A Low-Cost GPS GSM/GPRS Telemetry System: Performance in Stationary Field Tests and Preliminary Data on Wild Otters (Lutra lutra)

Background: Despite the increasing worldwide use of global positioning system (GPS) telemetry in wildlife research, it has never been tested on any freshwater diving animal or in the peculiar conditions of the riparian habitat, despite this latter being one of the most important habitat types for many animal taxa. Moreover, in most cases, the GPS devices used have been commercial and expensive, limiting their use in low-budget projects. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have developed a low-cost, easily constructed GPS GSM/GPRS (Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service) and examined its performance in stationary tests, by assessing the influence of different habitat types, including the riparian, as well as water submersion and certain climatic and environmental variables on GPS fix-success rate and accuracy. We then tested the GPS on wild diving animals, applying it, for the first time, to an otter species (Lutra lutra). The rate of locations acquired during the stationary tests reached 63.2%, with an average location error of 8.94 m (SD = 8.55). GPS performance in riparian habitats was principally affected by water submersion and secondarily by GPS inclination and position within the riverbed. Temporal and spatial correlations of location estimates accounted for some variation in the data sets. GPS-tagged otters also provided accurate locations and an even higher GPS fix-success rate (68.2%). Conclusions/Significance: Our results suggest that GPS telemetry is reliably applicable to riparian and even divin

Spectrum of KIT/PDGFRA/BRAF mutations and Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase pathway gene alterations in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST)

Pathogenetic pathways of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) lacking mutations in KIT and PDGFRA (similar to 15%) are still poorly studied. Nearly nothing is known about PI3K alterations in GISTs and only a few GISTs with BRAF mutations have been reported. BRAF mutations (V600E) were found in 3/87 tumors (3.5%) concomitantly were wild type for KIT and PDGFRA. No mutations were detected in KRA.S, NRAS, and FGFR3. For the first-time we demonstrated a PIK3CA mutation (H1047L) simultaneously occurring with a 15-bp deletion in KIT exon 11 in one tumor. We suggest that BRAF mutations are of pathogenetic significance in wild type GISTs. The PI3K pathway should be assessed in future studies. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Consolidating the water industry: an analysis of the potential gains from horizontal integration in a conditional efficiency framework

The German potable water supply industry is regarded highly fragmented, thus preventing efficiency improvements that could happen through consolidation. Focusing on a hypothetical restructuring of the industry, we use a cross-section sample of 364 German water utilities in 2006, applying Data Envelopment Analysis, to analyze the potential efficiency gains from hypothetical mergers between water utilities at the county level. A conditional efficiency framework is applied to account for the water utilities' operating environments. A conditional order-m approach is applied for the detection of potential outlying observations. Merger gains are decomposed into a technical efficiency effect, a harmony effect and a scale effect. The greatest efficiency improvement potentials turn out to result from reducing individual inefficiencies while pure merger gains are found to be low. The results suggest improving incentives for efficient operations in water supply and a consolidation of the smallest water utilities.The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11123-014-0407-x // This publication was produced as part of the GRASP project, funded by the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme under contract no. 244725