Ecological characterization of the Florida springs coast: Pithlachascotee to Waccasassa Rivers

This report covers the upper coast of west-central Florida. This region includes the drainage basins and nearshore waters of the west coast of Florida between, but not including, the Anclote River basin and the Suwannee River basin. The name Springs Coast wash chosen because this area contains a multitude of springs, both named and too small or inaccessible to have been names. Much of the area is karstic limestone. Most recognizable among the springs are the famous Crystal river, Weeki Wachee, and Homosassa. This territory includes large expanses of marsh and wetland and, along its shores, the southern end of the largest area of seagrass beds in the state -- the Florida Big Bend Seagrass Beds preserve. It also possesses numerous spring-fed rivers and streams along the coast, whose constant discharges provide unique, relatively stable estuarine environments. This document is a summary of the available information on the Springs Coast area of Florida, for use by planners, developers, regulatory authorities, and other interested parties. An understanding of the factors affecting their plans and the possibly unexpected impacts of their actions on others will, it is hoped, promote intelligent development in areas capable of supporting it. We have tried to provide a clear, coherent picture of what is currently known about how the physical, chemical, and biological factors of the environment interact. (343 pp.

Design approaches in technology enhanced learning

Design is a critical to the successful development of any interactive learning environment (ILE). Moreover, in technology enhanced learning (TEL), the design process requires input from many diverse areas of expertise. As such, anyone undertaking tool development is required to directly address the design challenge from multiple perspectives. We provide a motivation and rationale for design approaches for learning technologies that draws upon Simon's seminal proposition of Design Science (Simon, 1969). We then review the application of Design Experiments (Brown, 1992) and Design Patterns (Alexander et al., 1977) and argue that a patterns approach has the potential to address many of the critical challenges faced by learning technologists

A diagrammatic view of the equals sign: arithmetical equivalence as a means, not an end

It is recommended in the mathematics education literature that pupils be presented with equality statements that can be assessed for numerical balance by attending to notational structure rather than computation. I describe an alternative, diagrammatic approach in which pupils do not assess statements but instead use them to make substitutions of notation. I report on two trials of a computer-based task conducted with pairs of pupils and highlight two findings. First, the pupils found it useful to articulate the distinct substitutive effects of commutative (‘swap’, ‘switch’) and partitional (‘split’, ‘separate’) statements when working on the task. Secondly, the pupils did not notice that some of the statements presented were in fact false, which suggests their substituting activities were independent of numerical equivalence conceptions. This demonstrates that making substitutions offers task designers a mathematical utility for equality statements that is distinct from, but complementary to, assessing numerical balance

Boundary objects and boundary crossing for numeracy teaching

In this paper, we share analysis of an episode of a pre-service teacher’s handling of a map artefact within his practicum teaching of ‘Mathematical Literacy’ in South Africa. Mathematical Literacy, as a post-compulsory phase subject in the South African curriculum, shares many of the aims of numeracy as described in the international literature— including approaches based on the inclusion of real life contexts and a trajectory geared towards work, life and citizenship. Our attention in this paper is focused specifically on artefacts at the boundary of mathematical and contextual activities. We use analysis of the empirical handling of artefacts cast as ‘boundary objects’ to argue the need for ‘boundary crossing’ between mathematical and contextual activities as a critical feature of numeracy teaching. We pay particular attention to the differing conventions and extents of applicability of rules associated with boundary artefacts when working with mathematical or contextual perspectives. Our findings suggest the need to consider boundary objects more seriously within numeracy teacher education, with specific attention to the ways in which they are configured on both sides of the boundary in order to deal effectively with explanations and interactions in classrooms aiming to promote numeracy

Evaluation of potential habitat with an integrated analysis of a spatial conservation strategy for David’s deer, Elaphurus davidians

How to assess the potential habitat integrating landscape dynamics and population research, and how to reintroduce animals to potential habitats in environments highly human disturbed are still questions to be answered in conservation biology. According to behavioral research on Elaphurus davidians, we have developed a suitability index and a risk index to evaluate the potential habitats for the deer. With these indices, we conducted two transect assessments to evaluate the gradient change of the target region. Then, taking rivers as border lines, we tabulated the forest areas, high grassland area and total area and then compared the forest and high grassland area in each subregion. Furthermore, we computed the land use transfer matrix for the whole Yancheng coast during 1987–2000. We also computed human modified index (HMI) in six subregions. Lastly with a geographical information system support we obtained the spatial distribution of the indices and evaluation of the whole potential habitats from a neighborhood analysis. The transect assessment showed that the suitability of the coastal area was higher than that of the inland area for the deer, while the southern area was higher than the northern. Landscape metrics and HMI analysis showed that different landscape patterns and different anthropogenic disturbance existed within the region, and the increasing human disturbance was the key factor causing the pattern dynamics. The evaluation of potential habitats showed that there was an estimated carrying capacity of no more than 10,000 for David’s deer reintroduction into the natural area. Also the reintroduction strategy was discussed. This integrated approach linked the population research and the landscape metrics, and the dataset with different scale; thus, it is an approach likely to be useful for the protection of other large animal in a landscape highly disturbed by humans

Reconstructed Dynamics of Rapid Extinctions of Chaparral-Requiring Birds in Urban Habitat Islands

The distribution of native, chaparral-requiring bird species was determined for 37 isolated fragments of canyon habitat ranging in size from 0.4 to 104 hectares in coastal, urban San Diego County, California The area of chaparral habitat and canyon age (time since isolation of the habitat fragment) explains most of the variation in the number of chaparral-requiring bird species. In addition, the distribution of native predators may influence species number. There is statistical evidence that coyotes control the populations of smaller predators such as foxes and domestic cats. The absence of coyotes may lead to higher levels of predation by a process of mesopredator release. The distance of canyons from other patches of chaparral habitat does not add significantly to the explained variance in chaparral-requiring species number–probably because of the virtual inability of most chaparral-requiring species to disperse through developed areas and nonscrub habitats. These results and other lines of evidence suggest that chaparral-requiring birds in isolated canyons have very high rates of extinction, in part because of their low vagility. The best predictors of vulnerability of the individual species are their abundances (densities) in undisturbed habitat and their body sizes; together these two variables account for 95 percent of the variation in canyon occupancy. A hypothesis is proposed to account for the similarity between the steep slopes of species-area curves for chaparral-requiring birds and the slopes for some forest birds on small islands or in habitat fragments. The provision of corridors appears to be the most effective design and planning feature for preventing the elimination of chaparral-requiring species in a fragmented landscape.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74761/1/j.1523-1739.1988.tb00337.x.pd

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types

Potential role of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in joint damage induced by Brucella abortus infection through production and induction of matrix metalloproteinases

Arthritis is one of the most common complications of human brucellosis, but its pathogenic mechanisms have not been elucidated. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) are known to be central mediators of joint damage in inflammatory arthritides through the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that degrade collagen and of cytokines and chemokines that mediate the recruitment and activation of leukocytes. In this study we show that Brucella abortus infects and replicates in human FLS (SW982 cell line) in vitro and that infection results in the production of MMP-2 and proinflammatory mediators (interleukin-6 [IL-6], IL-8, monocyte chemotactic protein 1 [MCP-1], and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF]). Culture supernatants from Brucella-infected FLS induced the migration of monocytes and neutrophils in vitro and also induced these cells to secrete MMP-9 in a GM-CSF- and IL-6-dependent fashion, respectively. Reciprocally, culture supernatants from Brucella-infected monocytes and neutrophils induced FLS to produce MMP-2 in a tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-dependent fashion. The secretion of proinflammatory mediators and MMP-2 by FLS did not depend on bacterial viability, since it was also induced by heat-killed B. abortus (HKBA) and by a model Brucella lipoprotein (L-Omp19). These responses were mediated by the recognition of B. abortus antigens through Toll-like receptor 2. The intra-articular injection of HKBA or L-Omp19 into the knee joint of mice resulted in the local induction of the proinflammatory mediators MMP-2 and MMP-9 and in the generation of a mixed inflammatory infiltrate. These results suggest that FLS, and phagocytes recruited by them to the infection focus, may be involved in joint damage during brucellar arthritis through the production of MMPs and proinflammatory mediators.Fil: Scian, Romina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral "Profesor R. A. Margni"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Barrionuevo, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral "Profesor R. A. Margni"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Giambartolomei, Guillermo Hernan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral "Profesor R. A. Margni"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; ArgentinaFil: de Simone, Emilio Adrian. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Cs.veterinarias. Catedra de Fisiologia Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral "Profesor R. A. Margni"; ArgentinaFil: Vanzulli, Silvia I.. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Fossati, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral "Profesor R. A. Margni"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Baldi, Pablo Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral "Profesor R. A. Margni"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Delpino, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral "Profesor R. A. Margni"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica; Argentin

Systematic Conservation Planning in the Face of Climate Change: Bet-Hedging on the Columbia Plateau

Systematic conservation planning efforts typically focus on protecting current patterns of biodiversity. Climate change is poised to shift species distributions, reshuffle communities, and alter ecosystem functioning. In such a dynamic environment, lands selected to protect today's biodiversity may fail to do so in the future. One proposed approach to designing reserve networks that are robust to climate change involves protecting the diversity of abiotic conditions that in part determine species distributions and ecological processes. A set of abiotically diverse areas will likely support a diversity of ecological systems both today and into the future, although those two sets of systems might be dramatically different. Here, we demonstrate a conservation planning approach based on representing unique combinations of abiotic factors. We prioritize sites that represent the diversity of soils, topographies, and current climates of the Columbia Plateau. We then compare these sites to sites prioritized to protect current biodiversity. This comparison highlights places that are important for protecting both today's biodiversity and the diversity of abiotic factors that will likely determine biodiversity patterns in the future. It also highlights places where a reserve network designed solely to protect today's biodiversity would fail to capture the diversity of abiotic conditions and where such a network could be augmented to be more robust to climate-change impacts