Ballistic impacts on an anatomically correct synthetic skull with a surrogate skin/soft tissue layer

The aim of this work was to further develop a synthetic model of ballistic head injury by the addition of skin and soft tissue layers to an anatomically correct polyurethane skull filled with gelatine 10% by mass. Six head models were impacted with 7.62 x 39 mm full metal jacket mild steel core (FMJ MSC) bullets with a mean velocity of 652 m/s. The impact events were filmed with high-speed cameras. The models were imaged pre- and post-impact using computed tomography. The models were assessed post impact by two experienced Home Office pathologists and the images assessed by an experienced military radiologist. The findings were scored against real injuries. The entry wounds, exit wounds and fracture patterns were scored positively, but the synthetic skin and soft tissue layer was felt to be too extendable. Further work is ongoing to address this

KSHV Reactivation from Latency Requires Pim-1 and Pim-3 Kinases to Inactivate the Latency-Associated Nuclear Antigen LANA

Host signal-transduction pathways are intimately involved in the switch between latency and productive infection of herpes viruses. As with other herpes viruses, infection by Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) displays these two phases. During latency only few viral genes are expressed, while in the productive infection the virus is reactivated with initiation of extensive viral DNA replication and gene expression, resulting in production of new viral particles. Viral reactivation is crucial for KSHV pathogenesis and contributes to the progression of KS. We have recently identified Pim-1 as a kinase reactivating KSHV upon over-expression. Here we show that another Pim family kinase, Pim-3, also induces viral reactivation. We demonstrate that expression of both Pim-1 and Pim-3 is induced in response to physiological and chemical reactivation in naturally KSHV-infected cells, and we show that they are required for KSHV reactivation under these conditions. Furthermore, our data indicate that Pim-1 and Pim-3 contribute to viral reactivation by phosphorylating the KSHV latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) on serine residues 205 and 206. This counteracts the LANA–mediated repression of the KSHV lytic gene transcription. The identification of Pim family kinases as novel cellular regulators of the gammaherpesvirus life cycle facilitates a deeper understanding of virus–host interactions during reactivation and may represent potential novel targets for therapeutic intervention

Variation of Basal EROD Activities in Ten Passerine Bird Species – Relationships with Diet and Migration Status

Inter-specific differences in animal defence mechanisms against toxic substances are currently poorly understood. The ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) enzyme plays an important role in defence against toxic chemicals in a wide variety of animals, and it is an important biomarker for environmental contamination. We compared basal hepatic EROD activity levels among ten passerine species to see if there is inter-specific variation in enzyme activity, especially in relation to their diet and migration status. Migratory insectivores showed higher EROD activity compared to granivores. We hypothesize that the variable invertebrate diet of migratory insectivores contains a wider range of natural toxins than the narrower diet of granivores. This may have affected the evolution of mixed function oxidases (MFO) system and enzyme activities. We further tested whether metabolic rates or relative liver size were associated with the variation in detoxification capacity. We found no association between EROD activity and relative (per mass unit) basal metabolic rate (BMR). Instead, EROD activity and relative liver mass (% of body mass) correlated positively, suggesting that a proportionally large liver also functions efficiently. Our results suggest that granivores and non-migratory birds may be more vulnerable to environmental contaminants than insectivores and migratory birds. The diet and migration status, however, are phylogenetically strongly connected to each other, and their roles cannot be fully separated in our analysis with only ten passerine species

Climate Change Education : A New Approach for a World of Wicked Problems

Human activity is the most important factor determining our future. The rapid growths of population and materialistic ways of living have given rise to what many geologists now call the era of the Anthropocene. We argue that in order to solve the wicked problems of the Anthropocene—such as climate change—we need education to be organized around sensing and actualizing the full potential of a human being. It is necessary to clarify the goal of education and the ideals of society toward that pursuit. Climate change education supports building societies that are characterized by flexible, creative, adaptable, well-informed and inventive sustainable well-being communities. In this article, we define the special aspects of climate change education and ask: how could we educate people for transformation toward a sustainable future? What kind of holistic change in thinking and action is needed for the construction of hope and of a sustainable future? What kind of pedagogical approaches can promote full humanness?Peer reviewe

Hand searching versus pitfall trapping: how to assess biodiversity of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in high altitude equatorial Andes?

International audienceThe use of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as bioindicators of environmental change depends on the reliability and the effectiveness of the sampling methods. Those that have been tested in the temperate zone and in tropical forests still await experimentation in tropical high-altitude environments. For the first time, pitfall trapping and hand searching have been compared in Ecuadorian páramo above 4000 m a.s.l., in terms of practical effectiveness. The study was performed on six volcanoes and was based on the comparison of 28 sampling sessions (pitfall trapping and hand searching) performed along two different elevational belts [lower superpáramo (LSP) and upper superpáramo (USP)]. Analyses of sampling sessions showed that detected species richness is slightly higher with hand searching than with pitfall trapping, regardless of the elevation. Additionally, hand searching is more time-effective than pitfall trapping. The performance of the sampling method slightly varies when species assemblage composition is analysed in relation to elevational belts. In the LSP, hand searching and pitfall trapping should be simultaneously used to obtain exhaustive inventories of carabid biodiversity, since different species are likely to be collected by each method. In the USP, hand searching and pitfall trapping efficiency is very similar, but hand searching allows to collect a slightly larger number of species. Lastly, the sample-based rarefaction curves showed that four temporal replicates are mandatory to obtain a robust dataset and an exhaustive inventory of the true species richness and species assemblages composition. Our findings suggest a combined use of hand searching and pitfall trapping in the LSP, while both methods can be used alone for surveying carabids in the USP. Furthermore, hand searching is recommended if the aim is to obtain an inventory of species diversity, whereas pitfall trapping seems more convenient for fine grain ecological and comparative studies

Cork-oak woodlands as key-habitats for biodiversity conservation in Mediterranean landscapes: a case study using rove and ground beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Carabidae)

http://www.springerlink.com/content/552436w37r088v36/Land-use intensification in Mediterranean agro-forest systems became a pressure on biodiversity, concerning particularly the woodland sensitive species. In 2001, the effects of a land-use gradient from old-growth cork-oak forest to a homogeneous agricultural area were assessed using rove beetles as indicators in a Mediterranean landscape. The aim was to find which species were negatively affected by land-use intensification at the landscape level and whether they benefited from cork-oak patches occurring along the land-use gradient. A total of 3,196 rove beetles from 88 taxa were sampled from all landscape types. Agricultural area recorded significantly higher numbers of abundance and species richness in relation to the cork-oak mosaics, i.e. the old-growth forest and the managed agro-forest landscapes (montados). Moreover, 70% of rove beetle indicator species common enough to be tested by IndVal displayed their highest indicator value for agriculture, showing a lower number of woodland indicators in comparison to ground beetles. Nevertheless, one rove beetle taxon was considered a specialist of closed woodland mosaics while no specialist ground beetle was found for that landscape typology. Some rare rove beetle species were also important in typifying diversity patterns of oldgrowth cork-oak forests. Hence, future management in Mediterranean landscapes should take into account not only indicator species common enough to be tested by IndVal, but also rare and endemic species. Considering the added value of cork-oak woodland cover for sensitive rove and ground beetle diversity, the strengthening of cork-oak woodland connectivity seems to be a crucial management that is required in agricultural Mediterranean landscapes.BIOASSESS project (Contract No. EVK4—1999-00280); Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/37976/2007)