarities (95.5-96.1%) to A. pyogenes DSM 20630 and A. benardiae DSM 9152 were found. The isolates with strain numbers W3/01 and W106/04 were deposited at the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen (DSMZ, Braunschweig) under the species name of Arcanobacterium bialowiezense sp. nov. and Arcanobacterium bonasi sp. nov., respectively. A. bialowiezense or A. bonasi were isolated from 87% of the diseased bulls, but not from healthy bulls or female E. bison. The phylogenetic relationship to A. pyogenes underlines a possible role in the etiology and pathogenesis of the Balanoposthitis. It is possible that both isolates have virulence factors similar to A. pyogenes, and for this reason they might be involved in the disease process. At this stage it is only possible to hypothesize about the process of the disease and use this as a basis for further studies: Predisposing factors might scarify the tissue resulting in a hyperkeratosis. Possibly a genetic defect due to the low genetic variability leads to a failure of the local immune response (Lünser et al., 2005). This would make it easier for pathogenic microorganisms to invade the skin and proliferate. In preliminary studies involvement of Fusobacteria was demonstrated (Jakob et al., 2000). A synergism between Fusobacterium (F.) spp. and A. bonasi and A. bialowiezense could further enhance the infection as it has been described for A. pyogenes und F. necrophorum (Kaczmarowski, 2003). The phylogenetic relationship of these two Arcanobacterium spp. to A. pyogenes leads to the assumption that they might have similar virulence factors: Neuraminidase promotes the adherence of Arcanobacterium spp. to skin cells, which enables them to colonize the skin (Esmay et al., 2003). PLO, a hemolytic Exotoxin (Ding, 1996; Billington, 1997), has a cytolytic effect through binding to the membranes of animal cells and building large oligomere pores (Billington, 2000). PLO also activates the complement cascade (Paton, 1984). By overreacting this can lead to inflammation and necrosis (www.mucos.cz). As DNA of one of the new Arcanobacterium spp. was isolated by PCR in a bull at Stage I of the disease it is not possible to exclude a primary etiological role in the disease process

Textual Coups and Democratic Imaginings in Contemporary Brazilian Literature | Golpes textuais e imaginários democráticos na literatura brasileira contemporânea

AbstractThis essay examines how Brazilian literature has broached changes in the country’s political and social scenario since 2013. Literary production has not only considered socio-political upheavals such as the 2013 protests, the 2016 impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, and, more recently, the assassination of Rio city council member Marielle Franco as well as the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic. Literature has also expanded the signification of “democracy,” broadening the democratic lexicon by employing a language of both demands and entitlements and dispute. By creating a democratic imaginary that oscillates between vindication and exigency, contemporary Brazilian literature delineates the tensions inherent to present-day democratic culture, poised between expanding rights and what scholars have called a "democratic erosion."Keywords: Democracy. Democratic Erosion. Literature. Poetry. ResumoEste ensaio examina como a literatura brasileira tem abordado mudanças no cenário político e social do país desde 2013. A produção literária não aborda apenas levantes sociopolíticos como os protestos de 2013, o impeachment da presidente Dilma Rousseff em 2016 e, mais recentemente, o assassinato da vereadora Marielle Franco e a pandemia COVID-19. A literatura também tem expandido o significado de “democracia”, ampliando o léxico democrático ao empregar uma linguagem de demandas, direitos e disputa. Ao criar um imaginário democrático que oscila entre a reivindicação e a denúncia, a literatura brasileira contemporânea delineia as tensões inerentes à cultura democrática atual, equilibrada entre a expansão de direitos e o que os estudiosos chamam de "erosão democrática".Palavras-chave: Democracia. Erosão Democrática. Literatura. Poesi

Advancing single cell and multiplex cloning strategies to identify broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting infectious pathogens

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) techniques have a versatile use in medicine, as they are implemented for the identification of pathogens and disease biomarkers and are often applied in genotyping. They additionally present a valuable tool for the amplification of lymphocyte receptors (such as antibodies). Fast and efficient methods for the detection and analysis of potent neutralizing antibodies are of tremendous value and are urgently needed for the global prevention and treatment of existing and upcoming infectious diseases, which has been demonstrated vividly in recent years by the epidemic of the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Although new methods for the analysis of the B cell repertoire and identification of neutralizing antibodies have been subject to many studies in recent years, these processes remain challenging and are highly cost- and labor-intensive. One of the most critical steps in antibody isolation is the two-step mPCR, especially in the presence of high somatic mutation rates, which occur during the antibodies’ affinity maturation and disrupt amplification. Primer design is crucial for a successful mPCR, as amplification of immunological templates is often compromised by primer-template mismatches or unfavorable primer properties and interactions. Thus, the main goal of this thesis was to optimize and further develop mPCR-based single-cell and multiplex cloning strategies for the identification of (broadly) neutralizing antibodies targeting infectious pathogens. We intensively validated and adapted existing BCR amplification concepts to establish a standardized laboratory protocol with cost- and labor intensity optimized conditions. In this context, we introduced the R-based primer design and evaluation tool openPrimeR, which was developed in a collaborative project with the Max Planck Institute Saarbrücken. We used the openPrimeR’s design function to generate promising primer sets capable of amplifying highly mutated antibodies. To enable the testing of the openPrimeR design function in an unbiased experiment setting and refeed gained information back to the program, we developed a standardized immunoglobulin heavy chain variable (IGHV) gene library which represents all 53 human functional IGHV gene segments. The corresponding IGHV gene segments were isolated by 5′-rapid amplification of cDNA-ends polymerase chain reaction (5′ RACE-PCR) from pooled naive B cells of 16 healthy donors. We extensively tested several sets of de novo primers generated by the openPrimeR tool in direct comparison to well-established primer sets on both, antigen-experienced single human B cells and the IGHV gene library. The finally presented optimized oPR(5)-IGHV primer set showed favorable primer set properties, such as exclusive primer binding to the leader region of the V gene to ensure broad template coverage. The oPR(5)-IGHV demonstrated superior performance in amplifying the (germline) IGHV gene library in comparison to established primer sets and is a promising candidate for amplifying highly mutated antibodies. In addition, we were able to generate a large Taq-PCR-based dataset containing the amplification status of 2,820 PCRs (940 triplicates) using a total of 20 different primers on all genes of the IGHV gene library. The data set was analyzed with respect to physicochemical properties of the respective primer-template pairs (PTPs) and their influence on the amplification status. The analysis of our data set identified the free energy of the annealing (∆G), the absolute number of mismatches present in the 3’ hexamer and the mismatch position in relation to the 3’ terminus as determining factors for the amplification status. In summary, the results of this thesis have contributed significantly to the development of a highly effective protocol for the isolation of broadly neutralizing antibodies, which has already been proven successful in the detection of clinically relevant therapeutic antibody candidates

The Dead of Winter-Shood Boucle Jacket

In a Post-Apocalyptic world resources are limited. The way civilization worked in the past no longer applies to the present. Every day is survival of the fittest and every night individuals go to bed appreciative they made it through one more day. My garment, The Dead of Winter-Shood Boucle Jacket is rooted in this concept. Sticking with the concept of modernizing Post-Apocalyptic costumes, it was important to emphasize the juxtaposition of hard and soft elements in this piece. I choose to make the jacket the soft element, having it composed of 100% double-faced wool boucle. On the outside of the garment the edges to the sleeves and patch pockets are fuzzy and distressed. The sleeves have an open side vent attributed to being \u27perfectly imperfect.\u27 The large shawl/hood combination functions as a source of warmth and pays homage to nature and the textures of natural furs found in the wilderness

Marginality, Mayhem and Middle Class Anxieties: Imaginaries of Masculinity and Urban Violence in Contemporary Mexican and Brazilian Film

Marginality, Mayhem and Middle Class Anxieties: Imaginaries of Masculinity and Urban Violence in Contemporary Mexican and Brazilian Film is a comparative study that explores the confluence of cinematic discourse, violence, masculinity and constructions (or denial) of citizenship in present-day Latin America. My argument is that the thematization of violence and masculinity in contemporary Latin American film intercedes at a symbolic level into social relations that are increasingly mediated through images that depict what is socially permitted. This dissertation considers how film (re)structures perceptions of masculinity and its inter-linkages with cityscapes marked by social and material violence. Violence is at the same time the producer and the product of prevailing mediatic representations of social strife. As such, material and symbolic violence generate a spectacle of otherness (socioeconomic, ethnic, gendered) that purports to demarcate the symbolic limits of so-called legitimate society, often employing the peripheral male subject as the axis around which difference is articulated. On the one hand, films such as Amores perros (Mexico Iñárritu 2001) and Cidade de Deus (Brazil, Meirelles, Lund 2002) utilize paradigms of socio-economic and gender difference to naturalize the perception of the divided city by formulating the body of the peripheral male subject (and the metropolitan zones he inhabits) as a dangerous terrain. On the other hand, other productions, such as La Zona (Mexico, Spain, Plá 2007) and O homem do ano (Brazil, Fonseca 2004), using similar archetypes, call this vision into question by focusing on how middle class and elite anxieties create practices of violence as modes of social definition

Charting the Course: Charter School Exploration in Virginia

This comment reviews the background and status of the charter school movement in Part I and addresses legal challenges charters face in Part II. Part III provides an overview of Virginia\u27s charter school law, and Part IV analyzes how the legislature can improve that law to foster charter school exploration in the Commonwealth

Understanding Molecular Bonding in Vitamin B12 Using X-Ray Spectroscopy

It is often difficult to accurately describe the electronic configuration of large molecules like cobalamin (Vitamin B12). By defining the electronic and geometric structure of a molecule using X-ray spectroscopy, we can better understand how that molecule behaves. Cobalamin is a molecule of interest because it typically displays dehalogenating properties in the body. By understanding more of how cobalamin analogues operate, it becomes possible to know their chemical properties and reactions