Non-structural carbohydrate reserves of eelgrass Zostera marina

The high minimum Light requirement of eelgrass Zostera marina L. suggests that this species has difficulty in maintaining a positive carbon balance except under high light conditions. The carbon balance of Z. marina can be studied by following seasonal changes in non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) reserves, however, little is known about the seasonal variation in NSC reserves in seagrasses or the influence of shading on NSC reserve content and distribution. Seasonal changes in eelgrass NSC reserves were measured in a shallow coastal lagoon, Chincoteague Bay, Maryland/Virginia, USA, near the southern edge of this species\u27 distributional range. Concentrations of sugar varied seasonally in leaves, rhizomes and roots, with maximum concentrations occurring in the rhizomes. In contrast, starch concentrations did not vary with the season, but were highest in the roots. Seasonal peaks in rhizome NSC reserves parallel the spring and fall bimodal growth patterns observed for Z., marina in the region. Total NSC reserves change from an estimated 52 to 73 g m(-2) in June to 4 to 18 g m(-2) in January, or a decrease of 75 to 92%. Experimental shading for 3 wk in the spring reduced (p \u3c 0.001) sugar but not starch concentrations in leaves (48%), rhizomes (40%) and roots (51%). In addition, shading reduced (p \u3c 0.05) leaf biomass (34%), root and rhizome biomass (23%) and density (27%). Potential NSC reserve storage during shading was reduced by an estimated 66%. Spring appears to be an important time for both growth and storage of NSC reserves in Z. marina, and the NSC reserves are generally depleted throughout the remainder of the year. Turbidity during this springtime \u27window of opportunity\u27 may jeopardize subsequent survival as a result of inadequate NSC reserves to maintain a positive carbon balance during the rest of the year

Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary: Case study of a highly eutrophic coastal bay system

The Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary is classified here as a highly eutrophic estuary based on application of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u27s National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment model. Because it is shallow, poorly flushed, and bordered by highly developed watershed areas, the estuary is particularly susceptible to the effects of nutrient loading. Most of this load (similar to 50%) is from surface water inflow, but substantial fractions also originate from atmospheric deposition (similar to 39%), and direct groundwater discharges (similar to 11%). No point source inputs of nutrients exist in the Barnegat Bay watershed. Since 1980, all treated wastewater from the Ocean County Utilities Authority\u27s regional wastewater treatment system has been discharged 1.6 km offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. Eutrophy causes problems in this system, including excessive micro- and macroalgal growth, harmful algal blooms, altered benthic invertebrate communities, impacted harvestable fisheries, and loss of essential habitat (i.e., seagrass and shellfish beds). Similar problems are evident in other shallow lagoonal estuaries of the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions. To effectively address nutrient enrichment problems in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary, it is important to determine the nutrient loading levels that produce observable impacts in the system. It is also vital to continually monitor and assess priority indicators of water quality change and estuarine health. In addition, the application of a new generation of innovative models using web-based tools (e.g., NLOAD) will enable researchers and decision-makers to more successfully manage nutrient loads from the watershed. Finally, the implementation of storm water retrofit projects should have beneficial effects on the system

Long-term nutrient reductions lead to the unprecedented recovery of a temperate coastal region

Humans strongly impact the dynamics of coastal systems, yet surprisingly few studies mechanistically link management of anthropogenic stressors and successful restoration of nearshore habitats over large spatial and temporal scales. Such examples are sorely needed to ensure the success of ecosystem restoration efforts worldwide. Here, we unite 30 consecutive years of watershed modeling, biogeochemical data, and comprehensive aerial surveys of Chesapeake Bay, United States to quantify the cascading effects of anthropogenic impacts on submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV), an ecologically and economically valuable habitat. We employ structural equation models to link land use change to higher nutrient loads, which in turn reduce SAV cover through multiple, independent pathways. We also show through our models that high biodiversity of SAV consistently promotes cover, an unexpected finding that corroborates emerging evidence from other terrestrial and marine systems. Due to sustained management actions that have reduced nitrogen concentrations in Chesapeake Bay by 23% since 1984, SAV has regained 17,000 ha to achieve its highest cover in almost half a century. Our study empirically demonstrates that nutrient reductions and biodiversity conservation are effective strategies to aid the successful recovery of degraded systems at regional scales, a finding which is highly relevant to the utility of environmental management programs worldwide

The interface between silicon and a high-k oxide

The ability to follow Moore's Law has been the basis of the tremendous success of the semiconductor industry in the past decades. To date, the greatest challenge for device scaling is the required replacement of silicon dioxide-based gate oxides by high-k oxides in transistors. Around 2010 high-k oxides are required to have an atomically defined interface with silicon without any interfacial SiO2 layer. The first clean interface between silicon and a high-K oxide has been demonstrated by McKee et al. Nevertheless, the interfacial structure is still under debate. Here we report on first-principles calculations of the formation of the interface between silicon and SrTiO3 and its atomic structure. Based on insights into how the chemical environment affects the interface, a way to engineer seemingly intangible electrical properties to meet technological requirements is outlined. The interface structure and its chemistry provide guidance for the selection process of other high-k gate oxides and for controlling their growth. Our study also shows that atomic control of the interfacial structure can dramatically improve the electronic properties of the interface. The interface presented here serves as a model for a variety of other interfaces between high-k oxides and silicon.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures (one color

The United States, PMSCs and the state monopoly on violence: Leading the way towards norm change

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 Sage.The proliferation of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in Iraq and Afghanistan has raised many questions regarding the use of armed force by private contractors. This article addresses the question of whether the increased acceptance of PMSCs indicates a transformation of the international norm regarding the state monopoly on the legitimate use of armed force. Drawing on theoretical approaches to the analysis of norm change, the article employs four measures to investigate possible changes in the strength and meaning of this norm: modifications in state behaviour, state responses to norm violation, the promulgation of varying interpretations of the norm in national and international laws and regulations, and changes in norm discourse. Based on an analysis of empirical evidence from the United States of America and its allies, the article concludes that these measures suggest that the USA is leading the way towards a transformation of the international norm of the state monopoly on violence, involving a revised meaning. Although this understanding has not yet been formally implemented in international law, it has allowed a growing number of countries to tolerate, accept or legalize the use of armed force by PMSCs in the international arena.The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

Clinical implications of having reduced mid forced expiratory flow rates (FEF25-75), independently of FEV1, in adult patients with asthma

INTRODUCTION:FEF25-75 is one of the standard results provided in spirometry reports; however, in adult asthmatics there is limited information on how this physiological measure relates to clinical or biological outcomes independently of the FEV1 or the FEV1/FVC ratio. PURPOSE:To determine the association between Hankinson's percent-predicted FEF25-75 (FEF25-75%) levels with changes in healthcare utilization, respiratory symptom frequency, and biomarkers of distal airway inflammation. METHODS:In participants enrolled in the Severe Asthma Research Program 1-2, we compared outcomes across FEF25-75% quartiles. Multivariable analyses were done to avoid confounding by demographic characteristics, FEV1, and the FEV1/FVC ratio. In a sensitivity analysis, we also compared outcomes across participants with FEF25-75% below the lower limit of normal (LLN) and FEV1/FVC above LLN. RESULTS:Subjects in the lowest FEF25-75% quartile had greater rates of healthcare utilization and higher exhaled nitric oxide and sputum eosinophils. In multivariable analysis, being in the lowest FEF25-75% quartile remained significantly associated with nocturnal symptoms (OR 3.0 [95%CI 1.3-6.9]), persistent symptoms (OR 3.3 [95%CI 1-11], ICU admission for asthma (3.7 [1.3-10.8]) and blood eosinophil % (0.18 [0.07, 0.29]). In the sensitivity analysis, those with FEF25-75% <LLN had significantly more nocturnal and persistent symptoms, emergency room visits, higher serum eosinophil levels and increased methacholine responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS:After controlling for demographic variables, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC, a reduced FEF25-75% is independently associated with previous ICU admission, persistent symptoms, nocturnal symptoms, blood eosinophilia and bronchial hyperreactivity. This suggests that in some asthmatics, a reduced FEF25-75% is an independent biomarker for more severe asthma

Measurement of the antineutrino neutral-current elastic differential cross section

arXiv:1309.7257v1 [hep-ex

New evidence on the tool-assisted hunting exhibited by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in a savannah habitat at Fongoli, Sénégal

For anthropologists, meat eating by primates like chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) warrants examination given the emphasis on hunting in human evolutionary history. As referential models, apes provide insight into the evolution of hominin hunting, given their phylogenetic relatedness and challenges reconstructing extinct hominin behaviour from palaeoanthropological evidence. Among chimpanzees, adult males are usually the main hunters, capturing vertebrate prey by hand. Savannah chimpanzees (P. t. verus) at Fongoli, Sénégal are the only known nonhuman population that systematically hunts vertebrate prey with tools, making them an important source for hypotheses of early hominin behaviour based on analogy. Here, we test the hypothesis that sex and age patterns in tool-assisted hunting (n=308 cases) at Fongoli occur and differ from chimpanzees elsewhere, and we compare tool-assisted hunting to the overall hunting pattern. Males accounted for 70% of all captures but hunted with tools less than expected based on their representation on hunting days. Females accounted for most toolassisted hunting. We propose that social tolerance at Fongoli along with the tool-assisted hunting method, permits individuals other than adult males to capture and retain control of prey, which is uncommon for chimpanzees. We assert that tool-assisted hunting could have similarly been important for early hominins

Punica granatum (Pomegranate) juice provides an HIV-1 entry inhibitor and candidate topical microbicide

BACKGROUND: For ≈ 24 years the AIDS pandemic has claimed ≈ 30 million lives, causing ≈ 14,000 new HIV-1 infections daily worldwide in 2003. About 80% of infections occur by heterosexual transmission. In the absence of vaccines, topical microbicides, expected to block virus transmission, offer hope for controlling the pandemic. Antiretroviral chemotherapeutics have decreased AIDS mortality in industrialized countries, but only minimally in developing countries. To prevent an analogous dichotomy, microbicides should be: acceptable; accessible; affordable; and accelerative in transition from development to marketing. Already marketed pharmaceutical excipients or foods, with established safety records and adequate anti-HIV-1 activity, may provide this option. METHODS: Fruit juices were screened for inhibitory activity against HIV-1 IIIB using CD4 and CXCR4 as cell receptors. The best juice was tested for inhibition of: (1) infection by HIV-1 BaL, utilizing CCR5 as the cellular coreceptor; and (2) binding of gp120 IIIB and gp120 BaL, respectively, to CXCR4 and CCR5. To remove most colored juice components, the adsorption of the effective ingredient(s) to dispersible excipients and other foods was investigated. A selected complex was assayed for inhibition of infection by primary HIV-1 isolates. RESULTS: HIV-1 entry inhibitors from pomegranate juice adsorb onto corn starch. The resulting complex blocks virus binding to CD4 and CXCR4/CCR5 and inhibits infection by primary virus clades A to G and group O. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the possibility of producing an anti-HIV-1 microbicide from inexpensive, widely available sources, whose safety has been established throughout centuries, provided that its quality is adequately standardized and monitored